iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant

The app is straight forward and a breeze to use. Upon running iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant the user is given the option to choose an existing photo from their library or to take a new one with the iPhone or iPod touch camera.

Once you have your desired photo a color spectrum appears on the left side of the screen and a crosshairs appears near the center of your image. From here you can slide the crosshairs to the desired location or tap the screen in the spot you wish to examine. A very nice feature is available by tapping the crosshairs button at the top — the ability to move pixel by pixel. This is extremely useful for pinpointing that exact color you wish to check.

While I am not colorblind, I am a graphic and web designer and work with color everyday. I have found iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant to be extremely useful and with a few added features it could be perfect for collecting color samples from anywhere around.

Some features that would really make iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant much more useful are as follows. Currently the selected color is only given by its “crayon” name. The addition of CMYK, RGB and/or Hex values would be a great asset. This would allow the user to work straight from their device instead of having to import the photos to  their desired image editing software to find these values. Another useful addition would be the ability to favorite or bookmark colors for easy reference.

Granted these additions seem most useful for designers, but the colorblind could benefit from them also. By bookmarking colors they commonly view different than others, with iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant users could create a personalized quick reference tool.

Overall iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant is a handy little app for $0.99. With the additions above it could be turned into a powerful tool.

• app_name: iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant
• rating: 6/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Pinpoint Colors With iSpectrum Color Blind Assistant | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

Eye vs. Eye is a simple app that can be played individually or against a friend. The main goal of the game is to match the original color that is displayed on the screen within a certain amount of time. The original color is displayed on the screen for approximately 5 seconds. Once the color is taken away you are given ten seconds to slide the RGB (Red, Green & Blue) sliders to re-create the original color as closely as possible. Noted by the developers that in version 1.1 HSB, CMYK and Crayon options will be available as well as the current RGB.

Once loaded the main menu, which is beautifully designed to flow along with the game, displays options for solo play, resume contest, rules, credits and new contest.

Solo play is basically a practice mode. You are unable to keep score or an average but simply match color after color. New Contest allows you to start a new head to head match against an opponent. This mode will keep track of each players wins and can be continued by choosing Resume Contest or cleared by choosing New Contest again from the main menu. Selecting Rules brings you to a single page with brief descriptions about the game and its different modes.

There are a few things I would love to see implemented into future versions of the game. One being the ability to play matches over the web. This would definitely open up the playing field. Another would be to add more options in single player mode such as averages and personal bests. The developers have informed me that score tracking will be added, and I’m assuming this will be for challenge mode.

Eye vs. Eye is a stimulating game not only for designers but anyone looking for a colorful challenge. The games interface is very well thought-out and user friendly as well as the actual gameplay. FORMation Alliance has two more games in the works focusing on design as well. I am excited for the release of these apps as well.

• app_name: Eye vs. Eye
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Eye vs. Eye Tests Your Eye for Color | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

Craigsphone

Craigsphone sets up and runs similar to the other two apps. Once loaded you need to choose a nearby state/city to limit your searches to. The main navigation contains options to browse listings, post a listing, view featured searches and edit your account information. Browsing allows you to search eight general categories or, by tapping the blue arrows on the right, you can refine your category. Tapping search lets you enter a descriptive search term for even more refined results.

Posting a listing uses an interface that is basically the Craigslist.org slimmed down to fit better on the iPhone screen.

The featured sections of Craigsphone contains a few pre-determined searches that the developers included. I would have expected an option to bookmark search criteria and have them save to here. Unfortunately, Craigsphone does not contain a bookmarking option. It does, however, contain a history option. History displays your recently viewed listings which is useful to quickly come back to listings you have viewed.

Overall, the ability to post directly to Craigslist is a huge factor in comparing Craigsphone to the other two available. Unfortunately, Craigsphone is missing a bookmark function which has proven to be quite useful in CraigsMobileList. However the posting function outweighs a bookmark function and until the developers of these apps decide to conveniently apply all the useful options to one, Craigsphone may be the best choice when searching Craigslist on the iPhone or iPod touch. Oh yeah, and Craigsphone is absolutely free.

• app_name: Craigsphone
• rating: 7/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Craigsphone is Almost All You Need to Use Craigslist with iPhone | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

I haven’t found a practical use for Banner by akamatsu.org yet and I’m not sure if I ever will. The ability to create an advertising LED on your iPhone or iPod touch doesn’t really seem like a useful function on such a small personal device.

If you think you have a use for this app and want to try it out, a free version is available here. The paid version is similar in its function but it offers more options to customize your scrolling message. The added options allow you to create up to 5 messages and display them all at once or individually, adjust the speed from slow to fast, change the LED shapes between 6 different shapes and adjust the color.

Banner is very simple to use and setup. To access the options simply tap the screen of your iPhone or iPod touch. You can change it to a double tap if you want to avoid accidental exits of your scrolling message. Once in the options the layout resembles your common device settings menus.

Some features that would be nice to see in future updates would be the ability to choose different fonts, create your own LED design, change the text size and add different sign backgrounds. The more features the more time you will spend creating even more personal banners to display.

Even though I cannot find a practical use for Banner it is very well designed. The ability to adjust many options gives its users their $0.99 worth. Looking through the reviews in iTunes it seems that many people are using Banner at clubs or in other loud places where it is hard to hear. It also seems to be a hit with the younger audience. So check out the free version and if you like it you will enjoy the paid version ten fold.

• app_name: Banner
• rating: 6/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Banner Communicates with Scrolling LED Messages | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The app in general is very straightforward, providing the user with the same bottom navigation common in many other apps. The menu contains Latest, Featured, Productivity, Technology and More which includes articles on money, communicate, lifestyle and management. If you’re familiar with Lifehack.org’s site you will recognize the categories as the same that exist online. That’s good, no need to confuse users with changing terminology. Each of these categories simply split up the articles posted on the site. The overall design is similar to many basic iPhone and iPod touch newsreader layouts.

I don’t understand why Lifehack.org decided to create a downloadable app over a web app. The form and function could have easily been implemented into a iPhone-friendly site. There are no additional features that make creating the app more beneficial than using a web app version. Once you venture far enough into an article — for example by tapping the button to add a comment — you are brought to Lifehack’s Web site. There is no way to save articles to a favorites folder or even mark articles as “read.”

Companies should ask themselves a one simple question before designing an app. Are we going to implement anything that we can’t do on the web? If the answer is no — which in this case it definitely is — then save time and money and build the app as a web app.

So, without added functionality why use the Lifehack App? Some readers will appreciate a one-button link to the most current Lifehack.org articles. Rather than firing up Safari and typing an address it’s simpler to just open the app and start reading.

Overall Stepcase Limited’s Lifehack app does what it is meant to do. Unfortunately, it could easily have been done better.

Editor’s Note: Although we didn’t experience issues with stability, some users have complained that Lifehack.org crashes unexpectedly. Stepcase says an update is awaiting approval.

• app_name: Lifehack
• rating: 5/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Lifehack App is a Simplified Clone of Lifehack.org Web site | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The structure of Photonasis 2.0 is quite basic. From the main screen you can choose to take a new photo or grab one from your library to adjust. Once you have your photo, tap the Select Filter button to bring up a list of filters. It would be nice if the preview used your chosen photo instead of the app’s sample image. After you choose an effect you must tap the preview button before any changes will be displayed. This seems a bit redundant, an undo button and having the effect applied right away makes more sense to me. Once you are satisfied tapping save will create a new image and store it in your library. 

With Photonasis 2.0 you do have a decent amount of filters to choose from, but many are effects you would never use if you were just looking to apply a fun or trendy effect to a photo. The effects filters you are given to choose from include:

• gray scale
• pinch (protuberant fisheye)
• invert
• punch (concave fisheye)
• sepia
• swirl effect
• sharpening
• cylinder effect
• edge detection
• bathroom effect
• smoothing
• jitter (salt & pepper effect)
• mean removal
• dilate (light enhancing)
• gaussian blur
• erode (darkness enhancing)
• emboss
• histogram equalization

Photonasis 2.0 doesn’t do much more than apply a few effect filters to a new photo or an existing one in your library. If you are looking for something a bit more Photoshop-like than keep searching, but if you just want to apply some quick effects this may be what you are seeking for. There is a lite version which is free if you want to try it before paying the $0.99, but it only lets you save 1 image per day.

Budding photogs looking to apply a few filters might also like Picoli. It has fewer filter options, but the functions are easier to use and it includes a better “preview” feature.

• app_name: Photonasis 2.0
• rating: 4/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | Photonasis 2.0 May be a Bit to Basic for Most | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The interface of CraigSearch is simple and basic. From the main page you enter your location, choose your category and subcategory and tap begin search. Next you are brought to a search details page. This page will differ depending on the category you choose. All categories include options where you enter a search phrase and toggle whether you would like to search only titles or only posts with images and also set a minimum and maximum price range. In my opinion, it would have made more sense to include this on the main page instead of having an obstacle of options in your way before reaching the content you are actually using CraigSearch to access. Once you finish adjusting the search details, tapping run search will bring you to your results. 

The feature that I really enjoyed in CraigsMobileList was the ability to bookmark/favorite your common searches. CraigSearch does not have this option and I strongly believe it should. If you only use craigslist to search random items it’s not a huge concern, but if you actively search for lots of different items or jobs or gigs or whatever it is you search for than you will most definitely need the bookmark feature.

Besides lacking the bookmark/favorite feature and the price these two apps are very similar. If you want to be able to bookmark you will need to pay the $1.99 for CraigsMobileList, at least until PheedYou decides to include it. If you are looking for a quick craigslist searcher CraigSearch is free and will work just fine for you.

Related Articles: Craigsphone

• app_name: CraigSearch
• rating: 6/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | CraigSearch Lacks, But Gets The Job Done | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

Wired Product Reviews

The main menu at first glance looks like something from Star Trek, but after a closer look you notice they are icons representing the main categories of products. It is great to see developers breaking out of the basic menu lists and trying something different. The categories are separated into the following groups: automobiles, camcorders, desktops, digital cameras, gaming gear, home audio & video, household, mobile phones, notebooks, portable media players, sports & outdoors and televisions. If you know exactly what you are looking for there is also a search option.

After choosing a main category a list appears displaying the reviewed products. You are given a thumbnail, the product name, a brief description, the rating and the products price. A great feature is the option to quickly choose how to sort the list. You get 4 choices located above the first item. The options include name, latest, price and rating.

To check out a product simply tap it in the list. This brings up an enlarged photo as well as a full description and review and continues displaying the price and rating. Tap the mail icon on the bottom to quickly send the product info to a friend or use the left and right arrows as a secondary navigation to scroll through the items one by one. Using  the tab at the top will return to the full list view.

Wired Product Reviews does its job and does it well. The only negative point I have, which to me would make the app much more usable, would be to include a way to save products to a wish-list or a personal favorites list so products are easily accessible a few months from now when they may be buried by a hundred new reviews and you can’t remember the name. Overall it’s a great free app if your into techie gadgets and gismos, check it out.

• app_name: Wired Product Reviews
• rating: 7/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | Wired Product Reviews: Does Just That | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The main screen is very straight forward. Navigation tabs at the bottom allow user to search/browse, bookmarks, favorites and view the app’s about page. The navigation stays the same no matter which of the above options you choose.

The first time you load the CraigsMobileList you will need to specify your search criteria. These include your city, category, subcategory and filters. Choose the closest large city to your location as not every city is included.

The categories are broken into the same main categories as the website, which keeps things similar if your familiar with the web version. Craigslist’s categories include: community, personals, housing, for sale, services, jobs, gigs and resumes. Choosing a subcategory is not required but is helpful in refining your search even further.

Filters are also not required but are nice if you only want to search posts with images, only words in the title or set a minimum and maximum price range. For even more fine tuning of your search you can enter a series of keywords at the top.  In order to search using the keywords you must use the search button as opposed to the main browse button. 

Bookmarks is the most useful feature of this app. It allows you to save your search options for quick and easy revisiting. For example I can save my specific searches for jobs in one city as well as jobs in another city and any other items I may like to check up on frequently. Depending on the city and search term, posts may be updated often. So being able to check these without having to reenter all the information is a must-have feature in my opinion.

CriagsMobileList also boasts some very nice options for viewing a post. You are given the option to email it to a friend, respond by email to the poster or add it to your favorites.

With the ability to tag favorite posts and bookmark specific searches this app is actually a step up from the original website. The only thing keeping it from receiving a higher score is that users don’t have the ability to post their own sales. I hope that in the future the developers work on including this into the app.

Related Articles: Craigsphone, Craigsearch

• app_name: CraigsMobileList
• rating: 7/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | CraigsMobileList Searches Craigslist with Style | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

iPhone and iPod touch apps don’t get much simpler than this. No menus, no options, no bells and no whistles. Once Spawn Illuminati is launched there is a quick instructions screen. Quick being my only gripe. The instructions are displayed for a mere 5 seconds. To catch all the information you need to restart the app a few times or take a screenshot. (For those who don’t know how to take a screenshot, hold the iPhone or iPod touch’s home button and then press the on/off button. The screenshot will then be stored in your photo library.)

Once you understand the instructions it’s time to have some fun.

Much of the actions revolve around the sliding of two fingers. To create larger particles put both fingers in the middle of your screen and expand them, one upwards and one downwards (this is the same movement you use in Safari to zoom out). The same sliding action on the left side of the screen will adjust the length of the particles. The exact same action on the right side will change the color. The same finger movement, only left to right will adjust the speed. Double tapping will create a firework effect and dragging your finger around will make the particles follow. To reverse the effects do the motions in the opposite direction. Experiment and play around with each of the actions to create some stunning visual effects.

In trying out Spawn Illuminati I did find one semi-practical use for it. By using the screenshot technique I discussed above you are able to create an endless amount of backgrounds for your iPhone or iPod touch. The developers created this video so you can see examples of what others have created, or checkout their website Elements of Design.

• app_name: Spawn Illuminati
• rating: 7/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | Spawn Illuminati – Pricey Fun for Your Fingertips | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!