Have You Smelt This Photo?

That perfectly instagrammed slice of luscious blueberry cheesecake together with a freshly brewed coffee is just *bite lip* beyond irresistible! Scroll some more and you’ll find yourself starving. Oh, Food Porn! Knowing how the social media crunches on the internet, images are likely to pop out. There are even mobile accessories that can turn your mobiles into a microscope! How awesome is that? On a lighter note, there are photos that can be a fad for a moment, and there are also those ones that have a lasting impact. But if Food Porn kicks in, you might be tempted to just… drool!

Photography, as vastly known, is the art of practice of taking and processing photographs. This art is being practiced to this day since it’s the best representation of a vivid memory there is. And who couldn’t agree more? Those memories caught on camera never fail to take us back to where the photo was taken—figuratively.

Yet J.A. Gottfried, a neurological psychologist, once said that “memories of images begin to fade days or even hours after viewing, whereas recall of smells remains unimpaired for as much as a year.” An eyebrow strikes up for skepticism? Well, how detailed can you articulate the image of an apple in your head than knowing how it smells? Also, did you know that aromas cannot just elicit memories, but they can also excite our emotions, and diminish stress even?

But in the technological sphere, it’s inarguably noticeable that something smells fishy. Try to sniff this to remember: You need not be nosey, because oPhone device together with the oSnap iPhone app can let you smell that photo of luscious blueberry cheesecake, and oh! The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee!

All foodies rejoice, since professor David Edwards along with a team of students of Harvard University have made food porn more realistic than ever! With the oPhone device and the iPhone app oSnap, you can now send out scented photos of your favorite treats to your close circle!

Here’s how it works: Snap a photo, select from the collection of scent notes on the tagging menu that will appear, and the message termed oNote is all set to be sent! As of the moment, there are eight different scents that can be combined. There’s butter, red wine, cocoa beans, and the list goes on. And it also allows you to create over 300,000 unique aroma combinations to your liking. But it won’t work if the recipient does not have the scent-transmitting machine oPhone.

Sadly, we can’t bite to it just yet, because the oPhone is only available at the Museum of Natural History and Le Laboratoire in Paris. Yet, that doesn’t stop Edward and the oNotes team. They are now on their Indiegogo campaign to raise a support on mass-producing the oPhone. Their goal is to reach up to $150,000.

What is it actually for? Well, imagine you’re in a restaurant. Everything in the menu are flat-out mouth-watering. With everything new to you, you choose… this one? No, this one. It really does look tasty, right? And when it was served, all you did was pick your nose as you swallow it with your eyes shut tight! Hope you just knew how it smells, right? With only just a scent, your olfactory system can help you imagine how good it tastes. And maybe someday, we could actually taste it, eh?

These magical machines can do so much; even quitting a bad habit like smoking with your phone is made possible. Who knows? Maybe one day they could send out real foods! Yu-uhm!

Stay connected, stay in love with Couple App

If you’re looking for a private and intimate way to stay connected with your special someone, then here’s the perfect app for you. Available in iOS and Android platforms, Couple app has more than 2 million downloads. It’s free, it’s private, and it’s fun! It is indeed the best way to share your thoughts and stay in-touch with your better half.

Cross-platform and completely Free

There’s nothing to lose but a lot to gain with Couple. You can download it in your iOS or Android device for free and enjoy the best private messaging experience. After downloading, it will ask for your partner’s email address so when he/she registers, it will be automatically redirected to you.

  

Your moments kept safe

Whenever you share photos and videos, these treasured moments will be neatly organized in one place. It will also take note of all important dates—i.e. anniversary date and couples’ birthdays, making sure you’ll never forget to drop by the mall to buy him/her something. Speaking of gifts, Sneaker apps are also trending nowadays which can help you pick matching sneakers for you two—now that’s effort.

Stay away intruders!

Your private messages, photos and videos will stay private with Couple’s passcode feature. Get peace of mind even if you forgot your phone at home or at your desk while in a meeting. The app will prompt a notification requiring your 4-character password when you click the icon after minimizing it. Rest assured your partner’s sweet woos will be for your eyes only.

Thumbkiss ™

This feature may not replace the actual kiss but—heck! it’s better than nothing. It works by inviting your special someone to Thumbkiss ™ then when both of you are live, just touch the same spot on your screens then your phones will simultaneously vibrate. What a romantic gesture made possible by Couple.

Sketch

There are times when moments are best described through a personal sketch. Get your girlfriend all giggly and blushing by drawing her cute and colourful flowers or send your boyfriend a finger-drawn smiley to cheer him up for the day. Personal touches are best appreciated.

Real time messaging

See your partner’s activity or location real-time with Couple. Whether your special someone minimized the app or is online, whether he/she is taking photos or typing, at home or at your favourite restaurant—all these you’ll know at a glance.

Secret photos

One of the fun features of Couple. This lets you customise your photos by locking or unlocking them. Other options include viewing the photo just once or adding a fixed time before it disappears. A really fun way to send embarrassing photos to your special someone!

Couple app and couple case

To add more romance to your relationship, why not buy a cool protective case for his/her smartphone? There are really trendy couple cases which are sold online today especially the ones sold by E_cell. And if you want to get extreme, there’s this really unique case called Dokkiri Hand Case featuring a severed hand design you can hold while calling or texting.

LG G3 versus Apple iPhone 5S

LG, a South Korean mobile giant, is coming with a stronger and bigger flagship of smartphone this 2014 in the name of LG G3, the upgraded brother of LG G2. However, Apple - another mobile phone manufacturer global giant is still sailing smoothly in the sea of smartphones with its Apple iPhone 5S.

Apple iPhone 5S is getting a year older this year, while LG G3 is still fresh in the market. While it is true that LG G3 is newer and younger, this does not automatically mean that iPhone 5S is already outdated. If you are torn between these two smartphones, here is a treat for you as we get them side by side.

Screen size

LG G3 sports a 5.5” Quad HD display with a 2560 x 1440 pixels. It also has a 538 ppi pixel density. On the other hand, iPhone 5S comes with a smaller screen size of 4” retina display. This is not a bad thing though, especially for people who have trouble grasping a bigger smartphone. iPhone 5S comes with a lower ppi of 326 and a 640 x 1136 pixels. Undoubtedly, iPhone 5s looks inferior in both screen quality and size next to LG G3.

Design

The iPhone 5S still remains at the apex of precision and metal engineering, it is one of those smartphones that feel incredibly premium and class in your hands. It sports an aluminium unibody. It is also incredibly lighter and thinner. It is also available in three classic colors – Space Gray, Gold, and Silver.

LG G3 also looks premium with its metal-effect skin. It is not actually metal, though. The rear cover is also removable. It is understood that it is heavier compared to iPhone 5S due to its enormous size. It also includes very tiny bezels and also comes in many colors - Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet, Burgundy Red.

Camera

LG G3 boasts its 13MP rear camera powered with a Laser Auto Focus, which measures the distance of the subject using laser technology. This improves focus speed and object detection even in a low-light environment. It also comes with a Dual-LED flash. Its 2MP front camera is also great for selfies.

The Apple iPhone 5S sports an 8MP iSight camera with True Tone flash and dual. It also claims to have larger pixels and larger aperture, which are needed to get in more light. It also comes with the famous panorama mode and slow-motion video mode. However, if you want external hardware here, you can always improve the photo quality through various detachable camera lenses for iPhones.

Hardware and software

The iPhone 5S is the first 64-bit smartphone in the world, it’s a desktop-class architecture in a super slim iPhone. It can fire apps and allow you to multi-task seamlessly, thanks to its improved A7 chip. The A7 chip improves the CPU and GPU performance. It is coupled with an M7 coprocessor designed to measure motion data. This makes your battery even more efficient. It has 1.3 Dual-Core CPU with 1GB of RAM.

The iPhone 5S comes ready with an iOS 7. This user interface is more fluid, and simplicity is the name of its game. It comes with a reliable feature called Control Center.

LG G3 has its strong hardware and software too. LG G3 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, clocked at 2.5GHz. It has 3GB of RAM for 32GB version, and 2GB for the standard 16GB version. Nominally-wise, the LG G3 is so much better!

LG G3 comes with the latest version of Android OS Kitkat. It is highly-customizable and intuitive.

Other Features

Personally, I am hoping that the iPhone has this Knock On feature to  wake up the phone, so you don’t have to press either the lock/unlock button and home button. Both smartphones have unique security features. The Apple iPhone 5S has its famous Fingerprint scanner while LG G3 has its Knock On code. Both are very efficient in protecting your phone from unwelcome users.

Battery

LG G3 comes with a massive 3,000 Mah battery, but it also comes with a larger screen which can drain the battery rapidly. It supports wireless charging and the battery is removable. The iPhone 5S has non-removable Li-Po 1560 mAh battery which is impressive enough.

Both handsets are great phones, like luxury smartphones with great specs. I also reckon they would also adopt new inventions for smartphones. While you are torn between the two, I must say that the choice is still personal. If you want simplicity and more premium fuels, the iPhone is for you, but if you are after a larger screen size and more processing power, definitely go with LG G3. 

Useful Smartwatch Apps

Some years ago, we may have sworn that smartphones were the best tech devices ever made in this lifetime. Who could blame us, a smartphone now possesses all the possible things we need in our day to day lives. Just so you know, there is an app for everything, from entertaining games to fitness programs to even security systems. And yet, as much as we love our smartphones to bits and pieces, another tech device is stealing the limelight and wants to make a name for itself. The advantage? It’s wearable. Lo and behold, we are looking on the age of smartwatches.

 To prove this point, you may well observe that top tech giants such as Sony, Samsung, Casio, etc. are releasing their very own line of smartwatches. And with this amazing wearable tech comes the apps that aim to make our lives a tad easier. And here are just some of the smartwatch apps that can be handy.

Wunderlist
With Wunderlist, you are presented with the easiest way to manage your schedule and tasks at hand. Simplicity is always the key. This app provides you with the most essential functions and commands sans the complicated and superfluous extras. From making a grocery list to taking notes in your meeting, this app will be of great help to you plus it will just be around your wrist so it will always be within your reach.

Google Maps

For a fellow traveller, Google Maps is one of those apps that you can’t leave home without. I know it’s exciting and fun to be lost for a while and finding your own way out of it. But it’s not every day that you have the pleasure of time by your side. Google Maps is the most extensive of all navigational applications, getting through an unknown abyss with this trusty app will be definitely an ace to your travel.

Moves

Enough of all the fitness apps you get online when you can just have one. Moves is a fitness app that is not just a simple pedometer. It also includes a sort of fitness diary to keep track of your daily activities and automatically records any walking, cycling, or running that you do including the distance, duration, steps, and calories burned.

Starbucks App

I don’t know about you, but for me, coffee is not just a drink. It’s a morning hug that makes everything so much better afterwards. And so, how cool is it to have a Starbucks app that satisfies all your coffeeholic whims?

BBC News Apps

No matter how busy you are, it pays to be always in the loop with what is happening with the world. Just a quick peep of the breaking news and trending topics can keep you well updated and keeps you connected.

A smartphone can be your bestfriend for now, but who knows in a couple of years we might be opting for a new bestfriend. A smartwatch is a promising replacement don’t you think?

Stores to Enjoy

People nowadays have so much to do. So little time yet so many duties to comply with. With all the hustles and bustles the city keeps on feeding the humanity, ever thought if people still has the time to get their free time? Apparently, they still do and they still need some. They’re humans, not robots. Guess they still cry out for some time to forget all the paper works, reports and all sort and find a moment to relax and enjoy bang-up things this world has to offer.  But what if that free time you were given only seems to be so limited? Like you can’t even go on out-of-town trips or spend the whole day catching up with your friends?

At this moment in time, people are privileged with a lot of choices on how to spend their “limited” free time. So enjoying your not-so-sky is the limit free time is indeed imaginable. Thanks to the ever reliable smartphones. A lot of this kind of gizmo has spread in the market, so bet you got one. And since you are fortunate enough to have one, your problem on how to enjoy your limited free time is now solved.

Apps are one of the main reasons why smartphones are always put to use. Bazillion of them are always available on your smartphone. So there’s no reason for you not to find any app that will give you the fun you deserve. Currently, there are two big names which are always mentioned when asked where you can best download apps – Play Store and App Store. But what difference do they have?

Apart from Play Store being available on Android OS gadgets and App Store for Apple gizmos, what else could they offer to suppose that they got the upper hand?

Samsung, LG, Sony are just some of the gizmos that has the Android running as their OS. If you got Android as your OS, you definitely got the Play Store to download a lot of free apps to entertain you. Games, books, music, name it. Downloading apps from the Play Store can be so convenient. As long as you got your Gmail account already logged in into your device, you’ll be getting the app you want in no time without the need to sign up or logging in into other websites. Plus, these apps that they got are just a dime a dozen.

Here’s more. The Play Store would even show you the apps you might be searching though you have misspelled its name or category. That’s one great convenience in finding the app you want.

Now, if personalizing your device’s appearance is what gives you fun, then the Play Store is the perfect store for you. Play Store offers apps such as Go Launcher Ex and Go SMS Pro that lets your device be you.

Apple on the other hand has the Apple App Store which is only exclusive for Apple gizmo users. Unlike the Play Store, the Apple App Store has a lot more to offer than its competitor talking about the number of apps available. The App store is assumed to be the leading provider of smartphone apps, so whatever category of your ideal app is, the App Store definitely has it for you.

Apple apps may not be at a rock-bottom price but rest assured that the apps you’re gonna get for its price is worth it. In addition, your security is one of Apple’s top priorities so rest assured that the app that you are about to download from the App Store is secured and protected.  

Unfortunately, Apple won’t let you download anything that can make your phone be you. You can’t personalize messaging, or even choose different kinds of themes. So as much as you want your phone to reflect your personality, sad to say but you can’t do that with Apple. Guess Apple just want to keep its sophisticated, elegant look. But hey! Don’t feel bad. After all, there are a lot of iPad and iPhone accessories you can always use to dress up your phone like you.

Play Store or App Store. That doesn’t matter. What matters is you find the app that will definitely let you enjoy your limited free time and quench your boredom. Besides, you deserve to enjoy and feel like a kid again who doesn’t have to worry with stress your duties bombard you. 

Is Apple iPhone 6 worth the wait?

Apple iPhone 6 Concept

 Choosing the right smartphone is not as easy as choosing an outfit of the day. It requires a lot of consideration and compromise because nowadays, smartphones are not just mobile devices, they are personal assistants, they are best friends, they are even lifelong partners for some. Thus, when getting a new smartphone, it is not advisable to follow your impulse. Now hold your horses people, just because a new phone was released and it’s your favourite colour doesn't mean you have to buy it immediately, compatibility and chemistry is key.

But the question that looms and is left hanging in the background at present is whether or not to wait for the new iPhone 6, or just settle with the available top notch smartphones from the other tech giants like Sony, Samsung, HTC, etc. In the hunt for a new mobile device? Let’s have a look at the points we should consider if indeed iPhone 6 is worth the wait.

1.    Design

We all know that the most celebrated iPhone is no inferior when it comes to this department, in fact Apple devices are considered to dominate all other devices because of their sophisticated design. Their robust body and sleek minimalist build make these devices a step higher from the rest. For people who would not compromise design in choosing for a new smartphone, then it may interest you that the iPhone 6 is rumoured to be the thinnest smartphone ever when it gets released.

2.    Screen Size

With the current trend of mobile devices getting released in the market nowadays, screen size is one of the essentials, and unfortunately it is the one thing that Apple devices gets left behind. In comparison with the other big players of the tech world releasing 5-inch to as big as 6-inch screen displays, Apple was stuck with 4 inches. You may be very happy to know that Apple finally decided to up its game by participating in the frenzy of having bigger screen displays. Rumour has it that the iPhone 6 will be released with two variants, one with a 4.7-inch display and another with a 5.5-inch display.

3.    Operating System

The operating system is the heart and soul of a mobile device. If you currently love your iOS 7, wait till you come face to face with iOS 8 which, according to rumours, is set to be released readily installed in the upcoming Apple iPhone 6.

If Apple follows tradition, we may get our hands on that most coveted smartphone of the year this coming September. You think you can handle to wait three months for it?

The Gaming Empire That Flappy Bird Could Have Built

Ever since virtual markets showcasing a plethora of apps have emerged and became popular, a broader opportunity for exposure and profit-making has been graced to third party software developers. As the market penetration for feature-packed smartphones and tablets all over the world continues to rise, there exists a tremendous growth in software downloads on app stores as a consequence. As it turns out, all one needs to do to find his success is to build a good app with a catchy name and wish for a bit of luck.

Who would have thought that the rivalry between a bunch of suicidal birds and thieving green pigs can reach epic proportions? The game Angry Birds took off and brought Rovio, its developer, up the ladder of success. Now, the company has an entire anthology of games and revenue streams that generate a huge amount of cash even outside the Angry Birds game per se. You can be able to see a whole collection of merchandise in the likeness of those vengeful birds on colorful shirts, fluffy pillows, ceramic cups, protective phone cases, and whatnot, and that is but a testament of how big Rovio has become over just a short span of time.

It just started with one hit game, and the rest is history. However, as it turns out, not all are after the fame and success of app development; some allegedly choose a simpler life over the attention brought by success. Dong Nguyen, 28 years old, from Hanoi, Vietnam, famous for being the creator of Flappy Bird, is an exemplar. Despite reports that the game is generating $50,000 in ad revenue daily, he still decided to remove Flappy Bird from iTunes App Store and Google Play. His reason is that the game had started to ruin his simple life. Be that as it may, it is undeniable that the mini game has managed to be downloaded more than 50 million times. That amount is already enough to build an empire.

Most people who have heard of or played the game were devastated when its developer took it down in February, but recent reports indicate that it is bound to return. This came to be after Nguyen said in a tweet, “Yes. But not soon,” in response to the tweet of an avid gamer asking if he will be putting Flappy Bird back in App Store. Until now, there is no update unto when Nguyen plans to bring back the app; all we know is that it is coming.

Meanwhile, there are rumors revealing that Nguyen is working on another game called “Kitty Jetpack.” It will be a vertical flying game that is quite similar to how Flappy Bird works. However, the anticipated launch date is still unknown. Nonetheless, we can be certain that we will be soon under the spell of another addiction. Who knows, the combined success of the two games (if realized) might just be the golden opportunity for one indie app developer to build a multi-billion gaming empire.