Month: November 2013

Cyber Monday Series: Find the best deals with these 7 apps

Black Friday might be the biggest shopping day of the year, but if you’re like me, Black Friday also means a turkey coma and zombie-like crowds pushing their way through stores to get the best deals. If you can’t stomach another tug of war at the cash register, just remember these two magic words: Cyber Monday. It’s the online counterpart to Black Friday, giving you the best deals for shopping from the comfort of your own home. Here, I’ll go through 7 useful apps for Cyber Monday that’ll help you find the best deals for shopping online post-Thanksgiving.

1) Cyber Monday 2013 (Android & iPhone)

Cyber Monday 2013 is a great place to start if you want to receive updates and notifications for all the best deals leading up to the big day. You can select individual products or retailers that you like and receive notifications for new sale items or price drops. The app also has a product analysis and expert reviews to ensure that you get the best deals on the best products. Cyber Monday 2013 will save your preferences in the cloud, meaning you can sync the app across devices too.

2) Prices Drop Monitor for Amazon (Mac and Windows)

Prices Drop Monitor is an app for Windows and Mac that lets you track the frequently changing prices of products on Amazon. It’s a great concept, and tracking products with the app couldn’t be easier: once installed, monitoring a product is as easy as dragging and dropping it from Amazon to the app’s icon in the system tray. You’ll get a desktop notification when that product’s price drops, as well as the option to receive an email notification.

3) Price Grabber (Android & iPhone)

Price Grabber is a great app for comparing prices across thousands of different online retailers. It also lets you scan bar codes, so if you see a product on the shelf before Cyber Monday and want to compare its price in various online retailers, this app is perfect. You can save products for easy access on Cyber Monday. There are also a ton of search filters that will help you browse through products or find something specific, as well as top lists and merchant reviews. Another cool feature: Price Grabber gives you information about local deals in over 160 US metro areas!

4) idealo Price Comparison (Android & iPhone)

Similar to Price Grabber, idealo Price Comparison lets you compare the price of products across online retailers by searching product name, category or scanning the UPC code. Idealo has a huge database of over 14,000 online shops, and it lets you share your finds by emailing products to friends or family. One of the coolest features of this app is the price watcher, which lets you input the price you’d want to pay for a product (with or without shipping), giving you notifications when that product is available at that price.

BLACK FRIDAY APPS FOR CYBER MONDAY

Of course, if you like the excitement of in-store shopping during the holiday season, there are a few great Black Friday apps that will work for Cyber Monday deals too.

5) Black Friday App (Android & iPhone)

The most popular Black Friday App is back for another season. The Black Friday App gives you ads for all major retailers, taking you directly to the mobile web page so that you can make a purchase instantly. You can browse ads or search for specific products and compare prices across online retailers, which will save you plenty of time instead of searching for them individually. If you’ll be on the road during the holidays, it’ll also give you the location of the stores closest to you.

6) TGI Black Friday (Android & iPhone)

Similar to the Black Friday App, TGI Black Friday gives you all the ads before they are mailed out so that you can plan your shopping accordingly, create a shopping list, and send it to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter or Google+. The app will also send you push notifications when new ads are posted so you get news of the deals as soon as they are published. If you’re using this app, keep your eyes open for deals available before the big shopping weekend too.

7) Black Friday Survival Guide (Android & iPhone)

BlackFriday.fm is the go-to Black Friday website for anyone looking for the best deals on the craziest shopping day of the year, and the website and accompanying Black Friday Survival Guide apps include sales for online retailers on Cyber Monday too. It has a ‘Black Friday Sales News’ section to keep you informed about the hottest deals as soon as they come out, and with the mobile app, you’ll have all the breaking sale news right at your fingertips! This all-encompassing app is a great source for everything Black Friday/Cyber Monday related.

Whether you’ll be shopping in-store on Black Friday or online during Cyber Monday, these apps will definitely help you in your quest to find the best deals of the year!

Do you use apps to find great deals?

Angry Birds Go released in New Zealand, microtransactions revealed

Rovio has ‘soft launched’ its upcoming karting game Angry Birds Go! in the New Zealand App Store. It’s due for worldwide release on December 11th, but we now know more about the gameplay and microtransactions.

According to PocketGamer, Angry Birds Go! has simple and fun gameplay but its free-to-play model spoils the fun. As this is a soft release, we could see changes to the system once the game is released worldwide next month, but for now, the microtransactions in Angry Birds Go! seem anything but micro. Soft releases are when an app is released in a small market for testing purposes.

Like most free to play games, you get in-game currency by competing in events, but you can buy more to speed your progress. Pocketgamer reports that in Angry Birds Go! it’s very difficult to compete without spending real money. You currently need to repeat events multiple times to get enough currency to upgrade your cart, and this is limited. Eventually you’ll need to buy a new kart, which can cost anything up to $100!

You can also buy a new game mode – Jenga Mode, and your birds get tired after 5 races. You either have to wait or pay to get your racers back on the track.

While the free to play model in Angry Birds Go! seems excessive, it worked very well for Real Racing 3. That game was heavily criticized for a microtransaction model that really got in the way of enjoying the game, but millions of players disagreed with the critics, making it a huge success for Electronic Arts.

We hope to play Angry Birds Go! soon, and we’ll have more coverage in the run up to its release on December 11th.

RELATED STORIES

[Source: PocketGamer]

YouTube updates comment system to deal with spam

YouTube has released a statement on its new comment system, promising to deal with complaints of comment spam since its launch.

The social video site has made the following updates to the comment system:

  • Better recognition of bad links and impersonation attempts
  • Improved ASCII art detection
  • Changing how long comments are displayed

A Bulk moderation tool is promised soon, to make it easier for video owners to keep control of comments on their uploads.

However, these updates are unlikely to keep unhappy users contented. Most complaints about the new comment system relate to forcing users to link to a Google+ account, and the perceived loss of anonymity that entails. The YouTube statement doesn’t make any mention of Google’s much maligned social network.
Some users were using ASCII art in comments as a way to protest the new system, so ‘improved detection’ of this is likely to upset them even more.

Critics accuse Google of forcing Google+ on users to increase its popularity, but YouTube counters that the vast majority of users migrated their accounts without complaint.

RELATED STORIES

[Source: YouTube Creators Blog]

Targets updates iOS app in time for Black Friday

Retail giant Target has updated its iOS app with an iOS 7 friendly design and new features just in time Black Friday, what most consider to be the biggest shopping day of the year. Version 6.3 has the flatter design and color scheme that many iOS apps have adopted since Apple released iOS 7 in September.

The updated Target app has been optimized for in-store shopping, with improvements to the shopping list functions,  store locators, and inventory check. Swipe gestures have also been added to improve usability.

Target App redesigned for iOS 7

A few beta features available in select locations have also been introduced, including floor plans that’ll help you locate products in-store, as well as the ability to check if a product is available in your closest Target retailer.

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, the update is sure to help make Black Friday shopping a bit less hectic.

Download the target app for iOS.

RELATED STORIES:

Candy Crush Saga updated with 45 new levels

Candy Crush Saga has been updated in the Google Play store, which adds 45 new levels to the addictive switch and match game.

There are now a huge 485 levels in candy Crush Saga, and the latest update adds an episode where ‘Tiffi tries to teach somebody a lesson in Cherry Chateau.’ Candy Crush is a hugely successful game on iOS and Android, having been downloaded over half a billion times. Developer King is continuing to develop the simple switch and match gameplay, which owes a debt to PopCap’s Bejeweled, with new games like Pepper Panic Saga.

This update has not appeared on the App Store yet – Candy Crush Saga was last updated on 31st October. We’ve reached out to King to see when iOS users will get the new levels too.

Download Candy Crush Saga for Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

RELATED STORIES

Microsoft Research releases GIF-like video loop maker

Microsoft Research has released a video maker called ‘Automated video looping with progressive dynamism‘. It’s designed to make 5 second loops from video, but is not a GIF maker.

Unlike most generated GIFs, which are simple loops of video, the Automated video looping with progressive dynamism app allows you to choose which areas of the video you want to animate, and which you want to keep still. At least, that’s what Microsoft Research’s program promises. The download comes with two apps, a viewer and creator. You can view sample videos easily with the VideoLoopView app, but we couldn’t get the VideoLoopCreate app to run (other sources have reported the same).

Microsoft released a video showing off what VideoLoopCreate and View can do, and how the results are better than typical looping GIFs, that you can see below.

Default player


brightcove.createExperiences();

Microsoft Research, as its title suggests, is the research lab of Microsoft charged with developing ideas for future Microsoft products. Among other things, Microsoft Research is responsible for the bizarre Songsmith app, which automatically generates music to accompany your voice.

Automated video looping with progressive dynamism is an interesting idea, but as version 1.0 doesn’t seem to run on most Windows PCs, we’ll have to wait and see if it develops into a useful app.

Download the app from Microsoft Research.

RELATED STORIES

[Source: Microsoft Research]

Google Voice Search extension for Chrome out now (video)

If you want to use voice commands with your computer, now you can. Google has released their Google Voice Search extension for Chrome, which allows users to dictate Google searches and commands.

Android and Google Search for iOS both have this functionality for smartphones but now it’s finally available for your computer. The extension uses your microphone to detect the hotword, “OK Google,” to perform searches and other commands. The hotword is only detected if you’re at Chrome’s new tab page or on the Google Search site. If you don’t want to say, “OK Google,” you can just click on the microphone icon to activate Voice Search.

The extension is in beta, as it doesn’t have all the functionality that Google Now provides. For example, you cannot yet dictate an email and have it sent using the Google Voice Search extension. However, things like reminders do work and are pushed to Google Now on your device.

To give the Google Voice Search extension beta a try, click on the download link below. The extension will only work with Chrome so make sure you have it installed first.

Download Google Voice Search beta for Chrome

Source: Google (Google+)

RELATED STORIES

Ridiculous Fishing debuts in Google Play

Ridiculous Fishing made its Android debut in the Humble Mobile Bundle 3 last week but wasn’t available in Google Play. That changes today as the game is now available for $2.99 in the Play Store.

If you’ve been waiting to play the hilarious tilt-controlled mobile game but didn’t want to shell out for the Humble Mobile Bundle, now’s your chance. The goal of the game is to sink your fishing lure as deep as possible without snagging any fish. Once you do hit a fish, you will immediately begin your ascent, allowing you to tilt your phone to grab more fish on the way up. Once your fish reach the surface of the water, they’re flung into the air for you to shoot with a variety of different guns for points.

The gameplay is simple but fast paced and will keep you coming back for more. There are tons of things to unlock and new species of fish to see. Can you collect them all?

Download Ridiculous Fishing for Android

RELATED STORIES

Samsung ChatON messenger for Android adds SMS support

Samsung’s ChatON app for Android gets a little more useful today as the company has added SMS and MMS support. ChatON is Samsung’s universal messaging app previously only found on Samsung devices, but has been released on Android and iOS.

Samsung ChatON for Android

While Facebook recently removed SMS functionality, Google and now Samsung are adding the feature in an attempt to get more users onto their messaging services. ChatON is up against some stiff competition against WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, and others. SMS and MMS are handy features to have, but they may not be compelling enough to woo users from their other messaging apps.

To check out ChatON yourself, you can head over to the download link below. You’ll need an Android 2.2 device or higher to install the app.

Download ChatON for Android

RELATED STORIES

Original Angry Birds for Android and iOS updated with 30 new levels (video)

The original Angry Birds game for Android and iOS received a major update today with 30 brand new levels. Developer Rovio has added a new episode inside the game with new puzzles, bringing the total number of levels to 495. The new episode, titled “Short Fuse,” takes place in a subterranean pig laboratory. In addition to new levels, Short Fuse introduces a new shock bomb bird who deals explosive electrical damage to an area.

Here’s the complete changelog:

  • NEW SHOCK WAVE POWER FOR BOMB! In the new levels, Bomb creates a powerful circle of electricity and unleashes an almighty blast!
  • NEW LEVELS! 30 brand new levels of explosive fun! Enter the lab to pop those pesky piggy scientists!
  • NEW POWERFUL POTIONS! Experiment with three powerful piggy potions to make those green snout-nosed creatures look even stranger than normal!


Angry Birds has certainly come a long way with new games like Angry Birds Go! (coming December 11th) and Bad Piggies. Still, the core gameplay in Angry Birds remains compelling to this day and the new levels should satisfy fans.

Download Angry Birds for Android and iOS

RELATED STORIES