Android – Iphone – Applications

While not a burden for some, there are many iPhone users out there that are stuck using the minimum 200MB data plan. Keeping track of your data usage is a bit of a hassle, but like everything else in life, there’s an app for that.

DataMan uses the built in data usage meter to easily tell you how much data you are using, whether it be with 3G or WiFi. Because it runs in the background, it can also inform you of when you get to certain data use thresholds (i.e. 50% data used, etc.). All you have to do to get the app working is to set up what day of the month your data usage starts and let it run.

The last feature, which is probably the neatest feature of all, is also the one that will irk many users. As you are using data, the app geotags your location so that you can see the places that you are online the most. Seeing your data use on a map is quite neat (although not all that useful), but it requires your location services to always be on. If you don’t like the feature, you’re out of luck because the geotagging isn’t an option that you can just turn off. Talk about a serious battery drain. On a device that already isn’t known for wonderful battery life, having something like a data tracker killing X% just by existing is a major bummer.

For a user who is perilously close to running out of data every month, an app like DataMan is an invaluable resource. With the inability to turn off location services though, you’ll have to be willing to sacrifice a bunch of battery life for the service to work.

[ DataMan Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by tmunzke \\ tags: background, data, data tracking, dataman, finance, Iphone, iphone apps and games, location, online-the-most, overall-rating, review, uses-the-built

Justin Timberlake, star of The Social Network movie and pop sensation was on Jimmy Fallon’s show this past week. Fallon and Timberlake decided to perform a rap song medley. The clip instantly went viral and spread across the Internet at a rapid pace.

The Roots performed the background music and some of the songs that were performed include:

- Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight
- Run DMC – Peter Piper
- Beastie Boys – Paul Revere
- Digital Underground – Humpty Dance
- 2Pac – California Love
- Eminem – My Name Is
- TI Featuring Rihanna – Live Your Life

[PopCrunch]

written by j4352 \\ tags: background, california, delight, eminem, humpty-dance, life, peter-piper, pop-sensation, shot-2010-10-02, social, social-network, songs, sugarhill-gang, the roots

Binaural beat apps are a dime a dozen in the App Store, but most of them will drive even the most patient appsters nuts with their obnoxious sounds. I like the idea of binaural apps, but listening to weird nature sounds with beats in the background isn’t my idea of having fun.

Ubrain changes the way the binaural app works by overlaying the desired beats over your own music. Before you start your session, you answer a short questionnaire, with questions like “What are you doing?” and “How would you like to feel?”. After you finish, you can start your music, which sounds exactly like your music is supposed to sound.

I didn’t really hear a difference until I put on a podcast just to see if anything was really added. After throwing on some Radiolab, I heard some noticeable weirdness to the track. It didn’t sound like a beat was playing, but there was a weird, persistent static to Jad Abumrad’s otherwise smooth voice. Binaural podcasting is obviously not the intended way to use Ubrain, but perhaps it still works.

Whether or not binaural audio really does anything, it is definitely fun to toy with. If you can convince yourself that some odd beats will change your mood, perhaps it really will.

“We all know that music affects your mood,” said Paul van Dyk, the globally acclaimed Grammy nominated DJ and audio architect, after trying Ubrain. “Binaural beats can boost these effects and increase your energy level, help to focus, or calm you down to relax, and I experienced this firsthand while using Ubrain.”

$4.99

Ubrain

+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-09-15 :: Category: Music

[ Ubrain Adds Binaural Beats To Your Tunes is a post from 148Apps ]

written by nhiepphong \\ tags: background, binaural-beats, energy, even-the-most, like-the-idea, music, nominated, their-obnoxious, ubrain, whether-or-not

Twitter launched a new user interface earlier this week and to help promote it, they created a video advertisement. The advertisement has a creative story and a calming soon in the background. Best of all, it was created in house without the help of a big advertising agency and costed less than $3,000. The video surpassed 1 million views on YouTube on the first day. The 2 minute ad follows the life of a Twitter user as he prepares for a romantic date.

The ad is actually based on the life of Twitter design researcher Mark Trammell. Trammell said he used to Twitter to find out what kind of wine and book to bring o the first date. The two also ended up stargazing, just like in the video too.

“In studying how people who are new to Twitter learn how to Twitter, the folks that get the most out of it are those who go into ‘discovery mode’ early on,” stated Trammell. “We think Twitter is the best way to discover what’s new in your world.”

Check out the video ad below:

[Fast Company]

written by tanloc2t \\ tags: actually-based, Application, background, creative-story, discovery-mode, life, param-name, twitter

Weezer and the Gregory brothers have teamed up for the latest episode of Auto-Tune The News. The Gregory brothers recently created a best-selling hit called The Bed Intruder song. The latest episode has the Weezer song “Memories” in the background. Check out the video below:

written by husain \\ tags: auto-tune the news, background, gregory brothers, hit-called, intruder, param-name, shot-2010-09-14, video, video-below, weezer