Moore In The Morning has taken the day off for Family Day, but I thought, hey, there’s was no stopping me from posting new reviews online. So from the new releases this week we have a very easy way to share files from phone to phone, a slick trick to create moving images, and the ultimate bride’s guide from Vera Wang.
Bump 3.0
Free
Bump lets you share content from one phone to another through the magic of the “fist bump”, that greeting favoured by baseball players where they make fists and touch knuckles in celebration. As long as you and a friend have the Bump app running and you “fist bump” while holding your phones, an automatic wireless transfer is connected between the two. The phones don’t have to touch each other, just your knuckles is fine. There’s no scanning, no passwords, and no profiles. It happens in an instant.
The original idea for Bump when it came out in 2009 was to offer an easy way to transfer digital business cards, but with Version 3.0 you can also transfer photos and use Bump to compare each others contacts and social network profiles in order to discover mutual friends.
There’s a new menu system and simplified controls that make the process a friendly one and less tied to the business world. Once you’ve “fist bumped” with another person’s phone that connection can also be used to create an instant chat session. You meet someone at a party or an event only to become separated by the crowd, Bump makes it easy to reconnect with them without the mess of remembering digits or e-mail addresses. It’s sounds like a silly novelty, but very simply, it works.
Cinemagram
$1.99
You know those creepy portraits in classic horror movies? The paintings that seem normal until you look away and then suddenly they move, breaking into a sinister smile or follow you around with their eyes? Cinemagram lets you create pictures that do just that, except they don’t have to be creepy, they can be whimsical, artistic, or even poetic. It’s up to you.
The way it works is that you record a short video clip using the camera in your phone. A single frame from that video is used to create a still photograph. You then pick a part of the picture that you’d like to have come alive, It can be a flag on a building or say, someone’s eye, and select it by drawing over it with your finger. Cinemagram then cuts that part of the still photo out and replaces it with the matching section of the original video. The eerie results will make your head spin.
Here's my own "Mad Scientist" Cinemagram experiment
Cinegram offers the art of the double-take, pictures that force you to question your eyes and look twice. Part of the fun is in sharing the images to get a reaction. You don’t need to buy the app if you’re simply curious, there’s a growing collection of Cinemagram images online you can view for free at http://cinemagram.tumblr.com
Vera Wang On Weddings
Free
In this free wedding planner couture gown designer Vera Wang takes you by the hand through the many steps in preparing a wedding. Once you enter the proposed date for your big day, the app generates an itinerary and calendar populated with entries for all the important tasks, from choosing a venue and searching for a dress, to finalizing the guest list and renewing your passport.
There are detailed guides filled with articles, photos, and glossaries for all the main elements – dresses, cakes, flowers, and gift registries. Wang takes you through the different components and styles of wedding dresses, the questions you should ask prospective caterers, and the alternative choices of bouquets. These are among hundreds of small, but important bits of advice.
Look books and slideshows give you a wealth of photos to explore different styles while an interactive “inspiration board” lets you scrapbook content from the web into one organized view for reference. A virtual contacts list lets you assemble both prospective guests and vendors and share buttons make it easy to e-mail content off to friends for a consult.
Yes, the app is also one large catalog for Wang’s bridal products, from rings and dresses to invitation stationary and bedding, but the core planning features overcome this to offer sincere value for brides-to-be.
