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This week Dave and Rob bring you their reports from the 2012 IFA Global Press Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia. In addition, we answer more of your tech questions. Call us toll-free 1-800-899-INTO (4686) with any consumer electronics question, opinion, help another listener or tell us what your favorite app is and why. You can also participate via our FREE “Into Tomorrow” App (iOS/Android/Intel AppUp). Thank you for your participation!
Tech News & Commentary
Chris in Columbia, Missouri listens via the iPhone App and asked: “I would like to know if Sprint’s plan for the iPhone, is it really true that it’s unlimited?”
Sprint’s plan seems to be the only truly unlimited one in the market for iPhones. AT&T has limited plans and is supposed to be honoring older customers unlimited plans, but as Chris found out they have a funny definition of what that means.
Verizon simply tells you they will cap you to a set amount of data, they don’t lie about keeping unlimited plans around, but you’re still stuck on a limited plan with them.
Even if you bought an unlocked phone and decided to go with another carrier it’d be hard to find one to get your phone on. T-Mobile offers some unlimited plans, but they’re throttled, the rest will likely not activate an iPhone at all.
Sprint says on their website “No throttling. No metering. No overages.” And, it seems to be true, so they’re probably your only option left for truly unlimited data.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer
Reports Feature with Terry Sullivan
Many of the latest smart phones are boasting improvements like bigger and better screens, more sophisticated cameras and processors, but not very many breakthroughs in voice quality. Consumer Reports Senior Editor Mike Gikas takes a close look at Sprint’s new HD Voice.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they
have been playing with recently.
For Android:
• Mark recommends: Air Attack HD, FREE/$2.99
“We’re doing a little INTO GAMING this week for our app find. Air Attack HD is a “3D” (or so they call it anyway, and it DOES do a decent job of showing you perspective), anyway, a 3D scrolling shooter which will remind you a LOT of the famous space arcade shooters Galaxian and Galaga. Now I loved those games, so Air Attack HD was a natural fit for me. Graphics are excellent, the music is terrific, and the sound effects are not bad. This is a very enjoyable, easy to play, timewaster for your Android devices (it also exists for iDevices). You can get an ad supported Part 1 for free, then buy Part 2 for $1.99, or you can buy the Air Attack HD bundle for $2.99 and get both parts without ads. I had a blast just playing the freebie Part 1, but this game is definitely worth a few bucks, as it will give you hours of fun. If you want a real blast, change the controls from touch to tilt and see what THAT’S like. Air Attack HD, or the Part 1/ Part 2 duo are all available in the Google Play Store.” — Mark
For iOS:
• Rob recommends: Filter Mania, FREE
“On our recent trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, both Dave and I realized we’re Instagram Addicts. However, Dave’s not a fan of filters like me. I started using an app called Filter Mania, that I’m a huge fan of now. There are a ton of filters to play around with and enhance your pictures. The app was recently updated and now you can download more filters from their database for free. What makes this app even better is that you can layer several filters over each other and create unique images. And, you can continue editing the picture even after you saved a previous editing session. My favorite filters are Sunburst and Water. The sunburst gives it a beachy color, while the water adds a “splash of water” effect. One of my favorite creations so far is a picture of a bucket of ice I took during our last supper in Dubrovnik. Check out the before and after …”
Before
After (Sunburst + Water Filters combined)
• Listener Tom Recommends: PodPlayer, $0.99.
“Takes all your podcasts an puts them into a playlist. Speaks the time, custom sleep timer and my fave part is the custom setting to skip forward or reverse. Very good when you want to skip parts of a broadcasts or replay it. Has many other custom settings to use.”
What are your favorite apps?Let us know!
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Guest in this hour:
Michael Zöller, European Marketing Director TV/AV – Samsung
Learn about Samsung’s latest line of Smart TVs, including features like voice and gesture control.
Scott in Gonzales, Louisiana listening on WBRP 107.3 FM asked: “I’m switching from iPhone 4S to a Samsung Epic 4G Touch Android. Wondering what would be a good website to learn all of the widgets and everything that go along with Android vs. the iPhone.”
You’re gonna have a hard time finding a website that will tell you how to use every feature of your phone.
Modern smartphones are designed to be simple enough to use that you don’t need a manual, but if you really don’t want to learn by trial and error, what you can do is search YouTube for what you want to learn, if you want to know how to put widgets on your screen search “adding widget to home screen”, you can do that with pretty much any question about using Android you could have.
Or you could just see which widgets come with your phone’s version of Android right out of the box. Just long press on any empty spot on your phone’s desktop, then choose widgets from the pop up menu. Scroll around and pick something. New widgets are available sometimes as just a widget, or sometimes the widgets come with an app. A calendar app, for example, might come with a widget to show you today’s agenda. Or a text messaging app might come with a widget that lets you pre-define text messages to be sent with a single tap. Search for widgets in the Google Play Store and you will find hundreds, if not thousands of choices.
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Martin in Nicholasville, Kentucky asked: “Could you review any good voice command software for a Windows PC?”
If you are running a version of Windows Vista or better there is a built-in voice command software. Which was tested to be pretty accurate, and one of the better features on Windows OS. The software can be used for commands, and voice dictating your words to text on the screen. You can easily access the software for the start menu, and with a good microphone, your computer should have no problems getting used to how you speak.
If that doesn’t fill your needs, then there are a few choices out there for you to selection. However, these voice recognition programs can be a bit pricey. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home 11 is one of the top rated programs out there. Moderately priced just under $100, you’re getting all the features you might need, without breaking the bank. Definitely worth checking out!
For more information, tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Creative: Live! Cam Connect HD — Webcam that records 720p video
Planon System Solutions: A couple of SlimScan SS100 Credit Card Sized Scanners
Scott Steinberg: Copies of his new book “The Modern Parent’s Guide to Kids and Video Games”