In another life, I use to install hotspots for the Northern California Starbucks when ran by T-Mobile. Post-install required mapping out the signal strength of each stores interior as well as exterior. T-Mobile had a threshold it required that installers had to adhere to which sometimes could be difficult to convey on our network maps.

Boy, do I wish I would have NetSpot back then. This application sucks in a map and after just indicating two points of references distance, it scales it for you and your off to your network map. Save the results and you’re done. This thing would have saved me so much time.

Now anyone can map signal strength in there home or business and during the beta, they can do it for free!

From NetSpot
NetSpot (is currently in beta) is a handy utility which allows you visually analyze how exactly your wireless network operates in your office, house, campus, cafe, airport, or actually any building or area.

All you need to do is to load a map of your premise, specify real-life scale, and denote the borders of the survey area. Then you walk or drive the survey area pointing your position on the map and waiting a bit while NetSpot scans radio signals in that place. The more data you collect the more accurate the resulting report will be. Then within a single click you can export the report of your interest into PDF.

Thanks to NetSpot you can easily analyze any existing wireless network: map current Wi-Fi coverage, reveal coverage voids and channel usage, visualize overlapping APs, etc. You can also use NetSpot for Wi-Fi planning, network expansion, signal leakage detection and much more!

NetSpot is completely free while being a beta and we would appreciate an opportunity for it to be covered at your website (you can test NetSpot in your own office:) ). You are welcome to download NetSpot beta from here http://netspotapp.com/download/NetSpot.dmg

NetSpot is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 and higher.

I have been looking for years for that perfect workout companion for my iPhone and have never really found such the thing. That may have changed with the Scosche myTREK. The myTREK, with the free iPhone app, tracks your works outs, heart beats, miles ran, pace, goals, and yes, it plays your music. Scosche also decided we didn’t need a large bulky chest band and put all its tracking hardware into a wrist band instead that relies on Bluetooth to talk to your iPhone or iPod touch during your work out. And, if you’re an insane person and like to push your body, you get five hours of charge time on the myTREK. A common USB port is all you need to rejuice your myTREK.

Yup, I’m on a trek to find a myTREK.

Press Release
Scosche Industries, award-winning innovator of consumer technology, is excited to announce the availability of the highly anticipated Scosche myTREK pulse monitor and app for iPhone and iPod touch. The Scosche myTREK, an International CES Innovations 2011 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree, allows users track their pulse, calories burned, distance, speed, pace, store past workouts and much more.

“At 24 Hour Fitness, we know that fitness tools can be very useful in helping people achieve their goals; whether it’s to lose weight, run a faster marathon or to get healthier,” said Bill Quinn, senior vice president of merchandising, 24 Hour Fitness. “We are excited to be a Scosche launch partner for the new myTREK pulse monitor and offer our members another option to support them with their fitness journey.”

“Scosche has long been the most popular consumer electronics brand sold in 24 Hour Fitness gyms and on their website,” said Kas Alves, Executive Vice President of Scosche Industries. “We were thrilled when they agreed to carry the myTREK pulse monitor in 286 24 Hour Fitness locations across the country.”

After pairing the Scosche myTREK with an iPhone or iPod touch users are prompted to download the free accompanying app. Once the app is downloaded the myTREK is ready to go and users can begin tracking their pulse.
The myTREK utilizes two LEDs combined with a photo sensor to detect minute changes in the user’s blood pressure to accurately measure pulse. A built-in accelerometer allows the myTREK to adjust for movement during exercise from the user’s heartbeat allowing for an extremely accurate measurement of pulse and calories burned.

Users can personalize their workouts by selecting their type of activity, target training zone and type of workout. A male or female voice prompt updates the user’s progress in real time letting them know how close they are to accomplishing their goals or if they have moved outside their desired target heart rate zone.

Work out data is then stored on the device and can be viewed in the app’s calendar to see what days the user worked out and what was accomplished during each individual workout.

The myTREK’s comfortable arm-strap design fits over the muscular portion of the user’s forearm and provides convenient track and volume control. A lithium ion battery provides 5 hours of continuous workout time before the myTREK needs to be charged with the included USB cable. The myTREK ships with small, medium and large sized armbands to ensure the perfect fit.

The Scosche myTREK is available now at Apple retails stores, 24hourfitness.com, 24-Hour Fitness gyms and Scosche.com for $129.99 and is coming to Target, Apple.com and Verizon Wireless stores soon.

So, here we are all happy now that Apple’s Mac OS X update, Lion. Yes, 10.7 has finally arrived. App Store users across the land clicked Install faster than you could say, “Dude, how long is this going to take?” Long? How about how much?

My Lion download was 4.78GB, nearly 5GB in size. That’s massive. I remember installing Windows 3.11 on my PC back in the early 90s from only three floppies. Floppies! Now I’m downloading the equivalent of a DVD movie? Shesh.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I am on a T1 and I can download to my hearts content. But what about all of those on satellite or cellular Internet connections? Granted, I understand they are the minority, but with the fast majority of us becoming accustomed to smartphones and tablets, more and more of us will start relying on mobile Internet. It won’t take long for us to snip our cords like we are doing with cable television and land-line phones.

There is a minority group of users on mobile Internet with caps. The number is not a small number, however. No, that number is a double digit number ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent when compared to wired broadband users. That puts a good chunk of people on limited Internet to upgrade. What will become of them? Is this the beginning of the revolution against these lines in the sand? Will providers make exceptions or become greedy with overage fees?

Apple is pushing the media-less distribution of software and the App Store was the beginning of the end for boxed software. Its release of Final Cut Pro X was the test for Apple to see if it could handle large amount of requests for a big fat download. While the downloads had better success than user feedback concerning the actually software, it didn’t quite push the bandwidth envelope like Lion.

Lion is the king of the jungle and its users will make a roar when Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and the folks at Hughes ding its clients for going over their 3, 5, or 6GB caps. Hughes users actually have it worse with even lower limits.

Apple has commented that users without true broadband or with limits can stop by an Apple Store and log into the free Wi-Fi network to download Lion onto a laptop. I guess if you want to bring your desktop in, you could do that as well. But my problem with this solution is the wait time. Unless Apple has cached the download onto a proxy server, users will be looking at an hour or more for download depending on the amount of users on the network.

I do not see this as a good work around. Truth is, most people who are using a wireless broadband solution are doing so due to their location and the absence of a wired connection such as DSL or cable. In other words, they live out in the boonies. I doubt there’s an Apple Store near by. What once could be ordered from Amazon and delivered in a day or two now has turned into an ordeal for some to get the latest operating system from Apple.

Time will reveal just how bad of a problem this is and I doubt too much noise will be made. However, as Apple continues to push software through the Internet and as mobile connections, such as “4G”, become more common, the natives will become restless. Add in all that streaming from Hulu and Netflix and, ya, things are going to get messy for Verizon, AT&T, and others.

How will Apple respond to this? Time will tell.

Electric Pocket Limited today launched Coverjam for iOS, a first-of-its kind app which automatically taps into the image libraries of Instagram and Flickr to create beautiful multimedia slideshows of each artist as their music is playing. For the first time, music lovers will have more than just cover art to look at while listening to their favorite bands.
Coverjam uses an instantly familiar interface to control users’ music, and automatically retrieves images tagged with the artists’ names from Instagram and Flickr and begins displaying them while the music is playing. Upon its launch, Coverjam loads the user’s music from their iOS device, allows the user to select songs, albums or playlists and then fetches the latest images to display while the song is playing.

“Coverjam is the perfect way for an artist’s fans to see the latest and greatest images of the acts they love,” said Iain Barclay, Electric Pocket’s Chief Product Officer. “Whether it’s the latest tour photos, new photo-shoots, or art created by other fans, the photos in Coverjam are sure to delight the most avid music lovers.”

Coverjam fits in well with user’s current ways of playing music. Users who are already listening to music via the default iPod player can simply launch Coverjam with their music playing and the app will seamlessly load photos for the song being played.
Features of Coverjam Include:
Photo sharing via Facebook, Twitter or email
A fresh slide-set each time the music track advances to the next song
The ability to select music from either the iPod music player or Coverjam
Viewing photos in Safari, with options for learning more about them and seeing other photos by the same photographers
The free version of Coverjam includes advertising and is available for iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and will run in 2x mode on an iPad. Coverjam Pro offers a stunning full-screen experience on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch with no ads for US$0.99.

For more information, visit www.coverjamapp.com.

Coverjam uses the Instagram API and Flickr API but is not endorsed or certified by Instagram or by Flickr.

Following the launch of the major new version of WritePad for iPad last month, PhatWare has released an update of WritePad for iPhone to bring the same powerful features, including synchronization of WritePad documents with Evernote. WritePad is PhatWare’s popular note taking and handwriting recognition software for iPad and iPhone devices.

In addition to Evernote synchronization, WritePad 5 now offers an improved handwriting recognition engine with a letter shape selector, which may reduce the user’s learning curve, and adds the ability to upload WritePad documents to Google Docs and send SMS directly from WritePad.

“WritePad’s text editing apps for iOS provide an intuitive, innovative way to take notes on mobile devices”, said Seth Hitchings, Evernote’s VP of Platform Strategy. “Allowing users to synchronize their notes with Evernote means that notes taken in WritePad become available everywhere, whether it’s across mobile devices or on the desktop. We’re excited to have WritePad join our partner community and provide our users with new ways to capture information.”

WritePad is an advanced note-taker for iOS, which converts practically any handwriting into computer text. Notes created with WritePad can be send via email or SMS, Tweeted, saved, posted on a Facebook Wall, printed, exported as PDF, translated to other languages, synchronized with Dropbox, and exchanged directly between two or more iOS devices. WritePad also features integration with events, contacts, maps, and other iPhone resources.

With WritePad, users can:
· Create and edit text documents using the advanced handwriting recognition engine or iPhone keyboard for text entry in landscape or portrait mode.

· Improve productivity by utilizing inline gestures, spell checker, context analyzer, and shorthand features.

· Improve overall handwriting recognition quality with the Statistical Analyzer by addressing common recognition errors. If this feature is enabled, WritePad will learn the user’s own handwriting style.

· Email, Tweet, SMS, Print, or post Facebook updates directly from WritePad.

· Synchronize WritePad documents with Dropbox, Evernote, and iTunes or upload documents to Google Docs.

· Translate documents to 13 supported languages using Bing Translator.

· Change WritePad’s appearance by manipulating text, page, and ink colors using the customizable Styles feature.

A video demonstration of WritePad is available at http://www.phatware.com/iphone

WritePad Availability and Pricing
WritePad 5 for iPhone for English, French, German, and Spanish languages are available now in the iTunes App Store for $3.99 each. For more information about the WritePad product line, please visit PhatWare’s web site at http://www.phatware.com/writepad

GPS has become a tough market to separate yourself from the competition since Apple introduced applications for its widely successful iPhone platform. NAVIGON has given the traveling public Traffic Live, ZAGAT Survey, and Panorama View 3D in hopes to attract the attention of others. Today, it brings some reality to your screen as in the form of augmented reality. According to NAVIGON, MobileNavigator’s augmented reality on your iPhone, “helps find points of interest close-by, presenting them in an augmented reality view.” In other words, the burger joint will be floating to the left on your screen and the ribs joint on the right in its near vicinity to you. This basically means, POIs (points of interest) are going to stick out like a sore thumb thus finding them easier.

Also added to the 1.8 release will be Safety Cameras or as we like to call them here in the States, easy money for the city.

Get the rest of the deets below.

Press Release
NAVIGON AG, a leading provider of mobile phone on-board navigation, today announced the availability of the eighth update for its iPhone app, MobileNavigator, the most feature-rich navigation solution on the iOS platform. The update adds a Reality Scanner feature that helps finding points of interest close-by, presenting them in an augmented reality view. Version 1.8 also includes safety camera alerts as an In App Purchase, an at-a-glance traffic gage and a new NAVTEQ map. In conjunction with the update launch, MobileNavigator apps and In App Purchase prices will be reduced by up to $15 thru April 28, 2011.

“In its eighth version, MobileNavigator delivered over 30 new features since our launch almost two years ago, helping drivers navigate stress-free through even some of the most challenging situations on the road.” said Gerhard Mayr, vice-president worldwide mobile phone business, NAVIGON. “MobileNavigator not only provides accurate directions but acts as a travel assistant with many industry first features. The new Reality Scanner function provides an innovative way of displaying points of interest close-by. Instead of showing them on the map, the feature projects them onto a real-time camera view.”

MobileNavigator 1.8 New Features:

Reality Scanner is a navigation industry first augmented reality feature for the iOS platform, providing an instant and effortless way of identifying destinations close-by. Users simply point the iPhone in any direction from where they are and instantly points of interest icons appear directly onto a live camera view, indicating the exact position of the location. Pedestrians won’t miss a beat while they are on foot, in a couple of taps destination such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and more are at their fingertips. Reality Scanner provides this information immediately, providing a quick overview of the immediate surroundings.

Safety Cameras alert drivers of upcoming static speed and red light cameras along the route, helping to potentially avoid costly tickets. The feature integrates the database from the industry’s number one safety camera detection company, RoadTraps. This database provides access to over 3900 speed and red light cameras in the US and is regularly updated to ensure the latest cameras are detected. NAVIGON Safety Cameras is available as a single In App Purchase of $4.99.

Traffic Check is an easy to read, at-a-glance gage graphic that appears after route calculation and inform drivers of current traffic conditions. The Traffic gage pop-up informs with a green, yellow, and red meter and disappears within a few seconds, indicating how the traffic situation is on the route ahead. If more detailed traffic coverage and alternate routes are needed for users who are not already using the built-in Traffic Live feature, a direct link to the In App Purchase is provided within the graphic. By tapping the “i”, the meter will flip directly to the apps extra menu where the In App Purchase can be made.

The Latest Maps by the leading map provider NAVTEQ.

Future Version Benefits NAVIGON is currently working on some major additions for MobileNavigator and only those who have this latest version are eligible to take advantage of the benefits in the next version.

MobileNavigator transforms the iPhone and iPad 3G into a comprehensive navigation device, comparable to standalone units. The app helps drivers to arrive stress-free and on time with
spoken directions and a unique combination of advanced driving guidance. Features include lane assistance, traffic rerouting, parking options, safety camera alerts, weather information
and much more. By providing directions even in areas without a cell or wireless signal, and the latest NAVTEQ maps saved on the phone, the app always has you covered. It is the most
feature rich on-board navigation application and a top-grossing app several times in 29 different App Stores around the globe.

Pricing and Availability
NAVIGON’s North American apps and selected In App Purchases are up to $15 off until April 28, 2011. The promotional offerings are below next to the regular prices.

Applications
MobileNavigator North America: $44.99 instead of $59.99
MobileNavigator USA: $34.99 instead of $49.99
MobileNavigator Canada: $34.99 instead of $59.99
MobileNavigator US MyRegion East, Central or West: $24.99 instead of $29.99, additional regions $12.99 instead of $14.99.

In App Purchases
Safety Cameras: $4.99
Traffic Live: $14.99 instead of $19.99
ZAGAT Survey® Ratings and Reviews: $7.99
Panorama View 3D: $9.99

Accessories
NAVIGON Design Car Kit for iPhone: $44.95 instead of $49.95, available at BringMobi.com

MobileNavigator 1.8.0 is compatible with iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. The app also runs on first generation iPhone and iPod Touch, but third party accessories for GPS reception are required for these devices. *iOS multitasking is supported by the iPhone 4 and 3GS only.

For more information, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone.

PhatWare has announced today the release of a new version of PhatPad for iPad, a note-taking and collaboration app featuring PhatWare’s proven handwriting recognition technology. More than just a note-taking app, PhatPad turns an iPad into an advanced brainstorming tool by enabling users to draw, write, and type on the iPad, then instantly share ideas via email, WiFi sync, Dropbox, or with PhatPad’s built-in presentation mode.

PhatPad 1.2 delivers powerful new features to improve note-taking and collaboration on an iPad:

The new Folders feature allows users to organize their documents in the folder hierarchy. The new Document manager UI allows users to create, rename, rearrange using drag and drop, and delete folders and documents. The updated Dropbox synchronization feature supports synchronization of the entire folder hierarchy.
The new File Manager UI allows users to search all PhatPad documents for characters or words.
File sharing feature now allows users to specify the remote access password. If the password is set, it will be required to access PhatPad documents via WiFi. The password is also required when uploading files onto the device.
The new Autoinsert Recognition Results option allows for continuous writing in the Handwriting panel mode. When this option is on, an adjustable marker is displayed on the panel. Starting a new word on the left side of the marker (on top of the previous writing) will send the recognized text into the application and start a new recognition session.
PhatPad now supports background playback and recording for voice notes and the remote control. The remote control can also be used in the Presentation mode while audio is playing.
PhatPad’s included handwriting recognition engine allows users to convert previously recorded handwritten notes into digital text, and edit text using either the handwriting input panel or the keyboard. PhatPad documents can be synchronized with the desktop computer via iTunes or Dropbox, exchanged between two or more devices on the local WiFi network, printed, emailed, or exported to PDF.

Brainstorming and collaborating with team members is simple using PhatPad’s Presentation mode, which allows users to create quick presentations and display them on the iPad screen and external monitor.

A video demonstration of PhatPad is available at http://www.phatware.com/phatpad . PhatPad is available in the iTunes App Store for $7.99. For more information about PhatPad, visit PhatWare’s web site at http://www.phatware.com/phatpad.

Berlin based nova media today announced the immediate availability of FrameLoader in the Mac App Store. FrameLoader synchronises photos, music and movie files on a Mac with digital pictureframes, SD cards and USB memory sticks.

FrameLoader will convert pictures, music and videos automatically into a format which can be displayed by the selected digital Pictureframe. To display media files on a TV or other devices, FrameLoader can synchronise media files with an SD card and USB memory stick.

“Up to now it has been a pain in the neck to copy and convert files every time you want to see them on a digital pictureframe. Using FrameLoader, you simply attach the frame to your Mac and let the software do the rest.”, states Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media.

To select the media contents, FrameLoader displays a list of iPhoto albums and iTunes playlists. They can conviniently be checked or unchecked to be synced. Custom media files can be dragged and dropped into FrameLoader and selected accordingly. A click of the sync button starts the synchronisation process and an activity monitor displays the details of the sychronisation process.

Availability:

FrameLoader is available today at the Mac App Store for US-$ 11.99 (Euro 9.99). The software requires an Intel Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.6.6 or higher. A demoversion of FrameLoader is available at nova media’s website åhttp://www.novamedia.de
.

If you’re looking to make a verbal contract, you may wish to think long and hard about that prior to the agreement as many states do no enforce verbals. But how to make a quick contract – on the spot even – when you need one? Re-Evolve has put together Contracts HD that allows you to create a Non-Disclosure, Non-Compete, General Release, Property Release, Commitment, Model Release, Underage Model Release, Bill of Sale, Resignation, Photo Permission, Blank Contract, Actor Extra Contract, or Rental/Lease Contract right from your iPad. Once your contract is brought up and reviewed by both parties, simply use your finger to endorse it and it’s done! Take a look at the press release below.

Press Release
There’s a common misunderstanding about the term “Verbal Contract” and most people have asked the question, are verbal agreements legally enforceable? The answer is simple, depending on your state and circumstances some are and some aren’t. Obviously not that simple, however, Re-Evolve LLC today introduces Contracts HD, an iPad app with an entirely new approach to simplifying agreements between two parties.

Built specifically to handle the most common types of verbal contracts, Contracts HD allows any iPad user to create, collaborate, sign, and email completed contracts using iPad’s dynamic touch-screen interface. Aside from signing contracts, Contracts HD also provides a database of contract templates for which anyone can add an addendum to all existing contracts, auto-fill appropriate fields within the contract with your exact information, and allows both parties to sign contracts safely and securely by using a fingertip.

“You make a verbal agreement with someone like a friend, neighbor, gym partner or business associate at least once a day,” said Preston Tucker, Business Development Manager of Re-Evolve, LLC. “In most cases the other party holds up to their end of the deal, but sometimes they develop selective memory or an exact detail was heard wrong. Contracts HD can be used to help them recall their agreement.”

Standard Contracts Include:
Non-Disclosure
Non-Compete
General Release
Property Release
Commitment
Model Release
Underage Model Release
Bill of Sale
Resignation
Photo Permission
Blank Contract
Actor Extra Contract
Rental/Lease Contract

Coming Soon:
Promissory Note
Letter of Intent

Contracts HD can be purchased in the App Store (iTunes Link) for $9.99.

About Re-Evolve, LLC.
Re-Evolve was founded in 2010 and is a leading developer in mobile and social apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Web applications. Based in Boca Raton, FL, The company is dedicated to developing innovative iPhone and mobile applications. Contracts HD is the first of many applications the company will be launching over the next year. More information about Contract Apps can be found at www.contractsapp.com.

If Angry Birds has left you feeling like you need a new addiction then take a look at Evil Bricks. A game that reminds me of Minesweeper, Evil Bricks requires you to tap bricks to bring matching colors together to rid the screen of bricks. The above trailer shows you just how easy – and addictive – this game is. Give it a try…and don’t blame us for lost hours of your life.

Press Release
ONDON (March 8, 2011) — Portable Pixels has launched a colorful, fast-paced puzzle game for iPhone. In Evil Bricks, users enjoy a simple-to-learn but difficult to master game of matching colors on a wall of sliding bricks. Players swipe rows of multi-colored bricks to change their positions. When five bricks of the same color are lined up, they explode – but new bricks are spawned, some of which are Evil Bricks which can only be destroyed with a Bomb Brick.

Evil Bricks’ bright, colorful graphics make it engaging to users of all ages with swipe gestures which take full advantage of the iPhone’s touch screen. The game also integrates Apple’s GameCenter, which uses Leaderboards and Achievements.
Features of Evil Bricks include:
· Multiple game modes: Classic, Time Attack and Timed.
· Game Center integration with Leaderboards and Achievements.
· Optimized graphics for iPhone 4.
· The ability to share scores on Facebook and Twitter.

Evil Bricks is available in the App Store for US$.99. It is also available in German and Italian versions. A video demonstration of the game can be viewed at www.evilbricks.com.

About Portable Pixels

Portable Pixels is one of the UK’s leading iPad and iPhone developers with clients including Audi, Wallpaper magazine, Imperial College London and Lord Darzi. For more information, visit www.portablepixels.com.