The app stores are teeming with new releases, but who has time to go through them all? We do. Bringing you a selection of the most interesting, creative, and innovative apps each week. Submit your suggestions for next week in the comments below.Word Lens [iPhone]
Word Lens, from Quest Visual, has created a huge online buzz with its release of the first real-time text translation app. Using augmented reality, the app instantly translates signs written in a foreign language, reformatting all text that passes before its camera lens. And the best part is, you don’t even have to be connected to the internet or your network to do it. You can download the app for free but that doesn’t include a language, which you’ll need to purchase, but it does include a “reverse words” and “erase words” demo to show off the technology. At the moment, it only does Spanish to English and vice versa, but versions for other languages are in development. There is also an Android version expected to come out next year.CASSIUS – I <3 U SO [iPhone, iPad]This interactive music video app, a collaboration betweenEd Banger records,We Are From LA, and French electro duoCassius, allows you to lip sync in time with their track “I <3 U SO”. To get going you select a suitable mouth, hold it in front of yours andBAM! You’ve got instant pop star cred. If you feel your performance warrants it, you can upload your recorded resultshereto become part of an ongoing crowd-sourced music video. The app’s been out a couple of months now, but that’s no reason why you shouldn’t get involved.Noises Entertainment System [iPhone, iPad]
This is a chiptunes music player from Shaun Inman which allows you to play all your 8-bit faves from the Nintendo Entertainment System, along with contemporary tracks. Fans will rejoice because it plays the original audio NSF and NSFe (NES Sound Format and its extended version) files meaning you get flawless playback. You can also add new music using iTunes File Sharing, and browse by different categories like year, company, artist, album, and song.Strange Rain [iPhone, iPad]A rather beautiful and serene art app fromOpertoonandEric Loyerthat transforms your screen into a skylight on a rainy day. You can shift perspective on your rectangle of sky by tilting your device, and use touch control to direct the raindrops as they splash and plop onto you. The app has three modes: “wordless” which lets you simply enjoy the falling rain, “whispers” which causes some raindrops to form into words when they fall, and “story” where a thought from an unseen character materializes when you touch the screen, forming a story where you decide the outcome. If nothing else, it turns what’s usually quite miserable, rain and grey skies, into something ethereal and almost transcendental.
Word Lens, from Quest Visual, has created a huge online buzz with its release of the first real-time text translation app. Using augmented reality, the app instantly translates signs written in a foreign language, reformatting all text that passes before its camera lens. And the best part is, you don’t even have to be connected to the internet or your network to do it. You can download the app for free but that doesn’t include a language, which you’ll need to purchase, but it does include a “reverse words” and “erase words” demo to show off the technology. At the moment, it only does Spanish to English and vice versa, but versions for other languages are in development. There is also an Android version expected to come out next year.
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This is a chiptunes music player from Shaun Inman which allows you to play all your 8-bit faves from the Nintendo Entertainment System, along with contemporary tracks. Fans will rejoice because it plays the original audio NSF and NSFe (NES Sound Format and its extended version) files meaning you get flawless playback. You can also add new music using iTunes File Sharing, and browse by different categories like year, company, artist, album, and song.Strange Rain [iPhone, iPad]A rather beautiful and serene art app fromOpertoonandEric Loyerthat transforms your screen into a skylight on a rainy day. You can shift perspective on your rectangle of sky by tilting your device, and use touch control to direct the raindrops as they splash and plop onto you. The app has three modes: “wordless” which lets you simply enjoy the falling rain, “whispers” which causes some raindrops to form into words when they fall, and “story” where a thought from an unseen character materializes when you touch the screen, forming a story where you decide the outcome. If nothing else, it turns what’s usually quite miserable, rain and grey skies, into something ethereal and almost transcendental.