Qik, Inc

SocialCam: This app offers you an easy way to share videos with your friends. With the app, you can record, tag and share your videos in addition to browsing, liking and commenting on those belonging to friends. Kazaa: Instead of launching in the official app stores, Kazaa made its music subscription service available on mobile via www.kazaa.com. The decision was made primarily to thumb its nose at Apple, because of the company's "recent announcement that it will now keep 30% of revenue generated by new subscriptions and media purchases," says Zazaa. Color: At launch, this location-based photo sharing app was widely denounced by reviewers who weren't pleased with the user experience (but who were likely just expecting more given the outrageous $41 million in funding its creators received). Curious what all the fuss was about? Color is free for iPhone and Android. (Our coverage) QuickCam: A seriously fast iPhone camera app is perfect for taking photos quicker and allows for fast switching between photo and video mode. You can even hold the button for rapid-fire photos or take stills while shooting video. (Note to parents with small, wiggly children: it's a must!) Qik Video Connect: Post-Skype acquisition, Qik launched a new iPhone app that offers video calling, video messaging and video sharing. A Plus version for $2.99 offers more features including real-time effects, video editing and HD support. Vimeo: The popular video-sharing website now has its own iPhone app - and it doesn't just let you watch videos, it lets you edit and share them too. Take that, YouTube! (Our coverage) Last Night Never Happened: This awesome app lets you automatically delete the (drunken, embarrassing) social networking posts you made during your lapse in judgement. Supports Facebook and Twitter, and allows you to remove posts, photos, comments, tweets and direct messages. Genius. Addieu: This app lets you connect with new friends on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare in addition to adding them to your Contacts app list. Maybe this should have been in the SXSW section below, but it's actually handy long after the SXSW party week ended. Follows: Obsessed with your stats? Follows tracks data related to your social networking profiles on services like Twitter, Facebook, Feedburner, MySpace, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn. With this app, you can easily see your follower count, reader count, friend count and more. TechDygest: An intelligent aggregator providing relevant news, summarized for quick reading. There are Read More

Browsing the App Store this weekend?  If so, here are fifteen applications released recently.  Enjoy! A high quality video conferencing application providing chat over Wi-Fi and 3G, complete with sharing tools, special effects and editing tools.  $2.99/£1.79. ESPN’s official Formula One app has been updated for the slightly delayed 2011 season.  Free. A client for the cloud storage site Wuala, with secure file encryption, syncing with your desktop and the cloud, plus sharing, saving and browsing functions.  Free. A vertical shoot ‘em up based around the Helvetica font and it’s as crazy as it sounds!  There are 13 levels each with a end-of-level boss, plus 12 weapon upgrades and power-ups too.  $1.99/£1.19. Shhh, don’t say it!  Operation Wow isn’t anything like Operation Wolf, the old arcade classic, at all.  Nope, you don’t shoot nasties across a scrolling field through a variety of military missions.  Also available for the iPad.  $1.99/£1.19. A bit like Tiny Wings, but with snow, skis and a penguin.  The app is free but you’ll have to pay the in-app charge for extra levels and functionality.  Free. Described as a 24-hour music generator, you use the interactive controls to create an ambient soundtrack.  You’ll have to be a fan for this price though!  $8.99/£5.49. A 2D tower defense game with more than 30 levels and 28 different pets.  $2.99/£1.79. An advanced timer app for the iPhone, with plenty of different skins to choose from.  Features include analog/digital clock styles, moon phaes, alarms and timer.  $1.99/£1.19. An iPad Internet radio app in the style of an 80s tapedeck, with the ability to record songs on to your own virtual mixtape!  $1.99/£1.19. A Boggle style spelling game with several game modes, power-ups hidden in letters and Game Center support.  Currently 50% off.  $0.99/£0.59. The latest time management game from G5 Entertainment takes place in a zoo, with 39 levels, 11 animals and several mini-games.  $2.99/£1.79. A fiendish alarm clock that makes you play a series of challenging games before letting you turn the alarm off!  Updated to v1.2 and made free until the 20th March.  Free. The Rainbow Six first-person-shooter makes it to the iPhone, with 11 missions and a multi-player co-op mode.  $6.99/£3.99. An unusual looking arcade game where you must fend off some invading aliens.  The graphics look great and there is Game Center support.  $0.99/£0.59. Read More

The popular option for video chat on Android handsets is now available and better than ever on the iPhone. Today, Qik officially launched its Qik Video Connect app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad 2 (although it isn’t completely optimized for the iPad). Qik Video Connect offers two-way video calls and also lets you record video mail. Qik’s live broadcasting feature lets you post a live link to Facebook and Twitter, so friends can watch in real time as well… The app includes all the basic features, such as, video chatting/streaming over 3G, 4G, or WiFi, in addition to recording in High-Definition (HD) video quality. A new feature in the app includes the ability to leave a video voicemail. Users will be able to send or share video voicemail via text, email, Facebook and Twitter, to non-quick users as well. The “plus” version of the app is available in the App Store for $2.99. The “plus” version includes seven real-time effects and filters, video editing tools, and support for high-def video. There will also be a free version of the app that excludes the effects for video chat, video editing, and HD recording. The free version is pending approval and will be available soon. If you’ve purchased the app, do let us know your thoughts in the comments! Read More

Der VoIP-Service Skype verleibt sich zu einem vermuteten Verkaufspreis von $100 bis $150 US-Millionen den Video-Streaming-Dienstleister Qik ein. Das US-Unternehmen besteht seit 2006 und zählt 60 Angestellte. Der Preis für die Akquisition ist bislang unbestätigt. Zwei Quellen trugen Business Insider die Übernahme jedoch vor der offiziellen Bestätigung zu und lieferten diese Zahlen mit, was der Mutmaßung zumindest Nachdruck verleiht. Der Video-Streaming-Service gab den Startschuss zu einer öffentlichen Beta-Anmeldung im Jahr 2008 und erfuhr insbesondere durch mobile Geräte ein enormes Wachstum. Vor der Veröffentlichung des Apple App Stores verbreitete der Hersteller seine Software kostenfrei für Jailbreak-Geräte. Qik durcherlebte eine komplexe iOS-Geschichte, bei der zuerst kein Videosignal der iPhone-Kamera entnommen werden durfte. Im zweiten Schritt gestattet Apple kein unmittelbares Live-Streaming sondern lediglich den nachträglichen Upload. Mittlerweile besteht mit ‘Qik Video Camera Pro‘ (2.39 €; App Store-Link) eine kostenpflichtige Anwendung, die Live und über UMTS ein Videosignal ins Internet spielt. Nach eigenen Angaben besitzt Qik fünf Millionen registrierte Benutzer. Im vergangenen Januar sollen es lediglich 600.000 Personen gewesen sein. Die automatische Vorinstallation auf Mobilfunkgeräten von Spring, T-Mobile, Nokia und Samsung trugen ihren (Groß-)Teil zum enormen Wachstum bei. Qik ist neben seiner iOS-Fassung außerdem noch mit Versionen auf allen anderen gängigen Smartphone-Betriebssystemen wie Android, Symbian, BlackBerry OS und Windows Mobile vertreten. Skype, weltgrößter Telefonanbieter, veranstaltete in den vergangenen Minuten seine Pressekonferenz anlässlich der CES in Las Vegas. Nach eigenen Angaben zeichnet sich die im Jahr 2003 gegründete Firma für 25-Prozent der internationalen Telefon-Minuten verantwortlich. In den Jahren 2009 waren es noch 12-Prozent; im Jahr 2008 lediglich 8-Prozent. Täglich sollen 520 Millionen Gesprächs-Minuten vermittelt werden. Für Video-Gruppengespräche, bei denen bis zu 10 Personen anwesend sind, führt Skype ab dem heutigen Tagen einen Monatspreis von $8.99 US-Dollar ein, den jedoch lediglich ein einziger Teilnehmer für die Konferenzschaltung entrichten muss. Die jüngste Aktualisierung der Skype-Anwendung für das iPhone verzeichnete 4 Millionen Downloads sowie eine Million Video-Gespräche innerhalb der ersten 24 Stunden. Read More

Eccoci con un nuovo appuntamento dell’, la nostra rubrica in cui vi elenchiamo le migliori applicazioni dell’AppStore che vengono scontate per un periodo di tempo limitato. Nella nostra rubrica includiamo le offerte dei siti: Great App A Day, Free App A Day ed OpenFeint! E’ possibile che nel corso della giornata vengano aggiunti nuovi titoli per cui cliccate sul pulsante Google qui sotto per aggiungerci ai Feed RSS e seguire le evoluzioni. . Avete mai provato a giocare a Twister? Twister era un gioco che andava molto tempo fà in cui dovevate appoggiare mani e piedi a dei colori posti su un tappeto in una precisa sequenza senza sbagliare. Il tutto portava, se giocato in più persone, ad un incrocio continuo di braccia e gambe che aumentava il divertimento. Ora questo gioco arriva anche su iPhone; In twistbuster il concetto è lo stesso, solo che anzichè incrociare gambe e mani incrocerete le dita!. Passa da 0,79€ a Gratis. [Link iTunes] . Con Data Guardian potrete archiviare tutti i dati che vi interessano: lista della spesa, dati personali e quant’altro saranno ben organizzati in spazi divisi. Passa da 0,79€ a Gratis. [Link iTunes] . Button Factory è un’ applicazione che contiene più di 150 suoni diversi per ogni occasione.  Passa da 0,79€ a Gratis. [Link iTunes] . Un RPG con tanti oggetti magici e fantasiosi in cui dovrete completare alcuni minigiochi in stile Final Fantasy. Passa da 2,39€ a 0,79€. [Link iTunes] . Questa fantastica applicazione raccoglie alcune utility per la connettività bluetooth. Con Bluetooth Mania infatti potrete scambiarvi contatti o foto, parlare in stile walkie talkie, chattare e tanto altro! Il tutto via Bluetooth e tra 2 iPhone!. Passa da 0,79€ a Gratis. [Link iTunes] . . Una fantastica applicazione musicale che integra molte radio in streaming da ascoltare tramite wi-fi. La particolarità di questa applicazione è anche quella di contenere molti loop ed effetti come Deelay o Echo. Passa da 3,49€ a 1,59€. [Link iTunes] . Un bellissimo giochino con grafica in stile cartone animato in cui dovremo comandare un ninja e farlo combattere contro i vari nemici che arriveranno. Passa da 1,59€ a 0,79€. [Link iTunes] . Difendete il vostro castello a colpi di arco e frecce e impedite al nemico di scavalcare i vostri cancelli! Tutto questo è DayDefense, un simpatico giochino con grafica “Stick” (stick indica quei giochi in cui i personaggi sono disegnati in modo molto Read More

I happened to buy my iPhone 3G a couple of weeks before the 3GS was launched. Now, with the iPhone 4 on the market, and just a little after a year of buying it, my 3G is already two generations old. So embarrasing. I upgraded my iOS to 4.0 for a couple of days, but that made my iPhone 3G frustratingly slow. So I moved back to 3.1.3. The feeling of being obsolete is quietly developing. The newest release of Twitter for iPhone (the official app) doesn’t work on my iPhone anymore. What their site says about this situation is pretty much “we know it crashes, we are working on it”. But I really think that as soon as I close my browser, they laugh at us 3.1.3 users. Thank God we still have Osfoora. (Update: Twitter for iPhone 3.0.3 is out and fully working on 3.1.3… if only I had something interesting to tweet). Qik, my first choice for videorecording, doesn’t work either. They throw an upfront “sorry, no Qik for you”. At least they don’t give us fake hopes. How long do you think we can survive? Should we move on to 4.0? Is the 3G on its way to extinction? Read More

Posted 07/14/2010 at 11:10am | by J.R. Bookwalter There’s no doubt that Apple’s new iPhone 4-only FaceTime feature is great, and the company is letting everyone know about it with an avalanche of new television commercials. But whether you’re stuck on an older iPhone or you don’t have any iPhone 4-toting friends to video chat with, there are thankfully some free App Store alternatives to FaceTime--if you know where to look. Oh, and did we mention these are all free? fring The app that most closely resembles the functionality of FaceTime is fring. Developer fringland Ltd. was the first to bring one-way video calls to the iPhone in a previous version, allowing at least computer users with webcams to be seen on the handset. Thanks to an update last week, free two-way video calls have now been added to the mix, and they actually one-up FaceTime by allowing such calls over both Wi-Fi as well as 3G. Of course, you’ll need an iPhone 4 to take advantage of that two-way calling, but it also works between the new handset and an older iPhone -- thanks to the front-facing camera, they can see you, but you won’t be able to see them. There’s also an Android version of fring, which means two-way calling works between platforms--say, for instance, between an iPhone 4 and an HTC EVO 4G, which both have the required front camera. fring operates as its own chat and video calling service, but also includes chat-only IM capabilities for AIM, MSN Messenger, GoogleTalk, ICQ and Yahoo as well as social connections with Twitter and Facebook. SIP calls are also supported through a number of different services, including the popular Gizmo, as well as Sipnet, VoipCheap, VoipBuster and others. Previously, both chat and video calls had also been possible with Skype, but the developer has had to remove the service from its add-on offerings (for now) over a terms of use dispute with the VoIP giant (fringland Ltd. claims Skype has blocked them with a legal threat, but Skype counters that fringland pulled their service voluntarily). That said, does fring actually deliver what it promises? Sort of. We used our iPhone 4 to call an iPhone 3GS and the results over both Wi-Fi and 3G were choppy and certainly not FaceTime quality. For now, however, it’s the only true FaceTime alternative--video calling is buggy, but functional. On the first few calls, Read More

Qik Video Camera Pro es una estupenda aplicación de la que ya os hemos hablado alguna vez. Con ella podréis grabar video con distintos efectos y temas bastante vistosos, pero no sólo en la versión 3G y 3Gs del iPhone, sino tambien en la versión original con una de las mejores tasas de framerates por segundo. Además podremos subirlos cómodamente a Twitter, YouTube o Facebook en sólo unos pasos. Pues bien, esta estupenda aplicación esta disponible de forma gratuita en la AppStore. Teneis que daros prisa porque la promoción termina hoy domingo, así que ¡corred y aprovechad la oferta! Precio: Gratis sólo hoy Read More

The freebies just keep on coming. Today you get to add to your stockpile of quality free iPhone and iPod touch apps thanks to a some random finds and some good recommendations by our frugal readers. ($1.99 -> Free): The video camera app for any iPhone owner. Qik Video Camera Pro allows you to record video, add effects, share your video via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SMS, email, or upload it to qik.com, and even overlay pictures. iPhone 3GS users may not find this one as useful as every other iPhone user since the 3GS’ native camera app has a higher resolution, but you can still use it to upload videos. Qik Video Camera Pro will be available for free through the weekend. ($4.99 -> Free): Another laserdisc classic redone for the iPhone and iPod touch. This 1984 fan favorite allows you to pilot the world’s most advanced helicopter, the LX-3 Super Cobra, as you attempt to take down your foes by moving a crosshair around the screen and firing at will. At times you will also be tasked with steering your craft via tilt or touch controls. Cobra Command is available for free today only (4/17/10). ($.99 -> Free): The self-proclaimed “Worst Game Ever” is now available for free. Crap of Defense claims to be just another tower defense game, but features enough graphical style and unique gameplay elements to keep you coming back for more. Gameplay consist of firing a single canon at waves of enemies in order to dispose of a specific number with a limited amount of shots. The game also features loads of campaign levels, different gameplay modes, and difficulty levels to keep you busy. Crap of Defense will be available for free through the weekend. ($.99 -> Free): Dogtown Studios was able to create Project 72 in only 72 hours, but the amount of polish and attention to detail makes it seem like this one was in development for much longer. Gameplay consists of piloting your aircraft via tilt controls through space, which is littered with objects that you must avoid in order to go the furthest distance without running out of fuel. Power-ups are also scattered throughout to aid you in your journey. Project 72 was made available for free sometime yesterday, so it could jump back to its normal price of $.99 at any moment. Feel free to add to our list by leaving Read More

Qik has released a new app for iPhone called Video Camera Pro, which, like its earlier iterations, can stream video from your iPhone’s camera out to the internet, but they’ve added a few new features.  The big one is a variety of camera effects, including the ability to drop in other graphics to your stream, and colour screens, like black and white and sepia. There are social networking options to get your live feed out there through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and e-mail (even for large videos). As an additional perk, you can also pause recording now. Qik has had a rocky ride on iPhone, starting off in the jailbroken Cydia store, then making it into iTunes at the cost of 3G uploading, a situation which was shortly amended. Apparently sometime after that, Qik disappeared from the App Store, but now it’s back with a vengeance. If you had the old version, hang onto it, as it sounds like the newer version doesn’t have the same framerate as before due to some unnamed Apple restrictions. Download links below! [via Qik] – Download Qik Video Camera Pro for iPhone ($1.99) [iTunes Link] Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out. Read More