Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Have You Smelt This Photo?

That perfectly instagrammed slice of luscious blueberry cheesecake together with a freshly brewed coffee is just *bite lip* beyond irresistible! Scroll some more and you’ll find yourself starving. Oh, Food Porn! Knowing how the social media crunches on the internet, images are likely to pop out. There are even mobile accessories that can turn your mobiles into a microscope! How awesome is that? On a lighter note, there are photos that can be a fad for a moment, and there are also those ones that have a lasting impact. But if Food Porn kicks in, you might be tempted to just… drool!

Photography, as vastly known, is the art of practice of taking and processing photographs. This art is being practiced to this day since it’s the best representation of a vivid memory there is. And who couldn’t agree more? Those memories caught on camera never fail to take us back to where the photo was taken—figuratively.

Yet J.A. Gottfried, a neurological psychologist, once said that “memories of images begin to fade days or even hours after viewing, whereas recall of smells remains unimpaired for as much as a year.” An eyebrow strikes up for skepticism? Well, how detailed can you articulate the image of an apple in your head than knowing how it smells? Also, did you know that aromas cannot just elicit memories, but they can also excite our emotions, and diminish stress even?

But in the technological sphere, it’s inarguably noticeable that something smells fishy. Try to sniff this to remember: You need not be nosey, because oPhone device together with the oSnap iPhone app can let you smell that photo of luscious blueberry cheesecake, and oh! The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee!

All foodies rejoice, since professor David Edwards along with a team of students of Harvard University have made food porn more realistic than ever! With the oPhone device and the iPhone app oSnap, you can now send out scented photos of your favorite treats to your close circle!

Here’s how it works: Snap a photo, select from the collection of scent notes on the tagging menu that will appear, and the message termed oNote is all set to be sent! As of the moment, there are eight different scents that can be combined. There’s butter, red wine, cocoa beans, and the list goes on. And it also allows you to create over 300,000 unique aroma combinations to your liking. But it won’t work if the recipient does not have the scent-transmitting machine oPhone.

Sadly, we can’t bite to it just yet, because the oPhone is only available at the Museum of Natural History and Le Laboratoire in Paris. Yet, that doesn’t stop Edward and the oNotes team. They are now on their Indiegogo campaign to raise a support on mass-producing the oPhone. Their goal is to reach up to $150,000.

What is it actually for? Well, imagine you’re in a restaurant. Everything in the menu are flat-out mouth-watering. With everything new to you, you choose… this one? No, this one. It really does look tasty, right? And when it was served, all you did was pick your nose as you swallow it with your eyes shut tight! Hope you just knew how it smells, right? With only just a scent, your olfactory system can help you imagine how good it tastes. And maybe someday, we could actually taste it, eh?

These magical machines can do so much; even quitting a bad habit like smoking with your phone is made possible. Who knows? Maybe one day they could send out real foods! Yu-uhm!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Stay connected, stay in love with Couple App

If you’re looking for a private and intimate way to stay connected with your special someone, then here’s the perfect app for you. Available in iOS and Android platforms, Couple app has more than 2 million downloads. It’s free, it’s private, and it’s fun! It is indeed the best way to share your thoughts and stay in-touch with your better half.

Cross-platform and completely Free
There’s nothing to lose but a lot to gain with Couple. You can download it in your iOS or Android device for free and enjoy the best private messaging experience. After downloading, it will ask for your partner’s email address so when he/she registers, it will be automatically redirected to you.

  

Your moments kept safe
Whenever you share photos and videos, these treasured moments will be neatly organized in one place. It will also take note of all important dates—i.e. anniversary date and couples’ birthdays, making sure you’ll never forget to drop by the mall to buy him/her something. Speaking of gifts, Sneaker apps are also trending nowadays which can help you pick matching sneakers for you two—now that’s effort.


Stay away intruders!
Your private messages, photos and videos will stay private with Couple’s passcode feature. Get peace of mind even if you forgot your phone at home or at your desk while in a meeting. The app will prompt a notification requiring your 4-character password when you click the icon after minimizing it. Rest assured your partner’s sweet woos will be for your eyes only.

Thumbkiss ™
This feature may not replace the actual kiss but—heck! it’s better than nothing. It works by inviting your special someone to Thumbkiss ™ then when both of you are live, just touch the same spot on your screens then your phones will simultaneously vibrate. What a romantic gesture made possible by Couple.



Sketch
There are times when moments are best described through a personal sketch. Get your girlfriend all giggly and blushing by drawing her cute and colourful flowers or send your boyfriend a finger-drawn smiley to cheer him up for the day. Personal touches are best appreciated.






Real time messaging
See your partner’s activity or location real-time with Couple. Whether your special someone minimized the app or is online, whether he/she is taking photos or typing, at home or at your favourite restaurant—all these you’ll know at a glance.



Secret photos
One of the fun features of Couple. This lets you customise your photos by locking or unlocking them. Other options include viewing the photo just once or adding a fixed time before it disappears. A really fun way to send embarrassing photos to your special someone!


Couple app and couple case
To add more romance to your relationship, why not buy a cool protective case for his/her smartphone? There are really trendy couple cases which are sold online today especially the ones sold by E_cell. And if you want to get extreme, there’s this really unique case called Dokkiri Hand Case featuring a severed hand design you can hold while calling or texting.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

LG G3 versus Apple iPhone 5S

LG, a South Korean mobile giant, is coming with a stronger and bigger flagship of smartphone this 2014 in the name of LG G3, the upgraded brother of LG G2. However, Apple - another mobile phone manufacturer global giant is still sailing smoothly in the sea of smartphones with its Apple iPhone 5S.
Apple iPhone 5S is getting a year older this year, while LG G3 is still fresh in the market. While it is true that LG G3 is newer and younger, this does not automatically mean that iPhone 5S is already outdated. If you are torn between these two smartphones, here is a treat for you as we get them side by side.

Screen size
LG G3 sports a 5.5” Quad HD display with a 2560 x 1440 pixels. It also has a 538 ppi pixel density. On the other hand, iPhone 5S comes with a smaller screen size of 4” retina display. This is not a bad thing though, especially for people who have trouble grasping a bigger smartphone. iPhone 5S comes with a lower ppi of 326 and a 640 x 1136 pixels. Undoubtedly, iPhone 5s looks inferior in both screen quality and size next to LG G3.

Design
The iPhone 5S still remains at the apex of precision and metal engineering, it is one of those smartphones that feel incredibly premium and class in your hands. It sports an aluminium unibody. It is also incredibly lighter and thinner. It is also available in three classic colors – Space Gray, Gold, and Silver.
LG G3 also looks premium with its metal-effect skin. It is not actually metal, though. The rear cover is also removable. It is understood that it is heavier compared to iPhone 5S due to its enormous size. It also includes very tiny bezels and also comes in many colors - Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet, Burgundy Red.

Camera
LG G3 boasts its 13MP rear camera powered with a Laser Auto Focus, which measures the distance of the subject using laser technology. This improves focus speed and object detection even in a low-light environment. It also comes with a Dual-LED flash. Its 2MP front camera is also great for selfies.
The Apple iPhone 5S sports an 8MP iSight camera with True Tone flash and dual. It also claims to have larger pixels and larger aperture, which are needed to get in more light. It also comes with the famous panorama mode and slow-motion video mode. However, if you want external hardware here, you can always improve the photo quality through various detachable camera lenses for iPhones.

Hardware and software
The iPhone 5S is the first 64-bit smartphone in the world, it’s a desktop-class architecture in a super slim iPhone. It can fire apps and allow you to multi-task seamlessly, thanks to its improved A7 chip. The A7 chip improves the CPU and GPU performance. It is coupled with an M7 coprocessor designed to measure motion data. This makes your battery even more efficient. It has 1.3 Dual-Core CPU with 1GB of RAM.
The iPhone 5S comes ready with an iOS 7. This user interface is more fluid, and simplicity is the name of its game. It comes with a reliable feature called Control Center.

LG G3 has its strong hardware and software too. LG G3 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, clocked at 2.5GHz. It has 3GB of RAM for 32GB version, and 2GB for the standard 16GB version. Nominally-wise, the LG G3 is so much better!
LG G3 comes with the latest version of Android OS Kitkat. It is highly-customizable and intuitive.

Other Features
Personally, I am hoping that the iPhone has this Knock On feature to  wake up the phone, so you don’t have to press either the lock/unlock button and home button. Both smartphones have unique security features. The Apple iPhone 5S has its famous Fingerprint scanner while LG G3 has its Knock On code. Both are very efficient in protecting your phone from unwelcome users.

Battery
LG G3 comes with a massive 3,000 Mah battery, but it also comes with a larger screen which can drain the battery rapidly. It supports wireless charging and the battery is removable. The iPhone 5S has non-removable Li-Po 1560 mAh battery which is impressive enough.


Both handsets are great phones, like luxury smartphones with great specs. I also reckon they would also adopt new inventions for smartphones. While you are torn between the two, I must say that the choice is still personal. If you want simplicity and more premium fuels, the iPhone is for you, but if you are after a larger screen size and more processing power, definitely go with LG G3.