The techie game was strong yesterday in the realm of outrageous April Fools’ Jokes, proving even developers have a great sense of humor.  We’re actually bummed some of these aren’t real… I mean, a Tinder for Uber drivers?! That’s pure genius! Here’s a look at what else gave our office a case of the giggles.

Groupon offers cat cab services for April Fools’ Day

Also known as Grøüber, this transportation service that lets you order cars driven by cats. The future is meow.

Google introduces dial-up mode that slows down your internet

This exciting slow technology will give you “more time to load the dishwasher and hug your kids!” Dial up and cuddle up, y’all.

The Selfie Shoe: Look, Ma, No Hands!

“With smartphone docking ports on both feet, the selfie shoes offer a glimpse of a terrifying dystopian future that we hope never actually comes to pass.” Start practicing those high kicks, ladies.

Angry Birds releases a farming game named Agri Birds

“Experience a story of love, loss and farming.” AGRI BIRDS. Our interns from UC Davis, the farm of the University of California, are particularly excited for the game.

PlayStation Flow lets you literally dive into your games

“When you get to a swimming environment in your game, simply pause the game… then head to your nearest swimming pool and dive right back into the action.” Who’s ready for an immersive experience?

“Algorithms translate your steps, distance, heart rate, movements, active time, and idle time into roleplaying metaphors to challenge and encourage you.”

ThinkGeek’s EnCounter – Wearable Interactive Quest takes wearables to a whole new level

The tech world is obsessed with wearables, but this EnCounter promises a more fun way to get your walking done. Roll for a crit!

We know these are jokes, but… wow. Some of these April Fool’s jokes might just be crazy enough to work. Be sure to check out the rest of the crazy tech stunts from yesterday.

Did anyone pranksters get you? Share your stories in the comments below!

Jayla Lee is an assistant account coordinator at Appency who loves April 1: Lots of laughs and closer to spring? Count her in.

For the first time, real-time speech-based text scrolling is a reality on mobile devices.

New York, NY, August 14, 2014 — PromptSmart, the new teleprompter app available for iPad and iPhone, launches today as the first voice-guided public speaking aid with VoiceTrackTM proprietary voice recognition technology.

VoiceTrackTM is a breakthrough in mobile voice recognition technology. It seamlessly follows spoken words and pauses during a speech, adjusting the speed of scrolling text in real time based on the speaker’s actual words and pace. Because the speaker is in total control over the scrolling, PromptSmart delivers a more intuitive experience than even traditional teleprompters and needs no speed calibration. Additionally, the voice recognition processing is completed on the device itself, eliminating the need for an internet data connection.

PromptSmart also recognizes that many speakers prefer to use notes to guide their talks rather than full texts. For this style, PromptSmart includes a digital notecard feature which enables users to stay on-point with functionality to create, rearrange, and set optimum viewing parameters for notecards.

Whatever the style of the speaker, PromptSmart delivers professional tools with cutting-edge technology and an easy-to-use interface. PromptSmart is the ultimate presentation companion to de-stress any public speaking occasion in business, at school, on the campaign trail, or anywhere else.

Founder and CEO Eric Sadkin on PromptSmart: “From my time coaching MBA students in public speaking, I saw an opportunity to significantly improve the speaking experience using today’s mobile technology. PromptSmart aims to be the most advanced, accessible speech aid for any speaker.”

Select features of PromptSmart include:

VoiceTrackTM proprietary voice recognition: PromptSmart follows vocal cues, adjusting scroll speed according to the user’s pace and position in the text (no data/internet connection required).

• Easy to use: PromptSmart is ready to go as soon as it’s downloaded; no need to calibrate.
• Place-holding: Go off script? PromptSmart will standby until the speaker returns to the text.
• Customization: Adjust fonts, text sizes, text color, etc. Set timers, scroll speeds, and more.
• Speeches on the go: Download .docx or .txt files from the cloud or email and PromptSmart automatically transforms them into speeches and/or digital notecards.
• Voice recording: Record and practice speeches. Play them back to note improvements.

PromptSmart is available now for a special launch price of $9.99 on the iTunes App Store. For additional information on PromptSmart, visit http://PromptSmart.com, like PromptSmart on Facebook, and follow @PromptSmart on Twitter.

About PromptSmart:
PromptSmart was born out of a passion for public speaking. As a Communications Fellow at Wharton Business School, PromptSmart CEO and Founder Eric Sadkin coached and mentored students in the art of public speaking. Realizing that many orators would be better supported by an intuitive, speaker-controlled teleprompter and a way to digitally create and display notes, Sadkin also recognized that today’s mobile devices could address these needs. With these in mind, PromptSmart was created. For more information, visit PromptSmart.com.

Herzlich Willkommen in Berlin: A phrase mobile app managers, marketers, designers, developers, and enthusiasts will hear as they flock to Europe Mobile App Conference in Germany September 29th through October 1st.

Translation? Welcome to Berlin!

The event will be an all app-talk weekend extravaganza. Germany-based finance and IT consulting company, Díaz & Hilterscheid, will be hosting the conference for the first time. The workshops, keynotes, and networking will take place Dorint Hotel Sanssouci Potsdam in the heart of Germany’s capitol. Specifics on which mobile app community leaders and leading companies are still in the planning, so stay tuned.

Since there is still much to plan, Mobile App Europe invites app leaders with passion and wisdom to pass on to submit a speaking proposal. They also welcome ideas for keynotes and lectures. Proposals can be submitted on the conference website. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 28th. Here’s what’s in store:

“During a series of lectures and keynotes with leading mobile app experts, you will learn about the different principles, models, strategies, methodologies, and best practices. Mobile App Europe will help you to make the world a better place with your perfect apps, ensuring happy customers.” – Díaz & Hilterscheid

Why are we excited for this at Appency?

Besides our crazy obsession with apps, the conference reflects the booming status of the app industry. As we’ve seen in the App Store, the market has become quite competitive, which is great! It gives app users more options and allows those gold-star ideas shine through the saturation. The Europe Mobile App Conference promises to give attendees the tools, networks, and inspiration for a competitive edge. If you’re still on the fence, here are some additional reasons to grab your passport and book your ticket:
• Learn what path the industry is moving towards
• Answer this question: What trends are currently trending?
• Capture the innovation and inspiration in the air
• Finally, a PR Agency’s favorite word – networking!

Sign up for the latest news on lectures, keynotes, and fun details on the conference website, Facebook, and Twitter. App leaders interested in presenting or pledging to sponsor may inquire within the same website. For now, notify your fellow app lovers and the start practicing your most commonly used German phrases in preparation for Europe Mobile App Conference 2014.

http://www.mobileappeurope.com/

Release and Controversy
At WWDC 2012, Apple announced the coming release of iOS 6, the latest software for the iPhone and iPad. Apple boasts that there will be more than 200 updates and improvements over the previous operating system, and have outlined a bevy of new features to be included in the new package.

Among these new features is what Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide marketing, has called a “redesigned app store to allow developers to provide moreinformation about their apps.” Apple has asserted that this release will make it easier for app developers to sell their product within a fair and balanced system.

App developers have retorted that the changes are simply not enough. They criticize thestore design, claiming that is just more of the same. “The top 100 paid apps list is very static and difficult to penetrate even with significant app sales,” says Ben Hamey, co-founder of Bonobo Pte.

Despite what has been said about the app store redesign and the ease with which app developers will be able to sell their product, it is impossible to deny the popularity that this coming update to iOS will have among developers. Currently, 7 out of 10 apps are developed for iOS, as reported by mobile analytics firm Flurry.

New Features
Among the new features included in iOS 6 will be an update to Siri, including newlanguages, the ability to launch apps, and Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp integration. Another key feature will be the new Passbook. Using this feature, a user will be able to keep all their important bits of paper, such as airplane tickets, gift cards, vouchers, and concert tickets, in one consolidated place – right on their Apple mobile device. It is interesting to note, however, that Apple has decided to distance themselves from mobile payment options, a service that Googleand Microsoft have already started exploring.

Yet another important feature will be App Banners on the Safari web browser. This will allow users to have instant access to an app, straight from Safari. With one touch, they can immediately start downloading an app or just jump straight to the app if they already have itinstalled without going through the App Store. App Banners will allow an instantaneous, fluid,and functional switch from web browsing to using an app.

Facebook Integration
The most important new feature may be Facebook integration with iOS devices that will allow instant access to Facebook within web browsers, Siri, and apps. With this addition, users will be able to “like” apps on the app store and purchase apps based on what friends are using. Facebook integration will also exist within an app, so users will be able to share photos, scores,and other bits of information with their Facebook friends. Consider the social media integration incorporated in the previous incarnation of Apple’s iOS. Twitter integration was included with the main apps on iOS 5, and it allowed sharing ofphotos and in-app tweeting. This integration between apps and social media has allowed users toshare something they normally would only be able to experience by themselves with theirfriends, all with just a single sign-in. Twitter integration with iOS 5 meant developers needed tostart thinking about why users would want to share their app with other people.

Now think about the ubiquity of Facebook. Think about the way it fits into our day-to-day lives seamlessly and how it does so without us being consciously aware of it. We post incredibly personal information about ourselves and our day for friends, family, prospective employers, and even the occasional stalker. Facebook integration with iOS 6 creates anopportunity for developers to make apps that are a part of a user’s daily life. Sharing an impressive score from a game, a creative drawing, or a funny photo can become as inconspicuous as posting a status update about a delicious breakfast, a new relationship, or how weird Prometheus was. When an app can be integrated with our lives through Facebook, it becomes far more meaningful. The user doesn’t experience the app simply from the moment it is opened to the moment it is closed. Now the experience exists in a space outside of the app’s original confines, in a social universe that allows it to spread and be shared. If Facebook integration is as significant as one would hope, then iOS 6 may make apps socially relevant like never before.

Prit Patel is a Public Relations intern at Appency with an interest in technology, culture, and viewers like you.

Quizboard – Now Available in the App Store!

Words with Friends meets Trivial Pursuit in this great new trivia game now on iPhone and iPod Touch

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BreathalEYES Measures Blood Alcohol Contenet (BAC) Through iPhone Camera

Using a variety of patent pending image tracking technologies, the BreathalEYES app is able to measure a users Blood Alcohol Content between 0.02 and 0.17%.

Nashville, Tennessee: New Years is here and it would not be surprising if you’ve planned a night out that includes drinking with your friends. Towards the end of the evening, one them wants to drive home, but you’re afraid they might have had too much to drink. What to do? No problem. Just pull out your iPhone & run a quick test with the BreathalEyes app from Xplor Corp.

BreathalEyes looks for the presence of Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) in the eye to determine their approximate Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). Unlike BAC calculators, BreathalEyes can be used at a moment’s notice. And, unlike a breathalyzer, it can be used multiple times in a row without any waiting. Simply frame the user’s eye on the screen and have them look to the side. Tap the screen to begin the test and a few seconds later BreathalEyes will tell you the user’s approximate BAC. (Margin of error +/- 0.02)

Do not be fooled. There are many fake breathalyzer apps available today. Only BreathalEyes uses science to determine real numbers. Check out the video of the tests between BreathalEyes and a police quality breathalyzer on YouTube.

Features:

• Quick accurate BAC results on
• No need for an internet connection to work
• Adjustable light feature for use in low light settings (like a bar, for example.)
• Accurate between BAC 0.02%-0.17%

BreathalEyes is intended for use on intoxicated individuals only, therefore it will not work unless you have been drinking. For best results, make sure that your iPhone’s lens is clean & that the subject has removed all eye ware.  All results are private and no data is ever recorded or retrieved from your phone by BreathalEyes.

BreathalEyes is optimized for the iPhone 4 and higher, and is available worldwide in the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Links:

http://www.breathaleyes.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV_n3xlriU4

App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/breathaleyes-bac-scanner/id477771569?mt=8

About Xplor Corps

Xplor Corps is a new company founded on the simple idea of honest excellence. We want to restore whimsy to the creative process and search for new and meaningful ways to improve form and function. We are explorers at heart, driven by learning and inspiring others to do the same. Our lawyers tell us we have to say BreathalEyes is for entertainment purposes only.  Each person reacts differently to alcohol. The test results are for reference only and may be affected by conditions such as high altitude and interaction with medications. BreathalEyes does not take any legal responsibility.  We would like to add:  please always drink responsibly.

Changing the face of graphic novels and digital publishing, CIA: Operation Ajax launches today for the iPad and will be completely free for the first two weeks, before rising to the full price of $7.99.

San Francisco, CA, November 16^th, 2011 – Cognito Comics didn’t want to simply make another graphic novel.  They wanted to completely change the way people looked at digital publishing, storytelling and the iPad.

“After working in the video game industry for years, I wanted to bridge my love of technology and art to tell meaningful stories,” said Daniel Burwen, Creative Director and Founder of Cognito Comics. “The story of CIA: Operation Ajax is very relevant to our current political landscape and the power of the iPad allows us to weave actual history throughout the medium of the graphic novel.”

The story of CIA: Operation Ajax is based on the 1953 Iranian coup d’etat, during which the CIA and British government overthrew democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah to power. Scripted by Emmy-nominated writer/director Mike de Seve and edited by renowned author and journalist Stephen Kinzer (All The Shah’s Men), CIA: Operation Ajax is a Cold War-era spy thriller powered by The Active Reader platform from Tall Chair, Inc.

Most digital graphic novels are static images like their print counterparts; CIA: Operation Ajax harnesses the power of the iPad to produce a truly dynamic experience.  Built-in newsreels from the time period are scattered throughout the story, as are historical vignettes, character rosters and declassified CIA documents, all presented through an elegant interface.

“Given that we designed CIA: Operation Ajax for the tablet from the ground up, it only made sense for us to look at pricing in the same way,” said Ash Aiwase, Business Development for Cognito Comics.  “We’re providing a reading experience that diverges from the current models of print, digital and motion comics with the goal of shaping the future of the comic book.”

Ajax has been turning heads since it was released almost a year ago as a public beta, with the New York Times calling it “one of the coolest media experiences that I’ve seen on the iPad” just weeks after the beta release.  This time, however, the story will be released in its entirety – and for a limited time, at no cost.  No in-app-purchases, no hidden advertisements, just an incredible story that’s ready to shake up the App Store and reinvent the graphic novel as we know it.

Based in San Francisco, Cognito Comics is committed to innovative storytelling through emerging technologies.

Check out CIA: Operation Ajax in the App Store here: http://tinyurl.com/ctsc735

Check out the Trailer here: http://tinyurl.com/7rxvfhv

If there was any city in Europe that an international iPhone conference should be held at – its Amsterdam. No, not because it has an infamous red-light district and liberal policies towards the recreational use of cannabis, but because Amsteram represents some of the same values of free expression that makes the iPhone what it is today. Before the iPhone – mobile development was considered by many too difficult or cumbersome to deal with. Technology was limited, access to carriers for distribution was limited, and most of the deals were done behind closed doors.

While we may still have a ways to go before we reach mobile utopia (many would say that the Android platform is the next step in the right direction), the coming together of developers and thought leaders from around the world in a global conference is a step in the right direction.

Later this month (November 25th – 27th), the iCE Amsterdam conference will open its doors to those same developers and thought leaders to come together and share their knowledge and insights into the most exciting mobile platform on the planet. Some of those people include:

• Jonathan Wight, Chief Technology Office of Small Society, most notably on app projects like myStarbucks, WholeFoods and Obama 08.
  
• Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova co-founders of Imangi Studios, the team that bought us the popular “Harbor Master”
  
• Paran Johar, JumpTap’s head of global marketing activities
• Dom Sagolla of San Francisco who helped create Twitter in 2006, He is also the founder of DollarApp, and the co-founder and host of iPhoneDevCamp
• Mike Lee, known by some as “the World’s Toughest Programmer”, has worked on some of the best known titles on the App Store, including Obama ’08 and Tap Tap Revenge.

Just to name a few.

During the Pre-Conference day on Wednesday 25 November the iPhoneDevCamp will part of the program. iPhoneDevCamp is a not-for-profit gathering to develop applications for iPhone and iPod Touch using both the native SDK and web standards. Previous iPhoneDevCamp events have been held at Adobe Systems in San Francisco, July 2007 and August 2008. The last iPhoneDevCamp was at Yahoo in Sunnyvale, August 2009.

The event is actually sponsored by the city of Amsterdam itself, and if my “Convert” app from Polar Bear Farm is correct, cost ranges from $732.45 for one person to $294.46 per person if talk four of your closest friends into going with you.You can register for the conference here.

Okay, I don't usually simply re-post something that someone else created… but this video, created by apple fan gave me a good chuckle and I thought our readers would appreciate it. (In case you haven't seen the original commercial that this is a spoof of – click here).

Is the Droid an iPhone killer? I doubt it. Will it help the Android platform gain traction on Apples iPhone? Absolutely. The gloves are off – and as consumers we will only end up getting the best out of it as OEMs fight to create better platforms. Bring it on!

Yesterday, AT&T announced that iPhone users could finally make VoIP calls over their 3G network, not just over WiFi.  I can call my friends using my Skype app – and it will only cost me airtime!  Or better yet, I can call my friends abroad and pay Skype’s long distance fees (MUCH cheaper!) vs. AT&T’s fees.  Love it.  Really, it’s all about me. But wait, this story turns out to be bigger than me. 

At the heart of it – it’s really about Apple vs Google. In July, we all remember the big controversy surrounding Apple "rejecting" the Google voice app from the iTunes store. Apple said, "The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail."   And then in August Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from the Apple Board.   Hhmmmm…  Let’s face it, this is war.

Yesterday Verizon announced that they are teaming up with Google to bring a bunch of Android based devices to the #1 carrier in the country.  Plus Google is already working with T-Mobile and Sprint.  Rut rho for AT&T and Apple. As of now, Apple has one device on one network in the US – and Google is working with the other 3 major carriers.  Can Apple really compete against Google? So was AT&T’s announcement yesterday that they reversed their policy and will allow VoIP over the 3G network just a stab in the back to Google?  Sure seems to be. Look, I love Apple.  I have 3 Macs at home, 4 iPods, and even my kids have an iPod Touch so they can play games and be like Mommy & Daddy.  But I can’t stand the reception I get on my AT&T iPhone.  I’d love to switch to Verizon, but I can’t stand their hand-sets.  I’m hoping the iPhone will go to other carriers.  But I have a feeling that Google may not let that happen…..