The BET Awards Goes Digital With A New Smartphone App!
June 27th, 2012 by ChristenAfter taking home the Android “2011 Best App Ever” award for its 106 & Park app, BET Networks has released its BET Awards ’12 app — a fun, interactive way to view and participate in this year’s awards ceremony. The 12th Annual BET Awards ceremony airs July 1, and fans and celebrities are already preparing for the broadcast with the show’s first-ever mobile app. The app for Android and iPhone was released this month and features gaming elements tied to voting for the show’s nominees and predicting the order of performers.
One game lets users vote with the slide of a finger, by shooting disks into a moving goal. The more disks a user makes in 15 seconds, the more votes he or she will tally for a specific nominee. The high scorers for each nominee will have their Twitter avatars and handles featured in the game’s top-left corner for all users to see.
“Our audience really loves the prospect of being famous, so that’s a theme we think about a lot when we develop new products,” Brandon Lucas, BET’s VP of mobile.
The Line-Up, is a fantasy sports-style game. Users can predict the order of the award show’s performers, compare their lists with friends and celebrities as well as look at it during the broadcast to see if they’ve won any prizes. Both games allow players to share their scores and line-ups to Facebook and Twitter.
The app also includes a clickable timeline of every BET Awards, videos of memorable moments (like the infamous Viewer’s Choice SNAFU from last year), in-depth artist profiles and curated tweets.
“Our main goals in doing this app were to deepen our viewers’ connection to the show and to give them more reasons to tune into the live broadcast,” Lucas says.
Tune into BET Awards ’12 LIVE ON BET on Sunday, July 1 at 7P/6C! (Red carpet and pre-show start at 7P/6C).
If you’re a fan of the show, like we are! Make sure you get interactive during the show that’s too big to miss by downloading the app here & tweeting with us LIVE from the #FordHotSpot all weekend long in Los Angeles, CA.
The Top 10 Apps To Enhance Your Instagram Photos! (Do You Have Them?)
June 26th, 2012 by Tech Staff
From a startup to instant billionaires, the good folks at Instagram know a thing or two about photo sharing and with Instagram’s Android downloads already topping 5 million, it’s clear the photo-sharing app is hot (and not going anywhere, anytime soon)!
Create a Grid of Photos:
- iPhone: PicStitch
- iPhone: Diptic
- iPhone: PicFrame
- Android: Photo Grid
Effects:
- iPhone: PicFX
- iPhone: XnView Photo FX
- Android: PicsArt
- Android: Pudding Camera
Lens Boost:
- iPhone: Camera+
- Android: Camera ZOOM Fx
Do you have any extra apps that you’d like to add to this list? Share them below!
Divas On Destinations: How The TripIt App Has Saved My Travel Sanity…
June 19th, 2012 by ChristenAs a traveling girl on the go, I have been to about 10 different cities within the last 30 days. You can imagine the amount of boarding passes I’ve avoided hording by taking advantage of airline apps on my smartphone – but since I’ve downloaded TripIt Pro, I’ve taken my travel sanity to a whole new level of zen…
TripIt makes getting to your destinations easier, by organizing all your trip plans in one place. No more double-checking your calendar against your mobile airline app for reservation dates, TripIt has you completely covered. TripIt creates an itinerary in seconds – using email confirmations from virtually all travel sites, plus other activities like restaurant reservations and concert tickets. (Seriously, I RSVP’d for a twitter chat via EventBrite and moments later, I received confirmation plus it was automatically added to my calendar by TripIt.)
My travel life has transformed to a whole new world of difference. Thanks to BrothaTech, for introducing me to the TripIt app – now I’m one of millions of travelers who use the TripIt app to organize and share travel & trips. By simply forwarding confirmation emails from anywhere you book to plans@tripit.com, TripIt automatically creates on simple, smart itinerary to access on a smartphone, calendar or anywhere online.
As a new fan girl of the TripIt app, I just had to share my experience with fellow bloggers…
If your travel plans require a bit more organization and assistance, you can easily upgrade to TripIt Pro for only $49/year. TripIt Pro acts like a personal travel assistant that keeps travelers in the know regarding flight status, alternate flights and more; tracks all frequent traveler points in one place; and monitors eligible flights for fare refunds.
I recently downloaded a 3-month trial of TripIt Pro which has made me a believer and evangelist of all things TripIt. Recently, my connecting flight was delayed and the airline agent didn’t know how soon travel could resume. Within minutes, I received a text message from TripIt informing me of my updated departure time & gate information nearly 30minutes before the airline agent informed the remaining passengers on my flight. I was able to make the best use of my time while in a random city all because of this app.
Available on most smartphone app stores including Apple App Store, Android Marketplace, Amazon Appstore, Window phone Marketplace and Blackberry App World.
For more information, visit TripIt.com and connect via Twitter @TripIt and Facebook.com/Tripit.
Haute Designer Sample Sales Coming In June! (Ralph Lauren, DVF, Tory Burch)
May 29th, 2012 by Fashion Staff
Looking for haute designer duds at reasonable prices in NYC is not as hard as you think! With plenty of designer sample sales throughout New York City with slashed prices of up to 80% off – finding designer discounts will no longer be a problem, instead it’ll be finding ways to keep your money in your pockets! Check out a few upcoming sample sales to look forward to next month below & an app that’ll keep you on top of the NYC Sample Sale game…
RALPH LAUREN
Date: June 4th – 7th 2012
When/Where: Soiffer Haskin 317 West 33rd Street, NYC (Just west of 8th Avenue).
What to know: MEN’S & WOMEN’S, LUXURY, APPAREL & ACCESSORIES, Cruise, Spring and Summer Collections, CREDIT CARDS ONLY, (American Express, Visa or MasterCard), All Sales Final. No strollers allowed. No children under 12 will be admitted.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
Date: June 5th-June 9th
Diane von Furstenberg will be taking over 260 Fifth Avenue starting on Tuesday, June 5 and running through Saturday, June 9th.
When/Where: Tuesday, June 5 through Saturday, June 9. Tues 9am—6:30pm, Weds 10am—8pm, Thurs 10am—7pm, Fri 9am—5pm, Sat 10am—3pm. 260 Fifth Ave between 28th and 29th St
General discount: Up to 75% off. Tees were $40; pants, skirts, blouses, and sweaters were $80; dresses and jackets were $125; wrap dresses and vintage were $150; leathers were $250; and cocktail dresses and coats were $275.
What to know: Diehard DVF fans flock to this sale, so get ready for a really long line. Also, be prepared to squeeze through tiny aisles and possibly get stabbed by a hanger or two.
TORY BURCH
Date: June 12th – 16th 2012
When/Where: 261 W. 36th St (b/w 7th & 8th Ave), 2nd Floor.
What to know: This sale tends to draw large crowds (mob scenes at times and at one sale the NYPD had to restore order)… so be prepared to wait if you’re planning to go on the first day.
Looking for a way to have all your favorite sample sales, dates and locations at the tip of your fingers? There’s an app for that! Why not download the ultimate app for all your sample sale shopping needs?
The NYC Sample Sales App provides detailed info for dozens of samples sales in NYC and is one of the first apps to feature Apples’s newest location awareness technology. While walking the streets of NYC, a user can be immediately alerted to any sample sale within a 1one mile radius. No longer will you have to scour the internet for the latest sample sale news, you can find it instantly with you smartphone device.
Has Technology Ruined The Evolution of College Life?
May 7th, 2012 by Tech StaffCollege students today are more tech savvy than ever before. Has technology enhanced or ruined the evolution their academic lives?
Tech has caused something of a dependency — 38% of students can’t go more than 10 minutes without checking their smartphone or other device. All told, students spent $13 billion on electronics in 2009.
More than 90% use email to communicate with professors and 73% say they cannot study without technology. Seven in 10 take notes on keyboards instead of paper, virtually all students who own an ereader and most use digital tools when preparing a presentation.
Community college students are less digitally connected than students at four-year schools, but more and more people are making the Internet their education gateway. Twelve million students take at least one class online today — in five years, that number is projected to exceed 22 million. By 2014, analysts say, more than 3.5 million students will take all of their classes online.
This is all according to research compiled by Presta Electronics. Presta used material from the Pew Research Center, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mashable and other sources to put together the infographic below. Check it out for the full picture of how technology is changing college students’ lives.
Do you think technology is changing college for the better — or for worse? Could tech dependancy be ruining the natural ability of learning?
Think Like A Man is #1 At The Box Office & Now Available On Your iPhone!
April 24th, 2012 by Christen
“Think Like a Man,” based on Steve Harvey’s dating-advice best-seller, debuted as the top weekend draw with $33 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That’s almost double what studio executives had expected for the Sony Screen Gems ensemble movie, which features Michael Ealy, Taraji P. Henson and Gabrielle Union.
Produced for about $13 million “Think Like a Man” took in nearly that much on opening day Friday alone, with business getting even better on Saturday. Sony executives had figured the movie might pull in about $17 million for the whole weekend. Now you can take “Think Like A Man” with you on your smartphone with the Think Like A Man iPhone App!
To help bring awareness to the movie, you can play the dating game with the Think Like A Man App for iPhone. This app lets you play along with characters straight from the movie. You choose either a female or male date and go through a series of comments throughout a lunch, dinner, and desert. The responses range from funny to serious. Make sure you choose the appropriate answer to advance your date. If you need help with an answer you can ask for help from Cedric’s Words of Wisdom which will have you rolling in laughter. The app is FREE and available in the Apple App Store.
Have you checked out ‘Think Like A Man’ in theaters this weekend? What did you think? Did you like it enough to download the app?
If Only He Had The Type N Walk App…
April 19th, 2012 by ChristenYesterday, I saw a poor guy typing on his iPhone get pummeled by a bicyclist in Union Square and I though to myself, “If only he had the Type N Walk app…” (well, at first I thought…. Daaaaaaang, he really should’ve been looking up! Then I thought about the app.) What is the Type N Walk app you ask?
Type n Walk is a new iPhone app that lets you see what’s in front of you while typing and walking.
How does it work?
Type n Walk displays a transparent viewport of what’s directly in front of you. This combined with your peripheral vision is just enough visual information to help you avoid obstacles — like walking face-first into a tree!
Despite the name, Type n Walk is useful while you’re sitting or standing too. Use it anytime you would like to keep an eye on your surroundings while you type.
What can you do with it?
Type n Walk was designed to work with your favorite apps – not try to replace them. Use it to compose your email, text message, status update, or tweet and paste it into your target app (or the browser) to send.
Some examples of use:
- Tweet – paste into your Twitter client of choice (or website) and send.
- Facebook status update – paste into the Facebook app (or website) and send.
- Texting (SMS) – paste into the native Messages app and send.
- Email – paste into the native Mail app (or web mail) and send.
In fact, Type n Walk works with any app that accepts copy and paste and any website that works correctly in Mobile Safari. And for $0.99 in iTunes (Android users there are some similar apps for download as well.) it’s a great app to buy for those moments where multitasking can become deadly. (I’m just sayin…and by the way, the guy was alright but he had the nerve to be mad afterwards! LOL)
Tax Time Is Here! How To File Your Taxes Using Your iPhone
April 12th, 2012 by Tech StaffThe deadline to file your taxes is closing in (this year, tax day is April 17), and if you’ve got simple forms to file and a few minutes before Tuesday, you can easily file using your iPhone. Both H&R Block and TurboTax offer iPhone apps to help you prepare and file your 1040EZ forms before the deadline. What are you waiting for? Get more info on each below.
- H&R Block at Home – This app makes it easy to file your federal and state taxes on the go. Snap a pic of your W2 and import it into your return, even get alerts when your return is accepted and on its way to your bank account. Plus, your information can be transferred over from your federal to your state return for easy completion. The upside to this app is that it’s free to prepare and free to e-file.
- TurboTax SnapTax – File both your federal and state taxes by snapping a photo of your W2s and answering a few questions. You can e-file both federal and state returns, but it’ll cost you $25.
ESSENCE.COM Feature: 10 Hair and Beauty Apps We Can’t Live Without
April 10th, 2012 by Christen
With tons of smart phone applications available for your iPhone, Blackberry & Android devices, it’s safe to say there’s an app to solve almost any problem. Did you know, there are apps to solve even the slightest of beauty problems? From selecting new hair color shades to correcting your worst make up faux pas – there’s an app for that! It’s now easier ever than before to get the best beauty advice, quality product reviews and step-by-step tutorials all from the convenience of your smart phone.
Tried, tested and true, check out our favorite FREE beauty apps available for your smart phone and enjoy the beauty of technology at your fingertips. Read my complete Essence.com article below…
10 Hair and Beauty Apps We Can’t Live Without
Read more: http://www.essence.com/2012/04/10/10-beauty-and-hair-apps-we-cant-live-without/#ixzz1rg44SsWH
Facebook Acquires Instagram…For $1 Billion Dollars!!!
April 9th, 2012 by Christen
Just when it was safe to LOVE a new social media platform, it gets gobbled up by Facebook! Today, the CEO of Instagram announced that the company has been bought and acquired by the social media icon Facebook. Just last week a new Instagram application was made available for Android users and along with iOS users – the Instagram community has grown by leaps and bounds. It isn’t confirmed whether or not immediate changes will take place to the photo sharing network. However, the following was shared by Instagram:
When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares. We’ve had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe. Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook.Every day that passes, we see more experiences being shared through Instagram in ways that we never thought possible. It’s because of our dedicated and talented team that we’ve gotten this far, and with the support and cross-pollination of ideas and talent at a place like Facebook, we hope to create an even more exciting future for Instagram and Facebook alike.It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you.You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.We’re psyched to be joining Facebook and are excited to build a better Instagram for everyone.Best,KevinCEO, Instagram
It’s Facebook’s biggest acquisition ever, in both price and reach. With around 30 million active users, Instagram has the largest audience of any startup Facebook has purchased, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post. ”We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all,” Zuckerberg wrote. “But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.”
