Readdle’s new Remarks app offers PDF annotating, accurate handwriting
Readdle released a new application for the iPad called “Remarks“ that offers incredibly accurate handwriting recognition, PDF annotating, and more. At the heart of Remarks is PDF annotating, and PDFs can be imported by way of the iPad’s iTunes File Sharing feature or through opening the PDF with an email to the iPad. All of your PDFs are stored in an iWork for iOS-like file system, and a folder system is available.
The interface, though, is powerful and feature-packed, and it is simple for PDF annotating. A user simply taps to open a PDF and then they can do actions such as handwriting, highlighting, panning, and creating shapes like circles and squares similar to what one does in OS X’s built-in PDF annotating application Preview. Remarks also allows you to import photos directly from within the application to place in a PDF, and it also allows users to email, print, and open the created or annotated PDFs in other iOS applications.
While Remarks have been a fantastic PDF annotator in our testing, the marquee feature—perhaps— is its handwriting integration. In our tests, Remarks’ handwriting software is well crafted, very accurate, fast, and features no lag. A great bonus is being able to rest your hand on the display of your iPad without writing anything accidentally. Writing with Remarks with a stylus offers perfect iPad handwriting, but writing with your finger works great as well. Readdle said it is looking to bring more features soon to Remarks, including Dropbox and other cloud storage system support.
Remarks is available for the iPad on the App Store for $4.99.
More ThunderBolt at CES 2012: Western Digital shows impressive speeds, Hitachi shows pro setups and Seagate shows off sleds
I had some time to demonstrate some of the upcoming Thunderbolt accessories from external drive makers at CES earlier today. We briefly discussed a few others from OCZ, LaCie, Belkin and Elgato earlier in the week. First up is the Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo:
These are going to compare nicely to the Promise RAID setup that has similar speeds, but it does not have a price or release date yet. The vibe seemed to be like Q2 with perhaps an announcement at Macworld.
Next up is the Hitachi G-Drive series of Thunderbolt Drives, and these drives are 8TBs…
Otterbox Defender for iPhone 4S review: One of the most versatile and protective cases available
I have been using the Otterbox Defender case for the iPhone 4S for a couple of months now and it is one of the most versatile and most protective pieces of phone protection currently on the market. The outer design of the case, what you and others see, is an apparently rubberized material – but do not be deceived by that soft appearance and soft feel. It is a heavy-duty case that does a fantastic job at protecting your phone.
The Defender is a three-layered case. The first layer is an inner plastic shell that you slide your phone into, and this hard, yet lightweight, plastic protects your iPhone 4S from dents. That first layer is augmented with the rubbery layer that adds more protect against drops, but also protects against scratches. Its rubbery material makes sure that when your phone is dropped in any environment it is safe. The third layer is a belt clip that adds some more protection, but its main purpose is to, of course, allow you to wear your iPhone on your belt or clothing…
Neat App Store app puts calling, texting, emailing, web, tweeting, Facebook, and more shortcuts in Notification Center (UPDATE: Pulled)
UPDATE [Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 2:06pm ET]: It appears the app had originally slipped past Apple’s censors after all as the company just yanked the program out of the App Store.
A new iOS application called Quickpick hit the App Store (no jailbreak!), and it fills a void that many feel Apple left in their implementation of the iOS 5 Notification Center.
For those unfamiliar, Notification Center is a place on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch where a user can view their device notifications along with weather and stocks widgets (iPhone and iPod touch only). Many hoped Apple would add a universal launching feature within the Notification Center, but the company did not do so. Until the time comes (if it ever does), Quickpick fills the void.
Quickpick uses the iOS web-based shortcuts feature to initiate phone calls, text messages, website launching, emailing, and more from the Notification Center.
For example, I have set up a calling shortcut, emailing shortcut, web address shortcut, and a shortcut to open YouTube. Since the application uses native iOS URL scheming, the possibilities are endless. Here are some giant databases (1, 2) of URL schemes you can use, and there are cool examples by way of an iDownloadBlog post about URL scheming:
- fb://profile – Open Facebook app to the user’s profile
- twitter://post?message – Open Twitter.app to send a tweet
- fb://friends – Open Facebook app to the friends list
- fb://notifications – Open Facebook app to the notifications list
- fb://feed – Open Facebook app to the News Feed
- itms-apps:// – Open the App Store
- maps:// – Open the Maps app
- sms:// – Open the compose window of the Messages app
- music:// – Go to the currently playing song in the Music app
- youtube:// – Open the YouTube app
- itms-books:// – Open the iBooks app
The aforementioned calling, texting, website launching, and emailing examples do not require a special URL; the app sets those up automatically.
Quickpick is now available as a universal application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch for $0.99. After the break are instructions on how to setup custom URLs in Quickpick:
Review: Powerbag by ful is a device-charging backpack that looks too good for a geek
Over the past month, I’ve been carrying around a Powerbag backpack from ful. The idea is pretty straight-forward. They put a 3000 mA battery inside a backpack complete with adapters for just about any device you’d ever want to charge. On heavy usage days, I have a mobile charge with me at all times. Instead of taking out all of my devices when I get home, I just plug in the bag.
Read on for the full review…
Review: Three months with the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac
Logitech first started producing solar wireless keyboards for PCs earlier this year but didn’t make a Mac version until a few months ago. The PC version got incredibly solid reviews at Amazon so I thought this would be a good pick up for my Mac workstation when it was released. As a veteran of Apple’s original Wireless Keyboard, I was sick of dealing with battery and connectivity issues plus I wanted the full layout with numeric keypad, extra function keys extra and full arrows. I’ve been using it almost exclusively for the past three months.
First, I’ll say that the solar panels make the footprint about 25% bigger than a standard full Apple keyboard. That can be a hassle if you are cramped for space at your desk. On the other hand, the keyboard feels a bit more solid, perhaps because of the increased size and weight. Keystrokes are very similar feel to Apple’s standard keyboards and spacing and layout are all but identical. Logitech adds a power switch and battery tester at the top right.
I got the piano black version because it matches my monitor and my Logitech Mouse (which also works with this USB dongle) but there are 5 colors to choose from. I imagine the standard “silver” will be the most popular.
As far as the solar is concerned, I never had a single problem with charging or connection. I have a florescent lit basement office and a workspace with natural light from a shaded back yard and both kept the keyboard charged at all times. The keyboard usually sits in front of a large 30″ monitor, so that probably helps. But from reviews I’ve read, almost no one has a problem keeping this charged with normal office lighting so I don’t think this is a concern.
There are some tradeoffs for having solar, however… Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo and RockLive team up for addicting “Heads Up” iPhone game
RockLive, best known for their popular Mike Tyson Main Event game for the iPhone and iPod touch, is back for another high-profile game partnership. This time, the game studio has teamed up with world-leading soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo for a very fun and addicting game called Heads Up with Cristiano Ronaldo (now available). The game is insanely addictive and combines aspects from puzzle and brick-breaker type games with eye-popping graphics, crisp animations, simple pick-up-and-play game play to make a great gaming experience.
The goal of the game – as displayed in our video above – is to knock out as many soccer balls above Ronaldo in order to advance to the next level. Unlike a simple brick-breaker, knocking soccer balls down is nowhere near the full story. In order to clear the soccer balls, two of the same colored soccer balls (whether they be blue, purple, green, or orange) need to be touching. In order for those two soccer balls to disappear, a third ball of the same color needs to be launched by Cristiano Ronaldo. Knocking away all of the balls, though, is still challenging as combinations need to be discovered by the user in order for all the soccer balls to completely disappear. This makes it a fun, pick-up-and-play puzzle-type game…
Review: Jill.e’s bags hold technology without being an eyesore
[Editor's note: We got a satchel to review so I asked the style expert of the house do this one]
I’m a big fan of Jill.e’s uncommon (read: not black) camera bags, but the company seems to be expanding its offerings to style-minded users of other technology. I’m talking about women and men who have laptops, iPhones, e-readers and tablets to cart around (sometimes all at once), but who do not find those black polyester padded bags appealing in the least. So it piqued my interest when the company offered to send us a bag to review. As Mrs. 9to5mac and mother of two, I often have gadgets on the go. Even our 3-year-old has his own iPhone. (It’s simcard-free and makes eating out possible. Don’t judge.)
The women’s bag I have been toting for the past week is the laptop satchel, part of the company’s plaid-clad E-GO line. It’s worked well for many configurations of gadgetry: iPad + Canon SLR, MacBook + Canon SLR, Kindle + iPad. This thing is surprisingly huge, which can be a bad thing for your back, or a good thing when you want to commute with your laptop and ereader in style.Truth be told, the satchel has often doubled as a diaper bag, which is the reality of trying to leave the house with a baby and a preschooler.
Review: Jawbone Up fitness band
In September, we exclusively leaked the details for the new Jawbone Up fitness band. Fast forward to November, Jawbone, a company used to making Bluetooth headsets, announced the Jawbone Up, a stylish fitness band that tracks your steps, distance traveled, pace and calories burned throughout the day. The band can also track sleeping patterns and energy obtained from food. The Jawbone Up integrates with an iOS app, where users can sync all of their data for detailed reports.
The Jawbone Up is available for $99 on Jawbone’s website and also at Best Buy, Apple, and other retailers. Is the Jawbone Up worth the $99 price tag? What’s with the recent bricking reports? Read on for our full review:
Reprise for iPhone review: fantastic social music player for shufflers, DJs
I’ve been using a new iPhone application called Reprise as my main iPhone music player for the past few weeks, and it makes a fantastic replacement for certain iPhone music listeners. In 2005, Apple took the concept of song shuffling to their biggest extreme yet with the iPod shuffle. An iPod dedicating to shuffling your music. That music player still exists, but the iPod line in general has been caniblized by the iPhone and iPod touch and their iOS operating system. With the iPod shuffle even existing, there is a clear market for music shuffling. Read on for the full review…
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