It’s no secret that Boston is a hotspot for mobile. Here are five new iPhone, iPad and Android apps that were built and recently released here in the Hub.
Mobistealth PRO
We’ve written about the Mobistealth spying app before (Catch Your Spouse Cheating, Spy on Your Kids and Employees with Mobistealth), and last week the company released a PRO version of for iPhone 4. On top of all the base Mobistealth app features (in a nutshell, downloading their app on a phone allows you to remotely monitor that phone’s calls, emails, etc. without being detected), PRO delivers Spy Call and Surround Recording features. These allow you to remotely record or listen live to the surroundings around the phone the app is installed on. (Mobistealth claims to be the only company with an offering that does this.) PRO also includes location reporting based on both GPS and cell tower triangulation, which means the phone can be located indoors. Mobistealth PRO cost you $80 for 3 months, $120 for 6, and $150 for a year – but for some people it might be worth it.
From Mobistealth: “The Mobistealth iPhone PRO spy application is ideal for monitoring a spouse, keeping track of children, and even checking on employees. The software allows simple access via any web browser providing easy viewing of all information on the target phone. The ability to view full text of all SMS messages, full details of every call made and received, the complete address book, all web history and bookmarks and even all pictures on the phone.”
I Journal
The I Journal app for iPhone and Android is a new take on the traditional journal or diary, and the doctor behind it says you’ll be healthier and happier just by using it. Built by renowned Harvard Divinity School research Shawn Achor and Catch.com, a San Fran based startup that makes a personal organization app, the app asks you to record your daily experiences with “gratitude, meditation, exercise, and acts of kindness.” You can keep track of doing this through any medium: text, photos, and even voice memos
“Despite current difficulties, there is always something to be grateful for,” said Achor. “When you write down a list of three good things that happen per day, your brain will be forced to scan the last 24 hours for positives, boosting your happiness. … Studies show that individuals who keep a daily gratitude list become happier, more optimistic, and more successful. The activity itself is simple, but over a decade of empirical studies has proven the profound effect it has on the way our brains are wired.”
If you have a Catch.com account or the Catch app, you can sync I Journal with this.
Shapemix
ShapeMix Music is a Boston based mobile music app development company run by musician and Rhode Island School of Design professor Colin Owens. Shapemix is their first app, which turns your iPad into a music studio. You can create remixes, songs, and other mixes and share them with friends. The app is built for aspiring and current DJs, musicians and music fans.
The app boasts a drag-and-drop interface for adding songs, and beyond that automatically separates each song into its various elements. This makes it easy for you to manipulate, customize and remix new songs. The app costs $4.99 (it’s on sale, and will retail normally for $9.99) and comes with 100 free tracks as well as an embeddable player for Facebook so you can share your creations with friends. The company says additional songs are on the way, via a forthcoming ShapeMix Marketplace.
“As a musician and graphic design professor at RISD, I have long been inspired by the connection between audio and design,” said Colin Owens, the mastermind behind ShapeMix. “I have spent years researching and creating this instinctual software tool that takes mixing to a new level and provides a deeper interaction with music.”
Stop & Shop
Stop & Shop released its first iPhone and Android apps for in-store shopping. (Peapod, the Stop & Shop delivery service, has its own iPhone app released last year.)
If you do not have a Stop & Shop online account, by all means create one online at your computer before downloading the app. Stop & Shop makes it extremely painful to create a new account from your phone, requiring you to enter about 15 lines of information about yourself – and not even within the app itself; instead, Stop & Shop takes you outside the app and opens up your phone’s browser.
After you get over how frustrating sign up is, you’ll find the app focuses mainly on tracking your savings and serving you offers. The app stores and tracks loyalty card information, gas points, A+ School Rewards, as well as loyalty card savings to date. The app also features weekly circulars and specials at each location as well as a section for “my exclusive offers,” which will likely be expanded on in later releases. The app also provides quick access to information and directions to the nearest Stop & Shop grocery store.
EveryScape EATS! DC
Boston-based EveryScape has released its latest 3D dining guide iPhone and iPad app, this time for Washington, D.C. For those unfamiliar with EveryScape’s app for Boston, it lets you take 3D tours and walk around virtually inside restaurants. It leaves no room for questioning if the restaurant you’re vying to eat at next is perfect for the occasion.
“Anyone who has ever stressed about where to take their in-laws for dinner, or finding an appropriate place to take their boss for lunch will appreciate how quickly EveryScape Eats! can help answer these questions,” said Jim Schoonmaker, CEO of EveryScape. “EveryScape Eats! provides easy access to immersive 3D imagery which creates a human connection between the consumer and restaurant, enabling the consumer to make at-a-glance decisions about where to eat.”
Washington D.C. is the fourth EveryScape city-specific app, adding to Boston (it’s first rollout), Seattle, San Fran, SoHo. The company says it plans to release more apps this year for NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, and New Orleans.
Carbonite for iPad + Music Player, Photo Viewer
Online backup provider Carbonited released a dedicated iPad app the end of March. The ‘Anytime, Anywhere Access’ app allows you to access any of your backed up files right from your iPad. Features include an integrated image gallery for easy photo browsing, access to and easying attaching and emailing of any files/presentations/documents, and on-demand listening to backed up music from within the Carbonite app.
“Carbonite’s mobile applications make it possible to carry all of your digital files in your pocket,” saidDavid Friend, CEO of Carbonite. “Other cloud services invite you to upload a subset of your files, but Carbonite has everything, even if you back-up multiple computers. You never have to worry that the file you need is not in the cloud. That’s the advantage of unlimited backup with anytime, anywhere mobile access.”
Along with the iPad app release, comes v2.0 of iPhone/iPod Touch and Blackberry app upgrades. These releases have the same photo viewing and music playing capabilities as Carbonite’s new iPad and existing Android apps.
Know about any other new apps launched in Boston recently? Let us know!
