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The built-in camera for the iPhone is a great tool, allowing millions of people to take high-quality photos and share them near instantly with friends and family when on the go. But the actual app used to take photos is fairly limited. Fortunately, there are dozens of tools on the App Store that provide additional options for things like focus lock, exposure control, and white balance, including Camera Plus.

This version of Camera Plus is the lite version of the app so some of its more robust features are still missing; but even as a free app, it provides more … Read more

Advanced users who work with hundreds and even thousands of image files need a way to quickly filter them. Graphic Inspector for Mac's sorting options may make it a worthwhile option for these users, but others will find the program less useful.

Graphic Inspector for Mac comes with a free trial version with a 30-day usage limit. The full version requires a $39.95 payment to unlock. Download and installation completed quickly and a user guide is available with the program. This guide provides the user with fairly detailed operating instructions. Technical support is also available via a button … Read more

Windows comes with its own built-in search feature, but many users find it to be slow and cumbersome. As its name suggests, Wise JetSearch is a speedy alternative that can quickly search for files and folders in a variety of locations. We think it's a great choice for anyone who's looking for an alternative to the built-in Windows option.

Wise JetSearch has an attractive and very simple interface. A drop-down menu reveals a series of check boxes from which you select the drives you want to search. There's a field where you enter your search terms, including … Read more

Text messaging can add up very quickly, even if you have a plan through your phone service provider. For users in the Philippines, Chikka Text Messenger claims to offer free text messaging, but, sadly, we never made it past the Sign In page to find out how it performs.

To start, Chikka asks for access to your Contacts, which is typical of these types of apps. If you don't already have a Chikka account, you'll have to create one by using your Globe, Smart, or Sun mobile phone to register, or by entering your e-mail address. Because we … Read more

No matter how robust a data plan you have on your phone, it's still probably limited and slower than Wi-Fi. It pays to do most of your downloading on your home's connection or on free hot spots. WiFi Free will help you find dozens of free places to connect, but it's nowhere near as seamless as other apps. It takes too long to set up and has a very simple layout.

When you install this supposedly free app, you'll be stuck either paying 99 cents or connecting it with your Foursquare account. If you don't … Read more

VirtualLab Data Recovery is a modular data and partition recovery tool from BinaryBiz. VirtualLab recovers lost, damaged, or deleted files and partitions, including Mac partitions, as well as deleted e-mail and photos. It can also recover CD and DVD data in many cases. This powerful suite even includes a RAID Recovery tool. It works on regular hard drives as well as removable and flash drives. While the program is free to try, it won't recover any data. The least expensive licensed version recovers up to 100MB of data. License upgrades are available, depending on how much data you need … Read more

Reliable and resilient, Mobile Tracker can actively track down the phone on which it is installed, providing you with every single bit of data that the device receives and transmits. Installation is quite straightforward, and depending on which device it's used on, it may even be permanent.

For the mobile version, the tracker interface presents a simple list of most recent contacts divided into two categories, via direct call and via SMS. When it comes to the PC version's tracker interface, it largely depends on the type of Web messenger software that you plan to use with it. … Read more

Payphones are a dying breed, which will probably make some people yearn for our simple past and others celebrate our tech-filled future.

New York City and two companies, Cisco Systems and City 24/7, announced today that they're officially commencing their plan to transform those endangered species into 32-inch touch-screen information kiosks, a.k.a. "Smart Screens," around the city, according to GigaOM.

The idea was originally introduced in April and the companies have been testing the pilot project over the last few months. Now, the Smart Screens are officially live and a handful of kiosks are … Read more

Two new higher-end but not top-end lenses will arrive in December, the $1,500 EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM and the $850 EF 35mm f/2 IS USM, Canon said today.

The 24-70mm f4 lens, though not inexpensive by any means, extends a Canon tradition of offering intermediate models for enthusiasts and pros who don't necessarily want to pay more for top-end lenses -- in this case, the alternative is the $2,300 Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM introduced in February, whose f2.8 aperture enables photography in low-light shooting and with a blurrier background … Read more