Create And Share Beautiful Virtual Business Cards With CardFlick

March 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Old fashioned business cards may feel nice to the touch but once they accumulate, they can become bulky and they will take up space. Eventually, they will become a hassle no matter how useful and pretty they are. A much more efficient solution, especially in today’s mobile digital world, is to use virtual business cards. There’s no printing involved and they can be created faster, possibly costing you nothing but a few minutes of your day. This idea is what CardFlick is banking on as an online service that lets you create and share easily virtual business cards.

How exactly does one share a virtual business card?

CardFlick lets you share your virtual business card to other people who are also using the app. All it takes is a simple upward swipe on your card, seemingly sending your virtual business card flying out of your mobile device. Anyone with the CardFlick app near you will receive your virtual business card and it’s their choice whether they want to keep it or not. Be careful when and where you flick your cards, though. You’ll never know when stalkers are close by.

How does one create these magical virtual business cards?

You can design your virtual business cards using the online Instacard creator. You can choose any of your Instagram or Facebook photos as your background photo. You can also upload a photo from your hard drive if none of your Facebook and Instagram photos work with your vision. This online Instacard creator also lets you customize the text color, accent color, profile image, and your personal and business information of course.

You can also create your card using the mobile app with a single tap. You can pick from any of the dozens of professionally designed card designs from some of the most awesome designers in the world. Do note that while you control the information and images on your card, it still follows a basic design layout. For a completely customized design for your virtual business cards, you would have to go Pro. Don’t worry, though. While CardFlick is still in beta, the Pro version is still free.

On which mobile platform does CardFlick run?

CardFlick is currently available for Android and iOS mobile devices. Whatever device you have, as long as it has the CardFlick app, you can share your virtual business card immediately.

What about people who do not have the CardFlick app?

You can still share your beautiful virtual business card to people without the CardFlick app. Just go to the Flick screen and choose the Email option. Enter the email of your friend or business contact and they will receive your Instacard in their email inbox.

Does one need to resend their business card if they have updated their information?

No. If you update your info, all the people who have already received your business card will have your updated info as well. There’s no need to resend it.

The Bottom Line

CardFlick has the potential of changing the way people exchange contact information. It’s cheaper, more efficient, and environmentally friendly too. So, all we see is benefits unless you really like the feel of a real business card in your hands.

Filed Under: smartphone apps Tagged With: ,

TrapCall Review

February 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Whenever you receive a call, you always don’t know who’s calling and that can get annoying. If you’re paranoid, it can get pretty scary too. It doesn’t always have to be like this because you can use services like TrapCall to unmask blocked calls. What this means for you is that you will always know who’s calling. Even if the number is not in your contacts list, you will still feel a measure of comfort because you will at least see the actual phone number calling you.

What are the benefits of using TrapCall?

Aside from always knowing who’s calling you, TrapCall also lets you blacklist callers who are harassing you as well as record your incoming calls. It gives you more control over who calls you and how you receive calls. This added security in your daily life gives you the opportunity to live a normal life without the hassle of unknown callers who can be rude and worse, threatening. Another great benefit of this service is that you don’t need to install any kind of software and you can use on any type of mobile phone.

Who would even call me and block their phone number?

You would be surprised at how many of your friends could turn into unwanted ones. There’s also a big chance of one or more of your exes would be hankering for your love every now and then. These people plus other annoying ones like telemarketers who can’t take a hint could get a hold of your number and when that happens, it could be open season on your phone. It could happen to anyone so a service like TrapCall can be considered an extremely useful tool in keeping these annoying people at bay.

What are the features of TrapCall?

TrapCall unmasks blocked or restricted phone numbers that are calling you. If the first and last names, as well as the addressm are available, it can also be viewed thanks to this service. When stalkers and other annoying people call you expecting you to have no idea who they are, you will actually have the chance to see their complete number as well as their full name.

When you already know who these annoying callers are and you don’t want them to call again, you can also use to TrapCall to block them. Blacklisting unwanted callers means whenever they call you, they will hear a recorded messages that says your number is already disconnected. That should keep them from ruining your day.

TrapCall goes beyond dealing with annoying calls. The service also lets you record incoming phone calls which you can then access by logging on to your TrapCall account. This type of feature is a first in the mobile phone field, so this would also be your chance to experience the next step in mobile telecommunications.

TrapCall also has the ability to transcribe voicemail messages. You can now ready your voicemail messages via SMS which means you can check your voicemail messages without being too obvious, which is good especially if you’re in a class or a meeting.

How accessible is the service?

Your TrapCall account can be accessed on any device, giving you easy and efficient account management no matter where you are. You can also access your recorded voicemails as MP3 files by going online. While it sounds like TrapCall is accessible everywhere through every type of device, but there are exceptions, particularly in terms of mobile carriers. If you are on AT&T, Verizon, T Mobile, Sprint, MetroPCS, Rogers, Fido, Bell or Telus, you can use TrapCall with no problem at all.

Which mobile platform does TrapCall run on?

You can access TrapCall via apps on iOS, Blackberry and Android devices. Each of these apps vary slightly from the others, but generally, they offer the same TrapCall features that make you sleep better at night.

What are the pricing options for this service?

TrapCall offers three different plan packages:

  • Bug Trap ($4.95 per month) – This plan includes Caller ID Unmasking and Blacklist Unwanted Callers
  • Mouse Trap ($9.95 per month) – This plan includes the features in Bug Trap plus 10 voicemail transcriptions, missed call alerts, and name and address caller ID.
  • Bear Trap ($24.95 per month) – This plan includes the features in Mouse Trap plus the ability to record incoming calls.

TrapCall is a pay-as-you-go service which means you can cancel your subscription at any time.

The Bottom Line

TrapCall grants us what we’ve always wanted ever since we started using mobile phones — the ability to know who is calling us and the chance to do something about it. From students to professionals, having TrapCall’s features at their disposal on a daily basis is priceless. It’s not just about security, either. TrapCall’s features let users handle incoming calls in a more efficient manner, and all of this can be achieved without downloading or installing anything on one’s mobile phone.

Filed Under: smartphone apps Tagged With: ,

4 Contenders for the Mobile Video Sharing Crown

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to mobile photo sharing, there’s no doubt that Instagram rules the roost. No matter how many new mobile photo sharing apps are churned out every now and then, when it comes to hipster-ish mobile photos being shared on multiple social networks, we all know Instagram is king. But what about video? For the past few months, mobile video sharing has emerged and while Instagram does not have any concrete plans (that the general public knows of, anyway) to branch out into video and become its undisputed king, these four apps are fighting for the crown.

Color

Color is not what you would expect when you first hear “mobile video sharing”. There is no editing and uploading involved. There isn’t even audio. It’s purely a live video broadcast which you can caption after the broadcast is done. Broadcasts last 30 seconds long and they can be accessed via smartphones with the Color app, your Color profile or on your Facebook feed. That last detail is one of the most interesting things about Color because it has access to some pretty nifty new Facebook APIs. It may not be for everyone since people are used to the old record-edit-upload process of video sharing, but it’s worth a look.

Tout

Tout seeks to reinvent the status update. With 1-click recording and sharing functions, it gives users a very easy way of recording 15-second status updates that they can share to friend and family on Twitter and Facebook and via SMS. Users can also follow each other so they can see each other’s latest Tout updates as they are posted.

Klip

Klip is currently at the top of the heap as far as popularity is concerned. This free app offers high quality video streaming, unlimited uploads, full support for front and back cameras, privacy settings, hashtags, and a bunch of other features geared towards giving users one of the best social video sharing experiences available. Klip claims to be the best way to share video with friends and family, and from the looks of it, that claim is a legitimate one.

Viddy

Viddy is kind of the new kid on the block. It’s still establishing its user base but with its feature set that includes advanced camera settings and special effects, it could easily be the Instagram of video — until Instagram branches out into video sharing, that is. Viddy offers several effects packs and band packs for free, giving users an entire library of special effects for artsy short films or vibrant music videos without spending a dime. It has already received the glory of being called the iPhone App of the Week so the future looks bright for this mobile video sharing app.

The Bottom Line

While sharing video via mobile devices is something most of us will need to get used to, these apps are designed to make the experience as comfortable as possible. In fact, if you’re already using any of the popular photo sharing apps, chances are you can jump right into any of these mobile video sharing apps with ease. Pretty soon, instead of telling people how hard it is to deal with a hangover through a simple tweet or Facebook status message, you will probably prefer to actually show the anguish on your face in a music video.

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