Hey everyone, I hope 2014 has been a productive year for you so far. We’ve certainly been busy. I’m pleased to announce our first new App launch of this year: Presentation Recorder for iPad.

We think there’s one killer feature missing from Keynote, which is the ability to record videos of your slides. Presentation Recorder fills that gap.

Using it is super easy:

1. Open a PDF deck from Keynote, PowerPoint, or elsewhere

2. Tap Record, and

3. Start speaking.

 

Everything you say and point to is recorded in sync with the displayed slides. The video is automatically saved the moment you are done, and you can immediately share it directly in Email, post it to YouTube / Vimeo, or upload it via Apps such as Dropbox.

 

Presentation Recorder is ideal for:

- Recording instructional videos,

- Sales and marketing presentations,

- Remote collaboration, and much more.

 

In many ways, the iPad is the ideal form factor for recording screencasts. It has all the necessary hardware built in, you can point directly to things, and can share videos even on the go. We believe video creation is a killer App on the iPad, and we hope that Presentation Recorder helps show folks just how easy and powerful this can be.

If you think Presentation Recorder might be helpful for your work or business, check it out here.

We have a lot of projects planned for 2014, and today I'm happy to tell you about the first major one, Classroom PDF: A PDF App for teachers.

 

Why Another PDF App?

There are a lot of PDF Apps in the App Store. Why do another one?

Classroom PDF has unique features to fit a teacher’s workflow, specifically for annotating worksheets and walking-through answers in class. Here's how we envision the typical workflow:

1. Open any PDF file from other Apps (“open in…" from Dropbox etc.).

2. Add covers over parts of a page (i.e. answers to questions), and tap to toggle them.

3. Use an AppleTV or physical connector to mirror the iPad's screen to a projector.

4. Use the virtual laser-pointer to call out parts of the page.

5. Annotate documents with smooth ink, and email annotated or graded files to students.

In addition, it has a color-coded category system for organizing files, e.g. for multiple classes.

Check out the 90 second video demo here to get a better idea of how it works.

 

I'm Interested, How Can I Get Classroom PDF?

Classroom PDF is currently in Beta, and we need your help to finish it.

Since Classroom PDF is meant to serve a fairly specific workflow, we want to be sure that it meets your needs, and deliver something that will actually be used quite often.

We're going to try something new. There are three ways to participate:

 

1. Tell Us What You Think

Does this App even make sense, or are we courting financial ruin? We need you to tell us.

Click here to fill in a brief survey. In particular, if you are a teacher who currently uses PDF files in class, what does your workflow look like, and what parts are missing?

 

2. Join the Beta Program

If the description above fits the kinds of things you are already doing with PDF files (albeit with a mishmash of Apps), and are willing to spend time giving us feedback, consider signing up for the Beta program.

Click here to fill in the survey, and indicate that you'd like to participate in the Beta Program.

In return for a free copy of Classroom PDF, we’re asking you to use it in your actual work and let us know what you think.

While we have a limited number of beta registration slots (they are controlled by Apple), we want to accommodate as many folks as we can.

If you think Classroom PDF is something you are interested in, but aren't able or willing to participate in the Beta, you can still…

 

3. Sign up for the Launch Special

When Classroom PDF goes on sale in the App Store, it will have a one-time introductory price. We haven't finalized the pricing yet, but it will be a great deal no matter what.

Click here to sign up to be notified right before launch time. The price will be in effect for 24 hours at launch, so definitely sign up if you are interested. We intend this to be a bit of reward for you guys, our fans, and your friends.

The launch date is going to depend on the outcome of the Beta program, but we expect it to be sometime this Spring.

 

We Need Your Feedback, Really

We experimenting to see if this can become a model for semi-custom App development that’s a win-win for everyone.

As an independent studio, we can't afford large in-person focus groups or hands-on field testing. We need you guys to tell us what works and what doesn’t (and you certainly do that :)).

If you look at the App Store, the successful Apps tend to be, not surprisingly, general purpose Apps that appeal to a wide audience.

That's fine, but what happens when you need features that are more specific to a particular profession or scenario? Existing Apps can only be extended so far before things break. It's also just not economically feasible for App Developers to risk investing in niche Apps, nor is it affordable to pay for custom built-software.

As a result, whole classes of useful Apps never get written.

So, here's an attempt at finding a way to make these Apps work. Think of it like a Kickstarter, but with zero risk and only upside for backers - instead of pledging dollars, you provide feedback and real-world insight. We'll invest in building the Apps, and you vote with your attention and wallets when the projects are complete.

If you like the things we are making, you can further help by telling your friends and colleagues about them.

 

Working Better Together

We care a lot about making Apps that people actually enjoy using, and we think this is a way to make better Apps.

This is new for us, and we're interested to see how things go. Do you like this approach to product development? Or have suggestions for improvement? Do let us know!

You can contact us anytime via the feedback form here.

Thanks for your input.

 

And now for something a little different:

 

Resume Star guides you through the steps to create a precision targeted and professionally typeset resume. You simply fill in your information, and Resume Star produces a cross-platform compatible PDF file that you email to employers or post online.

Why did we build this App? Aren’t we better known for building creative tools?

 

Honor-ware

First, Resume Star has a new and experimental pricing system: It’s completely free to download and use the full App. It’s not a limited trial. You can create and send as many resumes as you need. No ads. No gimmicks.

You only need to complete the purchase (in-app) when you get an interview.

It’s a system we’re calling “Honor-ware”. Instead of users taking a leap of faith on an unfamiliar product that may or may not solve their problem, we the developers are putting our faith in our users instead.

We haven’t seen this approach used widely in the App Store, and this is a little experiment to see how well it works. Will people actually pay us? Will they prefer this approach? We’ll find out.

Don’t expect us to roll this out to our other Apps anytime soon. :) However, it might prove to be a viable model for certain kinds of Apps.

 

Professional typesetting

We wanted to write a better Resume App, because frankly we think there’s room for improvement in this space. In the course of hiring for our own business, we’ve come across our fair share of poorly formatted or strangely styled resumes. When we dug deeper, we found that folks were getting tripped up in a couple of ways:

1. Some were using word processing software, and getting tripped up on the formatting options. It’s surprising how easy it is to mess them up.

2. Some were using Apps that pushed their users to use gaudy styles and colors, trying to make their resumes look more like a brochure. This may have been presented as a creative way to stand out, but unfortunately not always in a good way.

So, one of the design challenges we set for ourselves with Resume Star is to only allow you to create a professionally typeset resume. It’s been an illuminating study in the art of Constrained Design.

 

Precision Targeted

The final straw that led us down this path was noticing that many, in fact the vast majority of resumes are poorly targeted. Once, we had been looking for a “Software Quality Assurance Tester”, and received many resumes that were looking for “a position in Software Development”. It seems like a subtle difference, but the immediate question this raises is “did this person actually read the job description? Would he actually be interested in doing this job?”.

When you have a large stack of resumes to sort through (as is always the case), this usually results in the resume being put at the bottom of the pile.

So what started off as a bit of a pet peeve ended up as a little manifesto, in the form of the Resume Star Guide, How to Score That Interview With a Precision Targeted Resume. We wanted to write an App that encouraged users to do the right thing by default.

 

Want to Help Us?

I’m guessing that most of you reading this are already gainfully employed. You probably won’t need a resume generator anytime soon. But there are a couple ways you can participate in our experiment:

1. If you know someone, perhaps a graduating student or a friend who is looking for a job. Please recommend Resume Star to them. They just need an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. They have nothing to lose, and we really appreciate the feedback.

2. If you are interested in the design aspects of the Constrained Design Approach, it might be interesting to run through Resume Star to see what you think. We’ve learned a lot from this project that we hope to apply in future Apps. Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

 

Either way, we hope you find this interesting. Find out more on the Resume Star homepage.

Today, we are pleased to announce the worldwide release of Audio Notebook: The integrated audio recorder and note organizer for your iPad.

Audio notebook is perfect for:

- Students: To record all your lectures, and take notes on all your classes,
- Professionals: For every meeting and interview,
- Everyone else: To capture your thoughts and ideas for all of life's projects.

Advanced Audio Controls

Audio Notebook features advanced playback controls with an up to 2x speed playback, so you can zip through even the longest speeches in record time.

Recordings can be of unlimited length, and you can even record while the App is in the background. Audio is stored in a high quality MPEG-4 format that is compatible across a variety of devices.

Beautifully Designed

Audio Notebook was built from the ground up for iOS7, taking advantage of new features available on the latest OS. We've come to appreciate the clean new look in iOS7, and we think you will like it too.

It is designed specifically for the iPad, and takes full advantage of the wide screen to make typing a breeze, especially in landscape. Type using a large, legible font, so you don't have to squint.

Well Organized

You can color code your notes, and filter them, and handle multiple subjects or categories with ease.

When you are done, you can share your notes and audio over email with just a tap. Your classmates and colleagues who didn't take their own notes can thank you later.

Try it for Free

There's a Free Edition that you can try out first to see how it can help you in your daily routine. It can store 4 notes at a time, but has unlimited audio recording, and all the other features of the Full Edition.

You can buy the Full Edition today for an introductory price of only $2.99.

So, check it out, and please tell your friends and colleagues about it. We hope you find it useful in your work!

Ever since the iPad came out, we have been busy trying to figure out what the Killer App for it is.

We think we’ve finally found it.

When you look at in person communication, at the office or at school, a lot of it is done in front of a whiteboard. A whiteboard lets you draw and speak at the same time. This is both more engaging, and much more flexible than doing either alone. When you explain something to someone on a whiteboard, it comes across as more free-flowing and natural. It doesn’t feel as scripted and rigid as using slides.

Vittle captures that same experience on your iPad, and makes it even better.

It lets your record anything you write and say into a video that you can instantly share with anyone. Here’s a 1-minute video describing Vittle, made with Vittle:

 

Download Vittle here.

Communicate Naturally

Vittle is built on our proprietary Inkflow Engine and gives you a large canvas to write and draw on. Zoom and pan anytime with two fingers. Unlike a real whiteboard, you can resize and move anything on the page. Don’t worry about running out of space. You can also drop in photos, and import PDF documents, including PDF slide decks from Keynote or PowerPoint.

Vittle is great for both quick, impromptu communications as well as for more formal presentations. Have you ever wanted to describe a quick sketch for someone when they weren’t in their office? Well, you can now email them a Vittle right from your iPad. E.g. annotate a screenshot of your website and show exactly what changes you want done.

Have you noticed the proliferation of those whiteboard-style introductions on websites? With Vittle, you can now create your own to promote your own product or idea. If you are a teacher, you can now easily create a library of video lessons that you can reuse year-after-year. Even create your own YouTube channel to share your expertise with the world.

Vittle can also be used just for fun. Create simple stop-motion animations; tell stories with comic characters and photos; storyboard your next movie production, in video. This is a medium that’s bound to spur new art forms.

 

Welcome to the Age of Digital Video

We are now approaching a tipping point where video communication is going to become ubiquitous. Bandwidth is now cheap and fast enough to handle video with no problem, even on mobile devices. Free services such as YouTube and Vimeo give you the broadcast reach that rivals any major movie studio.

As a result, we can now communicate in ways that are more natural and authentic to us as humans, rather than ways that are optimized for computers from the last century.

The iPad is ideally suited for this form of communication.

 

Vittle Snaps Right Into Your Workflow

Vittle produces native 720p HD video files that you own. We don’t force you to upload them to any online service, but you can easily share them on the service of your choice, email them just to the folks you want, or save them securely to your company servers. Videos are ready to share the moment you stop recording.

Vittle includes everything you need to record and share videos, and can even handle multiple scenes/recordings. However, you can also easily import the videos you create in Vittle into the editor of your choice. Use iMovie on your iPad to add themes and music, or pull the files onto your PC to compose your weekly video podcast. These days, a lot of basic editing can be done online. E.g. both YouTube and Vimeo let you add theme music to your videos.

 

Ok, Go Check Out Vittle Now

Download the Free Edition of Vittle if you want to try it out first. When you are ready for more, upgrade to the Full Edition. You can find out more about the two editions on the Vittle homepage.

 

Please Tell Us What You Think!

We are just at the beginning of discovering whole new ways of expressing ourselves using the medium of digital video. Let us know what you are doing with Vittle. If you post your videos online, just add the hash tag #vittle in your video description to make it easier for us and others to discover.

Feel free to drop us a line anytime, via our feedback page or through Twitter.

We can’t wait to see what you’ll do with Vittle.

Have fun!

Fontpress is a brand new App that lets you quickly create beautiful mementos from your snapshots. You can add captions with the selection of over 75 distinctive fonts, and apply a range of built-in filters with just a tap.

It’s perfect for crafting a personalized message to send your friends, or just letting your creativity run wild.

It’s pretty addictive, trust us. :)

Fontpress is available for download from the App Store. Check it out.

Inkflow is now available for Free download from the App Store. Go get it!

Visual Thinkers Rejoice!

Inkflow works like a word-processor for visual thinking. Capture your ideas as easily as with pen and paper, then arrange and reorganize them with your fingers.

If you're like us, you've been looking hard for the perfect (th-)inking App. Yet something always seems to be missing, be it speed, flexibility, or just plain elegance. Well, we think we've finally cracked it.

✓ Ultra Smooth Ink
Inkflow's ink feels like a really smooth fountain pen. Great for expressive writing or sketching.

✓ Fluid Resizing and Rearranging

Effortlessly scale or move anything you select. This will change the way you think about ink: Jot down a list of ideas or concepts then rearrange them to fit into the bigger picture. literally move your thoughts around the page, and assemble big ideas with your fingers. This works great for brainstorming and planning. It's also perfect for prototyping layouts, sketching, and drawing.

✓ Full Resolution Zoom

Zoom and pan with two fingers. Inkflow's ink stays sharp no matter how much you zoom in, so you can add fine details at full quality. It's also lightning fast. No pixelation or lag here. This allows writing and drawing with incredible precision, with or without a stylus.

 

Did We Mention Free?

Rather than just read bout Inkflow, go ahead and try it out: We've decided to make the Basic Edition of Inkflow completely FREE. The Basic Edition is fully usable, and we intend to keep it that way. It comes with the Fountain Pen with black ink and all the features above. The only real limitation is that books max out at 20 pages each (but you can create as many as you like).

iPhone and iPod Touch Too: Inkflow is best used on the large iPad screen. However, it is a universal app so you can also view and edit books on the go.

If you're looking for more, there is...

Inkflow Plus Edition for iPad
iPad users can upgrade instantly at any time to the Plus Edition to get:

✓ A customizable, full color palette,

✓ Pencil, Eraser, and Paint Brush tools,

✓ Cut, Copy, Paste Ink and Page Management,

✓ Notebooks with unlimited pages.

✓ And more!

The Plus Edition lets you do even more things such as: Painting, cartooning, and brainstorming in full color. Email or Tweet your creations with a couple taps. Learn more in the in-App Quickstart Guide.

 

The Future of Creativity Software

We strongly believe that the iPad is not just a consumption device. It's a creativity device. Thanks for supporting us in our journey of building creative Apps like Inkflow. We hope you enjoy it!

Download Inkflow from the App Store.

(The brief story of how QDo came about…)

Some might say we are a little nuts about productivity here at Qrayon. Making software, like many things in life, can take quite a bit of focus -- to stay on task, to polish that next feature, and then the next, all the way to completing a launch. Having to juggle multiple projects, priorities and distractions makes that tricky at times, and we’re always looking for the best tools and techniques to help us stay focused and on the critical path.

We’ve tried lots of project management and to-do systems, and have found most to be too complex and inflexible. So, like all good software designers, we decided to make our own tools.

We actually use a couple different systems, but for smaller projects, we like to keep the remaining tasks list (the “backlog” in agile-speak) in a simple todo.txt file, that looks something like this:

These files are a simple list of tasks, with time estimates in brackets. The project owner can see at a glance how much is left to do until the next milestone. They can easily check off tasks, add new ones, and move them around as priorities change. These files are also be checked-in with the rest of the documents, so that they are always in sync with the project.

We wrote a little App that lives in the menu bar. It would oh-so-gently remind us what the very next task was on our queue, and also does the math to tell us how much work time is left to complete the milestone. It monitors changes to the to-do files, and automatically updates each time we make changes.

We all use it everyday and love it. This App has worked so well for us, that it occurred to us that other people might find it useful too. So we decided to build a more polished version from the ground-up, and call it QDo (“Queue-Do”).

I’m happy to announce that we’ve also decided to release it free in the Mac App Store. If you think you might find QDo useful, please give it a try, and let us know what you think. (If we find enough interest, we might release an enhanced version in the future).

If you have never tried a text-based to-do system before, we recommend trying it out just to see if you prefer the simplicity and flexibility it offers. If you already have a text-based system that you find useful, we’d love to hear about it (we’re always looking to improve ours). Feel free to drop a line via the feedback form.

We hope you enjoy using QDo as much as we do!

Thank you again to all our beta testers. We really appreciate all the feedback. Everyone can now get their copy of Air Scanner from the App Store.

We’re pleased to announce that Air Projector Free has just gone live in the App Store, our little holiday gift to you and your friends. This app lets you project your recent photos from your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad to a browser on any computer on the same network.

Just fire up Air Projector Free and type in the displayed URL in your web browser. Then flip through the photos on your iPhone and the remote display updates automatically. Hook up your laptop to your TV to show off your latest photos to your friends and family on the big screen.

If you like Air Projector Free, also check out the Full Version, which also allows you to:

• Project PDF files and photo libraries
• Use a virtual laser pointer
• And more!

Happy holidays from everyone at Qrayon!

Link: Air Projector Free in the App Store