retro

Big Lens is an image-editing app with a unique interface for adding effects and manipulating focus in your images. You start by snapping a picture or importing one from your photo library, then use touch-screen controls to set the aperture, change periphery blur levels, and adjust background light to create a bokeh effect. What's interesting about the app is that you have the ability to draw where you want focus or blur effects.

You start by drawing over the part of the image you want in focus, then hitting the arrow in the upper right to apply the effect. … Read more

PhotoToaster is an image editor with tons of preset effects and custom options to give your photos a stylized look. To "toast" a photo you can either take a new picture with your iPhone camera or choose an image from your photo library. Buttons across the bottom of the interface let you experiment with the different effects.

With PhotoToaster, you can use one of several global effects for a photo or use them as a starting point--this app lets you customize the effects to your liking using onscreen sliders. Global effects include retro looks, black and white effects, … Read more

Picfx lets you play around with 47 different effects and 13 different styles with which to tweak your images, and adds some extras not found in other apps of this type. As with most image manipulation apps, you can snap a fresh photo with your iPhone camera or import a picture from your photo library. Across the bottom of the screen are icons of leather-bound books, each of which represents a bunch of effects. The categories are broken up into Grunge, Classics, Textures, Light, Space, and Frames. Once you've selected a photo, the layout makes it easy to pick … Read more

Members of the popular photo-sharing app Instagram are finding unique and creative ways to use their retro photos outside of the app. Casetagram is the latest to come along and provide another outlet for budding photographers to share their work.

Casetagram allows you to create a custom iPhone case, displaying your own personal Instagram photos. … Read more

Bicycling around town wearing earbuds isn't a great idea and is even illegal in some places. But a set of decent bicycle-mounted speakers will set you back $60-$120, and if you crank them up you risk some dirty looks. Now there's a third alternative. A Taiwanese company figures that if you're going to spring for a handlebar mount for your iPhone, you should get a little sound amplification in the bargain.

Horn Bike from Fruitshop (I'm guessing the names sound a lot cooler to Taiwanese ears) features a small horn that passively amplifies the sound from your iPhone's built-in speaker. Think cutting-edge technology circa 1890.

The silicone iPhone 4 mount doubles your phone's volume, making it loud enough to hear well--given not a whole lot of ambient noise. Because the horn projects the sound right at you, it's not so loud that it bothers people sharing the road or trail.… Read more

R-Type for Android takes you way back to the '80s with its classic humans-versus-aliens storyline and retro shoot-'em-up style of game play. Because it's more or less unchanged from its arcade predecessor, R-Type is sure to keep you hooked for hours at a time, just as it did when you were younger.

While there is a rich plot that drives R-Type, its details are relatively inconsequential. All you need to know is that you are piloting a futuristic star ship, and your primary objective is to kill aliens...lots and lots of aliens.

To begin, your ship is … Read more

If you miss the feeling of carrying around one of those old-fashioned standalone cameras (remember those?), this case lets you dress your iPhone up like one.

The Wood Camera iPhone Case, from Photojojo, comes in bamboo or walnut engraved with old-school camera stylings to "up your photo-taking cred." It's made for the iPhone 4 and contains openings for the phone's volume button, headphone jack, power button, and camera flash.

The $42 case slides on in two parts over each end of the phone, closing in the middle, and won't crack, scratch, or splinter, Photojojo promises. (Just keep the thing away from termites.) It also has a snug felt internal lining to cushion the phone's glass from the wood.

While we haven't gotten our mits on the case yet, it certainly exudes a sleek retro flair. We can imagine it might hold particular appeal for young Digital Age hipsters who are discovering the joys of analog photography but may not want to tote an actual old-school cam around all the time. … Read more

Instagram is a long-time favorite photo app with users that lets you apply retro filters to your iPhone photos to turn quick mobile shots into art. It's easy to use, makes sharing photos simple and fun, and, best of all, it's free. The app has been out for quite some time and is extremely popular with users, but if you haven't had a chance to check it out, we think it's an app just about anyone can appreciate. Just beware: Instagram is addictive.

Instagram (free) requires only a couple of touches to produce great-looking images, but … Read more

Aside from my annual NHL video game head-to-head face-off, there aren't too many times where tech and the greatest sport in the world cross paths--aside from a glowing puck or two.

So it's no surprise that I was ecstatic to learn that a movement to have NHL veteran defenseman Mike Commodore change his number to 64 had been started to pay the classic home computer homage, a piece of electronics that still holds the title of being the best-selling computer of all time.

Commodore--the hockey player--was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 1999 and has spent his career moving around the league playing for teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and, most recently, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On the first day of the NHL's free agency, the Detroit Red Wings signed Commodore to a one-year deal. Since then, an outpouring of support to have him wear number 64 has been making its rounds on hockey blogs and Twitter, with a significant push coming from Yahoo Sports' fantastic hockey blog, Puck Daddy. The site has totally committed to the cause, raising the eyebrows of local Detroit news outlets and the Red Wings organization as well. Even Mike Commodore himself has also tweeted that he's considering 64.… Read more