Check out the links below to get your own copy of the most realistic lighter app for your iPhone or Android device.

Ad-free:

iLightr – Virtual Lighter for iPhone iTunes Link
iLightr – Virtual Lighter for Android Android Market Link

Ad-supported:

iLightr Free – Virtual Lighter for Android Android Market Link

For our non-Canadian friends out there: don’t worry, we’ve got more cases on the way! In fact, if there’s a particular case that you would love to see the Übermind app developers add to our lighter app – favorite band, flag, etc. – please let us know by sending an email to pr [at] ubermind [dot] com.

– Ryan Peterson

iLightr Free for Android has exploded across the Android platform, generating over 33,000 downloads in just a few days. The app has been one of our most popular apps on both the Android and iOS platform and has proven itself to be tough and resilient against other similar virtual lighter apps. As always, we could not be more proud. It is so great to watch an app spread across the market, kickin’ butt and taking names.

With so many recent downloads, iLightr has already flown to the Top Free downloads section in the Android Market. Come to think of it, the paid ad-free version of iLightr for Android is a top paid app for the Android Market as well.

And, if that’s not reason enough for all you Android users to check it out, maybe our marketing guru, Ryan Peterson can help convince you in this short video from iLightr’s release. Either way, be sure to grab your copy of iLightr while it’s hot!

-Kevin

First you can download your very own copy of Masque for iPad – which is free if you participate in our Masque promo code giveaway! Then, once you’ve downloaded Masque, just import one of your amazing photos and get to work. Once you’ve created that perfect Masque-r-piece, simply upload it to your favorite photo sharing sites and wait for the applause to start.

Don’t believe me? Well, maybe you’ll believe one of Über-developers, Justin Spahr-Summers, who can explain all the reasons that sharing and importing are so great in Masque. Check it out:

Doesn’t that just blow your mind? Well, we think it’s pretty impressive stuff. Sadly though, this is our very last Masque feature video. Don’t be too upset, we’ve got other exciting apps in the pipeline. We hope you had as much fun watching these as we did making them. Stay tuned for more amazing videos in the future!

-Kevin

The eraser tool is one of the key features in Masque that really helps you dial in your photo editing skills, allowing you to create a completely custom, mind blowing image. That’s why we decided to showcase it in our Masque feature video series. In this feature video we have the pleasure of hearing from one of the key developers of Masque for iPad, Josh Abernathy. Josh is one of Übermind’s most inspiring developers and had some great things to say about the project and what makes Masque so unique. Here’s what Josh had to say:

So, unless you are able to get yourself a DeLorean that can take you back in time, you should just go ahead and get started with the eraser tool in Masque. It’s simple, easy and doesn’t require you to go 88 MPH. Stay tuned for more Masque feature videos and be sure to check out our Masque Promo Code giveaway!

-Kevin

Oh, did we mention that it’s free? Just go to the Android Market and search for “iLightr.” Android folks, don’t say that we never did anything for you… Oh man, the iPhone iLightr users are going to be jealous!

To learn more about the additions and the “strategy” behind our app development, take a look at the video posted below (change playback to 480p in the lower right corner of window). There’s some top secret info in there that we’re sharing for the first time in company history.

It’s rewarding to watch apps grow and change with time; adding new features and designs, or even introducing them to new platforms. Dreaming up and developing apps that excite mobile users is what we love to do here at Übermind. With every app we create, our aim to is to deliver an experience that brings joy to the end user. So, hopefully you’ll check out iLightr and see that it’s no exception to the way we do things!

- Kevin

In the most recent release from the Masque “feature” video series we get a special insight to this tool from Übermind CEO and mobile enthusiast Shehryan Khan. Here’s what Shehryar had to say about the brush tool in Masque:

Well, there you have it, direct from the CEO himself. If you had any doubts about the app before, let’s hope that Shehryar’s opinion was enough to nudge you in the right direction.

As promised, there will be more videos to come very soon, showcasing the remaining features in Masque. Oh, and stay tuned for a sneak peak behind the scenes look at Übermind. Who knows, you may see something as crazy as a double rainbow!

-Kevin

Getty Images, the popular stock photo agency, may work even better on the iPad than online. The app’s initial view is fun, a shifting gallery of editorial, creative, or archival photos. A nearly hidden “Easter egg”: shake the iPad to bring up images for a random keyword — good for when the creative juices aren’t flowing. The photo search is phenomenal, making it easy to search for keywords and build a custom lightbox from your favorite results. (Lacking a free Getty Images account, though, I wasn’t able to try the features of sharing lightboxes, viewing them in slideshow mode, and adding voice recordings.) Complex searches work better on gettyimages.com, but the ability to compare up to four photos full screen makes picking the perfect shot a treat. Once again, the iPad’s bright screen proves to be superb for displaying vibrant photography.

All of us here at Übermind, especially our mobile strategy and iOS development teams, love to see our clients’ apps receive a little press from those who know best. It’s the proverbial “pat on the back” that makes doing what we love to do all the more worth it. Thanks, SPD!

Getty Images is available for both iPad and iPhone as a free download from the App Store.

– Ryan Peterson

Masque is a photo enhancing app for iPad that offers many powerful features for customizing photos in multiple ways. One of the most highly sought after features is Layers. Layers allows users to compile multiple effects, each on different layer. From here, users can really dive in and add personal touches to create a unique image of their own.

In our latest video, Uriah Mckinney, QA Engineer extraordinaire, gives us his thoughts on the layers feature in Masque. Here’s what he had to say:

As you can see, each member of our team has something unique to share about Masque – and each of them loves to share their perspective on Masque. By that standard alone, you can see why it is so easy to love Masque and why we want to share it with the world. So in keeping with my previous promise, I’ll start wrapping up. If you haven’t had a chance to play with Masque, check out our Masque-r-piece contest to receive your free copy of Masque. I’ll see you soon!

- Kevin

This is the first in the six video series that will highlight individual features in Masque for iPad, giving you an in depth look into the full potential of the app. As a bonus, you’ll get an inside look into the secret world of Übermind developers. Each person in this video series was personally involved in the creation of Masque for iPad, helping you put a face to the genius behind the app. Wait, is that Jonathon Ive, Senior VP of Industrial Design from Apple? No, we’ve got our own British heartthrob, James Lawton. James was one of the key developers on the project and was invaluable in pushing the app to its final release. Here’s what he had to say about the gradient feature in Masque.

We will continue to roll out more videos very soon, so stay tuned – who knows, you just might get to see a sneak peek at a behind the scenes of Übermind.

-Kevin

Advertising Age posted an article yesterday that caught our eye as its topic is near and dear to our app-loving hearts. Aptly named, “Unlike Media Brands, Marketers Slow to Embrace the iPad” explores the lack of haste displayed by non-media brands to produce an app for iPad. I found the stance of the article, and many of those who commented, to be a bit perplexing. Let me explain:

The article makes note that just over 3 million of the 100+ million iOS devices are iPads. So what? It’s a nice data point to quote, but I fail to see the value of judging a new computing platform in its infancy. Furthermore, we already know that Microsoft and Google will eventually follow suit with their own tablet operating systems or maybe even take another swing at building their own devices.

The absence of iPad apps from non-media brands has less to do with their waiting to see if the tablet form-factor will become widely adopted – it will – and more to do with their desire to deliver a meaningful experience to users. Thankfully, it appears that many brands and their agencies are taking hold of the opportunity to build a thoughtful app for this new, albeit familiar, computing platform rather than produce more “me-too” or novelty apps, of which the App Store already has enough.

Building iPad apps that consumers actually want to use simply takes more time than the typical two- to four-week effort needed to create one of the many uninspired “app version of our web site” apps (e.g. store locator, catalogs lacking e-commerce, etc.) circa 2008 and 2009. Case in point, we are currently working on iPad app initiatives for a number of brands, each with time requirements spanning between three to six months to deliver a “version 1.0″ app. If anything, it’s refreshing to see these brands consider what pain their app will alleviate for its intended end users.

In addition to the larger scope and complexity of today’s mobile apps, iPad apps offer a unique (though potential similar to the up-coming Android devices will be here for the 2010 holiday season) experience unlike that of any other touch device – yes, even iPhone or iPod touch. iPad offers a “flat” user experience, allowing most of an app’s functionality to be accessible from one screen, versus the iPhone’s or iPod touch’s user experience where a more hierarchical approach is required.

Here’s a fun exercise, try using a “Universal” app (app that takes full advantage of the technologies on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with a single binary) such as Evernote on iPad, and then on iPhone; now consider which experience you found to be more enjoyable. For me, apps built for iPad offer a stickier experience and more utility… Well, unless a camera is involved, but let’s not go there.

As for Cunningham’s remark of the brand app era being over, I just don’t see it. Given the significant number of early adopters and the consumer groups who eventually follow suit, why would non-media brands (especially the ones who profess to be concerned with “engagement”) not want to reach out and engage with these premium consumers (assuming these consumers are part of their target market of course)?

What are your thoughts, Über-readers? Which brands would you like to see extend their products or services to and an app for iPad?

- Ryan Peterson