Bankrate is the world leading aggregator of mortgage rates and financial content on the Internet, and they have packaged their best features into a simple, friendly app that allows you to calculate monthly mortgage payments and get real-time mortgage rate quotes from lenders… so you can shop for your next mortgage right from your iPhone. Whether you’re buying a new home or considering a refinance, the Bankrate Mortgage Calculator & Mortgage Rates app helps you make smart decisions about your personal finances.

Features of the Bankrate Mortgage Calculator & Mortgage Rates app:

Mortgage Calculator

• Calculate monthly mortgage payments based on loan amount, interest rate, and mortgage term
• Adjust values to determine the monthly loan payment you can afford
• Use the amortization calculator to view your principal, interest and balance over time
• Calculate how making extra payments can affect your payoff, shorten your loan term and reduce total interest paid

Mortgage Rates & Payments

• Find current mortgage rates and lenders for the loan amount you’re searching for
• Adjust loan amount, mortgage type, percent down, credit score, desired points and the location of the property to get free customized rate quotes from lenders without having to disclose personal information
• Save favorite searches and calculations for future reference

News & Expert Advice

• View daily mortgage rate averages to monitor rate trends over time
• Read the latest news and articles relating to mortgages and other financial topics to stay up-to-date and help manage your personal finances
• Stay informed and get advice from Bankrate.com’s team of expert bloggers

What’s new in Version 2.00

• Complete redesign
• Improved user experience
• Faster rate search results
• Better formatted rate result tables
• Enhanced, easier-to-use amortization table
• Slider controls added to calculator
• Overnight rates added to Main Menu
• Video selections added to “News & Advice” tab
• Better Save Search functionality implemented
• Calculator and amortization table now work in airplane mode
• General bug fixes and stability improvements
• Improved help screens

The post Bankrate® Mortgages appeared first on Venturesoft.

SpeechPrompts is a new app from HandHold Adaptive®, makers of iPrompts®, StoryMaker™ and other leading tools serving those with special needs and their caregivers. It is designed for use with those with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), particularly individuals exhibiting abnormal prosody. Prosody refers to the musical aspects of speech, including rate, rhythm, volume, phrasing and intonation.

The app includes the following features:

• VOICECHART
  Like a “voice thermometer,” VoiceChart provides real-time feedback on loudness of speech. Speakers are shown visually whether they are “Too Loud,” “Too Quiet,” or “Just Right”. Sliders allow customization of the thresholds between each volume zone. An animated meter changes color based on the current volume level. Users may select from included graphics to illustrate when speakers are “Too Loud,” “Too Quiet,” and “Just Right,” or use the built-in camera to supply their own accompanying visuals.
• VOICEMATCH
  Provides visual and aural feedback on stress, rate and rhythm of speech by comparing a “Teacher” voice recording to a “Student” voice recording. The Student voice sample is compared both visually (via a waveform graphic) and aurally (via audio playback) to the Teacher recording, which serves as a target or model phrase. The Student attempts to “match” the Teacher waveform by repeating it aloud. Visual differences between the two audio recordings can then be highlighted (e.g., point to the differences on the screen and discuss). As part of the exercise, users may guide students through repeated attempts to more closely match the waveform. Waveforms can be trimmed using scissors, and slowed down to half or three-quarter speed.
• LIBRARY
  Select from 50 included Teacher waveforms, or add your own recording to the Library for later use in VoiceMatch. Search or browse the Library to find existing clips. Users may also categorize, label and re-record samples if desired.
• FLEXIBLE IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
  A Sensitivity control allows VoiceChart to be used in quiet and loud spaces alike.
• SHOW HOW INTONATION AFFECTS MEANING
  Record multiple variations of a phrase, each emphasizing different words (e.g., “Do *you* have that video game?” versus “Do you have *that* video game?”). Then, use these recordings in VoiceMatch to teach how emphasizing different words can change the meaning of a phrase.
• PRODUCT RESEARCH
  SpeechPrompts is currently under investigation in a controlled study, conducted by autism researchers at the Yale Child Study Center. Inquiries about the research study may be directed to info@handholdadaptive.com.

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We initially launched the StoryMaker product in a limited, controlled field trial in conjunction with Southern Connecticut State University and Yale University as a part of the US Department of Education’s / CT Innovations SBIR research for Autism.  This critical research initiative which will help us validate the storytelling methodology’s effectiveness.  The first wave of users have already reported their findings, and even made claims that a few of their children “had less tantrums” because of this product’s storytelling experience.  

We have now optimized this product so that we could bring it to market and reach the largest audience possible. We encourage you to visit the app store for StoryMaker™ for Social Stories and check it out today.

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For Android, we focused heavily on the tablet experience, as that’s what we learned was most important for our iPrompts® user base. We decided early on to stick to market-leading tablets and e-Readers like the acclaimed Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, the Nook Tablet, and the Kindle Fire. We then modified layouts to fit the typical formats of popular Android smartphones.

We have initially launched the iPrompts-Android® product in a limited, controlled field trial in conjunction with Southern Connecticut State University and Yale University as a part of the US Department of Education / CT Innovations SBIR research for Autism.

iPrompts is now available at Google Play, at Barnes & Nobles for Nook Tablet, and also at Amazon for Kindle Fire. Here’s some screenshots of the product on each of these devices:

Buy Now at Google Play	Buy Now on Nook Tablet	Buy Now on Kindle Fire

SCHOOLS/ENTERPRISES:  If you are an enterprise or fleet customer, we encourage you to contact us directly for status so that we can optimize our launch to the specific devices in your fleet.

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Compose and share the screwiest, funniest messages EVER with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch using Schmessages.

Glow Color	Doodle	Voice	Text	Picture

The best messaging features all in one app.

Made by and for kids & teens, Schmessages™ allows you to compose and share silly Text, Picture, Voice, Doodle, and Glow Messages using popular features found in other standalone products. Schmessages™ brings all of these together into one experience.

Features include:
- Emoticons from Apple’s Colorful Emoji Characters
- Translate Text into Upside Down, Pig Latin, Swedish Chef, LOLCat, and Random
- Picture Messages with LOLCat Image Builder
- Web Image Search from Google, Bing, and Flickr
- Camera/Library integration
- Voice Message recording simultaneously with iTunes Music and licensed Hollywood/Video-game quality sound effects.
- Glow Messages with an integrated background creator
- Doodle Messages with integrated FingerPaint-Glow-style doodling including popular Glow / Spray paint modes
- Post messages to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr
- Send messages via Email, SMS, and MMS

Optimized for Apple Devices with iMessage and MMS, Schmessages™ is sure to turn your boring instant messaging into a volley of LOL’s and funny pictures with your friends.

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We wanted a very responsive user interface, something that kids and adults would both like, that would live up to the high standards of the new iPad retina display. Here’s what we came up with:

The buttons use a new satellite menu, like the popular “Path” app, with a playful spin & bounce effect added to them. Users can select between glow paint, regular paint, and pick from a swath of new features including a background image maker, a picture editor, web image search, and more.

A classic version with the old interface is being released in a separate app – users have told us that it is still appealing for the young users around age 2. We’re thrilled people still enjoy this older, simpler version and are happy to still have it around.

Lastly, we added a rich set of sharing features so that users could spread the word and share their fingerpaint pictures with everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Email.

From a product design standpoint, the FingerPaint Glow product was built using a product-feature matrix that upsells the user gently through a blend of paywalls, in-app purchases, and “value-pack” bundles. A free and a deluxe version were both made from the same codebase, ensuring our ability to rigorously test features for all users, regardless of version. We built the mobile storefront in a modular fashion so that we could reuse it for other client projects as well. The free version sports iAd and Admob advertising as well, and users can optionally pay to disable the ads if they like.

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HealthiNation’s bite-sized health content was an ideal match for a video advertising unit because of its short-form length, which allowed it to qualify for running valuable preroll-with-synced-companion-banner advertising. In this model, it nested two advertising units within a larger one (see the graphic at the right) allowing them to backfill the inventory using advertising arbitrage when the market allowed for it.

The complexity of building a video ad cannot be overstated… deep integration was required with:

• Video ad networks such as Tremor Media, LiveRail, Google Adsense-For-Video, Doubleclick
• Traffic acquisition networks including MediaMath, 24×7 Real Media, DataXu, and Google
• Audience measurement and audience qualification sites like comScore Video Metrix, comScore Media Metrix, Omniture, Google Analytics, and Quantcast

The video advertising unit was built in two different video technologies – FlowPlayer and Brightcove. Deep customization was done using ActionScript and Javascript, including a custom-built AJAX preloader designed to eliminate the high cost of EyeWonder as a video ad server.

Here are two visual examples of these video advertising units along with an example of the advertising monetization model that was used to make this product as profitable as possible:

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With multiple reporting features, this information can then be reviewed and shared, to help parents and other caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) answer the ongoing and ever-puzzling question: “What seems to be working, and what’s not?”

For decades, parents have often felt powerless, confused, overwhelmed, and unsure of which approaches should be taken to help improve the lives of those they care for. Well-meaning educators, researchers, doctors, and friends suggest a variety of approaches, including therapy, pharmacology and dietary alterations, but it can be difficult for parents to know which combinations seem to make a difference in helping their loved ones to learn and grow.

AutismTrack™ gives parents, central figures in the autism community, more information on their search to discover the unique patterns and trends experienced by individuals with ASD.

The app includes the following powerful features:

• Fast Data Entry
  It takes only a few minutes to enter the day’s information. AutismTrack™ doesn’t bog parents down with long surveys — information is entered in a simple, easily understood format.
• Custom Journaling
  Caregivers can add their own interventions and behaviors to the standard data sets available within the app, and can add notes to supplement compliance checklists and sliding-scale behavior ratings.
• Multiple Caregivers
  Multiple caregivers can track a single child, which is useful in achieving “consensus” around the child’s current level of performance, or in simply confirming whether or not medications were already administered for the day. Also, multiple profiles may be created within one account (e.g., to track several children). AutismTrack™ runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (an Internet connection is required).
• Emailable and Printable Reports
  Tracked data is available in an emailable and printable form, so that caregivers can provide reporting to educators, researchers, doctors, and friends. Reports include Daily Log entries and Trend Analysis reports, where behaviors may be graphed and compliance with treatments may be monitored over periods of time.
• Server Based Data Storage
  Caregivers who register to use AutismTrack™ can rest assured that if their device gets lost or breaks, data is recoverable through HandHold Adaptive’s secure server.

To learn more visit HandholdAdaptive.com, or review the app at Apple.com.

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Pictures of kids make it clear “Who’s Playing Now” and “Who’s Up Next”. Animated timers and sound effects show kids when it’s time to take turns. To set up, just choose your players, activity, and turn length. Press “Start,” and watch kids share like never before!

Parents, babysitters, teachers and other adults use SharingTimer to organize play among children. With its large, clear graphics, SharingTimer makes the rules of play easy for kids to understand, so they spend less time fighting, and more time playing!

Using SharingTimer is a breeze! After pressing the START button on the Play Screen, time beings to count down. Animations and sound effects make it clear when each player’s turn is almost up. An END OF TURN box then “pops up” to alert the players when it’s time to share.

Buy SharingTimer now for just $0.99, and use your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to help take the fighting out of playing!

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Acclaimed in news stories around the world, iPrompts® is the original picture-based prompting app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad!

iPrompts® offers many innovative advantages over traditional Velcro®-backed picture cards:

• Create visual prompts “on-the-go,” adapting quickly as situations change.  No need to spend hours creating image cards by printing, cutting and laminating.

• No bulky or stigmatizing binders or strips of images.

• Store thousands of images in your pocket.  Add your own pictures to the hundreds of stock images included within iPrompts®.

• Electronically backlit images are bright and visible any time of day or night.

• Paperless and environmentally friendly.

New – iPrompts® XL: the long-awaited iPad version is now live in the App Store and available for download. The iPad version contains all of the original iPrompts functionality plus several enhancements including an improved Countdown Timer, an integrated Tutorial section, and other iPad-interface enhancements to leverage the 360-degree nature of the iPad display.

Also new for iPrompts® and iPrompts® XL: VideoPrompts, a series of professionally produced video vignettes designed to help kids handle transitions better by modeling real-life situations, is now available in iPrompts as an in-app purchase.

If you know someone affected by autism, we strongly encourage you to consider purchasing iPrompts® or iPrompts XL® — visit HandHoldAdaptive.com to learn more.

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