[real-eyes] Fw: Two free recently released Color Identifier Apps, both fully accessible but still not a magic bullet
- From: "Andrea Breier" <abreier@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:57:12 -0500
Hello All, Here is a really good overview of two new color apps for the
iProducts. I am forwarding it to you from the viphoen list.
I've been testing two recently released Apps named "ColorFinder" and Color
ID Free." These Apps are both free, simple to use, work correctly with VO,
and work in "real time" meaning that when you launch the App the camera
automatically becomes active and calculates colors as you move the phone. No
need to point and shoot or pick an existing photo to analyze. As with all
iPhone color identifiers to date, my testing resulted in variable results
although I now prefer both of these apps to the three color identifiers I
had tried previously, those being AidColors, Color Identifier, and iSpectrum
Color Blind Assistant. Unfortunately, there doesn't yet appear to be a color
identifier app that is as accurate for colors as the LookTel App is for US
currency. Also, as with the LookTel App, it is important to press the Home
button when you are done using these apps otherwise the camera continues to
function and will drain battery quickly.
Following are brief descriptions of these Apps based on my personal
experiences testing them in various conditions as noted. I've pasted US App
Store links at the end of this email.
First App: ColorFinder, version 1.0
This App is as simple as it gets. There are just three screen elements, all
accessible, and they give color readouts in the following three formats:
First element: An RGB readout. This tells you the levels of Red, Green and
Blue in the object currently being viewed by the camera.
Second element: HSL readout: This tells you the Hue, Saturation and
Luminosity levels of the object currently being viewed by the camera.
Third element: Color name readout. This is a standard color name, for
example: Red, Blue, Light Blue, Black, White, etc.
To use this App, just launch it and point the iPhone's camera at the object
whose color you wish to identify. Then either swipe or tap to whichever
screen element you wish to hear and VO will read it. The readouts update
constantly and if VO stops reading the currently selected element, just
swipe off the element and then back onto it to hear the latest reading.
As with other color identifier Apps on the iPhone 4, I had mixed results
with this App. It did a good job of identifying the color of objects that
were Blue or Red but was less accurate with Browns, greens and yellows.
It had a tendency to identify colors as Pink or Orange when they were really
Brown, Beige, White or Yellow. It worked best outdoors in daylight, worked
okay under incandescent light, and gave it's worst results under fluorescent
lighting. There are no menus, settings or other options in this App, and it
does not seem possible to activate the LED flash built into the newer
i-devices. The Developer's website appears to have only a placeholder at
this time and I am unable to find any active contact information. If you are
unfamiliar with RGB and / or HSL readouts, you can find many descriptions
via google. I find the RGB readout to be interesting but quite variable.
Second App: Color ID Free, version 1.2
This App was released by GreenGar Studios, known to some of you for the
exotic color names in their other color App called simply "Color
Identifier." Fortunately, this version allows you to switch between those
unidentifiable exotic color names and a much simpler selection of color
names. This App has more options than the ColorFinder App, and in my testing
it produced more accurate readings. This App uses it's own built-in voice to
read the colors in real time. Again, no camera work is required, just launch
the App, point the camera at the target and the color will be read aloud to
you as will any changes in color if you move the camera. There is a row of
five properly labeled buttons along the bottom of the screen just above a
small i-Ad. They are, from left to right:
1. Repeat button: This toggles on and off the default function of
automatically checking the color every 3 seconds.
2. Pause button: This toggles the process on and off temporarily.
3. Cross Hair button: This manually rechecks the color once.
4. Actions button: This presents a menu with the following six choices all
of which are self-explanatory: Save to Photos App, Email Photo, Send to
Facebook, Toggle between Exotic and Simple colors, Switch from rear facing
to front facing camera, and Toggle Torch which turns the LED on or off.
5. Info Button: Presents a screen with buttons to view other Apps from this
Developer.
Also, near the top left corner of the main screen, there is an unlabeled
button to toggle between the exotic and simple color names. It is important
to select Simple Colors if you want to be able to make sense of the results.
Even in the Simple Color mode, it is still very verbose in it's color names,
using descriptive terms such as "very light purplish blue" and "greyish
green" which are much better than the exotic color names such as "Don Juan"
and "Mineshaft."
In my testing this App was more accurate than the other color apps I've
tried, especially when used under incandescent lighting. Results when using
the built-in LED light were okay but tended to report as "greyish" or
"whiteish." As with some other color identifier apps, this one seemed most
accurate with Reds and Blues, but it seemed to do better than some others
when identifying Greens, Yellows and Browns. Also this App seems to tax the
performance of my iPhone 4 and VO becomes very choppy while the app is
running. This is not normally an issue because the App's built-in voice is
doing the reading for you, but if you have trouble you can try choosing the
pause button to temporarily stop the process, or toggle off the automatic
color updates by choosing the repeat button and then use the cross hairs
button to manually check the current color.
Link to ColorFinder in the US App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/colorfinder/id423235244?mt=8
Link to Color ID Free in the US App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-id-free/id402233600?mt=8
HTH,
Bryan
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- » [real-eyes] Fw: Two free recently released Color Identifier Apps, both fully accessible but still not a magic bullet - Andrea Breier
