Download of the Day

No need for new headphones: Audyssey Amp ($1) is an iOS app that makes music sound better through the magic of technology. The app tailors equalization settings and tonal balance to your specific headphones so that you'll hear crystal-clear, pitch-perfect audio without spending extra cash on expensive ear candy.

From Apple to Urbanears to Beats by Dre, Audyssey Amp has preprogrammed sound-quality settings for over 30 popular headphones. Listeners select the make and model of their headphones, connect their local iTunes music library, and play music through the Audyssey Amp to hear the highest-quality sound your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad can produce. But beware: the app won't play older DRM (Digital Rights Management) files purchased on iTunes before 2009.

If you use Songza, then you're in luck: the music-streaming service uses the Audyssey Amp technology right in their app. Download Audyssey Amp, give it a try, and let us know if you hear the difference.

When you've got an Internet sensation waiting to happen, GifMill (free) is an app for iOS that will turn your moving picture into a shareable animated GIF in no time.

GifMill takes photo composites and video, then gives you, web warrior, the tools to crop or delete up to 100(!) frames. Users can rearrange the frames, speed up the animation, change its orientation, and even reverse it with the rewind tool.

We're digging the app because it's so straightforward — which is great when you're GIF-making under pressure. Shaking the phone will clear whatever you've worked on and let you start anew. After the animated masterpiece is completed, save it or send it off via email, text, Tumblr, or Twitter.

There's also an in-app $1 upgrade to add Emoji or text captions. The upgrade provides additional tools to adjust the size, color, and placement of the text.

If you're in need of some GIF-spiration, then use these animated GIF search engines to help you find the best the Internet has to offer.

Evernote Food (free), the foodie-friendly version of the popular digital note-taking app, released a new iOS update today that allows diners to reserve a table at popular restaurants and rate their meal afterwards. Evernote Food 2.1 comes with reservation system OpenTable and location discovery platform Foursquare built right into the app.

For wining and dining connoisseurs, Evernote Food is a one-stop shop for restaurant discovery and recipe archiving, which is why the app has also included integration with its flagship app Evernote in the latest update.

Recipes saved to Evernote will automatically sync to My Cookbook in Evernote Food. Chefs can also share their recipes with food-loving friends through Twitter, Facebook, or email.

Evernote found themselves in hot water earlier this month, when the company forced a service-wide password reset after their network was hacked. Before updating Evernote Food, make sure you've changed your password too.

Android users were left out of the latest Evernote Food update, unfortunately. But we'll keep you posted when the non-iOS Evernote Food 2.1 is download-ready.

Watch how Evernote works with OpenTable after the break.

Sorry news junkies, but Google has an update you won't like: the company's beloved Google Reader has fallen victim to Spring cleaning. As of July 1, 2013, the RSS feed aggregator, which has maintained a devoted following since 2005, will power down so that Google can "focus — otherwise we spread ourselves too thin and lack impact," the company said on its official blog.

A petition to keep the service has already collected over 50,000 signatures, but the truth of the matter is, Google has no plans to replace Reader.

Headline grazers, we've got your web browsing back. To find out how to export your Google Reader subscriptions and what the best RSS aggregating alternatives are, keep calm and read on.

Attention, iPhone users: it's time to relive those childhood field trips — Google style! The powerhouse of the Internet has finally released its Field Trip app (free) to Apple users. What was once an Android-based app is now available to those with iPhones and iPads.

Consider Field Trip the guide to everything cool around you — from history to happy hour. Once downloaded, the mobile application will run in the background, notifying you when you're close to something interesting. Without research, hunting, or trying, you will discover new eats and local gems.

The app was cool before, but now it's even cooler. With partners like Arcadia and Historvius, you can feed your inner history buff, while experts like Food Network and Zagat will help to feed your inner foodie. Other top-notch partners will guide you to the latest music scenes, boutiques, and more. Start downloading to discover fun things on vacation, or simply venture off the beaten path during your next walk around the block. Let us know what you find!

Hassling friends to chip in on a surprise party or getting roommates to pay the utilities bill can be such a struggle. Stop splitting hairs with debtors by splitting the bill with group texting app GroupMe, which introduced an in-app money collection feature during this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX.

GroupMe's payment platform is easy and fast, but what makes it different from other money-collecting methods is digital peer pressure: when someone chips in, everyone on the group text gets notified.

The texting app's latest update, version 4.1 for iPhone and Android (free), includes the new feature, called Split. Users can now attach a "split" to their texts, just as they would add a photo or location.

To create a split, GroupMe texters will need the update, but anyone can pay, even without the app. The purchaser inputs an amount to be paid per person or the total bill, and the app creates a custom link that can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection and a credit card. Cards won't be charged until the purchaser is ready to collect the money, which will then be deposited into a bank account.

Convenience, of course, costs money: split contributors will pay four percent plus $1 per transaction. But in honor of SXSW, GroupMe is waiving the charge and offering Split transactions for free until the end of the festival, 11:59 p.m. CDT on March 12.

Without seeing someone's facial expressions or gestures, there's a lot that gets lost over text, which is why modern mavens turn to emoticons to express what words can't.

Path (free for iOS and Android), the mobile-based "intimate social network," released a major update that takes the art of Emoji conversation a step further, with a private messaging feature that supports a brand-new language called Stickers, voice, location, photo, video, and other multimedia.

Stickers are "pieces of art to be used in messaging," according to Path. Like the coffee-wielding fox you see here, the app's stickers are larger and more animated than your typical Emoji. There are scene-based sticker packs like "Weekend" and character-based packs like this fox named "Pepper."

Path is about nurturing close, personal relationships, and the new visual language is intended to make communication over the platform more dynamic. But, more importantly, the sticker packs are a way for the company to monetize the social network without ads or charging for the app. Path 3 comes with two free packs designed in-house, and additional packs created by artists like David Lanham, Hugh McLeod, and Richard Perez can be purchased in-app for about $2.

Are stickers the Emoji of the future? Get the update and let us know if you think Path's new visual language will "stick" around.

Christoph Niemann first charmed us back in 2009 with his quick-witted I LEGO N.Y. photos, and now, the acclaimed illustrator is back on our geek radar with his first ever interactive iPhone and iPad app, Petting Zoo ($1.99), which is too cute for words. Seriously: Christoph's app is just drawings and sounds.

The virtual picture book prompts curious minds to poke and prod over 20 different hand-drawn animals. With some nudging, pulling, and swiping, the animated animals react in surprising ways, and a different musical sound plays for each creature.

Christoph's sharp humor is truly fun for geeks of all ages (even you, grown-ups). The user interface is beautiful and effortless: there are no words, only simple charcoal lines that shape themselves into various forms. Watch how an octopus's arm transforms into a mandolin and back again.

Although he is an illustrator, graphic designer, and author by trade, Christoph taught himself to code, and the iPad app isn't his first foray into tech. Check out the web-based games he built with New York Times multimedia editor Jon Huang for more illustrated, interactive play.

Press your nose against Andy Warhol's "Gold Marilyn Monroe" at the MoMA or Jackson Pollock's "Autumn Rhythm" at the Met — without actually being there. The world's greatest museums are embracing technology, giving art lovers across the globe access to paintings, sculptures, performance art, and drawings like never before.

Art history geeks can now get up close and personal with their favorite pieces. These museum apps for iOS and Android will take you to New York, Paris, London, and other ultimate art destinations, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home.

• Musée du Louvre, Paris (free) — This app for iOS includes hundreds of images, a presentation of the palace and its history, key updates on events at the museum, and info on art's most iconic masterpieces. There's also a complete audio guide for Android ($3).
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York — The Met doesn't have an official app, but it does produce amazing collections on iTunes U, featuring expert talks on European paintings, contemporary art, photography, Islamic masterpieces, and more.
• Musée d'Orsay, Paris (free) — The iOS and Android app has videos, a list of events, current exhibitions, and operating hours, plus hundreds of images of the museum's most famous works, with detailed information on the artist, date, and location.

Take a trip to the New York MoMA, the Smithsonian, the Guggenheim, and much, much more.