DECK SPEAKER lets OTHERS TAKE CONTROL

Deck speaker, $200,

www.solrepublic.com

For its first foray into wireless speakers, the headphone maker Sol Republic wanted to stand out in an already crowded market. So the company teamed up with Motorola to create Deck, a speaker that offers more than the typical bells and whistles.

With Motorola technology, Sol Republic was able to increase the range of the Deck to 300 feet, about 10 times the range of standard wireless speakers. Sol Republic also added an "outdoor mode" that bolsters the sound.

But the most innovative feature of the Deck is the "heist mode," which allows other people to commandeer the speaker and stream their own music. Typical wireless speakers are manually paired with only one device at a time, but the Deck can be paired with up to five devices through Bluetooth or near-field communication.

The Deck's internal drivers and side bass port produce a full, clean sound, with an emphasis on the bass; the slim, lightweight design makes it easily portable; and the heist mode is a fun, social feature that offers the opportunity for friends to share new music. But at $200, it's a bit expensive, especially compared with similar models.

APP gives photos

an ARTSY BLUR

Tadaa 3-D, www.tadaa.net, $3.99

The Tadaa 3-D app for Apple products adds an arresting effect to your photos, making a foreground object move around when you tilt your phone, like an old postcard with a plastic lenticular 3-D screen.

But the app can be tricked into providing an even more useful photo effect — "bokeh," a blurring of the background to draw the eye to the main subject — that is usually reserved for digital single-lens reflex cameras with a high-end lens.

Bokeh is used in many artful photos, especially in portraits. Generally you can't get bokeh with a mobile phone or tablet camera because of limitations of the lens. Here is where the Tadaa 3-D app comes in.

You start out as if you were making a Tadaa 3-D photo, by using your finger to draw over the part of your photo you want in focus. You can be pretty sloppy about it if you leave "Detect Edge" on; the app will help you isolate your foreground. The parts to remain focused will turn green.

When you hit the apply button, everything not green will go blurry. You can then add filter effects, like making your picture black and white as you would with Instagram or other photo apps.

NEW YORK TIMES