The Walk is a 500 mile thriller where every step counts
I’m a huge fan of Zombies, Run! The immersive app, available for iOS and Android, helped me to lose weight and get fit again, providing the motivation I needed to run on a regular basis. If you’ve not heard of it, the app is a bit like a radio play that unfolds between songs and turns a real-world run into an entertaining journey through the zombie apocalypse.
Now the developers behind that app, Six to Start and Naomi Alderman, have released a new fitness tracker and game for iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices, which is designed to help players incorporate more walking into their everyday lives.
Twitter updates iOS and Android apps with new design, support for photo DMs
Twitter has released two major updates to its mobile app roster: Twitter 6.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and Twitter 5.0 for Android users.
Both apps sport a new design, and support photos in Direct Messages as well as targeted notifications. iOS users also gain an improved search tool and support for Safari’s Reading List.
Textter wants to change the way you send and receive SMS messages [Q&A]
Miami-based startup Textter has developed a new service aiming to revolutionize the way people send and receive text messages.
We spoke to company founder Carlos Cueto in an exclusive interview ahead of next week's official launch to find out more about the product and what it has to offer.
Avira releases Free Android Security 3
Like PCs, Android phones and tablets are susceptible to all kinds of security threats. Thankfully there’s a rich choice of free protection out there, and Avira hopes to woo Android users across to its offering with the release of Avira Free Android Security 3.0.
The app, which offers protection from malicious apps, theft and unwanted calls, boasts a complete redesign with the release of version 3, which includes optimizations for those using the app on 7-inch tablets.
Going mobile is too difficult and too expensive say CIOs
Given all of the current buzz surrounding mobile you'd think that businesses would be falling over themselves to embrace the technology. But a new survey of IT decision makers by enterprise application and security expert Mobile Helix shows that whilst 78 percent of enterprises have a mobile strategy, 86 percent are not using it to transform their business.
The survey of 300 CIOs in the UK and US reveals that 87 percent think that their employees would benefit from mobile access to enterprise applications. However, many of them are reluctant to invest. Complexity is cited by 66 percent as a reason not to pursue a mobile strategy, with 72 percent saying it's too costly to integrate mobile innovations into legacy applications. Development, security and support concerns are also listed as limiting factors.
App hardening emerges as a key component of mobile security strategies
The consumerization of information technology (IT) takes many forms, but the three technologies that employees have become comfortable with in their role as consumer and now wish to leverage in their role as employee are mobile devices, cloud services (for example, file storage), and social networks. All three technologies raise security and compliance concerns for enterprises because of the difficulties surrounding control of their use. The loss of control experienced by IT teams regarding enforcing IT and security policy is a result of employees’ ability to use these technologies to create shadow IT operations on their own.
While each of these three technologies is having a far-reaching impact on enterprises today, the use of mobile devices is most impactful because it allows employees to more easily access both cloud services and social networks. Securing the use of mobile devices is therefore an absolutely critical requirement for businesses today. Actually securing a device that might be owned by an employee and will therefore be unmanageable is, however, a tall order. A better strategy is to assume the device is in fact untrustworthy and to decide that trust is better established at the application level. Secure mobile apps can be built that are isolated from the rest of the device.
5 things you might not think Apple should be thankful for
Today, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and Hanukah, a rare occurrence they overlap. We reflect on the things we feel -- or should be -- grateful. Ahead of the holiday meal I served up "13 things for which Google gives thanks" and colleagues Wayne Williams and Alan Buckingham "5 things to be thankful for in Windows 8.1" and "5 products I'm thankful for", respectively. I would be remiss ignoring Apple.
The fruit-logo company is unique in techdom, inventing or reinventing several hugely successful product categories. Most companies have one- or two-hit wonders. Apple has a string of smash hits, like the rarest of iconic musicians. The Beatles come to mind, because of their 50th-anniversary and name shared -- you know, Apple Records. The many things for which the company should be thankful are obvious, so let's just dispense with those and get to items other list-makers, if there are any, likely will overlook. I present Apple's thankful things from least to most important.
Check your Android apps for privacy risks with Clueful
You’ve found an essential Android app. You click "Install", wanting to check it out immediately. And so, let’s be realistic, you’re probably not going to spend a long time reviewing the app permissions, and thinking about whether it really needs to "send SMS", or not. Much easier to just click "Accept" and give it a try.
Skipping basic security checks can catch up with you later, of course, but install Bitdefender’s Clueful and this doesn’t have to be such an issue. This free app warns you of privacy risks whenever you install something new, and can produce a detailed report on your system whenever you like.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week - November 17 -- 23
Sony PlayStation 4 hit the stores and Brian not only took a look at the brand new console, but also cracked open the case and slipped a larger hard drive inside. Brian wasn't alone in his love of the PS4, more than a million people also bought a console on the day of launch. But not everyone was happy as many units were found to suffer from a Blue Light of Death problem that rendered them unusable. Raspberry Pi was also celebrating its sales figures as more than two million were shifted since its launch last year.
In a rare show of unity, Microsoft and Google joined forces to help tackle the problem of online child pornography. At the same time, Microsoft took its Scroogled campaign to a new level by releasing merchandise (although Joe was impressed). Elsewhere online, Twitter introduced Twitter alerts to the UK and Ireland to help provide people with critical information in an emergency.
CRM on the move for small businesses
For most people customer relationship management conjures up the idea of a massive database of sales information. But for smaller, especially one person, businesses who may spend only a small amount of their time in front of a computer, traditional CRM isn't a practical proposition and doesn't lend itself to mobile use.
Step forward ONDiGO which is designed to provide CRM on the go -- see what they did there? It's built to be easy to use and to start working immediately so that you can begin improving business contacts with customers from day one.
Hands on with Google Play Newsstand
Google has merged two of its reading apps into one with the release of Google Play Newsstand 3.0. The app brings together the magazine subscriptions from its old Google Play Magazines app with the news-aggregating Currents app, retiring both in the process.
The new app aims to provide a one-stop shop not just for magazines and newspapers -- over 1,900 different publications are currently supported -- but also allows users to add their own news sources too using RSS feeds.
Windows Phone doesn't need more half-baked apps, so why launch Instagram?
Like my colleague Brian Fagioli said yesterday in his story announcing the arrival of Instagram on Windows Phone, the lack of apps is frequently among the criticisms that pundits have for the tiled smartphone operating system. It is very much a real problem, but one which is slowly getting remedied through new releases such as Instagram, Vine and Waze. More halo apps are coming, there is no question about it, but are those -- or will they be -- good enough?
When pundits say that Windows Phone has an app problem, the consensus is they are referring to the number of apps available in Store. I believe that it will slowly shift towards the quality of apps available in Store. Again, this would be -- and is -- another real issue. The examples that best emphasize this are Vine and, most recently, Instagram.
MetroMail -- a really good Gmail client for Windows Phone 8
Google is renowned for its lack of Windows Phone 8 support. The search giant currently has a single app in Store -- which, surprisingly, just received a nice update, its first big one since March 2012 -- with no plans on the horizon to bring popular apps like Drive, Gmail, Google+, Maps or YouTube to the tiled smartphone operating system.
Being a user myself, I can see why some folks would give up on waiting for the real deal and start to embrace a third-party app or switch to a rival service instead. Fortunately, developers have released competent clients for Google services, like MetroMail that provides a solid Gmail experience in the absence of an official Windows Phone 8 app.
Office Remote turns Windows Phone into a presentation controller
Microsoft Research's latest app makes it easier than ever to give a presentation without having to hunch over your laptop. Like the idea of wandering the stage gesticulating wildly as you skip between PowerPoint slides? Fancy being able to scroll through Word and Excel documents without the need to find your mouse? This is what Office Remote has been designed for. This is a simple app for Windows Phone, but one that will be welcomed with open arms by anyone who has to give presentations as part of their job.
The app is described by Microsoft as transforming a cell phone into a "magic wand" and it untethers presenters so they are free to walk the stage and interact with their audience. While the most obvious app to use Office Remote with may be PowerPoint, it can be used with Word and Excel too -- the 2013 and 365 versions of the office suite are supported (although not the RT version of Office).
Remotely control a PC from your smartphone with ROCCAT Power-Grid
It’s been in development for a long time, but PC remote control app ROCCAT Power-Grid is finally available for iOS and Android devices. And so you’re now able to view your PC’s status, launch and control programs, monitor emails/ Twitter/ Facebook, play music and more, all from the comfort of your own smartphone.
This is just the start, though. You’re also able to create your own "grids", collections of tools which help you to control particular programs or perform various tasks. It’s possible to download and install grids created by others, too, and just browsing these will give you an idea of what Power-Grid can do.