Mobile

A new report from mobile app marketing specialist Liftoff reveals that the cost of acquiring new customers for mobile shopping apps is falling.

The cost of getting someone to install an app is just $4.45, though converting that into a purchase costs considerably more (over $75), with an install-to-purchase rate of just 5.9 percent.

It feels as though we've been waiting a long time for the arrival of the OnePlus 5, but the big day is finally upon us -- the smartphone launches tomorrow. There have been a huge number of leaks about the latest version of the flagship killer, teasing us with little glimpses of what to expect. But now a TV ad has aired in India that reveals everything.

Shown during the India vs Pakistan cricket final, the ad gave an unfettered view of the OnePlus 5 to millions of people. This is the first official render we've seen of the phone... and it’s looking good. As the ad was shown in India, it makes reference to June 22; the Indian launch date is two days later than other parts of the world.

For the first time ever, consumers all over the world carried out more shopping-related searches on their mobile phones than on their computers.

Data from the new Salesforce Q1 2017 Shopping Index analyzed the shopping habits of more than 500 million consumers in 27 countries, with smartphones coming out on top for the first time.

The eyes may be a gateway to the soul, but the feeds of social media accounts can be even more revealing. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their ilk all give people the opportunity to not only share their lives with the world, but present a particular image of themselves. Of course, there are the occasional posts which, well, let the side down.

With this in mind, Instagram is rolling out a new archive feature that makes it possible to remove images from your feed without having to delete them. If you have any embarrassing pictures you'd rather didn’t taint your image, you can hide them without having to lose them completely.

It's just a couple of days until new EU regulations come into force which makes European roaming charges a thing of the past. Put simply, all mobile operators will have to permit their customers to use their bundled text, call and data allowance within the EU at no extra charge from June 15.

With many UK travelers caught out by high mobile bills after a trip, this change should be great news. But consumer watchdog Which? warns that there could be a catch, and mobile users are warned to continue to keep an eye on their bills.

Cyber attacks aren't limited to desktop systems, mobile endpoints are equally at risk and for enterprises this is something else that needs protection.

Mobile threat defense specialist Zimperium is announcing an integration with Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security to integrate its product with the Microsoft Intune mobile device and application management product.

If you asked why the Moto Z Force Droid Edition appeals to me, I couldn't identify one thing, which arguably is odd considering this is a review. Benefits and features feel finely balanced, which is a hallmark of good product design. Oh, and that satisfaction is for the pure smartphone experience, which is premium by nearly every measure that matters; I didn't test Moto Mods that expand capabilities.

Lenovo/Motorola and Verizon released the smartphone in July 2016, so this exploration is belated—and then some. Apologies, the delay was necessary. In mid-December 2016, Verizon sent a holiday review package unexpectedly. At the time, my father-in-law's health rapidly declined—and he passed away about 30 days later. In the months following, as we settled his estate and finalized other matters, I occasionally recharged the battery and picked up the Droid but had no real time to test it. Still, something about how well the Moto Z Force feels and fits in the hand compelled me to handle it. Often. To caress the ridged bezel. To read blog posts and news stories on the beautiful display.

Qualcomm officially announced Quick Charge 4 late last year, alongside its Snapdragon 835 processor which continues to reign supreme in its mobile lineup. However, the fast charging technology now gets an update, which adds three key improvements.

Qualcomm says that Quick Charge 4+, as the new version is officially known as, operates up to 3°C cooler, is up to 15 percent faster and up to 30 percent more efficient than Quick Charge 4. And it is already live in the ZTE nubia Z17 smartphone, which is powered by Snapdragon 835.

ARM has revealed its latest series of mobile processors, promising its most advanced performance yet.

The company has unveiled its new Cortex-A55 and Cortex-A75 chips, which will make smartphones and other mobile devices smarter, more powerful, and longer lasting when they begin appearing in devices from next year.

When Microsoft says we'll be holding much more than a mere smartphone in our palms in a few years, they weren't exaggerating. A new Gemalto survey says that by 2025, consumers expect mobile devices to become much more than what they are today.

They expect the mobile device to be their ID tool, maybe even their passport. They expect the device to autonomously control their home, they expect to use it as a payment tool, and as a banking device, as well.

There have been numerous cases recently of travelers being forced to unlock their phones by security staff at airports. If you have all of your passwords for apps and online accounts stored in a password manager, this could mean that vast amounts of personal data become accessible -- but 1Password has a solution.

A new feature called Travel Mode enables users of the app to mark certain passwords and other data as "safe for travel." When the mode is activated, everything else which has not been flagged in this way is temporarily deleted from the device so it cannot be accessed.

As enterprise technology advances and more companies turn toward non-traditional, work-from-anywhere solutions, cloud software is rapidly becoming the management platform of choice for enterprise mobility efforts. This digital migration to the cloud is accelerating so quickly that, by 2019, 90 percent of all mobile data traffic is predicted to be generated by cloud software.

Since businesses are heavily leveraging cloud technology to manage their enterprise mobility programs, software developers are evolving to meet this growing contemporary demand. As a result, almost all of today’s cloud solutions are being developed with a mobile-first mindset -- and these solutions are bringing big returns to the organizations that adopt and embrace them.

Soon every smartphone will be VR-enabled. This will open up the virtual floodgates, making video-based VR experiences more affordable and accessible. Immersive VR will go mainstream not on laptops, smart TVs or games consoles but on mobiles.

Affordable headsets such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream View are already gaining traction with early adopters for VR gaming and content streaming via apps such as Netflix VR and HBO Now VR. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As well as media and entertainment, there is a huge market opportunity for organizations in other sectors to boost engagement with video-based, mobile VR content: fly-on-the-wall corporate training and company events, real estate sales, retail, and virtual classrooms.

Whether it's due to a specific cyber attack, theft of data, or a wider criminal investigation, it's increasingly necessary to be able to capture evidence from mobile devices.

Forensic investigation software specialist Guidance Software is launching a new version of its EnCase product aimed at safely gathering data from mobiles.

Offline web browsing is a useful feature, particularly on a smartphone, so it was little surprise when Google added website downloading to the Android version of Chrome. Today the company launches a number of improvements to make the whole process even easier.

The latest update to the app introduces a couple of new ways to download pages for offline viewing. It also provides easier access to the content you have earmarked for offline reading, encouraging more people to make use of the feature.