Articles about Mobile App

YouTube Go beta brings data-saving video streaming and downloading to Android

youtube-go

It has been a while since Google announced its plans for YouTube Go, a streamlined version of its mobile app with a focus on sharing and minimizing data usage. Now the company has released the first beta on Google Play.

Designed for use in countries with less-than-reliable internet connection, such as India, YouTube Go also allows for the downloading of videos for offline viewing without buffering. The app includes a number of options to help you "maximize your fun without burning up your data," including the ability to preview videos and see the amount of data required to download different quality versions of the same file.

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Netatmo Weather Station first-impressions review

Netatmo Weather Station Indoor Module

If you are looking for the perfect weather app, let me save you the trouble of reading all those roundups out there: there isn't one. They are all flawed. And it's not necessarily because of their design, functionality or support, but rather what they can -- and do -- often get wrong: the forecast.

The forecast is based on information from a weather station that is usually miles and miles away. And while I have no doubt that you can get accurate predictions for that respective area, it's been my experience that things can be totally different in your area. So, how do you fix that? Enter the personal weather station.

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Virginia Tech's DIALDroid shows Android apps steal data through secret collusion

android-app-updatres

Researchers from Virginia Tech have found that Android apps can work together to mine personal information from smartphones. While users have long been aware of the need to check the privacy settings and permissions for individual apps, few people will have thought of the potential for collusion between apps that, individually, have innocuous-looking settings.

A team from the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering developed a tool called DIALDroid (Database powered ICC AnaLysis for anDroid) and used it to monitor the exchange of data between apps. Analysis of 110,150 apps over three years found that security and privacy is put at risk as information is shared between different, independent apps that users may have installed.

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Hacked! New York Post mobile app compromised in security breach

new-york-post-hack

The New York Post suffered a security breach this weekend when its push notification system was compromised. Unknown attackers used the system to send out messages to users of the New York Post mobile app.

The hackers sent out messages with strange, cryptic content. One read "Heil President Donald Trump!", while others had a religious or spiritual tone to them, and one quoted a Nirvana lyric.

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Welcome to the 'post-app era'

Smartphone apps

How often do you use apps? You probably open a handful on a daily or even hourly basis. You probably ignore the rest.

You’re not alone. Gartner research shows that users from the US, UK and China used just six to 10 apps each month in 2016. This represents a six percent year-on-year decrease and has led Gartner to declare the "post-app era."

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Google is pushing developers to embrace the Galaxy S8's 18.5:9 aspect ratio

Samsung Galaxy S8

There has been something of a trend in recent years for phones to grow taller and slimmer. Aspect ratios are changing, and the familiar 16:9 is being met by the LG G6's 18:9 (oh, ok, 2:1) and, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8, 18.5:9.

Google sees these emerging aspect ratios as the start of a trend rather than obscure rarities, and it's encouraging developers to embrace them fully.

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Google Calendar finally arrives as an iPad app

google-calendar-ipad

It has been a long time coming. A very long time coming. But -- finally -- there is an iPad-optimized version of the Google Calendar app available. Let joy be unbounded!

It has taken a full two years for Google developers to pull their fingers out and create a version of the app that is not designed just for iPhones. Google Calendar for iPad takes full advantage of the increased screen real estate, and supports Split View.

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Apple catches up with Google and allows developers to reply to reviews in the App Store

app-store-reviews

With the launch of iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, there was great excitement about the arrival of a new file system as well as improvements to performance -- even if they were only perceived improvements. Something that didn’t get a great deal of attention, however, is the introduction of replies to reviews.

Just as has been an option in Google Play for years, developers can now respond to the reviews that people leave about their apps and games. It's something that has been a very long time coming, and finally brings a dialog to the App Store, meaning that users and developers have a two-way channel of communication.

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Find a perfect parking space in seconds with JustPark

JustPark.200.175

JustPark is a smart app which helps you find your perfect parking space from more than 200,000 in more than 1,000 cities worldwide.

Give the app a location and it’ll display available spaces on a map, along with its cost (the company says it’s up to 70 percent cheaper than street parking) and the time it’ll take to walk to your destination.

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Google introduces 'Free App of the Week' to Play Store

google-play-mobile

The best price tag to find on anything is one that reads "Free", and Google has introduced a new section to the Play Store with this in mind. The new "Free App of the Week" section does very much what you would expect -- slashes the price of a paid-for app to zero. Great news for Android users!

It's an idea that Apple has experienced great success with, and it's a quick and easy way for Google to increase engagement in its app store. The first free app is Cartoon Network's Card Wars --Adventure Time which normally retails for $2.99.

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Citizen AID app helps saves lives during a terror attack

citizenAID.200.175

Citizen AID is a free UK-developed iOS, Android and Windows app which gives advice on the best immediate response to a bomb blast or armed attack.

It’s essentially an ebook with simple step-by-step guidance on how to deal with different situations. Some of this seems very obvious. If there’s an ongoing attack, for instance, you’re advised to run, hide if that’s not possible, tell the emergency services and only treat the injured once you know you’re safe.

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Instagram ups security with two-factor authentication

instagram-logo

Just about every app and online service offer two-factor authentication (2FA) as a security measure these days, and Instagram is the latest to join the party.

After numerous instances of hacking for other services, it's little surprise that Instagram wants to offer its users an extra level of protection. Once enabled, users are required to enter a six-digit code that is sent to their mobile via SMS, greatly eliminating the risk of unauthorized access.

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Facebook Messenger borrows from Slack with Reactions and mentions

facebook-messenger-reactions-mentions

Facebook is not shy about stealing features from other messaging tools, and it's usually Snapchat that is used as inspiration. With the latest update to Facebook Messenger, it's Slack that is being borrowed from.

Today Facebook Messenger gets two new features: Reactions and mentions. These work in very much the way you would expect, and Reactions make a successful transition from the Facebook newsfeed to Messenger after having made a brief appearance to a testing group recently.

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Apple buys automation tool Workflow, tweaks some features, and offers it to iOS users for free

apple-workflow

Automation tools like IFTTT continue to be popular, and as if to prove this, Apple has just bought the iOS app Workflow. Working in a similar way to Automator for macOS, Workflow brings task-oriented automation to iPhone and iPad users.

There's good news to top off the acquisition revelation. Apple is not only keeping Workflow up and running rather than shutting it down, it's also hanging onto the original team of developers behind the app. Even better, Apple is making Workflow available free of charge, dropping the previous $2.99 price tag.

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Consumers know apps are insecure, but they do little to protect themselves

Smartphone apps

Once again, an urban myth turns out to be true. People know mobile apps can be targeted by hackers, they fear the scenario, yet they’re doing very little to protect themselves from such potential attacks.

The confirmation was released by F5 Networks, in a study into the UK’s app-centric society and consumer behaviors.

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