Forget the beta... Prisma arrives on Android
Like Pokémon Go, Prisma has taken the app world by storm in recent weeks. Previously only available for iOS users, the photo app that creates works of art from your snaps has finally made its way to Android.
Just a few days ago there was talk of a beta program that keen users could take part in, but now we've jumped straight to the full release. If you're (somehow) unfamiliar with the app, it uses machine learning to transform your photos into the style of any one of a number of famous artists and styles.
Cyanogen ditches a fifth of its staff and switches focus from OS to apps
Cyanogen Inc -- the cheeky little upstart behind Android-based CyanogenMod -- is reportedly laying off 20 percent of its workforce. The company is a fairly small operation with just 136 employees, but the lay-offs are significant as they are mostly from the OS side of things.
It seems that the open source Android-inspired operating system has failed to generate quite as much interest as hoped, although it does have a very dedicated cult following. It is not clear quite what the future holds for CyanogenMod, but things are not looking good at the moment.
Google wants devs to reduce the size of app updates
For many mobile users, it's important to keep an eye on data usage to ensure tariff limits are not exceeded. A major contributor to gobbling up monthly bandwidth allowances is the updating of apps, and Google is taking steps to reduce the size of APK updates.
In a post on the Android Developers Blog, Google speaks directly to developers, pointing out the various steps they can take to optimize the size of updates. The company also calls for greater transparency so users know the size of updates before committing to a download.
How to get the Prisma beta on your Android phone
Some apps become overnight sensations -- something ably demonstrated by the Pokémon Go phenomenon. But it's not just games that experience an explosion in popularity. You can't help but have seen stylized pictures posted to Facebook: photos that have been transformed into striking works of art.
This trickery is the handiwork of the Prisma app. The app has only been available for iOS users, but that's about to change. It would have been madness not to have released Prisma for Android, and the company behind the app -- Prisma labs inc -- knows this. A beta version of Prisma is about to launch, and you can be the first to learn of its release.
Bluelight Filter Android app helps you reduce eye strain and sleep better
Bluelight Filter is a free Android app which aims to reduce the harmful effects of the blue light emitted by smartphones and tablets.
This could reduce eye strain, help you sleep better, and generally make the screen easier to read.
New security tool addresses Android app collusion threat
As we reported last month app collusion, where apps work together to extract sensitive data, now represents a very real security risk to mobile devices.
To address this emerging threat, component technology firm Formaltech, today is releasing FUSE, a DARPA-funded tool that detects inter-application collusion and other vulnerabilities in Android apps.
Google makes it easier to try out beta Android apps with new Early Access section in the Play Store
As the Windows 10 insider preview program has demonstrated, people love to get their hands on pre-release software. While it's easy to install beta software on a desktop computer, it has not been as straightforward for Android users. Until now.
Google has added an Early Access section to Google Play which -- you've guessed it -- features not-quite-ready-for-prime-time apps in beta form. The new section makes installing beta apps as simple as installing any other app and, after rolling out to a few users this week, the option is now available to everyone.
Euro 2016 app leaking private user data
I’ve been trying not to think about Euro 2016 after England’s whimpering exit on Monday night, but new research from mobile security and management firm Wandera has grabbed my attention.
According to analysis of data traffic patterns from enterprise mobile devices, the official UEFA Euro 2016 Fan Guide App is leaking user’s personal information -- including usernames, passwords, addresses and phone numbers -- over unsecure internet connections.
VLC 2.0 app now publicly available for Windows 10 devices
VideoLAN today releases the first public beta build of VLC for Windows 10. Now a universal app, it comes with the same core feature set as the Android and iOS apps but also a few platform-specific extras. VLC 2.0.0 is compatible with all the common Windows 10 devices, including smartphones.
The main features that VLC 2.0.0 brings to the table are the vast audio and video format support, the ability to view and download subtitles and synchronize audio and video, and a network sharing browser. Additionally for Windows 10 users, it also plays well with key features like Cortana and Continuum.
Evernote ramps up its prices by a third and imposes restrictions on free users
Evernote has today announced that it is increasing the prices of its paid-for packages, whilst simultaneously increasing the restrictions on free Basic accounts. Both the Plus and Premium tiers are increasing in price by a third, while those looking to avoid having to pay will find that they are now limited to syncing data between just two devices.
Evernote says that the price increase reflects a "significant investment of energy, time, and money" that will be needed "to deliver the Evernote we envision" -- something the company admits it has a "long way to go" before achieving.
Security researchers find major vulnerabilities in Uber
A group of hackers from a security company in Portugal managed to hack into Uber and get their hands on a bunch of data that should remain hidden.
The team of three experts, Vitor Oliveira, Fábio Pires and Filipe Reis from Integrity, found a total of six flaws: they managed to use promotion codes, found private emails using UUID, found users’ phone numbers, created driver accounts, validated them, found where you went, who your driver was, and who you are and, ultimately, date of the trip, driver name and picture, the ID and the cost of the trip. The route map was also disclosed.
Find out more about the world below your flight path with Flyover Country
It sounds much like any other mapping app: enter a starting point and destination, see the route and points of interest along the way. Flyover Country won’t give you driving directions, local hotels or someone’s random picture of a lake, though. It’s a geoscience app from the University of Minnesota, and these points of interest are more about geologic maps, data, fossil information, georeferenced Wikipedia articles and more.
Setup is easy enough. Tap two or more points on the map to define your route, select "Load Path", and watch as Flyover Country finds data associated with that journey.
Dropbox update introduces document scanning on Android, iOS
Dropbox has just announced a host of new features that will hopefully help the service retain its current users and possibly attract some new users as well.
The company has added many new features to its cloud storage software, but the most notable is the ability to use a mobile device’s camera to scan documents. Receipts, articles, whiteboard drawings and other text found in the real world can be captured with the app and then saved to Dropbox as a digital copy.
Google's free Android Basics Nanodegree helps you learn how to code
Google wants more people to make Android apps, so it has teamed up with Udacity to create a new program aimed at aspiring developers. Called Android Basics Nanodegree, it offers a series of courses and services that will teach students, with little to no coding experience, how to make their first Android app.
"The courses walk you through step-by-step on how to build an order form for a coffee shop, an app to track pets in a shelter, an app that teaches vocabulary words from the Native American Miwok tribe, and an app on recent earthquakes in the world. At the end of the course, you will have an entire portfolio of apps to share with your friends and family", says Google.
Businesses want to spend more money on making apps
Businesses want to increase their spend on mobile app development, but we’re still a long way to go before that spending becomes more relevant, a new study by Gartner has shown. According to the market analysts’ report, overall app development budget allocated to mobile is 10 percent, a two percent decrease compared to the year before.
However, almost half (42 percent) of organizations plan to increase their mobile app development spend by an average of 31 percent this year. "Demand for mobile apps in the enterprise is growing, but the urgency to scale up mobile app development doesn’t yet appear to be a priority for most organizations", says Adrian Leow, principal research analyst at Gartner.
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