Articles about Mobile App

It’s often said that the great thing about standards in the technology industry is that there are so many to choose from. That's just as true in today's world of mobile devices as it was in the days of mainframes when it was first coined.

Mozilla, LG, Qualcomm, Deutsche Telekom and a number of other leading mobile companies have taken a step closer to a world where standards are... well, standard, by joining forces to create the Open Web Device Compliance Review Board (CRB). The aim of the CRB is to support device manufacturers and their technology partners to standardize performance.

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Finnish mobile maker Nokia has released a new app called Motion Monitor which allows Lumia 1520 users to track their physical activity, similar to some wristbands. The offering is currently undergoing beta testing and is available exclusively for the company's new Windows Phone 8 flagship.

For those wondering why Motion Monitor is not available for other Lumia smartphones, Nokia says this is because only its new flagships comes with the "specific" hardware which allows the app to offer this functionality. A reasonable assumption would be that the Lumia 1520 is the sole beneficiary of Motion Monitor because of its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, which is not available in any other Nokia smartphones at the moment.

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Google has updated its mobile Maps apps for Android and iOS with the release of Google Maps for iOS 2.5.0 and Google Maps for Android 7.4.0.

Both apps include the obligatory bug fixes, but there they diverge, with iOS users now able to see flight, hotel and restaurant reservations from Gmail, while Android users get improved tools for step-by-step directions and commuting.

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On Monday, a number of Yahoo Mail users started experiencing issues when accessing the service. The company said, yesterday, a hardware problem in one of its mail data centers is the culprit and, as a result, it assigned "dozens of people", who are allegedly "working around the clock", to get Yahoo Mail back on track.

If you are wondering why it took Yahoo so long to acknowledge the problem then you are not alone. The company initially said at 11 AM PST on Wednesday that the full functionality of its email service will be restored "by 3 PM PT", on the same day. Half an hour after the first, and only, deadline Yahoo was still working "hard" to fix the problem.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Fifty-eighth in a series. The application growth in Windows Store broke the 2,000 new apps mark this week which happened last in July 2013.

The release of Windows 8.1 has surely revived the store, and while it is too early to tell if the upswing will continue in the coming months, the outlook is quite good right now.

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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.

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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.

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Fifty-seventh in a series. The new application count in the US Windows Store managed to stay above the important 1,000 apps mark for the fourth time in a row.

The total number of applications available in the store rose to 93,714, an increase of 1,515 apps in the last seven days.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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