Mobilityfeeds

Apple needs to change if it wants to win over Android

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs believed Google's Android mobile Operating System (OS) was a stolen product and said he was ready to fight to destroy it.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product," he said, according to biographer Walter Issacson. "I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Apple has not quite gotten to nukes, but it has taken aim at Google and pulled the trigger.
It launched patent lawsuits against Google's Android hardware partners, HTC in 2010 and Samsung in 2011.
It challenged Google on its home turf, advertising, with the introduction of iAd.
It began working with mobile carriers beyond AT&T in the United States to limit Android adoption in markets where it had withheld the iPhone.
And it launched iCloud.

Microsoft updates Windows Phone Maps with better traffic information thanks to Nokia

Microsoft revealed yesterday that the traffic information in the standard Windows Phone Maps app has been bolstered with data provided from Bing and Nokia.

The Maps app now displays expanded traffic coverage on more highways and secondary streets than it previously did (traffic data available only to United States users at time of launch).
Microsoft notes that the updated traffic data is available to all Windows Phone devices, not just those made by Nokia.

You can see a comparison of the old traffic data and the new traffic data in the image of the Los Angeles map left.

Japanese police arrests cybercriminals that targeted Android devices

Japan has arrested six men for allegedly distributing a virus-infected application and swindling some 21 million yen (US$265,062/€202,837) from smartphone users.

The application, uploaded on an adult site on 30^th December 2011, was made available for free and targeted people using Android-powered devices, according to The Daily Yomiuri's report on Thursday, citing Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department.

Once downloaded, the app opens up with a screen that demands 99,800 yen (US$129.98/€102.96) every five minutes. The app also steals users' personal details such as their phone numbers and Email addresses, it added.

Amazon adds support for children books, comics to its Kindle eReader app

Amazon on Thursday released updates for its Kindle for Apple's iOS and Google's Android apps, as well as its Cloud Reader, adding support for children's books, comics, and graphic novels.

More than 1,000 children's and comic book titles are now available on the Kindle Fire, Kindle for Android, Kindle for iPad, and Kindle Cloud Reader, Amazon said.
Children's titles Brown Bear and Curious George are available, along with comics such as Batman and Superman.

The new additions will feature a "beautiful layout and full color," Amazon said.
Supported children's books, for example, utilize the Kindle Text Pop-Up feature to magnify text for easy reading on any size screen.
Supported comics and graphic novels are presented in Kindle Panel View, "showcasing the artwork in a panel by panel experience that reads as the author intended," Amazon said.

iOS 6' new Passbook aims at making your shopping more efficient

Passbook is a new feature announced for Apple's iOS 6 that will be able to store all of your digital tickets, boarding passes, store cards and coupons in one easy-to-access app.

The best way to think of it is like a Newsstand - which keeps all of your magazine subscriptions together on an iPad - for tickets and passes.

At the keynote address at Apple's tech fest WWDC 2012 this week, Passbook was shown accessing a whole host of apps.
How complete it will be when iOS 6 is finally launched in a few months' time will depend on whether or not developers adopt it for their apps.

Take the Starbucks app, for instance.
It currently has a dedicated section within it for your card, which you can use to pay for drinks and check your balance. If this, along with all of your other store cards, were kept in one easy-to-access app on your home screen, it would save you a lot of time swiping between screens and tapping on folders.

After Android and iOS, Nokia brings 3D maps to Windows Phone

With all this talk about 3D mapping on its way to Google's Android and the Apple's iPhone, Microsoft's Windows Phone is looking a bit out of place.

But not to worry – the next version of Microsoft’s mobile Operating System (OS) will support a similar initiative.
The only difference is that this one isn’t coming from the company that supports the mobile OS, but rather from a lone one of its hardware partners.

Nokia will offer a 3D mapping solution at a time when Google and Apple are both vying to bring a similar service to their respective mobile platforms.
Nokia has very much stepped into the software world ever since it teamed up with Microsoft.

Samsung brings TecTiles, NFC tags that help you simplify and automate your life

It was just a little over a week ago that Samsung announced that the Galaxy S III would be hitting five carriers in the United States, but now the company has introduced another new product that you may be interested in.

Samsung yesterday took the wraps off of its TecTiles, which are programmable near field communication (NFC) tags that consumers can use in conjunction with an NFC-enabled device to automate certain functions on their handset.
For example, a user could program a tag to toggle the WiFi radio on or off and then tap it when they leave their home to disable their device's WiFi radio or turn it back on when they return.
Other possible ways to program a TecTile tag include setting it to send a text message, check-in on Foursquare or launch an app.

So how does it work? 

Apple sees its future in mobiles

Almost exactly 2 years ago, Steve Jobs outlined his view of personal computing.

We used to be an agrarian nation, he explained, and as a result our vehicles were largely trucks. As the USA became more urban and suburban, we moved to an era where the highways were dominated by cars, not their lumbering counterparts.

The same thing was happening in the technology world — and, with the iPhone and the iPad, the movement was accelerating.

"PCs are going be like trucks," Jobs said at the 2010 All Things D Conference. "They are still going to be around, but only one out of x people will need them."

Clearly, he didn't expect x to be a big number.

Apple unveils iOS 6 at WWDC 2012 - 8 best features

Apple spent two hours delivering stats, news, and demonstrations during its WWDC 2012 presentation on Monday.

Looking specifically at iOS 6, Apple's next-generation mobile platform adds more than 200 new features and is primed to debut this Fall.

Here's what looks good and what Apple appears to have left out.

Facebook: 
Apple has finally included Facebook integration in iOS 6.
It delivered Twitter integration in iOS 5, and that left many users crying foul over the lack of Facebook support.

That changes with iOS 6. Once it arrives, iOS device users will be able to fire off status updates, share photos, and share links directly from within other iOS applications.
The new sharing tools bring Facebook to the iPhone in a long-overdue way.

Apple OS X Mountain Lion new features preview

We were able to see an in-depth preview of Apple's next Mac Operating System (OS) - OS X Mountain Lion - this year at WWDC 2012.

Here are the big changes coming to your Mac this July.

 

Game Center

Perhaps the biggest news for gamers is the Mac's integration with Game Center - the gaming hub for iPhone and iPad.

Game Center allows you to play friends online, compare achievements ("points") and add friends - it's the Xbox Live of the mobile world, and now it's making its way to Mac with OS X Lion.

Apple WWDC 2012 - iOS 6, MacBook, OS X Mountain Lion, Apple Maps

Apple on Monday refreshed its MacBook hardware, announced that OS X Mountain Lion will be available in July for US$20 (€16), and delivered a beta version of iOS 6 to developers.

Apple's voice input technology Siri opened the company's Worldwide Developer Conference  (WWDC) in San Francisco, California, ridiculing Google's Android release names, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.

Such lighthearted payback for Google's prior jesting at Apple's expense during Google's developer conferences shouldn't obscure Apple's serious determination to have the last laugh by reducing the scope of Google services in Apple products - a goal exemplified by Apple's iOS 6 Maps app, which no longer relies on Google map technology.

Block those Android apps that want to access your private data

Ever noticed that so many apps need access to your contact lists, browser history, location, and other personal data?

As part of a fight back against this data-gobbling trend, a Bulgarian software developer has rewritten Google's Android Operating System (OS) so that it gives apps bogus data.

Under the radical rebuild of the mobile Operating System, you still click to grant apps permission to access your data, but the apps don't get the real stuff. 
For bookmarks, it provides default ones that came with the device (such as www.google.com).
For logs — which can store all sorts of data — and phone contacts, it simply returns empty ones.

"I don't like applications accessing my location or phone book," says the developer, Plamen Kosseff, who by day writes code for a software company, ProSyst, in Sofia, Bulgaria. "Why should they be accessing my phone book to see data I have from other people?"

Adobe releases a Flash Player critical update

Adobe yesterday has released a security update for Adobe Flash Player that users should install as soon as possible.

Adobe rates it as a priority 2 update which is assigned to vulnerabilities where exploits do not seem to be in the wild or imminent.
The severity rating has however been set to critical.

Having said that, it is still important to update Flash Player to the latest version to eliminate the risk of a successful exploitation of the vulnerability on a system running Adobe’s Flash Player.

A successful exploit of the vulnerability could be used to cause a crash and take control of the affected system.

After all, everyone seems to agree that Windows Phone is the mobile OS to watch and why not join

It seems Microsoft may finally be pulling it all together.  

The upcoming Windows 8 shows all the necessary signs of a promising cloud strategy across devices, while the Nokia team up has brought some bling back to Microsoft’s mobile line up.  Factor in the latest SmartGlass revelation, and it’s clear Microsoft is taking on the cloud full force.

Similar to Google, Microsoft’s pooling a strategy around its existing products, from game consoles to office software.  
And similar to Apple’s strategy, Microsoft is streamlining its Operating System (OS) around a narrow device lineup, connecting everything in the cloud.  
The payoff is already predicted to hit in 2016, when IDC expects Windows Phone to overtake Apple iOS as the second-most dominant mobile platform in the market.  And taking a look at some recent developments from Microsoft, IDC’s prediction may be onto something.

Apple WWDC 2012 expected to mainly target Android

When Apple kicks off its annual conference for software developers on Monday, all the power players in the Apple universe will be on hand, save the one that is in many ways driving the agenda: Google.

More than ever, the consumer electronics juggernaut finds itself in a pitched battle with the online search giant - in smartphones, cloud computing and the never-ending competition for the hearts and minds of the best software developers.

Apple on Monday is expected to announce its own mapping application, challenging the position of Google Maps as one of the most-valued features on the iPhone.
It will unveil closer integration of its iPhone apps and iCloud storage service with all its devices, the latest riposte in its battle with Google's Android smartphone software.

Dropbox Android Ice Cream Sandwich update streams videos

Hey, Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich users — if you’re a Dropbox user and somehow haven’t gotten the latest (2.1.4) update, do yourself a favor and get on it.

The update is sure to please those who find the Dropbox experience to be woefully light on Hangul, as it introduces Korean language support, but there’s something even better to play with.

This release sees the addition of a nifty, Ice Cream Sandwich - exclusive feature — the ability to stream videos stored within a Dropbox account.

As something of a digital media hoarder, we threw a handful of big miscellaneous video files (a 500MB .avi and a 400MB .mkv, specifically) into our Dropbox account to see how well things actually worked.

LinkedIn confirms passwords security breach - Change your profile password now!

Nearly 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords have been posted on the Internet in a colossal security breach to the professional social network.

According to Sophos, a file containing 6,458,020 unsalted passwords is being targeted by internet hackers, with the IT security and data protection specialists recommending LinkedIn users changed their password immediately. 

“It would seem sensible to suggest to all LinkedIn users that they change their passwords as soon as possible as a precautionary step,” said Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant at Sophos.  
“Of course, make sure that the password you use is unique, in other words, not used on any other Websites and that it is hard to crack. If you were using the same passwords on other Websites make sure to change them too. And never again use the same password on multiple Websites.”

Foursquare for iOS and Android went through a total redesign

Location-based social network Foursquare has redesigned its popular Apple's iPhone and Google's Android applications with new focus on simplicity and encouraging more interactions between users with likes and mentions, the company announced today.

Foursquare has attracted 20 million users to its service to date, but that certainly pales next to Facebook’s 900 million or even Instagram’s 50 million.
It’s not playing in the same spaces as those, but it certainly loves to bring that user count up.

So with a new redesign, it is simplifying its interface and pushing for more social interactions between users.
Both of those factors could make the service more addictive and not just something people casually use.

Google launches 3D maps, also for Android and iOS

Google hosted an event in California on Wednesday to unveil the "next dimension of Google Maps."

Peter Birch, Google Earth Product Manager, took the stage to demonstrate how Google has worked to make its 3D maps more realistic and showed how users can navigate through a 3D cityscape while detailed buildings remained accurately to scale.

He also announced that 3D maps will be coming to both Android and Apple's iOS devices in the coming weeks.

"What we're doing is using automated technology to extract 3D from aerial images," said Birch.

According to reports, Google has been using its own planes to help create its maps.

Popular travel app WorldMate comes to Windows Phone

Popular travel organizer app/service WorldMate is about to enter Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace.

While we’re not sure when that will happen exactly, we do have few screenshots to show you (as you can see from the images left and after the break).

Expect all (or at least most) of the features users on other platforms have learned to love, including itinerary viewer, ability to see full trip items’ details, and one click to call and open location maps.
Moreover, there’s the social media integration with Facebook and LinkedIn accounts for sharing travel plans and seeing who’s nearby to the trip destinations.

Of course, all this is packed into a Metro-style User Interface (UI) to make the experience familiar to the Windows Phone community.
And it’s (will be) free to download.