Saturday, November 30, 2013

Apple Updates App Store Search Engine To Handle Spelling Errors



app-store-icon
Sarah Perez at TechCrunch reports Apple has updated their App Store search engine to help with misspellings, typos and other “fat-fingered” searching mistakes.
Sarah said she has “sources” that have confirmed these “App Store search engine changes went into effect a few weeks ago.”
One example I can personally attest to is when someone searches for [rusty brick] in the app store, normally it did not return apps from my company. Now it does. Here is a picture of the search results for [rusty brick] in the app store returning one of our apps with the name “RustyBrick” as one word.

apple-app-store-search

Sarah said the same was true for the app named “QuizUp” that now comes up in the search results when you search for [Quiz Up] with a space.
Developers are expecting this to have an impact on the download and revenues they generate through Apple’s App Store.
As a developer, helping searchers find what they are looking for, especially on mobile devices, is a good thing.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Apple Prevails in iPhone App Privacy Case


100 Best iPhone Apps
A California judge has once again tossed a lawsuit that accused Apple of producing devices that allow ad networks to track a user's app activity.
California district Judge Lucy Koh determined that the plaintiffs could not prove that Apple's policies caused them significant harm.
The case dates back to 2010, when the first of five separate lawsuits on this issue was filed in California. By Aug. 2011, the cases were all combined into one suit, but one month later, Koh threw out the case. She did, however, give the plaintiffs the option to revise their complaint, and the case dragged on for another two years.
Earlier this week, however, the judge ruled in favor of Apple, finding that the plaintiffs could not prove that they suffered harm as required under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), and California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL).
"To have Article III standing, a plaintiff must plead and prove that he or she has suffered sufficient injury," Judge Koh wrote in her decision. "To have standing under the CLRA, a plaintiff must allege that she relied on the defendant's alleged misrepresentations and that she suffered economic injury as a result. Likewise, to establish standing under the UCL, a plaintiff must demonstrate that she 'suffered injury in fact and ... lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition.'"
Basically, the plaintiffs had to prove that "Apple misrepresented its data collection and privacy practices, thereby luring plaintiffs into spending more money for their iPhones than they would have had they known the true nature of the data being collected by Apple and the third party apps." The judge concluded that this was not the case.
The original suit, filed by Jonathon Lalo, cited a 2010 Wall Street Journal study that examined 101 mobile applications and found that iPhone apps distribute more personal data without the users' permission than Android apps.

The "leakiest" apps, according to the Journal, include Pandora, Grind, Paper Toss, and TextPlus 4, which sent age, gender, ZIP codes, and user IDs to multiple ad networks. The most commonly submitted information, usually sent back to either the app maker or sold to an ad network, is the phone's unique user ID number, which can give companies valuable information on what an owner does with his or her phone.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Facebook messenger starts app war with WhatsApp, WeChat on iPhone, Android phones


 
Facebook, with its messenger, is planning to take on other popular standalone messaging apps in India, such as WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE and Hike with the launch of its new version of Messenger for iPhone and Android. The social media giant, which has around 82 million users in India, also launched the popular ‘Chumbak Expressions’ local stickers this week with Indian content to ward off competition from home-grown players like Bharti's Hike.

With the explosion in usage of smartphones, more and more users are spending time on mobile devices, making it imperative for Facebook to provide a seamless experience across mobile devices, tablets and desktops. In emerging economies like India, the company is also seeing mobile-only users, a generation that has leapfrogged personal computers.

With the new version, Facebook has tried to make the app work faster on all the versions of Android, especially Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich, used in old and lower-end devices. “This will work across various versions of Android like Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, and will be a lot faster than it used to be. That is because its every aspect is looked from a mobile-to-mobile world and has a lot of focus on performance and snappiness of the app,” said Peter Martinazzi, product manager for Messenger at Facebook, adding that the focus was on maintaining the standard across Android.

But Facebook faced problems in emerging economies because of the fragmented nature of Android that is more popular in countries like India, Indonesia and Brazil, which are also its major growth markets. Mobile monthly active users (mobile MAUs) were around 820 million at the end of June, an increase of 51% since Q22012, and it also had around 220 million mobile-only MAUs, 15% sequential growth during the aforesaid period. 

According to Martinazzi, Facebook has focussed on the platform and tried to bring the best possible Android app. The app will now have a common navigation bar, an action bar on the bottom and a compose button, which are same on all Android phones. "We have made sure that the experience is not compromised even when you are not using the Single Page Format

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Personal Finance Startup BillGuard Adds Analytics And Smart Savings Features To Its iPhone App


 

Personal finance startup BillGuard is launching an update to its iPhone app that will not only help users defend against fraudulent charges on their credit cards, but could also lead them to be more proactive with their money. The addition of new Spending Analytics and Smart Saving features will provide new tools for consumers to analyze their spending and save based on discounts they might not have known were available.
BillGuard was founded with the goal of helping users save money. By connecting their accounts to its big data platform, the company provided a way for its users to track and dispute fraudulent charges or billing errors on their credit and debit cards. Soon after it moved to tackle the problem of so-called “gray charges” - that is, monthly or yearly subscription charges that users either unknowingly signed up for or signed up for and forgot about.
But all that provides is a reactive approach to personal finance. After helping users to save some $50 million in gray charges, the company wants to help users save money by making more proactive choices about their spending. With the latest update to its iPhone app, it's doing that with the addition of two new features: Spend Analytics and Smart Savings.
“Our core mission is to use data to save people money,” BillGuard CEO Yaron Samid told me via Skype. “We're really good at saving people from the bad stuff, and now we want to find the good stuff… [The app] is like the perfect accountant running in the background and trying to find ways to save money.”
BillGuard_Spend_Analytics_MonthsWith Spend Analytics, BillGuard is beginning to move from being just a “personal finance security” company to also offering personal finance management tools. In other words, it's entering Mint territory.
But unlike Mint, BillGuard isn't trying to shoehorn users into an unrealistic budget. It's built to provide a wide range of analytics to enable them to see how their spending stacks up against an earlier period, and also to better understand where their money is going by organizing expenses by category. Since it's mobile, the hope is that users will be able to make more conscious financial decisions on the go.
The second feature, Smart Savings, is designed to help users save money in their everyday lives by notifying them whenever there are coupons or discounts available for items they're likely to purchase. Because BillGuard knows your purchase history and your location, it can predict when you're likely to make a purchase and can suggest savings you might not have known about.
Samid said Smart Savings will hopefully address the data inefficiency that exists for users who aren't aware of coupons or discounts available. By doing so, it can reduce the amount they are about to spend at any given time when preparing to make a purchase. That could mean taking advantage of a discount at the local coffee shop or becoming aware of a sale at a user's favorite store.
In either case, Samid said BillGuard is going to be ultra picky about the coupons that it sends to users. And since it's scanning the web for new discounts and it's not working with merchants to pitch discounts to users, it's not incentivized to spam them with offers.
Our core mission is to use data to save people money. - BillGuard CEO Yaron Samid
But if users find they're getting coupons that aren't relevant, they can provide feedback to the app saying so. Users will be able to either “redeem” and “reject” any coupon that appears, and the app will learn from those actions accordingly.
Of course, other apps have tried to help users save money through analytics and local discounts. So what makes BillGuard think it can succeed where they've failed?
It all comes down to the engagement the company sees from users, according to Samid. Personal finance management apps normally see users sign up and quickly lose interest once the novelty wears off. But BillGuard is seeing its users open up the app an average of four times a week. In the same way that people clean out their inboxes, BillGuard users are going there to clear away questionable charges, almost every day.
BillGuard has raised $13 million from investors that include Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors, Bessemer, IA Ventures, Saul Klein, and Joe Lonsdale. The company now has 23 employees, most of which are based in Tel Aviv, Israel… but it's looking to hire more. (*hint, hint*)

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

This Is 'SportsCenter'...on Your iPhone

The sports media giant has renamed its ScoreCenter app after ESPN's famed sports newscast "SportsCenter." The rebranding coincides with a major update that aims to make the iPhone and Android app more of a full-fledged sports media destination than a source for the latest scores.

Scarcity of Major-Property Contracts Hikes Costs, Leads to Layoffs at Disney-Owned Network


ESPN's new SportsCenter app 
The rebrand is "signifying a tie-in to the TV show and really signifying for us a blending of adding more content and branding personality," said Ryan Spoon, senior VP-product development at ESPN Digital Media. With more than 50 million downloads since its June 2009 launch, the mobile app "can be our largest digital property," he said. Currently, the app is No. 2 among sports apps on iTunes to NFL Mobile.

An iPad version is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2014.

The redesigned app does away with the old tabs separating scores, videos and headlines. The app still features that content but commingles them in a way that resembles what Twitter would look like had ESPN acquired the newly public microblogging service. It even syndicates Twitter feeds and has ads that can, at times, be described as "native."

The launch sponsors are MillerCoors, Kay Jewelers and Bud Light.

Upon opening the app, users are presented with the new "SportsCenter" tab that defaults to show game scores. People can swipe horizontally to the "news" section housing articles and video clips and again to a section called "now" that displays an ESPN-curated Twitter feed populated with tweets from ESPN's official Twitter accounts and those of employees like "Outside the Lines" host Bob Ley. People who connect their Twitter account to the app can retweet or favorite tweets like they would in one of Twitter's official apps.

The app also features a tab called "Inbox" that pulls much of the content appearing in the "SportsCenter" tab but limited to a user's favorite teams and organizes them into a single feed.

Given the new design's emphasis on feeds, it shouldn't be surprising that ESPN is opting for feed-based ads. It also shouldn't be surprising since seemingly every new mobile ad format hitting the market these days -- like Yahoo's stream ads and YouTube's new mobile takeover ad -- stakes itself within the stream of whatever regular content people are using the app to consume.


Coors Light in-feed ad prior to redesign

The SportsCenter app's in-feed ads are bespoke like a truly "native" ad. For example, Coors Light could take one of the "Cold Hard Facts" items of sports trivia it sponsors to appear on SportsCenter's TV broadcast and have it show up in the mobile app's "news" section. Mr. Spoon said these feed-based ads are "a new format for us," though they've appeared in the ScoreCenter app's "headlines" section for at least the past week.

ESPN is also introducing interstitial ads that will pop up as people swipe between sections in the app and can run videos or display static images. These ads that are the mobile display equivalent to commercial breaks between "SportsCenter" segments "make sense contextually to the user interface," Mr. Spoon said.

And of course there will be preroll ads airing before game highlight clips and other videos. In addition to the videos occupying the news section -- which can be streamed to someone's TV through Apple TV's Airplay feature -- the app connects to ESPN's TV-streaming Watch ESPN app. A "live" button will appear next to scores of games being currently broadcast on one of ESPN's TV networks will open that game in the Watch ESPN app when clicked.

These new ads will most likely be hoarded by brands who advertise across ESPN's properties; the overwhelming majority -- 98% -- of ESPN's mobile advertising revenue comes from deals signed to span multiple ESPN properties, said Brian Doyle, senior director of mobile and digital sales strategy at ESPN.

So, why didn't ESPN just call it SportsCenter from the start? Well, back when ScoreCenter launched in 2009, it was really just about scores since mobile video wasn't really a thing yet. Now, ESPN can offer a "SportsCenter"-like experience in mobile. "Video is at the forefront of this app," Mr. Spoon said.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Twitter announces upcoming iPhone app update with new search filters

  

Today Twitter has announced they will be updating their official app for iOS, making it easier to discover what is happening on the microblogging network. The update adds new search filters that allow you to quickly navigate to specific people and Tweets. The filters also allow you to toggle between all relevant Tweets and only the most popular “top Tweets.”

Filters will also allow you to filter by different media types, such as photos and videos. There’s also an option to see Tweets only from the people you follow. The update includes includes a new timeline in the Discover tab that makes it easier to see what’s currently trending. This trending timeline will show topics that are associated with nearby events and TV shows.

Friday, November 22, 2013

4chan Creator’s Drawing App Comes to the iPhone


06_profile

Chris Poole is looking for another image-based hit.
The territory isn’t foreign to Poole, who founded 4chan — the popular, anonymous online message board community notorious for its crazy photo sharing and meme generation. Among other reasons, 4chan found success in its network effect; create a strong, vital community, and its popularity will build on itself.
That’s essentially what’s behind DrawQuest, the app Poole launched on the iPad in February and, beginning Thursday, on iPhone and iPod touch devices, as well. Think of it as something of a hybrid between a game, a social network and an artist commune. Users are given a daily mandate (or “quest”) to draw a picture, be it an item, a scene or an idea.
The goal, according to Poole, isn’t about “winning” — like, say, Zynga’s popular Draw Something apps. Instead, it’s about “trying to solve the ‘blank sheet of paper’ problem” — bringing the daily activity of being creative into people’s lives and providing a prompt to help them get started.
The app gained some early traction when it launched exclusively for tablets this year; it boasts a decent 100,000+ active users who have created more than 5 million drawings to date — many of which are quite impressive for a simple image-creation app. It’s not a breakout success, but considering it has been a tablet-only app for its first nine months of existence, it’s plugging along well enough.
03_homeObviously the iPhone launch will bolster that number, offering a few extra features and game-like elements. I asked Poole if the app would follow a similar trajectory as Zynga’s Draw Something apps, which saw immediate success and then sharply dropped off over time (just months after Zynga acquired the OMGPOP company for hundreds of millions of dollars).
In response, Poole emphasized that DrawQuest’s strength lies in what Draw Something lacked: A community. “Once you burned out on the Draw Something game elements, there was nothing left to do,” Poole said. “But even if you burn out on drawing in DrawQuest, there’s lots of rich content there for you to scan through and view from other people.”
Which is true. For such a simple image-creation editor, users have already produced a mass of impressive pictures — more than enough to browse and admire for quite a while. And with the iPhone release’s new features that let users build their own small fan bases and follow friends and other individual artists, the community-centric features are only getting stronger.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Logitech Outfits iPhone for Gaming Control



Logitech Outfits iPhone for Gaming Control

Logitech's new PowerShell is not the only device that provides external off-screen controls for the iPhone, but it "could be very much an impulse buy this holiday season and be a Christmas gift for that gamer in the family," suggested Wanda Meloni, senior analyst at M2 Research. "Logitech is a name that people -- especially gamers -- will recognize, so that helps."

Logitech on Wednesday introduced its new PowerShell Controller + Battery, a device that's designed to turn users' iPhones into gaming consoles.

Compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and fifth-generation iPod Touch devices running iOS 7, the PowerShell offers analog off-screen controls along with a battery pack for US$99.99. It is now available.

Logitech PowerShell
Users simply insert a compatible handset into the device, which provides a familiar game control experience with a left-hand D-pad, right-hand face buttons and shoulder triggers. The device also includes a booster 1500 mAh battery that is designed to increase the battery capacity of the handset.

"We designed this controller to deliver a true console-gaming experience on an iOS 7 mobile device," said Ehtisham Rabbani, general manager of the Logitech gaming business. "With gaming so pervasive on the mobile platform -- our research shows that 87 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users play games on their device -- it's time to revolutionize the experience."


Addressing a Niche Market

While in use, the PowerShell allows gamers to maintain full access to the handset's on/off button, volume, camera, speakers, headphone jack and charging port. The controller is compatible with the iOS 7 game controller framework as well, so it will work with a slew of new and popular titles.

It is not the only such device, but the breadth of its appeal remains to be seen.

"This is currently a niche market in our view," Joost van Dreunen, cofounder of SuperData Research, told TechNewsWorld.

"Certainly there's a distinct trend toward more complex game play on mobile devices, as the market has started to saturate," van Dreunen noted. "It looks like hardware companies are trying to catch this wave by offering input devices that extend the game play on mobile.

"It is, however, unlikely that these devices will become a ubiquitous gift during the holiday season," he predicted, "with the exception perhaps of the more 'core' gamers."

That said, "it could also be very much an impulse buy this holiday season and be a Christmas gift for that gamer in the family," Wanda Meloni, senior analyst at M2 Research, told TechNewsWorld. "Logitech is a name that people -- especially gamers -- will recognize, so that helps."

Research suggests "that there is a small market of hardcore console gamers who play on their iPhones," Meloni added. "So there is a market, but those numbers are really small and aren't growing."

For the Hardcore

Of course, hardcore gamers already have plenty of other devices to choose from.

"Companies keep trying to do this, and when it comes down to it, serious gamers are going to play on the consoles or PC at home or on a dedicated handheld system," independent video game analyst Billy Pidgeon told TechNewsWorld. "There is already an immersive experience with the Nintendo 3DS or the Sony PlayStation Vita."

Then, too, there's the fact that most iPhone games are designed with onscreen controls and use the accelerometer and gyroscope, Pidgeon pointed out.

"The beauty of the iPhone is that it is small, and this makes the device anything but small," he added.

Splintering Game Development

The bottom line is that it's not entirely clear who would buy the PowerShell.

"It has a certain geek factor, but beyond that it seems sort of like that 'airplane magazine'-type device that you are left wondering, 'who buys this stuff'?" said Meloni.

A similar issue could hamper it on the game-development side. While the PowerShell will work only with the iPhone 5 and 5s, it also isn't compatible with every iOS game.

"That could splinter game development," said Pidgeon. "For developers, that isn't something they'd like to see, because you want to develop for all the handsets -- not just something that is dedicated to a specific add-on or piece of hardware."

In short, "there are a couple of games that might be the exception," he concluded, "but people aren't really looking for a hardcore gaming experience with a smartphone."

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Use Google services? Your iPhone may work better than an Android device

Google services on the iPhone 5s

Google continues to roll out their services to iOS, including Google Play Music launching late last week. The iOS apps miss some features seen in Android, but in other cases the applications look and perform better on the iPhone.
I use quite a few Google services and lack of support for most of them in Windows Phone keep me from using that platform as my daily driver. Lately, I have been using and enjoying Android smartphones and thought that might be the best way to access Google services.
With continued improvements in iOS Google apps, I have been able to enjoy Google services on my Apple iPhone 5s with few limitations.
Google services provided on iOS include:
  • Google Search: The new Google Now functionality lets you state "OK Google" and then launch a search via Google Now. As you can see in my short video below, the iPhone 5s beat the Moto X every time I ran a search. I also tested my HTC One and while it was faster than the Moto X it was still slower than the iPhone 5s. The Nexus 5 may approach the iPhone 5s response since I believe the difference may be due to the phone's processor.
  • Chrome: Google Chrome is my preferred web browser and I love that bookmarks, search history, and everything else I use on the desktop is consistent across my devices.
  • Google Play Music: The experience is similar to Android, except you cannot purchase music directly in the app and there doesn't look to be I'm Feeling Lucky functionality.
  • Gmail: I prefer to use the Gmail app on the iPhone 5s instead of the iOS email app. The current version is similar to the older Android app without colored letters and such, but is still a very capable client.
  • Google+: This is one service that I think actually looks and functions better on the iPhone than it does on Android.
  • Google Maps: Google Maps functionality looks to be the same between iOS and Android.
  • Google Drive: Apple doesn't let you access the file structure of the iPhone, but the Google Drive app gives you access to all your documents and files in the cloud.
  • YouTube: While I don't watch a ton of YouTube videos, my MoTR podcast cohost Kevin Tofel told me you can stream purchased Google Play movies via the YouTube app on iOS and it works just fine.
  • Google Hangouts: Hangouts is a great way to stay in touch with friends using Google's ecosystem and it works just fine on iOS.
  • Quickoffice: Google purchased Quickoffice and the application is available for iOS and Android with some excellent functionality for viewing and editing Office documents.
  • Google Wallet: Google recently rolled out this service for iPhone users and just like most Android devices, other than the Nexus 5, Wallet is good for loyalty cards and sending payments via email. There is no NFC in the iPhone so now payments can be made with a tap. This is the same issue with nearly all Android devices since carriers block access due to secure elements.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Stay Healthy With These 3 Free iPhone and iPad Apps


Your business can't afford to lose you, so here are three free apps from Apple that can help you take control of your healthcare so it doesn't take control of you. 
Stay Healthy With These 3 Free iPhone and iPad Apps


As an entrepreneur, you're probably so busy taking care of your business that you skip taking care of yourself. Not such a good idea, especially if you're being treated for a medical condition.

1. Mango Health
If you're on medication, Mango Health for the iPhone or iPad can not only help you remember to take your daily dose, but it can even reward you for taking it safely and on time. Simply list all of your medications and when you need to take them. When it's time, the app will send a push notification and an alert tone to your phone. If you're busy, there's a snooze button that will continue to remind you at 10-minute intervals. Every time you take your medicine, the app rewards you with points that can be redeemed for gift cards and charity donations.

When you enter a new medication, the app also checks for potential interactions with your other meds or certain foods or drinks. Can't remember if you took your last pill? A quick look at the large dashboard will let you know if you're on schedule.

Mango Health recently updated the app to include a "how are you feeling" button on the medication reminder. Pick from a set of emoticons that range from awesome to sick and the app saves your choice in the history. You can also jot down notes about symptoms or side-effects so you'll have a clear record of your response to a given medication.

Related: De-Stress and Unwind With These 3 Free Relaxation Apps

2. Symple - Symptom Tracker & Health Diary
If you're dealing with an ongoing medical condition, tracking your symptoms is vitally important and Symple can help you do that. Symple for the iPhone or iPad is made up of two components: symptoms and factors.

Every day you rate up to 20 potential symptoms on a five-point scale that ranges from none to severe. Then you check off any outside factors that may have influenced your symptoms, such as a 30-minute walk, alcohol consumption, travel or a stressful day at work.

The app produces a set of graphs so you can compare the effect a factor had on your symptoms over time or compare the severity of two symptoms. You can also download the data to a spreadsheet to share with your doctor.

To complete the picture, there's a journaling section where you can write notes for your doctor or store photos related to your condition.

Related: Apps to Help You Start Selling on Facebook -- Now

3. Hello Doctor
If you're seeing multiple doctors, Hello Doctor for the iPad can help you manage all of your medical records. The app uses Smartlists to categorize your reports into areas such as blood tests, prescriptions, and specialists. You can write notes on any part of any document so you won't forget what you wanted to ask when you have your next doctor visit.

Add new records by photographing them with your iPad or pull in scans from Dropbox. Or, you can email your records to the Hello Doctor team and they'll tag and load them for you.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Google Play Music app arrives on iPhone, but won't let you buy songs


Google Music iPhone

Six months after its subscription music service came to Android and the web, Google is bringing its take on unlimited streaming to the iPhone. Google Play Music arrives in the App Store this morning with most of the features that its Android counterpart does, done up in a style that feels native to iOS while remaining familiar to anyone who has used the service on another platform. And while much of what the app offers on iOS has been available on Spotify and Rdio for years, Google has invested enough in helping users discover new music to make their version worth a look.

The free version of Google Play Music allows you to listen to any of the songs you have backed up to Google's cloud — the company lets you store up to 20,000 tracks at no charge. For free users, the app's radio feature creates mixes of the songs in your collection using the same algorithms that power the paid version.

GOOGLE'S CATALOG NOW INCLUDES MORE THAN 20 MILLION SONGS

But to access the real power of Google Play Music, you'll need to pay $9.99 a month for its All Access plan. That gives you the ability to stream or download to your mobile device anything in Google's catalog, which now includes more than 20 million songs. You can create a custom ad-free radio station from any artist, song, or album, and skip as many songs as you like. Google will also recommend tracks based on your listening history, using its own algorithms.

The most distinctive part of Google Play Music lies in its Explore tab, which includes both algorithmic recommendations and playlists created by human editors. "At the end of the day, I think you need both," says Brandon Bilinski, product manager for Google Play Music. Bilinski says his team is designing the service to encourage users to explore unfamiliar categories of music, building starter playlists for 200 genres and subgenres.



GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC FOR IOS SCREENSHOTS
VIEW FULL GALLERY

The app also offers some unusual options for its radio feature, letting you add and delete upcoming songs from the radio queue. In that sense, radio on Google Play can work more like a playlist than a traditional radio station. "We build the playlist for you and let you make minor tweaks," Bilinski says. "But you don't have to do a ton of the work yourself."

Given its similarities to the Android version, why did the music app take so long to come to iOS? Speculation around the Android launch centered around Apple's App Store policies, which take a 30 percent cut of in-app sales. But Google says that the company didn't even try to negotiate with Apple over its commission — and as a result, you can't buy music through the app as you can on Android, nor can you subscribe to All Access through your smartphone.

"IT JUST TOOK US A LITTLE LONGER THAN WE THOUGHT."

The actual reason for the delay: "It just took us a little longer than we thought to bring it up to the level of polish expected from Play Music and iOS apps," Bilinski says. That meant fixing problems with streaming and integrating the app with Chromecast, among other things. The result is an app that can stream music at up to 320 kbps, and can connect to speakers and other devices over AirPlay and Bluetooth. It's also available in 20 countries at launch.

That's not to say the iOS version is at parity with its Android counterpart. For starters, it does not include the "I'm Feeling Lucky" radio station, which builds an instant playlist based on your preferences. And the requirement to buy songs and subscriptions on the web instead of in the app feels anachronistic given the focus that Google and every other major tech company has placed on mobile devices. More than other streaming services, Google Play emphasizes buying tracks, with a prominent "shop" tab on Android and the web. That shopping is absent from the iOS app has to sting Google, at least a little.

But the music team is working to bring "I'm Feeling Lucky" and a handful of other missing features to the iOS version soon, Bilinski says. They're also working on a version optimized for the iPad. And in time, they hope to make their recommendations better aware of your context — suggesting fast-paced music during a morning workout, say, or a more mellow record at night. If they're successful, they'll help to differentiate an app that mostly replicates services that predated it. But for those who have entrusted their music libraries to Google already, or who are interested in a more editorial take on discovering new songs, Google Play Music for iOS will be a welcome arrival.

Friday, November 15, 2013

iOS 7.0.4 Update for iPhone & iPad Rolls Out

Apple has rolled out its latest iOS 7 update in the form of iOS 7.0.4, a bug fix update that will replace iOS 7.0.3 as the most current operating system for users of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
For weeks, we’ve seen the iOS 7.0.4 update appear in server logs, however, we hadn’t seen anything confirmed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. Apple is notoriously secretive about its incremental updates and typically does not offer any official information. With iOS 7.1 also appearing in logs, we didn’t know which update would roll out to replace iOS 7.0.3. Today, we have our answer.
After several weeks on iOS 7.0.3, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners on iOS 7 can now upgrade their device to iOS 7.0.4, a small bug fix update that checks in around 17MB in size and should only take a few minutes to download and install. The update features bug fixes and improvements and Apple calls out an issue with FaceTime calls specifically.
Screen Shot 2013-11-14 at 10.36.10 AM
The update is now available Over-the-Air through iOS 7′s Settings and those who can’t or simply wish to bypass the OTA method can install the software through iTunes.
For weeks, users have been complaining about issues inside of iOS 7.0.3. Those issues have ranged from minor issues like text disappearing to major issues like random reboots. It’s unclear if this update is going to tackle all of the issues that we’ve heard about in recent weeks, there is a laundry list of them, but we imagine that it will help more than it will hurt.
Screenshot 2013-11-12 18.11.54
An iOS 7.1 update could be next.
iOS updates also have the chance to introduce new bugs to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners and users will be hopeful that iOS 7.0.4 is relatively bug free. Those who are skeptical will want to hold off on the upgrade for the time being.
With iOS 7.0.4 now out, we imagine that the next update could be iOS 7.1, an update that figures to deliver bug fixes in addition to new features. Apple typically packs in a new feature or two to its iOS x.1 upgrades, though, we haven’t heard anything specific just yet.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

BBM app update for Android, iPhone new features detailed


BBM update for Android and iOS new features detailed

While it may have taken a few months to be released BlackBerry has been pretty good in improving its Messenger service, and now the latest BBM app update for Android and iPhone has had the new features detailed by the company.

BlackBerry has just announced the new features it is adding to the BBM app and confirmed what we told you earlier today that owners of the iPad and iPod Touch with Wi-Fi only models will finally get access to the service.

There are a variety of new features being added to both versions of the app along with a number of bug fixes, and for Android there is now support for contact categories which is a feature we talked about yesterday that would be nice to be introduced.
Also there have been more options for sharing your BBM PIN Barcode as well as being able to find friends that use the service on other social networks. The problems of high battery drain have also been addressed.

The iOS version now supports iPod Touch and iPad devices that are running iOS 6 and iOS 7, and the extra options for sharing the BBM Pin barcode have also been added. The same option for finding friends on other social networks has also come to the iOS version, and the problem with some BBM contact names going missing has been addressed.

BlackBerry has begun rolling out the update to the BBM app but at the time of writing the Android version in the UK has been updated but the iOS version hasn’t.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Controversial iPhone App Lets Users Control a Cockroach's Brain -- Will Apple Allow It?


A US company is generating controversy for making a device that allows users to control a cockroach's brain using an iPhone. Will this make more children interested in neuroscience, or turn them into heartless psychopaths? Apple ( AAPL ) might be the one to decide the project's fate. 

Backyard Brains of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has developed a robotic "backpack" called RoboRoach, sold for $99, that can be attached to a cockroach (assuming there's one handy). After a little "surgery," the backpack allows users to control the roach's movement via the Bluetooth in your phone. It works by stimulating the nerves in the roach's antennae to make it think that it hit a wall, prompting it to run to the left or right. The developers say that it works on the same principles that allow doctors to treat Parkinson's disease and deafness. They hope the app will inspire a new generation of youngsters, prompting them to become curious about the wonders of neuroscience, and hopefully lead them to someday cure neurological ailments. They say that a fifth of the world will soon have such a brain disease for which there is no cure. 

 

The group raised over $12,000 on Kickstarter for this project, and you can already pre-order your roach cyborg kit on their website . For now, the RoboRoach comes with a toy controller, but they will all eventually work with any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone. 

Naturally, this sort of project ran into ethical questions. It does sound a bit like the sort of thing that would produce the next Josef Mengele. The developers say that the process is not harmful at all, and the cockroach can continue to mate and function as a normal member of roach society after users have their way with them. 

The surgery bit (in the video above) is what gives some pause. It requires first putting the roach in ice-cold water, using sandpaper to rub off the waxy coating on its head, using superglue to attach the electrodes to its head, and poking a hole in its thorax with a needle to insert a wire. The next step is to cut off most of the antennae and insert the electrodes into what's left of them. 

And voila ! You can now command a cockroach to turn left or right with just a tap of your finger. For up to 10 turns, that is. After that, the roach learns to ignore the signal. If you still want to have your fun messing with it, you can hang on for 20 minutes, and it will work again. 

You would think that a cockroach, something most New Yorkers see as a less desirable visitor in their apartments than an alien, would test the limits of empathy. But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has already come out against the project, saying that it is painful for the roach and could potentially warp young minds rather than inspire them. 

"Not only is RoboRoach harmful to roaches, it's potentially harmful to the cyborgs' handlers. It could desensitize them to the feelings of those who are weaker than they are. One might just as well call it a 'bully starter kit,'" PETA said, according to The Blaze . 

PETA has asked the Michigan Attorney General to stop this, saying that the process constitutes practicing veterinary medicine without a license, which is a felony. 

We can only guess what state regulators will do to save the cockroaches from being tortured, but I would add that there is another hurdle in the way: Apple. There is nothing forcing it to carry the app, and keeping it might prompt the PETA activists to target Cupertino. Apple has booted less controversial apps from its App Store. Even Bang With Friends, a program that lets you see which of your Facebook ( FB ) friends are into you, was removed for a while. Without a presence in the official store, only jailbroken iPhones can use the app. Then again, the type of person willing to perform surgery on a cockroach to hack its brain can probably do that. 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Apple II DOS code that launched an empire


The Computer History Museum has published the source code for the Apple II DOS. Last spring, CNET was first to report the existence of documents that led to the creation of the code.



If ever source code can be said to have helped launch an empire, the code behind the Apple II DOS would qualify. And now it's available to everyone.
Last spring, CNET was first to report on the surfacing of documents that led to Apple's commissioning the creation of a disk operating system (DOS) for the young company's new computer, the Apple II.
Without that DOS, the computer would probably never have made a mark, since the only storage option otherwise available was a tape drive. Over the Christmas holidays of 1977, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak designed a disk controller, but he needed a DOS.

The original Apple OS documents

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Inearly 1978, Apple signed a $13,000 contract with Shepardson Microsystems to create the DOS. The contract was addressed to Steve Jobs. Once it was written, programs like VisiCalc, which led to the Apple II's tremendous success, were possible.
Now, thanks to the help of the DigiBarn, a vintage computer museum in Santa Cruz County, Calif., the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., has officially published the DOS source code for all to see.
According to Bruce Damer, the founder and curator of the DigiBarn, Apple, which still owns the code, gave its blessing for the documents to be made public. What anyone will do with them is unclear, but this is one of Silicon Valley's most important treasures -- a disk operating system that helped a young company become a behemoth. Without it, we might never have seen Apple become the company it is today.