New Infrared iPhone 5 Case Lets You See Behind Walls

The smartphone case industry is beginning to move away from bling-encrusted cheap tat and into the realms of ‘useful accessory’.

FLIR systems has done just that and invented a case for Apple's iPhone with thermal-imaging capabilities, which it revealed at CES earlier this year but is finally about to go on sale. The FLIR One is an iPhone 5/5s case with both an infrared camera and a VGA one that’s supposed to add depth and detail to the infrared images.

The device works by combining the heat signature information it gets from the infrared camera with the live camera image from the iPhone. This then delivers a composite thermal heat image. The result is a negative-type image of the various heat levels in an array of different colours – bright red and white being hottest.

What is it used for? FLIR Systems explains that it will be useful for pinpointing the position of pipes in walls, finding weak spots in your home’s insulation, finding hidden animals in bushes and identifying leaks before they cause serious damage.

Users will be able to take time lapse and panoramic thermal images, whilst being able to edit and share what they’ve captured. The case has its own battery pack, which holds a two hour charge, and weighs about the same as the phone. It retails for about $350 and will be available in August.

Rise of the smart-case

Smart cases are in vogue. Sure, there’s still the odd 24-carat gold case floating around, but there’s also a new trend in high-tech case accessories.

The team at Vysk Communications have developed a phone case that, according to its inventor Victor Cocchia, makes your iPhone “unhackable”. Called the QS1, the $230 case has its own circuitry, its own battery pack, microphone and shutters that physically block the front and rear facing cameras.

The idea is that your calls and texts can’t be monitored because the encryption happens outside the phone, and not on the “compromised” software installed on the phone. Cocchia explained to me:

“The encryption is happening on the hardware chip. The communication then goes through the phone, so this way there’s no way for someone who’s got control of the phone to hear what you’re saying,” he says.

“And then we decided just in case any of those were compromised, we would put a mechanical device on the phone that physically jams the microphones.”

Security experts haven’t  been able to point out a flaw in the QS1, yet. But doubts have been raised about the lack of open source code. Egemen Tas, vice president of engineering at security specialist Comodo, told me:

“In order to gain the confidence of private, anonymous or sensitive users and have a wide spread adoption, they should make their core technologies open source and open to an independent audit.”

IPhone-Ready Apps Mean Teens Tracked Without Calling Home

Becca Ludlum knows better than to expect her teen son, Michael, to call home as he skateboards from the mall to the park to friends’ homes on long summer days.

Ludlum instead relies on a downloadable smartphone application called Life360 that uses satellite signals to follow the kid’s comings and goings.

“If he’s late to dinner, I can check where he is,” said Ludlum, a 36-year-old blogger from Tucson, Arizona. “He is not going to call me every time he gets somewhere -- he gets embarrassed.”

As teens in growing numbers adopt smartphones with global positioning system technology, they’re easier to keep tabs on using mobile apps like Life360. This rising tide of tracker apps creates a host of new ways for families to stay connected and coordinate schedules even as it heightens concerns about young people’s privacy.

The percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds using mobile phones rose to 70 percent last year from 58 percent in 2012, according to Nielsen. A reflection of the rising number of kids on phones, Life360 Inc., Glympse Inc., TWT Digital Ltd.’s ZoeMob and other developers of location-monitoring software have seen downloads jump at least 50 percent this year. Apple Inc.’s iPhone also comes with a widely used location feature, called Find My Friends.

“Even small children are getting smartphones, and that, of course, expands the addressable market significantly,” Andre Malm, an analyst at Berg Insight AB, said of the market for location-based apps.

Location, Location

About 25 million people in North America used location services daily at the end of last year, according to Berg Insight. That number could double to 50 million by 2018 as more free apps come out and smartphone use grows, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based researcher said.

“The big prize is to own the family network,” Alex Haro, president of San Francisco-based Life360, said in an interview. “Families are the last real-world network that haven’t gone online yet.”

Introduced four years ago, Life360 is adding 2 million new users a month, and just passed 100 million members, up from 63 million at the end of 2013. ZoeMob has notched up 2.3 million downloads this year, for a total of 7.3 million. Glympse, based inSeattle, has experienced its fastest growth in the past four months since the app debuted in 2009, according to Chief Executive Officer Bryan Trussel.

Potential Market

Part of the growth is being fueled by parents handing down their old phones and cheaper prices for smartphones, making them more available for children. The average selling price for smartphones is projected to decline to $260 in 2018 from $308 this year, according to researcher IDC.

Smartwatches and other wearable devices could also spur wider use of tracking apps, with companies including LG Electronics Inc. and VTech Holdings Ltd. already rolling out products designed for children. Apple is said to be working on a smartwatch as well.

Sensing an opportunity, venture capital is moving in. Glympse raised $12 million in June from Ignition Partners, Verizon Ventures and other investors. Security company ADT Corp. led a $50 million financing round in Life360 in May.

AutoNavi Holdings Ltd., a Chinese map software company that’s being acquired by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., bought Alohar Mobile, a startup that introduced a new family-tracking app called PlaceUs on July 23. Sao Paulo-based TWT Digital just raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a recent round.

“When you think about families, we haven’t scratched the surface,” Daniel Avizu, TWT Digital’s CEO, said in an interview. “It’s a huge market, and there’s a lot of space for everybody to grow.”

Privacy, Carriers

Because family-tracking software keeps data on identities and exact locations, privacy controls are a key consideration for developers of the programs. Most apps let users turn their location-monitoring on and off, and require them to go through an extensive opt-in process.

The apps are also designed so that only a pre-defined group of users can access individual locations, rather than making tracking data publicly available.

“People don’t value their privacy that highly and don’t think through the implications,” Roger Entner, founder of researcher Recon Analytics LLC, said in an interview.

Location apps are also going up against wireless carriers, which already offer tracking services for customers as add-ons to mobile phone and data plans. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. charge $10 a month for similar services, generating as much $120 million in additional revenue for themselves and other carriers in North America last year, according to Berg Insight.

New Uses

The tracking apps, which use satellite data and other data to pinpoint locations, are usually free and offer additional features for a cost. While they could siphon sales from wireless providers, the apps could also boost data usage. Verizon, whose venture arm invested in Glympse, is betting that location apps can help the carrier sell more data plans, Haro said.

“What is important to Verizon is to provide the customers with what they want,” said Laura Merritt, a spokeswoman for New York-based Verizon.

Premium features also enable uses that go beyond finding out where family members are. Parents can receive alerts if a teen driver is exceeding speed limits, and users can get emergency help or contact a personal assistant.

“Our goal isn’t just to track your children, but your pets, your elderly parents, your car,” said Michal Stencl, CEO of Sygic, which develops several location apps for finding people, measuring speeds or monitoring traffic.

By linking up with automobiles, wearable devices and home-security systems, family-tracking app companies are betting that they will be able to help users manage all facets of their lives. Life360 is working with ADT on using people-tracking to improve home security, for example.

“If the entire family leaves the house, we can automatically power the security system, turn off the lights and close the garage door,” Life360’s Haro said.

Key iPhone apps for when your patient goes pulseless

First, check your pulse, then, open this app.

If it were that easy, we could all be stars of the Japanese TV drama as referenced in the Code Blue series. However, real life codes are usually all too hectic and stress inducing especially for the new graduating medical class that just started their intern year. After our initial article on the crucial apps for intern year, we are reviewing the top iPhone “code” apps available on the market.

We should mention the obvious caveat — you should know how to handle code blue / ACLS scenarios without having to use an app or even without having to use the commonly used pamphlets people carry with them.  That said — these apps can often times help you control the adrenaline that is flooding your veins in these high acuity settings.

Medirate

Not many people wear watches and there is often either no clock or a broken clock on the wall- this is what I learned when I was in the room of a patient who was sick but not coding (not all patients are hooked up to telemetry 24/7). I have tried, mildly successfully, to use the clock on the iPhone to time out 6-10 seconds and then multiply that out for my heart or respiratory rate. The creators of Medirate had this dilemma in mind and created an exceedingly simple tool to fix it.

The app’s one and only screen, shown above, has a large button which you press whenever you either see a breath or feel a heartbeat. After literally two presses the display changes to a number of either breaths or beats per minute. I’ve testing it a few times and it is surprisingly helpful and accurate.

Uh oh. The heart rate you calculated is 25. As the nurse rolls in the code cart and slaps on the zoll monitors (which will follow the patient’s heart and respiratory rate as well as show you a tele strip) it is time to close Medirate and open one of the following apps.

As a note, if you have not already sent a frantic text to your senior resident now is also the time to send that text as well as put your phone into “airplane” mode so calls, etc do not cramp your style.

Rescue Code

This medical app is the simplest of the code tracking applications. Once you click past a “terms of use screen,” which sadly appears every time you open the application rather than only once, you are taken to the opening page and can start tracking your code.

Once you click start code you are immediately taken to a screen to pick your rhythm. Your choice then immediately takes you to a medication screen. This is a little harsh and unhelpful. Often, in real life you have a code started and it takes a few minutes–even in the emergency room where staff is prepared–to give medications. Why force the user to give a medication when this may not accurately represent what is happening?

After you pick your medication you are taken back to your initial timer screen. The problems at this point continues. Consider a patient who was in PEA but then transitions into bradycardia. With this app there is no way to change the rhythm! You are stuck in PEA. All the app allows is to go back to the medication page. Additionally, there is no way to log procedures.

Beyond the limitations of logging (not changing the rhythm and no procedure tracking), what really drives this app into my low recommendation is the very high price of $7.99. If the app was free I would recommend some suggestions and consider the app a work in progress, but asking this high a price for this level of quality is surprising.

Your iPhone Can Finally Make Free, Encrypted Calls

The encrypted calling app Signal. The two seemingly random words 
beneath the contact’s name are meant to be read out at the beginning 
of a conversation to make sure no man-in-the-middle snoop has 
eavesdropped on the call. 

If you’re making a phone call with your iPhone, you used to have two options: Accept the notion that any wiretapper, hacker or spook can listen in on your conversations, or pay for pricey voice encryption software.

As of today there’s a third option: The open source software group known as Open Whisper Systems has announced the release of Signal, the first iOS app designed to enable easy, strongly encrypted voice calls for free. “We’re trying to make private communications as available and accessible as any normal phone call,” says Moxie Marlinspike, the hacker security researcher who founded the nonprofit software group. Later this summer, he adds, encrypted text messaging will be integrated into Signal, too, to create what he describes as a “single, unified app for free, easy, open source, private voice and text messaging.”

Signal encrypts calls with a well-tested protocol known as ZRTP and AES 128 encryption, in theory strong enough to withstand all known practical attacks by anyone from script-kiddy hackers to the NSA. But WIRED’s test calls with an early version of the app, after a few false-starts due to bugs that Marlinspike says have now been ironed out, were indistinguishable from any other phone call. The only sign users have that their voice has been encrypted is a pair of words that appear on the screen. Those two terms are meant to be read aloud to the person on the other end of the call as a form of authentication. If they match, a user can be sure he or she is speaking with the intended contact, with no man-in-the-middle eavesdropping on the conversation and sneakily decrypting and then re-encrypting the voice data.

Like any new and relatively untested crypto app, users shouldn’t entirely trust Signal’s security until other researchers have had a chance to examine it. Marlinspike admits “there are always unknowns,” such as vulnerabilities in the software of the iPhone that could allow snooping. But in terms of preventing an eavesdropper on the phone’s network from intercepting calls, Signal’s security protections are “probably pretty great,” he says.

After all, the technology behind Signal isn’t exactly new. Marlinspike first took on the problem of smartphone voice encryption four years ago with Redphone, an Android app designed to foil all wiretaps. Signal and Redphone both use an encryption protocol called ZRTP, invented by Philip Zimmermann, the creator of the iconic crypto software PGP.

Zimmermann has developed his own iPhone implementation of ZRTP for his startup Silent Circle, which sells an iPhone and Android app that enables encrypted calls and instant messaging. But unlike Open Whisper Systems, Silent Circles charges its mostly corporate users $20 a month to use its closed-source privacy app. Signal offers the same services gratis, making it the first free encryption app of its kind for iOS.

Since Silent Circle users are limited to calling only contacts with the same paid software installed, its practicality for non-business users has been limited. Though Signal and Redphone users similarly can’t make encrypted calls to users without Open Whisper Systems apps installed, they can make secure calls from one app to the other, a feature that will make both Android and iOS-encrypted calling apps vastly more practical. Marlinspike notes that journalists hoping to communicate privately with a source, for instance, would have a difficult time convincing them to shell out for an expensive subscription app. “If you want the ability to, in principle, call anyone securely, it really has to be free,” says Christine Corbett Moran, one of the lead volunteer coders on Signal.

Instead of taking the for-profit startup route, Open Whisper Systems will instead by funded by a combination of donations and government grants. Marlinspike says the project has received money from the free-software-focused Shuttleworth Foundation and the Open Technology Fund, a U.S. government program that has also funded other privacy projects like the anonymity software Tor and the encrypted instant messaging website Cryptocat.

That government funding is ironic given the last year’s boost in encryption interest from the Snowden Effect: Open Whisper Systems argues, like other encryption projects, that the eavesdropping countermeasures Signal and its Android counterpart provide are more important than ever in the wake of Snowden’s year of revelations of blanket spying by the NSA. “When I call the United States I’m hearing more and more self-censorship—relatives in the U.S. saying, ‘I’d rather talk about this in person,’” says Moran, who is pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Zurich. “That’s not a climate anyone should have to live in.”

Open Whisper Systems’ founder Marlinspike has been a fixture of the security and cryptography community for years, demonstrating groundbreaking hacks like ones that revealed vulnerabilities in the Web encryption SSL and Microsoft’s widely used VPN encryption MS-CHAPv2. He co-founded the San Francisco-based startup Whisper Systems in 2010 with the intention of hardening the security of Google’s Android and providing tools for encrypted communications. But that work took a hiatus when Whisper Systems was acquired by Twitter in late 2011.

While Marlinspike worked a stint as a Twitter security engineer, however, Whisper’s apps were open-sourced and increasingly adopted around the world. Today, he says Redphone and Whisper’s encrypted text messaging app for Android called Textsecure have been installed on hundreds of thousands of phones, the majority of which are outside the United States. Users in China, Iran, and the Middle East have adopted the services to evade their intrusive governments’ surveillance techniques. The apps got another boost when Whatsapp, which has an especially large user-base in Europe, was acquired by Facebook, spooking many of its privacy-conscious users. “For people around the world, providing credible alternatives to not be spied on by their governments is very important for freedom,” says Moran.

Whisper’s iOS app is intended to be equally global. The group has set up dozens of servers to handle the encrypted calls in more than 10 countries around the world to minimize latency.

In fact, Marlinspike says that call quality and ease of use are two of the top priorities for Open Whisper Systems: Clunky encryption programs like PGP, no matter how secure they may be, don’t get used. “In many ways the crypto is the easy part,” he says. “The hard part is developing a product that people are actually going to use and want to use. That’s where most of our effort goes.”

As Moran says, the best encrypted app is one where the security is nearly invisible. “You don’t want to have to think about whether to use cryptography,” she says. “You just pick up the phone.”

Facebook Messenger App Made Mandatory for Chatting on Android and iPhone

Facebook, back in April, started forcing the Messenger app on users for mobile chat. The company had then announced that it was removing the chat messaging feature from its main Facebook app, forcing users to download the Messenger app for chat with Facebook contacts on their mobiles.

Now, TechCrunch reports that the company will stop allowing instant messaging via main Facebook for Android and iPhone apps, prompting all users to download the company's standalone Facebook Messenger app.

Facebook initially started notifying users in France, England and several other European countries for downloading the dedicated Messenger app for instant messaging on the social platform.

The social networking giant told TechCrunch it had seen "positive results" in Europe in terms of user engagement, and so decided to move ahead with rolling-out the standalone app to everyone.

The company notes that users can continue to chat via the main Facebook app on iPad tablets, feature phones, Windows Phone devices, via Paper app, and the Web-based desktop interface.

Notably, for easy switching between the Facebook app and the Messenger app, the social networking giant has now included a Messenger shortcut option at the bottom of the Facebook app. Once clicked, users are led to the Messenger app, from where they can head back to the main Facebook app by clicking on the 'touch to return to Facebook' option.

In an official statement, quoted by TechCrunch, Facebook said, "In the next few days, we're continuing to notify more people that if they want to send and receive Facebook messages, they'll need to download the Messenger app. As we've said, our goal is to focus development efforts on making Messenger the best mobile messaging experience possible and avoid the confusion of having separate Facebook mobile messaging experiences. Messenger is used by more than 200 million people every month, and we'll keep working to make it an even more engaging way to connect with people."

Previously, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg shared the news that the company's messaging app, Messenger, was being used by more than 200 million active users every month. Zuckerberg made the announcement during the company's first-quarter earnings call. According to Facebook, the monthly audience of Messenger was on par with Instagram's 200 million active users.

It's worth mentioning that Facebook's standalone app, Messenger will be up against the likes of some popular instant mobile messaging apps such as WeChat, Line, Snapchat and Viber. The social platform announced plans in February to buy the popular WhatsApp messaging app for $19 billion. The company recently also unveiled its Slingshot app, an ephemeral messaging app similar to Snapchat.

Microsoft OneNote iPhone, iPad, & Mac apps updated with new features

Microsoft updated its OneNote apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac today with a number of highly requested features including the ability to insert files, lock and unlock protected sections, PDF printouts, and much more.

In addition, the update also includes the ability to organize notebooks by moving and reordering sections and pages, support for formatted text copied from other apps, and an option to create notebooks and save them to OneDrive for Business.

The updated Microsoft OneNote for iPhone and for iPad is available on the App Store now. A full list of what’s new is below:

What’s New in Version 2.3

•Insert Files – You asked, we listened. Now you can insert files into your notes, open them with a double-tap, and easily share them using AirDrop.
•Protected Sections – Now you can lock or unlock password-protected sections created in OneNote for Windows.
•PDF Printouts – Add a PDF printout to any notebook page, then add your own notes.
•Organize Notebooks – Now you can move and reorder sections, and move pages anywhere you want in OneNote.
•Formatted Text – Copy and paste formatted text between application – whether it’s an article from Safari or a document in Word, any content you paste into OneNote will look great!
•Creating Notebooks – Now you can create notebooks and save them to OneDrive for Business. Have multiple accounts? No problem! It’s easy to select exactly where you want to store your new notebook.

The Microsoft OneNote for Mac app gets a similar update today plus the ability to share a page from OneNote through email. 

BBM for Android and iPhone Will Get a UI Makeover

With the BBM for Windows beta coming out, we got a look at a native, Windows Phone-looking app, that is sure to appeal to those users that are familiar with that style of design and UI. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with the Android and iPhone apps during the time that they’ve been out, but it looks like this may be changing.

During a Q&A today at the BlackBerry Security Summit, we asked BlackBerry President John Sims about BBM and how the look of the app may change in the future for Android and iPhone users based on what we’ve seen with the Windows Phone version.

According to Sims, the prevailing philosophy from previous management was that the BBM app in the cross-platform world would be better served if it looked the same, basically like the BlackBerry 10 app, on Android and iPhone. Sims disagrees with that, “Our view of that is that’s not the case.”

The BBM experience on iPhone and Android “needs to be more of a native app experience,” added Sims. “You can expect to see that manifest itself in our Android and iPhone BBM apps.”

Sims did not mention a timeline for these updates, and for this UI redesign, but hopefully it won’t take long. One of the biggest complains from users that downloaded but failed to stay with BBM was that it was a bit confusing.

The current BBM apps do not follow guidelines for Android and iPhone, and for those users, having an app that follows these patterns is crucial for ease and constant use. Just think of how much more we prefer native BlackBerry 10 apps and how they look, over their Android counterparts. The same idea has to be applied for BBM on these other platforms, and it’s clear new BlackBerry management is aware of this. The redesign of how its main consumer focused app, BBM, looks on other platforms will surely impact how much other users support it. That’s why this is a great idea.

Homer for iPhone lets you peek at the apps your friends use

Ever had the urge to peek at your friends' phone screens, whether it's to learn about their favorite apps or simply pry into their digital lives? Well, you can now do that without having to either strike up an awkward conversation or get overly nosy. PayPal co-founder Max Levchin and the HVF crew have launched Homer, an iPhone app that lets you share your app picks with fellow users. All you do is take screenshots of your home screens and submit them; Homer scans the pictures and identifies the apps, making it easy to compare them with pals in your contacts or on social networks.

As you'd hope, there's some privacy features baked in. Besides the voluntary nature of screen captures, you can hide individual apps you'd rather keep a secret -- you don't have to share your Tinder addiction with the rest of the world. There's no mention of Homer versions for other platforms (or people outside the US, for that matter), but you can try it today if you have both an iPhone and an unquenchable curiosity about your buddies' mobile habits.

Spotify adds equaliser function to iPhone and iPad apps

MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE Spotify has released an update to its iOS app that delivers equaliser functionality to iPhone and iPad users.

Spotify's new equaliser feature boasts 22 audio presets, including hip-hop, electronic, acoustic and classical. Spotify said that users will also be able to set their own equaliser settings within the app, using Settings > Playback > Equaliser.

Spotify VP of products Sten Garmark said, "A lot of our uses have been asking for a built-in equaliser for a while not and it's currently one of our most requested features on iOS.

"The Equaliser lets you adjust your audio settings based on the type of music you're listing to, or the device you're listening on, be that small speakers or portable headphones. Now you have even more control of your music."

In the update, which bumps Spotify for iOS to version 1.5.0, users will now find that the Discover feature has been moved to the Browse tab, which the firm claims allows for even simpler music discovery.

News of Spotify's app update comes a day after it was revealed that Apple had picked up radio streaming service Swell, as it looks to beef up its Podcasts app and its own iTunes Radio service. The firm is no doubt hoping that it will be able to challenge Spotify with iTunes, although the service has yet to arrive in the UK.

Spotify for iOS is available to download for free from the iTunes App Store.

Foxconn to kick off mass production of Apple iPhone 6 this week: report

                           Rumoured iPhone 6 models

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronic goods, will begin mass production of Apple’s next-generation iPhone 6 this month, local media reported today.

Mass production of a 4.7-inch successor to the wildly popular iPhone smartphones will begin during the third week of July, Taiwan’s Economic Daily News said, without citing sources. Production of a 5.5-inch version will begin during the second week of August, it said.

A separate report issued Thursday by a China state-run news service said Hon Hai is planning to hire 100,000 workers at its mainland facilities to meet future demand for the gadget, citing comments made by the chief of the Henan Provincial Commerce Department.

Fellow Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron this month also began recruitment of over 10,000 workers for its mainland facilities to manufacture the phone, according to the Economic Daily News report.

Hon Hai had no comment on the report. Representatives for Pegatron and the Henan Provincial Commerce Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook launches Mentions, an iPhone app just for famous people

More than ever before, Facebook is thinking mobile. After Paper and Slingshot, the company is expanding its repertoire with Mentions, a new iOS app geared towards celebrities and public figures.

Built by Facebook Creative Labs, it’s designed to help actors, athletes, musicians and other so-called “influencers” to contribute and engage on its platform. While it looks similar to the normal Facebook app on the surface – with a vertical feed and navigation bar at the bottom – a closer look reveals a refined and reworked experience for the iPhone.

The News Feed is split into Following and Trending, which Facebook says will make it easier for celebrities to “add [their] voice to the story” while they’re on the go. The Trending section, interestingly, is almost identical to the panel found on the right-hand side of the News Feed while you’re browsing on the desktop – does this mean Facebook wants prolific users to share and comment on high-ranking content, or simply post their own status updates in the hope they too will make the cut? It’s a little unclear at the moment.

The app features a post button for a stress-free way to share photos, videos and status updates, as well as live Q&As. There’s also a shortcut to the the user’s profile and a new Mentions section which Facebook says will let users “see what fans are saying about [them] and join the conversation.”

Based on the screenshot below, it appears to highlight all posts and comments that include the user’s name, making it easier for celebrities (or most likely, their social media managers) to engage their fans and grow an audience.

For now, Mentions is only available for people with verified pages in the US. Facebook says it’ll roll out the app to more countries and approved users in the coming months. In short, unless you’re famous or already verified – it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be using this anytime soon. Sorry about that.

Google Analytics App Arrives on iPhone

Google on Thursday finally released a version of Google Analytics for the iPhone.

The iPhone app [iTunes link] comes more than two years after Google released Google Analytics for Android.

Like the Android app, Google Analytics for iPhone lets users check in on their website analytics — including real-time visitor reports — from the comfort of their smartphone. In addition to real-time and time-based reports, the app can be used to view behaviors, conversions and more.



Longtime Google Analytics users — who have had to rely on third-party solutions for mobile access — will appreciate having an official app. The UI aesthetic matches the other Google apps for iOS. The app also takes advantage of the sign-in features in Gmail, Google+ and the standard Google app for iOS.

Google Analytics for iPhone was a curious omission for the search giant. Despite having its own mobile operating system, Google has historically done a great job of maintaining app parity between iOS and Android — if not feature parity.

Google Analytics for iPhone is not optimized for the iPad, however. Hopefully iPad support will be added in a future update.

Continuity Keypad adds a dialer to OS X Yosemite for iPhone Handoff calls

Anyone testing iPhone Handoff calling on OS X Yosemite, Apple’s latest Mac operating system, have probably noticed one major detail missing: a dialer. Student developers Eytan Schulman and Harrison Weinerman have created a very useful utility called Continuity Keypad that solves that problem.

Essentially what the app does is bridge a gap created by Handoff and FaceTime when making calls on your Mac using your iPhone. It creates a dialer similar to the one found on your iPhone allowing you to easily call numbers using your iPhone from your Mac, and it uses transparency to fit in with the new look of OS X.

The current implementation of Handoff between iPhone and Mac allows you to answer incoming calls from anyone, call out numbers saved in your contacts, or type out a number in a text field and call from the sub menu, but Continuity Keypad makes the experience of initiating a call to someone not in your contacts a much more intuitive experience.

The utility does have a few limitations at this point like pound (#) and star (*) functionality during calls, but these buttons do work when initiating a call. The utility does make calling a second number during a call on Mac much easier, though, and anyone testing iPhone Handoff calling on OS X Yosemite should find it useful.

The app’s developers plan to continue working on the utility by improving performance and adding additional feature before releasing it alongside OS X Yosemite later this fall, and current Yosemite testers can try out an beta version of the app for free here in the mean time.

Apple iPhone 6 Leaked Photo May Back Up Rumors Of A Larger Battery

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing for Apple, 
talks about phone battery life during Apple's media event in Cupertino, 
California, on Sept. 10, 2013.

A newly released photo of the iPhone 6 indicates that the phone, which is expected to go on sale in September, will have a far more powerful battery than current iPhones.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:APPL), which has not confirmed that the photo is authentic, is widely believed to be developing at least one larger-screen iPhone 6, which would include a stronger battery to address large-screen power consumption needs. Prior rumors suggested that the upcoming iPhone 6, which may feature a 4.7-inch display, may also include a battery between 1,800mAh and 1,900mAh.

The newly released image, which was shared on Thursday by French tech website Nowhereelse, indicates a battery capacity of 1,801mAh. Many analysts believe that rumors about a larger display and a larger battery for the iPhone 6 go hand-in-hand.

The current iPhone 5s contains a 1,560mAh battery so the 4.7-inch iPhone would be about 20 percent more powerful. This power would primarily be used to support the larger display to ensure the device can sustain as much power as is normally expected from an iPhone. The iPhone 5s battery can accommodate about 10 hours of mixed usage, including streaming video, gaming, Web browsing, phone calls, taking pictures and video and listening to music.

“Major drain comes with larger screen size. Increasing the battery is a must if Apple is to preserve the battery life of its products with a larger screen,” Canalys senior analyst Tim Coulling told International Business Times last week.

Any further battery optimization to actually increase functionality of the device will likely come from software, according to tech website iPhone Hacks. Apple has already announced its latest mobile system iOS 8, which should be implemented onto new devices in the fall.

Samsung recently released an advertisement criticizing the iPhone’s battery and calling its users “wall huggers,” suggesting iPhone users can often be found near a power outlet waiting for their handsets to charge. However, Coulling notes one of the top complaints with smartphones -- regardless of manufacturer -- has to do with battery life and battery consumption. He says larger batteries will accommodate the potentially larger new iPhones as well.

Rumors also suggest that Apple has plans to release a 5.5-inch iPhone, which could be called the “iPhone Air.” This smartphone is expected to have a 2,500 mAh battery, but may be delayed until 2015 due to various production issues.

Smartphone Manufacturers Aim To Make Businesses Bionic

A tweet from Samsung could suggest retina scanning biometrics 
technology for future devices.

Unlocking a smartphone with your eye may be the next frontier of smartphone technology, but it will be up to consumers to dictate how far the bionic technology goes.

Iris recognition is a method of identification that uses pattern-recognition to pinpoint the complex and random patterns found in the eye. It is just one of many mechanisms being used by technology companies to connect electronics to the unique features of a users’ body.

Manufacturers including Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX: 005930), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and HTC Corp. (TPE: 2498) have already introduced various detection technologies on their smartphones, such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition. These features are used to unlock a handset, sign into various accounts and authorize online payments.

Samsung hinted in a recent Tweet that it plans to implement iris scanning in future smartphones, and several Samsung executives indicated that the manufacturer is interested in this type of technology. But implementing iris scanning onto smartphones won’t be simple. Analysts say iris scanning isn't only a much more complicated process than fingerprint scanning or facial recognition, it's also much more expensive.

“Unless [manufacturers] find a way to make [iris scanners] cheaper and available for consumer purchase, this kind of application will primarily be targeted at the business sector,” Michela Menting, a cyber-security analyst at ABI Research told International Business Times.

Detection technologies that are already available have been much easier to simplify for the mass market. Menting notes that the Touch ID fingerprint scanning feature on Apple’s iPhone 5s records only about 70 percent of a person’s fingerprint, as scanning a full fingerprint is a much more complicated technology.   

Such features have been introduced on smartphones to drum up user interest, but are still being used more in the business sector. For example, though the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone -- a mass market product -- includes a fingerprint scanner, Samsung executives have said its primary use at this point is in conjunction with its enterprise security software called Knox.

Smartphones with iris scanners could be much more expensive than consumers are willing to pay. However, a company that requires heightened security for its devices might be willing to arrange for a limited number of handsets to be available for employees. This makes the iris scanner a tantalizing service for businesses.

John Devlin, a hardware analyst at ABI Research, explained to International Business Times how these layers of security could work: Perhaps employees use a passcode to open an app, but when they want to submit a transaction, access a company server or download sensitive information, they could use something like retina scanning to confirm their identity. “That second layer of security can really help identify a unique person as the one authorized to access that phone or its applications,” Menting said. Many businesses already use such methods within their computer networks.

“If you’re an enterprise and you issue mobile devices, you have a security policy that's going to include passwords,” she said. “So [body recognition] is a way of selling the mobile equivalent of what you have on PCs to businesses so they can integrate their security policy.”

This does not mean that iris scanners on smartphones will never be available for the mass market. Iris scanners could be introduced on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which is expected to release in the fall.

Devlin believes it could be another four or five years before the technology is readily available to consumers. Since iris scanning is more complicated in concept as well as in application, people would be worried about how it works and whether it actually protects devices from being accessed by others for malicious purposes, Devlin said. Manufacturers may test the feature on a few future high-end smartphones to gauge consumer interest before moving forward with mass-market implementation.  

“That’s a part of consumer readiness: the level of comfort with these types of solutions that will dictate how fast or how widely they get implemented,” Devlin added.

But mobile iris scanners could tap into a large market of smartphone users for whom security is not as important. According to a Consumer Reports survey done earlier this year, only about one third of Americans use a security lock on their smartphones, even a pin code. Iris scanning could be attractive to these users not for the security aspect, but due to its ease of use, Menting said.

“[Body recognition] is probably a bit more secure [than a pin] but the idea from the consumer perspective is to streamline access to the phone while still keeping an element of security,” she said. “Iris scanning doesn’t involve you doing anything other than looking that the phone.”

Apple iPhone 6 Camera May Use Sony Exmor IMX220 Sensor

The highly rumored iPhone 6 may use a Sony camera sensor 

Rumors about Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) next-generation iPhone 6 continue to swirl online as its expected release date nears.

While a great deal of attention has been paid to the iPhone 6’s exterior parts, such as its purported sapphire 4.7-inch screen cover, very little has been confirmed about its internal specifications. However, new claims by technology blog G for Games on Thursday suggest Apple may use a Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) camera sensor in its upcoming iPhone 6.

According to rumors that originated on technology forum Digi-Wo, the iPhone 6 is expected to use the Sony Exmor IMX220 camera sensor, which sports a 13MP 1/2.3-inch sensor capable of recording 1080p video.

Older iPhone models such as the iPhone 4S, 5 and 5S use a similar Sony sensor, the Exmor IMX145.

Interestingly, online wholesale marketplace Alibaba currently offers the Sony Exmor IMX220 camera sensor at $27 per unit.

While this rumor remains unconfirmed, MacRumors notes that Digi-Wo forum members have delivered accurate information in the past about Sony products before their release date, including leaked photos of the Xperia Z3.

Previous rumors also suggested Apple may implement optical image stabilization in its iPhone 6 to improve the camera's picture quality. However, this feature may be limited to the rumored 5.5-inch model.

Exact release dates have yet to be announced for the iPhone 6. However, the latest rumors suggest Apple expects to unveil the iPhone 6 sometime in September at a media event.

The highly rumored iPhone 6 is expected to sport the successor to the A7 processor, the 2.8 GHz A8, along with 2GB of RAM. The iPhone 6 is also expected to run iOS 8, which is currently in beta testing.

According to several analysts, including KGI Securities’ Ming Chi-Kuo, the iPhone 6 will be released in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch sizes. However, recent reports indicate that the 5.5-inch model may be delayed until early 2015.

Steady app for iPhone calms shaky video while you shoot

One of the most vexing aspects of shooting hand-held video is the twitchy, jumpy footage it often produces. Poor image stabilization, or none at all, will ruin a shoot by making the results impossible to watch.

Stupeflix’s Steady for iPhone, released today, lets you shoot stable video in square or 16:9 recording formats while walking, running, riding a bike or any other moving activity via a simple set of controls within the app. Point, choose flash or no flash, and front or back camera, and then hit the big red button to start recording. That’s it.

Choose which parts of the video are in slow-mo.

While you can always run video through image editing software that will provide some image stabilization, it’s always better to have footage shot correctly first rather than fixed later.

In addition, Steady offers slo-mo recording, even on iPhone 5 or 5C. You can set the slo-mo starting and ending points, preview your work immediately, and save your footage to the camera roll.

Trim, adjust slo-mo, trash or send to the camera roll.

Steady — which simulates the effect of video shot with a dolly, drone or Steadicam operator, reframes your shots in real-time to produce smooth, more cinematic camera movements. You can actually see this process as it’s happening.

Using the iPhone’s gyroscope, Steady knows where the camera is pointing while you record, and compensates for all the steps and shakes that happen during the process.

Steady saves your videos to its own gallery.

Videos are re-rendered with embedded stabilization and slo-mo effects, so that you can share them on services like Vine, Instagram and WhatsApp. Saving Steady videos to the camera roll lets you share them in any way you want, but it’s especially useful for Vine, Instagram and WhatsApp because the video has stabilization and slo-mo baked in.

Slo-mo video shot with the native iPhone 5s camera will not show the effect on those services because the way the iPhone’s slo-mo feature works.

The best results come from shooting outside or in well-lit environments and focusing on a subject while moving the camera. Slo-mo captures 120fps on an iPhone 5S and 60fps on a 5 or 5C — the feature is not supported on a 4s.

Steady — which comes in 15 languages — is available now on the App Store for $1.99.