Mobile Apps

Why Free Apps Turn Me Off
February 21, 2013

Of the 300 million-plus people using iOS 6 in one form or another -- and millions more using iOS 5 -- I get the feeling I'm a dying breed. Why? I generally dislike and distrust free apps. I can blame some of this on the overwhelming influence of games, kids, and the psychology of the masses.

BizVizz Brand Transparency App: Great Promise, Ho-Hum Delivery
February 19, 2013

Behind every big name brand is a big company. These companies might do good for the world or they might not. Or like most people, they could be inconsistent, doing good in some ways but snatching more than their fair share in others. A new app called BizVizz seeks to share information about these big companies while you are shopping.

MindNode Makes Mind Mapping a Mind-Blower
February 12, 2013

Mind maps don't have anything to do with identifying the contours of your brain -- although they may give you an inkling about how your mind works. At the heart of a mind map is the idea that we don't think in rigid hierarchies. The old-fashioned tree outline with heads, subheads and so forth can nicely organize a theme, document or white paper, but it isn't how people think or the way the brain works.

This Qwiki Keeps the Smiles Coming
February 11, 2013

When Apple selected Qwiki for iPhone as an Editor's Choice app, I ignored it, then came back to it wondering what the heck it was: The icon has a couple of blocks and maybe a horizontal head shaped like a "Q," which vaguely looks like, well, I'm just not sure. I get more info from most fluffy white clouds.

Nearly a Million iOS Apps and Discovery Still Sucks
February 07, 2013

There are well over 800,000 iOS apps in the App Store, 300,000 of which are native to the iPad, and I'm constantly surprised and irritated at Apple's inability to help its customers discover great apps. Of course, maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm the only one who actively goes into Apple's various App Store points of entry -- iTunes, iPad and iPhone -- only to walk away without downloading anything.

Apple Going After Alleged iOS Abuser
February 04, 2013

Apple reportedly has launched an investigation into Qihoo, a giant Chinese software company and search engine, based on concerns the app maker is violating terms of service. Apple is also concerned that Qihoo is encouraging jailbreaking iPhones by delivering apps as single file downloads compatible with unlocked Apple products.

Little Inferno Gleefully Ignites the Deep Dark Pyro Within
February 04, 2013

From what I've seen of humanity, there's a little pyro locked inside most of us. Maybe it's a universal longing to chase away the darkness with warmth and light, or maybe it's just a genetic quirk coded into our DNA from the days of the Ice Age when cooking up a wooly mammoth meant survival. Or maybe we just really like to see things burn.

PopClip and Unclutter: Big Utility Comes in Small Packages
January 29, 2013

Size isn't always a measure of an app's usefulness. Sometimes you can get more utility from a small app than you'd get from larger one that you use only occasionally. Two such useful programs are PopClip and Unclutter. While PopClip can help you cut down your keystrokes during the day, Unclutter can keep you from losing your mind trying to rifle through the mess on a chaotic desktop.

If a Photo Is Worth 1,000 Words, Vine Gives Tweeters at Least 6,000
January 28, 2013

While Twitter allows users to communicate in 140 characters or less, its new app Vine extends and enhances that brevity while retaining the social networking roots of Twitter. So what is Vine, exactly? It's a service that lets you take super short video clips and share them with the world of Vine users. Plus, it lets you connect Vine to your Twitter feed.

All Things Appy: 5 Best iOS Health and Fitness Apps
January 23, 2013

Many of us have got health and fitness on the mind as the new year gets under way, and the smartphone is proving itself to be a remarkable little healthcare provider. Among the useful apps in this vein is MyFitnessPal, which stores more than 2 million types of food in its database and provides a free barcode scanner to look up foods you've eaten -- or are about to.

OkCupid Snafu Raises Online Dating Privacy Alarm
January 18, 2013

OkCupid this week debuted a new mobile app that sets up blind dates by supplying likely matches for users who plug in a time and venue. As it turned out, though, the app was doing more than just sending hopeful singles to a meet-up. Shortly after its launch, The Wall Street Journal identified a security flaw that made users' email addresses and birth dates accessible.

MobileDevHQ's Ian Sefferman: So You Built an App - Now What?
January 18, 2013

You could call Ian Sefferman's initial rise to CEO of MobileDevHQ a bootstrap career move. Seeing the rapid growth of consumer interest in mobile apps, he jumped into an infant industry to learn what would push it forward. His interests fell on a gaping opportunity: how to help app developers become more successful.

Appboy Helps Devs Re-engage Lapsed Users
January 18, 2013

What's the biggest customer-related problem for mobile app developers? A good guess is that it has something to do with one-time downloads by users who lose interest almost immediately. Enter Appboy, which just launched a customer segmentation platform aimed at building engagement.

Facebook Rolls Out Free Voice Calling to US iPhone Users
January 17, 2013

Facebook rolled out free voice calling in the U.S. through the Facebook Messenger app for iPhone on Wednesday -- with little fanfare or formality. There was no grand announcement -- media outlets noticed the new development and after inquiries, Facebook said it was an extension of the VoIP in Messenger test it launched earlier this year in Canada.

Snapguide Makes Creating a How-To a Snap
January 14, 2013

In late December, Snapguide updated its iOS app to include iPad optimization, joining the previous iPhone and website versions that somehow slipped my notice. Or maybe I did notice them months ago but walked away disinterested, which happens. I don't remember -- but now I'm interested. Apple highlighted Snapguide as a "What's Hot" selection in the iPad section of the App Store.

Facebook Messenger Not Just for Text Messages Anymore
January 04, 2013

Facebook has added a recording feature to its Messenger mobile app, allowing mobile users to send each other voice messages without using their voice minutes. In addition to the recorded message options, iPhone users in Canada are able to make voice calls via Facebook's mobile app. Users can tap the "i" button in the app and hit "Free Call" in the updated app to call a contact.

Judge Knocks Some Wind Out of Apple's App Store Sails
January 04, 2013

A federal judge this week granted Amazon's request to throw out one claim in Apple's lawsuit against it -- namely the allegation that Amazon engaged in false advertising by using the term "Appstore" for its slew of Android-based online offerings. Other claims Apple is alleging against Amazon, including one for trademark infringement, are going forward in the trial.

Frequency Tunes Out the Noise When Tuning In to Videos
December 27, 2012

One of the most irritating things about enjoying videos, movies and TV shows online is the sheer number of places you must navigate to in order to get the content. Each of the major television networks has its own channel, some of which serve up some full episodes some of the time, while others just serve up teaser clips and ongoing snippets, like the opening monologues for "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

Path Makes Social Search Personal
December 21, 2012

Path, a social networking startup designed for the mobile environment, on Thursday launched a new social search feature that is both simple and highly intuitive -- and that plays to Path's unique strengths as a private mobile social network. A user might search for "rainy day in New Orleans" or "winter in Washington, D.C.," or "Mom happy at her birthday party," for example.

YouTube's Capture App Opens Direct Route for Video Uploads
December 18, 2012

YouTube on Monday launched Capture, an app for iPhone and iPod touch that lets people share their videos instantaneously. The new app is Google's first foray into instant video sharing from mobile devices and an effort to bring more homemade video content into its ecosystem by streamlining the sharing process. Capture allows for instantaneous creation and sharing.