Apps

MX Player Pro Lets You Bypass the Fiddling and Enjoy the Movie
May 17, 2013

I often run into issues playing video media on mobile devices. It's haunted me since the days of Windows Mobile on the Palm Treo -- remember those early smartphones? Believe it or not, it's still an issue years later with current tablets and smartphones. The problems that I've encountered have generally manifested themselves as either the file not playing or audio and video being out of sync.

Google+ Photos Get the Pinterest Touch
May 16, 2013

Continuing its revamp of the Google+ social network that began in March, Google announced on Wednesday the addition of 41 new features and a redesign of the service, which it claims has 190 million active users. The changes focus on three areas -- the Google+ stream, photos, and the Hangouts feature.

Google Takes Maps to Next Level
May 16, 2013

Google Maps, already the de facto standard for online and mobile maps, is breaking new ground with added capabilities announced on Wednesday at the Google I/O Conference in San Francisco. Maps will get 3D views, speech recognition, enhanced voice search capabilities and will leverage artificial intelligence. Google Maps for mobile is also being enhanced.

How to Work at Top Performance From Home
May 16, 2013

It's not ink cartridges, printers and faxes anymore. The cloud and smart devices have changed the home office landscape -- for the better. There are now numerous free apps for instant messaging, video conferencing and cheap calls; plus it's easier than ever to keep coworking teams on the same page. Working from home lets businesses reduce real estate costs while boosting worker productivity.

New Google APIs Target Play and Games
May 15, 2013

Google on Wednesday announced new APIs for Google Play services and gaming, new features for the Google Play Developer Console, and a new Android Integrated Developer Environment at the Google I/O 2013 Conference in San Francisco. Google Cloud Messaging, which pushes data from servers to Android apps, has been made part of Google Play services.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Games
May 15, 2013

Man vs. machine has always been in play on Windows machines. This week we've picked the five strongest Windows 8 games for your collection. Four are upgraded tried-and-tested classics, and one is a new concept -- brilliantly simple. All are free. Download a few of these must-haves and see how far the graphics and game-play have developed for this slick new operating system.

Square Stand Lets Small Retailers Put Their iPads to Work
May 15, 2013

Square announced Tuesday it would reach out to retail outlets with its new Square Stand, an iPad dock that can handle business transactions and customer analytics. The mobile payments processing startup said small and medium-sized businesses would be able to collect customer loyalty information when they ring up sales. Square Stand replaces the cash register.

Google Tears Down the Storage Walls
May 14, 2013

Google has consolidated the storage allowances for its various products. It will now provide 15 GB of free storage space for use across Drive, Gmail and Google+ Photos. Before, Google gave users 10 GB for Gmail and 5 GB to be used for Drive and Google+ Photos. Google is also updating its Google Drive storage page with pie charts displaying how those 15 GB are being allocated.

Facebook's Road Trip May Include a Stop to Buy Waze
May 10, 2013

Rumors that Facebook is deep into the process of purchasing Waze -- maker of a mobile satellite navigation app that leverages crowdsourced mapping and traffic tips -- are making the rounds. Facebook has apparently signed the terms and is conducting due diligence after six months of negotiations.

GrooVeIP's a Great Backup for Minute-Slurping Calls
May 10, 2013

My first question to the desk clerk at a hotel in a strange country is no longer, "What time does the restaurant close?" It's more often, "Where I can get a SIM card?" $2-a-minute voice and $10-a-megabyte Internet roaming in many parts of the world make acquiring a local card a must. I recently had a pleasant first morning in an Egyptian town center haggling for a data-only 3.75G SIM card.

The App-Driven Gadget Floodgates Are Open
May 10, 2013

Peruse any big consumer electronics box-store aisles, and you can't help but notice a new style of peripherals hugging the displays. App-driven devices are appearing on store shelves that let homeowners manage and monitor home systems like thermostats and security using a smartphone or a tablet. There are sensors, styluses and add-ons. Later this year, we'll likely see a plethora of smartwatches.

BlueStacks Horns In on Ouya's Gaming Turf
May 09, 2013

The war for gamers is heating up with BlueStacks' introduction of GamePop, a system that will allow users to play thousands of mobile gaming apps on a TV screen. The GamePop custom console and game controller are being offered free through the end of May to subscribers who sign up for the $6.99 per month service. Gamers can preorder the system now, with the console expected to ship in the winter.

Groupon Regroups With Q1 Revenue Gains, Mobile Growth
May 09, 2013

Groupon reported a better than expected first quarter thanks to strong North American revenue growth and an uptick in mobile customers. That helped send the daily deal website's stock soaring Wednesday. The company reported revenue of $601.4 million, an 8 percent jump from the $559.3 million during the same time last year.

All Things Appy: Top 5 Ratings Apps for iOS
May 08, 2013

Whatever you think of the controversy that periodically springs up over some ratings websites, they are undoubtedly useful for gathering information about businesses, products and services. Here we take a look at some of the best specialist ratings and search apps for iOS. At the top of the list is Yelp, which provides crowdsourced localized search for businesses close by.

Skype Rival Viber Joins the Desktop Phone, Video Chat Party
May 08, 2013

Viber, a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging VoIP app for smartphones, is now available for Windows and Mac OS X desktops, Viber Media announced on Tuesday. The mobile version of Viber runs on Android, iOS, Symbian and some versions of the BlackBerry and Windows Phone OSes.

Taiwanese University Sues Apple... Again
May 07, 2013

National Cheng Kung University may not have a fight song -- but it is definitely willing to fight. For the second time in a year, the Taiwanese university has sued Apple. The most recent suit is for alleged infringement of the university's patents relating to video compression technology in Apple software such as FaceTime and QuickTime.

Twitter #music Tops the Charts for Song Discovery
May 06, 2013

The new Twitter #music app for iOS is the coolest app I want to love forever. However, it still gives me the nagging feeling that its slick graphics and fast play might leave our relationship just an empty shell of glitz and hope. Like those hot-and-heavy relationships that defy explanation, #music is a hard app to truly love -- or let go.

Nook Users Get to Come Out and Play
May 03, 2013

Barnes & Noble on Friday announced a software update enabling its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices to access content at the Google Play store. This opens the Nook to more than 700,000 Android apps and games, as well as millions of songs. Nook users will also get Google services with the update, including the Chrome browser, Gmail, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps with the update.

Adobe Photoshop Touch Is Almost Picture Perfect
May 03, 2013

With tablets possibly on track to overtake PCs within a few years, one might wonder just how that's going to happen. Can tablets really perform as well as PCs in professional environments? I for one am still unpacking my laptop when it comes to power applications like imaging. Well, Adobe claims it now delivers its core Adobe Photoshop functionality in an app for Android tablets.

Asana Positions Itself for the Enterprise
May 02, 2013

Asana on Wednesday announced Organizations, a feature that stakes its claim in the enterprise space. What is new with Organizations is its scalability; it is designed to support companies of 100 employees or more. Asana was launched by Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and Google and Facebook veteran Justin Rosenstein, and there are more than a few similarities between Asana and Facebook.