Apps

All Things Appy: Top 5 Windows 8 Tools
March 06, 2013

Forget software, applications and programs. While you're at it, forget utilities -- they're now called "tools." The future is apps, and Windows 8 is not going to be left out. Windows 8 has been designed for touch, yet many of us still use keyboards and mice. Consequently, our No. 1 spot is dedicated to a tool for translating commands.

Hackathon's Goal: A Smartphone Game That Scores Points for Cancer Research
March 02, 2013

A UK-based charity is sponsoring a weekend hackathon, but those invited won't be using their coding talents to advance any business causes. The 40 programmers, gamers, graphic designers and other specialists will spend the time designing a smartphone game that can let average users help with cancer research.

OruxMaps Lets You Go as Far as Your Mapmaking Skill Takes You
March 01, 2013

Have you ever considered becoming a cartographer? It's not as hard as you might think. I've been trying out OruxMaps, a map viewer for Android that functions two ways. One mode is online with the usual suspects like Google maps, OpenStreetMap, and so on; the second and more intriguing method is offline with maps you've created yourself. Creating your own maps, while not hard, is a project.

Exploring the New World of Travel Apps
March 01, 2013

When Richard Rygg, the co-founder of HipGeo, sailed with his family last year through the islands of French Polynesia, he used his company's app to document the experience. The result is a multimedia blog complete with a GPS track of his adventure, and a collection of dozens of geo-tagged photos of sunsets, beaches and bays.

Samsung Adds Its 2 Cents to the Digital Wallet Market
February 27, 2013

Samsung opened up its new Wallet app at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Wednesday, joining Apple and Google in the market for electronic storage and scanning of tickets, memberships and discounts via smartphones. The company's announcement comes two days after it said it had entered a worldwide agreement with Visa to offer the latter's PayWave near field communication payment system.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Apple Lifestyle Apps
February 27, 2013

The introduction of the smartphone can be credited with inspiring many so-called lifestyle improvements -- not the least of which stems from its ability to multitask. Junk that alarm clock and makeup mirror, and gear up for fashion, shopping and art.

Mokriya Turns Ugly Craigslist Into the Very Picture of Beauty
February 25, 2013

Mokriya has transformed the stale, flat, and sometimes sordid experience of browsing Craigslist's vast online classifieds site on a computer into a handheld experience more like flipping through a dynamic, photo-rich catalog. It took me all of a minute to become a serious fan of the app.

Slick Syncing May Sell You on Firefox for Android
February 22, 2013

I've taken to browsing the Web with a mobile device like a duck to water, despite the generally appalling user experience. I remember well the days of balancing hot and heavy Dell laptops on my middle, recumbent on a sofa -- peering awkwardly at an obscurely angled keyboard, lap getting hotter and hotter. Relief came when the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet debuted in the U.S. in November 2005.

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.

All Things Appy: Top 5 Android Kitchen Apps
February 20, 2013

Distinction's Cocktail Flow features a cabinet system that lets you inventory your bar and then proposes cocktail recipes based on what you've got. This is functionality that really shows off the power of app over website or book. Shopping suggestions for augmenting your bar, along with a budget guesstimate, tell you how many new types of cocktails you're going to be able to make and at what cost.

BeyondPod Takes the Tedium Out of Podcast Playlist Creation
February 15, 2013

I was horrified by the prospect of Google's Listen podcast manager app for Android being discontinued when I first heard the news some months ago. The idea of having to find again, pay for and then configure an alternative podcast app was annoying. I could really think of better things to do with a few bucks and my time -- like buy a coffee.

Mobile Devices Help Chart the Future of Marine Navigation
February 15, 2013

Daniel Collins, an avid sailor and sailing instructor, has traveled solo across the Gulf of Mexico and up the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. to Nova Scotia, using only his iPhone and iPad for navigation.He's part of a new breed of boaters who use tablets and smartphones in addition to -- and sometimes in lieu of -- traditional onboard electronic navigation and chartplotting systems.

M-Commerce Is on a Tear, Survey Says
February 14, 2013

Mobile commerce sites showed growth during the 2012 holiday shopping season as they gave consumers more on-the-go options for buying and researching products, according to the latest ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index. ForeSee, a customer experience analytics firm, saw the Index jump two points over Christmas 2011 to a score of 78 on a 100-point scale for its Holiday Retail Edition.

Yahoo Picks Up Speed With Alike Acquisition
February 14, 2013

In case investors have any doubts that Yahoo sees its future in mobile, events of the past few days should dispel them once and for all. News surfaced Tuesday that Yahoo has acquired Alike, a mobile app that guides users to find nearby venues and places to visit. Also on Tuesday, CEO Marissa Mayer sketched out her vision for Yahoo at an investors conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.

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.

Toy Tech: In Search of the Light App-tastic
February 12, 2013

The tablet computer craze that has users of all ages launching Angry Birds and making Temple Runs is profoundly influencing toy makers as well. "We are moving into a new realm of toys that the industry finds quite exciting," said Jackie Breyer, editor-in-chief of The Toy Book.

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.

Kindle Fire Users to Get Pennies From Heaven
February 06, 2013

Amazon announced Wednesday that it will be offering a virtual currency, called "Amazon Coins," for purchasing apps, games and in-app items on Kindle Fire. The new currency will become available in the U.S. this May. At launch, Amazon plans to give Kindle Fire users tens of millions of dollars' worth of free Amazon Coins to spend on apps in the Amazon Appstore.

Napkin Takes Visual Editing to a Higher Level
February 05, 2013

Aside from their intended purposes, napkins have been known to be used for such things as jotting down the next big idea at business lunches. It's that unintended purpose that inspired the folks at Aged and Distilled software to create their markup app called "Napkin." Napkin gives you a set of professional tools for visually editing content.

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.