Multitasking, the feature that has been the absolute top of every iPhone user’s want list –which, by proxy became a major marketing point for both Android and webOS — has made its way to iPhone OS 4. “We figured out how to implement multitasking for third party apps and avoid those things [battery life and lag]. So that’s what took so long,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs this morning. ...
BlackBerry users rejoice, Google Maps for mobile just got a huge update that adds support for voice search, Google Buzz and more. Google Maps for BlackBerry has always been a feature rich application, but the additions to Google Maps 4.0 bring it more in line with their offerings for the iPhone and Google’s own Android platform. Here are some of the highlights of the new version: ...
At age five most kids can hop, skip and tie their shoes without help. Google Code turns five this week, and while they’re still working on the shoelaces thing, they’ve grown from a simple site for hosting a couple of APIs into a destination for developers to prototype their ideas in a Code Playground, host all kinds of open source projects and find out about our growing family of APIs and products like App Engine, Google Web Toolkit and Android. ...
You can now access Google Buzz from your Android mobiles easily using the official Google Buzz widget, that lets you post text and photos with a single tap. The widget lets you choose to tag your post with the location or place from which it was posted. To save time, your posts will upload in the background. ...
Google has rolled out a significant update to the Google Maps application for Android 1.6+ devices, which includes a new search results page, support for multiple accounts, a new Latitude homescreen widget, and a new Maps live wallpaper for 2.1 devices. Previously, when you performed a search in Maps, you would have to choose a result from a list of markers on the map. When you clicked the marker, it would open a page with three tabs: Address, Details, and Reviews. Under the Address tab, there were options to Show the result on the map, get directions to it, call it, look at it in Street View, or add it as a contact. The other two tabs contain exactly what you’d expect, details and reviews. If you wanted to pick a different listing, you’d have to go back to the map view and pick a different marker. ...
Here is yet another example of a company distributing malware to its userbase. Unfortunately it probably won’t be the last. Today one of our colleagues received a brand new Vodafone HTC Magic with Google’s Android OS. “Neat” she said. Vodafone distributes this phone to its userbase in some European countries and it seems affordable as you can get it for 0€ or 1€ under certain conditions. ...
Barcode and QR code reader applications are now standard fare for smartphones and can be commonly found for free in any of the major app stores. But far less common are comprehensive services that let users make their own QR codes for free. This is why Microsoft’s TagReader, which was released in the Android Market today, is worth checking out. It’s similar to any number of barcode scanners available on the Android platform, except that it is designed to read Microsoft’s unique “Tags.” ...
Web-based photo editing suite Picnik announced today that it has been acquired by Google for an unspecified amount that Picnik CEO Jonathan Sposato called a “very, very happy number.” The startup opened in 2005 and was chosen to be Flickr’s default photo editor in 2007 when Yahoo was introducing a host of new features to the popular photo sharing site. Long before Adobe released its Web-based version of Photoshop, Picnik was already going strong. ...
For anyone that missed Microsoft CEO’s Q&A during the Search Marketing Expo West yesterday, a transcript is now available online. I went through and picked out key quotes, so that you don’t have to read the whole thing. Several things stand out from Ballmer’s comments: Mobile operators that want a search engine other than Bing can’t have Windows Phone 7 Series. Microsoft almost certainly is stirring up trouble for Google in Europe through third parties. Microsoft isn’t interested — at least for now — in releasing a Bing application for Android phones. A Bing for iPhone search deal is still possible, simply because Ballmer deflected the question rather than denying it. Twitter is a great Microsoft partner, but the value of an acquisition is “not clear.” My favorite quote from the Q&A: “I haven’t found that when you’re trying to sell something to somebody yelling is very effective.” How funny is that. coming from boisterous Ballmer? ...
Popular instant messaging, voice chat, and video conferencing client Skype and Skype Lite are no longer available on Windows Mobile devices. The company says, “We’ve chosen to withdraw Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile because we want to offer our new customers an improved mobile experience — much like the version that has proved so popular on the iPhone, and which is now available on Symbian phones. Our focus is on providing a rich user experience that allows you to enjoy free Skype-to-Skype and low cost calls as easily on the move as you do at your desktop. We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience.“ ...