Stepping outside while using my new iPod touch had me thinking the device was broken: I couldn’t read the screen. Surely the auto-brightness was on, right? Turns out there is no auto-brightness function in the new iPod touch because there’s no ambient light sensor. Read more »
My iPod touch arrived today and after a few hours of use, I’m impressed. Apple has taken nearly all of the iPhone 5 features and functions and put them in this super thin and light iPod. I may use Android phones, but this is my PMP. Read more »
Apple is paying for the familiar looking clock icon on its iPad, having come to licensing terms with the Swiss Federal Railways, which has used the clock since 1944 as a defining icon for its transportation business. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed Read more »
Office for iOS has been rumored to be arriving soon for at least a year. A presentation and press release from Microsoft’s Czech Republic team pins the launch of native mobile app versions of Office in March 2013. Read more »
Apple has been fairly quiet on the iPod touch release date, providing only a vague October time frame. As of Tuesday, the device is shipping from China, with delivery expected by mid-month. Perhaps using the same screen as the new iPhone has been the holdup? Read more »
Apple just extended a free offer of 20GB of iCloud storage to newly transitioned MobileMe subscribers until next year. But there are some big differences in how data from all your devices — iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — is stored in the new service. Read more »
Both iOS and Android use is growing, but app developers are adopting Android at a faster rate, according to a recent GigaOM Pro survey. See our chart for more details. Read more »
Last week Snappli, a data compression app, found that among 5,000 of its iOS users, many quickly began using Apple Maps only to see 1 in 25 such users keep using it. Some questioned the data and today Snappli explains the methodology it used. Read more »
The Nokia spin-off is solidifying its strategy of focusing on China first. The alliance around its mobile OS will be based in Hong Kong and take in major industry players from chipset vendors and OEMs to retailers and operators. Read more »
If you saw The Avengers more than once in the theater, and still ended up buying the film on Blu-ray or DVD this week, then you are exactly for whom Marvel designed this deliciously nerdy two-screen app experience. Read more »
Chartboost has released some comparative data on cost-per-installs and cost-per-clicks in 18 markets around the world. It’s helpful in seeing where developers might want to look to expand as they go global. Read more »
App developers are the cornerstones of the multibillion-dollar app market, but the overall community remains largely unknown. As app downloads increase, organizations that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple finally released the 4-inch handset I’ve been waiting nearly two years for. But the new iPod touch has the larger screen too, plus other key upgrades that got me to swap my iPhone 4S for a new iPod touch that complements my Android phone. Read more »
The ex-Nokians are almost ready to reveal their MeeGo-based smartphone, but how are they planning to break into the two-horse mobile race? According to CEO Jussi Hurmola, Jolla has a plan for getting operators and other co-branding partners on board. Read more »
Apple, this morning announced that there are 100 million iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices that are using the latest version of its iOS – version 6, that was released last week. That is an incredible uptake, especially when compared to the previous version iOS 5.0. Read more »
For a long time iOS app monetization was far and away better than on Android. But as monetization strategies change in the app world, the statistics are changing. Android is no longer as far behind. Read more »
Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here are some noteworthy segments to watch in the coming months, from location-based shopping to apps to wireless networks. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Now that touch input has revolutionized the mobile device market, what’s next? Voice interaction and natural language processing (NLP) surely have to be high on the list. But it’s not always easy for app developers to enable voice features. Enter OneTok, a cloud-based NLP solution. Read more »
Siri had some major weaknesses in its first iteration released last year. In iOS 6, there are some great new additions to Siri’s capabilities. However, the software is still not perfect. Here are my experiences with the new Siri. Read more »
iOS 6 isn’t just for the iPhone. Apple included some fun new features in its new mobile operating system, available today, for iPad users. Here’s a look at the new stuff you’ll get: Siri, a clock app, FaceTime everywhere, Facebook integration and more. Read more »
What happens when an industrial designer gets fed up with the many mobile device charging cords and cables in his house? He designs a solution, of course! Thanks to the xWallDock Kickstarter project, you can get in on this simple, but elegant, docking face plate. Read more »
Hotel Tonight is rolling out some important redesign features on Tuesday, including the first user ratings, and recommendations of hotels based on a user’s past stays and based on the preferences of users similar to them. Read more »
A solid app gets even better today with the ability to read aloud saved articles on an Android device. This will make Pocket, already one of my most used apps, an even bigger part of my day, allowing me to hear offline articles at spare moments. Read more »
Small slates are expected to account for 32 percent of all tablet sales this year says iHS iSuppli. After nearly two years of saying there’s a market for the 7-inch tablet, it’s good to see the analysts reaffirm my own experiences. Now: Where’s that 7.85-inch iPad? Read more »
The deal will see the Spanish telecoms giant bundle augmented reality tech with its advertising offerings and promote the Aurasma app to its 300 million customers. But will marketing use-cases finally make the technology fly? Read more »
In the five years since the iPhone hit the market, Apple and Google have delivered more than 40 billion cumulative downloads of apps. Other sources predict the app marketplace will swell to surpass 66 billion downloads in 2016, a growth fueled by tablet, entertainment, and enterprise apps. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple’s new iPod touch is even more like an iPhone than its predecessors thanks to the new 4-inch Retina Display, improved camera sensor, and support for Bluetooth 4.0 LE. The processor gets a boost too, making this iPod touch model faster for gaming and images. Read more »
After releasing Google Drive for iOS in June, iPhone and iPad owners were disappointed by the lack of editing capabilities. Google fixes that with an app update today, but it’s still fairly limited: Only documents can be edited, even though Google’s demo video shows spreadsheet editing. Read more »
Gamified classroom management platform ClassDojo is rolling out its first mobile app. Through the iOS app teachers will be able to give students feedback in real-time from their smartphones and tablets. The company said an Android app will follow shortly. Read more »
I need a central place to store all my files, and Documents in the Cloud is an easy way for me to access them from any of my devices. Here’s a walk through how I’m using the software, as well as some pitfalls to avoid. Read more »
The common belief that “there’s no tablet market, just an iPad market” may be changing. Based on the number of daily device activations, the gap between Google tablet sales and those of Apple’s iPad is closing. Improved software and the Nexus 7 tablet are likely reasons. Read more »
With the photo app’s new ‘Discover’ feed pulling context from an impressive variety of sources, and with monetization plans including an entry into the stock photo business, we may be seeing evolution past the focus on art filters. Read more »
Samsung’s Galaxy S III continues to sell at a torrid pace…. for an Android device. Surely the new iPhone will outsell this one handset, but the success of the Galaxy S III shows that the gap between Android and iOS is lessening over time. Read more »
Which is better for a mobile app: short term revenues or long term relationships with a growing user base? RunKeeper thinks the latter is better over time and it can monetize later. The exercise tracking app for smartphones dropped fees for its training plans. Read more »
With new Lumia handsets, Nokia’s transition plan is effectively complete. While the company worked hard to get here — and it shows in the new hardware and software — the road ahead is still long as Nokia asks consumers to switch away from iOS and Android. Read more »
The FBI says it didn’t have them, and now Apple says it also never handed over UDIDs to any organization. This leads to plenty more questions about where the list of 1 million Apple device IDs came from that was posted on the web Tuesday. Read more »
As unlimited data plans disappear, consumers need new data-savings solutions. Snappli is the latest to out a mobile service that cuts down on data use through compression techniques; the free software, available today, works on iOS and saves data for the web, apps and even videos. Read more »
Knowing family members’ schedules is useful, but it’s also a way to stay connected. There is more than one way to keep an entire family up to date with the various events in our lives. Here are three techniques an iCloud-using family can use. Read more »
The rate at which Android and iOS-powered mobile devices are being adopted worldwide is far outpacing that of any other technology. That growth is being driven by purchases outside of early-adopting markets. The most dramatic growth is in Asia, South America and the Middle East. Read more »
