Barnes & Noble is skipping out on Google Maps for tablets and is partnering instead with Berlin-based mobile map company skobbler. skobbler’s ForeverMap 2 app is available in the Nook store today, and Nook will open up to location-based app developers later this year. Read more at paidContent »
Three months after launching, Apptopia, which allows developers to sell their entire app, is doing solid business facilitating a growing number of sales. And that attracted the attention of investors including Mark Cuban, who is putting in half of Apptopia’s $1 million seed round. Read more »
The Silicon Strip is coming along nicely, and although they’re mostly young and relatively unknown, Las Vegas’s startups aren’t hurting for good ideas. Some are even growing beyond their wildest dreams. Here are five of the city’s most-promising. Read more »
Honda on Wednesday became the latest big automaker to unveil an in-car connected infotainment system. Called HondaLink, the platform uses Harman’s Aha technology to connect to reams of different content sources and customized software to let new Fit EV customers manage their cars’ power systems. Read more »
Smule, the music app maker behind I am T-Pain, Songify, Glee and LaDiDa, is now venturing into rapping with the release of AutoRap. The app, launching on both iOS and Android, takes spoken words and turns into a polished rap with cool hooks and effects. Read more »
I’ve been testing FaceTime over cellular data for a few weeks using the iOS 6 beta software. It works OK, but not as good as on Wi-Fi. Now, a new pop-up message indicates that carriers may charge for the service over their networks. Will you pay? Read more »
Develop apps for smartphones, tablets or TVs? Take our survey: we’d like to hear more about what you’re working on, what screens and platforms you develop for, how you monetize your work, as well as what categories of apps. Read more »
Most executives are quick to say that mobile apps are an important part of their sales strategy, but many don’t realize how vital a robust strategy can be. EPiServer’s Bob Egner outlines four key analytics to consider before you go mobile. Read more »
Verizon continued its push into carrier apps on Friday, announcing it will distribute Extent’s GameTanium subscription mobile gaming service. For $6 a month, Android smartphone and tablet users can play more than 100 games such as Fruit Ninja and World of Goo on an unlimited basis. Read more »
DeviceScape’s app for Android gains a new name and additional features: What used to be called DataBooster is now DataSaver. The free software helps users manage their 3G and 4G data usage while making it easier to connect to DeviceScape’s more than 8 million Wi-Fi hotspots. Read more »
Starbucks continues to show how a brick-and-mortar retailer can offer the convenience of mobile payments. With its updated Android app, the company adds PayPal support and a widget for card balance information and store locations. The app is now supported in the U.K. and Canada. Read more »
As expected, Twitter updated its mobile app on Tuesday for both iOS and Android devices, suggesting that users get more than ever before from 140 characters. The new updates are welcome, but also show that Twitter is maturing far beyond its original usage scenario. Read more »
Cloud-based servers simple enough to be at the beck and call of every Joe Schmo are a compelling vision, but presently not a realistic one. At this point, in fact, one could argue that the holy grail of the consumer cloud has already been realized. Read more »
Note-taking service Springpad wants access to your Facebook profile. Why? It wants to scrape all of those random “likes” of movies, music, restaurants and TV shows scattered throughout your Timeline and organize them into notebooks, which you and your friends can search and share. Read more »
Starting Thursday, the U.S. National Weather Service will broadcast weather alerts to smartphones. Severe weather warnings, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and snow blizzards will be sent via a text message in 90 characters or less. The service is free and users can opt-out at any time. Read more »
As Android improves, so too does YouTube. Google updated its video application for devices running Android 4.0 or better by focusing on subscriptions and channels in the mobile interface. And you can now pre-load certain videos to help reduce the amount of buffering while mobile. Read more »
App users are a flaky group, easily discarding apps in favor of the hot new thing. But new data suggests they are developing more loyal toward apps, abandoning them less frequently and visiting their favorite apps more often, according to app analytics firm Localytics. Read more »
Need to share your location for a limited amount of time and with just a single person? Mapfia is an easy method on iOS and Android. You simply call someone and Mapfia shares the location of both people for the length of the call. Read more »
After months of testing and refinement, Firefox for Android loses its beta tag, bringing a fast mobile web experience to devices running Android 2.2 or greater. The updated browser touts a full web experience, new security features, desktop sync and delivers on its promise of speed. Read more »
Gmail users on iOS have an early gift prior to this week’s Google developer event: The Gmail on iOS app was updated on Monday with Notification Center support and more, suggesting that Google wants users to access its services everywhere on all sorts of mobile devices. Read more »
Facebook announced Thursday that mobile developers using the company’s API will now be able to cleanly integrate Facebook’s iconic like button into their design, allowing users to perform the equivalent of a “like” within another app and then cross-posting that action to Facebook. Read more »
Vungle announced Tuesday that it’s using half of its seed money to create a $1 million fund to bring top mobile app developers into their new platform. Read more »
Smule, whose Ocarina app turned the iPhone into a digital flute, is following up its Hall of Fame app with Ocarina 2, which is designed to teach people to play songs for a price. Users can prompted like Guitar Hero to press buttons that create music. Read more »
955 Dreams, whose Band of the Day app was Apple’s App of the Year runner up, is now letting other publishers make use of its smarts by releasing a publishing platform as well as an ad engine so content owners can create their own magazine-style apps. Read more »
Microsoft released an an updated iOS version of My Xbox Live that turns the iPhone into a remote control for an Xbox 360, while Android owners get their first version of Microsoft’s app. Microsoft ‘s new Smart Glass service will be on non-Microsoft platforms too. Read more »
Android enthusiasts have a new way to control their smartphone or tablet, courtesy of Microsoft. The company released a new Android app and supporting web service Tuesday called on{X}, which lets users create JavaScript code or simple recipes that add automated tasks to their connected device. Read more »
Microsoft unlocked an new achievement this month, surpassing 100,000 apps for its Windows Phone mobile platform. But there are several reasons why this number isn’t equating into sales of Windows Phones. There’s a still a key question Microsoft hasn’t answered about its mobile platform. Read more »
Another of the most popular iOS applications makes the move to Android as Instapaper becomes available in Google Play. Marco Arment, Instapaper’s creator, has noted that Android users prefer free software, so will they buy his app or opt for a free alternative? Read more »
Bluestacks, makers of PC software that can run Android apps, scored a big partnership with Asus. On Monday, at the yearly Computex show in Taipei, the company will announce that 30 million Asus computers will include Bluestacks’ app player, bringing Android mobile apps to Windows PCs. Read more »
It’s not often you hear this, but: One of the most elegant apps for Android is now available on iOS. The software is called Any.DO and it’s one of the best looking task managers I’ve used on any platform. It also arrives as a Chrome extension. Read more »
Details of the expected Nexus 7 tablet, appeared in server logs this week. It appears Google has a 7-inch, quad-core slate to debut at its I/O event later this month. Flipboard opened a beta for Android users while Motorola’s smart watch gains Twitter and Facebook. Read more »
While Apple has welcomed Twitter into iOS, the biggest social network of them all has not been integrated into Apple’s mobile operating system. But it looks like that’s about to change. Apple is reportedly set to announce Facebook integration for iOS 6, said TechCrunch. Read more »
Looking for a little safety and mobile privacy at that public hotspot? AnchorFree’s Hotspot Shield app might be worth the look for your Android device: The new software is a multi-purpose mobile utility, combining VPN web browsing with anti-malware and broadband data compression. Read more »
Banjo has been one of the lone successes in the geo-social discovery app market and is now up to 1.5 million downloads since launching last July. I sat down with founder Damien Patton to talk about their strategy. Read more »
Flipboard for Android launched exclusively on Samsung’s Galaxy S III. The reading app is an iOS fave due to its intuitive page flipping interface, many news sources and connectivity to social networking sites. Here’s how to register and get Flipboard for Android beta on your phone. Read more »
Roambi is becoming a tool for more than creating cool, interactive data visualizations or real-time business intelligence reports your boss or colleagues will read on their iPad. Now Roambi is aiming to be a mobile app development/ publishing service with a new feature called ESX Platform. Read more »
Although the majority of API attention has centered on consumer Web services, an emerging cadre of startups are focused on infrastructure and business processes. Robin Vasan, managing director at the venture capital firm Mayfield Fund, gives an overview of the potential infrastructure categories and disruptive companies. Read more »
I used to use Bump, the mobile app that wirelessly transfers data between two smartphones, but over time, I uninstalled it. Now it’s not only back on my phones, but has a coveted home screen spot thanks to the latest share-to-desktop feature. Read more »
“Operators treat partners like vendors.” That quote comes form Google director of global android partnerships John Lagerling, who said it at a Dublin conference where it was captured by Light Reading. It’s a telling statement — one that sums up a big problem facing the wireless industry. Read more »
Yahoo launched its new Axis mobile browser for iOS devices and it’s surprisingly good. In fact, Yahoo’s peers could learn a thing or two from this fresh take on user interfaces: Axis is swipe-friendly and a fast way to get at search or other web information. Read more »
