Apple iPad owners have the $10 AirDisplay app to use their tablet as a second monitor for their Mac, but Android owners aren’t left out in the cold. Mobile app developer Shape offers a similar program for $5 that turns allows Android devices to be a second monitor for Macs or Windows PCs. The software is called iDisplay and it recently gained some updates in version 2.1. I’ve been using it on a 10-inch Android tablet with my iMac and it works as advertised although it’s not quite as responsive as AirDisplay for iOS. You can see in the above photo that I’m using iDisplay to run Echofon, a Python IDLE shell and Rdio on the Android tablet as I’ve dragged those apps from my iMac. And see the USB wire connected to the tablet? The iDisplay app supports both a wired and wireless connection to the tablet. I didn’t notice any difference when using iDisplay over Wi-Fi vs over the USB connection, but I like the flexibility. Plus, my Mac can charge the tablet while I use it as a secondary monitor. This new version of iDisplay contains a few fixes and additions. Namely: The cursor pointing on the tablet is pretty precise, but I’m not sure how much faster the mirroring speed is compared to prior versions. You can configure the frame rate of iDisplay on the host computer — there’s a small bit of software to install on the Mac or PC — but I’ve left it to be auto-optimized. There’s still room for improvement then, but for those looking to get some extra use out of a larger Android tablet, iDisplay is surely worth the look at $5. The software also works with Android smartphones, but I’m not sure there’s much benefit on the smaller screen. Related Read More
Google’s social team has had a lot of love for iOS lately: Just days after rolling out a revamped iPhone app for Google+, the company now released an iOS app for its social activity service Schemer. The app mimics Schemer’s Android app in form and functionality, allowing users to tell the world what they’re plans are – and then join with friends for group activities. Schemer has been an interesting initiative for Google. The service launched under the radar a few months back, then opened up to the public in April. Schemer is using a separate branding, but it’s tied closely to Google+, using your Google+ contacts to devise collective schemes. One has to wonder if Schemer could eventually become one of many apps running on top of Google+. Loading Picture 1 of 5 Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial. Read More
Among the other listed features for Firefox Mobile version 14: There are still some bugs and glitches to be worked out as well as some missing features that Mozilla is still working on. You can’t, for example, select text on a web page yet, and Adobe Flash isn’t yet supported on Android 2.3 phones that use Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip. Still, after spending a little time with the browser, it’s generally looking good. The interface shows more polish and refinement than ever before. The new version is peppy, too: I ran the SunSpider JavaScript test using my Galaxy Nexus and Firefox, which yielded a result of 1675 ms. That’s statistically equal to Chrome for Android, which scores 1648 ms on the same phone. (Note: a smaller number is better for this test). Even though Firefox can sync desktop bookmarks, just like Chrome does, this new beta is still too limited for daily use. But folks that use Android in the hand and Firefox on the desktop will surely want to follow Mozilla’s progress. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial. Read More
Got room for another useful utility app on your Android smartphone? Cosmos is a new mobile app that combines three handy features for Android smartphones: A battery optimizer, a trash cleaner and a very informative security function specific to third-party application permissions. Cosmos officially launches on May 21, but I’ve been using it for a few days and you can too. It’s available as a free beta in Google Play. There isn’t much new functionality here in Cosmos; I’ve seen a number of apps that offer similar functionality. But I like having all three of these in one small package, plus Cosmos has some nice touches. Here’s a break down of the three main features: Again, these aren’t unique features for an Android utility app, and in fact, I’d like to see these features expanded. But for a free, first version app, Cosmos is off to a good start for the basis. I particularly like now the app integrates itself into the native Android notifications. By pulling down my notification shade, I can instantly see my handset’s battery level and how many hours it should last on standby or for phone calls. And in the Battery Optimizer section itself, you can tap a number of different activities to see how long the battery would last for any of these: Calls, music, video playback, YouTube and web browsing. The times provided may not be exact, but they provide a decent indication of how long your smartphone battery will last for these activities. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial. Read More
Nick Bilton, in today’s The New York Times, writes about Facebook’s ability to look at what is happening on its network and predict the future. He says since more than nine million apps and services use Facebook Connect, the Open Graph developer platform, the company can essentially predict what comes next. Maybe! In reality, what is more likely is that Facebook can turn on or turn off the traffic spigot and hence play the king maker. Bilton quotes an anonymous source as saying, “Facebook is now understanding the type of information it has about what is successful online, or what is a potential threat to Facebook.” I would take that comment with a pound of salt. Why? Because Facebook is good at hoarding data, but is terrible at interpreting the data: putting a proper context around it and then putting it to use. If you want to know the reason for my skepticism, just look at the lameness/pointlessness of the advertisements that show up next to your stream. For a more clear example of Facebook’s lack of context, just look at the red-hot video apps such as Viddy and Socialcam. On paper they may look the same, but in reality they are as different as chalk and cheddar. Not all videos are equal A few months ago, Viddy, a mobile video creation and sharing app, started to use Facebook’s Open Graph to post videos to people’s timelines. For instance, if I took a video clip, edited and shared it, it would show up on Facebook timeline if you viewed the video. If you liked someone’s Viddy video, the action would show up in your news feed (depending on Facebook’s algorithm). If your friend happens to see that item on their news feed on their smartphone, they would in turn get a prompt that gives Read More
Time is the most naked manifestation of our irrelevance and perhaps that is why I am fascinated by all means of time-telling. Sundials, hour glasses, watches, clocks and now in the age of iPhone, time-watching apps. In the past I have written about the Nooka app for the iPhone. Today, I got a handful of new apps that are worth checking out: 1. Time in words — Qlocktwo It is a very minimal clock for iPhone and iPad. It costs 99 cents but I like the idea of the simple black screen telling me what time it is. Built by creative design agency Biegert & Funk, who have also created similar watches and clocks. Download from the iTunes store. (via Ultralink) 2. Uniqlo Wake Up It is so wonderful and delightful and meets my very simple requirement from an app: high emotional quotient. It is bright, cheery and it comes with alarm tones that mimic the weather, time and day of the week. It is intelligent and fun. It works both on Android and iOS and is free, thanks to Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing brand, whose clothes I will never fit into. As an aside, this is a perfect brand extension vehicle and what brand-advertising should be in the future. The alarm music, which is automatically created based on the weather, time, and day of the week, was co-written by 51st annual Grammy nominee Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada) and Yoko Kanno, who is active in songwriting across a wide range of genres including video games and anime (COWBOY BEBOP, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Macross). The app allows users to share a record of their awakening – specifically, the time, weather, and temperature at the moment they stopped the alarm – via social media (Facebook, Twitter, RenRen, Weibo). In addition, the “wake up Read More
On the heels of a $70 million million funding round, Evernote has acquired bestselling iPad handwriting app Penultimate for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on its blog. Penultimate creator Ben Zotto is joining Evernote to run its app development team, and will “lead the effort to put handwriting and digital ink functionality into other Evernote products and platforms.” Penultimate, which costs $0.99, will remain a separate application “and will get many much-requested Evernote-y improvements including full search and synchronization.” Apple lists Penultimate as its #4 most-downloaded paid iPad app. Evernote, which launched in 2008 and has 30 million users (up from 12.5 million less than a year ago) acquired image-sharing app Skitch last year and has raised over $166 million in funding. Valued at $1 billion in last week’s funding round, the company is preparing for an IPO as soon as the end of this year. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial. Read More
Rui Viana isn’t a full-time app developer and he hasn’t learned how to use Apple’s iOS software development kit. Yet last week his newly released iPad game, Cargo-Bot, managed to become of the top 10 most downloaded iPad apps in the U.S., with more than 200,000 downloads in over a week. By day he works as a programmer on Wall Street. In his free time, Viana built Cargo-Bot not with a traditional computer and the iOS SDK, but with an iPad using another iPad app called Codea, and the result was the first iOS game available in the App Store actually created on the iOS platform. I spoke with Viana about how he rather accidentally became an iPad app maker and about how the shift in computing — and now programming — continues its march from desktop to mobile. [Note: This Q&A is edited and condensed from two separate interviews.] Q: Why did you go this route with Codea rather than the traditional iOS developer route? I work in a programming language that’s similar to C. Apple’s [SDK uses] a version of C but the APIs that are in there are complex. I could understand if I spent a little time [but] Codea took a day to pick it up. I haven’t built other games. This is the first time I did anything on the iPad. The thing for me that I think is really cool is it’s a different way to interact with users that you can’t get anywhere else. I always felt Apple’s API and structure for programming was pretty hard to understand. When the Codea guys had this I was really excited. Q: How long did it take you to make Cargo-Bot? I picked [Codea] up one night and really liked it, so I started doing a bunch of Read More
One of the nifty new software features on Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone is called Pop Up Play; it allows you to watch a video while multitasking on the phone. That may not be a “must have” feature for everyone, but I can see the value. If you’re watching a movie or YouTube video and a text or email comes in requiring a response, you can quickly manage it while still watching your mobile flick. It’s probably more of a convenience than anything else, and of course, it requires a Samsung Galaxy S III. Or does it? The Pocketables enthusiast site turned up a third-party app for Android devices that does the same thing. It’s called Stick It and it will cost you $1.49. Thanks to the 15 minute refund policy in Google Play, you can give it a try with out spending the coin, and that’s just what I did this afternoon. I can’t say I’ve tested every possible video type, but on my Galaxy Nexus, Stick It worked great for my own captured videos, YouTube, and even a video I downloaded locally from the official TED application. According to the information on the application page in Google Play, Stick It supports nearly all of the major video file formats and even a few video streaming protocols. Video played back in Stick In simply floats above all other content on the display, but you can still interact with other programs during playback. You can resize, drag or minimize the floating video window as well. Again; not something for everyone, but for a buck and a half, it’s a nice feature that I thought was limited to one specific phone. Now it isn’t. And it may even better suited for tablets where you have more screen real estate for multitasking. Related research Read More
Someone follows you down a dark alley or you feel a sudden tightening in your chest. You’re in a bad situation. Don’t panic! Okay, go ahead and panic, but at least do it productively. Call 911, determine your location and send the coordinates to your loved ones, get your medical records in order. Or better yet, hit this big red button. Mobile software developer Avanquest Mobile Technologies has designed a panic button for smartphones. Upon launching the app you’re presented with a big emergency button. Once you press it the app immediately begins a countdown, which, if you don’t stop by the time it reaches zero, will set the rest of the app’s wheels in motion. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in, the app will call the relevant emergency line. It will send SMS messages with your GPS coordinates to a list of friends, relatives or emergency contacts. Notices of medical conditions immediately start flashing on screen along. Oh, did I mention the phone makes a hell of a racket? A siren will sound, alerting everyone around to your presence until deactivated or the phone goes dead. There are other emergency apps available in the smartphone markets, though none of them seem to go to quite the lengths of Avanquest’s Mobile Alert service. Avanquest’s business model is also a bit different. It doesn’t plan to sell its software through iTunes or Google Play. Rather, it’s selling it as a platform to carriers, handset makers and other resellers who can customize it as a stand-alone service or package it with other features specific to their businesses, Avanquest VP Brian Yarosh told me. Perspective buyers might be medical insurance companies, looking to offer some around-the-clock protection to their clients, or travel agencies, who want to ensure their customers can call the police Read More
