ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

A Charlie Brown Christmas

| $6.99 | Loud Crow Interactive Inc.

New iPhone, iPad and Android Apps for November 2011 - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

We love new apps. It is one of the joys of our life to sift through the flood of apps that are published or updated every month and deliver the best or most interesting to our readers. November had some great apps for Android, the iPhone and the iPad. In our ongoing series of Apps Of The Month, we take a look at what November produced below. We are continuing for the third month with our list of app updates so you can keep track of what you need to update for functionality and security purposes. The list, as always, is a bit subjective so please let us know in the comments if we missed an app or you have found one that you cannot live without. A Charlie Brown Christmas - ($6.99 iOS, Android) Who better to tug on the heart strings of Christmas than Charlie Brown? The new app is a remake of the 1965 classic as an interactive storybook with original scenes and dialog, digitally remastered illustrations and music. You can play the piano, finger paint and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest. With narrative from Peter Robins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, it is hard not to like what the Peanuts gain has produced. I know what I am going to get for my 3.5 year old nephew when I go home for Christmas. i-Helicopter (Free - iOS, Android) You know those little helicopters you see at Brookstone in the mall? The ones that the sales reps fly around at the entrance to the store? Imagine controlling one (maybe not Brookstone specifically, but a flying helicopter) with your Android or iPhone. We saw something like this being demoed at Nokia World in London with a MeeGo smartphone but it was also Read More

Breaking News

| FREE | MSNBC Interactive News, LLC

BreakingNews Goes International with New UK Team - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

BreakingNews, the team of curators behind the @BreakingNews Twitter account and Breaking News Facebook page, has announced today that it's going international. The U.K. MSN homepage now features a BreakingNews widget, and the new London-based arm of the team has launched a @BreakingNewsUK Twitter account. The BreakingNews team manages a round-the-clock firehose of the day's biggest stories using a deft mix of automatic and manual curation tools. What results is a feed of the major headlines from around the world right as they happen. The full feeds are available on BreakingNews.com and mobile apps for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7, while the Twitter feeds offer a tighter stream of the world's top stories. When we first covered BreakingNews, the Twitter account had a little over 800,000 followers. It's over 3,275,000 now, and the startup team is now under the arm of MSNBC's digital network. Using Twitter analytics, BreakingNews determined that the U.K. was the place to go next. About 350,000 people in the U.K. follow the main @BreakingNews account already, its biggest audience outside the U.S. "From the riots to the News of the World scandal, the U.K. has experienced a tremendous amount of breaking news this year," says Cory Bergman, director of BreakingNews. "Our London team will help strengthen BreakingNews' overall global coverage, including the European debt crisis and continuing unrest in the Middle East and North Africa." BreakingNews watches the Twitter accounts of news organizations and whitelists the ones they find reliable. When those sources include #breaking or #breakingnews in a tweet, it tips off the BreakingNews editors. Over 160 organizations, including ABC News and Huffington Post, currently participate. Users of BreakingNews.com can also tip the editors by submitting links. U.K. residents will find the BreakingNews widget on uk.msn.com, and you can follow the brand new @BreakingNewsUK Twitter Read More

Buffer

| FREE | Buffer

Triple Your Twitter Engagement With Buffer For Android - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

Buffer, an app that stacks up your tweets and automatically publishes them at the best times for engagement, just launched its free Android app. The app allows you to add any Web page to your Buffer, which you can then edit, manage and view analytics. It supports multiple accounts, which you can navigate with a swipe. Buffer analyzes social data and automatically publishes your updates at the times when most of your followers are awake and clicking. This summer, Buffer studied its user data and found that it increases clicks on Twitter links by 200% and doubles the amount of retweets. Tweet scheduling has been shown to increase activity on shared content, but knowing when to schedule is a challenge. Buffer eliminates that guesswork by finding the best timing itself. You can just add your tweet to your Buffer and forget about it. The Buffer team says its working on Buffer for iOS next. In the meantime, there's an email workaround for adding links to Buffer. It's also testing Buffer for Facebook. Grab Buffer from the Android Market or by scanning the QR code here: Do you schedule your social Web updates, or just post when you feel like it? Read More

TextOnly - Browser

| FREE | SpaceNext

New iPhone, iPad and Android Apps for August 2011 - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

In our continuing tradition of rounding up new mobile application releases we found interesting and/or exciting over the past month, we present you with this new list of apps for August 2011. Last month there were some interesting iOS apps and updates along with some dynamic Android apps. The list, as always, is a bit subjective so please let us know in the comments if we missed an app or you have found one that you cannot live without. Madden 2012 ($6.99 iOS, $6.99 Android) The popular NFL game is back this year for both Android and the iPad. Sports games may be better suited for console users, but for those that want the Madden experience without forking over the $70 for the console game, the mobile version can get you a quick football fix. Yahoo Fantasy Football '11 (Free iTunes, Android) Since the NFL just started its season and the fantasy football season is booming, might as well add one the app for one of the more popular fantasy platforms. How do you think your team will do this year? Facebook Messenger (Free Facebook iOS, Android) The world's largest social network is entering the mobile messaging space to take on BlackBerry Messenger and Google Talk for Android. Zeppelin Air (Free -- iPhone & iPad) Zeppelin Air builds a wireless bridge between iOS devices using Airplay so as to create a community playlist that you can share with your friends. Flat Stanley (Free -- iPhone) The world travelling children's favorite comes to mobile as Flat Stanley makes his way to the iPhone. Since 1995 the Flat Stanley Project has been used by educators around the world to help children learn about travel, while discovering different cultures to develop a love for reading. This application makes it easier and safer for teachers, Read More

Localmind

| FREE | Localmind

Mobile App Makes Your Friends' Phones Your Eyes & Ears Around Town: Localmind Adds Photos & More - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

Mobile location service Localmind believes it knows what the future of place-based social networking looks like. It lets you use your phone to ask questions of people who are hanging out at a restaurant, bar, park or other venue. "How crowded is the restaurant right now?" you might ask. If a Localmind user or one of your friends on Foursquare has checked-in at the restaurant in question, they will be sent your question in real time. About half the time, it seems, they'll write you right back! It's like the mobile phones of your friends are your eyes looking around the corner. With today's new release of the app, Localmind users can send photos in response to questions, answer questions older than real time and get forwarded all questions for places they are regulars at. It's a cool service and a small company to watch for the future. Bigger and older competitor Loopt launched a polling feature similar to Localmind's this Spring, but the Localmind UI and agile development are particularly appealing. Network effects can still be a bit of a challenge. Localmind recently moved from Montreal to San Francisco to focus on building its user base in the Bay Area. It gets to ride along with Foursquare, but that service is only so popular as well. The end result is that in a city like Portland, Oregon (where I live) there are huge numbers of people interested in location-based services and mobile social networks, but still not a whole lot of action on Localmind. The new ability to answer older questions may change that. The company also just released an Android app last week, and that could help. The big change today comes in the form of photos, though. It is super cool to be able to ask for an Read More

Nosh

| FREE | Firespotter, LLC

New Apps for iPhone & Android, July 2011 - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

In our continuing tradition of rounding up new mobile application releases we found interesting and/or exciting over the past month, we present you with this new list of apps for July 2011. This month, we found a lot of great new iPhone apps, some Android and tablet apps, and a bunch of "notable" application updates. As always, share your thoughts on those we missed in the comments below. Spott: This app uses your phone's GPS to point to map out nearby film and TV locations. Great for entertainment buffs. ($0.99, iTunes and $1.13, Android Market) Nosh: This food-spotting and reviews app lets you photograph, share and track great places to eat and the meals you've had there. (Free, iTunes and Android Market) Facebook for Every Phone: This new app brings Facebook to over 2,500 phones worldwide. To download, go to m.facebook.com or enter d.facebook.com/install in your mobile browser. MyMoby lets families privately share their location with each other and send alerts when needing assistance. (Free, iTunes, Android and BlackBerry) Batphone: This experimental app uses the phone's microphone to record the sounds in a room to develop an acoustic "fingerprint" for that space. The idea is that this type of location-detection could be used in future apps when GPS is not available. There's nothing much you can really do with this app right now, but what a cool concept! (Free, iTunes) Capture: Instead of wasting time hitting "record" or adjusting settings, the Capture app starts recording video as soon as the app launches. Finally, you can record the kids before the moment has passed!($0.99, iTunes) Trover: Newly launched app Trover was an undiscovered gem until the big press push this month surrounding the app's update. With Trover, you can connect with others to discover places and things nearby using photo-sharing combined with Read More

Hulu Plus

| FREE | Hulu

New Apps for iPhone & Android, June 2011 - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

Google+: Google's new social network comes with its own Android app offering access to your streams, circles and photos. An "instant upload" feature is also supported, to immediately post camera photos online to a private album only you can see. Widget included with app. (Free, Android Market) Hulu Plus: Now on Android, Hulu Plus brings you TV shows and movies for $7.99/month. (Free, Android Market) Path: The private photo-sharing app for connecting with family and friends is now available on Android, in addition to iOS. (Free, Android Market) Skype: The Android app has been updated, bringing video calling to the Google Nexus S, HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, with more on the way. Our coverage. (Free, Android Market) Third Eye: A reality-based game using Viewdle's facial recognition technology. You play as a vampire or a slayer. (Free, Android Market) Crackle: Now on Android, Sony Pictures Entertainment's video network brings ad-supported, full-length Hollywood movies and TV shows to Android. (Free, Android Market) Music Unlimited: Sony's Qtriocity service goes mobile with access to 7 million+ songs. Free for 30 days then $3.99 or $9.99 per month afterwards, depending on plan. (Free, Android Market) QikCam: This Android widget lets you snap photos or videos quickly just by tapping the homescreen widget. (Not new, but we just discovered!) (Free, Android Market) UberMusic: From LauncherPro's creator, UberMusic is a new music app offering artist/album downloads, album art, last.fm scrobbling, headphone controls and a homescreen widget. (Free, UberMusic.com APK) Zimbra: VMWare released an app for Android as a "fling," allowing access to email, contacts, calendar, tasks and files from any Android device. Not guaranteed to be a part of any future product offering, says VMWare, nor is support offered. Our coverage. (Free, VMWare.com) Wikitude World Browser: Now available for Honeycomb tablets, Read More

Netflix

| FREE | Netflix, Inc.

New Apps for iPhone & Android, May/June 2011 - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

...Key Trends Location App Stores Real-Time Web Internet of Things Mobile Structured Data Top Topics google twitter apple ios facebook android china Channels ReadWriteWeb ReadWriteStart ReadWriteBiz ReadWriteEnterprise ReadWriteCloud ReadWriteHack ReadWriteMobile Jobs Reports Online Commun... Read More

al-jazeera

| FREE | Mohammed Badwi

Al Jazeera, Now on Android and BlackBerry - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

News network Al Jazeera has been making many new forays into new and mobile media in the last several months and today is taking that a step further by releasing applications for both Android and Blackberry. Perhaps the most important feature of the applications is the integrated ability to send photos and video to Al Jazeera. This capability has been a feature in news apps for some of the more progressive North American publications for some time. With the recent turmoil in the Middle East and the growing role of new media in the region it may be beneficial for the network to have thousands of smartphones available to send pictures and video to the news service. The Android and Blackberry apps streams Al Jazeera live at all hours of the day and provides access to the network's blogs and news feeds. The network already has iPhone and iPad apps along with being preloaded onto all Samsung Wave devices in the Middle East and North Africa. It is also available on Nokia phones through the Ovi app store. "Making Al Jazeera available across multiple platforms has been a central component of our distribution strategy," said Moeed Ahmad, Al Jazeera's new media manager in a press release. "Now as well as being able to watch the livestream of the channel, people will be able to consume the rest of Al Jazeera's online content from their mobile phone." Al Jazeera's new media progression has been coming at a rapid clip. In April the network announced a social media show, The Stream, that engages with its viewers through Facebook and Twitter and uses social media storytelling tool Storify as a guideline. In February it used Twitter's Promoted Tweets to help the network make inroads in to the U.S. market. The network is also available Read More

AutoCAD WS

| FREE | Autodesk Inc.

New Apps for Your iPhone and Android, April 2011 Edition - ReadWriteWeb - Web Apps, Web Technology Trends, Social Networking and Social Media

FlexT9: A powerful keyboard replacement app that's much like SwiftKey and Swype combined as it supports speaking, tracing, writing and tapping, while offering word predictions at the top. ($4.99, Android Market) Succotash: This location-predicting application uses your Google Latitude history to predict your current location, which can then be shared with friends. You sign into Succotash with your same Google Latitude account in order to use. Great for when your location goes stale. (Free, Android Market) AutoCAD WS: This free app is a mobile CAD application that lets you use simple viewing, editing and markup tools to work on your designs while on the go. Sync files from the Web or upload directly from AutoCAD itself. (Free, Android Market) PSX4Droid: Despite getting booted from the Android Market, this PlayStation emulator app popped up online soon after delisting. (Free, Off-Market) Webroot Mobile Security: A new way to safe safe on Android, Webroot's premium app blocks and removes malicious apps, protects your contacts and passwords, blocks phishing attempts, locates missing devices, stops unwanted calls and text spam, runs scans, analyzes the permissions given to apps and more. ($14.99, Android Market) MealSnap: An ingenious app that lets you take a picture of your food to determine how many calories are in it. The app doesn't always get things right of course, despite the human assistance on the backend - it thought my "Healthy Request" soup had over 1,000 calories! But it does well when it can see a picture with a brand logo on it, we've found. ($2.99, iTunes) Tweetbot: A beautiful new Twitter iPhone app with all the standard features, but with an improved and efficient design. Our coverage. ($1.99, iTunes) TweetDeck: Not a new app per se, but a complete "re-imagining" makes this 2.0 redesign feel brand-new. The app still offers columns, but Read More