Use Foursquare to hail your next Uber ride
Since it gave check-ins the boot, the main Foursquare app became a directory of restaurants, coffee shops, retail locations and more. Thanks to a partnership with Button, though, the mobile software is more useful. After you find a new spot for dinner, you’ll be able to book a ride with Uber from inside the app. Once you select the option, you’re given the choice of car and the wait time for each. If you’re not familiar with Button, the company that links apps together, leveraging tools and services to enhance the experience. The new feature is already live in the Foursquare app, so if you fancy it, you can give it try right now.
Via: Re/code
Source: Button
Volvo’s working on an Android Wear app that will let you control your car from your wrist
Swedish automaker Volvo has just announced that it’s now applying the finishing touches to its On Call app for Android Wear and Apple Watch.
Both applications will enable Volvo owners to remotely lock/unlock their car, switch on their heater/air conditioner and check fuel/mileage. There’s even a feature on board that can be used to locate your car in a busy parking lot.
Volvo aims to have On Call available to download on both the App and Play Store by the end of June.
Do you own a Volvo? If so, is this an app you’d like to get your hands on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Source: Volvo
Come comment on this article: Volvo’s working on an Android Wear app that will let you control your car from your wrist
Volvo’s On Call app can control your car from a smartwatch
Sure, you drive a Volvo and not an Aston Martin, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pretend to be a charming spy who controls his car with a high-tech watch. Volvo will soon release its On Call app for Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch, after all, and it comes with all the features its predecessors for tablets and smartphones have. That means you can poke around your arm candy to remotely lock or unlock the car’s doors, switch on the heater or air conditioner and check fuel and mileage. You can also ask it for help if your Volvo’s lost in a sea of cars in a parking lot. And just like the older apps, it quickly connects you to an operator, who then tracks your location through GPS, if your airbags get deployed. Volvo wrapped the smartwatch apps in a new design based on the Sensus connected interface, but you’ll have to wait until the end of June before you can give them a spin.
Filed under: Transportation, Wearables, Mobile, Apple, Google
Via: Autoblog
Source: Volvo
Turn Instagram food posts into meals with recipe app Handpick
Handpick, a recipe app that helps users craft meals using ingredients they have on-hand, now scours the filtered seas of Instagram for delicious-looking dishes and their accompanying recipes. This means the next time you’re searching (or drooling) through “#food” on Instagram, you might be able to actually whip up whatever catches your eye. Handpick uses a mix of algorithm and human curation to find matching food posts and recipes, CEO Payman Nejati says (via TheNextWeb): “Instagram is effectively a database of over 1 billion food posts. We started analyzing that data through the public API and using computer vision, we know whether a post is about food. We then look at the caption and use that information to match recipes to social media posts.”
Instagram is turning into a handy tool for app developers in numerous categories, from font fanatics to food. Handpick is free on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Bon appetit!
Source: TheNextWeb
Android app makers can experiment with Play Store listings
Those rumors of Google letting Android app developers experiment with what you see in the Play Store? Yes, they’re true. Creators can now conduct tests to see what pricing works best, or whether one icon color is more alluring than others — you’ll only view one of each while the test is ongoing. Also, app makers are getting Developer Pages (shown above) that showcase all of their apps, so you’ll have a one-stop shop for everything from your preferred brand. If all goes well, you’ll find more Android apps with prices you’re willing to pay, and you won’t have to scrounge quite so much to get every app you need.
Don’t miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Pebble launches official Time Watch companion app for Android
In preparation for its launch later this year, Pebble has today launched an official companion application called ‘Time Watch’ for its upcoming second-generation smartwatch. The app will enable users of the Pebble Time to access the Pebble App Store, organise their device and alter its Settings using their smartphone.
The application will also serve as a platform for any incoming over-the-air (OTA) updates for the smartwatch, including new software versions and bug fixes. It will prompt you whenever an upgrade is available and will immediately start installing it on your watch once you’ve instructed it to do so.
A full roundup of all of the app’s functions can be seen below:
- Support for Pebble Time watchapps, features, accessories, and data sources (e.g. Timeline-based apps, color watchfaces, weather/sports data, and more).
- Organize what’s on your Pebble by Watchfaces and Apps/Timeline. Dragging downloaded watchapps within the menu reorders them and syncs the changes to your Pebble (woo-hoo!).
- Toggle settings, set as active watchface, contact developer, and more by tapping any item within My Pebble.
- In My Pebble, the watchface with the green checkmark is the one currently active on your watch. Quickly change the active watchface by tapping the empty circle of another watchface in the menu.
- Supports both new Pebble Time watchapps AND all items currently available in the Pebble appstore.
If you’d like to install Time Watch on your Android smartphone or tablet, hit the link below. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code to initiate the download.
Come comment on this article: Pebble launches official Time Watch companion app for Android
Google updates Android TV Remote Control app
Just hours before Google takes to the stage at I/O, the search engine giant has started pushing out an update for its Android TV Remote Control app. This leads us to believe that their is likely to be an announcement advising us of Google’s big plans for the media-streaming platform at the conference.
In terms of added functionality, this upgrade brings a complete visual overhaul as well as compatibility for tablets. Users will now notice that there’s a permanent play/pause button within the app, in addition to a sliding Hamburger menu for easy access to the touchpad.
Check it out in the screenshots below:
What Android TV-related services do you think Google will unveil at its I/O conference later today? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Come comment on this article: Google updates Android TV Remote Control app
Runtastic’s latest workout app puts more junk in your trunk
Runtastic already offers dedicated apps for ab and bun workouts, and now the company takes aim at your lower half. Leg Trainer delivers over 50 exercise videos that’ll allow you to select activity based on goals and fitness level. There are pre-selected routines — like the 7-Minute Workout or Junk in the Trunk (yes, seriously) — or you can choose individual exercises to build your own. Get ready to squat, lunge and kick your way to toned legs. Similar to the Six Pack and Butt Trainer apps, a 3D avatar guides you through the process so you know exactly what you should be doing. The Leg Trainer app also works with the Apple Watch, so you can follow the virtual trainer there or keep tabs on progress and workout stats. It also leverages the wearable to let you know when to start/stop a set and when the rest time between sets is over on tops of tracking heart rate. Perhaps the real question is what you gon’ do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?
Google’s URL shortener deeps links directly to iOS and Android apps
You know those goo.gl shortcuts you regularly come across on Twitter or Facebook and other places online? They now open the exact pages they link to either on the website’s official app or on your browsers. For instance, if you click on a shortcut that links to a Google Maps page showing how to go from San Francisco to LA by land, it will automatically launch the navigation app if it’s installed and load those step-by-step directions. If you haven’t downloaded the app to your device, it will launch a browser instead. This change affects both new and old goo.gl shortcuts, so long as the website or app developer took steps to set up App Indexing for Android and iOS. Yup, that means the new feature works on both iOS and Android devices, and you can try it out for yourself right here: https://goo.gl/BpMdqp
Source: Google
Transform parts of your screen into Mario levels with Screentendo
You know what’s a good cure for office boredom? A Mac app that changes parts of your screen into a playable level straight out of Super Mario Bros. Thanks to Aaron Randall’s Screentendo desktop add-on, a similar process to that of taking a screenshot can have you playing a unique Mario level in seconds. In this case, game building is a two-step process that first determines the underlying structure of the image before generating those bricks on top. Randall admits that the app isn’t without flaws, and that it’s more of a proof-of-concept than anything else. For example, the image rendering works best on images with high contrast — like the Google logo captured in the video after the break.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Aaron Randall
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