Snowball wants to be your Android phone’s universal inbox
These days, all of the messages we get on our phones live in separate little boxes, destined never to mingle… unless some crafty developers and entrepreneurs force them to. As it turns out, that’s exactly what a Google Ventures-backed startup called Snowball just did — its creators made an Android app that pulls all your disparate missives into a single, simple inbox that you can scan at a glance. Facebook messages? Fine. Whatsapp texts? No worries. Snapchats? You get where we’re going. Co-founder Anish Acharya says the aggregating app works with the 10 most popular messaging services out there right now (including good ol’ SMS, Line, Hangouts and Slack just because they like it), which means there’s a very good chance it’ll be right up your alley. Sounds a lot like the universal inbox we’ve been clamoring for, doesn’t it?
Well, it’s close.
To the team’s credit, the setup process is dead simple — all you really have to do is wade through some splash screens and give the app access to your notifications (more on that later). Once that’s all done, Snowball will exist in form of a cutesy ever-present icon, sort of like a persisting Facebook chat head that hides when there’s nothing new to see. A quick swipe on the icon will open up your inbox to reveal all the textual treasures within, but alas, you can’t actually respond from there — tapping one of them launches the associated app from whence you can do the deed. That’s perhaps the only real bummer about the (currently beta) app: it does a fine job of rounding up your messages, but by virtue of the way these messaging apps are designed and created it isn’t going to be a truly one-stop shop.
Acharya says it won’t be too difficult to add support for buzzy new messaging apps down the road, but that’s essentially because Snowball works by capturing and rendering your message notifications within the app. Alas, it’s a pretty neat little trick that, as you might imagine, doesn’t exactly work on iOS. Don’t count an iPhone-friendly version out completely, though: it’ll take more concerted work with the developers of those apps, which could lead to benefits for users on both sides of the smartphone OS divide.
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HTC’s Zoe app arrives for Android, heads to iOS later this year
HTC revealed its plan to turn Sense feature Zoe into a full-on social network a couple months back. Today, the company announced that the photo and video-sharing app is exiting its open beta, and is available for compatible Android devices (4.3 and above). If you’re in need of a refresher, Zoe lets you turn snapshots and video clips into highlight reels (Zoes) with music included. It also allows your pals to “remix” photos and videos with yours for collaborative efforts that can now be 7, 15 or 30 seconds in length. And as you might expect, Zoe works with footage from the company’s newfangled RE action cam to produce the final product, should the need arise. So what about the iOS app? While the Android faithful can nab the software today, HTC says that the version for Apple’s gadgets will arrive “later this year.” For now, the curious can take a closer look at the iOS app in the gallery down below.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, HTC
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Fitbit doesn’t plan to share stats with Apple’s new Health app, for now
After a mention on stage back at WWDC when Apple Health was first announced for iOS 8, Fitbit was absent when the feature went live. Now, the activity-tracking outfit says it doesn’t “currently have plans” to opt in. “It is an interesting new platform and we will watch as it matures, looking for opportunities to improve the Fitbit experience,” a moderator responding to Fitbit forum inquires explained. “At the moment, we’re working on other exciting projects that we think will be valuable to users.” Of course, Fitbit has it’s own software and unlike others, it doesn’t shared gathered info across your arsenal of apps. Even if it has a trackerless app in the works to leverage the iPhone’s internals, it would make sense to share stats with the iOS repository. Fitbit was the top seller for activity trackers in Q1 2014 according to ABI Research, accounting for nearly 50 percent of shipments. It doesn’t appear to be struggling to grow the user base, so the need to have its wares in more places isn’t pressing. However, as you can see in the forum thread, those who have already invested in a tracker aren’t too happy with the company’s current stance.
Filed under: Wearables, Internet, Software
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Fitbit Community
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Square now tells your barista when to start brewing
Square isn’t just in the business of selling things — it wants to help you buy stuff too. And now, it’s taking the latter a step further by simplifying your daily quest for a piping-hot cup o’ joe. After today’s update, you can use the Square Order app to purchase coffee from a nearby Square-friendly cafe. So? Here’s the cool part: By using your phone’s location data, Order alerts the barista to start brewing the drink once you’re within a certain distance from the shop.
Once you arrive, the pickup is a cinch: Just grab it, walk out and your payment will be processed automatically — no lines, no interaction. That means whether you order the night before or while en route, you, the happy customer, is (almost) guaranteed a freshly made cup of java. And, if you have a regular routine, your daily orders customizations will be saved within the app for future use. Want to try it out? Blue Bottle coffee houses will support the feature as early as today, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t be the only business to jump on the bandwagon.
Filed under: Software
Source: Square
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Nokia’s HERE Maps Android app now available on Samsung Galaxy devices
While we were able to get our hands on an advance release of Nokia’s new HERE Maps app for Android, the company had to a make a few minor tweaks before it was ready for public consumption. It appears all of those outstanding boxes have now been ticked, because the app has just gone live on Samsung’s Galaxy app store. Unfortunately, thanks to Samsung’s considerable marketing muscle, the app currently only offers Galaxy device owners access to its offline maps, turn-by-turn navigation and transit features. That means you’ll have to wait a little longer to grab the app (or until an enterprising developer extends its availability) if you own a non-Samsung device. However, if you’re looking for a very accomplished alternative to Google Maps, it’s definitely worth being a little more patient.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Nokia
Via: HERE Blog
Source: HERE Maps (Samsung Galaxy App Store)
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Tap Cash Review
Unless you’re currently reading this article on a yacht somewhere in Cabo, I’m guessing that you could probably stand to earn a little bit of money. What if I told you that you could get cash just by downloading a free app. If you’re thinking this sounds like a pretty sweet deal then it may be time to check out Tap Cash.
Overview
Tap Cash is an app that works on a credit system, wherein you exchange credits for certain “gifts” ranging from a $1 Paypal card for 1000 credits to a $10 Google Play gift card for 10000 credits. Every dollar is worth 1000 credits from the app. To get these credits you can download apps or share the app with your friends. The amount of credits you earn is based on the app. For example an app that all you have to do it download and start is going to be worth far fewer credits than one you have to provide information for. Furthermore sharing the app with others is worth more than most apps other than the ones that require a lot of personal information.
What’s especially interesting about this app though is that it creates a little game out of earning these credits. It shows the highest earners for the week, the month, and in total. So far the highest amount earned is about $262, a pretty good haul considering I’ve only managed to earn about ¢10 so far.
My Experience with Tap Cash
For the most part it seemed like a pretty great app. I never was able earn enough credits to be able to exchange it for “gifts”, but from other users reviews it’s clear that if you do manage to earn enough credits they will follow through and give you your money. The only problem of any significance is that sometimes I would download an app that would promise credits if I just started it, but even after doing so I wouldn’t get the credits. I would like to stress that this did not happen with every app I downloaded, but it did happen with a couple. It can also take quite a while to amass enough credits to get a sizable amount of money, but it is certainly possible to do so and many people have.
Will this app turn you into some King Midas figure? No, unfortunately it won’t turn stuff into gold. But will downloading this app be able to earn you a little money that involved little to no effort? Absolutely!
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Livestream’s new iPhone app lets you broadcast GoPro adventures without a PC
Typically, streaming live footage from an action camera requires a PC to provide the internet connection. That’s not exactly an option when you’re flying off a cliff in a wingsuit. Livestream just made it a lot easier to share your adventures with the world, however. Its newest iOS app now lets you broadcast video from GoPro Hero cameras anywhere you have a good data connection; so long as you can fit an iPhone in your pocket, your friends can see that thrilling BASE jump or bike ride in real-time. There’s no word of GoPro support on Android, but it won’t be surprising if there’s a corresponding update before long.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Via: CNET
Source: Livestream Producer Blog, App Store
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Data-saving Opera Mini browser to land on Samsung Gear S watch
While Tizen’s smartphone future remains foggy, it’s slowly gaining street cred in the wearable space courtesy of Samsung’s smartwatches and their handful of apps. The latest brand to help push this young ecosystem is none other than Opera, who is bringing its Mini browser to the Gear S due later this year. Of course, it’d be impractical to squint at a two-inch touchscreen all day long, but Opera Mini does offer a major advantage: its renowned data compression technology that can shrink web pages to as little as one-tenth of their size, thus making more efficient use of the Gear S’ integrated 3G connectivity. As an icing on the cake, this app also offers private browsing mode and a “Smart Page” that aggregates social updates plus the latest news. Opera Mini will already be available for download by the time the Gear S hits the stores.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Samsung
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Gmail for iOS now takes full advantage of your iPhone 6
You haven’t had many options for checking Gmail on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus so far. Unless you’re happy with Apple’s stock email client, you’ve typically had to use blown-up versions of earlier apps. You won’t have to face that dilemma any more, though; Google has released an update to its Gmail app for iOS that does justice to the higher display resolutions on new iPhones. It’s a simple change, but it means that you can see more messages at once (and more of those messages) without sacrificing native Gmail features like labels and stars. Swing by the App Store if you’ve been jonesing for this upgrade over the past few weeks.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: App Store
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Google+ gets Material
Back at Google I/O, Google walked us through their material design philosophy, and ever since, they’ve been updating apps to go along with it.
Google has just updated another app in the play store with the same design we’ve already scene in Google Hangouts, Google Now, Chrome, Google Play Newstand, Cloud Print, Google News and Weather, Google Drive and associated apps, their phone dialer app, and probably a few others I can’t think of right now. The latest addition is the Google+ app.
The new design for Google+ brings an even flatter experience, changes up the colors a bit, and makes everything more consistent with their new design philosophy; a philosophy that you will really see take shape when Android L is released. Word on the street is they have updated how the photos section works. It should make for a smoother experience, and I’m sure there are one or two bug fixes in there as well.
I haven’t received it on my Moto X (2013) yet so don’t freak out that you haven’t gotten it. Check the Play Store to see if the update is available on your device.
Source [Engadget]
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The post Google+ gets Material appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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AIVAnet 