UPDATE: As of about noon on the east coast, the App Store seems to have sorted itself out. I was able to search for Tidal and actually get the music app, instead of an app to track the tide. [More]
apps
Regulators Widen Investigation Into Google’s Pre-Loaded Android Apps
By 4.27.16
A week after European regulators announced an investigation into Google’s requirements that Android-based devices come pre-loaded with Google apps, a similar stateside probe is finally getting off the ground. [More]
Google’s Pre-Loaded Android Apps Target Of EU Competition Probe
By 4.18.16
While Android smartphones may allow you to install all manner of apps that compete with the pre-installed Google products like Maps, Gmail and its namesake search engine, is the fact that these apps are required to come pre-loaded on Android devices hurting competition and innovation just to benefit Google’s bottom line? That’s the question being asked by the European Commissioner for Competition. [More]
UberEATS Launches As A Standalone App Offering Restaurant Delivery In 5 Cities
By 3.15.16
Uber is stepping outside the bounds of its main app for the first time, launching its UberEATS service as a standalone app for restaurant delivery starting in five of the cities where it operates. [More]
Report: Snapchat Is Working On Some Kind Of Wearable Device
By 3.11.16
Right now, the very nature of Snapchat is ephemeral: an app that allows users to post or send photo and video messages that will eventually self-destruct. But the company may be moving more into the physical realm, according to a new report that says the software company is looking to expand into hardware with some kind of wearable device. [More]
Google Testing Ads That Let You Try Mobile Games Before Downloading Them
By 12.3.15
Sometimes, a mobile game may catch your eye — all bright, blinking, beguiling colors — but after you’ve downloaded it, it turns out to be rather… meh. Yes, you can simply delete it from your phone easily enough — but if wasn’t a free game, that might smart a bit. In an attempt to defeat downloader’s remorse, Google is playing around with ads that would allow folks to try games before they’ve taken the leap to install them on their mobile devices. [More]
Facebook Bringing 360-Degree Video To iOS Newsfeeds
By 11.12.15
While we once wondered why Facebook would spend $2 billion to buy virtual reality company Oculus, we’re starting to get answers. Two months after Facebook said it was working to bring virtual reality to consumers’ phones via newsfeed ads, the social media company unveiled an iOS version. [More]
Apple, Google Pull Unofficial Instagram App That Harvests Usernames And Passwords
By 11.11.15
In yet another example of why unofficial apps aren’t always to be trusted, Apple and Google have yanked an app from their app stores that was supposed to let users know who was viewing their profiles. That’s not a thing, and a developer says that the app instead acted as malware, secretly collecting usernames and passwords and using them to post spam to users’ accounts. [More]
Apple Bans More Than 250 Apps From App Store For Accessing Users’ Information
By 10.19.15
When you play a game on your phone, use an application to play music or order food for delivery, you probably assume the app is working in a pretty straightforward manner — it’s letting you crush candy or add extra tahini sauce to your order. That wasn’t the case for more than 250 apps previously available in the App Store, which have been banned by Apple for secretly collecting and storing users’ personal information. [More]
Amazon Shuts Down Music Importer Program
By 10.7.15
Now that Amazon’s music streaming service – Prime Music – has been up and running for more than a year, the e-commerce giant is apparently cleaning house in the music department by ditching a three-year-old application that allowed users to upload previously purchased music into their Amazon Music library. [More]
Starbucks Mobile Ordering App Is Now Available To All Coffee Lovers
By 9.22.15
Just weeks after Starbucks said it would roll out its mobile ordering feature to all U.S. stores by the end of the month, the coffee chain made good on its promise, extending the feature – on both iOS and Android devices – nationwide on Tuesday. The coffee chain had previously anticipated mobile ordering would be ready by the end of the year. Executives for the company said that the service was so popular – allowing coffee drinkers to skip long lines as they order and pay for their beverages with their mobile devices – that the company sped up implementation. [The Seattle Times] [More]
Feds Say Vision-Improvement App Not Backed By Science
By 9.17.15
They say that staring at a computer for hours at a time can ruin you vision, so it might be hard to swallow claims that a mobile app can improve your vision… especially when science doesn’t back it up. [More]
Starbucks To Roll Out Mobile Ordering Nationwide, Accept Android Pay By End Of Month
By 9.11.15
Android users – and those living in areas of the country where mobile ordering isn’t available at their local Starbucks – can soon order and pay for their morning cup of coffee straight from the comfort of their phones with little human contact, as the coffee chain announced today that it would expedite the rollout of its mobile ordering feature to all U.S. stores by the end of the month. [More]
Instagram Decides It’s Not Hip To Only Be Square, Will Now Allow Rectangular Images & Videos
By 8.27.15
If you’ve ever had to take a screenshot of a rectangular photo on your phone just so you could crop it into a square to post on Instagram, you’ll be glad to hear this news: the photo-sharing app announced Thursday that it’ll now allow landscape and portrait photos and videos instead of only square-shaped media. [More]
Amazon Launches App Store That Claims To Show Other Actually Free Apps
By 8.26.15
In a relatively novel idea, Amazon has launched a new store called Amazon Underground that claims to provide Android users with a list of top apps that are actually free – no hidden in-app purchases here. [More]
Google Testing Feature That Lets You Put Your Food Photos On The Map
By 8.24.15
If you’re a diner that enjoys providing your social media followers with (sometimes) artistic shots of the food you plan to shove down your throat, but are getting tired of just getting little hearts from Instagram, have no fear. Google is reportedly working on a new feature that will put your foodie photos on the map, literally. [More]
App Called RoboKiller Takes Top Prize In FTC’s Anti-Robocall Contest
By 8.17.15
The Federal Trade Commission’s vendetta against robocalls continued today as the agency announced the winner of a contest – and $25,000 – for building an app that blocks and forwards the annoying calls. [More]
