Mobile Apps Trumps Mobile Web Usage - Easy App Business

 

While the amount of time spent watching T.V. has stayed relatively stable over the past few years, time spent using mobile apps is increasing wildly.  Mobile app usage was averaging about an hour each day in 2010, and it has now doubled to more than two hours, as reported by the app data analysis company Flurry. 

For reference, television watching takes up almost three hours each day, and web browsing takes a bit over an hour (although, for some of us, web browsing is running neck-and-neck with breathing for our most popular pastime).

At this level of importance, mobile apps are far too popular for businesses, especially small businesses, to ignore.  As we have discussed in other posts, the mobile web is still very important, and the best strategy is always to create both apps and quality mobile websites.  In terms of daily usage, however, apps are currently in the lead.

If you want to communicate with a particular market, you need to meet them where they are.  What this new data reveals for small businesses is that people are spending a ton of time on their mobile apps, and that this channel is far ahead of websites in terms of daily time spent (and quickly catching up to television). 

Of course, a lot of this time is double- and triple-counted, as users browse the web, play with apps, and watch T.V., all at the same time.  But the numbers don’t lie.

As far as practical advice goes, small businesses can 1) develop their own app, 2) develop their own mobile website 3) do both.  Developing apps or developing a mobile website, as app usage continues to climb, will increasingly have greater value and impact.

Look into it app makers!

more info from www.easyappsbusiness.com

Edible QR Code to Raise Awareness

 

San Diego-based Harney Sushi is printing quick response, or QR, codes on rice paper wafers using edible, water-based ink. The sushi rolls are wrapped in the wafers, making it easy for smart phone-carrying diners to scan in the codes and learn more about the fish they’re consuming.

The QR codes direct diners to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s FishWatch website, a clearinghouse for seafood news and sustainability facts.

“Sustainability is based on a simple principle – meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, for example, using a resource but leaving some for the future,” the NOAA says on its FishWatch website

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Five of the best apps to fix iOS

 

Apple’s iOS 7 update is still a few months away, along with its new looks and under-the-hood-tweaks, and if you feel like iOS 6 just isn’t cutting it on your iPhone or iPad anymore, we wouldn’t blame you. If you’re tired of the inaccuracies of Apple Maps or you just need a better email client than Apple Mail, we’ve got just the apps for you. Read on for our top five picks that will give your iPhone a much needed refresh.

Maps – Google Maps

Apple Maps is still a sore app for many iPhone users, but Google has stepped up to the plate and delivered an even better Maps application than it originally provided on previous iOS versions. It comes complete with local Google search, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transport directions, Street View, traffic updates and even more. Who needs Apple Maps?

Browser – Google Chrome

There are a few different options to Safari in the app store for all your browsing needs, including Opera and Mercury, but Google Chrome is easily the best alternative you can find in the app store, especially if you use it as your main desktop browser too. Sync your Google account across your Chrome browsers, and you’ll get all your bookmarks and history in one place, plus you can sync over currently open tabs on each device letting you pull up a website super quick instead of hassling about – absolutely perfect if you do a ton of browsing on your mobile.

Five of the best social reader apps

Mail – Mailbox

Stylish email app Mailbox edges out Sparrow and the official Gmail client as our top pick for an Apple Mail replacement, thanks to its simple and fast way to get through countless emails in a particularly slick way. Mailbox plugs right into your Gmail account, and once you’re set up you can start to slide away emails with a flick of the thumb to delete or archive them, while you can rearrange your mail how you like in your inbox and even “snooze” nagging emails to a later date for when you want to get around to them. There’s push support too, so you’ll never be away from your mail.

Notes – Evernote

Some people love the simplistic nature of Apple’s Notes, but some dislike the fake notepad style of it and lack of power user features. While it might do the job for a quick list for when it comes to doing the shopping, you might want to sync your notes to your computer for future reference or for a project. Enter Evernote, an extremely powerful note app that lets you chuck in anything you want, ranging from full resolution photos, rich text and multiple ways of arranging all your notes. Evernote’s killer feature is that syncs over to the desktop application through the cloud so you’ll always have your notes handy, and you can even clip items from your web browser to dunk into your Evernote collection. A bit of power comes in handy, even when you’re doing the shopping, right?

Camera – Camera+

Forget the filter-focused Instagram, ditch Hipstamatic and toss away Apple’s own Camera, as Taptaptap’s Camera+ rules supreme in the photo snapping department, packing in a myriad of features including a self timer, manual controls, plus a stabiliser function to let you get the best shot. While it does come with filters, some of them enhance your photos in ways that Instagram could only dream of, plus you can add borders, effects and even share straight to your social network of choice. Even if you don’t need to make use of any of the effects or filters, the extra additions Camera+ adds to your phone’s snapper makes it a better pick than Apple’s own Camera app.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

iOS 7: Massive iPhone software revamp and iTunes Radio announced

 

Apple promised us iOS 7 would be on show at WWDC this week, and it made good on that pledge today, with CEO Tim Cook revealing the latest version of its iPhone software on stage at its opening keynote – it’s the biggest change to iOS, ever. Read on for the details.

You can’t miss it: the big news in iOS 7 is the all-new look. After six very samey visual iterations, iOS 7 sports a slick new lick of paint. Everything looks brand new, including a new slide-to-unlock, flat and redesigned icons, a new slide-up control panel, brand new fonts across the board and a whole different palette of colours. There’s a heavy use of translucency across the OS, and each icon has been redesigned from the ground up – it all looks very, very pretty.

The whole home screen interface responds to the phone’s movements with a sliding parallax background. As you move the device in your hand, it tracks your motion.

All the core apps have been redesigned too: gone is the wood and green felt from apps like Game Center, and that carries across the whole system from clocks to fonts and even the calculator. Mail has been given a facelift and includes a new gesture where you can swipe messages straight to the trash.

But it’s functional too – the Notification Center is now available on the lockscreen too, and there’s a handy new accompanying feature, Control Center, which packs easy to access toggles for your most used settings such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and orientation lock.

Multitasking too has been given a shake-up too, as iOS 7 lets you multitask with all your apps without a drop in your battery life, and your phone quietly makes use of your uptime to intelligently update apps in the background.

Apple is also taking on Instagram with its update to the camera app. There’s a couple of new options stacked next to the video and photo modes, including square and panoramic, the former which takes Instagram-style square photos while the latter lets you stitch together photos right on the fly. You can also organise your images by Moments, sorted by location, month or year.

Siri meanwhile gets a new look, and a few IQ points too: the internet assistant has been given an all-new facelift. You can tweak your settings across the phone right with Siri, as well as search Twitter and Wikipedia.

Lastly, there’s iTunes Radio, baked right into iOS 7, iTunes on PC and Mac, and Apple TV. Apple is touting the service as a whole new way to discover music, and it’s built right into the music app on your phone. Just like Pandora, it sports a bunch of featured stations, including what’s trending on Twitter, and once you’ve found a station you like, you can also share it with a friend or even start a new one based on that song – or even buy it, if you like. The service is ad-supported, but if you’re an iTunes Match subscriber, it’s completely free. It’s US only to start with, but heading elsewhere in the near future.

Want a taste of it? It’s available as a developer beta for iPhone today, with support for iPad on the way – it’ll work on every iPhone from the fourth generation on, and should be out later this year.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Why your business needs a mobile app

 

US military approves Android phones for soldiers

 

US service personnel will soon be using many different mobile gadgets

Samsung phones running a secure version of Android have been approved for use by the US Department of Defense.

The approval is the start of a process that will see many different types of mobile devices used by US soldiers.

Approval for other Android devices as well as Apple phones and tablets is expected in late May.

Before now, ailing phone maker Blackberry was the only firm whose products were approved for use by US service personnel.

Fast growth

The approval of Samsung phones was the first step of a strategy that would let soldiers use many different types of devices, both smartphones and tablets, during their tours of duty, said DoD spokesman Lt Col Damien Pickart.

The approval would not necessarily result in orders for gadgets, he said, but meant different groups within the DoD could now buy the devices most appropriate to their needs.

The US DoD has about 600,000 smartphone users, said Col Pickart, about 470,000 of whom were using Blackberry handsets. The remainder was split between people using both Google Android and Apple phones in a series of trials to assess whether the devices could be used securely.

According to one report on Federal News Radio, the approval of other handset makers is part of a US DoD plan to more than double the number of secure mobile devices used by its armed forces by 2014. Alongside this will be built a secure system to manage all these devices and their associated app stores. Commercial bids to provide this are currently being assessed.

Blackberry handsets dominate within the US military because, before now, it was the only make to meet the Department's stringent security demands.

Samsung phones were among the first to win approval because of work done on a hardened version of the Android operating system called Knox that also met those security requirements. Gadgets that run Apple's iOS 6 operating system as well as other Android phones are currently undergoing testing by the Defense Information Systems Agency and are expected to be approved by the end of the month.

At the same time Samsung won approval, Blackberry 10 smartphones and Playbook tablets were also ruled safe to use on military networks.

www.tell-me-first.com

Smart refrigerator runs apps for recipes

 

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Toronto - Refrigerators are getting smart. A new model released earlier this month runs apps to help users browse recipes, create shopping lists and manage the expiration dates of items like yogurt and milk.

The T9000 refrigerator by electronics company Samsung has a 10-inch Wi-Fi-enabled touchscreen and includes apps such as Epicurious for recipes and Evernote for note-taking.

“The fridge, because it's the hub of the family and the kitchen, is now another access point without having to drag around your tablet or have your phone with you in the vicinity of where you're cooking or entertaining,” said Warner Doell, a vice president in the home appliance division at Samsung Canada.

The display enables users to keep up with the news, weather and even Twitter from the fridge door. It can also replace hand-written calendars with Google Calendar integration, and run slideshows of photos, according to Doell.

Shopping lists can be created on the fridge with the Evernote app, which will sync to smartphones and recipes can be found at Epicurious.

“You can say, 'I have these ingredients in the fridge - what can I make?' and it will show you recipes that you can prepare,” said Doell.

For people who have trouble keeping track of expiration dates of food items, there's an app for that, too.

But with smartphones and tablets are already ubiquitous in homes, does the smart refrigerator offer more than novelty?

Doell said it does.

“I get asked a lot why do you need a screen on a refrigerator? And it's a good question because we're inundated with technology today,” said Doell.

The main reasons, he explained, are ease-of-use in managing settings, such as the refrigerators' temperature, and for convenience because consumers are demanding pervasive connectivity.

“This isn't only about today - it's about what will the next five to ten years look like,” he added.

The T9000 is geared towards the young-minded consumer who turns to technology for convenience, according to Doell.

Whether it's to control heating, air conditioning, lighting or window coverings, Doell said that apps for home automation will be increasingly penetrating the home.

“The technology is converging across all product categories. With appliances being the traditional staid industry, it has not been fast to adopt it,” said Doell, adding that Samsung plans to take a leadership role in the area.

The refrigerator runs the Android operating system, but it is not possible to install other Android apps. It will be available worldwide in the spring for a suggested retail price of $3,999.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Africa moves fast in to the new digital age

Africa Advancing Digitally

Easy App Business African Expansion

From London to Lagos. Easy App Business has set their sights on Africa after working after appointing a South African and Nigerian master franchise for their new mobile app business.

“A huge opportunity exists in Africa as an emerging digital market”, says the CEO of Easy App Business. Digital spend increased by 58% in 2012 and is expected to increase this year, most notably in the home and mobile sectors. Interestingly enough, although South Africa’s mobile internet penetration is 70%, its desktop internet penetration is only 11% compared to that of Nigeria where both mobile and desktop penetration are over 20%.”

 “There’s demand for digital services as countries like Ghana and Nigeria need to outsource work internationally because there aren’t many digital agencies with the skills to provide a specialised service locally.”

www.easyappsbusiness.com

BlackBerry 10: Ten apps RIM needs to survive by

 

BlackBerry 10 finally arrives at the end of the month, and with it an all-new app store. Reports are flying around this week that RIM is trying to dodge the bare shelves of Microsoft’s Windows Phone, with more than 15,000 apps submitted for sale in two days.

But while that figure is reassuring, not all apps are born equal. Here are the ones BlackBerry 10 needs to take off.

Google Maps

BlackBerry’s maps have always been awful, and as last year’s epic Apple Maps fail showed, they can make or break a smartphone. RIM will desperately need Google to port the class-leading digital A-Z to its new BlackBerry 10 blowers.

Chances: Google hasn’t confirmed anything yet, but Maps is one of the few current BlackBerry apps its offers. 7/10

Netflix

The world’s best movie streaming service would be a welcome addition to BlackBerry 10, though RIM has confirmed you’ll be able to buy and rent films through its own store.

Chances: Nothing official yet, but Netflix aims to be on everything, so don’t be surprised. 9/10

Spotify

Good news: at the very least, the top tune chucking service’s browser version will work on BlackBerry 10. Don’t hold your breath for an app designed for the small screen though.

Chances: Spotify took years to release a fully features BlackBerry app, so don’t expect anything different here 5/10

Angry Birds

Fancy flinging a few birds in between sending emails on your new BlackBerry 10 blower? Of course you do: one billion people can’t be wrong.

Chances: Rovio has a long history of bringing the world’s favourite mobile game to the neglected BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, so we’re sure BB10 will get some love. 9/10

Instagram

There’s a reason Facebook slapped a cool billion dollars down for the photo sharing network last year: its users love it, and the app would help BlackBerry 10 shake off its stuffy suit image.

Chances: Windows Phone fans have been left out in the cold for years so it seems unlikely. But with Facebook in charge, perhaps things will change. 3/10

WhatsApp

It’s BlackBerry Messenger, but not just with your BlackBerry toting-mates. WhatsApp is the SMS killer of choice for many, so we’d love to see it on a BlackBerry 10 phone with a QWERTY keyboard.

Chances: Don’t count on it. WhatsApp has already confirmed it won’t be supporting BlackBerry 10 1/10

Words With Friends

It’s not just action games we want to play: Zynga’s hit word game is a great way to pass the time, and we’re hopeful it’ll hit BlackBerry 10 at some point.

Chances: There’s no official word either way, but down on its luck Zynga could find success with a new platform. 5/10

8 Amazon Kindle

Amazon’s e-reading service works just as well on a mobile phone as its own e-readers, and is a great way to pass the time in between train stops.

Chances: Amazon makes a great effort to get its Kindle service everywhere – including current BlackBerrys. 8/10

9 Twitter

Facebook’s already been confirmed for BB10, but its rival is another matter. Twitter’s an essential on mobile, but given the social network’s bid to destroy third party apps in the last year, it may well be an official app or nothing for Blackberry 10 owners.

Chances: Rumours are rife that Twitter is built into BlackBerry 10, so expect some level of support. 7/10

10 Skype

The phone call service and instant messenger has come on leaps and bounds on mobile in the last year, and would be a perfect addition to Blackberry 10’s repertoire. Who doesn’t like free phone calls?

Chances: Skype hasn’t committed yet but with Microsoft now bankrolling it, wider support could be on the cards. 6/10

www.tell-me-first.com

Tech trends: The biggest gadget shake ups of 2012

Time flies, eh? Almost as quickly as the gadget industry moves. As we draw to the end of 2012, we take a look back at the biggest trends of the year, from phablets to touchscreens in the place you’d least expect.

The seven inch tablet comes of age

Seven inch tablets have been around for years, but they didn’t mature until this summer, when Asus unleashed the super fact, super value Nexus 7 on the world. Rivals were quick to follow, with Amazon unleashing the Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble the Nook HD. Even Apple weighed in with its 7.9-inch iPad mini. Make no mistake, this smaller, more portable sized tablet will soon become the standard for slates.

Android finds a size that fits

Apple’s arch rivals figured out something important not too long ago: not everyone likes the iPhone’s small screen size. So why compete? The likes of Samsung and HTC reacted with jumbo phones with screens measuring 4.7 inches across and beyond – and Samsung at least cleaned house with them. We’ve even seen the emergence of a new 5-inch-plus phablet category with the release of Samsung’s hotcake-selling Galaxy Note 2 – expect a slew of imitations to follow from everyone but Apple.

Laptops go touch

Windows 8 arrived in October, and with it a quiet revolution began: soon, you won’t be able to find a single decent new machine that doesn’t sport a touchscreen, from laptop to all-in-one. And why not? It’s just one extra way to interact, and with Windows 8’s huge, finger friendly icons, it’s a useful one too. Even Google is rumoured to be working on a touchscreen Chromebook running Chrome OS. How long before we see the same happen on Mac?

Voice recognition goes mainstream

The Siri voice assistant for iOS got a big update with iOS 6 this summer, bringing it to iPad and iPod touch, and adding some smart new commands. But it wasn’t alone. Google unleashed its new Google Now service in the summer that comes built into every Android 4.1 device: its voice recognition skills are phenomenally accurate and fast (and now also available on iPhone for those who are interested). As we move into 2013, expect voice to become one of the core inputs for tablets and phones.

Filters everywhere

Image sharing network Instagram struck gold this year – literally – when Facebook acquired it in a billion dollar deal in spring. The service, which specialises in providing retro image filters to tart up your camera phone snaps, passed the 100 million user mark, and soon attracted some stuff competition, when Twitter introduced image filters of its own to its mobile apps. Will it be enough? Time will tell.

www.tell-me-first.com

Free apps for all! Apple’s 12 Days of Christmas hits iOS

Apple’s much loved 12 Days of Christmas app has once again touched down on the iTunes App Store, bringing surprise freebies to iOS users every day throughout Advent. The application itself is free from the App Store, and features an array of songs, music videos, apps, books and TV episodes that are all available onwards from Boxing Day. Each download is only available for 24 hours, so keep an eye on the notifications that pop up and claim your first free download on 26 December. Perfect for those who get a brand new iPhone, iPad or iPod touch this Christmas www.tell-me-first.com

Christmas 2012: The best compact cameras with secret skills!

We’re just a few short weeks away from Christmas, but don’t worry if you haven’t done all the shopping yet: our handy guides are here to help you pick out the perfect gadget. Today, we’re not just looking at compact cameras: we’re looking at the pocket snappers with hidden skills that are bound to surprise your loved ones. Read on to find out what they are.  Submarine skills It may be getting on three years now, but the Canon PowerShot D10 is still going strong. This waterproof camera can survive at depths under ten metres, and doesn’t need any extra (expensive) housing to use in the blue. And the shots from its 12.1 megapixel sensor are still very respectable indeed. You can now pick one up online for round £210, a big discount on the original RRP of £319.  Instant Instagram skills You could just get the amateur snapper in your family a regular compact – or you could get them one that serves up shots, instantly, old school style. The Polaroid Z2300 does just that, spitting out an instant pic of your family gathering under the tree in a matter of seconds. It’s like Instagram, in real life. Not bad for £150.  Swappable camera lenses From a distance, it looks like a compact camera, but the Nikon 1 J2 is something much smarter. For one, you can swap out the lenses like a bigger, heftier DSLR, meaning pros can use whatever glass they need for the situation they’re shooting in. Of course, it costs a lot more too, with prices starting at £422.99 with a 10-30mm lens kit – but what price do you put on happiness?  Mobile apps The Samsung Galaxy Camera sounds like your regular 16 megapixel caompact snapper, but for £389, you get something much more. This camera runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, just like your phone, meaning you can shoot and share your pics over Wi-Fi or 3G, or even just play Angry Birds Star Wars if you’re bored. It gives new meaning to the phrase “camera phone”.  Video editing on the go There’s a clever little wrist strap on the 2012 iPod touch, and with good reason: its five megapixel sensor really does mean it can pull double duty as a compact camera. Stills are decent, but it’s as a pocket camcorder that the new iPod touch really stands out: you can use iMovie to edit your HD movies on the go, and upload them straight to YouTube over Wi-Fi, something most compacts cannot. 

www.tell-me-first.com

Samsung's Galaxy S3 beats Apple's iPhone in Q3 sales

 

Samsung Galaxy S3's best-selling position is likely to be short-lived

South Korean electronics firm Samsung's Galaxy S3 has outsold Apple's iPhone 4S for the first time, becoming the world's best-selling smartphone, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

Samsung sold 18 million models, compared with Apple's 16.2 million sales, in the third quarter of 2012.

The Galaxy S3 "has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston.

However, Apple's new iPhone 5 is widely expected to reclaim the top sales spot.

Strong Galaxy smartphone sales helped Samsung report record profits in the three months to September. Net profit was 6.5tn won ($5.9bn; £3.7bn), up 91% from a year earlier.

But analysts say that one reason Samsung's phone was able to wrest the top sales spot from Apple's iPhone 4 was because many customers were waiting for the iPhone 5, which was launched during the third quarter.

The Apple iPhone 5 has already got off to a solid start and "we expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung's Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter", said Neil Mawston.

"Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world's most popular smartphone model," he added.

Legal struggle

Samsung and its rival Apple have been locked in a series of ongoing legal battles over patent infringement claims in various countries.

In October, sales bans in the US on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer were lifted, in a blow to Apple.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, a US court awarded Apple $1.05bn (£652m) in damages, after ruling several of its software and design technologies had been infringed by Samsung.

Samsung has challenged that verdict and called for a retrial.

Analysts say that given the tremendous growth potential of the sector, the two firms' legal battle is likely to continue.

Samsung to fix Galaxy S3 search function removal mistake

 

 

Samsung has admitted it made a mistake in releasing a software update that removed a search function from international versions of its flagship smartphone.

The "stability update" disabled the Galaxy S3's ability to search the web, contacts, apps and other on-device material through a single interface.

The move had been thought to be linked to Apple's claim that the innovation infringed one of its US patents.

Samsung said a fix was imminent.

"The most recent software upgrade for the Galaxy S3 in the UK included the inadvertent removal of the universal search function," it said in a statement.

"Samsung will provide the correct software upgrade within the next few days."

Patent dispute

Users who downloaded the update had not been warned that it would remove the advanced search function when the software was installed on GT-i9300 (S3) models available in the UK and other places outside the US.

It appears the firm meant only to prevent some US models from being able to use a Google-powered search tool to show information sourced from within the phone's memory in its results.

Apple has claimed the technology infringed its patent to a unified search interface which it uses in its Siri app to collate results from a range of sources.

The iPhone maker has launched a lawsuit over the matter in the US and had briefly secured a sales ban of another Samsung handset - the Galaxy Nexus - on the basis that the inclusion of the feature threatened "irreparable harm".

A Washington-based court will review the case on 20 August.

Apple's Ridiculous Patent

 

Apple's Ridiculous Patent

As if you needed more evidence that the US patent system is broken Apple has just been awarded one of the most ridiculous patents ever. The title? “Method for providing human input to a computer”

Here’s the Abstract from the filing:

The invention provides a method for providing human input to a computer which allows a user to interact with a display connected to the computer. The method includes the steps of placing a first target on a first portion of the user’s body, using an electro-optical sensing means, sensing data related to the location of the first target and data related to the location of a second portion of the user’s body, the first and second portions of the user’s body being movable relative to each other, providing an output of the electro-optical sensing means to the input of the computer, determining the location of the first target and the location of the second portion of the user’s body, and varying the output of the computer to the display based upon the determined locations for contemporaneous viewing by the user.

It gets better; the patent claims …

1. The invention can provide a 3, 4, and 5 dimensional touch screen or graphics tablet. In other words, the x,y location of the touch, the force or depth of the touch, and the vector direction of the touch (2 angles).

Of course, there’s no actual demonstration of this “5D” system and like so many modern patents this one amounts to a hand-waving (literally) exercise more along the lines of “what if” than anything concrete. Those issues aside, where’s the novelty?

I wonder how this patent will stand up to challenges and, should Apple try to exert what has become its intellectual property, how well might they fare in court?

it’s a mad mad mad mad world and getting madder

Skype for PS Vita brings in-game video calls!

 

Following its arrival on the Windows Phone Marketplace, Skype has now landed on the PS Vita as a free app letting owners make and receive video and voice calls over 3G and Wi-Fi connections even during gameplay. 


Skype for PS Vita works using the PS Vita’s on-board microphone and cameras to make video calls possible. The feature owners can most look forward to is the exciting and very useful new ‘background’ mode.

During gameplay the mode lets you take Skype calls even during gameplay by pressing the PS button on the console. A pop-up notification alerts gamers when a call is coming in so that you won’t miss a call, and can easily chat about the games you’re playing with fellow PS Vita-owning Skype buddies.

Skype promises to it will continue updating and upgrading the app after its arrival, to deliver forth new features in future. 


“A lot of account functionality is not yet enabled,” Manrique Brenes, senior director, consumer electronics group at Skype told games site Polygon. “We will continue to enable features,” Brenes says, adding that Skype plans to introduce the service to as many platforms as possible.

“With the launch of Skype for PS Vita, we are taking another step towards our ultimate goal of making Skype video calling available on every platform, all over the world, and meeting the demands of existing PlayStation users to offer video on a gaming console.”

Skype for PS Vita is available for free right now. Simply head to the playStation Store to download the app that pretty much turns the PS Vita into the closest thing to a new PlayStation Phone. Have you tried it yet? Let us know what you think so far.

Free mobile apps 'drain battery faster'

 

Free mobile apps which use third-party services to display advertising consume considerably more battery life, a new study suggests.

Researchers used a special tool to monitor energy use by several apps on Android and Windows Mobile handsets. Findings suggested that in one case 75% of an app's energy consumption was spent on powering advertisements. Report author Abhinav Pathak said app makers must take energy optimisation more seriously. Free applications typically have built-in advertisements so developers can make money without having to charge for the initial app download.

Mr Pathak said that developers should perhaps think twice when utilising third-party advertising and analytics services in their app.

 

“Start Quote

It seeps up the energy”

End Quote Chris McClelland App developer

The research, produced by at team at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, looked at popular apps such as Angry Birds and Facebook. Due to restrictions built into Apple's mobile operating system, the team was unable to run tests on the iPhone. In the case of Angry Birds, research suggested that only 20% of the total energy consumption was used to actually play the game itself. Of the rest, 45% is used finding out your location with which it can serve targeted advertising.

'3G tail'

The tests were carried out by running the app over a 3G connection. The results noted that many apps leave connections open for up to 10 seconds after downloading information. In Angry Birds, that brief period - described by researchers as a "3G tail" - accounted for over a quarter of the app's total energy consumption.

Chris McClelland, director of Belfast-based app developer Ecliptic Labs, said he was not surprised by the findings.

"Advertising needs to connect to the server and send information about location," he explained .

"That just takes up so much battery. It seeps up the energy."

He said such practices were largely unavoidable if users wanted to enjoy free, ad-supported games and applications.

However, he said developers should give more consideration to energy consumption when building in new features.

Top 5 Apple iPhone apps to save and make you cash

 

Top 5 Apple iPhone apps to save and make you cash

 

In the run up to the holiday season when costs often run higher than earnings, it often pays to play a little clever and a little savvie with your wallet. Here we look at the top five apps for your iPhone that not only save you money but also give you the chance to make a little more!

Thanks to the wonders of super-fast 3G smartphones there are now more ways to save on the move by downloading free applications to help you save money and locate the best offers. Here are five iPhone apps to help save cash, and even make some yourself.

Appsmart

Appsmart is a clever app in that it helps you locate even more useful apps at lower prices. Once downloaded, Appsmart will alert users to any new apps on your want list drop in price. Users can discover these either by diving into Appsmart, or activating the push notifications alerting you to apps that are temporarily free, saving you money on that £6 game you’ve had eyes on. It may not sound like much now, but over time the savings add up to more than a bit of loose change.

eBay for iPhone

Whether you’re buying that gift you can’t get anywhere else or selling your unwanted tech, eBay is great for saving money and making a quick pound or two. eBay for iPhone makes maintaining auctions easy on the go. Menus display notifications on those watching, bidding and enquiring about your items. Search for bargains is also made simple by browsing the latest lists by category. A saved searches feature lets you revisit items for later without having to make a note of them. With thousands of users selling, you’re sure to save money on a hidden Christmas bargain not to be found on the high street.

musicMagpie

musicMagpie is aimed at those hoping to free up space and make some cash while doing so by selling old unwanted CDs, DVDs and games. The app makes it easier to sell your old stuff by scanning barcodes of items using your iPhone. Users simply register on the app, scan the items, and receiver an instant offer for their goods. A free courier service will pick the items up. Making money from your old stuff couldn’t be easier.

Quidco


Quidco is a moneysaving app with a difference where users actually make money by checking into shops. Quidco helps you to discover deals on the go. A Nearby Deals feature displays the nearest shops and amenities promoting the latest wallet-rescuing offers including the latest 2 for 1 restaurant deals. Some will reward you with cash once you check in. So for example you’ll receive around 25p for checking in to Debenhams, or Carphone Warehouse. By the end of a hard days Christmas shopping you’ll at least have enough to afford a much needed snack afterwards.

Voucher Codes

Voucher Codes is a formidable tool in any iPhone owners moneysaving armoury. The free to download and use app is updated daily with the latest vouchers, many of which cannot be found anywhere else for offers on tech, food, games, clothing and plenty more. And because it’s update regularly, you’ll always spot something new to save money on.