Mobile-app developers still cite the iPhone as their platform of choice, but Android is increasingly winning their hearts and minds, according to the results of a survey released today by Millennial Media.
Among the several hundred developers and publishers polled for Millennial Media's "State of the Apps Industry Snapshot," 30 percent said they're currently creating apps for the iPhone, the highest percentage of all mobile platforms. Though Apple's smartphone grabbed the top spot, its popularity is down a bit from last December, when 48 percent of those polled were eyeing the iPhone as their platform … Read more
We have to hand it to Mozilla: its mobile team has recently been hauling out tweaks and updates to its mobile Firefox browser for Android and (two) Nokia Maemo devices.
Mozilla unveiled the hotly anticipated Firefox for Android app (called Firefox 4 beta) early last month. It was a good first effort, but we balked at the beta software's huge installer, slower performance, and scrolling inefficiencies. We weren't the only ones, and Mozilla has gone to lengths to redesign its app in this second attempt.
Android-like interface Although we'll get around to the back-end changes, what really stands out is the app's visual overhaul on its default start screen. The design has remained static for so long, since its early days as the Fennec alpha for Nokia's Maemo platform in fact, that we can't help but blink.
The app, as viewed on a Droid Incredible Android phone, still retains the "Awesomebar" up top, but now opens with an all-new start page that carries a similar look and feel as other Firefox pages online. There's space to show previously visited tabs, promoted add-ons, and tabs from your other computers, assuming you use Firefox Sync. The start screen will henceforth be your first browser tab by default, though you can change this in the settings.
You'll also notice that pages are now organized differently to provide combined or separate access to your bookmarks, browsing history, and synced computer tabs. Mozilla has also added favicons, small icons that can help you visually identify a URL by a thumbnail representation of its site logo. The multiple search engines (like Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, and Twitter) have moved from the bottom of the interface into the search bar; you'll be able to switch among them after you start typing a query.
In addition to all we've mentioned above, the Firefox mobile team has polished up the design to make it better fit in with the Android look and feel. That means reshaped toolbar buttons, bubbly pop-ups, and reworked context menus.… Read more
Google Instant has made its way to the mobile phone--at least two of them.
Google searchers in the U.S. using the iPhone and Android phones will start seeing Google Instant show up on their devices over the course of today, Google said in a blog post. It's a beta release, meaning Google doesn't want you to get mad at them if it doesn't work exactly right, and unlike the desktop version, you have to turn it on in order to see results as you type. It only works at Google.com in your mobile browser, but … Read more
PALO ALTO, CA--Let's get it over with. There is no Facebook phone. Mark Zuckerberg made that abundantly clear with a firm denial at a Facebook mobile event today at company headquarters in Palo Alto. But Facebook did announce a single sign-on.
Single sign-on is roughly an extension of (and replacement for) services like Facebook Connect, connecting you to third-party social apps and services. If you're already logged on to Facebook on your mobile phone, you'll be able to sign in to other apps using your Facebook credentials.
Groupon's Mihir Shah, vice president and general manager of … Read more
PALO ALTO, Calif.--Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today may have disappointed some people who were hoping to see Facebook release a phone. "There are rumors out there that Facebook is building a phone," Zuckerberg said this morning at the company's mobile event at its headquarters. "No."
However, Android and iPhone users will have something to look forward to. In addition to announcing platform changes, Zuckerberg shared some updates to Facebook for iPhone and Android. The iPhone app will be receiving Facebook Groups, which recently made its debut on the social network. Facebook Places, its listing … Read more
It may be hard to believe that it's already November, but the 2010 holiday shopping season is just about upon us. With that in mind, Iron Horse Interactive has launched Giftmeister, an online social shopping tool that should be of particular interest to CNET readers.
Rather than focusing on just any old gifts, Giftmeister aims to help users find, purchase, and give tech products. The service offers a catalog of more than 225,000 gadgets, with live pricing from both online and brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Best Buy and Target. The tool also caters to shoppers on-the-fly with a … Read more
We're all familiar with Yelp, Google, and Bing as go-to mobile apps for searching out restaurants, movies, and gas stations. Here's Poynt, another undersung app that squeezes the same operation into an equally-compelling package.
It's been awhile since we last took a look and it's high time we revisited the perfectly respectable app for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry smartphones.
Accompanying the My Book Live that Western Digital introduced last month came an iPhone app that enables access to photos stored on the NAS server. The app's interface functions similarly to the way iPhone users normally access their photo libraries.
This was already by far the coolest remote access offering from Western Digital, but today the company expanded it feature to Android-based smartphones with the release of the WD Photos Viewer app for Android.
Similar to the iPhone app, the Android app enables you to view all the photos stored on your WD home NAS servers, including the My Book Live, My Book World Edition, and WD ShareSpace, from anywhere in the world as long as the phone has an Internet connection.
In order for sharing to work, apart from just having the app, you will also need to activate the NAS server's MioNet remote access feature, which is a quick and easy process. The WD Photos Photo Viewer Droid app's features include:… Read more
After receiving the Froyo upgrade, some users noticed issues including the disappearance of the Android Market from the Droid X's list of available programs, a glitch that left those affected unable to download new applications. Unlike the BlackBerry App World software, the Android Market is built into the operating system--you can't download it separately from Google's Web site.
Disgruntled Droid X owners have spoken out in forums operated by Motorola and Google, in addition to other online outlets for enthusiasts, including CNET.
For now, Motorola, Google, and Verizon (the Droid X's U.S. carrier) providing neither a substantial technical explanation of the update problems, nor a specific fix for the Droid X. Motorola and Google have said they're cooperating on a fix.
A Google spokesperson told CNET today that "Motorola and Verizon are working with Google to resolve the issue and restore access to [the] Android Market on all affected devices." Motorola added that "any modifications in the upgrade plans for our products as a result of this will be communicated at a later date."
Google, however, didn't respond to our inquiry about what specifically unseated the Android Market, nor other details about the application storefront in relation to the Android source code.… Read more
Just in time for the midterm elections, app developer Handmark has launched two new political news apps, one aimed at liberals and the other at conservatives. PolitiCaster Left and Politicaster Right popped up in the Android Marketplace today and can be downloaded for free as both are ad-supported.
Each app compiles national and local political news from hundreds of sources in a single, tabbed interface, offering content customized for the opposing viewpoints. As the names suggest, PolitiCaster Left pulls a feed from liberal sites and blogs, such as Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Think Progress. Similarly, PolitiCaster Right features commentary … Read more
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