apps

SAN FRANCISCO--What Google did with Gmail in conventional browsers five years ago it is expecting to do again with a new mobile version of its Web-based e-mail service.

Vic Gundotra, who leads Google's mobile software and developer relations efforts, showed off the Web application "technical prototype" Friday in an onstage interview here at the Web 2.0 Expo. Google offers Gmail applications that run natively on BlackBerry and Android mobile phones, but the company clearly has high hopes for a Web-based version as well.

Building a Web interface means Google can reach more phones more easily, Gundotra … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It seems there are going to be as many ways to run a mobile application store as there are stores themselves.

One of the big topics this week at CTIA 2009 has been mobile applications, as Research in Motion unveiled BlackBerry App World and Microsoft talked about its forthcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The dam has truly broken with mobile applications; for years, most consumers seemed indifferent to third-party applications, but now they are viewed as an essential part of any smartphone, just like they are on a PC or Mac.

Most of the credit for that trend has … Read more

A full five percent of reviews site Yelp's traffic comes from its downloadable iPhone app, the company said Thursday. In response, it's revamping the iPhone app, originally launched last year, to add new features that place a fresh emphasis on location awareness. The new download will be available in the iTunes App Store in a few days.

The most significant upgrades are the ability to post 140-character (read: Twitter-length) "quick tips" from the iPhone, a wholly new feature, which other members can give a Digg-like thumbs-up to. Popular ones may eventually be displayed on that business' … Read more

The CTIA 2009 wireless show is well under way in Las Vegas, and it's bringing all sorts of announcements from the mobile world. CNET News reporter Tom Krazit calls in to talk about what's going on.

That, and more of the day's headlines, in Thursday's CNET News Daily Podcast.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Google maps draw a line in sand for clean energy

IBM plugs sensors in for shipping, power grid

Report: IBM cuts price on Sun deal

Qwest looking to unload long-distance business?

Twitter touts search tweaks

Cloud Security Alliance set to launch at RSA… Read more

Sling Media has announced that the first few models of the Slingbox won't work with new Sling software, including the much-anticipated SlingPlayer for iPhone.

The company, which is now owned by EchoStar, informed Slingbox owners on the Sling Media Web site Wednesday, saying that owners of the original Slingbox, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox Tuner were encouraged to upgrade to either a Slingbox Pro, Slingbox Pro-HD, or Slingbox Solo and that the company would offer those owning discontinued boxes a $50 discount to upgrade. (The Solo is the entry-level product and costs $180).

The reason? Because "software like SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone … Read more

For those wondering about Microsoft exec Stephen Elop's suggestions that Office is coming to the iPhone, let me be unequivocal. It is.

How do I know? Microsoft has already said so. The software maker is planning over the coming months to introduce Web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Those programs will run not only in Internet Explorer, but also in Safari and Firefox. And, lest there be any ambiguity, Microsoft has already confirmed that this means Office for iPhone and Office for Linux.

Don't get me wrong. Those are both big deals--particularly Office for Linux (think … Read more

Can't get enough of Audi's Truth in 24 documentary? Want to get in on the 24 Hours of LeMans endurance racing action during your commute to work? Well, if you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you're in luck!

Audi has released a Truth in 24 game in the iTunes App Store. The game puts you in the driver's seat of one of Audi's LeMans racers as you compete in 10-minute endurance race. Drivers must keep a close eye on fuel and tires as they race toward the finish line.

As racing sims go, Truth … Read more

Research In Motion opens its BlackBerry app store, including one app that brings full-length TV shows to the BlackBerry Bold; YouTube pulls music videos of the major music labels off its Germany site; and a Hitachi exec is indicted in LCD price-fixing scheme. Get those, and the rest of the day's top stories, in today's podcast.

Today's stories:

BlackBerry App World has landed

TV coming to the BlackBerry

YouTube now pulls music videos out of Germany

Hitachi exec indicted in LCD price-fixing scheme

Green-tech investment dollars plummet

All quiet on the Conficker front. Now what?… Read more