mobile apps

Software and services aren't the main attraction at CES 2011, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of innovation at the show for the coming year. Of course, we won't know exactly what that innovation will be until we get there, but you can bet we have some ideas about it. Most notably, we'll be seeing even more of a shift from the computer to mobile devices, with companies aiming to keep you connected and entertained on the go.

The cloud expands

Mobile devices are great for both business and pleasure. There's just … Read more

If you like Yelp, but you're after much more granular information on food and drink, then Spork is just what what you need to fulfill your craving. This iPhone app (and its companion Web site) lets you simply enter a food or drink item and then populates a list of options nearby, many of them with ratings and comments by other Spork users to help you determine which restaurant has the best al pastor taco or cupcake (for example). You can also rate and recommend dishes yourself as well as add them to a "to do" list, … Read more

eBay said yesterday that it has bought Critical Path Software, a mobile-app developer that had already been working with the auction site for the past couple of years.

Helping to design several eBay mobile apps, Portland, Ore.-based Critical Path has partnered with eBay's mobile group to create eBay for the iPhone and eBay Classifieds. Critical Path and eBay also teamed up to develop StubHub, a ticket-buying app, and Shopping.com, a shopping comparison app.

The acquisition is part of eBay's move to focus even further on the growing mobile market. The auction site has also been busy … Read more

Anyone can now be an Android app designer.

Google's App Inventor, which was previously available to people only on request, is now free for anyone who wants to create their own Android smartphone apps. Part of the Google Labs playground, App Inventor offers you a programming environment to create those apps but doesn't require that you have any programming skills.

By following online tutorials and visually building an app step by step, early adopters of App Inventor have already been able to create some clever programs, according to a Google blog, including vocabulary apps for kids, a bus … Read more

If you think mobile applications are popular now, a new report predicts you haven't seen anything yet.

This year, consumers worldwide will have downloaded 10.9 billion mobile apps, according to a report from IDC released today. But that figure will pale in comparison to how many apps users download in 2014.

By that time, IDC believes 76.9 billion mobile apps will be downloaded in a single year. Given that popularity, IDC said that mobile-app revenue around the world could surpass $35 billion in 2014, up from an estimated $4.9 billion this year.

Going forward, IDC said … Read more

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice … Read more

Those of you ready to shop for the holidays now have a new tool to find the best prices.

Available today in Apple's App Store, Amazon's new and free Price Check for the iPhone tries to find the best deals on items among both online and offline retailers. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users shopping at their favorite outlets can compare prices on the shelves against those at other stores as well as at Amazon and other online vendors.

You'll find a variety of ways to get the app to recognize an item. You can take a picture of the product's bar code. You can snap a photo of a book, DVD, CD, or video game. You can speak the name of the product. If all else fails, you can simply type the name of the item into the app's search field.

Amazon then matches the product's photo or description with the same item already in its database and provides a list of vendors and their respective prices. Price Check even offers details on the item and reviews from other Amazon users.

If you find an item and a price you like, you can buy the item directly through the app, whether it's sold by Amazon or by another retailer through Amazon. You can share prices on your favorite items through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter as a not-so-subtle holiday wish list for friends and family.… Read more

Nokia's Ovi Store has officially hit 3 million downloads per day.

The Finnish mobile phone maker attributed the new milestone to higher global demand for its apps and new smartphones sporting the more user-friendly Symbian 3 operating system.

In late September, Nokia began shipping its N8 smartphone, its first to run under Symbian 3, followed a couple of weeks later by the second Symbian 3 phone, the C7. The new version of Symbian has brought with it a greater variety of new apps in the Ovi Store.

Nokia has also been working hard to lure in more developers. In … Read more

Sling Media's SlingPlayer Mobile app is available to Windows Phone 7 owners, the company announced yesterday.

The company latest app retails for $29.99 in the Windows Marketplace. Once downloaded, users can connect the program to their Slingbox Solo or Slingbox Pro-HD and watch television programming from home on their handset. Users can change channels and watch recorded shows within the app. The service works on both 3G and Wi-Fi, Sling Media said.

The Windows Phone 7 app joins the company's iPhone and Android apps, which provide the same functionality as its latest release. Those two versions also … Read more