Mobile software

VoIP provider Viber has hit a new milestone.

The company announced today that it now has 100 million worldwide users taking advantage of its free phone calls, texting, and photo-messaging services. It's not clear if those users are actively using the service or have just signed up. Still, the company claims to handle over 2 billion minutes of calls and 6 billion messages every month. An average of 10 million calls are placed each day.

Viber has established itself as a true competitor to Skype, the popular VoIP service now owned by Microsoft. Viber works across iOS, Android, and … Read more

Mobile users are increasingly downloading free apps, a new study from research firm Gartner has found.

The company announced today that 45.6 billion apps will be downloaded worldwide in 2012. Out of that, a whopping 89 percent, or 40.6 billion, will be free apps. The remaining 5 billion will be downloaded after users purchase them.

Last year, free apps accounted for 88.4 percent of all downloads. Last year's total download tally hit only 25 billion.

When users actually download paid apps, they're largely unwilling to pay a significant sum. In fact, Gartner research director Sandy … Read more

Alibaba, China's top e-commerce company, has Android firmly in its sights.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday, Alibaba Chief Strategy Officer Zeng Ming said his company hopes to be "as strong as Android in China" with its own mobile operating system, Aliyun. In order to achieve that, however, Zeng needs some help from vendors.

Luckily for Alibaba, Zeng says that the company has added "quite a few [new handset partners]." However, he wouldn't say which companies have signed deals to use Aliyun.

Alibaba launched its Aliyun operating system last summer. … Read more

Depending on which version of Android you're running, there might be a Bugdroid or gender-neutral silhouette that appears for each contact that is missing a custom photo. While seeing these instead of a contact's photo isn't too big of a deal, it's always nice to see the faces of your family and friends that are calling you. This is especially useful if you're at a location where the volume of your device needs to be turned off and you can see who is calling with just a quick glance.

While this method is a bit … Read more

South Korea's competition watchdog is launching an investigation into Samsung's practices.

The country's Fair Trade Commission today announced that it would investigate the ways in which Samsung is using its wireless technology patents to address competition in the marketplace. Reuters, first to report the news, said an FTC official claimed Apple filed the complaints against Samsung earlier this year, arguing that Samsung is using its patents to hurt competition.

There is certainly no love lost between Apple and Samsung. The companies are waging patent disputes worldwide, and last month Apple won a major victory in San Jose, … Read more

Run a quick search for "notepad" on Google Play, and you'll see that there are at least 1,000 apps claiming to fit the bill. The good news is, we've taken the time to show you a few notepads that are absolute must-haves, especially for students just getting back into the groove of school.

Evernote (free) These days, the all-powerful Evernote feels more like a platform than a single, independent app. It has a full menu of companion downloads like Skitch, Evernote Food, and Evernote Hello available, and tons of developers are racing to integrate its … Read more

Matching the colors on larger items you can't tote into stores or around town can sometimes be difficult -- especially when it's something like your walls or furnishings. If you love color matching and coordination, then SwatchMatic is the app for you.

All you need to get started is an Android device with a camera and a copy of the SwatchMatic app. Once installed, simply point the app at an object to start matching the color. When you see a color tab in the wheel that looks like an exact match, or at least something close, tap … Read more

New images have hit the Internet and purport to show what could be the design for Mozilla's upcoming Firefox OS Marketplace.

Engadget published photos yesterday of what it claims is the app store for Firefox's mobile operating system. The images show a small listing of apps, including Solitaire and Word Wars. Several app categories are listed, including business, games, and books and reference.

According to Engadget, once users click on an application to get details, they'll find a rating and the option to submit a review to the community.

Mozilla gave Firefox OS its name back in July. … Read more

Previously available only on the iPhone, Via.Me today makes its way onto the Android platform. While it may seem like just another silly social network joining an already jostling crowd, Via.Me's strongest selling point is the ease with which you can use it to post pictures, videos, and even audio clips to Facebook and Twitter, all from a single interface.

To get started, first sign into Via.Me using your Facebook or Twitter account. From there, it will connect you to your friends who are also on Via.Me. Then, just as on Facebook or Twitter, you … Read more