mobile apps

On the 10th of July 2008, the mobile phone landscape was altered forever with the launch of Apple's App Store. Hip, funny, useful software applications quickly became one of the prime reasons for choosing a handset and an operating system and a brand new commercial economy was born. Companies gave developers the tools they needed to create apps, and soon a vibrant software application ecosystem grew across the various mobile platforms. The symbiotic relationship between handset maker and developer created a ...

In an age of juggernaut smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android-powered devices, Research In Motion’s (RIM) relatively fledgling foray into the mainstream consumer market sees them still battling for consumer mindshare as a general purpose smartphone maker. With that said, RIM's long-time darling smartphone of the business world, the Blackberry, has come a long way since its conservative suit-and-tie beginnings. With consumer-oriented advertising, user interface improvements, touch screen - and budget devices, RIM are clearly making a push for the ...

Following the launch of CNN’s app for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the United States last year, the news giant has announced the availability of the international version on the App Store.  Available free of charge to users outside of the USA, the international version of the CNN App is purpose-built and designed to provide a visually-driven news experience for iPhone and iPod touch users. “CNN’s new app will offer our international audience a fantastic mobile experience for iPhone and iPod touch, ...

The next few months could see Foursquare going into partnership with either Google, Yahoo or Microsoft as they seek to assert their dominance over the emerging trend of location-based social networking. In an interview with The Telegraph, CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley revealed his vision of a "search partnership which could let people look up the most popular bar or restaurant in their area in real time." The deal would be reminiscent of Twitter's move into the mainstream when it made deals ...

Cell C, in conjunction with BeeTagg Pro, have announced a major push into usingQuick Response (QR) technology with a new service dubbed Cell C Photocode. With PhotoCode, users can take a photo of a QR code using their mobile phones, which then opens a link to further information stored in the QR code. According to Cell C CEO Lars Reichert, this new technology "enables inanimate matter to come to life". QR codes, according to Wikipedia, are most commonly used to "store addresses ...

With the move of computing power away from the desktop to cellphones and other mobile devices, computing is becoming increasingly intimate and integrated into daily life. In his latest book, "Mobile Mania", Simon Silvester (EVP Head of Planning at Young and Rubicam and Executive Planning Director, Wunderman Europe Middle East and Africa), argues that computings’ new intimacy, driving as it does aspects of our social, shopping, travel and personal communication, offers amazing opportunities for mobile app developers and entrepreneurs. Memeburn.com ...

A Dutch mobile development company has shot to fame (or notoriety depending on your point of view) for building a Vuvuzela iPhone app that has quickly become the number one downloaded app in many parts of the world. Love them or hate them -- everyone will agree that the Vuvuzela has made the FIFA World Cup in South Africa the loudest in the tournament's history. Everyone has caught onto the Vuvu bandwagon, and sales around the world are skyrocketing. In the ...

When it comes to internet useage via mobile devices, applications far outpace browsing, even though both types of activity are available on almost two-thirds of the phones used by urban cellular users, reveals a new study. The study, "Mobile Internet in South Africa 2010" by respected research firm World Wide Worx, shows that usage of specific applications like Facebook Mobile and mobile instant messaging (IM) client MXit are used more than accessing the web via the phone's browser, also known ...

With the FIFA 2010 World Cup around the corner, I decided to take a look at a couple of the iPhone apps on offer for our international visitors. Browsing through the iTunes app store I came across a few really fantastic apps on the one hand and a few, um... shall we say, interesting apps on the other hand. 
 
When judging the apps, I looked mostly at functionality, how they promote our beautiful country, and how they assist visitors with World ...

A Swiss-based telecommunications company, TelFree, has made ripples recently with the launch of an innovative Skype-like VOIP service developed right here in our very own back yard. The company has now released a new iPhone application of its offering, available for download in the iTunes App Store. The application's biggest innovation is that it features "push-call technology", making it possible for users to receive calls and messages even though the application isn't actively running on the device, or has even been signed ...