Mobile Archives - Page 2 of 86

UberEATS expands to five more Cape Town suburbs
By Andy Walker: Editor on 9 February, 2017
UberEATS, after launching in Cape Town's central business district and surrounds in late January, has now announced its expansion into the city's Southern Suburbs. Initially serving only the Atlantic Seaboard, the city centre and the city's eastern edge, the company will today expand into five new suburbs. Newlands, Rondebosch, Claremont, Bishopscourt and Mowbray will now be serviced by UberEATS, the company revealed in a newsletter. This is obviously a welcome move for both Uber and its potential customers in this area, as it can also now be regarded as a Mr D Food and OrderIn competitor. Mr D Food, which also relaunched in...
YouTube mobile livestreaming coming to your phone ‘soon’
By Andy Walker: Editor on 8 February, 2017
Following in Facebook and Twitter's stead, Google's video behemoth YouTube has announced that it has begun rolling out mobile livestreaming to select creators. It's a big move for the company, which hasn't really focused on the mobile broadcasting space, a space in which it's constantly losing ground to the likes of Facebook Live and Twitter's Periscope. The company notes that YouTube mobile livestreaming will be built into the mobile app itself, negating the need to install two different apps. An in-app capture button will be used to kick off the livestreaming process. YouTube notes that these livestreamed clips will also have the "same...
UberEATS review: an amuse-bouche, or complete flop?
By Andy Walker: Editor on 6 February, 2017
When I was younger, my parents would resist ordering in food unless it was a very special occasion. Nowadays, it seems that everyone in Cape Town does it at least once a week. And you know what, that's okay. The main problem with ordering in though, are the ordering systems themselves. UberEATS wants to simplify both the ordering and delivering process from places that don't have these structures in place. That means you can now grab grub from your favourite Cape Town pub, or late-night haunt without visiting them personally. But while it's great to see companies like Uber experiment with food...
UberEATS Cape Town: 4 things you should know
By Hadlee Simons on 27 January, 2017
UberEATS launched in Cape Town on Thursday, bringing another food delivery service to the city. The service hopes to service a "foodie" niche by teaming up with trendy eateries and restaurants to offer food delivery. At R20 for delivery (there's no minimum spend either, the firm claims), it seems rather reasonably priced, but what else should you know about the service? Here are a few things to keep in mind. Supported areas The service is currently available in the CBD, Atlantic Seaboard, Woodstock and Observatory, but UberEATS's David Kitley says that they are looking to expand. In fact, Kitley told Memeburn that the...
UberEATS finally launches in Cape Town
By Hadlee Simons on 26 January, 2017
UberEATS has been available in Johannesburg for a while now, bringing a Mr Delivery-style food service to smartphone users. Now, Capetonians can see what all the fuss is about as the service hits the city. "Cape Town couldn't be a better place for us to bring UberEATS with over 100 of the best local restaurants in the city partnering with Uber to deliver their food to you faster, and more reliably than ever before," the company wrote on its website. The service, which launches today (26 January), is available on Android and iOS. UberEATS originally launched in Johannesburg in September, with Cape Town launching today Partners...
Hugo Barra has announced departure from Xiaomi
By Hadlee Simons on 23 January, 2017
When Hugo Barra announced that he was leaving Google for Xiaomi back in 2013, there were many people questioning the move. But after overseeing the company's international expansion, it's hard to argue with the decision. Now, Barra has announced his departure from the Chinese smartphone firm, using an open letter on Facebook to reveal the news. "When Lei Jun and Bin Lin came to me nearly four years ago with the opportunity to help turn a young rockstar startup into a global player, I embarked on what has been the greatest and most challenging adventure of my...
Bidvest’s Snappdrive app will let you rent, drive its cars without keys
By Staff Reporter on 23 January, 2017
South African car rental company Bidvest has announced the launch of its first keyless car rental service, Snappdrive. The app allows users to locate, gain access to, and even start Bidvest vehicles, negating the need for physical car keys. "Most often, car rental happens at the end of an arduous travel process," explains Bidvest CEO Paulette McGhee. "With Snappdrive, we eliminate any further hassle or waiting, with the traveller’s phone leading them straight to their waiting vehicle." Bidvest's Snappdrive eliminates the need for key collection or keys to start rental vehicles The company is also able to track its vehicles through the app system,...
Think twice before grabbing popular photo app Meitu
By Hadlee Simons on 20 January, 2017
Meitu, an app which allows users to gussy up their faces in an anime style, has quickly gone viral, but reports suggest that it represents a privacy threat. The app allows users to beautify their faces, delivering larger irises, smoother skin and a host of other changes. But several reports found that the app (especially the Android version), like many, requires a notable privacy trade-off. For starters, its Google Play Store listing reveals permissions such as location, running at startup, device and phone ID, and viewing WiFi connections. Not super crazy, but definitely concerning -- especially the ability to access your device/phone IDs...
Vodacom launches Facebook Flex for free status updates, comments
By Andy Walker: Editor on 17 January, 2017
Vodacom wants to get you updating your Facebook status again, but its new product will let you do this for free. Dubbed Facebook Flex, the product is the "first of many" and will allow Vodacom users to access Facebook's basic version. This means that users can post comments, update their status and keep in touch with others' text posts without depleting their data stores. Vodacom explains that Facebook Flex will aim to reduce the cost of communicating with friends and family in the country. Facebook Flex will allow users to update their status, comment on users' posts but not view photos or...
6 alternative YouTube apps you should check out
By Hadlee Simons on 17 January, 2017
The YouTube Android app has come a long way since the dismal app of the Froyo days. It's not perfect now, but it definitely gets the job done well enough. In any event, for those wanting something a little different, here are a few alternative YouTube apps worth looking at. TubeMate One of the most popular apps not available on the Play Store, TubeMate is effectively a wrapper for the mobile website. Hardly a reason to download the app, then. But its best feature is the ability to download videos via the app, with the ability to choose from various quality options. Yes, YouTube does...
This novel Russian app wants to be the Uber of the afterlife
By Andy Walker: Editor on 16 January, 2017
If you didn't know how to market your startup in 2016, there's an easy formula to use. Define your target market, and call your business the Uber of said market. It works, and often gets quoted hundreds of times by us journalists and investors. But an incoming Russian app might've taken this marketing quip a little too far. Named Umer, this app aims to be the Uber of funerals. According to a Russian website, Umer (which literally means "died") will allow people to seamlessly and easily organise funeral arrangements on the fly -- all from the comfort of an app. To...
Adobe’s Photoshop voice assistant can edit snaps for you
By Staff Reporter on 12 January, 2017
Talking to your electronic devices and telling them what to do isn't new. But while Siri can order an Uber, and Cortana open Microsoft Edge, Adobe's Photoshop voice assistant will be able to tweak your photographs using nothing but voice commands. The company has demonstrated a mobile editing app with an "intelligent digital assistant" that uses voice commands to perform specific tasks. According to Adobe, the "speech recognition system is able to directly accept natural user voice instructions for image editing either locally through on-device computing or through a cloud-based Natural Language understanding service". Adobe's Photoshop-inspired voice assistant could streamline photo editing on...
Going to the beach? Download these apps first
By Hadlee Simons on 22 December, 2016
We're pretty much in the thick of it as far as summer holiday madness goes. And if you live on the coast, chances are good that you'll be visiting the beach at least once. But before you make your way to Clifton or Muizenberg, you might want to download a few of these apps... Shark Spotters (free - Android, iOS) Sure, there is a flag system in place at major beaches, courtesy of the Shark Spotters team, but they have an app as well. The Shark Spotters app delivers updates on shark sightings (as well as a recent history of shark sightings) for a number of...
Gboard: Google’s new keyboard finally hits Android
By Hadlee Simons on 19 December, 2016
Earlier this year, Google revealed Gboard, being a rather cool virtual keyboard for smartphones. In a rather bizarre twist, the keyboard was released as an iOS-exclusive. Fortunately, Google has come to its senses, releasing the app on Android over the weekend. Or rather, it's updated the existing Google Keyboard to become Gboard. "Gboard has all the things you love about your old Google Keyboard -- speed and accuracy, Glide Typing and voice typing..." the company wrote in a blog post. What makes the keyboard stand out though, is its support for integrated Google search functionality. This allows you to search and send results...
Watch video ads to get train ticket in Dusseldorf
By Hadlee Simons on 19 December, 2016
Mobile gamers are accustomed to the experience of watching video ads in exchange for lives. Now, a new app in a German city allows people to earn a train or bus ticket by watching video ads. According to The Local, the Welect app in Dusseldorf allows users to watch four promotional videos, each being 20 seconds long. Users can choose their desired ads as well. The app's team predicted that only 1000 tickets would be redeemed by the end of the year, but over 20 000 people have downloaded the app already. In fact, a test run of the app saw...