August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

PapayaMobile hits 25 million Android users

PapayaMobile has just announced that it reached the 25 million mark in terms of Android users. The social gaming network has done some pretty great things for Android users and developers, like its app-a-day feature which launched last year and allows users to discover new apps every day. PapayaMobile is seeing good traction and is also seeing a lot of user engagement.

For more details on this milestone, see the press release below.

PapayaMobile Grows to 25 Million Users on Android

August 25, 2011

PapayaMobile hits 25 million Android users originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-25T13:31:00Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

Windows Phone ‘We’re In’ app makes social location sharing easy

Microsoft has just unveiled a new social location app for Windows Phone and the We’re In app is an interesting way to share your location and coordinate with friends.

I think that We’re In is kind of a combination of Foursquare, Latitude GroupMe because you can just use your phone number to sign up and it will overlay where people are on a Bing Map. The company describes it like this:

We’re In is a great way to save time and frustration when planning your roadtrip or meeting your friend at the mall – helping you connect with your friend faster. Let’s take a closer look at the new We’re In product features and how they work.

We’ve made We’re In super simple to use – all you need is your phone number to sign up. Simply invite your friends (via your contacts) to start sharing location info with each other including who, why, and how long:

It looks like a neat app, so go ahead and check it out. You can download the Windows Phone We’re In app for free here.

[Via Phonescoop, Bing blog]

Windows Phone ‘We’re In’ app makes social location sharing easy originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-18T19:23:16Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

One Year Later, Facebook Killing Off Places …To Put Location Everywhere

It was almost exactly one year ago that Facebook launched Places, their location-based offering. Reading the press at the time, you would have thought it was going to be the Foursquare-killer, the Gowalla-strangler, the Loopt-beheader, etc. Nevermind that Facebook partnered with all of them for the launch — those guys were done.

Fast forward to today: Foursquare recently raised a large round of funding valuing them at $600 million. And Facebook is killing off Places.

To be clear, Facebook is not ducking out of the location game itself. In fact, you could say that they’re doubling-down on it. But they are moving away from the game that the “check-in” services have been playing. And a result of that is Places being killed off and being replaced by new “Nearby” area, as Jason outlined along with the bigger privacy changes today.

Reading over Facebook’s own post on the location changes, it wasn’t entirely clear what these changes meant for the concept of the check-in itself. But this page appears to make it a little more clear. As I read it, check-ins will remain as a part of the product, but they’ll no longer be emphasized. It seems that the hope is that people will move away from thinking of location in terms of “checking in” and instead think about it in terms of tagging your location to what ever it is you’re doing — sharing a thought, posting a picture, etc.

As the new location page makes clear, Facebook now views location usage in three main ways:

• Share where you’ve been
• Share where you are now
• Share where you’re going

Past. Present. Future.

This is smart, as it’s something none of the other location services have really nailed yet. And now that location is being emphasized on every Facebook action (though it can easily be turned off) — and not just on mobile — a lot of people are going to use it. Location as a layer of context is about to get a big upgrade.

All of this is also smart from a location-based advertising strategy. It’s more data and more strong signals. What I’m not yet clear on is what this means for Facebook’s location-based deals service. Launched alongside Places last year, it would seem that this never really took off. And Facebook doesn’t mention it today. I’ve reached out to them to clarify.

The video on the location info page details how location tagging will work. The default on facebook.com appears to be city-level, and there’s a secondary location button to add an actual venue (which is then inserted into your status message). You can also add location to photos you’ve already posted.

The video also points out that on mobile devices there will still be a check-in button, but the functionality will be different. It apparently will only exist as a part of a status update and there will be no more big blue “Check In” button that inserts your check-in into a stream of other check-ins (and again, no more Places area itself). Instead, once you select a place, it will simply be tacked on to the end of your status message.

Location sharing will also be tied to the more direct and simplified privacy changes Facebook outlined today.

Update: Here’s what Facebook has to say on the check-in deals:

Once someone tags where they are on Facebook, they will be directed to the News Feed. If the Place is offering a Check-in Deal, the title of the deal will appear below the News Feed story. You’ll then be able to click on the deal title and will then be taken to the claim flow.

Below, find the flow diagram of how it will now work.

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August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

Apple iPad starts replacing cash registers everywhere

It’s 2011, and it’s a surprise that many merchants are still using big, clunky cash registers that look no different than they did 20 years ago. The Apple iPad, however, is slowly changing all of that. If you’ve been in any relatively decent-sized city over the past year, and walked into a major retailer, you might have noticed an iPad where a cash register would normally be. It’s a trend that should really catch on for space and convenience.

Even smaller retailers can benefit by using apps and services like Square to accept payments and handle credit card transactions. Many other vendors and retailers are using custom apps to handle their payments systems, and it looks like big-name companies are deploying the Apple tablet en masse.

AllThingsD reports:

Lowe’s announced last week that it was rolling out 42,000 handheld devices in the U.S. and Canada. That closely follows announcements by Home Depot, Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters.

While some of the retailers are a little shy about saying which devices are being deployed, for the most part they are using Apple products — an iPhone, an iPad or an iPod touch. And while the devices may eventually be used to accept payments, many of them are starting off as tools for salespeople to look up answers or to check on product availability.

Well of course they’re using Apple products: when was the last time you or a friend saw a big-box retailer, or even a smaller merchant, accepting payments with a Droid or a Samsung Galaxy Tab? I thought so.

Of course, there are still a few obstacles to overcome–like cash. But these are minor details when it comes to the bigger picture – streamlining point of sale with a more compact cash register, the iPad.

Aside from cash registers, we’ve seen the iPad act as directories for clothing stores, menus and guides for restaurants and hotels and many other things. It’s going to be pretty tough for any other manufacturer or platform to get its foot in the door when Apple has virtually slammed it shut.

[Via: AllThingsD]

Apple iPad starts replacing cash registers everywhere originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-23T15:03:37Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

Sprinkle will make you wet yourself – in a good way

Yet another great game optimized for the Tegra 2 processor is Sprinkle, a simple, yet addicting game that’s sure to entertain. Your town is on fire and your job to put out all the fires, which are blocked by a series of puzzling blockades.To do this, you’re given a fire hose that can only move up, down, and tilt forward and back to adjust the stream of water.

When I first sat down with the game and started playing, I wasn’t too sure what I was doing. It’s easy enough to put out the fires in the first few levels, as they are the most straight-forward. As you’d expect, playing further becomes more difficult but the puzzles are quite interesting and require a good amount of thought. Sprinkle is the kind of game that will stump you and you’ll put it down for a while, only to pick it back up and just “get it” the next time you try.

While the name of the game is to get all the fires out, it doesn’t come as easy as you’d think. Most of the time you’ll need to put the fires in a certain order, or move a stone block to a certain place so the water will hit the right angle and take out the next fire. While your time isn’t limited, the amount of water you’re given to put out the fires is and if you don’t utilize all that H2o just right, you’re done for. Or, your village is, at least.

Because the game has been optimized for the NVIDIA Tegra 2, you can expect to see the best in class graphics we’ve come to expect, and Sprinkle delivers. Like RipTide GP, the water physics behind the game are stunning. One of the best things about Sprinkle, other than the fact that it becomes terribly addicting is that it’s only $1.99, which is more than affordable for a game like this and you’ll be glad you grabbed it.

Two bucks for 46 levels of town-drowning fun should be more than worth it.

But that’s not all! Well, for now it is, but you’ll be happy to know that another version of Sprinkle is on the way, optimized for the Kal-El, NVIDIA’s next generation quad-core processor, which should knock your socks off.

Head over to the Android Market or the just released TegraZone.com to get your Sprinkle on now!

[Via: NVIDIA]

Sprinkle will make you wet yourself – in a good way originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-25T17:27:21Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 29, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

Peggle HD launched for iPad, orange pegs cower in terror

The unrivaled ruler of casual games, Peggle, has made its way to the iPad. The iPhone version launched over two years ago, and the transition to the bigger screen will no doubt see just as much success. Peggle HD has full support for Game Center with 29 achievements, and the Peggle Nights expansion will be available through in-app purchase. All of the classic characters are there, including my personal favourite, Lord Cinderbottom the dragon.

If, for whatever reason, you’ve never played it, Peggle is a simple pachinko-style game where you shoot a ball into a bunch of pegs, and try to take out the orange ones. The ball bounces around a bunch, so anything after the second bounce is basically a crap-shoot, but there’s lots of pretty colours, explosions, and points. You pick a character to play as, which enables you to execute some special manoevers – in Cinderbottom’s case, the shot after nailing a green peg will be a giant flaming fireball, which steamrolls over any and all pegs in its path. There are a bunch of challenges in there too, which will no doubt keep you occupied once you’ve blasted through the core single-player game.

PopCap, the maker of Peggle and other hugely popular casual games like Plants vs. Zombies, was recently acquired by EA. That’s a pretty big deal, since EA is traditionally big on console and PC games, but it can’t be argued that smartphones are gradually becoming the future of gaming, which means the big-name publishers have to start considering bite-size casual titles.

As a launch special, Peggle HD will be available for $2.99 – 40% off the usual price, while Peggle Nights will be half off for a limited time too. Head on over to iTunes to pick up Peggle while the price is still good.

[via PR Newswire]

Peggle HD launched for iPad, orange pegs cower in terror originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-25T14:29:42Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 2, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

Poynt surpasses 9 million users worldwide

Last time we talked about Poynt, they reached 1 billion interactions and 6.4 million unique users. Now they announced surpassing 9 million users across North America, Western Europe and Australia.

Unsurprisingly Android device owners represent a majority of all new users — of the over 700,000 new users added in June 2011, 500,000+ were on the Android platform, with existing preloads contributing to over 300,000 users. In July, the average number of new daily users added has exceeded 25,000.

If you don’t know what Poynt is all about, you should know it’s a local guide app that allows users to quickly locate businesses, retailers, restaurants and movie theaters; or obtain relevant local information, such as cheap gas prices, today’s weather and details about local events. Moreover, the application also allows interactions with the search results, from click-to-call business telephone numbers, dining reservations, and point-to-point directions to buying movie tickets after viewing trailers.

Poynt is a free app available across multiple platforms, including iOS, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7.

Poynt surpasses 9 million users worldwide originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-08-02T10:00:17Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

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August 2, 2011 in At Work, Recommended Reading by wapwallis

RemoteRinger For Android Helps You Find Your Phone In The Couch

This fairly simple Android app adds a layer of safety for folks who often misplace their Android cellphone while it’s in silent mode. Called RemoteRinger, you assign a special code to the phone as well as a designated caller number. You can then send an SMS from the designated phone number. Bang: your ringer is back on.

The app is free and available here. It’s brand new so there are bound to be some bugs but it seems like a good enough idea.

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