Category Archives: iOS

Our Favorite Smartphone Accessories

It seems like everyone today makes a branded phone accessory, and way too many of them generate that “This device is not supported” error when you plug them into your phone. Looking for some good accessories for the magic-computer-that-also-happens-to-make-phone-calls that’s always in your pocket? Here’s a list of some of my favorites that have all somehow […]

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How to Save Your Smartphone Battery (Interactive Infographic)

Raise your hand if you’ve drained your battery more than once in a day! I love my smartphone, but I clearly use it more than what this little battery can handle. (I’m looking at you, Fallout Shelter—that game sucks more battery and time out of my day than anything else.) There are lots of tips […]

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Things You Can Do While Waiting for iOS Updates to Install

It always inevitably comes at the worst time possible—the dreaded notification to end all notifications: Say hello to the only thing more never-ending than Windows updates: a software update for your iOS device. Find a comfy place to sit back and relax (preferably with a power outlet nearby)—you’re going to be idle for a while. […]

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The Evolution of iOS (Infographic)

So much happened in 2007—writers went on strike, the Colts won the Super Bowl, and sadly, Harry Potter ended forever (not counting movies or spin-offs). Oh, and of course, Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone. Since then, much has changed. The iPhone and iPad have dominated the mobile market, and the next up-and-comer is likely […]

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Dropbox API Allows Developers to Get Sync With Less Effort

Dropbox today announced a new application programming interface for in-app synch. The new API is intended to lure developers to Dropbox by making programmers’ life  easier by letting their native iOS/Android apps treat users’ cloud-based files as if they were stored locally.

“Give your app its own private Dropbox client and leave the syncing to us.”

Learn more at Dropbox.

Instructure Releases Canvas for Android

Instructure has released a new Canvas Android app, which enables mobile access to the Canvas learning platform from Android devices. Faculty and students can download the app for free from the Google Play store.

“The Canvas for Android app is designed to make it easy for faculty and students to stay connected to their courses, including courses from their institution or the Canvas Network,” said Brian Whitmer , co-founder and chief product officer at Instructure. “We’ve always pushed information to Android devices through our email and text messaging notification feature, but now users can participate in their courses through a native app designed specifically for learning.”

Canvas for Android provides an elegant way for students to access their Canvas To-Do list, Assignments, Calendar, Grades and more. It also enables them to read and compose messages using Canvas Conversations, a secure, built-in messaging system that connects participants in a course.

Since the initial launch of Canvas, Instructure has demonstrated its commitment to native apps for mobile devices. In 2011, the company released SpeedGrader for iPad, a powerful mobile grading app, and Canvas for iOS, an iPhone and iPad app with course functionality for students and instructors. With the release of Canvas for Android, Instructure is taking the first of many steps to bring a native Canvas experience to Android users.

“We recognize that the modern learner is mobile, and we believe a native mobile experience is critical to the learning experience,” said Devlin Daley , co-founder and chief technology officer at Instructure. “We didn’t decide after the fact to build mobile apps because it was a hip thing to do. We made an intentional decision to include mobile apps from the start – at no extra charge.”

Bitcasa Releases Infinite Drive Apps for Android, Windows 8/RT

Bitcasa announced today the release of its Android and Windows 8/RT apps. The new mobile apps allow instant streaming of music, photos, videos, and documents from the Bitcasa Infinite Drive™. The Android and Windows 8/RT apps are available today for new and existing Bitcasa users on Google Play, Windows Store, and at www.bitcasa.com/download. Mac and iOS apps will be available in January.

With Bitcasa, users can backup and consolidate all of their files and media into one Infinite Drive. The Bitcasa Infinite Drive acts like an external drive that users are already familiar with, except that it never runs out of space and is accessible from anywhere and any device. With the new Infinite Drive and mobile apps, Bitcasa users get immediate benefits:

  • Instant Streaming, Access Anywhere: With Bitcasa, users can
    play whole music albums, watch videos in various formats, view and
    share photo albums, and read documents from anywhere. Instant
    streaming from the Bitcasa Infinite Drive allows users to stream their
    personal jukebox of music, videos, and photos to mobile and desktop
    devices without having to sync or store files locally on each of your
    devices.
  • Infinite Storage: The Infinite Drive acts as a virtual external
    drive that expands with the user’s growing storage needs without ever
    worrying about running out of space again.
  • Safe Backup: Continuous and automatic backup gives peace of
    mind. Users can mirror their content from all their computers to
    Bitcasa, and access it anywhere. All files and backups are protected
    with client-side encryption, which means that only users can see and
    access their data. Users can easily retrieve files with time-capsule
    versioning by date.
  • Share Content: With one click, users can share any file or
    folder with their friends and family – Bitcasa or non-Bitcasa users –
    regardless of file size. For sharing on mobile devices, users can also
    set up alerts to protect against large downloads that might affect
    their mobile bandwidth charges.
  • Get Organized: Bitcasa automatically categorizes users’ data
    into Music, Photos, Videos, and Documents.
    Users no longer have to worry about managing and organizing their
    files – the same way they do not have to worry about
    storage capacity limits.

“With our mobile app releases, we are now making all of your data easily available from mobile and PC/Mac clients while taking the security of that data very seriously,” said Tony Gauda, co-founder and CEO of Bitcasa. “By announcing our cross-platform support today, we are offering our global users secure access on all computers, mobile devices, or Web browsers by streaming from the cloud while allowing them to keep the data they access more often localized on their hard drive. With an Infinite Drive, mobile users can automatically store and access their photos from any device. It also means that they can send large videos and albums to friends and family, as well as watch videos in multiple formats. It’s an infinite, organized drive in the cloud. Users don’t have to manage it and it’s much safer than their desktop or laptop.”

Crittercism, UserVoice Partner for Customer Communication Platform for Mobile App Developers

Crittercism announced that it has partnered with UserVoice to deliver a customer communication platform for mobile app developers. As a result, developers can now monitor and manage app performance, as well as communicate directly with customers in real-time through a single, easy-to-use dashboard on upcoming upgrades, support issues and more via the cloud.

App crashes and user support are the top two issues affecting user retention and in-app purchases. As such, customer support is critical and has a direct impact on app store ratings, reviews, customer engagement and revenues.

With UserVoice for iOS, mobile app developers using Crittercism’s robust Mobile APM solution can now easily insert a customer support contact form into iOS mobile applications, giving users the ability to provide direct feedback from an iPhone or iPad.

Furthermore, mobile app developers can now access hosted feedback forums that allow users to create, discuss and vote on ideas to help prioritize order of importance, giving developers an easy way to collect critical feedback and improve their apps in a timely manner. As a result, developers are able to benefit from a complete customer communication and support service that not only increases customer satisfaction as well as retention.

“Crittercism’s mobile APM solution is extremely flexible and we are able to easily integrate new technologies into our system that make developers’ lives easier,” said Andrew Levy, Crittercism’s co-founder and CEO. “We are pleased to expand on our platform to offer our developers new, unique ways to reach their customers to offer the best user experience possible and provide actionable ideas on how to improve their products.”

“Consumers today expect a seamless mobile app experience, and will often abandon an app based on continued crashes or other issues, especially if they aren’t able to quickly report and resolve them,” said Richard White, CEO of UserVoice. “With Crittercism, we are extending our customer communication, support and feedback capabilities to mobile app developers, giving them the most comprehensive, flexible and intuitive support solution for mobile applications.”

CaptureToCloud Extends Social Workspace to iOS Devices

CaptureToCloud’s  Social Workspace has been extended to all iOS devices. This is the first mobile app that can capture a full copy of Internet content while it’s being viewed on an iPhone or iPad, and immediately make it available for social media sharing and collaboration. This  app is used by professionals and businesses to capture mobile content into their CaptureToCloud workspace where it can be organized, shared and discussed alongside other important content. The new iOS app is included in both the free and premium services – available in the Apple App Store and at www.capturetocloud.com.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research and American Life Project, “some 88% of U.S. adults own a cell phone of some kind as of April 2012, and more than half of these cell owners (55%) use their phone to go online.” Viewing Internet content on an iPhone or iPad is one of the most common uses. With CaptureToCloud, users can be viewing that content and immediately save a copy, share it with colleagues, discuss it and read it offline.

“In today’s world, people expect a seamless transition from their desktops to their mobile devices and to be constantly connected to their apps and important content,” said Ramon Nunez, CEO, CaptureToCloud. “Mobile access is a key component of our anywhere, anytime workspace and capturing mobile content is a natural extension of what we provide on the desktop.”

CaptureToCloud aims to make it easy for professionals and businesses to incorporate Internet content into their daily work. The iOS app not only gives users access to all content in their CaptureToCloud library while they’re away from their desktop, but also allows them to capture and share new content they find with an iOS device, keeping them just as productive and engaged with projects and discussions.