Category Archives: iphone
If you wanna update an iPhone’s iOS, backup first
Rating: Probably why many users haven’t done so
If you plug an iPhone into your [Windows based] PC and Apple cunningly suggests that there’s a newer version of iOS available, what do you do? A) Say Yes. B) Panic. The correct answer is B (Panic), because if you blithely go ahead and upgrade the OS, you could lose everything you’ve got stored on your handset. This is a particular disaster if you’ve downloaded loads of paid-for apps onto the iPhone. The solution is to make jolly sure you’ve backed up all of the data held on the iPhone before accepting the upgrade. Continue reading
Out of the media spotlight? Lauch your own iPhone app
Rating: Seems to be working for Charlie Sheen
What do you do if you’re a famous Hollywood actor but your star seems to be on the wane? Ignore the Big Screen and go for the fourth screen by launching your own iPhone app. That’s exactly what Hollywood Bad Boy, Charlie Sheen has done by launching ‘The MaSheen’ app for the iPhone. It will set you back a £1.79 and is described by one iTunes App Store reviewer as “the only officially Sheenius app”. He’s obviously still got his fans, although the app appears to need a bit of tweaking as one of the videos crashes according to another reviewer. Continue reading
Loopt forgets to mention it’s US-centric
Rating: That’s why you can’t find it in Android Market, then
Researching location based services we recently encountered Loopt. It describes itself as, “The mobile connection to people and places around you. Loopt products use location on mobile phones to help users find and enjoy the friends, places and events around them right now.” Sounds great – especially when you look at the range of handset OS the company supports. It even supports Windows Phone 7 as well as BlackBerry, Android and Apple iOS. Take a look at the list of supported phones here. There’s over 100 models supported. Now, scroll right to the bottom and browse the list of supported networks. Um, there’s only seven of them. All US based. Continue reading
Curing an iPhone 4 that won’t connect over 3G to Vodafone
Rating: How obscure a bug is this?
Having wasted a great deal of time cursing because we couldn’t get a loan iPhone 4 to connect to the Internet via 3G, it seems a jolly good idea to share the quick fix solution with our readers. Basically, the error message you might receive is that the iPhone 4 tells you that it cannot connect to the Internet because you don’t have a mobile data subscription. In this case, an awfully nice Vodafone help centre engineer talked us through the necessary steps towards the cure in minutes and ended hours of frustration. Continue reading
Picking the right OS version to optimise your app
Rating: Lot easier with Android than iOS
If you’re monetising any mobile app, then logic dictates that you optimse it to run on the most prolific version of the targeted mobile OS. Currently, few would dispute that the two mobile OS most favoured by app developers are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. So how do you find out which version of the OS is most popular. Well, Google provides a very straightforward answer to this dilemma. It produces stats on which version of Android is most popular with those who have bothered to download an app from the Google Market over a 14 day period. With Apple, it’s not that easy at all. Continue reading
1st Android car stereo still not available from Parrot
Rating: Stealth launches in London & Madrid
There’s been something of a stealth launch for the world’s first Android powered car stereo system – the Asteroid from France’s Parrot. Hacks in both London and Madrid were shown the device but we suspect most of them were from the automotive Press. Parrot claims to have put two years into developing this device but is probably a bit embarrassed because when it finally ships it will be employing the Cupcake (1.5) version of Android not Gingerbread (2.3). You’ll also have to submit your Asteroid apps through Parrot initially. Never mind, we do have a vague price of €299/£299/$430. Plus a possible mid-May shipping date. Continue reading
Where to take Granny @ Easter? There’s an app for that
Rating: English Heritage’s Days Out app is free
Finding somewhere to take elderly relatives over the forthcoming Easter holidays in the UK is always a major headache. Fortunately, those awfully nice people at English Heritage have commissioned a mobile app to help out. Not only is it free but better still in runs on Android as well as the iPhone. This app should help both natives and tourists discover a world of castles, historic houses and glorious gardens. The app also makes intelligent use of location based technology. Continue reading
A third of UK retailers lack mobile strategy
Rating: Plus far too much emphasis on iPhone, Kony study finds
A survey which included some 100 marketing and IT directors at British retail businesses has found multiple gaping holes in retailers’ mobile strategies. Far too much emphasis is being put on iPhone apps, for example. The study found that 74 per cent of retailers claim to have a presence on the iPhone, yet 58 per cent of consumers prefer to shop and browse on other mobile OS platforms. Moreover, 60 per cent of consumers already claimed to use mobile internet to make decisions whilst physically in-store but one third of retailers still have no plans to implement a mobile strategy. The study was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Kony last month [March 2011]. Continue reading
Bet on the Grand National by smartphone
Rating: A lot easier if you have an iPhone
From the very beginnings of the mobile Internet, it became clear that a desire to gamble could entice even technophobes into learning how to place bets from their handsets. So it is something of a tradition to investigate every year just how difficult it is to bet on the UK’s Grand National race at Aintree – which takes place tomorrow [April 9th]. In the early days, the solution meant accessing WAP sites and to some extent things remain the same today. The big difference is that if you’re an Apple iPhone user, it is now very easy. For other smartphone users, things are a little different. Continue reading
Ultimate iPhone accessory – the RC Eagle i
Rating: Drone controlled via Wi-Fi on your smartphone
A design agency, Thumbs Up, has announced to day [April 1st 2011] its first ever concept product – a drone designed to look like an Eagle. The RC Eagle i is controllable byWi-Fi via software on an Apple iPad or iPhone. An Android version is promised for shortly afterwards. As an eco-friendly feature, the Eagle will be fitted with an on-board solar charging panel with the bird’s wings. One of the problems with similar droids – such as miniature helicopters – is that battery life is very low. Thumbs Up hopes that powering the Eagle i by the Sun will help extend flight times. Continue reading
NFC and the iPhone?
This is a great article on CNET about what needs to happen before the iPhone can get NFC. The full article is here but you can read the start below.
Continue reading
App stores are the worst way to market your app
GetJar is one of the biggest app stores in the world, brushing shoulders with Apple’s App Store and the Android market. Today it releases the results of a massive commissioned survey, showing that 40% of those surveyed claimed they will switch from iPhone to Android with their next smartphone purchase, and that only 25% of people discover the apps they buy on actual app stores. Continue reading
neXva’s multi OS app store woos developers
Rating: Mobile payment system could prove tasty, too
One of our quests here at GoMo News is to help mobile app developers escape the tyranny and arbitrary behaviour of the big app store operators. So we were intrigued by an approach made to us by the multi OS app store, neXva. The company was pushing its neXliner tool which employs QR codes and looks pretty handy. However, what really sparked our interest is its neXpayer payment tool which is adding new payment mechanisms. Plus the company will soon be launching an in app payment SDK that will facilitate one click payments from within mobile apps and works across most mobile OS. Continue reading
iPhone games ‘go Android’: Scoreloop launches porting platform
Developers of iPhone games now have yet another option for porting their product over to Android. Social gaming company Scoreloop has announced a new platform called “Go Android”, which will help developers with both the technical and financial help they need to get their game onto both platforms. And no, it’s not deja vu – OpenFeint did have an extremely similar announcement yesterday. Continue reading
Sales figures show Nokia totally panicked
Rating: Still Top Dog says US based firm IDC
Judging from the news headlines you’d have thought that Nokia was a spent force in the mobile handset market. Yet even IDC – which tracks mobile phone shipments – can’t provide any data to that effect. Nokia’s shipments in Western Europe dropped 11 per cent year-on-year to 19.6 million units, and its market share slipped to 33 per cent in 4Q10 from 39 per cent in 4Q09. Um, that means that one in three handsets shipped at the tail end of last year in Western Europe was still a Nokia phone. Continue reading
