Today, independent video chat provider ooVoo, announced a significant update across multiple platforms as well as adding a new Facebook application. ooVoo allows users to HD video chat, text, or make phone calls with up to 12 friends across Android, iPhone, PC, Mac and now also on Facebook. According to Yuval Baharav, Chief Executive Officer, today’s release was a direct result of their over 46 million users:
If you’re looking for another alternative to sharing media content and making free phone calls over WiFi, you might want to check out Sidecar for Android and iOS. The recently released app allows users a plethora of sharing options as long as all recepients have the app installed. If you try to make a call to someone who doesn’t yet have the app, it will send them a text message asking them to check out the app. Features of Sidecar include
Apple has been a major force in the BYOD movement. You can even argue that Apple ignited the BYOD flame with the release of the iPhone and iPad. While there have a number of studies looking at how companies in the U.S. are reacting to the trend, numbers haven’t readily been available from other markets.
That changed today with a new study that looks at BYOD in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) business and institutions. The results show Apple devices as a clear preference in these markets, somewhat more limited BYOD adoption, and many of the same security concerns discussed by U.S. firms.
Zipcar was one of the first companies to showcase the potential of iOS apps using location services. The company’s demo during Apple’s 2009 WWDC keynote was one of early harbingers of the ways that mobile devices and data have become integrated with our daily lives. Zipcar continues to have its finger on the pulse of what’s possible when local services are transformed by iOS and other mobile platforms.
Speaking today at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith spoke about how quickly smartphone apps revolutionized Zipcar and the ways it interacts with its customers and offered insights into the company’s success.
The Rockstar Consortium made headlines when the group won a bidding war for the patent portfolio of one-time communications giant Nortel. Aside from getting a green light for the purchase from the Department of Justice, Rockstar hasn’t really made headlines since it won the patents.
Rockstar may be keeping a low profile right now, but the company is well armed and will play a massive role in the mobile technology patent battles echoing around the world. In fact, the company may very well have been a secret weapon in Steve Jobs’ plan to “go thermonuclear” in Apple’s battle against Android.
Sprint has just announced the availability of the HTC Bluetooth music adaptor for wirelessly streaming music from your phone through your car stereo speakers. It’s a fairly expensive adaptor at $59.99 and considering it plugs into a 3.5mm aux port, it’ll leave you wondering “why not just buy a cheap aux cable?”
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.
Tangoe is a company with a long history of wired and mobile telecom expense management. The company offers incredible hand-on services for evaluating communications expenses and offering cost saving advice for small/mid-size businesses and large enterprises alike. Tangoe’s biggest advantage is that it offers real-time review of telecom bills tied to specific departments, users, and device – and that it uses that data to build a specialized telecom expense plan for its clients. The company also offers a solid range of device and app management. However, Tangoe’s real-time expense management capabilities are the company’s signature features.
The rumor mill has been saying for many months that Apple is planning a 4-inch iPhone for release later this year. Two major publications, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, recently hopped on the bandwagon to “confirm” the rumor. All signs are pointing to a larger iPhone, but what does that mean for iOS developers?
People have hypothesized all kinds of ways Apple could make an iPhone with a larger screen and still make it easy for developers to update their apps. The general consensus seems to be that Apple could change the aspect ratio for a taller display, but now the people that actually make apps have weighed in on the topic. While it’s unclear exactly how a new screen size would be implemented, developers feel confident that Apple won’t “pull an Android” and create a fragmented mess.
FarSight Studios, creators of Pinball Arcade, is looking for your help to digitize one of the greatest pinball machines of all time: The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone table was released by Midway under the Bally label and is currently number one in user rankings on the Internet Pinball Database. Many pinball experts consider it to be the most complex pinball machine ever created, and being able to preserve it in digital form is a dream of FarSight Studios.
AT&T is one of 48 carriers worldwide which have a network vulnerability that allows hackers to intercept cellular data and inject malicious content into the traffic that passes between smartphones and the websites they visit. The flaw can be used to transfer code to unencrypted pages which causes a user to perform unintended actions, like sending messages or friend requests from Facebook and Twitter. And your iPhone may be vulnerable.
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac,
Symantec has long and solid track record in delivering enterprise systems. The company’s full lineup of enterprise solutions are practically a one-stop shopping list for IT departments offering everything from virus and malware tools right through every IT task (deployment, Mac/Windows workstation management, help desk operations, even inventory). As you’d expect, Symantec Mobile Management integrates quite nicely with other Symantec enterprise tools creating a streamlined single source IT infrastructure.
Even as a standalone product, however, Symantec Mobile Management is an attractive offering. It has a powerful focus security and includes secure file management features. It’s also extremely scalable and makes almost every IT/mobile management processes as hand-off and automatic as possible. Even device enrollment is simple and designed to be accomplished by end users with little or no input from IT. That makes it particularly attractive to larger enterprise organizations.
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac,
Sybase, and SAP company provides a range of enterprise IT solutions. Afaria, Syabase’s mobile management platform, is a comprehensive solution that ties in with other Sybase and SAP enterprise products (most notably its desktop PC management offerings). Overall, the platform is a great resource for existing SAP and Sybase customers.
By now, I’m sure you may have heard about how U.S. Customs is holding all of the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE phones hostage as they investigate allegations over patent infringement stemming from a ruling Apple won against HTC back in December. The ban essentially went into effect in April of 2012, but what most of us don’t understand is why the investigation at Customs? HTC has already created a work around for the infringement and even responded back in December about it:
If you were a sports fan growing up, chances are you stopped by your local fair or amusement park to have your photo superimposed onto the cover of Sports Illustrated. Our desire to join the ranks of sports celebrities hasn’t changed much over the years, but the technology used for sports photo novelties has. For the first time ever in the NFL, the New York Giants invite fans to try on their Super Bowl ring using augmented reality.
After a brief beta, Steam has made the ability to remotely manage your library of games as well as initiate a download via the web or mobile app a reality for all. Steam users who download the latest client for their PC or Mac will be able to log into the Steam web site or mobile app to access and manage their downloading pre-loads, new releases, or latest purchases.
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac,
PushManager provides a solid device management solution that also provides basic app deployment and management capabilities. PushManager puts a focus on being easy to set up and administer while also providing core security features. The company offers cloud service that is extremely easy to implement and can support a range of business types and sizes. For organizations with significant infrastructure, an on-premise package is available that can integrate with Active Directory.
Nielsen, global leader in measurement and information, takes a look back at the State Of Appnation and how much has changed over the past year. Since Nielsen’s 2011 summary, the number of U.S. smartphone users has increased by 12.4%, with one in two mobile subscribers now owning a smartphone. With the rise in smartphone users, comes a rise in the number of apps being downloaded, as well as the amount of time users spend engaged with them.
With so many contrasting rumors in recent weeks, it has been hard to predict whether or not Apple will increase the size of the display for its sixth-generation iPhone. But according to sources for The Wall Street Journal, the Cupertino company is preparing to break away from its existing 3.5-inch panels in favor of a display measuring “at least 4 inches diagonally.”
The unfortunate reality of trying to replace cable with video subscription services such as Netflix or Hulu is that, well… they kind of suck. Okay, so that’s my opinion and it’s completely possible that you’re happy with the Walmart bargain bin selection of movies Netflix has to offer, or being last to find out that The Island was just purgatory and the whole point of LOST was, well… pointless. There’s many reasons why I’ve been unable to cut cable out of my life, and if I’m going to be paying for it every month — I might as well get my money’s worth. That’s where the Slingbox SOLO comes in.
In December of 2011 the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of Apple for placing a ban on the U.S. import of multiple HTC smartphones. It was the first major exclusion ban of its kind, and it all hinged on one Apple patent.
The HTC import ban went into effect on April 19, 2012, and the delay was meant to give HTC time to re-engineer around the infringing issues. HTC said it was going to have everything cleared and ready to go in time, but U.S. Customs has now halted the One X and Evo 4G LTE from crossing the border.
Announced back in December, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II is finally ready for prime time. The next iteration in the Sonic series includes our favorite blue mammal along with his furry friend Tails. The game launched on the PlayStation Network and Steam today but will hit the Google Play Store tomorrow and the App Store on Thursday.
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac,
Notify has been providing a range of enterprise mobile solutions for quite some time. In addition to its NotifyMDM mobile management solution, the company produces a push messaging solution known as NotifyLink as well as NotifySync, an Exchange ActiveSync solution for BlackBerry devices. NotifyMDM supports the core mobile management needs with a focus on user self-servicing options and on providing comprehensive device use information.
Google’s latest Stable release of Chrome now includes the ability to sync tabs across multiple devices. As long as you are signed into Chrome, you’ll now have the ability to take your tabs with you when switching between work, home, mobile (with Chrome for Android beta), etc. Accessing them is quick and easy thanks to the new “Other devices” menu located on the New Tab page, and even the back and forward buttons will work, allowing you to pick up browsing right where you left off.
Mobile marketing and advertising firm Velti recently released its April Data report, which includes several interesting and surprising details including AT&T’s lead as U.S. iPhone provider. The most surprising piece of information in the report, however, is that adoption rates for the new iPad appear to have peaked and slowed.
The BBC is planning to take home the gold in Olympic coverage this year as they prepare to provide live coverage of every London 2012 sport from every venue throughout the day.
“We will be bringing live coverage of every Olympic Sport from every venue, through a combination of BBC One and BBC Three and up to 24 simultaneous streams live online on PC, mobile, tablet or connected TV
BBC has big plans for its various sports apps on both mobile and smartTVs. Custom built BBC Sport apps for Android and iOS will allow users to watch live video on the go and ensure they never miss a moment.