You may have been quite content using such unofficial apps as the UK Train Times for your detailed, real-time U.K. train information but we thought you’d like to know that an official U.K. National Rail app has finally made its way to Anroid and iOS. Announced yesterday, the official National Rail Enquiries app for iOS and Android feature detailed, real-time information as well as:
Let me begin this review by admitting that seeing the words “electric” and “British” close together always seems to conjure up images of an MG or Triumph on fire, with flames pouring out of the engine compartment (apologies to British readers, co-workers, editors or friends I may have offended with this statement. Also my mom).
UK-based DBest’s tiny single, and stereo, Bluetooth speaker models — respectively named PS4001BT ($60) and PS4003BT ($70) — didn’t spark; in fact, apart from a lack of sophistication, the tiny dynamos were surprisingly powerful, packing a powerful audio punch into an almost unbelievably minuscule package — especially in the case of the single-speaker unit, the clear winner of the two models.
Back in March, Amazon offered up certified refurbished Amazon Kindle Fires for an amazing $139. It was only a 24-hour deal but sold out in half the time. Well, the deal is back, and yes, it’s another 24-hour deal. It’s already about half-way through the deal but they still appear in stock so you might want to take this opportunity to pick up a nice little tablet for cheap.
PopCap and Walls360 have teamed up to bring the the zombie apocalyptic hit Plants vs. Zombies to a bare wall near you. You’ve spent countless hours defending your virtual home from these hideous undead, now you can protect your real home with these re-positionable, self-adhesive wall graphics that will stick to almost any surface.
The Instagram phenomenon continues to captivate mobile users across the globe and now generates over 5 million new users a week, according to its API. Those are absolutely amazing numbers for the once iOS exclusive photography sharing app that now boasts over 50 million total users thanks to its recent launch on Android. With numbers like this, it’s no wonder Facebook reached deep in their pockets to snatch them up.
The projected May release of Cognovant’s health record management app, PocketHealth, looks to become a reality thanks to a recent $500,000 seed round closing. The announcement was made today by Cognovant, the Kansas City, Mo.-based startup that specializes in personal health record technology for mobile devices.
“This seed round of funding enabled development of PocketHealth and its forthcoming introduction into the Android and iOS markets,” Ketcherside said in the release
According to the latest report from the International Data Corporation, Samsung has ousted both Apple and Nokia to aquire the top spot in both smartphone and total mobile phone shipments for the first quarter of 2012. This marks the first time since the inception of IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker that Nokia did not lead the global market in total mobile phone shipments. That’s quite a testament to Samsung’s tremendous growth over the past year, which according to the IDC, was nearly triple in the smartphone category.
When it comes to our mobile devices and the operating systems we use, we can sometimes be a bit defensive and downright vile. We’re usually quick to make a joke or two at the expense of one another, but in the end, we’re all human, and most of us are surprisingly close friends who frequently kick back and enjoy a cold beer together (even if some of us accidentally leave our prototypes behind). That’s why this next invention will have tech-loving beer connoisseurs foaming at the mouth (literally).
It’s hard to believe a mobile game franchise that’s about four years old could be more popular than ever but that seems to be the case with the uber-popular Angry Birds. Today, Rovio announced their latest iteration, Angry Birds Space, has broken all previous records and surpassed 50 million downloads in just 35 days — making it one of the fastest growing mobile games of all time.
Patent Armageddon is set to take place in less than a month thanks to dates set by Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. The settlement talks were originally ordered by Judge Lucy Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in hopes that Samsung and Apple’s CEOs and their chief lawyers could reach an agreement to end the 50+ lawsuits filed by the two.
Games have held a remarkable 40 month lead over all other categories when it comes to mobile apps. Mobile games have become so popular that even powerhouse console gaming companies such as Nintendo have seen their profits plummet because of them. They’ve given developers the highest ad revenue and have consumed more of a consumer’s time than any other app category. Unfortunately, like all good things, mobile gaming’s reign has come to an end. There’s a new head honcho in app land and its name is social networking.
AT&T today announced it would be adding Salt Lake City to its list of markets expected to get 4G LTE later in the year. AT&T continues expanding other areas, with Austin, TX seeing additional coverage just the other day. It’s going to be a slow and steady pace with AT&T so if you’re looking for 4G LTE right away, you may want to consider Verizon, otherwise sit tight and be happy you’re not on Sprint.
Earlier in the year, Apple acquired app discovery engine Chomp in an effort to improve app discoverability in their App Store. As we all know, discovering apps among the hundreds of thousands that populate popular app stores can sometimes be a chore, so it would make sense for Apple to acquire such a company as Chomp. However, Chomp also improved app discoverability of Android apps and since Apple’s acquisition we’ve wondered if this would one day change. Well, guess what? That day has come and it looks like Apple has chomped out Android app discoverability completely.
Google is well known for their awesome Easter Eggs and today’s will have you Starcraft faithful Zerging in your pants. If you do a Google search for “Zerg Rush” you’ll soon find yourself defending your page against the ravaging appetites of ominous Os. It’s a fun and geeky reference to the overwhelming scale of attack carried out by the mass-producing “Zerg” race from the popular RTS game Starcraft.
Ever think your mobile game high score was Guinness World Record worthy? Well, starting today it just might be. Although arcade and console game high scores have long been recognized by the Guinness World Records, mobile gamers have been left with screenshots, Facebook shares, and tweets as their only method of grandstanding.
ZeptoLab recently updated their Cut The Rope app on both Android and iOS with a new DJ Box featuring 25 vinyl-scratching levels. Om Nom has been sitting idle long enough and he’s hungry and ready to party. These additional levels should keep you busy for about an hour and then it’s back to waiting. Other features included in the new update include:
If you’re fed up with all the “who copied who,” “this one’s suing this one” nonsense currently consuming the mobile ecosystem, MIT has the solution for you. Raise your Switzerland flag with an affordable wooden DIY cellphone kit. No one will mistake your 9-volt powered laser-cut plywood for an iDevice or Android so you won’t have to worry about any impending patent litigation. All kidding aside, this little do-it-yourself kit is only in the prototype phase and is a far cry from the smartphones we’re used to using.
Evernote is planning on giving away over $100,000 in prizes in its second annual worldwide developer competition: the Evernote Devcup. Devcup challenges software developers and designers to create awesome products that integrate with the Evernote API for desktop, mobile or the web. The competition, which opens in 4 days, will award developers with over $100,000 in prizes and give finalists the chance to present their work to the attendees at Evernote’s Trunk Conference in San Francisco.
Gameloft released a teaser video for the upcoming N.O.V.A. 3 game which is rumored to be powered by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3. This is the third installment in the N.O.V.A. franchise, which stands for Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, and picks up with Kal Wardin crash-landing towards Earth. Gameloft has been known for their console-quality mobile games and N.O.V.A. 3 doesn’t look to disappoint.
A new music service by Microsoft is expected to rear its face at E3 and should give us a better look into the “Spotify-like” Zune replacement code named “Woodstock.” While we generally wouldn’t be too interested in Microsoft news, the new service is reportedly going to be cross-platform and will indeed be available for Android and iOS.
Angry Birds Space, the latest title in the hugely successful Angry Birds series, has received its first update today, bringing 10 new levels, a golden “eggteroid” and more to Android and iOS. Those playing on an iPhone or iPad will also receive 20 free Space Eagles, plus one extra Space Eagle every day they play.
Mobiles Republic is proud to announce the addition of euronews content to their popular free news applications News Republic, APPY Geek and Biz Report. Euronews is Europe’s leading international news network, covering world news with its 400+ journalists from more than 25 countries. In addition to world news, euronews will provide Mobiles Republic with the latest stories in the field of business, high-tech and culture.
Yay, the “Google Drive could launch next week” rumors can finally end. Google has officially announced the availability of it cloud storage service Google Drive. Starting today, anyone willing to sign up can get 5GB of free cloud-storage to start and if that’s not enough you can always choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month (although I’ve heard people getting even cheaper deals when they sign up). When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB. Google Drive competes with the likes of Dropbox, Sugar Sync, and other cloud storage services by offering:
Ever been half way around the world wishing you could watch your favorite local sports team as they go up against their longtime rival? NimbleTV hopes to grant that wish by offering a subscription-based TV platform that would allow users to access all of their television from anywhere in the world, on any device. NimbleTV will host your TV subscription plan and deliver it to you using their cloud-based software. The NimbleTV service is a global platform that features:
Remembering each and every password to each and every service you’ve ever signed up to is an incredibly difficult task. To make it easier, we create simple passwords that we’re less likely to forget, like the name of our favorite pet, our partner, or our car. The problem with that is, it’s not very secure.
Norton’s new Identity Safe is a free service that allows you to choose stronger passwords and keep your data safe while saving them all securely to your PC or smartphone to ensure that they’re never forgotten. You can then sync your passwords between your Mac, PC, Android and iOS devices so that you have them with you wherever you go.