The Facebook Messenger app as been a curious addition to the Facebook mobile apps lineup. It's only advantage over the messages section of the Facebook app itself was the loading time. It appeared as though Facebook were trying to 'replace' text messaging with their Messenger app. This was until January when in America and Canada users were able to use the Messenger app to make voice calls to contacts over their data contract or Wi-Fi connection.
This feature now comes to the UK, but without too much of a fanfare as it's more of a beta test and will be rolled out properly once bugs are squashed. To try out the feature for yourself in the UK you'll need the iOS version of the Facebook Messenger app. Then just swipe right to reveal a list of your contacts. Tap a contact for their information and the new 'Free Call' button will be there. If it's got a green phone symbol, you are good to go! If they don't answer you can even leave a voice message.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away there were birds whose eggs where stolen by Bad Piggies... or am I confusing Angry Birds with Star Wars?!?! One of the best mobile games, Angry Birds, has taken a fresh, sling-shoting, head only carton approach to the Star Wars universe in: Angry Birds Star Wars!
The epic game see the Star Wars characters you know and love do battle in an Angry Birds sling-shot style. The game features the epic Star Wars sound track, light sabres and the classic scenes that you will enjoy playing out on your phone/tablet. Reasonably priced at just 69p for iOS devices and available on Windows, iOS and Android. For links to download it in each format click here.
If you use Google's extensive range of free services how long is it till you ask the question, should I get an Android device? If you are reading this on an Android device then I suggest you are convinced, but for iPhone users, or even non-smartphone users, an Android phone can be increasingly tempting.
Once Google is your main source of email it makes sense to move your master contacts list to GMail. With the ease of access through the website, mobile apps or browser extensions before long it's a convenient place to store almost everything, calendar, notes, and documents. All accessible on any computer through a browser and on your smartphone via apps. With an Android device all of these services are smoothly integrated into the system and sync so that you are always up to date.
The big question for non-Android users is, 'how many Google apps do I have to use before I switch to Android?'
The below survey should provide some insight into whether or not people are shifting from the iPhone and the Blackerry to Android powered smartphones.
This video from Wicked4u2c on YouTube runs through a lot of the new iOS 6 features which will be coming to Apple's iPhone in the Autumn. A lot of these features where met with rapturous applause at Apple's WWDC conference earlier this year, but how many are already included in Android's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system?
The Google IO Accessory Developer Kit was given to selected developers at Google's recent developer conference, Google IO. It looks like a pretty cool device and the Engadget team got their hands on one and made this video to show what it is and how it will help the development of cool hardware that can interact with Android devices in the future.
With Jelly Bean (the latest version of Android) users can access Google Now. Google Now gathers all of the information from your device, such as appointments, current location etc. and displays exactly what you need to know.
At the start of your day it'll show the weather forecast at your current location. Say you were away travelling it'll give you a currency converter from the local currency back to your home currency, very useful. So you have an appointment in an hours time, Google Now will tell you to leave in a minute, the usually 45 minute journey is going to take longer due to the current traffic conditions.
You arrive at your business meeting and decide to get a spot of lunch, Google Now can suggest local places to eat and direct you there with Google Maps.
For more details see Google Now or the video below.
Microsoft has created an Android app (yeah, an Android app, not Windows Phone 7). This app and the companion website can be used for automation and programming of your Android device. Once you have the app installed and you log into the website, which is achieved using Facebook authentication, you can start to create Rules for your device.
To get you started their are some Recipes for basic Rules which you can apply to your phone. These are logical processes based on input data from the state of your phone/tablet. For example:
Text my wife: "I'm on my way" when I leave work.
Launch the Calendar when I arrive at work.
Text my wife "my phone's battery is dying" when my phone's battery goes below 15%
As you can see the input can be a location (using geo-fencing by monitoring the phones 3G cell, WiFi hotspots and GPS location). Or the input can be a time, or device state, such as low battery. The on{X} team have created an API which can assign a state to the phone based on the accelerometer movements and the GPS location. It's called Mode of Transport and is used to determine whether you are still, walking, running or driving. You can use this data to automatically open the music app when you start walking, or remember where you parked when you go from driving to walking.
To fully use this app to your own design you need to use some code. But if you aren't a coder and don't feel the need to learn there are loads of prebuilt recipes from the community for you to try.
For more details and to start creating your own Rules head to www.onx.ms. If you have any suggestions of rules feel free to leave a comment below or on the Facebook Page.
The My Xbox Live App was reviewed on Web Warp Blog last year, but Microsoft have added a new feature in the current version of the free iOS app - Xbox Control.
Exclusively from the iOS app users can remotely control their Xbox over the internet. In practice this enables you to launch apps such as Netflix or BBC iPlayer from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and choose to watch a movie/TV programme, without having to use your Xbox controller. When you are in these Xbox Live Applications you can navigate through the on screen menus in the normal fashion because the app displays virtual Xbox controller buttons for you, as shown in the screen capture below.
This is similar to Apple's Remote App for Apple TV but it's missing one vital feature. When you go to search for content on an Apple TV using the the Remote app the iOS on screen keyboard appears for quick and easy searching. Trying a Bing search using the My Xbox Live app and you still have to navigate using the left, right and A buttons. Not really making best use of the iPhone's capabilities, and almost rendering the app little more than just a really neat way to launch a game (assuming the right disk is in the Xbox).
My Xbox Live is now also available for Android devices via Google Play, but doesn't include the ability to control the Xbox remotely - yet.
Google's Chromebook's work just like the Chrome web browser, fast, safe and always update. This automatic update feature is the opposite of what many people are used to with updates from Microsoft. These are more often than not security updates and always seem to require a restart of your PC, just when you need to finish what you are working on! Google's Chrome browser updates in the background and launches as the new version next time you open the browser. So without even realising it, and without user intervention, everyone keeps up to date.
Chrome OS works in the same way, keeping your Chromebook up to date. Chrome OS's "desktop" inspired UI tweak, which was reported on in April 2012, has arrived. This update features some UI styling which can be found on Chrome for Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the reported on desktop style UI.
With increasingly quick machines being launched running Chrome OS task's such as multiple tab browsing, YouTube video playback and online games are running smoother than ever. And with the recent release of Google Drive it is even easier to manage your documents and files accross Chromebook's and PC's, Mac's and Linux distro's.
For a guided tour of the improved Chrome experience see the YouTube video below. And for more details check out Google's Chromebook webpage.
Do you use a Chromebook? How do you find it being always "on the cloud"? Send us your thoughts by commenting below or getting in touch on Google+.
Google have rebranded the Android Market as Google Play. The Android Market is similar to Apple's App Store and is a one stop shop on your Android powered mobile device to download applications such as games, utilities, news, weather, etc.
Google's rebrand brings the Android Market place into a larger store for Android powered devices. Google Play brings the addition of music, books and movies to Android powered smart phones and tablets. This puts Google Play firmly in the realms of competing with Apple's iTunes Store and iBooks store.
To upgrade to Google Play in your Android device simply visit the Android Market where you will be requested to accept the Terms and Conditions associated with Google Play. A cool feature of Google Play is the ability to purchase apps on a desktop and have the new app wirelessly pushed to your Android mobile device. This is much like Apple's iTunes in the Cloud feature of iCloud, but Google's requires no setting up to speak of.
Let is know what you think of Google Play by commenting below.
Google Maps has become the standard for mapping in the last few years. Their maps are accessed by people all across the globe for accurate and up to date maps of the world.
The recent 2011 update is compared to 2009 on Google's Lat Long blog, the images are below.
New York is a good demonstration of how the map is easier to read as the main roads are shown narrower.
This is most dramatic change is in Sydney, where there is a large concentration of main roads. The colours used in the map are toned down, and as a result more information can be displayed. This increases as you zoom in, where labels appear and are resized at every zoom level. The images below show London's South Bank.
And zoomed in London South Bank University shows the names of individual buildings. Try it yourself in the embedded map below.
Microsoft have demonstrated their new Windows Store which will be included in Windows 8 Beta which is due for release next February. They claim it will have a greater reach than iOS and Android devices put together. The Windows Store follows features the Metro stlye which is finding it's way into all Microsoft's products. For more information about developing for Microsoft's Windows Store see the below video.
Facebook Messenger is a new app for smartphones from Facebook. It's basically an exert from the main Facebook app which still includes messaging as a feature. The new app is purely for messaging and opens very quickly on iOS4 compared to the Facebook app.
Facebook messenger features more control over messaging alerts, it allows you to hide notifications for 1 hour or until 8am.
The new app looks to be aiming to compete with over online messaging service apps such as:
Skype
Microsoft Live Messenger
Google+
Twitter (to some extent)
BBM (on Blackberry)
What's App (which is a paid download)
iMessage (iOS 5 - due 12/10/11)
So with all these options, and many being cross platform, will operators loose out on revenue from SMS and MMS? More than likely.
Samsung's smartphone handsets have been using Google's Android system for a while now and are seen as a contender in the smartphone market. This teaser video builds tension for a forthcoming announcement: "Unpacked" on 11/10/11 in San Diego, USA.
Facebook is 2nd most popular site in the world (Alexa rating page) and it has over 500 million active users. A lot of these users have smart phones and if you have an Android device or iPhone, iPod Touch etc. then the Facebook app is a must for you! Keep up to date with your friends latest statuses/photos/event invitations, all on the go. The Facebook app runs through a web fetching system so essentially all of the content within the app is actually online. This means that it is updated and improved all the time without the need to constantly download updates to the app itself. Facebook's mobile app incorporates all of the recent changes to Facebook's News Feed and privacy enhancements such as post approvals to add tagged items to your own wall.
The Facebook app also features Check In which uses your smartphones GPS to quickly determine your location, and also alerts you if a friend checks in nearby. You can look at pages on the go and read and respond to private messages. If it wasn't so buggy and often unreliable then it would get 5/5 but sadly it is so it's getting a 3/5 rating. It's also spookily similar to the Google+ app following recent changes...
Ever want to know what your Internet connection speed is on your smartphone? Sometimes a strong 3G connection is faster than a cafe's free Wi-Fi once lots of people are sharing it. What about your internet speed when you are pushing the range of your home Wi-Fi? Now there's an app for that. You can take www.speedtest.net with you with the smartphone app. Available for iOS and Android mobile operating systems. It's a very slick app that does exactly what it says on the tin. It's also free as it's supported by unobtrusive ads. On the iPhone this are Apples iAds.
Many internet blogs (including Web Warp Blog) are created using Google's free Blogger service. The new Blogger mobile app allows you to create and publish posts on the go. It was released on the 8/9/11 but as been long awaited by Blogger users. In addition to the mobile apps Blogger web pages now have the option for mobile formatting (example). This app is simple and straight forward to use and free too! Available for iOS and Android mobile operating systems.
Google have recently created their own social network: Google+. Google+ is similar to Facebook but with an emphasis on control. You assign contacts into circles and you can post items specific to circles. For example, "I'm off to the pub, anyone fancy joining me?" Could be posted for your friends circle and not your colleagues. People can appear in multiple circles too. When it's time to chat to a couple of people you can use huddle to create an instant messaging group which works across platforms, so your friends might be using an iPhone, iPad, Android mobile or Android tablet, it really doesn't matter.
If you fancy joining Google+ plus there are plenty of invites out there and if you already have a Gmail account you have already registered!
AutoCAD WS is a FREE online CAD editing tool from Autodesk - and it's received an exciting set of updates. There are limitations though, but that is to be expected from a free web based app. This really shows the power of web 2.0. You can modify and amend your drawings almost anywhere, which is a new and novel idea in the CAD industry. The main feature lacking is full support for 3D across all the various AutoCAD WS platforms. For more casual users Google SketchUp's free version is the way to go, it's support for 3D drawing and quick textures is ideal for home use.
Autodesk are market leaders in Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software and their flagship product, AutoCAD, is probably the standard for engineering, architecture and manufacturing. AutoCAD typically runs on a specific computer and any work that needed doing to a specific drawing would have to take place on that computer. For those that aren't aware of AutoCAD you could draw parallels from Adobe's Photoshop suite:
So AutoCAD WS is a web based product that allows you to view and edit your drawing files online and on the go. Just like Adobe's Photoshop Express iPhone app there is an AutoCAD WS smart phone / tablet app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The latest features include the ability to manipulate layers within a drawing. You can also enter lines at a specific length which was a particularly big downfall of the original 2010 release of AutoCAD WS. Another new feature of AutoCAD WS is that you can connect it to your existing online storage solutions such as box.net. Here's a short video showing off these new features:
There is also now a Mac App which works with the online service and also provides support for offline editing. The AutoCAD WS Mac App can be downloaded for free from here.
AutoCAD WS is also fully integrated into the latest version of AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2012.
