Mobile Archives - Page 11 of 15

Los Angeles Startup PayDragon Launches: Simple, No Frills Order Your Food & Pay App

A new startup has entered the mobile payment arena called PayDragon. PayDragon was founded by Hamilton Chang who also serves as the startups CEO. Chang and his team were also behind the QR code pioneer Paperlinks.

Chang soft launched the PayDragon app in Austin Texas at South By Southwest and decided to do its full launch in LA where the company is based. Chang has eliminated a lot of intense restaurant focused graphics and superfluous extras in the UI to offer an easy order, pay, get receipt transaction system on the mobile phone.

Customers who use PayDragon will order their food from the participating restaurant of their choice, pay for the food, and then get notified by push notification when the food is ready to be picked up. They can also elect to get a receipt sent back to their mobile phone. Chang elected to keep PayDragon as simple as possible and his feedback thus far has proven that point.

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Boulder Mobile Food Startup: Splick-It Adds Meal Ticket For Charity

Splick-it a mobile app startup based in Boulder Colorado has added a community minded touch to its app that allows customers to skip long lines and order ahead at area restaurants.

Customers who use the Splick-it app to order their favorite food can now round their order up to the nearest dollar which will in turn benefit Community Food Share. It’s a very easy process. Customers using the Splick-it app can change their donation settings in the settings menu and then forget about it. It’s that easy.

Splick-it is available on Android and iOS.

“Community Food Share can distribute four meals for every dollar donated,” said Jim Baldwin, chief executive officer for the 31-year-old charity. It distributes more than 7.5 million meals annually through a network of more than 50 member agencies and two direct service programs which target specific at-risk populations in Boulder and Broomfield counties.

Splick-It was founded by Trish Groom and Rob Taylor after Groom, who at the time owned a coffee shop, found that there was a giant obstruction in the form of a 10 foot beam that blocked the entrance to her shop and the counter. Groom found that she was missing customers. Taylor, a regular at Groom’s establishment, suggesting taking text-based orders and allowing those people to fly past the line and just pick up their order.

After the all too familiar bad experience with outsourcing development for their new app to Indian developers, Taylor and Groom happened into Adam Rosenthal from New York who eventually became their third co-founder and co-CTO. Today Splick-it has an Android app, iOS app and hundreds of area businesses participating in their community. It’s only fitting that they are trying to make giving back to the Boulder community an easy experience for their users.

source: Boulder County Business Report

With Incredible 4G Leaked, Could Verizon Be Launching This Device AND Another More Similar To Its One Series?

We knew something was up when Verizon dropped the price of the Rezound to $49, and with previous rumors of a 4G DROID Incredible popping up, it was definitely a possibility that Big Red was trying to make room for their next 4G LTE HTC device. These rumors became even closer to fact when pictures starting popping up like crazy yesterday of the alleged “Incredible 4G”.

The DROID Incredible 2 gained a lot of praise for being a solid device, but one of its major downsides was the lack of 4G LTE, even with the network being launched prior to the device. This left Verizon in a position to market the Thunderbolt, but it seemed as if the original DROID Incredible never really got a proper successor. With the Incredible 4G however, the DROID Incredible’s may be able to reign yet again. The only possible issues I can see with this device is that it must be on par with HTC’s One series, and even its recently announced Evo 4G LTE for the device to be a success. Being that Verizon has plenty of choices, including the Galaxy Nexus, users may want to think twice about jumping on the Incredible 4G bandwagon if it seems the device is lacking what other HTC devices aren’t.

However, this may not be an issue, as the device is poised to run Ice Cream Sandwich (with Sense 4.0 of course) with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz. It does have a 4″ screen though, meaning it will be smaller than both the Rezound and Thunderbolt were, but it is right on par with the DROID Incredible 2. This could mean that Verizon is planning on releasing this device and a larger device more similar to its One series, but we won’t know for sure until we hear directly from Verizon or HTC. Verizon launched the Thunderbolt and the DROID Incredible 2 around the same time, and they could be planning something similar with a larger device, and an “Incredible”-sized device such as the one shown above. Stay tuned for more details on the “Incredible 4G” and any other devices Verizon may have up its sleeve.

Source: Droid-Life

AT&T Store Employees Recommending iPhone And Android To Those Interested In Lumia 900

Two weeks ago Brent reported on the fact that Nokia was going to line the pockets of AT&T employees for recommending their new Lumia 900 smartphone. Well it appears that some employees either didn’t get that memo or get that check.

CNet reporter Marguerite Reardon set out on a mission Monday to see what AT&T employees at stores in New York City had to say about the new Nokia Lumia 900, a Windows Phone 7 device. She went into several area stores posing as a first time smartphone buyer and expressed interest in the latest Windows Phone 7 device.

Despite a star studded launch event in New York City over the weekend, and the fact that there is signage everywhere in AT&T stores promoting the Lumia, Reardon found that New York City AT&T Wireless employees were still quick to recommend the iPhone.

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Latest Rumor: Mircosoft To Buy RIM?

The interwebs are a buzz today about the latest rumor involving Waterloo Canada based RIM/Blackberry. According to financial website Benzinga.com Microsoft is allegedly about to invest $3.5 billion dollars into the company.

This comes as a surprise and out of left field so of course we take it with a grain of salt. It doesn’t make that much sense either. RIM has been steadily losing market share due to Apple and Android’s stranglehold on the smartphone OS market.

RIM did release a product earlier this month that allows Android, iPhone and RIM to play nice in the next iteration of Blackberry Enterprise Server, which they are calling “Mobile Fusion”. RIM is also expected to release their Blackberry 10 devices which will utilize the QNX platform, the same platform on the Blackberry Playbook.

Microsoft has been desperately trying to gain traction with their Windows Phone 7 products. The first of their Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets have hit the market however they haven’t made any significant gains in market share.

Perhaps putting the two failing operating systems together would amount to one working, worthwhile system.

Google+ Updated With Brand New UI, Profiles Reminiscent Of Facebook Timeline

With a completely new UI update landing for the web client today, we can see that Google is really trying to grab and keep users for their social networking service. Now, UI updates come to services all the time, with re-focus for their apps and so forth. However, Google isn’t necessarily trying to point out something new with this update, just show you what’s been there the whole time. No big new features, no name-changes, just the same Google+ with a different look.

There is no doubt that they are trying put a bigger focus on Google Hangouts, one of the best features Google+ has to offer, and really, one of only things I use it regularly for. The entire right side of the page has been taken up by a chat bar, showing all users that are currently online with an option at the top to “start a Hangout.” This really draws your attention when first getting to the site, much like what Facebook has done with their side-bar.

The profiles have also been redone, and it really just looks like an inverted version of Facebook’s Timeline. Posts are lined up from the bottom in order you posted them like usual on G+, but much of the design layout is very reminiscent of what Facebook has just done with their profiles. They’ve even added the option to add a cover photo, with your profile picture laid neatly on top. They did, at least, put all of this on the right side of the page as opposed to Facebook having it on the left, but it is still very similar.

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One of the greatest pieces of the new UI is the column on the left displaying all of the places to go on Google+. To me, this really simplifies the whole experience and makes it really easy for new users to figure out what to do. All the necessary things have been added for users to view, such as Home, Profiles, Circles, and of course, Hangouts.

Overall, I really like the new design of G+, and I think it is much easier to use. The emphasis has been placed on the social service’s best features, and showing people why they need to use Google+ is the way they’ll bring in more users.

Seattle Based Beamit Receives Funding From Schmidt And Bezos

Seattle-based Beamit, specializes in international money transfers for ordinary people. For the most part, when people wanted to send money to relatives in other countries it often meant spending time in long lines at Wal-Mart or other retail establishments, filling out long forms and waiting for Western Union or Moneygram to take in all the information and then finally the recipient would receive the funds. This was of course, after paying outrageous fees to the service provider.

Beamit’s founder Matt Oppenheimer discovered this pain first hand while overseeing mobile and internet banking at Barclays Bank Kenya.

“Many Kenyans received money in an old and antiquated way using a cash-based system on both ends but it was an expensive and a painful customer experience,” Oppenheimer told Seattle based tech site Geekwire. “I knew that there was the opportunity to leverage digital channels, including mobile phones, to improve the lives of our customers.”

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Instagram: To Delete, Or Not To Delete

Instagram finally arrived on Android just last week, and iPhone users were in a huge uproar over “those Android users” getting into their club. Instagram also received 1 million downloads in the first day, showing that there really was a lot of Android users joining the club. However, a lot of the Android community couldn’t see the point in actually using the app, because we’ve already had those filters in so many other applications. Still, enough Android users saw a way they could use the app that Instagram put a pretty big footprint in the Play Store.

Today, Mark Zuckerberg announced via Facebook that the social giant would be acquiring Instagram. A lot of users were upset about that. A lot. It has gone as far as people exporting their photos and deleting their account as soon as the announcement was made, and others setting up a date for a massive account deleting party, much like the “Quit Facebook Day” we saw last year when Facebook made some privacy changes. This leaves the newly joined Android community with a question. Should we continue to use Instagram? Because with only a week under our belts it couldn’t be something we can’t live without. And for users who haven’t even started using the service, should you even join?

The Instagram team had to have seen a huge issue coming, because they added this statement to their official blog letting users know things would be the same:

“It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.

The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you.You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.”

Still, a lot of users hate Facebook, and cannot imagine to see their hip Instagram community flooded with around 900 million Facebook users (and growing). This leaves it up to each and every individual to assess where they are in the social network, and where they think it will go. If you think Instagram is on its way down the drain, go ahead and delete your account, but be warned. If you delete your Instagram account, your photos will be gone forever, and you will never be able to create another account under the same username again. Deleting an Instagram account is very permanent, and unlike just “deactivating” a Facebook account.

On the other end, and personally the way I see most fit to go, you can wait it out. I downloaded and began using Instagram the day it was released on Android, and have intermittently used it since. I don’t use it as much as Twitter, but I definitely use it more than Facebook. Will Instagram be ruined forever? Who knows. Will Instagram be ruined by Facebook and all of its massive user base? We don’t know. One thing we do know though, is Instagram is still there, and nothing has changed yet. If the company continuing to add services to their app and improves upon it more and more, how will the users who quit on the day of the Facebook acquisition feel?

I’m not saying I like the acquisition, because I definitely don’t. But I do think users should wait and see what happens before they go deleting their accounts forever. That’s not to say I’ll never delete mine, I’m just not deleting it yet.

AT&T Hoping To Revive Windows Phone With $150 Million Ad Spend

Although T-Mobile was the first company to support Google’s Android operating system, much of the credit for the adoption of Android in the United States goes to Verizon Wireless. The nation’s largest carrier spent over $100 million dollars advertising the original Motorola Droid smartphone in 2009. The results for that campaign were phenomenal, Android quickly overtook Blackberry in Verizon Wireless stores.

AT&T is hoping to replicate that success with it’s Nokia Lumia 900 for which they are the sole US Carrier. The Lumia 900 is a great piece of hardware running Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system. AT&T is hoping to sell lot’s of Lumia 900’s and they are backing it with $150 million dollars in advertising money.

Business Insider’s Jim Edward’s doesn’t think that $150 million dollars in advertising for the Lumia 900 is a wise idea. As he points out in this article, Windows Phone is doing so poorly that it wasn’t even mentioned by name in the most recent Nielsen report on smartphone sales. Couple that with the fact that Windows only commands 2% of the app space and the fact that they are “paying” developers to develop on the platform and this may be a recipe for disaster.

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Rawporter Road Show: Biometrics Associates Encrypted Bluetooth Technologies

At the government technology show, formerly called FOSE, in Washington DC we got a chance to talk with Biometrics Associates. This company has developed some very cool encrypted Bluetooth technologies that are implemented in military and government uses.

Their first product is a card reader that, when attached to a smartphone, allows apps that use Biometrics Associates SDK to be unlocked. The only way to unlock these apps is with the right key card and the right credentials on the keycard. Biometrics Associates offers an SDK where developers can build any kind of protected app.

App uses already in use or in development include email protection apps, phone unlocking apps, tactical planning apps and even apps that are used to protect plans for military equipment. Their technology is approved by the United States Department of Defense and NSA to ensure that it meets the top-secret clearance needed at such a high level.

The other technology they offer is a secure BlueTooth headset. As you’ll learn in the video the secured Bluetooth headset uses its own pairing mechanism so that the default 0000 and 1234 codes don’t work to pair the phone with the headset. In addition once locked to the phone it creates a shield that won’t allow any kind of Bluetooth interruption, penetration or eaves dropping.

The headsets were built to NSA specification so that even the highest level agent in any branch of government can talk securely via Bluetooth headset to another party.

“Today’s CAC user needs secure access to mobile applications”, noted Scott Johnson, BAL Executive Vice President and COO, “but sensitive information – both data and voice – must be protected from multiple points of attack. Imagine a doctor in a DoD hospital making his or her rounds with an Android tablet. This doctor needs CAC authenticated access to the hospital medical records database but also needs to be able to dictate notes into the patient’s record over an encrypted Bluetooth link. We are proud to provide products to make this a reality.”

Sound interesting, watch the video.

Print Your Instagram Pics To Posters, Stickers And More With Prinstagr.am

Social Print Studio, a San Francisco based company, that specializes in making apps that print photos from social networking sites like Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter to stickers, posters and other printables. They’ve just announced their most recent endeavor surrounded by the phenomenon we all know as Instagr.am.

Now your favorite Instagram photos with their glorious filters can be captured in real life non virtual goodness. Sometimes the memories you’ve created need to be shared outside of the online world and that’s where Prinstagr.am fits in.

For $25 you can have between 50-400 of your favorite Instagram pics made into a 40 inch poster with all the photos laid out on a grid. That cute picture of your kid that got 400 likes on Instagram can now be made into 48 miniprints and shared with your entire neighborhood for just $12.

In all seriousness though with more and more people using photo apps and camera phones, and of course digital cameras less and less pictures are printed out. Taking your USB stick to Walmart or Target for that special photo novelty is time consuming and cumbersome and sometimes doesn’t even turn out right. With Prinstagr.am you’re not going to have that problem.

Check it out for yourself right here.

Source: Gizmodo

Baltimore Startup 410 Labs Hits PR PayDirt With Evolve Communications “Rocket Packs For Startups”

Back in June of 2011 410 labs opened up their beta to their shortmail service. Shortmail is a service that helps users create 500 character emails that are concise and deliver the message without the superfluous chatter that clogs email messages everywhere.

It originally released to anyone with a Twitter account. In fact today you can still claim a shortmail account using your Twitter credentials, however in January they opened it up to anyone with a pulse via their web tool at shortmail.me

“Our goal is to bring communication simplicity to everyone,” says 410 Labs CEO Dave Troy. “After hearing from many of our our users that they love Shortmail, but don’t love their Twitter name, we’ve opened up a new name space that’s not tied to Twitter, so everyone can enjoy the benefits of shorter, more concise communication.”

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Instagram For Android, Why Did We Even Need It?

Instagram for Android came out today, and by searching Twitter, you could find either utter stupidity in the hatred or joy that it’s finally on Android. Both views though are utterly stupid. For one, those iPhone users are idiots and need more proof just reread what was said above, or click on Twitter in the first sentence and just follow the stream of stupidity down to your local Apple store.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Instagram isn’t a “good” application, it’s just Android really never needed it. We have applications such as Paper Camera, puddling camera , Retro Camera Plus . Just to name a few. What Instagram did for the iPhone is something that has been done since Android first came out. Third party Camera applications with trendy filters that the camera couldn’t do on it’s own.

Australian Startup Announces The “Playa”iPhone Case The Ultimate Hook Up Companion

Australian based startup Annex products launched in 2011 with a product designed by mates Rob Ward and Chris Peters. Their first product, the Opena case, is an iPhone case with a bottle opener built into it very similar to beaheadcase.com’s cases for opening beer bottles. They launched the Opena case on Kickstarter the popular crowd-funding site for new products.

The new case called the “Playa” provides protection,not only for your beloved iPhone but from STD’s, and unwanted pregnancies as well. How does it do this? It’s the first case designed to hold your phone and a condom.

The condom is secured in a sliding compartment that is flush with the case and no one can tell what’s in there. It holds two condoms easily. As the company says “no condoms falling on the red carpet for the playa case owner”.

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