Category: Apps and Software

Games, Apps, Softwares, Operating Systems and Software Hacks

BlackBerry’s Virtual SIM Allows Users Operate Multiple Mobile Numbers via Single SIM

Once a reputed brand name, BlackBerry has lost a major chunk of market share to budding and established smartphone makers. The instant messaging pioneer is pushing itself to handset and software domain to reclaim its lost status. Recently, the company launched a software in India that allows customers to use nine different mobile numbers through a single SIM card.

Termed as WorkLife, the software offers customers to differentiate personal, professional data usage and segregates the usage details as per categories. Customers can use one number for personal use, other for foreign travels, third for business contacts and so on. It will be extremely useful for those on roaming or foreign trips as the virtual SIM will get you connected to a local virtual operator. Users can pay for the bills in the local tariff rate rather than paying for international roaming.

The Managing Director of BlackBerry India Sunil Lalvani said about the same –

The software precisely distinguishes between work use and personal use of an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry smartphone by introducing separate lines managed by the company.

The Canadian tech giant has tied-up with Idea Cellular as its first partner and is looking to join hands with more operators in India. The primary goal of the partnership would be to help manage telecom expenses, protect employee privacy and control company assets.

Lalvani further added to its statement that it will allow enterprises to interact with 25 people in one go through video and audio. Certainly, it’s a major move to lure business sector with advanced messenger service. As per Economic Times, the virtual SIM will arrive in India by year end.

BlackBerry’s share has been seen a tremendous decline in the first quarter of 2015. It is planning to establish itself once again in the Indian market and has launched the latest device BlackBerry Leap in India. It will go on sale starting next week.

May 8, 2015
Paytm’s Mobile Wallet Will Soon Be Accepted at Café Coffee Day, Domino’s and More

After stepping in the e-commerce market, Paytm is geared to diversify into the offline space. The digital recharge start-up has partnered with thousands of quick service restaurants (QSRs) in major cities of India to provide cash-less service in the next two months. By stepping in offline retail business, the mobile recharge service will offer customers a choice to pay through their secure platform without the need to carry cash.

The Vice-President (Business) of Paytm Amit Lakhotia stated on the same –

We are now foraying into the offline space. We have partnered various QSRs covering 7,000-10,000 outlets in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

He further added that the service should be available by mid-June. Some of the restaurants that have joined hands with Paytm include top food chains like Café Coffee Day (CCD) and Domino’s. The company is planning to add more more restaurants where their Paytm Wallet can be functional.

Lakhotia stated on the growing acceptance of their virtual wallet application, “Mobile wallet usage is definitely growing in the country. On our platform alone, about 66 million people are using the wallet services and the number will cross 100 million much before the year ends.”

The company commenced the Paytm Wallet app with its debut in e-commerce space. Paytm wallet allows users to transfer money within the wallets. The app offers users to transfer money to a bank account from the wallet so that they can cash out the required amount.

Paytm expects to observe a steep increase in revenue by the year end. Right now, its revenue rate is $1.5 billion, but it is expected to multiply more than double to $4 billion by end-2015.

Meanwhile, Paytm provides its services to the online services like Uber, BookMyShow, eBay and IRCTC.

May 4, 2015
This Upcoming App Converts Your Facebook Page into a Full-fledged Website

The Facebook Page feature helps businesses, brands and other organisations create public profiles. They use this to gain followers or fans, with people who ‘like’ their page. Now if you ever thought of converting your page into a full fledged website, you may very well have a chance of doing so. An experimental app is being worked upon that shows potential of achieving this feat.

The app, named Pager, has been developed by a team of three engineers. The rough framework was developed within 24 hours. All you need to do is link your Facebook account, and a list of pages owned by you pops out. You can then choose your desired page and save it, after which the site goes live. The site is divided into four categories, namely, ‘About’, ‘News’, ‘Events’ and ‘Gallery’.

‘The Trap’ page converted into a website

The ‘About’ gallery displays your business details like name, site information, etc. The ‘News’ section works pretty much like a wall post and ‘Events’ and ‘Gallery’ displays upcoming events and photos/videos, respectively. Alex llea, Anton Shevchenko and Darrel-Day Guerrero, who developed this app during the Disrupt NY Hackathon said that the central idea behind this was to allow small businesses who use Facebook to manage their website. The app is still in its infancy stage, but the team is laying down all the codes that can support the Facebook API.

May 4, 2015
Domino’s App Might Soon Allow You to Track Your Order Minute by Minute

Soon, waiting for your pizza to arrive on your doorsteps will get slightly less agonizing. Inspired by Uber’s ridesharing app that allows you to keep a track of your cab in real time via a map, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises plans on creating a similar app that will allow you to track your pizza in real time. Domino’s Pizza Enterprise is the master franchise holding the rights to Domino’s brand in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, and Netherlands.

This new app will allow the users to follow their order on smartphones, tablets or TV screens. When asked about the theory behind this app, Chief Executive, Don Meij, said that in a delivery system, the time taken to reach the consumer since the order is dispatched remains a dark spot, and now, it will be fully disclosed and transparent.

The tracker will show a map in real time and a tracker tracking your order. To make the app less dull and dreary, Domino’s plans to include the driver’s name and his personal details like his favourite football team, what type of music they are playing while delivering the order and what speed they are driving at. Meij also said that the app will concentrate on improving road safety. By shrinking the waiting time, errant driver behavior can be reduced. Domino’s delivery team has had quite a history of acquiring dangerous habits like speeding and taking sharp corners.

For now, this app will be available in Australia and New Zealand by the end of July. Dominoes plans to bring the service to Netherlands, Japan, France and Belgium by the end of this year. Hopefully, Indians will have the service in their hands soon after.

May 4, 2015
Asus ZenFone Devices in Line to Receive Android Lollipop This Month

Google’s latest operating system Android Lollipop with Material Design components is making its way to more smartphones this month. The handsets to mark themselves in the list of updated Lollipop devices are the ZenFone series phones from Asus like ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5, ZenFone 6, ZenFone 5 LTE and PadFone S. The update will roll out in different weeks of May for the devices.

Asus stated on its consumer forum –

We’ve sent the new version for the final verification and we expect to release the upgrade soon. We would request the kind consideration and understanding of our customers with regards to any inconvenience caused by this schedule changing.

The latest OS is expected to hit ZenFone 5 LTE in May first week, whereas the ZenFone 4, the ZenFone 5 and the ZenFone 6 may receive it by mid-May. The PadFone S is speculated to be last to find the Lollipop update on the handset.

The Taiwanese equipment manufacturer was supposed to roll it out in April, but some technical glitch kept the company away from making it public for the listed handsets.

Considering the changes that will come with Android 5.0 Lollipop, users will experience improved natural touch screen interactions. Besides that, the new Android update lets users have a look at the notifications on the lock screen itself and facilitates dismissing them without unlocking it. All in all, it offers users a pure, bloatware-free and seamless Android experience.

May 4, 2015
Continuum Will Turn a Windows 10 Handset into a Full-Fledged PC

Microsoft’s annual Build Conference brought a slew of significant features. Significant announcements included the disclosure of the new Windows 10 browser ‘Microsoft Edge‘, and the other is the official confirmation of Windows 10 being open for Android and iOS apps.

Among many noteworthy revelations, one that caught hold of our attention is Continuum for phones. The tech firm demonstrated onstage one of the spectacular possibilities for its new Windows 10 and revealed how a small 5-inch handset can turn into a full-blown PC.

So, how does Continuum work and what does it means to Windows Phone users?

Continuum sorts the problem of shifting among various devices. As Continuum transforms a phone into a computer, its user interface (UI) moulds itself to work better with a mouse and keyboard. It’s just like Universal apps from Microsoft that scales up to fit the screen they are opened in.

When a Windows phone is connected to a PC, it acts as the main gadget with power to access everything that you do on a full-sized computer. With Continuum on a smartphone, all the keyboard shortcuts of a PC work will work exactly the same way on your Windows smartphone. This way, users can get their work done using their phone like a PC.

It also comes with dual-screen capabilities, which means users can continue using their phone while it is plugged into external peripherals like a TV or a desktop. This allows the handset to be used independently, and both the screens can perform different functions at the same time. Joe Belfiore from the Microsoft Team announced that new processors from Qualcomm are being used which can help drive two displays separately.

Continuum has given a boost to Windows Phones and has made it somewhat like an Apple iPhone, which works better in conjunction with other gadgets in its ecosystem. For now, Continuum is built to provide limited access, but the hardware will be modified to deliver full-on desktop features in the future. With this, Microsoft has secured its current customers and may even lure more with its new tool.

Watch the below clip for more information about Continuum for Phones:

https://youtu.be/-oi1B9fjVs4

April 30, 2015
It’s Official! Microsoft Extends Android and iOS App Support for Windows 10

The day before, the news of Microsoft planning to roll out a fresh feature came to light, which could bring the plethora of Android apps for Windows users. Now at the Annual Build Conference, Microsoft confirmed the authenticity of the reports. Last night, Microsoft revealed its plan to bolster the piddling share of its Windows Phone market and announced that the new Windows 10 can run the reworked Android and iOS apps. The company unveiled Software Development Kits (SDKs) that allows developers of Android and iOS to port their apps on the Windows platform.

Microsoft wants to offer the 1 billion associated loyal Windows customers the vast apps ecosystem that the company had not been able to develop since long. Two new SDKs will do the porting of apps. For the Android developers, American tech behemoth is allowing to leverage Java and C++ code to make Windows apps, and iOS developers will use the Objective-C code developed by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Operating Systems Terry Myerson commented at the event –

Windows 10 is going to enable you to reuse your Web code, your .NET and Win32 code, your Android, Java and C++ code, to build amazing new applications, bringing the code over, extending it, putting it in the Windows Store, and reaching 1 billion Windows 10 customers.

Today, we’re announcing that you will be able to compile the same Objective-C code that’s being used in iOS applications within Visual Studio on Windows. Enabling you to leverage that code and extend it with the capabilities only found on the Windows platform.

Developers don’t have to put much effort in making apps from scratch. Just a few tweaks in codes and the apps will be ready to run on all Windows devices, automatically fitting the different screen sizes. Microsoft is also looking towards shifting the existing apps on Windows 7 and Windows 8 to the latest Windows 10. The firm mentioned that 16 million .NET and Win32 apps were still being used every month on Windows 7 and Windows 8, so their importance cannot be overlooked.

On the first day of the conference, Microsoft previewed the .NET Core for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. ‘Visual Studio 2015 Release Candidate’ was also released that makes it easier for developers to build universal applications and deploy them to Windows, Linux, iOS and Android platforms.

The company hasn’t come up with the release date of Windows 10 yet, but it is speculated to release in or before fall.

April 30, 2015
Report: Android Apps Might Soon Be Available for Windows Users

Windows Phones have been in the smartphone race since long, but their App Store is still remains constrained. Microsoft is committed to eliminating the glitch and is ready to offer its users the luxury of the Android app ecosystem. The company is reportedly working on a feature that will open the doors of the Android app store for Windows users.

A trusted blogger Paul Thurrot has commented on Microsoft’s plans that they might come out with at the BUILD conference scheduled for tonight. He revealed that Microsoft is likely to introduce a feature that will let users run Android apps on Windows 10 devices like smartphones, tablets and PCs.

This means the confined app network will now grow to the maximum by encompassing all the apps that are developed for Android till date. It will give a major push to the Windows Phone market, which was till date lagging because of its limited App Store.

It is still unclear how Microsoft will integrate the change. It remains to be seen if it will create a new app store for Android apps or allow support for Android stores by third-party developers. The move will help the company in the long run, but it is dubious how it will go with Microsoft’s Universal App strategy.

April 29, 2015
OnePlus and Cyanogen Officially Break Up

The two budding players in their respective fields, Cyanogen and OnePlus, are finally breaking their last thread. Both the companies went through ups and downs in the past few months and now, the two have decided to part ways. A confirmation came from Cyanogen at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing when Cyanogen’s co-founders announced about ending their relationship with OnePlus.

The Co-Founder of Cyanogen, Steve Kondik spoke on the issue –

That’s probably the last you will see from that partnership.… Two new companies are trying to do crazy stuff, a lot of people collide.

Kirt McMaster and Steve Kondik, Co-Founders of Cyanogen stated that both the companies have different goals, and their visions are not coinciding at a point. The fledgling firms will now be heading with their own goals.

The conflict between Cyanogen and OnePlus started when Cyanogen decided to jump into bed with Micromax. For a period, the One devices were banned by the Supreme Court of India. The two companies went back and forth for a while, but have now officially decided to part ways.

Happier Days : OnePlus running Cyanogen

Meanwhile, it is learnt that OnePlus has moved on quickly, and is already working with new brand partners. This might help them scale up the production of the next software to reach the markets quickly. No names linked with OnePlus have come up till now, but it is likely to be an inexpensive Chinese manufacturer. The Chinese equipment maker confirmed on the separation and its association with other partners –

OnePlus shipped reasonable volume, but nothing compared to what some of these other partners can ship… we are working with partners that can scale much quicker.

For now, OnePlus has launched its first own OxygenOS that would fill in for CyanogenOS. After that, the new (unknown) software is expected to replace OxygenOS or provide an alternative for it.

April 29, 2015
Thinking of Donating to Help Nepal? Check Out Facebook’s Impressive New Initiative

Facebook’s initiatives to help the earthquake-hit people in Nepal are appreciable. Earlier it launched a ‘Safety Check’ feature to help people know who all are safe in the affected region. The social networking service has now come up with a new tool that will lend a hand in making contributions for the victims of the Nepal earthquake.

The company has rolled out a ‘Donate button’ within the website which lets millions of connected users make a donation through Facebook. The fund raised for the Nepal earthquake-affected victims will go to International Medical Corps, which are on the ground serving the needful. The most brilliant part about this initiative is that the amount you donate, Facebook will match your donation till $2 million.

The CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg stated in his blog post –

People are coming together to support those affected by the earthquake that struck Nepal and impacted the populations of Nepal, India and Bangladesh

Mark also announced through his Facebook account that it will match every dollar donated up to $2 million, and matching funds i.e. $2 million will be donated by the company. Facebook will distribute the amount to the local relief and rescue organizations providing immediate and continuous relief. The official page of Mark Zuckerberg reads –

Today we’re launching a special campaign to help raise funds for those affected by the Nepal earthquake.At the top of…

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, April 27, 2015

Facebook says that till date, millions of people have been marked as safe and tens of millions of others have learnt about their safety across different sections of the world.

Many countries have joined hands to help Nepal get over this tragic situation. India has already sent and is sending assistance to its neighboring nation. United States has also stood up to do its bit and has announced to send $10 million in relief to stand by Nepal in its hard time.

The natural disaster that struck Nepal a few days back shook the very existence of the country. The death toll has passed 4,000 and is still increasing. According to UN, as much as eight million people are affected by this devastating incident.

Willing people can make their contribution here and save lives.

April 28, 2015
With this New Feature, Facebook Messenger is Now Ready to Take on Skype

Voice-Calling within the app is a recent trend every established and emerging messaging software company is following. Recently, Facebook joined the drift and updated its Messenger service to enable voice-calling in the app. Now users can talk face-to-face with their friends anywhere through Facebook.

Initiating the voice chat service is a child’s play, and users just have to tap on the video icon in the top right corner of the screen to pop up a voice call. The service is available for iOS and Android users as of now. Countries that will be able to access this feature are Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the UK, the US and Uruguay. The tool will soon arrive in other countries “over the coming months.”

The standard messaging service on Messenger still exists. Users can anytime stop a voice call and get back to the customary messaging platform and vice-versa. The company claims that there are over 600 million active users of its Messenger app, and the voice-calling tool will help them with real-time video communication.

Facebook’s Messenger platform is on a development spree. Previously, it added the ability to send money to friends via Messenger, which was followed by the release of Messenger platform for Developers to help people connect with businesses.

Check out the video below for a detailed description of voice-calling on Messenger:

April 28, 2015
Apple Watch Already Has More Than 3,500 Apps Available in the App Store

The Apple Watch is the first smartwatch by the Cupertino-based giant, and the company is extremely proud of it, especially its apps. Yesterday the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook while disclosing about the total earnings of the company, boasted about the massive amount of apps ready for the Apple Watch. Tim stated that over 3,500 apps were available.

Cook further elaborated how significant this figure is as the iPad had only had 1,000 apps ready at its launch in 2010, and iPhone App Store had just 500 apps when it first debuted in July 2008.

Cook briefed in a meeting –

We’re far ahead from where we expected to be from an application point of view. We had an internal goal of beating that 1,000 [that the iPad had] and we exceeded that.

As Apple allowed the third-party apps to make their presence on its Watch, developers have been submitting the ready apps for approval since March 31. The creation of apps wasn’t an easy task for developers as Apple limited the access to functional hardware. Most of those apps have been approved, and Apple Watch users can install any tool from the plethora of apps. Some of the Indian apps for the Apple Watch include NDTV News, HDFC and Cleartrip.

This seems like an important announcement, however we need to keep it in mind that the presence of apps was considerably less in 2010, when the iPad was first introduced. It would not be fair to compare the iPad with the Apple Watch. Recently, it was also learnt that developers are also creating a set of games for the wearable, which is a challenge. Know more about the Apple Watch games here.

April 28, 2015
Steam Workshop Now Allows Mod Developers to Make Money Off Their Work

Steam Workshop, an Internet-based multiplayer and social networking platform, is one of the best platforms where developers can share their add-ons, mods (modifications), maps and items to the games for free. Today, Valve Corporation, creators of Steam, announced that people who create different mods, maps or in-game items can sell and earn of their work through the Steam Workshop.

Steam writes on its official blog:

The Steam Workshop has always been a great place for sharing mods, maps, and all kinds of items that you’ve created. Now it’s also a great place for selling those creations.

With a new, streamlined process for listing and selling your creations, the Steam Workshop now supports buying mods directly from the Workshop, being immediately usable in the game.

The new paid marketplace is updated with the hit game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which currently has over 25,000 available mods. An American video game publisher Bethesda Software said many of their fans have been creating mods for more than ten years, and Steam is offering them a chance to earn by doing what they love best.

While the new paid model sounds great for modders and developers, the other side of the coin is that many Steam users who are used to free mods have started to cry foul against the change. Several users have called the move as ‘immoral’ and blamed the creators to be greedy.

In January, Valve announced that new analytical and measurement tools will be introduced to further optimise the sale of user-created content. This tool may help creators get a better idea of which of their mods are more popular.

April 25, 2015
Now Google Lets You Send Directions From Desktop to Your Android Phone

The Maps app by Google is a must-have tool while commuting from one place to another. Users need to type in the address or speak it to Google to get directions to the location, but what if you can avoid all that hassle. The search engine biggie has launched a new feature that allows sending directions from Chrome browser to your handheld device. Now users can search commute routes before leaving for the destination.

The announcement was made public by the company itself through its Google+ page. The process is as simple as searching on Google. Just type in send directions in the Chrome omnibox and add the final point. Tap on the ‘Send directions to my phone’ option and it will send the directions to your device. The Google Maps will load automatically with the specified location and will navigate to your destination.

It looks like the feature is not accessible in India as of now, but is expected to arrive soon. The hardware and software company launched ‘Find my Phone’ feature a week back that helps locate your missing Android device. It also revised its search algorithm to boost mobile-friendly websites and slipped a list of relevant apps within search results for you to download. All the moves are in favour of its users.

April 24, 2015
Facebook Launches a Multi-Functional Dialler App, Hello

We have to admit that the Phone app on our smartphones is really basic. It just performs limited number of functions like keeping call log and allowing users to make a call. However, Facebook aims to change our call making experience. The social networking service has brought out a smart app that is a blend of TrueCaller, Google Search, Google Maps, and WhatsApp. Hailed as ‘Hello’, it’s an Android-only dialler that works in conjunction with your Facebook account.

The Hello application is a product of Facebook’s Messenger team. It connects the Facebook data with the contact info on your device, and pops up relevant details of the incoming and outgoing calls. No worries if your phone book is narrow, you’ll still get to know the name and other available details of the caller via Hello. Users have the choice to block possibly spam numbers and avoid unwanted calls. Meanwhile, TrueCaller is best known for this feature.

Users can also find businesses with the Hello tool. Meaning you can start a search for a restaurant right in the Hello app and can call for a reservation. The tool comes with direction support, subtracting the need to start off Google Maps to get directions.

Its features don’t end here. With Hello installed on the device, one can text and make calls for free. Hello links with the Messenger app and allows users perform both the functions using cellular data.

Hello is available for free on Google Play Store for the US, Brazil and Nigeria. The tool is likely to arrive in more countries soon. Check out the video below to know how it works:

April 23, 2015