Should You Go on Google's Field Trip?
The new app is an ingenious way to learn about what’s around you—and points to a potential gold mine in location-based advertising.An assistant that constantly pesters you with tidbits about your...
View ArticleHow to Track Your Smartphone's Final Moments
It’s a lot harder to find your lost smartphone if the battery is dead. A new app can tell you its last known whereabouts.As smartphones become more popular and useful, it becomes increasingly...
View ArticleLive Updates from Apple's "iPad Mini" Event
Will Apple unveil a smaller, cheaper iPad? We’ll be posting live updates starting at 1 p.m. Eastern.2:13PM: It’s wrapping up. The tech highlights: a new A6X chip for the iPad 4G and the Fusion Drive in...
View ArticleDevelopers Use a Workaround to Make iPhone Apps Do More
App makers sometimes bend the rules by using a tool geared toward corporate IT departments—and Apple knows it’s happening.When Eldar Tuvey wanted to create an iPhone app that compresses data in order...
View ArticleHands On With the iPad Mini
The littlest iPad has a familiar feel and a sharp screen. But the price tag could be more mini.After Apple’s slew of product announcements on Tuesday, which included the introduction of the iPad Mini,...
View ArticleMicrosoft’s App Deficit Disorder
If Microsoft wants to reinvent itself for the mobile era, it will have to attract a new generation of developers.In the crowd at Microsoft’s Build conference, where more than 2,000 software developers...
View ArticleNokia Unveils a Map Service that Lives in the Cloud
With a new mapping service, called Here, Nokia hopes to get smartphone users hooked on its mapping technology.Nokia introduced a new cloud-optimized version of its mapping technology on Tuesday. The...
View ArticleWindows Phone 8: Despite Some Issues, an Excellent Mobile OS
Microsoft’s latest attempt at smartphone software is a job well done—but there’s still plenty of work ahead.For a smartphone operating-software maker whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Snapple” or...
View ArticleEvery Step You Take, Tracked Automatically
A new app called Moves logs walking, biking, and running—no extra effort required. It’s how self-tracking is meant to be.My new favorite app tracks the amount of exercise I get with remarkable...
View ArticleNow You See It, Now You Don’t: Disappearing Messages Are Everywhere
Smartphone apps that send disappearing messages are gaining in popularity.You’ve heard it an eye-rolling number of times: anything you post online, or any message you send—be it a seemingly benign text...
View ArticleWhy Google Glass Is Just the Beginning
In Google’s backyard, a startup has its eyes on glasses that offer more ways to interact with the digital world.While Google toils to perfect the head-worn mobile computer known as Google Glass, a...
View ArticleAn Armband Promises a Simpler Route to Gesture Control
Can an armband that controls gestures by measuring muscle activity make it as a mainstream gadget?When it comes to gesture-control systems like Microsoft’s Kinect, some applications—like gaming—are...
View ArticleThree Questions for Max Levchin About His New Startup
The PayPal cofounder has a new mobile app to help couples get pregnant.Max Levchin, best known as a cofounder of PayPal, has been concentrating these days on a much more intimate topic: fertility.
View ArticleHow App Developers Leave the Door Open to NSA Surveillance
U.S. and U.K. surveillance of smartphone users has been helped by mobile developers—few of whom bother to adopt basic encryption.News that the National Security Agency has for years harvested personal...
View ArticleApp Listens for Danger When You’re Not Paying Attention
An app called Audio Aware lets the hard of hearing and the distracted know when danger approaches.A startup is developing machine-learning technology that mimics the way the ear works, which it...
View ArticleApps by the Dashboard Light
New cars will soon come with high-bandwidth connections and app stores.Starting next month, many car buyers will be getting a novel feature: Internet connections with speeds similar to those on the...
View ArticleMessaging App Adds an Assistant to the Conversation
Emu mines your conversations and smartphone sensors to add helpful details to messages.Making plans via text message can be a pain. A new messaging app called Emu aims to alleviate some of that pain by...
View ArticleStartup Makes One App Run on Many Screens
Conductr wants to help developers make apps that will spread out across multiple devices, taking advantage of all your display real estate.A typical evening at my house includes at least four screens...
View ArticleNow Your Phone’s Tilt Sensor Can Identify You
Tiny hardware imperfections in smartphone and tablet accelerometers lead to unique “fingerprints” within the data they produce, researchers find.The sensor that lets your phone know which way the...
View ArticleApple’s New Programming Language, Swift, Will Lure More Developers
Developers get a first look at Swift, Apple’s new app programming language, and like what they see.Apple may not have wowed consumers with the latest software offerings at its annual Worldwide...
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