A new feature in Google Maps will help you find parking – or rather, it will mentally prepare you for how difficult it will be to find a parking space at your destination. Google says it’s now using “historical parking data” to calculate a parking difficulty score, which will be …
Read More »Match’s new feature shows you who you crossed paths with in the real world
Match is rolling out a new feature that will help its dating app customers see who they’ve crossed paths with in the real world, and say “hi” if they’re interested in chatting. The opt-in feature called “Missed Connections” takes advantage of location-based services on the users’ phones, but is designed in …
Read More »Facebook Messenger begins testing ads…and they’re big
Facebook today is beginning to test integrating ads into its mobile messaging app’s user interface. The company says it will launch what it characterizes as a “very small test” in Australia and Thailand, which will allow businesses to place an ad on the Messenger home screen. These fairly prominent card-style ads …
Read More »Samsung’s foundry business, upcoming 10nm designs offsets its catastrophic Note 7 losses
Ever since Samsung recalled the Note 7, it’s been obvious the downturn would whack its finances (and the mobile phone division has, indeed, been hit hard by the double recall and sales loss). Despite these losses, however, Samsung just posted its best operating profit in three years. That’s mostly thanks …
Read More »Tumblr brings photo filters and stickers to its iOS, iMessage and Android apps
Tumblr today is launching two new tools for creative expression, stickers and filters, which could become another revenue stream for the Yahoo-owned company, if it chooses to go in that direction in the future. Available only on mobile, users will be able to decorate their photos or GIFs using color …
Read More »Target will launch its own mobile payments system this year
Target’s CartWheel application has grown to some 27 million shoppers who have used it over the past three years following its debut to save over $600 million at checkout. Now, the retailer hints it may be adding mobile payments to the app, and potentially its main Target application, as well. The company didn’t …
Read More »Apple will finally let developers respond to App Store reviews
Apple is finally going to give its developers a way to respond to customer reviews on its App Store and Mac App Store – a feature that’s long been available to Android developers on Google Play, much to the chagrin of the Apple developer community. According to developer documentation for the iOS …
Read More »Adobe bets on Chromebooks for education with slew of mobile apps
Until now there has been a clear division between Adobe’s mouse-and-keyboard driven desktop applications and its touch-centric mobile versions. But, timed to coincide with Google’s push to blend Android with Chromebooks, Adobe has announced support for six of its most popular mobile applications on Play Store-compatible Chromebooks. This is part …
Read More »The new Google Voice launches, bringing a modern look, group chat, photo sharing & more
Confirming reports from earlier this month that a Google Voice update was in the works, Google today has launched a refreshed version of its VoIP calling service on mobile and the web. Largely, the update is about giving the product a more modern look-and-feel, after having not received a major …
Read More »Snapchat’s big redesign, featuring universal search and more, just hit iOS
Snapchat’s major redesign, which introduces a universal search bar to the top of the app, among other features, has today hit iOS. The refreshed user interface was first announced earlier this month, but was only available to Android users at the time with a promise that it would reach iPhone users “soon.” The …
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