Category: Mobile Software

In February, Google teased us with an updated version of Google Goggles that could translate words appearing in photographs, but, sadly, that version was limited to German-to-English translations. Still, we were promised that an update would bring other languages, and that day is finally here. Now, Goggles can read images featuring English, French, Italian, German and Spanish words, and translate ...

The newly independent Rhapsody is moving at lightning speed to steal back some market share by slashing prices and marketing the iPhone's offline playback support of the service. The former Real subsidiary has beaten other would-be killer iPhone music apps to the punch, as it's the first on the block (in the U.S., anyway) allowing users to tag songs they want to play -- even when no Internet ...

Meebo has been a favorite amongst cloud computing purists for some time. It's a Web-based, multi-protocol instant messaging client that works across more networks than one person could possibly remember. Mobile IM addicts have been eagerly anticipating the service's official iPhone app, which will finally offer an alternative to high-priced options from Beejive and IM+ ($6.99 and $4.99, ...

Siri is a new voice search and "virtual assistant" application for the iPhone that takes "natural language" requests and turns them into actionable results. For example, ask Siri "where can I get the best sushi," and it will, using the iPhone's GPS, search Yelp to find recommended sushi restaurants near you. Using Nuance, the same speech-to-text engine that powers popular tools like Jott and ...

What it is: Share KeePass, along with its innumerable (and unofficial) ports, is one of the best and most flexible password managers available. In order to keep your various accounts and log-in information safe, it's strongly encouraged that you not only choose difficult-to-guess passwords, but that you also use a different password for every account. The problem with that method, though, is ...

What it is: 'Canabalt' is a simple game, available both as a free Flash game and as a $2.99 download for the iPhone. The premise is basic; you play a tiny man, fleeing what appears to be an alien invasion, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, dodging obstacles, and smashing through windows. What we like: This game is as pared down as it gets. There is only one button: jump. There is no 3-D ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2009/11/06/9-banned-apps-youll-never-see-on-the-iphone/'; There's no denying the runaway success of Apple's App Store: to date, iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded some 2 billion applications from its ever-expanding library of 100,000. But there's also no escaping the rumblings of discontent from many consumers and developers who feel that Apple is ...

What it is: Dropbox is an online storage service that holds your files (up to 2 gigabytes) for free, and automatically syncs them between several PCs. It also allows you to access your files from any Web-connected computer. Dropbox offers 2 free gigabytes of storage to all users, but you can upgrade that to 50GB for $9.99 a month, or 100GB for $19.99 a month. If you want a slight boost in ...

In an atmosphere of disappearing print magazines, increased TV viewing on the Web, and a tough market for both car buyers and dealers, one of the few successful car companies alive today needs to change the game a bit. So with the introduction of a niche-y hot hatch that isn't even that cheap, Volkswagen hits hard with quick and dirty campaign on everyone's favorite toy -- the iPhone. This ...

The iPhone increasing lets you do many things, but playing a real piano in real time so far hasn't been one of them -- at least until this past week at CEATEC, the annual consumer electronics show held in Tokyo, Japan, which we were fortunate enough to attend. On display at the Yamaha booth was one of the more impressive iPhone apps we've seen to date: Called Finger Piano Share, since it lets ...

The iPhone may not be as big in Japan as it is in the States, but that hasn't stopped Nissan from developing an app that shows the residents of Yokohama City, Japan how to drive better. The new program is part of a trial service called E1 Grand Prix. Here's how it works: The app connects to your car's On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), and extracts information in real-time to determine how efficiently ...

As part of an ongoing effort to refine and improve mobile communication options for the blind, Nokia Labs has introduced a new SMS application (video after the break) that allows blind users to receive Braille text messages via the company's touch phones. The program receives the tactile texts, and, with a series of coded vibrations, relays the message to the user. To date, most blind-accessible ...

If you're a grown man, you've more than likely found yourself in this situation: it's 2 a.m., you've had enough booze to knock out Andre the Giant, and your bladder feels like an overfilled water balloon that could explode at any second. What do you do? Stumble to the bathroom, unzip those pants, and say a prayer. Because that urinal looks no bigger than a thimble (if you can even figure out, ...

You can't turn on the radio without hearing the impact Auto-Tune, a software program that corrects a singer's pitch. Whether that's good or bad is up for debate, but that hasn't stopped both schools of thought from cashing in on the craze. Jay-Z pumped out his anti-ballad 'Death to Auto-Tune,' and, on the other side, T-Pain now further cements his status as 'King of Auto-Tune' with a new iPhone ...

Many online services have tried to drag online one of the last hold-outs of desktop software: the music manager. But the hurdle upon which Last.FM, Imeem, Slacker, and Pandora all stumble is their inability to offer users access to whatever music they want, on-demand, especially in the mobile sphere. Most of the mobile versions of these apps have been relegated to streaming, predetermined ...