mobile applications - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Google increases Apps' mobile IT controls

  Google has increased the controls that Apps administrators have over their end users' iPhone, Nokia and Windows Mobile devices, the company announced on Tuesday.

• Missing apps on Android Market annoy developers

  Google has fixed a problem that caused some mobile phone applications to disappear from the Android Market, the company said Tuesday. However, not everyone is convinced that Google's action will put an end to what Android developer Konrad Hübner called the "most annoying and ongoing issue we have seen on Android Market."

• 10 Mobile & Wireless Technologies To Watch

  Gartner is highlighting 10 mobile and wireless networking technologies -- including new versions of Bluetooth and location-awareness -- it says will play a big role in business-to-employee and business-to-consumer interactions over the next couple of years.

• Once Burned, Mobile-Phone App Developers Hedge Their Bets

  Four out of five mobile developers either build apps for the iPhone or are planning to do so, according to market researcher Ovum. This, however, doesn't mean other mobile platforms, such as RIM's BlackBerry OS or Microsoft's Phone OS, are falling by the wayside.

• ABI sees 2010 as breakthrough year for mobile apps

  This will be the big year for mobile applications, according to ABI Research, which expects downloads from app stores to more than double from 2009 and then grow more slowly through 2013.

• Telstra to publish apps on Android Market

  Telstra has put its weight behind Google's Android mobile operating system, announcing plans to make its applications available through the Android Market app store.

• Myriad tool converts Java apps for Android phones

  Mobile software company Myriad Group announced J2Android, which will make it possible for Java-based mobile applications to run on Android-based phones, the company said on Monday.

• Android gesture search extended to wider market

  Google has made its new gesture search application compatible with smartphones based on Android version 1.6, and is also opening it to users outside the U.S., the company's said in a blog post on Tuesday.

• Opera's Mini 5 browser comes to Android

  Opera has released a beta version of its Mini 5 Web browser for Android-based smartphones, the company said on Thursday.

• Windows Mobile apps won't work on new phones

  While Microsoft still isn't commenting on whether current Windows Mobile phones will be upgradeable to its new Windows Phone 7 software, it has finally officially revealed that existing applications won't work on the new platform.

• Nokia N900 coming to retailers in April

  Nokia has announced its Linux-based smartphone, the N900, will be available in Australia in April through retailers, but stopped short of announcing any agreements with carriers.

• PocketGear buys Handango

  PocketGear on Tuesday said it acquired Handango, creating the biggest cross-platform mobile application store.

• Skyfire buys Kolbysoft to make an Android browser

  Skyfire plans to extend its browser to the Android mobile platform after acquiring Kolbysoft, the maker of the Steel browser interface for Android.

• Free BlackBerry Apps: Your Smartphone's 10 New Best Friends

  True BlackBerry lovers, or "CrackBerry" addicts, if you will, can never have too many BlackBerry apps

• Firefox Mobile arrives on Nokia N900 smartphones

  The mobile version of the Firefox browser is now available to owners of the Nokia N900 smartphone, after several months of beta tests. Mozilla is also working on versions for smartphones running Windows Mobile and Android.