SXSW: Google plans to open Now with new API

Google Now is an incredible tool, and yet still has so much unrealised potential. The location-aware service aims to offer the user relevant information as and when it is needed. Unfortunately this has been reserved to Google's own apps and some close partners, and left some developers itching to help bolster it into something truly awesome…

Luckily, it doesn't seem we have that much longer to wait. Aparna Chennapragada, Director of Product Management for...

18 March 2015 | Android

Research: Smartphone apps are just as accurate as wearables

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Prykhodov)

Despite their popularity, wearables will not be able to replace smartphones anytime soon. A study by the researchers of the University of Penn Medicine revealed that the applications on smartphones are as accurate as the health tracking features of wearable devices.

The research was undertaken with 14 participants who tested 10 of the best-selling smartphone applications and handsets in the United States. The researchers asked...

11 March 2015 | Platforms

Apple Watch: What about the developers?

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the Apple Watch, most of which should be answered during today's "Spring Forward" event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.

From a developer's perspective, there are a lot of questions which should have been answered by now in order to prepare. When the original iPhone was launched, there was no support for third party applications. This allowed developers to get a feel for the device, and when the SDK arrived you could...

9 March 2015 | Developer

Degrees of intimacy: Tablet, phablet, smartphone and wearable

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/onurdongel)

By JP Luchetti, Consultancy Director, Mubaloo

According to a 2002 book called ‘The Mobile Phone: Towards new categories and social relations’ by Leopoldina Fortunati, an Italian feminist, theorist and author, the mobile phone is one of the most intimate devices we have.

Since then, the definition of mobile now includes a variety of different device types, including tablet, smartphone, phablet and wearable. Each device...

3 March 2015 | Android

Research: Smartphone Apps Are Just As Accurate As Wearables

Despite their popularity, wearables will not be able to replace smartphones anytime soon. A study by the researchers of the University of Penn Medicine revealed that the applications on smartphones are as accurate as the health tracking features of wearable devices. The research was undertaken with 14 participants who tested 10 of the best-selling smartphone applications and handsets in the United States. The researchers asked them to do 500 and 1,500 meter walks on a treadmill...

23 February 2015 | Wearables

Opinion: IFTTT has just provided the universal IoT remote

IFTTT (If This Then That) introduced a range of 'Do' apps yesterday; Do Button, Do Camera, and Do Note. Each of these help to perform a specific function - of which their simplistic names might suggest - but it is the Do Button application which has the most potential.

The biggest issue with the IoT at the moment is the lack of a winning standard or leading platform

Do Button allows you to perform "Recipes" at the press of a button, so...

20 February 2015 | Android

One-in-five developers target the IoT for upcoming projects

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Branislav)

We have entered a new era where all of our devices going forward are expected to have a presence on the internet and be able to relay data to us and one another to become more efficient, effective, and make our lives easier as we go about our day-to-day business.

For this to happen, the world needs developers to create the experiences which help to tie all of these devices together. According to new research from Evans Data, one in five...

29 January 2015 | Platforms