<![CDATA[ Latest from ITPro in Iphone-apps ]]> https://www.itpro.com/tag/iphone-apps Tue, 18 Apr 2023 07:00:00 +0000 en <![CDATA[ What cracking open the App Store means for the future of iOS ]]> When you buy an Apple product, it can often feel like making a deal with the devil. On the one hand, you can be confident your new device will be slick, intuitive, and powerful. But on the other, you’re acquiescing to Apple’s locked-down ecosystem of apps and services. Want to run an unapproved app on your new iPhone? Forget it.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: A dynamic phone from top to bottom

This is how it’s been since 2008 when the App Store first launched. Since then, apps have turned into an almost unfathomably lucrative business for Apple. In the year prior to Apple’s most recent financial statement, the store raked in a staggering $78 billion of services revenue, most of which is derived from the App Store.

If rumors are true, though, the gold rush could soon be coming to an end. According to well-connected business journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News, developers are hard at work updating iOS so it can support third-party app stores and apps that have been “side-loaded” onto the device. Such a move would dramatically upend years of Apple’s uncompromising policy – and shake the foundations of the iPhone’s security model, too. 

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) spells trouble for big tech

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was signed into law in September last year. This sprawling piece of legislation had been crafted with only one goal in mind.

RELATED RESOURCE

Purple whitepaper cover with image of smiling female worker wearing glasses and carrying a folder and smartphone

(Image credit: AWS)

Build modern applications on AWS

Manage less. Build fast. Innovate more.

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

“We've gone through several decades where a lot of these companies have been allowed to kind of grow globally unchecked,” says professor Vince Manzerolle, who studies the political economy of digital media at the University of Windsor in Canada. “This legislation is almost crafted to take down some of these big companies.”

When the DMA comes into force, many expect it’ll require Apple to allow third-party app stores on its devices. “If Apple is actually forced to comply with the letter of this new kind of legislation it will, I think, transform its operations in some fairly profound ways,” says Manzerolle. “Allowing sideloading and third-party app stores is a pretty significant change.”

One major point of contention between Apple and the EU is the 30% fee Apple charges for every transaction in the App Store – and most in-app purchases too. “I think the EU is just interested in lower prices and allowing more competition,” says Dr Kathryn McMahon, associate professor of competition law at Warwick University. “They say the 30% is an excessive fee. It's in no way related to the cost. It's also discriminatory because it's not charged across the board.”

Scrapping the ‘Apple Tax’

The fee – often referred to as the 'Apple Tax' – has long been unpopular with developers, as Apple imposes draconian rules on how apps can take payments. Under the current rules, all in-app purchases of digital goods must use Apple's own payment system.

Apple vs Epic Games

Somebody playing Fortnite on a laptop using a games controller

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 'Apple Tax' row escalated in August 2020, when Fortnite developers Epic Games built a version of the game that used its own payment system. Apple called Epic’s bluff, and as a result, Fortnite wasn't available on iPhone or iPad until the lawsuit was settled this year. With the DMA, though, the EU has taken Epic’s side. Under the new model, Epic could get the game onto iPhones by using its own Epic Games store.

What Apple's Epic battle could mean for the app business

Apps aren’t even allowed to signpost alternative payment methods, such as by linking users to a website. It means that, for example, you can download the Netflix app and log in – but if you want to sign up for a new account, you'll need to figure out how to do it yourself because the company doesn’t want to give Apple a cut of its revenue.

The option to use alternative app stores could be of huge benefit to developers across the board. “There are lots of rules and restrictions on what you can and can't do,” says Dr Greig Paul, an electrical engineer and security researcher at Strathclyde University. “You're playing in someone else's walled garden, so to speak.”

“If you give people the option to build apps [without approval], who knows what we will see?” he adds, arguing that it could ultimately be good for innovation if iPhone users could use a different way to download a web browser that hasn’t been forced to use Apple’s own web rendering engine, for example. “You might get the Firefox browser, using Firefox's engine on an iPhone, and that might push Safari to up its performance, or it might give you more extensions.”

Unpicking the iOS security concerns

Cracking open Apple’s app store monopoly could be good news for consumers, who would have more choice and control over the apps on their phones. But there could also be unintended consequences for iOS security.

“If you've been selling people on 'you don't need to think about security, you don't need to think about privacy', and then all of a sudden there are new [threats], maybe users are not prepared for that,” says Manzerolle. “I certainly think that's a possibility.”


The EU’s Apple App Store crackdown ‘will fuel cyber attacks’

Allowing other app stores or sideloading would put iOS policies broadly in line with Android, which has always been more open and flexible than Apple’s super-locked down operating system, but also more open to attack. “You're adding more complexity as you're opening up the platform,” said Manzerolle. “And there's all sorts of smart hackers and cyber criminals out there. They're probably looking for an opportunity to get into the Apple ecosystem and exploit people's trust in the platform.”

Will the EU’s measures backfire?

Of course, even if Apple does bend to the EU’s will, and alternative app stores do emerge on iOS, it doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers will follow. McMahon wonders if the EU could find itself in a similar position to the one it found itself in 2005 when it tried to rein in Microsoft’s ability to use Windows to push its own media playback software to consumers.

“Microsoft, as a result of the EU case, had to ship Windows without Windows Media Player,” says McMahon, who explains that when Microsoft later released a new version of Windows XP without Media Player alongside the bundled version, it died a lonely death.

“Nobody bought it. Nobody wanted to get it separately,” says McMahon. “The whole point of the antitrust case was to separate it out to allow much more competition in music browsers and streaming, but it didn't really have that effect. Because people just preferred [the bundle] and they just purchased the entire package.”

Will history repeat itself for iOS? Or will this be the beginning of a dramatic new era for the iPhone? If the rumors are true, we’re about to find out.

]]> https://www.itpro.com/business/policy-and-legislation/what-cracking-open-the-app-store-means-for-the-future-of-ios zd2aw8VU5o8zW7pVJQ5R3Z Tue, 18 Apr 2023 07:00:00 +0000 Tue, 18 Apr 2023 10:43:15 +0000 false false false

When you buy an Apple product, it can often feel like making a deal with the devil. On the one hand, you can be confident your new device will be slick, intuitive, and powerful. But on the other, you’re acquiescing to Apple’s locked-down ecosystem of apps and services. Want to run an unapproved app on your new iPhone? Forget it.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: A dynamic phone from top to bottom

This is how it’s been since 2008 when the App Store first launched. Since then, apps have turned into an almost unfathomably lucrative business for Apple. In the year prior to Apple’s most recent financial statement, the store raked in a staggering $78 billion of services revenue, most of which is derived from the App Store.

If rumors are true, though, the gold rush could soon be coming to an end. According to well-connected business journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News, developers are hard at work updating iOS so it can support third-party app stores and apps that have been “side-loaded” onto the device. Such a move would dramatically upend years of Apple’s uncompromising policy – and shake the foundations of the iPhone’s security model, too. 

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) spells trouble for big tech

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was signed into law in September last year. This sprawling piece of legislation had been crafted with only one goal in mind.

RELATED RESOURCE

Purple whitepaper cover with image of smiling female worker wearing glasses and carrying a folder and smartphone

(Image credit: AWS)

Build modern applications on AWS

Manage less. Build fast. Innovate more.

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

“We've gone through several decades where a lot of these companies have been allowed to kind of grow globally unchecked,” says professor Vince Manzerolle, who studies the political economy of digital media at the University of Windsor in Canada. “This legislation is almost crafted to take down some of these big companies.”

When the DMA comes into force, many expect it’ll require Apple to allow third-party app stores on its devices. “If Apple is actually forced to comply with the letter of this new kind of legislation it will, I think, transform its operations in some fairly profound ways,” says Manzerolle. “Allowing sideloading and third-party app stores is a pretty significant change.”

One major point of contention between Apple and the EU is the 30% fee Apple charges for every transaction in the App Store – and most in-app purchases too. “I think the EU is just interested in lower prices and allowing more competition,” says Dr Kathryn McMahon, associate professor of competition law at Warwick University. “They say the 30% is an excessive fee. It's in no way related to the cost. It's also discriminatory because it's not charged across the board.”

Scrapping the ‘Apple Tax’

The fee – often referred to as the 'Apple Tax' – has long been unpopular with developers, as Apple imposes draconian rules on how apps can take payments. Under the current rules, all in-app purchases of digital goods must use Apple's own payment system.

Apple vs Epic Games

Somebody playing Fortnite on a laptop using a games controller

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 'Apple Tax' row escalated in August 2020, when Fortnite developers Epic Games built a version of the game that used its own payment system. Apple called Epic’s bluff, and as a result, Fortnite wasn't available on iPhone or iPad until the lawsuit was settled this year. With the DMA, though, the EU has taken Epic’s side. Under the new model, Epic could get the game onto iPhones by using its own Epic Games store.

What Apple's Epic battle could mean for the app business

Apps aren’t even allowed to signpost alternative payment methods, such as by linking users to a website. It means that, for example, you can download the Netflix app and log in – but if you want to sign up for a new account, you'll need to figure out how to do it yourself because the company doesn’t want to give Apple a cut of its revenue.

The option to use alternative app stores could be of huge benefit to developers across the board. “There are lots of rules and restrictions on what you can and can't do,” says Dr Greig Paul, an electrical engineer and security researcher at Strathclyde University. “You're playing in someone else's walled garden, so to speak.”

“If you give people the option to build apps [without approval], who knows what we will see?” he adds, arguing that it could ultimately be good for innovation if iPhone users could use a different way to download a web browser that hasn’t been forced to use Apple’s own web rendering engine, for example. “You might get the Firefox browser, using Firefox's engine on an iPhone, and that might push Safari to up its performance, or it might give you more extensions.”

Unpicking the iOS security concerns

Cracking open Apple’s app store monopoly could be good news for consumers, who would have more choice and control over the apps on their phones. But there could also be unintended consequences for iOS security.

“If you've been selling people on 'you don't need to think about security, you don't need to think about privacy', and then all of a sudden there are new [threats], maybe users are not prepared for that,” says Manzerolle. “I certainly think that's a possibility.”


The EU’s Apple App Store crackdown ‘will fuel cyber attacks’

Allowing other app stores or sideloading would put iOS policies broadly in line with Android, which has always been more open and flexible than Apple’s super-locked down operating system, but also more open to attack. “You're adding more complexity as you're opening up the platform,” said Manzerolle. “And there's all sorts of smart hackers and cyber criminals out there. They're probably looking for an opportunity to get into the Apple ecosystem and exploit people's trust in the platform.”

Will the EU’s measures backfire?

Of course, even if Apple does bend to the EU’s will, and alternative app stores do emerge on iOS, it doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers will follow. McMahon wonders if the EU could find itself in a similar position to the one it found itself in 2005 when it tried to rein in Microsoft’s ability to use Windows to push its own media playback software to consumers.

“Microsoft, as a result of the EU case, had to ship Windows without Windows Media Player,” says McMahon, who explains that when Microsoft later released a new version of Windows XP without Media Player alongside the bundled version, it died a lonely death.

“Nobody bought it. Nobody wanted to get it separately,” says McMahon. “The whole point of the antitrust case was to separate it out to allow much more competition in music browsers and streaming, but it didn't really have that effect. Because people just preferred [the bundle] and they just purchased the entire package.”

Will history repeat itself for iOS? Or will this be the beginning of a dramatic new era for the iPhone? If the rumors are true, we’re about to find out.

]]> <![CDATA[ Fortnite creator sues Google and Apple over app store cut ]]> Epic Games is suing Google and Apple over the removal of its popular game Fortnite from their app stores, amid a growing battle around the slice of sales taken by the tech giants.

Google and Apple take a 30% cut of all payments made in games and apps downloaded via their stores. To avoid losing that revenue, Epic Games said it would offer a 20% discount to players who purchase in-game currency directly from Fortnite rather than through the app, prompting Apple and Google to boot the game from their official stores.

Epic's battle royale game Fortnite used to launder money Greedy developers should think twice before trying to dodge the Play Store tax EU probes Google for ‘antitrust violations’

Apple said it removed Fortnite because the feature had the "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines," while Google also said the move violates its policies, but added that it would "welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic," according to a report from Sky News.

In response, Epic filed lawsuits against both companies — and released a video lambasting Apple's decision based on its own classic 1984-themed advertisement. Apple's original ad was released to both promote the forthcoming Macintosh and to criticise IBM's then-current monmopolisation of the desktop PC market. Epic's video turned this theme around on the company, saying Apple has "become what it once railed against" and calling for the platform-holders to "free Fortnite".

"Apple's removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market," Epic said in its Apple complaint, according to CNN.

The company similarly said in its complaint against Google that the tech giant was "using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize."

Fortnite only arrived on the Apple App Store and Google Play in April, 18 months after offering it for Android as a download outside of the official market. Epic had been slow to allow the game to be downloaded via the stores because of the potential revenue loss, instead offering its own installer. At the time, CEO Tim Sweeney said the 30% cut was "disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform." However, Epic said it had to shift to the official store because Google kept showing pop-ups warning that third-party software is dangerous or even malware.

It still remains possible to sideload Fortnite onto Android phones, but not iPhones. Anyone with the game already installed on an iPhone can continue playing for the time being, though updates may eventually break it.

This isn't the first time that Epic and its CEO Tim Sweeney have taken up arms against perceived monopolistic practises within the games industry; he has previously accused Microsoft of trying to build a "walled garden" for PC gaming through its UWP apps, and has been a vocal opponent of the dominance held by Valve's digital distribution service Steam over the sale of games, even going so far as to launch the Epic Store as a competing platform.

Epic also isn't the only digital developer to take issue with paying Apple and Google 30% of mobile revenue. Streaming app Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the EU about Apple's cut, which the company said forced it to charge iPhone users more if they registered with the service via the App Store. Similar complaints have been filed to the EU against Apple by ebook seller Rakuten, tracking device maker Tile, and messaging app Telegram.

Those complaints have sparked an investigation into Apple's App Store rules, with European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager saying in June: "It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices. We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books."

In the US, the CEOs of both Apple and Google, alongside fellow big tech leaders Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, have recently been summoned before the House Judiciary Committee's panel on antitrust and monopoly issues. After questioning the CEOs, committee chair David Cicilline concluded that "they have too much power".

]]> https://www.itpro.com/hardware/mobile/356781/fortnite-maker-sues-google-and-apple-over-app-store-cut 6RcgqiCHTYwJB7w32FvgCq Fri, 14 Aug 2020 11:03:14 +0000 false false false

Epic Games is suing Google and Apple over the removal of its popular game Fortnite from their app stores, amid a growing battle around the slice of sales taken by the tech giants.

Google and Apple take a 30% cut of all payments made in games and apps downloaded via their stores. To avoid losing that revenue, Epic Games said it would offer a 20% discount to players who purchase in-game currency directly from Fortnite rather than through the app, prompting Apple and Google to boot the game from their official stores.

Epic's battle royale game Fortnite used to launder money Greedy developers should think twice before trying to dodge the Play Store tax EU probes Google for ‘antitrust violations’

Apple said it removed Fortnite because the feature had the "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines," while Google also said the move violates its policies, but added that it would "welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic," according to a report from Sky News.

In response, Epic filed lawsuits against both companies — and released a video lambasting Apple's decision based on its own classic 1984-themed advertisement. Apple's original ad was released to both promote the forthcoming Macintosh and to criticise IBM's then-current monmopolisation of the desktop PC market. Epic's video turned this theme around on the company, saying Apple has "become what it once railed against" and calling for the platform-holders to "free Fortnite".

"Apple's removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market," Epic said in its Apple complaint, according to CNN.

The company similarly said in its complaint against Google that the tech giant was "using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize."

Fortnite only arrived on the Apple App Store and Google Play in April, 18 months after offering it for Android as a download outside of the official market. Epic had been slow to allow the game to be downloaded via the stores because of the potential revenue loss, instead offering its own installer. At the time, CEO Tim Sweeney said the 30% cut was "disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform." However, Epic said it had to shift to the official store because Google kept showing pop-ups warning that third-party software is dangerous or even malware.

It still remains possible to sideload Fortnite onto Android phones, but not iPhones. Anyone with the game already installed on an iPhone can continue playing for the time being, though updates may eventually break it.

This isn't the first time that Epic and its CEO Tim Sweeney have taken up arms against perceived monopolistic practises within the games industry; he has previously accused Microsoft of trying to build a "walled garden" for PC gaming through its UWP apps, and has been a vocal opponent of the dominance held by Valve's digital distribution service Steam over the sale of games, even going so far as to launch the Epic Store as a competing platform.

Epic also isn't the only digital developer to take issue with paying Apple and Google 30% of mobile revenue. Streaming app Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the EU about Apple's cut, which the company said forced it to charge iPhone users more if they registered with the service via the App Store. Similar complaints have been filed to the EU against Apple by ebook seller Rakuten, tracking device maker Tile, and messaging app Telegram.

Those complaints have sparked an investigation into Apple's App Store rules, with European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager saying in June: "It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices. We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books."

In the US, the CEOs of both Apple and Google, alongside fellow big tech leaders Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, have recently been summoned before the House Judiciary Committee's panel on antitrust and monopoly issues. After questioning the CEOs, committee chair David Cicilline concluded that "they have too much power".

]]> <![CDATA[ Best iPhone apps for 2019 ]]> When the iPhone launched almost 12 years ago, no one realised it would become such a powerful business tool.

Originallylaunched as a premium smartphone at a time when smartphones were just taking off, it's evolved to be one of the most widely used devices in the world. Now available in a range of different models, including the newest releases - the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max - there's something for everyone.

What makes the iPhone such a smart business device is its power. It can multitask seamlessly and with more and more apps becoming available on the App Store every single day, it can seriously boost productivity both in the workplace and outside it if you rarely head into the office anymore.

Best iPad apps for 2019 Android vs iOS: Which mobile OS is right for you? iOS 12 release date, features, news and rumours: Latest iOS will launch on 17 September

The iPhone's security features are also market-leading and with a suite of business management tools available for admins to ensure their firm's security policies are adhered to at all times, there really is no better device for mobile working.

But what makes the iPhone an even better productivity tool is the wealth of apps available on the App Store. When it launched in 2008 (a year after the iPhone's debut), there was just 500 apps available to download. Now, there's an estimated 2.2 million apps available worldwide and these cover everything from productivity apps, design apps, security apps, social networking and education apps, collaboration tools and a whole lot more, to power your entire life.

Here are some of the best business apps for the iPhone and our reason why you should download them.

Bear

Published by: Shiny Frog

Category: Productivity

Price: Free, $1.49 (1.13) per month

Bear is an app that wants to make it as easy as possible to quickly scribble down notes, create lists, or write essays on the go - with the support of some powerful tools underneath.

With a range of customisable interfaces, style options for text, formatting choices, and support for 20 different programming languages, this incredibly slick app injects life into the process of writing into your device, a far cry from the fairly drab plain white page of most note taking apps.

Headline features include a focus mode that strips away notifications and options, in-line support for images and photos, the option to tag and cross-link to other files, and support for multiple format types, including PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG.

Main Idea: Powerful writing app for notes, essays, to-do lists and coding wrapped up in a slick UI

Genius Scan

Genius scan is your own portable document scanner that uses the iPhone's camera to create perfectly presented copies of documents, in PDF format.

Take a picture of a page from your notebook, document, business card, whiteboard, presentation or anything else and it'll toggle the lighting, perspective and more to make the background white and text super-clear, so you can read it as easily as if it were a scanned file.

You can also stitch different pages together to make one PDF document. This is perfect if you need to digitise a text document you have or your notes. You can then file everything away in an easy-to-find format, so you hopefully won't end up with a stack of paper notes on your desk.

If you want to share your files with others, you can either upload them to a cloud drive or send to your contacts. Alternatively, protect each with a password or FaceID if they're confidential files you want to hide from anyone accessing your device.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe

Category: Business

Price: Free

Open, view, and share PDFs from your iPhone for all of the information you need to stay up to date on projects, presentations, and reports. You can comment on the files to offer feedback or leave yourself notes to refer to later.

Fill and sign forms with ease through Adobe's file reader that goes beyond simple file reading. Make sure to take advantage of Adobe Mobile Link - just turn it on in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Readerwhich makes your recently viewed files available across all of your devices. As long as you stay logged into your account, your files will continue to be synced to your account and therefore available from all devices.

Main Idea: A file viewer and editor necessary for anyone that works with PDFs on a regular basis.

Alternative: PDF Reader

AirWatch Agent

AirWatch LLC

Category: Business

Price: Free

AirWatch Agent is an app for managing and supporting devices across your company. A tool for mobility management, the app can be used with the AirWatch console to monitor and manage all devices within a company. For organisations that rely on communication and collaboration between teams and employees, having a single app keeping track of everything can be very useful, and it couldn't be easier to set up and use.

Main Idea: With the rise of BYOD in business, it's already true that pretty much everyone works with a mobile device. This app helps to control and manage this, improving security at the same time.

Dropbox

Dropbox

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Store and share files and documents between team members directly from the cloud with Dropbox. The app allows you to store photos, documents, and videos for access from anywhere across all devices, with 2GB of free space, included when you sign up. Sharing among team members is incredibly simple, with the ability to access files from wherever you are increasing mobility and easing collaboration. You can easily access files and document when out of the office, allowing you to continue working from wherever you happen to be.

Main Idea: There are a lot of cloud storage options out there. If you're not sure which is best for you, check out our more in-depth look at the most popular services.

Alternatives: Google Drive, Box, OneDrive

CamScanner Pro

INTSIG

Category: Productivity

Price: 3.99

Transform your phone into a portable scanner that gives you the ability to save documents as image files or PDFs. You can then organise files on the go, share them with colleagues via email, or store them in the cloud with services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box. And you no longer need to bother with multiple copies because files will be automatically synced across all of your devices.

Main Idea: Get high-quality scans using just your iPhone, easily accessible and backed up from anywhere.

Alternative: Tiny Scanner Pro

Enlight

Enlight

Category: Photo & Video

Price: 2.99

Mobile photo editing suite Enlight won plenty of plaudits in 2015, and with good reason. Lightricks' app empowers users with the ability to touch-up images through an intuitive and precise interface. You can overlay photos, swap filters add artistic effects and more. And the app is equally as impressive on the iPhone version as it is on iPad.

Main Idea: Enlight offers a comprehensive toolset aimed at Instagramers, amateur photographers, as well as photo enthusiasts who are after greater power from a mobile image editor.

Alternatives: Adobe Photoshop Express, ProCamera, TiltShift Generator

Evernote

Evernote

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Evernote syncs across all of your devices so that you don't have to fret about switching between devices. More than just a note-taking app, create checklists and clip web pages for later reference in one uncluttered workspace. You can even share and discuss pages from within the app, taking the hassle out of collaborative work.

Main Idea: This app is here to help you work, but only if you let it. Evernote is an indispensable tool if you use it regularly, but falls flat if you don't take advantage of its unique features.

Alternatives: Microsoft OneNote, Notability

Inbox by Gmail

Google Inc

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Despite having automated cars, drones, and heavy machinery, we're still living the dark ages when it comes to email, which requires plenty of manual attention and time. Mail technology is getting smarter, however, and Google has learned from Dropbox's experiment with Mailbox when it comes to features such as bundling similar messages together and making reminders into separate entries for easy reviewing.

Main Idea: Google's latest offering in the battle to reach inbox zero, and keep it that way.

Alternatives: Microsoft Outlook, Gmail

Invoice2go

Invoice2go

Category: Business

Price: Free

This app lets you save receipts, sign documents, generate statements, keep a calendar, enter location information, and scan information to help keep your business organised. Real-time charts provide a visual representation of how your business is performing as well. Create three invoices for free with Invoice2go with an option to upgrade to Invoice2go Pro.

Main Idea: Create and send professional invoices using a variety of templates from any of your Android devices. If you have trouble keeping information organised and need a more comprehensive and professional way to track money owed, money paid, and money received, this is the app for you.

Alternative: Invoice Simple

Turn to page 2 for even more detail about the best apps you can download on your iPhone.

iPlanner UK

David Pejinovic

Category: Productivity

Price: 0.79

iPlanner UK is a highly customisable diary app for your personal schedule. The ultimate scheduling app, iPlanner UK lets you plan every moment of your day from work hours to meetings and personal errands and ensures you'll never miss an appointment or deadline again. What makes the app even more effective are its many customisation options, from icons and colour coding to different day/week/month views and time zone support.

Main Idea: Keeping track of meetings and events is important for everyone, not just those of us who are on the disorganised side; with so many options for customisation, this might be the right app for you.

Alternative: Planner Plus

iTranslate Voice translator & dictionary

Sonico GmbH

Category: Productivity

Price: 4.99

Translate into 42 languages with voice input, a dictionary, AirTranslate, and more with iTranslate Voice. Translating can be a lengthy and frustrating process, but this app is the perfect tool for crossing languages barriers. With 42 language options available, iTranslate allows you to translate spoken language into written English (or the language of your choosing), with AirTranslate even allowing you to connect devices and engage in a conversation with others.

Main Idea: This app can help you communicate more efficiently across languages and in a global context.

Microsoft Office Lens

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

This app originally started out as a Windows Phone exclusive. Use it to photograph typed text, such as a document, article or even a menu or sign, and it will upload the photo to Microsoft's servers. There, OCR (optical character recognition) will convert it into text which you can edit in Word or OneNote or save it as an image or a PDF.

This app saves endless retyping and may be sufficient enough to do away with the need to carry a portable scanner when you're out and about on the road. Plus, you can put it to all sorts of lateral uses, such as scanning business cards and converting brainstormed ideas on a whiteboard on the basis of a PowerPoint presentation.

Main Idea: A highly accurate cloud-based OCR app convert documents into editable text straight on your iPhone.

Alternative: Evernote

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft combines contacts, email, and calendars into one mail app for easy accessibility. Outlook sorts and prioritises your messages for you with the most important filtered into a focused tab and the rest placed in another to be dealt with later. Schedule meetings, set reminders, and attach files across all of your accounts. This app will help you focus a cluttered inbox and consolidate important information into one app.

Main Idea: Organising your messages according to what's important, Microsoft's official email app is here to make your life easier.

Alternative: Inbox by Google

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft Word fits seamlessly into an app format with the capabilities in viewing, creating and editing documents. You can't lose formatting or access from different devices through cloud so this app is extremely useful for editing and updating documents on the go. It's the Word we know and love on desktop designed for Android.

Main Idea: Edits our documents across multiple devices without losing formatting or data. It's perfect for users travelling.

Alternative: Google Docs

Signal

Publisher: Open Whisper Systems

Category: Communications

Price: Free

The trouble with communicating with others using a smart device over the internet is that you can never be too sure that someone is snooping in on your calls. Signal offers complete end-to-end encryption, so even the developers of the app cannot see what you are talking about.

The app works with your existing contacts list, but whoever you are chatting to also needs to have the app installed too.

Main Idea: You will need this if you need to keep private conversations secret.

SwiftKey Keyboard

Publisher: TouchType (Microsoft)Price: Free (in-app purchases)

SwiftKey is a terrific alternative to the standard iOS virtual keyboard. The smart keyboard replaces your device's built-in keyboard and its unnecessary autocorrect functions with one that adapts to the way you type. SwiftKey learns your typing style over time to give you more accurate autocorrect and more appropriate next-word prediction. It also comes with more than 800 emojis, and additional design variants can be purchased for those that want a more personal touch.

Alternatives: Brilliant Keyboard, TouchPal Keyboard

Slack Team Communication

Slack Technologies, Inc.

Category: Business

Price: Free

Slack is the perfect app for workplace communication that connects team members. It creates organisation and structure through devolved channels for different projects, topics and teams. This can bring teams together in an organised manner without the chaos of a large sprawling group chat.

You can drag and share files quite simply and everything is archived meaning past conversations can be easily located.

Main Idea: Simple and effective in connecting team members.

Twitter

Twitter Inc

Category: Social Networking

Price: Free

What would the modern world be like without Twitter? This social media app allows you share bite-sized updates with the world, composed of text, photos, videos and web links. Twitter has become a central tool for professionals in the media and marketing industries, primarily thanks to instantaneous communication and the service's prevalence as a destination for communities of all kinds, from sport fans to TV viewers, gig-goers to political activists, to discuss events, and for those discussions to appear as trending topics.

Twitter has experimented with new ways to attract users lately, including altering user feeds from displaying real-time tweets to tweets from several hours ago. But fundamentally, if you've not given the social network a try for work purposes, or tried it and given it up, it's still worth getting involved to explore what opportunities it could offer your business.

Main Idea: Update the world on what you've seen, heard and done in 140 characters.

Alternatives: TweetDeck, Buffer, HootSuite

TapeACall Pro

Epic Enterprises

Category: Business

Price: 7.99

TapeACall lets you record calls that you're on or placing, then share or save the recording. Simply open the app and hit record when receiving a call to create a new file that may be transferred from your iPhone to your computer or shared with others via email, SMS, Twitter, or Facebook

Main Idea: This app is convenient, easy to use, and allows you to transfer and share recordings, making it essential for calls that you'll need to reference later.

Wolfram Alpha

Publisher: Wolfram Group LLC

Category: Reference

Price: 2.29

WolframAlpha is the mobile version of the database website that can solve almost any query you throw at it, whether it involves mathematics, linguistics, finance, chemical formulae, the list is huge.

Instead of throwing back a list of search results, the app will generate immediate answers. For example, a search for Intel will display revenue reports, share prices, and even employee counts. Forget asking Google for answers, WolframAlpha has you covered.

Main Idea: A vast database of knowledge that is regularly updated.

Workflow

DeskConnect, Inc.

Category: Productivity

Price: 2.99

Connect apps and actions to automate the things you already do with your device. You can create your own apps or use others' creations with over 200 pre-defined actions, leaving you with endless possibilities for new workflows. The app is highly customisable meaning you can make it work harder for you without having to deal with any sequences that aren't personally useful.

Main Idea: Once you get the hang of automating a series of events into one action, your iPhone will become more useful and your life, easier.

Alternative: IF by IFTTT

Citymapper

Citymapper

Category: Travel

Price: Free

Citymapper has become one of the world's most popular apps for city navigation. It provides a deeper view of the city's infrastructure and transport network than Google Maps, and allows users travelling through the city to take into account the speed of their journey based on their mode of travel.

The app shrewdly considers congestion and offers a personalised touch to travelling - such as a wish to be environmentally friendly.

It has useful tools like commute tracking, travel history and statistics to help with journeys.

Main idea: An app that optimises commutes for users within their town or city

Alternative: Google Maps

]]> https://www.itpro.com/apps/20011/best-iphone-apps fFASyUMA2qg4NdVMuvqDNW Wed, 17 Apr 2019 06:00:00 +0000 false false false

When the iPhone launched almost 12 years ago, no one realised it would become such a powerful business tool.

Originallylaunched as a premium smartphone at a time when smartphones were just taking off, it's evolved to be one of the most widely used devices in the world. Now available in a range of different models, including the newest releases - the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max - there's something for everyone.

What makes the iPhone such a smart business device is its power. It can multitask seamlessly and with more and more apps becoming available on the App Store every single day, it can seriously boost productivity both in the workplace and outside it if you rarely head into the office anymore.

Best iPad apps for 2019 Android vs iOS: Which mobile OS is right for you? iOS 12 release date, features, news and rumours: Latest iOS will launch on 17 September

The iPhone's security features are also market-leading and with a suite of business management tools available for admins to ensure their firm's security policies are adhered to at all times, there really is no better device for mobile working.

But what makes the iPhone an even better productivity tool is the wealth of apps available on the App Store. When it launched in 2008 (a year after the iPhone's debut), there was just 500 apps available to download. Now, there's an estimated 2.2 million apps available worldwide and these cover everything from productivity apps, design apps, security apps, social networking and education apps, collaboration tools and a whole lot more, to power your entire life.

Here are some of the best business apps for the iPhone and our reason why you should download them.

Bear

Published by: Shiny Frog

Category: Productivity

Price: Free, $1.49 (1.13) per month

Bear is an app that wants to make it as easy as possible to quickly scribble down notes, create lists, or write essays on the go - with the support of some powerful tools underneath.

With a range of customisable interfaces, style options for text, formatting choices, and support for 20 different programming languages, this incredibly slick app injects life into the process of writing into your device, a far cry from the fairly drab plain white page of most note taking apps.

Headline features include a focus mode that strips away notifications and options, in-line support for images and photos, the option to tag and cross-link to other files, and support for multiple format types, including PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG.

Main Idea: Powerful writing app for notes, essays, to-do lists and coding wrapped up in a slick UI

Genius Scan

Genius scan is your own portable document scanner that uses the iPhone's camera to create perfectly presented copies of documents, in PDF format.

Take a picture of a page from your notebook, document, business card, whiteboard, presentation or anything else and it'll toggle the lighting, perspective and more to make the background white and text super-clear, so you can read it as easily as if it were a scanned file.

You can also stitch different pages together to make one PDF document. This is perfect if you need to digitise a text document you have or your notes. You can then file everything away in an easy-to-find format, so you hopefully won't end up with a stack of paper notes on your desk.

If you want to share your files with others, you can either upload them to a cloud drive or send to your contacts. Alternatively, protect each with a password or FaceID if they're confidential files you want to hide from anyone accessing your device.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe

Category: Business

Price: Free

Open, view, and share PDFs from your iPhone for all of the information you need to stay up to date on projects, presentations, and reports. You can comment on the files to offer feedback or leave yourself notes to refer to later.

Fill and sign forms with ease through Adobe's file reader that goes beyond simple file reading. Make sure to take advantage of Adobe Mobile Link - just turn it on in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Readerwhich makes your recently viewed files available across all of your devices. As long as you stay logged into your account, your files will continue to be synced to your account and therefore available from all devices.

Main Idea: A file viewer and editor necessary for anyone that works with PDFs on a regular basis.

Alternative: PDF Reader

AirWatch Agent

AirWatch LLC

Category: Business

Price: Free

AirWatch Agent is an app for managing and supporting devices across your company. A tool for mobility management, the app can be used with the AirWatch console to monitor and manage all devices within a company. For organisations that rely on communication and collaboration between teams and employees, having a single app keeping track of everything can be very useful, and it couldn't be easier to set up and use.

Main Idea: With the rise of BYOD in business, it's already true that pretty much everyone works with a mobile device. This app helps to control and manage this, improving security at the same time.

Dropbox

Dropbox

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Store and share files and documents between team members directly from the cloud with Dropbox. The app allows you to store photos, documents, and videos for access from anywhere across all devices, with 2GB of free space, included when you sign up. Sharing among team members is incredibly simple, with the ability to access files from wherever you are increasing mobility and easing collaboration. You can easily access files and document when out of the office, allowing you to continue working from wherever you happen to be.

Main Idea: There are a lot of cloud storage options out there. If you're not sure which is best for you, check out our more in-depth look at the most popular services.

Alternatives: Google Drive, Box, OneDrive

CamScanner Pro

INTSIG

Category: Productivity

Price: 3.99

Transform your phone into a portable scanner that gives you the ability to save documents as image files or PDFs. You can then organise files on the go, share them with colleagues via email, or store them in the cloud with services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box. And you no longer need to bother with multiple copies because files will be automatically synced across all of your devices.

Main Idea: Get high-quality scans using just your iPhone, easily accessible and backed up from anywhere.

Alternative: Tiny Scanner Pro

Enlight

Enlight

Category: Photo & Video

Price: 2.99

Mobile photo editing suite Enlight won plenty of plaudits in 2015, and with good reason. Lightricks' app empowers users with the ability to touch-up images through an intuitive and precise interface. You can overlay photos, swap filters add artistic effects and more. And the app is equally as impressive on the iPhone version as it is on iPad.

Main Idea: Enlight offers a comprehensive toolset aimed at Instagramers, amateur photographers, as well as photo enthusiasts who are after greater power from a mobile image editor.

Alternatives: Adobe Photoshop Express, ProCamera, TiltShift Generator

Evernote

Evernote

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Evernote syncs across all of your devices so that you don't have to fret about switching between devices. More than just a note-taking app, create checklists and clip web pages for later reference in one uncluttered workspace. You can even share and discuss pages from within the app, taking the hassle out of collaborative work.

Main Idea: This app is here to help you work, but only if you let it. Evernote is an indispensable tool if you use it regularly, but falls flat if you don't take advantage of its unique features.

Alternatives: Microsoft OneNote, Notability

Inbox by Gmail

Google Inc

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Despite having automated cars, drones, and heavy machinery, we're still living the dark ages when it comes to email, which requires plenty of manual attention and time. Mail technology is getting smarter, however, and Google has learned from Dropbox's experiment with Mailbox when it comes to features such as bundling similar messages together and making reminders into separate entries for easy reviewing.

Main Idea: Google's latest offering in the battle to reach inbox zero, and keep it that way.

Alternatives: Microsoft Outlook, Gmail

Invoice2go

Invoice2go

Category: Business

Price: Free

This app lets you save receipts, sign documents, generate statements, keep a calendar, enter location information, and scan information to help keep your business organised. Real-time charts provide a visual representation of how your business is performing as well. Create three invoices for free with Invoice2go with an option to upgrade to Invoice2go Pro.

Main Idea: Create and send professional invoices using a variety of templates from any of your Android devices. If you have trouble keeping information organised and need a more comprehensive and professional way to track money owed, money paid, and money received, this is the app for you.

Alternative: Invoice Simple

Turn to page 2 for even more detail about the best apps you can download on your iPhone.

iPlanner UK

David Pejinovic

Category: Productivity

Price: 0.79

iPlanner UK is a highly customisable diary app for your personal schedule. The ultimate scheduling app, iPlanner UK lets you plan every moment of your day from work hours to meetings and personal errands and ensures you'll never miss an appointment or deadline again. What makes the app even more effective are its many customisation options, from icons and colour coding to different day/week/month views and time zone support.

Main Idea: Keeping track of meetings and events is important for everyone, not just those of us who are on the disorganised side; with so many options for customisation, this might be the right app for you.

Alternative: Planner Plus

iTranslate Voice translator & dictionary

Sonico GmbH

Category: Productivity

Price: 4.99

Translate into 42 languages with voice input, a dictionary, AirTranslate, and more with iTranslate Voice. Translating can be a lengthy and frustrating process, but this app is the perfect tool for crossing languages barriers. With 42 language options available, iTranslate allows you to translate spoken language into written English (or the language of your choosing), with AirTranslate even allowing you to connect devices and engage in a conversation with others.

Main Idea: This app can help you communicate more efficiently across languages and in a global context.

Microsoft Office Lens

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

This app originally started out as a Windows Phone exclusive. Use it to photograph typed text, such as a document, article or even a menu or sign, and it will upload the photo to Microsoft's servers. There, OCR (optical character recognition) will convert it into text which you can edit in Word or OneNote or save it as an image or a PDF.

This app saves endless retyping and may be sufficient enough to do away with the need to carry a portable scanner when you're out and about on the road. Plus, you can put it to all sorts of lateral uses, such as scanning business cards and converting brainstormed ideas on a whiteboard on the basis of a PowerPoint presentation.

Main Idea: A highly accurate cloud-based OCR app convert documents into editable text straight on your iPhone.

Alternative: Evernote

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft combines contacts, email, and calendars into one mail app for easy accessibility. Outlook sorts and prioritises your messages for you with the most important filtered into a focused tab and the rest placed in another to be dealt with later. Schedule meetings, set reminders, and attach files across all of your accounts. This app will help you focus a cluttered inbox and consolidate important information into one app.

Main Idea: Organising your messages according to what's important, Microsoft's official email app is here to make your life easier.

Alternative: Inbox by Google

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft Word fits seamlessly into an app format with the capabilities in viewing, creating and editing documents. You can't lose formatting or access from different devices through cloud so this app is extremely useful for editing and updating documents on the go. It's the Word we know and love on desktop designed for Android.

Main Idea: Edits our documents across multiple devices without losing formatting or data. It's perfect for users travelling.

Alternative: Google Docs

Signal

Publisher: Open Whisper Systems

Category: Communications

Price: Free

The trouble with communicating with others using a smart device over the internet is that you can never be too sure that someone is snooping in on your calls. Signal offers complete end-to-end encryption, so even the developers of the app cannot see what you are talking about.

The app works with your existing contacts list, but whoever you are chatting to also needs to have the app installed too.

Main Idea: You will need this if you need to keep private conversations secret.

SwiftKey Keyboard

Publisher: TouchType (Microsoft)Price: Free (in-app purchases)

SwiftKey is a terrific alternative to the standard iOS virtual keyboard. The smart keyboard replaces your device's built-in keyboard and its unnecessary autocorrect functions with one that adapts to the way you type. SwiftKey learns your typing style over time to give you more accurate autocorrect and more appropriate next-word prediction. It also comes with more than 800 emojis, and additional design variants can be purchased for those that want a more personal touch.

Alternatives: Brilliant Keyboard, TouchPal Keyboard

Slack Team Communication

Slack Technologies, Inc.

Category: Business

Price: Free

Slack is the perfect app for workplace communication that connects team members. It creates organisation and structure through devolved channels for different projects, topics and teams. This can bring teams together in an organised manner without the chaos of a large sprawling group chat.

You can drag and share files quite simply and everything is archived meaning past conversations can be easily located.

Main Idea: Simple and effective in connecting team members.

Twitter

Twitter Inc

Category: Social Networking

Price: Free

What would the modern world be like without Twitter? This social media app allows you share bite-sized updates with the world, composed of text, photos, videos and web links. Twitter has become a central tool for professionals in the media and marketing industries, primarily thanks to instantaneous communication and the service's prevalence as a destination for communities of all kinds, from sport fans to TV viewers, gig-goers to political activists, to discuss events, and for those discussions to appear as trending topics.

Twitter has experimented with new ways to attract users lately, including altering user feeds from displaying real-time tweets to tweets from several hours ago. But fundamentally, if you've not given the social network a try for work purposes, or tried it and given it up, it's still worth getting involved to explore what opportunities it could offer your business.

Main Idea: Update the world on what you've seen, heard and done in 140 characters.

Alternatives: TweetDeck, Buffer, HootSuite

TapeACall Pro

Epic Enterprises

Category: Business

Price: 7.99

TapeACall lets you record calls that you're on or placing, then share or save the recording. Simply open the app and hit record when receiving a call to create a new file that may be transferred from your iPhone to your computer or shared with others via email, SMS, Twitter, or Facebook

Main Idea: This app is convenient, easy to use, and allows you to transfer and share recordings, making it essential for calls that you'll need to reference later.

Wolfram Alpha

Publisher: Wolfram Group LLC

Category: Reference

Price: 2.29

WolframAlpha is the mobile version of the database website that can solve almost any query you throw at it, whether it involves mathematics, linguistics, finance, chemical formulae, the list is huge.

Instead of throwing back a list of search results, the app will generate immediate answers. For example, a search for Intel will display revenue reports, share prices, and even employee counts. Forget asking Google for answers, WolframAlpha has you covered.

Main Idea: A vast database of knowledge that is regularly updated.

Workflow

DeskConnect, Inc.

Category: Productivity

Price: 2.99

Connect apps and actions to automate the things you already do with your device. You can create your own apps or use others' creations with over 200 pre-defined actions, leaving you with endless possibilities for new workflows. The app is highly customisable meaning you can make it work harder for you without having to deal with any sequences that aren't personally useful.

Main Idea: Once you get the hang of automating a series of events into one action, your iPhone will become more useful and your life, easier.

Alternative: IF by IFTTT

Citymapper

Citymapper

Category: Travel

Price: Free

Citymapper has become one of the world's most popular apps for city navigation. It provides a deeper view of the city's infrastructure and transport network than Google Maps, and allows users travelling through the city to take into account the speed of their journey based on their mode of travel.

The app shrewdly considers congestion and offers a personalised touch to travelling - such as a wish to be environmentally friendly.

It has useful tools like commute tracking, travel history and statistics to help with journeys.

Main idea: An app that optimises commutes for users within their town or city

Alternative: Google Maps

]]> <![CDATA[ Quantum unveils backup iPhone app ]]> Quantum has launched what it claims to be the industry's first iPhone application for monitoring back-up systems away from the office.

The Vision App, suitable for both Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, enables users to access their in-house Quantum Vision software to view alerts and address problems as they happen, rather than when they return to work the next morning.

"Because backup problems often happen during off hours, mobile access to backup reporting tools makes life much easier for administrators," claimed the company.

Specifically, the app gives access to Quantum DXi disk backup and deduplication systems, as well as Scalar tape libraries, with two types of authentication required to ensure security.

Reports can cover multiple sites and provide information on what Quantum deems "critical functions" including capacity planning, replication management and load balancing.

"As backup continues to evolve with interconnected, distributed environments incorporating disk and tape, better system information enables better management decisions," said Rob Clark, senior vice president of the disk and tape backup product group at Quantum.

"Backup administrators can rest a little easier knowing they can get a complete report on their backup performance and system utilisation from edge to core for both short-term recovery and long-term retention wherever, whenever they want it."

The app is free to download from iTunes.

]]> https://www.itpro.com/635668/quantum-unveils-backup-iphone-app 72hD5FuGN59xM4eaocpR2w Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:39:00 +0000 false false false

Quantum has launched what it claims to be the industry's first iPhone application for monitoring back-up systems away from the office.

The Vision App, suitable for both Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, enables users to access their in-house Quantum Vision software to view alerts and address problems as they happen, rather than when they return to work the next morning.

"Because backup problems often happen during off hours, mobile access to backup reporting tools makes life much easier for administrators," claimed the company.

Specifically, the app gives access to Quantum DXi disk backup and deduplication systems, as well as Scalar tape libraries, with two types of authentication required to ensure security.

Reports can cover multiple sites and provide information on what Quantum deems "critical functions" including capacity planning, replication management and load balancing.

"As backup continues to evolve with interconnected, distributed environments incorporating disk and tape, better system information enables better management decisions," said Rob Clark, senior vice president of the disk and tape backup product group at Quantum.

"Backup administrators can rest a little easier knowing they can get a complete report on their backup performance and system utilisation from edge to core for both short-term recovery and long-term retention wherever, whenever they want it."

The app is free to download from iTunes.

]]> <![CDATA[ Today in tech: iPad delays, spies and Facebook privacy ]]> Facebook goes geoloco

Facebook is revisiting its privacy policies as it gears up to launch geolocation functionality. PC Pro

Keeping kids safe online

Parents need to do their bit to ensure that children everywhere are able to enjoy using the web safely. BBC

Forget chain mail...

Chain text scams that ask mobile phone owners to forward text messages on could be costing us as much as 286 million, research has revealed. Expert Reviews

BBC apps on hold

Plans to provide news and sports coverage via free iPhone apps have been put on ice by the BBC Trust while it investigates. BBC

]]> https://www.itpro.com/621907/today-in-tech-ipad-delays-spies-and-facebook-privacy 4bCB3zbh6ei3fKammoS71Z Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:09:00 +0000 false false false

Facebook goes geoloco

Facebook is revisiting its privacy policies as it gears up to launch geolocation functionality. PC Pro

Keeping kids safe online

Parents need to do their bit to ensure that children everywhere are able to enjoy using the web safely. BBC

Forget chain mail...

Chain text scams that ask mobile phone owners to forward text messages on could be costing us as much as 286 million, research has revealed. Expert Reviews

BBC apps on hold

Plans to provide news and sports coverage via free iPhone apps have been put on ice by the BBC Trust while it investigates. BBC

]]> <![CDATA[ Opera tries to bring Mini browser to iPhone ]]> Opera has created a version of its Mini browser for iPhone users, but now it must clear the hurdle of being approved for the Apple App store.

Opera is set to unveil the iPhone-friendly browser at Mobile World Congress next week, but promised the it would include all the "favourite features" of Opera Mini.

Opera Mini on iPhone

However, Apple is - in some ways - notoriously picky about which apps it lets through. Despite approving applications for games like iFart, Opera Mini would be the first major browser to head to the iPhone aside from Apple's own Safari.

Firefox developer Mozilla has previously accused Apple of making it "too hard" to create a good user experience for third-party browsers on the iPhone.

An Opera spokeswoman told IT PRO that the Opera Mini browser hasn't actually been submitted to the App Store yet, and no timing details were available.

"However, we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in web browsing experience," she added.

]]> https://www.itpro.com/620326/opera-tries-to-bring-mini-browser-to-iphone 8m8FSEPnjuW97EWcUWweEU Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:49:00 +0000 false false false

Opera has created a version of its Mini browser for iPhone users, but now it must clear the hurdle of being approved for the Apple App store.

Opera is set to unveil the iPhone-friendly browser at Mobile World Congress next week, but promised the it would include all the "favourite features" of Opera Mini.

Opera Mini on iPhone

However, Apple is - in some ways - notoriously picky about which apps it lets through. Despite approving applications for games like iFart, Opera Mini would be the first major browser to head to the iPhone aside from Apple's own Safari.

Firefox developer Mozilla has previously accused Apple of making it "too hard" to create a good user experience for third-party browsers on the iPhone.

An Opera spokeswoman told IT PRO that the Opera Mini browser hasn't actually been submitted to the App Store yet, and no timing details were available.

"However, we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in web browsing experience," she added.

]]> <![CDATA[ Amazon iPhone app lands in the UK ]]> Amazon has made its shopping app for the iPhone and iPod touch available to UK customers, a year after its launch in the US.

The Amazon Mobile App, available as a free download from the Apple App Store, links to your Amazon account and allows you search for items, manage Wish Lists, place orders through Amazon's 1-Click ordering system and then track them afterwards.

It also introduces a feature called Amazon Remembers. If you spot an item you fancy while out and about, take a photo of it using your iPhone or iPod touch, upload it to Amazon's servers and Amazon Remembers will try to find a matching item in stock, sending you an email notification within 24 hours if it is successful.

The Amazon iPhone app launched in the US in December last year.

Click here for the top iPhone apps for business users.

]]> https://www.itpro.com/616825/amazon-iphone-app-lands-in-the-uk xhg1LcYodEF3rUB2nwgqB3 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:39:00 +0000 false false false

Amazon has made its shopping app for the iPhone and iPod touch available to UK customers, a year after its launch in the US.

The Amazon Mobile App, available as a free download from the Apple App Store, links to your Amazon account and allows you search for items, manage Wish Lists, place orders through Amazon's 1-Click ordering system and then track them afterwards.

It also introduces a feature called Amazon Remembers. If you spot an item you fancy while out and about, take a photo of it using your iPhone or iPod touch, upload it to Amazon's servers and Amazon Remembers will try to find a matching item in stock, sending you an email notification within 24 hours if it is successful.

The Amazon iPhone app launched in the US in December last year.

Click here for the top iPhone apps for business users.

]]> <![CDATA[ Top 10 iPhone business apps ]]> We've all seen the iPhone advert, where a slightly smug voice explains that whatever possible need you have, or situation you find yourself in, "There's an app for that."

However, within the bounds of reason, it's pretty much true. Not for the first time, Apple was taken to task by some individuals for the claim, but in a surprise break from the norm, Apple won the day, with the watchdog confirming that it was fair, as Apple's App Store has a much wider range of applications than any other smartphone platform.

While that also makes picking out the best 10 of anything pretty much impossible, we've had a go anyway and selected 10 of our favourite business apps that we think should be on every professional's iPhone.

Documents to Go Price: 5.99 (with Exchange support)

It's one of the iPhone's major bugbears that it has pretty basic document handling, and Documents to Go is here to solve this. While it's been available on every mobile platform to date, it's taken its time to get to the iPhone.

You won't want to write your novel on the iPhone, but if you need to make small changes before meetings this app could prove very useful.

The app ensures that edits on your iPhone won't mess up your formatting, and you can sync to a desktop via Wi-Fi. An Exchange compatible version costs 5.99 (2.99 without), and if you buy now, you get a free Excel compatible app when it's released.

Evernote Price: Free

Evernote is a very smart application that lets you capture data - be it in text, audio, bits of web pages or even images - and keep it synchronised across multiple platforms.

There's a PC and Mac client, a web-based version and naturally the iPhone client. If you're possessed by moments of genius - we get that a lot - and have to record it, you can do so using Evernote. The benefit over using the built-in iPhone Voice Recorder app is that Evernote will beam it directly to your Evernote account, so you have it backed up and then access it from any browser.

You can even send your Twitter messages directly into Evernote to keep for posterity. Our favourite feature is taking a snapshot of say, a business card, using the iPhone's camera, and then being able to search the text within Evernote.

Tube Deluxe Price: 59p

This app may be a bit London-centric, but it's an essential tool for anyone who has to commute in the big smoke. The first page gives you status updates on how all Tube lines are running, and a recent update now takes advantage of the iPhone 3.0 OS push notifications feature to provide updates even when the app isn't running.

A Tube map is included and helps you plan journeys, and it will even tell you where your nearest station in and show it to you on Google Maps. Finally, you can tap into the departure board at any station to see how long it is until you get to be squeezed inside an overcrowded airless carriage. All in all, worth its 59p asking price.

Having an application that lets you check on the latest flight information is a must for any iPhone carrying business traveller. The problem with most of them is that they are airline or US centric, which is why we like the look of iFlight.

It provides details of flights from nine of the UK major airports and will turn your iPhone into a live departure board. It lets you search either by flight number or destination, and display its current status, giving both scheduled times and actual times - perfect for seeing how close you are to missing your flight when you're stuck in traffic on the way to the airport.

Skype Price: Free

We all know how much Skype has changed the face of VoIP and has been available for years on Windows Mobile but only arrived on iPhone in April 2009. The major downside is that it can only be used over Wi-Fi, as the carriers naturally wouldn't have it any other way.

At least it was worth the wait, as Wi-Fi restriction aside, this is a very slick application, with an attractive, easy to use interface.

Unlike on Windows Mobile the app can be used without a headset, turning your iPhone into a VoIP phone you can use like a regular phone, without requiring a headset. Being able to pick up your mobile and make long distance calls without squirming over the cost is something you'll get used to rather quickly.

Xe Price: Free

If you need to keep your finger on the pulse of exchange rates, then you can't go wrong with Xe.com's iPhone app. Already, the best known currency convertor on the net, it gives you the latest mid-market rates for all currencies and it's actually quicker to use on the iPhone than it is on a computer.

The home screen brings up a list of the major currencies by default and lets you manually update every 60 seconds or will auto update every 15 minutes. Tap on a currency and a number pad comes up enabling you to enter in the amount you want to convert - hit enter and all the other currencies adjust. To reset that amount to the default, you can just shake the iPhone. Numbers have never been such fun.

mbpowertools Price: 1.79

This app lets you turn your iPhone into a remote control for PowerPoint surely the coolest presentation tool ever?

It works with PowerPoint on PC or Mac, and requires an application to be installed on the computer as well as the app on your iPhone and they talk to each other over Wi-Fi. You can then navigate through your slides or move the cursor by titling your iPhone. If you've already got an iPhone, the 1.79 looks good value against purchasing an expensive dedicated PowerPoint wireless controller.

If you've got a business, the chances are you've got a website, and if so you'll want to be able to keep an eye on the traffic wherever you are. This is where this Analytics app comes into play, giving you quick and easy access to your website stats from Google Analytics.

There are other apps that offer similar and this certainly isn't the cheapest one, but this is the best of the bunch. You can get a quick overview of traffic or you can drill down to the finer details such as which browsers visitors are using and on which OS. You can also switch between multiple accounts quickly.

Bento Price: 2.99

Bento on the iPhone is a portable version of the Bento 2 personal database application for the Mac from FileMaker.

It has a number of built in library templates, helping you to keep track of things such as expenses or inventories, and ties directly in with the iPhone functions such as the Address book, photo roll.

You can also create your own templates on the iPhone, and if you've got Bento 2 on your Mac, it will sync between them too, so you can keep things nicely organised.

Print n Share Price: 3.99

How do you solve a problem like printing to the iPhone? Andrew Lloyd Webber would probably use Print n Share', which despite its dodgy name, lets you print off email, web pages, contacts and photos directly from your iPhone.

Cleverly, once you've installed a web app on your laptop, you can even print remotely over 3G, so you can grab those documents off the printer as soon as you get in the office. It also lets you mount your iPhone as a drive and lets you drag and drop files onto it, making it worth the price of the entry fee alone. You can even email files directly within the app, without having to go to the mail client.

]]> https://www.itpro.com/613906/top-10-iphone-business-apps gkWkuDYr3nUg1c7V7757Px Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:51:00 +0000 false false false

We've all seen the iPhone advert, where a slightly smug voice explains that whatever possible need you have, or situation you find yourself in, "There's an app for that."

However, within the bounds of reason, it's pretty much true. Not for the first time, Apple was taken to task by some individuals for the claim, but in a surprise break from the norm, Apple won the day, with the watchdog confirming that it was fair, as Apple's App Store has a much wider range of applications than any other smartphone platform.

While that also makes picking out the best 10 of anything pretty much impossible, we've had a go anyway and selected 10 of our favourite business apps that we think should be on every professional's iPhone.

Documents to Go Price: 5.99 (with Exchange support)

It's one of the iPhone's major bugbears that it has pretty basic document handling, and Documents to Go is here to solve this. While it's been available on every mobile platform to date, it's taken its time to get to the iPhone.

You won't want to write your novel on the iPhone, but if you need to make small changes before meetings this app could prove very useful.

The app ensures that edits on your iPhone won't mess up your formatting, and you can sync to a desktop via Wi-Fi. An Exchange compatible version costs 5.99 (2.99 without), and if you buy now, you get a free Excel compatible app when it's released.

Evernote Price: Free

Evernote is a very smart application that lets you capture data - be it in text, audio, bits of web pages or even images - and keep it synchronised across multiple platforms.

There's a PC and Mac client, a web-based version and naturally the iPhone client. If you're possessed by moments of genius - we get that a lot - and have to record it, you can do so using Evernote. The benefit over using the built-in iPhone Voice Recorder app is that Evernote will beam it directly to your Evernote account, so you have it backed up and then access it from any browser.

You can even send your Twitter messages directly into Evernote to keep for posterity. Our favourite feature is taking a snapshot of say, a business card, using the iPhone's camera, and then being able to search the text within Evernote.

Tube Deluxe Price: 59p

This app may be a bit London-centric, but it's an essential tool for anyone who has to commute in the big smoke. The first page gives you status updates on how all Tube lines are running, and a recent update now takes advantage of the iPhone 3.0 OS push notifications feature to provide updates even when the app isn't running.

A Tube map is included and helps you plan journeys, and it will even tell you where your nearest station in and show it to you on Google Maps. Finally, you can tap into the departure board at any station to see how long it is until you get to be squeezed inside an overcrowded airless carriage. All in all, worth its 59p asking price.

Having an application that lets you check on the latest flight information is a must for any iPhone carrying business traveller. The problem with most of them is that they are airline or US centric, which is why we like the look of iFlight.

It provides details of flights from nine of the UK major airports and will turn your iPhone into a live departure board. It lets you search either by flight number or destination, and display its current status, giving both scheduled times and actual times - perfect for seeing how close you are to missing your flight when you're stuck in traffic on the way to the airport.

Skype Price: Free

We all know how much Skype has changed the face of VoIP and has been available for years on Windows Mobile but only arrived on iPhone in April 2009. The major downside is that it can only be used over Wi-Fi, as the carriers naturally wouldn't have it any other way.

At least it was worth the wait, as Wi-Fi restriction aside, this is a very slick application, with an attractive, easy to use interface.

Unlike on Windows Mobile the app can be used without a headset, turning your iPhone into a VoIP phone you can use like a regular phone, without requiring a headset. Being able to pick up your mobile and make long distance calls without squirming over the cost is something you'll get used to rather quickly.

Xe Price: Free

If you need to keep your finger on the pulse of exchange rates, then you can't go wrong with Xe.com's iPhone app. Already, the best known currency convertor on the net, it gives you the latest mid-market rates for all currencies and it's actually quicker to use on the iPhone than it is on a computer.

The home screen brings up a list of the major currencies by default and lets you manually update every 60 seconds or will auto update every 15 minutes. Tap on a currency and a number pad comes up enabling you to enter in the amount you want to convert - hit enter and all the other currencies adjust. To reset that amount to the default, you can just shake the iPhone. Numbers have never been such fun.

mbpowertools Price: 1.79

This app lets you turn your iPhone into a remote control for PowerPoint surely the coolest presentation tool ever?

It works with PowerPoint on PC or Mac, and requires an application to be installed on the computer as well as the app on your iPhone and they talk to each other over Wi-Fi. You can then navigate through your slides or move the cursor by titling your iPhone. If you've already got an iPhone, the 1.79 looks good value against purchasing an expensive dedicated PowerPoint wireless controller.

If you've got a business, the chances are you've got a website, and if so you'll want to be able to keep an eye on the traffic wherever you are. This is where this Analytics app comes into play, giving you quick and easy access to your website stats from Google Analytics.

There are other apps that offer similar and this certainly isn't the cheapest one, but this is the best of the bunch. You can get a quick overview of traffic or you can drill down to the finer details such as which browsers visitors are using and on which OS. You can also switch between multiple accounts quickly.

Bento Price: 2.99

Bento on the iPhone is a portable version of the Bento 2 personal database application for the Mac from FileMaker.

It has a number of built in library templates, helping you to keep track of things such as expenses or inventories, and ties directly in with the iPhone functions such as the Address book, photo roll.

You can also create your own templates on the iPhone, and if you've got Bento 2 on your Mac, it will sync between them too, so you can keep things nicely organised.

Print n Share Price: 3.99

How do you solve a problem like printing to the iPhone? Andrew Lloyd Webber would probably use Print n Share', which despite its dodgy name, lets you print off email, web pages, contacts and photos directly from your iPhone.

Cleverly, once you've installed a web app on your laptop, you can even print remotely over 3G, so you can grab those documents off the printer as soon as you get in the office. It also lets you mount your iPhone as a drive and lets you drag and drop files onto it, making it worth the price of the entry fee alone. You can even email files directly within the app, without having to go to the mail client.

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