Facebook buys fitness tracking app Moves for undisclosed amount

If its recent purchases tell us anything, it’s that Facebook is looking to move beyond Walls and Likes. Just after it’s puzzling acquisition of virtual reality gaming company Oculus VR, the company has now acquired ProtoGeo, the developers behind the fitness tracking app Moves. The Swedish company confirmed the acquisition in a blog post. Neither company has disclosed how much Facebook paid for ProtoGeo.

The Moves app uses smartphone sensors to track the daily movements of its users for data such as calories burned and activity. The app is available for both iPhone and Android, and according to ProtoGeo has amassed over four million downloads.

Current Moves users can rest assured that, for now, there won’t be any immediate changes to the Moves app. According to ProtoGeo, Moves won’t be sharing your calories burned or activities with Facebook. In a statement released by ProtoGeo, “For those of you that use the Moves app – the Moves experience will continue to operate as a stand-alone app, and there are no plans to change that or co-mingle data with Facebook.”

So why would Facebook want to move into the fitness and health arena? First, because they can. Facebook certainly has the cash to purchase it. According to Facebook, “The Moves team has built an incredible tool for the millions of people who want to better understand their daily fitness activity, and we’re looking forward to the app continuing to gain momentum.”

This purchase actually makes more sense than its Oculus acquisition. The very nature of “getting healthy” oftentimes is a social affair. Think about the last time you made a healthy lifestyle change: started a diet, trained for a 5K, or quit smoking. You likely told friends and family about your decision, and announced your achievements and milestones along the way. More importantly, you likely did this on Facebook. I recently decided to quit smoking after 15 years and have used Facebook to announce my personal achievements, and see plenty of posts from others announcing theirs as well.

Facebook purchasing an app in a sector that every other major technology company isn’t so puzzling after all. The only question perhaps is how long until height and weight are a part of your Facebook profile?

Source:

mindofthegeek.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 8:08 AM in Android, continuing, Facebook buys, fitness tracking, iPhone, major technology, Oculus VR, ProtoGeo, Swedish company, undisclosed

Apple could be working on song ID feature for iOS, eyes tie-up with Shazam

Apple might soon add a feature to iOS which will enable the users to use their iPhone and iPads to identify a song using a songmatching service. For this Apple will be partnering with Shazam which has a similar app on Android and iOS.

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to introduce a song discovery feature will help the users to know what song is playing by using the microphone of their iPhone or iPad. This feature is similar to what we have seen in Shazam’s very own app that asks users to hold their devices close to a sound source. The app then identifies the song by browsing through its huge song database.

One of the ways to access the proposed feature by Apple is by using its very own voice assistant Siri. User can simply ask Siri questions like “What song is playing?” and it will return the answer.

One drawback that Shazam app has is that it has to be separately downloaded and is available in free as well as a paid (ad-free) version. This is where Apple differs in its implementation of this feature. As per the report, it could integrate this feature into iOS which implies that the users won’t need a separate app.

Music has been one of the major contributors to Apple’s success story. Its iTunes has changed the way music is consumed and sold and Apple has shown alacrity in adjusting to trends. Last year, it introduced its very own music streaming service iTunes Radio.

Bloomberg also reports that Apple is planning to take iTunes Radio outside US. If true, then it will certainly help the company to move ahead of close rival Pandora which is also restricted to US market only.

Although it is not yet confirmed, this feature might be a part of the iOS 8update that Apple is expected to show at its Worldwide Developers Conference this June.

Source:

tech.firstpost.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 1:08 AM in Apple could, assistant Siri, Bloomberg, eyes, iPads, iPhone, Shazam, song database, song ID

Apple brings CarPlay to iPhone and iPad with iOS 7.1

Apple has begun offering its latest iOS update to iPad and iPhone owners, bringing support for its newly announced motoring project CarPlay

Apple has begun offering its latest iOS update to iPad and iPhone owners, bringing support for its newly announced motoring project CarPlay.

The system allows an iOS device to be controlled by a compatible car’s “touchscreen, knobs and buttons”. Users can safely push a button placed in an easily accessible spot to launch Siri, then make calls, use maps, listen to music and access messages hands-free. A screen built-in to the dashboard can show turn-by-turn directions.

Vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have CarPlay as an option for customers, while manufacturers such as BMW, Ford and Jaguar will all launch the feature in the future. The latest version of iOS – 7.1 – adds the support necessary to make the system work with existing phones and tablets.

Other software tweaks include the ability to display events in the month view in the Calendar app, a fix for the bug which could “occasionally cause a Home screen crash” and improved Touch ID fingerprint recognition.

Siri has been adjusted so that you can hold the Home button down while talking and release it when you have finished, rather than letting it decide when your command has ended. The update also adds a “more natural-sounding” voice for the UK English setting.

Those with extremely bad inbox-checking habits will be pleased to note that a glitch which affected unread mail numbers greater than 10,000 on the Mail badge has also been fixed.

News Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Posted by Editorial Team on 7:07 AM in Apple, BMW, CarPlay, Ferrari, Ford, iOS 7.1, iPhone, Jaguar, Mercedes, Touch ID

Apple and Google Dominate the Mobile World According to ComScore

Apple and Google currently dominate the mobile phone world. (Photo : Wikimedia Commons)

Apple and Google dominate the mobile space, according to a new data report by ComScore.

ComScore is a leader in measuring the digital world, and today released data from its Mobilens and Mobile Metrix, reporting important trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for January 2014.

Apple lead as No.1 smartphone manufacturer, with its iPhones capturing 41.6% of the US market this year so far, and Samsung came second with 26.7%.

On the operating system side however, Apple was unable to compete with Google. Android led the market with 51.7% share while iOS had 41.6%. Trailing behind them was windows phone at 3.2% and Blackberry OS at 3.1%.

There is no surprise about the popularity that the iPhone and Android share. It's worth noting however that while Apple saw its manufacturer market share jump over the last 3 months, Samsung is also picking up momentum.

In addition to their report on smartphones supremacy and operating systems, ComScore also reported on the top destinations for mobile browsers. Google's sites were visited by almost 90% of the American mobile users, and Facebook took second place with 87 percent. Yahoo and amazon came next with 86.2% and 69%, respectively.

Google's sites ranked in the report as the top "web property," reaching 89.4% of the mobile media crowd. Included in this statistic was also web browsing and app usage.

Another cool number: Facebook was the most popular mobile app in the US last quarter, and was employed by 78% of its users.

ComScore, a digital measurement and analytics company, also reported Friday that 7 percent more people owned smartphones in January over last October, with a total of 159.8 million Americans possessing the tech. That's a 66.8 percent mobile market reach.

Mobile Metrix and Mobilens, the tools used to measure the information, are intelligent censuss-based measurement methods and online surveys on smartphones and tablets. 

News Source: www.designntrend.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 6:55 AM in Android, Apple, ComScore, Google, Google's sites, iPhone, Mobile, Mobile Metrix, smartphone, supremacy