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A Brief History of the iOS App Store and the Rise of the Mobile App

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

One of the biggest things to come out of the smartphone revolution is the rise of the mobile app. Before Apple, Google and the rest all set about creating their own on-device app stores. Users were left to live a life of boring apps that needed installing via a memory stick or, in the case of some smartphone operating systems, the downloading of executables that needed to be installed manually after fighting through a selection of security issues. Windows Mobile, I'm looking at you.

Apple, along with Research in Motion, began to change all that with a little help from Google. Nokia also got in on the act, before Microsoft finally began to get things right with Windows Phone 7. Apps, as we have all learned over the last few years, sell smartphones. Now, they also sell tablets.

This is all a far cry from Apple's early stance on an 'app store' when it released the iPhone along with its little brother, the original iPod touch...

Easily Sync Your iPhone Contacts With Gmail Using “Contacts Sync for Google Gmail”

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Are you one of the thousands of users who have transitioned their entire online ecosystem into Apple's iCloud? Did you stop syncing your contacts with Gmail in order to sync with iCloud? Do you want to maintain your address book with iCloud and have the same address book in Google Contacts?

Now you can with a paid application called Contacts Sync For Google Gmail...

Gmail App Updated With Signatures, Scribbles, and More

Cody Lee ∙ December 14, 2011

Google's native Gmail application for iOS has had a rocky go of it over the past month. The initial app was yanked out of the App Store just hours after releases due to software bugs, and the app as a whole has received tons of criticism.

But that doesn't mean that Google is going to give up on it. In fact, the app just received a major update that not only brings tons of bug fixes, but also adds some new features like Scribbles, which lets you add your own art to emails...

Google Working On Siri Clone Codenamed “Majel”

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

Google is reportedly working on its own version of Siri for upcoming Android devices. The project has been given the internal codename of "Majel" (a reference to Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the Federation Computer from Star Trek) and is meant to be an evolution of the current voice recognition technology in Android, Voice Actions.

Siri is by far the iPhone 4S's hottest feature, and Apple has used marketing to put itself in the lead once again with the rest of the industry now forced to play catch-up. Will Google's upcoming assistant be the competition that Siri needs?

Google Releases Currents in the App Store to Compete with Flipboard

Alex Heath ∙ December 8, 2011

Google has just released a new app called Currents. The app offers a magazine-like interface for reading the web, including Google Reader.

With Google announcing its new Currents app on both the iOS and Android platforms, the search giant is set to take on similar apps that offer a personalized reading experience on mobile devices.

10% of US Mobile Subscribers Own iPhones

Oliver Haslam ∙ December 5, 2011

A new survey carried about by comScore claims that only 1 out of 10 American mobile subscribers own an iPhone, with Apple's handset reaching the 10.8% mark as of October 2011.

The survey also suggests that Samsung is currently the top OEM in the country, with their phones currently in the hands of a quarter of all cellphone owners.

In fact, of the top five OEMs in comScore's chart, Apple sits fourth, behind Samsung (25.5%), LG (20.6%) and Motorola (13.6%). Canadian firm Research In Motion takes fifth place with an ever-decreasing share of the market. Not great times for BlackBerry fans at all...

War for Market Share vs. War for Profits

Sébastien Page ∙ December 1, 2011

Business Insider's Dan Frommer published an interesting article this morning titled "Why the iPhone's market share war with Android actually matters." In his piece, Frommer is spot on when he explains that gaining market share is important because this is what will build the dominant mobile platform for the next decade.

Historically, Apple never cared much about market share. Sure, it's happy when it's gaining slices of a market, but Apple is all about profitability and brand value. When Google makes $10/year from each Android user, Apple makes about $300 per iPhone sold. At this rate, it's not surprising that even though Apple may have a small share of the smartphone market, it's still owning about 50% of the entire industry's profits...

Meet Siri’s Competition on Android: Cluzee

Alex Heath ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Android has its own Siri, at least that is what the creators of Cluzee would like you to believe. The new app is even called your "intelligent personal assistant," and Cluzee tries to mimic many features that Siri users will recognize, including the ability to dictate text in emails and set up appointments using natural, everyday language.

Cluzee is a third party service for Android, meaning that it isn't backed by Google. The service looks to work exactly like Siri, but the voice commands that Cluzee recognizes are much more limited than Apple's technology.

HTC Loses Money Thanks to Struggling Economy and Competition From Apple and Samsung

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Out of all of the Android manufacturers, perhaps no other company has benefited from Google's mobile operating system more than HTC. The Taiwanese handset-maker created some of the world's first smartphones, and the company has really taken off since Android hit.

In fact, HTC has been nearly unstoppable since it launched the first Android handset back in 2008, experiencing a sales growth streak that spanned nearly two years. But in the face of stiff competition and an ailing economy, its streak has finally come to an end...

Three Apps to Help You Get the Best Deals this Holiday Season

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 19, 2018

Black Friday is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean that the holiday related discounts are over. Even after Cyber Monday (the online version of Black Friday) hits next week, retailers are expected to host a number of sales before the end of the year.

So if you are still looking to pick up gifts at rock bottom prices, you have about a month left to shop around. And here are three apps that will not only ensure you get the best deal on a product, but will also help you decide whether to buy it or not...

InstaURL: Search Google, Bing, or Yahoo From Anywhere

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 25, 2011

InstaURL is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to perform web searches from anywhere on your iDevice.

Similar to QuickGoogle and QuickSafari, InstaURL isn't alone when it comes to tweaks of this nature.

Is it different enough to warrant paying the $0.99? Check inside for the full video walkthrough...

Google Search for the iPad Gets a Facelift

Cody Lee ∙ November 21, 2011

Google has had a rough time with its iOS software over the past few weeks. The search company released a disappointing Gmail app for the iPhone earlier this month, but immediately pulled it due to problems with push notifications and other glitches.

The app was resurrected in the App Store recently, but many of its problems were not resolved. Today, however, Google has redeemed itself a bit with an update to its search interface, as it brings several welcome changes to the iPad version...