eBay's PayPal is talks with Google to add the payment serrvice to Android phones.

Even if Android run phones users can use eBay's Pay Pal payment service to pay for app purchases, it has been reported that the payment service is in talks with Google to make it more integrated with the platform. A report out last week suggests that if the ongoing negotiations go as planned, Pay Pal should be available to Google's Android phones owners by year's end. Android apps purchases currently are made using a credit card or Google's own competitor to PayPal, Google Checkout. PayPal for mobile would work in a more integrated fashion on Android run phones similar to how the iTunes Store works on Apple's iOS devices.
Google's chief competition in smartphones, Apple, uses iTunes to handle payments for app purchases on its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
To broaden its sphere into the world of mobile payments, PayPal already introduced a new service for apps developers called Guest Payments in June that will let them accept credit card payments using PayPal without requiring buyers to have a PayPal account. With the service, Software developers offer credit card payments for applications, with PayPal electronically transferring the funds between buyer and seller.

For more, see CNET.com

Flipboard iPad app is a free and appealing social network news aggregator.

With Apple enjoying tremendous success with the launch of the iPad, users of the tablet are enjoying the natural feel and large screen of the device among others things. But they are not the only ones finding the iPad very accommodating to work with; developers too like the flexibility of the device which allows them to aggregate media and other Web content in a very appealing interface.
In that environment, content aggregators have thrived. One app, Flipboard a new iPad app that aggregates news from social media, is one step ahead the rest when it comes to taking advantage of all the possibilities that the device has to offer. What makes the Flipboard stands alone, is its ability to present the news in a attractive way that replicates a magazine-like feel.
Flipboard has been making waves lately partially because of how well it fits with the iPad's touch interface and how closely it really does resemble an interactive magazine, but also because of the way it collects all of the articles, blog posts, images, and videos that your social network is discussing.
According to AppScout, "Flipboard is a free app, and once you have it installed and you're logged in to your Facebook and Twitter accounts (if you want the app to see them), it will scan your friends' posts and present the links and articles that they've been posting to Facebook or Twitter to you in a magazine-like layout. Your Facebook friends, their shared links, photos, and videos are all arranged in a layout that looks much better than Facebook itself, and the links from the people you follow on Twitter are pre-loaded and the articles displayed in-line."
You don't have to scroll endlessly through pages and pages of content to find the things you're looking for, either: They're all laid out on pages that look like you're reading an actual magazine, and you can move your finger across the iPad display to flip between pages, AppScout says.

For more, see AppScout.com

4Food Burger restaurant combines serving food and social networking game.

Starting next month, people in New York City will be able to built their own burger, give it a name and maybe if their creation is copied by enough people, earn credits towards free food eventually. The concept is derived from social network games and is the creation of a new restaurant called 4Foood who billed itself as a hyperconnected , "healthy fast food."
The process begins when someone go to 4Food.com and start building their own burger from a list of options like the type of bun, meat and condiments. After placing their orders, customers can give it a name, broadcast their creations on social network sites like Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare to help it make it become popular, and go pick-it-up. The names of the different creations will appear on a leaderboard where the creations are ranked by the most ordered. That's where the concept is turned to a social network game with each new order of one creation, earning the author 25 cents credit in the restaurant and making his or her creation move up the leaderboard, which translates to more credits.
The restaurant is slated to open on 40th and Madison and will have a seating area very accomoding for the plugged crowd with free Wi-Fi.

For more, see NewYorkTimes.com

Kapitall free service makes investing fun and social.

The new financial reform law that just went into effect, brought very deep regulation to the industry. Inspired by the financial crisis from two years ago, the reform has touched on one important underlying aspect of the financial sector: the need to have informed and proactive consumers. It is a common knowledge that when it comes to managing their finances and investing, consumers are not as literate as they should be.
If they were intimidated before by the idea of taking charge of their investing and finances, they should no more after learning of Kapitall a free finances service in beta mode that aims to change all that by educating conumers in an interactive, graphically-pleasing way.
With Kapitall, the focus is on " generating a unique user experience that makes investing a more inviting and engaging activity" according to one of its executives.
And to believe AppScout, Kapitall users "level up" through missions and levels that gradually introduce them to more advanced tools and financial concepts. A host of easy-to-use features are also provided, including companies color-coded by sector, comprehensive watch lists, and a search engine that works with familiar brand names, as well as company names. Perhaps the most useful is the Compar-o-matic, which pops up when multiple companies are dragged and dropped on the comparison tool.
The Kapitall experience is also a social one. Users can either create a new Kappitall account, or use their Facebook account, and can also share information with their Facebook contacts and other Kapitall users. There are also opportunities for users to "battle" with other users and set up competitions with their own time limits and goals, in order to see who can create the best portfolio of investments.
Users also have the choice to use Kapitall purely as a learnAmeritrade ing and research environment with practice portfolios. Thanks to a partnership with TD Ameritrade, users can make actual trades in their real-life portfolio. Users must log in to their TD account to trade, and will be responsible for the associated fees, but all of the other tools that Kapitall provide are free of charge.

For more, see AppScout.com

eBay's Half.com iPhone app lets students compare prices and shop for discounted texbooks.

Just in time for the new school year, eBay is venturing into mobile textbooks sales with the launch of a new iPhone app developed by the discount site Half.com that eBay bought in 2003.
Using barcode scanning technology, the app allows users to scan the barcodes on items to find the best deals on texbooks, DVDs, books, video games and more with discounts of up to 50 percent or more off retail prices according to techcrunch.
With the emphasis on textbooks, the app contains access to 80 million active listings from more than 700,000 sellers still according to techcrunch. Users can search items based on set criteria such as condition or seller feedbacks and share deals via Facebook and Twitter.

For more, see techcrunch.com

PayPal new iPhone app to facilitate mobile donations and check deposits.

Following the lead of its parent company eBay recent push into the world of mobile apps, PayPal has been putting a lot of emphasis in its iPhone and Android apps as more features are added.
The latest addition is Bump technology which allows users to transfer money and initiate transactions by simply smartphones together. With the next generation of the app for the iPhone, PayPal plans to add the possibility for users to make donations to their favorite charities directly from the app. To reach that goal, PayPal has partnered with 20,000 different charities.
Another interesting feature to be incorporated in an upcoming version of PayPal’s iPhone app is one that will save you the trip to the ATM or bank. When you receive a check, you’ll be able to take a picture of the front and back of a check and and PayPal will deposit the amount from the check’s account into your PayPal account.

We quoted Techcrunch who said that PayPal next generation iPhone app is to be released within a few months.


For more, see techcrunch.com

Facebook launches Facebook Live Video Channel.

Since this past Friday, Facebook has started a new live video channel designed to keep users informed about new product features and events giving them a deeper look into the company.
Called Facebook Live, the new channel will be used primary to showcase Facebook products and how people are using those products according to the New York Times. In addition to product news, the channel would also allow users to interact with Facebook engineers and other employees to get a better sense of what’s happening within the company. The interaction will be through some live chats once or twice a week in the beginning with the company being flexible to have more or less of those chats in the future depending on users' interest.
According to the New YorkTimes, "the Facebook Live app is embeddable and can be added as a tab to any Facebook page. It allows viewers to update their status, chat with each other or ask a question, which is then submitted to the moderator. Videos from past live events will also be archived, so users can refer back to them after they are over.'"

For more, see the NewYorkTimes.com

Tweeter makes sharing possible with Tweet Button on other sites.

Inspired by Facebook Like Button that is a way for the social network giant to follow its users across the Internet by giving them a way to rebroadcast their Online's finds to their friends on the site, Twitter has launched a similar program last week. Called the Tweet Button, it lets you share links directly from the page you’re on. When you click on the Tweet Button, a Tweet box will appear pre-populated with a shortened link that points to the item that you’re sharing.
After you post to Twitter, you may see suggestions for accounts to follow. These accounts are suggested by the web site you visited and may include, for example, the news outlet and reporter of the article you shared.
According to the Twitter, the The Tweet Button serves a dual purposes: it is simple for users, but for publishers of all sizes, too. Recreational bloggers to large media companies can quickly and easily add the Tweet Button to their sites. It only takes a few lines of code. The Tweet Button will help publishers grow traffic and increase their Twitter following.

For more, see blogtwitter.com

Waze is a social GPS navigation app that offers ridesharing and gaming.

People who own an iPhone have the possibility to turn their phone into a GPS device thanks to a slew of apps. Among them is Waze, an iPhone app that provides both turn-by-turn GPS navigation but also adds a gaming element that let drivers share their position and time, or alert one another to speed traps, construction zones and traffic tide-ups. The utilitarian nature of the app aside, Waze has always been a fun and useful way to get free turn-by-turn directions right at your fingertips and share very valuable traffic and travel information with other drivers and friends. Now, the app has updated to add groups and social features designed to help commuters and potential carpoolers find a ride and share empty space in their vehicle. Among some of the app's new features are the ability to create "driving groups," or groups of people who all commute from the same area every day, or for fleets of drivers who drive together from place to place. For instance, the app is useful for commuters looking to organize a ride-sharing program at their workplace, or for a group of friends taking multiple routes on a road trip to see which route is fastest. Additionally, groups can be used for common interests as well as activities, like drivers sharing the cheapest gas stations in their area, affordable parking in popular downtown neighborhoods etc.
The app also offers drivers special achievements for performing certain actions like sharing information or starting a group. The app is still free and the new version is available now in the iTunes App Store.

For more, see AppScout.com

Sobi to bring low cost public bike-sharing system to New York City.

Starting this Fall, a new Bicycles sharing system that will allow users to drop off bikes almost anywhere there is a bike rack, will launch in beta form in New York City. Another feature of the project is the ability to track bike disponibility with an iPhone app. To minimise the risks of thefts or vandalism, the system called Sobi, will use a lock fastened to the bike's wheel with a GPS system and a built-in transmitter. People can check bikes' availability and unlock a bike through the iPhone app.

For more, see Crunchgear.com

Parents Are Listening Services and WebSafety Inc are effective parental control tools for cellphones.

Children using cellphones is becoming so common and treated as a normal thing that the dangers associated with the technology are overlooked most of the times. A lot of parents don't even give it a second though until they heard something really bad has happened to someone somewhere. The true of the matter is that if you are a parent with children using cellphones, the list of questionable behaviors is a long one and still growing. From communicating with unauthorized adults, to exchanging inappropriate text messages, to bullying their peers to using their phones to cheat on class room tests, the pitfalls from kids with cellphones, abound.
The good news is cellphone companies have long offered some levels of control to parents. For instance, Verizon Wireless offers an age-rated content filter for mobile-Internet content.
T-Mobile USA can block certain kinds of messages, such as text or instant messages, while AT&T Inc. can ban specific numbers. All of the carriers offer some form of family locator's feature for roughly $10 a month, the Wall Street Journal says. But there is a catch: for legal reasons, phone carriers can't monitor text messages and emails contents going to or from a cellphone.
Fortunately, some start-ups and small technology companies are stepping up and offering some alternatives.
The Wall Street Journal has reviewed the services offered by a couple of companies: Parents Are Listening and WebSafetyInc.
"Parents Are Listening Services is testing a service that alerts parents when messages containing keywords such as "suicide" or "drugs" are sent to their child's phone. The program, called Kid Phone Advocate, captures the text messages as an image and automatically scans for those words. The company plans to officially launch the program in September for $9.99 a month. The application can be downloaded on most smartphones and basic phones that have an Internet connection." the Wall Street Journal said.
For its part, WebSafety Inc., offers a similar monitoring program that's been available for five months. The company's software draws from a unique library of 6,000 phrases deemed inappropriate, including slang and online abbreviations.
The program can monitor text messages, emails, instant messages and updates to social-networking sites such as Facebook. By using the phone's Global Positioning System, or GPS, features, parents can also set up no-text zones, such as on school grounds, to prevent students from using their phones to cheat on tests or taunt classmates. WebSafety Inc's service called CellSafety is offered either for a single phone for $9.99 a month or for an unlimited number of phones for $39.99 a month.
WebSafety Inc's CellSafety app works on a number of smartphones and basic handsets, although it's not available on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, since third-party developers can't yet access the device's GPS functions.

For more, see WSJ.com

The new Blackberry Torch launched yesterday.

Faced with increased competition from Apple's iPhone and Google's Android run phones, BlackBerry has no choice but to spiff up things and come up with a new product fend off that competition. That urgency was heightened by a recent survey showing that only 42% of BlackBerry owners are looking for their next phone to be a BlackBerry, while 89% of iPhone owners and 71% of Android owners plan to stay with their current platforms.
The new BlackBerry called the Torch 9800, is the first BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard, the first to combine both a touch screen and a physical keyboard, and the first to allow typing on either a physical keyboard or an onscreen virtual keyboard. It is available on the AT&T network since Aug. 12 for $200 with a two-year contract.
Perhaps the most important feature for the new BlackBerry, is its operating system, which will also be available on future models and as an upgrade for several existing models according to the Wall Street Journal. Called BlackBerry 6, the new software aims to refresh BlackBerry's no freak user interface and feature set. One of its goal is to simplify the cluttered home screen, and to add features such as universal search, multitouch gestures, decent Web browsing, improved social networking and more built-in apps.
But one weak area for Blackberry still remains:it's meager apps offering. As of recently, BlackBerry only offered about 9,000 apps, versus 7o,000 for Google Android and 225,000 for Apple's iPhone.
Also, despite having a smaller screen with a much lower resolution, the Blackberry Torch is significantly ticker and heavier than its main rivals.


For more, see WSJ.com

Dell's Streak to go on sale next week.

Dell has just announced that its Streak tablet PC will go on sale this week with the company taking orders for U.S. pre-sales starting today and shipments to take place the following day. The Streak will be available for $299.99 with a new AT&T two-year contract and for $549.99 without one.
First unveiled in January, the Streak is described by the company as a combination between a traditional cellphone and a larger tablet computer. At half the size of Apple's iPad, the Streak runs on Google's Android operating system and can make and receive phone calls. One downfall is that the Sreak runs on a slower older version of Google Android which doesn't support Adobe's Flash software program. However, Dell promises to have an update available later this year.

For more, see WSJ.com

iBook app for iPads is a decent alternative for e-books.

Nowadays, e-readers are becoming more and more popular and some of the most popular like the Amazon's Kindle often sold out. And now with the recent launch of the iPad which has enjoyed a tremendous success, some people may be tempted to use their tablet as an e-reader. Indeed the iPad's color display and touch capabilities make the iPad's iBooks app a decent e-book reader. People who have no experience with E Ink from a traditional e-reader, may not mind the iPad's LED backlit screen. Compared with others e-book readers' book stores, the experience with the iPad's iBook app's book store is smooth and effective though it lacks the level of details past the big categories.
The iBook's books prices are competitive almost on par with those of the Kindle and the Nook though the selection may not be as wide as those. Expect for that selection to grow with new deals being made with a variety of publishers.

For more, see pcmag.com

Textfree app will let you send texts without owning a phone.

The business of text messages is a big one for wireless carriers and people seem not to mind using them a lot. Some of them even text more than they talk, specially teens and pre-teens. But for parents not ready yet to let their youngest own a cellphone or people whose ability to text is limited by their wireless' plan, there is a way to get around that. The solution is the possibility to send and receive text messages without a cellphone being involved. The only requirement is an iPod Touch and the willingness to download an app called Textfree from a company called Pinger. The service assigns users a real phone number and allows them to send and receive text messages for free. Users are connected through Wi-Fi with the only trade-off being the presence of banner ads at the bottom of the app.
With the assignment of a phone number, Textfree has the capability to offer also voice service.
That option is in the works with a beta phase set to debut in late September. Called "Textfree with Voice", the service will give users the option to pay for voice minutes or earn free minutes by performing tasks like downloading free apps, filling out surveys or performing other tasks, according to CNET.

For more, see CNET.com

Synth and Studiotrack belong to a group of very useful music apps for the iPad.

The iPad has been around only for a short time, but already developers have been busy at work coming up with an array of apps and the results of their work is quite impressive. That is evident in the musical field where a few apps have emerged as very useful for music makers and lovers. They range from virtual synthesizer, multitrack recording program, to a virtual analog musical instrument etc. Here are five of them:
1.The Synth polyphonic synthesizer from Retronyms. Modeled after the MIDI keyboard controller, it comes with over 40 built-in instruments, five control knobs, a modulation wheel, and the ability to choose between five octaves using the octave buttons. The app also have a "sample record" button which allows you to sample sounds using the iPad's built-in mic.
The Synth app is available at the iTunes store for $1.
2.According to pcworld.com, StudioTrack from Sonoma Wire Works is a multitrack recording program exclusively designed for the iPad. It has key features like multi-track recording, a metronome, an effect rack for each channel.
3. Modeled after Korg'Electribe series of analog synthesizers, iELECTRIBE is a full-on virtual analog musical instrument synthesizer that offers a lot of effects, sound banks and a a step sequencer. It sells for $ 20 at the iTunes store.
4.Amateur music makers will find the Groovemaker very useful thanks to its large library of loops that allow users to layer them therefore creating music on the go. It comes in two versions: a free one and one selling for $10 at the iTunes store.
5.For people wanting longing to spin vinyls, Mixr turntable app still in the development, offers that chance. According to pcworld, using the Mixr feels the same as spining real vinyls with the possibility to go back and forth and to cut and mix between tracks.
Still in development, the Mixr app is not priced yet but people interested can fill out a form at Mixr.com and get updated on the development's progress.

Amazon announces a $139 Kindle to be available at the end of August.

Locked in a fierce war against some formidable competitors like Barnes & Nobles and Sony and a host of new entrants, Amazon the maker of Kindle and a pioneer in the area of e-readers, has just introduced two new versions of the Kindle e-readers last week. With competitors like Barne & Noble and its Nook e-reader which starting last June was offered at the low price of $ 149, Amazon could not stay on the sidelines too long and watch risking loosing some market share. It comes up with a $139 Kindle version that has the particularity of connecting to the Internet using Wi-Fi only unlike the previous versions.
The other model introduced is the new Kindle 2 slated to go on sale at the same price as the older one or $189. Both new models are smaller and lighter than previous ones and with higher contrast screens with the ability to deliver crisper texts. They also boost twice the storage capacity of previous ones, up to 3,500 book according to the New York Times.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Yahoo Upshot Blog will post articles based on most popular search terms.

With the news moving Online at an ever increasing speed and the sources so scattered, it is increasingly hard for any news lover to keep up with the latest. Sensing an opportunity, Yahoo is trying to move in with big ambitions to become a major player in that arena, with the help of its position as the number two search engine in the U.S. With that goal, earlier this month, Yahoo launched a new blog called The Upshot that will scan its wealth of database to scout for the most popular search queries to guide it post articles.
The Upshot blog content will be written with a mix of humans and automation based by on the result of the most searched terms on various topics; it also plans to include original reporting.

For more, see AppScout.com

YouTube increases its video upload limit from 10 to 15 minutes.

YouTube users who untill now had to settle with the site's 10 minutes limit for video upload, got a good news last week when the company announced a 50 percent increase. The new limit is now 15 minutes and to help kick it off, YouTube is organizing a contest, encouraging its users to upload their own 15 minutes long video describing best their lives to the rest of the world.
Users have untill August 4th to upload their videos and a few winners will have theirs featured on its YouTube's home page.
When uploading their videos to enter the contest, users should have to tag them with
"yt15minutes."

For more, see Youtube.com

Ways to avoid huge cell phone bills while traveling overseas.

When traveling abroad, there are ways to avoid cell phone bills shocks by just doing a few simple things.
The first one is the most obvious and consist of simply turning off your phone specially if you own a smart one that can access the Internet. Turning it off will prevent apps downloaded in it to roam the Internet without your knowledge.
For travelers who own an iPhone, AT&T advices its users to "reset their usage tracker to zero so they can keep an eye on new charges, and make it a point to use Wi-Fi instead of their phones' 3G services to access the Web" according tp the New York Times. That option may work for casual Web users who access the Internet for light things such as checking e-mails. For those with heavy surfing, AT&T offers data roaming for the iPhone and other smartphones that "provides 20 megabytes of data usage within 90 countries for $24.99 per month, and up to 200 megabytes for $199.99 per month" says the New York Times.
Secondly, if traveling abroad and in need to make phone calls, the first order of business is to get the right kind of phone. That is important because outside the U.S.A., many countries use a different wirless technology incompatible with most phones from the States. So it will be helpfull to check with the service provider to see if its phones work outside the country.
Verizon Wireless for instance do not use the GSM technology generally found oversea. To make up with that, Verizon Wireless have phones designed to work outside the U.S.A. available for loan for free for people that have been subscribers six months or longer.
AT&T and T-Mobile on the other hand, have phones compatible with GSM technogy more prevalent in other countries.
"Another option is to buy an inexpensive travel phone from a company like Telestial (telestial.com) or Planet Omni (planetomni.com). They typically cost less than $50. For example, Planet Omni’s Kit V520 ($49) offers a dual-band GSM phone, SIM card with both a United States phone number and a global phone number, and $5 in airtime. The service allows you to receive free incoming calls in France, Italy, Spain and Britain on the global number, and free voice mail in 60 countries. Costs for outgoing calls depend on the country. For example, an outgoing call from France to a United States landline is 99 cents per minute, while a call to a mobile phone is $1.49 per minute. Telestial’s Passport package (starting at $99) provides free incoming calls in Europe, as well as calls back to the United States for 49 cents per minute." according to the New York Times.
Thirdly, savvy international travelers will choose the option of changing their original SIM card to one from the country they are traveling to. Doing so, all their incoming calls would be free while the outgoing ones will be billed at a much lower rate.
Fourth, An increasingly popular option for making phone calls while abroad, is to use an Internet based telephone service or VoIP. One of the most popular of those services are Skype or Truephone

For more, see NewYorkTimes.com

New version of CNN News iPhone app is now available to international users.

Even if it has been around for a while, CNN News iPhone app was till now only available to users in the U.S.A. But last week, CNN announced a new version available to iPhone and iPod Touch international users. The new version comes with added features like "push notification" for breaking news and the ability to use the phone camera to capture photos and videos and upload them to CNN's iReport citizen journalism website" according to AppScout.
"The new CNN app also allows iPhone and iPod Touch owners to customize their news experience. You can select certain topics and subjects and "follow" them so you get regular updates on the news and alerts on information that interests you specifically" still according to AppScout. "As you find stories that interest you, you can also save them for future or offline reading, and depending on where you live and the type of news you frequently read, the app will show you news stories of regional interest." AppScout said.
Another new feature of the app is its integration with CNN's iReport citizen journalism Web site allowing users to report on events happening in their areas. They can register right from their phone through the app to either submit material or view some submitted by others.
On top of the new features, the new new version of the app allows users to do all the other things that they use to do with the old one like watch the latest news reports or access CNN videos on -demand etc. The new CNN News iPhone app is free to download from the iTunes store or from CNN's Website.

For more, see AppScout.com