Spotlight on Asian import messaging apps gaining traction stateside

Check out these four Asian messaging apps that are commanding a market share rivaling Whatsapp and making their way to U.S. audiences.

There’s no shortage of messaging apps that can replace your native text messaging service in the App Stores. Apps like Imo.im, and of course Whatsapp are among the most popular, but there’s a crop of contenders from Asia that you may or may not be familiar with growing exponentially, and they’re beginning to find a solid footing with the U.S. audience. Here’s a quick look at messaging app imports that could soon become popular options for avoiding your native texting client.

Kakao Talk

Launched in 2010, Kakao Talk was founded in Korea by Beom-Soo Kim, the former CEO of Next Human Network, the company formed after a merger between South Korean companies Naver.com and Hangame Communications. Kakao Talk provides users with an interactive chatting experience, a library of emoticons, and an app-to-app calling feature that uses your data plan instead of your minutes.

One thing we’ve noticed with the app is that celebrities – primarily in Asia for now – are using it to keep fans up to date through Kakao Talk messages.

The app is primarily popular in South Korea, with half of its 60 million users coming from that country. The app reportedly hosts one billion inbound and outbound messages per day.

Kakao Talk is available on iOS, Android, Bada, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices.

LINE

There’s a stark similarity between LINE’s user interface and Kakao Talk, which makes sense given that LINE was launched by the Japanese subsidiary of Next Human Network. The app’s messaging service is extremely similar in design and user experience with Kakao Talk, but it’s easy to use and comes with similar bells and whistles — like voice-to-voice calling and in-app emoticons. Other features include group chatting and “stickers” that you can message to your friends. The one caveat is that the app’s voice-to-voice feature can be buggy and unreliable as our calls were often dropped. Where LINE differentiates itself from Kakao Talk is that it’s making a push to be a mobile social medial destination. You can publish updates to a Timeline, and it even recommends its other standalone branded apps for taking photos, painting, sending greeting cards, or gaming.

In just eight months since its launch, the app has garnered 20 million users, and claims it reached that milestone faster than Facebook (it took 38 months). Today it has over 60 million users worldwide (approximately 29 million in Japan) and is projected to reach 100 million users by the end of 2012.

The app is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.

Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz isn’t a shoe-in for this list since it doesn’t get its beginnings in Asia. In fact the startup began in the Netherlands in 2006, but the company has since relocated its headquarters to India and replaced its key staff with Indian executives after it became hugely popular with consumers in the country. It currently has over 100 million users globally,17 percent of which reside in India and 6.5 percent in the United States. The company projects to have 400 million users by 2014.

Its interface is very reminiscent of Whatsapp. However, we have to admit when it comes to calling or chatting via video (features that Whatsapp doesn’t offer) Nimbuzz might offer a superior experience. Users can call friends who have the app downloaded for free, or talk face-to-face with its free video calling feature. A unique service that Nimbuzz also provides is the ability to chat by texting with your friend through video, but without the audio. While it might sound peculiar to you, it’s ideal for users who would prefer to see each other but are on networks that restrict access to VoIP calling services.

Nimbuzz is also making a hard sell to compete directly with Skype. The majority of its features are focused on calling services, including the ability to call landlines and cellphones for a minute-by-minute fee, similar to what Skype offers.

Nimbuzz is available on iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Nokia, and even Java devices.

WeChat

Tencent Holdings, a Chinese holding company that owns the wildly popular Tencent QQ (a free instant messaging service based in China) has a sizable piece of the mobile messaging market with WeChat. With 200 million users, it’s among the most popular messaging apps in the world. But WeChat is unique in its approach as the app focuses on voice messaging – it’s a feature offered in LINE, which buries its voice messaging into a secondary page. Rather than offering voice-to-voice calling, users can record a voice message and send it to their friends just you would with a regular text-based message. Of course if you prefer to send text messages, the app supports it through the same interface, along with the emoticons and “stickers” that you’ll find in other services. 

Similar to LINE, WeChat has extended its service to offer a social media component called “Moments.” On this page, which not surprisingly resembles Facebook’s Timeline, users can share content as long as you publish a photo that’s stored on your phone.

WeChat is available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/popular-asian-messaging-apps/

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Foxconn denies iPhone 5 plant in China went on strike

Conflicting with previous reports that Foxconn workers halted iPhone 5 production this week, the company refuted the strike claims today.

Detailed on Reuters earlier today, representatives with Foxconn released a statement denying the recent claim that thousands of workers went on strike over working conditions at one of the plants producing Apple’s iPhone 5. The previous report indicated that workers weren’t able to keep up with the stringent quality control standards which led to physical violence between workers and quality control inspectors. The previous report also indicated that Foxconn was forcing workers to continue producing iPhones and other electronics through China’s seven-day National Day holiday. More specifically, China’s Xinhua news organization published a quote from an official with the Zhengzhou government that stated over one hundred quality inspectors abstained from work for a short time on Friday due to a physical altercation with workers.

According to officials at the Foxconn Technology Group in Taiwan, two disputes at the plant in question did take place early in the week. However, these altercations didn’t result in a complete halt in the production line at the factory.

Regarding the previous report, Foxconn’s statement said “Any reports that there has been an employee strike are inaccurate. There has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule.” In addition, Foxconn management claims that additional staff was added to the production lines that were involved in the disputes. 

Apple has not commented on these incidents at the Foxconn factories in China, but it’s highly possibly that customer reports of scratches and flaws on brand new models could have led to these disputes. A spokesman for the industrial area that contains the Foxconn plant in question said “The instruction to strengthen quality inspections for the iPhone 5 was given by Apple Inc. following multiple complaints from customers regarding aesthetic flaws in the phone.” Regarding the flaws in the iPhone 5 shipments, Apple VP Phil Schiller stated “Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color. That is normal.”

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/foxconn-denies-iphone-5-strike/

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Galaxy Note II firmware update is out, brings Multi-View in

Samsung has released a firmware update for the Galaxy Note II, bringing it the much anticipated Multi-Window feature.

Multi-Window enhances the multitasking capabilities of the Galaxy Note II by allowing users to use two programs on the screen simultaneously. Mind you, not all Android apps are supported, but unlike the Galaxy Note 10.1, where only Samsung apps could be brought up to the screen, Multi-Window supports Google apps as well (Gmail, YouTube, Chrome and Talk).

The update is labeled as version XXALIJ1 and also packs a new baseband, as well as an update to Google Chrome.

Currently available for download, Galaxy Note II owners can check for the new firmware from About device -> Software update. While waiting to download, you can see Multi-Window in action on the official Samsung Galaxy Note II ad below (around the 2:00 minute mark).

Make sure to read our in-depth Galaxy Note II review, as well!

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxy_note_ii_firmware_update_is_out_brings_multiview_in-news-4911.php

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The best iPhone 5 speaker docks

Pump your favorite jams from your iPhone 5 with these Bluetooth- and AirPlay-friendly speaker docks.

With the release of the new iPhone 5 comes the new Lightning connector. On the positive side, it is smaller, faster, reversible and has a much cooler name than “30-pin dock connector.” But it also presents some temporary problems; one of which is there are no speaker docks on the market that will work with it. Or are there?

The fact is, you don’t have to wait for speaker makers to issue new speaker docks with the Lightning connector to enjoy audio from your iPhone 5 — there are plenty of solid speaker docks you can use right now. Thanks to Apple AirPlay and Bluetooth, you can start streaming you tunes wirelessly to a sweet-sounding speaker dock as quick as…well…lightning.

Check out our list of the best iPhone 5 speaker docks and the reviews that go with them. They all offer built-in AirPlay and or Bluetooth and sound spectacular. Now go get your jam on.

Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air, $500

The Klipsch G-17 Air doesn’t even have a dock to worry about! We were wowed by its potent performance from a small, wall-mountable package. It offers a USB connection for device charging and an aux-in port for other audio devices. Its sleek, gloss-black finish and unassuming design lends itself well to a variety of décors. Read our full Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air review.

Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin Air, $600

We’ve given the Zeppelin Air a fair amount of heat for its blimp-like design, but the fact is it sounds great and has a way of becoming a fun conversation piece. If you’re looking to impress your friends as well as enjoy superior sound, the Zeppelin Air is the ticket. Read our full B&W Zeppelin Air review.

JBL OnBeat Xtreme, $500

If you’re looking for stellar performance with a dash of portability, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme is a great pick. Plus, as a bonus, it will dock your iPad as well (for now, anyway). Check out everything this dock has to offer in our full JBL OnBeat Xtreme review.

Samsung DA-E750, $630

The Samsung DA-E750 is one of the best performing speaker docks we’ve ever hear, and it is gorgeous, to boot. It also happens to be the most versatile speaker dock we’ve come across, with a connector for Android devices and support for both AirPlay and Bluetooth wireless streaming. Plus, it’s got tubes, man! Dig our Samsung DA-E750 review.

Bang and Olufsen Beolit 12, $800

The Bang and Olufsen Beolit 12 trumps the JBL OnBeat Xtreme for portability thanks to a built-in rechargeable battery. It also gives the JBL a run for its money in the sound department. You’ll pay a little more for this Danish dynamo, but it does deliver deep bass while occupying minimum space. Be sure to read our Bang and Olufsen Beolit 12 review for the full scoop.

Etón Ruckus Solar, $150

While the Etón Rukus Solar doesn’t offer sound quality at quite the level of our previous entries, it is quite the solar-powered sensation and the most affordably priced. Take it with you anywhere and let the sun supe up your sounds. Everything else you need to know is in Eton Rukus Solar review.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/the-best-iphone-5-speaker-docks/

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Jetsetter: The Force is strong in Finland’s Angry Birds and a lost French classic

In Jetsetter, concept art's uncovered for a lost Rayman sequel, Nintendo prepares a new Circle Pad Pro in Japan, and Jedi birds hit Finland.

Fall is upon us. The sun is low, the air is brisk, and even the sickly city trees dotting the streets are putting on their more spectacular autumn colors. It’s the perfect pairing for the rush of video games coming out this time of year—All the best and brightest, unleashed in a single rush. Know what though? It ain’t fall everywhere. Think about how the weather’s just getting nice and summery south of the equator! It’s beach weather in Brazil! Time to hit the waves in South Africa! It’s portable gaming season abroad. This week’s look at the international video game world are thematically selected to celebrate the coming of the hot months for our friends way down south.

This is Jetsetter, a column devoted to gaming beyond the borders of the US. If you’re making Turbo-Grafx 16 games in Singapore, we want to know about it. Hit us up in the comments. Follow yours truly on Twitter at @ajohnagnello.

* Concept art from Ubisoft’s aborted Rayman 4 sequel hits the web.

Few video game series are as essentially French as Michael Ancel’s Rayman. There’s something about that limbless geek that captures the nation’s spirit so well. This being a colorful season around the world, these concept art drawings from the long lost Rayman 4 uncovered by a NeoGAF user reflect that Franco evanescence nicely. This game, a proposed sequel to the PS2-era 3D platformers Rayman 2 and 3, looks like it might be preferrable to Wii U launch title Rayman Legends. That game is pretty but since there’s no proper single-player platforming mode, it seems to cut out the best part of the series for many people. Including me. Single-player games Ubisoft! My wife doesn’t like Rayman!

* Nintendo announces Japanese release date for Circle Pad Pro XL.

Now let’s say that our beach bound pals in the southern hemisphere feel like getting some mileage out of their brand new Nintendo 3DS XL. Disappointed by the subpar quality of Resident Evil 6, they want to play a decent game in the series and grab a copy of Resident Evil: Revelations. Good luck controlling it with only one stick! Don’t worry. Hit up an important for an international hook up, as Nintendo’s ready to release a version of its Circle Pad Pro attachment for dual-analog 3DS goodness. It’ll be out on November 15^th for 1500 yen (about $19).

* The Force is strong in Finland as Rovio teases Angry Birds: Star Wars.

That’s right. Angry Birds plus lightsabers. That is a thing that is happening. Finnish studio Rovio is combining their shockingly popular mascot with George Lucas’ ubiquitous space opera for a new game. Somehow, this seems like it was inevitable. Here’s the thing, though: If the birds can use the force, how is there any skill in knocking down the structures that kill the pigs. Also, how can they be angry. Unless of course… THEY’RE SITH BIRDS! WE’RE ALL DOOMED! DOOOOOOOOMED!

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/jetsetter-the-force-angry-birds/

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Foxconn denies strike at iPhone 5 manufacturing plant

Did Apple's alleged desire for stricter quality controls cause strike?

Foxconn has moved to deny reports that an employee strike at one of its plants has halted production of the Apple iPhone 5.

On Friday is was alleged that 3,000 to 4,000 workers left their posts at the Zhengzhou factory in central China, due to the imposition of stricter quality controls, reportedly requested by Apple.

However, Foxconn has played down the reports and said only two minor disputes had taken place earlier in the week, which had resulted in no delays to the production schedule.

In a statement emailed to Reuters, the company said: "Any reports that there has been an employee strike are inaccurate. There has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule."

Foxconn added that the small scale disruptions on October 1-2 were "immediately addressed and measures taken, including providing additional staff for the lines in question."

Too much pressure

Apple's reported desire for stricter quality controls is said to be the result of widespread user complaints of out-of-the-box aesthetic flaws on the new iPhone 5 handset.

China Labor Watch, an advocacy group based in New York, claimed on Friday: "This strike is a result of the fact that these workers just have too much pressure."

Reuters also reports: "China's official Xinhua news agency quoted a government spokesman in Zhengzhou as saying some 100 quality inspectors at Foxconn refused to work for an hour on Friday after one was allegedly beaten by workers irate over the inspection demands."

While the full picture of the reported industrial action is yet to emerge, it is clear that all is not well at the plant, which employs 130,000 people and assembles an estimated 70 per cent of iPhone 5 devices.

Last month, there were also widespread reports of rioting at the Foxconn facility in Taiyuan in north China, which required 5,000 police offers to calm the situation.

Both Apple and Foxconn have come under fire in recent years over the alleged poor working conditions for assembly workers.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/foxconn-denies-strike-at-iphone-5-manufacturing-plant-1102495

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AppThwack, Little Bird, Stublisher, and more take the stage for Portland Incubator Experiment Demo Day

In PIE's second demo day, six new startups took the stage and made their pitches for future profitability.

Yesterday, Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) held its second annual demo day event, introducing six new startups to the market. The new projects range from little known to enjoying early launch success, and run the gamut technologically: Some entirely user-focused, others preoccupied with big data. Check out the six new startups courtesy of PIE’s second incubator class.

Little Bird

Former TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb writer Marshall Kirkpatrick’s Little Bird (formerly known as Plexus Engine) kicked things off. While there aren’t many questions about Little Bird’s odds at success — the startup did just complete a $1 million round of fundraising led by Mark Cuban and already has more than 20 paying customers — it still deserves mention.

As a quick summary, Little Bird is a social graph search application that leverages Twitter and top blogs to find the people you need to connect with. That “you” is the important piece: This isn’t a user-facing tool (although it could be); it’s mainly targeting marketers and advertisers — outlets that need to find influencers and engage them.

Sound like Klout? Well there are definitely some overlapping ideas between the two, but Klout remains a rather surface application that focuses on describing how influential you are. Also, it’s a black box: Despite recent admissions about how it finds your Klout rank, there’s plenty that’s unaccounted for. Little Bird is about connecting the dots between subject matter experts and all of its signals are extremely up front. Kirkpatrick compares it to Page Rank, saying Little Bird believes the best way to find valued sources is by analyzing the connections between people, not just the content they’re putting out.

Code Scouts

Call it a reaction to the economy or the tech startup scene — or maybe just call it the Codeacademy effect — but there’s been a flood of alternative computer science education systems hitting the market recently. Despite the “everyone should learn to code!” trend, there is still a huge demand for developers and at the same time this industry needs some serious diversity — to put it plainly, there’s a very real lack of women in the field.

Code Scouts (a non-profit, a unique idea to demo days) is focusing on teaching women to code for mobile and Web, which founder Michelle Rowley reasons is just smart given the influence women have on the consumer market. The organization is more relaxed than your typical intense, quick-and-dirty hacker school. Members work in small groups, take advantage of mentorships, and meet for larger Code Scout-wide events and workshops.

Code Scouts is looking to raise $250k to build its team and then scale out nationally next year. Rowley also says the startup is looking for developers interested in being mentors or volunteers, as well as companies who are interested in partnering with Code Scouts to offer internships.

KS12

Social video remains a much-explored, arguably untapped market, and KS12 is giving it a go with a product it calls “video sprints.” Basically, these are KS12-produced videos that follow the pre and post pieces of an event — as well as, obviously, the during part of the event itself. “We see this as a space for collaboration,” says co-founder Gabriel Shalom. “Most event organizers see events as an end result, but we video sprints we see them as a peak of a cycle of attention that starts beforehand and goes until afterward.”

In a demo, KS12 showed off incredibly high quality video content and a variety of big names in tech and startups — you can check out its video spring focused on PIE here.

AppThwack

The F-word is a very dangerous one to developers: Fragmentation. AppThwack wants to help solve the resulting frustration with its automated app testing platform. Co-founders Trent Peterson and Pawel Wojnarowicz previously worked at Intel and have taken their time and knowledge of system automation over to AppThwack.

“We development a platform that will address the increasingly connected world we live in,” says Peterson. “We will be the solution for testing on devices and all platforms.”

Right now, AppThwack has originally only been available for Android (certainly a good place to start) and HTML 5 apps. You simply drag and drop you app to its site and AppThwack starts running and testing it on actual devices. Then you get your results and find out how well — or poorly — your app is running.

The startup launched last July, and since then it has performed nearly 573,000 tests. AppThwack is now moving into mobile Web development and will begin running testing for iOS apps in a couple months.

Lytics

Lytics is adding its name to the big data startup pool. The analytics service collects an app or services data from wherever you want — Web, mobile, third party APIs, Facebook, you name it — and from there helps you make sense of it all. Lytics can provide data visualization tools as well as enhanced background on a client’s users.

With cloud dependency and more and more outside integrations, applications’ data is fragmented across platforms, and Lytics (currently finalizing fundraising) wants to bring all of that together into one place and make it easily digestible and useful for its clients.

Stublisher

Stublisher shares some of the same focus as KS12’s video sprints by targeting social events. “We want to build a community around experiences and build a life around events,” co-founder Zachary Collins says. Stublisher wants to do more than be a platform that shows what you Like, it’s about showing what you did, and what you do.

Collins convincingly also showed off how Stublisher’s platform looks compared to Facebook Events — and the short story is, it looks much better. Facebook Events are static, feature-less pages, and the moment an event is over, they disappear. Right now, Stublisher is working with the Instagram API, but Collins says they also want to pull in Twitter and that an iOS app is in the works.

In addition to lots of philosophical waxing about the beauty of cherishing events and valuing this part of our social data by turning it into something more interactive, something more engaging, Collins also talked about the value proposition for marketers. Collecting this data and turning it into something we want to build and look at is obviously works to a brand’s advantage. Right now Stublisher is targeting concerts and events, but the team wants to get into sports and fashion. “What Wikipedia did for knowledge, we’re doing for experiences,” he says.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/portland-incubator-experiment-demo-day/

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Apple Maps update returns missing Statue of Liberty to New York City

Apple is quietly improving its Maps app

Apple has started to roll out the first updates to its Maps application, starting with the restoration of some major New York City landmarks.

The missing Statue of Liberty, which presumably was visiting friends and family back in France, is now safely back on American soil according to Apple Maps' updated 3D satellite imagery.

Also, the once hopelessly-distorted Brooklyn Bridge now appears in all its majestic glory, in the ongoing, but unannounced updates.

The 3D Flyover feature for Apple Maps was touted as one of the headline features of the new offering but has been subject to ridicule since the app's launch within iOS 6 in mid-September.

Glaring omissions

It is, of course, wise for Apple to tackle the most glaring omissions to the Maps app first as they have been subject to the greatest level of mickey-taking.

However, there remains huge amount of work to be done before the product meets the expectations of Apple fans and the company itself.

Last week Apple CEO Tim Cook made an unprecedented apology in which he admitted the company "fell short" on its commitment to deliver the best experiences for its users.

Now New York is on the way to being fixed, perhaps Apple could work on removing the omnipresent cloud cover, currently enshrouding the whole of England?

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/apple-maps-update-returns-missing-statue-of-liberty-to-new-york-city-1102486

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Motorola abandons Lap Dock and Webtop experiment, amid poor sales

Great things were expected of Moto's convergence tech

Motorola has announced that it will no longer develop the Lab Dock accessory and accompanying Webtop software, which allows an empty-shell laptop to be powered by its smartphones.

The Google-owned company said adoption of the Lap Dock and webtop software, which arrived alongside the Motorola Atrix smartphone in early 2011, had not been strong enough to justify further development.

The accessory, which was the subject of much excitement upon its debut at CES 2011, used the Atrix's processing power, memory and connectivity to bring the dock or a desktop monitor to life.

As a result, Moto told CNET, the Webtop app which appeared on its smartphones and gave Lap Dock users a separate operating system more akin to what they'd experience on a laptop, will be discontinued.

Redundant

The company confirmed that as the Android OS itself integrates more desktop-like features, Webtop would become redundant.

In a statement to CNET, Moto said: "Motorola's Webtop app helps users extend their smartphone experience to larger screens.

"While consumers around the world have adopted Webtop and the concept spurred a lot of innovation in the industry, the adoption has not been strong enough to justify continued resources being allocated to developing Webtop on future devices.

"We have also seen development of the Android operating system focus on the inclusion of more desktoplike features. Beginning with Photon Q and Droid Razr M/Droid Razr HD/Droid Razr Maxx HD, we will no longer be including Webtop on our products moving forward."

More Google cuts?

The cuts may be a result of Google trimming the fat at Motorola, following its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the hardware giant.

Reports on Friday claimed that Google has already shelled-out $340m (£210m) on "severance packages" to Moto employees deemed surplus to requirements.

Overall, Google plans to cut approximately one fifth of all Motorola staff, so these hefty redundancy payoffs are likely to continue well into next year.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/motorola-abandons-lap-dock-and-webtop-experiment-amid-poor-sales-1102478

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