Smart Phones

Samsung Galaxy S4 Is Promising But Not the Best

2013-04-07T08:21:21Z

Written By: Paul Reyes-Fournier

The recent unveiling of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 came with all the high tech and high drama one would expect from such a highly anticipated event. Lauded by some and panned by others, the Galaxy S4 goes on sale in April. USA Today reported, "The phone will go on sale in the second quarter by all four major U.S. carriers—Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile—as well as smaller U.S. Cellular and Cricket."

Let's break down the device and see why some love it and others are shrugging their shoulders.

Samsung's Big Bet

According to data from the analytics company comScore, Samsung holds the largest market share of U.S mobile subscribers, with around 25 percent. A wide margin of those users operate Samsung Galaxy phones on T-Mobile. LG is second, with about 18 percent of subscribers, and Apple follows with 16 percent. The other big players are Motorola and HTC, with 11 and 6 percent market shares, respectively.

The Galaxy S3 overtook iPhone sales worldwide for the first time in the third quarter of 2012, according to Strategy Analytics. To maintain that "world's most popular" title, Samsung is hoping that the S4's new features will drive massive sales. The company chose a U.S. launch because it is a relatively weak market in which Apple outsold them last year.

To make sure that the company's bet pays off, Samsung is taking precautions to make certain it can deliver the product if the demand is there. When Samsung last rolled out its S3, the company lost around two million in unit sales because of a design flaw in the case that snowballed into a huge shipping delay. This year it is said to be analyzing every aspect of the production line, making certain that no production bottlenecks exist that could derail strong launch sales.

A Look on the Inside

The Samsung Galaxy S4 didn't get much of a visual makeover, as it looks almost identical to its predecessor. Compared to the S3, it is a little bit thinner and lighter but probably not enough that the common user would notice. The S4 is powered by a 1.8GHz Exynos 5410 Octa processor and an ARM-powered PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU, and it houses a 2600 mAh battery. This gives the phone a bit more juice over the S3, which it needs to power its substantially upgraded display. The screen is five inches with 441 pixels per inch. This may or may not be a big deal, because the human eye can only differentiate so much resolution. The extra pixels may just be a waste of resources.

The other big upgrade is the camera. The Galaxy S4 has both front and rear cameras, with the rear boasting 13 megapixels of resolution. The Galaxy S4's camera is probably more than most people would need from their own point-and-shoot digital camera.

New Features

Here's a rundown of some of the features that are in the Samsung Galaxy S4:

Air Gesture allows the user to control the phone without actually touching it. This feature lets the user control the phone by moving his hand in front of the screen. Pictures can be scrolled by a hand wave.
Smart Scroll uses facial recognition technology to scroll around the screen based on where the user is looking. The phone will track the user’s eye movement and move the cursor position without the need to touch the screen.
Smart Pause, similar to Smart Scroll, stops the phone media when the user looks away. For example, if you're watching a video and you look up to, say, cross a busy street, Smart Pause will stop the video until you look back down.
Hover Preview lets you preview emails without actually opening them up.
Dual Camera mode makes use of both cameras. Normally a user needs to select which camera he wants to use. With Dual Camera mode, he can record a thumbnail view with one camera and the full recording with the other.
The eraser feature lets you do some mini-photoshopping right on your phone. Let’s say that you just snapped a picture of your best friend and her annoying boyfriend. Eraser feature lets you wipe him out of the photo.
Sound and Shot lets the user record a short audio blurb that is attached to an image.
Drama Shot lets you take up to 100 pictures in four seconds then select the images you want, creating a collage of pictures.
S Health probably won’t be used as much as it should, but it is a handy little feature. The smartphone sensors measure humidity and temperature and connect to a fitness program that includes a pedometer and diet tracker.

What the Critics Are Saying

Reviews count. So, too, does what the competition says. Ben Ho, HTC’s new CMO, sent out disparaging comments during the launch day about the Galaxy S4. Engadget reports that Ho said (via a PR agency), “With a continuation of a plastic body, and a larger screen being the most obvious physical change, Samsung's new Galaxy pales in comparison to the all-aluminum unibody HTC One. Later he became more scathing with the statement, “Looking at the software features of the S4, we think Samsung spent more on marketing than innovation.”

Gizmodo claims there's no “wow factor,” because the features will simply go to waste. Since there is not much of a physical change to the device, it is the features that are the selling point. If the buyer is not going to use these features then the Galaxy S4 may prove to be an old product in new wrapping. Trusted Reviews, on the other hand, says point blank that the S4 beats the iPhone 5, its biggest competitor.

Ultimately, consumers will have the final say, by speaking with their wallets.

Author's Bio:

Paul Reyes-Fournier has served as the chief financial officer for social service organizations, churches and schools. He created his own marketing firm, RF Media. Paul holds a B.S. in physics and an M.B.A.

Twitter: @dysaffirmation
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/coupledumb

ABBYY Creates a Mind-blowing Scanning App For iPhone

2012-11-20T07:30:49Z

Despite the availability of zillions of apps on our phones we missed a great scanning app. But not any more. ABBYY FineScanner, the new mobile app available in Apple app store helps to scan images, written or printed documents and create high-quality electronic copies using the Apple® iPhone®.

The New Scanning App for iPhone is created by ABBYY, the leading provider of document recognition, document capture, and linguistic technologies and services. Powered by the Company’s image-improving technology for portable devices, the app offers a range of features to enhance the quality of scanned materials.

“ABBYY FineScanner virtually turns your iPhone into a handy mobile scanner, so you can get high-quality images of documents wherever you are,” commented Katya Solntseva, director of mobile platform products department at ABBYY. The app helps in scanning all kinds of everyday documents including receipts, magazine articles, notes, recipes, pictures, charts, tables, presentation slides, whiteboards or even billboards on the street allows saving the results in PDF or JPEG.

Other Key Features

Multipage documents

The App allows creating large multipage PDF-files or small PDF-documents of one or several pages out of scanned or uploaded images from the device’s gallery by using the “grouping” feature and also allows saving the documents within the app.

Enhanced Visual quality

The app offers a wide range of capabilities including page border detection, photo rotation and trimming, brightness and contrast settings, saving black and white or grayscale copies, and many more to achieve higher visual quality and better viewing of scans before saving.

To save time, a set of quality-improving functions can be manually defined for any image from the group and then applied to the rest with a single tap.

Friendly Interface

An intuitive interface creates a swift and enjoyable experience, making it suitable for mobile workers.

Extended Export Capabilities

The app allows easy sharing of images and documents with colleagues, clients and friends via e-mail, or by uploading them to online storage services like Box, Yandex.Disk, Evernote and Facebook.

A user can also transfer the final files to desktop for work and storage (through iTunes® sharing) or print them directly from within the app (via Apple Air Print).

The app is especially helpful to corporate users and professionals who constantly deal with documents– insurance agents, financial services sellers, lawyers and others.

Availability

ABBYY FineScanner 1.5 for iOS is available via the Apple App Store® (accessible through iTunes). Supported interface languages are English and Russian. Compatible with Apple iPhone 4S and 4, the app offers language interface support for English and Russian as of now.

Individuals and Enterprises had been waiting for something like this for a long time and finally it’s great to see and use this all purpose Scanning app.

Take a look at the Video below:

Samsung Galaxy SIII, Not the iPhone Emerges As the World's Most Popular Smartphone

2012-11-09T11:11:14Z

Samsung may have lost the copyright battle to Apple in the courtroom, but it has outdone the Cupertino based Company in the marketplace. The Samsung Galaxy S III, not the iPhone has won the title of the world’s most popular smartphone for the third quarter of 2012, according to data from Strategy Analytics.

The victory, however, likely won’t stick since the GSIII was launched few months earlier than the iPhone 5 and has been on sale for the entire quarter — from July 1 to Sept. 30 — the iPhone 5 on the other hand first went on sale Sept. 21, just nine days before the close of the quarter. Many iPhone buyers have been waiting for the 5, and sales will likely pick up for Q4.

Combined, the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 actually outnumber the Galaxy S III, 11.3% to 10.7%, but as individual models, the Galaxy S III beats the 4S, which is just 9.7%.

Analysts attribute the GSIII’s success to “a large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies,” among other factors. Samsung introduced a ton of features — including NFC, a burst-shooting camera, its own Siri clone, S Voice — into the Galaxy S III and then backed it with a massive marketing campaign.

However Mashable‘s review of the Galaxy S III though found it capable, it found that some of the new features didn’t work as well as Samsung had advertised.

Handy Emergency Apps for Hurricane Sandy

2012-10-29T06:08:10Z

The news about Hurricane Sandy to be hitting on the East Coast within the next few days, have been all over. It’s always good to take precautions. Your smartphone, you can easily and cheaply turn into emergency readiness kit by downloading a few useful apps.

Hurricane Tracker: The app for iOS will help you keep your eye on Sandy’s path. It delivers the latest forecasts and National Hurricane Center data on the storm’s path. Also included: relevant Twitter feeds from storm centers, meteorologists and others.

iMap Weather Radio: This iOS and Android app tracks your location or follows a set of locations you select. The app will automatically alert you if a weather alert is issued for where you are. It’ll also let you tune in to local weather television broadcasts.

Your Plan app: This one will help you create an emergency plan before the storm strikes. You can download the Insurance Institute’s and use it to figure out what to pack in an emergency “go” kit, store contact numbers, figure out where to go and how to get there.

Red Cross: The iOS and Android app is packed with myriad features. It tracks weather information, it lets you broadcast an “I’m safe” message to friends and family with one button, and, if you need to evacuate your home, it maps the nearest Red Cross shelter. It also has a list of steps to take in case of an emergency.

Flashlight app: Finally, every emergency preparedness kit should have a flashlight. But for a quick backup solution, download a Flashlight app to turn your phone’s camera flash into a solid beam of light. There’s plenty out there for iOS and Android alike, but this free (ad-supported) is a favorite for iOS.

Hopefully, you won’t have to use most of these apps— but if you do, you’ll be glad you have any of these as backup.

Google and Sony Create a New Phone, Nexus X Apparently

2012-10-17T09:03:06Z

Photos of a new Nexus X smartphone, apparently to be Sony’s contribution to Google’s Nexus line of devices, appeared.

Two photos of the device were shown on Picasa. One photo shows the front of the phone, which features three hardware buttons, including Back and Home. Another shows its back side, which has the Google and Sony logos inscribed on the surface. The device also appears to have both front- and back-facing cameras.

The device bears a bit of resemblance to recently announced handsets like the Xperia T. The so-called Nexus X appears to run an untouched version of Android unlike its cousins.

The device could be a stand out among a potential crowd of Nexus-branded competitors with its classic design.

Though the photos are not confirmed yet, the partnership like this could end up working out nicely for both Google and Sony. Sony is a pro at designing and crafting hardware and the partnership can offer new Android updates to the fans.

Market Your Apps Uniquely With These Smart Tips

2012-10-05T10:19:50Z

By Tim Kridel for Digital Innovation Gazette

The number of apps for iOS and Android is only increasing. To take one example: There are more than 8,100 health and fitness apps for the iPhone. The What’s Hot selection narrows the field to a still-daunting 120. How many iPhone owners have the time and interest to look beyond the top dozen or so?

Such is the app marketing challenge that developers face -- and not just in the health and fitness category or on the iOS platform. No wonder, then, that some developers are looking beyond Android and iOS and focusing on platforms such as Windows Phone. These smaller app selections make it easier to stand out from the pack.

“Right now, on Apple, only 40, 50, 60 apps get discovered,” says Matthäus Krzykowski, head of marketing at Xyologic, whose app store aims to make it easier for developers and consumers to get a handle on what’s available in a particular category.

Part of the challenge is that most consumers and businesspeople often don’t visit Google Play, Apple’s App Store or Amazon’s Appstore with a specific app in mind. “The vast majority of searches are for app categories,” Krzykowski says. “The typical user doesn’t know any brands. They search for things like ‘social networking’ and ‘arcade games.’”

App Marketing Strategies: Keep Away from the Crowd

One strategy for standing out in a crowded category is to avoid it – strange as that might sound. “Many developers assume they fit in one category when they haven't really explored others that may work just as well -- with less noise and competition,” says Robert Rositano, Jr., CEO of CheckMate Mobile, a developer that specializes in gaming.

“I have seen several apps that have crossover in gaming and social categories,” says Rositano. “Developers seem to gravitate toward the gaming category because of its apparent upside and excitement. In reality, the social category will typically provide much more exposure and allow the gamified aspect of the app to grow virally. We have learned this the hard way. Experience has shown us a significant increase in downloads, rank and overall visibility. If you are going to hit the gaming category, the app should be a pure-play game for the hard-core gamer.”

The Role of App Names

When naming your app, it can be just as important to appeal to major stores’ search algorithms as it is to appeal to potential customers. The right name can leverage those algorithms to move up in rankings, as is the case with Apple’s App Store.

“They rank by title and keywords,” says Ben Sann, BestParking.com founder and CEO. “The title tag has to match the title of the app. You can’t just take the title tag and cram it with keywords. They used to allow that, but they got a little more strict. You can still stretch the title tag a little bit to include additional keywords, but it has to be in a way that makes sense as you’re reading it. You definitely want to maximize the title tag. Your keywords section should contain keywords that are not in the title tag.”

It’s also important to understand whether a particular store’s algorithms can handle acronyms and other things that might seem like a slam-dunk way to rank high in searches. “The Apple algorithm is very strict in interpreting words,” Sann says. “It won’t interpret that ‘NYC’ means ‘New York City.’ Google’s search algorithm does that; Apple’s doesn’t. It’s very literal. If you have two words, you’re better off separating them. So if you have ‘CityParking,’ you’re better off having city, comma, parking.

“Even higher than the keywords and the title is the name of the company,” Sann continues. “So you want to think long and hard how you want to call yourself. We probably shouldn’t have been BestParking.com. Maybe we should have been Best Parking.”

At the same time, don’t get too hung up on a particular store’s algorithms. These tend to change periodically and without notice. And by the time word gets around in the developer community, those algorithms might have changed yet again.

“If we (or any app developer) try and build our business on anticipation of what Apple may or may not do, what they are currently testing or what we hope will happen, we will have taken our eye off of making the most compelling app in our target category and ultimately lose as a result,” Rositano says. “Keep it simple, stay focused and simply name your app in the most descriptive way possible -- or a name that drives so much intrigue a user just has to see what it's all about.”

Tim Kridel has been covering all things tech and telecom since 1998 for a variety of publications and analyst firms. Based in Columbia, Mo., he still enjoys the childhood hobby that led to a career writing about technology: ham radio. He is a frequent contributor to Digital Innovation Gazette.

A New App Photographs the Thief Who Steals Your Phone

2012-10-03T08:36:44Z

The more Smartphones we own, the more chances of us losing them. This holds true for most of us. But the Android phone owners have a reason to rejoice. If they lose their Android phones, they’re sure to get it back with the help of an awesome Kaspersky’s mobile security app which not only helps in locating the missing smartphone, but also sends you pictures of the phone’s current surroundings.

The users just need to activate a ‘Mugshot’ feature in the app that accesses a lost or stolen phone’s forward-facing camera and captures photos of whatever or whoever might be in front of the lens automatically.

Photos are secretly taken -– so if your phone is with a thief he or she will not know the pics are being taken -– and captured photos can be viewed directly through the app’s web-based control center or in an email where the app sends the photos to a pre-determined address.

So if your phone is stolen, then those photos might potentially help you find the thief. If you’ve misplaced your smartphone, then a photo may help you find the exact spot where you left it using GPS, GSM or Wi-Fi, and Google Maps.

Additionally, the app also offers logs of recent activities on your smartphone, and even helps you find out if the SIM card in the handset has been removed or replaced.

Besides helping you find your missing phones, the app also automatically protects you from the other apps you download by scanning those and helps protect your handset from new and emerging viruses, spyware, trojans and bots, and offers real-time protection against dangerous links and webpages, including phishing sites.

Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android is on sale for $9.99 on Kaspersky’s website (regularly $19.99). A 1-year license of the app can also be purchased for $14.95 from the Google Play store.

If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to app find a missing phone, there’s Where’s My Droid? Which doesn’t have a ‘capturing pictures’ feature or antivirus protection.

AT&T, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica Join Hands

2012-09-28T09:17:54Z

By Tim Kridel for Digital Innovation Gazette

Later this month, five of the world’s largest mobile operators plan to launch a virtual app store that will let their customers buy apps from one another. For developers, one potential benefit is access to each operator’s APIs to enable operator-specific additional features without rewriting big chunks of the app for each operator.

We spoke with Heavy Reading analyst-at-large Caroline Chappell, who recently met with the new app store’s architect, Michel Burger, head of architecture at Vodafone's Technology Strategy and Products Group. Although many of the store’s details are still under wraps -- Vodafone declined our interview request with Burger -- Chappell was able to get an overview of how the store will work and what it could mean for the app marketplace.

Which operators have agreed to participate in the store and when does it launch?

Caroline Chappell: The operators are AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and Telefónica. I believe the store will launch in September.

What void did the participating operators see in the marketplace, and how does this app store fill that void?

C.C.: There are two aspects to this:

Interlinked app stores so that customers of the different operators can download apps from each others' stores. My understanding is [they would do that] while roaming, rather than a Vodafone user choosing to go to an AT&T store while in their own country.

Common APIs for developers so that they can write an app that uses one operator's version of the API and have it work on all the other operators' networks.

Basically, all these operators were board members of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), which collapsed in July 2012. The idea behind WAC was to have a large “warehouse” of applications operators could draw on to extend their own catalogs. This appears to be a more pragmatic approach, which means that customers can stay in touch with an operator app store wherever they are, so less incentive to go to the Apple App Store or Android Market.

I would guess that there is an intention to have higher levels of integration over time, if the collaboration proves to work. Operators need volume and scale to drive customer “footfall” through their digital stores to attract developers, and individual operators are struggling with this versus the Apple and Android ecosystems.

As a group, though, they have much more chance of redressing the balance, and this particular group is a powerful one, with considerable experience…and with pretty aligned views on where the market is going and what they need to do if they want to avoid becoming dumb pipes. If this alliance really does fly -- and it's at a much better scale than WAC, which had 28 operator members -- it could establish a convincing alternative ecosystem to Apple and Google.

WAC also assumed the mantle of a standardization body for telco APIs but didn't manage to specify even one API. The in-app payment API it was working on has gone to API management company, Apigee, which the new operator group will be jointly using to expose assets to developers.

The new operator group is going to give API harmonization another try, although it's not clear what the mechanism for this would be. The “Internet” way would be to go to whichever telco has the best API to a particular service/telco asset and for the others simply to copy them, but they may be putting a more formal process in place. Developers want to build apps for the largest customer base possible, and with a common set of Web APIs to build to, they would potentially be able to reach a much larger set of customers than is available from a single operator.

From a developer perspective, how will the store work?

C.C.: It may be that a developer submits an app to any store and it gets replicated into the others' stores if it conforms to the common APIs. WAC wasn't able to negotiate with developers on behalf of members for anti-trust purposes, and I guess the same will apply here. Even if it's a question of publish once, populate multiple stores, developers will still have to negotiate their revenue shares separately with each operator.

In the case of the in-app payment API, if a user wants to buy something from within the app -- for example, the next level of a game -- the app would submit the request in a standard way (through the API), which would be “understood” by any of the operators, regardless of the systems they are using to fulfill and collect payment for the request underneath.

Will there be a process for submitting apps?

C.C.: Each of the operators already has a store and a process for submitting apps. I didn't get any sense that the group will be jettisoning these in favor of a common process.

Tim Kridel Tim Kridel has been covering all things tech and telecom since 1998 for a variety of publications and analyst firms. Based in Columbia, Mo., he still enjoys the childhood hobby that led to a career writing about technology: ham radio. He is a frequent contributor to Digital Innovation Gazette.

Samsung Omnia M Review

2012-09-14T10:53:57Z

Written By: Sam Hall

The latest mobile phone deals and top of the range handsets may be all over the news, but device manufacturers can’t just produce highly capable and expensive smartphones. They also have to take care to produce mid-range devices that cater to a wide market, and that’s where the competition is really at this point in the year. Adding to its successful Omnia range Samsung recently launched the Omnia M.

Aesthetically there’s nothing particularly spectacular about the Omnia M. It plays safe with a minimalist grey body, and weighs in at a relatively light but reliable 120g. Samsung take pride in their easily handled phones, and the Omnia sits comfortably in the palm thanks to its 10.5mm thickness. It also feels great with a reassuring grip to keep it in your hand and not on the floor.

The 4 inch display is a WVGA Super AMOLED screen which is pretty impressive for a mid-range phone. Though it can’t compete with top of the range touch screens the Omnia M nevertheless offers vivid, well-defined visuals. Sticking with a single core processor you might expect the device to suffer from lag issues but navigation is surprisingly smooth.

The 5 megapixel camera is pretty standard for a mid-range phone, and you can use Samsung’s Photo Studio and Fun Shot apps to customize the images you produce. You’ll also find an additional VGA camera on the front of device useful for video calling although the quality of the images captured by this lens is nothing to write home about.

Battery life is a major issue with modern smartphones and mid-range devices often offer more impressive longevity than their more expensive relatives. The Omnia M can easily survive a whole day after an overnight charge even when you’re using its most advanced features, and downloading apps. It may not look like the fanciest piece of hardware on the market but its functionality makes it a real player in the mid-range spectrum.

Author Bio: Sam is a devoted technology enthusiast and always loves to discover and write about the latest gadgets or developments in the technology world.

Is iPhone 5 Better Than its Competitors? Not Really

2012-09-13T10:51:25Z

iPhone 5 is the hero at present will all its new features. When you take out a moment and take a look at its competitors you will notice that Apple is rather late to the game.

Mashable created a chart revealing the most important characteristics of each Smartphone including Samsung Galaxy S III, Nokia Lumia 920 and Motorola Droid RAZR HD.

All the iPhone 5 competitors have 720p (1,280×720 pixels) screen, an 8-megapixel camera and 4G LTE as standard characteristics.

Take a look:

iPhone 5 Galaxy SIII Razr HD Lumia 920

Screen Size	4 inches	4.8 inches	4.7 inches	4.5 inches
Resolution	1,136 x 640	1,280 x 720	1,280 x 720	1,280 x 768
Weight	3.9 oz	4.7 oz	5.1 oz	6.5 oz
CPU	Dual-core Apple A6	Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 (in the U.S.)	Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4	Dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4
Storage	16GB, 32GB or 64GB, no card slot	16GB, 32GB or 64GB +microSD slot	12GB+microSD slot	32GB, no card slot
Connectors	Apple Lightning	microUSB	microUSB	microUSB
Operating System	iOS 6	Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)	Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)	Microsoft Windows Phone 8
Battery	225 hours standby, 8 hours talk time (3G)	790 hours standby, 11:40 hours talk time (3G)	TBA	300 hours standby, 10 hours talk time (3G)
Camera	8MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	8MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	8MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash	8MP, 3264×2448 pixels, optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED flash
Networking	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
Price	$199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB; avail. Sept. 21	$99.99 + $35 carrier fee	$199 (estimated, launch end of 2012)	TBA, launch Q4 2012

iPhone Gets New Youtube App

2012-09-12T10:40:16Z

YouTube which was earlier included in the menu of pre-installed apps, just announced that it has launched a new official version of its iPhone app on the Apple App Store.

The changes are being made because Google Inc. and Apple Inc. didn't renew a five-year licensing agreement that established YouTube's video service as one of the built-in applications in the iOS.

Besides, Google wants to get paid for the videos that run through the Youtube app, something they weren’t able to do with the Apple-built app that came pre-installed with previous versions of iOS.

The new YouTube app will unlock tens of thousands of major-label music videos that were not viewable on the old app.

“The new iPhone app is available worldwide and unlocks tens of thousands of official music videos, as well as bringing lots of new features to improve finding and sharing awesome videos and channels,” writes Andrey Doronichev, head of YouTube mobile, in a blog post. “It’s a new app built by YouTube engineers, to give our iPhone users the best mobile experience.”

The new YouTube App will offer channel guide, which will highlight all of users’ subscribed channels as well as giving them access to other videos. The new app also has an improved search experience, with autofill to give users suggestions while they enter search terms.

The new app will also allow users to share Videos on social networking channels like Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Users can also send videos to friends via text message or through email.

Google Stands to gain in the deal

For Google creating an independent Youtube app on iOS meant a chance to bring the slick, modern experience it built for Android devices to hundreds of millions of current and future iPhone owners. YouTube had little control over the app for the past five years and Apple built the app itself according to YouTube's instructions but updated it infrequently.

The new YouTube app will also allow advertising which something Apple hasn't allowed on the pre-installed YouTube app. The ban on ads prevented many music videos and other widely watched clips from being shown in the iOS app because of the copyright content.

"Over the years that resulted in a more limited experience for our users, and lots of frustration," said Francisco Varela, global director of platform partnerships at YouTube. "We're going to get rid of that."

Varela then put it another way: "You're now going to be able to watch your Lady Gaga video on your phone."

YouTube videos can also be watched through Web browsers that work on iOS, including Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.

"They have been a great partner," Varela said of Apple. "Together, we have absolutely changed the mobile ecosystem. This is just the next evolution in this partnership. We are the only people that can build the best YouTube app."

The app will also work on the iPad but may not offer the same experience as the iPhone version but Apple is working on a special tablet version with more functionalities.

Along with iPhone, YouTube has also rolled out new apps for Google TV, Xbox Live, and PlayStation 3 and skippable ads on mobile devices.

Apple Will Pay For Your Old iPhone 4S

2012-09-06T10:17:14Z

Apple’s iPhone 5 is about to launch and the gadget lovers may already thinking of replacing the old one with the new.

Looking to offset the cost of upgrading? If you own an iPhone 4S, then you’re in luck. Through its Reuse and Recycling program, Apple will offer $345 on an Apple gift card in exchange for the old device, depending on its condition, The Next Web reports.

The site lets users select the model, color and condition of their iPhone 4S, and will then provide an estimated value of the device. The value diminishes if there are scratches, water damage and other issues.

The Reuse and Recycling offer also extends to other Apple devices, including iPads, Macs and even PC computers. If your device qualifies after being sent in for assessment, you can be use the gift card you receive at any Apple retail and online store. If not, the company will recycle it for you at no cost.

Apple is truly offering a valuable service here to its fans.

Third-party retailers, such as eBay, also sell the iPhone 4S with the device priced as high as $500.