While it is unclear if Amazon will release an Android-based gaming device besides the Kindle tablet, the company has been creating tools aimed at making game developers successful across Amazon’s various app platforms. The company launched its updated portal for app and game developers, and has been investing in tools for developers to create more Android games. Amazon now features more than 100,000 apps in its Android Appstore, a significant increase from one year ago. Continue reading Amazon Dedicates Resources to Draw Mobile Game Developers

Spotify has removed streaming time limits for all users. The company announced last week that it would offer unlimited free music streaming via the platform’s desktop app and on the Web. The move follow’s last month’s announcement that Spotify would offer free shuffled music streaming to its phone and tablet apps. Less than 24 hours after Spotify announced lifting its time restriction, competitor Rdio revealed that it would do the same in the United States. Continue reading Free Music Streaming from Spotify and Rdio is Now Unlimited

We saw a number of compelling wearable solutions at CES this month. Now Google has a new project in the health realm of wearables, a smart contact lens for diabetics to help monitor their glucose levels. The lens measures those levels with tears, using a tiny wireless chip and glucose sensor embedded in the lens. Prototypes can generate readings every second, and Google is even looking into inserting LED lights that could alert contact lens wearers to glucose levels that are either too high or too low. Continue reading Google Working on Contact Lens to Monitor Glucose Levels

ComiXology, a digital comics platform that launched in 2009, sold 4 billion pages of comics through its iPad app last year, earning it the title of most profitable non-game app for the iPod for the third year in a row. That figure shows a drastic increase in sales since the launch of ComiXology, which has sold more than 6 billion pages of comics total. CEO David Steinberger says the considerable growth is due not only to long-time comics lovers moving over to digital versions, but new, first-time comics fans. Continue reading ComiXology: Sales of Digital Comics Pages Soar to 6 Billion

A new app from Samsung was developed with the intention of keeping drivers off their phones while behind the wheel. Startling statistics indicate that text messaging while driving makes you 23 times more likely to get in an accident. More startling yet is that more than 77 percent of young American adults believe they’re able to text while safely driving. To combat that, Samsung’s new Android app, “Eyes on the Road,” turns not texting into a game with tangible rewards for safe driving. Continue reading Gamification: Samsung App Rewards Drivers for Not Texting

Google released a new app this week in Apple’s App Store that allows users to watch their Google media content directly from an iPhone or iPad. The app, called Google Play Movies & TV, is a significant step in the company’s content strategy, since iOS users can now watch movies and television shows purchased or rented on Google Play. However, similar to the Kindle app, users will not be able to buy or rent content directly from the app itself, but will need to access the browser. Continue reading Google Play Movies & TV App for iOS Has Chromecast Support

At CES, Hisense showed its new line of VIDAA smart TVs, the first to incorporate Android since Google TV ceased to formally exist. The new displays come after Google scrapped the manufacturing of its own display and began allowing other manufacturers to build TVs with built-in Android technology. Google services like Chrome and TV programming guide Primetime are available on the displays. The platform was developed by Ontario-based design and engineering company Jamdeo. Continue reading VIDAA: Hisense Unveils its Android-Based Smart TV Platform

The Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday that Apple has agreed to better enforce parental approval of purchases from the company’s App Store. Apple will also refund at least $32.5 million to parents whose children made purchases without their consent. Apple settled a related class-action lawsuit last year, but the FTC said that the problem continued after the settlement, so Apple has agreed to further modify its practices. Continue reading Apple will Modify App Purchases with More Parental Control

According to a new report from eMarketer, 4.55 billion people worldwide will use a mobile phone in 2014, while the global smartphone audience is expected to reach 1.75 billion (it surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2012). The report also suggests that smartphone adoption will dramatically increase through 2017. Nearly two-fifths of all mobile phone users are projected to use a smartphone at least monthly this year. That’s close to one-quarter of the total worldwide population. Continue reading Global Smartphone Audience to Reach 1.75 Billion This Year

A new streaming service, Beats Music, is hitting the market in a new AT&T subscription model that will bundle it with smartphone data service, and offer it to as many as five users on the same plan. It will also stand alone as an app for smartphones with free and paid versions, available next week. Beats comes at a time when music lovers have the option to stream, download or listen to the radio, and the streaming market in particular is saturated with endless options of services. Continue reading Beats Creates Playlists Based on Your Mood, Location, Friends

In the past seven years since the iPhone was introduced, consumers have enjoyed free apps in exchange for their data being sold to marketers. However, a new study shows that the average consumer would rather pay a small price for their apps to keep their personal information private. A study by economists at the University of Colorado found that consumers were willing to spend a little more on apps to protect their personal data, and this amount is determined on the amount of data at stake.  Continue reading Will Most Customers Pay for Apps That Protect Their Privacy?

Yesterday we reported that Gartner projects the Android operating system will reach 1.1 billion users in 2014. Meanwhile, Actix reports that in terms of data usage, the three most used phones in Europe and North America in 2013 were the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4. In additional milestone news, Apple reports that its App Store customers spent more than $10 billion in 2013. During December alone, the App Store earned more than $1 billion in sales and experienced nearly 3 billion total app downloads. Continue reading Apple Announces its App Store Sales Top $10 Billion in 2013

Sony introduced its FDR-AX1 Handycam last September, which the company billed as “the world’s first consumer 4K camcorder.” However, its price tag, form factor and extensive features seemed more professional than consumer. At CES, Sony unveiled the more compact and affordable FDR-AX100, which at $1,999 should appeal to 4K early adopters. The Ax100, expected to hit shelves in March, features a 1-inch 14.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, larger than those typically found in camcorders. Continue reading Sony Introduces New $1,999 4K Consumer Camcorder at CES

Liquid Image unveiled a new mini camera during CES, which is capable of streaming live video to the Internet over 4G LTE wireless. Intended for extreme sports, news coverage and point-of-view footage, the $200 EGO LS will be available in the U.S. in June. Users can record 1080p video at 30 fps or transmit over 4G LTE in lower resolution WQVGA at 30 fps. The camera was demonstrated in Las Vegas attached to a $200 Verizon 4G network module. Continue reading CES: Liquid Image Demos 4G Live Streaming via Action Cam

Considering a mere five percent of U.S. consumers wear activity trackers, will wearables ever cross-over to the mainstream? Even the experts in this field have trouble agreeing. Steven Pierce, of IBM’s global business development, said we’ll have ten devices on our bodies very soon. “Wearables will be the key source of information in five years,” he said, listing implantables and injectables as future wearables. But Sonny Vu, founder of Misfit Wearables, disagreed. “Five years isn’t that far away,” he said. “I don’t think science will advance that fast.” Continue reading Wearables Waiting For a Killer App to Take Them Mainstream