Monthly Archives: January 2014

How to create a Facebook Application ID and Twitter Consumer and Secret Key

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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Obtain a Facebook App ID

If you haven’t already registered your app with Facebook by creating a Facebook app, you can create a new app on the App Dashboard. In the App Dashboard, select Apps > Create an app:

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And fill in the information:

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On the ‘Settings’ page, set the ‘Native or Desktop App?’, ‘Social Discovery’ and ‘Client OAuth Login’ keys to ‘Yes’. You will get these under the ‘Advanced’ tab.

 

Facebook App Id - Step 4

Next up, make the app and its live features publicly available, by setting the key under Queue ‘U’ to ‘Yes’.

Facebook App Id - Step 3

Enter your contact email, set ‘Single Sign On’ to ‘Yes, and disable the ‘Deep Linking option.

Facebook App Id - Step 5

Enter your unique App ID and App Secret Code.

Facebook App Id - Final Step

If you already have a Facebook app (and corresponding Facebook app ID) that you’re using for the same app in another platform (for example, Android), you can use the same app ID for iOS.

Next, you need to set the Bundle Identifier and configure your Facebook application to support login from an iOS application.

Select “Settings” from the left-hand nav. Inside the settings, click on “Add Platform” and choose “iOS”. Then provide your Bundle Identifier in the “Bundle ID” field and enable “Single Sign On”. Don’t forget to save the changes!

*note Please provide bundle ID as->com.flokk

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Follow these Instructions to create Twitter Consumer and Secret Key:

 

Login to twitter->then go to https://dev.twitter.com/apps

Click on create Application.

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Go to https://dev.twitter.com/apps/new and log in, if necessary

1.Enter your Application Name, Description and your website address. You can leave the callback URL empty.

2.Accept the TOS, and solve the CAPTCHA.

3.Submit the form by clicking the Create your Twitter Application

4.Copy the consumer key (API key) and consumer secret from the screen into your application

Create Your Access Token for OAuth

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After creating your Twitter Application, you have to give the access to your Twitter Account to use this Application. To do this, click the Create my Access Token.

Get the Consumer Key, Consumer Secret, Access token, Access Token Secret

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In order to access the Twitter, that is to get recent tweets and twitter followers count, you need the four keys such as Consumer Key, Consumer Secret, Acess token, Access Token Secret.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Android Kitkat – Know All Its Main Features

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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Since its release late last year on the Google Nexus 5, Android Kitkat has managed to garner a pretty respectable device distribution figure. The following discourse is focused to familiarize you with some salient features of the latest mobile OS version of Android.

 

Google Android has this strange tradition of naming all its versions of mobile OS after delicious food items. Last September, KitKat (Android 4.4) was launched – a worthy follow-up to Cupcake, Ice Cream Sandwich, Gingerbread and Jelly Bean, which are its predecessors. Since its release, Android Kitkat has got mostly positive reviews from users worldwide. If you are new on the Android 4.4 mobile interface, a brief rundown of its major features would come in handy:

  1. Better calling features – Android Jelly Bean (particularly the latest version of it) had high-clarity voice calling options, and Kitkat builds further on it. Apart from your phonebook, you can now directly browse your phone apps, and even nearby locations, for making a call. The video calling options have also been significantly improved.

  2. Onscreen app-recording – Probably the feature of Android Kitkat that has won the most praise from professionals of mobile application development companies all over. The settings in the built-in Android SDK can be managed, to create MP4 videos of mobile apps, directly from the screen. Seamless video-sharing options (to PCs or other devices) are available too. A cool feature for users, and a delight for app developers!

  3. Excellent QuickOffice support – QuickOffice on Android was already free – but on a Kitkat-powered device, it is pre-installed too. Apart from enabling users to easily read, create and modify Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, Android QuickOffice lets them access documents stored on Google Drive without any hassles too. A sophisticated Android handset is now an excellent document manager.

  4. Presence of Google Hangouts – The constant efforts to promote Google Plus are evident in the Android Kitkat platform too – which has Hangouts in place of the earlier Google Talk app. Users are not likely to find any reason for complaint though, for the Hangout feature comes with top-notch animation (in GIF format) sharing facilities. High-definition video calls can also be placed within a Hangout. Chances of call drops are minimal.

  5. Animated screens and full-screen app displays – In a bid to keep up with the pace of iPhone app development in India and other countries, Android Kitkat has been provided with an integrated transition framework. It allows users to view interesting animation themes between the pages of the mobile apps they are using. What’s more, Android applications can be launched on it in full-screen (immersive) mode. If you wish to view the controls, all that is required is a horizontal screen swipe.

  6. Better integration with Google Now – On an Android 4.4 handset, launching the Google Now service is easier than ever. You only have to utter the words ‘Ok Google’, to launch the service. Your location and preference information would be accessed, to provide just the search results you are looking for. There are provisions for displaying related results as well.

  7. More user-friendly caller ID – High-end integration of the new mobile OS with locational features also enables you to avoid picking up calls from unknown numbers as much as possible. Even if you get a call from a number not stored in the phonebook, the device would try to match it with the contact numbers of companies and businesses in your city. In case you wish to get the details on any particular corporate house, simply use the search features of the built-in Google Maps app.

  8. Managing the phone memory is easier – If you are fed up with your old phone freezing whenever 3-4 apps are launched simultaneously, the superior memory-management features of Android Kitkat would come as a pleasant surprise. With better, more efficient allocation of internal memory, Kitkat makes sure that the speed and performance of high-end apps are never compromised. Toggling between different applications is also easier. Of course, installing lots of unnecessary, high-bandwidth apps is still a ‘no-no’ (after all you have 512 MB to work with).

  9. Print API functions – Hardly any iPhone application development company in India has managed to come up with a top-class cloud printing app for iPhones – and Kitkat cashes in on this opening. The pre-installed Google Cloud Print can be resorted to, for printing practically all types of mobile documents. Print tasks can also be done with the help of the wi-fi coverage of the phone. New APIs are available, for greater printer-compatibility.

  10. Change in the text font color – Remember the blue fonts in Android 3.0 devices, which made the overall handsets look decidedly boring? Google has been trying to move away from that font color in its later mobile operating systems – and on the Kitkat, it has given way to a much more user-friendly white text. Apple fanboys/girls often go ga-ga over the elegance of the text in their handsets, but the settings on Android Kitkat are not far off the mark either.

 

 

The presence of two alternative Bluetooth profiles is yet another high-point of the KitKat OS from Android. The hitherto mediocre camera features of Android handsets are also all set to improve, after the Android 4.4.1 upgrade is rolled out. Initially, the new mobile interface was available only on Google Nexus 5, but it has since been released for Nexus 4 and 7 as well. Most of the Android updates have been as savory as the food items they were named after, and the Kitkat can also emerge as a major success for Google over time.

iPhone Antivirus Software To Keep Your Apple iOS Device Safe

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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Although the basic security features of Apple handsets are more than reliable, it is still a smart option to get an additional antivirus application installed in them. For your iPhone and/or iPad, you can consider using any of the antivirus tools listed here.

 

If you do a bit of online research, you will find that antivirus applications for Android handsets are much more in number, than similar protection tools for iOS devices. The underlying reason is simple – Apple phones and tablets have robust in-built security features, which render many functions of regular anti-malware programs redundant. However, you should still have one reliable iPhone antivirus application installed in your handset, to rule out all risks of bug attacks and related device problems. You can choose from the following programs:

 

  1. Avira Mobile Security – The mobile-version of the Avira antivirus software makes use of the cloud network, to scan every file and app present in your iPhone. It even displays a message if and when a jailbreak is done on the handset. Whenever new mobile apps are installed, thorough malware checks are carried out, and problem files (if any) are removed. The anti-theft feature of Avira is reliable too.

  2. Sophos Mobile Control – To keep a tab on all the probable virus threats on mobile handsets, experts from many iPhone application development companies in India recommend using Sophos Mobile Counter. Updates are generated on a real-time basis by this device safety app, covering all possible malware and virus attacks. Users are also informed about the courses of action necessary to remove such risks.

  3. Anti-Virus Detective – The user-reviews about this one have been rather mixed till now, but the sheer range of functionality of Anti-Virus Detective impresses. The scanning process of the software is quick and seamless, and does not affect the device speed in any way. Automated logical decision-trees are created, on the basis of the threats and malware found. You can even share information about mobile viruses with your contacts, directly through Anti-Virus Detective.

  4. Lookout – Also available for Android handsets, this free mobile safety program is exclusively meant for finding misplaced/stolen smartphones. Lookout can be installed on both iPhones and iPads, and has top-notch data backup facilities. In case your phone is irretrievably lost, you can use the remote features of Lookout, to erase all confidential data from the device.

  5. Intego Virusbarrier – In the realm of custom mobile applications for protecting your iPhone from viruses, this one is probably the best. Prior to downloading attachments from emails received from unknown sources, getting them scanned by Virusbarrier practically ensures that your mobile will not get infected. The software also rules out the risk of buggy files being mistakenly hosted on your iOS device. It also has efficient file-syncing options.

  6. McAfee Global Threat Intelligence Mobile – Over the last few quarters, iPhone app development in India and overseas has undergone a complete revolution – but antivirus programs like McAfee remain effective to this day. The uncluttered mobile application development framework of this tool complements its comprehensive set of malware-protection tools and controls. Since McAfee is regularly updated, you need not worry about working with an outdated virus database either. At the iTunes store, McAfee Global Threat Intelligence Mobile enjoys high download figures – clearly underlining its steady popularity among users.

  7. Avast – Contrary to the beliefs of many iOS device-users around the world, Avast is not solely a VPN application. The iPhone protection program of Avast is known as SecureLine – and it serves as an effective block against practically all types of fake/phishing websites that you might come across, while browsing the web on your mobile. SecureLine also blocks potentially buggy pop-up advertisements.

  8. SkanAware – If you frequently scan promotional QR codes sent to your iPhone or iPad, this is one anti-malware tool you should definitely have. The safety app offers high-end guard against cross-site scripts, theft of virtual identity, and unauthorized access of personal data from your phone. You can rest assured about the safety of your phonebook as well. A comprehensive tool against all forms of mobile hacking.

  9. Norton Mobile Security – Not an antivirus system that has lots of customized features for iPhone users – but the sheer reliability factor of Norton makes it worth a mention. Norton Mobile Security can be used to keep a group of handsets (under iDevices) protected as well. Like most of the other mobile safety apps listed above, this one also has anti-theft alerts. The relatively high download price is a factor though, particularly when cheaper (even free!) alternatives are available.

  10. ESET – Powered by the high-end NOD32 technology, ESET is a mobile antivirus tool that is fast gaining acceptance among iPhone users the world over. The basic firewall and top-notch social media scanning features of ESET are two of its high points, while it also offers user-friendly parental controls. After all, you might have several iPhone apps for kids on your device too, right?

 

 

Apart from those listed above, Trend Micro Smart Surfing is a useful app to keep your handset protected, particularly while browsing the internet. The Mobile Security and MDM app has an interesting set of features as well. Representatives from any mobile application development company would tell you to be wary of virus attacks on your iPhone – and these programs enable you to do just that!

 

11 Factors Which Have Pegged Back The Blackberry Platform

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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Over the last three years or so, Blackberry has fallen far behind the pace, in terms of popularity figures among mobile-users worldwide. Several factors have contributed to the steady decline of Blackberry – some of which have been highlighted here.

According to many experts from the worldwide mobile markets, the failure of the ultra-hyped Blackberry Z10 was the final nail in the coffin for the already ailing Research-In-Motion (RIM). If one were to go by handset and mobile app statistics too, Blackberry cannot even come close to the attractions of Android and iPhone handsets. Once considered to be a phone exclusively for the elite business class, the fall from grace of the Blackberry platform has been remarkable. We here take a look at the factors that brought about all this doom and gloom for BB:

 

  1. Static nature of enterprise services – The secure and reliable nature of the push-mail feature was, once upon a time, the standout point of Blackberry handsets. There were no updates to this feature for years though, and when Apple came up with the revolutionary iPhone, Blackberry was caught unawares. Users, understandably, started to shift to the much more dynamic iPhone handsets. The latter offered more seamless web access too.

  2. Inability to gain first-mover’s advantage – Be it iPhone app development in India and overseas, or the launch of new handset models – competitors have mostly been able to stay a step ahead of Blackberry. A classic instance of this would be the release of the QWERTY Blackberry Q10 – relied upon by RIM to make up for the failure of the touch-based Z10. While the phone was not bad in itself, it did not offer anything extra over what the Samsung Galaxy S4 already had. An earlier release might have led to better sales figures.

  3. Entry into the tablet market with a dud – To match the popularity of the Apple iPad, Blackberry needs a truly robust, multi-functional tablet – and the Playbook is, unfortunately, not the answer. Apart from being way more expensive than most comparable devices, the absence of a default email client on Blackberry Playbook was regarded as a serious flaw. Why the makers opted to leave out the one feature that BB was known for remains a mystery.

  4. No hype about the upcoming products – It so seems that Blackberry is still out to revive the Z10 in some way and promote the Q10 as much as possible – instead of planning to come up with another handset which would have all the desired features. The so-called ‘leaked’ updates from Blackberry has failed to excite anyone – indicating that the quarterly revenue figures of the company won’t show any significant upturn in the foreseeable future.

  5. Disappointingly small size of the phone screens – The display quality on Blackberry handsets is pretty much uniformly good – but the relatively small size of the phone screens is a huge downer. The screen dimensions of the two latest BB handsets were well-below the average on Android sets (around 4.7 inches). The upcoming Blackberry A10 might finally have a large screen, but will it have enough attractions to make users switch from other phones? A question – and a pretty serious one!

  6. Poor range of the Blackberry App World – If this had been a three-way boxing match, Blackberry would have been beaten to a pulp by Google Android and Apple iPhone by now. Compared to the range and variety of apps at iTunes, the Blackberry App World appears horribly poorly stacked – and the quality of many Blackberry apps is rather suspect too. It’s not a matter of coincidence that there are many more iPhone application development companies in India, than agencies exclusively into creating Blackberry applications.

  7. Over-reliance on a single product – We are not saying that Apple would have prospered if its iPhone had flopped – but the fact that it had the iPad, iPod, iTouch and even the Apple TV as backup products certainly helped. On the other hand, Blackberry has been relying only on its mobile handsets to keep earning big bucks – something that has not been happening for the last 3-4 years. The feeble attempt at tablet marketing also fizzled out soon.

  8. Confused advertisement campaigns – Have you watched the Super Bowl ad for Blackberry Z10? If you haven’t, you have not missed much – for the commercial focuses more on being unique (not essentially in a good way), rather than being informative about the product that it is supposed to promote. Even the series of ‘Keep Moving’ commercials have not quite been focused enough. It’s surprising that RIM is constantly failing to create a nice, attention-grabbing, informative commercial for Blackberry products. Even the best stuff have to be promoted well!

  9. Hardware – Complaints about the basic hardware architecture of handsets had been a bane of the Blackberry platform – and that had been one of the main reasons why the new hardware for the Q10 and the Z10 was launched. The end-result was far from what was expected though – with the high-end Blackberry phones registering lower sales than even the Nokia Lumia phones. The new hardware was not defective or anything – it just did not have enough ‘EDGE’ about it.

  10. Failure to work its way around the battery backup issue – With even Android phones and iPhones having rather poor battery lives, Blackberry had a potential to capture some of the market – by coming up with devices that performed better on this count. That, however, has not happened, and the Blackberry phones continue having battery backup that is about at par with the other smartphones. Yet another reason why no one has bothered to switch to a BB handset.

  11. Steadily eroding user-base – Speaking about switching, the flow has been more from Blackberry handsets, to other smartphone models. Except for the hardcore Blackberry fanboys/girls, many users have become exasperated with the poor performance of BB phones, and have started using Android/iOS devices instead. At a time when Blackberry requires a loyal customer base more than over, these signs are worrying.

 

There is also a marked reluctance on the part of many mobile application development companies around the world to create Blackberry apps. This is rather natural, for iPhone apps have much higher revenue-generation potentials. The Blackberry platform, with its standard features and niche positioning, was doing fine. The moment it started to compete with Apple, Google and Samsung, the downward spiral started.

 

Can it recover? Let’s wait and watch!

Android Jelly Bean – Is It Always ‘Tasty’ Enough?

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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With a device distribution share of nearly 60%, Jelly Bean is, undoubtedly, the most popular Android operating system platform. Jelly Bean is not entirely free of problems though, and we focus on some common user-complaints about the OS here.

 

Since its release in July 2012, the Jelly Bean has been widely hailed as the best operating system rolled out for Android devices. Recent surveys have shown that, the Jelly Bean OS comfortably outstrips the popularity of the Gingerbread, and has stood strong in the face of the recently launched Android Kitkat too. However, not all is hunky-dory with the performance of Android Jelly Bean – with users around the world having certain common complaints about it. Let us here take a look through some such Jelly Bean issues:

 

  1. Poor Bluetooth Connectivity – While the Bluetooth features in the Android 4.1 version were pretty much okay, that of version 4.2 leaves much to be desired. In fact, those up top at Google admitted that the version had minor bugs, and users needed to upgrade their devices to Android version 4.2.1. While the corrected version does promise fast Bluetooth connectivity, the process of upgrading is far from easy.

  2. Unreliable wireless network coverage – The rather mediocre quality of wi-fi coverage of Android Jelly Bean allows many iPhone application development companies in India and abroad to steal a march over those exclusively into developing Android apps. Being able to connect to a wi-fi network is not always possible, and users have also found the coverage to be going off on its own at random too. Turning the router and the wi-fi settings off and on again (basically, a reboot) can serve as a temporary fix to this problem.

  3. Device lags – Particularly after an Android phone has been kept on standby for a few hours. According to users, phones powered by Jelly Bean on Android 4.1 (in particular) took quite a bit of time to start functioning normally, after being removed from the standby mode. The issue even compelled many people to avoid keeping their phones on standby.

  4. Alarmingly low battery life – If you are in the habit of installing every alternate app released by any random mobile application development company, the battery life of your smartphone (nothing to write home about, in any case) will go for a toss. However, it has been seen that devices with Android Jelly Bean had even lower-than-average battery backup period. To be fair, this might not be a specific problem with the OS – since turning off stuff like Google Wallet has often resulted in improved battery performance.

  5. Automatic device reboot – A mobile handset should reboot only when the user wants it to – but that is not always the case with Android Jelly Bean phones. Once again, version 4.2 is the worst offender, with the screen of devices also often freezing at random. Although doing a complete factory reset can get the phone back to life, this problem is reported to recur. A probable cause might be the presence of smartphone apps from earlier versions on the Jelly Bean powered handset.

  6. Incompatibility with the default music application on Samsung phones – Hardly anyone has been able to listen to interruption-free music on the go, on their Samsung smartphone, running on the Jelly Bean platform. There have been reports of a frequent stuttering of the music, with the playback even coming to sudden halts in certain cases. Understandably, Samsung-users are looking forward to a fix/update from Google, so that the music app can be used without any hassles.

  7. Eleven months in a year! – Okay, let’s just say that Android 4.2 was a bit of an embarrassment for Google. People who had newly upgraded from version 4.1 were shocked to find that there was no mention of the month of ‘December’ in the default People app calendar whatsoever. One of the many reasons why the corrective 4.2.1 update had to be released in a hurry.

  8. Problems after receiving a call – Make no mistake – there is no room for complaint about the voice-clarity or other calling features in devices using the Android Jelly Bean platform. Things, however, can go wrong after you have received an incoming call and finished talking. The device can freeze/hang completely, or become inexplicably slow. Unless a hard reboot is done, the problem tends to persist.

  9. RAM management features not up to the mark – Not a general, sweeping statement against all Android Jelly Bean handsets, but an issue that many users have actually faced. Managing the internal memory space of Android devices is not always the easiest task, and setting up a few mobile apps can easily exhaust the default storage space of the phone. Of course, if you are careful about regularly removing unnecessary files, apps and other stuff from your phone – such RAM problems would be a lot less likely to crop up.

 

 

Probably as an offshoot of the Bluetooth problems in Android Jelly Bean 4.2, the in-car audio performance of devices running on it is less than satisfactory. To keep up with iOS handsets and products from any good iPhone application development company in India, Google needs to get these problems fixed as quickly as possible. At present, Jelly Bean is still ‘tasty’ for users, but there is considerable scope for the OS platform to become even ‘tastier’!

 

Discover The Funny Side Of Siri On iPhone!

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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The motto of Siri, the much-loved virtual assistant on your iPhone, is to ease all your tasks, and keep you nicely entertained at all times. There are several quirky, totally ROFL ‘Siri-isms’ – a few of which have been presented below.

Are human beings the only ones on Earth with a sense of humor? Not so – if those who regularly interact with Siri, the high-on-efficiency virtual personal assistant for iOS devices are to be believed. They have a point too, for Siri, apart from offering help to users in practically all types of requirements, has a ready wit and set of hilarious quips as well (a round of applause to the Apple programmers for that!). We will here acquaint you with the side-splitting funny side of Siri on iPhone, by relating some answers she has for certain rather abstract queries:

 

  1. Does Siri believe in God? – Siri is not an actual human being, and she takes pride in the fact that she is not burdened by spiritual thoughts and beliefs. If you ask the virtual assistant whether she is a theist or not, she’ll simply tell you that it’s all about ‘siliconism’ in her – there is no scope for religious inclinations.

  2. Does Siri know why we take a dump? – A rather gross question, but you might – in a truly idle period of time – ask this. From general iPhone users, to even senior executives from mobile application development companies in India – everyone would invariably double up with laughter, as Siri would say that, taking a dump is common to everyone, and there is even a reference book on that subject (we doubt that bit though!).

  3. Is Siri professionally dressed? – Given her confident, ever-helpful demeanor, you might wonder if Siri is dressed like a typical shirt-trouser-scarf clad professional lady. It’s not the case though – for Siri (once again highlighting that she’s only a virtual being), would say that she has an attire of stainless steel and aluminosilicate glass. She would even ask you if the combination is nice!

  4. Why was Siri created? – Not all of us humans know the purpose for which we were brought to Earth, but Siri on iPhone certainly does. If you inquire about her reason of existence, Siri would explain that she is there to add value to the lives of iOS device users, along with providing some good-natured fun. Siri exists for these two reasons – and she performs both tasks well.

  5. Siri helps people with drug addictions – Addiction to drugs is bad – and those up top in the field of iPhone app development in India and abroad surely know that. Try asking Siri where you can find a couple of drug joints, and she’ll look up local rehabilitation centers instead. If you are trying to quit drugs, Siri would help – but in case you wish to stay addicted, don’t expect any help from her.

  6. Can Siri help me get rid of your body odor? – In case your genitals smell horrible (eww!), and, for some unknown reason, you feel Siri might help you with some advice to get rid of it – the virtual assistant on iPhone would not disappoint. She will point out the value of one sure-shot remedy to all unpleasant body odors – a nice, long bath. You should have been able to guess that by yourself!

  7. Does Siri know the man behind Apple? – This one comes as a surprise, for Siri, apparently, has no idea who or what Steve Jobs is! If you ask her about the founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., Siri would tell you that those who created her did not tell her everything. A bit of general knowledge brushing up required, maybe?

  8. Does Siri know which is the best smartphone in the world? – You bet she does, to the extent that – she does not even bother about knowing that devices other than iPhones even exist. Rather predictably, the Apple iPad is yet another favorite of hers. By now, you have probably figured that Siri is fond of the Apple iMac too.

  9. Does Siri know who let the dogs out? – Siri is not one to shirk responsibilities – but she would never admit to doing any action that she hasn’t performed. When you ask her who let your cat or dog out, Siri would clearly inform you that it wasn’t her. No suggestions, no corrections, a plain yes-and-no response.

  10. How much money can buy Siri? – Siri is priceless, and she knows it! Go ahead and ask your virtual assistant on iPhone about her cost, and you will get a feel that she is turning up her nose – as the words ‘you cannot afford it’ flashes on the screen. Since when was actual help and care available for sale, anyway?

  11. Does Siri know who is the fairest lady? – If you are looking to Siri for finding the lady of your dreams, all you would get from her is a reference from Snow White! Not only will she tell you that Disney’s Snow White is the fairest, but you will also be informed when the ‘magic mirror’ in the movie actually gave out this answer.

  12. Is Siri a virgin? – Unless you have nothing to do and are feeling a bit naughty, you won’t ask this one. You also have to be prepared about the smart repartee that Siri would come up with. When this question is put to her, she will respond that – the conversation was about you, and she was never the person under discussion.

 

For all of the help that Siri on iPhone dishes out, she is not ‘allowed’ to cook – so do not bother asking her to make a cookie or a sandwich for you. She is aware that users have the option to shift to the male voice of the virtual assistant – and hence, says that no specific gender had been assigned to her. Siri even acknowledges that you are her boss, and has no hesitation in admitting that you are ‘her daddy’ (along with a mild reminder that all conversations should be professional). You can spend hours on end talking with the virtual, witty, and (almost) all-knowing Siri – you will never feel bored!

 

Using Siri: A Guide For First-Time Apple iPhone Owners

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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iPhone users from around the world have only good things to say about Siri, the multi-functional, pre-programmed personal assistant present in internet-enabled iOS devices. A guide on how you can start using Siri, and the things it can help you with, has been presented here.

 

To all those who have bought an Apple iPhone for the very first time – did you know that there lives a really helpful lady, right inside your handset? Her name is Siri, and she is easily more efficient than any human personal assistant that you might ever have. Interacting with Siri can be mighty addictive, as ‘Rajesh Koothrappali’, from the runaway hit television sitcom The Big Bang Theory, once found out (!). We would here familiarize you with the ways in which you can initialize and use Siri:

How should You turn on Siri on your iPhone?

It hardly takes a few seconds. All you have to do is navigate to the ‘General’ tab under ‘Settings’ from the home screen of your device. You will find the icon of Siri on the right-hand side, with a button next to it. Slide the button, to make Siri come to life. You can, of course, turn off this feature any time too.

Select the appropriate language

If there is one shortcoming of Siri, that would be the fact that – it does not understand all the languages in the world. However, on a standard Apple iOS device, you can take your pick from as many as nine different languages, for conversing with Siri. The option to select your country and preferred language is present right under the Siri settings tab.

Siri can be a guy too!

Siri is, by default, a caring virtual lady – but you can easily transform the personal assistant to a dutiful guy as well. You only need to modify the ‘voice gender’ of Siri as per your preference. Both the male and female voices of Siri are distinctive, and Apple has stayed away from imitating the voice of celebs through it.

The commands that you can give to Siri

When you have Siri on your iPhone/iPad, you can get real-time help on practically every issue under the sun. Right from looking up your phonebook and dialing the number(s) you want, to setting alarms, managing your email accounts, and planning your daily itinerary – Siri does them all. Professionals from the field of iPhone app development in India also rave about the sheer range of general knowledge questions that Siri can answer correctly.

Siri helps you in becoming an expert on identifying colors

For any creative purpose, you might need to know the exact shade of the color – for which you only have the hex code. The color swatch of Siri takes care of this requirement, since it has an in-built capacity to accurately transform such hex values to their RGB visuals. Whatever might be the code you give to Siri, (s)he will give you a visual presentation of it in seconds – right on your mobile screen.

How to converse with Siri?

Just like the smartphone apps released by any iPhone application development company in India, you need to converse with Siri in a manner that – it understands what you require. Provided that you have a properly functional Bluetooth headset, you can start giving commands to Siri, by pressing down the phone button. Alternatively, Siri can also be used by holding ‘Home’. Speak clearly enough, and don’t shout at Siri. Even virtual personal assistants can get confused!

Using Siri to manage your personal and professional lives

This functionality is particularly useful for business professionals struggling to cope up with work-pressures and obligations to their family. Siri would keep you updated about all the professional tasks, tours, meetings and appointments you have within a specified time frame (say, a month). Accordingly, you can chalk up plans for fun weekends and holidays with your family members. Oh…and Siri can also erase all the preset alarms, so that you are never disturbed while spending time with your near and dear ones.

Siri is a mathematical genius

That’s right – the toughest maths problems can be solved by Siri, in next to no time. If you are a student (or are the parent of one), Siri can help in finding solutions to tricky mathematics-related questions, with absolute ease. From calculus and algebra, to trigonometry – you can seek the help of Siri for solving any type of problem that might have stumped you. Don’t get too carried away though, and tag along your iPhone to the examination hall!

Siri is a whole lot of fun

Ask any existing user of Apple iPhone about ‘Siri-isms’ – and you will be amazed at the sort of random questions that the person inside your handset has a ready answer for. If you are feeling lonely, turn on Siri – and have a nice chitchat with him/her (depending on the voice you have preferred). You might not go on a date with Siri (as Rajesh Koothrappali did) – but there is no denying that (s)he is a charming, witty virtual companion. The programmers at Apple indeed deserve a lot of kudos!

 

You can even take the help of Siri to check out the movie listings and timings at the theaters in your locality. The iPhone personal assistant has easy integration features with Mobile Safari – and can bring to you live scores and other sports updates too. Siri is helpful, fun, obedient and ever-eager to please – iOS devices would not have been the same without him/her!

Are You A Smartphone Addict?

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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Are you too addicted to your smartphone, and refuse to let the device stay out of sight for even a moment? Go through the following, and find out for yourself!

 

According to a recent worldwide survey by Facebook and IDC, it was revealed that – the first thing nearly 65% of all smartphone owners did after waking up every day was to look for their phones. It is hardly a crime to flaunt your snazzy new handset to your ‘apparently envious’ buddies once in a while, but there are people who have an affection for their smartphones that borders on the extreme. If you too are a hardcore smartphone addict, you will identify yourself with most of the following activities:

 

  1. Taking random, unnecessary photos – ‘Selfies’ are the new in-thing in photography – but do you keep snapping yourself in your room, at trial rooms of fashion stores, and/or in the loo too (ew!)? In case you do, you can safely be listed amongst the biggest smartphone addicts in the world. Your Facebook timeline and Twitter profile is also probably flooded with these often irritating ‘selfies’.

  2. Downloading apps at random – Every mobile application development company launches many new apps each year – and a person addicted to his/her smartphone will religiously download all of them, irrespective of whether they are necessary or not. Presence of too many mobile apps tends to slow down handsets, but that does not deter smartphone addicts from trying out each new application that hits the online stores.

  3. Reluctance to turn it off – If you are a smartphone addict, you would be thoroughly against the idea of turning off the device at any time – even though you fully know that doing so will help in conserving the phone battery. While boarding a flight, you will feel strangely nervous while switching the handset off – and the relief when it comes back to life after the journey will be profound. Charging three times a day is fine, but turning off the phone isn’t!

  4. Sleeping with your phone – Your bed’s not arranged, and there is plenty of chances of your smartphone getting lost in all the other stuff present on it. Even then, you might be obstinate about having the device’s reassuring presence on your pillow – as you sleep. Of course, if you wake up in the middle of the night, you fumble for your phone first – before thinking if a visit to the washroom is necessary!

  5. Misplacing your phone too many times – And on most of these cases, you will have it in your hand or inside your pockets. The fear of losing a loved one is, understandably, high in human beings – and since smartphone addicts love their mobile handsets the most in the world, they constantly feel that they have misplaced it. By the way, where is YOUR phone now?

  6. Using voice commands at all times – With evolution of iPhone app development in India and everywhere else, most apps and default widgets on the latest Apple phones can be launched via using the touchscreen and through voice commands. A true-blue smartphone addict would insist on using the latter option, even if it is less convenient, and might require repeated tries. After all, tapping on a beautiful smartphone hardly has the same excitements as talking to it!

  7. The phone is present while you eat – It’s rude to keep texting or playing on your mobile during a nice family dinner – but if you are addicted to your smartphone, you simply won’t care. You might even keep talking on your phone, while gulping down your food. In case your family-members insist on a mobile-free meal, you would rush through the ‘needless’ task of eating, to be re-united with your smartphone as soon as possible.

  8. Remaining constantly concerned about your phone – Being on a tour to even the most scenic place on Earth would not offer mental peace to you, if you are too attached to your smartphone. You will constantly be wondering why the signal is slightly weaker than usual, why no notifications have arrived for a couple of hours, and when you might have to recharge your phone. There are plenty of things in life that are more valuable than a phone (like, maybe, a date or a sleepover at a friend’s place). You probably won’t agree though!

  9. Being completely oblivious to the surroundings – This, unlike most of the above points, can have serious repercussions. Every month, there are reports of ghastly road accidents, for which teenagers who are over-occupied with their mobiles can be held responsible. You will be surprised to find the number of people who fiddle around with their smartphones while driving, crossing roads, and walking along rail-tracks. Not surprisingly, many of them pay for such callous behavior with their lives, or by suffering terminal injuries.

  10. Refusing to use your MP3 to listen to music, ever – And that’s one of the main reasons why most of the music apps brought out by any Android or iPhone application development company in India or abroad find a ready market. You take out quite a bit of time to create a large-ish playlist on your phone, with all your favorite songs and tunes. The same thing can be done on your iPod or MP3 player (and that would save your phone battery too) – but staying literally connected to your smartphone is ‘oh-so-cool’, right?

 

If you are indeed a smartphone addict, you would appreciate the joys of sliding your finger on the phone screen (without any reasons whatsoever) like no other ordinary person. There would also be a tinge of sadness, if you do not receive an email or a multimedia message on your phone, for a few hours. We are not saying that your smartphone is not valuable, or the contemporary mobile apps are not engaging – but there is one thing that is way more important than making an enormous fuss about your handset.

 

It’s called ‘having a life’!

 

10 Mobile Apps Every Indian Would find Useful

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
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In the space of about three years (2010-2013), the Indian mobile app market has witnessed a jump of almost four times in value (in dollars). Contemporary smartphone users in the country have several advanced, innovative apps in their handsets.

 

Keeping with the worldwide trends, the market share of smartphones in India is growing at a steady pace. The services offered by the telecom carriers have improved greatly over the past half a decade, phones with various sophisticated platforms and interfaces have been launched, and the average price level of mobile handsets is also becoming increasingly competitive. Not surprisingly, the popularity of mobile apps has also soared in the recent past. We here present a few smartphone applications that any Indian mobile-user would love to have in their handset:

 

  1. Zomato – The Zomato app makes sure that you are never too far away from a quality restaurant, wherever in India you might actually be at. Apart from locational details, the application offers an overview of the menu options at local eating joints, and authentic comments, ratings and reviews by other users. You can share your experience at a restaurant via Zomato too – that would serve as reference for other foodies!

  2. India Panchang Calendar – The importance of India Panchang Calendar in the backdrop of iPhone app development in India is underlined by its high download figures at the iTunes (India) store. Through the application, you are provided information on all the important festival dates during the current year and the last five years. In addition, it also provides accurate solar and lunar movement information, for the determination of ‘tithi’-s and ‘nakshatra’-s.

  3. Times of India – Do you use an iOS 7 device? If yes, get this app – and never miss out on any piece of important breaking news, ever again. News and updates related to all categories are brought to your fingertips (literally!) by this app, from over forty-five cities across India. You can even follow live sports scores on the go, by launching the Times of India application.

  4. Vastu Compass – While deciding whether to buy a new house, and when you are chalking up plans to decorate the rooms – this mobile app would come in handy. You get accurate updates on whether a building is compliant with all the Vastu norms, by checking all the directions. Vastu Compass would also guide you through the task of arranging all furniture items and showpieces at the ‘right’ places. The reviews of Vastu Compass have been uniformly good, clearly indicating that it is not one of those gimmicky mobile apps.

  5. Password for WhatsApp, WeChat, Photos – Most of us use IM applications like WeChat and WhatsApp regularly, without thinking twice about whether the privacy of our mobile conversations might get compromised. This password protection application rules out such risks, by helping you set a common, custom passcode for WhatsApp and WeChat. You can also keep all the personal images on your mobile secure, by using the same password. No one but you would be able to access them.

  6. Cleartrip – The Cleartrip mobile app has been hailed by professionals from all iPhone application development companies in India, as one of the most user-friendly flight-booking software systems for iOS devices. The app offers seamless integration with the Apple Passbook functionality, enhancing its security quotient in the process. Both domestic and international flight tickets can be bought through this application, and it supports transactions in an impressively large number of currencies.

  7. 8 mm Vintage Camera – If retro-styled videos and movies are your thing, the 8 mm Vintage Camera app would be an absolute delight to have on your smartphone. It comes with as many as seven different lenses, and boasts of a live viewfinder. From scratches and cuts, to shake effects and sepia color tones – you can customize your videos in just the way you like. The in-built Sound Switch feature of the app can be used to make silent movies/videos too! Interesting, right?

  8. Drink Water Reminder – Having adequate amounts of water in a day is hardly a necessity of Indians only, but the fact remains that – dehydration is a serious risk in a generally hot and humid country like ours. To stay safe from water-deficiency related health hazards, you should have this app on your phone. You can set up notifications and reminder alerts about the time when you should have a glass of water (of course, you can drink when feeling randomly thirsty). The app displays the total amount of water you should have every day – basically, setting a target for users.

  9. OLX – Over the past few months, the popularity of the OLX mobile app has witnessed a real upsurge. Although experts from mobile application development companies are not yet fully convinced that this app is absolutely bug-free, buyers/sellers from across the country have found it to be really convenient. If you wish to buy something, or want to get the right price for stuff on sale, OLX would connect you with interested parties – within minutes.

  10. Gayatri Mantra – To add a dash of piety in your life, all that you need to do is download this lovely mobile application from iTunes – and set it up on your mobile. Starting of each day with the Gayatri Mantra chants would automatically fill up your thoughts and activities with positivity and holiness. You can get the Maha-Mrityunjay Mantra through in-app purchase as well.

 

 

For those who love to ‘shop till they drop’, the customized Indiatimes Shopping application would prove to be useful. The Buddhify 2 app helps you get rid of daily mental stresses, by providing detailed audio meditation training. If you are a fan of English football, do not forget to download Fantasy Premier League on your smartphone. India is a country where the available potentials for mobile application development are tremendous – and people here have started using mobile apps in a big way, already!

 

Want To Do An iOS 7 Jailbreak? It’s Not That Tough!

Hussain Fakhruddin
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Hussain Fakhruddin

CEO at Teknowledge Software
Hussain Fakhruddin is the founder/CEO of Teknowledge mobile apps company. He heads a large team of app developers, and has overseen the creation of nearly 600 applications. Apart from app development, his interests include reading, traveling and online blogging.
Hussain Fakhruddin
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You need the Cydia software application on your iOS 7 device, to download third-party (non-Apple) mobile apps on it. We here present the steps that you need to follow, for jailbreaking an iOS 7 handset.

 

For all the merits of the all-new iOS 7 mobile interface, it still retains the shortcoming that had plagued all its predecessor versions. On an Apple device (be it an iPhone, iPad or iTouch), you cannot, officially, download and install any third-party mobile apps. So, should you turn a blind eye to the tempting range of applications that can be accessed through Cydia? Certainly not! You can easily do an iOS 7 jailbreak, by following these steps:

 

  1. Take a backup of all your phone data – Jailbreaking an iOS device can lead to loss of important information, if you do not bother to take a backup of the same – on iTunes. You will need to navigate to the ‘Back Up’ option under ‘Devices’ in your iPhone, and make a copy of all the vital stuff. Once the jailbreak is successfully completed, you can restore the information with ease.

  2. Download evasi0n7 – Your go-to program, for performing a quick jailbreak on practically any iOS device. Released by evad3rs, the program would help you to jailbreak devices powered by iOS 7 till iOS 7.0.4. Create a new folder on your computer desktop, and store the evasi0n folder in it.

  3. Check the system settings of your computer – A note of caution here. evasi0n7 does not work in computers with any default OS settings. Make sure that the system you are using has Windows XP or Windows 7 installed. For Mac users, the system configuration has to be at least OS 10.6. Linux x64 and x86 also support evasi0n7.

  4. Launch the evasi0n application – After the evasi0n7 folder has been saved on your computer, you need to launch it. Remember, the jailbreaking program works only when you run it as ‘administrator’. Professionals from any mobile application development company advise users to right-click on the evasi0n folder, and select the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

  5. Close all the other programs – Next up, you will have to close all the programs that were running on your computer. That includes even the iTunes window, where you had taken the backup of your phone data earlier. Other active programs can cause the iOS 7 jailbreak process to become too slow, and might even block it.

  6. Connect your handset to the computer – And use a properly functioning USB cable for that. Professionals from leading iPhone application development companies in India agree that connecting your phone to the PC via bluetooth (or any other remote connection tool) would not allow the iOS 7 jailbreak process to initiate.

  7. Check whether your iOS device is rebooting – Even on a relatively slow system, it should not take more than a few seconds for your handset to be recognized by the computer. Once that is done, the phone will start to reboot itself automatically. Ensure that the device remains steady during this stage. The evasi0n7 program will access the necessary system information, prior to the reboot.

  8. If your iOS 7 device has a passcode, disable it – iOS 7 jailbreak is not possible on a passcode-protected device. You should preferably disable the passcode before connecting the phone to your computer. Tinkering with the device during the jailbreaking process won’t probably be a good idea.

  9. Start the jailbreak procedure – Everything’s now in readiness for you to click on the ‘Jailbreak’ button on the evasi0n7 window. According to jailbreak consultants from the domain of iPhone app development in India, you must not launch any application (not even Xcode or iTunes), as the status bar is progressing. After all the evasi0n data have been uploaded, the injection and system configuration stages would follow. Within a maximum of seven minutes or so, the Jailbreak icon should appear on the home screen of your mobile.

  10. Unlock the device and reboot it – A dialog box would now appear on the evasi0n7 window, prompting you to slide and unlock the device. Do so, and tap on the evasi0n icon – to initiate the rebooting. The Cydia app gets installed in your iOS device during this stage.

  11. Prepare Cydia for downloading third-party apps – This time, when your handset comes back to life, you will find the Cydia icon on the screen as well. Tap on it to get the Cydia files prepared, and choose the right user profile for yourself on the Cydia interface. Once this is done, you are all set to browse and install third-party apps on your iOS 7 device.

 

After doing an iOS 7 jailbreak, it would be naive (in fact, rather risky), to indiscriminately download a large number of mobile applications – which might be substandard or pirated. Keep in mind that, jailbreaking an iOS device automatically renders the warranty conditions of the latter null and void. Doing a jailbreak on an iOS 7 phone is way easier than the cumbersome, tethered process required for iOS 6 devices – but the onus remains on you to choose apps that offer proper quality assurance.