Author Archives: Hussain Fakhruddin

Discover The Funny Side Of Siri On iPhone!

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:

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.
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!).
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!
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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

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?

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:

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’.
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.
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!
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!
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?
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!
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.
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!
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.
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

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:

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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

iOS 7: Have You Noticed These Features?

Using an iOS 7 device, without being familiar with all the key features and properties of the interface, would be a bit of a shame. Read through the following, and enjoy using the all-new mobile interface from Apple to the fullest.

According to Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc., iOS 7 had been downloaded on nearly 65% of all the iOS devices present worldwide, within a month of its release. This statistic clearly underlines the eagerness with which iPhone and iPad users had been looking forward to the new mobile user interface. Without going into the debate about whether iOS 7 has been able to really satisfy all user-expectations, we will only highlight some of its features and properties that you might have missed out on:

Backward-swiping feature – No longer do you need to actually close every app or settings page manually. Once you’re done with downloading a song, sending a mail, or changing the phone settings – simply swipe on the screen backwards, and you will get back to the previous page. This one will help you save quite a bit of time.
Camera Burst Mode – Hailed by experts from nearly every iPhone application development company in India, the Burst Mode for camera on iOS 7 is definitely one of the high points of the latter. When you press the camera shutter on the handset (along with one or both the audio buttons), the device will snap along at intervals of about half a second. More opportunities to capture that perfect frame!
Calling from the Messages app – That’s right, on an iOS 7 device, you can directly call up a person – after reading a message from him/her (no need to go back to your phonebook). On the top right hand corner of the page, you will also get options to look up all the contact information about the sender, and can even invite him/her for a FaceTime chat.
Better multitasking features – The multitasking properties of iOS have been revamped – something that has earned praise for Apple, from mobile application development companies in India and abroad. To swap between two or more applications, you only have to tap twice on the home screen, and then tap on the app you want to work with at present. The absence of a ‘Back’ button is still an issue, but multitasking on an iOS device is no longer as frustrating as it once was.
Visibility of message timestamps – Need to find out exactly at what time someone had sent you a multimedia or a text message? Contrary to what it might appear at first, iOS 7 does not delete such time-related information – it only hides them from the default view. If you swipe left on the screen, the detailed timestamps of each of the messages will become visible.
Blocking a contact – If you do not want to be bothered by prank calls, or an acquaintance – you can simply block that person’s number on your contact list. On devices powered by iOS7, you will find a ‘Block This Caller’ tab against every entry on the phonebook. Of course, you can unblock the number/person at any time too. Remember, when you block a number, you won’t get messages sent from it either.
Control Center – With the recent upsurge in iPhone app development in India, the average number of applications installed on iOS devices is increasing too. The Control Center on iOS 7 makes it easy to manage all the installed/default mobile apps – from a centralized location. Apps that are not already open will be displayed as locked in the Control Center.
A more ‘eager-to-learn’ Siri – Siri is back on iOS 7, and she is more eager than ever to respond correctly to all your commands. For instance, you can now teach her the correct pronunciation of the names of each of your contacts – so that voice dialing never becomes a problem. The only possible flipside? Siri will give you three options for every name, and if none of them is correct – well, tough luck!
Automated app upgrades – Although not a particularly good news for the already-suspect battery life of iPhones, this iOS 7 feature has made getting the latest versions and releases of the mobile apps that you regularly use a lot easier. You only have to turn the ‘Automatic Downloads’ feature on, from your handset’s settings dashboard. However, if you are going for a long-distance road trip where there would be no facilities for charging your phone, it will be advisable to switch off this feature.
Airdrop – iOS 7 makes the task of sharing stuff (documents, pictures, videos, practically everything) with others through iphones/ipads extremely easy. You have to set Airdrop on from the Control Center, put the things that you wish to share there, tap on the ‘Share’ button – and enter the number of the person(s) with whom the sharing has to be done. Airdrop for iOS ranks high on the security count too.

If you have plenty of iPhone apps with push-notification features installed, you will find the option to hide unnecessary notifications to be handy too (you need not go through each of them). The new down-swipe feature of Spotlight is also much more user-friendly than the need for side-swiping on the older versions of iOS. The Compass app (native in iOS 7) is yet another element of the interface that is useful. iOS 7 might still not be an absolutely ‘perfect’ interface, but it ain’t too far off the mark either!

Is An Android Handset Better Than An iPhone?

A comparative study of the Android and iOS mobile platforms throws up several interesting findings. We would here focus on certain points which make an Android handset seemingly more user-friendly than an iPhone.

From the very outset, let it be known that we are not judging the two mobile OS and application development platforms on the basis of quality or technological excellence. Both Android and iOS powered devices are enormously popular all round the globe – and, understandably, there is no glaring weakness in either of them. Even so, there are certain points which indicate that Android phones are at an advantage, compared to iPhone handsets. Readers would here be familiarized with some of these factors:

Presence of widgets on home screen – Of course, iPhones also support a wide range of widgets, but they can be stored only on the lock screen of devices. On the other hand, all widgets can be placed on the home screen of Android handsets. The only thing you need to ensure is that the home screen does not become too cluttered with these widgets. Since the widgets are relatively more easily accessible on Android phones, their usability becomes higher too.
Performance in the Cloud environment – iPhone app development in India has improved greatly, but it still has a long way to go – to come close to matching the speed and reliability of internet-enabled services on Android phones. Right from the Gmail app and general Google search applications, to the web calendar functions – Android comes up trumps on practically all counts. iPhones, however, are still bogged down by the lousy Apple Maps app, dicey wireless connectivity, and an unnecessary Photo Stream application – none of which can be really relied upon.
Compatibility with third-party keyboards – Apple phones run with Apple keyboards – there are no two ways about it. Even on the all-new iOS 7 interface, you do not have the scope of using high-class third-party keyboards (like SwiftKey) with an iPhone. On Android handsets, there are no such restrictions – and typing on your mobile screen can be made way easier, by using the third-party keyboard feature that you are most comfortable with.
Better syncing facilities with computers – You can always plug in your iPhone (via VNC) with your computer – but iPhone application development companies in India or abroad are yet to come up with a separate app for controlling handsets through a PC. Android sets do not, however, disappoint on this count. At the Google Play Store, you will find quite a few mobile applications that are meant for syncing smartphones and computers in a much more seamless manner.
Option to go ‘back’ – Many Android-phone users from across the world harp on the user-friendly in-phone navigation features they offer – and that has a lot to do with the presence of the ‘Back’ button in these sets. On an iPhone, there is no option to ‘undo’ your action, once mobile apps have been launched. You will have to tap your way back to the home screen, before doing anything else. If you use an Android phone though, you can easily tap the ‘Back’ button to return to any window of your choice. Quicker, and decidedly easier!
Adding attachments to emails – If you cannot view the file system setup on your phone, you will, of course, have problems in attaching documents to emails – and it is surprising that Apple or any other iPhone application development company have done nothing to address the issue. Android-users can attach files in practically all formats easily with their emails. Compare that with devices powered by iOS 7, where you need to use the ‘Share’ properties of another application, to attach Word, Excel or PPT files.
Battery-saving features – No smartphone comes with out-of-the-world battery life, but here too, Android sets steal a march over iPhones. The Tasker application of the former is the chief factor for this – since you can use it to turn off mobile apps on your phone, as and when required. In the absence of such automated app-management features, you need to close every app manually on an iPhone. If you neglect to do this, the iPhone battery would die soon.
Better app notification features – Android handsets ensure that you do not ever miss out on even a single app notification – an assurance that not even the most technologically advanced iPhone can provide. Notifications can be grouped and modified in a much better, systematic way on Android phones, and there are no chances of a notification getting hidden (a possibility in iPhones, particularly if the volume of notifications is large). Cleaning the app-drawer is a quicker and simpler task on Android phones than on iPhones too.
More app-usage flexibility – Yes, using third-party mobile applications on iPhone by jailbreak is an option – but do you really want to lose the warranty on your handset, for an app you have not even tried? If you wish to play by the rule book, you necessarily have to choose apps from only the iTunes store for your handset. An Android set, on the other hand, is much better for downloading and using third-party, custom mobile applications. Why be restricted in the choice of apps available to you?
Browsing for new apps – With the number of apps present in the Apple store being in excess of one million – it is hardly an easy (or quick) task to browse through them, and select the ones you need. However, for Android handsets, there are separate applications (e.g., AppBrain) that perform precisely this function, within a matter of seconds. Whenever you have some spare time on hand, you can look for new mobile apps by using the wireless network of your Android handset.

The extendable memory features of Android phones (via microSD cards) also put them at an advantage over iPhones. In terms of general screen customization too, the Google-powered handsets are regarded to be better. For transferring files to and from mobile phones, NFC for Android is way more convenient than AirDrop for iOS 7. iPhones surely have many things going in favor of them, but Android handsets might just be a tad more user-friendly!

Look Who’s On The Phone! Celebrities & Their Favorite Mobile Apps

International celebrities are, more often than not, snapped with their snazzy smartphones in tow. Let’s take a peep into their world, and see which mobile apps they spend their time mostly on.

Hooked on to the world of glitz and glamour of Page 3 news? Forever wondering what your favorite celebrities and other renowned personalities are doing? Over here, we will take a look at the favorite smartphone applications of some of the biggest names from the world of media and showbiz. Maybe you use some of these apps too!

Blake Lively – If you were a big fan of the ‘Gossip Girl’ television sitcom, the pretty face of Blake Lively would be more than familiar to you. The 26-year old American actress loves iphone applications, with the Hipstamatic app being the one she simply swears by. Lively also likes her regular dose of education, available on the cool iTunes U application. We wonder if Ryan Reynolds loves the same apps too!
Lisa Lampanelli – Apart from making audiences go ROFL with her witty repartees and (at times!) slightly insulting stand-up humor, Lisa Lampanelli is extremely conscious about her figure. That’s precisely why she has, and regularly refers to, the Weight Watchers Mobile application. According to her, watching the amount of daily calorie intake is essential – and we can’t help but agree!
Matt Damon – The Nespresso application for smartphones has not garnered highly favorable reviews from any mobile application development company – but Matt ‘Jason Bourne’ Damon fancies it. The actor, in fact, features in the television commercial for Nespresso too, along with George Clooney. The app offers one-touch information access to all Nespresso news, boutiques and products, although Damon has not yet highlighted why he particularly likes the application.
Emma Watson – The cute little ‘Hermione Granger’ of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (2001) is all grown up now – and she is a fan of iphone apps too. With traveling around the world for shoots and promotions being a part of her schedules, Emma relies on the AroundMe app for that bit of extra guidance. She also happens to be a feline-lover, and often uses the Cat Effects application to put cute kitty pics around her photos.
Marlon Wayans – You have seen him in the hilarious first two ‘Scary Movie’ flicks, as well as the recent ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’. However, you were probably not aware of the fact that, Wayans relies on the iAnnotate mobile application, to get a proper grasp of his scripts and dialogs, and even jot down notes on them. How one wishes that an iphone application development company in India also comes up with a similar app – Bollywood actors would be delighted!
Jennette McCurdy – Ever wondered how your words would sound like, if they were played in the form of rap? Jenette McCurdy, the gorgeous ‘iCarly’ lass, has tried out the AutoRap app, for precisely this purpose – and has fallen in love with the effects. McCurdy’s other favorite mobile apps – Twitter and Facebook – are much more conventional though.
Ben Affleck – With ‘Argo’ making all the right noises in Hollywood and at the award ceremonies last year, interest among the common public about Ben Affleck is at an all-time high. Apart from apps like Evernote, Waze and IMDb (well, he’s a film star, after all!), Affleck also regularly uses the official application of MLB.com (Major League Basketball). The actor is a die-hard fan of Boston Red Sox, and makes it a point to keep track of all the latest fixtures and results of his favorite team, at all times.
Michael Emerson – Remember Henry Gale/Benjamin Linus from the runaway hit TV series ‘Lost’? Well, that was Michael Emerson – who won an Emmy for his role in the series. Emerson prefers to keep things simple with his choice of smartphone applications, with the TuneIn Radio app being the only one he uses practically everyday. The actor, who can currently be seen in ‘Person of Interest’, is planning to get a dictionary app on his mobile soon too.
J. R. Smith – New York Knicks can’t do without J. R. Smith as their shooting guard – and the much sought-after basketball star cannot think of his handsets (a Blackberry 10 and an iPhone 5) without the League Pass application. Apart from basketball, Smith takes an active interest in the world of professional golf too – explaining his affection for the official PGA tour application.

Thanks to the rapid growth of Android and iphone app development in India, celebs from our country have also caught on the habit of using such applications regularly. For instance, ‘Dev D’ and ‘That Girl in Yellow Boots’ girl Kalki Koelchin loves the Voxer multimedia IM app, while Tusshar Kapoor is hooked on to the Twitter mobile app. Star Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin uses the TrueCaller application to filter out unnecessary fan calls. Celebs from all over are increasingly spending more time on mobile applications, and their interests vary widely too!

BBM Vs Whatsapp – Does Blackberry Messenger Hold The Advantage?

Opinions about whether Whatsapp is a better mobile IM application than Blackberry Messenger, or vice versa, is extremely polarized among smartphone-users all over. We here present a few points that suggest BBM might just have an edge over its more popular rival.

It’s the big fight between the two biggies from the world of instant messaging apps that everyone is talking about. Ever since Blackberry Messenger (BBM) became available for iphones and Android devices, techies around the world have been trying to guesstimate whether it would be able to match (or supersede) the popularity of Whatsapp any time soon. Although the Blackberry platform is currently facing a host of problems, the following points indicate that people do have ample reasons to switch from Whatsapp to BBM:

Creating customized contact list – On Whatsapp, there is no scope of building your very own chat contact list. Every person whose number is in your phonebook (and who is also a Whatsapp user) will automatically be added to your chat lists. On the other hand, to create a BBM contact list, you will need the unique 8-character PIN number of every user. You have much greater freedom to choose with whom you wish to chat!
Checking the status of chat messages – Many professionals from the domain of Android and iphone app development in India feel that this one might be a clinching factor in the BBM Vs Whatsapp fight. The tiny ‘D’ and ‘R’ symbols beside every message you send via BBM indicate that it has been ‘delivered’ and ‘read’, respectively. Whatsapp has a ‘single check’ and ‘double check’ feature – but that only indicates when your messages get delivered to the server, and to the phone of the recipient.
Sharing of files – The file-sharing support offered by BBM is stronger than that of Whatsapp as well. On the latter, you cannot send anything other than pictures, videos, and location information. Blackberry Messenger, however, allows users to share multimedia files in practically every format. Sharing calendar information and files in groups on BBM is also decidedly easier.
Less of a disturbance – If someone creates a group on Whatsapp and includes your number in it – you will keep getting updates from it, irrespective of whether you are interested in the topic(s) under discussion or not. You can, of course, leave the group – but that isn’t possible without everyone else noticing it. On BBM, you get to decide whether or not you should accept a group chat invitation. There’s no chance of your smartphone keeping blinking round the clock!
Your activities remain more private – If you are a BBM user, no one can know when you are logged on – except for the person(s) you actually ping for chat. Whatsapp, however, shows the exact time when a user was ‘last seen at’. There’s no scope of quickly checking the app before curling up with a book for an hour – people will notice you are online, and would expect you to respond on Whatsapp.
Audio/video chatting features – Be it for general users, or professionals from a mobile application development company – this is another comprehensive #win factor for Blackberry Messenger. BBM’s VoIP is nothing short of excellent – totally unlike the noticeable lags in the audio chat feature of Whatsapp. Of course, the latter has no option for live screen chat, which sets it at a further disadvantage. BBM even boasts of seamless screen-sharing options.
Security – The Blackberry mobile application development platform has always been a pioneer in the field of smartphone security – and BBM (rather expectedly) trumps Whatsapp on this count. Even if an unknown person (with shady intentions) manages to get your phone number, (s)he will not be able to contact you on BBM, since the PIN number would be required. If you remain loyal to Whatsapp though, you keep yourself exposed to the risk of receiving offensive/lewd messages from strangers.
The PING feature – Yet another specialty of BBM, that Whatsapp lacks. If the person you are chatting with is not responding for a fairly long time, you can click on the ‘Ping Contact’ option – to send a bold, red-colored ‘PING!’ display to his/her phone. The device would vibrate too. If someone snoozes off while chatting with you on Whatsapp, you can do nothing about it, than waiting patiently…or going to sleep yourself!
Social media integration in status messages – The custom status message you set on BBM can be shared directly through the app – on your Facebook/Twitter profile. That, in turn, makes it more dynamic than Whatsapp, where you can only choose from a set of pre-defined status messages. This ain’t a factor that would affect your chatting experience, but the way your profile is set up also matters, right?
Chat logs can be copied and emailed – Some people can consider this as a disadvantage of BBM, but in reality – this feature often comes in handy for people chatting on BBM on important business topics. Once your interactions are over, you can copy the entire chat and email it to yourself and/or any other person who needs to be kept in the loop. On Whatsapp, records of past chats get automatically deleted over time.

From the perspective of mobile app designing and user-convenience, Whatsapp does not provide any extra advantage over Blackberry Messenger. The one point where Whatsapp does come out clearly on top is the availability of emoticons (it has about 190 of them, while BBM has less than 100). However, this factor rather pales into insignificance, when all the above points are taken into consideration!

Which side are you on in this big fight? Let us know!

Check Out These 9 Amazingly Expensive iPhone Applications!

Even as the download figures of free mobile apps surge, some of the most expensive applications on the iTunes store remain popular among their niche users. In what follows, a few of these pricey applications for iPhone have been listed.

With the increasing popularity of in-app purchases from the iTunes store, the popularity of free mobile applications has shot up over that of paid apps. In 2013, the number of free apps downloaded from iTunes was nearly ten times the figure for paid ones. In such a scenario, it indeed seems interesting that there are several expensive iPhone applications, which bear astoundingly high price tags (far from the usual $1.99 or such nominal amounts). We here take a look at some such iPhone applications which come with a pretty hefty pocket pinch:

The Alchemist SMS ($999.99) – Designed exclusively for professionals from the scrap metal and steel sector, the exorbitant price of this app comes across as a surprise. To be fair, the advanced linear programming techniques supported on the application are impressive, and the overall mobile app designing scheme is user-friendly. It has been reported to be effective in pulling down raw material cost figures for steel manufacturers. Even so, not all small businesses are going to be able to afford this app.
Preebs ($799.99) – As far as compatibility and portability features are concerned, Preebs would feature amongst the finest examples of iphone app development in India or abroad. The application makes use of outdoor billboards and banners to provide advertising support to travelers. Whether every commuter would actually find it worthwhile to shell out nearly $800 for the app remains the question.
VIP Black ($999.99) – Remember the days when Blackberry handsets were promoted as mobile phones for business professionals? The VIP Black application (from Apple) has a similar air of exclusivity about it – except for the fact that, it is way more expensive than any of those RIM-powered smartphones. Touted as the ‘Millionaire’s App’, you can download and use VIP Black only if your income is in excess of one million Pounds. Snobbish? Probably. Remarkable? Definitely!
QSFFStats ($999.99) – You would have thought that keeping track of all the updates from games you love won’t cost you big bucks – but QSFFStats would surprise you. If you love flag football (and have cash in plenty!), you can consider setting it up on your smartphone. Customized game lists, match reports, player stats and a host of other in-depth insights about flag football leagues around the world can be obtained from the app. This one is definitely for passionate and affluent fans of the game!
BarMax CA ($999.99) – This one could have been an absolute gem for those who are aspiring to clear the bar examination in California – if only its price was a bit more competitive. The app goes a long way in thoroughly preparing students for the exam – with nearly 1500 sample questions, including plenty of questions from the earlier years’ papers. It’s a pity that not all students are ‘rich enough’ to get help from BarMax CA.
Agro ($999.99) – Professionals from almost every iphone application development company in India would have recommended this app for the country’s leading agronomists, but its prohibitively high price stands as an obstacle. The functional features of the Agro application are beyond reproach though – with the field reports and stats generated by it being insightful and high on accuracy. If you are in this line of business and can afford to buy this app, interacting with your clients will become a lot easier.
iRa Pro ($899.99) – Given the seamless, high-end security features that iRa Pro has on offer, its high mobile application development cost seems more or less justified. The application is meant to set up and manage CCTV cameras at large organizations, educational institutions, government offices and other such places – and get regular live feeds from them on iPhone handsets. iRa Pro also happens to be one of the more intuitive security-related smartphone apps.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid ($349.99) – Can’t wait for La Liga action to start every weekend? You can now play games between the two giants of the Spanish football league on your phone – but only if you are prepared to shell out a whopping $349.99 for this app. The app development graphics used lend a high-resolution, almost life-like feel to the gameplay in this application, and the player animations are worth applauding too. However, there are cheaper gaming apps available – which are not really less exciting!
MobiGage NDI ($999.99) – From preparing designs and taking measurements, to process and assembly management and quality inspections – MobiGage NDI is an all-in-one mobile application for metrology professionals. It comes with provisions for simultaneous creation and editing of reports and plans, and users can also automate the inspection processes through it. Is the app worth its price? That’s for the experts from the metrology industry to decide.

LSAT Titan, KGulf and PDR Quote are some of the other pricey apps created by any mobile application development company. If you need to work regularly with CAD files, you can consider splurging a bit to purchase the vueCAD Pro iphone application. Free apps might have much higher download figures than paid apps – but the expensive applications listed above also have quite a few takers from their targeted sectors.