Mobile in Motion
By Jerry Doremus | Mobile Design, Development and News - MobileinMotion.me
Uber now requires drivers to take selfies for added security
Uber announced today that it’ll require drivers to snap selfies before signing on to the platform and accepting ride requests. The new feature, called Real-Time ID Check, is described as a way to prevent fraud and protects drivers’ accounts from being compromised, but some critics say it’s an …
SecurityElsewhere's $50 phone frames turn videos 3D, and boy do they pop
Black plastic glasses from a tiny wife-and-husband startup hook onto an iPhone to make any movie, show or clip feel like you're watching in Imax …
PhonesWeChat sends beta invitations for Miniapp feature, enabling web apps inside the app
Let’s face it, we’ve all found ourselves trapped this loop: we install a certain app whenever the need arises, run out of space two weeks later, and with long and thorough deliberation, finally decide which ones get to stay, and which ones have to go (to make room for selfies)–only to be eventually …
SoftwareSnapchat changes its name to Snap, unveils camera glasses
Snapchat, the company that has pushed an ephemeral messaging app for the past few years, today unveiled a new name for itself, Snap Inc., and a second product: glasses called Spectacles that feature a camera that can capture video that you can immediately share through a connected mobile device. …
SnapchatThis new electric car is designed for a $37 weekly subscription service
Europe continues to test the waters of shared vehicle ownership models, and the Amber One is a car designed to help eliminate the huge amount of time our own vehicles currently spend idle. The all-electric concept has a 250-mile range on a single charge, a top speed of over 93 mph, and a 0 to 60 …
Electric VehiclesSwiftKey founder on selling his startup to Microsoft, and why it was the right time
FEATURE:<p>“There comes a point when every startup founder does some soul-searching and asks the question: What is it that I actually want out of this?,” explained Ben Medlock, SwiftKey cofounder and chief technology officer (CTO), to a packed audience in London.<p>Medlock was speaking as part of the …
StartupsGoogle's grand ads signal it's taking on the iPhone directly
Google is buying up massive swaths of vertical real estate to advertise its upcoming October 4th hardware event. Billboards in the United States, building-side projections in Germany — timed to coincide with Cologne’s Photokina exhibition — and even a freaking statue have all popped up in recent …
GoogleThis MP3 player that doesn't require Wi-Fi is perfect for Spotify addicts
Yes, there's a company that's actually trying to sell you an MP3 player in 2016.<p>The Mighty, as you may recall, was originally launched as a Kickstarter earlier this year. Although it resembles an iPod shuffle, it's not like a traditional MP3 player. It's the first of its kind to sync music from …
MP3 playerSnowden on Google Allo: 'Don't use it'
Following the launch of Google’s messaging app ‘Allo‘ and its accompanying Assistant bot, security experts are up in arms over Google reneging on a promise better protect its users. NSA-contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden did a hot take on Allo yesterday, after its US launch, and came to …
GoogleGoogle open sources image captioning model in TensorFlow
Pretty much 100 percent of my generation is obsessed with Instagram. Unfortunately, I left the platform (sorry all) back in 2015. Simple reason, I am way too indecisive about which photos to post and what pithy caption to give them.<p>Fortunately, with ample spare time, those who share my problem can …
GoogleFacebook enlists developers to outdo Snapchat’s filters with Profile Expression Kit
Facebook sees 30 million updates to profiles each day, but it can’t build every tool to keep your photos and videos interesting. So today it’s globally rolling out its Profile Expression Kit to all developers. This makes it easy to add media like Vine videos, Boomerang GIFs, Beauty+ enhanced …
FacebookHalfway there: 500,000 Galaxy Note 7 phones returned in the US
Samsung says 90 percent of existing Galaxy Note 7 owners are opting for a replacement Note 7.<p>Half of Samsung's defective, potentially explosive …
PhonesThe JBL Reflect Aware is the first of a new crop of Lightning-only headphones
As we hurtle noiselessly into a dystopian future, headphone makers have already started offering Lightning-only earbuds, something that should give early adopters some solace but might be a hard sell for folks with a shoebox full of tangled traditional earbuds. But the future is here and JBL …
HeadphonesAllo, privacy, are you there? Google keeps your messages forever
By leaving it up to you to delete your messages, Google says its AI-driven Allo chat app can do a better job. But your privacy is a …
GoogleGoogle Play is now bringing Android apps to Chromebooks
At its I/O developer conference in May, Google announced its plans to bring support for Android apps to Chrome OS; it subsequently launched Google Play on the platform’s developer channel for Chromebooks in June.<p>Now, Google Play is rolling out to the stable channel. It’ll arrive in beta over the …
GoogleHow to Use Siri in macOS Sierra
With macOS Sierra, Apple has finally brought its well-known personal assistant, Siri, to the Mac. Siri for Mac differs from iOS' version of Siri in several ways, taking advantage of the larger real estate of a Mac's display and the Finder file system. Users can also easily transfer or pin Siri's …
OS XTinder ditches dating for squad interactions on new iMessage app
Tinder is the latest platform to create its very own app for iMessage. Tinder Stacks will seem both familiar and unique to users of the dating …
TinderSamsung Pay now lets you buy shopping using your eyes
Galaxy phone owners can authenticate payments using an iris and back up membership cards with cloud-syncing<p>The latest update to Samsung Pay now lets owners pay for goods using their iris, after the technology was first made available with the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.<p>Paying with the iris works in a …
SamsungUS carriers are already selling Samsung’s Note 7 again
Verizon and Sprint have already started selling Samsung's new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, an updated version of the device approved by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, and apparently free of the battery problems that plagued the previous model. The new Note 7 phones were originally rumored …
SamsungThis may be the perfect wireless headphone design (for now)
Sol Republic claims that its new Relays Sports Wireless headphones have fixed Bluetooth earbuds, and I think it might be right.<p>there are three approaches to wireless headphones and they all have problems<p>The way I see it, there are three different approaches to wireless headphones right now, and …
WirelessUp close with Oakley Radar Pace, the wearable that may help you forget Google Glass
Wearing Google Glass was probably never cool, but that doesn’t mean eyewear can’t still be both intelligent and hip. At least that’s what sunglass manufacturer Oakley is counting on.<p>Nine months after Intel — Oakley’s partner — gave us a brief glimpse of the future of intelligent eyewear, Oakley is …
EyeglassesmacOS Sierra is now available to download
After a summer of beta versions, Apple has just released the final version of macOS Sierra. macOS Sierra is the major update of OS X El Capitan — yes, OS X is dead, long live macOS. Other than the name change, this year’s update brings many neat improvements over El Capitan, making it a polished …
iOS AppsThe Mobile Passport App Lets You Bypass Airport Lines Completely Free
High on the list above crying babies and crappy airplane food, there's one thing that we despise more than anything else while traveling: the many …
AT&T Reveals Secret Plan For Wi-Fi Even Faster Than Google Fiber
Think Google Fiber is the hottest thing in Internet connectivity? Well, there’s a new kid on the block in the unlikely form of wireless stalwart AT&T.<p>The new plan, called Project AirGig, was announced in a press release on Tuesday and AT&T says it comes as the result of over 10 years of research …
Wi-FiComcast confirms plans to launch mobile phone service in 2017
Comcast just solidified long-rumored plans to launch its own MVNO cellular service. Speaking at an investor conference moments ago, CEO Brian Roberts revealed that the Comcast "network" will launch by mid-2017 and put a large focus on Wi-Fi hotspots — similar to Google's Project Fi. When away from …
MobileWhatsApp adds user mentions so you can't ignore group chats
The chat app now has "@" mentions to ensure your pals see a message.<p>Anyone who has been included in a group chat knows how annoying they can be. You end up muting the thread to keep the notifications from driving you crazy. Sometimes you do need to see a message and WhatsApp is adding a new tool …
WhatsAppApple will issue software update to fix Lightning EarPods issues, report says
Apple may have slayed the headphone jack in one fell swoop, but the iPhone 7 rollout has not been entirely problem-free.<p>For one thing, those wee wireless AirPod headphones have been compared to everything from Snoopy to toothbrushes to tiny vibrators, and now there are reports the Lightning EarPods …
LightningT-Mobile's 5G speed is mind-bogglingly faster than Verizon
The nation's third-largest carrier gets into 5G in a big way.<p>T-Mobile has mocked the other carriers for making ridiculous promises and hyping up 5G, …
T-MobileIs this Google's Pixel smartphone?
Google is expected to unveil its new smartphones a couple week from now, but an early look at them appears to have slipped out. <i>Android Police</i> caught two different leaks today. The first, inexplicably, comes from what's supposed to be a Nest commercial that aired in the Netherlands:<p>It's pretty …
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