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Kraft has become one of the first packaged goods brands to go the iPhone apps route.

The food giant has unveiled iFood Assistant, a new service-oriented application which offers a mix of recipes, user reviews and instructional cooking videos. The downloadable app is available on both Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch for 99 cents.

Kraft executives are touting iFood Assistant’s depth, as the application houses its own content rather than simply driving users to Kraft-branded Web sites. “People’s lives are becoming increasingly complex and they’re looking for relevant content and solutions to make their lives easier,” said Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation, new services at Kraft.

Overall the app contains 7,000-plus Kraft-tested recipes, various corresponding shopping lists and nearby store recommendations, and iPhone-ready video demonstrations for on the go chefs. Plus, iFood Assistant features several content sections which are updated on a daily basis, such as Dinner Tonight and Recipe of the Day.

Kraft tapped Meredith Corporation’s subsidiary agency Genex to produced the new iPhone app, said officials.

via Kraft Rings Up iPhone iFood Assistant App.

And so, with the death of the restrictive terms in the iPhone development non-disclosure agreement and the refinement of customer reviews, everything at the App Store is peaches and cream, right? No problems to speak of?

Really, come on: you should know better than that. While those issues certainly affected developers and their business, they were hardly the only impediment coming out of Cupertino. Theres the still-mysterious application approval process, for one. And, for another, the fact that the store has been inundated with 99-cent apps.

Thats a problem? Doesnt it just mean inexpensive apps for all of us? Well, on the one hand yes, but the fallout has farther-reaching implications. Iconfactory developer Craig Hockenberry, the man behind iPhone apps Frenzic and Twitterrifc, penned an open letter to Steve Jobs on the subject of what he dubs “ringtone apps” and his concern that theyre affecting business for other developers. Hat tip to Philip Elmer-DeWitt of the Apple 2.0 blog at Fortune.

The problem, as Hockenberry sees it, is that low-cost and free apps climb to the top of the charts on the App Store due to their low price and high volume glance at these charts compiled by Edible Apple and youll quickly see that 99-cent applications outstrip any other price point. Its much harder for a higher-priced app to get the same level of exposure as a 99-cent application; that, in turn, means that its harder to justify the higher cost of developing a more complicated, more expensive application.

via IPhone Developer Writes Open Letter on App Store – PC World.

The hacking contest that has grabbed headlines two years running will take aim next month at browsers and smartphones, according to the security company that sponsors the “PWN2OWN” challenge.

“We’re still in the planning stages for how the competition will be structured,” said Terri Forslof , the manager of security response for 3Com Inc.’s TippingPoint , regarding discussions she’s had with organizers of CanSecWest , the security conference slated to begin March 16 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

While the details have yet to be sorted out — including the dollar amounts for prizes and the contest rules — Forslof confirmed that PWN2OWN will actually consist of two separate hacker challenges this year.

The first will be a contest to break into one of several browsers, including Microsoft Corp. ‘s Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), which recently reached “release candidate” ; Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox; and Apple Inc. ‘s Safari.

That contest will play out on a Sony notebook equipped with Windows 7, the still-under-construction successor to Windows Vista.

The second challenge will pit hackers against a variety of smartphone operating systems, including Google Inc.’s Android, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Apple’s iPhone operating system, which is a scaled-down version of Mac OS X.

Cash prizes will be awarded, Forslof said today, but the number of prizes and their amounts remains to be decided. As with the past two years, TippingPoint will be the sole sponsor of the PWN2OWN contest.

via Hacker challenge takes aim at browsers, smartphones | ITworld.

Curio’s Evernote Integration Allows for Idea Gathering Wherever You Are!

RALEIGH, N.C. & SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb 12, 2009 BUSINESS WIRE — Zengobi and Evernote today announced a new integration that makes brainstorming and idea collection quick and easy whether the user is at their desk or away from the office. Text notes, voice recordings, and snapshot photos taken using one of Evernotes desktop or mobile solutions are now instantly available from within Curio 5.4 where they can be intuitively collected, arranged and managed as part of a creative project.

Curio is Zengobis award-winning note taking, mind mapping, brainstorming, and task management application for Mac OS X. Its innovative freeform interface promotes visual thinking, a more natural way to gather, associate, and recall ideas.

Evernote is a multi-platform solution that allows users to create, capture, and search for any and all of the information that they interact with web clips, images, audio files and handwritten notes, on any device they have at hand. Evernote is available on the Web, desktop, and mobile devices including the iPhone and Windows Mobile.

“Evernote is an ideal companion for Curio customers,” said George Browning, Founder of Zengobi. “Customers find inspiration anywhere–not just when they are sitting at their computer–and Evernote allows them to capture those ideas–wherever they are–and instantly bring them into Curio.”

“Evernotes mission is to let people capture and recall whatever inspires them in any environment, on any device” said Phil Libin, CEO, Evernote. “By working with Curio, Evernote users can take any of these ideas and inspirations and use them to develop and build their creative projects.”

A YouTube video announcing the integration can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhwOrHbJ2z4.

Pricing and Availability

Curio 5.4 is available immediately for download from www.zengobi.com/curio. Curio 5.4 is a free upgrade for Curio 5 customers and upgrade pricing for all other existing customers is available via Zengobis online store. Detailed release notes can be found at www.zengobi.com/support/articles/AR050400.html.

Evernote offers both Free and Premium service. Evernote Premium is available for $5/month or $45/year and gives users the ability to add and sync any file type, increases their monthly upload allowance, enhances security, and more. For more information visit www.evernote.com/about/premium.

About Zengobi, Inc.

Zengobi, Inc. was established in 2002 to create exciting and innovative software for creative thinkers and design professionals working on the Macintosh. For more information about Zengobi, visit www.zengobi.com.

About Evernote Corporation

Evernote allows users to easily capture information in any environment, using whatever device or platform they find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Evernote is available on the Windows, Mac, Web, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and other devices. For more information about Evernote, visit www.evernote.com.

via Zengobi and Evernote Welcome 24×7 Brainstorming – MarketWatch .

 
Watch Android engineers demonstrate that applications on Android exist without borders. Apps on Android can access core mobile device functionality through standard APIs. Through intents, apps can announce their capabilities for other apps to use.

via YouTube – Android – Apps without borders.

We went through all of the Android Note Taking Applications on the market as of February 11, 2009, and we asked a simple question: If I take a note on my Android phone, how can I get the information out of my phone and into my computer? Can I sync the notes with a web account? Can I email my notes? Or do I need to save files to the SD card and do it manually?

Here is the current state of the market, according to the current popularity ranking among all applications in the marketplace as of today. The marketplace does not provide the exact number of downloads, but instead provides a range. The number listed is the bottom of the range. We also provided a little information on how you can get your notes out of the phone.

If anything is missing from this list, please leave a comment. Everybody needs a good Notes application to jot things down, remember things, and share, but the current state of the market with Android is quite paltry, especially compared to the Apple iPhone. It could change rapidly, however, so stay tuned.

Not your typical notes program!

Every note can be viewed and edited by other Android phones, or, on the web.

EXAMPLE: Make a note called “steves apartment” that has your apartment number and gate code. Even if your friends don’t have Android phones (lame!) you can give them the web address.

Powered by the PBwiki API.

via Cyrket – Magic Note .

DroidRecord is a voice recording app for the Android platform that offers you a good handful of features to compliment its basic function. This app has a very simple layout that makes it easy to navigate and manipulate all of the additional details for each recording.

While the main part of the app is based around voice recording, once you get past the record/play page, you’ll have plenty of additional details to mess around with. Each recording has an Edit, Timed Alerts, and GPS Alerts tab. The Edit tab is the basic area where you can change the title of the recording and view information like when it was created, how long the recording is, where the recording was made from, and the ability to view that location on a map.

The Timed Alerts tab allows you to set an alert based around that specific recording. You can set a date and time for the app to alert you through Android’s notification system to open that recording. The GPS Alerts tab allows you to set a similar alert to the Timed Alert, however this one is based on entering within a certain radius of a specific location.

While all of those features are nice, one of the best parts of this app is the ability to email your recording to yourself. DroidRecord is a full featured recording app for the Android platform that should be a must have for just about anyone with an Android phone.

via Droidrecord Android App Review – AndroidApps.com.

NitroDesk, a company that specializes in web-services, has just released TouchDown – the first Microsoft Exchange client for the Android OS. TouchDown, unlike other released exchange services for Android, will allow users to access their email, contacts, and calendar information on their Exchange servers. NitroDesk assures users that TouchDown is secure, and that the TouchDown will be the only application necessary to ensure the process on both the mobile and server-side.

In addition to allowing users to fetch data from the server, TouchDown also allows users to set their devices to periodically check for updates. TouchDown is currently available direct from NitroDesk for the price of $29.99. A free trial is also available.

via NitroDesk launches TouchDown Exchange client for Android: .

DroidWiki is a local wiki notebook. User can enter notes with a simple wiki formatting. Notes are saved locally.

Formatting: italics: //, bold ‘ ‘, lists: * or #, links: [[show-text|url-or-new-page]],

Future features:

* import/export

* search

* tags

* customizable look and feel (font size etc)

via Cyrket – DroidWiki .

Personal Notes for Android – Use your Google Android powered phone to access your Personal Notes for Facebook data and other useful web services. View your favorite RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 feeds. Access the Service Directory to find other useful content. Personal Notes for Android will be available for download from the Android Market in December 2008.

via Threespaces.com.

Upvise Mobile Notebooks

Upvise Notebooks is the ultimate desktop to mobile phone notes manager. Create, categorize, instant search and auto sync any note on both your phone and your computer web account.

Send a quick note from your desktop to your mobile. Type in some information you want to remember in your mobile and retrieve the note later on from your web account. With the Upvise Notebooks app, you can store and classify your notes by creating personal notebooks, and access all your notes on-the-go.

via Upvise – Mobile Notebooks.

Notebooks

Send a quick note from your desktop to your mobile. Type in some information you want to remember in your mobile and retrieve the note later on from your web account. With the Notebooks app, you can store and classify your notes by creating personal notebooks, and access all your notes on-the-go.

via Unyvers Becomes Upvise – Worth Another Look | BerryReview.com » .

QuickList is an app for the Android platform that makes it easy for you to create a list on the go. This app is simple and easy to use, so you won’t run into any confusion when creating your lists. 

There aren’t a lot of options to configure in this app, but you can make it your own. There are five different colors that you can use to code the different items in your list. If you’d like to, you can actually rename them to better fit your needs as they default to being named after their color. The only issue is you can’t rearrange the order of the colors, so you’ll have to get use to them in the default order.

Once you’ve got your items set up on the list, you can easily start striking out the tasks you complete. This makes it easy to keep track of what you’ve finished. You can also clear out all of the items that you’ve put a strike through to declutter your list.

This app isn’t robust and it really doesn’t have to be. The Android platform has need for all these little apps that offer something new to the user. If you need a list or notetaking app, check out QuickList.

via Quicklist Android App Review – AndroidApps.com.

The AK Notepad Android App by Andrew Kurniadi is a note taking app for the Android. The description in the Android Market made this app seem like it did way more than it actually does. Don’t get me wrong, this app is good for taking notes and you can even set custom reminders which is very useful but it claimed in the description that you can send notes through text messages which I can’t seem to figure out how to do. The description also said that you can stick the notes onto your home screen like a virtual post it note type of thing which I also could not find an option for. There is a hyperlink to their website for additional help, but in my opinion the app should be easy enough to use without going to a website for instructions. There are several settings you can use to enchance your note taking and customize your notes for example, you can enable hyperlinks to e-mail addresses and websites which is pretty useful and you can change the color of your note which is neat. Overall the app is very easy to use and the reminder feature is a plus. If you are a note taker I recommend that you download this app. Thumbs up.

via AK Notepad Android App Review | Android App Review Source.

This application is a simple voice recorder.

A voice data is saved on SD card.

Sending voice data by Gmail is available.

via Cyrket – Voice Recorder .

EnKeep store notes encrypted with a password

Note entry is simplistic and the first 2 lines are shown in the main page for quick reference.

EnKeep is open source: http://code.google.com/p/enkeep/

Release Note:

- Corrected a slide open bug

- Added pretty icon

- Added forget menu

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

via Cyrket – EnKeep Notes & Passwords .

A simple note taking application with two interesting features:

- Encrypting a note with a passphrase chosen by the user

- Emailing a note to a contact

via Cyrket – Notes .

It’s a simple memo application.

A memo is recorded sequentially in time.

The detailed direction for uses please watch Menu-Help.

via Cyrket – Time MemoPad .

Simple notepad program to open, edit and save text files to and from the SD card. Saves its state so you can switch to other apps without losing data or needing to reopen the file.

Now includes a simple file browser. For more advanced operations try “Android File Manager” in the market.

Not recommended for large files.

via Cyrket – Text Edit .

Note Pad (also known as Notes List or Notes) is another sample of an Android application from Google with very basic functionality. It features a simple text processor and lists all notes in a linear structure. Users can only add, edit and delete notes.

Note Pad comes from Android SDK, all copyrights belong to Google Inc.

via Cyrket – Note Pad .

Helipad lets you write notes online with an accessible web interface. Tags make organisation a breeze, and you can always search your documents. You can also share documents with friends.

Helipad also features a mobile interface, so you can use it on your phone even some games consoles.

via Helipad – Product overview.

Doogle for the G1 Android Phone is an application that helps you manage your todos. If you long press the todo, Doogle will call the person on their preferred number for you. Each of the todos has a priority that is automatically bumped up as its due time approaches. This application will also actively sort todos by their bumped priorities.

via G1 Market News – Doogle for the G1 Android Phone.

Need to keep notes on your iPhone? SyncBook is the better alternative. SyncBook allows you to keep all your important information perfectly in sync between your iPhone (or iPod touch) and your Mac, while still being able to edit it on either.

Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and WiFi is required for Mac syncing.

via SyncBook.

Fifty Ways to Take Notes

I am constantly writing notes. Whether it be for my blog, work, meeting, new ideas, or just basic notes, I am always jotting something down. So I started thinking about all the services I’ve used for taking notes and thought it would be a good idea to share them with you and while I’m at it, to make a list of any others that I find. Now, when it comes to note taking, I personally look for quick and simple. If I have something on my mind, I don’t want to go through some advanced system and climb a mountain just to save a note for myself. There won’t be all the note taking tools out there on my list, but ones that I feel get the job done well.

via Fifty Ways to Take Notes.

TiddlyWiki is a single html file which has all the characteristics of a wiki – including all of the content, the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching) and the style sheet. Because it’s a single file, it’s very portable – you can email it, put it on a web server or share it via a USB stick.

But it’s not just a wiki! It has very powerful plugin capabilities, so it can also be used to build new tools. You have full control over how it looks and behaves. For example, TiddlyWiki is already being used as:

A personal notebook

A GTD (“Getting Things Done”) productivity tool

A collaboration tool

For building websites (this site is a TiddlyWiki file!)

For rapid prototyping

…and much more!

You can import and export data to and from all sorts of places. Check out some of the Examples of TiddlyWiki in use, and the Features that are available.

via TiddlyWiki – a reusable non-linear personal web notebook.

Over the last couple of weeks I tested various note-taking applications. I was looking for software to help me to better organize my typical daily notes, memos, ideas, to-do lists and to clean up the myriads of text files that I have used for the purpose. KeePass is perfect for saving and organizing passwords, but there are many other important snippets of text that didn’t have a good home. The criterion is that I wanted a free, light-weight and portable note-taking application to help me be more productive. There are hundreds of on-line tools, but I prefer off-line tools for this purpose and I also discovered dozens of sticky note applications which I find generally messy. Wherever I looked, EverNote showed up and it turned out to be my favorite, but other applications that I reviewed include TiddlyWiki, NeoMem and wikidPad.

via Note-Taking Applications.

When Amazon announced its second-generation Kindle Monday, the company boasted of the more than 230,000 available titles — most of them priced well below print equivalents.

Impressive, but not nearly as impressive at the 1.5 million books that Google has made available for free to anyone who owns an iPhone or any device that runs Google’s Android OS.

Assuming Google makes the service available on phones that run Symbian, Windows Mobile and the BlackBerry OS, Google Books Mobile represents an incredible resource: nearly every famous books (and plenty of obscure ones) written before 1920, available free on most smart phones.

via TECHNOLOGY Blog | The Dallas Morning News .

Google Monday announced that it is adding support for Microsoft’s ActiveSync to Google Sync, which will give iPhone and Windows Mobile offline access to their Google calendars and Gmail contacts from their mobile applications.

Google already supports calendar and contact synchronization via Google Synch on the BlackBerry and on its own Android mobile platform. The Android sync is a technology developed by Google and built into Google Apps.

The Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support means users can sync Google Calendars and Gmail Contacts information with the ActiveSync compatible calendar and contact applications they run on their iPhone and Windows Mobile devices. The synchronization happens in real-time so when a contact or calendar entry is added or upgraded in Google Apps it is updated with applications on the mobile device.

As part of the announcement Google said it also has added contact sync for mobile devices that support SyncML, a platform independent synchronization standard.

via Google adds ActiveSync to accommodate iPhone, Win Mobile – Network World.

What’s Google’s long-term mobile ad strategy? Publicly, the Web giant has said little about that, but last spring, at a briefing with advertisers, it offered some insight. In the presentation — titled “Google Mobile and What’s Next: Little screen, big opportunity” — the Web giant says it sees a number of advertising opportunities in mobile.

High on the list: “Local Relevant.” That’s the idea of using local search results — local pizza parlors, for example — to provide links for “instant action” such as clicking on a number to call the restaurant, or on a business name to link to a map.

via With people on the go, Google’s ad strategy goes mobile – USATODAY.com.

One of the biggest areas where the HTC G1 phone on T-Mobile’s network lags Apple iPhone is the app store.

So far, the Android Marketplace allowed only free apps in its online store but that is set to change this week. Google is expected to allow developers to start charging for programs sold through the Android market place, says The Wall Street Journal.

Unlike the iPhone App store that has splits the revenue with the developers, Android allows for third party programmers to keep the profits to themselves. Apple keeps 30 percent of the revenue from apps sold through the iPhone store.

The Android marketplace is also open. Apps do not have to be approved by either the carrier or Google which developed the Android mobile operating system. That is in contrast to Apple’s walled garden approach that requires all apps to be scrutinized by the company. iPhone users are billed for paid apps through their iTunes account. It is not clear what kind of payment framework Android will use.

Paid apps should help improve the Android marketplace. At the least, G1 phone users deserve equal access to Tipulator, Super Monkey Ball and iBeer.

via Paid Apps Coming to Android Phones This Week | Gadget Lab from Wired.com.

The T-Mobile HTC G1 — the first phone to run Google’s Android platform — may lack multi-touch capabilities because of an agreement with Apple.

VentureBeat’s MG Siegler cites an anonymous Android team member, who said the G1′s touchscreen isn’t multi-touch because Apple asked Google not to implement it.

Why would Apple do such a thing? It’s a feature that sets Apple’s handset apart from its competitors, whose touchscreen phones can’t detect simultaneous input like the iPhone’s. It’s the feature that enables that precious “pinching” gesture for zooming, which Apple is attempting to protect with its recently approved, 358-page iPhone patent.

via Google May Have Crippled Android Because Apple Asked | Gadget Lab from Wired.com.

The new Google phone, dubbed the G1, has been touted as a working man’s smartphone — a cheap, Web-friendly wireless device that can make life easier for millions of consumers.

The G1, as it turns out, also stands to make life a whole lot easier for Google — by making it a snap to track your movements on the mobile Web and send you ads as it does on the desktop. The device, sold exclusively by T-Mobile, gives Google access to your e-mail, instant messages, contact lists, Web-search history and geographic location. By keeping tabs on your mobile life, Google (GOOG) can quickly figure out what sort of ads to send your way, and when.

via Google’s G1 phone makes it easy to track surfing habits – USATODAY.com.

Who was it who wrote, in March 2008, just after Apple announced its intention to create an online app store for the iPhone, “You’re witnessing the birth of a third major computer platform: Windows, Mac OS X, iPhone”?

Oh, right–that was me.

Anyway, there are now 15,000 programs available on the App Store, and so many more are flooding in that Apple’s army of screeners can’t even keep up. I keep meaning to write a thoughtful, thorough roundup of the very best of these amazing programs, but every day that I don’t do it, the job becomes more daunting. (But don’t worry. I’ll get around to it.)

via So Many iPhone Apps, So Little Time – Pogue’s Posts Blog – NYTimes.com.

“People who are going to succeed in the OS wars are the ones that are going to draw the most attraction from developers,” says Ryan Reith, an IDC analyst.

Google, too, hosts an application store, dubbed the Android Market, for phones running its Android mobile operating system, the first of which is the G1 from Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA. This week Google will start allowing developers to charge for software sold through the Android Market, according to people familiar with the matter.

via Microsoft to Bolster Cellphone Strategy – WSJ.com.

Here is our latest list of websites that have recently posted information on Apple iPhone or Google Android applications, including reviews, descriptions, and discussion. They are listed by monthly visitors according to Compete.com. If you have an iPhone or Android App to promote, this is not a bad place to start.

Using Zenbe lists, you can create all of your lists (like grocery) online and then sync them to your iPhone. You can also share lists with others which is helpful. For example, I can share a list with Ryan and he can share one with me. The interface for both the online and iPhone portions are really intuitive. This is one of those applications that can help you become more productive and save you time.

via Our Top 10 Best iPhone Applications.

After viewing more than 200 iPhone Apps in different categories I put this list together which I consider as the best iPhone Applications based on their functionality and popularity.

Here goes the list..

via Best iPhone Apps: 18 iPhone Applications that will make you buy an iPhone || Technology Nerd.

Remember when cell phones were just for making calls? The new iPhone 3G, which launched on July 11, dials phone numbers, but it also runs some 800 add-on applications — developers are creating more daily — that enable you to compare hotel room prices, read Shakespeare, even examine brain scans. About a quarter of the miniature applications, or apps, are free (others mostly cost less than $10 each), so Apple users are snapping them up like candy, with 10 million downloads so far. Glitches may be common as the programs work out their debut-stage kinks, but here are our picks for the coolest of the free programs.

via Sorting the Jewels from the Junk in the iTunes Store – Top 11 iPhone Applications – TIME.

I’ve been keeping track of the best iPhone applications, and one night, I asked my more than 18,000 Twitter followers what they use. I got dozens of recommendations within a few hours. This month, there will be many more applications, as programs created with Apple’s software-developers’ kit become available. So what are my favorite iPhone apps?

via Robert Scoble on the Best iPhone Applications | Fast Company.