Microsoft Builds Android App Store For Its Own Android Apps Inside Of The Android App Store

Microsoft has a new app out called ‘Microsoft Apps‘ on Android that contains a list of its Android apps that you can download on the Android app store.

There are two parts to this development. The first is that Microsoft’s cross-platform work continues, and that the company has yet to let up an inch on its work to bring its software and services to users on every rival operating system. And, the second point is that Microsoft has created an effective Android app store — catalog? — inside of the actual Android app store.

An early comment noted that fact. From the app’s page on Google Play:

That comment is almost correct. At the same time, it can be difficult to sort through tens, and hundreds of thousands of apps to find the precise one that you are perhaps looking for. Microsoft wants to make sure that if you want to use its stack on Android, you can do so without unnecessary sleuthing.

The app has racked up four review so far, giving it an average score of 4 stars.

The new app might not make sense until you realize just how many apps Microsoft has on Android — you can take a spin through the full list here. It’s extensive. It’s almost odd to recall how big a splash bringing Office to Android and iOS once was.

Microsoft fans have a new toy, and the company has a potential conduit for its apps on the Android platform. Not too bad a turn of events for the Redmond-based software company.

Kim Kardashian’s Buttmoji Owns The App Store

It seems like 2015 was the year of the “emoji.” I mean, a damn emoji was the “word of the year.” This year is ending with a massive bang on the App Store thanks to Kim Kardashian and her…assets.

Fire up the App Store on your devices and here’s what you’ll see for the top paid app:

The app, KIMOJI, costs $1.99. What do you get? Well, emojis having to do with Kim Kardashian, of course. Not bad for a keyboard app, eh?

It currently has 2 stars, so maybe people aren’t getting as much out of it as they thought. The initial popularity certainly spun up tons of interest though, as the App Store magically went down during the flurry of asscitement:

No, but it’s still a fun story.

Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Continue to get Price Cuts in India

In a rather unprecedented move, Apple has (unofficially) slashed the prices for the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus by 16% since its launch in October. This move seems to be propelled by the fact that the iPhone 6s sales had plunged into a valley right after the festive season of Diwali.

The iPhone 6s 16GB now costs Rs 52,000- Rs 55,000 as opposed to the launch price of Rs 62,000 (Rs 49799 on Amazon at the time of writing). According to ET sources, the price cut seems to have been carried out across all the variants. The latest bout of price cut literally brings the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus prices down by 16%. Apple had also slashed the price of its iPhone 5s recently bringing it to an all-time low of Rs 20,990 for the 16GB variant.

The iPhone 6s 64GB and iPhone 6s Plus 16GB will cost as less as Rs 61,000 (Rs 60k on Amazon), while the 64GB version of iPhone 6s Plus will start from Rs 69,000. Last month, there were reports of Apple offering discounts via buyback offers, again something which never happened with newly released iPhones.

Another reason for the price cut seems to be the large gulf of price gap between the iPhone 6 and the 6s, thus making the upgrades less attractive. This also seems to be the first time iPhone price has been slashed in the first two months of launch, something that inadvertently points at the initial pricing. Another report points out that Apple had initially imported 320,000 units of the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus but the deficient demand seems to have hit the same and now the imports have slung to a lower 120,000 in November.

The reason price cuts come out as surprising is the way Apple usually manages its pricing strategy, they are among the few in the smartphone industry who stick by their initial prices. The series of price cuts across most of the iPhone models is a tell-tale sign that Apple wants to spike up the sales number even if it means a direct slash in the iPhone prices, this however will add up as a bonus for folks looking out to buy the iPhones this holiday season.

Apple Is Reportedly Developing Its Own, Energy-Efficient Screens For iPhone And iPad

Apple is reported to be working on its own display technology in a move that could lessen its dependence on third-party suppliers like Samsung and Sharp, and boost the battery life of its products.

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. company, which is unique for designing its own chipsfor its smartphones, is said to have opened its own secretive facility in Taiwan where it is working on screens for iPhones, iPads and other devices. (The company is advertisingfor positions at the plant.)

That could mean good news for customers who worry about the battery life of their devices. Screens tend to use a significant amount of power, but sources from the new Apple facility reportedly told Bloomberg that Apple is working to make its screens “thinner, lighter, brighter and more energy-efficient” — that means less battery strain. Indeed, those sources suggested that Apple is looking to switch to organic LEDs, which could massively save on power consumption.

You may have to wait a while for the benefits to be seen in your daily life and devices, but it appears that things are moving in the right direction at a quicker pace.

Apple Is Reportedly Developing Its Own, Energy-Efficient Screens For iPhone And iPad

Apple is reported to be working on its own display technology in a move that could lessen its dependence on third-party suppliers like Samsung and Sharp, and boost the battery life of its products.

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. company, which is unique for designing its own chipsfor its smartphones, is said to have opened its own secretive facility in Taiwan where it is working on screens for iPhones, iPads and other devices. (The company is advertisingfor positions at the plant.)

That could mean good news for customers who worry about the battery life of their devices. Screens tend to use a significant amount of power, but sources from the new Apple facility reportedly told Bloomberg that Apple is working to make its screens “thinner, lighter, brighter and more energy-efficient” — that means less battery strain. Indeed, those sources suggested that Apple is looking to switch to organic LEDs, which could massively save on power consumption.

You may have to wait a while for the benefits to be seen in your daily life and devices, but it appears that things are moving in the right direction at a quicker pace.

Apple names the best iOS apps of 2015

Apple on Wednesday announced its choices for the best iOS apps of 2015. Taking top honors was Periscope, an app Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, called "truly revolutionary."

hat Periscope was named app of the year for iPhone shouldn't be surprising; Meerkat may have hit the market first, but Periscope really captured the zeitgeist. It didn't hurt that Twitter acquired the small team behind the app before it even launched.

Other iPhone apps honored this year include photo editing app Enlight, stock-trading app Robinhood, the amazing productivity tool Workflow and health apps such as Lark and Fit Men Cook.

For the iPad, The Robot Factory by Tinybop was selected as iPad App of the Year. The Robot Factory is an app that lets kids build, test and collect robots. Other iPad app honorees includeHBO Now, Patterning: Drum Machine and LiquidText.

"I continue to be really impressed with the types of apps that are getting created," Cue told Mashable. "You think everything that's been created has been done and then people continue to innovate and push the envelope across all the apps."

For the editorial picks for Apple's best iOS apps of 2015, they ran the gamut. Some winners, like Periscope, originally had small teams and were acquired by bigger companies. Other apps, such as HBO Now, are truly the product of big companies, but they still managed to push the envelope in other ways. Cue cited HBO Now as one of his favorite apps of the year, just by the virtue of how much more HBO he now watches as a result.

And some apps — especially in the gaming categories — are successes that grew out of upstarts. Prune, which Apple names its Best iPad Game of the Year, is the product of one person. It's the type of game Cue loves: "Who'd think a game about trimming trees would be so beautiful and fun," Cue said. "But they've done an amazing job."

The most-downloaded apps of the year

In addition to the editorial picks, Apple also released its year-end charts of its most-downloaded apps and games of 2015. Most of the big players — Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube — are on this list, but so are some apps you might not expect.

Crossy Road is the most downloaded free iPad app and in the top 10 of the most-downloaded iPhone apps. From Aussie-developers Hipster Whale, Crossy Road is an updated take on Frogger.

We spoke with Hipster Whale cofounder Matt Hall, one of the founders of Hipster Whale, about Crossy Road and its success in 2015 — an app that has transcended just mobile andmoved to the Apple TV.

Originally, Crossy Road was a project that cofounders Matt Hall and Andy Sum worked on as a game to do between projects. But quickly into the development process, Hall said he knew something was different and that "this could be something really special."

"We assumed failure but planned for success," Hall said. At launch, Apple featured the game as one of its best new iPhone apps of the week. And while Hall can't say how much that early exposure ultimately helped the game (we think it's the sort of game that had a viral component regardless of how it was featured), he acknowledged that being featured was "enormously helpful" and helped give the game "legitimacy."

With more than 40 million downloads for Crossy Road on iOS alone, the game has legs.

The list: Top downloads

Top free iPhone apps:

1. Trivia Crack
2. Messenger
3. Dubsmash
4. Instagram
5. Snapchat
6. YouTube
7. Facebook
8. Uber
9. Crossy Road - Endless Arcade Hopper
10. Google Maps

Top paid iPhone apps:

1. Heads Up!
2. Minecraft: Pocket Edition
3. Trivia Crack (Ad Free)
4. Five Nights at Freddy's 2
5. Facetune
6. Geometry Dash
7. Five Nights at Freddy's
8. Afterlight
9. Plague Inc.
10. Goat Simulator

Top free iPad apps:

1. Crossy Road - Endless Arcade Hopper
2. Candy Crush Soda Saga
3. Messenger
4. Netflix
5. YouTube
6. The Calculator - Free
7. Microsoft Word
8. Trivia Crack
9. Skype for iPad
10. Pinterest

Top paid iPad apps:

1. Minecraft: Pocket Edition
2. Five Nights at Freddy's 2
3. Five Nights at Freddy's
4. Geometry Dash
5. Terraria
6. Goat Simulator
7. Heads Up!
8. Five Nights at Freddy's 3
9. Toca Kitchen 2
10. Monument Valley

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Unhappy customer sues Apple after honeymoon photos are wiped from phone

A British man is celebrating a victory for the "common man" after successfully suing Apple for accidentally wiping treasured photos from his phone.

Deric White said he was devastated after his honeymoon photos and 15 years of contacts were lost from his iPhone.

He was awarded almost £2,000 after winning the case [£1,200 compensation and £773 in court costs] after a judge ruled Apple had been "negligent".

Deric White took his phone to an Apple store  Photo: REUTERS

The 68-year-old took his phone to Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street in December 2014 after receiving a text message about a fault on the device.

He said staff fixed the problem but also wiped all of his content from the phone - only afterwards asking him if it had been backed up.

The retired property developer, who had just beaten cancer when the incident happened, said he was determined to have his day in court.

Apple were ordered to pay compensation  Photo: AP

"I would not let it go," he told the Evening Standard. "Having fought cancer, I was not going to get defeated by Apple.

"My wife was reduced to tears when they wiped the phone. Everyone tells me this has happened to them or their mate.

"I did this for the common man. I would say to anyone who has got a gripe with Apple - don’t let them boss you about and ignore it."

Mr White told the court he had "his life was saved on the phone", adding that he had lost his favourite honeymoon video of a giant tortoise biting him on the hand.

In court papers Apple’s lawyers said: "The claimant has not demonstrated how he suffered any loss."

How to Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Android and Vice versa

For many of us, the biggest headache after buying a new phone has to be the transfer of private data like Contacts, Mail, Messages etc. Today, we are trying to address the contacts part, specially for those who are switching from Android to iPhone or other way around.

Transfer Contacts From iPhone to Android

Ready to make a switch from iPhone to Android? Good for you, but how do you import all your contacts from the iPhone to the Android? Since the iPhone doesn’t have the native option to copy your contacts to the SIM card, only by installing apps such of SIManager, we found a few alternatives to make the migration easier with no loss of data. To transfer your contacts from the iPhone, you have 3 options: sync your device with Google Contacts, Sync with Windows and Google or use the Sinkontact app.

1. Sync with Google Contacts

In order to sync with Google Contacts, you have to follow these easy steps:

• connect your iPhone or any other iDevice via USB to your PC
• open iTunes, select your phone and click the info tab
• check the Sync Contacts with option and select Google Contacts from the drop-down menu

• click on Configure and enter your Google username and password, provided that you have one already

After doing this, your contacts are safely stored inside your Google Account, ready to be downloaded to your new Android phone, with only a few steps to be followed:

• go to Menu -> Settings -> Accounts & Sync
• tap the Add Account option, select Google Account and fill in your username and password

• taping on the Google account will open sync options, where you have the possibility to sync Contacts, Gmail, Google Reader, Picasa and Google Calendar.

Now, just back and enjoy your new Android smartphone with all your contacts from the iPhone. Some will say that switching sides with the Android army was a good thing to do while others will call you a traitor. Good thing you get to keep your contacts safe and sound in this “cruel” smartphone battle.

2. Create a CSV File

If you want to sync your contacts first with Windows then with Google Contacts, the process is a little complicated, you will have to create a CSV file, so bare with me please. This is how you do it:

• follow the first 3 steps of the Google Contacts from above, except, instead of Google Contacts, select Windows Address Book
• open Windows Address Book (you should see here all your contacts, if not, try restarting the app and/or Windows)
• click File -> Export -> Other Address Book -> select text file

• select a name for the CSV file and scroll down to Mobile Phone and select it, also you have to do is select the information you want to export of the contacts and browse the location of the CSV file

• access your Google Account, and go to Import, browse your computer and provide the CSV file you created
• after importing your contacts to Google, just sync them with your Android device like before

While this method is not the simplest of them, it is the safest way to do it.

3. Use Synkontact

The last method of transferring your contacts from the iPhone to the Android is a cool little app called Synkontact. The process of transferring the data is easy and it takes just a few minutes:

• download and install Synkontact on your phone
• open the application and select upload
• type a name and tap ok

• the contacts are uploaded and a password is provided, save the password
• enter from your Android device (you have to install Synkontact of the Android phone),select download and enter the name and password

• select merge into local, tap OK and you are done

This process only takes a few minutes, but on the other hand, I don’t like the idea of uploading my contacts to a unknown server, it just depends on everyone’s needs. These methods were all tested and all of them work fine. So, if you are thinking of going Android and you didn’t know how to get your contacts from one iPhone over to the Android side, now you know!

II. Switch Contacts From Android to iPhone

If you have an Android phone and you choose to get a iPhone, you can transfer your contacts to your new phone by doing the reverse of the iPhone to Android methods. It would be non-sense to list them once more. There are also methods that work only one way.

1. Copy your Android Contacts to a microSD Card

• open Contacts on your device
• go to menu and tap Import/Export
• the phone saves your contacts with the default name 00001.vcf and it stores it in the root folder of the microSD card
• connect your Android device to your PC and selectMass Storage
• copy the 00001.vcf on to your PC and you are ready to Import it to Google Contacts or MS Outlook
• from here, you can import the contacts to your iPhone via iTunes

2. Upload to Outlook or Google

Importing the contacts is very easy on the iPhone, after you have uploaded them to Outlook or Google. Again, don’t think of all those Android lovers that might “hate” you for your move. Who knows, maybe you love diversity and you have both an iPhone and an Android smartphone, right?

• open Settings on your iPhone
• go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars
• tap Add Account and select Google or Outlook


• fill in the Email Address, Domain, username and password -> tap Next -> enter server name (m.google.com for Gmail Account) -> tap Next
• tap to ensure that Contacts is set to On

And you are done! The contacts are now on your iPhone. Also, remember, there shouldn’t be any hard feelings when switching sides. It’s better to experiment how Android or the iPhone feels and performs than to say you don’t like it because you are to afraid to try it.