Hasta La Gadget!

Both iOS and Android have a ton of apps to choose from — over 700,000 each, to be exact. However, Windows 8 and Windows RT aren’t quite there yet as far as having a rounded out app store. The Windows Store only has 100,000 apps available so far, but Microsoft is working hard to raise that number, to the point where they’re wooing iOS developers to build Windows apps.

According to MIT’s Technology Review, Microsoft invited a select group of iOS developers to the company’s headquarters to talk Windows apps. During the two-day meeting, Microsoft execs outlined how developers could create apps that meshed with its software for Windows PCs and tablets, and encouraged them to produce versions of their apps for the Windows Phone platform.

Microsoft hosted multiple development sessions over the two days in order to give developers a better grasp on how to make apps for the Windows Store. A Windows developer answered questions on stage, such as questions relating to design style, and the dos and don’ts to what developers can do with their Windows apps as far as functionality.

Some of the developers in attendance applauded Microsoft’s professionalism and the bold look of the new Windows platform. However, others questioned Microsoft’s decision to use one operating software for PCs, phones, and tablets, saying that writing apps for PCs, tablets, and smartphones is a “nightmare.” A lot of developers, though, turned out to be interested in making apps for Windows, especially since the Windows Store isn’t as clogged up as the iTunes App Store or Google Play store. It’ll only be a matter of time before we find out if Microsoft’s hard work is paying off.

[via Technology Review]

Microsoft enticing iOS developers to build apps for Windows is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Cycloramic is the new app which uses your iPhone’s vibration and sensors to rotate itself and take a 360-degree video. It’s amazing to see in action—and Woz loves it so much that a video he shot using it has appeared on Facebook. More »

Snapchat, the sexting app of choice recently cloned by Facebook, might not be as private as you think. BuzzFeed reports that video files sent using the app are actually not deleted from the phone immediately—meaning they can be copied onto a computer and watched over and over. More »

It seems that while Google is eager at releasing apps for their competitor like Apple’s iOS platform, they seem to be taking a different stance with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. As you might recall, Google announced that they had no plans to build native apps for the Windows Phone platform which meant that Windows Phone users would be left without some relatively essential apps – e.g. Google+, Gmail, and etc. Apart from a rather basic search app designed for the Windows Phone platform, it is unclear as to whether Google will be changing their stance on the matter in the near future, but that hasn’t stopped Windows Phone owners from launching a petition in which they hope will get Google’s attention. If you’re a Windows Phone user, or even if you’re an Android or iOS user who thinks that Google should make apps for Windows Phone, head on over to Change.org and sign the petition and hopefully Google will do something about it in the near future.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bug Discovered In Snapchat And Poke App That Doesn’t Actually Delete Videos, South Korea Looking To Filter Swear Words And Pornography On Teenagers’ Smartphones,

Christmas is always a big day for the smartphone and tablet space, but this year, Christmas was bigger than ever. That’s according to analytics firm Flurry, which tracked activation data for the first 20 days in December and then compared it to the data it received for December 25. It probably won’t come as a shock to most to hear that the data Flurry has for Christmas Day shows a huge number of activations for both tablets and smartphones.

According to Flurry’s data, about 4 million iOS and Android devices were activated per day between December 1 and December 20. That formed the baseline for activations in December, and it was one that the data for December 25 shattered. Activations on Christmas Day skyrocketed to 17.4 million, climbing 332% over the December 2012 baseline of 4 million and topping the previous single day record set on Christmas Day 2011, which was a mere 6.8 million activations.

Of course, with the surge in device activations also comes a surge in app downloads. The baseline for app downloads in December came in at 155 million per day, which was again determined by watching downloads over the period spanning December 1 to December 20. On Christmas day, app downloads jumped to 328 million, doubling the baseline and once again breaking records set by any previous day.

Interestingly, a surprising number of people received tablets on Christmas day. Flurry’s data shows that smartphones accounted for 80% of the activations between December 1 and 20, but on Christmas day, only 49% percent of the devices activated were smartphones. Be sure to take a few minutes to check out through Flurry’s full report, because it proves to be a very interesting read!

Smartphone and tablet Christmas day activations break records is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.