Amazon today is rolling out a free software update to the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, adding Goodreads and FreeTime integration. The update will appear over the next few weeks for Paperwhite owners. Both integrations are designed to maximize reading time and minimize switching from one device to another while reading. The Goodreads integration will let Paperwhite […]
Have you used Paper
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“Rooting” your smartphone — essentially installing a new operating system on it — is one way to eliminate bloatware and speed things up. Now there’s a fast and easy way to do it with Cyanogenmod.
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Emoticons are used daily when we chat over instant messenger, with some messengers coming bundled with their own set of emoticons instead of relying on third-party alternatives. BBM is one of them and the messenger platform has had its own set of emoticons that they have been using for a while now. However if you think that some of the emoticons are dated, or perhaps could use a couple of new ones since the old ones don’t really express how you feel, you’re in luck because BlackBerry is now calling for users to submit their ideas for new BBM emoticons!
According to the post on Facebook, BlackBerry is asking users to submit their ideas by leaving a detailed description of what they have in mind in a message replying to the post. Unfortunately it does not look like they’re accepting files at the moment, so graphic designers will have to describe what it is they have in mind. If you don’t have an idea of your own, BlackBerry has suggested that you like some of the posts whose idea you think makes sense. This deadline for submissions is set for the 20th of November, so if you’d like the chance to see your emoticon idea incorporated into BBM, time to start brainstorming!
BlackBerry Wants Your Help Designing New BBM Emoticons original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Here’s another twist on messaging aiming to make digital comms more fun. Toymail is a Wi-Fi connected toy that lets parents talk remotely to their kids via a smartphone app – with their message spoken in the toy’s tone of voice. Why can’t they just give their kids a cheap phone and call them up? Of course they can, but a phone probably isn’t going to be as cute looking or fun sounding as Toymail’s ‘Mailmen’ toys.
The idea is to inject a little cartoon fun into parent/child digital interactions, and give kids a chance to play with physical toys rather than being sucked into screens and phones so early. (While letting parents carry on their love affair with their smartphones.) There’s a choice of five different Mailmen characters, which have been designed to look like a cross between a mailbox and an animal.
Toymail is not the first cutesy connected object that can remotely convey messages. The now defunct Nabaztag rabbit springs to mind. Toymail’s Mailmen also have some spiritual overlap with The Little Printer – although where that gizmo churns out tiny little rolls of paper inked with messages, the Mailmen’s missives are pure audio.
Toymail does allow for conversations not just one-way broadcasts, though, since kids can hit a button on the back of their Mailman to reply to the last message received – with the kids’ reply delivered for playback in the app. Only people who have been approved via the app are able to connect to the Mailman, so random strangers aren’t going to be able to send messages.
And if you’ve run out of things to say yourself, there’s a Daily Toymailer service you can sign up for that will send a daily message to the toy, greeting your child by name and singing a song or sharing a factoid or quote.
One half of the Toymail’s creator team, entrepreneur and MIT alumna Gauri Nanda, came up with the cute yet fiendish Clocky: an alarm clock with wheels so it could scoot out of your reach and force you to crawl out of bed to shut it off.
Toymail has taken to Kickstarter to try to raise $60,000 to get Toymail to market. At the time of writing, it’s approaching $10k raised, with 17 days left on the campaign.
And while each Mailman costs $50 to Kickstarter backers, and the iOS app is free (an Android app is planned), there is an ongoing cost associated with use of Toymail. Parents will need to buy virtual books of stamps to send messages to the toys. Each stamp is good for one message, and a book of 50 stamps costs $0.99 – or unlimited stamps are $2.99 per month.
You might have heard earlier about how Facebook had reportedly tried to buy Snapchat for a whopping $3 billion, an offer which many are still wondering why Snapchat decided to turn down. As it turns out Facebook was not alone when it came to showing interest in the app, and according to a tweet by GigaOm founder, Om Malik, he reported on a rumor that he had heard on how Google had also attempted to buy Snapchat and that the search giant actually managed to outbid Facebook by offering up an eye-watering $4 billion instead.
Google’s plan for Snapchat was basically to leave it as it is, and keep it as a standalone app much like how Facebook did with Instagram. Unfortunately despite being offered so much money, Snapchat’s CEO, Eva Spiegel, was reported to have decided to turn both offers down because he believed that at the rate Snapchat was growing, it would be valued much higher further down the road. Was this a wise move by Spiegel to turn down $4 billion from Google? Hopefully it is, and hopefully this will not be the story of how Friendster was offered $30 million by Google but turned it down, and eventually faded away in obscurity.
Google Rumored To Have Outbid Facebook For Snapchat With $4 Billion original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Nokia fans, if you’ve enjoyed the Finnish company’s offerings as far as software is concerned, such as with the company’s HERE Maps application, you’re in luck because it has been revealed that Nokia’s HERE Maps app will be making its way onto Windows 8. The downside though is that it appears, for now, that the app will be exclusive to Nokia’s Lumia tablet lineup, which at the moment comprises of the Lumia 2520 that was announced last month. However if the rumors are to be believed, we can look forward to a certain Lumia 2020 at MWC 2014 next year.
In any case the Lumia 2520 has yet to be released, but hopefully that will be soon, so for those considering the tablet, you’ll be pleased to learn that HERE Maps will be an exclusive for you guys, at least for the foreseeable future. Given that there are several Windows 8 tablets out there to choose from, undoubtedly this exclusivity is something worth considering when trying to make a selection. Similar to Google Maps where you can use it offline, HERE Maps allows the user to do the same thing where you can download maps ahead of time for the places you are planning to go. If you want to see HERE Maps on the Lumia 2520, be sure to check out the video above for the details.
Nokia HERE Maps To Arrive Exclusively For Lumia Windows 8 Tablets original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Isis, the NFC-powered mobile payment app
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Remember MapQuest? It’s got a set of new mobile apps with clever, handy features that set it apart from other mapping and navigation apps out there.
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A couple of weeks ago, we heard that Facebook would be updating its Messenger app and give it a new look. Facebook has been taking a while to get up to speed with its update of the Messenger app, given that they had already updated their Facebook app to match the design language of iOS 7, but either way we guess better late than never, right? At that time the app was being pushed out to select handful of users to try, but now according to an updated post by Facebook, the updated version of Messenger is now available for both iOS and Android users, and you will be able to get your hands on the updated app via the iTunes App Store or Google Play store, depending on your platform.
The app will feature a brand new design and will even allow you to send text messages via the app to non-Facebook users. In a way we guess Facebook is hoping to expand its offering beyond the social network and compete with other messenger apps such as WhatsApp, LINE, BBM, and etc. The app will also introduce new icons that will help identify whether or not the person you’re about to message has the app. It’s kind of like how the “Send” button for Messages for iOS will turn blue when it detects that the other user has iMessage setup. In any case the app is free for download, so if you don’t already have it, you can check it out and see what all the fuss is about!
Updated Facebook Messenger Rolls Out To The Masses original content from Ubergizmo. 
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