Hasta La Gadget!

If there’s one thing about Android is that it is not as restrictive compared to iOS. This means that users are able to customize their device to their liking, sometimes without even having to root their phone. For example customization could be a change in launchers, or keyboards, or even changing the default camera/browser app. Well the good news is that it looks like some of that customization could be headed iOS’ way in the form of Fleksy keyboard. The app has been available on Android and recently left its beta phase, but its developers have not stopped there and have released an SDK for iOS developers.

While Fleksy will not be able to replace all of iOS’ keyboards, developers now have the option to include the keyboard within their apps. Speaking to The Verge, Fleksy’s founder, Ioannis Verdelis, was quoted as saying, “With every new version of iOS the work required on our part to build a keyboard SDK has reduced significantly […] We’re [now] doing stuff on iOS that integrates the keyboard deeper than it’s ever been integrated.” As it stands there are a handful of apps that have already integrated Fleksy into their apps, such as GV Connect, Blindsquare, Wordbox, and Launch. If you’re wondering what those apps might be like to use with a keyboard different from the default iOS one, go ahead and check them out.

Fleksy Keyboard Makes Its Way To iOS Through Third-Party Apps original content from Ubergizmo.

Google Maps has been the go-to mapping application for the majority of people over the past several years as Google has just done an amazing job with its service. The company rolls out updates to Google Maps on a regular basis, and today is one of those days as the iOS version of the application brings some of its Google Now functionality. (more…)

Google Maps On iOS Can Now Find Your Flight, Hotel, Restaurant Reservations original content from Ubergizmo.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for iOS has hit the App Store, bringing the latest open-world gaming experience to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The game, which brings three cities and a promised 70+ hours of gameplay to iOS devices, is a $6.99 download and features remastered graphics and new character models, while some […]

San Francisco-based Fleksy has launched its in-app SDK integration for iOS via four new partners who implement the software in their own apps today. These include Launch Center Pro, Wordbox, GV Connect and BlindSquare, and were chosen from a number of potential partners to help Fleksy demonstrate the power and range of its virtual keyboard.

Operating on iOS as a replacement for a default system component like the keyboard is not an easy task; Apple will not allow third-party devs to replace some system features like the keyboard, browser, messaging or calling app in the same way that users can do so on Android. Fleksy is attempting to get around this limitation by providing an SDK that third-party devs can use to build Fleksy into their own apps one at a time, in much the same way that Google makes it possible for devs to build in an option to have their software open links in Chrome on iOS.

These four launch partner apps are all available right now in the App Store, and take advantage of Fleksy’s unique ability to interpret a user’s intended input regardless of where they strike on the screen to different ends. Fleksy co-founder and COO Ioannis Verdelis explained to me the selection process for this first batch of apps in an interview.

“We’ve had a lot of interest [from third-party devs] really since our first release of the app on iOS,” he said. “We’ve picked four partners who worked with us through the beta process of the SDK, and we’ve tried to have one app that addresses the accessibility market, BlindSquare, and then we picked other popular apps that we think have meaningful use of text input in their design.”

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GV Connect is a Google voice client where you can use Fleksy to send SMS messages; Wordbox is a text editor; and Launch Center Pro is “a bit of everything,” says Verdelis, with shortcuts that help people navigate iOS and get things done quicker. For these first four partners, he notes that it was important not just to get partners who would use the keyboard in interesting ways, to help showcase the possibilities for others, but to use people who helped define the product, too.

From here, Fleksy intends to continue to be selective about SDK partners and work with third-party devs to launch their integrations for a little while, but eventually the plan is to open it up for anyone to use independent of Fleksy’s involvement. Revenue for Fleksy differs depending on how each dev makes their revenue, Verdelis says, with some like Launch Center Pro trying things like offering it up as an in-app purchase and then sharing revenue from those sales, and others going for a more straightforward licensing fee.

Fleksy launched as a standalone third-party keyboard on Android out of beta last week, and Verdelis says they’ve racked up over 100,000 downloads since then. On iOS, they’ve had over 500,000 since launching their standalone app, but the SDK is the focus here in terms of business targets, so watching to see how the stable of Fleksy-using apps grows from here will be key.

Last month we reported that Southwest Airlines would be offering its passengers gate-to-gate WiFi as part of the FAA’s new ruling where personal electronic devices could be used during all stages of the flight. However this also meant that passengers would have to pay to use inflight WiFi services, which is currently priced at $8 for all-day usage. Well if you don’t need to use all aspects of the WiFi, such as you just need to use the internet for messaging, Southwest Airlines has announced that beginning today, Southwest Airlines will be offering iOS users the ability to send iMessages for just $2 a day.

Basically what this means is that your connectivity will be limited to just sending and receiving iMessages, which we guess is a fair deal if you want to kill some time during the flight. As for Android users, Southwest Airlines has promised that something similar will be headed their way come 2014. “Don’t worry Android users, we’ll be showing you the LUV soon.  Tell us what your favorite Android-based messaging apps are and we’ll ask Santa to make it happen early in 2014!” What do you guys think of Southwest Airlines’ move? Is this a service you would be glad to pay for were you to fly their airlines?

Southwest Airlines Offer $2 iMessaging Service For iOS Users original content from Ubergizmo.