A new set of selections on Google Plays 25-cent sale

You might get different options depending on your country and device. Here is what I see on mine.

Click this link to see the current apps on sale at Google Play.

Google Play Hits 25 Billion Downloads! US$0.25 App Promo as a Thank You.

Google Play Hits 25 Billion Downloads a few hours ago. In celebration, apps will be sold at a discounted price of US$0.25 over the next five days. 

So far I noticed Gameloft's Asphalt 7, Rovio's Angry Birds Space Premium, Kemco's Symphony of Eternity, Granny Smith, Draw Something and NFL Kicker 13  are all selling at just Php10.44 as part of the promotional sale.

On the non-gaming apps we have OfficeSuite Pro 6 +, Tasks and Ocean HD at just Php10.44.

I already bought Tasks a few months back. Great app. But I did pick up OfficeSuite Pro 6 + and Symphony of Eternity. 

I might not see some apps on sale, as I have bought several already. If you find anything else on sale, please do share it in the comments section.

Where in the World is Mary Grace? (Or, why Apple Maps makes the iPhone and iPad dumb devices in the Philippines)

Smartphones are wonderful, if sometimes creepy things. They are aware of where we are and that allows them to give us information relevant to us. The most useful of these features is maps and locations. Last Saturday night I tried to search for the nearest Mary Grace Cafe branch, and Apple Maps proved to be rather useless. 

This something that everyone else gets right. An Android phone using Google Maps has no problem finding every single branch for you. A simple "mary grace" search, gives you the cafe and other places similarly named, with the cafe, being the most prominent Mary Grace in the Philippines, being highlighted in the results. 

Clicking the results list allows you to scroll through all the hits.

Google Maps or Locations (whichever app you decide to use) will also give me directions.

Windows Phone

When Windows Phone joined the fray, it biggest disadvantage in the Philippines was Bing Maps. With Nokia Maps, a Windows Phone can not compete with Google Maps and Locations. Not always having a Windows Phone device to I asked @levine of TipidCP to help me out.

As you can see, Windows Phone 7.5 will find the closest relevant entry to you, show you other relevant hits and give you driving directions.

As you can see, the Nokia Maps and results are not as polished as Googles. On the other hand Nokia does give you offline voice guided turn by turn navigation. Google will not give you voice guidance and you cannot do it offline.

Apple iPhone and iPad

Before iOS 6, Apple iPhones and iPad used the same excellent Google Maps service. Since iOS 6, they  use Apple maps.

What does the iPhone do when I search for Mary Grace. It wants me to buy a ticket, fly to the United States and visit a Catholic Church there.

Over time Apple can populate the missing info. The problem is, before they do that they have to fix the maps they are using.

Compare Apple map info (left) to Google maps info (right).

Basically, Apple smart iPhone and iPads have are not so smart in the Philippines. How long before this is corrected? I do not know.

Siri was pretty useless in the Philippines in 2011 except in answering questions relating to information about other countries or general information. A year later it still is. But Siri was an optional feature easy to ignore. Maps and locations.... well lets put it this way, would buy a phone without GPS and where people cannot sent you the location of your appointments to your address book?

Until Google or Nokia release an iPhone app, buying a new iPhone means giving up smartphone core functionality in the Philippines. If you already own one, do yourself a favor and stick with iOS 5.1.1. Or you could buy third party navigation software from the iOS store. This won't correct all the issues, but it is better than nothing.

Apple Maps versus Google Maps at the University of the Philippines

Apple on the left, Google on the right. Click for a larger image.

No commentary necessary.

60% of the apps on the Apple App Store have never been downloaded

Even with 25 Billion downloads, 400,000 apps have never been downloaded

Looking at the Apple iPhone App Store, if I spend 30 seconds reading about each App to decide whether I wanted it or not, it would take me 150,000 minutes, or 2,500 hours or 104.17 days to go through them all.  

I wrote that in December 2010. At that time the Apple Store had 300,000 iPhone apps. Today the Apple App store has a total of 650,000 apps, if you combine both iPhone and iPad apps. That is really too many apps for anyone to actually browse through. The main Android App store, Google Play had 600,000 apps and there are also thousands of other Android apps available from other sources. 

Adeven has free analytic service Apptrace which collects iOS app data in the 155 countries that support the App Store. A study conducted by Adeven shows that 60% of the apps on the Apple App store, around 400,000, have never been downloaded. I would think the situation is similar on Google Play.

Anyone browsing the Apple App Store or Google Play knows that there are too many me-too apps. But the Adeven study reveals that in some cases there are just way to many me too apps. An iPhone user looking for a flashlight app has a staggering 1,899 choices for a really simple app where one really does not provide functionality different from the others.

App Store number are pretty much hype. It really is the number of useful apps which should be the metric.

Source of data: Adeven through Phone Arena

Related Articles:

The App Bubble

App stores and markets, by the numbers

A Cautionary Tale - Hacked iCloud Account Wiped an iPhone, iPad and MacBook in 5 minutes

Mark Honan writes about what happened when his iCloud account was hacked, and in a matter of five minutes the hackers remote wiped his iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air and more than a years worth of data. In his own words:

At 4:50 PM, someone got into my iCloud account, reset the password and sent the confirmation message about the reset to the trash. My password was a 7 digit alphanumeric that I didn’t use elsewhere. When I set it up, years and years ago, that seemed pretty secure at the time. But it’s not. Especially given that I’ve been using it for, well, years and years. My guess is they used brute force to get the password (see update) and then reset it to do the damage to my devices.

The backup email address on my Gmail account is that same .mac email address. At 4:52 PM, they sent a Gmail password recovery email to the .mac account. Two minutes later, an email arrived notifying me that my Google Account password had changed. 

At 5:00 PM, they remote wiped my iPhone 

At 5:01 PM, they remote wiped my iPad 

At 5:05, they remote wiped my MacBook Air. 

A few minutes after that, they took over my Twitter. Because, a long time ago, I had linked my Twitter to Gizmodo’s they were then able to gain entry to that as well. 

In the case Mark Honan, the problem was once his iCloud account was compromised, all this devices were. I do not use iCloud, but the same thing could happen to me, or any or us. For most of us the key to the online world we live in revolves around our primary email address.

If a hacker is able to gain access to our primary email address, the hacker can use that email address to reset passwords in our Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Dropbox, Box or any other online service that we use.  I doubt if any system can hold off a skilled and determined hacker forever, but there are a few things we can do to make your online persona and data more secure.

Use Gmail and enable two step authentication. Most email services rely on a user created password to provide security. Gmail uses two step authentication. First you have your password. Second, the device you access your account to has to have been authenticated. When you log on to Google services you will be asked for your password. If this is the first time you log on with a particular device, you will be asked for an authentication code. This code is generated by an app on your smartphone or you can get the code via voice call or SMS. You can set it up to keep your device verified for 30 days, after which you have to authenticate the device again.

So basically, accessing your Gmail account means that a hacker would have to find out what your user generated password is, and that figure out the corresponding Google authentication code, which changes every minute. I would not say hack proof, nothing is, but much safer. 

But I do not want to change email addresses? You do not have to. You can continue to use you Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo or other address but you should consider using a second email address, a Gmail the address, the place where emails for password recovery are sent.  

Essential Android Apps

I recently entered into the world of rooting, my current being out of warranty and with no forthcoming future updates, rooting giving me access to new more features on my Android phone and even allowing to install custom ROM's. Because of this I am have made a few additions to my list of best apps. While this is not a list of all the apps on my phone, I consider this my must have apps.

A note, I did not include in my list HTC proprietary apps installed on my phone since they are not available unless you buy an HTC phone. This is why you will find some gaps on my list. I use my HTC Proprietary apps for the dialer, SMS, calendar and Twitter. 

1. Swiftkey 3 Keyboard (Paid). Literally the app I use most. Since I bought this app a year ago, I have received the next two major revision free. It is the best Android keyboard available. Swiftkey, combines excellent word prediction with a highly customizable keyboard. It learns your habits and can even predicts whole words for you before you type the first letter of the next word. You can do more than just change the theme, you can change the size of the keys. Give it a try.  

2. Gmail (Pre-installed/Free). For Gmail users, the best email app is Google Gmail app. It basically gives you the same degree of functionality as if you were on your desktop.

3. Dropbox (Free). Drop box keeps my files in synced between my desktop replacement and ultraportable laptop and allows my phone to access the files synced. You now have Google Drive for Android which gives you more free space. But Dropox only gives you 2 GB of web storage free, but can work your way up to 20 GB via referrals and tasks. Sign up through this link, and you start out with 2.5 GB.

4. Tasks (Paid). One thing Google does not have is a Google Tasks client for Android. There are many apps in the Play Store that sync with Google Tasks. Task by Team Tasks does so elegantly. Some of the other apps try to do too much. It looks and feels like an official Google ICS app. Has excellent widgets too.

5. Pocket (formerly ReadItLater)(Free).  Android's Instapaper. A great way to save links to view later on your phone or other device. Pocket will sync your unread items list and also formats articles in a phone or tablet friendly format. Instapaper is not on Android too, but Pocket is the better app.

6. Google Maps (Pre-installed/Free). We all need maps. This is the best around and it is free. Google Maps includes, Navigation, Places and Latitude. Places is particularly useful telling you what Restaurants, Bars and Cafes nearby and helps you find them. 

7. Picsay Pro. There are plenty of great photo editing apps on the Android Market. Picsay Pro is  the best in my opinion. Try the free version. The Pro Version is much better and worth the money. 

8. Screen Lock (Free/Donate). I use this to lock my phone using the capacitative search button. This saves some wear on tear on my power button. Free app is fully functional, but I got the donate version. Wanted to support the developer so that we see more great stuff from him.

9. Evernote (Free). Android has many excellent note taking apps with cloud storage, but with new Android specific interface Evernote is the best.

10. Viber (Free). Viber is a VOIP and instant messaging app. Unlike Skype, Viber was born on mobile so it is is much more resource efficient than Skype. The app even supports push notifications on Android. Available on other platforms, this is a good way to communicate with friends for free. Viber customer support is also second to none.

11. ezPDF Reader (Paid). The key feature of this PDF reader is text reflow. It can wrap the text on PDF documents so they fit the boundaries of the screen.

12. Wopnersoft Unit Converter (Free). There are plenty of good unit converter in the Android Market. This one works well and is add free.

@root apps

For the user with a rooted phone -

1. SuperSU (Free/Paid) - Rooting your phone will not be enough to give you access to the advance Android management tools. You will need super user access management tool. This app will also give you a warning whenever a app tries to obtain super user access. I use SuperSU by CHAINFIRE right now, but have also used SuperUser by CHAINSDD. They are both fine apps. Free version of both are available with paid versions which are really donate versions, since while they give you access to additional features, the free versions contain everything you need.

2. BusyBox (Free/Paid) - Most apps which take advantage of root access applications needs BusyBoxyo work. In order to install BuxyBox on your phone you need a BusyBox installer. This app install BusyBox on your phone. After you install the app, run it and install BusyBox.

3. Root Explorer (Paid) - One thing you will need once you root your phone is a file manager to poke around your SD card, or even your internal memory and system partition. There are plenty free apps that will do the job, but I recommend Root Explorer. It is more than just a tool to look around the your phone, but also includes a SQLite database viewer, text editor, a tool to create and extract zip or tar/gzip files, extract rar archives, a tool to execute scripts, an APK binary XML viewer, a tool to create symbolic link, an MD5 checker and more.

4. Titanium Backup (Free/Paid) - The free version of this app allows you to back-up files and data on your phone. It is fully functional. You will need this if you plan to install different ROM (versions of Android) on your phone so that you can get up and running quickly. It is also useful to back-up apps, so in case you do not like the new version of an app, you can go back to the previous version by using your own back-ups. The paid version allows you to back-up your files online either to Google Drive, Dropbox or Box. The paid goes beyond a back-up app and is a fully powered app manager with the ability to freeze apps (render them inactive without uninstalling, uninstalling system apps (those built into the ROM that some call bloat), break market links so that if you decide to stay with an older version of an app, you wont be notified of updates. It can restore those links too. Beyond those it has more feature I have no explorer myself, so I will stop here.

5. 4EXT Recovery (Free/Paid). If you want to install new ROM's, Radio's or themes on your phone, you will need a recovery program. My favorite is 4EXT Recovery. You can install 4EXT Recovery using a free updater. You need to boot into recovery to access 4EXT Recovery. After selecting Recovery with your volume and power buttons, it has a nice touchscreen interface. You also get a paid version, 4EXT Recovery, which allows you pre-set from the phone UI itself what you want it to do, so the phone will reboot itself into recovery, 4EXT will execute what you asked it to, and the phone will reboot back into Android. In addition, 4EXT makes all this safe with a built in md5sum checker.

Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" Flash Support

Adobe does not officially support Flash Player on Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. But actually Adobe Flash can run on Android 4.1. XDA Developers (who else) has a guide on how to install Adobe Flash on your Android 4.1 device.  You can find the instructions and the Flash Player download at this link.

You won't get Flash Player support on the Google Chrome browser, since the Chrome browser no longer support Flash. 

Apple stops claiming Mac is virus proof - It is high time you get some protection.

"Apple quietly quits claiming that its Mac OS X is virus proof" reports GSM Arena. 

The change regards the marketing messages on Apple’s website, which highlight the qualities of the Mac operating system. The overly confident “It doesn’t get PC viruses” statement has been replaced by a rather more humble “It is built to be safe”. Also, the “Safeguard your data. By doing nothing” slogan has been replace with “Safety. Built in.” You can check out the difference between the two descriptions in the image below.

Image from Sophos

I think it is high time that you get some Anti-Virus protection on your Mac, if you still have not gotten one. Just a few months ago, 670,000 computers were affected by malware, 98% of them running Apple's Mac OSX.

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition has been installed on my MacBook Air for eighteen months now. It quietly works in the background, so I do not even know that it is there. Given how much Sophos' enterprise oriented anti-virus costs, I am pretty amazed they have a Mac OSX version for free.

Another free solution is Avast Ant-Virus for Mac. 

Free Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition download page

avast! Free Anti-Virus for Mac

I have not tried Avast's Mac OSX software. I am very happy with the Sophos' offering and really so no reason to switch. If you try the avast! Free Anti-Virus for Mac, feedback would really be appreciated. Two free apps by well regarded companies. I really do not see any reason why you should not run one of this two security suites. 

Summer Solistice sale at Google Play - Discounted apps!

In celebration of the longest day of the year, the Summer Solistice, Google is have a sale on selected apps:

•     Jamie's 20 Minute meals
•     Draw Something
•     Blue Hat, Green hat
•     Shazam Encore
•     mSecure
•     Mini Motor Racing
•     Order & Chaos Online
•     Clouds & Sheep Premium
•     Alarm Clock by doubleTwist
•     NBA Jam
•     RepliGo PDF Reader
•     Guns'n'Glory WW2
•     Flight Track
•     Moo, Baa, La La La!
•     Mass Effect: Infiltrator
•     Grand Theft Auto III

The sale is only for one day, so grab then while they are hot. View the apps on sale at Google Play at this link.

Thanks Box!

What can I say? Thanks Box! 

A few months ago I signed up with Box, and they gave me 50 GB's of cloud storage for free.  A few days ago they allowed me the use of their desktop Box sync application. 

After manually uploading 12.1 GB's of files through the web interface, with another 18 GB to go, this utility will make the job much easier.

Box is an online file sharing and Cloud content management service for enterprise companies. The company has adopted a freemiumbusiness model, and provides 5GB of free storage. However, Box has from time to time offered as much as 50 GB's free. While their focus is on the enterprise, the average Joe can benefit from their enterprise grade services too.

If you have not tried Box, check it out at this link.

More Fun in the Philippines apps

It has been more than six months since this tourism initiative began, but it never grows old, and there is not reason to let it too. This Philippine Department of Tourism campaign, is in a word, brilliant. 

Mobile phone apps exist which make creating "More fun in the Philippines" meme really easy. Apple iPhone users can use Jay Q's More Fun in the Philippines app. Android users have been using Hananeel's More Fun in the Philippines app for some time.

The latecomer is Micheal C. Perez's More Fun in the Philippine's Android app. But it is the most powerful of the three with support for landscape and portrait, pinch to adjust font size, drag to position text, rotate image, edit text color and edit text alignment is gives you more options than the others.

I have has a few issues in sharing. Sharing on Gmail causes a forced close error, but was able to share on Dropbox. The drag text to position feature does not seem to work when the photo is in landscape more, but their are on screen controls to move the text around so it is not a biggie. All-in-all, the bugs are minor annoyances and this is my favorite app for creating "More Fun in the Philippines" meme's.

Click on the links above to go to iTunes or Google Play, and help promote your own country.

If you know of other similar apps, please leave a comment here.