The Mobile App Icon Quiz
Think you know mobile apps in and out? Then this is the quiz for you. Can you identify the mobile apps behind the icons below?
Answers can now be found in the comment section.
Top Ten Mobile Apps For Valentine’s Day
Today is Valentine’s Day. You haven’t forgotten, have you? Last minute plans for Valentine’s Day can be difficult to arrange, but don’t worry, we have you covered. If you’re worried that you’ll only get to the store in time to get a bunch of wilted roses, melted chocolate or crumbled cookies, here are some iPhone applications that will make you look more like Clark Gable, and less like Clark Griswold.
1. Cookie Doodle ($0.99) – This app allows you to prepare virtual heart shaped chocolate chip cookies covered in sprinkles. There’s even a text tool that allows you to write a special message for that special someone. This app is ten times better than burning the house down trying to bake… and a hundred times better than accidently poisoning your girlfriend.
2. Instant Poetry ($1.99) – Do you find yourself tongue tied every time you see the girl of your dreams? Instant Poetry helps you out – tap a button and rearrange the words that pop up on the screen until you’re happy with your poetic masterpiece, and then send it straight to your Valentine. They’ll be blown away by your romantic words. Just don’t panic when they expect you to be romantic in person as well…
3. Star Walk ($2.99) – What could be more romantic than gazing at the stars? But how much better would it be if you knew which constellation was which? Star Walk allows you to point your iPhone at the sky, and see which constellations and stars you are looking at. Now you can be romantic and smart at the same time!
4. Send eFlowers ($0.99) – What girl doesn’t love to get flowers? Using this app, you can send her flowers virtually. They may not be quite as good as the real thing, but they’ll keep you out of trouble until you pick up real roses for her later!
5. Valentines Radio (Free) – Check out this collection of romantic radio stations. This app gathers together radio stations with the best compilation of love songs – and if your favorite isn’t here, just email them and have them add it. This is way better than just putting your iPod on shuffle and hoping that “Baby Got Back” doesn’t come on.
Mobile App Testing…for Sexually Transmitted Infections?
That’s right, developers in the UK are working an a mobile app that would allow patients to test themselves for sexually transmitted infections. Here’s the story from The Guardian:
Mobile phones and computers will soon be able to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases under innovative plans to cut the UK’s rising rate of herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhoea among young people.
Doctors and technology experts are developing small devices, similar to pregnancy testing kits, that will tell someone quickly and privately if they have caught an infection through sexual contact.
People who suspect they have been infected will be able to put urine or saliva on to a computer chip about the size of a USB chip, plug it into their phone or computer and receive a diagnosis within minutes, telling them which, if any, sexually transmitted infection (STI) they have. Seven funders, including the Medical Research Council, have put £4m into developing the technology via a forum called the UK Clinical Research Collaboration.
No word yet on which OS this would be available on, but since iPhone users have more sex than others, we can only make assumptions.
As we’ve said a thousand times before, as people increase their reliance on mobile technology, testers will have to assume the role of guardian – protecting users from the ill-effects of faulty software. Imagine the lawsuits that will (surely) result from a misdiagnosis?
Better to play it safe and get tested.
The Time Traveling Mobile App Tester
This story was blowing up on the web last week: An Irish filmmaker claims to have spotted a time traveler – that’s right, a time traveler – in an old Charlie Chaplin movie circa 1928. What would prompt someone to make such an outrageous claim you ask? Apparently, it was the cell phone that gave her away (pictured right). Amateur time travelers…
Now, if I were to employ Occam’s Razor, I would say the most plausible explanation is that the device in question is actually a hearing aid, as claimed by numerous internet commentators. But since the person in the picture is clearly a time traveler, we must ask ourselves: What in the world is she doing with a cell phone in 1928!?! And who is she talking to?
My theory is that our time traveling friend is a mobile application tester. Hear me out.
Smartphone Users: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Posted on 11/05/2010 in Android App Testing, Blackberry App Testing, iPhone App Testing, Mobile App Testing, Variety Hour by Mike Brown
The first rule of usability testing is “Know Thy User.” This is true regardless of what type of application you are testing, whether it be a CRM platform, an online retail site and especially mobile applications. We present this image from TechCrunch to help all you mobile app testers out there better understand your users.
The Niche Apps Market: Top 5 Apps for Moms
For those who have been following the rapid proliferation of mobile apps, you may have spotted a new trend among leading developers. Instead of trying to create the Holy Grail of all apps, developers are now coming out with apps hoping to penetrate more niche markets rather than the entire Apposphere. (Apposphere: the entire virtual world of mobile apps. Registered Trademark).
With more than 7 billion apps available in 2009 and more than 50 billion expected to be downloaded by 2012 (according to a study by GetJar – an independent mobile phone application store) getting your app found in such a crowded market is like the proverbial needle in a hay-stack. Except the stack is more like a mountain.
So developers have realized the best way for an app to catch on – is with buzz. And to create a buzz you need people who love your app. And for people to love your app you need apps that speak to them. It’s a simple formula really: App + Love = Buzz x People ∞. App – Love = 0 Buzz / Chapter 11.
Like a good piece of gossip at the hairdresser, apps for moms in the digital age are becoming even more popular than a weekly mani/pedi.
Here are the top 5 apps for a mom on the go:
Sanitize Your Mobile Phone
With this cool product featured on uncrate.com:
Have you heard that your average phone carries 18 times more bacteria than a flush handle in a typical men’s restroom? We have, and that’s why we’re dropping our iPhones into a Violight UV Cellphone Sanitizer ($50). This health-saving device uses germicidal UV light to destroy up to 99.9% of all surface bacteria hanging out on your handset, without any warranty-voiding solutions, sprays, or wipes. As for getting rid of software-based bugs, you’re on your own.
