Facebook’s Private Photo-Sharing App Moments Now Supports Video

 Facebook’s Moments, the social network’s private photo-sharing application – and replacement for photo syncing – will now support video-sharing, the company announced today. The new feature is live in the updated version of the Moments mobile application for iOS and Android devices. In a few weeks, Facebook says that Moments will also allow users to include videos… Read More

Google Maps Brings Its “Add A Pit Stop” Feature To iOS

 Last fall, Google announced the addition of a long-requested feature to Google Maps, which allowed users to – finally! – add a stop along their current route. That way you could route your way to a gas station or restaurant ahead of your final destination. However, at launch, the feature was only available on Android devices. Today, Google says the feature is now available on all… Read More

Monetizing Mobile Gaming

 The mobile gaming industry made $29 billion in 2015 — and it is only set to continue growing (with estimates as high as $49 billion by 2018). But the mobile gaming industry is in the “wild west” phase of its history right now, with the constant improvement of mobile devices and so many variables to successful monetization. Though it’s difficult to know exactly what… Read More

HTC Hints It’s Looking At Mobile VR

 Despite not unboxing a new high end smartphone at Mobile World Congress this week, embattled mobile maker HTC has told TechCrunch it’s not ready to admit premium defeat — saying it has a new flagship device coming soon… Read More

Color Switch Falls To The No. 2 Games Slot (But Is Still As Addictive As Ever)

 Did you hear about that crazy-popular game that sat in the No. 1 Games spot on iTunes for more than a month and a half? I’ll give you a hint, it has color in the title. Color Switch is a tap-based obstacle game that adds an additional level of difficulty because you are constantly changing colors. The game offers three modes: race, challenge and continuous play. And if you are feeling… Read More

Highlights From Mobile World Congress 2016

 This week, we went to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2016. We covered a panel about mobile ad blocking, Mark Zuckerberg talked about Free Basics and encryption, Samsung announced the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, we went hands on with the modular LG G5, and oh, by the way, tablets are dead. Here’s everything you need to know from the event. Read More

Venmo Kills Off Developer API With Zero Warning

 This is not how you run a platform. Developers remember. Pull the rug out from under them once, and they’ll be reluctant to stand with you in the future. So despite having a record-setting January with $1 billion transferred in its peer-to-peer payments app, Venmo just shot itself in the foot. After six years of providing an API for developers to build experiences atop its money… Read More

Luxe Is Raising Tens Of Millions In A Big New Funding Round From Hertz

 Luxe is in talks with a strategic investor that will infuse the company with “tens of millions” in new financing from Hertz, our sources tell us. Our understanding is that the round is still in negotiations — and, of course, could change at any time — but one source says the round could be as high as $50 million. The Information also reported that the funding round… Read More

Spark, The Mailbox Alternative, Lands On The iPad

 Spark, the email program that is set to replace the ever-popular but defunct Mailbox, has landed on the iPad and iPad Pro, a move that should please email power users. The app features a number of popular features including read later and mailbox organization. However, the system also creates read receipts and allows you to send emoticon replies to messages. The app has been updated to… Read More

Tablets Are Dead

 In 2010, tablets were supposed to be the new hot thing. Apple released the first iPad, Samsung was working on the Galaxy Tab and countless of others were about to flood the market with Android tablets. Six years later, there wasn’t any tablet at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Companies and consumers have moved on — tablets are dead. Read More

Facebook Officially Launches Canvas Ads That Load Full-Screen Rich Media Pages In-App

 Instant Articles, meet Instant Ads. Facebook wants to give advertisers an immersive way to reach people without making them leave the social network. So today it officially launched its ad Canvas. When users click a Facebook ad, it opens a full-screen, rich media page inside of Facebook rather than forcing users to wait for a mobile website to load. Last year Facebook started testing… Read More

Jide’s Slick Remix OS Tweaks Android For PC-Style Productivity

 A startup comprised of a trio of ex-Google engineers is doing something Google has roundly failed to do: make Android compelling on larger screen devices like tablets and even PCs. Read More

Drawbridge Is Building A Business Beyond Ad Targeting

 Drawbridge isn’t just an ad-tech company anymore. We’ve written about how the company, which is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital, has built technology to determine when the same person is using multiple devices — so data from one device can be used (in an anonymized way) to target ads another. However, CEO Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan said that… Read More