Snapchat is reportedly finalizing an acquisition of Vurb, a search app for smartphones, for well over $100 million in stock and cash, according to The Information. Exactly what Snapchat plans to do with the five-year-old startup isn't clear; Vurb markets its app as a convenient tool for searching, discovering trending topics, and carrying out tasks like making reservations and hailing Uber / Lyft without hopping between several different apps. Here's a writeup The Next Web did on the service last year....
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Snapchat is reportedly buying a search app for over $100 million 0
August 16th at 1:29am / The Verge / 0 opinions -
CVS continues Apple Pay snub, launches barcode-based 'CVS Pay' 0
August 12th at 4:11am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsNearly two years after CVS became one of the first major retailers to actively block Apple Pay at its stores, the drugstore chain on Thursday rolled out "CVS Pay," a proprietary barcode-based mobile payments and rewards system.
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Apple focuses on app monetization in latest Developer Insights installment 0
August 4th at 2:51am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsHome improvement startup Houzz is the focus of Apple's latest Developer Insights series, which highlights the impact mobile apps, and Apple Pay integration in particular, have on creating a successful monetization model.
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Apple to introduce purchase recommendations in revamped Apple Store app 0
July 29th at 1:11am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsApple is working on a new version of its Apple Store app for iOS that will provide customers with personalized product recommendations based on their purchase history, according to a report published Thursday.
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Walmart Pay now available at all Walmart locations in US 0
July 7th at 1:31am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsWalmart on Wednesday announced it recently completed the nationwide rollout of in-house mobile payments service Walmart Pay, a system promised to one day support third-party digital wallets like Apple Pay.
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Apple Pay promotion offers discounts, rewards on select in-app purchases 0
July 2nd at 1:11am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsAs part of a recently launched iOS App Store promotion, select third-party retailers like Hotel Tonight, Uber, Grubhub and Ticketmaster are discounting in-app purchases processed through Apple Pay.
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Apple gives away iPhone drawing app 'Procreate Pocket' through Apple Store app 0
June 30th at 9:31am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsApple selected popular iPhone drawing app Procreate Pocket as its latest paid app giveaway on Wednesday, making the former App Store Editors Choice and App Store Best of 2015 title available for free from the Apple Store app for iOS.
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Spotfund makes micro-donations easier with social-first mobile app 0
June 14th at 2:03am / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsLiking or sharing a charity online might help raise awareness, but what a lot of campaigns that go comprehensively viral really need is cold, hard cash. Launched this week, Spotfund has created a site and an iOS app that makes raising $1-$3 donations far easier than before. “Making an impact isn’t about the size of your wallet,” Spotfund’s CEO says.
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iOS 10 will allow deleting first-party apps cluttering homescreens 0
June 14th at 12:31am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsAnswering a long-standing complaint, iOS 10 will finally let people delete apps native to the operating system, potentially clearing up both storage and homescreen space.
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Winnie helps parents find family-friendly places, share their experiences 0
June 9th at 9:03pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsA new mobile app called Winnie is launching today to make parents’ lives a little easier, by offering information about nearby kid-friendly places, as well as detailing what sort of facilities for families a location may have – like stroller access, quiet areas to nurse, changing tables, restrooms, and more. The idea is to make going out with your little ones less stressful…
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T-Mobile offers free stock, pizza, movie rentals, and more in latest Uncarrier promotion 0
June 6th at 11:02pm / Macworld / 0 opinionsT-Mobile's Uncarrier 11 promotion thanks its customers with free Dominos, free frosties, even a free ticket to Warcraftâsome of which will happen every Tuesday.
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Foursquare is remaking itself as a bot 0
May 25th at 12:29am / The Verge / 0 opinionsWe may be getting a new way to use Foursquare. The location-based recommendation company today announced Marsbot, an iOS app for the service that aims to provide tips for where to eat and drink in the moment. "Our goal: create a product that tells you where to eat or drink before you think to ask for it," the company said in a blog post. "It would deliver contextually aware, proactive recommendations for awesome food and nightlife spots via the simplest communications channel possible: text."...
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ICE Contact can ping your friends after you go missing 0
May 10th at 2:43pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsICE Contact takes a fresh take on emergency messaging apps. It uses ‘delayed messages’ to tell your friends something’s gone wrong if you don’t return when you planned to — even if you are out of mobile phone coverage areas. Create a message and a time to send; if you make it back to base in one piece, you can cancel it, if not, your contact network is alerted to…
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9 special experiences to share with long-distance moms 0
April 30th at 2:05pm / Mashable / 0 opinionsNone involve a text message, so don't even ask.
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Tinder Social alarms users by showing Facebook friends 0
April 28th at 6:02pm / Macworld / 0 opinionsTurns out some people want to keep their online dating habits private.
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Philips' Hue app gets way better with an overhauled design and new features 0
April 28th at 9:49am / The Verge / 0 opinionsPhilips' Hue app has always been a little rough around the edges, but today that changes as Philips releases an update that both overhauls how it looks and adds in much-needed features to make the system far more useful....
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Apple Store app's 3D Touch support expanded with Peek and Pop previews 0
April 22nd at 3:11am / AppleInsider / 0 opinionsIn an update to its official Apple Store app on Thursday, Apple rolled out support for Peek and Pop 3D Touch gestures, a feature that lets users seamlessly preview products, images and other in-app assets.
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Honeyfund launches app to crowdfund your honeymoon 0
April 21st at 10:03pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsA lot of people live with the idea that life is about experiences rather than things. A firm subscriber of that philosophy is Honeyfund — a company whose new Honeyfund app helps newlyweds bankroll their honeymoon, rather than stocking their house with half a dozen different bread makers.
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Learn how to, like, communicate better with this app 0
April 18th at 2:45pm / Mashable / 0 opinionsHow many times did you say "you know" in that job interview?
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5 awesome apps every driver should download 0
April 15th at 10:05pm / Mashable / 0 opinionsFrom finding the best driving roads to the cheapest gas, these apps will improve car ownership.
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These two apps let you pretend you actually handwrote that greeting card 0
April 11th at 7:23pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsGetting a hand-written note in the mail today is a rare treat, as most of our communications have gone digital. Another reason for this? Our penmanship has massively suffered as we spend more time typing, and less writing with pen and paper.I mean, sure, I could send you a note right now – but could you actually read it? Highly doubtful.Fortunately, a pair of mobile applications, Felt…
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How, when, and where to preorder the iPhone SE 0
April 5th at 7:42pm / Macworld / 0 opinionsPreorders are happening right now.
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Palaround lets anyone build their own Tinder-like app 0
April 1st at 10:03pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsPalaround began its life as one of what’s now many companies attempting to be the “Tinder for finding friends” – a list that now includes Tinder’s dating app rival, Bumble, in fact. But recently, the startup began rolling out a new product focused instead on bringing the Tinder swipe model to private organizations. A pivot from the earlier general purpose…
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Pay celebs to text or video message you with TipTalk 0
March 28th at 10:43pm / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsIt wasn’t worth it for celebrities to respond to their endless digital fan mail until now. TipTalk lets them set a price for a private text, photo, or video response. The idea is that in their downtime, they could forge deeper relationships with their audience while earning enough to warrant at least a few seconds of their attention.Considering how the public comment reels light up…
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Find runway fashions with these apps 2
March 22nd at 7:03am / TechCrunch / 0 opinionsSpring is here, which means it’s time to put away those coats and get out those dresses. But is your wardrobe still in style? Fashionistas, take note. These apps will help you find the latest styles.Moda OperandiStraight from fashion week, Moda Operandi makes it easy to shop the runway on its iPhone app. The team compiles the outfits seen at the shows and makes it easy to preorder…