Your Own Personal Magazine – Feedly

Posted on 21. Feb, 2012 by dfloyd in Apps, android, iOS

Feedly is one of best solutions I’ve seen for tracking news, blogs and website updates. It delivers the content you want to follow in a format that looks a lot like your own personal magazine. Plus, it will sync across multiple platforms, so whether you’re on the phone, a tablet, your computer or a public device, you can instantly see the news you want, save the news your want to revisit and share the stories you want to broadcast to the world.

Here’s a quick run-down of the features I like:

1. Feedly Supports Multiple Platforms
On most days, I alternate between an iPhone, an Android tablet and a Macbook Pro. I downloaded the Feedly app for my iPhone and Android, and I added the Feedly extension to my Chrome and Firefox browsers (it also has an extension for Safari).

2. Feedly Can Be Easily Customized
Changing Feedly is easy and fast. I simply click on my name in the upper right corner and select Organize, Themes or Preferences. Organize gives me the option to drag and drop feeds between categories or move entire categories into order of priority. Themes offer a choice between different color themes. Preferences allows me to choose start page content, default layout, Facebook feeds, Twitter feeds and more. The moment I make a selection, Feedly saves the change.

3. Instant Sync Across Devices
From reading articles to bookmarks to design changes, one change in Feedly is instantly appears on all devices.

4. Feedly Suggests Content
Whether you’re researching a topic, look for good sources of new content, trying to match some of your preferences or simply wanting to subscribe to an RSS, Feedly makes it fast and easy. Click on “Explore” and you get a snapshot of the sites that the editors at Feedly like. Simply choose the “+” sign by any topic or feed to subscribe.

If you have a site that you’d like to follow, type in the name of the site, and Feedly will search for a corresponding feed. Choose from the results, and it displays a layout based on the feed. You can decide to “follow” from the site page.

You can search via hashtag (#) to customize recommendations. Either enter # and search term in the search box (like #news), or click on one of the feeds you currently subscribe and then click again on the hashtag that is just below the title. Feedly suggests related feeds that may interest you.

5. Share Feedly
Send a favorite article to your Read It Later, Instapaper or Evernote account,  or share the article with social sites like Facebook or Twitter. Feedly offers a wide selection of forwarding choices.

Shop and Drop Wherever You Go

Posted on 08. Feb, 2012 by dfloyd in Apps, android, iOS

Whether wrestling alligators in Louisiana, running the Bulls in Pamplona, or diving with the sharks in Cape Town, you always want to be ready when that urge to shop hits. Be prepared by downloading some of these shopping apps to your smartphone now.

EBay
One of the most popular and highly rated shopping apps, the eBay app comes with everything you need to search, watch, shop and sell on this worldwide marketplace. You’re always ready to bid on that Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox, those emerald beetle earrings, or the steampunk goggles for your mom. eBay for Android or iOS (iPhone/iPad).

Amazon and Google Shopper
Shopping should be as easy as snapping a picture, scanning a bar code, speaking a product or actually typing a word. At least Google and Amazon would like it to be that easy. Their respective apps can price compare from multiple vendors; sell you new, used or refurbished product; and keep multiple wishlists. Amazon Mobile for iOS; Amazon Mobile for Android; Google Shopper for iOS or Android.

Shopkick
We all deserve rewards for shopping don’t we? Shopkick says, “We sure do!” So they give us prizes for just walking some stores. With Shopkick, you can get gift cards, donate to charities, and turn shopping sprees into your own personal game show. Shopkick for Android or iOS.

Key Ring Rewards Care
I’ve got an old plastic cassette tape case in my car. It’s filled with reward cards for gas, coffee, bread, groceries, clothes and more. With the Key Ring Rewards Card app, I can kiss the memory of cassettes goodbye forever. This app scans in all my cards so that no matter where I’m shopping, I’ve got their reward card. Hey wait a minute, this makes me think of Shopkick. With all these rewards, I’ll want to start shopping every day, hour, minute. Key Ring Rewards for Android or iOS.

Craigslist Mobile
Forget the bricks & mortar, I want to barter with my neighbors. Que the Craigslist folks. With the portable Craiglist app in my pocket, I’m ready to search for nearby deals on that weight set somebody got for Christmas and got tired of after Christmas. Last summer, New York Times suggested that this app is better than the actual web experience. Craigslist for iOS. Craigslist for Android.

Big Deal
What’s the big deal? That’s exactly right, “What is the big deal?” Apps like Groupon and LivingSocial deliver big deals to my pocket on services, products and restaurants that I simply have to try. Groupon for iOS or Android. LivingSocial for iOS or Android.

Shopping List
Make your list. Check it twice. Or ten times for that matter. I’ve found that a shopping list app is one of my top used tools on the smartphone. “What was it my wife told me to get at THE Walmart?” I’m always ready to find what I’m looking for with my handy shopping list. If you search shopping lists on Android or OS, you’re going to find a big bunch of shopping lists. So I’ll go ahead and tell you two of the top rated and most downloaded shopping list apps.

For Android try Shopping List by Fivefly. There’s a free version and paid version (ad free). With this app, you can organize, manage, add pictures, set quantities and even synchronize phone to phone.

For OS try Shopping List by Hensoft. There’s a free version and paid version. You can create, manage, sort, sync and share via email (paid), connect lists with stores (paid), and even create recipes.

Mobile Learning on the Rise

Posted on 10. Jan, 2012 by dfloyd in Apps, Mobile Applications, android, iOS

The use of online learning and mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) have both surged in recent years. Mobile learning represents the merging of these areas, combing the convenience of learning online with the versatility of mobile accessibility. This area is just beginning to grow, but there are already a range of mobile learning apps and several companies have already begun to embrace a mobile model for training employees.

According to the 2011 Survey of Online Learning, over six millions students and almost 1/3 of all higher learning students are taking at least one class online.[1] This demand is only expected increase in the coming years. As I’ve posted here before, smartphone sales have more than doubled over the past two years. In their 2012 trend report, Mind/Shift actually expects to see a greater integration of mobile devices with the classroom.[2]

Mobile Learners
A variety of applications have emerged to support the mobile learners through their smartphones and tablets. Real Simple Edu offers a wide range of course in math, science, medicine, business, law, english, languages and code. All their courses are designed to support iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry phone, Blackberry tablet, Kindle Fire, Nook, Nokia, and Palm phone or tablet.

Several companies like busuu.com have begun designing language learning tools. They offer a range of courses that be downloaded to a smartphone. Each course contains audio/visual elements, synchronization with online profile, and a range of tools that are accessible with no internet connection.

Dale Carnegie and Associates has developed their own app store with three leadership training modules and a secrets of success app as initial offerings. McGraw and Hill is offering a range of courses for children as well as adults, representing the diverse targets groups of their various companies. In addition to their children’s apps and medical apps, one interesting app is a public speaking primer that helps the user develop outlines, avoids common mistakes and time the speech.

Public Speaking Speech Prep - McGraw Hill

Training on the Go
Various companies have begun transferring training programs to the smartphone. In 2011, the Army’s Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) announced that they are in the process of opening instruction to mobile devices such as iPads, iPhones and Androids. This allows soldiers to continue training on specific courses while in the field instead of having to attend classroom instruction or study in a computer lab.[2]

Companies like Dashe & Thomson work with organizations to design training solutions for mobile devices. The mobile workforce can access specific training modules in multiple formats that best fit their learning habits. They can access ebooks, watch videos, listen to podcast or tap some combination of the three. Learner progress is tracked and can be uploaded manually by the user or automatically by the company.

[1] Erb, Michael. “Study: Online Classes More Popular.” News and Sentinel, January, 3, 2012.
[2] Watters, Audrey. “12 Education Tech Trends to Watch in 2012.” Mind/Shift, January 3, 2012 <http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/01/12-education-tech-trends-to-watch-in-2012/>.
[2] Army Looks To Use Mobile Devices For Medical Field Training. Broadband for America, January 28, 2011 <http://www.broadbandforamerica.com/blog/army-looks-use-mobile-devices-medical-field-training>

iTunes Match Launch Overwhelms Servers

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by dfloyd in android, iOS

Apple launched their new iTunes Match service today, which offers the ability to enjoy your entire media collection from any computer or iOs devices (iPhone, iPod, Apple TV). The immediate response was so overwhelming that Apple servers cannot meet the demand, and Apple is requesting users to check back.


Now that iTunes Match is available, the showcase showdown begins between Amazon Cloud Player, iTunes Match, Spotify and others. Each service has benefits and limitations. iTunes Match is not offered for Android devices; Amazon on the other hand, is available on Android but not iOs. While Spotify and other are available on both, they each have higher subscriptions costs. With the release of the Kindle Fire this week, the competition for streaming media is heating up.