The 20 mobile apps riding the new wave of location innovation

 

The SXSW festival in Austin has become something of a pilgrimage for social and/or location-based startups, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Twitter and Foursquare in using the event as a launchpad for success.

At the same time, the ease with which developers can create location-based services by tying into datasets and APIs from Google, Facebook, Foursquare and others is driving a burst of activity around location andapps, principally around iPhone and Android.

Here's a list of 20 apps that are part of this new wave of location innovation. All face the same three challenging questions: 1 How do they find an audience? 2 How do they make money? 3 If they're successful, how will they avoid being cannibalised by Facebook? Few have answers now, but this is nevertheless a snapshot of some of the more interesting ideas in the area.

 

Ditto (iPhone)

Rather than ask what you're doing right now, Ditto prompts you to update your plans for what you're about to do, and then get recommendations from friends for restaurants, films or attractions, hooking into Facebook's social graph.

 

Yobongo (iPhone)

Launching just in time for SXSW, Yobongo is all about location-based messaging, promising to help its users "get started communicating with people around you". For now, it only works in New York, Austin and San Francisco though.

 

Shadow Cities (iPhone)

Location-based games are enjoying a second wind on iOS and Android, with Shadow Cities the latest attempt to turn real-world cities into massively multiplayer games. Hugely popular in its native Finland, it's launching globally this year.

 

Lonely Planet Audio Walking Tours (iPhone)

Travel firm Lonely Planet recently launched five walking-tour apps based on central London. Covering the West End, Covent Garden, the City, Spitalfields and the Southbank, they tie audio to location, plotting walks on Google Maps.

 

Flowd (iPhone/Android/Nokia)

Flowd is another Finnish startup whose app starts with Foursquare-style check-ins, but then wraps music features around them. Users can follow bands' updates and tips, while uploading photos from gigs and entering contests.

 

StreetSpark (iPhone/Android)

Location-based dating has some challenges to overcome – specifically concern about stalking – but StreetSpark is one of a clutch of apps looking to hook singles up spontaneously. Its social matching process aims to ensure they hit it off, too.

 

Ask Around (iPhone)

Ask.com started life as the Ask Jeeves search engine, but its latest spinoff is a location-based conversation app. The emphasis is on questions and answers, with users able to tap into local knowledge when finding themselves somewhere unfamiliar.

 

Screach (iPhone / Android)

UK startup ScreenReach recently worked with Newcastle FC to allow fans at the club's stadium to vote for the man of the match using its Screach app. That's one use for Screach, but there are others – it can be used for coupons, content, voting and gaming.

 

Situationist (iPhone)

Situationist is less about meeting friends than it is about meeting strangers in surprising ways. Users choose from a selection of scenarios, from impromptu hugs to angry flashmobs, and then wait for other users to detect their presence and carry them out.

 

My Star (iPhone)

My Star is a collaboration between UK developer Mobile Pie and operator Orange. It's a social music game where players level up their character and jam with friends. The location aspect involves plastering virtual flyers in real-world locations.

 

View (iPhone)

Like Yobongo, View is an app making its debut at SXSW that currently only works in New York, San Francisco and Austin. Its focus is on discovering information and tips about nearby venues, tapping into the Foursquare and Google Places APIs.

 

Love Clean London (iPhone/Android/BlackBerry/Windows Phone 7)

Even London Mayor Boris Johnson has his finger in the apps pie, having announced this week a new initiative called Love Clean London. Its app aims to encourage citizen activism, as people report graffiti and other "environmental crimes" by uploading photos.

 

Short Stack App (iPhone)

Australian pop-punk band Short Stack are one of the first artists with their own social location app on iPhone. It lets fans check in to gigs Foursquare-style to earn points as part of the app's loyalty programme, which can then be exchanged for rewards.

 

payasUgym (iPhone)

The name says it all: payasUgym is all about buying one-off e-passes to use gyms, currently across London. Its iPhone app takes the process mobile, allowing users to search for local gyms on a map, and then buy an e-pass there and then to use them.

 

Localmind (iPhone)

Another startup hoping to make a splash at SXSW this year by splicing location with questions and answers. With Localmind users can see who is checked in to a specific venue via Foursquare, Facebook Places or Gowalla, and send them a question – with a points system to reward answers.

 

Broadcastr (iPhone/Android)

Broadcastr styles itself as providing "location-award audio and storytelling", and is making its debut at – you guessed it – SXSW. It lets people record audio clips and associate them to locations, for others to tune into when using the app in that spot.

 

RedRover (iPhone)

RedRover takes a more niche spin on the idea of a location-based social network, focusing purely on parents. With a slogan of "make playdates on the fly", it helps groups of friends with children to arrange impromptu meet-ups, while finding child-safe locations.

 

Heyo (iPhone/Android)

Heyo doesn't revolve around locations, but around events – parties, meetups, sports and so on. It ties in with Facebook and Twitter to provide calendar notifications. There is a location aspect though, with the app identifying friends' events in the user's vicinity.

 

Unsocial (iPhone/Android)

A lot of social location apps put their emphasis on partying, but there's arguably as great a need for business-focused apps too. Unsocial ties into LinkedIn to help people find relevant work contacts at events, such as conferences, including messaging features.

 

Hot Spots @ SXSW (iPhone/Windows Phone 7)

PR group Waggener Edstrom has its own SXSW app that aims to pinpoint the most popular events by crunching data from Foursquare check-ins. This idea of aggregating and analysing data from the bigger social location services is likely to fuel more apps in 2011.

That's our list of 20, now tell us what we've missed. What innovative and interesting location apps have you seen that you think have a shot at building a business? Which of the ones above do you think have legs? Join the debate by posting your thoughts.

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Fortifying Android Market Application Security: 11 Ways to Do It

 

Google faced one of its more serious attacks when developers laced 58 applications in the Android Market with malicious code. The programs, which Google quickly removed March 1, were intended to grab codes that identify mobile devices and determine the OS version running on a device. Google not only notified police of the attacks and suspended the developer accounts responsible for the suspicious "DroidDream" malware, but took the unusual step of engaging its kill switch. That is, the search engine remotely removed the offending applications from users' devices. It’s only the second time Google has taken such a step. As an open-source platform where Google lets developers write code with great freedom and flexibility, Android is an ideal target for malicious developers and hackers attempting to dupe people or simply mess around with the Android Market applications. Security experts weighed in with their thoughts on the matter. For this slide show, eWEEK talked to some of those experts, including software developers from security firms and analysts, to learn how Google can improve security in its Android Market for mobile phone and tablet users.

Sophos Backs Raising the Bar for Developers

Vanja Svajcer, one of the principal malware researchers at Sophos Labs, said Google should make it more difficult for people to become approved developers who can publish programs on the Android Market. Google currently charges $25 for developers to publish applications in the Market. "If it was $100 or $500, that would be more comparable to Apple, and may put off some of the mischief makers who are trying to introduce malware to the Android market," Svajcer told eWEEK.

Improve Security Assessments

Sophos' Svajcer also said Google should institute a better security-assessment process for applications published to the Android Market. This would include a reputation score for every application publisher as well as the ability to track requested permission changes for every application and to scan applications with antivirus products. "A big mistake, in my opinion, is the existence of alternative unofficial Android markets. This means that even if Google manages to keep its official Market clean, the problem will not go away. This is especially true of China, where most users are downloading from these unofficial markets.

Veracode Favors App Scanning

Veracode CTO Chris Wysopal said Google must verify code before it is available for customer download. "The halo effect of the app store distribution channel combined with the fact that many apps are from developers no one has ever heard of and the failure of the reputation model of policing means that validating app security before making them publicly available is the only way to lessen instances of malware. Signature-based scanning that PC software sites such as download.com perform is a must. Additionally, due to the intense security risk posed by spyware on mobile devices, malicious behavior scanning should also be performed."

Fix Kernel-Level Flaws

It's not just the applications. Wysopal said Android kernel flaws need to be fixed promptly and pushed out to all devices. Of course, users should only download applications from companies they know or applications that have been around for a while, paying attention to download count and the history of the application developer.

Better App-Testing Protocols

Gartner Research security analyst John Pescatore said, "The major thing Google needs badly to do is leapfrog Apple and make the Android Market have better security testing than Apple does for the Apple App Store. Google has been trying to attack the iPhone's lead in the exact opposite direction, by saying ‘Droid Does’ and having an Android Market that is totally wide open. This recent malware event is a direct result of that. Meanwhile, Google has also tried to misdirect attention to the shortcomings of the wide-open Android Market by pointing to sandboxing and other security features in the Droid OS that do absolutely nothing about many types of malware."

End ‘Wild West’ Approach to App Acceptance

Pescatore said Google's "wild, wild west" approach to Android is a losing strategy. "I have never once heard a Gartner client say ‘the iPhone app store is too restrictive’ or ‘there isn't an app for that.’ The reverse is true: I think a big part of the iPhone's success is that there are enough apps and the ones that are there are not dangerous."

BitDefender Backs Sandboxing

While Pescatore downplayed Google's "sand boxing" of applications, Catalin Cosoi, head of online threats at BitDefender, said Google did a great job when it developed Android and its sandboxing system because it makes it difficult for an application to interact with the other applications installed on the user's phone. However, free applications that require a lot of permissions and are able to steal information from a user's phone are quite easy to develop, without using complicated hacking techniques or advanced development skills. Google, Cosoi said, must double-check some of the applications that are submitted to the Android Market.

Build Android Security Apps

But beyond the obvious solutions of double-checking applications, there is a need for security vendors to create security applications for Android. "However, because of the sandboxing system, a security app will have the same privileges as a regular app, so it will just be able to notify the user that something is wrong, but the user will have to take the removal actions," Cosoi cautioned. These would be installed on users' Samsung Galaxy devices, Droid gadgets and other Android handsets.

Create Remote App Installation Alerts

Tim Armstrong, malware researcher for Kaspersky Lab, said Google needs to build a mechanism to alert users that an application from the store is being installed on their phones. "The current model which requires no approval on the device is inherently flawed. If an attacker can figure out a way to push an application, either through some remote flaw, replay attack or hacking into Google accounts, there is nothing to stop them from installing whatever they want without user consent," Armstrong added.

Check App Permission Requests

Echoing what others said before him, Armstrong said a review of submitted applications could also help. Checking applications for particular permission requests could go a long way toward ferreting out the bad guys. This could include things like a high, medium and low risk category.

Improve Patching to Resolve Android Fragmentation

As for the phones themselves, Armstrong noted that one of the major problems in Android security is applying security patches across different versions of Android. Because of this confusing platform fragmentation, there needs to be a more modular patching system. For example, platform fragmentation set the stage for DroidDream, which used two root exploits that could have already been patched in updates. They're both fixed in later versions such as 2.2.2. But at present, more than 40 percent of the devices in use are not running this version of the OS. An improved patching system would have aided greatly in protecting customers with older devices, he added.

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10 iPhone, iPad Apps to Help You Survive a Disaster

 

In light of the overwhelming destruction caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, all of us should all be taking a moment to consider how fragile our life on this planet is and how easily we can find ourselves at the mercy of Mother Nature. Whether it’s flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes or forest fires—not to mention all the other calamities that can occur—it is important to be aware of the risks you’re exposed to, especially where you live and where you work. More importantly, it is critical to have a plan on hand in case disaster strikes. While one might not consider turning to Apple’s App Store as a first line of defense, the site offers a vital selection of applications that can help you increase your knowledge of environmental disasters past and present, along with useful guides to help get you and your family out of a dire situation. There’s also help for small businesses that have to rely of themselves or their own IT administrator to recover from a disaster. As the Web continues to provide us with greater ability to converse and share information when other forms of communication fail, having a handheld escape plan might be a wise choice to make—especially if a nuclear power plant is involved in the crisis.

Emergency Supply List ($0.99)

Help may not always arrive as quickly as you need it, so prepare in advance with this checklist of items you’ll need in an emergency.

 

Disaster Alert (Free)

The Pacific Disaster Center provides a listing and interactive map of active hazards occurring around the globe.

 

iEarthquakes ($1.99)

Google Maps displays earthquakes occurring around the world in real-time, as well as magnitude and population of the area where the quake struck.

 

Disaster Survival ($0.99)

This guide provides information on how to prepare for a disaster and what to do when one strikes, including help for children and the disabled.

 

American Red Cross: Shelter View (Free)

The Red Cross runs this app, which provides maps and details of shelter facilities across the United States, with information updates every 30 minutes.

 

FloodWatch (Free)

Using data from the National Weather Service, this app monitors recent and historical river levels across the country.

 

Mobile REMM (Radiation Emergency Medical Management) (Free)

This app provides information about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation during radiological and nuclear emergencies and is produced by the Department of Health and Human Services and National Library of Medicine.

 

First Aid ($0.99)

Learn the basics on how to treat minor injuries with this app, which provides a list of tips and how to deal with burns, breaks and other injuries.

 

Skype (Free)

If the phone lines are down and power levels are spotty, a phone equipped with a VOIP (voice over IP) app such as Skype could be critical in getting your voice heard.

 

Flashlight Emergency ($0.99)

Be seen and heard in a crisis with this app, which also features a "Text to Morse Code" option that lets you send signals farther than your voice could carry.

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'Angry Birds Rio' Debuting Via Amazon App Store

The Android App Store has yet to officially launch, but one of its first apps will be "Angry Birds Rio," game developer Rovio confirmed Monday.

The new version of the popular game, which ties into the Twentieth Century Fox movie "Rio," will debut exclusively on the Android App Store. Amazon did not say when its App Store will launch, but Rovio said Angry Birds Rio will be available on March 22.

The Amazon App Store will also feature ad-free versions of Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons, Rovio said. The games are currently available for free on the Android Market with ads; Rovio did not say how much the ad-free versions will cost, but they are $0.99 via the Apple App Store.

"The Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and it's great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up," Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, said in a statement. "The openness of the Android platform works for the benefit of consumers and developers alike. It has been delightful to team up with Amazon to bring the Angry Birds franchise to this great new application marketplace."

Angry Birds Rio will launch with 60 levels, with more content to follow via app updates, Rovio said. It will also be released via the App Store for iOS users.

Amazon announced in January that it was building its own app store, opening a developer portal for those interested in creating apps for Android-based devices. Earlier this month, there were reportsthat the store would launch in late March, but Amazon has not yet made any announcements.

Amazon better make sure it can withstand the Angry Birds onslaught. When Rovio first launched the Android version of Angry Birds, it was distributed through independent app store GetJar. The overwhelming demand for the game, however, quickly took down the GetJar and Rovio Web sites, prompting Rovio to also offer Angry Birds via the Android Market.

Rovio announced plans for Angry Birds Rio in January. It will be released as a tie-in with the movie, which follows a macaw named Blu, who leaves his native Minnesota for Rio when he meets Jewel, the bird of his dreams. It will be in theaters starting April 15.

Rovio made headlines this weekend when "Mighty Eagle" Peter Vesterback was quoted at SXSW as saying that console games are dying. Rovio later tweeted that "the comment wasn't that console games [are] dying, [but] about the business model of shipping plastic discs. Digital wins."

Vesterback was "just saying [the] iPad3 and 4 will be out before next console generation," Roviotweeted in another message.

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