Tag: New App

Google has launched an all new personal security app, Google Trusted Contacts.  As the name suggests, Trusted Contacts allows you to designate friends or family contacts as trusted where you can send them your location information or they can request it in case of an emergency.  The app allows your friends or family to see your activity, including your location and online activity, and determine if you are okay.  If they have not heard from you for a while, they can request your location information.  If you reply or deny the request, your contacts are notified that you are okay.  If you don’t respond within 5 minutes however, your location is automatically sent to your designated contacts so they can reach out to you or contact emergency services.

Microsoft has rolled out yet another new app for Android today that brings quick and easy copying of text from one app to another.  Clip Layer allows you to copy a page or section of text from one app by pressing and holding the Home button on your phone, then opening another app and copying that text to that app.  While Android natively has the ability to do this on most apps, Clip Layer makes it very easy with just simple taps to copy sections of text instead of having to tap-and-drag.  Plus, the app has the ability to take that copied text and share it with others right from within the app.

The magic of how the app works is within the Assistant settings of Android.  By allowing the app to become your Device Assistance app, that enabled the Home button to become the trigger for copying text.

OnePlus has had an active community of users and fans since their break into the market a couple of years back.  There is likely no better example of that community then the company’s user forums.  They are always teeming with activity, from those who are seeking help and those providing it, to company announcements about new software updates and hardware.  On the OnePlus 3, their latest phone, built into OxygenOS was a community forums app so users could get quick help or provide help right from their phone.  Now that app has made its way to the Play Store for anyone to install on their phones.

Some eleven months after it was made available for iOS users, Microsoft Selfie has finally hit the Google Play Store for Android devices.  The app is aimed at giving you some filtering options for photos you take with the app or selfies that you have in your camera roll.  While the selfie camera app-meets-filter app is not something new, this app does a pretty good job.  With each filter in the app you can adjust the intensity and there are 12 different filters that you can apply to your photos.  There is also a preview button that you can tap and hold to see the photo with and without the applied filter.

Last May at Google I/O, the company announced a new video calling app, Google Duo.  That app was promised at some point this summer and today it has hit the Play Store as a free download.  The app lets you place a video call to any of your contacts who have Duo and provides a seamless and great video experience.  One of the key features of the app is that it gives a video preview of the person who is calling or you are calling so you can see who it is and what they may be wanting to have a video call with you about before you answer.

After months of waiting, the official Starbucks app for Windows Phone has been released.  The app, similar to the one available for Android and iOS, allows you to pay for your coffee or food items at participating shops with your phone.  This is done by providing a barcode which is connected to your Starbucks account (which in turn is tied to a credit card) that is displayed on your phone and scanned at the register.  It is quick and simple and as one who has been using their app on other platforms, it is about time it got to Windows Phone!