What is a QR code and why are they important?

QR code sample (goes to www.google.com)

We have all seen QR codes popping up since smartphones have been becoming mainstream.  These codes can be found in many places - including fliers, museums, business cards, t-shirts, billboards, and many others.  Why are these codes special; and what can they offer for marketers (including individual use)?  This blog posts hopes to demystify these icons and share the many practical uses for them.

Best Travel Apps

Memorial Day

As we commemorate all the Soldiers that fought and continue to fight for our freedom, Memorial Day tends to be the weekend families take their first summer vacation and many college students capitalize on their new found summer freedom!  If you are a resident of Washington, you probably travel east of the mountains and visit places such as Moses Lake, Lake Chelan, and the like.  If you're not, you probably travel somewhere that is either a tradition or a special destination.  But what apps are available for your summer vacations?

What is the Facebook Camera?

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg went around his board's back to shell out one billion dollars for an application that didn't generate any revenue, many of us were confused. I was at least. It's the same thing as buying a fancy car that won't take you to work in my opinion. But yesterday, Facebook released it's Facebook Camera App that's the mirror image of Instagram. If you can't beat 'em, buy em!

Extreme Skater available on Android and iPhone May 24th

Extreme Skater header image

The much anticipated game "Extreme Skater" will be available on the Google Play and the App Store™ store tomorrow!  This game was created by Miniclip - a company that currently has the world's largest website for online games and boasts more than 65M players per month.

Google Plans To Acquire Motorola Mobility

Google + Motorola Mobility

The mobile wars continue.  Google in and of itself an empire.  It is the dominate search engine over Yahoo and Bing.  Google has many extensions of their company from Google PayPass, AdWords, Ad Sense, Offers, and they are even in the mobile market with their Android phones.  Their recent purchase of the Android Market was the talk of the internet when Android users couldn't find their Android Market (because Google changed it to "Google Play").  So what is next for Google?

Is there a limited time for unlimited?

How many of you use your smartphone for just about everything online, like checking email, facebook, using apps, and well just about anything? Odds are that most of you are. And why shouldn't you? The concept of having practical usable internet most anywhere in the world has been one of the most phenomenal developments of the new millenium. 

Texting and Walking

Sometimes it is plain funny to watch someone walk into someone or something when they are using their mobile devices... Just watch the video below:



However, texting and walking has become a new pedestrian hazard - which some people are reporting to be just as dangerous as texting and driving.  Sure, you may think it is funny when one of your friends runs into a pole, wall, or other object while they are distracted by their phone, but is there a further concern to this practice?

Facebook Under Investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Instabook or Facetagram?

In an earlier post, Your Mobile Life discussed a major purchase that was the talk of the town - the Facebook and Instagram deal.  Well, now that major purchase is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.  But why?  If the price tag didn't alarm them, nothing would have.

For the moms

Let me start off by saying thank you to my own mother, who I know has not been the same since giving birth to me. Thank you for being sick as a dog for nine months, then frustrated for the next two hundred and fifty seven. Thank you for using a wooden spoon instead of a baseball bat, for making sure I made my sheets every day before I left to visit friends, for making me put in an application for Army ROTC, and for the laundry. For you men out there, give a big hug and a smooch to your mom this Sunday. Even if she's mean to you, remember, in the words of Bill Cosby, that she "brought you into this world, and can take you right out."

So besides lavishing your mom with gifts (remember that Mother's day is on Sunday if you live under a rock, or about to be) there are some ways that you can make her life a bit more manageable, all located on her phone.

Flixel Gives Smartphone Users the Power of Cinemagraphs

Flixel logo

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images have always been a way of bridging the divide between a still shot image and an animation.  However, there has never been a way to have a still image that allows for a still image to have a section of it animated (such as the eyes of a person) - at least not until now.  Flixel, a free application available only for the iPhone, gives smartphone owners the ability to create their own beautiful cinemagraphs.  Pioneered by fashion photographers Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, cinemagraphs take the concept of GIF images and add it to a unique canvas - freezing part of an image and letting the rest play through an endless loop.  This app gives both design fanatics and average iPhone users the opportunity to create and share like never before.

MasterCard Introduces the PayPass

In an early post, we introduced PayPal's payment innovation and the Google Wallet, but now MasterCard is quickly following in their footsteps.  Today, MasterCard introduced their PayPass Service, which has three components: the PayPass Acceptance Network, PayPass Wallet, and the PayPass API.  These three components combined help streamline your shopping experience - making the process quick and easy.  

Drop it like it's...a phone?

Ever get frustrated? Bad Question. How often are you frustrated? If you're like me, you can get frustrated by all the annoying things that come along with life: coworkers not calling you back, getting emails that really yank your chain, or when you get that text that nobody can hang out. It just makes you want to curb stomp that little mobile device. So what do you do?

Well this device from Sonim can take that beating. While it's not a smartphone by any means (so you can't use Facebook) it's something that I would seriously consider purchasing. Coming in at a hefty $525, which isn't too off from buying the new iPhone 4S, Sonim boasts that the XP3300 can withstand a beating: "[water] 2 meters deep is no challenge for this IP-68 rated, water and dust proof handset, which can also be dropped from 2 meters onto concrete. The 2 inch high-resolution display is protected by a class leading 1.5mm thick Corning® Gorilla® Glass lens for the highest scratch and shock resistance." Sounds tough to me. If you doubt it, just take a look at the video.

Cell phone flasks: giving a new meaning to drunk dialing

Most people carry a cell phone around nowadays.  These devices are probably the only things that don't get a second glance when passing through security at bars, clubs, events, or games.  On the other hand, alcohol is one of the most difficult items to get into an event with extra screening (pat-downs, metal detectors, etc.).  For the party animals that feel the need to have a continuous buzz throughout the night, they may be faced with options that aren't quite satisfactory - including drinking heavily beforehand or emptying their wallets on overpriced venue drinks.  Many people settle for these options.  However, some ingenious inventors have devised flasks intended to fool security and allow people to waltz right into an event bearing their booze of choice.  While I am not an advocate sneaking alcohol into events, I feel that these creative products (or concepts) were worth featuring in our mobile technology blog; and they would make a great gift for college friends or family.