• Firmcoin – a new physical form of bitcoin – CoinDesk
  The most notable thing about digital currencies are that they rarely exist in the real world. Instead they are stored as data in computers or smartphones. Firmcoin is a new project that is attempting to create tamper-proof cards that can hold an arbitrary amount of BTC and will be scannable via NFC. 449 words
• Trezor now taking pre-orders for its hardware Bitcoin wallet – CoinDesk
  It’s been a day for reporting hardware incarnations of Bitcoin. First we had Firmcoins, and now we have the more established Trezor team taking pre-orders for its self-named Bitcoin wallet-cum-dongle. 181 words
• New prepaid credit card funded by bitcoins – CoinDesk
  Prepaid credit cards are not new. However, a prepaid credit card that can be funded with bitcoins is. We have just discovered TheBitcoinCard (.co.uk), which is a master card that can be funded via BTC. 263 words
• Feathercoin's Peter Bushnell: There's room for more crypto-currencies – CoinDesk
  Peter Bushnell is the founder and creator of Feathercoin, one of the latest digital currencies. We talked with him to learn more about Feathercoin’s origins and how to best mine the currency. 1306 words
• Butterfly Labs ship first Bitforce SC 60 bitcoin miner – CoinDesk
  While we have been reporting on late shipments of Bitcoin miners from Butterfly Labs, hope is on the horizon as the first of the new Single Bitforce SC (Super Computer) 60 GH/s units has been shipped from the Butterfly Labs HQ in Kansas. 370 words
• Israeli banks resisting bitcoin exchanges – CoinDesk
  It’s no secret that Bitcoin represents a huge change in the way we exchange money and that this challenges the established financial intuitions. That in turn has created a noticeable amount of push back from banks and governments. While the decentralized nature of bitcoin means that it cannot be shut down by any government of financial institution, they can make it difficult for people to purchase the currency in the first place. That would effectively restrict access to the currency. It appears that is happening to some degree in Israel, as reports from the Israel Army News website and users on the BitTalk forum indicate. 355 words
• How to create a brain wallet – CoinDesk
  For those CoinDesk readers who have started trading with Bitcoin, there is the inevitable concern of how to protect ones’ wallet. The so-called wallet is a simple data file that contains a set of Bitcoin (or insert your preferred currency here) addresses. That’s all you need to keep your Ecoins with you. The block chain is copied to every single client has a list of every single transaction and balance for your given currency, e.g. Bitcoin. The security of the wallet depends on the security of your computer or smartphone. What if you could embed your money inside your mind? We explain how to create a brain wallet. 833 words
• LibertyBit exchange ceases trading – CoinDesk
  LibertyBit, a bitcoin exchange registered in Canada has announced its temporary closure. It says that this has come as a result of bank account closures and fraudulent account activity. The exchange had been acclaimed by Reddit users for use of the Google Authenticator for two-factor authentication to increase security. Ultimately, this has not helped the business remain trouble free. 445 words
• Feathercoin launches eBay-style auction marketplace – CoinDesk
  Feathercoin, an altcurrency based on Litecoin, has today announced that it is opening an auction site to facilitate the trade of physical items between individuals paid for by Feathercoins. The site is at an early phase of development but already has 70 auctions ongoing. It also supports a feedback system so sellers can build a reputation, much like eBay. Feathercoin says that the site will soon implement a shopping cart and a range of merchant tools. 376 words
• Bitcoins buys beer in Cambridge – CoinDesk
  Speculating on Bitcoin is all well and good, but what about real world purchasing? Well, there are a few enterprising corners dotted around the United Kingdom where brave business people have begun offering bitcoin payments. Just see Bitcoin Travel for examples, two of which can be found in the venerable city of Cambridge (which has a proud history of computer science). 229 words

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• Playable Pro plays Xvids and more on your iPhone [Review]
  Watching videos on the iPhone and iPad has never been an easy process. What with having to wait for iTunes to transcode and then copy videos from your desktop to your mobile device. Yawn. It all takes too much time. Playable Pro is a third party video player, which you can add videos to via iFunBox, and happily watch without conversion. Read on to find out more. 446 words
• The best Bitcoin videos, infographics and podcasts – CoinDesk
  Bitcoin is a complicated subject, it really is, that’s why it may sound so unfeasible if whenever you try to explain it to someone, or someone tries to explain it to you. As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth 24 pictures per second! With that in mind, we have scoured the web in search of explanatory videos, infographics and podcasts to help you get a better understanding of Bitcoin. 347 words
• WM-Center bitcoin Exchange Seized by US Government – CoinDesk
  Following the closure of Liberty Reserve, another well-known bitcoin exchange has been closed down by the U.S. Government. The domain has been seized by the United States Global Illicit Financial Team, with a warrant obtained in the district of Southern New York. 275 words
• How to get verified at Mt. Gox – CoinDesk
  Bitcoin is said to be an anonymous currency. While it’s true that bitcoin addresses are not linked to any sort of real-world identity, it gets complicated when you try to convert bitcoins into world currency. Mt. Gox recently started requiring real-world identification of its members before they could transfer real-world funds into their accounts, which is a fundamental part of using any currency exchange! Assuming you’re not quitting Mt. Gox, here’s our guide on how to get verified. 388 words
• US Federal Reserve investigating online banking potential risks
  The United States Federal Reserve is studying the impact of online payment options such as PayPal and Bitcoin to determine potential risks associated with them. The Bitcoin community is apprehensive following recent comments of Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen, who said, We have been talking at the Fed and with banking organizations, trying to more carefully understand what the concerns are with these new payment mechanisms. 288 words
• Top 5 Bitcoin Tweets for May 27 to June 2 – CoinDesk
  It’s been an event-filled week in the world of Bitcoin, as you’ll know if you’ve been following the right Twitter accounts. If, however, you have not kept up to speed with the quick-fire social network, we’ve compiled the five most interesting links from Twitter about the world of Bitcoin. 800 words
• Protect privacy by scrambling your block chain – CoinDesk
  Bitcoin is anonymous, at least until you try trading for real money; e.g. Verifying with Mt. Gox. However, even when all of ones’ transactions are kept in a bitcoin wallet, there are ways for those willing to go data mining, to find patterns and follow trails as we reported on earlier today. There are ways to defeat this tracking, or at least make it a lot harder. 354 words
• The futility of regulating Bitcoin – CoinDesk
  Historical precedents have shown that whenever the people have a means of obtaining items of currency (effectively) out of the ground, that governments will step in and not only demand a piece of the action, but will eventually shut it down. For example, the US government eventually made it illegal to use gold as currency, despite the gold rush that added so much to the country’s wealth. The same may well happen with Bitcoin, as governments become nervous of a currency being created that is beyond their control, regulation may be imposed to prevent Bitcoin mining. 474 words
• Exponential leap in Bitcoin hash rates – CoinDesk
  We have just observed a significant step up in the difficulty of Bitcoin hashes. This has come after a sharp rise in the total number of hashes per second on the Bitcoin network. Over the past 24 hours the hash rate has jumped from 127701 GH/s to 148527GH/s, according to Blockchain.info. This is one of the fastest and biggest changes in the history of the bitcoin protocol and demonstrates a continuing exponential growth in not just the difficulty of the proof-of-work calculations, but in the computing power being brought to bear on generating the currency. 170 words
• Watch live TV in the UK on your iPhone and iPad with TVCatchup [Review]
  In the UK, we have a TV streaming service called TVCatchup. Despite the name, it is not a catch up service, but instead allows the streaming of live broadcasts of free-to-air (known here as Freeview) channels. This means it’s possible to watch live UK television on your iPad or iPhone. Here’s our review of the iOS app for TVCatchup. 509 words
• Create annotated audio recordings on your iPhone with Recordium [Review]
  Using a smartphone, e.g. the iPhone, as a Dictaphone isn’t a new trick. I’m sure you have done it from time to time, and there are many times we’ve seen impromptu press conferences on the TV news with journalists increasingly holding their phone aloft much more often than we see a tape recorder or standalone digital recorder. Besides such glamorous occasions, there’s also the increasing trend of students recording their lectures. All of this is great, but leaves the tricky question of in-situ editing and remembering where the most interesting parts of a recording are. Recordium steps in to answer these problems by providing the ability to not just edit, but annotate your audio recordings. Read on to find out more. 836 words
• Track the rain in your area with Dark Sky [review]
  Weather apps are a dime a dozen on any smartphone platforms, iOS even has a built-in Weather app. They can try too hard to show you what’s going to come from the skies above, though. Sometimes you just want a clear message of what’s happening now and in the immediate future, that’s what Dark Sky offers. Now that, the application has been updated to give weather forecasts in the UK, we take a look at test it against the English weather. 558 words

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• Manage business card scanning with CamCard [review]
  Smartphones have become have replaced our address books and as such inputting information has become a new challenge. For those of us who move in circles where people exchange business cards, the task of input has been reduced to an issue of scanning. CamCard is a popular business card scanner for iOS, here’s our review. 804 words
• Wake is a new smart alarm clock app for iPhone [review]
  Whether you’re a heavy sleeper or are just bored of the standard iOS apps, you may well be looking for a new alarm clock, of which there are many upon many in the iTunes store. However, you might want to consider an app called Wake. This is a new app for the iPhone which brings an intelligent design, both aesthetically, and dynamically to the humble alarm clock genre. 662 words
• Fantastical – a slick replacement to iPhone's stock Calendar app [Review]
  The built-in Calendar app on iOS does its job pretty well, but if you feel like having a change there are plenty of options out there. One of these is Fantastical. This app gives a simpler interface than the built-in app but doesn’t skimp on functionality. Read on to find out more. 617 words

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• Dots – a very addictive strategy puzzle game for iOS [Review]
  Dots is a game that takes a stylish new twist on a tried and tested game genre. The objective of the game is to collect dots by connecting like colours in horizontal and vertical lines. It sounds simple, but you are playing against the clock. If you think your brain is up to some fast pattern recognition, read on. 395 words
• Scanner Pro: The ultimate document scanning app for iOS [Review]
  You might not realise, but you’ve got a document scanner in your pocket. Remember all those spy films where the hero pulls out a tiny camera to take a copy of the villain’s plans to take over the world? You too can do that because your iPhone’s camera is more than capable enough to take high quality document snaps. While just the built-in camera app alone is fine, it’s always difficult to avoid perspective distortions and have shadows get in the way. Scanner Pro is here to help with all of that, read on to find out how. 743 words
• Instashare lets you easily transfer files between iOS devices, Macs
  If you have multiple iOS devices, you’ve probably noticed that it’s quite tricky to share photos from device to device. There’s no option to share by Bluetooth, and there are no file management apps for iOS. Sure you can email a photo from device to device, but it can be somewhat wasteful to send something on a round trip halfway around the world just to get a file to the device a few mere inches away from the device you’re holding. Instashare is here to change that by bringing drag and drop file transfers between your iOS and Macs. 500 words
• How to use Siri to generate strong, unique passwords
  Coming up with unique passwords all the time can be a struggle with you’re supposed to be doing a hundred and one other things. If only Siri, your in-phone digital assistant, could help. Fortunately, it can. As you may already know, Siri takes many of its answers from the Wolfram Alpha knowledge engine, and that includes generating random passwords. 420 words
• How to enable spoken notifications on your iPhone
  Whether you’re an uber busy person or you just like the sounds of Siri’s soothing tones, we have a tip today that you’ll like. If you don’t want to break from what you’re doing to check out every single notification noise on your iPhone, then did you know how to make it read out notifications? It’s not quite Siri, but it is using Siri’s voice bank. Read on to find out, how to configure your device, and things to watch out for. null words

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• Viber challenges Whatsapp and Skype [Review]
  If you think Whatsapp is the only Internet based text messaging substitute you’d be wrong. Viber has been around for awhile now, and not only is Viber taking on Whatsapp’s Internet routed messages, but it’s taking on Skype too with free VoIP based voice calls. Most importantly it now offers a desktop client with free video calling. 691 words
• Google Hangouts for iOS review
  Google has long tried to get into the instant messaging and communications market. For around a decade, we’ve had Google Talk, which relied on the open XMPP standard. While that product has enjoyed support by many third party instant messaging clients, it has not become the mainstream messaging alternative that, say, Facebook has become in a very short time. At yesterday’s Google IO 2013 conference, the search giant released a Google Hangouts app for iOS and Android, which is set to become Google’s core communication tool. We take a look at what you can expect on your iPhone. 755 words
• Pocket Casts podcast client for iOS [Review]
  Pocket Casts from Shift Jelly software received a huge update to its Android client recently, somewhat leaving its iOS counterpart behind. Can the good-old iOS version still meet your podcatching needs? We take a look at Pocket Casts for iOS to find out. 514 words
• Feedly, the best replacement for Google Reader [Review]
  Feedly is a modern application built for reading RSS feeds. It grew in popularity as being an alternative client for Google Reader. Since Google announced it would pull the plug on Reader, Feedly has gained more attention for stating that it will provide its own feed aggregation service and provide a seamless transition for Google Reader users. Is this the news app for you? Read on to find out. 548 words

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• Microsoft enable sign-in by Outlook.com alias
  When Microsoft announced its Hotmail replacement, Outlook.com, it was confirmed that existing Live.com users would be able to create an outlook.com alias. This had presented users with the dilemma of switching to a brand new Outlook.com account, which would cause them to lose all of their Windows Phone Store purchases, or to simply create an outlook.com alias for contact purposes. The problem, albeit trivial, with an alias is that it could not be used to sign into any Microsoft services. Fortunately, Microsoft have now allowed sign-in by alias for those who want to be identified by their shiny new Outlook.com ID. 232 words
• How to install Portico on your Lumia 920, DIY style
  These days we all take Over The Air (OTA) firmware updates for granted. However, there was a time when firmware updates had to be done manually. It’s a useful skill to have, especially when just sometimes even contemporary devices can find themselves left out in the cold when it comes to manufacturers spreading the firmware love. The course of DIY updates never run did smooth though, so not only do we discuss how to apply an upgrade, but we look at how you should approach restoring your device to its former state. 1386 words

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• How to use Carbon Backup
  Most people neglect backing up their devices. Normally this isn’t so much of a problem as contacts and calendar events are automatically stored in the cloud, and Google can backup device settings too. To the other extreme, we have the likes of Titanium Backup that is a comprehensive backup application for power users with root privileges. If you find that the built-in Google Backup isn’t comprehensive or reliable enough for you and that Titanium Backup is overkill for you, then Carbon Backup, made by the same team who made ClockWorkMod Recovery, is a new application that provides an excellent intermediate-level solution and doesn’t require you to have root access, but it helps. 1788 words

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• One the road with Nexus
  My regular life has me working from home, using a heterogeneous set of mobile platforms. Recently though, I’ve been travelling, which coincided with starting to use the Nexus 4, in complement to my Nexus 7. This is my story of going from familiar surroundings and being platform agnostic to living on the road and having Nexus devices being my front-line tech. 1800 words

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• Asana app for Windows Phone out of beta
  For those who don’t know, Asana is a collaborative project managment web service. It has yet to grab mainstream attention but is used by several of the websites I write for as a mean for handing out and exchanging information on assignments for multi-person teams. Asana has had an official app for iOS for quite a while and has just released a version for Android. The app in question for Windows Phone is a third party app simply called Asana, which may raise trademark disputes if or when Asana decide to make an offiical app. 214 words

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• HERE Transit adds support for 46 UK cities
  Following from the rebranding of Nokia’s mapping apps to the HERE brand, HERE Transit (formerly Nokia Transit) has been updated to support 46 UK cities. This marks a great improvement for UK users as previous versions had only included support for the London public transport system. Regions covered by the update are: East-Anglia, East-Midlands, London, North-East, North-West, Scotland, South-East, South-West, Wales, West-Midlands, Yorkshire. Read on for more details. 272 words

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• Where Next For Android?
  When the HTC G1 appeared in 2008, there was no suggesting that Android could run anything but a phone. Since then, Android has dominated the smartphone market and begun to appear on other types of devices. While Android is far from market saturation, it’s time to wonder whether it’s captured as much of the market as it’s going to. Therefore, what should Android be used for next? 1085 words

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• Lumia 920 deemed a tank, in a good way
  In many of its reviews, the Lumia 920 was singled out for its weightiness, but it has also been highlighted for its distinctive polycarbonate design. Pocket Now writer, Michael Fisher, has been given his white Lumia 920 a long term test and has reported back on how well it has weathered its time with him. The Lumia 920 is the second generation of Nokia’s Fabula design, that was originally created for the Nokia N9 and then used for the Lumia 800. One of the most widespread criticisms of the latter handset was how its silvered camera bezel would become scratched very quickly. Michael observes that the same part of the Lumia 920 has done far better in resisting wear and tear. 450 words
• Amazing Weather updated for Windows Phone 8
  Amazing Weather HD is a Windows Phone weather app that is known for its striking animations to display the current weather conditions, similar to HTC’s weather apps. The application has now been updated to support new features of Windows Phone 8, with support for all live tile sizes and dynamic lock screens, both of which support several different themes. These new feature round off an already impressive package. Note that the application weighs in at 86MB so you’ll need to be installing from your home WiFi. 188 words
• Only Android and Windows Phone grew in 2012 Q4.
  Analyst firm, Gartner, has published its mobile phone sales figures for the fourth quarter of 2012. While overall mobile phone shipments fell slightly year on year (YoY), smartphone shipments were up from approximately 151 million units to 208 million units. Of interest in the smartphone sector was the levels of growth of each smartphone platform. Blackberry and Symbian took huge declines, 60% YoY and 90% YoY, respectively, with iOS declining by 11% YoY. Meanwhile Android and Windows Phone showed positive growth with YoY increases of 36% and 67% respectively. 195 words

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• Fuse review – All About Windows Phone
  If your smartphone has replaced the newspaper, you’re probably looking for the best app to catch all information you can get. There are plenty of apps for Windows Phone for specific sources of news, such as BBC News Mobile and our own AAWP app, although there are not so many that collect news from numerous sources. Other platforms, for example, have Flipboard and Google Currents. Fuse is an app for Windows Phone that provides curated news feeds and presents them in an attractive, dare I say glossy, format for your reading pleasure. 1130 words
• Symbian gets tiles courtesy of Qt Shell
  Are you feeling stuck with your Symbian phone and wishing you had the budget to switch over to sparkly new Windows Phone or Nokia N9 or both?! If you’ve fallen for the bait of that sentence then you’ll be interested to see what Qt Shell can do. This strange alternative user interface is a hybrid of the Windows Phone tiled interface and the multitasking mode of the Nokia N9. 324 words
• Catching up with Business Calendar
  It’s been a while since we last looked at Business Calendar, the alternative calendar application for Symbian. If you’re tired of the built-in calendar app and looking for something new, then you should check out our original review of Business Calendar followed by the news of major updates to the user interface. 367 words

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• Doodle God proves slick but ultimately not that lively
  If you’re feeling rather superior of all you survey then perhaps you fancy a game to suit your mood. Doodle God is a remake of the elements style of game where you start by coming the four basic (Greek) elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. As you go along, you’ll create ever more complex objects, such as animals and devices. While there’s not a lot one can do to be original in this genre, Doodle God does so by virtue of a very stylish and functional presentation. 251 words

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• Otixo drops free service level
  While there are many third party apps for various cloud storage services, Otixo is a cloud service that allows you to put all of your accounts into one convenient WebDAV directory. We covered Otixo as part of a review of Davi, a WebDAV client for Symbian. The service is compatible with Dropbox, Box, SkyDrive, Google Docs, SugarSync, Picasa, CX, Amazon S3, FTP sites and other WebDav drives. 187 words
• Could Android replace Windows?
  Suggesting that another operating system could fill the shoes of Windows sounds crazy, it certainly isn’t going to happen in the near future, desktop Linux still hasn’t managed it. What about the much longer term though? Android is surprisingly well-placed to take on the mantle of the Redmond behemoth. Don’t believe me? Keep reading to see why. 1101 words

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• Flixster adds lockscreen wallpaper support
  Flixster, the app for movie buffs, has been updated to version 1.8.0.0 with support for lockscreen wallpapers in Windows Phone 8. While most lockscreen apps, such as Bing, will periodically download new images and set them a the lockscreen wallpaper for you. Flixster does things differently. As with any other lockscreen app, you’ll need to set it as the wallpaper app in your lockscreen settings. After that, it’s up to you to manually set a movie as your wallpaper choice, and it won’t change until you choose another. 150 words

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• David's Windows Phone 8 live tile arrangement and app list.
  Following on from Steve’s and Ewan’s live tile tour, it’s my turn to show you how I have my Windows Phone 8 tiles set up. While Steve went for the most optimal set up, and Ewan went for a much more active set up, mine is now somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately you missed my very elaborate v1.0 set up, but now I’m on v2.0 with plenty of live tile activity, but have scaled things back as my needs have changed. 1092 words

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• Magic Heroes unites puzzle and RPG
  We’ve seen plenty of games based on the old Columns formula. That is, a grid of symbols that you move around in an attempt to make lines of three or more like-symbols to make them disappear. This either clears space so you can empty the board, or the board continuously refills in an endurance mode of play. Magic Heroes does that and seamlessly integrates it into an RPG game. 220 words
• Don Dropit rolls into town
  Remember the puzzle games you’d used to get with a ball-bearing encased in a plastic maze, and you have to tilt the casing to navigate the ball through to the awaiting dimple where it would sit victoriously? Well, there’s been plenty of these types of games on smartphones since accelerometers became a standard bit of kit. The latest that we’ve found on Symbian is the ever-so cute Don Dropit. He’s a hedgehog who seems to live atop perilous cliffs, and he’s hungry. Exploiting his desperate plight, someone has been sadistically placing gingerbread biscuits for him. All he has to do is curl up in a ball and get to them, with your help. 267 words
• ChessTen mini review
  ChessTen free is a puzzle game that actually borrows more from Reversi (Othello) than chess. Nevertheless, it’s a challenging game to learn. The object, like Reversi, is to turn all the counters on the board to your colour (black or white). Counters move along lines on the board, which are laid out as you’ll see in the screenshots. 189 words
• Robotek review – All About Windows Phone
  Robotek is an unlikely mix of cuteness, post-apocalyptic futures and fruit machine gameplay. See, told you it was unlikely. Not only that though, it throws in a dash of strategy too, forcing you to use your grey matter rather than just how well you can time stopping the spinning symbols to activate your various activities. Besides the fun factor of Robotek, it’s also a title that shows signs of the future of the Windows Phone ecosystem, as this game was recently released on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, which, of course, is the promise of the common kernel between Microsoft’s desktop and mobile operating systems. 1145 words
• BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 officially announced: specs, price and availability
  Blackberry, formally known as Research In Motion (RIM), announced today its much anticipated BlackBerry 10 operating system in a press even that was streamed on the Internet. RIM claims that its Blackberry operating system has been “Re-designed. Re-engineered. Re-invented”, as it announced two devices the Z10 and Q10 that are sporting BB 10 on which the Canadian company’s hopes are so urgently pinned on. Here are the facts fresh from the stream, let’s see how well it compares to our first look. 589 words
• SPB TV reaches version 3.0
  One of our favourite apps, SPB TV, has just had a milestone update to version 3.0. For those not familiar this app lets you stream dozens of free streaming Internet TV Channels to your phone. The update not only gives performance and bug fixes, but has been designed to work with more hardware decoders in Symbian devices, improved support for Nokia Belle, and now supports high quality streams. If you want to know more about SPB TV see our review and some of our news coverage of the application throughout its life here and here. 141 words
• How to personalise Windows 8
  The touch interface of Windows 8 is a massive departure from the desktop of Windows 7, but you don’t have to be just another brick in the wall. 667 words
• Top 25 touchscreen apps for Windows 8
  The touch interface of Windows 8 is relatively new, and so developers are still discovering how to get the most from this next-generation software. For users, that means many familiar desktop applications do not have a touchscreen equivalent yet. 1310 words
• Replacing the humble photo gallery
  When we first saw Photo Gallery 2 we wondered if there was real a need for a third party gallery when Symbian’s Gallery application is so well written. Well, Photo Gallery 2 has a few graphical tricks in its favour. As the phone changes orientation, the app avoids the jarring rotate and rearrangement of thumbnails that we see in the standards gallery by keeping each thumbnail in place and rotating on the spot. It couldn’t do this if thumbnails were in the same orientation as the original images though (i.e. a mixture of portrait and landscape), and so thumbnails are cropped to squares. However, tapping a thumbnail will make it expand to its full aspect ratio. 307 words
• First look at TVCatchup on Windows Phone 8
  TVCatchup is a service that streams live UK Freeview TV across the web and to mobile apps. Despite its name it does not offer a catch-up service due to a controversial legal history. However, it has won the right to continue streaming to (UK only) viewers. TVCatchuprecently released a Windows 8 touch application, and we can exclusively reveal that TVCatchup is now coming to Windows Phone 8. 360 words
• Another way to make Symbian look like MeeGo
  Calling all MeeGo fans, MeeGo Evolved by Blade is yet another theme for your Symbian device, nice to have for when you start to wistfully wonder what had happened if Nokia had stuck with the Linux based platform instead of going with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. The theme boasts 1,100 fonts along with plenty of user interface customisation including transparent elements. 162 words
• Now the DT-900 gets the 3D printing treatment
  Last week we reported that Nokia had released 3D printing templates so that anyone could produce their own shells for the Lumia 820. Continuing in that theme, a young designer from the Netherlands, going by the name of Relief, has proposed some designs for a desktop holder that would change Nokia’s DT-900 wireless charging plate into a desk stand. 362 words
• Boggle your mind with 8 Over 12
  I like puzzle games. Moreover, I like puzzle games I can eventually work out. 8 over 12 (and it’s numerically lesser cousins) is a puzzle that has me stumped. In this game you have 8 white discs that you can move around the screen, each is connected to the next in a loop. Then there are 12 red discs that light up when one of the white connecting lines pass through them. Your objective is to light up all the red discs. 178 words
• The Verge reports that Microsoft will implement CardDAV and CalDAV in Windows Phone
  The Verge has published an unconfirmed report that Microsoft will add support for CalDAV and CardDAV in response to Google’s withdrawal of support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). We reported on Google’s announcement at the time, and this one of the potential fixes that Microsoft could implement. It’s still unclear how many Windows Phone users will be affected by the withdrawal of EAS, especially with Google’s language of “it will no longer be possible for new connections to sync data from Google Contacts or Google Calendar using the Microsoft protocol”, it is ambiguous as to how a new connection is defined. 328 words
• Mobizy for mobile business management on Symbian and everything else
  Mobizy is a service for small businesses to handle collaborative activities such as scheduling, contact management and notes. Unusually, it’s available every mobile platform you can think of: Symbian, Windows Phone 7, iOS, Android, and even Blackberry. The basic service is free, but Mobizy plans to sell extra services to clients; currently all of these extra services are in beta and are thus free of charge. 179 words
• Get the Android lockscreen with Dunlock
  Whether you are thinking of moving onto Android after your current device or you are finding yourself feeling rather envious of your Android toting friends, now might be the time to start making your Symbian device mimic Google’s mobile OS. Dunlock provides you with an Android-like lock screen, with a ring of icons to which you drag an unlock icon from the centre of the circle. 344 words
• Fantasy Kingdom Defence review – All About Symbian
  Tower Defence, it’s a genre of game that everyone in the All About Symbian office seems happy for me to take care of; I don’t know why, but I’m not complaining. Just when I thought I’d seen everything in the genre on Symbian, Fantasy Kingdom Defence popped up on our radar. This is your standard tower defence fare, but wraps it up in a cutesy medieval style. 528 words

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New technology making meeting people easy

The world has become virtually smaller and now an increasing number of us are choosing to move city, country and even continent.  Whether it is in search of an easier life, a warmer climate, or a better job, the fact still remains the same, change is exciting, and well, the grass is always greener.

Sometimes it is true, however, that the ideal vision that we have in our heads is not always the same as the reality we encounter when we arrive in our new home.  Certain things will be better, sure, they have to be, but soon we may begin to miss aspects of our old lives, and recreating a secure and comfortable circle of friends can be one of the biggest challenges.

Luckily with new challenges comes new technology, and in the modern internet age new apps, tools and websites are constantly being developed to help assist all of us globe trotters in connecting with other like-minded individuals, in every corner of the globe.  Whether it’s a football fan in the Falklands, or a yoga buddy in Yokohama, there is always a tool to locate the perfect buddy, and this can be one of the most important steps in settling into a new home.

Using Social Discovery Tools to Find a New Circle of Friends

Even navigating your way through the plethora of social networking and social discovery apps can be daunting.  If you are not experienced in utilising such tools then it can seem complicated, but really it isn’t.  You don’t, however, like with any new community, want to break any house rules or end up in the wrong crowd, so below we detail a list of tips and hints in how to utilise social discovery tools to help build a new circle of friends.

Tips and Hints

Social Discovery versus Social Networking

First of all, let’s clarify some terms.  Although all of you will most probably will have heard about social networking, such is its growth and dominance, the term ‘social discovery may well be a new one’.

Social Networking fundamentally is used to connect existing friends or family members, and when relocating across the world it too can be a crucial tool to maintain communication with such groups.  The most famous social networking site, in the western world, is of course Facebook and although this now includes aspects of Social Discovery, it is predominantly a networking tool.

The name says it all really.  Social Discovery is about discovering new friends and contacts based on shard interests, proximity or even randomly.  To explain it in layman’s terms you would use social discovery to meet new people and then social networking to maintain the communication.  Having said all of that, Facebook can be utilised as a Social Discovery tool and that is where I will begin my list of hints and tips.

1.     Use Aspects of Social Discovery in Facebook

So the clearest use of social discovery within Facebook, is the ‘find people in my area’ tool.  If you don’t want to appear to be some kind of weird stalker, however, I wouldn’t recommend using this to meet new people.  There is a time and a place.

Groups and Events, however offer you a great chance to connect to new people in your area and too hear about good restaurants, bars, clubs and a variety of upcoming events.  Most cities have a page or two, and especially when in remote areas or far off cities they can be utilised as a great social discovery tool.

Simply join up and join in.  Discuss anything from restaurant toilets to items for sale, and make new friends in your area.  You may be surprised just how many like-minded people are in exactly the same situation as you.

2. Get to Grips with Social Discovery Websites and Apps

Okay, so once you have tested the water on a platform you are used to, now it is time to go one step further.  Although, Facebook works well as a ‘beginners class’ to social discovery, there is so much more out there.

Not all Social Discovery sites are location specific and many are rather designed to draw people’s attention to all manner of media; music, videos, websites etc.  If you are hoping to meet friends in your new area then really you need to look further past Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr etc and focus rather on localised tools.

Having said that any of the above mentioned sites can too be successfully utilised to make new friends in your local area, it’s just there are new Geo-social Discovery tools that can probably do the job better.  Also mobile phone apps are increasingly leading the way with regards to GeoSocial discovery.

Full Circle

Full Circle has recently secured $3 million worth of funding to assist them in further developing their social discovery app.  Initially developed to help locate local businesses and connect individuals with similar interests, it will now also develop a number of additional tools.

Banjo           

Banjo  has been one of the most successful Geo-social apps of the year, with over 1.5 million downloads.  It allows you to link with friends already existing within various social networks, as well as locating new friends in your area.

PinkyToe 

PinkyToe.com is a new social discovery website inviting users to break the ice, chat, flirt and meet with new people.  You can meet people based on interests, looks and of course location.

Badoo 

Badoo is a dating driven social discovery app.  It is available both online via Badoo.com and as a phone app.  It has a presence in 180 countries and attracts an incredible 150,000 new registrations each day.

Townfish  (London)

Townfish.com is a new approach to Social Discovery with it being focussed in just one city, London.  It has the ambition to act as a new innovative and interactive guide to one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, and, among other things, to help individuals to meet other like-minded people in their local area.

3. Use Dating Websites (They don’t have to be sleazy)

Many people stray away from dating websites and usually that is wise.  It is, however, possible to use them to meet new friends and not just weird, sex starved strangers.  There are even sites specifically aimed at helping to create purely plutonic relationships.  Many of these sites have social discovery elements and too there are several apps, which allow you to find users based on their proximity.

4. Join Blogs and Forums

There are a number of blogs and forums designed to help connect people who have relocated to a specific area.  Internations, Expat Blog and even a woman’s only site Expat Women can all help you to learn new things about your new country and meet new people.  There are of course also a range of interest specific sites that can help you connect to similarly minded people in your area.

Final Thoughts

There are a number of methods you can use to connect to individuals in your new area, and to help you to establish a new circle of friends.  Increasingly though specific Social Discovery apps and websites provide the most effective approach.

As Social Discovery begins to become increasingly popular, it is likely that there will be a specific app and website for a variety of interests and locations, enabling you to immediately get in touch with like-minded people.

Of course, like many aspects of the internet, its first use has been to connect people looking to do business and date, but soon too there will be apps for people looking to play football, go mountain climbing, meet for coffee or any other such activity.

The best advice is to keep searching the web for new tools and, simply, try them out.  Once you get on the bandwagon you will struggle to get off and perhaps your new circle of friends will constantly be growing.

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