Google Acquires Timeful→

Interesting acquisition from Google: Timeful was an iPhone app that combined events, todos, and ‘habits’ in a single calendar UI that could suggest the best time to schedule everything according to your patterns, location, and available times.

Here’s how TechCrunch described Timeful last year:

From the user’s perspective, Timeful works like this: You link the app to any of your existing calendar apps, such as iCal, Microsoft Exchange, or Google Calendar. You then tell the app additional things you need to and would like to do, providing concrete things like “buy milk” and more fuzzy things like “exercise” or “cook dinner more often.” You also select a level of aggressiveness that you’d like Timeful to have when suggesting times and activities, from laid-back, to very ambitious. Timeful then provides you with a customized calendar that incorporates all of the things you need to do and want to do at the times that would be best for you to actually make sure they get done.

I remember trying Timeful when it came out and thinking that I didn’t want to put all my events and reminders in a standalone utility for iPhone with no iPad or web counterparts.

Timeful seems to make more sense as an addition to Calendar and Inbox, the company’s alternative take on email that features location and time-based reminders. Google could use Timeful’s intelligence to predict when a user is most likely to tackle todos or suggest the best times to schedule a new event or meeting. According to a post on the Gmail blog, it sounds like Timeful tech will indeed be rolled out across several Google properties:

We’re excited about all the ways Timeful’s technology can be applied across products like Inbox, Calendar and beyond, so we can do more of the work for you and let you focus on being creative, having fun and spending time with the people you care about.

In the meantime, Timeful will be kept on the App Store, but it’ll no longer receive new features as “the team’s attention will be on new projects at Google”.

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Tweetbot Adds Support for New Twitter ‘Quote’ Feature

An update to Tweetbot released last Friday has introduced support for Twitter’s new ‘quote’ feature, which allows to add comments to tweets without wasting text and while still embedding the original message with a nice preview.

The feature, first launched by Twitter in its iPhone app last month, allows Tweetbot users to quote tweets by adding their comments before a twitter.com URL. When a tweet is sent in Quote mode, the comments will be displayed on top of the original tweet, which will be shown as an inline preview that carries the original user’s profile name, username, a truncated version of the tweet, and any included Twitter photo. This is closely modeled after Twitter’s own quote style, which also embeds tweets with text and images.

Version 3.6 of Tweetbot with the new quote feature is available on the App Store. Twitterrific, iOS’ other popular third-party Twitter client by The Iconfactory, hasn’t been updated with support for quoted tweets yet, but, considering the addition in Tweetbot, I hope it’ll follow soon with its own take on the functionality.

Molly Watt’s Apple Watch Review→

Molly Watt, who has Usher Syndrome Type 2a, published a unique, personal series of Apple Watch first impressions unlike anything I’ve read to date.

I am fortunate to have a few friends who also have the Apple Watch and together have devised ways of communicating in ‘Code’ when out, particularly when out at night and in dark situations when I am completely blind.

Useful codes in the event I need help of any kind, for instance if I am in a badly lit and noisy environment and struggling to be included in something I can get message to friend I’m uncomfortable or I need assistance or help of some kind or “I’m bored” can we do something else!

Many have reviewed Apple Watch as a gadget or a fashion companion. And that’s fine, but make sure you also read Molly Watt’s take for an idea of how wearable technology can truly impact other people’s lives in meaningful ways.

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Virtual: 43,000 Pieces of Gold→

After covering some of the interesting things they’ve seen in gaming this week, Federico and Myke talks to David Smith about Apple Watch games. They explore why David decided he wanted to make games for the device and take a look at what’s available now.

We’ve been talking about Apple Watch games for a while, and in this week’s episode we were able to discuss them with an iOS developer and listen to Myke’s first impressions. You can get the episode here.

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VoiceOver Turns 10→

Tony Morales, writing on the 10th anniversary since the introduction of VoiceOver for OS X:

VoiceOver, however, represents a significant milestone in the history of assistive technology. With the introduction of VoiceOver, Apple became the first operating system vendor to build a fully functional screen reader into the operating system that didn’t require additional installation procedures. Unlike Windows Narrator, VoiceOver didn’t simply follow the keyboard focus as the user navigated the GUI using available operating system shortcuts. Instead, VoiceOver provided a rich set of commands for interacting with the contents of the GUI, putting the user in the driver’s seat.

A fundamental technology for the Accessibility community, with an unwavering commitment by Apple. Today, VoiceOver is also available on the Apple Watch.

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Apple Rolls Out App Analytics→

Almost a year after the original announcement at WWDC 2014, Apple has opened access to App Analytics in iTunes Connect today.

Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch:

Ahead of its annual WWDC developer conference in June, Apple has opened up beta access to a new mobile app analytics service aimed at iOS developers. Simply called “Apple’s App Analytics,” an announcement inviting developers to request early access to the service appeared today on the iTunes Connect developer portal. Those with an iTunes Connect account can also reach the sign-up page using the direct link analytics.itunes.apple.com.

App Analytics are available for devices running iOS 8 and above, and the usage data part is completely opt-in. Every time you set up a new iOS device (or upgrade to iOS 8), you’re asked if you want to share information with app developers to improve their apps through analytics. Other App Store metrics (views, installs, etc.) are returned for all users.

Based on the tweets I saw in my timeline today, first impressions seem positive. Apple can now give developers a level of insight that’s unprecedented for any other app analytic platform. Apple’s App Analytics can plug directly into the App Store and tell developers how customers find their apps, where traffic is coming from, and how many views an app gets on the Store.

After years of no data about customer behavior on the App Store, it seems like this will be a massive change for how apps are marketed, optimized for international App Stores, and presented to users.

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App Camp for Girls Quiz Compendium→

Jean MacDonald:

Today we released our very first App Camp app! The Quiz Compendium includes 15 personality quizzes created by camper project teams. You’ll learn so many things about yourself, such as what your superpower is, where you should go on vacation, and even what your breakfast choices say about your personality.

App Camp 4 Girls is an outstanding initiative. Their mission is important, and I was happy to see that Apple recognized them in the list of STEM organizations for this year’s WWDC.

App Camp 4 Girls now has an app on the Store, and it’s only $0.99. Learn more about App Camp 4 Girls here, then go buy the app, play around with it, and support this great cause.

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Apple Partners with IBM & Japan Post to Deliver iPads to Elderly in Japan→

Apple just announced an interesting new partnership with IBM and Japan Post, with a goal of delivering 4 to 5 million iPads to the elderly in Japan by 2020. As part of the initiative, IBM will deliver custom apps that help connect those who receive the iPads to “services, healthcare, community and their families”.

“This initiative has potential for global impact, as many countries face the challenge of supporting an aging population, and we are honored to be involved in supporting Japan’s senior citizens and helping enrich their lives,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “iPad is incredibly intuitive, easy to use and has accessibility features built in, making it a perfect device for any generation to be connected and engaged.”

The initiative, which will begin to roll out in the second-half of this year, is an extension of Japan Post’s national ‘Watch Over’ service:

For a nominal monthly fee, mail carriers check in on elderly customers and assure families about the well-being of their relatives. That service can now be extended and enhanced with iPad, complementing the in-person monitoring.

IBM’s A Smarter Planet website has also posted a short blog post from Masaaki Tanaka, one of the original designers tasked with working on the project:

A tiny team at IBM Japan got the whole thing going. My first market research subjects were my mother and my mother-in-law. My mom lives nearby, so I would pop over every couple of weeks to get her reactions to design ideas. Mom is comfortable using an iPad, so she represented our more sophisticated users. My mother-in-law was less experienced with mobile technology, so she stood in for our novices. She now has an iPad and takes it everywhere.

It’s unclear whether IBM’s custom apps will be released on the App Store for anyone to download, but one would hope so. 4-5 million iPads is a great start, but it’s only a drop in the ocean to the millions already out there in the world.

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