Tag Archives: AddressBook

Yahoo acquires Xobni, aims for smarter contacts in its services (updated)

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Yahoo acquires Xobni, aims for smarter contacts in its services

Yahoo must be starting the summer with an acquisition spree: it bought Qwiki yesterday, and it's buying Xobni today in a deal that AllThingsD estimates is worth $30 million to $40 million. The acquisition gives Yahoo a developer with experience in creating automatic, connected address books -- a perfect fit for a web giant that has been revamping its email and social services. Neither of the new partners is talking about what they'll create together, although Xobni is no longer accepting new customers for its paid services and has pulled downloads for both Smartr Contacts on Android and Xobni for BlackBerry. It's a gentler transition than we've seen with other takeovers, although we wouldn't get too comfy when most of Xobni's services go dark after July 2nd of next year.

Update: Our colleagues at TechCrunch hear that the acquisition price may be over $60 million.

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MetroPCS intros first Rich Communication Services on LTE, touts universal contacts and chat (video)

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MetroPCS, Joyn launch the first Rich Communication Services on LTE, aim for universal contacts and chat video

Smartphone users are well immersed in a world of contact syncing, media sharing, VoIP and video calls. They're just not used to finding everything in one place, let alone guaranteeing that any carrier-level features will work with other phones and providers. MetroPCS is hoping to put itself ahead on that front by offering a potentially universal fix. It's the first carrier anywhere to launch the Rich Communication Services standard on LTE, which provides a perpetually synced contact list that serves as the launching pad for everything else. Early adopters of the Joyn-branded service can chat through text, share media (including during calls) and start up WiFi voice or video calls without needing yet another specialized service and the extra sign-in that goes with it. Right now, the very young state of RCS on LTE leaves it behaving more like the isolated services it's trying to replace -- on MetroPCS, only those with the Galaxy Attain 4G and an after-the-fact Joyn app download can get the experience as intended. As long as more devices and carriers come onboard, though, the technology might be the long-term key to pulling us away from fenced-off conversations in Google Talk or Skype.

Continue reading MetroPCS intros first Rich Communication Services on LTE, touts universal contacts and chat (video)

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MetroPCS intros first Rich Communication Services on LTE, touts universal contacts and chat (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google adds CardDAV support to contacts for easier syncing with iOS and other third-party devices

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Google adds CardDAV support to Contacts for easier syncing with iOS

The marvelous folks from Mountain View never seem to take a break from working on tools to help make almost everyone's life easier -- even if some of these folks happen to be on the other side. Today, Google announced it was adding CardDAV to the list of open protocols it currently supports to access Gmail and Calendar from mobile apps and devices alike, noting that with the recent adaptation it'll be easier for third-party clients -- such as iOS -- to access and sync with Google Contacts. Better yet, the company posted a full set of instructions on how users can do just that, which you will find at the source link below.

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Google adds CardDAV support to contacts for easier syncing with iOS and other third-party devices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug

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When one of your main services throws up a pretty embarrassing bug, you're going to want to squash that quick. Skype has stepped up and done just that, according to its blog. The hotfix will be rolling out for version 5.10 for Windows, 5.8 for Mac, 4.0 for Linux and 1.2 for Windows Phone. Skype was also quick to point out that not all clients (and therefore users) were affected. If you were on 5.9 for Windows, version 2.8 for Android or Skype 4.0 for iOS, then the firm assures you that you won't be affected. The official line is that the fix should start arriving in the next couple of days, so still best to keep a lid on those office gossip chats for now. Let us know if you start getting the update in the comments below.

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Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype confirms ‘rare’ bug that sends messages to unintended contacts, promises fix soon

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'Rare' Skype bug sends messages to unintended contacts, fix promised soon Only a handful of Skype users have reported this problem over at the support forum, but what they're complaining about is pretty hair-raising. They say that, following an update in June, instant messages have repeatedly and unintentionally been forwarded to random people in their contact lists. In other words, third-parties are seeing stuff they were never meant to see, which constitutes a serious breach of privacy. Skype now tells us it's aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Here's the official response in full:

"We are aware that in rare circumstances IM's between two contacts could be sent to an unintended third contact. We are rolling out a fix for this issue in the next few days and will notify our users to download an updated version of Skype."


[Thanks, Kuldar]

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Skype confirms 'rare' bug that sends messages to unintended contacts, promises fix soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft details the People app, its cloud-connected address book for Windows 8

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Microsoft details the People app, its cloudconnected address book for Windows 8

If you've yet to try the Release Preview of Windows 8 for yourself, fear not, because along with our detailed impressions, Microsoft is catering to your trepidation with a series of blog entries on its MSDN site that explore the nitty-gritty details of its latest OS. In the latest installment, we're given an in-depth preview of the People app, a cloud-connected address book that promises to be one of the many centerpieces in the Metro environment. For starters, Windows Phone users are bound to feel right at home, as the address book relies on cloud services to populate the entries from sources such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Twitter. Not only does this ensure that one's address book is always accessible and up-to-date -- friend removals come to mind -- it also brings quick access to social feeds via the "What's new" section and lets you keep tabs on specific contacts via live tiles on the home screen.

By leveraging APIs known as contracts, Windows 8 makes the address book available to other apps such as Mail and Messaging, along with other programs written to take advantage of the service. One of the hurdles Microsoft is working to overcome with its cloud-connected services are the inevitable duplicate contacts. Currently, Windows 8 does a pretty good job of identifying and linking multiple accounts to one individual, but for the rare exceptions, the company will soon add the ability to manually edit and link various accounts to specific contacts. Naturally, with such a connected approach, security could be an issue for businesses, and for this reason, one's Exchange contacts will not be synced with their Microsoft account. In this scenario, users must manually add their Exchange accounts for each device they use. Take one look at the length of the MSDN blog entry and you'll be left wondering how Microsoft employees find time to code, but it makes for a worthwhile read.

Microsoft details the People app, its cloud-connected address book for Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 22:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls

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Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls

Smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate and the way we create, share and consume content. Yet there's one aspect of using these devices that remains stuck in the last millennium, and that's the calling experience -- yes, apparently some people still make phone calls. Sure, there are plenty of VoIP and video calling apps out there, but few are simple and beautiful.

Enter Sidecar, a free app which aims to reinvent the way we make phone calls by adding messaging as well as real-time video, photo, location and contact sharing to that antiquated calling experience. It achieves this through an intuitive and polished user interface plus a handful of standards such as SIP and XMPP. Phone calls between Sidecar users are free anywhere in the world -- the app even supports free WiFi calling to any number in the US or Canada.

While Sidecar's been available in beta on Android for several weeks, it's launching on iOS today with support for the iPhone and iPod touch. We've been using the app on and off for a few days on several handsets, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ and an iPhone 4S and it works exactly as described. Looking for additional details? Check out the demo video and full PR after the break.

Gallery: Sidecar for iOS

Continue reading Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls

Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple patents that moment when you text-bomb everyone with your new number

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So, you've changed your phone number to escape that stalker (look, we're sorry, we just wanted to sell you a pyramid scheme), but how do you let all 104 of your remaining friends know without manually texting 'em? The answer lies in Apple's newly granted patent, which aims to end the tedium by having your device recognize when your number switches and automatically send an updated contact entry to everyone in your address book. Of course, there's nothing in the claims to say it's discriminatory, so now we've got your number again -- have you changed your mind about that pyramid scheme?

Apple patents that moment when you text-bomb everyone with your new number originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 18:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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