Has your Android app been uploaded to the Nokia X store without your knowledge?

As BlackBerry, Jolla, Mozilla and Microsoft know, filling up a new app store can take some time. Of course, there's one way to speed up that process — leaning on the massive supply of Android apps that already populate third-party stores.

The birth of a new app store should also be good news for app developers, offering an extra shop window to put their wares in front of buyers. So if an Android app appeared in the Nokia Store for Nokia's fledgling Android-based X devices — without any effort on the developer's part — that should be a good thing, right?

Not according to Anders Webb, the developer of the Android ADW.Launcher app, who was unimpressed — to put it mildly — when he recently discovered his app "and possibly more" had been "uploaded" to the Nokia Store without his permission.

By email, he was told that all he needed to do to let users download the app from the Nokia X store was "allow the Nokia Store team from Microsoft to contact him".

Exactly how his app arrived in the Nokia Store is an interesting story, given that it's highly unlikely that Microsoft/Nokia would take the app from Google Play.

The answer to the conundrum looks to come from a lesser-publicised aspect of Nokia's and Opera's partnership around the launch of the Nokia X range. The two companies struck an agreement whereby they agreed to publish Android apps that had been submitted to a store known as Handster on the Nokia Store as well.

"Based on Handster’s existing agreements with its developers, they have granted distribution rights to Nokia for these free Android apps which have been published in the Nokia Store," Nokia said in a blog post at the time. Opera acquired Handster in 2011 to bolsters its own Opera Mobile Store.

According to XDA developers, that agreement could be how Webb's app ended up in Nokia's store. ZDNet has asked Opera for comment and will update this story if it receives one.

A spokesperson for Nokia's new owner Microsoft said: "Opera is one of our partners and they have publishing agreements to help developers expand their reach. Nokia Store is one of these channels. In order to keep applications updated and to secure the best consumer experience, developers have been given the option to have an account to manage their applications directly to Nokia Store. This process has been communicated to the developer community. We take privacy very seriously and have a good track record of close collaboration with developers."

Microsoft for its part had its own run-in with developers late last year when it was found to be publishing web apps for Windows Phone devices without asking the company's whose content they were based on. While it didn't necessarily harm anyone, doing so without permission rubbed some companies the wrong way.

Half-Life 2 and Portal are launched on Android... but only for Nvidia's Shield

Half-Life 2 was developed for the Shield by its maker Nvidia

Android has two more conversions of classic PC games this week – Half-Life 2 and Portal – but for now they're only available on one device: Nvidia's Shield.

The gaming handheld has the exclusive on both games, which were converted to Android by Nvidia's own team under licence from their developer, Valve.

Both games are available on Android's Google Play store, but are Shield-only for now – although in the past, such exclusives have supported more smartphones and tablets within a few months of their initial release.

Nvidia said in March it was porting Portal to its Shield, but the appearance of Half-Life 2 alongside it is a surprise for gamers. "We’re huge Half-Life fans. So bringing it to Shield was a labor for love for more than a few members of the team," explained a post on Nvidia's corporate blog. "Using the utmost care, we paid attention to every detail to ensure gamers get the full PC versions natively on Android. The graphic performance is sharp; the controls are precise and natural."

The releases are part of Nvidia's efforts to ensure there is a wide catalogue of games available for its handheld, which went on sale in July 2013. There are now more than 300 available for the $199 device, which isn't yet available in the UK.

Nvidia hasn't given public sales figures for the device, although in August 2013 its senior director of investor relations, Chris Evenden, said sales had been "great", adding that "everything that we shipped so far has sold out, but we're just starting to ramp production".

Early indications are good for the two new Shield games. Half-Life 2 has an average review score of 4.9 out of five on the Google Play store based on 91 ratings from players, while Portal is averaging a perfect 5.0 from 60 reviews.

Nvidia also recently launched a remote-streaming feature for the Shield, enabling owners to play games running on their PCs even when they're away from their home. The company pitched its GameStream feature as a way to play games including Titanfall, World of Warcraft and League of Legends on the device.

Research Project Enables iOS Apps to Run on Android

A team of six students at Columbia University has created a software framework for Android that allows simple iOS apps to run as if they were native. The technique tricks Android into believing the apps were designed for it, while creating an environment that the apps can run in stably.

The students, Jeremy Andrus, Alexander Van't Hof, Naser AlDuaij, Christoffer Dall, Nicolas Viennot and Jason Nieh, managed to create Project Cider at the individual processing thread level rather than using a virtualisation layer, which has already been done across various platforms. 

In an abstract of the full PDF report posted to Columbia University's Software Systems Laboratory website (and reported by TheNextWeb), the team describes two new binary compatibility mechanisms, compile-time code adaptation, and diplomatic functions. The abstract reads, "Compile-time code adaptation enables existing unmodified foreign source code to be reused in the domestic kernel, reducing implementation effort required to support multiple binary interfaces for executing domestic and foreign applications. Diplomatic functions leverage per-thread personas, and allow foreign applications to use domestic libraries to access proprietary software and hardware interfaces."

The team used a Google Nexus 7 tablet to demonstrate the technique, referring to Android as the "domestic OS" and iOS the "foreign OS". By intervening between iOS apps and Android's binary app interfaces, the team was able to successfully run various iOS apps side by side with Android apps. Translation occurs for the iOS apps only, without the rest of the system being affected.

Project Cider has its limitations related to app and hardware functionality. It cannot currently translate instructions and interfaces for access to a device's Bluetooth, GPS, cameras and even cellular radios. iOS apps that can still run with these functions turned off will do so. The team intends to continue development work on this project.

Pregnancy apps for Android, iOS that help track baby, mom's progress

New York: When I became pregnant with my daughter, now 4, I didn't even own a smartphone. I did most of my pregnancy research with my desktop computer and those pregnancy books that nearly every first-time mom reads.

Now, baby No. 2 is on the way and times have changed. With the rise of smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, there's no shortage of pregnancy-related high-tech products on the market.

I get weekly updates explaining what's going on with my body and my baby's development, which show up as notifications from my various iPhone apps. The first time around, I got emails from pregnancy websites.

 BabyBump app encourages you to upload a photo of your expanding                                                belly each week to create a time-lapsed series of your growth.

There are also apps to track how much weight you've gained, how often your baby kicks and eventually how far apart your contractions are. There are even smartphone-enabled devices that let you listen to your baby's heartbeat at home.

Like a lot of second-time moms, I didn't feel the need to gorge myself on pregnancy information this time around. But I did download some of the more popular apps. I stuck largely to free apps, though I also tested a $129 fetal heart monitor that attaches to a smartphone.

Although the apps don't cover everything an expectant mom needs to know, they offer enough that I've barely dusted off my pregnancy books this time around.

- BabyBump (free, or $4 for ad-free version with additional features; for Apple and Android devices):

Like the other pregnancy apps I tried, you start by entering your due date, weight and other information. The app creates a chart tracking your progress and showing the number of days left.

BabyBump also encourages you to upload a photo of your expanding belly each week to create a time-lapsed series of your growth, but I didn't bother with that.

There are daily tips and a weekly update explaining what's going on with your body and baby. You can play slideshows of you and your baby's week-by-week development. These are in the form of drawings showing an expanding belly and what's inside.

You can also join online pregnancy groups and use the app to keep a journal.

The free version has advertising on the bottom. The $4 pro version doesn't. The pro version also has a kick counter and contraction tracker, along with planning tools for shopping, name selection and birth announcements. I didn't feel the need to pay.

- WebMD Pregnancy (free, for Apple devices only):

I like this app the most. Like the BabyBump app, there's a pregnancy calendar and weekly illustrations showing development. But WebMD's pictures are more vibrant and less cartoonish, though a bit more graphic.

There are daily tips and suggested questions to ask your doctor at your next appointment.

You can keep track of your doctor's appointments and log your weight and blood pressure. Although I used the app to track how much weight I was gaining, I didn't bother with the blood pressure and found my Google calendar to be more useful in logging appointments.

The app includes a kick counter and contraction timer for free, whereas I had to pay for those features with BabyBump.

I found this app easier and more fun to use than BabyBump.

- Bellabeat (free app, but heart monitor costs $129; app for Apple and Android devices):

At-home fetal heart listening systems aren't new. There are a handful of products of varying prices and quality, but many people have complained that they don't work well and aren't easy to use, especially in the early stages of pregnancy.

You plug the Bellabeat heart monitor into your smartphone's headphone port, and then plug a set of earbuds into the device. It runs on two AAA batteries.

The companion smartphone app detects the baby's heart rate and lets you record the sound. You can even share the audio clip through Facebook, Twitter or email.

Like the devices used by doctors, the Bellabeat uses high-frequency sound waves to pick up the heartbeat. But this isn't nearly as advanced as the one at my doctor's office.

I had a mixed experience with it.

The first time I tried the Bellabeat, I was 37-weeks pregnant and pretty huge. I managed to pick up my baby's heartbeat after a few tries. But a few days later, after the baby had moved into a new position, I couldn't seem to find it at all. I just got a lot of whooshing noises from the device.

Eventually, I picked up a faint heartbeat. I wasn't worried, but I can see why some doctors don't like these gadgets. They can cause unnecessary distress.

You can get the app for free without buying the device, and it gets you a lot of the same tools that WebMD and BabyBump provide.

The real question is: Is it worth $129 to hear your baby's heartbeat whenever you like?

If you're the kind of new mom who frets when you haven't felt the baby move for a while, the answer might be yes. Personally, I not a big fan of these things. Just like the one at the doctor's office, they involve smearing that sticky ultrasonic-gel on your belly, which I've come to hate. The gel is included with the device.

Yahoo News Digest arrives on Android and launches an international edition

Four months after bringing its unconventional news app to iOS, Yahoo News Digest arrives on Android today along with international editions that bring a global perspective to currents. Yahoo News Digest for Android includes both the regular app, which provides twice-daily summaries of the day's top stories, along with a news widget you can place on your home screen. Previously available only in the US App Store, Yahoo is now making the digest available in English globally, adding a Canada edition and a more general international edition to the app.

News Digest differs sharply from other apps that notify you of current events by eschewing an endless stream in favor of a finite set of stories. Each day at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., the app sends you a push notification inviting you to read your digest. Inside, you typically see eight to 12 stories that have been summarized by Yahoo algorithms and curated by editors who work for the company. It's based on Summly, which creator Nick D'Aloisio built and sold to Yahoo for $30 million when he was 17.



Yahoo won't say how many people have downloaded the app, but says 40 percent of everyone who downloaded it is still returning to it every day. The average person spends two and a half minutes inside the app every time, and Yahoo doesn't want them to spend any more time than that — the goal is to get in and get out quickly, says Maria Zhang, a senior director of engineering at the company. The updated app is scheduled to roll out this morning on iOS and Android.

Here’s what happens when a longtime iPhone user switches to Android

For Apple loyalists, the mere thought of dumping the iPhone and switching to Android is enough to send shivers down your spine. For Android fans, the idea of using an iPhone in the first place is an awful one. Enthusiasts on either side of the fence seem incapable of imagining life in the other group’s shoes, and online battles between Apple users and Android users erupt constantly. But do things really have to be this intense?

We have covered accounts in the past from people who have made the switch from one mobile platform to the other, and experiences have varied tremendously.

One story we wrote about came from an Apple fanboy who couldn’t stand using the Nexus 5 even for one day. Even the more level-headed anecdotes we have found, like this one from someone who switched from the iPhone 5 to the Galaxy S4 for six months or this one from a from a Silicon Valley investor who made the switch, seem to have one thing in common: Moving from one smartphone platform to another is quite jarring for many users.

But does it have to be?

Writing at CNET, longtime iPhone user Luke Westaway on Wednesday shared his taleof making the leap to Android. The writer explained that the iPhone has been his primary handset since the iPhone 3GS first debuted, but he decided to move over to Android when his most recent iPhone was stolen recently.

Westaway was nervous about making the jump from the iPhone to Android, especially considering how dramatic the switch is for many people.

“I thought I might despise Android,” he wrote. “An admittedly smaller part of me wondered if I’d actually love it. What I wasn’t prepared for was what actually happened.”

So, what actually happened when Westaway took the leap?

“Not much at all.”

The writer noted that there were some initial issues making the adjustment, and the first handset he tried — the Galaxy Note 3 — was far too big to be used comfortably. “But beyond the first 48 hours or so, any sense of strong emotion towards Android, either positive or negative, was notably absent,” he explained.

Westaway wrote that the main reason the switch was so surprisingly simple was that just about all of the apps and services he used on his iPhone were readily available on Android as well.

“The services I used the most were right there at my fingertips, in less than half an hour,” he wrote. “It’s true that there’s a difference in the apps available for iOS and Android, and that iOS still tends to get new apps first, but for me at least, there was nothing missing. I realised the apps I used the most were multi-platform, third-party and free to download.”

There are clear differences between the iOS-powered iPhone and Android devices, and Westaway noted a few of them in his piece. In the end, however, both platforms are comparable and more than capable of getting the job done, and one is not inherently better than the other.

Google now lets Android apps tap into Street View

An update to the Google Play Services utility means apps can use more advanced navigation and can tell when an Android device user is running or walking.

Street View, Google's vast collection of eye-level images showing more and more of the real world, is now available for Android software to use.

That ability comes with the new Google Play Services 4.4, an update to the company's multipurpose software resource that lets Android app developers tap into a range of Google features. With the change, announced Wednesday night, a restaurant-review app could show street-level views of the restaurants.

The Google Play Services software is an important part of Google's effort to let programmers create fuller-featured apps -- and to draw them and their users more deeply into the Google ecosystem. For example, those programmers can link into documents stored at Google Drive, present Google Maps, see Google-supplied advertising, and use Google Wallet for purchasing. The Android operating system's importance to Google lies largely in its ability to drive users to these services and others such as Gmail and YouTube.

Another new feature in Google Play Services 4.4 is the ability to tell an app whether an Android device user is walking or running, contextual information that can be useful for apps that enter different modes in different circumstances. That extends Google Play Services' previous ability to detect whether a user was driving or bicycling.

Google Play Services also helps shield programmers from some of the difficulties of Android operating system version fragmentation, which can complicate matters when developers have to decide whether to use older or newer programming interfaces. Google Play Services provides the same interface for versions as old as Android 2.3 Gingerbread, though it doesn't replace the full set of resources the operating system offers.