apps

Given that TuneWiki was one of the 10 top winners in Google's Android Challenge, it's no surprise we're taken by its originality and ambition.

The free music application for Google Android not only plays your media, but it also helps build your library with songs and YouTube music videos. An additional search for streaming lyrics attempts to get you singing the right words at the right time.

TuneWiki doesn't ace everything it sets out to do, but if you're willing to give it some leeway, you won't be disappointed. Check out the First Look … Read more

If you want to hear songs on your Google Android phone, open up the default player or pull up TuneWiki. If you want to hear songs play on your computer without ever putting down the Google Android phone, get Gmote.

Gmote is a free application that turns your Google Android phone into a remote control to pick, play, and pause music and videos on your Mac or PC. Not to be confused with the Firefox extension gMote ("g" as in "gesture"), this version works in tandem with the Gmote server you install on your computer. When … Read more

Microsoft announced at the Professional Developers Conference Tuesday that it is finally putting Office apps Word, Excel, and PowerPoint online, but not killing the traditional versions. It's about time Microsoft got with the program here. Online apps offer several advantages over software apps, which Google has been leveraging in its Google Docs suite. Primarily, documents that are created in an online app can be opened up for sharing and collaboration very simply.

If Microsoft Office were not a nearly ubiquitous piece of software, chances are the company would have added an online version earlier, due to another bit benefit … Read more

Following in its Gmail Labs footsteps, Google has launched a project to let organizations using Google Apps try experimental features.

But where any Gmail user can try the Gmail Labs options, Labs for Google Apps is inherently a group activity. An organization's Google Apps account administrator can enable the collaborative applications so people in the group can use them.

Also unlike Gmail Labs, these are standalone applications, not gadgets that augment existing Google Apps services the way panels such as calendars or document lists next to the Gmail application do.

Google has supplied the first three applications on its … Read more

LOS ANGELES--After years of questioning the value of Net-based productivity applications, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it will offer new versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that can run from within a standard Web browser.

As first reported by CNET News last week, Microsoft will use its Professional Developer Conference here to show off browser-based versions of its Office programs.

In an interview, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said that the browser-based editing capabilities are being developed in conjunction with the next version of Office, known as Office 14. Microsoft won't say when that version will arrive, but Elop … Read more

One of the most striking things about this early batch of Android apps is how many excellent freebies there are. Ringdroid is yet another sophisticated, intuitive freeware app that will prove a boon to T-Mobile G1-toting ringtone-lovers.

Ringdroid lets you create ringtones from MP3, WAV, and ARM files you load onto your phone through the SD card or that you purchase through the Amazon MP3 store.

Unlike many Android apps that use the Menu keys to store some software functions, most of Ringdroid's controls are out on the interface and all respond to touch. You can set the start … Read more

ShopSavvy, Barcode Scanner (by the ZXing team), and CompareEverywhere (an Android Challenge winner) are three free shopping applications for Google Android poised to help you find the best deals in town and online.

At their core, they're nearly identical, using the phone's camera to auto-focus on a barcode. That barcode is then matched to a product using an open source decoding library, ZXing, that was developed by Google engineers last year. (You can also search by product name.)

While these shopping apps share a back end, the front ends are distinct. Unfortunately, they all produced varying results that … Read more

Mercedes-Benz AMG is the next automaker to join the battle for customers' attention in the Apple iTunes App Store. Except while the other automakers have built apps that actually do something aside from advertise cars (for example, Audi's game and Ford's photo editor), Mercedes-Benz's app does nothing more than showcase the C63 AMG.

The main menu of the application features four options: Video, Photos, Sounds, Specs, and Find a Dealer.

Disappointingly, the Videos section is essentially a list of four videos that stream from Mercedes' Web site. Sorry, iPod Touch owners, this means that you'll have … Read more

As you know, I check out the iPhone app lists every day on my iPhone and at the iTunes Store. As I look for cool new apps, I find it interesting to see what moves to the top of the most popular lists every week and for what type of programs people are willing to pay money. One thing I've noticed is that programs (free or paid) continue to get more complex. As developers get more comfortable with the platform, we're starting to see games and apps that offer much more polish than the ones that came out … Read more