Microsoft Launches Redesigned Outlook.com For Android, Adds Conversation Threading
Microsoft today launched the latest version of its Android app for Outlook.com. The app first launched last November, but as Microsoft admits, the “Android app has been behind” its web and mobile app for Windows Phone, so it was about time to give this version a refresh. The earlier version of the app did indeed look somewhat dated, so the new version now features a fully overhauled user interface that brings it up to par with the web and Windows Phone 8 app.
In addition, Microsoft has added a number of new features to the app. Most importantly, the app now features conversation threading, something that’s long been standard in other versions of Outlook.com. The app now also includes filters for unread mail and flagged messages and lets you mark messages as spam.
As before, the app features all the standard trappings of a mobile email client, including push notifications and the ability to sync with your other devices, as well as with your calendar and contacts.
Given that Android doesn’t consistently support Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync protocol, the Outlook.com app is probably one of the best ways to use Outlook on your Android device. The update is now live and can be downloaded from Google’s Play store.
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Philips Debuts Open APIs And An iOS SDK For Hue Connected Lighting System
Philips Hue is a lighting system that changes the definition of what your standard home lighting setup is, and now there’s an official developer program for the innovative Wi-Fi-connected bridge and bulbs, so that third-party apps and hardware can pick up what Philips has started.
To be clear, people have developed apps for the Philips Hue system already; we covered one two Hue hacks just last week, including an iOS app that turn your Hue home lighting into a dance party, and a software add-on for Minecraft that changes your ambient lighting to match the day/night cycle in the world building game. But those, and other Philips apps to date, have been built mostly by developers who are reverse engineering their own solution.
Philips recognized that devs wanted to do different things with the Hue, and decided to help them out, by opening up an official developer program, complete with an SDK for iOS developers, and APIs that allow both software and hardware makers to take advantage of the Hue’s connected features. The official tool means that developers can depend on it as a stable channel through which to build Hue integration into their products.
Hue uses the ZigBee standard for home automation, which means that they can talk to each other, as well as motion detectors, connected thermostats, connected appliances and more. The new developer program will mean that hardware makers using these standards can build in Hue-compatible features, so that the lights can be triggered by various actions. You could have a specific light recipe come on whenever you open the door, for instance, or when a thermostat is set to specific climate setting.
Other potential uses of the developer tools include apps for amateur and professional photographers, which could help them optimize lighting for a shoot with a simple app attached to a device with light level detection capabilities. Philips also plans to release future features around geo-fencing, scheduling and other smartphone sensor capabilities that could expand what developers can do with them.
“We’re now at a point where there are already about 10 applications that have been shared and built from the unofficial developer community for new applications around Hue,” explained George Yianni, HUe System Architect in an interview. “Now what we want to do as Philips is we actually want to help and grow and encourage this community, and give them tools and proper documentation. Also, we want to give them commitment that this is the API and we’re going to support it and it won’t change overnight.”
Yianni says that’s been the big roadblock stopping bigger developers and companies from creating apps and accessories for Hue so far. Specifically, it’s been holding up hardware development, he says, and that means you can probably expect to see some big names start to integrate Hue into their own lines of connected home devices.
The developer tools will be available free to anyone who wants to create applications and devices that connect to the Hue system. Philips will also continue to work on expanding the Hue line, Yianni said, with new lightbulb types to follow soon. With new third-party investment in the Hue ecosystem, as well as more from Philips itself, it’s about to become a lot more than just a different kind of lightbulb.
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Google And MPEG LA Sign Licensing Agreement Covering Google’s VP8 Video Codec, Clearing The Way For Wider Adoption
Google’s VP8 video compression format, which the company acquired from On2 Technologies, is an open standard and covered by a free patent license. That, however, didn’t stop MPEG LA, the guardians of the H.264 patent and license, from looking into creating a patent pool in 2011 and potentially suing Google for patent infringement upon its competing codec. Today, however, MPEG LA and Google announced that they have come to an agreement. MPEG LA will grant Google a license “to techniques that may be essential to VP8 and earlier-generation VPx video compression technologies under patents owned by 11 patent holders.”
The agreement allows Google to sub-license the techniques covered by the agreement to any VP8 user and also covers the next generation of the VPx codec. As part of this deal, MPEG LA is discontinuing its efforts to form a VP8 patent pool. Chances are Google had to pay for this license, but the financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are pleased for the opportunity to facilitate agreements with Google to make VP8 widely available to users.”
MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn.
The relative uncertainty around VP8 definitely hindered its adoption outside of Google. Microsoft, for example, decided to keep the Google-backed WebM media file format that was built around VP8 out of its browser because of this uncertainty. The WebRTC standard, however, which most browser vendors have now adopted, is built around the VP8 codec.
“This is a significant milestone in Google’s efforts to establish VP8 as a widely deployed web video format,” said Allen Lo, Google’s deputy general counsel for patents, in a statement today.
Despite Google’s efforts, H.264 remains the de facto standard for video codecs. The fact that it is build into WebRTC (and that the standard doesn’t allow for alternative codecs) is a boon for proponents of open standards. Now that the uncertainty around VP8 is out of the way, Microsoft may even decide to adopt WebRTC for Internet Explorer instead of its own version of the standard.
For the time being, however, this virtually no support for hardware-based VP8 encoders and decoders, while virtually every video-enabled device can handle H.264 without taxing the CPU.
With both the next-gen H.265 standards and Google’s VP9 codecs already in the works, today’s agreement could mean we’ll see more competition in the video codec space in the coming months. Mostly, though, this agreement takes away the uncertainty around VP8 and will surely lead to its wider adoption.
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iOS alarm clock app Suno hopes to bring a dawn to your fingertips
Suno means “sun” in esperanto, and it is the name that talented Spanish designer Jacobo Ibarrez chose for its alarm clock iOS app. Its slogan? “A dawn at your fingertips.”
One of the differences between Suno and other alarms is its awakening process: the app uses your iPhone screen and flashlight to gradually brighten your bedroom ahead of your scheduled wake-up time, mimicking dawn. While it has its inconveniences, such as the fact that your phone needs to be plugged, it makes for a more natural awakening, especially if your room tends to be dark during winter.
The app follows the design philosophy of Ibarrez’ studio, Nizo, which includes the following commandments:
- We think in terms of need and function.
- We are intuitive. We simplify the structures and make them understandable. Function and intuition go together in our designs.
- We preserve the aesthetics of good performance based on daily use.
In practical terms, Suno’s designer paid close attention to hand ergonomics, and perceived that the most convenient way to navigate on our phones is to use our thumb. While he theorized his findings in a dedicated post, you don’t need to get into the details to notice that Suno’s UI can easily be used single-handedly.
Suno is priced at $0.99 in its standard version, and additional ringtones can be bought via in-app purchases. It’s worth noting that the app will have to be running in the foreground to be fully operational; if you forget, Ibarrez warns that you will only hear the alarm sound at the time you selected.
➤ Suno, via the App Store
Image credit: Thinkstock
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Conditions for iOS is a beautifully simple weather app for where you are
At this point, weather apps are almost a rite of passage for iOS developers. It seems that new ones pop up with alarming regularity in my inbox, offering one unique feature or another. I personally still quite enjoy Check the Weather for a comprehensive overview of all kinds of weather information in one app.
But Conditions is a bit different and tickles my design-loving bones with its simple, coherent interface and focus on telling you what the weather and temperature are where you are right now, and not much else. Conditions is an app from developer Jake Marsh that uses iconography and bold typography to give you a clear view of the atmosphere where it matters most.
The interface sort of reminds me of the paper flyers you hang up when you’re looking for a roommate. You know the ones, with the details above and a rip-off tab with your phone number or email address below. It’s whimsical, but still effective, and best of all it’s very fast. A quick look at it gives you the info you need, and in a way that’s less visually complex (and therefore induces less cognitive load) than the standard Weather.app. There is a dark theme which automatically kicks in at night, and a high-contrast daylight theme, that’s about it. The location is pulled in automatically.
If you’re fine with the standard weather app, that’s great. Buit if you often check on conditions as you’re running out the door or exiting the office and want a cleanly designed app that offers a more concise and clear look at the weather, then Conditions is worth a glance.
Conditions for iOS $0.99
Image Credit: DANIEL ROLAND/Getty Images
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