Mobile Apps News from Nicole Hennig

May 24, 2018

Mobile Apps News

May 24, 2018

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the 59th issue of Mobile Apps News! I hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like to hear about.

You might notice that I didn't send out an issue in April. That's because I was busy moving from Brattleboro, Vermont to Tucson, Arizona! I'm settled in now and loving it here. I spent three winters here (2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17), so I'm familiar with my neighborhood and have some friends here. If you're curious about my life as a "digital nomad" (I've been living nomadically for 5 years), see my blog post "Staying in one place for a while as a digital nomad," from my blog: A Location-Flexible Life.
This issue includes news of:

a new iPad that was announced at the March education event from Apple
updates to several apps, including Gmail, Day One, Pages, Pocket Casts, and Bear
Siri, Alexa, and Other Digital Assistants: The Librarian’s Quick Guide
Just a few days ago I finished the manuscript for this short book. What a fun book to research! Look for it to come out later this year from Libraries Unlimited.
Tracking Technology Trends – My Workshop at SLA in Baltimore
If you’re coming to SLA in Baltimore, come to my interactive workshop on Tuesday, June 12 (with content based on my book above). Participate, have fun, and come say hi!
useful tips, such as how to get rid of fake security alerts on your iPhone and how to record calls on your smartphone
interesting stories about voice computing (Alexa, Google Home, and more)
accessibility, thought-provoking articles, interesting stats, and articles about the future

Enjoy!

App News

Featured apps and app lists

The new AI-powered Google News app is now available on iOS
I tried it and I liked it. It seems to show stories I actually care about.

We updated our pick for the best RSS app for iPhone and iPad
If you subscribe to RSS feeds, Unread is worth a try.

The 7 Best Apps For Planning a Room Layout & Design (some for iOS, some for Android)
These are fun to play with. I like them because I just moved and have been setting up a new apartment.

Five Apps That Play Podcasts Directly from Your Apple Watch
Outcast, MiniCast, and more.

Google’s astounding new search tool will answer any question by reading thousands of books
“Type a question into “Talk to Books,” and AI-powered tool will scan every sentence in 100,000 volumes in Google Books and generate a list of likely responses with the pertinent passage bolded.” Try it here: https://books.google.com/talktobooks/.

App updates

Gmail set for 'entire rewrite' in biggest overhaul for five years
To see the new features, go to Settings and choose “try the new Gmail.” Also in Settings, set your “Display Density.” You can always “Go back to Classic Gmail” if you don’t like it.

Day One releases version 2.6 for iOS and Apple Watch
This is my favorite journaling app. Now with better searching and easier ways to switch between multiple journals.

iWork 4.0 Adds Full Apple Pencil Support; Pages Becomes Spiritual Successor to iBooks Author
I’m looking forward to trying the digital book creation feature in Pages. Looks like it will replace iBooks Author.

My Thoughts on the SmugMug Flickr Acquisition by Thomas Hawk
Flickr has been purchased by SmugMug. Previously it was owned by Yahoo, who sold it off last year to Verizon. This article discusses why SmugMug is a much better fit. It's good news for Flickr users.

Pocket Casts Gets Acquired by NPR and Other Public Radio Stations
Pocket Casts is my favorite podcast app. It will be interesting to see what happens with this.

Bear 1.5 Introduces Notes Archive, Custom Icons for Tags, ePub Export & More
I love the note-taking app, Bear. I’m gradually replacing Evernote with it, for all my new notes in the past six months. This article covers some useful updates. I like the archive feature.

Device Updates

New $329 iPad includes support for the Apple Pencil, A10 Fusion processor
This was announced at Apple's education event on March 27. Schools will be able to order this iPad for $299 each.

The New 9.7″ iPad: Our Complete Overview
Here’s a detailed review of the new iPad.

Watch the Apple education event in 11 minutes
Edited clips of video from the event. In addition to the new iPad, there were updates to iWork, a new app for teachers called Schoolwork, and a new stylus called Crayon.

Logitech Crayon vs Apple Pencil: What’s the difference and which one is best for you?
Learn about the differences. “The Logitech Crayon is only available to Apple education channels in the US for $49 (with a minimum order of 10) and can't be bought individually. “

The Best True Wireless Headphones So Far
The Jabra Elite 65t is getting rave reviews. These wireless earbuds are said to sound better than Apple’s AirPods. They work with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

Snapchat Debuts New Spectacles. We Try Then On For Size.
Learn about the new version of Snapchat Spectacles, for taking videos and photos from your glasses.

Why Snap Needs Its Spectacles
“The race to make the first great pair of face-puters has already begun, with all the big tech companies vying for dominance. Whether the tech will be used as an information-gathering tool, like Google Glass, or entertainment devices, like Facebook's Oculus Rift, remains to be seen. But by a large consensus, they will show up in the form of glasses, giving you hands-free access to an entirely new type of computing. When that revolution arrives, Snap wants to be on the front lines.” (I like the term, "face-puters"!)

Just for Fun

Amazon Is Working on a Real Life Rosie the Robot
Maybe not a “just for fun” article, but it sounds fun to have a home robot! Other home robots include Jibo, Kuri, and a robot puppy: Sony Aibo.

YouTube to launch new music streaming service. YouTube Music will replace Google Play Music and take on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.
If you already have YouTube Red or Google Play Music, you’ll get this new service for no extra charge. For new users there will be free accounts or premium accounts for $9.99/month.

Spotify Bolsters Free Service in Defense Against Apple Music
They are adding more features to the free version.

My Offerings

Book review: Nicole Hennig. Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies: Best Practices for Information Professionals. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2017. | McGuire | College & Research Libraries
Michael C. McGuire, of Colby College, wrote an in-depth review of my book. Read his thoughts and get the book!

Siri, Alexa, and Other Digital Assistants: The Librarian’s Quick Guide
A few days ago I finished the manuscript for this short book. What a fun book to research! Look for it to come out later this year from Libraries Unlimited.

Tracking Technology Trends – My Workshop at SLA in Baltimore
If you’re coming to SLA in Baltimore, come to my interactive workshop on Tuesday, June 12 (with content based on my book above). Participate, have fun, and come say hi!

Tips

Accessibility

Apple Proposes New Accessibility Emojis
New emojis include a guide dog, hearing aid, prosthetic limbs, and people using canes and wheelchairs.

Why Amazon's Alexa Is 'Life Changing' for the Blind
Interesting thoughts from a blind user.

Alexa Is a Revelation for the Blind
More interesting thoughts about voice assistants for the blind. Read both this one and the article above for some interesting perspectives.

Transcription and Accessibility—New Partnerships from Microsoft and Amazon
Microsoft is partnering with Rochester Institute of Technology with Microsoft Translator. Hearing-impaired students in classes can get automated transcripts of lectures on their mobile and desktop devices. It can also be used for language translations. Amazon is working on Amazon Transcribe, a service that converts audio from speech to text. These services are useful for everyone, not just the hearing-impaired. Seeing text while listening to spoken words helps with better comprehension.

Voice Computing

Since I’ve been working on my book about voice computing, I’ve been collecting more stories than usual on this topic. Here are some of the most interesting stories.

How to Try Out Google Assistant's New Voices Now
There are six new voices (male and female), bringing the total to eight.

Alexa's newest teacher is you
Teach your language or dialect to Alexa, using the Cleo skill.

Alexa Recognizes Voices Automatically Now
“The original Alexa Voice Training feature has been superseded by the new Voice Profiles feature, and basic voice profiles are created for each different voice Alexa hears by default.”

New Alexa Remember Feature
"Think of the new Remember feature like a voice-only notepad where you can take a quick note, then have Alexa read it back to you later on-demand. " Very useful!

Alexa Announcements Lets You Broadcast Messages To All Devices
Examples: "Alexa, announce dinner’s ready. Alexa, broadcast we need to leave in five minutes. Alexa, announce kids it’s time for bed. Alexa, broadcast Eric are you home?"

How I programmed my first Amazon Alexa Skill and won a free Echo Dot
It's not hard to build an Alexa Skill.

With Storyline, Anyone Can Create Engaging Alexa Skills with Zero Coding
Build an Alexa skill without coding. Or use this as a prototyping tool before you write the code.

A review of the new Sonos One
This great-sounding speaker works with Alexa, and sometime this year will get an over-the-air upgrade with added Google Assistant support and even Siri (through an iOS device).

The Societal Benefits of Smart Speakers
This article is by Cathy Pearl, who wrote Designing Voice User Interfaces, an interesting book if you're interested in user experience for voice computing.

Voice Activated | Technology in Focus
Matt Enis gives an overview of voice computing in Library Journal, including what some library vendors are doing: Overdrive, Demco, EBSCO, and Burbio.

Amazon's custom Alexa Blueprints skills show how far ahead of Siri and Google Assistant it is
"The new feature makes it easy for anyone to create custom responses to Alexa queries. There's no code to write, no files to upload, and really nothing to learn. Anyone with a web browser can create a custom skill in mere minutes that will be accessible to any Echo device in your home." This is a way to build a skill for use by your Alexa, not for the general public.

Advanced Alexa Sound Options
Set up confirmation tones, alarms that begin quietly, and more.

Amazon Echo Dot for Kids Edition and Free Time Unlimited Are More Important Than You Think
For several reasons.

A fourth grader reviews the Amazon Alexa Echo Dot and Google Home Mini
It's fun to read a review from a kid's point of view.

Thought-Provoking

Google Duplex: An AI System for Accomplishing Real-World Tasks Over the Phone
If you haven’t heard these audio clips yet, take a listen. It will soon be hard to tell the difference between automated voices and live humans (for some types of tasks).

Better than the Printed Page: Reading on an iPad
Tips for making your iPad a wonderful reading device, by adjusting screen brightness, tint, and various system settings.

When They Couldn’t Afford Internet Service, They Built Their Own
An inspiring story of what’s happening in Detroit to help bridge the digital divide.

Want to change Facebook? Don’t delete your account—use it for good
This article advocates for pushing for greater democratic control over the platform, and using Facebook to organize for good.

Millennials have created a form of written English that's as expressive as spoken English
“… Millennials are ‘breaking the constraints’ of written English to ‘be as expressive as you can be in spoken language.’ This new variant of written English strives to convey what body language and tone and volume of voice can achieve in spoken English. “

Once-endangered bookstores are booming again
They are hosting events and building community.

How beautiful design is keeping libraries relevant in the digital era
See some beautiful designs of libraries around the world, with photos, along with thoughts on how people use libraries these days.

Cryptocurrency Is Not Just a Boys' Club
When Glamour Magazine includes stories about cryptocurrency, you know it’s a hot topic. This is an interesting story of female entrepreneurs working with blockchain technologies. “As Stark sees it, blockchain technologies today are analogous to the early days of the Internet. 'Women need to be building this new frontier,' she says. 'There’s way too much of the prior generation of the Internet that was not built by a diverse group of people.' Recently we’ve seen how a diet of all-white-male test data can lead to bias in artificial intelligence, overlooking people of color, for example. 'I want to see broader participation,' says Stark, 'broader perspectives contributing to better problem-solving.'”

Augmented Reality is Transforming Museums
Fascinating story about people developing AR apps to use in museums, without permission from the museums (but legally). Some museums welcome it, some don’t. One example, Hacking the Heist, allows you to see works of art (virtually) that were stolen from the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990.

Practical Privacy - Helping People Make Realistic Privacy Choices for Their Real Lives
“You don’t have to be a privacy expert in order to help people learn to protect their privacy online and sometimes it helps if you aren’t.” Jessamyn West shares her experience (and slides) for helping library users with privacy questions.

Five Lessons for Libraries Looking to Innovate in the 21st Century
“Knight Foundation sent a cohort of U.S. librarians from institutions around the country to the Next Library Conference... 20 U.S. librarians from 11 cities joined hundreds of colleagues who attended the conference from around the globe, from China to Kenya to the Caribbean.” This article summarizes what they learned.

Interesting Statistics

Amazon Alexa Skill Count Surpasses 30,000 in the U.S.
The number of Alexa “skills” is growing quickly — up to 30,000. Google “actions” are only at about 2,000 (for comparison).

Smart Speaker Penetration Hits 20% of U.S. Wi-Fi Households
These stats are growing fast, due to the availability of low-cost devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home Mini.

Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life
So true.

The Future

The Future of Augmented Reality Is "Virtual Wearables"
The future is using your hands and empty space. No controller needed.

‘Minority Report’ adviser John Underkoffler ponders the user interfaces of the future
Watch the 28-minute video of his talk for interesting ideas about bringing interfaces from games and cinema to general computing.

How Google's Eerie Robot Phone Calls Hint At Ai's Future
More thoughts about Google Duplex, mentioned above under “thought-provoking.” “Google's machine intelligence–powered virtual assistant to conduct a natural conversation with a human over the phone, mimicking the chit-chattiness of human speech as it completes simple real-world tasks.”

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