Facebook updates ‘Nearby’ feature with heavier social integration

Facebook is rolling out an update to its mobile app that will improve its 'Nearby' feature.

Facebook is preparing to launch an update for its iOS and Android mobile apps that ties it closer to location-based social apps such as Foursquare or Yelp.

The “Nearby” function, which was scheduled to be updated sometime on Monday, makes it even easier for users to discover places that their friends like or have been to. This feature can be accessed by tapping the top left icon or by sliding your screen to the right to access the sidebar menu. A few tabs down in the menu is the “Nearby” option, which currently shows which places your friends have checked in to.

The updated feature, however, adds new capabilities such as search by category, Facebook said in a statement on Monday.

“If you’re looking for a place to eat, choose a category like Restaurants to see what’s nearby,” the company wrote.  “When you find a place that looks interesting, tap to see info like friends who who’ve been there and business hours.”

Similar to Yelp, Facebook patrons can also write reviews and rate establishments based on their experience. These reviews will come up in search results, and Facebook has also bumped up the social features into its “Nearby” option.

“You’re suggestions become more personalized the more you and your friends rate, recommend, and check into places,” the website said in its announcement.

The app’s interface has also significantly changed. Rather than listing locations or businesses that you’ve already checked in at, the app pulls up a compilation of places that it thinks you would be interested in. Just like Facebook decides to rank news items in your main feed based on a variety of factors, it does the so with its “Nearby” recommendations engine.  This means that Facebook will make suggestions based on friends who have “Liked” a particular spot or have given it a star rating.

Facebook was sure to acknowledge that since these features are new, there is likely to be room for improvement. The app’s performance will develop as more people use it over time, Facebook said.

“Results will get better the more people use Nearby, and we’ll continue to improve it based on feedback,” the social media platform said. “We also plan to add places info from third party services in the near future.”

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Lots of updates going out and Amazon Mobile picks up Windows Phone 8 support

Just like our London busses, you wait around for ages and then they all come at once. It seems that someone has flicked a switch somewhere and released a few updates today for Windows Phone.

Of particular note, Amazon Mobile on its way up to version 1.9.1 and picks up support for the oh-so close Windows Phone 8. It’s good to see some developers with early access readying their apps for the shiny new operating system which is only days away.

As regards to the Amazon Mobile update, we can’t say if it’s going to bring any new WP8 specific features or just being brushed up so that it works.

Also in the update to-do list today is

Xbox Live Extras – No change log (tsk tsk!) – I am unable to login to this at the moment with an error “We can’t access you avatar items, try later” so cant see what has changed, if you see something, do let us know.

Ceton Companion App – Brings a host of minor updates including Password authentication support and improved syncing and recording adjustments.

Podcatcher – Adds support for podcast audio and video streaming, podcast description improvements and some other UI changes.

Nokia’s App Highlights – No change log (tsk tsk!) But we know Nokia are constantly updating this to help improve app discoverability.

Good to see the updates train up and running again, if you are seeing any interesting updates going out, do let us know.

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Qualcomm updates Vellamo benchmark suite for Android, we had a nice chat with them about it

The popular Vellamo benchmark suite got a pretty big update today, bringing new features and a really nice UI to the popular software from Qualcomm. We talked with Sy Choudhury, senior director of product management at Qualcomm about it earlier in the week, and while they haven't convinced me that benchmarks are the perfect way to measure the performance of our Android phones and tablets just yet, they did answer a couple questions I've had and have me looking at the issue again. That's no small feat -- I'm pretty stubborn.

First, let's talk about the app itself. A benchmark tool doesn't have to look ugly, and Vellamo really does things up nicely. The main screen of the app lets you chose between HTML 5 based browser benchmarks, "Metal", as in hardware measuring, benchmarks, or a set of extras like tools to measure touch screen response, the Octane benchmark, and "advanced" video benchmarking tools. 

Benchmarking is easy, just tap one of the circular icons and let it run. When finished, you can compare your scores with others, or look a bit deeper to evaluate each test individually. You can also long press on the main benchmark icon and select individual tests. The settings allow you to run multiple tests to get the best average (recommended), email the comprehensive set of results to you when finished, and turn the tutorial on and off. 

Most importantly, a link to a full description of each test is provided right in the About section. It's no use to run these things if you have no clue what it all means, and Qualcomm does a great job explaining each test in both the HTML 5 and the Metal category, as well as the extras. This is what makes Vellamo my recommendation for folks who are fiddling with software and want to test the result on their phone. Sure, Qualcomm can send me a well written pdf file (they did, and I thank them for it) about each test but putting it out there for everyone using the app to read is pretty damn smart. Excellent move, Qualcomm.

As mentioned, Mr. Choudhury from Qualcomm took a few minutes to talk with us about Vellamo. He walked me through each of the tests and tools, but more importantly they shared a little about why they made the app and how they use it. Vellamo started as an internal testing suite for engineers and developers at Qualcomm. Some of their customers (folks like Samsung and HTC) requested the tools for themselves. Qualcomm obliged, and then decided since they had to build a stand alone app anyway that they would release it to the public. While it's not exactly the same app the fellows designing Qualcomm chips is using, it does provide the same exact tools they use to test performance. Learning about the how and why is always cool, and talking with Mr. Choudhury let me know that they take performance of our mobile devices pretty seriously at Qualcomm -- at least as seriously as we do.

Of course, I asked about any weighting or bias towards Qualcomm-powered devices -- a popular theory around the Internet. The tests used in Vellamo are industry standards, and are unmodified. The reason Qualcomm devices often score better on Vellamo is because, as mentioned, it's the tool they are using in-house to improve their chips. The engineers address issues they may see in Vellamo, and that means that the end product will score well in Vellamo. There are no sneaky software edits to make Snapdragons outperform other chips. 

I'm still not convinced that software based benchmark tools are a good way to compare the way one device runs versus another. There are too many variables, and nobody worries about the raw data given and instead uses the big number at the end as an Internet manhood measuring tool. But if you want to see how flashing different ROMs or making other software edits affects the phone or tablet in your hands, Vellamo is a pretty damn good way to do it. It's free in Google Play, grab it from the link above ad check out the product video after the break.

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Motorola updates device software upgrade timeline, several ICS updates delayed

While Motorola may have promised Jelly Bean updates for their most recently launched RAZR devices, for other Moto owners life isn't so peachy on the update front. The device software upgrade page has been updated, and it isn't going to make happy reading for some. 

The Atrix 4G and Atrix 2 now read as "further plans coming soon," having previously been pegged to update to ICS in Q3. The Xyboard 8.2 and Xoom Family Edition are also in the same boat, only the pair of tablets are still provided with a date sometime in Q4. Also slipping into the Q4 category is the DROID Bionic. 

We previously reported that devices such as the DROID 3 would remain on Gingerbread, and one has to only hope that the same isn't about to be said of some of these. The Atrix 2 isn't even a year old, so to see it left languishing in a pre-ICS world would be a sorry sight. Slipping dates leave us feeling less doomsday, yet still with a slightly ominous feeling. If Moto is already talking the Jelly Bean talk, one does have to wonder where some of these ICS updates are hiding. 

Of course, there is always the promise of a $100 credit towards a new Motorola phone should your 2011 onwards device not get updated to Jelly Bean. So don't go throwing away that Atrix 2 just yet. 

Source: Motorola thanks Rich!

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HTC One X/XL Jelly Bean updates tipped for October release

HTC has made no secret of its plans to launch Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for its leading HTC One phones, but so far it's offered nothing in the way of release dates. It looks like the manufacturer's getting closer to having its updates finalized, though, as veteran mobile site MoDaCo is reporting that the updates are due to being rolling out in October.

According to MoDaCo founder Paul O'Brien, the upcoming EE UK HTC One XL will ship with Jelly Bean, as will the rumored One X+ -- a refreshed version of the Tegra 3 version said to sport higher clock speeds. Around the same time, existing One X and One XL devices will get bumped up to Android 4.1, MoDaCo claims.

The site has no info on when the One S will get Jelly Bean, but given that it's already confirmed for an update, we're hopeful it won't be too far behind. As ever, take this with a pinch of salt until we've got updates rolling out to devices. Nevertheless, we'll be crossing our fingers come October.

Source: MoDaCo

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