The Future of Money in a Mobile Age

When I use the Starbucks app on my smart phone to pay for a cup of tea in the morning, I often think how convenient it is and wonder when our wallets will become unnecessary as long as we have our phones. Now, the folks at the Pew Internet and American Life Project have done a survey on just that subject and their findings are fairly predictable. Many people (65%) surveyed said that the security, convenience, and other benefits of “mobile wallet” systems will lead to widespread adoption of these technologies for everyday purchases by 2020.  Others—including some who are generally positive about the future of mobile payments—expect this process to unfold relatively slowly due to a combination of privacy fears, a desire for anonymous payments, demographic inertia, a lack of infrastructure to support widespread adoption, and resistance from those with a financial stake in the existing payment structure.

Beware of Poison Text Messages and Bad Apps

It seems that nearly one in five mobile phone users has had problems with some kind of security threat on their device according to a new survey by Cloudmark. And here is another term to add to your tech jargon – poison text messages. Those are the odd text messages you get on your phone offering you services or to take a survey to win something when all they are really doing is fishing for your payment  info. Bad apps, particularly on the Android platform, are also on the rise by a staggering 86%. Many of these are disguised as free apps to be downloaded from web sites and target stealing credentials from e-mail and mobile banking applications.

Mobile Apps Take Data Without Asking

It came to light recently that apps such as the address book on your smartphone – particularly iPhones – can be perused by app developers and taken at will without your knowledge. While this is also true on Android devices, Google does force developers to ask for permission to access this kind of data, but this is pretty much in name only as most people don’t pay attention. Apple has issued a statement that “any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release,” but be aware that this may just be the tip of the iceberg. If an app is open (and only if an app is open), it looks like some scammer could also get at your photos, calendar, and even record your conversations. Yes, Virginia, privacy is dead.

FTC Says Apps For Kids Providing Data

In a report released recently, the FTC said that when it comes to mobile applications aimed at kids there is "little, if any, information in the app marketplaces about the data collection and sharing practices of these apps" as privacy disclosure was lacking. The report, titled Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures are Disappointing (PDF), focused on disclosures to users regarding the data practices of apps aimed at children. The agency said that the staff will "evaluate whether the industry is moving forward to address the disclosure issues raised in this report," and determine whether there are violations of the Children's Online Protection Act (COPPA) "and whether enforcement is appropriate."

Amazing Apps for Little Ones

Jinny Gudmundsen, USA Today, recommends five super apps for children. One is free and all cost only a few dollars. There’s Painting with Time for the iPad “which lets kids explore how things change over time. With this app, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, kids select from tubes of paint that represent different intervals of time.” For example, if landscape is selected, the tubes represent the seasons. When children “paint” with their fingers, they can transform the scene into colors of the different seasons. Other of Gudmundsen’s favorites are the stories: Hogworld: Gnats Adventure for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, and Kindle Fire, where children engage in adventures through 3D visuals, sounds and interaction; Cinderella – Nosy Crow Animated Picture Book for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, in which the characters talk to the reader, and on the iPad2, the reader’s face shows up in all the mirrors; and Auryn – Van Gogh and the Sunflowers for the iPad, an eBook that brings Van Gogh’s life and painting to life through visuals and interaction. The app Out-A-Bout for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad uses parent-child interaction as it teaches early reading skills and encourages physical play. The app involves the reader in the story through photos and recordings. All of these apps would be wonderful for preschoolers through primary age kids.

Save Money with Free and Discounted iOS Apps

Looking for ways to save money on apps for an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad?  AppShopper is a free (with ads) app for all iOS (Apple) devices that keeps you up-to-date on the latest freebies and app sales. When you launch AppShopper, you receive a list of the most popular apps that have a price drop, have been updated, or are new to the iTunes App Store (many new apps are free to introduce them to the public). One really great feature is the Wish List. Specify apps you want to purchase in the future and AppShopper will notify you if there is a price drop or sale.

Advice on Apps for Kids

Looking for some advice on apps for kids? Listen to what Deborah Forte, the president of Scholastic Media, has to say in an excellent New York Times Bits: Tech Talk podcast on the subject. Note: The podcast contains information on several topics besides apps for young children. If you want to listen to this podcast, start about half-way through to hear what Forte has to say. Some of the other topics are about tablets and earbuds.

The App Gap

A recent study from Common Sense Media says that children are spending more time, and at a younger age, in front of screens of all kinds. That is no big surprise. One new thing, though, that the study pointed out is what some are calling the “app gap.” That is, that children of higher income families (those from families earning more than $75,000) are being introduced to mobile devices and the apps on them at a faster rate than lower income (families earning less than $30,000.) This just seems like a further extension of the digital divide that has been around for a long time, but since there is a rhyming quality to the “app gap”, chances are we will be hearing more about it in the media.

One School District Rolls Out its Own App

Schools in Norman, OK are using an app for both the iPhone and Android platforms to get information out to parents and keep them posted about immediate concerns. Only a few districts in the country have this kind of app, even fewer for both platforms, and besides news updates, the app includes school lunch menus, achievement reports, direct access to a Parent Portal to check students' grades, Google calendars for the district and individual schools, social media channels, athletic and activities information, and “tap” screens to email staff and email or call district administrators and school board members. The app also includes translation to Spanish.

The Magic of Reality

The Magic of Reality by eminent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is a new digital book from Random House available for the iPad on iTunes. This book is not for little kids. It is for kids 11 and up in middle school and high school who are tired of the little kid versions of science and reality that they still have to endure, but who are open to discussions about what is real, what is myth, and the fact that so much of science really is magic in its own way. The digital book takes great advantage of the graphic capabilities of the iPad to make its point.