Beeper says it reverse-engineered iMessage into an Android app

The universal chat app Beeper just got a lot more, well, universal. The company just unveiled the Beeper Mini app, which makes the bold claim to bring true iMessage support to Android devices. Even bolder? It seems to actually work, according to users who have tried it. This isn’t done in a strange hacky way that could compromise privacy and security, like Nothing’s beleaguered attempt to play nice with iOS devices. Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky, formerly of Pebble fame, told Engadget that his latest project is about scaling up his service. You see, the original Beeper app relied on a farm of Mac mini servers to act as relays, which left a lot of potential users on a waitlist. Then comes Beeper Mini, which taps straight into the official iMessage protocol thanks to some cunning reverse engineering. The texts are even sent to Apple’s servers before moving on to their final destination, just like a real iMessage created by an iPhone. Even weirder? All of this high-tech wizardry was created by a 16-year-old high school student. Once you open the app, it goes through all of your text message conversations and flags the ones from iMessage users. The system then switches them over to blue bubble conversations via Apple’s official platform. From then on, every time you talk to that person, the bubbles will be bluer than a clear spring day — no more social stigma linked to green bubbles. You also don’t need an Apple ID to login, alleviating many of the security concerns that... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-12-05 17:22:50 UTC ]
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Financial Times Thumbs Nose at Apple with Web App

Just as mainstream publishers are hitching their digital futures to Apple with a deal to sell subscriptions through the company's new Newsstand, one major publisher is saying, in effect, who needs it? On Tuesday, the Financial Times launched FT Web App, a browser-based app for tablets, which is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zinio Digital Newsstand Now Available on Android Technology

Zinio, the digital newsstand that has previously been available for Apple iOS users, is now entering the Android market. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Starting to Name-Check iTunes "Top Grossing Apps"

From Yahoo's The Cutline: At a panel during the TechCrunch conference in New York last week, Greg Clayman, publisher of News Corp.'s Daily iPad publication, said the application had "almost a million downloads" since its launch in February. "This puts us in the large pantheon of large apps,"... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Secret World of Apps

Last week, Apple went to Washington, D.C., to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers about consumer privacy in the mobile marketplace. The visit was triggered by the discovery that Apple’s iPads and iPhones tracked and kept users’ locations for up to a year, creating a step-by-step picture of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: 40 Percent of App Users Opt To Share Data With Publishers

Apple's attempts at limiting publisher requests for consumer data and the conversion of first-time downloads into regular users have been two of the larger stumbling blocks for magazine publishers building a business around apps. A new report from digital publishing vendor Yudu Media suggests... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Updates NOOK for Android OS

Barnes & Noble is giving publishers another option to distribute digital periodicals, announcing Friday that its 140 newsstand brands will be available to Android-powered tablet devices. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe Aiming to Be the App Fulfillment Middle Man

Coinciding with the recent news that Conde Nast is the latest publisher to come to an agreement with Apple to offer subscription capabilities for its magazine apps, Adobe separately revealed a little bit more about how it actually helps facilitate those subs. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Build an App on Any Budget

E&P Exclusive: Small publishers don't need deep pockets to build mobile apps for their newspapers. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sandra Boynton Demonstrates App, Signs Books--and a Few Nooks

Monday night’s Sandra Boynton book event at the Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper East Side looked like a pretty normal book signing--normal for Boynton, the bestselling children’s book author, anyway. Toddlers and slightly older kids, some dressed in pajamas, crammed into the event space,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Al Gore's Next Invention: The Future of Books? (Cheap Shot, But Cool App) [NetworkEffect]

Push Pop Press, a digital book publishing platform, went live with its first title this week, Al Gore's "Our Choice," available as an iOS app for $4.99. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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App Roundup: More Publishers Develop For Droid

With the latest slew of magazine apps launched in the past few weeks comes promising news for publishers in the digital space: publications with an Apple app have seen enough success to try their luck in the Android market. Enter the Droid Apps Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber app nominated for Bafta

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 26/04/2011 - 12:15 Faber's Malcolm Tucker: The Missing Phone app, launched last Christmas, has been nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) award. The app has made the shortlist of four in the New Media category,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle for Android Now Honeycomb Optimized

Amazon has tweaked its Kindle for Android app to run optimally on tablets running Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: Apple Beats Out Android Platform Use by 59 Percent

In a study based on data from comScore MobiLens service, results showed that there are 37.9 million Apple iOS users; a number 59 percent greater than Android users, who totaled 23.8 million. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gardners Hive will look to apps post launch

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 09:13 Gardners will look to create a mobile phone app for Hive after its official launch. The book wholesaler has been working with e-consultancy firm Tangent One to build the Hive website, which will sell books directly to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonnier Spins Off Mag+ App Platform

On Monday, Bonnier officially launched a spin-off company called Moving Media+ which will be offering the Mag+ app creation tool to any publisher that wants to use it—as a free download. The app reader and continued services, however, come at a cost. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonnier Looks Inside the Minds of App Consumers

As the April 4 launch of Moving Media+ draws nearer, Bonnier Publishing is perfecting the tablet experience for industry personnel and audiences through comprehensive research that Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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App debate dominates Bologna Tools of Change

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 09:40 The financial risks of app creation and the dilemmas of handling digital co-editions were the hot topics at the Bologna Book Fair's first Tools of Change conference. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Appstore for Android Opens, Magazines Wait

With the recent reports from Bloomberg News that Android is one of the fastest operating systems currently on the market, it is no surprise that the system has introduced a new appstore in partnership with Amazon.com, Inc., which launched on Tuesday. "Custome Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Hearst App Blends the Marketplace with the Newsroom

There have been tons of focus groups, studies and market research done on the topic: how do you intersect content and commerce? Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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