Mobile Software

For those without a fireplace and/or an ability to carry a tune, TV stations have for decades offered the Yule Log, an on-screen fireplace crackling as Christmas Carols play in the background.

According to "The Holiday Yule Log" book, the first televised fireplace was in 1966 on New York's WPIX-TV. With carols on in the background and no commercials, it was an instant hit and was adopted by other stations around the country.

But what if the holiday season takes you even further afield, so that you don't even have a plasma TV to keep … Read more

Updated at 2:45 p.m. PST with Fring details.

Apple may have a new mobile phone to compete with--one that runs on its iPod Touch.

The MP3 player can be transformed into a mobile phone with the help of a free application from Internet telephone company Truphone.

The Truphone application allows users with a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive phone calls via voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, with other iPod Touch owners, users of the Google Talk's messaging service, and customers of Truphone's Internet telephone service. The company said it expects to add the ability … Read more

Now that the holiday shopping season is in full swing, maybe it's time to let Santa know he can always get you a gift certificate to the iTunes store so you can buy more apps! While there are plenty of great free offerings available, I've come across a couple of fun games in the paid section that might be perfect as a stocking stuffer. But just so you have something to download today, I discovered a great free game for those who don't want to fork over their hard cold cash.

TouchGrind ($4.99) is a high-quality … Read more

This fun, free game for the iPhone requires fast fingers and judicious judgment. In ESPN Cameraman, you try to quickly find five differences between two nearly identical sports photos. Gameplay here is similar to popular electronic bar games like Photo Finder, albeit minus the scantily clad subjects. This one is definitely safe for children, although you might become a victim of the economy if you play it at work.

Touch the screen wherever you spot a difference on either photo while beating a countdown timer to keep from losing a life. You have three lives per game, as well as … Read more

"They wrote this for you," Josh said in IM to me about Devicescape's Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T, an app that directly addresses my complaints about the free Wi-Fi that AT&T now provides to iPhone users at Starbucks and various airports.

As I wrote, I dislike the Safari/SMS two-step required to authorize the iPhone to use the AT&T free Wi-Fi. Yes, it's looking a gift horse in the mouth. But I am a professional crank. I really do get paid for this.

Anyway, the Easy Wi-Fi app bypasses the SMS … Read more

Mobile-music discovery provider Shazam announced on Thursday that it has increased its music database from 6 million tracks to 8 million tracks, thanks to new partnerships with record labels.

Shazam, which provides the fourth most popular Apple App Store download of 2008, behind competitor Pandora, at No. 1, analyzes songs playing through a stereo or radio, and displays the song's title, artist, biographical information, and a link to purchase the track.

According to the company, the new tracks added to the library include additional North American, Asian, and European content, and will be linked to Shazam's existing products, … Read more

Stanza (Download.com link | iTunes Link) from Lexcycle is one of the most downloaded iPhone apps, but it previously could not handle any content that was purchased from the eReader store. In order for you to view these formats you had to use eReader for the iPhone (iTunes Link), but that is not true any more.

Lexcycle has signed a license agreement with Fictionwise, the company behind the eReader format, to bring that eReader-compatible books to Stanza. Lexcycle will be launching a Stanza eReader store, giving Stanza users total access to 40,000 or more eReader titles. Stanza was recently … Read more

On Wednesday, Amazon announced the throwing open of its virtual doors to iPhone and iPod Touch users everywhere with Amazon Mobile, a free app now available in the iTunes App Store.

It's a pretty nice offering that simplifies the search experience for products found not just on Amazon.com, but also on partner retailers Target and Macy's.

The bulk of the app is dominated by a search bar you can launch either from the home screen or from a separate Search screen. While there's a tiny promo area on Amazon Mobile's home screen, the app completely … Read more

On Tuesday, the first promotional codes that will make iPhone apps free to some users began trickling out of the App Store.

Apple is finally bequeathing apps developers with a way to let some media testers review an app at no expense and reward or attract a few lucky users. (The first invite has already floated into my in-box.)

This is Apple, so there are limits. Fifty promotional codes per product, to be exact.

Also, as wonderful as it is to see the passcodes allowed and implemented, they are not free trials. Developers angling to hook new customers will still … Read more