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Howdy, I'm MG Siegler. I’m a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch. This is where I collect things.

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I was a bit surprised when I first saw the screen above on the (great) new Facebook Camera app. That’s the initial screen you get when you first open the app. But how on Earth did the app know my name? I assumed, of course, it was related to the fact that I also had the main Facebook iOS app installed on my iPhone — but still, how did those two apps talk to one another as neither is system-level? Here’s how. (And here’s Apple’s documentation on it.) It’s a smart way to do it (though it may get a bit of backlash). And it will allow Facebook to continue to build separate apps for key features — perhaps an Events app next? — that are quick and easy to install and use. Now just imagine if this was baked into iOS itself so other apps could use it (just like the Twitter iOS integration, but actually even a little more seamless). It would save a lot of typing and/or a number of clicks for app switching (Single Sign On). In my mind, this “hack” shows why Facebook eventually needs to do their own mobile OS. Deep integration and seamless use are paramount in mobile.

I was a bit surprised when I first saw the screen above on the (great) new Facebook Camera app. That’s the initial screen you get when you first open the app. But how on Earth did the app know my name? I assumed, of course, it was related to the fact that I also had the main Facebook iOS app installed on my iPhone — but still, how did those two apps talk to one another as neither is system-level?

Here’s how. (And here’s Apple’s documentation on it.)

It’s a smart way to do it (though it may get a bit of backlash). And it will allow Facebook to continue to build separate apps for key features — perhaps an Events app next? — that are quick and easy to install and use. Now just imagine if this was baked into iOS itself so other apps could use it (just like the Twitter iOS integration, but actually even a little more seamless). It would save a lot of typing and/or a number of clicks for app switching (Single Sign On). In my mind, this “hack” shows why Facebook eventually needs to do their own mobile OS. Deep integration and seamless use are paramount in mobile.

Tags tech facebook ios facebook camera

All the talk about Apple taking over mapping on iOS sounds great. Can't wait. However, I haven't heard much on the turn by turn front. This is the one area, the only area, where I'm jealous of Android users. Without turn by turn, I'll continue to have to use a 3rd party app for 90 percent of my mapping usage. So, my obvious question: Have you heard if Apples new map app will include a (vocal) turn by turn feature?

Asked by Anonymous

I haven’t heard anything specifically about this, but my guess is that Apple has been hard at work on it for some time. The fact that the maps update is coming seems like a good sign. Or it may take longer. Not sure.

They know this is one of the remaining “low-hanging fruits”, as John Gruber calls them, that they can add to iOS. It’s also an area where Android is, without question, winning — as in, actually winning, not “winning”.

Tags tech apple maps ios

First image I saw in my stream from Instagram for Android (Galaxy Nexus) versus the last Instagram I took (iPhone 4S). 

Any questions?

Seriously, the Instagram team did a great job porting the world’s best photo app — 30 million users! — and, as a free app, Android is going to be massive for them. They’re going to hit 50 million in no time. But there’s one thing they have no control over: camera quality. Looking at my stream, it’s very obvious which pictures were taken with the iPhone and which were taken with Android devices. iPad 2 versus Android is harder to distinguish. 

(Sorry Charles :) )

Tags tech instagram android iOS iphone photography

Stale Gingerbread

iOS and Mac developer David Smith on the latest iOS 5.1 upgrade numbers based on the data from his popular Audiobooks app:

It took iOS just 15 days to get the same percentage of users on the latest OS version as are currently on any single version of Android.

It took just over two weeks to get 61% of users on iOS 5.1. This is the same distribution percentage as the most widely-used Android version, 2.3, Gingerbread — which is a year and a half old. Two major Android versions have been released since then, but combine for under 5% of total usage still. 

And if you narrow it down to only include those who can get iOS OTA updates (iOS 5 users), the adoption rate of iOS 5.1 in two weeks is almost 80%.

[thanks Spencer]

Tags tech iOS android mobile

Hipstamatic Gets Instagram Write API Privileges

Great partnership and nice scoop by Austin Carr. Hipstamatic has always been a great app, but they’ve lacked the graph for sharing their photos as widely as possible with the best audience for them. That would be Instagram. 

Interested to see how Instagram works as a platform for other photo apps — my hunch is really well. People always ask “what app did you take that picture with”, and now it can be baked right into the stream itself. 

Tags tech instagram hipstamatic iOS photography

iOS iPhoto Not Using Google Maps?

Great spot by Stephen Hackett. At first I assumed they were just Google Maps in landscape mode. But looking closer, these definitely do not look like they’re using Google Maps (unless Apple hacked them up, added their own stuff, and de-branded them for some reason).

As I wrote just last week re: Google Maps:

I think it’s quite possible that the only reason Apple hasn’t switched to another alternative at this point is because they continue to work on their own solution.

That work may be farther along than any of us thought…

Tags tech apple google google maps iPhoto iOS

Apple’s iOS Runs Laps Around HTML5 Games On Android

Writes Dean Takahashi:

iOS performed three times better at running HTML5 games than Android, according to the new study. Spaceport.io created a benchmark dubbed PerfMarks to test performance at running HTML5 code.

The benchmark tested a device’s ability to animate image movement — a key measure of game performance. The report measures the number of moving images on a screen at 30 frames per second (FPS), a frame rate which provides a near-native user experience.

Anyone else remember Google I/O in 2010 when Google demoed a test app which showed Android Froyo (2.2) literally running laps around the iPad? 

I guess Android gives good demo. Real world though…

Tags tech android iOS ipad iphone google apple

iPhoto For iPad?

mrgan:

Apple will announce its next iPad this week. It will have a better CPU, a better camera, and a magnificent new screen. While that’s all cool, I’m secretly more excited about another announcement: the software they’ll demo with the iPad 3. Every announcement of iOS hardware has included new…

Great thoughts by Neven Mrgan about possible new photo software to launch alongside the new iPad. There have been whispers for a long time about iPhoto for iOS. As far as I can tell, it’s a real project, but has been more of an iPad thing than an iPhone thing. So this is certainly possible. It’s a matter of timing.

Tags tech iOS iphoto apple ipad

Reblogged from Neven Mrgan's tumbl  Source mrgan

Prompts

It’s hard to argue against stories like this and this because any nut job can accuse you of being anti-privacy or an apologist. These stories have some merit, but come on. At what point does this stop? We’re coming up on a year of these types of stories. Next up — BREAKING: Android and iOS can access your processor core. 

Nilay Patel has the best response I’ve seen yet:

Android and iOS are operating systems that run on computers. Granted, these computers are smaller than the ones you grew up with, but they’re still computers. And guess what? In many ways, they work like computers have in past — including the ability of accessing your other files. It’s a feature, not a bug. 

I get that mobile devices are the most personal forms of computing yet. And anytime you say that anything or anyone can “secretly copy” your photos, you’re going to get people running for the hills (and more importantly, reading your story).

Not everything done in computing is intended to be nefarious. At some point, you simply have to trust that someone — be it Apple, Google, or an app developer — isn’t out to screw you over. Likewise, when you leave your house each day, you have to trust that you’re not going to be mugged. You may well be, but you can’t live your life in fear of it or you’d never leave your house. 

The New York Times apparently wants us to have smartphones that prompt you to make sure you want to turn them on, prompt you to make sure you want to open an app, prompt you to make sure you want to send a tweet, prompt you to make sure you want to jump from an app to a web page, prompt you to make sure you want to adjust the brightness (a stranger may be able to read your phone more easily over your shoulder!!).

We’re one step away from a call for apps that prompt you if you’d like a prompt about something. Excuse me while I go hide in a hut in the woods and write a manifesto. 

Tags tech privacy google apple android ios

"Stealing" Your Address Book

Dustin Curtis more directly states something I hit on earlier with regard to the Path address book situation:

I did a quick survey of 15 developers of popular iOS apps, and 13 of them told me they have a contacts database with millons of records. One company’s database has Mark Zuckerberg’s cell phone number, Larry Ellison’s home phone number and Bill Gates’ cell phone number. This data is not meant to be public, and people have an expectation of privacy with respect to their contacts.

This really isn’t a secret, ask around. There are a lot of apps you use on a daily basis doing the same thing. Some have for a long time. None (that I know of) are doing it to be evil, they’re doing it because it’s a connection/spreading mechanism that iOS allows for. 

And again, from what I hear, Apple is likely to change this soon as well. But I’m with Curtis, I can’t understand why this unrestricted access was in place to begin with. I really can’t think of a good reason.

Tags tech apple path ios