LinkedIn says its it has relaunched CardMunch, one of its two iPhone apps. CardMunch is used to scan business cards and turn them into digital contact information. The overhauled app now automatically links a person's information with a LinkedIn profile where possible. This provides access to extended data, such as connections, education, and work experience.
The developer of Flipboard has released a major update of the iPad app, v1.5. Three main changes have been made, including support for an infinite number of feeds, the old limit being 21. A new Content Guide makes it easier to find material by sorting through favorites and sections, as well as by searching for people, publications, sites or topics. One focus of the Guide is on Pulse-like curated streams, featuring publications like The New Yorker and National Geographic.
A further discovery inside the iOS 5 beta has shown that the social network integration runs deeper than just Twitter. Readily accessible settings in the contacts let users add Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, and even MySpace. The AllThingsD look showed that users just have to enter a given username and let the OS take care of the outbound links.
Motorola and T-Mobile announced on Thursday in the T-Mobile forums that the Android 2.2 update for the Motorola Defy has been released. As the update is optional, users need to manually check for it and download it over the air. As the update is about 112MB in size, Motorola suggests users do it over a stable Wi-Fi connection.
LinkedIn has added a News feed to its iPhone app, which has been updated to v3.6. The News aggregator focuses on specific industries a person works in or markets to. Users can select the industries they want to follow, see what contacts have shared, and share headlines themselves. Articles can be archived for later reading.
Canadian wireless and cable provider Rogers has started a new smartphone plans for entry-level smartphones, MobileSyrup reported on Thursday. The promotional plan is called an Exclusive $40 Promo Plan, and has gone into effect on January 25 for a limited, though unknown, amount of time. It requires a three-year contract and includes 200 minutes per month, 100MB of data and unlimited social networking, which grants unlimited access to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Flickr, Photobucket and LinkedIn.
HP and Palm, along with their recruiters, are attempting to hire a large number of programmers and software engineers, as evidenced by job posts on sites like LinkedIn, SimplyHired and Palm's own page. Positions to be filled include a senior software engineer for e-mail sync, a senior manager for information and product security and developers to "deliver compelling solutions and applications for the webOS ecosystem."
Yahoo has very recently hired former Microsoft executive John Matheny, according to a Thursday AllThingsSD report. Matheny was involved heavily in the failed Kin project at Microsoft but was also the General Manager for the Windows Phone App Studio, Premium Mobile Experiences and MSN Platforms & Services groups, his LinkedIn profile revealed. At Yahoo, his new job is as senior VP of Yahoo's communications products and communities unit.
HP during the call discussing its latest quarterly results provided the surprise that it would use webOS in printers. While the company had previously said it would use the Palm deal to make webOS tablets, chief executive Mark Hurd added that "web-connected" printer hardware was coming. They need an OS to get online, he said.
LinkedIn on Monday released an update to its self-titled app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Version 3.0 features a redesigned interface, with a new main screen displaying several large buttons.The Reconnect feature allows users to quickly find other LinkedIn members, while the In Person selection enables contact information to be swapped via Bluetooth.
Palm on Friday announced users of the Pre smartphone on both the Sprint network and Bell in Canada will receive an automatic over-the-air software update to webOS 1.3.1. The Palm Pixi, released on Sunday, shipped with the updated operating system as well. A number of new features are made possible with the new OS, and some known issues were resolved. One such new feature is the integration of Yahoo contacts, calendar and messaging into Palm Synergy, along with Outlook EAS, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn accounts. The Yahoo contacts and calendars can also be integrated into the Pre's respective applications, while Yahoo! IM can be used in the webOS Messaging app.
Coupons Inc. has announced on Tuesday that it has hired Steven Horowitz as its chief technology officer. Horowitz will leave his position as Google's Engineering Director, a position in which he oversaw the development of the Android operating system and related software. Horowitz will oversee Coupons' global engineering, product management and technology efforts for its creation and distribution of coupons to retailers.
