All Things Appy: Top 5 iOS Utilities and Tools

Native file management has never been one of iOS' strong points, particularly if you're used to Windows-based file browsing. However, this app helps fill some holes with a local file browser, sharing of local files via FTP, reading Office documents and more. This is the free, well-featured come-on version. There's also a paid power edition that includes such things as PDF markup.

While Apple's mobile operating system does hold users' hands when it comes to device management more so than competitor Android, there are additional steps you can take to optimize your iOS device.

Free third-party utilities are available in app form to beef up battery management, cloud storage and camera backup, as well as to find lost phones, among other things.

Here's a look at the top five free utilities and tools for iOS.

About Apple's Apps: Apple's apps can be installed from the iTunes store. Browse to the store from your phone or iPad and then search for the app you want to download.

No. 1: Battery Doctor HD

Battery Doctor HD is rated 4-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions, based on 2,201 ratings, and four-plus stars out of 5 for the current version based on 93 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

This iPad app, from Beijing Kingsoft, is one of the most popular battery management tools available in the iTunes store, and it looks fabulous with its elegant and sophisticated graphic design.

However, where it really helps in iPad battery management is in its power-saving tips, along with steps as to how to accomplish the power savings.

For example, it suggests limiting of use of location services and shows how to achieve that through Settings changes.

Similar apps are available for iPhones too.

No. 2: Dropbox

Dropbox is rated 3-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 42,833 ratings, and 4 stars out of five for the current version based on 97 ratings in the iTunes App Store

Still our favorite cloud-based file storage and backup option, this service commonly is found on Android devices and Microsoft PCs too, so it's significantly more functional than native Apple offerings.

The killer feature in this app is the automatic camera upload capability, which shunts a device's camera-captured images to a cloud-based Dropbox account folder that can be shared seamlessly among family and colleagues.

No. 3: Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is rated 3 stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 63,694 ratings, and 4 stars out of 5 for the current version based on 2,029 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

Find My iPhone does pretty much what it says it does. Lose your device and all may not be lost, because you can log on to another iOS iPad or iPhone, and see the detected missing smartphone or tablet on a map.

Additional functionality includes the ability to remotely lock the device, play sounds, display messages or wipe it. If you want to play detective, you can see where it's been, too.

No. 4: FileApp

FileApp is rated 3 stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 14,589 ratings, and 3 stars out of 5 for the current version based on 7 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

Native file management has never been one of iOS' strong points, particularly if you're used to Windows-based file browsing. However, this app helps fill some holes with a local file browser, sharing of local files via FTP, reading Office documents and more.

This is the free, well-featured come-on version. There's also a paid power edition that includes such things as PDF markup.

No. 5: Flashlight

Flashlight is rated 3-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 78,699 ratings, and 4-plus stars out of 5 for the current version based on 377 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

iHandy's Flashlight is a hugely popular add-on, and it includes a bonus compass. If you aren't running the latest version of iOS, which has a flashlight built in, this app lets you read menus in darkened restaurants, among other things.

A strobe mode with different frequencies, a mini-map and an SOS signal might save your life in an emergency too.

Ever Wondered how to make your video viral ?

Ever Wondered how to make your video viral ?

guys have you ever wondered how to make your video viral hit? do you dream of millions of likings for your video? 

if yes ,then it's sure for you.

so let me tell you some simple steps to make this dream come true.

1

Establish benchmarks for the viral video.

• Keep the video short—between 15-90 seconds is ideal.
• Allow the video to be easily remixed.
• Do not advertise in the video.
• Create shock value.

1. 2
   Make 3-5 videos.
2. 3
   Start a focus group for the videos.
3. 4
   Determine if the video meets any of the following traits.
   • Unique.
   • Funny.
   • Stupid.
   • Dangerous.
   • Strange/Weird.
   • Gross.
   • Worth talking about.
4. 5
   Upload your video to TubeMogul and syndicate to 10 networks.
5. 6
   Find videos relevant to yours in YouTube, and submit yours as an answer.
6. 7
   Promote the video on Social Networks.
7. 8
   Find discussion boards relevant to your video and submit as a post.
8. 9
   Submit your video to StumbleUpon in the YouTube section.
9. 10
   Submit your video on Fark and Big Boards.

10. Tips

    TIPZ

    • Don't copy other viral videos, it's wrong and you'll get hate mail!
    • Continuous promotion of your video will be the key to your success.
    • TubeMogul.com is free, and comes with analytics for each site that you have syndicated your video to.

11. Warnings

    P.S

    • It's not easy to create a viral video, and requires ongoing support and promotion until it hits critical mass.

Heartbleed Flaw Goes Unpatched on 300K Servers: Report

Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to overcome in the Heartbleed security mess is getting people to apply the patches necessary to correct the flaw. Although most of the servers identified as still vulnerable to Heartbleed belong to unknown firms, a few are located in well-known ones. "No computer should be exposed to the Internet that isn't regularly patched," warned Errata CEO Robert Graham

Two months after the Heartbleed vulnerability sent frissons of fear down the spines of IT managers everywhere, 300,000 servers still remain vulnerable, Errata Security said this weekend.

That figure has remained unchanged since May.

When the flaw was announced in April, Errata found 600,000 servers vulnerable.

"The norm is to do no patches at all for some systems, no matter how easy it is to patch," Errata CEO Robert Graham told us.

"If they're retirement management systems, [being left unpatched] won't be a problem," Graham said, "but if they're on a power grid, there is a problem."

What Heartbleed Is and Does

Heartbleed, which has been around since 2011, lets hackers steal information protected by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet.

OpenSSL stores a server's private key material in the memory space used by the code handling the heartbeat messages.

The flaw can be used to reveal up to 64 KB of memory to a connected client or server per heartbeat.

Users have to implement a patch issued by OpenSSL and go through all their certificates.

A Drop in the Ocean?

While 300,000 servers seems like a lot, "it isn't that big a number considering how big the Internet is," Steve Marquess, president of the OpenSSL Foundation, told us.

Exactly how many servers are out there may never be known, because there is no uniform way of counting off the servers. For example, Errata's Graham estimates about 30 million servers supportSSL, while Netcraft, which tracks domain names, set the figure at about 2.8 million.

"There's always going to be a certain number of systems that are going to be neglected," Marquess said. "You're never going to get that number down to zero. Look, there are still Windows 95 computers out there."

It is possible that some of the 300,000 unpatched servers Errata discovered last month already have been patched and new ones with the flaw have taken their place to keep the figure constant.

Most of the servers belong to unknown firms, but a few are located in well-known ones, Errata's Graham said, adding, "No computer should be exposed to the Internet that isn't regularly patched."

The Advent of BoringSSL

Meanwhile, staffer Adam Langley has announced that Google is changing the way it workswith OpenSSL code.

Google has used patches on top of OpenSSL for years, he said.

Some have been accepted into the main OpenSSL repository, but many don't mesh with OpenSSL's guarantee of application programming interface (API) and application binary interface (ABI) stability, noted Langley, and many are "a little too experimental."

Things have grown "very complex," with more than 70 patches existing across multiple code bases for Android, Chrome and other products, he said, which are beginning to need subsets of these patches.

Going forward, Google will import changes from OpenSSL rather than write code on top of those patches, said Langley. The result, called "BoringSSL" for now, soon will begin appearing in the Chromium repository, and later in Android, as well as in Google's internal systems.

Again, there are no guarantees of API or ABI stability with this code.

No Threat to OpenSSL

Google is "not aiming to replace OpenSSL as an open source project. We will still be sending them bug fixes when we find them," Langley said.

"Google has extremely extensive worldwide operations and has had some very smart people doing extensive customization for some time," OpenSSL's Marquess said. "We work closely with those people, and I don't see any changes at all."

Further, the company will continue to fund the Linux Foundation's Core Infrastructure Initiative, a multimillion-dollar project set up by several vendors to fund open source products critical to core computing functions.

Tide Turns in Favor of Crime-Fighting Smartphone Kill Switches

Despite strong industry resistance, it appears the campaign for kill switches in smartphones has won. Apple added a kill switch last year, and iPhone thefts dramatically declined. In the meantime, thefts of smartphones without kill switch technology continued to soar. Some victims of those thefts were harmed -- even killed. Now Google and Microsoft have agreed to add kill switches to their OSes.

In the wake of overwhelming evidence that the kill switch Apple introduced in iOS 7 last year has reduced iPhone thefts, Google and Microsoft have agreed to follow suit.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have spearheaded the battle to implement smartphone kill switches, last week announced that the next versions of Android and Windows Phone will include a kill switch.

Crimes related to iPhones -- robberies, muggings and theft, often involving violence against the victims -- were reaching epidemic proportions both in the United States and abroad, leading Gascon, Schneiderman and the mayor of London to set up the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative with the participation of law enforcement agencies.

Robberies and grand larcenies involving Apple products fell 19 percent and 29 percent respectively year over year in New York City from January to May, while the same crimes involving Samsung smartphones, which did not have a kill switch until April, increased by more than 40 percent, according to a report the Initiative released last week.

Don't expect to see the kill switch on every new smartphone out there yet, though.

"We'll probably see kill switch-enabled devices by 2016 at the earliest," Ramon Llamas, a senior analyst at IDC, told us.

"Carriers have already solidified what their 2015 lineup will look like. Then there's the question of how quickly you can implement the kill switch in the OS."

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Wireless carriers and manufacturers fought the idea of a kill switch tooth and nail until giving in to unrelenting pressure from Gascon and Schneiderman.

CTIA, the Wireless Association, which represents carriers, wrote the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in June, arguing that kill switches would brick mobile devices, making them impossible to reactivate or reuse.

CTIA also argued that hackers could spoof a kill command, disabling entire groups of mobile devices owned by an organization such as the U.S. Department of Defense or a law enforcement agency.

Samsung proposed in November that it preload Lojack for Androidonto all its phones sold in the United States, but wireless carriers rejected the idea, Gascon told TechNewsWorld at the time.

In response to the pressure for a kill switch, CTIA set up a database designed to prevent stolen phones from being activated, although it worked only for 4G/LTE devices. Gascon dismissed it as a smoke screen, noting that a similar database in the UK was not effective.

CTIA also offered consumers apps for download, which could remotely erase, track and lock stolen devices.

In April, however, carriers dropped their opposition to kill switches, with the CTIA announcing a Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment, under which members pledged to implement kill switches on an opt-in basis.

Why the Industry Hates Kill Switches

Implementing the kill switch "was never a technology problem," said Carl Howe, a vice president of research at the Yankee Group, pointing out that Apple, BlackBerry and others have been able to wipe devices remotely for years.

"Carriers saw a nice revenue stream from phone insurance and replacement phones, and they didn't want to incur the coordination efforts and costs in implementing industry-wide kill switches without some revenue to go with," Howe continued.

"Microsoft and Google were simply waiting to see which way the wind blew before they got on board," Howe said.

It's not likely that implementing kill switches will hurt the industry through a loss of income from device insurance, however.

"My guess is that [carriers will] now introduce support for [anti-theft measures] under new insurance plans," Howe predicted.

Turning to the Law

Meanwhile, S.O.S., Schneiderman and Gascon have been working with lawmakers to push legislation to deter smartphone-related crimes.

S.O.S. is working with Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Serrano earlier this year introduced the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act, H.R. 4065, in the House of Representatives. Klobuchar teamed up with other senators to introduce legislation requiring a smartphone kill switch.

Also in February, Democratic Sen. Mark Leno introduced bill SB 962 in the California legislature. That bill, which seeks to prohibit sales of smartphones not pre-equipped with theft-deterring technology from July 2015, is due for a second committee hearing.

Is Legislation Overkill?

In light of the latest news, is it necessary to pursue legislative measures?

"The Secure Our Smartphones report elevates the need for [Leno's] bill," Alex Bastian, a spokesperson for the San Francisco district attorney's office, told us. "It's important to ensure that a universal system is implemented."

Currently, there is debate over whether to offer an opt-in or an opt-out solution, Bastian said.

"The proposed solutions by Microsoft and Google are opt-in," Bastian pointed out. "Opt-out is a better option, because it guarantees a universal system where all phones have a technological solution activated."

How Amazon's Fire Phone Will Beat the iPhone in 3 Years

No one could catch Apple when Apple focused on leading the market, but once Apple started focusing on competing with Samsung, passing it got far easier, and Samsung did it. However, Samsung isn't a good leader, and you can see that in its weakening sales numbers. So, if Apple continues to chase Samsung, and Samsung continues to be bad at leading, Amazon wins.

Amazon launched its rather impressive Fire Phone last week, and it has a number of things that make it interesting -- but just as the iPhone improved massively by the third version, I expect this phone will as well, as a result of users providing feedback on what they want.

Ironically, if the iPhone fails against the Fire Phone, it will be because Jeff Bezos is executing Steve Jobs' old strategy of focusing on building a great experience, while Tim Cook shifts Apple to price competition, as a result of his battles with Google and Samsung. I'll share what I see coming and then close with my product of the week: the Samsung 801 Processor, which is at the heart of the new Fire Phone.

Modeling Success and Failure

One of the functions of analysts is to document how a leading product will be overcome by a competitor. The analyst starts by assuming the outcome and then works backward to take into account both actual and anticipated events that support that outcome.

The first time I did this was when I co-led the project to spin out the IBM Software Business as a separate company. Detailed analysis indicated with some certainty that if IBM didn't spin out the business, then Microsoft would pass it by. IBM didn't, and Microsoft did.

These efforts typically are geared toward preventing the outcome they forecast -- not ensuring it -- though several times in my career, I've failed because I accurately predicted the outcome. In other words, being right isn't the goal of undertaking this -- ensuring you are wrong actually is.

Bezos Mirroring Jobs

What made the iPhone so successful when other screen phones were failing was that Jobs focused more on what the phone did and on the customer experience than he did on the device itself. The phone it was based on, the LG Prada, had been well branded and was just as expensive, but it wasn't particularly interesting or easy to use. It was very pretty, though.

Screen phones were failing for a number of reasons: They were difficult and unsafe to use (you had to look at them when typing, which increased the difficulty, and if you did this while driving it shortened your life expectancy). They were relatively fragile (it was easy to break a screen), and they got crappy battery life because the screens were so large.

Jobs got people to forget all of that by wrapping the iPhone with apps and iTunes, and making it incredibly easy to use.

Bezos started with a screen phone, then wrapped it with Amazon's movie and music services, and improved the store-in-your-pocket experience that exists on the Kindle Fire tablets. This shopping experience is one of the Fire Phone's killer features, and it should appeal to Kindle fire users, much like the Apple fans really embraced the iPhone first.

The lesson folks often forget with a new device like this is to attract your fans first -- then move to the rest of the market. Kindle Fire users should love this phone.

The other two killer features are the Mayday button, which is like having an Apple Genius in your pocket, and the 3D display, which creates an "oh wow" sharable experience. Ease of use and the "oh wow" experience connected to the first generation iPhone were what allowed it to quickly dominate the market.

Beating Apple

Amazon won't beat Apple with the generation-one Fire Phone, and it likely won't do so with generation two. Generation one is focused on making Kindle Fire tablet users love it, and generation two likely will be focused on fixing any immediate design or use problems. It is typically the generation-three product -- assuming one and two have been successful -- that steps out and begins to showcase the potential for dominance.

Amazon will beat Apple if Apple continues to go down a path of price-cutting and chasing Samsung rather than leading the market. No one could catch Apple when Apple focused on leading the market, but once Apple started focusing on Samsung, passing it got far easier, and Samsung did it.

However, Samsung isn't a good leader, and you can see that in its weakening sales numbers. So, if Apple continues to chase Samsung, and Samsung continues to be bad at leading, Amazon wins.

In that scenario, Amazon moves into Apple's place as market leader, and both Samsung and Apple go after it, but given Amazon operates at break even and has store scale and reach that neither company can match, it is even more unlikely that Amazon can be caught from behind -- unless it stumbles -- than it was for Apple.

Apple is particularly weak against Amazon's economic model, which is based on managing to zero. In other words, Amazon can spend every cent it makes in profit and not be killed by investors, because that's what it currently does.

Apple has huge financial reserves, but it will crush margins if it spends them, and its valuation will fall like a rock, putting the entire executive team at risk. Samsung, which is a low-margin company, was a huge problem for Apple. Amazon is potentially far worse.

Wrapping Up: Count Down to Amazon Leadership

The only way Apple comes out of this on top is if Amazon stumbles like Microsoft did with Zune (which it hasn't done yet) or if Apple can retake market leadership before Amazon can challenge for it, which isn't for at least two years, or when the generation-three Fire Phone launches.

Amazon has demonstrated with the Kindle Fire tablet and its core shopping execution that it, unlike Samsung, is fully capable of leading this market, and once it's out in front, it will be nearly impossible to catch -- unless it trips and falls.

In short, Amazon wins if it continues to use Steve Jobs' playbook with an Amazon spin, and if Apple continues to use a strategy better suited to Samsung or Compaq. Let's revisit this, assuming we are all still around, in June of 2017.

Product of the Week: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 is an impressive part. In fact, the specs look more appropriate for a PC than a phone, except it isn't very power hungry. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 has four 2.3 GHz cores and a high-performance GPU (for graphics).

It has a world modem that should work anyplace you want to travel and at maximum data rates in most areas (which could actually suck if you get hit with roaming charges).

It supports the new faster USB 3.0 standard if you want to transfer data with a cable (which most of us don't do anymore), and it will both display and capture 4K video.

One of my personal favorite features is quick-charge 2.0, which helps you charge your device very quickly (I often forget to plug my phone into the charger at night). In short, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 carries the Qualcomm banner, showcasing what it can do well, and it is an appropriate choice for a phone that can challenge Apple without breaking the bank.

Because the Qualcomm 800 solution, which isn't even Qualcomm's best part (that's the even more powerful 810), is what makes the Amazon Fire Phone so incredibly versatile, it's my product of the week

Apple Gets Ready to Tell Consumers Why They Want a Smartwatch

Apple doesn't rush to market with its products. It waits for the competition to pave the way -- experimenting and often failing to ignite much interest. Then, when it's Apple time, the company steps forward with a beautifully designed iWhatever and simply tells consumers: "This is what you want." It worked with the iPod, iPhone and iPad -- but will it work with an "iWatch"?

Apple reportedly is preparing to ship multiple versions of a smartwatch this coming fall, as competition increases in the wearable technology space.

Its long-rumored smartwatch will be available in multiple screen sizes and will include more than 10 sensors that will allow it to track the wearer's health and fitness metrics, among other information, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Apple wants to address the notion that smartwatches currently on the market do not provide significant additional functionality beyond what a smartphone can do, it seems.

Apple provided a hint of its plans for health and fitness features when it unveiled Health at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. The app aims to centralize all of a user's fitness and health information. The reveal of the app added fuel to the rumors that Apple was preparing to launch its smartwatch imminently.

New Product Lines

The company's chief executive, Tim Cook, already had promised to push into new product categories by the end of the year. The last time Apple debuted a major new product was four years ago, when it launched the iPad -- before Cook took charge of the company.

Production of the smartwatch may start within a few months at Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, with the aim of bringing the device to market by October. Quanta is expected to start trial runs later this month, the WSJ said, with total shipments of between 10 million and 15 million by the end of the year. Apple is said to be confirming the specifications before starting production.

Whenever Apple happens to debut its smartwatch, it will be late. Samsung has the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Google has Google Glass. The Pebble smartwatch syncs with the wearer's smartphone and provides notifications including for incoming calls, text messages and emails. Meanwhile, several wearable devices track the wearer's health and fitness data, such as Nike's FuelBand and the Fitbit.

'Stronger Status Symbol'

"In effect, the smartwatch could replace the smartphone," said Rob Enderle, principal at the Enderle Group.

Apple's watch "could have a display that was nearly as large. It would be harder to lose and drop, it would be easier to use hands-free -- with voice command -- and it would be more visible, making it a stronger status symbol," he told TechNewsWorld.

"I doubt Apple will go this way though," Enderle continued, "because they want people to buy both an iPhone and an iWatch -- not cannibalize the phones. So it will likely be more of an extension of the iPhone with an exercise focus. It will likely alert you if you leave your phone behind and become a phone tracker if you misplace the phone."

Wearable technology is a key growth sector, with global sales predicted to reach 19 million units this year, more than tripling sales. Device sales will soar to 111.9 million within four years, according to IDC.

However, Apple might face a tough battle getting its smartwatch onto the wrists of consumers.

'Simply Gadgets'

"The fact of the matter so far is that consumers don't want smartwatches as they are currently designed. That's why they don't sell," said Carl Howe, vice president of research and data sciences at the Yankee Group.

"That suggests that today's products are largely technology solutions for problems that don't strike most consumers as true needs; they simply are gadgets," he told TechNewsWorld.

"New areas like this have to be defined first before there is demand. For instance, no one really wanted a car in the 1900s except the geeks of that time," Enderle said.

"Now, because the market has been defined, most everyone wants a car. Tablets were a nonstarter outside of vertical markets before the iPad, as well. But most consumers don't yet want a smartwatch because no one has brought one to market that consumers have been attracted to," he observed. "You need both a compelling product and a way to create demand for it. This isn't a 'build it and they will come' market."

Market-Defining Opportunity

The Apple brand is powerful. It created consumer desire for smartphones, and it might do the same for the smartwatch.

"Until the iPhone, consumer demand for touchscreen phones was nil. Some of that was that the products were bad, but some of that also was that they didn't do enough to solve a real consumer problem," Howe noted.

"What Apple did was to design something in which the touchscreen was a means to be able to synthesize three products in one. [It combined] an iPod, a phone and an Internet communications device into one elegant device," he said. "I suspect Apple will do something similar in future wearable products as well. Their wearability will be a feature, but they'll actually address several consumer wants and desires in one elegant product."

Intel (?) Gets Chat-Appy With Mood-Mimicking Avatars

Looks like those zany Intel scientists had some time on their hands. The company's latest product isn't a microprocessor innovation or even a wannabe-trendy wearable. It's an app that lets users transform video selfies into goofy-looking animations to amuse their friends. "I am surprised that Intel would get involved in something like this," said social media expert Lon Safko.

Best known for its computer chips, Intel has ventured into new territory. The company on Thursday unveiled Pocket Avatars, a mobile messaging app that uses animated icons to mimic users' facial expressions.

Now available for both Android and iOS, the free app can be used to create, send and receive personalized 3D video animated messages designed to convey emotions and mood. It uses a mobile device's standard camera and microphone to capture a user's facial expressions, head movements and voice, recreating them in cartoon-like characters. 

"A lot of this technology comes from our research at Intel Labs," Intel spokesperson Agnes Kwan told TechNewsWorld. "This is a way to show we have really cool scientists in-house who can develop technology that is user-friendly, useful and fun."

More than 40 avatars are available at launch through an in-app library -- some free, but most priced at 99 US cents -- with new ones scheduled to arrive regularly, Intel said.

The American Greetings Care Bear franchise, the Annoying Orange, Gumby and Pokey, The Jim Henson Company, the LEGO Group, Mr. Bill and the San Diego Chicken are among the brands and companies offering content through Pocket Avatars.

'A Good Marketing Tool'

"The app looks fun, and why not do something in the chat/message space if you are Intel?" asked Gordon Owens, digital marketing professional at GO Digital WSI.

"With messaging services getting huge valuations and pointless apps like Yo gathering tens of thousands of users, it seems like a good marketing tool," he told TechNewsWorld.

"I doubt Intel has any aspirations beyond using this as a fun way to market their brand," Owens added. "I don't expect them to sell the service to Facebook for a few billion -- but you never know!"

Indeed, "this is quite out of character for them, but I suspect it's a technology experiment to see how the app performs and how people interact with the app," Greg Sterling, founder and principal analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence, told TechNewsWorld.

"If it does really well, perhaps it will open a new line of business for them," he suggested.

A Wink and a Smile

Proprietary facial gesture software underlies the Pocket Avatars app, Intel said.

Users begin by selecting an avatar and speaking into the camera on their mobile device. As they talk, raise or lower their eyebrows, blink, move their head or nod, the avatar reflects their expressions in real time, recording both the audio and facial data. After 15 seconds, the user can review the message before sending it.

The only data that gets stored is the facial-tracking information, Intel's Kwan said. "We are not storing any information that will lead back to the user."

The app currently is available in English only in the Unites States and Canada, but Intel plans to expand its availability to other countries and languages in the near future.

Pocket Avatars "offers our Annoying Orange fans a new kind of immersive experience that allows users to become part of our episodes in a bigger, fun way, using their own voices to make their own Annoying Orange videos that they can share across their social networks, " said Dane Boedigheimer, creator, producer and voice of Annoying Orange.

'A Flash in the Pan'

"I think it will be a short-lived hit," predicted marketing and social media expert Lon Safko.

The app is "kind of like the Jib-Jab 'insert your face here' eCards," Safko told TechNewsWorld. "They are fun at first but get old quickly."

Consumers aged nine to 24 are more likely to embrace such technologies than older folks, but the 25-plus group makes up the majority of social platform demographics, he pointed out.

In short, "I am surprised that Intel would get involved in something like this, as it is so far from their core business. This won't add to their core business of selling microprocessors," Safko said.

"Fun stuff seems to fad -- takes off fast, then dies equally fast. Apps and tools that can be used for business take off slower but have much more staying power," he pointed out. "I see this as a flash in the pan -- a good flash, but not long-lasting."