Old smartphones arrest deforestation

In this edition of the Worldwide wrap: One group is recycling old smartphones into devices that detect deforestation and alert authorities to illegal logging activity or poaching; and freemium apps are driving remarkable revenue growth in the Google Play app store. Get the details on these stories and more below.

Rainforests are full of exotic animals and plants. But one group is using technology to keep a check on particularly dangerous creatures - humans.

San Francisco start up Rainforest Connection is recycling old smartphones into devices that detect deforestation and alert authorities to illegal logging activity or poaching.

Hidden in trees, the solar-powered devices are programmed to pick up destructive sounds, such as chainsaws or alarmed animals, according to the company's Kickstarter page. An alert is then sent via text message to local authorities, who can then respond immediately. Also, anyone who downloads the Rainforest Connection app can listen live to the sounds of the Sumatra rainforest.
Via: Mashable

A new report from analytics company App Annie suggests that freemium apps are driving remarkable revenue growth in the Google Play app store, potentially making it a more fertile market for mobile game developers.

According to the report, the more than 1.5 million apps in the Google Play store generated roughly 2.4 times as much revenue in the first quarter of 2014 as in the same quarter a year prior. Japan is responsible for the lion's share of that revenue, followed by the US and South Korea.

The Japanese Google Play market is especially interesting because, in App Annie's estimation, Japan is still the number one region when it comes to generating Google Play revenue despite being the 10th best performer in terms of downloads.
Via: Gamasutra

The German government has said it will cancel its contract with US telecoms provider Verizon, citing spying fears.

"The pressures on networks as well as the risks from highly-developed viruses or Trojans are rising," the country's Interior Ministry told Reuters. "Furthermore, the ties revealed between foreign intelligence agencies and firms in the wake of the US National Security Agency affair show that the German government needs a very high level of security for its critical networks."

The move comes following reports that US intelligence agencies have been monitoring German communications networks, even to the point of tapping the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Via: The Register

Royal Philips and salesforce.com have entered a strategic alliance to deliver an open, cloud-based healthcare platform, leveraging Philips' in medical technology, clinical applications and clinical informatics and salesforce.com in enterprise cloud computing, innovation and customer engagement.

The platform will enable medical device and data interoperability, the collection of data and subsequent analysis to enhance clinical decision making by professionals and enabling patients to take a more active role in managing their personal health.

The collaboration has till now resulted in two clinical applications to be unveiled on the new platform: "Philips eCareCoordinator" and "Philips eCareCompanion".
Via: CIOL

The Global Positioning System (GPS), the satellite-based navigational system, has transformed how maps are made and the way the world gets around in the great outdoors. Its biggest weakness: the indoors.

Some Microsoft researchers are working to help bring GPS-enabled mapping and location services past the front door.

"While Earth's outdoors environment has been mapped extensively, indoor localisation of places such as shopping malls or department stores remains an elusive dream," says Inside Microsoft Research author Rob Knies in a blog post.
Via: eWeek

Popular mobile apps designed to ease the stresses of city life are meeting with resistance - from the cities themselves.

Apps that allow users to auction off their prime parking spots or give rides to strangers who would rather not wait for a taxi are bumping up against city regulatory structures that aren't quite sure what to make of them.

San Francisco made national headlines this week when the city banned the new "MonkeyParking" app that allowed drivers to auction off one of the city's most precious commodities - parking spaces. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent a cease-and-desist letter Monday to the company declaring that the free mobile app violates the city's police code by buying and selling public on-street parking slots.
Via: The Washington Post