Video: How PayPal is enabling mobile payments in Toronto

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Earlier today, I went on a tour in dowtown Toronto with Alexander Peh, PayPal Canada’s head of mobile, to preview mobile apps that make everyday life easier. PayPal has been in the online and micro-payments business for many years now and they've adopted the latest technologies. Their mobile solution, which works on iPhones, Android devices, Windows Phone and BlackBerry phones, is compatible with over 100 businesses in Toronto which can enable secure payments.

Alexander Peh explained how  mobile apps and online food delivery services make use of PayPal payments these  include parking app HonkMobile, ride sharing app Blancride, Beck Taxi, food ordering service Grabb, Kupfert & Kim and grocery and booze delivery service Urbery. PayPal earns a commission on each transaction made with these retailers and service providers.

Facebook Messenger now gives access to users without Facebook accounts

Facebook is looking to bring its messaging app to more people as it now lets users sign-up without a Facebook account. All you need is your phone number and you gain access to all Messenger features like photos, group chats, video, stickers, voice and video calling, etc. The feature is currently available to users in Canada, the US, Peru, and Venezuela.

Facebook stresses though that using Messenger with a Facebook account is still beneficial though. “People can easily message with their Facebook friends and contacts, access their Facebook messages and take advantage of multi-device messaging across mobile devices, the web and tablets,” Facebook Software Engineer Louis Boval said in a blog post.  

Source: Facebook Newsroom

Android phones now get Microsoft Office apps

Microsoft’s goal to expand its cross-platform development bears another fruit today. The company just released its Office apps to Android smartphones. Office for Android tablets has been around since the start of the year. Now, the apps have been optimized for a smaller screen. One of the big changes is the placement of the formatting settings at the bottom of the screen to make editing that much easier. OneDrive integration is a given but the app also adds support for Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox. Microsoft said some Android manufacturers will also be preloading Office apps into different Android phones. It’s bloatware admittedly but at least it’s something useful. You can find the free download links for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel below.

Source: Mashable | Download: Word + PowerPoint + Excel (Free)

Apple to protect users’ privacy further by preventing iOS apps from seeing other installed apps

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook released a letter last fall emphasizing how their company works to sell products and not harvest data, which is a criticism for the likes of Google and Facebook. Taking it a step further, the company plans to not let apps access download data for advertising purposes. Apps like Facebook and Twitter make use of this data so we’re not sure what will happen after the changes will reportedly happen once iOS 9 is released.

Source: Apple Insider