The FaceTime app lets you do video chatting between Apple devices but some have felt it was limited because you had to be on WiFi. During the WWDC 2012 keynote, Apple said that will no longer be the case once iOS 6 comes out. People will now be able to reach you via the phone call or with a direct FaceTime call, nearly anywhere you are.

Video calling over mobile networks isn’t anything new but it is nice to have it baked into the iPhone natively. Of course, you have to wonder how much data this will take off and how quickly FaceTime-ing with your friends will blow through your data limit.

Sprint got the iDEN network after it merged with Nextel (it’s officially “Sprint Nextel”) a few years ago and it never really handled that deal well. That may be why the Sprint board recently voted down an acquisition of MetroPCS, although that merger may have had easier technological integrations.

Regardless, Sprint will be sunsetting the iDEN network and it will be notifying these customers soon. One of the main benefits of the iDEN network is that it enables push-to-talk, so it has many customers in government and in verticals like construction. Sprint will be transitioning these customers to its Direct Connect PTT service, which runs on its CDMA network.

The move allows Sprint to utilize the iDEN spectrum for its 4G LTE network and it recently announced a $1 billion credit agreement for new equipment. Even when the 4G LTE network is rolled out, the company will be keeping CDMA alive.

[Via Sprint]

There’s a slim chance we may get the next iPhone during the keynote but I would expect Apple to hold that off until the Fall. Instead, I think the company will spend its developer conference focusing on software. The Mountain Lion desktop OS is already in beta, so expect to get a final price, release date and more insight on its features.

While Mountain Lion is fun, the most appealing part for us is getting a glimpse at iOS 6. We expect the latest version of the platform to have a lot of major new features.

It appears like we’ll be getting 3D Maps from Apple in iOS 6 and it appears like this could remove Google Maps from the Apple handsets. Apple has purchased multiple mapping companies over the years to prepare for this move but Google Maps is pretty damn good, so it had better be more than just a few pretty 3D maps. There’s also the possibility that these new maps will use Open Street Maps as its main data with an Apple overlay and that could provide a good experience.

It may also be time for iOS to get a bit of a visual overhaul but I wouldn’t hold my breath for widgets. If we’re getting into wishing territory, I’d also hope that Apple and Facebook squashed their beef and integrate Facebook into iOS in the same way that Twitter is hooked in.

We’ll know soon enough, so what do you want from iOS 6?

Opera has been in an interesting transition over the last few years, as it wants to be more than just a browser maker and dip into the targeted advertising space. With its more than 200 million users across all platforms, it is sitting on a ton of data.

The recently-public Facebook is sitting on a ton of cash and knows that mobile is a point of concern moving forward because it hasn’t properly monetized these smaller screens. The report suggests that buying Opera would allow the social network to create its own mobile browser and that could open up a host of new revenue options.

What kind of options? It’s all about the data. Remember, Opera works by processing your Internet requests on the server side and delivering to phones, so it knows a lot about its users. This is also a very nice way to conserve bandwidth on the go, which could also be important for Facebook as it gains more traction in emerging markets.

It’s still an odd fit though because even with Opera products on iOS, Apple will never let it become the default browser, especially if it’s owned by Facebook. It may be a different story for Android handset makers though and Android is definitely the leader worldwide.

We haven’t heard anything from Facebook or Opera on this and we’re still going to throw this in the rumor category until we get something more concrete. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Facebook buying more mobile companies in the not-too-distant future, though.

Update: Opera gave us the standard no-comment. “As a standard policy Opera does not respond to market rumours and we have no comment to the rumour addressed in the question.”

[Via Pocket-lint]

So, let’s take a look at some of the productivity apps I’m digging lately.

Evernote

Evernote is one of those “no-duh” productivity apps that I never really gave a chance. Everyone I know who uses it raves but I never felt like it was me. After seeing what Dusan is able to do with the pro account, I decided to dive in and now I’m hooked.

You must know that there’s a bit of a learning curve with Evernote, as you have to change your routine. I take notes all the time when I’m interviewing people and I’ll usually keep those in a Google Doc or in a text file. I’m also a big bookmarker when I’m surfing the web. Both of those go to Evernote now and it’s so much better having one place for all of these.

I’m still a newbie on the beauty of Evernote but I’m encouraged to see it continually improve its apps with photo-recognition capabilities, audio-recording and offline access for premium accounts. I’m still waiting for Evernote to just launch its own calendar too.

Still, I’m convinced that Evernote will be an important part of my computing life from this point on and I will gladly pay for a premium account every year.

Download Evernote for iOS here or for Android here.

Expensify

One of the coolest things about my job is being able to travel to awesome places like New Orleans for conferences but keeping track of business expenses is a pain in the butt – especially after a few too many hurricanes. Luckily, the app space has my back and Expensify has become my must-have app on any business trip.

Expensify makes it super simple to snap some pictures of your receipts, file them and then e-mail them off to the appropriate parties. If you’re using the free account, you still have to manually input the amounts (easy to do, btw) but the paid account will use optical character recognition to fill in that information for you. Paid accounts also give you excellent reports and data.

Expensify solves a real problem for me and makes my life easier. I dig it.

Download Expensify for iOS here and for Android here.

Prezi

The most boring of the boring is putting together PowerPoint presentations and I’m lucky enough to not have to do that very often. Every once in a blue moon I do have to bust out a presentation and Prezi and its iPad app are my favorite ways to do this.

Using Prezi to make a presentation is drop-dead simple and it looks amazing. Seriously, if you want to look like a badass, use the iPad app to show off your presentation and you’ll be able to sell ice to Eskimos. Ok, you’re still going to need some quality content if you’re working with a smart audience but I’m impressed with Prezi.

The iPad app isn’t perfect in terms of editing and some of you may still prefer Keynote but my next presentation will be on an iPad using Prezi.

Download the Prezi iPad app here.

[Main image credit]

Tripadvisor is probably best known as the place you go before you go on vacation but the company told me that it’s trying to push to become more of a tech company instead of just a travel company. A large part of that push is mobile technology and using apps which help you when you’re in your destination.

The City Guides app had the useful ability to download maps for each city that can be used for offline access. Along with just maps, this also included points of interest, subway/metro directions and nearly anything else you’d want in a new city. The City Guides update adds 30 new cities to this app and it brings the grand total to 50 cities which have this offline feature.

There are also some neat features like being able to use the phone’s internal compass and GPS to give you easy-to-follow walking directions to points of interest. You can download the updated Tripadvisor’s City Guides app from the Play Store here and the iOS version can be had here.

The most noticeable thing about the new Google+ Android app is how pretty it is. Status updates are portrayed as big, beautiful images and there’s such a nice flow in it. Even the little transition animations seem like they have been given a lot of thought and this is probably the best-looking mobile social networking app I’ve seen since Path.

It’s not just a spit shine though, as the new Google+ Android app also includes the ability to start a video-chat Hangout directly from your smartphone. You can also look forward to being able to download Google+ photos directly from the app and turn it into your wallpaper, and, as always, you can use Google+ as a way to auto-upload all of your phone’s pictures.

You can download the Google+ Android app from the Play Store here.

Oh yeah, you can follow IntoMobile on Google+ here.

[Via Google]

Launching on iOS first, the Facebook Camera app is a streamlined experience that’s focused on getting and sharing photos. Instead of launching the Facebook app, waiting for it to load, hitting the add photo button, choosing or taking a photo, having it attach and then sharing, you can now just share photos with just a few taps. The layout is also much more conducive for seeing all of your friends’ albums.

What’s interesting is that it’s clear this was in development before the Instagram deal (which still hasn’t closed), so the acquisition makes a bit more sense because it shows that Facebook considers photos a vital part of its mobile strategy moving forward. Go ahead and check out Facebook Camera here and you can just search for it on the App Store under “Facebook Camera.” I would expect this to quickly come to Android, as well.

With the launch of Facebook Camera and Facebook Messenger, you have to wonder if we’ll see the world’s largest social network continue to offer usage-specific apps which tie into the larger social graph.

[Via Facebook]

Google’s Android had a whopping 59 percent of the market for the first quarter of 2012. The battle between Android and iOS is much tighter in the United States but Android is clearly the leader when you look at the global perspective. Part of the reason for this is that Android has strong penetration in emerging markets like China and India, while the iPhone is still trying to penetrate those areas.

Don’t feel bad for Apple though, as it shipped 35 million iPhones last quarter and is the leader in smartphone revenues by a large margin. It still has a respectable 23 percent of the market and that number could grow, especially if it continues to make inroads into China.

The ones you may want to feel bad for are Research In Motion and Microsoft, as its platforms continue to struggle. The BlackBerry maker now has a little more than 6 percent of the global market and that’s 7 percent less than it had at this point last year. BlackBerry 10 may revitalize its chances but it will definitely be tough.

At least RIM had a peak, as Windows Phone still faces many hurdles to mass adoption. The IDC numbers said it has 2.2 percent of the market in the first quarter and that’s actually a decrease from last year. I don’t think this takes into account the high-profile Lumia 900 in the United States, so look for those numbers to increase next quarter.

[Via IDC]

We’ve covered shopkick multiple times before and think it’s a very interesting way to augment the in-store experience. Basically, it rewards users with virtual currency for actually visiting stores and these can be redeemed for discounts on products or for other goods.

“We’ve learned from our guests that they appreciate being rewarded for doing what they already love to do — shopping at Target,” said Bonnie Gross, Target vice president of marketing and guest engagement, in a prepared statement. “In our test launch, Target guests in seven cities had the opportunity to experience shopkick at Target and we received rave reviews. Now guests nationwide can start earning valuable points just by shopping our stores.”

What’s interesting about this to me is that many retailers see mobile technology as a threat, particularly with companies like Amazon encouraging people to use stores as a show room. I think shopkick shows that this type of technology can actually help retailers by providing a better experience.

[Photo credit: Flickr, infowidget]

This nearly $13 billion dollar deal will take about nine full months to close as regulators had to take a close look at if the maker of Android buying a handset company was copacetic. China only agreed to the deal if Google agreed to keep Android free and open for at least five years, so we can look forward to that.

It’s unclear what the immediate next steps will be but look for a lot of layoffs or “restructuring.” Google has roughly 33,000 employees currently and it will be adding about 19,000 with the Motorola deal. The search giant has said it will keep Motorola independent but I’d be sharpening up my resume if I worked there.

As for products, Google has maintained that Motorola won’t be getting special advantages over other Android makers but I hope it does. Some of Motorola’s hero devices aren’t even getting Ice Cream Sandwich for a while, so I hope a Google-backed Motorola will be quicker with the updates and more flexible moving forward.

Google is going to own Motorola soon, what do you think about that?

[Via TechCrunch]