For Mobile Developers, iOS 7 Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts

Editor’s Note: Semil Shah works on product for Swell, is a TechCrunch columnist, and an investor. He blogs at Haywire, and you can follow him on Twitter at @semil.

Leading up to last week’s Apple event and the unveiling of the iPhone 5s, the Internet may have led you to believe that “Android is better.” The reality for startups, however, is more nuanced. When it comes to the first choice developers have for starting in mobile, Apple still leads the competition, as mobile expert Steve Cheney asserts these advancements place iOS roughly 18-24 months ahead of Android. (If you haven’t read this post from early August 2012 by Cheney, please do – he called much of this months ago.)

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iPhone 5c Review: Apple’s Colorful Take On The iPhone Is A Refreshing Change Of Design Pace

Apple’s iPhone release schedule has been predictable in the past when it comes to number of devices: each year, a single new smartphone. For 2013, that’s changed with the iPhone 5c, as for the first time Apple has eschewed simply bumping down the outgoing iPhone as a lower cost option, and has instead released hardware specifically designed to be more affordable. The iPhone 5c is the result of this rare change in Apple’s game plan, and it makes a good argument for being flexible with product lines.
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BlackBerry Claims BBM Is Still Coming To Android And iPhone, But Has Given No Timeline

Amid dire financial results and an oddly-timed smartphone launch, BlackBerry’s big BBM for iPhone and Android launch seemed lost in a murky grey purgatory with little chance of escape with each passing minute its release was held up. The app made it to some lucky New Zealand and Australian App Store users, but BlackBerry halted the rollout when a leaked Android .apk set its servers on fire. Today, it finally provided an update on the state of the balked launch – sort of.

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NoWait, A Mobile Replacement For The Restaurant Buzzer, Launches Its Consumer App

The Pittsburgh-based mobile waitlisting service for restaurants, NoWait, which raised $2 million in Series A funding just over a year ago, is now rolling out its first consumer-facing product with the launch of its iOS app for restaurant goers. The new app shows a list of nearby restaurants, wait times and distances, and lets you join the waiting list from your phone.
The ability to virtually “get in line” ahead of your arrival works also for some restaurants that don’t offer online reservations, such as through OpenTable, for example. The NoWait consumer app lets you browse through its supported restaurants, see how busy they are, and enter in your party size to grab your spot.
Initially, the app will only work around Pittsburgh as the company scales its operations, but the plan is to have the consumer version working nationwide by January 2014 – just a few months away.
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Russian Mobile-First Banking Startup, RocketBank, Nabs $2M From Runa Capital

Another startup seeking to shake up the banking market with a convenient, mobile-first approach has bagged $2 million in seed funding from Runa Capital. Russia’s RocketBank launched its service in July 2012 and has since accrued “a few thousand” users. Its iOS app includes the ability to pay a person without having to know their bank details — instead, users can pick who they want to pay from their phone address book or enter an email address or e-wallet number.

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Mobile Apps Fashion rent the runway Rent The Runway Begins Mobile Push With The Launch Of Its First App

Rent the Runway, the site that has been leasing designer dresses to women at a fraction of retail price since 2009, is launching its first mobile app today. With the understanding that their target customer is an on-the-go kind of woman and that usage is increasingly taking place on phones, a newly redesigned mobile site will follow next week.
“People aren’t necessarily renting because they want a designer dress,” said Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman. “They’re renting because they’re busy, professional, and this is a seamless way to get them dressed for every occasion. We wanted to do mobile that first of all was enhancing the experience of convenience, and that you could really do on a phone.”
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LinkedIn Hits 38% Of Unique Visits From Mobile, Up From 8% In Q1 2011

LinkedIn is making the shift to mobile. It now sees 38 percent of unique visits from mobile, which is up from 8 percent in the first quarter of 2011, and users who access via mobile are 2.5x as active as desktop-only users. At an event in San Francisco this morning, CEO Jeff Weiner said LinkedIn will release a slew of new mobile apps.
These new apps include an upgraded version of the Pulse news reader that integrates your LinkedIn info, an iPad redesign, but most excitingly, a new experience called Intro. It leans on LinkedIn’s acquisition Rapportive to integrate professional info from LinkedIn profiles directly into you Apple Mail app on your iPhone or iPad. Intro can show the LinkedIn profile photo, company, and job title of the people who you email with, and let you connect with them on LinkedIn.
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