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Mobile-first bank Simple is shutting down
One of the first-ever mobile-first banks is shutting down.
What to keep in mind before switching to a mobile-first bank
The day I got my first-ever paycheck, I scrawled my signature on the back, went to the bank, dropped it off with a kindly teller and left with a deposit slip and a smile on my face. A few years after that, a Canadian financial titan bought my bank and started managing it differently. That made the decision to embrace an upstart, mobile-first bank -- Simple, in this case -- that much easier. I can't pretend that the idea of trusting my money to a startup wasn't a little worrisome, but the appeal of novel features and Silicon Valley speed quickly won me over and I haven't looked back. You might enjoy making the switch too, but before you pull the trigger, here are a few questions to ask yourself.
Simple unveils a smarter spin on shared bank accounts
Simple's online-first approach to banking has been a breath of fresh air for a typically conservative industry. Now, it's hoping to shake things up again with Simple Shared, it's own take on joint bank accounts. Just as usual, it allows two people to access and contribute to a single account with two debit cards. But Simple adds an additional layer of transparency, so that you can actually see who made what purchases (yes, figuring that out is actually a problem among married folks). And of course, the Simple Shared accounts also have access to all of the company's existing saving and planning tools.
Simple rebuilds backend from scratch, releases new apps
Over the past several months my favorite online bank, Simple, has been working feverishly to update their back end. Today it released an updated app that compliments the under-the-hood changes made to its systems. Simple, if you don't know, is a banking services company that was founded with mobile in mind. Unlike many banking services that throw an app together for a large bank, knowing customers have few choices otherwise, Simple took the approach that good design and excellent features are important to many customers. After using the service for well over a year, I must agree. Users will immediately notice a design refresh, making Simple more in tune with iOS 7 and beyond. There's been a significant upgrade to Goals, where you can set financial goals. Simple makes it astonishingly easy to manage and track goals, and I'd say it is one of the best tools for this if your needs and goals are relatively straightforward. Other changes as per Simple's release notes: • We've totally redesigned and rebuilt Simple from the ground up, adding new features and improving functionality based on your feedback. • Send money to other Simple customers instantly and for free with Simple Instant. • Goals is all new. It's now easier to see your savings progress. Add memos to Goals to better organize your savings. Shortcuts make moving money between Goals even faster! • Get quick access to your most common contacts with Favorites. • Personalize your Simple experience by uploading your own avatar Simple isn't a bank, but it was acquired by BBVA earlier this year. I've been assured this will only make the company stronger, and it continues to operate essentially as it did before, but now with a multinational bank backing it. I've always been impressed with Simple's customer service, and even in light of a lot of bugs that popped up for users in the previous weeks (the CEO has apologized for these), I'd say Simple is a safe bet for handling your money and making your life, well, more simple. The app is free, but you'll need to ask for an account as they ramp up their customer base.
The complexity of Heroes of the Storm
Ten years ago, players told Blizzard that WoW was too simple compared to past MMOs like Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. More recently, many (including me at one point) said the same about Hearthstone -- that too much complexity had been removed from the genre compared to games like Magic: The Gathering. Today, Polygon posted an interview with Heroes of the Storm game director Dustin Browder. His message: HOTS isn't "DOTA for babies." "If you come looking for complexity in exactly the same places," Browder said, "you will be disappointed. If you come looking for complexity wherever it may be, I think you're going to be surprised and have a great time." Blizzard has stripped away many MOBA hallmarks, such as the item store. Browder says that other features make up for this loss of complexity. Talent selection is crucial. Map-specific objectives also play a huge role in determining the course of the battle and require careful strategy to accomplish. In a video included with the story, Polygon's "MOBA expert" Emily Gera had some further comments on the game: "The masses don't want to play big, scary MOBA games... Blizzard is trying to create a game that has less of a barrier to entry and bypass the classic issue of MOBA games -- that MOBA games are full of jerks... There's a lot of infighting. In HOTS, everyone on the team is in it together." What do you think? Is HOTS dumbing down the genre too much, or are these the changes the genre needs?
A Simple reminder: Update iOS or else
As soon as Apple updated iOS to versions 7.0.6 and 6.1.6 to fix an SSL vulnerability, TUAW let you know about it. Apparently some people still haven't updated, and app-enabled bank Simple has sent out a tersely-worded reminder to its customers letting them know that if they don't update before Monday morning, they'll be unable to sign into Simple. Although updating is a good thing for any iOS user, it's critical for those who are using banking apps like Simple. As the company notes, "Why the drastic measures? A security flaw was recently found in older versions of iOS, and if your network were compromised (say on a public wifi hotspot), it could expose any data you send. Updating iOS fixes that vulnerability. This measure is part of our ongoing commitment to protecting your banking information." The company also provided the simple steps for performing the update, which we repeat here: "It's easy to update your iOS: tap Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install. You must be connected to a wifi network in order to download and install the update." If you haven't yet updated to either iOS 7.0.6 or 6.1.6 on your iOS devices, or run the OS X Updater for your Mac, please do so as soon as possible. And if you're not familiar with Simple, be sure to take a look at our review of the service and app.
Daily Update for October 10, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Simple teases iPhone instant personal money transfers with MoneyDrop
A group of us here at TUAW are huge fans (and customers) of Simple -- it's an online bank that revolves around a debit card linked to a powerful, free iPhone app. On Wednesday, the company announced an upcoming feature for those who are using iPhone 4S and newer devices -- MoneyDrop. MoneyDrop will make it very easy for Simple customers to send money to each other, instantaneously and with no fees involved. Rather than using email addresses or account names, MoneyDrop uses Bluetooth LE to identify Simple users near you, at which time you can use an AirDrop-like interface to shift money to those people. It's a great way to split lunch bills or buy a used car -- just as long as the other parties are also SImple customers. Simple currently has only about 65,000 customers, with 100,000 on a wait list and thousands of invitations being sent out every week. Simple says that MoneyDrop will become available in "the next few months," another step on the way to a cashless society.
Daily iPhone App: Mansion Run through some spooky pixels
Underground Pixel is a retro game developer that's put out a few iOS titles already, and their latest release is called Mansion Run, now available on the App Store for just US$0.99. Mansion Run is simple by design -- in fact, it's almost too simple. The idea is that you're a skeleton named Boney Wellington (nice) who has to run through a house full of poltergeisted furniture. There are four levels to run on, and the whole game is that you simply swipe up or down to switch levels, dodging furniture for as long as you can. That's it -- all of the furniture is essentially the same, and none of it ever moves. Just run and dodge. That simplicity may sound a bit off-putting, and it is -- Mansion Run doesn't put any of its complexity up front. There are some minigames to mix things up (including a quick-time event where you need to swipe the screen in a certain pattern), and extra rooms to find, but honestly, even after about 10 or 15 runs, I was never able to find or pull off either of those. There are also various characters to unlock and powerups to use, but these don't really seem to affect the game all that much. Still, Mansion Run is charming, due to the great pixel graphics and the excellent soundtrack. The game's vibe is very fun, and it's the kind of game that you can get immensely good at over time -- you can slide through very small spaces in the furniture, so if your twitch muscles are well-tuned, you can pull off some nice runs. It's hardly a deep game, but it is well-made and provides plenty of entertainment for the price. If you want a cheap, fun and simple runner to add a little joy to your iPhone gaming time, give Mansion Run a try.
Simple brings its banking and budgeting app to Android
The iOS crowd has been able to use Simple's online banking app since May of last year, but starting today, those on the Android side of things also have access to the service. For those unfamiliar with Simple, it essentially hopes to match or replace the other guys by introducing "everything you need to organize your spending so you can save more." This means that in addition to checking account balances, you can also view recent transactions and send or schedule payments. In order to do any of that, however, you'll first need an account -- Simple's taking invite requests now, and those wanting to give it a try should check out the source link to get started.
Simple app shares SSL vulnerability with other banking sites, sends personal data on login (Updated)
Update: Good news for Simple customers, the company has already removed your SSN from its encrypted communications and is actively working on a fix to the SSL issue (but it will likely require an app update). Just this past May, Simple Finance launched its iOS app -- also called Simple -- to help budget-minded iPhone users manage their spending. The app is rather powerful and, given that it has access to your various payment methods, it stores plenty of sensitive personal data including your bank account information. Unfortunately, Nick Arnott of Neglected Potential has discovered that the app doesn't do as much as it could to protect personal data. After poking around the guts of the app, Arnott noted a troubling SSL security hole. The good news is that the app uses encryption to send your information back and forth to its servers, but the bad news is that it has no way of verifying it's speaking only to a verified server. In theory, a third party could be listening in and simply passing the data back and forth as though it were never there. This isn't particularly unusual, and Arnott even notes that most other online banking tools operate in the same manner. But while a scenario in which a data thief harvests your information in this manner is unlikely, Arnott discovered an even more puzzling "feature" of the app. It seems that when you sign in to Simple on your iOS device, the data sent from Simple's servers back to your phone includes a host of personal information. Your name, email address, physical address, phone number and even your social security number are making their way from Simple's computers to your device each time you log in. With these concerns in mind, Arnott attempted to alert Simple's support team in hopes that they would patch up the vulnerability or offer additional information. The response he received essentially says that Simple knows the issue exists, and it may be fixed down the road. If you're a Simple user, or simply want to know more about the app's security (or lack thereof), you can find more details on Neglected Potential.
Leaderboard: Complexity vs. simplicity
A wise man once said to me, "Now, the world of MMOs don't move to the beat of just one drum, what might be right for you, may not be right for some." That may have also been '80s TV talking, but the point is still valid. When it comes to the wide range of our gaming buffet, we have everything from incredibly complex games that require a Masters-level course to Fisher-Price games with condescending colors and icons just in case we can't read. I appreciate both and everything in between on that spectrum. Complexity certainly does drive people away and present a real obstacle to growing a playerbase, but it also asks folks to step up and learn something instead of be handed welfare epics. Simplicity is relaxing as well because life is complicated enough. Sometimes you just want to see big numbers and things going poof. So take out your imaginary crayons today and draw a line. To the left are complex MMOs and to the right is simplicity in its finest. Don't levy judgment on which is better overall; just tell us where your preferences lie -- to the complex or to the simple? Vote after the jump!
iPhone app and debit card from Simple aim to streamline consumer finance
Considering the amount of time your wallet and your iPhone spend sitting right next to each other, is it any wonder that banks and payment services are making iOS job #1 for their mobile strategies? Big banks like Citi and Chase have capable iPhone apps for handling your money on the go, with features like photo check deposit and quick payments. There are also pure mobile payment plays like Dwolla, Venmo and PayPal with sophisticated iPhone apps to handle sending money to friends and businesses. (PayPal recently acquired Card.io which makes an API for app developers to capture credit cards via the iPhone camera, rather than with a dongle or hardware sled.) The latest entry in the race to replace your traditional banking experience with something new and better comes from Simple, which puts a sophisticated web front end and sleek app atop a traditional debit card. Simple has just come out of beta for public account invitations, after several months of private testing. Founding CTO Alex Payne (formerly of Twitter) has also announced that he's stepping away from Simple to focus on other technology interests. Simple aims to provide a (wait for it...) simpler take on managing your money, whether it's from your computer or on the go. It's not a bank, exactly; it's a customer service firm that works with wholesale banks to provide a checking account and matching Visa debit card. You use the card just like any debit card, and you can get cash (fee-free) from any ATM in the Allpoint network. Unlike Mint, it doesn't aggregate your fiscal data from lots of accounts; it shows you just the one account, but with greater detail and responsiveness. %Gallery-161332% With a debit card, unlike credit cards, you can't spend more than you've got -- which makes them a great choice for tight budgets. Traditional debit cards still leave a window for you to get overdrawn, however, if you've got pending transactions that haven't hit your account yet. Simple helps your fiscal transparency by showing your "Safe to Spend" funds number, which incorporates your unreconciled transactions and docks your available cash as appropriate. The integrated Simple iPhone app provides immediate feedback and approval on your transactions as they're made; in fact, you can't sign up for a Simple account if you don't have an iOS device. You can use an iPad or iPod touch, as long as you also have a cellphone that accepts SMS text messages. The app is protected by a simple PIN code, rather than the username/password pair common for banking apps. Since your card transactions are immediately reflected in the app, you can do a lot of easy tracking and tagging to keep track of your money. The app and the website offer powerful search tools so you can figure out where and when you did your spending; the site also includes Gmail-style keyboard shortcuts for power users. One feature that's not ready at launch is check depositing via the iPhone camera. Right now, to add funds to your account you use direct deposit, EFT from your current bank, or mailed deposits. As for sending money out, you can direct payments to companies or individuals right from the iPhone app, but you'll need their full mailing address as Simple defaults to sending a check if it can't do an electronic transfer. I've only had my Simple account for a few days (card unboxing gallery above -- it's very nicely packaged, in a linen bag) and I'm not sure how much utility I'll get out of it. For anyone with a moderately complicated financial life, such as a joint account with a spouse or multiple sources of income, Simple may be too simple to gain much traction. For basic banking and debit transactions, however, it might be just the ticket. I'm going to try using my Simple card instead of cash for daily spending so I can get a better sense of how much money is going into coffee and sundries (and how much I could be saving for a new MacBook Air instead).
Mozilla's 'Junior' iPad browser prototype keeps it simple
Love your iPad, but hate Safari? Mozilla's Alex Limi can relate, it's "a pretty miserable experience," he says. So what's he doing about it? Building a replacement, of course. In a recent presentation showing the fruits of the Mozilla Product Design Strategy team's labors, Limi offered a glimpse at Junior, an iPad browser that hopes to redefine how we view the internet on tablets. The prototype browser eschews the traditional address bar / tab layout in favor of a minimalistic, full screen experience, flanked by only two obvious toggles -- a back button, and a plus symbol that opens a menu containing favorites, recent pages and a URL / search bar. Other common options such as reload, forward and print are hidden away, but accessible. The idea is a simple browsing experience that's more fun, engaging and ergonomic. "It's very simple," Limi summarizes, "it's a browser." He stresses that Junior is still just a prototype, albeit a compelling one. Interested? Check out Limi's full product design presentation at the source link below.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Invader Zurp
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We at Joystiq believe no one deserves to starve, and many indie developers are entitled to a fridge full of tasty, fulfilling media coverage, right here. This week, Spencer Nielsen describes the benefits of simple mechanics with his iOS title Invader Zurp, a simple tap game with a deep, visually appealing strategy. What's your game called and what's it about?The game is a physics-based shooter called Invader Zurp. You play as Zurp (or formally "Zurp: Destroyer of Worlds"), a little alien critter tasked with raining down mighty destruction from planet to planet on his spaceship. You fly on a rail in first person toward structures made of blocks. By touching the screen you fire super-intelligent smart bombs that home in on buildings, defense turrets and incoming missiles. The "touch to shoot" mechanic is dead simple to pick up but there is a deeper strategy in balancing offense, defense and taking measured risks.Why develop independently, rather than work for an established company?The freedom to work on ideas I find interesting and be the person that calls the shots is the reason I left Apple after five years to work on my own projects. Being one part of a large team working on large projects was satisfying and rewarding in its own way but I would always get these crazy ideas that I wanted to explore. The ability to see my own vision through and ship these "crazy ideas" has a reward and personal fulfillment that I value more than a steady paycheck.
EmporiaCLICK hands-on at CES 2012 (video)
It may not turn the heads of anyone who needs the latest and greatest phone -- let alone most smartphone users -- but Emporia Telecom's not going after that market. Rather, the handset manufacturer is busy pushing out devices that appeal to the first-time phone buyer or anyone who doesn't need anything besides a simple phone that actually makes calls and sends messages. The EmporiaCLICK, which should be available this Spring for under $100 without contract, is the absolute epitome of the basic clamshell cameraphone, complete with large buttons, fingerprint-friendly exterior and a built-in one-click emergency button which will cycle through a list of five emergency numbers until somebody answers. Head on below to see the device in all its glory, as well as a video after the break.
Daily iPhone App: Whale Trail
Whale Trail is a catchy little game that combines a few of my favorites lately into a cotton candy sweet package. Jetpack Joyride is in there, as you need to press on the screen to move upwards and avoid obstacles. Tiny Wings is in there too, as you keep a cute little whale flying using swooping patterns to stay up in the air. And Baby Monkey (going backwards on a pig) is in there too, as a goofy little song plays for you while flying along. In short, it's cute, fun, and pretty darn addictive. The polish on this one is excellent -- the graphics are as airy and light as the sound effects, and while the story itself is nonsensical, the controls definitely aren't. You can do some pretty precise swinging with this little whale. A frenzy mechanic will keep you chasing down the various routes available as the game goes on, and Game Center integration offers up plenty of achievements to go after as well. Whale Trail is an excellent title -- simple but fun, and perfect for the iPhone. It's available on the App Store right now for 99 cents.
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 19, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of September 19, 2011: Opera Software, builder of the popular mobile browser, announced it was acquiring Handster, an app store platform that supports Android, WP7, BlackBerry, and Symbian. [TechCrunch] Samsung unveiled three new HSDPA feature phones destined for India: the Champ 3.5G (S3770), Primo (S5610) and Chat 527 (S5270). [UnwiredView and SammyHub] A leaked image indicates the HTC Hero S will be coming to US Cellular in the near future. The device appears to be the Kingdom, and is expected to feature a 1.2GHz single-core Qualcomm CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 4-inch qHD display and Gingerbread. [PocketNow] Speaking of US Cellular, the Motorola Electrify officially became available for purchase online this week (expected in stores on September 26th), and can be yours for $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate. [AndroidCentral] Wirefly accidentally outed press renders of the Samsung Stratosphere -- on the retailer's Pantech Breakout page. The images have since been removed. [OwenJohnston] A white version of the Samsung Galaxy S II is making the rounds in the UK, but we learned this week that Bell Canada will be launching it well before the holidays. Interestingly, the device in the image (seen above) has retained the international version's three-button layout. [MobileSyrup] Among the barrage of new phones Sprint's releasing on October 2nd is the BlackBerry Curve 9350, according to another leaked employee memo. The price will likely be $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate. [CrackBerry] T-Mobile MVNO Simple Mobile announced a new unlimited prepaid plan for BlackBerry devices for $60 / month, which includes access to T-Mo's HSPA+ network. [N4BB] Huawei appears to have outed press images of the Honor, which is said to have a 4-inch FWVGA LCD, Gingerbread, 1.4GHz CPU (no specifics known yet), and an 8MP rear camera accompanied by a front-facing cam (again, no details on the resolution here). [EuroDroid] A member of the iPhone Dev Team has released a new version of Redsn0w, its popular iOS jailbreaking software, known as 0.9.9b1. Check the link to get the full list of new features. [Technobolt]
Skulls of the Shogun preview: Dem bones
All of us on the site seemed extra busy at E3 this year, our schedules filled with appointments for games both big and small. But each of us tried to grab a little time just wandering the show floor appointment-free, and in the 45 minutes I had to myself, I stumbled across this gem, sitting in the middle of the Indiecade booth area. Skulls of the Shogun is a game created by Jake Kazdal, Ben Vance and Borut Pfeifer, three guys with extensive game development backgrounds who decided to go it independently as Haunted Temple Studios. We saw it in action last October, but I'd never heard of it before, and I was instantly charmed by the premise: a group of cartoon-y skeleton Shogun warriors battle it out in turn-based strategy, with no hexes to be seen.%Gallery-126236%
RedEye launches mini app for IR plugin
We've covered RedEye's IR dongle for the iPhone a few times. Originally, it was introduced as a complete add-on for the iPhone that allowed you to control any entertainment center reached by infrared. Over time RedEye has pushed to simplify the unit more and more, instead providing a cheaper and smaller experience. Now the company has done that again. While the original iOS app offered a lot of different customization and functionality, the new RedEye mini app offers a straightforward TV remote experience. It's free, like the full app, but instead of having to customize everything exactly the way you want it, you can get a simple channel changer and volume control to use on your iPhone. It's been interesting to watch companies like this learning what Apple already knows: while power and customization definitely drives part of your audience, the real way to sell a product is to make it easy to use for anybody who picks it up. I'm sure some people prefer the more complex, self-designed system (myself included), but if you want to aim for a larger market, simple and easy is often best.
