Mobile data increased very much last year. I expect the growth to continue. If operators do not invest enough to their network and/or find suitable charging schemes the network can become more congested than before.
4G mobile device speeds becomes the new standard. As competition move to that end, there will be fast growth there. Shipments of ’4G’ LTE devices, that is handsets, dongles and tablets, reached almost 103 million units in 2012, according to figures published by ABI Research. It interesting that almost 95% of the devices shipped went to North America and the Asia-Pacific.
3G will become the low-cost option for those who think 4G option is too expensive. What is interesting to note is that not everyone who upgraded to an LTE-capable device last year took out an LTE subscription; in fact, only around half of LTE device owners also have an LTE subscription.
The shift to 4G can take many more than year to fully happen even in USA. ABI expects the rate at which 3G subscribers with LTE handsets upgrade to LTE connections will gather pace over the next two years. And even longer in Europe. Carriers should not be panicking. And 3G will live and expand besides 4G for quite a long time. For many of those living outside cities, 3G internet connections are still hard to come by.
Apple and Samsung will continue to make money this year as well as people rate Apple and Samsung more highly than ever. Accountant Deloitte predicts that Smartphone sales to hit 1bn a year for first time in 2013.
Samsung is currently the world’s leading seller of phones and televisions. Those leaders should be careful because competition is getting harder all the time. Samsung boss has given warning on this to employees. Remember what what happened to Nokia.
Android will dominate smart phone market even stronger than before. Digitimes Research: Android phones to account for 70% of global smartphone market in 2013.
Windows Phone 8 situation is a question mark. Digitimes predicts that Shipments of Windows Phones, including 7.x and 8.x models, will grow 150% on year to 52.5 million units in 2013 for a 6.1% share. There is one big force against Windows Phone: Google does not bother doing services for Windows Phone 8, Google’s sync changes are going to screw Gmail users on Windows Phone and there are issues with YouTube. Does Windows Phone even have a chance without Google? For active Google service users the changes are pretty that they get this phone.
Competition on smart phones gets harder. It seems that smart phone business have evolved to point where even relatively small companies can start to make their own phones. Forbes sees that Amazon, Microsoft, Google, will all introduce branded mobile phones.
Patent battles are far from over. We will see many new patent fights on smart phones and tablets.
Mobile phones still cause other devices to become redundant. Tietoviikko tells that last year mobile phone made redundant the following devices: small screen smart phones (4 inch or more now), music buying as individual tracks or discs, navigators (smart phone can do that) and a separate pocket size camera. Let’s see what becomes redundant this year.
Many things happens on Linux on mobile devices. Ubuntu now fits in your phone. Firefox OS phones from ZTE will come to some markets. ZTE plans to make Open webOS phone. Meego is not dead, it resurrects with new names: Samsung will release Tizen based phones. Jolla will release Sailfish phones.
Cars become more and more mobile communications devices. Car of the future is M2M-ready. Think a future car as a big smart phone moving on wheels.
Nokia seemed to be getting better on the end of 2012, but 2013 does not look too good for Nokia. Especially on smart phones if you believe Tomi T Ahonen analysis Picture Tells it Better – first in series of Nokia Strategy Analysis diagrams, how Nokia smartphone sales collapsed. Even if shipment of Windows Phone 8 devices increase as Digitimes predicts the year will be hard for Nokia. Tristan Louis expects in Forbes magazine that Nokia abandons the mobile business in 2013. I think that will happen this year, at least for whole mobile business. I have understood that basic phone and feature phone phone business part of Nokia is quite good condition. The problems are on smart phones. I expect that Windows Phone 8 will not sell as well as Nokia hopes.
Because Nokia is reducing number of workers in Finland, there are other companies that try to use the situation: Two new Finnish mobile startups and Samsung opens a research center in Espoo Finland.
Finnish mobile gaming industry has been doing well on 2012. Rovio has been growing for years on the success of Angry Birds that does not show slowing down. Supercell had also huge success. I expect those businesses to grow this year. Maybe some new Finnish mobiel game company finds their own recipe for success.
Late addition: Wireless charging of mobile devices is get getting some popularity. Wireless charging for Qi technology is becoming the industry standard as Nokia, HTC and some other companies use that. There is a competing AW4P wireless charging standard pushed by Samsung ja Qualcomm. Toyota’s car will get wireless mobile phone charger, and other car manufacturers might follow that if buyers start to want them. Wireless charge option has already been surprisingly common variety of devices: Nokia Lumia 920, Nexus 4, HT, etc. We have to wait for some time for situation to stabilize before we see public charging points in cafeterias.
1,261 Comments
Tomi says:
Nuclear options: Microsoft was testing Surface Phone while Nokia experimented with Android
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/13/4728184/microsoft-surface-phone-testing-while-nokia-experimented-with-android
Things might have turned out very differently
Microsoft and Nokia need each other more than you’d expect. While Nokia was testing Android in a variety of different ways, Microsoft was busy experimenting with a Surface Phone. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the company built a number of prototype devices to test the viability of such a phone.
While Microsoft was busy experimenting with concepts for its own hardware, Nokia was also building its own Android devices. The New York Times reported details of one particular project today, but there were more. Sources familiar with Nokia’s plans have revealed that the company was growing increasingly frustrated last year with Microsoft’s work to push Windows Phone to lower price points. An effort codenamed “Tango” resulted in cheaper handsets with low specifications, but Nokia needed more.
One particular project in testing was codenamed “AOL” according to insiders — “Asha on Linux,” a reference to Nokia’s low-end line of devices that don’t run Windows Phone. Nokia uses a variety of codenames for projects, but this particular one — also codenamed “MView” for Google’s hometown of Mountain View — was designed to use a variant of Android on a low-end handset to maximize margins.
Tomi says:
Mobile future requires a lower power consumption
People want mobile technology in the future that is truly personal, to free them of annoying performance, help them to live in the moment, and help them get the best side out.
It envisions the Intel researcher and anthropologist Genevieve Bell of smartphones and tablet computers after the mobile future Intel Developer Forum in Helsinki. Bell illustrated presentation of how we have through the ages using mobile technology to our bodies and the physical dimensions, the extension of the short comings and patch up, and have added it to our efficiency.
“Mobility-related technology has been shaped by centuries of human communities. Mankind’s future impact of information technology in accordance with Moore’s Law still less shrinkage, but also the global population,” says Bell.
“Insights should not be based solely on new technologies, but also take into account people’s needs and desires. We shape the future of one – futures, there are seven billion, and the number is growing all the time. ”
Bell stressed that the people’s wishes and require Intel and the developer community the ability to think beyond the existing mobile devices. The need to consider the whole picture, covering infrastructure, personal information, places, and people.
“This global vision requires an ongoing dialogue about what the technology allows and what the people want,” says Bell.
The future of mobile requires a power consumption reduction of a significantly smaller.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/mobiili+tulevaisuus+edellyttaa+pienempaa+virrankulutusta/a930138
Tomi says:
Tablet Sales in Fourth Quarter Could Surpass PCs, With Annual Tablet Sales Set to Eclipse Computers by 2015
http://allthingsd.com/20130912/tablet-sales-in-fourth-quarter-could-surpass-pcs-with-annual-tablet-sales-set-to-eclipse-computers-by-2015/
It looks like Steve Jobs was right to predict that the PC would become the “truck” to the tablet’s “car.”
“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks, because that’s what you needed on the farm,” Jobs said at our D8 conference in 2008. But, he went on, as we became a nation of cities, cars gradually overtook trucks, and became the dominant form of transportation.
Fast-forward five years, and Jobs’ projection appears to be on track. Market research firm IDC projected on Wednesday that tablet shipments in the fourth quarter will outpace the number of desktop and notebook computer units sold. By 2015, annual tablet sales will top PCs, as well, IDC said.
But it turns out that even more people are opting for the motorcycle, if you will. Smartphones will make up more than two-thirds of the smart-device market by 2015, IDC said, accounting for 1.4 billion devices.
While the tablet and smartphone markets are maturing in some places, trade-in programs should help keep the market growing.
“At a time when the smartphone and tablet markets are showing early signs of saturation, the emergence of lower-priced devices will be a game-changer,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teardown preview: Inside the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C
http://www.edn.com/design/systems-design/4420610/Teardown-preview–Inside-the-iPhone-5S-and-iPhone-5C
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft passes 9 million Windows Phone transactions daily, promises carrier payouts to developers after 30 days
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/09/13/microsoft-passes-9-million-windows-phone-transactions-daily-promises-carrier-payouts-to-developers-after-30-days/
Microsoft today announced the Windows Phone platform has surpassed 9 million transactions, which encompasses both app and in-app purchases, per day. At the same time, the company revealed a policy change for developers: it will no longer wait to receive app sales proceeds from carriers before issuing payment to developers.
Previously, Microsoft would only pay developers once they received payment from carriers. After discovering that this was delaying payments 120 days or more on average for paid transactions, the company has finally changed its stance: all transactions via carriers will become eligible for payout after 30 days.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jolla achieved a breakthrough: Full compatibility with Android
Android applications run in a Finnish Jolla phones, the company says. Jolla Sailfish operating system can also be used on Android devices.
Jolla phones can be used for Android applications, News fledgling Finnish mobile phone manufacture
Sailfish is based on Nokia and Intel to develop Meego operating system. Sailfish is open, that is, the other phone manufacturers will be able to use it on their devices without licensing fees.
According Jolla Android apps can be used Sailfish phones as such, and the company collaborates with leading international Android app stores in order to ensure that consumers are able to download Android applications, Sailfish devices just like on Android devices.
- For example, the popular Android apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and Spotify are directly Sailfish operating system, and the future Jolla device, says CEO Tom Jolla Pienimäki release.
According to the company the next installment Jolla phones will be pre-order this week.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/mobiili/2013/09/16/jolla-saavutti-lapimurron-taysi-android-yhteensopivuus/201312904/66?rss=6
Tomi Engdahl says:
Couchbase relaxes NoSQL derrière into mobile seats
Couchbase Lite sits a small JSON DB atop iOS, Android
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/13/couchbase_mobile_nosql/
Database startup Couchbase has developed what it believes is the first NoSQL database for mobile devices, but why would anyone want such a thing?
The Couchbase Lite database was announced by the company on Friday as part of its “JSON Anywhere” strategy, which sees it also create a new data syncing service and a cloud test and development “sandbox” platform. It comes a few weeks after the company trousered $25m of filthy Valley lucre.
By bringing the key-value document store to mobile devices, the company hopes to corner a use case that is both very young, and potentially ubiquitous. Couchbase Lite is designed to let developers take advantage of the expanded processing and storage capabilities of modern phones and fondleslabs.
“The goal is to provide a modern database that embodies the same philosophy as Android and iOS,”
“The Couchbase Lite device databases – they will talk to a Couchbase server in the cloud through the Sync Gateway,” Yaseen says.
The beta community editions of Couchbase Lite and the Couchbase Sync Gateway are available for download, and the Couchbase Cloud is open.
We asked MongoDB Inc, the steward of the MongoDB database, whether it had plans for a mobile locally-deployable version of Mongo: “We don’t currently offer a version of MongoDB for mobile devices,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Translate This: Google’s Quest to End the Language Barrier
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/google-translate-has-ambitious-goals-for-machine-translation-a-921646.html
Can the language barrier be breached? Google certainly thinks so: Under the leadership of a computer scientist from Germany, the company is making progress toward a universal translation tool. But competition is looming from Microsoft and Facebook.
When science-fiction writers envision the future of mankind, a number of ideas for improving the world repeatedly pop up. They include free, unlimited energy and spaceships traveling at the speed of light. And they include the creation of miniature computers that serve as universal translators, eliminating all language barriers.
The last of these dreams, at least, is something Google intends to make a reality. The man in charge of the project is a computer scientist from a small village near Erlangen, in southwestern Germany.
Franz Josef Och, 41, has long been focused on a single goal: to build the perfect translation computer, a machine that is so inconspicuous and fast “that you hardly notice it all, except as a whisper in your ear,” a device that can promptly spit out any text, the content of a website or a conversation in any other language.
The German computer scientist and his team have already made substantial progress. Google Translate can now translate text back and forth between 71 languages, be it from English into German or from Icelandic into Japanese.
The Google service was used about 200 million times last year. And, so far, it has been free of charge. But multinational companies, in particular, would attach a great deal of value to an automated translation service; Google could almost certainly charge a substantial amount of money for the tool in the future.
For now, however, the company’s goal is to perfect the service, and its path leads through the smartphone. The Translate team has developed an app that transforms smartphones into a talking translation machine, with the ability to handle about two dozen languages so far.
The app works very well, as long as sentences are kept relatively simple.
Och feels that the application is still “slightly slow and awkward, because you have to press buttons.” The quality of the translation is also inconsistent. But only a few years ago, people would have said he was crazy if he had predicted what Translate could do today.
‘A Quantum Leap’
IBM laid the foundation for automated translation decades ago, but the project made no headway and was soon abandoned. For this reason, the first years at Google were “a pure research project” for Och and a handful of coworkers. Recently, however, they have made tremendous progress — “a quantum leap,” as Och calls it.
And the larger the mass of existing data, the better the system works. This is why the translation computer only became possible as a result of the Internet. The worldwide web offers an enormous wealth of existing translations.
A Slice of Humanity
Och remains vague, saying that the business side of things isn’t his department. But he is willing to say this much: “Machine translation makes a lot of information accessible for many people, and that makes many other things possible.” The indirect benefit, he explains, is what’s important. Google has taken a similar approach with its other products. Its search engine and email service are available at no charge, for now. But they also supply Google with hundreds of millions of users and their data.
At the same time, there is growing competition. A few weeks ago, Facebook acquired a small company that has developed a system for language entry and automated translation. The social network wants to use the system to facilitate communication among its users, of which there are more than a billion from upwards of 200 countries.
The European Union has developed its own automated translation program, called MT@EC, which is primarily designed to tackle bureaucratic jargon. Owing to budget cuts, the EU will likely have to eliminate 10 percent of its human translation workforce in the coming years.
Microsoft has also launched a translation project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Focus on Efficiency
A whitepaper from Facebook, Ericsson and Qualcomm
September 16, 2013
https://fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/851575_520797877991079_393255490_n.pdf
As founding members of Internet.org, we believe it’s possible to build infrastructure that will sustainably provide affordable access to basic Internet services in a way that enables everyone with a phone to get
online. While the current global cost of delivering data is on the order of 100 times too expensive for this to be economically feasible, we believe that with an organized effort, it is reasonable to expect the overall efficiency of delivering data to increase by 100x in the next 5–10 years.
This effort will require two key innovations:
1. Bringing down the underlying costs of delivering data, and
2. Using less data by building more efficient apps
If the industry can achieve a 10x improvement in each of these areas—delivering data and building more efficient apps—then it becomes economically reasonable to offer free basic services to those who cannot afford them, and to begin sustainably delivering on the promise of connectivity as a human right
In the first half of this paper, we examine how Facebook has approached the challenge of building more efficient technologies in order to connect more than one billion users.
After that, we will explore the challenges of creating more efficient apps that use less data. Efficiency gains achieved on the Android platform will be discussed, as well as improvements in image rendering.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google is done selling the Nexus 4 in the US
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/16/4738980/google-play-nexus-4-sold-out-not-coming-back
The Nexus 4′s run in Google Play is now over. On Monday, Google’s online storefront sold out of the 16GB version of the flagship phone in the US, and a trusted source with knowledge of the company’s plans tells The Verge that this marks the end for the LG-built device.
Google’s decision to stop selling the Nexus 4 comes amid rumors that it and LG will team up for a follow up Nexus smartphone, possibly called the Nexus 5.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Obama administration urges FCC to require carriers to unlock mobile devices
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/obama-administration-urges-fcc-to-require-carriers-to-unlock-mobile-devices/2013/09/17/17b4917e-1fd4-11e3-b7d1-7153ad47b549_story.html
Several months after calling for legislation to unlock cellphones, the White House filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday asking that all wireless carriers be required to unlock all mobile devices so that users can easily switch between carriers.
The proposal from the administration’s tech policy arm follows up on President Obama’s response last spring to furious complaints from online activists after the Library of Congress made the practice illegal in January when an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act expired. The activists posted their complaint on the White House’s protest forum and collected over 114,000 signatures on their petition to overturn the Library of Congress decision.
In March, the Obama administration said that consumers should be allowed to own “unlocked” phones, which spurred new bill proposals and committee discussions about the issue. The FCC also said it supported cellphone unlocking.
“Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle,” said Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of the NTIA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s Easier To Share Your Favorite Web Content with Firefox for Android
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2013/09/17/its-easier-to-share-your-favorite-web-content-with-firefox-for-android/
Firefox for Android includes new features that make it easy to share your favorite websites, articles or videos with family and friends. The quickshare feature in Firefox adds a fun and colorful icon of your favorite sharing service in the Firefox Share menu so it’s only one tap away. Share frequently with Twitter, Facebook, SMS or email? Firefox for Android will automatically add your most frequent sharing service to the menu button.
Firefox for Android supports bump sharing on NFC-enabled devices.
With new updates to Reader, you can easily change the font between serif and sans serif based on your preference.
If you’ve found an article you’d like to read later, you can now long tap the Reader icon in the URL bar to add it to your Reading List, without having to switch to Reader first. Everything in your Reader is available offline, to allow you to catch up on reading during commutes or other periods of time where Internet access is unavailable, like on an airplane or subway.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones and tablets have more germs than a toilet seat
Research reveals that tablets and smartphones contain more bacteria than a toilet seat. The bacteria are being left behind as users swipe and poke the screens of devices such as Apple iPads and Samsung Galaxy tablets without washing their hands.
Washing your hands before answering a phone call may not be practical but it could be a good idea. Consumer group Which? has revealed the results of tests it carried out on 60 smartphones and tablets – and they show worrying high levels of germs.
The tests found many devices carried far higher levels of bacteria than are found on the typical toilet seat – simply because users have not washed their hands enough. One tablet tested by consumer group Which? had a count of 600 units per swab of the staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which can create toxins that cause vomiting and diarrhoea. A typical toilet seat has a staphylococcus aureus count of less than 20. High-risk levels, more than 1,000 units of enterobacteria per swab, were found on eight of the 30 tablets tested and seven of the 30 smartphones. The worst tablet had a count of 15,000 units per swab.
James Francis, the microbiologist who carried out the research, said: “A count of 600 on a plastic device of any sort is incredibly high. Itindicates that some people don’t wash their hands a lot.”
Which? editor Richard Headland said: “It’s shocking that a smartphone or tablet can harbour more germs than a toilet seat. Gadgets should be cleaned regularly and thoroughly to avoid germs that could lead to illness.”
Sources:
http://www.iltalehti.fi/iltvuutiset/20130918030217710_v0.shtml
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2423051/How-smartphones-tablets-harbour-thousands-germs-TOILET-SEAT.html
http://www.theweek.co.uk/technology/55173/smartphones-and-tablets-have-more-germs-toilet-seat
Tomi Engdahl says:
Heads up about an upcoming YouTube mobile feature
http://youtubecreator.blogspot.sg/2013/09/heads-up-about-upcoming-youtube-mobile.html
This upcoming feature will allow people to add videos to their device to watch for a short period when an Internet connection is unavailable. So your fans’ ability to enjoy your videos no longer has to be interrupted by something as commonplace as a morning commute.
This is part of our ongoing updates to give people more opportunities to enjoy videos and channels on YouTube mobile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple does not innovate anymore
Apple last week announced its new 5S and 5C smart phones are no longer caused by the same kind of turmoil as a previous release. It seems that after Steve Jobs era, the company is no longer innovate. Apple has become the typical American corporation.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=378:apple-ei-enaa-innovoi&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
WSJ: Huawei does not give up Windows Mobile devices
When Microsoft bought last week, Nokia’s mobile phone business, the overall assessment was that the trade will automatically stop all other WP8-operation of the manufacturers. Estimate appears to be at least premature.
China’s Huawei says the Wall Street Journal in an interview to continue the Windows Phone smartphone development.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=382:wsj-huawei-ei-luovu-windows-kannykoista&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones & Tablets as Remote HMIs
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=267763&cid=nl.dn14
Smartphones and tablets as remote HMIs (human-machine interfaces) are becoming more and more of a reality. The real usage is more limited to remote monitoring devices, but still new technology is offering an interesting and useful way to track critical plant production information, for example. With new tools that rely on browser technology and limit the amount of development effort required, this is an approach that I think will continue to gain momentum.
“Small to mid-sized businesses have taken ‘mobile HMI’ and run with it,” David Hill, marketing communications manager at Opto 22, told Design News in an email. “Customers knew exactly what they wanted to do with a mobile HMI, which they usually wanted on a smartphone, but the cost and complexity of getting there had been too great.” For two water industry customers who connected to an HMI using remote desktop software, the existing solution was limited and cumbersome.
What’s interesting is to see how midsized businesses are using this approach.
To provide security, the obvious concern with these types of systems, Opto 22 recommends using VPN access and separating an organization’s control and computer networks. And beyond that, the key is careful assignment of user rights. The Groov appliance also implements SSL communications using software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit.
While the examples above are obviously not extremely complex manufacturing systems, they do point out the way that connectivity solutions, even with limited capabilities, can offer very significant advances in productivity and flexibility. One thing that amazes me is that controlling the home thermostat, given the availability of wireless technology, has not already gone mainstream with the proliferation of smartphone technology. I know that solutions exist but even the high cost of energy isn’t fueling this trend.
Tomi Engdahl says:
No Internet? No Problem: YouTube Getting Ready to Let You Watch Videos Offline, on Your Phone.
http://allthingsd.com/20130918/no-internet-no-problem-youtube-getting-ready-to-let-you-watch-videos-offline-on-your-phone/
YouTube streams more than six billion hours of video a month. Soon it will let people watch some of those videos even if they’re not connected to the Web.
Next month, Google’s video site will let viewers save clips on their phones and other mobile devices for up to 48 hours, so they can watch them when they’re not online.
The videos will still be free, and Google will run ads on the clips, which will be available via its mobile apps.
That’s a big change for the eight-year-old company, which has previously required a live Web connection to watch its videos (though there are plenty of workarounds).
YouTube announced the move in a blog post published late last night
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sailfish OS Gains Two-Way Android Compatibility
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/09/18/0110239/sailfish-os-gains-two-way-android-compatibility
“Jolla announced that its Sailfish OS is now fully compatible with Android, letting the Linux-based mobile OS run Android apps, as well as operate on hardware configured for Android. This makes the MeeGo-based Sailfish OS the first alternative mobile Linux OS to achieve the feat.”
Tomi says:
Open source Android fork Cyanogen becomes $7m company
Plans to build ‘world’s largest’ mobile OS contender
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/18/cyanogen_gains_funding/
Independent Android firmware project CyanogenMod has become a company, thanks to a $7m Series A financing round led by Silicon Valley venture firms Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures.
The new company, Cyanogen, will be based in Seattle and led by chief exec Kirt McMaster, described as “a Canadian-Californian technology executive with many years of experience in the mobile industry.”
Steve Kondik, who founded the Cyanogenmod project and from whose forum handle the names of both the project and the company are derived, will act as chief technology officer.
The first thing Cyanogen has to show is a new, graphical installer that makes it easier to load a stock Android device with a custom CyanogenMod firmware. According to Kondik, that installer will be available in the Google Play store “in the coming weeks”
“We believe that CM is poised to become one of the largest mobile operating systems in the world,” Lasky wrote. “With literally billions of Android devices in users’ hands, the opportunity is enormous for an Android-based OS like CM that leverages the Android app development community.”
This doesn’t mean CyanogenMod will become a for-pay product right away, or at all.
Tomi says:
Microsoft’s ‘Cortana’ is like Siri for Windows Phone
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/12/4722472/microsoft-cortana-windows-phone-personal-assistant
Microsoft is currently testing and readying a Windows Phone 8.1 update that is believed to include a new personal assistant. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports that the Siri-like feature, codenamed “Cortana” after the Halo character, will let Windows Phone users interact with a handset through voice commands. Windows Phone already includes basic voice commands, but Cortana looks to be a step further with a system that will learn and adapt.
Steve Ballmer has promised a “service-enabled shell” for Microsoft’s devices, and Foley claims Cortana is central to this new shell for Windows Phone, Windows, and Xbox One.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass Not Expected To Reach Europe For Years
http://marketingland.com/google-glass-not-expected-to-reach-europe-for-years-59205
Google’s slow rollout of Google Glass, not to mention one big technical challenge, means it’ll be years before the device is available publicly in Europe.
That’s what two reports are saying after Google hosted a show-and-tell about Glass in Brussels on Monday. The company began a series of meetings with lawmakers and journalists, letting them see and use Glass for themselves.
Likewise, a similar event recap on the European news site EurActiv repeats the same timetable without directly quoting Google:
… the device remains several years from market launch amidst ongoing privacy concerns.
Indeed, there are privacy concerns about Glass in Europe (as elsewhere); UK officials have already discussed banning Glass while driving. As I’ve written before here on Marketing Land, many of the Google Glass privacy concerns are overblown. But Google has to deal with them, and the varying privacy standards and bodies across the continent may slow that process down substantially.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BlackBerry to Slash Workforce by Up to 40%
Layoffs to Cut Across All Departments as Phone Maker Confronts Shrinking Sales
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323808204579083250005557232.html
Struggling BlackBerry Ltd. BB.T -2.21% is preparing for deep staff cuts—up to 40% of its employees—by the end of the year, people familiar with the matter said.
The layoffs will cut across all departments and occur in waves, likely affecting several thousand workers, the people said. BlackBerry had 12,700 employees as of March, the last time it disclosed a total number.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Reinvents Its Wheel With iOS 7, Takes Developers Along For The Ride
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/18/apple-re-invents-its-wheel-with-ios7-takes-developers-along-for-the-ride/
Today brings the release of the most dramatic iOS update that Apple has ever made. More people will experience this change in a shorter period of time than at any point in computing history.
“Measured by the number of people that are going to see a big change within the same 24-hour period,” says Evernote CEO Phil Libin, “I think iOS 7 is the biggest day in technology ever. There’s never been another day like this in the history of the universe where hundreds of millions of people will see a big change to something that they’re used to. Nothing of this scale has ever occurred.”
Then you start to think about the way that we see updates or changes to those platforms. Windows transitions between versions can take years from the time they’re announced. Windows 8 is still chugging along on the low end of the curve. In the mobile world, the newer, better versions of Android like Jelly Bean take months, if not years, to reach meaningful market share. Yes, Jelly Bean is much better looking, more capable and very, very good compared to older versions of Google’s OS. But by Google’s own numbers only around 45% of Android users have even seen it on their devices, and it was released 16 months ago. The absolute latest version of Jelly Bean has yet to register on Google’s charts.
Then we have iOS. Due to Apple’s extremely focused devices strategy and tightly controlled model that shrugs off carrier concessions and partner licensing, iOS has adoption rates that are off the charts in comparison. Recent predictions from mobile app performance management company Crittercism estimate that (if iOS 7 follows the trend of iOS 6) the new OS will hit 80% adoption rates within three months.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS 7 now available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/18/4744436/apple-ios-7-now-available
Tomi Engdahl says:
More than one hundred billion mobile apps
Smartphones and tablets downloaded apps nearly double this year. According to Gartner, loaded applications by as much as 102 billion. 91 per cent of the applications are free.
By more than one hundred billion charge for app stores and developers to make money from a $ 26 billion, or more than 19 billion euros.
Currently, the average Android user to download 4.9 application on their device each month. The number drops to one by 2017, according to Gartner, which means that more and more can be found in their own applications and use them instead.
Gartner predicts that in 2017, mobile applications downloaded for 296 billion pieces (number of paid applications stays low, 15 billion pieces).
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=390:yli-sata-miljardia-mobiilisovellusta&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Torvalds also told his audience, why Linux works so well on mobile phones. – Current smartphones are thousands of times more powerful equipment than what he originally used to develop Linux.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=389:linuxiinkin-haluttiin-takaportti&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart watch is now the hottest new device category. They are developing large companies Samsung and Sony’s leadership, but also the smaller entrepreneurs. At the same time a new area to provide growth opportunities for semiconductor houses.
STMicroelectronics says that the STM32 series of micro-controller works as the brain of Pebble smart watch. The clock is automatically linked to the iPhone and Android smartphones via Bluetooth. F205 32-bit controller is suitable for this application because of performance and low power consumption. F205 controller measuring just 4×4 millimeter.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=386:st-n-prosessori-ohjaa-alykelloa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Opera Mini is spreading fast on phones
Opera Software’s mobile browser has gained a foothold, especially in Asia.
Your browser manufacturer has agreed to a number of new co-operation agreements, which allow partners deploy sells Android devices Opera Mini ready.
“India is the world’s most Opera Mini users,” says the company’s Asia director Sunil Kamath.
He says that the agreements concluded in the first half thanks to Opera Mini can be found pre-installed today in over a hundred smartphones in that area.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/opera+mini+leviaa+puhelimiin+vauhdikkaasti/a931771
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nielsen to Add Data for Mobile TV Viewing
Firm Also Will Roll Out Service That Measures TV Tweets
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887323308504579085341986969458-lMyQjAxMTAzMDEwOTExNDkyWj.html
Nielsen has long been a kingmaker in the TV industry. Its ratings data, which tracks viewership of shows, determines how advertisers shell out some $66 billion annually. But the company has been slow to adapt to new technologies and expand its reach to other media services, industry critics say.
Now Nielsen is making some significant moves.
Next week Nielsen will announce plans to augment its TV ratings data with information on viewing on tablets and smartphones, meeting a major demand of media companies that say they aren’t getting credit in the current system for viewing on mobile devices. The change won’t take effect until next fall’s TV season, however.
Nielsen also plans to roll out a planned Twitter-related ratings service on Sept. 30. It will measure the audience that sees tweets about TV shows to help gauge their popularity. Early findings showed that for every one tweet about a TV show, roughly 50 people see it, the company says.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wi-Fi Sniffing Lets Researchers Build Graph of Offline Social Networks
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/13/09/19/2041243/wi-fi-sniffing-lets-researchers-build-graph-of-offline-social-networks
“The probe requests emitted by a smartphone as it seeks a Wi-Fi network to connect reveal the device’s manufacturer thanks to its MAC address. This can offer some information about a crowd of people by looking at the breakdown by device brand. However, because some OSes include a preferred network list (PNL) in their probes, it may be possible to use Wi-Fi sniffing to infer even more information about a group of people by looking for common SSIDs”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cell phone flash memory faster
UFS (Universal Flash Storage) is an interface standard from JEDEC. It’s first version was introduced in 2011. In summer 2012, the standard advanced to version 1.1, the interface data rate was increased to 300 megabits per second.
UFS 2.0 to increase the link speed of a 600 megabits per second. In addition you can use more than one links. As a result, data can pass in two directions of up to 1.2 gigabits per second.
Mobile flash circuits sales for mobile devices are projected to increase considerably this year. Last year, the chips are sold 20.2 billion dollars, but this year, iSuppli forecasts the market to grow to $ 23.1 billion, or about 17 billion Euros despite the fact that the average price of chips getting cheaper all the time.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=392:kannykan-flashmuisti-nopeutuu&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone 5s Teardown
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+5s+Teardown/17383/1?singlePage
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Lumia 1020: It’s an imaging BEAST… and it makes calls too
41 meeelllion-pixel monster’s no phone freakshow
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/20/nokia_lumia_1020_review/
Review Nokia’s marketing department is comparing its new imaging champ, the Lumia 1020 smartphone, to digital SLR cameras. That’s just silly.
But what the Lumia 1020 can lay claim to is that it takes the best photos of any current modern smartphone – by a clear head and shoulders. And Nokia has packaged it into a modern phone, rather than an exhibit at hardware manufacturer’s freak show.
It isn’t perfect, and it could use a few tweaks. But as it stands, considering that the competition from Apple, Samsung and HTC’s smartphones is strong, this is impressive. Even against Samsung’s Frankenstein-like hybrid, the S4 Zoom, which clumsily grafts the optical lens from a point-and-shoot digicam onto a budget Android smartphone. Now, perhaps for the first time, a phone can take photos with a level of richness and detail good enough for posterity – for the mantelpiece or a family album – rather than for Facebook.
The Lumia 1020 actually integrates two imaging technologies: a highly novel one developed by Nokia over several years, and one borrowed from dedicated cameras but miniaturised into a phone. Both are unique to Nokia. However, both have appeared before, never together, and the combined result is amazingly, smaller than the predecessors.
The first is an unusual approach that uses silicon and software to compensate for the physical limitations of a short focal length and small aperture. Instead, a huge sensor captures many more pixels than you need, and then software algorithms distil this down to a five-megapixel image of great richness and detail.
The sensor is 41 megapixels, creating as a first step a 34 megapixel image
The second technology appeared last year – and brings the optical image stablisation (OIS) found in dedicated cameras to a phone. This first appeared on the Lumia 920 and 925 models, and it allows for very stable video recording, and some startling photos in poor light, as the shutter can be exposed for longer than it would otherwise be. In the 1020, the entire imaging module itself is mounted on ball bearings (rather than on gyroscopes as in the 920 and 925), and the camera compensates for a shaky hand or wobbly undercarriage in real-time.
Your phone won’t get full in a hurry from taking lots of pictures – it’s HD video recording that’s the real hog.
The 1020 is the second phone on the market to feature the huge sensor developed by Nokia.
Remarkably Nokia achieves all this in a fairly slimline package: the design goal for the imaging unit was 10mm, and the phone is 10.4mm thick; the imaging unit protrudes by around 3mm.
And as with Nokia’s 920 and 925 Lumia models, the imaging can captures scenes in low light conditions others can’t, as the shutter can be held open for longer. In practice, you have to keep very still to get good results for this to work.
The downsides – three separate camera apps?
One is that the 1020 comes with three camera apps, rather than integrating them nicely into one. By default, you’ll be using a new Nokia camera app called Pro Cam – this is what’s invoked when you press the hardware camera button. Pro Cam makes settings like exposure and ISO easily available in a clever new design. Most smartphone cameras offer such tweaks, but they’re typically hard to find and oeprate and so tend to be used about as often as Anne Frank’s drum kit.
One or two aspects of the 1020′s predecessor, the 808 PureView, didn’t make it – things like Burst Mode – but I expect to see this incorporated in software updates.
In addition, the shot-to-shot time is a second or two longer than rivals. For many situations it doesn’t matter, but if you’re shooting sports or children, then the extra second can seem like an eternity.
One additional caveat is that SkyDrive automatically uploads your camera roll to Microsoft servers – the presentation version, not the larger master. Which is a nice feature, but it does so at a default medium size and using compression that introduces zaggies.
And compared to the 808 PureView, the Lumia 1020 has cranked up the saturation.
Some people prefer the richer colours of the latter, while others prefer the more realistic output of the 808.
The Lumia 1020 isn’t quite perfect. There should only be one camera app, not three, and the shot-to-shot time is a second longer than it should be, which, allied to the lack of a burst mode means you may miss some moments if shooting children, animals or sports scenes, for example. However only Nokia’s own hard-to-get, and now discontinued PureView 808 takes better photos on a phone – and even if you find an 808, its legacy OS Symbian will struggle to perform on a par with the market standard today.
While I personally preferred the shots taken using the 808, the 1020 wins out on versatility. In addition to extremely high quality camera shots the best, but the 1020′s HD video and audio capture quality is unmatched by any smartphone. Given a steady hand, it can produce excellent results in low light, without a flash, where rivals are swamped by noise.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WHY do phone cams turn me into a clumsy twat with dexterity of an elephant?
Fresh evidence our digital imaging specialist can’t use a digicam
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/20/something_for_the_weekend_digital_cameras/
Digital photography is a sore point with me. Despite spending 20 years of touting myself around newspapers and magazines as a “digital imaging specialist”, albeit to end up writing idiot ramblings published on Friday afternoons by a legendary online publisher that really ought to know better, I do not find digital cameras easy to use.
Back in the mid-1990s and the early days of consumer digital photography, I must have tested hundreds of cameras – methodically, in detail, in laboratory conditions.
For me, the ability to capture and reproduce colour digitally is an issue of gamut and hardware profiling, neither necessarily indicating the unique qualities of a digital camera as opposed to any other digital imaging device. Surely what matter most are the ability to capture detail without messing it up with artefacts and noise, while at the same time capturing at high enough real pixel resolution to ensure the contrasting illusions of sharpness and continuous tone are maintained.
So, given a certain pixel resolution, the quality of the images captured by a digital camera depends almost entirely on the size and quality of the lens.
Armed with my modest professional bag of tricks, I do just fine. But the moment you hand me a consumer camera or ask me to use a smartphone’s camera function, I go to pieces. I hold it upside down. My finger falls over the lens. I press the pop-up flash button instead of the shutter.
Can you blame me? There are so many little buttons and bells and whistles and sliders and knobs and switches and flanges and port covers and displays and meters concentrated on a hardware surface of less than two square inches, consumer cameras are a mess.
Worst of all is the time lag in smartphones between pressing the shutter button and the dumb-ass camera app taking its hands out of its metaphorical pockets and deigning to actually capture what’s in front of the lens.
Anyway, let’s bring this back to Apple’s recent announcements: I’m beginning to think the bigger lens and faster processor on the iPhone 5S might make a difference after all. Perhaps best of all for casual, spur-of-the-moment photography such as my gig shots is its new burst mode which, as described, might improve my chances of taking home a photo of the band on stage rather than the backside of the person standing in front of me.
Burst mode, after all, is precisely the kind of feature that suits everyday consumer photography. When I’m snapping away with my phone handset, don’t show me buttons and control panels, just make it happen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ballmer hints at Office on the iPad and Android tablets
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hints that the company is developing an Office office software on the iPad and Android tablet computers.
On Thursday, Ballmer told the Wall Street analytiikoille speaking, that Microsoft has the opportunity to offer their products to other platforms than Windows. Completely straight answer to retire remaining point-General did not give on Office issues.
At the same time, he blurted out that Microsoft is “working on everything, what do you think the company should work on.”
Ballmer did not directly mention Android or iOS AA. However, they are currently the only laudable platforms, which the company could go after additional sales.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/ballmer+vihjailee+officea+ipadiin+ja+androidtabletteihin/a931933
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wearable Devices Help Parents ‘Guard’ Children
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=267903&cid=nl.dn14
Mobile phones have done a lot for helping parents keep track of where their children are, but what about younger children for whom mobile devices aren’t a practical option?
Inspired by personal experience, a Taiwanese entrepreneur has come up with an answer to this problem: Wearable devices that can help parents locate their kids if they wander off, and aid in the location of children before they go missing permanently.
Fang was inspired to invent Guardian when his own child went missing from a department store
“Within that half an hour, which felt like a lifetime, Fang was absolutely helpless. He kept blaming himself for not paying better attention. Fang believes that with the aid of technology, the tragedy of missing children can be turned into a thing of the past.”
The keys to the devices — which come in a buckle design that can be worn on clothing or a bracelet that can go around a child’s ankle or wrist — are Bluetooth 4.0 technology and an iOS-compatible smartphone application, Lu said. Guardian also uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a replaceable button-cell lithium battery, CR2032, that’s rated at 3.0V for power and can last from four months to a year before being replaced. BLE — used in sensors and low-power devices — reduces the power the devices need to operate while maintaining Bluetooth’s typical communication range.
Parents or guardians use a smartphone application to set up a variety of parameters for the devices, including a safety perimeter with a range of zero to 230 feet, Lu said. The Guardian device will send an alert to their smartphones if a child wanders too close to this perimeter so they can retrieve them.
In the event a child wearing a Guardian device does go missing, the device — via the Bluetooth-based cloud network — sends the child’s location to his or her parents.
Guardian devices are currently available by preorder through the BeLuvv website for $24.95 and will be sold at retail (starting Nov. 30) for $29.95. BeLuvv also is working on an Android-compatible version of the devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PEAK APP: After 2013, you’ll NEVER again install as many – Gartner
Everyone’s downloaded all that ever needs to be downloaded
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/20/gartner_pegs_2013_the_year_of_peak_app/
It’s peak app time, according to tech analyst Gartner, which claims the average user will never again download as many apps as they did in 2013.
The beancounters say that growth in the ecosystem is now reliant on new users joining the throng.
The peak is 4.9 downloads a month for iPhone owners, and 6.2 for those packing an Android handset, but that number will fall to 3.9 and 5.8 by 2017 as users get more comfortable with the apps they’ve got, says Gartner.
Growth in the industry will be apparently be driven by new users in developing countries who’ve yet to experience the joy which is Candy Crush Saga.
Those developing markets will still provide plenty of growth, with downloads doubling by 2017 as the number of smart handsets continues to rise. Gartner reckons the industry will be worth $26bn this year, including the in-app purchases and advertising revenue generated by the “free” apps which make up 91 per cent of downloads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows Phone overtakes Apple’s market share … in India
Yarr, feel me salty wake on y’r chops, fruity boy
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/19/microsoft_windows_phone_beats_ios_india/
Windows Phone has confounded the sceptics by beating iOS for the third consecutive quarter to take second place in the Indian smartphone market, but analysts have warned handset branding will be key to its future growth there in the wake of Microsoft’s Nokia buyout.
Redmond was quick to issue a release online this week, touting IDC Asia Pacific Mobile Phone Tracker stats for Q2 which showed its market share up to 5.4 per cent, placing it second behind Android and ahead of iOS and BlackBerry in one of the world’s fastest growing markets.
DC analyst Kiranjeet Kaur told El Reg that Windows Phone 8 had increased its share from around three per cent a year ago, largely thanks to a “conscious effort” on behalf of Nokia to go after the lower price segment with its Lumia 520 – which retails for about Rs.10,000 (£100).
With India overtaking Japan as the world’s third largest smartphone market earlier this year, these small percentages translate into not insignificant volume sales, she added.
Windows Phone shipments grew from 100,000 to 500,000 units over the past year.
“The Lumia 520 is a very good phone because it can be affordable – not for people who want very cheap phones but somewhere in the lower mid-range,” she said. “It has also been helped by the Nokia brand, which is quite strong in India, with good distribution.”
Nokia was named winner of India’s annual Brand Trust Report in February for the third year in a row and has a long history in the sub-continent, but Microsoft will have to cope without the name once its acquisition of the Finnish giant’s device business goes through.
“We will have to see how Microsoft makes the transition to just ‘Microsoft Lumia’. Brand will play a very big part,” said Kaur.
“People bought the Lumia because of its associations with Nokia”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Police in New York Really Want You to Download iOS 7
http://allthingsd.com/20130921/police-in-new-york-really-want-you-to-download-ios-7/
The New York Police Department has more of a relationship with Apple’s iPhone than merely performing crowd control at and around Apple stores on iPhone launch days like yesterday.
A new iPhone model also means a probable uptick in attempts to steal them. And since Friday’s launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c also happens to coincide with the launch of Apple’s iOS 7, which has some new security measures intended to deter theft, New York’s finest and other police agencies around the U.S. are making an effort to get people to download it.
The new feature is called Activation Lock and basically what it does is force anyone who has the phone — including anyone who has stolen it — to enter an Apple ID and password before they can turn off the “Find My Phone” security feature, erase it or reactivate it.
Naturally, this feature is helpful to police who are often called upon to locate stolen phones, so they’re pushing iPhone owners to download the new OS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chaos Computer Club Bypasses Apple’s Touch ID System (with copy of original fingerprint)
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/09/22/chaos-computer-club-bypasses-apples-touch-id-system/
The Chaos Computer Club claims to be able to bypass Apple’s new Touch ID fingerprint sensor with a photo of the original user’s fingerprint. The bypass is demonstrated in this short video
Apple’s new iPhone 5s includes a fingerprint sensor called TouchID, which can be used to unlock the iPhone as well as make purchases on the Apple iTunes store.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The troubled BlackBerry smartphone manufacturer makes the loss of up to billion-dollar (740 million euro) degree in July-September.
The company estimates that the third-quarter sales will fall to 45 per cent from a year earlier to 1.6 billion dollars and the losses are known to be bitter.
BlackBerry seeking help for their problems re-arranging their company or, in other words, by kicks.
Cutting list has estimated that up to 4500 jobs. In addition, the company plans to narrow the range of phones from six to four.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/sinne+meni+miljardi+taalaa+kolmessa+kuukaudessa++blackberry+on+pulassa/a932293
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile broadband ‘fastest growing technology in history’ says ITU
Spectrum … depleting … fast … can’t … send … at … desired … speed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/23/mobile_where_the_growth_is_says_itu/
Mobile networks are fast outrunning fixed broadband in terms of growth, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and that’s going to put pressure on wireless spectrum’s ability to cope.
Singapore, Japan and Finland top the world in mobile broadband penetration on a per-100-inhabitants basis, with Australia arriving at 6th, the USA at 9th and the UK at 14th.
And the ITU states, in its 2013 State of Broadband report that mobile broadband is now “the fastest growing technology in human history”. However, to keep this momentum rolling, the group believes that spectrum efficiency will have to be improved “by up to a factor of ten”, merely to accommodate the “present growth in demand”.
The ITU puts forward the idea that universality should be a key objective of broadband policy. Noting that Internet users will reach 2.75 billion in 2013, the body says “two-thirds of the planet’s population” are yet to be connected.
“The key to unlocking universal service is solid consideration of how to fund the last 5-10 per cent of subscribers, and who should bear these additional costs”, it continues.
Tomi Engdahl says:
No luck at all for BlackBerry as Messenger apps launch stalls
Leaked Android build ’causes issues,’ is withdrawn
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/22/bbm_android_ios_launch_halted/
For BlackBerry, it seems, it never rains but it pours. On Wednesday, the woebegone smartphone vendor announced that its long-awaited BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) apps for Android and iOS would be made available over the weekend – but logistical problems have halted that launch for now.
“Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online,” the company wrote in a blog post on Saturday. “Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
BlackBerry Bought Corporate Jet in July
Smartphone Maker Acquired Used Plane as Losses, Job Cuts Loomed
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303759604579091513768414306.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet
Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd., BB.T -16.08% which on Friday said it was set to post a loss of almost $1 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 31 and slash 40% of its workforce, only two months ago added a larger plane to its corporate-jet fleet.
Less than a year ago, beset by slumping sales, BlackBerry sold one of its three corporate jets to cut costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple M7 From NXP, Says Chipworks
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1319563&
NXP Semiconductors makes the M7 sensor controller used in the new Apple iPhone 5S and Samsung makes the phone’s A7 processor, according to a teardown by Chipworks (Ottawa).
“Luckily, we’ve been able to locate the M7 in the form [of] the NXP LPC18A1, [part of] the LPC1800 series [of NXP's ARM] Cortex-M3 based microcontrollers,”
The M7 controls functions from a variety of discrete sensors including a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a compass.
The A7 is Apple’s first 64-bit mobile SoC. Eventually teardown experts aim to explore the guts of the chip to determine details, such as how many cores it uses.
A look inside the A7 (APL0698) found a contacted gate pitch of 114 nm (above). That suggests it is made in the Samsung 28nm HKMG process, the same used for the Exynos 5410, application processor used in the Galaxy S IV, Chipworks said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple no longer buy the most Flash
Apple rose in 2010, the largest purchaser of flash memory. This was a result of the iPhone smartphone and iPad tablet power demand. Now the number one buyer of Apple’s position is under threat.
According to IDC research, a recent report by Apple’s purchase of the NAND circuits is no longer increasing unabated.
Android and Windows Phone regard to the popularity growth, especially in lower-end smart phones has meant that the flash circuits are primarily sold in them.
NAND chip sales have increased this year by 23.9 per cent from last year. On this basis, IDC predicts that full-year sales will exceed $ 30 billion mark.
NAND memories 44 per cent goes to smartphones and basic phones. Every four bits are planted in the solid state hard drives.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=399:apple-ei-enaa-osta-eniten-flashia&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Many have already expected quick death to Garmin and TomTom: separate tracking devices. Now, it seems that the Declaration was premature. The GPS latteiden demand is not disappearing, although a large increase is not expected.
According to ABI Research last year sold 33.3 million personal navigation device. In 2018, the volume will increase to nearly 37 million. Hardware manufacturers’ sales will reach at that time more than 7.1 billion dollars, or about EUR 5.2 billion.
Big problem with the positioning equipment manufacturers is fierce competition added in smartphone. As the smartphone may be a couple of hundred euros, it is difficult to justify the same price for the device, which is capable of “only” positioning. Therefore, navigators average price has fallen now to about one hundred euro.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=398:erillinen-gps-paikannin-ei-kuole-pois&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first trial, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 zoom – with test images
Galaxy S 4 zoom is pretty much another country as a few days ago, tested the Nokia Lumia 1020. Whereas the Nokia device is exceptional camera in about the ordinary-looking smartphone, the Samsung approach is more like Jekyll and Hyde-type.
The front fascia of view, the device is a smart phone, but the back side it looks like a pocket digital camera.
From the very first minutes of use, since it is clear that the S4 zoom the user has to make considerable sacrifices upon the altar of photography, if it is to be used on a daily basis cellular smartphone.
With more than 200 grams of thick heavy equipment and uneven background results in an especially natural one-handed grip on the use of do not want to be found
Implementation of the lens cap is in a word, interesting. It is an automatically closing like in many pocket cameras, but on top of it there is flat glass cover, which, of course, is stained fingerprints while using your phone. The reason for the solution can only speculate
S4 zoom camera, the design is relatively successful. Round capture is responsive, and it manages to orthodox focus lock by pressing the middle – a feature that is missing from most phone cameras. The lens is surrounded by a responsive electric control roll, which by default controls the zoom factor.
Android-based Galaxy camera device familiar, easy and versatile description of the user interface is also present in S4 zoom. Changing settings is quick and easy. Description of functions use the phone eats the battery sometimes downright alarming rate, so in taking photos with it you need to be careful, if you is not going to be the end of the day reach.
It is clear that the Galaxy S4 zoom buyer wants to take a lot of pictures with their phone. First impressions are positive description of the progress: even if the white balance is between the forest, is typically very automatic
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/labra/ensikokeilussa_samsung_galaxy_s_4_zoom_mukana_testikuvat
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia reportedly using ‘Lumia 2520′ name for Windows RT tablet
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/21/4755020/nokia-lumia-2520-windows-rt-tablet-rumor
Nokia appears to be sticking with the Lumia brand for its upcoming Windows RT tablet. Twitter account Evleaks, who has accurately predicted various Nokia devices in the past, claims the Finnish smartphone maker will select Lumia 2520 as the final name for its “Sirius” tablet. Nokia’s Windows RT tablet was recently pictured alongside other new Windows 8.1 devices, and evleaks expects the company to announce it on October 22nd.
The Lumia 2520 is a 10.1-inch tablet with a quad-core Qualcomm processor and 1080p display. It will be Nokia’s first Windows RT-based tablet, and is expected to debut for $499