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.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile phones having custody SCF Service has selected their headquarters Salon. The company’s premises are maintained now a big part of the Finnish mobile phones. Founded in 2004, the SCF service in the past year increased dramatically. The company has hired this year for a total of about fifty people, including a large part of the Salo. SCF Service company also has operations in Helsinki and Tampere.
SCF maintenance has a total of one hundred employees. Salo, the company currently employs about sixty people.
Some of the phones will be repaired Saloon, the other part is sent to the repair centers or manufacturer service center in Europe.
- Salo was selected as the logistics center mainly because of two things. Here is qualified, and in addition Salon location in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, the middle ground is ideal for us, SCF Service Marketing Mika Ruohonen says.
Source: http://www.sss.fi/uutiset/538081.html
Tomi says:
A Canadian manufacturer of BlackBerry is to be sold to investors
A Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry smartphone has approved a preliminary agreement under which the company is sold for almost 3.5 billion euros to a consortium of investors.
Canadian Fairfax Financial, which leads the consortium, already has about ten per cent of the Blackberry.
A final agreement is expected to notice in early November, if investors get the funding.
BlackBerry was a very solid position in the North American smartphone market until the Apple louched iPhone six years ago. BlackBerry was still in the beginning of 2010s North American leader in the smart phone brand. Now the market share is a few percent.
On Friday, the company estimated that it had in the second quarter of a loss of EUR 705-735 million and it will will show door to 4 500 employees (40 percent of its workforce).
Source: http://yle.fi/uutiset/kanadalainen_puhelinvalmistaja_blackberry_myydaan_investoijille/6845868
Tomi Engdahl says:
Check Out How Much Better The Nokia 1020 Is At Photos Than The iPhone 5S
http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-camera-compared-to-nokia-1020-2013-9
There are many reasons to buy a smartphone.
If a camera is your number one priority, you should probably go with the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Robert Scoble has been taking photos with the 1020 and comparing them to the new iPhone 5S. It’s not even close (at least not to my eyes). The 1020 blows away the 5S.
The 1020′s biggest selling point is its camera, which is a 41 megapixel “PureView” lens system. The iPhone 5S has an 8 megapixel camera.
Apple says megapixels are a misleading indication of the quality of a camera. Instead, says Apple, it’s all about sensors and software and how the phone processes the photos.
Apple is basically correct in that what matters are the results.
But looking at Scoble’s photos, the results for the Nokia phone are great in low-light situations with a flash compared to the 5S.
As I said at the start, there are a lot of reasons to buy a smartphone. Personally, I think the iPhone’s operating system, iOS is significantly better than Windows Phone, which is what’s running on the 1020.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BlackBerry Will Sell Itself For $4.7 Billion
http://slashdot.org/story/13/09/23/184229/blackberry-will-sell-itself-for-47-billion
“A consortium led by financial-holding company Fairfax Financial has agreed to acquire BlackBerry for $4.7 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Fairfax Financial will acquire every BlackBerry stock-share it doesn’t already own. Further details are pending, including future management structure and whether BlackBerry will continue with its stated intent to lay off thousands of employees over the next few months.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple sells nine million iPhone 5C and 5S handsets in one weekend
Money making record breaking
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2296282/apple-sold-nine-million-iphones-in-a-weekend
GADGET DESIGNER Apple sold nine million iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S smartphones last weekend and pushed iOS 7 onto 200 million devices.
“This is our best iPhone launch yet – more than nine million new iPhones sold-a new record for first weekend sales,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Odeon wants audiences to play multiplayer video games on the big screen
While you wait for the movie to start
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2296159/odeon-wants-audiences-to-play-multiplayer-video-games-on-the-big-screen
BRITISH CINEMA CHAIN Odeon wants to create a multi-player video gaming experience in its cinemas, and has challenged developers to produce an app that will allow audiences to play against one another via their smartphones projected onto the big screen while they wait for the film to start.
Conjured up along with British film studios Pinewood Studios, the idea – if successful – will encourage audience attendance at cinemas in either the 20 minutes of pre-screening before the film starts or when screens are not being used to show films.
Though it’s just a concept, the idea has been put forward as part of the IC Tomorrow’s Digital Innovation games contest
Speaking at the programme’s launch event on Thursday, Odeon Cinemas’ digital development manager Gerald Buckle made clear that the idea is just that, and one that needs developing and thinking through before it can come to fruition.
“We are not in the business; we aren’t exactly sure what we want to see,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s Oppo launches N1 smartphone with CyanogenMod OS for overseas markets
http://www.techinasia.com/new-oppo-n1-has-13mp-rotating-camera-and-cyanogenmod-os/
Chinese phone-maker Oppo has unveiled its newest flagship phone at an event in Beijing today. The new Oppo N1 is marked by a rotating 13-megapixel camera that can swivel between facing frontwards or backwards, thereby doing away with the usual meagre front-facing cameras.
Aside from that novelty, the Oppo N1 takes its place as the company’s flagship phone with fairly hefty specs, such as: a quad-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 5.9-inch screen that’s 1080p (377 PPI). The downside is that it’s a very hefty 213 grams. Even the Nokia Lumia 1020, with its bulging 41-megapixel camera and Nokia’s notoriously solid build, weighs only 158 grams. Basically, the N1 is too damn heavy.
Oppo has partnered up with well-respected Android ROM maker CyanogenMod for its revamped Android skin/OS. Called Color OS (based on Android 4.2), it comes with, the company claims, over 400 unique features and improvements over stock Android. But this is only for Oppo’s overseas operations, and so Chinese consumers will get Oppo’s conventional Android skin instead.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finally, FDA tells mobile health app developers what it plans to regulate
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/23/finally-fda-tells-mobile-health-app-developers-what-it-plans-to-regulate/
After more than two years of waiting, mobile health app developers are finally getting some clarity from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on what it plans to regulate.
More than two years after issuing its draft guidance on the regulation of mobile health apps, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally released its final guidelines.
By some counts, there are about 40,000 health-related mobile apps available for download on the iPhone, Android devices or other smartphones. The vast majority of these apps exist outside the scope of F.D.A regulation, but mobile health app developers have still been waiting for the agency’s final word on where it plans to focus.
On Monday, the F.D.A. said its oversight will apply to two broad categories of apps:
Those intended to be used as “an accessory to a regulated medical device” – for example, an app that enables a healthcare provider to diagnose a condition by viewing a medical image from a picture archiving or communication system on a smartphone or tablet; or
Apps that “transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device” – for example, apps that turn smartphones into an electrocardiography (ECG) machine that can detect abnormal heart rhythms or determine if a patient is experiencing a heart attack.
Apps that fall into those categories will be evaluated using the same regulatory standards that the F.D.A. applies to other medical devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
F.A.A. Nears New Rules on Devices
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/technology/faa-nears-new-rules-on-devices.html?ref=global-home&_r=1&
The rules on when to turn off electronic devices on airplanes have long been a sour, and sometimes contentious, point for travelers. But faced with a surge of electronics on airplanes and under pressure from a growing number of tech-savvy — and increasingly tech-dependent — passengers, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized that change was inevitable.
This week, an F.A.A. advisory panel will meet to complete its recommendations to relax most of the restrictions. The guidelines are expected to allow reading e-books or other publications, listening to podcasts, and watching videos, according to several of the panel’s members who requested anonymity because they could not comment on the recommendations. The ban on sending and receiving e-mails and text messages or using Wi-Fi during takeoff or landing is expected to remain in place, as is the prohibition on making phone calls throughout the flight, the panel members said.
The panel will recommend its new policy to the F.A.A. by the end of the month and it will most likely go into effect next year.
For many passengers, the ban has been a source of frustration.
Last year, the F.A.A. created the advisory panel of industry experts to update the rule. It was supposed to report back in July but requested an extension until the end of September to sort out some technical materials, an indication of just how complicated the deliberation has been.
“This is like shooting at a moving target,” said Douglas Kidd, the head of the National Association of Airline Passengers and a member of the advisory committee looking into all these issues. “We have to make sure the planes can handle this. But there’s a lot of pressure on the F.A.A. because passengers are very attached to their devices.”
The panel wants to be able to present a single policy from “gate to gate” that would apply to all airlines, and all types of airplanes, according to several of its members who requested anonymity because the discussions were private. Instead of testing devices, the F.A.A. will ask that the airlines certify that their planes can tolerate interferences — something they have done when installing Wi-Fi on board, for instance. Once that is done, the airlines can allow electronic devices, perhaps by next year.
The review has not included mobile voice communications, which are prohibited by the telecommunications regulators at the Federal Communications Commission because they interfere with transmissions between cell towers on the ground.
More than two billion portable electronic devices will be sold this year, according to the research firm Gartner. Air travelers own a disproportionately large share of these devices, particularly smartphones and tablets, whose use is growing at the fastest rate.
Today’s most popular devices, aviation experts said, use so little power that they are unable to interfere with a plane’s aeronautics.
Flight attendants and safety advocates are concerned that laptops and tablets could turn into dangerous projectiles if a flight encounters turbulence while landing or a pilot decides to abort takeoff and suddenly brakes.
The F.A.A. does not ban the devices, but it requires airlines to prove they do not pose a flight risk. Since that would mean testing thousands of types of devices, with more introduced each month, the airlines have simply banned their use during takeoff and landing.
The effort to regulate electronics on planes began in the late 1950s, when studies found that portable FM radio sets caused interference with very-high frequency omnirange systems, known as VORs, common navigation systems.
The rule has been updated repeatedly over the years as technology evolved, and it now permits the use of devices above 10,000 feet, where potential interference with flight systems is deemed to be less hazardous.
A 2005 study by Jay J. Ely, a NASA researcher, predicted that the “unprecedented age of personal connectivity” would lead to a surge in electronic devices that are always on, constantly emitting data, and “would certainly impact the safety and security of air travel.”
The report cites several government studies conducted in the 1990s that found that some devices, operated under certain conditions, interfered with plane systems.
Pilots have also reported several episodes they suspected were caused by interference from passenger devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why I Hacked Apple’s TouchID, And Still Think It Is Awesome.
https://blog.lookout.com/blog/2013/09/23/why-i-hacked-apples-touchid-and-still-think-it-is-awesome/
By now, the news is out —TouchID was hacked. In truth, none of us really expected otherwise. Fingerprint biometrics use a security credential that gets left behind everywhere you go on everything you touch.
The fact that fingerprints can be lifted is not really up for debate— CSI technicians have been doing it for decades. The big question with TouchID was whether or not Apple could implement a design that would resist attacks using lifted fingerprints, or whether they would join the long line of manufacturers who had tried but failed to implement a completely secure solution.
Does this mean TouchID is flawed and that it should be avoided? The answer to that isn’t as simple as you might think. Yes, TouchID has flaws, and yes, it’s possible to exploit those flaws and unlock an iPhone. But, the reality is these flaws are not something that the average consumer should worry about. Why? Because exploiting them was anything but trivial.
Hacking TouchID relies upon a combination of skills, existing academic research and the patience of a Crime Scene Technician.
First you have to obtain a suitable print. A suitable print needs to be unsmudged and be a complete print of the correct finger that unlocks a phone.
So in order to “hack” your phone a thief would have to work out which finger is correct AND lift a good clean print of the correct finger.
Creating the fake fingerprint is arguably the hardest part and by no means “easy.” It is a lengthy process that takes several hours and uses over a thousand dollars worth of equipment including a high resolution camera and laser printer
Using fake fingerprints is a little tricky; I got the best results by sticking it to a slightly damp finger.
So what do we learn from all this?
Practically, an attack is still a little bit in the realm of a John le Carré novel. It is certainly not something your average street thief would be able to do, and even then, they would have to get lucky. Don’t forget you only get five attempts before TouchID rejects all fingerprints requiring a PIN code to unlock it. However, let’s be clear, TouchID is unlikely to withstand a targeted attack. A dedicated attacker with time and resources to observe his victim and collect data, is probably not going to see TouchID as much of a challenge. Luckily this isn’t a threat that many of us face.
Fingerprint security will help protect you against the three biggest threats facing smartphone users today:
Fingerprint security will protect your data from a street thief that grabs your phone.
Fingerprint security will protect you in the event you drop/forget/misplace your phone.
Fingerprint security could protect you against phishing attacks (if Apple allows it)
Fingerprint security has a darker side though: we need to carefully evaluate how its data is going to be managed and the impact it will have on personal privacy.
The big questions here are:
What data does Apple capture from a finger as it is enrolled?
How is this data stored and how is it accessed?
Can this data be used to recreate a user’s fingerprint mathematically or through visual reconstruction?
In a similar fashion, fingerprints are viewed quite differently to passwords and PINs in the eyes of the law.
Despite being hacked, TouchID is an exciting step forwards for smartphone security and I stand by our earlier blog on fingerprint security. Hacking TouchID gave me respect for its design and some ideas about how we can make it strong moving forward.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AT&T will build an LTE-Broadcast network tailor-made for video
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/24/att-will-build-an-lte-broadcast-network-tailor-made-for-video/
AT&T is using old MediaFLO spectrum it bought off of Qualcomm to create a broadcast service. The mobile industry has had little success with multicast video in the past, but it has high hopes for LTE-Broadcast.
AT&T hopes to breath new life into some old airwaves by building a broadcast network, ideal for pushing out live video to many multiple devices with out jamming up its pipes with traffic. The technology is called LTE-Broadcast, and as it name implies it turns what is normally a two-way mobile broadband network into a one-way multicast network similar to those used by TV broadcasters.
Announcing the new project at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said AT&T’s mobile focus is “all about architecting networks to deliver video,”
I’ve written plenty in the past about how LTE-Broadcast works as well as its benefits and limitations, but basically you can think of its as a very dense TV network. Instead of blanketing an entire city with a few high-powered TV towers, LTE-Broadcast turns every cell site into broadcast transmitter. Each cell can use its spectrum to broadcast different content, but every device within the same cell receives the same transmissions. That’s ideal for certain types of real-time content.
LTE-Broadcast’s best use case is for big live events like the Super Bowl, which could be watched by millions of people simultaneously. But the distributed nature of the LTE network could also let carriers tailor individual broadcast content for very specific locations. Cell sites at a stadium could send out a constant play-by-play feed as well as transmit highlights and replays to thousands of phone and tablets simultaneously.
LTE-Broadcast also isn’t limited to data. It could datacast real-time stock quotes, sports scores and news. It could also be used as a very efficient way to deliver subscription content or send out app and OS updates en masse.
The conundrum carriers face, though, is whether they can find enough of these kind of applications to justify the investment in infrastructure and spectrum necessary to support LTE-Broadcast. Unlike other mobile broadcast technologies like MediaFLO, though, LTE-Broadcast doesn’t require a special chip or radio in the phone. It’s part of the LTE standard.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Slideshow: Wearable Tech on the Rise
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=267969&cid=nl.dn14
The trend of wearable tech is in full swing, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Google Glass, smart watches, and fitness trackers are probably the first things that come to mind, but there are many other products in the works that are just as, if not more, exciting.
Tomi Engdahl says:
castAR comes to Maker Faire NY 2013
http://hackaday.com/2013/09/24/castar-comes-to-maker-faire-ny-2013/
[Jeri Ellsworth], [Rick Johnson,] and team brought two demos: the tried and true Jenga simulator, and a newer overhead shooter based on the Unity 3D engine. We didn’t see any earth shattering changes from the previous demos of castAR, as [Jeri] has moved into optimization of the Hardware
In addition to her development of castAR’s ASIC, [Jeri] has been hard at work on the optics. The “old” glasses used a solid plastic optical path. The newer glasses use a hollow path for the twin 720p projectors. This makes them even lighter than the previous generation. Weight on the castAR glasses can’t be overstated. They feel incredibly light.
We talked with [Rick] about some of the software challenges he’s faced. One of them was rendering two images for the twin projectors on the glasses. In order to fit everything in the glasses, the right projection path is inverted. [Rick] had to create an inverted optical path to handle this.
[Jeri] spills the beans on her AR glasses
http://hackaday.com/2013/05/31/jeri-spills-the-beans-on-her-ar-glasses/
In the last year, [Jeri Ellsworth] has been very busy. She was hired by Valve, started development of an augmented reality system, fired by Valve, and started a new company with [Rick Johnson] to bring her augmented reality glasses to the market.
[Jeri] and [Rick]‘s castAR glasses aren’t virtual reality glasses like the Oculus Rift or other virtual reality glasses that cut you off from the real world. The castAR glasses preserve your peripheral vision by projecting images and objects onto a gray retro-reflective mat and allows you to interact with a virtual environment with an electronic wand
The electronics inside the castAR glasses are fairly impressive; new frames are drawn on the retro-reflective surface at 100 Hz, positioning accuracy is in the sub-millimeter range, and thanks to [Jeri]‘s clever engineering the entire system should be priced at about $200.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung will unveil a curved smartphone next month
Could be a Galaxy Note 3 variant
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2296704/samsung-will-unveil-a-curved-smartphone-next-month
KOREAN HARDWARE MAKER Samsung reportedly will announce its first smartphone to feature a curved glass display at an event in Korea in October.
DJ Lee, head of strategic marketing for Samsung Mobile spilled word of the announcement to Reuters, saying, “We plan to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea in October.”
No further details were revealed
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile app download tally will soar above 102B this year
While only 9% of mobile apps this year will be paid for, they’ll bring in $26B, Gartner says
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/applications/3469699/mobile-app-download-tally-will-soar-above-102b-this-year/
Mobile apps continue to be a major driver of the smartphone and tablet ecosystem and are a big reason people purchase and use those devices.
Gartner on Thursday said the number of overall mobile app downloads — both free and paid — will soar to 102 billion by the end of this year, up from 64 billion in 2012. By 2017, the number of app downloads should reach nearly 269 billion.
Mobile app revenues will be $26 billion in 2013, up from $18 billion last year, Gartner said. That $26 billion in revenues comes from paid downloads and in-app purchases — even though only 9% of all downloads this year cost money. The rest, 91%, are free.
Gartner projected this upward trend for app downloads will continue for its entire forecast period through 2017, with the strongest growth through 2014, when nearly 139 billion downloads are projected. As the global market for smartphones and tablets gets more saturated, users will have accumulated a portfolio of apps so new app downloads will slow.
According to Gartner, the Android and iOS app stores combined will command 90% of global downloads in 2017. Today, the two operating systems have by far the largest app stores, with Apple reporting in June that it had more than 900,000 apps, and Google saying in July that it had more than 1 million Google Play store apps.
Both stores have rich ecosystems and large and active developer communities, Gartner noted. The absence of active developer communities is one reason Windows Phone and BlackBerry each have less than 5% of smartphone market, according to various analysts.
The trend toward downloading fewer apps in coming years is reflected in what Gartner calls average monthly downloads. For iPhones and iPads, the average monthly download per device will drop from 4.9 in 2013 to 3.9 in 2017. For Android phones and tablets, the same measure will decline from 6.2 in 2013 to 5.8 in 2017.
The reduction relates “to the overall trend of users using the same apps more often rather than downloading new ones,” said Brian Blau, a Gartner analyst.
Free apps make up the overwhelming number of apps downloaded: 90% in 2012, 91% this year, and a projected 95% in 2017. About 60% of apps in the Apple App Store today are free, while nearly 80% are free in Google Play, Blau said.
Gartner also said that in-app purchases make up 11% of all app store revenue today, a figure that will rise to almost 50% by 2017.
In-app purchases are a significant portion of Apple App Store revenue on iPhones, Gartner said, without giving an exact amount.
“Users are not put off by the fact that they have already paid for an app and are willing to spend more if they are happy with the experience,” Blau said.
In fact, the growth of in-app purchasing will pose a challenge for developers, Gartner said. “Users only pay when they are happy with the experience and developers have to work hard to earn the revenue through good design and performance,” Blau said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Second wave of ZTE Firefox OS phones to hit US next year
http://www.techhive.com/article/2049301/zte-will-bring-second-wave-of-firefox-os-phones-to-us-next-year.html
ZTE plans on launching another phone running Mozilla’s Firefox OS, this time with a dual-core processor, a bigger screen, and a revamped user experience, a company executive said on Tuesday.
The Chinese handset maker has so far sold about 100,000 of its first Firefox OS phone, the ZTE Open, said He Shiyou, the company’s executive vice president. The low-end phone was built for developing markets such as Latin America, but later made available in the U.S. and U.K., where it quickly sold out at prices of $79.99 and £59.99, respectively.
The phone’s sales volume is small compared to the millions of Android handsets and iPhones that fly off store shelves weekly, but ZTE has been pleased with the initial demand, and hopes sales will eventually reach 200,000 units, He said in an interview with journalists.
“On the whole, the sales have been pretty good, especially on eBay and with third-party retailers,” he said. “The demand has exceeded supply, but we also purposely did not want this first generation product to have a large scale.”
ZTE’s next Firefox phone will arrive in the first half of 2014, and remain priced at the lower end. The Chinese company largely sells Android handsets, but has high hopes the Web-based Firefox operating system will eventually go mainstream.
“These Web-based OSes will develop fast, particularly because of 4G LTE technology,” he said. Higher-speed networks means that HTML5-based apps can load quickly on phones, removing the need to download and install native apps, He added.
“In the future, the app store business model will be no more,” he said. “The Firefox OS is still new, and it will bring an entirely different user experience.”
ZTE was ranked as the world’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the second quarter, according to research firm Gartner.
Tomi Engdahl says:
T-Mobile US will no longer stock BlackBerry in stores
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/25/us-blackberry-tmobileus-idUSBRE98O16P20130925
T-Mobile US Inc, the No. 4 U.S. wireless service provider, plans to stop carrying BlackBerry Ltd smartphones in its stores and instead ship the devices directly, according to an executive for the company.
David Carey, executive vice president for corporate services told Reuters about the plan on Wednesday, a few days after BlackBerry said it would no longer market to consumers because of drastically weakening smartphone sales.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pebble Selects AT&T as Exclusive Smartwatch Carrier
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424860,00.asp
AT&T has inked a deal with Pebble to serve as the smartwatch’s exclusive carrier.
After breaking Kickstarter records last year by earning $10 million, the watch this summer landed in Best Buy stores and became available online at getpebble.com. But AT&T is the first carrier to offer the smartwatch.
Beginning Friday, AT&T customers can pick up a Pebble for $150 at att.com and in select retail stores. Broader availability is expected in October.
The Pebble is “fun, practical, and easy to use,” AT&T’s director of Mobility’s Accessory Portfolio, Michael Cowan, said in a statement. “It is simple to see why people have been clamoring to get their hands on it,” he said in a statement.
Equipped with the Bluetooth-enabled timepiece, users can receive call alerts, emails, and text notifications directly on their wrist, without needing to dig into a pocket or purse to find their phone. With an e-paper display and water-resistant casing, the Pebble is ideal for those with an active lifestyle.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s smartphone shipments to exceed 450 million in 2014: IDC
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/us-china-smartphones-idUSBRE98N08V20130924
The world’s biggest smartphone market China will likely ship in more than 450 million devices in 2014, at least a quarter more than this year, research firm IDC said.
IDC said the increase will be driven by the government’s issuance of 4G licences and expectations that China Mobile Ltd, the world’s biggest wireless operator, would carry iPhones by then.
China, a market dominated by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Lenovo Group Ltd, is expected to ship 120 million 4G-enabled smartphones to meet consumer demand for Internet connectivity.
Smartphone shipments are expected to reach 360 million this year, IDC said.
In the second quarter, Samsung and Lenovo maintained their lead in China with market shares of 18.5 percent and 9.8 percent respectively
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter Alerts Lets You Opt-in On Push Notifications From Emergency Organizations And NGOs During Crises
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/25/twitter-alerts-lets-you-opt-in-on-push-notifications-from-emergency-organizations-and-ngos-during-crises/
Twitter is rolling out a new system called Twitter Alerts today that lets you choose to receive special alerts from emergency accounts, government organizations and NGOs. The system is designed to expand on Twitter’s ‘Lifeline’ service which was offered to those in Japan suffering from the earthquake last year.
That service connected users to emergency twitter accounts during the earthquake, and Twitter says that it’s now expanding this kind of emergency function out to the rest of the world. Twitter says that this will help users to get “important and accurate information from credible organizations during emergencies, natural disasters or moments when other communications services aren’t accessible.”
The system is available now, and a few organizations are already participating in the U.S., Japan and Korea. But anyone anywhere can receive the alerts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Uses Bluetooth LE To Enable Apple TV ‘Touch To Set Up’ Via iOS 7 Devices
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/25/apple-turns-apple-tv-into-an-ibeacon-to-enable-touch-to-set-up-with-ios-7-devices/
Apple is leveraging the Bluetooth LE technology that it has been building into every iPhone since the iPhone 4S to enable automatic setup of an Apple TV 3G. Just touch a device running iOS 7 to a newer Apple set-top box to have it automatically set up Wi-Fi networks, region settings and Apple Store accounts.
This essentially means — as far as we can tell — that Apple is using technology similar to the kind it describes as ‘iBeacon‘, a Bluetooth LE device that broadcasts a data payload to any compatible BT device in the area. This can enable complex interaction without having to be on the same Wi-Fi network or even paired with a target device. But it also may use the iPod Accessory Protocol, also supported by BLE.
The ‘one touch’ setup was discovered by TUAW reader Aaron G and noted in an article earlier today.
To make it work, you enable Bluetooth on your iPhone 4S, iPad 3G, iPad mini or iPod touch 5G and newer. Then, you tap it to an Apple TV 3G that’s sitting on the setup screen. Your devices will enter an out-of-band pairing and you’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID on your iOS device. You can then choose to have it remember that data for purchases on your Apple TV if you wish.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung targets business users — and BlackBerry — with new app store
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57604453-94/samsung-targets-business-users-and-blackberry-with-new-app-store/
The Korean electronics giant is working with software developers, such as Citrix and SAP, to offer enterprise apps that have been tweaked to work better with Samsung’s mobile devices features like S Pen.
Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get more grim for BlackBerry, rival Samsung has made another grab for the company’s core group of business users.
The Korean electronics giant on Wednesday unveiled its latest push in the mobile enterprise market — the “Samsung Solutions Exchange,” a sort of app store for business programs. The company isn’t simply rounding up apps ideal for enterprise users. Rather, Samsung is talking with customers to find out what they need and then working with software developers to provide programs that use features specific to Samsung devices.
To do this, Samsung has released its device software development kit and more than 1,000 APIs to partners in the Samsung Solution Exchange. Those include smaller companies such as Xora and Citrix, and will eventually include bigger names such as SAP, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com.
“Historically, app providers gave a fully functioning app for desktop and a limited [version] on mobile,” Tim Wagner, vice president and general manager of Samsung Mobile’s enterprise business, told CNET. “Now companies want full functionality on mobile devices, and they want it on mobile first.”
At launch, Samsung is not creating new apps but is helping software makers tweak their apps to take advantage of unique Samsung device features such as its S Pen, gestures, and screen mirroring.
Samsung, which became the world’s largest smartphone vendor more than a year ago, has been aggressively ramping up its push to attract corporate users for its technology. The company launched Samsung for Enterprise, or SAFE, technology two years ago in an attempt to make its devices more business friendly. Its many features include encryption, VPN connectivity, and mobile device management capabilities such as remote wipe. And it also launched its Knox security platform to make its devices secure enough for the U.S. Defense Department and other organizations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel says Internet of Things is the next IT game changer
Quark chip means more than smart watches and wearable technology
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2296940/intel-says-internet-of-things-is-the-next-it-game-changer
SAN FRANCISCO: CHIPMAKER Intel expects the Internet of Things to be the next game changer for the IT industry, allowing firms to sift through huge quantities of data via technology such as the chip giant’s upcoming Quark low-power processor.
The wearable technology aspect – while it has garnered most of the headlines helped by launches such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch – forms part of Intel’s plans, but is not the crux of the Quark strategy, said Fisher.
“We’ll innovate around wearable tech. But I’m not worried about hitting every aspect of that, Quark is designed for wearable tech and sensors, for minute types of devices,” Fisher said.
Instead, Intel is much more excited by how the broader internet will be altered by the dominance of sensors, which Fisher said would reach five billion by 2020.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Connected cars: Managing and securing data exchange and processing
http://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4421638/Connected-cars–Managing-and-securing-data-exchange-and-processing
With the rapid growth of cloud, mobile, and social technologies, there has been an explosion in the usage of lightweight web APIs (application programming interfaces) to link applications together across this new world and provide the backend for “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices. This has created an “API economy,” one driven by the demand for access to information – anytime, anywhere.
The automotive sector is making great strides in the IoT space. Cars increasingly include sensors which produce a stream of data, creating a phenomenon called the “connected car,” which uses web APIs to feed information to the consumer and manufacturer. This produces a huge amount of data which must be managed. In addition, APIs are used to control vehicle functionality.
For example, a car owner can use a mobile application to remotely lock/unlock their vehicle and activate the air conditioning five minutes before they get in. This mobile app connects to an API in order to interact with the connected car. In addition, within the transportation industry, an organization can remotely monitor its fleet to ensure its drivers are not driving longer than permitted, potentially falling asleep at the wheel. Car manufacturers such as Ford, Audi, Toyota, and BMW have already jumped on board the connected car trend, and it’s only going to grow as car companies start collaborating with external developers. In fact, cars are on track to soon outnumber mobile apps as API consumers. The sheer amount of data sent to APIs by sensors in cars is staggering.
The rise of the connected car promises a host of benefits, but as with the rise of any new Internet-connected device, data privacy could become a stumbling block to adoption. When it comes to data ownership, the lines between the driver and the manufacturer have the potential to become increasingly blurred.
Currently, there are very few regulations around privacy specifically for the connected car.
In an age of data paranoia, will the current lack of transparency doom the success of the intelligent vehicle? Anything connected to the Internet (including cars) has an “attack surface”, or entry point for malicious activity. Simply trying to keep the system secret is not good enough. An example is Tesla, whose APIs were sniffed and reverse engineered, further demonstrating that you cannot rely on “security through obscurity.”
In a Forbes article earlier this year, reporter Kashmir Hill discussed just how much our cars can know about us.
According to the same article, 85% of new cars have black boxes that capture information about the few seconds before and after a crash. Even the US Department of Transportation wants cars to go wireless so they’ll be able to communicate with each other in order to prevent crashes. All of this communication will be conducted through APIs.
Security expert Bruce Schneier said, “[The Tesla controversy] gives you an idea of the sort of things that will be collected once automobile black boxes become the norm. We’re used to airplane black boxes, which only collected a small amount of data from the minutes just before an incident. But that was back when data was expensive. Now that it’s cheap, expect black boxes to collect everything all the time. And once it’s collected, it’ll be used. By auto manufacturers, by insurance companies, by car rental companies, by marketers. The list will be long.”
“We should think now about who gets access to that data and how they do so, because one day soon, your car is going to be as much of a privacy concern as your smartphone.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Post-it Note Goes Digital on Evernote
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/09/25/the-post-it-note-goes-digital-on-evernote/
Rather than fight the digital revolution, the time-tested Post-it note is joining it.
3M Co., which makes about 50 billion of the sticky paper notepads each year, is set to announce a partnership on Thursday with personal-organization app Evernote Corp. Together, they’ve made software that will allow people with smartphones to photograph, store and organize pictures of their Post-its.
Evernote’s software will be able to recognize the sticky notes’ distinctive colors and help organize them within the app.
Evernote’s CEO Phil Libin said he had long coveted the Post-it for its simplicity and ease of use, even as he has spawned a generation of digital-first obsessives. “The Post-it is something we aspire to be,” said Mr. Libin. “They have been a hero product for us.”
It remains to be seen if the new camera function will fully replace Evernote’s digital note-taking functions. It’s not Evernote’s first foray into the physical realm – last year it teamed up with Moleskine SpA to create a line of branded leather notebooks with pages designed to be easily photographed for uploads to the app.
Other old-line industries have tried to adapt to the digital age, for fear of falling victim to it. A slew of digital writing pads and pens that converted handwriting to bytes were unreliable and failed to catch on.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are finger-print IDs on mobile devices safe?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/voice-of-the-engineer/4421397/Are-finger-print-IDs-safe-
This week were thinking about Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone, the 5S, which will include Touch ID – Apple’s new fingerprint sensor.
Apple was careful to note that the fingerprint data is encrypted and stored securely within the A7 and never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud.
But is that secure enough for you? We live in an age where nothing is un-hackable. Would you trust something like your finger print to be stored in a chip on your phone or other (easily lost or stolen) mobile device? Or do you argue that your prints are all over your phone already and such an ID is great for convenience?
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone 5s TouchID sensor hacked!
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/sensor-ee-perception/4421494/iPhone-5s-TouchID-sensor-hacked-
Bypassing Apple’s TouchID, Chaos Computer Club (CCC) rapidly proved that fingerprint biometrics for access control is hardly foolproof.
Here’s how they did it—Using a photo of a user’s fingerprint taken from a glass surface, the hackers created a fake finger that unlocked an iPhone 5s that is secured with TouchID. The print was photographed, the image cleaned, inverted and laser printed with a thick tone setting. An adhesive was smeared into the pattern created by the toner and the print was lifted and put on the sensor—Voila!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: Shoe Inserts Harvest Energy to Power Devices
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=267997&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,industry_alt,industry_consumer,aid_267997&dfpLayout=blog
Remember how startup Pavegen has designed floor tiles to harness the power of footsteps to keep the lights on at the 2012 Summer Olympics and generate energy at the Paris marathon?
Now a company called SolePower wants to give individuals this same power with a waterproof insole that can be swapped between different pairs of shoes, allowing people to store energy from their own footsteps through patent-pending energy-harvesting technology.
“The device is designed to capture the force that is created when your heel impacts the ground,” David Davitian, a marketing intern at SolePower, told Design News in an email. “The device uses that force to spin a small generator which produces electricity. That electricity is wired out of the insert into a battery that is inside the external battery pack, which is attached to your shoe or to your ankle via the ankle strap.”
SolePower ultimately aims to solve the universal problem of charging devices like mobile phones, GPS, cameras, and the like where there is no or limited access to power
SolePower is initially targeting outdoor enthusiasts
“The long term goal is to make this technology useful for everyone. This means to be able to generate significant amounts of power with routine daily walking, such as walking to class, to the store, or exploring a local park. So our long term goal is allowing everyone to be able to create their own portable energy seamlessly.”
Tomi says:
Seriously, Samsung? Sorry, roamers, but the new Galaxy Note 3 is region-locked
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/26/seriously-samsung-sorry-european-roamers-but-the-new-galaxy-note-3-is-region-locked/
People buying the unlocked Galaxy Note 3 in regions such as Europe or North America will not be able to use a SIM card from another region in it, meaning they will have to pay exorbitant roaming fees if they travel outside the region.
I really thought the days of region-locking were dying with the DVD, but it seems I was wrong – Samsung has decided to revive the odious practice with its Galaxy Note 3 smartphone.
Yes, if you buy an unlocked Note 3 in Europe and travel to, say, the U.S., you will not be able to use a local SIM card. The same applies the other way round. In other words, you will be forced to pay for your carrier’s outrageous roaming fees or go Wi-Fi-only.
UPDATE 2 (6.40am PT): Samsung Switzerland is telling customers on Facebook (in German) that customers can use non-European SIM cards in phones bought there. That directly contradicts what the stickers on the Note 3 boxes say, and what Samsung’s German PRs told me, but it’s worth mentioning.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Does Finnish mobile gaming shift from iOS to Android?
Supercel yesterday’s announcement bankable bringing Android shrugged game world. Although it is a major event, it is not an isolated case. Are in the forefront, as a maturing Android game market will start to make some money.
Android is the world’s by far the most common mobile operating system. Yet, it is remarkable that 76 percent of mobile transactions of sales are made in Apple’s App Store.
The remaining 24 percent are distributed as Android, Windows Phone, and the smaller schemes.
Now the matter is subject to change. Yesterday it was revealed that in Finland and throughout the world mobile game management and the Super-Star Clash of the Clans of the game for Android is already in beta stage.
Hiltunen estimates that this will make Android more and more interesting. Horizontal cup may begin to gravitate more and more in the direction of Android specifically of Supercell example.
Super-expanding Android has become possible because free to play game model is a breakthrough in Android. When Supercell have been from games in the appearance of more than two million per day iOS has, why not extend this to Android? Money moves to the author of the game within the game when making purchases or advertising displays, so Android as had previously been the piracy problem is not Hiltunen, cease to be very significant.
Importing games for Android has become significantly easier. An increasing number of Finnish authors use the Unity game development tool that makes the game easy transfer to other platforms. Hiltunen, still believes that a unified hardware and the moneyed like Apple’s Appstore Finnish developers continue to iOS involved.
Money home is still in iOS
All Finnish game makers do not like Super-money machines. Small Grey Area in Helsinki believes iOS reads. LBS and the recently discontinued Shadow Cities multiplayer was available only in Apple’s operating system. The company is currently working on a new game. Release the iOS platform is growing.
While Android is growing faster in Asia and to iOS: AA closed in almost all major markets, can Grey Area CEO Ville Vesterinen according to either build a substantial business in any large market.
- If the market by aiming at the Yankee, there will still iOS is stronger and has better turnovers per user. Grey Area-know iOS and it will go ahead. Android is a possible later, Vesterinen says.
The number of bins that many small flows
For some of the game elements in multi-platform publishing has been commonplace for many years. Tampere 10tons has just published a new Trouserheart-action adventure for iOS for. Other devices will follow suit.
- None of the vessels, even iOS, does not make us alone so well that the games have access profit very quickly. 3-5 with the most productive platform for co-channel or by selling the situation is significantly different, 10tons spokesman James Maaniemi says.
The company may be selling about 40 per cent of their income from iPhone, Android 30 percent and 10 percent of Windows Phone 8.
The differences in visibility on different platforms are big. Maaniemi commends Microsoft and Apple, whose stores 10tons games are very visible. Google Play visibility is just not the case, but the Amazon Android store in Tampere games are selling well due to close ties with the companies.
Source: http://www.itviikko.fi/uutiset/2013/09/27/siirtavatko-suomalaiset-mobiilipelaamisen-valtikan-ioslta-androidille/201313433/7
Tomi Engdahl says:
Broadcom fries up ’5G’ Wi-Fi chips to chuck in your connected car
Supports 802.11ac and Bluetooth LE
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/27/broadcom_throws_chips_into_infotainment_business/
Broadcom’s latest chippery supports 802.11ac and Bluetooth LE too – which the company reckons is good enough to warrant calling it “5G” and snatching a chunk of the automotive market.
The claim comes because of the Wi-Fi support, which has a theoretical top speed of 1Gb/sec, and despite the fact that this number was once the criteria for “4G” technologies (since scaled back to allow LTE and WiMAX use the term).
But despite the hyperbolic naming, the new silicon does bring an impressive range of standards to a single die.
As well as the requisite Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards, the latter incorporating LE so it can sync with one’s running shoes, the new chips support Miracast (screen echo) and Passpoint (automated hotspot logon) out of the box – and beamforming (directional radio) too.
By 2015, all cars sold in Europe will have to have network connectivity, and once fitted it would be churlish not to use it. Manufacturers are looking at GM’s OnStar and FordSync and wondering how they can generate monthly revenue from customers who used to only pay them once.
Broadcom reckons that by 2025 every car will have embedded connectivity, though that prediction comes from the GSMA, which as a consortium of big mobile operators is hardly impartial.
Tomi says:
Listen Up Apple-Haters: IPhone Sales Eclipse Microsoft and Amazon Revenue
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-25/listen-up-apple-haters-iphone-sales-eclipse-microsoft-and-amazon
Apple (AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has taken plenty of flack for running a company that is supposedly well past its glory days—and the iPhone smartphone franchise is sometimes dismissed as a spent force, losing ground to more innovative brands such as Android and Samsung (005930:KS). Well, here’s a little perspective for the Apple-haters.
The brand’s sales haul over the last four reported quarters eclipses that of such companies as Home Depot (HD), Microsoft (MSFT), Target (TGT), Goldman Sachs (GS), Amazon (AMZN), PepsiCo (PEP), Comcast (CMCSA), Dell (DELL), Google (GOOG), Pfizer (PFE), and UPS (UPS).
iPhone sales ($88.4 billion) are greater than the sum of Apple’s remaining products—including the iPad, Mac laptops and desktops, and iTunes—combined ($81 billion).
Tomi says:
Inside the fall of BlackBerry: How the smartphone inventor failed to adapt
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/?page=all
This investigative report reveals that:
Shortly after the release of the first iPhone, Verizon asked BlackBerry to create a touchscreen “iPhone killer.” But the result was a flop, so Verizon turned to Motorola and Google instead.
In 2012, one-time co-CEO Jim Balsillie quit the board and cut all ties to BlackBerry in protest after his plan to shift focus to instant-messaging software, which had been opposed by founder Mike Lazaridis, was killed by current CEO Thorsten Heins.
Mr. Lazaridis opposed the launch plan for the BlackBerry 10 phones and argued strongly in favour of emphasizing keyboard devices. But Mr. Heins and his executives did not take the advice and launched the touchscreen Z10, with disastrous results
In the board meeting, Mr. Lazaridis pointed to a BlackBerry with a keyboard. “I get this,” he said. “It’s clearly differentiated.” Then he pointed to a touchscreen phone. “I don’t get this.”
To turn away from a product that had always done well with corporate customers, and focus on selling yet another all-touch smartphone in a market crowded with them, was a huge mistake, Mr. Lazaridis warned his fellow directors. Some of them agreed.
Now, BlackBerry’s future is in doubt. This week, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., a Toronto-based investment company, announced a plan to lead a $4.7-billion takeover of the company. The offer is conditional, and requires a group of so-far uncommitted institutional investors to back Fairfax and provide financing.
The company’s near-collapse is a painful situation for Mr. Lazaridis, a gifted engineer who co-founded RIM in a tiny Waterloo office above a bagel shop in 1984.
Competition rising
Mike Lazaridis was at home on his treadmill and watching television when he first saw the Apple iPhone in early 2007. There were a few things he didn’t understand about the product. So, that summer, he pried one open to look inside and was shocked. It was like Apple had stuffed a Mac computer into a cellphone, he thought.
To Mr. Lazaridis, a life-long tinkerer who had built an oscilloscope and computer while in high school, the iPhone was a device that broke all the rules. The operating system alone took up 700 megabytes of memory, and the device used two processors. The entire BlackBerry ran on one processor and used 32 MB. Unlike the BlackBerry, the iPhone had a fully Internet-capable browser. That meant it would strain the networks of wireless companies like AT&T Inc., something those carriers hadn’t previously allowed. RIM by contrast used a rudimentary browser that limited data usage.
“I said, ‘How did they get AT&T to allow [that]?’ Mr. Lazaridis recalled in the interview at his Waterloo office. “ ‘It’s going to collapse the network.’ And in fact, some time later it did.”
Tomi says:
ABI Research: Android taking over the tablet market from iOS
http://www.phonearena.com/news/ABI-Research-Android-taking-over-the-tablet-market-from-iOS_id47802
According to ABI Research, there has been a change in the global tablet market. The Apple iPad, which has been credited with creating the tablet category with the launch of the OG version in 2010, has “passed the baton to the Android ecosystem,” according to the research firm. And there are three reasons why this seems to be the case.
ABI points out that for the first time ever, the second quarter of 2013 saw Android slates out sell the Apple iPad with 14.5 million iOS flavored slabs rung up in the three month period, compared to 30.5 million Android tablets sold in the same period. Secondly, those companies manufacturing Android tablets captured a majority of the revenue for the first time, although it was by the thinnest of margins. Of the $12.7 billion of revenue that was generated by tablet sales in Q2, the Apple iPad was responsible for slightly less than 50% of that figure. Consider the small share for Windows RT and Windows Pro tablets, and the figures show Android slabs now leading the way with more than half of the world’s tablet sales by revenue.
Tomi says:
Underscore Price Dynamics
http://www.marco.org/2013/09/28/underscore-price-dynamics
This is definitely the majority opinion:
Everyone outside of the immediate Apple tech sphere assumes, since I make apps for iOS, that I work for Apple. People with iPhones and iPads. Professionals, including my lawyer, accountant, and doctor. Relatives. Everyone.
It’s therefore non-obvious why I need to charge money, and it’s not widely understood that I get most of that money.
Nobody thinks iOS software is worth more than a few dollars, if even that much. It’s “just” a little app on a phone.
Almost everyone, when presented with a paid-up-front app, will first seek a free alternative. (Usually, they’ll find one.1) Many people with iPhones and iPads full of apps have never bought a single paid-up-front one.
Customers hate the current method of paid “upgrades” (pulling the previous version from the store and putting up a new, separate paid-up-front app).
These objections don’t apply nearly as much to in-app purchase.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia the largest drop among the international brand comparison, Apple’s number one
Nokia’s brand has lost its value the most recent international brand comparison: ranked 57, while a year ago the investment was 19
The world’s most valuable brand rose to Apple
Next is Google.
Thirdly, Coca-Cola
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/2013093017548253_ta.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/business/media/apple-passes-coca-cola-as-most-valuable-brand.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
APPLE is the new most valuable brand in the world, according to a closely followed annual report.
this is the first time that the soft drink known for slogans like “It’s the real thing” has not been No. 1.
Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time,”
The 2013 report begins: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.”
The report estimates the value of the Apple brand at $98.3 billion, up 28 percent from the 2012 report. The value of the Coca-Cola brand also rose, by 2 percent to $79.2 billion
That is underscored by the brand in second place in the new report: Google, which rose from fourth place last year. In fact, of the top 10 Best Global Brands for 2013, five are in technology: Apple; Google; Microsoft, No. 5, unchanged from last year; Samsung, 8, compared with 9 last year; and Intel, 9, compared with 8 last year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Apple Could Boost Speeds 20 Times on the Next iPhone
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/519646/how-apple-could-boost-speeds-20-times-on-the-next-iphone/
The new iPhone breaks ground by seamlessly sharing Wi-Fi and 4G for Siri. Further tweaks could boost bandwidth 20-fold in some cases.
A wireless networking technology found in Apple’s new operating system could—if tweaked—provide a 10- to 20-fold bandwidth increase in some situations, like on a moving train or in a busy urban environment, new research suggests.
The technology is called multipath TCP. It allows you to use multiple wireless networks—such as 4G and Wi-Fi—at the same time. But Apple isn’t using it fully, nor is it using an advanced version—one that also encodes the data being transmitted in new ways— recently shown to provide those dramatic potential gains.
Right now, as any smartphone owner knows (and often to their chagrin) your phone or tablet will either use Wi-Fi or you use 4G or 3G—not both at the same time. So your streaming video may cut out because the network you were using dropped, even though there’s another signal available.
Multipath TCP could change this by divvying up those video bits across the two or more networks. “Multipath” refers to using more than one wireless route, and TCP refers to the protocols used by most Internet traffic. Then, to use a simplified explanation—all “odd” packets (units of data that make up an Internet transmission) get sent over Wi-Fi and “even” ones over 4G. Then these “odd” and “even” packets get woven back, zipper-like, on the phone.
But in practice, it’s not that simple. The problems start with the fact that data-transmission takes longer from a cell tower than it does from a Wi-Fi router.
Multipath TCP makes up for this by tweaking transmission speeds. But matters get more complicated if you are moving around, meaning those timings are always changing—and worse still, if some packets drop out.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU bureaucrats want to force Apple to adopt micro-USB adapter
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/27/eu-bureaucrats-want-to-force-apple-to-adopt-micro-usb-adapter/
Since the concept was first introduced, consumers have complained about proprietary chargers. Regardless if they’re needed or not for a given product, they can be annoying and inconvenient. But are they bad for the environment? That’s the argument being put forward by the Members of the European Parliament’s internal market committee.
On September 26, the body voted unanimously to propose a law that would require companies to use a universal mobile phone charger. The law requires mobile phone manufactures to include the universal micro-USB charger in its designs.
This isn’t the first time the European Union has sought to impose a charger standard on manufactures. In 2009, the Commission reached a voluntary agreement with 10 mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the micro-USB charge and sync interface as the industry standard. Apple signed the agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, but has not replaced its 30-pin or 8-pin chargers.
Thursday’s vote means this formerly voluntary agreement is no longer voluntary. For Apple, with proprietary chargers that factor into the optimization of the iPhone design, this law raises some troubling concerns. Apple already sells iPhone micro-USB adaptors, and perhaps it could start including them with new iPhones as a workaround.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel enters wearable device market with a major investment
http://natmonitor.com/2013/09/29/intel-enters-wearable-device-market-with-a-major-investment/
Is the upcoming release of the Google Glass device going to inspire a revolution in the realms of wearable technology? The answer to that question remains to be seen, but Intel is certainly keeping an eye on the possibility.
According to a report from eWeek, the California-based computer chip manufacturer recently lodged a “significant investment” in Recon Instruments, a company that has been making rugged sports computer headsets not unlike Google’s Glass for five years now. Intel’s investment will help the company to go further in its wearable computing innovation and product development, as well as expand the firm’s budget for marketing.
Intel certainly has a good reason for getting on board with wearable devices while they are still on the ground floor. Experts from Juniper Research recently predicted that wearable computing would be the next big boom in technology, expanding from a relatively small market of $15 million today to ten times that in a space of five years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner: Get rid of BlackBerry
Research firm Gartner calls on the BlackBerry enterprise customers look for alternatives and to move within half a year to use third-party devices and software.
BlackBerry confirmed on Friday, doing nearly a billion dollars in losses in the second quarter
In the past week, while the Blackberry was told by the company’s intentions to sell investment Fairefax Financial Holdings for 4.7 billion dollarilla.Gartner recommends that BlackBerry customers to look for other options for remote management of mobile devices, and at the very least to test other devices.
“BlackBerry is not going to disappear overnight. There are probably half a year to consider and implement alternatives, “Gartner analyst Bill Menezes says.
Many large companies and agencies in the United States have already begun to change the BlackBerry devices such as the Apple iPhone.
“By the time IT departments realized that iOS is a reasonable option, the BlackBerry game was played,” Menezes says.
BlackBerry has rejected the recommendations of the Gartner’s “pure speculation”.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/gartner+luopukaa+blackberrysta/a934517
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple warns: “Do not use in nuclear power plants or weapons systems”
Apple’s iOS operating system is not suitable, for example, or nuclear power plant is operated by weapon systems, the company warns of contract.
System conditions explains more generally, that iOS is not suitable for situations where the system provided by the false information such as time of day, other data or application problems could lead to death, personal injury, or serious damage to the environment, for example.
More specifically, the company determines that the phone does not leave the responsibility of the nuclear power plants, aircraft navigation or air traffic control, life support systems and weapons systems operations.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/apple+varoittaa+quotei+saa+kayttaa+ydinvoimaloissa+tai+asejarjestelmissaquot/a934577
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disruptions: Visually Impaired Turn to Smartphones to See Their World
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/disruptions-guided-by-touch-screens-blind-turn-to-smartphones-for-sight/
Luis Perez loves taking photographs. He shoots mostly on an iPhone, snapping gorgeous pictures of sunsets, vintage cars, old buildings and cute puppies. But when he arrives at a photo shoot, people are often startled when he pulls out a long white cane.
In addition to being a professional photographer, Mr. Perez is almost blind.
“With the iPhone I am able to use the same technology as everyone else, and having a product that doesn’t have a stigma that other technologies do has been really important to me,” said Mr. Perez, who is also an advocate for blind people and speaks regularly at conferences about the benefits of technology for people who cannot see. “Now, even if you’re blind, you can still take a photo.”
Smartphones and tablets, with their flat glass touch screens and nary a texture anywhere, may not seem like the best technological innovation for people who cannot see. But advocates for the blind say the devices could be the biggest assistive aid to come along since Braille was invented in the 1820s.
Counterintuitive? You bet. People with vision problems can use a smartphone’s voice commands to read or write. They can determine denominations of money using a camera app, figure out where they are using GPS and compass applications, and, like Mr. Perez, take photos.
Google’s latest releases of its Android operating systems have increased its assistive technologies, specifically with updates to TalkBack, a Google-made application that adds spoken, audible and vibration feedback to a smartphone. Windows phones also offer some voice commands, but they are fewer than either Google’s or Apple’s.
Ms. Rush, who has a retinal disorder, said that before the smartphone, people who were visually impaired could use a flip-phone to make calls, but they could not read on the tiny two-inch screens. While the first version of the iPhone allowed people who were losing their vision to enlarge text, it wasn’t until 2009, when the company introduced accessibility features, that the device became a benefit to blind people.
While some companies might have altruistic goals in building products and services for people who have lost their sight, the number of people who need these products is growing.
“Before a smartphone was accessible we had to carry six different things, and now all of those things are in one of those devices,” Ms. Rush said. “A $150 money reader is now a $1.99 app.”
She added: “These devices are a game-changer. They have created the era of inclusion.”
While some app makers have made great efforts to build products that help people with impairments, other developers overlook the importance of creating assistive components.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Galaxy phones region locking
Samsung frightened of new buyers of their equipment by gluing the package label that the smart phone is compatible only regional operators sim cards.
Samsung has introduced the Galaxy range locking devices. July produced after the Galaxy series of smartphones has a region code according to which the label appears to inhibit its use outside the area.
The world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer has had to explain confusion, queries and users, pungent reactions elicited region lock. It covers the new Galaxy Note 3: In addition to the July 13, produced after the date of the Galaxy S4, S4 Galaxy Mini, Galaxy Note and Galaxy S 2 3 devices.
Samsung, the latch relates to equipment initial activation. Your smartphone must, therefore, put in your own area of the operator’s sim card for the first time. After that phones can be used all over the world with local sim cards.
Samsung’s sticker-induced reactions are understandable
The committee reported on GigaOm , which was the first light on the subject of Samsung German representative, brought out a number of interlocking issues.
It asked why the lock was introduced in the first place, and thought it was related to the equipment of gray trafficking. The lock to prevent the purchase of equipment such as cheap in Hong Kong and on sale through Ebay though. But if Samsung’s service organization has an obligation to dismantle the lock, then what is it for you?
Ubergizmo tells that it is a software that lock and users expect that the hackers to publish the unlocking code soon.
“Samsung, and all the other manufacturers that do this, steal my right of ownershii. Except, of course, if I’m smart enough and I do not buy the property from them at all, ”
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/samsungin_galalaxy_puhelimiin_aluelukitus
Tomi Engdahl says:
Students Find Ways To Hack School-Issued iPads Within A Week
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/09/27/226654921/students-find-ways-to-hack-school-issued-ipads-within-a-week
Los Angeles Unified School District started issuing iPads to its students this school year, as part of a $30 million deal with Apple. The rollout is in the first of three phases, and ultimately, the goal is to distribute more than 600,000 devices.
But less than a week after getting their iPads, almost 200 of the districts’ software blocks on the devices that limit what websites the students can use.
“They told me Friday, ‘I would do it for you because you’re my friend,’ ” she says. “They told me that!”
If you weren’t a friend, the hack would cost $2.
“They were charging people to do it. It was like a little black market,” Najera says.
The students are getting around software that lets school district officials know where the iPads are, and what the students are doing with them at all times.
The district’s chief information officer, Ronald Chandler, says he wasn’t really surprised that students bypassed blocks so quickly. He says that hacks happen at all levels, whether it’s secured parts of the federal government, or student iPads.
“So we talked to students, and we asked them, ‘Why did you do this?’ And in many cases, they said, ‘You guys are just locking us out of too much stuff.’ ”
“They were bound to fail,” says Renee Hobbs, who runs the Media Education Lab at the University of Rhode Island. She’s been a skeptic of the iPad program from the start. “Children are growing up today [with] the iPad used as a device for entertainment. So when the iPad comes into the classroom, then there’s a shift in everybody’s thinking.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The chip company Intel says it had made “significant investment” in wearable computing to centralized Recon Instruments.
The company has not revealed the exact amount of the investment.
Recon Instruments develop the Google Glass smart glass kind of products. At the moment, Recon has delivered more than 50 000 smart glasses worldwide.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/intel+panostaa+alylaseihin/a934772
Tomi Engdahl says:
Goodbye, Flash ads – Google announced a new HTML5 tool
Flash ads the days begin to be counted. Google has unveiled a Web Designer-called HTML5 tool that has the potential to build and design a HTML5-based ads and other online content.
Announcement, Google helps advertisers moving flash technology, HTML5. The tool appears to be the main use publicity spots.
According to Google, the tool allows developers to easily create content that adapts to a variety of devices and screen sizes.
In addition, it is possible to create a tool, and even an animated three-dimensional content.
So far, the beta stage of the tool has been downloaded from Google’s website. The program works under Windows and OS X.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kehittaja/hyvasti+flashmainokset++google+julkisti+uuden+html5tyokalun/a934726
Download: https://www.google.com/webdesigner/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DNA adds an adhesive NFC sticker on your phone – the next debit card sim card
DNA has been launched in cooperation with OP-Pohjola to enable NFC mobile payment sticker, which can be glued to the phone, or elsewhere.
Täpäkkä name received the label allows payment without the use of a debit card. Täpäkkä is also available as a separate Mastercard credit card.
In practice, the payment is made by displaying a label or card payment terminal.
All the shops whilst they are not yet ready for NFC to receive payment. DNA Development Jarkko Utriainen tells Information Week, the major center of the movements are, however, updated the payment terminal ways and NFC support should be found widely around New Year.
Täpäkän the offered payment card charges foundation of successful transactions but also online and can be used to withdraw money from ATMs. With payment sticker you can purchase a small shop, the purchase limit for payment sticker is 25 Euros. So far, separate identification such as pin-code label is not required payment.
“The phone is a natural place to glue the payment sticker because people keep good care of them,” Utriainen explains, and adds that the mobile phone often losing is felt more harmful than losing a wallet.
In practice, the DNA take care of the marketing and delivery of the card, the OP-Pohjola Group offers banking customer.
Utriainen says that the next phase of the Payment Services is connected directly to the phone’s sim card.
“At the time of payment feature is the phone application,” says Utriainen. He also believes that the future of mobile payment, the current limit is increased from 25 Euros.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/dna+liimaa+nfctarran+puhelimeen++seuraavaksi+pankkikortti+simkortille/a934853
Tomi Engdahl says:
Inside the fall of BlackBerry: How the smartphone inventor failed to adapt
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon’s Smartphones Detailed: ‘Project Smith’ 3D Flagship Model And A Value Handset With FireOS
http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/02/amazons-smartphones-detailed-project-smith-3d-flagship-model-and-a-value-handset-with-fireos/
Amazon is in the process of developing two smartphones, one inexpensive model and one with a 3D eye-tracking interface, TechCrunch has learned. The details are somewhat sparse, but are corroborated by sources and reports from earlier this year.
Amazon is planning two devices, the first of which is the previously rumored ‘expensive’ version with a 3D user interface, eye tracking and more.
It’s not clear what OS this device runs on but it’s hard to believe it’s anything but a heavily modified version of Android that supports the 3D views.
Four cameras (5 including a rear camera for shooting images) would be a large additional expense, so it’s tough to imagine that making it to market, and it’s not needed for motion tracking. But it could be necessary for the object capture mode, and Amazon could be looking for a differentiating feature that sets its devices apart from the crowd.