Mobile infrastructure must catch up with user needs and demands. Ubiquitous mobile computing is all around us, not only when we use smartphones to connect with friends and family across states and countries, but also when we use ticketing systems on buses and trains, purchase food from mobile vendors, watch videos, and listen to music on our phones. As a result, mobile computing systems must rise to the demand. The number of smart phones will exceed the number of PCs in 2014.
Some time in the next six months, the number of smartphones on earth will pass the number of PCs. This shouldn’t really surprise anyone: the mobile business is much bigger than the computer industry. There are now perhaps 3.5-4 billion mobile phones, replaced every two years (versus 1.7-1.8 billion PCs replaced every 5 years).It means that mobile industry can sell more phones in a quarter than the PC industry sells in a year. After some years we will end up with somewhere over 3bn smartphones in use on earth, almost double the number of PCs. The smartphone revolution is changing how consumers use the Internet: Mobile browsing is set to overtake traditional desktop browsing in 2015.
It seems that 4G has really become the new high speed mobile standard widely wanted during 2013. 3G will become the low-cost option for those who think 4G option is too expensive, not everyone that has 4G capable device has 4G subscription. How the situation changes depends on how operators improve their 3G coverage, what will be the price difference from 3G to 4G and how well the service is marketed.
Mobile data increased very much last year. I expect the growth to continue pretty much as projected in Mobile Data Traffic To Grow 300% Globally By 2017 Led By Video, Web Use, Says Strategy Analytics and Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017 articles.
When 4G becomes mainstream, planning for next 5G communications starts. I will expect to see more and more writing on 5G as the vision what it will be destined to be clears more. Europe’s newly-minted 5GPPP Association plans to launch as many as 20 research projects in 2014, open to all comers, with a total budget of about 250 million euros. The groundwork for 5G, an ambitious vision for a next-generation network of networks that’s still being defined, and the definition will go on many years to come. No one really knows today what 5G will be because there are still several views. Europe’s new 5GPPP group published a draft proposal for 5G. 5GPPP is not the only group expected to work on standards for next-generation cellular networks, but it could become one of the most influential.
The shifting from “dumb” phones to smart phones continue. In USA and Europe smart phone penetration is already so high levels that there will not be very huge gains on the market expected. Very many consumers already have their smart phone, and the market will be more and more on updating to new model after two years or so use. At the end of 2013 Corporate-Owned Smartphones Back in Vogue, and I expect that companies continue to shop smart phones well in 2014.
The existing biggest smart phone players will continue to rule the markets. Google’s Android will continue to rule the markets. Samsung made most money in 2013 on Android phones (in 2013 in West only Samsung makes money from selling Android), and I expect that to continue. In 2013 Apple slurped down enormous profits but lost some of its bleeding-edge-tech street credit, and I expect that to continue in 2014.
The biggest stories of the year 2013 outside the Samsung/Apple duopoly were the sale of Nokia’s mobile phone business to Microsoft and the woes of BlackBerry. BlackBerry had an agonising year and suffered one of the most spectacular consumer collapses in history, and I can’t see how it would get to it’s feet during 2014. Nokia made good gains for Windows Phones during 2013, and I expect that Microsoft will put marketing effort to gain even more market share. Windows Phone became the third mobile ecosystem, and will most probably keep that position in 2014.
New players try to enter smart phone markets and some existing players that once tried that try to re-enter. There are rumors that for example HP tries to re-enter mobile market, and is probable that some other computer makers try to sell smart phones with their brands. In the Android front there will be new companies trying to push marker (for example OPPO and many smaller Chinese makers you have never heard earlier). Nokia had a number of Android projects going on in 2013, and some former Nokia people have put up company Newkia to follow on that road. To make a difference in the market there will be also push on some smaller mobile platforms as alternative to the big three (Google, Apple, Microsoft). Jolla is pushing Sailfish OS phones that can run Android applications and also pushing possibility to install that OS to Android phone. Mozilla will push on with it’s own Firefox OS phone. Canonical will try to get their Ubuntu phone released. Samsung is starting to make Tizen powered smart phones and NTT DoCoMo could be the first carrier to offer a Tizen powered device. None of those will be huge mainstream hits within one year, but could maybe could have their own working niche markets. The other OS brands combined do not amount to 1% of all smartphones sold in 2013, so even if they could have huge growth they would still be very small players on the end of 2014.
As smartphone and tablet makers desperately search for points of differentiation they will try to push the limits of performance on several fronts to extremes. Extreme inter-connectivity is one of the more useful features that is appearing in new products. More context-aware automatic wireless linking is coming: Phones will wirelessly link and sync with screens and sensors in the user’s vicinity.
You can also expect extreme sensor support to offer differentiation. Biomedical sensors have lots of potential (Apple already has fingerprint sensors). Indoor navigation will evolve. Intelligent systems and assistive devices will advance smart healthcare.
Several smartphone makers have clear strategies to take photography to extremes. 40 megapixel camera is already on the market and several manufacturers are playing with re-focus after shooting options.
In high-end models we may be moving into the overkill zone with extreme resolution that is higher than you can see on small screen: some makers have already demonstrated displays with twice the performance of 1080-progressive. Samsung is planned to release devices with 4k or UHD resolutions. As we have seen in many high tech gadget markets earlier it is a very short journey to copycat behavior.
It seems that amount of memory on high-end mobile devices is increasing this year. To be able to handle higher resolutions smart phones will also need more memory than earlier (for example Samsung lpddr 4 allows up to 4 GB or RAM on smart phone as now high-end devices now have typically 2GB). As the memory size starts to hit the limits of 32 bit processors (4GB), I will expect that there will be some push for chip makers to start to introduce more 64 bit processors for mobile devices. Apple already has 64-bit A7 microprocessor in iPhone 5s, all the other phone-makers want one too for their high-end models (which is a bit of panic to mobile chip makers).
You will be able to keep your mobile phone during some flights all the time and browser web on the plane more widely. At some planes you might also be able to make phone calls with your mobile phone during the flight. Calls on flights have been theoretically possible, and United States has recently looked at mobile phone calls allow the flights.
In year 2013 there were many releases on wearable technologies. Wearable is a trend with many big companies already in the space, and more are developing new products. It seems that on this field year 2013 was just putting on the initial flame, and I expect that the wearable market will start to heat up more during 2014. The advent of wearable technology brings new demands for components that can accommodate its small form factor, wireless requirements, and need for longer battery life.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will evolve into the Web of Things, increasing the coordination between things in the real world and their counterparts on the Web. The Internet is expanding into enterprise assets and consumer items such as cars and televisions. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable.
Technology giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. are about to expand their battle for digital supremacy to a new front: the automobile. The Android vs. iOS apps battle is coming to the automotive industry in 2014: car OEMs aren’t exactly known for their skills in developing apps and app developers don’t want to develop so many different versions of an app separately (for Ford, General Motors, BMW, and Toyota). I am waiting for Google’s response to Apple’s iOS in the Car. Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google and German auto maker Audi AG plan to announce that they are working together to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based on Google’s Android software. The push toward smarter cars is heating up: Right now, we are just scratching the surface.
For app development HTML5 will be on rise. Gartner predicts that through 2014, improved JavaScript performance will begin to push HTML5 and the browser as a mainstream enterprise application development environment. It will also work on many mobile applications as well.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: Two Apple medical trials shed light on how HealthKit will work
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/15/us-apple-health-idUSKBN0HA0Y720140915
(Reuters) – Two prominent U.S. hospitals are preparing to launch trials with diabetics and chronic disease patients using Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) HealthKit, offering a glimpse of how the iPhone maker’s ambitious take on healthcare will work in practice.
HealthKit, which is still under development, is the center of a new healthcare system by Apple. Regulated medical devices, such as glucose monitors with accompanying iPhone apps, can send information to HealthKit. With a patient’s consent, Apple’s service gathers data from various health apps so that it can be viewed by doctors in one place.
Stanford University Hospital doctors said they are working with Apple to let physicians track blood sugar levels for children with diabetes. Duke University is developing a pilot to track blood pressure, weight and other measurements for patients with cancer or heart disease.
Medical device makers are taking part in the Stanford and Duke trials.
DexCom Inc (DXCM.O), which makes blood sugar monitoring equipment, is in talks with Apple, Stanford, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about integrating with HealthKit, said company Chief Technical Officer Jorge Valdes.
While HealthKit promises to enhance the process of data-sharing between physicians and those under their care, observers have noted the potential for sensitive data to be abused.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Panasonic puts a 1-inch sensor and a Leica lens on new CM1 smartphone
Seeking to set a new benchmark for the cameraphone category
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6151671/panasonic-leica-cm1-android-cameraphone
Panasonic has made the biggest news of Photokina so far with the announcement of its new Lumix CM1 Android smartphone.
The CM1 comes with a 1-inch sensor that dwarfs most imaging sensors in smartphones today and is on a par with what you’d find inside Sony’s RX100 and Nikon’s 1 Series of cameras. It has a 20-megapixel resolution and is paired with an f/2.8 Leica lens, a mechanical shutter, and a manual control ring. Interestingly, the lens extends out of the body, but is not a zoom lens, its adjustments are purely for focusing purposes.
The rest of the CM1′s specs are pretty conventional for modern smartphones.
Weighing in at 204g and measuring 21mm in thickness, the CM1 is unlikely to be confused for a regular smartphone. Panasonic prefers that it be thought of as a very capable camera that also comes with communication capabilities rather than as a smartphone with great imaging.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PayPal takes a swipe at Apple Pay security over iCloud celebrity photo leaks
http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/15/paypal-takes-a-swipe-at-apple-pay-security-over-icloud-celebrity-photo-leaks/
PayPal appears to be calling out Apple and its newly announced mobile payment service Apple Pay with an ad appearing in The New York Times print edition (via Pando Daily) indirectly reminding people of last month’s disastrous iCloud photo leak when a list of celebrities found their personal photos an intimate situations published on the web. The ad reads “We the people want our money safer than our selfies,” but PayPal isn’t without its own security issue in the past.
Apple already has over 500 million iTunes account with most having credit cards, the company says, and iCloud features like iCloud Keychain manage and utilize credit card data for auto-completing credit card information.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phoneless Billions Lure Google to India
Android One Debuts in India, Ignites Next 5 Billion Battle
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323916&
Google’s rollout Monday (Sept. 15) of Android One-branded, low-cost “high-quality” smartphone in India has suddenly thrust that nation into the middle of the battle for emerging markets among budget smartphone vendors. The first offering in Google’s Android One project is priced at 6,399 rupees ($105).
Android One, an initiative unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year, is designed to address a nagging problem among earlier entry-priced Android smartphones, which are said to offer an inconsistent and fragmented user experience.
Under the Android One project, Google takes more direct control over low-cost Android phones, building in a set of mandatory features. Google has also sourced several components to help cut manufacturing costs.
Racing to exploit the growth in India
Google’s Android One launch comes on the heels of new low-cost smartphones running Mozilla’s Firefox operating system, just rolled out in India a few weeks ago.
Mozilla, in conjunction with China’s leading mobile chip vendor Spreadtrum Communications, had promised at the World Mobile Congress in February to offer ultra low-cost handsets targeting first-time smartphone users. The company delivered in India a smartphone that retails for 1,999 rupees, about $33.
Reportedly, there are more than 80 smartphone brands in India, many manufactured by China’s white box vendors. Companies such as Samsung, Motorola, Microsoft’s Nokia, and China’s Xiaomi are also racing to exploit the boom in India.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple, Samsung in 20nm Race
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1323929&
Samsung was expected to be the first supplier to ship a 20nm smartphone SoC with its Exynos 5430, but Apple’s just-announced iPhone 6 and 6 Plus run on their own 20nm A8 processor and will be available for sale Sept. 19. The Exynos 5430 will first appear in the Samsung Alpha smartphone that is also expected to ship in September. Which phone ships first is superfluous, but what is most interesting is that these companies used the new process node in different ways.
Samsung is using the 20nm shrink to reduce power and extend battery life, in part to compensate for the additional power required to support the LTE-Advanced modem in the Alpha handset. In Intel’s “tick-tock” parlance, the 5430 would be a tick — a die shrink with no major architecture changes.
The 5430 design doesn’t stray very far from previous 28nm parts such as the Exynos 5420 and 5422.
The Apple A8 appears to be the more ambitious chip. Though we haven’t seen a chip teardown yet
Apple says the chip contains 2 billion transistors — double the number in the A7 chip.
The shrink from 28nm to 20nm obviously reduces the transistor size, but with double the transistor count, the A8 could have come closer to the same size as the A7.
Apple devoted those extra billion transistors to improving CPU performance
Apple claims the battery life of the iPhone 6 is equal to or better than the A7-based iPhone 5S
Tomi Engdahl says:
What To Do While Waiting for Apple iPhone6 Teardown
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1323859&
Apple’s normal behavior of releasing a new flagship phone powered by a new Apple processor is exactly what Teardown.com expected to see with the iPhone 6 models and A8 processor.
Also noteworthy — both phones will work using VoLTE, a new way of using 4G LTE networks to make voice calls over the internet. Currently, Verizon looks to be ahead of competitors Sprint and AT&T for delivery of VoLTE networks in the US. If VoLTE is too much to digest, the iPhone 6 will also allow for voice calling over WiFi, an expansion on their iMessage text application which alternates between a cellular network and a WiFi network depending on signal strength.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bonking with Apple has POUNDED mobe operators’ wallets
… into submission. Weve squeals, ditches payment plans
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/16/apple_bonking_kills_weve_wallet/
Weve, the bonk-tastic joint venture between EE, O2 and Vodafone to “create and accelerate the development of mobile marketing and wallet services in the UK”, has abandoned plans to launch a digital wallet.
The belief was that the operators could use their marketing muscle to make sure that all the smartphones they shipped came with the Weve wallet and then to get the customers to use it.
NFC has struggled. At the start of the month NFC World broke the news that Barclays had closed its QuickTap payments programme which it had launched with Orange.
One of the reasons for the constant failure of NFC has been the internecine wars between the operators and financial institutions between where the secure element should be with operators wanting it in the SIM card using the Single Wire Protocol so that they could take a rake off on every transaction and the financial institutions wanting the secure element in the device using Host Card Emulation so that the operator subsidies effectively paid for banking infrastructure.
The mobile payments world has hailed Apple Pay as the start of the mobile payments revolution, something which happens about as often as Voyager 1 “leaves the solar system”, but it could be the death of the technology. Apple Pay is (surprise!) an Apple-only system and doesn’t offer any way in for the operators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Many analysts thought that Apple would have brought sapphire crystal is the most sensational new iPhone 6 handsets.
Developpement Research Institute Yole says that the reason for sapphire passing of the saphire glass in the the new iPhone was too high price: When the shell is no longer going to the glass surface over the edge of the glass had to develop a very demanding form of soft with round edges. Saphire material would have increased the price of a glass screen over $ 40.
Saphire use in consumer electronics is increasing, however. Apple launched the iPhone in the material of the lens of the camera as a guard in 2012 Last year, sapphires used in the iPhone 5′s fingerprint sensor. And now in Apple smart watch.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1782:safiirilasi-oli-liian-kallis-uuteen-iphoneen&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Monster of the camera no longer need to puff out
When Nokia introduced the year before the “monster camera phone” designated 41-megapixel sensor-equipped device, the attention was drawn to the camera cause the other device to the thicker crust. A few years the technology has gone far ahead, because now provides 20-megapixel sensor with compressed less than 6 millimeters thick to smartphones.
T4KA7 sensor has 5384 x 3752 pixels. Image Processor screens can be viewed 22 fps at full resolution. According to the company this is the first image sensor, which allows the 20 megapixel resolution in 6-millimeter thick devices.
Reasearch institute Yele says that CMOS sensor circuits the markets are expected to grow annual 10 percent boost to 2018.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1780:hirviokameran-ei-tarvitse-enaa-pullistella&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Firefox Add-on Enables Web Development Across Browsers and Devices
https://hacks.mozilla.org/2014/09/firefox-tools-adapter/
Developing across multiple browsers and devices is the main issue developers have when building applications. Wouldn’t it be great to debug your app across desktop, Android and iOS with one tool? We believe the Web is powerful enough to offer a Mobile Web development solution that meets these needs!
Enter an experimental Firefox add-on called the Firefox Tools Adaptor that connects the Firefox Developer Tools to other major browser engines.
Nothing can replace on-device testing. But developer tools on devices have been cumbersome and vendor-specific. Cross-platform development involved learning and switching between all the different browsers developer tools.
This add-on allows you to use your desktop environment to work on several small screen devices without using up precious screen space. You simply use the device and find out what is going wrong on your computer – regardless of platform and browser engine on the device.
This project is still in the early stages, but we put together a preview for developers who are curious or want to contribute. All it takes is the latest copy of Firefox Nightly and the add-on.
This add-on is a new implementation of the Firefox Developer Tools Protocol. Rather than interfacing directly with content, it speaks to the remote debugging protocol surfaced by Chrome and iOS. This implementation is hosted inside the Firefox process, and used internally by the Firefox Developer Tools.
Tomi Engdahl says:
One sixth of the ENTIRE PLANET will buy a new smartphone this year
1. Make cheap mobe. 2. ???? 3. WORLD DOMINATION
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/16/one_in_six_humans_set_to_buy_new_smartphone_this_year_claims_juniper/
One in six human beings are set to buy a new smartphone this year, Juniper has predicted, with the sales surge driven by the availablilty of mobes which cost under a hundred quid.
It said international smartphone shipments will approach 1.2 billion this year, an increase of 19 per cent from the 985 million handsets shipped in 2013. This growth will be driven by developing markets, which are packed full of people going batty for smartphones.
The beancounters suggested that Apple and Samsung will dominate the “ultra-premium” end of the market, keeping their grubby paws on about 45 per cent of overall global sales.
But down in the tech sewers, firms making cheap economy phones costing $75-$150 and ultra-economy mobes are planning a revolution.
“For example, Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone vendor, is witnessing tremendous success in China and India as a result of its aggressive price-point offerings.”
“Additionally, Google is partnering with local vendors for its Google-One initiative”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phoneless Billions Lure Google to India
Android One Debuts in India, Ignites Next 5 Billion Battle
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323916&
Google’s rollout Monday (Sept. 15) of Android One-branded, low-cost “high-quality” smartphone in India has suddenly thrust that nation into the middle of the battle for emerging markets among budget smartphone vendors. The first offering in Google’s Android One project is priced at 6,399 rupees ($105).
In launching budget smartphones in India, Google teamed with Indian mobile players such as Micromax, Karbonn, and Spice Mobiles, and Taiwan’s leading mobile chip vendor, MediaTek.
Under the Android One project, Google takes more direct control over low-cost Android phones, building in a set of mandatory features.
In essence, Google declared its intention, on behalf of OEMs and ODMs, to tune the phone, work out the bugs, keep it secure, and update it.
Google’s Android One launch comes on the heels of new low-cost smartphones running Mozilla’s Firefox operating system, just rolled out in India a few weeks ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
First Irish boy band U2. Now Apple pushes ANOTHER thing into iPhones, iPods, iPads
And you can’t get rid of this once it’s installed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/17/ios8_release/
Apple will release iOS 8 – the latest major version of its mobile operating system – on Wednesday.
The downloadable update will come two days before the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets go on sale. In addition to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iOS 8 will run on iPhone models dating back to the 4S, tablets as old as the iPad 2 and 5th generation and later iPod Touch gear.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reg man looks through a Glass, darkly: Google’s toy ploy or killer tech specs?
Tip: Put the shades on and you’ll look less of a spanner
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/28/google_glass_review/
Seldom has a device been so reviled and praised at the same time. But is Google Glass the future of wearable connectivity or simply the toy of the self-appointed tech elite?
Is it perhaps something in between?
The display only boasts a 640 x 360 display, so web pages and images are hardly super crisp.
I’ll be surprised if the next generation of Glass doesn’t boast a display of at least 1280 x 720.
With 12GB of available storage you shouldn’t find yourself running out of space for your pictures and videos, even without the option of a microSD card.
Interaction with Glass is surprisingly straightforward. Available voice commands are shown on the display
Audio comes via either the built-in bone conduction transducer or earphones connected through the microUSB port. A mono earbud is bundled.
The transducer works well though, with audio sounding like it’s coming from a little speaker just over your right shoulder.
So, apart from shoot video and take snaps, what can you do with Glass? Well, as a handsfree Bluetooth headset, it excels.
Glass will also read Gmail messages and texts and let you reply by dictation. And you can use it to run Google Maps Navigation, something it does extremely well. And play music from your Google Play Music account, post updates, pictures and video to YouTube and your Google+, Facebook and Twitter feeds and get news and weather updates. The last few assuming you have the relevant apps installed.
Apps? Well, it’s “Glassware” to use the official nomenclature.
In due course I’d expect Glass to officially support video streaming from Google+ and YouTube, but right now it doesn’t – unless you want to start sideloading third-party apps.
Other drawbacks? Well, battery life is pretty poor. I never managed to get more than six hours of light-to-medium use from a charge and intensive video recording can easily cut that figure in half and then some. This is probably the single biggest restriction on the Glass concept.
Is Glass worth £1,000? Of course it’s not. But that’s not the same as saying that it is a developmental dead end. Get the price down to less than £500, up the display resolution to 720p, give it folding legs and increase the battery life by at least 30 per cent and Glass would certainly be something I’d consider buying
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Watch: Initial Thoughts and Observations
http://daringfireball.net/2014/09/apple_watch
Consider Vertu, the company that sells $6,000 Android phones (and which, back in the day, sold $6,000 Symbian phones). Back in January 2012, I wrote a short entry saying that Vertu always reminded me of this wonderful quote from Andy Warhol:
“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” —Andy Warhol
That’s what the iPhone and iPad are like. There are hundreds of millions of people who have bought these products, and they now own the best phones and tablets in the world.
Apple Watch is not a product from a tech company, and it will not be understood, at all, by the tech world.
The most fun I’ve had over the past week is speculating with friends about how much the different tiers of Apple Watch are going to cost. One thing that is absolutely clear, to me at least: when Tim Cook said the starting price is $349, that’s for the aluminum and glass Sport edition. My guesses for starting prices:
Apple Watch Sport (aluminum/glass): $349 (not a guess)
Apple Watch (stainless steel/sapphire): $999
Apple Watch Edition (18-karat gold/sapphire): $4999
In short: hundreds for Sport, a thousand for stainless steel, thousands for gold.
The Apple Watch Edition is solid 18-karat gold, not gold-plated. I confirmed this with Apple last week. You can feel it when you try one on: the stainless steel watch is noticeably heavier than the aluminum Sport one, and the gold Edition models are noticeably heavier than the stainless ones.
Try to find a premium solid gold watch that sells for under $20,000 retail. Most luxury watch companies don’t publish their retail prices — they leave it up to their authorized dealers to set final prices.
In short, Apple is taking on the entire hundred-dollar-and-up watch industry at once, with a range of models and prices that span the gamut from $349 to $10,000 or more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft launches OneNote for Android Wear and Share extension for iOS 8, updates Office Lens for Windows Phone
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/09/16/microsoft-launches-onenote-android-wear-share-extension-ios-8-updates-office-lens-windows-phone/
Microsoft today made three major OneNote announcements. The company launched OneNote for Android Wear and a Share extension for iOS 8, as well as updated Office Lens for Windows Phone.
The Android Wear news is arguably the biggest, as it is the debut of the first OneNote smartwatch app. If you own an Android smartwatch, you can now capture notes by simply saying “OK Google, take a note.”
To get started, you just have to download the free OneNote for Android Wear app from Google Play. Then just start dictating notes to your wrist.
In addition to a compatible watch, OneNote for Android Wear requires an Android phone running Android 4.3 or higher.
The new OneNote extension lets you clip the Web, save photos and send file attachments straight to OneNote without leaving the current app.
The Windows Phone update is strictly for Office Lens, which lets you use your phone’s camera to take pictures and send them directly to OneNote.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft creates a keyboard for iOS and Android tablets
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/16/6189075/microsoft-universal-mobile-keyboard-features-pricing
Microsoft has created a keyboard designed for iOS, Android, and Windows tablets. It’s the latest in a series of moves that underlines the company’s focus on providing software, services, and even hardware for rival platforms to Windows. The new Universal Mobile Keyboard is very similar to Logitech’s K480 keyboard, and Microsoft’s version also includes a button to switch between iOS, Android, and Windows Bluetooth modes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Attacks Apple’s Keynote With “It Doesn’t Take A Genius” Ads
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/11/samsung-attacks-apples-keynote-with-it-doesnt-take-a-genius-ads/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity
Samsung has released a series of videos lampooning this week’s Apple announcement, a move that is at once familiar and not unexpected.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android One Rides Mediatek
Smartphone targets India’s “super-mid market”
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323941&
Taiwan’s leading mobile chip vendor will power Google’s Android One low-cost smartphones targeted at emerging markets. The initiative aims to put feature-rich handsets in a largely untapped smartphone arena, which MediaTek dubs the “super-mid market.”
“Economic and technology trends are clearly fueling a new middle class, which has purchasing power, and this class is also very cost conscious,” Bhushan told EE Times. “The next 12 months in India are going to be exploding in terms of bringing people on to the Internet, and that’s all happening with mobile devices. We can see how big the pie can grow.”
The handsets will be powered by MediaTek’s MT6582 mobile SoC, based on a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor with integrated multimedia hardware and 3G modem. While Bhushan says the 6,400 rupee (US$105) phone will eventually be available in a variety of configurations, the first-generation model has a 4.5 inch display, 2 megapixel camera, 1 Gbit RAM, a removable battery, and an SD card to expand storage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
News
Technology
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus review: it’s a very big phone – and it feels great
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/17/review-iphone-6-plus-apple
Apple’s first ‘phablet’, at 5.5in, feels ridiculously oversized but quickly feels familiar – as long as your hands are big enough
Too big. This thing’s too big. Waaay too big. It’s… actually, that screen is pretty nice, isn’t it? Wow, you really can get a lot of content on there, can’t you? Hey, my hand’s getting used to the size. It’s quite comfortable, isn’t it?
And that’s how it goes with the iPhone 6 Plus. I expected to find it far too big, and at first my expectations were met. But give it a few minutes, perhaps a couple of days, and you’ll find yourself strangely attracted to its huge-seeming screen.
“Phablets”, as the 5.5in (14 cm)-plus screen size is described (which seems to derive from Scott Webster in June 2010, then referring to a 7in Huawei device), are increasingly popular. In Asia and particularly China, they’re very popular, though less so in the US and much less so in Europe. They make up about 15% of sales, although that’s growing fast.
Specifications
• Screen: 5.5in, 1920×1080 401ppi LED; 1300:1 contrast ratio
• Processor: A8 64-bit ARM with M8 motion coprocessor
• RAM: 1GB
• Storage: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
• Operating system: iOS 8
• Camera: back: 8MP with 1.5micron pixels, f2.2, Optical image stabilisation, 240fps video, sapphire lens cover, auto-HDR, face detection, 43-megapixel panorama, burst mode 10fps; 1080p video at 30fps or 60fps. Front camera: 1.2MP (1280×960), f2.2, 720p HD, burst mode.
• Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 with BLE, NFC; VoLTE (voice over LTE) capability, Wi-Fi call handoff capability
• Dimensions: 158.1 x 778 x 7.1mm
• Weight: 172g
• Others: TouchID fingerprint sensor; NFC payment capability for ApplePay
iPhone 6 Review: Meet The New Best Smartphone
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/16/iphone-6-review/
Apple has two new iPhones debuting today, including the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 is the heir apparent to the flagship line of Apple smartphones, as it comes in at the same price point as the iPhone 5s, but Apple has done something new this year by introducing a premium priced iPhone 6 Plus.
Bottom Line
The iPhone 6 is the best smartphone available. It offers improvements in almost every way that matters, and it delivers those in a striking new design that balances consumer demand for larger screens with a thin, light and durable case. It’s Apple’s most attractive phone, visually, and the 4.7-inch size is going to be more generally appealing than the iPhone 6 Plus’ larger proportions.
More than anything, the selling point here is that Apple has managed to recapture the energy and excitement that came with the original iPhone with the new iPhone 6. It feels like a return to form in all the right ways, in addition to packing a ton of new features like Apple Pay that light the path for what Apple as a company is to become. For users, though, it’s all about delivering the best computer you can keep in your pocket, and that’s exactly what the iPhone 6 is.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony’s inability to sell smartphones is costing it $1.7 billion
No more dividends this year as Sony tries to fix ailing mobile business
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/17/6300093/sonys-inability-to-sell-mid-range-smartphones-is-costing-it-billions
Sony has just revised its annual earnings forecast with the addition of a major 180 billion yen (roughly $1.7 billion) “goodwill impairment charge.” This relates to Sony’s Mobile Communications (MC) business, where the company says it had overestimated revenues from smartphones and tablets
Kaz Hirai’s One Sony
Sony’s emphasis on mobile devices: the Xperia range of Android smartphones has kept the company’s revenues going
Sony identifies a “significant change in the market and competitive environment of the mobile business” as the primary cause of its frustrated ambitions. Given that its issues relate mostly to the more price-sensitive entry-level and mid-range devices, it’s reasonable to conclude that Sony is suffering at the hands of cheaper Chinese alternatives (and even American ones in the shape of the Moto G) in the same way that Samsung is.
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Exclusive Early Look At The Google Play Store’s 5.0 Update
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/16/exclusive-early-look-google-play-stores-5-0-update/
A couple of months ago, we shared an early look at an impending Play Store update that saw more “materialized” content listings, but the rest of the interface remained largely unchanged. The new, more image-focused interface made thoughtful use of increased white space and introduced some really fun tablet layouts for content listings from movies to books, music, and apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
THP Quarterfinalist: WALLTECH Smartwatch
http://hackaday.com/2014/09/17/thp-quarterfinalist-walltech-smartwatch/
While there is lots of hype about a big company launching a new wearable product, we’re more interested in [Walltech]‘s open source OLED Smartwatch.
The device is based on the IMUduino BTLE development board. This tiny Arduino clone packs an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a Nordic nRF8001 Bluetooth radio, and an ATMEGA32u4 microcontroller.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New ‘Cosmos’ browser surfs the net by TXT alone
No data plan? No WiFi? No worries … except sluggish download speed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/15/cosmos_browsing_for_the_developing_world/
A project that’s just landed on github aims to let users in the developing world access Web pages over text messages alone.
It’s not as absurd an idea as it might first seem
While the number of mobile phones in the world continues to rise, most of the networks are yet to experience the joys of fast downloads – and in many places, the mobile network is the main contact with the outside world, since fixed networks haven’t been built.
Enter the Cosmos Browser project: a bit of code that lets users browse the Web using just text messages.
First, the user enters a URL into the Cosmos app. That URL is sent via text to ColdSauce’s Twillio number, and forwarded as a normal POST request to ColdSauce’s Node.js backend.
“The backend takes the url, gets the HTML source of the website, minifies it, gets rid of the css, javascript, and images, GZIP compresses it, encodes it in Base64, and sends the data as a series of SMSes”, the post explains.
Those messages are sent to the browser at the rate of three per second, and back at the phone, the app orders the received data, decompresses it, and displays it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS 8′s Healthkit comes down with a nasty BUG: Apple kills fitness apps
Software pulled on day of launch as Cupertino confirms bugs
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/17/ios_8_healthkit_snafu/
Software using the super-hyped HealthKit API in iOS 8.0 has been pulled by Apple from the App Store due to a lingering bug in the technology.
Healthkit, new in iOS 8.0, is designed to allow applications to share and analyze information about a user’s exercise routine, heart rate, weight, and so on, now that gadgets nagging about fitness are all the rage. The software interface is crucial for Apple as it ties in with the upcoming Apple Watch that has sensors for measuring one’s wellness so one can boast about it on Twitter.
However, obtaining apps that rely on the new mega-touted HealthKit API is proving to be another story: Apple has confirmed it has, in a face-saving move, pulled Healthkit apps from its store as the API is not ready for primetime.
A health-monitoring application from WebMD that uses Healthkit was officially released on Wednesday, but is now unavailable from the App Store.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheap smart watches are already coming from China:
AOLUGUYA S11 1.55″ Touch Screen Smart Watch Phone w/ Anti-Lost Bluetooth Pedometer – Black
http://www.dx.com/p/aoluguya-s11-1-55-touch-screen-smart-watch-phone-w-anti-lost-bluetooth-pedometer-black-347691?r=85273703
S11 smart watch phone the the latest released smart watch phone by Aoluguya.
Functions: Alarm Stopwatch Settings,Bluetooth,Notice, Anti Lost,Pedometer,Personal Health,Car theft,Find phone,Remote take photo, Sleep Monitor,Call,Message,Phonebook,Call History,Image viewer, FM radio, Audio Player, Camera,Anti Car Theft, Find phone.
Anti-lost alarm function: When cellphone left watch alarm automatically, after a certain distance to avoid lose the phones
Remote taking photo function:You can control your cellphone to take photo from your wrist.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Technology That Knows Who You Are: The Nymi Wristband
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1323946&
One of the most critical ingredients in creating a connected world is making sure that our technology knows who we are. Once our smart car, our smart TV, and even our smart toaster confirm our identity, they can provide more meaningful experiences, like the perfect in-car temperature, our favorite TV channel, or how light or dark we like our toast. Right now, we mostly use passwords and PINs to help our technology tell us apart from others, but these mechanisms are frustrating and cumbersome, and they definitely don’t feel very futuristic. One wristband, the Nymi, is about to change all that.
The Nymi is a wristband that uses your cardiac rhythm or your unique heartbeat to identify who you are and then relays your identity to any connected thing via Bluetooth. Since the Nymi is something you wear, it offers persistent identity once you are authenticated, which means that you only need to confirm your identity once, rather than every time you want to get access to something.
Bionym, the company behind the Nymi, is getting ready to ship its first batch of wristbands out in the fall of this year to those that have pre-ordered.
Bionym is also focusing on building apps for the Nymi on every platform, including iOS, Android, PC, and Mac.
“Identity is not just about security but also about different profiles and different behaviors that depend on a person’s preferences,”
“Smart environments and hyper-personalization are something that excite people, but the whole thing about security, passwords, and unlocking devices is something they understand and is a pain point today,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Foxconn Struggles to Meet New iPhone Demand
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/09/17/foxconn-struggles-to-meet-new-iphone-demand/
Apple AAPL +0.71% fans may have to wait for weeks to get the new iPhones as Apple’s major assembler Foxconn appears to be struggling to boost its production to meet strong demand.
Foxconn has continued to hire more workers to assemble the two new iPhone models at its largest production site in Zhengzhou, north central China, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has more than 200,000 workers in the Zhengzhou site, dedicated to just making new iPhones and key components such as metal casings.
The Taiwan-based manufacturer, which has more than one million workers in China, is operating about 100 production lines around the clock in Zhengzhou.
“We have been churning out 140,000 iPhone 6 Plus and 400,000 iPhone 6 every day, the highest daily output ever, but the volume is still not enough to meet the preorders,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
BitTorrent’s Encrypted P2P Chat App Bleep Opens To The Public, Adds Mac, Android Clients
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/17/bittorrents-encrypted-p2p-chat-app-bleep-open-to-the-public-adds-mac-android-clients/
In the rush of new services for consumers that are concerned about their data privacy, make room for another messaging app. Peer-to-peer file distribution service BitTorrent is today announcing the public availability of Bleep — its encrypted P2P chat app for voice calls and texts that is still in alpha — with Mac and Android apps now available to download, in addition to the existing Windows app that was already part of the invite-only, closed alpha.
BitTorrent — once more notorious for enabling piracy, now running in less turbulent waters as it courts advertisers and big-name partners — has been one of the more outspoken internet companies on the issue of data privacy these days in the wake of the NSA snooping revelations. Bleep is a product of that position.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple turns Activation Lock on by default in iOS 8 to appease regulators calling for kill switch
http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/17/apple-turns-activation-lock-on-by-default-in-ios-8-to-appease-regulators-calling-for-kill-switch/
Apple is reportedly making its Activation Lock theft deterrent feature on by default in iOS 8 as it moves to please politicians attempting to require smartphone makers implement a remote “kill switch” to disable stolen devices. The news comes from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón who praised Apple’s decision in a statement today.
Apple first introduced the feature, which requires an Apple ID and password to reactivate a stolen phone after being remotely erased/wiped by the owner through Apple’s Find my iPhone app, alongside iOS 7 last year. Apple previously asked users setting up a new device to optionally enable Find My iPhone, which includes the Activation Lock feature.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s new iPhone has drawn attention to a larger screen and a new effective A8 application processor, but also to a modem is worthy of your attention. As the research highlights Forward Concepts, the new iPhone further highlights the Qualcomm’s mobile phones lead the radio circles.
All the different market areas, the new iPhone works LTE specifications of 16 different FDD band. The Chinese market, the exported equipment also includes four frequency channel TDD-connections, as well as China’s own 3G or TD-SCDMA’s regions.
New iPhone sales volumes are wild, so the semiconductor to the house of your circuit to obtain the bowels of Apple’s smart phone can prove to be a real stroke of luck. Dialog Semiconductor is a good example of this. Dialog DA6401 received-power management circle Specifically designed last year announced the iPhone 5 model.
Apple is notoriously not want to advertise what components it chooses its devices. The PMIC dialogue circuit, however, is found in many tear-down analysis, so there is no doubt.
Sources:
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1788:uusi-iphone-alleviivaa-qualcommin-etumatkaa&catid=13&Itemid=101
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1791:iphone-voi-olla-puolijohdetalolle-kultakaivos&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ericsson’s decision to end cell phone modem development
Ericsson announced yesterday the close down of cell phone modem product development. All in all, the decision will lead the company in 1700 the employee’s dismissal. Some of the kicks is also directed to Finland, where Ericsson has been strong in product development.
Ericsson’s decision is a shock, of course, the company’s employees, but no big surprise it is not. Ericsson got the modem business last year from ST-Ericsson joint venture with STMicroelectronics. At that time the target was third place LTE modem chips on the market.
This is now proven to be un-realistic market, which is held a sovereign by Qualcomm. The only company capable of competing with it is Mediatek. Even Intel has great difficulty in obtaining design wins as a modem.
Ericsson’s GSM modem business eventually went the way of Nokia, although at a slower pace. In time, both companies are leaning cellphones strong for your circuit design. Ericsson’s radio modems were generally technically the best.
Nokia’s modem unit myths out of the end of this year. The unit was sold to Renesas for the first and last year Broacomille.
The problem ended up being the same as the Ericsson: expensive R & D does not lead to a major design wins result of people reporting or customer contracts.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1801:ericssonin-modeemipaatos-iskee-suomeenkin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Next Android To Enable Local Encryption By Default Too, Says Google
http://it.slashdot.org/story/14/09/18/2127243/next-android-to-enable-local-encryption-by-default-too-says-google
The same day that Apple announced that iOS 8 will encrypt device data with a local code that is not shared with Apple, Google has pointed out that Android already offers the same feature as a user option and that the next version will enable it by default.
Newest Androids will join iPhones in offering default encryption, blocking police
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/18/newest-androids-will-join-iphones-in-offering-default-encryption-blocking-police/?hpid=z1&wp_login_redirect=0
The next generation of Google’s Android operating system, due for release next month, will encrypt data by default for the first time, the company said Thursday, raising yet another barrier to police gaining access to the troves of personal data typically kept on smartphones.
Android has offered optional encryption on some devices since 2011, but security experts say few users have known how to turn on the feature. Now Google is designing the activation procedures for new Android devices so that encryption happens automatically; only somebody who enters a device’s password will be able to see the pictures, videos and communications stored on those smartphones.
“For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement,” said company spokeswoman Niki Christoff. “As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won’t even have to think about turning it on.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS 8 release: WebGL now runs everywhere. Hurrah for 3D graphics!
HTML 5′s pretty neat … when your browser supports it
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/17/after_20_years_apple_finally_enters_the_third_dimension/
Today, Apple drops iOS 8, and whilst most of Cupertino’s fanbois will be quantifying themselves with HealthKit, flashing their lights with HomeKit, or configuring their greatly expanded notifications capabilities, one of the most significant changes in its mobile operating system has mostly been ignored by Apple.
Cupertino ukase – has implemented full support for one of the newest and most exciting HTML5 technologies, WebGL.
The disconnect between a user base who could play with VRML and a developer community that couldn’t was one of the reasons VRML withered on the vine and faded away.
A decade of tremendous advances in browser technology and GPUs led inexorably to a marriage of the two in WebGL. WebGL wires the GPU to the browser with a Javascript-based OpenGL ES API, thanks to the HTML5 canvas tag. This means WebGL content is a DOM element (never true with VRML, because it operated as a plug-in), and can be manipulated with the same procedural or formatting techniques as any other element.
WebGL inherits all of the low-level complexity native to OpenGL ES, and most developers shied away from it until the emergence of Javascript middleware libraries. The most popular of these, Three.js, has become the de facto platform for WebGL development.
By the start of this year, WebGL had matured into a stable 1.0 release, shipping inside Firefox, Chrome and Opera, and IE11.
Starting today, three billion devices can render WebGL content. Developers no longer need to worry about whether a device can render WebGL content. This changes everything.
Yet WebGL is much bigger than games. 3D is a media type – just like text, images, movies and sound – but one that’s had no native integration with the web. WebGL provides a common platform for the creation of 3D interface elements, everything from ‘flipping a page’ (which can be simulated in CSS) to flying through a Gibsonian sprawl of real-time data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PayPal Here Arrives On Android Tablets
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/18/paypal-here-arrives-on-android-tablets/
PayPal Here, the company’s dongle-based mobile payments solution, is now available for Android tablets, the company announced this afternoon — a move that will address a large and growing swath of the tablet market. According to Gartner, PayPal notes, 62 percent of tablets sold last year run Android.
The PayPal Here application allows users to accept credit card and debit card payments, as well as mobile payments via PayPal. This is done by having customers “check in” via the consumer-facing PayPal app.
The PayPal Here application itself was already available for Android smartphones, and nothing much has changed with this release, beyond the support for a larger screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Apple Made Your iPhone 6 Much Less Likely To Be Stolen
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenhuet/2014/09/18/iphone-6-default-kill-switc/
To you, your new iPhone 6 looks like a gleaming sheet of technological magic — but to a thief, it looks like a shiny, worthless brick.
That’s because every iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus comes with Activation Lock — Apple’s AAPL +0.21% “kill switch” — on by default. Every phone, if stolen, can be wiped remotely and “bricked,” which makes it worth almost nothing to thieves, who usually want to re-sell stolen phones quickly for profit.
Apple introduced Activation Lock with the iOS 7 release a year ago, so many current phones already have it turned on. But the feature is opt-in, and too many iPhone users still haven’t turned it on. Even today, thieves still have a good chance of striking gold — except with the newest models.
“The iPhone 6 is going to be a less attractive device for thieves,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Newest Androids will join iPhones in offering default encryption, blocking police
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/18/newest-androids-will-join-iphones-in-offering-default-encryption-blocking-police/
The next generation of Google’s Android operating system, due for release next month, will encrypt data by default for the first time, the company said Thursday, raising yet another barrier to police gaining access to the troves of personal data typically kept on smartphones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computer games are in the UK already more women thing
British Women play computer games for more than men, says a survey. According to all the players in the proportion of women is 52 per cent. Just three years ago in a similar measurements in men was scarce a head start.
Populus now measuring violates other game myths. For example, over a 44-year-olds is 27 per cent of the players and at the same time bigger than the children and teens (22 percent). The survey indicated that gaming is explained by the widespread popularity of smart phones, which are the most popular gaming platform.
Gaming used within 8-15 years of age are after all still number one. The average British game a couple of weeks to spend about six hours, which is the same as the time spent on social media.
Source: http://www.ts.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/678261/Tietokonepelit+ovat+Britanniassa+jo+enemman+naisten+juttu
Tomi Engdahl says:
Press Release:
Toshiba to Restructure PC Business to Secure Consistent Profit
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2014_09/pr1801.htm
Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced that it will accelerate the restructuring of its PC business to focus on the profitable B2B field, and to control volatility in the B2C business by significant downsizing measures, including withdrawal from certain B2C markets. These moves are expected to support the business in securing consistent profit in the future.
In the B2B market, Toshiba will continue to cultivate new customers and businesses. The company will expand its wide product range, from workstations to tablet PCs,
The company will also move ahead with actively promoting the IoT (Internet of Things). By fully utilizing its differentiating strengths in PC technologies, including BIOS, security, wireless and high density mounting, Toshiba will offer innovative and appealing IoT products and services in such areas as social infrastructure, the cloud, healthcare and home appliances.
In the B2C market, Toshiba will transition from the current business model, which is volatile and over-dependent on sales scale and volume, withdraw from unprofitable markets, and optimize sales bases in low profit countries and regions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Apple’s New Phones Won’t Change the World but Nokia’s Will
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-19/why-apples-new-phones-wont-change-the-world-but-nokias-will#r=hpt-ls
Apple’s (AAPL) new iPhone hits stores today and it looks likely the new models will be another financial success for the company. It won’t, however, do much to boost the U.S. economy. In the U.S., where almost everyone has long had access to a telephone and to other information-based services like banking, a smartphone with a few more applications and gadgets is hardly likely to drive gross domestic product growth.
But in poorer countries, the story is different: There, the ongoing rollout of mobile phone service is nothing short of revolutionary, and applications such as mobile payments are multiplying that impact.
According to World Bank data, sub-Saharan Africa sees 65 mobile subscribers per 100 people, up from about 1 subscriber per 100 in 1998. Given there is only about 1 fixed-line phone per 100 people, the vast majority of those subscribers went from having no access to a phone at all to having their own phone over the last 15 years.
One reason mobile phones have a considerably greater impact in poor countries is because other information-based services are so weak. Only about one-quarter of people in sub-Saharan Africa have an account at a financial institution—let alone a Visa or American Express card. Mobile payments have leapfrogged the rollout of plastic payment systems across the region. As many as 60 percent of Kenyans use their mobile phone for financial transactions, and almost three times as many people in the country use mobile banking than have a debit or credit card.
the cheap Nokias (NOK) and the text-based mobile money systems that have really changed the world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony develops transparent lens eyewear “SmartEyeglass”
- Announces availability of software development kit -
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201409/14-090E/index.html
Tokyo, Japan, September 19, 2014 – Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced the development of “SmartEyeglass,” transparent lens eyewear that connects with compatible smartphones* to superimpose information such as text, symbols, and images, onto the user’s field of view.
* Operating requirements: Android 4.1 or later. (Android 4.3 or later is required to use the video functionality of the camera.)
SmartEyeglass is equipped with a diverse range of sensing technologies, including a CMOS image sensor, accelerometer, Gyroscope, electronic compass, brightness sensor, and microphone. SmartEyeglass utilizes these features, together with GPS location information from the connected smartphone, to provide information optimized to the user’s current circumstances. Sony has leveraged its unique hologram optics technology to develop a lens that achieves high transparency of 85% and thickness of just 3.0 mm, without the use of half mirrors that obstruct the user’s vision.
Sony plans to release a dedicated SmartEyeglass Software Development Kit (Developer Preview) on September 19th to enable developers to expand upon their unique ideas for creating scenarios in which SmartEyeglass can be used, and to boost various application development.
After releasing this SDK, Sony plans to offer SmartEyeglass for sale to developers by the end of FY2014, with the intention of further promoting the development of applications and accelerating the commercialization of the product for consumer use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gold IPhones at $3,600 as China Delay Fuels Black Market
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-18/gold-iphones-at-3-600-as-china-delay-fuels-black-market.html?_ga=1.175544418.197423093.1402295842
Liu Min stands a few feet from an Apple Inc. (AAPL) store in Beijing hawking something that can’t be bought inside: the new iPhone 6.
While the device debuted today in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan and Australia, there is no release date set for the world’s biggest smartphone market. That creates an opportunity for Liu, who promises two-day delivery of a 16-gigabyte iPhone 6 for 8,000 yuan ($1,303) — almost double the price on Apple’s Hong Kong website.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel putting 3D scanners in consumer tablets next year, phones to follow
http://www.gizmag.com/intel-3d-realsense-scanners-tablets-phones/33882/
Intel has been working on a 3D scanner small enough to fit in the bezel of even the thinnest tablets. The company aims to have the technology in tablets from 2015, with CEO Brian Krzanich telling the crowd at MakerCon in New York on Thursday that he hopes to put the technology in phones as well.
“Our goal is to just have a tablet that you can go out and buy that has this capability,” Krzanich said. “Eventually within two or three years I want to be able to put it on a phone.”
Krzanich and a few of his colleagues demonstrated the technology, which goes by the name “RealSense,” on stage using a human model and an assistant who simply circled the model a few times while pointing a tablet at the subject. A full 3D rendering of the model slowly appeared on the screen behind the stage in just a few minutes. The resulting 3D models can be manipulated with software or sent to a 3D printer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simultaneous Voice/Data, HD Voice Now Available to Verizon iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Users
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/19/verizon-volte-now-enabled/
Verizon began rolling out its Advanced Calling service earlier this week, enabling voice over LTE (VoLTE) capabilities for select devices that support the service, which includes the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus.
Numerous iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users are reporting that the VoLTE service is now functional, allowing Verizon iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users to use simultaneous voice and data capabilities for the first time when connected to a 4G LTE network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wrist-on with the fancy Withings Activité fitness watch
http://www.connectedly.com/wrist-fancy-withings-activit-fitness-watch
Smartwatches and fitness watches started out somewhat utilitarian and understated, but watches like the upcoming Withings Activité are bringing real fashion to the party. Unlike the round-faced Moto 360 and LG G Watch R smartwatches running Android Wear, the Withing Activité dials things back to real dials. At first glance it’s more watch than fitness tracker, with a simple Swiss-made two-hand watchface dominating the proceedings.
We strapped the Withings Activité to our wrists at IFA 2014 and it was quite comfortable to wear.
The only thing that gives us pause is the $390 price tag, but even then you’re paying for style and a Swiss timepiece
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adidas’s new miCoach Fit Smart will track your workouts from your wrist, style be damned
http://www.connectedly.com/adidass-new-micoach-fit-smart-will-track-your-workouts-your-wrist-style-be-damned
Many fitness tracker manufacturers put considerable effort into attaining a design that’s as small and attractive as possible, but not Adidas. Their new miCoach Fit Smart wrist-worn tracker isn’t particularly beautiful, and it’s certainly not small, but it makes up for that with raw function. The band, which will be available in black or white (there’s some style for ya) will track heart rate, calories burned, running pace, distance, and stride, all with its built in sensors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Span smartwatch concept combines the analog and the digital
http://www.connectedly.com/span-smartwatch-concept-combines-analog-and-digital
Span sports a split movement — hours on top, minutes on bottom. A metal screen sits between the two and shows off notifications for phone calls, reminders and other notifications.
In contrast to devices like the Moto 360, the Span would be less power hungry and also not a full-time, in-your-face smartwatch.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel and Opening Ceremony team up for MICA smart bracelet
http://www.gizmag.com/intel-mica-smart-bracelet-fashion/33770/
The expanding possibilities of wearable tech won’t be enough for some to shed their Rolex in favor of the latest smartwatch, but the involvement of an esteemed fashion retailer might be enough for the more image-conscious among us to ponder life as one of the ever-connected. Aimed at bringing a new level of sophistication to an increasingly crowded market, the fashionistas at Opening Ceremony have teamed up with Intel to produce a gem-encrusted smart bracelet.
It was at CES back in January that Opening Ceremony and Intel announced plans to collaborate on the MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) smart bracelet. With Intel handling the engineering side of things, Opening Ceremony set about sourcing exotic gems and water snake skin to give its accessory a touch of class.
Technical details are scarcer than the aforementioned stones, though Intel says the MICA bracelet will receive “SMS messages, meeting alerts and general notifications,” with other functions to be revealed in time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner Says Worldwide Smartwatch and Wristband Market Is Poised for Take Off
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2848817
By 2015, Android-Based Smartwatches Will Average $30 as Chinese OEMs and ODMs Capture the Consumer Mass Market in China and Internationally
As smartphone vendors and component suppliers continue to expand into the wearables market, Gartner, Inc. predicts that by 2016 smartwatches will comprise about 40 percent of consumer wristworn devices. Gartner said that nine out of the top 10 smartphone vendors have entered the wearables market to date or are about to ship a first product, while a year ago only two vendors were in that space.
“Apple has finally unveiled its Apple Watch, which we expect to trigger more consumer interest once it starts shipping in 2015,”
“The Sony Smartwatch products and the Samsung Gear were early products that received much attention in the press but less enthusiasm from consumers due to their unclear value proposition and flawed design,”
Ms. Zimmermann said that the latest smartwatches show much improvement in design compared with earlier smartwatches as well as providing an idea of the features that Android Wear brings to the user, including voice search, turn-by-turn navigation, contextual reminders and taking notes via voice input — basically a Google Now experience on a smaller screen.
fitness wristbands and “other fitness trackers” combined are already represented in more U.S. households than sports watches
In recent tests, different models of smartwatches and fitness wristbands reduced the battery life of the connected smartphone. Depending on the product and the phone this was in the range of two to eight hours of reduced usage time. Having the smartphone run for only half a day until it needs a new charge is not ideal and this is likely to put off most users who use smartphones without an exchangeable battery.
Of the devices that were tested, the battery life could last up to five or six days. However, as consumers add more devices to their households the number of gadgets that need to be charged is expected to reach a point where it becomes a burden for the consumer.
“We are currently seeing two opposing trends in the market with regards to form factor evolution. On the one hand there are vendors offering smart wrist-wearables in a familiar watch-like form factor,” said Ms. Zimmermann. “On the other hand in the past six to nine months, we have seen vendors launching products that resemble the early fitness wristbands, but come with displays that add significant functionality, including message and call alerts. These cross-over products are generally marketed as fitness devices, but with the strong slant toward the communication aspect.”
In addition to the established vendors, original design manufacturers (ODMs) and semiconductor vendors in China are ready to take on the next generation of consumer. There are a growing number of local Chinese vendors that have launched fitness wrist bands
“Products and offerings among Chinese vendors are similar to those of other vendors with a variety of form factors, operating systems, connectivity and sensor options,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
High-Powered, 3D-Printed Microscope for Mobile Devices Costs Pennies
http://video.techbriefs.com/video/High-Powered-3D-Printed-Microsc;Electronics-Computers
There are a few devices that use a variety of approaches to leverage a cell phone camera into a microscope, but many are bulky, expensive, hard to align, or are lower powered. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have developed an inexpensive, 3D printable version that can magnify a sample by 1,000 times. PNNL made the design specifications available to the public so anyone with access to a 3D printer can make their own microscope. The microscope, made out of plastic and inexpensive glass beads traditionally used for reflective pavement markings at airports, slips over the camera lens of the cell phone and is no thicker than a phone case.
The material cost, not including the printer, is under $1