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:
Smartphone demand in China slows
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/smartphone-demand-in-china-slows–1040459
Smartphone demand in China decreased following the peak in March and April as Chinese telecom carriers stopped providing subsidies to smartphone manufacturers, according to NPD DisplaySearch. According to the report, telecom carriers in China will gradually stop subsidising smartphone sets directly and focus more on consumer call charges, which is expected to affect the current inventory of name brands.
These effects will also accrue to upstream industries, adding to declining smartphone display average selling prices (ASPs) in the open market. The average price of a 5-inch 720HD (1280×720) in-plane switching (IPS) module was priced at USD 25 in August of 2013, but it has since dropped 44 percent to USD 14 this past August.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile memory speeds up 2016
JEDEC recently adopted new mobile devices, the SDRAM standard. JESD209-4 defines a technique for DDR4 bus is brought smartphones. IHS Research Institute believes that DDR4 will be smartphones number one memory in 2016. Large memory manufacturers have already introduced the first LPDDR4-memory.
The current smart phones the fastest memory is DDR3-type. IHS that this was never intended for mobile devices even bring, but the smartphone memory bus speed increased the need for unexpectedly quickly a few years ago.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1857:kannykan-muisti-nopeutuu-2016&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG is working on a webOS SmartWatch
“LG SmartWatch gets more powerful with the new Web-centric platform”
http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/2/6888445/lg-webos-smartwatch
The world’s favorite abortive mobile operating system, webOS, refuses to go away quietly. After being open-sourced by HP and then sold off to LG, webOS is now apparently returning to mobile devices in the form of a new LG SmartWatch. A developer website hosted by LG teases a software development kit for a webOS SmartWatch, while the familiar Bean Bird from LG’s webOS TVs also shows up, this time supporting a classically styled analog wristwatch.
LG is already an active participant in the developing smartwatch market with two Android Wear models: the G Watch that inaugurated Google’s wearable software platform and the G Watch R, which is going on sale later this month. Like fellow Korean manufacturer Samsung — who has adapted the Tizen smartphone OS to its Gear smartwatches — LG may be looking to ensure it has an alternative to the Android platform when constructing its future watches. Given the relative immaturity of Android Wear and competing platforms, there’s plenty of opportunity for webOS to indeed be a compelling new option, provided LG’s SDK is taken up and used to its full potential.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Reveals ‘The Physical Web,’ A Project To Make Internet Of Things Interaction App-Less
http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/02/google-the-physical-web/
Google’s Scott Jenson, an interaction and UX designer who left the company only to return to the Chrome team last November, has revealed a project underway at the company called The Physical Web to provide “interaction on demand” so that people can walk up and use any smart devices without the need for intervening mobile apps. This would make it possible for users to simply walk up to a bus stop and receive the time until the next arriving bus, without any additional software needed.
The project is an ambitious bet on the future of smart devices.
“People should be able to walk up to any smart device – a vending machine, a poster, a toy, a bus stop, a rental car – and not have to download an app first,” Jenson explains on the Physical Web project page. “Everything should be just a tap away.”
Physical Web
Walk up and use anything
http://google.github.io/physical-web/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook Mobile Like Button now Available to Everyone
https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2014/10/02/mobilelike/
Today, we are excited to make the Like Button available to all Android and iOS mobile app developers. People using a mobile app can directly Like the app’s Facebook Page, or any Open Graph object within the app, and share on Facebook. The mobile Like Button works seamlessly with the Facebook account the person is logged into on their device, allowing people to Like any piece of content, while in your native app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive Preview: Android L on Samsung Galaxy S5
http://www.sammobile.com/2014/10/02/exclusive-preview-android-l-on-samsung-galaxy-s5/
At Google I/O 2014, Google announced the next iteration of its Android operating system – Android L. As the operating system itself was still in early stages, we only got a sneak peak at a few of the upcoming features. Even the name, Android L, is just a placeholder for now, and Google hasn’t made the final branding public yet. However, our sources have confirmed that it will eventually be called Android Lollipop, as rumoured previously. Google hasn’t released Android Lollipop yet, but as you probably know, OEMs get early access to the source code.
In Android L, Google has completely overhauled the look of the operating system, calling it Material Design. In short, the whole UI feels alive and natural to touch, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to Android. Sadly, OEMs are still using their old interfaces on top of Android L, which kind of ruins the experience because they were designed using the old Holo design guidelines.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: Facebook plots first steps into healthcare
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/03/us-facebook-health-idUSKCN0HS09720141003
Facebook Inc (FB.O) already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health.
On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Google Inc (GOOGL.O), Facebook is plotting its first steps into the fertile field of healthcare, said three people familiar with the matter. The people requested anonymity as the plans are still in development.
The company is exploring creating online “support communities” that would connect Facebook users suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new “preventative care” applications that would help people improve their lifestyles.
Privacy, an area where the company has faced considerable criticism over the years, will likely prove a challenge. This week, the company apologized to users for manipulating news feeds for the purposes of research.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Pay: An in-depth look at what’s behind the secure payment system
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/10/02/apple-pay-an-in-depth-look-at-whats-behind-the-secure-payment/
With Apple Pay slated to go live later this month, one can soon expect to see an avalanche of fear mongering from pundits who, like PayPal, will question the wisdom of trusting Apple with user credit card information.
The reality, though, is that Apple Pay is an exceedingly secure mobile payment platform. In fact, it may very well be the safest way to make any type of credit card payment.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple blacklists tech journo following explicit BENDY iPhone vid
Floppy phone gets well and truly buckled by teutonic techie
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/02/apple_blacklists_german_bender_after_the_release_of_iphone_video_nasty/
Apple has allegedly blacklisted a German tech journalist who filmed a video that proved the new iPhone 6 Plus could be bent.
Axel Telzerow, editor of Computer Bild, was determined to see if the new mobe could be persuaded to take on a more curved shape, only to be “shocked” to see how easy it was to buckle the already quite curvaceous device.
However, he was even more shocked to receive what he claimed was an ominous phone call from the Apple cops after posting a video of his bending activity.
Telzerow claimed a fruity stormtrooper said he would never again receive Apple products for review purposes, or be allowed to come to any Apple events.
“We were shocked about how easy it was to bend the device,” Telzerow wrote in an open letter to Apple, “and so were around 200,000 viewers who have watched the video. We can imagine that you and your colleagues must have been shocked too.
“Is this really how your company wants to deal with the media that provide your customers with profound tests of your products?”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will Apple Lose Siri’s Core Tech To Samsung?
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/14/10/03/0332259/will-apple-lose-siris-core-tech-to-samsung
Apple bought Siri in 2010, but its core technology is owned by Nuance, maker of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Now Samsung is looking to buy Nuance.
Is Apple about to lose Siri to Samsung?
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/439646/apple-about-lose-siri-samsung
The core technology behind Apple’s voice-command assistant Siri may wind up in Samsung phones, which would leave Tim Cook with a whole chicken coop’s worth of egg on his face for letting this get away.
Siri is the product of SRI International, a research lab that has created many technologies and biosciences products over its 68-year history. The digital assistant was spun out as Siri Inc., which Apple acquired in 2010. But the voice recognition engine is provided by Nuance Communications, the same company that makes Dragon Naturally Speaking software and Swype keyboard software. This only came to light after Apple bought Siri.
This past June, Nuance and Samsung began merger talks, but nothing came of it. At the time, the two companies said talks had “slowed” due to “complexities.” But they didn’t say it was dead.
Guess what? The talks are back on.
So if Nuance is gearing up for a sale, Apple is in a bind. Sure, it could outbid Samsung, but that will get expensive. Nuance’s market cap is currently $4.8 billion.
It would be beyond embarrassing for Apple to lose Siri, which it inevitably would if Samsung gets Nuance. Samsung loves to antagonize Apple to no end.
Tomi Engdahl says:
You might already have a cosmic ray detector in your pocket
https://gigaom.com/2014/10/02/you-might-already-have-a-cosmic-ray-detector-in-your-pocket/
The silicon chips in smartphone cameras are affected by cosmic rays. A new app translates that into trackable data.
IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center researcher Justin Vandenbroucke and his team created an app that draws data from phones’ camera chips to spot those secondary particles created by cosmic rays interacting with the atmosphere. Smartphone camera chips are made with silicon. When the cosmic ray particles hit it they emit an electric charge, which the app spots and analyzes. Anyone can use the app; they just need to put a piece of duct tape over their phone’s camera lens and then place it screen-up.
“The apps basically transform the phone into a high-energy particle detector,” Vandenbroucke said in a release. “It uses the same principles as these very large experiments.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTC third quarter profit beats estimates as cost cuts offset weak sales
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/03/us-htc-results-idUSKCN0HS0IM20141003
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp swung to better-than-expected profit in the third quarter from a heavy loss a year earlier, as cost cuts helped it offset the impact of still-sluggish sales.
The company makes devices, such as its flagship One M8, that consistently garner accolades from critics but fail to lure customers. The former contract manufacturer has struggled to maintain a distinctive brand image in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google planning to launch own mobile messaging app similar to WhatsApp
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-03/news/54599847_1_whatsapp-hangouts-google
BANGALORE: After losing WhatsApp to Facebook in a multibillion dollar acquisition bid, Google is planning to launch its own mobile messaging app which the search giant is likely to test in India and other emerging markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cyanogen Inc. Turns Down Google, Seeing $1 Billion Valuation
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/10/04/1835207/cyanogen-inc-turns-down-google-seeing-1-billion-valuation
According to a report at The Information (paywalled), Cyanogen Inc., the company trying to commercializa the popular CyanogenMod mobile OS based on Android, recently met with Google’s Android chief to talk about an acquisition. The report says Cyanogen turned down Google’s offer and instead seeks funding from investors and major tech companies at a valuation around $1 billion
Report: Cyanogen Inc. Turns Down Acquisition Attempt by Google, Seeks $1 Billion Valuation
http://www.droid-life.com/2014/10/02/report-cyanogen-inc-turns-down-acquisition-attempt-by-google-seeks-1-billion-valuation/
Ultimately, in theory, a buyout by Google would protect the company’s control of the Android ecosystem, as Cyanogen’s home-brewed version of Android is potentially the first real threat to ship on phones that Google has encountered.
As many of you may know, Cyanogen is built from Android source code, with layers upon layers of custom code placed on top. These changes allow for users to highly customize the look and feel of the OS. For example, users running Cyanogen can place custom skins on the OS and also increase a device’s security thanks to additional settings. There are countless developers that contribute their code to make Cyanogen a better alternative to vanilla Android, which is provided straight from Google as open source.
Cyanogen should be wary of modifying Android too much.
must continue to follow Google’s compatibility requirements
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vertu launches Aster, a 4.7 inch 1080p “mid-tier” luxury Android phone that starts at $6,900 —
Vertu Aster is a luxury smartphone with ‘mid-tier’ price, top-tier specs
http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/02/vertu-aster-luxury-smartphone/
“Vertu is not here to follow general mass market mobile trends; our technology is leading edge but it doesn’t have to be bleeding edge. The same goes for the physical design of Vertu products. The nature of our customers and of our products mean that we have to develop what is right for them, not follow generic broader industry design themes that may be more fleeting than those of the luxury market.
“Many of our customers desire and appreciate compact size Vertu products that comfortably fit the inside the pocket of a well-tailored suit or in an expensive clutch bag.”
Going back to the point about differentiation, the Aster is more affordable because it comes with a shorter “Classic Concierge” subscription — just six months instead of a year and no dedicated agent. This may tempt those who doubt they will make full use of Vertu’s signature service; and they can always renew their subscription afterwards.
Vertu Certainty package that offers six months of iPass WiFi hotspots around the world, 12 months of Silent Circle communication encryption and 12 months of Kaspersky mobile security subscription
Tomi Engdahl says:
It seems that the Chinese companies have started to make cheap smart-watch products with built-in GSM phone functionlity:
http://www.dx.com/p/cl-w215-1-46-ips-single-core-gsm-smart-watch-phone-w-gps-128mb-ram-64mb-rom-black-351240?r=85273703
http://www.dx.com/p/cl-w215-1-46-ips-single-core-gsm-smart-watch-phone-w-gps-128mb-ram-64mb-rom-black-351240?r=85273703
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Sapphire Glass Supplier GT Advanced Files For Bankruptcy
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/14/10/06/1529221/apple-sapphire-glass-supplier-gt-advanced-files-for-bankruptcy
GT Advanced Technologies is filing for bankruptcy. In an announcement on Monday, GT Advanced, which makes sapphire displays that many investors hoped would be in Apple’s newest iPhone, said that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In early September, shares of GT Advanced got crushed after the company’s sapphire displays were not in the latest version of Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Friendly Reminder: Do Not Place Your iPhone In a Microwave
http://slashdot.org/story/207541
Placing your iPhone in the microwave will destroy the phone, and possibly the microwave. While that might seem obvious to some people, others have fallen for the “Wave” hoax making its way around online. The fake advertisement insists that the new iOS 8 allows users to charge their iPhones by placing them in a “household microwave for a minute and a half.”
Do Not Toss Your iPhone 6 in the Microwave
http://news.dice.com/2014/09/22/do-not-toss-iphone-in-microwave/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Warns Another Disappointing Earnings Report Is Coming
Samsung warned Monday night that its third-quarter earnings will be weaker than expected.
In its Q3 guidance, the company blamed lower average selling prices (ASP) of its smartphones. Operating profit could be 4.1 trillion won, or just under $4 billion US. That’s down nearly 60% from a year ago. Samsung’s operating profit was $7.19 trillion won last quarter.
This is a similar story to the one we heard last quarter. Samsung’s profit is declining as its mobile business faces competition from companies that sell smartphones and tablets at much cheaper prices. That eats into Samsung’s profits.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-warns-weak-q3-earnings-2014-10#ixzz3FRn4VAWT
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon will battle the FTC over kids’ in-app purchases, rejecting a Google-style settlement
https://gigaom.com/2014/10/06/amazon-will-battle-the-ftc-over-kids-in-app-purchases-rejecting-a-google-style-settlement/
Amazon is digging in versus the federal government in a lawsuit over apps — the case is interesting because Amazon picked a fight with a powerful agency even after two of its rivals chose to settle.
Amazon is doubling down in an unusual lawsuit with the federal government, which is suing the retail giant for allowing kids to make one-touch purchases from apps on the Kindle Fire device.
The lawsuit is unusual because Apple and Google have already settled with the Federal Trade Commissions over similar allegations, and agreed to pay $32 million and $19 million in refunds to parents, respectively. The FTC says all three companies conducted unfair trade practices by selling so-called “bait app” game that are typically free, but invite the player to purchase “acorns” or some other type of digital good.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is number 8 a bad number for OS?
Microsoft had problems with getting Windows 8 market share, and now Apple has similar issues with iOS 8:
Apple’s own stats show iOS 8 upgrades have slowed to a crawl
http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/ios-8-marketshare-stats/?ncid=rss_truncated
Despite the introduction of custom keyboards, Notification Center widgets and lots more, Apple users aren’t taking to iOS 8. According to stats displayed on the company’s developer portal, the proportion of iPhone and iPad owners currently running the latest version on their devices stands at 47 percent, only an increase of 1 percentage point from two weeks ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BIG trouble in Big China: Samsung cops it RIGHT in the wallet
XiaOW-ME – that’s gotta hurt
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/07/smartphone_slump_scuppers_samsung/
Competition from Chinese smartphone makers has mashed Samsung’s China sales, resulting in a warning from the Korean company that its third quarter earnings would drop by 60 per cent when compared with the previous year.
We’ve seen how Xiaomi, whose CEO fashions himself on Steve Jobs, is more of a threat to Samsung than Apple. However, it seems that both of the big two are coming under increasing pressure from loyalty to local brands – if not manufacturers – particularly in India. There is also pressure from Wiko in France and other local vendors – according to some studies.
Competition affects both volumes and average selling price, which is why it’s no surprise that investors saw this coming.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What mobile working can bring to every small business
The irresistible charm of 4G
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/07/smb_mobile/
We can all recognise the enormous benefits going mobile can bring to a business.
It means staff can be more efficient and responsive because they are more readily available and can work on the move. A small business can not only compete more easily with larger competitors but also appear bigger than it actually is.
No business can ignore the current trend towards mobile working, even if business users are still trying to figure out what mix of devices and screen sizes might suit them best.
The market for mobile devices has grown very quickly and the number of devices now being shipped are huge.
According to research house Gartner, worldwide combined shipments of PCs, tablets, ultra-mobiles and mobile phones are projected to reach 2.5 billion units this year. Traditional PCs, including notebooks, account for only 276 million of this total.
Of course the huge recent improvement in mobile connectivity has been a great enabler for the mobile business. The 4G networks rolled out over the last couple of years have meant business users can be assured of broadband speeds and coverage on the move that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Test-Driving a $35 Firefox OS Smartphone
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/10/07/0334240/test-driving-a-35-firefox-os-smartphone
Ars Technica got its hands on one of the extremely low-cost smart phones running Firefox OS. The Intex Cloud FX retails for about $35 in India, and its intent is to bring smartphones to people who traditionally can’t afford them. So, what do you have to sacrifice to bring a smartphone’s costs down that far?
How well does the phone work? Well, the UI works well enough, but multitasking is rough. Everything’s functional, but slow, sometimes taking several seconds to register touch input. The real killer, according to the article, is the on-screen keyboard, which is unbearable.
The problem is that Firefox OS just isn’t the right choice of operating system for this device—it’s trying to do way too much with the limited hardware. It isn’t configurable enough.
Testing a $35 Firefox OS phone—how bad could it be?
Review: A masochistic journey into the world of the Intex Cloud FX.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/testing-a-35-firefox-os-phone-how-bad-could-it-be/
The $35 price tag should color every sentence you read about the device. Though it is so cheap that most flaws can be forgiven, we still feel it’s our duty to point them out.
We’re not dealing with a speed demon here. The spec sheet looks like it’s about seven years old: a 3.5-inch 480×320 LCD, a 1GHz single-core Cortex A5 CPU, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of storage, and a 2MP camera. That’s roughly equivalent to a first-gen iPhone from 2007, but today you can buy 14 Cloud FXes for the launch price ($500) of the first base-model iPhone.
Missing from the spec list are several items you’d expect to find in a modern smartphone. There’s no front-facing camera, no notification LED, no camera flash, no LTE, no 3G, and no GPS. The only available geolocation is from your IP address, which will (at most) narrow your location to your current city or town.
With only a few MB of free space out of the box, users need a MicroSD card for media consumption or picture-taking. While you can store pictures on the internal memory, there really isn’t any space.
The Firefox OS underpinnings are a lot like Chrome OS—a browser stretched out into a full operating system. All the apps are built using Web technologies, and everything is being rendered with Gecko, Firefox’s layout engine. Despite the Cloud FX only being a month old, it’s running an old version of Firefox OS (version 1.3). According to Mozilla’s website, Firefox OS 1.3 actually hit end-of-life about two weeks after the Cloud FX was released.
In theory, Firefox OS can multitask, but thanks to a combination of failings in Firefox OS and in the hardware, you’ll never have an app run in the background on the Cloud FX. The first problem is the Cloud FX’s criminally low amount of RAM. 128MB of memory offers barely enough to run the current program, let alone the current program plus background tasks. The other problem is that when Firefox OS does run out of memory, it closes apps without doing anything to preserve their state or to keep critical background tasks running.
If the lock screen pops up while reading a webpage, you’ll need to reload the page again. If you start the stopwatch and leave the app, the stopwatch stops. You can set the e-mail app to check for mail every five minutes, but there is never any free memory, so the mail check never runs.
If Firefox OS was a little more considerate of the ultra-low-end specs of the Cloud FX, things wouldn’t be so bad. A big part of the problem is merely that the OS clearly isn’t targeted for something this slow. Being able to disable images and JavaScript in the browser would be a great first step, but Firefox OS offers no way to do that. We couldn’t find an app or alternative browser, either. Android deals with low memory by saving the state of an app if it is going to be closed due to low memory, but Firefox doesn’t appear to have any such abilities. Users will frequently lose data if they try to bounce from app to app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: Hundreds Of Devices Hidden Inside New York City Phone Booths
http://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/exclusive-hundreds-of-devices-hidden-inside-new-york-city-ph#4eg99hn
Beacons can push you ads — and help track your every move. Update: Hours after BuzzFeed News exposed the devices, the city ordered the removal of the devices.
A company that controls thousands of New York City’s phone booth advertising displays has planted tiny radio transmitters known as “beacons” — devices that can be used to track people’s movements — in hundreds of pay phone booths in Manhattan, BuzzFeed News has learned.
And it’s all with the blessing of a city agency — but without any public notice, consultation, or approval.
Titan, the outdoor media company that sells ad space in more than 5,000 panels in phone kiosks around the five boroughs, has installed about 500 of the beacons, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), Nicholas Sbordone, confirmed to BuzzFeed News
Beacons are Bluetooth devices that emit simple signals that smartphones can pick up. They’re best known for their growing use in commercial settings: in stores, for example, to alert customers to sales, or in stadiums, to tell patrons which entrances are least crowded.
But the spread of beacon technology to public spaces could turn any city into a giant matrix of hidden commercialization
Beacons are Bluetooth devices that emit simple signals that smartphones can pick up. They’re best known for their growing use in commercial settings: in stores, for example, to alert customers to sales, or in stadiums, to tell patrons which entrances are least crowded.
But the spread of beacon technology to public spaces could turn any city into a giant matrix of hidden commercialization
update
Hours after BuzzFeed News published this report, City Hall asked Titan to remove the devices, which could have been used to push ads — and track phones.
Titan, which is also active in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities, said it has installed Gimbal beacons in other markets, but declined to provide details about those programs to BuzzFeed News.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data-saving Opera Mini browser to land on Samsung Gear S watch
http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/opera-mini-browser-for-samsung-gear-s/
While Tizen’s smartphone future remains foggy, it’s slowly gaining street cred in the wearable space courtesy of Samsung’s smartwatches and their handful of apps. The latest brand to help push this young ecosystem is none other than Opera, who is bringing its Mini browser to the Gear S due later this year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Some wonderful bastard put Windows 95 on his Samsung Gear Live (Android Wear)
http://phandroid.com/2014/10/05/windows-95-running-on-android-wear/
After showing both Minecraft PE and Doom running on Android Wear, some brilliant fool has loaded up a full version of Windows 95 on his Samsung Gear Live. We know. The first question you’re probably asking is, “Why?” Well, folks. Because Android — that’s why.
Okay, so the OS runs like sh*t and RAM is exhausted when opening applications, but this isn’t even the first time we’ve seen Windows running on Android devices (although this is definitely the smallest).
Windows 95 on Android Wear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZx-LJH5J_I
Tomi Engdahl says:
Crank it up! Powerful, crystal clear audio without any risk
Do you listen to music or watch videos on your phone? Or maybe you stay in touch with friends and relatives using Skype or other VoIP services? The smartphone has made all of these things a reality, transforming the way we consume information and interact with each other.
Mobile usage trends show that more than 50% of mobile network data is driven by media players. And the popularity of stereo-equipped smartphones and phablets, such as the HTC One, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Sony’s Xperia range, indicate that audio quality is just as important to user experience as a phone’s visual capabilities.
However, standard smartphone speakers can only handle around 0.5 W which isn’t really sufficient for today’s multimedia.
Using our Smart Amplifier TFA9890, we were able to boost loudness and audio quality from a rated 0.67 W to an impressive 4 W, without affecting the speaker’s operating lifetime.
- See more at: http://blog.nxp.com/crank-it-up-powerful-crystal-clear-audio-without-any-risk/#sthash.wwUElrT6.dpuf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Myo: More Muscle For Wearables?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324184&
Myo is an armband that monitors electrical signals in the wearer’s arm muscles and converts them into roll, pitch, and yaw (movement along the x, y, and z axes) to track motion in three dimensions. Thalmic Labs started shipping Myo to developers in July and plans to begin deliveries to other customers shortly.
Myo, like Apple’s iPhone, Leap Motion, and Microsoft Kinect, represents an effort to redefine how we interact with computers in the mobile era. The mouse just doesn’t work when you’re on the move. Touch and voice interaction have filled the gap, but gestures have potential too, particularly when conditions inhibit touch or voice — wet, noisy, or dirty environments, for example.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook Readies App Allowing Anonymity
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/facebook-readies-app-allowing-anonymity/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Facebook has long attempted to be the place where, above all else, you try to be yourself.
Soon, Facebook will allow you to be yourself, but under a different name.
The company is working on a stand-alone mobile application that allows users to interact inside of it without having to use their real names, according to two people briefed on Facebook’s plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the project.
The app, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks, reveals a different, experimental take on Facebook’s long-established approach to identity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Secret ad beacon network uncovered, shut down in New York City
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2691964/opensource-subnet/secret-ad-beacon-network-uncovered-shut-down-in-new-york-city.html
The discovery of secret beacons installed in New York City pay phone booths opens up some questions.
For almost a year, a company called Titan has operated a network of advertising beacons, devices that are capable of identifying nearby smartphones and which are often used to push advertisements and information to them, installed within pay phone booths throughout New York City without the knowledge of its residents, BuzzFeed News reported today.
BuzzFeed discovered the beacons with an Android app called iBeacon Detector, which shows information about beacons operating within reach of the device on which the app is installed. With the app, BuzzFeed uncovered more than 13 of Titan’s beacons operating “on a 20-block stretch along Broadway and Sixth Avenue” in Manhattan. A spokesman for New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Communications (DoITT) told BuzzFeed that Titan had installed about 500 of the devices throughout the city.
Since the report was published this morning, a spokesman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told BuzzFeed that the city of New York has ordered Titan to remove the beacons from the phone booths.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How much is Microsoft earning from its Android taxes again?
We do the maths and reveal THE TRUTH
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2014/10/07/how_much_is_that_microsoft_android_tax_again/
Analysis We’ve known for years that Microsoft makes more money from Google’s Android than Google does itself – but now we have a better idea of how much hidden “tax” is included in the price of an Android handset.
That’s because Samsung and Microsoft have fallen out, and Redmond’s lawsuit sheds light on the secretive world of patent licensing agreements.
We now know Microsoft’s Android licensing program covers 25 companies and HTC was the first to agree. Others named by Microsoft include Acer, giant contract manufacturers Hon Hai (aka Foxconn), Compal and slab-maker Wistron.
The deals cover Chromebooks, too. Also understood to have signed similar deals are Sony and LG.
Samsung’s agreement was based on device sales volumes.
In September 2013, Microsoft invoiced Samsung for a very precise $1,041,642,161.25 – just over $1bn.
Gartner estimates Samsung shipped 299,794,900 Android smartphones in 2013
What about tablets? Using Gartner figures again, Samsung shipped in 37.4 million in 2013
Yet Windows tablets had a negligible impact in 2013
So an all-things-equal per-device royalty looks like it’s $3.29, or less than one per cent of a smartphone’s average selling price (estimated to be $372 in 2013 by Gartner). In which case you may wonder what the fuss is about.
$3.29 is not a huge amount – Samsung outspends Apple by around 10:1, and much of that $14bn splurge goes on puffs to the teenager who is pressing a new phone into your palm, urging you that “this is the best model you can get.”
But it might not seem trivial for long. The trend is for smartphone ASPs (average selling prices) to continue to decline. IDC reckons the 2013 ASP of $372 will fall to $309 in three years. And maybe faster: basic AOSP (ie, Google-less) 2G Android smartphones can be picked up for $30 in the Chinese countryside. As the next billion middle class consumers upgrade, this is where the growth is taking place, as Google recognises with its recently-launched Android One program.
Even Microsoft admitted that manufacturers need costs to be as low as possible, when it scrapped royalties for Windows Phone, and for Windows tablets with displays under 9 inches earlier this year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vulture takes BlackBerry’s Passport through customs
Anything to declare?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/08/review_blackberry_passport_smartphone/
Absent for almost a year, BlackBerry has returned to the fray with the striking Passport, an updated OS and Blend – a secure desktop companion for the phone.
There are two distinguishing features in this device: first, its display is square and very wide. Secondly, it has a capacitive physical keyboard.
The idea is that your hands don’t leave the physical keyboard when editing or manipulating text, and they shouldn’t stray far from that keyboard when performing common tasks. So you can swipe to scroll and edit
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU probes Google’s Android omerta again: Talk now, or else
Spill those Android secrets, or we’ll fine you
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/30/eu_probes_googles_android_omerta_again_talk_now_or_else/
Frustrated Brussels regulators have ordered mobe-makers to spill the beans on Google’s secret Android contracts – or face a fine.
The European Commission’s competition authority, the Director-General for Competition (DG-COMP) is concerned by several aspects of phone makers’ relationships with Google, and wrote to them in the summer. Android dominates the global smartphone market, with a market share of over 80 per cent, and Google wants to put it in devices around the home, too.
OEMs who fail to reply face a fine of one per cent of annual turnover, going back five years.
Much of the probe focuses on the arbitrary nature of Android compatibility, which Google enforces to avoid the platform fragmenting.
While Google outsources the testing to third-party test centres, it has made passing the test contingent upon integrating its proprietary binary “blob”, GMS, into the stack – as one OEM told us here. The blob precludes phone makers from picking what they regard as the best services for their customers – if they want one Google service, they must take them them all.
The current process is part of a preliminary investigation into Android.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Failure modes of wearable electronics
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4435684/Failure-modes-of-wearable-electronics?elq=053339b449e844418cbabab7d1879ccf&elqCampaignId=19570
The wearables market is perhaps $3 billion to $5 billion today, rising to perhaps $30 billion to $50 billion over the next three to five years, the analysts forecast, adding that there may be upward of 15% of smartphone owners who end up buying a wearable.
The question is will the wearable electronics be reliable? Reliability is defined as the measure of a product’s ability to perform its specified function, in the customer’s use environment, over the required or desired lifetime. From this perspective we need to think about what the product is supposed to do, where is it going to be used, and how long should it last?
Wearable electronics falls into the categorization of “Next Generation Technologies.” DfR defines these technologies as those the supply chain or the user will implement because they are cheaper, faster, stronger, etc.
One of the most common drivers for failure is inappropriate adoption of new technologies. As most of us have little or no influence over the packaging technologies chosen for implementation we need to be aware of the pitfalls and what actions need to be taken to assure that the new technologies are reliable. As typically occurs with new markets of electronics, there are several issues that need to be addressed from a reliability perspective to assure these new applications are safe and reliable.
Market studies and mobile phone markets can skew the reality of market adoption as annual sales of >100 million may be due to one or two customers. As such, mobile phone requirements may not match the needs of wearable electronics.
A good example of this issue is the 0201-size ceramic capacitor. Initially, “the smaller the better,” was the mantra for electronics
Attempts to integrate 0201 capacitor technology into more demanding applications, such as medical implants, resulted in quality issues, unexpected degradation, and major warranty returns.
Similarly, the durability of the wearable products must be examined. The compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) is a perfect example of what can happen if durability becomes an issue.
Two different studies (1, 2) indicated that the failure rate for CFLs was between 2% and 13%, with returns from thermally challenging environments being higher. The consumer was impacted by the failure levels and moved over to LED lighting which is even newer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS 8 adoption stuck in neutral
http://www.cnet.com/news/ios-8-adoption-stuck-in-neutral/
The percentage of users updating to Apple’s latest mobile OS has remained virtually flat since September 21, which was four days after its release.
Apple users don’t seem to be in a big rush to install iOS 8, which was released September 17.
Apple has already seeded the first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers, according to MacRumors. Some users who’ve installed the new beta say the Bluetooth problem is fixed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS 8 Causing Widespread Bluetooth Connectivity Issues in Cars
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/01/ios-8-bluetooth-connectivity-issues/
iOS 8 has caused significant issues for some people who connect their phones to their cars and other devices via Bluetooth, according to numerous reports on the Apple Support forums and MacRumors’ own user forums. MacRumors has also been receiving complaints on a near daily basis about the ongoing Bluetooth problems that iOS 8 users are seeing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTC Unveils Its 13-Megapixel Selfie Phone, the Desire Eye
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/08/htc-unveils-its-13-megapixel-selfie-phone-the-desire-eye
Camera technology is a big selling point for HTC right now.
The real stars here are the Desire Eye’s cameras. Both the front and rear cameras are a whopping 13 megapixels and offer digital image stabilization technology and dual LED flashes.
HTC is taking the selfie situation plaguing our society very seriously. With the most powerful front-facing camera on any smartphone in the history of smartphones, your self-portraits will look pretty good. Additionally, taking a selfie while engaging in cumbersome activities like mountain climbing if you’re the sporty type (or eating a slice of pizza if you’re like me) will be even easier with the option to forego the shutter button altogether. To snap a selfie when one of your hands is otherwise engaged, all you have to do is boot up the camera and hold the phone still for two seconds.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Square Now Knows When You’re Nearing a Cafe, Will Have Your Order Ready
http://gizmodo.com/square-now-knows-when-youre-nearing-a-cafe-will-have-y-1643612378
When Square permanently folded its Wallet app earlier this year, it quickly introduced Square Order as a way to pay ahead for nibbles and sips at coffee shops. Today it’s introducing two new features to further streamline your cafe experience.
Arrival prediction is part of the latest upgrade, designed to cut your wait time down to as close to zero as possible. Vendors that participate in Square Order have prep times built in for each menu item. Now, customers on their way to their favorite java joint can pre-order, and then when they’re within the zone—say, three minutes away for a mocha with whole milk and whipped cream that takes three minutes to make—a “proximity tag” is triggered; the drink is started; and hey, it’s (supposed to be) ready when they walk through the door.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s HERE maps is finally available for Android, kicking off with Samsung Galaxy phones
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/10/08/nokias-maps-finally-available-android-kicking-samsung-galaxy-phones/
Nokia has launched a beta version of its HERE maps and navigation app in the Samsung Galaxy Apps store, giving the smartphone maker a viable alternative to the wildly popular Google Maps.
The app is technically a beta build and, for now, exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy-branded Android smartphones. It signals an interesting push from both parties; what’s left of Nokia from the Microsoft acquisition is no longer tied to Windows Phone, so this is clearly part of the firm’s push to broaden its market share; for Samsung, it’s a chance to reduce its dependency on Google’s services.
Nokia has also confirmed that it’ll be launching its HERE app for iOS and the broader Android ecosystem before the end of the year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s Largest Plant to Shut Down in India
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324231&
BANGALORE, India — One of the world’s biggest cellular phone manufacturing plants, located in the southern India city of Chennai, will stop production of mobile phones and down shutters after Nov. 1. Microsoft, its lone customer, has terminated a subcontract agreement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There Could Be A Very Simple Reason For Why People Aren’t Updating To iOS 8
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-arent-updating-to-ios-8-2014-10?op=1
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about the adoption rate of iOS 8, but the reason might lie in the phone’s storage capacity.
Some have speculated that the reason for the slow adoption rate might be because of the broken update that Apple pushed out last month, which turned some people’s phones into bricks.
But Apple writer John Gruber points out that there might be an even simpler reason: In order to update to iOS 8 over the air, phones needed to have at least 5GB of storage space available.
Over-the-air updates require a lot of storage space, even though the update itself is only usually 1GB. That’s because the update is shuffling around files in the background, and needs the free space to do that.
“This is a serious problem for Apple, because all those 16 GB devices (let alone the 8 GB ones) aren’t going to suddenly gain more free storage space on their own,”
“A lot of these devices might never get updated to iOS 8″
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Hopes Whale of a Phone Will Make Splash in Phablet Market
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/09/google-hopes-whale-of-a-phone-will-make-splash-in-phablet-market/
Google this month expects to release its largest smartphone, intensifying competition in the fast-growing market for super-sized mobile devices known as phablets, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The new phone — code-named Shamu after a killer whale — will have a 5.9-inch screen, a high-resolution display and be sold under the Nexus brand, two of the people said. Motorola Mobility, the phone maker that Google is selling to China’s Lenovo Group Ltd., is manufacturing the phone, the people added. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
The new phone will be larger than Apple ’s iPhone 6 Plus, which is 5.5 inches, and the Samsung Galaxy Note, the first truly successful phablet, which is 5.7 inches. Google plans to release a new version of its Android mobile-operating system at the same time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple outlines Apple Pay, NFC operation in comprehensive patent filing
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/10/09/apple-outlines-apple-pay-nfc-operation-in-comprehensive-patent-filing
For a major mobile payment platform on the verge of launch, not much is known about the nuts and bolts behind Apple Pay. A new patent application discovered on Thursday, however, offers a detailed look at how NFC, secure enclaves and software come together to make safe transactions a reality.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenSignal brings its crowdsourced weather reporting app to iPhone
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/10/09/opensignal-brings-crowdsourced-weather-reporting-tool-iphone/
In May last year, we brought you news on WeatherSignal, a new crowdsourced weather reporting tool. The Web and Android app came courtesy of the good folks at OpenSignal, the company that creates independent maps of mobile phone network coverage from mobile phone users.
As of today, WeatherSignal is available for iPhone users too, as the company looks to ramp up its weather data-collating efforts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple HealthKit Has Good Prognosis
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324227&
Apple’s HealthKit, Health app and now the Apple Watch positions the company with a revolutionary platform, allowing health and fitness apps to work together. Apple is seriously preparing to take a slice of the mobile health market, opening a door for partners to provide value-added services.
Overnight, Apple raised the game for other players in the field like Fitbit and Jawbone — why do you think Nike shut the operation down earlier in the year? Given the current market situation, Apple has a lot going for it.
Apple’s platform addresses the four key challenges of the mobile health ecosystem. It integrates data collected by different apps, stores it in a single secure place respecting individual country’s privacy laws, facilitates the access to a patient’s health and wellness data for hospitals and physicians, and makes this data usable.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple HealthKit Has Good Prognosis
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324227&
Apple’s HealthKit, Health app and now the Apple Watch positions the company with a revolutionary platform, allowing health and fitness apps to work together. Apple is seriously preparing to take a slice of the mobile health market, opening a door for partners to provide value-added services.
Overnight, Apple raised the game for other players in the field like Fitbit and Jawbone — why do you think Nike shut the operation down earlier in the year? Given the current market situation, Apple has a lot going for it.
Enabling a holistic view of a user’s health and fitness data, Apple HealthKit empowers users to interact with physicians on a variety of health matters and actively participate in their care.
You still need a Mac to develop for iOS, but it seems that Apple HealthKit is not going to limit its options for where it gets data.
Given the market’s infancy, the sizable iOS community and initial endorsements from health care industry leaders, the platform is just too tempting to pass. The size and forecast growth of the mobile health market is tremendous and HealthKit appears positioned for success.
While Apple is well positioned to pioneer the market, Google could still seize market share from its long-term rival if it plays its cards well. While I loved the Google Health Platform that died on the vine, a new incarnation is now here with the recently launched Google Fit open platform.
The future of open health platforms is like the Wild West. Instead of being just a participant in the health revolution, embrace the new technologies and drive the revolution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cell phone would be nice to watch the news and more in the video, but still annoyingly often pushes back the connection. Samsung and SK Telecom are now in the demo the technology, which promises a lot.
Samsung and SK Telecom are the name of the technique TRTMS (True Real-Time Mobile Streaming). The aim is to provide the technology MPEG and 3GPP organizations for standardization, so that it would not leave a single operator as internal.
Korean companies have developed a technique where video is transferred to a new MMT technique (Media Transport of MPEG). This is a new standard, which is to be transferred HEVC-encoded video over IP.
SK Telecom’s LTE network, a new coding bitstream reduced latency by up to 80 per cent. With current techniques, the latency may be up to 15 seconds. MMT collapse of that time for three seconds, which seems significant improvements in the user’s screen.
MMT is to be commercialized as early as next year.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1899:kannykkavideossa-iso-lapimurto&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Develops Analog Keyboard For Wearables, Solves Small Display Dilemma
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/10/12/1622221/microsoft-develops-analog-keyboard-for-wearables-solves-small-display-dilemma
Microsoft Develops Analog Keyboard Prototype For Android Wear, Solves Small Display Dilemma
Read more: http://hothardware.com/News/Microsoft-Develops-Analog-Keyboard-Prototype-For-Android-Wear-Solves-Small-Display-Dilemma/#ixzz3G0w2uTzA
Tomi Engdahl says:
EasyJet’s apps can now scan your passport for faster online check-in
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/10/13/easyjets-apps-can-now-scan-passport-faster-online-check/
If you frequently fly across Europe with EasyJet, good news: the popular airline has added passport scanning to its iOS and Android apps.
So when you finish a booking and want to check-in online (saving some considerable hassle at the airport) you don’t have to mess around typing in your long-winded passport number. Just grab your copy of the precious travel document, take a picture and the EasyJet app should do the rest.