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:
Cisco launches new telepresence system, Project Squared mobile app
http://www.zdnet.com/cisco-launches-new-telepresence-system-project-squared-mobile-app-7000035791/
Summary: Cisco is busy retooling its collaboration portfolio with a telepresence system that uses less bandwidth and power and Project Squared, a mobile app that offers video conferencing, document sharing and other tools.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTML5: It’s Already Everywhere, Even In Mobile
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/11/18/0121223/html5-its-already-everywhere-even-in-mobile
Tom Dale has never been shy, and in a Q&A with Matt Asay on ReadWrite, the EmberJS co-founder and JavaScript evangelist makes the outspoken claim that open Web technologies are already everywhere, even in native mobile apps, and that it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to “all the capabilities of a native, proprietary platform.” Take that, Web-is-dead doomsayers.
HTML5′s “Dirty Little Secret”: It’s Already Everywhere, Even In Mobile
Just look under the hood, says EmberJS co-founder Tom Dale.
http://readwrite.com/2014/11/17/html5-javascript-everywhere-mobile-tom-dale-emberjs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will New SoCs Keep Marvell at No. 2 in China’s LTE Market?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324645&
Marvell announced Monday (Nov. 17) two new 64-bit mobile processors targeting the fast growing global LTE market: a new mobile SoC based on octa-cores for high performance smartphones and tablets and another that uses quad-cores for economy models.
Marvell hopes to leverage the company’s “mature LTE modem” in the new additions to its Armada mobile product family. While Qualcomm remains the dominant player in the global LTE market, able to dwarf its competitors’ incremental gains, Marvell’s quiet success with its LTE baseband business in China has gotten little notice.
Setting the record straight, Lu Chang, senior director of mobile business unit at Marvell, told EE Times that Marvell today has a 30% market share in China’s LTE market. Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, observed, “Marvell has very credible world-class smartphone chip technology. Now with a 64-bit application processor on the same die with their LTE/TD-SCDMA modem, it puts them ahead of MediaTek.” MediaTek’s current solution employs a separate LTE modem chip, not on the same die with the application processor, Strauss explained.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FEMBORG: Intel combines WOMEN and TECH with ‘MICA’
Sigh. At least it’s not pink
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/18/intel_launches_mica_smart_band/
Intel has announced the launch of a new smartwatch slash bracelet thingamajig aimed at “fashion forward women”.
Mica, which stands for My Intelligent Communication Accessory, was unveiled at an event in New York last night.
The “feminine communications accessory” will go on sale in early December and offers access to text messages, Yelp, Gmail, Facebook events and Google Calendar. It features a touchscreen made of sapphire glass, which Apple is rumoured to be using in its own watch, if it ever gets released.
Yeah, you could get all of that on your phone, but Intel is hoping that women are eager to strap a rather flashy, blinged-up gizmo to their wrists instead of carrying around a mobe. It has worked with Opening Ceremony, a global retail chain, to design the gizmo.
“MICA captures Intel’s philosophy that technology should enhance jewellery in order to make wearable technology truly ‘wantable’, in addition to seamless and productive.”
The Mica will cost $495 and includes two years of wireless data from AT&T. It is available in the US only, charges using micro USB and has a battery life of up to two days.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft discovers long-lost phone division down back of sofa
Confirms it’ll be chucking ‘Lumia’ brand into the round file
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/24/microsoft_discovers_longlost_phone_division/
Nokia phones generated $2.6bn in revenue for Microsoft as the division arrested its decline. Redmond sold 9.3m Lumia devices in the quarter, the most ever.
In the quarter a year ago, Nokia (then the owner) shifted 8.8m Lumias. In June only 5.8m Lumias moved. The company had failed to refresh its product line as it, and other OEMs, waited for Windows Phone 8.1 to be ready.
The number is dwarfed by the volumes shipped by Apple. But it shows Microsoft is still a significant global player in phone hardware – whether it wants to be or not.
Nevertheless, Redmond presses on. Microsoft gave official confirmation of what has been known for months – that it would drop the Nokia brand from its Lumia smartphones – it just didn’t say when. And still hasn’t (officially), but it did give a teaser of what they’ll look like.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SLURP! Flick your TONGUE around our LOLLIPOP – Google
Android 5 is coming – IF you’re lucky enough to have the right gadget
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/13/google_lollipop_rollout/
Google is gradually handing out the fifth major iteration of its Android OS, codenamed Lollipop, to some fortunate devices – and has made the firmware available for folk to download and install.
While this new major Android build has a number of stylistic changes in the user interface, the biggest advantage to upgrading is going to be the longer battery life. The new OS is far better power manager than its predecessors, and as there isn’t a smartphone user out there who doesn’t get frustrated at having to recharge every day this feature will likely be warmly received.
Tomi Engdahl says:
14 Views of Samsung’s Dev Con
Targeting health, VR, wearables, homes
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324620&
Julien Penders was just one of hundreds of attendees at the Samsung Developer Conference. But few here had worked more closely or bet so heavily on the Korean company as the young entrepreneur who launched his digital health company, Bloom Technologies, at the event.
Digital health was one of four growth areas in which Samsung rolled out new software developer kits at the conference, seeking to build ecosystems around its smartphones and tablets. Increasingly, its mobile Linux variant, Tizen, is a key ingredient in offerings targeting the smart home, virtual reality, and wearables.
Tomi Engdahl says:
According to fresh Ericsson Mobility Report in the world there is currently nearly 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions. The number of the fastest growing in India and China.
Ericsson forecasts that in 2020, 90 per cent of the world’s more than 6-year-olds have a mobile phone. At that time, nine out of ten are expected to join the mobile broadband connection.
The 2014 third quarter, 65-70% of mobile phones sold were smartphones, compared to last year during the same period accounted for 55%.
At the moment 37% of all telephone lines connected smart devices.
The world’s mobile networks, the mobile voice has remained virtually unchanged for many years, while the amount of data is growing steadily. Data traffic increase from 2013 to 2014 was a whopping 60 per cent globally.
The largest slice of the mobile data traffic will seize a video content. In 2014, they represent about 45 percent of all traffic. Video traffic volume will increase at the same time more powerful terminals, the larger displays, streaming videos, and of course, the better the image quality of video services and content increased supply.
Mobile connections from the consumed video content is expected to grow ten-fold compared to the current year 2020.
Ericsson Mobility Report survey predicts that the first commercial 5G networks in the world will be introduced in 2020. The forerunners of the 5G networks will be in Japan, South Korea and the United States.
3G and 4G technologies together with smart devices, have made it possible to, for example, surfing the web, social media, streaming listening to music and watching videos on the move. 5G is, however, something else: its the network data transmission capacity and energy efficiency will increase 1000-fold, and the delay time will shrink to less than one millisecond.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/uutisia/ericsson+pian+melkein+kaikilla+on+kannykka/a1029805
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple will soon let third-party products use its Lightning port, opening up new possibilities for accessories
http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/18/apple-mfi-summit-third-party-products-lightning-port-new-accessories/
Last week at Apple’s yearly briefing for accessory makers in its Made-for-iPhone/iPad (MFi) licensing program, the company unveiled new Lightning connectors and specs for Lightning receptacles that will soon be available for implementation in MFi accessories. The new Lightning receptacle, scheduled to start shipping next year, will allow accessory makers to build new types of accessories that include a port for Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector previously reserved for its own iOS devices (pictured above).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Snapchat Now Lets You Send Money To Friends Through Snapcash Deal With Square Cash
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/17/snapcash/
While Venmo, Google Wallet, and more try to take a business approach to peer-to-peer payments, Snapchat today swooped in from the consumer side. It just added a “Snapcash” payments option to its app through a deal with Square Cash. Now you can add a debit card, type a dollar amount into Snapchat’s text-chat feature, and hit the green pay button to instantly send a friend money. The feature is on Android now and is coming to iOS soon.
Beyond p2p payments, the trademarks could prime Snapchat for ecommerce and payments to merchants as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sales of fitness wearables to plunge in 2015 owing to smartwatch takeover
But will make a comeback in 2016 thanks to advances in technology, says Gartner
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2382160/sakes-of-fitness-wearables-to-plunge-in-2015-owing-to-smartwatch-takeover
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chinese Meizu is now the most powerful Android phone
AnTuTu to emphasize that the Meizu MX4 interior of the earth intense in the Czech MTKMT6595 media processor. In the past, a list of the top places have been occupied by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon covered are based equipment.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2075:kiinalainen-meizu-on-nyt-tehokkain-android-puhelin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel’s efforts to take over the role of Android mobile phones are moved forward, the company has announced in conjunction with the Chinese Rockchip planned 3G mobile phone circuit XMM6321. The chip combines a baseband circuit and a modem.
District modem is based on Intel’s 2G / 3G circuit, which is planted into the side of the graphics and video processor. At its core is an ARM Cortex-A5 processor, which operates at a clock frequency in gigahertz. Chip, the communication is based on the Infineon chipset, which also brings in Bluetooth, wifi and gps.
Rock Chip has published information on the roadmap for future circuits: Next are the new 3G and LTE chipsets “Sofia” with 64 bit processor.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2085:intel-julkisti-kiinalaissirunsa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Did Snapchat Just Accidentally Monetize Nudes?
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/did-snapchat-just-accidentally-monetize-nudes
Snapchat’s progression from being a deliciously scandalous app made for sending nudes to cute dudes and ladies to a legitimate messaging platform has been fascinating to watch. Still, vestiges of its former seedy life remain in the form of a well-documented amateur porn subculture.
In light of this, it’s not surprising that when Snapchat announced its new in-app payment system, Snapcash, the internet’s first reaction was generally, to quote Reddit user Kaelteth, “…and the progression to a porn company is complete.”
Snapcash will allow users to send money to each other by linking a credit or debit card to their account with Square, a popular device-based commerce platform for businesses and individuals. By typing “$” and an amount into the app’s messaging field, you’ll be able to send money to a user you’re connected with.
In the wake of the most recent and much-publicized Snapchat leak, in which hackers uploaded at least 500 MB of photos onto the web, the popular impulse may be to be chiefly concerned with the Snapcash’s security. Hacking aside, Snapchat collects a host of data from users, including the identities of message senders and receivers, and the time and date of sent messages.
It remains to be seen how, exactly, Snapcash will play into the subculture of cam girls and amateur on-demand porn stars already on Snapchat
Tomi Engdahl says:
More Than 90 Percent of U.S. Households Have Three or More Devices Pinging the Internet
http://recode.net/2014/11/18/more-than-90-percent-of-u-s-households-have-three-or-more-devices-pinging-the-internet/
How much do Americans love the Internet?
Well, Ericsson counted all the ways.
It turns out that 90 percent of U.S. households have three or more Internet-connected devices
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to lead the way in LTE subscriptions, with more than 25 percent of mobile subscriptions in 2013 being of the LTE variety. That number is seen reaching 40 percent this year.
Here are a few other stats that we found interesting:
97 percent of U.S. households have a mobile phone.
Total mobile traffic per smartphone in North America is projected to be 1.6 gigabytes this year, and seen to be nearly quadrupling to 6GB per month by 2020.
There are projected to be 2.7 billion smartphone subscriptions this year, up from 1.9 billion in 2013. That number is seen growing by an average of 15 percent a year through 2020, with subscriptions seen reaching 6.1 billion at that point.
LTE subscriptions are seen reaching 3.5 billion globally by the end of 2020.
By 2020, 90 percent of the world’s population over six years old will have a mobile phone.
Video continues to dominate mobile networks, accounting for roughly half of mobile traffic in places with significant 4G networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Native Apps Are Part of the Web
http://daringfireball.net/2014/11/native_apps_are_part_of_the_web
Christopher Mims, writing in the WSJ, “The Web Is Dying; Apps Are Killing It”:
Everything about apps feels like a win for users — they are faster and easier to use than what came before. But underneath all that convenience is something sinister: the end of the very openness that allowed Internet companies to grow into some of the most powerful or important companies of the 21st century.
I can’t believe someone is still writing this in 2014. Users love apps, developers love apps — the only people who don’t love apps are pundits who don’t understand that apps aren’t really in opposition to the open Internet. They’re just superior clients to open Internet services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTML5′s “Dirty Little Secret”: It’s Already Everywhere, Even In Mobile
Just look under the hood, says EmberJS co-founder Tom Dale.
http://readwrite.com/2014/11/17/html5-javascript-everywhere-mobile-tom-dale-emberjs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mozilla SELLS FIREFOX MOBILES … in Greece
Second Euro scalp for Moz after Germany falls
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/19/beware_greeks_bearing_basic_firefox_smartphones/
Phones based on the Mozilla Firefox platform have been targeted at far flung places such as Bangladesh and Brazil, but now a major European network has them for sale.
Cosmote is the biggest mobile network in Greece, is 40 per cent owned by Deutsche Telekom, and has just started selling the 3.5-inch Alcatel One Touch C, and the 4.5-inch Alcatel One Touch Fire E.
The bigger phone sells for €109 and the small one for €89. This is pretty much in line with the SIM-free price on Ebay.
As one might expect, it’s a pretty basic smartphone
Until now, Mozilla has fought shy of selling its phones in Europe, although there is some developer support, particularly through Telefonica, which sees the OS as a way to keep subscribers from spending all their money with Apple and Google.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Watch will feature info-rich “Long Look” notifications if wearer keeps wrist raised, and static, non-interactive maps
Source:
11 things we just learned about how the Apple Watch works
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/18/7243085/most-important-apple-watchkit-discoveries
Apple Seeds iOS 8.2 With WatchKit SDK for Apple Watch Apps to Developers — Apple today announced that its set of WatchKit development tools are now available for developers, allowing them to begin creating apps and software for the company’s upcoming Apple Watch.
Source:
Apple Seeds iOS 8.2 With WatchKit SDK for Apple Watch Apps to Developers
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-watchkit-ios-8-2/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Indian phone manufacturer Micromax to put Cyanogen software on its upcoming low-cost devices — Cyanogen’s next stop is India — The Android mod-maker inks a deal to come preinstalled on new Micromax phones — Cyanogen, the company that makes the popular Cyanogenmod Android Firmware …
Cyanogen’s next stop is India
The Android mod-maker inks a deal to come preinstalled on new Micromax phones
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/18/7241755/cyanogens-next-stop-is-india
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s mobile search results get ‘mobile-friendly’ label to show you which sites work best on your phone
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/18/googles-mobile-search-results-get-mobile-friendly-label-to-show-you-which-sites-work-best-on-your-phone/
Google today announced the debut of a new “mobile-friendly” label on its mobile search results page. The company says the change will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks, so don’t fret if you don’t see it yet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple May Introduce ‘Biggest Camera Jump Ever’ in Next-Generation iPhone
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-biggest-camera-jump-ever/
Apple may introduce its “biggest camera jump ever” in the next-generation iPhone, according to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber (via The Tech Block).
Gruber says that he’s heard that Apple’s rear camera could incorporate a two-lens system, which sounds somewhat similar to the Duo Lens camera that was introduced with the HTC One M8. In the One M8, a standard sensor is combined with an “Ultrapixel” sensor that lets in much more light to improve image quality. The secondary lens in the M8 is used to provide additional image information to the first lens, which also lets the focus be shifted.
Another two lens system that hints at what a two-lens setup in the iPhone might be capable of is being developed by Corephotonics. Corephotonics’ system takes advantage of two lenses with separate focal lengths, switching between lenses to magnify distant subjects without the need for a traditional zoom.
Given the fact that there’s little information on what Apple’s actually working on for its next-generation iPhone, it’s hard to say whether a potential two-lens system would work in the same way as the above examples, but two-lens cameras are a new frontier that manufacturers are exploring in order to improve image quality while keeping devices slim.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Go on, buy your workers a smartphone. You know it makes sense
A matter of choice
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/19/mobile_cyod/
Choose your own device (CYOD), the latest incarnation of mobility device management, is being promoted as a smarter alternative to BYOD (bring your own device), with more benefits for everybody and fewer pitfalls.
How is CYOD defined in the real world and what are the advantages and challenges for business owners, IT teams and end users? Who is driving demand and how readily is CYOD being adopted?
Analyst IDC predicts the global market for enterprise mobility will exceed $174bn by 2017. It is already big business for Microsoft, which has natural CYOD synergies after its purchase of Nokia and its ongoing grab for the cloud through Azure Active Directory.
Microsoft believes that the trend towards CYOD, unleashing a growing diversity of devices that can be used to access corporate assets, presents an opportunity to increase productivity and work satisfaction.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s gaming App Store is broken — promoting games like ‘+119+’ and ‘+1111’
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/18/apples-gaming-app-store-is-broken-promoting-games-like-119-and-1111/
Apple’s broken iOS App Store is taking us back to the good-ol’ Yellow Pages days, when naming your company ‘AAA 123 Electricians’ meant you ruled the listings.
Go to the games section of the App Store, and it all looks fine … until you start checking out subcategories, such as racing, sports, or simulation games. Then it starts falling apart. Instead of offering a curated selection of relevant games, the App Store presents a list that favors numbers, special characters, and alphabetical order.
It seems the bug, which is present in all App Stores we tested — U.S., Canada, France, Germany, U.K., Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Finland — is only present when the App Store spotlights subcategory games under the “What’s Hot” and “New” banners.
It’s a big problem for developers competing in an increasingly crowded mobile marketplace. With mobile gaming predicted to reach worldwide revenues of $21.1 billion by the end of 2014, lots of money is out there, and getting people to notice your game is difficult. Calling it something like “12345 Aaaaamazing Race Game” shouldn’t really be an effective way of getting App Store attention, but it is.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PayPal challenges Apple Pay with an app for the Pebble smartwatch
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/18/paypal-challenges-apple-pay-with-an-app-for-the-pebble-smartwatch/
PayPal’s mobile payments app is now available for the Pebble smartwatch, the company announced in a blog post today.
Pebble users can now check in to stores via the PayPal app and pay with an auto-generated payment code wherever PayPal is already accepted — no phone necessary. Users can pay one of two ways, either via the payment code mentioned above or, for certain retailers, by checking into a store on the PayPal app. Once checked in, PayPal’s app will automatically communicate with a merchant’s point of sale. In addition to making payments, Pebble users will also be able to receive notifications from the app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What The WatchKit Developer Tools Tell Us About The Apple Watch
A Dick Tracy device it’s not—at least so far.
http://readwrite.com/2014/11/19/apple-watch-watchkit-sdk-launches
Apple has released its WatchKit software development kit (SDK) ahead of next year’s Apple Watch debut. Now other developers can join early partners ESPN, American Airlines and Instagram by creating their own apps for Apple’s littlest screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix wants to bring personalization to mobile devices
https://gigaom.com/2014/11/18/netflix-wants-to-bring-personalization-to-mobile-devices/
For Netflix, the concept of personalization doesn’t just apply to what movies or television shows tickle your fancy. It also applies to the way you watch video, especially when it comes to mobile.
People watch video differently on their smart phones than TV, explained Netflix Design Director Dantley Davis onstage at Gigaom’s Roadmap conference, so the design and user interface has to reflect that.
Mobile users tend to check their phones about 150 times a day and spend around 10 minutes tops watching video streams, which is obviously not conducive to the roughly hour-long episodes of Orange is the New Black.
To address this, Netflix is experimenting with “bite-sized content,” meaning specialized versions of TV shows cut down to five minutes to satisfy those mobile viewers. The difficulty is making sure that the show is “contextually relevant” to the viewer and shows something compelling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s trusted places just made my life so much easier
I never have to unlock my Android phone at home again
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/19/7245375/googles-trusted-places-just-made-my-life-so-much-easier
I don’t make a habit of counting how many times I unlock my phone, but I’m willing to believe the stats that say the average user does it hundreds of times each day. That can be an unnecessary chore when using a device in a place safe from malfeasant interference, such as your home, which is why Google has now introduced the option to add trusted places to Android 5.0′s Smart Lock. As with the two existing options, trusted faces and trusted devices, the new location-based automatic unlocker bypasses the usual lock screen when it detects the proper circumstances.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Play Services Update Adds Trusted Places Feature To Lollipop’s Smart Lock
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/18/google-play-services-update-adds-trusted-places-feature-to-lollipops-smart-lock/
Smart Lock in Lollipop encompasses both trusted face and trusted devices, but a new option is joining the party—trusted places. The latest Google Play Services for Lollipop devices is adding this option to the menu automagically. Just choose a trusted place, and your phone will remain unlocked when it’s in that geographic area.
Just like when you use a trusted Bluetooth device connection, trusted location bypasses the secure lock screen, but in this case when the device is within a few dozen meters of the chosen location. You can set multiple locations as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Motorola’s $25 Keylink will help you find your misplaced smartphone with the push of a button
http://9to5google.com/2014/11/19/motorolas-25-keylink-will-help-you-find-your-misplaced-keys-with-the-push-of-a-button/
Between the release of the Moto X, Droid Turbo and taking on a new taskmaster, Motorola Mobility has been extremely busy. With no signs of slowing down, the former Google company just announced the availability of the Keylink, a Bluetooth-powered fob that helps you find your misplaced keys or smartphone.
Compatible with Android and iOS devices, this $25 accessory can ring up your handset from up to 100 feet away. If you happen to lose your keys, you can use the Motorola Connect app to page the Keylink. In addition to helping you keep tabs on misplaced items, the pint-size add-on also supports Smart Lock for devices running Android 5.0.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nine out of ten people have mobile phone soon
Ericsson Mobility Report, fresh of the world is currently nearly 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions. The number of the fastest growing in India and China. Ericsson forecasts that in 2020, 90 per cent of the world’s more than 6-year-olds have a mobile phone.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2089:yhdeksalla-kymmenesta-pian-kannykka&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Charger zero load to near zero
On February 2016, after the 5-watt chargers are no longer at no load connected consume more than 0.1 watts of power. Socket for power supplies values are defined in the new Energy Star standard VI.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2097:laturin-nollakuormitus-lahelle-nollaa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Giving mobile users the applications they want is child’s play
Buy in or magic up your own
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/20/application_programming/
Working on the move has become most people’s normal way of operating. We are used to having our world in our pocket and being able to read and write emails, produce simple documents and generally stay in the corporate loop whether we are in the office, in the pub, on a train or (sadly) sitting on a beach trying to be on holiday.
To make this possible, applications have moved away from the desktop and laptop.
The order of the day is being able to run our core applications from the phones or mini-tablets which it is second nature to carry about with us.
This gives us three choices. First we have browser-based applications: since every phone and tablet has a web browser (probably several if it is anything like mine) the simplest way to go is to use browser-based versions of those applications.
That’s all very well, but using a web GUI on a small phone – iPhone-sized, say – is fiddly and something you won’t enjoy if you do it a lot.
Next we have remote desktop sessions presenting what is basically a corporate PC desktop via a virtualisation technology from the likes of Citrix or VMware.
Now, a remote desktop on a full-fat iPad is just about usable, and on a midi-sized device it is kind-of okay as long as you don’t do it a lot.
Let’s hope, then, that the final option is reasonably attractive. So what is it? Easy: applications that run natively on your mobile device and hence provide a user interface and feature set that were designed into the apps in the first place.
This article will look at the feasibility of providing your roving users the ability to run things natively on the devices they carry around with them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watching shows online is more common now, Flurry says, but TV’s hardly dead yet
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2849239/watching-shows-online-is-more-common-now-flurry-says-but-tvs-hardly-dead-yet.html
We’re all spending more time with smartphones and tablets. So much so that the “second screen” may now be the “first screen,” depending on the data you read.
Mobile analytics and advertising firm Flurry released a report on Tuesday that says Americans spend close to 10 minutes more per day on mobile devices than sitting in front of a television.
The story behind the story: Flurry’s report, while interesting, works only if you buy into the BLS data, which is from a self-reported study called the American Time Use Survey. Numbers from metrics firm Nielsen tell a different story.
Many of us use both simultaneously
Thinking about my own TV watching, I know I spend all kinds of time on my smartphone. I could be checking an actor’s name on IMDb, quickly responding to email, texting with friends, or browsing Twitter and the news if I lose interest with the bigger screen. Whatever it is I’m watching, my smartphone is always close at hand.
Even if you put more stock in Nielsen’s numbers than the BLS stats, it seems inevitable that smartphones and tablets will replace the television in terms of time spent. Many metrics firms, including Nielsen, report on the rapid increase of mobile device usage—especially when it comes to apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Rides LTE to Cat 10
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324710&
Qualcomm announced its fifth-generation LTE modem, a Category 10 chip with global carrier aggregation, and second-generation RF360 envelope tracker. The Gobi 9×45 modem is based on 20 nm technology.
“The main new features, as compared to 9×35, is downlink increased from 300 to 450 Mbit/s, and uplink is the first major upload increase to 100 Mbit/s,” Peter Carson, senior director of marketing for Gobi, told EE Times. “This is the first chip that can fully utilize all 60 MHz in aggregated bandwidth in downlink and 40 MHz in uplink.”
The 9×45 modem supports 3x carrier aggregation in downlink and 2x in uplink, as well as all major cellular standards. Qualcomm expects up to two times faster upload speeds and up to 1.5 times faster peak download speeds compared to Cat 6 devices, as well as improved application response times and connectivity.
Although Qualcomm didn’t provide specific power consumption specs for its new modem, Carson said the company has decreased power consumption by 40% compared to its 9×25 modem, using 20 MHz of carrier aggregation.
“The biggest challenge in being the biggest player in LTE is the front-end capacity; you want to do one design that you can utilize in any market with LTE. Early adopters will race to markets with maybe regional-specific designs. Very soon after, you start to see those products refreshed for global markets with more LTE bands supported. You can only do that when you have single-chip global platform.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 aims to protect your phone from deadly drops
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/20/7253397/corning-gorilla-glass-4-announced
It’s unlikely we’ll see a truly impervious smartphone screen anytime soon, but Corning says it’s getting us closer. Today the company is announcing Gorilla Glass 4, the latest revision of its signature cover glass. Gorilla Glass has already been embraced by nearly every major electronics maker in the industry; Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, and Microsoft all use it on their smartphones and tablets. If you buy any flagship device today, odds are its display is protected by Gorilla Glass. Every year, Corning tells us it’s delivered a stronger, more durable glass designed to withstand the abuse we often put our gadgets through.
Corning says its scientists examined hundreds of broken devices and shattered screens during the development of Gorilla Glass 4. What they found won’t come as any surprise to consumers: smartphones break most often when their screens make hard contact with rough surfaces like concrete. If you’ve ever heard the awful sound of glass meeting asphalt, you can probably vouch for their research. Phones frequently survive lesser falls unscathed, but outside terrain is an entirely different story.
But what of sapphire? Hund admitted there are plus sides, but said Corning still thinks glass is the right choice for now. “When it comes to visible scratch resistance, sapphire is top of the line,” he said. But introduce even slight damage or stress, and sapphire “trails Gorilla by quite a bit” in durability from that point on. “When you line up all the things that consumers are interested in, the Gorilla exceeds in more of them than any other material at this point in time,” Hund said. And as Apple and GT Advanced have shown, producing sapphire in the quantities necessary to cover millions of devices is a daunting task.
Corning readily admits its work isn’t done. An 80 percent survival rate still isn’t completely satisfactory, and people will inevitably still pick up their fallen gadget to discover a shattered screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Full disk encryption on Nexus 6 leads to 62.9% drop in random read performance
Home>Smartphones
Encryption and Storage Performance in Android 5.0 Lollipop
by Brandon Chester & Joshua Ho on November 20, 2014 8:00 AM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8725/encryption-and-storage-performance-in-android-50-lollipop
Tomi Engdahl says:
REINVENTING PRODUCTIVITY
Seattle Sounders score with SQL Server and fitness-tracking technology
http://news.microsoft.com/features/seattle-sounders-score-with-sql-server-and-fitness-tracking-technology/
Tomi Engdahl says:
South Korea is threatening to jail selfie stick retailers
http://qz.com/300795/south-korea-is-threatening-to-jail-selfie-stick-retailers/
The South Korean government is going after sellers of uncertified camera extenders, threatening fines of up to 30 million won ($27,000) and prison time of as long as three years. According to Korea’s Ministry of Science, “selfie sticks” that have bluetooth functionality should be classified as frequency-emitting communications equipment and go through rounds of testing before being approved for commercial sale. On Thursday, the government asked citizens to help “root out” the distribution of these unapproved bluetooth-equipped selfie sticks by reporting on such sales. On Friday, authorities said they would begin doing checks on retailers.
The government appears to be worried about the health effects of electromagnetic radiation, also created by mobile phones, though at low levels it is generally not seen as harmful. Under Korea’s “Wireless Telegraphy Act” all devices that give off electromagnetic waves must be certified for national security and civilian use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Considering Shake-Up in Management
Co-CEO B.K. Yoon May Assume Leadership of Mobile Division
http://online.wsj.com/articles/samsung-considering-shake-up-in-management-1416783847
Samsung Electronics Co. is considering a major leadership shake-up, according to people familiar with the matter, part of an attempt to revive its fortunes after a difficult year
Tomi Engdahl says:
Galaxy S6 release date, specs and price
Everything you need to know about Samsung’s 2015 Android smartphone
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2382855/galaxy-s6-release-date-specs-and-price
RUMOURS SURROUNDING the Samsung Galaxy S6 are already coming through thick and fast, suggesting that an imminent launch could be on the cards.
This wouldn’t be all that surprising. Samsung’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse this year, after the firm posted a 60 percent fall in profit in the third quarter owing to slowing sales of its smartphone line-up.
Samsung is no doubt looking to turn this around, and will be hoping that the Galaxy S6 will help.
If online speculation is to be believed, Samsung will ‘go back to the drawing board’ with the Galaxy S6 in a bid to boost the firm’s faltering smartphone business.
Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book, the Galaxy S6 will reportedly be crafted from metal as Samsung edges away from plastic smartphones which could be to blame for slowing sales.
The display is expected to have a higher resolution than the Galaxy S5, which featured a 1,920×1,080 Full HD display. It’s likely that Samsung will look to challenge the likes of the Nexus 6 and LG G3 with a QHD 2,560×1,440 screen resolution.
With Android 5.0 onboard, it has also been suggested that the Galaxy S6 will launch with a 64-bit processor. This is likely to be Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thalmic Labs Shuts Down Free Developer Access Update: It’s Back Again
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/18/thalmic-labs-shuts-down-free-developer-access/
The Thalmic Myo is an electronic arm band with an IMU and myoelectric sensors, able to measure the orientation and muscle movements of an arm. This device has uses ranging from prosthetics to Minority Report-style user interfaces. Thalmic is also a Y Combinator company, with $15 million in funding and tech press gushing over the possible uses of this futuristic device. Truly, a remarkable story for the future of user interfaces and pseudo-medical devices that can get around most FDA regulations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Galaxy S5 sold 40 percent fewer units than Samsung predicted: WSJ
Phones said to “pile up in warehouses”
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/24/7273817/samsung-management-shakeup
A report in The Wall Street Journal claims that Samsung’s Galaxy S5 flagship phone has performed below expectations. The S5 is said to have sold 12 million units in its first three months on sale; roughly 4 million fewer than its predecessor and overall around 40 percent fewer than projected. Sales were said to be down over 50 percent in China, with the US the only major market where sales actually increased. The US is, however, Samsung’s biggest market.
Samsung reportedly overestimated how much stock would be needed, leading to an increased advertising spend to get rid of units that were “piling up in warehouses.” Last month the company promised to “fundamentally reform” its smartphone portfolio after reporting plummeting profits and revenue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple at the release showed that wearable computers are becoming more commonplace. Soon also ordinary bread-eaters wrist stands tall programmable smart watch.
Wearable computers, similar to the gold rush begins as that of mobile phone applications, Apple’s application store opened. Users were good enough at that time garbage games and pierusovellukset because of any application to install the phone was exciting and fun.
My guess is that smart watch applications are successful at different clock tables: Soon, every teen wants wrist band for your favorite fan of the clock face
Source: http://summa.talentum.fi/article/tv/11-2014/108694
Related link that tells that this is already here:
http://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2014/11/24/luxury-watchmakers-target-pirate-smartwatch-faces-torrentfreak/
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTML5 vs native: Harry Coder and the mudblood mobile app princes
Developers just want their ideas to generate money
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/24/html5_vs_native_and_the_truth_about_mudblood_apps/
HTML5 has offered salvation from the tyranny of apps for years, yet most mobile developers resolutely refuse to embrace the web. Despite HTML’s familiarity and promise of cross-device compatibility, native’s superior tooling and performance have convinced a generation of developers to go all in on native.
If only this were true.
The reality of “native” app development today is that virtually all apps include at least some HTML, if only for web views. There’s just no such thing as a pure native app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Considering Shake-Up in Management
Co-CEO B.K. Yoon May Assume Leadership of Mobile Division
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/samsung-considering-shake-up-in-management-1416783847-lMyQjAxMTA0OTIwMzkyODMwWj
Samsung Electronics Co. is considering a major leadership shake-up, according to people familiar with the matter, part of an attempt to revive its fortunes after a difficult year that has hurt its profitability, market share and stock price.
In one scenario under discussion, co-chief executive and mobile head J.K. Shin —who had presided over Samsung’s rapid ascent as well as its recent tumble in smartphones—could be moved out of his role overseeing the mobile division, these people said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Google Inbox shares 70% of its code across Android, iOS, and the Web
Google’s open source tools allow it to use Android code on iOS and the Web.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/how-google-inbox-shares-70-of-its-code-across-android-ios-and-the-web/
Launching a new app in the mobile age is hard. If you want to reach a wide audience, you usually have to make your client three times at minimum: once for Android, once for iOS, and once more for the Web. Building an app on three different platforms means three times the work, with three times as many bugs to squish. To make matters more complicated, these clients all use different programming languages: Objective-C and/or Swift for iOS, Java for Android, and JavaScript/CSS/HTML5 for the Web.
It’s a problem Google decided to tackle when it was developing the recently launched reimagining of Gmail, called Google Inbox. With Inbox, Google adopted a set of tools that allowed it to tame the three-headed platform hydra. The app shares roughly two-thirds of its code across Android, iOS, and the Web.
These three platforms share most of the back-end logic that powers the app, while the unique parts are mostly the user interfaces for each app. That gives Inbox a native feel and OS integration on each platform. Google has built itself a good enough arsenal of cross compilers that it can write an app’s logic once for Android—in Java—and can then cross-compile to Objective-C for iOS and JavaScript for browsers. Java-to-JavaScript is handled by the Google Web Toolkit SDK, which has been around for some time. The real enabler for Inbox is called J2ObjC, which, as the name implies, converts Java code meant for Android into iOS-ready Objective-C code.
Sharing the code for this stuff is a big time saver, since it only has to be written and debugged once.
The tool does not convert UI pieces from Android to iOS, because that would be an awful user experience. Google wants developers to write the logic once in Java, transpile it to other platforms, and then make the UI natively using the SDK for each platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iFixit: Nexus 6 is easy to fix if you can get it open
22 Torx screws hold the two halves of the phone together.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/11/ifixit-nexus-6-is-easy-to-fix-if-you-can-get-it-open/
If you ever find yourself with a broken Nexus 6, iFixit has your back. The site has just completed its teardown of the Google/Motorola Nexus “phablet,” and it turns out that most of the internal components are pretty easy to get to.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is this kind of accessory product for those that try to replace TV with smart phone?
Screen Magnifier Enlarge Projector Stand For Mobile Phone
http://www.banggood.com/Screen-Magnifier-Enlarge-Projector-Stand-For-Mobile-Phone-p-957080.html?p=27131452996820140438
Tomi Engdahl says:
Your PHONE is slowly KILLING YOU
Doctors find new Digitillnesses – ‘text neck’ and ‘telepressure’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/25/your_phone_is_slowly_killing_you/
Medical boffins have codified two new gadget-derived diseases.
The new “Digitillnesses” are known as “text neck” and “telepressure”.
“As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck surges to 27 pounds at 15 degrees, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45 degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees,” Hansraj writes.
Those loads are rather larger than one experiences in conventional postures, and that’s not good because “people spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smart phones and devices.”
“While it is nearly impossible to avoid the technologies that cause these issues, individuals should make an effort to look at their phones with a neutral spine and to avoid spending hours each day hunched over.”
Again, the remedy is simple: don’t stress about rapid response to email and, if you’re a manager, let it be known that rapid responses to email aren’t required. Especially outside working hours.