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:
Testing a new way for developers to monetize mobile apps
https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2014/01/22/testing-a-new-way-for-developers-to-monetize-mobile-apps/
Monetization is a difficult problem for mobile app developers, particularly as people move toward downloading more free apps and advertising dollars lag behind time spent on mobile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Motorola confirms plans to launch £30 smartphone
http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/motorola-confirms-plans-to-launch-30-smartphone
Motorola has revealed that it plans to launch a £30 ($50) smartphone is a bid to offer better value devices to a wider audience.
“In much of the world $179 is a lot of money so there’s a big market at a price point of less than $179,” Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said speaking with TrustedReviews.
“I mean why can’t these devices be $50? There’s no reason that can’t happen so we’re going to push that.”
Although suggesting a £30 smartphone is in the works, Woodside has failed to offer any further details on the handset’s expected specification or release date.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Says Lumia & Other Phone Sales Declined In Q4 As It Prepares To Sell Division To Microsoft
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/23/nokia-says-lumia-other-phone-sales-declined-in-q4-as-it-prepares-to-sell-the-division-to-microsoft/
In what is likely to be Nokia’s last quarterly earnings before it hands off its mobile phone making business to Microsoft, the Finnish mobile maker has reported lower sales of Lumia devices in its Q4.
In the event Nokia has not broken out a figure for sales of the Windows Phone devices — noting only a decline, so presumably it sold less than the 8.8 million Lumia reported last quarter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
One last gift for Microsoft: Nokia’s smartphone growth has collapsed
http://bgr.com/2014/01/23/nokia-earnings-q4-2013-analysis/
After a couple of quarters of promising growth, Nokia’s smartphone unit sales suddenly shrank from the third quarter last year to the Christmas quarter of 2013. Smartphone sales usually grow sequentially into the Christmas quarter of any given calendar year. The most ominous possibility is that the Microsoft-Nokia announcement may have triggered a sudden consumer backlash against Nokia brand, particularly in the high-end category.
There was reason to expect Nokia to deliver unit growth, because the cheap Lumia 500 series phone sales were still growing notably rapidly in the autumn, even in America.
Many analysts had expected Nokia to sell 10 million smartphones during the Christmas quarter. The company ended up selling just 8.2 million.
What happened?
Well, sales of the high-end Lumias have clearly eroded badly.
Did consumers suddenly abandon Nokia brand because of the imminent Microsoft deal? It is hard to find an alternative explanation to why the demand for Nokia’s Lumia models slowed down so rapidly after autumn sales performance had beaten industry expectations, spiking nicely compared to the spring quarter
Tomi Engdahl says:
VMware Expands Commitment to Mobile with Acquisition of AirWatch
http://blogs.vmware.com/vmware/2014/01/vmware-expands-commitment-to-mobile-with-acquisition-of-airwatch.html
I am very pleased to announce that VMware has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AirWatch, the leading enterprise mobile management and security provider. VMware’s vision for end-user computing has been to create a secure virtual workspace that allows end-users to work at the speed of life – so that as they move from desktop, to laptop, to tablet, to phone, to car – their apps, their content, their devices come to life seamlessly – anywhere, anyplace, anytime. This vision has driven our continued commitment to driving the next generation of the desktop through our Horizon Suite and drove us to acquire Desktone last October to give us a leading Desktop-as-a-Service offering. With today’s news, we take a giant step forward in executing on this vision!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pentagon says ‘absolutely no new orders have been placed’ for BlackBerry phones
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/23/5338012/pentagon-absolutely-no-new-orders-for-blackberry-dod
Last week, a press release from the Department of Defense announced the launch of a new mobile network within the agency that will utilize unclassified mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and other consumer-level electronics. According to the DOD, this network will support 100,000 deployed devices by the end of the year. Within the press release announcing the network, the DOD revealed that it already supports quite a few mobile devices, including 80,000 BlackBerry smartphones.
This spurred on a raft of reports this week, with titles such as “The Pentagon Just Saved BlackBerry From Total Oblivion” and “Why the Pentagon just saved BlackBerry.” Many of these reports take the assumption that the Department of Defense just purchased 80,000 new smartphones from BlackBerry.
But did the Pentagon really purchase 80,000 new BlackBerry smartphones? The answer is no. The agency is merely using phones that it already had in its possession.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google: We do not charge licensing fees for Android’s Google Mobile Services
http://9to5google.com/2014/01/23/google-we-do-not-charge-licensing-fees-for-androids-google-mobile-services/
Earlier today a report from The Guardian claimed that Google was charging manufacturers a per device fee to have access to Google Mobile Services (GMS). Android has long been split into two distinct pieces: The Android Open Source Project that allows OEMs to freely use Android on their devices, and the closed Google Mobile Services, which gives access to Google Play services and Google branded apps like Maps and Gmail for manufacturers that agree to various guidelines. While Google has always had certain steps for OEMs to take to get approved for Google Mobile Services, the company confirmed to us that The Guardian’s story is inaccurate.
The earlier report from The Guardian claimed that sources said Google was charging around 75 cents per device or $75k per 100,000 units
Google told us that it does not charge licensing fees for Google Mobile Services but didn’t comment further on the situation. It’s possible the licensing fees referenced by The Guardian’s source are related to a settlement or other arrangement with Google, but the company does not charge OEMs specifically for access to Google Mobile Services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung profits deflate after mobile division runs out of puff
First quarterly decline in TWO YEARS … but still takes home £4 billion
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/24/samsung_leaks_profits_q4_2013/
Global smartphone leader Samsung took a knock on Friday after releasing Q4 financials that show a drop in profits of 11 per cent from the previous three months – its first quarterly decline in two years.
The Korean giant said net profits stood at 7.3tr won (£4bn) for the fourth quarter, while operating profit was 8.31tr won (£5.6bn), down from 8.84tr (£6bn)the year previously and down 18 per cent from Q3 2013.
It’s certainly going to need to pull out all the stops to keep arch rival Apple at bay at the high end and fend off competition from a slew of Chinese vendors which are making things especially crowded at the low-end of the smartphone market.
Lenovo, Huawei, Coolpad and others all look strong in their domestic market – the world’s largest – with Yulong Coolpad for one claiming it will ship 60 million handsets there this year. Huawei, meanwhile, is eyeing up 80 million worldwide mobile sales in 2014.
Tomi Engdahl says:
South Koreans must be allowed to delete Android bloatware
Unless it’s going to brick the phone, it must be deletable
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2324962/south-koreans-must-be-allowed-to-delete-android-bloatware
MOBILE PHONE USERS will soon have the option to get rid of bloatware.
That is, if they are in South Korea. ZDnet has reported that new regulations coming into force in South Korea this April will mean that mobile phone makers and carriers must ensure that any software not vital to running the phone can optionally be deleted by the user.
At present, preloaded apps are kept on the system partition, which is only accessible by obtaining root access to the phone. The act of rooting a device almost invariably breaks the warranty before you’ve even started trying to remove any apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ChipSiP Smart Glass Specs Better Than Google Glass?
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/01/25/2336218/chipsip-smart-glass-specs-better-than-google-glass
“Google Glass is in for a fight even before they hit the market. The Taiwanese company Chipsip has just released plans for a competing product that beats Google Glass on all specifications.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
CHIPSIP Smart Glass
http://www.chipsip.com/computing/?type_id=83&top=60
Smart Glasses represent the next stage in mobile computing. It is not an extension of your smartphone or tablet, but is a whole new gadget in itself that can perform various day to day tasks, without you ever moving your hands.
ChipSiP Smart Glass solution is powered by integrated 5-in-1 system SiP (a dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM based application processor, 2 units of DDR3L and 2 units of NAND), 720p transparent display, wireless, GPS, 9-axis sensor, camera and microphone in a very small space.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung’s strategy is failing
By Adrian Covert @CNNMoneyTech January 21, 2014: 3:44 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/21/technology/mobile/samsung-strategy/index.html
2013 was supposed to be the year in which Samsung blew away the smartphone competition. It wasn’t. Now, 2014 looks to be a soul-searching year for the Korean tech giant.
Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, has been a disappointment in every regard. Samsung hyped up the phone to be a world-beater, but the Galaxy S4 turned out to be just a modest improvement over the previous year’s Galaxy S3. That’s something Samsung’s own execs regret, and they are now trying to set more modest expectations for this year’s Galaxy S5 launch.
Sales of the S4 were okay. It was last year’s best-selling Android phone but still sold well below the company’s — and Wall Street analysts’ — expectations. Though Samsung still remains the smartphone market leader, it failed to gain any share in 2013, halting its meteoric rise of the past several years.
That has hurt Samsung’s bottom line: In the fourth quarter, Samsung said its profit fell year-over-year for the first time since 2011.
For the first time, the cracks are beginning to show in Samsung’s mobile strategy.
Samsung’s main recipe for mobile success over the past few years has been to release as many profit margin friendly products as it can possibly muster.
When Samsung began its smartphone ascension in 2010, it succeeded because it was able to more easily and cheaply manufacture components than the vast majority of its competitors. It had faster chips, better displays, and more powerful cameras than any device not named the Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhone. Its smartphones weren’t particularly beautiful, but they were thin and light and inoffensive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quivering, spine-tingling wearable tech: Strap it on and don’t look back
LUMOback posture sensor
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/27/review_lumoback_posture_sensor/
If you’ve never had back pain, then thank your lucky stars. It can make a 20-year-old feel like they’re 100 and it’s a sore point that I know this to be true.
I was intrigued by the LUMO Body Tech’s strap on detector that aids sitting and standing correctly, among other things.
The company has the backing of Google’s Eric Schmidt and Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Wang, which suggests it must be doing something right to get those two to sit up straight and take notice.
The LUMOback is one of those Bluetooth-of-Things gadgets that links to an app and builds up a record of your movements and even clocks up a Posture Score. To be honest, I thought it would be useless, but it turns out to be cleverer than I had given its makers credit for – even though it’s extremely simple to configure.
In appearance, the sensor is much like a buckle in an elasticated belt.
My testing was focused mainly on the iOS app, as the Android version has only recently appeared.
If you’ve a serious back problem then you’d need a serious opinion on how useful the LumoBack will be to you. At £129 it’s cheaper than two or three osteo sessions and might keep you out of trouble from time to time, but won’t work magic.
Although it has activity sensors that can broaden its scope considerably regarding overall fitness, I’d be be more inclined to wear it as a preventative measure during lengthy writing sessions to set me straight, rather than experience the daily ritual of getting a tingle out of this spinal strap-on every time I bend over.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4G Data Service in Cars Offers Amazing Potential, Familiar Challenges
http://www.cio.com/article/746808/4G_Data_Service_in_Cars_Offers_Amazing_Potential_Familiar_Challenges_
Audi plans to introduce 4G to the 2015 A3. Other carmakers are sure to follow. This will provide better vehicle diagnostics and analytics (along with better Wi-Fi for passengers), and though there are obstacles, they will sound familiar to anyone who works in IT.
At the recent L.A. Auto Show, Audi announced a new feature in automotive technology. It’s not as eye-catching as the rear spoiler on a Mercedes SLS AMG, but the 2015 Audi A3 will provide 4G service running at 100Mbps directly into the car.
Yes, passengers will be able to tap in with iPads over a hotspot. More importantly, cars services such as 3D navigation will run much faster — especially when it comes to rendering maps along your route.
CIO.com asked industry insiders, automakers and analysts to find out how 4G data service in cars will work this year (and beyond). Once the infrastructure matures, there are some amazing possibilities — and a few new obstacles that only IT experts can resolve.
Rusty Lhamon, the director of machine-to-machine technology at T-Mobile U.S.A., says the 4G-connected car will provide a greater bandwidth for devices such as smartwatches, tablets and smartphones. Audio technology will improve, with better fidelity than today’s cars, while video chat features could allow a technician to call in
Twist says IT professionals will have to rise to the challenge and figure out how to make after-market systems, such as those from Delphi and OnStar, work with the latest 4G-enabled systems in newer cars. For example, for a video chat between cars, IT might need to develop standards for the connection and video format that works across multiple cellular carriers and car systems.
“The cellular-embedded module used in a car must meet automotive-grade standards, which have higher requirements than embedded modules for most consumer devices,” Lhamon says. “Auto-embedded modules are certified for operation in harsh and ‘mission-critical’ environments, requiring stringent compliance for operating temperature and reliability, among others.”
“The primary roadblocks for 4G LTE in the North American automotive market are licensing with mobile operator partners,”
Dirks says there are also technical challenges.
The Audi A3 will hit dealers next spring, and Ford, GM, and BMW will likely follow suit with high-speed offerings. (GM has announced it will move to 4G LTE with OnStar.)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Las Vegas at CES showcases Hyundai Genesis model, which can be controlled by iOS and Android apps, as well as the Google Glass smart glasses.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/video+alylaseilla+voi+ohjata+autoa/a962596
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ace Sensor’s Instant Pot (iPot) joins the Smart Appliance race
The Instant Pot was unveiled at CES 2014 and is the first slow cooker with advanced functionality.
Read more: http://ces.cnet.com/2300-35306_1-10019316.html#ixzz2rbPyEdbx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Manage mealtime with the Bluetooth-enabled iPot pressure cooker
http://reviews.cnet.com/specialty-appliances/instant-pot/4505-17885_7-35833939.html
Instant Pot or iPot is a Bluetooth-enabled pressure cooker from Ace Sensor Inc. and Double Insight Inc. iPot was just unveiled today at CES and apparently, it’s the very first pressure cooker to offer advanced functionality. It certainly seems like a simple smart way to combine cooking and tech into one tidy package.
Now, for the fancy CES-worthy stuff. iPot is a programmable, Bluetooth-enabled wireless pressure cooker. Pair it with the corresponding Android or iOS app and you can control the cooking process on your smartphone, save recipes, and more. Also, iPot is packed with sensors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google has so far remained firm in the protection of the smart glasses been imported pornographic content. In the near future Google Play application store will be available, however, the application for which a resource can be described as self-glasses.
Glance application to take advantage of smart glasses description of the property, where the two sides have their own glasses. The application combines both “views” so that the two can see each other’s view. Glance advertise itself as an application that looks like sex from different angles.
- Still, there are many who want to try this, Sherif Maktabi, one of the developers, says.
Source: Iltalehti
http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2014012717977542_du.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kantar: Android Accounted 70% Of Smartphone Sales In Q4, But Samsung Is Now “Under Real Pressure”
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/26/kantar-android-sales-in-q4-grew-in-all-big-markets-but-leader-samsung-now-under-real-pressure/
Android continues to be the most popular mobile platform, with its share of smartphone sales climbing in every major market in Q4 2013, now accounting for 69.5% of all sales across 12 key markets versus 23.7% for number-two Apple, according to figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel, a market research subsidiary of WPP. But the story is shifting when it comes to looking at what the engine is behind that growth.
Samsung, the handset maker that has led the charge for Google’s OS, is “now coming under real pressure in most regions” as it faces stronger competition from local players in markets like China. There, Xiaomi led in sales for the last 12 weeks of 2013, and other Chinese handset makers like Huawei also continued to gain ground. It’s still Android, but delivered in different, more locally focused packaging.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Framing Google Glass: the headset of the future now works with prescription lenses
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/28/5352592/google-glass-prescription-lenses-frames-titanium-collection
Just shy of a year after the Google Glass Explorer edition started arriving on early adopters’ doorsteps, Google is announcing a way for people who need prescription glasses to use it. The company is releasing four different frames that can both fit the Google Glass hardware and accommodate corrective lenses. Glass is still limited to the small group of people who have been accepted into the “Explorer program” (a wider consumer launch is planned for later this year), so while it’s good that these frames make Glass usable for more people, it’s not yet available to all.
All four frames are available today for $225. That’s alternately pricey or reasonable, depending on how you buy glasses, but any potential buyers will also need to spend $1,499 on Glass itself
Google is calling the new frames the “Titanium collection,” and it has designed them itself
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass to Be Covered by Vision Care Insurer VSP
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/technology/google-glass-to-be-covered-by-vision-care-insurer-vsp.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Google and VSP, the nation’s biggest optical health insurance provider, have struck a deal to offer subsidized frames and prescription lenses for Google Glass, the Internet-connected eyewear.
The announcement could take wearable devices, which tech analysts say are the next wave of computing, out of the realm of science fiction and into the mainstream by making them more affordable and giving them a medical stamp of approval. And it opens the door to a new level of cooperation between the health care and consumer electronics industries
“The key business model of the year for wearables is becoming embedded into the health care system,” said J. P. Gownder, an analyst studying wearable devices at Forrester, which predicts that computers that people can ingest, tattoo on their skin or embed in a tooth are three to five years from being a medical reality.
“Selling wearable consumer electronics one-on-one to individual consumers is kind of a tough business,” Mr. Gownder said. “By embedding them into the health care system, you can reach a mass market.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Reports First Quarter Results
iPhone and iPad Sales Drive Record Revenue and Operating Profit
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/01/27Apple-Reports-First-Quarter-Results.html
January 27, 2014—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 first quarter ended December 28, 2013. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share.
The Company sold 51 million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 26 million iPads during the quarter, also an all-time quarterly record, compared to 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.8 million Macs, compared to 4.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s Tim Cook: Fear not, worried investors, new product salvation is ‘absolutely’ on the way
‘Are you still a growth company?’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/28/tim_cook_talks_about_future_growth_opportunities_for_apple/
Apple cranked out its best quarter of iPhone and iPad sales to date, thanks to a strong 2013 holiday shopping period, but its projections for the opening three months of 2014 have investors nervous.
As might be guessed, however, CEO Tim Cook says there’s nothing to worry about, and that there are new products coming later this year – including upgrades to today’s offerings and products in entirely new categories.
That had better be the case, because the moneymen are getting nervous. Apple’s revenue outlook for the quarter ranging from January to March 2014 is between $42bn and $44bn, company CFO Peter Oppenheimer said on Monday. During the same quarter last year, Apple posted revenues of $43.6bn.
Those figures prompted one analyst to express more than a little trepidation, seeing as how if Apple hit the midpoint of its guidance for the current quarter it would mean a drop in revenue, year-on-year. “You haven’t done that [pause] forever,”
‘Are you still a growth company?’
Ouch.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartmobe market tops ONE BEEELION a year for first time
You can guess the top two manufacturers, but the next three may surprise
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/28/smartmobe_market_tops_one_beeelion_a_year_for_first_time/
Market-watcher IDC says humanity managed to crank out 1.8 billion mobile phones last year, and 1,004.2 million of them were smartphones. That’s more than double 2011′s sales of 494m smartphones.
IDC’s sums come from its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, which in the fourth quarter of 2013 suggests 284m smartphones were sold. When added to sales in 2013s’s first three quarters’ that made for just a tick over a billion smartphones.
A few of the analysts’ other observations on the market include:
Lenovo having the potential to dethrone Huawei as number three if it gets its act together in developed markets;
Sub-$US150 phones are driving sales growth, especially in the developing world
Samsung’s smartphone sales were down 1.2 per cent compared to 2012′s Q4
ZTE is is a mere five million smartphone units behind Lenovo … for now
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Nokia’s 2007 Decline a Lesson for Samsung Today?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320767&
In the results posted Friday for the fourth quarter of 2013, Samsung Electronics reported an operating profit of 8.31 trillion won ($7.7 billion), which missed analyst expectations by a whopping 20%.
Samsung also reported its first quarterly operating profit decline in two years — an 18% drop from the $9.4 billion it reported for the third quarter. Though it posted a record $54.95 billion of revenue, the industry is focused now on its potential growth limits in the coming quarters.
Nobody is predicting the beginning of the end for Samsung, but this might be an opportune moment to compare its situation today with Nokia’s back in 2007. Today the mobile division is responsible for more than half of Samsung Electronics’ revenue and profit. Further, Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market is more than 35%, and Nokia’s share peaked at 39% in the third quarter of 2007.Nobody is predicting the beginning of the end for Samsung, but this might be an opportune moment to compare its situation today with Nokia’s back in 2007. Today the mobile division is responsible for more than half of Samsung Electronics’ revenue and profit. Further, Samsung’s share of the global smartphone market is more than 35%, and Nokia’s share peaked at 39% in the third quarter of 2007.
Today, the prevailing analysis of Nokia’s downfall says the Finnish mobile company didn’t see the emerging smartphone trend, causing it to hang on to feature phones too long.
Obviously, it wasn’t just Nokia that didn’t see the smartphone tsunami coming — at least in 2007. Analysts missed it, too.
Every investor, every analyst, and every reporter is in the business of hunting for the next big thing. Knowing what will come after the current smartphone boom should help predict Samsung’s future. Though the Internet of Things and wearable devices are the buzz of the moment, the jury is still out on both categories.
Drawing a parallel between Samsung today and Nokia in 2007, the key to the analysis is software. Can any company launched as a hardware manufacturer adjust to today’s more software-driven hardware business?
Nokia’s Waterloo wasn’t just smartphones or China. It was an inability to transform its mobile hardware-oriented handset business and develop a real understanding of the software-intensive future. Remember that Nokia was fully aware of the software trend.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home > CES > Moverio BT-200
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Landing/moverio-bt-200-smart-glasses.do
Moverio Sets the New Standard for
Wearable Technology.
Epson – a global leader in technology and an original innovator of wearable technology – introduces a next-generation augmented reality platform, the Moverio BT-200.
The Epson Moverio BT-200 enables a new era of interactive and Augmented Reality applications. Built on the Android platform, developing for Moverio is no more complex than building a mobile app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Nothing Apple Does Is Ever Good Enough
http://www.wired.com/business/2014/01/nothing-apple-can-good-enough/
Apple is kind of like a wildfire. It burns so hot, it creates its own weather.
On Monday, after the markets closed, Apple reported its most recent quarterly earnings, and investors responded by dumping their shares. The company’s stock price dropped as much as 9 percent in after-hours trading. With most companies, such a sell-off comes after a big loss, tepid projections for the future, or quarterly numbers that failed to meet the expectations of Wall Street analysts. But in Apple’s case, it arrived after the company reported $13.1 billion in profits on sales of $57.6 billion, beating the Street’s consensus.
The company said it sold a record number of iPhones for the quarter (51 million), as well as a record number of iPads (26 million). And big profits and sales are predicted to continue. For casual students of capitalism, all this sounds like everything is going right.
Instead, the big drop in Apple’s stock price has become something of a ritual purge every time the company announces big news
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turn Your Smartphone Into the Ultimate Fitness Tracker
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/smartphone-fitness-tracker/
Sure, you can shell out between $100-150 for standalone fitness trackers like the FitBit Flex and Jawbone Up24. But chances are, you already carry around an even more powerful tracker: your smartphone. These sensor-packed rectangles may be bigger than your average wrist-worn alternative, but they have all the same capabilities (many have far more). All you need are the right apps to unlock your phone’s fitness-tracking potential.
Depending on how active you are (or intend to be), some app combinations will work better than others
download Moves for Android (free) or iOS ($3). It records walking, running, and cycling, and provides an estimate of calories burned during those activities. The app runs in the background
If you have a more regimented fitness routine and are looking for granular details about your workouts, free apps like Strava (Cycle and Run) and RunKeeper will do the trick.
Then there’s the food part of the equation. Instead of a smart fork, use MyFitnessPal’s mobile app, which is available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry. It lets you easily input what foods you eat each day, as well as your daily activities from an impressively robust library of options.
If precise caloric and sleep-tracking data is a must, you’ll need to add one small accessory: a Bluetooth heart rate monitor. Wahoo and Polar both make models that work with a number of iOS and Android fitness apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Unveils Prescription Eyewear for Glassholes
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/google-glass-prescription-lenses/
If there’s been one consistent complaint from Google Glass users, it’s that the face computer was incompatible with prescription eyeglasses. In response, Google repeatedly promised that Glass would eventually work with prescription lenses. As of today, that promise is coming true. Existing “Explorers,” Google’s term for those it has selected to try Glass, will be able to order frames in four different styles and a variety of colors. There are three separate sunglass styles you can attach Glass to as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple hires medical techies, raises spectre of iStuff slurping data direct from your bloodstream
An Apple a day keeps the doctor awayon your wrist
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/20/apple_hires_medical_techies/
Apple has hired two new faces from the medical tech world as it steps up its drive to develop wearable iThings.
The fruity firm poached Nancy Dougherty from startup Sano Intelligence, which is developing a patch sensor which can painlessly monitor the chemical makeup of a patient’s bloodstream. This would be useful for diabetics, because it would allow them to measure blood glucose levels without needing to use a needle.
What this all means is that Apple is not only interested in getting fanbois to wear iWatches – it wants to scan their bodies at the same time.
Fitness tech is becoming a huge industry, with all manner of products released to monitor your performance during sporting activies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global Smartphone Shipments Top 1 Billion For The First Time Thanks To Cheap Android Devices, Says IDC
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/27/global-smartphone-shipments-top-1-billion-for-the-first-time-thanks-to-cheap-android-devices-says-idc/
The global smartphone market shipped one billion units in a single year for the first time, with Samsung as the leading vendor, according to a new report by research firm IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Neither fact will come as a surprise if you follow quarterly reports about the mobile market. In fact, Strategy Analytics just put out one with similar figures, though its report said total shipments fell just short of the 1 billion milestone, with 990 million shipped. But what is interesting is that the smartphone market’s growth is now being largely driven by demand for very cheap Android devices–some less than $150–in emerging markets like China and India.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe’s iBeacon Pioneers Sensorberg Raises $1 Million To Improve Retail Customer Experience
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/23/europes-ibeacon-pioneers-sensorberg-raise-1-million-to-improve-retail-customer-experience/?source=gravity
Hardware startup Sensorberg just raised $1 million (€750,000) from Berlin Technologie Holding and undisclosed angel investors. Part of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Berlin, Sensorberg is one of the most promising iBeacon startups in Europe. As a reminder, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system developed by Apple to trigger and send relevant information to your smartphone when you are walking inside a shop.
As a retailer, you first have to buy a few Sensorberg Beacon sensors and place them in your store — for $120 (€89), you get 3 sensors. Then, you’ll be able to take advantage of the SDK and dashboard to implement campaigns or location features for your app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s $160 Billion Mystery
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-28/apple-s-160-billion-mystery.html
There’s a mystery to the data Apple Inc. released for the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Its cash position has increased by $12 billion to $158.8 billion; it usually goes up in the first quarter, but why does it never go down? Based on the previous quarter’s results, Carl Icahn — whose company owns $4.7 billion worth of Apple shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News — called the iPhone maker “perhaps the most overcapitalized company in corporate history.”
Icahn’s demands for a massive share buyback have fallen on deaf ears
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Appstore Now Allows Developers To Charge For HTML5 Web Apps, Promote Them Through “Free App Of The Day”
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/28/amazon-appstore-now-allows-developers-to-charge-for-html5-web-apps-promote-them-through-free-app-of-the-day/
Amazon is announcing a change to its Appstore today, which will now allow developers building HTML5 (web-based) applications to price those apps to sell, just the same as their natively coded counterparts. Previously, all HTML5 apps were automatically set to “free” when added to the Appstore, which may have lessened developer interest and uptake in this feature.
As you may recall, Amazon took the notable stance of opening its Appstore to HTML5 apps last August, offering developers a way to quickly turn their web applications and mobile sites into Android apps that could be downloaded anywhere the Amazon Appstore is able to run, including on Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices, as well as on other Android smartphones and tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google brings Chrome apps to Android and iOS, lets developers submit to Google Play and Apple’s App Store
http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/01/28/google-brings-chrome-apps-android-ios-lets-developers-submit-google-play-apples-app-store/
Google today launched Chrome apps for Android and iOS. The company is offering an early developer preview of a toolchain based on Apache Cordova, an open-source mobile development framework for building native mobile apps using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Developers can use the tool to wrap their Chrome app with a native application shell that enables them to distribute it via Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
Today’s announcement builds on the company’s launch of Chrome apps in September that work offline by default and act like native applications on the host operating system. Those Chrome apps work on Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS, but now the company wants to bring them to the mobile world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pebble Steel review: at last, a stylish smartwatch
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/pebble-steel-review/
Smartwatches are supposed to be pieces of jewelry that are just as personal as the smartphones they’re attached to, yet rarely are they thought of as fashionable.
Sadly, none have successfully matched the opulence brands like Seiko, Rolex, Citizen and Victorinox are known for on the analog side. Granted, not many companies are in a position to even try this. Without a strong developer platform and guaranteed return on investment, few (if any) smart watchmakers want to take the risk.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Your iPhone Has a Secret Undo Button
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/01/26/iphone_undo_button_undo_typing_pasting_cutting_or_deleting_with_this_simple.html
Just shake your phone like you’re furious.
Click undo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Snap! Nokia’s gyro stabilised camera tech now on open market
Nothing stays still for long in camera development
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/29/stm_gyroscope_for_cameras/
The tech that makes Nokia’s smartphone cameras so awesomely good has become available on the open market for the first time.
Gyroscopic stabilisation, which means cameras’ shutters can stay open for longer without blurring the final image, has been around for a while in digital cameras.
Chipmeisters ST Microelectronics have now announced the L2G2IS, a tiny two-axis gyroscope for image stabilisation. The packaged chip is 2.3 x 2.3 x 0.7mm and includes a sensing element which puts out the angular rate through a digital interface. The mechanics are micro-machined on silicon.
It’s not a cheap part, at $1.70 per unit in quantities of 1000. By contrast, that’s about three times what a handset manufacturer pays for a cheap set of headphones
Tomi Engdahl says:
With No Guidance From Google, Makers Creating Own Glass Accessories
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/01/28/2154227/with-no-guidance-from-google-makers-creating-own-glass-accessories
“Google remains tight-lipped about its roadmap for Google Glass, and its population of early-adopter ‘Explorers’ remains small. Nonetheless, a growing collection of engineers, designers, and artists are creating their own accessories and add-ons for Glass — some of them useful, others totally whimsical.”
The Wacky World of Google Glass Accessories
http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/the-wacky-world-of-google-glass-accessories/
With precious little guidance from Google, a host of artists and engineers have begun creating accessories and add-ons for Google Glass.
The good news is that pathways for accessorizing do exist.
Google Glass has a functional USB port—which should open lots of doors
Then there’s BlueTooth,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung’s first Tizen phone shows off Galaxy style in leaked snap
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/samsungs-first-tizen-phone-shows-off-galaxy-style-in-leaked-snap-50013306/
Is this the phone to tempt you away from Android? Say hello to the first Tizen phone, the Samsung ZEQ9000 — also said to be known as the Zeke — which mixes a hint of Galaxy, a dash of Android and a soupçon of Windows Phone.
Although it’s set to be the first phone showing off the new operating system backed by Samsung and Intel, it’s also suspiciously familiar-looking.
As an aside, Samsung isn’t the only one leaning towards the Windows way of thinking: leaked snaps of Nokia’s rumoured Nokia X suggest it will customise Android to look more like Windows Phone’s live tiles than Google’s native look.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Google-Samsung Licensing a Big Event?
Deal is more like a “NAFTA treaty”
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1320796&
Samsung Electronics pulled off two big patent-licensing agreements over the last 48 hours: one with Google on a broad agreement to cross-license each other’s patents; another with Ericsson,
Is the mobile industry suddenly seeing the wisdom of “patent peace”?
It’s likely. Or, more to the point, the mobile industry is maturing to the point where more cross-licensing agreements seem almost inevitable among key players in the smartphone market.
However, the Google-Samsung cross-licensing deal, struck Sunday, appears to raise more questions than answers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel’s voice recognition will blow Siri out of the water—because it doesn’t use the cloud
http://qz.com/170668/intels-voice-recognition-will-blow-siri-out-of-the-water-because-it-doesnt-use-the-cloud/
There’s a problem with today’s voice recognition systems: They’re just too slow. Anyone who has waited in frustration while Siri or Google’s Voice Search “thinks” about even the simplest commands knows what I’m talking about.
all the major consumer platforms that do it—whether built by Google, Apple or Microsoft with the new Xbox—must send a compressed recording of your voice to servers hundreds or thousands of miles away.
It’s that round trip, especially on slower cellular connections, that make voice recognition on most devices so slow.
Intel partnered with an unnamed third party to put that company’s voice recognition software on Intel mobile processors powerful enough to parse the human voice but small enough to fit in the device that’s listening, no round trip to the cloud required.
Jarvis can both listen to commands and respond in its own voice, acting as both a voice control and a personal assistant.
Tomi Engdahl says:
I did not see this coming, but Google official blog tells about it:
Lenovo to acquire Motorola Mobility
http://googleblog.blogspot.fi/2014/01/lenovo-to-acquire-motorola-mobility.html
We’ve just signed an agreement to sell Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. As this is an important move for Android users everywhere, I wanted to explain why in detail.
The deal has yet to be approved in the U.S. or China, and this usually takes time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lenovo to Acquire Motorola Mobility from Google
http://investor.google.com/releases/2014/0129.html
January 29, 2014: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today have entered into a definitive agreement under which Lenovo plans to acquire the Motorola Mobility smartphone business.
The purchase price is approximately US$2.91 billion (subject to certain adjustments), including US$1.41 billion paid at close, comprised of US$660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a share cap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion will be paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.
Google will maintain ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures. As part of its ongoing relationship with Google, Lenovo will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo will receive over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.
Motorola Mobility enjoys outstanding brand awareness around the world, and is currently the #3 Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. and #3 manufacturer overall in Latin America.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lenovo Explains Its $2.9 Billion Motorola Deal
http://recode.net/2014/01/29/google-and-lenovo-explain-their-2-9-billion-motorola-deal-live-coverage/
Google is swallowing a big loss in selling Motorola for $2.9 billion and Lenovo is taking a big risk in acquiring an iconic but troubled brand.
So why are they doing it?
We think we know why Google is selling. It can’t be a coincidence that Google has reached new accords with both Samsung and European regulators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With Motorola sale and Samsung peace, Google finds practical exit to an unconventional (and expensive) deal
http://gigaom.com/2014/01/29/with-motorola-sale-and-samsung-peace-google-finds-practical-exit-to-an-unconvential-and-expensive-deal/
Summary:
Motorola wasn’t the albatross many feared (or hoped) it would become for Google, but it was a wedge issue between Google and Samsung, its most important Android partner. Soon, that will be resolved.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google to keep Motorola’s Advanced Technology group, including Project Ara modular phone
The best part of Motorola is moving to the Android team
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/29/5359068/google-keeping-motorola-advanced-technology-group-project-ara-phone
Google’s blockbuster $2.9 billion sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo won’t include the Advanced Technology and Projects group led by former DARPA director Regina Dugan.
The most notable project to come from Dugan’s group was the Project Ara modular phone, which allows different phone configurations to be constructed from various parts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UNBREAKABLE bendy phone screens built, thanks to SHELLFISH
Always dropping your mobe? New laser technique increases toughness 200 times
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/30/bendy_glass_could_solve_cracked_smartphone_screen_problems/
Engineers have borrowed a technique from shellfish to build a pre-stressed form of glass that can bend rather than break.
As anyone who has dropped their phone from a height knows, glass has a tendency to fracture when struck. But boffins at McGill University’s department of mechanical engineering have developed a new form of glass that is pre-cracked by lasers, with the resulting tiny fissures being filled with polyurethane to make the substance capable of bending on impact.
“Compared with standard glass, which has no microstructure and is brittle, our bio-inspired glass displays built-in mechanisms that make it more deformable and 200 times tougher,” the team reports in the journal Nature Communications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Profits Billions With Motorola Sale To Lenovo, Keeps Patents
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2014/01/29/google-profits-billions-with-motorola-sale-to-lenovo-keeps-patents/
Google confirmed today that it is giving up trying to compete with smartphone makers, selling its Motorola handset business to China’s Lenovo for $2.91 billion. Less than 3-years after buying it for $12.5 billion.
the Internet giant said it will focus on developing the Android software for smartphones and retain the vast majority of Motorola’s patents
Net-net, after the Lenovo deal closes, Google spent less than a billion dollars for patents that it originally estimated was worth $5.5 billion. Admittedly, Motorola also ran up close to $2 billion in operating losses, but that still leaves Google with a $3 billion profit!
For Lenovo, the Motorola acquisition brings a major mobile phone brand, worldwide channels outside its primary market in China and deep relationships with carriers like AT&T and Verizon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook’s Plot To Conquer Mobile: Shatter Itself Into Pieces
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/29/one-app-at-a-time/
Swiss Army knives don’t cut it on mobile. Packing in too many features creates apps that seem bloated and slow. Perhaps more than any company, Facebook has struggled to adapt its busy website to the small screen.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that’s odd, considering two of Facebook’s attempts at standalone apps failed.
But Facebook’s quest to build an arsenal of standalone apps is just getting started.
As CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on today’s earnings call “One theme that should be clear from our work on products like Messenger, Groups and Instagram is that our vision for Facebook is to create a set of products that help you share any kind of content you want with any audience you want.”
“About 20% of the time people spend in mobile devices is on Facebook, so having these experiences tied in is a good way to seed them”