The platform wars is over: Apple and Google both won. Microsoft wanted to be the third mobile ecosystem, and it has got clear solid third position, but quite small market share of overall smart phone market. Apple now sells around 10% of all the 1.8bn (and growing) phones sold on Earth each year and Android the next 50%, split roughly between say 2/3 Google Android outside China and 1/3 non-Google Android inside China. So Apple and Google have both won, and both got what they wanted, more or less, and that’s not going to change imminently.
Wearables and phablets will be the big device stories of 2015. I think that the wearables will be the more interesting story of them, because I expect more innovation to happen there. The smart phone side seemed to already be a little bit boring during 2014 – lack of innovation from big players – and I can’t see how somewhat bigger screen size and higher resolution would change that considerably during 2015. CES 2015 debuts the future of smartphones coming from all places – maybe not very much new and exciting.
Say good-buy to to astronomical growth in smart phone sales in developed countries, as smartphone market is nearly saturated in certain regions. There will be still growth in east (China, India etc..), but most of this growth will be taken by the cheap Android phones made by companies that you might have not heard before because many of them don’t sell their products in western countries. The sales of “dumb phones” will decrease as cheap smart phone will take over. Over time this will expand such that smartphones take almost all phone sales (perhaps 400m or 500m units a quarter), with Apple taking the high-end and Android the rest.
The current biggest smart phone players (Samsung and Apple) will face challenges. Samsung’s steep Q3 profit decline shows ongoing struggles in mobile – Customers sought out lower priced older models and bought a higher percentage of mid-range smartphones, or bought from some other company making decent quality cheap phones. Samsung has long counted on its marketing and hardware prowess to attract customers seeking an alternative to Apple’s iPhone. But the company is now facing new competition from low-cost phone vendors such as China’s Xiaomi and India’s Micromax, which offer cheap devices with high-end specs in their local markets.
Apple has a very strong end of 2014 sales in USA: 51% of new devices activated during Christmas week were Apple, 18% were Samsung, 6% Nokia — Apple and Apps Dominated Christmas 2014 — Millions of people woke up and unwrapped a shiny new device under the Christmas tree. It is expected that Apple also will see slowing sales in 2015: Tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted Apple will face a grim start to 2015 with iPhone sales plummeting by up to a third.
In few years there’ll be close to 4bn smartphones on earth. Ericsson’s annual mobility report forecasts increasing mobile subscriptions and connections through 2020.(9.5B Smartphone Subs by 2020 and eight-fold traffic increase). Ericsson’s annual mobility report expects that by 2020 90% of the world’s population over six years old will have a phone. It really talks about the connected world where everyone will have a connection one way or another.
What about the phone systems in use. Now majority of the world operates on GSM and HPSA (3G). Some countries are starting to have good 4G (LTE) coverage, but on average only 20% is covered by LTE. Ericsson expects that 85% of mobile subscriptions in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa will be 3G or 4G by 2020. 75%-80% of North America and Western Europe are expected to be using LTE by 2020. China is by far the biggest smartphone market by current users in the world, and it is rapidly moving into high-speed 4G technology.
It seems that we change our behavior when networks become better: In South Korea, one third of all people are doing this ‘place shifting’ over 4G networks. When faster networks are taken into use, the people will start to use applications that need more bandwidth, for example watch more streamed video on their smart phones.
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. Many of us use both TV and mobile simultaneously: 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. There is rapid increase of mobile device usage—especially when it comes to apps.
The use of digital ads on mobile devices is increasing. Digital ad spend is forecast to increase 15% in 2015, with research saying it will equal ad spending on television by 2019. Mobile and social media will drive 2015 spending on digital to $163 billion, with mobile ad spending expected to jump 45%. “Almost all the growth is from mobile”
Mobile virtual reality will be talked about. 3D goggles like Sony Morpheus and Facebook’s Optimus Rift will get some attention. We’ll see them refined for augmented reality apps. hopefully we see DIY virtual reality kits that use current handsets and don’t cost thousands.
Google glass consumer market interest was fading in the end of 2014, and I expect that fading to continue in 2015. It seems that developers already may be losing interest in the smart eyewear platform. Google glass is expected to be consumer sales sometime in 2015, some fear consumer demand for Glass isn’t there right now and may never materialize. “All of the consumer glass startups are either completely dead or have pivoted” Although Google continues to say it’s 100% committed to Glass and the development of the product, the market may not be.
The other big headliner of the wearables segment was Apple’s basic $350 Watch. Apple invest its time when it released the Apple Watch last quarter, going up against the likes of Google’s Android Wear and others in the burgeoning wearables area of design. Once Apple’s bitten into a market, it’s somewhat a given that there’s good growth ahead and that the market is, indeed, stable enough.
As we turn to 2015 and beyond wearables becomes an explosive hardware design opportunity — one that is closely tied to both consumer and healthcare markets. It could pick up steam in the way software did during the smartphone app explosion. It seems that the hardware becomes hot again as Wearables make hardware the new software. It’s an opportunity that is still anyone’s game. Wearables will be important end-points both for cloud and for messaging. The wearable computing market is one of the biggest growth areas in tech. BI Intelligence estimates that 148 million wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers will ship in 2019.
I see that wearables will be big in 2015 mainly in the form of smart watch. According to a survey by UBS, 10% of consumers said they were very likely to buy a smartwatch in 2015, even though so far, no smartwatches have resonated with consumers. I expect the Sales of fitness wearables to plunge in 2015 owing to smartwatch takeover. In the future you need to look at exercise and fashion products as being in the same space. Samsung, Motorola, LG, and Apple debuted or announced smartwatches in 2014, so it’s no surprise that smartwatches are expected to be huge in Las Vegas at CES January’s show.
The third mobile ecosystem Windows phone has some new thing coming as Microsoft ready to show off Windows 10 mobile SKU on January 21. But it does not well motivating to me. After all, the vision of a unified Microsoft world extending across all screens is great, and it’s what Microsoft has needed all along to make Windows Phone a winner. The problem that hits me: if you fail enough times at the same thing, people stop believing you. It’s not just that Microsoft keeps failing to integrate its mobile, desktop, and console products. But Microsoft keeps claiming it will, which starts to loose credibility.
Mobile will change on-line sales in 2015: Phones have already radically altered both the way Americans shop and how retail goods move about the economy, but the transformation is just beginning — and it is far from guaranteed that Amazon will emerge victorious from the transition (this will also apply to other “traditional” players in that space).
Mobile payment technology reaching maybe finally reaching critical mass this year. Long predicted but always seeming to be “just around the corner,” mobile payments may finally have arrived. While Apple’s recent Apple Pay announcement may in retrospect be seen as launching the coming mobile payment revolution, the underlying technologies – and alternative solutions – have been emerging for some time. Maybe it isn’t going to replace the credit card but it’s going to replace the wallet — the actual physical thing crammed with cards, cash, photos and receipts. When you are out shopping, it’s the wallet, not the credit card, that is the annoyance.
Mobile money is hot also in developing countries: ordinary people in Africa using an SMS text-based currency called M-Pesa. M-Pesa was invented as a virtual currency by mobile network provider Vodafone after it was discovered that its airtime minutes were being used and traded in by people in Africa in lieu of actual money. In Kenya, a critical mass was quickly reached, and today, over 70% of the 40 million Kenyans use M-Pesa.
Mobile security will be talked about. Asian mobiles the DDOS threat of 2015, security mob says article tells that Vietnam, India and Indonesia will be the distributed denial of service volcanoes of next year due to the profieration of pwned mobiles.
Intel is heavily pushing to mobile and wearable markets. Intel is expected to expand its smartphone partnership with Lenovo: Intel will provide both its 64-bit Atom processor and LTE-Advanced modem chips for the Lenovo phones. The 4G phones follow Intel’s announcement in October of its first 4G smartphone in the US, the Asus PadFone X Mini. Now Intel remains well behind Qualcomm — which controls two-thirds of the global mobile modem market — and MediaTek as a supplier of chips for smartphones and tablets. Intel faces tough competition trying to fight its way into mobile — a market it ignored for years. Intel in early 2015 will introduce its first 4G system-on-a-chip under the new SoFIA name. Such chips include both a processor and modem together and are sought after by handset makers because they’re smaller in size than separate processor and radio chips, and use less power (matching Qualcomm’s Snapdragon).
Mobile chip leader Qualcomm will be going strong in 2015. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 is not only a killer part, it has raised the bar on what a mobile SoC has to be in 2015. It can power devices that drive 4K (3840 x 2160) TV, take 4K videos, run AAA games and connect to 5-inch HD display. There are finished, branded products just waiting to be released. I am convinced Qualcomm is on track to deliver commercial devices with Snapdragon 810 in mid-2015. I expect Qualcomm to be strong leader throughout 2015.
More material worth to check out:
New questions in mobile
http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2014/11/20/time-for-new-questions-in-mobile
What’s Next in Wireless: My 2015 Predictions
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/issues-insights-blog/2015-predictions.htm
1,230 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Music Comes To Android As An Emissary
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/10/apple-music-comes-to-android/#.b5imzi:IzCD
Today, Apple Music comes to Android phones. It’s the first user-centric app that Apple has created for Android (but not its first).
As people download and dissect it, they’ll doubtless be looking at how Apple builds on Android, what features are ported over from iOS and what Apple’s pan-operating-system Music philosophy looks like in the mobile age. In advance of the launch, I spoke with Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, about exactly those things.
“We’ve obviously been really excited about the response we’ve gotten to Apple Music. People love the human curation aspects of it, discovery, radio,”
“So if you’ve got another device with Apple Music and you’ve got your whole music library in the cloud you can access it from Android,” says Cue. “If you haven’t, but you’ve purchased music from iTunes in the past, if you use the same Apple ID when you join on Android it’ll read all the music you’ve purchased.”
Apple Music is a beta on Android, which means it’s missing a couple of features.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Peter Ludwig / Official Android Blog:
Android Wear gets cellular support, available for LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE owners in US now, international customers within months — Cellular support comes to Android Wear — Android Wear lets you stay connected, even when your phone isn’t with you.
Cellular support comes to Android Wear
http://officialandroid.blogspot.fi/2015/11/cellular-support-comes-to-android-wear.html
Android Wear lets you stay connected, even when your phone isn’t with you. With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, for example, you can see who’s calling when your phone is in the next room, or respond to messages at the gym while your phone is at home. Today, we’re bringing cellular support to Android Wear, so you can stay connected in even more places.
No more worrying about Bluetooth or Wi-Fi—your watch will automatically switch to a cellular connection when you’re out of range. As long as your watch and phone are connected to a cellular network, you’ll be able to use your watch to send and receive messages, track fitness, get answers from Google, and run your favorite apps. And yes, you’ll even be able to make and take calls right from your watch, for when your hands are full, or your phone is elsewhere.
The first Android Wear watch with cellular support is the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robin Sidel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple in talks with US banks to develop a mobile person-to-person payment service, to rival PayPal’s Venmo platform, could launch in 2016
Apple, Banks in Talks on Mobile Person-to-Person Payment Service
Service would be a rival to PayPal’s Venmo platform
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/apple-in-talks-with-u-s-banks-to-develop-mobile-person-to-person-payment-service-1447274074-lMyQjAxMTA1NTE0MTAxNzE0Wj
Apple Inc. is in discussions with U.S. banks to develop a payment service that would let users zap money to one another from their phones rather than relying on cash or checks, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move would put the tech giant in competition with an increasing number of Silicon Valley firms trying to persuade Americans to ditch their wallets in favor of digital options.
The talks with banks are continuing and it is unclear if any of the firms have struck an agreement with Apple, these people said.
If Apple’s plans go forward, the service would likely be similar to PayPal Holdings Inc. ’s Venmo platform, which is popular among younger consumers to do things such as pitch in on gifts and share rent payments with roommates.
It also represents the latest attempt by banks and other providers to shift Americans away from cash and checks, which can be more costly and less efficient for the banks and less convenient for customers. Those methods are still the most popular ways people send money to friends and pay service providers such as handymen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kurt Wagner / Re/code:
Facebook launches Notify, an iOS app that sends notifications for news and other timely content, with 70 media partners, including CNN, NYT, Hulu, and Techmeme — Here’s Notify, Facebook’s New Twitter-Like App for Following Publishers — Facebook is already dominating peoples’ phone time …
Here’s Notify, Facebook’s New Twitter-Like App for Following Publishers
http://recode.net/2015/11/11/facebooks-new-app-notify-pushes-content-to-your-lock-screen/
Facebook is already dominating peoples’ phone time, and now it wants a crack at your lock screen, too.
The social network rolled out a new app called “Notify” on Wednesday specifically to send you mobile notifications from publishers you care about, like BuzzFeed or CNN or The Weather Channel. Details about Notify have been leaking to the press for months, and as with other news apps (or Twitter!), users are asked to follow publishers or “stations” which will then push content throughout the day to their phone’s lock screens.
facebook-notify-pairing
Facebook
The push notifications only include a snippet of information, like a headline, but a link within the notification will send you to the publisher’s mobile webpage, which surfaces inside the app. If you don’t have time to read something right away, you can save content to read later or share it with others through platforms like — you guessed it — Facebook.
The million-dollar question, then, is why Facebook is building an app for this at all. The company already has News Feed for content discovery and 1.5 billion people who use Facebook every month. Why send people more notifications for the things that, in theory, they could get by following these publishers on Facebook anyway?
The thinking, according to Michael Cerda, product director at Facebook, is that mobile notifications are their own medium, separate from Facebook or any other news consumption platform.
“People have different ways they want to consume information,” Cerda told Re/code. “Search is one way. Social is another way. And we think push notifications might be yet another. We see that as an evolving medium and want to be a part of that.”
Facebook has more than 70 media partners for Notify, from Comedy Central to Harper’s Bazaar, all of which control the content they push out to their followers. The benefit to these partners is obvious: It’s an easy new way to get content in front of people without the same competition that comes with posting in a person’s Facebook or Twitter feed. When users click on a link, they are brought to the publisher’s mobile webpage, not to Facebook, meaning publishers still get the clicks and ad impressions they cherish.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei predicts the ‘superphone’ by 2020
http://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-predicts-the-superphone-by-2020/
The natural evolution of the smartphone will lead to the superphone being developed by 2020, according to Huawei, which will further digitalise lives by tying in with 5G and the IoT.
Chinese technology giant Huawei has announced its vision for the next generation of the smartphone: The “superphone”, which will further integrate the physical with the digital world, where everything that can be connected will be connected.
According to Huawei, the smartphone-to-superphone evolution will take place within a 12-year cycle similar to the one that saw Motorola invent the first feature phone in 1995 and Apple end that cycle by inventing the first smartphone in 2007.
Following this established 12-year trend, the superphone will be developed by 2020, argued Shao Yang
“Inspired by the biological evolution, the mobile phone we currently know will come to life as the superphone,”
“The intelligence of the superphone will continue to evolve and develop itself into digital intelligence, capable of empowering us with interactions with the world. Through evolution and adaptation, the superphone will be more intelligent, enhancing and even transforming our perceptions, enabling humans to go further than ever before.”
The Chinese company said the superphone will take advantage of advancements in big data, cloud computing, and digital intelligence by tying in with the Internet of Things (IoT), where all physical things are digitalised.
Huawei said it is already working towards building the IoT by developing intelligence technologies such as big data analytics, software-defined networking, digital intelligence, and circumstantial intelligence platforms; connection technologies including IoT platforms and multi-device network standards; perception technologies as sensors, object recognition, and 3D scanning; and interactivity technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality.
The company also announced plans to invest an extra $600 million into 5G technology research and development so it can launch its 5G network by 2020, which will be 100 times faster than speeds reached on 4G.
“With our commitment to creating value through innovation, Huawei has driven the technology industry by focusing on ecosystem, alliance, and partnerships,” Shao said.
“From smartphones, connected cars, wearables, to smart cities, mobile technology innovation continues to evolve, profoundly changing the relationship between humans and the world.
“Thanks to the extensive application of our cloud computing, storage, agile network, and other flagship products and solutions in the smart city, finance, education, and ISP markets in and outside of China, our growth in the enterprise business began to pick up in the first half of this year.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
True or false? Battery myths that need to die
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/true-or-false-battery-myths-that-need-to-die/
Battery technology may not have changed much in the last couple decades, but common knowledge is even worse.
Many people believe the limitations of nickel-based batteries that were prevalent in the early ’90s still apply to the more modern lithium ion and lithium polymer technologies we use today.
Myth: Leaving your devices plugged will “overcharge” them
False. This simply isn’t true — not anymore, at least. Most smartphone, laptop, accessory and AA or AAA chargers are smart enough to momentarily stop charging once the device is fully charged.
Myth: You should always let the battery drain completely
False. Today, most batteries never truly fully discharge.
Myth: Always fully charge a device before its first use
False. To be fair, it doesn’t hurt anything to fully charge a device’s battery before using it. It doesn’t hurt anything if you skip this step, either.
Myth: Store batteries in the refrigerator
False. Storing a battery in the refrigerator or freezer is not only bad, but can be dangerous. Extreme temperatures – hot or cold and especially for long periods of time – are not good for any type of battery.
To maximize shelf life, Energizer suggests storing “batteries at normal room temperatures (68 degrees F to 78 degrees F or 20 degrees C to 25 degrees C) with moderate humidity levels (35 to 65 percent RH).”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fossil Group to Buy Misfit for $260 Million
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/11/12/fossil-group-to-buy-misfit-for-260-million/
Watchmaker Fossil Group Inc. has agreed to acquire startup Misfit Inc., a maker of wearable fitness trackers, for $260 million.
Richardson, Texas-based Fossil Group has its Fossil and Skagen brands, and it licenses a host of others, including Michael Kors, Diesel and DKNY.
“If you don’t have a brand it is hard to be legit in this space,” said Sonny Vu, chief executive and co-founder of Misfit. He will become president and chief technology officer of connected devices for Fossil Group after the transaction closes, which Fossil expects before the end of the year.
Being a stand-alone fitness tracking startup has gotten harder in the past year, as competition has intensified. Companies such as Xiaomi released cheap variants, at the same time Apple Inc. entered the fray with its Watch, which has similar sleep- and fitness-monitoring functionality. In part because of the competition, Jawbone has been struggling over the past year, as VentureWire previously reported. But Fitbit Inc., has bucked the trend.
Publicly traded Fossil expects to incorporate Misfit’s technology into products that look like traditional watches, rather than rubber fitness trackers, as soon as next year. It plans to continue producing Misfit’s own products, as well, Mr. McKelvey said. He said the company’s battery life innovation was especially appealing to Fossil.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Makes it Easier to Read Comics on Android Phones
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2495040,00.asp
Smartphones might not be the best place to read digital comics, but Google is doing what it can to improve the experience for comic-book-loving Android users.
The company has made some tweaks to Google Play Books to make it easier for people to read comic books on their smartphones. As is typical for Google, however, these updates aren’t officially live for everyone yet. The company notes that it will begin rolling out its comic-themed upgrades over the next few days for Android users, and those using Google’s apps on iOS will receive them at a later date.
“Reading a comic book is all about following the story and enjoying the art, dialogue and pace the way you want. But navigating a comic can be tricky on a small phone or tablet screen,” Google said in a blog post. “So, we’re introducing a new vertical scrolling experience for comics in landscape mode. Flip your device on its side and you can easily scroll through the story with quick vertical swipes.”
Of course, all the enhancements in the world don’t matter very much if you can’t even find a good comic book to read. To that end, Google is also adjusting the Google Play Store itself to make it easier to shop for comics.
Solving the age-old question: Batman or Superman?
http://officialandroid.blogspot.fi/2015/11/solving-age-old-question-batman-or.html
It’s a multi-generational debate—are you team Batman or team Superman? While we can’t personally help you make this very difficult decision, we can tell you it’s never been a better time to be a comic book fan. With a smartphone in your pocket, you have a sharp color screen at your fingertips and instant access to read any comic whenever and wherever you are. Holy Android!
Google Play offers binge-worthy comics from all the major publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel, Image, IDW and Dark Horse.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robert Hackett / Fortune:
Exclusive: Secure Messenger TigerText Raises $50 Million, Aims to be Health Care’s Top Chat Tool
http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/tiger-text-raises-50-million/
The Whisper app co-founder’s other startup has raised more than $80 million to date.
Brad Brooks, co-founder and CEO of TigerText, a 5-year-old secure messenger startup based in Santa Monica, Calif., has staked his business on a thesis—a plain observation, really—that he believes will revolutionize the healthcare industry: People prefer to text.
“People are already gravitating toward SMS,” Brad Brooks tells Fortune. “But it’s not really a viable solution” when it comes to healthcare, he says, given the industry’s need for secure, encrypted channels, authentication processes, and enterprise-level controls over networks and users. So, that’s just what TigerText has developed: a tool that “ring fences,” as Brooks says, the text messaging experience. Plus, it adds a useful application programming interface that software developers can build upon as well as a self-deleting messages feature.
“There aren’t many of these companies founded by individuals that have built or scaled companies in the technology and media space and are also a physician,”
“We think of TigerText as the Slack of healthcare,” Mittendorff said, referencing the multi-billion dollar “unicorn” chat app startup that has taken less strictly regulated industries such as media (Fortune’s office included) by storm.
The Whisper app co-founder’s other startup has raised more than $80 million to date.
Brad Brooks, co-founder and CEO of TigerText, a 5-year-old secure messenger startup based in Santa Monica, Calif., has staked his business on a thesis—a plain observation, really—that he believes will revolutionize the healthcare industry: People prefer to text.
So he and his brother Andrew — a co-founder of TigerText who sits on the company’s board and is a certified orthopedic surgeon — have set out to revamp medical communications.
“People are already gravitating toward SMS,” Brad Brooks tells Fortune. “But it’s not really a viable solution” when it comes to healthcare, he says, given the industry’s need for secure, encrypted channels, authentication processes, and enterprise-level controls over networks and users. So, that’s just what TigerText has developed: a tool that “ring fences,” as Brooks says, the text messaging experience. Plus, it adds a useful application programming interface that software developers can build upon as well as a self-deleting messages feature.
TigerText plans to announce that it has closed a Series C round of funding worth $50 million. The company last raised $21 million in January 2014, bringing its total funding raise to date to more than $80 million.
The latest investment was led by Norwest Venture Partners and included participation from Invus Group and Accolade Partners as well as return backers Shasta Ventures, OrbiMed, and Reed Elsevier RDLSF 3.15% .
Robert Mittendorff, the Norwest partner and certified physician who led his firm’s funding round, says he ran a three-year search on 15 companies before deciding to back TigerText. “There aren’t many of these companies founded by individuals that have built or scaled companies in the technology and media space and are also a physician,” he explains, referencing Brad Brooks’ former post as president of DIC Entertainment, the late children’s-branded media company that had spun out of Disney DIS -0.27% , and his brother’s medical background.
In 2012, Brad Brooks also co-founded Whisper, an anonymous messaging startup that became embroiled in a data privacy controversy after the British-based news outlet the Guardian published an investigation concerning its namesake app last year. The outlet’s initial reports that the company secretly collected certain user data, despite claiming otherwise, had to be significantly walked back in a later correction to the story.
“We think of TigerText as the Slack of healthcare,” Mittendorff said, referencing the multi-billion dollar “unicorn” chat app startup that has taken less strictly regulated industries such as media (Fortune’s office included) by storm.
Meanwhile, Symphony, the bank-backed communications service tailor-made for the financial industry, also has designs on heavily regulated, compliance-driven industries such as health care, as well as the consumer market. The firm last month raised $100 million from Google and other backers.
Other companies that have designed chat tools with healthcare specifically in mind include Imprivata with its Cortext messaging product and Voalte, a private communications software firm based in Florida.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Daniel Rubino / Windows Central:
Sources: Microsoft’s Project Astoria for emulating Android apps on hold indefinitely, may be shelved completely
Microsoft’s Project Astoria and Android app emulation not happening anytime soon
http://www.windowscentral.com/microsofts-project-astoria-delayed
During Microsoft’s Build conference earlier this year the company announced their software Bridges for developers. Now the future of one of those bridges is uncertain.
These tools were to help developers port their software to Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile and were broken down into four projects, including:
Project Westminster – For porting Web apps
Project Centennial – For portingClassic Win32 apps
Project Islandwood – For porting iOS apps
Project Astoria – For emulating Android apps
The idea behind the bridges is to aid in closing the so-called ‘app gap’ on Windows and Windows Phone. However, while consumers would reap the benefits, Windows developers were not at all pleased with the announcement. The reason comes down to Project Astoria, which was the most controversial due to its implementation.
Astoria is an Android emulator meaning devs do not have any real work to do. Instead, the phone ran the Android APK file directly. Early Insider builds of Windows 10 Mobile had this layer in the OS letting consumers sideload APK files directly. Not only did this project make app piracy easy, it undercut Windows developers who would have little reason to make native Windows apps anymore.
Astoria was never released to developers openly. Instead, they had to apply to test out the tools, which were still under development.
Project Astoria was a brute-force solution to a persistent problem for Windows and Windows Phone. However, it may have been too brazen even for Microsoft.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Firefox OS 2.5 Developer Preview, an experimental Android app
https://hacks.mozilla.org/2015/11/firefox-os-2-5-developer-preview-an-experimental-android-app/
Today we have made Firefox OS 2.5 available worldwide. We are also making an early, experimental build of the OS — Firefox OS 2.5 Developer Preview — available for developers to download on Android devices
Firefox OS 2.5 Developer Preview is an app that lets you experience Firefox OS as an alternate home screen on your Android device without having to re-flash and replace your Android installation.
If you’re curious to see what Firefox OS is all about, or just interested in testing out new features, the Firefox OS 2.5 Developer Preview app makes it very simple to get started with very little risk involved. By downloading the app, you can experience Firefox OS and explore many of its capabilities, without flashing hardware. If you decide you’re done trying it out, the app can be removed as simply as any other app.
What’s the catch?
As a full operating system, Firefox OS has its own task manager, utility tray, navigation buttons, settings, and more. Running on top of Android means that these elements of the operating system may come into conflict with those same system functions on Android. Android launchers were never designed to enable replacement of these operating system functions. As a result we employ various workarounds, where possible, to avoid delivering a poor user experience.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here are the tools Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella uses every day
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadellas-everyday-setup-2015-11?IR=T&r=UK
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gave a keynote address at the Future Decoded event this week in London on how partners use Microsoft products every day. Other headline speakers include the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, the CEO of Lastminute.com, and the Ministry of Defence.
During his 40-minute speech Nadella laid down the products, and services, he uses daily, all of which (unsurprisingly) revolve around Microsoft’s offerings.
The first thing Nadella demonstrated was an “iPhone Pro,” a regular iPhone packed with Microsoft services. Before Nadella became CEO, Microsoft had no meaningful presence on iOS, but it now has more than 15 apps that are compatible with it, including Word, Skype, Wunderlist, and Sunrise.
Nadella made a big show of OneNote for iOS, an app that can take and distribute notes. He also showed off Office
Nadella’s main device is the new Lumia 950XL, announced in early October. He demonstrated Wunderlist, a to-do app that allows for multiple accounts and cloud-based syncing.
One of the headline features of the Lumia 950 is its tight integration with Windows 10. This has resulted in Continuum, a feature that lets customers use their phones in a “desktop mode” — i.e., with a mouse, keyboard, and large monitor — simply by connecting it to a $99 (£65) dock.
The motivation behind Continuum comes from the requirements of developing markets: Desktop computers are expensive and unwieldy, while smartphones are cheap and can be taken anywhere. Building a smartphone that is powerful enough to run a full Windows 10 experience solves this problem.
Nadella demoed Windows Hello, the security features that are baked into Windows 10 that use biometrics, or visuals and fingerprints, over a simple password.
Toward the end of the keynote, Nadella frequently referred to HoloLens, the augmented-reality headset the company is deploying in early 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phones need ‘bed mode’ to protect sleep
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34744859
Smartphones, tablets and e-readers should have an automatic “bedtime mode” that stops them disrupting people’s sleep, says a leading doctor.
Prof Paul Gringras argued the setting should filter out the blue light that delays the body clock and keeps people awake later into the evening.
The doctor, from Evelina Children’s Hospital in London, said every new model was “bluer and brighter”.
He said manufacturers needed to show more “responsibility”.
As it gets darker in the evening, the body starts to produce the sleep hormone melatonin – which helps people nod off.
Certain wavelengths of light, those at the blue-green end of the spectrum, can disrupt the system.
Prof Gringras was part of a study, published in Frontiers in Public Health, analysing the light emitted by devices.
It concluded there was a clear trend for new devices to be bigger, brighter, have higher levels of contrast and emit more blue light.
The professor of children’s sleep medicine told the BBC News website: “That is great for use in the day, but awful for use at night.
He said some sleep-aware apps had already been designed to reduce blue-green light emissions.
And that a bedtime mode could automatically filter out the blue as software such as f.lux already does.
He said some sleep-aware apps had already been designed to reduce blue-green light emissions.
And that a bedtime mode could automatically filter out the blue as software such as f.lux already does.
https://justgetflux.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Joel Hruska / ExtremeTech:
Qualcomm formally launches Snapdragon 820, claims it consumes 30% less power over 810, expects devices to ship with it in first half of 2016
Qualcomm formally launches the Snapdragon 820 SoC: Here’s what you need to know
http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/217804-qualcomm-formally-launches-the-snapdragon-820
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first five apps to install on your new Android device
http://www.techrepublic.com/pictures/the-first-five-apps-to-install-on-your-new-android-device/?ftag=YHRa50be22
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-apps-to-get-your-new-android-device-off-on-the-right-foot/
1: Google Drive
2: WPS Office (formerly Kingsoft Office)
3: ASTRO File Manager
4: All-in-One Toolbox
5: WeatherBug
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jessica E. Lessin / The Information:
Sources: Google wearable tech group Project Aura working on three prototypes, one with screen, and two without that rely on bone conduction like original Glass — Google Glass Successor Dumps Some Glass — So much for the screen. We’ve learned that Google’s revamped Google Glass project …
Google Glass Successor Dumps Some Glass
https://www.theinformation.com/google-glass-successor-dumps-some-glass
So much for the screen. We’ve learned that Google’s revamped Google Glass project, dubbed Project Aura, is working on a wearable with a screen—and at least one without.
People tell us there have been three versions of the head-mounted device in development, although the three may be consolidated into two. One version, targeted at enterprises, has a screen. The others, one of which is targeted at “sport” users, doesn’t and relies on audio. They use bone conduction, like the original Google Glass. In other words, headphones worn on your face.
Project Aura overseer Tony Fadell experimented with head-mounted designs at Apple eons ago, which is probably one reason he’s running the project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
Facebook allows Google to crawl and index public profiles, Pages, Groups, and Events from its mobile app — Google Gets Surprise Ally in Mobile-App Search Push: Facebook — Google’s effort to keep its search engine relevant in a world of mobile apps just got a boost from a big rival.
Google Gets Surprise Ally in Mobile-App Search Push: Facebook
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/11/16/google-gets-surprise-ally-in-mobile-app-search-push-facebook/
Google’s effort to keep its search engine relevant in a world of mobile apps just got a boost from a big rival.
Facebook Inc., operator of the world’s largest social network, on Friday began allowing Google to crawl and index its mobile app, a spokeswoman for Google parent Alphabet Inc.GOOGL +1.40% said.
The agreement means that results from Google searches on smartphones will display some content from Facebook’s app, including public profile information. The listings will appear as “deep links” that will take users to the relevant part of the Facebook app, the spokeswoman said.
That largely mirrors how Google indexes information from public Facebook profiles on the Web. It also has access to content such as business listings called Pages, Groups and Events.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sean O’Kane / The Verge:
HP partners with Movado on $695 Bold Motion, analog smartwatch that uses LEDs and haptic feedback for alerts, a second wearable in “Engineered by HP” program
The Movado Bold Motion is a $695 analog smartwatch with no screen
The new watch gets its smarts from HP
http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/16/9743416/hp-movado-smartwatch-analog-screenless-watch
Last year, HP dipped a toe into the wearables market by collaborating with Michael Bastian on the Chronowing, a smartwatch that was more analog than digital. Today, HP is announcing the continuation of the program that the Chronowing was born out of. It’s called “Engineered by HP,” and the newest product in the line is an analog smartwatch from Movado called the Bold Motion.
The watch eschews the touchscreens found on devices like the Apple Watch or the Moto 360. Actually, there’s no screen at all. It’s a completely functional analog watch, with the “smart” part coming in the form of haptic feedback and tiny blue or white LED lights around the inside edge, similar to the way Fossil’s Q Grant works. The 44mm watch is water-resistant to 50 meters, costs $695, and comes in two models: stainless steel with a black PVD finish or all-black PVD finished stainless steel, and both have a black silicone strap lined with 3M reflective material.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nicole Lee / Engadget:
Withings’ third analog fitness tracker is the $170 Activite Steel
http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/16/withings-activite-steel/
Last year, French hardware maker Withings debuted the Activité, a $450 Swiss-made watch that also functioned as a fitness tracker. It then followed that up with the Activité Pop, a much lower-end version that cost only $150. Now Withings has come out with a wearable that sits somewhere in the middle: The $170 Withings Activité Steel
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei’s New Batteries Charge To 48% In Five Minutes
Huawei’s new quick-charging smartphone batteries could transform the way we use our devices.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3053599/fast-feed/huaweis-new-batteries-charge-to-48-in-five-minutes?partner=rss
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has a powerful new weapon in its competition for the global Android market: phone batteries that can recharge in less time than it takes to power down a latte. The company just unveiled quick-charging batteries at a Japanese trade show that charge to 50% capacity within what Huawei calls “mere minutes.”
The new lithium-ion batteries, Huawei says, charge at about ten times the speed of a normal battery. This is how the science works, according to a Huawei press release:
Huawei’s press materials emphasize that phones can now charge in the time it takes to drink a coffee, and that the breakthrough can lead to a variety of new smartphone, electric vehicle, wearable device, and mobile power supply breakthroughs in coming years. The new batteries were developed by Huawei’s Watt Lab,
Huawei reveals the next generation of quick charging technology
http://www.huawei.com/en/news/2015/11/Huawei%20reveals%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20quick%20charging%20technology
The new batteries can be charged 10 times faster than current batteries, reaching approximately 50% capacity in mere minutes
[Nagoya, Japan, Nov.13, 2015] Watt Lab, which belongs to the Central Research Institute at Huawei Technology Corporation Limited, unveiled their new quick charging lithium-ion batteries at the 56th Battery Symposium in Japan. Using next generation technology, these new batteries have achieved a charging speed 10 times faster than that of normal batteries, reaching about 50% capacity in mere minutes.
Huawei presented videos of the two types of quick charging lithium-ion batteries: one battery with a 600 mAh capacity that can be charged to 68% capacity in two minutes; and another with a 3000 mAh capacity and an energy density above 620 Wh/L, which can be charged to 48% capacity in five minutes to allow ten hours of phone call on Huawei mobile phones. These quick charging batteries underwent many rounds of testing, and have been certified by Huawei’s terminal test department.
According to Huawei, the company bonded heteroatoms to the molecule of graphite in anode, which could be a catalyst for the capture and transmission of lithium through carbon bonds. Huawei stated that the heteroatoms increase the charging speed of batteries without decreasing energy density or battery life.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pushbullet’s new paywall is a perfect example of how not to monetize an app
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/11/17/pushbullets-new-paywall-is-a-perfect-example-of-how-not-to-monetize-an-app/
In the ongoing struggle between users wanting free services and developers trying to eat, Pushbullet has emerged as the heel.
Today’s addition by subtraction — introducing a Pro tier that has features sniped from the free version — is in poor taste. Not only did Pushbullet throttle existing users, but it’s asking for $5 per month or $40 per year.
Judging by the feedback on Pushbullet’s announcement and on Reddit, most users are simply dropping the service cold. The crux of their discontent seems to be core features like universal copy and paste now being hidden behind the paywall.
Even if Pushbullet walked this back and admitted defeat, the damage is done.
I’ll point to other recent monetization strategies as more fan-friendly.
Patronage and Pedometer++’s tip jar are the same thing. You give what you can, and the world keeps spinning. In some ways, it’s better than paying for an app
Arment said only 20 percent of Overcast users were paying for the original app outright.
That meant 80 percent were using an “inferior” app with less features.
Patronage isn’t popular because it’s out-of-pocket spending. It works because it’s not mandatory. By offering the ability to let users donate rather than force them to, patronage strikes a happy medium.
Pushbullet went full-throttle, though. It seems as though it expected users to pay for features they relied on rather than offering more value. More to the point, Pushbullet expected users to pay what it expected of them to continue using it as they normally do.
Android Central’s Phil Nickinson calls it a shakedown. He’s not wrong. Where Pushbullet erred wasn’t with monetizing the service; it was in demanding ransom. Users are often glib about their love of a platform or app, and Pushbullet seemed to think it had won the hearts and minds of its fans.
Pining through the comments, it seems the price point was a bit out of reach.
Pushbullet pushed many users away. Likely for good. Even if it chose to rethink their strategy, some users won’t care.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobility Report forecasts Ericsson believes that, for example, in North America smartphone data traffic will grow from the current 3.8 GB to 22 GB per month.
In 2012, mobile video among all mobile networks offset bits is 70 per cent. Ericsson’s report, the share of mobile YouTube videos is currently 70 per cent. Netflix proportion will reach 20 per cent in many of the countries where service is available.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3615:eurooppa-jalkijunassa-5g-kayttoonotossa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big mobile phone photo should be dealt with in the cloud
When the mobile phone camera sensor captures up to 20 million pixels, sometimes more, each image will be a massive data packet. American researchers have presented a technique for even a large image processing can be done in the cloud: bandwidth-saving and reducing power consumption.
If large image files are processed directly on the smartphone, the device’s battery discharging under stress quickly. From MIT, Stanford University, and Adobe Systems have developed a solution where the image can be processed in the cloud, without the large picture files need to be moved back and forth over the net.
Case Siggraph event presented technique reduced the need for image download bandwidth of cloud butts 98.5 percent compared to the size of the image could be shuffled to the server and back. The operation power consumption was 85 per cent lower. How was this possible?
The system of the smart phone is sent to the server heavily compressed image and the server sends back to the terminal even smaller file that contains the included simple instructions to edit the original image. After this, the image processing can be done quickly in the terminal itself intelligent algorithms.
The best thing about technology is that over the network moves only about one hundredth of the number of bits that would be required of the original image file reciprocation for moving. Your smartphone should do a little more calculation, but this is a minor inconvenience compared to the work should take less than the entire massive 20 megapixel original image.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3621:iso-kannykkakuva-kannattaa-kasitella-pilvessa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Photos
https://plus.google.com/+JohnElstone/posts/8yFHSgSdtDW
Helping users free up storage space on their Android device:
On the Settings screen, users will now see a “Free Up Space” button. Clicking on the button will prompt the user to bulk-delete copies of photos that have already been backed up from their device. To prevent device copies from being accidentally deleted, we’re asking users to double-confirm their intent during the ‘Free Up Space’ flow.
Users who are backing up their photos in High quality may now also receive an Assistant card prompting them to bulk delete device copies when they’re nearing the storage limit on their devices (currently only users who are backing up at Original quality receive these cards).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google search on Android starts surfacing app content without matching web content, streams apps from the cloud if they’re not installed on your phone — Google Search Now Surfaces App-Only Content, Streams Apps From The Cloud When Not Installed On Your Phone
Google Search Now Surfaces App-Only Content, Streams Apps From The Cloud When Not Installed On Your Phone
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/18/google-search-now-surfaces-app-only-content-streams-apps-from-the-cloud-when-not-installed-on-your-phone/#.b5imzi:hruY
Google today is making a big change in terms of its ability to surface the content found in mobile applications through Google search: it’s no longer requiring that apps have matching web content in order to be indexed through Google’s search engine. In addition, when Google finds in-app content that points to a mobile app you don’t already have installed on your smartphone, it will offer you the option to “stream” the app instead.
That doesn’t mean it will point you to some functional mobile web version of the app – “streamed” apps are actually running on virtual machines on Google’s cloud platform, and respond to your taps and touches similar to how native applications do.
This new streaming option and the improved version of app indexing is rolling out now, but is only currently enabled for a handful of launch partners, including Hotel Tonight, Weather, Chimani, Gormey, My Horoscope, Visual Anatomy Free, Useful Knots, Daily Horoscope, and New York Subway.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Srivatsan Sridhar / Fone Arena:
Pepsi Phone P1s official – 5.5-inch 1080p display, 4G LTE and fingerprint sensor for $110
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/165175/pepsi-phone-p1s-official-5-5-inch-1080p-display-4g-lte-and-fingerprint-sensor-for-110.html
After several leaks, Pepsi has officially introduced the the Pepsi Phone P1s in China. It features a 5.5-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6592 processor and runs on dido OS based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a aluminum unibody design and even has a finger print sensor on the back. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera on the back and 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has 4G LTE connectivity and dual SIM support that lets you use the second nano SIM slot as a microSD slot when required.
The standard version of the phone is called P1 and the China Unicom version with FDD-LTE support is called P1s.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Danny Sullivan / Marketing Land:
Google App Streaming: A Big Move In Building “The Web Of Apps”
http://marketingland.com/google-app-streaming-web-of-apps-152449
A world where you can search through and move between apps as easily as with the web? Google’s new app streaming service may usher this in.
Google App Streaming became a reality today, and with it, a new era of Google pushing to create a “web of apps,” the ability to easily find and browse content within apps as easily as people use the web today.
New ways to find (and stream) app content in Google Search
http://insidesearch.blogspot.fi/2015/11/new-ways-to-find-and-stream-app-content.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Something on the line I expected it to be for first 4K screen smart phone:
Andrew Hoyle / CNET:
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review: 4K resolution display is indiscernible over other high end phones, not worth high price — Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review: Astonishing resolution results in an astonishing price — Sony’s Xperia Z5 premium is the flagship phone Sony has owed us for a long time.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review: Astonishing resolution results in an astonishing price
http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xperia-z5-premium/
Tomi Engdahl says:
These smartglasses don’t make you look like a cyborg, while giving you pilot-level stats
http://www.digitaltrends.com/sports/everysight-raptor-cycling-smartglasses-announced-and-dont-look-bad/
The smartglasses market is growing by leaps and bounds. We’ve covered some smart eyewear here that offers some pretty neat options, but as technology improves, smart gear can do just as much while disguising the fact that you’re wearing a $500 piece of tech. The newly launched wearable tech company Everysight’s Raptor smartglasses for cycling are a perfect example of the streamlining that happens as market competition grows.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/sports/everysight-raptor-cycling-smartglasses-announced-and-dont-look-bad/#ixzz3sIpiV3q9
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone Shipments up 15% in 3Q15
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328309&
The global market for smartphones was 353 million units in 3Q15, up 15.5 percent over the same period in 2014. For mobile phones in total the market was 478 million units in 3Q15, an increase of 3.7 percent over a year before.
Winners in the smartphone market were Apple and Huawei, which increased market share, market leader Samsung held its market share and losers were Xiaomi and Lenovo.
The main story of the quarter was competition between the Samsung’s flagship devices and Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
Tomi Engdahl says:
Military Targets Wearables, Bioelectrics
DARPA programs target bio feedback
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328313&
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces may be the toughest consumers of all, especially when it comes to wearables. The demand for precision technology that isn’t clunky and has a long battery life far exceeds that of the traditional wearable market.
“When it comes to wearables in the military, the calculus is very different,” said Pae Wu, a scientific consultant to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which commissions advanced research for the Department of Defense. “Ultimately, it must be able to support and advance a warfighter execute on his or her mission.”
The U.S. military makes great use of smartphones, Wu said, noting that she is not a representative of DARPA. The move to wearables requires significant “situational awareness” and “actionable data” beyond tracking vital signs like heart rate.
“Nobody in the military cares if a technology is neat if it doesn’t provide data that allows [fighters] to take a decision [in combat],” Wu said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner’s latest statistics sales of smartphones are unhappy Microsoft’s point of view. Windows mobile phones market share dropped further to 1.7 per cent in the third quarter. I think it’s just a matter of time before Microsoft stops throughout the Lumia line.
Windows mobile phones were sold in July-September, 5.8 million copies. A year earlier the number was still slightly more than 9 million. According to Gartner, even Windows 10 is not stimulated sales of Lumia and Research predicts Windows for mobile phones in the margin residues.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3629:lumia-kuihtuu-pois&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARM’s latest brings 64-bit to cheap phones
The vast majority of the world’s most affordable mobile phone models are currently based on the British ARM’s Cortex-A5 and Cortex-A7 processor cores. Now the company has introduced the successor to these. A35 brings 64-bit cheaper, and the middle class mobile phones.
ARM’s self according sold 1.4 billion last year, mobile phone, A5 and A7 boosted by as much as 600 million devices. However, cell phones development goes in the direction in which the 32-bit processors will soon no longer difficult to find
Currently, ARM’s 64-bit workhorse is the A53. In comparison, the A35 has a smaller circuit quarter, so it is also significantly cheaper. Prepared for 28-nanometer process, take the A35 silicon space of 0.4 square millimeters. The power consumption is 33 percent lower than the A53.
A35 is ARM’s according to the most energy-efficient class A processor core.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3637:arm-n-uusi-tuo-64-bittia-halpapuhelimiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
8 wearables beyond the Fitbit for health and fitness
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4440893/8-wearables-beyond-the-Fitbit-for-health-and-fitness-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&elq=377d3242591f49efb2485bcfd312f847&elqCampaignId=25874&elqaid=29475&elqat=1&elqTrackId=3740ce07b4e84eaa91af039e4fc8950d
When it comes to health and fitness, it’s not just the doctor who can offer advice anymore. The rise of technology is changing the health and fitness industry with immediately available data. More gadgets and wearables are being designed and improved using Bluetooth, algorithms, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. While they don’t replace a healthcare professional, these smart new gadgets go beyond the Fitbit and bring awareness to everyone from physical and medical professionals and individuals.
we take a look at 8 such fitness wearables and the engineering design behind them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teardown: A fitness tracker that drives chip demand
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4440899/Teardown–A-fitness-tracker-that-drives-chip-demand?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&elq=377d3242591f49efb2485bcfd312f847&elqCampaignId=25874&elqaid=29475&elqat=1&elqTrackId=c01b929bac114913aa1eb077838ff460
Microsoft introduced its first “smart band” in October 2014, although the device could just as well have been called a “smart watch” (and even exceeds the built-in capabilities of many of these). In addition to common features such as Bluetooth connectivity, an optical heart rate monitor, and a built-in gyrometer and three-axis accelerometer, Microsoft included an ambient light sensor, a microphone (for voice-input control), and a 320×106 pixel (245 PPI) 1.4″ capacitive touchscreen-enhanced LCD. And the Microsoft Band even offers up a skin temperature sensor, a set of galvanic skin response sensors (to ensure that you’ve got the Band properly positioned on your wrist), an UV light sensor (to tell you when you need to apply sunscreen or otherwise cover up), and built-in-GPS (versus relying on the GPS facilities of a nearby tethered smartphone or tablet).
Back in late September, I bought a Band on sale for $100 as a just-in-case backup for the Garmin Forerunner 225 that I got my wife for her birthday. She loved the Forerunner 225, but EDN asked me to hold onto the Band for teardown purposes, versus returning it to Best Buy.
You can now clearly see the optical heart rate monitor at the back of the band, surrounded by one of the two galvanic skin response sensors included with the device. Regarding the former, also found in devices like the Apple Watch and the Moto 360
In the process, I pierced the lithium polymer battery underneath; the resultant brief-but-intense burst of heat, puff of smoke, and acrid stench were disconcerting, to say the least
Clearly, this particular teardown candidate wasn’t going to be returning to fully functional form post-dissection.
On the right side is a Cypress CY62167EV18LL-55BVXI 16 Mbit SRAM. To the left of it is the Band’s “brains,” a Freescale MK24 FN1M0V12 Kinetis ARM Cortex-M4-based application processor. And at the far left is the GPS subsystem, based on a CSR (now Qualcomm) SiRFstarIV GSD4e IC.
On the right side is a Macronix MX66U51235FXDi 512 Mbit flash memory. In the middle is an Atheros (also now Qualcomm) 3002-BL3D Bluetooth 4.0 transceiver (the particularly observant among you will have already taken note of the fact that the Microsoft Band contains two antennas).
I’m guessing that it’s the combo gyrometer/accelerometer. SparkFun’s website shows photos of similar ICs: InvenSense’s MPU-6050 and ITG-3200
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK Mobile Operator Could Block Ads At Network Level
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/15/11/24/2110239/uk-mobile-operator-could-block-ads-at-network-level
UK network operator EE says it is investigating the possibility of blocking adverts at a network level, allowing customers to limit the types and frequency of adverts they see in browsers and applications. The move is likely to concern digital publishers, many of whom rely on advertising revenue to fund their content. Ad blockers have become more popular in recent times, with many users employing them to save battery life, consume less data and protect against malvertising attacks.
EE proposes restrictions on mobile adverts
Chief executive Olaf Swantee launches strategic review over measure against ‘intrusive or crass’ ads that ‘can drive people crazy’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/12008197/EE-proposes-restrictions-on-mobile-adverts.html
EE, Britain’s biggest mobile operator, is considering introducing technology that will hand smartphone users the power to control the advertising they see online, in a clampdown that would cause major upheaval in the £2bn mobile advertising market.
Olaf Swantee, EE’s chief executive, has launched a strategic review that will decide whether the operator should help its 27 million customers to restrict the quantity and type of advertising that reaches their devices, amid concern over increasingly intrusive practices.
The review will look at options for creating new tools for subscribers that would allow them to block some forms of advertising on the mobile web and potentially within apps, such as banners that pop up on top of pages or videos that play automatically. EE customers could also get the ability to control the overall volume of advertising.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Google expects to launch Accelerated Mobile Pages, its version of Facebook’s Instant Articles, early next year — Google says its version of Facebook’s instant articles will arrive early next year — Last month Google introduced Accelerated Mobile Pages, its open-source program designed …
Google says its version of Facebook’s instant articles will arrive early next year
AMPing up
http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/24/9795442/google-amp-mobile-web-2016
Last month Google introduced Accelerated Mobile Pages, its open-source program designed to make web pages load much more quickly on mobile devices. AMP, which comes in the wake of similar efforts from Facebook and Apple, has been in a technical preview since then. But the first accelerated pages will come “early next year,” the company said in a blog post today. Google says 4,500 developers are following the project on Github, and 250 contributions of code and documentation have been made so far.
The AMP project has attracted publishers including The Guardian, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company. It’s also attracted a number of advertisers; today Google announced that Outbrain, AOL, OpenX, DoubleClick, and AdSense are developing ads that conform to the quick-loading specifications of the project. If history is any guide, you can expect those advertisers to push for more intrusive and data-intensive specs over time, until AMP becomes so bloated that it’s nearly as slow as the mobile pages it was designed to replace, and a new initiative is launched to promote even-more-accelerated mobile pages (EMAMP), with the full support of the advertisers who ruined the original project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wearables as second galvanic skins
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4440900/Wearables-as-second-galvanic-skins-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151125&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151125&elq=2456c4f61c90450d809e05fc1ae4b472&elqCampaignId=25889&elqaid=29505&elqat=1&elqTrackId=6fcc7ac2f4ce4a01962eb0750313a27d
The wearables market for health and fitness is growing quickly. This article will highlight some of the innovative and educational information available there in the industry right now that will help designers understand theory as well as tools for design in this arena.
Before we discuss the tools for the designer, let’s get a grasp on what some of the latest important techniques, theory and electronics technologies that have made these wearable devices possible in our everyday life.
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)1 is one electrodermal response (EDR) among many. An EDR is a change in the electrical properties of human skin caused by the interaction of environmental events and the person’s psychological state. The body’s skin is a pretty good electrical conductor. When a small electrical current is administered to the skin, there are changes in its conduction which can be measured. We can measure several variables such as skin resistance or skin conductance, its reciprocal.
The role of the GSR amplifier is to apply a constant voltage to the skin, which not even perceived by the wearer since it is so small. This is done through tiny electrodes. Current then flows through the skin and is detected by a receiver, processed and used to display various parameters to the user.
There are two kinds of skin conductance: tonic and phasic.
Tonic is the skin conductance baseline level without any environmental stimuli and is also called Skin Conductance Level (SCL). We all have differing SCL ranging from 10 to 50 µS.
Phasic will change with events and are also called GSRs. Environmental stimuli such as smell, sound, sight and more will cause time-related changes in our skin conductance. These are known as Skin Conductance Responses (SCRs). These SCRs are increases in skin conductance that can last for 10 or 20 seconds and are followed by a return to the baseline level of SCL, which is also the tonic level.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MediaTek Sees Gains Against Qualcomm Slowing Next Year
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328337&
MediaTek, which eroded Qualcomm’s market share in smartphones this year, said its gains may slow in 2016 as its larger rival rolls out new products for the high-end segment.
In the past 12 months, MediaTek’s share of China’s smartphone market, the world’s largest, nearly doubled as it launched new octa-core products to compete with Qualcomm’s 600-800 Snapdragon SoCs. Now the going is a bit tougher.
“We may not see the 90-point progress that we had this year, but 70 points is still possible,” said Jeffrey Ju, MediaTek’s newly appointed chief operating officer, in an interview with EE Times Taiwan. “We have not yet entered the high-end flagship market. The mistakes our competitor made with the Snapdragon 810 haven’t provided a direct opportunity to increase our share. So, there’s still a lot of opportunity for us.”
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, reportedly plagued by power-consumption problems, will soon be refreshed by the Snapdragon 820, which some analysts see as a comeback chip. For its part, MediaTek will launch the Helio x30 for high-end smartphones next year, made on the 16nm FinFET+ process of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and supporting low-power DDR4 (LPDDR4) memory, universal flash storage (UFS) and 4,000 pixel (4K) display, Ju said.
Slowing momentum
Qualcomm and MediaTek may need to sharpen their competitive edge as the overall market appears to be losing momentum. Smartphone market growth is expected to slow to 10.4 percent this year from 27.5 percent in 2014, according to market research firm IDC.
“The mobile phone industry is indeed in the midst of winter, and after the winter, spring may not be as splendid as before,”
The two smartphone chip leaders in the meantime will be facing stronger competition at the low end.
China’s Spreadtrum is planning to compete in the higher tier against MediaTek’s Helio family with a 16nm octa-core chipset called Whale 2 built on TSMC’s 16nm process for launch in the second quarter of 2016, according to Credit Suisse analyst Abrams.
“The chipset would be timed closely to MediaTek’s Helio x30 chipset also coming out on 16nm around the 2016 Mobile World Congress (February 22-25),”
Tomi Engdahl says:
HTC unveils its consumer Preview program: wants early product feedback
http://www.androidauthority.com/htc-preview-program-announced-658021/
HTC has been having a pretty tough year and appears to be turning to us, the consumer, for tips and feedback on its upcoming products, which might just help to turn things back around. During a Reddit AMA, HTC announced its new Preview program and is currently accepting registrations from its fans.
HTC is looking for early feedback on its software and successful applicants might even be invited to take part in hardware trials before products are released to the majority of consumers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple to adopt OLED display for iPhone from 2018
http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Apple-to-adopt-OLED-display-for-iPhone-from-2018
Apple plans to introduce organic light-emitting diode displays for iPhones starting in 2018, sending suppliers racing to fine-tune the technology and invest in capacity expansion.
In light of the decision, South Korea’s LG Display is already planning capacity upgrades. But securing enough panels for the more than 200 million phones Apples ships globally every year will likely prove difficult. The U.S. company is thus likely to opt for offering OLED iPhones alongside those using LCD screens.
There are technical challenges as well. The brightness, energy-saving capacity and other functions of OLED panels tend to degrade over time.
LG Display plans to add a new large-scale line for OLED panel production
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics is currently the only company that can reliably mass-produce OLED smartphone screens. LG Display has a track record for producing OLEDs for television screens. Given this, the two companies will likely supply a large portion of Apple’s displays.
OLEDs are known for offering sharper images and colors than the conventional liquid crystal displays used in cellphones since the 1990s, as well as for their power-saving capacity. The screens can also be bent and rounded to a certain degree, giving companies greater flexibility when designing devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Danny Sullivan / Marketing Land:
Google announces ad partner support for Accelerated Mobile Pages, its version of Facebook’s Instant Articles, launching early next year — Google Announces New Advertising Support For AMP Pages — Fast-loading pages may also mean fast-loading ads, with advertising platform support for AMP that’s been announced.
Google Announces New Advertising Support For AMP Pages
Fast-loading pages may also mean fast-loading ads, with advertising platform support for AMP that’s been announced.
http://marketingland.com/google-advertising-amp-pages-153499
Google plans to rollout fast-loading AMP pages into its mobile search results early next year — and now it says there are advertising partners set to help publishers earn off those pages.
Accelerated Mobile Pages — known as AMP for short — is a project backed by Google and intended to make pages appear super-fast for those using mobile devices. Since AMP was announced in October, it has gained support from publishers, platforms like Twitter, analytics providers and now today, advertising networks and platforms.
The latest news came in a post that Google made through a new blog hosted on WordPress.com, one of the AMP partners. Google also has a similar area just started on Medium, where the news was also supposed to be shared, but it has yet to appear there.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 already in many Lumia smart phones
At the beginning of December in Finland, deliveries will Lumia 950- and Umia 950 XL models are Microsoft’s first Windows 10 smartphones. Still, every seventh Lumia has already been upgraded to Windows 10
Windows has remained a marginal position in smartphones. Windows devices within a 78.9 per cent currently operates in Windows 8.1. Windows 10: The share is expected to grow by at the start of deliveries of new models. Also older models of the updates will begin to accelerate.
However, the larger Microsoft’s point of view the problem is non-existent market withered. With only 1.7 percent of smartphones is Windows-based, the reading does not even attract anyone to buy equipment.
Rather short experience in Windows 10 and says that many of the previously irritated by the fact Windows is still intact
With new Lumia now being sold at the same price worth one hundred euro Display Dock, which allows Lumiasta will – at least on the basis of advertising slogans – desktop. It will be interesting to read the comments about how this docking works. The signs are bad, bu
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3667:windows-10-jo-monissa-lumioissa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
8 wearables beyond the Fitbit for health and fitness
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4440893/8-wearables-beyond-the-Fitbit-for-health-and-fitness-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151124&elq=377d3242591f49efb2485bcfd312f847&elqCampaignId=25874&elqaid=29475&elqat=1&elqTrackId=3740ce07b4e84eaa91af039e4fc8950d
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wearable makers need to create more traditional devices for future success
Column I am bored with ugly and obtrusive activity trackers
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/2436310/wearable-makers-need-to-create-more-traditional-devices-for-future-success
MICROSOFT’S SECOND WEARABLE, the Band 2, launched in the UK this week. The smart watch and activity tracker in one is designed to rival the likes of the Apple Watch, Huawei Watch and Samsung Gear S2.
Like its predecessor, the Microsoft Band 2 has a unique selling point compared with many other wearables on the market in that it works across iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms. If nothing else, this should give Redmond an advantage, as the device targets the wider smartphone user base of people who don’t stick to a particular operating system rather than focusing on a smaller audience locked into a specific ecosystem.
First off, let’s take a quick look at the Band 2. The best thing about it is that it’s been given a makeover, as its predecessor was awkward and uncomfortable to wear.
These rather impressive features are obviously welcome for any Microsoft Band fan
If you take a look at the Band 2, and many devices like it (Fitbit Charge, Jawbone UP2 etc) they don’t really look like anything. And they are very unlike anything society has worn around its wrists for hundreds of years. They’re ugly, bulky, usually black, unattractive and obtrusive. And this is usually the case with every release of an activity tracker or smartwatch.
‘Oh, it does this, this and this,’ claims the firm.
‘Cool, but it still looks like crap,’ says the customer.
And even many of those that look a little less obtrusive still don’t feel quite right on the wrist
I think that until wearables look and feel less alien, and are more familiar to the devices we have been used to wearing around our wrists for centuries, they will never be a success.
Obviously there are exceptions on the market. But they are few and far between.
Take a look at Withings’ Activite smartwatch, for example. This is one of the few wearables that actually looks like a traditional, well-designed watch.
People’s reactions were always the same when I told them it was in fact a smartwatch. They didn’t believe me until I showed them the attached app.
And this, I think, is how wearables need to be in the future to be successful and sustain longevity in the market. They need to look like the fashion accessories we have been buying for hundreds of years, so that they feel natural and normal.
Intel showed that it understood this notion somewhat when it came up with the MICA bracelet idea, bringing fashion into the design to give the wearable a more desirable edge. It was high-end, expensive, and a one-off, but the idea that it integrated many of the sensors we see in fitness trackers without being obvious was a great idea.
Intel said on the back of the launch that gadget makers “need to partner with fashion brands and established watchmakers” for their wearables to be successful. And I wholeheartedly agree.
“I believe it has to look enough like a piece of fashion jewellery or a fashion accessory to the point where even if it didn’t do anything else, people would have bought it anyway, and I think that’s lost a lot on stuff that’s on the market,”
“We need to look at these wearable technologies and figure out, based on what the device is and its unique properties, what it can really do better over something you already own. And take advantage of that, as opposed to taking cell phone functionalities and slapping it on the wrist.”
Qualcomm made a similar point at CES 2015 in January, stating that wearables require more testing before they can be considered ready for the market.
“There’s not going to be one right choice for wearables. I think in the next few years we’ll see it consolidating, but it will take trial and error before we get there,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
So THAT’S why phone screens always smash: Formula reveals height and spin rate cause a dropped phone to land face down up to 60% of the time
Mobiles suffer from the same forces as toast that lands butter-side down
A physicist has examined the factors that predict how a phone will land
Texting with one hand is a particular risk as it causes the phone to pivot
The research was conducted for mobile manufacturer Motorola
An estimated 29 per cent of people currently have a mobile phone with a cracked or shattered screen, according to a survey conducted by Motorola.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3334966/So-S-phone-screens-smash-Formula-reveals-height-spin-rate-cause-dropped-phone-land-face-60-time.html#ixzz3shaj0TDx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Thanksgiving/Black Friday Online Sales Hit $4.5B, 34% Of Purchases Made On Mobile — The first two days of the holiday sales period have netted $4.45 billion in U.S. online purchases, with mobile devices — led by smartphones — accounting for a record $1.5 billion of that amount …
Thanksgiving/Black Friday Online Sales Hit $4.5B, 34% Of Purchases Made On Mobile
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/28/thanksgiving-online-sales/#.ojwuxm:4T9G
The first two days of the holiday sales period have netted $4.45 billion in U.S. online purchases, with mobile devices — led by smartphones — accounting for a record $1.5 billion of that amount, with $2.72 billion spent on BlackFriday and $1.73 billion on Thanksgiving. The figures come from Adobe, which has been tracking some 4,500 sites, including 80% of the top 100 retailers.
IBM says Black Friday outpaced that with the average basket size of $134.45, and sales up 20.7% on a year ago with popular items including Apple Watch, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, and TVs from Samsung, Sony and LG.
The number of people buying goods online and by mobile during the holiday season continues to grow, but the average value of what they are buying may be falling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It is now possible to unlock a Windows Lumia Phone for root access
It is also possible to jump off a cliff
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2436725/it-is-now-possible-to-unlock-a-windows-lumia-phone-for-root-access
A TINKERER HAS TAMPERED WITH Windows Phone and come up with a way to break it down to root access and start running homebrew software.
“I am proud to announce the immediate availability of Windows Phone Internals 1.0. This tool allows you to unlock the bootloader of selected Lumia Windows Phone models. After unlocking the bootloader, you can enable root access on the phone or create and flash custom ROMs,” said somebody called Heathcliff74.
“Root access allows you to load your own homebrew software onto the phone with high privileges. Apps can escape from their sandboxes. The tool can also create backup images of the phone and access the file system in mass storage mode. The tool supports most versions of Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile. For a complete list of supported phones and operating systems have a look at the Getting Started section of the tool.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Listen Up: iPhone Hack Diagnoses HVAC
http://hackaday.com/2015/11/30/listen-up-iphone-hack-diagnoses-hvac/
We all know that guy (or, in some cases, we are that guy) that can listen to a car running and say something like, “Yep. Needs a lifter adjustment.” A startup company named Augury aims to replace that skill with an iPhone app.
Aimed at commercial installations, a technician places a magnetic sensor to the body of the machine in question. The sensor connects to a custom box called an Auguscope that collects vibration and ultrasonic data and forwards it via the iPhone to a back end server for analysis. Moving the sensor can even allow the back end to determine the location of the fault in some cases. The comparison data the back end uses includes reference data on similar machines as well as historical data about the machine in question.
This Gadget Can Tell What’s Wrong with Your Air Conditioner by Listening to It
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/543786/this-gadget-can-tell-whats-wrong-with-your-air-conditioner-by-listening-to-it/
Augury’s gadget and iPhone app pay attention to ultrasonic sounds and vibrations to figure out what’s wrong with air conditioners and other big machines.
If you’ve ever tried to diagnose a car problem just by listening to it run, you’ve got a sense of what a startup called Augury is doing. Only instead of having human ears pay attention, it’s analyzing vibrations and ultrasonic sounds to figure out what’s ailing bulky machines.
The company, based in New York and Haifa, Israel, uses an iPhone app, gadget, and sensor to record motors and pumps, and then compares the data to existing machine recordings to determine whether or not the one being analyzed is working properly, or what the issue is if it’s not.
For now, Augury is concentrating on diagnoses for commercial buildings’ heating, ventilation, and cooling systems; CEO and cofounder Saar Yoskovitz says Augury can point out issues like a bearing that’s ripe for replacement or a need for lubrication or realignment simply by listening in.
The company believes that its technology can help technicians and also cut down on building owners’ maintenance costs over time. And since most malfunctions don’t happen overnight, Augury says it can also let you know before an existing issue becomes an expensive thing to fix.
“We can predict when it’s going to be critical, and when you’ll need to start thinking of repairing it,” says Yoskovitz.
To diagnose a problem with Augury, a technician attaches a magnetic sensor to the body of a machine—a pump, fan, or central air-conditioning unit for now, since that’s what Augury is attuned to. The sensor is physically connected to a tool Augury calls the Auguscope, which collects vibration and ultrasonic sensor data and sends that information to a connected iPhone; an Augury app on the phone punts the data to the cloud, where it’s analyzed on Augury’s servers and compared with other recordings made in the past of that machine and other similar machines. Then the app can give the technician a diagnosis of the issue.
About the closest thing we found in the archives was a hybrid magnetic/audio system to plot motor balance. We’d love to see some more work in this area over on Hackaday.io.
http://hackaday.com/2015/03/07/dirt-cheap-motor-balancing-and-vibration-analysis/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile dating apps spur HIV epidemic among Asia’s teenagers, says UN
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/30/mobile-dating-apps-spurr-hiv-epidemic-among-asias-teenagers-says-un
Smartphone technology has increased the opportunities for casual sex and led to a spike in HIV infections among teenagers in Asia, researchers find
United Nations research has found the growing use of mobile dating apps by young gay men is a major factor in a new HIV epidemic among teenagers in Asia, the Guardian can reveal.
The report uncovered a surge of HIV infections among 10-19 years olds in the Asia-Pacific region, where more than half of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents live.
The two-year study found that smartphone dating apps have expanded the options for spontaneous casual sex as never before.
“Young gay men themselves have consistently told us that they are now using mobile dating apps to meet up for sex, and are having more casual sex with more people as a result. We know that this kind of risky behaviour increases the spread of HIV,” said Wing-Sie Cheng, HIV/Aids adviser for Unicef in east Asia and the Pacific.
While global HIV infections are falling, the number of adolescents aged 10-19 officially living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific has grown to more than 220,000, with the unofficial number expected to be much higher, Unicef says.
Whereas internet dating involved a laborious process of arranging a meeting up, dating apps are location-based, allowing users to scan their surroundings for others.