The Apple iPhone is one of the most successful and iconic smart phones of all time, and for the general public, it is the handset of choice. For the business market however, Apple’s name is more synonymous with their iMac and PowerBook devices as opposed to their touch screen smart phone. Instead, BlackBerry is the go-to device when it comes to delivering enterprise solutions for many big companies.
BlackBerry first made its name in the business market by turning email access into something as fast and as easy as instant messaging. In fact, the term Crackberry was made due to the many people who found themselves addicted to using their BlackBerry devices for accessing their email accounts all day. With the advent of better wireless technology and networking, RIM (creators of BlackBerry), were able to expand services to over much more than just email correspondence –users can also link up directly to a company’s database (SQL, etc) and more.
Of course, BlackBerry’s phone designs are also part of what made them so successful. Their devices always came equipped with very impressive QWERTY keyboards. Despite the small space on the face of the phones (most of their keyboard layouts were portrait oriented); typing on these handsets, even with large fingers was not a major issue. This was thanks to the well spaced letters and the innovative designs of the buttons.
Despite the initial advantage of the BlackBerry, the Apple iPhone is still a major contender in the business market. Now offering new security features that the BlackBerry has yet to match, there are already plenty of business clients who are considering the iPhone –especially when their phone needs focus less on enterprise related functions and would prefer to have better security instead.
Expect to see these two phones go head to head in the next few months as BlackBerry tries to catch up with the mobile phone market.
Archive for May, 2010
Apple’s iPhone Takes on the BlackBerry
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010Facebook Issues Encourage People to Quit
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Thanks to the mobile phone, more and more people are accessing social networking site Facebook every day. People use it to keep in touch, send messages, share videos, discuss issues and a great chunk of socialization activities that would have been hard or almost impossible to have in one’s busy, day to day lives. More often than not, stories and tales that one would normally share with mates down in the pub over the weekend could instantly become the topic of conversation even in the middle of the weekday –thanks to the social networking site.
Sadly, despite the great conveniences that Facebook gives to its users, Facebook has also become one of the biggest sources of worries for people concerned about their privacy. Facebook has been resetting one privacy option after another, neglecting to inform and notify users about the changes.
The odd thing is that end users have their priorities about the whole thing mixed up. End users are concerned about privacy issues, but their motives lie more with the fact that they are worried the images they posted about what they did during that last drinking party they attended.
Still, it does not change the fact that the solution ultimately lies in Facebook’s hands. The simple thing to do would be to reset all privacy settings to be as private as possible, then allowing users how much they should share. What they did however, was the exact opposite. Instead of resetting everything to private, the new Facebook defaults leaves many parts of a user’s profile information open to viewing by the public at any time.
This continuous lack of respect of privacy has encouraged the growth of several groups and websites that are encouraging people to quit using the Facebook social networking site.
However, it appears that despite the fact that many people (at least 3 in 5 users) are considering quitting the site, only a few actually ever do push through. And even if over a hundred thousand users suddenly decide to up and leave, Facebook would hardly feel the difference.
Why the Android Brings Sales to Smart Phones
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Reports are stating that Google’s Android operating system is bringing a bigger boost to the already growing number of smart phone sales. The big plus factor comes from people finally seeing the point of owning a smart phone over a conventional handset –thanks to the many practical and useful features of the Android OS.
So one might ask: why is Google’s open source operating system so successful in the market? Obviously, the fact that it is a Linux based system hardly carries any weight with end users; the real money grabber here is the fact that Google’s services alone make the device incredibly useful.
Take a look at Google Maps. The company has recently announced that Maps, combined with Street View and Search will be delivering free voice guided satellite navigation to users. This is an extremely useful function, and with the large database of Google Maps, they have managed to surpass Ovi Maps and other established GPS services.
The service has also been expanded to include bike routes for users as well. The best part of the sat nav system is the integration of voice commands –users can provide a basic place like “barber” and the GPS system will provide you will the closest directions the nearest establishment.
Of course, there is more to the Android than just GPS. The device also has Google Goggles which allows users to easily identify things they see with their camera. The function has been updated to be able to translate some foreign text as well.
More than just the side features, the Android is a very easy to use operating system. The touch based user interface is fun to play around with and the system comes with plenty of available apps (via the Android market) for adding and extending functions to the Google mobile platform.
Opposite Ends: the Phone and Cancer Argument
Monday, May 24th, 2010
There are simply two sides to it: phones cause cancer or phones do not cause cancer. Regardless if it is due to the continued signals being sent by devices even on standby or idle, or the heavy waves emitted during voice calls, people believe that there is a point to seeing how such electronic emanations affect our bodies.
The big scare is obviously the belief that such waves can cause the formation and growth of brain cancer in users –which is heavily based on the concept that people who use phones to make a call would have to bring the phone up to their ear and thus have a close proximity to the brain.
Of course, the notion scared plenty of people; but not enough to cause a drastic decrease in the number of users of mobile phones. In fact, one can even assume that the public enjoys the amusement of a medical scare, but would ignore the news later on; and nothing is a bigger testament to that than the ever growing numbers of people who use mobile phones.
Thankfully, the folks at International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France have discovered that there actually is no real link between mobile phone usage and the presence of cancer. According to their studies, it is all a scare. It may sound unconvincing at first, but after one realizes that they are an established World Health Organization division and that their study encompasses the study of 13,000 individuals of certain mobile phone usage habits in 13 different countries, one starts to realize that maybe these medical experts actually know what they are talking about.
In any case, it seems that no matter what the medical reports are, the bottom line is that people ignore health warnings in lieu of actually having the convenience of using a mobile phone. The past few years has seen a continued growth in the number of mobile phone users and of course, mobile phone sales.
Bill Gates: “I Believe in the Tablet Form Factor”
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Looking back, it appears that it was actually Bill Gates who had a clearer version of the future of technology, as for Steve Jobs, the man was still coming to grips with the power of the desktop computer. And that is how it went about three years ago when Wall Street Journal brought together the two tech geniuses for a full interview in their WSJ’s “D: All Things Digital” conference.
In retrospect, one cannot imagine how epic this interview is without actually understanding what the current state of the tech industry is. Both men were asked regarding their opinion on the future trends of computing devices; ironically, it was actually Bill Gates who stated that he saw a future in tech that made use of a tablet form factor which will serve as the primary screen for users. He also stated that the pocket gadget, such as a phone will soon be packed with plenty of features.
On an even more ironic note, it was actually Steve Jobs who stated that he strongly believed that personal computers were the way to go.
Now, we have the Apple iPad completely dominating (and monopolizing the Tablet industry) and the Apple iPhone is now the established icon of smart phones all over the world. Meanwhile Microsoft is still playing catch up in the smart phone department (it took them forever to let go of the older WinMo OS) and they have yet to announce any actual tablet projects coming up –they might even be overtaken by the Android tablet.
Of course, many would be wise to remember that Bill Gates did not stay to man the helm for Microsoft. Bill put aside his CEO position and focused his efforts on humanitarian needs. Considering what he stated in that interview 3 years ago, one can easily say that the tech industry would be significantly different had he not quit.
Mayor Boris Johnson: WiFi for Everyone
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
One might think that the plan sounds absurd, but apparently, London Mayor Boris is as serious as serious gets. The man plans to turn the entirety of the city into a WiFi hotspot. It is possible and the man intends to provide WiFi coverage for every lamp post and bus stop in the city.
As funny as the plan sounds, the fact that each of these installations already has the sufficient energy sources makes the task actually possible. This is good since according to the Mayor, he wants it done as soon as possible.
Giving WiFi access to an entire city is an idealistic plan; while it is possible there are plenty of concerns that should be taken into account. First off, it was just a short while ago that the digital economy bill got pushed through. The bill leaves internet service providers vulnerable to all activities of their users. If this law is fully implemented, then no ISP will be silly enough to offer their services for the WiFi network that the government will be setting up. Unless London is about to get its own government run ISP, it is hard to see this plane taking off the ground anytime soon.
Second, nobody is saying if the service will be free. After all, what is the point of having citywide coverage if the service is expensive –second, juts how much will it cost in the first place? A full, free WiFi network would certainly be clogged easily by the sheer volume of people who have smart phones and laptops.
Mobile network operators will certainly not be happy if they also start losing 3G subscribers as more people will prefer to use the free WiFi access instead of a paid service that gives users a monthly bandwidth allowance. In any case, Boris wants the network up and running by the Olympics in 2012.
Largest Study States: No Link for Brain Cancer and Mobile Phones
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
For many years now, people have been discouraged from using mobile phones all the time because it was highly believed that using these devices will expose people more to the radio signals being used by the phone. This will in turn cause the growth of cancer cells –specifically brain cancer; since phones are usually brought up towards the head when used for calls.
The medical scare has been around for quite some time and there have been some studies that actually do show a small relationship between the two factors. However, it has always been stated that the control group and the range of the study is far too low or far too small to provide conclusive evidence that phones actually do cause cancer.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, there is no relationship between brain cancer and mobile phone usage. The group is part of the World Health Organization and they have been studying 13,000 individuals –all of whom are phone users in order to find the relationship between the sickness and the use of the technology.
The study has shown that there is no significant relationship between the sickness and mobile phones –a big positive news for all promoters of mobile phones. For now, no one has to live with the threat of cancer for every phone call that is made or SMS message received.
Despite this study being the largest, medical experts are still questioning the results. Primarily, the study lacks the proper type of control group, no non-phone users were part of that number. The study also failed to take into account the various types of phone usage factors and for the actual difference in phone types.
Still, it is also said that since the actual number of mobile phone users who have brain cancer has not increased; there is reason to believe that mobile phones have nothing to do with either glioma or meningioma.
Windows Phone 7 on LG Panther Shown
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
The first WP7 device to ever appear in images is back and this time, LG’s sleek Panther is showing off an actively working phone that is running the Windows Phone 7 operating system. No word yet if this is the final product or a test device with a ROM, but regardless –it is an impressive sight to see.
A quick look at the panther’s front screen reveals a very standard looking touch screen smart phone. A silver frame border goes around the screen and adds a sense of classic elegance to the design. There are three buttons on the bottom of the screen, with the center button resting on what might be a directional pad. All in all, the phone looks nice, but a little stiffer than what the initial images shown (the older Panther look was somewhat ruggedly cool). Still, this is one visually appealing device –if only for certain crowds.
In terms of specs, this handset complies with the Microsoft established standards for the WP7 OS and falls under the type-2 chassis. Considering the amount of UI animation and the volume of dynamic elements that are present in WP7, it is expected that it would take nothing short of a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU to be able to run the new mobile platform smoothly.
The release of the Panther on images also brings to light one impressive bit of news: Windows Phone 7 is almost here. The images of the device were shot last May 12 –placing the possibility of a ready, finished product by next month.
LG is not the only company to already have a name for their Windows Phone 7 device. HTC has also confirmed that their Mondrian smart phone is already underway. According to reports, the new handset will come packed with a 1.3 GHz CPU –the fastest ever to be announced.
Apple Leaving Fraud Victims in the Dark
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
It appears that Apple is doing more than bullying other companies in legal disputes (though right now, it is Apple who is on the defending side). According to many reports, it appears that there are plenty of security issues with Apple’s iTunes store and more often than not, Apple turns a blind eye to many growing complaints –often leaving customers to handle the problem with their bank.
The problem starts with Apple’s weak security system. While it is the responsibility of users to create secure account names and strong passwords, Apple fails to teach and encourage the implementation of such practices. With services on the site for storing a user’s credit card number, it is easy for hackers to get into an account and use the in-account details to make unapproved purchases.
The complaint rises mainly from the fact that Apple refuses to believe the claims of users whose accounts have been compromised. All too often, Apple’s customer service staff would reply with in a patronizing manner but provide no significant help. While some banks have been known to entertain the demands for a chargeback, there are also times when Apple’s refusal to confirm the act of fraud leaves a customer unable to take their money back.
Of course, if you are an Apple iTunes user, you might want to stop using the online store in order to use credit card. Instead, users are encouraged to make use of the Apple iTunes gift card that allows a user to purchase consumable iTunes credits from actual stores that they will be using online to purchase apps and other content such as music and video.
Users should also be warned about key loggers, Trojans and other various malware that can be used by hackers (as well as phishing attacks) in order to obtain information from iTunes users. The use of a firewall, anti-spyware and anti-virus software is heavily encouraged.
Mobile Users Boost Usage of YouTube
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Major web sites have been logging in a significant rise in the growth of users accessing their sites. Sites such as Facebook, Google and Twitter have been getting more users since the arrival of newer and better smart phone technology.
The reason for this is due to the fact that mobile phones have broken people free of the limitations of using desktop computers and laptops for accessing the internet. Despite the presence of GPRS and EDGE technology, it was not until the advent of 3G and better WiFi networks that people would start to commonly and regularly use smart phones for browsing the internet.
Among the many sites that are accessed by people is YouTube. While it may seem like a simple bit of novelty, YouTube’s video sharing website is one of the most concept defining websites in the world of user generated content. There are plenty of important videos on YouTube, ranging in value from old stock footage archives to short professional films and web-isodes of new online shows.
One of the main reasons why YouTube is so successful is the fact that web video is not determined by a schedule (like a television). People can watch what they want whenever they want. Of course, accessing YouTube requires Flash compatibility, which places Apple iPhone users dependent on a specialized app for accessing the FLV encoded content.
With this much public exposure, YouTube itself and the videos on the site have given rise to a large range of cultural in-jokes and references –often called video memes that reflect a large variety of novelty content.
YouTube has recently announced that they will be implementing the use of private videos for users. This new feature could potentially allow the uploading of copyrighted content as they will not be available for public viewing.