Hello everyone and TGIF! It is Friday which means it is time for another edition of Googling Friday! Let’s see what is going on this week in GoogleLand.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb off Limits to Phone Developers
Google has closed Android 3.0 Honeycomb to phone developers which of course means no phone tablets on Android anytime soon. Kind of makes sense to me, but I can see where some developers might accuse Google of pulling an Apple.
Google Search supporting Cherokee language
Google really pleased my heart with this move. For those that don’t know, I am 1/8 Cherokee and the Cherokee Nation holds a special place in my heart. Google scored big points with me here.
Google Fiber coming to Kansas City, Kansas
Google has named Kansas City, KS, to be the first city to get its high speed fiber network. I will let Google take it from here.
Pretty cool stuff, obviously KCKS will be a test market, we have seen before where whole cities were going to get WiFi networks, see Earthlink and several cities like San Francisco and Anaheim that were going to get it but it never materialized.
Google intros +1
Seeking to keep up with Facebook’s Like feature on stories and websites, Google has announced a new feature called +1. To give an idea of how it will work, once again here is Google.
Well, with that, we conclude another week of Google news. See you next week for more news from the big G. Have a great weekend!
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Googling Friday #26
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday, a blog about all things in the world of Google. Got quite a few things to dig into so let’s get right into things.
Google brings Discussions to Docs
Google has really enhanced their group collaboration with Google Docs. They have added mentions and thread view. Quite obvious they took what was part of the late Google Wave and put it into Google Docs. To illustrate they have posted a video.
Pretty cool stuff I would say. They are also working to restore offline storage for the Apps users as well.
Steve Jobs Google’s first choice as CEO
About 10 years ago as Google was getting started, its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were in search of a CEO to give it some serious street cred and apparently their first choice was Steve Jobs. But Steve had just recently returned to Apple so they settled for Eric Schmidt...not a bad second choice really.
Sprint integrates Google Voice
Google and Sprint announced this week that you can now use your existing Sprint phone as your Google Voice number. Also if you have an existing Google Voice number you can setup your Sprint phone’s caller ID to show your Google Voice number when you call someone.
Latitude gets Check-ins: Review
Google has updated its Latitude mobile app to offer check-in similar to FourSquare and Facebook Places. I have used it and it does have a comprehensive listing of places nearby no doubt relying on its robust business search database whereas FourSquare is more of a user adds locations. Unlike FourSquare and Places though, it does not offer any deals at places you check into, nor do you get to become mayor or score points the more you check in like in FourSquare.
How to Advertise your Android Phone (or not)
Finally today, Sony Ericsson has a new Android-based phone called the Xperia Play. With so many different Android phones out on the market, how does one set theirs apart? Well leave it to Sony Ericsson to think outside the box with this ad.
Hope you enjoyed that little video as much as I did. See you all next week for another week of Google news.
Google brings Discussions to Docs
Google has really enhanced their group collaboration with Google Docs. They have added mentions and thread view. Quite obvious they took what was part of the late Google Wave and put it into Google Docs. To illustrate they have posted a video.
Pretty cool stuff I would say. They are also working to restore offline storage for the Apps users as well.
Steve Jobs Google’s first choice as CEO
About 10 years ago as Google was getting started, its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were in search of a CEO to give it some serious street cred and apparently their first choice was Steve Jobs. But Steve had just recently returned to Apple so they settled for Eric Schmidt...not a bad second choice really.
Sprint integrates Google Voice
Google and Sprint announced this week that you can now use your existing Sprint phone as your Google Voice number. Also if you have an existing Google Voice number you can setup your Sprint phone’s caller ID to show your Google Voice number when you call someone.
Latitude gets Check-ins: Review
Google has updated its Latitude mobile app to offer check-in similar to FourSquare and Facebook Places. I have used it and it does have a comprehensive listing of places nearby no doubt relying on its robust business search database whereas FourSquare is more of a user adds locations. Unlike FourSquare and Places though, it does not offer any deals at places you check into, nor do you get to become mayor or score points the more you check in like in FourSquare.
How to Advertise your Android Phone (or not)
Finally today, Sony Ericsson has a new Android-based phone called the Xperia Play. With so many different Android phones out on the market, how does one set theirs apart? Well leave it to Sony Ericsson to think outside the box with this ad.
Hope you enjoyed that little video as much as I did. See you all next week for another week of Google news.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #14
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday, a blog about all things Apple, from Macs to iPhones to AppleTV, it is all here! So let’s get started!
Verizon iPhone Update
It has been six weeks since Verizon began selling the iPhone and already they have snared nearly 13% of the iPhone market...not to shabby. Additionally, more Verizon iPhone users are satisfied than AT&T iPhone users which does prove one thing to AT&T..it’s the network stupid! Which is why AT&T is buying up T-Mobile to better compete with the Verizon network going forward which is a very impressive network.
Apple reaches out to Japan Employees
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has reached out to Apple’s employees in Japan after the devastating earthquake to offer the employees time off and any supplies it needs. On a related note, Kevin Rose from Digg received an email from an employee of an Apple Store in Japan who tells of how the store became a gathering point for people to communicate with families and to see just what was going on. The email is very much a good read and I highly recommend to take the time and read it on Kevin’s blog.
NFC coming to iPhone 5 after all?
These stories seem to go back and forth on the next iPhone in terms of both NFC and LTE capability. Now it seems that NFC will be coming to the iPhone 5. As I have covered here previously, NFC is short for Near Field Communication and is seen as a way to create a digital wallet to basically use your iPhone to purchase things by waving it as a capture device for payment. If you go to Exxon for example you might be familiar with their SpeedPass system where a little peg on your keychain is tied to a credit card or debit card of your choice to swipe and pay for your gas. That is what this does although it does have more possibilities beyond digital payments. One day I will post a thorough breakdown on NFC and for that matter LTE (4G). Other speculation about the next iPhone is an aluminum backing and a bigger screen.
New York Times goes InApp Subscription based
Apple’s controversial InApp subscription model has scored a big customer in the New York Times which will be going to a subscription based model for its digital content both in website and iOS app content. But if you are expecting something similar to what The Daily charges, then you are in for a sticker shock.
That is a high price for me considering I am not a power reader of the Times. But they are offering free articles up to a certain number for users, however once you exceed that number, you have to pay up.
MobileMe rebirth in April?
With the launch of Apple’s North Carolina data center just around the corner, there is new reports that Apple will precent its new MobileMe service soon and what it will offer. The constant seems to be a digital locker to store your movies, music, and photos to and use from the cloud on devices with limited storage. I would personally love this as I can then not load my music on my iOS devices and just listen to them from the cloud when needed. That I would gladly pay $99 per year for.
iOS 4.3 Battery Issue on iPhone
You may have recalled over the weekend I wrote about how my iPhone battery drained faster than normal while I was out of town in New Orleans and Hattiesburg, MS. It seems there is an issue specific to iOS 4.3. Without getting much into the matter here you can read what I wrote about over the weekend here.
Apple sues Amazon over “App Store” name
What is it with all these tech companies suing each other recently. Now Apple is suing Amazon over them using the term “App Store” for their new Android-based store. Apple, your quickly becoming what I despise in Microsoft...stop that or I’m going Android...Ok maybe not, but still chill!
iMac’s with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt in May?
A rumor from a CNet reporter speculates that a revised iMac with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology maybe coming in May. So if you are in the market for an iMac, you may want to wait for now.
Steve Jobs: iPod classic not Going Anywhere
Rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated according to Steve Jobs who says the iPod classic will indeed be around for a while (unlike the Zune).
Apple to License AirPlay?
This is an interesting bit of news that hints that Apple may license AirPlay to TV manufacturers. This makes a lot of sense and reminds me of how Microsoft licensed its Sync feature to Ford in their cars (see I did say one nice thing about Microsoft here.) It will be interesting to see how this will come about and who will adopt it.
Wife says no, Apple says yes to iPad 2
Finally, a lighthearted piece of news as Apple reportedly send a customer a FREE iPad 2 after his wife made him return the one he bought back to the Apple Store where he put on a sticky note “Wife said no”. The customer received the iPad from Apple with a sticky that read “Apple says Yes”. That is just awesome and is a reason that despite Apple’s ego, they are still a company dear to my heart.
iOS App Reviews
Boxcar (FREE) - First off I need to credit this find to Erik J. Fisher of GSPN’s Social Media Serenity. What this app does is unify all your notifications from Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, Foursquare, Google Voice, Gowalla and many others, in one place! It works like a charm and they also offer an iPad version as well.
Osfoora ($2.99) - I have heard Cliff Ravenscraft mention how much he loves Osfoora so I decided to finally give it a try and I must say I am impressed! The home screen offers a robust set of features for Twitter. You can see who is tweeting nearby, what the trends are like, your favorite tweets, and lists. The only thing it doesn’t have is push notifications when someone mentions you which lead me to Boxcar. Again there is an iPad version as well for $3.99. From the compose window you have the option of attaching your location, a song you are listening to, photo and video share, and of course hash tag support. What does that mean? Well if you are using a hash tag frequently, it will save the hash tag so when you compose a message, you press the hash tag button and select the tag and it will auto insert it at the end of your post. Pretty cool!
iTalk Recorder (FREE) - A nice little audio recording app is iTalk by Griffin Technology. It will record your audio into different variations of AIFF which you can then email or place in your Drop box account. It works pretty well if you can’t afford a digital audio recorder like an Edirol or Zoom H2. The only downside is it only encodes in AIFF so no support for WAV or MP3 and you will need an application like GarageBand or Audacity to convert to those formats and compress to a more reasonable size to use in a podcast. In addition they have a $2 version if you don’t like ads.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week for another installment and thanks for reading.
Verizon iPhone Update
It has been six weeks since Verizon began selling the iPhone and already they have snared nearly 13% of the iPhone market...not to shabby. Additionally, more Verizon iPhone users are satisfied than AT&T iPhone users which does prove one thing to AT&T..it’s the network stupid! Which is why AT&T is buying up T-Mobile to better compete with the Verizon network going forward which is a very impressive network.
Apple reaches out to Japan Employees
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has reached out to Apple’s employees in Japan after the devastating earthquake to offer the employees time off and any supplies it needs. On a related note, Kevin Rose from Digg received an email from an employee of an Apple Store in Japan who tells of how the store became a gathering point for people to communicate with families and to see just what was going on. The email is very much a good read and I highly recommend to take the time and read it on Kevin’s blog.
NFC coming to iPhone 5 after all?
These stories seem to go back and forth on the next iPhone in terms of both NFC and LTE capability. Now it seems that NFC will be coming to the iPhone 5. As I have covered here previously, NFC is short for Near Field Communication and is seen as a way to create a digital wallet to basically use your iPhone to purchase things by waving it as a capture device for payment. If you go to Exxon for example you might be familiar with their SpeedPass system where a little peg on your keychain is tied to a credit card or debit card of your choice to swipe and pay for your gas. That is what this does although it does have more possibilities beyond digital payments. One day I will post a thorough breakdown on NFC and for that matter LTE (4G). Other speculation about the next iPhone is an aluminum backing and a bigger screen.
New York Times goes InApp Subscription based
Apple’s controversial InApp subscription model has scored a big customer in the New York Times which will be going to a subscription based model for its digital content both in website and iOS app content. But if you are expecting something similar to what The Daily charges, then you are in for a sticker shock.
That is a high price for me considering I am not a power reader of the Times. But they are offering free articles up to a certain number for users, however once you exceed that number, you have to pay up.
MobileMe rebirth in April?
With the launch of Apple’s North Carolina data center just around the corner, there is new reports that Apple will precent its new MobileMe service soon and what it will offer. The constant seems to be a digital locker to store your movies, music, and photos to and use from the cloud on devices with limited storage. I would personally love this as I can then not load my music on my iOS devices and just listen to them from the cloud when needed. That I would gladly pay $99 per year for.
iOS 4.3 Battery Issue on iPhone
You may have recalled over the weekend I wrote about how my iPhone battery drained faster than normal while I was out of town in New Orleans and Hattiesburg, MS. It seems there is an issue specific to iOS 4.3. Without getting much into the matter here you can read what I wrote about over the weekend here.
Apple sues Amazon over “App Store” name
What is it with all these tech companies suing each other recently. Now Apple is suing Amazon over them using the term “App Store” for their new Android-based store. Apple, your quickly becoming what I despise in Microsoft...stop that or I’m going Android...Ok maybe not, but still chill!
iMac’s with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt in May?
A rumor from a CNet reporter speculates that a revised iMac with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology maybe coming in May. So if you are in the market for an iMac, you may want to wait for now.
Steve Jobs: iPod classic not Going Anywhere
Rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated according to Steve Jobs who says the iPod classic will indeed be around for a while (unlike the Zune).
Apple to License AirPlay?
This is an interesting bit of news that hints that Apple may license AirPlay to TV manufacturers. This makes a lot of sense and reminds me of how Microsoft licensed its Sync feature to Ford in their cars (see I did say one nice thing about Microsoft here.) It will be interesting to see how this will come about and who will adopt it.
Wife says no, Apple says yes to iPad 2
Finally, a lighthearted piece of news as Apple reportedly send a customer a FREE iPad 2 after his wife made him return the one he bought back to the Apple Store where he put on a sticky note “Wife said no”. The customer received the iPad from Apple with a sticky that read “Apple says Yes”. That is just awesome and is a reason that despite Apple’s ego, they are still a company dear to my heart.
iOS App Reviews
Boxcar (FREE) - First off I need to credit this find to Erik J. Fisher of GSPN’s Social Media Serenity. What this app does is unify all your notifications from Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, Foursquare, Google Voice, Gowalla and many others, in one place! It works like a charm and they also offer an iPad version as well.
Osfoora ($2.99) - I have heard Cliff Ravenscraft mention how much he loves Osfoora so I decided to finally give it a try and I must say I am impressed! The home screen offers a robust set of features for Twitter. You can see who is tweeting nearby, what the trends are like, your favorite tweets, and lists. The only thing it doesn’t have is push notifications when someone mentions you which lead me to Boxcar. Again there is an iPad version as well for $3.99. From the compose window you have the option of attaching your location, a song you are listening to, photo and video share, and of course hash tag support. What does that mean? Well if you are using a hash tag frequently, it will save the hash tag so when you compose a message, you press the hash tag button and select the tag and it will auto insert it at the end of your post. Pretty cool!
iTalk Recorder (FREE) - A nice little audio recording app is iTalk by Griffin Technology. It will record your audio into different variations of AIFF which you can then email or place in your Drop box account. It works pretty well if you can’t afford a digital audio recorder like an Edirol or Zoom H2. The only downside is it only encodes in AIFF so no support for WAV or MP3 and you will need an application like GarageBand or Audacity to convert to those formats and compress to a more reasonable size to use in a podcast. In addition they have a $2 version if you don’t like ads.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week for another installment and thanks for reading.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Googling Friday #23
Hey gang and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday, a weekly blog about all things Google and Android related. We have a few interesting things to get into this week so let’s get right into the news.
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #11
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday. We have a ton of Apple news this week so let's get right into things.
iPad 2
Yesterday Steve Jobs returned to take the stage in San Francisco to announce the new and improved iPad 2! Among the new features in the iPad 2 are as follows
1GHz dual-core A5 chip
Front and Rear camera (Rear Camera: 5x digital zoom still picture, 720p HD video recording up to 30fps) (Front camera: VGA still frame photo, and VGA 30fps video)
In addition it is also 1/3 less the depth of the original iPad at 0.34” (the iPhone 4 is 0.37” by comparison)
Storage capacity is still the same at 16, 32, and 64GB as well as pricing. Also iPad models for both GSM (AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon).
The iPad 2 goes on sale here in the US next Friday and then 26 countries on March 25th.
Bottom line, it just checkmated the Motorola Xoom IMHO as a contact free 32GB Xoom will set you back $800 for a 32GB model. By contrast the 32GB WiFi model of the iPad 2 is $599 and the WiFi+3G model is $729 (no contract required). So I just have to say to Motorola...how do you like them Apples? Yes I know the Xoom has Flash, but who the hell cares about a dying technology!
MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt
Last week I mentioned that Apple would be adopting Intel’s Light Peak and rebrand it as Thunderbolt. Well little did I know that just hours later Apple would roll out new MacBook Pro’s that would sport that very port.
Also in the new MacBook Pro’s are updated Intel i5 and i7 processors (Sandy Bridge architecture). For more information about the specs on the new MacBook Pro’s you can read here.
iOS 4.3
Also announced yesterday is iOS 4.3 which will become available next Friday as well. Among the goodies in the update are as follows.
AirPlay enhancements - AirPlay enabled apps and websites can now be played on the AppleTV. I wonder if we will see an updated Hulu Plus with AirPlay now?
Faster Safari with Nitro JavaScript - Will now run JavaScript twice as fast as Safari 4.2.
iTunes Home Sharing - My favorite feature, whatever content you have in iTunes on your Mac or PC, will now be able to be streamed right to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
iPad side switch customization - Choose either mute or screen lock within the settings for the slider switch..hello screen lock!
Personal HotSpot for iPhone 4 - Yes you will finally be able to turn your iPhone 4 into an instant 3G hotspot with up to 5 devices at a time including iPad. Careful on this one if you are grandfathered in with AT&T on a unlimited data plan they may make you switch to one of their new data plans to gain this feature.
iAds surging against Android based ads
In a new study iOS-based devices are beating out Android based devices when it comes to ads, specifically iAds is eating Android’s lunch.
Amazon not sweating iTunes app Store Policies
Perhaps there may be a reason Amazon is not too concerned about Apple’s new in-app purchasing policy for subscription content. They have been working on a web-based Kindle reading application that could take the place if its Kindle app were ever thrown out of the App Store. Personally I don’t see the Kindle app ever getting thrown out of the store, but it is an interesting read though.
OS X 10.7 Lion
Apple has put its next version of its operating system into the hands of developers. AppleInsider has had some great write ups about it which can be found here, here, here, and here! Oh yeah, and also here and here from MacRumors.
DirecTV remote for the iPad
At last DirecTV has joined the party on making an iPad app that can interact with your TV services. The app is free but you have to have an eligible receiver for it to work and it needs to be wired into your WiFi network. I’m going to have to finally make that call to Comcast to get that modem and router moved by the TV I think. Considering they were late to the game, their app has some pretty awesome features.
FAA Approves iPad for Pilots’ Charts
Good news if you are an iPad owning pilot, the FAA is starting to give the thumbs up on digital maps stored on the iPad. I know several people personally that are very happy about this new policy.
Well, I think we covered quite a bit of ground. A lot of Apple news in the past week from MacBook Pro’s to new iPad’s to a soon to be released iOS update. Oh but there is one more thing...Random House is now part of the iBookstore! That’s right 17,000 new titles available for your reading consumption. Ok so we will be back next week for another edition of AppleTalk Thursday and I promise to have some app reviews as well.
iPad 2
Yesterday Steve Jobs returned to take the stage in San Francisco to announce the new and improved iPad 2! Among the new features in the iPad 2 are as follows
1GHz dual-core A5 chip
Front and Rear camera (Rear Camera: 5x digital zoom still picture, 720p HD video recording up to 30fps) (Front camera: VGA still frame photo, and VGA 30fps video)
In addition it is also 1/3 less the depth of the original iPad at 0.34” (the iPhone 4 is 0.37” by comparison)
Storage capacity is still the same at 16, 32, and 64GB as well as pricing. Also iPad models for both GSM (AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon).
The iPad 2 goes on sale here in the US next Friday and then 26 countries on March 25th.
Bottom line, it just checkmated the Motorola Xoom IMHO as a contact free 32GB Xoom will set you back $800 for a 32GB model. By contrast the 32GB WiFi model of the iPad 2 is $599 and the WiFi+3G model is $729 (no contract required). So I just have to say to Motorola...how do you like them Apples? Yes I know the Xoom has Flash, but who the hell cares about a dying technology!
MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt
Last week I mentioned that Apple would be adopting Intel’s Light Peak and rebrand it as Thunderbolt. Well little did I know that just hours later Apple would roll out new MacBook Pro’s that would sport that very port.
Also in the new MacBook Pro’s are updated Intel i5 and i7 processors (Sandy Bridge architecture). For more information about the specs on the new MacBook Pro’s you can read here.
iOS 4.3
Also announced yesterday is iOS 4.3 which will become available next Friday as well. Among the goodies in the update are as follows.
AirPlay enhancements - AirPlay enabled apps and websites can now be played on the AppleTV. I wonder if we will see an updated Hulu Plus with AirPlay now?
Faster Safari with Nitro JavaScript - Will now run JavaScript twice as fast as Safari 4.2.
iTunes Home Sharing - My favorite feature, whatever content you have in iTunes on your Mac or PC, will now be able to be streamed right to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
iPad side switch customization - Choose either mute or screen lock within the settings for the slider switch..hello screen lock!
Personal HotSpot for iPhone 4 - Yes you will finally be able to turn your iPhone 4 into an instant 3G hotspot with up to 5 devices at a time including iPad. Careful on this one if you are grandfathered in with AT&T on a unlimited data plan they may make you switch to one of their new data plans to gain this feature.
iAds surging against Android based ads
In a new study iOS-based devices are beating out Android based devices when it comes to ads, specifically iAds is eating Android’s lunch.
Amazon not sweating iTunes app Store Policies
Perhaps there may be a reason Amazon is not too concerned about Apple’s new in-app purchasing policy for subscription content. They have been working on a web-based Kindle reading application that could take the place if its Kindle app were ever thrown out of the App Store. Personally I don’t see the Kindle app ever getting thrown out of the store, but it is an interesting read though.
OS X 10.7 Lion
Apple has put its next version of its operating system into the hands of developers. AppleInsider has had some great write ups about it which can be found here, here, here, and here! Oh yeah, and also here and here from MacRumors.
DirecTV remote for the iPad
At last DirecTV has joined the party on making an iPad app that can interact with your TV services. The app is free but you have to have an eligible receiver for it to work and it needs to be wired into your WiFi network. I’m going to have to finally make that call to Comcast to get that modem and router moved by the TV I think. Considering they were late to the game, their app has some pretty awesome features.
FAA Approves iPad for Pilots’ Charts
Good news if you are an iPad owning pilot, the FAA is starting to give the thumbs up on digital maps stored on the iPad. I know several people personally that are very happy about this new policy.
Well, I think we covered quite a bit of ground. A lot of Apple news in the past week from MacBook Pro’s to new iPad’s to a soon to be released iOS update. Oh but there is one more thing...Random House is now part of the iBookstore! That’s right 17,000 new titles available for your reading consumption. Ok so we will be back next week for another edition of AppleTalk Thursday and I promise to have some app reviews as well.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Googling Friday #22
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. Let’s see what is going on this week in all things Google!
Motorola Atrix 4G Goes on Sale
The new Motorola Atrix 4G phone is now on sale at AT&T, Radio Shack, and Walmart locations. I have checked out this one on its website and I have to admit if I had to get an Android-based phone this would be the one I would choose. Look how smooth the top info bar is, it is a lot like the iPhone. The one thing about other Android phones is the icons seem clunky compared to the iPhone, but with the Atrix, that is not the case.
Some of the specs on the Atrix:
OS: Android 2.2 (FroYo)
Talk Time: WCDMA up to 540 min.; GSM up to 530 min.
Standby Time: WCDMA up to 350 hrs.; GSM up to 400 hrs.
Camera: 5 MP (Front and rear facing webcam)
Memory: Up to 16GB on board (expandable to 32 via Micro SD)
Processor: 1 GHz Dual Core
Honeycomb SDK now available for Developers
Android 3.0 Honeycomb SDK is now live for developers to download and build their apps on. I am curious about this platform and seeing what if can offer in the tablet world.
The Daily coming to Android in the Spring?
Speaking of Android-based tablets, NewsCorp’s The Daily is looking to launch on it come this Spring. For those that don’t know it has been plagued with glitches on the iPad as I have been using it myself. Lot of crashing and black screens, but to their credit they are on top of things and pushing updates to patch the issues. So maybe for Android users they will have the kinks worked out.
Google Recipe Search
Google is starting to roll out a new feature that allows you to search recipe’s under a recipe only filter in the general Google search website. This is great news for me as I am trying to eat a lot healthier so this is going to help me out a lot, but as of this writing I am not seeing the Recipe link on Google’s site. I will do a follow up next week though after it does show up and maybe even cook something.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition. I didn’t expect to spend so much time on Android this week but I had a lot in the news queue about it to discuss. See you next week!
Motorola Atrix 4G Goes on Sale
The new Motorola Atrix 4G phone is now on sale at AT&T, Radio Shack, and Walmart locations. I have checked out this one on its website and I have to admit if I had to get an Android-based phone this would be the one I would choose. Look how smooth the top info bar is, it is a lot like the iPhone. The one thing about other Android phones is the icons seem clunky compared to the iPhone, but with the Atrix, that is not the case.
Some of the specs on the Atrix:
OS: Android 2.2 (FroYo)
Talk Time: WCDMA up to 540 min.; GSM up to 530 min.
Standby Time: WCDMA up to 350 hrs.; GSM up to 400 hrs.
Camera: 5 MP (Front and rear facing webcam)
Memory: Up to 16GB on board (expandable to 32 via Micro SD)
Processor: 1 GHz Dual Core
Honeycomb SDK now available for Developers
Android 3.0 Honeycomb SDK is now live for developers to download and build their apps on. I am curious about this platform and seeing what if can offer in the tablet world.
The Daily coming to Android in the Spring?
Speaking of Android-based tablets, NewsCorp’s The Daily is looking to launch on it come this Spring. For those that don’t know it has been plagued with glitches on the iPad as I have been using it myself. Lot of crashing and black screens, but to their credit they are on top of things and pushing updates to patch the issues. So maybe for Android users they will have the kinks worked out.
Google Recipe Search
Google is starting to roll out a new feature that allows you to search recipe’s under a recipe only filter in the general Google search website. This is great news for me as I am trying to eat a lot healthier so this is going to help me out a lot, but as of this writing I am not seeing the Recipe link on Google’s site. I will do a follow up next week though after it does show up and maybe even cook something.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition. I didn’t expect to spend so much time on Android this week but I had a lot in the news queue about it to discuss. See you next week!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Googling Friday #21
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. I don’t have much this week so this will be a quick edition, but I hope you will still find it informative.
Google announces One Pass payment system
In the light of Apple’s new in-app subscription plan, Google announced its own digital content payment plan. They will take 10% off the top compared to Apple’s 30% from developers as it presents developers not happy with Apple’s strict guidelines on in-app subscription policy, an alternative. But one more key thing, content providers can obtain users data with One Pass, something Apple does not allow.
Switching to Google Calendar, a How-to
Last year I made the jump to using Google’s Calendar for my personal organization. I have been very please with it and a highly recommend this free service. MacWorld has a step-by-step process on how to get setup with Google Calendar, it is well worth the read for Mac and iOS device users.
Well, that is it this week. Kind of a slow news week in GoogleLand, but see you all next week for more news from Google.
Google announces One Pass payment system
In the light of Apple’s new in-app subscription plan, Google announced its own digital content payment plan. They will take 10% off the top compared to Apple’s 30% from developers as it presents developers not happy with Apple’s strict guidelines on in-app subscription policy, an alternative. But one more key thing, content providers can obtain users data with One Pass, something Apple does not allow.
Switching to Google Calendar, a How-to
Last year I made the jump to using Google’s Calendar for my personal organization. I have been very please with it and a highly recommend this free service. MacWorld has a step-by-step process on how to get setup with Google Calendar, it is well worth the read for Mac and iOS device users.
Well, that is it this week. Kind of a slow news week in GoogleLand, but see you all next week for more news from Google.
Friday, February 11, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #8
Hey everybody and welcome to the AppleTalk Thursday late late edition! We had another slow storm come through here that disrupted my blogging pattern and schedule. There is a lot of Apple related news so let’s see what is going on!
Netflix getting more user traffic on AppleTV than iPad
To me this is not a big story, I mean if you are watching video content you are more likely to want to view it on a bigger screen. Being that I own an iPhone, an iPad, and an AppleTV, I opt for the AppleTV every-time. I have Netflix on my iPhone but that is more to just add content to my queue while on the fly. Furthermore this should really inspire Apple and Hulu to get a deal done already to bring it to the AppleTV.
iPhone strikes again at BlackBerry in the Corporate World
Another blow to RIM in the corporate world as the iPhone continues to make strides in the Enterprise market. Deutsche Bank Equity Research announced it is switching to the iPhone and dumping their BB’s.
iPad 2 Rumor Rundown
Some of the latest information regarding the 2nd generation forthcoming iPad. One analyst with Concord Securities claims it will have a more anti-reflective screen providing a better reading experience, also the front and rear camera quality would be similar to that of the iPod touch instead of the iPhone 4. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal is reporting they are in production and will be offered through both AT&T and Verizon. Both articles seem to hint that it will not have the retina display found on the iPhone 4.
Verizon iPhone 4 Followup News
Of course last week existing Verizon users got to pre-order the iPhone 4 and this week converts got their chance. A review from WIred of the Verizon iPhone even suggested it is an actual phone now...OUCH! My personal experience with my AT&T-based iPhone is a positive one. Granted it took them a long time to deploy 3G in the Tupelo area, but now they have gotten more aggressive with 3G rollout in the rest of Northeast Mississippi. So much so that even my parents little town as 3G now, something I never saw coming. Verizon stated it sold more iPhone 4’s on pre-orders in the first 2 hours than they have on any previous product launch in one day...yes that includes Androids! Another benefit of the Apple-Verizon partnership is that the iPhone is arriving in new areas that previously it could not. A recent survey found that 54% of Verizon’s BlackBerry and Android users are somewhat likely to switch to the iPhone as well which further hammers home Verizon’s thought that iPhone users are more loyal when compared to BB and Android users. I would tend to agree.
Apple sets 3/31 Deadline for in-app Purchasing for Periodicals
To follow up on last week’s Apple rejection of the Sony e-reader app, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has set a March 31st deadline for periodical apps to offer an in-app purchase option for content. To me I like this idea as I hate leaving an app to purchase say an e-Book from Amazon via the Safari browser. One thing about iBooks is you don’t have to leave the app but the content is not as great as Amazon. I don’t really like the take it or leave it attitude Apple is giving the developers of such apps. But I think in-app is something a lot of customers will enjoy but from a developer perspective I can see where this would be an issue when it comes to revenue splits which is really the bottom-line of the story here.
iPhone and iPad Shifting Reading Habits
An interesting study here pointing to the ways iPhone and iPad users reading preferences have changed. I would tend to follow into this ground. I rarely read on my MacBook anymore and tend to prefer my iPad for that. My MacBook is pretty much for creating content such as blogging, but when it comes down to say reading others blogs, I grab the iPad and fire up River of News.
The Confession App
Ok so there has been a lot of news about a Confession app that is available for both the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Being that I am both a Mac geek and a practicing Catholic, I thought I would share my thoughts on it. First and foremost, this is NOT a replacement for confessing your sins to a priest and receiving the proper penance. It is instead a guide to helping you make a good confession and a handy thing to take with you into the confessional. It is an aide when examining your conscience prior to going to confession at your local parish. I have it myself and will use it at my next confession next month (I go monthly). For another take on the Confession app check out what the good folks at Southern Fried Catholicism over in Oxford, MS say about it.
Reagan Library adds iPod touch to Exhibits
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library now offers 250 iPod touch units as part of the museum tour. Pretty nifty and tech savvy to utilize.
Finally I wan to share an entertaining graphic on the different type of iPhone users. It is pretty interesting, I think I know which one I fall under. See you all next week for another edition of AppleTalk Thursday.
Netflix getting more user traffic on AppleTV than iPad
To me this is not a big story, I mean if you are watching video content you are more likely to want to view it on a bigger screen. Being that I own an iPhone, an iPad, and an AppleTV, I opt for the AppleTV every-time. I have Netflix on my iPhone but that is more to just add content to my queue while on the fly. Furthermore this should really inspire Apple and Hulu to get a deal done already to bring it to the AppleTV.
iPhone strikes again at BlackBerry in the Corporate World
Another blow to RIM in the corporate world as the iPhone continues to make strides in the Enterprise market. Deutsche Bank Equity Research announced it is switching to the iPhone and dumping their BB’s.
iPad 2 Rumor Rundown
Some of the latest information regarding the 2nd generation forthcoming iPad. One analyst with Concord Securities claims it will have a more anti-reflective screen providing a better reading experience, also the front and rear camera quality would be similar to that of the iPod touch instead of the iPhone 4. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal is reporting they are in production and will be offered through both AT&T and Verizon. Both articles seem to hint that it will not have the retina display found on the iPhone 4.
Verizon iPhone 4 Followup News
Of course last week existing Verizon users got to pre-order the iPhone 4 and this week converts got their chance. A review from WIred of the Verizon iPhone even suggested it is an actual phone now...OUCH! My personal experience with my AT&T-based iPhone is a positive one. Granted it took them a long time to deploy 3G in the Tupelo area, but now they have gotten more aggressive with 3G rollout in the rest of Northeast Mississippi. So much so that even my parents little town as 3G now, something I never saw coming. Verizon stated it sold more iPhone 4’s on pre-orders in the first 2 hours than they have on any previous product launch in one day...yes that includes Androids! Another benefit of the Apple-Verizon partnership is that the iPhone is arriving in new areas that previously it could not. A recent survey found that 54% of Verizon’s BlackBerry and Android users are somewhat likely to switch to the iPhone as well which further hammers home Verizon’s thought that iPhone users are more loyal when compared to BB and Android users. I would tend to agree.
Apple sets 3/31 Deadline for in-app Purchasing for Periodicals
To follow up on last week’s Apple rejection of the Sony e-reader app, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has set a March 31st deadline for periodical apps to offer an in-app purchase option for content. To me I like this idea as I hate leaving an app to purchase say an e-Book from Amazon via the Safari browser. One thing about iBooks is you don’t have to leave the app but the content is not as great as Amazon. I don’t really like the take it or leave it attitude Apple is giving the developers of such apps. But I think in-app is something a lot of customers will enjoy but from a developer perspective I can see where this would be an issue when it comes to revenue splits which is really the bottom-line of the story here.
iPhone and iPad Shifting Reading Habits
An interesting study here pointing to the ways iPhone and iPad users reading preferences have changed. I would tend to follow into this ground. I rarely read on my MacBook anymore and tend to prefer my iPad for that. My MacBook is pretty much for creating content such as blogging, but when it comes down to say reading others blogs, I grab the iPad and fire up River of News.
The Confession App
Ok so there has been a lot of news about a Confession app that is available for both the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Being that I am both a Mac geek and a practicing Catholic, I thought I would share my thoughts on it. First and foremost, this is NOT a replacement for confessing your sins to a priest and receiving the proper penance. It is instead a guide to helping you make a good confession and a handy thing to take with you into the confessional. It is an aide when examining your conscience prior to going to confession at your local parish. I have it myself and will use it at my next confession next month (I go monthly). For another take on the Confession app check out what the good folks at Southern Fried Catholicism over in Oxford, MS say about it.
Reagan Library adds iPod touch to Exhibits
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library now offers 250 iPod touch units as part of the museum tour. Pretty nifty and tech savvy to utilize.
Finally I wan to share an entertaining graphic on the different type of iPhone users. It is pretty interesting, I think I know which one I fall under. See you all next week for another edition of AppleTalk Thursday.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #6
Greetings everyone and welcome to another installment of AppleTalk Thursday, a blog about all things Apple, from Macs to iOS devices and everything in between. Let’s see what is going on in the world of Apple this week!
Apple beats the Street
Results for Q1 sales are in and Apple easily beat the Wall Street estimates. Recording revenue of $26.7 Billion in the first quarter of 2011 with earnings her share of $6.43. During the quarter Apple sold 16.24 million iPhones (86% increase over last year Q1), 7.33 million iPads, 19.45 million iPods (a 7% decline over last year Q1), and 4.13 million Macs which is a 23% over the same quarter last year! Morgan Stanley analyst Kathy Huberty is estimated that Apple may sell 100 million iPhones and 40 million iPads in 2011. If you are an Apple stockholder like I am, this has to put a big smile on your face! That should be good enough for Apple to top Microsoft in quarterly profits for the first time in 20 years.
TiVo releases iPad app
Good news for TiVo users, there is an app for that...in the form of an iPad version. It acts as both a program guide and a remote so that is pretty cool. Let’s see if DirecTV can come up with something as cool for their users. It does require TiVo Premiere or TiVo Premiere XL box as well as a TiVo account to be of any use of course.
Tim Cook smack talks Windows and Android iPad wannabes
The more I hear from Steve Jobs stand in COO Tim Cook, the more I like him! He is willing to go toe to toe with Ballmer on smack talk. Here he refers to as the Windows tablet as big, heavy, and expensive and refers to the Android tablets as “scaled-up smartphones”. Keep it up Tim, I love it!
Apple and AT&T new deal great for consumer choice
Apple and AT&T have a new non-exclusive deal in place in the US which ends all exclusivity deals for the iPhone worldwide. So now Apple can offer the iPhone to any GSM and CDMA carriers in the US. Great news for T-Mobile, Sprint, CellularSouth, and other carriers. This is smart strategy for Apple as it will put it in a more competitive position against Android devices.
Giffords recovery and therapy includes an iPad
While we continually hear awesome news regarding the recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, news last week that one of her doctors mentioned she is even able to scroll through an iPad makes it even more awesome! By having the ability to navigate through the functions of the iPad, it means her Fine Motor Skills are doing very well and she has since been moved to Houston for further treatment where her condition this week was upgraded to Good. We continue to pray for the full recovery of Congresswoman Giffords here at TupeloGeek Media.
Apple brings on former NSA analyst to head up global security
Apple has hired David Rice to be Director of Global Security starting in March. Previously Mr. Rice has worked at the National Security Agency as a Global Network Vulnerability analyst and for the Navy as a Special Duty Cryptologic officer. This will help Apple as it addresses security concerns with enterprise clients.
Verizon dangles the unlimited data carrot to iPhone 4 switchers, $20 hotspot tethering plan
So this is how Verizon will persuade users to upgrade or switch over to the iPhone 4 next month. For a limited time, Verizon will offer people buying the Verizon iPhone 4 the unlimited data plan. After that Verizon will indeed move to a tiered data plan similar to AT&T. In addition it also announced its Mobile Hotspot plan will be $20 per month with a 2GB data cap with each additional gigabyte costing $20. To counter the move of unlimited data plan, AT&T is quietly allowing users who once had the unlimited data plan but moved to one of their tiered data plans, is allowing users to switch back to unlimited data providing they had their iPhone prior to the June data plan change. This means if you got an iPhone with AT&T after June you are SOL...sorry! That being said, one analyst suggests Verizon could sell 19 million iPhones in 2011 alone.
iPhone and iPad extend lead over Android devices in Enterprise in 2010
Adoption of the iPhone and the iPad in the enterprise sector continues to do very well. Far outpacing Android devices while Windows mobiles devices decline in adoption according to Good Technology. Here are a couple of charts that puts things into perspective.
Pretty impressive if you ask me! I really love that Windows Mobile is imploding, payback is a...oh wait got to keep it clean here. ;)
The Daily to launch within weeks
James Murdoch, Chief Executive of NewsCorp in Europe and Asia and son of Rupert has stated that The Daily digital periodical for the iPad will be available in the US within the next 2 weeks initially followed by launches internationally, in addition he confirms it will cost 99 cents per week on a reoccurring subscription something that will be rolled out as part of the iOS 4.3 update.
Next gen iPhone and iPads supporting NFC?
Although slow to rollout in the US, the idea of Near-Field Communications is starting to catch on. Basically allowing a user to pay for items by a wave of their mobile device, the feature maybe built into the next generation of iPad and iPhone devices. This might be something I personally might use depending on the security of NFC when making a purchase such as what would happen if someone got a hold of my device and decided to go on a shopping spree? Something to consider.
Apple App Store approving 4.3-compatible AirPlay third party apps
Looks like the App Store is approving third party developers apps that take advantage of AirPlay. Hmm could Netflix and Hulu Plus app updates be not too far behind?
iOS App Reviews
So this week I thought I would focus on some fitness and health related apps as I know a lot of people have that at the top of their New Years Resolution list.
Lose It! (FREE) - This is a great app for tracking your calories! It allows you to enter in your exercise routine and your food intake so you know just where you stand on your daily calorie cap so you can hit your target weight loss goals. I am on a 2 pounds per week plan so I can hit my goal in 39 weeks.
RunKeeper Pro (FREE until end of January) - RunKeeper has an outstanding app to enter in your workout routine so you can see how your are doing on your workouts. It is usually $9.99 but if you get it this month it is FREE! Don’t let the name fool you though, it is not just for runners but also walkers and people using equipment at fitness centers too.
CalorieCounter by ShapeUp Club (FREE) - Another good calorie tracking app is CalorieCounter by ShapeUp Club. I have both Lose It and CalorieCounter as I haven’t decided which one works best for me. I will follow up with my decision soon but they are both good apps.
Nike+ GPS ($1.99) - Of course there is the Nike+ system which relies on the sensor in your shoe for records but Nike also has a GPS related app that is similar to RunKeeper Pro and cheaper on regular price by $8.
Well, that should give you a running start on fitness apps for the new year. That is going to do it for this extra packed issue of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week for another edition of all things Apple!
Apple beats the Street
Results for Q1 sales are in and Apple easily beat the Wall Street estimates. Recording revenue of $26.7 Billion in the first quarter of 2011 with earnings her share of $6.43. During the quarter Apple sold 16.24 million iPhones (86% increase over last year Q1), 7.33 million iPads, 19.45 million iPods (a 7% decline over last year Q1), and 4.13 million Macs which is a 23% over the same quarter last year! Morgan Stanley analyst Kathy Huberty is estimated that Apple may sell 100 million iPhones and 40 million iPads in 2011. If you are an Apple stockholder like I am, this has to put a big smile on your face! That should be good enough for Apple to top Microsoft in quarterly profits for the first time in 20 years.
TiVo releases iPad app
Good news for TiVo users, there is an app for that...in the form of an iPad version. It acts as both a program guide and a remote so that is pretty cool. Let’s see if DirecTV can come up with something as cool for their users. It does require TiVo Premiere or TiVo Premiere XL box as well as a TiVo account to be of any use of course.
Tim Cook smack talks Windows and Android iPad wannabes
The more I hear from Steve Jobs stand in COO Tim Cook, the more I like him! He is willing to go toe to toe with Ballmer on smack talk. Here he refers to as the Windows tablet as big, heavy, and expensive and refers to the Android tablets as “scaled-up smartphones”. Keep it up Tim, I love it!
Apple and AT&T new deal great for consumer choice
Apple and AT&T have a new non-exclusive deal in place in the US which ends all exclusivity deals for the iPhone worldwide. So now Apple can offer the iPhone to any GSM and CDMA carriers in the US. Great news for T-Mobile, Sprint, CellularSouth, and other carriers. This is smart strategy for Apple as it will put it in a more competitive position against Android devices.
Giffords recovery and therapy includes an iPad
While we continually hear awesome news regarding the recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, news last week that one of her doctors mentioned she is even able to scroll through an iPad makes it even more awesome! By having the ability to navigate through the functions of the iPad, it means her Fine Motor Skills are doing very well and she has since been moved to Houston for further treatment where her condition this week was upgraded to Good. We continue to pray for the full recovery of Congresswoman Giffords here at TupeloGeek Media.
Apple brings on former NSA analyst to head up global security
Apple has hired David Rice to be Director of Global Security starting in March. Previously Mr. Rice has worked at the National Security Agency as a Global Network Vulnerability analyst and for the Navy as a Special Duty Cryptologic officer. This will help Apple as it addresses security concerns with enterprise clients.
Verizon dangles the unlimited data carrot to iPhone 4 switchers, $20 hotspot tethering plan
So this is how Verizon will persuade users to upgrade or switch over to the iPhone 4 next month. For a limited time, Verizon will offer people buying the Verizon iPhone 4 the unlimited data plan. After that Verizon will indeed move to a tiered data plan similar to AT&T. In addition it also announced its Mobile Hotspot plan will be $20 per month with a 2GB data cap with each additional gigabyte costing $20. To counter the move of unlimited data plan, AT&T is quietly allowing users who once had the unlimited data plan but moved to one of their tiered data plans, is allowing users to switch back to unlimited data providing they had their iPhone prior to the June data plan change. This means if you got an iPhone with AT&T after June you are SOL...sorry! That being said, one analyst suggests Verizon could sell 19 million iPhones in 2011 alone.
iPhone and iPad extend lead over Android devices in Enterprise in 2010
Adoption of the iPhone and the iPad in the enterprise sector continues to do very well. Far outpacing Android devices while Windows mobiles devices decline in adoption according to Good Technology. Here are a couple of charts that puts things into perspective.
Pretty impressive if you ask me! I really love that Windows Mobile is imploding, payback is a...oh wait got to keep it clean here. ;)
The Daily to launch within weeks
James Murdoch, Chief Executive of NewsCorp in Europe and Asia and son of Rupert has stated that The Daily digital periodical for the iPad will be available in the US within the next 2 weeks initially followed by launches internationally, in addition he confirms it will cost 99 cents per week on a reoccurring subscription something that will be rolled out as part of the iOS 4.3 update.
Next gen iPhone and iPads supporting NFC?
Although slow to rollout in the US, the idea of Near-Field Communications is starting to catch on. Basically allowing a user to pay for items by a wave of their mobile device, the feature maybe built into the next generation of iPad and iPhone devices. This might be something I personally might use depending on the security of NFC when making a purchase such as what would happen if someone got a hold of my device and decided to go on a shopping spree? Something to consider.
Apple App Store approving 4.3-compatible AirPlay third party apps
Looks like the App Store is approving third party developers apps that take advantage of AirPlay. Hmm could Netflix and Hulu Plus app updates be not too far behind?
iOS App Reviews
So this week I thought I would focus on some fitness and health related apps as I know a lot of people have that at the top of their New Years Resolution list.
Lose It! (FREE) - This is a great app for tracking your calories! It allows you to enter in your exercise routine and your food intake so you know just where you stand on your daily calorie cap so you can hit your target weight loss goals. I am on a 2 pounds per week plan so I can hit my goal in 39 weeks.
RunKeeper Pro (FREE until end of January) - RunKeeper has an outstanding app to enter in your workout routine so you can see how your are doing on your workouts. It is usually $9.99 but if you get it this month it is FREE! Don’t let the name fool you though, it is not just for runners but also walkers and people using equipment at fitness centers too.
CalorieCounter by ShapeUp Club (FREE) - Another good calorie tracking app is CalorieCounter by ShapeUp Club. I have both Lose It and CalorieCounter as I haven’t decided which one works best for me. I will follow up with my decision soon but they are both good apps.
Nike+ GPS ($1.99) - Of course there is the Nike+ system which relies on the sensor in your shoe for records but Nike also has a GPS related app that is similar to RunKeeper Pro and cheaper on regular price by $8.
Well, that should give you a running start on fitness apps for the new year. That is going to do it for this extra packed issue of AppleTalk Thursday. See you all next week for another edition of all things Apple!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #60
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Kind of a light week this week after the Apple announcement last week, but let’s see what is happening in the news.
Intel moves into mobile chip market
Intel is moving into the mobile chip market with the acquisition of Infineon’s Wireless Solution unit which coincidently is an iPhone supplier.
Flash on Android...not so nice
Let me start off by saying this is not a knock on the Android phone, this is however a knock on Adobe and their continue to be crappy and out of date Flash application. If there was an argument to back up Steve Jobs well publicized disapproval of Flash, it is this...go ahead...give the video a look over and then come back.
iOS 4.1 under the hood
Of course Apple announced last week that the iOS 4.1 update will be released this week. Great article here on the features 4.1 will include.
Netflix comes to the iPhone and iPod touch
Great news for iPhone and iPod touch owners, Netflix has created an app for those devices as it does for the iPad. There is one key difference though, the app for the iPhone and iPod touch does not have a DVD queue manager. It is strictly a streaming application with all the content on it as instant watch. But still pretty cool none the less.
Well that is going to do it for this short version of Tuesday Tech Talk. If you haven’t done so yet, read my reaction to the Apple event here and you can also read my good friend Jeremy’s reaction as well here. See you all next week!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #56
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. I have quite a few things to talk about this week and not all of them are Apple related so hope you enjoy!
Google Wave shutdown
Google announced last week it will be ceasing updates to Google Wave and will shut it down at the end of the year. For those that don’t know, Google Wave is a online collaboration web application that had a lot of buzz initially but faded fast. I haven’t used it in months.
Android update
There appears to be an update on the way to the Android OS in early September. While I’m on the subject of Android, I’m not getting into the whole iPhone vs Android “battle” anymore. You have 2 great mobile OS’s that are NOT using Windows and that is a win for almost everyone.
Microsoft Office for Mac release date
Microsoft has finally set a release time for Office 2011 for Mac. It will become available in late October and will be available in 3 flavors. A Student & Home edition for $119 which will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Messenger, a Home & Business edition for $199 ($279 for a 2 computer install) that will include all the above plus Outlook, and an Academic version for $99 that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Messenger but will only be available in authorized academic channels and from Microsoft directly.
Verizon to get iPhone in January?
Stop me if you heard this one before. According to a source Apple has apparently ordered millions of Qualcomm CDMA chips from a January launch. What I don’t understand though and correct me if I’m wrong but the CDMA doesn’t allow you to both talk and use data at the same time so to me a CDMA based iPhone would lack the feature found in the GSM based iPhone available from AT&T. Personally I would love to see it happen, this is America and the iPhone should not be tied down to a single carrier.
Google now allowing switching between multiple accounts
If you happen to have more than 1 Google account, you can now switch between them without having to log out and log in. Yes I do admit, I have 2 Google accounts. Why? Because their free and why not.
Bill Gates on the future of education
Bill Gates has some interesting ideas on how in the future the dynamic of learning will be turned on its head. No longer would there be an X amount of students in a classroom, instead students for free will be able to watch lectures online. He envisions higher learning as not place based and how no matter how you learn you should get credit for it i.e., watching an online lecture.
This Week’s iPhone/iPod touch/iPad apps
Instapaper ($4.99) - This app which works for both the iPad and the iPhone and iPod touch allows you to read stories you choose to read later off websites. The cool thing about it is you can read them while offline. Here are a couple of screenshots.
Vonage Mobile for Facebook (FREE) - This awesome app allows you to talk for free with other Facebook friends who have the app on their iPhone, iPod touch, and Android devices (iPad coming soon). I tried it out with my friend Dave in California and the quality was excellent! Dave lives in an area where his 3G is not the best so a lot of times his calls will drop or fade but with the WiFi connection on the Vonage Mobile app it was excellent. Which leads to my next point with Vonage and Skype having apps for the iPhone, how soon until Apple allows the Google Voice app into the store?
CellTower ($2.99) - This handy little app will show on a map the nearest cell towers to you and who owns them. So if you are ever in an area with low bars, now you can find out why that is.
Friendly ($3.99) - This is a nice iPad based Facebook browser. Although for the price I would like to see a few more features like chat and attaching links with a status post. That being said there is a 2.0 version coming soon so hopefully it will offer such features.
TuneIn Radio ($1.99) - My friend Jeremy was telling me about this app. It allows you to listen to radio stations all over the country on your iPhone or iPod touch. It also allows you to record them within the app as well.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Triple T. Tune in Friday for another Googling Friday post about all things Google. Take care!
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