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Monthly Archives: July 2009
Apple, RIM Outsmart Phone Market
Trevor has sent a link into to an article at The Wall Street Journal called Apple, RIM Outsmart Phone Market which includes some amazing stats (in bold below)-
“No wonder they are called smart phones. Not only can these fancy phones send email, get directions and play music, they can generate huge profits for their makers.
At least for iPhone’s manufacturer Apple and BlackBerry’s Research In Motion. The two accounted for only 3% of all cellphones sold in the world last year but 35% of operating profits, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff. The disparity will become even starker this year when, he estimates, the two will take 5% of the market in unit terms but 58% of total operating profits.
The two companies’ outsize share of profits underlines the shift in the wireless industry toward feature-rich devices accenting easy-to-use software and away from an emphasis on hardware. Smart phones account for only about 13% of total cellphone sales globally, but the segment is growing, despite a drop in the broader cellphone market. Apple and RIM had about 32% of the smart-phone market between them in the first quarter, estimates IDC…”
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Empower SMS Viewer for BlackBerry
Empower SMS Viewer adds a touch of spice to your BlackBerry SMS and looks pretty good to me- “View your SMS in Style! With Colors, Smileys, Graphic Backgrounds, Web Links and more. Quickly compose rich sms with SMS Templates and Smileys.”
- Threaded SMS view with Incoming and Outgoing SMS icons.
- Express better with real graphic Smileys.
- Customizable graphic backgrounds – use the one given, or choose your own!
- Turns HTML URLs into colorful web links.
- Quick compose using SMS Templates and SMS Smileys!
- Different colors for font, style and headers.
- Numerous customization option to configure it exactly the way you want.
- Integrates with Quick SMS and SMS Popup apps.
- Seamless Integration with native SMS application.
- Supported on ALL OS 4.2.1 and Above.
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Bruno for iPhone
Gavin has ‘highly’ recommended Bruno for the iPhone. He has been playing with it for hours and just can’t stop… Hmmmmm.
If you don’t know who Bruno is. probably best to not even try finding out. Maybe I am getting old, but so so so unfunny!
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Nokia N97 and 5800 top Vodafone UK bestseller league
Nokia has had some good news by topping the Vodafone UK bestselling league with the Nokia N97 and Nokia 5800. AAS posted the news and this comment was quite amusing- “Top 2 on Vodafone, how can this be possible? We are told by the sad geeks that these phones are rubbish….. oh wait, most of the world are not sad geeks.” You don’t need to be a sad geek to know where the problems are. There are a lot of secondhand ones already on eBay… Thanks to Jah.
Also, BGR has posted details of a firmware update for the Nokia 5800 which will bring Kinetic scrolling, Improved camera performance, Enhanced home screen (like the N97) and Improved response time. VERY impressive for a £200 phone.
Palm works on RSS reader; could anger developers
A new article at TamsPalm called Palm works on RSS reader; could anger developers looks at the possiblity of Palm annoying developers by building an RSS application. Tip for developers- build a better one than Palms and don’t moan…
“Even though I am very happy to see more RSS users, I fear that this move from Palm’s will do more harm than good. It indicates but one thing: Palm is actively developing add-on applications for the Palm Pre.
This puts independent software vendors into an uncomfortable rut: they have to compete directly and head-to-head with the device AND operating system vendor…who obviously has more access to the OS and can always rig the situation to help its products stand out…”
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News Windows Mobile cases from PDair
PDair has released three new cases for the HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Snap and the Samsung Jack-
Thin, Lightweight and strong.
Removable 360 degrees belt clip included.
Anodized aircraft-grade aluminum prevents from scratches.
Neoprene inner lining for extra protection and shock absorber.
Easy access to all buttons and features.
High tensil strength aluminum.
Cutouts give easy access to all handheld features.
Easy to install
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BlackBerry Desktop Software is coming to Mac in September
RIM will be releasing BlackBerry Desktop for Mac in September which is great news for anyone who is a BlackBerry and Mac user- probably the best combination for productivity. And an attractive young lady is being used in the publicity shot- not original but always welcome…
“With BlackBerry® Desktop Software you’ll be able sync your iTunes® playlists and personal information like contacts, tasks and appointments; install new software, games, and more. BlackBerry Desktop Software will offer the best of both worlds by allowing you to manage aspects of your BlackBerry® smartphone from your Mac1.
BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac is coming soon in September. Sign up now to be the first to know when it’s available.”
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Cat v BMW: cat wins
Apologies for the slowness of news today. My cat got runover by a big BMW yesterday, somehow our neighbour managed to run him over with front and back wheels, and we have had to make countless visits to vets etc.
The cost of care and the operation has come to over £1200 and so my lovely new MacBook will be hitting eBay soon to cover some of the costs. Just when I finally make the move I am back to Windows again, but at least TomCat survived.
If anyone wants a 9 day old 13 inch aluminium MacBook in ‘perfect’ condition, feel free to make an offer via shaun (at) mailstm.co.uk. As beautiful as it is, my cat is slightly more beautiful and needs the help more…
QOTD: Data storage?
Where do you store your most important data such as contacts, calendar entries, emails etc.? Also, do you backup this information?
Mine is stored on my iPhone, on my PC, my MS Exchange server and my MacBook. I have learned to be cautious…
£500 for a smartphone camera, £80 for a Leica
We now know that the amount of mega-pixels in a camera or smartphone bears little resemblance to the quality of the camera itself. Smartphone manufacturers are forever boasting about the latest 12 mega-pixel or 8 mega-pixel phone that seemingly does little else of worthiness besides taking a photo.
Smartphone cameras will always have a place for the reason that they are always with you and thus are great for capturing the moment. The problem is that you pay a lot for a smartphone with a high mega-pixel count when you don’t really need to.
My iPhone camera is below average from a specs point of view, but it takes good quality photos in an instant and so is ideal for the task of quick pictures when the need arises. However, buying an 8 mega-pixel smartphone will not always give you the best of both worlds and, even though you can obtain some great results, you will not always get close to a dedicated camera.
This was highlighted to me last week when I purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS6. It has a Leica lens, 8.1 mega-pixels and intelligent auto. It is end of line and this particular one had no manual so I paid a ridiculous price for it; much less than £100. Most retailers sell it for £99 and you are getting a LOT of camera for your money- every single picture has come out perfectly so far and the quality is ‘way beyond’ what I have used in the past, on any camera.
The moral of the story is to not jump at the thought of lots of mega-pixels in a smartphone because you will be paying through the nose for it. Pay a little less for a smartphone and buy yourself a proper camera which can be saved for capturing those very special moments.
WikiPock Basic Edition: offline Wikipedia for BlackBerry
If you want to carry a huge selection of Wikipedia content with you then WikiPock Basic Edition will be ideal. You need 4GB of space for the English version, but it looks pretty good for under $10.
WikiPock is a mobile phone application that allows you to search and read Wikipedia articles without an internet connection. All the articles are stored in your mobile phone’s memory so there is no need to download anything from the network. It’s the world’s biggest encyclopedia with over 2.8 million articles in English—in your phone, on the go!
- No internet or data connection required. The data is stored in your phone. No need for GPRS/EDGE/3G/Wi-Fi. No roaming or data charges.
- Full editorial content. Everything is included (except images).
- Instant search. Results appear instantly as you type. Benchmark shows that WikiPock is six times faster than searching and downloading a wiki article from the web with a mobile phone.
- Clean mobile-formatted pages. Pages are well formatted and easy to read on your mobile phone’s screen.
- Always up-to-date. We provide optional updates for one year so your wiki is always on track with the newest articles and corrections. Check out our Plus Edition on this website.
- Battery-life saver. Since there’s no data to download, battery consumption is considerably reduced.
- Easy user interface. Intuitive, nothing to learn.
- Available for Windows Mobile®, BlackBerry® and Android™ mobile phones in English, German, French, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.
- IMPORTANT: The Basic Edition does not include updates. The Plus Edition does include updates for one year. Make sure your phone has a minimum of 4GB of storage space available for Wikipedia in English. (1.7GB for German, 1.3GB for French and Japanese, 800MB for Italian, Spanish, 600MB for Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Chinese and Vietnamese). A high-speed and reliable internet connection is required to download the libraries.
- FREE! Wikiquote and Wiktionary are included for free. Wikiquote is a collection of quotations from notable people. Wiktionary is a dictionary including definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, sample quotations, synonyms, antonyms and translations.
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Navi your way with 2009 New Zealand Map for Windows Mobile
Navi your way with 2009 New Zealand Map for Windows Mobile looks quite good and is possibly a challenger to the more established GPS solutions. It is well priced at $59, but sadly it only covers New Zealand which will limit its appeal somewhat. Can sheep use GPS?
“New Zealand map includes both islands, mapped roads, streets, motorways, one way systems and restrictions. Over 100,000 KM Roads and quarterly update represent one of best New Zealand maps.
Over 30,000 Core POI give end users convenient access for most facilities they need.
Including Petrol, Restaurant, Hotel, Parking, Automobile Service, Entertainment, Hospital, Shopping, Travel, Bank and ATM, Sports, Airport, Transportation, Post shops, Business and many other POIs
Well-designed map color and 3D display is much easy to see and use while driving.”
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Teacher and Vampires for Palm OS
Teacher is a new application for Palm OS from HandCase. As per usual you will need to dechipher the description yourself…
“Suite of 10 tools integrated in an only interface, gathering in only one program Lesson Plan, News, Projects, Works, Notes, Students, Sketches, Diary, Goals and Schools. With him it is possible to organize all the information, that to judge useful or important, for your work as Teacher.”
HandCase has also released Vampires which is described as follows. If the game is as challenging as the description, it will be a classic!
“In this strategy game, you are the master of the vampires. You should spread your vampires and to try to find the hidden humans. When finds you transform them in vampires. In English. Only for Palm colored. Free only for users of the games of Handcase the GameScore to you organize all your moves for any type of game, ours game, console, arcade, pc or web.”
Weekend news round-up
Verizon has dropped the price of the BlackBerry Storm to only $99.99 on contract. This does point to a new Storm on the near horizon, but may also point to the fact that it is not very good…
A new Palm Pre commercial has been unveiled which continues the previous theme of simplicity and multi-tasking, but this time is about a juggler? More at PIC.
wmpoweruser is reporting on the HTC Leo and also include a mock up image. It looks like a new HTC Universal and may well have quite a following when released.
Nokia could be planning a new series of phones under the letter ‘c’. There are not many other details available at present, but a refresh would be a good idea.
Android Authority has posted an unboxing video of the HTC Hero. I am looking forward to seeing this phone so much I am tempted to camp out at Clove with my debit card in my hand until it’s available. Want to join me? No, I thought not…
Finally, I will be on holiday in August for 10 days and this will obviously disrupt the site news. If you wish to send some content in that I can pre-post for those days I would be grateful. Articles can be sent to shaun (at) mailstm.co.uk and any help would be appreciated. I am hoping to have a few bits up for each day and to maybe take advantage of the cheaper roaming deals to still post some stuff each day.
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You buy your digital content, they take it back
The news that Amazon deleted digital copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm remotely from Kindles and deposited a refund in customers accounts is really rather unsettling. Commentators have already waxed lyrical over the irony of 1984 being removed without any purchasers knowledge in the first direct sample of big brother tactics, but the whole premise of what has happened could have further implications.
Apparently the publisher decided that it did not want digital copies of these books to be sold and that was the reason to delete them wirelessly. Surely the agreement should have been to stop selling it from this moment and not to retrospectivly take the purchased item back. As one reader put it- “it’s like Barnes & Noble sneaking into our homes in the middle of the night, taking some books that we’ve been reading off our nightstands, and leaving us a check on the coffee table.”
What are your thoughts on this? Are you concerned at what has happened or do you feel that Amazon has acted legitimately? I know where I stand and the word legitimate does not come into it…