Monthly Archives: April 2011

App of the day: SplitApple

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Shaun

SplitApple is one of many archery games for iOS, but few are as beautifully presented or as fun to play. It is one of those simplistic titles that keeps you coming back for more and there is a promise of many more features in the near future. These new features would be welcome because it is a bit of a one trick pony currently, but the potential is huge.

“SplitApple is a fun archer game, the perfect mix of arcade and simulation. With beautiful and running smooth graphics, the game reproduces the feelings of archery.
Use your skills and accuracy to reach the bull’s eye. Aim right, adjust your shot power and pay attention to the wind and gravity.

Reach the highest score in the tournament and time trial modes. Take risks and aim for apples up in the trees to perform a “SplitApple”. You might lose a shot but you can win a big reward if you get it right!”

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iPlayer+ for Mac: too cool for school

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Shaun

iPlayer+ for Mac isn’t a mobile app as such, but is good enough to warrant a mention. It is free and in my tests has worked brilliantly so far. It lets you series link BBC iPlayer shows and even download them straight to the Mac. Handbrake will be needed (also free) to convert the shows for watching on a mobile device, but it is an excellent solution. I’m not sure if this helps to get around viewing BBC content outside of the UK, but could be worth a try.

“iPlayer+ couldn’t be more easier to use! Just search for the show you want to download, add it to the Download Queue, then press the Start button to begin downloading!”

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Android now most ‘desired’ mobile OS

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

New figures from nielsen show that an Android phone is the planned purchase of 31% of respondents with iOS on 30% and 20% not sure. BlackBerry is on 11%, Windows Phone on 6% and webOS on 1%. This compares favourably for Android compared to the last report which had iOS on 33% and Android on 26%.

Add to this the fact that 50% of recent acquirers bought Android with iOS on 25% and RIM on only 15% and it’s not difficult to see where the momentum is going. Some will argue that Apple still makes the most money from mobile, which is true, but it does bring into question the path of slow hardware updates which must be having an impact. The fact is that Android will have the largest market share anyway, but once a year iPhone updates are surely needed at the very least from Apple.

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Vevo goes live in the UK

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Vevo, the popular video music site, has gone live in the UK and don’t forget the iPhone / iPad app which allows you to carry all 25,000 videos with you. It’s all good and it gives me an excuse to embed the 5 minutes of pure genius below.

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LEICA i9 for iPhone 4: drool…

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

The LEICA i9 for the iPhone 4 may only be a concept, it may not be practical to make in bulk, but I don’t care. It is so incredibly cool and could be an early taster of what me may see in the future.

The Leica i9 Concept is a dream project that addresses a desire to combine two great products, while considering both the consumer’s and company’s needs. It’s common practice to combine a smart phone with a digital camera, but how do you combine a great smart phone with a great digital camera when you brands may speak to very different categories?

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Xoom, just one look and then the sales went boom

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

I spent 30 minutes with the XOOM at the weekend and quite liked it. It did most things very well and looked like a competitor to the iPad. And then I looked at the price.

It seems that others agree because Trip Chowdry from Global Equities is estimating that Motorola has shifted just 120,000 XOOM’s at best and only 25,000 at worst. Ouch…

“Global Equities analyst Trip Chowdry estimates that Motorola Mobility has manufactured between 500,000 and 800,000 Xooms, but has sold only 5 to 15 percent of them.”

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Sony S1 and S2 officially announced: sweet

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Sony has announced the S1 and S2 Android Honeycomb tablets and at first glance they look very impressive, particularly the S2 dual-screen version. Here’s a little bit of the very long press release-

Sony Corporation (“Sony”), announces “Sony Tablet” that delivers the perfect combination of hardware, content and network with seamless usability for a high-quality, engaging entertainment experience. Based on decades of engineering heritage, Sony is developing two tablets with unprecedented design, including S1 (codename) which is optimized for rich media entertainment and S2 (codename) which is ideal for mobile communication and entertainment. “Sony Tablet” will become available in the global market starting in fall 2011.

“Sony Tablet” is equipped with the latest Android 3.0 which is designed for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. Both tablets are WiFi and WAN (3G/4G) compatible and users can not only browse the internet or check e-mail but they can also smoothly access digital content including videos, games and books through Sony’s premium network services and more, on-the-go at any time.

S1 has a 9.4-inch display for enjoying the web and rich content on a large screen. Its off-center of gravity design realizes stability and ease of grip as well as a sense of stability and lightness, offering comfortable use for hours.

S2 has two 5.5-inch displays that can be folded for easy portability. In contrast to existing tablets, its unprecedented dual screen presentation and usability allows its displays to be combined and used as a large screen or for different functions such as playing video on one screen while showing control buttons on the other.

“‘Sony Tablet’ delivers an entertainment experience where users can enjoy cloud-based services on-the-go at any time. We’re aiming to create a new lifestyle by integrating consumer hardware, including ‘Sony Tablet’ with content and network,” said Kunimasa Suzuki, Corporate Executive, SVP, and Deputy President of Consumer Products & Services Group.

“Android 3.0 is a new version of the Android platform with a new holographic user interface that is designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. I’m excited about “Sony Tablet” as it will further spur the development of applications and network offerings which users are looking for.” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President, Mobile, Google Inc.

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QOTD: Do you keep a digital diary?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Do you keep a digital diary of events or do you still keep a paper diary? Maybe you don’t keep one at all. I didn’t for a long time, but now have 556 days of diary entries in Awesome Note with photos etc. and it is always fascinating to look back at what happened this time last year. It also makes a great record for me to keep of my children.

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How can they compete?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

My daughter was playing with her Gran’s Nintendo DS last week and was getting mightily frustrated by the experience. She was playing a wordsearch game and couldn’t really see the letters properly or hit them with the stylus. I decided to have a go and could feel her 7 year-old frustration. Even though the game was not designed for kids, it was still difficult to use.

I whipped out the iPhone, did a quick search and downloaded a free wordsearch game for her. She could use her fingers to hit the letters and it came with various levels so that she could find the right one for her. Thirty minutes later she was still playing it.

How can Nintendo and the rest compete with smartphones that can do that? They can’t.

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COTD: Inertia

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Today’s comment of the day comes from Bob who muses on why Nokia, RIM and Microsoft are having problems at the moment- “One reason is inertia. Yes, Newton’s three laws apply to many things besides straight physics. Big companies get into a mind set because something worked before. The people in charge of what worked before are the ones who rise in the company. They don’t want to make the something that worked smaller. It’s hard for new talent to get enough “power” to get something going.

I’m not saying that smaller companies don’t get into this rut, but because they’re smaller there’s less inertia.

One thing a big company can do is make itself into what are effectively smaller companies which are somewhat independent. It’s also easier to shut down a small part of the company when its market dries up.

I’ve been at companies that have done all of these things. That’s why it’s not easy to come up with a second blockbuster product or idea. I don’t know how Apple fits. Maybe that’s what happened after Jobs left. Maybe we’ll see once the iPhone or iPad has run its course.”

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Nokia E7 and Psion 5mx, head to head

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Steve Litchfield has written a great article over at AAS pitching the Nokia E7 against the Psion 5MX. Oh how I still love the 5MX to this day- amazingly it is still perfectly usable many years after it was first released.

“Now, hear me out, I’m not suggesting that the Psion can compete with the E7, this article is, in this sense, academic. I’m simply curious in how much technology has changed in 12 years (an eternity in consumer electronics), with respect of devices with similar aims and form factors. And are there any areas where we’ve gone backwards?”

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A new era is only a new state of mind

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Shaun

Fancy some deep reading? A new era is only a new state of mind will be for you then. Thanks to Trevor.

“Each major disruption of computing came from a new generation of input and/or output methods. Terminals (vs. punch cards) enabled minicomputers. The GUI enabled the rise of the microcomputer and touch is enabling the rise of the tablet. Perhaps this era will last decades perhaps only years, but there will be new input and output methods available. The world’s research laboratories are filled with ideas from projection screens (from high brightness LEDs) to motion sensing (as implemented partly by Kinect) and even novel voice control methods. I believe that each major innovation will create a new wave of growth and, if coupled with a new business model, a new set of companies and platforms.”

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Is this the iPhone 4S? Probably…

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Shaun

M.I.C Gadget has posted what looks to be a real picture of an iPhone 4S. This one is white with a larger screen and a standard sized home button. Looks like a contender.

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Anatomy of failure: Nokia, Microsoft and RIM

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Shaun

“Why are such established technology powerhouses failing so spectacularly in mobile? How can they not see the self-destruction in their approaches? For RIM and Nokia, the failings threaten their medium-term existence. For Microsoft and Dell, the failings prevent them from growing where the market is moving.”

The above comment comes from Anatomy of failure: Mobile flops from RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia by Galen Gruman. It is a long article, but required reading if you have an interest in the wider mobile world.

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Kicking the digital habit

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Shaun

I have suffered from a serious digital habit in the past and I bet some of you have as well. Jemima Kiss has written about the way she kicked her habit here and it’s a thoroughly good read.

“Ordinarily, my next thought would have been to pull out my phone and take a photo, send a tweet or record a video. Connecting is something I do unconsciously now. Tweeting is like breathing and photos and video have documented nearly every day of my 21-month-old son’s life. The meaningful merged with the mundane, all dutifully and habitually recorded – my enjoyment split between that technological impulse and the more delicate human need to be in the moment. This is how we live.”

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