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Tag: android

  • Pantech Perception – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

    The Pantech Perception from Verizon is a good, midtier Android smartphone. First off, let's point out the most obvious draw- the price tag: the Pantech Perception is a pretty impressive phone for it's price of only $99.99.

    However, the Perception is a Verizon exclusive smartphone and users would have to switch contracts if they wanted to use this new phone. Designed to react to motion, users can answer phone calls, scroll through contacts and change their playlist by swiping their hand over the screen. The Perception also offers a wide 4.8" HD screen with 1280×720 pixel resolution for superior density in brightness and colors, as well as an 8 megapixel camera and 2 megapixel front camera. The Pantech Perception also boasts a very long battery life compared to other smartphones on the market. The Pantech Perception is runs Android so users can download a plethora of apps available on Google Play.

    Unfortunately it's not all sunshine and butterflies for the Pantech Perception. The camera is not great and the device is rather large, that can either be good or bad. Some people like big phones, some might find this one to be a bit bulky however, at 5.2 inches tall by 2.7 inches wide.

    Pantech Perception is a good base phone for those looking for a standard Android 4.0 smartphone with the basic features, and those who do not have any intention of breaking the bank. The worst feature on the phone by far is the camera, so if that is your least priority on a smartphone, this may be a good, affordable option.

  • Quickoffice: Mobile File Editing Software Has Arrived

    Being able to share files and add new ones on a mobile device is a process that took a long time to happen but has now officially emerged with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in a convenient platform.

    Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are a very effective way to share files and add new ones, however, not everyone has converted to the new trend. It is only a convenient process in the business world if everyone associated with the file is able to see it in the form it is in, otherwise, it is a hassle trying to convert from one form to another. Google Apps for Business has started working on the issue of some people being behind in the technology department by developing Quickoffice for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices to edit Microsoft Office documents.

    Quickoffice was actually invented in 1997 to make Microsoft Office products that were compatible with Palm OS (which is now webOS), Blackberry, Android, iOS, Palm Pilot and Symbian to name a few. Quickoffice was not only the first to be able to translate a file into a mobile form, but it also allowed the file to be edited. Google purchased Quickoffice in 2012 which was an incredible step toward solving the issue of sharing, adding and editing files in the mobile form. This makes it possible for working businesspeople to edit files that need editing while on the go. Whether waiting for a plane at the airport, running to catch a taxi or even taking a quick lunch, Google Apps for Business is helping the busy businessperson out.

    Not only is Quickoffice compatible with Microsoft Office files and Google Docs, Sheets and Slides files, but it is also compatible with programs such as Dropbox, SugarSync, and Evernote. This makes Quickoffice even more universal to even more users.

    When a business is in need of a program that is universal with office type files, Quickoffice is a great program to choose. With the mobility it offers being available on iPads, iPhones, and Android devices, it makes it even easier for more people to use efficiently.

  • Facebook phone: Ovum comments ahead of Facebook's announcement

    Ahead of Facebook’s announcement today, Adam Leach, principal device analyst at Ovum provides his perspective on how Facebook should move forward.

    Adam Leach, principal device analyst, Ovum:

    “Today Facebook will announce its ‘new home on Android’. There has been much speculation about what this will be, ranging from introducing a more deeply integrated Facebook app for Android all the way to launching its own “Facebook” phone.

    “But why is Facebook doing anything at all? The company wants to increase its engagement with its users and in particular its users accessing the service over mobile. To achieve this Facebook needs a mechanism to deliver its own services to a portfolio of devices. If this can be achieved with an Android Facebook skin or a co-branded phone then this will be better for Facebook as it avoids upsetting its current phone and platform partners and removes the immediate need to launch its own branded devices.

    “Whether Facebook needs to launches its own-branded devices depends on how ambitious Facebook is in moving into new consumer services which it currently does not provide. Facebook currently relies on the good will of its partners to carry the Facebook service. If it intends to move further into delivering digital services and go head to head with its consumer tech rivals such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon. This will bring Facebook into conflict with its current partners and will require the company to have more control over the platform and the devices it delivers the experience to.”

    Image: Michal Bonikowski

  • Mobile World Congress 2013: The End of Apple Dominance Is Near

    The annual meeting Mobile World Congress, ongoing this week in Barcelona, seems to mark more than any other event the end of Apple dominance in the global market for smartphones and tablets and the rise of some rivals with more open operating systems.

    Mozilla has opened the event in Barcelona unofficially. The nonprofit organization, which used Firefox a decade ago to fight Microsoft control in the online search engine market, wants to change totally the smartphone market as well.

    The industry is currently unnaturally controlled by a few companies, said general manager of Mozilla, Gary Kovacs, during the presentation of the first generation of mobile devices with Firefox operating system.

    More than 20 telecom industry executives who brought their support to the launch of Firefox OS had similar views.

    “We change the industry for the common good,” said Cesar Alienta, general manager of Telefonica, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. Spanish company chief criticized the closed operating systems, such as iOS, and warned that “the smartphone market is making a step back from the internet’s opening feature”. Telefonica wants to introduce shortly Firefox OS devices in Spain, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

    America Movil, controlled by Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, committed to launch Firefox OS in Mexico “and in all possible markets” soon.

    The outgoing General Director of Deutsche Telekom, Rene Obermann, called the Firefox OS release “an important step towards more competition between different systems”. Deutsche Telekom will launch Firefox OS devices starting from this summer in Poland.

    Mozilla is not the only company that wants to change the market for smartphones and tablets. Samsung and Intel are also developing an operating system called Tizen, which would be even more open and will allow software developers more important changes compared to Apple's iOS and Google's Android.

    Mobile operators are strongly attracted by the prospect of being able to strongly change the operating systems, for an interaction as direct as possible with the user.

    The irony in this case is that the success of Samsung with Tizen would make the South Korean company less dependent on Google and stronger in the smartphones and tablets market.

    The rest of the world seems to recover the distance to Apple's platform for mobile devices, and the American company must innovate again or will be cannibalized by rivals with cheaper and more accessible devices. Smartphone market seems to have matured, so that real opportunities could be in the expansion in emerging markets.

  • Mobile Phone Sales Fell in 2012 While Smartphones Thrived

    Half of last year, the research and market analysis company Gartner warned that sales of handsets are in decline, the final report for last year, which was published today, confirming the trend observed in August.

    The unfavorable economic climate that people from Gartner blame for this negative trend, has affected the sales figure for mobile phones. Producers managed to sell 1.75 billion pieces, a 1.7 percent decrease compared to performances recorded in 2011.

    The least demanded products were the featurephones, in the last three months they managing to attract only 264.4 million customers, a figure that marks a sharp drop of 19.3 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

    In the same three months of last year, smartphone sales reached a record level, the 207.7 million units representing a jump of 38.3 percent compared to the last quarter of 2011. In 2013, Gartner estimates that sales of smartphones will reach one billion and the entire mobile phone market will recover and reach a figure of approximately 1.9 billion pieces.

    Rivals Samsung and Apple have captured 52 percent of the market. South Koreans last year sold 386.4 million mobile phones, of which 53.3% were smartphones, while Apple, which is only selling smartphones, has sold 130 million handsets, an increase of 22 percent from 2011.

    According to Gartner, the Android platform has captured nearly 70 percent of smartphone market in the last quarter, followed by the iOS, down nearly 3 percent, BlackBerry OS, also in decrease, and Windows Phone, which managed to reach a modest market share of only 3 percent, but which represents almost double compared to the situation in late 2011.

  • Ubuntu For Smartphones to be Launched in 2014

    Canonical has announced that it will launch early next year, the first version of Ubuntu for smartphones, a less conventional operating system for users, but which is expected by many fans.

    Ubuntu for smartphones is based on the same kernel and drivers as Android, but brings a new interface for the portable devices. For those who already use Ubuntu on PCs, the interface will not be surprising. We are talking about a redesign and reconfiguration of Unity, the UI promoted by Canonical on its last Ubuntu distributions.

    The absolute novelty with which Canonical hopes to gain ground in the mobile segment is how the user will use gestures on a smartphone. More specifically, browsing through gestures will cause (or not) users to try the new interface. For example, a short finger swipe gesture from the left to the center of the screen activates a menu Unity alike in which the user will find his favorite applications.

    Also, swiping to the right of the screen will display the latest applications used, and a similar gesture made at the bottom of the screen will activate notifications.

    An important aspect is that, although it runs based on the Android kernel, Ubuntu Mobile does not use the Dalvik Virtual Machine, so that Android applications are not compatible with the mobile operating system from Canonical. However, Ubuntu Mobile will offer the advantage of running native applications without a dedicated virtual machine, which means that performance may be even better than that offered by Android.

    At the same time, through a stand, users of devices with Ubuntu Mobile are able to connect to a monitor and use it with the mouse and classic keyboard in the same way that they use their PC.

    Currently, Ubuntu for smartphones is running on Galaxy Nexus only, but Canonical will soon publish versions for other devices as well.

    The first smartphone with Ubuntu pre-installed will be launched in early 2014.

  • CES 2013: Sony Launches Xperia Z and Xperia ZL

    Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL are the new flagships of the Japanese manufacturer, who have managed to make waves with their official announcement at CES 2013.

    No matter how new and powerful would be the two Xperia models, they have long been debated in the press and expected in the latter part of 2012. Thus, most of us suspected some of the most advanced specs and features of the new Sony smartphones.

    However, their official announcement has managed to arouse enough curiosity and awe among fans and beyond. Specifically, we are talking about two top smartphones that should help Sony in the fight against other major phone manufacturers, such as Samsung and Apple.

    Sony Xperia Z is based on next-generation hardware, SoC Snapdragon S4 Pro with quad-core processor Krait at 1.5 GHz, graphics processor Adreno 320 and 2GB RAM. Multimedia capabilities promise to be one of the strengths, especially with the 5-inch LED 1080p display which benefits from the latest technology Sony Mobile Bravia 2 Engine. In terms of photo/video, Sony Xperia Z boasts a 13-megapixel Exmor RS sensor capable to shoot Full HD 1080p and take HDR shots.

    Xperia Z is also respecting the IP57 standard, which provides resistance to dust and contact with water and comes in a unibody casing that “hides” a 2330 mAh battery.

    On the other hand, the second phone, the Xperia ZL, resembles the first in big lines, the differences being more in design and size. Xperia ZL will not benefit from water resistance, the rest of hardware specifications being almost identical.

    Both smartphones benefit from the latest communication options: LTE, HSPA +, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and come equipped with FM radio and supports internal memory expansion with microSD card. Both Xperia Z and Xperia ZL will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

    For now Sony has not provided too many pricing details, but unofficial sources speak for amounts that exceed $650.

  • Hulu in 2012: $695M Revenue, 3M Paying Subscribers

    2012 has been a huge year for Hulu. The following article will go over the progress the company made over the past year, its current and future expansion plans and also what is in store for Hulu in the upcoming years.

    Hulu Revenue Update

    In the year 2012 Hulu earned $695 million dollars in revenue. This number represents a 65% growth in revenue over the past five years, which is high for general industry as well as tech companies.

    New Subscriber Numbers

    Hulu has expanded its subscriber base substantially in 2012, with around three million current users. These Hulu Plus subscribers represent users that pay to access Hulu and represent a revenue stream separate from the company's advertising based revenue model.

    How Has Hulu Content Changed in 2012?

    2012 has brought a plethora of new content to Hulu streaming video service. Total titles available have grown by 40% and much of the new content comes from premium, established media companies like Viacom, CBS, and World Wrestling Entertainment. The content additions have done a great deal to make Hulu more competitive with other streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.

    Hulu Advertising Changes in 2012

    This fiscal year has brought a large increase in the number of advertisers who work with Hulu. In 2012 Huku has worked with over a thousand different advertising firms which represents a 28% increase over the same advertising partnerships from one year ago. Not only are advertisers who work with Hulu becoming more diverse, they are being drawn to the company by the ability to effectively target an audience and reduce the amount of wasted commercial impressions.

    One big project that Hulu will be focusing on in 2013 will be to expand into the Japanese market with special Japan-only programming and production of domestic Japanese shows for usage on the Hulu Japan site. This expansion combined with the solid revenue and content numbers bodes well for the future of Hulu in the online content streaming industry.

  • Amazon Appstore Continues Global Expansion, Now Available in Japan

    Amazon continues its strong effort to corner the digital content market with the announcement that they have launched a Japanese version of the Amazon App Store, bringing forth a wealth of content for their line of tablets as well as smart phones and other mobile devices.

    In addition to a diverse library that shares some of the best selling applications and games with an entirely new market, the Amazon App Store also includes some mainstays that have helped the previous incarnations in other countries remain successful, including "Angry Birds," "Where's My Water?" and "Cut the Rope". Japanese customers now have access to the platform's personalized recommendations feature, simple ordering process and detailed order history menus.

    Amazon is also one of the only large digital application stores to feature a free application every day of the week, allowing users free access to content they would otherwise have to pay for simply as a "thank you" for their continued business.

    Amazon's standing as the world's largest retailer have made it a prime target for application developers big and small. Due to the raging success of the Kindle Fire, more and more applications that were once exclusive to other platforms have begun making efforts to get themselves in the fold. The advent of the Japanese App Store also opens the door for Amazon to open a similar feature in other markets, specifically Asian demographics that already have Amazon.com's basic services.

    Company CEO's and software developers alike have taken time to heap the praise on Amazon for the way they run their business and the ease with which people are able to begin marketing their content. Their current business structure is designed to give developers the maximum profits and is a huge reason for their continued success.

    Amazon markets itself as "the most complete end-to-end platform for developers looking to build, market and monetize their apps and games" and it's hard to argue this point based on the recent rapid growth the company has experienced. The addition of the Japanese market can only mean good things as the retail giant expands its customer base.

  • FBI Warns Android Users of Malware Risk

    The news arrived from the FBI via the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) division, warn the owners of Android smartphones about the appearance of new malware targeting this category of devices.

    According to IC3 – the organization responsible for investigating allegations of criminal activities in the online environment, "Loozon" and "FinFisher" are the latest known versions of these forms of malware, each with a slightly different operation mode.

    One of the strategies used to attract victims involves displaying a message that the phone owner is lured with job offers that involves working from home, at a substantial salary and offered in exchange for sending emails. The message contains a link that leads to a website infected with Loozon, the user being instructed to click on the link for more information about the job offer. Once infection has occurred, the malicious app extracts all the information stored in the address book along with the infected phone number.

    FinFisher is a form of spyware that can take control over certain parts of the mobile phone, so that once infection is produced, the device can be controlled and monitored remotely, regardless of the location of the victim. Infection with FinFisher malware can occur when the user accesses using the Web browser a website or an infected link, or opens a text message disguised as an Android update.

    IC3 provides some recommendations for protecting mobile phones, such as turning on the encryption feature in order to protect personal data in case of loss or theft, installing antivirus software for the smartphone, creating an access password and avoiding using untrusted public wireless networks.