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So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About?

Administrator — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:25:44 +0000

With info about the Windows Phone 8 platform being leaked yesterday , there have been numerous speculation by users and critics alike. It seems like Microsoft wants to bring together the desktop operating system ( Windows 8 ) with the tablet and smartphone operating system. This is a great move which could go a long way in bringing forth deep integration with Windows PCs. Secondly, the ability for higher screen resolutions and the compatibility with dual core processors make it a worthy upgrade. The fact that Microsoft’s Metro UI will be seen across all Windows platforms is a welcome sign. Whoever has used a Windows Phone will know what we are talking about. Speaking of the mobile platform, Windows Phone 8 or more popularly known as Windows Phone Apollo will not break cover until the end of the year at least. And that’s just a rough approximation, meaning that the launch date could be further delayed. We believe that the new platform (as we know it) has the potential to make an impact in the mobile industry. But there’s still one major update left before Microsoft even considers rolling out Apollo, yes we’re talking about Tango . Tango is Microsoft’s way of hitting into the low end and mid range market segment with smartphones that do not require fancy specifications. The update is also said to bring the much awaited Skype support for Windows Phones. Ironically, Skype (recently acquired by Microsoft) is available across most mobile platforms except on Windows Phones. The future looks very bright for Microsoft and even though the current market share of Windows Phones is not as much as the company would have liked to have by now, we believe things could change in the future. Stories you may like: 1.6 Million Windows Phone 7 Handsets Sold During The First Quarter of 2011 Windows Phone 7 Could Soon be the Number Three Mobile Platform Windows Phone Mango To Bring Web Based Marketplace This article, So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About? , was published at TechBuzz . Please don’t violate our copyright

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So What’s Windows Phone 8 a.k.a Apollo All About?

Windows Phone 8 Apollo Features Leak

bestcbstore — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:34:37 +0000

A video detailing the new features of Windows Phone 8 Apollo — originally intended for Microsoft’s smartphone partners — has leaked into the hands of PocketNow editors. Yay! In my opinion, Windows Phone Mango is a solid platform that’s quicker and smoother than anything I’ve seen on Android. Still, when looking at devices from Microsoft, Apple, and Google side-by-side, the Windows Phone always seems to lose in the spec department. That said, WinPho boss Joe Belfiore has plenty in store for us come Q4 2012 (the rumored release date of Apollo). As far as hardware is concerned, Microsoft is ready to take it to the next level, adding support for multiple cores, NFC, and full microSD card storage. Apollo will also support four different screen resolutions, though Belfiore apparently wasn’t very forthcoming with specifics on those. Developers are going to love this next part. According to PocketNow , developers will be able to use most of the same code when porting a Windows 8 app over to the Windows Phone platform. Of course, both platforms will share the same Metro-style interface, and that NFC radio will allow for tap-to-share capabilities between various Windows 8 devices. Microsoft used to tout its Tango video chat app , but it would seem as thought that Skype acquisition isn’t going to waste. Windows Phone 8 will have Skype baked right in, taking video chat and VoIP calls to a much higher level of audio/visual quality. Redmond expects at least 100,000 apps in the Marketplace by the time Apollo launches, at which point developers will have native code support and the ability to implement app-to-app communication. Now that most of our data plans are no longer unlimited, keeping track of data consumption is more important than ever. That said, Apollo will offer up a live tile for data usage called DataSmart. According to PocketNow, the feature will give precedence to WiFi connections. IE10 will include built-in server-side compression, which should reduce data usage, and the Local Scout tile will eventually hook you up with real-time locations of nearby hotspots. Windows has always been a powerhouse in the enterprise, and it’s about time the same was true for Windows Phone. That said, Apollo will bring with it BitLocker encryption support for full-disk encryption, along with the option to deploy company-specific apps behind enterprise firewalls. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Windows Phone is on its way people, and with such a hearty update on the way, I’m only that more confident in my prediction. I’m in good company , too.

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Windows Phone 8 Apollo Features Leak

BlackBerry Users Least Likely To Score On The First Date… In Canada, Mind You

admin2 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:27:53 +0000

You’ve heard of Match.com , right? It’s a dating site much like OkCupid or eHarmony, and from the bowels of the website’s collective online dating profiles, a company called Zoomerang harvested an interesting bit of data regarding who gets laid and which phones they own. In Canada, mind you. According to the study , BlackBerry users are the least likely to hook up on the first date, scoring just 48 percent of the time. In Canada, mind you — you know, where RIM is based. Meanwhile, Android users seem to know their way around a pair of pants, hooking up on 62 percent of their first dates. iPhone users fall smack in the middle, with a lead-off home run 57 percent of the time. That said, Android users are also the most likely to use a dating website at 72 percent, while only 58 percent of iPhone users and half of BlackBerry owners go to dating sites. Canadian Android users are also the most likely to have a one-night stand, at 55 percent. That compared to the 50 percent of iPhone users and 47.6 percent of BlackBerry users who would would hit it and quit it. Meanwhile, iPhone owners are the most likely to start a relationship with someone they work with. Of course, as PhoneArena points out, switching from a BlackBerry to the Galaxy Nexus probably won’t make a difference. The research is correlative. Still, something can be done now that we know who scores and who needs to update their hardware. (For Canadians only) First, if you own an Android phone and your crush does too, go ahead and try to get it on. The odds are in your favor. If your a BlackBerry owner, do your best to look for an Android-flavored suitor. You’re already at a disadvantage apparently. iPhone owners, simply look to your left or right. I’m assuming you’re still at work, and if another iPhowner is around, you may be able to leave the office with more than a migraine. Pro Tip: Once a connection is made, put your phone down for a while. Unless of course you’re installing the OhMiBod app .

Location Labs’ Safely Family Locator Hits 1B Location Checks, Partners With T-Mobile

blogger — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:45:57 +0000

Location Labs’ Safely, which provides mobile services that help parents ensure the personal security kids’ mobile phones, is revealing that its Safely Family Locator has enabled more than one billion family safety location checks since inception. These “locates” have been initiated by Family Locator subscribers across millions of child phones on carriers such as T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. Location Labs is also debuting Family Check-In, the newest offering in the Safely suite of digital parenting tools. While the locate service simply locates a child, the Family Check-In expands lets kids show parents that they arrived at the library or a friend’s house with a location-verified map. The service is first launching in partnership with T-Mobile, under the name “FamilyWhere Check In” and is available as a free download in the Android Market. Location Labs also offers DriveSmart Plus , which uses the phone’s GPS to determine when a subscriber is likely in a car and then disables the ability to read or send text messaging while driving and transfers all calls to voicemail or hands free Bluetooth.

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Location Labs’ Safely Family Locator Hits 1B Location Checks, Partners With T-Mobile

Hey, Bromasters, Take Your Kenu Highline On The Slopes When You Shred

user — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:01:43 +0000

So you want to take a photo of you and your buds on the slopes or at the bar or at A&F or whatever and you know, just know you’re going drop that shnitz on the floor. So what do you need? A freakin’ Kevlar cord, Mr. Brojangles. That’s what you need. So this is the Kenu Highline. It’s basically a locking connector, a coiled cable, and a little loop. You lock your iPhone to the cable, attach the loop to your jacket, and go totally nuts. Attach it to anything. Your jacket. Your bropurse. Your 7 Jeans with the big, tribal stitching. Anything, Brosephus, but they clearly want to grab the snow sports folks because the entire website is dedicated to shreddin’, ski-liftin’, and hittin’ the apres ski brodeo. It’s only $20, so it’s not that expensive and if it saves you chipping your phone on the floor of the ski lodge while you and your broposse roll up to the bar for some Coors then that’s like money in the bank, brosephine, money in the bank. Product Page

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Hey, Bromasters, Take Your Kenu Highline On The Slopes When You Shred

Pew: More Than Half Of Adults Used Cell Phones In Stores For Purchasing Decisions During The Holidays

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:14:58 +0000

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is releasing a new study today that provides further evidence of the growing trend of consumers using mobile phones in stores for purchasing decisions. Pew says that more than half of adult cell phone owners used their cell phones while they were in a store to seek help with purchasing decisions this past holiday shopping season. According to the report, 38% of cell owners used their phone to call a friend while they were in a store for advice about a purchase they were considering making And 24% of cell owners used their phone to look up reviews of a product online while they were in a store, with 25% of adult cell owners using their phones to look up the price of a product online while they were in a store, to see if they could get a better price somewhere else. One third (33%) used their phone specifically for online information while inside a physical store—either product reviews or pricing information. In fact, one in five “mobile price matchers” ultimately made their most recent purchase from an online store, rather than a physical location. This is interesting considering Amazon’s move over the holidays to offer discounts to consumers on any product purchased via its price comparison mobile app. This was a huge blow to physical retailers, who called the move unfair. Pew reports that cell owners ages 18-49 are significantly more likely to use their phones for online product reviews than are cell owners ages 50 and older. Cell owners ages 65 and older are especially unlikely to use their phones to look up information in stores—just 4% did so this holiday season. In terms of other demographics, urban and suburban cell owners are roughly twice as likely as rural cell owners to have recently used their phone to look up online reviews of a product they found in a physical store. Unsurprisingly, online price matching and looking up online reviews frequently go hand in hand. Overall, of the 33% of cell owners who used their phone recently in a store to look up either product reviews or prices online, roughly half (representing 17% of all cell owners) used their phones to engage in both of these activities. When asked what happened on the most recent occasion where they used their phone to look up the price online of a product they found in a store, mobile price matchers point to a range of outcomes: 37% decided to not purchase the product at all, 35% purchased the product at that store, 19% purchased the product online and 8% purchased the product at another store. While we’ve been witnessing the fact that mobile is becoming a significant part of the in-store and online shopping experience, the Pew report’s data only emphasizes this trend. And although consumers tend to shop at increased levels during the holiday season, there’s no doubt that mobile is going to be an important engagement platform for both online and brick and mortar retailers throughout the year.

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Pew: More Than Half Of Adults Used Cell Phones In Stores For Purchasing Decisions During The Holidays

Yahoo Shuts Down 10 Mobile Apps, Says Its Going “Mobile First” (?)

user — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:12:16 +0000

Yahoo is moving forward with a “mobile first” mindset, the company stated via blog post late last week, then incongruously announced it would be shuttering 10 of its mobile applications. The list, which contains a mix of iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps, includes an odd, and somewhat surprising group of underperforming properties. Yahoo Deals, News, Shopping, Finance and Movies, were included among the shutdowns, for example. Yahoo isn’t cutting all of its News and Finance apps, however – only those on platforms it hasn’t found to be worth the effort to support, it appears. Also, Yahoo’s bread-and-butter apps like Mail and Messenger are safe, as well as newer apps like its TV companion IntoNow and its iPad mag Livestand. As for Sketch-a-Search and AppSpot, the apps’ technologies won’t be abandoned, but will rather be incorporated into Yahoo’s main search app. The full list of apps being shut down includes: Yahoo! Meme (iPad and iPhone) Yahoo! Mim (iPad) Yahoo! Answers (Android) Yahoo! AppSpot (Android and iPhone) Yahoo! Deals (iPhone) Yahoo! Finance (BlackBerry) Yahoo! Movies (Android) Yahoo! News (Android) Yahoo! Shopping (iPhone) Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search (iPad and iPhone) I’ll be honest – I don’t remember hearing of Meme or Mim, so those won’t be missed, I’ll wager. However, it’s a little surprising to see Finance dumped from BlackBerry – after all, who still rocks a ‘berry, but those busy banker/corporate types who constantly check headlines and stock quotes? And neither Yahoo Shopping nor Deals apps could survive on the phones preferred by those with disposable incomes (that is, the iPhone)? Crazy. Given the news, it was kind of funny to read Yahoo’s declaration of its “mobile first” ambitions, but what the company means is that it’s going to spend time on its more innovative and popular apps, and less on these general purpose (read: boring) creations.

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Yahoo Shuts Down 10 Mobile Apps, Says Its Going “Mobile First” (?)

Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition

bestcbstore — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:04:34 +0000

We took a break from the Android round-up in December because, well, to be honest I was on vacation. But January gave us a few extra smartphones and the holidays are over, so we’re back. What we’ve got for you today leans into more expensive turf, and unfortunately, our favorite Android devices for the past two months are also exclusively at Verizon, so Big Red subscribers should pay attention. Without further ado, these are our favorite December/January releases of the Android persuasion: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus , the LG Spectrum , and the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx . Enjoy! Samsung Galaxy Nexus Features: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Verizon 4G LTE support 4.65-inch 1280×720 Super AMOLED display 5MP rear camera (1080 video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera (720p video capture) 1.2GHz dual-core processor MSRP: $299.99 with a two-year contract Pros: Ice Cream Sandwich is a solid step up from Gingerbread That 720p display is huge and beautiful Google Hangouts Cons: The phone might be a bit too big for one-handed actions Feels a bit plastic-y No pre-loaded Google wallet, but you can download it If you’re looking for Android, the Galaxy Nexus is where you’ll find it. Ice Cream Sandwich is a joy compared to Gingerbread, and this coming from someone who is quite hard on Android. Of course, the screen on this bad boy is amazing, but as MG points out in his review , sometimes the phone is just too big to perform one-handed actions. We also expected image quality to be better out of that 5-megapixel rear camera, but it simply can’t compete with the iPhone’s 8-megapixel shooter. (And no, I’m not saying that based on megapixels… Image quality is simply better with the 4S.) But that doesn’t really matter — an Android fan is an Android fan, and this is as good as Android gets. LG Spectrum Features: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread Verizon 4G LTE support 4.5-inch True HD 1280×720 Display 8MP rear camera (1080p video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera 1.5GHz dual-core processor MSRP: $199.99 with a two-year contract Pros: Beautiful display Pre-loaded ESPN Sports Center app in HD LG Y is actually a nice custom overlay Cons: Not a fan of that brushed plastic back panel The silver bezels don’t handle prints well I was hard on this phone when I first played around with it, and I still maintain that there’s nothing super special about the Spectrum. It’s not like the Rezound with Beats Audio imtegration or the Razr with its anorexic waist line. That said, you really won’t find these kind of specs on an Android phone for just $200. In fact, I’d be so bold as to call it a steal. I’m also pretty excited about that display. I have yet to put a Super AMOLED Plus up against this 720p True HD display, but I’d say it’s one of the most (if not, the most) stunning displays I saw at CES. Certainly worth consideration, especially if you are a fan of LG phones to begin with. Motorola Droid Razr Maxx Features: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread Verizon 4G LTE support 4.3-inch Super AMOLED advanced 960×540 display 8MP rear camera (1080p video capture), 1.3MP front-facing camera (720p video capture) 1.2GHz dual-core processor MSRP: $299.99 with a two-year contract Pros: 3300 mAH battery is a big improvement from the Razr Less of a “Moto bump” along the back Bump in storage from 16GB to 32GB Cons: 1.89mm thicker than its predecessor UI can slow things down a tad The Droid Razr Maxx is a very special phone. It kills the few things that were wrong with the original Razr — which is an excellent device, mind you — and then doubles the storage, to boot. I was originally bothered with how light the Razr was. It made premium materials feel cheap, but the extra heft and weight on the Razr Maxx really gives this phone a pricey, solid feel. A Droid Razr update for Android 4.0 leaked out this week , so if you’re comfortable with tinkering than that’s an extra benefit to the Maxx. We’ll have a full review on this phone up very shortly, but from the short time I’ve spent with it thus far I’d say it has the superior hardware in this particular bunch of Android handsets. It’ll all come down to what matters most to you. If that giant 720p screen excites you, go Galaxy Nexus all the way. The Spectrum, on the other hand, offers up some pretty killer specs at a much more reasonable price, while the Droid Razr Maxx wins in the hardware/design department.

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Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition

Location-Based Shopping App Shopkick Now 3 Million Users Strong; 1B Deals Viewed

bestcbstore — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:00:18 +0000

Shopkick , an innovative geo-coupon system that is backed by Kleiner Perkins, Greylock, SV Angel and others, is debuting a number of momentum numbers today. The startup’s service now has 3 million active users, up from 2.3 million active users in September. Here’s how Shopkicks works. Instead of checking in, as you would with a geo app like Foursquare, Shopkick automatically recognizes when someone with the free Android or iPhone app on their phone walks into a store. Once a Shopkick Signal is detected, the app delivers reward points called “kickbucks” to the user for walking into a retail store, trying on clothes, scanning a barcode and other actions. Kickbucks can then be redeemed across all partner stores for gift card rewards or for Facebook Credits. User can also receive special discounts on specific products at partners stores like Macy’s, Best Buy or Target. National retail partners in the loyalty program include Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Crate & Barrel, Old Navy, American Eagle, Sports Authority, Toys R Us, Simon Malls and others, and 20 brands (P&G, Unilever, Kraft, Colgate, Clorox, Disney, HP, Intel). For example, one of the partner retailers is estimating $50 million in measurable incremental revenue as a result of the Shopkick mobile app. To date, Shopkick has seen 1 billion in-app deals and offers viewed, and in December, saw 5 million walk-ins to partner stores, doubling in four months. The app has seen 10 million product scans, up from 7 million in August 2011 and 3 million in February 2011. During the 2011 holiday shopping season, shopkick users interacted with stores through the app more than 3.1 million times per day on average, up from just over 1 million in August 2011. Sixty-four percent of all shopkick users are now women and the average shopkick user is 30 years old. As we’ve written in the past, Shopkick’s technology is helping physical retailers drive traffic and conversions in the store, which has been a challenge of late.

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Location-Based Shopping App Shopkick Now 3 Million Users Strong; 1B Deals Viewed

Was Megaupload Targeted Because Of Its Upcoming Megabox Digital Jukebox Service?

jos — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:44:33 +0000

Last Thursday the US Justice Department came down hard on Megaupload and its mega founder, Kim Dotcom. In the days since, there has been a shake-up of sorts in the digital storage realm. Several smaller sites have drastically changed their business models. Others, like MediaFire, reached out to me after I published this post attempting to distance themselves from Megaupload. However, yesterday, a new theory surfaced that indicates Megaupload’s demise had less to do with piracy than previously thought. This theory stems from a 2011 article detailing Megaupload’s upcoming Megabox music store and DIY artist distribution service that would have completely disrupted the music industry. TorrentFreak first reported about the service in early December 2011. Megabox was just in beta at that time with listed partners of 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon. Megaupload was in a heated marketing battle with the RIAA and MPAA who featured Kim Dotcom in an anti-piracy movie ( 5:10 mark ). The site had just sued Universal Music Group for wrongly blocking Megaupload’s recent star-studded YouTube campaign. Things were getting vicious in December but the quiet launch of Megabox might have been the straw that broke the millionaire’s back. Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game. The kicker was Megabox would cater to unsigned artists and allow anyone to sell their creations while allowing the artist to retain 90% of the earnings. Or, artists could even giveaway their songs and would be paid through a service called Megakey. “Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works,” Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak in December. Megabox was planning on bypassing the labels, RIAA, and the entire music establishment. Megaupload was likely large enough to actually find success. Other services have tried what Megabox was set to do, but Megaupload was massive. Prior to its closure last week, the site was estimated to be the 13th most visited site on the Internet, accounting for 4% of all worldwide Internet traffic. It boasted 180 million registered users with over 50 million visiting the site daily. Megaupload was already a seemingly trusted service for artists to distribute their work. Megabox would have a monetized that popularity by passing on the bulk of the earnings back to the artists. “You can expect several Megabox announcements next year including exclusive deals with artists who are eager to depart from outdated business models,” said Dotcom late last year. But that’s probably not going to happen. Kim Dotcom and several other Megaupload executives are now awaiting trial on various charges including racketeering, money laundering, and various counts of piracy. It seems they flew too close to the sun. High on success and a half a world away in New Zealand and Hong Kong, they attempted to take on the music industry head-on. Now they’re in jail.

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Was Megaupload Targeted Because Of Its Upcoming Megabox Digital Jukebox Service?