4th January 2012

Record Apps download in December

A staggering figure of more than a billion apps have been downloaded for the first time in a single week, this according to analytics firm Flurry who said 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the last week of December. No doubt the numbers were influenced by many users who received new devices for Christmas and firms offered discounted apps over the holiday period. The US was responsible for nearly half of the figures accounting for 509 million, followed by China with 99 million.

The UK alone was responsible for 81 million which easily surpassed Canada with 41 million, Germany and France who each downloaded 40 million. Looking forward to 2012, Flurry expects breaking the one billion download barrier per week will become more commonplace. Unsurprisingly, Christmas proved a boom time for device makers. Flurry estimated that nearly seven million Android devices and iPhone were activated on Christmas Day. Apple does not disclose such figures but Google confirmed that more than 3.7 million Android devices were activated over the Christmas weekend.

+ Gaming, iPad, iPhone, Mobile Phones

2nd January 2012

Samsung risks following Sony and IBM’s slide

It’s an old saying, but nonetheless often true, that a company cannot stand still, it will go one way or the other; could this be happening to Korean Giant Samsung? The South Korean firm could soon enter a sunset scenario that would see it follow other downturns. Just as the Roman and British empires rose and fell, technology companies too face inevitable phases of evolution and devolution. The rule applies to the likes of Sony, IBM and yes, even Samsung.

Sony, much like Samsung, initially entered the US market with relatively low-priced products such as its TR-72 transistor radio in the 1960s. The Japanese firm followed up its success with a series of blockbuster game-changing products: the Sony Walkman in 1979; the CD music format in 1982, in conjunction with Philips; and the DVD in 1995, to name just a few. Like Samsung televisions today, Sony TVs and electronics in the 1980s were heralded as the industry’s best and most cutting edge. But like IBM, Sony’s peak period was soon followed by a rapid sunset that began the following decade. Could this be happening to Samsung as well?

+ General Information, Samsung

27th December 2011

Top of the Christmas list

The iPhone 4S, which was released in October, made up a quarter of all handset sales in the four weeks before December 9, according to market research firm GfK, closely followed by Samsung’s Galaxy SII which was the second-best selling phone in the week up to December 9th.

However, a big disappointment for  Nokia’s new Lumia handset which got off to a poor start, failing to make the top 10 handsets in the four weeks of the survey period. The Lumia, which runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system, was released in Britain on November 16. The iPhone 4S is a more powerful version of its predecessor, with an improved camera and a new voice control system called Siri. Last week, there was speculation that Google was working on its own voice control software to be released as part of its Android mobile operating system.

Not such good news for RIM, the Canadian company that makes BlackBerry handsets, it has had a bad year but there was at least some comfort in the GfK data. Sales of BlackBerry handsets increased during the period of the survey, with three variants of the BlackBerry Curve in the top 10.

+ Gadgets, General Information, Mobile Phones

24th December 2011

Top Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone

Sony Ericsson has been developing some of the best mobile phones in the industry for years.  With the recent technological developments, Sony Ericsson mobile phones now offer enhances features that can only be found on Android phones.  One of the best selling phones from this company is the Sony Ericsson Arc S.

The phone offers a unique curved style for comfort and style.  Sporting a bright 4.2 inch screen, the phone offers a large viewing area perfect for running various Android apps.  The phone also includes an 8 MP camera.  The smartphone also offers GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities.

Users will enjoy a fast processing speed and various internet functions.  Perfect for social media, users will find it fast and easy to send off emails and messages.  With an easy to understand menu system, the phone is easy to use.

Sony Ericsson mobile phones have been top choices since their introduction and as Android takes over the market, Sony continues to introduce enhances phones with amazing capabilities.

+ Mobile Phones, Sony Ericsson

21st December 2011

Tweeting to be allowed in courts

Journalists will no longer have to ask for permission to tweet in court under new rules issued by Britain’s most senior judge, paving the way for more live coverage of trials. However, before you all get excited members of the general public will still need approval to use Twitter or other text-based communications services in court however, because of fears that witnesses or jurors could be influenced or distracted. Tweeting by members of the media would not normally pose such a risk, said Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice.

One of the reasons behind the decision is that most obviously by permitting the use of live, text-based communications, this would be to enable the media to produce fair and accurate reports of the proceedings. The new relaxation of the rules for the media comes after consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Society of Editors, the Bar Council and others. The total ban on photography in court remains in place.

+ Internet, News

18th December 2011

Sky for Xbox Kinect App

Is this the way that entertainment will be going in the future as the Xbox’s latest update seeks to make the video games console a single hub for all sorts of home entertainment, whether this is films, TV or gaming, the Xbox with Kinect should be all you need. Controlled by gesture, voice or the traditional controller, this is a gadget that feels increasingly futuristic, even though the hardware itself is not new. Wave your hand to scroll through a list of tracks, games, movies or options, or even just talk to your television.

There is maybe a snag though, because Sky customers in particular need a real justification to watch their existing service via the new Xbox app, although it offers two significant improvements. Firstly, the interface for Sky on Xbox is the required, marked improvement, making it far easier to find on demand films, and offering the same, familiar channel guide for live Sky TV. Because it’s delivered online, it means that, say, a family could log on wherever they find an Xbox, or a student could carry their family Sky package with them to university. In an age where the web is of growing importance, apps such as this mark a sea-change, and expand Sky’s reach beyond the satellite dish.

+ Gaming, General Information, Xbox 360

15th December 2011

Mobile Phones on the Road

Mobile phones have invaded every walk of life from business to domestic, and vehicles are no exception. The problem of dealing with drivers who insist on using their mobile phone on the road has become something of a headache for law enforcement agencies over the world. Some, like the UK and France, allow the use of hands-free phones whilst driving a vehicle, whilst many others have gone the whole hog and banned the use of a mobile altogether whilst driving.

The different reactions and legislation of different countries is the result of research into the effects of using a mobile whilst driving on the concentration levels of those behind the wheel, and the relative difficulty of policing any deviances from lawful behaviour.

Mobile phones have become so advanced that using a smart phone for lawful navigation purposes can easily be confused by the police with using it illegally, which is why those countries that ban their use altogether have taken that step.

Issues with cyclists using mobile phones are only beginning to emerge and be looked into in official studies.

Check out Recombu and other sites for the latest news.

+ Mobile Phones

11th December 2011

Google hits 10 billion apps

More than 10 billion apps have been downloaded from Google’s Android Market, to mark the moment Google said that for the next 10 days it would cut the price of some top apps to 10p each. The search giant announced the milestone on its blog adding that the store’s apps were being downloaded at a rate of one billion a month.

Google has placed increasing emphasis on app sales and downloads, launching movie rentals and redesigning the Android Market to better rival Apple’s App Store. In the three years it has been open, Apple’s App Store has amassed more than 18 billion downloads, and over the App Store’s first two years it totalled approximately 5 billion downloads. Google has benefitted from huge numbers of manufacturers adopting its open-source Android operating system, however. We shall watch with interest how the battle develops over the next few months.

+ Android OS, Google, Mobile Phones

7th December 2011

YouTube redesigned

The video networking site is six years old and has been given a huge facelift. The changes include a single news feed in the centre of the homepage featuring videos that an individual’s friends have uploaded onto sister site Google+. Also you can now see a channel feed on the left hand side of screen encouraging users to ‘subscribe’ to their favourite YouTube channels and shows, does this mean a major boost to TV networks and individuals who have their own channels on the site?

Other inclusions on the new site are Facebook and Google+ ‘buttons’ also in the left hand column so users can easily share and see content from the video site through to their choice of social network. The Google-owned video site has been trying to make in-roads into hosting as much professional content on the site, as well as user-generated content and encouraging users to set up channels. The overall feel of the new YouTube is more like a social network, rather than a linear video site.

+ Internet, News

30th November 2011

Faster broadband on the horizon

If you live in any of the following cities then you will soon benefit as part of a £5billion increase in infrastructure spending. George Osborne said he would improve the broadband in 10 cities across the UK, including London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. Further cities, likely to include Milton Keynes and Bristol, are set to be announced in the future. Companies such as BT and Virgin will be able to bid for money to improve wireless or fixed-line coverage in cities, in a bid to create ‘hubs’ that will drive economic growth and offer speeds of 80 – 100 Mbps.

If you live in the countryside or you run a rural business you could benefit from proposals too, with plans for rural broadband is already set to receive £530m in this parliament, although not all of that funding has yet been allocated. Mr Osborne also announced in his Autumn Statement the release of more government data, on road works, railways and other information, which he hopes will encourage software developers to write applications for Smartphones and computers. Rural broadband campaigners claim that such small businesses would be more likely to be based outside cities if investment was directed toward improving networks in the countryside.

+ Broadband, News