One Year Milestone Had Reached, Windows Phone 7

The first mobile phone with WP7 – HTC Trophy was officially on sale on 21 October, 2010 in New Zealand. As the first iPod had released for about a decade, Windows Phone 7 also hit one year milestone.

The master guru of Windows Phone 7, Joe Belfiore, wrote such words on twitter: Hey — HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY WP7! Our very first phones started selling (Europe only) 1 year ago! A lot’s happened in a year, eh? :) We also wish Windows Phone its first birthday and all the success for the times to come ahead.

The last year is a tough year for Microsoft. It still hard to believe that just over one year ago Kin was dead (with only 500 global sales) and few months later Microsoft also had to give up Zune. Fortunately is Microsoft does not abandon WP7 like as Kin in only 2 months. A year ago, this platform has just appeared and brought a brand-new mobile phone experience. And within a year, WP7 released two major updates, NoDo and Mango, which establish the foundation of its potential market. Those updates own tremendous significance for the future. For this platform, the only little change is the sales, but we still have high expectation for it.

In fact, it’s strange that mobile platform which can accept the criticisms continuously will go ahead better than the platform which with ever-increasing consumers. Even though Microsoft is working to change the status quo through advertising and strive for the OEM support. Whatever, we still believe that WP7 can gain a place in the field of mobile operation system.

Author: Bruno+

Androids taking over the universe

Smartphones now outsell computers, we know, but computer sales are slowing as other non-PC devices become more popular.

"The popularity of non-PC devices, including media tablets, such as the iPad, and smartphones, took consumers' spending away from PCs," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

Computers are still selling but more slowly and smartphone sales are increasing. Last week, US network Verizon said 39% of phones on its network were smartphones and half of phones sold in the last quarter run the Android operating system.

Putting the difference into perspective, analyst Horace Dediu noted last week: "There are currently 1.5billion global internet users and at least 5.5billion global cellphone users."

Technology is even more invasive in our lives than it was five or 10 years ago. It's due to the evolution of a range of factors: specifically, increased processing power, cloud-computing and faster broadband. Add in the surge in mobile devices such as smartphones and mobile internet speeds.

In the past two weeks, Apple launched its answer to Google's services and called it iCloud.

The major player in cloud-based services is actually Amazon, which spotted this trend before anyone else and built the vast data centres and server farms that are the backbone of our new world. It hosts Dropbox, the clever, Freemium storage system we use to run Stuff magazine, for instance.

The Silk browser included in its new Kindle Fire tablet is a clever combination of server-side and client-side processing (the old IT names for the cloud and whatever device you're using). Silk does the heavy crunching on Amazon's servers and then pushes it to the Fire. If you haven't heard of push technology, then no one has explained to you how your BlackBerry works.

The champions of this new cloud world are obviously Google, whose Android smartphone-operating system is an attempt to extend its dominance in the burgeoning mobile market. A very good attempt. Android is getting about 500000 activations a day, said Google's head of mobile, Andy Rubin.

It's going to be the Windows of smartphones and, perhaps, of tablets. Set-up involves fewer steps, including putting in your Gmail username and password. A quick sync and you're away.

The one major player desperately trying to jump the shark, or trying to stay relevant, is Microsoft. Despite being a cash cow and selling 90% of the operating systems on new computers, Microsoft is behind in the mobile space, where smartphones now outsell computers, and Android is moving into a position of strength by virtue of its volume.

This week, Nokia is expected to unveil its Windows Phone 7 devices at the Nokia World Conference in London. It announced the switch to the operating system of its former foe in February.

BlackBerry, which is still the gold standard of mobile e-mail despite gains by other manufacturers, is also making a belated push forward with a new operating system called BBX, announced last week. It combines the excellent QNX that runs the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and is sorely needed to keep the original mobile e-mail device in the running.

Source is
http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2011/10/24/androids-taking-over-the-universe

Android Ice Cream Sandwich: A coming of age and homage to Windows Phone 7

While watching the consummate, bigwig genius of Andy Rubin, Matias Duarte, and Hugo Barra introduce Ice Cream Sandwich, I felt an epic epiphany gently blink into existence in some far-flung corner of my mind. At the time I couldn’t quite put my finger on it — it was a nagging sensation that something wasn’t quite right, but I wasn’t sure what — but when the end of the event rolled around and Android’s new People app was demonstrated, everything clicked into place: Ice Cream Sandwich is a homage to Windows Phone 7.

To be honest, I should’ve realized sooner. The first thing hat Google showed off last night wasn’t resizable widgets or its new browser: it started with the Roboto font — a frickin’ font! It quickly became apparent that Roboto was more than just a font, though: it is a typography-based design aesthetic. Moving through the presentation, Google showed us that Ice Cream Sandwich has a very simple, clean, tile-based interface. There are no rounded corners, no brushed metal textures, visual contrast is very high, and most of all, content is king.

These are the exact same design guidelines that underpin Microsoft’s Metro style paradigm, the tile- and typography-based interface that governs Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8.

Is Ice Cream Sandwich’s similarity to WP7 a coincidence? We’ll probably never know, but ICS’s development definitely begun around the same time as WP7′s release in late 2010. To be honest, it doesn’t even matter — operating systems trade ideas and features all the time. More importantly, this complete interface overhaul is indicative of a much more significant shift: Android is ready and eager to drop its mantle as the nerd and power user OS.

We all know that Android is the geeky option. We all know that it’s built from the ground up to be the antithesis of Apple’s walled, iOS garden. The problem is, neither of these factors make Android phones particularly loveable or usable. Through sheer marketing dollars and low prices, Android is making serious inroads — but has your mom ever told you that she adores her Android phone?

This isn’t to say that Google wants to lessen the functionality or flexibility of Android — Android’s open source community is one of its biggest strengths — but with ICS it is acknowledging that WP7 (and of course iOS) are much easier to use. The Roboto UI is Google’s admittance that — try as they might — function cannot trump form, and that in fact they must be inexorably linked through a standard, easy-to-understand interface if users are to make the most of a device.
American Pie

What we have with Ice Cream Sandwich, then, is Android’s departure from spotty, painted-black malcontent teenagedom, and entrance into the mature, iOS-dominated adult workplace. It’s also impossible to ignore that Android’s newfound maturity very closely mirrors Google+, another Google product that has distinctly eschewed geekiness in favor of mass-market appeal. Along with the shuttering of Labs, its CEO’s promise to put more wood behind fewer arrows, and the resultant end of Google’s Wild West days, it really does feel like Big G is trying to deliver compelling, consumer-targeted products.

At risk, of course, is Google’s thriving developer, power user, and open source community. Ease-of-use, a consistent user experience paradigm, and compatibility are hard to maintain in an open ecosystem. It’ll be interesting to see if Google can retain its geeky panache and also become inherently more loveable and usable, or whether that’s an impossible compromise.

Source is
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/100591-android-4-0-a-coming-of-age-and-homage-to-windows-phone-7

iOS 5 vs Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

Surprisingly, iOS 5 is the underdog. Google to roll out the most advanced Android OS upgrade yet, the Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Ask Google or Apple, and both companies will tell you that the operating system is the heart and soul of a smartphone or tablet, and apparently the top feature of a smartphone. Android and Apple’s iOS are considered as the biggest players in the smartphone operating system market today, based on market share and overall functionality, but the advantages and disadvantages of both platforms are obvious.

Before we talk about Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S, we should first note the Android 4.0 versus iOS 5. Surprisingly, Android’s 4.0 is the most aggressive upgrade yet that will surely compete against Apple’s iOS 5.

Notification System

One of the best new features of the iOS 5, and Apple claims the new notification system of the iOS 5, used by iPhone 4S and other compatible Apple devices, features a compelling new notification system that can deliver “less intrusive” updates like e-mail, Facebook notification, Twitter, etc.

Apple tweaked the operating system’s lock screen, home screen to notification updates while running an application. Similar to Android, an iOS 5-powered device user can also get access to the notification list by swiping the screen’s notification bar down, and can tap to read, or dismiss a notification. A user can also adjust the notification/s from a certain Apple or third-party app by opting in via the settings.

Meanwhile, Google has update the Android’s notification system, and with the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a Galaxy Nexus user (and future Android devices with Android 4.0) can get access to the notification list on lock screen, home screen or while running an application. To get the notification list, the user can swipe from the notification bar down, and can now dismiss by swiping or flick (left or right) or read notification by tapping.

Google’s Matias Duarte explained, “from the beginning, Android has been designed to put you in control. In Ice Cream Sandwich, notifications are better than ever.” Duarte added, “in Ice Cream Sandwich, we’re also introducing a music player control in notification, so you can pause or skip tracks without ever leaving an application just by pulling down the notification.”

Google is also the company behind Gmail, so the notification for the e-mail service is theoretically better with ICS than other Android versions and iOS.

Built-in Camera application

Android and Apple have implemented better built-in camera application. With iOS 5, Apple has implemented a better, built-in editing tools like red-eye reduction, touch to focus, camera shutter support (volume up button), cropping, flip, and photo enhancements.

Google’s Android is also introducing a built-in photo editing application for the Android Ice Cream Sandwich. According to Google, Galaxy Nexus can apply filters, crop, flip and refocus a photo without losing the original photo. Google also showed the more flexible way of sharing a photo to social networking sites by clicking share. With iOS 5, the photo sharing within the photo application is limited (but supports e-mail or Twitter), and the user will need to open the social network’s application to upload a photo or video. One of the best examples is Facebook.


Messaging

Google said the new messaging app of Ice Cream Sandwich is enhanced, now with better on-screen keyboard, and easy access to the contact’s other details with the “People app.” A user can save all the information of a contact like Linkedin, Twitter, Google+ and other supported social networking sites and e-mail services (including Gmail). Google said the list of supported services will grow because they will open the People App’s API. Android’s ICS operating system also includes better voice to text support.

Meanwhile, iOS 5 features the new iMessage application, the BBM-like messaging application exclusive for iOS 5 devices. Apple also included Siri in the messaging application for dictation to text support.


Find my Friends vs Face Unlock

Two new features, Apple’s Find my Friends and Android’s Face Unlock. Apple, during the iPhone 4S event, unveiled the new location-based service called Find My Friends application. Apparently, Find My Friends is the GPS-dependent service that a user can use if she/he wants to locate a friend or family.

iOS 5 users can send a request to friends/family with iOS 5-equipped device to find their location. Once the friend accepts the request, the requestor can see that friend’s location on either a map or a list.

Meanwhile, Android also introduces a new feature called “Face Unlock,” and with this feature, a user can lock or unlock the Galaxy Nexus by using his/her face. Google said in the Galaxy Nexus product page, “No complicated passwords to remember, just switch on your phone and look into the camera to quickly unlock your phone.”


Cloudy

iOS 5 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich both support cloud storage and syncing. With the Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich, a user can shoot, save and send instantly. Google used the Google+ as an example, saying that Google+ features “Instant Upload” service that uploads a photo instantly to the cloud.

Meanwhile, iOS 5 supports iCloud, Apple’s new cloud-based syncing and apps access. With iCloud, users can now sync all his/her devices like iTunes music, photos, videos, contacts, calendars, documents like “Pages,” and more. It is worth noting that Android also supports photo syncing with Picasa and Google+ and Music (mp3) syncing with the Google Music Beta application and PC access via browser.


iOS 5 or Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Still depends on personal preference, if you love Apple, buy the iPhone 4S or for Android fans, go with Galaxy Nexus just because the phone gets the latest operating system updates first than other Android devices.

Source is
http://popherald.com/ios-5-vs-android-ice-cream-sandwich-4-0/news/2011/10/19

After the iPhone 4S, Windows Phone 7.5 still feels right

My fellow ZDNet blogger and friend, James Kendrick, put up a post comparing his Android and iOS 5/iPhone 4S experiences and I agree with his take on the two. Since he has been a much more regular Android user while I have been focusing more time on Windows Phone 7 I thought you might enjoy hearing my thoughts on how the new iOS 5 OS on my Apple iPhone 4S compares to the Windows Phone 7 platform.

Software: iOS 5 vs. Windows Phone 7.5

A person who has used Windows Phone 7 even more than myself is Paul Thurrott and on his SuperSite for Windows he offers some thoughts on Windows Phone 7.5 versus iOS 5 and comes the conclusion that his AT&T SIM belongs in his Windows Phone 7.5 device. Paul emphasizes what I talked about when Windows Phone 7 was first released in 2010 and that is the philosophy of an application based system versus a task based system. In Windows Phone 7/7.5 you don’t generally think of apps as much (except for Xbox LIVE games) as you simply perform tasks to get things done, such as call a friend or look at your photos.

iOS 5 and the Apple iPhone 4S may change all of that as Siri grows up, but right now Siri is still a bit limited on what you can do and I personally find it most useful for creating reminders and calendar appointments. Since Siri is a beta, I am hoping to get more integration into 3rd party apps and even Apple apps. I would love to just say something like “Download the latest MobileTechRoundup podcast and start playing it.” It is not yet that advanced though and as I mentioned in an earlier article the Windows Phone 7.5 Tellme voice integration is excellent and deserves consideration.

Apple rules the smartphone world with the number of applications, but I personally find all the apps I want and need on Windows Phone 7 in their catalog of 30,000+ applications. I find the notifications in iOS 5 to blow away what limited notifications we see on Windows Phone and would love to see a bit more work in this area.

Speed and consistency has always been a hallmark of iOS, but Windows Phone 7.5 beats Apple here with an extremely snappy performance even on old hardware. Windows Phone 7.5 is as consistent as iOS and maybe even more so with less menu options and settings available to the end user. Windows Phone 7.5 does an excellent job with service integration while Apple forces you into the idea of working with specific apps, such as separate Facebook and Twitter apps.

Hardware

There is no question that the hardware of the iPhone 4S blows away anything we currently see in Windows Phone. Hopefully that changes very soon when Nokia joins the picture and if they release a device as amazing as the Nokia N9 I am looking at then we’ll have a real competition going on. HTC, Samsung, and others need to step up their Windows Phone game and I think a couple of the upcoming Windows Phone 7.5 device look to do that.

Which do I prefer?

As regular readers know I have been a major fan and advocate for Windows Phone 7 and still am a strong believer that you need to try it before tossing it out for consideration. My daughter liked it so much that she helped pay for her own unlocked Samsung Focus to use on T-Mobile and said the same thing.

I really enjoy my new Apple iPhone 4S and love that you now get a rock solid zippy experience with a ton of tweaking options, similar to the Android platform, and a platfom that is consistent like Windows Phone. The iPhone 4S hardware is awesome and with a camera that performs as well as anything on the market I recommend the iPhone 4S for many people. However, like Paul I still find I enjoy using Windows Phone 7.5 even more than my iPhone 4S. Windows Phone 7.5 is my primary phone on T-Mobile and the iPhone 4S is my primary on Verizon and there is nothing I see from Android that will knock either one of those out. I am enjoying the Nokia N9, but with a dead end software platform that is a tweakers device and not for the masses. I cannot wait to see what Nokia announces next week at Nokia World, I will be there covering the event, and hope to soon replace my aging HTC HD7 and Dell Venue Pro.

Source is
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phones/after-the-iphone-4s-windows-phone-75-still-feels-right/6751

Android Ice Cream Sandwich, this is not the treat you are looking for

This has been a busy two weeks for big name drops in the mobile world. We had the release of the iPhone 4S to record numbers once again, and tomorrow we are looking at the drop of the newest iteration of Android, “Ice Cream Sandwich” (ICS). The Android community has been anxiously awaiting ICS as it is believed it will unify the user experience between phones and tablets that are powered by Google’s mobile OS. Which, eventually, it will.

The issue facing Google, and the community that surrounds Android, is the fact that the unification process they so desperately need and want will not happen with ICS, but down the road as the market purges older devices.

Let’s start with what we know about ICS, which is mostly gleaned from a leaked video (embedded below):

    A new lock screen is going to be implemented, using bubbles to activate specific actions by dragging.
    Honeycomb tablet users will not notice much difference, mainly in aesthetics and coloring.
    Phone users will notice a drastic difference, as ICS brings honeycomb features to handsets.
    The experience will be generally the same whether you are holding a tablet or a phone powered by ICS.
    At least on the Tuna (internal code name for the ICS phone being announced tomorrow), there will be no hard buttons on the face of the device; it will have soft buttons like current Honeycomb tablets.

There will likely be some additional changes and possibly a Big Reveal at tomorrow night’s announcement of ICS and the Nexus Prime — and our sister site Geek.com has more analysis if you’re interested — but really, there is a more pressing matter at hand.

The simple fact of the matter is: Android has some serious hurdles to overcome to generate enough excitement and hype that the iPhone garners upon its release. If you are familiar with Android, the issues are not new to you, the biggest of course being fragmentation.

Windows Phone 7.5 is now a serious contender

When Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 launched last year, it received largely positive reviews, including from us. But there was a nagging sense that it was incomplete, and there were a lot of tiny but important features missing.

With the follow-up officially known as Windows Phone 7.5 (codenamed Mango) now out on new phones as well as an update on existing models this month, the platform is proving to be a capable OS with enough features on take on both iOS and Android.

People who have never used WP7 before this will probably find it difficult to spot most of these improvements, as the user experience remains consistent. So without further ado, let’s dive into our Goondu review!



Improved performance
After upgrading my LG Optimus 7 to WP7.5, I fully expected some slow-downs. After all, it’s not the best of Windows Phones, and 7.5 brings with it more than 500 new features that are sure to bog down the phone, right?

To my pleasant surprise, performance actually improved. Everything bounced and jumped along even faster than before the upgrade. Even on the relatively old 1GHz chip the Optimus 7 uses, everything worked just fine, and dare I say, even faster than the dual-core Android behemoths out there.

Unfortunately, battery life seems to have suffered a little. I used to be able to get through an entire day with just one charge. Now the battery gets precariously close to needing a new charge by the end of the work day.