Apple announces iOS 6 at the world wide developers conference

June 12, 2012 by

Yesterday iOS 6 was announced at the world wide developers conference 2012 event, it brings around 200 new features to iOS. Many of the rumoured features were included in this update. One of the most anticipated updates is the introduction of their own Mapping software, up to now they have relied on Google for their maps. According to the website called Slash Gear TomTom is also going to supply the data for the maps, but not much information regarding this matter has been released yet. There was just a small press release from Tom Tom, stating that.

“ TomTom has signed a global agreement with Apple for maps and related information,” and that “No further details of the agreement will be provided.”

This update will add extra functionality to their mapping software such as turn-by-turn navigation,better Siri map integration,3D city views etc.

Apple’s decision to move away from Google was probably influenced by that fact that they have become bitter rivals in recent times. 

IOS 6 brings other new features such as Facebook being fully integrated into the software in the same way as twitter is, so making it easier to share photos and data with facebook. Apple’s facetime is going to be able to work with cellular networks, which was highly welcomed.  Siri will also be improved with this update and it will be made available on the new ipad and the ipad 2.

There will also be a feature available that enables you put on hold all calls and messages, if you want to do this you will just need to look for the ”Don’t want to be disturbed” option on your device.  Apple is also introducing with this update a feature called passbook, this will be like a virtual wallet, which lets you store all your boarding passes, tickets and gift cards and other important documents. Passbook will come to life when you enter a place were your are documents relevant and your documents will pop up automatically. To use this feature you will have to have your location services switched on.

There are many other interesting updates in iOS 6, if you want to find out more just go to Apple.com

It worth pointing out that Apple has missed the opportunity again to add Adobe flash and Blue-tooth file sharing to it’s arsenal, which Android has offered from day one.

IOS 6 is expected to be released in the autumn. Its release will probably coincide with the release of the new iPhone, which most likely will be released in September or October this year.  

If you want to try some of the exciting new features all you need to do is just get a developers account and download iOS 6 beta from Apple. However its worth pointing out that the iOS 6 beta download is unstable at the moment and some of the features have not been implemented yet. 

 

 

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Google plans to introduce some major enhancements to its maps for Android users

June 7, 2012 by

CNN reports that Google plans to introduce some major enhancements to its maps. Google at a news conference at its San Francisco office, said that its firstly adding an option to enable Android users to be able to use its maps service offline. At present you are required to use either a wifi or a wireless data connection for the maps to work. Google says this service will be available in more than 100 countries.The offline mode option will be rolled out to Android users within a couple of weeks.

 

Speaking at Google’s news event Rita Chen, a product manager for Google said “No longer will you need paper maps,” .

 

It seems unlikely that Apple iOS users will get this upgrade, because it is rumoured that Apple is dropping Google maps in favour of its own version, Apple’s new map service is rumoured to be built into iOS 6 which is expected to be launched at the Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts on June 11.   

 

Google plans to also make available a 3D option to mobile users. This will enable the mobile users to have access to more detailed 3D maps within urban areas. Peter Birch who is another project manager speaking at the news event says “We’re trying to create the illusion that you are flying over the city, almost as if you were in your own personal helicopter,”. Google also plans to extend these 3D maps by the end of the year to cover over 300 million people. At first these 3D maps will only be available within Google s Earth app for mobile devices but there is a desktop version planned for a later date.

 

All these enhancements to Google s map service look promising. Lets hope when Apple releases its own version, it can offer the same bells and whistles as the Google version does.

Source CNN

 

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Windows Marketplace now has over 100,000 apps

June 6, 2012 by

The Windows phone Marketplace has now exceeded 100,000 apps after just 20 months. An article on a website called All About Windows Phone states that on June 3rd 2012 the Windows phone Marketplace has exactly 100,145 applications, this total includes all the applications that have ever been sent to the Marketplace. Applications that were and are only offered on a regional bases were also included. The site went on to say that Applications that were released and discontinued for whatever reason where also added to the total. 

The Windows phone Marketplace now seems to be growing at a rapid rate of over 300 apps per day on average. If the store keeps growing at this rate it will not be too long before it becomes a credible challenger to Android and IOS.  Android actually had less apps than Microsoft when their store was at the same point in history, Android took as long as 24 months to get to 100,00 apps. However its worth pointing out that the App store only took 16 months to achieve 100,000 applications.

The most popular category within the Windows phone Marketplace according to AAWP is Entertainment, which has a total of 18,867 apps and the average price of an app was $0.99.

The steady growth of the Windows Mobile OS is promising. If Microsoft can play their cards right, it has the opportunity to become a formidable player in the mobile tech world of the future.

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: , ,

Iphone 5 Tim Cook seems to rule out the possibility of an iphone 5 with a 4 inch screen

May 31, 2012 by

Tim Cook seems to have ruled out the possibility of an iphone 5coming with a 4 inch screen, according to the website The Verge,  Tim Cook speaking at the D:10 conference says:-                                                     

” One things is that we’re not fragmented. Look at the percentage of users who upgraded to IOS5. We have one App store. We have one phone with one screen size, one resolution. So it’s pretty simple if you’re a developer”.

 

This comment made by Apple’s Tim Cook at the D:10 conference seem to conflict with most of the rumours that are flying around out there at the moment, that are claiming that the iphone 5 is coming with at least a 4 inch screen. 9to5Mac for example, who are a reliable source are claiming to have leaked images of parts of an iphone 5. As you can see in the image above courtesy of 9to5Mac here is a screen measuring 3.999 inches diagonally from corner to corner.

In reality nobody knows for sure what Apple has up it’s sleeves when it comes to the specs of the iphone 5, Apple have a good record of keeping secrets regarding their future planned products. If Apple fail to bring out a new iphone with at least a 4 inch screen, they are at risk of falling behind its competitors. This is because many of the top end smart phones, such as the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S3 are coming packed with better features like quad-core processors, gorilla glass and almost five-inch screens.

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Windows 8 to be a rebirth of the OS

May 24, 2012 by

The boss of Microsoft Steve Ballmer speaking at the Seoul Digital Forum, has said: “It’s really, in some senses, a dawning of the rebirth of MS Windows. It’s certainly the most important piece of work we’ve done.”

Windows 8 is expected to be launched in October. Microsoft has been steadily loosing ground over the last few years, while the competition such as Apple have been gaining in popularity.

Windows 8 will be more of a radical departure from previous versions in an  attempt to capture peoples imagination. It will get a app store and it will be integrated with Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud computing service, which will be similar to Apple’s cloud based backup service.

Steve Ballmer goes on to state that next year Windows 8 could have up to 500 million users, which will give incentives for device makers and app builders to move over to the OS.

Whether his predictions will happen remains to be seen.

 

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Sony’s Music Unlimited service is now available for iOS

May 23, 2012 by

The cloud based Music Unlimited service from Sony is now available for ios devices in the USA. It has came to ios in order to try and capture some of Spotify’s share of the market. This service was previously available on only specific devices such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia range of smartphones,PlayStation 3 console,  Bravia televisions, Sony’s Tablet S and Tablet P Android slates.

 The app will be free to download but it will require a monthly subscription which will be priced around $3.99 (£2.50) a month. Its premium service will cost $10 (£6.30) per month, which will allow users to gain access to offline playback and a few other extras.

According to Mcvuk this service is being relased on May 25 in the UK.

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Do Android tablets have a future

May 20, 2012 by

The is a question doing the rounds lately that is asking the question do Android tablets have a future. 

The sales of the Android tablets seem to be decreasing, the first quarter numbers from IDC showed that Android tablet shipments declined in Q1-12 from Q4-11.  While the competition from Apples ipad and the Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon seems to be growing. 

The reason for Androids poor results seems to come down to Googles strategy of competing directly against the iPad with many of its high end models such as the Moto Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tablet.  

The reasons why Google cannot effectively compete with Apple’s ipad, range from poorer hardware performances in certain models, poorer availability of decent quality apps and also poorer out of the box user experiences. 

The best strategy is for Google to focus more on the lower end of the market more and compete more against Amazon’s Kindle Fire table which has successfully created a whole new market with the Kindle fire tablet, which is has been characterised by simpler hardware specifications and software, which is set at the $200 price point.

Android could even be further hammered when Windows releases its Arm based tablets later on in the year. Google  needs to resolve these issues or act to produce a new strategy soon to stop the rot before its too late. 

 

 

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