Why I can't stand it when skins, themes and ringtones are pretending to be apps [Android Market]

When people ask me why I'm not using an Android device I usually say that as a former Windows Mobile user, there are just too many things about Android that remind me of that old annoying OS. In some aspects, Android seems like an improved version of Windows Mobile. Well, really, totally, widely improved, that is… but still very much alike.

One of the things (we) Windows Mobile users learned (in the hard way) is that customization and flexibility do have their price – you end up wasting hours on trying to improve your phone, personalizing everything, downloading skins, themes, ringtones, widgets (remember how we called them "Today plug-ins"), anything goes – but then you end up with one hell of an inconsistent system, full of duplications (multiple media players, files explorers, calendar widgets, etc.), messy, and most importantly – full of crap.

When I just switched to the iPhone, I was shocked by how "close" that environment is, at first I didn't like it, but the benefit of it was that everything looks the same, works well, and most important: looks AMAZING. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This is definitely not the case with Android interface (not to mention the horrible customizations companies like Samsung and Motorola are creating, ruining Google's work, and lowering the overall level of the UI which is not very high anyhow…).

Skins, Themes, Alterative Homescreens, (even alternative Android OS!). Every Android user knows what I'm talking about, and every Android user knows it's not easy to find widgets, alternative shells, keyboards, skins that are all combining nicely together. In most cases the end result is simply poor and you don't even know why.

The worst part of it is that those skins, themes, homescreens, widgets, are all over the Android Market, hiding what's more important: the real apps.  

Android Market is a mess and I'm not talking about the increasing number of malware and spam (Close to 10% of Android Apps festering pits of spyware, worms and premium SMS senders, getting worse), I'm sure Google will find a way to fix that part – I'm talking, once again, about all of those useless "things" that are not really apps but are called apps; skins, themes, widgets and ringtones… It's bad enough that around one third of the apps in Android Market are defined as "low quality apps" (see chart below) – the remaining ones include "things" that are not really apps!

 

Now, I know where this is going. Last time I wrote bad things about Android I got Android fans all over me (here, at MobilitySite, and in some Android forums…), I was banned, made illegal, my wife almost left me, my 2 years old kid stopped playing Transformers with me…  Believe me – I'm trying! I really am. I can't… just can't stop myself…

I did a small research and found the following to prove my point:

Android market has over 25,000 apps (out of almost 250,000) categorized as "personalization" (meaning: hacks, tweaks, skins, themes, widgets, ringtones, etc.).

(More Android Market Statistics in here)

Now, this is where it gets interesting: when I searched for the term "ringtones" – I got around 30,000 search results, most of them were ringtones packs, labeled as… "entertainment" or as "Music & Audio" and not under "Personalization"… hmm…

Looking for the term "theme" gave me over 13,000 apps, around 2,000 apps carry the name "Skin", I figured they are all included in the "Personalization" section too but guess what? Many of them actually belong to other sections (which are probably relevant to the original apps those skins belong to… ).

For example: Handcent SMS Skin(Summertime) is a skin for the favorite SMS replacement, but the "skin" app is not categorized as "personalization" app but instead it's under "Communication" (as many other similar skins and themes), PlayerPro Wmp Skin is categorized as "Music and Audio" even though it's just a simple skin… Open Home Skin - Windows 7 is labeled as "Entertainment", and so on.

What's going on here? Skins, themes, ringtones, all pretending to be apps… How disturbing!

Can it be that over 70,000 "so called apps" are actually "personalization" tweaks?

What a crappy store, everything is a mess, can't find stuff you really look for, seems like the shopkeeper is gone, everything is out of place – disaster.

So you are asking why I'm not using Android?

Because it's not as good as iPhone.

It's barely as close to being a fun experience like using Windows Phone 7. Sorry.

It's powerful, robust, you can do amazing things with it, multi-task in the best possible way, it has a lot of bugs [but that's not an issue for a former developer like myself (bugs are the developer's best friends)], it's dynamic, it progresses fast, but it lacks a sexy UI, and even though Google's work is good, the additions are soooo bad, the apps suck, too many of them look like students first year's work, test apps, and the store is a mess.

I'm done wasting my time searching for quality. Did that 4-5 years ago looking for Windows Mobile add-ins, alternative shells, Today plug-ins and other crappy freeware. I spent hours downloading apps (they where not called apps back then) just to run them once or twice and shift-delete. I'm over that. I am looking for a better shopping experience. I want quality to find me. 

But don't worry - iOS has its' downsides too. It's annoyingly closed. You want to upload a file from your local files system through a web app – you cannot (why is that? no one knows…), you want to change something in the look & feel (even the simplest one) – you probably cannot – that's annoying. On the other hand - my 3 years old iPhone still looks better to my eyes than most of the Android devices I get to use (and I get a lot of them)… and it's much easier to find good apps or quality games. Period.

Terms you may have been looking for:

Android Market, How many good apps in Market? Free apps, Personalization apps for Android, Skins, Themes, Widgets, AppStore, Android Apps

Technorati Tags: Android,Android Market,AppStore

2 comments | Read more...

When people ask me why I'm not using an Android device I usually say that as a former Windows Mobile user, there are just too many things about Android that remind me of that old annoying OS. In some aspects, Android seems like an improved version of Windows Mobile. Well, really, totally, widely improved, that is… but still very much alike.

One of the things (we) Windows Mobile users learned (in the hard way) is that customization and flexibility do have their price – you end up wasting hours on trying to improve your phone, personalizing everything, downloading skins, themes, ringtones, widgets (remember how we called them "Today plug-ins"), anything goes – but then you end up with one hell of an inconsistent system, full of duplications (multiple media players, files explorers, calendar widgets, etc.), messy, and most importantly – full of crap.

When I just switched to the iPhone, I was shocked by how "close" that environment is, at first I didn't like it, but the benefit of it was that everything looks the same, works well, and most important: looks AMAZING. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This is definitely not the case with Android interface (not to mention the horrible customizations companies like Samsung and Motorola are creating, ruining Google's work, and lowering the overall level of the UI which is not very high anyhow…).

Skins, Themes, Alterative Homescreens, (even alternative Android OS!). Every Android user knows what I'm talking about, and every Android user knows it's not easy to find widgets, alternative shells, keyboards, skins that are all combining nicely together. In most cases the end result is simply poor and you don't even know why.

The worst part of it is that those skins, themes, homescreens, widgets, are all over the Android Market, hiding what's more important: the real apps.  

Android Market is a mess and I'm not talking about the increasing number of malware and spam (Close to 10% of Android Apps festering pits of spyware, worms and premium SMS senders, getting worse), I'm sure Google will find a way to fix that part – I'm talking, once again, about all of those useless "things" that are not really apps but are called apps; skins, themes, widgets and ringtones… It's bad enough that around one third of the apps in Android Market are defined as "low quality apps" (see chart below) – the remaining ones include "things" that are not really apps!

 

Now, I know where this is going. Last time I wrote bad things about Android I got Android fans all over me (here, at MobilitySite, and in some Android forums…), I was banned, made illegal, my wife almost left me, my 2 years old kid stopped playing Transformers with me…  Believe me – I'm trying! I really am. I can't… just can't stop myself…

I did a small research and found the following to prove my point:

Android market has over 25,000 apps (out of almost 250,000) categorized as "personalization" (meaning: hacks, tweaks, skins, themes, widgets, ringtones, etc.).

(More Android Market Statistics in here)

Now, this is where it gets interesting: when I searched for the term "ringtones" – I got around 30,000 search results, most of them were ringtones packs, labeled as… "entertainment" or as "Music & Audio" and not under "Personalization"… hmm…

Looking for the term "theme" gave me over 13,000 apps, around 2,000 apps carry the name "Skin", I figured they are all included in the "Personalization" section too but guess what? Many of them actually belong to other sections (which are probably relevant to the original apps those skins belong to… ).

For example: Handcent SMS Skin(Summertime) is a skin for the favorite SMS replacement, but the "skin" app is not categorized as "personalization" app but instead it's under "Communication" (as many other similar skins and themes), PlayerPro Wmp Skin is categorized as "Music and Audio" even though it's just a simple skin… Open Home Skin - Windows 7 is labeled as "Entertainment", and so on.

What's going on here? Skins, themes, ringtones, all pretending to be apps… How disturbing!

Can it be that over 70,000 "so called apps" are actually "personalization" tweaks?

What a crappy store, everything is a mess, can't find stuff you really look for, seems like the shopkeeper is gone, everything is out of place – disaster.

So you are asking why I'm not using Android?

Because it's not as good as iPhone.

It's barely as close to being a fun experience like using Windows Phone 7. Sorry.

It's powerful, robust, you can do amazing things with it, multi-task in the best possible way, it has a lot of bugs [but that's not an issue for a former developer like myself (bugs are the developer's best friends)], it's dynamic, it progresses fast, but it lacks a sexy UI, and even though Google's work is good, the additions are soooo bad, the apps suck, too many of them look like students first year's work, test apps, and the store is a mess.

I'm done wasting my time searching for quality. Did that 4-5 years ago looking for Windows Mobile add-ins, alternative shells, Today plug-ins and other crappy freeware. I spent hours downloading apps (they where not called apps back then) just to run them once or twice and shift-delete. I'm over that. I am looking for a better shopping experience. I want quality to find me. 

But don't worry - iOS has its' downsides too. It's annoyingly closed. You want to upload a file from your local files system through a web app – you cannot (why is that? no one knows…), you want to change something in the look & feel (even the simplest one) – you probably cannot – that's annoying. On the other hand - my 3 years old iPhone still looks better to my eyes than most of the Android devices I get to use (and I get a lot of them)… and it's much easier to find good apps or quality games. Period.

Terms you may have been looking for:

Android Market, How many good apps in Market? Free apps, Personalization apps for Android, Skins, Themes, Widgets, AppStore, Android Apps

Technorati Tags: Android,Android Market,AppStore

What is CyanogenMod and why should you care?

Most of my "Anroidians" friends are using CyanogenMod these days and since a few colleagues of mine asked me about what it is, I figured it's time for me to write about it. After all, this site is about mobility for the common people, and Cyanogen seems like one of those things only technical people use…

So what is exactly CyanogenMod?

Well, as weird as it may sound, it's another version of Android, existing in almost a parallel universe, where Android OS is being developed and improved by people, who are not Google developers, but smart enough to take the open source code and improve it.

Here's what they had to say about themselves:

"Intended as a replacement for the software (also known as the "firmware" or "ROM") that comes factory installed on your smartphone, CyanogenMod is based on the Android Open Source Project – the same base software used in all Android devices. However, CyanogenMod offers several benefits over the pre-installed firmware, including vastly flexible interface and customization, a wider set of new features, and sometimes significant improvements in performance.

CyanogenMod's features may allow you to bypass software limitations imposed by carriers, which may prevent you from using the handset in a manner that they do not support. Such features include, but not limited to, the ability to overclock the device's CPU, tether the device to your computer, or fully back up the device to your SD Card."

So CyanogenMod is basically an aftermarket firmware distribution or a custom firmware for Android, which can be downloaded and installed for free on a variety of Android handsets for free. It includes some features that does not exist in the official Android, as well as tons of customization options and some performance optimization.

Why should you consider switching to the parallel world of Android?

There could be a few reasons for that: first of all, it may happen that your carrier does not push the latest OS update and you are stuck with an older version running on a device that does support newer versions of Android – if you are pissed off about that – you can simply switch and get the latest version plus some improvements. Another reason might be known bugs or issues in the official Android OS which are fixed (or improved) in Cyanogen. For example, if you are using right to left text – you will notice that whenever numbers are added to the text – the entire message is corrupted. Well – that happens only in the official Android version – in Cyanogen, one of the developers who is Israeli happen to fix it, which means – Cyanogen's parallel Android doesn't suffer from this annoying bug.

Get the picture? You take Android's open source plus a large number of semi-genius developers and you end up having an improved Android. For free.

Of course, not everything is perfect. There are issues with those builds, but you can check them out as well as downloading a daily build and get a notification whenever a stable build is released. Nope, it's not going to be as stable as iOS, but if you really want to have the latest version of Android plus some improvements – that's the fastest way to get there.

According to the downloads statistics – over 500,000 Android users have already switched from the "official" Android version to Cyanogen. Not an awful lot considering the fact that over 500,000 Android devices are activated daily. Still, when you look at the website, number of people in the forums and other stats it's hard not to get impressed with the Cyanogen phenomenon.

To learn more about CyanogenMod, supported features and certified devices – click here.

Here are some statistics about the devices who installed CyanogenMod (although may no be reliable as Nexus One appears with a total number of 1 which doesn't make any sense…

Device	Total
bravo	77,438
supersonic	40,836
umts_jordan	32,066
passion	27,842
sholes	22,563
morrison	20,475
ace	19,331
blade	18,209
inc	17,837
vision	15,980
leo	15,351
galaxysmtd	14,986
buzz	14,892
encore	14,451
hero	12,852
heroc	11,137
crespo	10,029
glacier	9,525
ascend	8,402
legend	8,169
zeppelin	8,148
p990	7,713
motus	7,342
click	7,282
thunderg	7,250
captivatemtd	5,923
vibrantmtd	5,472
mecha	5,296
cdma_shadow	4,997
z71	4,855
desirec	4,719
espresso	4,619
p999	4,577
galaxys	4,189
liberty	3,852
x8	3,724
xMini Pro	3,045
x10	2,759
galaxy5	2,457
x10mini	2,435
galaxys2	2,253
harmony	2,163
eve	2,099
racer	1,640
captivate	1,624
fascinatemtd	1,611
speedy	1,588
bravoc	1,505
swift	1,484
GT-I5700	1,456
dream_sapphire	1,338
cdma_droid2	1,292
Xperia_X8	1,179
thunderc	1,153
crespo4g	1,133
vivo	1,119
v9	1,076
i8320	1,054

(all the other models are below 1000 downloads)

To learn more about CyanogenMod, supported features and certified devices – click here.

Topics you may have looked for:

What is CyanogenMod? Cyanogen, unlock Android phone, Android Smartphones, Android hack, Flash Android ROM, Flashed Android, Custom Android ROM, more Android settings

0 comments | Read more...

Most of my "Anroidians" friends are using CyanogenMod these days and since a few colleagues of mine asked me about what it is, I figured it's time for me to write about it. After all, this site is about mobility for the common people, and Cyanogen seems like one of those things only technical people use…

So what is exactly CyanogenMod?

Well, as weird as it may sound, it's another version of Android, existing in almost a parallel universe, where Android OS is being developed and improved by people, who are not Google developers, but smart enough to take the open source code and improve it.

Here's what they had to say about themselves:

"Intended as a replacement for the software (also known as the "firmware" or "ROM") that comes factory installed on your smartphone, CyanogenMod is based on the Android Open Source Project – the same base software used in all Android devices. However, CyanogenMod offers several benefits over the pre-installed firmware, including vastly flexible interface and customization, a wider set of new features, and sometimes significant improvements in performance.

CyanogenMod's features may allow you to bypass software limitations imposed by carriers, which may prevent you from using the handset in a manner that they do not support. Such features include, but not limited to, the ability to overclock the device's CPU, tether the device to your computer, or fully back up the device to your SD Card."

So CyanogenMod is basically an aftermarket firmware distribution or a custom firmware for Android, which can be downloaded and installed for free on a variety of Android handsets for free. It includes some features that does not exist in the official Android, as well as tons of customization options and some performance optimization.

Why should you consider switching to the parallel world of Android?

There could be a few reasons for that: first of all, it may happen that your carrier does not push the latest OS update and you are stuck with an older version running on a device that does support newer versions of Android – if you are pissed off about that – you can simply switch and get the latest version plus some improvements. Another reason might be known bugs or issues in the official Android OS which are fixed (or improved) in Cyanogen. For example, if you are using right to left text – you will notice that whenever numbers are added to the text – the entire message is corrupted. Well – that happens only in the official Android version – in Cyanogen, one of the developers who is Israeli happen to fix it, which means – Cyanogen's parallel Android doesn't suffer from this annoying bug.

Get the picture? You take Android's open source plus a large number of semi-genius developers and you end up having an improved Android. For free.

Of course, not everything is perfect. There are issues with those builds, but you can check them out as well as downloading a daily build and get a notification whenever a stable build is released. Nope, it's not going to be as stable as iOS, but if you really want to have the latest version of Android plus some improvements – that's the fastest way to get there.

According to the downloads statistics – over 500,000 Android users have already switched from the "official" Android version to Cyanogen. Not an awful lot considering the fact that over 500,000 Android devices are activated daily. Still, when you look at the website, number of people in the forums and other stats it's hard not to get impressed with the Cyanogen phenomenon.

To learn more about CyanogenMod, supported features and certified devices – click here.

Here are some statistics about the devices who installed CyanogenMod (although may no be reliable as Nexus One appears with a total number of 1 which doesn't make any sense…

Device	Total
bravo	77,438
supersonic	40,836
umts_jordan	32,066
passion	27,842
sholes	22,563
morrison	20,475
ace	19,331
blade	18,209
inc	17,837
vision	15,980
leo	15,351
galaxysmtd	14,986
buzz	14,892
encore	14,451
hero	12,852
heroc	11,137
crespo	10,029
glacier	9,525
ascend	8,402
legend	8,169
zeppelin	8,148
p990	7,713
motus	7,342
click	7,282
thunderg	7,250
captivatemtd	5,923
vibrantmtd	5,472
mecha	5,296
cdma_shadow	4,997
z71	4,855
desirec	4,719
espresso	4,619
p999	4,577
galaxys	4,189
liberty	3,852
x8	3,724
xMini Pro	3,045
x10	2,759
galaxy5	2,457
x10mini	2,435
galaxys2	2,253
harmony	2,163
eve	2,099
racer	1,640
captivate	1,624
fascinatemtd	1,611
speedy	1,588
bravoc	1,505
swift	1,484
GT-I5700	1,456
dream_sapphire	1,338
cdma_droid2	1,292
Xperia_X8	1,179
thunderc	1,153
crespo4g	1,133
vivo	1,119
v9	1,076
i8320	1,054

(all the other models are below 1000 downloads)

To learn more about CyanogenMod, supported features and certified devices – click here.

Topics you may have looked for:

What is CyanogenMod? Cyanogen, unlock Android phone, Android Smartphones, Android hack, Flash Android ROM, Flashed Android, Custom Android ROM, more Android settings

First Mango Phone is the Fujitsu IS12T

So it seems like Mango is finally coming.

Toshiba Fujitsu has officially announced the first Windows Phone 7 Mango handset and even gave it a catchy name: IS12T (or was it… SIT12.. no it was probably 12IST… well screw it, who cares about the name, catchy names are overrated…).

The device looks very thin, it comes with a few colors, but more importantly: it will have a 13.2 megapixel camera and will be water proof (as can be seen in the video below).

Water proof WP7 phone with an improved Twitter integration. How cool is that.

Now I will be able to tweet: "Taking a shower", or maybe: "in the toilets…", "oh no, my phone just fell into the toilets!".

Here's a short video:

0 comments | Read more...

So it seems like Mango is finally coming.

Toshiba Fujitsu has officially announced the first Windows Phone 7 Mango handset and even gave it a catchy name: IS12T (or was it… SIT12.. no it was probably 12IST… well screw it, who cares about the name, catchy names are overrated…).

The device looks very thin, it comes with a few colors, but more importantly: it will have a 13.2 megapixel camera and will be water proof (as can be seen in the video below).

Water proof WP7 phone with an improved Twitter integration. How cool is that.

Now I will be able to tweet: "Taking a shower", or maybe: "in the toilets…", "oh no, my phone just fell into the toilets!".

Here's a short video:

So who reads the mobile spoon?

Every now and then I enjoy checking my site statistics and learn about the nature of my readers. you can sometime learn something from analyzing some of the reports, and sometimes it's just nice to know who is reading your thoughts and opinions.

Mobile Spoon Readers by Countries:

Checking the operating systems used when reading the mobile spoon indicates that Windows OS still does not have a real competitor. However, looking at the mobile browsers table, iPhone & iPad browsers serves more than 60% of the readers.

Despite the fact I tend to write a lot about Windows Phone 7 – there is still no sign of it in any of my statistics…

Operating System:

Mobile Browsers:

0 comments | Read more...

Every now and then I enjoy checking my site statistics and learn about the nature of my readers. you can sometime learn something from analyzing some of the reports, and sometimes it's just nice to know who is reading your thoughts and opinions.

Mobile Spoon Readers by Countries:

Checking the operating systems used when reading the mobile spoon indicates that Windows OS still does not have a real competitor. However, looking at the mobile browsers table, iPhone & iPad browsers serves more than 60% of the readers.

Despite the fact I tend to write a lot about Windows Phone 7 – there is still no sign of it in any of my statistics…

Operating System:

Mobile Browsers:

Sound Shaper: Free Voice Memo App For Windows Phone 7

Sound memos is a great productivity tool. It is the quickest way to take notes quickly and while on the move.

I recently started using Sound Shaper for Windows Phone 7 and it is very good.

It's free, it has a UI which may still need some improvements, but it's working, it comes with the right features, and overall it's working very nicely.

(I couldn't figure out the pitch feature but it doesn't do any harm either…)

So try it out, it's free, and it's working well: Sound Shaper.

(Sound Shaper is available for free from Marketplace here)

Terms you may have looked for:

How to take voice memos in Windows Phone 7, audible notes for WP7, Voice recorder for Windows Phone 7, How to take audible notes in WP7, Voice Notes WP7, Free App Windows Phone 7, Productivity App, MarketPlace App

Technorati Tags: Windows Phone 7 App,Free App,Notes,Voice Memo,WP7

0 comments | Read more...

Sound memos is a great productivity tool. It is the quickest way to take notes quickly and while on the move.

I recently started using Sound Shaper for Windows Phone 7 and it is very good.

It's free, it has a UI which may still need some improvements, but it's working, it comes with the right features, and overall it's working very nicely.

(I couldn't figure out the pitch feature but it doesn't do any harm either…)

So try it out, it's free, and it's working well: Sound Shaper.

(Sound Shaper is available for free from Marketplace here)

Terms you may have looked for:

How to take voice memos in Windows Phone 7, audible notes for WP7, Voice recorder for Windows Phone 7, How to take audible notes in WP7, Voice Notes WP7, Free App Windows Phone 7, Productivity App, MarketPlace App

Technorati Tags: Windows Phone 7 App,Free App,Notes,Voice Memo,WP7

Cool augmented reality prototype by Toyota

Toyota has partnered with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) to develop the “Window to the World” augmented reality prototype system. The prototype transforms the windows of a vehicle into fully interactive screens. A simple touch of the finger can bring up a variety of option, allowing passengers to experience the world around them in a more in-depth way.

Enjoy the video:

0 comments | Read more...

Toyota has partnered with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) to develop the “Window to the World” augmented reality prototype system. The prototype transforms the windows of a vehicle into fully interactive screens. A simple touch of the finger can bring up a variety of option, allowing passengers to experience the world around them in a more in-depth way.

Enjoy the video:

The king is dead! Long live Samsung Galaxy S2

Samsung is becoming the king of mobile with some amazing sales numbers for the Galaxy S2.

In fact, it is about to pass Nokia in the number of units sold world-wide and become the world's leader in smartphones sales.

There are many reasons why Samsung is doing so well lately (nice article here), but I still remember times where smartphones were mostly considered to be HTC's strong side. It proves that Samsung's superior hardware and screen quality does attract more users than HTC's nicer software enhancements (Samsung suck in software).

No doubt, Android has done well for Samsung which is now leaving behind Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson, and HTC…

The Galaxy S2 is the best selling model nowadays. Even in my office, I see more people using it than any other smartphone around me. Although the Google Android smartphone doesn’t have every possible cutting-edge feature, it comes close. The 4.3-inch screen resolution is only 800×480, for example (lower than the iPhone and newer Android devices), but compensates with Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus technology for bright, vivid colors. Samsung’s new 1.2 GHz dual-core processor powers the phone, and early reviews say it’s one of the fastest smartphones available today. The 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus supports 1080p video recording. And some models include a near-field communication (NFC) chip, which could be used for mobile payments through Google Wallet.

A perfect phone? Almost. Trying it for a while I didn't like the keyboard that much (as usual), and found some of the UI (as usual) to be annoying (as usual). but that's usual…

Anyways, so Nokia is now history, after 15 years in which it was the undisputed king of mobile, Samsung is now taking over, but wait a minute, where is Apple?

As I wrote previously, Apple has already passed Nokia in terms of revenue, but here we are talking about units each company is shipping, and here Samsung seems to pass Apple for now.

Why for now? Because iPhone 4 is over one years old, and in terms of smartphones it's a lot. It's too much even. iPhone 4 had so many issues, antennagate and other stuff, and still it is giving a fight to the Android army and especially Samsung. Will be interesting to see what will happen when iOS5 will be released and soon followed by a new iPhone model.

Meanwhile, back to Samsung – the new king of mobile doesn't stop: rumors about a new Galaxy model came up recently with BGR showing some images of a Galaxy device with sliding keyboard, SAP's CIO has announced that SAP will be jumping on the new Samsung Galaxy Tab soon (although they recently purchased 5000 iPads…), and the future looks brighter than ever.

(There is just this issue with a small Apple suit that is still out there… but let's not ruin the party…)

2 comments | Read more...

Samsung is becoming the king of mobile with some amazing sales numbers for the Galaxy S2.

In fact, it is about to pass Nokia in the number of units sold world-wide and become the world's leader in smartphones sales.

There are many reasons why Samsung is doing so well lately (nice article here), but I still remember times where smartphones were mostly considered to be HTC's strong side. It proves that Samsung's superior hardware and screen quality does attract more users than HTC's nicer software enhancements (Samsung suck in software).

No doubt, Android has done well for Samsung which is now leaving behind Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson, and HTC…

The Galaxy S2 is the best selling model nowadays. Even in my office, I see more people using it than any other smartphone around me. Although the Google Android smartphone doesn’t have every possible cutting-edge feature, it comes close. The 4.3-inch screen resolution is only 800×480, for example (lower than the iPhone and newer Android devices), but compensates with Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus technology for bright, vivid colors. Samsung’s new 1.2 GHz dual-core processor powers the phone, and early reviews say it’s one of the fastest smartphones available today. The 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus supports 1080p video recording. And some models include a near-field communication (NFC) chip, which could be used for mobile payments through Google Wallet.

A perfect phone? Almost. Trying it for a while I didn't like the keyboard that much (as usual), and found some of the UI (as usual) to be annoying (as usual). but that's usual…

Anyways, so Nokia is now history, after 15 years in which it was the undisputed king of mobile, Samsung is now taking over, but wait a minute, where is Apple?

As I wrote previously, Apple has already passed Nokia in terms of revenue, but here we are talking about units each company is shipping, and here Samsung seems to pass Apple for now.

Why for now? Because iPhone 4 is over one years old, and in terms of smartphones it's a lot. It's too much even. iPhone 4 had so many issues, antennagate and other stuff, and still it is giving a fight to the Android army and especially Samsung. Will be interesting to see what will happen when iOS5 will be released and soon followed by a new iPhone model.

Meanwhile, back to Samsung – the new king of mobile doesn't stop: rumors about a new Galaxy model came up recently with BGR showing some images of a Galaxy device with sliding keyboard, SAP's CIO has announced that SAP will be jumping on the new Samsung Galaxy Tab soon (although they recently purchased 5000 iPads…), and the future looks brighter than ever.

(There is just this issue with a small Apple suit that is still out there… but let's not ruin the party…)

Mobile Spoon predicts: By mid 2012, Android will lead tablets market

Just half a year ago iPad's domination in the tablets market was undisputable with over 80% of tablets market, but, as we've seen happening in the smartphones area – Android is once again taking over with an army of tablets running Android 2.3 or 3.X reaching 30% market share.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics discovers, June quarter tablet shipments topped 15.1 million units, a material increase over the 3.5 million units from the year-ago period. Apple seized the #1 slot with 9.25 million iPads the company reported for the June quarter, while Android tablets have gone from 2.9% market share in June 2010 (which is practically nothing) to 30.1% in June 2011, a surprising 27.2 % points increase based on sales of 4.55 million units.

In the year-ago quarter Apple enjoyed a 94 percent share, so iPad’s 33 percentage points drop is substantial no matter how you look at it.

If history indeed repeats itself we are expecting to see Android taking the lead around mid 2012 due to probably some OS updates and tens of new tablets running Android OS 3.x on multiple shapes and sizes, different brands, 4G, NFC support and other goodies only an army of devices manufacturers can build – all as opposed to having one brilliant iPad.

So let's write it down and review our prediction in around a year from now:

The Mobile Spoon Predicts: By Mid 2012, Android tablets sales will bypass the iPad's sales, turning Android to be the leading mobile OS for both smartphones and tablets.

Locked.

Sealed.

Let's start the countdown…

Technorati Tags: Tablets,Android,iPad

0 comments | Read more...

Just half a year ago iPad's domination in the tablets market was undisputable with over 80% of tablets market, but, as we've seen happening in the smartphones area – Android is once again taking over with an army of tablets running Android 2.3 or 3.X reaching 30% market share.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics discovers, June quarter tablet shipments topped 15.1 million units, a material increase over the 3.5 million units from the year-ago period. Apple seized the #1 slot with 9.25 million iPads the company reported for the June quarter, while Android tablets have gone from 2.9% market share in June 2010 (which is practically nothing) to 30.1% in June 2011, a surprising 27.2 % points increase based on sales of 4.55 million units.

In the year-ago quarter Apple enjoyed a 94 percent share, so iPad’s 33 percentage points drop is substantial no matter how you look at it.

If history indeed repeats itself we are expecting to see Android taking the lead around mid 2012 due to probably some OS updates and tens of new tablets running Android OS 3.x on multiple shapes and sizes, different brands, 4G, NFC support and other goodies only an army of devices manufacturers can build – all as opposed to having one brilliant iPad.

So let's write it down and review our prediction in around a year from now:

The Mobile Spoon Predicts: By Mid 2012, Android tablets sales will bypass the iPad's sales, turning Android to be the leading mobile OS for both smartphones and tablets.

Locked.

Sealed.

Let's start the countdown…

Technorati Tags: Tablets,Android,iPad

Solution: Update Samsung Omnia 7 OS Using Zune

Samsung devices are great besides one small problem: Samsung sucks as a software company.

While the hardware is great – every software related aspect causes issues: Android customizations are horrible, Windows Phone 7 apps are bad, and the worst part: every update to the operating system causes issues!

I've been dealing with the latest security update for a few days now and finally came up with the solution – so if you own a Samsung Omnia device – this may interest you:

---

How to fix the Samsung Omnia 7 problem when trying to Update to the latest WP7 build (7392):

If your Samsung Omnia 7 device fails to update (using Zune) to build 7392 (security patch) – here is a simple solution for the update problem:

Symptom:

When trying to run the latest Windows Phone 7 update – the phone gets stuck on step 6 trying to reboot itself. The phone screen shows the Samsung Omnia logo and nothing happens for quite a while.

Solution:

Download the following tool by Samsung here and the full instructions here (pdf).

Run the tool, connect your phone using the instructions in the PDF file and after 2-3 simple steps the fix is installed.

Connect your smartphone to Zune again and run the OS update – this time you will notice that step 6 is working fast and you will reach the next steps in no time.

Terms you may have looked for:

Samsung Omnia Update Problem, Windows Phone 7 Update Fails, Windows Phone Build 7392, Fail to update Samsung Omnia Operating System, Cannot Update Omnia 7 using Zune, May Upgrade doesn't work, Omnia 7 Security Update Error, Samsung Omnia 7 stuck in step 6.

Technorati Tags: Samsung Omnia 7,Windows Phonwe 7,Update WP7

2 comments | Read more...

Samsung devices are great besides one small problem: Samsung sucks as a software company.

While the hardware is great – every software related aspect causes issues: Android customizations are horrible, Windows Phone 7 apps are bad, and the worst part: every update to the operating system causes issues!

I've been dealing with the latest security update for a few days now and finally came up with the solution – so if you own a Samsung Omnia device – this may interest you:

---

How to fix the Samsung Omnia 7 problem when trying to Update to the latest WP7 build (7392):

If your Samsung Omnia 7 device fails to update (using Zune) to build 7392 (security patch) – here is a simple solution for the update problem:

Symptom:

When trying to run the latest Windows Phone 7 update – the phone gets stuck on step 6 trying to reboot itself. The phone screen shows the Samsung Omnia logo and nothing happens for quite a while.

Solution:

Download the following tool by Samsung here and the full instructions here (pdf).

Run the tool, connect your phone using the instructions in the PDF file and after 2-3 simple steps the fix is installed.

Connect your smartphone to Zune again and run the OS update – this time you will notice that step 6 is working fast and you will reach the next steps in no time.

Terms you may have looked for:

Samsung Omnia Update Problem, Windows Phone 7 Update Fails, Windows Phone Build 7392, Fail to update Samsung Omnia Operating System, Cannot Update Omnia 7 using Zune, May Upgrade doesn't work, Omnia 7 Security Update Error, Samsung Omnia 7 stuck in step 6.

Technorati Tags: Samsung Omnia 7,Windows Phonwe 7,Update WP7

Mobile Spoon Goes Mobile

  

Google has finally modified Blogger to support mobile browsers with a special view, optimized for iPhone, Android, etc.

I applied the new settings this week and so from now on you can read the mobile spoon directly from your mobile device (or subscribe to our RSS feed and read it with your favorite news reader).

Of course, windows Phone 7 users can also download the mobile spoon app for WP7 and enjoy a native experience with some cool features.

Enjoy the read!

Gil Bouhnick, The Mobile Spoon.

0 comments | Read more...

  

Google has finally modified Blogger to support mobile browsers with a special view, optimized for iPhone, Android, etc.

I applied the new settings this week and so from now on you can read the mobile spoon directly from your mobile device (or subscribe to our RSS feed and read it with your favorite news reader).

Of course, windows Phone 7 users can also download the mobile spoon app for WP7 and enjoy a native experience with some cool features.

Enjoy the read!

Gil Bouhnick, The Mobile Spoon.

The HTC Evo 3D

Guest Post:

The fast-developing world of mobile phones has taken another, rather expected, leap forward with 3D handsets. The HTC Evo 3D has a dual camera that can shoot video and capture photos in 3D – and you can view them without having to wear the glasses.

The dual 5MP camera lets you shoot in 720p and, if you have one, you can stream it straight onto your 3D TV at home. 3D photographs are shot in 2MP while the 2D snaps use the 5MP capability to the max. On the handset itself, these are all displayed on a 4.3” super-crisp and vibrant screen. Rather unexpectedly, however, the new 3D function does not take big bites out of the Evo’s daily life, perhaps because of the mighty 1730mAH battery. This beauty runs a powerful 1.2GHz dual core processor with a 1GB memory and 1GB internal memory space.

The HTC Watch function we saw on the Sensation is back, too – and, of course, this time in 3D. 3D blockbusters like Avatar and Transformers are likely to be made available for download for instant viewing on the Evo itself.

It is, as you might have gathered, only the camera function of the phone that is 3D. This is not entirely disappointing, since we wouldn’t expect any phone on the current market to have the power to handle a completely 3D OS, but maybe it’s not so far off.

The ‘flip to silence’ feature remains, while auto-adjusting ringing volume comes into effect. If the phone rings while you’re in a noisy area, it increases the volume so you don’t miss any more calls. Well, that’s the idea. You can also cut out loading times on maps with the ability to download and store them on the phone itself. The maps, we are sad to say, are not in 3D.

Overall, the HTC Evo 3D is very much a HTC Sensation with 3D capabilities. That is the only major difference, but it is quite a good difference. The Evo is certainly one of the most powerful phones out there and it has the capacity to cope with a number of tasks at once. It looks great, feels great and is, of course, 3D (just in case we didn’t mention that). This function may not be earth-shattering just yet, but it may well be the start of something rather special.

Technorati Tags: HTC Evo 3D,HTC Evo,Android,Smartphone,3D

1 comments | Read more...

Guest Post:

The fast-developing world of mobile phones has taken another, rather expected, leap forward with 3D handsets. The HTC Evo 3D has a dual camera that can shoot video and capture photos in 3D – and you can view them without having to wear the glasses.

The dual 5MP camera lets you shoot in 720p and, if you have one, you can stream it straight onto your 3D TV at home. 3D photographs are shot in 2MP while the 2D snaps use the 5MP capability to the max. On the handset itself, these are all displayed on a 4.3” super-crisp and vibrant screen. Rather unexpectedly, however, the new 3D function does not take big bites out of the Evo’s daily life, perhaps because of the mighty 1730mAH battery. This beauty runs a powerful 1.2GHz dual core processor with a 1GB memory and 1GB internal memory space.

The HTC Watch function we saw on the Sensation is back, too – and, of course, this time in 3D. 3D blockbusters like Avatar and Transformers are likely to be made available for download for instant viewing on the Evo itself.

It is, as you might have gathered, only the camera function of the phone that is 3D. This is not entirely disappointing, since we wouldn’t expect any phone on the current market to have the power to handle a completely 3D OS, but maybe it’s not so far off.

The ‘flip to silence’ feature remains, while auto-adjusting ringing volume comes into effect. If the phone rings while you’re in a noisy area, it increases the volume so you don’t miss any more calls. Well, that’s the idea. You can also cut out loading times on maps with the ability to download and store them on the phone itself. The maps, we are sad to say, are not in 3D.

Overall, the HTC Evo 3D is very much a HTC Sensation with 3D capabilities. That is the only major difference, but it is quite a good difference. The Evo is certainly one of the most powerful phones out there and it has the capacity to cope with a number of tasks at once. It looks great, feels great and is, of course, 3D (just in case we didn’t mention that). This function may not be earth-shattering just yet, but it may well be the start of something rather special.

Technorati Tags: HTC Evo 3D,HTC Evo,Android,Smartphone,3D

Windows Phone 7 "Synergy": People's Hub Demonstrated

2 new videos by Microsoft reveal some nice synergetic features in the people's hub of Windows Phone 7 (Mango release).

Drilling down into the person's contact you get to see his recent history (of things he did with you of course: SMS, emails exchange, phone calls) plus a notification area where his recent actions (that relates to you) in different social networks are being summed up: for example writing in your facebook wall etc.

 

 

 

Cool. Microsoft is really taking Palm's "Synergy" idea(*) from webOS and is making it better and all over Mango. I like it, although I think that it's a bit too focused on social networks. Palm's original "synergy" approach combined contacts with meetings, search results from the web, and other goodies so that when you wake up, you see your agenda for the day, it doesn't include only meetings, but it also takes you into nice summaries of who you are meeting with, links from the web, recent activities in social networks etc. That concept was more business oriented and now Microsoft seems to focus mainly on the social side.

My next proposal would be to use location, time, and other parameters to make this "synergy" even better (and us users even lazier…)

Come on Microsoft, give us some more "synergy" love.

---

* Palm's webOS Synergy: webOS includes a feature called Synergy that integrates information from many sources. webOS allows a user to sign in to accounts on Gmail, Yahoo!, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Outlook (via Exchange ActiveSync). Contacts from all sources are then integrated into a single list. Synergy was highly innovative, and was regarded by many as a highlight of the new operating system,^[29] but received some criticism for being undiscerning in what it included in the contacts application. For example, Engadget commented that it had contacts that were simply Birthdays extracted from Facebook (Wikipedia).

Technorati Tags: webOS,Windows Phone 7,Mango,Synergy

0 comments | Read more...

2 new videos by Microsoft reveal some nice synergetic features in the people's hub of Windows Phone 7 (Mango release).

Drilling down into the person's contact you get to see his recent history (of things he did with you of course: SMS, emails exchange, phone calls) plus a notification area where his recent actions (that relates to you) in different social networks are being summed up: for example writing in your facebook wall etc.

 

 

 

Cool. Microsoft is really taking Palm's "Synergy" idea(*) from webOS and is making it better and all over Mango. I like it, although I think that it's a bit too focused on social networks. Palm's original "synergy" approach combined contacts with meetings, search results from the web, and other goodies so that when you wake up, you see your agenda for the day, it doesn't include only meetings, but it also takes you into nice summaries of who you are meeting with, links from the web, recent activities in social networks etc. That concept was more business oriented and now Microsoft seems to focus mainly on the social side.

My next proposal would be to use location, time, and other parameters to make this "synergy" even better (and us users even lazier…)

Come on Microsoft, give us some more "synergy" love.

---

* Palm's webOS Synergy: webOS includes a feature called Synergy that integrates information from many sources. webOS allows a user to sign in to accounts on Gmail, Yahoo!, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Outlook (via Exchange ActiveSync). Contacts from all sources are then integrated into a single list. Synergy was highly innovative, and was regarded by many as a highlight of the new operating system,^[29] but received some criticism for being undiscerning in what it included in the contacts application. For example, Engadget commented that it had contacts that were simply Birthdays extracted from Facebook (Wikipedia).

Technorati Tags: webOS,Windows Phone 7,Mango,Synergy

Video: Nokia's First Windows Phone 7 Smartphone Emerges

Anxious to see how the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 looks like?

Check out the video below:

4 comments | Read more...

Anxious to see how the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 looks like?

Check out the video below:

Would you like a Windows 7 phone? (no, not a Windows Phone 7…)

Many people I talk to are still calling Windows Phone 7 – Windows Mobile. "It's not Windows Mobile 7, it's Windows Phone 7" I tell them, bragging that my cool Omnia7 runs a new refreshing system and not a version of that old infamous OS. I think it doesn't help. Many people still think of WP7 as the next version of Windows Mobile. Maybe that can explain the poor sales results…

Anyways, to add some confusion, Windows 7 is about to run on a smartphone. No, it's not Windows Phone 7, it's actually a Windows 7 Phone… full Windows version.

Yep, the one with the tiny icons and touch-unfriendly buttons…

The phone (called F-07C) will be manufactured by Fujitsu with a dual-operating system device that switches between a mobile OS with less battery consumption (WP7?) to a full blown copy of Windows 7 with the following specs:

• Size: 125 × 61 × 19.8 mm (19.8 mm at thickest point)
• Weight: 218 g (with battery pack)
• CPU: Intel® Atom™ Z600 processor (supports HT technology) (1.20GHz)
• Main memory: Comes standard with 1GB/max 1GB (LPDDR400)
• SSD: ~32 GB (eMMC)
• Continuous Standby Time: ~600 hours in FOMA 3G
• Continuous Talk Time:
• ~370 minutes in FOMA 3G voice mode
• ~170 minutes in videophone mode
• Display: ~4″ wide SVGA touchscreen (1024 × 600 resolution)
• Camera: (back side) 5.1 megapixel effective resolution, CMOS sensor
• (inside) 0.32 megapixel effective resolution, CMOS sensor (0.17 megapixel in Windows® 7 mode)
• Color: Navy Black
• Wireless LAN: IEEE802.11b/g/n (communications speed: up to 65Mbps)
• Windows® 7 battery life: ~2 hours in Windows 7 mode
• OS: Windows® 7 Home Premium 32 bit Full Version (with SP1)

Looking at the screenshot, it seems like there will be some customizations to the standard Windows Shell to comply with the size and nature of this new smartphone. Still, I'm not sure what will happen when trying change some settings without a mouse…

Technorati Tags: Windows,Microsoft,mobile Devices

0 comments | Read more...

Many people I talk to are still calling Windows Phone 7 – Windows Mobile. "It's not Windows Mobile 7, it's Windows Phone 7" I tell them, bragging that my cool Omnia7 runs a new refreshing system and not a version of that old infamous OS. I think it doesn't help. Many people still think of WP7 as the next version of Windows Mobile. Maybe that can explain the poor sales results…

Anyways, to add some confusion, Windows 7 is about to run on a smartphone. No, it's not Windows Phone 7, it's actually a Windows 7 Phone… full Windows version.

Yep, the one with the tiny icons and touch-unfriendly buttons…

The phone (called F-07C) will be manufactured by Fujitsu with a dual-operating system device that switches between a mobile OS with less battery consumption (WP7?) to a full blown copy of Windows 7 with the following specs:

• Size: 125 × 61 × 19.8 mm (19.8 mm at thickest point)
• Weight: 218 g (with battery pack)
• CPU: Intel® Atom™ Z600 processor (supports HT technology) (1.20GHz)
• Main memory: Comes standard with 1GB/max 1GB (LPDDR400)
• SSD: ~32 GB (eMMC)
• Continuous Standby Time: ~600 hours in FOMA 3G
• Continuous Talk Time:
• ~370 minutes in FOMA 3G voice mode
• ~170 minutes in videophone mode
• Display: ~4″ wide SVGA touchscreen (1024 × 600 resolution)
• Camera: (back side) 5.1 megapixel effective resolution, CMOS sensor
• (inside) 0.32 megapixel effective resolution, CMOS sensor (0.17 megapixel in Windows® 7 mode)
• Color: Navy Black
• Wireless LAN: IEEE802.11b/g/n (communications speed: up to 65Mbps)
• Windows® 7 battery life: ~2 hours in Windows 7 mode
• OS: Windows® 7 Home Premium 32 bit Full Version (with SP1)

Looking at the screenshot, it seems like there will be some customizations to the standard Windows Shell to comply with the size and nature of this new smartphone. Still, I'm not sure what will happen when trying change some settings without a mouse…

Technorati Tags: Windows,Microsoft,mobile Devices

Windows is dead. Say hello to 'Unified Ecosystem'

Seems like the technology giants are heading towards a unified experience where all the systems are connected, integrated, look the same, and provide consistent capabilities and experience.

Google already talked about the directions Android is heading into becoming everywhere: cars, televisions, robots, computers (with ChromeOS) and more, now Microsoft is giving their reply with the presentation of a “single ecosystem” for PCs, phones, tablets, and even the TV.

According to the presentation, we are talking about few years from now (2015/2016), where Office, Live, Bing, Zune, Xbox, Skype and IE (plus the cloud of course) will all be available on any device you can possibly think of: mobile phones, tablets, desktops, eReaders, music player televisions, animals, Autobots, Decepticons, plants, kids, cars, tables, washing machines etc.

Would be interesting to see the functionality across different form factors, CPU's devices types etc.

One interesting slide shows the growing ecosystem of smartphones comparing to desktops and laptops. It's almost as if desktops are dying in front of us:

According to this is my next, Microsoft is seriously considering ditching the “Windows” brand name in favor of something new when all this goes down. The idea is to rebrand this new super-OS with something that better fits with Redmond’s vision of the future. Obviously that could well change over the next few years as this plan takes shape — Steve Ballmer in particular has always been quite enamored with the Windows brand — but dropping the name is apparently at least on the table, and that’s a big step.

Does it mean we are about to see blue screens on our TV's?

Technorati Tags: Microsoft

0 comments | Read more...

Seems like the technology giants are heading towards a unified experience where all the systems are connected, integrated, look the same, and provide consistent capabilities and experience.

Google already talked about the directions Android is heading into becoming everywhere: cars, televisions, robots, computers (with ChromeOS) and more, now Microsoft is giving their reply with the presentation of a “single ecosystem” for PCs, phones, tablets, and even the TV.

According to the presentation, we are talking about few years from now (2015/2016), where Office, Live, Bing, Zune, Xbox, Skype and IE (plus the cloud of course) will all be available on any device you can possibly think of: mobile phones, tablets, desktops, eReaders, music player televisions, animals, Autobots, Decepticons, plants, kids, cars, tables, washing machines etc.

Would be interesting to see the functionality across different form factors, CPU's devices types etc.

One interesting slide shows the growing ecosystem of smartphones comparing to desktops and laptops. It's almost as if desktops are dying in front of us:

According to this is my next, Microsoft is seriously considering ditching the “Windows” brand name in favor of something new when all this goes down. The idea is to rebrand this new super-OS with something that better fits with Redmond’s vision of the future. Obviously that could well change over the next few years as this plan takes shape — Steve Ballmer in particular has always been quite enamored with the Windows brand — but dropping the name is apparently at least on the table, and that’s a big step.

Does it mean we are about to see blue screens on our TV's?

Technorati Tags: Microsoft

Copy/Paste is everywhere…

When I was a kid, me and my friends didn't have enough money to buy expensive clothes, so we used to walk with shoes and clothes by the brands Adido, Hike, Tuna, NAUI, which looked exactly like the original clothes except they weren't. I remember that one day, while riding a skateboard, one of my friends tried to stop and his shoe sole dropped, rubbing his exposed foot with the hot road (ouch).

Time went by and today I buy more gadgets than clothes (well, that's a lie. I actually have more clothes and shoes than my wife does…) and I see that copying continues.

Regardless to the patents war, companies continue to copy without shame.

While copy/paste is always a discussed feature in mobile platforms, copying (and almost pasting) capabilities and features is now a standard in mobile industry…

Introducing smart cover clone called… Smart Case… (how surprising).

This utterly blatant copy of the Smart Cover rapidly did the rounds of the tech blogs, and while it wasn’t made by Samsung, it appears to be made by a company called Anymode, which has close family links to Samsung. While this initial report said that Samsung had approved this shameless copy, giving it the “designed for Samsung Mobile” tag, Samsung has now disputed this.

Personally I don't like the smart cover at all. First of all, it doesn't protect the entire iPad, just the screen. Secondly, the collapse mode of it looks bad to me. I don't like it. In addition, it feels like it's going to fall every minute… it's just stuck there. I prefer the first generation black case that Apple made, which still serves me well.

But, as everyone are now using multi-touch, finger gestures, magnifying glass-like text pointers, compasses and other goodies invented by Apple – I guess this had to happen too.

How about copying the press meetings format too: having someone skinny and sick, dressed in an old jeans, black shirt, telling about the new features – that works for Apple – I wonder why Samsung, HTC and the others haven't tried that yet…

1 comments | Read more...

When I was a kid, me and my friends didn't have enough money to buy expensive clothes, so we used to walk with shoes and clothes by the brands Adido, Hike, Tuna, NAUI, which looked exactly like the original clothes except they weren't. I remember that one day, while riding a skateboard, one of my friends tried to stop and his shoe sole dropped, rubbing his exposed foot with the hot road (ouch).

Time went by and today I buy more gadgets than clothes (well, that's a lie. I actually have more clothes and shoes than my wife does…) and I see that copying continues.

Regardless to the patents war, companies continue to copy without shame.

While copy/paste is always a discussed feature in mobile platforms, copying (and almost pasting) capabilities and features is now a standard in mobile industry…

Introducing smart cover clone called… Smart Case… (how surprising).

This utterly blatant copy of the Smart Cover rapidly did the rounds of the tech blogs, and while it wasn’t made by Samsung, it appears to be made by a company called Anymode, which has close family links to Samsung. While this initial report said that Samsung had approved this shameless copy, giving it the “designed for Samsung Mobile” tag, Samsung has now disputed this.

Personally I don't like the smart cover at all. First of all, it doesn't protect the entire iPad, just the screen. Secondly, the collapse mode of it looks bad to me. I don't like it. In addition, it feels like it's going to fall every minute… it's just stuck there. I prefer the first generation black case that Apple made, which still serves me well.

But, as everyone are now using multi-touch, finger gestures, magnifying glass-like text pointers, compasses and other goodies invented by Apple – I guess this had to happen too.

How about copying the press meetings format too: having someone skinny and sick, dressed in an old jeans, black shirt, telling about the new features – that works for Apple – I wonder why Samsung, HTC and the others haven't tried that yet…

iOS. Windows Phone 7. Android. That's the order, in terms of users satisfaction that is…

No matter how successful Android is becoming, there is always that feeling that in terms of quality, usability, and sexiness it's still second best to the iPhone. The iPhone still remains the high-end phone, at least in the mindset of many of us, although specs-wise there are many superphones out there that are superior to it.

While the numbers are now in favor of Android, a new survey by ChangeWave shows that consumers have their sights set on the iPhone.

While 46% of consumers have their sights set on the iPhone, the second most sought after devices run on Google's Android OS, capturing a 32% buying preference market share. Third place goes to RIM but look at the difference: only 4% of buyers want a BlackBerry.

In terms of satisfaction, iPhone is once again leading with 70% of the iOS users saying that they are "very satisfied". Android users are less satisfied with only 50% of the users "very satisfied".

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 may not sell well at the moment, but in terms of satisfaction it has the highest rate after iOS with 57% of the users "very satisfied" (comparing to 14% which used to be satisfied with Windows Mobile):

"But in an encouraging sign for Microsoft, we continue to see a big difference between the high Very Satisfied rating for Windows Phone 7 (57%) vs. the much lower rating for Windows Mobile OS (14%). Even so, the higher Windows Phone 7 rating has yet to produce a sustained momentum boost for Microsoft in term of buyer preferences."

(Read more in here)

Technorati Tags: iPhone,iOS,Android,Windows Phone 7,BlackBerry

0 comments | Read more...

No matter how successful Android is becoming, there is always that feeling that in terms of quality, usability, and sexiness it's still second best to the iPhone. The iPhone still remains the high-end phone, at least in the mindset of many of us, although specs-wise there are many superphones out there that are superior to it.

While the numbers are now in favor of Android, a new survey by ChangeWave shows that consumers have their sights set on the iPhone.

While 46% of consumers have their sights set on the iPhone, the second most sought after devices run on Google's Android OS, capturing a 32% buying preference market share. Third place goes to RIM but look at the difference: only 4% of buyers want a BlackBerry.

In terms of satisfaction, iPhone is once again leading with 70% of the iOS users saying that they are "very satisfied". Android users are less satisfied with only 50% of the users "very satisfied".

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 may not sell well at the moment, but in terms of satisfaction it has the highest rate after iOS with 57% of the users "very satisfied" (comparing to 14% which used to be satisfied with Windows Mobile):

"But in an encouraging sign for Microsoft, we continue to see a big difference between the high Very Satisfied rating for Windows Phone 7 (57%) vs. the much lower rating for Windows Mobile OS (14%). Even so, the higher Windows Phone 7 rating has yet to produce a sustained momentum boost for Microsoft in term of buyer preferences."

(Read more in here)

Technorati Tags: iPhone,iOS,Android,Windows Phone 7,BlackBerry

Can Microsoft generate more revenue out of Android than Google?

Some of you may have already noticed the patents war is getting very interesting lately especially in the mobile area.

I just finished reading a brilliant article over at TechCrunch that talks about the things that are happening behind the scenes, and while Android is practically everywhere, activating over 500,000 new devices every day(!) – giants such as Apple and Microsoft are already taking a deep bite into Android revenues from Google partners, with the potential to generate more money out of it than Google itself (in addition to Microsoft generating more revenue out of Android than from Windows Phone… ).

Here are some quotes I really liked:

"Since Microsoft has the rights to several patents related to technology used in Android, it has been able to turn Android into a huge revenue generating business by entering into patent licensing agreements with other companies which produce Android devices. Microsoft recently entered a patent licensing agreements with several manufacturers including HTC, General Dynamics, Wistron and Onkyo under which they will pay it $5-$10 for every Android device that they ship. With 500,000 devices a day, this implies around $1 billion in value if it received a $5 fee for each Android device. Current negotiations with Samsung, the top Android device manufacturer, could land Microsoft an additional $10-$15 for every Android device activated by Samsung."

(Source #1)

"Microsoft’s intent here is pure evil genius. “It’s not like Android’s free. Android has a patent fee. You do have to license patents,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said last year. What he didn’t explicitly say is that you’d have to pay Microsoft and not Google for those patents. Think about this for a second: it’s entirely possible that Microsoft is going to end up making more money — perhaps significantly more — from Android than Google will. A year ago, such a statement would have seemed like a joke. But now it’s becoming reality. And it must be the ultimate nightmare for Google"

(Source #2)

The argument around the patents rights has started another thread of criticism against Android – this time about the lack of innovation, mainly in the user interface (which is one of the reasons I don't use Android).

So that adds yet another complaint against Android. First there was the inconsistent UI and general glitches, then the apps quality problem (having too many ringtones, themes, skins and low quality apps…), and now – lack of innovation. Boy it's hard to be number #1…

Personally I do agree with the criticism but not with all of them; while there are some innovative concepts Android created around the core functionality (such as multi tasking and synergy between apps and data), my general impression of Android (which doesn't change over time I must add, even though I'm constantly trying new leading devices) is that it is the new generation of Windows Mobile with some attempts to be sexy as the iPhone with a lack of one concrete theme or specific design principals that will create the usability experience people expect from a smartphone these days.

And a word about Microsoft: Now that Nokia will bring more money out of WP7, and and Android will also become a revenue engine (still feels funny to write it..), how about BlackBerry? Buying RIM (with the money Android makes, that is…) will practically complete this twisted path into becoming number 3, don't you think? Well, maybe not…

You may also want to read the following: Can iPhone generate more revenue than entire Google? | Microsoft Makes 5 Times More Money From Google’s Android Than It Does From Windows Phone 7

Technorati Tags: Android,Google,Microsoft,Windows Phone,Smartphones

3 comments | Read more...

Some of you may have already noticed the patents war is getting very interesting lately especially in the mobile area.

I just finished reading a brilliant article over at TechCrunch that talks about the things that are happening behind the scenes, and while Android is practically everywhere, activating over 500,000 new devices every day(!) – giants such as Apple and Microsoft are already taking a deep bite into Android revenues from Google partners, with the potential to generate more money out of it than Google itself (in addition to Microsoft generating more revenue out of Android than from Windows Phone… ).

Here are some quotes I really liked:

"Since Microsoft has the rights to several patents related to technology used in Android, it has been able to turn Android into a huge revenue generating business by entering into patent licensing agreements with other companies which produce Android devices. Microsoft recently entered a patent licensing agreements with several manufacturers including HTC, General Dynamics, Wistron and Onkyo under which they will pay it $5-$10 for every Android device that they ship. With 500,000 devices a day, this implies around $1 billion in value if it received a $5 fee for each Android device. Current negotiations with Samsung, the top Android device manufacturer, could land Microsoft an additional $10-$15 for every Android device activated by Samsung."

(Source #1)

"Microsoft’s intent here is pure evil genius. “It’s not like Android’s free. Android has a patent fee. You do have to license patents,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said last year. What he didn’t explicitly say is that you’d have to pay Microsoft and not Google for those patents. Think about this for a second: it’s entirely possible that Microsoft is going to end up making more money — perhaps significantly more — from Android than Google will. A year ago, such a statement would have seemed like a joke. But now it’s becoming reality. And it must be the ultimate nightmare for Google"

(Source #2)

The argument around the patents rights has started another thread of criticism against Android – this time about the lack of innovation, mainly in the user interface (which is one of the reasons I don't use Android).

So that adds yet another complaint against Android. First there was the inconsistent UI and general glitches, then the apps quality problem (having too many ringtones, themes, skins and low quality apps…), and now – lack of innovation. Boy it's hard to be number #1…

Personally I do agree with the criticism but not with all of them; while there are some innovative concepts Android created around the core functionality (such as multi tasking and synergy between apps and data), my general impression of Android (which doesn't change over time I must add, even though I'm constantly trying new leading devices) is that it is the new generation of Windows Mobile with some attempts to be sexy as the iPhone with a lack of one concrete theme or specific design principals that will create the usability experience people expect from a smartphone these days.

And a word about Microsoft: Now that Nokia will bring more money out of WP7, and and Android will also become a revenue engine (still feels funny to write it..), how about BlackBerry? Buying RIM (with the money Android makes, that is…) will practically complete this twisted path into becoming number 3, don't you think? Well, maybe not…

You may also want to read the following: Can iPhone generate more revenue than entire Google? | Microsoft Makes 5 Times More Money From Google’s Android Than It Does From Windows Phone 7

Technorati Tags: Android,Google,Microsoft,Windows Phone,Smartphones

Do we really care about 4G?

According to TechCrunch: "A Retrevo survey found that 34% of iPhone owners think the “4″ in iPhone 4 stands for 4G. 24% of Blackberry owners think their phone is 4G (which is also impossible). 61% of iPhone owners don’t actually care about 4G and will buy a next-gen iPhone with or without the service. Blackberry and Android users are also interested in the new iPhone, regardless of 4G speeds."

Well, that's one hell of a survey. Reading between the lines I was thinking to myself - "what a nice way to say: both Android and BlackBerry Owners are interested in the next iPhone…" which makes sense to me, exactly like saying that some iPhone users may be interested in some Android phones.

My take from it?

1. 4G is not yet a factor when it comes to selecting a smartphone
2. 34% of iPhone users are not that techie…
3. iPhone is still an attractive gadget, even for Android users with phones with better specs…
4. People like surveys, even if there is nothing new that you can learn from them…

Technorati Tags: 3G,4G,iPhone

1 comments | Read more...

According to TechCrunch: "A Retrevo survey found that 34% of iPhone owners think the “4″ in iPhone 4 stands for 4G. 24% of Blackberry owners think their phone is 4G (which is also impossible). 61% of iPhone owners don’t actually care about 4G and will buy a next-gen iPhone with or without the service. Blackberry and Android users are also interested in the new iPhone, regardless of 4G speeds."

Well, that's one hell of a survey. Reading between the lines I was thinking to myself - "what a nice way to say: both Android and BlackBerry Owners are interested in the next iPhone…" which makes sense to me, exactly like saying that some iPhone users may be interested in some Android phones.

My take from it?

1. 4G is not yet a factor when it comes to selecting a smartphone
2. 34% of iPhone users are not that techie…
3. iPhone is still an attractive gadget, even for Android users with phones with better specs…
4. People like surveys, even if there is nothing new that you can learn from them…

Technorati Tags: 3G,4G,iPhone