Mobile infrastructure must catch up with user needs and demands. Ubiquitous mobile computing is all around us, not only when we use smartphones to connect with friends and family across states and countries, but also when we use ticketing systems on buses and trains, purchase food from mobile vendors, watch videos, and listen to music on our phones. As a result, mobile computing systems must rise to the demand. The number of smart phones will exceed the number of PCs in 2014.
Some time in the next six months, the number of smartphones on earth will pass the number of PCs. This shouldn’t really surprise anyone: the mobile business is much bigger than the computer industry. There are now perhaps 3.5-4 billion mobile phones, replaced every two years (versus 1.7-1.8 billion PCs replaced every 5 years).It means that mobile industry can sell more phones in a quarter than the PC industry sells in a year. After some years we will end up with somewhere over 3bn smartphones in use on earth, almost double the number of PCs. The smartphone revolution is changing how consumers use the Internet: Mobile browsing is set to overtake traditional desktop browsing in 2015.
It seems that 4G has really become the new high speed mobile standard widely wanted during 2013. 3G will become the low-cost option for those who think 4G option is too expensive, not everyone that has 4G capable device has 4G subscription. How the situation changes depends on how operators improve their 3G coverage, what will be the price difference from 3G to 4G and how well the service is marketed.
Mobile data increased very much last year. I expect the growth to continue pretty much as projected in Mobile Data Traffic To Grow 300% Globally By 2017 Led By Video, Web Use, Says Strategy Analytics and Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2012–2017 articles.
When 4G becomes mainstream, planning for next 5G communications starts. I will expect to see more and more writing on 5G as the vision what it will be destined to be clears more. Europe’s newly-minted 5GPPP Association plans to launch as many as 20 research projects in 2014, open to all comers, with a total budget of about 250 million euros. The groundwork for 5G, an ambitious vision for a next-generation network of networks that’s still being defined, and the definition will go on many years to come. No one really knows today what 5G will be because there are still several views. Europe’s new 5GPPP group published a draft proposal for 5G. 5GPPP is not the only group expected to work on standards for next-generation cellular networks, but it could become one of the most influential.
The shifting from “dumb” phones to smart phones continue. In USA and Europe smart phone penetration is already so high levels that there will not be very huge gains on the market expected. Very many consumers already have their smart phone, and the market will be more and more on updating to new model after two years or so use. At the end of 2013 Corporate-Owned Smartphones Back in Vogue, and I expect that companies continue to shop smart phones well in 2014.
The existing biggest smart phone players will continue to rule the markets. Google’s Android will continue to rule the markets. Samsung made most money in 2013 on Android phones (in 2013 in West only Samsung makes money from selling Android), and I expect that to continue. In 2013 Apple slurped down enormous profits but lost some of its bleeding-edge-tech street credit, and I expect that to continue in 2014.
The biggest stories of the year 2013 outside the Samsung/Apple duopoly were the sale of Nokia’s mobile phone business to Microsoft and the woes of BlackBerry. BlackBerry had an agonising year and suffered one of the most spectacular consumer collapses in history, and I can’t see how it would get to it’s feet during 2014. Nokia made good gains for Windows Phones during 2013, and I expect that Microsoft will put marketing effort to gain even more market share. Windows Phone became the third mobile ecosystem, and will most probably keep that position in 2014.
New players try to enter smart phone markets and some existing players that once tried that try to re-enter. There are rumors that for example HP tries to re-enter mobile market, and is probable that some other computer makers try to sell smart phones with their brands. In the Android front there will be new companies trying to push marker (for example OPPO and many smaller Chinese makers you have never heard earlier). Nokia had a number of Android projects going on in 2013, and some former Nokia people have put up company Newkia to follow on that road. To make a difference in the market there will be also push on some smaller mobile platforms as alternative to the big three (Google, Apple, Microsoft). Jolla is pushing Sailfish OS phones that can run Android applications and also pushing possibility to install that OS to Android phone. Mozilla will push on with it’s own Firefox OS phone. Canonical will try to get their Ubuntu phone released. Samsung is starting to make Tizen powered smart phones and NTT DoCoMo could be the first carrier to offer a Tizen powered device. None of those will be huge mainstream hits within one year, but could maybe could have their own working niche markets. The other OS brands combined do not amount to 1% of all smartphones sold in 2013, so even if they could have huge growth they would still be very small players on the end of 2014.
As smartphone and tablet makers desperately search for points of differentiation they will try to push the limits of performance on several fronts to extremes. Extreme inter-connectivity is one of the more useful features that is appearing in new products. More context-aware automatic wireless linking is coming: Phones will wirelessly link and sync with screens and sensors in the user’s vicinity.
You can also expect extreme sensor support to offer differentiation. Biomedical sensors have lots of potential (Apple already has fingerprint sensors). Indoor navigation will evolve. Intelligent systems and assistive devices will advance smart healthcare.
Several smartphone makers have clear strategies to take photography to extremes. 40 megapixel camera is already on the market and several manufacturers are playing with re-focus after shooting options.
In high-end models we may be moving into the overkill zone with extreme resolution that is higher than you can see on small screen: some makers have already demonstrated displays with twice the performance of 1080-progressive. Samsung is planned to release devices with 4k or UHD resolutions. As we have seen in many high tech gadget markets earlier it is a very short journey to copycat behavior.
It seems that amount of memory on high-end mobile devices is increasing this year. To be able to handle higher resolutions smart phones will also need more memory than earlier (for example Samsung lpddr 4 allows up to 4 GB or RAM on smart phone as now high-end devices now have typically 2GB). As the memory size starts to hit the limits of 32 bit processors (4GB), I will expect that there will be some push for chip makers to start to introduce more 64 bit processors for mobile devices. Apple already has 64-bit A7 microprocessor in iPhone 5s, all the other phone-makers want one too for their high-end models (which is a bit of panic to mobile chip makers).
You will be able to keep your mobile phone during some flights all the time and browser web on the plane more widely. At some planes you might also be able to make phone calls with your mobile phone during the flight. Calls on flights have been theoretically possible, and United States has recently looked at mobile phone calls allow the flights.
In year 2013 there were many releases on wearable technologies. Wearable is a trend with many big companies already in the space, and more are developing new products. It seems that on this field year 2013 was just putting on the initial flame, and I expect that the wearable market will start to heat up more during 2014. The advent of wearable technology brings new demands for components that can accommodate its small form factor, wireless requirements, and need for longer battery life.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will evolve into the Web of Things, increasing the coordination between things in the real world and their counterparts on the Web. The Internet is expanding into enterprise assets and consumer items such as cars and televisions. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable.
Technology giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. are about to expand their battle for digital supremacy to a new front: the automobile. The Android vs. iOS apps battle is coming to the automotive industry in 2014: car OEMs aren’t exactly known for their skills in developing apps and app developers don’t want to develop so many different versions of an app separately (for Ford, General Motors, BMW, and Toyota). I am waiting for Google’s response to Apple’s iOS in the Car. Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google and German auto maker Audi AG plan to announce that they are working together to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based on Google’s Android software. The push toward smarter cars is heating up: Right now, we are just scratching the surface.
For app development HTML5 will be on rise. Gartner predicts that through 2014, improved JavaScript performance will begin to push HTML5 and the browser as a mainstream enterprise application development environment. It will also work on many mobile applications as well.
1,857 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Parse Offering Allows Developers To Build Android Login Screens For Apps
http://allfacebook.com/parseloginui_b132794
Facebook-owned cloud-application platform Parse announced the launch of ParseLoginUI, an open-source library project enabling developers to build login screens on Android apps with the Parse software-development kit.
A similar feature for iOS apps was already built into the Parse SDK.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google is bringing Android to the car with Android Auto
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5841760/google-android-auto-announced
Google is finally laying out its grand plans to bring Android, the world’s leading mobile operating system, to your car. It’s called Android Auto. Think of it as the software you’re already familiar with, but redesigned and reimagined for the car. Google says Android Auto is contextually aware, bringing you the information you want when you need it. And it’s been optimized for voice, which means you’ll never need to take your hands off the wheel to use it. Google said that was a priority in their approach to developing Android Auto, with Patrick Brady pointed to alarming accident statistics during his presentation at I/O. “There has to be a better way,” he said. Google’s car ambitions are rooted in Android L, the latest version of its mobile operating system. The new OS is slated to arrive this fall, and Google says the first cars that support Android Auto will follow by year’s end.
Android Auto makes heavy use of Google Now to create a safer and more convenient driving experience. The system gives you quick, voice-based access to Google Maps navigation, text messaging, and apps like Google Play Music. Android Auto is fully compatible with the dials, knobs, and buttons on your dashboard and steering wheel. Since everything you see on screen is actually being “casted” from your smartphone, Google says the in-car experience will be even better if you own a powerful handset.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s Chromecast to get Android mirroring, ‘Backdrop’ slideshows and casting from nearby devices
http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/06/25/googles-chromecast-get-android-mirroring-backdrop-slideshows-casting-nearby-devices/
Later this year, Google will update Chromecast so that anyone can choose and control the content being streamed through the device – even if they’re not on the same Wi-Fi network as the tiny dongle.
In short, Chromecast owners will have the option to authenticate nearby users. This means that if a person is on a cellular network – either because they can’t be bothered to type in a Wi-Fi password, or because you just don’t trust them with it – they can still control the Chromecast connected to your TV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Unveils New Cross Platform Design Language “Material Design”
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/25/google-unveils-new-cross-platform-design-language-material-design/
Google announced a new universal design language, called Material Design, as part of the forthcoming “L” release of Google’s Android mobile operating system. The design is meant to offer a more consistent, universal look-and-feel across mobile, tablets, desktop and “beyond,” the company explains.
“We imagined… what if pixels didn’t just have color, but also depth? What if there was a material that could change its texture? This lead us to something we call ‘material design,” says Matias Durate, Director of Android operating system User Experience at Google, during the keynote this morning.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google previews Android apps running on Chromebooks
http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/06/25/google-previews-android-apps-running-chromebooks/
Google has confirmed that Chromebook devices will one day be able to run standard Android apps, during its I/O keynote today.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s next version of Android ‘L’ release has a new look, deeper ties to the web
http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/25/Android-L/
KitKat may have only found its way onto roughly 15 percent of phones at this point, but that won’t stop Google from looking to the future. The new version, teased by Sundar Pichai is simply being referred to as the “L” release right now.
The heart of this overhaul is called Material Design — a flatter look, with rounder elements and softer edges that will extend beyond tablets and phones to Chrome OS and Google’s various web services. You can see some of the new design philosophy at work already in the latest version of the Google+ app on Android. But it goes beyond that.
“L” version of Android to drop Dalvik, introduce new Android Runtime with better performance, graphics
http://9to5google.com/2014/06/25/l-version-of-android-to-drop-davlik-introduce-new-android-runtime-with-better-performance-graphics/
While introducing its “L” release of Android on stage at Google I/O, the company announced that this version of Android runs on the ART, or Android Runtime. Previous versions of Android ran on the Dalvik runtime, but the “L” version of Android is dropping it in its entirety. Googler David Burke introduced this change on stage and said that the switch to ART should make Android run “twice as fast” as it did with Dalvik. Burke also said that developers won’t have to make many changes to switch to ART.
ART is a 64-bit runtime that includes a variety of changes. It’s designed to support a mix of AOT and JIT, and is cross-platform with support for ARM, x86, and MIPS. ART is much better for “garbage collection,” Burke said, in addition to being better about managing RAM. Graphic support is also much improved with ART.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Fit is Android’s answer to exercise and health tracking
http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/25/google-fit/
Google Fit is Google’s new health initiative. It’s a service that’ll track all your health metrics — sleep, steps, etc. — and it’s built into the next version of Android. But what does that mean? Well, it means that Google’s Android platform is getting the same kind of life-metric tracking that Apple’s iOS users are getting in iOS 8 with HealthKit. More importantly, it means that the health devices you’re already using will play nice with the myriad Android devices out there.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Market shares
http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2014/6/25/market-shares
Google Android has 1bn MAUs (not including China or Kindle), and Google paid developers $5bn in the last 12 months, and $2bn in the previous 12 months.
Apple told us that it paid out $7bn in calendar year 2013 – given the growth trend, it probably paid $10bn in the last 12m. On a trailing 24m basis, there were 470m iOS users in March 2014.
So, Google Android users in total are spending around half as much on apps on more than twice the user base, and hence app ARPU on Android is roughly a quarter of iOS.
This is not surprising – it is entirely in line with innumerable reports from developers and publishers.
Note: There is no way to dedupe tablet and phone devices from users who own both
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Cardboard Turns Your Android Into a DIY Virtual Reality Headset
http://gizmodo.com/turn-your-android-into-a-virtual-reality-headset-with-g-1596026538
Want a virtual reality headset, but can’t afford the hefty pricetag on most existing models (or to hold out for the future)? Google dropped an inexpensive solution today following its I/O keynote: Google Cardboard, an app that lets Android users transform their phones into VR headsets with the help of a DIY cardboard viewer.
It’s not exactly the Oculus Rift, but who cares what the outside looks like if the virtual reality experience is any good? The Cardboard app lets users watch YouTube, virtually carouse on Google Street View or virtually scale the Himalayas with Google Earth, among other immersive demos.
Google provided directions to put together the viewer, which is made from cardboard, velcro, magnets, and lenses (NFC tag optional).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything You Need to Know About Google’s I/O Keynote
http://www.wired.com/2014/06/google-io-keynote/
Android 5.0
Google’s Sundar Pichai started things off with a preview of the upcoming “L” (Android 5.0) release today.
Mobile Chrome
Avni Shah, director of program management for Chrome came out next to talk about mobile web experience. On the mobile web, Google’s also bringing in new design elements.
Chrome also gets a multitasking upgrade.
Android Wear
Android Wear will support various screen configurations—circular or square, for example. It understands your voice, so you can interact with it. Singleton shows this in action on an LG G watch.
Android Auto
Google is coming to your car, too. Google’s Patrick Brady, a director of engineering for Android, announced Android Auto today—a way to use connected Android apps and services in the car. Navigation, communication and music will take center stage here.
Android TV
Oh, hey and Google is also coming to your TV with Android TV. “We’re simply giving TV the same level of attention as your phone and tablet,” said Google’s Dave Burke. Basically, it just treats the TV like another Android screen. The interface is extremely slick.
Android Everywhere
But it isn’t all Android—or at least not entirely. Pichai also wants to tell us about Chromebooks.
Chromebooks are bringing in cues from Android as well. It already supports Google Now.
But the big goal has been to integrate Android applications into Chromebooks. And it’s happening.
Cloud Services and More Protesters
And of course, because this is a developer event, Google talked about its cloud services as well. It’s trying to make it really easy for developers to offload data, debugging, tracing and processing functions to the cloud. This announcement was interrupted by a protestor, who chanted “wake the fuck up,” and repeatedly claimed “you’re all working for a totalitarian company that builds robots that kill people.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Shows Off Android Wear, Its Wearables Initiative
http://www.wired.com/2014/06/android-wear-google-io/
Google announced Android Wear back in March, but today the company gave us our first big look at its wearable platform.
Android Wear, like Google’s teaser video showed, is designed to give you the information you want at a glance, not buried inside a grid of icons on your smartphone.
It features much of what you’d expect from a smartwatch. The minimalist, always-on interface shows you the most important thing Google knows for you at the time, like the current status of an upcoming flight. Notifications from your phone are pushed to the watch interface, but displayed as a stack of pages you can flip through with a vertical finger swipe.
Tomi Engdahl says:
According to benchmarks, Exynos 5433 Galaxy Note 4 smokes Snapdragon 805
http://www.talkandroid.com/211123-according-to-benchmarks-exynos-5433-galaxy-note-4-smokes-snapdragon-805/
With the newer Snapdragon 805 being all the rage as the processor to beat, other chipsets have a decent uphill battle facing them as they attempt to dethrone the Qualcomm chip. Only one has been able to do that so far, and that’s Nvidia’s Tegra K1. However if benchmarks are to be believed, the second chip to do so is the Exynos 5433. Codenamed “HelsinkiPro” the SoC is said to be an upgraded version of the Exyno 5430
Of course, benchmarks should be taken with a grain of salt as they don’t coincide with real-world use and as the Note 4 has yet to be released, let alone announced
Tomi Engdahl says:
At I/O, Google launches Android Wear, says Moto360 coming this summer
Google’s wearable platform comes to market, LG G Watch ready for order today.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/at-io-google-kicks-off-the-public-launch-of-android-wear/
Android Wear is primarily driven by voice commands and Google Now, which pops up cards it thinks would be useful on the home screen. Google’s trademark “OK Google” hotword detection is here, and voice commands query Google and work the same way they do on Glass or Android. Android Wear’s big leg-up on the competition is that it seamlessly works with every Android app, and unlike Samsung devices, Wear is compatible with any Android phone running 4.3 and above. Out of the box, all Android notifications show up on the watch, including all of the notification buttons.
A first look at the LG G Watch
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5842924/a-first-look-at-the-lg-g-watch
On the third floor of the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, Android Wear devices are starting to come out of the woodwork. The latest: the LG G Watch, perhaps the default Google-powered smartwatch for the moment.
The G Watch is an incredibly simple device.
We just got to see (and touch) Samsung’s new Gear Live smartwatch
http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/25/samsung-gear-live-hands-on/
Here at Google’s yearly developer conference, we just learned a whole lot more about Android Wear, the company’s OS tailored to wearables. With that info came word that Samsung’s rolling out the newest member of the Gear family, the Live, and I just laid my hands and eyes on one firsthand. Problem is, the smartwatch was only running Android Wear in “retail mode.”
The Live fits right into the design aesthetic we’ve seen on the Gear, Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo, and shares their solid build quality.
Moto 360 Hands-On: This Smartwatch Will Make You Swoon
http://gizmodo.com/moto-360-hands-on-this-smartwatch-will-make-you-swoon-1596101326
We just went hands-on with Samsung’s first Android Wear, the Gear Live. It was lovely and very promising. But then we just got to strap Motorola’s Moto 360 on, and oh man, it’s gorgeous. GORGEOUS. Here are our quick first impressions.
The first round-faced Android Wear is just great-looking.
By default, the screen is off, but when you raise your wrist in the standard check-the-time gesture, the screen lights up. Hopefully that will result in some battery-saving. Unlike Samsung, Motorola refused to give us projected battery life, but they implied that it would be “very good,” whatever that may mean.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watching Google’s Many Arms
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/technology/personaltech/a-reach-too-far-by-google.html?_r=0
One way to think of Google is as an extremely helpful, all-knowing, hyper-intelligent executive assistant. Already, it can remind you about your flight, open up your boarding pass when you get to the airport and offer you driving directions to your hotel when you land.
If what the company showed off at an event for developers on Wednesday is a true vision of our future, Google’s software will soon reach ever further into our lives, sitting on just about every other device you encounter. The software will be available to help you look up any bit of idle curiosity or accomplish any task, anytime you desire.
It’s an extremely far-reaching agenda — and that may be the company’s problem. For a company whose future depends on people voluntarily handing over their information in return for handy online services, Google’s very ambitions may now stand as its biggest hurdle. Is Google, in its globe-spanning reach, trying to do so much that it risks becoming creepy instead of helpful — the assistant who got too powerful and knows too much?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Android wear fear: Hey, Glasshole – stop spying on me at the ATM
Wearable cams can RECORD your PIN from 40 METRES
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/26/google_glass_android_wearables_i_o/
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG is making a Google Project Tango device for 2015
http://www.slashgear.com/lg-is-making-a-google-project-tango-device-for-2015-26335504/
Google’s Project Tango team is working with LG to release a commercial device based on the platform, expected to hit store shelves in 2015. The partnership, revealed at Google IO 2014 during a presentation from Google’s ATAP team of skunkworks, will see LG follow the recently-launched Project Tango developer tablet with a version intended for the everyday consumer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google “moonshot” group demos modular phone that (almost) actually works
Projects Ara and Tango were the focus of an ATAP presentation at Google I/O.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/google-moonshot-group-demos-modular-phone-that-almost-actually-works/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chromecast will use ultrasonic sounds to pair your TV with your friend’s phones
http://gigaom.com/2014/06/26/chromecast-will-use-ultrasonic-sounds-to-pair-your-tv-with-your-friends-phones/
Bad news for bats, good news for Chromecast fans: Google is using ultrasonic sounds to pair its streaming stick with nearby devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Other companies are already selling Google Cardboard clones
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5846216/other-companies-are-already-selling-google-cardboard-clones
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kickstarter unplugs iFind miracle battery-free locator
Funding suspended at a whopping $US546,852
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/27/ifind_kickstarter_cancelled/
Kickstarter has pulled the plug on the campaign to raise funds for the iFind – described as “The World’s First Battery Free Item Locating Tag”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
64-bit L-Android devices in stores soon be upon us
Wednesday, the Android operating system, L take advantage of 64-bit devices may reach store shelves as early as October.
ARM’s mobile strategy to the corresponding side of James Bruce in October, the public will most likely be the country’s first 64-bit Android tablets, followed by a turn to the smartphone.
Google’s Android operating L for 32 – and 64-bit devices, and is now available for pre-release version for developers.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/kaikki_uutiset/64bittisia+android+l+laitteita+kauppoihin+yllattavan+pian/a995681
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Biggest Thing That Yo Got Right Is Hiring Its Hackers
http://gizmodo.com/the-biggest-thing-that-yo-got-right-is-hiring-its-hacke-1594875015
Yo is a borderline-offensively useless (if amusing) app, but its founder Or Arbel made a shrewd decision by hiring one of the Georgia Tech students who hacked into the absurdly simple service last week.
Arbel’s dumbass novelty app should never be replicated, but it’d be a boon for everyone if his attitude towards hackers spread. Snapchat, a far superior social tool, is hampered by how its team treats (or mistreats) its hackers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Chromecast will talk to smartphones without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
A bat signal from the streaming stick will let you pass videos to the TV.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/chromecast-will-talk-to-smartphones-using-ultrasonic-tones/
Google revealed yesterday that it will allow its Chromecast streaming stick to cast content without being on the same Wi-Fi network as the device sending it. According to a session Thursday, the Chromecast will be able to pair without Wi-Fi, or even Bluetooth, via an unusual method: ultrasonic tones.
In the new system, Chromecast owners first allow support for nearby devices. A nearby device then requests access to the Chromecast, and the Chromecast plays an ultrasonic sound through the connected TV’s speakers. The sound is then picked up by the microphone in the device, which allows it to pair with the TV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
First Impressions and Hands On of Android L
by Joshua Ho on June 26, 2014 6:40 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8221/first-impressions-and-hands-on-of-android-l
Today, Google finally posted the system images for Android L on the Nexus 5 and 7
After booting, the setup process remains mostly unchanged from 4.4. Things definitely start to change once you get into the main UI though.
Overall, I’m quite excited to see how Android L turns out by the time a release OTA rolls around. The only real issue I have at this point is that some UI elements such as the clear all notifications button have disappeared with this build. I suspect that this version of Android will be a significant change unlike the updates from 4.2 to 4.4.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK privacy watchdog warns: Google Glass could VIOLATE data protection law
Oi Glasshole! Enough already with that sinister peep show, yeah?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/27/google_glass_could_violate_data_protection_law_warns_uk_privacy_watchdog/
Google’s creepy Glass wearable could breach Britain’s Data Protection law, the Information Commissioner’s office has warned.
The ad giant began flogging the device in Blighty this week for £1,000 a pop.
That move prompted the country’s data watchdog to outline the “privacy implications of wearable technology” in a blog post penned by the ICO’s senior tech officer Andrew Paterson.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Larry Page: Healthcare Data Mining Could Save 100,000 Lives a Year
http://science.slashdot.org/story/14/06/27/152213/larry-page-healthcare-data-mining-could-save-100000-lives-a-year
Google often gets criticism for its seemingly boundless desire for data collection and analysis, but the company says it has higher ambitions than just figuring out how best to serve advertising. Speaking to the NY Times, Larry Page said, “We get so worried about these things that we don’t get the benefits Right now we don’t data-mine healthcare data. If we did we’d probably save 100,000 lives next year.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
No, Google Isn’t Going To Kill Its Nexus Devices
http://readwrite.com/2014/06/26/google-nexus-android-silver#awesm=~oIsXea0bPShB84
Carrier-friendly phones via the Android Silver program should debut next year, but Nexus phones and tablets will also endure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GE announces $15 connected LED light bulb controlled by Wink app
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2014/06/28/ge-quirky-announce-15-connected-led-light-bulb/
The “Internet of things,” the “Connected Home,” the “Smart Home,” whatever you want to call it, it’s just a fancy way of turning your stuff on and off with your smartphone. Now GE has introduced a cheaper way to stay on the couch and control your lights.
The low-cost connected Link lightbulb from GE will set you back less than $15. The bulb is controlled by the Wink app (available for iOS and Android) from Quirky. In addition to switching lights on and off from anywhere (not just your couch), the app lets you schedule things like on/off times and brightness.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear, Auto, and TV save you from skins, and OEMs from themselves
For Android’s second act, customizability takes a back seat to consistency.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-auto-and-tv-save-you-from-skins-and-oems-from-themselves/
Samsung’s Gear Live and LG’s G Watch
One thing about both of them sticks out: their software behaves pretty much the same way no matter which device you have. There are small differences that Google has outlined here, but interacting with each watch is exactly the same, and digging down into the settings shows that they’re both running the exact same Android versions and build numbers. This would be unusual for Android phones or tablets, which generally come with OEM-controlled UI skins, hardware and software flourishes, and pre-installed apps.
Talking with Google engineering director David Burke confirmed that all of the new Android initiatives announced at the keynote this week—Android Wear, Android Auto, and Android TV—will have user interfaces and underlying software that is controlled by Google, not by the OEMs.
“The UI is more part of the product in this case,” Burke said to Ars of Android TV in particular. “We want to just have a very consistent user experience, so if you have one TV in one room and another TV in another room and they both say Android TV, we want them to work the same and look the same… The device manufacturers can brand it, and they might have services that they want to include with it, but otherwise it should be the same.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding Apple’s Wearable Strategy
http://techpinions.com/understanding-apples-wearable-strategy/32076
Tomi Engdahl says:
A New App Called Moment Shows You How Addicted You Are To Your iPhone
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/27/a-new-app-called-moment-shows-you-how-addicted-you-are-to-your-iphone/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity
Some of us jokingly say that we’re addicted to our iPhones. A newly released app called Moment will show us just how true that statement may be. Designed to promote a healthier balance between our real lives and those lived through the small screens of our digital devices, Moment tracks how much you use your phone each day, helps you create daily limits on that usage, and offers “occasional nudges” when you’re approaching those limits.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Even online, emotions can be contagious
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229754.900-even-online-emotions-can-be-contagious.html#.U6_F70BQO9I
BE CAREFUL you don’t catch those Facebook blues. Feelings, like viruses, can spread through online social networks.
A face-to-face encounter with someone who is sad or cheerful can leave us feeling the same way. This emotional contagion has been shown to last anywhere from a few seconds to weeks.
Digital emotions proved somewhat contagious, too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s How Apple Can Take Its Iconic Headphones To The Next Level
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-headphones-need-a-healthy-solution-2014-6
Apple is one of the biggest headphones makers in the world thanks to those signature white earbuds that have shipped with every iPod, iPhone, and iPad since 2001 — and that was before the company bought Beats.
Apple said it’s sold north of 600 million earbuds in a 12-year span — that’s 1.2 billion tiny speakers — but despite a few design modifications made two years ago in the conversion of earbuds to EarPods, the design of Apple’s headphones has gone largely untouched.
That needs to change
the average lifespan of Apple’s headphones can be rather short.
It’s possible Apple actually wants customers to purchase new EarPods every six months or so
Competitors are aware of Apple’s imperfect EarPods.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom’s Hardware: Microsoft Smartband Coming In October With 11 Sensors
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/06/28/2219219/toms-hardware-microsoft-smartband-coming-in-october-with-11-sensors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Overkill? LG Phone Has 2560×1440 Display, Laser Focusing
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/06/29/1741258/overkill-lg-phone-has-2560×1440-display-laser-focusing
LG is probably getting a little tired of scraping for brand recognition versus big names like Samsung, Apple and Google. However, the company is also taking solace in the fact that their smartphone sales figures are heading for an all-time high in 2014, with an estimated 60 million units projected to be sold this year.
LG’s third iteration of their popular “G” line of flagship smartphones, simply dubbed the LG G3, is the culmination of all of the innovation the company has developed
QHD display that drives a resolution of 2560X1440 with a pixel density of 538 PPI.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Boots Up Project Ara
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322909&
Project Ara is up and running, as members of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) team demonstrated a prototype modular phone at the company’s developer conference yesterday. Although the smartphone prototype froze while booting up, project leads were excited about the device’s potential.
“Why choose a phone for its camera when you can choose a camera for your phone? Why not share the most expensive sensor or component among friends, family, or perhaps across a village?” Ara project lead Paul Eremenko asked attendees.
The board for the Spiral 1 prototype has a Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 mobile processor, built on a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, as well as a large FPGA for implementing a packet switch network and a flexible power bus to take up approximately 70% of the board. Eremenko said his team hopes to switch to a bridge ASIC WiFi baseband processor in the next prototype, due in October, for increased developer functionality.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seeing Is Believing With Google’s Tango Tablet
Consumer-grade 3D-sensing mobile available in 2015
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322905&
Project Tango will be in consumer hands as early as next year, speakers at Google’s I/O developer conference said today. Google is in early engagements with LG Electronics to produce the 3D depth-sensing tablet next year.
“Project Tango is a focused effort to work with the hardware and software ecosystem to advance the state of 3D sensing on mobile,” technical program lead Johnny Lee told attendees. “The compute is genuinely here to do amazing things with our devices. What’s missing is the hardware and software.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Augmented Reality Gets Physical With Haptics
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322892&
If all of us are already familiar with the basic silent-mode of most mobile phones, a crude form of haptics (sensing the buzz of a vibrating mass in your pocket), there is much more to come on the display side.
From the lab to startup companies, the race is on adding physically perceptible volumes and textures to whatever is displayed on screen, ranging from a simple keyboard with a “click” feel to the complex rendering of 3D shapes and textures, either in volume or on a seemingly flat surface.
The EuroHaptics 2014 conference, which took place in Versailles from June 24 to 26, was buzzing with actuators and haptic devices of all sorts.
Before any sensory information can be effectively put to good use in a haptic interface, one should understand how we humans perceive touch, and how our perception and our experience of the world affect our individual capacity to discriminate features and objects. A lot of fundamental research goes into understanding the limitations of touch-only haptic devices, versus multi-modal haptics where touch is combined with vision and/or sound to provide a better perceptual illusion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ars Takes an Early Look At the Privacy-Centric Blackphone
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/06/30/0715219/ars-takes-an-early-look-at-the-privacy-centric-blackphone
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Fire: Who needs a WAREHOUSE when you have a global ADS PLATFORM?
Analyst sees tat emporium’s empire surging into China
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/30/amazons_new_phone_isnt_that_just_a_creepy_ad_platform/
Amazon could use its new Fire phone to help fight its way into countries where it doesn’t – or can’t – operate warehouses, says an industry analysis firm.
That’s the opinion of an analyst at tech beancounter Canalys who believes Amazon’s new Fire phone offers the opportunity to roll out a global advertising system of potentially unparalleled scope.
We already know that the Fire phone is a superb mobile shopfront, but if the phone catches on, it could be used to sell adverts for goods that Amazon doesn’t stock.
Tim Coulling, senior analyst at Canalys, said the announcement of the new Fire smartphone revealed more about Amazon’s advertising ambitions than it does its phone hopes. He said Amazon could be interested in trying to sell apps or ads to people in countries like China, where there are no Amazon “fulfilment centres”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass to be banned from all UK cinemas
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-glass-to-be-banned-from-all-uk-cinemas-9570686.html
If you’ve just acquired a Google Glass headset for £1,000, don’t show it off at the movies. UK cinemas are to ban the headsets over fears that the gadgets can be used to make pirate copies of Hollywood blockbusters.
However, the ability to record people without their knowledge, with the stroke of a finger over the spectacle frame or a voice command, has prompted privacy concerns. And cinemas are alarmed that criminal gangs could use Glass to distribute pirate copies of blockbusters movies – recording in cinemas is the source of more than 90 per cent of all illegally copied films in their release form.
Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, said: “Customers will be requested not to wear these into cinema auditoriums, whether the film is playing or not.”
The Vue cinema chain said it would ask guests to remove the eyewear “as soon as the lights dim”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear software review: Smartwatch software that doesn’t suck
It still requires a phone, but there’s no better way to deal with notifications.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-review/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear hardware review: Sometimes promising, often frustrating
The Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch aren’t as essential as they want to be.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/reviewing-android-wears-first-watches-sometimes-promising-often-frustrating/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Siri Will Soon Understand You a Whole Lot Better
http://www.wired.com/2014/06/siri_ai/
Now, nearly five years later, neural network algorithms are hitting the mainstream, making computers smarter in new and exciting ways. Google has used them to beef up Android’s voice recognition. IBM uses them. And, most remarkably, Microsoft uses neural networks as part of the Star-Trek-like Skype Translate, which translates what you say into another language almost instantly. People “were very skeptical at first,” Hinton says, “but our approach has now taken over.”
One big-name company, however, hasn’t made the jump: Apple, whose Siri software is due for an upgrade. Though Apple is famously secretive about its internal operations–and did not provide comment for this article–it seems that the company previously licensed voice recognition technology from Nuance—perhaps the best known speech recognition vendor. But those in the tight-knit community of artificial intelligence researchers believe this is about to change. It’s clear, they say, that Apple has formed its own speech recognition team and that a neural-net-boosted Siri is on the way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s Futuristic New Tool Translates Skype Calls in Real Time
http://www.wired.com/2014/05/microsoft-skype-translate/
Honest-to-goodness translation technology is finally on its way–and it won’t involve implanting a fish in your ear.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s Quickoffice taken behind shed … ‘Oh, what’s the gun for?’
Docs, Sheets, Slides to replace standalone productivity suite
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/30/quickoffice_retired/
Quickoffice, Google’s Microsoft Office–compatible productivity app for Android and iOS, is no more – sort of.
In a brief note published to the Google Apps blog last week, the company said it soon plans to “unpublish” Quickoffice from Google Play and the iTunes App Store.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voice & Face Unlock Smartphones & Tablets
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322939&
With the advent of increasingly sophisticated personal electronic devices, security is becoming more and more of an issue. In the case of products like smartphones, tablets (and other computers), and even digital cameras, people don’t want others to gain access to their private data. Similarly, in the case of things like home automation, people don’t wish others to be able to access the systems in their homes.
Until recently, the main security solutions have required the user to enter a PIN code or a more complex password. Some products, like Android smartphones, allow the user to “draw” a shape with her finger. Although these methods may seem to be relatively unobtrusive, they become tiresome when one has to perform them multiple times a day.
Another alternative is to add a fingerprint sensor, but this requires additional hardware that consumes valuable real estate on the device and that can cost between $5 and $10. Furthermore, these sensors don’t always work as well as one might hope
More recently, there has been a growing interest in biometric identification technologies, such as speech identification and facial recognition. Using just one of these techniques in isolation can result in an unacceptable level of “false negatives” (blocking access to the right person) and “false positives” (granting access to the wrong person). However, using both of these techniques together — referred to as “biometric fusion” — yields extremely high levels of accuracy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A strange gap on some Android handsets – a simple text message can reboot the device
According to French blogger many Android phones based on MediaTek chipset can be restarted with text message that contains characters =.
MediaTek chipsets are widely used in countries such as India and China in the lower end of the Android phones. The problem can be fixed by replacing the default SMS handling app.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/kaikki_uutiset/outo+aukko+androidluureissa++yksinkertainen+tekstiviesti+kaynnistaa+laitteen+uudelleen/a996116
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: A review of the Blackphone, the Android for the paranoid
Custom-built with privacy in mind, this handset isn’t for (Google) Play.
http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/06/exclusive-a-review-of-the-blackphone-the-android-for-the-paranoid/
Based on some recent experience, I’m of the opinion that smartphones are about as private as a gas station bathroom. They’re full of leaks, prone to surveillance, and what security they do have comes from using really awkward keys. While there are tools available to help improve the security and privacy of smartphones, they’re generally intended for enterprise customers. No one has had a real one-stop solution: a smartphone pre-configured for privacy that anyone can use without being a cypherpunk.
That is, until now. The Blackphone is the first consumer-grade smartphone to be built explicitly for privacy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Wear smartwatches make Google Glass obsolete
Watches have nearly all of the positives of Glass and none of the negatives.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/android-wear-smartwatches-make-google-glass-obsolete/
It seems like every post about Google Glass is dripping with bias either for or against the device
Once the novelty wore off, though, Glass spent most of its life in a drawer, only to occasionally be dusted off to try out the newest update.
Now, after playing with the Android Wear emulator for a few months, and actual Wear hardware for a few days, it’s time to call it: Google Glass is obsolete. Android Wear on a smartwatch does nearly everything Glass can do and then some, and it comes in a package that is significantly more ergonomic, convenient, cheap, and socially acceptable. Android Wear has almost all the positives of Google Glass and none of the negatives.