Category Archives: Tech News

Is there a future for BlackBerry BBM?

RIM, Tech News,

BlackBerry announced that in 24 hours there had been 10m downloads of its iOS and android BBM app. That is a decent number of downloads, a number which has pushed it to the top of the downloads chart.

But is there a future for the app?

This is a difficult question. BBM has competition from many other messaging services like iMessage, ChatOn, WhatsApp and Viber. WhatsApp for example recently announced it had 350m users. Now that 10m downloads does not seem that good. Also WhatsApp makes money from their app charging £1 a year after the first year and for every year thereafter. A modest amount that most people are happy to pay for.

So firstly, BBM has to catch up and overtake established players. Second it has to make money, so at some point it either has to have ads appearing or make a charge for its service.

But is it any different from the other services on offer? Yes, it has one aspect that makes it unique. That is it uses a PIN. This PIN for activation means another person will not know your email or actual telephone number, thereby keeping that part of your data personal. If you accept a PIN invite and then decide you don’t like that person, you can remove them, and that person has not seen any of your other private contact information.

And this is why BBM might survive plus it does have a following. But only time will tell.

iWork is free on new Mac purchases but there are other ways – details

Apple, Tech News

If you buy a brand new Mac you will get iLife and iWork for free. Well the Mac did cost a small fortune so it is not exactly free.

But lets say you already have a Mac. You can still get iWork for free. Download and install the 30 day iWork trial. After 30 days your software will get upgraded to the full versions for nothing. This is a bug which apparently will be impossible for Apple to fix.

The other option was finding an old iWork DVD, installing the software, and this then gets upgraded to the latest versions for free.

Samsung Galaxy S4 sales figures – good or bad?

Android, Tech News

Samsung’s Board of Directors might be somewhat dissatisfied with the S4’s sales figures, but selling 10m in the first month and then another 30m in the next 5 months is rather impressive.

It also goes to show that competition has increased from all areas. Nokia/Microsoft is increasing its revenues. Apple is pulling punches with its iPhones. Huawei is coming up strong and threats from other entrants too.

It also just goes to show that the majority of people can manage with 9gb of internal storage.

HMV iOS app removed by Apple

Apple, Tech News

HMV recently launched an iOS app which allowed music purchases and downloads. This is in contravention of Apple App Store guidelines.

Apple quickly removed the app. HMV are amending their app to be compliant.

The best part of this story is who is to say that HMV didn’t deliberately create an app foul of the App Store guidelines just to gain media coverage? Because of the ban more people will be aware of the app!

Samsung looking to prevent customers using third party accessories

Android, Apple, Tech News

Sammobile reported that Samsung is looking to restrict its customers using third party batteries and cables with its phones by incorporating a ID chip.

This means third party companies will have to obtain authorisation and the necessary equipment from Samsung in order to be able to sell accessories.

This might seem draconian but it is similar to what Apple does with it’s lightning connector.

New iPads announced by Apple – but what was missing ?

Apple, Tech News

Apple announced a new iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina. But prior to the announcement there were many rumours of the features one might expect from these new iPads. So what didn’t make the cut?

The obvious omission was TouchID as featured on the iPhone 5S. To be honest a fingerprint scanner on the home button may not have been as natural to use as it is on a phone. But nonetheless it was missing.

Colours. Unlike the iPhone 5C which is available in many colours there were no new finishes. In fact what happened to a gold iPad. I wonder how people who bought a gold iPhone feel now, hoping they would get a gold iPad too? Have you been affected by this?

I do have a gold 5S and therefore won’t be able to have a matching finish of the new iPads.

Cameras. The new iPhones have 8mp cameras. The new iPads only have 5mp.

These are the most obvious omissions. Do you feel anything else should have been included?

I do think with all the software Apple is providing with iOS 7 and new devices the combined hardware and software experience will be unrivalled.

Whats new with iOS 7.0.3 update

Apple, Tech News

Last night was a big day for Apple. This included releasing iOS 7.0.3. The update included –

-iCloud Keychain
-A new Password Generator has also been added to the Safari browser
-updates the 5S lock screen to delay the display of “slide to unlock” when Touch ID is in use.
-Addresses an issue where iMessages would fail to send for some users
-Fixes a bug that could prevent iMessage from activating.
-Improves system stability when using iWork apps
-Fixes an accelerometer calibration issue
-Addresses an issue that could cause Siri and VoiceOver to use a lower quality voice
-Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the Lock screen passcode
-Enhances the Reduce Motion setting to minimize both motion and animation
-Fixes an issue that could cause VoiceOver input to be too sensitive
-Updates the Bold Text setting to also change dial pad text
-Fixes an issue that could cause supervised devices to become un-supervized when updating software

Some decent extras and bug fixes.

The Apple Keynote and the long list of new products and software – my views

Apple, Tech News, , , , ,

Yesterday Apple announced changes to its own Apps, iLife and iWork, launched OS X Mavericks for Macs with support on some really old devices dating back to 2007, launched 2 new iPads and new smart cover and cases, the iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina, updated its MacBook Pro line and introduced the new Mac Pro.

If you want to read all about the new hardware and software in crazy detail, go to http://www.Apple.com .

So what’s my view on all this Apple news. Simply, it is one of unity and trying to deliver a complete eco system across media, productivity and all hardware regardless as to whether you are using a Mac, iPhone or iPad.

Apple does not want you to use other services, or other cloud services os by offering free software and software updates it accelerates this unity towards an even stronger one eco system reliance. And from what I have seen it is going to do this really smoothly and slickly.

And then the was the new full size iPad, renamed as the iPad Air, and at its thickness of 7.5mm and weighing 469g it is seriously thin and light. I previously owned the Sony Z Tablet which weighed 495g and that was amazing, but the iPad Air is a much smaller profile too and has smart covers, something the Z Tablet could have done with.

Most people might sway towards the iPad Mini Retina as it is a smaller more portable affair. It also has the identical spec compared to the iPad Air, just a smaller screen and naturally weighs less at 331g. The retina Mini is a fraction thicker than the old Mini but it is hardly noticeable. But don’t lose sight of having a larger screen on a lightweight frame will really be a wow moment.

But, here is an interesting fact. The iPad Air has a 264 ppi screen resolution vs the iPad Mini Retina which comes out at 326 ppi. So the Mini screen will look better as it is smaller. As a comparison the Sony Z Tablet 10.1 inch is 224 ppi and the Google Nexus 7 2013 is 323 ppi so practically identical to the iPad Mini Retina.

Also surprising is the fact that both iPads are now available in 128gb memory capacities.

And the one fact with Apple that no other company has learnt to do, is make an announcement on a new product/updates and then immediately or within a week or two, you are able to buy the new product. Apple has made the iPad Air available on 1st November and all the new MacBook’s from today. That is fantastic.

But really, my question is which iPad would you buy and why?