Facebook has been advising of updates outside of Google’s App Store recently, then there is Samsung forging ahead with its own media and app stores and finally amazon going it alone.

It all seems these companies all want a slice of the revenue for themselves, but in turn creating splits and fragmentation. But could this all be a good positive thing with more competition, all will it cause trouble whereby users have to make decisions as to which provider they chose for their apps and email.

Only time will tell, but lets hope it brings more competition.

Have you noticed you don’t get bombarded with adverts when you read my blog.

That’s because I pay WordPress to remove them.

So happy reading 🙂

Of course if you want adverts let me know in the usual way.

Ok, so another day has passed and things are starting to improve.

I focused on looking for a case for the Note 2, and consideration was given to its size and weight. Therefore I was looking for something slim in profile, but still enabled some protection. Also, as the Note will be used for navigation I needed easy access to screen. So in true style I did not buy one but several. I will report back once I have had some time to pass judgement.

Confusion is the current issue over the file management. There are so many bloody directories, fake SD card directory which is not my micro SD Card slot, apps not being installed where I think, and me trying to work out how much memory I have got and where and how to use it. Rather annoyingly, I could not find my 32gb micro sd card, so I used a 8gb one I had lying around instead. My plan is get everything setup as I would like, having experimented with some apps, then deleting the ones I did not need, and then reseting the phone and start again loading everything up correctly first time and with a larger memory card. I also need to have a look at a 64gb micro sd card to see if that works, but again I am confused since apps like amazonmp3 or Google Video seem to use the internal memory and not the micro sd card. If someone knows differently please let me know. Why does android have to be so complex here.

Anyway back to some positives. Games. What a revelation! Samsung Apps gave away Need For Speed Most Wanted for free. It is a massive game in file size. Anyway, it downloaded and the game video started playing EXCEPT it was not the game video as you would have expected, it was the start of the tutorial and off I went and played. On the Note 2’s epic screen, the graphics of this game are outstanding. Riptide GP and others also looked stunning. Compared to my iPhone 5 there is no comparison. If only android had the depth of games that iOS does then it would be a winner, along with a social gaming centre too.

Part 1 of Day 3.

If you expect me to say how much better the Note 2 is from the iPhone 5 well that isn’t going to happen. They are 2 totally different devices.

I’ve got my Note 2 all setup nearly as I would like with over 100 apps installed. The screen is gorgeous and also huge, in fact at the moment the overall size is too big. I need some time to adjust.

I have found handwriting for the s-pen really good but sliding across the letters to enter words is even better, really fast.

What I have found is how clumsy everything feels at the moment. iOS is neat and tidy and does what you expect. For example of put a micro sd card in hoping to save some main memory space. Both Google Music and Amazon mp3 are saving music in the main memory not the memory card. There is no options to do that either without following so third party instructions for rooting. Too complex and not user friendly, nor does it follow the memory is expandable selling point.

The camera options are very good and I love all the effects but the quality in lower light doesnt compete with the iphone 5. As is the audio quality using the Samsung music player, only problem is that you can’t play google music or amazon music thru it. The phone has apt-x high quality Bluetooth codec and that makes a difference.

To go from the iPhone 5 to the Note 2 was relatively easy. Google Music had all my songs and dropbox all my photos and videos. Once my users names were entered everything was available on Note 2. Clever stuff.

Then we get to the apps. iOS simply crushes android. The whole app experience is far superior. In fact iOS provides a much better experience overall. Of course this is early days.

I have got a customised lock screen with app shortcuts, stocks and weather. I have a selection of widgets and apps on my several home screens. So it is not all bad.

End of Day 1 report.

So yesterday Samsung launched the S4. The specs are –

-5″ 1080p Super AMOLED HD Display (441 PPI) which works with gloves on
-1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor / 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos processor (depending on region)
-2GB DDr3 RAM
-13MP rear camera, 2MP front facing camera with dual shooting mode + HDR modes on both
-16/32/64GB internal storage
-MicroSD slot with support for cards up to 64GB
-Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
-Samsung Smart Scroll – USe your eyes to scroll down the screen when reading – no hands required.
-Samsung Smart Pause – pause a video by looking away from the screen
-AirView – simply hove over content with your finger to see a preview
-Share Music – connect multiple Galaxies as a set of speakers
-S Translator – instant text or voice translation
-Bluetooth 4.0
-4G LTE
-Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
-MHL 2.0
-Infrared (IR) Blaster
-Temperature and humidity sensors
-2,600 mAh battery
-136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
-130g
-Available in Black or White

And it’s made of plastic but that does allow for a removable back cover and replaceable battery which judging by all the above you might need a spare battery in your wallet. It also has a version of video calling but with more options using both cameras to show back and front and share the screen contents, something Blackberry introduced with their Z10. It also has an app called S Health. The S4 has a pedometer built in and using the accelerometer and other sensors you can use the S4 to manage your health. There were also accessories that linked up to this app. That’s neat.

The S Hub. Samsung have amalgamated all their shopping services into one app, similar to Google Play. Actually do Samsung want you to use Google Play. You can create photo books on the device and then have them uploaded and printed for a fee. Reminds me of Apple’s app Cards.

The S4 has wireless charging as standard and the back cover is ready to rock. Just need the wireless pad. It also has thermal throttling on the US version when temperatures hit over 70°.

So what do I think. Well specification wise it seems amazing. In reality would you use all of it? Samsung has evolved the S3 using better hardware and software integration. What we don’t know is the camera specifics other than its 13mp. We don’t know how good the audio quality is? We do know the screen adapts to what you are using by adjusting the colours and contrasts automatically.

Samsung also has a number of accessories to go with this from the S Band and S Flip case.

What was bizarre was the audience didn’t really seem to applaud the S4 during its launch show. Also bear in mind that the HTC One looks better and has a better screen. So Samsung theoretically is not top of its game. And if you want waterproof and dust proof there is the Sony Xperia Z. So the S4 is different but not game changing.

Am I going to get one. Not at the moment. I need to discover more about the device and I also want to see what Apple introduce later on, as well as seeing what improvements are made with the Note 3.

doubleTwist has announced it is to take on Pandora with its own streaming music discovery service that’s supposed to help you tunes you adore $4 a month. It claims to have 12 times the library size of Pandora too with 13 million songs.

To help decide if its for you, there is a 7 day trial. Just head over to the Google Play store.

Samsung won’t be unveiling their Galaxy S4 until Thursday, but the company has already taken over New York City in advance of their Unpacked event. A group of Samsung-hired dancers have been taking it to the streets and Times Square, decked out in black and white and wearing a big number 4 on their backs.

As corny as this is, it clearly is having the impact desired. Lets hope the S4 isn’t over hyped.

In-flight Wi-Fi provider Gogo has reported that iOS users account for the lion’s share of mobile devices accessing the company’s ground-to-air Wi-Fi network, with iPhone owners comprising some 73 percent of all traffic originating from smartphones. Do android users not fly? Well there is some good news as in 2011 iOS devices represented 96.8% so actually statistically android’s share grew 400%.

Handsets running on BlackBerry and Windows didn’t break the 1 percent mark. Popular with flyers then !

Gogo said that passengers spend most of their time surfing the Web, with Apple’s Safari being the most used browser, followed by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Google’s Chrome. In case you’re wondering people spent a significant time on social media sites and Internet shopping.

My favourite iPhone app TVCatchup has been dealt a legal blow. The top European Court has, ruled that UK-based website TVCatchup cannot transmit live TV streams online without the permission of broadcasters.

In a case brought against the site (and dozens of others) by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, the European Court of Justice ruled that as “authors” of the content, they have the right to forbid its use elsewhere.

TVCatchup had argued that licenses granted to the channels by Ofcom also covered “subsidiary services” such as its own and claimed it was not breaking copyright law by re-transmitting free-to-air broadcasts.

In a statement, on behalf of all three broadcasters, ITV said it was now free to pursue legal action against unauthorised sites that sought to broadcast its content.

Like any legal case its never over, and TVCatchup director Bruce Pilley insisted that the service was operating within the law and claimed the ECJ’s ruling would only affect around 30 per cent of its 12 million members and that TVCatchup.com is here to stay. Big words but I’m not sure it will work for them.

Update – TV Catchup responded directly to me via twitter. See here.

This has to be the craziest thing to do to show just how powerful a Dyson Hoover can be. But whatever you do don’t try and vacuum a fire up at home.

Personally I think a Sebo is a much better vacuum cleaner than Dyson.

Anyway here’s the link to a Dyson vacuuming fire.