Samsung, Apple and Google – Losers and Winners

Android, Apple, Tech News, ,

Over the last few days there have been some interesting stats emerging from smartphone sales.

First up, following Samsung’s first quarter results it has lost market share to competitors. Samsung also suffered a 3.3% fall in profits. Consequently its share price has fallen.

Meanwhile Apple sold half the total amount of phones as Samsung, yet made twice more profit.

Google recognises it does not have a proper “Google” high end offering(s) to challenge Apple’s complete iPhone software and hardware package. So Google wants to have a Silver phone program, whereby manufacturers will have to adhere to strict guidelines on apps and the experience. These are to be high end quality finished phones to head straight on at Apple.

One thing is for sure, competition is healthy and maybe everyone will have to up their game.

Introducing the new Samsung Galaxy K Zoom – Video and Specifications

Android, Tech News

Samsung has just taken the wraps off the new Samsung K Zoom, the replacement for the S4 Zoom. The device features a 20.7 MP 1/2.3 BSI CMOS camera sensor with 10x optical zoom, Xenon flash and OIS. The K Zoom offers a total of 28 shooting modes and comes with a redesigned camera UI that looks similar to what is offered in the Galaxy S5. The device include a 4.8-inch 720p screen, hexa-core Exynos 5 Hexa 5260 processor with two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores, 2 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, 2.1 MP front shooter and a 2430 mAh battery. As far as connectivity goes, the K Zoom comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0LE, GPS, NFC and HSPA+ (42 Mbps).

Updated – it appears the K Zoom does not have 4K video recording and as its a lot slimmer now does not include a built in tripod mount like the S4 Zoom. The optics are identical to the S4 Zoom except now 20.7mp instead of 16mp. The battery is removable but at 2430 mAH should have been larger for a camera centric phone.

Amazon’s new Postal Service

Tech News

From the Wall Street Journal.

“Amazon isn’t waiting for the advent of courier drones to ship your orders faster than usual: the Wall Street Journal reports that the e-commerce giant has been testing its own US delivery network in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Described in job listings as Last Mile, the initiative is meant to outperform established shippers like FedEx and UPS. These companies are increasing costs, can’t always meet capacity and are “impeding innovation in delivery services,” Amazon says in one job description.”

Amazon also invested in Yodel, a UK delivery service recently. Clearly, Amazon realises you are only as good as your weakest link, and delivery of a customers order is vital. Amazon also has invested in lockers and collection/drop off points too, making it a great service but at the expense of the smaller retailers.

Fancy lunch with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple – Well you can now

Apple, Tech News

Charity Buzz is offering a chance to have lunch with Tim Cook.

“Bid now on this unique opportunity to have lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple headquarters.

Tim Cook is Apple’s CEO and serves on its board of directors. In 2012 he was named a runner-up to TIME’s Person of the Year and topped Vanity Fair’s New Establishment list. Before being named CEO in August 2011, Tim was Apple’s Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division. Tim earned an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University.”

Current bid is at $67,500 so you will need deep pockets.

More at – https://www.charitybuzz.com/TimCook

Samsung launches the Galaxy S5 in 16gb & 32gb – is 16gb enough?

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

Samsung announced the S5 would be available in 16gb and 32gb.  In some countries the 32gb has surfaced.  But not the UK and in fact it’s not available in most places.

This is due to Samsung and the networks choosing the cheaper 16gb model as there is a memory card slot.  And the less storage you have the more you need to stream and the more expensive your contact will need to be. Now if Samsung only made a 32gb with micro sd card support that would be ideal.

But can you manage with 16gb? Yes if you use a memory card and don’t play many large games.  And your phone is a Samsung and the developer builds in some support for memory cards.

Let’s have a look at my two week old S5.

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Out of 16gb, 4gb was already used up by Samsung. By the time I installed all Samsung’s apps, extras and my apps and games I had a total of 118 apps of which 40 were games. I have a 64gb memory card installed.

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Plenty of space left on the card but remember video recording will swallow that fast.

Now the S5 has a limited support for moving part of an app to the memory card if supported by the developer. 

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Above you can see that NFS Most Wanted installed 2gb on the memory card leaving about 15mb for the app in main memory.  But not all games support this.  Ah but not so fast. Look again. The apps that have the right box ticked do have part installed on the micro sd card. Those that don’t have been still installed into the internal memory but under a section called sd card. Confusing.

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AVP and Shadowgun only installed to main memory even when using the option shown below where you can force the app to use the memory card. 

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Prince of Persia allowed me to move most of the app to the memory card but not all of it. New blockbuster games are busting above the 2gb mark and it’s time for phones to have 32gb as standard especially as most phones don’t support this move to memory card and Google doesn’t like it either.

In new versions of android the memory card is only meant for music and photos mainly,  not for installing apps and games.

However,  so far I have managed with some careful management.

HTC One M8 or Samsung Galaxy S5 – which has the most popular camera?

Android, Tech News, ,

I have a collection of photo albums from many smartphones on my Flickr site, including those from the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5. Click here to view – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/

They both have near equal numbers, 36 photos for the HTC One M8 and 33 photos for the Samsung Galaxy S5. But which phone has the most popular camera based on viewing stats ?

The viewing stats are as follows –

Samsung Galaxy S5 total views – 13,702

HTC One M8 total views – 72,741

Therefore, and rather surprisingly the HTC One M8 with just its 4mp rear camera was over 5 times more popular than the S5.

BSkyB to launch new set top box to combat its rivals from Amazon, Apple and Google

Tech News

“BSkyB is preparing a major overhaul of its set-top box technology to address the threat to its subscription business from internet-based television services from American giants such as Amazon, Apple and Google.
A special unit has been set up within the company under the name “Project Ethan” to develop an entirely new system that will aim to make it easier for customers to access programmes on any device, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

For instance, Project Ethan is understood to include plans for television recorded using the Sky+ service to be stored in a central data centre rather than on set-top box hard disks. The recordings in “the cloud” will be accessible via smartphones and tablets, or on internet-connected televisions outside the living room.

For both recorded and on-demand video, the new software will make it possible for viewers pause on their main television and then pick up where they left off on another device, and vice-versa. Sources said BSkyB, which formerly referred to the investment as “Project 2016”, could roll out the system to millions of customers as soon as two years from now.

The multi-screen technology would also allow BSkyB to extend the reach and sophistication of its recently-launched targeted advertising service. In one possible scenario, retailers could target viewers in a given postcode on their sofa then follow up with a special offer delivered to their smartphone via the Sky app.”

The problem with all the difference services is that you could start watching a particular Season 1 with say Netflix, but then Amazon, Apple or Blinkbox buy the rights so for Season 2 you have to switch to a different provider and so on. It means you cannot have an organised library more and more with just one provider as different companies ruin that experience.

More at – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/10789883/BSkyB-plans-major-overhaul-of-set-top-box-to-meet-Apple-threat.html

Amazon Prime Data

Android, Tech News

A few days ago BGR reported that Amazon is looking to introduce a new data plan called Amazon Prime Data when it launches it new smartphone. The concept is that Amazon will offer free streaming of its services eg music, films with corporates paying for the usage not the end user.

Whilst this is all a rumour at present, it does pose and interesting idea. My only concern would be for how long could Amazon entertain this data service plan, since in reality there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Normally, a service is offered free to hook you into using it, to a point you become dependent enough that when a monthly or annual charge is introduced a large percentage of people end up paying for it.

Samsung S5 – Group Camcorder app

Android, Tech News

Group Play has been an option on Samsung Galaxy S4 and upwards.

Group Play lets users pair up multiple devices and share pictures, documents and music among them in real time. So you could have 8 Samsung S5 phones all acting as one loudspeaker. I’m trying to imagine how good that would sound!

Anyway, my S5 received an update to the Group Play app to v3. But v3 also added Group Camcorder. Group Camcorder lets you pair up to 4 devices and capture videos from each device’s camera, then lets the host device edit and merge the best shot sequences, basically incorporating the camera output from all connected devices.

Now if I can find anyone with a S5 I will try this and let you know how I get on.

Samsung’s War at Home

Android, Tech News

“Just inside his single-story home, built of concrete blocks and coated in turquoise paint, Hwang Sang-ki, a 58-year-old Korean taxi driver, sits on a floor mat. He’s clasping a small handbag, once bright white and now dull after years on a shelf. He pulls out a snapshot of 13 smiling young women, all co-workers at Samsung Electronics (005930:KS), off-duty and posing in three rows, each embracing or leaning into the other. The leaves of a tree behind them are turning golden in the autumn chill.

“Here,” says Hwang, pointing to two women in the center of the group. Both had the same job at the same semiconductor factory, on the same line, standing side by side at the same workstation, dipping computer chips into the same vat of chemicals. Both got a particularly aggressive form of the blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia. One was his daughter, Yu-mi. In South Korea, only about 3 out of every 100,000 people die of leukemia. “They worked together, and they died,” says Hwang. The snapshot is among a few private memories Hwang keeps of his late daughter.

The story of the two women, and dozens of Samsung workers with leukemia and other rare cancers, is now a very public one in South Korea. ”

Read the rest of this article at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-10/deaths-at-samsung-alter-south-koreas-corporate-is-king-mindset

I really sad side to the technology we all use today.