Mobility & Email Blog » News & Announcements

Introducing the Samsung Chromebook

Ozgur — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:03:22 +0000

At Google I/O 2011 in San Francisco, California, the new Samsung Chromebook was exhibited. Attendees were allowed to touch and play with the new notebook, not just a new product but a whole new idea, according to Google executives. The product is expected to get far better with subsequent releases, but spectators were surprised and impressed with the high quality of the small machine, and tech enthusiasts were excited about its potential.

The Chromebook is 12.1 inches and is to be released to the market on June 16. The notebook does not use local storage, but rather relies on internet access as a cloud based server. This is apparent as soon as you see the keyboard. Where the function keys are usually located, this keyboard has keys for web browser navigation buttons. Instead of F1 or F8 you will have keys for refresh page or new window.

The machine comes in two color selections, Titan Silver and Arctic White. It weighs 3.3 pounds, which is a little heavy for the size it is, but it is a durable, sturdy, high quality made machine. The battery is one of the most impressive things about the Chromebook. It has an 8.5 hour battery life during active use, and the battery will last about 5 hours for high consumption activities such as videos. It is supposed to be good for over 1,000 battery cycles.

The multi gesture track pad is one of the best seen on a notebook. It will boot up in a mere 10 seconds. Samsung and Google have promised that there will be no security issues at all related to the Chromebook, something they will have to prove to many.

Verizon Wireless is the mobile provider for the Chromebook, named for its Google Chrome operating system. It was expected that Verizon would provide 100 mb per month for free, but they will only provide this for two years, not the life of the product as was expected.

The screen resolution is 1280 x 800 and onlookers were pleasantly surprised at its crispness, sharpness and clarity. It is clearly visible from a wide angle. It is one of the best offerings in the less than $450 price range.

It is still not clear how readily the general public will receive the new cloud, web based technology. There are a lot of benefits, such as no local memory and storage problems and easy access on multiple devices. The cons are that you cannot get to anything if you do not have internet access. And many people are worried about security issues associated with keeping all of your information remote to you.

Android Domination: Google’s plans to take Android beyond mobile

Ozgur — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:06:19 +0000

Google’s plans for the Android are far beyond the simple markets for mobile phones and tablet computers. They unveiled two initiatives at the Google I/O developer’s conference that give a glimpse of what is in store for Google devices and hardware that is yet to be fully developed, but has astounding promise for the future of mobile technology.

The first initiative announced by Google that gives us a glimpse into the future of Android is Android Accessory Mode. This will allow third party developers to build accessories that can communicate with the Android via USB. Game controllers for the Android have already been developed by a third party developer. Other developments include using Google Reference Accessory Development (ADK) to play music, grow plants and control robots.

The other initiative unveiled by Google at the I/O is Android at Home. Google has paired with Lighting Science Group, an LED light bulb company, to develop an open source wireless protocol that can be used to produce inexpensive hardware for mesh networking. The first network enabled LED light bulbs are expected to be released by Lighting Science Group by the end of the year.

The lights will be controlled using the Android. Applications for this technology will include the phone’s ability to recognize the genre of movie you are watching on your DVR – maybe a romance or a horror flick – and adjust the lights appropriately.

While the concept of remote controlling your lights, alarm system and other home appliances remotely is nothing new, the networking technology for the mobile devices with home electronics is new. This technology will really allow independent third party developers to think outside the box when it comes to hardware accessories compatible with our mobile phones.

Some of the current hardware unveiled at Google I/O was a little Star Wars, but it did give developers a good idea of the potential for this technology. Now it is in the hands of developers to make marketable accessories for the Android, and up to Google to support it with good marketing strategies. If it is successful, there is no limits to how much of the market that the Android might take over.

Death of the Zune: Details of what Microsoft has done and their plans for the Zune marketplace

Ozgur — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:44:54 +0000

The Zune never was competitive with the iPod. Zune came to the market five full years after the iPod and was never as visually attractive as its rival, especially to the younger generation. The iPod was available in bright, vibrant colors while the Zune was unimpressively adorned in black and brown. Though those who bought and used the Zune players loved their machines and gave them incredibly high reviews online, those buyers were few and far between.

The Zune may live on, however, as a service and as software. Microsoft has long maintained that their focus is on software development, not on hardware development and sales. The Zune software is currently being used in the XBOX 360 and the Windows Phone 7. Microsoft did not pull the Zune players off the shelves and understated the significance of announcing no new plans to market or develop the Zune.

The Zune Pass is expected to continue for use with Zune models still around as well as for PCs and the Windows Phones. The Windows Phones will still act as Zune media players in a fully portable version. The Zune was deemed as odd both in looks and in features. Brown has never been a good selling color in much of anything, and the share function of the Zune was only functional if the friends of the Zune had a Zune themselves. Since most did not, the feature was basically useless.

The Zune was also never marketed or sold beyond the United States and Canada. Since many of Microsoft’s products have been more popular overseas than in North America, it was a curious decision by Microsoft that they never marketed the Zune globally. Some people have speculated that Zune HD is not dead, but has rather incorporated itself into the Windows Phone rather than a separate mobile device used solely for listening to music.

Zune was unusual in another way as well. The Zune Pass was unlike other services for ordering music. Rather than purchasing separate individual music files, Zune Pass was a monthly service. For less than fifteen dollars each month you can have unlimited access to any number of songs. This would be a valuable asset to someone who had constantly changing tastes in music, but that does not define the average music listener.

BlackBerry Touch – Codename Monaco: What’s New? What are the Rumors?

Ozgur — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:36:30 +0000

The announcement by RIM of the new BlackBerry Touch is expected to come in mid May at BlackBerry World along with the release of the BlackBerry Bold Touch, BlackBerry Torch 2 and the new Curves. Photos of the phone, some in Verizon red, have already hit the Internet techie gossip sites. Photos of the phone have been available on the Internet since mid February of this year.

The BlackBerry Touch will run OS 6.1. The screen is 800 x 480 pixels. You will have to get a BlackBerry ID account to use some of the key functions instead of just a PIN number. The rumor is that this is required because some non Blackberry platforms are getting BBM. Rumor also has it that it will not be called the Storm, as some early gossip indicated.

The entire phone will be 120 mm x 62 mm x 11.5 mm. It will have a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz processor. The display is 3.7 inches with a 15:9 aspect ratio and 253 DPI. The camera is 5 MP flash. With HD video recording (720 p). The navigation is Captive touch with BlackBerry navigation keys and optical navigation module. There is one convenience key.

In terms of memory, the BlackBerry Touch will have 4 GB of storage with 768 Mb of RAM and up to 32 MB SD. In terms of navigation, it will have a Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n and GPS with Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and Mobile Hotspot. For connectivity it uses Micro USB, Bluetooth and NFC.
Software will include Enhanced BlackBerry SW v6.1, BlackBerry Evolution 6, Open GLES 2.0, APIs for magnometer and augmented reality applications.

New technology on the BlackBerry touch includes a digital compass, NFC, HD video recording and management and improved HTML5 media support. It will also have open GL support, mobile hot spot capability, 24 bit color, and improved web browser and an over hauled virtual keyboard by BlackBerry OS 6.1.

The BlackBerry is a different option from the iPhones and Androids. Some people prefer the interface of the BlackBerry and say that is more user friendly for their purposes. Others claim that people do not buy Blackberries, only companies do. The BlackBerry has been adopted by many companies and provided to their executives for business use. However, BlackBerry still has a large following of individual users who are excited about the new BlackBerry offerings.

Chromebooks: Chrome OS is Coming, But Not for Tablets

Ozgur — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:39:21 +0000

Google’s I/O 2011 Developer’s Conference came and went, and the only thing tablet users got out of it was that they are, so far, not going to get Chrome OS on their machines. The Senior VP of Chrome made it clear that tablet computers were not the focus of Chrome at this time, “Chrome OS is a new experience we’re working on. It’s hardware agnostic in a sense. We are fully, 100 percent focused on laptops. Most of the web usage -greater than 90 percent- is on laptops. That’s what we’re working on today, and we have no other plans on any other form factors.”

Chrome is being actively marketed as a software and hardware combination package, inseparable, the two of them. This is supposed to provide a guaranteed experience for the users. They do not want to detract from sales of the Android slate tablet to offer a Chrome tablet as a competitor. Laptops are getting all the love from Chrome right now.

Acer and Samsung are the manufacturers ring the Chrome OS laptops. They will be released in June 2011. Chrome works on web based software rather than the traditional native software. For example, instead of using Microsoft Word, Chrome users will instead have access to Google Docs.

The upside is that wherever a user has internet connection, that user will have access to all of the files and documents in it. It can also be accessed from the desk top computer or the mobile phone. The down side is that if you have no internet connection, you cannot get to any of your stuff. It is still not certain how well the average user is going to go for the cloud based systems.

There has been rumor for some time that Google would bring Chrome OS to the tablet table, but this just isn’t happening quick enough for some tablet users. In April, rumors of a tablet version of Chrome came up when Google’s web app operating system source code revealed evidence of development for a tablet. Mock ups of the proposed project were done over a year ago.

The big news at Google I/O 2011 was that Android device activations have reached 100 million. Over 400,000 Android devices are activated every day. Not shabby considering the Android launched in a single market in a single country with a single device to offer consumers. There are over 200,000 apps, both free and paid, available for the Android devices. Over 4.5 billion apps have been installed from the Android market.

Sony VAIO + Chrome OS: Will it happen? What are the rumors?

Ozgur — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:50:08 +0000

No developer is immune from their information being leaked prematurely by employees and other snooping sources. The market for smaller, neater compact computers is driving manufacturers to partnerships to beat the competition and provide the most to consumers for the best price possible.

Sony is developing two new computers, rumor has it, and one of them will be running the Chrome operating system. It will be a netbook computer. The display is expected to be 11.6 inches with 1366 x 768. The RAM will be 1 GB and the memory card will provide 16 GB of storage space for the small machine. The processor is NVIDIA’s Tegra 2. It should also have Wi Fi and WWAN.

GPS and Bluetooth technology will not be available on the model initially, but is expected to be added later. The Chrome OS is a combination of Google’s web centered platform and some customized Sony VAIO software. It is expected to be released in summer of this year.

About 60,000 users already have beta versions of Chrome OS for testing. The Sony VAIO netbook is expected to have an Arm dual processor and weigh just a hair over two pounds. Estimates of the battery life of the computer are anywhere from 8 hours (the most common estimate) up to over 16 hours.

It is also expected to have an ultra low power Ge Force GPU. The keyboard is expected to be wider than some netbooks, a full 18 mm. The keyboard may be exactly like the Google Chrome CR 48 laptop keyboard. It will not even be a full inch thick, about 11.7 inches wide and an a little less than 8 and one half inches deep.

Not much else is known about the machine, even as it draws near the expected release date. Sony is to be competing in a tight market with other small, highly portable computers that are high on power and low on weight. Photos of the Sony VAIO show colorful designs partially decorating the exterior. Other than that, it is a pretty basic machine.

The ultra light computer market is tightening up due to more cloud users who need less storage space on their own computers and devices. The portability of today’s mobile society also demands smaller, leaner machines with more power and longer battery life to accommodate computer users. There is a huge market for these machines in business and with students.

News and Information About HP Tablets, Powered by Web OS

Ozgur — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:30:14 +0000

The upcoming release of products such as the HP Touch Pad Tablet and the HP Opal (a smaller tablet computer) are being anxiously awaited by tech lovers. The platform for these and other Web OS devices is a cloud server.

Conceivably, if users get a new Touch Pat Tablet, Veer smartphone and a new HP desk top computer, all of their files, from music to work, could be easily accessed by any of their devices. No more burning CDs and DVDs and no more worries about whether or not you have enough storage space on your device.

In addition to the cloud services, HP products may be competitive with other products due to the large number of apps that will be available upon release of the products. They paired up with Grapple Mobile and released a beta version of Web OS early so that app developers had plenty of time to build plenty of apps when the machines are available to consumers. And develop they have.

The Touch Pad Tablet is expected to be released in June, and the FCC has already given their ok for the project. It will compete with the iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and the BlackBerry Playbook for consumer affections. Apple has the current lion’s share of the market with the iPad2.

HP can be competitive with Apple if they come out with a super sleek design that attract consumers and if they are able to tap into the business market, so far untouched by the tablet computer wars. The HP Opal is due out in summer of this year.

Early reports of Web OS are very favorable, stating that it was stable and ran smoothly. Web OS will be available on the HP Touch Pad Tablet, the Veer smartphone and the Pre 3. Some of the features that have consumers excited are the Wireless Printing, the Just Type and the Touch To Share web browsing between the tablet computers and mobile phones.

There is also talk that HP cloud users will have access to the HP Enterprise Class storage, which will eliminate the worries of HP users that they will ever run out of memory.

Screen shots of the HP Touch Pad Tablet were clean and clear. The unit looks not unlike the design of the popular Apple iPad. With the right apps available at release and the right marketing, HP could soon be competing for the top tablet spot with the Apple iPad.

Google + LG = Android Nexus Tablet? Will Google team up with LG to launch its own tablet?

Ozgur — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:32:17 +0000

Google and the manufacturer LG are getting together to make an another tablet computer, according to rumors. Google would neither confirm nor deny the report. It will be a Nexus tablet Nexus is the name Google uses for the products they develop with independent manufacturers of hardware.

It is also rumored that the Nexus tablet will be ready by late summer to early fall of this year. It may not be marketed to the general public, however. It could be a device used internally by Google’s development staff.

Some of Google’s earlier hardware attempts, such as the Nexus One smartphone, were not huge successes. The Nexus One was never a good seller. Their pairing with Samsung to make the Nexus S was not a big success story for Google either. Part of the reason for the failure of the Nexus One was the lack of support by mobile giants AT&T and Verizon. T Mobile was its only supporter.

Even if the big mobile companies are not willing to support the Nexus tablet, other Wi Fi only tablets have seen success, such as the Apple iPad and the Motorola Xoom. The lack of cost associated with the mobile carriers has allowed these tablets to sell for less and sell well.
If Google does market the Nexus tablet to the general public, it will have to provide users with plenty of apps and competitive pricing in order to be successful. Google and LG have also partnered to produce the T Mobile Galaxy Slate, an Android tablet, coming to the market soon.

There are already 200,000 Android apps for consumers to download, and Apple’s App Store has over 400,000. The tablet market is tight, and offering the most to consumers for the best price will tip the tables to the company who is able to provide these things.

There is no word yet on the technical specs that the Nexus tablet might have. The Mobile Review and The Boy Genius Report have both reported the development of the Nexus tablet. Google did not respond to bloggers’ requests for comment on the project.

The T Mobile Galaxy Slate is due on the market in February of next year. The tablet market is flooded with offerings, allowing consumers to take advantage of the price wars. They are inexpensive and through cloud services can be as powerful as larger computers.

BBM Application For Android and iPhone: What Are The Rumors?

Ozgur — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:09:53 +0000

Anyone who carries a mobile device of any type has chatting and instant texting capabilities. This includes, of course, phones, iPods, electronic mobile devices, and many other mobile Internet pieces. It will not be long before Internet will come standard on all electronics. The one problem we have been faced with is the lack of instant communication between friends who carry a BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android device. While there have been free apps created that allow texting, videos, and photo capabilities between the three devices, BlackBerry is about to release the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) application for better communication from the original instant messaging texting application.

While this application is free for BlackBerry devices and comes as a standard preload on BlackBerry devices, it has been said BlackBerry may want iPhone and Android users to purchase the app via a one time fee. The instant messaging application on a BlackBerry makes it easy for the sender to know if the receiver has received the message. Even better, the sender is alerted when the receiver has read the message. There is no more wondering if your message went through or not!

Also rumored is that BlackBerry will only be making a basic version for Android and iPhone users. While BlackBerry users can send text, video, and photos, other platforms will only be allowed to send and receive text.

Imagine the next time you want to join a discussion with your BlackBerry friends on your iPhone. When you start the conversation, your friends will be absolutely thrilled to have you become a part of their world. Hopefully, these rumors will circulate into truth very quickly so that what you have read turns from rumor to fun with other friends.

Though instant communication through texting and instant messaging on the go via your mobile device provides many advantages to the entire world, it is not all greatness or peaches and cream. Communication, which includes the ability to send information to other users with the same type of device to friends, family, and others, there are limitations and disadvantages to mobile chatting. The ability to talk to friends and business colleagues from anywhere, accessed by a mobile device of any kind, may be over shadowed by the limitations it holds. However, newer phones such as the iPhone and those using the Android will find they can overcome some of these restrictions. With BBM become available to other platforms, it will open up a whole new way of keeping in touch.

iOS 5 and iPhone 5: What Are Some of The Rumors About What Will Be Included?

Ozgur — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:00:25 +0000

The rumors are running wild on what to expect in the iPhone 5. Will Apple live up to our expectations? Here is what the rumors are spreading on what to expect from the iPhone 5, followed by the new iOS.

An A5 dual-core processor replicated from the iPad 2 may be powering the newly released iPhone, which, of course, will naturally lead to better and improved graphic abilities. You may be seeing an aluminum-backed iPhone along with taped edges taken cues from the iPad 2 designs. There is talk about a bigger screen area and maybe even a Near Field Communication.

As for iOS 5, look for the possibilities of cloud service, new music storage features through iTunes and possibly a free MobileMe service, which means free web email, calendar, and storage capabilities.

You will fall in love with iPhone. We have only had the time to look at a few of its many capabilities, but, if you are a lightweight when it comes to using a phone, then you may discover that the iPhone is more than phone than you can handle.

It is hard to deny the appeal of the iPhone. It is an attractive phone that does lots of other things as well. However, whether or not it is right for you depends on whether you will really take advantage of its benefits.

The iPhone is runs like an iPod while it still operates as a phone. You do not need to worry about missing incoming calls. It lets you listen to music, view movies and play games. These can either be ones you have bought online or movies that have been downloaded. So, your iPhone is like a mobile entertainment center you can carry in your pocket.

Multi-tasking is one of the many fantastic features you will find with a new iPhone. You will be able to concentrate on one task at a time, yet still work on several tasks at the same time.

This is something you will have to figure out for yourself. Though you can refer to the points we’ve covered above. One thing you can be sure of, if you have an iPhone, it will be hard to complain that you do not have anything to do. It is hard to deny the appeal of the iPhone. It is a phone that is both attractive and does more things than you can really believe. And it does these things well.