Facebook and Orange get together to launch a App called Party Call in 2013

December 2, 2012 by

Facebook and Orange have announced that they are launching in a joint venture a social calling app called Party Call that will permit users to call one another without the need to know each other’s numbers. Users will also be able to make “group calls” via Facebook connections, which eliminates the need to know the persons contact number.

This service will be available on the mobile and desktop version of Facebook and will be powered by the Orange’s IP-based call app Libon which is effectively already a competitor for Skype.  Party Call is expected to be launched firstly in France during the summer of 2013, with a worldwide release expected to follow soon after. The deal was announced at the Hello, and innovation event that was arranged by the Orange owner France Telecom. The carrier described Party Call at the event:

“A partnership with Facebook, to introduce more communication tools into social networks, with a first public teleconference service coming in summer 2013.”

It is hoped that this application will be able compete effectively against other popular voip services such as the likes of Skype, Whatsapp, Fring, Google Voice,etc

A Facebook spokesperson has said:

“By connecting its Party Call service to Facebook, Orange will be able to offer customers a truly personal experience. It is a great example of how companies can use Facebook’s open developer platform to make their products social.

“We are really happy that Facebook is transforming telecoms just as it has gaming, music, video and numerous other online services.”

Filed Under: Other tech news and developments Tagged With: , , ,

Apple recaptures its market lead in the US

November 28, 2012 by

Apple has recaptured its market lead in the US over the Android OS. The twelve week period ending in late October sees Apple gaining as much as 48.1 percent of the market while Android fell back to a close 46.7 percent of the market during this period.

The last time Apple held a lead in the US was just after the company launched  the previous iPhone called the 4S. It then went on to hold it’s market share for almost three consecutive periods before Android reclaimed it’s market lead again.

The research firm Worldpanel ComTech claims that the iPhone 5’s launch sales helped Apple to regain it market lead over Android, which is at 48.1% of the market compared to its rival’s 46.7%.

Research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech also believes that Apple will hold this lead, maybe even pushing forward a bit and beat its previous high of 49.3 percent on the way to its highest ever share of the US smartphone market.

Outside of the United States Apple does not seem to be as popular. For example in Germany Android accounts for 73.9 percent of sales in Germany and in Spain the OS is even more popular at 81.7 percent. They state that:

 

“Germany remains a tough market for Apple with its share falling by 5.1 percentage points over the past year.  The Samsung Galaxy S3 has taken almost a quarter of the country’s smartphone sales over the past 12 weeks to boost Android yet further.” – Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech

Source

However it is unlikely that Apple will be able to maintain its lead in the US for too long, which due to the fact that many product that run the Android os are usually sold at a much competitive price than Apple products are.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Apple Tagged With: , ,

The Nexus 4 is going to be launched on the three mobile network next month

November 25, 2012 by

Three UK  have announced that the Nexus 4 smartphone will be launched on their network from December the 13th.

Previously the LG-built device was being only offered by O2 and by Google, where it could be bought SIM-free via Google’s Play Store.
Three are offering it on a contract and on pay as you go. If you decide to go with a contract the tariff of £35 per month, that includes unlimited data, 2,000 any-network minutes, 5,000 network minutes and 5,000 texts free, but the catch is that customers must commit to a two-year contract to receive this deal. An upfront charge of £29 will be also required before the contract is purchased.

The pay-as-you-go option will set you back £399.99.

Google’s Nexus 4 specifications are impressive, the phone features a vibrant 1280-by-768 4.7-inch screen, a high-performance 8MP camera that will enable you to Shoot video in full 1080p , a supper responsive 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor that comes with a large helping of Ram which consists of 2GB that will be able to handle the most demanding tasks with ease. It is not surprising it has been selling well in the UK since it was launched  earlier this month.

The other products that were launched along side  the Nexus 4 back on November the 13th such as the the Nexus 10 tablet and new 32GB models of the Nexus 7 are also seem to be selling well.

This product is a must, due to it’s unrivalled specifications it offers. But if you don’t like large phones or if your not a fan of the os it runs on which is Android 4.2. Then go for the Nokia Lumia 820, 920 or the iPhone 5, you will not be disappointed with those alternatives.

 

Filed Under: Android Tagged With: , ,

The Windows store now has 12,895 apps

November 21, 2012 by

The new Windows 8 os has now 12,895 apps in it’s store. This is amazing considering it was launched about a month ago. 

 

Wes Miller, the Research VP at third-party analyst company Directions on Microsoft, confirmed via WinAppUpdate’s Twitter account that theWindows Store currently provides access to nearly 13,000 apps, with figures expected to grow even more in the next few days.

Of course, we’re still far from Microsoft’s optimistic forecast of 100,000 apps in the Store by February, but at least people who bought the Surface have a few more options when it comes to apps to be installed on their tablets.

The games section of the store seems to be the most popular area of the store at the moment. The store also has on offer more free apps than paid apps which is good news for consumers.

You can read more of this article at the website softpedia.

Source softpedia

 

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: , ,

A new maps app called Sparkling maps that offers Google maps has hit the app store

November 18, 2012 by

A new maps app called Sparkling maps that offers Google maps has hit the app store.  This will come as an ideal solution for those looking to get back to Google’s standard of mapping that offers it’s users, reliable maps that offer a decent amount of  detail on the maps.  This app also includes access to Google’s infamous street view. Lastly this map even offers turn by turn navigation, which Google official iOS 5 map app never did.

However this app does have some short cummings when comparing it to the Google’s iOS 5 official version. The text is often very small to see on the maps also it’s not possible to use the maps when offline, like you could on Google’s iOS 5 official version. Lastly there also seems to be a problem with the street view maps option. Yes you can access the street view option with ease, but once you go into street view mode you are not able to zoom in or out like you could within the official iOS 5 Google version.   

 

Overall despite it’s short Cummings, which will hopefully be resolved soon by the developers. It’s a useful app for anyone who wants the first class mapping experience that iOS users once enjoyed with Google maps. Currently there is no other app that can offer this level of map detail, street view, and turn by turn navigation like this one does. So what are you waiting for it’s a bargain for only $0.99 or 0.69p from the UK app store.

 

Update 29-11-12

I would like to post an update on this app and say that now the developer have produced and released an updated version of this app that has addressed most of the problems that were previously raised by users. 

 

Filed Under: Apple, Apps Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nokia maps is to launch on iOS and other OS platforms

November 16, 2012 by

Nokia has announced it is to launch its maps on iOS and Android. Nokia maps until now have only been made available to Symbian and Windows phone OS users.  These maps will also offer turn-by-turn navigation and live traffic updates. This comes as welcome news to iOS users who have recently been forced to switch from  Google maps to Apple maps,  which has received numerous amounts of complaints about its lack of accuracy and lack of detail relating to points of interest.  Android and Windows OS users will also have access to these maps while offline, which is useful when data roaming costs are high. However iOS users will not have access to these maps when they go offline, this is due to the HTML5 technology that it uses that requires an internet connection.

 

Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop in a statement says that “People want great maps, and with Here we can bring together Nokia’s location offering to deliver people a better way to explore, discover and share their world,” .

“Additionally, with Here we can extend our 20 years of location expertise to new devices and operating systems that reach beyond Nokia. As a result, we believe that more people benefit from and contribute to our leading mapping and location service.”

 

Nokia have not at yet released a date its release of its maps app on iOS and Android, but expect it soon to be arriving at your app store. If your impatient then you can access their maps via web based version.  

 

This news comes as Google are said to be close to releasing its maps on Apples iOS plate form.  Source  Wall Street Journal. Lets hope Apple will accept their maps in their store. I don’t see why not, because Nokia maps have been accepted.

 

Filed Under: Other tech news and developments Tagged With: ,

The iPhone 5S could be launched as early as June 2013

November 12, 2012 by

There have been reports around that is hinting that the iPhone 5S could be launched as early as the 1st half of 2013 along with many other apple products. 

This news comes from China Times via the website 9to5Mac who cites industry sources claim that Apple will release the iPhone 5S next year, along with a new iPad which possibly could be the mini iPad with the retina display and “iTV” hardware, which could be an updated version of it’s Apple tv box.

It seems more than likely that Apple has reduced its produce cycle to 6 months. Evidence of this come with the newly released iPad 4 which was released in November, which was only 6 months after the iPad 3 was released with a retina display.  Apple have probably decided to do this, because it has been seen to be falling behind on innovation. This approach will give them more opportunity to catch up with the opposition out there such as Samsung, who are rumoured to be releasing the Galaxy S4 around April in 2013. 

Filed Under: Iphone XS and G8 news Tagged With: , ,

The iPhone 4s has lost the title for being the worlds top selling phone

November 10, 2012 by
New figures have been released that indicate that the iPhone 4s has lost the title for being the worlds top selling phone, which it has held for two years to Galaxy Samsung Galaxy S3. Sales figures appear to confirm that the Android  handset currently holds 10.7% of the global market, while the iPhone 4s  came a close second at representing 9.7% of the market share. The  Galaxy S3 did really well in the third quarter of 2012 by shipping more than 18 million units, which was up from 5.4 million in the previous quarter which represented a gain of 230%. Samsung also earlier this month issued a statement by saying that they have actually sold over 30 million units since it launch in May.
 
Apple did not fare as well by only shipping 16.2 million iPhone 4S devices, during the same quarter. This represented a 16% downturn compared to the quarter preceding it.
 
However Strategy analytics, who are an  independent research and consulting firm states that this market dominant will be short lived, due to unprecedented uptake of the newly launched iPhone 5 this quarter. It is estimated that 6.0 million units were shipped globally during Q3 2012
 
 Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, says :
 
“We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model.”
 
 
In reality the new iPhone will capture it’s title back, which is largely due to factors such as, simplicity of the os, the unique and highly reliable and well stocked eco system it is linked to and the elevated cult status it has in the mind of the buyer.
 
Filed Under: Android Tagged With: , , , ,

Apple iOS 6.0.1 software is released

November 5, 2012 by
However there was another bug preventing the iPhone 5 users from accessing the update over the air. Those who want to access the software over the air with using iTunes, must first download a separate patch to fix a bug that prevents them from updating to iOS 6.0.1.
The uptake of this software has been pronominal over the first 24 hours after its release.  According to the ad network and analytic s firm Chitika, the software is already making up 7.5 percent of mobile web traffic. But when you compare it with a same period after the release of the  iOS 6 which accounted for 15% of the mobile web traffic it not as pronominal, but for a small software update its pretty impressive.
So far Apple have appeared to have fixed some of the bugs, but according to macrumours, some customers are still reporting that their still having problem with the WiFi connection on the various  iPhone models and other iOS devices such as occasional drop outs.
Filed Under: Apple Tagged With: ,

The bbc iPlayer has now launched on Sky+ boxes

October 31, 2012 by

The bbc iPlayer has been launched on Sky+ boxes.  Now Sky viewers will be able to catch up on the most popular bbc tv programmes, such as EastEnders  Dr Who, just by going into the demand section on the Sky menu.

It is now joined by most of the other major broadcasters interactive players such as ITV Player, Demand 5 and Skys very own interactive player. However Channels 4’s 4oD’s service will be launching on the platform in early 2013. 

All this comes as welcome news to Sky viewers, who in the past had to make sure if they intended to view a programme at a later date that they had to record it through the record facility on the Sky tv box.

Now the five year old bbc iplayer is on most major platforms, with the exception of the new Windows 8 phone os, which is likely to be supported very soon.

Daniel Danker, the general manager of BBC Programmes and On Demand, says that; “BBC iPlayer has had a record-breaking year, with 2 billion requests for programmes in 2011, and nearly 200 million requests in September 2012 alone”.

“Available on over 650 platforms and devices across PC, mobile, tablet and internet-connected TVs, we are delighted that iPlayer is now also available to millions of Sky+ homes. 20% of all iPlayer use is already on the living room TV.

“By partnering with Sky, BBC iPlayer is available on all major UK TV platforms at no extra charge, making sure our audiences can access the best of the BBC’s content at home and on the go, whenever and wherever they choose.”

Sky’s director of TV products Luke Bradley-Jones added: ““We’re delighted to have partnered with the BBC to bring the best of the BBC on demand to Sky customers. Providing customers with the flexibility to enjoy their favourite TV on demand, our comprehensive catch-up TV service perfectly complements the genius of Sky+, which already helps millions of our customers take charge of their viewing.

“We continue to put Sky customers in control, with the addition of BBC iPlayer to Sky+ sitting alongside a range of innovations including remote record, series link and now even being able to use your iPad as a remote control.”

Source BBC

In order to access these interactive services Sky viewers will need to activate the On Demand services and connect their Sky+HD box to their broadband router. If you require more information go to www.sky.com

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Other tech news and developments Tagged With: ,