How Samsung phones and tablets compare to iOS devices

December 30, 2017 by

To begin with Samsung make great phones and tablets they are usually quicker to bring out new features out ahead of its competition, such as face recognition, Oled screens etc, while Apple usually waits a while until those new advances become more proven. So as a consequence of this their products often feel that they are in beta compared to iOS products.

 

Another thing that is to the detriment of Samsung is its reliance on the Android OS. Samsung should have fully adopted Tizan as its main os for its phones and tablets. At the moment Tizan is doing well in the Samsungs tv line up and the Samsung watch line up. If they could fully adopt Tizan they could trim the OS to work to its best with Samsung hardware so you get the maximum performance interns of battery life and in hardware performance.  With Android running on 1000’s of different devices and with devices often running on older versions it often makes it difficult for app developers to deliver a polished app experience like on iOS.  

 

The only reason they have not moved fully over to Tizan for its phones and tablets is due to sheer lack of apps available to the Tizan OS. That is the achilles heel of the OS like it was to the Windows Phone OS, which lead to the downfall of the Windows phone OS. What they could do like Microsoft Windows could have done is to have enabled Android apps to function on the OS, then these os’s could have flourished.

 

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Windows tablets will only have 10.3% of the market in 2016

February 23, 2013 by

A recent IDC report about tablets concludes that Windows tablet sales will only command 10.3% of the market in the next three years. But on the lighter note the market will see an explosion of tablets sold in 3 years time, according to report by 2016. The IDC expects a whopping 282.7 million tablets to be sold. This explosion in the use sage of tablets could be attributed to the cheaper availability of tablets and the improved performance and capabilities of tablets.

However they go on to state that Windows tablets are only expected to grow from a mere 2.9% market share which it has now to 10.3% in 2016. But in terms of actual shipments, Windows tablets will see a 69.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), while Apple will see a 20.9% CAGR and Android a 21% CAGR.

While that 69.2% CAGR appears to be impressive on paper, but you need to  keep in mind that Microsoft has just started shipping tablets, so it’s very easy for them to be able to rack up these high numbers. In real terms Apple’s 20.9% and Android’s 21% is much more impressive.

Apple will continue to be the dominant player in the field rule for years to come, but their market share will continue to see a gradual erosion in the coming years according to the IDC report. For example Apple in 2012 had around 53.8% of the market, and by 2016 it will have 49.7% of the market according to the report. Interestingly they also state that Android’s market share is likely to suffer from erosion too. For example their market share is expected to fall from 42.7% to 39.7% in 2016.

In conclusion  it is not surprising that Apples market share is slowly being eroded, which is largely due to the  market becoming an ever more crowded place.  However if these 2016 figures turn out to be true for Microsoft then it not good news for Microsoft. It would have clearly demonstrated that the Windows 8 experiment of designing a tablet operating system for PCs as a way to get people used to the tablet interface in order for them to purchase tablets has been a failure.

 

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Evasi0n is the most popular jailbreak of all time

February 9, 2013 by

ipad mini 1 jaibrokenAccording to Alexa, since the launch of the jailbreak 6 days ago the jailbreak website called Evasion has seen an unprecedented amount of visitors. Almost seven million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners have cracked Apple’s restrictions on their devices using the jail breaking tool. 

Jay Freeman, the administrator of the app store for jailbroken devices known as Cydia also confirms this by stating,”As of Thursday night, Cydia the alternative app store had received visits from 5.15 million iPhones, 1.35 million iPads, and 400,000 iPod touches that were jailbroken with evasi0n, the first jail breaking software for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6.1.”

He also says: “That makes the iOS-hacking app the fastest-adopted jailbreak software of all time”.

There are a few reasons behind the popularity of this jailbreak. Firstly there is a much larger number of iOS devices than ever before circulating around than when there was a previous jailbreak available.  Apple sold 136 million phones in 2012, according to the latest figures from analyst firm Canalys.

The other reason fuelling the popularity is the fact that Apple locks down too many too many things on iOS devices. People desperately just want more options, like what Android users are accustomed too such as the option to customise their phone appearance or the option to choose their favourite app what has been banned by apple.

Apple unfortunately seem to be slowly gaining an advantage in this constant cat and mouse game,  because Apple are getting better that keeping jailbreak hackers at bay through improved security. It took hackers as much as 136 days to crack iOS 6.1, compared to just 98 days for the iPhone 4S, 38 days for the iPhone 4, and just 14 days for the iPhone 3GS. Who knows when iOS7 is released how long it will take for the jailbreak to become available, their could become a time where is no jailbreak possible. Apple really need to allow users to do more with their devices. If they continue not to listen, then they will continue to loose customers to Android.

 

 

 

 

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Samsung more than doubles it’s tablet market share

February 3, 2013 by

Amazingly the tablet and smartphone maker Samsung has more than doubled its tablet market share in the final quarter of 2012, according to new figures that have just been released.

IDC which is a research firm claims that Samsung sold 7.9 million slates in the last three months of the year, that took it’s share to of the sector to 15.1%.

Samsung’s success seems to be impacting on Apples sales this can be clearly seen by the erosion of the iPads market share, during this period where it dropped from 43.6% from 51.7%.

Apples lose comes at a time when tablet shipments have reached a record high of 52.5 million units during the quarter, which represents a 75% increase on the months previous.

Tom Mainelli, research director of tablets at IDC states, “We expected a very strong fourth quarter, and the market didn’t disappoint.

It’s evident that Android will eventually dominate the tablet market place within a year or 2.  Which will be at mainly at the expense of Apples ios platform. All this happened a few years ago within the smartphone world.  In fact Apple could eventually be relegated to the 3rd place with Windows taking the 2nd place crown. If Apple was to really listen to the needs and concerns of the consumer then it might not have to be this way and history will not have to repeat itself again.

 

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The TomTom app is now available on many Android devices

October 10, 2012 by

The TomTom app is now available on many Android devices from the Google play store. 

The TomTom app has been on the iOS for some time, which has proven popular amongst iOS users.   

Corinne Vigreux, managing director of TomTom says:

“TomTom has a history of making great navigation applications. Our existing iPhone app gets fantastic customer feedback and regularly wins awards,” .

“Today, we are bringing this world-class navigation experience to millions of Android smartphone users for the first time.”

Source:TOMTOM

On the downside due to Androids fragmentation issue the Tom Tom app will not be compatible with all Android devices, which is largely down to the device not being able to meet certain hardware and software requirements such as Android 2.2 for the app to run. Also many of the top end devices will also not work with the app, due to Tom Tom  not supporting devices that have a resolution of more than more than 854 x 480, some of these top end  devices that will not be able to run this app include the Samsung Galaxy S3,Google Nexus 7. This is a shame because this handicap makes Tom Tom feel incomplete on the android platform and this once again makes iOS shine out above Android as an operating system when it comes to the fragmentation issue. These app incompatibilities are practically unknown within the iOS eco system.  

On the negative side this app requires a lot of memory for it to run. It requires as much as 3.7 GB of free memory to install it. Those interested in this app will need to ensure that you have a large sd card installed in the phone.

The TomTom Navigation app for Android is available now in the Google Play store for an introductory price of 34.99 euros (about $45) The TomTom app is also available to download from the UK play store. The price will be £30.99 for those requiring the  UK/Ireland maps version and £39.99 for those requiring the Western European maps version.

 

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A must have Hurricane app gets released by the Red Cross for Android & Apple iOS users

August 6, 2012 by

The American Red Cross releases a free app called the Hurricane app for Android and Apple iOS users. This app is particularly useful for anyone living on the eastern seaboard of the USA and those who live in the Caribbean. This app form a part of their plan to help provide assistance to the wider community in time of an emergency. The app comes on the heals of their first aid app which has had already over 600,000 downloads within the last six weeks. They plan to release other apps too that will be available within a couple of months.

The Hurricane app is divided into three sections. The first section concentrates on providing the user with useful background knowledge of Hurricanes. The second section focuses on how you should prepare for the Hurricane. You will be provided with a comprehensive check list so you and your family will be able to create a family emergency plan. There is also instructions for putting together an emergency kit in order to survive the on coming Hurricane. The last part of this app mainly focuses on how you can get through actual Hurricane event, such as helping you find the nearest open Red Cross shelters during the Hurricane.  Also in this part of the app you will be able to track the Hurricane, so you will know when it is safe to leave your shelter.

The user will have invaluable access to weather alerts that is provided by the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which provide weather alerts for the US and its territories. The user then will be able to easily share share that information on social networks, such as Facebook, twitter etc. This app will also make it easy to keep in contact with your family members, by letting you post very quickly via a number of social networks, such as Facebook, twitter etc. There is even a one touch feature on the app called “I’m safe” that lets users inform others they’re safe via the social media outlets.

If your interested in this app just head over to the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play Store.

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VideoLAN releases the VLC media player on Android

July 3, 2012 by

 The VideoLAN team has just released it’s popular Windows VLC media player on the Android OS platform. This will be welcomed by the Android community, because this media player is very versatile by being able to play most codecs that gets thrown at it.  However the VideoLAN team warns that at the moment the app is only at the beta stage, so be prepared a few teething problems, such as various playback issues like stuttering from time to time on certain codecs. But it’s developers say these problems will be be ironed out soon with future updates.

The App comes with a simple interface and that is packed with many features such as, direct browsing of directories, network streaming, support for subtitles and audio tracks, headphone control and gestures that can control the volume. 

It’s however worth noting that the current beta version of the app only works with devices that are powered by ARMv7 processors that support NEON instructions.  ARM V6 and Tegra 2 will be supported soon, you will also need to be running on Android 2.1 (Eclair) and above.

The app is available for download from the Google play store in most countries with the exception of the US and Canada play stores. However if you live the US and Canada and you still want to download it, you can get it directly from the VideoLAN server. If you want to know more about the capabilities of this app, just go to the VideoLAN website for more information.

 

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Windows Kinectimals gets released on Android

June 21, 2012 by

Windows Kinectimals gets released on Android.  The game focuses on a variety of big cats in which the player gets to choose one to care for. The player then gets to train the Cats through one of the three activities that are available. There is also an option to unlock five exclusive cubs, which can then be transferred over to the Xbox 360 version. 

This app will prove popular amongst children and animal lovers. Kinectimals has proven to be popular on the Xbox 360, which it was first released for. This app is also available on the Windows 7 Platform and iOS. 

This game  is available on the Android play store for $2.99 or £1.93 in the UK Play Store. You can  buy it from here. 

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The Kindle’s iOS & Android app now supports comics children’s books and graphic novels

June 14, 2012 by

The Kindle app for iOS and Android  and it’s Cloud Reader now supports comics, children’s books and graphic novels, before they were only available to Kindle fire owners. Amazon says that there are now over a 1000 of comic and children’s titles available to Amazon Kindle users. Amazon goes on to say that children’s titles will get an extra level of support by supporting  Kindle’s Text Pop-Up feature, which enables you to view images and text in a pop up windows style which seems to bring books to life and improve readability.  Comics will also get Kindle’s Panel View feature that lets you view everything in a frame by frame format.

The iOS and Android versions will also get different additional features added, for example, the iOS version will get an option to do a title and author search within the library and when your using this app on the iPad you will get an option to view a page with smaller margins. If your using this App on an Android tablet or via the Kindle Cloud Reader,(that enables you to view digital books via a web browser), then there will be an option available to be  able to view a digital book within a two page format.

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Google s Nexus 7 tablet could be released this month

June 13, 2012 by

Google plans to release a Nexus 7 tablet  this month. According to Android Authority the release date is likely to be at the end of June and it going to be a collaboration between Google and Asus  and it will have a Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor. It will also feature a 7 inch screen, but there has been no information on whether the screen will be LCD or amoled, it will come with Android’s next operating system pre installed which is Android Jelly Bean.

The odds of it being released at the end of June are good, because Google holds it’s annual I/O developer conference then, so there is a good chance that these rumours might have some validity. It likely to be priced around the $150-$250 range, which will make it competitive against the likes of the Kindle Fire tablet. In order for Apple to compete effectively at this end of the market, they really need to bring out their rumoured budget iPad that is supposedly coming with a 7 inch screen.

It’s doubtful the release of this tablet will make an impact within an already crowded tablet market. Windows 8 Arm powered tablets are also due for release in the near future, this will further pose a problem for Google s future Android tablet market share.

 

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