Technology Guides

Some people may have not heard what an Android phone is but in simple terms, it is the software that is made by Google that run some of the best phones in North America. With the release of the Nexus One almost upon us, the chatter about Android phones is reaching an all-time high since the first Android phone was released way back in 2009.

Today I am going to take a look at why you actually should not be buying one; at least in Canada. The new Android software, Gingerbread 2.3, is supposed to be amazing but with all products, there are drawbacks (even the Apple iPhone 4 has drawbacks).

1. Software Upgrades

I commend Apple for being able to get the newest software to users the quickest. If you are an iPhone user, there is a 90% chance you have the newest OS, but with Android, that number is drastically low at 0.4%. Granted the most recent iPhone OS has been out for a little longer, that number still should not be that low. Below is a breakdown of the percentage of users on each OS distribution and it is shocking how far behind Android is.

The reason? It’s not that Android users are lazy, it’s that carriers are being greedy and holding back updates so there’s more reason for people to buy the newer phone with the newer OS. This issue is global but the next issue applies more to Canada.

2. The Quality of Phones Offered

The Nexus One is supposed to be an amazing smartphone when it is coupled with the new software that includes Near Field Communication (NFC). In Canada though, we won’t be seeing this technology anytime soon and if you look at this list compiled by PC World of the Top 10 Android Phones, none of them are available in Canada.

3. Application Development

A big reason why the Apple iPhone is so successful is due to the large database of applications available for download. The reason for this success is it is well regulated with little room for piracy which makes it attractive for developers. Android on the other hand, has rampant piracy issues. A developer for one of the top 10 apps is seeing 97% of the users in Asia using a pirated copy as well as 70% in Europe and 43% in North America. Those aren’t good numbers to show developers to entice them to make amazing applications. For the time being, Android won’t be able to touch Apple’s App Store.

Popularity: 16% [?]

There has been a lot of talk about tablets and with the Apple iPad 2’s release coming in early 2011. It only seems like yesterday that the 1st generation was released. I do however continue to see contests with the iPad as it’s main prize and I believe that’s happening for one reason. The Apple iPad has yet to establish itself as a household name, a product that you will see constantly, like Apple’s iPhone.

In my opinion, the iPad will only be a luxury. It does not offer something you NEED, yet. Most people need a portable device they can put in their pocket to do tasks that are basic. If they need something more, they pull out their laptop to handle more heavy tasks such as running Adobe CS4 or in my case editing my Google Sketchup model. My belief is it’s just as portable as a laptop and based on its price, I’d rather have a basic laptop that does so much more.

My brothers friend recently said, he would love to just have one for the family in the living room. This is the niche that the Apple iPad fits into. It is solely a luxury item that complements other gadgets and your lifestyle. The cell phone went from a want to a need and so did the laptop. There is a very good chance that the tablet will follow that model as well. It is just a matter of time but there are a few things the product needs to work on.

1. It needs to keep up with processing power to handle intensive software.

More and more people are using software where a tablet doesn’t offer the processing speed it needs which is why those pieces of software are not offered on tablets. If the tablet market can speed up development of microprocessors, they will be serious competitors.

2. Offer at least one USB port.

My friend will not even consider buying one until the iPad comes out with a USB port. Blackberry trumped Apple in this department but it has to be a standard on tablets, especially USB 3.0.

3. A Purpose

As bold as this sounds, tablets will never be huge if they continue to have the app-based OS. Sure it works for smartphones but that is because the apps are secondary to the phone itself. A tablet isn’t a computer and it isn’t a phone, it’s a whole mishmash of things and thus it needs something to define it. It needs a purpose and if it just has random apps cluttered through it, it will never find it.

If it can accomplish those things I believe the market for tablets will skyrocket and push down demand for laptops. It will then take the course that cell phones and computers once did.

Popularity: 12% [?]

More good news is on the way after word came out that Apple obliterated sales forecasts this quarter in this really slow economy. Apple is introducing new product face lifts including the iMac, MacBook, and Mac Mini. Google seems to have inadvertently started prematurely advertising the new Apple ads and so this is how we came to know this information. Also in the mix is redesigns of the company’s Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote, as well as aluminum wireless keyboards.

Reports are flowing in that signage has been received recently that cannot be opened until further notice from Apple headquarters.

iMac

These new iMacs are supposed to be thinner sporting 20″ and 24″ models. The ads on the Dutch and Italian Google claimed they would be priced at 1099 Euros which in USD translates into $1643.

The In-Depth Review

MacBook

The new Apple MacBook isn’t supposed to be changed to much except for redesigned polycarbonate with thinner and sleeker enclosures. Obviously with any product update these products are supposed to be faster. No word on pricing yet.

Mac Minis

Apple’s, Google ad read: Apple’s New Mac Mini. Faster and more affordable than ever. From only € 499. Order immediately. € 499 in USD equals $746 and it’s interesting to note that the current version is € 599.

More details to follow shortly

Popularity: 11% [?]

Google and Apple have just started competing with each other and things started warming up with the release of the Google Android smartphone but now things may start to heat up with the release of an Apple search engine to compete with the cash cow leader in that department, Google.

This makes total sense for Apple as its brand is gaining ground whereever it enters including a market share in the smartphone industry that has doubled since 2008 from 5.3% to 10.8%. (Nokia has a 41.2% share and RIM has 19.9%). Now it’s rumoured that they’re going to release a search engine.

Now let’s try and figure out if this makes sense when you break down the numbers. Currently Google is the reigning king in this department by a long shot with an 83% market share but this is largely because everyone associates search with Google and so naturally people go there to do their searches. Increasingly though people want services that are more convenient and thus they are searching on the go with their Blackberry’s, iPhones or other mobile devices.

Now this is where it gets complicated because all the major search engines (Bing by Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and possibly Apple) are promoting their respective sites very hard and with Google launching its browser recently and it rumoured OS, Google is continuing to strengthen its lineup to protect its search engine and revenue stream. Microsoft on the other hand will make its own search engine the default on IE and the default search engine on Windows is, you guessed, it IE. Both these platforms have a stranglehold on their respective market and thus it makes easier for users to use Bing and you should see a steady increase in its usage over the next bit. Apple on the other hand is slowly gaining market share in the OS department where Safari is the default, but where the growth can occur is the smartphone department and that’s where this battle will be won or lost.

The key thing to note is whether or not Apple can continue to grow the iPhone and knock down Nokia and keep up with RIM. If that happens Apple has a serious chance of gaining some huge money because then the default search engine on the iPhone will be Apple’s version instead of Google. Where Google can gain is if the Android takes off and what RIM decides to do. Whether they go with Google, Apple or even Microsoft as their default search engine may determine how far Apple gets.

There really is so much at play here for Apple and in the end there’s too many variables for Apple to worry about to even think about entering but knowing Apple they want their own stuff and so I would not be surprised if they release it anyway. That’s my take and let me know yours.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The media has been abuzz lately about a new version of the Apple iPod Touch. Now in all honesty it’s nothing we haven’t seen before but what Apple is doing is trying to revolutionize the mp3 market by adding cellphone specs to a mp3 player such as a built-in camera and microphone. Obviously those two features aren’t something new and it will probably be the highlight of the new features packaged with the new Apple iPod Touch but what it will do is allow Apple iPod Touch users to download apps only useful to iPhone users such as Shazam. Granted, users will need to be in a WiFi zone but what’s stopping people from subscribing to personal hotspots offered by companies like Rogers and Verizon that will allow them to be always on the grid.

TruPhone

Now what might even further revolutionize the mp3 industry is the fact of the availability of some applications such as Truphone and Fring which allow Apple iPod Touch users to call other users with the same application for free once they are in a WiFi zone and with the built-in microphone you’ve now got a working phone that makes VoIP calls.

Now all of you must be asking when will this new Apple iPod Touch be coming out? Sources say the timeframe would be around the next two to three months which matches up with the new releases of other Apple products. This is all just around the time when school starts and students, who are usually the trend setters, go back to school and want to have the newest gadgets. Look for this mp3 player to change a small part of the world.

Update: Not only will the Apple iPod Touch have a camera but the Apple iPod Nano will have one too. “My company had got full information and dimension,” wrote a Chinese distributor in an email to a U.S. reseller. “Enclosed some image and instruction for your reference. Most of the sample available now. If you need some sample check quality please freely let me know.”

The cameras on the Apple iPod Nano will be placed in the bottom left corner whereas the Apple iPod Touch’s camera will be surprisingly in the center of the device at the top (not dead centre which I first thought when I read it). Going with what Apple traditionaly does, it will be a safe bet to say that both these devices will get double the storage at the same price.

• iPod Nano (fifth generation): 16GB for $150; 32GB for $200
• iPod Touch (third generation): 16GB for $230; 32GB for $300; 64GB for $400

Apple iPod Nano 5th Generation

Now although the Apple iPod Nano looks the same there are small changes it will have. There will be a slightly wider screen with a 1.5:1 aspect ratio up from 1.33:1 (I know, a small jump) and a smaller click wheel that will move down the device.

On top of that, I just found out that the Apple iPod Touch will most likely be able to take video whereas the Apple iPod Nano will not. Even so, with the Apple iPod Touch being such a huge success, it will deal a blow to the compact video recorders like The Flip (My review on The Flip) but it’s not like they were that great to begin with.

Popularity: 20% [?]

In a shocking move today, the United States House of Representatives denied the bill to pass that would extend the digital tv transition date to June 12. Around 6.5 million American households are still not prepared for the switch that will now take place on February 17th 2009. All of them will have no access to government funds that would have helped them get discounts on the required equipment to prepare them as the fund has run dry. It was almost certain that the bill would pass and even this writer thought the date would be changed. This bill was special though as it needed 2/3 of the vote to pass. The vote was 258 to 168 in support of changing the transition date. 

Personally, I am happy to hear that the transition is back on track where it should be, as I’ve seen countless ads supporting the move and to say “If you don’t have it, your screen is going to go black on February 17th 2009″ and not follow through on it, that would just put another lie in the books for the government. Soon the airwaves will be free for better things to come including more cell phone coverage and would open up competition.

What’s your take on the situation? Do you feel that the U.S. government made the right choice by sticking to the date? Share your opinion on this controversial issue.

Update: I’m sad to announce that the U.S. government somehow got the date pushed back to June 12, 2009. This is a setback and it has further caused the U.S. government to spend more money on advertising when it could have just bought those 7 million people a converter.

Popularity: 2% [?]

It’s official guys, President-Elect Obama has a blog and by no means is it mediocore. I have been truly amazed by his ability to go about things in a completely different manner than most presidents. He has sparked change from the Youtube debate to his actual platform entitled Change. So to me, it’s no real surprise that he has started a blog called Change. It has since moved to Whitehouse.

Obama

For starters, it’s not really a blog in my mind, it’s more of a comprehensive website, with slideshow images, countdown, and many pages. What I like most about it, is the fact it has his agenda so we can make sure he is doing the right things. He Twitters, Vlogs, and posts often. This makes for a more personal connection for the President, who up until now, was like a martian to the majority of American citizens. This helps him connect on a lower level with people which is really important. 

There are also tons of opportunities for the American people to learn more about what’s happening. Whether it be his agenda, or different policies. The big one I found was people are able to submit stories to the blog which opens up another connection between the reader and the American Goverment.

So far all you people who want to start a blog, this should be your base, and work around it. All the features here are great and it should be something I implement.

Update: Currently I am waiting on a response from President Obama on whether or not I can get a bailout in the next little bit. My good friend Callam Graham suggested this to me and I decided to take him up on this.

Popularity: 2% [?]

With Rogers bringing the iPhone to Canada on July 11th, the other service providers had to do something, and do something quick. So Bell presents to Canada, the Samsung Instinct. While it isn’t necessarily quick, as it debuts sometime on August 8th, the Samsung Instinct offers much of the same features that the iPhone does, representing a true iPhone killer in my mind. One key flaw that the Instinct has though is that it can’t be used as a tethered device where the phone is used to get wireless signals for a laptop. Another difference, although not that big in my mind is the fact it only supports up to 8GB of storage with it’s microSD card. With bigger and bigger mp3 devices out on the market, I can imagine this will be a selling point for the iPhone for many people.

Samsung Instinct

Potential customers will be enticed by the lower price point of the actual phone and plans. The phone will start at $149.95 with a 3-year contract but is available with 1,2 and no contract as well with the highest price point being $449.95. The plans are also cheaper than the iPhones’ starting as low as $40 a month and with more to offer, it’s obviously a much better deal. “The lowest price plan for the Instinct includes 100 minutes of local calls for $20; 1,000 minutes of voice calls from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends (Fridays from 9 p.m. to Mondays at 7 a.m.); an $8.95 monthly system access fee; 75 cents for 911 emergency calls, and the $10 unlimited Internet plan. The monthly total comes to $39.70 before taxes.”Globe and Mail.

The Instinct has a full-touch screen with haptic feedback, meaning it responds when keys are pressed, and connects to the EV-DO Rev A high-speed data network. It also supports Web browsing and Internet e-mail (including Hotmail and Gmail accounts), as well as attachments. Features such as the global positioning system as well as live and on-demand TV.

Update: Rogers has announced new lower data plans to combat the negative criticsm it has received for its pricing. It’s only a limited time offer from July 11 to the end of August and will be available to all 3G phone purchases in that time frame. Previously a 6GB data plan would have cost you $100 but now they are offering a $30 plan. It’s still no match for Bell’s offer of $10 for unlimited data but it’s a step in the right direction.

Popularity: 6% [?]