February 2009 Archives

Agressive advertising? Blackberry's new advertisement showing a 'blackberry bullet' blowing an apple away is a real signal of intent from RIM.

 

Initially I thought they should have ended showing the new Blackberry but, thinking about it, this is more a statement from Blackberry than a promotion. They could've gone the extra step and used a rotten apple.

Apple could make a reply, a good example of that would  be ermmmm... oh the Windows 'I'm a PC' campaign!

The gloves are off, the fruit is dangerous.

 

Gmail users woke up this morning to find Gmail is down and had been for nearly half an hour.

Now that might not sound like a long time but, judging by the reaction on Twitter it's certainly long enough to spread panic and chaos across the internet and in people's working lives.

Here are some of my picks of Twitter quotes and there is a live feed is below.

• tigertwo: Going to join the hue and cry about #gmail or #gfail. How am I supposed to get any work done when I rely exclusively on Gmail?

• markcrosby: Has anyone at Google tried turning it off and turning it back on again? #gmail #gfail  

• dimrac: More than 113 million people use Google mail worldwide, according to comScore. #gmail #gfail 
  

 

How were you affected? Email me at faisal.alani@rbi.co.uk.

The Nintendo DSi is launched in April and the buzz hasn't quite hit fever pitch yet.



I own a DS lite and wondered who Nintendo are targetting the DSi at.

The new features include:

• 3mp camera
• SD card slot - useful for music playback and downloads
• Slightly larger screens (3.25 inches)
• Downloadable games

Let's break the new features down:

• The camera isn't a big deal as my phone has a five mega pixel camera with far more options
• The SD card slot is useful but only for downloading games
• The larger screen isn't huge, it's just slightly bigger
• Downloadable games is a nice and welcomed addition but it depends on the marketplace and the type of games on offer.

So who and why would you buy the DSi? Well, if you don't own a DS then the DSi is a good place to start. Also if you own the monstrous original DS then it's probably time to upgrade.

Otherwise, if you're like me and you have a DS lite and a good phone, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant device that every gamer should have but I can't help feel the DSi isn't a huge improvement on the DS lite.

So who are Nintendo targetting with the DSi? Well according to Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, "We want to change the DS from something that's in every household to something that's for every person".

Wondering what phone you should save up for?

To help you  make a decision, I've made a photo story showing the big hitters for 2009.




Good luck!

See also:

• Steve Ballmer sells Windows like a madman
• Photos: Windows Mobile Phone unveiled at MWC
• Photos: Mobile phones for 2009
  

Ryanair's move reignites the debate about mobile phone etiquette. Etiquette is a quaint outmoded concept alive only in the form of netiquette on Web forums. Today we talk of respect (pron. rispeck) and it is something that is demanded. In my day, young man, respect was earned and consideration was the 'rispeck' of its day but it was something given freely. Now consideration, like etiquette, is becoming a rare gift. "Excuse me, do you mind if I make a call?" is not a phrase I've ever heard used. Texting and emailing in public is more acceptable but why do people do it in the middle of a conversation or at the dinner table? It's the new smoking. "I'll just have an inter-course email." Are we all becoming so self-centred?

Now, I love my phone as much as anyone can but I do try to consider other people and I don't really want to wash my dirty linen in public anyway. I also commute into London and there's always someone on a crowded train bellowing down their phone. "Sorry to ring so late but my boss said if I didn't f-ing ring you today I'd be in deep s*** tomorrow." Tackle them and train rage rears it's head. Fight or flight to a different carriage are the only options. Frowning or tutting doesn't work any more.

Now transpose that to a busy plane where you're sat next to the phonaholic who now has access to onboard mobile services. You're trapped and a cornered animal that can't flee is forced to fight. Stress levels are high and I fear that air-rage will result - even now, my air-steward friend tells me its fairly common and that's before the mobile morons are activated.

Am I alone in my call for the rebirth of consideration for others? Do we need mobile-everywhere or am I just an ageing, whining reactionary?

It had to happen someday but sometimes where it happens is the surprise. Ryanair is rolling out voice and data mobile phone services on all of its flights - stealing a march on BA which will only make calls available on its forthcoming business-class-only London City Airport to New York flights this autumn.

In a world where we've got used to the stripped-down services of budget flight operators, it seems odd that one of them is now offering a premium service. In reality, the service offered is supplied by OnAir, a third-party specialist in airborne telephony systems. The plane becomes a mobile cell of its own and as such has to be registered with the various mobile phone service providers. Calls are therefore charged at different tariffs according to which provider is used. One minute of call time typically costs £2-£3.50 which is hardly a budget rate.

The service is initially being offered on flights to Dublin and will be extended to other flights over the next year.

Facebook, Twitter and MySpace screens are going black as the numbers of objectors swell in protest against Draconian laws due to be introduced by the New Zealand Government.

NZ's Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 will be added its Copyright Act 1994 and is intended to deal with digital rights issues. A laudable aim but it carries a 'guilt upon accusation' element which means that anyone accused of copyright infringement could have their Internet connection severed without a trial, without any evidence being held up for scrutiny by the courts.

The regulations, which become effective from February 28, are only aimed at telcos and ISPs but the wording could be used to describe anyone providing content on the Internet. Even if the law is limited to ISPs, it means that sites will have to be monitored and blocked if they prove to have contentious files for download. With almost 200m Web sites to police, the task facing the ISPs is impossible, as the UK Government decided when it debated and rejected similar actions.

Breaking the 'innocent until proved guilty' principle opens up a potential loophole for malevolent groups to bring down a service provider merely by setting up spoofed sites and informing the NZ police that illicit material is available via the ISP. The only way around this would be to monitor sites before allowing users to access them - an equally impossible task.

The Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF) has offered a draft code of practice to neutralise the worst aspects of the law but the fear is that ISPs could find themselves closed down with immediate effect and offline for weeks or months until the courts can deal with them.

Given that Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and so on all contain material that is arguably copyrighted, the prospect for online New Zealand looks black.

Further details from:
http://creativefreedom.org.nz/blackout.html
http://www.tcf.org.nz/content/d543212c-ab29-42dc-8fa5-de14710785f6.html

As The Doors once said "This is the end. My only friend, the end" and it certainly looks that way for the digital camera following the unveiling of Sony's Idou, the 12.1 megapixel smartphone at the Mobile World Congress 2009.


For a long time now we've been told that smartphones will soon have the power and functionality of a digital camera and, until yesterday, I accepted that as something that will happen in the next three years or so. That reality is a lot closer now Sony Ericsson can boast a smartphone with face detection, touch features such as a 16:9 widescreen format and a xenon flash. Other than the camera features the Idou also has GPS, WiFi, and the Symbian Foundation OS.

So why is this the end? Well,  I own a Sony Cybershot (camera and mobile) and I can honestly say that my 3mp Sony camera phone takes better pictures than my 5mp LG. If the Idou has the quality of the Cybershot range then your average Joe photographers will be hard pressed to lug a camera as well as a mobile around.

The digital camera market could soon be for professional photographers only, going down the same road as the film-loaded SLR cameras.

This week saw the release of the new Transformers 2 trailer where we got a glimpse of what The Fallen will look like and some where the film is going (the trailer is below).

So, who is The Fallen?

Well, basically Primus created 13 original Transformers to help him battle against his evil twin Unicron (features in the original animated Transformers movie, awesome). However, one of the 13 turned against his siblings and his creator, and betrayed them all. His original name is lost, but he was known as The Fallen. After the first battle between Unicron and Primus, the Fallen was sealed into an extradimensional limbo along with Unicron.

I for one cannot wait. I thought they did a good job with the first film (even though they didn't stick to the comics or the cartoons). Some questions still need answering though, like will Megatron reappear? More than likely. Will Megatron become Galvatron? Quite possibly alongside the introduction of Unicron. And will Jazz make a comeback? Who cares.



Wikipedia gives some insight as to what the new film might be about:

The Fallen made his only appearance in the second volume of Transformers: The War Within - the Dark Ages.

Around 6.5 million years ago, a test of the experimental "space bridge" matter-transport system on Cybertron liberated the Fallen from his prison, and he materialized on Cybertron, where he quickly recruited the Chaos Trinity, three mystically-inclined Decepticons - Bludgeon, Mindwipe and Bugly - into his employ. Abducting Transformers that he identified as possessing "genetic potential" within their sparks - Grimlock, Blitzwing, Jetfire and Hot Spot - the Fallen planned to use their energies to awaken Primus from his self-imposed slumber, thereby alerting Unicron to his location, allowing the world-eater to renew hostilities with his old enemy.

An attack from combined Autobot and Decepticon forces led by Shockwave and Prowl disrupted his plans, and Primus himself reached out and promptly destroyed the Fallen.

That said, I say watch this space!

Microsoft is keen to show off its new version of Windows Mobile. So keen, that it even hauled CEO Steve Ballmer up on stage to give the phone OS a big push at MWC in Barcelona. The new release will version-jump from 6.1 to 6.5 and it shows that the company is listening to its critics - sorry, users.

The Home screen of Windows Mobile (WinMo) 6.5 now shows the Today screen with new emails, texts, calendar appointments and missed calls on display. Gone are the Start and Programs menus because Microsoft has flattened the menu and placed all apps and folders in a long scrollable honeycomb of hexagonal icons to make access faster and easier. This interface is customisable to ensure regularly-used features are at your fingertips in seconds.

Talking of fingertips, fingers are the new the stylus. All of the icons are now bigger and this points the way to where WinMo is going. Let's face it, Microsoft followed Apple into the windowed computer interface arena and now WinMo is heading into iPhone territory. Yes, folks, Microsoft "innovates" again by leading from the back. With iPhone, Palm and Android blazing a trail, it's no wonder that Microsoft is pushing its product so hard - especially since we won't be using version 6.5 until "later this year", according to Ballmer.

The OS development also sees a move into online services. My Phone offers free storage space on the Web that will allow personal data to be uploaded and restored. In limited beta at the moment, the site gives password-protected space so that data can be stored retrieved or moved to a new phone when required.

The second service is Windows Marketplace for Mobile where apps for the new OS can be found. Hosted on Windows Live ID, developers will be able to tout their wares for online payments. An online app store, what a good idea.

It seems that Microsoft is still shaping up Windows Mobile to be competitive in the fast-changing OS market. The new features are primarily cosmetic and the bulk of the code remains the same. Whether this is a kludge or an edge will only be revealed when users get the hands-on experience.

At last, a bit of sanity in the power charger world. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the GSM Association announced that 17 mobile phone makers will follow RIM's Blackberry Storm by adopting mini-USB as a standard charger for their devices.

Hooray! I can bin all of those proprietary chargers. Well, I actually binned them all a long time ago when I bought a universal USB charger for £9. I don't want to pour water on this hot new development but some of the details have to be filled in. mini-USB will be one end of the connection but what will the device connector be like? Does this mean the end of proprietary connectors to the phones or does it just mean that the expensive, inefficient mains chargers will be eliminated? Instead of a drawer full of spaghetti with large lumps at the end, will I end up with the same spaghetti mess with smaller lumps?

At best, the manufacturers will adopt a common standard for the power leads using a separate socket but what will happen with the data connection. Bluetooth has it's charms (honestly) but a cable connector will always be supplied, I fear. It's nice that Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and company are in agreement but I fear that proprietary interests will still rule. Now you're talking with each other, guys, why not get the whole interface standardised and do us all a favour, not just the bottom line of your annual accounts and greenwashing? While you're at it, get the MP3 player and other gadget vendors on-board.

The new connectors will start to appear this year and be fully adopted by 2012. I'll be watching what happens with interest.

Samsung is greening up its act with a new phone made from recycled plastic bottles and powered by the sun. Almost all of the back of the The Blue Earth smartphone is used as a solar cell to charge the batteries. The phone is also free from brominated flame retardants and other hazardous substances like beryllium, used to produce non-magnetic metal alloys, and phthalates which make PVC pliable and is found in some glues.

As if this wasn't enough, the phone also sports an Eco Mode which controls backlight brightness and on-time plus Bluetooth controls to reduce power consumption. On the eco-friendly apps front, Eco Walk displays how many trees you've saved by walking instead of driving - a strange eco-unit to choose, unless your steering leaves a lot to be desired.

Prices have yet to be announced because the phone will not be available till the second half of this year - just when the daylight hours start drawing in.

Every week I will try to find a must-have gadget you never knew you could live without. This week it's the USB fridge. You know how it is. Hot day. You take a can out the fridge or from the vending machine and then get called away from your desk. When you get back the drink is lukewarm. Well, no more crying in your beer 9or other nominated drink) with the Dream Cheeky USB Fridgerator from Newo Corporation.

Big enough to take a 300ml (12fl oz) drinks can, the fridge is powered entirely from a USB slot and can be found on the Internet for around £20 but is currently on sale at Amazon for only £11.49.

Is it just me or are most people horrified by the idea of being targeted with advertising. MyScreen is offering a permission-based service that m-spams you with offers - but at least rewards you for the intrusion. By downloading an app, you get the ads popping up at the end of each phone call. Visit the site and a small payment will be added to your e-wallet.

Currently, your bonuses can only be used for a selection of fixed offers but the promise for the future is that you'll be able to transfer earned rewards to third-party loyalty cards and credit cards, gift cards or as a donation to your favourite charity. How much you receive is being kept under wraps until the official launch next Tuesday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

The idea ticks me off but if it ticks your box visit http://www.myscreen.com/

A panic button for the public is a doorbell for opportunistic legislators. The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act is one such issue being considered by the US Congress. The idea is that digital cameras in phones will make an audible click when they are used, like traditional film cameras, making it obvious when a phone camera is used in public.

Children will therefore be safe from a paedophile's lens in changing rooms or on other occasions when they disrobe in public. Businesses will also be safe when they show guests round research labs and other privileged access areas.

Though the aim is laudable, the concept is ludicrous. Phones exist that don't click and these will be hung onto by paedophiles for such occasions. Standard digital cameras, which are getting smaller, will be used and an underground business of phone-click disablers will be born. What about the movie-mode in phones? How will this be prevented from being used surreptitiously? Japan and Korea have already introduced similar laws but there is no proof that it has made a big difference.

Let's hope that the UK Government doesn't follow this US precedent which can be found at http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h414/text