Skyfire for Android streams Flash video

New mobile browser for Android has been released, and what is so innovative about it, is that it is the first mobile browser that supports Flash videos. Skyfire 2.0 (that's how it is called) is basically a typical Webkit browser, with an exception that it plays Flash content by translating the Flash code into the HTML 5 code, which allows to play videos. What's more Skyfire is adjustable to our needs, because it sets resolution and video quality for the best performance on the Android phone. Indeed, as CNET reports videos played smoothly and without lagging. In addition to this it has a special bar with buttons that allow easy searching for similar content, and easy sharing pages on social network websites, like Twitter or Facebook. It will also support multi-touch pinch-zooming on phones with Android OS 2.0 or higher.
Obviously, the browser has some disadvantages. It is only beta version, so it sometimes crashes a browser tab, doesn't play interactive Flash content like games or Flash-build menus. Skyfire CEO says that the company will releases a version of its new browser on BlackBerry 6 as soon as it emerges. There is another rival for Skyfire, and that is Opera, which is a really fast browser. Opera is already available on iPhones and Skyfire admits that it has intentions to release a version for iPhone but certainly without Flash support. Skyfire 2.0 with Flash support puts Android ahead of other smartphones, and will bring Android more popularity and satisfaction for the users. It also brings more heat in war over the smartphone market.

Source: CNET, MobileBeat

BlackBerry OS 6.0: What we know so far

Research in Motion announced its new operating system BlackBerry 6. The company said that it will be available some time third quarter this year without any particular dates. At  WES 2010 (wireless Enterprise Symposium) RIM provided a sneak peek of the new OS. A video presenting multi-touch features like pinch to zoom was shown. Some new features are cover flow in media player, new WebKit-based Web browser with support of tabs, or easy social networking.
One really good thing that RIM wants to do, is to make BlackBerry 6 backward-compatible. It means that it will be supported on the older models for example those without touch display. This is what Microsoft haven't done with its upcoming Winodows Phone 7 Series. I think that RIM made a  very good move, because we can see that the company cares about its customers. Unluckily, we'll have to wait couple months to see how this new OS actually functions and looks like.

Source: CNET, AppleInsider

Nokia launches first open source Symbian phone

Nokia plans on releasing first Symbian 3 phone, N8. It will have multi-touch screen with support of gestures such as pinch to zoom, or flick scrolling. Whats impressive about this model, is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and an optical sensor. Obviously with this type of camera it can record high-definition videos, and capture high quality pictures. There is 16GB of internal storage and it supports microSD cards up to 48GB. Of course it has apps available to download from Nokia store, called Ovi Store, which can be compared to Apple's Appstore or Google's Android Market.
Symbian 3 is a very good step forward for Nokia. New operating system allows personalize user interface with applications and widgets. It is open source and thanks to Nokia Qt software it makes much easier for developers to write apps. I think that Nokia made a first step to compete with the best smartphone producers on the market. As somebody said Symbian 3 is evolutionary, but not revolutionary and I agree. It is not very well developed but it is fundamental for the future version. This OS will help Nokia remain the producer of the world's popular smartphone OS, Symbian, and it will be able to compete with iPhone and Android phones.

Source: InformationWeek, BBC

Ban on iPad in Israel has been lifted after a technical scrutiny. Apple's new tablet was banned, because the Ministry of Communications declared that the iPad may interfere with other wireless devices. Couple iPads that had been brought from abroad have been confiscated and now are going to be returned to their rightful owners.
The same issue now occurs in South Korea, where the iPad hasn't been yet approved. Before the official launch, the device has to be tested for interference with other electronic devices. In Korea this is not only done for iPad, but also for other devices.
On the other hand I think that the ban in Israel was strange and mysterious, because the Ministry of Communications justified the ban with the interference standards set by European regulatory agencies. It is weird, because none of European countries have banned Apple's tablet. It is difficult to determine whether it was aimed at Apple or not, but one fact is sure. Apple will gain more customers and make higher profits.

Source: InformationWeek, Telegraph.co.uk

Lake Oswego centenarian loves her first computer

A 99-year old woman, Virgina Campbell, says that iPad has made it possible for her to read and write again. She got iPad on her birthday from her daughter and son-in-law. She has glaucoma, so it has been very difficult or even impossible to read  before. She says that it is iPad backlit screen and adjustable fonts that allowed her to read again. She has never owned a computer before and Apple's table is her first computer type device. She also started writting poems on her new iPad, one of them praises Apple's device.
This is another prove how useful is iPad for people with impaired vision. That is also why iPad is supported by the National Federation of Blind. Apple brings computers to people that have been unable to use them before. Because of the simplicity of the iPad it is accessible not only for people with vision problems but also old people. As it is commonly known old people have difficulties with learning and absorbing new things, and Apple makes it easier for them.

Source: KOIN

Adobe scraps work to bring Flash apps to iPhone

Adobe will cancel the development of the Flash-apps-on-iPhone technology. It is a response to the Apple's ban on generally speaking tools that may be used to play Flash on Apple devices by easily converting code to iPhone compatible, like recently released Adobe CS5.
Mike Chambers, Adobe's principal product manager for the Flash platform said: "The primary goal of Flash has always been to enable cross browser, platform and device development." He also mentioned that "this is the exact opposite of what Apple wants. They want to tie developers down to their platform, and restrict their options to make it difficult for developers to target other platforms." Adobe is considering legal action against Apple.
Apple responded that they have substitution to Adobe's Flash. It is HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264, which allow to perform basically similar actions to Flash on Apple devices.
Adobe has an ally that is willing to cooperate, Google. Both companies are working on bringing Flash to Android devices. The progress is satisfying. I think that Google will gain advantage over Apple. There have been many complains on Apple that their devices are missing a part of Internet, because of the lack of Flash support. The competition is becoming more stiff.

Source: CNET

The Apple earnings lift — not always what it seems

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Investors responded to Apple's announcement about financial results in second quarter, and Apple's stock gained almost 6 percent today. Apple has closed on Tuesday at $244.59 and opened today at $258.79. The stock price varied a little during the day reaching a maximum of $260.25 and closed at $259.22. This the biggest one-day increase since May 2009.
Analysts say that it would be a good sign if Apple's shares haven't been already so high. They also analyzed computer companies that had 5 percent increases after releasing financial results and showed that usually stock price rose about 1.9 percent over the following week.
Analysts also found out that if shares are at least 10% over their 50-day moving average, the stock price tends to go down. It doesn't bode well for the investors, because Apple share are traded now at about 16.3 percent over the moving average.
I think that the stock price will stay at the same level or slightly increase this week. We can also see that iPhone sales are propelling this increase. Apple's shares in cell phone market are rising and iPhone is becoming a popular device outside the United States.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Apple has another record quarter, posts $3.07b profit

Apple has noted a record revenue and net profit this quarter ending March 27. The company reached revenue of $13.5 billion and profit of $3.07 billion. That means 49 percent larger revenue than last year in the same quarter and an astonishing 90 percent increase in profits over the prior March quarter results.
The revenue this quarter is the highest ever in non-holiday quarter. iPhone sales recorded 131 percent unit growth from March quarter a year ago and were the highest ever. The company has also achieved a huge increase in international sales.
I think that as Steve Jobs said, customers have enthusiastically responded to revolutionary iPad and that iPad sales contributed to this record in a large extent. iPad sales were higher than the company expected. Also iPhone and iPod has taken part in this record. iPhone is still incredibly popular and stays on the top of smartphone market. So does iPod, which is one of the most popular MP3 players.

Source: Apple, Engadget

Dell Mini 5 Coming To T-Mobile And AT&T?

Dell is planing on releasing smartphone or you would rather say tablet, because of its big size, called Dell mini 5. It has been confirmed that the device is coming to AT&T, but it is also possible that it will available in T-Mobile.
Dell Mini 5 owes its name to huge 5 inch touchscreen that has resolution of  800 x 480. It features a powerful 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 405 MB RAM and only 1.63 GB internal storage, but there is also possibility to extend memory with microSD cards. The device is another phone that runs Android operating system. So as we can see Android is becoming more powerful and popular, which means that Apple's iPhone OS is getting a serious rival.
Dell Mini 5 offers very good multimedia experience. It has 5-megapixel camera that is able of capturing pretty good, high quality videos and pictures. Watching movies is also a pleasant experience, because of its big display and the smoothness with which the device plays 720p videos.
The phone is big compared to other device of this type, so it may look weird while holding it and talking. It is also probably uncomfortable keeping it in a pocket or generally carrying it.
It will be available later this summer.
I think that Dell Mini 5 despite some disadvantages is a great idea, because it fills a gap in the market. It is between a tablet and a smartphone, so it is sort of unique and for example can compete with both iPhone and iPad. As I mentioned is a good alternative to Apple devices.

Source: PC World, Engadget

Apple's iPad war on Adobe and Flash

The war between Apple and Adobe has escalated with the release of iPad. Applications developers who are going to write programs for iPad have to sign an agreement with Apple which mentions that applications can be written either in Objective-C, C, or C++ and that code has link directly against the documented APIs (API is application programming interface which is a protocol that makes the applications compatible with the device) and can't link through intermediary translation or compatibility layer or other tool. But what this basically means is that using Flash is prohibited.
When iPhone first showed up, Steve Jobs explained that the device won't be compatible with Flash, because Flash is buggy and causes many crashes. This excuse is reasonable, because processing power is limited on a mobile device, and performance is more important.
Even though this might seem a foolish move made by Apple. Adobe is growing very fast, 75% of all websites is Flash based, 70% of online games run on Flash, 75% of video websites are played with Flash including giants like Hulu and YouTube. These numbers show how powerful and popular Adobe is. So I think that refusing to use this technology is stupid and the only one who suffers is the user. If Adobe still continues growing, Apple may even lose customers. There have been many complains on iPhone OS devices because of not supporting Flash. In my opinion Apple should solve this problem as soon as possible and become "Flash compatible".

Source: The Guardian

HTC Droid Incredible Officially Lands on Verizon April 29

There is new Droid coming up in Verizon later this month. It comes from HTC and is called HTC Droid Incredible. It features Android 2.1 operating system, Sense User Interface, 8-megapixel camera, and 3.7 inch AMOLED display. It also has a powerful 1 GHz processor.
HTC's sesnse user interface is useful, because it allows the user to customize and personalize the phone and makes the interface "visually pleasing." 8-megapixel digital camera offers photos and videos of higher quality than for example Nexus One or HTC Desire. There is also a very handful feature that allows the user to pinch anywhere on the homescreen to see thumbnails to the open pages.
Thanks to these functional features navigation is much easier than many competitive phones like Nexus One that also runs on Android. This phone enriches HTC's line of Android phones and gives some variety in Verizon offer. But essentially it is a CDMA version of HTC Desire, so it might not be good enough to compete with upcoming iPhone 4G.

Source: PC World

After iPad, Rivals Offer Variations on a Theme

As soon as iPad, Apple's new tablet, appeared in sales, other companies started thinking about their own devices. These tablets, generally called slates, are characterized by low-cost, capability, low weight and thickness and the lack of physical keyboard.
Google and H.P. are preparing their versions of slate in response to iPad. H.P.'s slate is said to have camera and ports for other devices like mouse. Google plans to release Android based tablet that would a rival to iPad. There are couple reasons why Google has chosen Android instead of its other computer operating system, Chrome OS. Chrome is made only for browsing web and Android is already fully developed platform having features very similar to iPad.
What makes Google tablet attractive are company's popular services like Google Books, Google Reader and Google Voice., and the fact that it is going to be more like computer, which means much more functional.
There are also rumors that Nokia, world's largest cellphone producer, plans on making its own slate. 

Google probably won't be as successful as Apple, but it will bring competition and rivalry to tablets and e-readers market. Apple will keep lead, but with an opponent behind Apple will have to improve and develop its product. Free market with competition is always beneficial for everybody, and especially customer.

Source: New York Times

Apple's iPad Brings Easy Reading to the Blind

Apple received support from the National Federation of Blind for its new tablet, iPad. The device is accessible for the blind people, because of VoiceOver feature. VoiceOver enables easy navigation through menus.
Usually e-readers are useless for the blind, and the idea of portable books, magazines, and newspapers is appealing. Apple's iPad maybe a very useful device for them, because it allows to read easily, and in contrast to other e-readers, navigate easier. For example Amazon's Kindle is adjusted for the blind, because voice integration for all text, but the navigation is a complete failure. A blind person using Kindle needs, another person who can see to turn pages or generally navigate through menus.
I think that Apple had truly gained trust and support of many people, especially blind by this one feature. This is a great option that allows blind people to use e-readers, which are a really good invention. Visually impaired people are now one step closer to become ordinary people.

Source: Forbes - blog

Hands-On: Can Kin Phones Make Microsoft Cool Again?

Microsoft unveiled two new Kin phones. Kin Phone One and Kin Phone Two will be available in the US in Verizon next month and in Europe in Vodafone later this year. They price is still unknown.

Apple Confirms IPad Wi-Fi Issues, Suggests Fixes

First issues with iPad, Apple's new tablet, has been reported by the users. Problems concern the Wi-fi connection that is said to not work or be suddenly dropped. Apple confirms that the issue may exist and suggests some solutions.

Browser Exploit Brings Jailbreak to the iPad

We didn't have to wait much until Apple's new tablet device, iPad attracted hackers' attention. It lasted only one weekend and today a group that is the author of a method of jailbreaking iPhone, jail broke iPad. They used an exploit in Web browser Safari to gain root access to the device.

Analyst estimates 700,000 iPads sold Saturday

Apple iPad's sale has started this Saturday and it exceed many expectations. The estimates introduced by Piper Jaffray Gene Munster say that including presales Apple sold 600,000 to 700,000 of the new iPads. It is twice more than senior analyst predicted.

A different kind of company name

Today Google announced that it has officially changed its name to Topeka as a response to Topeka's rename earlier in march (my post). The company's official blog says that company didn't know how to honor the city in Kansas for the name change, but today on April 1st Google Topeka finally could repay for it.