Archive for: mobile web
- December 18, 2009 10:45 am
The iPhone may still be the defacto standard when it comes to anything in the consumer smartphone realm, but Android would like to remind you that they aren’t giving up. In fact, according to the latest AdMob reports, Android is actually biting away at Apple’s share as well as making mad grabs from a few other OS’s dinner plates.
The chart shows Apple still maintains a 2 : 1 lead as far as OS market share goes, however, Android is again closing that gap. Of all the members present, Symbian and Windows Mobile bring up the back end of the pack. If they follow their recent trends, expect their shares to sink further and further as RIM, Apple, and Android claim even more of the mobile market.
**It’s worth noting that AdMob stats don’t highlight individual units owned or market share of actual devices. Instead, AdMob shows how much users of said OS’s use the mobile web.
VentureBeat
- December 9, 2009 12:48 pm
Being on the mobile web just a few short years ago meant navigating extremely rudimentary WAP web pages and dealing with painfully slow load times. That is if you could even get a site to properly/completely load on your device. Thankfully technology doesn’t sit still and in fact runs a breakneck speed. In today’s world, we have browsers such as Mobile Safari, Mobile Chrome, SkyFire, and Opera mini to name a few. While all of the mobile browsers listed (and several unlisted) are all good in most forms, SkyFire is the contender taking the cake today. You see, that little browser that could was upgraded with a new set of numbers and freshened up feature set today. The enhancements aren’t minor ones either but are actually fairly worthwhile.
The newest SkyFire brings many features to the table such as:
- Sleeker, more finger friendly UI
- Crisper text & smoother scrolling
- Full support for higher resolution screens. Now natively supporting VGA and wVGA displays
What do you think? Worth your time? Let me remind all of you that besides the newly released features, SkyFire is the only (free) mobile browser that supports both Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. Now, personal mileage will vary as some lesser powered phones may have a few performance issues when encountering flash/silverlight content. But I surely can’t argue with the fact that something is better than nothing.
If I were you and had a device that was able to take advantage of SkyFire, I wouldn’t hesitate even for a second. Pick up your copy of SkyFire here and get ready to question yourself as to how you ever scoured the digital web without it…
TechCrunch
- September 15, 2009 5:54 am
Can you imagine a world without squirting? While many die hard Zune users and honest to goodness geeks stayed up until the wee hours of the morning waiting for the Zune 4.0 software, others retired to their sleeping chambers ready to conquer another day. The reason for the all nighter of course was the release of the Zune 4.0 software. With the 4.0 update comes many new features (and removal of some) such as device apps with more to come, download-to-own, and “Smart DJ” playlists to name a few. However, a casualty has appeared to show up this morning. The often mocked “squirting” feature that allowed two Zune users to wirelessly share a DRM laiden song has reportedly been yanked. Why remove such a feature that not too long ago Microsoft put big marketing behind? Eh? Beats me, but, when I used my Zune daily for a good year long stint, I never once used it. So in reality it probably won’t be missed by many. Still, it’s sad that the new Zune is removing features isn’t it? Sound off, do you already find yourself shaking because you can’t squirt?
**BTW…anyone care to clarify or confirm this feature is really gone?
Source: Engadget, Cnet, Image Source
- September 8, 2009 5:55 am
Those of you looking to get into the Android game though want something a little on the cheaper side, the HTC Tattoo (Click) may be the device to ease you in to the Android pool. While I say mid-range based on initial specs, the price which should soon come will be the deciding factor. The price, which comes in at a fairly affordable $0.00 on contract means Android now has more of a chance than ever to come to all. As far as the specs go however, there isn’t really anything to get too excited about:
- 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor, 512MB/256MB ROM/RAM, GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi, digital compass, accelerometer, Bluetooth 2.0, 900/2100MHz HSPA/UMTS, Quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 2.8″ QVGA touchscreen display at 240×320 pixels wrapping it up.
One perk comes in the form of that much talked about Sense UI that gives Android a more sophisticated and classy look. Again, it may not be the end all be all of the Android world, but it should ensure that even more people get to experience the goodness that Android offers. Oh, one thing worth mentioning is that it hits Europe in October, other markets soon after. If this thing comes stateside do you think it’s worth picking up?
**Update:As more specs come out, the HTC Click becomes less desirable. While it may tout Android, a touchscreen, relatively speedy internals, and a bottom basement price of $0 on contract, the new revelation of the HTC Click packing a “resistive touchscreen” instead of the much more favorable capacitive variant slings this phone even further into irrelevance. Anyone still interested?
Source: Engadget, HTC
Frequent travelers, especially those that traverse the world by auto can surely appreciate the added help that traffic reports give them. While making your way to your destination, knowing the quickest and least traffic filled route will make your ride more enjoyable not to mention shorter. For some time now, Google Maps has shown traffic info for major highways. However, once you venture outside of downtown, you’re on your own when it comes to traffic info. Sure you can tune the radio to a traffic station, but not every city has such a service nor is the radio constantly available and available for you to customize reports. Building upon their early success with the integrated traffic info on Google Maps for major highways, Google is branching out into the lesser populated areas by now including traffic info for backroads.
Yes we know, you want flash, flash, and more flash on your mobile web browser. So far it has proven to be easier said than done. The puny processors and limited amounts of other resources limit flash playback performance to utter crap. Enter the new wonderful world of Android + Opera Mobile. Opera Mobile will bring forth what pretty much every other browser has failed at so far – reliable, stutter free flash playback, oh so they claim. I have high hopes though I won’t be too disappointed if it is another fail as I’ve already been through it several times. Guess we’ll just have to cross our fingers huh? Look for the good times to start rollin’ sooner than soon!
Source: Gizmodo, App Scout
- February 16, 2009 11:29 am
Today at MWC Nvidia took the wraps off of their MID/mobile device Tegra 600 series platform which has been designed to take the mobile world by storm. The new platform brings such benefits to the table such as the ability to go days, yes days between charges! Not only that but it will provide an instant-on, always connected HD services. As the industry moves more and more to mobile web on the go, video, audio, pictures, and applications are all coming with that industry push, taxing the hardware of current devices. Tegra will start the next push into the future and bring the power and scalability of a full sized desktop PC closer to mobile reality. The bread and butter is inside…
