November 7, 2008 by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Software, Tech

Apple Passes RIM and Approaches Nokia in Smartphone Market

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Looks like the economic situation did not affect the cellular world as hard as it did other sectors. The smartphone market is booming and we have Apple to thank for that.

Cnet reports that Apple sold 6.9 million iPhones in this quarter (did I understand that right? Sounds a little high to me), grabbing 17.3% of the market. RIM did not do so badly either increasing their market share by 5 points and Blackberry shipments by 83%.

Nokia remains number one, which actually kinda surprises me, I mean how many E71s could they possibly have sold? Microsoft did not have a bad quarter either increasing the number of Windows Mobile handsets shipped by 42% (what do you expect when you partner up with a giant like HTC?). However, a very interesting and amazing stat; Apple shipped more iPhones during the quarter than all the Windows Mobile devices shipped worldwide by Microsoft’s partners.

When it comes to mobile operating systems, big surprise, Nokia’s Symbian is the market leader followed by Apple then RIM.

If you ask me, I personally believe this is all about to change. With phones like the HD becoming available and the amazing Storm hitting shelves, I think Microsoft and RIM are going to be getting a significant boost, whereas iPhone sales are on their way down. That is of course, unless Apple has another trick up their sleeve, which would not surprise me.

-Hillel

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November 6, 2008 by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile, Software, Tech

Apple Does it Again

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Apple released a few new videos recently that, as usual, captured my attention. The first one is an explanation or demonstration of the new Macbook’s multi-touch trackpad, while the other is just another genius iPhone commercial.

When it comes to the new trackpad, I would have to play around with it to determine whether it is absolutely genius or just some more shtick, that when it comes down to using, is too difficult for the average user. Maybe I will go down to the new Israeli Apple store and get the answer to that question. Either way, the video is well done and fun to watch.

As for the commercial, I don’t know how they do it, but I have yet to see an Apple commercial that I was not extremely impressed with (as opposed to some other company’s ad campaigns that I have now watched 30-40 times and still do not understand). There is nothing unbelievable about it, they did not spend 30 million on it, and there are no famous actors in it. It is simple, straight forward, and just a very good ad.

-Hillel

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November 6, 2008 by hilzfuld on Mobile, Random, Tech

Battle of the 8MP Monsters

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If I would have told you three years ago that I would be trying to determine which 8 megapixel cellphone is the best handset, and there are quite a few to choose from, I don’t think you would have believed me, in fact I don’t think I would’ve believed me.

I am not sure which made bigger waves in 2008, the touch screen or the 8 megapixel phones, but what’s for sure, they are both pretty unbelievable achievements.

GSMArena has a detailed comparison between the four 8 megapixel monsters:

Samsung i8510 INNOV8: The most feature packed out of the bunch. You already know what I think of this powerhouse, although there is no question I prefer the full touch screen over the slider form factor.
Samsung M8800 Pixon: According to GSMArena’s conclusion, the Pixon does not meet the image quality of the other touch screen 8MP handset, the LG Renoir. However, its user interface is superior to that of the Renoir’s.
Sony Ericsson C905: I personally like this one the least, but GSMArena claims it has the best camera interface out of the group.
LG Renoir: Out of the two touch screens, this offers the best image quality and video performance.

In any case, I think it is safe to say we are no longer in the era that camera phones are inferior to standard digital cameras, with these 8 MP shooters, no need to carry around an additional camera.

In other big news, the HTC Touch HD is available in stores, and I for one cannot think of a better way to spend $800 right now. The only thing that can stop me now from getting myself a nice HD is some sort of a natural disaster, like say for example, a Storm.

-Hillel

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November 5, 2008 by Aryeh on iPhone, Software, Tech

Remember The Milk

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How many times have you forgotten to buy milk? RTM is a really nice, easy to use task reminder/ fully integrated to do list. All the regular functions are included like due date, importance, groups etc. They also use Google Gears so that you have full offline access to the account. Location based tasks are very useful also. You can set where the task needs to get done using Google Maps or GPS. They just came out with an iPhone app which is really nice because it syncs with the Web app. The sync is really great because Steve Jobs decided to leave out a todo list or tasks function from the iPhone. I have no idea why this feature was left out, most smart phones have active sync which allows them to sync all Microsoft Exchange items including tasks.

The reall beauty lies in their integration with other platforms like iGoogle, Google Calendar, Twitter, Gmail, Blackberry and so many more. With there API they have been able to do some really neat stuff.

So a little about the Twitter integration, all you need to do is to follow RTM on Twitter and they provide a verification code to Identify you. Once that is set up all you need to do is to direct message RTM a task like ” meeting tomorrow with Steve at 7am” and it will automatically add the task to RTM and it works like a charm.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

-Aryeh

Here are some screen shots:

iPhone app: Gmail Widget

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November 2, 2008 by hilzfuld on Random, Tech

Hi-Tech is in Trouble

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Motorola just announced that they are going to be laying off a whopping 3,000 employees, two thirds of which are from the handset department. I cannot say I am surprised when they are wasting their time and energy designing phones like the Aura.

The thing is, Motorola is not the only Hi-Tech company that is in the process of layoffs, not even close. The entire industry is going through a major crisis, in fact it is so bad, CNET has a dynamic chart of all the Hi-Tech companies that have laid off employees including the exact numbers. Check it out here.

The companies that have recently laid off employees include Aliph (does that mean the Jawbone is going to get a price reduction or the opposite?), Symantec, Xerox, Yahoo (do I really need to link to Yahoo.com?), and one company that has affected your favorite blogger, yours truly, Comverse. The list goes on.

In trying to shine some light on the very dark situation, I will say, let’s just hope this crisis forces companies to improve their products or lower their prices, after all, with or without a paycheck, I still need to buy new cellphones, don’t I?

-Hillel

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November 2, 2008 by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Trutap-A Truly Great App

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In the cellular world, it is not often that we come across a truly useful app that can be used by not only smartphones or iPhones, but also by pretty standard handsets that only support Java apps. I recently read about a new Mobile IM client that aggregates all the available IM networks in one easy-to-use interface on your Java-enabled phone.

Of course it was not long before I downloaded my copy of Trutap and sure enough, a really great app that I am sure to use a lot of in the future. It combines AIM, MSN Messenger, GTalk, and even Facebook chat. It is kinda like a Digsby for your phone (I cannot recommend Digsby in strong enough words, amazing app).

Not many mobile apps have impressed me so fast, in fact I think the only other one was Fring, and there is no need to tell you how awesome Fring is (although it does not work on my Java-enabled 6288). Anyway, Trutap is entering a pretty competitive market, but I think it has all the apps that I know of beaten.

-Hillel

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November 1, 2008 by Aryeh on Mac, Software

Test Post From Blogo

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I’m using a program called Blogo to post right now. It’s a local app with a neat interface that allows me to post directly to WordPress.

-Update: Sweet it even reads HTML

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October 30, 2008 by Aryeh on Mac, Marketing, PC, Software, Tech

Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” vs. Apple ads – The Numbers

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The numbers explain it all. Way to go Microsoft, $300 million dollars and what do you have to show for it?

-Aryeh

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October 30, 2008 by Aryeh on Random

Creative – Mr. W

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This is a little creepy but watch until the end.

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October 27, 2008 by hilzfuld on Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

The Motorola Aura Costs How Much?

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Motorola seems to be attempting to get back in the game, but just like last time, they are doing it all wrong. Motorola released the new Motorola Aura (at least last time, they had a pretty cool name, I mean, Aura?) handset, I think you should sit down for this.

Before I tell you what is so special about this phone, let me tell you what is not. The specs! The phone is 18 mm thick (just for reference, the original Razr was 14mm), it does not have 3G or Wifi, and the camera is a boring 2 megapixels.

So then someone please tell me why the heck this phone costs, (are you sitting down?), a whopping (I’m telling you, you’re gonna want to sit down for this one) $2000? OK so it is supposed to be one of those stylish looking phones, I get it, but at least the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte has 3G and a decent 3.2 megapixel camera.

Well, at least they did a good job with the design, right? Wrong! This phone is, in my opinion, one of the ugliest phones I have ever seen. Is it just me? Even in the below video, in which they are attempting to show off the beauty of the phone (I think that’s what they are doing, I need to brush up on my Russian), opening and closing the phone seems painfully difficult.

I don’t know about you, but Motorola making $2,000 phones when they have not made a good $50 phone in months, just does not sit well with me. Someone needs to talk some sense into whoever is making the decisions over there in the Motorola house, otherwise, at this rate, when I buy my son his first cellphone (he is now 4, I figure he has a few more months), he will never have heard of Motorola.

In Motorola’s defense, they have not given up. I have to admit that with phones like this, this, and this, I would’ve given up long ago.

-Hillel

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October 26, 2008 by Aryeh on Mobile, Software, Tech

Palm Launches a New Platform – Who Cares?

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The details about the new platform are not so exciting at all. Palm is dragging far behind the iPhone’s software and now with Android, their release will likely cost them millions in loses. We have already see n their phones running on Windows Mobile, so why all of a sudden do they need to release their own OS? I think their market share is dwindling and they soon will be out of business.

What do you think?

-Aryeh

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Tech N' Marketing

A Blog About The Newest Technology And Marketing

Apple Passes RIM and Approaches Nokia in Smartphone Market

Apple Does it Again

Battle of the 8MP Monsters

Remember The Milk

Hi-Tech is in Trouble

Trutap-A Truly Great App

Test Post From Blogo

Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” vs. Apple ads – The Numbers

Creative – Mr. W

The Motorola Aura Costs How Much?

Palm Launches a New Platform – Who Cares?