September 2012 – DigitalOutbox

DigitalOutbox Episode 136

DigitalOutbox Episode 136
DigitalOutbox Episode 136 – Nook HD, Samsung Security worries and Maps, Maps, Maps

Playback
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Shownotes
3:15 – Apple had a year left on Google maps contract
– As rumors and leaks of Apple’s decision to announce the new iOS 6 maps at WWDC in June filtered out, Google decided to respond with a display of strength — the search giant hastily announced its own mapping event just days before Apple’s event. Dubbed “the next dimension of Google Maps,” the event was designed to showcase new technologies like low-level aerial 3D photography and Street View backpacks — a chest-thumping exercise meant to highlight Google’s significant head start in collecting mapping information, but which offered very little in the way of consumer-facing features.
– For its part, Apple apparently felt that the older Google Maps-powered Maps in iOS were falling behind Android — particularly since they didn’t have access to turn-by-turn navigation, which Google has shipped on Android phones for several years. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Google also wanted more prominent branding and the ability to add features like Latitude, and executives at the search giant were unhappy with Apple’s renewal terms. But the existing deal between the two companies was still valid and didn’t have any additional requirements, according to our sources — Apple decided to simply end it and ship the new maps with turn-by-turn.
– The reports were validated earlier today by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who was quoted by Reuters saying “what were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call.” Schmidt also said that Google had “not done anything yet” with an iOS Google Maps app, and that Apple would ultimately have to decide whether to approve any such app anyway. “It’s their choice,” he told Bloomberg. Google Maps VP Brian McClendon has also repeatedly said he’s committed to offering Google Maps on all platforms, indicating that an iOS app will eventually appear.
– Apple made just one public statement on Maps: “Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service,” said spokeswoman Trudy Miller. “We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn by turn navigation, and Siri integration. We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.”
8:23 – Meanwhile Google is mapping the Ocean
– Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world. With these vibrant and stunning photos you don’t have to be a scuba diver—or even know how to swim—to explore and experience six of the ocean’s most incredible living coral reefs. Now, anyone can become the next virtual Jacques Cousteau and dive with sea turtles, fish and manta rays in Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii.
– Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset—just as I did on my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef last year. You can also find out much more about this reef via the World Wonders Project, a website that brings modern and ancient world heritage sites online.
– Thump that chest Google – you deserve it 🙂
12:05 – Facebook shutting down face detection in EU
– Earlier this year, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, a body whose decisions impact Facebook’s policies in Europe at large, made several recommendations to bring the website in line with regional privacy laws, calling for greater transparency on how users’ data is handled and more user control over settings, among other things. The DPC just officially announced that Zuckerberg et al. have for the most part adjusted its policies accordingly. The biggest change involves the facial recognition feature, which attempts to identify Facebook friends in photos and suggest their names for tagging. The social network turned off this functionality for new users in the EU — and it will be shutting it down entirely by October 15th.
15:20 – Twitter forces IFTTT to remove support
– The internet service glue product IFTTT has been forced to remove its Twitter triggers after recent changes to Twitter’s API policies. The change was confirmed in an email sent out to /IFTTT users today (Thanks to Federico Viticci for the contents of the email.)
– Apparently triggers that allow the syndication of tweets out to other services or locations will be removed, while actions that post new tweets to Twitter will remain. You won’t be able to suck down your tweets for archiving or cross-posting any more. So actions remain that post to Twitter, but triggers are gone.
– IFTTT CEO Linden Tibbets: In recent weeks, Twitter announced policy changes* that will affect how applications and users like yourself can interact with Twitter’s data. As a result of these changes, on September 27th we will be removing all Twitter Triggers, disabling your ability to push tweets to places like email, Evernote and Facebook. All Personal and Shared Recipes using a Twitter Trigger will also be removed. Recipes using Twitter Actions and your ability to post new tweets via IFTTT will continue to work just fine.
– The email mentions Section 4A (which isn’t new, but is newly enforced) of Twitter’s new API terms and the new Developer Display Requirements (previously recommendations) as reasons for the removal of the triggers, which will be gone as of September 27th.
– Tibbets continues, saying that the tool wants to “empower anyone to create connections between literally anything,” adding diplomatically, “we’ve still got a long way to go, and to get there we need to make sure that the types of connections that IFTTT enables are aligned with how the original creators want their tools and services to be used.”
20:19 – Barnes & Noble bring Nook HD tablets to the UK
– US book chain Barnes & Noble plans to launch new Nook tablets alongside its e-readers in the UK later this year. They will compete against products from Amazon, Kobo, Sony and others.
– B&N boasts that its smaller tablet – which features a 7in (17.8cm) screen – is the lightest such device to offer a “high definition” experience.
– While B&N and Amazon have decided to enter the UK’s tablet market at the same time, they are pursuing different strategies: the former has decided to offer its full line-up from the start, while the latter is selling a more limited range.
– So, while B&N will offer a 9in (22.9cm) tablet called the Nook HD+ in the UK from mid-November, Amazon has opted to limit sales of its 8.9in Kindle Fire HD to the US for the time being. – This may help B&N make inroads into the larger-screened tablet market – the Nook HD+ at £229 is £100 cheaper than Apple’s 9.7in iPad 2, and £70 below Samsung’s 10.1in Galaxy Tab2.
– The Nook tablets run on an adapted version of Android 4.0, giving them access to an existing wide range of third-party software. B&N is also offering its own curated magazine, newspaper, book and app stores – and plans to add a video service offering movies and television shows by early 2013.
– The decision to restrict which apps can be sold provides the firm with an opportunity to limit malware. However, some owners might be frustrated by the fact they are not offered an opportunity to install material from either the Google Play or Amazon Appstore marketplaces unless they hack the machines.
– The Nook tablets do not display adverts, unlike the Kindle Fire which shows “special offers” when put into lock mode.
– While B&N does not operate its own stores in the UK, it will sell its products through Sainsbury’s and the bookstore Blackwell’s. Kobo’s partners include WH Smith and Asda, while Amazon has teamed up with Waterstones, Comet, Ryman, Carphone Warehouse and Tesco.
– John Lewis, Currys, PC World and Argos will sell all three devices as well as other similar products made by Sony, Archos, Delium and others.
23:20 – Link found that will reset Samsung Android devices
– A security hole has been discovered that allows some Samsung Galaxy phones running TouchWiz to be automatically factory reset without warning. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S2.
– Found by ex-Gadget Geeks presenter Tom Scott, among others, all unsuspecting users have to do is go to a webpage via a specific link and their phone will be wiped back to how it came in the box.
– “The USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 is *2767*3855# and can be triggered from browser like this,” wrote Scott. Developer Tom Hutchinson, who has helped Pocket-lint work out the incredibly damaging bug, says that the security blunder affects the Samsung Galaxy S3 too. The Ace, the SGS2 and S Advance have also been found to be affected so far. “Most, if not all Gingerbread phones or newer running TouchWiz will be vulnerable,” he claims.
– The fear is that those looking to wipe out Samsung phones would be able to easily embed the code on a website without Galaxy owners even realising what is about to happen. It could easily be used in a QR code too, and unwittingly scanned by a user.
– In testing on the Pocket-lint SGS3, we’ve been unable to get the command to work. However, Arnoud Wokke, a journalist at Tweakers.net, claimed on Twitter to have the bug affecting the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Galaxy S Advance. He too was unable to get it working on the Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S III.
– Looks like it affects the S3 in the US but not the UK
– Samsung respond quickly urging customers to update their phones using the latest over the air updates – http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/26/3410484/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-reset-fix
– Looks like it also affects HTC Desire running Android 2.2 – linked to Android dialer – http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/26/3412432/samsung-touchwiz-remote-wipe-vulnerability-android-dialer
– Old version of Android but so many people are running old Android!
25:37 – The Guardian proposes a broadband levy to fund journalism
– Has David Leigh cracked it? We have been puzzling for years about how to subsidise journalism once it makes the final transition from print to net (see here and here and here). One obvious model is the funding of the BBC through its licence fee.
– Objectors to such an idea – including current commercial proprietors – have argued, unsurprisingly, on press freedom lines. Any connection to the state is to be avoided.
– But Leigh, The Guardian’s investigations executive editor, has come up with a very clever quasi alternative: charge a levy of, say, £2 a month on the bills of subscribers to UK broadband providers. Then distribute the money to news providers in proportion to their UK online readership.
– He concludes: “On the most recent figures, this system would provide transformative chunks of money to the most popular news websites.”
– It’s an ingenious thought and it should be given serious consideration. Could this be the magic bullet we’ve been seeking? I certainly think so (because paywalls are never going to work).
– Of course there are problems to overcome, such as persuading the various service providers – BT, Virgin, Sky, TalkTalk et al – to become “tax collectors” for news outfits. But a case can be made that they benefit from news production.
– The other concern is about big media getting benefits unavailable to start-ups. But I imagine there could be a mechanism to distribute a portion to them as well.
– And immediately I mention “big media”, I realise that there will be strong objections to handing out funds to failing media companies. How will they be made accountable for what they do with the money? For the moment, however, we should explore Leigh’s idea further. There is much to recommend it.
– CRAZY!
– So I’d be taxed to pay for the Daily Mail. The Sun.
– Levy is just a nice name for it. Journalism is also a nice name for it. Makes it sound like we are investing in the countries future in some shape or form
– Really it’s a once profitable industry struggling to cope in the new digital age
– Music industry wanted to do this and it was shot down, now this!
– CRAZY!
29:11 – News Corp. Backs Down On Anti-Google Stance
– Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is planning once again to let stories from its paywalled UK newspaper The Times get indexed by the search giant Google. This reverses a two-year-old policy in which News Corp.’s UK newspaper division, News International, dramatically yanked stories from Google as it prepared a paywall to better monetize that content and do away with low-value single-story visitors from sites like Google. This effectively means that News Corp. (and Murdoch) have conceded partial defeat, accepting that it needs the search engine traffic to keep growth on the sites from stalling.
– A well-placed source tells TechCrunch that the first couple of sentences of articles from The Times will “soon be retrievable” on search engines like Google so that readers can find the stories more easily — effectively unblocking the robots.txt command on the site that disallowed Google from crawling and indexing its articles. Currently the only results one gets when searching for Times articles are section pages and a restricted selection of articles
– In line with articles appearing on searches, users will also be able to see “truncated” versions of those stories, to be marketed as “free limited previews”. Currently clicking through to an article, when it does appear in search results as above, takes a user straight to a subscription window — not the most warm of welcomes. Putting in an article preview puts The Times and Sunday Times more closely in line with what the WSJ, another News Corp.-owned news site with a paywall, does to draw in readers.
– But make no mistake: that paywall will remain intact. To get anything more beyond the preview, visitors will still need to purchase a subscription, TechCrunch understands. These are currently available in three tiers (£2 per week web-only; £4 per week including iPad; £6 per week including the print editions), and it’s not clear yet whether introducing the search features will also mean à la carte pricing as well.
31:32 – Nintendo confirm the Wii U is region locked
– Nintendo has now confirmed to CVG that its upcoming system will be region locked, meaning that Wii U games will only work on hardware sold in the same region.
– This isn’t exactly a new policy for Nintendo—every one of the company’s home consoles since the original Nintendo Entertainment System has featured a similar region lock, though various hardware and software workarounds exist for many of those systems. Nintendo’s portable systems have historically been able to play games from all regions, but the company implemented a region lock on the Nintendo 3DS when it launched last year.
– Both Microsoft and Sony allow publishers to decide whether to implement a region lock on specific game discs for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Almost every PS3 game is sold without such a lock, but international compatibility for Xbox 360 titles varies widely.
– Different world now – Apple dominates mobile gaming for example
– Nintendo need to do things differently or this will be their last console

Picks
Ian
Jasmine
Jasmine on iTunes
– Free Youtube client for iOS
– Clean interface, no ad’s, comments or clutter
– Can sign in and get you liked and favourited videos
– Easy to browse whats popular on youtube
– Excellent replacement for the now removed Youtube app from Apple and better than the official Youtube app from Google

DigitalOutbox Episode 135

DigitalOutbox Episode 135
DigitalOutbox Episode 135 – iOS6, Maps and UK Pirates

Playback
Listen via iTunes
Listen via M4A
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Shownotes
2:31 – Manchester is the UK piracy capital
– Manchester has been named the piracy capital of the UK, according to a new study seen exclusively by the BBC. The research said there were more illegal downloads per person in the city than any other in the country, followed by Nottingham and Southampton.
– The statistics, from monitoring service Musicmetric, conclude that in the first half of 2012, UK users illegally shared over 40 million albums and singles.
– The data, collected independently by Musicmetric and seen exclusively by the BBC, is believed to be the biggest analysis of its kind to be conducted.
– Globally, the research suggested that the UK is a significant player on the world stage as a country of illegal music downloaders. The country was placed second in the world in terms of pure volume of illegal activity, with Musicmetric logging 43,263,582 downloads in the first six months of this year.
– The US topped the list, with 96,681,133 downloads tracked in the same period. Italy (33,158,943), Canada (23,959,924) and Brazil (19,724,522) made up the remainder of the top five.
– Musicmetric’s findings said that singer Ed Sheeran was the most pirated act in the UK for the first half of 2012, followed by hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks and Barbadian megastar Rihanna. The data suggested that Ed Sheeran’s 2011 album + (Plus) was illegally downloaded an average of 55,512 times every month, and was the most popular download in over 460 towns and cities in the UK.
– Legal UK sales of his album in the first half of 2012 hit the 448,000 mark – making it the fourth most popular album behind releases from Adele, Emeli Sande and Lana Del Rey.
6:44 – Amazon brings Cloud Player music service to the UK
– Amazon Cloud Player now live in the UK as of now, offering 5GB of online storage and the ability to stream 250 of your tracks (or 256Kbps matched versions) to a range of devices free of charge. Adding extra storage will cost from £6 per year for 20GB, rising to £320 p/a for a full terabyte. If you’re a heavy user, though, you may also need to fork out £22 p/a for the right to stream up to 250,000 of your tracks.
9:11 – iOS6 – updated maps disappoint
– iOS6 released
– 200 new features – allegedly
– Maps is one of the high profile changes
– Replaces Google maps with Apple’s own version
– Cleaner look, free navigation, 3d maps for a few select citites
– Local transit features gone
– Many satellite images are poor especially across the UK
– Searching is poor or worse innacurate
– Among the user complaints regarding Apple’s maps sent to the BBC were:
– Users have complained about the quality of satellite images in the new software (bottom)
– Some towns appear to be missing, such as Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull.
– Others, like Uckfield in East Sussex, are in the wrong location.
– Satellite images of various locations, particularly in Scotland, are obscured by cloud.
– A search for Manchester United Football Club directs users to Sale United Football Club, a community team for ages five and above.
– Users also reported missing local places, such as schools, or strange locations. Another screenshot showed a furniture museum that was apparently located in a river.
– But don’t worry – Apple want US to fix it – http://www.imore.com/how-add-location-or-report-problem-ios-6-maps
– Crowd sourcing will address the shortfalls over time
18:34 – Record preorders for the boring iPhone 5
– Apple today announced that it managed to rack up 2 million pre-orders for the iPhone 5 in 24 hours, two times as many as it managed for the iPhone 4S last year, which sold over 1 million devices during its first 24 hours of pre-order sales. That’s a new record, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been watching the progress of iPhone pre-order sales since the device originally hit the market.
– The iPhone 4S eventually went on to sell more than 4 million devices over the course of its first weekend actually on store shelves, so expect the iPhone 5 to blow past that milestone, too. The iPhone 5 is initially available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the U.K., adding two new countries (Hong Kong and Singapore) to the list of launch regions for the iPhone 4s, so expect that to influence early sales as well, especially since Hong Kong is a popular destination for those looking to resell the iPhone at a premium on the grey market in China.
20:22 – HTC Windows Phone 8X
– HTC is unveiling its flagship Windows Phone 8 handset today, the Windows Phone 8X. The branding might sound Microsoft-like, but there’s a good reason for that — the two companies have joined forces on a marketing campaign that will make HTC the face of Windows Phone 8.
– The 8X will ship in a choice of four colors in early November, ones that represent the bold colors of Windows Phone 8. California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red and Limelight Yellow will all be available — with accent colors in the Windows Phone 8 interface to match the hardware color. European operators will only stock blue, black, and yellow versions — and while HTC refused to reveal which operators will stock each color, it insisted that it is not restricting colors to certain carriers at this time. The 8X takes advantage of a 4.3-inch 720p HD super LCD 2 display with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and NFC support.
– HTC is shipping Beats Audio support on both of its Windows Phone 8 handsets, with an extra amplifier for audio out on the 8X to power larger headphones in the Beats range without distortion. A notification will launch the Beats Audio app on Windows Phone 8 once headphones are plugged in, allowing users to turn the Beats integration on or off.
– On the camera side of things, HTC has opted to include an 8-megapixel shooter on the rear of the device with the usual LED flash. That’s a fairly standard affair for most flagship smartphones these days, but HTC has gone one step further with the front facing camera. A 2.1-megapixel camera is available for Skype or forward facing shots, with an f/2.0 lens and BSI sensor to help with low-light shots. The 88 degrees wide angle lens will also work well for forward facing group shots and 1080p video recording.
23:11 – MS Employees to get Surface Tablet
– Microsoft has found an eager early audience for its Windows-8-powered Surface Ultrabook: its own employees.
– The software giant is reportedly giving each of its 94,000 full-time staff a Surface computer for work and home use, in a gesture of mass Windows 8 munificence announced at the company’s annual staff meeting in Seattle’s KeyArena.
– Employees are also getting new Windows Phone 8 handsets – a repeat of the giveaway Microsoft made of phones running Windows 7.
24:07 – Yahoo replace RIM smartphones
– New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer just sent an email to all of Yahoo’s full time and part time employees in the US, promising them a new Apple, Samsung, Nokia, or HTC smartphone.
– We learned about this plan from an internal memo, which we received from one source and confirmed with another.
– Through the program, Yahoo employees will have a choice of phones: iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, HTC EVO 4G LTE, or Nokia Lumia 920.
– Yahoo is also going to pay its employees data and phone bills.
25:20 – Twitter hearts Facebook
– Changes to profiles and mobile app’s ape Facebook
– Starting today you can make your presence on Twitter more meaningful with new Twitter profiles. Upload an all-new header photo on mobile apps for iPad, iPhone and Android or twitter.com, and the same image will appear whenever anyone views your profile on the web or these apps. You can upload your header photo, which appears above your Tweets, to express yourself instantly, anywhere.
– New profiles also help you get to know people better through their pictures. Photo streams now appear below anyone’s most recent Tweets on iPhone, Android and iPad. Swipe through the stream to see the photos other users have shared or tap any thumbnail to view their photos in fullscreen.
– While the header photo keeps your profile simple and consistent on iPhone, iPad and Android, you will also still have an additional photo – a background photo – on twitter.com. Upload a background image to complement your header and profile photos.
28:51 – Google acquire Snapseed
– Google has agreed to acquire Nik Software, the German developer of photography app Snapseed, for an undisclosed amount. Sources close to the deal tell The Verge that while Nik Software produces all sorts of apps for photographers like Color Efex Pro and Dfine for Mac and Windows, iOS app Snapseed was the golden egg in the acquisition. The $4.99 app won Apple’s coveted iPad App Of The Year award in 2011 for its inventive multitouch photo editing interface, and gaines over nine million users during its first year on sale. Nik Software also sells Snapseed for Mac and Windows, and the company is apparently working on an Android app as well.
– “We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love, and in our experience Nik does this better than anyone,” Google+ boss Vic Gundotra wrote in a blog post. Snapseed is no Instagram in terms of popularity, but the two apps’ use of filters and various means of manipulating images serve a similar purpose. The portion of Nik Software that worked on Snapseed, which includes the company’s San Diego outpost, will relocate to Google headquarters in Mountain View to work directly on Google+, sources say.
29:37 – BBC announce new media player and updates for iPlayer on Android
– The BBC has confirmed plans to launch a new version of its iPlayer app for Android devices which will use its own BBC Media Player technology to securely stream audio and video, replacing Flash on android
– The technology, which was developed in-house at the BBC’s Future Media division, is already being used for the mobile website version of iPlayer according to a blog post by executive product manager Chris Yanda.
– “Next week we plan to release a new version of BBC iPlayer on Android which will use this player. Other applications and websites will follow,” he writes, before telling Android owners that “I want to reassure you that Android is an important platform for us”.
31:33 – New slimmer PS3
– The PS3 Even Slimmer takes up just three-quarters of the space the PS3 Slim does. It’ll come in 12GB and 500GB capacities, Sony said today at the console revamp’s Tokyo Game Show debut.
– The former contains Flash storage only – though Sony will offer a 250GB HDD add-on. It’s aimed at folk keen to use the PS3 as a media player.
– The 500GB PS3 will arrive on 28 September, priced at €299 (£240) and bundled with Fifa 13. The 12GB model will cost €229 (£184) and will arrive on 12 October.

Picks

DigitalOutbox Episode 134

DigitalOutbox Episode 134
DigitalOutbox Episode 134 – 4G with EE, iPhone 5 and Nintendo Wii U

Playback
Listen via iTunes
Listen via M4A
Listen via MP3

Shownotes
2:37 – 4G hits the Uk – EE
– EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE LAUNCHES EE
– Everything Everywhere today announced the launch of EE – the UK’s most advanced digital communications company. EE will become the new name of the Everything Everywhere business and its network.
– EE will also be launched as a new superfast customer brand in the coming weeks. It is a brand born in the digital age, designed to serve both consumers and businesses, offering the UK’s only 4G mobile service and complemented by fixed-line fibre broadband.
– The new EE brand will stand alongside Orange and T-Mobile. Together they will provide mobile services to 27 million people, now served by the UK’s biggest and best network.
– The EE customer brand will launch with 4G services for consumers and businesses in the coming weeks. It will be the first brand in the country to offer a mobile 4G service – the pioneering new technology that offers superfast mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than 3G speeds today.
– EE will also launch a fibre broadband service to homes and businesses with fixed-line internet speeds typically ten times faster than today’s average broadband speeds.
– Four cities – London, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham – are switched on today for the company’s engineers to begin live testing and systems integration, in readiness for the customer launch.
– EE’s 4G network will cover a third of the UK population in 2012 – over 20 million people – and customers on the EE brand will also have access to the largest 3G network in the UK outside of the 4G cities. Further towns, cities and rural areas, will follow rapidly with 2013 population coverage to reach 70%, with 98% covered by 2014.
– EE’s 2012 launch schedule will see 16 areas of the country connected to 4G by Christmas – the UK’s four capitals and twelve further major cities. The 16 cities are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Glasgow,
Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton.
EE will offer a range of state-of-the-art devices alongside its superfast 4G mobile network with more to be announced shortly. Today, EE confirmed it is to launch the following 4G devices:
– Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE – with a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display, you can watch videos on your mobile like never before. Innovative Smart Stay automatically recognises when you are looking at the phone, maintaining a bright display for
continued viewing pleasure.
– Nokia Lumia 920 – flagship Nokia Windows Phone 8 smartphone. Take bright, blur-free photos and videos in any light conditions with PureView technology – Optical Image Stabilisation and Carl Zeiss lens and view on a 4.5” PureMotion HD+ capacitive display.
– Nokia Lumia 820 – colourful, stylish, innovative design, with a 4.3 OLED WVGA screen. Capture great photos and movies with an 8MP Auto Focus camera, with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. Charge wirelessly without plugging in using a Wireless Charging Shell.
– The HTC One XL – high quality entertainment and precision navigation combine in this handset, thanks to a large 4.7” HD touchscreen display. Full HD video, and front and rear facing camera let you capture crisp, vivid photos and movies in high
quality wherever you are.
– Huawei Ascend P1 LTE – a powerhouse dual-core processor is packed in to this handset’s slim design. Take stunningly clear images or HD videos on an 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash and playback on the 4.3” high-res touchscreen.
– Huawei E589 Mobile WiFi – hook up to five devices to the EE 4G network, making your existing phone, laptop or digital screen superfast even if they’re not 4G. Long battery life of up to 10 hours, enjoy 4G wireless broadband anytime, anywhere.
– Huawei E392 Mobile Broadband stick – download and upload documents and files in super quick time on the go with this device. Make your laptop mobile and superfast, by hooking it up to the EE network. You’ll stay compatible with 3G too and seamlessly switch to the optimal connection.
– EE’s superfast fibre broadband service will launch at the same time to complement the company’s superfast 4G mobile service. It will be available to 11 million households and businesses by the end of the year reaching two thirds of UK households and usinesses by the end of 2014.
– The new EE stores – formerly Orange and T-Mobile shops – will serve customers of all three brands, giving them access to service and sales in twice as many locations as before.
– More than 10,000 EE staff have been trained, and will offer specialist advice in store, on the phone and on-line. The company as trained its Customer Team staff to become experts in mobile operating systems, meaning its customers will get a specialist service, regardless of which device they use. It is the only operator to offer dedicated expertise based around device operating systems.
– With the Orange and T-Mobile networks now combined, from today customers will begin switching over to the new seamless EE network, the largest in the UK. By the end of the year, all 27 million customers will be using the EE network. It means that Orange and T-Mobile customers can now get faster 3G service, with speeds of up to 21Mbps, and more coverage than ever before.
– Good? Focus on better 3G? Free wifi better?
12:19 – iPhone 5
– Stats
– 27% Market share in US this July for laptops
– No 1 in the US for laptops
– iPad – 62% market share last year, this year 68%
– Accounts for 91% of all web traffic from tablets – I don’t know what these other tables are doing – They must be in warehouses or on store shelves, or maybe in someone’s drawer.
– sold more iPads than any PC manufacturer sold of their entire lineup – 17 million last quarter, 84 million sold in total
– iPhone 5
– Like the 4 and 4S but taller 🙂
– Made from glass and aluminum
– 18% thinner, 20% lighter than 4S
– 112 grams
– It’s a 326ppi Retina display, four-inches. 1136 x 640 resolution. Same width, but taller.
– Apple apps all updated to support new res – old apps will run letterboxed
– 44% more color saturation: now fully sRGB, “it’s now the most accurate display in the industry.” Touch sensor is built into the display now.
– Ultrafast wireless technology. You can imagine the challenge our team faced: thinner, smaller… but we’ve added HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, and yes, LTE.
– Many worldwide partners including EE
– A6 chip – twice as fast CPU and graphics
– Real Racing 3 – great graphics – console quality – could mean anything – Interesting, we’re seeing a two-player race — but an asynchronous race. “Time-shifted multiplayer” it’s called. I can challenge Vince one day, and he can race me the next.
– Battery life – exceeds 4S
– Camera – thinner due to design but still 8mp – same as 4S. Better low light performance
– 1080p video – better stability. 720p for front facing
– Connector – called Lightning
– Adapters will be available
– iOS6 – Maps, Safari, Passbook, Siri improvements – not much else
– Black or white
– Same price as 4S
– Pre order this Friday, launch Sep 21st
– iOS 6 – Sep 19th
– iTunes
– Stores – 2/3rds of downloads from iOS devices
– New store design for iOS – Same design runs across all stores, books, music, video.
– Sep 19th – iOS 6
– New iTunes for Mac and PC
– iTunes in the cloud built in
– New design
– More visual – design cues from iOS
– New mini player, easier playlists, artists can share photo’s with you???????????????????????
– Late October for new iTunes
– iPods
– Nano
– 2.5 inch screen
– Multitouch
– Lightning connector
– Volume buttons and home
– 7 colours
– FM tuner, widescreen video
– Nike + – no accessories required
– Bluetooth
– 16gb starting at $149 – october
– iPod Touch
– 6.1mm thin
– 88 grams
– Same display as iPhone 5
– A5 chip – not the A6 in the iPhone 5
– 40 hours battery, 8 hours video
– 5mp camera – better than previous gen by quite a distance
– iPod Touch Loop – press a button and you get a strap
– Siri
– 5 colours
– 32gb – $299 – october
– Earpods
– 3 years to design and develop new headphones
– Shipping as a standard accessory today
– Also with new touch, nano and iPhone 5
38:50 – Apple enables FaceTime video calls over 3G
– With Apple’s iOS 6 operating system, iPhone and iPad users can make FaceTime video calls over 3G. But will the UK’s mobile networks actually allow it? The answer seems to be yes.
– Wired.co.uk contacted all of the UK’s major mobile networks and spokespeople from Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and EE all confirmed that their customers will be able to use FaceTime over 3G out of their regular data bundles.
– Vodafone is a little different. A spokesperson explained that customers need to have VoIP included in their package in order to use FaceTime over 3G, as opposed to just using their regular data. Customers will need to upgrade to a package that includes this, or pay to add VoIP support to their current price plan. Customers who sign up for an iPhone 5, however, will get the VoIP service included as part of their package.
– Three has not yet confirmed its position on the feature.
40:16 – Nintendo announce Wii U Launch date
– Nintendo’s Wii U console will be launched across Europe on 30 November, the company announced on Thursday. North America will get the new machine first, however, with a 18 November release, while Japan must wait until 8 December.
– There will be two versions of the console at launch. The basic White pack comes with the machine, a GamePad, AC adaptors and an 8GB hard drive. The Premium Black edition features all that plus a Wii Sensor Bar, a copy of the launch game Nintendo Land and a subscription to the Nintendo Premium Network, which gives points to players for downloading games, and provides a 10% discount on digital titles.
– Pricing 8gb – £250, 32gb – £285
– The European launch of Wii U will be accompanied by nine games on day one. Key titles include Nintendo’s own New Super Mario Bros U and Nintendo Land, as well as the survival horror adventure ZombiU from Ubisoft and conversions of major hits Fifa 13 and Mass Effect 3.
– The big news of the European press event was that cult Japanese developer Platinum Games is working on a Wii U exclusive sequel to its critically lauded action adventure Bayonetta. Although many of Nintendo’s more casual fans will not have heard of this title, it was hugely popular among hardcore gamers. Indeed, the message throughout the European press presentation, hosted by Nintendo Europe head, Satoru Shibata, was that Wii U would be as much for experienced gamers as it is for family and casual audiences.
44:09 – Broadband red tape to be cut
– Brits will no longer be able to object to the arrival of “ghastly” fibre optic cabling cabinets outside their homes: Blighty’s new broadband minister has stamped her authority on moves to upgrade the nation’s internet infrastructure that sidestep local councils.
– Maria Miller, who replaced Jeremy Hunt earlier this week during Prime Minister David Cameron’s reshuffle, said she planned to legislate immediately following consultation, and added the government would – if necessary – use existing powers to put an end to local bureaucracy that she thinks is slowing down the rollout of faster broadband.
– She said: Superfast broadband is vital to secure our country’s future – to kick start economic growth and create jobs. We are putting in the essential infrastructure that will make UK businesses competitive, and sweeping away the red tape that is a barrier to economic recovery.
– The government means business and we are determined to cut through the bureaucracy that is holding us back.
– We on the networks desk at Vulture Central can’t help but sense a panicky tone to Miller’s statement. After all, the government is hoping to treat Britain to the fastest broadband network in any “major” European country by 2015.
– Hunt’s rhetoric was recently tweaked to say “major” Euro countries when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – now headed up by Miller – spotted that it was foolishly aiming to have the best broadband network on the entire continent.
– Just yesterday, Parliamentary Under-secretary of State Ed Vaizey told Parliament which countries Blighty was actually competing with. He said:
– The Department for Culture, Media and Sport considers countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain as being the major European nations which we compare ourselves with regarding broadband speed and other key performance indicators.
46:09 – Great Google Drive update for iOS and Android users
– Updates for iOS
– Starting today, if you’re using the Drive app on your iOS device you can also edit Google documents, just as you can with the Android app. From your iPhone or iPad, you can create a new document, edit an existing one or format text. And, just like on your computer, you’ll be able to see other people’s edits instantly as they’re made.
– You’ll also notice other new improvements to the iOS Drive app. For example, you can now view Google presentations on your iPhone or iPad, including speaker notes, full-screen mode and the ability to swipe between slides. You can also create new folders, move files into folders and upload stuff (like photos and videos) from your device directly in the Drive app.
– Updates for Android
– We’re also updating the Drive app for Android phones and tablets today. You can now add comments, reply to existing comments and view tables in your Google documents. And you’ll have the same new abilities to view presentations and organize your stuff as your friends with iPhones do.
Picks

DigitalOutbox Episode 133

DigitalOutbox Episode 133
DigitalOutbox Episode 133 – Nokia, Motorola and Amazon on Fire

Playback
Listen via iTunes
Listen via M4A
Listen via MP3

Shownotes
1:40 – Nokia Windows Phone 8 event
– Lumia 920 announced
– Nokia has officially unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920. As expected, Nokia’s new Lumia has received a bump in specs over the previous iteration, with a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core processor, a slightly larger 4.5-inch curved glass display with a 768 x 1280 resolution, a 2,000mAh battery, and the new Windows Phone 8 operating system. Nokia is calling its new display the “PureMotion HD+,” and says that it’s the “best smartphone display innovation” the company has ever made, with “better than HD resolution” and fast refresh rates — Nokia says it’s the “brightest smartphone HD display ever,” and also the “fastest LCD display ever shipped on a smartphone.” Nokia is also touting the PureMotion HD+’s daylight viewing capabilities, and says that the phone’s color tone and brightness automatically responds to sunlight.
– Nokia says the new Lumia will come in “vibrant colors” (the yellow, red, white, grey, and black pictured above), and features a one-piece polycarbonate body. As expected, Nokia is also pulling a couple of tricks out of its sleeve: it’s adding wireless charging for the Lumia 920, built on the Qi wireless power standard. Nokia is also incorporating its “PureView” camera technology, but just don’t get too excited: we’re looking at an 8.7 megapixel sensor in the 920, not the 41 megapixels in the PureView 808. Nokia says the 920 features a “floating lens” optical image stabilization system that allows for sharper photographs in low-light situations, a better app and camera interface, and 1080p video recording.
– The Lumia 920 and its budget companion the Lumia 820 have screens that respond to touch from gloves as well as bare fingers, internet connections that will work on European 4G networks, and can be recharged wirelessly on special charging plates.
– In a gimmick reminiscent of the Google glasses still in development, a City Lens app allows users to hold the viewfinder up to look at a city street. Software then recognises key places, showing the names of restaurants and shops in clickable boxes on the screen.
– CEO Stephen Elop declined to give specific pricing or release dates, but he did say that Nokia would be entering “select markets” with “intense focus” in Q4 of 2012.
– That lack of price and release date saw shares in Nokia drop 15% after the event
– Oh dear – http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/5/3294545/nokias-pureview-ads-are-fraudulent
– Adverts for the 920 already proven to be fraudulent
– The new PureView camera might be amazing, but a bizarre easter egg has revealed that the company’s advertisements don’t give an honest view of its technology. Amid Nokia’s flurry of press today — if you haven’t heard, they released a new flagship phone along with some other gear — one video advertisement in particular caught our eye. In the ad, Nokia shows off the PureView’s image stabilization technology. The opening segment (which, importantly, isn’t qualified by a “screen images simulated” notice), shows a young man and woman cheerily riding bikes along a scenic river. As he films her breezily laughing, the ad shows side-by-side video — obviously intended to represent the phone’s video capabilities. On the left, Nokia shows the non-stabilized version, which, predictably, looks terrible, and on the right the ad shows the perfectly smooth capture, purportedly enabled by Nokia’s optical image stabilization technology. The only problem is that the video is faked.
– As you can see in the video and photo above, there’s a curious reflection in the window of the trailer in the background. It’s not a young man riding his bicycle alongside the cheerful model, but instead a big white van with a lighting rig and a cameraman standing in the doorway — with what appears to be a large camera rig. Whatever he’s holding, we can reasonably agree it’s not a Lumia 920. (Update: Nokia has confirmed this video was not shot with a 920)
7:01 – Motorola Press Event
– Motorola has just announced the Droid RAZR HD, updating its old flagship with a larger 4.7-inch screen, HD display, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The RAZR HD comes with a 2,500mAh battery, a bit under the 3,300mAh RAZR Maxx but well above the 1,780mAh of the original RAZR. As with the first Droid RAZR, it will come with a higher-capacity Maxx variant. The company also touted the RAZR HD’s 1.5GHz dual-core processor and preinstalled Chrome browser, along with its LTE capacity. Outside the battery, screen, and processor, the specs aren’t too different from those of the original Droid RAZR. The phone comes with a Super AMOLED screen, albeit a higher-resolution one, and the same 8-megapixel rear camera. Like the RAZR, it includes 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory, expandable by microSD.
– A Jelly Bean update should be available at some point, but for now, it’s starting with Ice Cream Sandwich. As a good-faith gesture, versions of the RAZR HD running Jelly Bean are being shown off at the event. Motorola will also be offering a developer edition with an unlockable bootloader. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but the device should be in stores “before the holidays.”
– No release date, no price. When will they learn.
9:25 – Amazon Kindle Update
– Kindle Paperwhite
– It uses the expected new “paperwhite” screen technology for a sharper (212 ppi) and higher-contrast display, and also features a frontlight that brings parity with Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight. The interface has taken a page out of the Kindle Fire’s book by offering a “cover mode” homescreen that lets you swipe through your library. The device also uses the same X-Ray content analysis feature found on the Kindle Touch, has controls for the light, and lets you change the fonts.

– Amazon is touting its patented light guide technology which keeps the lighting even across the screen and allows you to leave it on all the time without detriment to battery life — it’ll apparently last for eight weeks between charges. The touch technology means it has a thinner bezel, and at 9.1mm thin and 7.5 ounces Jeff Bezos describes the device as “thinner than a magazine, lighter than a paperback.” The Kindle Paperwhite is available for order today and will start shipping on October 1st. The Wi-Fi model will cost $119, and the 3G-enabled variant will go for $179
– Not clear if those prices are ad supported
– Kindle
– http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/6/3298072/amazon-69-kindle-update-announcement
– the company is dropping the price of its least expensive ebook reader to $69. While it doesn’t have the front-lit display of its newer sibling, a 12 percent drop from last year’s $79 price is nothing to sneeze at. The ad-supported wi-fi device is identical to last year’s model, down to the 6 ounce weight and 6-inch e-ink screen, but the company says it will offer the new fonts and crisper text of the Paperwhite devices.
– Kindle Fire
– http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/6/3296637/amazon-new-kindle-fire-tablet-7inch-launch-event-price
– Along with an all-new Kindle e-reader with illuminated paperwhite display and a lower-price standard Kindle, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just announced the new Kindle Fire tablet during a press conference today. The new Fire features a 7-inch display, a 40-percent faster processor, twice as much RAM, and longer battery life than the original model.
– Despite the upgrades, Amazon is actually dropping the price of the new Kindle Fire by $40 compared to the original model, as it will now sell for $159 when it starts shipping on September 14th.
– Kindle Fire HD
– http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/6/3296477/amazon-kindle-fire-HD-10-inch
– new Kindle Fire HD features 8.9-inch 1920×1200, 254ppi display. It features a laminated touch sensor for better visuals and 25% less glare. It’s powered by an OMAP 4470 processor from Texas Instruments, which Amazon says outperforms the Tegra 3. The Kindle Fire HD also includes stereo speakers, an upgrade over the Kindle Fire’s mono driver. Amazon has improved Wi-Fi networking by adding a dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz receiver, two antennas, and its new MIMO radio technology. For storage, the Kindle Fire HD offers 16GB of local hard drive space.
– Whispersync for voice – Syncs your book with your audiobook, so you can listen and read in tandem.
– “X-Ray for movies. If you were watching a movie on your Kindle Fire HD, wouldn’t it be cool if you could tap the actor on the screen and see ‘who’s that guy?'” Infor from IMBD which Amazon own
– Whispersync for games syncs levels and progress, so you’ve never forced to restart
– Mail, custom Facebook and Skype apps
– Kindle freetime – multiple profiles for kids – set times for different content types – 30 mins for reading, hour for games etc
– Kindle Fire HD, 16GB (funny storage joke Bezos), 7 inches. $199. Ships September 14th
– The 8.9-inch model? $299. Ships November 20th
– Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE wireless – 8.9 inches, 32GB of storage — $499.
– New data plan, too. 250MB a month. 200GB of cloud storage, $10 Amazon credit. $49.99 a year. Pre-order today, ships Nov 20th
– Comparing to the iPad 3’s plan. Year 1 cost, $959 for iPad; $549 for Kindle Fire HD. But the data is tiny – 250MB a month???
– UK – The company will detail plans for the Uk shortly – BBC tonight
26:54 – BBC iPlayer launches mobile-download service
– Users of BBC catch-up service iPlayer can now download programmes to watch on phones, tablets and other mobile devices at a later date.
– They can save any programme for up to 30 days – but once they hit play, have to finish watching it within a week.
– Available on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, the feature will be coming to Android devices soon. Last month alone there were 30 million requests for iPlayer programmes via a mobile or tablet, according to the BBC.
28:13 – Raspberry Pi to be manufactured in the UK
– The Raspberry Pi computer is being made in the UK for the first time.
– Before now every one of the credit-card sized machines have rolled off production lines in Chinese factories.
– But a deal signed between Premier Farnell, which distributes the Pi, and manufacturer Sony will see 300,000 of the gadgets produced on home soil. Since its launch in April, the device has been hugely popular and its creators said more than a million could be sold before the end of 2012.
– The UK-made Raspberry Pis will be assembled at Sony UK Technology’s factory in Pencoed, South Wales. About 30 jobs will be created as a result of the deal which will mean most of the Pis being distributed by Premier Farnell will be made in Britain.
– In a blogpost, Raspberry Pi community director Liz Upton said it chose Chinese manufacturers at the start of the project because it could find not find a UK manufacturer that could make them cheaply enough or was willing to take a risk on the bare-bones computer.
34:26 – Valve recruiting hardware engineers
– Valve Software has started searching for hardware engineers. The game maker has posted an ad seeking applicants for the post of “industrial designer”.
– The job description on the ad said Valve was “frustrated” by the lack of innovation in computer hardware and wanted to change that state of affairs.
– It is not yet clear what gadgets successful applicants will be working on but the ad suggests it could involve replacements for mouse and keyboard.
– Before now Valve has let it be known that it wants to expand beyond games into hardware but has revealed few details about those plans.
37:10 – Bruce Willis to fight Apple over right to leave iTunes library in will
– Bruce Willis is eyeing a legal bid to ensure he can pass on his iTunes library to his children when he dies, according to the Daily Mail.
– The Die Hard star is concerned that his extensive music collection will revert to Apple ownership on his demise and is looking into ways that might allow his three daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, to legitimately inherit it. His lawyers are currently said to be looking at the possibility of setting up “family trusts” to act as legal holders of the downloaded music, but Willis is also prepared to consider taking Apple to court over the issue.
– “Lots of people will be surprised on learning all those tracks and books they have bought over the years don’t actually belong to them,” solicitor Chris Walton told the Mail. “It’s only natural you would want to pass them on to a loved one. The law will catch up, but ideally Apple and the like will update their policies and work out the best solution for their customers.”
– Willis is also considering supporting legal action currently underway in five US states to give people more rights to share music they have purchased.
– It’s a great story – but total bullshit from the Daily Mail, but really the Times and the Mail just copied it….as did The Guardian. Who checks this stuff?

Picks

Sticky Notifications

It’s 2012 yet how many of you still have them? How many monitors have a few dotted around them? Bloody post-it notes. Stop it. Stop using them and instead buy Sticky Notifications for the Mac. This simple app that only costs $3 allows you to create a reminder that will stay displayed on the screen until dismissed.

Running from the menubar or called up via a recordable shortcut you are given a simple form for leaving a reminder.

Once the reminder is created it will then be displayed on the notification tool of your choice. In Mountain Lion it will be displayed using Notification Center or Growl, under Lion you only get Growl as a choice. Either way the notification will stay on display until it’s dismissed.

There’s a couple of nice features that help make the app easy to use. Even though it’s been out for less than a fortnight it has had three updates which has added a System Service which makes it easy to create a Sticky Notification from any selected text. You can also create a notification via the app’s own URL scheme. This makes creating a sticky from Alfred simple to do. Final neat feature is that if the note contains a URL, clicking anywhere on the reminder will launch the URL in the default browser. Perfect for those times when you need to visit a website but are in the middle of something else.

The app can be bought on the Mac App Store or on the Instinctive Code website and I’d recommend buying direct. The App Store version has only just appeared at version 1.0. The developer, Matt Gemmell, has released three updates since the initial release meaning the App store version is missing a few features. This isn’t the developers fault but does highlight one of the many issues with buying via the App Store.

I also have to recommend subscribing to the personal blog of Matt Gemmell – it’s a must read if you are a developer, designer or just interested in the tech community. Well written posts with a healthy dose of humour.