A Society of Multi-taskers and Multi-screeners

Read an interesting article on Google’s Mobile Ads Blog site about our current society and our attachment to computers, TVs, tablets, phones, and any other bright, flickering, Facebook-update-receiving, tweet-posting, Netflix instant-queue watching devices.

In fact, as you read this, chances are you’re doing something else; working on something, taking a phone call, or maybe wondering who that text just came from. We are a wired society.

Check out some of these cool infographics posted on Google’s Mobile Ads Blog

Quote from the article:

Two primary ways we multi-screen
In understanding what it means to multi-screen, we discovered two main modes of usage:

• Sequential screening where we move from one device to another to complete a single goal
• Simultaneous screening where we use multiple devices at the same time

We found that nine out of ten people use multiple screens sequentially and that smartphones are by far the most common starting point for sequential activity. So completing a task like booking a flight online or managing personal finances doesn’t just happen in one sitting on one device. In fact, 98% of sequential screeners move between devices in the same day to complete a task. 

With simultaneous usage, we found that TV no longer commands our undivided attention, with 77% of viewers watching TV with another device in hand. In many cases people search on their devices, inspired by what they see on TV.

Through their data analysis and research it was also found that we could perhaps turn “spur-of-the-moment” activities into valuable opportunities. Turns out, that spur-of-the-moment impulse some of us get to “Google it” real quick accounts for about 80% of searches on smartphones with 44% of those searches being done for something productive. The same can be said for 52% of searches on a computer with roughly 43% of them being done for something productive.

See the full report here: http://googlemobileads.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/navigating-new-multi-screen-world.html

Flickr vs Instagram – Instagram still king

VS

As part of its mission to build up the brand and become valid again, Yahoo! is releasing some great apps recently. The Yahoo! Mail app has received some good reviews and the Flickr App seems to have been labeled by some folks across the net as an Instagram killer. Not so fast…

After using both apps fairly extensively, well as extensive as it gets in the case of Flickr and my one week with it, I have found many things that make Instagram better.

Vintage Cameras Look Cool!

First, I love that Instagram locks images to a square format. The idea at Instagram is that photos are supposed to be in the old square film format of yesteryear when vintage camera were all the rage. Although people continuously do it wrong, resulting in a fail pic with big black bars on the top and bottom, the square format does a lot in my opinion to force some artistic quality to the simplest pics. It requires the photographer to choose the most artistic sectional capture. This is more of a personal preference, and people who have been annoyed by the square requirement (“INSTAGRAM WON’T LET ME POST MY FULL SIZE PIC!!!”) will find this as a non-issue affecting neither performance or effectiveness.

Application Speed

On to the real stuff – the Flickr app is just too slow for me. The photo filters lag for a brief second and everything from loading a new pic to uploading the finalized pic just takes longer in Flickr. Also, since Instagram rides on Facebook for the most part, there is a much larger community on Instagram and my friends list is enough to keep me entertained for a few minutes when I check my feed. Flickr is a ghost-town on my feed. It’s like Google+ but with pics.

Social Network Tie-Ins

At least the Flickr app allows users to tie in Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, there is no tie-in for Four Square and definitely not for Instagram. One of the pics I uploaded to Facebook from Flickr didn’t include my description and took away from the joke I was making.

Instagram FTW!

Overall I think the Flickr app has potential and the value of Instagram is diminishing with the release of the Flickr app and Twitter’s recent updates that allow photo filters to be applied to pics being tweeted. Even Facebook Camera is a usable alternative to Instagram and I think it’s only a matter of time before that site isn’t nearly as relevant as it has been over the last year.

What do you think? Have you had time with the new Flickr App? Does it work better than Instagram for you? Answer in the comments section below!

Apple to Bring Manufacturing to the US?

Looks like Apple is set to bring manufacturing for one of their product lines here to the US. Which product line hasn’t been confirmed by Apple, but my speculation is that it’s Apple TV.

While Tim Cook didn’t exactly say so, he did say this, “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Cook told Williams. “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”

Apple will eventually bring manufacturing for more product lines to the US and this may be just the type of thing American citizens want to see their US based corporations do more of.

Read more at Forbes.com

5 Stats That Demonstrate Just How "Mobile" The World Has Become

Not that it was ever a question, at least not in my private life, but there have been few questions about the reality of mobile computing and whether or not the concern is valid for support teams in enterprise IT departments.

 

In a report by respected venture capitalist Mary Meeker, she lays out several statistics about internet use. These are five of the most eye-opening stats that, in my mind, demonstrate just how upon us the mobile computing era actually is.

(Taken from Fobes.com)

1) Nearly half of all American kids want an iPad for Christmas. 

According to research by Nielson, 48% of American children aged between 6 and 12 want Apple‘s iPad for Christmas, making it the most wished-for gift among the next generation of trend setters. In second place comes the Nintendo Wii U, and another 36% want the iPad Mini, followed by the iPod Touch and iPhone in fourth and fifth place. Sure kids still want a fixed games console, but it’s telling that a large proportion of them prefer the mobility of small devices that they can interact with, and take anywhere.

2) Global mobile traffic now represents roughly 13% of Internet traffic.

Just three years ago, in 2009, that statistic was at a measly 1%. It edged up to 4% in 2010, and it hit 13% in November 2012, according to StatCounter Global Stats. The reason: more people are buying things through their mobile phones, using them in the store to validate coupons, or social networking, or using GPS-enabled apps. Shopping is the big driving force, though. On Black Friday 2012, the day after Thanksgiving that marks that frenzied start to the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., 24% of all online shopping took place on mobiles and tablet devices, up from 6% in 2010. In India, mobile Internet traffic has already surpassed desktop traffic as of May 2012.

3) Nearly a third of all American adults own a tablet or e-reader.

Figures from the Pew Research Center show that more than 29% of U.S. adults already own a tablet device, Meeker pointed out. And just as startling: that number is up from 2% less than three years ago.

4) There are 5 billion mobile phone users in the world, but only 1 billion smartphone users.

The mobile revolution may seem well underway, but globally it’s only getting started. The number smartphone users is growing by 42% a year, globally, according to research from Morgan Stanley, where Meeker previously worked as an analyst. Most remarkable again is India. It already has 44 million smartphone subscribers, making it the fifth biggest smartphone market, but this represents just 4% of total subscribers. There’s huge room to grow.

5) Android is growing faster than anything.

Apple’s fastest growing mobile device is the iPad, with sales having grown three times faster than the iPhone in the last few quarters. But that’s nothing when you look at the adoption of Google’s Android platform, which has grown 6 times faster than the iPhone. To date handset makers have shipped well over 600 million smartphones that run on the Android operating system, while Apple has shipped around 100 million iPhones in the last four years.

For Meeker’s full, 88-slide presentation, click here.

Would you buy a $60 tablet?

If it worked decently, I would.

And by 'decently' I mean, if I can do the core features I would demand from a 7" tablet and do them without frustrating me with lags, delays, crashes, and unresponsiveness, then I'm in.

This is quite an impressive spec list for any cheap device, let alone one with an approximate $60 price tag in India where it is being sold :

• 7 inch, 800 x 432 capacitive touchscreen
• Android 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 1GHz Cortex A8 ARMv7 CPU
• 512MB RAM, 4GB storage
• Wi-Fi (a version with GPRS cellular capability is also available)
• VGA front-facing camera
• Micro SD slot
• Power, micro-USB, and headphone connectors

Check out the Ubislate Website for more info.

I really don't know if this is going to be made available in America, or what the price will be if it does come. It's doubfull that this thing will ever be considered even a competitor in the tablet market, especially here in the US, but I think if it's successful in any way it can demonstrate a couple things:

1. A functional electronics device can be built for a very affordable price.
2. The market is no longer as dependent on specific hardware/software combinations to get what they want.

New Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts

 

Personally, if I could avoid using my mouse altogether, I would. I use shortcuts for just about everything I can and I’m happy to share my list of shortcuts for the new Windows 8 operating system with you.

New Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 8

• Windows+first letters of app: Search your PC
• Ctrl+plus or Ctrl+minus: Zoom in or out
• Ctrl+scroll wheel: Zoom in or out
• Windows+C: Open the charms / Commands for Open App
• Windows+F: Open the Search charm to search files
• Windows+H: Open the Share charm
• Windows+I: Open the Settings charm
• Windows+J: Switch the main app and snapped app
• Windows+K: Open the Devices charm
• Windows+O: Lock the screen orientation (portrait or landscape)
• Windows+Q: Open the Search charm to search apps
• Windows+W: Open the Search charm to search settings
• Windows+Z: Show the commands available in the app
• Windows+spacebar: Switch input language and keyboard layout
• Windows+Ctrl+spacebar: Change to a previously selected input
• Windows+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps)
• Windows+Ctrl+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps) and snaps them as they are cycled
• Windows+Shift+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps) in reverse order
• Windows+PgUp: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the left (Apps in the desktop won’t change monitors)
• Windows+PgDown: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the right (Apps in the desktop won’t change monitors)
• Windows+period: Snaps an app to the right
• Windows+Shift+period: Snaps an app to the left
• Esc: Stop or exit the current task

Frequently Used General Windows Shortcuts

• ALt+F4: Close open program or app
• Alt+Esc: Cycle through items by order of being opened
• Alt+Enter: Display Properties of a selected item
• Alt+Left Arrow: Back
• Alt+Right Arrow: Forward
• Alt+Tab: Switch Between Open Apps
• Ctrl+C: Copy
• Ctrl+X: Cut
• Ctrl+V: Paste
• Ctrl+Y: Redo
• Ctrl+Z: Undo
• Ctrl+Shift+Esc: Task Manager
• Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Vulcan Nerve Pinch
• PrintScr: Copy contents of desktop to clipboard as BMP image
• Windows+E: Open My Computer
• Windows+Up Arrow: Maximize Current Window
• Windows+Down Arrow: Minimize Current Window
• Windows+Left Arrow: Maximize Desktop program to left side of screen
• Windows+Right Arrow: Maximize Desktop program to right side of screen

Dell Releases New Windows 8 Products

Looks like Dell is ready to go for Windows 8. I just don’t know if it looks like these will be good or not. With Dell’s presence in the enterprise though, these might be just what IT organizations are looking for to pacify it’s “consumerized” group of employees.

First up, the XPS 12:

This interesting guy here weighs in at 3.35 lbs. It has two USB 3.0 slots, a MiniDisplay port, 3.5 mm headphone jack and dual speakers. The unique part about it is that the screen flips over, allowing the XPS 12 to turn into an oversized slate. The touchscreen is enticing, but the design is questionable. I can see worn out and broken hinges being a possible issue. Also, the reviewers at Engadget seem to think the trackpad is a little flaky for their liking and not as smooth as it could be when using it in the desktop environment.

They sum it up here:

“Though the XPS 12's size and weight make it a bit unwieldy as a substitute tablet, it's still a compelling option if you're in the market for a high-end, touch-enabled Ultrabook. The XPS 12 is almost as light as other Ultrabooks, with a premium industrial design, comfortable keyboard, gorgeous 1080p screen and a super-fast boot-up time. The biggest drawbacks seem to be the flaky trackpad and the relatively short battery life, which doesn't improve much when you dim that 400-nit display. We'll be curious to see how other touchscreen Ultrabooks fare, particularly those with similarly versatile designs. In the meantime, though, the XPS 12 represents a solid start for this new wave of Windows 8 shape-shifters.”

-Engadget.com

Dell is also releasing a wireless touchpad. I have never desired using a touchpad on a PC. On my MacBook Air, I actually prefer using the touchpad and purchased Apple’s Bluetooth touchpad to go with it. I’m not sure how successful, or even desirable this Dell offering will be.

And now introducing the Dell XPS 10 Windows 8 RT tablet.

The XPS 10 Windows 8 RT tablet is Dell’s RT offering. This is not the fully functional Windows 8 OS but a mobile tuned version limited to apps in the Windows Marketplace. This tablet, like most others becoming available, has a optional keyboard dock that turns it into a pseudo laptop of sorts. Dell’s Windows 8 RT goes on presale for $499 for a 32GB tablet. Without the optional keyboard, that drops down to $399.

Dell XPS 10 Tablet