2011 October » TamsPalm - the Palm OS / web OS Blog

Mobile Security: investment to grow by 44% per annum

Oct 102011

Mobile security has been a topic ever since this network was opened – so far, no really large breakout has taken place.

Canalys has now released the following press release – as always, highlighting was added by yours truly:

Canalys today announced its updated worldwide mobile security forecast, estimating an average investment growth of 44.2% per year, reaching $759.8 million by the end of 2011 and turning into a $3 billion market opportunity in 2015.[1]

According to Canalys figures, only 4% of smart phones and pads shipped in 2010 had some form of mobile security downloaded and installed, highlighting a low end-user awareness level and the relative infancy of the market. Mobile security uptake is anticipated to rise rapidly over the next four years, as enterprises conform more strictly to data protection and compliance practices, and consumers begin to understand the impending security threat to their personal data. Canalys forecasts that by 2015 over 20% of smart phones and pads will have mobile security software installed.

…

Not much to add here…

YouTube to bring rented movies to UK

News No Responses »

Oct 082011

Youtube has decided to offer movies on rent to the UK people. The service which has already been introduces in the USA and Canada, will let the UK people access more than 1000 Hollywood and British movies.

According to Broadband TV news

Headlining the list are blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Reservoir Dogs, and new releases such as Hanna, Fast Five, and Red Riding Hood, and British classics like Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Movies are priced at between £2.49 (€2.87) and £3.49. Customers can then wait up to 30 days before watching their chosen title; they then have 48 hours during which they can view it as many times as they like. Payment is taken online and uses the customer’s existing YouTube account.

There is more good stuff like behind the scenes and extras. Nothing much to add here…!!

comScore on US market, Boston Consulting on Tablet OS – Metrics Maid 1/2011

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Oct 082011

From now onwards, all statistics-related posts will be grouped together in the Metrics Maid Category – with the Metric Maid, aka yours truly, always hard at work to gather interesting data for your perusal.

For today, we have, first of all, ComScores report on the device marketshare in the USA. It looks as following, when taken from a manufacturer market share point of view:

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	May-11	Aug-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	24.8%	25.3%	0.5
LG	21.1%	21.0%	-0.1
Motorola	15.1%	14.0%	-1.1
Apple	8.7%	9.8%	1.1
RIM	8.1%	7.1%	-1.0

On a platform setting, things look as following:

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	May-11	Aug-11	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Google	38.1%	43.7%	5.6
Apple	26.6%	27.3%	0.7
RIM	24.7%	19.7%	-5.0
Microsoft	5.8%	5.7%	-0.1
Symbian	2.1%	1.8%	-0.3

The following types of content are used:

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	May-11	Aug-11	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	69.5%	70.5%	1.0
Used browser	39.8%	42.1%	2.3
Used downloaded apps	38.6%	41.6%	3.0
Accessed social networking site or blog	28.6%	30.9%	2.3
Played Games	26.9%	28.5%	1.6
Listened to music on mobile phone	18.6%	20.7%	2.1

In addition to this, the Boston Consulting Group brings us the following chart showing which tablet operating systems are preferred by consumers in the USA and in China:
tablet OS preference comScore on US market, Boston Consulting on Tablet OS Metrics Maid 1/2011

Not much to add here – what do you think?

Japan to get smartphone-only TV channel

Miscellaneous No Responses »

Oct 072011

The concept of “phone on TV” is not new – Hucthison has been offering it to its clients for years; running a dedicated infrastructore of encoding servers to convert the terrestrial TV into data streams.

Japan now plans a TV service dedicated only to smartphones; however, a special tuner will be required. PCWorld reports the following:

A television broadcast viewable only on smartphones and tablets with special tuners will go live across Japan next year, according to a venture funded by the country’s largest television stations and mobile operator.

New broadcaster nottv said at Ceatec, the Japanese electronics show running this week, that it will use bandwidth frequencies left over when the country ended its analog broadcasts earlier this year.

Because it will function as an over-the-air broadcaster, its quality will not suffer as the number of viewers increase, and it will be able to deliver digital content, including games and newspapers, simultaneously to a mass audience.

“Television is currently designed for viewing at home, with everyone sitting around a TV. We want to be more personal and interactive,” said Hiroaki Ban, a manager in the corporate strategy division of mmbi, the company that will operate nottv.

…

As of this writing, not much more is known except for a planned launch around April 2012 – stay tuned!

Wi-Fi only Touchpad Go clears FCC certification criteria

News No Responses »

Oct 072011

It is both shameful and somewhat hilarious that the tablet that was killed by its parents sometimes back clears the FCC certification.

While the Wi-Fi only Touchpad Go has cleared the FCC certification, the possibility of it seeing the world are as remote as someone finding a chupacabra.

We wonder why the FCC chose to pass it despite the fact that no one would be producing it.

Source

HP: we have nothing to do with Android TouchPads

Palm News No Responses »

Oct 072011

As if HP hasn’t had enough problems, a batch of TouchPad units running Android was recently shipped out.

When an individual sent HP an email asking for the source code, the following response was received (emphasis added by yours truly):

Hello Joe:

It’s nice to meet you. I too am an open source advocate.

Let me begin by saying that HP is a proud and committed member of the open source community, and the Linux development community in particular. We take our participation and obligation to this community, and the licenses associated with its software very seriously.

As for the Touchpad units that have been allegedly purchased with a version of Android on them, we have begun an internal investigation on this within HP. We have confirmed that HP never authorized the distribution of any version of Android on the HP Touchpad. In addition, from a review of our manufacturing process, we believe that all Touchpad units have been shipped out of manufacturing with the webOS operating system only, and that no Touchpad units were shipped with Android, even by mistake. Hence, we presently believe that some person or persons unknown may have facilitated the delivery of these Android-based units strictly against the policy and authorization of HP.

Regarding your specific request for source code below, I must decline at the present time. HP has never authorized the distribution of any binaries for Android in association with the HP Touchpad. Therefore, HP is not under any license obligation to provide any corresponding Android source code to you. Hopefully, this doesn’t come across too harsh. As always, any member of the public can access all open source software source code distributions and other open source software licensing information for the HP webOS software products at any time at http://opensource.palm.com/.

For those of you in the development community actively working to port Android to the Touchpad, we applaud your efforts. HP has a strong commitment to your freedoms as a developer and technology enthusiast. It is your device and you can do with it what you want. If you want to put Android on your Touchpad, or Meego, or one of the altered webOS kernels from webOSInternals.org, you are welcome to do so (at your own risk of course). While HP supports your freedom to do this, we are not part of the community behind such efforts. HP believes that the version of webOS that we deliver on the Touchpad is a superior user experience for our customers, and the best development platform for today’s and tomorrow’s mobile applications and services. WebOS is where HP spends its development and support efforts.

Thank you very much for bringing this matter to our attention. As you know, it is a significant detriment to HP and HP’s participation in and relationship with the open source community to have non-authorized Android software delivered on HP Touchpad devices. If you can provide any information that will help us track down who is providing these unauthorized Touchpads and where they might be coming from, I would greatly appreciate it.

Best regards,

Phil.

Given that an Android port is minimal effort at best for people who have the full specs, this could very well be an internal bork-up – which now, of course, will make webOS developers even more nervous than they already are.

Stay tuned for further info as we get it…

India Launches Android based Aakash tablet computer at $35

News 2 Responses »

Oct 062011

nnewIndia has hit the nail on the head by launching the cheapest tablet computer ever. At $35, Aakash, which means sky in Hindi, is the cheapest computer out there.

Whats more shocking (pun intended) is that the Government off India wants to bring down the price of Aakash to $10.

According to The Economic Times

..priced at $35 (Rs 1,750) for students pursuing graduation and said that the government aimed to increase production to bring down the cost of the tablet to less than $10 (Rs 500). The government is sourcing the tablet from UK-based Datawind at Rs 2,256 – inclusive of all taxes, levies, freight and insurance charges, servicing and documentation.

Aakash costs a fraction of the iPad and other tablets out there. It runs Android 2.2, has Wi-Fi, 3g, has a 7 inch screen, 2 USB ports, resistive touchscreen, 236MB RAM and memory expandable upto 32GB via memory cards. Though there are plans to upgrade the overall specs in the near future.

According to Kapil Sibal,

Our ultimate aim is that in the coming years this tablet should cost less than $10. Datawind has said that if an order of one million units is placed the cost of the tablet (to the government) would be Rs 1,750 ($35), on which the government will offer a 50% subsidy (while giving it to students)

Stay tuned for more….!!

Source

Video Credit : Al Jazeera Youtube Channel

Pitfalls of porting apps from other platforms

Development No Responses »

Oct 062011

We all have played Bejeweled, Final Fantasy and Pac man at one time or the other. These games are the jewels of different platform, from arcade to console. But most of you reading this article might have played the same games on your smartphone or tablet.

Jason Kapalka, founder of PopCap Games, in his keynote at the PLANET OF THE APPS EUROPE 2011, shared some inevitable pitfalls developers overlook. According to Jason

…there are two main reasons to develop an app based on an existing title: to benefit from an existing fan base and brand recognition; or as a development shortcut based on existing programming work.

PopCap’s Bejeweled was identified as a case of the former, while its Plants vs Zombies falls into the latter category.

It has to feel instantly good. There is no learning curve,”

If we’d released the first version of Plants vs Zombies we tried, with its original controls, I don’t think it would have been played by anybody, because they would have rapidly found it to be difficult and frustrating.

He also added that

….consider device screen size as the most important factor, rather than being distracted by rapidly increasing screen resolutions.

Regardless of resolution, there is only so much screen a user can see or touch when playing a game – you need to look at the worse case scenario…

Consider Pac man, the retro game that changed the world was never imagined without a joy stick. That was how it was developed, keeping the joystick in mind. The same user experience can not be duplicated on the modern devices which are distancing themselves from buttons, let alone joysticks.

The mantra for smartphone success is that the game should be short and not long. Citing the example of Final Fantasy, he explained

Final Fantasy is a great game, but it didn’t do particularly well on the iPhone largely because it was just not the sort of game that people with iPhones wanted. They didn’t want to sit down for a 40-hour role-play, they wanted something they could play in one minute intervals.

The emphasis should be put on reinventing rather than porting. He also warned developers of the tablet trap due to two reasons:

…smartphone market has the real volumes…

…A smartphone game can become a tablet game, but a tablet game cannot become a smartphone game

The real example provided by him was when they decided to deliver the same user experience across all mobile devices for Bejeweled and Bejeweled Blitz, which is available via Facebook and mobile devices. According to him,

it was a real pain in the ass to keep things in sync

That pretty much explains it.

Krusell’s top-sellers for September 2011

Hardware News No Responses »

Oct 062011

The data from the Swedish case manufacturer Krusell is extraordinarily useful as it shows “real world” data rather than the more power-user-centric data collected from things like in-app analytics.

For September 2011, the data looks as following:

PRESS RELEASE – Krusell – TOP-10 selling phones for September 2011.

1. (1) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
2. (2) Apple iPhone 4
3. (3) Nokia 3720 Classic
4. (-) Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
5. (7) Samsung B2100
6. (-) HTC Sensation
7. (-) Sony Ericsson Arc S
8. (8) Nokia 6303 Classic
9. (6) Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271
10. (-) Nokia E52
() = Last month’s position.

The headline for Krusell’s Top Seller list of September is that in Top 3, nothing has changed from last month. Samsung Galaxy II is still the number one selling case. What is more interesting on the list is that Sony Ericsson is climbing the list with both Ray and Arc, says Ulf Sandberg CEO at Krusell. The new updated Arc S, with as a new processor and updated software has got a lot of good media which shows in the statistics. Also Ray has been met with positive feedback, and the target for Q4 is set high on this device.

Not much to add here…except that Sony Ericsson is infamous for its bad product quality and customer service…

Steve Jobs – RIP

News No Responses »

Oct 062011

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, has passed away on the 5th of October:
steve jobs rip Steve Jobs RIP

Not much to add here.

RIP!

LG looks for Flash developers to create TV apps

News No Responses »

Oct 062011

lg tv three 3 LG looks for Flash developers to create TV apps The battle of smart TVs has heated up quite a bit as manufacturers try to open up permanent revenue streams from devices after the initial sale. So far, Samsung took the lead.

LG has now fired off the following announcement, mainly targeted at Flash heads (highlighting by yours truly):

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Catering to the creativity of application developers, LG Electronics’ flexible Smart TV platform is taking Adobe MAX by storm.

At the developers’ conference, LG is engaging Adobe’s developer community as part of a broad effort to welcome them into the LG Smart TV ecosystem and inspire them to create and deliver Adobe® Flash® based applications powered by Adobe AIR® for the LG Smart TV platform in TVs, Blu-ray Disc™ players, home theater systems and set-top devices.

The global leader in connected devices has collaborated with Adobe to enable support for AIR 3 and Flash Player 11 on LG Smart TV platforms for 2012. This will be enabled through LG’s Smart TV SDK 2.0, which is expected to be available by December.

At MAX, LG is demonstrating how to monetize developer creations through LG’s vast Smart TV marketplace. “You can earn more revenue for your existing projects today by joining the LG Apps TV marketplace,” said Sam Chang, general manager of LG’s Innovation Development Group, based in San Jose. “With an app marketplace in over 80 countries, plus a billing and advertising API, LG can help you monetize even further.”

Developers can begin creating LG apps today through LG’s App store developer community website (http://developer.lgappstv.com), and developers can download LG’s Smart TV platform SDK, which will include plug-in tools for Flash development.

Chang said the company also is using MAX to highlight the superior consumer experience of LG CINEMA 3D TVs that, when combined with LG Smart TV technology, allow developers to “deliver a significant amount of 3D content through the Internet into consumer living rooms.” This year’s LG CINEMA 3D Smart TV models include a 2D to 3D conversion feature optimized for live TV and video streaming content; 2012 devices will also support 2D to 3D conversion for apps, Chang explained.

AIR is a key element of the Flash Platform, enabling developers and content publishers to leverage existing code and familiar tools to deliver rich, standalone applications across devices and platforms. AIR 3 brings several advancements to TVs, including full hardware-accelerated rendering for 2D and 3D graphics to enable console-quality gaming applications, and full support of home entertainment systems with HD videos and 7.1 channel surround sound. Additionally, with the new Game Input API, developers can make a range of devices an integral part of the gaming experience on TV screens, including joysticks, smartphones and tablets

“Given LG’s strong position in the connected device market, we’re excited to be working with them to help content publishers create next-generation entertainment experiences using AIR,” said Jennifer Carr, senior director, Business Development at Adobe. “Our goal is to enable developers to extend their compelling and engaging content from the desktop and mobile devices and bring it to the TV screen. LG’s innovative Smart TV platform will be an exciting new opportunity for our more than three million Flash developers worldwide.”

LG pioneered the connected consumer electronics device market, beginning three years ago with the first Blu-ray Disc players designed for streaming content. The majority of LG’s 2011 HDTVs and Blu-ray players sold around the world are built on LG’s innovative Smart TV platform. (See Fact Sheet.)

Demonstrating LG’s leadership in the connected consumer electronics market, LG’s unique Smart TV platform provides access to thousands of movies, apps, videos and the ability to browse the Web through an easy to navigate user interface and the user-friendly “point and click” Magic Motion Remote system.*

The home dashboard is the gateway to the LG Smart TV experience. With just four main sections – Live TV, Premium Content, LG Apps and a Launcher Bar – viewers are never more than a few clicks from a vast array of content.

For TV models, selecting features are as easy as the wave of the hand with the motion controlled Magic Motion Remote.* The remote is operated by simply pointing it at the screen, moving the cursor to the desired option and clicking on the selection. A keyboard is not needed, but a LG Remote App is available for download on Android and iOS based devices.

The LG App Store is populated with hundreds of applications for download. The platform also includes a Web browser so users no longer need to turn on their laptop to access the Internet.** With this feature, news, reviews and a host of other content can be viewed on the television screen. Of course, LG’s Smart TV platform provides access to endless premium entertainment options from providers including Netflix, YouTube,™, VUDU™, Hulu Plus™, YouTube™, CinemaNow™, Amazon Video on Demand™, Pandora Radio™, Mog™ and live professional streaming sports leagues***

Complementing the built-in connectivity, LG’s Smart Share also allows users to wirelessly stream content from their PCs and other compatible devices for viewing on their television screen. Smart Share also includes Media Link, which provides additional information, such as cover art or liner notes, for content being streamed.

“LG Smart TV provides viewers with endless options on their television, however, if these entertainment features are difficult to access or select, consumers will not truly enjoy the technology,” Chang concluded. “We have designed our LG Smart TV platform to be as easy and simple to use as possible for consumers, making it the ideal platform for developers to reach a multitude of people with their 2D and 3D online content creations.”

Not much to add here…

UK smartphone brand loyality – or – thanks, BBM

Hardware News No Responses »

Oct 062011

News about RIM have not been too rosey recently – the iPhone will eat them, Palm’s firesale will kill them, etc etc.

However, the following chart clearly speaks a different language – Research in Motion’s BlackBerry has the most loyal customers:

Not much to add here…except that having a reliable service and a critical mass of users is a sure-fire way to make a living…

Amazon Kindle Fire – or – pricing tablets right

Editorials No Responses »

Oct 052011

Due to a little bit of restructuring at Tamoggemon H.Q. (yours truly now manages the newssites again), we are slightly late to the Amazon Kindle Fire party. Nevertheless, the statement below – currently shown to all visitors of Amazon.com – deserves notice:
kindle fire letter Amazon Kindle Fire or pricing tablets right

In addition to this, we also have the following leaked sales data from CultOfAndroid (said to be on par with the iPad):
kindle fire sold out Amazon Kindle Fire or pricing tablets right

What this means for the tablet market is clear: lowering prices is key to mass adoption of tablets.

Keep in mind that the form factor is not new – tablet PCs have been around for ages, and, at prices of above 2000 USD; were bought by those who needed them for business. The iPad lowered the price and made the devices accessible to style-conscious customers; the stunts by Palm and Amazon now make the devices become mass market tools.

This is due to one factor: a tablet can not replace a PC, notebook or smartphone. It, instead, is a “supplementary device” used for a few minutes a day. Pricing the device to hit this market segment will be key…

HP will decide on spin-off of PC division this month

Palm News No Responses »

Oct 052011

We have had our fair share of reports about HP’s soon-to-be-sold PC division. Unfortunately, the timetable pointed to a decision at the end of the year.

BusinessWeek now reports that the decision process has been accelerated:

Whitman, who succeeded Leo Apotheker as CEO of the world’s largest PC maker last month, was speaking at a conference on women in leadership sponsored by Fortune magazine. Under Apotheker, who resigned as CEO Sept. 22, the company had said it would decide on the $41 billion division’s fate by the end of the year. It’s critical that Hewlett-Packard make the decision more quickly, Whitman said.

“We have to make a final decision about what to do with the PC division,” she said. “It’s a decision I want to make much faster than my predecessor. I want to make it before the end of October.”

Stay tuned – further info upcoming as we get it!

Older Entries Newer Entries

TamsPalm – the Palm OS / web OS Blog

Mobile Security: investment to grow by 44% per annum

YouTube to bring rented movies to UK

comScore on US market, Boston Consulting on Tablet OS – Metrics Maid 1/2011

Japan to get smartphone-only TV channel

Wi-Fi only Touchpad Go clears FCC certification criteria

HP: we have nothing to do with Android TouchPads

India Launches Android based Aakash tablet computer at $35

Pitfalls of porting apps from other platforms

Krusell’s top-sellers for September 2011

Steve Jobs – RIP

LG looks for Flash developers to create TV apps

UK smartphone brand loyality – or – thanks, BBM

Amazon Kindle Fire – or – pricing tablets right

HP will decide on spin-off of PC division this month

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