Its Wristy Business

We’re not one to shy away from the wearable battle.  We’re back in the hunt to find the best wearable and Microsoft might be seeking their moment to strike.

After surrendering the smartphone race with just 5% market share in both the US and Western Europe, Microsoft could look to wearable’s as their future foothold in consumer tech.

Microsoft have produced an under par performance when it comes to their other markets, but will be likely to try and find a save from grace with a high-tech wearable device. With more people moving away from desktop PCs to smartphones and tablets, it could be a bold move.

There is no clear winner in the smart watch race and it is continuing to be more difficult to distinguish a front-runner. Samsung are standing tall with the Galaxy Gear, Nike are happy with the Gear Fit and Apple seem smug with their iWatch concepts, so Microsoft will definitely be interested in joining the battle.

In fact, Microsoft has already begun filing a patent that will allow a wearable device to display information and can be taken out of its strap and placed into a docking station. Microsoft’s tiling interface could fit perfectly on your wrist and rumours emerged that they will be looking to include a number of features like a clock app, maps and a notification centre.

After the recent $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, this could prove to be hugely influential in the wearable they create. Nokia have already toyed with the idea of creating a wearable so with this exploration combined with Microsoft’s knowledge, we could expect a well-designed smart watch that comes in a number of vibrant colours by the end of 2015.

Although, it won’t be entirely plain sailing to the finish line as Motorola are looking to steal the show with their Moto 360, as are LG with their G watch and likewise Google with their own take on the wearables.

All we know is, being able to look at your wrist and telling the time could become a lot more technical. Hoorah!

Could It Be The End For Tablets?

Just as we get an influx of tablets from all of the biggest names in technology including Google, Samsung and Apple, there is news surrounding a possible demise of the tablet.

The reason this news has surfaced is because Apple, the company that has dominated the tablet market for a while now, is now selling much fewer iPads, which could mean they may be making a six-inch phablet. This has therefore led to exaggerations that tablets are dead – far from the truth.

There have been rumours for months about Apple adding a bigger phone to its collection and these rumours won’t be going away any time soon. The phablet market is huge in Asia and Samsung have already begun preparations for releasing a seven-inch phablet there.

News of living in a post-iPad era are not quite accurate, but this could happen sooner than we thought. Although the iPad no longer dominates the market, it is still a high quality piece of technology, that is beautifully created and ahead of its time.

Apple has a knack at being adaptive and one example of this is the iPhone 5 turning into the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in order to cater for consumer behaviour. So, don’t rule the iPad out, especially when there has been an increase of 25% in the number consumers that are 65 years old or older, which is a relatively new market.

It is not only the over 65’s that are into tablets, once people have a tablet, they are much less likely to trade it in unlike they would with their smartphone, which means people hold onto them much longer before replacing them.

But, the future could very well belong to the phablet – a smartphone with a big screen of between 5.6.9 inches. According to statistics, 25 million phablets were sold in China and South Korea alone, with sales doubling each quarter. In 2014, it is predicted that phablets will make up 25% of all smartphones sold, equating to 300 million, so claims that the future could belong to the phablet could be true.

Apps You'll Install And Never Use Again!

It’s no secret that we love apps! We live and breathe them. But we’re not alone; you love them too.

If you have a tablet or smartphone you will have a whole host of apps that you rely on for even the most basic of functions, including an alarm for the morning or for your favourite social media platform so you can keep up with what your friends are eating for breakfast.

We also all enjoy downloading apps, using them once and never using them again and we will feature a few of those apps on the market that fit that bill.

Clear is a clever idea on the face of it – a list-making app – but once you create your shopping list or your times for dinner, the likeliness you will click back onto the app to use it again is fairly slim. A biro and a post-it note is much more convenient.

Word Lens is another app that has a clever and original idea, but will only get used the once. The app allows you to translate words on a sign from one language to another, impressive! But, unless you’re Christopher Columbus and can afford to travel more than once a year, then this app will be forgotten about by the time you book you’re next flight.

TV Show apps, like the X Factor where you decide whether you would put the contest through to the next round or not are high in popularity when the show is on, but, as soon as the program ends until next year, the app will just rot in the background.

People are mainly attracted to apps by their usefulness however, apps like the X Factor one are not overly useful to the user.  Clear, as previously mentioned, could be handy if you remembered to use it regularly, but having to find your app every time you want to add a new grocery to your shopping list can get a bit tedious. If you have to pay for the app and use it just the once, it will be a waste of money too.

Does the PC have a future?

It is common knowledge that tablets are on the rise and more and more technology giants are opting to produce more cutting edge products, but what does that mean to where it all started; the PC?

PC’s, less commonly known as personal computers, effectively began in 1977 with their clunky design and extremely slow functions.  They didn’t have such luxuries as the internet. Thirty-six years on and although PC’s have definitely improved, so has newer, more convenient technology like the tablet for example.

Tablets have sold like hotcakes and many companies like Apple, Sony and Acer are opting to divert more of their time and budget towards their tablet market rather than their traditional personal computers.  So where does that leave the future of the PC?

Well, many believe that PC’s are getting closer and closer to extinction, but in actual fact that’s not the case. Granted, the cheap and lower end PC models might be on the way out, but the higher end versions still have a lot more to give. In fact, the sales of NVIDIA’s high performance graphics are on the increase, as are the profits from PC game-producer EA. Growth is growth and surely this contradicts claims that this is a device on the decline?

The truth is, the PC is a very mature device and it’s too stubborn to just fade away in the tablets’ wake. Of course, many consumers are choosing to go walkabouts with their new tablets but there are still many people that stand by the PC and for good reason.

Sure, tablets are going to become better and stronger sieving out more and more of the competition but a good quality PC will still pack a stronger punch when it comes to performance for a little while longer yet.  PC’s on the whole might be on a long decline and tablets on a massive high, but that doesn’t mean that the PC is dead and buried.  Well, not for a good few years at least.

We would like to know what you think about the PC and its future, so share your thoughts and comments below. Do you think the future of the PC is in trouble or do you see PC’s fighting back?

Amazon Look To Burn The Competition

With a lot of focus recently towards Apple and its new iPhone, we have decided to turn our attention to Amazon and what they have to offer – The new Kindle HDX.

We live in a very tablet-centric society at the moment and Amazon has upped their ante with regards to the Fire tablet we all know and love. They have introduced two new models, the 7-inch and the 8.9-inch and both come with a brand new, high-resolution screen that change their brightness in accordance to the ambient light.

That’s not all either, both come with a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor at 2.2GHZ (better than a lot of laptops) and are 34 per cent lighter than their predecessors. Arguably the most successful Android tablets on the market, these powerhouses cram in both power and pixels, which is good for those of you who want to continue using the Kindle for your reading hobby.  In fact, they are also packed with a special reading mode to allow you to read on your new tablet for up to 17 hours. That’s a lot of reading!

The 8.9 inch Kindle HDX comes with a rear-facing camera too and has been installed with a small photo editing app, so you can tweak the brightness and contrast of your favourite snaps. Amazon has paid attention to its previous success with their Kindle’s though and the design has near enough stayed the same. The soft rubbery back still remains as does a very similar interface, so if you have had a previous model, you’ll fly round this one too.

One of the Kindle HDX’s key features that has been praised as one of its major selling points though is their ‘May Day Button’. This allows 24-7, 365-days-a-year technical support should you need it and also utilises a one-way video chat. Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, has also said that they are aiming to respond to requests in 15 seconds or less. Impressive!

If you want one though, you will have to wait just that little bit longer. The 7-inch model is available for pre-order but will not be shipped until October 18th. The 8.9-inch; November 14th.

What also might be good to know is the 7-inch will cost around £200 and the 8.9 inch will be under £350.

How Apps Sparked A Mobile Revolution

Let’s play a little game. Without looking on your smartphone or tablet, how many apps do you think you have on your phone? 

If you’re anything like us, you have probably lost count of how many you have downloaded, but our guess would be you quite a lot, especially if you count old ones you will have deleted as well as the current ones you have. 

Did you know that the average smartphone will have around 41 apps on their devices? It is also predicted that by the end of 2015, smartphone owners and technology enthusiasts will have in fact downloaded around 89 billion apps. Quite a staggering statistic, don’t you think?

We have mentioned previously how Apple’s AppStore has helped the app market rocket through the roof when it was first introduced in 2008. Since this date it has seen over 850,000 apps and a mere 50 billion downloads and these apps have included everything from games through to music-related apps and even health related apps. 

This introduction alone sparked many others to follow, including Google’s Play Store which we have also mentioned before. This app store has also given us a wealth of apps and is predicted to further improve our ‘app economy’. 

As apps continue to improve, so does our technology with a constant flow of new mobile devices, tablets and even glasses (Google Glass). Apps have become so much a part of our everyday life, we even use them to help us wake up in the morning, and now businesses are using them as a way to maintain their client base. In fact, many organisations are building their own internal enterprise app stores as a way to manage their corporate-sanctioned apps for the employees to use on their PC’s and mobile devices whilst at work too. 

It just goes to show exactly how far we have come in the app world since the first launch of Apple’s AppStore some five years ago. Although, we know that this has barely even scratched the surface of what we have to look forward to in the future. Apps have a long future ahead of them, and quite frankly we’re thrilled about it!

Android Tops The Tablet Table

Did you know that for every two tablets that are activated in the UK, one is an Android?

Well, it’s true. This statistic was revealed by Google, who also said that over the last year more than 85% of Android tablets have been activated. These activations were approaching a figure near 10 million towards the end of 2012, and as we begin August 2013 the statistic is nearer the 70 million mark.

In last week’s blog post we mentioned that the Android app store, Google Play, currently holds 1 million apps, which is just another statistic to add to the already impressive numbers.

Android isn’t just making huge movements with its tablets though; the software is also improving on its smartphone devices too. Just this week we found out that Microsoft Office is now joining the world’s No. 1 mobile platform.

Microsoft made huge waves earlier this year when it joined forces with the iPhone, but now it is turning its attention to Android which, as is shown by the previous statistics, is clearly a smart move. Unfortunately though, Office will only be available on Android phones, but we’re pretty sure it will only be a matter of time before it is available on tablets too.

The Office app is free to download but you must be subscribed to Office in order to run the actual programs (i.e. Word, Powerpoint and Excel). Once you have subscribed though, you are able to run the program on up to five different mobile devices; great if you have a different device for Monday to Friday. Still, it’s pretty useful for you and your friends or work colleagues. 

The news of Microsoft Office joining Android is bound to be welcomed by a number of people, especially business people who spend a lot of time traveling and students too. This news may have to be delayed to us guys in the UK though, as it is only available in the United States for now.

We expect Microsoft to release this app in dozens of other countries over the coming weeks including the UK, so we will have to wait just a little bit longer.

Why Is 4G for Me?

4G is out and we want to tell you why 4G may be the thing for you! Currently 4G is only available through Orange network (well, rebranded as EE) and isn't that cheap but it is said 4G will expand to other networks soon. Once that happens then expect prices to come down and the number of different deals to go up. You also need to have a phone capable of handling this speed and modern handsets like the iPhone5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 support it.

4G is five times quicker than 3G (the current fastest way to get data and browse the web across the mobile phone network) which makes it a superfast tool to have, it covers 11 cities so far with plans to have 16 cities 4G'd up by the end of the year.

4G allows you to check emails, download massive documents and complete video calling, all on the go, all unbelievably quickly. Along with downloading, with 4G you can also upload massive files to a website and complete video conferencing wherever you are.

If you are into multiplayer games and you can’t wait to get home in the evening to beat your friends then 4G can help you with brilliant live multiplayer games that you can play with anyone and everyone across the world.

To sum up, 4G can do everything that 3G does but it can do it a better quality and a lot faster! Anything 3G can do, 4G can do better!

Microsoft Surface – A Different Type of Tablet

Most of us have seen the trendy adverts on the TV. It shows people sat on a picnic bench with different colour ‘machines’ passing them from person to person, propping them up with the back case and sticking a keyboard on the front before holding them together to create a guy – This is the Microsoft Surface, the new tablet on the market available from just £399.

Microsoft claim that with surface you can see more, share more and do more – but does this make it better than other tablets? Let’s have a look at what’s on offer;

Microsoft states that the surface is not only a timeless and tough work of art but a feat of engineering too. It is said that after using it just briefly you will clearly be able to see the thoughtful design and craftsmanship perfection that, joined together, makes the Surface a joy to behold. The Surface also has a unique casing called VaporMg and this offers not only a high quality fit but it also gives the Surface an ultra light and durable finish.

To stand it up just use the integrated stand that flips out from the back of the tablet, allowing you to have hands-free entertainment. Whether you want to sit back and enjoy a video in HD or take some beautiful photos, just flip back the stand and it’s propped up for you. However if you want it back as an ordinary tablet the stand closes back in on itself and moulds into the casing, leaving it looking smooth and sleek.

If you’d rather not use the touch screen for the typing then why not turn your Surface into a laptop by using the Touch Cover which just clicks into place giving you a slim and spill-resistant keyboard that you can use to type away until your heart’s desire. You can make your Surface as personalised as you want it to be with lots of vibrant colours to choose from. Alternatively why not consider a Type Cover? This combines the comfort and speed of your everyday keyboard but it is lightweight and super thin making it ideal for extended usage at home or work.

It may look incredibly thin but do not despair – the Surface still features a full-size USB port, microSD card slot and HD Video out port meaning that you are able to transfer files easily and use numerous compatible accessories such as the charge up, plug in and show off.

The fact that the Surface is cloud-connected is an added bonus as it means you can use SkyDrive to access any files at any time from wherever they may be.

One of the biggest advantages however, is that it uses the same operating system that can run on your laptop, Windows 8. So this means that you can use all the same software that you're used to using on your desktop or laptop in exactly the same way. Only time will tell if Microsoft really have produced a true laptop replacement in tablet form...

iPad Mini - What Is So Cool About Small?

Apple has launched the new iPad Mini today, claiming that it is the whole package but in a smaller package. It’s looking pretty cool with a beautiful and clear display, powerful A5 chip, a HD Camera for FaceTime, an iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording, extra fast wireless internet access and it has access to over 275,000 apps ready and waiting to be downloaded. But what is the difference between the iPad and iPad mini? It’s smaller of course!

The screen is just 7.9 inches and has an LED backlit display meaning it looks just beautiful. You can scan through your pictures, search through websites and watch videos easily. It’s perfect size means that you can work with the hundreds of apps that are made for the iPad not just scaled up iPhone Apps.

At 7.2mm in depth it is 23% thinner than the iPad and weighing just 308g means it is over half (53%) lighter than the iPad. The iPad mini is pencil thin and light as a feather meaning that it can be held easily in the palm of your hand.

There are some brilliant apps available on the iPad mini including iPhoto which makes it easy for the user to view, edit and share their photos with the simplicity of Multi-Touch.

iMovie is an excellent app too making it possible for you to shoot 1080dp HD movies, turning the footage into Hollywood style trailers or mini feature films.

Then there’s the GarageBand app which allows you to play instruments on the iPad mini and they sound as good as if they were the real thing.

The Pages app is a superb addition to your iPad mini collection; this app allows you to use the pre-designed (by Apple) templates to create your own professional letters, flyers, invitations and more. However, if numbers are your things then the Numbers app is the app for you allowing you to make flexible tables and 3d charts.

With help from the Numbers App, the Keynote App available on iPad mini means that presentations never be boring again. This app can be used to create elegant presentations with themes and styles on offer.

The apps already built in to the iPad mini include Siri which allows you to find out what is going on where and the best place to go, use the maps to find your treasure, FaceTime to keep in touch with your nearest and dearest, read magazines or your favourite book, watch a film, check your emails or send a message.

The powerful A5 chip means that the iPad mini is fast and fluid in its performance allowing you to switch from page to page, app to app in a smooth and natural way.

The iPad also offers a battery life that is not to be laughed at – up to ten hours of usage without charge is really pretty impressive for such a small thing that can do so much.

FaceTime got more fun with the iPad mini, you can chat to your friends using the front facing camera, or show them what you can see using the iSight camera on the back, wherever you are your friends and family can feel close to you.

Being able to record in HD Video in full 1080p is a huge bonus for this mighty but small machine, meaning wherever you are, however unexpected the event, you can still capture it for a lifetime using your iPad mini.

The 5 megapixel iSight camera means that all your photos will come out great whether in low lighting or sat out in the sun, there is also a huge display meaning that you can compose your shot until it’s just right.

The iPad mini also has built in advanced wi-fi technology meaning that the wi-fi is at least twice as fast as any earlier iPad, download speeds can reach a whopping 150Mbps.

The iPad mini has iCloud built in so just turn it on and you have access to whatever document you require, whether it is on your iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC, you can locate and lock whatever you require, wherever you require.

Using AirPlay means that you can stream all your music, photos and videos to your HDTV and speakers with just the tap of a button, wirelessly. In the same way you can use AirPrint to print whatever you require, wirelessly, at just the touch of a button.

The iPad mini cover is a must have if you have decided that you want the iPad mini, with its magnetic technology the smart cover snaps into place perfectly to protect your screen, but then fold it over and you have a stand – all with no extra bulk, keeping the iPad mini small, slim and as sleek as ever.

As you can tell, we're big fans and managed to get one sent to the office today. If you'd like to have a play with one in the flash then get in touch and we'd be happy to let you.