Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Next Android Update in 2013
1.Will The Next iPhone Keep Ahead of Android?
If Apple’s regular release schedule is to be trusted, we should expect a new iPhone this summer. Will it be called the iPhone 5S with small improvements over the iPhone 5? Or will the pressure from rival Android phones force Apple to go big and make a complete overhaul?
So far, the rumor mills point to an incremental upgrade – no revolutionary changes. So let’s read the tealeaves and try to predict what will be changed. And remember, this is all conjecture with no official information forthcoming from Apple.
New Flash and Better Camera
I like to start with the fun stuff, like the camera. Certainly, the next iPhone could get a megapixel upgrade. There are some Android phones that brag 13 Megapixels, and while it’s possible Apple could increase the resolution of their camera, I think a more interesting upgrade would be the inclusion of a new, smart flash that incorporates Phillips multi-color LED. To match ambient light, the camera could elect to use a white flash (in fluorescent or colder lighting) or a yellow flash to match warmer room tones (candlelight, camp-fires, or accent lighting).
Faster
Now for the guts of the new phone: leaked photos published by iOSDoc imply the iPhone will be getting an upgrade from its current dual core A6 processor to a quad core A7 processor. Yes, more cores mean a faster phone, but is this a life-changing speed improvement? Um, no.
Bigger Screen is Doubtful
There have been tons of rumors about Apple increasing the screen size from 4 inches to 4.8 inches to compete with some of the Android “Phablets” like the Note. But this rumor seems a little thin with CEO Tim Cook stating publically on Apple’s Q1 2013 Earnings Call that he thinks Apple made the right decision to stick with a smaller screen.
Wireless Charging
Unlike current wireless charging where you have to put a device onto a pad that’s plugged into a power source, Apple has applied for a patent to use something called Near Field Magnetic Resonance (NFMR). With this technology, a home base (a computer or larger device) serves as a hub that can charge the phone anywhere within a meter’s proximity. This could also be a boon for selling more Mac laptops if they become the primary vehicle for wireless NFMR charging.
Biometric Fingerprint Security
Rumors are flying about a fingerprint sensor on the home key to allow for biometric security. This could be a smart idea if Apple wants to shore up public perception of the device’s security before rolling out the Near Field Communications (NFC) wave-to-pay technology that turns your phone into a credit card.
IOS 7
For the first time ever, I am including an IOS update in the “Fun Rumors” category. While the iPhone operating system (currently IOS 6) is not usually an opportunity for big innovation, this portion of the company has recently been taken over by Jonathon Ive, Apple’s superstar design guru. He is no doubt feeling pressure to bring his genius to bear on software (good luck with that) and may surprise us with a few cool new tricks. I expect a Siri upgrade at the very least, and a determination to show that Apple’s maps have recovered from the debacle of the IOS 6 roll out.
Lower Cost iPhone
Where Android phones pose the greatest clear and present danger to the iPhone is on price. Many models are free with a 2-year contract. So the $199 price tag of the iPhone with a 2-year contract is just too steep for many. The biggest price pressure is coming from emerging markets like China and Brazil, where Apple has to lower the price of their only phone in the initial land grab for new smartphone users.
If Apple introduces a free-on-2-year-contract phone, this lower cost version will almost certainly still be able to access faster LTE data networks. It will possibly have a slower Snapdragon System on a Chip (SOC) processor from Qualcomm. It might include a bigger battery, which could increase the phone’s thickness from the current 7.6 mm to a rumored 8.2 mm. It could have a lower resolution camera. And the most interesting possibility: its case could be from a cheaper plastic or fiberglass, which could allow for a multitude of colors.
Bottom Line
The inclusion of a cheaper iPhone could be a huge boon to consumers. If you’ve been holding out until Apple’s flagship device became more affordable, don’t let the slightly diminished technical specs deter you. The beauty of the iPhone is that it’s intuitive and fun to use – but that’s a function of the operating system, not the hardware. If it were me, I’d wait to buy until the consumer testers run the cheaper iPhone through it’s paces and make sure there’s nothing glaringly wrong, and then I’d get it. That is, if Apple actually releases two versions as part of its traditional June release cycle.
2.Next Android update: Ice Cream Sandwich in October?
Google will likely roll out its latest sweet-themed Android update, Ice Cream Sandwich, as early as October, said executive chairman Eric Schmidt, who released that detail during the recent Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.
Schmidt was the keynote speaker at the event, which focuses on cloud computing (but also featured a gala performance of Metallica! Metallica!). At the 30:20 mark of the video below, he talks about the rollout, which could also happen as late as November. Schmidts specific — and all too brief — wording is this:
"We have a new operating system internally known as Ice Cream Sandwich for some reason, which is being released in October, November, which everybody is very excited about."
Ice Cream Sandwich comes after Honeycomb (3.0 to 3.2), which was tailored for tablets. This next, more ambitious, update was first introduced at Google I/O in May, with this rousing endorsement on the Official Google Blog:
"Our goal with Ice Cream Sandwich is to deliver one operating system that works everywhere, regardless of device. Ice Cream Sandwich will bring everything you love about Honeycomb on your tablet to your phone, including the holographic user interface, more multitasking, the new launcher and richer widgets."
The hope with Ice Cream Sandwich (unconfirmed but likely slated as Android 4.0) is to bring some order to the chaos that fragmentation has brought to the numerous Android devices out there, now multiplying in tablets as much as smartphones, it seems. (Schmidt said half a million Android phones are activated a day. A day! "If that continues, itll fill the planet." Now, theres some imagery for you.)
It would be the merger of Honeycomb and Gingerbread (Android 2.3), these two combined into a powerful hybrid mobile operating system that would be able to run on both kinds of devices. At last, unity.
A recent comScore report shows that Androids presence is pervasive: Its still the No. 1 smartphone platform in the U.S. with nearly 42 percent of the market share, with Apples iOS a distant second at 27 percent.
Top 5 Mobile Data Tracking Apps for Android 2013
Onavo Count
Onavo Count is the most popular data tracking app that existed even before data usage was implemented in the Android operating system. It is an impressive user interface which aims at saving money by keeping an active check on data consumption. The application will provide users with alerts and warnings when they cross or are about to reach the predefined data limits. Users can also set data usage limits at any time and let the app track usage. The app provides with an overview of the individual apps consuming data. Users can keep a track and also predict whether you are close to hitting the pre-defined usage limit. Onavo Count allows users to restrict data hungry apps and force them to be active over WiFi networks. It is a fantastic user interface and nice set of options makes this a very important mobile data tracking app.
My Data Manager
It is a simple app for those who seek only options and are not much into the looks of an app. The app is easy to setup, and the app starts checking all the apps to highlight the ones consuming a lot of data. My Data Manager also tracks the run times of the other apps along with the amount of data consumed which are presented in graphics. It has only one limitation that one has to keep it on the phone storage for it acts sporadic if moved to the SD card storage. My Data Manager shows clear consumption of data on the cellular connection and WiFi network. Users can also set their data usage limits and the app gives an alarm whenever closing in to that limit.
NetCounter
NetCounter is not a fancy user interface and don’t have mind-boggling features. It is mainly a native appearing easy data tracking app. It presents noticeably classified utilization of data over the cellular and WiFi networks. The user can choose the time range as daily, weekly or monthly. Users can also modify the plan’s cycle date. It gives a break out in numbers as no data is consumed at the end of the month and this is what that matters the most. Users can find this NetCounter app from the Google Play Store.
Dodol Phone
Dodol Phone has a clean interface. It allows user to keep track of the data and examine it in real time. This app tracks call and message traffic from the Smartphone apart from the network data. Dodol is capable of providing a complete usage report on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Like some of the other apps, users can position their custom limit for the data usage threshold.The best part of Dodol Phone is that it is optimized for full HD devices and also supports 4G LTE network. The app offers usage data in numerical as well as bar graph format so that user can examine data utilization.
Traffic Monitor
It is an app that combines data monitoring, consistency measurement and a Task Manager in one single package. The app provides a data traffic counter for cellular and wireless network usage with clear bifurcation of uploads and downloads. To give a fair thought about the strength of the available data network services, there is a quality service measure (ping duration test) which is in built. To ensure a summary of the traffic at regular time’s user can set daily, weekly or monthly usage limits. User can check the traffic statistics per app for the said period and for previous month. With the in-built task manager, user can kill the data hungry apps and check the memory usage. The app available for free from the Google Play Store enables to get battery level status, signal strength, GPS status and more information.
Source: gm.kochar
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