If you’ve missed out on some of the action from the first day of Google’s I/O conference, here’s a chance to relive it: Google has made available the video of the entire 2-hour opening keynote.
And what a keynote it was! Google has arguably outdone even Apple with an action-packed event, showcasing a bunch of exciting new products, including Android Jelly Bean, Nexus 7 and Nexus Q.
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Application Hosting, Marketing | Tagged: Android, Apple, Google, Google I/O, Nexus 7, Nexus Q, Search Engines, Searching | 
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Posted by david ricketts
FORTUNE — Microsoft (MSFT) currently has a 4.2% share of the worldwide smartphone market and 0% share of the market for tablet computers, but that didn’t stop Gartner from predicting back in April — two months before this week’s big Windows 8 announcements — that Redmond was about to take a significant share of both.
“IT departments will see Windows 8 as the opportunity to deploy tablets on an OS that is familiar to them and with devices offered by many enterprise-class suppliers,” Gartner’s Carolina Milanesi wrote in an April 7 press release. Without having heard about — never mind seen — the Surface tablets, she predicted that Microsoft would grab a 4.1% share of the tablet market before the end of 2012 and an 11.8% share by 2016. That would put Surface in third place after Apple’s (AAPL) iOS and Google’s (GOOG) Android.
For more details:
2 Comments | Managed Service Hosting, Marketing, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Apple, Gartner, Google, Microsoft, MicrosoftSurface, Tablet computer, Windows 8 | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Google’s first round of Chromebooks met with mixed reviews and far greater adoption in schools where their easy management and fast boot times made them more popular than with consumers. Google and Samsung announced yesterday that next-generation Chromebooks were rolling out, along with a major release of Chrome OS and new devices call Chromeboxes. All in all, it was a big day for Chrome OS, and yet, as Larry Dignan pointed out, the pricing on Chrome OS devices remains too high for serious consumer or enterprise adoption.
However, in computer-land, three years is forever, and in that period of time, I expect that Chrome OS will be all over the enterprise, consumer spaces, schools, and SMBs. In fact, I expect that it will be ubiquitous in the way that Linux and Java are: we don’t even know we’re using them on our phones, in our TVs, in our DVRs…everywhere. Here’s 5 reasons why.
Yes, Larry’s right. These devices are too expensive right now. But Moore’s Law tells us that this will change. Fast. And Chrome OS doesn’t need the latest hardware to run quite well, particularly now that it can take advantage of GPU acceleration. Sure, the original Atom-based Chromebooks were a bit pokey, but enhancements to the OS itself have taken big steps to address the issue. The latest generation of Chrome OS devices aren’t exactly using quad-core beasts. They’re leveraging commodity hardware, paving the way for serious price drops in the relatively near future.
Chrome OS is also being tested on ARM hardware and is unencumbered by much in the way of licensing since it’s based on the open source Chromium OS project.
Have you used the Chrome Web Store? There’s a lot of really useful software just a click away that runs right within the browser. Whether you are using Chrome OS or the Chrome web browser, the experience is the same and the developer ecosystem is pushing hard on the boundaries of what we thought was possible in terms of web applications. The variety of applications already available in the Web Store is impressive, to say the least, just a year and half after its launch.
If Netflix, Facebook, Angry Birds, and Autodesk applications can all run happily in Chrome OS, there won’t be much to differentiate it from a full-blown desktop OS in the months and years to come. Or from an embedded OS. Or a mobile OS. It all depends on the applications OEMs choose to develop, surface, and install for users.
As early as 2009, Sergey Brin predicted that Android and Chrome OS would likely draw closer to each other and then merge. The Chrome browser for Android is hinting that this is getting closer to reality, as are various bits of information emerging about Android 5, most of which point to at least the beginnings of unification.
Android is already dominant in mobile devices and runs on everything from televisions to refrigerators to tablets. Chrome has the largest browser marketshare now. When Chrome, Chrome OS, and Android all start looking very much like each other and all dominate their respective markets, it’s not a big stretch to start calling Chrome OS ubiquitous.
If Google has proved anything, it’s that they have enough money to keep hammering away at a market until they own it. They proved it with Android on mobile phones. They proved it with their Chrome browser. They proved it with search and related ads. They’ve had their share of missteps and projects like Google+ remain out with the jury. However, if the project is ultimately about growing their core business (namely advertising) and getting ads in front of more people, they’re absolutely dogged. And while their war chest isn’t quite up to Apple’s standards, they can win wars of attrition with just about anyone. Besides, what would you rather see on that connected television? A familiar web browser with snappy app interfaces and a cool Web Store or some kludgy Java interface that doesn’t look a thing like what you use on your desktop, laptop, mobile phone, or tablet to access content?
This is already true for most users. In developing countries, the only personal computing device that many people own is a simple mobile phone with basic web access. Elsewhere, cloud-based applications continue to displace desktop applications and increasing numbers of users spend their days staring at a web browser instead of any particular application. Microsoft’s Office 365 acknowledges the need for at least a hybrid approach to the cloud and most of the interesting software we read about now comes in the form of cloud-based web applications or mobile apps.
Even Adobe, the last reason I bother using a full-blown PC, started shipping Muse (a rich WYSIWYG web development platform) this month and, while not a web application itself, leverages the Air runtime environment to be small, light, and fast.
The next version of Bethesda Software’s massively popular and visually stunning Elder Scrolls series? An MMORPG. No, it won’t be 100% browser-based, but without the web, fans would just be sitting in front of their aging XBOXes. Goodbye game consoles, hello cloud.
This webification movement has taken off in the last 18 months. It isn’t hard to imagine what the next three years will do to the way we think about personal computing. So while Chrome OS got off to a slow start, it’s only a matter of time until Google can take advantage of this inflection point at which we find ourselves.
Leave a Comment » | Managed Service Hosting, Marketing, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Big data, Chromebook, ChromeOS, Chromium OS, Google, Google Chrome, Google Chrome OS, Samsung | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Augmented reality developer ARworks recently created a virtual fashion show for Vodafone, who sponsored a contest (Buttoned UP – Gombold Újra) for fashion designers.
via PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/2012/05/vodafone-hosts-ar-fashion-show-where-models-appear-next-to-you-video.html#ixzz1uZy6Gj2W
Leave a Comment » | Application Hosting, Managed Service Hosting, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Arts, Big data, Business, Design, Fashion, Fen (band), Gombold Újra, Vodafone | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Google’s new Google Play Service offers the ability to save your content in the cloud for seamless access whenever. The new service which plans to compete with iCloud, offers an entire cloud-based storage unit for all your music, movies, books, and apps and allows for playback on your Android phone or tablet.
With Google Play you can:
●Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
●Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
●Browse the world’s largest selection of eBooks
●Rent thousands of your favorite movies, including new releases and HD titles
Starting today, Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play. On your Android phone or tablet, we’ll be upgrading the Android Market app to the Google Play Store app over the coming days. Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps. The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play-simply log in with your Google account like always.
Thanks to the guys at http://technocraz.com/2012/03/07/google-launches-google-play-to-compete-with-icloud/
3 Comments | Application Hosting, Marketing | Tagged: Android, Android Market, Cloud computing, Google, Google eBooks, Google Play, iCloud, Music Beta by Google | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
We have written about Google Goggles before now it is improved. Have a look at the video below.
Google Goggles can be termed easily as the mother of all Android apps! If you ever come across a landmark on your travel or even in your own city, which you do not know anything about it, do not fret. Just take out your Android phone and click a photo of the landmark on Goggles app and you will know everything about it in seconds. Sometimes you will have more information than the expensive local tourist guide. Not just that, if you come across an artwork of Picasa in the client’s meeting place and you have to impress them with an intense knowledge of the painting, you can simply take Goggles’ help by clicking a picture of the art and get to know enough information that will floor your client. Goggles can also be your No.1 travel accessories as it helps you in translate words in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese & Russian. My favorite feature in this app is getting info of the wine and its origin from click of the label on the wine bottle. The app straight away gives you a talking point for the dinner. What else you want from an app?
You can use Google Goggle for:
Scan barcodes using Goggles to get product information
Scan QR codes using Goggles to extract information
Recognize famous landmarks
Translate by taking a picture of foreign language text
Add Contacts by scanning business cards or QR codes
Scan text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Recognize paintings, books, dvd, cds, and just about any 2D image
Solve Sudoku puzzles
Get the app: http://bit.ly/v071He
Things you should not lookout for in this app: Recognition of animals, furniture, apparels and not so famous landmarks, which are not usually found in Google search.
Platform: Android
Price: FREE
1 Comment | Application Hosting, Marketing, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Google, Google Goggle, Optical Character Recognition, Picasa, QR Code, Searching, Sudoku | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
If you’ve got a team of devs in your agency, you can already do this pretty easily. But, how can the rest of the world start utilising their mobile to control any screen they have access to? And better yet, what will marketers start to do with this API to bring that power into branded apps and campaigns?
Any screen with a browser that accesses ClikThis.com instantly generates a unique QR code identifying that unique screen. Then, just use the Clik app to scan and instantly take control of that screen… Unfortunately for now, the prototype app does YouTube content only! Very cool though!
Thanks to the guys at Digital Buzz
Leave a Comment » | Application Hosting, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Clik, IPhone, QR Code, Remote control, Smartphone, Web browser, YouTube | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Great video about Amazon‘s new browser silk, blow is an advert for the new Kindle Fire as well. The question is could Amazon be looking to take Apple’s crown, we think they could be a major competitor as they have all the elements in place.
Leave a Comment » | Application Hosting, Managed Service Hosting, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com, Android, Jeff Bezos, Kindle Fire, Web browser | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Tesco is in the midst of a huge “Big Price Drop” campaign and one of the new elements they’ve rolled out is the use of Blippar’sImage Recgonition / Augmented Reality technology to bring their ads to life via iPhones, iPads and all sorts of Android devices.
The Augmented Reality print ads launch an animated version of the ad, and provide an extra level of interactivity helping you to find the closest store, view recipe ideas related to the products in each ad and other store information. Would love to hear your thoughts on this one? Good, Bad, Not sure?
Thanks to http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/
4 Comments | Application Hosting, Managed Service Hosting | Tagged: Android, App Store, Augmented reality, Cadbury plc, Computer vision, IPad, IPhone, Tesco | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet. It stores virtual versions of your existing plastic cards on your phone. Simply tap your phone to pay and redeem offers using near field communication, or NFC.
Payments and loyalty.
Google Wallet has been designed for an open commerce ecosystem. It will eventually hold many if not all of the cards you keep in your leather wallet today. And because Google Wallet is a mobile app, it will be able to do more than a regular wallet ever could, like storing thousands of payment cards and Google Offers but without the bulk. Eventually your loyalty cards, gift cards, receipts, boarding passes, tickets, even your keys will be seamlessly synced to your Google Wallet. And every offer and loyalty point will be redeemed automatically with a single tap via NFC.
The Future starts today?
Google Wallet is coming soon. When it launches, you’ll be able to use Citi® MasterCard® cards and the Google Prepaid Card with Google Wallet. You’ll be able to tap to pay at hundreds of thousands of merchants.
At launch, Google Wallet will be compatible with Nexus S 4G by Google, available on Sprint. Over time, we plan on expanding support to more phones.
The video below highlights how big brands are adopting the solution. They will be ‘skirting’ around it for a while but I think this technology will take off.
1 Comment | Marketing, Retail IT Solutions | Tagged: Android, Google, Google Checkout, Loyalty program, MasterCard, National Football Conference, Near Field Communication, Nexus S | Permalink
Posted by david ricketts
