Plus retention rates among smartphone brands, why Bitcoin won't do mobile payments soon, Candy Crush v reality, and more
A burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Such hybrid products, in theory, could appeal to buyers interested in both work chores and leisure-time activities. They could allow users to run PC-oriented application programs as well as mobile-style apps developed for Android tablets.
But the software companies have ways to exert pressure to deter the propagation of dual-OS products, people familiar with the situation say.
Samsung has developed a smartphone case that helps the visually impaired by enhancing their awareness of their surroundings. The Ultrasonic Cover for its Galaxy Core Advance smartphone helps owners sense the presence of people and objects up to two meters away.
The cover includes a number of physical buttons to aid disabled users. The Ultrasonic Cover emits a high-frequency sound, listening for the sound wave that bounces back. When it detects a nearby object, the phone lets the smartphone owner know by sending a vibration alert or text-to-speech notification.
When it comes to brand retention, Apple is far ahead of the pack, according to data from WDS that was compiled by Statista. Among 3,000 people surveyed in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia, 76% said they stuck with an Apple smartphone.
That makes sense: While Apple customers tend to be quite happy with iDevices, once someone puts down roots in the iOS ecosystem there is nowhere else to go. It's easier for someone in the Android world to switch between, say, Samsung and HTC devices. In that light, Samsung's 58% retention rate is a pretty good number.
One early app hit held on for half a decade of app industry turmoil. Five years later, Lima Sky's platform jumper is still a Top 30 mainstay. It is the only iPhone app with this kind of longevity. Igor Pusenjak, the quirky and intense cocreator of the game, has a very clear and idiosyncratic vision of how to run the one-game empire he built with his brother. These are Igor's Rules.
The global television market shrank last year for the second year in a row after total shipments declined by 6% from already soft 2012 levels, accompanied this time by a rare deceleration in the liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV space in China, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, according to a new report from IHS Technology.
Shipments worldwide of televisions in 2013 amounted to 225.1m units, down sharply from 238.3m in 2012. It was the second straight year of contraction after a 7% loss in 2012, contrasting with the market's big 11% surge in 2010 and a more modest 1% uptick in 2011
So far, it's far less convenient than a credit card. Before I get accused of being the guy who said the internet would never amount to anything because you couldn't take your laptop to the beach -- yes, the ecosystem will mature. As the exchanges get bigger, massive thefts like the ones recently experienced probably won't happen as often.
In the gaming industry, success has always been highly unpredictable. Parker Brothers, according to a history of the company, found that there was no secret formula: products that tested well often flopped in the marketplace, while "an in-house flop could become the hit of the industry." It says something that King, which has been making games for a decade, had profits of just $7.8m in 2012. The company didn't make eighty times more in 2013 because it had cracked a code; it just caught lightning in a bottle.
It's true that a few companiesDisney, sayhave been able to consistently ride the Zeitgeist. But King has the misfortune to be in an industry where this is especially difficult, simply because it faces so much competition. Reported by guardian.co.uk 18 hours ago.
A burst of 8 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Such hybrid products, in theory, could appeal to buyers interested in both work chores and leisure-time activities. They could allow users to run PC-oriented application programs as well as mobile-style apps developed for Android tablets.
But the software companies have ways to exert pressure to deter the propagation of dual-OS products, people familiar with the situation say.
Samsung has developed a smartphone case that helps the visually impaired by enhancing their awareness of their surroundings. The Ultrasonic Cover for its Galaxy Core Advance smartphone helps owners sense the presence of people and objects up to two meters away.
The cover includes a number of physical buttons to aid disabled users. The Ultrasonic Cover emits a high-frequency sound, listening for the sound wave that bounces back. When it detects a nearby object, the phone lets the smartphone owner know by sending a vibration alert or text-to-speech notification.
When it comes to brand retention, Apple is far ahead of the pack, according to data from WDS that was compiled by Statista. Among 3,000 people surveyed in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia, 76% said they stuck with an Apple smartphone.
That makes sense: While Apple customers tend to be quite happy with iDevices, once someone puts down roots in the iOS ecosystem there is nowhere else to go. It's easier for someone in the Android world to switch between, say, Samsung and HTC devices. In that light, Samsung's 58% retention rate is a pretty good number.
One early app hit held on for half a decade of app industry turmoil. Five years later, Lima Sky's platform jumper is still a Top 30 mainstay. It is the only iPhone app with this kind of longevity. Igor Pusenjak, the quirky and intense cocreator of the game, has a very clear and idiosyncratic vision of how to run the one-game empire he built with his brother. These are Igor's Rules.
The global television market shrank last year for the second year in a row after total shipments declined by 6% from already soft 2012 levels, accompanied this time by a rare deceleration in the liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV space in China, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, according to a new report from IHS Technology.
Shipments worldwide of televisions in 2013 amounted to 225.1m units, down sharply from 238.3m in 2012. It was the second straight year of contraction after a 7% loss in 2012, contrasting with the market's big 11% surge in 2010 and a more modest 1% uptick in 2011
So far, it's far less convenient than a credit card. Before I get accused of being the guy who said the internet would never amount to anything because you couldn't take your laptop to the beach -- yes, the ecosystem will mature. As the exchanges get bigger, massive thefts like the ones recently experienced probably won't happen as often.
In the gaming industry, success has always been highly unpredictable. Parker Brothers, according to a history of the company, found that there was no secret formula: products that tested well often flopped in the marketplace, while "an in-house flop could become the hit of the industry." It says something that King, which has been making games for a decade, had profits of just $7.8m in 2012. The company didn't make eighty times more in 2013 because it had cracked a code; it just caught lightning in a bottle.
It's true that a few companiesDisney, sayhave been able to consistently ride the Zeitgeist. But King has the misfortune to be in an industry where this is especially difficult, simply because it faces so much competition. Reported by guardian.co.uk 18 hours ago.