Three Reasons Apple Should Fear Google+
One of silicon Valley’s biggest rivalries these days is the one between Google and Apple. Their battlegrounds? Hand-held mobile, cloud computing, and traditional hardware. While Apple has jumped out to an early lead in the mobile devices – and is an established player in traditional hardware – Google is gaining ground in every direction.
While it's nothing new that Apple has challengers, Google's new social network – dubbed “Google+” – represents a fundamental threat to Apple in three key ways:
Google Tightening Fist Around Android As They Experience More Fragmentation.
One thing that Google’s Android platform has been praised for is completely open nature. However, while people have fallen in love with the fact that Google has embraced and kept their mobile platform open, many have been inquiring whether the search giant can prevent fragmentation from occurring in the platform and keep all Android devices on the same software version. Steve Jobs made comments last year about the Android platform and its open stance. While he upheld the importance of open sourced software by informing the crowd about WebKit, their opened sourced web software, he explained a software like Google’s Android being open will be “fragmented” and it is best for iOS to remain closed, making it better for consumers.
Android Apps For Tablets Greatly Over-Credited By Apple
During the iPad 2 event back in February, Steve Jobs gave an interesting stat on the amount applications dedicated for Android tablet devices. In his presentation, he spoke on where the App Store stands among other platforms when involving tablet computers. Steve mentioned that the App Store is now home to over 350,000 applications, 65,000+ of which are tailored for the iPad, which is all-in-fact true. However, he said that the Android Marketplace houses somewhere around 100 apps.
“That compares to our competitors, who are trying to launch these days with at most 100 apps. And I think we’re being a little generous here. This is a huge advantage we have,”
Apple Still Looking to Revamp Maps Application
Cupertino still has plans to remodel the Maps application on the iOS platform. Recently, Apple has posted a new job opening searching for a maps developer who can “radically improve” the Maps application and other geolocation features.
“Come work for the team that revolutionized the mobile technology industry as it continues define what computing looks like in a post-PC era. The Maps team is looking for an exceptional developer to join us in our mission to radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services.”
Motorola Exploring New Web-Based OS To Replace Android.
It seems as though Nokia is not the only handset maker looking to stay out of the Android bubble to challenge Apple and the iOS platform. Motorola, Google’s major licensee to the Android platform, is venturing to experiment with a web-based OS that will allow the handset maker to have more control of the future of it’s devices. In light of this, Android enthusiast have been frowning at the decision made by the veteran handset manufacturer.
Over 60% Of Web Video iOS Compatible.
Seems like HTML5 and H.264 are taking over the Internet. Over 60 percent of the web is now in HTML5 using H.264, which means mo footage for you to watch on you iOS device. The Internet seems to be making the shift as the software has been proven to operate the most optimal on mobile platforms, reportedly.
“- Over the last 12 months we have seen a rise from 10% to 63% of web videos becoming HTML5 compatible.
- H.264 is still the most common format, as it is compatible for playback in Flash as well as the browser natively.
BigPhone: Google Voice for Mac
Tired of accessing your Google Voice account through your desktop? Well, there’s a full-fledged app available for your mac that allows you to access Google Voice straight through your menu bar! Say hello to BigPhone.
Google Voice is a service that allows you to unify all of your telephones with one number. If someone calls your Google Voice number, it will ring whatever phones you have connected to it. That means your cell phone, home phone, and work phone can all ring at the same time if you have your settings set to do so. Google Voice also includes free voice mail which is transcribed for easy access, and texting. Check out two of our previous articles on the Google Voice iOS app.
Nokia and Microsoft Team Up in Smartphone Arena
In what seemed liked a pretty obvious move in the smartphone arena, Nokia and Microsoft have made official that the two are joining forces to better one another. Nokia has announced that they are making the Windows Phone platform it’s “primary smartphone strategy” adding contribution to the platform from their own experience in the mobile device market.
While the specific details of the deal are being worked out, here’s a quick summary of what we are working towards:
- Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as its primary smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.
Google Launches “Cloud Print” for iOS Devices.
The boys in Mountainvew, California, better known to the world as Google, have launched a new service that allows users to print documents and other content to any printer of their choosing directly from the Google mobile interface.
“Imagine printing an important document from your smartphone on the way to work and finding the printout waiting for you when you walk in the door. Just open a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail in your mobile browser and choose ‘Print’ from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print certain kinds of email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the “Print” link that appears next to them.”
Desktop Version of Google Docs Now Functional for iPad
Desktop Version of Google Docs Now Functional for iPad
A while back, the boys of Mountainview Calif., otherwise known as Google, announced that they have enabled editing of their Google Docs web software on the iPad. Users were waiting with anticipation for the big launch.
The iPad’s mobile version of the free web-based office software provides a fair number of editing possibilities. However, the ability to format and change fonts was not included in the mobile version of the software. The good news is that Google recently announced that its web software is now compatible with the iPad and allows for greatly expanded editing capabilities.
