I read an interesting article about Internet trends. I have one question for you: Are you a mobile addict?
According to Internet Trends Report, a mobile addict is someone who launches apps over 60 times daily. The average is 10 times daily. The number of mobile addicts have more than doubled since April 2013. Super users (those who launch apps 16-60 times daily) have increased 55% in that same time. But the most interesting aspect are the social demographics. Charts show the 35-55 year-old crowd consists of 28% of mobile addicts, followed by college age, then high school age persons. Women were more likely to become mobile addicts then men. What are mobile addicts into? Things like sports, games, parenting, education, and cars.
Those five are the leading categories of mobile addicts make a lot of sense. How many times do we catch the score when we can’t watch the game (guilty as charged!)? How many games do we play games on these devices…on a daily basis? And parents, how often do you load education videos on your device just to keep them calm and keep yourself sane? So those top categories make perfect sense. But I’m still trying to figure out why the middle aged crowd beat the twenty somethings in mobile addictions? I thought they would be number one. Think of how easy mobile apps are to get. Think of the mobile apps they’re coming up with. Don’t you think mobile addicts will only increase by this point?
It seems the world’s largest cable company and one of the world’s largest computer company are collaborating. But why? And is there a bigger reason than what we’ve been given?
Comcast and Apple are trying to hook up a TV streaming service using Apple set-top boxes and Comcast’s cable services to bypass Web congestion. Apple hopes users will stream TV programming and DVRs in a cloud, instead of using the old cable box that I grew up on. Comcast would be good for Apple because if this deal goes through, their TV traffic would be separated from their Internet traffic. Apple and Comcast are nowhere near an agreement, but this is worth watching.
Have you heard the news? Cable TV is dying. Cable ratings have dropped every year in this 2010s decade. For the first time ever, cable subscriptions will hit below 40 million, despite more people having access to TV services. So maybe Apple will save the day for Comcast. But it does explain why Comcast is buying up Time Warner and other major corporations,? maybe to save what little is left of cable. Maybe they’re teaming up with Apple because they know cable TV has past the point of no return. This is the scary thing: what if our rates go up because of this? What if these two join up and more companies are bought up because of this alliance? Am I being too cynical here?
Samsung is introducing yet another tablet to it’s already wide array of Galaxy tablets. This one is named the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite. Now this tablet is set up to compete against the smaller tablet market. It comes in with a 1024×600 pixel resolution which actually falls below its major competition the Nexus 7. It also comes with a 1.2 ghz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. So from the looks of it this is made for people an a budget who would still like to own an Android tablet. It also has a 2 megapixel camera and Android 4.2 operating system. With all of these underwhelming components and the fact that it doesn’t match up well against the direct competition of the Nexus 7 it better be priced below the Nexus 7. Although they may try to fall back on the name by using the Galaxy label.
There is no comments currently on where they will be pricing this device but my guess if they want to make sales they should price it at $179.99. This is just my speculation on my part but based on the specs of this device. Hopefully in the near future we will hear where Samsung decides to price and release this mediocre device.
If I told you a whole neighborhood will get free WiFi, which neighborhood would you guess? Greenwich, CT? Beverly Hills, CA? South Beach Miami, FL? Try Harlem, NYC!
Harlem, the historic and perhaps most famous of all African-American neighborhoods, will be the first neighborhood to get free public WiFi service. It’s expected to expand 95 blocks between 110th and 138th St. and stretch between Fredrick Douglas Blvd. and Madison Ave. It’s already being worked on and should be complete in May 2014. It’s part of Mayor Bloomberg’s farewell initiative. Keep in mind much of Harlem is low income. Of it’s 80,000 residents, around 15% live in public housing.
I actually applaud this decision. I don’t like much of what Mayor Bloomberg has done during his tenure, but we’re living in an age where everyone should and eventually need WiFi. This is a good move. And let’s face it; not everyone may be in the position to afford WiFi service. This is a big step in the technological realm. If you predicted five years ago a whole major city neighborhood would probably go WiFi, you would have been laughed out the building. And since it’s New York City leading the charge, maybe other cities will follow. I know there are some on the far right who will call this borderline socialism. I disagree with that sentiment. Public WiFi can be used as a tool to educate youth, train for jobs, and help people achieve the American dream. Will free WiFi come to a neighborhood near you?
Some time ago, I reported to you about certain airlines allowing passengers to use mobile services during takeoff and landing. Well, frequent fliers are going to love this one!
One airline is going even further than that. Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to provide gate-to-gate WiFi Internet service. Southwest is using different satellite technology from their competitors. Most of the others use Gogo, which only powers in-flight WiFi. But that might be changing. Gogo is upgrading Internet speed and adding talking and texting features.? Southwest uses technological services from a satellite WiFi company called Row 44.
From what I know about this, I doubt other airlines will follow this lead anytime soon. I know Gogo is trying to up the ante with their services. What I don’t know is whether it will contribute to gate-to-gate WiFi service. Back on Oct. 31, the FAA relaxed laws, making it doable for for your smart whatever to be used anytime during flight, including takeoff and landing. Plus, every airport I’ve flown in and had layovers in have had their own WiFi. So Southwest’s gate to gate service may or may not be necessary. Is Southwest’s gate to gate WiFi a good idea?
Two months ago, Samsung released it’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Critics believed this device was doomed to failure, due to it’s lackluster looks and lack of apps. Those critics are being proven wrong.
So far, over 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatches have been sold. They’re expecting even bigger numbers when the holiday season comes. Samsung has used aggressive marketing tactics like fashion shows to get this product out. The smartwatch is priced at around $300. It’s an accessory to the Galaxy smartphone, and it’s screen can take photos and handle messages. In fact, some Europe retailers will give customers free watches when they get a Galaxy Gear smartphone on contract. Samsung brags it’s the most wearable smartwatch out there.
Samsung isn’t the only ones in the smart watch game. Pebble watches started being shipped in January 2013. By the end of July, 275,000 of them were sold. Some places even sold out of them. So the success of Galaxy and Pebbles tells me and should tell you that smartwatches are here to stay. They may not sell out as well as the two new video game systems, but I think they will sell enough to make a statement. For a watch that can do this much, I think $300 is a great price. Pebble watches can go for far less. My question is: When is Apple coming out with it’s smartwatch?
