4.3.3 is available for download, now Apple can’t track you…(for as long!)

On Wednesday, Apple released their unscheduled new software update to sort the problem that annoyed many iPhone and iPad 3G users. The problem that causes this outrage was that two British computer programmers found a folder on the iPhone that was recording your location with transmitter triangulation data and by recording the Wi-Fi Hot Spots that the handset also connected to.

Apple insists that this storage facility was designed to improve the speed and the efficiency of the apps on the phone that required a GPS location such as Sat Nav or even Google maps.  There was also many comments made that the data was then put onto iTunes during a sync, but that was not proved and Apple did deny that this did happen.

Apple has released the new iPhone software (ver. 4.3.3) that is available from iTunes. This new software version will reduce the size of the storage folder, so only very recent locations will be saved and the software will also delete all locations data when the location services are turned off. Their previous data storage folder had been recording locations for almost a whole year.

BlackBerry exchange Google for Bing…

After being on stage at the annual RIM BlackBerry show, Microsoft announced that Bing will be providing the search facilities on Blackberry devices. This will then be a new partnership for Microsoft, with the aim to help people make better decisions with Bing on Blackberry Devices, while boosting handset sales.

The partnership will include Bing as the default search provider for the search app and the browser. However, it is unclear at this point which of the blackberry devices will be defaulted to Bing. It might be the new Blackberry Bond and also the Blackberry Playbook that is due for release soon.

This is good news for some and not so good for others. The benefits are for Microsoft and their Bing search, hopefully this will boost handset sales for blackberry.  The biggest loser in this deal is Google; as they where the default search provider on the Blackberry handsets.

Bing has been in this position before, in terms of having their search facility exclusively on a produced handset. Also, you may remember that deal that was pending between Microsoft and Nokia, which did sound very similar to the Blackberry and Bing arrangement. Perhaps Microsoft is planning a worldwide domination to be the default search providers of mobiles and Smartphone’s.

Let’s assume that both Microsoft deals happen and are completed as expected, what might happen to the market share of Google against Bing? What is known is that Bing is growing fractionally month on month, 2011 has started very well for Bing. This slow but consistent pace is worrying for Google, as it has been stated if Bing’s growth was erratic it would show that its decline just as quick as it grows. Unfortunately that is not the case which is why it could be very damaging for Google.

Specifically in the mobile search, Google have a strong hold on the Android and the iPhone devices, but if Apple that make the iPhone decided to change the default search provider, Google would be in a lot of trouble and would lose a lot of crucial market share. Having said that, Microsoft and Apple are not on best of pals anyway, so the chances are remote that these two businesses will come together.

Google is not helping itself in a number of areas because of the changes that have been made to its search results and the algorithms.  Add Bing’s increasing fortunes and we could be in for an entertaining online battle for search facilities.

Apple rejects claims that iPhone users are being tracked

iPhones and Smartphones as a whole, have so much technology onboard that they are taking priority as our main multimedia device when conducting our internet activities. All this technology and functionality has posed a question towards Apple. ‘Is Apple using Wi-Fi networks and mobile reception to track user movements?’

The question has been generated by two British computer programmers after some research. Apple has released a statement saying that they do not follow any of the location services such as GPS or Google Maps. Apple has no intention of tracking iPhones and never will.

Despite this the iPhone does log what Wi-Fi access points, 3G and transmitter towers that it connects to.  It does this so that it can establish its location very quickly. This log was discovered by the British programmers who found a hidden list of locations on your device.

This log was then updated to iTunes during a sync, this the means that other people with network sharing access can view this data, including Apple.

In response to these claims, Apple has said that they are going to release a new software update. The update will still have a log of connections to Wi-Fi and other services but the log will be much smaller. This log is according to Apple, a location database that will not be included in the sync to iTunes as before. So, the database will consist of less info and will only stay on the iPhone.

The database was used to increase the accuracy of the GPS and other location based services, so with a smaller database will this be compromised? Surely by not including this sync with iTunes it’s sufficient?

Nokia go backwards but the Microsoft deal is still on…

Despite declaring better than expected profits for the first quarter, Nokia’s share price is down but Microsoft is still involved.

The share price and profits have both recently fell. The share price fell by 4% to 29% and the profits fell by 1% which is about £304m.

Nokia have stated that the long awaited deal with Microsoft will change all that, as they attempt to reverse their fortunes.  Microsoft will be giving advice and developing a new Smartphone that will take on the giants of Apple.

Many investors have welcomed the news of the deal and this has helped the share price a bit but as always proof is in the pudding.

According to the chief executive, Nokia have moved along their process from defining the strategy to implementing it, confirming the deal with Microsoft and designing the product.

Nokia have admitted that they were slow to match the response from the competitors in the Smartphone market.  Just to rub salt into the wounds – Apple unveiled a 95% increase in profits in Q1. Nokia have it all to do now perhaps. Nokia have sold more handsets in Q1 than Apple, but its price that has brought Apple forward, an average Apple’s wholesale price was $585 more than Nokia.

One of the things that Microsoft will be doing is dropping the Symbian software and using their own as the Symbian is occasionally slow and not what the users want.

The Chief Executive also stated that the finalisation with Microsoft will then focus on execution, but they are not out of the woods yet and difficult times are still ahead.

The Smartphone – what can we expect in 2011?

If you have a Smartphone, ask yourselves this question – would things in your world be the same without the apps, email, MMS, and the internet on the move?

Smartphone’s are expected to be more popular than ever in 2011 and take a bit more market share. According to the International Data Corporation that tracks technology and its sales, they believe that 450 million Smartphone’s will be shipped in 2011. That is a big leap compared to the 303 million on 2010. This increased distribution then puts the Smartphone on course for a 50% growth assuming that they are all bought.

This is an intense market, including Google, Apple, Sony Ericson and Microsoft pushing their handsets into the market and trying to out promote each other during their new product announcements. It is that intense that Apple has sued HTC (that made the Google Phone) and Nokia have sued Apple, twice! One being because Apple copied their patents on their OS software.

Recently in the news – there has been more chatter about establishing more Wi-Fi points and the national replacement of copper wire for fibre optic cable, providing a more complete and quicker internet service. These changes just add more reasons to buy a Smartphone.

Within one battle there are several more. If the Smartphone market does use and need the 450 million units, which OS platform will you choose? Perhaps the Apple OS is what you prefer, Google Android or Windows OS. So there is a battle for OS software as well as manufacturers of the handsets.

There is also the possibility of partnerships to gain an advantage in the marketing place – such as Microsoft and Nokia. The first Nokia devices running Windows OS, not the Symbian, are due to appear in 2012.

If you don’t have a Smartphone – you will be missing a lot!

Android overtake Smartphone, depending on how you wish to see it!

While the Smartphone war is still raging, early indications show that the Android OS is holding a larger market share. So is Android OS beating Apple OS 4?

The Nielson research company have confirmed that the Android OS is the more popular operating system among the Smartphone users. The Android has reached 29% of all Smartphone’s, in contrast with 27% of Apples OS 4 and 27% RIM BlackBerry editions.

However, RIM BlackBerry and Apple were leading the pack in terms of manufacturing the hardware. Plus, RIM BlackBerry and Apple OS do have an advantage because they make and release their own handsets with their own OS systems.

The Windows Phone 7 and the Android OS use third party manufacturing companies including Samsung, Motorola, HTC and HP to build phones that the their respective operating systems are installed onto. This then really boosts the number of users of the Android OS when it runs on handsets from Samsung, HTC and HP.

The Apple OS is installed on to all of the iPhone products so their marketing share will all depend upon unit sales.  In contrast, Android depends on other manufacturers sales efforts.

This does pose the question, have Android users bought a specific phone that has this OS, or did they buy Android regardless of what it was installed on to? If the latter is the reason then their market share of 29% could increase which would be bad news for Apple and RIM BlackBerry.

One operating system that has not been mentioned is the Symbian OS system that is currently managed by Nokia and has been installed onto many Nokia handsets including the N series (N95 – N80). Popularity of this OS in 2004 and 2005 was immediate. However, the Symbian software was reported to be occasionally unreliable and slow between functions. With regards to market share, it was near the top – it now holds only 2%, despite supporting great handsets like the Nokia 5320, X5 and N86.

So, does this prove that the consumers buy the OS and not the phone? The Android has the highest market share when installed into good handsets.  Nokia have always put together handsets that have been easy to use and stylish, but the OS has underperformed.

Another argument could be that Apple and RIM BlackBerry have 27% market share each because of their sales and marketing, and their OS is their own. So if the market share of their two were added together that would make 54%, more than Android.

If consumers do buy the OS, more manufacturers will want the Android on board as it boosts unit sales, so the market share of Android will also increase taking more business away from RIM BlackBerry and Apple. Having said that, the Android is supported across HTC, Motorola and Samsung, three major branded platforms where as the Apple and RIM BlackBerry only supports their own brands.

In summary, Android has more users through its branded manufactures. However, Apple and RIM BlackBerry have possibly performed better as all activities are done in house, with own handsets and OS.

So, the Handset (i.e. iPhone, BlackBerry or Samsung) or the OS (Apple, RIM or Android)? What’s it to be?

Apple Media Event to Unveil the iPad2 Today

The much awaited unveiling of the Apple iPad2 is reportedly to take place today.  However, the rumour mill has been doing overtime regarding what else Apple are planning to announce at the media event.

According to a couple of Mac forums, whilst the iPad2 will be the main announcement, there will also be the introduction of Apple’s cloud-based MobileMe.  The MobileMe service is believed to let users upload media files to the Apple servers which can be accessed from various devices.

A leak from an anonymous member of Apple staff said the MobileMe service will store films, TV shows and music that have been purchased from the iTunes store.

Reports suggest that Apple have been revamping MobileMe to introduce some cloud-based services that will be free.

The same Apple source also advised that people shouldn’t get too excited about the iPad2 as it’s more of small speed ramp than a complete upheaval.  I major revamp of the iPad is expected later this year.

The apple source said: “For the iPad 2 don’t get your hopes up too high. That’s all I’m going to say. They’ve had a number of problems along the way, and the third-generation iPad is the one to make a song and a dance about.”

There have been murmurings for some time that Apple are planning to release the iPad3 about September time when they typically refresh iPods.

Big Brands are Beginning to Shun the Apple iPad

Digital marketers and media agencies are refusing to risk heavy investment for advertising on the iPad because publishing prices are too high and there aren’t sufficient download figures available.

Media agencies with high-end magazine clients are now shunning commercial opportunities on the iPad due to inaccurate download figures, inadequate reporting and high production costs.

This is not good news for Apple given that the iPad was only released 6 months ago and the release of the iPad2 is imminent.

Because Apple keeps a tight grip on content, publishers are restricted in what they can provide advertisers with.  This has resulted in investment being stifled and compounded brand confusion.  Due to the lack of reporting from Apple, publishers have had to create their own reporting systems for the device.

One major brand currently using the iPad for advertising is Toyota.  Brand communications manager at Toyota, Lisa Fielden, said:

“Media costs for iPad campaigns are about twice the production costs. If we had this across the rest of our marketing, we wouldn’t see any return.”

“We need to get to a wider audience and to access different target markets, such as young women, or buy a specific audience. I don’t want to just buy a broadcast audience,” she added.

It looks like we will have to wait for the iPad2 to be revealed later today to see if Apple has also made any inroads into addressing this problem.

The Daily Rumoured to be going Android

The Daily, News Corp’s digital offering in the news world is rumoured to be planning implementing an Android App in the next quarter.

Earlier this month, The Daily launched their tablet offering in co-operation with Apple.

Purely because of the collaboration between Apple and News Corp, many labelled The Daily an iPad only title.  However, it’s believed that the deal between the two companies will expire in quarter two, leaving the door wide open for The Daily to give an Android offering.

The Daily subscription is 61p per week and customers can view text, audio and graphic subject matter.

News Corp were the first news company to charge users for content using the Apple digital billing service.  The service also allows data on subscribers to be collected using in-app analytics.

As mentioned, this is purely a rumour at the moment as News Corp has yet to confirm or deny its validity.

Microsoft + Nokia = a possible improvement for ‘Bing’ or Not?

As we have mentioned before, the Smartphone market is getting inundated with many manufacturers including Samsung, Apple and Nokia, all wanting a bit if the action. The more Smartphone’s that are in people hands, the more mobile searches will be done, so Microsoft and Nokia coming together is an excellent opportunity to push ‘Bing’ forward and challenge the other big search engine operatives.

Bing has been growing steadily, but disappointingly slowly over the past few years.  There have been many marketing adventures and technological investments to promote Bing’s growth, but the response was poor and not what Microsoft were expecting. The development of Bing had been restricted by the release of the Android phone, and the work to increase market share that Microsoft have (4.2%) in the Smartphone sales.  However, the stated market share has been restricted mainly because Apple has kept Google as there default search engine provider.

Nokia are a massive supplier of Smartphone’s and are arguably the largest in the world, so you would imagine that using Bing as a default search engine provider on a Nokia Smartphone would be just the thing. The ground work has been done by Nokia because of its global handset sales. Bing would have a market place and a significant leap forward in mobile search numbers. But, and there is a big but, by having a default search engine on a handset does not mean that it can’t be changed to a competitor just like you can change your search operator on a desktop PC, so there is no guaranteed usage.

If Microsoft had secured the default search engine with Apple – things could have been a lot different. Perhaps Microsoft will nail this chance to advance Bing as a search engine and not miss it. Nokia Smartphone’s did out-sell Apple iPhones by 10 to 1 last year so it could cause a problem for other search engines particularly on the mobile search market if Microsoft and Nokia can collaborate to make this work. Let’s not forget that Yahoo is also a partner of Microsoft, with a very popular email and chat service that could be installed into future Nokia handsets.

This topic could rumble on for many months and possibly years, but it’s an excellent window of opportunity for ‘Bing’ to development market share and start the growth.