2013
Microsoft Messenger is dead... long live Skype
We have know for some time now that Microsoft (Skype's owner) had the intention of killing off its own Messenger product and use Skype as its younger more hip replacement. The Next Web is now reporting that MS notified it's users that March 15 2013 is the day. You are already able to log into Skype with your MS account and your messenger contacts can be migrated to Skype. Update on 2013-01-11 13:08 by Edward N Kiledjian I received my Microsoft notification email yesterday evening.
How many of your Twitter followers are fake?
With all the talk about fake Facebook/Twitter/Youtube followers, you may be wondering how many of your Twitter followers are real people and how many are bots. Enter Twitter Audit. The company describes itself as Each audit takes a random sample of 5000 Twitter followers for a user and calculates a score for each follower. This score is based on number of tweets, date of the last tweet, and ratio of followers to friends. We use these scores to determine whether any given user is real or fake.
Otterbox iON is a protective case and large battery in one
Otterbox makes some of the best iphone protecting cases anywhere and they have just annonced a new iON case which marries their protection expertise with a decent battery and cool looking overview app. The case is intelligent enough and turns the external battery on and off without any user intervention. The case will hot stores around summer and we don't know the price yet.
IOS 6 is a disappointment and Android Jelly Bean shines
I have been an IOS user since 2007 and have loved every new device and every new IOS release. Each new version (hardware or software) brought incredible innovation and was a pleasure to explore. Then we saw IOS 6 and it was boring. IOS 6 was very boring and was the first time I felt Apple was falling behind its main competitor, Google’s Android. Integration with Google Services Although I knew Android was gaining ground, I hadn’t realized how much it had advanced until I bought my Google Nexus 7.
Amazon Prime finally coming to Canada
Canadians have been waiting a long time but Amazon will finally give us Amazon Prime membership for $79 a year. In exchange for our Canadian money, Amazon will give members free 2 day shipping on most Amazon item. If you were hoping to get Amazon Instant Video, you’ll be disappointed. The US Amazon Prime membership includes a Netflix like streaming video service (included in the price). Unfortunately there is no indication this service will ever be offered north of the border.
WolframAlpha can generate strong passwords
With all the hacking reports we saw in 2012, I hope all of you understand how important it is to generate a strong and unique password for each of the online services you use. You can create a strong password yourself or you can use one of my favorite websites, WolframAplha, to create one for you. Go to Wolfram Alpha In the query box, enter Generate Password Click on the first option and press enter It then generates an 8 character strong password
Run your favorite devices for 2 weeks without plugging it into the wall
We love our smartphones, tablets and media players but the one limiting factor to all of these is the battery. If you are a frequent business traveler, you know the frustration of running out of juice right when you need it the most. The current solution has us running around with backup batteries but these are heavy and only offer 2-4 device charges before needing to be plugged in. Now Lilliputian is making a bold promise. It is offering its pattented electicity generation technology to the general public via a small and easy to carry device called Nectar.
Never lose your luggage again
Globatrac has just announced its newest tracking product called the Trackdot. It is a small device equipped with a quad-band GSM system that will track itself and then provide periodic updates via its website, SMS or its smartphone app. The device will be powered by 2 AA batteries and should last up to 2 weeks. A business traveller would slide one of these devices in each of his checked bags. The device will then provide the requested location updated and the company has said it will even be able to notify you when your bag hits the luggage carousel.
Fitbit Flex wristband announced
Fitbit has just announced that it will be releasing a new device (bringing their total device count to 3) called the Flex. It is a waterproof wristband that clearly competes with the Jawbone UP 2. It tracks activity but unlike it's other products, the Flex does not measure altitude (aka number of steps climbed). It then connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth to upload data back to the Fitbit mothership. It also tracks your sleep but unlike the other Fitbit devices, it doesn't have a button to engage sleep mode.
SoundGecko let's you listen to your favorite website
SoundGecko is a service that takes in web content you are interested in and makes it available as a downloadable audio track. In simple terms, it converts the content you want into spoken word so you can listen to it while driving, running errands or anytime you can't read. There are clients for IOS, Windows Phone and Android. How it works You sign up for a free account and then go to the SoundGecko page. you enter your registered email address and add the URL of the content you want read.
Withings Smart Activity Tracker
About 6 months ago, Fitbit released the Aria WIFI scale scale which competed directly with Withings. It seems Withings isn't about to play dead and has announced theSmart Activity Tracker as a direct assault to the Fitbit Ultra. This is a crowded field and this newcomer will have to compete with the liked of the Nike Fuelbank, Lark Life, Misfit Shine. An interesting new feature the Smart Activity Tracker brings to the table is monitoring of your pulse. The device has a tiny sensor on the back that you push your finger against and within seconds, it will detect and record your heart rate.
New Smart Body Analyzer measures Air Quality and Heard Rate
Withings has announced that its new Smart Body Analyser scale will incorporate new features "never before seen in a scale". In addition to measuring your weight and body fat, it will also check your heart rate. All of this information is logged in the Withings site and can be seen via its smartphone app. This ups its game against the Fitbit Aria. In the evening, (every 30 minutes) it takes a CO2 measurement in your room. They believe this measurement will allow them to create a room air quality score you can use to improve your health.
Your cloud service is shutting down. Now what?
2012 was an interesting year where more services were moved to the cloud and at the same time we saw the risk of cloud services shutting down. In the case of MegaUpload.com (the notorious filesharing site shutdown by the FBI), the government seized all of the hosting servers and made all the information on them unreachable. Even legitimate users ,like the XDA developers, end up losing their information (over 200,000 XDA files were hosted on MegaUpload – all legal). Other times, a commercial decision is made that can see a free service become for pay or a service can be shelved completely.
The best Android keyboard for super fast text entry
As I started exploring Android for the first time (switching from IOS), I wanted to find a fast way to enter text. The IOS method of a screen based keyboard is ok but very slow (and therefore not efficient). I realized that there are dozens of great Android keyboard alternatives. Some of these keyboards are weird and won't actually improve your text entry speed (Slice is a great example of this). Slice for Android If anything, Slice for Android may actually slow you down ;-)
WhatsApp processed 18 billion messages on December 31 2012
The King of Instant Mobile Messaging. Whatsapp had its busiest day yet with 18 billion messages being send over its network on December 31 2012. On Dec 31st we had a new record day: 7B msgs inbound, 11B msgs outbound = 18 billion total messages processed in one day! Happy 2013!!! — WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) January 2, 2013 WhatApp charges IOS users 99 cents per year. Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry users get the first year free and then are charged 99 cents per year thereafter.
First peek at the Samsung Galaxy S IV
SamMobile, a Samsung only blog, has posted an image it claims is the world’s first look at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone. They say the image was provided courtesy of a Samsung insider and that because of its look (similar to the SIII) it may be real. There have been some rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S IV and some have even said it will merge their smartphone and phablet lines creating a new flagship phone. Other rumors have said it will keep its 5” screen but bump pixel density to 441ppi.
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 50% thinner and more scratch resistant
Corning is the purveyor of fine screen glass for many a manufacturers (ipod, ipad, iphone, Nexus, etc). It has now announced the creation of its next generation product, Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. It will be thinner, stronger and more scratch resistant than its predecessor. It will retain its magical strength even when scratched (which is rarely the case for glass). Gorilla Glass 3 will be showcased at CES and should make it into your favorite 2013 gadget. Stronger, more scratch resistant glass is always a good thing for the road warrior business person.
Nexus 7 dock will be released January 10 2013
Nexus 7 tablets flew off the shelves for Christmas and now customers are eager waiting for the device's official dock from ASUS. One of the US' largest and most respected online retailers (B&H) has listed the dock for pre-order with an expected availability date of January 10th 2013 (list price of $39.99). There is no guarantee this prediction is real and we may be left wanting and waiting even on Jan 10. Update on 2013-01-06 01:40 by Edward N Kiledjian B&H has now updated the ETA for January 16 2013.
Review of the Google Nexus 4
I recently had the opportunity to play with the incredibly in demand and very hard to get Google Nexus 4 phone and wanted to share my point of view. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive review but rather a quick summary of the positives and negatives. There is a reason why the Google Nexus 4 is sold out in most Google Play stores around the world. It is a great phone at an incredibly competitive price. The device The Google Nexus 4 is a solid and well built device that won’t disappoint.