Technology & Business
Blackberry 10 (BB10) to run Jelly Bean apps
Everyone knows that apps make the smartphone and Blackberry decided to include Android emulation in its OS to bolster the available apps on its platform. Sure the emulated apps don't match the look and feel of the new Blackberry 10 operating system but its better than not having that option. Blackberry has promised an improved Android experience on its devices by upgrading the runtime to version 4.1 (currently is is at the 2.3 level). This means more apps will be compatible, compatibility will improve across the board and shows that Blackberry is committed to this functionality (at least for now).
FIDO offers the Google Nexus 4 for $100
Every Android fan's dream device is now available at Fido (a Canadian mobile phone provide that belongs to Rogers) at an attractively low $100 on a 2 year deal. Shipping has started already and devices are first come first served. It is wonderful to see FIDO being price competitive. Wind mobile is offering it for $249-$549 (depending on the monthly plan). Videotron is offeing it as low as $149 on some plans. The phone was available on FIDO's website yesterday and seems to have been removed today.
HTC to launch new smartphone camera revolution
HTC is set to launch its new flagship phone, the M7, in the Big Apple on February 19th. Sure it has a fast quad-core 1.7GHZ processor and a nice 1080p display but it claims the real killer feature is its new camera that will boast an "ultrapixel" sensor. Is this a revolutionary new technology or marketing speak? Only time will tell but the rumors say it is a new camera model (for smartphones at least) where 3 4.3 megapixel sensor layers will used to create one "
Run any Android 4.2 app on Windows quickly
I wrote about Bluestack and how they provide a beta emulation software that allows you to run some Android software on a Windows or Mac PC. Emulation is good when you don't have any other option but now a team of Chinese developers from Socketeq has pushed their Android on Windows just a little bit further. Instead of using emulation which is slower and more limiting, they have created a system where Android runs on top of the Windows kernel (without emulation).
6 months of free RDIO for Canadians and 14 other countries
Canadians always seem to get the short end of the entertainment stick (compared to our US neighbors). RDIO is finally sharing the love with Canada and 14 other countries by providing up to 6 months of commercial free, ad free music streaming. Rdio Launches Free Music Streaming in Nearly All Countries Where Rdio is Available Rdio, (www.rdio.com), the streaming music service from the co-creator of Skype, is now offering music lovers up to six months of free music on the Web in nearly all countries where Rdio is available1.
A new standard for better HD video streaming
Over the last couple of years, we have been treated a fantastic group of web TV and movies streaming services (Netflix, HULU, BBC iPlayer, etc). These services are wonderful when they work smoothly and f...r...u.s....t....r...a...t..i.....n..g when they don't (buffer pains anyone). Now imagine what high definition (and even ultraHD) would do to an already bad streaming situation. The MPEG group submitted a new proposal which was quickly adopted by the ITU as the next generation streaming standard (now called H.
Facebook Search Graph may help HR find better candidates
Most people know and use LinkedIn, the huge professional networking site recruiters love. Linkedin does a great job telling recruiters what a candidate knows and where they have worked but it doesn't provide any information on "fit" within a company. This is where the new Facebook Search Graph may provide an additional tool to help recruiters fine tune their candidate search process. Facebook Search Graph will allow the recruiter to ask targeted questions to find connections with people, locations, organization, sports, hobbies and much more.
Rumor - First images of the iPhone 5s
French blog, NoWhereElse, has published pictures they claim belong to the upcoming iPhone 5s and an iPhone 6. They claim that the iPhone 5s will be released this summer and that the iPhone 6 will follow in early 2014. Like most sites, NoWhereElse seems to have gotten some rumors right and messed up others completely. Like all things Apple, we'll have to wait until WWDC to see what goodies Apple has in store for us. Personally I doubt we would see iPhone 6 parts just yet.
Apple users send 2 billion iMessages a day
I wrote about Whatsapp [processing 18 billion](http://www.kiledjian.com/main/2013/1/4/whatsapp-processed-18-billion-messages-on-december-31-2012.html) messages on New Year's day. During Apple's quarterly presentation, we learned that Apple users send 1 billion iMessages a day. Apple solf 47.8 million iPhones during the quarter and the total IOS devices sold to date (from inception) now totals 500 million. Apple also saw the number of total iCLoud users jumped to 250 million in December 2012. 2 billion messages may seem like a lot but then you look at the cross-platform Whatsapp and realize they have a long way to go.
Rumor - Apple will release a 128GB iPhone 5s
Regardless of the maximum device size released by Apple, there are always customers demanding more. The largest iphones currently support 64GB of storage but that may all be about to change. The latest IOS 6.1 beta 5 seems to support a larger 128GB system partition key in BuildManifest. This would match up with previously seem NAND upgrade patterns from Apple (which are about every 2 years). Online storage providers have been trying to fill in the gap by convincing customers that streaming and online storage is a better option than plucking down top dollar for the largest device possible.