Move Over iPhone 6, Android One Is A More Serious Threat (In The Low-Cost Market)

When it comes to smartphone operating systems there are really only two big names, Android and iOS (but there is a company that rents them all). I mean, there are others, but they have yet to hit the popularity and esteem of these two. One such operating system is that of Windows Phone. While Windows Phones aren't necessarily bad devices, they simply have had a rough time surpassing Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately for Windows Phone things don't look to be getting any easier. Even though Apple has released the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus its Android that Windows Phone should really be fearing.

Google's Android One project could very well be the final nail in the coffin for Windows Phone, making sure that these devices never become a serious threat to the smartphone market. Apple's newest devices are high-end phones with high-end prices, as usual. The iPhone 6 comes in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB varieties that run $199, $299 and $399, respectively. The iPhone 6 Plus comes with the same three versions with $299, $399 and $499 price tags. 

These numbers make Microsoft extremely happy as the company as all but given up on high-end smartphones. As a result, Microsoft is starting to target consumers that are a little more careful with their money and ones who aren't necessarily willing to for over that kind of cash for a smartphone. The flagship of this new business model is the company's Lumia 830 Windows Phone which comes with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 5" screen. 

Corporate Vice President of Mobile Device Sales at Microsoft Chris Weber was quoted recently at the IFA Electronics Show in Berlin stating that the new marketing strategy for Windows Phone would be pricing. "We're going to challenge Apple and Samsung and expose the premium they are charging for a phone," Weber stated. 

That's the precise reason Microsoft should be worried about Android One. Android One is a project from Google that is designed to reduce the cost of Android phones. The company's target is the developing world, where Nokia used to have a very large presence and where Microsoft is hoping to use the Nokia name to grab a market share with low-cost Windows Phones. 

Google, on the other hand, is making it very easy for phone manufacturers to produce low-cost phones that will run stock Android without any modifications. To make matters worse for Microsoft, Google has already lined up Acer, Alcatel OneTouch, Asus, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic and Xolo along with chipmaker Qualcomm. Android One will launch first in India and then make its way to Indonesia, the Philippines and other South Asian countries by the end of this year. 

Google currently owns nearly 80% of the world's smartphone market. The biggest of these new markets are in developing countries, which is where Windows Phone needs to increase its profits. However, with Android One on the prowl it's unlikely that Microsoft will be able to make a dent in the market. While everyone is gawking at the new iPhones from Apple, Microsoft will be sweating bullets over Google's low-cost Android One phones.

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How To Keep Your Android Device Clean And Fast

There are plenty of reasons why you should make sure to clean out your Android device periodically. When you have tons of apps installed, a lot of them have routines that run constantly and can take away from the performance of your phone. What is even worse than that is the fact that some of them continuously access the internet. This can be a big problem if you do not have unlimited data, which most of us do not.

On top of that, expandable storage on smartphones is becoming more rare with every new smartphone launch. So having all of these old apps and all of their data is taking up useful storage space that you could be using for something... useful.

If your cell phone is suffering from a lack of storage and/or slow performance, then you should take advantage of this article and figure out how to identify and remove the useless things that are taking up all of the precious space on your device.

Store Your Media Elsewhere

All of your media doesn't have to travel with you in your pocket for the rest of your life. Let's face it, you're never going to look at most of it ever again, even if you don't want to delete it. So, if your phone storage is getting low, offload your media to a PC.

if you open your device's settings, you can see a graph that shows all of the storage in use and the available space you have left. You can look at this to determine where you should start freeing up space. Pay attention to the pictures and videos section. These take up a lot of space, and they make the most sense to store on your computer instead of your phone.

To do this, open the settings option under "Storage" on the device. Touch USB connection on an Android KitKat device and then connect as Media Device. Then plug in a USB cable from the device to your PC and let the drivers automatically install on the PC. After that, all you have to do is use Windows Explorer to browse through all of your phone's files and drag them on to your computer into any folder that you would like them to be saved under. After they have been successfully removed from the device, just delete them off the phone. You can even reverse this to put them back on your device later if you want to.

Organization

 You can also get a couple different organization apps and third party screen locks, like Cover Lock Screen. Some screen lock apps are useful if you have tons of app launch icons on your home screen. They can even learn which apps you use, when you use them, and from where, and then deliver them as you need them. This is pretty successful in cutting down on date usage.

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The Apple Map Fiasco

By James Kenny

CC http://bit.ly/OWhIfS

On what is supposed to be a triumphant week for Apple with the release of their new flagship iPhone 5 and the updated iOS 6, there is one glaring problem that has many of Apple's customers up in arms, the updated Maps app for iOS 6. Since the release of iOS 6 to the public on Wednesday, there has been criticism from all over the globe decrying Apple's new mapping application, which takes the place of the standard Google Maps app that has existed on the iPhone from the very beginning.

The replacement of the standard Google Maps application by an app that was built and designed by Apple themselves is just another battle in the ever continuing war between Apple and Google for domination of the world's mobile market. Apple, with this update to iOS, is attempting to cut as many ties to Google as possible, most notably with the new mapping application and the removal of the standard YouTube video app, which of course is owned by Google.

Much of the criticism of the new mapping application has been about missing locations, such as the Statue of Liberty, and the lack of public transit directions. While the new mapping application offers iOS users free, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation for the first time, a feature already included on android phones, it does not necessarily make up for the many omissions that exist. Part of the problem is the fact that Apple is relatively new to the "mapping game" and that compared to what is arguably the industry standard, they come up a bit short. Apple is confident, however, that the more people use the iOS 6 application, the better its mapping system will get, just as Google maps improved with millions of users' input. In the meantime, however, customers of Apple's popular mobile operating system are not pleased and are demanding Apple fix the problems that exist.

Ultimately it remains to be seen how Apple will update its new Maps application, and if it will indeed improve to the standard that Google Maps has set. It is rumored that Google may release a standalone app that, like they did with YouTube, may satisfy the needs of iOS users. While this will assuredly prolong the war between the two giant tech companies, it may satisfy the customer base that just wants to know where they are going.

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Apple Introduces New Volume Purchasing Program for Businesses

Apple announced this week that it will be allowing businesses to begin purchasing iOS apps in bulk. Apple has not yet revealed a launch date for the new Volume Purchase Program (VPP) for the App Store, but its website says that it is “coming soon.”

"Streamline your purchasing process and put more power and productivity in the hands of your workforce," Apple says on the VPP page. "Every paid app in the App Store is available for businesses to buy in volume through the program website. Simply search for the apps you need, enter the quantity you want to buy, and complete the transaction with your corporate credit card. Apps are available for purchase at the same price listed in the App Store."

The new Volume Purchase Program is an extension of a program that Apple already offers that allows educational institutions to purchase apps in bulk. “Any business in the US can participate in the Volume Purchasing Program,” the website states. It continues saying that to enroll in the program, all a business has to do is create a volume purchasing account with Apple. To enroll, one needs basic contact information to verify your business, a Dun & Bradstreet (D-U-N-S) number and a corporate credit card or PCard to purchase the apps with.

Now it is important to note that any of the apps that businesses purchase through this program are processed differently than normal apps which are processed through iTunes. These bulk purchases will be processed directly through VPP. Also, one disappointment would be that while educational institutions get a discount when they purchase apps in bulk, businesses will be receiving them at the regular price. Once a business has purchased apps through the Volume Purchase Program, they will be able to distribute the apps to their employees by using redemption codes.

“The website also discusses how businesses will be able to utilize custom B2B (business to business) apps. Custom B2B apps are built just for you by third-party developers and business partners to address a specific business process, integrate with a unique back-office environment, or deliver a custom interface for your users. Using the Volume Purchase Program, you can securely and privately purchase custom B2B apps for iPhone and iPad that make your business even more effective. If you are a developer who is enrolled in the iOS Developer program, you can create custom B2B apps for sale to your customers enrolled in the Volume Purchase Program.”

It sounds like there will be plenty of great things that businesses will be able to do with this new program. It is just unfortunate for businesses that they do not get a discount like educational institutions do.

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Pandora Caught Sending Personal User Information to Ad Servers

If you are constantly working on the go, you definitely value your breaks. One thing a lot of people like to have with them when they are always on the go is music and no other service is quite as popular as Pandora. Now we all know that the Pandora app sends a ton of personal information to third party developers according to an analysis by Veracode. Well, Veracode decided to do a follow-up on their news that Pandora, as well as a lot of other mobile app makers, was being investigated by a federal grand jury and found that information, such as birth date, gender, Android ID and GPS information, was being sent to a plethora of advertising companies. Pandora recently revealed that they had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury to produce documents about their user data collection practices on Android and iOS devices. Pandora also stated that they believe the subpoena is part of an industry-wide investigation into popular applications on Android and iOS devices. The Wall Street Journal didn't waste any time following up on this news and reported that the purpose of the investigation is to find out whether or not app makers fully describe to users the kinds of information they obtain from them and exactly why they need it. Veracode decided to dig deeply into the Pandora Android app to see just what data might be transmitted. Veracode's analysis stated that Pandora's app seems to be integrated with five separate ad libraries that included AdMarvel, AdMob, comScore (SecureStudies), Google.Ads and Medialets. Veracode verified that the AdMob library accessed a user's GPS information as well as various other data about the application itself like package name and version info. That is all pretty low level but Veracode said that there are other references which appear to transmit your birthday, gender and postal code. In addition to that, the app also appears to send your Android ID and seems to continually access your GPS location for updates. According to a blog post by Veracode, "The analysis into the remaining libraries resulted in even more of the same.The SecureStudies library accesses the android_id and directly sends a hash of the data to http://b.scorecardresearch.com while the Medialets library accesses the device's GPS location, bearing, altitude, android_id, connection status, network information, device brand, model, release revision and current IP address." Pandora has argued that they need this type of user information in order to continue delivering personalized music streams. However, the analysis from Veracode shows that Pandora is not simply collecting that information for itself. They are also using it for advertising purposes. If the grand jury comes to the same conclusion as Veracode, then Pandora, as well as a whole host of other app makers, could be facing some pretty serious legal difficulties. "Your personal information is being transmitted to advertising agencies in mass quantities," according to Veracode. "In isolation some of this data is uninteresting, but when compiled into a single unifying picture, it can provide significant insight into a person's life... When all that is placed into a single basket, it's pretty easy to determine who someone is, what they do for a living, who they associate with and any number of other traits about them. I don't know about you, but that feels a little Orwellian to me." If all this is true then Pandora and other app makers will have some serious explaining to do. I, for one, do not want any kind of personal information like that being slung around carelessly to advertisers. Who knows, if advertisers can get it that easily, then what stops an identity thief from getting it? Source: ars technica - Pandora sends users' GPS, sex, birthdate, other data to ad servers

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