Monthly Archives: March 2012

QWASI Launches Revolutionist Cloud Service for Videos

QWASI is a renowned communications and technology company. They have proven their existence in the very critical areas of social and mobile marketing. The company had recently announced the launch of its mobile photo sharing and printing solution. The solution invented, rather innovated from QWASI, would help solve the problems of many mobile phone users, who have been trying to get quality photos printed out from their cell phones. Initially the service is ready to be available in the US. The process works in a very simplifying way. An MMS (a picture message) is sent to the cloud, from where users would have the facility to print their photo albums and have them shipped directly to them. All the users have to do is to text their photos to the codes provided.  Message and data rates would apply. The photo albums posted this way would be secured for each user with a pin number. The company also offers social features like photo sharing on the social medias available like Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Tumblr. The major benefit of the new service is that it does not require the need of any application or downloads to work with. The process would work on even a standard phone. The technology market of today demanded a photo print solution and the company is delighted to have provided one. These print solutions have also targeted the needs of photo retailers and the brands. The company stresses the fact that a lifetime value of a printed out photo is much more than its digital twin.

Source: Marketwatch

Would You Kill for an iPhone?

There are lots of knock-offs (fake) mobile phones and smartphones on the market. Would you dare to kill someone who sells you a fake version of the iPhone? Well such an incident occurred in Zhengzhou in northern China. A 29-year-old cook stabbed someone for selling fake iPhones. The cook purchased a brand new iPhone for 2000 Yuan from a man and later he realized that his iPhone was a knock-off. He rushed back to the market with a large knife to find the con man, but he could not find him. Instead, he saw some others trying to cheat a young boy in the same way. The cook brandished his large knife and they ran. That is not all! After few days, he happened to meet the same gang and a fight occurred between them that led a second victim to die due to excessive blood loss. User statistics about iPhones show that China Mobile has up to 15 million iPhone users. The Shanzhai market is well known as it is the China’s counterfeit products place and many vendors sell knock-off iPhones and other handsets to generate a good source of income. You do not need to fall into serious trouble when buying an iPhone. Following some tips can help you buy a genuine iPhone. Check and test the battery, touch screen, sim-card slot and the memory space. The battery space is impossible for you to access and you will need to go to an Apple store to replace batteries. It comes in standard storage sizes like 16, 32, and 64 GB. Anything beyond this is considered fake. Check if it is the right size, check the back cover and functions as well.

Source: The Register

China Mobile Makes a Great Deal: 15 Million iPhone Users

China Mobile has reported 655 million subscribers, which is the biggest number in the country, including 48 million 3G users (as of November 2011). Even though there are several iPhone customers with this network, it has not become an authorized Apple iPhone carrier. The reason why China Mobile is not able to close partnerships with Apple iPhone is because it doesn’t support 3G network feature. People are using their iPhones using the 2G network and the telecom company has given instructions in their websites to activate network facility on user’s iPhone. The best part is that Apple iPhones and network facilities are available from China Telecom and China Unicom but people are determined to choose China Mobile to use their iPhone. As a result, Apple is loosing lots of potential subscribers. Thinking about using an iPhone without a 3G facility is not possible and the network quality with 3G and 2G is entirely different. China Mobile, according to recent iphone statistics, it has over 10 million iPhone users. It is said that China Mobile can soon become an official carrier for Apple iPhone. Once China Mobile completes the LTE networking testing processes, Apple will start providing with iPhones with LTE to China Mobile.  Comparing the number of subscribers with the three biggest networks, mobile statistics on China shows that China Unicom has only around 195 million that comes up to a third of China Mobile and China Telecom ranks after China Unicom with 62 million. The latest Apple iPhone 4S is available in the markets as the telecom companies have got network access permit issued to them. This will really affect the China Mobile users, as it is not compatible with the TC-SCDMA 3 G-network feature.

Source: zdnet

Image Note: this image is released under the creative commons license (source: Yukata Tsutano/ Flickr)

How Internet Usage and Technology Trends Affect Young People

Internet is a boon to the humans. I am sure most of you may agree with me. Since every good has another negative side to it, the internet also has some bad effects. The recent researches that were conducted to find internet statistics came out with results that were truly mind boggling. Since trends keep on changing, there is a need for conducting surveys on a regular basis in order to understand the existing situations in full.

The researchers referred to the youth of the millennia as a generation that was always on. They are superbly talented in multitasking is what I feel. On the contrary, my fellow beings feel that the youth of today have become irresponsible, inactive etc. It is the internet that they blame for this. The findings of the survey are worth a watch. The prior surveys that were conducted to analyze the degree of internet usage showed that youth preferred browsing the internet on their mobiles. They also enjoyed socializing a lot.

My personal belief is that because of the internet’s lightening speed, youth will get too much addicted to it and thereby they will lose their ability to critically examine situations and reach to conclusions. I also feel that the millennia generation will lose out on their focus as well as their education because of excess use of internet. When I sit down to think more deeply keeping all this negated thoughts aside, I too feel that internet will help in bringing out the creativity in the youth.

Source: The Times News

The Difference between Social Media and Word of Mouth

Social media marketing has definitely gained importance in the business world, but word of mouth still remains the most powerful tool in the field of marketing. I have seen several brand specific communities on social media networking sites, but it’s hard to differentiate between the genuine and fake ones. The vote count of “like” buttons on Facebook or Twitter may not satisfy all the consumers, but word of mouth would definitely leave a good or bad impact on the brand that is being talked about.

Word of mouth is often exchanged between close friends and dear ones, whereas ads on social media networks are published by strangers. Therefore, publicity through word of mouth would always have a greater impact on brand names than the comments on social media networking sites. For example: Think about a real-life scenario. After watching a movie, you would have told your friends about how good or bad the movie was. If you said good things about the movie, many of your friends would have rushed to the theater for the very next show and if you had a bad opinion about the movie, your comments would have stopped at least few of the big screen fans from watching the move. Vote counts of “like” buttons on social media networking sites do not work so fast.

I have heard women talking about skin-care products in gatherings and I am sure that atleast few of the women indulged in the conversation would try out the product without even waiting to hear another comment about the product.

Companies cannot really work out plans to promote word of mouth publicity. The only secret to boost the popularity of a brand name, is to improve the quality of the service and products offered to customers.

2nd Try of Apple TV

While paying tribute to Steve Jobs, the facts to mention are the areas which he dominated: personal computing, mobile communications and digital music. During his last years he did turn to television. His main aim was an integrated device which would combine the famous Apple design interface that would seamlessly access the user’s media library. Apple, however. Already had a TV product. A small set box which would enable users to download movies from iTunes stores. But a company executive has referred to this initiative as a mere hobby. Now Apple is working on a more comprehensive TV solution. To be more specific, the company is aiming to release its first TV streaming service by Christmas. The application-based software model which has found immense success in the Iphone would contribute to its TV service as well. Apple is on the path of exploring the possibility of offering TV channels with the applications. As for what happened to Itunes a decade ago, the same thing is going to happen. The question is will large entertainment companies give way to the Apple system. The company’s share prices could reach new heights if the new TV effort can find success similar to the success they found in the music and mobile. Industry analysts have predicted that Apple TV is going to be the biggest thing after Iphone. There are also predictions that the share price of Apple could reach $1000. In the event that Apple is launching the Ipad 3 the technology world is awaiting that latest news on the Apple TV.

Image Note: this image is released under the creative commons license (source: niallkennedy/ Flickr)

Mercedes Entices iPhone fans

Good news for iPhone users! Mercedes-Benz has announced its plans to integrate iPhone and Siri’s voice control functions into their latest A-Class model. This sporty hatchback will be targeted at iPhone users. This latest model will feature the iPhone content into the car’s display. It works because of the COMAND Online multimedia system and Daimler’s Digital DriveStyle Application.  When the iPhone is docked in the vehicle, it charges automatically and gives access to the phone’s content even with social networking applications like Twitter and Facebook. The A-Class and other small vehicles may help in boosting sales to at least 1.6 million vehicles by 2015. Apple will be the biggest winner as Mercedes-Benz is the first car company to offer the “Siri” feature as part of the voice control system. Drivers will be able to send SMS text messages or emails when driving, check GPS and weather conditions, schedule appointments and also help in selecting music and videos available in the iPhone. Now this will definitely give us a feel for travelling with a virtual assistant. The new A-Class may be priced at 16,045 Pounds to 21,453 Pounds but it will allow you to use Siri from your steering wheel. The latest Digital DriveStyle application will make the drivers to stream AUPEO! Radio, which is similar to the Pandora). You can also find your vehicle in a crowded area and get live traffic data and other points of interest. Hope Mercedes-Benz regains lost ground in the vehicle market with new technology.

Source: sfgate

Let’s Bring Confusing iPad Names to Light

It is true that we all are waiting for the latest iPad release. Have you thought of a name for the new iPad? Most of them started calling the latest iPad iPad 3. There were rumors that considered the potentiality of names like iPad 2S or iPad HD. Well, the iPad HD name is in the news now and might be a serious possibility. Well, there is nothing to do with the name unless the device has got awesome features and perfect functionality. Even when the latest iPhone 4S was released, people are still looking forward to the iPhone 5 as the concept model for what looks the best and is redesigned differently from previous models. It is for sure that we will not be expecting any iPad minis in the market. In the past, Apple introduced its products with minor name changes like 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S. Whatever the name is: iPad3, iPad 2S or iPad HD; the tablet will be launched with an improved processor, Siri support, new set of cameras, improved Retina display and so on. Some sources say that the latest iPad will look more like its previous model and will be slightly thicker which is done to implement latest display features and other required functions and improvements (especially the battery). Well, Apple may succeed in the market after its latest iPad release, as it will be the only tablet to support 1080p high-definition at a resolution of 1920×1080. The android can only reach up to 1280×720. This is one reason why the latest Apple iPad is called Apple iPad HD.

Source: Appadvice

25 Billion IPhone and IPad App Downloads Milestone for Apple

Apple statistics reveal that the total number of Apple iPad devices sold is over 4.69 million worldwide from January to March 2011. Considering statistics about the iPhone, the sales were over 18.65 million for the second quarter of 2011. Apple is delighted to announce its download milestone as it crossed 25 billion app downloads for both iPad and iPhone. The 25 billionth iOS download was for Disney’s free application “Where’s My Water?” and a user from China downloaded it. He was lucky to receive a $10,000 iTunes gift certificate from Apple. China has always been an important growth market for Apple products and services in the last year. The Apple App Store was launched about four years ago and the download results are amazing. Even the number of applications available to download is going higher day by day. Game developers are finding it beneficial to create games and incredible applications for iOS users. Another interesting factor is that there are no virus issues in Apple products (apart from the slow response after maximum usage or jailbreak). Apple has been a champion by selling 315 million iOS devices since 2007. Apple App Store gets an average of 80 app downloads per device.  In the development field, over 550,000 iOs applications have been developed and an average of 45,000 downloads each are recorded. Some of the most popular games or applications are Angry Birds, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Four Square, Whatsapp! etc. Comparing with Apple’s App Store, Google announced that the Android Market generates 1 billion app downloads monthly.

Source: Guardian

Image Note: this image is released under the creative commons license (source: aditza121 / Flickr)

Wooga – now it’s Time for Mobile Gaming

When I hear the word Wooga, the first picture that comes to mind is the sparkle of the diamonds. I am sure most of you have played the game Diamond Dash. Wooga is a gaming firm based in Germany. It was in the news very recently as it was joining with Apple. They were getting associated with both iPhone and iPad. According to statistics, the number of people who got themselves involved in playing games in their Smartphone and tablets this year were high.

Diamond Dash is the only game that Wooga has contributed to Apple so far. Its popularity keeps on increasing day in and day out. It has recorded 18 million active users in a month’s time.

Diamond Dash is a timed game in which all you get is 60 seconds of play time. You could either opt for single player or the multiple player option. I personally feel that the latter one is a better option. Here you can play against other users who have logged in at the same time as you. It sounds like so much fun, doesn’t it? Well the real fun is when you are actually playing it.

There are other games by Wooga that I am sure you will enjoy playing. Two such games are Bubble Island and Monster World. These can only be played in the social networking websites. Now that the Wooga gaming company has started to foresee the kind of money in mobile gaming, I am sure that they will come up with something new very soon.