The European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) has reached a decision regarding the standard size and insertion mechanism for nano-SIM cards.
The tiny new SIM cards will be 40% smaller than the current micro-SIM, measuring 12.3mm by 8.8mm by 0.67mm. The loading mechanism will be tray based, familiar to those who have used an iPhone or Nokia’s current flagship model – the Lumia 900.
Now that the standard has been agreed, it shall not be long until we see nano-SIMs appearing in smartphones and other mobile devices. The new smaller size will free up precious real-estate inside the phone, allowing for slimmer and smaller devices in the future.
Logo of Telefónica Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
O2 UK is currently in the process of rolling out the fastest variant of 3G available (DC-HSPA) with a theoretical top download speed of 42Mbps.
DC-HSPA stands for dual-cell high speed packet access, and could potentially allow for double the download speed of the more widespread HSPA+ variant of 3G. O2 are beginning to roll out the faster version in major cities across the UK now.
While this is perhaps not the hike into 4G/LTE speeds we so desperately lack in the UK, any push to advance current services is certainly welcome. 4G has been delayed across Britain due to a “large number of technical and competition issues” an Ofcom spokesman told the Guardian. One of the bigger technical issues revolves around much of the UK’s dependance upon Digital Freeview television; it’s place in the radio spectrum currently occupies the space 4G would require.
RIM, the makers of BlackBerry have had a tough time of late. Everyone and their dog has had a go at putting down the company for falling behind in the smartphone business. Yesterday, those who still believe (or at least those who are just curious) have gathered in Orlando, Florida for BlackBerry World 2012.
Making a brave decision not to showcase any new hardware, RIM have instead turned the attention to their latest operating system – BlackBerry 10. The new OS appears to be developed solely for touch interface, suggesting that finally RIM have caught onto the fact that a physical keyboard is not needed anymore. To assure business types that losing actual keys will not be a problem for efficiency, BlackBerry 10 appears to have a fresh take on predictive text with word suggestions floating above key you just typed.
Get a feel for how typing on BlackBerry 10 will feel from the video below.
Are you excited for a new BlackBerry OS or is it all too late for RIM? Let us know your thought in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Twitter
The hotly anticipated follow up phone to the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Galaxy S3 seems to have shown it’s face a day ahead of it’s official launch in London tomorrow.
credit: SamMobile
The image, posted by SamMobile, shows the S3 boasting a massive 4.8″ screen thanks to a newly located and slimmer home button. The device is also rumoured to be thinner than it’s predecessor, running on the latest Android firmware (4.04) in addition to packing a tasty 12Mp camera!
Will this be the new design for the Galaxy S3 or is it possibly a dummy casing ahead of launch? All will be revealed tomorrow at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event tomorrow.
Android users can follow the event using the official Samsung Mobile Unpacked app on the Google Play store
The release of a new video for Nokia’s insane 41 megapixel smartphone, the 808 PureView, hints that the once believed concept phone could be a commercial product.
The video, cleverly filmed using the device, shows the jaw-dropping level of quality of images and video the phone can capture. It also highlights on some of the devices sharing capabilities, including its NFC tech that looks more than a little like Bump.
Whether the PureView will ever see a release remains at question especially with the device running on dated Symbian software. Regardless of such, the release of the video suggests Nokia is serious about launching the product in the not too distant future.
Fresh after releasing Instagram for Android, today saw the news that Facebook have signed the deal to acquire the photo sharing startup for a cool 1bn dollars. It’s not a turn of events that us here at Social Gadget predicted, but it’s fair to say that the acquisition certainly makes sense.
Photo sharing is perhaps the most important aspect of Facebook’s success and with today’s news, it would seem that the company is betting on it remaining as important in the future.
In a post by Zuckerberg today, Facebook’s CEO told of how after the acquisition his team ”need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook”. This was echoed in a blog post by Kevin Systrom CEO of Instagram, who reassured users that “the Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love”.
Both postings agree upon the fact that Instagram shall be able to post to the other social networks it currently does, even after it is owned by Facebook, and friend and follower list can remain separate if so wished by the user.
The acquisition is a huge undertaking by the social media giant, one of a scale that Zuckerberg doesn’t feel will happen again anytime soon.
“We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all”
With Facebook only a couple a weeks away from what may be the largest internet IPO of all time, let’s hope the move pays off for team Zucks.
Android owners across the world rejoice! You too can now be as hip as those flashy iPhone users by filtering your pictures to look like there has been no progression in photography for the past 40 years!
Instagram for Android is now fully available assuming you are running one of the more modern handsets (ver2.2+) with the vast majority of features found in the current iOS build. It has of course been a long time coming, Instagram has built up a massive 27 million user base while being iPhone exclusive, and although inevitably some fanboys will snark at the fact the little green robot and his crew are now in on the act, the release of an Android version is sure to build upon this user base exponentially.
Excited about Instagram for Android or peeved it’s lost iPhone exclusivity? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook
Welcome to Industry Interviews, the newest feature on Social Gadget where we delve into the world behind the apps. Starting things off we turn our attention to Conjure, racking the brains of it’s founder and managing director, Sam Clark.
Hi Sam, tell us a little bit about Conjure.
We’re a digital agency specialising in mobile and facebook applications. We create branded and product based applications for a diverse range of clients including Cadbury, Beko and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. We’re three years young and have eight staff spread between offices in London and Reading.
How did you find yourself in the business?
My background was in web design and I’d always wanted to build an agency that focused on design and technical innovation over run-of-the-mill “me too” websites. Luckily right before the launch of the first iPhone I was designing prototype apps for the then cutting edge Nokia N95 (How times change!) The iPhone launched and blew everything else out of the water, I saw my chance to create a new type of agency and so back in 2009, I took the plunge and founded Conjure.
How did you go about building up a client list?
I get asked this lot, and in truth there’s no one answer. A combination of industry press coverage, speaking at events, networking and social media activity all play their part, but word of mouth referral is probably still the number one way of winning new business.
credit: Conjure
How do you ensure a solid user experience when building an app?
You’ve got to build the application from the user needs up, not the clients wants down. It’s all too easy to add a plethora of features thinking you’re increasing the value of the application, when actually a handful of focused, well executed features is often all the user really wants.
From a process perspective we make sure we do extensive usability (UX ) planning before we begin actual development, which involves creating detailed wireframes of each screen, mapping the user journey and ensuring information and features are intuitive and easy to find. Once the application is built we move to usability testing where we trial the app with a cross section of users and include feedback in subsequent app builds.
Do you encounter any difficulties developing for cross platform? Do you ever find a build is perhaps better on one platform over the other due to limitations in software or hardware power?
Cross platform application projects can pose all kinds of challenges. The first step with any new project is to decide which platforms the content is best targeted at. As a lose rule if you have large volumes of image and word based content and don’t require advanced handset features such as accelerometers or cameras then a cross platform application is often the most cost effective way of reaching the largest number of users. If on the other hand the client is looking for an advanced application that requires the full power of a handset then a natively built app (an app written specifically for a targeted device) is often the better option. Hardware wise the experience is pretty universal these days, with Nokia and Android offering devices that compete in quality terms with Apple. Its only Blackberry that are still lagging behind and the jury’s still out as to whether they’ll challenge the other smart phone heavy weights.
How far after the release of an app do you continue to support it? How important is user feedback to this process?
We always allow at least 30 days post launch to ensure the users are having a positive experience and there is no unforeseen issues or problems with the app. A classic is surprise software or hardware changes from the manufactures. Back when Apple released the iPhone 4 we knew it was coming but didn’t anticipate the doubling in screen resolution. That meant after the launch we had to quickly update all our current apps with higher res graphics to take advantage of the new retina displays.
Feedback from the users themselves is always really important as they give you real world insight into how your application functions in the wild. They can often surprise you with great feature suggestions or criticism of functions we predicted would be useful or entertaining.
credit: Conjure
How do you feel the market is developing and what would you like to see?
The mobile space is progressing at tremendous speed which makes it an incredibly exciting place to work. Smart phone penetration is only going up so there is plenty of growth still to be had in the apps market place. I’m really looking forward to eventual rollout of NFC (Near Field Communication: think London Oyster card) enabled handsets, that’s going to open up a world of new opportunities for brand and product owners over the next few years. Internet and application enabled TVs will also be huge over the next five years and Conjure will be poised to take advantage of these emerging technologies as they break into the mainstream.
What apps (in any genre) have stood out to you most?
Word Lens by the guys at Quest Visual is simply amazing: it’s an augmented reality app that translates foreign words on screen in real time. Technology like that has the power to break down language barriers globally. Also the Formula 1 iPad app is another favourite. It shows the power of 2 screen entertainment, watching the race live on TV while tracking race stats, car positions and performance metrics live on your lap. It’s a safe bet that dual screen viewing will become the norm over the coming years.
Proudest achievement to date?
We created an iPad children’s book called The Lost Journal which became a top 10 downloaded book app, up there with the likes of kindle, Toy Story and the Marvel comic app. That was a great feeling!
Anything you wish you had made?
Angry Birds
What’s in conjure’s future, anything exciting?
2012 will see Conjure continue push the boundaries of what we can achieve with applications both on mobile and online. Image Recognition technology is maturing and looks set to replace QR codes as the new way to unlock content from printed graphics. We’re currently working with a big entertainment brand to bring IR to a huge audience. We’re also poised to launch our own location based social app called Mixer, which will connect you to the local communities around you, I’m really looking forward to getting that out there and building a great mobile based community.
Our thanks go to Sam and his team at Conjure, be sure to check out their work at Conjure.co.uk
Ok, so for the tech savvy out there, or those just willing enough to slug their way through screens of menu options, not much of this will come as a surprise. For the average iPhone user however, here are some neat little tricks you probably didn’t know your iPhone could do.
1) Custom Vibrate Alerts
Phone on silent? Personalise vibration alerts for particular friends, family members etc. to know who is calling without checking your phone. Alternatively, set the vibrate to match the beat/rhythm of your ringtone. Here’s how:
Settings > General > Accessibility > Enable Custom Vibrations (fig.1) > Back to Settings > Sounds > Vibration Patterns > Create New Vibration (fig. 2)
fig. 2
fig. 1
2) Screen Zoom
Need an icon, text or picture to be that little bit bigger when viewing? By enabling screen zoom, tapping with three fingers on your iPhone’s screen will enlarge the image, whether the app supports pinch zoom or not.
Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom (fig. 3)
fig. 3
3) Screen Orientation Lock
Lying in bed browsing the web or checking your twitter feed only to be enraged when the screen keeps flipping around? Just like the iPad, iPhone too has orientation lock to prevent this from happening.
Double tap home button > Slide tool bar from left to right > Press the lock icon
4) Emoji Keyboard
Want to include Emoji symbols in your text, but don’t fancy downloading an app to enable it? The iPhone come with a native Emoji keyboard hidden away deep in the settings.
Settings > General > International > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > Emoji (fig. 4)
fig. 4
Then when using a keyboard, press the newly appeared globe icon to access Emoji.
5) Twitter Integration
Ok, so you knew about this… but seriously with there being countless twitter client apps, does anyone use it!?
Did you know these hints? Would you actually use any of them? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
Following the announcement that HP are giving up support of webOS, the operating system that powers the HP Touchpad, an onslaught of price cuttings of the device took place in the United States. Now however, it would seem the same savings will be passed to us Brits.
Mark Webb, official spokesperson for Dixons, announced on Twitter that the device shall be on sale in limited stock later today at Dixsons.co.uk. The 16Gb model will be selling for £89 and the 32Gb for £115, that is over a 70% mark down on both models!
The slashes in price certainly provoked mass sales in the States and so it’s fair to assume that the same will occur in good ol’ Blighty. Regardless of the ceased webOS support, it is still a hell of a lot of tablet for under a ton. Bizarrely it was the lack of support for webOS as a result of poor sales that led to HP dropping it, irony it seems is a cruel mistress.
Are you interested in picking up an unsupported, yet impressive tablet on the cheap? Or would you rather churn out the extra £300+ for a better supported device? Leave you comments and thoughts below.
