Scout for iPhone To Add 3D Data, Crowd Sourcing by End of Year

Just weeks after updating Scout for iPhone with On My Way and Calendar Integration, Telenav has announced that the navigation app will see even more features before the end of this year. The upcoming additions include on-screen 3D buildings and landmarks, as well as crowd-sourced information on accidents, road hazards, and traffic congestion.

3D Buildings and Landmarks

In the future update, Scout will add 3D buildings and landmarks for many major metropolitan areas in the US. Telenav is creating the 3D technology to help drivers navigate in unfamiliar cities, according to Ryan Peterson, Telenav's director of product managemnt, traffic and navigation.

"It's about providing drivers with additional context on the road so they can better navigate their surroundings with just a quick glance," Peterson said in a statement.

As drivers approach an upcoming turn, the GPS app will change its layout to include the landmarks. The feature was developed with the use of a rendering technology known as "screen space ambient occlusion" (SSAO), which is used in the game industry to produce high frame rate realistic graphics.

To reduce overall GPS load times, local caching will be used, meaning that the 3D data will be downloaded on an individual basis based on the route provided.

Traffic and Road Hazard Information

In another new feature, Scout users will have the opportunity to report road congestion, car accidents and other traffic hazards after experiencing them, so as to contribute to a database of updated traffic information.

The information will be downloaded and put into the crowd-sourced database so that other drivers can be notified of the delay or hazard in the area.

General UI Updates

Telenav also plans general user interface (UI) improvements for better upcoming traffic data and alternate route navigation.

Telenav is working to improve alternate routes by adding more information based on traffic reports. This information will be provided on the same GPS screen, so users won't have to go through several screens to look for it while driving.  Users will be prompted by the app if faster routes are discovered.

Telenav also plans to improve mid-route information so that drivers will be able to tell if traffic is at a "red, yellow, or green" status (meaning congested, partially congested or not congested) up to 15 miles ahead without changing screens.

The improved UI will also include vector-based technology for displaying traffic conditions more quickly and sharply than before.

The enhancements are planned for both the free and premium versions of the app.

View the original article here

HTC One Coming to T-Mobile April 24

HTC's newest flagship smartphone, the HTC One is coming to T-Mobile on April 29. The news was originally announced via Twitter, as the company responded to various questions asking about the availability of the handset after a rumor surfaced that the company would be offering the device.

According to TmoNews the HTC One will also support Wi-Fi calling on T-Mobile's network.

T-Mobile has noted that the HTC handset will be available in select retailers on April 24, but the carrier has yet to announce how much the device will cost. However, given T-Mobile's new strategy moving away from contracts, consumers should expect to pay full price for the device.

About the HTC One

The HTC One offers a 4.7-inch Corning Gorilla Glass Display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. The handset also offers a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600, with 2GB or RAM, and a 2,300 mAh battery. The HTC one runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) along with HTC Sense UI v.5, and houses a 4MP rear-facing camera.

For more information be sure to see our full review of the HTC One. 

View the original article here

Update: Facebook phone? Been there, done that, and nobody cared

Summary: Facebook is generating buzz with the unveiling of Home, but it seems everyone has forgotten about the Facebook phone nobody wanted.

Facebook has unveiled the new Home environment for Android phones that looks to turn them into Facebook phones. Breaking into the mobile space has long been the dream of Facebook. Though, it's too early to tell if users will race to turn their Android phones into Facebook phones. They didn't flock to a real Facebook phone in the past as we pointed out in this article originally published in 2011.

While some have raised well-placed privacy concerns about having Facebook in your pocket, the fact is this has been done before and nobody cared. Do you remember the HTC Chacha? How about the AT&T branded version of it, the HTC Status? I didn't think so.

This was an unofficial, meaning HTC/AT&T couldn't actually call it a Facebook phone, a handset that had Facebook ingrained all the way down to the hardware layer. You could see the Facebook button right on the front of the phone, that made it a snap, er, push of a button, to share anything around you. Both AT&T and HTC made a big splash about the Status/Chacha, calling it the first Facebook phone on the AT&T network. It was positioned to change our world, and for the better. After all, sharing is good, right?

This was earlier this year [2011], and since then the Facebook phone has made no impact. No. Noise. At. All. It's as if it quietly went into hiding in the back rooms of stores. I'm sure some of them sold to customers, but I certainly haven't seen a single one in the real world.

If Facebook is really developing Buffy, or whatever it will eventually call the real Facebook phone, it is likely to receive the same reception as the "nobody owns one" Chacha. The fact is Facebook is too late to bring such a phone to market successfully, as every single Facebook user already has decent access to the service on their present phone. It doesn't matter what phone they use, Facebook is already front and center for those who consider that important.

Facebook phone? Nobody outside of the Facebook organization cares.

Addendum, April 4 at 10:48am PT: First paragraph added about the new Facebook Home.

Topics: Mobility, Android, Telcos, Social Enterprise

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Give yourself a unified view of your global IT systems' performance, availability and capacity across all server platforms, network devices, applications and IT business services with up.time. Download your free 30-day trial now. (Available in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia only.)

Web analytics solutions have become an indispensable tool for e-commerce, but they typically only provide partial visibility into the actual customer experience. Download this paper to see how you can determine what's happening on your web site, and why it's happening.

In this on-demand webcast, Phillip Stasko, IT Manager for Apex Companies, describes how Viewfinity's Privilege Management product enabled him to effectively remove administrator rights from all employees without impeding user productivity.

View the original article here

BlackBerry Z10: Refreshing, but not thirst quenching (review)

I've been testing the BlackBerry Z10 on the Verizon network, and the new BlackBerry 10 OS is a refreshing change from the screens of icons common to most mobile platforms. The gesture-based operation is fluid, and while not immediately obvious, becomes second nature after a short while.

Elegant unlock — swipe up. (Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

As refreshing as BB10 is compared to the competition, after using it for a few days, I've come to realize that there is nothing compelling about it to make me want to switch. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it simply fails to bring anything to the table to entice me over to BlackBerry.

Long-time BlackBerry users/fans will no doubt love BB10 and the Z10, but prospective customers will be expecting something they can't get elsewhere.

This review is not going to delve into the hardware specifications, nor performance benchmarks, there are plenty of reviews that cover that. It will instead concentrate on the one area I feel that is most important, that of the user experience provided. It doesn't matter if a phone is faster than everything out there if it's not pleasant to use.

Plastic, but feels good in the hand. (Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

The Z10 shows the quality of construction and simple design that has long been the hallmark of the BlackBerry line. The plastic handset construction is not the sturdiest out there, but it is well done and appealing.

The front of the phone is an elegant black rectangle that makes the display and bezel run together seamlessly. It is an understated, but attractive look for a phone, and I like it.

The front of the Z10 is buttonless, and that seems perfect for the design. It fits the operation of BB10, especially the swipe up gesture to unlock the phone. It's not by accident that the term "refreshing" constantly comes to mind when thinking about the user interface (UI).

The phone is thin and light, yet feels substantial in the hand. That's not to say it feels heavy, rather it feels like a quality phone. That's a common reaction from those I hand it to.

The most dramatic change in the Z10 over the BlackBerry of old is the new OS, BlackBerry 10. The UI is designed to be completely operated by touch, usually by simple gestures. All aspects of the phone operation are accessible by swiping left or right, up or down, with the different screens existing on a virtual cylinder.

BlackBerry Hub. (Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

The left-most screen on BB10 is the BlackBerry Hub is essentially a unified inbox on steroids. In addition to putting multiple email accounts together in the hub, it also brings in social media messaging. This puts all Twitter and Facebook messages in line with email and text messages for easy access.

BlackBerry fans will like BBM in BB10, although those unfamiliar with it will not care much, as that function is served by other methods. It is incorporated into the BlackBerry Hub, which keeps all messaging together in one place.

Swiping right from the Hub takes you into the main app launcher. This is the familiar screen(s) of app icons for launching. There aren't a lot of apps that are designed specifically for BB10 yet, but the library is growing.

Once an app is run it takes over the entire display as it should. Swiping up from the bottom sends it to the background, depicted by a screen of thumbnails of all apps running in the background. Apps can be closed by tapping the little "x" in the corner of the thumbnail, or brought to the foreground by simply tapping it.

Task manager. (Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

The user experience (UX) of BB10 on the Z10 is fluid and simple, and intuitive after using it a while. It's easy to swipe in from the edge of the display to make something happen, and to move around the OS.

As nice as the hardware is on the Z10, and how refreshing BB10 is, the longer I use it the more I feel it's not compelling me to switch. It does what it does well enough but it doesn't add anything I don't already have with my current phone.

It's not bad by any means, it's just another smartphone when all is said and done. Long-time BlackBerry users/fans will no doubt love BB10 and the Z10, but prospective customers will be expecting something they can't get elsewhere. Having used BB10 for a few days, I don't see what that might be.

I would compare the new BlackBerry to a soft drink. The new drink may be very refreshing, but it doesn't quench the thirst any better than existing drinks. It tastes OK, but there's nothing to get prospective customers to give up their favorite soft drink for the new one.

Related stories

View the original article here

Traveling with mobile gear: Follow-up

My trip to San Francisco is winding down, and I will be heading back to Houston by the time you see this. The gear in my bag was as small and light as any I've used on a trip, and for the most part it performed admirably.

I recently shared the kit I planned on taking on the trip along with my reasoning for the choices. At the last minute I made one change, choosing to leave the iPad mini at home and bringing the bigger iPad with keyboard/case instead.

It was interesting to note that of the roughly 20 attendees at this conference, seven of them were using iPads with keyboards in place of a laptop.

The collection of gadgets that accompanied me to San Francisco consisted of the Chromebook Pixel, iPad, and the Galaxy Note 2. That's all I brought and I used it all heavily.

The iPad in the ZAGG Profolio+ keyboard case was used each day at the conference I was attending. The days were long but the iPad's battery easily handled it. I only plugged the iPad into the wall in the hotel room at the end of the day.

Bringing the iPad instead of the iPad mini was a good substitution as it easily handled everything I needed in the meeting room each day. I kept up with all my online communications, writing duties, and everything else on the iPad.

The Chromebook Pixel was my main work system at night in the hotel room and worked fine. I did heavy work on the Pixel at night, as I was too busy at the conference during the day. I could have done the night work on the iPad, but the Chromebook Pixel was easier to use so I'm glad I brought it.

Both the iPad and Chromebook Pixel have integrated 4G LTE on the Verizon network. I had full signal strength on this network so it was lightning fast in San Francisco. It was so much faster than the hotel wi-fi at the conference that I used both devices on LTE the entire stay. 

The only device I experienced problems with was the Galaxy Note 2 on the Sprint network. The primary problem was all Sprint's, as there was no 4G LTE network anywhere I went in San Francisco. This caused the phone to stay on the much slower 3G network, but even that didn't work well. I found the phone constantly dropping the 3G network, leaving me waiting to reconnect and continue. It was extremely aggravating.

The other problem I had I believe was due to a bug with the Note 2. Even though the phone immediately connected to the Sprint network when I arrived in San Francisco, it didn't make the location switch for geolocation. Anything I did with geolocation in San Franscisco, e.g. Foursquare, thought I was still in Houston.

I initially blamed Sprint for this failure to update my location but I now think it is a problem with the Note 2. After checking Sprint Note 2 user forums, I found it is a common problem with that phone on that network.

I ended up rebooting the Note 2, which triggered a location change, so it finally recognized I was in San Francisco when it came back up. I suspect I'll have to reboot it when I get back to Houston so that it will figure out I'm no longer in San Francisco.

Overall, I am happy with the gear I brought on the trip and how well it performed. I do wish the Sprint LTE network was active in San Franscisco. The 3G network was awfully slow at times, and the frequent network drops were annoying.

I could have gotten by with just the iPad but I'm glad I also had the Pixel with me. It made some things easier to do and didn't add much weight to the backpack. It was interesting to note that of the roughly 20 attendees at this conference, seven of them were using iPads with keyboards in place of a laptop.

The entire trip was successful and I accomplished everything I intended to do on the trip. I can attest that the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco is a nice hotel, although it doesn't have coffee in the rooms. That's a big negative for me personally, so next trip I'll probably stay somewhere else.

Related stories

View the original article here

Big winner with Office for iPad and Android delay: Google

Summary: Microsoft is reportedly delaying a launch of Office for the iPad and Android to late next year. That may be too late with Google poised to take Office customers.

Microsoft Office has long been expected on the iPad and Android tablets, even though the company in Redmond, Washington, has never confirmed that it's coming. But those two mobile markets are too large to ignore, and analysts have predicted that Microsoft is losing billions of dollars each year without a version of Office for them. Now comes word that this new version of Office is coming, but won't appear for over a year. That very well may be too late for the bunch in Redmond.

Quickoffice
(Image: Google)

My colleague Zack Whittaker believes Google Docs will take some of these customers away, but that's not the biggest threat to Microsoft. The longer Microsoft neglects to release the iOS and Android versions of Office, a greater number of customers owning iPads and other tablets will discover competing Office-compatible apps for those platforms. Having used many of these suites for years, it is clear they are robust enough to fill the need for Office for many owners.

It hasn't been stated but don't be surprised when Google releases the latest version of Quickoffice for the iPad, Android tablets, and all chromebooks to compete directly with Microsoft Office.

There is an even bigger threat to Microsoft in the mobile Office market that is already sneaking in to steal customers lacking real Office. That threat is Google, and not with Google Docs, as Whittaker believes. No, the real threat that Google will throw at Microsoft is Quickoffice.

Quickoffice has been a top Office-compatible suite on both Android and iOS for years, a viable alternative to Office. It is so good that Google bought the company (and thus the product) last year.

Google hasn't been sitting on Quickoffice, either. It has already produced new versions of the office suite for the iPad and Android that are free for paid Google Apps customers. Google has stated that it will integrate Quickoffice into the premium Chromebook Pixel laptop. In other words, the company is positioning Quickoffice as a full-featured business alternative for Microsoft Office on three different platforms.

The free version of Quickoffice released by Google is not the only one. Quickoffice Pro, the latest paid version, is available for both iOS and Android for $19.99 each.

It hasn't been stated, but don't be surprised when Google releases a new version of Quickoffice for the iPad, Android tablets, and all chromebooks. This version may not be free, but it's almost a given that it will be cheaper than Microsoft will price Office to remain profitable. This will put a quality office suite that competes with (and is compatible with files produced by) Microsoft Office on the huge iPad and Android markets. It won't be as complete an office suite as that from Microsoft, but it will be good enough for a large portion of that market.

This delay of getting Office to competing mobile platforms will end up biting Microsoft where it hurts. The pit bull (Google) doing the biting has executed a master plan with Quickoffice, and it will be significant. It will change the street definition of Scroogled when Google hits Microsoft's profitable Office business.

Related stories

Topics: Mobility, Android, Google, iPad, Microsoft

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Give yourself a unified view of your global IT systems' performance, availability and capacity across all server platforms, network devices, applications and IT business services with up.time. Download your free 30-day trial now. (Available in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia only.)

Web analytics solutions have become an indispensable tool for e-commerce, but they typically only provide partial visibility into the actual customer experience. Download this paper to see how you can determine what's happening on your web site, and why it's happening.

In this on-demand webcast, Phillip Stasko, IT Manager for Apex Companies, describes how Viewfinity's Privilege Management product enabled him to effectively remove administrator rights from all employees without impeding user productivity.

View the original article here

I admit that I am a fanboy

"You're a fanboy, how dare you say that Chrome OS is good enough for you! Are you an idiot?"

"You never say anything positive about Windows 8; you must be paid by Apple!"

"The iPad is far superior to Android tablets, you moron!"

"I can't believe you'd say that the Note 2 is a great phone. The iPhone is better, you fandroid."

That represents the gist of a lot of correspondence I receive on a continual basis, cleaned up for publication. The focus of the outrage largely follows whatever topic I have covered at the time. The constant barrage of such vehement reactions has led me to realize that I am, indeed, a fanboy.

Galaxy Note 2 not depicted as it was used to take this photo. (Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

I love mobile technology and meet the definition of a fanboy when I think about it. I love everything about mobile technology, from the advances I have seen in the field over the years to the fantastic hardware of today. I love how much I can do with just about every mobile gadget at my disposal. I am fanatical about mobile tech, so obviously, I am a fanboy.

You have to look at the gear I use and what I think about it to understand how much of a fanboy I really am.

My Galaxy Note 2 is a fantastic phone that I love. I can do all sorts of things with it that were unheard of just a few years ago. I like Android, I like the apps, and I like the hardware.

My iPhone 4S is not the latest model from Apple but it's still a nice phone for me. I like the OS, I like the apps, and I like the hardware.

I adore the newest acquisition in my moble arsenal, the HP Envy x2 laptop that becomes a tablet with a snap. I like the hardware, I like Windows 8, I like a few Metro apps, and a big assortment of desktop apps. I love the long battery life that lets me keep going and going.

I like the Chromebook Pixel with its superb hardware, and the Chrome OS that suits me just fine. I like the web apps and how they run on the outstanding display. I really like how much I can get done with it.

I like my 13-inch MacBook Pro with the Retina Display. I like OS X, I like the apps I run, and I like the great hardware design.

I like my Nexus 7 and the good value it represents. The hardware is great and I like it, and the Android OS is very nice. The apps are as good as any out there, and make it all work nicely.

I like my iPad with its Retina Display. I like iOS, although I wish it would get a facelift. I like the apps, and how I can use it all heavily and still have lots of battery life left.

I like my iPad mini, which has all the good things I like about its bigger sibling (except the Retina Display). I love reading ebooks on it.

There you have it, my confession that I am a total fanboy of mobile tech. I love using it every day, and delight in all that I can accomplish with it. I get excited when new tech comes along, and rush to get my hands on it.

Based on the gear I am fanatical about as detailed above, I'm not just a fanboy of mobile tech. I am obviously a Windows 8 fanboy, an iPad fanboy, Android fanboy, Note 2 fanboy, Nexus 7 fanboy, iPhone fanboy, iOS fanboy, OS X fanboy, iPad mini fanboy, Chrome OS fanboy, Chromebook Pixel fanboy, Apple fanboy, MacBook Pro fanboy, Microsoft fanboy, Google fanboy, and HP Envy x2 fanboy.

That's a whole lot of fanboyism going on — and I admit it freely. I like it all, and get excited about it on a regular basis.

I enjoy using it all, not just one platform or gadget. I revel in how each platform has grown into the mature platform it is today. I love how hardware — whether smartphone, tablet, or laptop — has gotten smaller, more portable, and more powerful than ever.

To answer the inevitable question of which one gadget would I want to be stranded on a deserted island with, I can't tell you. In a perfect world, I'd be stranded with all of it. That way, I could go months before all the batteries run dry.

I am indeed the ultimate fanboy with commitment issues.

View the original article here

Chromebook Pixel: Spoiling me for other chromebooks

I have been using a Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook since picking it up last year. The Samsung is a great laptop that happens to run Chrome OS, something that works very well for me. I like everything about the Samsung. Then Google sent me a Chromebook Pixel and spoiled me.

The Series 5 550 Chromebook works very well for me. It runs Chrome OS nicely and is a super work machine that meets my needs. There is not really anything I don't like about the Samsung, but it's no longer enough.

The culprit is the Chromebook Pixel, the expensive laptop from Google that costs almost three times what I paid for the Samsung. The Pixel hardware is as good as that on any laptop, even better in some ways. Using the Chromebook Pixel is sheer joy and it's not often you can say that about a laptop.

The Pixel keyboard is great, the trackpad is outstanding, and then there's that screen. The high resolution, even higher than the famous Retina display, is simply wonderful to use. Text displays razor sharp and graphics pop. The integrated long-term evolution (LTE) is so darn convenient when wi-fi is not available. Then there's the touchscreen. This has come in handy far more than I thought it would. Chrome OS is not fully optimized for touch, but what it can do with it makes the Pixel even better than without.

Given the high price of the Chromebook Pixel, surely I'm not thinking of getting one? As you have probably guessed, that's exactly what I am considering. My Samsung Chromebook that I liked so much is just not cutting it now that I've used the best Chromebook.

Chromebook Pixel
(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

I haven't pulled the trigger on the Pixel yet, as it was not in my budget. I recently bought the MacBook Pro and another similar purchase is not in the budget. But I admit I've come very, very close to doing so.

The Pixel I am using now is going back to Google shortly and the thought of going back to a regular chromebook is not appealing at all. Stepping down on the hardware, the build quality, the integrated LTE, the gorgeous display, the touchscreen...

You may think I'm crazy to be considering spending this much ($1,449) for a Chromebook Pixel, and you're not far off the mark. I don't know anyone I would recommend to do so. But the fact is I use Chrome OS, it works well for me, and I want to run it on the best hardware available to run it. It's my money, after all.

That in a nutshell is the narrow audience that the Chromebook Pixel is aimed at: Someone who is already convinced that Chrome OS will work fine for them. The price is too high for those not sure about Chrome OS. But for those like me who know it's good, and want to run it on the best hardware available to do so, the Pixel is it.

Related stories

View the original article here

Facebook Home: A prettier Motoblur

Facebook Home. (Image: ZDNet)

Mark Zuckerberg proudly showed off Facebook's new Home app recently; an Android home screen replacement that pushes network updates to the phone. Facebook Home is designed to provide a constant stream of your friends' updates right on both the lock screen and home screen of your Android phone. It pushes Android firmly behind the Facebook action on phones that can run the app.

Demos of Facebook Home show it to be a slick presentation of what is ordinarily seen on either the Facebook website or in mobile apps. There is a constant stream of all the latest updates and photos posted to the user's news stream on Facebook. It makes following the social network updates automatic, with no action required by the user. Your friends' updates are pushed to the phone constantly, and all you have to do is sit there and watch them unfold.

The reality may soon set in for Facebook Home users as it did for Motoblur users of yesteryear — it's not always a good thing when the social network takes over the phone.

This may sound familiar to long-time Android phone users, especially those who owned early Android phones by Motorola Mobility. Those phones ran a social network streaming service from Motorola called Motoblur. Motoblur was a set of Android widgets put on the home screen and designed to display a steady stream of network updates all the time.

If that sounds a lot like Facebook Home, it's because it was. Motoblur took it even further by streaming not only Facebook updates, but those from Twitter, MySpace, news and weather services. A constant dose of updates, both social network and news of interest, flashed on the Android home screen.

Motoblur. (Image: Motorola Mobility)

Motorola made this work by tapping into user configured social networks and passing them through its own Motoblur servers. The updates were all aggregated on the server side to keep the processing required at the phone level to a minimum. Even with this aggregation, Motoblur often made the phones of that time slow down to a crawl due to the constant activity going on behind the streaming display. Phones running Motoblur also tended to get poor battery life due to the constant network updating and displaying.

This overhead on the phone led to widespread criticism of Motoblur, as users constantly complained about the interference with phone operation and poor battery life on phones running it. Over time, Motorola toned it down from the total domination of the Android home screen at launch until it was just a fraction of its designed usefulness in reaction to this criticism. This led to Motorola dropping Motoblur development entirely in 2010.

The initial reaction to Motoblur when it was first announced was similar to that of Facebook Home after the launch announcement and demos. Many of us are deeply integrated with our social networks, and having our friends' updates pushed to our phone is compelling at first.

The reality may soon set in for Facebook Home users as it did for Motoblur users of yesteryear — it's not always a good thing when the social network takes over the phone. Sure, the regular Android functionality will still be there, albeit buried under the Facebook functions that will take over the home screen. One of the biggest draws of Android is the ability to customize the home screens to provide a user experience tailored to the individual. That will be totally lost with Facebook Home.

The constant stream of Facebook updates may take an unexpected toll on users. From the demos, it's clear that in addition to the text updates, Facebook Home will be pushing a lot of photos to the phone. Those updates may very well hit phone data plans pretty hard. That will also likely drain phone batteries faster than ever before.

Facebook may soon discover that the massive overhead required to push constant streams to millions of Facebook Home users is much bigger than expected. Conversations with Motorola employees tasked with keeping the Motoblur servers running made it clear that it was difficult to keep up with the massive amounts of data being continually pushed to Motoblur phones. Facebook is already sending data on demand to lots of phones running its mobile apps, but pushing millions of streams constantly may tax things to the limit.

All of that data moving from Facebook to millions of home screens is going to be massive, and carriers will be bearing the brunt of it. That may be fine at first, but if Facebook Home gets adopted by tens of millions of Android phone owners, it's going to get very expensive for the carriers. It may eventually be necessary to recover the cost of data delivery from users. Perhaps a Facebook Home data charge may come to most carriers, and thus, to customer phone bills.

People love Facebook, and they may end up liking Facebook Home too. That's not a given, however, if history is an indication.

Related stories

View the original article here

Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad: It's the magnets (review)

My quest for the best keyboard for the iPad has seen me using most of the top models. A new one from Belkin may be as good as any available. I have been using the Ultimate Keyboard Case for the iPad for a couple of weeks and its thin profile and light weight make it great for work.

See also: Best iPad keyboards (hands on): March 2013

The Ultimate Keyboard Case I am using has an aluminum bottom and a black plastic top with a faux leather insert. It weighs less than a pound and is only a little thicker than the iPad. It has a Bluetooth keyboard that supports fast touch typing and, most importantly, it can support the iPad in three different viewing angles to suit any situation.

Specifications:

Dimensions: 245 x 197 x 18.8 mm (9.6 x 7.75 x 0.74 inches); 411 gm (0.9 pounds)Key travel: 1.6 mm (0.06 inches)Key spacing: 2.8 mm (0.11 inches)Keyboard thickness: 6.9 mm (0.27 inches)

The Ultimate Keyboard Case is one of the thinnest portfolio cases with a keyboard. This was accomplished by making the keyboard only 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) thick.

Magnetic strips (indicated by red arrow) provide three viewing angles

Belkin uses three strips of magnets above the keyboard that grip the iPad for viewing. These provide three viewing angles, all of which are good for using the keyboard. It's easy to move the iPad to any of these positions and to close the case for transport. When the iPad is gripped by one of these magnets the keyboard automatically turns on and when the magnetic seal is broken, the keyboard is powered off. No power switch is needed for this reason.

The Ultimate Case has smart cover technology that turns the iPad on/off when the case is open/closed. The iPad is completely protected when closed.

iPad slides over keyboard for use as a tablet in the case

In addition to the magnetic grips for standing the iPad, the Ultimate Case also lets you slide the iPad forward for use as a tablet. The iPad covers the keyboard in this position so the keys are not exposed. This works surprisingly well for using the tablet without removing it from the case as required by other cases.

This keyboard/case has worked well for me and I enjoy using it. The only gripe I have is the lack of a screen lock key as found on most keyboards of this type. That key would make it possible to turn the iPad screen off without closing the case. I hope Belkin will include this key on future revisions in place of the current Bluetooth pairing key.

The Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for the iPad is available in black and in white. The black model, as reviewed, is $99 and the white model, which is aluminum on both the top and bottom of the case, is $129. The white model should be slightly lighter than the black one.

See related:

View the original article here

Tablets with 4G mean productivity anywhere

A survey by Forrester shows that the form factor of tablets, which is more portable than laptops, is the primary reason that IT decision makers deploy slates (or plan to do so) in the workplace. JP Gownder of Forrester calls this "hyper-portability" and elaborates on the benefits of such mobile devices.

Gownder contends that the portability of tablets allows workers to be more productive in far more places than other devices. Such locations can range from different spots around the office, to the local coffee shop.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes takes it even further by noting that it's the "low drag" of tablets that makes them work productively. They're easy to take out of the bag, have instant on, and are easy to maintain — another good point of view on the little tablet.

This subject is very dear to me, as I have been using tablets to work all over the place. Case in point: After reading Gownder's and Kingsley-Hughes' thoughtful pieces about why tablets are popular with IT folk, I was thinking about the unusual places I use them for productive work. I recently shared some of the unique places I go to work on a regular basis. The tablet makes this easy to do, but it's the integrated 4G long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity that really makes this shine.

When I decided to write this article about the freedom that 4G on a tablet provides so I can work anywhere, it was in a city park after eating a nice lunch outdoors. Without the 4G, I would have probably waited until I got back to civilization, ie wi-fi, to get this done. Hopefully, I would have remembered all the thoughts I had back at the park. Instead, I pulled my tablet out of the bag, and in seconds I was online and writing the article. I was able to tap into the thoughts that were all fresh in my mind.

This isn't an infrequent experience in my work; it happens all the time. The tablet is always at hand and with its all-day battery life, it is ready to go at a moment's notice. The integrated 4G connectivity completes the requirement to work absolutely anywhere I happen to be. In my line of work that means that, whenever the muse strikes me, I can capture it on the go. This is very powerful to me.

When you take the hyper-portability, mix in the low drag quotient, and stir in some fast 4G, you get a tasty dish that can be consumed almost anywhere — even in the park.

View the original article here

Asus Memo Pad 7-inch tablet now available for $149

Summary: Those on a tight budget looking for a decent tablet can snag this 7-inch slate for a decent price.

The maker of the popular Nexus 7 tablet has entered the budget market in the U.S. with the Memo Pad 7. The Asus Memo Pad 7 is now available from retailers including Amazon for $149. This isn't a huge drop from the $199 the Nexus 7 costs but those wanting a cheap tablet may want to check out the Memo.

The specs on the Memo won't light the world on fire, but they should offer performance good enough for most tasks. What Asus' Memo has that even the Nexus 7 lacks is an SD-card slot for augmenting the 16GB of internal storage.

Hardware specs of the Memo 7:

OS: Android 4.1 Jelly BeanProcessor: VIA 1 GHzMemory: 1GBStorage: 16GB (5GB of Asus web storage at no cost on top of this)Display: 7-inch, 1024 x 600, 10 point multitiouchCamera: Front- 1 MPConnectivity: Wi-fi (b/g/n)I/O: microUSB, audio jack, SD slotBattery: 4720 mAH (estimated 7 hours)Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x .44 inchesWeight: 12.6 ounces

The Asus Memo Pad 7 is available in gray, pink, and white for the same $149 price. It appears to be in stock at Amazon, so you could get one in a day or two.

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

View the original article here