Android Fragmentation Not
April 5, 2012
In the iPhone versus Android mobile battle, Android may be about to suffer a huge loss.Tech News World recently reported on the issue of fragmentation causing Android developers to flee in the article “Is Fragmentation Breaking the Android Dev’s Will?”
According to the article, due to the continued fragmentation of its operating system, developers are starting to lose interest in developing apps for Android. Based on information derived from a survey conducted by Appcelerator and IDC at the beginning of the new year, Android phone app development fell by nearly five percentage points over the past quarter to about 79 percent and interest in Android tablets fell just over 2 percent to about 66 percent.
The article states:
Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) own figures show that many different versions of Android are current being used. Google statistics regarding the number of active devices accessing Google Play over two weeks ending March 5 found that 62 percent ran Gingerbread, or Android 2.3. Another roughly 25 percent ran Froyo, or Android 2.2. Eclair, or Android 2.1, was used by 6.6 percent of the devices.
We get it. Fragmentation means homogenous just like “meaningful use” means better health care.
Jasmine Ashton, April 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
No Joke: Upcoming MobileX Conference in Lexington, KY
April 1, 2012
For search enthusiasts that are interested in learning about the the potential impact of mobile devices on various industries, Awesome Inc recently reported on the upcoming conference in the article,”MobileX Comes Home to Lexington.”
According to the article, MobileX Lexington is a one day conference that will be held from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm on April 13 at Awesome Inc. The conference for entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry professionals, and mobile enthusiasts that identifies opportunities, explores solutions, and provides technical education in the mobile & related industries.
When introducing the speakers, The article states:
Anthony Hand of Samsung, who will be giving a talk on “Opportunities for Mobile Innovation: A Designer’s Perspective”. He is a user experience designer at Samsung Research in Silicon Valley for mobile apps and services and has worked with all of the major smartphone platforms and mobile Java. Recently, he spent two years at Motorola as the lead UI designer for the Home Screen and most of the widgets on their Android devices.
This conference could be an exciting opportunity for those interested in learning about innovations in the mobile world.
Jasmine Ashton, April 1, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Inteltrax: Top Stories, March 19 to March 23
March 26, 2012
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically, the myriad of ways companies are handling tough times through analytics.
One positive light was shone in “Netflix Sets Analytic Example” which shows how the once-sagging movie giant is correcting its course with analytics.
On the flipside, “LexisNexis Fighting a Losing Analytic Battle” shows the original king of analytics and discovery to be going about a big data conversion all wrong.
And on a slightly less concerning note, “Mobile BI Might Be Too Much for Some” shows that while handheld analytics is cool, it’s wasted on many users.
Big data anatlyics is a soaring field, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ups and downs on the way to the top. We help you see all the good and the bad this wild world of innovation has to offer by bringing you the latest every day.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting
www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax, March 26, 2012
Voicebrook and Nuance Team Up for Voice Search
March 26, 2012
SYS.CON Media recently reported on an agreement between Voicebrook and Nuance Communications to work together to deliver comprehensive, speech-enabled reporting solutions for anatomic pathology laboratories in the article, “Voicebrook and Nuance Partner to Provide Speech-Powered Reporting Solutions for Anatomic Pathology Laboratories.”
According to the article, Voicebrook, a provider of integrated speech recognition and digital dictation solutions for Pathology, plans to adapt its VoiceOver software to include the benefits of Nuance’s Dragon Dictate.
The article states:
Powered by Nuance’s advanced speech recognition technology, VoiceOver® is a key component in optimizing anatomic pathology Laboratory Information System (LIS) and Digital Pathology workflows. Used by more than 200 of the most prestigious private and hospital laboratories across the United States and Canada, VoiceOver® is proven to deliver enormous savings, efficiencies, and quality improvements to anatomic pathology laboratories.
It looks like speech technology is becoming a big deal. I like to call this the Apple Siri effect. It may not work perfectly, but it points the way to the future.
Jasmine Ashton, March 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Faces Apple in Mobile Search Wars
March 24, 2012
Business Insider recently reported on the release of a research note arguing that the rise of the iPad is a long term threat to Google, in the article, “How the iPad Could Destroy Google’s Lucrative Search Business.”
How, you ask? According to two Wall Street analysts, Apple will continue to push alternative sources like Siri as a way to de-emphasize Google’s impact. In addition to this, Siri could potentially hurt Google in the long run by diverting search traffic.
Anthony DiClemente of Barclays writes:
Siri is not a search technology; however when paired with services such as Wolfram Alpha and Yelp, it can circumvent traditional search engines and provide the user with answers that may have originally required a search. Because Siri is a non-visual medium, it does not provide the ability to present users with clickable ad links, an area where GOOG derives most of its revenues. Performics estimates mobile could account for 20% of all paid search over the next 6 months, and Google has said 2/3rds of all mobile searches are on Apple iOS devices.
While placing such a high emphasis on Siri’s impact on search may be a bit of an overstatement, unlike other companies like Microsoft or Amazon which have a variety of revenue sources, search advertising is where Google gets the vast majority of its revenue. If Siri threatens that search ecosystem than Google could have some major challenges to overcome down the road.
Jasmine Ashton, March 24, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Android and Alleged Fragmentation
March 22, 2012
I was in a third world health care facility this morning. As luck would have it, no fragmentation injuries ahead of me and twisted knickers. I kicked back in the delightful on deck circle for the emergency room checking out posts on my lousy notebook computer.
What did I spy? A headline about “fragmentation.” Well, in my line of work anything with the stem frag* warrants a second look. The headline? “Fragmentation B_mb Wounds Android in Developer War” is an interesting headline. One “watch word”, b_mb and one word on the fence, w-r.
The focus of the article was not on a military topic. The article describes how a mobile phone operating system has a negative impact because of the many different versions of the operating symptom. The collateral in this type of fragmentation affects developers. I see some impact upon civilian users.
There is no Google Android fragmentation. There are just different types of cookies. There is the parent cookie Google Android, and then the different children cookies. What’s the problem?
Here’s the passage I noted:
A new study conducted by IDC and mobile-developer platform and services company Appcelerator has determined that as Google’s open source Android operating system becomes more and more fragmented, fewer and fewer developers are putting it on their “must-code-for” list. “We’ve seen a steady erosion of interest in Android” among developers, Appcelerator’s principal mobile strategist Mike King told The Reg in a prebriefing before the study was released on Tuesday morning.
Okay, the sample size looks fine, but I don’t know anything about the representativeness of the sample. The fact that a single developer group was the source of the sample adds more questions about the validity of the survey.
So, let’s assume that the big study findings are okay. The hot platform for mobile developers to support is the walled garden inside the Apple Country Club & Bank. The losers living in the digital trailer courts are coders who are into Symbian, HP’s TouchPad, the BlackBerry Stone Age gizmos, and Windows Phone. It is early days for Windows 8, so these laggards may come on strong in the mobile developer race.
Another Poobah Insight: Marketing Is an Opportunity
March 21, 2012
Please, read the entire write up “Marketing Is the Next Big Money Sector in Technology.” When you read it, you will want to forget the following factoids:
- Google has been generating significant revenue from online ad services for about a decade
- Facebook is working to monetize with a range of marketing services every single one of the 800 million plus Facebook users
- Start ups in and around marketing are flourishing as the scrub brush search engine optimizers of yore bite the dust. A good example is the list of exhibitors at this conference.
The hook for the story is a quote from an azure chip consultancy. The idea is that as traditional marketing methods flame out, crash, and burn, digital marketing is the future. So the direct mail of the past will become spam email of the future I predict. Imagine.
Marketing will chew up an organization’s information technology budget. The way this works is that since “everyone” will have a mobile device, the digital pitches will know who, what, where, why, and how a prospect thinks, feels, and expects. The revolution is on its way, and there’s no one happier than a Madison Avenue executive who contemplates the riches from the intersection of technology, hapless prospects, and good old fashioned hucksterism. The future looks like a digital PT Barnum I predict.
More Data Concentration Ahead
March 18, 2012
TMCnet announces that “Smartphone Usage Eclipses ‘Dumbphone’ Usage, Fueling Unified Data Storage ‘Tipping Point.’” IceWEB, Inc., a provider of unified data storage appliances, came to this conclusion after reviewing this recent study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project which found that the majority of mobile phone users in the US are now smartphone users. This means a surge in demand for cloud-based unified storage. The write up quotes:
’With nearly half of all adult Americans using smartphones to capture and share billions of storage-heavy pictures and video, all that media takes up more and more storage in the cloud,’ said Steven Toole, Chief Marketing Officer at IceWEB. ‘Unstructured data such as photos and video lends itself to IceWEB’s unified data storage appliances, where data centers hosting smartphone users’ media can easily and more cost effectively manage and scale as these trends continue.’
Unified storage is a harbinger of consolidation, which is good for search and for eDiscovery. It is easier to dig through fewer bins.
IceWEB boasts that it can provide quality, enterprise-level unified data storage solutions at hefty savings over the competition. They declare that their unified storage arrays save storage costs, space, and power. The company is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Cynthia Murrell, March 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Tools for Mobile Sites
March 9, 2012
The unstoppable adoption of smartphones has led to a need for drastic mobile web site optimization according to the article “Mobile Site Mania” on RetailSolutionsOnline.com. The push to develop either exclusively mobile sites or main pages that are simplified to view on a smartphone has almost reached a frantic pace as competitors race to be the first and best in mobile business.
This article suggests that growing use of phones and tablets have necessitated tweaks to sites in the form of simplification and tools especially intended for mobile users. Simple changes included confining menus to the margins and imbedding fewer photos and text on pages that once strove to be elaborate. Tools that are gaining more use include buttons to call or email the business directly and GPS to automatically provide the nearest relevant location.
Many are going a step further with software to ease the transition to mobile and allow for customization to fit specific customer needs.
From the article:
“Some vendors have released technology for mobile that provides interchangeable brand encounters across touchpoints to reduce frustration and accelerate cross-channel sales. For example, Oracle Endeca for Mobile allows your mobile customers to search and browse your entire product catalog, watch videos, create wish lists, download PDFs, read and write user reviews, and proceed through checkout — all from their mobile devices.”
Specialized software vendors like Endeca will allow for such ease of use that we will likely continue to see a merging of web and mobile features and functionality. It will be interesting to see if one platform overshadows another in the near future.
Derek Clark, March 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Registration Now Open for AppRapids Conference
March 5, 2012
Beyond Search and AppRapids have announced that registration is open for the first AppRapids Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on March, 28, 2012.
The enterprise information service, AppRapids, is a Monday through Friday service which focuses on app-related issues in the digital world. AppRapids targets important developments in the field and provides critical comments about these developments.
The one-day conference, held at WorkShop, the Creative Workplace, will bring together participants and speakers, allowing everyone to collaborate and share ideas and insights in the field of mobile applications.
The press release, “Apps are Where it’s at: Register Now for AppRapids Conference” tells us more:
“Apps have been integrated into every aspect of life on both personal and professional levels. However, a lack of knowledge, and consequently agency, exists among many app users and potential app creators. Apps have roots in the past, are impacting the present, and will construct the future. Conference sessions will range from planning and development to implementation and business implications. Speakers will provide details of real-life use cases, best practices and lessons learned.”
The conference will include presentations by women and minorities, and discounted rates are available for students and Seed2020 members. Conference sponsors include: Arnold IT, PolySpot, WorkShop, the Creative Workplace, and Interactive Media Lab.
To register and view the schedule and speaker information, head over to http://www.apprapids.com/conference-registration/.
Stephen E Arnold, March 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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