Archive for 2011

Smartphone addiction taking over

More than a third of British adults who own a smartphone have admitted they are "highly addicted" to it and cannot bear to put it down, not even in the toilet.

Research for the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has found new evidence of how devices such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids affect our behaviour.

Smartphone users are more likely to have their phones switched on 24 hours a day and would wake up in the night to answer or use it.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also lead to owners cutting down on their TV viewing and reading.

Six out of 10 smartphone users aged 12 to 15-years-old, or 60%, said they had a high level of addiction, compared to 33% with a regular mobile phone.

The Ofcom communications market report for 2011 says 18% of users will use their device in a theatre or cinema despite knowing it should be switched off – this compares to 10% of other mobile phone users. Facebook is taking up people’s time during the day.

The report also found evidence of smartphones blurring the divide between work and holidays with 30% regularly taking personal calls during working hours.

And using an iPhone or Blackberry at a social event or in the bathroom is also common. Almost half (47%) of teengers with a smartphone said they had used it in the toilet.

The top three activities used regularly by teenage smartphone owners were social networking, listening to music and playing games, with emails, internet surfing and social networking the most popular activities for adult smartphone owners.

More than a quarter of British adults, or 27%, are smartphone users, representing an estimated 12 million users, according to the Ofcom report.

The Apple iPhone is the most popular brand overall but BlackBerry or ‘Crackberry’ handsets are the most popular choice among younger consumers.

Are you an addict? I know I am.

Source: Sky News

Posted by James

Skype for iPad at last!

After a bit of a false start yesterday, first being then released and the removed from the App Store, one of the apps I have been most eagerly awaiting has been made available at last. I’m talking, of course, about Skype for iPad.

Previously the only way to use Skype on the iPad was to use the iPhone specific app. Whilst obviously this was workable it was, frankly, far from ideal as with other iPhone apps that run on the iPad it simply used display doubling in order to get it full screen.

Fortunately the new iPad app makes excellent use of the larger iPad display and working in a similar way to the mail app with a two-pane interface.

Looks awesome and works well even with the camera on the iPad 2. If you have an iPad then it’s definitely worth a look!

Posted by: Matt

Apple tosses Samsung’s tablet out of Oz

Apple scored a victory in their on-going legal tirade against Samsung. A court in Sydney, Australia ruled in favour of Apple regarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The device has now been blocked from advertising and sales within Australia until the courts decide the full patent infringement case. Here’s a quote from the Bloomberg article, Quote: Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, agreed to stop advertising the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and not to sell the device until it wins court approval or the lawsuit is resolved, according to an accord reached by lawyers during a break in the hearing.

Should Apple lose its patent infringement lawsuit, it agreed to pay Samsung damages, which weren’t specified. Interestingly, Apple’s Australian claim is based on a U.S. version of the Galaxy tablet, which is different from the one that will be sold in Australia, according to Samsung’s lawyer Neil Murray. Samsung will provide Apple three samples of the Australian version of the computer tablet at least seven days before it planned to start distributing it. There’s no telling when, or if, this will affect any of Apple’s other international cases against Samsung, but it may have repercussions.

Ultimately, however, the final court ruling regarding the similarities and the 10 alleged patent infringements is really what matters the most in the long run. Then again, perhaps Apple has achieved what it really set out to do. Perhaps Apple’s real intentions were never really to "win" the court cases in the first place, and all they really wanted to do is hamper or slow down the momentum of their competitors. It’ll be interesting to see as the drama continues to unfold.

Posted by: Gareth