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It appears that there’s a bug in iOS 5 that’s keeping location services turned on for automatically setting your time zone when there’s absolutely no reason to. Location Services consume a large amount of battery life due to it using a combination of WiFi, Mast Data Requests and GPS to work out where you are, having these services constantly running can drain your battery in hours.

To check if this is your problem, follow these instructions: -

1. Open the ‘Settings’ App
2. Select ‘Location Services’
3. Scroll to the bottom of the list and Select ‘System Services’
4. If you’ve got a purple arrow next to ‘Setting Time Zone’ then your constantly using Location Services
5. Turn off ’Setting Time Zone’
6. OPTIONAL: You can also turn off Diagnostics & Usage, this simply reports usage data up to Apple

UPDATE 3rd Nov 2011

It appears Apple have just released iOS 5.01 to developers for testing, they’ve also admitted there is indeed a battery problem caused by several bugs in iOS 5. No word on a release date yet but expect it to be in the next couple of weeks if previous release schedules are anything to go by.

Links

Google Apps users have been blocked from using Google+ ever since it’s been in testing, something that seemed a bit strange to Google Apps users, surely Google would want to give their loyal paying customers access to their social network first? Their reasoning was that they wanted to get the integration right and reliable before they released it out to their paying customers.

So what is Google Plus (G+)?

Google+ is Google’s social networking platform, it’s been in testing for a few months now and has already amassed over 40 million users due to its flexibility, privacy settings and collaboration features. If you’re a Facebook or Linked-In user you’ll have no doubt noticed lots of upgrades to their platforms in the past few weeks, the main reason for all those changes has primarily been the perceived threat of Google+ and the fact that it came out of closed testing to open public testing just last month.

Google+ has some very useful features not only for individuals but also for business and education: -

• Hangouts – A fantastic conferencing and white boarding system that allows you to hold an online video or voice conference with up to 10 people whilst also being able to show presentations, video’s, screen share and collaborate on anything in your Google Docs. Rumour has it that they will also be enabling one-to-many conferencing soon (just like Webex) which will be great for sales pitches and training
• Follow Me – The ability for someone to follow you without you having to accept them as a friend (just like Twitter)
• Circles – The ability to easily control who can and cannot see your posts, think ‘circles or groups of contacts’, you might have a specific business networking ‘circle’, close friends or a work colleagues circle.
• Picture Management – When compared to Facebook, a far superior and higher quality image system
• Google Chat, Video & Phone – If you’re already a Google Apps users you’ll know how powerful these features are, as a comparison think Skype integrated within your eMail platform
• Google +1 on Blogs and Web Pages – It has already been noticed that Google’s search platform is boosting posts up the search ranking that have been +1′ed within Google+

Google’s philosophy again seems to be to bring all the main functionality that businesses use within their normal working day (conferencing, presentations, info sharing, collaboration & telephony) to a single, easy-to-use and free platform. When you combine the power of Google Apps for Business with Google+ you end up with a very powerful set of businesses tools at a very small price.

Socially Active Users

Facebook is by far the most active platform, it’s used primarily by consumer facing businesses, Linked-In is primarily used by B2B businesses and Twitter is used as a means to disseminate communications to a wide audience quickly.

• Facebook – 800 million
• Linked-In – 200 million
• Google+ (In testing) – 40 million
• Twitter – 175 million

To me it looks like Google is targeting Linked-In and Twitter users before it moves on to the behemoth that is Facebook. Personally as an Apps for Business user the choice is obvious, if I can have a feature rich set of business tools that I use on a daily basis for free why would I not use it and I think that is the key to why G+ will be successful.

Links

Google+ to Support Google Apps in Next Few Days – Mashable, 19th Oct 2011

In our 3rd edition we have:

• Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility – Analysis
• Apple’s iOS 5
• What’s the Fastest Browser? – Chrome
• Amazon Kindle Now Available as a Cloud App
• Gartner: Windows 7 on 42 percent of PCs by year’s end

• Is RIM going to allow Android apps to run on all Blackberry devices?
• This years much anticipated Apple conference is whipping people into the usual frenzy
• Is Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility a stroke of genius or the ramblings of a mad-man
• Could Apple’s iMessage finally tempt over the remaining Blackberry BBM users?
• Amazon releases the Kindle Reader as a Cloud Application
• 635 million new Windows 7 PCs with be purchased in 2011 alone

“The combination of Google and Motorola will not only supercharge Android, but will also enhance competition and offer consumers accelerating innovation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences” Google CEO Larry Page wrote in a post on the company’s official blog.

Well this came as a shock to everybody! I’ve delayed writing anything about this story so I could gauge the industries reaction to the purchase as there’s more than enough information out there regarding the actual mechanics of the purchase. There’s is hardly any agreement out there between the analysts as to what exactly the long term goal of this is, but either way it’s a stroke of genius or it’s going to cause them some serious problems.

What’s included in the deal

• 17,000 patents with an additional 7,500 pending approval
• 20,000 employees around the world
• Circa $3bn annual profits from an $11bn turnover
• SmartPhone Hardware
• Tablet Hardware
• Set-top Box Hardware

Which all makes interesting reading, there’s one thing for sure and that’s the primary reason for this purchase is patents, especially as Google lost out on 6,000 Nortel patents bought by Apple, Microsoft & RIM back in July. These patents were clearly bought to defend Android and its partners from the increasingly popular sport of patent trolling.

The employee numbers are more of a concern though, Google itself has 25,800 employees so this is almost a doubling of the workforce overnight! This is a massive cultural challenge, we all know that Google is quite unique about the way it’s employees are allowed to work, can they bring that openness and innovative approach to Motorola’s staff whilst still increasing shareholder value?

It’s the SmartPhone and Tablet hardware that is causing the most discussion though, Apple have very tight control over their hardware which allows them to provide their users with a tightly integrated (controlled?) environment. Microsoft have minimum design criteria’s that all their hardware partners must adhere to, again this is to ensure certain aspects of all WinMo phones are the same. Google took a totally different approach by allowing its partners to do whatever they wanted, you could argue this breed’s innovation but it can also make the Android experience across hardware platforms slightly different.

Either way, if I was one of Google’s hardware partners (Samsung, HTC, etal) I’d be very nervous right now, they did all release a short statement in support of the acquisition but there was something not right, they seemed coerced and through gritted teeth. Surely if you were Google you’d release updates earlier on your own hardware therefore keeping it one step ahead? Google have said they intend to leave Mobility running as a separate business so we’ll have to wait and see on this one, maybe they’ll spin off the SmartPhone and Tablet divisions to pacify their partners. Let’s face it, Motorola’s phones haven’t exactly set the world on fire, in fact I reckon I can count on one hand all the decent phones Motorola have put out since the fantastic StarTac back in 1996. Motorola’s tablet division is a different story though, the Xoom Tablet being a very good device.

There is one hardware division that is very interesting though and that’s the Set-top box division. Google has been trying to get into the TV market with Google TV for quite a while now. It took the same approach as with Android and let partners create the hardware, this hasn’t really worked though (look at the recent Logitech debacle) as the price and quality just hasn’t been there.  This purchase gives Google direct access to the hardware and an already installed base of set-top boxes that I can see getting a Google TV makeover sometime soon.

Motorola Financials

Motorola’s revenues have plummeted over the past four years, they’ve simply struggled to find a way to compete with the iPhone and the other SmartPhone manufacturers.

Do Google intend to just sell off the SmartPhone division? In my mind this would be the logical decision, it would allow Google to remain independent, pacify its current partners and remove some of the cultural integration headaches. It would raise questions over Motorola’s ability to compete without the Patents though, maybe a deal will get struck there. Maybe Google intend to go down the Apple hardware/software controlled route, somehow I doubt that, it goes against everything people like about Google.

From a patent point of view, the recent Nortel Patents went for $750k per patent and Google bought Motorola’s for $510k each, you could argue that Google got the better deal here. You could also argue that either way that’s a ridiculous amount of money to pay for patents and I’d tend to agree. There is also a rumour that Motorola were going to use these patents to go on the attack against some of Google’s partners, was this another driver behind the acquisition?

Conclusion

This is clearly a case of Google getting fed up with Apple using some ridiculous patent arguments to prevent and delay Google’s partners from selling their wares. I kid you not, these are some of these arguments used by Apple in the current Samsung Tab case in Europe: -

• a rectangular product with four evenly rounded corners
• a flat, clear surface that covers the front of the product
• a visible metal frame around the flat, clear surface
• a display that is centred on the clear surface
• under the clear surface, a neutral margin around the sides of the display
• if the product is switched on, coloured icons within the display

It’s frustrating to see this going on when the money could be more wisely spent on product improvements but there you go.

I see Google disposing of the SmartPhone and Tablet Arms with some deal on patents, I see new set-top boxes with Google TV built into them and I hope I see somebody banging all these patent trolls heads together and then the streamlining of the global patent system to prevent large businesses with deep pockets trampling all over innovation with ridiculous patent cases.

Links

Google Buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion – Mashable, 16th Aug 2011

Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility – Google Official Blog, 15th Aug 2011

The Smartphone Cold War: Is the Motorola Mobility Acquisition Google’s Greatest Move, Or Their Worst? – TheAndroid, 15th Aug 2011

Motorola Mobility Financials – Bloomberg

Apple have recently said that any purchases made from within an application on their devices must be subject to a commission rate of 30% which has upset a lot of developers including Amazon, why should Apple not only take a 30% fee for the application sale but also from subscriptions within the apps themselves? e.g. Buying a book or magazine from within the iPhone/iPad Kindle reader.

We all had our suspicions that this is just Apple trying to make their books cheaper than Kindles by forcing iPhone/iPad Kindle users to ultimately pay an additional 30% fee to cover the costs, which to many people seems a bit underhand and is a growing example of what happens in the IT industry when a single company takes too much control (PC Manufacturers and Windows debate anyone?). After Apple introduced this fee to its terms a few weeks back, Amazon released an update simply removing the buy book button from within the Kindle reader, users didn’t really care as they can buy books via the Amazon Store, via the Kindle itself or from the PC application and then just sync the new purchase across to the iPhone/iPad. No great hardship but it does smack of Apple cutting off its nose to spite its face, isn’t Apple’s mantra all about ease-of-use?

First of all let’s think about the costs and issues involved in providing the Kindle Reader for lots of devices: -

1. Lots of developers creating lots of apps versions for different operating systems
2. Lots of slightly different ways of interacting with the application because of the differences in the way each device works
3. Multiple payment handling processes for each device, Apple’s App Store and Androids Apps Store for example
4. Different support teams capable of providing help depending on which operating system your using

What would be better is a single application that is compatible with any operating system. What if they released a version of the Kindle Reader on the ‘Cloud’ instead? Well that’s exactly what they’ve just done, you can find it here.

In order to ensure the application is as feature rich and as consistent across different platforms as possible, whilst also allowing your books to be read while you’re offline, they’ve written it in the new standard HTML5 web format. HTML5 is set to revolutionise the way web applications work by allowing web developers to produce cloud applications that are as feature rich as local applications. It’s also a faster and more stable solution to all the Flash problems, remember that Flash isn’t supported on Apple devices but HTML5 is.

There is a small drawback though and that is that you’ll need a web browser capable of supporting HTML5, if you’re running Google Chrome or Apple’s Safari you’ll be fine, if not I’d strongly recommend you go to Chrome as it’s the fastest and most stable browser available today.

If you have an Android or Apple device, simply go to the site via the devices browser, you can then read books online & offline and make purchases directly from within the App without anyone being able to take juicy cut. Genius.

Links

Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader

Amazon’s Answer To Apple’s Terms: A Web-Based Kindle Cloud Reader — Brilliant On PC, Better On iPad – TechCrunch, 9th Aug 2011

On the graph below, the blue bar represents the total page load time (i.e. after everything has loaded on the page including the hidden stuff) and the green bar represents when you actually believe the page is loaded (i.e. after all the visible parts of the page have loaded on your screen). The graph shows Chrome 12 which was replaced with an even faster version, Chrome 13 last week.

Even these figures though don’t show the whole picture, for those of you that use several browsers on a regular basis (we use different browsers to ensure cross browser compatibility for the web sites we develop) we see even bigger speed differences than this graph suggests. In our experience Chrome is the fastest, then Firefox then chugging along behind is IE. To be fair to Microsoft, IE9 has improved things significantly but still not enough.

Chrome and Firefox for a while have had between them more market share than IE, one of the reasons IE still has a reasonable following is that it’s pre-loaded on Windows and is still used heavily by Corporates. Since Microsoft were forced to include the Browser Choice program when you buy a new PC, they’ve lost market share at an alarming rate as people realise there are better alternatives.

One of the other reasons that Chrome is growing so rapidly is its clean and uncluttered interface and that it can be used across different operating systems, therefore giving a consistent experience across Windows, Mac and Linux.

Links

What’s the Fastest Web Browser in the “Real World?” Chrome – TechCrunch, 8th August 2011

Top 5 Worldwide Browser Usage Stats 2008-2011 – StatCounter

To enable it: -

1. Click on the ‘Options’ cog at the top right of your gMail screen and select Labs (If Lab’s doesn’t show, speak to your Google Apps Administrator)
2. Search for ‘Preview Pane’
3. Select Enable next to the Preview Pane option
4. Save Changes

Once you return to your Inbox you will have a new option (top right above your Inbox) to “Toggle split pane mode” where you can select Horizontal or Vertical.

Remember it is a Labs product and therefore not fully released so it does have a couple of small bugs in it but so far so good.

Links

Google Gmail Adds Preview Pane – PC Magazine, 4th Aug 2011

New in Labs: Preview Pane – Official Google Blog, 4th Aug 2011