Steve Jobs has passed away

Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple has passed away at the age of 56. The industry icon who recently resigned from his position as Chief Executive at the company, announced he was suffering from pancreatic cancer in 2004.

He was the face of Apple and the world was a better place because of Mr Jobs. Apple released the following tribute on their website:

Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who’ve been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve lost a dear friend and inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook released the following statement:

“No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honour his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time.”

US President Barrack Obama said that the world had “lost a visionary”. Mr Obama added:

"Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

Former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates said that he was “truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’s death”. Mr Gates added:

“The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honour. I will miss Steve immensely.”

Check out the video below to view the magical moment when Steve Jobs introduced the original Macintosh.

Is the iPhone 4S a letdown?

Apple yesterday announced the launch of their latest smartphone device, the iPhone 4S. After the months of rumours and anticipation for the iPhone 5, it’s fair to say that everyone was rather disappointed.

The iPhone 4S looks just like the iPhone 4 on the outside but with improvements on the inside. It has to be remembered that Apple has a track record of releasing products in a similar fashion in the past. After the iPhone 3G, the 3GS was released, which similarly evolved around changes to the inside of the phone. Similar behaviours can be seen in Apple’s updates to their laptops and tablet computers. Earlier on this year, the launch of iPad 2 met a similar air of disenchantment, nevertheless it ‘s how Apple operates strategically by releasing tidy regular updates before a major overhaul of the product to burst it back into life. While many feel letdown that it was an iPhone 4S released and not an iPhone 5, it does not mean that we should necessarily write the product off. Not at all, the 4S in fact has a swifter processor, an improved camera, more built-in storage and faster cellular data networking that works in a greater number of places with now both CDMA and GSM hardware built-in.

In addition the iPhone 4S-specific Siri voice recognition has added much needed spice to the launch of the iPhone 4S. It is the feature that will set tongues wagging with the ability to accurately interpret instructions and turn them into actions. Apple for now has surpassed Google with its Siri voice recognition software, taking it to the next level. The iPhone 4S seems an ideal replacement for those with 3GS models looking for an update, but not so much for those who have an iPhone 4.

Apple has been losing considerable smartphone market share over the past year. The problem is that the rest of its smartphone competitors appear to be moving at a faster rate, reaping the benefits of offering frequent new models that are running on operating systems made by other companies. Whereas Apple has to wait for an OS update before it can make any major changes to their products.

Apple’s goal is to essentially gain a greater share in not only the smartphone market but the handset market as a whole. Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed towards this at the iPhone 4S unveiling yesterday:

"Despite all of this success and all of this momentum, the iPhone has a 5 percent share of the worldwide market of handsets. I could have shown you a much larger number if I just showed you smartphones, but that's not how we look at it," Cook said. "We look at the entire market of handsets because we believe that over time, all handsets become smartphones. This market is 1.5 billion units annually. It's an enormous opportunity for Apple."

Apple’s plan of attack appears to be in full swing. In addition to the 4S, Apple will continue selling the iPhone 4 and 3GS. The firm has always been renowned for continuing to offer their previous year’s handset, but the 3GS will also be available free of charge. This is the first time that the company will be offering a device with no charge up front on a carrier contract. Apple has been suffering a decline in iPod sales over the past few years, selling 20% fewer in its third quarter than in the same period last year. Although Apple effectively dominates the MP3 market, the prominent rise of the smartphone market has led to the iPod nearing the end of its life cycle. The move to make the 3GS free of charge could potentially eat up iPod sales, but in context it appears that CEO Tim Cook has picked the right time in order to reach a wider audience.

Many took to the web to express their feelings on the iPhone 4S. Overall there appeared a mixed reaction, but there was an underlying sense of disapproval that it was not an iPhone 5, which begs the question is the iPhone 4S a letdown?...No, not in the slightest, the reason why is that people will still be queuing up around the block for it and without doubt it will go onto outsell last year’s model!

Burglars using social media to target victims

A survey conducted by security firm Friedland suggests that most burglars are using social media to plan their crimes.

Google Street View is playing a pivotal role in burglars’ crimes. Three quarters of burglars convicted in the past year, admitted that the site was essential in their planning. Google Street View allows you to zoom in on individual houses with burglars using it to gauge security and potential break in routes.

Facebook and Twitter are also being used by criminals. Users posting updates can unwittingly let robbers know about expensive new purchases such as HD televisions or times and dates for when they are out.

In addition to using social media, a fifth of burglars said that they observed homeowners daily routine before carrying out their raids. The survey indicated that the average home burglary took 10 minutes to commit. Furthermore, burglars are said to net on average up to £500 with the majority targeting cash, electrical goods and jewellery, whilst there are those who target documents such as passports.

Only a quarter of burglars said that guard dogs put them off, however 60% stated that they would be discouraged by targeting homes they knew had security alarms.

Convicted burglar, Richard Taylor, said:

“We’re living in the age of the digital criminal and people are taking advantage of social media to access information about would-be victims.”

“We’ll tell them even when we're going away on holidays. We will let them know that we’re not in. We’re inviting them round to our house.”

Expert at Friedland, Jonathan Lim said:

“Taking simple measures, including cutting back trees and shrubs to remove potential hiding places and installing simple alarm systems are all good, cost-effective deterrents that all homeowners can implement to remove their home from the target list.”

Google Plus opens doors to everyone

Google + is now open to everyone after two and a half months of closed testing and being an invitation-only service. On the company’s official blog, Google’s Social Vice-President of Social Business, Vic Gundotra wrote:

“We’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups.”

Google is looking to expand its presence in the social media market with Google + and when quizzed about competitors such as Facebook on the BBC, Gundotra responded by saying:

“Well, we expect people use many different tools to share. The most popular mechanism people use to share today, still is email. Then, of course, there are the other services you mentioned.”

In a way it was an apprehensive response by Gundotra but more so it was realistic. Facebook has been around since 2004 and has accumulated 750+ million users, leaving Google + languishing behind with around 25+ million users at present.

It’s by no means doom and gloom for Google, far from it. To have obtained more than 25 million users at such an early stage is an impressive feat within itself, considering that it took Facebook over three 3 years to acquire 20 million active users. It’s true to say that Facebook was an innovator in the social media market and had no real marketing drive when first launched compared to the powerhouse that is Google. Nevertheless to have 25 million users’ early doors is a great springboard for Google + to go on and achieve great things.

What does Google Plus have to offer?

Google has provided a number of new features on the back of the public launch of Google +, which a writer from Slash Gear sums up nicely:

“Want to video chat via G+ on your phone? You can do that today. Want to broadcast a video for the public? You can do that today. Want to share your screen, share a live-drawn sketchpad, work with Google Docs, or name a Hangout to handle your specific needs? All of that is live today.”

Improvements to Google + Hangouts, includes the ability to utilize them on Android devices (versions 2.3 and higher), however you are unable to use Hangout features on the iPhone and Blackberry. Google + Hangouts is where you can chat live on video from your computer or mobile device with up to 10 people. Beyond the ability to support two way chat for up to 10 people, there are a number of other standout features with the most pioneering app on Google Plus being more about work rather than play. Google Docs is now available live over Hangouts, making live face-to-face collaboration possible on the web for free. Hangouts can be viewed to be a rival of BlackBerry’s BBM and iPhone’s Facetime.

It's the first Plus feature that's categorically different than anything Facebook can do. Facebook has made a number of changes recently, but it’s unlikely that they will go in this direction. Google Docs provides cloud-powered collaboration - outside of the pricey enterprise market. Hangouts allow people to work remotely together and all of these capabilities are for free and without adverts.

Perhaps, Skype can feel more threatened than Facebook. If Hangouts starts off positively and continues to grow in popularity, there is a possibility for it to takeover Skype in the video conferencing scene. Although you can have a call conference with over 20 people on Skype, video calls can only be carried out on a one to one basis compared to 10 people on Hangouts. In addition, the ability to synchronize Google Plus documents while on a video chat is a feature that Skype cannot compete with. Real-time collaboration could be at the heart of success for Google if they communicate the positives and benefits well, which they often don’t. There are a number of Google products that have failed to take off in the past due to their lack of marketing, including Blogger, Picassa, Videos and many more.

There are those who believe that Google + will fizzle out and at best will be a social media equivalent to what Microsoft Bing is to search engines. However, if Google + carries on being innovative, offering new experiences with features such as Hangouts, there is no reason as to why Google can’t make a real go of it. Facebook has felt threatened enough to recently launch a number of new features challenging what were initially Google’s selling points. The social network has renovated friend lists and has made changes to the news feed, which are reminiscent of Google + Circles. It will be interesting to see how the next 12 months will pan out for the two social networking platforms.

At present, Google is trying to aggressively push their social media channels to compete with the likes of Facebook. They invested in Google Plus and will continue to do so in order to increase its popularity to be on a level platform with Facebook.

One in three UK companies block social media

According to research conducted by Clearswift, up to a third of companies block employees from accessing social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

The internet security firm revealed that there was growing fears about internet security. These fears were down to recent high profile hacking incidents, such as the loss of customer data from the Sony Network.

Chief operating officer at Clearswift, Andrew Wyatt observed:

“It is clear that we have seen some significant changes in attitude towards social media use in the last 12 months. Businesses have reacted to the series of high-profile data leaks and have become increasingly nervous about its usage from the workplace”

“Social networking sites often have little to do with data-loss incidents, but they have become guilty by association, because they are seen as having an impact on a company’s brand,” he added.

The number of companies in the UK blocking social media has increased by a fifth in the past year, as 53% of managers indentify social media as an issue for concern. Banks have for many years had blocking policies in place to prevent employees from accessing social networks, it now seems that a number of other industries are following suit.

Moneysupermarket.com has always had a relaxed approach to employees accessing social networks, but they are now looking to implement guidelines for staff to use social media. At the Anglo-Dutch energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, employees are not blocked access from Facebook, however if employees choose to access the site, they are reminded with a pop-up screen not to use personal sites during work hours.

On a global scale, a fifth of companies block their employees from accessing social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Last year, German car manufacturer, Porsche, banned their employees from using social media channels due to their fear of industrial espionage. Although farfetched, firms have become very wary of social media and the potential threat that it can have upon their companies.

91% of companies had become so concerned about data loss that it was stopping them from adopting new technologies, according to Mr Wyatt. He warned that moves to block social media channels could suppress innovation and alienate employees who rely on social media to communicate. If companies were to introduce stricter policies on social networking, 18% of employees said that they would feel demotivated as a result, while 19% said that they would simply work around the rules and 4% would think about leaving!

Ironically, at the same time as restricting staff using social media, companies are looking to increase their social media presence for corporate communications. 31% of UK companies have stated that they are looking to further invest in this area over the coming year. Social media is having a great impact upon everyday life and companies are continuing to embrace it in order to increase their online presence, engage with customers and to build business. Tesco for instance, has over 15,000 followers on their twitter pages and the company’s PR team maintains several Facebook pages for the company, including their main page which has up to 330,000 likes.

Exciting iPhone app helps you to discover new films

The iPhone app “Can’t Wait” sends new film trailers to your phone, allows you to share your favourites and reminds you when the film is going to be released in cinemas. This innovative idea has paved the way for social movie discovery and keeps film fans up to date with the latest releases.

Most of us get excited when we hear about a new film that we can’t wait to see at the cinema. Can’t Wait is the perfect app to trigger that excitement and to find out about the latest flicks. By connecting to Facebook or Twitter to create an account, you can access the app to watch the latest movie trailers. If there is a particular film that gets you buzzing, there is the option to click on the “Can’t Wait” button to share the activity with your social network friends. The application will then send you a reminder for when the film will be released and give you the option to buy tickets.

Co-Founder Eric Florenzano says:

“We want to send you new trailers … help show you what your friends are watching and remind you when movies come out.”

“People want reminders for the movies they’re excited about seeing.”

There are those of you that may be thinking that this app is no different to Flixter or other film focused apps; however Florenzano states that Can’t Wait is uniquely focused upon building excitement:

“If you look at all apps out there, they’re all about what’s out right now,”

“It’s a useful thing … they’re totally tailored for when you’re in the mood to see a movie. What we’re trying to do is be all about what’s coming up … it’s a fundamentally different experience.”

Can’t Wait has a slick, simple and user friendly interface. The app sources its trailers from YouTube, an effective strategy to avoid licensing costs and one that keeps it dependent on YouTube’s API. This can at times be a liability as a broken YouTube API can lead to app users not being able to access trailers for several hours at a time.

Florenzano believes that the app expands beyond movies and into consumer electronics and video games. Can’t Wait receives a percentage of ticket sales purchased via their app and sees further opportunities to make money in featuring studio trailers, offering group discounts and video game pre-orders.

Android and iPhone Remain top dogs in the US smartphone market

In essence of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Google and Apple continue to sprint ahead in the US Smartphone market leaving RIM and Windows in their dust.

New statistics from comScore showed that a mammoth 82.2 million people owned a Smartphone in the US as of July 2011, representing a 10% increase from April 2011. Google is the market leader with 41.8% of the market share, an increase in 5.4% since April. Apple follows Google with 27% of the market share, an increase in 1% since April.

In contrast, RIM, Microsoft and Nokia have continued to lose ground on their rivals. RIM’s BlackBerry market share dropped from 25.7% to 21.7% in three months and Microsoft also experience a drop in their Smartphone market share from 6.7% to 5.7%. Nokia’s Symbian Operating System evaporated from 2.3% to 1.9%.

What does the future hold?

Here is a quick roundup of the latest Smartphone news and what lies ahead in the coming months for the major players in the market.

Google

In the past month Google purchased Motorola for $12.5 billion, showing the company’s ambition to take its investment in the mobile market to the next level.

Google’s acquisition of Motorola is significant in more ways than one. Owning a handset manufacturer opens the way for Google to follow Apple’s profitable lead in controlling the software, hardware and content on its devices. It also gives Google access to a range of technology patents which it can use to defend against action by its industrial rivals.

Google’s Android operating system is a relatively new player in the mobile space. It has left Google behind in the patent game and left the company open to legal action from Apple, Microsoft, Oracle and other companies. In particular, the company has been locked in a legal battle with Microsoft since October 2010. In contrast, Motorola holds 17,000 issued patents worldwide and has another 7,500 patents in progress. The acquisition has not left Google immune to company patents, but it does have a better patent defence than Google on its own.

Apple

Apple will be looking to strengthen their position in the Smartphone market with the imminent release of the iPhone 5 on the horizon. It is predicted that the device will be available within the next couple of months with exciting new features, including Android’s drop down menu style notification. Although Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple, everyone is getting excited about the launch of the iPhone 5, so watch this space for the latest news!

RIM

Earlier this month, Research in motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry Smartphone launched three new phones worldwide in order to try and win back share from Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone. All phones will run RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 operating system, the next generation from the existing BB6 operating system. RIM has been gradually losing its market share over the past two years to Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iPhone, especially in the US, once its largest market. But the company has been gaining shares in other continents, most notably Europe, China and parts of Africa.

RIM’s custom base is split roughly 50-50 between business and personal customers, where the general Smartphone market is split 30-70. Essentially, the consumer market is larger, which has created problems for RIM in expanding its customer base, as the iPhone and Android phone having proved more popular with the first wave of consumer Smartphones.

The three new Smartphone devices are: BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930: Features QWERTY keyboards. BlackBerry Torch 9810: Features touch display and slide-out keyboard. Blackberry Torch 9850 and 9860: Features a 3.7in all-touch display.

The new BlackBerry 7 operating system is claimed to be 40% faster than the BlackBerry 6 Operating system and up to 100% faster than the BlackBerry 5 Operating System. The displays also feature “Liquid Graphics” technology with a high pixel density of more than 250dpi. Some business may hold off from committing to the new devices as RIM is expected to bring its products into line with the release of Smartphones using their QNX operating system next year

Windows and Nokia

Shares in Nokia and RIM jumped in the wake of the Google-Motorola announcement. The reason behind this is that beleaguered mobile giants are seen as ripe acquisition targets for companies like Microsoft. Nokia has tied its future fortunes to Microsoft’s Window Phone ship, so there is the definite potential for Microsoft to complete the takeover of Nokia sometime in the near future!

The Smartphone market is unpredictable, making it difficult to forecast what will happen in the mobile market over the next few years. Market research firm IDC predicts that the Windows Phone will overtake iOS by 2015; however we find this very unlikely. At present, Google and Apple remain top dogs in the Smartphone market and it looks set to continue that way for the immediate future.

Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned from his position as Chief Executive for the company and his right-hand man Tim Cook will be taking over.

Mr Jobs has suffered from poor health for some time, having recently undergone a liver transplant for pancreatic cancer in 2009. He said that he was no longer able to fulfil his CEO commitments and will now become chairman of the firm.

In a short letter to the Apple board, Mr Jobs wrote:

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's chief executive, I would be the first to let you know.

"Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as chief executive of Apple.

"I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

"I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you."

Tributes have been flooding in for Steve Jobs from social networking sites and around the globe. Trip Hawkins, who spent his early years working on multimedia at Apple and is now CEO of Digital Chocolate said:

“Steve is the most remarkable person I have ever known. I consider him the greatest CEO in history because he rescued Apple and Pixar at the same time, and both were major turnarounds. Most CEOs never achieve a successful turnaround or even a pivot, and they are very hard to do in large corporations. Steve defined our generation and if the history books only mention one person from this period it will be him.”

Mr Jobs is viewed by many to be the person that masterminded Apple’s journey to become one the world’s biggest companies. Mr Jobs co-founded Apple in the 1970’s with Steve Wozniak. Apple’s first Macintosh was released in 1984 and their follow up models became hugely popular throughout the 1980’s. In 1987, Mr Jobs left the company after a fall out with the colleagues and later joined Pixar Animations, playing a pivotal role in turning around their fortunes.

In 1997, Mr Jobs returned to begin Apple’s transformation into an eventual market leader by launching the colourful iMac Computer. Then in 2002, the iPod was released and revolutionised the personal music-player market. It was this product that laid down the foundations for the company’s success over the past decade.

Apple went onto release the iPhone, which similarly inspired change in the Smartphone market. Although the iPad came under initial criticism upon its release, it too went on to become hugely popular. Apple’s design and innovation engineered their success to become one of the world’s most sought after brands.

The company recently became the most valuable firm in the US after its market capitalisation overtook that of oil company Exxon Mobil. Nevertheless, Steve Jobs's resignation as Apple CEO has wiped billions of dollars off its stock market value in a short time period, as traders worry over the company's long-term future without its visionary leader.

Trends on Twitter

Lab42 conducted a survey asking 500 Twitter users how they use the service, who they follow and why. Findings were broken down into a captivating infographic, which has some great insights.

70% of Twitter users access the site on a daily basis with 37% accessing Twitter multiple times a day. Out of the 70% that use the site on a daily basis, 42% tweet more than once a day, nearly double of those 23% who tweet on a daily basis. This portrays the addictive nature of Twitter to tweet on a regular basis and how the majority of users are lured in for the long haul.

Interestingly, only 16% of Twitter users accessed Twitter from their mobile application. I expected that most users would access the site using the web, however I thought that there would be a hell of a lot more users who would take advantage of using the mobile app whilst on the go.

Many Twitter users follow brands with 31% of them at least following 1-5 and unsurprisingly the majority (66%) follow them to try and get discounts. Brands are going out of their way like never before to take advantage of the opportunities presented by social media and entice customers. Offering discounts and the chance to participate in contests via social media, increases traffic to their main sites and in effect their profits. Last year, Sony offered 1,600 Twitter followers the chance to build a customised Sony Vaio laptop and get a 10% discount for the product. Considering that the social media campaign was fairly covert, it worked wonders for Sony as they reported an increase in Sony Vaio sales from Twitter in that period of $1.5 million.

Taking into account that pop star Lady Gaga has more followers than the American president Barrack Obama, perhaps shows that the majority of Twitter users are of a younger generation. This can be backed up with the stats that 27% follow SnOOki, a star from the hit MTV US reality TV series Jersey Shore.