Question: have smartphone specs plateaued?

Simple question from Gavin today. Have smartphone specs plateaued?

What I want iOS 6 to bring

The gradual evolution of iOS has been frustrating at times and also completely logical. We are left with a mobile solution that is reliable, quick to use and which just does what it needs to.

However, there are also some annoyances that remain. The most obvious is the lack of quick access to aeroplane mode and Wi-Fi / Bluetooth settings. Seriously, stick them in the notification centre, as an option, and have done with it. Everyone will be happy with that and I don’t ‘think’ it can cause stability issues?

On the subject of notifications, options should be provided to show what’s happening in the top bar. They would not be interactive, but a small icon showing whether new messages or emails have come in would actually make me use the notification centre. I haven’t touched it in months and always forget it is there whereas on Android the notifications at the top prompt me to use and do not get in the way. Again, this could be optional for those who like the clean look.

Optional is the word here and this would allow Apple to add many new features while retaining the completely stripped down interface that it employs now for those who like it. Widgets fall into this category, but would require a massive change to the entire architecture and I really cannot see Apple bringing these in. The only way I can see them being integrated into iOS is for a home key activation to be used to bring them up in the same way they work in Mac OS. As for Siri, I don’t know what they should do with it and it doesn’t bother me if it stays or not.

And that’s it really. Nothing major needed and all relatively easy to implement. However, a serious change to the hardware is a definite requirement.

Walking while texting

The story that people in Fort Lee will be fined for walking while texting turned out to be slightly incorrect, but it highlights a behaviour that we have all experienced and possible done ourselves. I have often walked along the street messing about with my smartphone, but am still very aware of people around me. How often have people almost crashed in to you when they are staring in to their phones while walking alone? I tend to make a point of looking for someone who is doing it and standing in front of them just for fun…

Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us

I think this eBook will be in my future reading list.

iDisorder: changes to your brain’s ability to process information and your ability to relate to the world due to your daily use of media and technology resulting in signs and symptoms of psychological disorders - such as stress, sleeplessness, and a compulsive need to check in with all of your technology. Based on decades of research and expertise in the "psychology of technology," Dr. Larry Rosen offers clear, down-to-earth explanations for why many of us are suffering from an "iDisorder." Rosen offers solid, proven strategies to help us overcome the iDisorder we all feel in our lives while still making use of all that technology offers. Our world is not going to change, and technology will continue to penetrate society even deeper leaving us little chance to react to the seemingly daily additions to our lives. Rosen teaches us how to stay human in an increasingly technological world.

Siri changes its mind

The news that Siri will point users to a Nokia 900 when asked what the best smartphone is caused some amusement last week. It would seem, however, as though Apple has now changed the answer and that the iPhone 4S is now back as the best of all smartphones thanks to some cheeky answers.

It is understandable that Apple would want the 4S to be the answer to that question, but some will rightly ask if an ‘intelligent’ search tool should be tweaked to the creator’s wishes? The question of whether Apple is hiding the true answer is a difficult one to answer because there is no answer to that question.

I am in the UK so some answers are limited anyway, but it would be interesting to know from American readers what Siri says to 'What is the best car?" etc.

The Phones Show 169

Steve Litchfield is back with The Phones Show 169. Always worth a few minutes of your time.

Question: If PDA didn’t stand for…?

Peter M. has sent in today’s question. Don’t shoot the messenger! If PDA didn't stand for 'Personal Digital Assistant', what would it stand for?  I thought of two new definitions; 'Profoundly Disposable Android' and 'Perfectly Designed Apple', but I'm sure there must be others.

Three isn’t a crowd

Kindle for eReading, iPad for games and movies and iPhone for everything else.

I have always wanted to combine as many uses and tasks into one device as I possibly can and that role used to fall to the smartphone. The smartphone is the only mobile computer capable of undertaking all of these tasks and in a form that is completely portable and always connected. Throw in navigation, voice calls and everything else and it really is by far the most flexible.

The problem I have is that the Kindle makes reading eBooks a much more natural experience than on the iPad and the iPad makes watching movies and playing games feel unconstrained compared to the iPhone. Owning all three devices gives an insight into the deficiencies of the others and that’s where my problem lies.

I rarely feel comfortable with underusing devices that cost £100’s. To use a £350 iPad for games and movies feels like a waste, almost £100 for an eBook reader likewise because I can do the same tasks on my iPhone, but in a less natural and much smaller space.

As it happens, I need the iPad for freelance work and so I can justify it, but if it were not for that I may not own all three devices. I don’t like the feeling of £1,000 being spent on devices that do similar things and historically I would tend to just use one, but it’s difficult when each is ‘so’ good at the tasks I quoted earlier. I will stick to all three for freelance purposes and because I want to, but wonder how many people own devices that mimic each other and how many then sit around gathering dust?

COTD: thousands of mAh's please

Jaam posted the following in response to news of the huge battery runtime of the RAZR MAXX. I hear him loud and clear.

"This has really interested me too, and I will probably seriously look at one. It would be great to have a 16 hour battery (like my transformer does), as it really does work out to charging around 1 every 2 days.

The last two days I have been in day meetings. So after my 2.5hr travel into work (why I work 3 days from home), my battery is down around 70%, during the day it then drains faster than it would at home, as due to the area we locate and the building the signal we get there is shocking so with the phone always hunting around for a signal instead of losing 1% per hour on standby, I end up loosing around 3% per hour. So 8 hours later and I am down to around 45% and I have a 2.5 hour journey (hopefully no delays and depending on the train there may be no charger) - which means by the time I get to the station on the other side I am only going to be running on fumes. It also means I can't do any major gaming as gaming tends to take a larger chunk of the battery usage (this usage is on media player and reading at the same time).

I have always had concerns with my phone's battery, but two days like this have just highlighted it even more and makes me consider a phone like this more than I usually would."

iCloud out

I use iCloud for a couple of hundred contacts, my calendar and Photo Stream and I already need to spend £14 / year to get more space. No thank you... However, if I could use my own email domain with iCloud, I would pay the money rather than use Google.

Sparrow updated, but…

Sparrow for iOS has been updated with landscape support, message navigation and the ability to edit and create labels. Unfortunately, push support will not be forthcoming.

“You were more than 16 000 helping us on our Apple quest to get the VoIP privilege.  We can’t thank you enough for your support. Unfortunately, Apple has confirmed that they are not willing to do any exception to the rule and that Sparrow will NOT be granted with the privilege.

This means we’ll have to do Push on our side and that it will be integrated as a yearly subscription into Sparrow’s future update.”

The indispensable smartphone

Here's a decent article from Mr Kendrick which likely sums up the thoughts of many smartphone owners.

"The smartphone has become such a major part of the lives of many of us. It has become so important that inadvertently leaving the phone at home would be a catastrophe. I know folks who have turned around to go back home to retrieve a forgotten smartphone, even when being late had dire consequences.

Doing without the smartphone for a whole day is unthinkable for many of us. The phone now keeps us connected to far more than our phone buddies. Today’s smartphone connects us to our family, friends, social networks, breaking news, current events, and the entire Internet."

Digitimes is full of it: what a surprise?

Digitimes has a track record to be envious of. Actually, that is a lie because time after time it prints utter garbage that then gets re-printed by the likes of BGR and other large sites who should know better.

Harry Mccraken has looked at 25 Digitimes Apple rumours and guess what he found. Yes, most were wrong.

“It’s key to note that the DigiTimes has a hit-or-miss track record for nailing predictions….”

“Digitimes has a spotty track record with regard to Apple rumors…”

“Given the lack of hard evidence and DigiTimes’s less-than-stellar record for rumors of this kind…”

Those are the disclaimers issued last week by tech journalists who wrote about a rumor — first reported by Taipei-based electronics newspaper and news site Digitimes — that Apple will respond to the arrival of second-generation Ultrabook laptops by releasing a $799 MacBook Air in the third quarter of this year."

Question: what is your average monthly Internet usage?

What is your average monthly Internet usage? Do you even know? I was surprised to find that, on average, I download/upload 40GB on my home DSL connection, as I wouldn't have thought it was anything like that much... Thanks to Neil for the question.