Sixth Sense Technology

(Link on TED Website here)

In a Summer full of new launches and expos, heres an Incredibly interesting video demonstrating a technology which may be in front of us in the near future. We are already seeing the beginning of this on Android and iPhone devises, but I wonder who will get this first.

Apps for under 5’s

It’s a type of modern parenthood; your child complains he is bored but your tied up in a project or a seminar that you have to finish, so what do you do? One growingly common solution is the mobile phone – a wonderfully technical device with a whole array of different games and gadgets to keep them occupied for a while!

So whats the best apps and features to give your child to play with? How do you safeguard your phone from being tampered with and its features changed? How do you safeguard your child to ensure they are protected whilst using it from any unsavoury content?

Here’s some thought on the current apps and features on the market for children under 5 and a few thoughts on what new apps I would hope for in the future:

Internet security

Every parents greatest concern; are my children safe whilst browsing the net. As Mobile phones get “smarter”, companies are going to have to start designing the same protection software that exists on PCs onto mobile phones to help protect children. There are current developers like K9 Protection trying to investigate how this can be done. This is a space to watch!

Photo Matching Fun

Another educational game but this one is genuinely amazing! The aim of this app is to teach through interaction. Each time the app comes up with a different word, apple for example. The task is then for the child to go and take a photograph of the apple. Simple yet genius! The tasks would be a great way for a child to learn new words and get acquinted with their environment.. Now, Im just going to patent this idea and role on the millions of £££!

Child-mode feature

One feature which Im amazed isn’t out yet is “child-mode”. What this does is it takes the phone into a child friendly space on the phone which restricts access to certain things like the phone, address book and emails so that that accidental moment when you child deletes your contact or makes an accidental phone call to china doesn’t happen! The App would then be flexible to allow the owned to add and take away stuff they want or don’t want in the child-mode so that all this can be done later at the touch of one button! Brilliant!

Addi (Interactive learning games)

Ok, this may be drifting back to my own childhood games, but I remember the days when I used to sit behind my computer and bang out some arithmetic through the medium of games. Yes… you may be thinking how I could use the word fun, but I remember that the sheer novelty of using the internet to do it (which was new back then) made it thrilling! I can imagine the latest touch screen Galaxy Tab would have a similar effect! So here’s to education!

  

More than just a phone

There are so many things that you can use your phone for. Here is a short video illustrating just some of them

Little Big Planet

Perspective. One of man's greatest greatest gifts. An ability to see something through someone else's eye. This collection of photos explores just that, seeing common objects and landmarks through a different lens!


Each photo was taken using my Samsung Galaxy Pro Camera as part of the Samsung Mobiler Project:


Link to Flikr:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjw16uaw


Link to Picasa:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117614700922399773249/LittleBigPlanet

Tour de Eiffel, Paris

Washington DC

Blue Mosque, Turkey

Windmills, Switzerland

Office Politics

Office Politics II

Yours Sincerely

Moroccan Lanterns

Bug

Poli-nation

Roses are...

...Red

Intermixing

Drive

Big Foot

Robes

Iftar

Big Daddy

Imam

The Launch Event - Photos

Looking Back!

So its been over a month since the 2011 launch for our Mobiles event on July 7th. Here's a quick look back at the launch:

A Day in the life of... - Ramadan 2011

For my latest blog post, Samsung asked us to produce a video showing a day in our lives. Since it was Ramadan, I thought I would do a video showing all the different stuff I get up to and how I use the Samsung Galaxy Pro.


Apps Mentioned in video:


iQuran (LINK)
Tesbih (LINK)
PremoteDroid (LINK) - Works through Bluetooth and Wifi! Amazing!
Amazon Kindle (LINK)
Adhan Alarm (LINK)
Nearest Masjid (LINK)
Recipes (LINK)

Games, Games, Games.... The Commuters Guide!!

(Video Review & Guide)

Mobile Gaming - the best thing since sliced bread? Perhaps not, but definitely something that must be in every commuters lunch box (excuse the pun)! But with sooooooooo much choice out there, and with many phones having only a limited memory capacity to store them!, which games are the must haves for commuters?


But before I go into all that, some of you will be wondering how on earth you get games onto your phone! The video above takes you through instructions on how to download games from the Android market to your phone.. Check it out!


So, in no particular order, each of the following games is what I would call a 'Basic Essential' for any commuter to have on their daily commute, each offering one of the 5 daily supplements for a healthy de-stress after work!!


1) Brain Teaser - OpenSudoku 
Early morning start? Brain not quite up to speed? Or want a quiet wind down after a hard days work? Then Sudoku is the thing for you! Already a favourite for the newspaper readers, this brilliant mobile app brings all that to your mobile phone in an elegantly produced app which recreates all that fun and frustration at the tip of your fingers!
Link Here


2) Strategy - Robo Defence (Paid Version - cause its much better!)
This tactical game allows you to build your empire to destroy/protect mankind (depends which angle you see it!) as you sit on the tube on your daily commute! Which other fun packed game offers that eh? With a choice of normal or survival modes and a massive variety of levels and upgrades, this is bound to keep you playing for a long time to come

Link Here

3) Sporting Fun - Homerun Battle 3D
This nifty game brings wii sports to your mobile phone with an exquisite combination of motion-sensor and touch screen controls. Move the mobile to aim and press to smash the ball for a home-run! And with an amazing online multiplayer feature on the paid version, you really cant go wrong with it!
Link Here


4) Multiplayer - 2 Player Reactor
Forget your travel monopoly or scrabble? Not to worry, cause this game is much more fun! Compete with a friend to see whos reactions are faster with around 14 different levels. Truely a superb game all for free - with a 4 player version if your willing to fork out a few £
Link Here


5) Single Player - Angry Birds
Yes, this game needs no introduction. By now it should come as default with each smartphone as it has become that "standard". But it remains as one of the best and most entertaining games to play on your daily commute. Who can beat throwing angry birds at fat pigs eh!?
Link Here

Blackberry RIM vs Samsung Galaxy Pro

As a former Blackberry user, I can appreciate why the company has held a strong grip over the market for so long. So how does the new Galaxy pro compare to the giant RIM

One-up – The positives

User-Interface

Undoubtedly, the Android software on the Galaxy pro by far out performs the RIM interface on the Blackberry. Its smooth, elegant and is far less likely to crash than the blackberry phones. The Android Market Provides over 200,000 apps to choose from (most of which are free!) and flash support makes browsing the web oh so much easier! The User Interface and software alone is enough of a reason for users to switch from RIM to Android!

Touch Screen

Though many phones are now moving to this combination, I have yet to see a Blackberry phone to combine the quality of the touch screen as the Galaxy Pro. Perhaps the new phones RIM are releasing will be better equipped to the challenge, but for now The Galaxy pro has One-Up on its rival!

Under the Bonnet

The Galaxy Pro’s 800Mhz processor gives it a smooth elegance that allows a user to easily glide between emails, surfing the web and photo albums without the worry of it crashing. Of course, this is still smaller than many of the smart phones that are out there, but by comparison to the blackberry’s, its right up there with the best!

The Social Hub

A unique feature to Samsung Galaxy Pro which provides a beautiful interface to connect all your social networking under one app, saving massive amounts of batter life. Brilliant!

Work Use

Galaxy pro provide as default a full office suite, allowing users to view, edit and create Word, PowerPoint and Excel sheets. That’s a £30 added bonus that the RIM usually charge for!

Keypad

With a far bigger keypad, typing feels so much more natural with the galaxy pro than any blackberry I’ve used without making the phone that much bigger!  Although the bottom row does feel out of place, I’m sure it’s a trade-off people will be willing to make. Besides, it is something users will (eventually) get used to.

Multi-tasking

One of the great benefits of Android is the ease of which Multi-tasking is possible. With the taskbar at the top, switching between apps and checking emails is very easy. RIM have a long way to go to catch up Android with this respect!

One Down – The Negatives

Camera

For all the things they’ve done right, the camera really isn’t one of them. At 3MP its lacking behind many of the Blackberrys out there and the speed of the capture is a nightmare. To top it off, there is no physical button to press to take the photo other than the one on the screen. One Down!

Blackberry Messenger (BBM)

For Young people out there, BBM will remain the primary reason for why a blackberry surpasses all other phones. The free phone messenger service is a massive cost saver for young people, the vast number of Blackberry users makes it useful and the elegance of how it works surpasses its rivals like Whatsapp. This remains the biggest challenge to companies wishing to convert Blackberry users to their own brand.

Email Effectiveness

Though Samsung have done a masterful job of the push email system, Its still missing small things like the flashing LED light when you get a new email the username interface blackberry gives to reading emails. I guess this all depends on tastes though

Screen Resolution

The Samsung Galaxy Pro offers a very low resolution screen in comparison to many of the new Blackberry’s. This is quite surprising considering Samsung’s other products which pride themselves on their state of the art screen.

Samsung Galaxy Pro – The Review

The Samsung Galaxy Pro is a phone with a different appeal. Its large keyboard and touchscreen interface offer the best of both worlds and its push email interface works a treat. But how does it compare with its biggest competitor in this industry – Blackberry’s RIM? Here’s a breakdown of the key features of the Samsung Galaxy Pro:

The Brilliant

-          Ease of Use – As soon as you take it out of the box, Android effortlessly guides you through the set up. Simples!

-          Touch Screen Interface – Works better than I ever thought it would! Its just as responsive as any touch screen phone I’ve used and combined brilliantly with the keyboard. Blows the light right out of the blackberry torch!

-          Contact transfers – The most annoying thing about changing phones is transferring emails, contacts and so on. Well, with Androids background sync, all you need to worry about is knowing your password and voila – it’s all there in a flash! I was actually using two phones simultaneously and my contacts and emails updated across all of them!

-          Free Office as standard! – Now you can immediately view, create and edit all Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Works a treat!

The Good:

-          Battery is immense – On the first charge it lasted more that 48hrs or medium use. That’s more than most smart phones today!

-          Email works well – The push email feature works perfect with both the default Android gmail tool and the Samsung own made email feature working brilliantly!

-          Android Platform - Better Apps + easy software to use = better feature!

-          Navigation works well – Very easy to navigate and get round the phone with things quite intuitive!

-          Nice size, weight and shape – Though the plastic feels a bit cheap, the phone does feel nice in your hands and the weight of it is perfect

-          Keys are very comfortable – The keys are noticeable bigger than a blackberry without making the phone any bigger, making typing much easier!

-          Samsung Social Hub – Combines all the social networking into one tool, though it can lead to a duplication in messages and notifications!

The Not So Good

-          USB connection point – This is located at the top of the phone. This makes it really awkward to talk on the phone whilst charging it (though it does beat having it on the side of the phone which makes no sense!

-          No Multi-touch – As a practical person, I like to just be able to pinch and zoom my way around. Well here you can’t which is annoying. Also some of the games which require multi-touch won’t work on the platform. 

-          The Camera - incredibly slow camera focus and no physical button to press aside from the one on the screen! Takes more than a second between pressing the button and taking the photo which is incredibly irritating. It also immediately hides the photo after you take it to get you ready for the next one which can be good and bad, but when the phone takes a week take a photo, you want to make sure it came out ok before moving on to the next. There is also no flash on the camera – why??

-          Bottom row in the wrong place – This may be a personal preference and Im sure its something you get used to eventually, but the bottow row has shifted once to the left which make typing a nightmare! The ‘M’ is below the ‘J’ instead of the ‘K’ and so on, making typing an irritating task!

-          Small internal memory – From past experience with Android software, it becomes incredible irritating when the internal memory is small because its so easy to fill up! You end up spending a lot of time deciding what to uninstall in order for your phone to go back to normal! 

A Sample of the Samsung Galaxy Pro Picture Quality