Showing 1 - 10 of 10
X remains an influential platform
Life, James Hein, Published on 24/04/2024
» How influential is Twitter/X? Some will remember a while back when Elon Musk gave his opinion on Disney. I won't repeat it here but it was very direct. Up until recently, Disney hadn't posted anything on X but about a week before you read this, they were back with a gold checkmark. These cost about US$10,000 (368,000 baht), which while not expensive for Disney, indicates how they see X as a platform for communicating to all those potentially interested in all things Disney. Elon Musk is still supporting people like Gina Carano in suing Disney for what they did to her and others based allegedly on their political and religious views.
EU demands Apple play fair
Life, James Hein, Published on 22/06/2022
» It looks like the Apple-specific charging cable may be a thing of the past with the European Union demanding that all smartphone makers use a universal USB-C port for wired charging by 2024. The same rule will be applied to many other electronic devices like tablets, cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles and e-readers. In the future, laptops will need to follow the same rule.
Chip shortage over by 2023... maybe
Life, James Hein, Published on 29/09/2021
» The current chip shortage could should be a thing of the past by 2023... maybe. The current foundries are booked out for the rest of the year and are starting to catch up with current demand. New plants will be coming online by the end of 2022. The maybe part here is the potential shortage of raw materials needed in the fabrication process. This could be a problem by 2023, or perhaps we may have new manufacturing process by then. Fingers crossed that all is good by the end of next year.
Diminishing returns
Life, James Hein, Published on 05/06/2019
» The first three months of 2019 saw Apple and Samsung collectively selling 17.5 million fewer smartphones globally compared to last year. As I've previously noted, we have market saturation and a lack of yearly upgrades for many users. I upgrade with roughly every third model, for example. The premium end of the market also continues to move out of the reach of many, meaning fewer people can upgrade as often. The innovation jump in successive models is also diminishing, so they lack the wow factor that drove earlier upgrades. These figures do not include the impact of the latest Samsung S10 range which shipped at the end of the quarter. The top three remain Samsung, Huawei and Apple. This may change with the recent US Huawei bans, or at least reduce any growth. Even after price cuts, Apple's sales fell 17.6% in the quarter leaving Samsung as the one least likely to lose their position in the next few months. Oppo and Viva rounded out the top five in sales with Xiaomi nibbling at their heels.
Xiaomi Redmi ticks all the boxes
Life, James Hein, Published on 18/02/2015
» So after a few weeks use of the Xiaomi Redmi 5.5-inch phone, which cost me about 6,500 baht shipped, for the price this seems an excellent product. It has a removable battery, supports a Micro SD card up to 64GB and comes with a 13MP camera. It supports 4G and connects quite well to Wi-Fi networks. It has a 720 x 1280 pixel screen which gives a pixel density of about 267, so it is not as sharp as units three times the price but still works well. Battery life is quite good, supporting all day use driving Android 4.4. With a quad core CPU it is snappy enough for most tasks. GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct round out the functionality with even FM support included. The price-per-function ratio is therefore very high for a 4G device. For the majority, this kind of phone will be fine for making calls and usual smartphone functionality. Best of all it uses a non Samsung-ed version of Android minus all those add-ons I find annoying. As usual shop around and make up your own mind.
Microsoft operating way behind
Life, James Hein, Published on 10/12/2014
» Remember that prediction from last week about the Microsoft mobile operating system taking over? According to Huawei, Windows Phone has never been a good option for hardware partners; it has not made any money with this platform. One problem appears to be the issue of independent development for this platform resulting in high R&D costs. To be fair to Microsoft, they have been all but giving the OS away in recent times to entice device manufacturers to adopt their platform but usability is still an issue for some. Microsoft has also had some wins at the lower end of the market with the newer Lumina range. The problem is that by the time things get up to the higher end of the market, dominated by Apple and Android devices, Microsoft cannot compete. There is a new version of the OS due out but unless this is somehow magnificent for consumers and developers, Microsoft will be facing the same issues.
Microsoft and devices? Time to call it quits?
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/08/2013
» Things are starting to slow down in the IT marketplace generally, but specifically with tablets. We'll start off with Microsoft, whose Surface RT devices are just not selling. Total revenue to date is US$853 million (26.5 billion baht); that might sound like a lot, but it's at least a billion dollars less than expected. When you factor in the estimated $900 million in advertising costs, you can see what the problems are. So far the proceeds from sales haven't even covered the launch costs. During the same period, Apple sold 57 million iPads. Taking a retrospective view, Microsoft has never done that well in selling devices, whether they be phones, music players or tablets; so perhaps in future the firm should just stick to software.
Google's Ingress to the real world
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/04/2013
» There is a new game for Android mobile users called Ingress. It is from Google and based on their popular Google Maps. The game requires you to get out of the lounge and into the real world. It is already being played in Bangkok but is in closed beta mode until the end of April. You'll need a Google+ Community account, sensible shoes, patience and time. You play on one of the two sides doing battle for control and if you want to know more go to www.ingress.com. I'm playing on the side of the Enlightened that is doing well in Bangkok but as I write this the Resistance is currently winning worldwide. Watch out for spies!
Apple's dominance pegged by Samsung
Life, James Hein, Published on 02/01/2013
» For those that remember I like to use this issue to summarise what happened in 2012. Last year was finally the year of the tablet PC, and at the same time the smartphone wars. Coming into the year Apple was the dominant player in both the smartphone and the tablet arena with the iPad and the iPhone. It looked like Apple was unstoppable and at the end of the year they were still the biggest computer company beating out Microsoft in total sales. Apple also took a bit of a hit with the loss of Steve Jobs, the main driving force and the individual responsible for putting the company in the strong position it was.
Phone wars heat up
Life, James Hein, Published on 12/09/2012
» Has anyone noticed how phone-centric we seem to have become? For the most part I still use my phone as a phone and to occasionally send an SMS. Since I upgraded to a Galaxy S3 I have yet to reinstall many of the apps I put on my S2 and even though I get regular notifications of incoming emails, I never check them with my phone and no, I do not use Twitter. My favourite Android apps are Magnify, Google Sky Map and Open GPS Tracker. Other people I notice around me seem to be buried in their phones far more often. Facebook, email, Twitter, SMS and a plethora of other programmes are on the go while driving, walking, cycling and running, eating and working. My nieces sit on the couch and play games on their parents' phones when I see them, and more and more I see fewer children outside playing. The smartphone has replaced the diary and, for some, the notebook.