All posts in Mobile

1 Week with the iPad – Does exactly what it says on the tin!

by Mearo on June 9, 2010 in Apple, Gadgets, Mobile with 3 Comments
iPad

So, I’ve been living with the Apple iPad for approximately 1 week now. I have the 16GB WiFi version retailing at £429 and I have to say it is a very sexy bit of kit.

Out of the box it’s simple to setup, you just need to plug it into the latest version of iTunes, sync up some content as you would with your iPhone or iPod, then off you go. However, the fact that you have to plug the iPad into your computer before you can use it eludes to my main gripe with the iPad. If this device is truly to replace a laptop or netbook then it needs to work out of the box. More of that later though.

Functionally the iPad is just a big iPhone, without the phone! It’s intuitive to use, like the iPhone, and after 5 mins of drooling I did find myself thinking…. “well that was fun”. 1 week later I have set up my email account, uploaded some video and installed some apps, and admittedly the laptop has been out much less. The fact that you can turn the iPad on or just unlock it and be on the internet within 10 seconds is perfect for a quick browse whilst watching TV or in bed. Continue reading →

iPhone 3rd Generation Predictions

by Mearo on February 9, 2009 in Apple, Gadgets, Mobile with No comments

All quiet on the Apple front for a while.  Macword 2009 was remembered for being, well, not that rememberable. Big Steve is on a leave of absence to get his health issues sorted.  And for once the blogs and fanboys seem to have died down a bit.  (Until this leaked photo appeared on Mac Rumours). Anyway fear not, becuase deep inside Cupertino, CA, Jonathan Ive is probably (99% certain), putting the finishing touches to his design for the iPhone 3rd generation.

Now I don’t have any mates that work at Apple or any inside info, gleamed from Kevin Rose or anything.  But as sure as Apples are Apples, there should be a new iPhone arriving this summer.  The mobile phone industry moves fast so going more than a year without an update to the iPhone would be inviting the likes of RIM, Android devices etc to start nipping at Apple toes.  Last year that monumental day was 11th July in the UK so expect to see Apple move the barriers on again around the same time this summer. Continue reading →

Location Based Services

by Mearo on February 9, 2009 in Featured, Internet, Location, Mobile, Social Media with No comments
Location Based Services

Location based services are for me going to be one of the next big things in the digital space. The only thing is I’m not sure when! I’ve been following the area closely since I heard about Loopt 9 months ago. In the online advertising business we always say in January “this is going to be the year for Mobile”, and it never is. These two fields are inextricably linked and as soon as the latter gets critical mass then so will the former.

So what is a location based service. It is a service (i.e. social networking) accessible through mobile devices that utilises the ability to geographically triangulate the device location anywhere in the globe, i.e. on your Facebook news feed, imagine seeing, “Joe Bloggs is in Leicester Square, London”. Social Networking is going to be the thing that drives this. Kids at school, people lost at festivals, mates in the vicinity, the possibilities are endless. But the possibilities also extend in so many commercial ways that brands with retail presences must be liking their lips at the very thought. Then there’s this idea of social graffiti, i.e. leaving geo-tags on restaurants, shops, etc, that your friends can see, share and comment on. Imagine I want to go to a local restaurant, call it up on Google Maps, and I see a menu from the restaurant, and comments left from 3 of my friends who have been there. We all know that recommendations are that much more influential if they are from your friends. Applications like Brightkite are already doing this in a simplistic way, check out the video below. Continue reading →