Photo: justinsomnia / Flickr

It’s been almost a year since Google announced to the world their cloud-based printing service back in April last year, but last week Google took a huge step into the future of printing by offering the Cloud Print wireless printing services to the public, to be used for mobile services.

HTML5 supported

Android 2.1+ and iOS users can now print Google Documents and Gmail pages straight from their mobile phone, while HTML5-compatible web browsers should also be ready to use Cloud Print.

In fact, the wireless printing option is not limited to only Android and iOS, as any mobile gadget can take advantage of the service, as long as it supports HTML5. At the moment, the wireless printing option from a mobile device is limited only to certain Google websites, the mobile version of Gmail, for example, but that will change in the near future with application updates.

While Cloud Print is currently only available to Windows and Mac users, Linux versions are on their way and should be available in the near future.

Extra convenience

It will take only a short period of time to realise exactly how convenient Cloud Print is. Emails are handy by their instantaneous nature, but having the option to print these documents in your car on your way to work has now made email so much more useful and powerful.

Setting up the Cloud Print service is no problem at all, and once your printer is linked to your Gmail account, printing can be done with the press of a button. Printing the document is available in the menu option on the Google Documents and Gmail mobile sites, but of course more advanced printing options will soon be available.

Setting up Cloud Print is advised to anyone with the capabilities to use it. You never know when it will come in handy.

Photo: thomaswanhoff / Flickr

In the buildup to the 10^th billion app downloaded for Apple’s iOS devices, the company announced that they would have a ‘competition’ of sorts rewarding lucky downloader number 1 billion with a $10k iTunes voucher. Incidentally, the winner turned out to be a British lady who thought she was being pranked, and promptly put down the phone on the iTunes exec calling her.

I thought it was a prank

CultOfMac discovered that Gail Davis, originating in Orpington, Kent, right here in the UK had put the phone down on iTunes VP Eddie Cue, thinking he was pranking her. Upon hearing she was the lucky winner of the $10,000 iTunes voucher, she revealed that she ‘thought it was a prank call’, at which point she said to Cue: ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested.’ She then hung up.

Thinking this action through, and after chatting with her daughters – who are the ones who were downloading apps for their iPod Touches – she realised the mistake she made and tried getting Apple back on the line, with no luck after speaking to a confused customer service rep.

Fortune’s favour

Luckily for her, another Apple executive called her back hours later, assuaging her fears that her girls would ‘hold it against me for all eternity’.

Steer clear of inputting CC details

While Gail Davis never has to worry about having a credit card available to make app purchases again, the rest of us iOS users do. Many accounts on iTunes stores have been hacked of late, leading to many people opting to remove their credit card details from the store, and instead purchasing prepaid iTunes vouchers.

This is safer, in that a would-be hacker who may gain access to your account would only be able to deplete funds relative to how much you have left in your account, as opposed to being allowed to put the squeeze on your credit card.

Photo: ThiagoMartins / Flickr

We know the iPhone 5 is on the way, and it will likely land in June. What is not commonly known (yet) is how much power is under the hood, it’s capabilities, how it will look and any other new information. If a recent report is to be believed, Apple is dead-set on keeping their smartphone on the bleeding edge of tech.

It’s going to look different

Engadget, citing ‘extremely accurate’ sources, says that the iPhone 5 will drop in June – as should be expected since this is when they tend to arrive. On arrival, however, the handset will be redesigned for the third time in three years, after being virtually unchanged through its first three iterations.

It’s going to be quick

In addition to being redesigned, the iPhone 5 will be really quick. It will supposedly run on Apple’s new A5 CPU, which is built on ARM’s Cortex A9 architecture. This would be a multi-core processor, significantly boosting the speed the device runs at.

It’s going to suck for Intel

The final change is the telecommunications chips the handset is built on will shift from the Infineon one used in the iPhone 4 to one built by Qualcomm.

This could be down to the antennagate drama that plagued the launch of the last Apple smartphone, but reports suggest this is down to Qualcomm building a dual CDMA and GSM chip, meaning Apple won’t have to ship different phones for different network types, the way they’re doing with the Verizon smartphone and the regular GSM smartphone.

No chance of early sightings, though

The last interesting point about the iPhone 5 rumours is that senior execs in the company are playing with the next Apple smartphone already, but on campus only. This means the big gaffe that happened last year where the 4^th generation Apple smartphone was ‘left unattended in a bar’ will not be happening again in 2011.

Does this sound good to you, Apple smartphone fans? Or do you think the company needs to do even more to convince you to pick up the next iteration of their smartphone?

Photo: pittaya / Flickr

2010 was a fantastic year for Google’s Android, the young operating system managing to surpass the all-conquering iPhone. Two surveys released towards the end of last year showed clearly how the Android platform has consumed the US and worldwide market and successfully competed against the likes of Apple’s iPhone OS and RIM’s Blackberry.

Android hugely benefited from the lapse in sales performance from the competition, dating back to Apple’s last iPhone launch, but 2011 will see some serious threats to Google’s smartphone platform from every angle in the smartphone market.

Threats

Experts have predicted that Android will be second in the global market share within two years, but the ride will be bumpy considering the approaching storm.

Apple’s iPhone 4G is the biggest threat in Android’s eyes, with the new iPhone promising to include a front-facing camera, high-resolution screen and even a custom processor.

Top of the market

While Microsoft have traditionally targeted business users, the release of their Windows Phone 7 is clearly a declaration of war, with the prize being the domination of the smartphone market. The smartphone’s focus on fun apps, social networking and Xbox Live support clearly indicates that the consumer market, now dominated by Android, is the centre of Microsoft’s latest target.

The Blackberry 6 OS has improved the web browsing experience significantly and the addition of the ‘social networking feeds’ application as well as cleaner, crisper graphics and flashier animations could be enough to keep Blackberry at the top of the US markets.

Newcomers

The Palm Pre and Pixi have seen disappointing sales lately, but HP’s purchase of Palm will ensure the WebOS gets the propelling it surely needs, although we have yet to hear either company promising any new products. When they do, however, Android will be the operating system to beat.

Photo: GlennFleishman / Flickr

It’s no secret that Apple and Amazon are squaring off in a heated battle for eBook dominance. Amazon, who had the head with its Amazon Kindle platform, continues to plough on with its strategy of selling hardware, as well as developing apps for other devices – Apple’s iPad included. Apple, with its iBooks platform for iOS devices, is looking to leverage the success of its own hardware, completing the ‘virtuous’ content-hardware circle it started with iTunes and the iPod.

The Christmas day battle

As such, when tech sites worldwide took stock of Christmas day US App store charts to see which applications were major successes, a particularly interesting sub-story was the respective placings of Apple’s own iBooks app for iPad and the Amazon Kindle app for iPad eBook apps.

Since both apps were free, and they were both from high profile companies, it was no surprise to see them both charting in the top ten. The difference was still 8 slots, though, with iBooks coming it at #1 and Amazon Kindle for iPad ranking #9.

What the chart ranking does not tell

Since Christmas is a day when many new owners of iOS devices flood the app store, it’s telling what the initial sales spikes are as an indication of mindshare.

What the respective chart ranking of iBooks and the Amazon Kindle for iPad app does not tell us is what the actual disparity in downloads was. Theoretically, the apps download numbers could differ by as little as 10 downloads, and while that is unlikely the case, it is sufficient for being ranked first and ninth.

Furthermore, isolated downloads of the eBook apps on an iPad are useless if users do not then purchase eBooks. So, again theoretically, the Amazon Kindle for iPad app could have generated twice the sales numbers of actual eBooks when compared to iBooks sales, giving the financial victory to Amazon, again.

Regardless of the tale behind the rankings, The Apple iBooks team will no doubt be pleased to win the eBook apps battle against Amazon. Granted, this is only on the Apple tablet PC, and there are Amazon Kindle apps for various platforms, yet it is telling, nevertheless.

Photo: jyri / Flickr

As we reflect on 2010, more so than any other time, has the value of a good mobile OS revealed itself? Handset manufacturers like HTC, Motorola and Samsung have seen their fortune’s buoyed from their association with Google Android, while Android itself saw a sharp uptick in sales and adoption.

Furthermore while Nokia’s smartphone marketshare continues its Western European freefall, it’s obvious that you can have the most remarkably built handset in the world, but if the software that powers it is not up to scratch, it cannot succeed.
Below is a look at the two groups of mobile OS players, and what 2011 may hold for them, like most everyone in tech is trying to figure out.

Android and Apple in a two-horse race for first

In pure volume numbers, Google Android OS handsets will likely outsell Apple’s iOS. How wide that margin will be is hugely dependent on how much of an uptick there is in North America due to the expected arrival of the iPhone on Verizon. However, Android has enough momentum to keep a massive spike at bay, but Apple won’t care as long as they’re allowed to keep all the profit.

The second-string

Behind Apple and Google in the mobile OS platform dominance stake are RIM, HP Palm, and Windows Phone 7. While RIM’s fortunes have been on the ‘decline’, in terms of sentiment around the platform, and HP Palm’s webOS has been in stasis since its acquisition, it’s Windows Phone 7 that has the tech world paying attention. And not necessarily for all the right reasons.

As the world moves towards mobile computing, Microsoft’s decades of technological dominance is fundamentally threatened. It may not lead to a sharp immediate decline just yet, but there’s a feeling that if the company cannot get a foothold in the space now, they’ll never be able to recover. What’s sad for all the naysayers is that Windows Phone 7 is actually very good.

Not dissing RIM or HP Palm

This is not to say neither HP Palm’s webOS nor RIM’s BlackBerry platform will not do well. They may very well. But presently, it’s all eyes on iOS, Google Android and Windows Phone 7, and it’s likely to be that way for the first half of 2011 at the very least.

Who do you think will win the spoils in the mobile OS platform battle come 2011?

Photo: koka_sexton / Flickr

If you were told that 2010 would be a major year in mobile gaming, seeing a mobile game downloaded over 40 million times across various mobile OS platforms, and becoming so entrenched in social culture, it would get its own viral video and Halloween costumes, would you have believed it? That’s exactly what the all-conquering, perennial App Store chart topper Angry Birds has achieved, and it looks like Rovio, the makers of the franchise, want to take the game to new highs in 2011.

Mobile gaming

It’s on the mobile OS platforms, most notably iOS and then Google Android, where Angry Birds made a name for itself. The title is currently also available for select Nokia devices and HP Palm’s webOS. It’s likely Rovio will want to keep this momentum, by proliferating to more mobile OS platforms in 2011, with Windows Phone 7 looking like the most likely recipient of the title next.

The console invasion

The company has also outlined plans to mae Angry Birds for consoles in the form of downloadable games for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. It’s hard to argue that this move is not only smart but also absolutely necessary if Rovio is to continue to expand the audience for its pop culture invading titles.

Plush toys and merchandising

In addition to the games themselves, including the continued mobile focus and Angry Birds for consoles, Rovio is dabbling in the area of merchandising their already iconic product. The game developer is starting out with nine different plush toys, priced at $14.99, which are available in limited supply from their online store. These will begin shipping in January 2011.

Big plans for what was meant to be a small game

The expansion of and extension of this Rovio franchise proves that with the right strategy, and brilliant execution, even the smallest of games can become major software. Angry Birds for consoles and plush toys is proof of this. Perhaps, for mobile gaming in general, it proves that iPhone and iPod Touch gaming is big business and a significant launch pad if you can crack the charts, and hack into gamers’ wallets.

Photo: pillowsderadio / Flickr

Last week we promised to review hugely anticipated iOS game Infinity Blade after having some proper hands-on time with it. Well, a few nights of drained batteries in a row later, we think we’ve gotten a pretty good feel for it. And, to answer the question ‘Is it worth getting an IOS device for?’ that has been floating about on the web over the last week or so, the answer is an emphatic ‘Yes’. Read on to find out why.

It’s so pretty

There was once a time when gushing over graphics was all we did. That time, for the most part, has passed, with most world-class games being on par in the ‘this looks incredible’ stakes. Infinity Blade, as such, is like a blast from the past because you can’t help but talk about said graphics. That’s because this iOS game looks unlike anything ever seen on the platform. At times you have to remind yourself that, yes, you are actually playing this on a phone.

Gameplay

Gameplay is best described as an interesting mix of Punch Out and Demon’s Souls. You have to learn your enemy’s patterns, either blocking, parrying or dodging his moves, until a window open for you to strike. Slashing across the screen inflicts damage, with an option for magic and a boost effect that dizzies your opponent.

There is no free roaming, however, much to the disappointment of all those who played around with Project Citadel. You get limited motion on a linear path that involves you pointing where you want to go to as opposed to going there yourself.

Is it an RPG?

The next big question of course is whether it is actually an RPG. It is, sort of. There’s no grinding to level up – all of that is done during fights, and enemies often drop loot and your ‘minimal’ exploration will see you picking up some loot, and cash. This iOS game, Infinity Blade, has the best implementation of RPG-esque elements we could imagine for this platform.

Do it, now

We’ve already declared the iPod Touch 4G a must-have gadget for Christmas for a multitude of reasons that are not this iOS game, incidentally. However, Infinity Blade certainly pushes the iOS platform over the edge as a viable games platform for ‘core’ gamers. It’s not overly difficult, but it’s incredibly rewarding. And to reiterate, it is a must-have, and easily the best iOS game ever made.
You can get it today from the UK App Store for £3.59

Photo: Apple

With Apple’s control-freak like nature, especially when it comes to the app store, to hear of applications being rejected is never a big deal. In fact, all things considered, we expect to hear news of a potentially high profile application’s rejection once every few weeks. The problem with this is the slippery slope towards anti-competitive behaviour it will inevitably lead to if we don’t question why this is so.

Sorry, Mediaprovider, we can’t have this

Apple told the Chief Executive of Danish publisher Mediaprovider that it would not accept their submission of an exclusively Android magazine app into its store. When quizzed on why the application was rejected, ‘Richard’, the developer relations person working at Apple, told Dixon that his magazine app was ‘just about Android… we can’t have that in our App Store.’

Anti-competitive?

While we definitely think an exclusively Android magazine app on iOS would struggle to get a big audience – and that it is a humorously cheeky, too – it does draw attention to Apple’s approval process. Or, more specifically, to whether the App Store rejections policy is anti-competitive.

In the past the company argued that their policy is to protect users from sub-standard applications sneaking into the App Store, as well as to avoid applications that ‘duplicate’ the iPhone’s core function. But unless this app was atrociously designed, it contravenes neither guideline. And if the company can reject applications that merely offend their sensibilities, how is that not anti-competitive?

Some academics are already arguing that it, in fact, might be in contravention of US competition practices, and that Apple is on a collision course with regulators.

Just buy something else?

Apple’s one recourse, of course, is that the company does not have a monopoly on the mobile phones space. In fact, in pure unit sales, the company doesn’t move as many handsets as Nokia, Samsung or LG. So, shoppers have alternatives. If it’s not Jobs’ way it’s the highway seems an arrogant stance to us.

For those in the market for an iOS device, however, and don’t mind not having an Android magazine app rejected, we recently did an overview on why the iPod Touch 4G should top your Christmas wish list.

Photo: Sony

Technology has never been more exciting than it is today. The blurring between consumer electronics, web services, mobile computing and video gaming has never been more pronounce than it is today, with everybody wanting a piece of the pie. Some companies like Sony, Samsung, Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft demand more attention than the rest of the pack, though, prompting this series of posts on what these technological giants hope (and need) 2011 to be like. First up is the Japanese consumer electronics icon, Sony.

A video gaming turnaround

While Sony dabbles in many areas, it is clear that the company is involved in some must-win battles. Video gaming is one such battle, and Sony’s headache is that the current leader in the sector, Nintendo, is showing no signs of letting up.

While the Playstation 3 has come good for the Japanese consumer electronics giant, it is the handheld that is cause for concern. While the PSP2 and some sort of Playstation phone is hearsay, the Nintendo 3DS is very real and frighteningly exciting – frightening if you’re Sony. If the Japanese company does indeed have a handheld strategy, the time for them to announce it is quickly running out, especially with a new face in gaming that goes by the name of Apple encroaching on Sony’s territory.

Mobile computing

Outside of the perennial headache Nintendo has been for Sony all these years, it is likely the company is about to face off with the most powerful rival in its storied history – Apple. For Sony in 2011 this will represent the company treading into uncharted territory with the release of the long, long, long rumoured Playstation Phone, as well as a tablet computer competitor. And yes, these will immediately be compared to the iPhone and the iPad.

What Sony can hope is that the undeniable engineering talent they do have can be focused sufficiently to produce products comparable to Apple’s iOS platform. Nobody in their right minds believes Sony will outsell either the iPhone or the iPad with their devices in 2011. They will not. However, if Sony can prove they can make superior technology, it will give them the momentum to steadily mount a challenge – a comeback of sorts, if you will – over the next two to three years. Sony 2011 is when that comeback needs to start.

That Samsung headache

Another major Sony 2011 headache is South Korean electronics maker, Samsung. Japan has fallen victim to the rapid rise of South Korean consumer electronics manufacturers, with Samsung and LG rising being prime examples. In 2011, Sony hopes to do two things to reaffirm its foothold and build a new beachhead against LG.

Firstly, the Sony Ericsson line of smartphones needs to work hard to become comparable, and potentially superior to, Samsung’s currently irresistible lineup. A task, no doubt, easier said than done, but a task that must be performed if Sony is to claw back some market share and reignite growth in a stagnant company.

Secondly, Sony’s Bravia division needs to really get back in the race sales-wise. In terms of quality, nobody has ever denied that the Bravia televisions are great pieces of tech. But in recent times, Samsung and others have begun stretching their legs with sales volume. This is a problem that cannot be ignored anymore than it already has, Sony.

Sony 2011 will be, in many ways, a period of upheaval and uncomfortable self-reflection. Nintendo, Apple and Samsung. That’s the gauntlet. And to be fair, those are each insanely fierce competitors in their own rights. I do not envy anyone who must face all three.