Friday, December 28, 2012

Android vs Jolla( the rising OS from ex Nokia engineers)

Jolla Aims to be Alternative to Android
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By Yun-Hee Kim
2012 was the year when Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Nokia Corp. in overall handset sales and Apple Inc. in smartphones. But 2013 is shaping up to be a much more competitive landscape. Not only are low-cost smartphone makers in China jostling in to take away market share, but there will also be newcomers in the market, like Finland-based Jolla, a company formed by ex-Nokia engineers. The start-up, which opened its Asia headquarters in Hong Kong in December, is looking to launch a high-end smartphone in the first quarter of 2013. The Wall Street Journal spoke with Jolla’s co-founder Sami Pienimaki about the start-up’s expansion plans.
The following interview has been edited.

WSJ:  Where does the name Jolla come from?

Mr. Pienimaki: It means a one-man sailor boat in Finnish. The idea is that there is this big sea with great opportunity. You start to sail yourself there alone – it’s a bit of an adventure and a bit dangerous, but you still want to take this adventure because you see that there is this great opportunity.  Nokia was going through a massive transition in 2011 with lots of layoffs and we were able to recruit key talent including engineers that had worked on the MeeGo project.  (MeeGo is a mobile operating system that Nokia was developing with Intel Corp. until the project was abandoned in early 2011.)

WSJ:  How big is the company now and what are your expansion plans?

Mr. Pienimaki:  We have a bit more than 50 people, mostly in Finland and two R&D sites. And we are now ramping up other locations. We have a data center in Cyberport, in Hong Kong.  In China, we have a sales and marketing agreement with a retail chain called D-Phone. The deal was signed in July.

Jolla
Jolla’s smartphone user interface

WSJ:  In addition to developing a smartphone, Jolla is also working on a mobile operating system that could become a competitor to Android and Apple’s iOS. Tell us about your platform called Sailfish.

Mr. Pienimaki:  It’s an open source platform but we have proprietary elements in it. The core operating system components are very much open source. It has a full operating system and a user interface. It allows for multi-tasking.

WSJ:  How do you plan to generate revenue?

Mr. Pienimaki:  We want to sell Jolla-brand phones and license our Sailfish operating system so that OEMs can use the operating system.  We are a challenger in the marketplace and it will take time. But there is a good opportunity with the operating system. It’s one of the few independent options available in the market.

WSJ: Longer term, do you want to be seen as a company that makes smartphones or do you want to be like Google, offering software?

Mr. Pienimaki: We understand the needs and the challenges of the marketplace and we know how to make a competitive combination of hardware and software. It’s a very challenging engineering environment and we truly understand that. By introducing a new user interface, applications and innovation through the platform, we’d be showing the way.

WSJ:  When can consumers see Jolla phones?

Mr. Pienimaki: Hopefully in the first quarter of next year.

WSJ: How will you price your smartphone?

Mr. Pienimaki:  It makes no sense to go to the low-end. We will kill ourselves going there. For the Sailfish operating system, it also doesn’t make sense for us. It’s a much more feasible and sustainable model that we position this as a something that is different, unique and offers scale for the users. So it makes sense to focus on the premium segment of the market. Sailfish can also be used on set-top boxes, smart TVs and in the automotive industry.

WSJ:  Can you give us an update on your fundraising? Would you look at an initial public offering?
Mr. Pienimaki: We are looking at an IPO in 2013 but that’s something we’ll communicate more next year. It’s definitely an option for us.

WSJ: Where would you list?
Mr. Pienimaki:  Hong Kong would be a possibility, but it’s likely that we’ll look first at Scandinavia. But it’s something that’s still under planning.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Samsung Galaxy Camera Review

The Galaxy Camera is a neat gadget and it's a lot of fun to play with, especially if you try Samsung's "smart" features. And the ability to share better-than-smartphone shots on the fly is great. However, chasing down an outlet and paying a monthly bill on a camera is not.



Ultimately, for $500 you can get a higher-end camera with longer battery life or a smartphone with a really decent camera. What's more, you can get an Eye-Fi SDHC memory card, which sends pictures via Wi-Fi, for all of $30. The Galaxy Camera is a very fun gadget, but, unfortunately, the best of both worlds doesn't yet exist.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Google adds localized graphics support to the Play Store


Google has released today on its Android Developers blog information about localizing graphics for Play Store listings. It's no secret that Google Play is quickly expanding its reach to many new countries. Part of making the expansion to new markets successful is targeting promotional materials to specific countries. Along with offering localized translations of apps and descriptions, developers can now use different graphics and promotional materials depending on the country the user is accessing the Play Store from as well. Developers could now, for example, offer a different splash page for a country or region's holiday during a certain period, or offer language-specific graphics in each region which the app supports the language.
Google notes in its blog post that a full 2/3 of app revenue in Google Play now comes from outside of the United States, making it clear to developers that this is something important to pay attention to.

 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Tricks for Android Phone

 

 Tricks for New (and Old) Android Phones


Camera Tricks
One of the handiest things about modern phones is that you now have a reasonably high quality camera with you at all times. But as cool as that is, it can be incredibly frustrating how long it takes for the camera to launch. How many times has this happened to you: By the time you've woken up the phone, unlocked your screen, and opened the camera app, you've missed the moment.

Launch the camera in just one move.
On most phones running the latest Android OS, you can customize your lock screen for fast access. On the Samsung SIII, for example, you can simply press and hold the center of the lock screen, rotate the phone 90 degrees while still holding the center of the screen — and boom; the camera launches. To enable this feature, go to Settings, Security, Lock Screen Options, and then turn on CAMERA QUICK ACCESS. On older android phones you can use an app like WidgetLocker to get the camera icon onto your lock screen. Added bonus: With WidgetLocker, you can customize your lock screen with whatever functions you like to access quickly.

Voice Control.
  Once you get the camera fired up, many newer Androids also offer voice control. Set your camera on a tripod or Gorillapod and say "Shoot." After a one-second delay (just long enough to smile), the camera will snap the shot. This is great for self-portraits and group shots.
If you have an older Android phone, Camera ZOOM FX gives you the same voice control, plus some awesome additional powers — stabilizer, time lapse, and Burst Mode, which lets you take up to 10 shots in a second.
Screen Capture
Say you want to do a screen grab of a web page — or maybe you have a cute sequence of texts you want to save forever — whatever. Depending on the model and flavor of Android you have, some key combos will do the trick. On some versions, press the Home key and Power buttons at the same time; on others, it's Volume Down and Power. On older phones, you can get an app like Screenshot It, which enables you to capture what's on your phone's screen, just not with the quick key combos of newer phones.

Fast Reboot
Powering down your phone normally takes two moves, and restarting takes a third. But if you hold down the power button for 10 seconds, it'll reboot with just one move. This should work on most Android phones.
Managing Battery Life & Speed
The best way to improve your phone's battery life and speed is to keep the number of open apps to a minimum. But how do you know what's open? Answer: The Task Manager lists the programs that are currently operating in the background, draining your battery. But instead of scrolling through menus to find the Task Manager, you can launch it immediately by holding down the Home key. You should now be able to see a list of all apps that are currently running. From the same screen, you can close anything that isn't mission critical.
Not All Androids Are Created Equal
One caveat for all these shortcuts: they may or may not work depending on what version of Android you're running or which brand of phone you have. So let us know what worked for you and share your favorite shortcuts on our Facebook page.

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