SYNAPSE CIRCUIT LOOKING BACK AT 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
LOOKING BACK AT 2014!

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It is so wonderful to see you again after what seems like ages! In a nutshell I’ve been taking timeout to rest and recharge to bring you more from Synapse Circuit! I have a lot that I want to achieve this year! And I am going to do it too!

2014 certainly was an interesting year for all things tech... Here’s my take on it...

#SynapseCircuit #2014 #Android #Apple #Google #Samsung #LG #Motorola #HTC #Huawei #ASUS #ZTE #Sony

A GOOD YEAR FOR APPLE?
I don’t think that it’s been a bad year for Apple but it hasn’t been the best year for them either! If anything the Apple Fanboy / Fangirl has benefited – sort of – from having a bigger screen spearheaded by Android! It’s about freakin’ time! “Sort of...” because iOS 8 has bugs and apps aren’t yet taking advantage of the bigger screen size of 6 Plus!

The iPad – as predicted – has been cannibalized by the advent of 6 Plus; as I have stated so many times: the iPad is overpriced for what it is. The iPad is probably a great solution for those with absolutely no desktop / laptop but if you already own a Mac computer then there isn’t much point in an iPad. How about the iPad mini? Well, now that the 6 Plus is a reality... If you are a Apple person and a parent do you think it’s worth shelling out for an iPad mini (when there are great inexpensive Android tablets)? “Here, kid! Here’s a £80 Android tablet! Knock yourself out!”

PANORAMA
Then towards the end of the year a damning UK investigative TV programme, Panorama, revealed what it is like to be a factory worker making iPhones in China, Foxconn! That programme certainly blew the lid off the Apple being kind to the planet and people ethos! Now that was truly an OMG moment! You saw how land areas were being decimated, people endangering their lives excavating for precious metals... ...the factory workers being treated like slaves and how they live like battery hens all cooped up in a small space... My goodness! Shocking! I watched that program with disdain; you just can’t treat people like that! You just can’t mess up the planet like that either! It’s mad! I am not saying that other manufacturers aren’t doing the same but it was a documentary report on Apple and how it operates!

CEO, Tim Cook has come out denying it but once you have the evidence so patently put in front of you denying these findings is an exercise in idiocy!

People often ask me why I dislike Apple and that is a prime example; no matter what the grim reality is of a situation with Apple they always deny it thinking that we won’t see it or stop seeing it! Not a good idea, Tim!

A BAD YEAR FOR ANDROID?
It has certainly been an odd year for Android... I think for the most part of 2014 the Android Fanboy / Fangirl were treated to a mixed bag of Android handsets and tablets – many of which were pretty much mediocre. The year began, as it does for Synapse Circuit, with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5; expectations were riding high and although it was a great handset it was a case of being more of the same. People, me included, expected something of a departure as it was with the Galaxy S3! Then LG came out with the G3 that showed off a great design and had the wonderful 5.5” QHD screen that we were expecting for the Galaxy S5! Again, HTC wowed us with the beautiful looking One M8 but disappointed us with the camera.

As predicted, we saw some great handsets coming from China such as the Oppo R5 but it hasn’t entered the UK market in terms of being available with network providers! You can purchase the Oppo handsets online! They are touted as “premium handset killers” but I can’t say they are... So far I have yet to see a handset match the Galaxy Note 4. Sure, it is arguable that the Galaxy S5 isn’t as formidable but it still puts up a good fight against the rival Chinese manufacturers in terms of usefulness. However, Samsung has lost some market share in China as the natives are purchasing the likes of Xiaomi and the Mi 4 and Redmi Note 4G selling very well.

MOTOROLA
The budget to mid-range market was pretty dire until the advent of Motorola Moto G 2014! Like the predecessor the Moto G 2014 wowed the budget end of the market even though 4G wasn’t a feature! Motorola more or less redefined the level entry handset... Yes, you could argue that manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE were putting out dirt cheap handsets but the spec on them weren’t that much to shout about! The Moto G 2014 offered a very decent spec for the money, £150! The 5” screen and front-facing stereo speakers are pretty hard to beat! So, it left many of the budget manufacturers, Archos, Acer, ASUS, Huawei and ZTE struggling to gain a good portion of that particular marketplace! I think that the lower end handsets from the manufacturers mentioned above were ill-conceived when it comes to the spec! Sure, some of these sub £90 - £80 handsets might look like remarkable deals but in use they are horrific! I think this is part of the reason why Android took a bit of a dive: people go for these cheap handsets thinking they are on par with, let’s say for arguments sake, an iPhone and find out that these cheap Android handsets are anything but! As a result some would be Android folk just end up going for the “easy to use” iPhone; these cheap handsets could very well be responsible for those having a negative opinion on Android. In the past I have tried to replace a non-functioning handset with one of those cheap handsets only to get so frustrated that I could throw it against the wall!

I think Motorola really came back with gusto with the budget to mid to premium but it was the Moto G 2014 that has changed the budget market for the best! We should be seeing budget handsets with a better spec i.e. at least 8GB of storage instead of 4GB and a quad-core CPU as opposed to a minimum dual-core and at least 2GB of RAM. 512MB and 1GB won’t cut it! And sticking with Motorola... I think they did really well with the Moto X 2014 and the massive Nexus 6! I felt that they were / are good handsets for those that do not have the use for the functionality as found in the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Note 4 for example. I really love those designs from Motorola! In my opinion the designs of the Moto G 2014, Moto X 2014 and Nexus 6 are more attractive than the HTC One M8. So, I got me a Nexus 6! Woo!

GOOGLE
It’s pretty much safe to state that Google had a rough time in 2014 what with the anti-trust stance in Europe, people wishing to be forgotten, etc. With the lawsuits aside Google has so many pokers in the fire that I get the feeling that they aren’t releasing product as good as it can be! For example the Nexus Player isn’t available yet in the UK! So, if I wanted a similar experience for my TV solution I have the option to go Chromecast or similar devices from Amazon and Roku for example; and from what I have understood it appears as though the Nexus Player has some short comings... Short comings or not I want one!

Then there is the much anticipated Android 5, Lollipop... Many of us are disappointed with Lollipop in that many devices have yet to receive it! But the uptake, as I recall, is still faster than KitKat... I remember waiting a good while for some of my devices to get the KitKat upgrade! Google promises to get the Lollipop upgrade out as soon as it is possible to as many devices as possible! I did think my Second Generation Moto G would have received the Lollipop upgrade by now but I am still waiting! That said, I am not in that much of a hurry – especially now that I have a Nexus 6! I would rather Google take its time than to rush a release full of more bugs than a rainforest! Is Google doing too much at one time?

Oh my goodness! How can I forget to mention Google Glass? Google Glass seems like it’s taking forever to reach the market – consumer-wise! Some tech pundits have pronounced Google Glass as DOA but I do feel that it has scope (no pun intended). It just needs to come in at a reasonable price!

Android Wear is interesting we’ve seen a bunch of smartwatches to hit the market last year but they don’t appear to be vital; I like the looks of the Moto 360 and Gear S! Oh, I have to say that the smartwatch from ASUS, ZenWatch, looks pretty decent too!

SAMSUNG
It was a bit of a rough ride for Samsung... Unfortunately, the Galaxy S5 didn’t sell as well as expected and I have a few theories as to why...

1. Samsung were relying on the loyalty coming off the successes of the Galaxy S2, S3 and S4; the UK TV advertising was thin.

2. It seemed to me as though Samsung were busy with other handsets; I have lost count as to how many handsets Samsung released last year! Not to mention the amount of tablets they produce! Samsung’s output is staggering that it must be having an impact on their flagship handsets and its advertising budget.

Samsung has also closed down a retail outlet in Stratford, London’s Westfield shopping complex. It is a shame as the shop layout was really nice and it was spacious too! However, Stratford Westfield – despite the masses of retail outlets and shopping area – is not the best place for Samsung or, dare I say, Apple? Why? Simply because the location isn’t quite right! Westfield Stratford is literally around the corner from me and I prefer to go to Central London. Stratford Westfield reminds me of a massive airport shopping mall. The shopping complex was quickly put together for the Olympics! Now that the Olympics has been and gone Westfield Stratford is going to appeal mainly to folk that inhabit East London.

Samsung have stated that they will put out less handsets this year! We will see! The Galaxy Alpha has been axed! Samsung ended the year well with the Galaxy Note 4 and the Note Edge!

LG
I think it was a good year for LG and the G3! The combination of a great thin bezel and QHD screen was very formidable and as a result I reckon it took a chunk out of the Galaxy S5 market. Many people purchase or take out a contract on a handset based upon its looks! When Samsung delivered more of the same with the Galaxy S5 it left the market open for such a fantastic looking handset!

LG also released some budget handsets and I reckon that a lot of those handsets got abandoned when mobile retail outlet, Phones 4U, died a death! It didn’t escape me that the UK lost a great variety of handsets. Phones 4U used to stock a good range of budget pay as you go handsets and now Carphone Warehouse is the foremost mobile retail outlet chain in the UK – only it does not seem to have such a wide variety. I would imagine that this must have had an impact, albeit small, on LG. Some of LG’s budget handsets weren’t bad!

HTC
If the LG G3 ate into the Samsung Galaxy S5 market share then it certainly impacted upon the HTC One M8 market. As you know the One M8 is great but that’s about it... The Ultrapixels camera never really took off! It was a case of looks first and features second! But HTC does have a legion of followers! But on the streets it looks like a different picture... The One M8 is seldom seen; when the M7 came out I could see the impact it had as there was quite an uptake! 2014, the M8 was a rarity on the streets!

HTC came across as a little confused in that it wants to be Samsung with the amount of different handset released in a hear and at the same time it wants to be Apple with its premium metal product and is neither. HTC released a flurry of handsets towards the end of 2014 and I wonder if they’ve taken the time to make these handsets desirable (no pun intended where the HTC Desire range is concerned). One highlight for HTC is being charged with the responsibility of delivering the Google Nexus 9 tablet!

SONY
Hats off to Sony for consistency and determination. The Z3 looks like Sony’s take on the iPhone; it looks the business and certainly won many people over! The jewel in that crown is the Z3’s 20MP camera! Like Samsung’s Galaxy S5 it is water and dust resistant! Sony appears to be doing well with the Z3... Again, comparing Sony with Samsung, there is a similarity with regards to the releasing of a number of different handsets aimed at the different areas of the market: premium, mid-range to low end budget. The low-end handsets, in my opinion, are just to show that they are like Samsung and other manufacturers that actually shift budget products. The low-end handsets from Sony are on sale pretty much all year round.

The Z3 and its tablet counterpart were good for Sony and for consumers looking for alternatives to the market leaders!

ASUS
Now was it a good year for ASUS? I wouldn’t want to put money on it either way! Like Samsung, ASUS are heavy hitters for Android as well as Windows. There were times where it seemed like ASUS put out a tablet every couple of months! However, I like what ASUS have done with its handset range: Zenfone’s 4”, 5” and 6”! Simple! Not forgetting the Fonepad 7! With Samsung and HTC (and perhaps Sony) there are way too many handsets to take in! ASUS just sticks to one concept, the Zenfone in different screen sizes to suit taste! Unfortunately, these good looking handsets aren’t on any of the UK mobile networks! If you want an ASUS handset you will certainly have to purchase it from its online shop!

Thankfully, the ASUS range of tablets can be bought in most electronic / computer retail outlets. It looks as though ASUS may have done well in the UK’s first Black Friday sale event as a few people l know picked up a MeMo Pad 7 for £69! A steal! It would be interesting to find out the exact figures for ASUS tablet and handset sales for 2014. In any event I reckon ASUS have established its tablet and handset ranges for the future!

I hope that the ZenWatch does well!

PATCHY?
From where I am sitting 2014 was patchy from the Galaxy S5 expectations to the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus blandness and a bunch of underwhelming Android handsets in-between. The Moto G 2014 edition is missing a 4G radio and Lollipop! Then if the handsets were a bit of an overall disappointment (from the UK network availability point of view) then the tablet situation didn’t do much better with the exception of the Tab S range from Samsung! The NVIDIA Shield? Not bad at all – just a tad overpriced if you ask me! The Nexus 9? Hmmmm... I don’t know... I wasn’t and am still not entirely convinced! To be honest I was expecting something more groundbreaking from Google where the tablet is concerned! Don’t ask me what at this moment in time but I can’t say that my heart didn’t sink when I learned that HTC was going to be the manufacturer. Why not Samsung? Why not ASUS? Why not LG? And why not Google MotoLenovo? I couple of Nexus tablets would have been a great swan song so to speak – before Google handed the reins to Lenovo! It would have been fitting to have a Nexus 7 phablet with 4G from the off!

Well, that’s my patchy take on 2014! Standby for my predictions!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

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Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT ANDROID TALK 2 FROM HERE

Above: The Motorola Moto G 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT 

ANDROID TALK 2:
WHERE CAN THE MAJOR PLAYERS GO FROM HERE?

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you doing? As always I hope that all is well with you and yours! I also hope that you are making the most of your tech and getting into some awesome projects! I am hoping to get some tutorials going... Watch this space!

Well, it’s no secret that the major Android players are experiencing some turbulence to put it mildly! Is there a way out of it? Hmmmm...

#Android #Google #Samsung #Sony #HTC #LG

VIRULENT

The Android One has been deployed and will enter markets that the iPhone cannot. 

That’s my favourite word to describe the phenomena of Android, “virulent”. And there it goes conquering the rest of the world such as India with the Android One handset! Back home the game is ablaze with cost effective powerful handsets that are pretty amazing! The Motorola Moto G 4G is certainly one of them! Hmmmm... The 2014 Moto G hasn’t got 4G and I can only assume that the 4G version will come out later on this year! Anyway, in addition to the Moto G there are other options from Chinese based manufacturers such as ZTE and the Blade L2 that retails at £89.99 sporting a quad-core processor and 5MP main camera! It could be the perfect handset for the less demanding user!

Although there are many inexpensive sub £100 handsets (and tablets) these days I would like to think  that some lessons have been learned from:-

Manufacturers: In the past manufacturers have put out cheap Android handsets (and tablets) that couldn’t hold many apps to make the experience worthwhile.

Retailers / Sales People: Either sales people genuinely thought that major apps were able to run from the microSD card or they just wanted to make a quick buck! Either way that is absolute CRAP!!! When consumers ask for information they ought not to be given complete and utter misinformation bull****!

Consumers: Consumers, back then, say 3 years ago, seemed unwilling to educate themselves. They either felt as though such technology was beyond their knowledge or so lazy that they’d believe the words that come out of a retailers mouth only to discover the complete opposite hours later, “Blue!!! I can’t install WhatApp!!! I get a message that says, ‘Insufficient Storage’...” If only they had paid attention! I give them great, exacting advice (if I do say so myself) and some idiot sales person goes and messes with their heads! I guess some must learn the hard way! I know I did! And I try to give my knowledge to those who seek it!

This leads me to the next question...

...WHERE ARE THE MAJOR ANDROID PLAYERS GOING WRONG?
First off, forget about Apple and the iPhone for a moment... We’ll come back to it later!

Sony has just announced a loss of a $.1.1 Billion in revenue and, at least to me, it is not really surprising! Let me tell you about my experience when I went looking for an inexpensive handset...

As you may or may not know, I sometimes review handsets and at one time I had so many to review that it made sense to take out a small minimal SIM only contract so that I may test without disturbing the set-ups of my main handsets. Sometimes it gets quiet where handsets are concerned and so I set about filling the gap with an inexpensive Android handset.

I tried the ZTE Blade and hated it after a few days! In fact the biggest barrier that tells you about the cost effective handset is post update. Once you boot up a new handset you could be presented with a system and preinstalled apps upgrade. This function can render a handset useless as the apps become too heavy for the inadequate hardware. Then there is the subject of storage space... Storage space evaporates on these cheap handsets as you are usually given 4GB! Anyhoo!

I then looked at some budget Sony handsets and there were quite a few of them so many that I just had to abandon my search with them (Sony). To be honest the handsets were all much of a muchness: cheap, the absolute minimal hardware i.e. 1 point odd dual-core CPU, 512MB RAM and 2 to 4GB storage with a microSD card slot... This is just from memory so don’t be in a rush to shoot me down as I know that some of you are very exacting to the point of being obsessive! The point is that after looking at so many low-end Sony models it gave me a headache and I had to scratch them off my list! In the end I settled for the LG L3 model that is now doing nothing as I have upgraded since then! So, if I was able to see that these cheap Sony models were quite frankly a load of crap then so must many others. This, I think, where a lot of the $1.1 Billion went! And if I am correct in my assumption it doesn’t quite make sense given that they (again I am assuming) must work closely with Google. Sony, Samsung, HTC, etc must surely know Google’s plans to release a cost effective handset that is what I would say is the equivalent of the basic (is there any other?) iPhone! And this is why the iPhone business model works for non-MAC computer users: It’s simple! Yes, that’s it folks! With the iPhone you get a standard 16GB version that currently retails at £539, 64GB is £619 and 128GB is £699! Stop laughing! Please! Please stop laughing! If people want to spend real money on these things it’s up to them! Bwahahahahaha! Sorry! Of course one can get it on contract with an upfront cost of £99 (I think)... Not me! Hey! Wait a minute! I think the standard should now be 32GB as standard!

This simple choice does not confuse the consumer and because its great introduction to the world by the enigmatic megalomaniac Bond villanesque Steve Jobs (in The Galaxy Note Is More Than Enough)! The iPhone introduction is certainly more memorable than baby George of Prince William and what’s her name again? Ah, Kate! Princess Kate! As a result when the non-MAC computer person thinks “smartphone” the iPhone is probably the first that comes to mind followed by Samsung’s Galaxy range! Sure, the balance is changing as consumers become their own investigators but by and large many non-MAC computer folk tend to go for an iPhone because the choice is very, very simple. Apple has played on that to great effect and it doesn’t help that the tech media (and media in general) is biased towards the iPhone. I have exposed this countless times and it continues even now! Check out this article if you haven’t read it before to understand how the media brainwashes those who aren’t willing to think for themselves: iBRAINWASHED

To be fair the iPhone works remarkably well and is simple enough for most folk to get to grips with. Whereas the Android handset, in comparison, can literally bewilder some folk with the dazzling array of customization options! I have even read the comment of one person who buckled under the Android freedom of choice pressure and went iPhone! Hahahaha! It is true! When I first got stuck into my first real Android handset, the Galaxy S1, I spent most of my time customizing the way it looked!

Let me explain what iPhone users call “premium”...

PREMIUM iPHONE
Yes, yes, yes... The aluminium casing gives the impression of affluence and its small form can be likened to a jewel in the affectionate eyes of iPhone lovers around the world... A gigantic, gigantic, big, big love indeed! And for something that was once quite small in comparison to many Android handsets! Gosh! Golly!

1. 16GB as standard when it comes to storage; I don’t think that the non-technical non-MAC computer person takes that into consideration until a sales person tries his or her hardest to squeeze a bit more money out of the non-suspecting consumer wishing to participate in the smartphone experience. 16GB as a standard will ensure that the user will not quickly run out of space to run what I call the base apps: YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Viber, LINE and lately (Facebook) Messenger. Oh, not forgetting push email!

And in the case of budget conscious folk opting for a low-end Android they think that they’d be able to run the base apps as mentioned above... WRONG!!!!

2. The operating system is snappy and it leads folk into the iTunes ecosystem; iOS is practically iTunes – if you get what I mean. The App Store is full of goodies for everyone!
Then you look over to Android... Remember, we are looking through the eyes of someone not well versed on tech! Such nontechnical folk do not really understand the difference between a low-end Android handset to the iPhone and to high-end Android! Way, way back a friend of mine wanted to get a smartphone and she was thinking about the first ever Galaxy Ace; I warned her against it as it was not powerful and the storage was not good. I recommended that she take out a contract on the Galaxy S2 (I think)... You can lead a horse to water ‘n’ all... To cut a long story short she went for the Galaxy Ace and less than a week later she complained that she couldn’t store many of the base apps. It was either Facebook or WhatsApp!

So, to the non-MAC computer oriented consumer they think of the iPhone as a “premium” handset. Some of the same people do not wish to shell out an upfront payment for it and that’s where Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note range comes in followed by other manufacturers such as HTC, LG, Sony, etc. The fast learners soon discover that the high-end Android handset offers greater premiums:-

1. A more responsive Android experience as the hardware really shifts the operating system and apps!

2. Additional storage through microSD; when you have such a great camera (mostly) you just want to use it to the full without a “memory full” message.

3.  A big screen whereby video and web surfing is a pleasure and due to the increasingly slim bezels the Android handset is still comfortable to hold.

4. Because the Android handset is usually made of polycarbonate it makes for a greater resilience to scratches, scuffs and dents. I know... I know... iPhone users can’t understand this concept. <Sighs> Me? Polycarbonate over metal any day as my Galaxy S1, 2 and 4 plus the Note 2 look exactly how they did when I opened the box! I think this is remarkable! My nephew’s iPhone 5S looks worn already with dents and scratches; it’s not even a year old!

THE ANDROID TAKEOVER
You’ve got to hand it to Google... Google Motorola to be precise that today’s “premium” base Android handset, the Moto G 4G, can be had for £150! Here’s some quick spec:-

Android 4.4 KitKat
4.5 inch HD touchscreen
Quad-core 1.2 GHz
8GB phone storage
5MP camera
MicroSD slot, up to 32GB extra storage
2070 mAh battery capacity

Yes, compared to the iPhone there are some sacrifices i.e. the aluminium and camera but if you just use your handset to post pictures to your social networks you do not really need much more than 5MP. At least you can pay cash for it if need be! And on contract it’ll be around the £13 ballpark depending on the network provider, minutes, texts and data options. There again, it is easily possible to get the Moto G 4G SIM free and get a better SIM only deal that can include unlimited data and texts, for example, for under £20 per month!

So, what must the major Android players do now?

REDEFINE & MINIMISE

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the Android champion that ought to clean up this year! It should do much better than the Note 3! 

In my most humble opinion I think that it’s important to cut the “low-end” out unless handsets can have at least the following as standard:-

1. 2GB RAM

2. 1.2 quad-core CPU

3. 8GB internal storage

Putting many low-end handsets on the market by today’s standards is pointless – at least for my tastes and needs!

The above, to me, should be the standard for the low-end budget market. Items like the screen size and resolution is debatable as one shouldn’t be expecting too much! The camera should easily be 5MP to 8MP going up on a pricing scale i.e. from £70 to £90. Then from there we get a mid-range handset that is very much the Moto G 3G and 4G. As the high-end is now dominated by an influx of Chinese based manufacturers the major Android players ought to leave it alone and concentrate on making these exceptional premium Android handsets such as the superlative Galaxy Note 4!

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
I reckon the major Android players are missing out on the lucrative market of app development. Sure, it is quite easy to pick up pirate apps through a few sources but I would like to think that the majority of us will pay a fair price for exceptional applications that can keep us away from the desk and laptops!

The Android market has loyal Samsung, LG, Sony and LG followers and I am quite sure that if they made their apps available on the Google Play Store people will purchase these apps because of the brand reputations. I envisage a free version of let’s say a video editing app, for example, and to get premium benefits such as fade effects, audio cleaning effects one could purchase a premium version. There are over a billion Android activations and the move for the major players (and others) to focus on creative quality apps could see not only great profits but the enhancement of the Android experience. This is happening already but I want to see more! I believe that Samsung kicked things off with the Galaxy Note Premium applications made only for the device. HTC have made its video editing app available on the Google Play Store and I have yet to try it. We have these great super-phones but we could do with stronger apps! At the moment I am getting some music composition joy from Caustic and G-Stomper Studio with the hope of many more apps to come to the Google Play Store market! I want to see strong apps for:-

1. Video Editing / Creation; we have 4K video recording capabilities and so it is about time we had a hardcore video editing app.

2. Publishing Apps / eBook Creation; we’ve gone digital. I rarely buy books anymore – unless I really have to and the price is right. Yes, I save on battery power when flicking through a book. But I have practically stopped buying magazines now as I have access to great apps such as Flipboard and Pulse. In addition many publications put out a lot of info on social networks. Oh, the free newspapers make for covering the floor when painting the walls!

What else?

3. Web Design; I spend a lot of time surfing the web on my handsets and newly bought tablet these days. But it’s not the mobile version – it’s the proper website. But if Google wants web designers to make websites act like an app I think we need to start creating websites on our mobile devices.

Look, I don’t know about you but I get tired of seeing these boring corporate looking sites that has come about through the great use of template oriented software and online facilities. I like sites that have a character about them and such an app can have people having a go because it is easy!

4. Photo Editing / Manipulation; move over Adobe! With these awesome cameras on the premium superphones from Samsung, Sony and LG and then the high-end premium handsets from China we need some great photo editing / manipulation software that can output print quality documents i.e. if one wanted to print a greetings card, etc at a print bureau.

5. Drawing / Illustration; with the S Pen and some Android tablets coming with a stylus I think a strong print quality drawing / illustration app is overdue! Let’s have it!

There you go! What do you reckon? Can you think of more apps? 64-bit Android is on the way! Let's get some great use out of it!

That’s something to think about!

THANKS FOR READING...

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SYNAPSE CIRCUIT MWC14 CONCLUSION

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS CONCLUSION
#MobileWorldCongress #MWC14 #MWC2014 #Android

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you? How was your day? It’s been raining nonstop over here in London. If your day is still happening I wish you a very joyous and productive one!

Yes, the Mobile World Congress is over and it has been a fantastic show! In fact I think it should be called Android Mobile World Congress instead as all the worthwhile mobile innovations are coming as a result of what Android can do!

TABLETS
With regards to tablets I am a tad disappointed as I expected more premium slates offering exceptional value for money.

Here’s a list of some rather interesting tablets:-

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+

HP Slate 7 VoiceTab

Huawei MediaPad X1

Huawai MediaTab M1

Nvidia Tegra Note 7 LTE

Sony Xperia Z2

Archos 80 Helium

I was expecting at least double that amount – especially for Samsung to reveal the next line of Galaxy Tabs! Never mind... I can only assume that there will be more Android tablet releases to come throughout 2014.

As you know, I thought the MWC 2014 Best Tablet award was lazy. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated tablets in the tech press. I have read and viewed comparison reviews (between iPad Air and Galaxy Note 10.1) that say when it comes to design and build, “The iPad Air is of a higher build and made from quality materials than the plastic Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro. However, the Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro has a faux leather back that makes it easier to hold in the hand than the iPad Air. The iPad Air feels as though it could slip out of the hands; if you dropped it it’ll shatter!”

Now, I think that reviewers are confusing the subject of design and build with practicality. Reviewers seem to go on about the aesthetics of the aluminium back, etc but then go on to say that it feels slippery and delicate. For me, that right there is an epic fail in design and build terms. Because the Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro is made of plastic the reviewers (sic) are then complaining that it’s not up to the “premium” build and feel of the iPad Air which is contradictory! I would have the Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro over the iPad any day of the week! Either you want to stare longingly at the iPad Air and not touch it for the fear of breaking it or you want to get down to the business of productivity on the Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro! I grant you that the iPad Air looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie but that should not be the basis of the award.

While it may be true that Android has to catch up with the Apple App Store when it comes to tablet specific applications that is still no reason to give the award to Apple’s iPad Air by default. I think that is wrong! I think that the award should be given for:-

Design & Build: Is the tablet designed for everyday use? Does it feel comfortable in the hands?

Screen & Resolution: How sharp is the screen?

Power & Speed: Can the tablet get job done quickly? Can it perform tasks with ease?

I think that the Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro ticks all the above boxes! Certainly the pixel count is higher! 2560 x 1600 (299 ppi) vs the iPad Air’s 2048 x 1536 (264 ppi). C’mon, even those with dyscalculia can do that math! Lol! I would like to review it myself.

The one thing about my reviews is that because I am independent I can afford to write the truth! In my experience many, many magazines that I have written for just pander to those who pay the most ad revenue. Also many journalists are biased to their favourite tech i.e. the Apple mobile devices. Whereas I am interested into the practical use of technology!

But on paper the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Pro gets the award for the best tablet from Synapse Circuit!

Again, I am very much looking forward to reviewing the aforementioned slates!

HANDSETS
Oooh, it was handsets galore and the majority of them are Android! Look...

Huawei MediaPad X1

Sony Xperia Z2

LG G Pro 2
HP Slate 6 & 7 VoiceTab

Yotaphone

Blackphone

HTC Desire 816

ZTE Grand Memo II LTE

Yes, I am aware that the MediaPad X1 and HP Slate 6 & 7 are phablets / tablets but they look comfortable to hold and paired with a Bluetooth headset they could work as a phone too! Needless to say that this is yet once again a very exciting time for the Android platform! I can’t honestly say that I was impressed by the Nokia X series but it may be an option for some consumers. I would like to review them too!

It appears as though Android has taken over the mobile world! Yes, there were some Ubuntu and Firefox handsets that I would like to get my hands on as well.

One thing is for certain, Android is spearheading the innovation in the mobile and tablet world.

What do you reckon?   

Take good care!

Thank you for watching and reading!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit website for video, i-PDF and more! 

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FIGHTING TALK / THE CHINESE ARE COMING.

Huawei Chief Executive Richard Yu shows off the Ascend P6. 

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT: 

FIGHTING TALK / THE CHINESE ARE COMING...

Good afternoon, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope you are enjoying the tennis and the good weather of late – well, at least I imagine that the weather is good where you are! If you love technology like I do you must be excited at what the Android platform has been developing... I’ve got news for you... 

THE CHINESE ARE COMING
And they are coming with Android handsets that will have the mobile world marvelling. The two biggest names from China, Huawei and Oppo have every intention to usurp the power houses Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony!

Huawei’s Richard Yu was in London to launch the Ascend P6 – the world’s thinnest smartphone - and to also let the press know that they are looking to be Number 1 on the world market. Huawei has the drive and determination to be known for making the smartphone in the world and to put a price tag on it that undercuts Apple, Samsung, LG, etc.

I think Huawei can possibly achieve their ambition but the major competition shouldn’t be taken lightly. I know Samsung are always hungry and they never seem to stop innovating. If you saw the video footage from the CES at the beginning of the year then you will know what I am on about. Huawei and any other challengers will be foolish to take Samsung lightly.

Apple? Hmmmm... If Apple can concentrate on delivering a new iPhone design or designs then they can be very dangerous too! I am quite sure that Cook is considering an iPhone phablet and a budget model for the everyman/woman.

Oh, the one major underestimated manufacturer is Google Motorola. You may have noticed that Google has given Motorola a little make over on the logo and I can imagine that they have a lot to prove.

Here’s what Huawei’s Chief Executive Richard Yu had to say about Samsung...

“We want to provide the best, most beautiful, slimmest smartphone – this one’s much thicker.” Capitalizing on the (in)famous Samsung plastic builds... “We’re not made of plastic."

As you know, I feel strongly that Samsung handsets can look pristine after a good 4 years of use! My Galaxy S2 looks as it came out of the box 4 years ago! I understand how some might see metal and glass as better but it may not be the case when durability is taken into consideration. Again, the HTC One looks amazing – like an ET dropped it on upon entering the spaceship to go back home but I would like to see the One after 2 or 4 years of use.

And with regards to the Galaxy S3 and S4... ...they have been about functionality above the looks which I happen to like very much. I love minimalism. Remember that Samsung are now own 50% of a carbon fibre company in Germany!

ADVERTISING IN A FLASH
Yu continues... "We don’t have so much money to do marketing and branding so we have to make our products better. The best smartphone in the past was from Nokia, then from Apple, then from Samsung. And who is number one? The industry is so dynamic – no matter how successful you are, if you’re currently number one, doesn’t mean tomorrow you’ll be number one.

“Samsung, they have such huge money – if you invest in marketing and branding then people will always buy no matter how good the products are. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is just a so-so smartphone.”

One can chart Nokia’s descent from the top... Nokia simply didn’t see touch screens coming and when the iPhone landed on the market there were other clued up manufacturers waiting to jump on that bandwagon. Had Nokia discovered Android’s potential instead of contemplating Symbian who knows where Nokia would be right now?

To be honest I can barely remember ads for the initial Galaxy S. I can’t for the life of me remember a single Galaxy S2 ad. What Samsung seems to have done is to let the media do the talking on its behalf. I think they mastered the art of PR. At one time you couldn’t pick up a tech or dedicated mobile magazine without reading the headline, ‘iPhone Killer’. Samsung ran with that and it worked. Samsung used the Adobe Flash compatibility greatly to its advantage like HTC and BlackBerry did. Again, hardly any need to spend on publicity there. All the media – including Synapse Circuit – were keen to weigh up the pros and cons of having Adobe Flash on a mobile device. It is the one time where Steve Jobs unwittingly gave the competition a chance to shine! 

Do I miss Flash today? It’s a yes and no... Yes, I miss what Flash could have become. Ordinary people could create a similar app experience without knowing how to program by using Flash. Even if the end product looked like a PowerPoint presentation at least it would be better than having produced nothing at all. Put Flash in the hands of a skilled user / programmer and we could have had some interesting games, multimedia applications and so on. And, no: Adobe just gave up the ghost. They decided that if Apple weren’t going to have Flash on their devices then it wasn’t worth pursuing. I think that decision is wrong and as a result I don’t really miss it. But if Adobe should change that they’d have my attention. I am not holding my breath on that one.

Samsung used that bitter competition with Apple to their advantage because the tech media industry and consumers alike were just waiting for the S2! As you know the S2 delivered and it won awards over the iPhone for being the best multimedia handset in the world. The S2 still holds its own today! That’s how great that phone is.

When the S3 came along Samsung could afford to invest more into advertising and this was the start of Samsung’s own separate product launches. The S3 delivered in many, many ways:

Design; while the S3 design came as a shock to me I warmed to it when I had it in my hands.

Functionality; sure Smart Stay needed good lighting to work but it did work. The video on top was very good too despite that there is an app that can do the same thing. S Voice worked quite well as a means of launching apps and getting weather updates and it wasn’t meant to compete with Siri.

Camera; the videos and pictures that I made with the S3 are superb.

Samsung did some great adverts for the S3 to drive home the great functionality. The S4 videos – in my opinion – haven’t been as great. We’ll get to the Note in a bit...

INNOVATION
What sets Samsung apart from the competition is that they aren’t afraid to innovate! The Galaxy Note could have dived like a lead balloon where the 5” Dell Streak crumpled but the Galaxy Note opened up a new market niche for other manufacturers to follow, the phablet! The Galaxy Note 2 has enjoyed great success.

Let’s not forget the online YouTube campaigns against the iPhone! Those ads were so funny! So cheeky and inventive; so many iPhone owners switched over to Samsung as a result.

If Huawai and Oppo are going to grab spots held by the Android greats then they will have to deliver on all levels:

Camera; this is where both Huawei and Oppo are taking the lead with the 5MP front-facing camera on the Ascend P6. However, the main camera is an 8MP compared to that of the 13MP on the S4!

Oppo Find 7 is said to be coming with an 8MP front-facing camera! WOW!!!!! The Find 7 may have a 13MP main camera. That could change by September when it is expected to be launched.

Who knows what the Galaxy Note 3 will have to offer? Maybe, just maybe they’ll be able to deliver a higher MP on the front-facing camera. It could already be too late as I would imagine that Samsung must be in production on the Note 3 if they are going to reveal it in August. I can’t say that I have heard too many rumours on the Note 3.

RICHARD YU ON APPLE
“In its latest update, Apple makes the phone extremely simple to use,” he says. “But if we are just learning from them we can’t catch up, because they are now slipping. We want to go higher than them.”

Not being disrespectful to Apple and their legions of fans... The pure Jelly Bean operating system has surpassed iOS 7; again, I am not interested in putting Apple people down. If I honestly thought that iOS and the iPhone were better I would own one or two but I don’t! 

I wrote an article a while back that Apple and the iPhone has lost its “cool” factor. I predicted that the iPhone 5 would be DOA and I was right.

“We have a good relationship with Google,” says Yu. “We want Android to be more user friendly, so we have made a lot of enhancements. Google is good for an engineer but it’s not good for the consumer: It’s a little bit too complicated.”

That is the one good thing of many aspects of Android is that one can create an interesting skin / user interface over it. I think what Huawei has done with their Emotion UI is potentially very good. I personally do not think that Android is complex to the user... Uh-uh... If anything the consumer is so spoiled for choice that it is overwhelming. See my ‘Understanding Android’ for those jumping ship from other devices. I wrote that article with for and / concurrent BlackBerry users in mind. As a consumer I would rather be overwhelmed than under!

Currently it is not difficult to be better than Apple iPhone; they have been beaten already by Google, Samsung, HTC, LG and Huawei & Oppo! Hey, Apple Fans: don’t be mad at me! It’s not my fault that Cook talks himself into a corner regarding the future of iPhone handsets. The man says the most stupid things and feels that he can’t go back on them. So, blame Cook!

Apple is trailing behind with their iPhone and iOS at a premium level. Add to the fact that Apple has yet to enter the budget market. If you have read my article on ‘The False Economy of Budget Android Handsets’ you will understand that the market is still virtually untapped because these budget handsets aren’t up to much – if anything at all!

Can you believe that some manufacturers of budget Android handsets are releasing Gingerbread based phones today???? C’mon! Stop messing around! A 10 year old would know better than to think any budget handset with Gingerbread on it and to some degree Ice Cream Sandwich is a worthwhile phone. FORGET IT!

Just in case you are hard of reading and you like to read things that aren’t there... FORGET IT! Budget Android handsets are no good! They are lacking in CPU, RAM and storage. Nobody expects the camera to be great on these things but the budget market is screaming out for a decent handset!


GOOGLE MOTOROLA
While these manufacturers are content to deliver underpowered and ultimately useless handsets Google Motorola is looking to sweep in with something called DVX that promises to deliver quality with an affordable budget! I have no specs at the time of writing. If Google Motorola get it right... I shudder to think about the impact Android will have on the market again!

If you were paying attention to the Google i / O 2013 developer conference you’d know that Sundar Pichai, the new head of Android (and Chrome) stated that the aim is to get Android handsets into untapped markets around the world. I am expecting big things from Google Motorola. Even former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt has been saying for the longest time that the smartphone of today will end up being the budget smartphone in the future.

I do think these manufacturers are wasting their time and squandering their potential with underpowered budget it Android handset which would be fine if the size of apps were under 8MB but they are constantly growing.

MY ADVICE
Forget surpassing the iPhone – it has been done already. It wasn’t hard to do due to the aforementioned stubbornness, stupidity and endless patent spats from Apple. Cook and co seems to live in a bubble. They aren’t being fair to their consumers.

My advice is this:

Up the ante on the hardware! More CPU power, 4GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage and a massive battery capacity 8000 mAh! Why not? We’re not seeing a great leap in premium handset specs. In order to bring forward good budget handsets the hardware of premium must go up!

Don’t get too hung up on being “the thinnest in the world” if it comes at the expense of the battery. I feel forced into buying a protective case for my S4 because it’s so thin that it makes handling a tad cumbersome when taking photos... One accidental nudge from a passerby and that could be the end of it!

The Android handset market is solid. What about the apps? What about the tablets?

In the meantime look out for Huawai, Oppo and ZTE. 

 What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

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