Smartphone Market Expected to Soar in 2011

So you want a Smartphone, or you want to upgrade, who can keep up with so many choices and upgrades being released so quickly. Four major players, Google, Apple, Research in Motion and Microsoft are fighting for market penetration and your business. Based on the following prediction you can see why :

According to new research by the International Data Corporation, a company that tracks technology market share and sales, smartphone makers are expected to “ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011 compared to the 303.4 million units shipped in 2010.” These predictions show that the smartphone market is expected to grow by as much as 50 percent over the next year.

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

Want to Take that App for a Test Drive?

Recently Amazon’s Android Appstore launched a new free trial service where consumers can download an app they would like to try onto their computer. The Program simulates how the app would work on their phone.  With no cost involved and no added data to your phone this seems like a good way to try before you buy.

"Test Drive is a cool new Amazon Appstore feature that lets customers try apps before buying them directly in their Internet browser," Anya Waring, Amazon public relations manager, told the E-Commerce Times. "It's not a video -- customers use the actual app directly in their Web browser, while the app runs on a simulator on Amazon's servers. Customers control the app through their computer using a mouse." Want to give it a try? Here’s the link  

Amazon Appstore for Android

Get a great paid app for free every day

 http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011

u•sha•hi•di [oo-shah-hee-dee] - A Swahili word which means "testimony".

Have you ever heard this name, USHAHIDI?  I had not, but while I was reading about the devastation caused by the earth quake and tsunami in Japan I came across information on the wonderful job they are doing to help in a time of crisis. 

A Web-reporting platform called Ushahidi has helped human rights workers and others document and make sense of fast-moving crises. The platform allows reports from cell phones and Web-connected devices to be collected and displayed on Web-based maps.

Within two hours of the Japanese earthquake, a version of Ushahidi, Web software had been created by Japanese volunteers working with the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Ushahidi consists of a Web server and other software that lets anyone send in information—via a cell phone and the Web—that is then displayed on a map. The site dedicated to Japan, sinsai.info/ushahidi, is being used to pinpoint locations where people may be trapped, dangerous areas that should be avoided, and supplies of food and clean water.

Here is the link to their site to find out more about their good work and how technology continues to help in times od crisis. . http://www.ushahidi.com/

Live aid: The Ushahidi software is being used to track the location of survivors and resources such as food and water.
Credit: Ushahidi

http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/35097/?mod=related

Can all Apps Be Trusted ? Apparently Not

Many of us love to download those new apps, a fun game to pass the time, a new challenge to pursue, a new high score. But can we be sure those apps we are downloading are safe and are not damaging our phone or hijacking our information. Well if we buy it and download it from a reputable source such as Apple, Amazon, Google or the Android Market it must be safe right?  Read on:

In early March it was discovered that more than 50 apps, all free, in the official Android Market had a rogue piece of software called DroidDream.  This is a Trojan that can steal your phone’s sensitive data and download malicious code to the phone from remote servers, researchers at the security firm Kaspersky Lab reported.

The long list of dangerous apps includes Spider Man, Super Guitar Solo, Basketball Shot Now, Falling Down, Bowling Time and Super History Eraser, according to Symantec. Google removed the dangerous Android apps within four days from the Android market, but researchers say that as many as 200,000 downloads occurred before they could be taken out.

For a complete list of infected apps check out :

http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/dangerous-droiddream-trojan-is-android-nightmare-0573/

Survey says Apps and Small Businesses Happy Together

On the go business professionals rely heavily on their Smart Phone devices to conduct business throughout the day in and out of the work place. I found this survey very interesting and informative and the results were what I would expect to find.

Todd Wasserman, Mashable's business and marketing editor shares results from a Small Business Technology Poll from AT&T which looked at the use of mobile apps in small businesses, 2-50 employees.

“The AT&T Small Business Technology Poll, based on a December 2010 online survey of 2,246 small business owners and/or employees responsible for IT, found that 38 per cent of such businesses couldn't go without mobile apps. Nearly three-fourths (72 per cent) indicate they use mobile apps in their businesses. GPS/navigation and mapping mobile apps are by far the most popular; 49 per cent of respondents say they use them for their small businesses. The main reasons the companies say they use such apps is to save time, increase productivity and cut costs.”

300,000 and Counting, Apps that is.

If you can dream it, there probably is or will be an App for it. Finding the App you want is getting easier and easier. The word is out that a new “business model” has taken hold. The top competitors such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) have put together a central location. It is a one-stop shop in their App store where apps can easily be found and downloaded.

It is not easy keeping track of all those apps and which ones will work on which device. Maybe someone will develop an app to keep track of other apps…….more to come I am sure…

Best Golf GPS Apps for the BlackBerry

As an avid golfer, I am always looking for ways to improve my game. With the golf season rapidly approaching I have thought about purchasing a golf app for my phone to help me navigate the courses.  Since I have a Blackberry I have begun to research some golf apps and have found there are 49, yes, 49 apps that Blackberry offers.  How will I ever choose?

After reading reviews, I found that the three apps I have listed below seem to come up as leaders on most Blackberry forums and GPS golf sites.  So if the weather ever clears and my work and school schedule permit I will download a free trial of nRange Golf GPS and give it a shot.....  Any other golfers out there that can offer a suggestion?