Underground SIG-Labs

Google`s mobile browser ready to smoke Iphone

The new google mobile web browsing engine seems to show their best performance ever in December. Although Android still trails the iPhone in absolute share of the web with just 0.05 percent versus Apple’s 0.44 percent, it grew a much faster 54.8 percent versus just 20.1 percent for Apple’s platform. The BlackBerry too had a better month at 22.2 percent growth while the only major platforms below them are Symbian (19 percent growth) and Java ME (15.6 percent).

In Desktop site also represented a major if symbolic victory for Chrome, which for the first time in the analysis has overtaken Safari for share on the web. The browser jumped exactly 0.7 points to 4.63 percent, or enough to pass Apple; even though it continued to grow, Safari grew only modestly versus November and topped out at 4.46 percent. Firefox saw a rare decline in use to 24.61 percent, while Internet Explorer continued its long descent and reached 62.69 percent.

While the rise of Chrome is explained through both the launch of Chrome for Mac in beta form as well as extensions becoming available for Windows, Android’s efforts are more complex. It was helped both by a wider overall shift to mobile as well as the launch of key phones like the Motorola Droid that have fueled Android market share with runaway sales.

Proof of the downturn for desktop browsing comes through desktop operating system share. Despite sustained availability of Windows 7, Microsoft’s combined OS share dropped to 92.21 percent while the Mac dropped a hundredth of a point to 92.11 percent. Linux was the only desktop platform to see a gain as it edged forward slightly to 1.02 percent. The iPod touch is broken out separately from iPhone share and claims 0.09 percent.

Web bowser share

source : NetApplication study

Tags: android, Apple, blackberry, chrome, computers, Droid, google, industry, iphone, Java, linux, mobile phones, motorola, symbian, windows 7

N97 : New Mobile evolution ….

People Say, Nokia`s big ambition is to transform the way people connect to internet and each other. And it seems that Nokia is moving towards their crazy ambition. They believe people will drive their computing activities from desktop to laptop and fastly going towards working from their slimmer mobile. Then Nokia start thinking about N97,as per said the world’s most advanced mobile computer. A very especially design for internet savvy consumers,the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5” touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, providing an ‘always open’ window to favorite social networking sites and Internet destinations.
Nokia’s flagship Nseries device introduces leading technology – including multiple sensors, memory, processing power and connection speeds – for people to create a personal Internet and share their ‘social location.’

Apart from great design for internet savvy, Nokia N97 seems to be very comfortable to proceed their second edition of touch screen UI and not only that, they enhance the UI with Symbian OS S60 v5, which features the 5800’s quick contacts bar and adds an assortment of customizable desktop widgets that can pipe in your Facebook info, RSS feeds and the like, much like those found on Nokia’s internet tablet OS.

Frankly speaking, I have been using Nokia E90 and I like very much the way Nokia playing around with their hardware and software application and only blackberry could compete their brilliant solution.

Tags: blackberry, Nokia, nokia E90, Nokia N800, Nokia N97

TG01 : Toshiba`s brave heart…

Dare to step forward ! that is the only idea I have. While other competitor struggling on the ” I will follow you” concept towards ” Iphone influanza” , TG01 is making a large step from other regular WinMo PocketPC to a heavily armored MID (Mobile Internet Device), Toshiba today launched the TG01 PocketPC. Packed with a 4.1″ WVGA screen and measuring only 9.9 mm, the Toshiba TG01 certainly sounds like an impressive device, if not revolutionary.

The Toshiba TG01 is the first device in the world to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform, which is powered by a 1GHz mobile CPU and hosts GSM, HSPDA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity all on one chipset. The CPU has dynamic speed control and Toshiba and Qualcomm claim it’ll go for a whole day without recharging.

The Toshiba TG01 also packs unprecedented size for its hardware capabilities - it’s only 9.9 millimeters thick. The device is obviously quite wide and tall but that’s mostly because of the display as there are hardly any hardware buttons to take up place - even the receiver keys have become part of the user interface present throughout the whole UI.

The connectivity section of the Toshiba TG01 includes HSPA and Wi-Fi plus a GPS receiver with A-GPS functionality. The internal storage is “only” 512 MB but you get a microSDHC card slot with support for up to 32GB.

The TG01 also comes with support for DivX video, and finally, the Toshiba TG01 makes use of a built-in 3.2 megapixel camera.

But, there still some disadvantegeous on this device :

1. no video recording. (why? 1st iphone, then htc g1, then palm pre and now tg01. do manufacturers think that video recording is no longer needed on smartphones?)
2. no 3.5mm jack (wud hv been nice cos this wud hv made a nice video and music player)
3. 65k effective colors (yes winmo doesnt support more bcos they say they need a faster processor. http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsm…462187.aspx. more color wud hv been much better cos it has a nice screen size and gud resolution - especially for watching videos)
4. pressure sensitive touchscreen (used on almost every winmo device. this was rly a bad choice by toshiba tho. pressure sensitive touchscreen need to hv a flexible layer of plastic which means u dont get a v durable screen. it is not as responsive as capacitive touchscreen (eg: iphone, g1, palm pre) or optical touchscreen (neonode). also pressure sensitive uses several layers which make the image quality of the screen worse.)

Tags: blackberry, iphone, Toshiba GT01, Windows Mobile 6.1

Blackberry Storm : New evolution to keep running with Iphone..

Since recently, a lot of mobile products are moving towards similar to Iphone (design and features). Nokia, Samsung, LG, O2 and the latest follower is Blackberry mobile phone maker has come into Iphone`s trap so far.

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Research in Motion has finally announced details about its long-rumored iPhone competitor, an almost-all-touch-interface 3G handset with a twist: The screen itself is a big hardware button.Here it is: the first ever BlackBerry with a touchscreen, long anticipated and rumored for the past few months - after all the blurry photos and patchy info. And this time, it looks like Apple really has competition.

The ability to mechanically click the entire screen (RIM calls the feature Click-Through technology) is the centerpiece of the BlackBerry Storm’s touch interface. As with the iPhone, you can scroll and select by dragging and tapping with your fingertip. But to initiate action, instead of double-tapping, you confirm a selection by physically depressing or clicking the screen.

Four hardware buttons at the bottom offer additional–and traditional–BlackBerry and phone navigation aids: Red and green phone buttons for accessing phone features and ending calls, a button with the BlackBerry icon for accessing menus, and a return button.
The Storm also supports both assisted and standard GPS (assisted GPS works with the cellular network to speed up location fixes) and Bluetooth. (However, unlike the iPhone, it does not support Wi-Fi.)

While the Storm dispenses with RIM’s signature QWERTY hardware keyboard in favor of a capacitive touch-screen interface, it’s clearly no iPhone clone. RIM’s device is both shorter (4.4 inches versus the iPhone’s 4.5 inches) and thicker (0.55 inch versus the iPhone’s 0.48 inches) than Apple’s; the touch screen is also somewhat smaller (the iPhone’s is 3.5 inches, while the Storm’s is 3.25 inches). Nevertheless, the display’s 360-by-480 resolution looks pretty sharp at that size.

Also making a good first impression is the 3.2-megapixel camera with autoflash, autofocus, 2X digital zoom, and video-capture support.

The Storm, in landscape and portrait modes; click for full-size image.The Storm has 1GB of internal storage, but it also has a MicroSD slot and will ship with an 8GB MicroSD card. Also present: a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and a second external mic (on the back, in addition to the one for voice on the front) that picks up ambient noise data for the built-in noise reduction technology, which in theory should improve voice call quality. The Storm, like the iPhone, has an accelerometer that adjusts the display’s orientation as you rotate the device.

But the Storm’s most interesting and potentially controversial innovation is RIM’s implementation of a touch interface, especially for typing. The Storm provides three different software keyboards: When you’re holding it in landscape orientation and you need to enter text, a standard QWERTY software keyboard appears; the keys flash blue when you depress them.

Only time and hands-on testing will tell whether the Click-Through technology will make text entry and navigation easier (for example, by helping to avoid inadvertent finger taps) or more confusing (the device has a number of tap-and-click shortcuts that take some getting used to).

Really can compete Iphone?

When it comes to web browsing, it seems quite similar to iPhone’s when the device is held in landscape position. An automatic tilt sensor is not mentioned but the video shows some sort of auto screen rotation feature.But the speed? I might love Iphone more on its mobile safari.

As BlackBerries are famous for their keypad, The speacial feature is a “click touchscreen” that brings “smooth, precise text input that feels like a keyboard.” And if this wasn’t enough, with Storm you will even get Visual Voice Mail, just like the iPhone does.However, a Blackberry without the signature keyboard/kekpad I love is not a real Blackberry, I think. I don’t know what is RIM`s planning on future mobile development but for sure they will lose their identity if they continue doing this, like others.

Tags: blackberry, blackberry storm 9500, iphone, LG, Nokia, O2, samsung