“Over the past 6 months we’ve been logging the new devices that download OpenSignalMaps, we’ve based this study on 681,900 of these devices.”
From OpenSignalMaps: With over 3,997 unique device types identified (many were custom ROMs or obscure devices), they found over 230 different screen resolutions. In that same time, there have been four different screen resolutions on iOS.
They provide some great visualizations of the fragmentation in the post.
“If Microsoft can successfully integrate Bing with data gold mines like Yelp, OpenTable, Facebook, and Twitter, it could have a real edge over Google, which has alienated companies likeTwitter and Yelp in the past.”
Microsoft is making impressive strides in design, experience, and integration. Instead of forcing users to use a whole new social network that they don’t want, Microsoft shows it understands that a search engine is about connecting to the silos that are part of your world; not replacing them.
Google’s approach with Search Plus Your World doesn’t seem to benefit users and I’ve gotten very little out of it (if ever). The only problem is that I find Bing’s search results to be subpar for the type of work that I do every day, but once this goes live I will make the switch back to see if I’m hooked. This looks like I might see some real gains.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/10/3010051/microsoft-new-bing-hands-on
“While we don’t yet know how useful Google’s AR glasses will be in reality, Thrun’s photo is a good example of the kinds of unique shots you can get with a hands-free camera.”
The thing that excites me most about Project Glass is how frictionless it could become in our lives if it is done right. Multitouch on the iPhone and motion on Kinect are great examples of technologies that redefined how humans interact with technology. Project Glass could easily be just as influential and made even more powerful with the combination of all those technologies.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/10/3011789/google-project-glass-engineer-hands-free-photo
“Microsoft’s Smoked by Windows Phone campaign … has been a smashing success for the company, generating over 100 million consumer impressions across a variety of media.
Other highlights of the Smoked by Windows Phone campaign: Over 50,000 smartphones tried to take on Windows Phones, and Microsoft’s platform won over 98 percent of the challenges. The campaign’s YouTube videos have generated over 8 million views on YouTube, and they also appear in two of YouTube’s Top 5 lists.”
If by success you mean page views, then yes. But I suspect the reason to do campaigns like this is to get people to buy a Windows Phone, but those numbers are conspicuously absent. Page views is a metric mostly used for content or media companies, whereas units sold is generally reserved for selling smartphones.
I think the challenge is actually a good idea, but a little bit of weak sauce to drive people to become a convert to your platform.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/09/smoked-by-windows-phone-success
The thinking was that Nokia’s Symbian users would switch to its Windows Phone powered models allowing Microsoft’s mobile OS to trail only Android world wide.
Many people (including Microsoft) assumed that a partnership with Nokia would propel Windows Phone to the top of the charts. I find this logic to be flawed because Symbian is nothing like Metro on WP7. In every way the new Nokia phones are substantially better than older Symbian models, but they are not substantially better than iOS or Android. If a buyer needs to relearn everything they know about using their phone by purchasing a new model, then all bets are off. You’re not “upgrading” a buyer, but instead put in the position to win their business again.
I find it worrisome that Nokia hasn’t released Lumia 900 sales numbers other than to say they are exceeding expectations.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Analysts-lower-expectations-on-Windows-Phone-sales_id29488
From Gruber at Daring Fireball:
Has any company in history had more of a love affair with feature checklists than Microsoft? These must appeal to some people, but the appeal of post-PC computing is ease-of-use and obviousness — a feature checklist can’t convey any sense of these things.
Microsoft tends to market to consumers just like they would their Enterprise customers. Most consumers won’t walk through a benefits checklist, but Microsoft still continues to do them for everything.
The worst part about this one is that I have no idea who the clear “winner” really is: it’s just confusing.
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/04/24/microsoft-checklist
“I’m not skeptical about the value of being able to set focus after the fact, I’m only skeptical about the value of letting the viewer set focus after the fact. Letting the photographer set focus after the fact is fantastic.”
Agreed. Photographs, in general, tell a story. The idea of bring able to refocus a photo after the fact is wonderful for me the photographer. It seems lazy on my part to subject viewers to endless clicking around photographs to try and see the narrative I intended.
http://www.cameracuriosities.com/2012/04/lytro-its-aliiiiiive.html
Flickr has always been a special place for me. A home to show off my photography and how I view the world. Some of my photos are bad, some of them are good, and a few of them I think are great. I’ve been a Flickr Pro user for years, gladly paying $25 year after year.
But this year I’ve become distant from Flickr, and noticed how sites like Facebook and Instagram have slowly eroded the benefits that Flickr provided. Well, I’m finally voting with my wallet, and I have let my Flickr Pro account expire. Part of me is sad, but I think it’s always sad to move on from your home of many years, no matter if the place you’re moving seems better.
So I’ve made the jump to 500px for my portfolio and will be uploading my “personal” shots to Facebook or Instagram exclusively. It just seems more fitting with my digital lifestyle.
500px targets “photographers” more than the snapshot crew. It prefers high quality shots instead of trying to be a place to simply share your shots. They seem to be at peace with the idea that the social media sites have won that war, and instead they’re focused on bubbling up great photos.
It’s more expensive than a Flickr Pro account, coming in at $50 a year, but I had a half off discount code. Here’s a quick rundown.
What I like:
What I don’t like:
In other words it’s a tradeoff, but I feel something new is what is needed. Yahoo seems to have let Flickr stagnate, and I’m confident that 500px will work quickly through those outstanding issues. As of now they have my attention.
Goodbye dear Flickr. You will be missed, but I’m ready for a new home.
Thank you.
