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pogueman · 8 years ago

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The $50 Google Home Mini vs. the $50 Amazon Echo Dot—who wins?

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Ever since Amazon (AMZN) created the Amazon Echo, the “Siri for the home” voice assistant, every company and its brother has rushed to come up with one almost exactly like it.

Take, for example, the Amazon Echo Dot. Like the full-size Echo, it responds to your commands and questions from across the room—but it’s a tiny, sawed-off one that costs $50. The only difference is that because you don’t have the big cylinder, the sound quality is tinny. It makes a fantastic second Echo—say, for the upstairs.

Well, now here’s Google (GOOG, GOOGL) with its own version of the Dot, called the Google Home Mini. Also puck-shaped, also $50. (Google will also be releasing the Google Home Max, a beefier version with better sound.)

The new Google Home Mini (right) has clearly been inspired by the Amazon Echo Dot (left).

The Dot and the Mini are 90% identical. They both work great. Each has a Microphone Off switch, so you can be sure that it’s not listening for its trigger word. Both can now distinguish who is making the request, so that it can respond to commands like “Play my party playlist” and “What’s next on my calendar?” with the right person’s music or info. Both now let you make free speakerphone calls to actual phone numbers (although the Google’s call quality is awful).

There are, however, a few differences to note.

In this corner: The Google Home Mini.

The sound is much better. Neither assistant pod will be mistaken for a concert hall. But there’s no question that Google’s built-in speaker is richer than Amazon’s.

It talks to Chromecasts and Android TVs. If you spring $35 for a Chromecast (a little receiver stick that plugs into a modern TV’s USB jack), or if you have a TV that runs Android TV, you can perform a nifty trick. You can say, “Ok Google, show me a video about how to remove contact lenses” or “Show me funny cat videos” or “Show me the trailer for the new Avengers movie,” and it appears on your TV instantly. As you can see in the video above, it’s quite magical.

It will someday have a tap-to-talk feature. The top of the Mini is supposed to be touch sensitive. As designed, you could tap it to issue a command (instead of saying “OK Google”), or tap it to pause music. But just as the Home Mini was shipping, a reviewer discovered a bug in which that button thought that it was being pressed all the time, transmitting everything anyone said in the room to Google’s servers. So Google responded by shutting off that top button’s features altogether.

Google will presumably restore the tap-the-top feature once they get their act together.

And now, in this corner: The Amazon Echo Dot.

Works with more home-automation products, like internet-controlled thermostats, lights, security cameras, and so on. It’s a huge list. Google’s improving on this front, but Amazon’s had a several-year head start.

It has an audio output jack. Lots of people love plugging in their nice speakers or sound systems to an Echo Dot, thanks to the standard miniplug on the side (the Google offers nothing similar). That makes it easy to control your music by voice—one of the most luxurious features ever.

The volume controls are much better. The Echo Dot has a smoothly turning volume ring on the top. On the Google Mini, you have to repeatedly tap one side to raise the volume, the opposite edge to lower it. There are only 4 LED light segments to tell you what the current volume level is (rather than the far more informative, full 360-degree light-up ring on the Echo). And it’s never clear which side you’re supposed to tap, since there’s no label.

It’s much easier and more reliable to adjust the Echo Dot’s volume (left) by turning its ring instead of tapping the sides.

You can see feedback across the room. The Dot’s LED ring glows in different colors and patterns to communicate different things—for example, it glows when it’s transmitting sound back to Amazon. You can see it from the side, and therefore from across the room. The Google’s four LEDs are visible only when you’re looking down on the device, which isn’t nearly as useful.

You can order stuff. Of course, this is exactly what Amazon hopes you’ll do, but it’s still cool. “Alexa—order more paper towels.”

If you’re a Google Play subscriber, maybe the convenience of speaking your desires for music tips the balance for you toward the Google Home Mini. (The argument about “Buy a Google Home if you keep your calendar in Google Calendar” doesn’t really hold water, since the Echo can consult or add events to the calendar systems of Google or Apple (AAPL) or Microsoft (MSFT).

Otherwise, though, the Echo Dot is still the better micro-assistant. (Especially when it’s on sale for $40—for example, on the typical Black Friday, which is in a couple of weeks.)

There will be a lot of people unwrapping these little guys this holiday season.

Both of these devices are delicious enhancements to almost anyone’s home. Over time, you’ll find more and more ways that they’re useful—and for only 50 bucks!

Top Stories of 2017

Workplace culture finally get its due importance

2017 was the year when workplace culture, got the due attention. It started with Susan Fowler’s blogpost detailing workplace harassment at Uber. But ultimately resulted in a much bigger discussion about Silicon Valley treated its employees and was backed by many more people coming forward about the severity of the problem in the valley. We also saw positive results of the widespread attention that this story gained. Employees were fired, VCs began doing the due dilligence on harassment and we actually saw funding being withheld from a popular online trivia game because of the workplace culture. This is in many ways the most profound story of 2017.

iPhone X begins era of proactive authentication

Perhaps the most exciting part of the iPhone X, is it’s camera sensor tray (popularly called the notch). While the entire phone feels like a rethinking of the iPhone. FaceID is more interesting than it seems. Current authentication systems (even the image recognition features on other phones) have felt like reactive authentication systems where you need to perform a certain step to authenticate yourself. It’s what I like to call a “Hey, it’s me!” Authentication system, where a user is supposed to do something to tell the phone that it’s him. With iPhone X’s FaceID, this system moves to a more proactive authentication system, where the phone performs a check automatically, more like the phone saying “Hey! It’s you!” to unlock certain functionality of the phone.

Such functionality, makes using the phone more efficient, and to the owner of the phone blurs the lines between locked and unlocked states and eases more of the pain points of an authentication system. While this isn’t perfectly proactive yet, for example, iOS still requires the user to press a physical button while authenticating purchases, it’s bound to improve in speed and performance over time, and is what excites me most about the iPhone X.

Back to Pro for Apple’s lineup

This year saw Apple moving back to more professional grade computers for their product lineups. Earlier this year, Apple announced that they’re in the process of making a new Mac Pro. A rethink of the cylendrical pro that many professional users were hoping to see an update for. Apple also released an iMac Pro, that had the casing of an all in one computer with the feisty internals of a professional grade machine. While the Mac Pro would offer more flexibility, it’s not hard to overlook the fact that a lot of professional applications would find the iMac Pro to be a valid pro-machine. Apple’s renewed focus towards professional macs encourages it’s loyal but off-late angsty professional user base which’d have otherwise switched to PC in search for more lucrative machines that could actually run their heavy duty applications.

Apple’s focus towards professional computers wasn’t just restricted towards macs though. They also released two new iPad Pro devices, for the professional iOS users. These devices boasted of new technology (including Promotion displays that offer a really high-end touch screen experience, and faster chipsets) and were supported by a new completely revamped iOS for the iPad, making the iPad suitable for doing professional work like audio editing, writing and publishing, graphic designing, and photo editing. With apps like Affinity Photo, Scrivener, Ferrite, Linea and Procreate helping the iPad users to build their workflows around the touch-device.

Rise of the the Amazon Echo-System

Starting with CES where Amazon’s Alexa based speakers and devices were present everywhere, Amazon’s Alexa announced a proud dominance in the category of the smart home assistants. The year saw Amazon pushing its echo efforts even further, by launching more echo devices (including one that featured a screen to provide visual feedback) and expanding in more countries. With an expanded product range that starts at a dirt cheap price point, Amazon’s Alexa attracted a lot of skill makers, that strengthened the platform further and created a pretty booming eco-system of skills (similar to apps on your phone) that had Audio interfaces.

Almost as a testament to Amazon’s year of dominance, the company possibly enjoyed a very healthy holiday quarter with Amazon’s Alexa assistant app being one of the most searched and trending apps on the App Store. 2017 is the year when Amazon’s echo reached new heights compelling the competition to catch up to them.

Apple’s QA practices questioned

While Apple probably had a great year financially and in terms of the new devices it sold. 2017 was the year when Apple’s Quality Assurance was questioned, scrutinised and its lapses exposed to the world at large. It began in July with the accidental firmware upload of the HomePod which revealed quite a lot of details of their upcoming iPhone, a first of sorts, and just a few weeks later in a more deliberate attempt to sabotage the company’s surprise, someone released the links to the gold master software for iOS11. These slips and mistakes raise questions as to how Apple handles the security of their beta software and as to how such a situation occurred in the first place. The fact that Apple hadn’t put checks in place prior to the leaks was telling.

But that wasn’t all. Soon after iOS 11 released users witnessed another quality assurance hiccup from the tech giant, where their new calculator app failed to display correct results when the buttons were tapped quickly. But the larger issues came to light a few weeks later when first Apple had to patch a terrible root access bug that granted administrative access to anyone without the need of a password, and then followed by a date bug that crashed the springboard for some iOS users when notifications appeared on a certain date.

These quality issues affect Apple more than any other company. For a brand that’s built on quality, and has a user base that trusts Apple to do the right thing and offer a quality experience, these hiccups give the company’s reputation a severe dent.

Windows XP users “WannaCry”

Who uses Windows XP anymore? Turns out, a lot of people. Especially, in critical enterprise industries. In an industry such as that, it’d be a shame it the computers were held hostage as it’d disrupt many services. The problem was is increased if the users aren’t too tech savvy either. This is exactly what happened to users affected by the WannaCry ransomeware. The WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm encrypted the user’s data and demanded ransom payments in Bitcoin.

The ransomware affected primarily those computers which had not been updated for a while and ran unsupported versions of Windows. The impact was widespread, affecting various Hospitals and medical equipment, the ransomware also affected car manufacturers which were still relaying on older systems for condition monitoring and CAD simulations. Various banks and government offices were also affected.

Possibly the most significant malware attack of recent times, it was also a lessson for most organisations to keep updating their systems and not ignore critical security updates.

The Uber Fiasco

What began as an ambitious year for Uber with their self driving fleet of cars beginning to start on-road testing, quickly turned into a nightmare that began with Susan Fowler’s allegations on a petty and toxic work culture, followed by lawsuits that claimed that a Uber exec stole trade secrets from Waymo (Alphabet’s self driving car firm) and then followed by further allegations over a botched up lawsuit in India. But that’s not it, Uber’s unethical practices to get data on customers and drivers were also exposed. With the entire scenario turning into an uncontrollable mess, founder and CEO Travis Kelanick was fired. And Dara Kusroshahi appointed.

But Uber’s troubles didn’t seem to end there. In fact, even as late as November, it was discovered that Uber faced a massive security breach earlier in 2016, and they tried to cover it up by making deals with the ransomers. Uber admitted its fault in that case. But it’s also indicative of the fact that Uber’s 2017 fiasco may just be the tip of a larger ice berg.

Switch’s Hit

Nintendo’s latest console Nintendo Switch launched amidst a lot of excitement, the company has been reeling for a while now and desperately needed a lifeline to save them. Nintendo’s Switch did just that, bringing the company out of a slump and proving that Nintendo was still capable of making really good casual gaming hardware, even in the age of devices like the iPad.

With a mix of fun new games and old classics, bundled with modern hardware technology (including some really cool haptics), the Nintendo Switch is definitely an exciting package, and something that compels me a complete non-gamer to just try out the device, which everyone’s talking about. Switch’s success is a welcome sign of relief for Nintendo and da breath of fresh fair in the gadget space that’s becoming increasingly crowded by monotonous ‘smart’ appliances.

Return of “Nokia”

An aquisiton of Withings earlier this year, made Nokia (now a company owned by HMD Global of Finland) an instant big player in the digital health and fitness space with multiple smart health and fitness devices coming under the banner of the Nokia brand.

Closely following on the heals of the smart acquisition, HMD the parent company for Nokia, introduced their slew of Android smartphones into the market and reignited the Nokia brand. And what’s more, the devices themselves weren’t just cheap Android phones (as most of the phones in that price range are) but they were actually, well designed robust smartphones, that showed that great care was put into the making the hardware for those phones. HMD’s Nokia reboot stayed true to the brand’s name.

It’ll be interesting to see Nokia’s progress in the next few years.

Neutral Internet receives severe blows

Earlier this month, the FCC, now headed by Ajit Pai, decided to repeal several limitations put in place by the previous administration to provide telecom and internet service providers with more freedom on how to shape their internet offering. One of the most significant changes was the allowing of Fast and Slow Lanes for internet access, and the allowance for offering only a limited selection of websites to the users. Bascially, blowing away all the restrictions that ensured a free and open internet for everyone.

By repealing net neutrality laws, Pai’s not only given control to ISPs and Telecom to provide internet services with greater freedom, but armed these giants with weapons that’d allow them to prevent the rise and profileration of upcoming internet services that may harm their own competition. For example, Time Warner would be more inclined to give more bandwidth and faster access to something like HBO Go instead of say, Netflix Or any other streaming service.

One can only hope that the such ammendments are carefully scrutinised and possibly overruled as they hardly benefit users in the long run.

#topstories #year in review

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gustavowilh · 8 years ago

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5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

Here at Bizness Apps we’ve been stoked about Progressive Web Apps leading the way for the future of mobile. Our team has been experimenting with PWAs over the past months to see what these babies can do. And they can do A LOT!

Progressive Web Apps are an even better mobile marketing tool for small businesses than native apps, as they can be shared and used in seconds. Shareability has recently become a core marketing strategy for businesses big and small. While shareability is often connected to content, the same principles stand for marketing your mobile app. When creating content, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to access and share. The more shareable, the bigger the impact for your business. Along those lines, making an app more shareable is a solid basis for your mobile marketing strategy.

How? Let’s start by comparing the shareability of native apps vs. progressive web apps. While a native app can be shared with link or by name, a user needs to open the app store, find the right app, and wait for it to download, before being able to use it. With every step of the native app download process, 20% of users are lost. Consumers find it tedious to jump through all these hoops, drastically reducing a native app’s ability to be effectively shared by the business or its customers. Instead of going through 5+ steps, the PWA launches straight from a link – with no wait time! Think of all the new marketing possibilities…

1. Launch from a URL

The most straightforward way to launch a PWA is from a URL. A user can simply type or paste the URL into the browser search bar, ending up straight in the app. But you can get a lot more creative with it; read on.

2. Launch from QR code

Users can simply scan a QR code that brings them straight into the app’s home screen or a specific app feature. With the new iOS11, it’s even easier for iPhone users to scan QR codes. All they need to do is open their camera, point at the QR code and voilà! (Note: Android users have been able to do this for a while now.)

How to use this for your business:

Attach the QR code to the receipt, so that customers can launch the app and collect their loyalty points after purchase.

Include the QR code in your direct mailers, so that customers can place an order directly after receiving the flyers.

Display the QR code on advertising posters, banners and flyers, so users can check out the app instantly.

Print the QR code onto your menu or catalogue, so consumers can jump straight into the ordering feature.

3. Launch from Google search

The Google search bar will be the new app store search bar with Progressive Web Apps. In other words, consumers can find your app simply by finding your business in the Google search results. In fact, 60% of searches are now from mobile devices. So you will not only be making it easier for users to find you on mobile, you will make it easier from them to become paying customers. Tip: Make sure that your Google My Business account is set up and completed, so both your business and app are discoverable and rankable.

4. Launch from text message

Launching the app from a text message can be valuable in two cases: business to customer and customer to customer. First, if you have curated a contact list that includes phone numbers, you can use text messages to send your new app directly to your customers. They will be able to launch it directly from the message and use it within seconds. Second, your customers can easily share the app with their friends and family, allowing them to market the app for you.

5. Launch from third-party profile

You can include the PWA link in any third-party profile that can help to improve the user’s overall experience. For example, you can link out to your app in your Yelp profile under “Menu” or “Website” or you can even include it in the “Order Now” context. This is possible for any third-party online profile, including Facebook, Twitter, Tripadvisor, Instagram.

These are only a few examples of how you can share and spread your business’ app with potential customers. You can get creative with this and test different scenarios to find out which ones are most effective in capturing your customers. Progressive Web Apps are extremely linkable and shareable, allowing businesses to make the most out of their mobile solution as a marketing tool.

The post 5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy appeared first on Bizness Apps.

from Blogger http://gustavowilh.blogspot.com/2017/10/5-ways-pwas-can-improve-your-mobile.html via IFTTT

#Mobille App Development #Android App #Cellphone App #Cellphone Application Development

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michaelmikkelson · 8 years ago

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5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

1. Launch from a URL

2. Launch from QR code

How to use this for your business:

Attach the QR code to the receipt, so that customers can launch the app and collect their loyalty points after purchase.

Include the QR code in your direct mailers, so that customers can place an order directly after receiving the flyers.

Display the QR code on advertising posters, banners and flyers, so users can check out the app instantly.

Print the QR code onto your menu or catalogue, so consumers can jump straight into the ordering feature.

3. Launch from Google search

4. Launch from text message

5. Launch from third-party profile

The post 5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy appeared first on Bizness Apps.

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thecreatorsunited · 8 years ago

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5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy - The Creators United

Brought to you by TheCreators.com & CreateAppsQuick.com Own a business? Starting a business? Visit CreateAppsQuick.com for a FREE demo of a mobile app & marketing solution.

1. Launch from a URL

2. Launch from QR code

How to use this for your business:

Attach the QR code to the receipt, so that customers can launch the app and collect their loyalty points after purchase.

Include the QR code in your direct mailers, so that customers can place an order directly after receiving the flyers.

Display the QR code on advertising posters, banners and flyers, so users can check out the app instantly.

Print the QR code into your menu or catalogue, so consumers can jump straight into the ordering feature.

3. Launch from Google search

4. Launch from text message

5. Launch from third-party profile

The post 5 Ways PWAs Can Improve Your Mobile Marketing Strategy appeared first on Bizness Apps.

Brought to you by TheCreators.com & CreateAppsQuick.com Own a business? Starting a business? Visit CreateAppsQuick.com for a FREE demo of a mobile app & marketing solution.

#design #art #mobile #marketing #ad agency #progressive #visual #startup #entrepreneur #growth hacks

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wikimonks · 8 years ago

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How To Get iOS 11 Before Its Release Which Is On 19 September

Get iOS 11 Before its Release iOS 11 is the latest mobile Operating System from Apple available in public beta. Hence iOS 11 can be downloaded by anyone with their iPhone, iPod, iPad right now before its official release on 19th September. The company has used this software in iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. The iOS 11 comes with a number of features and improvements to Apple’s devices.…

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#Apple iOS #Apple Operating system #Apple&039;s latest Software #download iOS 11 #iOS 11 #iOS 11 Public Beta #latest Operating system from Apple #upcoming iOS #upcoming Software

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terrierbyteit · 8 years ago

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iPhone 8 and iOS 11 are huge problems for Android Back in 2015 A friend of mine was getting bored with his iPhone, so I spent hours showing him all of the other great options out there. We also dove into all the cool features Android offered, and all the possibilities for customization. He ended up choosing an HTC flagship phone and he loved it… for about a day. After two days, he was annoyed. After three days, he ditched the HTC phone and switched back to his iPhone. Why? His explanation couldn’t have been more succinct: “I can’t live life as a green bubble.” While there really aren’t any missing features in iOS that the typical user would have to switch to Android to get, there are features found in Apple devices that can’t be had anywhere else. With iOS 11, users will be even more locked into Apple’s ecosystem than they already are. Going back to my friend’s example, even back in 2014 he couldn’t bear to be without iMessage. At that point, it didn’t even have any unique features. Today, iMessage is packed full of stickers and special effects that people can only see if they too are using iMessage. And in iOS 11, Apple’s Messages app gets a nice redesign that makes these features even more prominent. Apple’s new iOS 11 software will get other exclusive features that will make the Apple ecosystem even more difficult to leave. One example is Apple Pay, which gets a new peer-to-peer payment mechanism in iOS 11. Why use PayPal or Venmo when you can send your friends money using Apple Pay right from within the messaging app you’re already using to chat? Jump ship to Android, and that’s no longer an option. And what about Apple’s impressive new augmented reality features? Rumors suggest there will be some pretty impressive social features tied to AR in iOS 11, as well as face scanning in the iPhone 8. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to locking users into iOS. This will continue to be a big focus for Apple and as long as it is, it will be more and more difficult to leave iOS for Android. #TerrierByteIT #Wifeidge #iOS11 . #iphone8 #iphone #apple #ios #2017 #tech #technology #style #smartphone #phone #mobile #follow #new #followme #droid

#mobile #droid #ios #phone #terrierbyteit #smartphone #apple #follow #iphone #iphone8 #tech #style #new #2017 #technology #followme #wifeidge #ios11

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