Final preparations

According to rumours in the technology industry, Apple is to launch their iPad 3 in early March. The new tablet is then expected to go on sale a week after.

Apple has apparently gone into ‘crunch mode’ and is making the final preparations for the launch next month.

Tech blogs circulate photos of new iPad

Apple has not revealed what the new iPad 3 will look like but there are various blogs that have posted photos that show the back of the tablet. The pictures suggest the next iPad is already in production in time for the launch.

The New York Times has stated that people who have been briefed on Apple’s plans have said the new iPad will be the same size and shape as the iPad 2 but will have a “truly amazing” screen.

Apps will be demonstrated at the launch

Apple is currently deciding which apps to demonstrate at the live launch and show off in new advertisements.

Whilst the rumours from various sources are the same there has been no official announcement by Apple so we will have to wait until March to see what new features the iPad 3 will have.

This is what I love about the technology industry, there are always so many rumours and the hype about a new product makes it all the more exciting. Bring on the iPad 3! … I’m due a new one!

Internet traffic set to get a huge boost

The Telegraph has reported that we should expect the number of web-connected devices to reach 50 billion by 2020.

Research carried out by networking company Cisco revealed that by 2015 there will be seven billion mobile devices globally and the higher use of video will result in internet traffic quadrupling by 2014.

At the moment there are 14 billion devices that are thought to be connected to the internet. Interestingly, machine-to-machine communication is expected to play a much greater role than mobile phones or laptops.

People will bring own devices to work

A spokesperson from Cisco stated that home networking speeds are to increase twenty-fold over the next ten years and people will start to bring their own devices like laptops and mobile phones to work.

It has raised the question that using your own devices in the work place will raise security challenges but it is believed users are more productive if they use their own devices.

Will companies use this approach?

The news story revealed some technology companies have already started to allow workers to use their own devices and it is expected to increase rapidly over the coming years.

Citrix have already started to give their employees a budget to purchase a laptop rather than giving them a company machine.

Technology is always improving and I think it is a great idea that companies are starting to give employees a budget for a laptop. That way the companies won’t get stuck with old laptops and people will be more productive if they have their own device. Can I see it happening? I certainly can.

Working on a Windows Phone product

The instant messaging and video calling application Skype is currently working on a Windows Phone product but the release date is still unknown.

Skype has recently been bought by Microsoft for a huge $8.5 billion and originally the application was due to be released by the end of the year. At a recent Consumer Electronic Show, vice-president of the Skype division at Microsoft Rick Osterloh announced it would be available “soon”.

Controversial decision

The move by Skype surprised many because even though the Windows Phone is owned by Microsoft, it is the only mobile operating system that doesn’t have a fully-fledged Skype client. Apple has already introduced video calling with its Facetime feature.

Mobile networks tend to make most of their money from voice calls and Skype converts voice calls into data traffic, which is less profitable.

Integrations with Xbox, Windows 8 and Facebook

Osterloh also revealed there will be integrations with Microsoft’s Xbox and Windows 8 to look forward to and Facebook contacts will be incorporated into the main Skype interface.

One of the key strategic focuses for Skype is to try and get users to pay for premium services rather than choosing the free options. The premium service includes users being able to take part in group video calling with up to ten people.

The Skype application for Windows Phone is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress next month and a more detailed integration is not expected to be complete until the operating system is updated later on this year.

Skype has revealed they now have over 200 million users. It is a huge growth for the company and their planned integrations are expected to be a huge success this year.

Jerry Yang, who co-founded search engine Yahoo! in 1995 with David Filo, has officially resigned from the Board of Directors and all other positions at the company.

The search engine’s new CEO Scott Thompson commented on the news, “Jerry leaves behind a legacy of innovation and customer focus for this iconic brand, having shaped our culture by fostering a spirit of innovation that began 17 years ago and continues to grow even stronger today.”

The future of Yahoo!

Yang has stated he has great confidence in the future of Yahoo! and his reason for leaving is to pursue other interests outside of the company.

Yahoo! has faced some struggles over the last ten years including losing its top search position to Google, rejecting a generous takeover by Microsoft and failing to develop a compelling social network.

A difficult path ahead

Yahoo! still has a difficult path to navigate as the company tries to extract more value from its most valuable assets and rebuild its core internet operations.

Its homepage still remains one of the most visited pages on the internet and if Thompson can find a strategy that revives the fortunes of a company that once dominated the internet, Yahoo! will have a bright future.

‘Name that tune’ app

The original mission for the Shazam app was to help users identify a song they didn’t know. The app simply listens to the tune and names the artist, the album and the song title for the user.

If you are in a restaurant or a club and you want to find out what song is playing you can simply use the app. You can also share the song identified on Facebook and Twitter or view the song’s music video on YouTube.

Shazam heading for big money

The free iPhone app has so far seen 175 million downloads and after such a huge success Shazam now wants to improve TV advertising.

The Shazam app can now identify TV commercials with sound and directs users to more information, special offers and giveaways. It was tested out at the American Super Bowl last year where an experimental giveaway for a Dockers advert resulted in 20,000 people using Shazam for more information about the giveaway.

Using Shazam on TV adverts gives a great opportunity to interact with consumers and the biggest drivers so far seem to be humour and giveaways.

350 percent increase in engagement

Campaigns using Shazam currently deliver a 350 percent increase in engagement over adverts with a call to action such as “Fan us on Facebook” or “Follow us on Twitter.”

No major advertiser has used Shazam in the UK yet apart from the music group Faithless who used the app to promote their new album.

Shazam has stated the technology is there ready to be used, so which company in the UK is going to take the first step and use the app for a TV advert? Whoever does, I think it will be a very wise move.

As 2011 comes to a close, I have had a look back at the new technology products we have seen this year. We have seen the launch of Google+ to rival Facebook, the iPad and Macbook Air, ebooks and the increasing popularity of Android.

Have a look below at my overview of each.

Google+

Google launched its social network site Google+ in June this year to rival Facebook. So far, Google has reported 40 million users but Google has not revealed how many of those accounts are active. Whilst Google has stated they are not competing with Facebook, many experts think that they are trying to steal Facebook’s users. 2012 will be an interesting year for Google and technology experts are keen to see if the new social project will be as successful as Facebook.

The iPad

Apple once again proved its critics wrong and showed how much demand there was for the iPad. Competitors began to realise that Apple’s creations were very hard to follow and many similar products released did not do as well. The only other successful competitor was Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, which according to Apple is a ‘slavish copy’ of the iPad. Experts in the industry have said it’s not a tablet market, it’s an iPad market.

Amazon Kindle

Amazon’s ebook has been another success and at the beginning of the year the company announced that ebooks were outselling paperbacks at its US store. In May 2011, Amazon revealed that Kindle ebooks were outselling hardbacks in the UK. Amazon has added other products to the Kindle range including two ereaders and a tablet computer called Kindle Fire. Other new products are expected to follow next year.

The Macbook Air

Once again, Apple impressed the technology world with its Macbook Air. Critics originally stated the super-thin, lightweight computer was a toy for the rich but they were proven wrong when the new product saw consumers rush to buy one. Other companies like Dell, Sony and Panasonic followed with lightweight computers. Thanks to Apple, the PC was turned into a real object of desire.

Google’s Android

Google’s Android operating system has dominated smartphones for a while but 2011 saw over half of the sales were Android. This market is expected to keep growing and so far 10 billion apps have been downloaded. More mobile phones and tablets are entering the market and 2012 will see the market expand even further.

#techgeek

2011 has been an exciting year in the technology industry and I have to say I am really looking forward to new products being unveiled in 2012. Let’s hope it is even better than this year!

Let it snow

This week Google has gone all festive on us. Type in the words ‘let it snow’ and see snowflakes fall down your computer screen.

Does it stop there? Of course not. Google wants to impress its users so the search engine has gone a step further.

To keep the wintery theme going the snow slowly frosts up the computer screen and a ‘defrost’ button appears. The user can either click on the button to clear the frost off the screen or use the mouse to write in the frost.

A poem from Google

A spokesperson from Google released a statement about the new ‘let it snow’ in the form of a poem.

“Through the fog, you have to peer
Because it’s the most wonderful time of the year
Your page turned into a winter wonderland
When you typed in that search command
You can always defrost the window
Or just let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

Google has other tricks

Google certainly likes to have fun. Here are some other tricks they have on their search engine:

• Type in ‘askew’ into the search engine. Tilt your head and enjoy!
• Type in ‘Hanukkah’ and see some non-Christmas holiday screen decoration for Jewish people.
• Type in ‘anagram’ and Google with think you meant to type ‘nag a gram’.

Some of Google’s tricks have now disappeared including if you type in the word ‘gravity’ all the copy on the page fall to the bottom of the computer screen. Another fun word to have typed in the search engine was ‘Chuck Norris’ and Google would state ‘You don’t find Chuck Norris, he finds you.”

Google certainly has fun and its introduction to new Google Doodles on its search page always ends up creating a buzz, whether it is trending on Twitter or simply getting attention from technology enthusiasts. One thing is certain, it adds a bit of fun to your day in the office.

Zeitgeist

It seems only a short while ago that we started the company, but in actual fact it was5 whole years ago! Since then we’ve worked with developers, design agencies and of course a whole variety of interesting clients. The range of jobs we’ve worked on is pretty amazing too.  We’ve built brochure websites, e-commerce shops, blogs, Facebook pages, email marketing tools and templates, and even social networks. We’ve also managed search engine optimisation (SEO) accounts and carried out research, link building and implementation. We’ve worked with clients big and small to consult them and guide them on the best way to develop technology and marketing strategies while avoiding pitfalls.

Digital Marketing Manchester

We are happy to be celebrating one whole year of trading as digital consultants from our fantastic Manchester address. We all love our office space in The Triangle and have really enjoyed working from such a vibrant and innovative environment. Outside the building we’ve met some fantastic agencies and freelancers who we’ve had the honour of working with.

Passionate about the internet

One thing that hasn’t changed that we are truly passionate about what can be achieve with technology, and are still constantly astounded about how barriers are broken down, people are connected and new innovations are made possible. Whether clients have a well established business plan or a brand new start up idea, we welcome them to come and speak to us about how their plan can be developed and deployed using the best parts of the internet at its core. There are no challenges too big or ideas too fanciful.

Plans for the future

We believe that the web is still in its infancy and there are things around the corner that we can’t even imagine yet. We work hard every day to find new ways of working and are constantly learning new methods to stay on the cutting edge of web technology.
Our focus for the future will be on more innovation, enhanced user experiences and a web where we are more social and connected than we’ve ever been before.

Photograph: Oliver Kersh

Business category award winner

We are pleased to announce that we won an award for one of our social network sites www.oldhambusinessnetwork.co.uk on Friday at the Pride in Oldham Award Ceremony 2011.

The ceremony took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall to celebrate outstanding achievements in eleven categories including the Business category, which we won!

The Oldham Evening Chronicle launched the awards ceremony in 2002 and the 33 finalists this year were chosen by independent judges and Chronicle readers.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Oscar-style ceremony and we would like to thank everyone involved in the event, they do a fantastic job!

We would like to congratulate all 33 finalists. We were truly humbled to be in the company of some truly inspiring people.

Oldham Business Network members – thank you

We wouldn’t have won the award if it wasn’t for our OBN members so we want to take the time to say thank you to all 620 of you.

I would also like to thank Phil Kelly and Tom Yates from Purple Giraffe for their help in setting the site up and believing in my idea. To all the OBN moderators, thank you for your support in helping us run the website.

I would also like to thank the Oldham Evening Chronicle and Oldham Council for their continuous support.

Oldham community has come together online

For a while now I have said the future of social networking lies in niche communities coming together online. OBN is a great example of this and the model can be replicated wherever there is a community of people with a common interest.

Apple plans to revolutionise your living room

Everyone loves to speculate what product Apple will bring out next, after all the company is at the top of its game. According to the Telegraph newspaper, there is something in the pipeline that will excite many.

Before Steve Jobs died he expressed how he wanted to move into people’s living rooms and hoped to revolutionise the television set.

In his autobiography he stated: “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine.”

iTV

Apple products have so far been in people’s pockets with the iPod and iPhone, sat on desks with the Mac and on people’s laps with the iPad.

The new iTV product is likely to come in a range of sizes and will be more expensive than an equivalent television set due to the comprehensive integration with other Apple services and the cloud.

According to news agency Bloomberg, an insider at Apple has revealed the company wants users to access television shows by integrating sources like satellite TV, online film rental services and iTunes downloads.

Steve Jobs has ‘cracked it’

The product, which will be out by next Christmas, will be a complete TV set rather than a plug-in box and one of the last things Steve Jobs talks about in his autobiography was that he “finally cracked it.” He wanted his company to reimagine the design and functionality of television and it looks like he has accomplished just that.