Category: News

(NaturalNews)There is a point at which a life becomes unsatisfying. Regardless of the reasons, a person begins to place too much emphasis on: what already exists; and what he believes. That may sound like a strange thing to say. There is nothing automatically wrong with…

(NaturalNews)Two recent studies have shown an association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism in children. The risk of having an autistic child was doubled by the use of antidepressants taken during pregnancy. A large Swedish study published…

There’s more than one way to advertise a product and while I am a big fan of the approach that specifically focuses on features, I understand there is a need for other approaches. Sometimes you just need to go for the pure emotional response. In the case of the ads released by Microsoft today which focus on the Asian market that seems to be what they were going for. Take a look.

I’ve been a critic in the past of Microsoft’s approach to advertising its various products. I’ve always felt they never did enough advertising and didn’t advertise at the right time (popular prime-time TV shows or big sports events) but that has changed. I’ve seen Surface, Bing, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Outlook.com commercials during primetime, during the NBA playoffs, and even at random times on random networks on cable TV. Microsoft has definitely increased the frequency of its advertising.

However, I still have one problem. I’d still like to see more focus specifically on features of these products that make them better than the competition. Take the Surface commercials, for example. I absolutely love the way they first introduced us to the product: remember the commercial with the dancing school girls? Loved it. And now they are running a slightly different twist on that with dancing business users to introduce the Surface Pro. Almost six months on the market and all we know about the Surface is that it clicks — and you can dance with it.

I think the general public is well aware that the Surface exists and if these commercials are primarily aimed to introduce us to it, then I believe they have so far succeeded. What we need now is not more dancers. What we need is to know why we should buy the Surface instead of an iPad. Tell us specifically in words why Surface is better.

The Amazon Example

This Amazon commercial may be one of my favorite iPad competitor commercials. In it, they focus on the displays between the two devices. They don’t say their display is better (because it isn’t from a technical perspective). Instead, they focus on the fact that the average person can’t tell the difference between retina and non-retina displays. Just as you’re about to say, “why would I buy a Kindle Fire?” they hit you with this:

See for yourself:

Why is the Fire better? Price alone is a major reason at $200 cheaper than an equivalent iPad. Amazon emphasizes the features that the general public can understand, screen and price.

Microsoft, It’s Time

Microsoft should step up and start advertising on features more. Windows Phone is doing this with the Smoked By commercials. They really should be running those around the clock in tandem with the new switcher ads. As they continue their transition into this new era of mobile [link to prev article], this becomes all the more important.

I heard a guy telling a story at work one day about how he used his Surface at a coffee shop and someone walked up to him and said, “Is that the tablet that clicks?” Incidents like this show that Microsoft is getting the word out. But people don’t quite know why the Surface is better. I had a conversation with a friend about Surface and why he should consider buying one, and his response was, “I already own a tablet to surf the Internet with”. When I told him why the Surface is not just a tablet, his perception completely changed.

This situation underscores the reality that people just aren’t aware what Surface actually is and how much more it is than just a tablet. If Microsoft can get this message out by focusing on features against competing devices like the iPad, people will continue to be confused. Even though Surface Pro is not even in the same computing category of an iPad, to the general user, it is.

Microsoft’s marketing is pretty good these days, but a slight change could result in a lot more sales of its mobile devices and really put it on the road towards dominating the next phase of mobile computing.

This week, the President made his fourth trip to Mexico, continued on to Costa Rica, spoke to the graduating class of 2013 at The Ohio State University, hosted the new President of South Korea, discussed hurricane preparedness, and kicked off a series of Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour in the Lone Star State.

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AT&T has announced the launch of their own no-contract mobile provider. The new subsidiary, Aio Wireless, is launching this week in three markets – Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, with a nationwide rollout planned over the course of the next year.

Aio Wireless will offer customers a variety of plans ranging in price from $40 to $70 per month, as well as a $15 per month tablet plan. The basic plan is available only for feature phones (i.e., not smartphones) and gets you unlimited talk, texting, and data. Of course, this is AT&T, so “unlimited” doesn’t actually mean unlimited when it comes to data. Under this plan your data connection is throttled after 250MB of use. The intermediate plan, dubbed Aio Smart (as in, smartphone) is much the same as the basic plan, except now your data connection gets throttled after 2GB of use. For $70 the Aio Pro plan will get you a whopping 7 GB of data usage per month before you get throttled. The $15 per month tablet plan gets you a paltry 250MB of data before you get throttled.

As with other no-contract providers, you are free to either bring your own phone to Aio Wireless, or purchase one of the models they have available. Their smartphone selection is decent but fairly iPhone heavy (they have at least two models of every iPhone since the iPhone 4), and light on high-powered Android devices. Of course, since there’s no monthly contract, you pay full price for any phone you buy through Aio.

There’s no information yet on which markets Aio will be reaching and when. Much will depend on how popular the service proves in Tampa, Orlando, and Houston. Given the recent popularity of no-contract mobile providers, though, it seems likely that Aio will be sticking around for awhile

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Apps

New Google Translate update allows users to take Phrasebook on the go and brings camera-to-translate function to 16 new languages

Flipboard updates app to enable user created magazines, interaction with desktop web version

Apex Launcher v2.0 available, new features for both free and pro versions, integrates Apex Notifier

ITV Player updated, now exclusive for Samsung users through August 31st

Carriers

AT&T launches a new bring-your-own-phone pre-paid service called AIO Wireless

Google

Portland tech startup Instrument teams up with Google to create Map Diving, a realistic skydiving simulator

Google TV

Google TV gets free access to Hulu, ABC, NBC, CBS, and more via PlayOn for a limited time

Phones

Amazon’s Alphabet Projects, including 3D smartphone screen, could be sign of major hardware push

Google abandons X Phone project according to analyst

Two UK retailers mysteriously pull the Nexus 4 from shelves one week before Google I/O

Samsung, LG and HTC rumored to have flagships in the works primed for Fall launch

New Samsung video provides walk-through of SideSync features, allows for connection between PC and a Galaxy phone

Tablets

ASUS releases “We Transform” teaser video in preparation for Computex 2013, more to come

Miscellaneous

Ouya gets $15 million in new funding and delays launch by 3 weeks

Recent Samsung patent filings reveal how flexible displays will work

BlueStacks jumps into gaming console market with GamePop device

Huawei CEO says company not linked to US cyber threats

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 9, 2013

Google I/O is always a place for innovation and next week’s event will be no different. Those lucky enough to attend will get treated to some of the greatest breakthroughs in technology at Google’s annual event, including a lifelike skydiving simulator based on Google Maps. Using data gathered over the years by Google’s Maps and Earth teams, Instrument has created an extremely advanced skydiving simulator game.

Unfortunately it appears that I/O is the only place Map Diving can be experienced for now, but Instruments has hinted at a possible slimmed down take-home version in the near future. Video demos after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: TheVerge

Come comment on this article: Portland tech startup Instrument teams up with Google to create Map Diving, a realistic skydiving simulator

AT&T just joined the likes of T-Mobile and Straight Talk by launching AIO Wireless, a new bring-your-own-pre-paid phone service. Customers can purchase any compatible GSM phone and AIO Wireless will provide a SIM card upon purchase of one of their three plans. AIO offers two options for smartphone users priced at $40 and $70 and a tablet plan for $15. All plans include unlimited data, throttled slightly around 4 megabits. The $40 plan data is throttled even more after 250 MB, while the $70 plan allows a comfortable 7 GB before slowing down the connection. For just $10 more customers can purchase an extra 1 GB of high speed data.

AIO also provides a few phones for purchase directly from their website including the Samsung Galaxy Express for $250, the Samsung Galaxy Amp for $100 and the ZTE Prelude for $50. While nothing special, these are excellent prices for decent smartphones.

Don’t rush to sign up just yet as AIO is currently still running trials in Houston, Tampa and Atlanta, though you can expect to see it expand to other markets in the coming months. For now, hit the source to check out AIO’s website and check back for more news on the service as we get it.

Source: AIO Wireless

Come comment on this article: AT&T launches a new bring-your-own-phone pre-paid service called AIO Wireless

When Mars One announced that they were opening up applications for permanent residency in their proposed permanent colony, they expected to generate some interest. After all, they’re shooting for a half million applicants. What they did not expect, according to Mars One co-founder and CEO Bas Lansdorp, was a rush of over 78,000 applications in just two weeks.

Lansdorp told Business Insider that his organization had expected “a slow start,” that would eventually build toward their 500,000 applicant goal by the August 31st deadline. Instead they got nearly a sixth of their goal in a fraction of the expected time. According to Lansdorp, many applicants say that they have been following the project since before the application process began.

According to information released by Mars One on Tuesday, applicants come from more than 120 countries, and have a variety of backgrounds. The countries contributing the most applicants are, as you might expect, the United States with 17,324, China with 10,241, and the United Kingdom with 3,581.

The application deadline is August 31st. Once applications are closed, Mars One will begin the process of selecting the best candidates. While you might think that scientists and engineers would be the most desirable, Lansdorp says that the program isn’t that picky about applicants’ backgrounds. According to Dr. Norbert Kraft, the program’s chief medical officer, the key qualities they look for in applicants are commitment, creativity, and resiliency.

The selection process will consist of four rounds and will seek to identify the 28-40 most qualified candidates. Those candidates will then undergo seven years of training before the final team will be chosen to go to Mars.

The initial Mars One expedition will be a four-person mission designed to establish a foothold on Mars. This team will begin laying the groundwork for a full permanent settlement on Mars.

Many of the Mars One applicants have submitted videos discussing their qualifications and their motivations for applying. You can check out some of the videos and even apply yourself (if leaving the planet forever is your thing) at applicants.mars-one.com.