Australians Addicted to Mobile Devices

Blogger and ABC contributor Peter Ryan has a superneat post on a new report confirming what most of us  already knew: Australians are addicted to their smartphones. The survey of smartphone users by tech behemoth Cisco reveals that the daily ritual for Gen Y Aussies kicks off with a quick txt.

Many of the survey participants admitted that they checked for messages, emails and updates at least twice an hour, many becoming anxious when their phone goes astray.

Kevin Bloch isn’t alone, our favourite news agency – Reuters – has an ubercool post on our latest addiction, Social Media.

Social media is now apparently a recognised addiction, a study undertaken last year by the University of Chicago found that Liking and Tweeting can be even more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol. The research showed that social networking sites gave users a burst of the addictive neurotransmitter dopamine. Check the Reuters Video :: Read the full article »»»»

Google Maps Back on iPhone as Apple Makes an iMess of iMaps

Google has released a new Maps app for iPhone,the release neatly coincides with Apples inability to get it’s glitch-ridden program right. iPhone users have panned consistently panned iMaps for omitting key landmarks, cities, as well as failing to correctly to give directions.

Google has a serious push for iPhone users underway, promising an entirely new experience with its Google Maps App, including it’s standard – and working – local search functions, voice-guided directions and Street View images of places, as well as the interiors of some 100,000 retail outlets and businesses.

Earlier this year, to much fan-fair, Apple unceremoniously gave Google Maps the boot – which had been the default program for iPhones since the devices inception – when it developed its own mapping application. However, the new Apple developed program immediately drew scorn from iPhone users.

iPhanatics groaned and moaned that Apple’s service – based on Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker TomTom’s data – contained errors and lacked features that made Google Maps popular.

In October, Scott Forstall, a long-time lieutenant of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was asked to leave the company partly because of his refusal to take responsibility for the mishandling of the mapping software :: Read the full article »»»»

EXODesk: The Flat Out Übertouch Surface

Viewsonic and EXOPC have joined forces to drag the PC into the world of touch and gestures. No longer is it the territory of tablets and smartphones alone. The EXOdesk PC represents a new generation of touch screen hardware that is invading our desktops and coffee tables. This week Viewsonic and EXOdesk announced the production of a 32″ EXOdesk that should be available early 2012 for $1,299 USD. The new model will be on display for all to see in the Viewsonic booth at the up-coming CES – Consumer Electronics Show -, January 2012 Las Vegas. Laid out flat the EXOdesk becomes an Über touch screen surface computer or even an interactive coffee table. Upright the EXO is an Über white board and interactive display. Anyway you look at it the EXOdesk is signalling a new way to work with our machines. Microsoft’s Surface is being priced out of the reach of everyday noids – $8,400 USD – but thankfully it is no longer the only touch screen Surface in town, there is a new kid on the block, the EXODesk. The computing surface for everyone.

Motorola Wins Apple Wireless Patent Fight in Germany

A German court has found Apple in violation of a Motorola Mobility patent, ruling that Apple’s iPhone and 3G model iPads infringe on cellular communications, patents owned by Motorola Mobility that relate to General Packet Radio Service – GPRS – data packet transfer technology. The patent-in-suit is European Patent 1010336 [B1] on a “method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system”. This patent is one of the two patents at issue in the action in which a default judgment was entered against Apple Inc. It was declared essential to the GPRS standard. It’s the European equivalent of U.S. Patent No. 6,359,898, a patent against which Apple raised a FRAND defense in the United States and which is being asserted in an action that was just transferred from the Western District of Wisconsin to the Northern District of Illinois. Motorola said the ruling validated its “efforts to enforce its patents against Apple’s infringement”

Google Chrome Sidles Up Behind Internet Explorer as the Second Most Popular Web Browser

Much chatter has been spewing from the interweb on Googles Chrome browser taking up second place in the three way battle for browser supremecy. Headlines like “Google’s Chrome browser surging past Firefox” aWill Google Chrome kill Firefox? ” A slow news week perhaps? The build up has been the usual steady and well thought out Google conquest, when Google Chrome launched in 2008, net experts espoused that Mozilla/Firefox had the most to lose from Chromes release. Right about now: the behemoth that is Microsoft must be looking in the rear view wondering just how long before it loses it’s long held grip on browser superiority? This week Google Chrome has finally slotted itself into second place in the browser wars. According to web analytics company StatCounter Chrome now has 25.69 percent of the market while Firefox has 25.23 percent, hardly a surge, but nice work if you can get it!. Both browsers are trailing Microsofts stallwart browser Internet Explorer, IE still owns 40.63 percent of the market.

ASUS Transformer Prime: Übertablet, Portable Gaming and Multimedia Powerhouse or Business Suite!

The ASUS Transformer Prime has already had to endure such superlatives as blazingly fast, super slim, functionally brilliant and sexy as hell, it would blush if only it weren’t true. Don’t be fooled by the name though ‘The Transformer Prime‘ is no child’s toy, it is in fact the must have tablet for Christmas, ASUS certainly hopes it will be anyway. Earlier this month ASUS and NVIDIA officially announced the Prime and it’s specifications. At the same time NVIDIA introduced to the world it’s brand new QUAD core chipset, Tegra 3. Only a few days after the announcement videos appeared of Google’s latest operating system – Android 4 Ice-Cream Sandwich - running happily on the Prime. Thankfully the wait for Prime won’t be long, GameStop yesterday let the cat out of the bag by listing the Prime for pre-order with the product release date of December 9. Get ready world, the Transformer Prime is about to take over Christmas. READ MORE