Category Archives: Cellphone

Will paywalls save the newspaper business

Faced with sharply declining advertising revenue for both print and online newspapers, papers are trying to entice free readers to pay up for the news. It works partially: old people will pay anything to keep their news habit but young readers have already left the barn.

Guardian digital Will paywalls save the newspaper business photo

Charlottetown Guardian erects paywall for digital readers – will it be enough (Guardian photo)

From Rupert Murdoch to the 25 local newspapers in the Quebec based Transcontinental chain, newspapers are struggling to survive the double whammy of the digital world and young readers who don’t give a flying fig about reading a paper.

Paywalls, charging for online access, is a temporary fix for the huge decline in newspaper subscription and advertising revenue.

The long-term survival of newspapers is in doubt.  Continue reading →

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Windows 8 hits 60 million

Microsoft exec Tami Reller tells investors Windows 8 passed 60 million licenses

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Tami Reller (CFO) and Steve Ballmer (CEO) Microsoft (photo @Photo Creative Commons License)

Microsoft Corp sold 60 million licenses and upgrades for Windows 8 operating system in the ten weeks since its launch, Tami Reller Microsoft CFO said at the CES 2013 Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday.

“Windows 8 sales are growing in line with those of Windows 7, Microsoft’s last operating system, launched in 2009,” said Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows division, in a presentation to analysts and investors at the J.P. Morgan Tech Forum in Las Vegas.  Continue reading →

Post Smartphone ERA says CES exec

Smartphones used less as phones and more as personal computers

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Smartphones as information hub – Samsung ATIV S (photo S. Pate/NJN)

Mid-sized devices like 5″ and 7″ tablets are replacing the small format smartphone as the lines between device categories blurs.

Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association, told reporters that making phone calls on smartphones is not their main purpose.

My wife and children could have told him that. They text, message, Tweet, Pin and Facebook but they don’t take calls on their iPhones, Android and Blackberry phones.

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Companies like Microsoft with Windows 8 are also trying to blur the border between smartphones and computers so users become device independent.  Continue reading →

Mark Cuban punts iPhone for Nokia Windows Phone

Billionaire owner of Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban likes Samsung Android and Nokia Windows phones over Apple

Mark Cuban 300x197 Mark Cuban punts iPhone for Nokia Windows Phone photo

Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner

In his Reddit AMA (ask me anything) Mark Cuban said he dropped the Apple iPhone for a Nokia Windows Phone.

“the windows phone kick the Iphone’s ass. Its not even close.”

He does not name the Lumia 920 but why would a billionaire buy anything but the best Nokia phone?  Continue reading →

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Cupcake sisters switch to Windows Phone

Popular DC Cupcake girls and TV personalities promote Windows Phone creativity and personalization

Cupcake girls 300x179 Cupcake sisters switch to Windows Phone photo

Sophie and Katherine, the Cupcake Girls using Windows Phone

Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne of Washington DC are popular reality TV stars and they switched to Microsoft Phone 8.

For the busy cupcake bakers, the Windows phone allows them to stay connected and respond to creative inspiration. Continue reading →

Microsoft offer Google users triple time on free trial

Google announced the end of Exchange sync and Microsoft courts Google customers with free Office 365

office365smb trialv2 png 240x199 Microsoft offer Google users triple time on free trial photoGoogle announced the end of Exchange sync and Microsoft is courting Google customers with 90-day free for Office 365, the cloud based mail and shared calendars app.

Normally Microsoft offers a 30 trial for Office 365 their Cloud service. The offer has been extended to 90 days.

The timing of the offer is important since Google announced they are ending the free support of Exchange sync, a necessary conduit between Google mail/calendar and MS Office.  Continue reading →

Samsung ATIV S Windows Phone 8 arrives in Canada

The largest screen and last of the three Windows Phone 8 handsets arrives in Canada

Samsung ATIV S 2 Samsung ATIV S Windows Phone 8 arrives in Canada photo

Samsung ATIV S

Bell Mobility announced pricing but not availability of the 4.8″ Samsung ATIV S.

This completes releases from Nokia, HTC and Samsung of Windows Phone 8 handsets.

Bell pricing is $99.99 on a 3-year contract, versus $0 for the HTC 8X. Rogers Wireless are offering the phone for $79.99.

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The ATIV S name for this Samsung phone is weird. What does the acronym stand for? At least HTC were cute enough to put 8, as in Windows Phone 8, in their HTC 8X.

I also got an email from Costo offering a $150 store cash card for the phone, so I’m going to check that out this afternoon.  Continue reading →