Im sure this isn’t something new to all of us. Especially iPhone users out there, you KNOW it. The fact that we need to constantly plug in for battery power is beyond frustration. Somehow this video seemed to depict Samsung mitigating this issue. The new Samsung S5 with lesser power issues? Really? While I highly doubt so, I do think the commercial resonates with a lot of people out there. Most of us suffering from the mediocre battery performance from smartphones are compelled to make a switch to another brand often promising us longer, more robust battery performance. Well, i do think this is a rather amusing commercial of how Samsung would sell through benefit but at the expense of Apple.
‘Paper’
Before there were social media, people scuffle to pen down messages, attempting to capture moments of details on paper and then evolved towards sending text messages and photo images through smartphones. Despite taking social media for granted now, these experiences still impinged upon us as if it happened yesterday. So, when you combine that nostalgia with current social media technology, the formula is suffice to deliver an app so simple, so original yet functional. The new mobile app by Facebook allows us to browse content on Facebook with breeze, filtering the alphabet soup of buttons and controls. Known as Paper, this app will be available for download starting February 3, 2014. Interestingly, this Facebook reader app has such a fluid yet simple layout that lets you share and browse content effortlessly. We could see how the app functions from the video below. The video is almost so placid, so direct, almost like an integration to our daily lives. A strong user interface backed by really solid user experience design, Paper might just set the benchmark for a new category of user oriented app design.
Blackberry
Last week as I accompanied my mom to one of the telco retailer flagship stores, I was appalled by the fact that Blackberry smartphones are still taking up a significant space with quite a big number of phone offerings. As compared to Samsung or Apple, the BlackBerry phone range is quite comprehensive and some are not actually that bad. However, the company has been in a state of financial crisis since its last burst of fire and it has been reported that Fairfax Financial, a Canadian holding company did a $4.7 bullion buyout on Blackberry. Even with a huge backing, the company is still looking to close more possible deals with potential companies like Google, being amongst one of the boys on it’s top tier list. The company is reportedly pursuing big companies like LG, Samsung, Intel and Cisco for their keen interest in the company. They hope to hear an interest from these companies as soon as next week. With BlackBerry’s failure in the mobile market lately, it has since declared its retreat from the mobile market and most or if not all of their products might be sold to potential buyers. With 4500 layoffs and a big cut in market profits, the management is under extreme pressure to sell off the company. It’s a pity that BlackBerry had to retreat considering they aren’t that bad afterall.
Making mealtime a happier time
I have people telling me that the digital frontier is so near yet so far. With people having doubts in technology and their resistance to changes, it takes a lot more convincing to get them moving. However, the good news is, whether one likes it or not, technology is here to stay and is going to change everything you once think you grasped into something completely unimaginable. That’s the beauty of technology. And, we see that McDonald’s is taking this to their benefit by coming out with the NFC Concept Table. It is the first of it’s kind, launched in Yishun, Singapore. Awesome work from the conservative island of Singapore. It is on it’s experimental stage and would rollout through the entire Asia with families who owns NFC enabled smartphones as their main target audience. The work is aimed at providing kids with a unique yet interactive experience while dining at McDonald’s.
The technology is created by hiding NFC tags under the table which forms up to an entire experience. It allows for kids to have a ‘drive’ around on the table. The best and fun part of the game is the different challenges they face and stories that comes along. It also gives them something to look forward to as they learn to unlock the next part of the game through each of the individual tags. Very interesting and innovative work from Singapore. Thumbs up.
Zack Chia 