Apple Launched iCloud.com

Nowadays software development services have received another one. Starting the launch of the iOS 5 platform and the iCloud service deeply integrated into it, Apple set up a special website iCloud.com. Now users can enter the new iCloud.com and create an iCloud account using their own Apple ID, the identifier used for purchasing in the Apple App Store.
After entering the system, the user will be offered to choose a language and a time zone, then they will have to choose from five options. A user can check its mail, view his contacts, calendars, use the function «Find My iPhone» and get the access to the web version of iWork.

With starting iCloud, the documents from the Apple iWork application for iOS (page layouts, tables, presentations) will be stored online and will be constantly updated. Thanks to this, users will be able to get access to the latest versions of documents irrespective of the device they are using at the moment.

The iCloud service will replace its predecessor MobileMe. In comparison with MobileMe, the usage of iCloud will be free for all iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion users who will be offered 5 5GB of free ‘cloud space’ (additional space is paid).

Software developers have been testing iCloud together with the apps for iOS 5 and Lion for the last several months. At present iCloud is available for wide usage.

The debut of iCloud took place simultaneously with the release of the iOS 5, however, iCloud started functioning a few hours earlier. The new operation system iOS 5 is available for downloading for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users.

Magic from Apple

Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive and other famous people from Apple often call their products ‘magic’ and in some respects they are right. In many cases Apple is ahead of the market for years, it manages to create really incredible devices that change the world — isn’t it magic?

Do you need examples? Here you are. Let’s remember iPad — What’s this? What for? Who needs this ‘iPod on steroids’? And it turned out we need it! Step by step this strange toy is being transformed into an extremely convenient and user friendly tool for professionals and can be a gaming console, an internet tablet, an e-book and many other things as well.  The fantasy of iPad app developers is not limited and it means that iPads opportunities also. Isn’t it magic?

Or let’s take, for example, iPhone. Look at the market of smartphones today: Android, webOS, Windows Phone, many various sensor devices, Nokia smartphones based on Microsoft OS — they are the result of releasing the first Apple phone in 2007. Without it today the market of would be completely different. Isn’t it magic?

Last year Apple presented MacBook Air of the second generation and this year Intel has introduced the concept of ultrabooks which are Windows analogues of that very ‘air’ macbook. Plagiarism? Piracy? No, that’s the natural development of the market when consumers win and the Apple magic was the impulse for this development.

Thus, every software development company tries to conquer this magic and design and develop something new, exciting and magical.

Electronic mobile wallets: from myth to reality

The idea to transform mobile devices into electronic personal wallets is being actively put into practice. Mobile app development companies take advantage of NFC capabilities to give mobile users the chance to use their gadgets as a payment means. The NFC technology has already been used in Japan, South Korea and Malaysia to carry out money transactions, while it is only on its way to be widely adopted by the USA, the UK and other European countries.
The coming upgrades of Apple’s products iPhone5 and iPad2 will support the NFC technology, while Android-powered Nexus S devices already come bundled with NFC capabilities. The ever growing popularity of iPhones, iPads and Androids provides a foundation to promote and introduce mobile wallet technology into everyday use. Though, at the moment for this technology to become ubiquitous retailers should be willing to install hardware that will scan mobile wallets and carry out money transactions.
The UK mobile carrier Orange is about to introduce a new service, allowing its customers to use their mobiles as wallets. Mobile wallets will save many people from extra headache connected with carrying cash and credit cards – people will get everything in their handhelds.
If mobile money payment system will catch on it will outline for software development companies a new trend in mobile app development services.

First days of New Year with iPhone alarm glitch

Many iPhone users complained that their alarms hadn’t gone off on the first days of New Year. People all over the world faced New Year with a malfunction of their iPhone devices, which entailed disruptions in working schedules and holiday plans.
This bug was reported to have affected iPhone4 and earlier versions of Apple’s handsets with software updates and caused a glitch only for single set alarms. Apple administration admits the existence of software errors and advises to set recurring alarms to avoid iPhone malfunctioning until this software bug is absolutely tackled by Apple’s developers.
The iPhone owners express their outrage in various social networks and blogs complaining that they had to bear excessive expenses for travel fares or were late for work because they had failed to wake up on time. The users are even more irritated as it was not the first time that a similar glitch took place. In November when clocks changed in order to switch to a daylight saving mode, many iPhone users were affected by the same malfunction in the gadget’s alarm and overslept their planned raising hour, which caused lots of inconvenience.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said that the company was working on tackling the problem and promised that it would be fixed by 3rd January, though some users still claim that their iPhone alarm doesn’t go off. Despite the recent events iPhones still remain one of the dominating powers on the mobile phone and mobile app development market.

Rising popularity of Android OS

The distribution of Android OS is going on with a frightening speed. Already at the beginning of August, according to the general director of Google Erick Schmidt, the number of daily activations in the world was about 20,000. Since that time, the popularity of Android among the users of mobile devices has increased by 50%. According to the recent data, published in Twitter by the vice-president of Google Andy Rubin, now in the world about 300,000 Android smartphones are activated. This tendency can also be followed in the Android market where mobile application developers place their apps and the number of them is really high.

In comparison with this, every day 157,000 iPhones find their owners. Apple reported that the October sales of the company’s gadgets including iPhone smartphones, iPads and iPod Touch were 230,000.

Thus, Google has overtaken Apple mobile devices all together.

If the Android based smartphones are sold with the same speed, in a month the sales will reach 9 mln smartphones. Annual sales will be equal to 108 mln gadgets.

By 2012 Google platform is likely to become the dominating platform in the world.

Android-powered Nexus S – an attempt to rival iPhone4

Nexus S operating on Android OS will soon appear on the smartphone market. These devices built by Google in cooperation with Samsung are predicted to compete for the market share with the latest version of iOS-powered devices – iPhone4. Moreover, Nexus S user experience is planning to be enhanced by an upcoming release of Android 2.3.
Nexus S devices support NFC, which enables users to perform basic money operations and with the help of chips embedded in various posters and ads extract information and upload it to Nexus S phones. Nexus S provides an opportunity to make SIP calling as Gingerbread OS comes bundled with VoIP features – the users will have a chance to make calls over the internet in the range of any wi-fi spot.
Moreover, Android 2.3. for Nexus S ensures improved GUI interface. It is aimed at harnessing touch screen features of the devices and enhances greatly user experience. Apart from this, Gingerbread allows managing the work of mobile apps. Hence, Nexus S users will leverage the device’s capabilities in full.
Google will undoubtedly rejoice not only mobile users but also software development companies. As with Android 2.3. the process of mobile app development for Nexus S smartphones will be streamlined and speeded up by the use of NDK and other features as garbage collection and new APIs.

BlackBerry and iPhone Funerals

The operation system Windows Phone 7 has reached the RTM stage and is ready for installing on mobile devices. It’s release is being planned for October 11 and the launch of communicators for the end of October, although in the USA they can appear only in November.  The Microsoft staff has celebrated this important milestone very originally. In the company’s campus in Redmond they held a symbolic funeral of BlackBerry and iPhone: a group of people in weeds were carrying big maquettes of these devices, there were even catafalques.

That’s evident such show should mean that BlackBerry and iPhone will die after launching the new generation device under the management of the operation system Windows Phone 7. Indeed, Microsoft lays great hopes on the new platform and supposes it can be a worthy competitor to the popular at present BlackBerry OS, iOS and Android. Now it’s difficult to say how Apple and RIM users will appreciate Microsoft’s joke of burying these devices.

But no matter what the reaction will be, mobile application developers have already started thinking about applications for the new platform or moving the existing one to this platform.

Аpple introduced new players iPod and the social network Ping

Apple has updated practically all iPod players. The new iPod shuffle got a more compact case and a touch control system. The built-in battery provides up to 15 hours of autonomous work. iPod shuffle of the fourth generation will cost $49.

iPod nano has also reduced in size considerably. This player has become 46% smaller and 42% lighter. Moreover, iPod nano got a sensor display with multitouch technology support and the time of autonomous work of 24 hours. iPod nano of the fourth generation will cost from $149 to $179, depending on the memory size.

iPod touch has become more compact and thinner. This model got the sensor screen Retina Display and the processor А4, similar to the one in the new iPhone. The main innovation in the new iPod touch is built-in cameras. The forward-mounted one is intended for video while the rear one allows recording HD-video. The cost of iPod touch in the USA will be from $229 to $399, depending on the memory size.

The main innovation in iTunes 10 is a built-in musical social network Ping which Apple calls a sort of hybrid of Facebook/Twitter and iTunes. Ping shows the activities of the users as well as his friends. Ping has started working with the new version of iTunes which is already available at the official site of Apple.

No matter that all these devices have become smaller in size, mobile application developers will definitely increase the number of mobile applications for them.

Modern mobile devices

In the XXI century it’s impossible to imagine a person without a mobile phone. We have become accustomed to these devices so much that sometimes we feel awkward if left the phone at home. A mobile device is not simply a plastic case with buttons which can make calls, send SMS, take pictures, reproduce video and audio and work as a calculator. Modern mobile devices have all possible functions which we couldn’t even imagine before.

The technical development of mobile devices has led to the improved video chips, developing mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, iPad, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile), new updated mobile applications and so on. With the development of mobile technologies more and more software development companies are trying to develop modern, useful applications for mobile devices.

There are many different applications for entertainment, learning, or just for using in life. Before when mobile phones were not able to use and reproduce advanced graphics, applications were not very accurate. Now, users of mobile devices became more selective in this way because modern technologies let mobile app developers create applications at any taste.

European Commission joined the antimonopoly trial against Apple

The European Commission joined the antimonopoly trial against Apple which the US Federal Trade Commission initiated at the beginning of July. It means that the verdict can be taken in 4-6 months, announced the New York Post.

It should be noted that officially FTC hasn’t announced about the trial. According to the American press, it concerns the rules of publishing applications in the App Store which Apple introduced in April. In particular, the vendor banned the usage of tools for application porting. It deprived mobile apps developers of the possibility of the official sales of Flash applications. The company Adobe which possesses this technology declared about its intention to struggle against this decision.

Moreover, in July Apple introduced the new rules of using the statistical information which is formed by applications on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In particular, the new rules deprive the company AdMob of earning money on mobile advertising. In May Google announced about the close of the deal on acquiring this company at $750,000. Last month the executive director of AdMob said that the given ban hadn’t come into force. If the ban becomes effective, iphone apps developers will have problems with their applications.