Mobile Device Review: EDUP WiFi Disk

Have you ever tried to play a video, music, access a file or view your pictures on your storage device (e.g memory card, hard disk drive, memory stick et cetera) all at the same time. That sounds like too much to ask right?

Well not anymore, introducing a mobile device that makes all these possible and much more. the EDUP WiFi Disk!!!

EDUP WiFi Disk

This device is a multifunctional mobile storage conversion device that  allows you to share files, play videos, music and manage files  across multiple devices seamlessly at the same time via WiFi. This enables you to carry out all your daily tasks without fear of running out of storage on your mobile device.

This device is cross platform and supports Mac and Windows XP/Vista/7/8, Android and iOS platform and comes with an app for easy file management.

Once the WiFi Disk is powered up, you connect a storage device to the USB socket, and the storage becomes accessible via WiFi. Simply search and connect to the EDUP WiFi wireless network on you mobile device or PC.
You can then access your files via WiFi without stress. The WiFi disk can be setup in bridge mode so as not to interrupt your wireless internet connection, letting your surf the net and access your files at the same time. How cool is this.

This cool device is available in Nigeria on Konga

You can watch the DEMO video below 

Android App
iOS App

IT Competence required: Beginner/Intermediate 

BBM finally out on Android and iOS

BBM is now officially out on Android and iOS though its the launch is low key. The sad thing is that its not available to Nigeria on the Google Play Store.

I got a mail from Blackberry informing me of the availability of the BBM app shared below.

Unfortunately, the BBM app is not available in Nigeria which is surprising. The reason for this is still not clear but we'll get to the bottom of this.

......More to come

Is BBM ready for the Messaging War?

It's an open secret that Blackberry have decided to offer their BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on Android and IOS platforms, and was scheduled to be launched in the summer. Unfortunately, the anticipation of BBM fans have been worn by the inability of RIM to meet up with the scheduled launch date, though there are reports that BBM for iOS and Android devices is due within days. 

With their seeming inability to meet up with he launch date and expectations of many fans, I seem to wonder if they're ready for the competitive world messaging apps. While Blackberry are still busy with BBM beta testing, their rivals have been their major rivals have been improving their apps.

Whatsapp have added new features such as ability to send multiple multimedia files (e.g up to 10 pictures) at the same time, this is not available on the current BBM, which only allows you to send one picture at a time. They also launched the Voice feature for sending voice messages which is similar but not as sophisticated as the already available BBM Voice.(Note: Whatsapp has over 300m users)

WeChat is another major player in the messaging world with over 300 million users primarily in Asia and has been re-branded for the international market. WeChat has similar features with Whatsapp but the Shake feature on their app is real cool.

Viber is another strong player in the messaging world with over 200 million users and offers texting, voice and video calls on mobiles and now on PCs. 

You'll agree with me that BBM with just about 55 million users have a lot of catching up to do, and further delays in the launch will not help their quest to be the No. 1 Messaging App. Also the current BBM features are pretty much basic and can be provided by almost any of the apps mentioned above. Blackberry needs to give the BBM app a 'Waoh factor' to enable it standout.

Only time will tell if BBM's move into the competitive world of messaging apps was worth it.

Samsung: Android's Major Threat?

Android is the world's most popular mobile operating system; 75% of all smartphones sold in Q1 2013 were Android. From humble beginning in 2008, Android worked its way to the top, supported by phone manufacturers who wanted a stake in the then Nokia/Apple dominated market. Android is an open-source software stack with permissive licensing which allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, carriers and developers. 

Samsung has benefited the most from the success of Android, as its sales figures and profits have increased enormously over the years. The successful launch of the Galaxy S4 is an indicator that it's a major player in the handset market and the undisputed "King of Android". But it's not certain how long this fruitful union will last. There are indications that both parties are getting wary of the other.

Samsung always aimed to stand out from other Android device manufacturers by trying to create a Samsung experience, with the introduction of Samsung apps blended with Android releases for specific features on their devices. Now, they've taken it a step further by introducing apps such as the S-Voice and S-Translator in its flagship Galaxy series which can be viewed as alternatives to the Google apps. 

Not only that, Samsung announced a campaign in February that promises developers, 100% of revenue from software sold in its store. This is a massive effort to encourage the development of apps specifically for Samsung phones. It's evident Samsung have a plan of a future without Android and are simply getting all they need from Android; waiting for the perfect time to move on.

Google on the other hand are wary of this threat to Android and had hoped to use Motorola (which it acquired in 2011), as its joker, but this has not paid off yet. It has been slow to get the production lines busy again, though there are rumours of a Google inspired X phone from Motorola, meant to rival the iPhone and Galaxy S series phones.


Android and Samsung have come a long way together, thumping Apple to second best and causing a stir in the mobile world. However, things are not the way it used to be and their relationship can be summed up by the line " Keep you friends close but your enemies closer".

Analysis: Why BBM is going on Android and IOS

It might come to many as a surprise why RIM to roll out BBM on Android and iOS a few days ago. It was actually a smart business decision.

RIM has previously restricted the BBM app to only Blackberry devices as a means of making the Blackberry phones more attractive to the prospective consumers, but this is not working as RIM has lost a lot of the market share to Android, iOS and even Windows. BBM is the most valuable product that RIM have as we speak, and it'll be bad for such a good app to go extinct due the struggling Blackberry sales figures.

Competition from other messaging apps (such as Whatsapp) might also be a major reason behind this move. From humble beginning in 2009, Whatsapp was handling ten billion messages per day as of August 2012, growing from two billion in April 2012 and one billion in October 2011. This tremendous growth experienced by Whatsapp was due to the fact that it was cross-platform i.e it works on all major platforms (Android, BB OS, iOS, Symbian S40, S60, Windows). Whatsapp is also seen as a cheaper alternative to text as was observed on the last day of 2012 when they processed 18 billion messages.
Party crashers, Google and Facebook are also working on messaging app due for release anytime soon, so this is the best time for RIM to make the move.

Another reason is the launch of BBM Channel. It's a new platform from RIM to will allow users subscribe to various channels and get updates from the subscribed channel...sounds like another name for twitter if you ask me. However,  cross platform operation is key in order to achieve success and revenue from this new service.

It seems RIM have got it all figured out, what better way to take on your competitor than on a level playing field. I expect the number of active BBM users and messages to increase, which might mark a turnarounf in the fortunes of RIM, however, I am skeptical about the success of the BBM channel. Interesting days ahead

***Sent from my BBM for Android***


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BBM Quick Facts:

• More than 60 million monthly active users
• More than 51 million daily active users who are connecting with friends or colleagues an average of one and a half hours every day.
• BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion messages each day, nearly twice as many messages per user per day as compared to other mobile messaging apps
• Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20 seconds of being received; indicating how truly engaged BBM customers are

BlackBerry To Launch BBM On Android And iOS This Summer

Today at BlackBerry Live, CEO Thorsten Heins announced BBM will soon be available on Android and iOS. The messaging app will launch globally this summer. This is a huge move for BlackBerry as it brings BB10′s strongest feature to literally hundreds of millions of potential users.
“It is a state of confidence,” Heins explained. “The BB10 platform is so strong and the response has been so good that the time is right for BBM to become an independent mobile messaging platform.”
The app will be free on both Android and iOS. Much like other messaging apps, it will be a standalone application. iOS 6 or Ice Cream Sandwich will be required.
Initially, only messaging and group features will be available. But Heins promised that the rest of BBM will eventually make its way to the Android and iOS versions including screen sharing, BBM voice and the just-announced BBM channels.
We are making the BBM platform more powerful than ever”, Heins proudly stated. And with this very uncharacteristic move from BlackBerry, it’s hard to argue against his statement.
It’s clear BlackBerry is finally waking up. They are no longer the big dog in the mobile war. If they are to survive, the company needs to forge new relationships and learn to work well with the two reigning platforms. This move to put BBM on Android and iOS is a big step forward. BlackBerry might actually have a chance. (Culled from Techcrunch)

App of the Week: My Data Manager, Onavo Extend and Onavo Count

Its no news that Smartphones are 'data hungry' devices and this insatiable appetite is even getting larger with the variety of apps being rolled out.
This week I would like to introduce a three apps that are very useful in monitoring as well as managing your data usage on Android and Apple IOS powered devices.

My Data Manager from Mobidia (Android and IOS)

This allows you to monitor your data usage on an application basis (over Mobile, WiFi and Roaming) as well as give data usages in hourly, daily, monthly and also Data plan views. Another nice feature about this app is that it tries to predict your monthly data usage and advises if the subscriber data plan will be sufficient.
Here are some snapshots on my Android device.

 

Here are some snapshots on an Apple device.

 Onavo Extend and Count (Android and IOS)

This app is really "da BOMB". Onavo Extend (Android) sets up a cache of commonly accessed content there by saving data. It also compresses the data sent toward the internet also saving more data. You now see why its the BOMB.  Some of the features are

• Alerts and warnings: Receive status notifications about apps that are hogging your data, when approaching your data cap, or when traveling (data roaming). Onavo Count for Android will even predict when you will reach your monthly cap. 
• Data hog blocking: Restrict specific apps to WiFi, or block your 3G data altogether once you exceed your data cap to avoid any additional costs.
•  Advice. Get tailored tips on best value data plans from your carrier or other carriers, based on your actual usage.
• Crowdsourcing. Join the Onavo Android Community to tap into the collective wisdom of Android users everywhere.
• Simple setup. Get going in seconds: Set your monthly cap, bill cycle and cost - and you’re good to go! 

Here are some of the snapshots on my Android device after 1 day of minimal data usage.

  

These apps are available on Google Play and Apple Store.

N.B, The Onavo Extend (Android) is affects data hungry applications and activities such as tethering

Any questions or clarifications regarding the use of these apps are welcome.

The Smartphone Revolution

Last year saw a record of  over 600 million smartphones out of about 1.6 billion phones shipped worldwide in what many see as a "Smartphone Revolution". Smartphones are getting more popular by the minute.

Android was the No. 1 smartphone operating system with 68.4% of the global smartphone market, followed by Apple's IOS and others (like Blackberry OS, Symbiam and Linux) and its increasing the gap.

 Android is up 13%, iOS down 7%, BlackBerry down 81% … and Windows Phone up a massive 52%. Android is now the favourite smartphone operating system. As a result of its affiliation with Android, Samsung has seen its phone sales soar and had 25% of mobile phone shipments in 2012. Other manufacturers of  Android based smartphones such as LG, HTC, Sony and Huawei also experienced growth in sales figures. Apple's IOS is now experiencing the the heat of competition from Android (Samsung) as its lost ground in its key markets in China and US due to the success of the Samsung Galaxy S3.
This battle for more market share will continue through 2013 global smartphone installed base is expected to grow by 33% this year and double in size by 2016. With projections that smartphones will be twice the number of feature phones coupled with its market share of 60%, its no wonder why mobile phone manufacturer have been busy trying to woe customers with ad campaigns geared towards improving sales and market share.

 Nigeria is surely not left out of this revolution, for example, Nigeria is the largest market for Blackberry in Africa as we speak and this speaks volumes of our own Smartphone Revolution.
Countries with major installed smartphone bases include China, United States, Germany, Nigeria, India, Brazil and Russia (Courtesy: StrategyAnalytic). The Nigerian market is the tenth largest in the world in terms of mobile subscribers and I can modestly estimate that 1 in every 8 mobile subscribers uses a smartphone in Nigeria, and this would translate to about two (2) million smartphone users. With the introduction of many low price Android phones into the Nigerian market by Huawei, Samsung and others, these numbers can only go higher.
Smartphones have come to stay and are now part of our everyday life and as more people embrace it in Nigeria, a whole lot of opportunities abound.

What are these opportunities?you might ask, I'll be discussing them in the concluding part of this article next week.

Jelly Bean 4.2.1 Upgrade... Silver lining after a Storm

If you have ever used an Android powered phone especially from v4.0 and above, then you'll agree with me that its pretty cool. I got a Samsung Galaxy Nexus for the sole purpose of getting Android updates first hand. I never liked the idea of waiting for ages for the phone manufacturer to make updates available.
My first software update was done immediately I powered the phone ON for the very first time, from 4.0 ICS to 4.1 Jelly Bean. It was smooth and the interface even smoother and I enjoyed every bit of the phone. Got a lot of cool apps and games to make the whole Android experience great.
My first encounter with the 4.2 Jellybean was on a Nexus 7 and it was really cool especially with the new features like multiple users, gesture typing and others. See link http://www.android.com/whatsnew/
So when I was alerted about a new software update from 4.1.2 to 4.2.1, I willingly accepted to update. THAT WAS MY BIGGEST ANDROID MISTAKE.
After the update completed, my phone got restarted and was all cranky like a patient just out of anesthesia, but I was not bothered, most software upgrades take a while to settle in so I waited but no improvement. I restarted the phone a couple of times but it was still slow. I thought I had seen the worse, but No, that was the curtain raiser. Before I could blink I noticed my phone indication low battery and it was very HOT. I mean hot enough to warm your bathing water at night. Ok lets charge it, seems the battery is overworking itself after the upgrade I thought to myself. It took ages to charge the phone from 0% to 50% and most times, the phone discharged in less than 4 hrs on standby and many times switched off without any notification.

At that point, I had had it, I really felt like throwing my phone out the window because it really SUCKED. Imagine a slow, hanging and unreliable smartphone? Terrible right? The only option was to rollback the software update but, I somehow stubbornly declined despite numerous involuntary shutdowns, crashing app and phone freeze
.I noticed that my email client was using most of my battery, much more than the display, so I started sending Bug reports for almost anything wrong on the phone. I  killed the process for the email client app and noticed the phone freeze were getting more irregular but the battery drain wasn't so  I made sure it was always connected to my laptop like a baby to its mother to avoid any unexpected shutdown.
I deleted the email account, deleted a few apps, restarted and some sanity came back to my phone. I later reconfigured the email client app and lo and behold, the fever was gone and the charging and battery life seem to be back to normal.

Not sure what the exact problem was but I think some software processes did not properly transit between the two software levels. though my phone is out of the ICU, its still under observation.

After all the drama, the 4.2.1 is COOOL but never worth the problems.