Know about Google Cloud Print...

Now You can take wireless printing from your Gmail account. This feature is coming soon to Android and iPhone platform.

Similar to Apple’s AirPrint and HP’s line of ePrint printers, Cloud Print is designed to help users print from multiple locations or devices without having to worry about setting up a printer or installing drivers.

Google Chrome gained Cloud Print support back in December. Right now, a computer running Windows is required for the initial setup; however, Google says that support for Mac and Linux is coming soon.

How does it work?

After connecting a printer to Google Cloud Print, users who access gmail.com from iOS or Android will be able to print messages or attachments directly from their device. Supported document types include *.PDF and *.DOC files.

The neat thing about Google Cloud Print is that you can send documents to a printer even if you are in another location or not directly connected to the local network. That means that if you want to print some files on your home printer but are at the office or in the car, you can still initialize the print job from your phone.

If your computer is online, the job will process through without your intervention. If the printer is unreachable, Google will add the item to your print queue and it will be printed as soon as the device comes back online.

Would Google release an API for Cloud Print so that third-party mobile apps and websites can add support for this cool service? If it come, this will work well indeed with mobile e-commerce invoicing printing.

Mobile DTV means more TV on mobile! During Washington Showcase, 38% of consumer said, their overall TV viewing increased after using mobile DTV.

DTV is coming to iPhone!

Just can't wait to see what the rest of the show brings!

Is Android 3.0 the Answer to Google TV’s Problems, or Is It Already Too Late?

The global search engine giant had huge ambitions to bring the web to living room screens across the world. And it had been cleat since the day Google TV was revealed. We can say, it is an attempt to reshape the future of TV.
But they had to get the things right the first time to succeed. Release early and often may work on the web, but users don’t want to have troubleshooting devices in the living room.
And now everyone knows the story. Google pushed a pushed an unfinished product out of the door, and now Google is scrambling to fix its TV product and save the project from implosion.
And it is heard that Google has asked its partners to hold off on launching Google TV devices at CES so that it can tweak the software.
In the mean time Apple TV has been far more successful. We are thankful not only to its lower price point but also far more intuitive interface.
Google’s going to try to rectify the mistakes it made in the previous release with upgrades it will likely launch in February. This upgrade will come in the form of “Honeycomb,” the Android 3.0 OS. Unlike version 2.3 (“Gingerbread”), 3.0 is designed for bigger screens. While it’s focused on tablet devices, it will also come with upgrades for Google TV.
But nobody is sure about what Honeycomb will include to fix Google’s television device. As Google said, they are working on it, we can expect it to make the interface less complicated, to improve the quality of video search results and to add the Android Marketplace to Google TV. These are relatively safe bets for what will come in “Google TV 2.0,” courtesy of Android 3.0.
Now the question is will that be enough, though? The core of the problem lies in the speed, fluidity, and intuitiveness of the software inside the device. Google TV can be agonizingly slow and the interface can be gut-wrenchingly confusing.
Can Google transform its interface enough to get Google TV started? Should they take a page from Apple’s playbook: Apple TV.
Perhaps the more appropriate question is whether it’s too late for Google TV to make a comeback; because the clock was ticking for Google TV.

10 years ago we called it a science fiction!

But now it is not hard to imagine that translation app (Word Lens App) can be available in iOS devices. The app lets you translate written phrases simply by pointing your iPhone’s camera at them. The app’s optical character recognition technology recognizes the text, which is then translated and shown on your iPhone’s screen instead of the original text. The app itself is free, but you must pay for the individual language packs.

The mobile web is burgeoning.

Yeah! It is rapidly growing.

As Netmarketshare shows, usage of iOS, the operating system for Apple’s mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad, almost doubled in just seven months (from March 2010 to October 2010), according to Netmarketshare. This is an indicator of just how many people are browsing websites, more and more, through their mobile devices instead of their computers.

Well! But one question arises, what do people usually apply to develop mobile web design? Are they exploring new tools?

There are so many new internet tools that have graphical user interfaces and copy-and-paste code blocks that can be installed on the site quite easily.

But people say, plug-in tool of various CMSs are more helpful. For example, WordPress Plugin WPTouch is one of the higher rated, more frequently updated, more compatible, easier to use tool.

PluginBuddy Mobile is a professional WordPress plugin that allows you to easily build an iPhone version of your site in minutes using the built-in style manager, mobile-ready themes and custom header uploader.

Window Mobile 7 syncs for Mac this fall: Would Mac users go for that?

Mac users will get the ability to sync Windows Phone 7 devices with their Mac computer, sometime in 2010.
The news first came from the tweet of Oded Ran, Microsoft UK’s head of Windows Phone marketing. He tweeted that WP7/Zune syncing with Mac is coming soon, with Microsoft later this year.
So later in 2010 Microsoft would make a public beta available of a tool that allows Windows Phone 7 to sync selected content with Mac computers.
While that doesn’t really sound like a full-fledged Zune client for Mac, it’s still nice to see Microsoft trying to be keen on Mac users who also happen to be interested in a Windows Phone 7 device.
But market analysts say that Microsoft expects many Mac users to go for Windows Phone 7. But there is already a version of Zune for Mac for the Kin. So it could be almost zero effort to make it work for Window Phone 7 which actually might be a little poke in the eye at Apple.
Any way it is “Well played” by Microsoft.

FLASH vs. HTML5? Who will be the future?

Close to five years have passed since the early mobile ad networks emerged with basic banners on mobile screens. Despite numerous attempts at innovation, there are still very few mobile ad unit technologies being used by major networks or agencies. Many have just relied on the same basic banner ads that were used five years ago.
When Apple’s iAds came on the scene several months ago, it was considered a game-changer. While Apple believed it was setting a new standard for the quality of ads on the mobile device with its use of animation, sound and video, the company has since drawn criticism for production delays of initial iAd campaigns. Apple has managed to introduce a few campaigns from top brands including Nissan and Unilever in the past few months, but its early challenges underscore the struggles with innovation that have plagued the industry over the years. The question is, why?
With iAds demonstrating that HTML5 is a viable option for mobile ad development today, the industry will see more progress. HTML5 and compatible HTML5-based ad formats will have a major impact on the future of the mobile ad industry.
You may well be aware of the ongoing HTML5 vs. Flash debates happening across the industry and the web. One of the arguments in that debate is the potential quality and performance problems that plug-in technologies can suffer.
Now HTML5 is changing the way of Mobile Advertising. So how will HTML5 change the mobile advertising the way Flash changed it for the desktop?
HTML can be downloaded from an ad server and displayed on the web and in apps. The ability of apps to render HTML is a huge boost. Android and iOS support HTML5, and soon all major smartphone platforms will follow suit. The same can’t be said for Flash and other Flash lookalikes.
HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript offer remarkable design flexibility and capability, which is unlikely to be trumped by a single technology compatible with so many mobile devices. It doesn’t require downloading of potentially insecure pre-compiled binaries and it doesn’t necessitate any heavy UI framework to be bundled with the app. For instance, the iPad apps for “The Wall Street Journal” and “Popular Mechanics” use HTML5 exclusively for their advertisers.
While display advertising on mobile devices may not reach full maturity for a while, the need to de-fragment the platforms on a technical level is the key right now. Market analysts say, bridging the gap between the mobile web and apps has pushed the technology to evolve towards a cross-platform architecture. Isn’t it an exciting time for interactive developers and designers?
There is also another concern: Flash will continue to dominate ads and RIAs for the unforeseen future, because HTML5 won't exists in at least 50% of browsers for at least that long. IE9 cannot be used with Windows XP - only Windows 7. That means everybody with XP who uses an IE browser IE8, IE7, etc will not have access to HTML5. So the advertisers would not switch from Flash to HTML5 if they're missing half the audience.
Let’s see which one would exist for long run.

Is the iPad what consumers are looking for?

It is true that professionals are certainly looking for a portable touch-screen computer. The Netbook was so far the best device among all consuming digital media. Next came Apple’s iPad to spell the death of Netbook, some people say. But in others concern, Apple’s iPad isn’t quite what the users were looking for.

According to a survey conducted by SoftwareAdvice, only 34% of 178 healthcare professionals were “very likely” to purchase a tablet in the near future. The survey was released right after the release of SDk of iPad. But ultimately the iPad device’s specification list could not show what they wanted from such a device.

For the healthcare professionals, a wide selection of medical software, resistance to water and dust, a fingerprint scanner, and voice-to-text dictation etc are necessary on a day-to-day basis. But Apple’s new entry could not achieve their satisfaction. Most importantly, iPad has no logical answer if the device drops into the water, if it is left in a dusty environment for too long…

If we think of general consumers, it appears that they aren’t entirely satisfied with iPad into the tablet market. There are some drawbacks of iPad. It does not support multitasking. As it is a fingerprint magnet, it looks grimy after a few minutes of use. If users use it as an e-Book reader, it can be difficult for them if they hold it like a book for longer period.

Retrovo.com had also surveyed before and after the launch of Apple’s new entry. They show 26% people have no interest in purchasing the device, although they already heard about the rumours of the device. According to information out of Cupertino, Apple sold around 300,000 iPads on the day of its launch. Market analysts are saying that iPad is just for consuming contents for fun while netbook helps making content for work.

We may get different result after few days, but it is interesting to that such high numbers of people are showing little or no interest in the Apple’s iPad.

But the device is not a flop by any means. We hope, iPad would occupy to spot pretty comfortably in the market.

Can everyone have the direction of Google Earth?

Google Earth Application at last arrived at Android market, although it seems weird that it did not happen earlier. But Google Earth would only work on the handsets which have Android 2.1 OS or later versions.

Android 2.1 is obviously a beefed up version Android. And it effectively limits Google Earth to the Nexus One. The enthusiast mobile users had seen the glimpse of Google since Nexus One was unveiled into the market. Right after that, Google released Google Earth (Mobile version) along with Road Layer, a feature of the desktop version of the Google earth.

The good news is those of users with Nexus One and some older HTC handsets can head to Google Earth along with layers including Places, Businesses, Panoramio, Wikipedia, Roads, Borders and Labels, and Terrain etc. Multi-touch, and double tap are also enabled in the app, and its rendering time is quite snappy.

The rest of the users will have to wait for update till v 2.1 come to all Android phones. So keep an eye out for an update!

Is it time to say Good Bye to PC?

If yes, we have to say Good Bye to PC. Mobile computing has already knocked the door. PC’s dominance is almost over. Now we crossed into the era of mobile computing. Microsoft’s announcement of its new mobile-phone platform indicates the signals of a clear end to the old PC era and an epic shift in computing.

A PC, at its heart, is about information creation. The keyboard, mouse or track pad, large screen, and large memory, whatever a PC has, are all there because they’re needed to manipulate words and images and numbers – spreadsheets, written documents, presentations, graphics, and databases.

Now the question is do people really need a PC? Even if they never actually create spreadsheets or presentations or documents, are they willing to give up the capability of doing so? Where does it leave smartphone? The smartphone are all about information and communication access while you’re on the go.

Smartphones are the latest must-haves for many people. Now it is not only for voice communication. Users can access e-mail, organizers, touch-screen with high resolution, camera, global positioning system, calendar, contact database, music player, image viewer, video player etc. The modern smartphones facilitate accessing web at great speeds owing to the 3G data networks development, besides the Wi-Fi support addition. The more it continues to grow in popularity, customer satisfaction increases despite of higher cost of device.

But the question is will Smartphones replace PC? Smartphones are high-end technical gadgets with improved features and greater capacity that continues to emerge. But it probably won’t replace laptops or home computers, though. We think, they are not practical for long-term usage. Smartphones are great supplemental tools for business, home office and entertainment purposes. But spending eight hours in front of a tiny screen, reading, texting, copying or any other tasks is quite impossible for the users who normally do work on their PC. It would not be a pleasant experience.

On the other hand, the Smartphone needs increased battery power, larger memory capacity, the ability to watch TV and movies on the phone and the ability to be connected anytime, anywhere. Aside from better functionality, smartphones will be available in a variety of versions to appeal to a wider audience.

So we can say, smartphones have a promising future where we as users would find all-in-one solutions. Let’s wait and see who can be smart choice for you?