Tag Archives: Android

Mum, take your tablet……

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Here is a blog we posted earlier this year on www.geek-speak.co.uk, thanks to Chris Hinton who runs the blog site, thought we would share it again with you and find out if you have a family member that you have tried to introduce technology to and how it went?

technologySince everyone seems to constantly get older, and no one is getting younger, it’s no surprise that I now find myself looking after my elderly mother in areas where she and my now departed father would have coped easily in the past.

I don’t mind this after all she is my MUM….but it did get surreal when, a few years ago, she said she wanted a laptop and the Internet. She was about 80 at this point and had never worked a computer in her life; she even has trouble using digital TV. I went ahead and we sourced her a laptop. We then got BT, who she had her telephone with to give us Internet as well, it is easier when it comes to mum to have everything in the one place – believe me.

This seemed to be OK;  I placed shortcuts on her desktop and she merrily went along playing Solitaire and a word search game on the laptop. I showed her the email and Internet, but she never touched these areas as she thought she might get in a mess with it and break the laptop. I did explain that this would not happen but she did not take it any farther. Every now and again, when visiting, I asked to use her laptop and carried out all the Updates for Windows and anti-virus etc.

I later purchased a tablet for myself for ease of carrying and using.  I would get it out and connect to mum’s Internet and do some work while chatting and, while visiting her last year, she declared that she would love one of those; she was 84 at this point and remember the history of the laptop usage. Of course Apple had been filling the TV screen with images of iPads that you must have to complete your life but I was still surprised and put her off for a good few months. Each time I visited, though, and got my tablet out, she would say “I would like one of those and it would be easier than handling the laptop as I have to put it on the coffee table and bend over it.”

I tried to ignore it but in November she stated that I was to source one, buy it, and she would give me the money for it – she was treating herself for Christmas early. I went about the task and bought an Android based tablet that would be easily carried and large enough screen to be seen by her when using it. Of course I downloaded solitaire and a word search app for her and placed shortcuts on the desktop, which she uses. I showed her email again and Internet, I even signed her up for a G+ account and we had a hangout with my phone and her tablet in her living room. I thought this might help if she wants to chat and see someone’s face in the evening when she gets lonely.

When I now pop in I look for the tablet and it is in the box as she is frightened any children visiting will knock it off her table and break it. She tells me she does use it and plays word search or solitaire, but nothing else and I have sneakily sent her hangout requests to see if she is on it and try to get her to talk and use the hangout facility to no avail.

All good fun and makes me smile when I think about it.

Ian Thomson
Founder/Senior Trainer
IT Turning Point

There’s an App for that………

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appsThe phrase that Apple have made famous by their Apple store advertising. We all expect an App for almost anything we want to do. We are getting so used to doing things on the hop now that everything is mobile. Smart phones for smarter working.

We thought we would look at the current race for having the most Apps available for users. The race is between the three main players, even though there are really, at this stage, only two, Apple and Android. Microsoft and Blackberry (RIM) are around but playing catch-up in this volatile market place.

Here are the latest stats at time of writing this article.

Apple store                                                        775,000+ apps available

Android Market Place                                        667,647+ apps available

Microsoft Store                                                  150,000+  apps available

The obvious question is, do we need all these apps and if so how did we ever perform without them. Now remember I am a self-confessed geek and use a good number of apps and technology that I never used in the past and find them to be some of the most useful kit I have and now rely on them, probably too much. That feeling of when your phone decides to not work, being the equivalent of your right arm being cut off. So I am not anti apps and new ways of doing things.

Apps tie you in

I have also found that apps tie people in, so there is another reason to be on the front foot when producing them. I told a friend of mine that they should try an Android based phone and see what they thought and they said that they couldn’t as they had spent so much money at the Apple store on Apps and other Apple related stuff that they would be losing out on a lot of money they had spent. So there is motive in the madness of App production.

Your Thoughts

What are your thoughts on the Apps race? Do you over rely on them or do you think there is an app that would be great and nobody has produced it yet. Or are you just an Angry Birds gamer and like all the gaming that can happen in the mobile arena.

Whatever your take, this is a race worth watching and we certainly will be keeping our eye on what is happening in this area. Follow our blog and we will keep you up to date on all things techie.

Ian Thomson

Founder/Trainer/Consultant

What should you carry around with you, A Window, an Android or an Apple?

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Yes that’s the burning question today, the mobile smart phone market is heating up for the next round of devices and various manufacturers are hedging their bets on one of the above.

Nokia have got into bed with Microsoft and have launched their next range of mobile phones with the new Windows 7.5 mobile on board, Samsung have launched some windows based offerings as well. Google have upped the pace by purchasing the mobile side of Motorola so all Motorola offerings in the near future should be running Android and with the launch of Jelly Bean and there is Keylime Pie in the wings. With this latest version the stakes are greater than ever before.

Apple have launched the IPhone 5, with the 5S rumoured as I type, but are experiencing battery drain where some people are reporting it only lasting half a day of usage. Is a phone even a phone anymore?

It is no doubt that this is a lucrative market and an article I read recently said that 60% of the UK market had smart phones. They do so much more than just telephone people and have revolutionised the way we browse the Internet and get fed information. You only have to look at any news broadcast to see the effect that social media via smart phones is changing how we get our information. People even interact with their favourite Television shows via social networking on their mobile phone while watching the television. Instant comment and voting.

So what does the future hold? Well we can look forward to even smarter devices and the more interactivity than ever before. But will you opt for the Window, the Android or the Apple as they all fight for market share and each one trying to top the others dominance of the market. Of course there is even talk of new OS’s coming into the phone market, with Blackberry and LG etc. testing them.

I will try and keep you informed as much as we can with the changes as they happen.

Happy Mobiling

Ian Thomson

Founder/Trainer/Consultant