Official Google Blog: More wood behind fewer arrows

Official Google Blog: More wood behind fewer arrows

iPhone 5 Release Date: July 2011

Despite reception issues, somehow iPhone 4 has been able to be on top of the smartphone industry. However it is still a big scandal of Apple and sure people don’t forget it. According to some reliable sources, the iPhone 5 is going to be released in July 2011 and solve the issue on reception completely.

Many people expected Apple would announced it sooner in the Apple September Event 2010 but it didn’t happen. At this point it’s very clear that Apple is still passing some tests and pre-production stage carefully for this iPhone 5 so that the device will be flawless.
Here are some expected features of the iPhone 5:

• A new, thinner and sleeker body design.
• Time (Video chat) on 3G and 4G (no longer restricted to WiFi only).
• as a payment method in various stores and establishments (no additional phone attachment required).
• the NFC technology using a hardware from NXP Semiconductor.
• recognition.
• projector.
• E-mail alerts with ability to assign different tones to each email address.
• screen.
• proof and shatter proof screen.
• battery life = 14 hours talk time on 3G and 7 hours on 4G. Standby 600 hours.
• Definition audio.
• indicator light.
• GPS built in.

Take a look at the iPhone 5 concept with futuristic hologram projector, that looks great but really I don’t think it will appear on the iPhone 5.

Nokia N8 available in China already

Nokia N8 available in China already

Google Maps Add Events to Places Pages

A nod to the Tenacious Frog for first spotting this one….Google Maps is now integrating events and the opportunity to display time sensitive information into your Places Page. Businesses can now add events, specials & time sensitive activities to their listing.

Claerly Google has long had an interest in gathering additional and more granular information at a local level. The ability to create local event information is a feature that Google has included in their Map Maker for some time. The implications of this move are not yet clear.

For this to have an impact and generate significant interest on the part of SMBs, the information has to be visible and actionable. If it is buried like the Coupons, after an initial trial, most businesses will move to other means of announcing events. Currently the information is only visible from within a business’s Places Page. It is not visible from the 7-Pack, the business Onebox, the List view with Maps nor from the top level view within mobile. Since Places Pages are not currently in the index and exist at least two clicks away from the main search results, the information as it is currently displayed will not get much exposure.

Unless Google pushes this data to a more visible level, it will languish in the nether lands of Maps, away from public visibility and will quickly fall from favor. An API would be the ideal compliment to this information as would a mobile app that allows a user to see the what, when and where of these events.

Google has a strong incentive and the power to incent businesses at the local level to share this information. If it is shared and is actively displayed it could alter the playing field for event promotion but if it ends up like coupons it will have little if any affect.

Internet Connection Speed: The Top 10 Countries

At the end of 2008, approximately 19 percent Internet connections around the world were at speeds greater than 5 Mbps — a 21 percent increase over the average global connection speed at the end of 2007.

This is according to the State of the Internet quarterly report by Akamai Technologies, the US-based Internet content distribution giant. The State of the Internet report tracks average connection speeds for countries around the world.

Check out these top 10 countries in terms of average Internet connection speed.

1. South Korea

South Korea rules supreme when it comes to Internet connection speed and broadband connectivity. It is the world’s No.1 with average connection speed of 15 Mbps, ten times the global average!

During 2008, South Korea’s rate of quarterly change appeared to be locked into a cyclical pattern, with quarterly decreases being recorded in the first and third quarters, and increases seen in the second and fourth quarters.

For the whole year, South Korea saw a modest 7 percent rise in their levels of high broadband adoption. South Korea is also ranked first in terms of high broadband connectivity with 69 percent connections above 5 Mpbs.

2. Japan

Japan ranks 2nd in terms of Internet connection and high broadband connectivity. Japan ranks 2nd in terms of high broadband connectivity. About 54 percent of the connections in Japan are above 7 Mbps.

3. Hong Kong

Hong Kong ranks third with an Internet connection speed of 6.9 Mbps. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 percent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

4. Romania

Romania is at the fourth position with a Internet connection speed of 5.7 Mbps. The country ranks third in terms of high broadband connectivity with 45% of the connection above 5 Mbps.

5. Sweden

Sweden is at the fifth position with a Internet connection speed of 5.6 Mbps. Sweden ranks fourth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 39 percent of the connection above 5Mbps.

6. Switzerland

Switzerland has bagged the sixth position with an Internet connection speed of over 5 Mbps. The country however does not figure in the top ten list of countries with high broadband connectivity.

7. Netherlands

Netherlands ranks 7th with an Internet connection speed of 4.9 Mbps. The country ranks 7th in terms of high broadband connectivity with 28 percent of the connections above 5 Mbps.

8. Belgium

Belgium is at the 8th position with an Internet connection speed of 4.7 Mbps. The country ranks sixth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 31 percent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

9. Slovakia

Slovakia bags the ninth position with an Internet connection speed of 4.5 Mbps. The country does not figure among the top ten in terms of high broadband connectivity.

10. Norway

Norway ranks tenth with an Internet connection speed of 4.5 Mbps. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 percent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

In terms of Internet connection speed, China is way behind leading economies with an average Internet connection speed of 833 kbps.

United States is at the 17th position with an Internet connection speed of 3.9 Mbps, up approximately 8 percent from the average connection speed for the first quarter of 2008.

India has been ranked at a dismal 115th among 223 countries in terms of average Internet connection speeds. India has an average Internet connection speed of just 772 Kbps compared with the global average of 1.5 Mbps.