If you use a smartphone these days then chances are its running one of three Operating Systems (OS): Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android or RIM’s Blackberry OS. Well, rumours are that Google’s Android will soon have a new version. Officially known as Android 5.0, it will become known to most of us as Jelly Bean”.The current version (4.0) is known as “Ice Cream Sandwich” (who actually comes up with these names?!).

So, what will the latest version offer over and above the current version? Well, that’s a good question and to be honest, other than the development team no-one really knows. The only consistent rumour seems to be that it will include a dockable desktop mode. The Android Community website has some scant details on the rumour, so make of it what you will. I guess we will have to await the official announcement at Google’s developer conference in June.

As for Apple and RIM, well they have their own rumour mills hard at work on what lies ahead for the iPhone and the Blackberry. Whichever platform you are using, it certainly looks like an interesting summer.

Note: I didn’t mention Windows mobile platform but that’s because its not one of the three most popular platforms. Personally, I expect that the futre lies with Apple and Google in terms of the mobile platform. That;s just my opinion of course; feel free to invest your money and time in any platform you choose. Its a free country.

Those aged under 21 will receive an even worse deal – no rise whatsoever! No wonder the trade unions are up in arms about the news. The new rate for those aged 21 and over will be £6.19 an hour. Those aged 18 – 20 will continue on £4.98 an hour, whilst 17 and 17-year-olds will remain on £3.68 an hour. The only good bit of news is that the rate for those on apprenticeships will increase by 5p an hour to £2.65 an hour.

With inflation at 3.6% in the year to January, its hard to see how the government can justify hitting the poorest workers in this way, especially if they do go ahead with the proposed cut in the 50p tax rate. Even the top rate of Minimum Wage is hardly a Living Wage, especially for those living in the south-east where the cost of living is generally higher than elsewhere.

Of course employers bemoan any increase in the Minimum Wage, despite a lack of evidence that it has an adverse effect on the economy. Certainly, the weight of evidence is that the National Minimum Wage has had a neutral impact on employment over the past ten years and that it has had a largely positive effect on productivity (see this report).

However, the news is not all bad. The new online portal brings together 170 existing government business websites, and is divided into two distinct offerings.

My New Business:

This is aimed at businesses that are start-ups, offering more than 200 new video and learning resources.

Growth and Improvement Service:

This offers advice to existing businesses looking to develop and grow. There you will find videos, tools and case studies to help take your business forward.

If the new service provides a more focused support service then that will certainly be welcomed and it looks like the new web sites may be able to offer a one-stop shop to a comprehensive range of services. I’ll be checking it out (in particular the Growth and Improvement Service) and reporting back in future posts. In the meantime I recommend you head over there and check out what’s available.

It’s something that is affecting numerous manufacturers, including Western Digital and Seagate, as well manufacturers of other computer parts, such as parts for optical, electro-mechanical and electronic products.

Distributors and reseller of hard drives are already reporting that they are ‘out of stock’ of several product lines and that they are experiencing problems getting new stock in. Any new stock they are obtaining has risen in price and this looks to be the likely scenario for the foreseeable future. Prices rises in the region of 10% are already being seen from our suppliers and we are having difficulty meeting orders.

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated. In the meantime, if you are thinking you will need a hard drive any time soon, I recommend buying while you still can and before prices rise even further.

The decision to abandon the PC business was one that was announced back in August by former chief executive Léo Apotheker, but current chief executive Meg Whitman has now stated that, after reviewing the possible impact, HP has reversed the decision. Apotheker was removed from the company shortly after his original announcement meaning he lasted less than a year as CEO of the company.

Many in the industry will be relieved at the news, not least those who do not want to see Apple come to dominate the industry completely. HP is well respected for its servers in particular and whilst there has been all this uncertainty surrounding its future the likes of Dell and Lenovo have been taking advantage.

As for the future of WebOS, nothing was mentioned so its future remains uncertain. Samsung has apparently expressed interest n purchasing it from HP but that seems to have gone nowhere, at least publicly.

I have just received my shiny new iPhone 4S (Black, 16GB model) this past week and have been getting to grips with its features. Its my very first iPhone so although I am something of a Mac Geek, I am unfamiliar with the deeper workings of the iPhone.

I have to say that I am mightily impressed though that it has proven pretty easy to get to grips with. Should have expected that really, with Apple’s reputation for making these things user friendly. I have already installed numerous apps (essential ones include Apple’s Pages, Dropbox and BatteryDoctor). I intend writing some reviews in the near future.

I had the opportunity at the week-end to try out the camera and again I was very impressed. Despite the wind being very strong and the sunshine causing some issues with glare, I managed to grab some decent shots and even the odd video. What really impressed me was that though the wind was very strong and I found it difficult to keep a steady hand, the shots came out sharp and with no discernable shake.

The only problem I experienced (apart from the bright sunshine causing glare on the glossy screen) was the wind noise. One solution I haven’t yet tried is  stick-on windjammer. If I manage to source a reasonably priced one I’ll review it.

The other thing that impresses me on the iPhone 4S is Siri, an built-in service that allows you to give voice commands to your iPhone 4S. Although its not fully supported in the UK yet (Siri often responds that it’s only able to find US businesses etc) it shows great potential for the future. In the meantime it has sufficient functionality to make it very useful, for composing text messages or calling contacts just by using your voice. A couple of years ago this would have seemed like science fiction!

All in all, I am very impressed and happy with my new iPhone 4S. It has already made life that little bit easier, certainly sending texts and making calls is much easier than with the tiny keyboard on my Nokia C3. I will report back on how I am getting on with it and how its helping my business in future posts. In the meantime its back to those apps!

Today’s the day!: Today is the day that most, if not all, Apple fans have been waiting for… http://t.co/r6DXrl8l

October 4, 2011 7:31 am via GoogleReplyRetweetFavorite

@celtxian

Steven Dale

Today Apple will announce the new iPhone. Question is, will it be the iPhone 4S or the iPhone 5. Or could it be both? Rumours have been swirling around the internet ever since the iPhone 4 was released, such is the level of interest in all things Apple these days.

When Tim Cook, CEO takes the stage later today, apart from the fact that he isn’t Steve Jobs, most of the attention will be on whether we are going to see just one new iPhone or in fact see two. I, for one, am not of the opinion that Steve Jobs will make an appearance on stage. Having effectively retired from the company for health reasons, I doubt he wants to undergo the strain of a public presentation, nor do I believe he craves the limelight so much that he would wish to steal some of it from his successor. Tim Cook is after all the personal choice of Steve Jobs and the two get on well.

So, what exactly can we expect in terms of specification? Well, sticking with the probability that there will indeed be an iPhone 5, the minimum I expect is:

1. Dual core processor (as in iPad 2)

2. Improved screen size and resolution

3. Some form of voice integration, perhaps allowing texts to be created and sent without typing

4. Improved cameras, with 8MP, possibly 12MP for the main camera and HD for the forward facing one for FaceTime

5. SD card slot to expand storage for images etc.

There could well be more but I see this as the bare minimum if Apple is to maintain its lead over competitors. When you look at the specification of the Samsung Galaxy SII, you get an idea of just how much Apple’s rivals have caught up; perhaps even surpassing them in the case of the Samsung Galaxy SII.

As for the iPhone 4S, if it exists, what can we expect to see there? My guess is that if it does exists it will basically be the same as the existing model, with perhaps improved camera and screen but keeping the single core processor. Apple may even keep the existing model in production but reduce its cost significantly. Some bloggers have gone so far as to post actual prices for all three models. I reckon we will just have to wait a few more hours to know for certain. Whatever is actually announced by Tim Cook, you can be sure of one thing… it will be worth the wait!

TalkTalk’s landline service had 0.8 complaints per 1,000 customers and it’s broadband division had 0.58 complaints per 1,000 customers. This compares to Virgin with 0.15 complaints in both cases.

Things have improved over the years, which is good news but the fact remains that TalkTalk is still the worst when it comes to customer service and despite their cheap prices and comprehensive packages I would recommend you stay away from them. At least if you want good customer service.

Personally, over the years I have found BT and Virgin to provide good customer service. NTL (now part of Virgin) was once troubled by poor customer service, but since they became part of Virgin things have much improved and I use them myself. We use BT at the charity I work for and on the whole they have provided good customer service. My general experience of companies that provide broadband as part of a mobile phone or TV package is not as good and this is reflected in the consumer reports that look at this sort of thing. Generally, I rely very much on Which consumer reports, as well as the technology press (magazines such as .net).

So, despite their sponsorship of X-Factor, TalkTalk doesn’t seem to have the X-Factor themselves when it comes to great customer service and like some of the acts on that show they get 4 thumbs down in my book.

It showed that the seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index – fell 4.3 points in August to just 51.1. Business confidence in the UK’s service sector was also the lowest for a year with worries over the impact of government spending cuts.

David Noble, chief executive officer at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: “This eye-watering decline in this month’s Service PMI (purchasing, managers’ index) shows the full impact of current weaknesses and instability in the wider economy.”

“Cut throat competition means that companies are unable to fully pass on higher costs to customers and continue to feel the need for marketing and, in some instances, discounting initiatives to fill in the gaps.”

He said while it was typical in meagre times for businesses to sacrifices profits to protect sales, it wasn’t sustainable in the longer term.”

Paul Smith, senior economist at survey compilers Markit, said the drop in the headline index – the seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index – was the worst since the foot and mouth crisis in 2001.

“Although the slowdown may reflect a reaction to a solid expansion in July and minor impacts from riots and public disorder in early August, there can be little doubt that the underlying growth profile of the sector has weakened in recent months,” he said.

For more on this story visit Total Essex.

Its looking like the next generation of mobile networks (known as 4G) is facing more delays here in the UK. The development of 4G services is dependent on the necessary bandwidth becoming available and communications regulator Ofcom has announced delays to the auction of the requisite frequencies. The auction is for two spectrum bands, 800MHz (part of the spectrum released as the UK switches from analogue to digital TV) and 2.6GHz (the 2.6GHz band is more suited to the delivery of high speed traffic over short distances). Altogether, the two bands will provide 250MHz of extra mobile spectrum.

Earlier this year, Ofcom, announced it intended starting the auction process in the first quarter of 2012, subject to  a consultation of interested parties. According to Mobile Today, it’s now looking like this process will be delayed by at least a further three months.

In a related announcement, Ofcom has said that it hopes to release the so-called ‘White Space’ spectrum by 2013. This covers frequencies in the 470MHz and 790MHz bands, representing the unused spectrum between TV and FM radio broadcasts. The benefit of these bands is that devices using them would have much greater range, promising the possibility of Wi-Fi with a range much greater than the short distances currently available (between 1 – 300m, depending on factors such as intervening brick walls and interference etc).