A Minute for Madeleine

Madeleine disappeared on 03 May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Portugal - Here is a special message

Brace Yourself: The Androids are Coming

The Android mobile operating system has been around for only a few years, but is quickly turning into a real powerhouse in the mobile phone market. It was initially developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. Based on open source software, the progression of Android into the tough mobile phone market has been greatly aided by challenging developers to create innovative and exciting Android Applications.

With the Android concept only coming into existence in Nov 2007, the mobile world saw the first ever Android powered mobile phone, the T-mobile G1 (dubbed the 'Google Phone'), at the end of Oct 2008. The G1 was an unprecedented device. Backed by the pedestal that the giant, Google, is and with it all the ensuing rich Google technology it possess, Android was ready to challenge the competitors. Breaking into any market is not easy but plunging into the mobile phone market where other companies have been established for years is no easy task. The G1, however, were primed with everything they could ask for to compete with the likes of Nokia, Sony Ericson and the protagonist: Apple. And that is infact the market the G1 belonged in, the smart phone market (what is a smart phone), and the success of Apple iPhone was it hoped to emulate. Packed with the ability "to you touch, tap, swipe and scroll your way through all the coolest applications" it had a tough task ahead.

The G1 phone perhaps did not live up to the name of the 'iPhone killer'. A big let-down was undoubtedly attributed to there being limited Apps for the G1 compared to Apple's huge Apps store and also it’s synthetic chunky build. The iPhone also outperformed the G1 when it came down to media playback and build quality. A valiant try nonentheless.

Since G1's introduction Apple have released a 3Gs version of the iPhone. Whilst Android has, quite remarkedly, exploded onto the scene, with succesive release since the same milestone. The plethora of Android handsets released in a short time span showed successive improvements. The the open source nature of the OS a big contributing factor to this.

There have been eight Android handsets on the market since the arrival of the technology two years ago. A staggering further 10 handsets have been announced/rumoured for the next quarter. This can only emphasise the intention of Android and the phone manufacturers willing to adopt the technology. It's also a sign of rising popularity and perhaps the prospect of finally producing a mobile handset that will become crowned as the 'iPhone killer'. HTC is at the forefront of Android phones having released the first ever Android device (T-mobile G1) it has continued with successful smart phone devices accumulating in the most recent one: HTC Hero.

HTC Hero

Following it's Europe release in July 2009 the handset has made great in-roads, grabbing the Phone of the Year and the Gadget of the Year acolade at the T3 Gadget Awards. Coming as a surprise to some, the HTC Hero has for a good while been compared to iPhone's repertoire, and whilst for many, would seem to be equal to the iPhone's brilliance others would say that the Hero surpasses the iPhone in every area. The Hero owes it's success to the new Sense technology, which is something that can’t wholly be described in words. It needs to be observed:

Android marches on to stamp it's newly found authority with the highly awaited, and elusive, Motorola Droid phone. Motorola has been responsible for releasing adverts specifically promoting a mobile device that not only is rich in features but also makes up for the iPhone’s shortfalls.

Moto Droid

High-speed Web browsing, voice-activated search, customizable large screen, access to thousands of Android applications and hundreds of widgets are just a small selection of the selling points of the Droid. A sturdy handset and despite it being thin Motorola have managed to fit a QWERTY slide keyboard to accompany the touch keyboard. The Droid makes it the first handset to be preloaded with Android 2.0 technology and delivers a quicker and slicker feel to the OS than previous Android versions. This notable feature is matched by a 5MP camera with dual LED flash; something the iPhone lacks. The signs are clear that this phone was built with the iPhone in mind: to match it and surpass it in every section.

Droid Fact Sheet and Specifications

The ball is now in Apple’s court. If they wish to maintain their dominance in the smart phone industry they will undoubtedly have to produce something that can be said to be an ‘Android killer’; for that appears to be the new benchmark. Apple cannot surely rest on their laurels with their achievements thus far and their vast array of iPhone applications. Android technology is always evolving, it’s open source technology has given it a head-start over Apple’s.

Will iPhone’s longstanding reputation save it or will the exciting offerings of Android technology swoon users over to the new ‘iPhone’? Only time will tell.

Royal Mail: Unacceptable, Disgraceful, Shambolic!

Image Source: Stock.XCHNG

These are some of the words that could be said to describe the Royal Mail-Communications Workers Union fiasco. Following weeks upon weeks of delays in mail being delivered the CWU have finally decided to hold two 24-hour strikes, at the detriment to the taxpayer. The dispute over job cuts has escalated to two strikes on the 22nd Oct and 23rd Oct.

The reality of the situation is that both sides, Royal Mail and the CWU, have agreed that cuts are needed to compensate for falling revenue. Royal Mail has seen losses of 170m per annum from it's letters and packages business. It is thought that the jobs of approximately 170,000 workers in mail centres and delivery offices will be lost first.

The 'reasoning' behind the ballots is that Royal Mail managers have so far been refusing to specify the extent to which the cuts will affect the workers. On the one hand it could be argued that the CWU are taking disproportionate action against something that in essence has already been decided, but, on the other hand you have Royal Mail not taking their employees seriously enough.

Despite Royal Mail having a backlog of mail and parcels as long as the Thames these strikes will hit postal services even harder, crippling not only business that rely on the Royal Mail but also its reputation. Having suffered a similar fate in the wildcate walk-out two years ago Royal Mail haven't seemed to have learned their costly lesson. Having cost the capital's economy £300m alone last time, it would seem reasonable to expect to avoid another similar scenario.

Someone needs to tell them to grow up and rid them of their selfish ways; the economy is already bad enough as it is. Action by the CWU is perhaps callous and abusing their rights as a union to strike. Royal Mail undoubtedly have to be careful if it wishes to maintian it's stranglehold on the postal services market; if it can't provide an efficient public sector service it should expect more competition from other companies awaiting in it's shadows to jump in it's shoes. The problem essentially stems from the CWU, but the CWU is the Royal Mail's problem to sort out, not ours.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8260701.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8304722.stm

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