If you are the type of person who listens to the age old 'size does matter' saying, then chances are that you spend most of your life walking around feeling inferior to those around you. General society has this belief that bigger is always better, in every situation, all of the time which in most circumstances I would strongly disagree with. However, if you are to believe the research carried out by Strategy Analytics then it would appear that bigger is indeed better when it comes to mobile devices.
While the minor, incremental Windows Phone Tango/Refresh update is right around the corner - which, primarily, will allow Windows Phone to penetrate the lower-end emerging markets with diminished hardware requirements and functionality - a far more major update is on the horizon.
Security, or the lack of it, is very much a hot button topic these days, and nowhere more so than in the mobile space. It seems things may be getting worse before they get any better.
Ah Skype, the world wide web’s voice-over-internet protocol of choice and probably the most well known brand name to offer VoIP services. When Niklas Zennström originally created the Skype service, I often wondered if he had any idea that it would become such a popular platform around the world and that the might of Microsoft would ultimately come in and acquire the company like it did last year. For those that may have been living under a rather large rock for the last few years, Skype allows registered users to make worldwide voice calls via the internet as well as offering instant messaging-type services and is available on multiple platforms.
Now, this is a fairly spontaneous rumor with little proof, so this one must be taken with a grain of salt: Microsoft is reportedly in talks with record labels on creating a new music service that caters to the Xbox and "an upcoming Windows-based phone".
Whenever I get a new or upgraded smartphone, the first application that I always head for is my preferred Twitter app but I concede that is possibly due to the fact that I am not really a Facebook user. With over 800 million active account holders, it is no surprise that the Facebook mobile application is one of the most downloaded pieces of software across all mobile platforms.
Remember when the original iPhone was launched in 2007 and you were blown away by the fact that it was an advanced mobile phone, a media player and an iPod all mashed together into one beautiful device? Remember when you were listening to music and you turned the device into landscape orientation for the first time and the UI morphed into a beautiful Cover Flow of the available album artwork? Even if that wasn't enough to make your jaw hit the floor, when I saw a friend’s iPhone do that, it was enough to make me rush out and buy one right away.
Regardless of whether you are a fan of the Apple iPhone or not, it is very difficult to argue with the freight train momentum and success that the mobile smartphone has achieved in the last five years. Judging by the statistics that surround the sales of the phone, and the record breaking financial results posted by Apple for the end of 2011, it seems that the popularity of the iPhone is set to rise and rise with every release.
Whilst iOS and Android dominate much of the mobile software headlines, Microsoft has been steadily building a stable legion of support from consumers and developers alike.
While there is no news of Instagram for Windows Phone 7*, an independent developer has released an alternative app of sorts called InstaCam. Details after the jump!
