‘Ask Ziggy’, the Windows Phone rival to Apple’s Siri
Windows Developer Shai Leib has jumped into the fray, and has introduced a Windows Phone app, dubbed ‘Ask Ziggy’, that, for all intents and purposes, attempts to rival Apple’s Siri personal assistant app for the iPhone 4S. Similar to Siri, Ask Ziggy uses voice recognition technology instead of conventional text entry for search queries. Users can search for directions, flight statuses, financial stock prices, weather, calculation results and other data, using the app on a device running WP7.
Slash
Gear
Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus confirmed: 1GHz processor meets iPhone 3GS styling
We enjoyed our time with the Samsung Galaxy Ace - it was Android for the masses and despite the iPhone 4 styling, when launched it was a pretty unique, well-priced mid-range proposition. Now it looks like an image of its successor, the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus has made its way to Samsung's official pages and if there's a common thread between the Galaxy Ace plus and its predecessor - it isn't just in the name.
Recombu
Up to 20 per cent of web traffic via mobile, says Shopatron
eCommerce solutions provider Shopatron has released its predictions for online retail in 2012, and they all point to one thing that mobile is fundamentally changing the way people shop. From January to December 2011, the percentage of visits to Shopatron brand partner stores on mobile grew from 6.5 per cent to 12.2 per cent. The report, 10 Ways Online Will Change Life for Brands and Retailers, predicts that number will grow to 18-20 per cent by the end of 2012.
Mobile
Marketing
Five predictions for enterprise technology in 2012
- Search will become smarter
- The "Like" button will enter the enterprise
- Much like you currently do on common search engines with public information, the process of asking a question online, marking it as important and then finding an expert source could be modelled internally within the enterprise.
- Cloud-based solutions will hit a critical mass - Although mid-market companies are probably already there in terms of leveraging the combination of social software with collaboration technologies such as Yammer, Fortune 100s and 500s will begin to adopt in 2012.
- The Millennial generation will continue to influence major changes
Wired
Hackers attack Philippine government Websites
Several government Websites shut down on 1 January as a result of attacks.Hackers launched a series of New Year's day attacks that temporarily shut down several Philippine government websites including the office of the vice-president, officials said Monday. Vice President Jejomar Binay said hackers calling themselves the PrivateX group brought down his official website for 15 hours Sunday and denied access to mostly migrant Filipinos checking on his office's activities.
Total
Telecom
LG to give Intel a shot at mobile
Rumoured to be lining up an Intel-powered smartphone for CES 2012. Intel has been singularly unsuccessful at breaking into the phone space over the years, for all its dominance in the desktop market. Instead its ARM tech that underpins most of the world's devices, with Qualcomm, Nvidia, TI and others doing the manufacturing.However, the chip firm is driving hard into tablets and its new 'ultrabook' slimline notebook device family thanks to its Mooretown and Medfield microprocessors. And maybe it has a shot at smartphones.
Mobile
Entertainment
Dagenham council: Only language our tenants understand is SMS
Barking and Dagenham council has launched a free text message service which allows housing tenants and leaseholders to get information about their council related affairs more easily, without having to use the local authority's contact centre. Residents can send a message to the council and they will receive a reply with their rental balance. The service also includes a text reminder for things that they would previously have received a letter about, such as rent arrears.
The
Register
SMS Donations and Volunteering to Boom in 2012
2012 is set to see a boom in charitable giving and volunteering using mobile phones, with young people leading innovation in giving. So says PhonepayPlus, the UK regulator of premium rate telephone services that oversees charity text donation in the UK. PhonepayPlus says it saw a huge increase in interest in charity text donation in 2011, and that this looks set to continue in 2012.
Mobile
Marketing
iOS finishes 2011 with 52% share of mobile web browsing
Apple has finished 2011 with its iOS commanding 52.1 percent share of mobile web browsing. The data comes from Net Applications, which keeps track of the unique visitor count to its network of websites. Although still in far ahead, iOS did drop from a 54.06 percent lead in January 2011. The dominance of iOS in mobile web browsing has been generally steady throughout the year with only a few fluctuations. Its market share had climbed to 61.5 percent in October, likely due to the launch of the iPhone 4S.
Slash
Gear
Google starts rolling out a new look
Internet search giant Google has started rolling out a new look interface for some users.The redesign shifts the web page layout and how users can access the different parts of Google. The firm has replaced the previous horizontal black bar at the top with a grey logo, from which a drop down menu can be accessed.Google announced the revamp a while ago and said, "We're now ready for the next stage of our redesign - a new Google bar that will enable you to navigate quickly between our services, as well as share the right stuff with the right people easily on Google+."
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