Fantastic Mobile

Google has announced the first smartwatches powered by its Android Wear operating system are now available for pre-order.

The LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live – both featuring rectangular screens – mark an attempt to standardise the way Android wearable devices function.

Google said that Motorola’s circular Moto 360 would not be released until “later this summer”.

Analysts say the move to a unified approach could drive sales. Samsung’s Gear Live marks a return to Android – its Galaxy Gear 2 watch used Tizen

“The problem with smartwatches so far has been that the sector hasn’t quite decided what it wants to be – is it a phone on your wrist or an accessory device,” Steffen Sorrell, from the Juniper Research consultancy, told the BBC.

“Once you introduce Android Wear, it will hopefully provide a more focused case for what the devices are capable of. And that’s a direction that could invigorate the market.”

Read More – Via BBC Tech

Every 4 years, the World comes together to celebrate ‘The Beautiful Game’. With this years celebration to be held in Brazil, it’s set to be one of the biggest and brightest celebrations of all, and, all the way from sunny Leeds, we want to join in.

To show our appreciation for the big competition, we’ve been beavering away for the past couple of months to give away this beautiful little app to celebrate the World Cup in Brazil, 2014.

Complete kits from the past 16 years, to see how much you know about world football. The more kits you complete, the more points you get. The more points you get, the more you know! Simple!

You can download your FREE copy by heading to the KitQuiz website: http://kitquiz.fantastic-mobile.co.uk/

Available now on the App Stores! Consider yourself a World Football Guru? From England to Egypt, from Bosnia to Brazil they are all in there to test your knowledge.

Fantastic’s Operations Director, Richard Jones, has made it onto the Insider’s 2014 42 Under 42 list.

The 42 Under 42 programme recognises some of Yorkshire and the Humber’s most dynamic and inspirational young entrepreneurs and celebrates their success in helping to grow the regional economy.

The prestigious club has featured some of the region’s most successful business people over the last 15 years and culminates each year with a free awards and networking event for all 42 Under 42 alumni, Richard will be attending this year’s event taking place on 1st May.

Richard Jones commented: “I am extremely honoured to be featured in the 42 Under 42 list. At Fantastic Media we practice what we preach, which I believe is key to our continued growth and stability in a volatile market. It’s great to also see some familiar names on the list, including Fantastic client, Oliver North of NorthFire.”

Consumers will be able to use mobile phone numbers to make bank payments from 29 April, it has been announced.

The changes mean that account-holders will be able to pay friends, family or traders without having to ask for their bank details.

Instead, they will only need to ask for their mobile number, according to the Payments Council.

However both parties will have to register to use the service, known as Paym – pronounced “Pay Em”.

Customers can register in advance, from Wednesday 2 April.

The Payments Council, which supervises banking transactions in the UK, has rejected fears about fraud.

Neil Aitken, from the Payments Council, told BBC Radio 5 live that the system was secure.

Users will be able to touch a mobile number to make the payment “The only thing that people would be able to do if they got your mobile number is pay you – it will be integrated in to your existing banking app so it’s password protected,” he said.

Read original article here.

Google has announced a version of its Android operating system designed specifically for wearable devices.

The first release of Android Wear is designed for smartwatches and helps them follow voice commands.

Google said it was also working with electronics firms, chip makers and fashion labels on wearable gadgets running Android.

One of the first Android Wear devices will be Motorola’s Moto 360 smart watch that will go on sale in the summer.

The search giant’s work on Android Wear builds on its experiences with Google Glass augmented spectacles.

Android Wear was announced via the official Google blog and marks a significant move for the company into the wearables sector.

In a blogpost Sundar Pichai, head of Android at Google, said the software would prove useful for gadgets that monitor key health parameters or which people use when they go running or cycling.

It could also lead to a class of devices that respond quickly to spoken commands including answering short questions, booking a taxi or sending a text without having to tap anything on a smartphone touchscreen.

Google said it was working on a new user interface for Android that reacted quickly, was driven by a person’s voice and which drew on contextual information, such as a user’s location, to be useful.

Software development kits which application developers can play with have also been released.

“We’re always seeking new ways for technology to help people live their lives and this is just another step in that journey,” wrote Mr Pichai.

The decision to move into wearables would pitch Google into more intense competition with arch-rival Apple, said Stuart Miles, founder of tech news site Pocket-lint.

“It’s a threat to Apple because the Android ecosystem is growing so fast,” he said.

Some of the early designs for Android Wear smart watches looked great, he added, and if that were combined with a good second-screen notification system it could win people over and get them to defect from Apple,

However, he said, his experiences of living with a Pebble smart watch for the last four months showed that people had yet to adapt to the appearance of such devices.

“The social element that is against it is that people think you are bored of them when you are looking at your smart watch,” he said.

From the BBC. Click to read the original article.

The amount spent by UK shoppers online increased on average by 16% per person in 2012 compared to 2011, according to the latest data from Ofcom.

The figures show that the average spend was £1,175 compared to £1,017 the year before.

The figure is more than double the average spend per head of other countries in the survey.

According to Ofcom’s research, shoppers in the UK trust online retailers more than shoppers in other countries.

We’ve seen similar results to this from our M-Commerce websites, with our mobile websites sites reporting a 133% increase in revenue.

Read more from this article on the BBC Tech website (Via BBC).

Fantastic Mobile’s trophy collection is rapidly growing after bringing two more awards home from last night’s Reporter Series Business Awards.

The seventh Reporter Series Business Awards took place at Dewsbury Town hall, where guests enjoyed a red carpet entrance and three course dinner. The event honoured firms of all shapes and sizes, praising innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and hard-working staff.

Look North presenter Clare Frisby presented nine awards to the lucky winners, judged by Kirklees Council chief executive Adrian Lythgo and the chief executive of last year’s Business of The Year, Rixonway Kitchens’ Paul Rose.

Fantastic Mobile took away the award for ‘Business for the Digital Age’; this celebrates the firms work towards innovation in web, mobile and apps which has already been commended by various industry awards.

David Ford, Head of Mobile Development said, “It’s great that our work has been recognised within the local area, we work with Regional and National companies and move their businesses forward using different digital channels. It’s important for us to educate companies on the new digital age, and introduce them to opportunities they may have not previously considered exploring.”

The second win of the evening went to Fantastic’s MD Andy Hobson, who was crowned as ‘Business Person of the Year’. Andy commented; “I was brought up in the local area so I am very proud to receive this prestigious award on my home turf. I am very pleased with the work Fantastic has produced this year, and I am very much looking forward to considerable growth in 2014.”

To see the list of winners from the event click here.

Last night saw the prestigious Digital Entrepreneur Awards, at the grand Hilton Manchester.

The event is pronounced as being ‘the UK’s only national awards dedicated to internet entrepreneurialism’, created and hosted to celebrate the best in new and upcoming, rapidly growing industries. With previous winners from the likes of Sainsburys to Square Enix, the awards are known for identifying and celebrating the ‘UK’s online elite’.

On the night there was a total of 12 categories to be shared between 50 finalists, including ourselves, nominated for ‘Best Use of Mobile’ for our work on the Pitchero iOS app, and our sister company Fantastic Media, for ‘Social Media Campaign of the year – SME’ with Fruitypot.

Our category was filled with other prestigious and worthy development agencies and projects, such as Apadmi, Apposing, British Museum, Re:Systems, Selesti and VoxPopMe. However, on the night we were successful, managing to scoop the award from a tough group of entries. The judges where very complementary about our work with Pitchero, and commented on the fact that the app stood out well for its added value to the Pitchero product and overall great results, putting the user first and taking Pitchero pitch side.

After Pitchero recognised the need to go mobile, they came to us to discuss the possibility of us kick-starting their mobile offering. We came to the conclusion that, to start with, they needed an iPhone App that allows users to consume the vast amount of data Pitchero has to offer, on their iOS mobile devices.

Fantastic Mobile’s sister company, Fantastic Media, also picked up their award, fighting off other top entries, such as Brandwatch, Female Entrepreneurs Association, My Clever Agency, Neon Play, Nuko and Top Deck Travel, to scoop ’Social Media Campaign of the year – SME’.

Overall, the DEA event was a great night, and congratulations need to be shared between all the finalists, award winners and also the organisers for putting together a fantastic night.

LG has announced it is to start mass-production of what it calls the “world’s first flexible OLED [organic light-emitting diode] panel for smartphones”.

The South Korean firm said it hoped to start selling the first handsets to feature the tech next year.

The news comes weeks after Samsung made a similar announcement.

Samsung said it intended to launch its first product – a special edition of the Galaxy Note 3 – later this month.

Could this be the next big innovation for the Smartphone industry? Or is it just a bit of a gimmick?

Read more from this article on the BBC Tech website (Via BBC).

Yesterday saw the release of the eagerly anticipated annual update to Apple’s iPhone, at an press conference simply titled: ‘This should brighten everyone’s day’.

But for the first time in the companies history, they have released multiple versions of the iPhone, at different price ranges, to suit different consumers. In the past, Apple had stuck to it’s guns, in releasing only one version of its flagship device, the iPhone, at a time, while it’s competitors swept up in the cheaper, and emerging worlds Smartphone markets. Instead of the usual release, yesterday saw the introduction of the iPhone 5C, a colourful more cost effective version of the iPhone 5, as well as a heavily modified version of the iPhone 5S.

The iPhone 5C

If you happen to have wondered across any latest news/tech magazine websites recently, you most likely won’t find the release of the iPhone 5C much of a surprise, as leaked images and tech specs for the new devices have been a dime-a-dozen. The new iPhone 5C will be released in 5 main colours: blue, green, pink, yellow and white. The all new coloured bodies will be made with a hard-coated polycarbonate (plastic), curved rear with a steel reinforced frame internally for a solid, sturdy feel. The screen will still be made with the super strong glass touch screen as well.

The phone will come with iOS 7 pre-installed, and will be ready for pre-ordering via the Apple website on September 13th. With regards to pricing, the iPhone 5C might not be quite the ‘budget phone’ people might have been expecting. Yes, it is set to be around £80-100 cheaper than the new iPhone 5S, but it will still set you back around £469 for the 16GB (smallest memory) modal, which doesn’t make it the ‘cheap as chips’ device many were speculating.

On the other hand, the device is packed with all the high quality/high performance hardware that we see in the current iPhone 5, with a couple of upgrades to make it still a high performing, premium device. It will feature Apples A6 chip, with a bigger battery and an updated, front facing HD camera, for improved Facetime calling abilities, as well as better ‘selfies’.

“iPhone 5c is everything iPhone 5 was and more, in an all-new design packed with great features,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5c is designed with a beautiful polycarbonate enclosure that looks and feels so solid in your hand.”

The release of the 5C wasn’t met with such high appraisal from all around. Nokia quite cheekily tweeted this image on announcement of the new device:

@nokia_uk “Thanks, #Apple pic.twitter.com/x4w3r8Ghcy“

    iPhone 5S

We also saw the premier of the updated version of the iPhone 5, the 5S. This came along side the announcement that Apple will no longer be selling/making the iPhone 5, dropping the device to make way for the new model.

With the new iPhone 5C hitting the shelves in a range of colours, the iPhone 5S misses the chance to add a splash of colour, only having Gold added to the range of White and Black that will be available. The bodies will be, much like the iPhone 5, still consisting of a primarily “anodized aluminum body with diamond cut chamfered edges” with glass inlays, which isn’t much of a change with regards to look and feel physically.

The area in which the new 5S steals the show, however, is when you look at the new features added to the device. The biggest innovation is the use of Apples new Touch ID is described as “an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your iPhone with just the touch of a finger” and will allow you to unlock your phone and pay for iTunes/App Store purchases by just touching the home button on the new device. This is enabled by the button housing their new fingerprint scanner, that takes high-resolution images of your fingerprint and intelligently analyze it to provide accurate readings from any angle. This in turn opens and unlocks the device and its secure features, as what is more secure to an individual user, that their finger prints (always on you, unique to you alone)?

The second big area to get an upgrade is in the new updated camera. Together with a wider aperture (f2.2), an upgraded sensor, and taking advantage from the new A7 and M7 chips, the new camera is capable of taking vastly improved images on the device, in comparison to previous iterations. The new camera will shoot up to 120 frames per second (compared to a Canon 7D which will only shoot up to 60fps), as well as featuring a 10 frames per second ‘burst’ shutter that will allow the user to capture even the fastest most fleeting moments.

“iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, delivering desktop class architecture in the palm of your hand,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5s sets a new standard for smartphones, packed into its beautiful and refined design are breakthrough features that really matter to people, like Touch ID, a simple and secure way to unlock your phone with just a touch of your finger.”

Overall, I think the 2 new devices are yet another example that Apple, of late, isn’t afraid of mixing up how they’re working, with new devices, and new innovations that continue to keep them at the head of the Smartphone world. My only concerns are that (though the devices do have a couple of new ground breaking upgrades, Touch ID, 120fps camera, etc…) the new devices seem to have taken leads from other Smartphone developers and markets, instead of doing what Apple is best known for, and being the brand that others aspire to emulate.

NB: As a current user of the o2 UK network for my iPhone usage, I can confirm that o2 will be releasing the iPhone 5S in October on their new 4G network.

This week marked the entry into the field of wearable technology of another mobile giant, Samsung, with their new Galaxy Gear Smartwatch.

Though the release of the device may not quite have been the big secretive surprise it was meant to be, Samsung have managed to beat to market their big Smartphone rivals with the release of the Gear, with Apple, Sony, Windows and HTC all rumoured to be working on similar devices. Labelling the device as a ‘fashion accessory’, Samsung will be launching the device in six colours: Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green. The device is set to retail for ‘around £200′ in early October, which is nearly double the cost of Sony’s Smartwatch, at £120.

The watch itself features a 1.63-inch, 320 x 320 pixel Super AMOLED screen, a 1.9-megapixel camera (placed on the wristband), a 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. The main interactive features of the device include being able to receive calls and messages via the device, as well as a host of third party applications on launch, such as Evernote’s note-taking software, auction service eBay, the social network Path and several fitness programs.

Though Samsung seem to have achieved a lot with the specification of the device, with the watch having the same amount of RAM as an iPhone 4S (but is the size of a small packet of matches). The devices itself doesn’t run as a stand alone device, however, as it needs to be paired with the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (which is quite a pricy accessory for your watch…). On launch, the Gear has come in for some heavy scepticism from tech critics. Mashables review went as follows:

“The Galaxy Gear is bigger than most watches and somewhat clunky — especially on smaller wrists. It also feels like a tiny, flat smartphone slapped onto a wristband — a curved screen would’ve improved it a lot.

The performance of the device, however, is somewhat lacking. Perhaps we’re just spoiled by super-fast smartphones (the Gear has 512MB of RAM and an 800MHz processor), but we’d like to see snappier reactions to our taps.

It’s not terribly slow, mind you — it’s just not as fast as we’d expected it to be.”

(Read more here).

The Verge also comment by saying:  ”[The device is] too dependent on its parent device for functionality – which will cost you a fair amount too – and, like all other smartwatches, fails to truly live up to the “smart” part of its name.”

Having not had chance to play with one of the devices myself, I can’t pass too much judgement on how the device is to hold, feel or use. Personally, however, I don’t know if Smartwatches are really going to be the big craze that Samsung is hoping for. In an age when Smartphones are becoming more and more powerful and can do more and more things, I can’t see consumers jumping at the chance to spend and extra £200 to move that functionality from their pockets to their wrists. Especially when the device in their pockets will always have a bigger screen, bigger processors, bigger memory, and easier interactivity.

In my eyes, as the Smartphone becomes more and more a part of every day life, the need for functional accessories, such as watches, is becoming less pragmatic notion, allowing the watch to become more of a fashion accessory, instead of a required and depended on device (much as horses became animals to ride for pleasure as the automobile became easier and more dependable to use). I don’t think I’ll be first in line for the new devices, but I do admire the brave step that Samsung have taken, and I know lots of people will be keen to get their hands on the new Gear at launch.