Could HTC be the next Apple?

HTC is a world-renowned phone manufacturing company known for creating quality handsets. However, given the cut-throat smartphone market today, manufacturers can’t be content to just deliver great hardware, but focus on that special oomph factor to set them apart from the rest as well.

The Taiwanese manufacturer can only boast of its superior hardware but when it comes to the operating system, it has been piggybacking on two hot OSes today — Android and Windows Phone 7.

In this sense, HTC is good in one thing — being second place. Content such as video and games are increasingly necessary to stand out in a market full of Android and Windows Phone devices. Question is, can HTC pull it off? Does it have what it takes to follow Apple’s footsteps?

Let’s examine the possibility.

Unsecured Market Leader Position

At the beginning of May, Taiwan-based mobile vendor HTC was the fifth biggest smartphone manufacturer in terms of shipments, posting record revenues in the last quarter. The success of HTC relies heavily on the two operating systems it runs on, but it fails to grasp a solid first place position from either.

The competition for the Android market continues to intensify, especially from Samsung, the largest Android manufacturer. While with Windows Phone 7, even though HTC gets the top spot according to estimates by AdGAC. the overall sales of WP7 phones is not that impressive. Given the recent partnership announcedbetween Microsoft and Nokia and new OEMs Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE jumping in, HTC’s market advantage could easily be be edged out.

HTC may be performing well right now but it’s in a very vulnerable position to easily be toppled by other brands. How does it differentiate? All of HTC’s devices are equipped with the functional, beautiful Sense UI and HTC Sense cloud features — but based on results, it’s hardly enough.

As HTC CEO Peter Chou said in a Financial Times report, the company needs to move beyond skinned interfaces: “It is not enough to be skin-deep. We need to go bone-deep.”

It certainly has with the announcement of its new developer initiative called HTCdev, which would offer mobile app developers with various tools and resources to build apps tailor made for HTC Sense phones.

Building Up The HTC Empire

There were rumors going around late last year about HTC planning to open up its very own App Store, which highlights the increasing pressure on device manufacturers to differentiate themselves through content and Internet services, as competition heats up in the fast-growing smartphone sector.

The manufacturing company also invested on two huge companies — Saffron Digital, which distributes video for handset manufacturers and carriers, and OnLive, the gaming platform which streams video games to a PC or TV.

HTC also currently enjoys a partnership with US e-books distributor Kobo and it is thought that the company’s recent hires have been brought in to assist with delivering Kobo’s content worldwide but to also help the expansion of its new HTCSense.com service.

Although the deals do not force exclusivity with HTC, it gives the manufacturer a solid position to be right in the thick of things and it wouldn’t be surprising if it takes advantage of its position to get better access to content over competitors.

Aside from these facts, there’s also a rumor that we’ve heard about HTC being a $10 million backer to Taiwan’s first incubator, appWorks. Such a powerful financial move could place HTC into the position to buy up startups and talent before they’re seen elsewhere.

Following Apple’s Footsteps

Smartphone manufacturers that aim to dominate can’t just build their own interfaces as HTC has done up to this point with its Sense UI. They need to focus on finding ways to differentiate and be actively involved in the content side too.

While none of the examples above are definitive evidences to HTC coming up with its new platform, it’s fun to speculate with the idea.

I am not suggesting that HTC drops its support to Android and Windows Phone but instead, introduce its very own operating system to take advantage of exclusive content and features.

Doing so would put HTC directly in Apple’s footsteps, where the manufacturer is also dictating the software of the device. It’s a method that has rung true for Apple thus far, and could prove to be the tipping point for HTC’s continued success.

[Source-Internet]

READ EBOOK IN HTML 5 , Developed by CHROME TEAM

CLICK HERE TO GET HTML 5 LOOK 

The Google Chrome team has created a guide “20 Things” to help explain complex but fascinating ideas about technology. It is expected that, Google Chrome Browser and the upcoming Chrome OS will run HTML5 powered Web Apps. This can be considered as Google’s attempt to increase appeal for HTML5 Web Apps. “20 Things” is built in HTML5, without usinf Flash for flipping the page.

The eBook, “20 Things I Learned About Browsers And The Web (20thingsilearned.com)”, answers basic questions every common internet user will have .

1. 
   

Foreword to 20 Things

Many of us these days depend on the World Wide Web to bring the world’s information to our fingertips, and put us in touch with people and events across the globe instantaneously.

These powerful online experiences are possible thanks to an open web that can be accessed by anyone through a web browser, on any Internet-connected device in the world.
But how do our browsers and the web actually work? How has the World Wide Web evolved into what we know and love today? And what do we need to know to navigate the web safely and efficiently?
“20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web” is a short guide for anyone who’s curious about the basics of browsers and the web. Here’s what you’ll find here:
First we’ll look at the Internet, the very backbone that allows the web to exist. We’ll also take a look at how the web is used today, through cloud computing and web apps.
Then, we’ll introduce the building blocks of web pages like HTML and JavaScript, and review how their invention and evolution have changed the websites you visit every day. We’ll also take a look at the modern browser and how it helps users browse the web more safely and securely.
Finally, we’ll look ahead to the exciting innovations in browsers and web technologies that we believe will give us all even faster and more immersive online experiences in the future.

Life as citizens of the web can be liberating and empowering, but also deserves some self-education. Just as we’d want to know various basic facts as citizens of our physical neighborhoods — water safety, key services, local businesses — it’s increasingly important to understand a similar set of information about our online lives. That’s the spirit in which we wrote this guide. Many of the examples used to illustrate the features and functionality of the browser often refer back to Chrome, the open-source browser that we know well. We hope you find this guide as enjoyable to read as we did to create.

Happy browsing!

Insane: Argentine Footballer Lionel Messi Grabs 6.5 Million Facebook Fans in 3 HOURS

I’m happy to get a few new likes a day on my Facebook profile, but not Lionel “Leo” Messi. He joined Facebook just a few short hours ago and now has over 6 and a half million fans and he’s not done yet. Just in the process of writing this article he’s already jumped up another 10 thousand.

Messi’s Facebook page was flooded with fans after he joined the site this morning, getting over 12,000 likes on his first wall post alone. It’s unclear at this point why Messi fans are flocking to his page in such numbers but at this point he actually has more fans than his sponsor Adidas who only has 1.8 million fans! Currently his page has over 6.6 million Likes in the just over 3 hours that his page has been active.

Messi became the youngest Argentine to play in the World Cup back in 2006 and has set scoring goals for current team FC Barcelona in every season since. In the 2009-2010 season he equaled Ronaldo’s scoring record of 47 goals in all competitions. Messi is an incredibly accomplished player at 23 and some believe that he may become one of the best players ever if he stays on course. His popularity with the Argentine fans is near universal and may have something to do with the quick response to his new Facebook page. It also doesn’t hurt that his club, FC Barcelona, posted up the news about his fan page on their wall. They currently have over 12 million followers of their own so I don’t think that Messi’s follower count is done growing yet.

We’re not sure if this is a record number of followers for a fan page in such a short time, but if it’s not, it should be. Rapper Lil-Wayne set a record for likes on a single post in one day back in February and currently has over 20 million followers but the speed of response by Messi’s fans seems set to eclipse that in short order.

We’ve contacted Facebook to see if Messi’s crop of followers was landed in record time and we’ll update you when they get back to us.

Google’s 174 web fonts downloadable

Google Web Fonts are a great way to get started using new typefaces on the web without paying for a service like Typekit.Google Web Fonts is the best way to add amazing new free fonts to your site. Google web fonts are web safe fonts, which can be added to any site by adding a few simple lines of code to your html.

Enthused by the new font technology and with the intention to improve our web design fonts,  we tested out the Google web fonts. And it was much easier than I thought and was compatible with most web browsers.

Of course, it could be worse. Users of services such as Typekit pay an annual subscription for access to web fonts, and still have to make a separate purchase that can easily cost hundreds of dollars just to use a couple of those fonts in Photoshop.

Click Here To Download all fonts

MOTERA PITCH WILL ASSIST SPINNERS

NEWS FROM TIMES OF INDIA 


 The Motera pitch, where the second quarterfinal of the World Cup will be played on Thursday, should hold no worry for the Indians. In fact, it has every thing that should excite MS Dhoni & Co.

On offer is a flat track with very low dead grass just to hold the surface together with slow bounce and carry but no lateral movement whatsoever. The early period of the innings, when the ball comes nicely to the bat, would be ideal for someone like Virender Sehwag, who likes hitting through the line on the up. Once the track is few overs old, the slowness of the pitch will give the fast bowlers something to look forward to as stroke-making becomes difficult.

That seamers bagged 14 of the 26 wickets that fell during the last two Cup matches at the venue shows that fast bowlers willing to experiment can extract some purchase from the 'dead' track. Then again, the way the Zimbabwe slow bowlers spun a web against the mighty Aussies in the first match here gives the impression that tweakers too can make life difficult for batsmen.

With the sun getting hotter by the day and the weather getting drier, there is a possibility that the pitch will assist the spinners. Though dew shouldn't be a concern in these parts at this time of the year, the outfield under lights might give away some moisture. "It all depends on the amount of watering you are doing on the outfield and the pitch in the buildup to the match. Gujarat is a dry state so one should be very careful with the amount of water one uses. If you use less water, then the outfield will be dry and even the pitch might break early. If you are using more water, you might end up having thick and tall growth of grass which will result in more work for the groundsmen and a slow outfield," curator Dhiraj Parsana had said before the first match between Australia and Zimbabwe on February 21.

Parsana however refused to talk anything about the track for the quarterfinal. "I will be able to talk in detail only on Wednesday. There is still some time before the match and we are working towards giving a good one-day wicket."

Meanwhile, both teams landed in Ahmedabad on Monday evening. While the Indian team landed in the city from Chennai at around 6:30 pm and checked in to a five-star hotel in the Satellite area, the Australian team arrived at around 10 pm.

MITCHELL & LEE TO TARGET SHEWAG'S & SACHIN'S RIB-CAGE

Mitchell Johnson has vowed to rattle Virender Sehwag's rib cage as Australia's pace battery prepare to target the Indian master blaster and his opening partner Sachin Tendulkar.
Sehwag and Tendulkar are the most lethal opening pair in world cricket, with the duo having amassed 3752 runs in 86 one-day innings at 43.63.


 Should the Indian pair put on 102 runs, they will surpass Australia's Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh (3853) as the fourth most prolific opening partnership in one-day history.
But the Australians know a blazing start by Sehwag and Tendulkar will almost certainly shatter their World Cup defence.

Australia's bowlers held a private meeting at their team hotel, with Johnson revealing plans to launch a sustained attack on the Indian openers.

"I don't mind bowling up into (Sehwag's) rib-cage to be honest," Johnson said.

"Hopefully we can get him out in the first over. In the bowlers' meeting I asked the question, 'How many times he has scored four from the first ball?' so he likes to score quickly.

"He's a dangerous player and we'll be looking to get him as quickly as we can. We'll stick to our plans and stick to what we know best of what works against him.
 "Sehwag seems to struggle with (the short ball) a bit but I guess putting pressure on him, if he gets a single it puts pressure
on the batsman at the other end.

"It's always a good challenge to bowl to someone like that, he doesn't really use his feet but he can hit the ball hard.

"It will be a pretty good start to the game if we can get him early.

"If we can get two or three of their big guns early on it really changes the way they think about their game. It's something we've spoken about and we'll work hard to try and do it.

"You always try and target their best players ... and Sehwag and Tendulkar are their best players."

Johnson has 10 wickets in this tournament at 19.00, but has claimed just two scalps in his last four matches. He says he is ready to lift against the Indians in a match he described as the biggest occasion of his 95-match one-day career.

"Inside I feel very confident," he said. ''I don't think I've been too bad this tournament.

"I started pretty well with a few four-fors against (Zimbabwe) and New Zealand. I feel I'm not too far away again, I've been getting a few plays and misses on wickets that aren't for fast bowling.

"We need to stick together in this game. In the end it's not about individual performances, it's about the team and hopefully I can contribute.

"I do like getting wickets, every fast bowler does, so I'll be looking to do the best job I can.

"It's do or die, we need to win this game or we'll be going home. We want to do ourselves and our country proud."

The Top 5 Mobile Handset Manufacturers Of The Last Decade

The mobile phone market has changed remarkably over the past decade, as technology continues to adapt and use of smartphones begin to catchup to featurephone use.

VisionMobile decided to chart how the market has changed over the past decade, creating a stunning infographic that details how mobile manufacturers have tried to claw back market share from the ever-dominant Nokia.

We have embedded it below, click the image for the full-size infographic: