Hodentek Mobile

The field is full of actors having various kinds of difficulties from exploding phones to trembling hardware infected with 'touch disease'. Apart from the headline news of problems there is the underlying problem with 'Sales'. Google wants to take on Apple, if I go by some of the Internet sites. Microsoft has tried to enter smart phone market with a really good phone like Microsoft Lumia 950. It has not made any significant dent and can Google with similarly priced phones with very similar features do any better. OK, there is a better camera, so what? Google is also moving to AI-First from Mobile-First. Looks like it wants to one-up the Microsoft's Mobile-First slogan. Google phones were already in the market with the brand name Nexus made by Chinese and Korean manufacturers but now PIXEL is a Google branded phone made by HTC. Pre-ordering has started in many countries and you can pre-order at the Google site. The most significant feature of what makes...

The new iPhone7 may debut the wireless EarPod, the much awaited wireless earphone. It is about cutting the cord and I love it. I love to get away from then tangle of wires, even with the best of arrangements to keep them neat and compact. One thing less in the complexity is highly welcome. Wireless earphones are there already (Erato Audio and Rowkin Mini) according to what you can read here . How do the iPhone connects to Earpod? It appears Bluetooth technology will be used. when not listening they can be used for other activities like answering voice calls and many more. It is not far fetched to see SIRI coming into the picture as well. In summary, it is more than a wireless headphone, it is more an integrated peripheral for the phone. Does it take away energy from the battery, probably it does, and how much is going to what matters in terms of battery usability before recharging. As for me even the best of the headphones are not good enough if the buds do not sit correctly, comfort...

Cortana is not a character from a game anymore, she is real and every one of you can have her. By now you should be knowing who Cortana is. She is my new digital assistant. I fired the previous one, she was OK. I will not reveal her name but she was not as good as Cortana. Most of the times Cortana answers straight out or brings up a link on Bing search or a Bing Map. I am not sure if Cortana gets better with time (AI). It looks like Cortana can be integrated into APPS written for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. I am looking forward to see some examples. If Cortana is in a good mood she gives me straight asnwers, like, If I ask her to sing me lullaby, she obliges and asks me if Oh! Danny Boy is OK. I guess she can read my mood. Some things are no brainer for her, like: Will it be sunny in Bengaluru, tomorrow? Will it rain tomorrow? Here are pieces of conversation I had with her and her responses are in blue. What day is tomorrow? and she brings up my appoi...

Looking at Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 Developer preview you can really appreciate how fast Microsoft has bridged the gap that separated Windows Phone  from its competitors. Apple had its Siri (Voice based instant help) and Google its Google Now (Right information at just the right time). Now Microsoft has combined all these features in one, CORTANA , the vocie operated digital intelligence with a human voice behind it. This catch up with the major players is sure to improve Microsoft's Mobile presence and guarantees a solid position. Many other features are making an impact, tiles updated live, pinnable Sense features ( Battery Saver, Data Sense, Storage Sense and Wi-Fi Sense) and more hardware manufacturers making Windows Phones.

Windows Phone 8.1 updates the present phone. According to rumor mill (not so unlikely rumor), Windows Phone 8.1 with Personal Digital Assistant Cortana should be available as early as April 2014. This may coincide with the build conference. Looks like Bing Search will be replaced by 'Cortana' for voice and text search, taking the battle a step nearer to Apple's 'Siri' and Google's NOW. MSFT has done lot of work with voice and I am not sure why they did not turn on this feature earlier. MSFT does not like to test water, unless a shark is swimming and a whale is shooting air. Anyway, good luck, it's never too late. Nokia appears to be working on the hardware side of the phone with mostly 007 related stuff like 'Goldfinger' a '3D touch' system(Industry first?) and 'Moneypenny' using onscreen keyboard. According to the same sources, looks like Microsoft also wants a second serious hardware manufacturer, the like of Samsung and it wo...