Back to the Future: how mobile has changed in 10 years

Happy Back to the Future day, fellow DeLorean time-travellers. As Marty and Doc prepare to descend upon October 21st 2015 (which is today as you might have guessed), we’ve decided to go the other way, albeit not as far as the mighty time travellers.

In our very own Back To The Future special, we’re taking a look at the mobile industry and how it’s changed over the past 10 years. It might seem like inconceivable but ten years ago, touchscreens were a fad, the iPhone and Android hadn’t been born yet and Nokia’s Symbian ruled the roost. How times have changed eh?

Nokia’s heyday

There’s a reason that Nokia will always be one of the most iconic names in mobile; in 2005, it was firmly in its heyday and dominated the mobile industry in a way that’s unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. 2005 saw Nokia release the Nokia 7110 which looks suspiciously like the phone used in the 1999 film, The Matrix (although it actually isn’t).

2005 was also when Nokia’s N-series made its debut with the Nokia N70, N90 and N91 all making their bows on the market. The N90 especially looked quite futuristic (above) for its time: imagine if a company bought back this crazy design; would you buy it?

Touchscreens… but not as you know them

Anyone who has been in mobile for a few years will remember the short-lived lifespan of the resistive touchscreen, which was Nokia’s (and others, including Sony) answer to the iPhone’s capacitive touchscreen. Requiring a stylus to operate – which is where Steve Jobs probably got the inspiration for his “If you see a stylus, they blew it” quote – resistive touch screens were pressure sensitive and basically, rubbish.

Pinch to zoom? Nope. On-screen keyboards? We wish. Slim phones? Not a chance. Thank god OEMs saw sense – can you imagine having to press down hard on a screen in order for it to do something? Oh wait… we do have that.

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There’s an app for that

Where would mobile be without the Apple iPhone? Honestly? In a very, very, very bad place. Like it or hate it, the iPhone saw the market shift towards the current capacitive screens in use and in 2008, the concept of the app was born.

As the folks at Microsoft would tell you (having been beaten with this stick numerous times), the lack of apps can destroy a platform before it’s even had a remote chance of being a success. As BlackBerry found out – sometimes it’s just easier to go with an established platform than try to build your own competitor (no matter how good it actually is).

The rise of Asia

Ten years ago, the thought of people buying a phone from an Asian OEM in a Western market was almost unheard of, unless of course, you were buying an entry-level handset. The big OEMs in that day were BlackBerry (aka RIM), Motorola and Nokia who dominated a market where brand loyalty was a big factor in purchase decisions.

Fast forward ten years and these companies have pretty much ceased to exist as we know them; Nokia sold its devices division to Microsoft (and swiftly made an Android device); Motorola has been the subject of a game of pass-the-parcel between various owners but is now a subsidiary of Lenovo (after Google took its valuable patents); BlackBerry still exists but has decided that no one wants BlackBerry 10 and is instead, about to treat us to its first Android device in the form of the stunning BlackBerry Priv (aka the Venice).

Fast forward ten years and 7 of the world’s top 10 leading mobile manufucturers are from China with only one (Apple) from outside Asia and there’s likely to be no change of the status quo for many years. While some are based solely in Asia, most operate around the world, serving up the flagships – such as the S6 Edge, Xperia Z5, Mate S, G4 and more – that most of us call our own.

Mobile in 2045 – the future is a scary place

What will mobile phones be like in 2045 and will they even exist? Is it even possible to predict what consumer technology will be like in 2045? What do you think we’ll see from mobile devices in 30 years and will we even have mobile phones?

Let us know what you think mobile will be like in 30 years and we can all revisit this post on October 21^st 2045 to see who was able to predict the future. If you’re worried about the future (or even if you know), there’s no better way to go Back to the Future than with the Doc himself:

Deal: Pick up a 1-year subscription to Backblaze Unlimited Backup for 50% off (today only)

Finding the right cloud storage service for you can be quite the hassle at times. Some services are convenient, but end up costing you a pretty penny. Also, many services out there limit you on storage space, forcing you to upgrade to a higher plan. With that said, if you’re looking for a quality, unlimited online cloud storage service that won’t break the bank, look no further. Right now, the AA Deals Store is selling a 1-year subscription to Backblaze Unlimited Backup for a massive 50% off, but for today only!

Backblaze will allow you to access all of your files from all of your devices, instantly. It will also back up all of your photos, movies, music and documents automatically, so there’s no need to sync your files manually. Backblaze will also let you retain your deleted files for 30 days after deletion, and you can even back up files from USB Firewall and Thunderbolt drives.

If you’re interested, the Android Authority Deals Store is selling a 1-year subscription to the service for only $24.99, which is 50% off the normal price. And remember, this deal is for today only, so you better hurry! Head to the link below for more information.

• Buy now from the AA Deals Store for just $24.99

Disney’s bringing its own streaming service to the UK

Disney doesn’t need any help distributing its content in the UK. Despite recently inking a new deal with Sky, the company has decided to strike out on its own with a new, standalone streaming service called “DisneyLife.” It’ll launch in November on Android and iOS — with Airplay and Chromecast support — and set you back £9.99 per month, in return for thousands of Disney Channel TV episodes and hundreds of Disney-related albums, books and movies. According to the Financial Times, that includes the entire Pixar collection and many Disney classics including The Jungle Book and Snow White.

Netflix and Amazon Prime Video offer a smattering of Disney films, but they tend to be older releases that cycle out periodically. To gain access to a larger library, many subscribe to Sky or Now TV, or simply purchase their favourite movies individually. DisneyLife could be an attractive alternative, especially if it offers extras like the Frozen soundtrack. What you won’t find, however, is any Marvel or Star Wars films. A missed opportunity? Perhaps, although we suspect those are selling pretty well on DVD and Blu-ray at the moment.

Via: Financial Times

Source: DisneyLife

Dyson says vacuum makers are cheating efficiency tests, VW style

As far as Dyson is concerned, Volkswagen isn’t the only company that should be taken to task over shady efficiency testing. The company’s just launched legal proceedings against Bosch in the Netherlands and Siemens in Germany, claiming its competitors are slapping misleadingly high energy efficiency ratings on their vacuum cleaners. Siemen’s Q8.0 and Bosch’s GL80/In’Genius ProPerform models both sport AAAA ratings, based on power consumption measurements of 750W. But according to Dyson’s internal tests, this figure can jump to more than 1600W — the maximum EU regulations allow for vacuum cleaners — in real-world conditions. Chugging that much electricity would supposedly land those products in E/F rating territory, far from the AAAA label advertised.

Apparently, this is because both machines have sensors that send the motors into overdrive when they’re actually sucking up dust. In this way, Dyson claims Siemens and Bosch are capitalizing on “flawed” European regulations that allow vacuum cleaners to be tested while empty, and deceiving consumers with stellar ratings that can only be achieved in perfect lab conditions. BSH Group, which is responsible for both home appliance brands being targeted, is obviously unhappy with Dyson’s accusations.

“We do not understand these assertions by Dyson and we strenuously reject them.

All Bosch & Siemens vacuum cleaners are measured in compliance with European energy regulations. Appliance performance at home is consistent with laboratory performance – and any suggestion to the contrary is grossly misleading.”

The statement from BSH goes on to praise its own commitment to “stringent testing,” and even calls Dyson out for not being as transparent with its energy ratings and performance metrics. While Dyson has begun legal proceedings against Bosch and Siemens specifically, it’s all part of a broader agenda the company has been pushing for some time. Even before the newest rating system for vacuum cleaners was brought in last year, Dyson instigated a judicial review with the European Court, the outcome of which is due before the end of this year. According to the legal challenge, the rating standard fails in two areas: it doesn’t recognize real-world performance, and the energy label doesn’t take into account the environmental impact of replacement bags and filters. James Dyson himself also argued that German competitors had too much say in the drafting of European regulations, allowing them to devise tests that would yield favorable energy ratings.

It’s in Dyson’s interests to shape the rating system as it sees fit, of course, giving its energy-efficient products greater exposure. And what better time to make the grand gesture of legal action, when efficiency ratings are a hot topic in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal? (Coincidentally, Bosch is also implicated in that mess, having supplied software to VW for use in testing.) James Dyson used the uproar against VW as an opportunity to criticize the “murky world on regulations,” and this campaign against Bosch and Siemens appears to be an extension of that. Commenting on the vacuum cleaner situation, he said:

“Bosch has installed control electronics into some of its machines to wrongfully increase energy consumption when in use – to cheat the EU energy label. Their behaviour is akin to that seen in the Volkswagen scandal. It seems that industry is rife with manufacturers engineering to find their way around tests, rather than engineering better, more efficient technology. This behaviour is seriously misleading customers.”

While there’s no arguing that efficiency standards should actually mean something, the question remains: do consumers actually look at the energy rating of a vacuum cleaner before buying it, and do they even care? Dyson certainly does — especially when it’s calling out competitors to benefit its own image.

Via: The Telegraph