So it’s now 2015, the year of the hover board, self lacing shoes and holograms – according to Back to the Future at least. As technology continues its unrelenting march to improving, streamlining and hugely benefiting our lives, is it also time to admit we have no control over the abilities of new technology? Almost everything to we thought sacred, personal and indefinable, can be found or created by technology – including our fingerprints.
Right from the outset it’s obvious that this is a Black Mirror Christmas special filled with roast turkey, tinsel and snow aplenty. Also obvious from the very first scene is that the opening frames are building to a very different kind of Christmas special. Taking a delve into the not too distant, but very real technology influenced, dark and decrepit modern society.
Smile, it’s Christmas! The time for drinks, family time and peace on Earth to all men.
Round is cool. That’s just a fact – wheels, money, Oreos… they’re all brilliant. We’ve only seen two attempts at round Android Wear watches, and just one if you count the flat tyre of the Moto 360. Why there isn’t more, only manufacturers know. Most have adopted the safe haven of a square. So here we are, left with the LG G Watch R.
You can stop thinking that this is a round version of the original LG G watch right now.
To be social – “needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities or an informal social gathering, especially one organized by the members of a particular club or group”. In the modern age this no longer needs to be done in person, it can all be done without leaving your house. Facebook messenger, Google Hangouts and Skype mean you can interact with people much easier all over the world.
It feels much longer, but it’s been less than 6 months since Android Wear hit the market. They have stealthily crept into use without much fuss, despite revolutionising the wearables market. Reducing the time spent interacting with your phone, but still mining all of that lovely data for Google. The launch devices were pretty average, the Moto 360 wasn’t for everyone despite its anticipation. So now its time to see, perhaps one of the more experienced smart watch maker, Sony take on Android wear.
It almost comes as no surprise when new levels of spying are uncovered in the ‘post Snowden era.’ Government agencies are one thing, but surprise is the least valid emotion when information gives light to the involvement of big business. The information we have now may only be showing the tip of the iceberg, however Cable and Wireless involvements seems to be the level of sinking the Titanic on its own.
The Verge have been accused of many things, read some comments on posts and they switch between users yelling ‘iVerge’ to saying they are ‘Android biased’. Vlad Savov even wrote a whole article on why his reviews are better because of bias. He raises some good points, but it also raises a much larger issue with the world of technology reviews: is objective reviewing even possible anymore?
This became all the more obvious whilst using a Lumia recently to see how Windows Phone had grown from 8 to 8.
You’ve read the few stories floating around, you’ve seen our round up of ‘#Bendgate’, and you’ve even watched some fools bend iPhones on YouTube only to dismiss the issue just like I did. It wasn’t until I discovered my own iPhone was bent that I started to believe those YouTube bending fools. It’s not as bent as some iPhone 6 Pluses I have seen mind you, but when placed face down it certainly doesn’t sit flat.
It wasn’t even a concern for Apple when designing the initial iPhone, but mobile applications can make or break a handset – or even an entire OS. If current research is to be believed, the demand for downloading applications is decreasing – even as the smartphone market continues to explode.
New research carried out by Deloitte has shown that the average number of apps downloaded per user is declining. Not only that, but it’s down by a huge amount.
Technology is advancing at such a rate that cutting edge equipment is surpassed in a few short months. Many things that were a luxury a few years ago are considered essential now. Ofcom have conducted varied research into communication technology understanding and communication needs with some unsurprising results.
The study found that telephony services, on both mobile and landline, as well as internet access are now essential to our daily lives.