What Americans use their smartphones for
A study from Pew Research reveals that although most Americans have smartphones
many don’t use it for Internet.
Here’s the breakdown of what most smartphone owners in the US do with their device:
- 54% have used their mobile device to send someone a photo or video
- 23% have accessed a social networking site using their phone
- 20% have used their phone to watch a video
- 11% have purchased a product using their phone
- 11% have made a charitable donation by text message
- 10% have used their mobile phone to access a status update service such as Twitter
Alarmingly only 10% of smartphone owners use their device to tweet.
How about us Malaysians? What do you use your smartphone for?
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HTC Wildfire comes to Malaysia
(UPDATE 1607 15102010) We we’re informed by HTC PR that Maxis will be offering the Wildfire with a contract bundle. No details on availabiltiy and actual pricing but if our calculations are correct, a RM700 Android smartphone with a 12 months contract is a very high possibility.
When we got wind of the Wildfire, we noted:
If HTC Malaysia priced this device right, the Wildfire could very well be the device that brings Android truly to the masses, possibly the most bang-for-the-buck Android smartphone on the local market. We can’t wait to get our hands on one!
Today HTC announced that Wildfire is available in Malaysia for a very enticing RM1,199 outright (no contract).
With a generous 3.2 albeit low-res QVGA 320 x 240 screen, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, WiFi, digital compass, Bluetooth and aGPS support, there’s a lot to like about the Wildfire. There’s also a 5MP camera with LED flash and autofocus.
Processing power for the Wildfire comes in the form of a fairly decent 528Mhz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor with 384MB of RAM. The device runs Android 2.1 with HTC Sense. The Wildfire has 512MB built-in memory and it supports expansion in MicroSD format all the way up to 32GB.
Although we haven’t tried the phone ourselves, for the asking price and the specs, we really can’t find another device that can offer a good balance between price, performance, features, quality and design.
Just on those merits alone this could very well be one of the most popular Android devices in Malaysia.
It’s sad to see Maxis, Malaysia’s most device prolific telco at the moment, not offering a contract bundle for the Wildfire. If that happened, you’re probably looking at an Android smartphone for as low as RM700. For that price, this little Android device looks very attractive indeed.
Official press release and promotional videos of the HTC Wildfire after the jump.
BB Trail program aims to increase broadband awareness
Working in earnest to meet the 50% household broadband penetration target by the end of this year, the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture yesterday launched the BB Trail program in efforts to increase broadband awareness and uptake in rural areas.
The five month program beginning July 15, consists of road shows covering more than 500 locations across the country including Sabah and Sarawak.
In a press release made available to us, the Ministry says that:
At every stop, the BB Trail will conduct interactive games and contests related to Broadband, offering all interested participants the chance to win attractive prizes related to the National Broadband Awareness and Promotional Program.
The Program targets all age groups covering students and educators of all levels especially those in institutions of higher learning, entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses, parents, families and the public at large.
Through the implementation of the BB Trail, the public would be able to obtain choice information on how to subscribe to broadband easily, and get to select whichever service providers they prefer based on the different promotions and packages offered.
As of July 7, 2010, over 37% of Malaysian households have broadband connection. This equates to about 2.4 million homes out of the 6.3 million homes in Malaysia.
To achieve the 50% household penetration target by the end of this year, another 1 million homes will need to have broadband connectivity. With just five months left in 2010, about 200,000 homes will need to have broadband connectivity a month. That’s a huge ask and the Ministry has their work cut out.
As of Q4 2009, the country’s household broadband penetration stood at 31.7%. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for the 50% broadband penetration target but it’s looking like the Ministry might not hit it.
Let’s wait and see.
Press release after the jump.
Even Top Gear is making jokes about the iPhone 4
Apple can deny it all they want but when Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson starts making jokes about its latest and greatest smartphone — the iPhone 4 – then you know something is wrong.
What can we say, the iPhone 4 is a flawed device. Whatever your arguments are, a smartphone that can’t make a phone call, is not really a phone at all. And no, a software patch is not going to fix the problem, it’s just going to hide it.
Check out the video after the jump and do let us know if you’re still interested in the iPhone 4.
Seriously guys, we want to know and we want to know why.
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