Author: Clinton

The user friendly Google OnHub app and wireless routers have received a significant update today, bringing with it one of the most requested features in the user forums:  Guest Networks.

To this point, when you had guests over and you wanted to give them access to your wireless network, you had to give them your main network password.  It wasn’t ideal and for many who looked at the device, it was a turn off.  With the update of both the OnHub app and the router’s firmware, you now have the option to create a guest network which you can easily control from the app.

You can read my review here of Google OnHub.

Today Alphabet announced their quarterly earnings and the big news in all of it was that the is now more valuable than the once untouchable Apple.

In their financial report, Alphabet market cap value is $570 billion while Apple’s cap is $535 billion.  This is the first time since 2010, before the iPad, that Google has been more valuable than their Silicon Valley competitors.

NVIDIA has released the promised and much anticipated Android Marshmallow update to the Shield Tablet.  The update was released this morning and referred to as Software Update 4.0 on the NVIDIA support site.

Along with all of the goodies that come with Android Marshmallow, the company has also added or improved several aspects of the tablet.  The first thing users will notice is the updated User Interface.  It has a far more Material Design look to it than in previous releases.

When I started this site in 2004, it was focused mainly on Microsoft mobile technology, what was then called PocketPC.  I had actually started writing about their tech in 1999 for other sites on Handheld PCs but that was clearly dying so I moved over to PPC.

Last year, after a couple of years with iOS, I moved back to Windows Phone as all indications where that Microsoft had finally sorted their scene on their mobile direction.  They had bought Nokia, had been talking about the universal nature of Windows 10 on the desktop and phone and I thought, “Maybe this time”.  I had, after all, lived through the Windows Mobile 6.5, 7, and 8 reboots so what the heck?  10 could be the magic number.

I was wrong.  It became increasingly clear that the muddled path that Microsoft was going down with their mobile platform was as confusing and foggy as ever before.  I jumped ship.  I ran to Android and I haven’t looked back.  Windows Phone market share has continued to decline, fewer phones are shipping than ever before or being manufactured than ever before and Windows 10, that universal platform, is horribly delayed.

Windows Phone is on life support and I suspect that it won’t be there for long.  Microsoft is going to kill it for good and with a market share of 1.1% globally, I doubt many will notice.

It is a sad tale and a sad ending of what could have been for Microsoft.

Ultimately I think the death of Windows Phone has come down to three primary areas:  Lack of developer support, Microsoft own “Mobile first” strategy and the simple fact the market cannot bare 3 mobile platforms.

There are other reasons of course, a lack of a flagship device certainly isn’t helping, but these three I think sum up the crux of the problem.

First, Windows Phone simply does not have the attention of the developer community.  Sure you can find apps in the Windows Store and there are some big name developers there.  But not enough and not enough to sustain the platform.  Consumers expect to be able to go to the Windows Store and pick up that name brand app they can get on Android or iOS.  In some cases they can but in far too many case, they are stuck with a 3rd party app that gets them close but no quite there.  I’m not knocking these developers.  Far from it.  Without them, the platform would have been dead years ago.  But there are not enough of the Electronic Arts or Rovio or even TripIt out there.  In the app world, perception is often reality and the perception is there are not a lot of apps from known brands in the store.

The Weather Channel has updated their app for Android phones today, bringing with it a much improved ski resort and ski area report to the app.  The updated build is version is 6.2 for those keeping score at home and this improved ski information is only on the phone app.  The tablet version was also updated (5.2) but it doesn’t contain the ski information.

As before, when you scroll down to the bottom of the app on your phone, you will see ski information for your area.  Now you have the option to tap the All Resorts link and you will get a list of resorts in the area you are viewing (in my case Denver).

Weather Channel – Free – Download Now

Now through February 9th, you can save 20% off anything on the site over at Case-Mate.  The offer includes free shipping as well so if you have been looking for a new case for your Samsung, Nexus or HTC device (as well as your iPhone) here is a good opportunity to get one.

To get the deal, you need to use coupon code WC57JNTW93ASC when you check out.  The discount will automatically be applied at that point.

The company has cases for Samsung, Nexus, LG, Motorola and other

Clear Naked Touch Case for Nexus 6 at Case-Mate

brands.  They also have cases for your Samsung Gear smartwatch so it isn’t just for smartphones.

I personally use the Clear Naked Tough Case on my Nexus 6 (which is on sale by-the-way) and it has been great for protecting and for viewing content with it’s built-in kickstand.

While they offer a wide range of cases for Android devices, if you are an iPhone user, you can also take advantage of the sale.  They have a wide range of cases for the iPhone 5S, 6 and 6Plus on offer.

In order to get the discount and the free shipping you have to use the couple code above when you click on the link below.

Save 20% off Site-wide at Case-Mate.com