Tag: Google Android

What are possible applications of a barometer in a smartphone?

Google and Samsung recently announced a new smartphone – Galaxy Nexus. Among all the bells and whistles there is something that you don’t see that often on a mobile computing device – a barometer. Pretty much each and every technology website mentioned the new piece of hardware, but nobody really explain why it is included and what it is good for.

I’ve searched a web a little for the ideas and realized something. Not only that most people have no idea good a barometer can do in a mobile phone, but too many of them don’t even know what a barometer is. In general, besides the mobile phone. That’s where I thought I’d help them out a bit.

First things first. Here is how Wikipedia defines barometer:

A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Numerous measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help find surface troughs, high pressure systems, and frontal boundaries.

With that and some more reading and browsing the Web, I can list the following possible applications of a barometer in a mobile phone:

  • Weather forecasts. While we do have those now even without barometers in our phones, barometers can help the device provide a much more accurate, up to the minute weather forecast. Atmospheric pressure paired with the general forecast for the air can warn of you upcoming rains and such, minutes in advance. Also, what works one way, can work the other way too – hundreds of thousands or even millions of devices with barometers spread across the globe could help distributed data collection on atmospheric pressure and its changes, thus improving weather forecasts for everyone.
  • Atmospheric pressure change warnings. This is somewhat related to the previous point. Many people, especially older ones, and people with a variety of health conditions, are very sensitive to the changes of the atmospheric pressure. Some need to take certain pills, others need to lay down. Now, the mobile phone will be able to warn them slightly in advance.
  • Altitude positioning. Most smartphones these days are equipped with GPS. GPS can tell the altitude as well, but it is not very accurate at it. Barometric sensor can improve that a lot. Practical applications can vary from sports like parachuting and paragliding, through hobbies like remote control airplanes, to navigation and location service inside buildings (which floor am I at?).

What other applications and uses can you think of for a barometer in a mobile device?

HTC Android devices to get 5 GB of Dropbox storage, free

Pocket Lint reports exciting news for owners of HTC Android-based devices:

Microsoft has Skydrive, Apple has iCloud, and now HTC has Dropbox following a new partnership between the phone maker and popular cloud storage service.

HTC has confirmed to Pocket-lint that users of its latest Android handsets, like the HTC Rhyme, will get a bonus 3GB of storage in addition to the 2GB of free storage offered by Dropbox if they connect to the platform with the new phone – launching in October.

The deal, which will extend to all Sense 3.5 devices in the future, will mean that users will be able to save files and photos on their phone and have them automatically synced to their computer at home or other devices running the Dropbox software.

Android vs. iPhone fight is still ahead, not behind

SlashGear points to a new ComScore report of the US mobile market share.  Both Android and iOS are growing their market shares, with the rest of the platforms going down.

To me it says that there is still enough space for Android and iOS to peacefully co-exist, despite all the little pushes and punches.  Soon, however, they will have to get more serious with each other and we’ll have the chance to observe a tougher fight.  Too bad that Steve Jobs is not leading Apple anymore.  He is a great man to go against.

Android global market share is at 48%

Canalysis did a world-wide study of mobile markets and published their results.  Make sure to read the whole article – there are many other numbers and trends.

Canalys today published its final worldwide country-level Q2 2011 smart phone market estimates, showing substantial market growth in all regions. Globally, the market grew 73% year-on-year, with in excess of 107.7 million units shipping in the second quarter of 2011. Of the 56 countries Canalys tracks around the world, Android led in 35 of them and achieved a global market share of 48%. Asia Pacific (APAC) remained the largest regional market, with 39.8 million units shipping there, compared with 35.0 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and 32.9 million in the Americas.

Android, the number one platform by shipments since Q4 2010, was also the strongest growth driver this quarter, with Android-based smart phone shipments up 379% over a year ago to 51.9 million units. Growth was bolstered by strong Android product performances from a number of vendors, including Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei. The final country-level data delivered to clients today shows there were particularly strong performances from Android devices in APAC countries, such as South Korea, where Android holds an 85% platform share, and Taiwan, where it has 71%.

With shipments of 20.3 million iPhones and a market share of 19%, iOS overtook Nokia’s Symbian platform during the quarter to take second place worldwide. In doing so, Apple also became the world’s leading individual smart phone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position.