Monday, March 3, 2014

Software : Acer gives Windows Phone cold shoulder until more apps available

Software : Acer gives Windows Phone cold shoulder until more apps available

Acer gives Windows Phone cold shoulder until more apps available

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Acer gives Windows Phone cold shoulder until more apps available

Avoiding Microsoft's smartphone platform until your favorite apps are available? Turns out at least one smartphone manufacturer feels the same way and plans to sit on the sidelines until Redmond gets its act together.

The Inquirer reported that consumer electronics maker Acer may have a cozy relationship with Microsoft when it comes to Windows 8 notebooks and tablets, but believes Windows Phone 8 has much longer odds for success.

At least that's the sentiment of Acer Vice-President of EMEA Allen Burnes, a former Motorola veteran who claims his company "can't take the risk" on further Windows Phone devices until consumers have a better selection of apps at their fingertips.

"There are a whole bunch of elements around the application space which need fixing, which for us, is a a big deal," Burnes elaborated, referring to the situation as "no good for consumers."

Show us the market

The Acer veep apparently has the numbers to back up such tough talk, having released a single ill-fated Windows Phone handset back in late 2011, the Acer W4.

While Windows Phone currently enjoys more than 10 percent market share in Europe, growth there appears to have stalled, and Microsoft is apparently going to have to find a way to increase that number to at least 15 percent in order to get Acer interested again.

"The fact is, until people start talking about the great experience you can have on Windows Phone, we can't go in on it," Burnes said.

In the meantime, Acer appears fully committed to Android smartphones, despite the company getting into bed with Redmond when it comes to Windows-powered tablets and PCs.

  • Speaking of Android, check out our review of the Nexus 5!

Salesforce.com courts Europe with first UK datacentre

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Salesforce.com courts Europe with first UK datacentre

Cloud-based CRM provider Salesforce.com has announced that it will open its first UK data centre.

The move is planned for August of this year and will be followed by data centres in France and Germany, as well as the addition of 500 jobs across Europe during fiscal year 2015.

Salesforce.com says that the investments signal a continued and increased commitment to Europe. They follow a growth in revenue of 41 percent for its European operations during 2014, a figure that is due, the company says, to growing demand for cloud computing.

Tremendous growth

"Our tremendous growth and customer momentum is why salesforce.com is significantly increasing its investment in Europe by adding 500 new jobs and opening three new data centres across Europe, in the U.K., France and Germany," said Miguel Milano, president, EMEA, salesforce.com.

Stephen Kelly, Chief Operating Officer for the UK Government, noted the Government's satisfaction at the announcement. "The UK has a growing reputation as the leader in the European digital economy and we welcome this new investment," he said.

Reiterating the UK's cloud credentials, Kelly continued, "Within the UK Government we are driving a policy of 'Cloud First' to improve the way the public sector manages crucial functions, engages with citizens and delivers value for taxpayers."

Is your data safer in the cloud?

BBM for iPhone and Android to keep you in the picture with group photo messages

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BBM for iPhone and Android to keep you in the picture with group photo messages

The next update for BlackBerry's ever-improving BBM app for iPhone and Android, will soon bring group photo messaging into play, the company has confirmed.

In a blog post this weekend, the Waterloo-based firm said it was continually looking to add new features in order to keep customers happy and photo messaging within group chats is next on the agenda.

"We know customers want to be able to share pics with multiple people in a chat. The next release of BBM will support photo sharing in multi person chats," Jeff Gadway, the firm's head of product and brand marketing wrote on the BlackBerry Blog.

The support will come as BBM looks to make up ground on other popular messaging apps like Google Hangouts, Apple's iMessage and Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which already have the ability to distribute photos to more than one person.

Bigger files

Additionally, the company is upping the maximum file size users are able to share from 6MB to 16MB.

That's 16 seconds of 1080p HD video, according to BlackBerry, or more pertinently, the difference between sharing a full resolution photo taken with a DSLR and one taken with a smartphone camera.

"What this means is that you'll be able to send bigger pictures, larger documents and longer videos," Gadway added.

The company didn't reveal when the update would be dropping, but considering the frequency of the changes so far, then it's unlikely to be too far away from launch.
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