Google offers indoor Android Maps

The latest version of Google Maps for Android now includes data on indoor areas as well as outdoors.

Writing on the Google Blog, Brian McClendon, Vice President of Engineering for Google Earth and Maps, said that “Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar “blue dot” icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you’re on”.

Although the update is currently only available for some buildings in America and Japan, and only works on Android mobile phones, Google has already mapped some indoor areas in the UK, for instance for its projects to take people inside art galleries via Google Earth.

Describing indoors as “a new frontier”, Mr McClendon said that the new feature is possible “using an approach similar to that of ‘My Location’ for outdoor spaces, but fine tuned”. He cited examples in the Minneapolis Mall of America and San Francisco International Airport.

Businesses are also able to sign up to be first to get their premises mapped, Mr McClendon said: “This is just the start--we’ll continually add new indoor maps to public buildings across the world. If you’re a business owner interested in getting your location’s floor plan included in Google Maps, visitmaps.google.com/floorplans”, he wrote.

The scheme is initially for larger retailers, airports and transit stations in the US and Japan, including Mall of America, IKEA, The Home Depot, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, Daimaru, Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi location, plus Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Narita International (NRT), among others.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Review

Physical Design and Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus looks like a shrunken-down version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 ($469, 3.5 stars) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 ($499, 3.5 stars.) These are the best-looking, best-built Android tablets on the market, slim black and gray slabs (in this case, 7.6 by 4.8 by .39 inches and 12.1 ounces) clearly made of quality materials. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 will slip unnoticeably into a coat pocket. It's lovely.

The Tab 7.0 Plus has its Power and Volume buttons, as well as its MicroSD card slot, on the side. The 2-megapixel front camera is at the top of the bezel, to the right of the speaker, which also faces the user. The 1024-by-600 pixel TFT LCD is pretty standard for tablets of this size.

This is a Wi-Fi-only tablet, connecting to 802.11b/g/n networks. It also has Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth and wireless syncing, so you can connect it directly to a Wi-Fi-Direct-capable PC to transfer files.

Performance and Apps
The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus runs Android Honeycomb 3.2 on a dual-core Samsung Exynos 1.2GHz processor. It benchmarked blazingly fast, and the tablet runs very smoothly even with Samsung's many complex TouchWiz extensions over standard Android.

Samsung has heavily skinned this tablet. It comes with a whole bunch of custom widgets. You can pop up a "quick action" bar from the bottom of the screen to give you speedy access to a task manager, calendar, world clock, memo pad, calculator, or music player. Samsung added custom e-book reader, magazine subscription and photo editing apps, none deletable, to Google's standard trove.

The big win here, though, is Samsung's custom app store, Samsung Apps. In the past Samsung Apps has been a lackluster collection of about two dozen apps Samsung delivers as sweeteners for their products, but it's blossomed into a good-looking storefront of several hundred tablet-oriented apps; the links all take you to the Android Market, so you don't have to sign up for another account. This is the best approach I've seen so far towards solving the Android Market's problems with discovering tablet apps. Fortunately, as a 7-inch tablet running Android 3.2, the Tab 7.0 Plus can also run Android phone apps in zoomed mode, which isn't a panacea but doesn't look that bad.

The 4000mAh nonremovable battery delivered 6 hours, 33 minutes of continuous video playback, a very good result for a 7-inch tablet.

Entertainment and Peel Remote
Samsung pitches this as an "entertainment tablet" whose flagship app is Peel Smart Remote, a potentially awesome TV companion which would be far more awesome if it worked.

Peel's idea is compelling: it shows all the programs playing on your TV as graphical "cards" which you can sort by genre, drilling down to see program details or flipping over to watch similar shows. When you select a card, it should set your TV to watch the show, although it can't set your DVR to record a show in the future.

But I had serious trouble with the actual remote parts of Peel Smart Remote, which use the tablet's weak IR emitter. I tried the remote with three Insignia and Sharp TVs and Roku, AppleTV and Dish Networks set-top boxes. Setup was always a problem. The Peel had trouble detecting and switching the TVs' inputs. Trying to move the cursor on the AppleTV caused the TV to switch off. Operating the TiVo, there was a serious lag between sliding the fast-forward button on the remote and having the TiVo respond, which made the device difficult to operate. Aiming it at the Dish receiver, parts of channel selections were sometimes cut off, sending the device to the wrong channel. The app also threw up various errors pretty frequently, such as "No content available at this time, please check back later!" As a result, I can't recommend this app.

I had much better luck playing video on this tablet. The Tab comes with Media Hub, Samsung's elegant but pricey video store ($2.99-$3.99 to rent movies, $9.99 and up to buy movies, $1.99 to buy TV shows) as well as Google's own video rental service. H.264, MPEG4, XVID and DIVX videos all played smoothly at up to 1080p resolution, with audio coming through clearly over wired or Bluetooth headphones. If you want to play your video on a TV, you'll have to shell out for a $34.99 Multimedia Dock which provides HDMI output.

The tablet is also a dandy music player, running all the usual Android music services including Google Music. Samsung's TouchWiz hacks include quick access to the music player popping up from the bottom status bar, and the tablet played all the usual music formats.

The two cameras aren't very high-res, but they're high quality. The 3-megapixel rear camera is very good indoors, taking sharp, clear images. The 2-megapixel front camera is unusually good in low light. Both cameras have somewhat slow shutter speeds; I found that passing cars, for instance, could get blurry.

Video recording indoors resulted in very noisy 720p movies at 24 frames per second; outdoors, I got cleaner 720p movies at 30 frames per second, but with blown-out bright areas.

The tablet comes in 16GB and 32GB ($499) models; the 16GB model, which we tested, had about 13GB user-accessible and worked fine with our 32GB SanDisk MicroSD card, which popped into a slot in the side.

Conclusions
There are a lot of very similar Android Honeycomb-based tablets on the market. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is more expensive than the Acer Iconia Tab A100 ($349.99, 4 stars); it's also faster, slimmer and more elegant. (The Iconia got a higher rating because there was less competition when it was released back in August.) Compared with the T-Mobile Springboard ($429.99, 3.5 stars) it's less expensive and speedier, with more useful software, although it lacks 3G. TheArchos 80 G9 ($299.99, unrated) costs less, but it's slower, feels cheaper and lacks Samsung's software extensions.

Our current Editors' Choice for small tablets is the completely different Amazon Kindle Fire($199.99, 4 stars), which isn't nearly as flexible as the Galaxy Tab, but it's easier to use and half the price. For larger tablets, we prefer the Apple iPad 2 ($499.99, 4.5 stars) because of its far, far superior collection of tablet-focused apps.

This is a very good tablet, but here's the central problem: The Android Honeycomb app selection is stillborn, and industry interest is moving towards the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. The good news is that the Tab 7.0 Plus is slated to get an ICS upgrade at some point. If you like the features on this tablet (other than the poorly working remote), by all means get it. But I'd wait to see if ICS brings a flourishing of tablet apps that could make Android tablets better able to compete with the app king, the Apple iPad 2.

Microsoft's uphill battle to push Win8 tabs into punters' paws

Analysis Microsoft has its work cut out thanks to its entry into a tablet arena revived by Apple's iPad, according to analysts. Just as the company approaches the finish line clutching Windows 8 for fondleslabs, panting away like Steve Ballmer at a developer conference, punters have already lost interest.

Forrester Research has published a report that claims consumer interest has "plummeted" during the past nine months. The bean counters are vague on what the tab-happy public has grown tired of - be it Windows 8, tablets, or tablets running Window 8 - but the conclusion is that Microsoft's got a hard act to follow. According to Forrester here:

Windows product strategists will have to overcome several disadvantages associated with being a fifth mover in the tablet market. Product strategists in any industry have to evaluate their potential to be 'fast followers': Waiting too long to follow raises the bar your product must meet to compete."

The analysts can, no doubt, offer some well-remunerated advice to help Microsoft and OEM partners embrace the platform and help them regain lost interest. This is often the inspiration for such reports, whose authors publish only the most leading and suggestive portions available on the internet for free.

That said, the analysts' conclusion does highlight how Microsoft's tablet strategy is still predicated more on promises than product.

Apple released the first iPad in April 2010 to an unprepared Microsoft; with Apple selling more than three million units in the first thee months - 270,000 in the first week - Microsoft's chief executive by July was on the ropes and promising something from Microsoft the following year - 2011.

CEO Steve Ballmer indicated we should expect something running Windows 7 on Intel's then-new Sandy Bridge processor this year; Sandy Bridge came but the Windows 7 tablets didn't.

As 2011 comes to a close, the tablet future still has yet to happen for Microsoft. In the last 12 months Microsoft has succeeded in building an early version of the successor to Windows 7, Windows 8, that'll feature a user interface for the tablet and support for ARM chips.

But with no actual date for Windows 8 beyond 2012, and with a UI that's yet to be finished and that will rely on significant levels of conversion from the ranks of ISVs, Microsoft continues to leave the field almost 100-per-cent open for Apple, cementing Cupertino's mental and monetary market hold with the iPad. ®

Windows Phone Dwindles To 6% Of US Market - Mobility - Smartphones

Microsoft's mobile phone efforts dropped 33% from the second quarter to the third in the U.S., while Google surged and Apple held its ground.

The latest numbers from Nielsen paint a gloomy picture for Microsoft and its Windows Phone/Windows Mobile platforms.

In the third quarter of the year, both Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined held 6.1% of the U.S. smartphone market. That's down 33% from the 9% of the U.S. market Windows Mobile/Windows Phone held in the previous quarter.

HTC's WP7/Windows Mobile devices account for 77%--or the vast lion's share--of all U.S. Windows Mobile/Windows Phone devices. Samsung has the next largest share with 9.8% of the Windows Phone devices in the U.S. The "other" category holds 6.6%, and Motorola has 3.3%.Breaking down who owns what of the (sliver-esque) Windows Phone 7 market, HTC leads with Samsung, "other", and Motorola trailing.

Keep in mind, these figures include Windows Phone 7 plus the legacy Windows Mobile 5.x/6.x devices that are still out there (probably in the form of enterprise handhelds).

You can probably guess what the rest of the U.S. smartphone market looks like.

Android has the largest percentage of U.S. smartphones, growing from 39% to 42.8% from the second quarter to the third quarter. HTC's Android phones alone own 15% of the U.S. smartphone market, Samsung has 10.7%, Motorola owns 10.4%, and "other" (probably including LG, Dell, Huawei, Pantech, Casio, and others) rounds out the Android presence with 7.2% of the U.S. smartphone market.

Apple's share grew a fraction from 28% to 28.3% quarter-over-quarter.

Research In Motion, meanwhile dropped from 20% to 17.8% quarter-over-quarter. Palm and HP's webOS holds a pitiful 2.2% of the U.S. smartphone market, while Nokia's Symbian brings up the rear with 1.7%.

"In the U.S., 71% of those with smartphones own either an Android device or an iPhone," explained Nielsen. "But when it comes to smartphone apps, iPhones and Android smartphones are even more dominant: 83% of app downloaders, that is, those who downloaded an app in the past 30 days, use iPhone or Android smartphones."

The good news for Microsoft and its Windows Phone platform is that the Mango update just began rolling out in late September and early October. In fact, Mango-based phones didn't really hit their stride until mid-October. With HTC's Titan and Nokia's Lumia 800 on the road to being hits, it is possible Microsoft's presence in the U.S. market can reverse itself.

The Enterprise Connect conference program covers the full range of platforms, services, and applications that comprise modern communications and collaboration systems. It happens March 25-29 in Orlando, Fla.

Samsung wins against Apple in Australia

KOREAN HARDWARE OUTFIT Samsung has won the right to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1in tablet in Australia, having fought off a preliminary injunction that had been granted to Apple.

According to a report at the Sydney Morning Herald, the full bench of the Federal Court, which includes Justices John Dowsett, Lindsay Foster and David Yates, unanimously reversed an earlier Federal Court judge's ruling that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 should banned from sale in Australia.

"Samsung will be permitted to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia provided it keeps accounts of all transactions involving that device in Australia," said the ruling seen by the SMH.

Apple still has a few days in which to revel in the fact that it stopped its rival from selling hardware in Australia, as Samsung will not be allowed to put its tablets back on sale until the end of this week.

Apple won the ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1in tablet in September, at which time Samsung promised to fight it. There were suggestions that it might have waited until next year to respond with its arguments, which would have made it miss out on the important holiday sales season. It will have a good few weeks to punt its hardware now, though.

We have asked both Apple and Samsung to comment.

Source: The Inquirer (http://s.tt/14oQ9)

Facebook made a 'bunch' of privacy mistakes

SOCIAL NETWORKING WEB SITE Facebook has settled with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that it failed to keep privacy promises and deceived its customers.

In a statement put out last night the FTC said that Facebook promised that it would protect its users' information by keeping it private, while "repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public". It added that these actions were unfair and deceptive and violated federal law.

The FTC has given Facebook settlement requirements that include steps to ensure that it does not expose its users' information without giving them prior notice and obtaining their consent.

"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."

The FTC has listed a raft of complaints about Facebook, specifically that allegedly it made promises that it did not keep. We reproduce that list here:

• In December 2009, Facebook changed its web site so certain information that users might have designated as private - such as their Friends List - was made public. It didn't warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance.
• Facebook represented that third-party apps that users installed would have access only to user information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data - data the apps didn't need.
• Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences - for example with "Friends Only". In fact, selecting "Friends Only" did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.
• Facebook had a "Verified Apps" program and claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't.
• Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.
• Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.
• Facebook claimed that it complied with the US- EU Safe Harbour Framework that governs data transfer between the United States and the European Union. It didn't.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement Facebook is banned from making anymore deceptive claims about the privacy that it does, or does not, offer. It will also have to submit to regular audits every 24 months for the next 20 years, and get its users' approval before it shares their data.

At Facebook, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was contrite and apologised for the mistakes that his firm made, continued to make, or made again.

"I think we have a good history of providing transparency and control over who can see your information. That said, I'm the first to admit that we've made a bunch of mistakes," he said.

He added that in fact Facebook is already doing a lot of things that the FTC has told it to do, and threw up a list of things that the firm has done over the last 18 months to improve user privacy.

"Privacy principles are written very deeply into our code," he added. "Even before the agreement announced by the FTC today, Facebook had already proactively addressed many of the concerns the FTC raised." µ

Source: The Inquirer (http://s.tt/14oNq)

F.T.C. Settles Privacy Issue at Facebook

Accusing Facebook of engaging in “unfair and deceptive” practices, the federal government on Tuesday announced a broad settlement that requires the company to respect the privacy wishes of its users and subjects it to regular privacy audits for the next 20 years.

Enlarge This Image

Joerg Koch/dapd, via Associated Press

Under the settlement, Facebook would subject itself to an independent audit on consumer privacy for the next 20 years.

The order, announced by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, stems largely from changes that Facebook made to the way it handled its users’ information in December 2009. The commission contended that Facebook, without warning its users or seeking consent, made public information that users had deemed to be private on their Facebook pages.

The order also said that Facebook, which has more than 800 million users worldwide, in some cases had allowed advertisers to glean personally identifiable information when a Facebook user clicked on an advertisement on his or her Facebook page. The company has long maintained that it does not share personal data with advertisers.

And the order said that Facebook had shared user information with outside application developers, contrary to representations made to its users. And even after a Facebook user deleted an account, according to the F.T.C., the company still allowed access to photos and videos.

All told, the commission listed eight complaints. It levied no fines and did not accuse Facebook of intentionally breaking the law. However, if Facebook violated the terms of the settlement in the future, it would be liable to pay a penalty of $16,000 a day for each count, the F.T.C. said.

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, conceded in a lengthy blog post that the company had made “a bunch of mistakes,” but said it had already fixed several of the issues cited by the commission.

“Facebook has always been committed to being transparent about the information you have stored with us — and we have led the Internet in building tools to give people the ability to see and control what they share,” he wrote. By way of example, Mr. Zuckerberg pointed to more explicit privacy controls that the company introduced over the summer.

Facebook has long wanted its users to post content — links, opinions, pictures and other data — on their Facebook pages with minimal effort, or “friction,” as company executives call it. The settlement with the F.T.C. will undoubtedly require it to introduce more such friction.

The order requires Facebook to obtain its users’ “affirmative express consent” before it can override their own privacy settings. For example, if a user designated certain content to be visible only to “friends,” Facebook could allow that content to be shared more broadly only after obtaining the user’s permission.

On Tuesday evening there seemed to be some disagreement about what the agreement entailed. A Facebook spokesman said in response to a question that it did not require the company to obtain “opt in” data-sharing permission for new products.

But David Vladeck, director of the bureau of consumer protection at the F.T.C., said Facebook would have to inform its users about how personal data would be shared even with new products and services that it introduces over the next two decades. “The order is designed to protect people’s privacy, anticipating that Facebook is likely to change products and services it offers,” he said.

Ever since its public release in 2004, Facebook has drawn an ever-larger number of members, even as its sometimes aggressive approach to changes around privacy have angered some of its users.

“We’ve all known that Facebook repeatedly cuts corners when it comes to its privacy promises,” Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, wrote in an e-mail after the announcement. “Like most Internet companies, they thought they could get away with it. They didn’t.”

Facebook is also obliged to undergo an independent privacy audit every two years for the next 20 years, according to the terms of the settlement.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which is part of a coalition of consumer groups that filed a complaint with the F.T.C., commended the order but said settlements with individual companies fall short of what is needed: a federal law to protect consumer privacy.

“We hope they will establish a high bar for privacy protection,” Mr. Rotenberg said. “But we do not have in the United States a comprehensive privacy framework. There is always a risk other companies will come along and create new problems.”

Several privacy bills are pending in Congress, and Internet companies have stepped up their lobbying efforts. The F.T.C., meanwhile, has ratcheted up its scrutiny of Internet companies. This year alone, it has reached settlement orders with some of the giants of Silicon Valley, including Google.

The order comes amid growing speculation about Facebook’s preparations for an initial public offering, which could be valued at more than $100 billion. The settlement with the F.T.C., analysts say, could potentially ease investors’ concerns about government regulation by holding the company to a clear set of privacy prescriptions.

“When you have an I.P.O. you don’t want investors to be skeptical or jittery,” said Ryan Calo, who leads privacy research at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. “In order for you to be as valuable as possible, you want to make sure the seas are calm. This calms the seas.
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Hardware, Software, and Services Combo Make iPhone 4S Magic

I've been remiss in not posting a review of the iPhone 4S for two main reasons: it seems like everyone else is reviewing it and, with the exception of the Siri voice recognition app, it really doesn't feel like a huge change from the iPhone 4. Regardless, I've been using the 4S since it started shipping, and it certainly keeps the iPhone on the top of the< smartphone category.

This isn't really because of the hardware; the changes between the 4 and the 4S—Apple's dual-core A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and the ability to use the phone on more networks—are nice, but hardly earth-shaking. Plenty of other phones now have larger displays and some run on the faster, more advanced LTE networks. In some ways, the iPhone is falling behind its Android-based competitors in these areas.

Instead, it's the software, or rather the combination of hardware, software, and services, that makes the iPhone 4S stand out. iOS 5, the latest version of the operating system for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, adds a number of new features that are nice, but again, other than Siri, not really surprising. Taken together, though, they make what has been the easiest to use of the major smartphones even easier.

The changes in iOS 5 are worth noting. It's good to have a single notifications panel that you pull down from the top of the screen, rather than having lots of pop-ups competing for your attention. This combines notifications from applications, text messages, reminders, and calendar items. To me, that's a clear win. As with Windows Phone, you can now take photos without unlocking the phone first. In this case, just press the camera icon on the unlock screen.

There are a couple of new applications, too. iMessage replaces the old text messaging features with a new app that lets you send texts, photos, videos, and more to groups of people, rather than just one at a time. It works much like BlackBerry Messenger. If the recipient has iMessage as well, usage is unlimited, as it doesn't use the traditional messaging service. You can turn this off, but I doubt many people will; it's a nice way of reducing texting charges.

A Reminders application lets you set reminders for yourself, which you can sync to the company's iCloud service. A new Newsstand icon is designed to bring together all of your newspapers and magazines. It's an interesting concept, but a little scattershot at this point. The New York Times app, for instance, shows up in the Newsstand, but The Wall Street Journal appears as a standard icon, instead. This could be smoother.

Other changes are relatively minor, such as the replacement of the old iPod icon with separate buttons for music and video.

Not getting much attention, but likely to be a big deal, are a number of new features aimed at making it easier for enterprises to manage the devices. Mobile device management has gotten much more consideration over the past year, and this is an area where Apple has a clear lead over all its competitors, barring BlackBerry. It still doesn't have all the security features many IT departments would like, but it's moving in the right direction.

One of the biggest changes is the iCloud service, which lets you update your phone and sync data wirelessly using Apple's new iCloud service. In practice, I found this to be very easy to use, in part because it's so well integrated within the rest of the phone. Music, contacts (except those from Exchange), and even application data seemed to move back and forth among iOS 5 devices rather seamlessly. You'll probably want to adjust which data you sync, unless you want to buy more than the 5GB of storage that comes for free, as photos can take up a lot of space.

One of the more noticeable changes is the camera, which is simply better. The application adds a couple of new features, but what impressed me the most was the improved picture quality over the earlier iPhone 4, even with the upgraded software. While it doesn't have all the features of point-and-shoot cameras (such as optical zoom), the photos I have taken are surprisingly good. More often than not, I find myself leaving a digital camera at home unless I have a specific need.

As for the faster processor, I have to say I hardly notice it. There are a few applications that gain new features on the A5, such as Vidyo being able to support more video streams, and I expect we'll see more high-end games that can really use it as well. For the most part though, it's invisible.

On the downside, I did notice some battery life issues when I originally got the phone. I fiddled some with location settings—turning the GPS off for some applications, for instance—to try to improve it. For me, these issues disappeared with the 5.0.1 software update, though others have still reported problems.

Which brings me to Siri, the iPhone 4S's signature feature. (An earlier version was available for iPhones but is no longer around.)

Siri is an impressive glimpse into the future of software and an occasionally useful convenience feature. It combines voice recognition, context awareness, and Internet connections and information sources. You hold down the single button on the phone and say something into the phone. The software and services then tries to decipher what you said, put it in context, and do the right thing. For instance, you can say, "call Michael," and it will bring up a list of all the Michaels in your contacts list. You can then narrow it down and place the call. You can also use it to search the Web, set a reminder, or create a calendar item.

I find it useful for things like weather reports. Assuming the Internet connection is good, I get a nice reasonable answer. Too often, though, I find myself waiting on a flaky Internet connection, that Siri does not understand me, or that it understands me properly but still gives me an inexplicable result. For instance, if I say, "play some Springsteen," it recognizes it properly, then plays my "Spring 11" playlist rather than Bruce Springsteen.

In short, it's fun but often comes across as just an amusing parlor trick. For some tips as to how to better use it, see this story.

As I said, there are phones with more advanced hardware features and some interesting software alternatives either out already (Windows Phone 7.5), coming very soon (Android 4.0) or due out next year (RIM's BlackBerry BBX). BlackBerry continues to have more enterprise features and Android continues to be more open, with lots more hardware choices. But for now, at least, what makes the iPhone special is the way it all works together.

Cloud computing: A game-changer for businesses

Cloud computing is a game-changer for businesses, which now face the choice of adapting to the demand for ubiquitous access to data or losing customers to tech-savvy competitors, says a University of Illinois expert in e-business strategy and information technology management.

Michael J. Shaw, a professor of business administration, says big data is here to stay, and businesses need to adapt to the new reality that cloud computing is not merely the next Silicon Valley dot-com bubble.

"If your competitors move to the cloud and you don't follow, that gives them a distinct advantage, because it introduces more intimacy in their relationship with their customers, so they can react to what customers want more quickly," says Shaw, the Leonard C. and Mary Lou Hoeft Chair of Information Systems at Illinois.

"You can almost sense the shifting consumer demand," he says. "I think it's going to evolve into something that's going to be here to stay for the long-term. It's a model that comes from several developments—access to computers, better networking, and the need of the consumer and enterprise users."

Shaw says this should be a real wake-up call for businesses, because not only is cloud computing a huge leveler of the playing field, it's also a chance for firms to run their business more economically and efficiently.

"It provides a new business model that many potential clients might like," he says. "Consumer expectation also has changed in a big way. They expect that services and data—basically, everything—will be readily available from the cloud. So it's a new model to run a firm's IT-infrastructure, and it affords businesses more opportunity to integrate their applications, which is greatly needed because it’s more efficient in terms of resources."

Businesses also can improve their own internal processes through cloud computing, Shaw says.

"It makes things like procurement a lot more efficient," he says. "Enterprise applications and customer relationship software—that's all increasingly running in the cloud. The next step is adding the social media component, which will ultimately make relationship management with customers that much more innovative than it is now. Those factors all define the competitiveness of a company."

While cloud computing is really nothing new to anyone who has ever checked email or watched a video in a Web browser, Shaw says it changes the dynamics of IT for businesses big and small by creating economies of scale.

"Cloud computing changes the calculus of running a data center, as well as a way of building an information infrastructure," Shaw says. "For big companies, it makes data more shareable. For smaller companies, it makes a computational platform and enterprise applications more readily available. It's almost as if there are more rental opportunities—they can rent the platform rather than buying it and building it themselves. So the economics are a big driver."

But cloud computing has what Shaw calls some "non-trivial" risks and downsides, including some potentially huge security, data integrity and environmental costs.

"The security issue is cloud computing's biggest Achilles Heel," he says. "Although the security concerns are big, nothing in business is without risk. Electronic banking carries the same risks, as would upgrading the power grid into a smart-grid. So cloud computing is not unique to risk-management. Firms just need to manage that risk, which really comes down to the issue of IT governance. I don't want to be wildly optimistic, because you really do need to develop IT governance to manage the risk from cloud computing. Security is a multi-layer issue not only related to computer and system security, but also governance and control of the business process, application and management levels."

While the server farms and data centers necessary for a seamless cloud computing experience consume an enormous amount of energy, that may actually be beneficial from a sustainability standpoint.

"When you share computing resources, you are actually helping the environment because you're not wasting additional unnecessary capacity by investing in your own information infrastructure," Shaw says. "By sharing, it's less likely you would get rid of the outdated servers and related equipment simply because you don’t need them anymore, because they're now more shareable."

Although consumers are more familiar with commercial-centric cloud-based services such as music and video streaming, Shaw says there will eventually come a day when the cloud will be ubiquitous throughout our entire households.

"Once we integrate it, it's going to be seamlessly woven into our lives," he says. "Eventually, our refrigerator will let us know when we're low on milk, and will be able to send a reminder to a mobile phone to buy some on the way home. Similarly, by coordinating business processes through the cloud, companies can better manage their supply chains or respond to their customers' needs."