Galaxy SIII gets new 30 second commercial, isn't taking pot shots at Apple

Samsung developed a well-earned reputation over the course of the last year for producing ads that tend to criticize Apple fans rather than emphasize how their products will improve your life. Samsung was hardly alone in this; it seemed like the beginning of the year was a time when everyone wanted to take potshots at competitors – for example Microsoft and Nokia spearheaded the Smoked by Windows campaign during the same timeframe.

While Samsung’s artistic barista ads were amusing (at least to non-Apple fans), they also failed to demonstrate why their products were better. So far Samsung has chosen to eschew their inner pitbull for their Galaxy SIII commercials, opting instead to carry on the “Designed for Humans” they began at their product launch. The new 30 second spot shows people using their Galaxy SIII to celebrate a wedding, propose to a girlfriend, and a parent and daughter falling asleep while reading a "book" on the handset.

This kinder and gentler take on self-promotion is one we think is more sustainable in the long run – everyone likes a good chuckle at a competitors expense once in a while, but sooner or later you have to make the case that your product will make consumers’ lives better. Check out the ad below to to decide if they have succeeded:

souce: Droid-Life

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Does Verizon discourage iPhone sales? Tales from the inside

You’ve probably seen the stories: the carriers aren’t happy about how much of a subsidy they have to pay Apple for each smartphone, and as a result some carriers may have an incentive to push competing handsets. As an experiment, CNN called around to Verizon stores in New York and discovered that sales associates were quick to push 4G Android phones over the iPhone when given an open-ended request, but were less inclined to do so when asked directly for an iPhone. And now an analyst has revealed that the Droid RAZR MAXX outsold the iPhone on Verizon during Q2 of this year, in part due to “aggressive marketing" of 4G LTE phones.

Verizon of course denies any particular bias, but what do they say behind closed doors? To find out we spoke with Verizon sales associates, and what they revealed was…well…revealing.  The representatives we spoke to reiterated that Verizon definitely does not make it official policy to push one mobile OS over another – during training sessions that were scheduled around the same time as the CNN article sales reps were reminded that it isn’t Verizon policy to “dissuade” people from buying iPhones.

It turns out that’s not the whole story though, as Verizon’s sales targets and compensation models paint a somewhat different picture. To be fair, Verizon’s main goal is to make money – like that of every other carrier business – and the easiest way to do that is to upsell customers from feature phones to smartphones. The reasons for this are obvious: smartphone customers must add data plans to their voice and text options, which adds quickly to a carrier’s bottom line. Verizon's specific target for smartphone sales varies by region, but according to our contacts can reach as high as 80% - that is 8 out of every 10 phones sold "should be" smartphones. Those numbers aren’t totally crazy – around 70% of mobile phone sales in Q2 were smartphones in the U.S., and some places do much better than the average.

Of those smartphone sales, Verizon has also set sales targets for how many phones should be 4G LTE devices – a number that we’re told is can be as high as 60%. So for a high-volume region where 80% of phone sales in an area are smartphones, the goal is that 60% of that number (or 48% of all phones sold) would be LTE devices. The kicker of course is that the only 4G LTE phones available on Big Red are powered by Android.

Store and regional managers get reviewed (and compensated) based on how well their numbers match up against sales targets. Sales associates are also rewarded for selling 4G phones; we’re told that in at least some regions they receive an extra $25 bonus for each 4G phone they sell. The results are predictable: managers and sales associates alike do their best to push 4G phones. They certainly won’t stop you from buying an iPhone or a BlackBerry, but you’re likely to hear about the benefits of 4G before you do.

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U.S. Cellular now accepting pre-orders for Samsung Galaxy S III

As expected, today is the day that U.S. Cellular starts accepting pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S III. The device is expected to start shipping sometime next month (more on that later). The carrier is offering the same Marble White and Pebble Blue variants of the eagerly awaited smartphone that all four major U.S. carriers have been taking pre-orders for. It is asking $299.99 for the 16GB model and $349.99 for the 32GB model. While that is $100 more than the other U.S. carriers are charging for each version of the Samsung Galaxy S III (minus AT&T which is not offering a 32GB unit) that extra C-note is coming back to the buyer in the form of a $100 mail-in-rebate. According to U.S. Cellular's website, the Samsung Galaxy S III will ship sometime four to six weeks from today. That would mean that those ordering the phone should expect to receive it anytime between July 12th and July 26th. Those mailing in rebate forms need to have them get to U.S. Cellular before December 18th. We would suggest taking care of the rebate immediately after receiving the phone. Otherwise, it just might slip your mind as you put it off week after week and before you know it, the rebate is over. That's exactly the thinking that U.S. Cellular is counting on.

We could tell you that all U.S. carriers offering the Samsung Galaxy S III have now started accepting pre-orders. We could say that, but we'd be wrong because earlier on Tuesday we told you that another regional carrier, C-Spire, will also be adding the handset to its roster. The mundane details like pricing, available versions, pre-order date and arrival date have not yet been released.

source: U.S.Cellular via AndroidCentral

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The Mac Stack Bundle [Deals]

My favorite deals are the app bundles. A bunch of great apps for a sweet price. Today we have a great mini bundle for you that gives you eye candy (10,000 HD wallpapers!), security (lock down apps on your Mac—great for shared machines!), cleaning (uninstall apps so they are really all gone), entertainment (convert videos to watch on the go), and some back talk (voice narration software) for one low price.

The Mac Stack Bundle give you a nice, inexpensive pack of useful tools for $20. Simple, easy, and done.

Get over 100,000 HD wallpapers with Wallpaper Wizard.Protect your apps from unwanted usage with Mac App Blocker.Uninstall applications, widgets and more with AppDelete.Convert videos the easy way with VidConvert.And get the ultimate voice synthesis with Narrator.

No more surfing the web to find a nice wallpaper that fits your screen – you’ll now have Wallpaper Wizard and its access to a private collection of MORE than 100,000 HD and top quality wallpapers!

With Mac App Blocker, you can password-protect EACH application on your Mac. It keeps your apps and your Mac safe from the many silent but deadly threats out there. Set a timeout value to automatically exit the protected application so even when you leave your computer unattended, you’re still protected.

AppDelete is an uninstaller for Macs that will remove not only Applications but also Widgets, Preference Panes, Plugins and Screensavers along with their associated files. Without AppDelete these associated items will be left behind to take up space and potentially cause issues.

VidConvert is a video converter designed to make converting your videos SIMPLE and EASY. It will convert just about any type of video into one of the many popular formats of today. Creating videos for your iPhone or iPad, for your Mac or TV, or formats such as DivX and MPEG are just a click away with VidConvert!

Narrator brings text to life by reading it to you using voice synthesis – your letter, an ebook, emails, online news – or any text. You can choose different voices, rates, pitches, inflections and volumes for each character you assign, giving your text a wide range of expressiveness.

Take a moment from all the iOS 6 excitement and grab something for your Mac…

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Amazon may soon offer iCloud-like music matching

Amazon may have just launched their cloud-based music app for iOS yesterday, but they aren’t resting on their laurels. CNET is reporting that Amazon is hoping to level the playing field with Apple’s iTunes Match service, and is at an advanced stage of negotiation with the music labels. According to “numerous industry sources” Amazon has already inked agreements with Universal Music Group, EMI, and Sony Music Entertainment. They are reportedly in advanced stages of negotiation with Warner Music Group as well.

Signing deals with the music labels would allow Amazon to instantly match the music on your computer with already existing files in the cloud – letting you skip the current process of uploading your files. The deal is said to be far enough along that Amazon may be able to announce it “in a matter of weeks”. That would certainly make their service more compelling to iOS users, who already have access to Apple’s file-matching implementation, and it might also help Amazon gain traction on Android, where Google Music, which also has to upload users’ music collections, has so far proven to be more popular.

Of course Amazon ships its own tablets based on a forked version of Android, and new (and potentially larger) Kindle Fire models are expected later this year. While we’re sure that Amazon would like to see their music service expand in popularity on other platforms, their biggest goal may be to improve their own mobile computing platform. On that note it will be interesting to see if Amazon’s agreements with the music labels are simply bringing them to parity with Apple’s iCloud, or if Amazon will have some differentiating service to offer its users.

source: CNET via Engadget

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Music App Revamped in iOS 6; Adjusts Reflection on Slider’s Virtual Knob When You Tilt Your iPhone

Apple seems to have revamped quite a few apps in iOS 6 that come bundled with iOS devices. We've already covered the revamped App Store and iTunes Store app, Phone app and the new features and improvements in mobile Safari.

In this article, we take a look at the changes made to the Music app. 

Here are the list of changes:

Just like the iTunes Store and App Store apps, the Music app in iOS 6 also gets the slick new look with the new silver grey theme instead of the traditional blue bar at the top and the black bar at the bottom.The "Now Playing" section gets a black theme.Apple has also tweaked the look and feel of the music buttons.Apple has replaced the the Shuffle icon and text with just the icon in iOS 6, which turns orange when you enable it instead of blue.Here's a change that will blow you away. It was first spotted by a reddit user - streborhcaz who writes:

Launch the iPod app, slightly tilt your phone from side to side (don't rotate) and look at the new metallic sliders. Apple is now using the gyroscope/accelerometer to change the reflection on the slider buttons.

Check the slight change in the reflection on the virtual knob of the slider

Check it out in the video embedded below:

We must admit that it is quite a small change, which most users may not even notice, but we've fallen in love Apple's attention to detail all over again. Kudos to the reddit user for discovering it.

Here're some screenshots of the revamped Music app in iOS 6:

Artists tab

Songs tab

Albums tab

Now Playing

Let us know what you think of the new changes in the Music App especially the effect on the virtual knob on the slider.

Image Credit: iDownloadBlog, CultofMac

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Our Best of Windows Software Page Gets an Update

Recently, we revisited our most popular Best Of page, the Best of Windows Software page (of course) and sifted through your comments with a fine-tooth comb. There were definitely some great suggestions so we decided that it was time to update the page and include your recommendations. We’ve also linked to relevant reviews, making it easier for you to gauge how the particular application works.

The update is now complete! Here’s a list of new apps which are now featured on our Best of Windows Software page:

Lavasoft Ad-Aware+ FreeCalibreCamStudioCobian BackupConnectifyDaemonTools LiteDVDFab HD DecrypterFilezillaFlashGetf.luxGoogle TalkInkscapeWindows Live MeshWindows Live WriterMiPONYMultiCommanderPandora RecoveryPeerblockPlexRainmeterRaptrRIOT – Radical Image Optimization ToolRocketdockSecunia Personal Software InspectorSugarSyncTunnelBearUMPlayerVirtualBoxWunderlistXAMPPXBMCXnViewzeZebra

Read more about these useful applications on our Best of Windows Software page and explore over 166 apps which we deemed to be the best for your Windows PC.

Questions, suggestions, recommendations, and corrections are appreciated. We hope you enjoy browsing through our Best Of pages.

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How Do You Deal With Windows PC Crapware? [You Told Us]

We may be entering the post-PC era, if Apple is to be believed, but many of us still use computers and still choose Windows as our operating system of choice. Whether that will still be the case after the release of Windows 8 remains to be seen, but for now Windows it is.

The problem with buying a new Windows PC from a big manufacturer such as HP, Lenovo, Dell, or Acer is the amount of pre-installed software bundled on the machines. Most of it is useless, and none of it was requested by the buyer, hence why we refer to it as crapware. Thankfully there are solutions to the problem of crapware.

We asked you, How Do You Deal With Windows PC Crapware? The response was brilliant, with dozens of people weighing in with their opinions and suggestions for how to deal with crapware. We thank each and every one of you, as would everybody who is able to make use of the software and other methods for dealing with crapware if they had a platform to show their appreciation.

What follows is the list of programs our readers suggested for cleaning a new PC of the crapware, vendors insist on forcing down our throats. And with no need to pay Microsoft $99 for the privilege:

Suggestions other than using software included building your own PC from scratch, installing Linux instead of Windows, uninstalling unwanted programs manually, and using the publicly available ISOs which give you a fresh install of Windows without any of the various add-ons.

Comment of the week goes to LigJuryJr, who gets nothing but my admiration and respect (which is surely more than anyone needs) for:

Although Windows 7 came installed on my Asus laptop, I re-installed it from one of the publicly available ISOs Microsoft made available. (I’ve heard this doesn’t work for all brands, such as HP.)

Zero crapware!

This was the first comment to mention the publicly available ISOs, and it started a discussion during which they were linked to. This method is the best bet for people serious about starting out with clean machines free of extraneous programs. However, I would urge caution to those who aren’t fully computer-literate. They may find some of the crapware they’re deleting useful and may run into difficulties heading down this route.

We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. ‘We Ask You’ is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.

Image Credit: Florian

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Get Inspired With These 6 Pinterest Contests And Craft Your Own

Utter the word contest and you will immediately get some perked up ears even in a fish market. It’s probably one of the more sweet sounding words next to others like ‘free’ (of course) and ‘giveaways’ (don’t we have so many for you here!). Thanks to Pinterest and the social web of today, you can easily carry along the ‘free’ word with you wherever you plan to launch a contest. Pinterest is the latest playground for playing a few rounds of branding target practice.

The best thing about Pinterest contests is that the social network itself is so visually attractive. The second best thing is that lots of famous brands are hopping on the Pinterest wagon.

The third good thing is that you can easily follow the ones that have come before you, or take a pinprick of inspiration and craft your own Pinterest contest.

The airline company (now with the International Airline Group, who also run British Airways) used the concept of random numbers and a lottery to kick off their Pinterest based branding campaign. At stake is a chance to win free flights to your dream destinations…at least those covered by the airline. The BMI Pinterest page lists number marked pictures from travel spots. You have to pick any and re-pin them onto your image boards. There are no limits on the images you can re-pin, but only the first six will count when BMI picks a number at random (each week) and matches it with the participant who has re-pinned the image that corresponds to that number. The BMI Pinterest contest is still on and it looks like a sweet deal if you are anywhere in the United Kingdom.

One of the more creative Pinterest campaigns I have seen, the carmaker’s board is an eyeful. Peugeot uses the format of a puzzle to cleverly weave in its branding. Different car models are pinned with some parts missing. You have to scour the Peugeot.com site or their Facebook page for the missing (four) pieces. Then you have to create a board and individually pin the images (and arrange them) to complete the jigsaw puzzle. The first five people to complete their boards win prizes. The very arrangement of the different pins and boards is an innovative use of Pinterest.

AMC Theaters are the second largest movie theater chain in North America. I may not be able to take advantage of their services yet, but as I love movies, I love their Pinterest boards. They also keep generating interest with their Pinterest contests. A recent once was around Oscar time when users were asked to ‘pin’ the photo of each of their personal favorites to a board called ‘My Oscar Picks’. The ones whose predictions hit the mark won tickets to the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Their Pinterest account has a board titled – Repin and Win! which is a collection of Giveaways that are on. From a director’s chair autographed by Riley Scott to your favorite Avenger print, there’s a lot you can lay your hands on.

TeachHUB is a  K12 resource site for teachers. Their Pin It To Win It Giveaway was an example of a very simple Pinterest contest – simple in idea and simple in execution. The contest involved re-pinning a specific “Pin It To Win It” image to a new board created by the pinner and named as TeachHUB. The contestant had to fill out a simple form and also follow TeachHUB on Pinterest. Anyone who contributed by recommending teacher websites, apps, or resources on their board ramped up their chances of walking away with the iTunes Gift Cards on offer. The contest is closed.

The Pin Your Inbox contest is one for the newsletter marketers themselves. Marketers are given a URL field on the Pin Your Inbox site where they can give the URL of their email creative to Pin Your Inbox. Pinterest viewers (and the EmailVision community) can view and ‘like’ the ones showcased. The email design with the most gets the prize and its designer gets free creative work from EmailVision.

Yes, Windows did it to. Though the contest is now closed. It was open to U.S. residents only and was all about Windows hardware. The contest involved pinning eligible Microsoft hardware (mouse) images to a created Pinterest board. Minimum pins had to be ten and the winner was picked through a random selection. The winner’s prize was a Microsoft hardware prize package that included the mouse pinned to the board, a LifeCam Studio and an Arc Keyboard. There was also a Nokia Lumia contest on Pinterest which ended in April and followed a similar theme.

The explosion of this new social media tool and its visual scrapbooking style has opened up a new frontier away from Facebook and Twitter. It is visual, so brands are applying some of advertising’s most creative design concepts to capture mind space as these six different examples show. Heck even the Queen’s Golden Jubilee has been turned into a Pinterest contest. This one is over too, but lots more are in the offing.

Keep an eye on these too:

It is difficult to examine the scope of Pinterest’s success yet when it comes to contests, giveaways, and scavenger hunts. That’s for another article. But tell me here; what is your take on Pinterest contests? Do you see a social media phenomenon in the making or are they just cool contests that will just be another set of bookmarks? Also mention any Pinterest contest that you have been a part of or an example of one you would like to craft on Pinterest.

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Amazon Cloud Player Finally Launches On iPhone And iPod Touch [Updates]

It seems like forever since Amazon launched their Cloud Player, but now it is finally available on iOS devices. The Cloud Player app on iOS allows users to stream and download any music stored with Amazon to their device.

Just like Google and Apple’s Cloud based music service, you can buy songs through Amazon’s Cloud Player and upload an entire music library that was acquired elsewhere. Of course, you will need to have the space on your Amazon account to fit the music from your own library. You can purchase more space if you need it.

One feature that is conspicuously absent from the iOS version of Amazon Cloud Player is the ability to buy music. Apple takes 30% of all revenue generated through in-app purchases, so it seems Amazon would prefer that their music sales do not help line the pockets of Apple.

The player itself looks quite nice, and has all the features you would expect to see from an app trying to compete with iTunes and Google. You can listen to and create playlists, browse music by artist, album and genre and do everything else you would expect to do with a top-tier music player.

You can download the Amazon Cloud Player app from the iTunes App Store.

Source: TheNextWeb

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HTC One S will be outfitted with a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 CPU in select markets

Less than a couple weeks ago, we first heard the faint whispers about a slightly modified version of the popular HTC One S that’s making its way to Taiwan. Specifically, it was believed that it would be outfitted with an older Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor, but today, we’re getting that confirmation from the source directly.

From the sound of it all, HTC is indeed confirming that the HTC One S will be sporting a dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor in select Asian and European markets. However, as we know, the current version of the handset for the US, UK, Japan, Korea, France, and Germany are all featuring the newer dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor produced with Krait cores.

To make it less confusing for consumers as to which model is being sold, HTC is kind enough to label the S3 versions of the Android powered smartphone in the markets where it’s making the change. Therefore, if you see one labeled as a dual-core 1.7GHz, it’s a Snapdragon S3 – whereas, if it’s labeled with a dual-core 1.5GHz, you’re obviously getting the S4.

Perhaps, there might be some people in those regions that will be bummed by all of this, but nonetheless, HTC is doing its part in trying to meet the demand for devices that rely on the faster and more energy-efficient processors. Until then, those consumers in the select Asian and European markets might want to double check the box to see which model they’re getting before forking over their hard-earned cash.

source: The Verge via Engadget

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Here’s the (almost) full list of 200 new features on iOS 6

This really seems more like iOS 5.3 (or 5.5 to be generous) rather than an entire 6.0 upgrade.

Disappointing to be honest. Windows phone, Android and even BB10 within the past year have all gone through MAJOR UI changes, yet for iOS there have been no major UI changes recently, arguably ever.

This year seemed like the chance to shut all haters and doubters up, but apple have just added a few extra features to some of its apps,generally done bug fixes and added apps that already existed, but made them included with release rather than having to download them later. (this is referred to as bloat ware on other Os's)

Features from iOS are taken from Android, RIM and Windows phone, but all mentioned above are EQUALLY guilty.

The reason I believe people complain about apple is because of the companies mentioned above, it is the one that is litigating more than it is innovating in the past year or so.

Apple's marketing is amazing and the next iphone will still sell in boatloads. Interest in apple products may not be dwindling, but the reaction to the Lumia, the sales of the SGS3 and the high expectations of Windows 8, and arguably BBX, really does show that the the common consumer is noticing its competitors much much more.

Who cares which OS is the best, It has shifted in the past, and it will shift again in the future.

Competition benefits the consumer and that's what should matter to us isnt it?

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