iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire HD vs. Nexus 7: Why it is called Battle of the Tablets

iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 have to fight it out with their best abilities to remain in the competition as the battle among the tablets have already begun. At present, the potential clients who are looking forward to invest on a new tablet have these three newest options at their disposal.

So they need to fight it out really hard to retain their position in the market. Therefore the developers of these three major brands namely Apple, Google and Amazon have started fight it out really hard amongst themselves to capture the market and establish their dominance.

Regaining status quo:

The major competitors of Apple’s tablet that is Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD have been able to win the first round of the battle by introducing their tablet at a much competitive price which has all the advanced features that are present in Apple’s tablet. Therefore, by applying this strategy they have been able to create a successful list of fan followings. This has lead the entrepreneurs of Apple to invent means whereby it will be possible for them to launch a product that is available at a competitive price and the answer was iPad mini which is smaller in size than the usual Apple tablets but have most of the features of iPad and iPad 2.

Battle over apps:

As these three major computing brands continue to battle it out amongst themselves for capturing the market of tablets, one important facet over which war is being waged is the applications compatible with this product. At present Google has given a tough challenge to its competitors in this genre as it has the largest variety of applications to offer to the potential clients. Although a variety of applications available with Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 as well but it is nothing in comparison to the ones compatible with Apple. So Apple is definitely in a win-win position is this respect.

Market research:

All the Apple products are developed after intensive market research to respond to the needs of the consumers. In this respect as well Apple has won the battle as they have been able to correspond to the demands of the market. The consumers are in need of easily manageable computing device which they will be able to carry easily along with themselves to serve their need. Thereby the developers of Apple’s iPad have decided to further reduce the size of the product to about 7 inch, whereby they can easily carry it along with them.

High definition screen:

While the iPad mini is not yet released and we are only contemplating about its various features; Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7 is making the most of its late arrival. But in between the two options available to the potential clients at present there exists a tough competition. One facet based on which Kindle Fire HD has an upper hand over the Google’s tablet is the picture quality. Amazon’s tablet has a far superior picture quality in comparison to the Google’s version of the same device. Moreover the storage capacity of the Kindle Fire HD is far better in comparison to the Nexus 7. These are two factors that have given Amazon’s tablet an edge over the other tablets especially owing to the fact that Kindle Fire HD costs less than the Nexus 7.

Thus a fully fledged battle has been declared and the main contestants are doing their very best to create a niche for themselves by introducing new and advanced features and offering them at a much lower price.

Read More

Five Things You Must Use On Your New Blog

Blogging is uncontrollably going rival nowadays, everybody wants to own a great blog, Blogs are serving as alternative to Static websites for people, various businesses and companies, even Companies with static websites still feel a need to own a Blog, this is because these blogs are the surest means of keeping their customers updated.

Having good stuffs to offer on your blog should be your number one priority, once you have those contents, then you can consider the next things to follow it up. These 5 features are what I am sharing with us in this post, since they are very relevant and will help make your blog neat, navigable, professional, and also keep your visitors coming back for more.

  5 Things You must Use For Your New Blog

1. AN AWESOME TEMPLATE:

First impression matters, the look you give to your blog will determine if your first time visitors should go ahead reading it, so you have to present them a good-looking template, not just a cool layout but one that matches your category, or "niche".
Honestly, I won't bother straining my eyes to read a blog with an incredibly messed up "design".

What To do: If you are on Blogger, You may try out the free templates at Premium Blogger Templates
or if you use WordPress, you may browse this Post which discussed 100 excellent free Wordpress themes to choose from.
Overall, make sure you are picking the right look for your blog.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES AND SHARE BUTTONS

According to Darren Rowse of ProBlogger dot net, bloggers have to engage in Social Media and Network, this doesn't only help get you some traffic but also aid their blogs in building good profiles for them in these communities. Such social media consists of :

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Plus
• Stumble Upon
• Digg and many others

What To do: All you need do is join the above Social Networks, be active on them, grab their badges with their Share buttons and install them on your blogs so you and your visitors can easily connect and share your stuff with their friends in the Social networks.
As we can see, I have them right below every of my blog posts. :)

3. EMAIL AND RSS SUBSCRIPTION BOX

The sole purpose of this is to keep your readers informed about your Updates.
RSS: should give them updates and summary of your posts.
NewsLetters/Email Updates: Your Readers are people and businesses who check their mails everyday,  the Email-subscriptions should send them your updates straight into their inbox.
Only some bloggers see much reason to having this, well, right now, as you have a new blog, there's nothing more than keeping your Audience, first your content has to be very useful, and then you will need the Email and RSS Subscription option so they can be getting more updates of what's new on your blog right in their mailbox through Feed Burners and Newsletters you send them.

What To do: Go to Feed Burner and make your self an account for your blog where you will be burning all your updates via mails and RSS (Rich Site Summary) for your audience.
Since Feedburner would be shutting down anytime in December, you may go for alternatives such as 
- myFeedInbox
-RapidFeeds
and Nouri.sh
They also do well as Feedburner.

4. CATEGORIES

This is a very important feature you need to include on your blog, your first time visitors will need it to know what types of topics you discuss on your blog, and the frequent visitors who come back will use this to Navigate to other parts of your blog posts. In addition it also has good SEO benefits, search engines will be needing it to understand and index your pages faster.
TAGS are similar to categories but tags carry plenty of keywords containing your topics, hence your Categories are created from the MAJOR keywords which your blog is based upon.
Don't get it twisted in case you are on Blogger, TAGS are what is used to represent your Categories, so  make sure you select the main keywords, and arrange them accordingly. You may have a look at my side bar to the right, hope you saw my Categories.

5. RECENT POSTS

The final but not the least
We frequently see a Blog's latest post title right on top of the others before going ahead to "Read More" about it...
Well, don't be too sure, especially if it's a very huge Blog with thousands of posts, like Mashable.com , if you don't want to mislead your Readers, the Best thing to do is have a RECENT POST feature on the blog.
They want to know what's New, and the only way you can show them is using this Recent Post feature.  

What To do: To have this on your blog, Wordpress users can simply search and install the Plugin but on Blogger, goto your Layout > Add Gadget >> More gadgets >> Scroll Down  till you find the Recent Post Gadget and Choose it.

See? I also have it on my side bar.

Conclusion:
Though, there're so many others features your blog can have, but this are the most important FIVES i would recommend  for a New Blog. If you have some Questions or more to add to the list, you may drop us your Comments.
Meanwhile if you found this post helpful, Sharing with others isn't a Bad idea ;)

Read More

The PadFone 2 - Another Great Android Evolution

Well, Android is doing real good stuff on their devices now, if you may have gotten the latest story, Chairman of ASUS, a Multinational Computer hardware and electronic company, Mr. Jonney Shih had lately brought the ASUS PadFone 2 to the Spotlight for the world.
After seeing the Video, reviewing this 2-in-1 device, it had the mobile phone which works hand-in-hand with its larger tablet. I felt rather amazed, just like Iphones, these Android devices are getting slimmer.
There had been several thumbs up, the latest Evolution of the Android Smartphone is absolutely awesome with the Look and Feel it gives at first sight.

Though I'm yet to lay my hungry hands-on, I had been catching a few videos and photoshots of it across the web. I gathered some Specifications so we all can get to know what it has to offer before considering buying the product.

Here's it is...

SPECIFICATIONS ON THE ASUS PADFONE 2

• OS - The Padfone 2 is totally based on Android OS feature
• BODY - it weighs 136g, measuring about 9mm
• THE SCREEN - sizes 4.7 Inches with a 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS+ display/ Now you wouldn't have to worry about the scratches as it comes with Corning® Fit Glass which is scratch-resistant.
• THE BATTERY - A  Li-Ion 2,140mAh Standard battery, lasting about 16 hours talktime and 13 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing, (and hey, the browser supports HTML5).
• PROCESSOR - powering the device is a 1.5GHz QuadCore Processor having 2GB RAM, capable of storage size worth 64GB.
• CAMERA POWER - 32MP, and 13 mega-pixel which ensures Photo capturing and Video shooting at HD performance.

As I mentioned earlier. it comes with the PadFone 2 and it's fully featured Tablet of 10.1 inches screen, which is called the PadFone 2 Station, when both of the weight is combined, it had been realised that it forms one of the lightest weight tablets in the market. More so, you may also use the PadFone 2 Station has power to charge up the PadFone 2 Mobile up o three times. Isn't that magnificent?

 The specifications about this new device can still go down this page but I don't wanna stress you up with reading too much, the Video below should speak a whole lot more for itself...

If you've got Something to say about this great new device, the comment box is open for all

Enjoy!!!

Read More

Review - Appraising The New iPhone 5

The sleek new iPhone 5 that is a lot thinner and lighter than its predecessor the iPhone 4. This touchscreen based smartphone was developed by the makers of the iPad, Apple Inc. Released about a month ago this sixth generation device has stormed the markets across the world. The screen is larger than the previous model at 4 inches and the dock connector is smaller with eight pins. It is powered by the Apple A 6 processor

The iOS 6 operating system that powers the iPhone 5 is the latest version. The screen is certainly bigger and the internal components match the exteriors. This phone has a new Maps application that should prove to be handy for people who are on the go constantly. The user interface of the operating system can be operated by multi-touch actions. There are a series of buttons assigned various task as are the sliding mechanism and the switches

The patented gestures like pinch, swipe, tap and something called reverse pinch all have functions of their own. When you wish to undo a command a simple shake of the device will accomplish that. You can have access to the app store and surf and download several applications from iTunes Store. The phones Internet can be share over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and through the USB. Though most of the features will work in specific areas to start with, Apple promises to extend the same to other areas over a period of time.

This smartphone can serve as your companion that plays music, movies, streams videos, programs on TV, Ebooks, and radio podcasts as well. It has the intelligence to sort the collection you acquire by genre, songs, albums, artists, composers and playlists. Options allow you to easily locate what you want as they are arranged alphabetically. The playlists however, will remain in the order they get downloaded from ITunes.

It is empowered by a virtual assistant that you can speak to and expect to receive answers. Voice commands from you will be responded in a like manner. To access Siri as the virtual assistant is called you just need to press the button and hold it down. Even texting can be converted to a speech format with the aid of the voice assistant. There is also a special feature called iMessage which is an IMS or instant messaging system that lets you chat with your friends who also posses Apple devices running on iOS 5 or 6. Apart from text messages you can also send and receive images which makes it all the more exciting. There is a keyboard that appears on the display and can be used for texting apart from the voice commands that it follows. The built-in spell checker comes in handy when you are in a hurry.


The built-in Maps feature works on turn-by-turn spoken directions. Some major cities can be viewed in 3D. The Passbook app is really very handy and you can retrieve boarding passes, coupons, tickets, and loyalty cards. It is intelligent enough to alert you when you are near a store, the coupon for which is in the app.

A range of storage capacities at 16, 32, and 64 Gigabytes similar to that of the previous version is available in this one too. It has a similar camera with 8 MP and a low-light performance feature that lets you capture great pictures even in poor lighting conditions. On the whole the Apple iPhone 5 has had rave reviews till now.

This is a guest post by Amber Gomez of xfinityonline, a site that offers savings and current information on comcast xfinity, as well as xfinity.com services.

Read More

How To Track and Claim your Website with Google Web Tracking Code

If you own a website, and you have been running it well enough to get you traffic coming from various parts of the world, it's very important you set up a tracking means for this website, as it will help you monitor your website traffic health in terms of SEO, audience and others, and also serve as another way of Claiming you are actually the owner of the website.

 To do this, simply rush down to Google Analytics.

• Sign In, and create Analytics ID by going to Admin >> New Account >> Add a Site, and fill in required details, once your through move to your blog, website.
• Go to Template >> Edit HTML

 Find the </head> Copy and Paste the below web property code snippet just above the </head> tag.

<script type="text/javascript">   var _gaq = _gaq || [];   _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXX-Y']);   _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);   (function() {     var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;     ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';     var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);   })(); </script>

Make sure you Replace the UA-XXXX-Y marked in red with your own web analytics ID by copying the web property from your Google analytics Admin Dashboard as in the screenshot below,

Also be sure your property code corresponds with the website URL you want to track, after replacing with your own, save your template.

Generally this should work perfectly for every website, not just on Blogger, where you only need to input your Web property ID.

If you had noticed, i recently did an overall change in this site's design, I was formally tracking it with those codes, but then I lost track after i made design changes, so i had to do the work over again, but this time, it was faster and a lot easier for me, just incase inputing your Web property doesn't work on your Blogger Settings, this should definitely be an instant solution.

Read More

MTN and Etisalat Data Packages for As Cheap as 5 Naira for Mobile users in Nigeria

Purchasing Data Plans in Nigeria at affordable prices are beginning to be a thing of competition among our Service Providers, especially the within Mobile Network service Providers, consisting of MTN, Etisalat, Airtel, and Glo, as we must have  noticed majorly, it's been Etisalat catching up with MTN as long as mobile Data Services are concerned.

Gone are those days we pay for Data at prices which we fear might not serve as expected, I think etisalat was first to come up with this cool idea, customers are paying and enjoying it, so MTN is now offering same Service, now you and I can buy Data Bundle for as low as #5 with our MTN and Etisalat SIMs.

How To Buy Data Plan For 5 Naira with your MTN and Etisalat SIMS

• For Etisalat

You will need at least 50 naira in your Account Balance, now Dial *496*1#,
5 naira is deducted and you're given 1 MB Data bundle to use for 24 hours (1 Day) moreover you get to make Calls for as low as 20k per Second.

• For MTN

It's very much easier, you only need to have 5 naira and up wards, to get it, Text 350 to 131 then You're given your 1 MB immediately to use up in 24 hours.

This is cool stuff for those of us who don't do much internet browsing on our phones, it's cool for those of us who use Chat social Networks such as 2go, Ebuddy and a few others apps that don't burn up much data to work.


NOTE:  You can't buy the data bundle twice a day, till 24 hours of your first purchase
Though, there're issues at times where you may not still be able to buy after 24 hours, if your Stuff gets exhausted before or after 24 hours, Simply Text RESET to 131 and try subscribing again.

Read More

The Lion arrives - Mountain Lion Update Adds Facebook Integration Feature

Perhaps your Mac is upgraded to Mountain Lion, but are you sure that you're not missing anything? If yes, then you must be aware of 10.8.2 that Apple rolled out, alongside iOS 6. If you’re not aware of it, check the Software Updates in the Apple Menu and download the latest update. 

Earlier this year, Apple made promises like Facebook Integration to Mountain Lion,but when Mountain Lion was launched only Twitter Integration was live. Later, Apple announced that Facebook Integration will be added in an update. And now, that update has been rolled out. Mac OS X Mountain Lion – the world’s advanced desktop OS gets even better with the new version 10.8.2, the second update to Mountain Lion since its launch in late July.

The new update adds Facebook Integration just like the iOS update - iOS 6.The new version 10.8.2 adds several Facebook-related options and incorporates Facebook sharing into Apple-made apps and many system components. Similar to the Twitter Integration in Mountain Lion, now you can sign in to Facebook. With this new update, while sharing links and photos, you can add Facebook as an option.You don’t need to launch specific apps to post status and updates as you can setup a notification center that allows you to post and share status. The notification center also lets you see your Facebook notifications.

It's not just this, apps like Safari, Contacts and Preview will now have the Facebook option. And you can view your Facebook friends’ photo albums and contact information in Contacts. Apple also allows third-party developers to create various apps that exploit this feature.In addition to Facebook integration, there are many other new features included in the update like:

• Late 2010 MacBook Air models receivePower Nap support.
• You can add passes to Passbook from Mail and Safari on your Mac, but that requires iOS 6.
• You can sort notes based on the date of creation,last edited and title with new sort options.
• You can add SinaWeibo (Chinese Micro blogging Website) profile photos to Contacts.
• The iMessages you received can be viewed in Messages on your Mac (it requires iOS 6, too).
• New, shared reminder lists are available.
• You have a new French definition dictionary included in the Dictionary app.
• Dictation supports many additional languages like Cantonese, Canadian French, Canadian English, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and Korean.
• You can receive FaceTime video calls on your Mac that are sent to your phone number.
• Apart from these new features, the update also includes a host of bug fixes and general OS fixes that can improve the stability, security, and compatibility of your Mac.The new update addresses certain issues that Mac users face:
• Enable Autodiscover (Checkbox remains checked always),
• Active Directory (preventing accounts from locking out),
• Keychain (sometimes may not be accessible),
• NIS (auto-login is enabled),
• Video issues (with VGA projectors),
• Xsan (automatic start), etc.

In simple words, the new update has something for everybody. Like for gamers, with the Game Center, they can share their scores on Facebook and Twitter. The Game Center will let you play against your Facebook friends and challenge them to beat your scores. You can like any game from the Game Center with the Facebook Like option. You will have your Facebook friends included in the list of Game Center friend recommendations automatically, and so on.

Regardless of what the new update has, Facebook Integration is the big thing in the new version OS X 10.8.2 that is noteworthy. The Facebook Integration feature available in the new update is exactly what you and I need.

This guest post is brought to you by Nicole Wilson of Cabletimenyc, a site that offers savings and current information on Time Warner cable new york.

Read More

3 Types of Tragedies A BlackBerry Monitoring Application Can Help You Prevent

A BlackBerry Monitoring Application, for all the hype and features it has, it's just a tool. And just like any other tool, it's only useful for what you use it for. It might have the most developed technology in the world, but it would be all for naught if it didn't serve a useful purpose.

Fortunately, a BlackBerry Monitoring Application does have a purpose, and I would say it's a very useful one: preventing tragedies. That is the main reason why I think it's becoming so popular. I think people of different backgrounds would benefit from it if they knew that they would be able to get the information that would allow you to prevent the following:

1. Car accidents due to alcohol and drinking.

If you have a teenage boy, this is a real danger. Unfortunately, 65% of teenage boys drink. The problem is that they often drive after drinking. Yes, they know they shouldn't do it, but when someone is drunk, his judgement is impaired and they make bad decisions. The program can let you know if your child or any of his friends drink, or if alcohol will be served at the reunions that your child attends. Remember, if your boy (or girl, because unfortunately girls are now drinking as much as boys nowadays) drinks, he's certainly going to keep it a secret.


2. Teen pregnancy.

I'm not talking about your opinion on life, which is yours and I respect. I'm only talking about the fact that girls get pregnant while in their teens, which is not a desirable thing by anyone's standards. You may ignore that your daughter is dating, or if she's having sex. Even if you are one of those liberal parents who allows your daughter to date and have sex, you would like the reassurance that her boyfriend is a good boy and that she's protecting herself. Obviously, most parents are not that liberal and they can prevent a teen pregnancy with this software.


3. Employee fraud.

If you have a company, you have to protect it too. Employees who are dishonest can literally destroy it if they commit fraud. Some of them sell your information to your competitors. Others lower your prices (and thus your profits) for their clients, just caring about getting a commission but not about whether the deal is good for the company or not. And yet there are others who blatantly steal from the company, either money or supplies.

Having a monitoring software program gives you all the information that goes through a BlackBerry, allowing you to know everything that people keep a secret from you. In turn, you'll know who's safe and who's not and who is on your side and who's not.

Brian Coulter is an expert on mobile phone technology and its applications. He likes to explain the latest in mobile phone technology to his readers in simple terms, without all the technical jargon. He is also the author of Blackberry Monitoring Program.

Read More

How Technology Can Help Save You Money

Most people avoid using technology because of its initial costs. After all, technology can't exactly run without requiring purchases or upgrades in terms of hardware, software, and services like Internet access. However, what these people also frequently fail to realize is that the total initial cost of making your business technology-proof will be more than easily offset by its continuous and long-term benefits.

Email newsletters versus direct mail marketing

Sure, there are still advantages that you can undeniably enjoy with direct mail marketing, but are those advantages truly worth the expenses you incur for it at the same time? Why not cut back on your marketing expenses by taking an Internet-based approach to marketing? Instead of delivering your marketing newsletters by snail mail, why not send them via email instead? Email is not just for free but you also get greater flexibility when it comes to choosing the content that goes with your marketing newsletter. You would no longer have to consider the costs you'd incur when you opt for full-color images and text or the number of pages you end up consuming. Everything will still cost you nothing with email marketing.

Reduce costs for contests and giveaways.

When holding giveaways and contests for your customers, you do not only spend money on the prizes. You also have to spend extra on marketing. After all, there's no point giving away prizes when no one knows about your contest in the first place. However, you can limit your marketing expenses by holding your contest and giveaway online instead. You can start promoting it on social networking sites, blogs, and micro-blogging sites like Twitter. You should also promote it through forums and by coming up with online press releases. And the greatest thing about all these is that they are completely free for you to take advantage of.

Enjoy higher profits by selling your products or services online.

When you rely on retailers and distributors to sell your products and services, it can't be helped that you would end up with smaller profits. After all, you may have to pay them a percentage of your earnings in exchange of their services. Other times, you have to pay commission when agents help you sell your merchandise. You can skip all these, however, by directly selling your products and services through your website. More importantly, web-based stores also come with lower operating costs compared to managing a brick-and-mortar store. Websites can run 24/7 and every stage of the selling and marketing process may even be completely automated!

Say goodbye to phone expenses.

If you do frequent business with individuals living outside your state, then you can use VoIP to lower your phone expenses. With VoIP you can enjoy unlimited international calls for free!

Update your business technology today!

Don't allow your business to remain behind its competition a day longer. Update your company's technology right this moment. You can start by contacting Cell Phone Expertand find out what you can do to improve people's mobile access to your company's website. By making it easier for people to access your products and services online, expect your sales to grow by leaps and bounds as well.

Read More

Dropbox's New Security Features expected to bring down Hacks and Threats?

Dropbox is a free file hosting service that allows you to have a unique folder on your computer which will be synchronized so that you can access that folder from anywhere. You can easily access data stored in your Dropbox folder from other computers, through a website and using other mobile phone applications like iPhones and iPads. Eventually, Dropbox became a great success as it provided users with an easy way to store, access and share files. It enables you to store your photos, videos, files and documents, all in one place and also share a link to it

Recently, about a month back, Dropbox came under scrutiny following a password security breach that resulted in spam messages being sent to Dropbox customer’s email addresses. Later, the company confirmed the hacking incident, blaming it on a Dropbox employee who had carelessly used security password at a third party site which got hacked. The company stated that the stolen password and username were misused to inappropriately access the employee’s account containing few customers’ email addresses.  But, they did not disclose any details about how many customer accounts were hacked.

Dropbox reported that they would be adding enhanced security features like

• A two-factor authentication process.
  
• An automated mechanism that helps you to spot suspicious activities.
  
• A page from where you can analyze active logins to your account.

Just within a month after the company announced their plans to strengthen security, they have silently made the two-factor authentication feature available to their registered Forum users. They haven’t launched it officially though. They are proceeding with caution and have enabled the beta version only to few selected users. They call the move an “experimental build” and stated that the security fix will be open to all in a short while.

Now, you would be wondering if you could make use of the two-factor authentication feature. Then, you are in for a good news as by following the below instructions, you can enable it for your Dropbox account. The authentication step is almost similar to Google Authentication app for Gmail available on Android phones.

STEP 1: Visit this - Dropbox link and login. It will redirect you to a security tab from where you can activate the two-step authentication

STEP 2: There, you will see a “change link” option. Click on it and you will be asked to re-enter the password.  In the next step, you will be provided with the option to send your 6 digit security code to your phone via text message or any mobile application such as Google Authenticator

STEP 3: Also, you will receive a unique 16 digit back up code to help you access Dropbox account in emergency situations, incase if you are not able to generate code or you lose your phone. You have to keep the backup code safe.

STEP 4: Now, you have to install the newest version of Dropbox for your device (computer/iPhone/iPad). Applications are available for Windows, Linux and Mac computers.

STEP 5: After installation, you have to unlink your device from your Dropbox account’s security tab. The next time you try to login to your Dropbox account, you will be prompted to enter the 6 digit code.

The Dropbox team is working hard to provide users with additional security. So the Dropbox users can relax without the fear of your Dropbox account being hacked.

Read More