Ever since groupon launched in November 2008 “discount” sites have sprung up here there and everywhere. Not surprising considering recession has hit the globe and everyone is looking for a way to continue the lifestyle they have become accustom too.

Groupon was an instant success with the unique concept of a deal a day which was “on” or not depending on the number of buyers. The discounts were big, or at least appeared to be and the site was slick. So it didn’t take long for Google to sit up, notice Groupon and slap a $6 billion offer on the table. Not bad for a site that had been in existence for 2 years.

When Groupon turned down Google it was as sure as the iPad2 selling out on launch day that Google would set about developing their own version of the discount site. This is to be called Google offers.

Google Offers BETA is starting in Portland, Oregon and punters can get 50% off or more at the “places” they love. Places being the operative word. Google have developed their Places feature integrated into their search and maps, to enable companies to offer discount.
The difference for google this time is the emphasis is not just on the company to set up the deals using an online form. This time to compete with Groupon Google will have to actively work with companies to set these deals up.

The daily-deal concept requires a large sales force, which talks to businesses, sets pricing strategies and plays a role in setting up the discounts. Groupon has 2,600 employees working in sales all of which are by now honed at setting up these deals.

Never one to be left behind now-a-days Facebook also feels it has a role to play in the let’s-get-money-off landscape.
Facebook are going to leverage their “check-ins” feature to enable Facebook deals.
My first reaction to Facebook entering this arena was here we go again. Can’t Facebook leave anything alone? But after a bit of thought, I actually think Facebook has the best model which has the ability to offer something a little unique.

Facebook deals will open up a more flexible discount system, where the likes of a local pub could offer discounts if you check-in yourself and 10 other friends. This boosts sales at local businesses, encourages people to get together to take advantage of the offer and means you can take advantage of the discount there and then. No waiting, noloo signg your voucher and no deal expiring.

I don’t think Google offers or Facebook deals will be the end of Groupon. Groupon has the head-start in this sector and its dedicated to offering the best discounts and that’s it. It’s not trying to be a jack of all trades, it’s just trying to be a master of one.

The size of both Google and Facebook mean they can set up devisions dedicated to their discount dealings. But what doesn’t change and will only get harder and harder as both these giants grow is the flexibility and ability to change and adapt to the market that a smaller company has.

I believe Facebook’s offering is more unique and will prove successful in the long term. But this doesn’t mean the death nail for Groupon as there is room for both. Facebook for the more spontaneous discount deals and Groupon for the more planned discount treats.

The one offering I can’t see coming out on top is Google offers. It wasn’t first to market and it’s just not unique enough.

Maybe you should have bid $8 billion for Groupon eh Google?

There seems to be a common thread in the PR stories spun recently by the tech industry big boys. Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple and virtually all manufacturers of 3D TVs have all come out saying how well their products are selling. It’s strange considering the world economy is only just recovering (slowly) from the crisis we have been experiencing. Consumers still don’t have that disposable income they once did, yet the stories on the wire from the brands behind the latest innovations tell a different story – their products are selling… big time.

The theory here is that of the sheep. People follow. If you tell people everyone is buying something – no one wants to get left behind so they go out an purchase.

Like this blog post! The title suggests this is the most viewed blog post in the world, or at least it will point you to it. That’s probably the reason your reading this now. If it’s good enough for everyone else to read, it’s good enough for you as well.

Let’s have a look at a couple of these stories,

Microsoft has apparently sold more than 10 million Kinect systems for the Xbox 360 to retailers. This was announced by Microsoft on Wednesday and with many of the Kinect units being sold in the first three months of it’s launch it has become the fastest selling consumer device ever. Pretty impressive.
If we disect this story however, we can see this is the number of units sold to retailers not customers. So while the title fastest selling consumer device is true – it’s a tad misleading as in many cases it’s not in consumers hands.
Many people would say that they will be otherwise the retailers wouldn’t have stocked them? But wouldn’t they? Considering how it’s virtually common practice now-days for supply of devices such as the Kinect to be intentionally limited so consumers get the impression of a sought-after-hard-to-get device, making the “want” factor outweigh the “need”.
It appears Microsoft’s approach in this case has been different. They have allowed retailers access to the units, which they have obviously taken up and therefore been able to spin the story of the fastest selling consumer device in history. The result – consumers saying “blimey this Kinect thing must be good… better get one!”.

The next story to hit the press with massive sales figures was from the the closest competitor to Kinect – the Wii.
Nintendo this time – who were masters of limiting supply when they launched the Wii – came out with their PR wizardry stating sales of the Wii have passed 50 million. This makes the Wii the fastest selling games console in history by beating the PS2.
The fact that the Wii has now been around for almost 5 years for it to reach this figure is obviously not mentioned. Neither is the fact that it took the Nintendo Wii about two years to pass the 10 million sales mark recently touted by the Kinect. But it’s interesting how Nintendo are coming out with this story at the same time as Microsoft’s Kinect release. Although I would say, Microsoft owe a lot to the fact Nintendo opened up the console market to such a wider demographic. This is the real reason so many of these devices are being sold. Ask a serious gamer and they wouldn’t touch the Wii. Although many people would think it immerses the gamer more through the fact they control the game-play through movement, in reality there’s only a couple of good games that really achieve this, one being wii sports which was released with the console.

While you cannot take away the success of the Wii and Kinect, you have to wonder if they really are the “game changers” people are making them out to be.  Or are we being spoon fed a very clever dose of Marketing.

The two inventions have certainly opened up the console market to a new demographic and I think that should be noted as the no.1 achievement of these inventions – not the fact they are selling so many million and this is the reason why they must be good!

Oh, and incase you landed on here thinking this was the most viewed blog post in the world – or it was going to point you to it, then I’m sorry.

It’s March 2nd and any Apple fan will tell you that today the iPad2 will be announced. What they can’t tell you is what the latest gadget from the Apple development team will include. There have been rumours of what the second generation iPad will bring to the now over-crowded tablet computer Market since the first iPad was released last year, but until today nobody outside of the apple offices have known for sure.

While many Apple fan-boys will say Apple is cutting edge – leading the way in technology, it’s unlikely this next-gen iPad will bring any major surprises. 3D? No way, front and back interface… Doubt it. But what is for certain is whatever apple announce today, they will tell us it is revolutionary!

I’m writing this blog as the event happens. It’s now 18:20 in the uk and the first big surprise is that steve jobs, after all his health problems, is giving the presentation. It’s good to see. No apple presentation is the same without “The Jobs” at the helm!

There is no denying the iPad has been a massive success and Apple are hammering this message home. This “post-PC” device has caught the imagination of both consumer and business around the world and they are taking advantage of it.

So, here we go with the new features…

Dual core CPU – A new A5 chip. No surprise here. The iPad would have been left behind if it hadn’t included a dual core processor. With multitasking incorporated in iOS 4.2 the iPad began to lag. A much needed feature.

Video cameras – front and rear cameras. Again no surprise. With the development of FaceTime it was inevitable these would be included.

Gyroscope – As it’s included in the iPhone 4 it was expected in the iPad. Some new apps may take advantage of it in a tablet, but as yet nothing has rocked the world in the smaller devices for us to be able to say this will happen anytime soon.

The design – Thinner (8.8mm) and lighter (1.3 pounds) Aesthetically not that different though – apart from the cameras there are no great design differences. Obviously being thinner does make it look slightly more attractive, it’s now thinner than an iphone 4! and the iPad 2 is going to be available in White… From day one! Also Apple have pulled off a master stroke to keep the battery life to 10hours with these new changes.

The main new feature here though, is with the new case (smart covers) which uses magnets to hook onto the iPad. Pretty clever. This covers the iPad and even wakes it up when opened. It also has a micro-fibre cloth on the inside to clean the screen.

So – here’s two issues with the original iPad Apple have addressed. The weight. For reading books the first iPad was just too heavy. The smudges from greasy fingers! Not totally solved, but the new case may help.

Mirrored video output – this is a peripheral, but through a new cable we can now mirror the output onto a tv using a hdmi connection. At the moment I’m guessing this will only be activated in certain apps, like keynote (presentation software) or when playing videos or photo slideshows. I doubt this will mirror all activity on the iPad… Which would have been great!

IOS 4.3 – due march 11th, improvements have been made to safari and airplay in the new iOS. I’ve got an apple tv and do find airplay a tad clunky at the moment, which is unusual for apple, so this will be interesting. Also airplay only works on a few websites when browsing in safari so hopefully this has been addressed.

IMovie – a movie app for the iPad. With the integration of the cameras this made sense. It will allow you to simply put together and edit movies on the iPad. Again, with the introduction of the A5 dual core processor, this should run like a dream.

GarageBand – A music composing app that also includes instrument simulators such as guitar and keyboard. This will integrate with iMovie really well I should imagine.
The app looks really good and is available for just £4.99 the same as iMovie.
With how the iPad has been adopted by the music industry, especially with some fantastic dj apps, it’s a clever move by apple to make their own.

looks like that’s it unless they have something else clever at the end of the presentation.

The iPad 2 will hit the uk shelves on March 25th and it looks like it will be priced the same as the original.

I would say overall, as I guessed, there was no major surprises. Unfortunately the roomer-mill, ever since the first iPad, has been in overdrive and has probably increased peoples expectations. That said, it would have been good if apple had a few surprises up their sleeve. The biggest one tonight has been Steve Jobs delivering the presentation rather than the iPad 2 including something revolutionary.

No doubt we will therefore have to wait a couple of years for the 3D iPad. Maybe that will be the iPad 4. But rest assured when apple do announce it, they will make out they have invented 3D!

One thing Apple do emphasise at the end of their presentation is that this is a Post-PC device. They reinforce the fact that it is both the hardware and software that make the experience. Some will say this is a bit of a cop-out and it’s because there are no giant leaps forward with the iPad 2 in terms of technology. I would say there wasn’t any giant leaps forward in terms if technology with the first iPad, but it’s still one of the best devices I have ever used in terms of the experience when browsing online or utilising one of the thousands of apps. I would also say with the fact that Apple owns over 90% of this market (tablet) they know what they’re talking about.

Q: What’s the one thing that people fear most?
A: Change.

I remember mobiles becoming mainstream in 2003 with many of my friends having a Nokia 2100 phone. In fact it wasn’t just my friends that had this phone, it seemed like everybody did. Here in the UK, Nokia phones were more common than Burberry being worn by the local gang of lads in the town centre! every Tom, Dick and Harry had one.
Over the next few years although the model of the phone would change, the brand remained the same. Users were very loyal to Nokia and it’s simple navigation that barely changed with each new phone released.

People stuck to Nokia throughout this period because it is what they knew, what they felt comfortable with.

This is why it’s so difficult to launch a new operating system and this is the reason why, when things changed with the adoption of the smartphone, Apple’s iOS and Googles Android platforms were next in line to enjoy such success.

When Apple launched the iOS on the iPhone it didn’t just give us a fancy new interface, it gave us a user experience that was so simple yet powerful, it was perfect for a handheld device. That’s also why, 18 months later when the first commercially available Android OS Smartphone (HTC Dream) was released, it showed Google hadn’t so much re-invented the wheal as given a very similar wheal some new tyres!

As much as Android and Apple fan-boys may argue about it, the experience is not massively different and that is why both systems have been such a hit. Apple’s iOS defined the way in which smartphones should operate and any challengers to that would have to overcome the one thing people (even tech-loving innovative people) fear most… Change!

This is why the recent deal between Nokia and Microsoft just doesn’t make sense.

While I agree Nokia needed a smartphone OS other than the ageing Symbian platform. Why wouldn’t they follow the likes of Samsung, Motorola and LG and choose an open platform that is successful and growing at an astonishing rate?

Why wouldn’t they rely on what they do best (which is build quality handsets) and adopt Android as their platform?

While I take my hat off to Microsoft with their Windows 7 OS, it had to tick one of two boxes to make it the new mobile user experience of choice.

1) Be the first quality OS on a smartphone – impossible. While Microsoft should have invented this touch panel interface instead of their Vista styled Windows Mobile 6 (powered by Windows CE 5.0) in Feb 2007, they didn’t. Instead they were dealt a knock out blow by Apple four months later with the release of the iPhone and it’s iOS.

Or

2) Make the Windows 7 OS quick, slick and easy to develop for. Unfortunately, while many would argue it is slick, few would say it’s quick and it certainly hasn’t attracted the large developer base it needed.

The outcome of the Nokia/Microsoft deal will be interesting, but I don’t see it changing the mobile experience enough to win market share.  Apple’s iOS will remain popular enough to keep the iPhone as the no.1 selling handset and Android will be the platform that continually innovates enough to ensure the top mobile manufacturers continue to use it for their platform – resulting in Android being the no.1 smartphone operating system.

The winners and losers in the mobile industry are quickly being identified.  Companies that are not reacting quick enough and who’s innovations have fallen below par, are starting to suffer.  I’m only surprised by the fact that Nokia and Microsoft appear to be two of the companies that suffering most.

I’ve just realised I’ve developed a new obsession.  It crept up like a sneaky stealth like burgler without me noticing and has started to take over my life.  It’s not eating pies – although I have had a fair few recently, I would have noticed the considerable weight gain.  It’s not buying new gadgets either – although it is closely related.  My obsession is connectivity.  Getting all my gadgets connected over my home network.  Why is this important?  That’s a very good question!

Looking back, I think it started when I bought my Philips stremium WAC7000 back in 2006.  I first of all bought the main centre station for the front room and a sub station forthe dining room  then later went on to buy another sub station for the main bedroom.  I toyed with the idea of one for the bathroom, but thought I was taking things to far.
I loved the fact I could store all of my music in one place and stream it to other rooms with no wires attached.  At the time it felt like pure magic and although in reality I was only human and could therefore only be in one place at once – it didn’t matter.  I would broadcast the music to all three sources and sit back smugly thinking how good that was.  Obviously I would be having several house parties any time soon and therefore this would be worth every penny.  It’s now 2011… still no house parties.

A few years may have gone by, but in that time I have had a few laptops and smartphones – all of which I have been battling to connect togther and with my streamium to see if I can share their lovely resources.  Varying success has been achieved.  I’ve certainly had my laptop playing tunes off my streamium and visa-versa and I’ve had the wii connecting to my laptop playing video and music.

But recently, in the last few weeks – the simmering need to connect my gadgets has gone into overdrive.  Why?
Because I’ve purchased two new gadgets.  A Seagate GoFlex Home 2TB hard-drive and a 2nd gen Apple TV.

These two items have brought together the following items.
Front room TV, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Streamium, wii and laptop.  Fully connected – I’m loving it!
Not only that, but the connection has manifested itself out of the house.  I can now log-in to my GoFlex from anywhere with an internet connection and access my media!  Bang!  That’s connected!

Being able to connect my streamium to my networked attached storage (NAS) has increased the 30GB capacity to 2TB!  I spent weeks stripping down a streamium so that I could install a new hard-drive.  It worked… but it wasn’t easy!

It’s also vastly increased the media that I have access to from my iPad and iPhone – Lovely!  Glad I only brought a 16GB iPhone and 32Gb iPad now.

Finally it has meant I can store mp4 videos on my NAS and stream these to my Apple TV for playing on the main TV in the house.

The only drawback is with the last peice of the connectivity jigsaw.

I have to have my laptop on for Apple TV to recognise the iTunes server on the NAS drive.  Damn!  This has meant the solution I have in my house is tainted.  Why should I boot up my laptop to play something on my hard-drive on my TV.

Well the answer is, I don’t have to put up with this.

I can jailbreak my Apple TV, install xbmc and use this to stream movies and video from my NAS.  Perfect!
Only, I don’t have a MAC running iOS and therefore have to wait for Firecore to release a windows version of Seas0nPass so I can do the necessary.

According to the Firecore blog this will only be a couple of weeks.

Or, I could buy a MAC.  After all.  That’s something else I can connect up!