Windows Phone 7 Push Notification Limit

Another weird quirk with the Windows Phone 7 has been discovered. There is a limit to the amount of push notifications. Only fifteen third party applications can receive push notifications at one time. OEM applications do not count toward the limit.

This presents an interesting problem for the power user who relies on the use of push notifications to keep themselves up to date. Jaime Rodriguez said that Windows Phone 7 was designed for the typical user. If this limit were to remain in effect it would negatively affect the entire line of Windows Phone 7. Cutting out an entire sector of the market merely over a limit that can be changed is something that Microsoft sees and will hopefully acknowledge in the near future. According to Rodriguez that the limit is not set in stone, so there may be a time when the power user will find Windows Phone 7 a useful alternative to the other superior smartphone choices that are already out on the market.

The new Windows Phone 7's seem to be stuck in a rut after being recently released. Microsoft has quite a bit of catching up to do if they want to become a competitor in this market. The use of tiles and some of the other features that are present on the phone are welcome, but there are some basic features that are missing. Most of the other smartphones were hit with this issue as well, but that was a long time ago. Microsoft has quite a bit of catching up to do, but there is a lot of potential there.

Motorola To Split

Motorola is set to split itself into two separate entities on January 4th in an effort to raise stock prices. The company hopes that will benefit all parties involved with Motorola. Ever since the release of the Razr and it's phenomenal success, they have been in decline. With a falling stock price, they see this as one of the few options to recoup some of the lost price. The company will split into Motorola Solutions, Inc. and the mobile division will become Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc.

Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha are currently the co-CEOs of the company as it is now. After the split Brown will become CEO of Motorola Solutions and Jha will become CEO of Motorola Mobility.

[via: BoyGeniusReport]

iOS4 update to 4.2

With the newly released iOS4 update, the iPhone 4, 3G, and 3GS all receive a number of new features. These features include, AirPlay, AirPrint, and messaging with text tones.

AirPlay:

AirPlay allows users to wirelessly stream their pictures, videos, and other digital media from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to Apple TV. This enables users to watch their movies on the televisions instead of on the smaller screens of the other devices.

AirPrint:

AirPrint allows users to print almost anything from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. There aren't many printers currently on the market that support AirPrint, but in December a large firmware update for some existing printers will enable them to make full use of AirPrint.

Messaging with text tones is something that most phones have had for a long time, but Apple is just getting around to adding it. It allows users to select specific tones for texting, depending upon who sent the text.

iOS 4.2.1 jailbroken

For readers who do not know what jailbreaking is, it's a method that allows users root access to the operating system of the phone. Jailbreaking opens up applications to be downloaded and installed that are otherwise unavailable through the Marketplace or App Store. While there are many upsides to doing this on your phone, there is one downsides.

The biggest downside to jailbreaking your phone is the possibility that it will brick your phone. Which does exactly what it sounds like it would do, makes your phone as usable as a brick. This essentially renders your phone completely useless and you would have to go through the restoring process that is required depending upon which type of phone you have.

The jailbreaking tool ultrasn0w will soon be released, it jailbreaks iOS 4.2.1. The tool isn't ready to work on the iPhone 4, but it will work on the iPhone 3G and 3GS. If you're interested in jailbreaking your phone, make sure to keep a look out for the new ultrasn0w to be released sometime in the very near future.

Creating a YouTube video in iOS4 and Android

I was recently given an assignment to create a video that was to be uploaded to YouTube. Originally, this seemed like a difficult task. After trying to figure out the logistics in my head, I realized I had an iPhone 4 that had the ability to do just what the assignment called for. I decided I would make a video going through the Android marketplace, luckily, my roommate has a Verizon Droid that runs Android.

All it required was to switch the camera over to video instead of still shots and hit record. I had rehearsed my scripts quite a few times before I made the video. Without any extra applications I was able to create the video and even had the ability to trim what parts of the video I wanted. It was an editing tool, but a very crude one at that. Uploading the video was simple, a button in the bottom left corner of the screen needs a click and then you are given a few options. Out of these options one of them says, "Upload to YouTube." Give this button a click, sign into your YouTube account and boom! it starts to upload.

I had a very different experience when I was attempting to use an Android device to upload a video onto YouTube. I used a Droid to capture the video. Capturing the video was as simple as iOS4 but when it came to actually uploading the video to YouTube it was quite a different story. Instead of the simple login page that I was shown on the iPhone. I had to log in to my gmail account and have all of my information sync onto the new device. Once I did that I was finally able to upload the video and it took a bit longer than the iPhone did.

Overall, both experiences went rather smoothly. The only hiccup in the process for Android was logging into the user YouTube account. Both of these user experiences are simple and straightforward.

Delving Deeper Into iOS4

Like most smartphone operating systems that are out today, iOS4 is feature and application rich and trying to explain all of these features in one post would be insane and illogical. So, in this post I'll cover the Application Store and the creation of folders to organize applications.

Maneuvering yourself to the application store is quite easy. Begin by going to the home screen, you can do this by pressing the home button located at the bottom center of your phone or by pressing the lock button on the top right corner of the phone. Once you do this, you will be brought to the home screen. On the home screen look for an icon called the Application Store and click on it. You're now in the application store for iOS4.

What can I do with the application store?

Well put simply, quite a few things. When you enter the Application Store, you are brought to the featured application page. On this page you will find different applications that are recommended by Apple. On the top of the page you can choose between new, what's hot, and genius. New and what's hot are self explanatory but some people might not know about genius. Genius is a service provided by Apple that helps match music or applications to you according to your interests. Along the bottom bar of the application are some more categories that you can choose from. Categories, Top 25, Search, and Updates are all available pages that you can visit. Update shows you the newer versions of what apps you already have installed on your phone. Top 25 shows the top 25 free or paid applications currently on the store.

Creating folders to organize applications

Creating folders in iOS4 is extremely simple. Place and hold your finger onto the application that you want to place in a folder. After a few seconds all of the applications on the phone will begin to wiggle. Drag the wiggling application onto another similar or not similar, the choice is up to you, application and it will automatically create and name the folder. To rename the folder, click and hold the folder you wish to rename, the name of the folder will be highlighted with a white box, click in the highlighted space and then type in the desired name.

RIM and Windows 7 Phone

Now that you know about iOS4, Symbian, and Android, you need to learn a little bit more about the final two contenders in the operating system space. The final two are Research in Motion or RIM and Windows 7 Phone. Windows Mobile is still being used but Microsoft is paving the way for its new Windows 7 Phone system.

RIM's Blackberry operating system is in it's 5th incarnation, at version 5.0. With version 5.0 comes synchronization of Exchange e-mail, calendar, notes, and contacts. While this operating system isn't as open as the Android platform, there is still an opportunity for third-party developers to create applications for the operating system.

Windows 7 Phone is a brand new, yet to be released operating system that will span AT&T and T-Mobile at launch and will potentially expand into Verizon and Sprint. The system is based on the Windows CE 6 kernel, like the Zune HD. Included within the operating system is what Microsoft calls hubs. These hubs are similar to sub menus and come in different categories. Some of the hubs are; the people hub, the pictures hub, the games hub, music and video hub, marketplace hub, and office hub. Those are just a few of the categories that utilize this hub system. Not much more is known about Windows Phone 7, but with a recent launch on the horizon a torrent of information should explode onto the internet.