I'm in the Snowdonia National Park in Wales and as you can see the mountains are covered in snow. More pictures later and as always these pictures are taken with my iPhone 4S.
Good morning PalmAddict readers I hope that you have a great Monday. I'll post more photographs and user thoughts as the week progresses. Using my iPhone 4S to the full, living on a remote island for a week with no broadband but I do have scenic views with dolphins and seals to keep me company. The above pic was taken on my iPhone 4S.
  [From Hans] Android developers are being urged to do away with the menu button, urging them to use an 'action bar'. "As part of Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb release last year it made a big push towards use of the action bar, but until recently legacy applications running on Android 2.3 or older would not be served by applications relying solely on action bars. Now Google has included an 'action overflow button' for legacy applications, allowing developers to finally move away from menus altogether.
Scott Main, lead technology writer for Google's Android Developer web site said, "In order to provide the most intuitive and consistent user experience in your apps, you should migrate your designs away from using the Menu button and toward using the action bar."
 [From Hans] Why Apple is ahead of Android in the industry sector. "Historically, IT departments have selected the platforms and devices they are willing and able to support and have simply ignored alternatives, in some cases banning their use altogether as a potential security threat or a support burden adding unjustified expense. This long served as a natural barrier protecting the market for Intel-based PCs running Microsoft Windows and the Internet Explorer browser. Over the past ten years however, a series of events conspired to open up the enterprise to new platforms and devices. Among these were the resurgence of Mozilla's Firefox as an alternative browser, combined with the growing stagnancy of Microsoft's own. Another pairing of events was Apple's introduction of the Unix-based Mac OS X just as Microsoft Windows began suffering a malware epidemic, which Apple capitalized upon in its "I'm a Mac" ads."
 Twelve South’s BookBook for the iPhone 4 / 4S looks quite good, reviewed by the-gadgeteer. "So you just got yourself a brand new iPhone 4S, and now you’re looking for that one perfect case that will help protect it but also make it stylish at the same time. I’ve tried many different cases for my iPhone 4S, and none has come close to my ideal case other than the BookBook from Twelve South. "
 [From Antonio] Hello Sammy and Palm Addict Family, I recently jail broke my iPhone 3GS for one main reason. I wanted to end the annoying Spam on my text messages and spam phone calls from out of state. I did what my phone carrier AT&T asked me to do online to avoid getting these calls and messages but they added up to me putting the offending numbers on a list online. That would have been fine if the culprits used the same number but they always changed the number they were working from resulting in me doing more work. There seemed to be no solution for me until I did some research and discovered iBlacklist. But the only way to use IBlacklist or any other similar product was to jail brake my iPhone 3GS. I thought about doing the jail brake for some time and finally took the plunge! After loading Cydia onto my iPhone I bought and loaded iBlacklist and have not been disappointed. I can set various features like dictating what response I want my phone to do unwanted phone numbers. I set my phone to allow anyone on my address book (whitelist) to get through to me and anyone not on my address book to be sent to voicemail. I did the voicemail feature to allow anyone I may not have on my address book to get through with whom I may want to talk. Most tele-markerters will not leave a voice mail. I could also have made the phone pick and and hang up or not pick up at all to those unwanted numbers. It also works with text messages and has many features for them too. I am not into jail braking the phone just for the sake of it but found I had a need that both Apple and AT&T have not addressed. But having jail broken my iPhone I also added other apps from Cydia like SBSettings, 3G Unrestrictor, Winterboard, Tonefx, RemoveBG, and Activator. Once I took the dive I decided to go all the way to the deep end! Let your iPhone loose, Jail Brake it!
 [From Stephen Trew] Interesting stuff "Barnes & Noble will reportedly be adding to its Nook lineup in the next few months. — The New York Times today published a long piece about Barnes & Noble taking on Amazon in the “fight of its life.” Buried in the middle of the two-page article …"
Sometimes I think just how lucky I am to be able to use a mobile device such as the iPhone, I mean for me it does so much. Sometimes I think to myself what more can I do with my device, I mean it does everything that I need so what else can it do that I have not discovered yet. I think I've reached the point where I don't need it to do anything else, maybe make a cup of tea would be nice. But Siri is awesome, mobile internet, the ability to update social networks and check email, these are the standard things that I do daily, yes they give me great pleasure, especially the ability to update this site which I am doing as I speak, literally by using dictation. So what do I want my iPhone to be able to do now? Well I couldn't tell you. I look to iPhone jailbreak sites such as idownload to see what new tweaks are out, I download them and I think wow I need this. I have reached the point where everything I need my mobile device to do, it does. I need inspiration, I need to see how developers are pushing the boundaries and I want to be in on it. In reality that is one of the reasons, why, 13 years ago I set up this blog because I wanted to know why and how other people were using their mobile devices, in the case of 1999 the Palm Pilot range of PDA's. Now I want to see how people use their iPhones/ Android devices and indeed whatever other mobile devices are available. I'm also interested to see what developers are working on, what new ways will we be able to use our iPhones in the next few months? Will I be able to talk into my iPhone for a translation of what I am saying into Portuguese? Will I be able to ask my iPhone to search for YouTube video's of the Airbus A380 midflight? Well I can do that now thanks to the latest Siri tweaks on my jailbroken iPhone.
The point is that I have reached the point were I am excited by the many tweaks developers are creating, it's new inspiration for me and I like it. It also makes me think what we will be able to achieve on our mobile devices in the coming month's, I for one look forward to it.
As I mentioned I have dictated this editorial using my iPhone, again my life so much easier. I hope you're enjoying the weekend.
 Good news if you're in the UK and have an Android tablet, the BBC News is available for your mobile device. "I’m delighted to announce that BBC News app for Android is now available for large tablet devices. The app is available to download from the Android Market in the UK. BBC Worldwide will soon be launching an international version of the app for audiences around the world. This follows the success of the BBC News app for Android smartphones, which has been downloaded more than three million times globally since launching last year "
There has been a storm blowing outside and it's nice to be indoors. I don't have broadband, I don't have 3G but I do have GPRS its a slow connection but as you can see I can update the site. As always I dictate into my iPhone and it transcribes what I say, it is wonderful. It makes my life easier. Anyway as there is a storm outside, I'm indoors, fire burning and posting this on my iPhone. I hope you've had a great weekend.
I like foursquare because it allows me to post where I've been and check in at my favourite establishments and share this with my friends. Whilst at the same time I can also see where my friends are checking into and I have to say that I get some great recommendations, again I can do all this using my iPhone. I also believe that you can use 4sq using my iPhone and Android. So if you travel a great deal then this is a great app to check out. You can find the link in the app store or the marketplace. You can follow me if you hunt my name Sammual James McLoughlin or email sammualjamesmcloughlin@gmail.com
As you can see I'm busy taking photographs using my iPhone. Today I went on a bike ride, in fact I'm still on it now, I stopped to take this awesome picture. It may be cloudy but the opportunity was too good to pass and I got my iPhone 4s and snapped the shot. We are very fortunate to live amongst such beauty and in glad to have had my iPhone with me to capture the moment. Now back on to my bike ride. As always I've dictated this post using the dictation function on my iPhone.
 Now this could be pretty useful, adding a Google trends stock ticker to your iPhone. "Besides perhaps Twitter, Google Trends are a good way to gauge what’s hot on the web, and now there’s a pint-sized version for iPhone owners. GTrends for Notification Center is a jailbreak widget that conveniently places a trending stock ticker into Notification Center. You can even launch any of the top 20 trending topics directly from the widget, and use your own custom search queries."
This looks cool - the iWatch 2, it is only a concept at this stage. "If its sharp looks don’t impress you, then maybe its feature set will. Not only does the iWatch 2 wirelessly connect to your iPhone or iPad, but it also has a built-in front-facing camera, a mini LCD projector, and a 32GB hard drive to store your media."
 [From Eric] Apparently the Nokia Lumia 910 will house a 12 megapixel camera. "Dutch phone retailer Typhone.nl has a product page up for the Nokia Lumia 910, a variation of the Nokia Lumia 900 with a 12 megapixel camera which has been rumoured by Eldar for May 2012. The spec sheet is a bit more detailed than most, suggesting the retailer is not just trawling for pre-orders for a handset which may not exist at all, but reveals no new information. On the other hand the site also has a page for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 (although with no real detail) so we will leave our readers to make up their own minds."
 [From Hans] Should you need to be aware of the latest Android virus? "The folks at Symantec have tipped everyone off about a new piece of Android Malware, calling Android.Counterclank "a bot-like threat that can receive commands to carry out certain actions, as well as steal information from the device." They note that starting one of the apps "infected" with the apperhand SDK package will show a second service running, and often places a search icon on the home screen. They have verified this is in 13 applications on the Android Market and are calling it "the highest distribution of any malware identified so far this year." Some reports on the internet claim it may have affected 5 million users. That's 5,000,000 -- a huge and scary number. And it makes for a great headline."
 [From Hans] The New York Times writes about the struggles over at Blackberry and what they are doing to halt the failure of this once great company. "Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, sent its co-chief executives packing last week and replaced them with Thorsten Heins, who had been RIM’s chief operating officer. How would he characterize his employer? “We make the best communications devices in the world,” said Mr. Heins, who met with editors and reporters from The New York Times on Friday. Not everyone feels the same way. Over the last year, RIM’s share price has plunged 75 percent. The company once commanded more than half of the American smartphone market. Today it has 10 percent."
 [From Stephen Trew] Apple is making strides into enterprise and that is surely a good thing. "Forrester has announced the results of its latest survey, which encompassed 10,000 enterprise computer users, across 17 countries. It looked at the degree of Apple product adoption in businesses and support for them within IT services. There's plenty to chew on, but here's the big one; over a fifth of those surveyed uses an Apple product for work. This, however, includes workers using their personal devices for work tasks, with 11 percent using their iPhone, 9 percent their iPad and 8 percent working on their Macs. Half of the enterprises included in Forrester's survey plan to increase the number of Macs used by 52 percent, while nearly half of the firms are already issuing Apple PCs to employees, gaining even more traction within IT departments in the US and Western Europe."
 [From Carl Moore, NC] I started using smartphones when I was using a HP phone, it ran Windows Mobile and I loved it although the battery started to let me down. I've just started using an iPhone and it's great, call quality is fantastic and I can do everything my HP phone could do and more. I miss the tactile feel of the buttons but I'm learning how to cope with a virtual keyboard. Most importantly the battery on the iPhone is great, I receive warnings when I'm low on power so I can charge when needed and I'm able to get through the day without worrying about charging. Keep up your wonderful work Sammy, your site has become an essential daily read.
Isn't Shazam a wonderful app? I use it all the time to identify awesome music that I hear. It doesn't matter better I have a wifi connection or 3G it just irks for me. I can find out the tin and it allows me to download, view on YouTube or email the link to whoever I want. Yes I love Shazam.
 TracyandMatt Blog have posted their review of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. "At the end of 2011 Google introduced their third Nexus phone and second collaboration with Samsung. Making headlines this device has proved to be one of the important phones of the year and yet another contender to know the iPhone from the mantle. Has Google and Samsung hit a home run or is this their a lacklustre hardware attempt to unleash the latest version of Google's mobile phone platform, Android?"
 10 great jailbreak tweaks for your iPhone over at idownloadblog. "Every time I jailbreak a new device for the first time, I try to reconsider what I really use, and what I really need. I also try to take into account a few things, like stability. If certain apps gave me headaches in the past, I’ll just make sure not to install them again (goodbye WinterBoard). It’s the perfect occasion to start on a clean slate. This being said, I’d like to share with you all the jailbreak tweaks that are currently installed on my iPhone 4S…"
 Good news, Show 160 of the Phones Show is available for your viewing pleasure - "Review of the 4.65", 720p-screened Galaxy Nexus"
 [From Hans] Samsung still reviewing when the Samsung Galaxy III is to make an appearance. "The Samsung Galaxy S II has clearly been of the most popular Android-based smartphones ever, if not the best, so it’s only natural to crave for a Galaxy S III release as soon as possible. However, even though the next generation Korean handheld was originally rumored to make its official debut at the 2012 MWC, it seems that we might wait for a while before catching a glimpse of it after all. "
 [From Hans] If you fly Delta and have an Android phone then you'll want to know, "Delta Air Lines' Fly Delta Android app has long been one of the first things I install on a phone. It's well-designed, and has added a couple killer features since its release nearly a year ago -- mainly the ability to view upgrade/standby lists and check and change seats from your phone, and more recently they added the ability to track your checked baggage. Good stuff.
And now Delta's added even more functionality in Version 1.7. Here's the full changelog.
Check in for flights arriving or departing international locations
Discover Delta’s valued partners within the "Traveling with Us" section
Support for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwhich) [sic]
Fixes for many of the bugs reported by our customers, along with several speed enhancements"
I like playing Pop Words, it's very much like Boggle, you have to make words from a grid of letters. It's good fun, your timed and you have to make an assortment of words. You have to beat the clock and if you do you can move onto the next level which is naturally a little more difficult. So search for Pop Words in the app store and have fun.
 [From Hans] Samsung need to start thinking about creating a phone that is different if they are to stay ahead of the game according to computerworld. "Samsung knows it needs to find something unique if it is to stand against not just Apple, but Microsoft with Windows 8, and, indeed, Motorola/Google once devices from there begin to appear. Arguably, Samsung -- the number one smartphone maker at one point last year -- has the most to lose in the event the GOOG/MOTO combo begin to manufacture integrated, well-designed Android devices. The market is already deeply competitive, so this could push things over the edge."
 [From Hans] Is jalbreaking your iPhone about to become illegal again? "Jailbreaking - or freeing your iPhone, iPod or iPad from Apple's constraints to allow access to additional applications and extensions not available on the App Store - has been a thorn in Apple's side for some time. The latest Absinthe iOS 5 jailbreak for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S received a million downloads within just 3 or 4 days. Back in 2010 the United States government ruled that jailbreaking was not illegal, which caused quite a shock back at Apple headquarters"
 [From Hans] Providing the Police with Blackberry devices is apparently not working according to news reports. "An £80 million programme to equip police with smart phones is failing to provide value for money, auditors said Friday. The National Audit Office (NAO) report said the scheme has left some forces with more devices than officers, while others have just one between 100. It added that only one in five forces used the devices effectively, concluding that "value for money has not yet been achieved". A review of the scheme -- intended to issue frontline officers with BlackBerrys and personal data assistants (PDAs) -- found that some forces only had them available to one percent of officers, while in others this rose to 151 percent."
Good morning PalmAddicts this is the view that I am waking up to this morning, taken with my iPhone it shows the sunrise over the bay. As I mentioned yesterday I'm staying on an island off the coast of Wales, within the UK, it is very remote but the scenic views are absolutely awesome as you can see from the above picture. I hope that you had a great Saturday and I will continue to write my iPhone user diary over the forthcoming days.
 [From Stephen Trew] Tim Cook's letter to employees on its approach to the NYT article. "“We will continue to dig deeper, and we will undoubtedly find more issues. What we will not do — and never have done — is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word.”"
 [From Stephen Trew] Interesting interview with onetime Palm head Jon Rubinstein "On the heels of the news of his departure from HP Friday, Apple veteran and onetime Palm head Jon Rubinstein spoke with AllThingsD about the move and the fate of Palm’s webOS. Why leave Hewlett-Packard now? A few months before we shipped the TouchPad, I told Todd Bradley (executive vice president of HP’s Personal Systems Group) that once we shipped I wanted to move on. And he asked me to stay for a while in an advisory role and to help out with the transition to webOS and brainstorming about the directions of PSG, so I told him I’d stick around. And I did. And now there’s a path for webOS and PSG has its path and it’s time for me to move on. This has been in the works for quite some time."
I'm living on a remote island this week with no broadband, just GPRS on my iPhone. Sometimes it's nice to get away from technology but at the same time not being with broadband Internet can be a struggle. I'll report on my findings throughout the week. For the next week PalmAddicts will be very much a personal blog of my mobile usage and how I'm coping with being on a remote island off the united kingdom with my iPhone. The location I'm on is windswept to say the least. I have electricity and a nice house; a beach to myself and views out to sea from my bedroom, see the below photograph and you'll see what I'm facing :-) not having broadband is strange but I'm sure I'll get used to it. In the meantime I have my iPhone, I've checked the weather forecast, I have games loaded on my iPhone and I hope to go dolphin spotting tomorrow, naturally out to sea. I'm posting this entry from my iPhone and I can check my email [don't expect speedy responses], twitter and Facebook so it's not as if I don't have any communication plus I can make phone calls so I'm not completely isolated. I'll update PA with my thoughts and experiences over the coming days, in the meantime I hope that you enjoy your weekend.
As I mentioned having my iPhone camera comes in handy including this wonderful sunset I was fortunate enough to experience tonight.
 [From Adria] If you can help Adria then email apssw2@gmail.com "Hi, I look on a regular basis on the net for any software for my iphone that is palm software or like it. I love parts of the iphone, mostly frills, but the productivity end of it is extremely poor compared with my palm. The treo had a superior phone grouping system, and calendar. Messaging is probably equal or close enough. What can I do? "
 [From Hans] Windows Phone 7.5 gets multiple Google Calendar sync, additional Gmail features, read about the features. "Google's improved how its calendar and email services interact with Windows Phones running the Mango update. Users can now cram up to 25 different calendars into the Metro OS's built-in calendar app. The setup's not exactly seamless; you need to navigate your Windows Phone to the Google Sync page, login and check the boxes found there. While testing on our phones, although one device was able to immediately sync, the other couldn't pick up on our multiple calendars. We had to delete and re-assign our Google account to the phone in order to get it working. :
 [From Stephen Trew] Apple Estimated to Retake Title of World's Largest Smartphone Vendor. "Research firm Strategy Analytics today announced its estimates of the global smartphone market for the fourth quarter of 2011, finding that Apple narrowly squeezed by Samsung to retake the title of world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by unit shipments."
 [From Stephen Trew] If Steve Jobs were alive he was have declared war on the NYT now. Their apps would have been pulled from the App store. "Tim Cook responds to claims of factory worker mistreatment: “We care about every worker in our supply chain” — This morning, The New York Times published a lengthy report with details about the harsh conditions of working in the factories of an Apple parts supplier or Apple product manufacturer." Read in full.
I love Evernote it's one of my most used apps and allows me to store notes and have them synchronised with my iPhone, iPad and Macbook's. It took me a while to start using it but now that I am usurping I don't think I can foresee a time that I won't be using it. Very useful. Also available for iOS and Android and I also think for Blackberry too.
 CrackBerry's Interview with RIM's new CEO Thorsten Heins makes for an interesting listen. "Just as the news became public Sunday night that Thorsten Heins was named the new CEO of Research In Motion, I received a phone call from him letting me know personally that he won the leadership race and it wouldn't be CrackBerry Kevin and a Ham Sandwich at the reigns of RIM in 2012. It was a classy gesture and a clear signal that RIM moving forward will be more engaged with its user community."
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