Considering that Android is the dominant platform among consumers, these findings may come as a surprise to some. I personally feel that iOS is a much more secure platform and makes a lot of sense that enterprise customers are deploying iOS over Android.

Here is the regional breakdown:

It’s clear that North America has a preference for iOS and Android, while in Europe, Windows is having a much bigger impact with 21% of device activations. This is probably due to the fact that Nokia is a much more popular brand in Europe than in North America. In the Asia-Pacific region, iOS’ share is even higher at 75%! This may well change with all the negative press Apple has been getting in the Chinese media. But for the time being, iOS is clearly the dominant platform in the Asia-Pacific region.

Another interesting finding is the types of devices that are being activated. If you look at the chart below, you’ll see that it’s the iPad which is in fact the most popular device by number of activations.

This is great for iPad application developers like Cloud Horizon because it indicates that enterprise clients are starting to deploy the iPad en masse.

The industry breakdown is also quite interesting with energy, entertainment, insurance, legal services, manufacturing and real estate taking the top spots for most device activations for iOS.

Overall great news for mobile application developers that focus on iOS and Android as these two operating systems are becoming the defacto enterprise mobile platforms.

If you would like to see the details of the study, you can find it on the Citrix Web site.

The first thing that you’ll notice with the Nexus 7 is the bad packaging. Yes, it looks nice when you are looking at it. But when you start taking it out of the box, you realize that it hasn’t been thought out very well at all, especially when you compare it to how Apple packages it’s products.

But I have to say I was pretty impressed with the way the device feels in my hands. It’s small, lightweight and doesn’t feel cheap like other Android tablets do. It feels like a well built piece of hardware.

Set-up and configuration were straightforward and we were browsing the Web in no time. Once we got everything running, the overall performance of the tablet was much better than any other Android tablet I’ve tried so far. One of the things that bothers me about Android in general is the responsiveness of the operating system. Namely, the “smooth” scrolling between screens and within applications. And with the Nexus 7, this problem is much less noticeable, although it’s still not as snappy as iOS devices. I think that Android application developers will be happy with this performance improvement.

The screen resolution was also very good, although it was not as high as the iPad’s retina display. Graphics loaded quickly and the speed with which applications loaded was also pretty impressive. We tried to keep in mind the price tag on this tablet as we used it and evaluated it. Remember, this tablet is less than half of the price of newest iPad. And for that price, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

I don’t need to go into the details of software and hardware specification. The Nexus runs on the latest Android operating system and it is a huge improvement over the older versions. For more details, check out these great reviews here, here and here.

One thing that I really liked with the Nexus 7 which the iPad doesn’t have is the availability of widgets. These are pretty neat and allow you to see information from inside an application directly on your home screen. Microsoft has been experimenting with this using their live tiles in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. But I think the way Google built their widgets is better.

One problematic area I found is with books and magazines. Since our company has been spending time looking into digital and interactive ebook and magazine publishing for tablets, we spend quite a bit of time looking at the books and magazines which are published on both iOS and Android. And the performance on the Nexus 7 is far behind that of Apple, at least for now.

So overall, I think Google has done a fantastic job with this tablet when we consider the price tag. It’s still not at the same level as the iPad, but at this rate, I think that within 2 to 3 years, Google will overtake Apple when it comes to the quality of the operating system. Note that I said operating system, not hardware. I think Apple will dominate the hardware design aspect for the foreseeable future, but interaction with these post-PC devices increasingly depends on the quality of the software.

Here are some pictures:

The look and feel: although the iPhone 5 is thinner, lighter and faster than my current 4s, it almost feels a bit cheap because of the exterior design of the device. Personally, I don’t like the polished aluminum back, the glass back on the 4s makes the device feel more sturdy and I prefer the feel of the glass over the aluminum. Also, because the weight difference is so significant, the phone felt very fragile. This could all be in my head, but since Apple spends so much time on the look and the feel of their products, this is the impression the iPhone 5 left on me.

Display: One of the key features of the new iPhone is the extended screen. The difference is noticeable from the first time you pick up the phone. For one thing, there is an extra row of icons on each screen. The display also feels crisper, but this could be due to the faster processor. For the user, the screen is a welcome improvement over the previous versions of the iPhone. But for iPhone application developers like Cloud Horizon, we now have to deal with an additional screen size when we build applications which is obviously more work for us.

Cameras: I didn’t notice much of a difference between the 4s and 5 camera. The only major difference here is with the panorama capability which is now embedded into the phone. But I think that once I upgrade to iOS 6 on the 4s (which I haven’t done because of the Apple Maps issue that I discuss below), that this feature will become available to me as well. The panorama feature is really cool and works very well. It is much better than using third-party apps like Photosynth which stitch together a series of photographs to make a panorama.

Software: The iPhone 5 comes equipped out of the box with iOS 6. While iOS 6 is not a major improvement over iOS 5, it does come with a few new features:

I won’t go into any more details about the iPhone 5. These were the things that really stuck with me after playing with the phone over a couple of weeks.

The Verge’s video review of the iPhone 5:

The conclusion: I’m not that impressed. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone 5 is a great device and a marvel of modern engineering. But besides the improved internals, I actually prefer the look and feel of the older 4S. So I will not be buying the iPhone 5 and will stick with my 4s for the time being.

Here are links to some more extensive reviews of the device:
The Verge’s iPhone 5 Review
Wired Magazine iPhone 5 Review
Engadget’s iPhone 5 Review

We had already done our research online and determined which laptop we wanted. The computer we bought was a 13.3” MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM. We needed the extra RAM and the Core i7 CPU because some of the files we are working with on this new project are huge so we didn’t want our designer to be wasting time waiting around while the files are loading.

So I had walked into Future Shop knowing exactly what I wanted. I found the sales clerk with another customer when I got there, and so I waited patiently for about 10 minutes while he answered a bunch of questions for the customer. Apparently this employee was the only one capable of handling computer related requests, everyone else I asked pointed to him.

Once I finally got to the sales person, I told him I would be a much easier customer than the previous one and told him exactly which computer I wanted. He immediately jumped into his sales pitch about what a great computer the MacBook is but how expensive it is to repair it. I told him this is the 6th Apple product I have bought over the years and I’ve never had any problems. Furthermore, I told him we are a mobile application development company and that we have our own IT staff to handle these kinds of issues.

This of course didn’t stop the sales person from continuing to harass me with the extended warranty offers. I kept saying no thank you, but he kept persisting. Finally he said ok, started processing my payment, and then stopped mid-way through to make sure that I was certain I had heard him the 10 previous times when he told me that it’s really expensive to fix Apple products and that I should really re-consider buying the extended warranty.

I again said no thank you and explained to him that he was wasting his time and that there was a 0% probability of making the sale. I told him to instead focus on the other customers that were walking around the store who might actually buy this extended warranty he was so aggressively trying to push onto me. At that point he stopped with the extended warranty and started with the accessories. Do I need a printer? Do I need an external mouse? How about an extra charger?

I was starting to get impatient. 45 minutes after I got into the store, after repeatedly telling the sales person no to everything he tried to sell me, I was out of Future Shop with the new MacBook Pro.

After spending some time thinking about this, I realized that this is the reason why many big box retailers are slowly dying. You see, most people just want to get in, purchase their item and get out of the store. We have already done our research and know which products we want. In most cases, we know if we want extended warranty or not. And even if we don’t, asking one time is enough. We don’t need to get it drilled into our heads how “dangerous it is to leave the store without extended warranty”. My goal was to be in and out of Future Shop in 15 minutes flat. However, this sales person quite literally harassed me for 30 minutes and didn’t want to let me leave. I understand that Future Shop’s margin on this laptop is probably tiny, so they have to make money on other items that they try to push onto the customer. But at what cost? They have alienated me as a customer and next time I will certainly bypass them and go straight to Apple.

And this is the point of this article. Future Shop, and many other big box retailers are so aggressively trying to increase their bottom line, that they are turning off many potential customers. And this is not an isolated incident: I spoke to a few friends and colleagues after this and they all said that they’ve had similarly unpleasant experiences at Future Shop.

I suspect this is why Samsung, Google, Microsoft and many others are getting into the retail business. They don’t want their brand tarnished by companies like Future Shop and they want to control the customer experience end-to-end. When I go to an Apple store, it’s a great experience with helpful and knowledgeable staff. I only had a problem once with an Amazon order, and when I called their customer service number, the agent was really polite and immediately shipped me a new item, no questions asked. These are kinds of customer experiences I want when I buy things.

If somebody from Future Shop is reading this article, you should promote this sales person immediately! He did his job exactly as outlined by your corporate procedures at the expense of permanently losing me and CloudHorizon as a customer.

Nokia is calling its next-generation Lumia “the most innovative smartphone in the world,” Jo Harlow, Nokia’s executive vice president said during the launch event.

The Lumia 920 is powered by Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system which seeks to unite desktop, tablet and mobile devices under one OS. Microsoft has received critical acclaim for it’s design and work with it’s latest operating system, even though mobile application developers have not jumped en masse onto the platform yet.

Nokia’s new phone was used by Microsoft to show off some new tools in Windows Phone 8, like the ability to stitch together multiple pictures into a panorama with a feature called PhotoSynth. Later on at the event, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, noted that the new Lumia devices are a preview of big things ahead for Windows.

Nokia, once the biggest phone maker in the world, has recently lost its crown to Samsung. Based in Finland, Nokia has been working very hard to establish a foothold in the smartphone market with its Lumia line. Although AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia have spent a fortune on marketing, sales of the Lumia line have been lackluster.

According to Ballmer, “This is a year for Windows. All of the devices are designed to be beautiful and functional, to work for you in your personal life and your professional life.”

The companies did not talk about pricing or a release date for either of the two launched Lumia phones. However, they did say that the smartphones would arrive in some markets in the last three months of this year.

Analysts were optimistic that the Lumia 920 would grab the attention of phone buyers in the increasingly crowded smartphone market. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Gartner Research, said features like wireless charging and PureView would help differentiate the Lumia phones from its competitors.

However, it remains to be seen whether mass adoption of these devices will take place and whether consumers are willing to forego purchasing phones from more established mobile players such as Apple and Google. Nokia thinks that the Lumia 920′s fancy new lens system and matching software will be enough to push the company ahead of the competition when it comes to imaging and photography.

Some of the most important features of the Lumia 920 include:

• PureView software technology on an 8 megapixel camera
• PureMotion HD display
• Wireless battery charging
• Dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor
• Tap+Share sharing over NFC
• City Lens

For more information, take a look at Nokia’s Official Lumia 920 page, or Wired Magazine’s and CNET’s in-depth look at the new device.

Here is Nokia’s official Launch video:

And finally some more pictures of the smartphone:

The little news that is coming out of Microsoft at the moment seems to indicate the Surface to be an interesting new tablet: it will feature a 10.6” display, with a microSD slot, USB 2.0 port, a magnesium case with PVD features, beveled edges angled at 22o, and only 9.3mm thin and 1.5 pounds. Like its predecessor, the Microsoft Surface features the ability to use Digital Ink with pen input. Instead of using a Windows clone, the Surface runs on Windows 8, visually similar to user-friendly interface that one would encounter when using a Windows Phone. One of the major differences that sets it apart from the iPad, though not from its Tablet PC predecessor, is its integrated magnetic 3mm-thin case with a built-in kickstand and multi-touch keyboard. To further its keyboard-advantage, another keyboard will be available with a full trackpad and clicking buttons. A Pro version of the Surface will be a bit larger, and will be essentially a full desktop PC in a portable tablet size capable of running old software, and will even include perimeter venting to keep it cool. The tablets will come in 32GB and 64GB variants. The main advantage to surface seems to be its versatility, combining both the portability of the iPad, but also the computing power of Intel’s Ultrabooks and the MacBook Air.

While the announcement of the Surface heralds a potential rebirth of the Microsoft image, it also contains an unwritten nod to the Steve Jobs: the launch of the Surface, an end-to-end Microsoft-manufactured device brings with it the symbolic victory of Apple’s closed approach to computing, in which the software and hardware are made by the same company. Indeed, analysts are already wondering how Microsoft’s OEM partners such as Dell and HP will react to their being excluded from Microsoft’s new “tablet revolution”.

Furthermore, while Microsoft did show off some very impressive specs, some vital information has been left out: for example, its pricing and its release dates. Since the Surface will be playing catch-up, the Microsoft tablet should be priced somewhat cheaper in order to undercut Apple’s brand advantage, though it was suggested by Microsoft that it will compete with comparable ARM tablets (for the RT tablets) or the Intel Ultrabook-class PC (for the Pro tablets), which can place in it in the range of anywhere from $400-$1200. Moreover, not only does the Surface have to catch up in terms of tablet reputation, it also has to catch up in terms of sheer time: a general release date has not been announced, though it is expected to be in October of this year. The Pro model is expected to ship three months later. The success of the Microsoft Surface is, due to these omissions, not yet a certainty; however, that Microsoft could come up with such a new and refreshing device shows that there is still hope for them yet.

Visit the Surface product Web site for more details.

Pictures:

Apple, in its bid to gain headway into the corporate smartphone world (it only holds 9% of global market share, though it already takes away nearly 75% of global profits), has released a new comprehensive security guide for the IT audience, which will hopefully familiarize IT departments with its security functions. The full guide can be found on Apple’s Web site here.

The new guide strives to better help IT understand the security environment of iOS devices, including iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. The language is rather technical and was tailored to reassure and convince corporate IT of the security measures that are already included in iOS systems. For example, the guidelines assure:

Many security features are enabled by default, so IT departments don’t need to perform extensive configurations. And some key features, like device encryption, are not configurable, so users cannot disable them by mistake.

The guide is separated into 4 sections: System Architecture, Encryption and Data Protection, Network Security, and Device Access. The guide sheds light on the foundations of iOS soft and hardware, and offers a look at the different security layers that can be put to good use in case of a lost or stolen phone, as well as wiping a phone remotely. The guide also offers administration tips such as Mobile Device Management Solution, which allows IT to restrict certain iOS functions such as in-app games, FaceTime, Siri, and YouTube, following IBM’s security-orientated decision to block Siri.

The guide is written for industry professionals and corporate IT staff and it focuses on the security features that will become increasingly important as we become more and more reliant on mobile technology. We now use mobile devices to do everything from checking emails, banking on the go, to online shopping; some analysts believe that mobile could soon replace the physical wallet for off-line shopping by as early as 2020, by digitizing and replacing physical credit cards. This kind of mobility and convenience is hampered by security fears: about a third of people surveyed for a study said that they do no trust mobile devices for the replacement of credit cards.

Whether it concerns personal or proprietary information, mobile phone security is an issue that is becoming a central one in the corporate IT decision making process. Apple’s security guidelines could help accelerate adoption of iOS devices in the corporate world, and push the one dominant market leader RIM further into decline.

Apple’s Guide on iOS security can be found here.

Besides offering affordable office space for emerging technology companies, Technohub also acts as an accelerator of innovation by offering a professional and dynamic start-up environment where entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, refer projects and customers to each other, and work on larger scale projects together. More than simply 1,500 sq.ft. of commercial office space, Technohub also offers important networking opportunities with the local business community thanks to the generous support of Dévelopment économique St-Laurent (DESTL).

The event brought together TechnoHub’s technology innovators with some of Montreal’s most prominent public figures, including the Mayor of Ville St-Laurent Alan DeSousa, the City Councillor for Côte-Saint-Luc Dida Berku, the City Councillor and Associate Councillor for the Norman-McLaren district Aref Salem, and City Councillor for Côte-de-Liesse Francesco Miele. The event showed off the fruits of a propitious cooperation between Ville St-Laurent, Développement Economique St-Laurent, and Technoparc Montreal, whose significant financial backing of the project made everything possible.

The inauguration of the Technohub center will aid the development of technology startup companies in Montreal, as well as contribute to the revitalization of the commercial district centering on Décarie North and Poirier boulevards, a priority need of the borough of Saint-Laurent. To mark the occasion, local Décarie restaurants such as Kejaki, Samiramiss, Dolci più, Rasputin and Décarie Hot-Dog graciously provided complimentary entrées to our guests.

Technohub comprises of:

• CloudHorizon Technologies, a Montreal-based mobile app developer specializing in enterprise-friendly iPhone, iPad, Android and HTML5 mobile web apps.
• Azurebrite, the developer of Azurebrite, a full-featured .NET Content Management System to build and manage web and mobile sites, running on Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform.
• Maccro Solutions, a business solutions expert specializing in shipping, e-commerce hosting, and inventory management.
• Montreal ISM, an advertising agency providing innovative advertising channels for businesses such as retail, nightlife establishments, fashion, arts, and others.
• O4BI Solutions, a software solutions company specializing in agriculture and horticulture SaaS.
• SEO Canada Services, a online marketing services specialist providing online marketing strategies, e-commerce services, social media management, and website hosting, among others.

CloudHorizon is proud to be a member of the founding companies and looks forward to meeting and working with local businesses in Ville Saint-Laurent!

As befitting of the country that launched the revolutionary Blackberry, Canada has the fourth-largest smartphone penetration in the world. Estimates put 40% of Canada’s 25.5 million mobile phone subscribers as having upgraded to a smartphone, with about 40% and 31% using RIM and Apple smartphones, respectively. Smartphones are becoming more and more important for Canadian consumers: about 60% of smartphone users access the Internet every day on their smartphones, and 79% never leave home without it. In fact, the use of smartphones is so prevalent that smartphones are now outselling PC’s worldwide. The most prevalent uses for mobile browsing for consumers seem to be: searching for information on products or stores, looking for ways to save money (looking for coupons or price comparisons), and researching brand information.

The numbers seem to collaborate: the most-accessed website on mobile happens to be Google Search, with the erstwhile Google Maps coming in at number 8. About 26% of mobile users researched products before buying them, and about 36% of mobile users end up making a purchase, with 30% of those purchases done in-store, and 15% of those online. Besides getting [internet marketing] there is another advantage for businesses to go mobile: a study predicts that mobile payments could be replacing cash and credit in brick-and-mortar businesses by as early as 2020.This trend is not only for large corporations, however. As much as 87% of mobile users search for local information, and 89% take some sort of action based on these searches, be it visiting or contacting the business.

There is a good reason why mobile has become so popular: their portability allows people to find information on the go. Though 43% of people research their products on smartphones from home, as much as 31% of Canadian consumers research products on the go, and a good 25% do it right in the stores themselves. The challenge for businesses, then, would be to be able to streamline their mobile websites to allow for instant access of information for the shopper on the go: anything from addresses to stock quantities and even mobile-accessible deals and recommendations.

This information seems to be heralding a kind of connectivity that would never have been imagined before. With a smartphone in hand, the new savvy shopper will be able to search for and compare a product while eating lunch at a restaurant, then find a local store that sells it, find a coupon from the manufacturer, all before the busboy has cleared the table, and pay for the product with their smartphone once at the store. Life has never been so simpler, it would seem. There has never been a better time to be a consumer.

Now that it has replaced your cellphone, your laptop, your CD player and handheld radio, and your hand-held gaming device, your helpful smartphone is looking to take over your wallet’s job, too. While e-commerce and online spending has soared, technology giants are now taking a step into the yet unexplored realm of brick-and-mortar spending with the introduction of “mobile wallet” technology. Though similar services have existed in Japan and Europe for nearly a decade, it’s only been recently taken up in North America. The concept is relatively straightforward, and is simply building on already-existing technology. For example, MasterCard’s PayPass tap-to-pay system, which currently only supports credit cards, allows a client to simply tap their card against a reader, which immediately charges to their card, with minimal waiting time and no need for a signature or password.

This is an exciting time to be a time-strapped customer. Here in Canada, Rogers and CIBC have announced a mobile wallet service, while MasterCard has announced the launch of their PayPass Wallet service in North America, UK and Australia. Google, in collaboration with Visa, AMEX and Discover, has launched Google Wallet: a similar initiative which integrates credit card services with loyalty cards and retail offers. Using what is called Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, the client uses their smartphone in the same way they would use tap-to-pay card: close-range contact with another NFC device initiates the instantaneous transfer of information between devices. Perhaps what is even more revolutionary is how these mobile wallet technologies have opened the payment network, allowing different financial institutions to integrate their platforms, thus compressing many cards into one system.

These convenient payment solutions are also available for merchants: Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, has launched a revolutionary small square device (charmingly called the Square), with accompanying app, which, once plugged into a smartphone’s headphone jack, can be used to swipe their clients’ credit cards. It is a boon for smaller retailers and merchants, who would save both space and money, effectively replacing large, table-bound registers.

Already, analysts are singing the praises of this new technology; some are even predicting that mobile payments could soon replace cash and credit altogether by as early as 2020. However, not everyone is enthusiastic about the concept. Security seems to be one of the major issues that preoccupies critics. A Pew research study suggests that as much as 33% of people would not trust Near Field Communications technology, which is used by Google Wallet, many citing security and privacy concerns. While security compromises of both physical credit/debit and mobile devices cards are not unusual, the combination of the two raises fear of serious financial damage. “I would suggest limiting access to a single, low-limit credit card,” opines Preet Banerjee. “Better safe than sorry.”