Digi Skills Agency

You are here: Home / Archives for smartphones

smartphones

Experiencing Poor Phone Battery Life?

by

Have you been experiencing reduced battery life on your phone recently?

Unsuspecting mobile phone owners may be left with flat batteries after they update their handsets, despite technology companies promising longer life and better performance from the new software.

It was recently discovered that when iPhones or Android phones are updated to the latest version of their operating systems, their battery life can fall by as much as three hours.

A two-year-old iPhone 6 lost 38 minutes of battery life when it was updated to the latest version of Apple’s iOS software, iOS 10. A Google Nexus 6P phone went from 12 to nine hours of battery life when the most recent version of Android was installed.

Both the iPhone and Android software claim that features in the latest versions improve battery life, rather than hurting it.

Mobile phone companies typically release major software updates every year as well as adding smaller changes throughout the year. When an update is released, users are sent notifications urging them to upgrade and are often given no way to revert to the previous operating system, meaning they are stuck with the new software even if they suffer from worse performance.

It was recently stated that software updates can also mean the memory of tablets and phones falling dramatically due to the extra capacity taken up by more advanced software. A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet lost 30 gigabytes of storage when upgrading to the latest version of Windows – enough for thousands of photos.

The updates often include new features and important security changes that protect users from being tracked or having their details stolen, but early versions can be loaded with bugs.

It’s also been said that mobile phone companies should do more to warn users of the side effects of updating, and allow them to revert to older software if they wish.

It was found that battery life and storage were improved in some cases. Updating an iPad Air to the latest software improved battery life by two hours and updating a Samsung Galaxy tablet improved it by four and a half hours.

Richard Headland from ‘Which?’ said “Given how much we rely on mobile devices, companies should do more to tell us about the possible downsides of updates, as well as the benefits,”

Apple and Google declined to comment.

This year, Microsoft was forced to pay a travel agent (£8,000) after an unwanted automatic upgrade to her computer left it slow and prone to crashing.

 

If you found this article interesting, check out our ‘Latest Industry News’ page for more Technology insights. You can view it by clicking on this link!

– James Titcomb

Making a Mobile App: 6 Key Factors You Should Consider Before Starting

by

Building a mobile app can be time consuming and challenging however, extremely rewarding afterwards.

If you’re considering making your first mobile app, check out these 6 factors you should take into consideration before attempting to do so.


  1. Are you making a mobile app to promote an existing business or to make money from it?

Do you want your mobile app to be a promotional tool for an existing business? If your app will showcase your own business, boat club, local pub or community centre, then the fastest way to get it done is probably to hire a local app development company to make it for you. You don’t need to learn too much about the process. Just show them some apps that you like in the store, and bring along the text, photos and videos you want in your app. If you can, try to design your app to do something useful. Apple have tightened up a lot and will not publish apps that are primarily marketing material. If you want the most possible downloads, set your app’s price to ‘free’. Then once it’s live tell all your customers about it.

Is your main goal to make money from your app? If you want to make money, the app should not be targeted towards one country. You will not make money by creating an app about something which is native to only one country. Steer clear of making an app for a seasonal events as well at the start. To maximise your revenue, start small and use your first few apps as a hands on education. You can buy source code, reskin it by updating all the graphics and publish it, often for under £400-£800 per app. The less you spend, the faster you will become profitable. Ideally spend no more than £400 per app on your first few apps. Researching what is currently popular in the store by looking at the top charts is a great way to reduce risk, and make an app type that already has proven market demand. Of course the more work you can do yourself, the more money you will save on developers.

 

  1. Should you make an iPhone app, an Android app, or both?

Android and iPhone/iPad use different languages so most people usually choose to develop one at the beginning to keep costs down. If you want to make money,  for now choose the iPhone/iPad. A lot of app developers find it’s more difficult to get downloads and revenue from an Android app. Learn more about How to Make an iPhone App. But if you think Android suits your market demographic better, choose Android development.  If you want the app to promote a business, think seriously about Android. There are no ‘reviews’ prior to your app being published, and your app will go live automatically about 20 minutes after you have submitted it.

 

  1. Should the mobile app be free?

Pricing works differently for different app categories. Free is very popular in games and entertainment, especially on Android. Unless it’s an incredibly complex niche app, the safest option is to make two versions, paid and free. See which makes you the most money and work from there. To start making money from a free app, try putting some ad networks into your app. After a few months once you get up to speed, you can experiment with in-app purchases and other monetization options. If you want the most downloads, make your app free.

 

  1. What kind of app should you make?

The best way to make money from your app is to know that there is market demand for your app before you start to develop it. Go into the iTunes store every day, look at the top free, top paid, and top grossing apps in the categories you are interested in. Download the apps and play with them. Are people downloading the type of app you want to make? If they are not, maybe put that idea aside and move on to your next app idea. Don’t ever fall in love with an idea. (If you do, only make it from the profit you have earned from your other apps!). From my experience and from talking to many other developers, the category with the most revenue generating potential, both from ads and in-app purchases, is games. And if you want to start your own app business, that’s probably the best tip which can be given.

 

  1. Should you hire someone or learn how to make the mobile app yourself?

If you want to start an app business, then it would be advised that you start to learn about making apps. Learn the common pitfalls and how the app market works. Learn from success stories and what they did to get there. You can lose a lot of money in the beginning paying developers WAY too much money to make an app if you do not have a basic knowledge of what’s involved and how much effort it should take. Check out the Chocolate Lab developer blog for insights and tips, and teach yourself how to reskin a game and integrate ads with our Udemy courseLearn xCode, reskin an iPhone game, integrate ads and upload to Apple (FREE preview.)

If you only want to make one app, for example to promote a business, you probably want to hire a team. Hiring locally is probably the easiest but may cost more. Outsourcing has its own challenges but may come with a lower cost. Attend networking events, try and meet contacts either in person or over LinkedIn. The quality of your team’s skills will be critical, so keep searching for contractors until you have put together an AAA Level Team.

 

  1. How much risk should you take when making an app?

Aim to create a portfolio of successful apps, rather than putting all of your energy into one big app. Keep your risk low and your prospects for success high. At the beginning, it’s easier to make money from lots of small apps than it is from one big app. You will learn a lot from every app you publish, so the quality of your apps will keep increasing. You will make mistakes and learn valuable lessons. So keep your costs low at the start so you don’t bankrupt yourself. Apps can be created and published at very little expense. It is possible. By learning the basic coding skills yourself,  you can save a lot of money. Aim to be profitable as fast as you can, ideally in 14 days after launch. Do not spend 6, 12 or 18 months by yourself working on getting your app perfect. Get a small section of the app done, maybe just one module or chapter, and upload it to the store straightaway. Ship fast. Customer feedback will be invaluable to you. Validate your assumptions – pricing, app type, design, theme, features, marketing material, etc – as soon as possible. The information you learn from going through the publishing process and confirming your monetization choices were correct will allow you to make more educated choices and increase your revenue in the future.

Common concerns from people making an app for the first time:

  • “There is an app like mine in the store already“ That is great news. Go to the website www.topappcharts.com and type in the name of the app. If it’s not in any of the top rankings for its category, then you’ve just saved yourself a lot of time and money, and you have now found out that demand for that app type is not as strong as you would like it to be. “I truly think my app idea is INCREDIBLE and I still want to make it.” Ok, great enthusiasm! What you need to do now is to put that idea in a drawer. If this is an excellent idea, you want to give it every chance of success. So for the next 2 months, plan on publishing 10 small apps. A good way to keep costs low is to buy source code on the internet, change the graphics, integrate ads and upload it yourself, or hire a developer to put in some ads, so you can start to earn money. After the 2 months you will be MUCH more knowledgeable, hopefully profitable, and in a much better position to do justice to your big app idea. If you want to do justice to you app, it has to look INCREDIBLE. It should look like it was made by a multimillion pound studio. People download beautifully designed apps.
  • “I don’t have any money.” It’s still possible to make apps. The cheapest way to get started is to use the machine you have right now. If you have a mac, build iPhone/iPad apps. If you have a PC, build Android apps. You do not need to buy a smartphone in the beginning. The software you use (xCode and Eclipse) to make the apps comes with a free phone simulator so you can view the app on your Mac or PC. To build an app, check out online app building platforms for an affordable way to start. To publish an app, you will need to pay Android $25, or Apple $99 for a developer’s license.
  • “I have this app idea but I don’t want to tell you in case you steal it.”  Don’t say this too often. Instead say “I have an idea for a photography/health/game/entertainment iPhone/Android app. Do you have any experience publishing apps in this area?”


To do it right, there is a lot of hard work involved and you will get addicted to your laptop. There’s a steep learning curve at the start, and you might not see your family and friends for a good while. But if you can stick it out and start getting things working, it is definitely worth it. The people who are the most successful in this area learn as fast as they can and execute every day.

Are you interested in mobile phones? Take a look out our new IT Repair Technician role specialising in mobile phone repairs and problem diagnostics. You can view it by following this link!

If you are interested in Software Development, we also have Software Developer vacancies covering both Junior and Senior levels. If you’re a junior software developer, explore our junior role vacancy by following this link.

If you’re an experienced Software Developer looking to take the next step in your career, check out what could be waiting for you by clicking here!

– Elaine Heney

21-Fixes for common iOS 10 Problems

by

The Apple iOS 10 update was released recently, but that just means a number of problems have been emerging in iOS 10 Devices

You’re not alone if you’re experiencing iOS 10 problems, as the iPhone and iPad update has run into a number of issues, and if you’ve encountered any, don’t panic as there are many ways to fix them.

There are both intentional changes by Apple that need to be remedied for some users, and unintentional glitches due to bad code that can be alleviated. It just takes some iOS 10 troubleshooting.

From poor battery life, to spotty Bluetooth connectivity, to iPhones and iPads bricking when trying to update, here’s an all-encompassing guide to solving your iOS 10 problems.

 

1. iOS 10 battery life drain

There’s a lot of newness happening with the recent big software update, but that also means users have been experiencing poor iOS 10 battery life.

iOS 10.1 will likely address battery life drain, but until that happens, here’s a quick fix to increase the uptime of iPhones and iPads.

Turn off background app refresh in Settings > General > Background App Refresh. It’ll give you a list of apps, and you don’t really need a lot of these to constantly update in the background. It’s a big battery life killer.

Turn off Fitness Tracking and non-essential apps tucked away in Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness. If you have an Apple Watch, you don’t need fitness tracking on your phone. In addition, Health, Microsoft Health, TripAdvisor and Waze keeping tabs open when they aren’t needed wastes battery life.

Turn Wi-Fi on and off at the right times. When you’re at home or work, make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi instead of cellular. When you’re out, prevent your iPhone from constantly hunting for open Wi-Fi networks when there are none you can join. The swipe-up-from-the-bottom Control Center has a handy toggle for W-Fi.

Keep the brightness slider in check. Display brightness is the #1 battery life killer, so it’s important to make sure you only have your phone display bright only when necessary.

Keep track which apps are draining your battery life the most. Now every app is tuned to the iOS 10 update and could be wasting precious battery. Head to Settings > Battery to see the top power users here, especially Twitter and music-streaming apps.

 

2. iOS 10 bricking phones

While the beta went well, the final launch of iOS 10 has bricked a number of iPhones and iPads. That’s disheartening for Apple fans after a solid three-month beta.

The solution here is a simple one: iTunes has had success in restoring afflicted Apple devices.

With the news of iOS 10 bricking iPhones and iPads around the world, now is a good time to ensure that you’ve back up your devices before updating.

Over-the-air (OTA) updates have made us lazy when it comes to backing up our precious iPhone and iPad data. iCloud backups work, but only if you’re paying Apple enough to back up your entire storage capacity.

 

3. iOS 10 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues

This problem creeps up every year, and it’s likely to be no different with iOS 10. This issue really only requires time and patience.

Here’s what you can do to resolve both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth problems in one sitting: Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. It’s the third option down, and you’ll want to avoid Reset All Settings and Erase All Content and Settings.

By selecting Reset Network Settings you’ll keep your data intact, but your wireless connects will be back to their default settings. That usually solves our issues.

 

4. iOS 10 home button

iOS 10 changes the home button functionality now that ‘Slide to Unlock’ is no more. It actually makes you press in on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

If you aren’t a fan of this feature, here’s a quick fix in case you want to go back to the old way of unlocking your phone.

It’s super-buried in iOS 10’s settings. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Home Button (midway down the page) and turn on ‘Rest Finger to Open’.

This will enable you to open your iPhone or iPad with Touch ID, without having to press the home button any more.

 

5. iPhone stops vibrating after updating to iOS 10

Some people have noticed that their iPhones no longer vibrate in iOS 10 when they receive messages. To fix this, first try restarting the iPhone by pressing and holding the sleep button and the Home button for around 10 seconds.

The iPhone will restart and the Apple logo will appear. If this doesn’t work, then you may need to factory reset your iPhone. Before doing this, make sure you back up all your files and settings, as performing a reset will clear all of your data from the device.

 

6. Touch ID stops working in iOS 10

If Touch ID has stopped working, and you can’t configure it after upgrading to iOS 10, then try the following:

Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and enter your passcode. Turn off iTunes & App Store, then reboot your device. Go back to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and turn on iTunes & App Store.

You may need to remove and then rescan your fingerprints. To do this go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and scroll down to the list of fingerprints. Tap on the fingerprint you want to delete, then select ‘Delete’ and restart your device. Once your iPhone or iPad restarts, go back into settings and add your fingerprint. Touch ID should now work.

 

7. Your iPhone loses cellular network and can’t reconnect

If you’ve updated to iOS 10 and your iPhone loses signal, you may find that the phone can’t reconnect to a network afterwards, even when moving into an area where you know you receive signal.

If you restart your iPhone you’ll be reconnected to the network. While this is a temporary solution, it’s not perfect, as if you lose signal again you won’t be able to reconnect until you restart.

You can also turn on Airplane mode, then turn it off again to reconnect. Some mobile networks are also suggesting that you reinstall iOS 10, but this time update it by plugging it into your PC or Mac and using iTunes.

 

8. iOS 10 cellular network problems

Some iPhone owners are experiencing problems connecting to their mobile network after updating to iOS 10, with their devices either not finding a network, or having greatly reduced reception.

Many people suffering from this are on T-Mobile and the network is aware of the problem and is working on an update that they will push out to customers in the next few days.

If you don’t wish to wait that long, it may be worth trying the solution above, where you downgrade to a previous version of iOS, and then update to iOS 10 via iTunes.

 

9. iOS 10 uses lots of mobile data

If you’ve noticed that your mobile data allowance is quickly being used up after upgrading to iOS 10, then the Wi-Fi Assist feature may be the culprit.

Wi-Fi Assist was introduced in iOS 9, and it enables your iPhone or cellular iPad to tell when your Wi-Fi connection is poor. If it is, then the device will automatically switch to your mobile data. While this means you can happily browse and download without experiencing any slow down or loss of connection, it can also mean that you’re using up your monthly mobile data allowance without knowing it, and it seems like the feature is turned on by default with iOS 10.

To turn it off, go to Settings > Mobile and scroll to the bottom of the menu. There will be a switch next to ‘Wi-Fi Assist’, so make sure this is turned to ‘Off’.

 

10. No iMessage notifications in iOS 10

If you’ve updated to iOS 10 and notice that you’re no longer getting notifications when you receive an iMessage, check your notification settings by going to Settings > Notifications > Messages.

Make sure all the toggles next to each option are switched on, and that the selected alert style is ‘Banner’.

 

11. iMessage effects aren’t working in iOS 10

A new feature in iOS 10 is iMessage effects, which are full screen animations designed to make your iMessage chats more entertaining. These effects include fireworks, lasers, shooting starts and an invisible ink feature.

However, some iOS 10 users are reporting that they cannot see iMessage effects. If you can’t see iMessage effects in iOS 10, the most likely cause of this is that you have the ‘Reduce Motion’ option turned on. While this option is useful for saving the battery life of your iPhone or iPad, or for minimising the effects of motion sickness when using your device when moving, it also prevents iMessage effects from appearing.

To turn it off, open Settings and go to General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and turn the Reduce Motion setting to ‘Off’.

 

12. Cannot delete apps in iOS 10

If you can’t delete apps from your iPhone or iPad after upgrading to iOS 10 then you’re not alone. Users are reporting that when trying to delete an app they just see a message saying “Waiting”, and the usual X icon to delete the app doesn’t appear.

To fix this problem first perform a hard reset of your iOS 10 device. Do this by pressing and holding the power button and the Home button at the same time for ten seconds until the Apple logo appears.

If that doesn’t help, check to make sure you’re not installing any apps in the background while you try to delete other apps. To do this open the App Store then tap on Updates > Purchased.

See if any of the apps have “Installing” next to them. If they are, put your device into Airplane mode, then tap on the apps to stop them. Next, turn off Airplane mode and download the apps one by one.

You may also need to try resetting all your settings. Open up the Settings app and select ‘General’. Scroll down and select ‘Reset’ then ‘Reset All Settings’.

 

13. Third party keyboard doesn’t work in iOS 10

Many iOS 10 users are noticing that when using a third party keyboard, such as Swype or Bitmoji, the keyboard becomes unresponsive and crashes.

Most of the developers behind these keyboards know this is an issue and have released updates that have fixed compatibility with iOS 10, so the first thing you should do is check the App Store to see if there is an update waiting for your keyboard.

If there isn’t you will have to disable the keyboard by going to Settings > General > Keyboards and tap on ‘Edit’. Next, tap on the minus button, or swipe left, on the keyboard you want to remove.

 

14. Purchased ringtones have vanished in iOS 10

If you’ve bought and downloaded custom ringtones, you may not be able to find them if you’ve updated to iOS 10.

This is a problem that has happened in previous updates, and thankfully there’s an easy way to get them back without having to purchase the ringtones all over again.

Simply plug your iPhone or iPad into your PC or Mac and launch iTunes. Click on your device in the top menu, and under where it says ‘On My Device’ click ‘Tones’.

Now make sure the check box next to ‘Sync Tones’ is selected. and you’ll be asked if you agree to removing and replacing your ringtones. Agree, and the sync process will start.

 

15. Alarms are not working in iOS 10

There’s nothing worse than an important alarm not going off, and sadly that’s what some iOS 10 users are currently experiencing. If you’ve found that your alarms are either not going off at all, or they go off at the wrong time, then there’s a straightforward solution.

Open up the Clock app and go to ‘Alarms’, where you usually set your alarms. Click the edit button at the top of the app, then delete all of your alarms. Close the app, then reopen it and add your alarms back in.

If that doesn’t work you’ll need to be a bit more ruthless. Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset All Settings. This will reset all your settings to default. It means everything you’ve configured will be set back to the way it was before you tinkered, which is annoying, but at least it means you can now reset your alarms and they will work again.

 

16. iPhone screen no longer works

If your device’s screen no longer responds to touch inputs after updating to iOS 10, then unplug your iPhone or iPad and remove any case or screen protector. Clean your screen, then restart your device. If your device’s screen still does not work, you can try adjust you 3D Touch settings.

To do this, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch. You can then adjust the sensitivity. If it still doesn’t work, you may need to contact Apple Support.

 

17. Device gets hot when charging after iOS 10 update

If you’ve noticed that your iPhone or iPad has started to heat up when charging after being updating to iOS 10, don’t panic.

Even though it doesn’t look like it, iOS 10 may still be updating apps in the background immediately after the update, so when it’s being charged it may run hotter than usual.

Give it time, and hopefully your iPhone or iPad will return to normal temperatures when charging.

 

18. Photo albums no longer sync in iOS 10

Some iPhone owners are reporting that when trying to sync photo albums from their Macs to their iPhones running iOS 10, the photos sync to the device, but their respective albums aren’t showing.

So, while the photos are on the iPhone, they can be difficult to find, as they’re no longer sorted in the albums they usually appear in.

One user on the Apple Support forum found that by opening a folder on their Mac called ‘iPhone’ they found lots of subfolders containing photos. Usually this folder and its subfolders get synced. To fix the problem, they added two new subfolders into the iPhone folder and tried to sync – and it worked, with all the albums then appearing as they should in iOS 10.

 

19. Playlists appear empty after updating to iOS 10

A common problem with iOS 10 involves songs in playlists created in iTunes not appearing on the iPhone.

This problem mainly involved Smart Playlists, and although they appear on phones, they now look empty.

To fix this problem plug in your iPhone and open iTunes. Select your device and uncheck all playlists to stop them syncing. Apply the changes, then check the boxes to sync the playlists and they should now appear on your iPhone after the sync process has finished.

 

20. Games run slow in iOS 10

If you find that graphically intensive games are now slow to open, and feel sluggish when played, then close down all of your open apps, then press and hold the power and home buttons for 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears.

This resets the device, which should sort out any problems. It’s also worth making sure that you have the latest version of the game installed, as app makers may have released an update to make their apps and games work better with iOS 10.

 

21. Emails don’t appear in iOS 10 Mail app

If you’re using iOS 10 and you open up the Mail app, you may be greeted with a blank screen. A number of iOS 10 users are reporting this problem, and they all seem to have one thing in common: having an apostrophe in their email address.

It appears that a bug in iOS 10 is preventing the Mail app from showing these addresses. So, if you do have an email address with an apostrophe in it, you’ll have to wait for a fix from Apple. In the meantime, if you have other email accounts you can make emails to those addresses appear by removing the mail account with the apostrophe from the Mail app. The other email addresses will now appear.

Many email accounts let you forward mail to another email address, so until a fix is released you could set emails that go to your email address with an apostrophe to be forwarded to another address. The process for this varies depending on the email provider, so visit the website of the company that supplies your email address for more information.

More iOS 10 problems and fixes

It’s still the early of Apple’s new operating system availability, and it’s highly likely that there will be more iOS 10 problems discovered.

 

We hope you found this article interesting. If you have an extended interest in mobile phone maintenance, problem diagnostics and repairs, check out our IT Repair Technician role by clicking this link! It might be just right for you!

– Matt Swider

– Matt Hanson

Ofcom Report: The Change in UK Network Use

by

The Network use in the UK is increasing as Brits are spending more time online than ever before, according to Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report

British consumers are spending more time on the internet network than ever before, so much so that many are actively seeking a so-called “digital detox” from their online lives, according to communications market regulator Ofcom.

In its latest Communications Market Report – an annual survey of British communications and media usage and attitudes – Ofcom reported that 15 million people in the UK have sought time offline to do other things, such as spending time with friends and family, or holidaymaking.

Most of these people found taking a break from the digital world to be a rewarding experience, although some respondents to Ofcom’s survey reported feeling lost and cut-off, or worried that they were missing out.

“The internet has revolutionised our lives for the better, but our love affair with the web is not always plain surfing,” said Ofcom director of market intelligence, Jane Rumble. “Millions of us are taking a fresh look at the role of technology in our lives and going on a digital detox to get a better tech-life balance.”

The 2016 report highlighted the importance of connectivity to the increasingly digitised world. According to Ofcom, 9.2 million broadband connections are now superfast – in the regulator’s view this means capable of delivering speeds of over 30Mbp. This was up from 7.1 million two years ago.

As a result of this growth in superfast connections, total telecoms revenues grew for the first time since 2011, up 0.5% to £37.5bn between 2014 and 2015, as average household spend increased due to the higher costs associated with most superfast packages.

Superfast connections

Rumble said the regulator estimated that nine in 10 premises now had access to a superfast broadband connection, up from 83% last year, which tallies with other assessments of availability.

“We are aiming for 95% by the end of 2017, so availability is growing,” she said. “I think the core questions are now related to those people who aren’t able to get superfast broadband and that is absolutely a priority for Ofcom.”

Rumble also reaffirmed Ofcom’s commitment to the 10Mbps universal service obligation, currently on its way to becoming law. She said the regulator considered a 10Mbps connection adequate for activities such as streaming video on demand (VoD), an activity that has seen a boom in popularity in the UK in the past 12 months at the expense of live television.

Ofcom will release more concrete statistics on broadband take-up in September 2016.

4G popularity still soaring

Meanwhile, 4G connections accounted for 46% of all mobile connections, up from 28% in 2014. Ofcom said 98% of UK premises were now covered by at least one 4G network, and 71% were covered by all four.

Data use is also soaring, with 89% of 16 to 24-year-olds and 25 to 34-year-olds, 77% of 35 to 54-year-olds, 50% of 55 to 64-year-olds, and 21% of over-65s using web and data services on their devices.

The report said 71% of UK adults now owned a smartphone, up from 66% this time last year, which remains the most popular device for getting online.

Ofcom said the popularity of smartphones was giving rise to a number of new social impacts, such as an increase in people bumping into each other on the street because they were absorbed in their phone, and 40% of respondents said they had been “smart-snubbed” by a friend or relative.

The report also revealed a surge in the use of instant messaging, with the proportion of adults using over-the-top services such as WhatsApp at least once a week rising from 28% in 2014 to 43% in 2016, higher among the so-called millennial age group. Photo messaging services such as Snapchat are now used by 21% of adults weekly, up from 14% in 2014.

This growth came largely at the expense of email and, notably, text messaging, which presents a revenue stream problem for mobile operators.

Rumble acknowledged this trend and said Ofcom had seen mobile revenues remain flat over the past year, which suggested operators were responding to this to some degree.

“I think with any business, as behaviors change and shift, we would expect to see different businesses adapt to those shifts in behavior,” she said.

– Alex Scroxton

What is ‘Rugged’ Technology?

by

What is Rugged Technology?

Rugged Technology

Rugged Technology is a marketing term for hardware that is designed to operate in extremely harsh environments and conditions. There are three generally accepted levels of ruggedization:semi-rugged, fully-rugged and ultra-rugged. The levels describe a product’s ability to survive drops, vibration, dust, immersion and extreme temperatures.

Semi-rugged devices, which are increasingly being called business-rugged by marketers, are usually enhanced versions of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. The components are the same, but they are protected better.  For example, a semi-rugged laptop might have a thicker case, a gel-mounted hard disk drive and a spill-resistant keyboard. Fully-ruggeddevices are designed from the inside-out to work in extreme temperatures, to be impervious to being dropped, to resist shocks and vibrations and to be dustproof and waterproof. A fully-rugged laptop may have a solid state hard drive, which has no moving parts, runs cool and doesn’t need for a fan. (another moving part that adds weight to the device.)  Ultra-rugged devices, which are usually designed to meet precise specifications for military use, are made to handle the harshest environmental conditions. An ultra-rugged laptop can be left out in a sandstorm, frozen in a blizzard or sent on a vibrating rocket into space without any detrimental effects. 

If you already know this information then why not check out our latest new job where your mission will be to assist organisations optimise their mobile productivity with rugged technology that can enable C4I.

– whatis.techtarget.com

© 2025 Digi Skills Agency Ltd. All rights reserved. Sitemap

Website Design by Yellow Marshmallow.