The lines between digital, mobile, technology and apps are blurring in today’s world. We at Robosoft are keen followers of developments in this arena. At the end of every week, we will share with you highlights of news items which caught our eye in this space.
The tech world saw two big events last week – Mobile World Congress at Barcelona and Game Developer’s Conference at San Francisco. Our team was at the GDC interacting with game development companies, studios, IP owners and marketers. While we jot down our observations about the exciting developments in the gaming world, here’s what caught our eye elsewhere:
10 Mind-Boggling Stats from Mobile World Congress
According to the Internet of Things panel at the MWC, there will be 190 million smart home devices shipped in 2018. The opportunities for app development beyond mobile devices augurs well for the industry. Line, the popular messaging app from Japan, gains 1.7 million new users every day — yes, every day. What’s more the craze for emojis and stickers means that there is monetisation too. Read more such stats here.
New devices from Huawei, Samsung, HTC
Dubbed the ‘prettiest Android Wear yet‘, Huawei unveiled their smart watch last week. Sure it looks pretty. However, we do wonder if a smart watch looking exactly like a regular watch is a good thing. Would consumers prefer a differentiated look for their smart watches? Time will tell, no pun intended. Samsung released a slew of new mobile phones, while HTC released a wearable and a VR headset.
Marketing Technologies From Mobile World Congress
3D printable selfies, anyone? Or a retina-scanning mobile phone that opens if you stare it? These and other exciting new trends were also revealed at the MWC.
Office for Mac 2016
After five years of waiting, Microsoft announced a preview version of Office for Mac 2016. The new version includes updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook.
Apple Watch: app previews and mix-and-match
Want to see how the various cases straps of the Apple Watch actually look? Head out to Mix Your Watch and try out the various combinations. Meanwhile, WatchAware has created a useful compilation of how various apps would look like on an Apple Watch. See how a grocery list or a pedometer app will look like on the device.
Next week sees the special Apple event ‘Spring Forward’ where we are likely to see more details of the Apple Watch. As someone said on Twitter, the day after will be ‘wristmas’. We look forward to the event and exciting possibilities in app development.