Zombies are extremely popular these days and are no more a part of horror films as they used to be. To hunt them is fun and to kill them is even more fun. So the creators of the app we are going to tell about are quite in line with the latest social and gaming trends. The only thing the authors have added is a piece of good old England in the air. So welcome, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The classic nineteenth-century tale that many (the iPhone developers and designers of the game, no doubt, including) were forced to read in high school turned out to be quite easily converted into another zombie game. A user has to control a woman in a conservative white dress (one of the Bennet’s sisters) spin around like an over-hyper four-year-old through a mass of zombies producing pieces of dead flash and streams of blood all over the screen.

Some people liked it, some consider it extremely dull and worth spending an hour or two only but the gaming iPhone community is seriously discussing other games of the kind. What would one say about Romeo and Juliet in the same surrounding or Othello? Who would resist a drive to kill Iago or Tibalt? I only hope when asked in class: “who was Mr.Darcy?” pupils won’t mutter something like: “The chief zombie, Sir?” or something of the kind.

Apple seems to be extremely worried about Foxconn events. We are extremely skeptic as to say we believe the company is as saddened and upset as it claimed in its official statement, but the possibility that the working process can be hampered causes the management’s headache, no doubt. As analysts state the company due to the successful international debut of the iPad may currently be facing a limited supply of the magic gadget. Foxconn is the very factory where it is assembled and to fail because of some plausible workforce unrest would be insupportable for Apple.

Jobs’ company as it publicly promised addressed the matter conducting its own investigation which found that recent employee suicides (from 10 to 15, the exact number is still unclear) were related to low wages at the company’s massive factory in Shenzhen, China. Figuring out what the problem is Apple is going to address the issue and is rumored to be providing additional wages to workers. The money will come directly from the profits (1-2%) of products assembled there. The first to receive the boost will be those working at the iPad production line.

However generous the company’s move may seem it caused much discontent among Apple’s user and shareholders. While some claim that the problem is more in dreadful working conditions and a necessity to work long hours than in underpay, others grumble that they will have to give their money to some Chinese poor. But everyone agrees that the event wouldn’t have been addressed if the internet community hadn’t been ballyhooing about it for quite a time. And the leading companies like Apple, Dell, HP, Nokia had to take up some moves to avoid accusations in indifference and social negligence. Although some may think that too much attention has been paid to it.

Another juicy piece of news about a long-awaited HP tablet. A representative of HP’s Personal Systems Group in Taiwan, said that the company is not going to focus on WebOS-based netbooks as the kind of devices is quite similar to PCs and the enterprise is to present a HP tablet before the end of the fiscal year ending in October. Marty Wong promised that consumers will be provided with a wide range of different software as well as applications just at launch. All the details are put off till the official closing of the acquisition deal.

WebOS is Palm’s touch-screen operating system which went to HP due to 1,2 billion Palm purchase deal. The deal is not likely to be closed until the end of July, and HP’s plans to launch a tablet in fall make people doubt what OS will be installed at the hardware.

Initially HP was going deliver its Slate running Windows 7 and even made an encouraging presentation of the product which was introduced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer himself. But ever since the company has been very determined not to comment on either the current status of the product or relations with Microsoft. However one of HP’s representatives mentioned that Windows 7 does not come up to HP’s management expectations.

If HP manages to deliver a WebOS tablet in fall it will mean Apple will have had only half a year head start and it can position HP as the second player at the quickly growing market. However it’s quite possible that the renowned printer manufacturer will be outstripped by Dell which is rumored to be currently working at some Android tablet. It seems this fall promises to be quite a challenging, fruitful and extremely interesting season.

Cloud computing became the primary aim of Google efforts quite a long time ago. Google Apps are a fine example of collaboration programs for consumers and businesses.
Partly the fear to keep personal data in some other place was dissipated due to numerous social networks as its users in general have fewer concerns about what it means to entrust a server with their content. Now, no one doubts whether we will face cloud computing one day. It is already happening and Google is making their best to be at the front line of the next trend that is overhauling the web and the PC experience in general. No wonder, it was one of the major topics at Google I/O conference that started yesterday.

Google Apps are not the only cloud experience Google is engaged in. Gmail is another prime example. At its I/O conference Google has announced that third party developers are welcomed to distribute their applications through Google Apps Marketplace. Now Google Apps customers can add various third-party applications and integrate them with the Google e-mail service. Such apps will deliver new experience to Gmail, displaying information from social networks, business services, Web applications and other systems.

Google finds its e-mail service in a rather severe competition from two major incumbent powers for Web-based e-mail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. And both of them seem very promising as Yahoo Mail can already incorporate some third-party applications like those dealing with PayPal and Facebook, while Hotmail is scrutinized by Microsoft to make it more lively. In addition, many corporate customers, which is a rather conservative group of the consumers are still sticking to old-fashioned Exchange and Outlook. Gmail could try to lure those customers with a multitude of apps and a range of online services.

By opening its platform to third-party developers Google is not only expanding its Gmail services but also strengthens its position as a flagman of the new era in computing.

In-flight entertainment might not be high on every airline company’s list of priorities, as it needs rather expensive and heavy wired IFE hardware. The advent of the iPad will solve this problem providing a simple, quality solution that would appeal to most passengers. The airlines could distribute iPads as an alternative to the customary inflight entertainment systems. If we think it over, we come to a conclusion that there is something in the idea. iPad is a splendid tool to kill the time while waiting and what can be more tiresome than a transcontinental 10-hour flight when a passenger has nothing to do but to sleep or engage in some not so interesting activity provided by the airline just to spend the time. No doubt, iPad developers could come with a bunch of highly creative and quality apps, like games, video-streaming ones, travel apps and some specific applications concerning the airline services.

Good ideas are quickly to be realized. Bluebox Avionics, which provides in-flight entertainment services, has recently announced its new Ai IFE system on the base of the iPad which enjoys Bluebox’s proprietary security solution and tailor-made apps for each airline.

One carrier is apparently ready to take the leap. BlueBox reports that passengers flying with the international operator will be able to enjoy Bluebox Ai units this July. No doubt, its competitors will have to follow its route.

The latest news we’ve heard about Frozen Yogurt features is quite stunning. It seems that Android wanted to impress everybody and prove that the platform is meeting the cutting edge requirements and demands of satiated users. Apple has whined for months that Flash is bad and CPU-hungry and not worthy our attention. Now Adobe has done its best to deliver its Flash to Android users.

Another feature which will be heartily welcomed by all Android developers is an enormous performance speed increase. A phone equipped with Froyo will be 450% faster than a today’s HTC Hero. The speed improvement, due to an installed JIT compiler will contribute to development of feature-rich applications with a more refined UI.

Other breathtaking features include in-built USB tethering. So it is not a problem to connect an Android phone to a laptop or to a PC- something that is really lacking with an iPhone. In addition, an Android phone with Froyo can be easily turned into a portable WiFi hotspot. But it is still unclear whether carriers can turn this feature off, or even charge for it as it somehow infringes their profits.

This OS release is remarkable for lack of specifications available in advance as well as some substantial leaks. Who knows maybe Google prepares some other wonders for its ardent followers but all of them are sure to be revealed at the Google I/O event next week.

The NY Times decided to enlarge its reading audience launching an app for Android phones. At last, after several month of waiting it has arrived live and available for download in the Android Market. The Palm and the iPhone has already been equipped with that app for some time now so we are happy that the existing inequality has been eliminated.

The app is quite similar to that running on the iPhone and can seem even a straight port. On launching it you see a list of articles and thumb images. The app layout has a classy, simple interface, featuring a black and white color scheme. It’s possible to swipe down on a section title to choose from available sections or browse using the menu button. Another way to read stories is just to navigate them swiping right or left if you already are in the article.

The app is free, running on Android 2.0 or higher and enjoys several very useful features like cashing news for offline reading and thus saving on the traffic. But there are some oversights as well. It only works in a portrait format, which is rather strange as practically every other app can auto-orient, and it’s especially important for reading apps. Some users complain of the app blindly porting from platform to platform lacking any Android interface features. Maybe Android developers can make it more Android-like but in that case it will cost some green instead of being free of charge.

Nowadays the world seems to divide according to the iPad arrival to the country. The first world is, no doubt, the US which are the primary market of Apple. To saturate the domestic demand the company even put off international sales of the gadget. Many analysts predict the company may face the iPad supply shortage again given the unbelievable success of the iPad 3G, shipped last Friday, when many retailing spots had run out of the product by the end of the day. Nevertheless, Apple announced the beginning of the international launch naming those who are less lucky than Americans but so far more fortunate than the rest of the planet.

The second world is represented by such respectful members of the world society as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. Apple’s gadget launch being on Friday, May 28.

The third echelon includes Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. Less fortunate citizens of those countries can put their hands on the magical device only in July.

And not a word about the rest of the world which could get the iPad only when Apple decides that all the mentioned markets have already been won. The irony is buried into the fact that iPad developers are mostly people from India, China as well as some countries of the former USSR. So, everything seems to be in full compliance with the theory of global equilibrium – a golden billion who lives, and, conversely, the majority, who exists and works for it.

Everybody knows what strict rules Google is keeping to when it comes to naming its another operating system version. Now the time has come to reveal the one starting from “F” – Froyo to be more precise.

Following the previous Android 2.0/2.1 version that was called to commemorate a custard-filled French doughnut Éclair, the new Froyo seems to be based on 2.6.32 Linux kernel which is newer than previously used for Éclair 2.6.29 one.

No doubt, the greatest advantage of the latest release is in full-fledge Flash support which is not in the least surprising keeping in mind that Adobe needs a strong ally to fight back Apple.

Also Android developers will be glad to get access to new APIs to the Android NDK, which means a possibility to use OpenGL ES 2.0’s entire library. The mentioned feature will contribute to gaming graphics and performance as well as to the whole process of Android application development.

The overall gadget performance as well as a longer battery life have also been seen to due to the just-in-time compilation option. Android developers call the JIT the most useful feature of the release, as it translates the application written in JAVA to the native code which leads to significantly better performance, richer graphics and better battery life.

Some minor features are represented by FM Radio (nobody could answer why that extremely essential feature had been lacking in the previous versions) and a Color Trackball a highly entertaining but seemingly useless feature).

The official release of Google’s pastry is likely to fall on May 19, when Google I/O conference is scheduled. If we take into consideration that IT companies tend to keep to some strict scheduling agenda over the years, from that time on world mobile geeks must start expecting another Google pastry to come. Gingerbread, by name.

Mobile is fast becoming one of the predominant ways users consume content and make purchases. That’s why many producers, service providers and retailers are facing a threat to be forced into extinction if they keep on ignoring mobile audience. There are 2 main ways to attract smartphones jerks and establish some kind of a mobile presence:

-to create a mobile web-site;
-to develop a mobile application.

Creating a mobile web-site would definitely be easier. Аt the entrance to some site smartphone users are immediately detected as using a mobile channel and redirected to a mobile-optimized version of the site or, in an upgraded version, to a device-optimized facilities. The mentioned approach is good for users as it does not require any additional app downloads, as well as it satisfies appetites of the site’s owner  maximizing its audience reach.

Launching a mobile version the owner of the site gets a complete picture of how users are actually using the site, which may be very different from the initial vision the owner had upon its releasing. What’s more, deciding on changes and delivering them to front-end consumers does not require any user actions which they are sure not to take. Thus to ensure a mobile presence at the market one should first of all take care of a mobile website, later switching to more refined activities.

Starting with creation of topical mobile applications will no doubt, make happy some iPhone developers, or Android developers, or even Blackberry developers or all of the above. It will definitely bring the businessman a certain feeling of self-satisfaction when his or her app will be approved by the notorious Apple’s App Store or share the destiny of some 50 000 highly efficient and essential apps the World of Android Apps is staffed with. But the target consumers are unlikely to be patient enough to look for it in the apps deposits or download from the site.

What can be reasonable for great companies; can be a useless waste of money for others. Many news providers well aware that the majority of their audience sticks to their smartphones had a special app developed for the iPhone that allowed reading the newspaper in a conveniently tailored mode. Guardian News & Media has sold 68,979 copies of its premium iPhone app and earned some green. The Wall Street Journal uses its mobile app as a drive to boost its subscription for web and print versions. But such examples are few.

Before the launch of the fabulous iPad, lot’s of sites created special iPad friendly versions to ensure that iPad users have enough activities to engage in at the very launch day. The suggested way of handling the problem of mobile presence by creating a mobile web-site, seems so far to be the most successful one, while less troublesome.