Geotagging Imagery and Video


IsWHERE is a log of my thoughts, reflections, and news/blog links on the emergence of image and video geospatial tagging. On May5th this year, I opened a second blog to deal with more detailed aspects of tools for FalconView and TalonView can be found at RouteScout. Trends I want to try and follow are the various disruptions resulting from spatial smart-phones, how many GPS devices are out there, smart-cameras, and other related news. And yes, I have a business interest in all of this. My company Red Hen has been pioneering this sort of geomedia for more than a decade.

So beyond a personal blog, I also provide a link to IsWHERE a shareware tool created by Red Hen Systems to readily place geoJPEG or geotagged imagery and soon GEM full motion media kept on your own computer(s) into Google Earth/Map from your File Manager media selection. Works great for geotagged images from Nikon, Ricoh, Sony, iPHONE, Android and all geo-smartphones that can create geotagged images. IsWhere - read about it

IsWhere Free Download (XP and VISTA)

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IsWhere Visitors

Thursday, April 29, 2010

World's biggest computer makers if we...

World's biggest computer makers if we include smartphones? Nokia, HP, Apple..

A little over a year ago I wrote my blog here where we did probably the world's first calculation of total computer shipment numbers on the assumption that a smartphone could be counted as a computer. Not surprisingly many crucified us here for blasphemy, that a smartphone could not be counted as a proper computer.

How quickly times change in the mobile industry haha. Since then of the world's 5 largest pure PC makers, Dell, Lenovo and Acer have announced their own smartphones. Toshiba was already a smartphone maker. And today HP has bought Palm with the last of the top 5 largest PC makers now also being smartphone makers. And its not just there, Apple the company previously known as Apple Computer, is a major smartphone maker. Microsoft which previously made smartphone operating systems now also makes smartphones. Google the world's biggest internet company is now also a smartphone maker. And Intel the inside guys, doesn't manufacture smartphones but collaborates with Nokia on the future MeeGo smartphone operating system. I think its fair to say, that the PC industry is very willing now to accept that a smartphone is indeed a pocket computer. But if one of our readers still feels this does not smell right, please read this blog - why a smartphone is a real computer.

So, last time my blog was a bit provocative, I did expect some push-back but I was also quite willing to argue that smartphones were real computers. Not that all mobile phones are computers in the proper sense - but a smartphone is indeed 'user programmable' ie we can install apps on one, just like we can on our laptop PC. Why not count an iPhone as a computer or a Google Nexus One or a Nokia N900? So since we started this tomfoolery, lets do an update for end of 2009 market shares of 'all computers' including desktop PCs, notebook PCs, netbook PCs, smartphones, and the PDA form factor exhibited by the Apple iPod Touch. (obviously the iPad had not launched by the end of 2009, but we'll count it for 2010 unit sales when I will report those next year haha)

TOP 8 LARGEST COMPUTER MAKERS BY UNIT SALES VOLUME FULL YEAR 2009

1. (1.)  Nokia  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.8 million . . . . . 14.0% . . . (13.8%)
2. (2.)  Hewlett-Packard . . . . .  60.2 million . . . . . 12.4% . . . (11.9%)
3. (4.)  Apple . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 million . . . . . 10.6% . . .  ( 7.5%)
4. (5.)  Acer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39.6 million . . . . . .  8.2% . . . ( 6.6%)
5. (3.)  Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38.5 million . . . . . .  7.9% . . . ( 9.4%)
6. (7.)  RIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35.6 million . . . . . . .7.1% . . . ( 4.2%)
7. (8.)  Toshiba . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.4 million . . . . . . .5.9% . . . ( 2.8%) 
8. (6.)  Lenovo . . . . . . . . . . . . .25.1 million . . . . . .  5.2% . . . ( 4.7%)
All other makers . . . . . . . . . . 139.0 million . . . . . . 28.7% . . .(39.1%)

TOTAL computers . . . . . . . . . 465.5 million


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Nokia kicks back...

Nokia N8 goes official: 12 megapixels, Symbian^3, shipping in Q3

And just like that, it's official. We heard back at CTIA that Nokia's N8 would see an official reveal during April, and just a few short days after surfacing in Russia, that very smartphone has indeed been announced over in Espoo. There's not much here we didn't know about -- it'll be rocking a 12 megapixel camera (with Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash), 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, HDMI output, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, HD video recording, access to Ovi Store apps, free Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, and of course, the company's new Symbian^3 operating system. The N8 touts multiple, personalizable homescreens "which can be loaded with apps and widgets," native multitasking, support for multitouch gestures and integration with the Qt software development environment. It'll also ship in a variety of lovely hues (read: five), with availability pegged for "select markets" in Q3 for €370 ($494) without any subsidies involved. Not like it'll have any other competition up in its grille by that point or anything... 

Monday, April 26, 2010

Here's how to install Android on your...

Here's how to install Android on your iPhone 2G

Last week, planetbeing claimed he'd ported Android to the iPhone. This week, Android A Lot says you can, too. If you've got an original iPhone 2G handy, there's now a 68-step guide that can walk you through the entire process. In a nutshell, you'll use iPhone Explorer to copy over the Android files, then turn your Mac or PC into an Ubuntu virtual machine to install the OpeniBoot software. When you're done, you'll probably have a dual-booting iPhone that can swap between iPhone OS and an experimental version of Android 1.6 at startup, but don't quote us on that -- we haven't had a chance to test the unholy matrimony for ourselves. We're going to try to give this a shot next week, and we'll report back from the other side... if there is another side. Blurry video walkthrough after the break, useful step-by-step text at our source link.

Continue reading Here's how to install Android on your iPhone 2G


Thursday, April 22, 2010

Replacing ArcGIS Server with Google Maps

21APR/104

As mentioned in a previous post I have been converting Union County's Community Mapperapplication from ArcGIS Server to the Google Maps API.


Do I have anything against an ArcGIS Server solution? Not at all. ArcGIS Server still takes up a lot of room in my tool chest. I just wanted to freshen up the look and feel of a stale application and take a deep dive into the ever-changing API v3.

Let Google handle the base map and related traffic. Forget scheduling a map caching job to run for hours (and hours, and hours) every week.

Users are comfortable with Google Maps. Web mapping trends show Google Maps continues to catch (surely have surpassed by now) MapQuest.

The Google Maps API is powerful and has an active community developing applications with it. Got a question? Send it to the group and you'll get replies within hours, maybe minutes.

The biggest downer that I see is that you lose complete control over your base map. Sure Google lets your report a problem but there is no guarantee when, or even if, they'll get around to fixing it. Luckily the Street View crew made it around to a good third or so of Union County so our base map isn't in bad shape.

With Google there's always a chance of advertisementspopping in at some point in the future. Personally, I have no problem with spatially relevant advertising. That's the price we pay for someone hosting and updating your web map services. Although, end users might not like the idea of an ad for Jim's Tire and Lube appearing near their parcel ownership.

The old Community Mapper is actually still live but users can choose to try out the new application while I work out a few kinks with the newer version.

Community Mapper 1.0 http://gisapps.co.union.nc.us/cm

Community Mapper 2.0 http://gisapps.co.union.nc.us/community-mapper

If you have any questions or comments about the application or you get some errors feel free to let me know. Styling and documentation are lacking as these are the last things I'll be working on.



Nokia Still in the Smartphone Game?

Nokia ships 21.5m smart devices, outpaced by Apple

By Electronista Staff

Nokia this morning claimed a minor return to form with an upturn in its phone business, especially smartphones. It shipped a much larger 21.5 million "converged devices," which includes both its smartphones and the Booklet 3G, in the first quarter of the year. The tally is a 57 percent jump from a year ago and is estimated to give it 41 percent of thesmartphone market, or a slight recovery from both the fall and from a year ago.

Its overall cellphone shipments were up a more modest 16 percent to 107.8 million units, which combined with job cuts was enough to boost its profit up 60 percent from a year ago to 820 million euros, or about $1.1 billion.

The gains, while an improvement, weren't necessarily enough to outpace competition in the smartphone arena. While enough to hold on to its lead in sheer volume, the growth was far slower than Apple's 131 percent jump in iPhone shipments. Nokia also didn't say how many of its 21.5 million units were Booklet 3Gs and likely had a smaller actual share in pure phone devices.

Apple is so far the only major smartphone maker known to have seen a quarter-to-quarter increase in its phone shipments following the typical post-holiday lull, although LG, Motorola, 
Samsung and Sony Ericsson have yet to report back on their own results.

Nokia still expects the phone industry's numbers to grow 10 percent in 2010 but also thinks its market share will stay flat over the year. It hasn't said what it expects to keep its performance going in the current quarter and is mostly relying on existing phones as well as entry-level smartphones like the C5and 5230 for the spring. Company chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo admitted that the company still faces "tough competition with respect to the high end of our mobile device portfolio," likely referencing both Apple and RIM.

The first Symbian^3 phone has also been dealt a setback, as Nokia has officially said it's on track to announce the phone in the spring but that it won't actually ship until sometime in the summer. The new OS adds frequently requested features that would help Symbian catch up to modern smartphone platforms, such as multi-touch.


Getting FLASH with or without Apple?

Android ported to iPhone?

If you're a diehard iPhone user waiting for a similarly-gorgeous Android phone before you jump ship, you could spend time pining for a new HTC or Dell. Then again, the Droid you've been looking for might be right under your nose. Intrepid Linux fan planetbeing claims to have ported a debug version of Android to the iPhone itself, drivers and all, and you'll find a thoroughly convincing demonstration of his bona fide dual-booting Apple device taking calls, playing music and even surfing the web after the break. While the iPhone isn't the speediest Google phone around, it's not all that sluggish, either, and with the iPhone's hardware buttons remapped to Android controls, planetbeing seems to get along just fine. Now, let's see him work on some pinch-to-zoom, eh? Video after the break.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Android 2.2 by May 19th?

Google already testing Android 2.2


Logs posted late yesterday show that Google is actively testing Android 2.2. Better known as Froyo (frozen yogurt), the future release is showing up in web logs from those visiting sites. More than one source for Android and Mealso claims to know of the testing directly.

What 2.2 will entail hasn't been discussed by Google, but it should have a number of important additions despite the small version number. Among the steps may included an attempt to reduce Android fragmentation by making it possible to update some OS components without needing entirely new firmware. It should also provide the necessary underpinnings for Flash 10.1.
Many of the less critical changes should still improve performance and could bring new OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics features, free up RAM and solve problems with the accuracy of the touchscreen on 
phoneslike the Nexus One. Many features in the Nexus One may actually be hidden until future Android releases come out, Google's Erick Tseng said at CES.
The most likely release window for Android 2.2 is May 19th, when Google starts its I/O 
conference. The event in the past has included significant Android news.
Google has been on a relatively aggressive update schedule and has been adding large feature updates even with minor upgrades. The add-ons have been critical to the successes of phones like the Droid but, in the current architecture, has left many Android phones running outdated platforms and being locked out of certain apps. Chief rival Apple is believed to have benefited from taking direct control of both 
hardware and software by giving every recent device the same features at the same time. The strategy is known to have spurred on the creation of the Nexus One.


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

ANDROID to be World-wide #2?

See How Gartner Rates Smartphone Platforms


By Susan Nunziata


Dulaney also discussed iPhone OS 4.0, while acknowledging that Apple has supplied only a limited amount of information about the upgraded devices, due in June or July.


Until v. 4.0, Apple has resisted opening up the device's background processing in order to avoid risking battery life, according to Dulaney. With 4.0, "they created modules that have specific functions and, assuming those functions are in there, [your app] will get background privileges," he says.


Apple's initial 4.0 announcement in early April identified seven such background functions, including VoIP service and notification services that are relevant to the enterprise. However, Dulaney notes, "there was no background security module. So we don't see any progress where third parties can have full privileges for background processing [for security apps]." 



ANDROID

While some elements of Google's marketing strategy has left Gartner analysts "flummoxed" at times, Dulaney says "we expect them to be No. 2 in shipments by 2012, behind Symbian." That said, he noted, "Android is not recommended for any of our [enterprise] clients because it fails to have a security policy that enforces [the user's] password."


Dulaney added, "I believe Android is the best-designed user experience and user interface that is out there today. It is very consistent, it does things naturally at point you want to do it. It's better than iPhone."


Google's rapid release of multiple versions of its OS -- which are not all compatible with each other -- and the company's decision to offer some devices only online in its own Google store have created confusion in the market. 


In addition, he says, "Google has not understood that it needs to advertise its app store. The app store is the most important thing in the smartphone business. It creates the stickiness. Until Google identifies themselves with their app store, people buying these phones are going to think there are any number of platforms instead of just one. It's up to google to guide this thing."


Sunday, April 18, 2010

RouteScout - a Ground Imagery TalonView Plug-In




RouteScout is a Win XP and Win7 tool for easy geotagged collection of imagery, video, audio notes, and other metadata following methods and content based on a decade of use in the DoS. RouteScout is in two parts, software that integrates ground imagery into FalconView and TalonView as well as allowing mission planning and routing integration between Garmin Nuvi, Oregon, and Colorado personal navigation devices. A spatial imagery solution collected at the squad level for sharing within the platoon and company mission planning and briefing process. RouteSocut is an easy to use process relying on in-situ digital cameras and in pocket GPS data loggers. It contributes geotagged images, MP3 audio alerts and notes, points of interest, as well as routes to dismounted teams who rely on COTs personal navigation devices from Garmin.

SONY Optics - If you can not beat them....

14 Apr 10 2011 iPhone Coming with an 8MP Sony Photo Camera?

We all know that the iPhone 4G will be released in the next few months but if you want to fast-forward, here is some juicy rumor for you. It seems that the 2011 iPhone will come with something new, an 8MP photo camera courtesy of Sony.

According to The StreetApple has chosen Sony as supplier of 8MP camera modules for the 2011 iPhone.


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Google Nexus One phone selling at 22 million per year

Feel-goodroid: Nexus One is in the black, 60K Android devices activated per day

We'd heard a couple times that the Nexus One was selling at a mere trickle, but what we haven't heard is whether the phones that have sold are enough to generate a profit for Google -- and on its earnings call today, the company claimed for the first time that its superphone is indeed in the black. Speaking both of the Nexus One specifically and of the platform as a whole, the company said that "it is a profitable business for us... we are driving the business to be a profitable business," some of the strongest language we've heard that Google intends to fully convert Android from a hobby into an integral part of its financials going forward. On a related note, the company also boasted on the call that it's "seeing more than 60 thousand devices sold and activations daily," which -- by our rough math, anyhow -- would work out to close to 22 million Android activations annually. Certainly seem like these guys have cemented their position as a mobile powerhouse, doesn't it?

Apple's iPad Product Roadmap

Future Apple Products?


HD for Mobile needs a new connector


SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 14, 2010,– Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KSE: 005930, LSE-GDR: SMSN), Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIMG), Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and Toshiba Corporation (TSE:6502) today announced the formation of the MHL™ (Mobile High-Definition Link) Consortium to develop a new mobile audio/video interface standard for directly connecting mobile phones and other portable consumer electronics (CE) devices to high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and displays. The MHL standard features a single-cable with a low pin-count interface able to support up to 1080p high-definition (HD) video and digital audio while simultaneously providing power to the mobile device. The MHL Consortium is also announcing the availability of an abridged draft specification available for review at http://www.mhlconsortium.org.

The MHL Consortium was established by the Mobile High-Definition Interface Working Group announced on September 28, 2009 and is responsible for developing, licensing and promoting the new mobile connectivity technology as an industry standard open to anyone desiring to become an adopter and enabling the development of compliant mobile and display products across a broad connectivity ecosystem. Products implementing MHL technology will feature:

· HD Video and Digital Audio

Consumers will be able to display HD video content with up to 1080p picture quality and digital audio from their mobile device on an HDTV.

· Low Pin-Count Interface

HD video and digital audio is transmitted via a low pin-count interface simultaneously providing data, control and power, which allows mobile devices to maintain their small form factor and keep implementation costs low.

· Provision of Power to the Mobile Device

Digital HD content can be output from the mobile device over a single cable while power is provided to the device. For example, a mobile phone can play back a full-length movie on an HDTV without draining power, so when the playback is completed the mobile phone can continue to be used for other purposes, such as calls and emails.

· Content Protection

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) technologies protect high-value digital motion pictures, television programs and audio against unauthorized interception and copying.

For more information about the MHL Consortium, abridged draft specification and how to become an adopter, please visit http://www.mhlconsortium.org.


Sunday, April 11, 2010

Nokia to consider a tablet entry based on Google's Chrome OS??

Given the recent sour Apple attit-dude regarding Adobe and its Flash, this has got to be of interest?  


Nokia remains dominate in the world-wide market for feature phones as well as smart phones. They too have experimented with tablets and origami-phones. The Nokia N900 is one of those Finnish experiments that IMHO is offered up to generate social design?  Hosting Chrome into it is quite an interesting "home-brew". Symbian is now well into its conversion to open-source and this generation of OS is just now appearing in products.  Flash seems to have lost its ubiquitous welcome mostly due to that it is indeed a BIG stinky gorilla that no doubt would steal a couple of the Apple-cookies?  Recently I shifted from decade of Nokia smart-phones for an Google Nexus.  As one of the more topical smart-touch-phone entries I have mostly enjoyed its operation and capacity to connect to the Ethernet. But as as a phone, contact, and message manager Google's Android 2.1 missed the human-factors boat in important ways.  Nokia is far smarter in their OS and hardware design based on a deeper insight to the actual human process that has evolved in the common and albeit it, evolving use model for these all critical features.  What would be great is to suddenly find Nokia offering a Android handset that manages FLASH as well as a superior implementation of these core "smart-phone" qualities.  

Google Chrome for Nokia N900 now available for download

After the firefox now the fastest browser on Earth Google Chrome gets ported to Nokia N900. The Google Chrome aka Chromium is not officially ported by Google. This version is based on Debian 32 bit release. It works great and the flash content works very well too. The porting is done by JacekowskiThe browser have some small bugs. Hope there will be a more stable version soon. Read after the break for install instructions and download link.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Apple's iPhone has peaked....

A rather interesting set of commentary on Apple's agression on Adobie, HTC, and others... if you can not beat them litigate?

iPhone in Memoriam: A History from its Peak Moment of Success. But who copied whom?


I have seen enough of the numbers - as I reported before, the Christmas sales were brutal for the iPhone, the first sign of major trouble. The latest first-quarter 2010 numbers just reinforce that view. I am now ready to call it, Apple has peaked.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Android Market gets 9,000 new apps in...

Android Market gets 9,000 new apps in March, world domination can't be far behind


Wanna know what exponential growth looks like? Try following Android's progress over the past few months and you'll be treated to plenty of rapidly ascending charts. This latest one from AndroLib is no different, illustrating as it does the ever-increasing influx of new games and applications for Google's mobile platform. Developers must clearly believe Android's growing market share is only going to keep expanding, as last month saw their most productive output yet, with a sweet 9,308 new additions to the Market. Naturally, the same proviso applies as with Apple's inflated App Store numbers -- quantity does not guarantee quality -- but what we're witnessing is surely the solidification of Android as a legitimate and fully fledged member of the smartphone OS upper echelon. And that can only be a good thing.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

World Smartphone Applications Forcast


Application Downloads Pick Up Pace after Smartphone Sales Soar

Mobile Applications Market Data | The Mobile Consumer



SINGAPORE - April 5, 2010

Contact: Christine Gallen
Contact PR
www.abiresearch.com


ABI Research expects 2010 to be a big year for mobile application downloads, with just under 6 billion mobile applications forecast to be downloaded, up from an estimated 2.4 billion in 2009. The rapid adoption of smartphones, registering a sales growth of 20% in 2009, as well as the proliferation of application stores are the major drivers for this expansion. In addition, two new smartphone platforms will make their debut later this year; Samsung’s Bada OS and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series. Both platforms, similar to Apple’s, will have proprietary application stores and are racing to populate these stores with winning applications. 



 

“The iPhone will continue to be the leading app platform, with a database of over 125,000 applications offering niche and localized content,” says wireless research associate Bhavya Khanna. “Other platforms are still playing catch-up, with Android being the fastest gainer among them. ABI Research expects that with over 30,000 applications now available, over 800 million Android applications will be downloaded in 2010.” 

 

Revenues from mobile app sales, however, are expected to decline by 2012, as competition has led to downward pressure on application prices; and a greater proportion of “must-have” applications will begin to have free or advertising-supported substitutes. In addition, many handset makers such as Nokia, and Motorola with its Android handsets, have started to bundle applications that allow users to connect to popular social networks, instant messaging, and GPS services. 

 

According to Vice President of Forecasting Jake Saunders, “As competition heats up, app makers are both dropping prices and ‘going free’ to stay on top of the download charts.”

 

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.


Sunday, April 04, 2010

Michael Jones, Google’s Chief Technol...

A really neet meeting of mobile-place gypsies. Apparently this year around 1200 were paid guests. Indeed how far have we come spatially in the years since?
So a couple of the more interesting observations might include:

Michael Jones, Google’s Chief Technology Advocate. He didn’t unveil anything new, but had some impressive statistics:

• Google Earth has been installed by over 600 million people
• There are 500 billion photos online with no blurred faces, yet governments make them blur faces from a few hundred thousand StreetView photos.
• There are 350,000 websites powered by the Google Maps API, with many others that use it a little bit, like for an embedded map on their “contact” page.
• Google Maps is the second-largest map provider, behind only the collection of Google Maps API sites.
• There were more than 500 million map edits made by users in 2009
• More people use Google Earth on the iPhone than on the Mac. I’m not sure if that’s a plug for the iPhone or a dig at the Mac.


Thursday, April 01, 2010

MOBILE PHONE FINAL MARKET SHARES 2009

Repeat After Me: The Rival to the Blackberry is NOT the iPhone


MOBILE PHONE FINAL MARKET SHARES 2009

So, now we have the final numbers. And it looks like this for the top 10 biggest mobile phone handset makers for 2009. Note that these numbers (including last year's market shares) have been adjusted for the unlicensed ie pirated phones, so note, 'last year' numbers have also been adjusted. So I am not 'fiddling with the numbers' where earlier reports had Nokia 2008 market share at 39%, Samsung at 16%, Motorola at 9% etc. All have been adjusted to include the pirated phones.

Here are the final market share numbers for all top 10 biggest mobile phone manufacturers for 2009 including the 2008 market share in parenthesis:

1.   Nokia .............. Finland............432 million.....34%  (36%)
2.   Samsung..........South Korea.....227 million.....18%  (15%)
3.   LG....................South Korea.....118 million.....  9%  (7%)
4.   ZTE..................China.................60 million.......5%  (4%)
5.   SonyEricsson....Japan/Sweden....57 million......5%  (7%)

6.   Motorola............USA..................55 million.......4%  (8%)
7.   RIM...................Canada..............35 million......3%  (2%)
8.   Huawei..............China.................31 million......3%  (2%)
9 .  Sharp................Japan.................27 million......2%  (3%)
10. Apple.................USA..................25 milllion.......2%  (1%)

All other branded phones....................74 million.....6%  (6%)
Pirated 'unlicensed' phones..............120 million.....10%  (8%)

Total sales for 2009........................1,260 million (=1.26 Billion) (was 1.31B in 2008)