Geared toward Omnia Smartphones

Guess what?! Samsung is going to open an App Store. Oh…really?

With all the app store openings of late, some might wonder when his or her next-door neighbor will open an app store for his lawnmower. Yet while “app store” is becoming as commonplace as the local Wal-Mart, Samsung hopes to capitalize on the good idea, essentially making it standard fare for all or many of their smartphones.

Opening day for Samsungapps.com is slated for September 14, and the site will first provide apps to the U.K., Italy, and France, with a couple dozen more countries to get access before the end of the year.

The apps are only designed for Samsung’s Omnia which is a rather impressive smartphone in its own right. While it’s no iPhone, it does boast a 5-megapixel camera (with video recording), spacious touchscreen, GPS capability, and all the Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities that you would expect from a decent smartphone. Unlike the iPhone, Samsung’s Omnia utilizes a MicroSD card for expansion and additional memory.

Every app store has to start somewhere, and Samsung plans to launch theirs with 300 applications ranging from games to business tools. In addition to the standard social networking portals, Omnia will have its own e-book reader, reference tools, time management software, and medical resources.

As more public and private developers get on board, Samsung expects to have more than 2,000 Omnia apps in the next four months. Already, big name developers like Electronic Arts, TAITO, and Capcom are producing software for the device, with more expected as the Omnia grows in popularity. In an effort to lure additional developers, Samsung has hosted contests and developer sites to gain even more apps. It’s no secret that the part of the iPhone’s success is their pioneering of the app store concept.

While it may not be the first company to realize the power of app stores, Samsung may be the company which is most aggressively using the tool to their advantage. The Omnia app store is not their first effort. Since Samsung is the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, having a garden of app stores for its phones isn’t just a good idea; it’s indispensable. A smartphone quickly loses its “smart” without a host of apps to choose from.

Thus, while yet another app store launch may very well be ho-hum, you might as well get used to it. Every smartphone needs one.

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You’d figure that it being so long ago since man stepped foot on the moon, that Mars would follow soon after. Of course, it’s not that simple as any space expert will tell you. We do dare to dream though, and now if everything goes to plan we’ll realize this dream faster with the help of Russia. And vice versa.

It was announced today by NASA Moscow that they’ve invited Russia to work together on a manned flight to Mars.

The decision came by way of the achievements that the International Space Station has been able to make, and could more beneficial to use a multinational crew. NASA and Russia would be under control of the mission and would include other international space agencies.

Again, this is something quite far into the future. But working together a launch date would easily be seen sooner, rather than later.

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It’s funny and at the same time tragic how we’ve utilized technologies throughout human history. We discovered the atom, and created a massive weapon with it. Then with the internet, a truly technological evolution, and the most we can think to use it for is porn and social media.

If it doesn’t make you laugh to think about it, it can get you down. That’s why it’s so refreshing to read a story like this. Where we can see our technological advances served for the betterment of mankind.

If you have pacemaker, or know of anyone who has one then you know what a pain they can be. Having to be examined when going in for a checkup. Then if a problem is detected, oh boy, it gets really fun.

Well, there looks to be a shining light against the problems of pacemakers. Because, the first internet connected pacemaker is hooked up, and online. The device is hooked up to a New York woman, and so far things are looking good.

Her pacemaker is setup on a special medical frequency, as not to interfere with other electronic devices. The internet connection provides her doctor with easy notification of any problems. Also, her checkups can be done remotely through the device’s equipment.

As I stated previously, it’s so amazing to see our technologies used for the advancment of something beneficial. If you are a pacemaker owner, or know someone who has one I’d love to hear your input about this invention.

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According to sources, Apple’s App Store has rejected one of the newest Google innovations. From one popular tech news source, Apple is “rotten to the core” for stiffing “one of the best things to happen to telephony services in a very long time.”

One Google representative remarked, “We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users — for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.” But apparently not Apple’s.

Google Voice, is a new-and-improved online telephone service. One of its best features is that it assimilates all of a user’s numbers into one single phone number. Talk about simplifying things. If a caller dials your home, office, cell phone, or any one of your other phones, you can still take the call anywhere you want. Google voice offers dozens of other features like call screening, listen in, phone forwarding, voicemail transcripts, conference calls, voicemail sharing, SMS notifications, caller-personalized greetings, and a bunch of other things that only Google would think of.

Google Voice, for all its power, seems like a natural choice for an iPhone app. After all, with thousands of cheap, useless, and error-riddled apps in the App Store, why not let Google’s get by? From Apple’s perspective, Google Voice is a mere replication of the iPhone’s major features.

But “mere replication” doesn’t quite describe Google Voice. The problem is deeper than mimicked features. It’s called the elimination of competition. It is far more likely that the blame for the rejection lies at the feet of AT&T, not some ornery Apple techie angrily clicking “no” on a new app submission. It’s true; Google Voice offers features—like talking to people on a virtual phone—that, according to one source, would ‘compete with the services that AT&T charges for.’

Google Voice seems like an injurious blow to the service of a carrier like AT&T, which already offers SMS messages, voicemail, etc.—features which Google Voice provides for free, plus a whole lot more.

But does this come as a surprise? Apple has the prerogative over which apps they say “yes” or “no” to. If it hurts biz then, hey, why offer it as an app? But will it hurt business? Maybe it will hurt business in a way that Apple doesn’t anticipate. The rejection of Google Voice, and any other forthcoming apps with similar services, may steer potential iPhone buyers away from the iPhone and toward competition phones like the Palm, or Android devices. Now that would hurt.

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