The free app has launched on iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. In just a few quick taps I was able to see a listing of the departure time for trains from my local station. The only thing it didn’t tell me, was what track I needed to be waiting on. I can understand why they might have decided to leave this out of the app, as the track can often change at the last minute. However, it is the one key thing that everyone is fighting to see when they get to the station. You can see the track listed under the Union Station info, but it’s missing when I look up a specific train/station departure.

If you live in Ontario, more specifically, in the GTA – and you use the train a little or a lot, this is a handy app to have on your device!

Apple has released v5.01 of iOS that addresses the battery problems that many have been reporting, along with improved voice recognition for Australian users, multitasking gestures for the iPad, and some bugs. The overall update was 45MB and the process was pretty smooth. My device was connected over WiFi and pulled the update in about 2 minutes. A quick install and reboot and it was all over.

The first thing you need to do, is have iOS 5 installed on your device. Version 5 adds support for Over-The-Air updates. If you don’t have iOS5, you’ll have to download and update using iTunes on your computer.

To kick off the update, simply launch Settings, and tap on General / Software Update. The phone will automatically check for any updates and walk you through the process of downloading and installing. As with any software update, you should make sure your device has been backed up – iCloud backup is great for this, and has a full charge on the battery, or at least plug it in. That’s all you have to do. Happy updating!

Got yourself an iPhone 4s? Or maybe a Galaxy S II? Ever wonder what would happen if you dropped it on concrete? Actually, it’s not hard to predict the outcome. Samsung has outfitted the Galaxy S II line of devices with Dow Corning’s Gorilla Glass to help resist against any scratches or cracks. For the record, Gorilla Glass doesn’t prevent damage, it just reduces the chance of damage. It’s still possible to break the glass. Apple did have a scratch resistant screen prior to the 4 series, and maybe it’s still present on todays devices. However, with the glass going right to the edge of the phone, it introduces an increased chance of damage when dropped. And there’s no end to the tweets and posts about broken screens on the iPhone 4.

The above images are the before shots. You’ll have to watch the video to see the results. Take a view and share your thoughts.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Pros- Genuine leather feels and smells great, phone can be inserted from either end, price is great, 2 screen shields are included.

Cons- No back protection is included.

Overall the Duo case is an excellent choice for those who like “sleeve” style cases. Check it out at Switcheasy’s website, or one of the many online resellers who carry their products.

For those of you who don’t know me, I have been doing video reviews for over 2 years now on YouTube. I’m Canadian, and I live in Southern Ontario. I work as a Head Cook in a small family restaurant. I’ve been interested in technology and mobile devices for most of my life and I’m excited to be joining the team to share my thoughts with you.

Thanks to the team here at MobileJaw for having me. I’m looking forward to working with you.
If you have any questions please feel free contact me at; uncletone99@gmail.com

Watch this video on YouTube.

Apple shipped 20.3 million iPhones becoming the largest mobile hardware manufacturer and holding a market share of 19%. Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform launched last October has sold 1.5 millions units and sits with about 1% of the market. Microsoft is clearly hoping that the Mango update combined with Nokia devices can start to change those numbers for the better. RIMs market share slipped to 12% from 33% just a year ago. The majority of that collapse is focused on North American, as their global shipment numbers indicate a growth of 11%.

Android and Apple are currently the clear winners in the mobile space, and I’m certain that RIM, Nokia, and Microsoft aren’t going to sit idly by and watch their market share dry up. RIM needs to ship OS7 and present a clear new direction in order to win over the new mobile customer. Nokia needs to get something out on the carriers shelves that people want to buy – and hopefully soon. Microsoft needs to step up the pace and crank out the updates to Windows Phone while turning up the marketing to help gain awareness for the platform – Windows Phone continues to receive rave reviews from the media. With new hardware and refreshed marketing budget, perhaps they can pull up from the bottom hangout among the leaders once again. You can read the full announcement from Canalys in the newsroom on their website.

There are 2 main ways for devices to update their clocks. Older Windows Mobile based devices would have a system event that would fire off at a given date/time and automatically update the clock. The problem with this, is that it requires an update to the device if there is every a change to the start or end of DST, as was the case back in 2007 when most of the United States and Canada switched to the first Sunday in March and November. The other way to handle a DST change is through time synchronization with the network. This requires a data connection on the device and removes the reliance on the device storing the physical date and time. Of course, this introduces a problem with updating when there is no data connection.

The best solution is somewhere in between. Since many devices already receive the correct time and date information from the cellular network making travelling easy and DST changes are powered by the cellular network. Of course, adding in a local element would mean you can safely cover off if no cellular connection is available.

My iPhone currently doesn’t have an active cellular connection. It’s in airplane mode, so the radio is turned off, but I have enabled the WiFi and it’s connected to my network. My iPhone 4 running 4.3, has not picked up on the DST change and is still showing the time as being off by an hour. If I check under settings, the date and time are configured with “Set automatically” to On. So time sync on the iPhone is somehow different than the iPod Touch?

For my Windows Phone 7 device, it has an active cellular data connection and when I awoke on Sunday, it had correctly updated the time. That’s exactly what we want to see, so great job! But, sadly it didn’t stay that way. At some point later in the day, my phone had jumped back an hour. Checking the settings, it clearly shows that the date and time are configured to set automatically. I watched the time jump around a couple different times during the day. Each time, it would switch between being in Eastern and Central time zone. Although, I can guarantee that I’m no where need the central time zone. So as the day came to an end, I have to decide if my device can successfully know the correct time come morning or will my alarm be going off at the wrong time? In the end, I switched off the automatic update and manually set things to Eastern.

The end result of all this? While connected devices are awesome, nothing beats a $5 alarm clock from Wal-Mart.

But there was no mention of why so many people still have not seen the pre-update. The only hint to this was that some carriers may choose to bundle multiple updates together into one release. Does that mean I should stop checking for updates on my Samsung Focus? Or does that mean that the rolling schedule still hasn’t hit the AT&T Samsung Focus?

Does this change my post from earlier today that questions if Microsoft has what it takes to compete in todays mobile universe? Not at all. It’s great that they have finally decided to talk and share with the public what is going on behind the scenes. That’s a significant improvement. However, there is still a large question around Microsoft’s ability to execute in a timely fashion. Consumers what to see action tied to the talk. Apple managed to announce the next release and the release it within one weeks time. Microsoft announced that the pre-update was available and over 2 weeks later very few people have actually seen the update on their phone. I get that Apple has less to test since it’s one hardware platform and one manufacturer, but we’re talking release announcements here. All the testing was done prior to Microsoft announcing the pre-update on February 21st.

Anyway, give it a read and share with me your thoughts. I think it’s great that they are finally speaking – even if it’s a little late in the game. The question becomes, can then continue to be open and share the details? Can they, not just talk about it, but actually do it in a reasonable timeframe? All eye’s are watching. It might not be fair, but Microsoft is the underdog and they need to kick it into gear and show the mobile world that they are serious.

Since Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7, they’ve been fighting an uphill batter to gain mindshare among the consumer market and prove that they are a force to be reckoned with. But the truth may not be there just yet. Back at the launch, Joe Belfiore promised that an update would be release for Windows Phone 7 in early 2011 that would bring Copy & Paste to the platform. Then a couple months later at CES, Steve Ballmer committed to the Copy & Paste update being released at some point in Q1. Then on February 21st, Microsoft released a pre-update update. This was designed to prepare the device for future updates that would be pushed out. This update was suppose to be delivered on a “rolling schedule” although nobody seems to know what that schedule is.

(Image Curtsey of ZDnet)

And here we sit, two and a half weeks after the pre-update was to be released, and still a great number of devices have yet to received this update. The update itself doesn’t mean much, but the fact that a large number of devices have yet to receive this update is speaking volumes with the community.

Microsoft needs to move quickly and pump out the updates driving their platform forward and adding features at a crazy rate. It’s something I’ve said since the day Windows Phone 7 launched, and all eye’s are watching. Sadly, that’s just not what the public is seeing. It’s been just over 5 months since launch and the public has yet to see updates rolled out in any sort of mass release. And what makes it worse, is that Microsoft hasn’t managed to provide any communication to the public. All the community knows is that the update started to go out back on February 21st and that it hasn’t hit them yet – not a good feeling.

While Microsoft struggles to get these two updates out and prove that they are moving quick in this new mobile world, Apple manages to release 5 updates since the end of October. Does anyone else think that’s just a coincidence? I sure don’t. To me, it looks like Apple is doing all they can to keep the updates flowing and keep the consumers thinking about the iPhone.

Today is a prime example of how Microsoft is stumbling out of the gate. Apple announced the latest update v4.3 to their iOS a week and a half after Microsoft announce the pre-update update was going live. Today, Apple made that update available, and earlier this evening I was already able to upgrade my device. Announced after Microsoft’s availability and rolled out / installed before Microsoft gets the update to me. Shines a pretty big light on the sad state of affairs at Microsoft. There’s no doubt that they have the knowledge to get things done, but they are certainly lacking the drive and openness in communication to drive excitement and build customer loyalty.

I hope Microsoft is paying attention and can see that they are losing it in the publics eye. Of course, that’s only half the battle. They would then need to pull up their socks and get things moving out the door at a breakneck speed. As it stands now, there should be 2 updates heading to my device before the end of the month. Based on the success of the first update, I don’t expect much before the middle of April.

At the same time, Android surpassed Apple and Nokia’s Symbian as the most widely adopted mobile platform. While that’s great news for Google and Android fans. Apple, Nokia, Microsoft and RIM aren’t going to sit still. With this market growing to pass the desktop market, everyone will be gunning to get a lion’s share of it. It wasn’t too long ago that Symbian and RIM owned the mobile market. All that’s changed  and it looks like 2011 will be a fierce battle for dominance. I can’t wait!!

(Source = Financial Times)