Facebook sees 600,000 drop in UK users in December

The UK could be falling out of love with Facebook if the latest figures are to be believed, suggesting a 600,000 strong exodus from the social network in December.

Although it's normal for there to be a dip in December usage, the UK was the only country of the top ten Facebooking territories to see a significant drop over Christmas.

That's according to Social Bakers' stats - and it's worth bearing in mind that figuring Facebook user data from outside of Facebook itself is a dark art and rarely completely accurate.

Rocky road

However, the downward trajectory in Facebooking Brits seems to be a theme across the last three months.

What does it all mean? Well, it could be that the stiff upper lip is back and we're choosing to ditch Facebook in favour of hand-written letters and photo albums.

More likely is that Facebook is approaching saturation point in the UK - the only way used to be up, now it could be that the only way is down. The USA, Facebook's biggest territory, also saw a negative change but it was down by less than half a per cent, as opposed to the UK's shedding of 1.86 per cent.

Either way, faux pas like Facebook's little Instagram terms mishap won't help those wavering about whether to ditch the 'Book. Luckily for Zuck and co, fear of missing out will keep a lot of us in place.

Perhaps today's little Facebook get together will tempt some of those 600,000 users back - after all, who can resist the promise of social search

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iPhone 6 Details, Release Date Leaked

Forget the iPhone 5S, next June may see the launch of the iPhone 6.The iPhone 6 or the iPhone 5S, whatever Apple ends up calling it, is said by one Wall Street observer to be coming out during the June of next year.

The handset will include a “super HD camera and screen, come with a stronger batter and NFC (near field communication). Also, the iPhone 5S/6 will be released in a rainbow assortment of colors. At least 6-8 different colors according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek.

Misek sent a note to analysts this morning reading:

       Several iPhone 6 prototypes appear to be floating around. The model with a 4.8″ screen is the most interesting. It has a Retina+ IGZO screen, a new A7 quad-core processor variant, and a new form factor with no home button. Full gesture control is also possibly included.

       Apple is switching up from its annual release schedule most likely due to increased competition. In addition, it must be difficult for them to hold back and keeping the majority of their sales in the last quarter. Independent analyst Horace Dediu explains:

       Too many potential buyers are now conditioned to wait for fall buy iPhones thus sapping demand for half the year. Apple ends up with an inability to meet demand for half the year and a sales lull for the other half.

In November, a Chinese publication said that the next iPhone would be going into Trail production this month. Previously we had reports coming out of Asia of the new iPhone coming out in mid-2013 from chip and parts orders, but now we have business analysts saying the same on this continent.

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LG Tab Book

This new hybrid is a cross over between a tablet and a ultrabook (like the name suggests). The LG Tab book H160 will have the following specifications – Intel Atom Z2760 Clover Trail processor, 2GB RAM, 64GB solid state disk, Intel core i5, 11.6 inch IPS display of 1366 x 768 pixels resolution, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI output, a microSD card slot and USB port. Sounds pretty good.

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Consider This Before You Migrate to Windows 8

There always seems to be something new in the computing world. Is it a novelty that will make your life a little more convenient, or something that affects business overall?

There always seems to be something new in the computing world. Is it a novelty that will make your life a little more convenient, or something that affects business overall? Let’s be honest this is not 

Windows 7.  The decision to migrate to Windows 8 requires significant consideration and evaluation.  What is Microsoft’s goal with Windows 8?  The adoption of one common operating system on the PC, tablet and personal data assistant.  Ambitious yes but the concept has great potential if your focus is simplification.  Yes, simplification something all business and IT departments greatly desire.  The question becomes what should your business consider before planning a migration to Windows 8. 

Before moving forward you should develop and consider a list of benefits.  Do those benefits translate into a tangible return on investment, increase efficiency and productivity?  Take the time to solicit the thoughts and feedback of the management team.  Obtaining counsel from other key leaders of the business is always beneficial.  Keep in mind what IT perceives as a benefit can be subjective and needs to be further vetted.  To help get you started below is a list of a few potential benefits:

"Having a strategic initiative to simplify your IT 

ecosystem can result in lower cost and improve 

employee efficiency." Matthew Ramsey, Senior IT 

Strategist"

Common Interface:  As mentioned above imagine the concept of all employees having the same operating systems interface for:  PCs, tablets and personal data assistants.  There is a strong case to be made for this concept.  Having a strategic initiative to simplify your IT ecosystem can result in lower cost and improve employee efficiency.

Socially Engineered:  If your organization is active in engaging social mediums such as Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook; Windows 8 definitely has strong possibilities.  Windows 8 embraces social technology and collaboration allowing a more holistic view of your contacts. 

Microsoft Office:  While there have been numerous challengers to Microsoft Office very few if any have made significant advancements in market share.  As part of analyzing the benefits you should consider how the Microsoft Surface might be a factor.  The Surface comes standard with Microsoft office which should not be overlooked.  This could potentially be an advantage for companies who have large remote work-forces that use tablets. 

Risk

Application compatibility is a key element in the decision making progress.  The big question is whether or not your existing applications are compatible with Windows 8.  To help you get started you can use Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant.  This feature is included with Windows 8 and will help you asses each application.  Revamping business applications can be costly so understanding the level of risk is essential in the decision making process. 

Investment

If you determine the benefits are compelling start formulating an investment profile.  In other words what kind of capital investment will be required to migrate to Windows 8?  Take the time to look at a Windows 8 deployment from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective.  After a thorough assessment you may find that Windows 8 has the potential to work well within your organization.

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iPhone 6 Concept Renders Released

We still don’t know what Apple’s next mobile handset will be but we have an idea of how it might look thanks to some new concept renders.

Mashable spotted the new renders from Italian designer, Federico Ciccarese, who let loose a series of shots for what he envisions could be the new iPhone 6.

Federico based his design on a modified version of the iPod Nano and the OS is a mix of iOS and the Mac’s OS X. You can check out the renders below.

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Apple Could Sell 50 Million iPhones in First Quarter

Apple is always under the business microscope, with analysts always chiming in on Apple’s potential forecasts. A new report suggests that Apple could have moved more than 50 million iPhones during the first fiscal quarter.

According to BGR, Rob Cihra of Evercore Partners has a good and highly positive outlook for Apple’s business. Ahead of reports scheduled to go public on January 23rd, Cihra believes that Apple will post numbers around the 50 million mark for iPhone handsets shipped during the first quarter.

There’s an estimated 35% year-over-year growth expected, and an 86% increase compared to the previous quarter. Also, thanks to the release of the iPad Mini, the tablet SKUs are expected to come in at around 24 million moved throughout the quarter.

For now, these are just estimates but it’s entirely possible, thanks to the launch of the iPhone 5 in more than 100 countries that 50 million SKUs shipped during the first quarter is a complete possibility.

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