I couldn’t care less about the cider, instead I am glad to see Carlsberg is continuing its long tradition of innovative TV ads, even if it is at the expense of Apple. Check it out.

Video Post

Late last night, news of another Apple acquisition hit the wires, with the company putting a reported $20 million to capture indoor navigation company WiFiSLAM. It demonstrates Apple’s commitment to making it’s mapping services better, but to me signals an intent to make one of its under-appreciated apps a lot more useful — and that’s Passbook.

On AngelList, WiFiSLAM describes itself thusly:

Allow your smartphone to pinpoint its location (and the location of your friends) in real-time to 2.5m accuracy using only ambient WiFi signals that are already present in buildings.

We are building the next generation of location-based mobile apps that, for the first time, engage with users at the scale that personal interaction actually takes place. Applications range from step-by-step indoor navigation, to product-level retail customer engagement, to proximity-based social networking.

This is actually something that Nokia, Samsung, Sony and a number of other major smartphone manufacturers are currently working together to improve (not forgetting Google, which is also busy mapping indoor spaces for Google Maps). In August, those three companies formed an alliance seeking to improve and drive market adoption of location-based indoor positioning services and technologies.

Of course, indoor positioning will feed into Apple’s Maps app, but I believe it’s Passbook where WiFiSLAM’s technology will get the chance to shine. Integrating technology that can pinpoint a user’s positon accurate to 2.5 metres will not only allow Apple to serve more relevant location data, it can open up a new way for retailers to effectively market to or incentivise potential customers.

In iOS 6, Passbook works by allowing iOS users to download or output a Passbook file that will reside inside a digital wallet. Apple allows Passbook passes to be activated by time, but also location, so it can pop-up on your lockscreen when you are near a sports arena, shop or another relevant location. However, prompts are often sensitive to a radius of 25-50 metres or so (correct me if I am wrong).

With WiFiSLAM, Apple is able to pinpoint locations inside areas that lack adequate mobile signal, but it can provide a way for the same retailer to target consumers when they enter specific areas of a store. Suddenly, a man can be notified that his Passbook pass can be redeemed on the Sports floor, or a woman’s voucher can be used to shave some money off products in the female-centric aisles in a supermarket.

It’s a very simple way of looking at it, but it shows that Apple is intent on developing its indoor positioning technology, even if it does it behind closed doors and away from its biggest rivals. Nokia often sees the writing on the wall way ahead of the competition (think Navteq and its mapping apps) but there’s a lot of innovation to be had in this space, regardless of who was first to dedicate itself to it.

Image Credit: jpellgren/Flickr

After nearly four years at The Next Web, I have decided to take on a new challenge.

I have joined the fine folks over at The Verge, as the latest member of its flourishing UK team, reporting on the news and other technology-related stories each and every day.

I leave The Next Web having made firm friends, and I relish taking on my former colleagues in my new role, seeing how things operate from the other side of the fence.

I’m very excited to work alongside the sharp minds at The Verge, learning new things as I go and taking my work to a new audience.

Make sure you update your address books, you can now find me at matt.brian@theverge.com.

And if I haven’t worked with you, hit me up.

Image Credit: marcs-album/Flickr

Sony’s new Xperia Z smartphone is set to launch in the UK at the end of February (it is already available to preorder). In a Samsung-like marketing campaign, Sony decided to blitz the first eight pages of the Metro newspaper, as shown below.

Now you know why some early reviews started appearing yesterday.

(Thanks @Paulston)

For the last six or seven days, I have been tinkering around with a Google Chromebook sent to me by the press team at Google UK. While many technology bloggers decided to take the plunge and stump up the cash for a new model, I decided I would go down the loaner route and assess whether it could replace or assist me in supplement working from my aging MacBook Pro.

I spend a lot of time in Chrome. The browser is fast (albeit a little buggy), I use various plugins for productivity and research, and its synchronization features are superb. These points alone make using a Chromebook a very viable option.

Priced at £199, the Acer’s hardware is lacking compared to the £1300+ MacBook Pro, but you’d expect that. My first reactions when I started using the Acer were that the trackpad and the keyboard keys lacked sensitivity, offered increased resistance and poor feedback when typing.

However, when you use the Chromebook extensively, those grumbles become more of a minor inconvenience. While you’ll love to get back in front of your more expensive notebook, there’s nothing stopping the Acer, at least, becoming a very useful tool in your computing arsenal.

When it comes to software – if you have experience using Chrome and you (mostly) enjoy it, you’ll be right at home. The Chromebook will automatically attach itself to your Chrome settings, bookmarks and passwords and allow you to get up and running in a snap.

I’ve had a few issues thus far, and for me, they could be dealbreakers if I can’t find a fix.

One issue is a lack of notifications. Trawling Google’s support pages has not allowed me to find a way to enable them on web apps like Tweetdeck, despite activating options in Chrome’s settings and toggling Tweetdeck’s settings on and off in order to help Chrome OS register it.

I imagine there is a probably a small setting or a slight modification I need to make in order to get it working, but Google’s hands-off approach in its Chrome OS platform hinders any progress I try to make.

The second issue appears related to the first, in that extensions are behaving strangely. Alerts don’t display when they should and settings are often not remembered. It doesn’t stop me from posting stories to The Next Web, but it could be frustrating if I intended on using the Acer C7 as a blogging machine.

Can the Acer C7 become a blogging machine? As it is, no. The Acer Chromebook is 11.6 inches and, to me, it feels to small to be able to balance on my lap or use at my desk as a daily driver. However, my week with it has seriously made me consider whether a Chromebook (no matter the model) could be a apt replacement for my MacBook Pro.

There’s no way I would want to be without a Mac, so perhaps it would better suit me if I used a desktop computer (an iMac possibly) and used a Chromebook when I am on the go.

I am a big fan of using my iPad mini and Apple’s Wireless Keyboard on the road, it is the perfect lightweight note-taking tool. However, if I need to do anything more intensive, the Chromebook could fill that gap.

Speaking to friends who have made the jump to a Chromebook, the Samsung Series 3 appears to be the way to go. While the Samsung is just a small as the Acer, it may just have the hardware edge that seals the deal.

I intend on visiting a local retailer to try it out, and if it impresses, really asking some serious questions about what I would do when my MacBook Pro eventually decides it has had enough.

Image Credit: Ready Set Monday!/Flickr

Amazon Prime has been available in the UK since 2007 but until recently, I hadn’t even considered signing up for the £49 service. I wasn’t buying much from the retail site and didn’t want to put down money that could be used elsewhere.

However, with the decision to invest in speccing out my ailing MacBook Pro, the free one-month Prime trial suddenly looked all that more inviting. Knowing I wouldn’t have to wait 3-5 days for delivery, I signed up and forgot about it.

In a sneaky move, Amazon didn’t warn me the trial period was running out, meaning around 31 days later, I checked my bank balance and saw a full year Prime subscription had been debited from my account. The problem is, since then I have been finding any excuse to add things to my Wish List and in three months I have ordered more than I had previously purchased in more than a year.

This, of course, is what Amazon wants – but until I got Prime, I didn’t realise just how useful it is.

A lot of talk is reserved for what Amazon is doing in the hardware and digital space, but even with tablets, apps and video services, it all leads back to Amazon.co.uk (or Amazon.com in the US).

The scale of Amazon’s product listings are staggering. Earlier in the week, I found myself Googling for the lowest price of a Wingstand, an Apple keyboard clip for iPhone and iPad that originated as a Kickstarter project and was listed in this month’s TNW Magazine.

Instinctively, I pulled out my iPhone, opened Amazon’s app and searched for the accessory. Not only did it list it, it was the cheapest by a few pounds, and it could have it delivered to me tomorrow. It’s almost as good as jumping in the car and going to the local shopping center to pick it up yourself. You just can’t argue with that.

In the UK, we don’t have as many services covered by a Prime subscription — it’s actually a bit of a rip that US customers get Amazon Prime Video and their UK counterparts don’t get a free LoveFilm subscription — but the ‘free’ next-day delivery cannot be bettered.

I’m willing to pay the extra to get a Prime-eligible product dispatched to me quicker — much to Amazon’s delight — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Image Credit: nomadic_lass/Flickr

Spending most of my day sat down, hammering away at my keyboard, I often have to input the same phrases, addresses, phone numbers and other pieces of random information over and over again.

My Mac comes with a default text-replacement tool, but that is limited to certain Mac apps. Looking for a more universal solution, I downloaded a trial for TextExpander — a text expansion tool available via the developer’s website or the Mac App Store — and immediately began to love its simple operation, effortlessly replacing a custom shortcut with the phrases or text I had previously set.

Having used the app for a period of time and wanting to give back to the developer (Smile), I went to purchase the app – but there was a problem.

The price.

For an app that handles no more than five of my text shortcuts, TextExpander costs a stunning £24.49 ($34.95). I’m not short of money (I’m not exactly flush with cash either) but for the same cost, I could take my family out to the Zoo for the day (and I would certainly enjoy it more).

Instead of laying the money down, I searched around for similar apps to TextExpander. Within minutes, I came upon TypeIt4Me – an app that appeared to work almost identically to the app I had been previously using and came in at almost a tenth of the cost at £2.99 ($4.99).

I downloaded the trial, and sure enough, TypeIt4Me does everything that TextExpander is able to (minus mobile support) and I would even go as far to say that it is a tiny bit quicker.

Part of me feels bad that Smile is losing out on my custom, despite winning me over with its demo version. However, I want value for my money, and TextExpander (in my view) doesn’t offer that.

Using text expansion tools has helped me no end. If you haven’t used one (on your Mac), then check out the links below (disclosure: affiliate links).

➤  TextExpander | TypeIt4Me

Image Credit: CamKnows/Flickr

Last week, The Next Web posted an in-depth story  on what we believed would be unveiled at Google’s Android event, scheduled for Monday. We had received information from within Google itself.

While the event was cancelled, the announcements still went out as planned.

This is how we fared.

Confirming leaks from various inventory systems and advertisements in both the US and the UK, Google will release a 32GB variant of the Nexus 7. However, our source also tells us that there will be a second 32GB variant that will offer HSPA+ (3G) support, allowing users to take the tablet on their travels.

Confirmed.

Google has also been working with Samsung to launch a 10-inch tablet, confirming leaks which suggested Google had teamed up with the Korean manufacturer for another device. Our source tells us that internally the tablet goes under the name “Codename Manta”, runs Google’s new Android 4.2 operating system (previously referred to as Key Lime Pie, but is set to retain the Jelly Bean branding), and will offer a 2560×1600 pixel (16:10) resolution, which we believe will offer around 300 pixels per inch (PPI) compared to the new iPad’s 264 PPI.

Confirmed.

Google will launch the LG Nexus 4, featuring a quad-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon processor, 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 display, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (and 1.3-megapixel front-facing snapper) and a 2100mAh battery.

The LG Nexus 4 will also be powered by Google’s new Android 4.2 software.

Confirmed.

Speaking of the OS itself, we have some details on that too. It has been confirmed that as part of Android 4.2, Google will introduce ‘Content in the center,’ which will allow users to access Play Store content from a widget and ‘Tablet Sharing’ which will suit families and enterprise users, providing them with a simple and easy to switch between several users on a tablet, each with their own email and apps.

Think Windows user switching, but now on Android.

Our source says that Android 4.2 will compete with Apple’s iOS 6, in that the panoramic camera settings will be updated to support both horizontal and vertical movement by default.

Confirmed.

Facebook might not be my cup of tea, but my wife uses it every day for mother and baby groups, allowing her to buy and sell toys and clothes for my two boys.

The other day, she came across a post by one of her mummy friends, which suggested a neat way to make bath time more fun. Basically, it involves putting down a whole English pound and buying yourself a pack of glowsticks from your nearest pound (or 99p) store.

Open the pack, click the glowsticks so they activate the gel inside and then throw them in the bath. Turn off the lights and show the kids the brilliant disco bath you have run for them.

Both boys went to bed saying “Thank you!” to my wife and I this evening – our job was done (at least for today).

My MacBook Pro has served me well. Bought in mid-2010, it first assisted me in maintaining the website and designing things for my old employer.

Six months after that, my part-time gig at The Next Web blew up. I was suddenly a full-time blogger, taking my MacBook Pro all over the UK and Europe, using it to file superfast reports on the very latest developments in the technology industry.

With an Intel i5 processor, 4GB RAM and 300GB hard drive, it was enough but it wasn’t what I was able to call a battlestation. When opening Chrome, resizing images and switching between tabs to be the first to publish, it was noticeably laggy and I often found myself at the mercy of the spinning beachball.

Apple’s focus has shifted over the years and now all of its devices are shifting towards solid state drives and all sorts of digital fanciness. I’d skipped the MacBook Air and I certainly didn’t have the money for a new Retina MacBook Pro, but I had to do something.

Over the last week I made sure I did.

Armed with some feedback from Twitter, colleagues and friends, I jumped on to Amazon.co.uk (with a free one-month Prime membership) and set about ordering what I hoped would breathe some life back into my ageing MacBook Pro.

This included:

• A new battery (Model A1321)
• 8GB RAM
• Kingston V+200 120GB SSD
• Hard drive caddy

Last night I spent a couple of hours installing the parts, taking time to remove the optical bay (DVD drive) and replacing it with the new SSD drive. By doing this, I can continue to utilise the old hard drive and keep my old photos, music and media without filling the faster SSD drive.

Once it was all fixed in place (it’s a fiddly process, I won’t lie), I cloned the old hard drive, copying the data over to access my applications and important system files. Then I set the Mac to automatically boot from my new SSD drive, rebooted and waited.

I didn’t have to wait long – Mountain Lion booted in less than 7 seconds (probably took between 20-30 seconds before). Cloning the hard drive might not have been the best approach as I had to set up my apps again, but it gave me the chance to start fresh and set up my Mac with far less bloat.

I’m at the point where I can load 10-15 apps in a matter of seconds when I hit their dock icons, Chrome is snappy (for once) and everything is a whole lot faster.

Many people said “welcome to the future” when I tweeted news of my upgrade. I think those words describe the experience perfectly, it’s like having a brand new Mac.

(Oh, and it cost me less than £130 – I consider that a major win.)

Image Credit: Marcus Crafter/Flickr