FriendCaller Blog

Apple has always been tight lipped about the launch of any of its devices. Since the release of its iPhone 4 back in June 2010, Apple has taken the longest time to finally announce the release of iPhone 5.

Tech world has been buzzing about the release of iPhone 5 since long. Lots of rumors came. Now, finally, the myth has been busted as Apple started sending out invitations for a mega press event to be held on Oct 4^th called ‘Let’s talk iPhone’.

According to analysts, Apple might unfold the release of it’s much talked about iPhone 5, iPhone 4S or both in this forthcoming media event.

So, how will the new version look like? As always, numerous speculations are circulating in the tech industry. Apparently, iPhone 5 is expected to have a sleek design, similar to iPhone 4 and a larger, curved screen display. With iOS 5 – a dual-core A5 processor, iCloud, 1 GB RAM, 4G network support and long battery life, we can expect a much better and faster version here.

When it comes to camera quality, that’s where Apple’s competitors like Android has outshined iPhone. With an expected 8 megapixel camera and a full 1080p Video recording features in iPhone 5, Apple will certainly taken a giant leap in terms of camera resolution, screen size and overall picture and video quality. Furthermore, enhanced FaceTime and Retina display features will definitely enthrall the iPhone users with an excellent Video calling experience.

Gone are the days when iPhone users had to bear the lack of multitasking feature in old iPhone models like 2G or 3G.  Apple’s recent models like 3GS and 4G give the users full liberty to multitask and iPhone 5 will be no different. It may also come with a new feature called ‘Assistant’, allowing the users to actually talk to their phones in real by enabling a number of voice-based commands. Pretty neat!

With Apple’s iOS 5 powered iPhone, expect a fully loaded Appstore with tons of exciting apps to choose from. Since our FriendCaller for iPhone app was listed amongst the top grossing apps of iTunes back in 2010, we are certainly looking forward to the release of much awaited iPhone 5 just like everybody else.

Developers are bugged everywhere, why? With iTunes’ latest In-App verification function giving out a 404 Not Found error, currently, In-App purchases cannot be processed. Apparently, lots of forged purchase attempts were being reported on Friday, leaving many developers in a state of complete fix.

Although the ‘Verify Receipt’ feature is optional, still many top apps solely depend on it. Many developers have reported countless fake purchase receipts entering the system after this critical iOS security failure, resulting in losing a lot of sales for their apps.

Recent stats reported by Verizon shows that approximately 72% of the revenue of iPhone apps comes from In-App purchases. Quite an amazing number isn’t it? No wonder developers from across the world are being disturbed by this recent glitch as they are left with no official resource to confirm the legitimacy of any In-App purchases.

From a developer’s point of view, this was an alarming situation for us as well. Since, our FriendCaller Pro app was amongst the top grossing apps of iTunes back in 2010 with over 4 million users worldwide, we were also concerned by the fact that lots of fake purchases are being made by unauthorized sources.

Not paying for the apps is similar to stealing a developer’s hard work. Since Apple insists on In-App purchasing as the only way to get access to countless apps, we are hopeful that this bug gets fixed soon.

An interesting question! Recently, Apple won a lawsuit against Samsung when an EU-wide ban on the release of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 was imposed by a Dutch court. Later on, the ban was lifted except in Germany. Similarly, Samsung filed a lawsuit against Apple in a French court on Tuesday over infringement of three of its patents in iPhone and iPad tablets.

So, what’s up with Apple fighting the release of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with all its might? Finally, I got my answer when I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 the other day. With Android dominating the smartphones’ market of today and Samsung using Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)  in its Galaxy tab, I must say Samsung surely knows how to play their cards right.

I have found Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 much better than Apple iPad 2, why? Well, apart from being more fast and light-weight, there’s a lot more to it that makes it a reliable choice. Here’s a brief comparison for you to decide for yourself that which one is better and why?

Gathering from these features, clearly, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 takes the lead here. I was glad to find out that Samsung Galaxy Tab comes with two cameras, an integrated phone and Adobe Flash support. Wow! With Android’s open source ecosystem, browsing is so much fun on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

What’s more thrilling for me was that fact that we tested our Android Video Calling BETA app on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and it worked, Great! Since, we are all set to upgrade our FriendCaller for Android app by adding the Video Calling feature; it was quite a delightful surprise with improved echo cancellation, no blurry video and crystal clear voice quality.

No wonder! Apple is not ready to give up on this patent dispute with Samsung. With so many great features to offer and an open source Android ecosystem, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is definitely a win!

Yes! Shocking but true. With Google taking the lead and Apple being the top manufacturer today in the Smartphone market, it’s getting more and more difficult for RIM’s BlackBerry to keep holding the grounds. Recent stats gathered by comScore shows that in July 2011, approximately 82.2 million people in the U.S own an Android or iPhone, thus showing a 10% increase as compared to April 2011.

Wow! In just 2 months time, the Smartphone market for Google and Apple has surely become gigantic. But for RIM BlackBerry smartphones, the stats are not that much promising. According to comScore, Google is ruling the market with 41.8% market share (gone up from 36.4% in April), while Apple lands on the second slot with 27% market share (gone up from 26%).

Now, where does RIM’s BlackBerry fit in? Well, frankly not anywhere near to Google and Apple. The market shares for BlackBerry smartphone dropped from 25.7% to 21.7% in a short span of just 3 months. Moreover, no new versions are coming up and the apps for BlackBerry have become stagnant with no latest updates at all. Pretty disturbing scenario for BlackBerry developers who have experienced this downfall in the past as well.

The data collected by comScore shows a clear downfall of RIM’s Blackberry in the smartphone market, how? According to the facts stated in the report, approximately 234 million Americans aged 13 or above own a mobile phone, not necessarily a smartphone. Samsung gets the lead here with a 25.5% share of U.S mobile subscribers as compared to LG and Motorola with 20.9% and 14.1% respectively. Apple gets the forth position with 9.5% of the total market. RIM lands on the 5^th spot with 7.6% market share. Not that impressive!

What will be the future of mobile market in the coming years? Well, it’s hard to predict. That’s why giving up on BlackBerry according to these facts and figures didn’t appeal us much. So, we are hopeful and our FriendCaller for BlackBerry app will soon be launched with all the latest VoIP features.

 Although there’s a rumor about Windows Phone taking over iOS by 2015, but this seems dubious to us even if it’s Nokia Windows Phone 7. As for now, Android and iPhone continue to dominate the Smartphone market. Let’s wait and watch what the future unfolds!

Well, this just keeps getting better and better! Just a year ago, we hit the 1 million user mark and were overwhelmed by the response FriendCaller got. Our journey didn’t end there and in less than 4 months, we expanded from 1 million to 1.5 million users worldwide.

By the start of this year, the 2 million users’ milestone was reached and now 4 million. Great! FriendCaller is everywhere. We are truly humbled.

So, what makes FriendCaller the topmost choice of more than 4 million users? With FriendCaller, we are focused on providing the best of browser-based VoIP solutions. The great response shown by our users has encouraged us to develop and improvise our VoIP apps with new and enhanced internet Telephony features.

Get instantly connected with your friends. Enjoy free Video calls and texts from FriendCaller to FriendCaller or call to landlines and mobile phones at extremely low call rates.

You can download many free apps and add calling credits to your account by using our ‘Offer Wall’. Besides our FriendCaller apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android, we are also working on creating a FriendCaller for BlackBerry app so stay tuned!

In 2010, our FriendCaller 3 Pro App was ranked amongst the top grossing apps in Apple iTunes Rewind by landing on the 5^th position and the best thing is that it’s still absolutely free.

Yes! We are celebrating and indeed proud of the landmark we have achieved in such a short span of time. Watch this space for more awesome FriendCaller features and apps to come!