Google's Pixel 2 Better Than Apple's New iPhones In One Important Way

Google’s single-lensed Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones have shot straight to the top of DxOMark’s camera benchmark charts, beating the iPhone 8 Plus and the Galaxy Note 8, both of which feature dual cameras.

With an overall score of 98 points, the Google Pixel 2 stands a full four points clear of the iPhone 8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8, now tied for second place. We were always expecting strong camera performance from Google, especially given the stunning results from the original Pixel, but its results are especially impressive given that it manages to do with a single camera what competitors can only do with two.

Google

The Google Pixel 2 Camera

One of the standout features of the Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus was ‘portrait mode’ which enables softly blurred backgrounds which make the subject really pop from your images similar to results from a DSLR camera. This feature was refined and improved in the iPhone 8 Plus and it matched by a similar feature in the Galaxy Note 8.

All of these smartphones rely on comparing and merging the images from two discrete cameras in order to calculate a 3D depth map of the scene. What’s unique about the Pixel 2 is its ability to sense depth using only one camera.

This is achieved by using an image sensor with ‘split’ pixels which generate slightly different ‘left’ and ‘right’ views of the scene. It’s not enough of a difference to create a traditional stereoscopic image of the kind you might view with special 3D glasses, but it is plenty enough difference for Google’s image processing techniques to be able to calculate the depth of objects within the scene and work out where to apply a software-based blurring effect to the background.

Unfortunately for the Pixel 2, the portrait mode effect is only one of many advantages which can be gained from a dual camera setup - advantages which the Google flagship will therefore miss out on.

One key advantage the iPhone 8 Plus and especially the Galaxy Note 8 have over the Pixel 2 is in their ability to get closer into the scene with a separate telephoto lens. With a single lens system, all you can do is crop into the image, losing pixels and resolution along the way.

This is why the Pixel 2 scores only 32 points in DxOMark’s Zoom test, compared to 51 points for the iPhone 8 Plus and a stunning 66 points for the Galaxy Note 8. The Pixel 2 simply loses much more detail the more you zoom in.

The other key dual-camera benefit is huge: Photo quality in low light improves dramatically the more light you are able to capture and two cameras can potentially capture twice as much light as one. Google has fitted a brighter f/1.8 lens than the f/2.0 version found on the original Pixel, but this can’t compensate for the light gathering potential of two cameras working as a team.

However, using a single physical camera cuts costs on raw materials and allows more room for other internal components, such as a larger battery.

DxOMark

The Google Pixel 2 Tops The DxOMark Mobile Charts.

Thankfully, Google’s image processing is so good that the Pixel 2 still manages to dominate in the critical areas of exposure, contrast and colour, coming out well ahead of both the iPhone 8 Plus and the Galaxy Note 8 in these areas. Its autofocus performance, for both photo and video use, pulls ahead even further.

This highlights a huge advantage over the competition: Google still has the option of adding a second camera in future products, potentially extending its lead even further.

Ultimately, benchmark results are only part of the story and subjective human preference plays a huge role in deciding which photos look ‘best. It’s also important to mention certain unique features such as the iPhone’s superb slow-motion video capabilities which often trump any small measurable differences between one camera and another. Any benchmark results such as these need to be read in the context of a full phone review.

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10 Ways to Benefit from ICT Learning and Making Money While You Sleep

Now more than ever, people are looking for new ways to make money 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without the need to remain stationed at a desk. But, these new passive ways of earning money do require you to invest a small amount of time automating your work processes. Let me take you through the process.

There are thousands of ways you can make money on the side nowadays. As long as you have an internet connection and a computer or mobile device, your opportunities are endless. Examples of new jobs you could consider for your side hustle include:

• Blogging
• Teaching online
• Creating ebooks
• Building and flipping websites

While the opportunities for online work are endless, automating them can be more challenging. Although working online will allow you to work from anywhere, it would also be nice to have so spare time on your hands, am I right? If you have found work you enjoy but want to take it a step further by generating income while you sleep, check out my top 10 secrets.

1. Automate marketing, sales and customer care chatbots

While you may have already delegated some of your marketing, sales and customer care duties to team members, or even automated them with tools such as Hootsuite, there is an easier way to take the time and monetary load off your shoulders.

Chatbots have become extremely popular recently because the technology powering them has evolved dramatically. Today, creating an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot is a piece of cake, and thanks to chatbot-building platforms, you don't even need any coding knowledge.

You can create a chatbot that:

• Can take orders and answer customer queries from Facebook Messenger, comments, and posts
• Integrates with all the major payment platforms
• Is available 24/7 to answer customers from across the world
• Can push personalized promotions, offers, and deals, on demand

2. Promote yourself as a brand

Whether you have already found success or are still on the path to finding it, you should look at ways in which you can promote yourself as a brand. Of course, your chatbot will help with minor marketing tasks, but you need to promote yourself in a way that makes others aware that you are a trustworthy, reputable, and a reliable authority figure in your industry.

To achieve this, create informational products, such as books, videos, and online magazines for your audience. Once you've put in hours creating these pieces, the next step is simply to market them and watch the money roll in.

3. Simplify your outputs

You can't do everything, especially if you want to automate the operational aspects of your business. To get everything done to the best of your ability, you need to simplify your outputs. To do this, hone in on what you are offering.

Instead of offering a huge variety of products and services to your audience, focus on a maximum of five that you do perfectly and grow from there. Take Starbucks, for example. The brand offers coffee, sweets, and some fast food. The simplicity by which it operates is a key reason why it's able to expand its offerings on a global scale.

4. Sell at a flat rate

Selling your products and services at various rates is complicated and not efficient. Aside from the fact that you probably have clients big and small, from across the world, it can make your invoicing system messy. Create a company that offers specific services at a flat rate and allow customers to buy these subscriptions and packages directly from your website. You'll make more direct sales and your customers will automatically be more invested in you.

Create a company that offers specific services at a flat rate and allow customers to buy these subscriptions and packages directly from your website. You'll make more direct sales and your customers will automatically be more invested in you.

5. Create a product or service that never goes out of fashion

You need to create a business that either offers a product or service that many people need now or better yet, one that won't go out of fashion. When it comes to products, think of one that can be created cheaply and that requires refills to function.

With this, you'll not only make huge amounts of money selling the original product, but you will receive a steady stream of revenue from the individual refills. Think about a printer, for example; you can now buy one at a very reasonable price, but to use it, you will always need ink. Printers are the product and ink cartridges are the refills.

6. Become an affiliate

There are a number of ways you can make money without really doing much. For example, you could become an Amazon affiliate. If Amazon makes a sale that comes from the link on your website, you make a profit. Simple. If you have the right following, you could find affiliate marketing extremely profitable.

7. Teach others

By teaching others, I don't mean switching careers altogether to teach math in a primary school. I'm referring to taking an authoritative role in your field of work and teach entrepreneurs your methods. There are a number of ways you can teach others, some of which include:

• Mentoring
• Lecturing at a college or university
• Writing a blog
• Creating a book
• Talking at events and conferences

8. Invest in other companies

An investment is, in simple terms, a way for your money to make more money. Although your lending needs to be calculated, you should invest some of your profits into other companies that fulfill other needs your customers may have. It's a good way for you to make more money while establishing yourself as a figure that helps others and understands your audience's desires.

9. Hire a team

As I mentioned before, you can't do everything on your own. Simplifying your outputs is great, but you need to have the right team to back you up. You need a team that is reliable and diverse. Every area of your company needs to be covered by an expert in that field. You will need a marketing, sales, customer care, finance, and human resources guru, among others.

10. Optimize your efforts

Once every aspect of your company is up and running, you must evaluate, re-evaluate, and optimize them to ensure they are performing to the best of their ability. You wouldn't write a blog post without proofreading and optimizing it; the same goes for the rest of your marketing, sales, finance, and other operations.

In Conclusion…

Automating your processes will help you organize yourself in a way that makes your operations efficient. By doing so, you will not only make money while you sleep, but you will also have more time to invest in other projects that can be automated in the same way, creating a money-making life-cycle that could eventually make you millions.

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5 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before Starting Your Business

When you're watching other people play Scrabble, it's easy to see ample opportunities to place tiles and score more points. But, when you're actually in the game yourself, it can be harder.

This is exactly what happens to new entrepreneurs. Often, they have many business ideas but lack the capacity to understand the risks, experience and time associated with startup success.

The big question is: What should new entrepreneur know before launching their businesses? There is no complete answer to this question, because some things will affect some businesses and not others. But, here are five questions you definitely should ask yourself when trying to start a business.

1. Why am I starting this business?

 

 

 

People start businesses for various reasons. Some do not want to take orders while others are tired of the 9 to 5 work day. Still others just want to join the bandwagon and make some money.

If you're starting your business for any of these reasons, you're probably going to fail.

Instead, you should have a purpose for starting a business. For instance, I set up a business research consultancy firm in 2014 because I felt people in my locality lacked practical knowledge of business plans and feasibility studies. I launched my business to meet a need, and I have profited from it.

It's crucial to thoroughly examine any initiative you wish to launch. This is because you could be faced with many business ideas. Just be careful not to lose focus. With each new idea, sit back and think through the pros and cons, then launch.

Noah Krinick, founder and partner of Solo Rugs, said, "Every entrepreneur should be able to answer the question, 'Why are you doing this?' It seems like a simple question, but there will inevitably be times when things go wrong, hope is dwindling and you need to remind yourself of why you're in it. As an entrepreneur, building and growth is a process that never fully ends. It is great practice to give yourself a mission statement to maintain focus on the project goals as well as personal ones."

2. What is my target market?

Knowing your target market is very important, since your sales and profits hinge on it. Remember: If you target everyone, you're targeting no one. You need to focus and identify your target audience by carrying out a market survey.

Reach out to your prospective customers by sending out questionnaires or directly speaking to them. By doing these, you can provide a product or service people really want. In an email interview, Sarah Brennan, fashion expert at Clothingric, said, "A business's focal point is the target market. If you don't have a well-defined target market, then, you scramble for everybody in the market. Just know that everybody can be nobody."

3. What is my digital strategy?

Nearly half of U.S. small businesses don't have a website. The contemporary business world cannot thrive without digital technology. In our contemporary world, clients and customers are going digital. The conventional methods of sales, marketing and delivering goods and services to clients and customers are phasing out. Clients and customers are now yearning for more efficient methods of buying products and services.

It is easy to manage business nowadays. By engaging in digital marketing, you can reach out to billions of prospective customers all over the world. You can also automate some of the business tasks using sophisticated software. You can start with Apptivo which can allow you to do everything you need in one cloud solution.

4. What goes into my business plan?

Some people believe writing a business plan is only necessary when you're seeking outside funding, but a good business plan actually indicates whether a business is feasible or not, breaking down its strengths and weaknesses.

Write out your business plan. Detail the financial, operational and marketing.

Venturing into a business is a choice. Our choice today determines our result in the foreseeable future. Thus, all planning should center on your business plan, so you can avoid surprises later.

5. What are my competitive advantages?

Customers will patronize your goods and services if you offer something better or different from your competitors. One important thing to do when you are launching your business is to deliver what your customer wants and not necessarily what you want.

 

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Amazon Echo Can Now Call Landlines and Mobile Phones for Free

Back in May, Amazon added a phone-call feature to its line of Echo smart speakers. Just one catch: You could call only other Echo owners.

Last week, along with the announcement of new Echo devices, Amazon quietly eliminated that limitation. Effective immediately, you can use any Echo speaker to call landlines and mobile phones. For free.

Try it! Just say the following: "Alexa, call 800-435-7669." That's the number for the American Red Cross, just in case you felt like making a donation today, but Amazon allows for calls to "most" numbers in the US, Canada and Mexico. However, you can't use an Echo to call 911 or any other emergency services unless you have an Echo Connect. See below for more details on the Connect.






You can also tell Alexa to call anybody in your phone's address book -- provided you allowed access to it when you installed the Alexa app.


Either way, Alexa will ask you to verify the number or contact you want to call. It's a somewhat annoying second step, but understandable given that there's no screen to verify the number being dialed (unless you're using an Echo Show ($229.99 at Amazon.com)).


Whoever you call will see your mobile phone number as the caller ID.


If you like the idea of using your Echo as a speakerphone, you might want to add an Echo Connect to the mix. This $35 box taps into your existing home-phone service, meaning that number becomes the Echo's caller ID. It also allows you to receive calls as well as place them and adds 911 support to the mix. The Connect is due to ship mid-December.


What do you think of the Echo's new calling capability? Now that there's landline and mobile support, is it a feature you'll use?


The Smartest Stuff: Innovators are thinking up new ways to make you -- and the world around you -- smarter.


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10-Step Guide To Building Your First Mobile App

 


Why do you want to build a mobile app? Do you want to ride the wave of other entrepreneurs, or did you come across a problem that you feel you can resolve? The answer to this question will determine whether your app will be successful or not.

Here is a guide to get you started, but note it may not work for everyone. This is drawn from my experience working for more than three years with entrepreneurs, helping them build and market their mobile apps. Take from it what suits your strategy best, or follow it to the hilt. The important part is to get started.

Step 1: Get an idea or a problem

If you already have an app idea, move onto step two. If not, read on. Want to build an app but don’t have an app idea? What you really need are problems, and they’re everywhere!

Successful entrepreneurs solve problems in a way that we could not have imagined. When you look around you, every product and service you use were all created to solve a problem. You wanted to get from one place to another faster, you got a car. You wanted to get from one country to another faster, you got planes.

So look for problems in your daily life and list each one of them. Once you have an exhaustive list, then start to think on how you can resolve them and shortlist the ones that make most sense.

Step 2: Identify the need

Validation will prove that a demand exists for your app. You can validate your idea by using the Google Keyword Planner tool to look for the number of people seeking out what you’re trying to do. You could also build a landing page that broadly highlights your app idea and seek user interest through an email signup.

Step 3: Lay out the flow and features

Validation of your app idea means that you’ve got something that people want to use. Now is the time to detail your product onto a document, or if you want to go the extra mile, use a wire-framing tool.

When putting your idea down on paper, remember to be as detailed as possible. Include the flow of how the user will navigate the app as well as all the features envisioned. This will help your developer to clearly understand your expectations.

Step 4: Remove non-core features

From the flow and features document you prepared, start looking closely at features that you can remove. Offer only the core value of your app idea. Do not build features in the first version that are "nice to have" and can always be added later as an update. This will help keep the initial costs of development down and also help you get to market quicker.

Step 5: Put design first

I have heard many entrepreneurs saying they want a very basic design and want to focus on just developing an app. They are so wrong! Design is not just about how your app looks, but it’s about how a user will experience the app. Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures best explains it: “Design is a way of making technology useful.” So look for a developer who puts design (user experience and graphics) first.

Check out resources for building your app here...

Step 6: Hire a designer/developer

Seek a development company that has great design talent and a solid development team. While hiring a developer, go online to check on their credibility and the apps that they have created. If you really liked an app they created from their portfolio, chances are, they could be the right one for your product.

Step 7: Create developer accounts

You must register for a developer account with the respective app stores to be able to sell your app through their platform. Google’s Android charges $25 a year and Apple charges $99 annually. You have the option of registering as an individual or as a company, if you already have one formed.

Step 8: Integrate analytics

Analytics help you track downloads, user engagement and retention for your mobile app. Make sure you use tools such as Flurry, which is available for free, and Localytics, that has a free and paid version.

Step 9: Get feedback quickly and improvise

Once your app goes live on the app store, the first set of customers' usage and behavior will give you insight into how to improve and enhance your app. Enhancements and changes are constant, so keep an eye on user feedback and keep building.

Step 10: Introduce features

You built version one with limited features and only the core offering. Now is the time to evaluate and introduce the remaining features that were left out in the initial version. You will know through analytics and feedback whether the features are relevant anymore.


These steps are not sacrosanct, but rather a guideline to building your app in the most effective manner based on my experience. Once you’re ready to start, you must also know that building a mobile app is the easiest part. Getting customers is where the challenge lies.


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5 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand From Scratch

What would you like people to say about you?

As Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) famously said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Your personal brand is the sum total of what you do, how you do it and why you do it. It’s not something you can fake. It’s authentic and deep-seated.

If you get it right, your personal brand will make you stand out from the crowd, shine a spotlight on your expertise and enhance your value. You’ll have an energy and a buzz about you that people can’t help being drawn to.

For starters, don’t make the mistake of thinking your personal brand is all about you. It’s not. Your personal brand is not about your work experience or your personal accomplishments. Your personal brand should be about other people, specifically what you can do for other people.

Start by asking yourself a few questions: What needs can you address? What are the areas where you can offer the most value? What makes you different from the rest?

 With a little thought and planning, you can build your personal brand from scratch. Just follow these five steps:

1. Discover your opportunity.

Passion is not enough. You might have a passion for rock climbing, or playing the ukulele. But having a passion does not automatically translate to recognition and success.

Instead of focusing on your passions, study the needs of the people in your circles. What are they trying to achieve? What are they struggling with? What are their frustrations?

Think about how you could best help these people.

Dig deep into who you are. Identify what you can bring to the table. Evaluate not just the skills and experience you’ve acquired but also the values that guide and inform you.

Study your competition. Can you serve a need that in an area that doesn’t have lots of competition?

If there’s lots of competition wherever you look, don’t be discouraged. Can you serve a need in a way that’s distinctive and noteworthy?

 You’ve identified your opportunity when you’ve found a significant need that you can serve, in a way that sets you apart from the competition. 

2. Know your audience.

Everything starts with your audience. Find out as much as you can about them. This includes standard demographic data such as what jobs they do, how much they earn and where they live.

Equally, if not more importantly, you need to know what their beliefs and values are, their hopes and dreams and the challenges they are facing.

Talk to your audience. Take them out for a coffee or set up a Skype call. Study them by reading what they’re saying on relevant social media, forums and review sites.

Is your audience more interested in quality or value? What’s more important to them, making a difference or making money? What public figures do they admire?

How much do your audience know about what you can offer them? Will you need to educate them for them to appreciate your value?

 Identify who your core audience is. Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Identify which audience segments are most likely to become long-term customers and advocates. These are the people you should focus on.

3. Craft your message.

In Hollywood, budding filmmakers learn to prepare an “elevator pitch” to sell their movie ideas to busy studio executives. The key is to summarize their idea in a short, memorable phrase that could be pitched even if they had to do it in an elevator.

For example, the movie Alien was initially pitched as, “Jaws in space.”

You want to tell your audience about what you do, about what makes you different and exciting. But they probably won’t have time to listen to your life story.

Instead, you should create a short message that sums up what you’re about in a way which connects with your audience. Keep it simple and memorable. Think of it as your elevator pitch. Your message should reflect the people you serve, the values that you embody and the results you achieve.

 If you have any testimonials, study them. What were the things about you that people valued the most? Observe the exact phrases people use when talking about you. Often, these are the precisely the phrases you should use when describing yourself.

Use your message to brand yourself on your professional profiles. Most importantly, embody it in everything you do.

4. Hone your uniqueness.

Maybe you can do something highly useful that very few people can do. Well, that’s your unique quality, and you should tell your audience about it.

But perhaps there are plenty of people who do what you do, and you’ll be competing for the same audience. Being able to demonstrate a point of uniqueness is your key to success in a competitive market.

The most obvious point of uniqueness is to be the best. There are many ways of being the best. Find out which way plays to your strengths. Are you the most experienced, most creative, most efficient? Do you excel at customer service?

If you can’t be the best in some way, becoming more specialized can make you unique. For example, instead of offering a marketing service to small business owners in general, you could offer a marketing service targeted at chiropractors.

And don’t be afraid to be controversial to stand out. If you hold different opinions from the others, don’t be afraid to voice them. Just stay away from topics that are likely to cause offense, like religion and politics.

5. Define your values.

Authenticity is the cornerstone of personal branding. Your authenticity is what allows your audience to trust you, to engage with you, to tell their friends about you. Being authentic is about having stated values and being true to them.

So what are your values? You should include business values, such as driving innovation or personal accountability. You might also add ethical values, such as care for the environment.

How you speak and write is also a reflection of your values. Are you serious or informal? Do you address the layman or expert? What are your cultural reference points?

Guard against inconsistency, such as saying one thing and doing another, as this will cast doubt on your values and undermine your brand.

Keep your values at the heart of everything you do, as you interact with people, network on social media, or publish blog posts. Wherever and whenever you engage, ensure you do so in a way that shines a light on your values.

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