Tree saving apps sponsored by Invasive Alien Species
Rating: Apple provides fast turnaround for iOS version
It seems that AshTag – the organisation which is backing Britain’s efforts to track and stop the spread of the Ash tree dieback disease in the UK, can move fast when it comes to smartphone apps. See our previous story ‘A smartphone app may help to save Britain’s Ash trees’ here. The organisation says it has only a short window of opportunity to help identify the spread of the disease before Winter sets in. After that identification of diseases becomes more difficult. Hence the organisation has been grateful for the help it received from Apple. It now has both iOS and Android versions of its smartphone app.AshTag says, “We’re delighted to announce that Apple approved the AshTag iPhone app overnight and it is now available for immediate download.”
iOS user can either search for ‘ashtag’ on the Apple iTunes App store, or go here.
The Android app is already available on Google Play (formerly Android Market ) here.
It seems a version specifically for the Nexus 7 tablet is also under development.
You can also manually upload photos taken with other smartphones – such as BlackBerries, or on digital cameras to Ashtag.org.
The Google app at least appears to have been developed by Kieran Marron of Kieranties on behalf of the IAS.
When the web site said IAS stood for Invasive Alien Species, for a moment GoMobile News thought it was a body interested in UFOs, but of course it is about plants which damage the UK’s ecosystem.
The Android and iOS apps are very basic – but that’s not meant as a criticism, it merely reflects the urgency of the situation.
Basically there are two options in the app: – ‘Add a sighting’ and ‘Identification Guide’. The latter has photos of infected Ash trees.
The Add a sighting facility enables you to send photos to Ashtag. GoMobile News would urge contributors to turn location awareness on when they take these photos.
AshTag probably can process that data right now but it could prove highly useful to the organisation at a later date.
On our trusty Motorola RAZRi Android smartphone, we opened the camera app; touch the settings icon and checked the box which said ‘Turn on geo-tagging’.
AshTag must be doing something right because the Android app received circa 1,000 downloads in 24 hours.
You can follow the organisation’s progress via the Ashtag website here or by following them #AshTag on Twitter.
Tony Dennis is now editor of GoMo News. It was previously owned by founder - Bena Roberts until she sold her shares recently. 
October 29th 2012. Microsoft has debuted Windows Phone 8, the latest version of the company’s smartphone operating system. Windows Phone 8 offers a truly personal phone experience, connecting you to the people and things that matter most. As part of the announcement, Microsoft revealed new features, including Kid’s Corner and Rooms, along with details and pricing for a range of beautiful new smartphones from Nokia, Samsung and HTC, each with their own differentiated designs, colours and features. Windows Phone 8 devices will go on sale in November at in the USA as well as at carriers and retailers around the world. “We can’t wait for the world to meet Windows Phone 8, the most personal smartphone there is,” said Terry Myerson, corporate vice president of the Windows Phone Division at Microsoft.
Finnish manufacturer Nokia has dropped off the world’s top five list of smartphone makers for the first time, latest figures from research firm IDC indicate. It says that while the overall phone market grew 2.4 per cent in Q3 compared to the same period in 2011, it was Korea’s Samsung taking the lion’s share of sales closely followed by Apple. Handset makers shipped 444.5 million mobile phones during the three months with, perhaps surprisingly, Canada’s Research in Motion beating Nokia to the No.5 slot with the rest of the leading vendors made up of Taiwan’s HTC and China’s ZTE.Nokia boss Stephen Elop has closely allied the future of the company with Windows Phone 8 along with the user interface and services Microsoft is tying its products together with.
Dave Evans is a long established commentator on both the IT and cellular industries. His current focus is on share price trends within the sector. You can email him here 
posted Nov 1st 2012 9:33AM 
GoMobile News took advantage of a brilliant invitation from EE (formerly Everything Everywhere) to try out its 4G LTE network in person on London’s Oxford Street. We were able to play with any of the 4G LTE devices which EE will offer. Including the Nokia Lumia 920, of course. Only problem? The smartphone hasn’t yet gone commercial so a rather worried EE official had to swiftly remove the tariff information in case we published it. We have to admit that the demonstrations of 4G in action were impressive and we now ‘get’ why people would want to make the switch to 4G. It’s for the rich,busy execs and uber-geeks who are ‘time poor’.The EE store invites customers to take the ’4G Challenge’ by placing their existing handset next to a 4G enabled one. 
Tony is currently Editor of GoMobile News. He has taken over this role from Bena Roberts. 
October 31st 2012. MACH, the leading provider of cloud-based managed communication services, today revealed that telecom operators worldwide are increasingly looking for revenue assurance solutions that offer real-time leakage detection to correct errors and reduce losses. The move to all-IP networks has led to real-time billing and rating driving a need for online revenue assurance solutions that also offer real-time protection, reduce exposure for operators and enhance customer experience.Revenue leakage from billing inaccuracies continues to cause problems for telecom operators worldwide.
Embarking on the road to building an effective enterprise mobility strategy can seem a daunting prospect. Although there are significant benefits to be derived – such as improved productivity and efficiency, many organisations have concerns about how best to overcome the challenges of security, management and mobile device proliferation. Below are five Top Tips to help build a strong framework for mobility and ensure that it has a positive impact within your organisation.
Currently, the UK’s population of Ash trees is under attack from a deadly fungus called Chalara fraxinea also known as Ash dieback. Concerned organisations are launching a new web site today [Monday 29th October 2012] to provide information to concerned citizens. However, GoMobile News suggests that the proposed ashtag smartphone app might prove a highly efficient tool to combat the spread of the disease. Especially if it works anything like the way a popular Apple iOS app – leafsnap, does.The situation is, of course, serious. The UK has a population of some 80 million Ash trees which more importantly represent some 30 per cent of the UK’s entire tree coverage.
Hans Cett is an established freelance author and consultant specialising in the mobile communications industry. He also writes for Countdown2MWC - http://countdown2mwc.wordpress.com/ 
UK electrical component firm Volex is embarking on a “comprehensive” round of cost cutting following Apple’s decision to snub it from making the iPhone 5 connector. Apple changed the cable used on its devices when it unveiled the latest iPhone last month, choosing a different design after nine years of using Volex. The news sent Volex’s shares crashing with further bad news yesterday [31st October 2012] when the manufacturer revealed turnover to September was $249.3 million (£154.6 million), down on last year, while pre-tax profit was down 78 per cent to $2.2 million.Volex’s shares fell a further four per cent on the London Stock Exchange, closing last night at 162p compared to a year high of 290p.