Proteus Breakfasts are legendary.

Date: 2010.09.03 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

Well it’s Friday and after breakfast we all feel full. Very full…

Did we eat too much?

Images courtesy of FatBooth for the iPhone.

Dell ‘Streak’ runs for the finish line…

Date: 2010.06.11 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

About to launch at the end of this month on O2 is Dell’s new iPad rival the ‘Streak’, which they claim “combines the best entertainment, social connectivity, and navigation on the go experience”.

Running Google’s Android operating system the Dell Streak has a 5” screen running at 800×480pixels compared to the much larger iPad’s 1024×768. Although deliberately designed as a different beast, the Streak look set to stir up rivalry as right out of the box; it has most of the technical capabilities of the most expensive iPad model.

The Streak was conceived as a halfway house between a phone and an iPad, which in turn was designed as a simple ebook and news publication reader amongst other things. The iPad was always going to be too large for a phone; however the Streak may offer those undecided consumers an attractive alternative.

There’s a 5megapixel camera, with front and rear facing video calling and 4GB or storage by default which can be expanded up to 32GB through an SD Card. This is something that the iPad does not support.

The Streak is unlikely to steal the market share that Apple or (RIM) Blackberry has overnight, but it may prove a very attractive alternative to businesses. It remains to be seen if it will engage with Microsoft Exchange as used by many corporate. In my experience, the iPhone was seamless to link to Exchange whereas a Blackberry was a complete nightmare. Why so many corporate companies love Blackberry’s is totally beyond me!? With 40,000 android applications available to download it still has some way to go to beat Apple’s 200,000 iPhone apps.

Did I mention the Streak runs Flash? Yes, Dell’s Streak apparently supports Flash as an application which given the current dislike Apple has to Adobe’s mighty plug-in, might also swing some peoples decision. Flash has a roughly 96% market share (Dec’ 09) which cannot be ignored, but Apple have maintained their argument that Flash is a closed application which does not support Open Standards.

As an iPhone user, even I must admit that I hate the fact I can’t use Flash on my phone. It frustrates me even more that I can’t make an iPhone App using the creative tools that I understand, like the Adobe CS suite and allow my limited creativity to spill out into Apple’s world. I wonder how many others out there also have great ideas which they are unable to take to market just because they don’t have a Mac? I don’t want to learn code, buy a Mac and I certainly don’t want to pay to join Apples iPhone Developer Program.

So, whilst the iPad will be this year’s must have and most hyped device, there are alternatives especially if you just want to make a phone call.

Personally, I can’t wait for OS4 on the iPhone and possible the iPhone 4. Dell certainly has a lot to live up to.

iPad. Available today…

Date: 2010.05.28 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

After a long wait, the new iPad is finally here.

The question is, will it be as successful as Apple hope?  The answer, probably is yes.

However, with the success of the iPhone and the cost of the 3G iPad starting at £529.00 (16GB version), will it be worth the money?

There is no doubt that the iPad is a beautiful piece of technology. It’s good to look at, sleek and delivers everything that would usually frustrate a non-techy user in a simple, easy to use graphical interface. It just works.

As the owner of an iPhone – which much as I hate to admit it, has revolutionised my life – I can’t see a reason to yet buy one. Do I want one? Yes. Will I buy one? Not until the cost comes down or there is a major reason to dump my nice shiny Dell laptop which does everything my desktop does. I guess if you understand technology and are already comfortable around PC’s or Mac’s there are alternatives. But if you want a simple, easy to use interface that can deliver email, web, photos and a choice of nearly 200,000 other apps to do almost anything, then it’s a sure-fire winner.

Will we have one at the Proteus office? Probably, if only for the wow factor, but for now, our parents and grandparents will probably end up buying one long before we do comercially.

Long live the iPhone.

Did I mention the Dell Streak? Available in the UK from the 4th June, running Google Android OS. It features include a 5-megapixel camera with Flash, autofocus, GPS, Bluetooth, 2GB ROM, WiFi, 3G connectivity, Flash compatibility and add to that a front facing camera as well.

Hmmm…should make an interesting comparison. Watch this space.

Mel Burton joins Proteus as Head of Direct Marketing

Date: 2010.05.13 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

All systems go…Proteus Direct has launched.

Proteus Creative Marketing is expanding its direct marketing focus with the launch of Proteus Direct, headed by Mel Burton, former Chief Operating Officer at McCann Erickson in Bristol.

Mel has over 25 years direct marketing experience in business to business, and business to consumer sectors; plus specialist financial services product knowledge. He is well-known in the industry for delivering responsive complex, high volume direct marketing campaigns.

Proteus Chief Executive Officer David Sweet says: “The direct marketing industry is very important to the South West; some of the industry’s biggest players are based here.

“Mel’s considerable experience in planning, design, campaign implementation and evaluation is just what we need. He has covered everything from single test campaigns to complete direct marketing strategies which encompass advertising, direct mail, DRTV, radio, media inserts, door drops and digital elements, and this makes him perfect to head-up our new division.”

Mel says: “I am delighted to be leading Proteus Direct, and I am also very pleased to join an organisation with a reputation for consistently delivering strategic, creative and memorable campaigns.”

Going down?

Date: 2010.04.27 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

Gemma just got stuck in the lift.

If it wasn’t so traumatic for her then it would be highly amusing. (It is still amusing though.)