A new report from product Q & A site FixYa found that the iPhone was more reliable than smartphones made by Motorola, Samsung and Nokia.

The study looked at data from 722,558 problem reports listed on the site, and combined that information with market share data from StatCounter to create an ultimate reliability score for each smartphone manufacturer.

Apple scored a 3.47 on FixYa’s Reliability Reporter — roughly three times more than Samsung’s 1.21 — and 25 times more than Motorola.



“Smartphones are consistently being compared on a case-by-case basis, but no one has looked at the overall trends across a manufacturer's entire smartphone line,” said FixYa CEO and founder Yaniv Bensadon in a press release announcing the results of the study.

“Our newest FixYa report looks at lines like the iPhone, Galaxy, or Lumia, and through a careful analysis of issues versus market share, we’ve been able to directly compare manufacturers using a reliability score. The result is an accurate and fair method of a scaled approach to fairly compare these top companies to truly see who is the most reliable, and who is barely even competing.”

Deeper than just comparing one model of phone to another, FixYa’s report looks at the brands' product lines as a whole, noting common complaints for each one.

Apple users, for instance, complain about the device’s battery life, lack of new features and customizability, and issues connecting to Wi-Fi.

Samsung smartphone users have entirely different problems, with issues surrounding the microphone and speaker on the phones as well as battery life. Samsung customers also complain that their device gets hot.

Device temperature was also an issue for Nokia customers, who complained about not only the device getting hot, but also laggy response time, a poor app ecosystem and poor battery life.

Motorola owners, who ranked the least satisfied with their handsets, were the only ones who didn’t complain about battery life (perhaps due to the fantastic battery on the Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx). Instead they had issues with the device’s camera and speaker quality, as well as problems with the touchscreen. Motorola owners were most dissatisfied with the apps that came preinstalled on their devices.

You can check out FixYa’s complete report now on its website.

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It's been debated for ages: Does violent TV lead to violent behavior? That's still an open question, but a new study suggests that watching positive programming can improve kids' behavior.

The research looked at 565 Seattle parents of 3-to-5-year-old kids, who were told to fill out diaries about their children's TV-viewing behaviors over the course of a year. Half the parents were coached for six months leading up to the study on getting their kids to watch more "positive" programming — say, Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer instead of Power Rangers. The other half were coached on getting their kids to eat healthier.

The results were relatively weak. After six months, both groups of kids showed behavior improvement, with the TV-viewing sample slightly above the healthy eating sample. After a year, there was no meaningful difference between the two. Low-income boys had the most short-term benefit, researchers said. Overall, though, the benefits faded over time.

The Associated Press reports the study has some flaws: The parents involved weren't told the purpose of the study, but researchers believe they figured it out after a few months, which might have affected the results.

Before the study, the kids in both samples averaged an hour and a half of TV-watching per day, with 25% being violent content. By the end, both groups had increased their viewing by about 10% per day — those in the TV-coaching sample watched more positive shows, where those in the healthy eating sample watched more violent programming.

The Los Angeles Times reports that preschool-aged kids spend an average of 4.4 hours watching TV every day — above the two-hour maximum recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A similar study, conducted by the University of Otago in New Zealand, concluded that every extra hour of TV watched by children during the week — regardless of its content — increased their likelihood of having a criminal conviction by early adulthood. The research examined around 1,000 New Zealanders born between 1972 and 1973, and interviewed them regularly until age 26; it additionally reviewed the participants' mental health and criminal records.

The University of Washington study is set to be published in the online medical journal Pediatrics.

How many hours of TV do your kids watch per day? Do you think programming has gotten more or less violent over the years? Tell us below.



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Social media is emerging from its adolescent phase and is rapidly maturing.


Initially social networks had an image problem with some CEO’s and executives thinking Facebook was for teenagers to post the weekend’s party photos and Twitter was for narcisstic attention seekers with a limited vocabulary.


There was also an initial perception that because the platforms were free to use that participating was cheap and easy. Experience has shown otherwise.

Social media, blogging and digital content creation are resource intensive and doing it right takes time and money.

Tools and time saving apps are emerging to help companies to be more efficient and able to manage, control and  monitor social media. These functions and features are also being integrated into Enterprise class software solutions.

Social media has grown up and is now accepted as mainstream by companies including the Fortune Global 100. These companies include Ford, Walmart and BP.

Facebook , Twitter, Google+, YouTube and the fast emerging Pinterest have all been embraced by the top companies as they find ways to leverage their brands globally.

Burson-Marsteller first launched a study in 2010 that looked closely at how companies were adapting to this new media. Here are their 2012 findings

5 Insights into Global Social Media

In 2010 the Fortune 100 were participating on social media but not to the extent they are now. The social networks were used for broadcasting but there was limited engagement. In 2012 they are having constant conversations with their customers and followers and creating vast amounts of  digital content.

What are the top 5 findings from their latest research?

1. Twitter is more than 50% of the Conversations

Corporations, Brands and organisations have realized that  social media spreads stories in real time and at high velocity. In 2012 the Fortune Global 100 are mentioned 10.4 million times per month with Twitter transmitting 5.6 million of those conversations. This represents a growth in Twitter conversations of over 700% in just 2 years.

Gone are the days when PR companies were clipping media mentions from newspapers and magazines and posting them to the corporation via snail mail.

2.  YouTube is a Serious Media Channel

In just one year YouTube use has increased by 39 percent. It is no longer considered a channel for just entertainment but also education and positioning and branding. Corporate YouTube channels are averaging over 2 million views. This growth in conversations and views by customers is making it compulsory for companies to participate on social networks.  The social networks are proving to be a great source of free media attention that is not paid but earned.

3. Engagement is the Norm

Organisations are not just broadcasting but engaging with their customers and prospects. On Twitter 79 percent of companies are engaging via retweeting and @mentions. On Facebook 70 percent of brands are are responding to comments on their walls and timelines.

4. Multiple Accounts are Common

The average number of multiple social media accounts has soared since 2010. The number of average Twitter accounts is now over ten (up from four since 2010)  and over 8 YouTube channels (up from 1.6 in 2010). This is because companies have realized that they need to target audiences by geography, topic and service. The larger organisations now have both the tools and the resources allocated.

5. Companies are Rapidly Adapting to New Platforms

In the last twelve months Google+ and Pinterest have entered the social networking ecosystem. Companies have quickly embraced these channels with  nearly 50 perecent of the Fortune Global 100 on Google+ brand pages and 25 percent on Pinterest.


Infographic source: Burson-Marsteller







































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