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Friday Grab Bag: Unhappy iPad Users? Is Facebook Home Dead Already?

May 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

Will Microsoft buy Barnes & Noble’s Nook Business?
The rumor has once again emerged that Microsoft is looking at buying Barnes & Noble’s Nook business unit, a unit that Microsoft has already invested $300 million. TechCrunch is now reporting that it has internal documents that show that indeed the software giant is pondering such a move.

The cost is approximately $1 billion, which would also include Nook Media and related digital business operations. The documents show that Barnes & Noble is considering discontinuing its Android-based tablets next year.

Apple Patents invisible buttons
As smartphone users seemingly are demanding additional functionality with each new release of their favorite handset product designers are faced with the classic issue of form or functionality. Now Apple has patented a technology that seems to solve the issue by enabling fully functioning buttons and sliders that are not visible.

If you are wondering how you would use invisible items, they are not always hidden from the eye, but would appear when you motion towards them, according to a piece on them in Geek Newsletter.

Is Facebook’s Home burning down?
A few weeks ago amid a great deal of hype Facebook offered its latest and greatest mobile offering, Facebook Home. If you missed the announcement it was the debut of a smartphone, and a related app for owners of alternative Android devices, which made Facebook your smartphone start screen.

The HTC First was the first smartphone to come with the technology as standard and it was available from AT&T for $99. It has been apparently been met by a universal shrug of the shoulders by users, which had led AT&T to drop the price of the phone a bit, to 99 cents! Salon gives a good look at how far and fast this technology has dropped.

Amazon to offer smartphone with 3D display?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting (via C/Net) that Amazon is working on a pair of smartphones and that one of the two will have a 3D capability that will enable hologram like images. However the article made clear that the smartphones might never see the loght of day.

Amazon is increasingly delving into the hardware space starting with its popular Kindle tablet. While the rest is rumor, so far, it sounds like a set top box and the aforementioned smartphones are also in the works.

Google Glass takes another hit.
In case you missed the send up on Saturday Night Live you can look here but real world resistance to Google Glass technology is also continuing to rise. A nice piece in the New York Times outlines some of the major Pros and Cons of the technology.

We have always wondered how Las Vegas would deal with the glasses, and the NYT is of the opinion they will be banned, an opinion backed by Caesars Entertainment statement that they would be prohibited. However it is estimated that the glasses could generate upwards to $#500 billion for Google.

Bill Gates chimes in on iPad
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates recently spoke with CNBC and said that iPad users are frustrated with the lack of keyboard and because there is no Microsoft Office app for that platform that they will migrate to PC Tablets.

As can be noted in the Guardian’s coverage of his statements so Apple has sold an estimated 141 million iPads to unhappy users while the happy Microsoft Surface users have already swarmed the stores for an estimated 2 million units. Of course the Surface is still relatively new so we will see what the future brings.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Barnes & Noble, Facebook, Google, HTC, iPad, Microsoft, Nook, Smartphone, Surface, Tablets, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Microsoft Goes Small and MLB hits it Big

April 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

People seem drawn to March Madness pools like moths to a flame, and this year ESPN’s mammoth pool, 8.15 million strong had a surprise winner, Lanny Kekua. If that name does not ring a bell it is the fake dead girlfriend of Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o.

The name was used as an alias by a fan named Craig Gilmore, who won the tournament and successfully selected Louisville to defeat Michigan in the final. He is now entered into a drawing for a $10,000 Best Buy gift card.

Reebok Spartan Race hits the baseball circuit
Last year the Sparta Race held an event at a baseball park, and it proved to be very popular. So this year it is upping the ante and will be holding a series of events at ballyards, and it has announced the first four venues.

Athletes living near The New York Mets’ Citi Field, The Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizen Bank Park, The Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park or The Boston Red Sox Fenway Park can start practicing for the event near you.

Did Windows 8 Launch hurt PC sales?
Market research firm IDC has reported that sales of personal computers continued a downward fall, and is ascribing part of the blame to the latest operating system release from Microsoft, Windows 8. The most recent IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report shows that in the first quarter of 2013 there was a total average drop in PC shipments of 13.9% compared to the previous quarter.

Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays said that the company’s research showed that not only did Windows 8 not provide the hoped for boost in sales that many had been planning on, it actually served as a major detriment to sales.

At Bat Starts off with hot streak
Major League Baseball’s popular At Bat program for mobile device users has been a hot download at the start of this year’s season. The program surpassed the 4 million download mark last week, five days into the season.

Last year, when the app was also on a record setting pace, it took it 45 days to reach the 4 million milestone. For the year the app was downloaded 6.7 million times in 2012. MLB’s other two major apps At the Ballpark and Beat the Streak had roughly a million additional downloads.

The Rumor Mill

Tom’s Hardware is showing what is reportedly the next generation tablet from Acer, the Iconia tab A1-810 that had been accidentally briefly advertised by a French retailer. The 7.9-inch tablet is said to be powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 processor featuring 1GB of RAM.

Newly leaked images of the forthcoming iPad from Apple appear to show a device that is thinner than previous releases and has reinforced the rumor that Apple is completely redesigning the popular tablet, currently reported to have the name iPad 5.

To the surprise of no one it has been reported that Microsoft has a 7-inch tablet in the works. With the rapidly growing popularity of this form factor a better issue might be what took them so long? The Wall Street Journal, via The Hispanic Business.com said that the tablets are expected to go into production later this year.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, ESPN, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Microsoft, NCAA Hoops, Smartphone, Spartan Race, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Low Cost Lenovo 7-inch Tablet Almost Here

March 26, 2013 by 2 Comments

lenovo

If you are ever wondering how news services and even blogs get advanced information about upcoming products it is often because the devices have to go through approval at the FCC, which has to make the records of approvals public. The forthcoming Lenovo A1000 is no exception.

The A1000 is no secret, the company talked about it and two additional tablets last month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but the fact that it is now getting approval to be shipped into the U.S. shows how close the device is to reaching the market.

The low-cost 7-inch tablet is an entry level device that the company is targeting at two different groups, first time buyers and music enthusiasts. When Apple hit the market with its iPad the market quickly responded with a list of me-too offerings, few of which gained any sales. The entry level was particularly weak as everybody compared the devices to the iPad.

Now the market has started to mature and people have a much better idea of what they want a tablet for and are starting to understand the differences that different price points represent in terms of display size, processor capabilities, storage and other features.

One of the key differentiators on the A1000 is its audio, which features Dolby Digital Plus and the large front facing speakers as part of its attempt to appeal to music fans. The tablet runs the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It will ship with 8GB or 16GB of storage that is expandable to 32GB with a micro-SD slot.

There are a few features that the company has not yet released such as screen resolution. Pricing has also not yet been released and that will be key as the 7-inch space has been heating up and is expected to quickly catch up to the 10-inch display space. The other two tablets that were discussed last month, the 10.1-inch S6000 and the 7-inch A3000 appear to be further out but both are expected in the second quarter.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Google, iPad, Lenovo, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Android Tablets See Growth at iPad’s Expense

March 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

The market for tablets is changing as both Android-powered devices gather additional market share and the smaller form factor tablets, sub-8 inches, are seeing extremely strong growth, according to the most recent study from market research from International Data Corp.

Overall the tablet market is strong and growing, and IDC has upgraded its forecast to reflect this trend, now estimating that there will be 190.9 million, up from its previous forecast of 172.4 million units sold in 2013. It is also expecting the market to grow at an average increase of 11% a year between 2013 and 2016, with estimated shipments in 2017 to reach 350 million units according to the company’s most recent Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

Smaller form factor tablets, those smaller than 8 inches, now account for half of all tablet sales and it expects that this trend will continue as consumers have found that smaller tablets often work better for daily usage compared to their larger brethren.

Tablets powered by the Android operating system grew its market share to 48.8% of the market, at the expense of Apple’s iPad family which witnessed a 5% market share drop to 46% of the market. However both are expected to see continual share erosion going forward as Windows, which combined RT and Pro, will gain an estimated 4.7% of the market this year but should grow to 10.1% by 2017, according to the report.

Another loser is ereaders, which are expected to lose market share due to the growing presence of low cost tablets that can both serve as an ereader and for a wide variety of additional uses as well. IDC has reduced its forecast by an average of 14% a year between 2013 and 2016. It estimates that there was 26.4 million sold in 2011 and that number represents the platform’s peak, declining to 18.2 million the following year. IDC expects modest gains this year and next before a permanent decline sets in.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Google, iOS, iPad, Microsoft, Samsung, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sony Upgrades Tablet Offering with Xperia Tablet Z

March 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

sony

Sony has enhanced its tablet offerings with the Xperia Tablet Z that it debuted last week at the Mobile World Congress. Somehow this one flew under the radar last week, but it looks well worthwhile to recap since it looks like Sony has made major steps towards relevancy with its latest tablet offering.

While Samsung and Hewlett-Packard seemed to grab most of the attention for their tablet introductions the Sony offering is also one to take note of, and is a move to establish the company in the 10-inch space.

The Xperia Tablet Z features a 10.1 inch display that has 1920 x 1200 resolution capable of full 1080p HD. The tablet is water resistant and is powered by Qualcomm’s quad core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. It has 2GB of RAM and can have a maximum of 64GB storage with an optional microSD card in the Wi-Fi version.

The tablet will be available in cellular and Wi-Fi only versions with the 16GB Wi-Fi models. The company’s press release did not give prices but it was reported elsewhere that the with the 16GB Wi-Fi models would be available for $499 and the 32GB model for $599, both from a Sony Store.

The tablet runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and will be upgradable to 4.2. It will include a pair of cameras, a 8MP rear camera as well as a 2MP HD front facing camera. For sound it includes the Sony S-Force Front Surround 3D and Sony’s Clear Audio+ mode capability.

The tablet includes other Sony technologies as well including its One-Touch functions to transfer content from tablet to either a TV, speaker or phone by touching them together. In addition it has a universal remote feature that enables it to remotely control Sony TV’s and other Sony built devices.

A key selling point of the tablet is weight, and while that may not seem obvious just looking at the raw numbers, it could end up being a top selling point. The smaller 7-inch tablets have been making strong inroads in terms of sales over the last six months or more. Many users I have talked with state that the weight of a 10-inch device simply is too much for one hand and they do not want to use it with both in many usage scenarios.

The Xperia Tablet Z is approximately a quarter pound lighter than the Nexus 10 and 2 mm thinner. It weighs 495 grams or 17.5 ounces and is 6.9 mm thick, thinner and lighter than the most recent iPad as well which is 9.4 mm thick and weighs 652 grams.

It seems like it will be much better accepted in the market than the unique Tablet S that Sony previously released. However there are tablets that have better features in individual categories such as display resolution, so a user will still have to make tradeoffs when purchasing one. However it appears that Sony has pushed itself into the space where it will be considered with other top offerings.

Filed Under: Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

HP Enters the 7-inch Tablet Space with Slate 7

February 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

hpslate

Hewlett-Packard, a company that may have experienced the most notorious crash and burn in the tablet space with the TouchPad has returned with a low cost Android device, the HP Slate 7, which it has introduced at the Mobile World Congress.

Unlike the last time when it used technology it had acquired from Palm as the operating system HP has gone mainstream and will be using the Android Jelly Bean operating system. In fact the company goes out of its way to tout the devices relationship with Google, talking about how it is the ideal platform for what it calls the Google Experience in its press release.

The $169 Slate 7 is the first of what appears to be a family of different products HP will be delivering that will target different market segments, according to a company executive. The company’s emphasis on its alliance with Google and promoting Google products and services also indicates a trend for the future, and one that might be a bad sign for Microsoft, which also has a partnership with HP. HP recently introduced a Chromebook, a notebook that run’s Google’s Chrome OS.

The Slate 7 is powered by an ARM dual core Cortex-A9 1.6GHz processor and will feature a 3 MP backward facing camera and a VGA front facing camera. The 7-inch display has a 1024 x 600 resolution and the tablet will feature 8GB of storage that is expandable via a microSD card.

HP already has a high end tablet which competes with the other 10-inch offerings from everybody from Microsoft, Samsung and Apple. Now it is seeking to establish itself against the iPad Minis, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fires. Hopefully HP can establish itself in this space, making the market more competitive.

Filed Under: Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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