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Category Archives: apple

Does the BlackBerry 10 launch really even matter?

28 Jan
BYOD: Where RIM's real future lies.

BYOD: Where RIM’s real future lies.

Does anybody else have the feeling that this week’s launch of BlackBerry 10 doesn’t really matter? It’s not for anything that Research In Motion is or isn’t doing with its long-awaited and overdue handsets, but rather because mobile devices are on their way to becoming commoditized.

With smartphones, it’s Google that’s driving the trend. As with virtually every area of its business, the company isn’t so interested in selling things to consumers as it is in getting them online and using its services, with the money coming from the ads it serves them that way. That’s why Google is selling the Nexus 4 in North America for $300 without a contract, while in the developing world it’s moving smartphones for just $50. It’s also why Android has more than three quarters of the world’s market share for smartphones. If Google knew the first thing about actually selling stuff to consumers, the constantly sold-out Nexus 4 would be an even bigger deal than it is.

Neither the Nexus 4 nor those African phones are as high powered as most of the “hero” devices being sold in advanced markets, but for many users, they’re good enough. With Google plying this very different agenda, smartphone prices have only one way to go: down. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2013 in apple, Google, RIM, samsung

 

2013: Microsoft cements games lead, Apple joins in

11 Jan

Gamescom Cologen trade fair - Microsoft Xbox 360 with KinectIt’s not much of a stretch to predict that we’re going to see some new video game consoles this year. It might be a little surprising, however, to suggest that Microsoft is going to jump to a commanding lead in this ongoing console war and that the battle may go from the current three players to four – at least for the time being.

Firstly, the writing on the wall couldn’t be more obvious in regards to new consoles from at least Microsoft and likely Sony as well. Slowing console sales are one indicator, but perhaps the most telling hint is Microsoft’s first-party release schedule.

The company has typically rotated its two biggest franchises, Halo and Gears of War, over successive holiday periods, with the former coming one year and the latter the next. Yet this time around, Halo 4 saw its release this past September while Gears of War: Judgment is scheduled for a March, 2013 launch. The two biggest franchises released within months of each other? What’s going on? Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2013 in apple, microsoft, nintendo, sony, video games

 

2013: A la carte TV issues bubble over

10 Jan
Will an Apple television finally become reality in 2013?

Will an Apple television finally become reality in 2013?

Wouldn’t it be great if we could subscribe to only the television channels we want, rather than having to pay for a whole bunch of crap that we don’t?

Yes indeed, and people have been saying so for ages. This year, it’s either finally going to happen – or there’s going to be a big fight over why it isn’t happening.

Apple watchers (myself included) spent a good portion of 2012 sitting on their hands and waiting for the company’s promised foray into the television market. With the late Steve Jobs telling his biographer that he had finally “cracked” how to do a TV and current chief executive Tim Cook repeatedly saying it’s an area of “intense interest,” it’s been more of a question of when and how rather than if. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2013 in apple, intel, rogers, sony, television

 

10 of the biggest tech stories in 2012

28 Dec

The best thing about covering technology is that it’s never dull. As an ever-changing field, the danger for journalists lies not in getting bored with the beat, but in falling behind the rapid developments.

I’d argue this is one area where year-end lists are actually vital; with so much happening on a daily basis, it’s important to step back and take stock of it all. It’s a good opportunity to digest everything that has happened, so that we can figure out what it all means.

In that vein, here are the 10 events or ongoing technology stories that I thought were important in 2012:

10. Apocalypse Not Now

Mayan_Pyramids

This one is more of a science story than a technology trend, but since all tech is rooted in science, it seems very relevant. In 2012, the Mayan-forecasted apocalypse that was supposed to happen on Dec. 21 came and went without so much as a sneeze. That followed two predictions of the Rapture last year by religious nut Harold Camping, who this year apologized for his faulty forecasts. With the discrediting of this sort of nonsense, perhaps further nutjobs will STFU and allow the world to get on with reality. Or at least study the things that may actually wipe us out, as the new Cambridge Project for Existential Risk plans to do.  Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2012 in amazon, apple, copyright, ebooks, Facebook, Google, government, microsoft, robots, samsung

 

10 best (or most important) gadgets of the year

24 Dec

With technology advancing exponentially, so too are the number of new gadgets flooding the market. There are indeed so many gizmos coming out on a daily basis that it’s almost impossible to keep track of them.

That’s why, love them or hate them, top-10 lists are especially useful when it comes to this particular theme. All such lists are purely subjective, as is the one I’ve put together below, but they are handy in identifying some of the standouts amid the sea of stuff out there.

Here are the 10 gadgets I liked best – or that I thought were important – in 2012:

10. Sony 4K TV

sony-4k

With everyone already owning an HDTV, it was inevitable that manufacturers would eventually start pushing the next big thing. Sony is one of the first with its 4K TV, with the 4K standing for the more than 4,000 pixels along its width, making it twice as sharp as a regular 1080p model. This 84-inch beast costs $25,000 so it’s clearly not something I’ll be getting any time soon, but it did look sweet in the demo I saw earlier this year. The only question is: how would Santa get it down the chimney? Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted by on December 24, 2012 in android, apple, copyright, gadgets, Google, ipad, iphone, nintendo, samsung, sony, video games

 
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