Archive | March, 2011
No Windows Tablets Until Late 2012? That Could be Disastrous. Or a Pretty Good Idea.
When is Microsoft going to have a version of Windows that can power tablets that have a chance at competing with the iPad? Bloomberg’s Ian King and Dina Bass are reporting that the world’s largest software company won’t release anything until 2012′s back-to-school season. They don’t use the words “Windows 8″ in the story, but if they’re right about the timing, it sounds like Microsoft has decided that the best way to respond to the iPad is with a version of full-blown Windows that’s been thoroughly reworked for tablets (rather than the plain ol’ Windows 7 which failed to storm the tablet market back in early 2010).
Then again, it may have other, speedier plans. ZDnet’s Mary Jo Foley wrote about Windows Embedded Compact 7, a version of the operating system based on the same guts as Windows Phone 7. It’s already out, and meant for a variety of devices, including…tablets! But maybe simple ones focused on the consumption of content rather than creation. (With Apple’s demos of versions of iMovie and GarageBand for the iPad, I hope there’s nobody left who insists that the iPad is purely, um, consumptive.)
It’s Time for Google to Rethink the Android Market
4. March 2011
Does Android have a malware problem? After news earlier this week about Google removing 21 apps from the Android market earlier this week due to the discovery of a Trojan horse, it ‘s now being reported that as many as 50 or more apps in total have now gotten the axe.
While Android malware is nothing new, this apparently marks the first time that the problem has occurred on a larger scale. At least three different developers (if you want to call them that, since they were all basically malware pushers), have now used the same Trojan. There could be more.
Death By Smartphone: Panasonic’s Jungle Gets the Axe
3. March 2011
The skeptics were right to dismiss Panasonic’s Jungle, a handheld gaming device that surfaced in previews last October. With development cancelled and no launch in sight, the Jungle is down in the deadpool alongside Panasonic’s failed 3DO.
The Jungle was designed as a Linux-based handheld with a high-resolution display, a physical keyboard, touch pads and a niche focus on massive multiplayer online games. Battlestar Galactica Online was supposed to be a launch title.
Panasonic won’t say why it aborted the Jungle other than “changes in the market and in our own strategic direction,” but I can make an educated guess that smartphones — and to some extent tablets — are to blame.
Not Just About Cases Anymore: The Smart Cover
3. March 2011
Leave it to Apple to try to reinvent the wheel! Along with the announcements of the iPad 2 and its corresponding iOS update, Steve Jobs and Co. have come out with the Smart Cover. It really appears as if Apple is going after one particular issue with its latest invention, and that’s bulk.
I’m Not So Sure About Twitter’s New iPhone App
3. March 2011
As I’ve periodically mentioned, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with Twitter for iPhone, the app formerly known as Tweetie. It’s not just a standout Twitter client and a wonder piece of iPhone software–I think that Loren Brichter, its creator, is one of the most gifted interface designers who’s ever worked in software for any device.
Today, Twitter rolled out an update to the app, and while the list of features makes it look like a meaty winner, I’ve been fumbling with it so far.
Nintendo 3DS, the Gaming Device That Streams Netflix Movies
3. March 2011
It behooves Nintendo to insist that the Nintendo 3DS is first and foremost about playing video games. That way, when a feature like Netflix streaming comes along, it’s a surprise instead of an expectation.
Netflix streaming was the big news from Nintendo’s Game Developers Conference keynote on Wednesday. The feature will arrive during the summer, at least a few months after the Nintendo 3DS’s March 27 launch.
Despite the news, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime emphasized that the “primary function of the 3DS is to play games.”
WordPress Under Attack
3. March 2011
Having trouble getting Technologizer to load this morning? Us too. Our hosting platform, WordPress.com, has been the subject of a massive DDoS attack by an unknown party.
Personal Hotspot Coming to AT&T iPhone 4
3. March 2011
AT&T confirmed Thursday that it would indeed bring the Personal Hotspot feature included in iOS 4.3 to its iPhone 4 customers. Verizon customers got to enjoy this feature at the launch of the device last month, for a $20 extra charge above the regular data plan.
Verizon users get 2GB of data to use for tethering: AT&T will also give its own users 2GB for the same price. In both cases, the data used in tethering applications is separate from the data used on the phone itself — meaning if you go over on either, you’ll be socked with overage charges in either case.
At least AT&T finally realized it’s not right to take your tethering data out of your regular data plan, yet still charge you an additional fee. Maybe it’s just me, but that seemed like highway robbery. In any case, AT&T’s announcement is sure to begin the debate on whether or not the user has a right to use the data they pay for in the manner they want.
[UPDATE: AT&T has contacted us to clarify: "AT&T counts data used in tethering applications and data used on the phone together," spokesperson Steve Kerns told us. "So a 2GB tethering plan and a 2GB phone data plan would provide 4GB of data that customers can use on the phone or through hotspot use."]
Your iPad 2 Predictions: What You Got Right (Most of It!) and What You Got Wrong
2. March 2011
Another Apple press event has come and gone, And as usual, the predictions I asked you to make hours before the event start turned out to be…well, not perfect, but impressive overall.
You didn’t figure out that Steve Jobs would preside. You expected the iPad and iOS 4.3 to take longer to show up than Apple says they will. You were excited about a new version of MobileMe that remains, for now, strictly theoretical. But you got most of the big stuff right, including some points I would have messed up. (I was expecting the iPad 2 to lack a rear camera, and for Steve Jobs, or someone, to helpfully explain to us that we didn’t even want one.)
Let’s recap–the numbers are the percentages of respondents who made each prediction, and the upshot is [IN CAPS AND BRACKETS] after each item.
The iPad 2: It’s a Game of Millimeters and Ounces, or the Lack Thereof
2. March 2011
More than most unannounced Apple products, the second-generation iPad–which we now know is the iPad 2–has been subject to wild swings of the Expectations-o-Meter. It was going to have a “retina display.” But only for awhile. Then it was going to be the meatier of two iPad revisions for 2011. It was also going to have two cameras. Until it wasn’t.
Finally, as of yesterday morning, the new iPad was supposed to be a “ho-hum” speed-bump of a refresh. Nothing to see, folks–move along.
At this morning’s press event, I sat next to gdgt’s Ryan Block. While I was gawking at Pixar’s John Lasseter, Ryan noticed that Apple COO Tim Cook and marketing honcho Phil Schiller were hobnobbing with the audience. Which meant they weren’t backstage prepping to host the event. Could that mean that Apple’s CEO would do the honors, Ryan wondered?
Video Playback of Apple’s iPad 2 Event
2. March 2011
Want to catch the video of this morning’s iPad event? Apple has posted it–but you’ll need to be running Safari on an Apple device to watch.
What Was Missing: MobileMe
2. March 2011
The iPad event has just ended in San Francisco, and what may be the biggest surprise of the presentation is what didn’t show up at Yerba Buena: MobileMe. After Apple pulled the product codes, and also removed the product from its shelves, most tech pundits (including myself) thought there was sure to be major news about Apple’s cloud-based service.
Nope. Nothing. Not even a mention from anyone on stage. So where does this leave MobileMe? Who knows. Here’s thought though: Cupertino may not have anything major to announce, thus any change- including the much rumored switch to a free service — may come without fanfare.
No one said that Apple needed to make a big production out of every move it makes. And really in the end, is it that important? Even so, its just curious that the company wouldn’t make a mention of it. Maybe they’re waiting for the iPhone 5 announcement to make the big splash, since MobileMe really is of more use to the smartphone user than tablet types.
I guess we’ll find out.
A Look at iOS 4.3
2. March 2011
Along with the release of the iPad 2, Apple on Wednesday also debut iOS 4.3, which includes several enhancements. The company has enhanced Safari performance, featuring the Nitro JavaScript engine first introduced to Mac OS X. This will likely result in much improved performance on iOS devices for sites with scripting.
iTunes Home Sharing will allow users to stream media from their computers to their mobile devices, and the much ballyhooed Personal Hotspot feature first debuted in Verizon iPhone 4′s would come to all devices. Of course, you’ll have to subscribe to tethering, but at least we know this time AT&T subscribers are not going to be left out in the cold.
Since the iPad 2 now includes cameras, Apple will now include both FaceTime and Photo Booth on all iPads. It is not immediately clear how connecting with an iPad would work, but its likely the user’s e-mail address would be the method of contacting the user akin to the way the desktop version works.
Another new application for iPad is iMovie, allowing for on-tablet editing of video. If you’re familiar with the iPhone 4 version of this application, then the iPad renditions going to be quite familiar. It will be available for $4.99 from the App Store.
What may tickle the musician’s fancy is GarageBand. It includes touch instruments that use the accelerometer to detect how hard you are hitting the screen: Hit the piano key harder, it plays louder and fuller, and vice versa.
iOS 4.3 would be available to the masses along with the iPad 2 on March 11.
Here It Is: The iPad 2
2. March 2011
Contrary to rumors across the Apple blogs, Cupertino opted Wednesday to go for the jugular, completely redesigning the iPad and including a dual-core A5 chip inside, providing about nine times the graphics performance of the original iPad. As expected, the device will ship with front and rear cameras, and will come in at two-thirds the thickness of the original device.
At a thickness of 8.8mm, it is actually thinner than the iPhone 4, a jovial (and obviously healthy enough) Steve Jobs boasted on stage in San Francisco. It would also come in a smidge lighter than its predecessor: 1.3 pounds versus 1.5 pounds for the first one.
And not willing to repeat the white iPhone 4 disaster, Apple says the iPad 2 will ship in two colors — white and black — from day one. It will also bring in more of the technologies from the iPhone that have made it such a successful development platform, such as a built-in gyroscope.
Steve Jobs is Present and Presenting
2. March 2011
The first bit of news from the iPad 2 event? Tim Cook and Phil Schiller were out mingling with the press, and Steve Jobs walked out on stage to present the keynote. “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss today,” he quipped. Wonder what the post-mortem on this event is going to look like now. Will it be about Steve or the iPad?
HP Playfully Punches RIM’s Playbook
2. March 2011
Noticing that Research in Motion’s Blackberry Playbook looks a lot like the HP TouchPad, Laptop Mag’s Mark Spoonauer has instigated a minor spat between the two companies.
A little background: HP’s 10-inch TouchPad uses WebOS, the operating system HP acquired along with Palm last year. The first device to use it, Palm’s Pre, launched in 2009. RIM’s OS is powered by QNX, a company that RIM acquired last year, and the 7-inch Playbook’s interface is built from scratch. Both platforms feature an app tray on the bottom of the screen and large panels representing open apps above. At a glance, they’re nearly identical.
With that in mind, Spoonauer asked a marketing executive from each company to comment on the similarities.
Here’s John Oakes, the HP TouchPad’s director of product marketing:
“From what we’ve seen in the market, there are some uncanny similarities. It’s a fast innovation cycle and a fast imitation cycle in this market … and we’ll keep innovating, we’ll keep honing and those guys hopefully will continue to see the value in it and keep following us by about a year.”
And here’s Jeff McDowell, RIM’s senior vice president for business and platform marketing:
“You know, cars over time end up looking a lot alike because you put them through a wind tunnel, and when you’re trying to come up with the best coefficient to drag ratio, there’s one optimized shape that gets the best wind resistance, right? Well, when you’re trying to optimize user experience … you’re going to get people landing on similar kinds of designs.”
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4. March 2011
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