We’ve done predictions. I made some resolutions on behalf of the PC industry. And today on Twitter, I asked my pals to share their own personal wishes for 2010.
Here (after the jump) is what they had to say–once you’ve read their hopes, dreams, and ambitions, share your own in the comments. Happy new year, and thanks for being part of the Technologizer community.
Nine things crushed by Google.
YouTube’s top features of 2009.
TSA investigates document-publishing bloggers.
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This long rumination on the Apple tablet by Daring Fireball’s John Gruber makes sense to me.
We technology journalists are an obsessive-compulsive bunch. We like compiling lists–for the simple reason that people like reading lists. It only gets worse at the end of the year. And this being the end of the decade*, there are enough tech lists being published out there to wallpaper Bill Gates’ house.
We published one decade-related list ourselves (This Dumb Decade: The 87 Lamest Moments in Tech, 2000-2009), and one 2009-oriented one (Technologizer’s Second Annual Game Awards). But if that’s not enough to sate you, graze on these fifty additional lists about the decade, 2009, and 2010. Don’t read them all, though–your head might explode.
For the past two months, Verizon Wireless’s Droid by Motorola has had the privilege of holding the undisputed title of Coolest Android Phone on the Market. But its reign may be short, if everyone’s assumption that next week’s Google Android event turns out to be the unveiling of Google’s Nexus One (aka “the Googlephone”) turns out to be accurate.
The Nexus One remains unannounced, but there’s information (or alleged information) about it all over the Web. So it doesn’t seem premature to put together a provisional T-Grid comparing it to the Droid. The Nexus One data here is culled from sources such as Engadget and Gizmodo, and for now, you should pretend that each and every field has an asterisk next to it indicating that it’s not confirmed.
What are the key differences between the two phones? The Nexus One (which lacks a physical keyboard) is apparently thinner and lighter. It’s supposedly got an OLED screen which is said to be gorgeous. It runs on T-Mobile’s network rather than Verizon’s (it’ll reportedly only work on AT&T in sluggish EDGE mode). And it’s allegedly got a very fast CPU (1-GHz?) and twice the RAM of the Droid. Plus a newer version of Android that’s been further tweaked by Google.
Okay, enough apparentlys, supposedlys, reportedlys, and allegedlys. Info after the jump–I’ll update it once Google has weighed in…
Wow–no sooner do I publish a story bemoaning the diminished state of the once-proud Polaroid name than the news breaks that jWIN (owners of the sorta-well-known iLuv brand) are licensing the right to make Polaroid stuff. The company plans to offer “peripherals for PC’s, console games, mobile phones, audio/video as well as telephones, certain laptop carrying cases and cleaning care accessories.” The first time I see a Polaroid phone or laptop bag, I’m going to shed a silent tear. But I guess they’re not as undignified as Bell + Howell pest repellers…
Beyond the WiFi-only iPhone Slingbox client, neutered by Apple and AT&T, it’s been a very quiet year for Sling. No new retail products. Insignificant firmware and software updates to existing products. And fire sale SlingCatcher pricing. Combined with near radio silence, I figured EchoStar has been winding down the Sling line. However, all is not lost, as I received this CES invite earlier today which promises:
You’ll experience an up close view of Sling’s new placeshifting products including WiFi television, ultra-slim Slingboxes, and a next-generation touch screen device.
Of course, a WiFi television was shown at CES last year (pic above). Where it was pitched as a DISH Network accessory for Echostar’s yet-to-be-released “SlingLoaded” VIP 922 Echostar DVR. If I had to guess, that touchscreen device similarly accessorizes the 922 — as a Sonos-esque remote controller. I’m not entirely opposed to a slimmed-down Slingbox, but noticeably absent from this pitch is reference to a next generation Catcher… that lives up to its billing. Stay tuned, as I intend to find out more (with pics) next week in Vegas.
(This post republished from Zatz Not Funny.)
Hackers: goodbye Microsoft, hello Adobe?
Windows Mobile: signs of life.
Unlimited wireless broadband for $39.
Verizon getting new Palm phones?
Is Apple censoring Chinese apps?
List: ten decade-defining gadgets.
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On Tuesday at 10am PT, Google will be holding an event at the Googleplex–and everyone assumes that the subject will be the Nexus One Android smartphone. I’ll be in attendance, and in the tradition of our coverage of Apple’s live events, I’ll be reporting on the news as it happens and doing my best to answer your questions. Please join us at www.technologizer.com/googlephone (if you head there now, you can sign up for an e-mail reminder).
No brand is guaranteed eternal health. (The two most powerful tech trademarks of the mid-1980s were arguably Compaq and Lotus; both are still around, but in greatly diminished form.) The brands in this story haven’t just lost a little of their luster. Most were once among the most respected names in tech, but ran into financial hardship and got sold (often repeatedly) to new owners who were usually mostly interested in strip-mining whatever goodwill the brands retained with the American public.
If you ever loved any of the names in this article–and chances are that you once had a high opinion of at least a few of them–prepare to feel a tad glum.
