Posts Tagged ‘samsung’
The best and worst in mobile 2010: It’s all about Apple and Android
It’s been a big year for mobile news. Android continued its strong growth in the smartphone market, Apple shook things up with the iPhone 4 and completely rejuvenated the tablet market with the iPad, and former mobile titans like RIM, Palm and Nokia struggled to maintain their relevancy.
I may be a little biased as VentureBeat’s lead mobile writer, but this year made it clear to me why mobile is one of the most exciting and vibrant areas in technology right now. The research firm IDC predicted in September that this year over last, and it doesn’t look like that will slow down anytime soon. Come next year, we can expect cheaper and more capable smartphones, and tablets that can finally stand up to the iPad.
But before we enter 2011, let’s take a look back at some of the best and worst stories in mobile news this year.
The Best
The iPad finally gets the tablet right, others follow suit
Apple’s wildly successful tablet was one of the worst kept secrets in the technology industry by the end of 2009, when multiple reports pointed to the fact that Apple was gearing up to introduce a tablet device. But not everybody was excited for yet another computing platform (). But, Apple being Apple, it managed to defy expectations , and it continued to do so as the tablet sold like crazy, .
Mere speculation of the iPad sparked an entirely new wave of tablets earlier this year, but most of those early entries failed, like the HP Slate and (more on the latter below). As it was becoming clearer that the iPad was a success, pretty much every major technology company threw their hats into the tablet arena, with the majority adopting Android as their tablet platform of choice. While is the only legitimate Android iPad competitor right now, we can expect even stronger competition next year. RIM also , which looks cool, but didn’t do much to negate the company’s failure to innovate this year (see below).
Android adoption grows like wildfire thanks to killer devices
Google’s Android platform wasn’t truly successful until the release of the Motorola Droid in November 2009, which was buoyed by a strong anti-Apple marketing campaign. Verizon apparently spent $100 million advertising the Droid, an investment which went on to help the entire Android platform in 2011. Earlier this month, Google’s every day (nearly 10 million a month), up from around 50,000 activations at the beginning of the year. In comparison, in its last quarter.
We can also point to the slew of great Android devices this year as a driving force behind the platform’s success. The year started off with the first true “Google phone”, the Nexus One, which Google attempted to sell on its own through an online store. That plan , but the Nexus One heralded other superpowered Android phones like the Evo 4G and Droid X. In the second half of the year, Samsung unveiled its ambitious Galaxy S line of phones across all major US carriers, which we’ll discuss further below.
Basically, if you were on the lookout for an Android phone this year, it was tough to be disappointed.
Apple’s iPhone 4: Its most polished entry yet
Despite the many great Android phones that hit the market this year — which brought a sexy new design, high-definition video recording, front facing camera and FaceTime for video conferencing, and a high-resolution “Retina Display.” Apple didn’t increase the iPhone’s screen size to compete with larger Android phones, but the iPhone 4’s display looks so good it didn’t seem to matter that it was still 3.5-inches.
But while the iPhone 4 is definitely one of the best phones to come out this year, it isn’t without it’s problems, as we’ll discuss below.
Samsung comes out of nowhere to become a major Android manufacturer
Samsung has been building mobile phones for years now, and it’s also released a couple of low-end Android phones. So you can imagine the surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, featuring its droolworthy 4-inch Super AMOLED screens and its powerful 1-gigahertz Hummingbird processor. And the company didn’t just focus on hardware — Samsung also managed to bring its Galaxy S phones across all major U.S carriers.
The company’s ambition has seemed to pay off. Samsung announced in November that it , and earlier this month we reported that . Much of the hardware in the Galaxy S phones went into Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet, which has sold 1 million units two months after it launched. And of course, Samsung’s Galaxy S experience , the second Google phone and Nexus One successor.
Front-facing cameras for mobile video chat
Before we knew the official specifications of the iPhone 4, it was widely known that it would pack a front-facing camera for mobile video conferencing. At the time, I argued that , something I believed would be the next killer feature in smartphones. When Apple finally unveiled the iPhone 4, its was one of the biggest announcements. Finally, we had a simple way to initiate mobile video chats from our phones as easily as making a standard phone call.
While FaceTime is certainly restricted by only working on WiFi networks, Apple made the technology even more useful and the most recent iPod Touch version (which also sports cameras).
Android phones like the Evo 4G, MyTouch 4G and Nexus S also feature front-facing cameras, and I suspect the feature will become even more common next year. The new wave of front cameras also opened the doors for , which has created mobile video chat apps that will work across the iPhone and Android.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is surprisingly cool
Perhaps it was the low expectations going in, but count me as shocked that Microsoft was actually able to make a desirable smartphone platform in Windows Phone 7 — one that offered some key difference from its competitors, as well as an attractive and refreshing user interface.
Microsoft , but didn’t until October. And by that point, it was obvious that to regain its relevancy in mobile devices. The company , and a few weeks after the phones hit shelves. Microsoft announced yesterday that , which doesn’t tell us much about actual users, but it’s a sign that consumers definitely want the phones.
Microsoft knew what it needed to succeed: Attractive high-end smartphones, a strong app community and a modern OS. With Windows Phone 7, it managed to put together all of the right pieces to deliver a platform , even if it is several years too late.
Worst
Microsoft’s Kin: The phones nobody wanted
Kin. Need I say anything else? From the moment , its misguided attempt at capturing the youth market, it was clear that Kin was an idea several years too late. They were severely restricted phones that had subscription plans just as expensive as real smartphones. So it was no surprise when Microsoft, surely with plenty of egg on its face, several weeks after the phones hit stores.
At the time of the Kin’s death, I wrote:
What started as an ambitious attempt to justify Microsoft’s purchase of Danger, the company behind the popular Sidekick messaging phones, turned into a misguided attempt at trying to figure out what young people find cool. Never mind that many teenagers and twenty-somethings had already moved on to legitimate smartphone platforms.
The Kin phones lacked an application store and seemingly basic functionality like a calendar and instant messaging software — a glaring omission for something aimed at “connected” youth. Ultimately, the Kin’s failure is one Microsoft needs to remember: Instead of trying to force-feed a lackluster product to consumers, perhaps it should devote more time on creating something people actually want — like it did with the Xbox 360.
Microsoft kills the Courier dual-screen “digital journal”
At a time when every company seemed hell-bent on taking on the iPad with tablets of their own, was a breath of fresh air. Courier was a dual-screened “digital journal” that was touch-screen capable, but also featured a stylus pen for hand written text, diagrams and more. Video demonstrations of the product made it seem like the evolution of the digital planner, combined with a personal journal and web-enabled tablet.
It was an ambitious move for Microsoft — so before the project even got off the ground.
iPhone 4 design issues: Antennagate, glassgate and the elusive white iPhone 4
As beautiful as Apple’s iPhone 4 may be, it became clear over the course of the year that Apple may have actually over-designed the phone to the point where its looks was interfering with its functionality.
The first big issue was antennagate: As soon as the iPhone 4 started getting into consumers’ hands, many began to notice that they could repeatedly kill their iPhone’s reception by holding the lower-left corner of the device. This time around, Apple made the device’s antenna an integral part of its design, and it appeared as if that allowed users to easily block reception. The issue became so widely known that to address the issue, where he mentioned that in a similar manner. Jobs , and instituted a program to offer free cases to every iPhone 4 owner.
But the iPhone 4’s troubles didn’t stop there. Several gadget sites eventually reported on another phenomenon, , where certain cases that slid onto the back of the iPhone could trap dirt and debris, eventually leading to scratches and cracks on its rear glass panel. Apple never admitted to the issue, but ended up removing sliding cases from its online stores and retail locations. The company is reportedly investigating just how widespread the issue is. It doesn’t appear to be affecting as many users as antennagate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple is keen on avoiding any further controversy with the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 4’s design was . Apple showed off white iPhone 4s when it was first announced, but that version never found its way to stores. Apparently, the white iPhone 4’s glass back was leaking in light — to the point where it was washing out pictures taken by the device’s camera. The issue was apparently discovered at the last-minute by Apple. The company ended up delaying the release of the white iPhone 4 three times without explanation– now .
HP buys Palm … and does nothing with it
Following lackluster sales of the Palm Pre and Pixi, former mobile leader Palm was in a tough spot at the beginning of the year, and it quickly became obvious that the company was looking to sell. after from four other major companies. The acquisition showed that HP was serious about becoming a player in the smartphone business, and we argued .
That may still happen eventually, but for now it doesn’t look like HP has done much with Palm. In October, of Palm’s innovative webOS operating system, but at the same time it revealed the Palm Pre 2, which was nothing more than a speed upgrade to the original Pre. At a time when killer Android phones were coming left and right, it seemed downright crazy that Palm still didn’t have a major new handset. At least early next year with the “PalmPad.”
RIM and Nokia continue their downward spiral into irrelevancy
I suppose it was too much to ask to see some spark of innovation from either Research in Motion or Nokia this year. Both companies managed to release new flagship devices that somehow feel several years too late.
, it’s first attempt at combining a multitouch screen with its beloved BlackBerry hardware keyboard, which ran its new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Unfortunately, the new OS wasn’t the major upgrade that RIM needed to compete with more modern competitors, and the Torch was hampered by a slow processor and low display resolution. In the end, it was a minor release when RIM needed something major. Next year RIM may release a phone featuring the next-generation OS on its PlayBook tablet, but who knows when that will actually happen.
Nokia faced similar software problems with its N8 smartphone. In my review, . Nokia too is gearing up to release a next-generation OS next year, dubbed Meego, together with Intel. But Meego has seen some serious delays, and unless it comes out early next year, it risks being too little, too late, for Nokia.
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CES preview: A bigger show with everything from connected TVs to smart grid monitors
After getting pummeled by the recession the last couple of years, the coming in January looks like it’s going to be bigger and better again.
The biggest U.S. tech trade show (officially called the 2011 International CES) is an over-the-top extravaganza that is expected to draw more than 126,000 attendees and command more exhibit space compared to last year, said Jason Oxman, senior vice president at the , which stages the show. The return to growth will be welcome, since CES is a barometer for the health of the tech economy and is the place where companies display their gadgets and services for the upcoming year.
In an interview, Oxman said, “Based on our best estimate, [the show] will have more square footage, and attendance will be equal or slightly higher than where we were last year.”
This year’s show takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other venues from Jan 4 – 9. Oxman said exhibitors have reserved more than 1.5 million square feet and that reservations are still coming in. For the January 2010 show, exhibitors took out 1.44 million square feet. Attendees in January, 2010 were 126,641, which was up from 113,085 but down from 141,150 in January 2008. In the past five years, the biggest attendance number was 152,203 in 2006, while the biggest exhibit space was 1.86 million square feet in January 2008.
“As a bellwether, CES is a strong indicator for the tech industry’s fortunes for the year,” Oxman said. “The strength and strong buzz about innovation at this show will bode well for the industry.”
This year, companies have shifted their buying patterns to wait longer before they book the space. Usually, the biggest exhibitors book their space for the next year just after one show ends. That means late bookings are up, with bookings from July through November beating sales records. Overall, there will be 2,500 exhibitors this year, including a number of new ones. Some of the more prominent ones include General Electric, Audi, Kenmore and Nike. The big selling point of CES is that attendees stage a dozen meetings on average at the show, eliminating the need for travel later in the year.
As for trends, Oxman said that broadband communications will be a big deal as wireless providers begin to launch their 4G high-speed mobile networks. A new category of connected home appliances — such as smart grid power usage monitors — will be on the show floor. There are special areas dedicated to tablet computers and eBook readers — with more square footage dedicated to those categories this year, Oxman said.
Connected TVs will likely dominate the cornucopia of new TVs at the show. This year, more of those TVs will debut with apps built into them so they can replicate the smartphone experience in the living room. 3D TVs will continue to evolve and make a splash at the event. Motion-control systems such as Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 video game console are also expected to be popular. The sustainable planet section of the show is expanding, as is the space for in-vehicle entertainment. All of the major smartphone vendors are exhibiting. Mohammed Awad, a product manager for Broadcom, expects near-field communications to have a lot of buzz.
Overall, the CEA expects the U.S. consumer electronics industry’s sales to grow 3 percent in 2010. It will update its forecast for 2011 at the show.
On average, U.S. consumers are expected to spend $232 per household on consumer electronics gifts over the holidays, up 5 percent from last year, even though the overall amount spent on gifts will be down 2 percent to $750 this year. That number is the highest in 17 years, according to an October survey announcement. For the full year, consumers are spending $1,380 on consumer electronics, up $151 from last year, based on CEA’s survey from May. Black Friday sales reports confirmed the strong recovery in consumer electronics sales.
As for issues, Oxman said that the association wants the Obama administration to negotiate more international trade agreements, which often have a direct bearing on sales. That’s important since 95 percent of tech gadget consumers are outside the U.S. now. Of the show’s expected 126,000 attendees, roughly 25,000 will like come from outside the U.S. Those attendees are important because they are often tech buyers.
Another big issue is the allocation of wireless spectrum. Mobile broadband usage is starting to hit its limits. The CEA wants to shift allocation of spectrum away from the underused over-the-air TV to mobile phone applications. That kind of change requires congressional action. The CEA also wants government officials to review tax policy and to focus on spurring the economy.
Oxman said that attendees so far are saying that they are pleased by the hotel deals they’re getting. In the past two years, Las Vegas has added 10,000 hotel rooms, helping to ease the crunch that happens every year with CES. A few years ago, attendees complained they were getting gouged by the hotels. Among the celebrities expected to show for the many events and parties: Earth Wind & Fire. Keynote speakers include Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who kicks off the official show on the evening of January 5. Others include Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon; Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi; Boo-Keun Yoon, head of displays at Samsung; and Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford.
[photos (3D glasses demo, overview of show floor, Taylor Swift at Sony press event last year; 3D glasses at Panasonic booth) are from our ]
Date Square Ftg Attendance
2006 CES 1,690,000 152,203
2007 CES 1,804,070 143,695
2008 CES 1,857,161 141,150
2009 CES 1,711,403 113,085
2010 CES 1,441,808 126,641
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Google finally spills the beans on Nexus S, coming Dec. 16 on T-Mobile
Get ready for the new Android king. Google has , which will come equipped with the latest Android release, version 2.3 “Gingerbread.”
The phone will be available unlocked for $529, or together with a T-Mobile plan for $199, at Best Buy’s website and stores on December 16. It hits Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse stores on December 20 in the United Kingdom.
The company didn’t reveal much today that we don’t already know about the Nexus S: It’s co-developed by Samsung (which explains its similarity to Samsung’s Galaxy S phones), will feature a 1 gigahertz Samsung Hummingbird processor, and contains a 4-inch display that’s contoured to fit snug against your face. The phone sports a front-facing camera for video conferencing, and a rear 5 megapixel camera capable of shooting 720p high-definition video.
The Nexus S will also feature a “pure Google experience”, just like the Nexus One. This means the phone won’t be burdened with any third-party software like other Android phones and will also receive Android updates faster than other phones.
As Google CEO , the Nexus S also features near-field communication (NFC) technology, which allows it to wirelessly retrieve information from NFC tags on items like posters and stickers, as well as make in-person purchases without the need for a credit card. The inclusion of the technology is a big sign that NFC will find its way into many more Android phones in 2011. We recently reported that to build an NFC-based mobile commerce network dubbed Isis, which will also debut some time next year.
The Nexus S will also be the first Android device to run the Gingerbread version of the OS, which will bring improvements such as a more refined user interface, NFC support (not surprisingly), a new keyboard, built-in VoIP calling, better copy and paste functionality, and support for gyroscope sensors. Google also announced that its Gingerbread software development kit, which contains a bevy of programming tools, is .
Coinciding with the announcement, is now live on Google’s website. There’s also a new Twitter account, , that’s dedicated to Nexus S news. Google put together two short videos on the phone as well, one on the back story of the device, and another that’s a trippy demonstration of its capabilities. You can find them both below.
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Samsung steals top Android phone manufacturer crown from Motorola
Motorola is no longer the king of Android phones, as Samsung is responsible for 32.1 percent of all Android phones shipped in the US this past quarter, according to .
The company also announced that in less than two months since its launch.
The cause of Samsung’s smartphone success isn’t a big secret. Clearly, the company’s multi-carrier approach with its high-end Galaxy S Android phones is taking off. The shipment numbers are a 300 percent increase over Samsung’s Android ship rate in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Given that Samsung announced that , and that the phones are available on all major US carriers, it’s also not a huge surprise to see Samsung now in the top Android phone maker spot. Gartner reports that Motorola fell to the No. 2 spot, with HTC and LG in the third and fourth spots respectively.
Now it makes perfect sense why Google chose Samsung for flagship device.
As for the Tab — which is also available across all major US carriers, and retails between $400 (with contract) and $650 — Samsung is proving that it can compete somewhat with Apple’s iPad. The sales numbers are impressive considering that the Tab garnered mixed reviews. Despite its flaws, it appears that some consumers are still choosing it over the iPad, perhaps because of its smaller form factor — or simply because it’s the only viable Android tablet on the market right now.
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VentureBeat’s top 10 holiday gift ideas: affordable and fun gadgets that work
The holiday selling season is about to kick off and, slow economy or not, tech gadgets are going to be high on the wish list for a lot of us. At VentureBeat, we like gifts that work, that are fun, and that are affordable.
Many of these ideas for gifts aren’t brand new. That’s because new stuff breaks and costs a lot. You won’t see web-connected 3D TVs that play apps on our list because that’s too far on the bleeding edge now. They’re just not safe purchases, given how fast the technology is changing and how much better and cheaper they’re going to get with time.
Our top picks were easy. Apple or Apple or Apple. Which Apple device, was the hard question. But the iPad captured everyone’s imagination this year, as the device’s unique design finally set fire to the tablet computer category. Some devices like the Apple iPod Touch and the iPod Shuffle are also great products, but we can’t make our list full of nothing but Apple devices, can we? Throughout the year, these devices got more and more useful as the apps multiplied and the content, such as Beatles songs, arrived in droves.
What’s the right way to shop these days? Start online to find the best deals and prices. Skip the store warranty. Watch the prices go down. Of course, that won’t work with some items on this list. Microsoft’s Kinect motion-control system and the Sony PlayStation Move, for instance, are in short supply.
You can find our . Here’s this year’s list:
1. (Apple. $499 to $829). The iPad still has about 95 percent of the tablet computer market, even though it was introduced way back in March. As we suspected, games have turned out to be the most popular application on the iPad as well as the iPhone. The mesmerizing 9.7-inch screen is great for hand gesture controls, and the accelerometer control lets you tilt the screen to make things happen. Titles such as Angry Birds show that developers are producing apps that work great on the unique hardware platform that Apple created. But other apps, such as the New York Times and Flip Board, have made the iPad into a great media consumption device. The iPad isn’t as versatile as a computer, but when you fire up an app on the iPhone, you can pretty much bet it’s going to work and it’s going to be easy to control. A lot of critics have called it too expensive. Apple should bring down the price and come out with new versions on a faster timetable. But the iPad comes with one big advantage: You can get a ton of free stuff, given the thousands of free apps available on it. From the New York Times to the loads of free games, the iPad is one of those devices that can wind up saving you a lot of money on content. Many of the paid apps are just 99 cents.
2. (Apple. $199 to $299, with two-year AT&T service). Apple outdid itself and its competitors again by coming up with the best phone on the market (check out ). The high-resolution retina display delivers sharp images, and the combo camera and camcorder can capture great images to display on the device. It does video calls, multitasking, high-definition video, and the reception problem — — has pretty much died down, as all you have to do is get a cheap rubber case to ensure your calls don’t get dropped. The wide variety of apps — nearly 300,000 of them — make this phone more useful to people who want to have a combination of productive work and diverting entertainment in one device. Games, books, and location apps are taking off like wildfire with iPhone consumers. Apple is adding new functionality with its improved operating system. You can find games more easily with Game Center, browse through iAds, and organize your apps with ease.
3. (Amazon. $139, $179) The Kindle has long been a good gift idea, but it’s even more compelling this year, since Amazon has dropped its price considerably with . The $179 model with 3G is still a steal compared to its $259 price this time last year. What’s more, the third-generation Kindle offers many improvements over previous versions, including a higher contrast E-Ink screen and an impossibly thin profile. It’s not hyperbole to say that the Kindle is even more portable than a small paperback. Amazon will , so you’ll be able to share books with friends easily. And the widespread availability of Kindle software across other platforms (iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, PC, and more) means that you’ll always have access to your ebooks.
4. (Microsoft. $149, $299 with Xbox 360 bundle). Microsoft’s motion-control system for the Xbox 360 (which starts at $199) is rough around the edges. , but we are hard to please and it’s a lot better than other competing products on the market. We’ll wager this sells well because there are an awful lot of consumers who don’t care about Kinect’s weaknesses, which include inaccuracy, weak games (sold separately), and a limited power of recognition. For kids, it’s a magical device that lets them use their bodies to control a game on the TV screen. If you can suspend disbelief and tolerate the inaccuracy, it’s a pretty fun experience. We get a kick out of watching people play the system for the first time. They don’t mind making fools of themselves in front of their family and friends. In that sense, Kinect is inspiring wonder in consumers who were fascinated with Nintendo’s Wii motion-sensing console in 2006. Since Kinect is a software-upgradeable platform, Microsoft has a lot of time to iron out the bugs and then issue software fixes for them later. Also, game developers are likely going to learn how to make great games that compensate for the limitations of the technology. That reduces the risk of buying the system now. For now, this is the closest thing to the gesture-controlled computer that Tom Cruise used in the film Minority Report. For Microsoft, that is high praise. Usually, Microsoft’s devices come nowhere near Apple’s in terms of creating magical experiences. This device may be very hard to find by the end of the holidays, given the high demand for it.
5. (OnLive. $99). This system is one of the biggest bargains you’ll come across. Bundled with a wireless controller with fast reaction times,. By attaching it to your TV and the web, you can use it to play high-end video games on a high-definition screen with 1080p resolution. The MicroConsole taps OnLive’s games-on-demand servers. Those servers compute the game images and send them down at high speed over broadband connections to the device, which displays them on the screen. Normally, the game consoles do all of the heavy-duty computing. But with server games, the distribution system is all digital. A lot of critics said the technology wasn’t feasible. But OnLive has blown past everyone’s expectations and delivered a high-quality console experience,. You can boot up the system and start playing a game in about 15 seconds. The box is tiny, and it’s silent. The only hitch right now is that there are 35 games, and you can’t play the hot game of the season, Call of Duty Black Ops, on the Onlive system. You also need a 5-megabit-per-second broadband connection to play HD games on a 40-inch TV. Better content will come, and when that happens, consumers and console makers will finally realize just how disruptive the OnLive system will be.
6. (Roku. $80) Roku’s latest generation devices are cheaper and more capable than anything the company has produced before — giving you little reason not to pick one up if you still need a way to watch Netflix streaming video on your TV. The XD is the mid-range offering in Roku’s lineup, but there’s also the cheaper $60 Roku HD, or the top-end $100 Roku XDR. We like the XD because it gives you pretty much all the features you would need, and it’s a much better value than the $100 Apple TV. It offers a better Netflix experience than the Apple TV, as well as other services like Hulu Plus that Apple doesn’t offer yet. While you don’t have the convenience of iTunes purchases on the Roku, you have easy access to TV shows and movies via Amazon’s video on demand store.
7. (Apple. $999 to $1,599) Much like the iPad, this . But it has a lot of the features that the iPad ought to have, such as universal serial bus (USB 2.0) ports and full browsers. It’s great for entertainment because it has the full Mac OS operating system and all of its applications. It can also run Microsoft Office and other productivity apps. The device uses flash memory instead of a hard drive. That means you can turn it on instantly and it’s fast. You can switch back and forth between fun and work without having to reboot or wait a long time. That speed is a requirement for any device that purports to straddle the line between work and play. The MacBook Air comes with either an 11.6-inch screen or a 13.3-inch model. It’s only 0.68 inches thick at the thickest part and just 0.11 inches at its thinnest. It weighs 2.9 pounds, but it’s made out of solid aluminum so it’s sturdy. The size matters because you can carry it around and it won’t give you a backache. The FaceTime video phone app lets you call people with an iPhone 4 and chat with live video. It’s beautiful enough that people will stop and ask you about it. So it can’t be bad for your social life either.
8. (Sony. $49 and up). The PlayStation Move is Sony’s big bet on motion controls for the Playstation 3 (which starts at $299). , Sony didn’t think that 3D motion cameras, such as those used in Kinect, were ready for prime time. Instead, Sony stuck with a wand-like device you hold in your hand. It has traditional buttons, but it also has a variety of tracking sensors — a light bulb, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a compass — that give it pinpoint accuracy in tracking where your hand is moving. As such, it could prove to be much more accurate than either the Nintendo Wii or the Kinect. So far, Sony has a good combination of hardcore and casual games for the Move. But it lacks a killer application to really make the device sell. to go beyond Nintendo and to match Microsoft with the Move. If you’re a Sony fan, this could be your best purchase for the holidays. But Microsoft’s Kinect will probably stretch the imagination farther with its no-controller motion-sensing system. With Move, you get a better experience if you hold two controllers in your hand, and you also have to have a PlayStation Eye camera. When you add up all of those costs, you could spend $130 or more on the whole system.
9. (Samsung. $199 with two-year contract from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint) Out of nowhere, Samsung unleashed some of the most compelling Android smartphones ever seen — and it also had . Samsung’s Galaxy S phones aren’t the fastest or most fully featured Android phones out there, but they are a happy medium between mainstream Android handsets, and monstrously large phones like the Evo 4G. All of the Galaxy S phones feature a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, which is by far the brightest cellphone display available, and run Samsung’s 1 gigahertz Hummingbird processor. If you’re having trouble choosing an Android phone at the moment, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the Galaxy S options. And yes, even iPhone 4 owners will be envious.
10. (Barnes and Noble. $249) Just when you thought Barnes and Noble’s Nook e-reader was in serious trouble — given the new Kindle’s better display and cheaper price — the company , a device that appears to be part e-reader, part tablet, and all Android. The Nook Color drops the E-Ink display of the original and instead opts for a 7-inch touchscreen LCD display. It’s half the price of the iPad, and more portable to boot. It’s also a better option for younger kids, as it’s far more rugged than Apple’s tablet. It’s not a genuine Android tablet, since it won’t run Android apps, but B&N says it will let developers create apps specifically for the Nook Color. We still prefer the Kindle for pure text reading, but if you’re interested in electronic magazines, or a way to enjoy colorful children’s e-books, the Nook Color is by far one of the best values this season.
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iPad beats back first Android tablet — what does it all mean?
Samsung that its Android-based Galaxy tab sold 600,000 units globally in the first month of its launch. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPad sold over a million units in the same time period (and in even fewer nations than Samsung’s global count). Furthermore, see consumer anticipation of the “iPad 2″ as weakening the whole tablet market till Q1 of next year when such a product could be announced by Apple.
So just a month in, the first model in a new series of Android-based tablet computers is already losing to Apple’s market-defining iPad.
Will the iPad’s advantages with a market-leading developer ecosystem and unmatched pricing power in the supply chain give Apple the last laugh in this new round of computing turf wars, or will it eventually lose significant market share to the Android tablets?
Tim Bajarin, principal at technology consulting firm and a 30-year veteran of the computing field, has spent a lot of time advising companies on their tablet strategy. He believes that Android tablets will do more to expand the entire tablet market instead of actually taking away market share from the iPad. He advises, “Apple’s ecosystem is so far ahead of Android’s that at the very least, Apple will have the upper hand through 2011. The bigger question is whether the Android world can get their act together and create an equally powerful ecosystem of hardware, software and services in the future.”
But Bajarin doubts whether Android’s “wild wild west” marketplace for applications — lacking any real vetting process or quality controls — could sustain heightened consumer and developer interest. “While they have been criticized for this, our research shows that consumers really like the extra care from Apple,” says Bajarin, who believes that Apple’s ecosystem is thoughtfully designed, with the lack of malware and objectionable content as a boon to consumers.
Bajarin cautions that he can’t rule out the possibility of Android coming together to deliver an equally attractive ecosystem. However, he cites Google’s lack of a cohesive tablet strategy as a telltale sign that Android will not take a chunk out of iPad’s market share in the near future. “Apple also has a very controlled road map for hardware, software and services,” he says, while noting that, “Google’s goal is to create the OS and give it to vendors and let them figure out what to do with it. There is no master plan involved other then to help Google make money.”
There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the fighting chances of Android tablets: (also known as Honeycomb), a tablet-specific version of Android designed for screen sizes between 5-10 inches, should be released sometime in Q1 or Q2 of 2011. This could provide the more focused strategy currently lacking in Google’s approach that would do much to bolster the emerging platform.
Matthew Hagger, the developer behind , a real-time mobile web broadcasting and discovery service currently in stealth that will be one of the first applications to debut on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, is one of these optimists. He confidently proclaims not just a fighting chance, but a “knock out” by Android that could come “within two years in the tablet space.”
Going so far as to say that the Android platform could control 80% of the tablet market, Hagger believes that the variety of software verticals supported by multiple app stores and a wide geographic net supported by carriers and device-maker partnerships will turn the tables in Google’s favor in due time.
He also believes that the variety of hardware devices are going to become more important to developers and their software, since they won’t have to focus on inconvenient and costly porting. “These devices have varied use cases,” he said, citing his own service as taking early advantage of the special use case made possible by the dimensions of the Galaxy tab.
Victor Chong, product manager at mobile app developer agreed, citing the plethora of manufacturers preparing to ship Android tablets as a sign that the platform will be able to “cater to many more market segments than the iPad can.” Pointing to Android’s higher market share than Apple’s iPhone in recent months, Chong joins the of who believe the flexibility and pricing power allowed by a wide variety of Android smartphone devices could perform similar feats for Google in the nascent tablet space.
Whatever the outcome of this next battle for the future of personal computing, it’s probably best to keep the moderate words of Tim Bajarin in mind: odds are, Android tablets will do more to expand the market rather than create a turf war within it. Samsung’s Galaxy tab may be an early victim of the fight, but in the long-term, other Android tablets could make more headway.
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iPad beats back first Android tablet — what does it all mean?
Samsung that its Android-based Galaxy tab sold 600,000 units globally in the first month of its launch. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPad sold over a million units in the same time period (and in even fewer nations than Samsung’s global count). Furthermore, see consumer anticipation of the “iPad 2″ as weakening the whole tablet market till Q1 of next year when such a product could be announced by Apple.
So just a month in, the first model in a new series of Android-based tablet computers is already losing to Apple’s market-defining iPad.
Will the iPad’s advantages with a market-leading developer ecosystem and unmatched pricing power in the supply chain give Apple the last laugh in this new round of computing turf wars, or will it eventually lose significant market share to the Android tablets?
Tim Bajarin, principal at technology consulting firm and a 30-year veteran of the computing field, has spent a lot of time advising companies on their tablet strategy. He believes that Android tablets will do more to expand the entire tablet market instead of actually taking away market share from the iPad. He advises, “Apple’s ecosystem is so far ahead of Android’s that at the very least, Apple will have the upper hand through 2011. The bigger question is whether the Android world can get their act together and create an equally powerful ecosystem of hardware, software and services in the future.”
But Bajarin doubts whether Android’s “wild wild west” marketplace for applications — lacking any real vetting process or quality controls — could sustain heightened consumer and developer interest. “While they have been criticized for this, our research shows that consumers really like the extra care from Apple,” says Bajarin, who believes that Apple’s ecosystem is thoughtfully designed, with the lack of malware and objectionable content as a boon to consumers.
Bajarin cautions that he can’t rule out the possibility of Android coming together to deliver an equally attractive ecosystem. However, he cites Google’s lack of a cohesive tablet strategy as a telltale sign that Android will not take a chunk out of iPad’s market share in the near future. “Apple also has a very controlled road map for hardware, software and services,” he says, while noting that, “Google’s goal is to create the OS and give it to vendors and let them figure out what to do with it. There is no master plan involved other then to help Google make money.”
There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the fighting chances of Android tablets: (also known as Honeycomb), a tablet-specific version of Android designed for screen sizes between 5-10 inches, should be released sometime in Q1 or Q2 of 2011. This could provide the more focused strategy currently lacking in Google’s approach that would do much to bolster the emerging platform.
Matthew Hagger, the developer behind , a real-time mobile web broadcasting and discovery service currently in stealth that will be one of the first applications to debut on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, is one of these optimists. He confidently proclaims not just a fighting chance, but a “knock out” by Android that could come “within two years in the tablet space.”
Going so far as to say that the Android platform could control 80% of the tablet market, Hagger believes that the variety of software verticals supported by multiple app stores and a wide geographic net supported by carriers and device-maker partnerships will turn the tables in Google’s favor in due time.
He also believes that the variety of hardware devices are going to become more important to developers and their software, since they won’t have to focus on inconvenient and costly porting. “These devices have varied use cases,” he said, citing his own service as taking early advantage of the special use case made possible by the dimensions of the Galaxy tab.
Victor Chong, product manager at mobile app developer agreed, citing the plethora of manufacturers preparing to ship Android tablets as a sign that the platform will be able to “cater to many more market segments than the iPad can.” Pointing to Android’s higher market share than Apple’s iPhone in recent months, Chong joins the of who believe the flexibility and pricing power allowed by a wide variety of Android smartphone devices could perform similar feats for Google in the nascent tablet space.
Whatever the outcome of this next battle for the future of personal computing, it’s probably best to keep the moderate words of Tim Bajarin in mind: odds are, Android tablets will do more to expand the market rather than create a turf war within it. Samsung’s Galaxy tab may be an early victim of the fight, but in the long-term, other Android tablets could make more headway.
Companies: , ,