Holy post-PC era! Tablet shipments will surpass laptops this year
Quick, send a load of Valium to Intel and Microsoft executives! Gasp -- to Apple, too. Today NPD DisplaySearch forecasts that tablet shipments will exceed notebooks in 2013, globally. But in China and the United States, the milestone passed last year.
About 18 months ago, analysts started the smartphone-shipments-are-greater-than-PCs meme, which I didn't take too seriously. The market dynamics are different and handsets' functionally don't replace personal computers. Tablets are a whole other matter, because they can do just that. The category's rise over laptops is hugely significant.
Sprint and Verizon to introduce new Windows Phone 8 devices
Microsoft may have pulled out from CES 2013, leaving Qualcomm to steal the spotlight with its opening keynote presentation, but the firm's smartphone operating system lives and breathes at the popular trade show. US carriers Sprint and Verizon Wireless unveiled plans to offer new devices running Windows Phone 8, with the big red being the first of the two to release a product to market with the Samsung ATIV Odyssey.
For quite some time the ATIV Odyssey was rumored to surface as a Verizon-branded version of the ATIV S, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The new device comes with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 800 by 480, a 5MP back-facing camera capable of 1080p video recording and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and a 2,100mAh battery.
Back up unlimited devices anytime, anywhere with Carbonite Business
The popularity of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model has raised a lot of questions about security and the cloud, and firms embracing the trend also have to worry about what might happen to important data if a laptop, tablet, or smartphone gets stolen, lost, or broken while an employee is away from work.
It doesn’t matter how careful people are, accidents will always happen. According to a recent study by SquareTrade, over 30 percent of iPhones have been damaged in some way. Deaths by misadventure include being dropped in the toilet (9 percent), put in the washing machine (5 percent), and being left on the roof of a car prior to the driver making a quick getaway (6 percent). In the case of BYOD hardware, the loss of data is usually more worrying that the loss or destruction of the device itself.
Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon 800 and 600 processors, says goodbye to S series
This year Microsoft decided to call it quits on CES 2013 and give up its opening show keynote presentation (even though its CEO Steve Ballmer did make a brief unexpected appearance). Mobile giant Qualcomm took over Microsoft's traditional and highly coveted spot, and made the most of it by announcing the company's new Snapdragon processor line, that will power future mid-range and high-end smartphones and tablets.
The mobile giant decided to bury the S series branding, although the S4 Pro remains a resounding name through smartphones like the Google Nexus 4 and HTC DROID DNA and the recently announced Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Instead Qualcomm introduced new Snapdragon 600 and Snapdragon 800 processors. The former is similar to the currently available Snapdragon S4 Pro but the latter is a whole new beast altogether.
Forget CES, it's Microsoft Patch Tuesday!
Welcome to the second Tuesday of the month, the day that has become universally known in tech circles as Patch Tuesday. It is that one day when Microsoft chooses to reach out and touch our computers in an effort to fix whatever has gone wrong or been exploited over the past month. Even during the Consumer Electronics Show we cannot escape Microsoft -- Steve Ballmer made a surprise appearance on stage last night, and now there is this.
For January 2013 there are several fixes in store for customers. There is of course the obligatory Malicious Software Removal Tool update, which appears almost every month. The tool works in the background in an effort to keep PC's safe. Most customers never know it is there because it does not appear in any app list, but if needed, you can launch it from "Run" by typing "MRT".
Watch out! The Huawei Ascend Mate is coming with a 6.1-inch display
If you deem the Samsung Galaxy Note II as being either too small or too big for your taste, then you'd better look out for Huawei's new phablet. Ahead of the big CES opening day, the Chinese telecommunications company unveiled the Ascend Mate, the "smartphone with the world's largest screen". And with a 6.1-inch panel it's quite difficult to think of a more suitable claim.
The Galaxy Note II ships with a 5.5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, but the Ascend Mate easily tops it thanks to the 6.1-inch HD IPS+ LCD panel, which Huawei admits to be "huge". The 1280 by 720 resolution is however on the lower end of the spectrum judging by recent pre-CES announcements, namely the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. The Ascend Mate is powered by Huawei's own 1.5Ghz quad-core Hi-Silicon processor and a whopping 4,050mAh battery, again, topping the Galaxy Note II by 950mAh.
Fulton Innovation turns your gadgets into battery-life sucking vampires
If you carry more than one electrical device around with you -- a smartphone and a tablet, say -- at some point you’ll probably find yourself in a position where your tablet has loads of battery life, but your smartphone is about to die.
Fulton Innovation has come up with new technology which will allow users to wirelessly steal battery life from one device to power the other. No need to carry chargers, or hunt around trying to find a charging point.
Sony unveils the Xperia Z and ZL, two new smartphones with Jelly Bean onboard
Right before the big opening day at CES, Japanese manufacturer Sony took the wraps off two new Android smartphones -- the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Both sport similar under-the-hood specifications but different looks on the outside. Likely making up for the late upgrade schedule for previous Xperia handsets, Sony is adamant that it will update both smartphones from Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to the second Jelly Bean iteration "shortly after launch".
The Xperia Z and Xperia ZL follow smartphones like the HTC DROID DNA and Oppo Find 5 in delivering large 1080p displays paired with quad-core processors. Both handsets feature a 5-inch TFT panel with a resolution of 1920 by 1080, with the former of the two devices protected by a "shatter proof sheet of scratch-resistant glass". Power comes from a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor paired with an Adreno 320 graphics card and 2GB of RAM.
Firefox 18 promises faster page loading, Retina display support
Mozilla has launched Firefox 18.0 FINAL, the latest stable build of its open-source, cross-platform web browser. Version 18 debuts a new, faster JavaScript engine to improve page loading times by up to 26 per cent over the previous version. Mac users will also be pleased to learn that version 18 finally includes full Retina-display support on Macs running OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later.
At the same time, Mozilla is readying the final release of Thunderbird 18, a minor update to its email messaging tool. The most notable new feature here will be support for zoom in the compose window.
Corning announces atomically-improved Gorilla Glass 3 -- up to 3x more scratch resistant
It’s hardly one of the sexiest announcements to come out of this year’s CES, but the news that Corning has improved its toughened screen glass will be welcomed by accident prone smartphone owners everywhere. As someone who drops their phone with distressing regularity, I can’t begin to tell you how much I already appreciate Gorilla Glass’s strength and scratch resistance.
Corning says changes to the atomic structure of its material means the new Gorilla Glass 3 with Native Damage Resistance boasts such improved durability that it can withstand deep scratches and cracks in the glass, so you’ll be able to keep using a damaged phone or tablet for longer. Scratches you pick up along the way will be much less visible too.
GMER 2.0 arrives -- adds support for Windows 8 and x64 systems
After almost two years without a significant update, you might have been forgiven for thinking that rootkit detector GMER was on its way out. But it seems there’s some life left in the program yet. Version 2.0 has just been released, and it’s the most important GMER update for a very long time.
The new build finally provides full Windows x64 support, for instance. If you’ve not used the program for a while because of its 64-bit issues then now might be the time to reconsider. And the addition of Windows 8 support means you can now run GMER 2.0 on just about any modern PC.
At CES 2013, Steve Ballmer officially ushers in the post-PC era
Steve Ballmer's surprise CES pre-show keynote appearance is shocking and full of symbolism. Ballmer goes from being star to minor player on one of the tech industry's most important stages. Stunned sums up my reaction, and I was sorry to see Microsoft's CEO there last night. The company officially pulled out of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, with Ballmer ceding the keynote he inherited from Bill Gates. Clean break would have been better than this.
I don't demean his time on stage, which actually livened a limping start. Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs benefited from his keynote predecessor's Windows 8 presentation. My problem is Ballmer being there at all, for what his presence represents -- and there are a couple overlapping ways to read it.
Netgear finally concedes, joins the Google TV generation
Netgear read my mind. Hopefully not all of it, but the company is welcome to my tech thoughts at least. Just recently several of us here at BetaNews wrote about the tech we used most in 2012. In my column I mentioned that my trusty HTPC grows long in the tooth -- you think dog years are rough, try computer years. I started using a Netgear NeoTV instead. As I mentioned then, and will reiterate now, the interface is not flashy, but it works seamlessly. the hardware is robust as well.
In the end though, I admitted my plans in 2013 were to move to Google TV because of the added features -- web browser, apps, you know the routine.
5 CES 2013 pre-show announcements you should know about
The Computer Electronics Show gathers a significant number of companies and prospective buyers alike in Las Vegas for four days starting Tuesday. However, many companies didn't wait for opening day. Which among the early birds stand out from the others?
From the plethora of pre-show announcements most are oriented towards general consumer appliances. For instance, LG's presentation emphasized 39 new driers and 72 new fridges, among super expensive OLED TVs. For a passionate technology enthusiast like myself CES is not Heaven, it's utter Hell. Still, within the literally hundreds of announcements there are some exciting products unveiled in all the pre-show madness.
5 things I don't want to see at CES 2013
In just a few hours, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas with the pre-show keynote. But the event already feels days old, with all the announcements and press galas already passed. That's the insanity -- so much going on that vendors fall over themselves to get out stuff early so as not to be lost in noise. There will be plenty. Earlier today, I identified 5 things I would like to see come out of Las Vegas this week. Now it's the don't wannas.
Honestly it's tough to keep the list to five, but I do so for consistency's sake, or change much from last year. Vendors are queued up to make the same mistakes as in the past, incurring wasted marketing costs they pass onto you the buyer. With that, I present, in no particular order of importance, 5 things I really don't want to see at CES 2013.
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