Thinker, connector and builder. Contemplating the future of media consumption and storytelling. Immersed in digital, mobile, news, data, design, marketing and disruption.
Product Manager @ Yahoo!7.
Showing 82 posts tagged tech
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Wifi-less tablet device for very young kids
There’s long been debate over the suitability of computer technologies for very young children, but now that tablets have arrived California-based Rullingnet is betting on a new line of high-tech educational products designed with tykes in mind. At the core of those offerings is the Vinci Tab, an Android tablet with 7-inch touchscreen and a raft of features to keep kids aged 4 and under safe and entertained. READ MORE…
Around half of all tablet owners reported being the only ones in their household using their particular tablet, while 43 percent said they shared the tablet with others. Eight percent said that while they own a tablet used by other household members, they do not use it themselves.
When asked whether they used other connected devices more often or less often since purchasing a tablet, 35 percent of tablet owners who also owned a desktop computer reported using their desktop less often or not at all, while 32 percent of those who also owned laptops, said they used their laptop less often or never since acquiring a tablet. Twenty-seven percent of those who also own eReaders said they use their eReader less often or not at all – the same percentage as those who also own portable media players. One-in-four tablet owners who own portable games consoles are using those devices less often, if at all, since purchasing a tablet.
Of course they will.
- There are only a few products that are actually on the market right now, and not being just talked about.
- The pricing is still a major issue. Until these new tablets get here and have a competitive price point, no dice.
- Brand. Face Apple equals quality right now for the average person.
- Timing. Apple is on their second version (albeit only a year after the first), while others are flailing to get out their first.
It’s really not that mind boggling that the company that created the tablet market should own it. What’s amazing is that people think that it would be any other way.
The competitors are still trying to get their first devices out of the door to compete with the original iPad, while Apple is going to blow them all away with the iPad 2. Unlike the smartphone market with different form factors and options, there is less space for Android to compete with Apple in the tablet market - they will have to create a far better user experience to beat the iPad.
This isn’t going to happen any time soon.
The best Android tablet today, Motorola’s Xoom, provides a fraction of the apps of the iPad, has buggy software and a high ticket price. Why would your parents or neighbour buy the Xoom over the iPad 2?
Apple’s next tablet is released today in the USA and on March 25th here in Australia.
Microsoft’s vision - A connected future
Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie speaks about the emerging shift in how we will use computers, what they can do for us, and who is able to use them.
![nerdology:
Sony NGP
At a press conference in Japan last night Sony announced a device they call the NGP (Next Generation Portable) which is essentially the PSP2. This new handheld has wild hardware specs and I mean that in the best way. Sony has obviously been listening to fanboy outcry, because they put everything into this device:
dual analog sticks
a multi touch screen on the front
a multi touch pad on the back
a camera on the front and on the back
six axis motion
a quad-core cortex-A9 processor (!)
3G and WiFi and connectivity
And let’s be honest, this is a really nice looking piece of hardware. And you’ll be able to buy your own this holiday.
There is no word, as far as I can tell, if there is a 3G data plan on the NGP or if it is just going to do basic location services, like a GPS, or transfer only bit’s of data, like a Kindel, over the 3G network. There is also no word on price… with all the stuff inside this device, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got a 300 dollar price tag. Yikes.
I’m am pretty excited for this. Initially because I love getting to see new hardware. But now, because I think it’s really going to make Nintendo step up its connectivity game. They’re going to have to if they want to compete with the iPhone, and Sony. I don’t mean the 3DS should get 3G, but their online service should work, and it should be seamless.
[Joystiq and others]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfooxxz5uO1qztitko1_500.jpg)
High-res
Sony NGP
At a press conference in Japan last night Sony announced a device they call the NGP (Next Generation Portable) which is essentially the PSP2. This new handheld has wild hardware specs and I mean that in the best way. Sony has obviously been listening to fanboy outcry, because they put everything into this device:
- dual analog sticks
- a multi touch screen on the front
- a multi touch pad on the back
- a camera on the front and on the back
- six axis motion
- a quad-core cortex-A9 processor (!)
- 3G and WiFi and connectivity
And let’s be honest, this is a really nice looking piece of hardware. And you’ll be able to buy your own this holiday.
There is no word, as far as I can tell, if there is a 3G data plan on the NGP or if it is just going to do basic location services, like a GPS, or transfer only bit’s of data, like a Kindel, over the 3G network. There is also no word on price… with all the stuff inside this device, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got a 300 dollar price tag. Yikes.
I’m am pretty excited for this. Initially because I love getting to see new hardware. But now, because I think it’s really going to make Nintendo step up its connectivity game. They’re going to have to if they want to compete with the iPhone, and Sony. I don’t mean the 3DS should get 3G, but their online service should work, and it should be seamless.
[Joystiq and others]
Lately it seems more and more evident that the general population expects software to be free or at the very least cheap. This is reinforced when companies like Apple, who make a tremendous income off of their hardware, the iTunes store, and many other revenue streams, heavily discount their software. I’m thinking of the iWork suite in particular. Apple can afford to discount their software because it’s not their main source of income and by doing so they are able to sell more copies and make their computer/iPhone/iPad-buying consumers happier. It also isn’t helped by the re-occurring “dot com boom” theme of putting out products or web services for free, getting investors involved, signing up millions of people, and then only kind of worrying about how to make money. I mean who cares, all it takes is a little annoying advertising to make some money and keep the investors happy, right?
So I thought I would sit down and write to all of those people out there who are buying software for $3.99 and wondering:
Why the hell do I have to pay $3.99 for this software? Shouldn’t it just be free?! WTF?!
This article is for you…
13 reasons why software isn’t free:
The majority of software is made by small software shops, usually less than a dozen people. They specialize in creating software and do not have billions in other revenue streams to fall back on.
Software is not easy to create — especially not software that people consider easy to use and attractive. It’s a whole heck of a lot of work, in fact.
Good software takes somewhere between months and years to create. It’s not something you just whip up in a night like they show you in the movies.
Software is created by hard working people… like you. Do you get paid for your work?
People who make software have more to do once your purchase has been made. We are here for you when you run into issues by providing a support team to answer questions, walk you through troubleshooting steps, fix bugs, etc.
Software teams are constantly working on improving and updating the software to keep up with changing technologies. It’s a continuous process.
Not all software developers seek outside investment to fund their projects. In fact, most of us do not. This is not suited for everyone and has many strings attached which often shape the end result.
It costs money to put out a software product. We have to spend years creating it, paying people’s salaries, renting office space, purchasing computers, etc. If we want you to actually find out about our product, we often need to spend money to advertise as well.
Software is an art and a science. It takes talented people skilled in computer science, engineering, and design, and more to create a quality software product.
Not all of us want to show you obnoxious advertising in order to make money, rather than just selling our actual work. Some of us hate obnoxious advertisements. Advertisements are not suitable for all software projects.
You pay for your clothes, gadgets, your movie tickets, your lunch, your plane ticket, etc. So why not your software?
Without software, your fancy laptop or iPad would be… well… pretty darn useless.
We do our best to price software affordably. Just like a sandwich shop owner figures out how much to charge for a sandwich based on the price that adequately covers the cost of ingredients, running the store, and paying their employees. Most of us price our software as reasonably as possible.
Hopefully after reading this, you understand that software does not create itself. It’s made by hard working people just like you. We often work in small teams and we put a lot of time thought, money, and effort into creating it for you. It’s our technological work of art. We’re not perfect, but we do our best. Please think about this article the next time you drop $10 on an app. Thanks!
When it comes to CES and technology, there’s always buzz about what’s coming out, and people are always interested to follow the news.
Webtrends has been gauging which companies are trending the most during CES, to discover which brands are resonating with people in realtime.
“We really wanted to understand the conversation around CES,” said Marko Z. Muellner, director of marketing.
Often the stories that get the most air and ink come from the tastemakers — and are much the same, said Peter Yared, vice president of apps at Webtrends. “The beauty of the social measurement tool is that it’s just data.” - LA Times
Interestingly, Apple is the highest trending company even though they don’t have a presence at CES. It just goes to show how much of an influence they have on the tech industry, as everyone is comparing the products being announced to what Apple is doing.
Companies getting the most mentions by Thursday afternoon
1. Microsoft, which wasn’t even among the top six in the last couple of days, has shot to the top of companies getting buzz. This seems to correlate directly with Steve Ballmer’s keynote address Wednesday evening.
2. Samsung was leading the pack earlier in the day but was bumped this afternoon by Microsoft.
3. Google: Android devices are making a sizable showing at CES this year — and are clearly getting lots of mentions online. At one point, Android phones had edged out iPhone mentions, according to Webtrends.
4. Apple: Even though Apple isn’t participating in the expo, people are comparing what’s being unveiled at the show with Apple products, Yared said. And those who develop accessories and the like for iPad, iPods and iPhones are showing their wares in Vegas.
5. LG: Earlier in the day and the week, LG topped the rankings.
Via LA Times
By Peter Petrovski
At CES today, Motorola have launched their tablet device - the Xoom. Questionable name aside, it packs Android, a dual core 1ghz processor (a whopping 2ghz total, for the math impaired of us), a 10.1 inch capacitative screen in a thin and leightweight chassis. What makes this tablet so much better than any other Android based tablet out there is the software - it’s running the as yet unreleased version of Android that’s optimised for tablets - Honeycomb, or Android 3.0.
This is great news as the operating system is completely optimised for tablets, no more half-baked skins and other tweaks to make Android usable on a big screen device.
Some more specs via Gizmodo -
There is also an HDMI output, 1080p HD video support, 720p video shooting, gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer. It will be available in Q1 as just a 3G/Wi-fi device, but Q2 as a 4G LTE/Wi-Fi version. And they say you can upgrade the Q1 version to LTE. Oh and there’s Flash support.
