Consumer electronics
Microsoft and consumers
I have been saying for a long time that Microsoft doesn’t understand (or even want to understand) the average PC user. Others are beginning to say something similar. Last week, the New York Times Bits blog had a post by Steve Lohr, Microsoft Is Losing Fight for Consumers, Analyst Says. Lohr writes about some [...]
Nook e-book reader needs work
Bookseller Barnes & Noble has tried to catch up with Amazon’s success with the e-book reader Kindle by creating its own device called the Nook. However, two prominent journalists who write about consumer electronics are not impressed.
At the New York Times, David Pogue dumps all over the Nook and says, “…the Nook is [...]
Is the smartphone the new general purpose platform?
There is an ongoing discussion about whether the conventional consumer PC may be be supplanted by smartphones. For many, the smartphone provides all the functions that they need and its mobility is an essential advantage. In less-developed countries, the lower cost is also a key factor. To what extent devices like the iPhone will become [...]
The iPhone as music-maker
Several universities, including Princeton and Stanford, have established orchestral groups that use laptops as musical instruments. Now Stanford has a group that uses iPhones. The New York Times reports on a recent concert:
The Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra’s performance on Thursday used the most unusual of instruments: Apple iPhones amplified by speakers attached to small [...]
The Chrome operating system is no Windows rival- yet
Ever since Google announced that it was creating a new operating system called Chrome, there has been speculation that this would be a problem for Windows. Very little was actually known about the potential OS until yesterday, when Google revealed some details. The OS will not be available for another year and seems to be [...]
Did Apple blow a golden opportunity?
When Microsoft was struggling with the poor reception for Vista, poor search market share, security holes, and other problems, Apple made some inroads on Windows. However, several observers have written that Apple failed to really take advantage when Microsoft was in a hole. Now with Windows 7 revitalizing Microsoft, they say the chance to [...]
Cell phone vs. PC
It’s been quite a while since the cell phone was just a voice communicator. Camera, games, music, personal data manager, email, texting, Web browsing- all of these and more are features that are available on various models of the so-called “smartphones”. In fact, the most advanced of these über cell phones are really small mobile [...]
An appliance just for tweets
Are you a devoted tweeter? Then there’s an appliance just for you. Its sole function is tweeting. It’s called TwitterPeek and CNET describes it:
A new gadget designed specifically for people who want to tweet on the go was launched Tuesday by gadget maker Peek.
The device, dubbed TwitterPeek, does one thing and one thing only: [...]
Google Android GPS
Among its many activities, Google has developed an operating system for small devices like phones. It is called Android and has growing usage. For example, Motorola has a phone coming out called the “Droid”. Google’s platform is free, which gives Microsoft and others who charge some competition.
Now Google is adding a free navigation service [...]
Kindle software for PCs
Soon you won’t have to own the Kindle itself to get access to Amazon’s store of e-books. ZDNet reports:
Amazon announced on Thursday its “Kindle for PC,” a free application that lets users read e-books on their PCs.
The software makes it easier for a tablet PC to double as an e-reader that’s compatible with Amazon’s Kindle [...]
The most important tech product is- the Kindle?
If you ask somebody what the most important recent consumer tech product is, the iPhone is the likely answer. However, Don Reisinger has a completely different (and surprising) take on this question. Over at Internetnews.com, he says it’s the Kindle. He did an informal poll and no one mentioned the Kindle but he says:
The answers [...]
