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Showing posts from 2011

Mobile Computers Push TV As Last ToDo

Owning a mobile computer could push our attention away from TV. We can do a lot now with computers to entertain ourselves, sometimes even leading us to doing something else other than sitting on the couch just to catch that popular game show.

Imagining the Future (Part 1)

The wake-up alarm was screaming in the background as you tried to open your eyes. The dark tint of the glass walls started to slowly fade away. The room was still dim when you stretched and yawned loudly. You rose and turned to sit on to the edge of your bed. As if on cue, the alarm stopped -- although it could automatically decide to set off again if it detected that you were still in bed for more than 15 minutes. You sat still for awhile. Your head was bowed down so that you were facing the floor, but you closed your eyes again. You listened to your favorite sound in the morning: silence. Your house's air-conditioning system made no noise although you knew it was still running -- the room's temperature felt just right. There was no noise from the outside either. It was quiet. You always woke up earlier than everyone else. You liked catching the stillness of the morning before another creature disturbed it. It was the best moment of peace you could enjoy everyday. It was the

On Apple's iPad 2...

Despite Microsoft's early efforts since early 2000 through the Windows Tablet PC, the tablet personal computer can never seem to pick up. However, the trend was changed in 2009 when Apple released the iPad, which is the first true successful tablet -- Steve Jobs even claims that Apple today has 90% share of the tablet computing market! 2011 is marked by a boom of new tablet products, most of which are running Google's Android OS. With the release of iPad 2 though, Apple maintains its significance... with a price to beat!

Motorola Prematurely Xoomed Risks

There are things that we wanted to do as quickly as possible motivated by some reasoning that may had been justifiable at that time as manageable risks, but are now turning out to be just plainly panic driven. I am guessing that's what happened with Motorola Xoom which is now garnering a lot of negative criticisms since launch that include Motorola's stupid act of promising 3G-to-4G upgrades without any clear plans; Motorola's obviously devious overpricing; and Motorola's questionable case on the use of an already registered brand/trademark.

BMW i Sets The Pace for the Future of Automobility

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BMW announces a sub-brand called " BMW i " on February 21, 2011. In the event , sketches of the i3 and i8 models were showcased, expected to be launched on 2013.

What Makes a Smartphone Super?

The smartphone has grown from a fully featured cellular phone to a mini-mobile computer with rich telecommunication features and functionalities practically sized to fit in a pocket. Nokia once touted their high-end devices as mobile computers. In a sense, they really are. More so today, only their difference in size separates smartphones from computers.

Importance of the Nokia+Microsoft Deal

The Nokia+Microsoft deal is the biggest news of the year so far in the mobile industry before the much awaited Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 14-27, 2011. What's the significance of this deal? How important is it to Nokia? And to Microsoft?

Search and Mobile Network Wars

The month of February starts with hot news about competing products and technologies. Hot enough to spark a couple of wars! It's Google vs. Microsoft Bing on a search war; and, it's Verizon vs. AT&T on the mobile network war (over Apple's iPhone).

February 2011 Later, Where Are They?

There were news last year of exciting product releases and updates to expect on January 2011. February 2011 comes in and now it's time to check out who delivered and who didn't...

Is Blackberry Losing Ground in 2011?

I was looking at my favorite source of tech usage statistics and noticed something that seems to favor Apple's iOS at the expense of Blackberry-based devices. Since this graph does not really distinguish between an iPhone, an iPod Touch or an iPad, still the trend seems to show that there are Blackberry users switching(?).

Web Standards Out of Control

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The World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C ) launched an HTML5 logo last January 18, 2011 which caused quite a stir in the web development community. The announcement came with this statement: Now there is a logo for those who have taken up parts of HTML5 into their sites, and for anyone who wishes to tell the world they are using or referring to HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and other technologies used to build modern Web applications. --  W3C Introduces an HTML5 Logo, W3C.org Two days later, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) contested that the HTML5 logo program does not replace "HTML" as the official term for the the web design standard and proclaimed instead that  HTML is the new HTML5 . In response to mostly negative community feedback, including criticisms from The Web Standards Project ( WaSP ), W3C retracted on January 21, 2011 to say that the logo "represents HTML5, the cornerstone for modern Web applications ." WaSP is requesting W3

Why I Chose Garmin nĂ¼vi® 1350?

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Simply put, GPS navigation devices can guide you to where you want to go. Anything else more than that are just pluses. Whether the device is small, big, thick or thin, what you really want out of it is that it won't get you lost.

Exciting Tech Products to Get This Year

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I am eagerly waiting for the following products to be released this year: NOOKColor with Android 2.2 or higher. I am expecting the current list price of $249 to stay or perhaps even get lower -- fingers crossed. Acer Iconia, which is a touchbook . However, it seems to be estimated to cost around $2000. I sure hope that price would actually turn out to be lower when it gets released in the US. If it gets too expensive, then... I don't know yet... I  read  that Samsung would be announcing 4G Windows Phone devices by February this year. Unless Apple announces a 4G iPhone this month then that would be something to seriously consider. However,  news  has it that Apple's targeting 4G in 2012 instead. AT&T or Verizon, it doesn't matter, for as long as its 4G LTE... Olympus PEN E-PL2 , which is a compact system, is already out. Priced at $600 with a kit lens, it's got to be worth the experience as I venture into micro four-thirds. If the NOOKColor upgrade gets delay

Marketing and Campaigning the Windows Phone

If you're Microsoft, and you want to market a new product like Windows Phone 7, how would you choose to do it? How could you penetrate a market that's already saturated with choices like the iPhone, Blackberry and Android super smartphones? What would work? And what wouldn't?

Technology Is Not All Business

The idea of developing new technologies is to help make our lives better. Although there are many new technologies coming out that seem to serve individual desires and wants, there are technologies that are also being developed to serve our "real" needs.

CES 2011: So What's New?

CES 2011 concludes today. After all the keynotes and all the exhibits are done, what's really new? Here's a quick rundown of what's new and hot at CES this year.

CES 2011: 3D A Year After...

CES 2010 hyped 3D TVs last year. 3D didn't pick up as much as expected in 2010. However, manufacturers are still betting that 3D TVs can be marketable now. In fact, at CES 2011, almost all major TV manufacturers announced new 3D TVs including LCD, LED, AMOLED and even plasma models.

CES 2011: The Android Invasion!

CES 2011 is invaded by Androids! Started today in Las Vegas, the first day news coverages are mostly about Android, 4G and more Androids. As expected, there'll be a lot of touchscreen devices at CES 2011...  but the Android theme is in the air. New players are venturing into releasing new product lines in 2011, and, yes, they mostly involve a lot of Androids. Many new 4G phones and tablets announced are also using Android.

Apple? It just works? Not anymore!

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The desirability of the iPhone has been negatively affected by various issues since iPhone 4 was launched in 2010. It is safe to say that the iPhone 4 is, perhaps, the worst version of the iPhone! From the first day's Antennaegate to the new year's Alarm-ageddon, Apple needs to smooth things out quickly lest they be beaten by the growing competition. 2010 is generally not a good year for the iPhone. And so far, 2011 is NOT enjoying a good start as well.

What Tech To Expect in 2011?

2010 celebrated a lot of announcements for new technologies for 2011. From new computer designs to more green-oriented technologies, 2011 is an exciting year for new products that can truly help improve our lives. Here's a quick list of what I have so far...