As with the semiconductors used in memory and screens, which gradually increase in complexity with each generation, the current wave of smartphones and tablets can be seen as a steady progression. Each new model gets thinner, with better screens and faster processors, plus hardware add-ons such as NFC (near field communication) chips, but the overall concept doesn’t change.
“Samsung is like the Japanese companies when they were at the their peak, pumping out tech products for cheaper and cheaper,” said Hiroyuki Shimizu, an analyst at Gartner.
Shimizu said one way out of this spiral is software, but Samsung has had little success in developing its own. The company has largely abandoned its Bada OS, first announced in 2010, and is almost entirely dependent on Android for core content like maps, apps and video.
“Samsung emphasizes speed and execution. But this is contradictory to creativity. If you want speed and execution, you don’t expect to create something new,” said Chang. “Software is more individual and requires out-of-box thinking.”
Still, Samsung has opened up new segments of the smartphone market...
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Why Microsoft's Surface RT Will Flop
Microsoft's Surface RT recently took a hit when Samsung halted its sales in Germany, but that's not the reason this tablet will soon bite the dust.
The Surface RT is going to fail in the market mainly because of its steep price. Microsoft is not willing to lowball the product in a competitive market even though it can easily afford to subsidize the machine and sell it for $200, rather than the $780 it goes for in Germany. This is simply too much money.
And, of course, Microsoft has no clue about marketing this device because it looks and feels like a Windows 8 machine though it is not.
I think this sort of look-alike marketing would have flown in 1997, when the computer-using public was smarter. But ever since the dot-com crash and the subsequent failure of many computer magazines, the public has been becoming dumber in matters of computing and how things actually work. The younger generations do not care about chips anymore and they look at all the devices as superficial appliances. Thus, when they see the Surface RT "Windows" machine, they do not understand why regular Microsoft Word does not work on it...
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The Surface RT is going to fail in the market mainly because of its steep price. Microsoft is not willing to lowball the product in a competitive market even though it can easily afford to subsidize the machine and sell it for $200, rather than the $780 it goes for in Germany. This is simply too much money.
And, of course, Microsoft has no clue about marketing this device because it looks and feels like a Windows 8 machine though it is not.
I think this sort of look-alike marketing would have flown in 1997, when the computer-using public was smarter. But ever since the dot-com crash and the subsequent failure of many computer magazines, the public has been becoming dumber in matters of computing and how things actually work. The younger generations do not care about chips anymore and they look at all the devices as superficial appliances. Thus, when they see the Surface RT "Windows" machine, they do not understand why regular Microsoft Word does not work on it...
Read full story...
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Microsoft ships IE10 for Windows 7
Computerworld - Microsoft today released a final version of Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) for Windows 7, nearly two years after it introduced the browser at a company conference.
Customers who had earlier installed the IE10 preview will be the first to receive the upgrade through Windows Update. Others running IE9 on Windows 7 will be automatically upgraded "in the weeks ahead," according to the company, which did not get more specific than that about a timetable.
That day can't come too soon for many Windows 7 users, who have taken almost every opportunity to ask Microsoft -- most often in comments on company blogs -- when the new browser would reach them.
But IE10's debut was later than some analysts had once expected...
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Customers who had earlier installed the IE10 preview will be the first to receive the upgrade through Windows Update. Others running IE9 on Windows 7 will be automatically upgraded "in the weeks ahead," according to the company, which did not get more specific than that about a timetable.
That day can't come too soon for many Windows 7 users, who have taken almost every opportunity to ask Microsoft -- most often in comments on company blogs -- when the new browser would reach them.
But IE10's debut was later than some analysts had once expected...
Read full story...
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Tom's Guide: 10 Free Online Diagnostic Tools
Check out Tom's Guide's latest story on online diagnostic tools.
Keeping your computer squeaky clean and running smoothly isn't an easy task. You need to be mindful of what you download, keep an eye on performance for any changes, and keep all of your software up to date. Still, no matter how vigilant you are, you can't completely avoid computer problems. For those times, an online diagnostic tool might be your best bet for figuring out the issue without sinking a lot of time and money into special software. Check out '10 Free Online Diagnostic Tools' for some of our favorites...
Read full story...
Keeping your computer squeaky clean and running smoothly isn't an easy task. You need to be mindful of what you download, keep an eye on performance for any changes, and keep all of your software up to date. Still, no matter how vigilant you are, you can't completely avoid computer problems. For those times, an online diagnostic tool might be your best bet for figuring out the issue without sinking a lot of time and money into special software. Check out '10 Free Online Diagnostic Tools' for some of our favorites...
Read full story...
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Reddit Recap: Bill Gates' Seven Best Responses
Microsoft founder Bill Gates won over the Reddit crowd by answering a plethora of questions.
Bill Gates is a rock star on so many levels. Yes, he co-founded Microsoft, built his net worth to tens of billions of dollars, and now spends his days doing philanthropy work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, all of which are admirable in their own right. It would be easy for someone in his position to be an egotistical jerk who's disconnected from the public at large, but instead, this is the same guy who once did the Robot next to Jerry Seinfeld, made us crave churros in another Vista ad, and more recently (as in, yesterday) answered a boatload of questions on Reddit.
He didn't just answer three or four questions. The man with more money than most of us could spend in a lifetime provided nearly three dozen responses to a near non-stop barrage of inquiries ranging from silly to serious, and everything in between. If you have a free moment, it's worth reading all of his replies, but in the meantime, here are seven responses that stood out:
Question: If Microsoft didn't take off, what would you have done and be doing instead?
Answer: If the microprocessor had NOT come along I am not sure what I would have done. Maybe medicine or theoretical math, but it is hard to say.
Question: How was your relationship with Steve Jobs? I always hoped that y'all were really good friends and competitors.
Answer: He and I respected each other. Our biggest project was the Mac where Microsoft had more people on the project than Apple did as we wrote a lot of applications. I saw Steve regularly over the years including spending an afternoon with him a few months before he tragically passed away...
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Bill Gates is a rock star on so many levels. Yes, he co-founded Microsoft, built his net worth to tens of billions of dollars, and now spends his days doing philanthropy work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, all of which are admirable in their own right. It would be easy for someone in his position to be an egotistical jerk who's disconnected from the public at large, but instead, this is the same guy who once did the Robot next to Jerry Seinfeld, made us crave churros in another Vista ad, and more recently (as in, yesterday) answered a boatload of questions on Reddit.
He didn't just answer three or four questions. The man with more money than most of us could spend in a lifetime provided nearly three dozen responses to a near non-stop barrage of inquiries ranging from silly to serious, and everything in between. If you have a free moment, it's worth reading all of his replies, but in the meantime, here are seven responses that stood out:
Question: If Microsoft didn't take off, what would you have done and be doing instead?
Answer: If the microprocessor had NOT come along I am not sure what I would have done. Maybe medicine or theoretical math, but it is hard to say.
Question: How was your relationship with Steve Jobs? I always hoped that y'all were really good friends and competitors.
Answer: He and I respected each other. Our biggest project was the Mac where Microsoft had more people on the project than Apple did as we wrote a lot of applications. I saw Steve regularly over the years including spending an afternoon with him a few months before he tragically passed away...
Read full story...
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
How Does Microsoft Fit Into Dell's $24.4 Billion Buyout?
First things first -- if you haven't heard by now, Dell is going private. Michael Dell, with the help of private equity firm Silver Lake and a significant loan from Microsoft, have agreed to pay Dell's public shareholders $13.65 a share, valuing the transaction at $24.4 billion. Now Mr. Dell is free to run the company without having to answer to shareholders, and while it will likely be years before we know if this was in the best interest of Dell, there's an interesting side story involving Microsoft that deserves attention.
Without Microsoft's $2 billion loan, either this deal doesn't go down, or another company with that kind of cash to spend steps in. What's Microsoft's play in all this?
"Microsoft has provided a $2 billion loan to the group that has proposed to take Dell private. Microsoft is committed to the long term success of the entire PC ecosystem and invests heavily in a variety of ways to build that ecosystem for the future," Microsoft said in a statement.
"We're in an industry that is constantly evolving. As always, we will continue to look for opportunities to support partners who are committed to innovating and driving business for their devices and services built on the Microsoft platform," the company added.
So there's Microsoft's official explanation on why it got involved to the tune of $2 billion. As far as what it's willing to admit, Microsoft's play is that it has an obvious vested interest in the PC ecosystem, and apparently it believes, as Michael Dell does, that taking Dell private is the right move at this time...
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Sunday, February 3, 2013
Facebook Now Has a Reusable Gift Card
Facebook is inching even further into retail space with the introduction of a new gift card that can handle multiple balances. Starting Thursday, Facebook users can log on and purchase this Discovered-powered card, which is then physically delivered to the recipient. However, for now, it only supports four businesses: Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, Sephora, and Target.
To purchase one of these cards, users must direct themselves to the Facebook Gifts page. The new cards are found under the obvious Gift Cards & Digital category, but as of this writing were not present. Facebook indicated that Target, Olive Garden and the other two will be individually listed among Starbucks, iTunes, Hulu Plus and other current offerings.
Once the actual retailer is chosen, the sender determines the amount to be placed on the card. "Your friend will be notified instantly about your gift, and will receive a Facebook Card in the mail a few days later. As soon as it arrives, your friend can use the card at the retailer you've chosen for the amount you’ve gifted," Facebook said...
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To purchase one of these cards, users must direct themselves to the Facebook Gifts page. The new cards are found under the obvious Gift Cards & Digital category, but as of this writing were not present. Facebook indicated that Target, Olive Garden and the other two will be individually listed among Starbucks, iTunes, Hulu Plus and other current offerings.
Once the actual retailer is chosen, the sender determines the amount to be placed on the card. "Your friend will be notified instantly about your gift, and will receive a Facebook Card in the mail a few days later. As soon as it arrives, your friend can use the card at the retailer you've chosen for the amount you’ve gifted," Facebook said...
Read full story...
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