Microsoft to buy Nokia’s phone business — A new direction?

Well it looks like Microsoft has opted to go “all in”.  The move totally reshapes the mobile industry and Microsoft’s future. By adding consumer hardware to it’s portfolio Microsoft now gains the expertise of Nokia long standing know-how in the industry. In addition Microsoft also adds in Nokia’s assets, giving them additional ammunition in the patent area. It will be interesting to see what direction existing products such as the Surface Pro and Surface RT take. With the purchase of Nokia it more than likely means that BlackBerry is off the table for Microsoft. I doubt that Microsoft will end up purchasing any of BlackBerry’s assets or seek a partnership. It will be interesting to see how both companies will transition and merge; as they find  synergies between the two companies.  Will this move push Samsung to rapidly expand Tizen? Will Google place Motorola in a more prominent role? How will this hurt BlackBerry, if at all? Is this a great oppourtunity for Microsoft to change it’s standing in the industry?

Related articles

• Free of its hardware biz, Nokia is now a serious Google rival (gigaom.com)
• Microsoft Purchases Nokia’s Device and Services Division to Unite Windows Phone Hardware and Software (macrumors.com)

Advertisement

The Usefulness of Facebook in Evolution or is it just Useful?

I am a user of Facebook, but not a real fan. By stating this some may feel it’s pointless to read on. Well let me confess, I have tried to understand our global fascination with Facebook. Why is it so popular? What makes it different than any other platform? Is it just another passing fad or the next MySpace? No, what Facebook represents is the nature of the Internet and technology. We all remember AOL. Did you get one of those CD’s in the mail? Do you know what mail is? Or what a pen is? Do you remember Compuserve? How about the Apple Newton? Sega? Atari? Napster? Netscape? Novell? Palm? A library? Alright, libraries are not dead yet, thankfully. I could go on, but can you see a pattern? All were powerful and amazing, during there time. They pushed limits and moved us forward into a new space. But alas, all good things must come to an end, right?

The virtual space, we call the Internet, is the new world. It’s fluid, dynamic and ever changing; never standing still to allow us to even truly understand what it is. Technology is constantly moving forward, dragging us along with it. We have to evolve. Every 6-8 months there is a new device or new idea for us to master. As we evolve some technologies get left behind. But what about Facebook? Where does it fit in? How is it useful?

I am mesmerised at the things people make public. How we broadcast our addictions and lower our language. Some swear and others do some remarkably strange things. It’s fascinating to see the things we dare not do in public are available online. What is Facebook? It’s that other world, within the world of the Internet. The one that allows us to broadcast who we are, until its dead and gone. We tell all, we connect with others. The odd people are now the ones who are not on Facebook. So is it useful? Of course it is. The question is useful to who? Useful to our species? Is Facebook just a part of the whole? I can’t wait for Google Glasses to take off. I am looking forward to the day when our evolutionary path makes us Betazoids. A marketers dream! But I digress. We we’re talking about Facebook, right?

By: @iammannyj

Related articles

• Facebook needs to learn from AOL and CompuServe (news.techeye.net)
• Technical Evolution Is The New Evolution (ryocentral.info)
• Facebook Introduces Feature for Facebook Admins to Promote Page (prweb.com)
• Why Facebook Likes Content Strategy: ConFab 2011 (raventools.com)
• The Evolution of Social Media (one or two scattered thoughts) (jsoverton.wordpress.com)

Is it too late for RIM?

English: Screenshot from the upcoming Bold 9900 / 9930 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RIM seems to be broken and customers in North America are leaving Blackberry for Google Android and Apple iPhones. There Playbook, albeit a great device, seems to be lost in a sea of tablets and obscurity. So what is RIM to do now? It seems that they are taking their time. Moving slowly towards a goal. BB10 will be a great OS and will provide Blackberry users with the update they need, however it seems that RIM is in slow motion; in an industry moving at lightning speed. We have already heard word that the first BB10 phone will not come with their signature keyboard, which some feel is suicide; a keyboard version not coming until 2013. We still don’t even have a release date. We want the best for RIM and they have a network, with software services, that other players covet. The only positive note is for RIM is the move by Microsoft to produce their own device; upsetting their OEM manufacturers. Google buying Motorola and potentially going it alone; now releasing updates about their Nexus 7. The question, is it too little too late for RIM?

Related articles

• RIM Deathwatch: Maria Bartiromo Dumps Blackberry For iPhone (247wallst.com)
• Why RIM Won’t Be Bought: There’s Not Much There There (forbes.com)
• RIM downgraded by Morgan Stanley on ‘deteriorating fundamentals’ (thestar.com)
• RIM says first new device won’t have keyboard (news.yahoo.com)

Microsoft Surface Device Revealed

Looks nice! You know you want it!

Do we finally have some competition for Apple?

Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet?

Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet?

Google has hinted at its own tablet since December. That’s when Eric Schmidt said the company would “market a tablet of the highest quality” within six months. Google later showed interest in competing with budget tablets such as Amazon‘s Kindle Fire.

Last month the Nexus tablet popped up on benchmarking site Rightware. According to the specs will use a quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 processor, and come with the Android 4.1 (“Jelly Bean”) operating system.

Is Google GDrive any better than Microsoft SkyDrive?

Google 的貼牌冰箱（Google refrigerator） (Photo credit: Aray Chen)

So what really makes Google GDrive better than Microsoft SkyDrive? Probably not a whole lot; in terms of drive space. However what Google is achieving is synergy between all of its offerings. With the introduction of Google GDrive you can, in a sense, really live online. Of course there is the issue of privacy and trust, but it seems that people really don’t care. GDrive is available on all devices, with the nagging exception of the Blackberry; which I am blogging from at the moment. With GDrive live will ChromeOS take hold? What does this mean for Apple? Will Dropbox or Box.net get bought out? How about Facebook? The next few months will be interesting indeed!

Related articles

• Thanks Google, It Only Took You Six Years (techcrunch.com)
• The GDrive Plot Thickens: Google Docs Users Now Have 5GB Of Space (techcrunch.com)
• SkyDrive storage space land grab for grandfathers (sciencetext.com)
• Google ‘to launch GDrive cloud storage next week’ (digitalspy.co.uk)
• Thinking about GDrive for online backup? Consider YouSendIt instead (yousendit.com)

Google Drive to offer free storage in the cloud

Outline of a cloud containing text 'The Cloud' (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google Drive to offer free storage in the cloud

Google is expected to shortly launch a major new consumer service offering cloud-based storage for photos and other online content.

The effort – dubbed Google Drive – is likely to offer 5GB (gigabytes) of free storage with more available for a monthly fee. It would challenge services including Dropbox and Microsoft’s SkyDrive. Experts suggest it could also force rival Facebook to enter the cloud market.

Read more

Related articles

• SkyDrive storage space land grab for grandfathers (sciencetext.com)
• 100GB Google Drive due today tip insiders (slashgear.com)
• Google Docs Free Storage Limit Gets Bumped From 1GB To 5GB Ahead Of Imminent Google Drive Announcement (androidpolice.com)
• [Rumor] Google May Be Launching Google Drive As Soon As Tuesday, Offering Up To 100GB For A Price (androidpolice.com)
• Google Drive is about to show up! (zisimopoulos.wordpress.com)
• It’s Personal-Cloud Week! SkyDrive Reduces Free Storage and Adds Desktop Apps; Dropbox Does Links. (allthingsd.com)

Where does Google Chrome the OS fit in?

So far Google Chrome has not seen much traction. With a new version of Windows coming out soon, Google will need to somehow pull itself from obscurity. I have always thought that the problem is the price point and applications. With so much focus on Android, how does Chrome fit in? Chrome, the browser, is already doing well. But will Chrome, the OS, ever get any headway? http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/255604/scitech/technology/is-google-chrome-looking-more-and-more-like-windows

Project Glass by Google

Ultra cool! Not sure if we need to say anything else about Project Glass. Wonder how long before they become contacts, or even embedded in our bodies.

RIM closer to releasing BB10

Image via CrunchBase

RIM plans to give developers prototypes BB10 in May. With slumping sales, BB10 could not come any sooner. It’s unfortunate that RIM has such a slow product development process. With both Google and Apple moving at lightening speeds, can the famed Blackberry survive? Up to 2,000 of the BlackBerry 10 test models will be given to developers.  Playbook 2.0 gave us a preview of what we can expect to see with the new BB10 phone. The question is, will it be enough? In Canada, RIM recently lost its top place. Canadian’s support RIM, however how much longer can they wait? My own experience with the new Playbook 2.0 has been delightfully good. It’s a great tablet, at the price point. However it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the Apple ecosystem. We can only hope that RIM maintains its strong hold on the business market. RIM has excellent products, however only time will tell if it’s enough to stem the slow burn.

Related articles

• RIM Doesn’t Want to Talk to Analysts Until After BB10 Launch (phonescoop.com)
• Will Research In Motion Recover ? – JP Morgan Analyst (amp2012.com)

A house once divided is back together again — Linux and Android Merge

Well to the delight and absolute glee of many followers Android has come back to the Linux fold. To much fanfare, with the release of Linux 3.3, Android is now back in the fold. Many years ago Android forked, causing a rift between the two kernels. Google initially took Android in a different direction. Now that Android is back on the Linux track it will be interesting to see what happens and how Linux evolves over the next few years. Hoping myself that it is all positive and we will see great things to come from Linux.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QA8tpls62I’%5D

Related articles

• Linux.org guru: re-merging of Android into kernel eases sysdev a bit (zdnet.com)
• Linux 3.3 integrates Android kernel code (fiercedeveloper.com)

Splashtop and Google Chrome?

Splashtop and Google Chrome is the future of computing. Get to your favorite web applications seconds after hitting the power button. We don’t burden your system with lots of legacy applications – we take a fresh approach to your computing experience. With Splashtop you get just what you need (and what you want) – web applications running quickly and efficiently, optimized for safety and power conservation. We have a team that focuses on nothing but making sure the “fast engine for running applications” is available. The way we compute will change forever when Splashtop and Google Chrome collide.

Chrome’s design bridges the gap between desktop and so-called “cloud computing.” At the touch of a button, Chrome lets you make a desktop, Start menu, or QuickLaunch shortcut to any Web page or Web application, blurring the line between what’s online and what’s inside your PC.

read more | digg story