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CES 2011: Seven tablets you should know about

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 10:53pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Some are calling the year 2011 the year of the tablet, and from the looks of what's coming out of CES this week it certainly seems the case. For much of 2010, Apple's iPad ruled the roost and sold an estimated 10 million units.
The only serious competitor to appear was Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which debuted in September and sold 600,000 units in its first month alone. The success of the Tab showed that there may be a market for an iPod competitor, which should be heartening to these new entrants.
Here is the seven most exciting tablet computers coming out of CES that we think you should know about (in no particular order). You may see a common theme here -- many of them run on Android, which means 2011 could very well also be the year Android breaks out of its primarily phone-based shell.
1. Dell Streak 7
Dell's first entrant into the 4G world is its Dell Streak 7 tablet, which will come to T-Mobile USA's network later this year. The device includes a 7-inch screen and a dual core processor. The negative here would be the fact that it will run Android 2.2 out of the box, however Dell said it would be upgradable to Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" when that releases later this year.
A 10-inch version is also on its way, and was briefly shown by the company at the show.
2. Toshiba "Tegra 2"
Although Toshiba's tablet hasn't exactly been named yet, the device would run on NVidia's Tegra chip technology. While the demo device shown to CES attendees is running Android 2.2, it should ship with Android 3.0. It's a little bigger than the streak with a 10-inch screen.
A cool feature with this tablet is the technology included called "Resolution Plus." Just like modern DVD players, the standard definition video is upconverted to appear as high definition. It will also include front and rear facing cameras, as well as Mini USB, USB, HDMI, and microSD card slots.
3. Motorola Xoom
Our own Tim Conneally got to take a look at this planned tablet, although it was only a shell. Regardless, we got some early word on the specs: Android 3.0, dual-core 1GHz processor, front and rear-facing cameras, HDMI, and data support from Verizon Wireless when it releases later this quarter.
For those wishing to take advantage of Verizon's 4G LTE network, an attachment would be offered in the second quarter of this year. See this video from Tim for a little bit more on the Xoom.
4. RIM PlayBook
We've covered the PlayBook at length here, from being the first to actually confirm the true specs of the device back in July to its official unveiling in September. RIM is using the platform of CES to further build hype for its product, and we now know the company is moving up its launch goals to this quarter, a quarter earlier than expected.
Charles Arthur of The Guardian spoke with RIM's John Wong about the device:
5. Lenovo IdeaPad U1/LePad
Lenovo's entrant is somewhat interesting, because at first it really is not a tablet. It starts out as a 10.1-inch netbook running Windows 7. However, when detached it becomes the "LePad," running Android 2.2.
The computer's shell is almost like a case of sorts, and the screen is the tablet part that detaches out. Lenovo actually showed a similar product last year, however at that time they had planned to use a proprietary operating system developed in-house.
Now, the tablet portion can be purchased separately, giving the "LePad" portion a competitive $500 price point. Add the case that makes it a laptop, and the price shoots up to $1,300.
Erin Malinowski of Wired explains how it works:
6. Vizio Via
Thought Vizio just made HDTV's? Think again. The company is one of the many trying to make a splash at CES with its Via tablet. Like many of its new competitors, it is also running Android and sports an 8-inch screen. Those that have seen it up close say the sharpness beats that of the iPad: this could be explained by the fact that the iPad's screen is almost two inches larger.
Initial models of the device will include 802.11n and Bluetooth connectivity, although it would have the capability down the road to support cellular data, the company says. Mini-HDMI is supported, and not surprisingly the device includes IR support so you can use it as a remote control.
(We should note that Vizio also debuted an Android phone at the show as well. Here's hoping the phone and tablet are as budget-minded as their HDTVs are known to be!)
7. NEC LT-W
NEC's entrant, the LT-W, breaks the single screen mold of the traditional tablet, although from what the company is saying, is still a long ways off. Launch in Japan isn't expected for another six months, and the company has yet to specify if and when it would be launched internationally -- likely in any case wouldn't even bear the NEC brand (the company licenses its work to others).
Either way, the dual screen tablet opens like a book, which leads me to believe that this device may have a future as an e-reading device of sorts. Unfortunately, it uses resistive technology for the touch screen functionality, which means the display may not be as sensitive as some tablet users may have come to expect.
With its bulky industrial look and seemingly less consumer appeal, this type of tablet may see more commercial applications. NEC isn't sure either -- the company plans to make it available for partners and see where it goes from there. Thus, maybe the company is just trying to make its mark in a tech sector where everyone seems to be these days.
This is just a partial list -- believe us -- of the tablets floating around CES 2011. We'd be interested in hearing what other tablets you've seen out there at the yearly confab that have caught your eye.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Live from CES 2011: Foryou concept device does Froyo apps in the car

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 10:11pm CET

By Stephen Jensen

Although not available yet, the Foryou Electronics double din unit in this video features the Android 2.2 operating system. With it, a plethora of app possibilities can now exist in the vehicle, with a user interface conducive to in-vehicle use. Bluetooth, music, email, radio, internet access, and a fast processor are now all easily possible from your dash.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Live from CES 2011: Regulators boot Scosche iPad dash mount into the backseat

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 9:48pm CET

By Stephen Jensen

Scosche's front double din iPad mount will apparently never make it to market due to legal concerns. However, their new rear seat mount will. iPads continue to be a sought after solution for in-vehicle computing.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
OLPC jumps ARM bandwagon with $165 laptop at CES

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 8:33pm CET par Scott Alperin

By James Nixon, THINQ.co.uk

One Laptop Per Child, the outfit dedicated to bringing affordable computers to children in developing countries, became the latest name to jump on the ARM bandwagon as it demonstrated the latest version of its portable PC at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas.
The organisation's new XO-1.75 laptop uses an ARM-based 1GHz Armada 610 chip from Marvell Technology. It has an 8.9-inch touchscreen and uses just two watts of power - half the figure consumed by its x86-based predecessor, the XO.
The new laptop replaces the cancelled x86-based XO-2, and takes a major step towards tablet computing. By placing the motherboard behind the device's screen, it leaves the other half containing just the keyboard and battery - paving the way for future models to do away with the keyboard entirely.
The forthcoming XO-3, which will have a 9.7-inch touchscreen - the same size as Apple's iPad - is due to be released in 2012, and will consume just 1 watt of power.
The XO-1.75 will begin shipping during the second quarter of this year. The new device's $165 price tag also brings it closer to the company's original goal of shipping laptops for less than $100 per unit.
OLPC's chief technology officer, Edward McNierney, explained that the firm has shifted its focus from price to power consumption, owing to the fact that it was shipping PCs to users with little or no access to regular power supplies.
"The biggest obstacle has been power," said McNierney. "We are pretty excited about getting a lower-power laptop out there."
McNierney demonstrated recharging the XO-1.75 with a hand crank, saying that the unit could be fully recharged by hand in just 1 hour and 47 minutes of twisting and turning, so the machine also doubles as a portable gym.
In another change of technology, the new laptop's battery is made from lithium ferrous phosphate, which McNierney claims is less prone to overheating than lithium ion.
OLPC's batteries are designed to last five years, and slow-recharging is one way to extend the life of the battery, McNierney said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Can you feel the noose, Apple? Android gains against flat US iPhone market share

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 7:38pm CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

What do the US market share leaders for cell phones and smartphone operating systems have in common? Android.
Yesterday, ComScore released September to November US mobile subscriber market share. Yes, I initially thought to cover it then, but there was simply too much news from the first official day of the Consumer Electronics Show. So here we are a day later.
Most of the news reports about the data has focused on Android passing iOS for smartphone market share. But there's more interesting in the numbers than Android's ascendence. Comparing the three months ending in August and ending in November, Android's US market share rose from 19.6 percent to 26 percent. Apple's share rose slightly, from 24.2 percent to 25 percent. The data is fairly consistent with numbers released earlier in the week by Nielsen: Flat iOS market share growth and Android rapidly rising -- 40.8 percent of recent purchasers chose a smartphone running Android.
It's revealing that iOS market share is flat, at least compared to Android, following release of iPhone 4, which, according to Nielsen, only gave iPhone a modest bump. Perhaps iPhone could really use that big price cut AT&T instituted today -- iPhone 3GS for a cool 49 bucks. Or perhaps that oft-rumored Verizon iPhone could help boost sales. After all, Android is available on phones from all US carriers. Poor little iPhone only has AT&T. Please, take out your handkerchiefs.
Microsoft's mobile operating system declined during the same period from 10.8 percent to 9 percent. Lost market share isn't surprising. That it wasn't more is. Sales decline ahead of Windows Phone 7's release is to be expected. The first handsets shipped at the end of the forecast period.
On the hardware side, Samsung ranked No. 1, with its share up to 24.5 percent from 23.6 percent between the two three-month series. Samsung is having a good run with Android-based Galaxy S series smartphones, selling over 10 million from June to end of 2010. In December, I bought the Galaxy S-based, Google-branded Nexus S. Two days ago, at CES, Samsung announced the SH100 digital camera, which uses Galaxy S phones as remotes, viewfinders and geotaggers.
Among the other top five, Numbers 2 and 3 -- LG and Motorola -- announced new Android-based smartphones and tablets this week at CES (Can you feel the noose tightening, Apple?)
ComScore's data is for Americans 13 and older, 234 million of which used "mobile devices" (e.g. handsets) during the three months ending in November. The data is based on mobile phone subscribers. Smartphone ownership jumped 10 percent to 64.5 million during the same time period. What do people do with these devices? The majority of cell phone subscribers sent text messages (67.1 percent), while 35.3 percent used a browser and 33.4 percent downloaded apps.
Which smartphone do you use and which mobile operating system? Please feel free to answer in comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Google admits that, for some, Android is misdirecting texts

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 7:12pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Google admitted this week that an issue with how the Android OS handles contacts and text messaging is causing phones to sometimes randomly send or misdirect SMS messages to the wrong users. The issue was first reported in late June of last year, but was not confirmed as a legitimate bug until now.
Engineers have been able to recreate the issue, and now say that they believe the problems stem from two different issues with the Android OS. That said, the company stressed occurrences of the bug are rare, and a fix for the problem has been developed and would be released soon.
According to bug reports in a thread on the Google Code website, in one case an SMS message appears as sent to the correct user. Instead, the OS sends it to another user in the phone user's contact list. Viewing the message details will then show the phone number of the incorrect recipient in the "To:" field.
Yet another problem appears to be one where the phone itself sends texts stored in memory randomly, sometimes months after the original message had been sent. That bug, however, seems to be quite rare.
Despite a good deal of arguing between participants of the Google Code thread, the company now itself has confirmed the issue. The first issue seems to deal with how the user interface loads: this is causing the wrong message thread to load in some cases.
"We've found in testing this issue, it is more likely to occur if you tap on a message before the Messaging app is fully loaded, so we recommend waiting for all the elements to load before clicking on the message you want to display," a Google representative wrote.
Google was very vague on the issue of misdirected texts, only offering that it had a fix on the way for the issue in a future update. As to its cause outside of the previous UI loading problems, that is unknown.
"While we don't anticipate any persistent problems, we'll continue to investigate in case we come up with additional ways to trigger these bugs," the company said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Mac App Store tops 1 million downloads during first 24 hours

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 6:09pm CET par Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Apple just won't let it go. While the rest of the industry is focused on the Consumer Electronics Show (Apple isn't there), the company keeps trying to steal other tech vendors' thunder. ;-) First, Apple launched the Mac App Store on CES 2011 Day 1. Now it's announced that Mac users downloaded 1 million apps within the first 24 hours. Yeah, but how many people paid?
"We're amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is."
The Mac App Store opened with about 1,000 free and paid apps, which I must concede are nicely presented. Snow Leopard users can get the store simply by downloading Mac OS X 10.6.6. The store will be integrated into v10.7, which is scheduled to release around summer. Apple's revenue-sharing deal gives developers 70 percent of sales (assuming they charge, of course). Other developer benefits:
1. Applications can be made available across multiple-sized devices -- Macs, iPads, iPhones and iPod touches.
2. Developers can now scale their applications across devices.
3. Developers can sell apps for which they will be paid; the app store deters piracy.
4. Rights protection is built in so that customers aren't exposed to onerous piracy-deterring activation mechanisms.
5. The store makes applications easily available to customers and more easily searched for than scouring the Web.
6. Developers can easily get digital shelf space -- and, therefore greater exposure -- where they might not get retail shelf space at all in stores like Best Buy.
7. Usage rights are assigned to a person, not a PC. There is an identity, which is potentially good for additional marketing efforts and establishing meaningful relationship with software buyers.
Apple's 1-million downloads is overshadowed by ominous news. A group calling itself "Hackulous" claims to have developed Kickback, a mechanism for cracking some applications' digital rights protection. However, as of this posting, Hackulous hasn't publicly released Kickback, reportedly waiting until the Mac App Store builds a larger library. Oh, 1 million downloads isn't enough? I've got to wonder: Will news of the crack lead to even more downloads?
In answer to my earlier question "How many people paid?", Apple offers some insight in Mac App Store charts. The 11 top-grossing apps:
- Apple Aperture
- Apple iPhoto
- Angry Birds
- Pixelmator
- Sketchbook Pro
- Apple iMovie
- Apple Pages
- Apple Remote Desktop
- RapidWeaver
- Apple GarageBand
- Apple Keynote
Uh-oh, seven of the 11 top-grossing apps are from Apple. That benefits developers of the other 993 apps exactly how? Apple slashed the price of Aperture from $199 boxed to $79 in Mac App Store. Remote Desktop got a hefty price cut, too. When reporting anything my first question always is: Who benefits? Well, who benefits here? You tell me, please, in comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
The ancient art of printing gets a game changer

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 5:33pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Memjet, the printer design company headed by former Qualcomm COO Len Lauer, made its first major partnership announcements at CES 2011 yesterday, and its staggeringly fast inkjet printers will be brought to market by Lenovo in China, WEP in India, and Kpowerscience in Taiwan. North America and Europe are sure to follow.
Why should you care about Memjet? Because most of the big announcements coming from printer companies in recent years have revolved around advances in printer communication and broadened functionality. It isn't often that a disruptive technology comes along and results in a different kind of printer.
That's what Memjet is showing at CES, an inkjet printer that is capable of between 60 and 70 pages per minute because of its unique printhead design.
Just for the sake of comparison, HP's high-end OfficeJet Pro printers max out at 36 pages per minute, and the machines utilize a print head that slides back and forth to get the ink on the page. Memjet has a single printhead that is the width of the paper tray, that utilizes more than 70,000 color jets to ink a page.
Memjet is a printer and printhead design company, and licenses its patented technology to manufacturers, so when this type of printer is released to consumers, it will carry a more recognizable brand and is not likely to look like the models on display at CES.
Unfortunately, the company's representatives couldn't come forward with a timeline for manufacturing partnerships in the U.S, but we were assured that they are in the works, and we'll be seeing these super fast printers on the market soon.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Mac App Store already a target for hackers and piraters

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 4:35pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Just a day after Apple launched the Mac App Store to generally positive reviews, reports that the copy protection may have been hacked have begun to surface. In addition, several developers may have improperly secured their apps, making the pirator's job that much easier.
A group calling itself "Hackulous" said that it has developed a program called Kickback which circumvents the DRM methods used by Apple. However, the group is holding off public release of the application until the Mac App Store builds a larger library.
The Cupertino company has used a drastically different way of distributing software -- tying the application to the purchaser and not the computer itself. Purchases are processed through iTunes -- and hackers have discovered in some cases unlocking a paid app is as simple as cut and pasting a receipt number from a free application.
At least one app has been identified as having the problem, and it's a popular one: the Mac version of Angry Birds. The directions to do so were publicly available on code site Pastebin.com as of Friday morning. It was also reported the game Incident was affected: it is unknown at this time how many others might be affected.
Of course, this requires the user have a copy of that app from somewhere else other than the Mac App Store itself: hackers have not figured out a way to fool the system itself into allowing the app to download without payment.
It should also be added that the problem, at least at this point, does not appear to be completely Apple's problem. Developers appear to be at fault here, failing to properly secure their applications.
Daring Fireball's John Gruber said most developers should be fine. "For apps that follow Apple's advice on validating store receipts, this simple technique will not work.," he said in a blog post. "But, alas, it appears that many apps don't perform any validation whatsoever, or do so incorrectly."
Gruber called on Apple to test for proper validation during the review process and reject applications which fail.
Apple was not responding to requests for comment on the situation.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
5 things you should learn from CES 2011

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 3:59pm CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Today may officially be Day 2 of the Consumer Electronics Show, but, based on vendor announcements, it's really the fifth day. CES has a few lessons for those who live and breath tech, whether they work in the industry or follow it as analysts, bloggers, investors or journalists.
1. Rumors are often false. I shouldn't have to state this. Short of a reliable gadget blog/news site getting hands on a verifiably-authentic photo or video of something new -- or actual product -- rumors can't be trusted. The more general or speculative, the more likely to lead nowhere.
For example, it was widely rumored that Microsoft would debut during the opening keynote a Windows version for tablets, show off tablets running the new operating system and announce a new settop box to compete with Apple TV and Google TV.
It's unconscionable, or at least irresponsible, for so many people responsible for getting out accurate information to parlay this rumor game.
2. Everyone is asking about the tablet not here -- iPad 2. Apple isn't participating in CES, but its presence is as specter -- the ghost in the trade show. Perhaps iPad 2 would cast shorter ghostly -- or should that be ghastly -- shadow if more of the new tablets were releasing sooner. Many of them are tied to Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb), and it's simply not yet ready.
I've spoken to a couple analysts and journalists who already are calling the tablet wars over, with Apple the sure winner. That's simply an outrageous assertion to make based on two (soon to be three) quarters of iPad sales. Apple may have reinvigorated the category in 2010, but tablets have been around and will be around for some time.
The category's sudden resurgence is reason enough to watch for Apple to shake out. There's recent precedent: smartphones. The category was slow growing before Apple released iPhone in 2007, then jumpstarted. Soon after, many of the same voices bullish about iPad today predicted iPhone would dominate the smartphone market. They were wrong. Android suddenly and unexpectedly stormed the smartphone OS market, passing iPhone -- at least in the United States -- in late 2010.
3. Many tablet vendors are pursuing a flawed go-to-market strategy. Any tablet that requires carrier contractual commitment is already doomed. Apple was right to make data plans optional for iPad. Tablet technology will change too quickly over the next 18 to 24 months -- the typical contract length either in Europe or the United States. Carriers and manufacturers are asking too much of consumers to lock into one device for so long.
Motorola XOOM tablet
The strategy reminds me of 2000 and 2001, when consumers could get PCs for cheap or free with two- or three-year ISP commitment. Many of them came to regret the deals. If iPad appeals for no other reason, contract-free for affordable price will be among the most important.
4. CES is Apple's treasure trove of competitive information -- hell, it's better than corporate espionage. Most of the tablets and many of the hot new smartphones announced at CES won't ship for months. Apple is likely to announce iPad 2 first. While it's too late in the development process for Apple to make substantive design changes, marketing can be fine-tuned. Apple now knows what to expect from the fragmented market of tablet competitors, and those offering Android or Windows Phone 7 smartphones.
Apple also can better play its announcement. There's a lot of angst among vendors about what Apple will do and, as I've asserted so many times, the company's stock thrives on rumors. Apple can effectively shut out competitor sales simply by announcing iPad 2 before many of the tablets ever ship -- even if Apple doesn't ship for a month or even more.
5. CES is too big to be any longer relevant. The trade show exploded in size after Comdex's demise in the early Noughties. It's now an enormous venue, where many new products are announced too many months before they're released to market and too many others are lost in the noise. There's more to gain in competitive insight than the real value of networking with customers or partners.
Endpoint president Roger Kay pegs it: "Once upon a time, vendors met developers and distributors at the show. A trade booth was a modest enough affair, a place where vendors could show their proposed wares to people who might actually buy them. All that is long gone. These days, the venue is stuffed to the gills with 'students' and industrial spies. Mostly, your competitors, in various guises, come to your booth to see what you have."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Apple's Mac App Store fundamentally changes PC software usage rights

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 3:52am CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Earlier today, Apple officially launched its application store for Macintosh, with about 1,000 free and paid applications available. Snow Leopard users download the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update, and the store is included. But people using the software are in for a change. Consumers typically buy software by machine. Those people buying from the Mac App Store purchase by person. The software is attached to an identity. This is a dramatic departure from how consumer software is typically licensed.
Licensing agreements typically restrict installation on one PC, sometimes two or even three. If a consumer goes into a store and buys, say, Microsoft Office, the purchase ultimately is tied to a computer. For years, Microsoft took machine purchases on trust, but in 2001 added product activation to Office and later Windows. Office 2011 is the first Mac version of the productivity suite to require product activation, which essentially locks the software to a computer. Not a person. Similarly, when a new PC ships with Windows, the license is tied to the machine not the buyer.
The problem with machine licensing is piracy. The licensor expects to be paid for additional software installations, but many, probably most, consumers buying software for one machine don't see a problem with putting it on others. Microsoft developed product activation to prevent this activity, which it calls "casual piracy." Other software developers, Adobe among, use similar activation mechanisms.
Thinking Differently about Software Licensing
The Mac App Store changes the paradigm and usage rights associated with it. Buyers use an existing Apple ID (usually from iTunes) or create another. Software purchases are tied to that identity, not the PC. If a licensee buys another Mac, he or she can redownload the software using the same ID without paying again. People buying music from iTunes or apps for iPad, iPhone from iTunes are used to this kind of identity approach, but it's not common for computer software.
But uncommon doesn't mean non-existent. Some software developers offering digital downloads use an identity approach. Adobe does this. Customers set up an Adobe ID to which the purchase is tied. This allows the buyer to redownload the software and to reactivate it. But the process feels restrictive, because there are really two rights protection mechanisms -- the ID and password to download the software and product activation when entering a serial number.
Will History Repeat in 2011
Apple's approach is simpler and feels familiar; repeating history, the company doing in 2011 what it did in 2003 -- fundamentally changing content licensing policy. Before the April 2003 launch of the iTunes Store, major labels applied different licensing rights to digitally downloaded music, confusing consumers and deterring purchases. There were restrictions on CD burning and listening to music on different computers. Apple negotiated uniform rights for all music, and they were generous -- up to three PCs (later extended to five) and multiple CD burns from a single playlist. All this started on the Mac, which was a safe experiment for record labels considering Apple's tiny PC market share.
Apple fundamentally changed how rights-protected digitally downloaded music is licensed, particularly after iTunes Store released for Windows in October 2003. One person in a household could buy music and make it available to others simply by authorizing the computer using the Apple ID associated with the music purchase. The same principle applies to Mac App Store but with a slightly different process. Each application is authorized using the Apple ID when downloaded -- like the iOS App Store.
The rights are hugely generous and more in line with consumer expectations: That they buy software once and use it anywhere within the household. According to the Mac App Store FAQ: "Apps from the Mac App Store may be used on any Macs that you own or control for your personal use." Emphasis: Any. Not three Macs, or five or any other number. Considering that most software is licensed for one PC -- although many developers probably don't have realistic expectation of 1:1 installation -- any is quite a change. Something else: applications purchased from the store do not require activation keys, registration numbers or serial numbers. Only the Apple ID and password are required.
Your Identity is Your Right to Generous Rights
Identity licensing isn't new, and it's widely used for content licensed for other purposes or mobile devices. Content streamed from Hulu Plus or Netflix uses an identity scheme. E-books stores like Amazon Kindle tie purchases to an identity. But rights are restrictive compared to Mac App Store. Amazon and Barnes & Noble offer limited, 14-day lending rights for e-books. This can be somewhat circumvented by having all the people in a family use the same Kindle account, since Amazon licenses the content for on up to five different devices associated with the account. But it is nevertheless restrictive. Apple's approach is better, and it could quite possibly change usage rights elsewhere, as iTunes did in the mid-Noughties. The place for Apple to start is in its backyard, securing more generous rights for e-books purchased from iBookstore.
The question developers and other licensors surely must ask: How will we get paid? The one software application-to-one computer approach theoretically means the developer makes money on each installation. But, c`mon, who really buys three copies of software for three home computers, unless forced to (say, by onerous product activation)? On the other hand, a consumer might pay once at the Mac App Store and use the application on four or five computers. What developer wants to get paid once when there is chance to collect several times?
To both scenarios, I say this: The Mac App Store provides a secure place where people can easily find the software; where they will pay for it at least once and where digital rights management technology deters (or prevents piracy). It's better to sell something than nothing at all -- and if the iOS App Store is any indication most developers will sell their wares.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Qualcomm's Mirasol full color e-reader display, one year later

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 3:00am CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At CES 2010, Qualcomm made a surprise unveiling of a full-color e-reader display technology called Mirasol that utilized a new reflective technology called IMOD (Interferrometric Modulation) that gave it the color and refresh of an LCD screen, but with the sunlight viewability and low battery consumption of e-paper. At CES 2011, the screen still hasn't been employed in any e-readers yet, but it isn't far from being a reality.
Though Qualcomm couldn't tell me today who will be utilizing the technology in an e-reader/tablet, nor could they say when it should be expected, but judging by the company's readiness to let the public handle its protoype version --as opposed to last year's model, which was only viewed on appointment, and still couldn't be touched-- and time in development, a product offering the unique display should be in the channel this year.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Hands-on with RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, Sprint 4G not included

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 2:41am CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Research in Motion's 7" BlackBerry PlayBook slate/tablet made its first official appearance back in September, and today at CES 2011, it's gotten its first 4G U.S. carrier partner, Sprint, and has gone on display for the public to touch.
Of course, what the public can do with the Playbook today is still very limited. You cannot, in fact, pick up the device, as it's attached to the display stand. However, you can swipe through the QNX-crafted interface, open up a few apps and demonstrations, use the browser, and develop a general longing for a deeper experience.
But it won't be long before it's ready to launch. Research in Motion representatives today said the first model to market will be the Wi-Fi only version, in just over a month. The 3G (or perhaps just GSM-based) versions are expected to come in the second quarter of 2011, and Sprint will be getting its WiMAX version (called the "4G PlayBook") some time in the Summer.
The touch experience, especially within the touch-sensitive bezel is smooth and responsive, and sliding upward on the screen serves as the "back" gesture, as well as opening an Android-like drawer of installed applications.
Though the device's weight and feel in hand are still something of a mystery, the BlackBerry PlayBook is shaping up to be an impressive device, even though it is in the 7" form factor, which is sometimes considered a less-than-ideal screen size.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Motorola's Atrix bends the definition of mobile computing

Publié: janvier 7, 2011, 1:14am CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Motorola Mobility's Atrix Android smartphone, announced separately by both AT&T and Motorola yesterday, is drawing crowds on the CES showfloor today. After talking to Motorola and getting some solid hands-on time with it, I can say it's an easy contender for the best announcement of the show.
The Atrix is not so much a smartphone as a dockable cloud computer, and without its impressive feature-enhancing docks, could have easily gone unnoticed against the dozens of tablet announcements coming from CES this year. Because without these docks, it would just be another Android smartphone; albeit one with mind-bending specs.
But with them, it becomes clear that Atrix is much more forward-looking than your average superphone; it hints at a future where a device is not defined by the screen that is built into it, but is defined instead by the user's needs at the moment.
In this way, it's an anti-gadget. Yes, these docks are undoubtedly "gadgets" in nature, that make Atrix a Swiss Army knife of a mobile computer. But the real power of Atrix comes from the fact that it eschews a single form factor and hybridizes a mobile OS with a device-agnostic Webtop interface.
All of these gadgety components are to show off a platform that can be applied to a mobile computer, television, or desktop PC depending on what you need it to be. And if you take all those away, it is still a powerful smartphone.
The big question is: Is this a gimmick device, or is this a new class of devices for Motorola?
Naturally, Motorola dodged the question; but said that it is the first question lots of people --especially internally-- ask when they see the device in action. We can only hope that there will be other Motorola devices that adopt a similar approach to mobile computing...or at least that also use these cool docks.
SEC Disclosure: Tim Conneally owns stock in Motorola Mobility and Solutions.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010