12/30/10| Technology News and Gadgets Updates

Thursday, December 30, 2010

What's In Store for Technology in 2011

It has been a big year in personal technology, from the debut and early success of Apple's iPad, to the rise and continuous improvement of Google's Android smart phone platform, to the continued surge in social services led by Facebook and Twitter.

So I thought I'd take a look at the challenges and opportunities facing some major players in consumer tech in 2011. As with all my columns, this one is focused only on products and services provided directly to consumers, rather than to businesses. Also, as usual, this column isn't meant to offer investment advice or to evaluate the management skills or financial condition of companies. It is a look at the products and competitive positions of the key contenders as they enter the new year.

Apple: Coming off a highly successful 2010, in which it introduced a new category of portable computer—the multitouch tablet—and sold millions of the product, Apple will have to withstand an onslaught of competitors by wowing consumers again with the second version of the iPad. At the same time, it will have to make a widely expected transition for the iPhone from a single carrier in the U.S., AT&T, to a second, likely Verizon. This could present a new opportunity to reach lots of new customers, but the sleek phone will have to work well on different network technology. At the same time, Apple will be hoping its planned new Macintosh operating system, Lion, can preserve the surprising momentum of the high-priced Mac, which the company is trying to enhance with certain iPad-like features, such as an app store and longer battery life.

In 2011, Apple also is likely to try to address two areas where it has been weak: cloud computing and social networking. Both its MobileMe cloud service and its Ping social network had rough starts, and MobileMe charges $100 a year for services others give away. Apple is so popular, it has a huge opportunity to link users of its family of devices and of iTunes via the cloud and social networks, but it will have to aim higher and execute better. The second area where it likely hopes to improve is in the living room. The new, cheaper Apple TV is selling better than its predecessor but still lacks much Internet content. To break through, Apple will have to strike landmark deals with media companies.

Google: The search giant, also riding high, is now in so many product areas it competes with nearly everyone. In its core search business, it must focus on fending off a surprisingly strong challenge from Microsoft's Bing by giving consumers more attractive, actionable results. Its Android operating system is a big hit, but still isn't as polished or easy to use as the iPhone's software, and even a Google official admitted it is still "an enthusiast product for early adopters." One big test will be the forthcoming Honeycomb version of Android, meant for tablets that challenge the iPad.

A separate group at Google will try in 2011 to revolutionize the PC operating-system business and muscle in on incumbents Microsoft and Apple. Its new Chrome OS will power notebooks that essentially act as Web browsers, and run programs stored in the cloud, not on a hard disk. They also store all your files in the cloud. We'll learn in 2011 how many consumers are comfortable with that approach.

Google also may take another whack at social networking, where it hasn't made much of a dent after its Buzz service failed to take off. And it will have to rework its overly complex Google TV effort to bring Internet video to the living room.

Microsoft: The software giant still generates strong consumer loyalty with its older products, like Windows and Office and Xbox, all of which have had updates in the past year or two. But it faces big challenges in two hot areas: smart phones and tablets. Its new Windows Phone 7 platform has some nice design features, but also some missing capabilities that need to be addressed. Initial sales seem respectable, but will have to accelerate to get Microsoft back in a game it once led. The company also is a long way from the 300,000 apps available for the iPhone or the 100,000 for Android.

In tablets, Microsoft is hinting that a new version of Windows is being designed with a tablet focus to complement its PC focus. That product can't be too late, given the rapid rise of the iPad and the many planned Android and other tablets for 2011. One golden opportunity Microsoft has is to expand the reach of its brilliant Kinect technology for games to other forms of computing. This system can recognize individual users and interpret gestures without the use of a controller device.

Meanwhile, Microsoft hopes to seize on a surge in concern about privacy to help keep its diminishing lead in browsers by building new privacy features, unavailable so far in other browsers, into the 2011 version of Internet Explorer.

RIM: The BlackBerry maker had a good 2010 in some ways, though sales were propped up by two-for-one giveaways, and consumer surveys show enthusiasm fading for the iconic smart phone. It needs a radically new user interface to keep up with iPhone and Android, and a lot more third-party apps. But it can't afford to alienate its fan base. The company has an answer: a new software platform called QNX, but is vague on when that will show up on the BlackBerry. For 2011, RIM's big move will be a new QNX-based tablet, the PlayBook, which looks speedy and highly attractive in the limited demos RIM has provided. What isn't clear is how much the PlayBook will be aimed at consumers, as company officials have consistently stressed its appeal to businesses.

HP: The technology behemoth's laptops and printers have proved popular with consumers. But it hasn't had any real presence in smart-phones, tablets or consumer cloud services. To solve the problems, in 2010 HP bought innovative but struggling Palm, whose smart-phone operating system, webOS, and phones, the Pre and Pixi, got good reviews but sold poorly and didn't attract many third-party apps. In 2011, HP hopes to use its ample money and talent to revive webOS with new phones and tablets to challenge Apple and Android. A successful Palm re-launch, with the new initiatives from RIM and Microsoft, would be good for consumers by providing more choice and competition. HP also hopes to boost home printing with a new line of printers that can print anything emailed across the Internet and wirelessly print from Apple's hand-held devices.

Facebook and Twitter: The twin leaders in social networking were red-hot in 2010, attracting vast numbers of users. They have huge opportunities for further success, but face challenges. Smaller services, like social-coupon company Groupon, continue to emerge with new social and community ideas consumers like. Apple and Google could be big headaches if they get social right in 2011. Facebook must continue its recent initiative to let members share personal details with more limited groups of friends, and to find ways to make money while offering more privacy, which has been a thorn in its side. Twitter is on a mission to get more than an active minority to post, while convincing people it is a valuable way to keep up with news and opinion even if you never post.

Despite the poor economy, the consumer-tech companies continue to show vibrancy, innovation and success. But every year brings challenges and surprises, and 2011 promises to be another fascinating ride.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Changes in video games prompt optimism for 2011

Video game makers leave behind a year of slow sales in 2010, but are hopeful that a new generation of games for tablet computers, mobile phones and Web social networks will spur a return to growth in 2011.
The explosion of mobile games like "Infinity Blade" on iPhone and "Angry Birds" on Android smartphones has lured new consumers into playing games. At the same time, video game company Zynga has turned social network FaceBook into a hugely successful platform with hits like "Farmville" (55 million monthly players) and "CityVille" (44 million and counting).
"Before we were figuring out how to make social games, now we are mastering the art of making social games," said Mark Skaggs, vice president of product development at Zynga.
He said the next generation of FaceBook games will have "deeper gameplay, more polish, and be much more and better social experiences."
North American sales of video game hardware, software and accessories are expected to reach $20.9 billion for 2010 by the time all sales are totaled after the holidays. That figure is down four percent from 2009, according to Jesse Divnich, vice president of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research.
Yet, despite the economic slump that continues to impact gamers' disposable income, industry players expect 2011 to bring a wave of new revenue from items such as downloadable content, mobile games, and in-game micro-transactions.
Adding the new sources of revenue, Arvind Bhatia, senior research analyst at Sterne Agee, sees U.S. and European game sales up 5 percent for 2010 and another 5 percent for 2011.
AHEAD AT CES
At January's giant International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, companies such as Samsung and Verizon will unveil new smartphones and tablet devices to extend the reach of games to more consumers.
Michael Cai, the head of video game research at Interpret, said over half of tablet owners today (52 percent) are playing games on their devices. Gaming is the second most popular activity on iPads and other tablets, behind surfing the Web.
"I think one of the big trends of 2011 is cross-platform gameplay, that is, game experiences that are continuous across mobile, television, PC, social media, console and interactive toys," said Jesse Schell, assistant professor of entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University.
"As these technologies get more and more ingrained in our lives, game experiences across them will become more connected and more continuous," he added
One reason for optimism is the performance of game sales at the end of 2010. "Call of Duty: Black Ops," for example, sold 8.4 million copies in the U.S. alone in November. Last week, its maker Activision Blizzard Inc said the game accounted for more than $1 billion in sales.
"Black Ops" is one of a growing number of titles shown in stereoscopic 3D, which should appeal to buyers of new 3D TVs that will be promoted heavily at the winter CES by companies such as Sony, Vizio and Panasonic who cater to gamers.
At CES, which runs from Jan. 6-9, Sony will showcase stereoscopic 3D games like "MLB 11: The Show," "Killzone 3D," and "Motorstorm: Apocalypse." Nintendo will promote its Nintendo 3DS autostereoscopic (glasses-free 3D) portable device, which will launch Feb. 26 in Japan and in other territories shortly thereafter.
Sony and Microsoft jumped into the motion controlled game this fall with PlayStation Move and Kinect for Xbox 360, and both are selling strongly and helping the bottom line for the game industry late in 2010.
"There had been doubts on whether the casual consumer, who ballooned industry sales in 2008 and 2009, would return given the plethora of much cheaper entertainment options such as mobile and social networking games," said Divnich. "With November 2010 sales being up across the board, it is clear that the casual and mainstream base is still willing to make significant video game purchases."

Children Under 6 Shouldn't Play 3-D Games On 3DS

Nintendo Co. has issued a warning that children under the age of 6 shouldn't play three-dimensional games on its soon-to-be-released hand-held game machine, as looking at 3-D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children's eyes.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language website promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks that six-year-olds and those younger play games on the 3DS in two-dimension mode.

"For children under the age of six, looking at 3-D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes," Nintendo said on the website. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3-D and stop playing immediately if they feel ill.

Nintendo has had more success than its competitors with adolescents and younger children, though it is unclear what age group the 3DS will target upon its release next year.

The Nintendo 3DS is the company's most-anticipated videogame hardware product since the Wii home console in 2006. The hand-held device will allow users to play 3-D games without special glasses to create the illusion of depth.

The warning is similar to those made by other makers of 3-D consumer electronics products. Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. all provide warnings on their websites about the possible risks of viewing 3-D images for children younger than 6.

Most 3-D technologies create the illusion of depth on a flat screen by presenting different images to the left and right eyes, typically using special glasses. But Nintendo is offering that effect with the display alone, without the need for glasses, using a technology called autostereoscopic 3-D.

The 3DS comes with a slidebar to allow the user to adjust the level of 3-D effect on the games played on the machine.

Sony sues to block LG from shipping phones to U.S.A.

Sony Corp has filed a patent infringement complaint seeking to block LG Electronics Inc from shipping smartphones such as its Rumour 2 model to the United States.

In a filing late Wednesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission, Sony said LG violated U.S. trade rules by importing mobile phones and modems that infringed Sony patents.

Sony said LG also infringed patents of some of its licensees, including its Sony Ericsson joint venture, Samsung and Nokia.

The company filed a related complaint with the federal court in Los Angeles, court records show. A copy of that complaint was not immediately available.

LG spokesman John Taylor said in an email that it is company policy not to discuss pending litigation.

Sony said the patent infringement relates to more than 10 phones including the Encore, LG Accolade, Neon, Quantum, Rumour Touch and others.

The patents in the suit involve audio and microphone devices in phones, caller ID technology and transmission power.

LG, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, this month said it is trying to expand its major businesses, including smartphones, and on Tuesday said it wants to raise 2011 sales by 11 percent to 156 trillion won ($135 billion).

Since October, LG has sold 2 million units of the Optimus One smartphone, its most popular smartphone model to date.

Sony reported an operating profit of 68.7 billion yen ($847 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, reversing a loss the previous year.

The ITC case is In re: Certain Mobile Phones and Modems, U.S. International Trade Commission, No. 337-TA. The California case is Sony Corp. v. LG Electronics USA Inc. et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 2:10-09967.

Clooney, Google, U.N. watch Sudan using

Groups including the United Nations, Harvard University, Google Inc and an organization co-founded by actor George Clooney are launching a project using satellites to "watch" Sudan for war crimes before a vote that could split the African country in two.

The Satellite Sentinel Project, which begins on Wednesday, is meant to provide an "early warning system" for human rights and security violations before the Jan. 9 referendum on whether to divide Sudan into north and south.

"We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching," Clooney said in a statement.

The satellite project received funding for six months from Not On Our Watch, an organization co-founded by Clooney and his Hollywood friends, actors Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman and producer Jerry Weintraub.

The group has been active in raising money to help the many displaced people in the Darfur region of western Sudan, which has been ravaged by war and genocide.

Clooney told Time magazine in an article posted on its website that he came up with the idea three months ago when he was in Sudan meeting refugees from its last civil war. He called it "the anti-genocide paparazzi," referring to photographers who follow celebrities taking their pictures.

Under the project, commercial satellites over northern and southern Sudan will photograph any burned and bombed villages, mass movements of people, or other evidence of violence.

The United Nations' UNOSAT program will collect and analyze the images, Harvard's Humanitarian Initiative will provide research, more analysis and corroboration from field reports from the anti-genocide Enough Project,

Google and Trellon Llc, an Internet development firm, designed a Web platform for public access to information with the goal of pressuring Sudanese officials and other groups.

People in Sudan's oil-rich south are widely expected to vote to split away and form a new country in the referendum that was part of a 2005 peace deal ending civil war between north and south.

Ahead of the referendum, violence has already flared. Last week, members of the opposition Umma Party said they were beaten and tear-gassed by Sudanese police when they left a meeting to attend a mosque for Friday prayers.

On Dec. 24, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Sudanese Second Vice President Ali Osman Mohmed Taha to express Washington's concern about violence leading up to the vote.

Microsoft co-founder relaunches tech patent suit

Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen relaunched a wide-ranging patent lawsuit against Apple Inc, Google Inc, Facebook and others with specific allegations that the companies are illegally using technology owned by his company.

Interval Licensing LLC, a small research company set up by Allen in 1992, originally filed a broad patent suit in federal court in Seattle in August, but Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed it on the grounds that it did not specify any actual products or devices. The revised suit was filed by Interval on Tuesday.

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, claims Interval was central to research and development of technology in the Internet arena in the 1990s, amassing more than 300 patents and providing research assistance to Google.

In the suit, Allen's company claims four of its patents -- chiefly related to the way Web data is sorted and presented -- have been infringed by a number of successful companies.

MULTIPLE CLAIMS
The first patent concerns the generation of data related to information being browsed. Interval claims Google uses this technology to match advertisements from third parties to content being displayed, while AOL's sites use it to suggest items related to news stories.

Interval claims Apple's iTunes service uses the technology to suggest music based on a user's searches, and that eBay Inc, Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo Inc and Office Depot's sites have also infringed the patent in the way they direct users to related content.

The second and third patents concern relaying information on a computer screen in a peripheral, unobtrusive manner, such as in an instant messaging box or overlay.

Interval claims its patent has been infringed by features in AOL's Instant Messenger, Apple's Dashboard, Google Talk and Gmail Notifier, Google's Android phone system and Yahoo Widgets.

The fourth patent concerns alerting Web browsers to new items of interest based on activity of other users. Interval claims AOL uses this technology on its shopping sites, while Apple's iTunes uses it to recommend music.

Interval claims eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples Inc, Yahoo and Google's YouTube all have infringed the patent in the way they suggest content to users.

NO MICROSOFT
The suit makes no mention of Microsoft as a patent holder or infringer, even though Allen's former company offers products similar to some described in the suit. A spokesman for Allen declined to comment on the suit.

Allen, 57, is the world's 37th richest person, according to Forbes magazine. He resigned as a Microsoft executive in 1983. Since then, he has funded scientific and medical research through his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and invested in many projects in his native Seattle and Pacific Northwest region.

Interval has asked the court for damages and a ban on products that use the disputed patents. It is unclear how seriously the court, or the companies he has targeted, will take Allen's legal charges.

"We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said in an e-mail.

EBay declined to comment. AOL, Apple, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples and Yahoo did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.

The case is C10-1385 MJP in the U.S District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle.

SEC Probes Private Trades In Facebook, Other Firms

The U.S. securities regulator is looking into trading in privately-held Internet companies including Facebook and Twitter, media reports said, citing people familiar with the inquiry.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent letters to several people trading in the stock of these companies, seeking information about topics that include how such funds are valuing shares of those firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment to Reuters on the Journal report.
An emerging crop of online trading services such as SharesPost and SecondMarket facilitate share trading of unlisted Internet firms.
The probe is in a preliminary stage and appears to be partly focusing on funds that have been set up to allow investors to trade in private companies, the newspaper reported.
The regulator may also probe how the existence of funds affects an SEC rule that states that private companies must have fewer than 500 shareholders, or else publicly disclose significant financial information.
This was part of the reason Google Inc went public in 2003, the Financial Times said.
In recent months, the implied value of Facebook has risen more than 50 per cent, while the value of Twitter has more than doubled, the FT reported.
Early employees and investors in private companies have recently been selling their stock to buyers who want exposure to these fast-growing enterprises, the FT said.

Samsung to Release Galaxy Media Player

Samsung Electronics Co. will sell a stripped-down version of its successful Galaxy S smartphone as a digital media player, the first major product introduction since its cellphone division took control of the portable media player business earlier this year.

With the move, Samsung will round out a series of Galaxy-named gadgets that matches product for product with Apple Inc.'s line of iPods, iPad and iPhone.

Samsung will have the Galaxy Player, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy smartphone. All use a variation of Google Inc.'s Android operating system and work with apps developed for it.

The product has been rumored for months and some Internet shopping sites in South Korea have created Web pages for it that said "coming soon." Samsung formally announced it on Monday and said it would be available in South Korea next month, though it didn't set a shipping date. No price was announced, but pricing will depend on amount of built-in storage.

Samsung is aiming to roll it out in other countries in the April to June period and will display it at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

The product, called the Galaxy Player YP-GB1, matches most of the specifications of its Galaxy S phone, though its 4-inch touchscreen uses a liquid crystal display instead of newer organic LED and its operating system will be a more advanced version of Android. The gadget is 9.9 millimeters thick and weighs 121 grams.

The Android-based media player gives Samsung a chance to breathe new life into its media player business, which has long languished behind Apple and, for several years, a small South Korean manufacturer called iRiver Inc.

Samsung's phone division took control of development and sale of media player products earlier this year from the company's main consumer electronics division, which is the largest maker of TVs and also makes audio gear, computers and printers. Executives had long struggled with the direction of the portable player business.

Kim Jong-in, a vice president of product planning, said the company would not use the Yepp name, which it has used for other digital media players, for the Android-based media players. "We will use a Galaxy Player brand for the Galaxy series world-wide and the Yepp brand for normal media players in Korea," Mr. Kim said.

In an initial statement earlier this week, Samsung said it would sell the media player only through wireless carriers, but Mr. Kim said the company will offer it through retailers as well.

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