Nearly every Chromebook Pixel review says you shouldn’t buy one. But as someone who took a 60-day web-only challenge in 2008, I’m ready for exactly what the Pixel offers, so I bought one. Read more »
I’ve been using a Chromebook Pixel for the past two days and a single phrase comes to mind: blown away. Is it worth $1,299 or more? Take a look to see and then stack it up against your mobile computing needs. Read more »
Google touts the new Chromebook Pixel for “what’s next” or the touchable web, but the fact is we already have that experience on tablets and such. Maybe this is what’s really next for the Pixel. Read more »
I had high hopes for Windows RT but the apps I want aren’t supported. Windows 8 on Atom chips offers similar battery life and better app compatibility so why go RT? Right now there’s only one reason. Read more »
Microsoft’s Surface Pro is now on sale, starting at $899. Early reviews are mixed with the word “compromise” appearing quite often amid the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read more »
One look at the new Asus VivoTab Smart Tablet and you’ll swear you saw it before. It looks just like Microsoft’s Surface products. It blends some of the best features of Surface RT and Surface Pro, however; priced right, it could be a big seller. Read more »
First smartphones overtook traditional computer sales and now tablets are on track to outsell laptops, according to IDC, which predicts more tablets will be sold than laptops by 2015. Computer makers should be looking to where the growth is as tablets replace laptops for many. Read more »
Microsoft’s Surface Pro arrives in January with a full-featured version of Windows and an $899 price tag. That costs more than the Windows RT version but adds more app compatibility. It also brings half the run-time even though the battery is 30 percent bigger. Read more »
The usability of Microsoft Windows 8 on a tablet is so bad that one expert says he’s sticking with Windows 7 until Windows 9 arrives. After using the Surface RT, I understand, but the real issue is lumping together an OS for tablets and PCs. Read more »
Google surprised many with the launch of a $199 Chromebook this week. So what’s the Acer C7 like? Overall the quality and performance is better than I expected for the price and it even has a 320 GB hard drive for those who want local storage. Read more »
Smartphones are use more for Wi-Fi hotspot connections as we want information from mobile devices on demand, but not by paying more for mobile broadband. Tablets are catching up to laptops in this regard too, making strong cases for hetnets, more hotspots and small cells. Read more »
Mobile technology and social networks aren’t just disruptive to existing industries like communications and media, they are also helping the change the way that students learn and how education is delivered both in North America and around the world. And the disruption is just beginning. Read more »
The market for grid-scale advanced batteries is forecasted to reflect nearly $30 billion in investment through 2020. Tapping into this potential depends on the technical and market-focused innovations of a small industry ecosystem, one that faces considerable challenges in R&D and funding. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
At its WWDC event on Monday, Apple took the wraps off of new hardware in the form a total revamp across its entire line. The hardware upgrade includes the sought after Retina Display, not as an option but as part of a next-generation thin laptop. Read more »
Lenovo is taking a new approach to make its ThinkPad laptops more appealing to consumers and enterprises: Lenovo is also selling no-contract wireless data. Called Lenovo Mobile Access, the service provides an 3G connection to ThinkPads for as short as 30 minutes, costing $1.95. Read more »
Intel is adding a feature to its Ultrabooks and tablets that will make them stand out from its competitors’ netbooks and slates: automatic access to a global Wi-Fi network. The silicon vendor is using DeviceScape’s connection manager technology to link to millions of open hotspots. Read more »
An Apple computer starting at $799 would be a big deal, but it’s unlikely. And the idea that Apple would be “forced to” lower the price due to competition from Intel-based ultrabooks makes very little sense. Here’s why. Read more »
Google can’t keep fighting against Apple and Microsoft with just Android, when both rivals have a mobile and a desktop system. ChromeOS could be that system for Google, but it’s not a hit yet. What might help? Motorola’s LapDock system to pair up Android and ChromeOS. Read more »
If you spend a lot of time writing in the margins of reports or filling out endless forms, there’s something you should know: You should be using a tablet for all of these things. Here are four iPad apps to get you on your way. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It’s been rumored before, but on Wednesday a new report is saying that not only will Apple introduce a 15-inch MacBook Air next month, it will replace the 15-inch MacBook Pro, “effectively killing the Pro for the average consumer.” Read more »
This year’s CES was the biggest in the show’s 44-year history. It boasted 15 miles of exhibit hall aisles, 3,100 booths and 153,000 attendees. It is easy to be jaded by the endlessly repetitive products, but the thousands of innovations point toward a future of connectivity. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The biggest manufacturers of electronic devices spent more in total on wireless chips than on standard computer chips last year, according to a new report. Device makers spent $58.6 billion on chips for wireless devices, compared to $53.7 billion on chips for desktops and notebook PCs. Read more »
If you’re like many of us, you’re already thinking over some New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better “you” in 2012. But how are the tech industries’ thought leaders approaching the new year? We asked 12 of them for their resolutions. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Target will soon offer store-within-a-store-type setups in 25 of its locations, the company revealed during a presentation on Thursday. The move backs up a report from last week that suggested Apple may be extending its partnership with the U.S. retail chain. Read more »
At Intel’s CES press event, Ultrabooks were the focus, as were the six “experiences” these thin and light notebooks bring. But consumers are getting such experiences from smartphones and tablets, so who has a problem that could be solved by Ultrabooks? Intel itself comes to mind. Read more »
The latest iteration of the One Laptop Per Child project was unveiled at CES, and it’s fully focused on integrating with off-grid clean power, both solar and human-generated. Many of the kids that could be using the laptop won’t have access to grid power. Read more »
Apple’s iMac occupies a prized place in a fast-growing segment of the overall desktop PC market, the all-in-ones, that few others can approach. It got there by spotting a growth opportunity that’s paying off big now, and the MacBook Air is primed to do the same. Read more »
Hewlett-Packard continues to struggle with fallout from the decision to nix its webOS-based tablets, a less-than-stellar mix of IT services, and its newly completed acquisition of Autonomy. The question is how long those reverberations will impact the company’s profitability and growth prospects. Read more »
Batteries continue to be the bane of mobile devices, but research done at Northwestern University could change that, with longer-lasting batteries that charge in minutes, not hours. Imagine a battery that lasts 10 times longer than today’s power packs with a 15-minute recharge time! Read more »
Apple is gearing up to launch a 15-inch ultrathin MacBook in 2012, according to a new report by DigiTimes. The supplier-connected publication says that parts are no being made at component-maker factories for the device, which is said to be intended for a March 2012 release. Read more »
This holiday season is the first big chance that ultrabooks will have to prove that they resonate with consumers. Will they boost PC sales the way Apple has seen overall Mac sales bumped by its MacBook Air? And where will Apple take notebook design next? Read more »
Charter, a China-based manufacturer is partially closing production due to nearby communities reporting bad odors. What’s impacted? Laptops and smartphones that use metal casings: Apple’s MacBook Air and handsets from HTC. Other laptops and new ultrabooks may be impacted too; just before the profitable holiday season. Read more »
Smartphones and tablets now trump laptops as the newer, more mobile devices use airport Wi-Fi more than traditional computers, according to data collected by Boingo Wireless. Although laptops outnumber mobile devices by a factor of five, the smaller devices use nearly 60 percent of airport Wi-Fi. Read more »
A UBS research note today upgrades its expectation of tablet sales this year while simultaneously knocking down its expectation of the PC industry’s growth. The opposite trajectories of PC and tablets show that, yes, in some cases people are buying a tablet instead of a laptop. Read more »
Not one but two reports say Apple is now working on an ultrathin 15-inch Mac notebook, with one claiming that a 17-incher is also on the way. Apple has long been preparing for this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if those preparations bear fruit this year. Read more »
Folks experiencing a major laptop crash might be dead in the water: Without operating system DVDs and an optical drive, it’s a potential problem. IsoStick, a Kickstarter project, aims to solve this issue with a small flash drive that appears as an optical drive to computer. Read more »
Outside the diminutive circles of Mac enterprise IT, the end of the Xserve will hardly be noticed, but perhaps it should. Up until today, there were four categories of Mac desktop, and now there are three. How long before there are none? Read more »
French startup AVOB, which launches in the U.S. on Monday, says it can ramp down processor speed and voltage while a computer is working and is testing it with the likes of Intel, Microsoft and Cisco. Read more »
Nearly half of the money spent in America in the last year on desktop computers went to Macs. According to NPD, and reported this week by BetaNews, Apple’s October desktop PC market share was 47.71 percent, a huge increase on the previous year’s figure of 33.44 […] Read more »
There’s more evidence that Apple is missing the boat on a substantial market opportunity due to its stubborn stonewall of the small, inexpensive netbook phenomenon. Steve Jobs may have expressed his dismissal of the device category last fall, and acting Apple CEO Tim Cook took the […] Read more »
