Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 18th Jan 2013 15:42 UTC
"In December, the Google Nexus made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. accounted for 44.4% of all tablet sales by volume electronics retailers. That's according to a survey of 2,400 stores nationwide by market research firm BCN Inc., released Wednesday. Google's figure beat Apple's 40.1% share, dethroning the iPad for the first time since it went on sale in May 2010." Just as I and many others with me predicted, what happened in the smartphone market will also happen in the tablet market: Android will take the numbers, iOS will take the figures (i.e., profit). As far as I know, this is the first time this has actually materialised fully in a market, though. Also, while it was inevitable that Android would overtake iOS on tablets (even if it is just a single country, for now), I don't think anyone predicted it would be a single model? Colour me impressed (which is pink).
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Member since:2008-06-19
"so where's the next hardware innovation from Apple coming from?"
What do you think is missing? I don't really want for anything on my iPad 3 Retina, and this shows in the iPad 4 Retina which is essentially identical. Apple bucked the trend for crappy "HD" screens which others were using because they were cheap when it introduced the Retina display. Apple changed the way we use mobile phones when it introduced the iPhone, and the same with music with the iPod. The compeition meanwhile competes by raising spec to incrementally higher numbers. Surely it is Google's turn to do the next amazing hardware innovation? Or are we happy to wait for Apple to do it and everyone else to copy again?
I'd also like to point out that IOS 6 is very VERY similar to the first IOS. This is not because they have not been developing it, it's because they designed it before first release. Can we please stop congratulating Google because Android 4.1 is finally usable? I doubt you've all noticed but this is similar to saying the first few goes were not very usable and that many people wasted good money helping Google to develop a system which is finally as good as the competition. Yes, Apple charge more, but their products give so much less disapointment in the long run. When I think back to my Nokia using days I'm not surprised they are going down the tubes...You want a radio? then you can't have email. You want email? then you can't have MP3.
Member since:2005-07-06
Apple changed the way we use mobile phones when it introduced the iPhone, and the same with music with the iPod.
The iPod had in reality too slow of a start to have such impact... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod_sales_per_quarter.svg
Additionally, by the time iPod got rolling, most of the world was leapfrogging dedicated DAPs, opting for listening to music from mobile phones (in 2008 or so I read a report about how ~20% of European mobile subscribers uses their phones for music consumption - ~20% of that area alone already meant more people than all iPods ever made)
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-06
> Give the iPad Mini some time to prove itself before we pop the corks on the champagne, because this is just one region.
The iPad Mini was overpriced on launch and the 4:3 screen means you can't play widescreen HD movies on it at 720p resolution. I expected the first to happen as it always does with Apple, but I was quite surprised about the 2nd. I would suggest people wait for the inevitable iPad Mini 2, which surely will come with a retina display.
> On price, in the same feature spec, nothing matches the iPad.
I think my Nexus 10 would beg to differ. It beats the iPad 4 in virtually every hardware spec - with only the GPU being edged out in some benchmarks. It's also noticeably cheaper than an iPad 4 too. I would also argue the Nexus 7 at the very least matches the iPad Mini in hardware specs and easily beats it in screen resolution for a much cheaper price.
You can argue the merits of iOS 6 vs. Android 4.2 of course - until Android 4, I might have given iOS a slight lead in the user interface, but having seen iOS 6 for a few hours vs. the 4.2.1 on the Nexus 7 and 10, I think Android is now ahead. If you like to customise the behaviour of your phone or tablet, Android wins hands down (even more so if you put a custom ROM on it).
> I'm still unconvinced that this is purely a price war, I think people are still willing to pay a premium for a quality ecosystem and a consistent experience.
Up to a point. When some Apple devices cost 50-100% more for the same (or sometimes worse) hardware spec, that price gulf is getting quite hard to justify, especially when Google has been the one innovating with Android in the last couple of years, whereas iOS seems to have stood still (or got worse in the case of Maps!).
> Can the Nexus 7 (without the seasonality boost) maintain this pace?
The thing I like about the Nexus 7 distribution is that it was available - in the UK at least - from many online and offline retailers from day one. Google have stupidly not done the same with the Nexus 4 and 10 though - in the UK, it seems that the Google Play store is the only place you can get them (without tying in a contract) and they are out of stock 99% of the time.
Things are so bad for the Nexus 4 and 10 that someone's even put an availabity checker app on the Google Play store just for Nexus devices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.julienvermet.nexusa...
It's a real shame about the Nexus 10 in particular - it's a stonkingly good tablet that is very much a premium device at a reasonable (though by no means cheap) price.
When the retina display came out on the iPad, it was the first piece of hardware with iOS on it that I was actually impressed with from Apple. It innovated where no rivals had gone and for a year or so stood out as the one seriously desirable feature of the iPad.
Now, Google/Samsung have beaten it with the Nexus 10's display, so where's the next hardware innovation from Apple coming from? Not heard anything in the rumour mill yet and 1080p Android phones are starting to appear now...
Edited 2013-01-19 13:39 UTC