Category: News (Page 45 of 130)

Samsung’s Galaxy was looking pretty good until…

September 6, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Samsung Galaxy …this. See what I’m talking about? How about that 799 Euro price tag. That’s like $1,000 people. For a tablet. For an unproven tablet running Android (which doesn’t cost anything to license, by the way) that’s one hell of a price tag, and it points to one thing: contracts.

A Samsung exec told the Wall Street Journal that the Galaxy would cost somewhere between $200 and $300, which means the rest will have to be covered somehow, presumably via contracts. There is the remote possibility that Amazon got the price wrong – way wrong – but I doubt it. If Samsung is really going carrier contract for the Galaxy, you can bet the only people buying will be very serious Android enthusiasts, likely people hoping to root the device (which could justify the price tag for some).

Computers, News

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New iPod Touch is slimmer, boasts FaceTime

September 3, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I was actually a little surprised to see all of the information about the iPod Touch at this week’s Apple music event. The most popular handheld in the world? The sheer number of downloads? It was impressive, to say the least, and now the device is coming in line with the amazing feats it has already accomplished.

Apple gave the iPod Touch the same treatment as the iPhone 4 – it’s slimmer, has a front-facing camera for FaceTime, a rear camera, it got the Retina Display upgrade and the whole thing is powered by the A4 chip. I have to give it to Apple, it’s a hell of a device for $250.

It is a little surprising that Apple decided to stick with the same basic body shape. It’s not a big deal, an odd deviation from previous trends. The only other bummer is that the sensor in the rear camera isn’t the full-on goodness of the iPhone 4. It can only shot pictures at the 960 x 720 resolution it takes video in. Still, it’s better than nothing.

Apple, Mobile, News

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Apple Keynote reveals new iPod Touch, Nano, Shuffle, and AppleTV

September 1, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Apple’s media event today brought a lot of big news, the biggest of which was probably the update to AppleTV. The new iPod Nano looks pretty cool, though, and I’m glad to see the return of physical buttons to the iPod Shuffle. If I were on a more reliable connection, I’d dig up one of those stupid VoiceOver ads, just so you could laugh at it with me.

Instead I’m leaving you with this cute little picture, courtesy of Engadget, of the new iPod family. I’ll have more thoughts and impressions on the full lineup of Apple changes tomorrow (yay home internet connection).

Apple, Digital Media, News

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New iPod Nano will be more ‘nano’ than ever

August 30, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Do you remember your reaction when you saw the first iPod Nano commercial? Those two hands fought over something that seemed, at the time, ‘impossibly small.’ By today’s standards, that first Nano would look commonplace – some people might even mistake it for a new iPhone. All signs point to a Nano announcement at this week’s Apple event, and from all the leaked pictures and accessories, we know it’s going to be small.

This picture, which comes from Apple Insider, shows an old Nano up against a render of the new, touchscreen version. There have been some concerns raised about controls – that screen is awfully small to comfortably navigate your music library. Apple could be headed toward an inline control system, similar to that of the iPod Shuffle. Personally, I hate the idea. I want to be able to use my own headphones without worrying about a stupid control dongle.

From the looks of things, I’d say Apple also scrapped the crappy little camera it added to the most recent generation of the Nano. Thank god. That thing was the laughing stock of Flip SD owners everywhere, to say nothing of all the portable HD handcam owners of the world.

Apple, Music, News

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Microsoft dumping piles of money on Windows Phone 7

August 27, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Just how much money does it take to elbow your way in between Apple and Google in the mobile market? Remember, you’ve also got to beat back RIM while you’re at it, and hope none of those three develop anything you didn’t expect. Got a number? Is it in the billions? That’s what Microsoft may be betting to make Windows Phone 7 work.

According to TechCrunch, Microsoft could spend into the billions on development and marketing for the new mobile platform. It’s a huge figure, made to look even larger by the estimated expense of marketing the Droid series of Android phones.

The $100 million Goldberg estimates that Verizon, Motorola and Google collectively spent on marketing helped turn the Droid line of phones into a serious stable of competitors against the iPhone. (Compare that to Google’s fizzled Nexus One launch, where the search giant pinched pennies on marketing.)

To spend 10 times that amount could be either a great idea or the world’s worst gamble. Microsoft has completely scorched consumer bridges with its previous mobile offerings, none of which will transition to the new system very smoothly. Even with a billion dollars behind it, Windows Phone 7 could be too late.

microsoft, Mobile, News

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