2011: Year In Review
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Well it’s a wrap for the year 2011. What a year this has been. I look back at what it is that made the year notable in the tech scene both locally and internationally. There’s a lot to mention but since I’ve focused a on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets and stuff) and their corresponding manufactures and their operating systems, this will take a size-able chunk of my review of the year 2011. Kindly read on.
SIRI FOR ANDROID: Top Virtual Assistant Applications on The Android Market
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Since it’s premier as a core feature of the iPhone 4S, Siri as I outlined earlier, has got everyone talking. Not to be left behind, a plethora of applications has since taken the Android market, Google’s premier app store for devices running it’s flagship mobile (ok and tablets these days) operating system, Android, by storm.
Since last week I’ve downloaded and tested a couple of them that are available free for download on the Android Market (I haven’t yet spotted premium virtual voice assistants). Of all the apps I downloaded, 9 or so, 4 of them impressed me and I hereby give a quick insight on them.
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The iPhone 4S: Hype or Substance?
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Launched a day before the death of the iconic Apple Inc founder and former CEO and Chairman, the late Steve Jobs, the iPhone 4S, Apple’s latest i-kid has generated a lot of buzz lately.
From the impressive sold out pre-orders (over 4 million sold todate) to the magical personal virtual assistant, Siri, the iPhone 4S has got everyone talking.
My attention is not focused entirely on the hype surrounding the 4S but rather whether the hype is really worth it. What actually roused my itchy fingers is that this wonder device is retailing locally in Kenya at an incredible price. Forget the hype being fronted by Western media and other Silicon Valley media outlets, of course its normal (very normal) for Apple products to generate a lot of buzz and cause a lot of ripples, this phone is either really that good or blatantly overrated.
iCon STEVE JOBS Passes On: A Tribute To Apple’s Genius
Steve Jobs, the single combination of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, passed on earlier today.
I woke up to a flurry of #iSad tweets on my timeline. It took me over 2 hours to publicly tweet my condolences. I just had to go through every credible international news source before I could take in those news. I have never met Mr Jobs himself or even owned any of the devices he masterminded but his inspiration and belief in perfectionism is one thing that I’ve admired. My only interaction with him has been via the iDevices that I’ve had a privilege to use courtesy of my good friends and that is where my love for Apple and the face behind it started. In fact my main motivation in getting an android device early this year was to get a chance to use a system that even though different, closely mimics the iOS experience at an affordable price. This is because love it or hate it, Apple is just king in the world of computing. Thanks to this man Steve Jobs, finesse is what defines a tech giant like Apple.
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iPhone 5: End of Rumor mill, It’s coming
It’s been an interesting week. To say that we are living in interesting times is an understatement. The technology and social media giants were out with major announcements this week.
Yesterday (21st September) is when it all came to light.
Apple has officially given a go-ahead to tech bloggers to start the iPhone 6 rumour mill. With the announcement by the iGiant that the most talked about device, the iPhone 5, will be unveiled on October 4th ends all the speculation and rumours that have been flying left, right and centre in the blogosphere about the device. All we have to do is sit back and wait for the big day when CEO Tim Cook will take the stage and unveil the new generation iPhone. iPhone 5, there’s no way we can talk about it without mentioning the legendary Steve Jobs. I don’t know whether he’ll attend the media event for the launch but hats off to him, we(ok, not everyone since there are some haters too!) all admire Apple’s spirit of innovation. I just can’t guess what features the new iPhone will have but there’s no doubt it will be truly THE ONE. Yes the one that will be a real competitor of the impressive Samsung Galaxy II. If the leaked photos from Foxconn and the supposedly lost iPhone 5 prototype are anything to go by then we are in for a big product launch. The bad news? Well the iPhone 5 will still not support Adobe Flash. Let’s wait and see. Eyes open, lips tightly closed and fingers closed.
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Roundup
Since my last commentary on the goings-on in technology and social media, a lot has happened. The happenings just can’t be water under the bridge. They are significant to all who keenly follow advancements in technology. Though these may be stale news by now, Here’s an overview.
Apple successfully got the Samsung Galaxy Tab sales banned in the European Union market due to what it terms as patent infringement. Apple has of late been on an offensive suing competitors by citing patent infringement and copyright violations. Apple has sued Samsung and Taiwanese phone maker, HTC on the same grounds. The two companies have retaliated by also filing lawsuits citing patent infringement and copyright violations by Apple. Can’t these tech giants just get it right? There’s a lot to be done. It’s actually Apple who started this whole circus. How things will end up is upto the courts to decid or agreements on out of court settlements. Whichever way things go, healthy competition must be encouraged. When there’s competition, superior devices emerge and consumers can look forward to more quality stuff. I am a great Apple fanboy but I must say Apple got it wrong here. Competition must be there. The iPad, Apple’s flagship tablet computer and market leader in the tablet market had (and still has) a strong competitor in Samsung’s Galaxy Tab (7.7,10.1 and above). Baring competition in the name of patent infringement and copyright violations isn’t right. I know Apple is a darling of innovation and originality but the lawsuits aren’t the way to go.
This was big news. Google’s acquisition of Motorola came as a surprise. Google was prompted by the need to have a large patent portfolio under its control due to looming lawsuits from other industry players. Remember the Apple, Samsung wars above? This acquisition of Motorola will also help Google in it’s push to dominate the smartphone and tablet market with its Android operating system.
Of course the biggest news in the tech world recently was the stepping down of the legendary and revolutionary co-father of the Macintosh computers, the CEO of the largest, richest tech company, Steve Jobs of Cupertino based, Apple Inc. His resignation from Apple, prompted by cancer is a big blow to all of us in the young generation who loved the way he officiated the product launches of Apple’s greatest and revolutionary devices of all time, the iPod, iPhone and iPad. His successor, the immediate former Chief Operating Officer of Apple, Tim Cook has very large shoes to wear. To succeed such a figure like Jobs is a once in a lifetime privilege but also a daunting task. I wish Cook the best and thank Jobs for his contributions in the world of computing.
HP finally threw in the towel and decided to halt production of its flagship tablet computer, the HP TouchPad running WebOS. This means just one thing, the domination of Apple’s iPad will continue.
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