Gadgetopolis

Updating to Android 2.2 (Froyo) for the Impatient

George Thiruva — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:42:09 +0000

There’s been lots of buzz on Twitter, TechCrunch, Engadget and everywhere about Nexus One owners beginning to receive the much anticipated “Froyo” release of the Android operating system. Apparently, it’s on a very slow release schedule. For some users, it may take up to three weeks before they receive the update “over the air”. But [...]

First Thoughts: iPad at 35,000 feet?

George Thiruva — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:49:18 +0000

I just got hit by an eye catching story on Mary Kirby’s Runway Girl Blog regarding the iPad as a platform for In-Flight Entertainment. London based Bluebox Avionix has announced that they will reveal their iPad-based “bluebox Ai” inflight entertainment device at next week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. The high bar in the [...]

The Death Watch for Hard Disk Drive Technology Begins Now (Finally!)

Robert Giambitaq — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:10:04 +0000

Up until now Solid State Disk (SSD) storage was the Porsche 911 of storage technologies – screamingly fast (boot your computer faster than you can read this paragraph), expensive (up to 15X more expensive per gigabyte), and a little tight on the inside for heavy users (not much storage capacity). Now SSD is also more [...]

Does the TiVo Premier Really Make the Invention of the DVR Look Like a Warmup?

George Thiruva — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:49 +0000

It’s been a long time in the making. Three and a half years after TiVo’s last major hardware introduction, TiVo finally announced something new today at their New York City unveiling. For much of the last month, TiVo watchers have been waiting to see what was coming after images of the press event invitation was [...]

The Sad History and (maybe) Bright Future of TiVo

George Thiruva — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:01:10 +0000

For a company that hasn't announced a new hardware platform in years, TiVo seems to be all abuzz in recent weeks.

It's been a long time since TiVo released a major new hardware product - about 3 1/2 years since the last major DVR release, the high definition Series3. Sure, they also released the TiVo HD and HD XL, but those were just variations on the Series3 with no significant new features.

Investors need something to cheer about. For pretty much the last three years, TiVo has been losing subscribers every quarter.

Fans like me were waiting for something new. I speculated on (or rather dreamed about) what might be coming prior to the start of CES. But TiVo disappointed us and announced nothing new at the big show.

But now TiVo looks like it's waking up from its hibernation and is ready to do something. Oh, but what? ...

Sony Shelves OLED TV: Tech Tradgedy in the Making or Learning Opportunity?

Robert Giambitaq — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:06:37 +0000

OK, I don't own a Sony OLED TV. And at today's prices and screen sizes I wasn't going to buy one! Apparently, I'm not alone. So Sony has decided to pull out of the OLED market.

But, with the way that this news came out, the announcement from Sony can only be interpreted as a black mark on OLED technology. That's too bad, since OLED was the hot topic at the Consumer Electronics Show for the previous two years. And if you've seen it, it's very clearly the best display technology out there - the technology of the future. There are only two reasons why OLED is not the technology of the present - cost and small display size.

But as is with much new technology, things are always expensive when you're on the cutting edge. LED and plasma is no longer cutting edge technology. LCD is now the mainstream. And to a certain extent, plasma is perceived of as the past.

Plasma and LCD each still hold on to their own benefits. LCD tends to be more energy efficient, inexpensive, and thinner. Plasma tends to offer a better contrast ratio, which many videophiles love.

But to the general market, it was very difficult to explain why OLED is worth a cost premium. Sony, failed to convey the message of OLED as a premium technology.

But more than that, Sony just screwed up. Present cost aside, OLED is better than both LCD and plasma technology.

OLED could (and should) still be the technology of the future. But what could Sony have done differently? And are there any opportunities for Sony's competitors? ...

Google/HTC’s Nexus One is only $49 (in a manner of speaking)

George Thiruva — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:59:01 +0000

Would you like to get the Google/HTC Nexus One Superphone for a cool $49?

What if I also threw in the unlocked version of the phone?

Now what if I also said you don't need to sign a two year contract?

And no - it's not stolen. Perfectly legit!

How is this possible? Let's do some math ...

Google’s Nexus One Sales Model Isn’t Quite the Barrier Buster

George Thiruva — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:53:03 +0000

In the days preceding the release of the Google Nexus One (a.k.a. The long awaited gPhone), the talk of the web was that Google was going to break down some sort of Berlin Wall in the way the phone was sold. Whereas most phones are sold by the wireless carriers in conjunction with a 2 Year jail sentence and are locked to that carrier, Google was (and did) sell the phone both direct to customers, unlocked to a carrier, and without the need to put handcuffs on.

Q. But did it really accomplish that result?

A. Sort of.

Q. Did it shake things up and change the way wireless phones are (and will be) sold?

A. Hopefully, but probably not.

Q. Did the company that pledges to "Do No Evil" really free customers from the tyranny of the wireless carrier oligopoly?

A. Doesn't seem that way.

Let's take a look at Google's cell phone math and see how things really turned out ...

Is Apple Leaving Money on the Table? Part Two

George Thiruva — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:23:04 +0000

In Part One of this series on Apple, Inc.'s earnings potential, we looked into how Apple was playing in the multi-billion dollar home theater business. Consumer Electronics (not including laptop and desktop computers) is a massive multi-billion dollar a year industry. Apple, of course, made a splash with the iPod and iPhone product lines, but it is conspicuously underplaying its potential role in the living room with the underpowered Apple TV.

And yesterday, Apple delivered better than expected earnings of $3.38 Billion on revenue of $15.68 Billion for their first quarter of FY2010 which ended on December 26 (their financial year is about 3 months and 5 days ahead of the calendar year). “If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. It's kind of a stretch to annualize the Holiday shopping quarter. But if does that keeps up, Apple will soon crack the top 10% of the Fortune 500. They'd be even higher if the Fortune 500 were ranked on earnings instead of revenues.

It's wonderful news for Apple shareholders. But, I believe it could be even better - perhaps $1 Billion better with very little effort and almost no R&D. So in this part, we'll take a look at the long forgotten and once failed tactic of licensing the Mac OS to clone manufacturers.

Is Apple Leaving Money on the Table? Part One

George Thiruva — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:23:22 +0000

Given that Apple makes a fortune, am I serious about that headline? Yes! Really!

And I'm not talking about the Apple Tablet, iSlate, iPad or whatever is coming out on the 27th? I'm talking about tweaks Apple could make to its existing Mac product lines that could very easily juice profits up a little more. And Apple can do it with minimal additional R&D just by doing a couple of rather simple things.

In this part we'll take a lost profits with their Apple TV and Mac Mini products.

Let's check it out ...