Category: Small Biz Go Mobile

New Devices: How Well Are the Nokia Lumia and Microsoft Surface Selling?

by Katherine Elsasser
Mario Surface review
Microsoft Surface

Warning: this post is going to have a lot of conjecture, since it’s incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to get official sales numbers out of a lot of companies. And some companies (ahem, Apple) have a tendency to claim they are experiencing supply problems because demand is so great — presumably to create the illusion that they’re product is super hot. So while we may not be able to figure out exactly who has sold what, we can still try to make a few educated guesses about how the devices are performing.

Nokia Lumia
If you do a quick search, you’ll see plenty of articles saying “The Nokia Lumia 920 is out of stock!” But that’s not actually helpful – we still don’t know how many phones actually sold, or why they’re out of stock. It’s not a number, but BGR is reporting that the Lumia 920 was AT&T’s third-selling phone behind the iPhone and the Galaxy SIII in November. But According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), as of the bginning of December the Lumia has barely sold 100,000 units in China, the biggest smartphone market in the world. That’s troubling for the Lumia, since 100,000 units is nothing, and anecdotally China has quite a bit of interest in the phone, at least compared to here. Bottom line: the Lumia is not the hit Nokia hoped for, but it’s doing OK, and it will keep Nokia in the game until they can release their next device.

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BlackBerry 10 Coming January 30th With 15,000 Apps to Choose From

by Katherine Elsasser
BlackBerry 10
BlackBerry 10

Research in Motion, aka RIM, the company behind the beleaguered BlackBerry, has officially announced that it will bring its latest BlackBerry to the world on January 30. Official press invites have gone out for the unveiling, and there are plenty of rumors and leaks about what we will and won’t see in the new revamped BlackBerry.

In case you haven’t been keeping up, BlackBerry 10, or BB 10, is RIM’s completely revamped proprietary operating system designed specifically for BlackBerry. As part of the release, RIM will also introduce complementary smartphones designed to run the new OS.

BlackBerry faces a familiar problem: it needs apps. One of the iPhone’s biggest selling points is both the variety and volume of apps available for download. Android, while initially lagging, has caught up with a very respectable selection. The less popular operating systems, like the Windows and BlackBerry, have fewer apps because they have a smaller customer base, and a smaller customer base because they don’t have a huge app selection. It’s a vicious cycle that can directly impact the success or failure of RIM’s risky new launch.

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CES: Hands-On With New Flexible and Color E-Ink Displays

by Shy Mukerjee

eReaders like the Amazon Kindle utilize current e-Ink tech

One of the technologies I’m most excited about here at CES it e-Ink. Why? Because the problem with wanting to everything with our phones is that it drains the battery life. E-Ink is cool, because it uses way less power, which means you get more usage between charges. Two of the latest (and most exciting) developments in e-Ink are the flexible display, which is almost impossible to break, and color. In the video above, I go hands-on with both to give you a sneak peek of this upcoming tech!

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CES2013: Awesome Flash Drive for Apple Devices

by Shy Mukerjee

I know “flash drive” and “external storage” aren’t the most groundbreaking thing at CES, but this really is an awesome flash drive. Seriously.

It’s for Apple devices, and it can work with either 30 pin connectors OR the new lightning dock, so it’s already way more useful than lots of devices out there! On the other end is a USB, so it’s still a great way to transfer from your phone or iPad to a laptop, but it also lets you stream directly from the device! That means you can listen to music through your iPhone from the drive, or use Airplay to stream from the flash drive to your phone to a TV.

Still not sold? Watch the video to see it in action!

 

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CES2013: Pebble Watch Set To Ship This Month; Watch Our Interview with CEO Eric Migicovsky

by Katherine Elsasser
Pebble Watch Shipping Date Announced
Pebble Watch, in White, Black or Red

CEO Eric Migicovsky announced at CES that the Pebble Watch will ship January 23rd.

Have you seen the Pebble Watch? It’s a customizable smart watch that uses Bluetooth to deliver info from your phone, like texts, emails, phone calls, iMessages and more. And of course, it tells the time. And it can run apps designed for it, and integrates with pre-existing favorite like RunKeeper. All of this shows up on the watch’s e-ink screen (similar to the screen in the original Kindles) that uses way less power than a traditionally illuminated screen like you’d get on your smartphone, so the battery can last way longer.

So why is this announcement especially exciting? Well, Pebble is interesting in that it’s a Kickstarter success story: it raised a record-breaking 10 Million, had something like 85,000 units ordered, and just generally signified a breakthrough that Kickstarter campaigns could and should be taken seriously.

It’s also important given the recent controversy around Kickstarters that have been funded, but missed their product delivery deadline completely. The fact that the Pebble Watch is a successful piece of Kickstarter hardware that will actually make its way to consumers is huge, and hugely redeeming of the entire Kickstarter model.


 

CES2013: Demo of the Gravitas Interchangable iPhone and iPad Dock

by Shy Mukerjee

gravitas dock holding the ipad mini
Gravitas Dock

 

Gravitas is the name of the new iPhone dock from Henge Docks, and it’s pretty appropriate: this thing is heavy. It really gives the dock a level of sophistication that matches the high-end design of iPhones and iPads.

And that’s the other best part: the same dock can be used for multiple devices, simply by swapping in different inserts. Watch the video to get the idea!


 

CES2013: iPhone 5 & Samsung Galaxy Charging Solutions from MyChargePower

by Shy Mukerjee

 

We talk a lot about charging solutions: it’s hard to ever have enough battery life. Especially if you’re like us, constantly shooting video and using bluetooth. And let’s not get into the battery life on the iPhone 5.

MyChargePower is coming out with a bunch of options for iPhone 5 users that will feature the new lightning connector (of course) but provide different amounts of juice, depending on your needs. We run through all the options! Check out the video above for an overview of the options, and the one below to see how they look close-up.

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NVIDIA’s New Gaming Console: What It Means

by Shy Mukerjee

One unsual announcement that’s already come out of CES is from the graphics card company NVIDIA. Yesterday they announced “Project Shield” a handheld gaming console based on their new Tegra 4 mobile graphics chipset. While their previous graphics card for tablet, called “Tegra 3”, has been powering higher-end Android tablets this past year, Tegra 4 promises to deliver next-generation level graphics

Both a handheld device and a controller that can stream your games wirelessly to a TV, the Project Shield gaming device from NVIDIA looks to fill a similar gap in the market as the Wii U—half-tablet, half console. Unlike the Wii U, however, Project Shield will be a portable device competing more directly with Nintendo’s 3DS and Playstation’s Vita console. It will be powered by the latest Android OS, so not only will it play games, it will run all of your favorite apps as well, just like today’s crop of tablet computers, albeit one with a console-grade controller built-in.

Can NVIDIA succeed? That’s a tough question. With Apple’s devices already eating into Nintendo’s marketshare in mobile gaming, and Sony already an established player in portable electronics, is there room for a 3rd contender that lacks the marketshare and exclusive titles that Nintendo and Sony have to offer? After all, being able to deliver world class graphics is one thing, but if gamers can’t get titles equivalent to Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Street Fighter and Assassin’s Creed, will they change systems?

Then there’s the question of price. Certainly, if Project Shield is to compete with consoles as well as portable gaming devices, it will need to compete on hardware with the next generation Xbox, Playstation, and the Wii U. Pack all that power into an HD touchscreen device and it’s hard to imagine NVIDIA bringing this to market for less than $400. When compared to the cost of a Nintendo 3DS at $169 or a Playstation Vita at $249, it’s hard to imagine that consumers will be enticed at that price point.

But in order to survive into the next millenium, this may be a crucial move for NVIDIA. In gaming, they have been struggling. While their chips power Sony’s Playstation 3 console, the better-selling Xbox 360 and Wii consoles use chips from rival AMD (formerly known as ATI). Nevermind the fact that the just-released Wii U from Nintendo uses AMD chips as well.

In mobile, Tegra 3 found mass-market success in the Nexus 7 tablet from Asus and Google. But it’s worth keeping in mind that the Android gaming market has a long way to go to catch up with Apple’s iPad and iPhone systems where the latest games are often launched first, sometimes exclusively. While the Nexus 7 is a great device for reading books, browsing the web, engaging on social media, and watching movies, it isn’t exactly known in the marketplace as a “gaming tablet.”

However, if NVIDIA can find partnerships like the one with Google to get Tegra 4 onto more devices and raise awareness around Android gaming, that’ll be the first step towards success with the platform. The trickier problems is how to make gaming on Android the next big thing.

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Introducing the International Gateway at CES

by Shy Mukerjee

While all of CES is technically “International” (after all, as the organizers of the event constantly remind us, the event is technically called the “International CES 2013”), a special section of the show floor is reserved for smaller companies specifically from China, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan called the “International Gateway.”

While these booths often lack the glitz and glamor of the main show floor, often the most innovative and unusual tech at CES comes from these smaller Asian companies who are looking for their big break at CES. This year, more than 3,000 companies are joining the International Gateway, so it should prove to be a treasure trove of innovation. We’ll be bringing you tons of coverage and all of the hottest products shown at the International Gateway starting tomorrow when the show floor officially opens!

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What You Should Know About Apple & CES

by Shy Mukerjee

First up, if you’re an Apple fan and looking for the latest iPhone, iPad or Mac news from CES, don’t hold your breath. Apple doesn’t actually show up at CES themselves, so there won’t be any major announcements from them this year. You’ll have to wait at least a few weeks to see if Apple has any new products at their own launch events.

But that doesn’t mean accessories for Apple’s devices won’t be here. In fact, with companies just starting to release new products that take advantage of the iPhone 5 and the latest gen iPad & ipad mini’s Lightning port, there are going to be tons of Apple-related products to show off. Plus, tons of apps and devices that work with apps will be launching at this year’s CES, plus everything from wireless charging solutions for the iPhone to the latest and greatest iPad cases, keyboard docks, and who knows what other innovations, there will be tons of accessories and innovative technologies that add value to Apple’s products on display this year.

So even though Apple themselves won’t be here, we’ll be checking out everything Apple all week long—stay tuned!

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