We recently read an interesting article on worldwide Tablet computer sales. According to the latest Tablet Tracking report from Futuresource Consulting global sales in Q3 2011 were 15.5 million units compared to 4.5 million in Q3 2011. Here’s an excerpt from the report we read:
The USA leads the way in tablet adoption accounting for 46% of global ownership, and exceeding an installed base of 24 million devices at the end of Q3. Europe has seen a slower uptake at just 4.2 million shipments in Q3 compared to 7.1 million in the US, however this still represents over 300% growth year-on-year.
In terms of brand positioning, Apple continues to dominate the global market. This is certainly true in the US where it accounts for over 70% of unit shipments, though Samsung, HP and Acer are beginning to gain some traction. Europe is more fragmented with Apple still on top but with other brands shining through, although the competitive landscape varies country by country.
While these numbers are impressive, I can’t wait to see what Q4 sales numbers are! It seems like everyone had a Tablet on their Holiday gift list and that should have produced tremendous results.
A year ago I wasn’t sure if Tablets would really catch on but I think that question has been answered emphatically. It’s still an iPad heavy market but there are enough excellent competitors to keep things going and the market growing.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Newer Technologies Power2U - Part 2
By Bayle Emlein
I haven’t had so much fun installing an add-on since the days of adding firmware cards to an Apple IIe. The instructions to the Power2U come printed in a reasonably-sized font on both sides of a single 8.5" x 11" sheet. They start off with a warning that failure to proceed correctly can result in permanent injury or death and that all local and national electrical codes must be observed. Not every installation will include the challenge of a building wired in two distinct eras, with several circuits helpfully labeled “lights and plugs.” But anyone who’s willing to wade into Real Warfare Northern Crusades or join Men Of War Red Tide will charge right ahead into the reality version of home wiring. Fortunately I had an live expert willing to make a house call on New Years Eve day. Adding to the challenges in higher levels of the Installation Game: the screws for attaching the wires to the Power2U could have been about 2 mm longer without damaging the equipment but giving the electrician a chance to capture the wire without invoking every four-letter technical term in two languages.
I have one Power2U installed. We (tech support and me) won this round, and as any gamer knows as long as you win it’s worth the play. Short of a (highly unlikely) repeat of last century’s major renovation project, I probably will quit while I’m ahead. But if I’m ever looking at remodeling or building at my house or anywhere else, I will certainly want to know if Newer Technology offers a contractor’s discount or bulk sales. This little gizmo adds more than its cost in benefit and is one more step in making my computing life about getting something done rather than managing the stuff needed to get something done.
I certainly hope Newer Technology is marketing to the hotel chains where I stay. These folks do remodel on a frequent basis. Finding a Power2U outlet in my room would persuade me I’d landed in the luxury suite. For a quick upgrade to your own environment, think about adding a Power2U receptacle.
Manufacturer’s Price: $29
http://www.newertech.com
I haven’t had so much fun installing an add-on since the days of adding firmware cards to an Apple IIe. The instructions to the Power2U come printed in a reasonably-sized font on both sides of a single 8.5" x 11" sheet. They start off with a warning that failure to proceed correctly can result in permanent injury or death and that all local and national electrical codes must be observed. Not every installation will include the challenge of a building wired in two distinct eras, with several circuits helpfully labeled “lights and plugs.” But anyone who’s willing to wade into Real Warfare Northern Crusades or join Men Of War Red Tide will charge right ahead into the reality version of home wiring. Fortunately I had an live expert willing to make a house call on New Years Eve day. Adding to the challenges in higher levels of the Installation Game: the screws for attaching the wires to the Power2U could have been about 2 mm longer without damaging the equipment but giving the electrician a chance to capture the wire without invoking every four-letter technical term in two languages.
I have one Power2U installed. We (tech support and me) won this round, and as any gamer knows as long as you win it’s worth the play. Short of a (highly unlikely) repeat of last century’s major renovation project, I probably will quit while I’m ahead. But if I’m ever looking at remodeling or building at my house or anywhere else, I will certainly want to know if Newer Technology offers a contractor’s discount or bulk sales. This little gizmo adds more than its cost in benefit and is one more step in making my computing life about getting something done rather than managing the stuff needed to get something done.
I certainly hope Newer Technology is marketing to the hotel chains where I stay. These folks do remodel on a frequent basis. Finding a Power2U outlet in my room would persuade me I’d landed in the luxury suite. For a quick upgrade to your own environment, think about adding a Power2U receptacle.
Manufacturer’s Price: $29
http://www.newertech.com
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Newer Technologies Power2U - Part 1
By Bayle Emlein
Newer Technologies Power2U
AC Wall Outlet with USB Charging Ports
Now that I run my life via gadgets and I’m wireless, I spend half my time updating and downloading. The other half is spent looking for the power to keep my lifestyle going. Enter Newer Technologies with a USB port incorporated in a standard wall outlet. The Power2U outlet is a standard grounded two-socket wall outlet with the addition of two USB ports.
When I first started playing with Macintosh computers in the 1980's, Newer Technologies was making gadgets and gizmos and add-ons that improved the computing experience, added a new dimension, or just made things more interesting and fun. They’re still doing so. In those days before USB, almost every computer and every device had its proprietary inputs and outputs. Get a new computer or printer and everything except the connection to the wall would be new.
Fortunately, the USB standard means that even if I have a wired mouse, I don’t need to count pins before plugging it in. Enter Newer Tech with the Power2U outlet, an easy way to wire my house to charge up my USB gear without booting my computer. Or, as in my case, without having to figure out what to pull out to free up a USB port for charging.
The Power2U unit is a substitute wall outlet. That means that one must replace an existing outlet. Short of replacing all, or several, this involves some consideration about which outlet would be most convenient and accessible for charging, as well as which outlet is accessible for swapping. In brand new construction, no problem. In my cluttered, busy world full of racks and bookcases and shelving and cabinets, the choices were automatically narrowed considerably. Don’t want a charging station near the cat dishes, either. Ooh, wires: yum!
Fortunately, the receptacle I settled on is in the New Part of my house, upgraded to code at the very end of the 20th Century. The Old Part of my house was built about a century before and wired around the time of the Great War. The knob-and-tubing wiring was replaced mid-century, but the wall receptacles remained unimproved and shallow. Narrowly averting another major home improvement project, with some well-aimed pushing and shoving and folding of wires the receptacle space in the New Section was just big enough to accommodate the extra depth of the Power2U, needed because of the extra USB electronics.
Newer Technologies Power2U
AC Wall Outlet with USB Charging Ports
Now that I run my life via gadgets and I’m wireless, I spend half my time updating and downloading. The other half is spent looking for the power to keep my lifestyle going. Enter Newer Technologies with a USB port incorporated in a standard wall outlet. The Power2U outlet is a standard grounded two-socket wall outlet with the addition of two USB ports.
When I first started playing with Macintosh computers in the 1980's, Newer Technologies was making gadgets and gizmos and add-ons that improved the computing experience, added a new dimension, or just made things more interesting and fun. They’re still doing so. In those days before USB, almost every computer and every device had its proprietary inputs and outputs. Get a new computer or printer and everything except the connection to the wall would be new.
Fortunately, the USB standard means that even if I have a wired mouse, I don’t need to count pins before plugging it in. Enter Newer Tech with the Power2U outlet, an easy way to wire my house to charge up my USB gear without booting my computer. Or, as in my case, without having to figure out what to pull out to free up a USB port for charging.The Power2U unit is a substitute wall outlet. That means that one must replace an existing outlet. Short of replacing all, or several, this involves some consideration about which outlet would be most convenient and accessible for charging, as well as which outlet is accessible for swapping. In brand new construction, no problem. In my cluttered, busy world full of racks and bookcases and shelving and cabinets, the choices were automatically narrowed considerably. Don’t want a charging station near the cat dishes, either. Ooh, wires: yum!
Fortunately, the receptacle I settled on is in the New Part of my house, upgraded to code at the very end of the 20th Century. The Old Part of my house was built about a century before and wired around the time of the Great War. The knob-and-tubing wiring was replaced mid-century, but the wall receptacles remained unimproved and shallow. Narrowly averting another major home improvement project, with some well-aimed pushing and shoving and folding of wires the receptacle space in the New Section was just big enough to accommodate the extra depth of the Power2U, needed because of the extra USB electronics.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
I have free software to give away!!
We recently received a great offer and want to pass it on. I have three free registration codes for the full product and will give them to the first three readers who email me at chuckhajdu@gmail.com!! Here's the software:
With so many New Year’s Resolutions focusing on taking better care of your body, home and budget, why not show some love to your PC by resolving to clean up your hard drive? National “Clean Your Computer Day” is coming up again on Monday, Feb. 13, so it’s as good a time as ever to start taking care of your PC.
Some cool features:
The enhanced TuneUp Program Deactivator turns off programs that are not being used in order to conserve system resources and maximize PC performance. Users can ensure that all of the services, start-up entries, background processes and scheduled tasks of these disabled programs remain inactive until they are needed; the tool can then enable and disable on the fly.
With so many New Year’s Resolutions focusing on taking better care of your body, home and budget, why not show some love to your PC by resolving to clean up your hard drive? National “Clean Your Computer Day” is coming up again on Monday, Feb. 13, so it’s as good a time as ever to start taking care of your PC. Computers can feel sluggish after regular use, installed programs and decreasing memory. This often leads to longer, frustrating start, load and shut-down times. TuneUp is committed to making this an issue of the past.
TuneUp Utilities 2012 is easy-to-use PC maintenance software - revitalizing your computer to give it that “just like new” feel and performance that is often lost after regular use and program installation. I would love to offer you a download code so you can review the product and I can even offer codes to giveaway to readers if you’re interested. Some cool features:
The new TuneUp Economy Mode allows users to improve the battery life of their notebooks, netbooks and tablet PCs, as well as reduce desktop PC energy consumption—with a single click. With this, battery life is extended by up to 30% and heat levels are reduced – increasing PCs’ and their hardware components’ life spans.
The enhanced TuneUp Program Deactivator turns off programs that are not being used in order to conserve system resources and maximize PC performance. Users can ensure that all of the services, start-up entries, background processes and scheduled tasks of these disabled programs remain inactive until they are needed; the tool can then enable and disable on the fly.
The Continued Rise of Chrome
The numbers are in for browser use in December and Chrome continues it’s steady climb. Firefox has lost a bit of ground but the big loser is MSFT Internet Explorer.
Here are the numbers for December:
IE6- 7.3% (amazing!! MSFT has been trying to kill this version since 2009)
IE7- 4.8%
IE8- 27.3%
IE9- 11.5%
IE total- 51.9%, down 7.0% for the year
Chrome- 19.1%, up 0.9% for the month
Firefox- 21.8%, down 1.3% for the month
We expect this slide to continue and it won’t be very long before Chrome overtakes both Firefox and IE. MSFT is keeping it’s head buried in the sand and doesn’t seem to know how quickly their products are falling out of favor.
Personally, I use Chrome on some computers, Firefox on others and various other browsers on other devices. None of my internet use is with IE and I intend to keep it that way!
Here are the numbers for December:
IE6- 7.3% (amazing!! MSFT has been trying to kill this version since 2009)
IE7- 4.8%
IE8- 27.3%
IE9- 11.5%
IE total- 51.9%, down 7.0% for the year
Chrome- 19.1%, up 0.9% for the month
Firefox- 21.8%, down 1.3% for the month
We expect this slide to continue and it won’t be very long before Chrome overtakes both Firefox and IE. MSFT is keeping it’s head buried in the sand and doesn’t seem to know how quickly their products are falling out of favor.
Monday, January 2, 2012
CES 2012 Prep
It’s less than a week until we all leave for Las Vegas and the biggest hi-tech show in the world, the Consumer Electronics Show. All of our staff have their credentials, and airplane and hotel reservations made. It’s one of the highlights of the new year for us.
This year’s show promises to be memorable for a couple of reasons. This will be the first CES that we’ve ever attended that will not have a Lunch @ Piero’s press event. Lunch@ has always been a highlight of every Fall Comdex and CES for us. Pat Meier-Johnson has always had a wonderful selection of small companies and large ones for us to talk to and learn about their new products and services. The world’s economy has really affected budgets for many companies and they have had to cut back significantly. Lunch@ may have been one of the casualties of those cut backs.
We’ll be covering CES with most of our staff this year. It won’t be like the last years of Comdex when we had almost a dozen reporters covering every aspect of the show but we’ll do our very best to cover everything important.
We’d love to know what our readers want to know about? What technology are you interested in?
This year’s show promises to be memorable for a couple of reasons. This will be the first CES that we’ve ever attended that will not have a Lunch @ Piero’s press event. Lunch@ has always been a highlight of every Fall Comdex and CES for us. Pat Meier-Johnson has always had a wonderful selection of small companies and large ones for us to talk to and learn about their new products and services. The world’s economy has really affected budgets for many companies and they have had to cut back significantly. Lunch@ may have been one of the casualties of those cut backs.
We’ll be covering CES with most of our staff this year. It won’t be like the last years of Comdex when we had almost a dozen reporters covering every aspect of the show but we’ll do our very best to cover everything important.
We’d love to know what our readers want to know about? What technology are you interested in?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year
Today starts a new calender year and we’re looking forward to it. The year 2011 was a real challenge and we have high hopes for 2012. This may be the year where we can reverse the horrible slide we have been on for the past few years. The economy, world-wide, has been on a terrible down turn and we need to take drastic steps to get back on the right path.
We have been evaluating consumer electronics products for almost two decades and 2011 was the worst full year we have ever encountered. Normally we have a surplus of review products on hand but not this year. By Q4 we had several of our most experienced reviewers run out of products to review. This has NEVER happened before in our history. Is it a sign of the future or an aberration? We are really hoping for the latter.
We are normally a very optimistic group of people but the consistent downward spiral looks like it will continue. There is little enthusiasm from our staff for CES 2012 and that worries me. What if the whole economy is on a never ending plunge to the bottom?
Let us pray for a happy and healthy New Year.
We have been evaluating consumer electronics products for almost two decades and 2011 was the worst full year we have ever encountered. Normally we have a surplus of review products on hand but not this year. By Q4 we had several of our most experienced reviewers run out of products to review. This has NEVER happened before in our history. Is it a sign of the future or an aberration? We are really hoping for the latter.
We are normally a very optimistic group of people but the consistent downward spiral looks like it will continue. There is little enthusiasm from our staff for CES 2012 and that worries me. What if the whole economy is on a never ending plunge to the bottom?
Let us pray for a happy and healthy New Year.
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