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Featured commentary
Chris Spera
Can Waze Save Apple Maps?
January 03, 2013 09:30 AM
Incorporating Waze navigation and local search into Apple's Maps app and service would address many of the problems that have earned Apple its poor mapping reputation. Unfortunately for Android users, Apple would probably pull the plug on Waze use, or at least relegate them to second-class status.
Serdar Yegulalp
Ubuntu For Phones: Beautiful, Elegant, Doomed
January 03, 2013 08:30 AM
How good could an UbuntuPhone really be? It can't possibly be unique enough and have enough of a value proposition to break into a market that's already dominated by big, powerful players.
Eric Zeman
Apple Tests iPhone 6? Not A Shocker
January 02, 2013 09:40 AM
Server logs show that Apple is already working on the next-generation of its iPhone and iOS platform. Um, no kidding.
George Ou
Windows 8 Tablet Launch #Fail
January 02, 2013 08:45 AM
Microsoft Windows tablets, in spite of a superior Intel processor, suffer from hardware and software problems — and are overpriced. The PC industry seems to have a misguided notion that it doesn't need to compete on specs and price with the iPad 4 and Nexus 10. It's shocking that Microsoft spent three years producing an antiquated overpriced product such as the Surface while Apple and Google, including their partners, are producing superior products in 6-month cycles.
Eric Zeman
Mobile's Biggest Losers In 2012
December 28, 2012 09:06 AM
The last twelve months have been turbulent for smartphone makers and wireless network providers. Here's who took it on the chin hardest.
Larry Seltzer
iPhone Prices Under Competitive Pressure
December 27, 2012 12:13 PM
Phone prices are being aggressively lowered by Apple's competition and Apple appears to be responding with price cuts, something we haven't seen before. Never mind that excellent Android and Windows Phones can be had for a lot less than the iPhone's $199 with a 2 year plan; more and more users are opting for older and cheaper iPhone models. The bottom line of all this is that Apple's average selling price for an iPhone is going down.
Larry Seltzer
China Tries Again To Control Internet
December 26, 2012 08:32 AM
The Great Firewall of China is increasingly effective in stopping anonymous VPN-based access in and out of the country after a recent upgrade, and now the government is considering another attempt to strengthen authentication of users before obtaining Internet connections. The proposed law is being cynically framed as a privacy protection measure. As offended as I am at the ideas behind these proposals, I'm confident that they can't be implemented practically.
Larry Seltzer
Google/Motorola 'X phone' Tries To Push Tech Limits
December 24, 2012 09:02 AM
Google and Motorola are trying to make the hottest phone on the market and running into the problems that kept everyone else from making such a phone, such as poor battery life. The way they're going about it suggests that Google does not have the clearest vision of what they want to do or how to do it.
Larry Seltzer
Android Fails in Mobile Malware Research
December 21, 2012 09:03 AM
There are many more malware-infected Android devices out there than you might think. It's all because the Android ecosystem and Google Play store are more friendly to malware and exploits than iOS and the Apple App Store or Windows 8, Windows Phone and the Windows Store. There's some, but not much reason, to think things will improve for Android in the near future.
Larry Seltzer
Apple Must Settle With Samsung
December 20, 2012 10:10 AM
Apple Needs To Cut The Patent Nonsense. If Apple really thinks they need to sue the competition out of the market then they must think they're in worse shape than anyone else thinks. Recent legal setbacks, including the reexamination by the US Patent and Trademark Office of the 'pinch and zoom' and other patents, have the potential to embarrass Apple severely and embolden the competition. Now's the time to scale back in their settlement negotiations.
Eric Zeman
Smartphone Race's Third Horse: Microsoft Or RIM?
December 18, 2012 12:05 PM
Apple and Google are the two strong leaders in the smartphone wars. Microsoft recently kicked off its comeback bid, and RIM follows next month. Which one has the best shot of being the third horse in this race?
Kurt Marko
Google Nexus 10: My First Month
December 18, 2012 11:06 AM
After almost two years of iPad use, I've been living with a Google Nexus 10 tablet for the past month. Google's iPad rival does not disappoint.
Mike Feibus
Should You Buy A 7-Inch Or 10-Inch Tablet?
December 18, 2012 09:06 AM
Hear me out on this one, tablet shoppers: You should buy a 7-inch tablet and a 10-inch tablet.
Larry Seltzer
Google Makes BYOD Harder
December 17, 2012 08:05 AM
Google is ending several services, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) for free users and Google Calendar Sync for all users. If you use an iPhone or iPad for free Google services like GMail you have some headaches ahead. Google is pushing you hard to abandon the Mail app and switch to the GMail app. If you use a Microsoft Surface for them then you have a big problem. This Google calls "Winter cleaning."
Eric Zeman
Yahoo Gets Serious About Mobile
December 12, 2012 11:10 AM
New email and Flickr apps show that CEO Mayer is pushing to make Yahoo a contender in the mobile market.
Serdar Yegulalp
QWERTY Keyboards Are Here To Stay
December 12, 2012 09:15 AM
Alternative keyboards are voodoo ergonomics. If the keyboard is going to be killed by anything, it'll be by the one holy grail of user interfaces: A direct neural connection between the user and the computer, with all of the fascinating and scary possibilities offered through such a system. The things I'm confident it's not going to be killed by are touchscreens — or, for that matter, other kinds of keyboards.
Larry Seltzer
Top Ten BYOD Developments of 2012
December 12, 2012 09:03 AM
It's been another big year for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and the consumerization of IT. Apple moved boldly forward and yet lost a step in both market share and esteem. Microsoft staked a claim in the tablet and phone markets. Android came to dominate the smartphone market and make tablet inroads. 4G and the cloud have become more common and big companies stepped in to take control of mobile security.
Larry Seltzer
Office for iPad: Don't Expect Much
December 11, 2012 06:55 PM
The evidence is pouring in that there will soon be a Microsoft Office of sorts on the iPad. Just remember, that Microsoft will never give Apple their cut through the app store, so look for Office for iPad to be a free gateway to some for-pay service.
Eric Zeman
Google's Motorola Acquisition: All About The Patents
December 11, 2012 01:22 PM
Slew of facility closures and divestitures prove that Google was never interested in Motorola's hardware business.
Max Cherney
Flawed Report Claims 24 of 25 Top App Companies Sell Games
December 11, 2012 07:33 AM
A report by research firm Canalys says that revenues in the app business are dominated by game developers. We think the analysis is flawed, but it's also true that revenue opportunities are potentially more plentiful for games than other apps.
Dino Londis
For Microsoft Surface, Modest Sales Are Good Enough
December 10, 2012 08:30 AM
The software giant is finding that modest sales are the sweet spot for Surface hardware, but is it a winning business model? It could be. Surface doesn't have to be as big a hit as the iPad for Windows 8, and therefore Microsoft, to win big. More than Surface itself, Microsoft needs to get Windows 8 and the app model working, and for that the success of Lenovo, Dell, HP and other OEMs is also good for Microsoft.
Boonsri Dickinson
Mobile Device Biometrics: The Eyes Have It
December 10, 2012 08:00 AM
When people think biometric security, they think verification through fingerprints or voice. A company called EyeVerify is working on software to bring eye vein verification to your smartphone, providing a safe way to conduct banking transactions as well as other BYOD functions.
Serdar Yegulalp
T-Mobile Ending Phone Subsidies: A Victory For Transparency
December 07, 2012 08:40 AM
The traditional subsidized phone contract that has made mobile phones seem more affordable is in fact a convoluted scheme to maximize carrier money and leverage on the customer. T-Mobile's plan to switch to unlocked phones and a "Value" package, in which you pay for the phone in installments clearly spelled out on the bill, lets customers make clearer decisions.
Eric Zeman
Apple Vs. Samsung Returns To Court
December 06, 2012 11:19 AM
Apple and Samsung revisit the courtroom to debate several major issues involved in their patent dispute, which Apple won. The eventual outcome may reverberate through the smartphone industry.
Eric Zeman
Schmidt: Apple, Google Waging A Cold War
December 05, 2012 12:45 PM
Google chairman Eric Schmidt says don't oversimplify this complicated relationship -- and don't look for the patent fights to end soon.