InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

Apple iCloud Purchasing First Look
Apple's iCloud will give you the ability to see all apps you've purchased on any of your iOS devices and download them to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch without a wire in sight. Join BYTE executive editor Brian Burgess for a look at the service that will show you what to expect.
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Sony Xperia Play Teardown
UBM TechInsights looks inside the Android-based Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson, the first "PlayStation Certified" smartphone.
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12 Hot Mobile Medical Apps
Mobile medicine is everywhere. There's the iPhone app that lets you cut away images of muscle layers to see what lies beneath, an e-health record system for the iPad, and a smartphone-based blood pressure monitor. Here are a dozen innovative ones.
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Filemaker Go 1.2 Expands iOS Feature Set
The latest version of Filemaker Go--the database software provider's iOS-based mobile application for business users--adds charts and graphs, digital signature capture, enhanced PDF tools, and wireless printing while allowing users to develop custom applications for the iPhone or iPad without heavy-duty development work.
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Lookout Mobile Security Protects Android Smartphones
For a while now, it seems as if malware that targets smartphones has been more of a theoretical exercise as opposed to a real threat. And mobile security software is one of the last things that many people and businesses think they need. But the recent outbreak of Android-based malware, which has led to reportedly tens of thousands of people becoming infected by malware found in more than fifty apps in the Android Market, could be the first sign of the new age of mobile threats.
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RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Teardown
UBM TechInsights takes a look under the hood at yet another tablet. Inside RIM's new BlackBerry tablet is the TI OMAP 4 processor, a six-axis gyro and some other fun hardware goodies.
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Google Chrome 10 Boosts Performance, Management
Google releases a new version of its Web browser every six weeks, so a new release of the Chrome browser is usually light on new features. That's true for Chrome 10, but the improvements in the new version of the browser are welcome. Probably the biggest new feature is the new Crankshaft V8 engine for JavaScript. Along with other performance improvements, the JavaScript engine clearly puts Chrome right at the top of browser performance, based on a variety of benchmarks. Chrome 10 has also added a new interface for configuring browser options, improved the ability to sync settings across browser installations, and has added additional security layers for Flash content running in the browser.
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iPad 2 A5 Chip Teardown Reveals Samsung Fab, Advanced Power Management
The new dual core A5 chip inside the iPad 2 is very fast, but as always, Apple isn't very forthcoming on its origin. UBM TechInsights dissected the chip and found it to be a Samsung fab. TechInsights also provided a cost breakdown of all the iPad 2 components.
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Apple iPad 2 3G Teardown
Apple began shipping the iPad 2 at 5 p.m. at its stores and other affiliated retailers nationwide on March 11. Apple's original announcement was vague, as Apple always seems to be, about what's under the hood of their newest device, and yet, the lines stretched and turned for block, with consumers desperate to be the first to have the iPad 2. Our crack teardown team at UBM TechInsights waited in line for 12 hours in Syracuse, NY! But the early results are in, and there were a few surprises. For example, the 3G radio represents yet another big win for Qualcomm. The 3G chip is the same one used in Motorola's Xoom tablet, and in the Verizon version of Apple's iPhone. That's pretty big props (not to mention volume). Another surprise: the iPad 2 touch screen controller is the older Broadcom BCM5974 -- Apple has been using a TI controller as of late, and customizing it with Apple markings. Enjoy some of the early results of our teardown, including the full comparison chart at the end -- it breaks down the parts and costs for the original iPad, the iPad 2 and Motorola's Xoom. The UBM TechInsights team will start dissecting the dual core A5 chip tomorrow to determine its origin; it will do the same with the audio codec (which the team suspects is from Sirrus Logic) and the power management unit (probably the Dialog D1815A). Special thanks to UBM TechInsights, especially Allan Yogasingam.
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Apple Announces iPad2
For almost one year, Apple has owned the tablet market. In fact, it's had the market almost entirely to itself. That began changing at the end of last year, with a constant stream of announcements and product launches from Cisco, Research In Motion, Samsung, and more, leading to an absolute avalanche of new products announced and demonstrated at CES this January. And those products have been, at least on a feature basis, easily superior to the original iPad. Just as some of those products have started to ship, Apple comes along with its long-expected iPad version 2. Observers expect Apple to merely match features, and leverage the enormous volume advantage of its app store; but would Apple merely strive for parity?
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Motorola Xoom Teardown: Inside The New Android Tablet
UBM TechInsights, a sister company to UBM Techweb, InformationWeek's parent company, took apart the newest Motorola tablet, the 10.1-inch Xoom, the first dual-core Android tablet and the first tablet to run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Inside is Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor. In fact, many of the Xoom's components are similar to those of Motorola's newest smartphone, the Atrix 4G. That's not a surprise given that Apple and Samsung, for example, share design components across tablets and smartphones; and not a surprise given the economies of scale of these design choices. The Xoom is, suffice it to say, plenty of hardware to challenge Apple's iPad, at least as it exists today. But the competition is heating up. Plenty of dual-core processor tablets are due out in the next few months.
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NFC, Pico & Audio: Mobile Chips In Full View
Many new mobile technology enhancements, from NFC to 4G to just plain old audio calling, are possible thanks to the silicon that makes it all so. At Mobile World Congress, there are as many chip manufacturers as any other mobile ecosystem player, and we met with everyone from Samsung to Intel to Qualcomm to Texas Instruments. Everyone's heard of them, but some of the most innovative advancements come from companies that are a bit more behind the scenes. Here are a few of our favorites from this year's event.
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Mobile Wow: NTT Docomo's 3D Touchable Display & More
Mobile World Congress has its fair share of prototype technology, which is always a good way to get inspired about the future of mobile computing. NTT Docomo's advanced technology concepts always bring a big crowd and this year was no exception with its 3D touchable display. We also saw an interesting demonstration of remote printing from HP, and we revisited one of our favorite new technologies, the Motorola Atrix with Laptop Dock. And of course, our slide show wouldn't be complete without a cameo from some of our crew.
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As Seen At Mobile World Congress, Day 2
It is nearly impossible to see every product spinning through the eight halls that make up the massive Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. But not for us! This event is typically a chance for the entire mobile ecosystem to gather -- mobile operators, handset manufacturers, software providers, mobile service companies, carrier equipment manufacturers and mobile operating system vendors. Most of the new technology is incremental in nature, but it's always fun to see what new ideas pop up. What follows is just a small handful of the products we've seen so far. More to come.
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Meat, Mobile and Me
They were slicing a giant pork roast here in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress, but all I could look at was the amazing array of mobile technologies the folks at Mobile Focus (put on by Pep Com but not affiliated with MWC) laid out. Exec producer Fritz Nelson, videographer Matt Conner and I avoided the carcass and spent our time checking a surprising array of mobile technologies. There were several main themes I noticed. Lots of announced but still unshipped devices were in use by the app makers. The upcoming LG phones and the here-any-minute RIM BlackBerry PlayBook were in full sight, showing off games, fancy personal networking technologies, 3D maps and developer toolkits for every device imaginable. A lot of companies were taking mobile aim at Skype. I loved a product from VMware that will allow two operating systems to run on one phone -- theoretically, that means they could put iOS in a virtual session on the Android. That video is coming soon. Take a look at some of things we found. As I said, Fritz and I both shot videos at this locale. Keep a look out.
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Intel Showcases MeeGo Tablet UI And Other Apps
Despite Nokia's insistence that it is still very much behind MeeGo, Intel is going to the mobile platform dance stag. It would be easy to feel sorry for them if it hadn't felt like a mistake from the beginning. "Disappointed" is how one Intel MeeGo product manager expressed the company's view on Nokia's fickleness. Still, the company presses on, announcing and demonstrating a tablet reference platform, among other advancements, at Mobile World Congress. Intel also showcased MeeGo running a variety of applications.
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Mobile World Congress: Taking a BYTE Out of Barcelona!
We arrived in Barcelona two days before the show started. The city is gorgeous, famous for its Gaudi architecture. The picture below, taken from Wikipedia because there are cranes now all over it during its completion, shows the famous Basilica I Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Construction began in 1882 and has proceeded off and on since. Now, in 2011, it is only halfway complete. The name Gaudi, as it refers to the architecture so prevalent here, refers to Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926. These buildings look like sand castles. Wish you could see them. Check out the rest of the slideshow for some of the sights, eats and scenes at the Mobile World Congress as InformationWeek, Techweb, and the upcoming BYTE.com storm Barcelona. And I do mean storm. If you want to see show related pictures, they start after my touristy Barcelona slides. Check it all out, though! Well worth it. And stay tuned for more slideshows from Barcelona.
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Mobile World Congress: Spicy Mobile Madness
Steve Leon's Showstopper kicked off the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Fritz Nelson, Matt Conner and I were there (see last slide). Lavish food and drinks for the press abounded, but we never imbibe. You know why? We choose instead to race around gathering data on the early look at products Showstopper provided on this night, the night before the show opened. I had a blast racing around taking pictures, shooting video and checking out vendors' wares. Showstoppers' Steve Leon, who I haven't seen in person in 12 years, hasn't aged a bit! (Note that he did not say the same about me. OUCH AND LOL! See last slide). Check out the slideshow I put together of hot stuff showing at ShowStoppers, and stay tuned right here for more slideshows from Barcelona. Ateo! (Adios in Catalan). So there.
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