form factor

Qualcomm CEO Explains What Happened to Smartbooks

Ina Fried in Mobile on December 2, 2010 at 6:30 am PT

A year ago, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs was talking a lot about smartbooks. Today, well, not so much. For those who have already forgotten what the smartbook even was, the idea was to have a low-cost device that looked a lot like a netbook but offered far better battery life and instant-on capabilities. Once Apple released the iPad, though, everyone started focusing on tablet devices rather than on little notebooks. “Obviously, tablets are the flavor of the day,” Jacobs said in an interview on Tuesday.

Analyst: Apple Will Retain At Least Half the Growing Tablet Market

John Paczkowski in News on October 9, 2010 at 8:10 am PT

Acer chairman J.T. Wang recently predicted that Apple’s share of the tablet market would decline precipitously as new rivals emerge, falling from nearly 100 percent to 20 to 30 percent. But J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz isn’t so sure.

Confirmed! Secret Microsoft Plans to Improve Windows!

John Paczkowski in News on June 29, 2010 at 8:15 am PT

So those purported confidential Microsoft documents describing Windows 8? Totally legit, sources close to the company tell me. Also totally uninteresting as far as eyes-only “vision” documents go. Improved energy efficiency! Faster start-up! An app store! Support for slates!

“We Have Big Expectations for Tablets, Just Not RIM’s”

John Paczkowski in News on June 18, 2010 at 2:31 pm PT

Research In Motion is said to be developing a BlackBerry tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad and similar devices running Google’s Android operating system. But should it even bother? Caris and Co. analyst Robert Cihra says it should not.

You’re Right, Steve. The PC Is a Truck. But the Tablet Isn’t a Car. It’s a Bicycle.

John Paczkowski in News on June 17, 2010 at 10:45 am PT

Apple CEO Steve Jobs likes to compare the transition from desktop/laptop PC to tablet with the transition from trucks to cars. Like trucks, which waned in popularity with the urbanization of America, so too will older PC form factors with the advent of more mobile and responsive forms of computing. “PCs are going to be like trucks,” he said. “They’re still going to be around, they’re still going to have a lot of value, but they’re going to be used by one out of X people.” Jobs stopped short of predicting just how quickly this transition will occur, but in a research report published today, Forrester hazards a guess.

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Ray Ozzie Live at D8

John Paczkowski in D8 on June 3, 2010 at 8:17 am PT

As an indicator of the headwinds facing Microsoft and its CEO, Steve Ballmer, today, two pieces of news last week are worth considering. The first, that Apple had overtaken Microsoft as the world’s most valuable technology company, would seem to signal Microsoft is no longer quite the driving force in technology that it once was, particularly in the consumer space. The second, word of a restructuring that will give Ballmer greater oversight of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, indicates the company is scrambling to change this.

My Kid’s an Honor Student at iPad University: Apple on the Rebound in Edu

John Paczkowski in News on February 24, 2010 at 10:20 am PT

In the ’80s, Apple’s share of the U.S. education market stood at 50 percent. These days, it hovers around 20 percent, thanks largely to falling PC prices and the advent of the netbook. But that’s changing, and quickly too. With Apple inking multiyear Mac contracts with a number of school districts and the iPad and its promise of hand-held education just a few weeks away from market, the company could be poised to see significant growth in higher ed.

Apple Raises Over-The-Air App Cap

John Paczkowski in Mobile on February 18, 2010 at 3:37 pm PT

Here’s a bit of interesting news in light of the looming launch of Apple’s iPad: The company has doubled its over-the-air 3G download limit, raising it from 10MB to 20MB worldwide. So it seems restrictions on iPhone-related bandwidth are easing a bit, although why this is happening isn’t yet clear.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein: I’ve Never Used an iPhone

John Paczkowski in Mobile on January 8, 2010 at 3:52 pm PT

If CES 2009 marked Palm’s rise-from-the-ashes rebirth, CES 2010 may well be the beginning of its resurgence, the inflection point at which the company really begins to gain traction in a market that nearly left it behind just two years ago. In his interview with All Things D‘s Kara Swisher, CEO Jon Rubinstein is certainly optimistic, emphasizing the role of his company’s plan and priorities in making progress toward a turnaround. In addition, the former Apple engineer didn’t miss a beat as he casually noted, “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.”

CES: Steve Ballmer Keynote

John Paczkowski in News on January 6, 2010 at 6:00 pm PT

Steve Ballmer is delivering his annual state-of-Microsoft address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tonight–the second he’s given since taking over the duties of former CEO Bill Gates. If anything like last year’s, Ballmer’s address will offer a broad overview of Microsoft’s consumer strategy for the year, touching on everything from the company’s hardware-software ecosystem to its home entertainment offerings. Likely to figure prominently in tonight’s address: Windows 7 and the new touch-enabled PC form factors it has evidently inspired; Bing; and Natal, Microsoft’s controller-less game control system, which will launch in time for the 2010 holidays.