Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Microsoft is hosting a media event tomorrow to mark the official launch of Windows 8, and the Surface RT tablet. The initial reviews of the Surface RT have had high praise for the quality and construction of the tablet hardware, but almost universally reviewers are concerned with the lack of apps for Windows RT. Two apps in particular, though, stand out as giant voids in the ecosystem: Facebook and Twitter.
I haven’t had an opportunity to get any hands-on experience with a Surface tablet, yet, but I have worked with Windows 8 on a tablet—I’m typing this on the touchscreen display of a Samsung Series 7 Slate running Windows 8 Pro. I have Box, Kindle, Netflix, and Evernote apps installed, but I can’t help notice the glaring absence of Facebook and Twitter, and the impact that has.
Will Facebook have an app available for the launch of the Surface RT tablet?Read more »
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
With the official launch of Windows 8 on the imminent horizon, PC manufacturers have announced a diverse array of new hardware. The problem with all of the desktop options is that they lack the one peripheral device they need to work effectively with Windows 8: a touchpad.
Just to catch everyone up, Windows 8 is engineered for touch. The Modern UI (formerly known and still referred to by the masses as “Metro”) is a colorful interface of mobile-esque tiles and apps. It’s possible to work with Windows 8 using a traditional mouse and keyboard, but it’s not as fluid or intuitive as simply tapping and swiping.
I have a Samsung Series 7 Slate with Windows 8 Pro. Most of the time it sits on my desk in a docking station emulating a desktop. It has a wired connection to my broadband Internet, and it’s connected to my 23” monitor via HDMI, and wirelessly to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Pioneer announced a new Blu-ray drive this week. The BDR-2208 will be the fastest drive available on the market—an internal 15x Blu-ray burner—and offers small businesses a cost-effective means of backing up and archiving important data.
The press release from Pioneer describes a number of features that consumers will appreciate. It has QuickPlay to decrease the time it takes between inserting a disc into the drive, and having that disc available and ready to use. It has PowerRead to enable smoother data reads by quickly bypassing areas marred with minor scratches or smudged with fingerprints. It has Auto Quiet Mode to adjust the disc rotation speed to reduce rotation speed—and noise—when watching Blu-ray movies or listening to music.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Amazon unveiled a new service this week—Whispercast. Whispercast is a tool for schools and businesses that allows them to centrally manage and deploy content for Kindle devices and Kindle apps. Whispercast could make the Kindle much more attractive as a legitimate business tool.
How much paper do you think is wasted in your office by people printing out white papers, marketing collateral, or other materials to review? A team of people working on a new proposal together might each print out a hard copy to read while on the train, or sitting at home in their living room. A couple people will lose their copy, and one will get coffee spilled on it, and the same document will be printed off a few more times.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
When Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet earlier this year, it looked impressive, but left us with few details. This week, Microsoft invited a select group of tech writers for a closer look behind the curtain, and began taking pre-orders for the device that will be available as of October 26. As anxious as some are to get a hold of the new Windows RT tablet, though, there are a few good reasons businesses might think twice.
At face value, a Windows-based device engineered by Microsoft would seem to be a slam dunk for businesses considering tablets. However, Windows RT is a different animal than Windows 8. It relies strictly on the Modern (formerly known as “Metro”) UI with its colorful tiles, and it can only use apps acquired from the Windows Store.
The Surface RT has some serious caveats when it comes to business use.Read more »
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
It’s not the pricing I had hoped for. But, at the same time the price options for the Surface RT tablet are not ridiculous. The pricing of the Surface RT tablet is competitive—not high enough to be dead on arrival, and not low enough to be a slam dunk.
According to details available on the Microsoft Store site earlier today, the Surface RT will start out at $499 for a 32GB model without the accompanying keyboard case. Without diving deeper into the features and capabilities, that makes the Surface RT $100 cheaper than the similar 32GB iPad, which costs $599.
It's not $199, but at $499 the Surface RT is still competitively priced.Read more »
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
So, rumor has it that Apple will host an event on the imminent horizon—give or take two weeks—to announce a smaller iPad model. The “Apple iPad Mini” as it’s been dubbed by the rumor mill, is expected to be a 7 or 8-inch sibling of the iPad, designed to compete with smaller tablet rivals like the Google Nexus 7, or the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.
There’s never a shortage of gossip and rumors when it comes to mysterious new Apple products, but there does seem to come a point where the speculation reaches critical mass and it seems more likely than not that there’s truth behind it. Assuming an iPad Mini is, in fact, impending, it will probably be a game changer.
Rumor has it that iOS might soon have three sizes to choose from.Read more »
