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Mobile, tablets and TV - the gadget battlegrounds of 2011

If you’re someone who has to have the latest gadgets there will be plenty to look forward to in 2011. Doubtless there will be a few surprises but we already know about some of the things that are coming to tempt us next year.

There are those, like the Google Nexus S and the Nintendo 3DS, that have already been announced and others, like the iPad 2 and the PlayStation Phone, that are simply strong rumours.

The most interesting gadgets are in the same areas that have been exciting this year: mobile, tablet computing and television. It would be an over-simplification, though not much of one, to say that in all three areas the battle comes down to Google versus Apple. That would be unfair to Sony, Samsung, BlackBerry and, of course, Microsoft, who are all likely to make headlines next year. However, the dominance of those two companies can’t be ignored.

And so we could ask whether Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iOS will carve up the smartphone market between them - though Nokia might want to interject there. Or we could consider whether an Android-powered tablet will get the better of the iPad - though BlackBerry would have something to say about that. At a stretch, we could say the TV space is a battle between Google TV and Apple TV - but the folks at YouView would rightly snort at that.

There’s plenty of healthy competition in the world of gadgets. See the links for our gadget battles to watch in 2011.

Millions of mobile phone users overpay, says watchdog

Millions of mobile phone uses are paying more than they need to for their mobile service, according to Which?, the consumer watchdog

A survey by Which? Mobile found that around 10 million people are regularly paying for calls, text messages and data on top of their monthly charge.

Although the survey found that 70 per cent of people check their mobile bill at least once a month, Which? estimates that six million people have only a vague idea of their monthly allowance of call minutes and five million are unsure of their text and data allowances.

Tom McLennan, head of Which? Mobile, said: “If you regularly spend more than your line rental, check your bill to see where you’re incurring extra charges as you may be able to save money by moving to a tariff with more minutes, texts or data.

“If you never go over your agreed line rental, it’s because you’re not using up your allowance so you may be able to save money by finding a cheaper tariff that reflects your usage.”

Ernest Doku, of comparison website uswitch.com, said people should shop around. “A bit of canny shopping can put you on a far more cost effective contract over the 18 or 24 months, with a realistic amount of minutes and texts. If you find that you are going over, simply ask the network to move you up a rung on the tariff ladder.”

Nintendo: Children Under 6 Shouldn't Play 3-D Games On 3DS

TOKYO—Nintendo Co. has issued a warning that children under the age of 6 shouldn't play three-dimensional games on its soon-to-be-released hand-held game machine, as looking at 3-D images for a long period of time can have a harmful effect on the growth of young children's eyes.

The company posted the disclaimer at the bottom of its Japanese-language website promoting a three-day event in Japan where people can try its new Nintendo 3DS, due to launch Feb. 26 in Japan. It asks that six-year-olds and those younger play games on the 3DS in two-dimension mode.

"For children under the age of six, looking at 3-D images for a long time could possibly have a negative impact on the growth of their eyes," Nintendo said on the website. It also warned that users should take breaks every 30 minutes when playing games in 3-D and stop playing immediately if they feel ill.

Nintendo has had more success than its competitors with adolescents and younger children, though it is unclear what age group the 3DS will target upon its release next year.

The Nintendo 3DS is the company's most-anticipated videogame hardware product since the Wii home console in 2006. The hand-held device will allow users to play 3-D games without special glasses to create the illusion of depth.

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Associated Press

Nintendo's new handheld device, the 3DS, will feature games that can be played in 3-D without the use of glasses. Nintendo has warned that children under the age of 6 should not play such games as they could be harmful to the development of their eyes.

The warning is similar to those made by other makers of 3-D consumer electronics products. Samsung Electronics Co., SonyCorp. and Panasonic Corp. all provide warnings on their websites about the possible risks of viewing 3-D images for children younger than 6.

Most 3-D technologies create the illusion of depth on a flat screen by presenting different images to the left and right eyes, typically using special glasses. But Nintendo is offering that effect with the display alone, without the need for glasses, using a technology called autostereoscopic 3-D.

The 3DS comes with a slidebar to allow the user to adjust the level of 3-D effect on the games played on the machine.

Facebook Top Searched Term, Most Visited Site In '10 - Hitwise

Facebook was the top searched term overall in 2010, the second straight year that the social networking website has topped web queries, while it was also the most visited website this year, according to data provider Experian Hitwise.

Hitwise reported four variations ...

Tablets, 4G and Auto-tech to Lead Next Week's CES

You don't need superhuman precognition to know what will be big at next week's International Consumer Electronics Show: tablet computers. Companies have been rushing to catch Apple's iPad since it went on sale in April, and at CES 2011 tens of new tablet computers are expected to be launched.

"Clearly, the iPad was really the new Genesis for the tablet category, and I think what that product has shown is that it really resonates with consumers," said Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), in a recent interview. The CEA stages the International Consumer Electronics Show

Many of the tablets will be based on Google's Android operating system, which has already stolen a lead on Microsoft in the tablet space. Microsoft has yet to offer a dedicated tablet OS, although Steve Ballmer is tipped to show devices running its prototype tablet software during his keynote speech on Jan. 5.

Variety is much more likely to be found in the tablet hardware. Screen sizes could vary from around 6 inches up to 12 inches, and Japan's NEC has promised to show a dual-screen tablet.

Chip companies are also battling for a slice of the market with Intel competing with manufacturers of Arm-based chips, such as Freescale and Nvidia. Freescale says 23 tablets based on its chips will be at CES 2011 while Nvidia, a company best known for its graphics cards, expects many tablets based on its Tegra processor will be launched at the show.

"The Tegra business is about to go through some very exciting times," said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder of Nvidia, in a recent interview. "We're going to have some very exciting announcements at CES."

The recent launch of 4G LTE cellular networks in the U.S. is expected to see the debut of smartphones that make use of the faster network technology. Verizon Wireless launched its network in December with the promise of downloads up to ten times faster than 3G, and recently said in a Twitter message that it would have 4G phones at CES.

Smartphones based on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 operating system, which was launched in late 2010, are also expected to make headlines and be an important pillar of the software company's booth.

But there's way more to CES than tablets and phones.

3D televisions, a big item at CES 2010, will be back -- although lackluster initial sales will perhaps bring the hype down a notch or two. Toshiba is planning to show its no-glasses 3D TV for the first time outside of Japan and LG is promising a monster 72-inch 3D television and portable models. 3D-compatible Blu-ray Disc players will also make an appearance.

E-Ink, which provides screens for most of the major e-book readers, recently unveiled its first color screen so devices packing the technology could be on show at CES.

"We expect to see a lot more evolution in the color e-reader camp, likely some color e-ink displays potentially on display," said the CEA's Koenig.

As in previous years the show is embracing the auto industry. Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi, and Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, will both deliver keynotes that are expected to touch upon high-tech auto innovations on the horizon. Chevrolet will be offering test drives of its all-electric Volt.

CES 2011 is expected to attract around 120,000 people to Las Vegas, according to an estimate from the organizer. That puts attendance halfway between the 126,641 people that attended the 2010 show and the 113,085 that turned up for CES 2009.

Around 2,500 companies, just under half from overseas, will be exhibiting at the show. CES takes place from Jan. 6 to 9, with many of the biggest announcements taking place a day before the show begins on Jan. 5 at numerous news conferences.

RIM denies PlayBook tablet battery issues, promises "superior performance"

In response to one Wall Street's analyst assertion that the upcoming PlayBook tablet was experiencing battery issues, Research In Motion responded with a statement denying the claim and promising "superior performance with comparable battery life."

On Tuesday, analyst Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. sent a note to investors voicing concerns over the unreleased 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's battery life after checks with "industry and supply chain sources." In the note, Wu suggested that he had "heard" that the PlayBook's battery life was just "a few hours" and would require a "a bit of re-engineering."

The PlayBook is slated for a first quarter 2011 release, though RIM has not projected any revenue from the PlayBook tablet for its next fiscal quarter, which ends next fiscal quarterFeb. 26 with a price tag below $500.

RIM released its statement denying Wu's claims late Wednesday, Forbes reports.

“Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented," the statement read. "RIM is on track with its schedule to optimize the BlackBerry PlayBook’s battery life and looks forward to providing customers with a professional grade tablet that offers superior performance with comparable battery life.”

RIM's statement fails to specify what exactly the PlayBook will be comparable with, but Wu's note compared the tablet to the Samsung Galaxy Tab's 6 hours of battery life and the Apple iPad's 10 hours of battery.

That RIM continues to assert that the PlayBook's performance will be "superior" should come as no surprise, as RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie recently touted the PlayBook as "way ahead" of the iPad.

"I think the PlayBook redefines what a tablet should do," said Balsillie, asserting that the tablet's redefinition involves the web, not apps.

Mobile in 2011: Google Nexus S v iPhone

There are more players in the smartphone world than just Google and Apple but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Here's why.

Is the smartphone sector now a two-horse race? On the one hand there’s Google’s Android operating system - open, flexible and now installed on devices manufactured by the likes of Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson. And on the other hand there’s Apple’s iOS operating system, which runs the iPhone 4, the iPod touch and the iPad.

Nokia - which still makes more mobile handsets than anyone else - Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry all have their fans, of course, but in terms of innovation and trendsetting, Google and Apple appear to be in the lead. Google's latest Android phone - the Nexus S - launches very soon and it’s already had very good reviews. Slim, powerful and with an excellent screen, it’s a strong competitor to the iPhone 4.

There will almost certainly be another iPhone mid-way through 2011, which will see Apple raise the bar still further, but in the meantime there will be more Android devices - some of them high-end and powerful, some of them cheap, entry level handsets. Increasingly, picking a winner comes down to personal taste but the level of competition should encourage anyone who wants to see their smartphone get smarter still.

Apple's iPad 2 rumored to have USB port

With the bulk of the holiday shopping buzz dying down, rumors of Apple's new iPad 2 have sprung to life. The most recent rumor, courtesy of the Mobile Review blog editor-in-chief Eldar Murtazin, says the iPad 2 will include a USB port.

The tweet, discovered by AppleInsider, reads:

"Talked with colleague which working with some ODM vendors connected with Apple. He is research guy. According to his sources iPad2 will have usb port."

AppleInsider reports that Murtazin is a trusted insider with good sources and the news of the integrated USB could be the result of a European device-maker pact that decided micro-USB ports should be standard device charging ports. Apple, of course, uses the 30-pin dock connector for its mobile devices, including the iPad.

Including an integrated USB port would also quickly make obsolete the USB adapter kit provided by Apple for the iPad. Currently, the USB adapter only supports importing photos from digital cameras, though some other peripheral devices have been said to work.

There is no word whether an integrated USB port would offer greater functionality. In the meantime, expect rumors to keep flowing from various sources as the new iPad gets closer to be announced and released.

Skype for iPhone adds two-way video calling

Two-way video chatting: it's here.

(Credit: Skype)

The word you're looking for is "finally." As in, "Oh look, Skype has finally stepped up to the competition by adding two-way video chatting to its VoIP iPhone app!" Indeed, this anticipated addition is one for which Skype-watchers and users have been thirsting since Fring's two-way video calling app nosed into the iPhone app store this past July, following Apple's introduction of its own Face Time video chatting software. But more on that later.

What iPhone users worldwide first need to know is that starting today, an update to the free Skype for iPhone will start being seen in the App Store. The global roll-out may take some time, so be patient if you don't find it immediately.

The app contains many of the features you'd expect. You can use either 3G or Wi-Fi to place two-way video calls, and the technology works in both portrait and landscape modes. You can mute a call, place or answer a call with just audio or with audio and video, and swap between the front-facing or rear-facing cameras. The Skype for iPhone app retains its auxiliary features as well, like instant messenger and SMS to chat with friends before, after, or during a call; and status message updates. There's also a history tab for reviewing recent communications with members of your buddy list.

As with the recently-released ooVoo Mobile (for Android,) Skype for iPhone will work for anyone on Skype's network, be they desktop or mobile users. While you can only broadcast video on on Apple devices with rear-facing or front-facing cameras--namely the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and iPhone 3GS, you can also receiveincoming video broadcasts on the iPad and third-generation iPod Touch. As an extra bonus, desktop Skype users (Windows|Mac) can share a view of their computer screen with Skype users on iPhone.

Skype's video calling on iPhone (photos)

     

While many have hammered Skype for being slow to develop this feature (us, included,) Skype's timing is certainly salient. Its two-way video calling app is rolling out in time for cross-continental New Year's Eve calls, but before the relentless noise of next week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This gives Skype a head start on news that otherwise may have been swallowed up in the flood of flashy gadgets. Nevertheless, Skype does have a press conference schedules for CES, during which time we may see Skype's two-way video calling come to select Android phones--we'll guess the Samsung Epic 4G and HTC Evo for a start, along with any other Android phones that may come out of the show.

We've been waiting for Skype to release mobile video chat for a long time. One of the founding members of VoIP video calls should have also been the leader in bringing the technology to mobile phones. However, since the first murmurs of this type began, Skype has pointed to technical challenges in getting acceptable video quality to work over 3G to its millions of global users (124 million per month, according to the company). Since Skype certainly wasn't the first non-Apple player; it'll have to win market share by being the best. Or at least by being better than Fring, ooVoo Mobile, Qik, and others.

We'll soon follow up with a hands-on review of Skype's to see just how well Skype has tackled these issues with two-way video calling. In the meantime, here's one last word from the sponsor. Skype is claiming frame rates of 12 frames per second when sending a video stream and 15 frames per second to receive a video; all while over 3G. 

If you get a chance to download and use Skype's two-way video calling on iPhone, tell us what you think.

Mobile security firm warns of new Android Trojan

Lookout Mobile Security, which just raised fresh capital to boost its fight against mobile malware, said it has identified the peskiest cell phone threat to date.

The Android Trojan, dubbed Geinimi, has cropped up in China and is capable of taking a significant amount of personal data and sending it to remote servers.

Lookout said Geinimi displays botnet-like qualities and is the most sophisticated wireless malware it has seen. Thus far, infected programs have only been seen on various Chinese app stores.

"Geinimi is effectively being 'grafted' onto repackaged versions of legitimate applications, primarily games, and distributed in third-party Chinese Android app markets," Lookout said in a blog post on Wednesday. "The affected applications request extensive permissions over and above the set that is requested by their legitimate original versions."

The security firm said it has already updated both the paid and free versions of its software to protect against Geinimi.

CES: HTC Evo Shift 4G could get Jan. 9 release

Seeing that it's already received the FCC's blessing, the HTC Evo Shift 4G is hardly a secret, but in the days leading up to the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show more details are leaking out about the Andorid smartphone.

Android Central yesterday intercepted an upcoming Radio Shack newspaper ad that points to a Sunday, January 9, release date for the Evo Shift 4G. You don't need a calendar to know that such a date makes sense. It's the last day of CES, after all, which would give HTC and Sprint the time to formally announce the handset in Las Vegas. According to the ad, the listed price will be $149.99, which is about what we'd expect.

From the outside, the Evo Shift 4G looks not unlike Sprint's original Evo 4G, though it should add a sliding physical keyboard. We're still in the dark regarding the device's specs, but we expect it to include at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB RAM, and a 5-megapixel camera.

Wi-Fi Overload at High-Tech Meetings

SAN FRANCISCO — Internet entrepreneurs climb on stage at technology conferences and praise a world in which everyone is perpetually connected to the Web.

But down in the audience, where people are busy typing and transmitting this wisdom, getting a Wi-Fi connection is often downright impossible.

“I’ve been to 50 events where the organizer gets on stage and says, ‘It will work,’ ” said Jason Calacanis, chief executive of Mahalo, a Web search company. “It never does.”

Last month in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 Summit, where about 1,000 people heard such luminaries as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Eric E. Schmidt of Google talk about the digital future, the Wi-Fi slowed or stalled at times.

Earlier this year, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, had to ask the audience at his company’s developer conference to turn off their laptops and phones after his introduction of the iPhone 4 was derailed because of an overloaded Wi-Fi network.

And few of Silicon Valley’s technorati seem willing to forget one of the biggest Wi-Fi breakdowns, on the opening day of a conference in 2008 co-hosted by the technology blog TechCrunch. It left much of the audience steaming over the lack of Internet access. The next morning, the organizers — who included Mr. Calacanis — clambered onto the stage to apologize and announce that they had fired the company that installed the Wi-Fi.

Technology conferences are like revival meetings for entrepreneurs, deal makers and the digitally obsessed. Attendees compulsively blog, e-mail, text and send photos and video from their seats.

Some go so far as to watch a webcast of the event on their laptops rather than look up at the real thing right in front of them. Nearly all conferences make free Wi-Fi available to keep the crowd feeling connected and productive.

The problem is that Wi-Fi was never intended for large halls and thousands of people, many of them bristling with an arsenal of laptops, iPhones and iPads. Mr. Calacanis went to the extreme at the Web 2.0 Summit by bringing six devices to get online — a laptop, two smartphones and three wireless routers.

He explained — while writing e-mails on his laptop — that as a chief executive and investor, he needed dependable Internet access at all times. “You’ve still got to work,” Mr. Calacanis said.

Wi-Fi is meant for homes and other small spaces with more modest Internet demands, says Ernie Mariette, founder of Mariette Systems, which installs conference Wi-Fi. “You’re asking a technology to operate beyond its capability.”

Conference organizers and the Wi-Fi specialists they hire often fail to provide enough bandwidth. Many depend on the infrastructure that the hotels or convention centers hosting their events already have in place.

Companies that install Wi-Fi networks sometimes have only a day to set up their equipment in a hall and then test it. They must plan not only for the number of attendees, but also the size and shape of the room, along with how Wi-Fi signals reflect from walls and are absorbed by the audience.

“Every space is different and every crowd is different,” Mr. Mariette said.

What is good enough for a convention of podiatrists is woefully inadequate for Silicon Valley’s connected set.

“I’ve been to health care conferences where no one brings a laptop,” said Ross Mayfield, president of the business software company Socialtext and a technology conference regular.

Technology conferences are an anomaly. Some regulars joke, perhaps accurately, that the events are host to more Internet devices per square foot than anywhere in the world. All too often, the network freezes after becoming overwhelmed with all the nonstop streaming, downloading and social networking.

That was what happened this year at the RailsConf, a software conference in Baltimore, when attendees caused Wi-Fi gridlock by tuning in to a webcast of an unrelated event across the country. Nearly everyone, it turned out, wanted to watch Apple’s live unveiling of the iPhone 4, the very one that fell victim to a Wi-Fi crash.

Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not necessarily fix the problem, Mr. Mariette said. In fact, doing so may make the situation worse by creating more interference.

To avoid Wi-Fi gridlock, conference organizers sometimes ask attendees to turn off electronics they are not using and to refrain from downloading big files. Cooperation is generally mixed, however.

Last year, an attendee at Web 2.0 Expo in New York was so desperate to get online that he offered to pay Oren Michels, chief executive of Mashery, a Web services company, to share his mobile Internet connection. MiFi, as the device is called, enables users to create mini-Internet hot spots using a mobile carrier’s network, not conference Wi-Fi.

“He said, ‘Can I give you 20 bucks for access?’ ” Mr. Michels recalled. “It was just some random person sitting next to me.”

Even if Wi-Fi devices are not connected to the network, they constantly emit signals that create background noise, sometimes until it becomes impossible to get online. IPhones and most BlackBerrys, along with certain laptops, are more susceptible than other devices because they operate on 2.4 GHz, a part of the spectrum that offers only three channels.

The Wi-Fi curse also extends to tech industry press conferences. Google, for instance, once held a press day at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., during which the Wi-Fi failed for several hours, although it was restored during the event’s final minutes. The flub did not exactly build confidence that Google and its partner, EarthLink, could deliver on their plans — since abandoned — to blanket San Francisco with free Wi-Fi.