Tech in 2012
We’re nearing the end of the year, so it’s time to ask what wonders
2012 will bring. No, I’m not talking about the possible end of the
world. I’m talking about tech wonders–products that many of us wish were
here right now, such as Apple’s (alleged) iPad 3 and iPhone 5, and
Microsoft’s tablet-friendly Windows 8 operating system.
What are you anticipating in the new year? Here’s what I’m looking forward to.
What are you anticipating in the new year? Here’s what I’m looking forward to.
Apple iPad 3
If the gossip is true, the next-generation iPad will be a sight to behold. Its most compelling (alleged) feature: a 2048-by-1536-pixel display,
offering four times the resolution of the iPad 2′s 1024-by-768-pixel
screen. Assuming that Apple maintains its tablet-upgrade cycle, we can
expect to see the new slate in the spring (the iPad and iPad 2 each
shipped in the spring).
Microsoft Windows 8
Microsoft’s next operating system promises to be everything. Designed to power both tablets and conventional PCs, Windows 8 is ambitious and risky. The new OS will feature the touch-oriented Metro interface that we first saw in Windows Phone 7. That means Microsoft’s “reimagined” flagship OS will be the first Windows version since the iconic Windows 95 to revamp, rather than simply tweak, the desktop interface.
Windows 8′s touch-friendly tiles might make sense for tablet users, but how will Microsoft’s bread-and-butter business clientele embrace the radically new look and feel?
Windows 8′s touch-friendly tiles might make sense for tablet users, but how will Microsoft’s bread-and-butter business clientele embrace the radically new look and feel?
Smarter TVs From Apple and Sony
Rumors of an Apple-branded TV set
aren’t new, but recent developments lend credence to reports that the
folks in Cupertino are cookin’ up something good. According to Steve
Jobs’s biographer Walter Isaacson, Apple’s cofounder was obsessed with
the smart-TV concept,
and had been working diligently on a genre-defining television
interface before he passed. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, a
longtime Apple watcher, recently predicted that an Apple television
would debut by the end of 2012 or by the start of 2013.
Sony, meanwhile, is developing next-gen TV concepts designed to emulate Apple’s successful strategy of sharing user content among multiple devices, including TVs, tablets, smartphones, and game consoles. More
Sony, meanwhile, is developing next-gen TV concepts designed to emulate Apple’s successful strategy of sharing user content among multiple devices, including TVs, tablets, smartphones, and game consoles. More
