The patent would cover for a portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, and would make the device's back panel removable, allowing users to switch to a different lenses. In design terms, this would mark a significant departure for the iPhone, since Apple has always shipped its signature device completely sealed.
Instead of switching out the lens, iPhone photography aficionados currently use add-ons to get around the limitation.
The patent may have been part of the late Steve Jobs' grand plans for making iPhone cameras even more appealing to photographers. Jobs, who was interested in photography himself, envisioned an improved camera in a meeting with Ren Ng, CEO of the photography company Lytro, last year.
Hands down, the Nokia 808 PureView's most compelling feature is its camera, which easily beats all current smartphones known for their imaging prowess, including the iPhone 4S and the HTC One X. Its only pitfalls are the limitations of the Symbian operating system (OS), but this probably won't matter to the people who will buy it.
Like the N8, the PureView is also a camera-oriented phone, but it's pretty much the first of its kind in terms of imaging chops. Much has already been said about Nokia's PureView Pro imaging technology--if you still don't understand what it's about, try reading the white paper (PDF).
Before you start reading, we'd like to set out a disclaimer that this is, by all means, a review of a smartphone, so we have to take other features of the 808 PureView into full consideration.
Design Features The 808 PureView, at the 5-, 8- and 38-megapixel settings fared well even against the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 (far right).(Credit: Shawn Low/CNET Asia)Performance Conclusion
The design of the Nokia 808 PureView can be simply described as solid.
Solid in the sense that the construction of the phone is robust and sturdy--which is really no surprise, seeing Nokia's strong tradition in producing durable handsets like the Nokia 3210. Coupled with the Gorilla Glass display, this phone is built to last.
In fact, when we dropped the review unit on a friend's foot from waist level--by accident--and it crash-landed on concrete afterward, the polycarbonate handset escaped unscathed without any scratches or dents. On the other hand, his foot was worse for wear, probably due to its rather hefty 169g weight.
We found the 4-inch nHD (640 x 360 pixels) screen's size and resolution are on the low side for a smartphone with such an imaging pedigree--it would have been nice to be able to enjoy our shots in at least qHD or 720p glory. By comparison, the Sony Xperia S, a smartphone in the same price range, has a 4.3-inch HD (1,280 x 720 pixels) display.
On the bright side, the phone's narrower girth means that it's suited for one-handed usage.
Another upside of the 808 PureView's screen is Nokia's proprietary ClearBlack display technology, which is touted to give good readability even under direct sunlight. We found this to be true.
However, do note that the touchscreen has the tendency to retain fingerprints and smudges, so keep a cleaning cloth handy if you have an oily face.
In our opinion, the slightly curved edges of the glass are a nice design element, which is reminiscent of theNokia N9. Overall, it's a refreshing change from the flat and boxy look of some me-too smartphones out there.
We aren't too keen on the bulge on the back--this is due to the gigantic PureView lens adding bulk to the phone's chassis. Measuring almost 18mm at its thickest point, the 808 PureView may be a slightly uncomfortable fit in your pocket--especially when you sit down.
Interestingly, the extra bulk doesn't result in a top-heavy phone; in fact the 808 PureView felt well-balanced in the hands. It also helps that the ceramic-like finish is grippy, especially for one-handed usage. The ridge on the back could have been more pronounced, or made of a more textured material, to provide more grip while shooting.
You also won't have to worry about scratching the lens as it's slightly recessed.
Finally, Nokia chose to go with a screen lock slider on the side of the phone, instead of a lock button. A useful feature: Holding the slider down turns on the flash to use it as a torchlight, making it a nifty shortcut.
The Nokia 808 PureView runs on the latest Symbian Belle OS, which brings with it a refreshed look and new features such as: Up to six customizable home screens, improved multitasking, scrolling widgets and an Android-like dropdown notifications menu.
Yet, our complaints of the OS remain the same as its predecessor, Anna. We've mentioned them before in our review of the Nokia E6 and here they are again:
The major disadvantage of getting a Symbian phone is the dearth of apps in the Ovi Store. At the time of this review, the number of apps in the Ovi Store is a tenth of what's available on Apple's App Store.
Furthermore, there are no dedicated Twitter or Facebook apps in the Ovi Store, so you will have to access these social networking sites via the Ovi Social widget on the home screen. Strangely, you won’t be able to set the refresh intervals, and the only way to update your feed is to access the app. In addition, it does not have a notifications feature.
Our one minor quibble with predictive text input also hasn't changed. Belle does not automatically change lower case i's to capital letters, nor is she able to predict correctly the words you're trying to type. Users unfamiliar with the Symbian OS may find a high error rate, especially when typing with predictive input turned off.
Athough Belle does not support Wi-Fi tethering, the 808 PureView comes preinstalled with JoikuSpot, an app that allows you to share your 3G connection wirelessly. Other standard bundled apps include Quickoffice, F-secure Mobile Security, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Adobe Reader.
In terms of connectivity, you get the full range of options here: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DLNA, GPS and HSDPA up to 14.4Mbps. Additionally, the 808 PureView has NFC capabilities and a dedicated HDMI port.
There's 16GB of onboard storage that's expandable via a non-hot swappable microSD card. The battery is removable.
Finally, there's Dolby Digital Plus technology for surround sound--note that it only works with compatible headphones or speakers plugged in.
Let's face it, the only reason why you're reading this review--and the 808 PureView's most important proposition--is its bumper 41-megapixel CMOS sensor. It measures 1/1.2 inches, larger than the N8's and most advanced compact cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Fujifilm FinePix X10. The 808 PureView also uses renowned Carl Zeiss-branded optics, which features a molded glass aspherical lens.
First, let's look at what the PureView does better than some of the best smartphone cameras out there: It gives the user a lot more control over settings in Creative mode, maintains detail when zoomed in to 100 percent and has minimal noise even in low-light situations. For more advanced users, you'll get bracketing mode for high-dynamic range (HDR) photography and time lapse recording. Nokia even sells an optional tripod mount adapter for those who are serious about stabilizing the device when shooting. We find shutter lag to be minimal, although there's a little wait of about one to two seconds while the shot is saved--especially when shooting at full resolution.
A thoughtful feature is one-finger swipe-to-zoom capability, which is faster than having to press repeatedly on the volume rocker to zoom in. This is particularly useful while recording video (full-HD 1080p by the way), where you swipe upwards on the screen to the required crop factor. Once you lift your finger off the screen, the camera zooms in automatically, eliminating jerky movements that result from manual zoom.
At MWC, Vesta Jutila, Nokia's product marketing director of smart devices, said that the mechanical shutter, autofocus system and ND filter are the only moving parts in the robust camera module, which has gone through rigorous drop tests.
Yet, for those impressive imaging chops, the camera software has a few downsides. For one, there's no burst mode setting, though you can capture sequential shots by holding down the physical shutter button.
You can directly access the camera from the lockscreen in less than a second by pressing the hardware shutter button. However, you're limited to shooting on auto mode, with no access to advanced image controls except flash. Also, if your phone is password protected, you won't be able to preview the photo immediately after snapping it unless you unlock the phone. With Android and iOS, you can preview photos taken during the phototaking session done without unlocking, but don’t get access to all the other photos in the phone--a more sensible solution. All these mean you may miss out on photo opportunities unless you don't mind a relatively less secure phone and do without a passcode.
When you preview your photos, there's a quick shortcut to share them on Facebook immediately. Flickr is also integrated, but not Twitter. The quick preview also doesn't reorient photos to portrait mode, so if you want to see a portrait photo in full, you'll have to exit the camera app and fire up the gallery. This is a mild annoyance for us.
Also, in the gallery app, the phone behaves more like a gallery from a digital camera. When zoomed in, you won't be able to flick to the next image unless you manually zoom out first. This is unlike iOS or Android, which lets you swipe to the next image (which automatically zooms out the image).
Although the onboard Xenon flash is twice as powerful as the N8--as told to us by Nokia's Eero Salmelin, head of imaging--it was a tad heavy-handed. To quote our camera reviewer, Shawn Low, the 808's flash "looked more like a beam from a torch", and "also created a pink color cast in images produced".
As we've also seen in our camera shootout, the 808 PureView loses out on minimum focusing distance for macro shots. Nokia's lead program manager of imaging experience, Damian Dinning, did point out in his comment that "the 808 uses the widest angle optics of any smartphone when used in it’s[sic] default fully optimized 16:9 aspect ratio. This does create something of a trade-off in close-ups."
That's where the PureView's "lossless zoom" technology comes in--in the form of "closeup scene mode as a full-time option, touch AF in any mode or closeup focus mode in creative [mode] accessed via a long touch of the viewfinder screen", writes Dinning. He goes on to note the reduced depth-of-field in the end-result as a result of the larger sensor size.
What he neglected to mention is that this method also reduces the effective area of the sensor used (depending on the amount of zoom), which results in a trade off in oversampling. For instance, if you zoomed in completely while shooting at 5-megapixels, you would be shooting pixel-for-pixel and there would be no oversampling to speak of. Shawn has done a comparison of shooting in the various modes in his article--you can read it here.
Although you can shoot at full-resolution (38 megapixels for 4:3 and 34 megapixels for 16:9 aspect ratio) and then crop the photo, the tradeoff is more noise because the oversampling feature will not be utilized.
As such, it's probably best to shoot on the default 5-megapixel setting--or at 8-megapixels--unless you plan on printing out a life-sized poster.
The 808 PureView's 1.3GHz single-core processor isn't exactly the snappiest in the market (especially with quad-core smartphones being released), but using the phone was a relatively responsive experience overall. 512MB of RAM was also sufficient for multitasking, and we didn't experience any major lag while using the handset except for when saving pictures (mentioned earlier). This is especially noticeable when taking full-sized 38-megapixel shots.
For extra processing power, the 808's camera module features a special companion processor that handles part of the workload before sending it to the graphics processor. This process may explain the lag we experienced.
The 808 PureView's 1,400mAh battery lasted us a full day with average usage, with Wi-Fi and GPS turned off and two email accounts set on push. Due to the limitations of Ovi Social, we were unable to use our standard test settings of Twitter and Facebook at two-hour refresh intervals.
We expect that if you're going to be spending a day (or night) out and taking lots of pictures, especially with flash, it's probably safer to bring a spare battery or an external charger along.
Reception was generally fine, although we ended a few calls unintentionally when the screen did not turn off and our cheek accidentally touched the "end call" onscreen button. This did not happen every time so we don’t think you should be overly concerned about it.
To put a long story short, the Nokia 808 Pureview has near-perfect imaging chops for a mobile phone, but does a so-so job at being a communication device--something important to the average user.
Smartphones such as the iPhone 4S, HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III are popular not only because of their competent cameras, but also because of the ecosystem (apps, camera-related accessories etc), broad user base and intuitive UI. These elements are sorely lacking in the Symbian OS, which is why it's the 808 PureView's stumbling block to mainstream success.
CEO Stephen Elop has previously announced that the company will stay committed to the OS only until 2016. At MWC in February, Nokia's then-EVP of Sales, Colin Giles, declined to comment on what's next for Symbian after Belle but stated that innovation on the platform will still continue. Recent news of Nokia's layoffs has cast doubts on the future of the company, which makes us even more hesitant to place our bets on the dated Symbian OS.
The 808 PureView isn't a smartphone for the masses. For the more discerning photography enthusiasts who are looking for a compact camera replacement--and current N8 users--though, it's a different matter entirely. Let's face it, you probably skipped right to the part about the camera and ignored the rest of the review. If you just want a camera that has the ability to make calls and send/receive emails, then the Nokia 808 PureView fulfills this purpose very well.
At S$839 (US$654) without operator subsidies, it's pretty expensive considering you can get a high-end smartphone with a modern OS at that price. But if it means saving on buying a dedicated digicam, it could be worth the price to some.
Apple iOS 6 introduced new features, some of which Android already had. (Credit: James Martin/CNET)
Whenever Apple introduces a new version of iOS, it's guaranteed that Android fans will protest that Google's operating system has long had most of the new features. Apple is late again, they'll say, and only following Google down the smartphone innovation trail.
Truth is, I don't really blame them for making that case. Indeed, I've done the same when reviewing iOS updates so I understand where their fervor is coming from. But as right they may be, Android fans forget one important thing. Apple may be late to a feature party, butiPhone users really don't care.
Of course, iPhone owners will gripe when their phone is missing an important feature. The wait for real notifications, for example, was particularly galling and it took until iOS 6 to add a button for attaching a photo to an email that you're already writing. But even with those complaints, most iPhone users will forgive Apple and be patient. Because deep down they believe that when Apple finally delivers the feature, they'll get a better experience than their Android friends. Tear off the front page, but Apple takes its time to deliver the experience it wants. That's how it's always been and its customers know it.
Of course, I'm not saying that Apple always hits the highest mark--the iPhone's multitasking is still a bit of a mess--but sometimes it does. It took a while to get video editing, for example, but it was a dream when it arrived. It's those moments that really matter to Apple users. They'd rather sit on the bench than get a half-baked product. To them, Apple doesn't have to invent it as long as it adds the signature Apple touch that customers expect and love.
In the end, it's really about two distinct philosophies of a smartphone user experience. On one side you have an OS that can do almost anything, offers oodles of choice, and is exhaustively customizable. But at the same time it can feel messy and a tad unrefined. That's fine for some people, but others will prefer an OS that's less buggy and that's tightly integrated and exceedingly easy to use. Sure, that same OS also is limiting and occasionally less powerful, but users should be allowed to choose what works for them.
So, yes, Android users, I feel your pain. When Apple announces a feature that you've had for months, I know that it is frustrating. And when Apple gets only thunderous applause in return I see why it makes your blood boil. But even though that's the reality, Apple fans won't hear you shouting. Their new iOS feature may be late, but to them it was worth the wait.
Skype said today that users who do not have Skype Credit or subscriptions will now see advertisements in their call windows when they are making one-on-one audio calls using Skype for Windows.
Marketers can purchase these conversation ads in 55 markets where Skype is available. There's no mention of the display ads showing up on Macs or on mobile devices.
The company is portraying the change as a "an opportunity for marketers to reach our hundreds of millions of connected users in a place where they can have meaningful conversations about brands in a highly engaging environment."
The announcement also says Skype thinks that the ads, which will be silent and non-expanding, "could spark additional topics of conversation." And in tiny print, the company describes how it may use demographic information such as location, gender, and age to target the ads. Users will be able to opt out of the company using their information for ads in the privacy settings.
Some of Skype's demographics were also released. In addition to a reach of more than 41 million unique users, the numbers show that users are 46.3 percent male and 53.7 percent female.
Other numbers:
Age:
16.5 percent are 18-24
37.6 percent are 18-34
65.8 percent are 18-49
21.1 percent are 25-34
58.5 percent are 25-54
Marital Status:
52.8 percent are married
45.8 percent have children
Education:
33.3 percent have graduated college or higher
Income:
61 percent have a household income of US$50K+
39.1 percent have a household income of US$75K+
22.7 percent have a household income of US$100+
16.4 percent have a household income of US$75,000-99,999
Online Shopping:
78.3 percent have shopped online in the past 30 days
71.8 percent have purchased online in the past 30 days
16.6 percent sought or posted product reviews in the last 30 days
Instead of having just One series of products, the Taiwan-based company couldn't resist introducing two new additions, this time for its Desire range of smartphones. The Desire V is a dual-sim smartphone, a first for HTC. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), has Beats Audio and uses a single-core 1GHz processor.
Double networks. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
Upside
HTC has been doing well on the design front, and while the V isn't as high-end as the One X, it features a very polished and refined build, no doubt thanks to the unibody design. We liked the solid feel in our hands.
The Desire V is also pretty on the inside. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
As mentioned earlier, it runs ICS and has HTC's Sense UI on top. HTC has also added some tweaks to let you use it as a dual-SIM device, including a status bar showing the two networks you're on. When you make a call, you can select the SIM card slot to call from. We understand that you can personalize the text on the buttons.
There's a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, but we note it lacks the features of the photography-orientated One series handsets (including a dedicated imaging chip). It also doesn't do HD video recording.
The pretty rear of the Desire V. (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
The 4-inch display may have only a WVGA (800 x 480-pixels) resolution, but it looked great in the brief time that we spent with it.
Downside
With a retail price of S$498, you're basically paying for the dual-sim function. That's not too bad, but then you realize that it uses a 1GHz single-core processor. Given our experience with the HTC One V, you're likely to experience occasional sluggishness.
The handset only has 4GB of onboard storage, though you can expand it with a microSD card. You may want to do so for your music and multimedia needs--if only to take advantage of the Beats Audio integration of the handset.
Outlook
While the Desire V isn't as flashy as the One series handsets, the dual-SIM feature is something that stands out. As far as we know, it's possibly the only up-to-date Android solution in the market. If you want a dual-SIM phone, your previous options were limited to feature phones or Nokia Symbian handsets.
The Desire V will be available in Asia from June 16. Do check with your local telcos and resellers for pricing.
TAIPEI, Taiwan--After trawling through the halls of Computex for the third straight day, we have seen more than our fair share of the latest tech gadgets. Which means you have to take our word for it when we say that the following picks are the coolest products at Computex this year (not ranked in order).
The Acer Aspire S7 (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
Acer may have borrowed the idea of a Gorilla Glass lid for its Aspire S7 Ultrabook from HP's Envy 14 Spectre, but the white-clad ultra-slim laptop is different enough in its own way.
The Samsung Series 5 Ultra Convertible (Credit: Vincent Chang/CNET Asia)
Samsung kept a Windows 8 hybrid tablet under wraps in a glass case at its Computex booth, but we weren't that interested in that Asus Transformer-lookalike. Instead, the convertible tablet version of the Series 5 Ultra looks like it could be an interesting rival to the Lenovo Yoga.
The Asus ROG Tytan gaming desktop PC (Credit: Vincent Chang/CNET Asia)
Someone in the office calls it the "Knight Rider" of cases and with side doors (and a top vent) that open at the touch of button, revealing more cooling fans, the Asus ROG Tytan CG8890 gaming desktop certainly lives up to that nickname. Hitting that button also automatically overclocks the processor, which explains why more ventilation is required.
The Gigabyte X11 (Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET Asia)
Gigabyte's super-slim and ultra-light X11 also happens to look like something Batman would use with its black, full carbon-fiber body. Besides weighing less than 1kg, this laptop comes with the latest Intel ultra-low-voltage processor and a 128GB SSD.
The Asus Taichi (Credit: Craig Simms/CNET Australia)
You got to hand it to Asus--the Taiwanese company certainly knows how to create buzz and anticipation for its press conference with its pre-show teaser videos. Despite a slow start--it's hard to make a cloud computing solution sexy--the new Asus products received a warm reception from the media, with the dual-screen Taichi grabbing the headlines.
While it's definitely over-the-top and probably impractical, there's no argument that it's a great ice-breaker for those awkward moments--Asus' chairman Jonney Shih could have used that during his earlier failed demo at the press event.
Apple's Final Cut Pro X screen which can now show full 1080P HD video in the top right corner.
(Credit: Apple)
Wondering whether you should part with US$2,199 for a MacBook Pro Retina? That is, after all, a lot for a laptop these days.
Apple is trying to make that decision easier by offering lots and
lots reasons to buy a MacBook Pro Retina. While professionals may need
little convincing, will the average user care?
Here is the list of core benefits Apple is claiming for the Retina MBP:
Raw specs: 15.4-inch, 2,800 x 1,800 resolution, 220 pixels per inch (ppi). By comparison, the third-generation iPad is 2,048 x 1,536 and 264 ppi.
Contrast, viewing angle: Higher contrast ratios,
deeper blacks, better viewing angle (via IPS tech), reduced glare and
reflection (by up to 75 percent). -- Phil Schiller
OS X updated: OS X Lion has been updated to take
full advantage of Retina display. "Reading your mail is like reading
fine print," said Schiller. Reality check: It will take awhile for non-Apple applications to go Retina, if indeed lots do.
Safari: "Surfing the Web can be like experiencing print quality," Schiller said. Sharper than a printed page. Reality check: But that doesn't necessarily apply to other Web browsers.
iPhoto: "Looking at thumbnail photos in the events
view, you'll see a clarity and level of detail you've never seen
before," Schiller said.
Aperture: "Major update" to Aperture. "The whole UI
has been updated for Retina...every element...now you're looking at
four times the resolution of your photos," Schiller said.
Final Cut Pro: "Because of the density of the
Retina display, that video area in the top right...that is 1080P HD
video. That means there are over three million pixels left over for your
magnetic timeline...effects. Nine simultaneous streams of "ProRes"
video [and] four simultaneous streams of uncompressed video [are
possible now]," Schiller said.
Adobe: Version of Photoshop that takes advantage of Retina coming (Schiller).
Autodesk: Updated Autocad will allow "a level of detailed work not possible in a notebook before", Schiller said.
Schiller did offer this qualifier, though. "Applications do have to
be updated to take advantage of the Retina Display. If they aren't, we
can pixel-double them and make them the proper size." Pixel doubling, as
most users know, is not a pretty sight.
But getting back to the list above. Similar Retina-justifying
arguments were made by Apple for the third-generation iPad Retina. And
Apple didn't have much trouble convincing consumers to buy (me
included).
Then again, this isn't a US$600 iPad. It's a US$2,200 computer.
South Korean electronics company Samsung has shot down speculation that the company wants to acquire rival Nokia (NYSE: NOK), according to Bloomberg.
Nokia shares rose some 6 percent last Friday as rumors spread of a Samsung acquisition, only to fall Monday as news of the non-acquisition broke.
Nokia's market share has plummeted the past few years as the iPhone and Android devices continue to surge. Nokia has declined 46 percent over the past year, according to Bloomberg.
An almost identical "Is Samsung going to acquire Nokia" story broke around this time last year.
Anonymous Stages India Protests
In response to what it claims is unjust censorship, the hacker group Anonymous has organized protests in at least 16 cities in India,according to the BBC.
India's blockade of copyright-infringing sites is a major grievance among the protestors, according to the article. Those blocks, prompted by Indian movie company Reliance Entertainment, were ratified in December. Last month, a handful of Indian Internet service providers began carrying out the ruling, restricting access to steaming platforms such as Vimeo and Dailymotion, as well as file-sharing site The Pirate Bay.
Anonymous' India branch responded by hacking into more than 15 websites, including sites for political parties, telecommunications providers and even the Indian Supreme Court.
Anonymous claims that while it does not encourage piracy, it supports file-sharing sites because of their ability to share legitimate content such as photos or software code, according to the BBC.
Sweden's Revolving Twitter Spokesperson
The New York Times ran an article Monday looking at Sweden's official yet unusual Twitter feed.
Sweden's national Twitter account, @Sweden, has different citizens post for seven days at a time. The system, according to the article, can cause some innocent gaffes.
For instance, the very first holder of the @Sweden handle dubbed himself the "masturbating Swede" when listing his favorite downtime activities. Later, an 18-year-old high school student spelled "finish" -- as in, to complete -- "Finnish" -- as in, Sweden's neighboring country. Another tweeter criticized foreign secretary Carl Bildt, and another, a Muslim lawyer, quipped about the ubiquity of the name Muhammad among immigrants.
Still, Sweden isn't planning to change anything. In fact, Sweden's revolving Twitter handle has prompted other countries, including Ireland and New Zealand, to tinker with similar ideas, according to the Times.
Corruption Lands Chinese Execs in Algerian Prison
A trio of Chinese executives have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Algeria, according to Tech In Asia.
The executives, from Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE, were accused of being part of a bribery scandal. The men were found guilty in absentia and, along with the 10-year sentences, were fined roughly US$65,000, according to Tech In Asia.
Huawei and ZTE have been fined and received a two-year ban from partnering with state-owned companies in Algeria, the report stated.
Google to EU: Let's Be Friends
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is considering a "gentler approach" as it faces legal battles in Europe,according to Reuters.
Google has been bombarded with antitrust complaints from the EU for more than a year. And things now appear to be ratcheting up. Last Friday, the European Commission's Joaquin Almunia said that Google has until early July to reveal how it plans to comply with Europe's myriad grievances -- from disingenuous search results to data collection.
Google could face a fine of some $4 billion or, failing that, a protracted legal fight, according to Reuters.
Despite the accusation, Google has instead reportedly taken a conciliatory approach, highlighting, for instance, its job creation in Europe.
Windows 8 is a make-or-break platform for Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and likely the most complex operating system launch ever attempted. It comes at a time when Microsoft is losing share on both operating systems and browsers, when Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has once again replaced Microsoft at the top of the tech heap, and many would argue Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is on a fast path to second place. Microsoft is bringing out its big guns, but it is far from the user-focused company it was when it rose to dominance. Still, it has far more resources.
TechEd, which opens Monday, begins the final major phase of the operating system launch, and this is where professional buyers of this product get trained to deploy, repair, manage and use the platform.
I'll be asking the same questions the other professionals in attendance are asking about where the value is and whether known problems with the beta have been fixed, as well as assessing how well prepared Microsoft is this round.
Windows 7 went pretty well, but it was also vastly easier, and I'm currently wondering if it is even possible to successfully launch a product as complex as Windows 8.
I'll close with my product of the week, an 18-inch convertible -- all-in-one/tablet -- product that showcases both the problem and the promise and of Windows 8.
The Core Problem
At the core of every product release is a problem or set of problems that the product is designed to address. Fixing those problems are the benefits the offering provides. The iPad, for instance, was designed to address the problem of smartphone screens being too small and laptops being too large for in-hand entertainment, reading, Web browsing and light communications.
Apple products tend to address a second problem -- low status -- and they are marketed to provide status to the people who buy them, much like luxury cars clothing do. For a product to be successful, the buyer has to want the problem solved and see the solution as a high value way to solve it. Apple isn't the cheapest, but people still see the products as high value because of the status they impart and the perceived reliability and ease of use for the Apple solution.
It's generally best to focus on solving the customer's problems, but the actual problem that Windows 8 is designed to fix is a Microsoft problem. Apple was kicking its butt. This is similar to the core issue that created Zune. In that case, instead of focusing on the customer and addressing what Apple then couldn't do -- which would have resulted in a Zune phone before the iPhone -- Zune was designed to kill the iPod.
This is the same reason Google is struggling with tablets (targeting Apple), and the ChromeOS (targeting Windows). In both cases, it is focusing too much on the competition and not enough on us.
It takes a special skill set to really focus on user needs. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) recognized this when it elevated Genevieve Bell to research fellow and gave her a lab because of her understanding of this specific part of a solution. (Recently Bell was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame.) EMC (NYSE: EMC) has turned its massive big data analytics engine on this problem at the other end of the market, as both companies move aggressively to avoid this historic mistake.
Windows 8 Experience
Because Microsoft focused on Apple and not the customer, the result was a key design aspect to be both a tablet and a PC, but not the requirement to make the switch on customer demand. When a vendor focuses on another vendor, it will meet the spec but tend to do it in a way most convenient for the manufacturer -- not in a way the user would likely prefer.
Ideally, the way Windows 8 should work, given it is designed to be used in a convertible product -- one that changes from tablet to either laptop or all-in-one -- is to shift user interfaces when the user wants to shift from mouse-and-keyboard input to touch input. This means if you didn't have touch you wouldn't get a touch-optimized interface, and if you did, you would only get the touch interface.
Instead, and this is because it is far easier to do, Windows 8 switches between interfaces based on the product you are using. If it is a newer product, you get Metro; with an older product, you get the Windows 7 non-touch interface regardless of whether you have touch or not.
This is the core problem that will need to be mitigated before Windows 8 launches, and it exists because Microsoft -- and this is far from uncommon with any vendor -- didn't focus tightly on the customer but instead focused on the iPad. I'm hoping this will be a teachable moment.
Windows 8 on Touch - Windows RT Advantage
Now having said that, Windows 7 with touch isn't really that bad, and Metro is arguably better than either iOS or Android -- and it should be, as it was designed to address the icon insanity of both of those early touch user interfaces. The advantage of coming last is you don't have a ton of legacy touch stuff you have to work around and you can learn from the complaints the first movers are getting.
Increasingly, you'll be able to live in Metro as the legacy apps die out, and that means both that the user experience will improve and that Windows 8 on a non-touch product will be something you may want to avoid.
It also suggests that Windows RT may be the best Windows platform, because you don't have either the older interface nor the switching problems I've highlighted. It is a Metro pure play and completely steps away from the older, non-touch, interface.
Wrapping Up
What is interesting about Windows 8 is this is the first version of Windows that really will only work well on the hardware that releases with it. I don't mean best, I mean well. Without touch, at least in its current form, most will likely prefer to stay with Windows 7 and, ideally, they would likely want to lock down on the older interface if they were given the option.
I'm still thinking Windows RT, depending on the hardware, may be your best early choice if you can live without an older application or game and want a clean single interface. Then again, perhaps by the time Windows 8 has shipped, Microsoft will have significantly improved the user experience on non-touch hardware, making these comments obsolete.
I should have a sense of that shortly.
One other thought is a blend of Windows 7 and Windows RT on a dual boot tablet. This would give you the experience I'm suggesting, and there is one product I've seen that would make this work. It is the product of the week below.
The iPad-Crushing Product of the Week: the Amazing Asus Transformer AiO
I have more fun with the crushing part, because an 18-inch tablet likely weighs two or three times what an iPad weighs. But there are some unique advantages. Web pages and digital magazines and comic books should lay up better, video will be more immersive (bigger is better with TV and movies), and more screen real estate is great for productivity.
Granted, the weight could get a bit old if you are standing and using it, but most people use tablets (according to surveys) in bed or on their couch where this shouldn't be as much of a problem. This may make the Asus Transformer AiO an ideal showcase for what I was talking about above, because it is designed to switch from Windows 8 to Google Android.
The Asus Transformer AiO
No, that isn't the load I would suggest -- Microsoft and Google don't exactly get along, and a solution using both vendor's competing OSes might not be ideal. But what if you made this instead a product that shifted from Windows 8 to Windows RT?
You see, this PC doesn't go from laptop to tablet like most convertibles. It goes from all-in-one to tablet, meaning in Windows 8 mode you'll have keyboard, mouse, and touch. Regardless of the interface, you'll have the ideal tools to use it. In tablet mode, it could instead use Windows RT, giving you both a pure play Metro experience and access to fully compatible Office Metro apps.
I actually think this is the way to fix the usability problem I noted above. Going to an ARM-based platform for the tablet configuration lowers weight, increases battery life, and optimizes on touch. Going to regular Windows 8 in all-in-one form gives you your legacy access and a performance boost for things like games.
So the Transformer AiO is one baby step from being what could be the perfect Windows 8/RT showcase, and I'm making it product of the week to pass that suggestion on to Asus and Microsoft this week
Unlike last year, HTC now seems to release and concentrate on fewer handsets. While its One X rivals theSamsung's GALAXY S III, the One V battles it out in the crowded mid-range segment. The handset offersAndroid 4.0 out of the box to stand out from the crowd. Additionally, it comes with a few software tweaks generally found only in high-end phones. Let's see if it manages to strike a balance between price and performance.
Design And Build Quality The retail box contains the phone, wall charger with detachable USB cable, and a pair of earphones. Measuring 4.7" (l) x 2.4" (w) x 0.4" (9 mm) (d), the handset feels good to hold. Despite having a metallic unibody construction, it manages to remain light at 115 grammes. Unlike Samsung, the Taiwanese manufacturer is known for good looking phones, and this device is no exception. Additionally, HTC has brought back the iconic curved "chin" design, which is reminiscent of the world's first Android phone, theHTC Dream. Overall, the One V delivers a great design and sturdy build.
The phone's 3.7" screen has pixel dimensions of 480x800, with pixel density being 252 ppi. The screen is bright and offers wide viewing angles. Display sharpness and color reproduction is also reasonably good. However, the panel's sunlight legibility and contrast ratio could have been better.
The handset is powered by a 1 GHz CPU, coupled with an Adreno 205 GPU. Other specs include:
A 5 MP camera
512 MB of RAM
4 GB internal storage (1 GB user accessible)
MicroSD card slot with support for up to 32 GB
Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.0
A micro-USB port and 3.5 mm jack
A 1500 mAh battery
A standard set of sensors
UI And Applications The HTC One V features Android 4.0, with Sense 4.0 on top of it. Although the interface is similar to what we've seen on the One X, HTC's mid-range offering lacks a few Sense UI features such as the overview mode and lockscreen customisation. Additionally, the multitasking menu on the One V is stock ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Considering the device's price tag, the user experience is good enough. The phone does lag a bit while using the task switcher, but its rivals aren't any better either. The One V also features the latest version of the Android web browser. It comes with full-Flash support, tabbed browsing, and an option to toggle between mobile and desktop mode.
Like most Android handsets, the One X's One V's integrated GPS failed to lock onto the satellites during our test. However, the handset can tell your approximate location using Assisted GPS.
Since the handset lacks a front-facing camera, video calls are a no-go. I think this will disappoint many potential buyers.
Multimedia The One V offers a plethora of equaliser settings. Additionally, it comes with Beats audio enhancements. However, despite the branding, the phone doesn't include Beats audio earphones. The handset's sound quality is very good considering its price tag. On the video playback front, it is capable of handling MP4, 3GP, and WMV videos up to 720p. However, a few AVI files might require you to grab a third party video player app. You can enable the Beats audio enhancements even in the default video player. This comes handy while watching music videos.
The smartphone's camera UI gives access to the snapper and camcorder at the same time. This means you can snap pictures while recording video. The phone provides many features including Panorama, Burst mode, Group portrait, and HDR. Additionally, it gives access to numerous camera filters such as Vintage,Aqua, and Sepia to name a few. Since the One V lacks a dedicated camera button, autofocus and touch focus have been implemented.
The One V has a surprisingly low shutter lag, which makes it one of the fastest camera phones in the mid-range segment. The image quality is good for a 5 MP snapper. In the video mode, it can record 720p videos at 30 fps. Recorded clips are saved in the MP4 format, but tend to be choppy at times. Click here to check out the video sample.
Telephony, Messaging,Battery Life, And Verdict The handset's call quality and signal reception during the tests were good. Fortunately, it doesn't show any signs of the dreaded Wi-Fi death grip, which can't be said of previous HTC phones such as Sensation XE and Rhyme. The keyboard is usable in the portrait mode despite the 3.7" screen size. However, it's best used in the landscape mode.
The One V's 1500 mAh battery can power it for a shade under 6 hours with heavy usage. It can easily last for around 10 hours on a full charge charge under normal usage.
The phone has a great design and delivers a pleasing ICS experience without costing a bomb. Additionally, its feature packed camera adds value to the package. It has a few minor shortcomings, but the lack of a front-facing camera can be a deal-breaker for those who seek video calling.
