Showing posts with label Retrospect:. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retrospect:. Show all posts

Tech Retrospect: Apple event preview and smartwatch overload

Apple typically gives us just seven days warning of an upcoming event, leaving us scrambling to book flights, hotels, and to brush up on our live-blogging skills. This time, what with the holiday weekend coming up in the US, the fine folks in Cupertino gave us a bit of a break. The September 9 event we'd been expecting has been confirmed -- though the company is even more coy than usual about the content. The invite says only "Wish we could say more."

No worries, we have a pretty good idea of what's to come. A 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is all but a lock, and a larger version (perhaps 5.5-inches) seems quite likely as well. Earlier, we were all but sure near-field communication, or NFC, would not be present in the phone, but now the tides have turned, with expectations not only for NFC in both phones, but a new payment system to boot. Could that wallet in your back pocket or purse finally be approaching obsolescence?

Tech Retrospect: Samsung adds Nook while HTC adds Windows

We're trending toward the end of what's been a generally slow August in the world of consumer tech. You might think that would change given that this week we saw not one, not two, but three new devices launched. Sadly, none really made much impact.

First up was the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, a content-focused flavor of Samsung's low-cost slate. Barnes & Noble has made it clear that it has no interest in continuing to build Nook tablets, and so Samsung is going to help shoulder some of the load. This first entry is a $179 7-inch Android-powered tablet with some Nook-flavored enhancements layered over top.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook: An Android tablet optimized for Barnes & Noble (pictures) See full gallery