Google's I/O conference is one that many technology fans like to keep an eye out for. Similar to Apple's WWDC, Google I/O is where the search giant and Android maker shows off what it has been working on and sets forth its plans for where it expects its products to go during the proceeding twelve months. It also offers a chance for developers to get together and trade war stories while getting the skinny from Google's in-house engineering teams.
JoinedJanuary 21, 2011
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Oliver Haslam has written about technology for over a decade. His work has been published in print at Macworld and online pretty much everywhere else. If it plugs in or has a battery, it's fair game.
Google Glass is still very much in its infancy, but that hasn't stopped plenty of people from getting excited about the first wearable technology that lives on your face. Google Glass Explorers were the first to get the opportunity to buy Glass, and with that program constantly opening up to more and more people, there has inevitably been one or two flash-points in which those donning Google's eyewear have found themselves singled out. Google's set about making sure Glass wearers don't make themselves easy targets for such things, and it's posted a handy list of Do's and Don'ts for people to follow.
Google Glass is likely to find itself living in some pretty niche situations rather than being something we all wear while walking down the street, and one of the places we'd expect to see Glass take the driving seat is in the medical world. Surgeons in operating theaters are particularly keen on leveraging the power and features of Google's wearable technology so that they can improve the level of care they give to their patients.
With Mobile World Congress not far away now it's surely a matter of when rather than whether Samsung will try and ape Apple by including its own fingerprint-sensing technology in the upcoming but as yet still unannounced Galaxy S5. There's been little concrete news on the subject so far, but as we draw ever closer to the expected unveiling of Samsung's next flagship smartphone, details are finally beginning to slip through the net.
It's a big year for Windows Phone, with the smartphone market hotter than ever before and Nokia reportedly on the verge of making Android a part of its family with the Nokia X Normandy smartphone. Microsoft's mobile version of Windows has long been rumored to be on the verge of becoming a real competitor for iOS and Android, and 2014 needs to be the year that Redmond puts Windows Phone into overdrive.
It's no secret that Apple is said to be working on entering new markets over the coming years, with CEO Tim Cook even saying as much in various interviews over the last few months. One of those new markets is believed to be health monitoring, with the rumored iWatch set to be at the center of such things. The unannounced iOS 8 has also been rumored to have a built-in app that will track a user's health over time, but with so few concrete facts knocking around, it's hard to predict just what is on the horizon.
Analysts are notoriously hit and miss when it comes to their predictions at the best of times, and that goes doubly so when you throw Apple and its wall of secrecy into the mix. That doesn't stop analyst upon analyst trying to guess and double-guess what the folks in Cupertino have up their collective sleeves, and it doesn't stop us from listening to them either. Which is fine, so long as their claims come with a healthy dose of salt.
With smartphone screens getting larger and larger, most manufacturers are beginning to focus on trying to make sure that the ever-increasing screen size isn't going to automatically mean that our handsets are going to grow proportionately. Thinner bezels are the order of the day for all smartphone makers at the moment, which is why a new chart is particularly pertinent.
It's no secret that Apple has managed to create itself a loyal following over the last ten years, and that's been built on existing loyalty that spans all the way back to the company's startup roots. The introduction of the iPhone and iPad have only strengthened what was already a strong brand for the company, and a new poll suggests that Apple has garnered a 'blind loyalty' amongst iPhone users in particular.
It's always big news when Nokia announces a new smartphone, and it's looking increasingly likely that the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 24th is set to see a new, budget handset join Nokia's growing smartphone ranks.
