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CES 2012 Kicks off Next Week: Gorilla Glass, Vizio, Windows Phone, Ultrabooks
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Do or die year for Windows Phone
It's been almost five years since the first iPhone was released. And Microsoft still hasn't successfully answered (pun intended.) It's also been more than ten years since the first iPod was released. Microsoft responded with Zune, it failed, and Microsoft quit. Then there was the Danger acquisition and the KIN failure. Now Microsoft is desperately attempting to pay retail sales people for each Windows Phone handset sold. And the media is starting to smell blood in the water around Windows Phone. There's a well-established track record of failures outside Microsoft's Windows + Office core competency, and Windows Phone shows no signs of being a breakout success.
Ballmer, in his final CES keynote, should avoid pre-announcing vaporware like Windows 8. He'll need to hype Windows 7 handsets because they desperately need attention from developers, retailers, the tech media, and consumers. I'll bet a dollar Ballmer will be waving at least one Nokia Windows Phone on stage. He might even point to a rack of WP7 phones the way he pointed to a rack of "Windows Slates" in 2010. Remember that? That moment may have been a deciding factor in the CEA giving Ballmer and Microsoft the hook. The CES keynote is supposed to be about new, innovative, interesting products in the consumer electronics space. Not an infomercial for devices with a legacy OS jammed into new form factors.
And Ballmer will also need to talk about something that *is* actually selling well now. That limits his range of topics to Windows 7, Office 2010 for Windows, Office 2011 for Mac, and Xbox 360 with Kinect. But of course, since CES is about consumer electronics and not about legacy office productivity software, he'll talk about Kinect. No, Xbox isn't exactly new. But Xbox profitability is a new thing for Microsoft.
The original Xbox was sold from 2001 to 2005 and it lost Microsoft $4 billion over that period. Its successor, the Xbox 360, suffered the infamous Red Ring of Death heat-related hardware failures, and Microsoft logged a one-time $1 billion charge in 2007 to replace the bricked units. The recent success of Kinect is just starting to help Microsoft recoup all the billions it lost. Yay.
So maybe we'll see one more Monkey Boy act. One last embarrassing spasm of arm-waving and phony enthusiasm. Ballmer might spend 10 minutes or so playing Xbox 360 games with Kinect. And if he does, that's what he will be remembered for after all those years of forgettable CES keynotes, with and without Bill Gates.
Oh, and as for Windows Phone "doing or dying" this year? Well, Microsoft has shown us that there are different levels of doing and dying. Microsoft did Zune. Its precise time of death isn't certain, but Microsoft went through the motions of promoting it as though it were still alive for years after its actual death on the market. Maybe they'll do the same for Windows Phone.
It's been almost five years since the first iPhone was released. And Microsoft still hasn't successfully answered (pun intended.) It's also been more than ten years since the first iPod was released. Microsoft responded with Zune, it failed, and Microsoft quit. Then there was the Danger acquisition and the KIN failure. Now Microsoft is desperately attempting to pay retail sales people for each Windows Phone handset sold. And the media is starting to smell blood in the water around Windows Phone. There's a well-established track record of failures outside Microsoft's Windows + Office core competency, and Windows Phone shows no signs of being a breakout success.
Ballmer, in his final CES keynote, should avoid pre-announcing vaporware like Windows 8. He'll need to hype Windows 7 handsets because they desperately need attention from developers, retailers, the tech media, and consumers. I'll bet a dollar Ballmer will be waving at least one Nokia Windows Phone on stage. He might even point to a rack of WP7 phones the way he pointed to a rack of "Windows Slates" in 2010. Remember that? That moment may have been a deciding factor in the CEA giving Ballmer and Microsoft the hook. The CES keynote is supposed to be about new, innovative, interesting products in the consumer electronics space. Not an infomercial for devices with a legacy OS jammed into new form factors.
And Ballmer will also need to talk about something that *is* actually selling well now. That limits his range of topics to Windows 7, Office 2010 for Windows, Office 2011 for Mac, and Xbox 360 with Kinect. But of course, since CES is about consumer electronics and not about legacy office productivity software, he'll talk about Kinect. No, Xbox isn't exactly new. But Xbox profitability is a new thing for Microsoft.
The original Xbox was sold from 2001 to 2005 and it lost Microsoft $4 billion over that period. Its successor, the Xbox 360, suffered the infamous Red Ring of Death heat-related hardware failures, and Microsoft logged a one-time $1 billion charge in 2007 to replace the bricked units. The recent success of Kinect is just starting to help Microsoft recoup all the billions it lost. Yay.
So maybe we'll see one more Monkey Boy act. One last embarrassing spasm of arm-waving and phony enthusiasm. Ballmer might spend 10 minutes or so playing Xbox 360 games with Kinect. And if he does, that's what he will be remembered for after all those years of forgettable CES keynotes, with and without Bill Gates.
Oh, and as for Windows Phone "doing or dying" this year? Well, Microsoft has shown us that there are different levels of doing and dying. Microsoft did Zune. Its precise time of death isn't certain, but Microsoft went through the motions of promoting it as though it were still alive for years after its actual death on the market. Maybe they'll do the same for Windows Phone.
For all you bashing Vizio---
I have a full-array LED Vizio that I love. No, the colors aren't all jacked up like they are on other brands (particularly Samsung), so no they don't pop like a lot of brands. They accurate and natural. Not to mention Vizio is the only manufacturer that has a full array LED at a decent price. I returned a lot of TVs before deciding on a Vizio.
So, yeah, their budget sets are pretty ho-hum, but their high end stuff is excellent.
I have a full-array LED Vizio that I love. No, the colors aren't all jacked up like they are on other brands (particularly Samsung), so no they don't pop like a lot of brands. They accurate and natural. Not to mention Vizio is the only manufacturer that has a full array LED at a decent price. I returned a lot of TVs before deciding on a Vizio.
So, yeah, their budget sets are pretty ho-hum, but their high end stuff is excellent.
Vizio just don't get it.
It's not just about the hardware that makes Apple successful.
It's the operating system as well.
It's not just about the hardware that makes Apple successful.
It's the operating system as well.
Some nice touches that Apple could learn from?
You know, the Visio PCs won't be spec'ed like iMacs and Macbook Airs, and yes they will run Windows, but there are some touches here that suggest Visio designs for real people not just looks.
USB ports where they can be reached from the front... to plug in cameras and flash drives. HDMI outputs instead of mini-DisplayPort that always seem to need converters of converting cables to attach to real world devices.
For a lot of folks, these machines will be a value proposition given decent design and low prices. Apple should be more worried about Visio than HP or Dell who stopped designing decades ago... and HP and Dell should be terrified since they already sell junk.
You know, the Visio PCs won't be spec'ed like iMacs and Macbook Airs, and yes they will run Windows, but there are some touches here that suggest Visio designs for real people not just looks.
USB ports where they can be reached from the front... to plug in cameras and flash drives. HDMI outputs instead of mini-DisplayPort that always seem to need converters of converting cables to attach to real world devices.
For a lot of folks, these machines will be a value proposition given decent design and low prices. Apple should be more worried about Visio than HP or Dell who stopped designing decades ago... and HP and Dell should be terrified since they already sell junk.
In fairness they said they want to make computers that look aesthetically pleasing like Apple. I don't see anything wrong with that, and you're the one adding the word copy. What's wrong with a company trying to make a computer that looks good physically. It's like criticizing Apple for getting into the TV market, and trying to make their TVs look physically pretty. I read Jobs book, if this was back in the 80s he would try to make the TVs as pretty as Sony since he liked the care they put in design.
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I actually appreciate Vizio's effort there. They look nice but different enough from Apple that it's not like some of Ultrabooks and other products that are shameless copies of the Apple design language. On the other hand, ironically recent products that went such paths - Dell Adamo, Samsung Series 9, etc - mostly failed so it remains to be seen how well they do. Copying Apple unfortunately seems to work for some products to boost their sales.
i think i should share this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F92CvRflk18
it's a guy hitting a phone (xperia active) with a hammer, a screwdriver, a knife... hard testing, really. And it remains quite the same, for what i see! i think apple could use one of this types of glass for their devices (if they don't do it already, that is).
Edit: in an other video i've seen, they show it is also waterproof! we really need an iphone like that!! why can sony and samsung do it and apple can't (or don't want to)?
also, i have a rugged samsung and it's very useful to take it to the shower to listen to music or talk on the phone without taking care of the moisture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F92CvRflk18
it's a guy hitting a phone (xperia active) with a hammer, a screwdriver, a knife... hard testing, really. And it remains quite the same, for what i see! i think apple could use one of this types of glass for their devices (if they don't do it already, that is).
Edit: in an other video i've seen, they show it is also waterproof! we really need an iphone like that!! why can sony and samsung do it and apple can't (or don't want to)?
also, i have a rugged samsung and it's very useful to take it to the shower to listen to music or talk on the phone without taking care of the moisture.
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Hmm...
Well, the gorilla glass is kind of cool, but I know this will hurt the buy and re sell of Apple products and take money away from the "service people" in these trades, which is usually some guy that does it on the side to feed his family or for a few bucks to get past living expenses. This kinda stinks for them. However, i don't know if Apple will ever want an indestructible device, because that could hurt their sales, and they do make money refurbing, no matter what they say.
Vizio as a computer company? Sounds cool, but I doubt they'll ever match Apple in quality as they'll probably just be running Windows platform forever.
Everything else sounds like knock offs or copycats of already existent Apple products, which is not cool at all. CES is losing its appeal.
Well, the gorilla glass is kind of cool, but I know this will hurt the buy and re sell of Apple products and take money away from the "service people" in these trades, which is usually some guy that does it on the side to feed his family or for a few bucks to get past living expenses. This kinda stinks for them. However, i don't know if Apple will ever want an indestructible device, because that could hurt their sales, and they do make money refurbing, no matter what they say.
Vizio as a computer company? Sounds cool, but I doubt they'll ever match Apple in quality as they'll probably just be running Windows platform forever.
Everything else sounds like knock offs or copycats of already existent Apple products, which is not cool at all. CES is losing its appeal.
Windows 7 and DVD driver- Please, the next time try to tell a more plausible thing
I must admit I'm looking forward to seeing the Lumia 900 shown off. I'm seriously considering that for my next phone.
You're right. iPhones are perfect.
No one said they were perfect, just that you were lying/BSing pretty heavy.
That's quite the frank admission. It reflects a lot of what's going on with Apple's competitors.
Unfortunately, these guys think "aesthetically pleasing" is all you need. That's it. Make it sleek and we'll sell a ton! Except that that isn't even scratching the surface of what makes Apple successful. These guys have it all wrong. And it's quite endemic to the problems of the industry as whole. Vizio, like so many others, are trying to out-Apple while not even understanding them or what it actually takes. Pretty damn insulting to Apple, but what did you expect?
The problem, for Vizio - especially in the AIO segment in which the iMac has become the obvious choice - is the same problem a lot of these OEMs have to face across the board, in all segments that also have a competitive (to put it very lightly) Apple product.
It's increasingly coming down to this: consumers who are and who will be asking, "Why should I get this, instead of an [insert Apple product]?
Currently, a lot of the big players aren't faring too well with this question - either in terms of market share, or profit, or both. If Vizio wants to get noticed and not turn out like the Adamo or Envy line - beating that dead horse like the rest of them - they should eat their porridge and come fully prepared for a massive uphill battle.
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All the brands have colour that can be adjusted. LOL, did you not know this? Everything on the showroom floor is set to Vivid so it'll get noticed, sometimes to the extreme. I can show you a properly calibrated Sony Bravia picture that will blow most others (that are also calibrated) out of the water, brand and off-brand.
Please.
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Excuse me, they don't have it "all wrong". They want to sell computers that are exactly like any old PC, except that they look nicer. Nothing wrong with that. It isn't _much_ improvement, but it is in fact an improvement. They are not taking on Apple, and what they do isn't going to hurt Apple. They are trying to get a few sales from all the other PC manufacturers.
I Lol'ed at this, where did you study? The internets school?
What do you mean, Vizio?
Ah yes, you're right. They're just aiming low. Nothing wrong with that, true. But we should, accordingly, get our expectations in line as well.
I'm not sure. Better ask the consumers responsible for this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1231879/
Apple Tops U.S. PC Customer Satisfaction Survey for Eighth Consecutive Time
Maybe you just can't articulate it in words. Who knows. But clearly, consumers do know, and we have known. For years.
Is this stuff somehow news to you?
"The company plans on unveiling 24- and 27-inch desktop models, a 15" laptop and 14 and 15-inch ultralight models at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Engadget has a full gallery of their upcoming product line. The company claims that their products will be priced 'substantially less" than corresponding Apple products."
Price won't be the only thing that is "substantially less" than corresponding Apple products. Ripping off Apple's designs, making them into cheaper, lower quality products. Bottom line: Lion is the best OS out there and these copy cat products will never have that advantage. You can put lipstick on a pig but...
Price won't be the only thing that is "substantially less" than corresponding Apple products. Ripping off Apple's designs, making them into cheaper, lower quality products. Bottom line: Lion is the best OS out there and these copy cat products will never have that advantage. You can put lipstick on a pig but...
No, is not news to me hat you post the same things again and again even when it has nothing to do with the questions asked