02 Jul 10
The Edit
Welcome to our monthly version of The Edit, a summary of what we've been talking about in June, apart from the World Cup!
Putting our cards on tablet
Whilst the nascent tablet era continues to gain traction, Forrester Research have released forecasts estimating that tablet sales in the U.S. will overtake netbook sales by 2012, and desktop sales by 2015. Apple Inc sold its 3 millionth iPad on Monday, just 80 days after its release, which is already bigger growth than FR’s report predicts. We are also hearing increasing noise around tech companies developing software that drives everything in your home. It will all be controlled via your home tablet.
The unremitting march of Google
Google plan to launch their Chrome Operating System in Q4 of this year. Microsoft control around 90% of the desktop market and will doubtless sit up and take note of this new threat. All previous challenges have made significant dents in Microsoft business. Google search to their Bing, Goggle Docs to their MOffice, Gmail to their Hotmail, and most recently, Chrome to their IE which has already mustered an 8% share of the global web browser market.
‘Kin’ failure
Just 2 months after the US launch, Microsoft has decided to scrap its Kin phone device, which was going to be released soon in Europe. The phones were introduced with social networking at their core. Criticised for being too expensive to run, with no apps or games it was destined to fail. Microsoft are still beefing up their Windows Mobile product with the launch of Windows Phone 7 soon.
Foursquare Growing faster than Twitter
Foursquare, the social networking company that lets users “check in” to locations using mobile phones, has taken its first significant round of funding. They have also secured deals with several media companies including History Channel and VH1. Both Yahoo and Facebook have attempted to acquire the company for as much as $100m. The service is growing at a rate of 15,000 new users a day, which is faster than Twitter did at this stage.
Google smartens up your home appliances
It seems that Google has an eye to invade every part of our homes. First the internet, then the TV, and now our household appliances - with Google PowerMeter. GooglePowermeter is an application that reads electricity usage (with ambitions to extend to gas and water), through connectivity to household smart meters, enabling consumption levels to be monitored via a PC, tablet or smartphone. Google are further extending this connectivity to household appliances by embedding chips into appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and fridges. Ultimately, Google are building ownership of a green energy saving solution, where consumers will soon be able to monitor and switch energy demands on and off according to household needs via personal devices. Housewives should stay tuned!
Software pushes hardware out of the interface evolution
Hardware is edged out of the new era of human-computer interaction as software takes over. Natural user interfaces, which allow humans to interact and control machines through physical gesture, are predominantly led by revolutionary software. Hardware is now seen as clunky elements which stand in between humans and machine. Software technologies such as brain-controlled computing, eye-tracking and voice-recognition are all lining up to be ‘the’ next interactive interface. Simply put, developers are currently finding ways for your hand to kill the mouse in your hand!