John Kirk | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis

Windows 8: Microsoft Is Betting The Company

I am one of those who thinks that this week is a seminal moment in computing history. The introduction of Windows 8 is the most important time for Microsoft since the launch of Windows 95. Microsoft’s actions – and the …

by John Kirk | October 22nd, 2012

Windows 8: Get Your Popcorn Ready…

Welcome to Windows 8 week.

On October 26th, Microsoft will be introducing Window 8. Actually, over the next week or so, Microsoft and its partners will be introducing:

— Windows 8 OS for the desktop
— Window 8 OS for Intel tablets
— …

by John Kirk | October 22nd, 2012

7 Inch Tablets Employ An Odd Definition of “Success”

TROY WOLVERTON at the San Jose Mercury News, talks 7 inch tablets:

Just two years ago, Apple’s late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs mocked small-screened tablets as “tweeners” that were too little to compete with the larger iPad but too big …

by John Kirk | October 21st, 2012

Truel: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; The iPad, the Surface and the Nexus 7

The Plot

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. ~ paraphrased from Wikipedia

Apple, Microsoft and Google …

by John Kirk | October 18th, 2012

Rebuttal: Windows 8 “May Or May Not” Be The Disaster This Video Makes It Out To Be

Steve Kovach at Business Insider has a few words of wisdom regarding Windows 8:

Microsoft’s new operating system for PCs and tablets, Windows 8, will have a drastic new look.
The Start menu you’re used to is gone, replaced by a touch-friendly …

by John Kirk | October 17th, 2012

The Microsoft Surface Was Made For Surfaces…But That’s Not What Tablets Were Made For

The first Microsoft Surface Ad is out. It’s called “The Surface Movement” (although it probably should be called “Click”). In his article entitled: Marketing Surface and Windows 8, Ben Bajarin focuses on what the ad communicates to potential buyers. My …

by John Kirk | October 16th, 2012

The iPad Mini Hits Windows 8 Where It Ain’t

Tim Bajarin muses on whether it was a mistake for Microsoft to focus Windows 8 on the the larger screen sizes:

When Microsoft decided to get into the tablet business again, it pretty much committed to 9- to 11-inch tablets, mostly …

by John Kirk | October 15th, 2012

A Message To Eric Schmidt And Android: Put Up Proof Of Profits Or Shut Up

There will be one billion Android devices—smartphones and tablets—in use within a year, Google chairman Eric Schmidt said.

Schmidt made the prediction during an interview with AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at the 92nd Street Y in New York Wednesday …

by John Kirk | October 11th, 2012

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Office for iOS and Android Embodies Microsoft’s Strategic Failings [Updated]

Microsoft product manager Petr Bobek has confirmed that (Microsoft) is planning to release native iOS and Android versions of Office 2013 next year. Speaking at a press event in the Czech Republic earlier today, Bobek told Czech site IHNED that …

by John Kirk | October 10th, 2012

Google Android Tablet Optimized Apps — Two Years Too Late

On Monday, (Google) published a “tablet app quality checklist” on its Android Developer website that urges developers to build tablet-optimized apps… ~ Wired

I’d like to applaud Google for this move, I really would. But let’s put this in context:

– Google …

by John Kirk | October 9th, 2012

Battle Of The Tablet Business Models: Lessons Learned And A Look Ahead

RECAP

We’ve been looking at the tablet business models of Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and Microsoft. Today we wrap up the series by seeing what lessons we have learned and by asking ourselves what the various business models can tell us …

by John Kirk | October 5th, 2012