Will Nokia Join the Tablet PC Market?

Tablet PC is one of the hottest products in today’s technology world. No doubt, Apple iPad has revolutionized the market which once looked to be on the verge of getting extinct. It is pretty much clear that Apple would remain the leader in the market at least for the next 2 or 3 years, unless any company got the level of success which Asus experienced with its EEE PC in the netbook market. However, that does not mean that companies would stop entering the tablet market in the near future.

Now, let’s come to the point. Nokia is still the leader in the mobile phone market in terms of market share, though it has faced fierce competition recently from the Android-based smartphones. That is the reason the Finish handset maker has recently tied up with Microsoft’s Windows 7 platform. Here, the question is if Nokia would be lured to join the Tablet PC market considering increasing popularity of the tablet PC market.

Well, there is no indication Nokia would jump into the tablet PC market as of now, but what if they start to think that they can potentially expand their business in a market which requires almost similar infrastructure that they already have in their mobile phone business. Nokia may still be the leader in the mobile phone market, but they arrived the smartphone market some latter and thus lost some space to the competing companies like Samsung, HTC etc.

So, it seems Nokia would not like to do the same mistake again with the tablet PC market. They have already formed a partnership with Microsoft via Windows 7 OS and interestingly Microsoft is also planning to become stronger in the tablet market. So, Nokia and Microsoft could build a strong partnership in the tablet PC market assuming they have similar intention and aim in mind.

Is HP taking too Much Risk with webOS?

We already know that HP CEO had announced that in 2011 the company will ship nearly 100 million devices containing WebOS. If you are thinking that this OS will be shipped only with smartphones and the recently released HP TouchPad tablet PC, then you are wrong. HP is in fact planning to put this OS in every PC it sells meaning desktops, netbooks and notebooks.

It seems that HP is taking too much of a risk. Normally, the company has maintained a healthy relationship with Microsoft in the last few years. Now, if the company puts its WebOS in desktops and laptops then surely Microsoft officials may become sensitive to some extent. After all, Microsoft has not done well in the smartphone and tablet PC sector with its WP7. So, the last thing that Microsoft bosses needs is some kind of competition from WebOS. Of course, as far as I know, HP will also put Windows OS in their products. It will not entirely ditch Windows for Web OS.

Still, I think it is a matter of too much risk for HP and it will create a tension between Microsoft and HP. Secondly, if consumers do not like WebOS in laptops and desktops, then it may have a negative impact on HP’s tablet PC and smartphone sales.

We fill that the best way to minimize the risk is that the WebOS is properly developed and can work smoothly with desktops and laptops.

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PC World

Internet Explorer 9 becomes popular with 2.3 million downloads in first 24 hours

I am not a big fan of Internet Explorer. In fact, this is the last browser I would use unless I am forced to use it. Still, I am highly impressed with the matter that Internet Explorer 9, the latest version of Microsoft’s official web browser, observed 2.3 million downloads in the first 24 hours since its release.

Out of curiosity, I also downloaded Internet Explorer 9 and to be honest with you, I did not dislike it.

I was impressed with the browser’s high-speed site loading capability. It seems that Microsoft has really worked on the speed matter of Internet Explorer 9. Though I was happy with the speed, to be honest with you, I will not use it because I am still in love with Opera browser. This is the funny thing.

Nine years ago, I only used to use Internet Explorer because I did not know about any other browser. Then, I became habituated to Opera and I am not interested to return to Internet Explorer despite the fact that I am impressed with the speed.

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Windows Team Blog

Microsoft will suspend Zune music player but continue the service

If you are a fan of Zune music player you have a reason to feel sad. Microsoft announced that it will not introduce any new Zune music player from now on but the company will continue its Zune service via Windows Phone 7 based mobile phones and other devices.

A person close to the decision broke the news but Microsoft has not commented on the matter yet. In an email statement, Microsoft said,

“We have nothing to announce about another Zune device -- but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via the Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America,……We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.”

The Zune music service allows people to buy songs and movies and stream unlimited music for a monthly subscription fee.

Microsoft introduced Zune back in 2006 with the aim to compete with Apple’s iPod lines of portable music player but it failed to do so. Apple iPod still controls the portable music device market. According to NPD Group Inc., the company sold 77 percent of its units in 2010.

The latest model of Zune, Zune HD was released in September 2009 and in 2010, Microsoft released an upgrade with more storage capability. Microsoft said that it will continue selling existing versions of Zune.

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Bloomberg