Apple Becomes Top-Five Cell-Phone Maker

http://www.cio.com/article/631218/Apple_Becomes_Top_Five_Cell_Phone_Maker_for_the_First_Time?source=rss_news

Apple is now the 4th largest cell-phone maker in the world for the first time. They recently jumped passed Research in Motion (RIM), which currently sits in 5th place. Apple grabbed a 4.3% share of the global cell-phone market during the three months from July to September on shipments of 14.1 million handsets out of the global market of 327 million units. Currently, Nokia sits at the top with 110.4 million units and Samsung is next with 71.4 million units. LG is 3rd with 28.4 units shipped. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, doesn't see RIM catching up anytime soon. What do you guys think? Do you think RIM can catch up? Will Apple maybe overtake LG and become the 3rd largest?

Google's Music Service In India

http://www.cio.com/article/628514/Google_Offers_Music_Service_in_India?source=rss_news

Google introduced a free music search service in India late on Thursday October 21, 2010 which allows users to search by artist, movie, album, or song title. Basically, users are allowed to listen to streaming music online from the partner's site and the service does NOT offer the option of downloading music directly to one's computer. So in essence, it is partly like Pandora and Last.FM but adds to the option of searching by song title. Google believes that opening this new music search service will help combat piracy in the Indian music industry. As of now, Google Music Search currently only offers Hindi songs. I personally think this is a good move on Google's part to try to compete with Pandora and Last.FM and get their name out there... especially in India which is part of one of the BRIC nations.

Windows Phone 7

http://www.cio.com/article/621239/Windows_Phone_7_Exclusive_with_AT_T_At_Launch?source=rss_news

So Microsoft will debut its new Windows Phone 7 on October 11. Personally, I think that this is good for the consumer cause the more phones there are, the cheaper the phones and service will be. Expectations are high for this new Windows Phone 7, but the biggest challenge may not be in the device market, but in convincing third-party developers to create content for the platform. However, Microsoft is offering cash incentives for Windows Phone 7 developers. I guess only time will tell how Microsoft does with this new phone, but what do you guys think? Will the Windows Phone 7 be the next biggest hit after the iPhone?

White Space Wi-Fi

http://www.cio.com/article/618815/What_You_Need_to_Know_About_White_Space_Wi_Fi?source=rss_news

White Space Wi-Fi has been deemed "Wi-Fi on steroids" and seems to be a promising new technology on our horizon. If you haven't heard of White Space Wi-Fi, don't worry... I haven't either until I read this article. Basically, the benefits of White Space Wi-Fi over regular Wi-Fi is that White Space has better range, ability to traverse obstacles, and has faster wireless networking speeds. I think this may pose a challenge to cell phone carriers who currently charge for access to their data networks (i.e. 3G and 4G). Other than that, if the costs to implement this technology are relatively low, I believe that this new technology may have a chance to expand. What do you guys think? Is White-Space Wi-Fi the new Wi-Fi of the future?

Dell's New "Streak"

http://www.cio.com/article/615965/Dell_Aims_Streak_At_Enterprises?page=1&taxonomyId=3061

In this article, Dell claims to be trying to extend the appeal of its "Streak" handheld to businesses and add a new dimension to its enterprise hardware, software and service offerings. Dell states that they want to offer small handheld devices that can easily interoperate with PCs and servers in IT environments. So what exactly is this "Streak" device? Basically, it has a 5-inch screen and runs on the Android OS and Dell thinks that this device could be attractive to commercial customers because of its usability, interactivity and remote-access capabilities.

I personally think it is cool that Dell is trying to market a new product geared towards IT use, but my question to them is don't we have enough already? I mean what will make users who have iPhones and BlackBerrys want to carry an additional device which they probably won't need or use that much. Does this "Streak" have what it takes to compete with other similar devices?

Is Microsoft's Xbox 360 Still Dominating?

http://www.cio.com/article/612115/Xbox_360_Powers_Ahead_but_Sun_Setting_on_Wii_?source=rss_news

Most of us know or even own a video game console, but do we know much about how well Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are doing in sales? In the article posted above, the author stated that Microsoft sold over 100,000 more units of the Xbox 360 than Sony did of its PlayStation 3. As an owner of both a Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, I kind of have a personal touch to this article. Although both systems have an online component to them, Microsoft's Xbox Live is more versatile and faster than Sony's PlayStation Network. I believe that this may be one reason why Microsoft may have a competitive edge over Sony in the video game market.

The article also speculates as to how long Microsoft can hold this edge over Sony. So far, the Xbox 360 has held the top spot for sales for the last 2 months over Sony due to it's makeover in June and is expected to hold the lead in September with the release of a new video game called Halo: Reach. Overall, what do you think about this situation? Do you think Sony has what it takes to increase its sales and beat Microsoft in the video game console market?