Will Love-hate Relationship Continue With Flash 11?

The love-hate relationship that millions of computer geeks around the world have with Flash is about to change. Flash Player has gotten a makeover and released its version 11. The widely-used browser plug-in from Adobe got an overhaul, undoubtedly due to threats to its monopoly from rapidly-growing web standards competitors like HTML5, Silverlight and Java FX. Web standards coming to market is the only threat to Flash’s supremacy though, Adobe’s brainchild has also been locked out of iOS devices and has only a small foothold with Android.

Will love-hate relationship continue with Flash 11?

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Will Windows Phone Apps Run On Windows 8?

When you look at the combined 70 percent smartphone market share of Android and Apple in the U.S. compared to Microsoft's measly and shrinking 6 percent, it seems like it's game over before it really began for Windows Phone. Windows Phone is a decent mobile OS, even promising, but so far it has failed to capture the hearts and minds of developers or consumers. Can Microsoft do anything to change that and will it involve tying Windows Phone more tightly to its next desktop operating system, Windows 8?

Will Windows Phone Apps Run On Windows 8?

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Here's What The Apple Tv Will Be Like (aapl)

The drumbeat is growing: a lot of people think Apple is going to introduce a TV set in 2012. 

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster reiterated his call for a 2012 Apple TV, and technology grandee Jean-Louis Gassée takes a stab at figuring out what it'll be like:

Imagine a true plug-and-play experience. One set with only two wires: power and the cable TV coax. Turn it on, assert your Apple ID credentials and you’re in business. The program guide looks good and is easy to navigate; pay channels are just a click and a password away. The TV runs apps, from games to FaceTime and Skype, it “just works’’ with your other iDevices and also acts as a Wi-Fi base station using the cable provider’s Internet service.

One problem is that the Apple TV would have to support the many cable systems. The TV would have to either only support a few operators, or be complex and prone to bugs. Cable operators killed the CableCARD, which was supposed to plug into your TV and replace your set-top box, because it would be too complex to service. Apple would have to either rely on the cable guys to play nice and support it or, Gassée speculates, create its own "Apple Geek Squad" that would come to your house and fix it. 

The other problem is that people don't upgrade their TVs as often as they do their other consumer electronics. Moore's Law ensures that computers and phones quickly become obsolete, and you have a reason to spring for a new computer and phone every year or every two years. Once a family springs for a big, great TV, they won't renew so often.

But you could have made the same argument with phones: carriers have different systems, have competing requirements, and Apple worked that out over time. The phone business is commoditized, with wafer-thin margins, and Apple came up with must-have devices that allowed it to get carriers to play nice and (thanks to subsidies) sell incredibly powerful phones.

As Munster says, "Apple will do to TV manufacturers what it did to phone makers with the iPhone."

Let's just hope they don't call it an iTV → 

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See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: iPads May Soon Cost More Than Big Screen TVs
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Is Apple Stock Less Lovable Without Steve Jobs?
• Windows Chief Explains That Microsoft Wants It Both Ways

Here's What The Apple TV Will Be Like (AAPL)

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Amazon's First Tablet Will Attack The Nook, Not The iPad (AMZN, AAPL)

Anyone expecting Amazon to release a tablet computer that will compete with the iPad might want to dial back expectations.

A source close to the company tells us that Amazon is launching at least one tablet later this year, but it will be an advanced e-reader with a color screen and some apps -- more akin to the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble than the iPad.

This matches what a developer told CNET earlier this month: Amazon is set to announce a 7-inch tablet "any day now," but it will likely have a low-powered chip and no camera.

It's focused on the Nook Color because that's where the Kindle is most vulnerable.

Now, this doesn't mean Amazon won't develop a full fledged tablet down the road. But for now, it's going to focus on controlling the e-reader space it has defined for the last three years.

See also: Here's Everything We Know About Amazon's Secret Tablet So Far.

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See Also:

• Amazon Is Getting Ready To Ship 4 Million Tablets By The End Of The Year [REPORT]
• The Best Android Tablet You Can Buy Gets Super Fast 4G In Two Days
• This Is Amazon's New Way Around Apple's App Store Subscription Rules

Amazon's First Tablet Will Attack The Nook, Not The iPad (AMZN, AAPL)

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Will The BlackBerry Get A Facebook Button Today? [RUMOR] (RIMM)

Hopefully not, although they might just announce an officially-branded Facebook device.

BlackBerry posted this slightly cryptic message to its Facebook page:

Hey Team BlackBerry, what's shiny, new and social all over? We want to tell you all about it. Can you guess what it might be? Tune in tomorrow for details!

Well, that tomorrow is today, and all the speculation points to a Zuckerberg-approved BlackBerry.

It's also possible this could be part of BlackBerry's Torch 2 touchscreen phone. Stay tuned.

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See Also:

• AT&T Doubles Down On Android Again With Nexus S Launch
• HOW TO: Add A Second Line To Your iPhone
• SAMSUNG EXEC: Galaxy S II Arriving In U.S. Next Month

Will The BlackBerry Get A Facebook Button Today? [RUMOR] (RIMM)

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Why The Amazon Tablet Will Be Killer (AMZN, AAPL)

The Amazon tablet is coming in the Fall, and all evidence points to its being a killer device. 

Tech gadget review site Retrevo polled their users and found out that what they want in a tablet is what Amazon can give them: namely, lower prices and a trusted brand. 

Their survey says what prospective tablet customers want most is lower prices:

What's more, customers trust the Amazon brand to make a great tablet more than most customer electronics brand (also: look at how badly RIM is doing):

And while most people prefer an iPad, there's also a lot of people who are open to buying some other tablet:

Amazon is best positioned to make a really good tablet at cheap prices for the following reasons:

• Scale. Amazon is huge and can team up with an OEM to drive down prices for an Amazon tablet.

Distribution. Amazon owns the world's biggest shopping mall. Retailers' cut are a huge part of the price of tablets, and Apple and Amazon are the only ones who have their own huge retail operation. What's more, Amazon already has deals in place with retailers to sell its Kindle e-reader, so it stands to reason it could also sell tablets through them.

Media. Amazon has its app store, its Kindle e-book platform, its MP3 shop and an increasingly good video store.

Product experience/design. The Kindle is a great device, and Jeff Bezos is a product visionary. No one expects an Amazon tablet to be better than an iPad, but there's no reason why they can't make a tablet that's very good at a very good value. 

Don't Miss: Here's Everything We Know About The Amazon Tablet So Far →

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See Also:

• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple Now Has Over $75B In Cash, But Don't Expect A Dividend
• Now Apple Is Talking About Buying Hulu
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple Boosting Staff At Retail Stores For Back-To-School, iPhone 5 And Holiday Season

Why The Amazon Tablet Will Be Killer (AMZN, AAPL)

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