The Biggest Tech News Stories of 2012

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Tech Events 2012

Like last year, the stories that captured the attention of all the major tech news websites this year were mostly about Apple and Google. After following hundreds of stories, we are presenting here ten biggest news stories of 2012 for us tech geeks.

Angry Birds Space NASA announcement (8 March)

Rovio unveiled a new version of Angry Birds called “Angry Birds Space” this year in the most unique way possible. The company enlisted National Geographic and NASA as their launch partners for Angry Birds Space and released a video where we saw the first ever game announcement and gameplay footage from space.

Samsung Galaxy S3 (May 3)

If you are into smartphones or technology in general, then you might already know that this year was all about Samsung smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been a blockbuster hit since its launch back in May and broke sales record by reaching 20 million in just 100 days. The company also released Galaxy Note 2 and Ativ S this year but when it comes to the “biggest news stories” of this year, the Galaxy S3 takes the cake. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has sold more than 5 million units worldwide.

LinkedIn Hacked (July 3)

2012 is considered as a bad year for online security breaches as we saw some high-profile security breaches in big companies like LinkedIn, Yahoo and Last.FM. The security breach at LinkedIn resulted in 6.46 million user passwords leaked and the security breach at Yahoo! Resulted in over 450000 account password leaked.

Google Glass: Live Video Skydiving (June 27)

Google demoed its Project Glass with a crazy stunt that is considered as one of the most insane thing done at a tech event. The company showed live video skydiving with Google Glasses during their Google I/O event. Our next big news is also related to this event.

Google Nexus 7 (June 27)

Google Nexus 7, the best-selling Android tablet ever is our big news no 5. Google unveiled this cool tablet at its I/O developers conference and released it in July. The 8GB version was available for only $200 earlier but now the 16GB version is available for the same price. The device comes with Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage for only $199. Google also released the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 this year but the Nexus 7 is a complete package with an affordable price tag.

Ouya Android Gaming Console (July 3)

Ouya is a new Android based gaming console that is planning to enter in the gaming console market soon with an attractive price tag of only $99. Julie Uhrman, CEO of Boxer8 announced Ouya on July 3 and started a Kickstarter campaign on July 10 to see how many people are actually interested. The project was an instant hit and the fundraising goal was raised within 8 hours.

Microsoft changes logo after 25 years (August 23)

Microsoft released their very own tablet this year, Surface and a new operating system, Windows 8. But we are not counting those as a big news story as the company also did something surprising, they changed their logo after a long 25 years. The new logo matches with their new tile-centric Metro interface.

Apple vs. Samsung Patent Case (Verdict August 24)

Apple has filed a number of lawsuits against Android device manufactures like Motorola and HTC but the company’s patent case against Samsung is considered as the patent trial of the century. The case began on April 15, 2011 and the verdict came out this year on August 24. The jury found Samsung guilty of infringing Apple’s patents intentionally and awarded Apple $1.05 in patent case.

Apple iPhone 5 and iPad Mini

Apple released the long awaited iPhone 5 and the 7-inch tablet, iPad Mini this year. The internet was filled with iPhone 5 and iPad Mini rumors before the release of these devices and now they are creating news by breaking sales record.

Google’s October 29th Tech Event Cancelled

After Google I/O’s keynote presentation, we were really looking forward to see what Google has in store for us this time. However, Google cancelled the big Android event due to Hurricane Sandy. They unveiled all the new gadgets and Android 4.2 “Key Lime Pie” in a blog post.

iPad Vs Surface- Is The Surface Tablet A First Real Threat To iPad?

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Microsoft Surface versus Apple iPadApple has almost swallowed the tablet world with its iPad. iPad has all the incredible features any tablet can ever offer to its users. It gives the most incredible experience and reliability any tablet freak may ever expect. Yet, iPad is more a luxury to invest with little ability of using it for productive work. You can browse, play, use social media, network and do business with 3G/4G connectivity and indulge in fun. If this is what you are going to use an iPad then by all means you can invest in it.

The Apple’s iPad USPs are:

  1. Universal compatibility with other ios devices.
  2. It’s all about apps. With an awesome dev support system the huge apps market on itunes brings in quality tested apps to the end users.
  3. No USB port or hardware connecting alternatives and hence no risk of virus infection.
  4. The retina display of iPad kills its competitors!
  5. Though expensive it gives value for money.

iPad is mostly suitable for content absorption and entertainment which can hardly be used for productive purpose; where as in a Surface tab absorption as well as production is highly possible. Really I even struggle to type an article on my iPad with so little space for ten fingers on the screen to move. A light key pad would come in handy any time. With a built-in CPU, Surface is a tablet computer and the real work for real working freaks is really possible!

The Microsoft’s surface USPs are:

  1. Surface is definitely going to be a hit with people who love working on laptops over tablets (anyways working on tablet is a challenge!). It is a touch screen tablet which can be easily converted to a laptop computer making it a workaholic friend on the go.
  2. Surface makes it easy for people who do not like to carry two devices (MacBook air and iPad).
  3. It has USB ports for external hardware connectivity.
  4. Fully loaded with office 2013 which I guess people would love to use.

However, the apps store does not look very attractive for the developers. Less number of quality apps may keep people wondering on the investment. The battery life may be a little disappointing factor if you really need to worry! Screen resolution is not very great either. But as for most of the first generation devices there are some loop holes (if I may call them so) for sure. But the OS Windows RT on surface tablet ought to do its bit in impressing the users.

You have a full-fledged touch screen mobile device i.e. iPhone 5 which also has bigger screen than its ancestor iPhone 4, then why invest in a tablet like iPad 3 or mini again! Macbook-Air falls in the league of lightest laptops which is bulkier as compared to surface. Ultimately the better option would be to consider buying a tablet come laptop i.e. Surface. Still better I would watch out for the surface-pro which is yet to be released! Surface Pro please take my money but limit it to $1000 or below!!!

Unless you have all the bucks to invest in a touchscreen phone, a tablet, a laptop and desktop it’s anytime a good idea to look for a device loaded with most of the hardware and software features of these devices.

Taking on and beating a company is another thing when the real question about usability, affordability, mobility or luxury arises. Which one are you planning to buy or think is a good investment?