Google Nexus 7 review

Undoubtedly tired of watching OEMs make little headway in their uphill struggle against Apple's iPad, Google executives took the stage at this year's Google I/O developer conference to announce a branded seven-inch tablet of their own, which the search giant is offering direct through its Play store.
Like other Nexus-branded devices, the Nexus 7 tablet isn't actually hardware manufactured by Google. As Mountain View has done with Samsung, HTC and Motorola in the past, the company paired with Asus to design and manufacture its slender tablet.

It's a smart move: Among Android tablets, Asus makes some of the best around, but matching the rock-bottom $199 (£130) price of Amazon's Kindle Fire while exceeding its meager specs would be a challenge for any manufacturer. And make no mistake: The Nexus 7 is more of an effort to stomp out Amazon's unwelcome (and forked) version of Android more than it's attempt to dethrone Apple's reigning champ.

The good news is that very little has been sacrificed along the way, unlike with Amazon's initial offering. According to Android boss Andy Rubin, Google's profit margin bears the brunt of any sacrifices made, both from selling hardware at cost but also from tossing in generous perks such as a $25 (or £15) Google Play credit for every Nexus 7 owner.
But enough about why and how Google has released the Nexus 7: Is it worth even $199 / £159 of your hard-earned cash?

5 Things Motorola's New CEO Must Do

Google today said that it has finally closed its acquisition of Motorola. First announced in August 2011, the $12.5 billion deal took longer than expected to clear regulatory hurdles in China. China gave Google the green light on May 19 and Google now owns Motorola Mobility, for which it paid $40 per share in cash.

Now that the deal is complete, Google has already made changes to the company's leadership. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, who led the company for about three and a half years, is stepping aside and being replaced by Dennis Woodside, a Google veteran. According to Google, Woodside played a pivotal role in the acquisition process. Jha will work with Google to help complete the leadership transition, but only temporarily.

"I'm happy to announce the deal has closed," said Google CEO Larry Page. "Motorola is a great American tech company, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation. It's a great time to be in the mobile business, and I'm confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come."
[ Read about Google's plan to sell "pure Android" smartphones through its Google Play Store. See Why Google's Nexus Plan Makes Sense. ]
One concession Google had to make in order to garner approval from Chinese antitrust regulators was a commitment to Android's openness. Google agreed to keep the platform open to other handset makers for a period of at least five years from the closing of the acquisition. Google explained in its press release that Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Motorola Mobility will be operated as a separate business.
Google and Motorola need to get to work. Motorola Mobility's new CEO Dennis Woodside has already made some changes. He's bringing in a refreshed executive team and mixing them up with a number of existing execs from the Motorola side of the business. Aside from forming a new management team, here are five other things Woodside needs to do.
Focus on Fewer, Better Phones. Motorola has followed the industry trend of launching more than a dozen handsets each year, ranging from entry-level devices to high-end smartphones. The company needs to pull back and bring superior products to market rather than employ the shotgun approach.
Differentiate Hardware. Creating unique handsets is becoming more and more difficult, but differentiation is key to selling in the crowded smartphone market. Motorola can't be afraid to take risks on new technology to achieve this goal.
Foster and Improve Existing Business Partners. Motorola has relationships with carriers worldwide--relationships that were in place long before Google came along. Google and Motorola need to tread lightly and make sure these relationships can move forward productively. If wireless network operators, for example, start to think that Google is going to be another Apple and exert too much control over Android devices, they might not be willing to sell Motorola's devices.
Make a Swift Decision About the Cable Box Business. Motorola Mobility's other business is to provide set-top boxes to cable television subscribers. This is a decent business, but it isn't why Google bought Motorola. Google picked Motorola due to its 17,000 mobile technology patents. The cable box business can be a boon for Google TV, which has failed to really catch on since its 2010 launch. Google and Motorola need to either plow forward with it in a unique and appealing way or divest it so the company can concentrate on its core businesses.
Be Careful With Those Patents (And Settle with Microsoft). The 17,000 patents provide Google, Motorola, and Android licensees some protection in the current smartphone patent war among the hardware vendors. Motorola and Google would do well to sidestep these battles. More importantly, Motorola recently lost a patent case with Microsoft. Microsoft won a ban on Motorola imports. If the ban goes into effect, Motorola won't be allowed to import its key smartphones and sell them in the U.S. Google and Motorola need to sit down with Microsoft and hammer out an agreement for the patents at hand and move past this distraction.
Woodside seems bullish on Motorola's chances moving forward. Let's hope he can do good things with Motorola and get the company back in the game.
"Motorola literally invented the entire mobile industry with the first-ever commercial cell phone in 1983," said Woodside. "Thirty years later, mobile devices are at the center of the computing revolution. Our aim is simple: to focus Motorola Mobility's remarkable talent on fewer, bigger bets, and create wonderful devices that are used by people around the world."

Samsung’s Smart TV Can “Listen, See, And Do”

We’re live here at Samsung’s live press conference at CES International 2012, and Samsung is introducing a new Smart TV with the ability to “listen, see, and do” what it wants, without ever touching the remote control. The idea is that the TV will get smarter the longer you own it, presumably through updates, eliminating the need for you to buy a new TV to keep up pace.

Back in 2008, Samsung introduced its first Smart TV. Today, things look very different. For one, the new Smart LED TV’s have dual core processors, and something you’ve grown accustomed to on just about any other electronics device: multitasking.

There’s also a brand new smart hub, with ability to search and explore, which has been upgraded to HD. The new Samsung smart TVs also feature the same thin bezel we were seeing last year, with a U-shaped stand.


On the top of the TV, Samsung is offering an integrated camera. (Didn’t expect that one). Courtesy of the camera, you’ll have the ability to video conference and use gesture-based controls.

There are also a host of new signature services available, including something called Family Store which allows family members to communicate with each other, workout services that can track your weight with a wireless scale (ties in to a phone app), an app that lets you track what kids are watching, and smart interaction.

Of all the signature services, smart interaction will be the best. It allows you to interact with the TV like you do with other humans, using your voice, gestures and face. For example, that integrated camera will offer up facial recognition, logging individual members of the family into their specialized apps automatically.

The EvolutionKit, which is a pluggable device that updates your smart TV, won’t be available until 2013.