NOOK Preorder Records – Simple Touch cut to $119

Barnes & Noble Inc Chief Executive William Lynch proudly declared yesterday that the pre-order numbders for their latest line of new Nook tablets called NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, were the highest in the companys history.

By Tom Bowen – It once again reflected in Barnes & Noble’s (BKS) stock price on both Monday and Tuesday, with shares continuing their climb upwards since the unveiling of the new Nook’s.

The 7-inch NOOK HD and the 9-inch NOOK HD+ were both unveiled on September 26 with a entry price of $199 and $269 respectively. Both of these high-resolution tablets will start shipping later this month, well ahed of Amazon’s $299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9 that won’t be released until November 20.

Barnes & Noble also cut the price of the ereader NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight from $139 to $119 today.

Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Tablets unveiled

Microsoft is indeed building computers now, and unveiled their first line of tablet computers in L.A. on June 18th, by presenting two tablets – One running on Windows RT, and another one running Windows 8 Pro. Microsoft Surface together with Windows 8 were both released on October 26.

[Update October 29: Microsoft Surface RT started taking pre-orders at $499 for the tablet only, on October 16. That 32GB model sold out in a few hours. The second cheapest Surface RT model starts at $599, or $619 in Canada. But the backorder waiting list is only 3 weeks for the cheapest version.]

Microsoft Surface

Two Tablet Models called ‘Surface’
The Surface Windows RT is already called “the one most similar to the iPad” by the press. It is 9.3mm thick, weighs 676 gram, and is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 ARM processor.
The Surface Windows 8 Pro is both thicker and heavier, at 13.5mm thick and weighing 903 gram, powered by Intel’s Ivy Bridge Core i5 chip.
Both Surface models have full sized USB ports, a Micro SD slot, USB 3.0, built-in kickstand, front and rear cameras, stereo speakers, and dual microphones.

The display of Surface is 10.6 inches, with a 16:9 HD widescreen display built upon Microsoft’s ClearType HD Display technology, promising wide viewing angles, and auto-adjusting screen intensity for better visual performance and usability even outdoors.

Both tablets feature a 3mm thin magnetic click-on cover called Touch Cover, that functions as a multitouch keyboard/trackpad. Touch Cover has a built-in accelerometer that measures the force of your typing, which is meant to separate between your typing and accidental key touches or hand rest.
This sort of magnetic attachment click-on is catching on, as a few other Windows 8 tablets will feature similar magnetic easy-click keyboards, dockings, cradles, and the likes in the months to come, though Microsoft’s feature is unique. For those who want a more sturdy keyboard, there’s also the option of Type Cover which is still thin and slick, but not wafer-thin like the Touch Cover.

Surface Tablets

The Microsoft Touch Cover for Surface tablets will come in at least five different colors: White, Dark Grey, Orange, Magenta, and Cyan.
It really feels like a step in Apple’s direction in terms of style and functionality.
Game developers have shown a lot of enthusiasm for Microsoft’s tablet already. So much in fact, that it hadMark Rein, VP of Epic Games emphatically write on his Twitter account: “Microsoft NAILS IT! Way to go Microsoft! Surface looks AWESOME! Can’t wait to get some Unreal Engine games on those babies!”

Microsoft Surface Specs Comparison

Microsoft Surface Specs and Features

Some of the Surface Color Options

Surface in Cyan

Steven Sinofsky, President of Windows OS

Mike Angiulo, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Windows Planning

Panos Panay, General Manager of Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface in White

Microsoft Surface Rear

Microsoft Surface Playing a Video

Microsoft Surface Kickstand

Microsoft Surface Demo in L.A.

Microsoft Surface Demo in L.A. on Monday

Microsoft Surface Magnetic Attachment

VaporMg Casing

Apple goes to war with its rivals

Apple, Google and now Microsoft are slugging it out in the battle to sell us tablet computers. And the competition can only be a good thing

This has been quite a week in that strange, frenetic universe known as techworld. Two major companies did things that they once vowed they'd never do: Apple launched a small iPad in order to attack similar-sized devices marketed by its rivals – Samsung, Google and Amazon – and Microsoftlaunched the first computer it's ever made (a tablet called Surface). So we have Apple playing catch-up and Microsoft getting into a business – hardware manufacture – it had hitherto wisely avoided.

The Apple launch followed the usual pattern: slick presentations by chaps with chronic logorrhea – at least in relation to the word "amazing"; a complaisant audience drawn from the Church of Steve; and announcements of improved versions of existing Apple products. There's a new laptop with a Retina (ultra high-resolution) display, a new Mac mini (a much underrated product IMHO) and an iMac desktop so thin as to be positively anorexic. All nice and dandy – not to mention expensive.

But then came one departure from tradition. Just over 55 minutes into the show, as Phil Schiller, Apple's senior marketing guy, was extolling the virtues of the new iPad mini, he suddenly launched into what in industry parlance is known as trashtalk. He embarked on a scathing comparison of le nouvel iPad with "an Android tablet", sneeringly dubbed "the latest, greatest, most favourably reviewed new device", aka the Google Nexus 7. Needless to say, the Apple product was superior in every respect. Its bezel was thinner and made of aluminium, not (yuck!) "plastic". The Google device was "thicker and heavier even though it has a smaller screen", etc etc. You get the message: Nexus 7 may be the same size as the iPad mini, but basically it's trash. (He omitted to mention that the Google device is also at least £100 cheaper than its Apple counterpart.)

As an iPad user who has also been using a Nexus 7 for months, I happen to agree with Schiller about the deficiencies of the Google product. It's excellent for some things (email, Evernote, diary keeping, for example) but unsatisfactory for others (web-browsing in particular). Its onscreen keyboard is, well, a bit flaky. And the standard of Android apps is pretty variable. On the other hand, it's well-made and is relatively good value for money. In technology, as in life, you get what you pay for.

What made Schiller's attack on the Nexus intriguing was not its content but the fact that he felt the need to make it. It signified a descent from the lofty heights to which Steve Jobshad elevated Apple, so far ahead of the competition that it didn't condescend even to admit its existence. And this subtext suggests that although Apple comprehensively dominates the market for high-end tablets that it effectively created with the iPad, it's now trying to keep up with the market for smaller, pocketable devices. One of the most important advantages of the Nexus 7, for example, is that it really does slip into a jacket pocket. (The same goes for Samsung and Amazon tablets.) In many contexts, that's actually quite useful, which is how Apple comes to be doing something that must be making Steve Jobs rotate in his grave: playing catch-up.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Microsoft was launching the first computer it has ever made in the form of its Surface tablet. This was intriguing in several ways. For one thing, it suggests that the software giant has finally concluded that Steve Jobs was right all along: that in order to make consumer-friendly computers one must control both the hardware and the software. The odd thing, though, is that the bit of the package it seems to have got right is the hardware. "Sleek Tablet but Clumsy Software " is how David Pogue, the New York Times technology columnist, summed it up, echoing early industry reactions to the device. "You have to be fairly cold-blooded," Pogue writes, "to keep your pulse down the first time you see the Surface: its beauty, its potential, its instant transformation from tablet to PC. How incredible that this bold, envelope-pushing design came from Microsoft, a company that for years produced only feeble imitations of other companies' fresh ideas. And how ironic that what lets the Surface down is supposedly Microsoft's speciality: software."

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I hope Microsoft gets its tablet act together. In the end, the only thing that keeps big technology companies honest is real competition. I don't want to live in an Apple-dominated world any more than I liked living in a Microsoft-dominated one. Which means, I guess, I will never get an invitation to a Phil Schiller superlatives-fest. In which case, virtue will be its own reward.

Microsoft links PCs to mobile computing

1,000 devices are OK'd for revamped operating system

NEW YORK -- Can't decide whether you want a PC or a tablet? Now you won't have to. With the release of Windows 8, computer makers are blurring the boundaries with devices that mash keyboards and touch screens together in different ways.

Some configurations are new, though others have appeared and disappeared on the market since at least 2002, when Microsoft released Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

Microsoft says it has certified 1,000 devices for use with Windows 8 and its sibling operating system, Windows RT. The two systems look the same, but under the hood, they're quite different.

Windows RT runs only on machines with the type of lower-energy, phone-style chips used in iPad and Kindle tablets. That makes for cheap, thin and light devices with very long battery lives -- more than 10 hours. But those devices won't run any programs written for other versions of Windows. In fact, they can run only applications downloaded directly from Microsoft's online store, in a setup borrowed from Apple and its iPhone.

Windows RT devices have limited ability to connect to peripherals, such as scanners and printers. Here's a selection of the devices that went on sale Friday or will hit stores over the next few months:

Convertibles -- The Transformers of the bunch, they run on Intel chips and may look like staid laptops, but one way or another, they convert into tablets.

Toshiba U925t -- To convert this laptop into a tablet, push the 12.5-inch screen back, then slide it over the keyboard with the display facing out. Available now for $1,150.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 -- Similar to the Toshiba but smaller, the folding mechanism on this model leaves no room for adjusting the angle of the screen. There's no room for a touchpad, either. Instead, there's a touch-sensitive "nub" in the middle of the keyboard that lets you guide the cursor. The 11.6-inch screen also works with a stylus. Available now starting at $1,100.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Twist -- Like all ThinkPads, it is a business-focused machine. This one incorporates a mechanism that's been in use in tablets for a decade: The 12.5-inch screen connects to the base with a swiveling hinge. Flip the screen around, then fold it over the keyboard to turn it into a tablet. Available now starting at $849.

Dell XPS 12 -- The 12.5-inch screen on this laptop is hinged inside its frame. It can be flipped around so the screen faces away from you, then folded over the keyboard for tablet mode. Sound original? Dell has actually tried this design before, for a 2010 laptop. Starts at $1,200, with an estimated ship date of Nov. 15.

Lenovo Yoga 11 -- This 11.6-inch screen goes back -- way back. You can push it so far back that it's flat with the underside of the laptop. Now you have a tablet with a screen on one side and a keyboard on the other. Luckily, the keyboard turns off when you fold the screen back, so you can hold the device. Unlike most convertibles, which run on standard Intel chips, this one uses Windows RT and a processor from Nvidia. Available in December for $799.

Windows 8 tablets -- These slates run Intel chips and regular Windows software. Computer makers are hoping they'll find a home among businesses that need employees to access their work applications while commuting or traveling, but they're also hoping to entice consumers.

Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T -- This tablet, with an 11.6-inch screen, looks much like a small laptop when docked into a keyboard base. The combination also folds up just like a laptop. Available now for $650. The keyboard costs another $100 and contains an additional battery to extend the workday.

Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx -- Similar to the Samsung model, the Lynx goes on sale in December for $599. The keyboard will cost another $149.

Hewlett-Packard ElitePad 900 -- A 10-inch tablet aimed squarely at business users, the ElitePad is paired with "Smart Jackets" that extend its capabilities with extra battery life, a keyboard, a stylus or memory-card slots. Available in January at an as-yet undisclosed price.

Hewlett-Packard Envy X2 -- The consumer equivalent of the ElitePad is slightly larger, with an 11.6-inch screen, but weighs the same: 1.5 pounds. A keyboard dock with an extra battery doubles the weight and turns it into a small laptop. Launches this holiday season. HP hasn't said what it will cost.

Windows RT tablets -- Though they lack the ability to run standard Windows programs, these light tablets include a version of the Office software suite for free.

Microsoft Surface -- Yes, Microsoft is diving into the hardware business, making its own tablets and competing with its customers, the computer makers. The Surface will have a screen that measures 10.6 inches diagonally, slightly larger than the iPad's. Available now starting at $499. Keyboard cover is $100 extra with base model.

Microsoft Dances Closer to the Set-Top With Xbox Music

Microsoft's new Xbox Music service represents one component of the company's effort to fortify its ecosystem. Cable and satellite TV providers -- not just online music service services -- should worry about Xbox Music's debut, noted tech analyst Rob Enderle. Like Apple TV, the Xbox could one day replace traditional cable boxes with alternatives tied to a parent technology.


Microsoft is taking another stab at the digital music industry with the Tuesday launch of Xbox Music, a streaming music service that will be an update to the Xbox. It will also be released as a built-in feature on Windows 8 PCs and tablets later this month.

The Post-Zune Era

This, of course, is not Microsoft's first stab at entering the digital music market. There was the Zune brand, now retired after failing to gain much traction.

There are some similarities between Xbox Music and Zune -- both are multichannel services that incorporate the use of other Microsoft products.

Zune included a line of portable media players, digital media player software for Windows, a music subscription service, music and video streaming services for the Xbox 360 game console and the media software for Windows Phone, among other features. It was all discontinued a year ago.

Xbox as Set-Top Box

Xbox Music is clearly different from Zune in some important respects -- and it can be expected to change the Xbox dynamic, Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group told TechNewsWorld.

The Xbox is being positioned as more of a set-top box going forward, he said. Microsoft carved out its identity at first with games and then movies -- and now it is incorporating music into the mix.

In fact, cable providers should be just as worried as other online music providers about Xbox Music. Like Apple TV, it is trying to replace traditional cable boxes with alternatives tied to a parent technology.

"Music has proven relatively easy, and Microsoft leads with games; it is video that remains the bridge too far and both firms are struggling here," said Enderle.

Digital Music Nation

Microsoft has another factor in its favor now with Xbox Music. Digital music has become mainstream, and consumers expect easy access and a smooth experience, said Patrick Reynolds, EVP of marketing for Triton Digital.

"There has never been more interest in or listening to online music," he told TechNewsWorld. The market has become a very big pool, and "there's room for more than one player."

The growing reliance on smartphones for everything is also changing how music is consumed, Enderle noted. "We may find that media services and access will define battles ranging from set-top boxes to smartphones over the next decade."

Table Stakes

In fact, a good music service has become table stakes for both Apple and Microsoft, Enderle said. It will be a critical issue for Google as well, if it is not already.

Google still relies mostly on third parties, he noted. However, "their music service, while not as well known, is actually rather good, being a bit more consumer-focused and a bit less record-label friendly."

In this rapidly shifting environment, can Microsoft make a dent? How the user experience syncs up with the broader environment could be crucial.

"It depends on how baked-in it is to the other aspects of the Xbox environment," said Reynolds. "If the experience is great and seamless and additive to the overall consumer experience, it will work."

Google antitrust suit may have similar impact to Microsoft case in the 1990s

The US Federal Trade Commission is preparing a case against Google that could lead to a full antitrust lawsuit similar to the action taken againstMicrosoft at the end of the 1990s, the Guardian has learned.

The initiative means Google could face antitrust proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic in its two biggest markets – potentially stopping its expansion into new areas of business.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the FTC is preparing a case with a draft memo running to more than 100 pages that looks at the question of whether Google manipulates its search results to favour its products, and whether it makes it more difficult for rivals' products to appear prominently in those results.

FTC sources confirmed to the Guardian that its staff are preparing the dossier, which could lead to a head-on clash between the US government and the search company. The agency has beeninvestigating Google for more than a year, looking at the position it holds in the US search market, and how it is using that position in relation to its other products such as Google Shopping and Google Places.

That echoes the huge antitrust battle that occurred between Microsoft and the US department of justice in 1998, when the US software company was accused of using its Windows operating system monopoly to push its Internet Explorer browser to the disadvantage of rivals such as Netscape.

The European Commission is already negotiating with Google over similar accusations that the US company, which has a far bigger share of the search market in Europe than in the US, favours its own products such as YouTube over those of rivals when determining search results. Google's market share is 90% in Europe compared to about 65% in the US.

The competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, warned in Septemberthat if those negotiations fail, the commission could take Google to court over its antitrust concerns. The two sides have been negotiating through the summer.

Some unconfirmed reports say Google has offered to label its products when they appear in searches – but that solution does not satisfy companies which have complained to the commission about Google's practices.

Shivaun Raff, who runs the British vertical search engine Foundem, and was one of the original complainants to the commission, told the Guardian: "The harm being caused by Google's preferential placement is not only about consumer deception; it is primarily about the competition-crushing power of Google's ability to divert substantial volumes of traffic and revenues away from competing services and to its own. Because of this, clear and conspicuous labelling alone will not be sufficient to solve the problem."

There is no clear timetable for a settlement between Google and the commission.

Meanwhile, Google executives will be aware of the history of Microsoft's antitrust battles just over a decade ago. In the 1998 case, Microsoft was found guilty of abusing its monopoly in Windows, and was ordered to be broken up. It got the breakup ruling nullified on appeal, but had to submit to antitrust scrutiny under a regime that has only ended this year. The cultural impact on Microsoft, however, was colossal, causing it to second-guess its moves in a number of markets including search in the early 2000s. That created the opportunity for companies such as Google to grow rapidly.

Google told the NYT: "We are happy to answer any questions that regulators have about our business."

For an antitrust case to succeed, the US government would have to show that Google had an effective monopoly in one field – almost certainly search – and it was trying to use that monopoly to win market share in another field at the expense of rivals. Furthermore, it would have to show that consumers had been harmed by the second action.

If Google is found guilty of having a search monopoly and using it to expand into other markets, it could come under an antitrust oversight regime similar to which Microsoft had to work under over a decade ago. However, before the FTC can proceed with the case, a majority of its five commissioners would have to agree it has a case to answer.

In the case of Microsoft, the judge accepted the DOJ's arguments that Windows constituted a monopoly, that Microsoft was trying to build a monopoly with Internet Explorer, and that consumers were harmed by the narrowing of choice and the raising of the barriers to entry for web application developers.

In a case against Google, there is clear evidence that the company is seeking to break into new markets such as shopping and local information. But key questions for any FTC case would be proving that it has an effective monopoly in search, and that consumers have been harmed by its actions.

In the latter case, any case might turn on complaints from rival companies – even small ones – that complain they have seen their potential forestalled by Google's move into their fields allied to what they see as favourable placing of its own products above their own.