Solid construction aside, RIM's PlayBook isn't getting the traction the company (or industry watchers) expected or wanted. The company just reported worse than expected earnings last week, which led to all kinds of speculation about whether it would continue to keep at the Playbook (remember, HP isn't moving forward with its TouchPad). The question pundits seem to be asking is whether there really is demand for tablets or if there simply demand for iPads. In any event, it looks like RIM is facing an uphill battle.
You're right, Beth. From my own completely unscientific survey, it seems people really don't want another OS. We have the iPad systems and the Android systems that attract their own followers. Unless they can show that there is some real wow factor (even given the fact that it might run Android apps), it's going to have a hard time breaking into the general market. Maybe there is some niche it could fill?
That said, very interesting articles on these teardowns!
When RIM cleared out playbook inventory recently at $200 apiece, stores were attacked by a feeding frenzy of demand. I personally picked up one, and it is pretty good. I also have a Samsung powered generic Android tablet that I picked up for $162 from online mail order, and it survived a few accidental "drop tests" two of them onto hard tile. The playbook at $40 price premium has a better screen; better built-in storage; has bluetooth and GPS whereas the generic did not; better accelerometer, etc. But I can play Angry Birds and most if not all Android Market apps on the generic, whereas the playbook cannot until February 2012 (when OS 2.0 will arrive including Android support).
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
The legacy endpoint devices that control our critical infrastructure (utility systems, water treatment plants, military networks, industrial control systems, etc.) are some of the most vulnerable devices on the Internet.
In a switched-capacitor filter, capacitors and switches take the place of resistors and accurately reproduce the characteristics of continuous-time Bessel, Butterworth, and elliptical filters.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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