What to expect at CES 2012

Tuesday CES 2012 kicks off. I used to cover the event for GamingAngels every year, but this year I can’t go. We will have coverage from other editors and we’ll be trying to keep up with the flood of information coming in. We can then ooh and ahh at all the gadget pretties we want. The video below is my predictions for what we’ll see at CES 2012. Let us know what you are interested in hearing about.

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Barnes & Noble report record Nook sales

Barnes and Noble reported a record holiday season for sales of their Nook products. NOOK sales, including NOOK Simple Touch™, NOOK Color™ and the new NOOK Tablet™, increased 70% over the last year during the holiday. The NOOK tablet fared well in the tablet war. “We see substantial value in what we’ve built with our NOOK business in only two years, and we believe it’s the right time to investigate our options to unlock that value,” said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. “In NOOK, we’ve established one of the world’s best retail platforms for the sale of digital copyright content. We have a large and growing installed base of millions of satisfied customers buying digital content from us, and we have a NOOK business that’s growing rapidly year-over-year and should be approximately $1.5 billion in comparable sales this fiscal year. Between continued projected growth in the

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iPad apps outsell Android tablet apps

iPad users have downloaded about three billion apps since the iPad launched according to a study by ABI Research. In Mobile Applications Market Data , the study shows that the competition, Android, is only up to 440 million downloads so far. “Discounting all those apps that were originally developed for Android smartphones, Android still trails greatly behind the iPad in terms of its tablet app offerings,” says research associate Lim Shiyang. “Many Android tablets in the market are still using older versions of Android, which disadvantages users from enjoying the better effects of apps produced from more advanced software development kits.” There is a greater quantity of apps available for the iPad. In Q3 2011 alone 120,000 apps were made for the iPad specifically. At CES 2012, I’m sure we’ll hear about many new tablets running Android, but as noted below, the quality just doesn’t compete with the iPad yet.

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Milgrow explains Special Women Security term

Yesterday we wrote about the Milgrow tablet that is being made specifically with the professional woman in mind. Nevermind the color choices (because hey women like pink), the interesting item was a mention of the “Special Women Security” item that the tablet came with. We were confused and I had to write them to get a better idea of what that security could mean. Company representative Rajeev sent us the following explanation: Indian cities are not as safe for women as they are in the west. As more Indian women join the work force they crime rate being reported has also risen. The TabTops come pre-loaded with an app designed with women’s security in mind. The app can send instant alerts in case of any problems. A forced power-off of the phone or an improper exit of the application will trigger an alert to be sent. Prolonged signal loss will

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A tablet for Women?

CES 2012 is approaching and it’s a safe bet that we will see plenty of news about tablets that will be coming out over the next year. Only I think Gurgaon-based Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions has a bit more work to do with their new tablet announcement. Turns out that Milagrow is launching a tablet that is for women professionals. Great. So what does that mean? What are the specs like? Well it comes in “four feminine colours- powder pink, sky blue, grey and black and comes with Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) certification.” Because we care more about the environment and bad chemicals than men. The best part is their quote about the tablet: “The Woman’s TabTop is created for women professionals and comes preloaded with special women security and anti theft applications,” said Rajeev Karwal, founder of Milagrow TabTops. Oh? “Special women Security?” What does that

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Can a company sue you for your Twitter followers?

When a person runs a Twitter account as a representative from a company, who owns those followers? In a very unique case, Noah Kravitz is being sued by PhoneDog for his 17,000 Twitter followers. Noah used to tweet about PhoneDog which provides news and reviews about mobile phones. In October 2010 he left the company and promptly changed his account name from @Phonedog_Noah to @noahKravitz taking the 17,000 followers with him. PhoneDog has decided to sue seeking $2.50 a month per follower for eight months. The total is $340,000. The argument is that Noah took the company’s customer database. “The costs and resources invested by PhoneDog Media into growing its followers, fans and general brand awareness through social media are substantial and are considered property of PhoneDog Media LLC,” the company said. “We intend to aggressively protect our customer lists and confidential information, intellectual property, trademark and brands. Noah states

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Guest Post: Jumala – Handmade for the Holidays

There are only a handful of days left before Christmas, and the pressure is on to finish shopping for friends and family. Worse, the funds set aside for gifts may be dwindling or altogether gone. What can you give that’s from the heart but on the cheap? Personalized video games, made by you! It’s not often that you can give a gift that’s both techie and do-it-yourself, but there is a solution: Jumala. Jumala is the game of making games and it’s in beta now for PCs. This small Seattle-area start-up offers a robust –and deceptively simple—app for creating, testing and sharing video games that you make yourself. The graphics are gorgeous and the possibilities endless. The best part? All it will cost you is your time. Download the Jumala app (http://jumala.com/download) and you’re off and running. Choose a template to start with and start raising—or razing—mountains, painting terrain, placing

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Gadget Review: Fitbit Ultra

Recently, I got a new gadget through work, so that I can be a tester for a data gathering platform: the Fitbit Ultra. I am excited about this, because I have been feeling like I don’t get enough exercise lately, and tracking what I do is a sure way for me to get more activity in. I love gadgets! AND, you can go to their website and see charts and other data! I love data! Pros Easy to use. I clip the device to my bra, because it is very stable there, and other than that, I don’t have to do anything with it all day. Lots of data. Of course, I do look at it all day, because you can get a lot of data just on the device itself. With the push of a few buttons, I can see how many steps I’ve taken so far in the

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Facebook absorbs tech team from Gowalla

Facebook users can currently “check-in” but that didn’t stop them from absorbing the technology founders behind “check-in” service Gowalla. The odd thing is that Facebook does not plan to use the Gowalla service. They are also closing the current service. According to Reuters, “In talking with the Gowalla team, we realized that we share many of the same goals: building great products that reach millions of people, making a big impact quickly, and creating new ways for people to connect and share what’s going on in their lives,” Facebook said in an emailed statement on Monday. “While Facebook isn’t acquiring the Gowalla service or technology, we’re sure that the inspiration behind Gowalla will make its way into Facebook over time,” the company said. It will be interesting to see what Facebook is looking to do with the technology in the future.

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Gaming Angel’s Holiday Guide: Gadgets

Happy Holidays! Below are our gadget picks for this holiday. Many of us want the same thing or more than one thing on this list because we all love our gadgets! Kindle Fire Price: 199.00 Rating: All Ages Recommended by: Trina The Kindle Fire has amazing specs for a tablet that is only $199. If you can do without a camera, this may be the best tablet for your dollars. The Silk Browser will provide even faster web browsing and while the tablet has a dual core processor, it works faster by storing things on the cloud for easy accessibility. I also like the User Interface on the tablet, something tablets other than Apple’s have not been able to master. iPad Price: Starting at $499. Rating: All Ages Recommended by: Trina How can you not recommend an iPad for anyone that may not have one yet. Yes, a competitor is

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