Nicholas Kolakowski

Research In Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis seemed a bit laissez-faire at times during his Dec. 7 talk at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, in San Francisco. When asked whether he viewed Apple and Google as competitive threats in the enterprise space, traditionally the bastion of RIM’s BlackBerry franchise, he reportedly said: “Today, we have […]

Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other e-reader manufacturers can look forward to increased interest in their devices over the next year, at least according to a new research note from Gartner. In Gartner’s estimation, worldwide e-reader sales will total 6.6 million units in 2010, a 79.8 percent increase from 2009. Moreover, the research firm predicts […]

Salesforce.com has signed a definitive agreement to acquire cloud-application company Heroku for approximately $212 million. Heroku offers a cloud application platform for Ruby-based applications. “The next era of cloud computing is social, mobile and real-time. I call it Cloud 2,” Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, wrote in a Dec. 8 statement posted on […]

Salesforce.com is using its annual Dreamforce conference to unveil Database.com, its new standalone cloud database for IT pros creating applications. The company claims that developers for nearly any device and platform will be able to leverage Database.com’s features, even for applications using Amazon EC2 and other non-Salesforce.com cloud platforms. “We see cloud databases as a […]

Apple’s iPhone on Verizon would curb Google Android’s explosive growth, according to a new analyst report. “Android phones outsell iPhones in the U.S., but we believe when Verizon gets the iPhone, that trend could be reversed,” Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, wrote in a Dec. 7 research note widely circulated on blogs such […]

Microsoft still seems reluctant to share sales numbers for Windows Phone 7. During a Dec. 7 conversation with Walt Mossberg at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference in San Francisco, Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and director of Windows Phone Program Management, declined to offer any hard data on the new smartphone platform’s marketplace […]

Apple’s manufacturers could be prepping a next-generation iPad for shipment within the next 100 days, if a report from DigiTimes proves correct. According to that publication’s Dec. 7 article, “sources from Taiwan-based component makers” indicated “that the iPad 2 will ship as soon as the end of February in 2011.” The report also claims “the […]

Amazon.com is reportedly planning a Kindle for Web application, which would allow users to purchase e-books via a Website and then read those titles in their browser. An Amazon spokesperson reportedly described the application to Computerworld Dec. 6. At the moment, users can download Kindle software for the iPhone, Windows PC, Mac, BlackBerry, iPad, Android […]

Microsoft could see its earnings rise in future quarters thanks to a strong corporate PC refresh cycle, according to a new analyst report. “We believe Microsoft has been unfairly grouped into so-called PC tech bellwethers that are currently facing growth challenges in the post-PC area,” Yun Kim, an analyst with Gleacher & Co., wrote in […]

A Consumer Reports survey released Dec. 6 named AT&T “the worst-rated cell-phone service carrier,” based on responses from 58,000 ConsumerReports.org subscribers. That represents a significant dip for AT&T since the review firm’s 2009 survey. “We take this seriously, and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer service,” an AT&T spokesperson told CNNMoney.com […]

Microsoft took a hard swipe at Salesforce.com Dec. 6, in another sign that the traditionally desktop-bound company is upping its aggressiveness in the cloud arena. In “An Open Letter to Salesforce.com Customers,” Microsoft dangles a $200-per-user rebate for any organization that switches from Salesforce to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. A special Microsoft Website also aggressively […]

Apple’s white iPhone 4 could finally make an appearance in spring 2011, according to an image shot by blog 9to5Mac. That photograph depicts “some of the new signage going up in Apple Stores around the country,” according to the blog’s Dec. 4 posting. That signage includes, in small type, “The white iPhone 4 will be […]