Nicholas Kolakowski

Microsoft may have some trouble selling its new Windows Phone 7 smartphones, if a new British report is any indication. In a report quickly disseminated across the Web by blogs such as Electronista, U.K. retailer MobilesPlease reported that Windows Phone 7 devices were being outsold by their Google Android and Symbian counterparts. While lone sales […]

The online retail sector is showing robust growth during one of the year’s most crucial shopping periods, according to new reports. That not only bodes well for retailers’ bottom lines during the holiday season, but also suggests the same tools that are changing the face of the Web-including smartphones and social-networking sites-are affecting customers’ shopping […]

Apple’s holiday sales will remain strong, says an analyst from Ticonderoga Securities. While certainly no surprise given the company’s performance throughout 2010, the new research note nonetheless counterbalances some concerns about both the general weakness of the economy and contrarian analyst reports suggesting sales of iPads and other devices will underwhelm. “With the powerful combination […]

Microsoft’s Kinect hands-free games controller sold more than 1 million units in its first 10 days of release. At least a portion of those buyers were IT pros and other tech tinkerers, who snatched up the rectangular devices for a purpose other than virtual dance-offs and road-races: They wanted to experiment with the Kinect’s 3D […]

Apple’s annual iPhone refresh has become a calendar-marking event in the tech world, surrounded by weeks of intense scrutiny as tech blogs and pundits dissect the new device’s hardware and software capabilities. Each new iPhone attracts millions of buyers, further reinforcing the company’s position in the smartphone market-despite increased competition from the likes of Google […]

Apple’s iPad rates high as a must-have item among kids ages 6 to 12, according to a new survey by research firm Nielsen. The tablet PC outranked the Nintendo DS, iPod Touch, Sony PlayStation Portable, and larger gaming systems such as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. “With Black Friday approaching, parents may want to […]

Apple could launch iOS 4.3 in a few weeks, following closely on its iOS 4.2 update for mobile devices. According to the blog MacStories, itself quoting an unnamed “reliable source,” Apple is building iOS 4.3 to include not only the usual maintenance tweaks and bug fixes, but also “subscription billing APIs.” The update could also […]

Intel Past and Present: 25 Facts You Might Not Know No Title Intel Origins Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore started their own electronics firm in 1968. After incorporating their new firm as NM Electronics, they then bought the “Intel” name from Intelco, a hotel chain. No Title The 4004 Intel’s first microprocessor, the 4004, launched […]

Microsoft again finds itself in Motorola’s legal cross-hairs, with the manufacturer filing a patent-infringement complaint against the Xbox franchise with the International Trade Commission. Motorola Mobility, the manufacturer’s subsidiary, is requesting “that the Commission conduct an investigation under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended regarding Certain Gaming and Entertainment Consoles, Related […]

Acer plans to release two Android-based tablets and a Windows 7 tablet in early 2011, joining an already crowded market. Pricing and names remain undisclosed for the devices, which will compete against not only the Apple iPad, but also other Android-based tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Acer’s 7-inch and 10.1-inch tablets will arrive […]

Back in 1976, the Apple-1 sold for $666.66. It featured 8k RAM and a cassette board connector, pitiful in comparison to the hardware and power of descendants like the iMac. But thanks to the Apple-1’s place in Apple history, one of the machines sold for the equivalent of $213,600 at a Nov. 23 auction at […]

For Microsoft, its Kinect hands-free games controller represents a chance to claim those casual gamers who made the Nintendo Wii such an enormous success-and increase the lifespan of its five-year-old Xbox 360 console. For legions of tech pros, the Kinect’s 3D camera-capable of tracking 48 points of movement on a user’s body, and then translating […]