2011 Year in Review: Technology
December 26th 2011 13:03
Spotify goes from unknown to buzz-worthy
No single brand rocketed from relative anonymity in the U.S. to buzz-worthy the way Spotify did in 2011. The music service got a little help from rumors that Facebook was courting Spotify to join forces with the social network.
Spotify successfully launched in the U.S. on July 14 on an invitation-only basis. Turns out, there was some truth to the Facebook rumors. When chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new "open graph," Spotify was its primary example of "frictionless sharing."
CBS
HP TouchPad flops
Hewlett Packard launched the TouchPad on July 1 and it quickly became a flop. By August it was reported that Best Buy could only sell 10 percent of the 270,000 units in stock.
Hewlett Packard responded by having a weekend fire sale to unload inventory. TouchPads went from $399 to $99 and $499 to $149 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively. In an ironic twist, the fire sale drummed up so much demand for the tablet computer that units were being sold on eBay for up to $350.
Google buys Motorola
On Aug. 15, Google announced the purchase of Motorola Mobility for a whopping $12.5 billion. The move sent shock waves through the smartphone industry. Suddenly the hardware manufacturers that relied on Google's mobile operating system, Android, found a potential face-off with the search engine giant. And for the first time in its history, Google joined the hardware world.
iPhone 4S launch reaches epic proportions
No product launch this year matched the frenzy of iPhone 4S. Although, it seemed like the entire world was anticipating the iPhone 5 this year, there was no love lost when Tim Cook announced the iPhone 4S on Oct. 4 at the "Let's Talk iPhone" event.
Search for the news at launch nearly crashed tech blogs across the web. It was officially a success. Pre-orders hit 1 million in the first 24 hours and we still can't stop talking about Siri, the iPhone 4S' main draw.
Kindle Fire comes out swinging
They called it the iPad killer. No, that didn't happen, but the Kindle Fire was the first tablet to give Apple real competition. Priced at $199, compared to the iPad at $499, it offered an affordable, mainstream alternative to Apple's tablet.
Amazon didn't release exact numbers, but the company claims that 1 million Kindles are sold a week. Released on Nov. 15, the 7-inch tablet became the hottest gift idea of the 2011 holiday season.
Facebook Timeline tells the story of our lives
Facebook introduced the world to Timeline on Sept. 22, promising a rollout quickly. Months passed and many of us scratched our heads, wondering what happened to the hyped up re-design. Just when we'd almost forgotten it was pending, Facebook rolled out the new feature on Dec. 15.
Timeline turns your Facebook wall into the story of your life, giving users the option to go back to see highlights and add past life events, such as your birth or graduations.
CBS
| 10 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
