Galery

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Ivan Petkov

The market for smartphones is close to the saturation point. Competition is fierce and the dynamics relentlessly cruel. On the other hand, the tablet market is still growing at rates exceeding those of personal computers (PC) in the face of desktop and laptop computers. Competition is not so weak either and twists are possible at any time - yesterday's winners can quickly lose positions and become tomorrow’s losers.

Today we will continue with the "Battle of the Titans," which is entering into its next phase, namely the battle between the major players, in historical perspective, in the field of high-tech innovation which are Microsoft and Apple. Very recently, at two opposite corners of the world but on the same day, they presented the new series of devices that will fight for the users’ hearts and wallets. Let us find out more details, but here is the background first.
 
Switching the roles in the course of development. Microsoft has had the monopoly of the PC market for over 20 years now. It has gained such a strong position that none of the competing offers has even been able to approach their overwhelming market share. All hated it, but all used it. The future seemed bright but, as it turned out later, the old saying that nothing lasts forever was confirmed. It seems that the abrupt change in the sector of smartphones that Apple began in 2007 had unlocked Pandora's Box regarding Microsoft. Focused entirely on its operating system for desktop computers and with good positions in the segment of smartphones, Microsoft had proved totally unprepared for the mobile revolution. A new class of devices had appeared that were able not only to establish themselves on the market, but also to generate unprecedented revenue from consumer electronics. I will just mention that, in 2011, Apple managed to collect more cash than the US government had had, as well as to gain more profit than Microsoft had gained from all its various products and services from the corporate segment and end users! All this was due to the sales of two devices, iPhone and iPad, alone. Microsoft was not pleased with those developments but, on the other hand, this had increased the company’s interest in the market of consumer electronics.

Let us go back to the situation at Microsoft. After missing the initial boom in mobile technology, the company from Redmond decided to catch up in its typical style. It created, from scratch, a new mobile operating system to replace Windows Mobile and called it Windows Phone. Unlike its predecessor, which was many advanced users’ favourite for its personalisation options, the new mobile operating system was similar to that of Apple. Not in the visual sense, in which it definitely has its own unique individuality, but in terms of the overall design and philosophy followed by it.

Windows Phone was fully closed, offering no personalisation options and many restrictions, including the "locking" of the phone to the newly created market for Microsoft applications. Due to the changeover, the applications available for Windows Mobile were incompatible with Windows Phone, which had led to a small number of applications available for the new operating system. However, Microsoft's problems were not over. Striving to unify the user experience, Microsoft had significantly limited the hardware used by Windows Phone. This had led to its lagging behind its rivals.

The absence of personalisation options from the operating system had turned into cloning the devices operating with it and Microsoft’s partners had very few tools with which to distinguish their phones from other manufacturers’ phones. It turned out that the first generations of smartphones were distinguished primarily by the company logo on them. This had reduced the enthusiasm of manufacturers. Here we should mention Nokia. Former No.1 among the mobile phone manufacturers it was also unprepared for the revolution in the sector. There was confusion and various development plans did not work out and, year after year, the market share of the company was shrinking.

In the end, it decided to make a bold and radical move, namely, to abandon the development of its own mobile operating system and to turn to Windows Phone. For some analysts, this was a logical move; others considered it too risky an investment and more than a few people perceived it as a plan for the acquisition of the company by Microsoft, which was quite reasonable since none other than Stephen Elop, a former employee of Microsoft, was attracted and appointed executive director of the company. The Finnish corporation had signed an exclusive agreement, offering the company more opportunities and freedom compared with other Microsoft partners. Following the subsequent developments, a few months ago, the Finns ultimately sold its mobile unit to the US software giant.

However, misfortunes never come singly, as popular wisdom says. The appearance of tablets was also surprising to Microsoft. Considered, at first, as primarily a niche product that would supplement the traditional computers, they had quickly displaced them in many of the most popular uses such as browsing, chatting, social networking, video and music. Their portability had made ​​them a convenient tool for use anywhere and at any time. Eventually tablet sales had directly affected PC sales and, over the past few months, have exceeded them.
 
In search of a solution, Microsoft had reconsidered the concept of "personal computer," widening it by including in it devices such as tablets and hybrid laptops. The latter allows the separation of the screen, thus turning it into a tablet. For this purpose, Microsoft needed a suitable operating system, as the testing of the familiar Windows was not successful because the system itself and its programs are intended for use with a mouse and keyboard, and they are not suitable for touch screen operation. The giant from Redmond had decided that, in addition to the hybrid mobile devices, it would be appropriate to develop a hybrid operating system for both traditional PCs, and tablets and hybrid devices. So, the result was Windows 8, which was the most controversial operating system from Microsoft with regard to user perception.

To conclude this brief historical flashback about Microsoft I will mention that, last year, the company increasingly began to show signs of change in the overall pattern which it had been following and that had made it so popular and successful. In the past, thanks to its partners, it was able to win the battle of the operating systems and become the sole monopoly, displacing Apple, IBM and several smaller players. Currently, the giant that is in the process of major restructuring, is seriously intending to use the closed model of Apple, due to which Microsoft will become not only a software company but also a hardware manufacturer. This will allow total control over the final product and the creation of a closed ecosystem completely dependent on the company itself.

Let us remember Apple’s development. In terms of global popularity and revival of the company, we could say that these were due to the launching of iPod. However, that was only the interlude to Steve Jobs’ overall vision. The emergence of iPhone and iPad had led, as already mentioned, to a complete change in the industry. After Steve Jobs departed, Apple continued to pursue his development plan, and some twists in the market situation have led to several changes. One of them is the emergence of iPad mini. Jobs himself had said that a screen smaller than 10 inches was uncomfortable to use. The market, however, has refuted him.

Tablets with 7-inch screens are top sellers at present. Over the past two years, Android tablets have seized a large market share because of the combination of good hardware specifications and low prices. All this has led to the emergence of iPad mini which, according to many analysts, has 'cannibalized' the sales of the big iPad. Price pressure from tablets with Android entails reconsidering the pricing and price reduction, and hence reduced profit, with which investors are not at all happy. The latest criticism in recent years has been that Apple has reduced the rate of introduction of innovations. All this has affected the market share of the company, leading to the first declines in profit growth in 10 years.

So, we have come to the present, when the two companies have presented their latest mobile offers that will determine their performance in the coming months. Apple presented a whole series of devices at a special event in the United States on 22 October whereas at the other end of the world, in Dubai, Nokia held the last Nokia World 2013 as an independent company. Its mobile unit is now owned by Microsoft and the transfer of ownership is just a matter of time. That is why I consider the mobile Nokia products as part of the overall policy of Microsoft and its future.

What is new "at hand"?

Microsoft / Nokia

Nokia's first tablet

What are the important and interesting points? Firstly, this is the first and last tablet of the company as an independent company and secondly, the tablet uses Windows RT, which means that you can only use applications that have been developed specifically for this mobile operating system. The applications you use on your laptop or PC under Windows will not work on this tablet. Is this a problem? Well, it depends on what you want to do and on what you are using. Windows RT has an office package, it has the Internet Explorer browser which already supports touch-screen operation and allows you to write on a virtual keyboard when you are using the device as a tablet. It is possible to add another keyboard as well.

The tablet is part of the Lumia series and its serial number is 2520. The creators of the mobile device have focused on something particularly important, namely the ClearBlack technology, which allows good visibility in bright sunlight. The size of the screen is 10.1 inches. The tablet features a 6.7 megapixel rear camera with Zeiss lens and 4X optical zoom, something we are not used to seeing on tablets. It has all the modern features like wireless connectivity and mobile Internet access. The capacity of the battery is impressive, 8000 mAh, and allows quick charging to 50 % in just 40 minutes. This would be particularly useful in cases when you do not have much time but you need the portable device.

The expected approximate price of the tablet is $ 499 and that of the hardware keyboard $ 149.

Phablets

In Abu Dhabi, Nokia has introduced two devices that are on the borderline between a smartphone and a tablet which have became popular under the name ''phablet''. These are Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. Both phablets have a 6-inch screen and the differences between them are mainly in terms of hardware and prices. Nokia continues its tradition of presenting its smartphones in a variety of bright colours. In Lumia 1520 we find the same technology for improved visibility in bright light.

The screen has a high resolution, providing improved image quality. The camera is at its traditionally good level, typical of the company. Some people even believe that Nokia offers the best cameras in smartphones. The battery features the impressive 3400 mAh, which have to ensure sufficient battery life for the device and the 6-inch screen. Its selling price will start at around $ 750.

Lumia 1320 offers a 6-inch display with a resolution of 720p. Another important difference as compared with its larger sibling, Lumia 1520, is the processor used. Lumia 1320 will be equipped with a dual core processor instead of with a four core one. The camera will not use the PureView technology and its resolution will be only 5 megapixels. Another feature missing from the more expensive option is the option of wireless charging. Lumia 1320 will not support the LTE technology for faster data transfer either. The device will be available in orange, yellow, black and white versions and its expected price is $ 339 before taxes and operator subsidies.

Apple

iPad Air and iPad mini

As rumour has it, the company has decided to upgrade its two main products, iPad Air and iPad mini. However, we will no longer see iPad 5 as the company has already renamed the device iPadAir. It still has a 9.7-inch display with Retina resolution but it is 43% thinner, at 7.5 mm, and weighs less, which should greatly facilitate holding it. It features an A7 processor, which is combined with M7 coprocessor. These chips are present in iPhone 5s too.

However, the improvement in performance is remarkable and according to Apple, it has been accelerated 8 times whereas the graphics accelerator operates 72 times faster. The operation of wireless networks has been accelerated as well. The device features a 5MP iSight camera and the front one now supports 1080p FaceTime calls. Battery life is 10 hours. Prices start at $ 499 for the version with 16GB and Wi-Fi, and that with 3G will cost $ 629. The devices will be launched on 1 November.

As expected, iPad mini has a higher screen resolution. It is 2048 x 1536 pixels or the same as that of iPad Air. It uses A7 chipset too, an up to 4 times faster processor and an up to 8 times faster graphics system. Battery life is 10 hours. Wi-Fi usage is 2 times faster again and it has expanded support for LTE networks. It has two cameras again, with 5MP resolution and 1080p, and the price starts from $ 399 for the version with Wi-Fi and 16GB of memory and $ 529 for the one with 3G. The sales of the first edition of iPad mini will continue at the price of $ 299.

Apple’s and in particular Steve Jobs’ overall vision was related to the usage of the devices rather than to the specific hardware. He believed that the future belongs not to the hardware but to the related services. For the moment, we see that this is not quite true, as the company's main profit comes precisely from the sale of hardware devices. However, the presentation of the new versions of iPad has emphasized the role that the tablets of the company play in education and of the related software for the creation of interactive textbooks.

Another very important point is the free upgrade to the new version of Mac OS. The reason lies in the fact that Microsoft has first provided a free upgrade to Windows 8.1 for all owners of Windows 8. The version of the iWorks office suite will be free too, but only for new users of Apple’s products. This is also in response to the provision of a free office suite in tablets from Microsoft.

Apart from the purely technical parameters that concern a limited number of users, including myself, the overwhelming majority of users want their mobile devices to be easy to use and reliable, to have a sufficient number of useful applications and, last but not least, to facilitate their lives through the increasingly expanding smart functionalities.

The battle between the two US technology giants will heighten and the main front seems to be the market of consumer electronics rather than the corporate market. The companies’ technological cycle for changing hardware and software is too long and cumbersome whereas users change their mobile devices every 2 years on average. We have seen that Microsoft has started losing its influence and monopoly. On an annual basis, Apple is ahead of the growth in PC sales in the US and has strong positions in the segment of mobile devices unlike Microsoft. Last but not least, the company from Redmond wants to become a direct competitor of Apple and, therefore, both companies will offer a combination of their own hardware and software.

We see that the competition between the two companies is leading to the launching of free updates for the operating systems and free office suites, which can only be in favour of users.