Coming Attractions

Consumer tech in 2013

By Anca Gagiuc on Feb 15, 2013 in Technology

We’re already well into the new year, but it’s not too late – or early – to anticipate some of the consumer tech releases that will be highly anticipated this year. Last month we learned that the Blackberry 10 won’t be available to U.S. consumers until sometime next month. Here are a few other products that techies are keeping an eye on in 2013.

Mobile Operating System from Firefox

Apple has one, Google does too; it’s about time Mozilla Firefox joined the Mobile Operating System group. Because entering such a compact market is not easy, the Firefox OS claims it will be cheaper than Android, that it will support rich content with HTML5, and tap into the hardware differently. Another piece of information that leaked is the OS’s ability to control the phone’s camera for slow motion recording or quick, successive shots.

Surface Pro tablet from Microsoft

Available since Feb. 9, Surface Pro runs on Intel I5 dual-core processor featuring the full Windows 8 Pro operating system. Microsoft has high hopes from it as it is the first device to bring a full operating system to the tablet format without compromising quality. Opinions on it are diverse, although its “snappier and more ‘performant’” (Mary Jo Foley for the ZDNet tech blog), its reliance on the power cable doesn’t help it in the run for the best tablet while its immutability puts it below any laptop. Price-wise it is not a friendly device: the Surface Pro starts at $899 ($200 more than a comparable iPad) and you’ll need to invest another $120 for the keyboard. This two-ways compromised device, as a tablet and as a laptop, makes me wonder, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to get the 64GB MacBook Air laptop at $999?

Amazon Kindle Phone

This is still a rumor that the Wall Street Journal brought on stage by citing unnamed sources. The display could have a similar size to Samsung Galaxy Note (5-inch) or a smaller screen, similar to iPhone 5 (4-inch). Regardless, this phone will match up nicely with the Kindle Fire and probably won’t exceed its niche margins and stay focused on custom apps for reading books and watching videos.

iPad Mini 2

Its release date is rumored to be scheduled for October. The tech specs rumors announce impressive power for such a tiny fellow. It is said that it will be able to log over 12 hours with Wi-Fi active, thus only a few charges a week will keep it up and running. The first generation of iPad mini is only 7.2 mm thin; it wouldn’t be farfetched to see an improved screen display while managing to stay thin. The current Mini has a 163 pixel per inch density (a deal breaker for many), but the rumored density for the new model of 324 ppi could without any problems seal the deal. To make a better idea, the iPhone 5 displays 326 pixels per inch of visual attraction.

What technology release are you most looking forward to this year?