This Week: Windows 7, Droid, CLIQ, and More:
We’re approaching the peak of the technology industry’s announcement season leading up to the holiday season. Companies big and small will be trying to get you to part with your hard-earned money (if you have a job).
Let’s begin with big companies. Like Microsoft.
Unless you’ve been living on the South Pole, you probably know that Microsoft’s new and improved operating system, Windows 7, is on the way. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and company will be throwing a massive party here in NYC, this Thursday, to officially announce the software’s release.
But the larger Windows 7 story is the hardware that is about to be announced. Also on Thursday, dozens of companies will reveal dozens of new products that work with — and operate on — the newly improved operating system. It could prove to be just what the computer industry has been waiting for.
I’ve been testing Windows 7 since the first Beta was released earlier this year. I’ll have a full review on software release day but in my tests — on a number of desktops, laptops and netbooks — Windows 7 is just plain fantastic. Faster. Easier. All-around better. More later this week.
Tuesday should turn out to be Barnes & Noble day. If all the rumors are correct, B&N will be announcing a digital book reader to compete against Amazon.com’s Kindle and Sony’s eBook devices.
There are lots of rumors being floated about what the new device might look like - including some speculation about it being a two-screen affair - one color - one black-and-white. We’ll know for sure Tuesday afternoon.
And then there’s the onslaught of Android smart phones about to reach the U.S. cellular marketplace.
We have two from T-Mobile and one from Sprint - with a whole bunch more coming before the holidays.
Motorola’s CLIQ begins online sales today. It will appear in T-Mobile stores, nationwide, beginning next month.
Samsung’s first Android phone, The Moment, is the subject of a big press send-off on Wednesday. Moment will be Sprint’s second Android model (the terrific Hero was their first.)
But, the industry is really buzzing about what Verizon has in store for us. America’s number one cellular provider is angry that they still haven’t been able to get their hands on an iPhone of their own or a technically advanced, modern-day BlackBerry phone.
That’s why they’re going all out promoting their upcoming Android phone. All we know is that it’s called “Droid” and that they may have licensed that name from the Star Wars people.
Rumors have it that Droid will be made by Motorola and will sport a very fast processor, a lot of memory, a big-pixel camera and it could be the first Android device to run the next major version (2.0) of Google’s operating system.
All we really know about the Droid phone is that Verizon began airing a cryptic TV commercial for it during sporting events in the past few days:
And, oh yes, there’s a new and improved BlackBerry Storm coming to Verizon this fall - among other goodies.
