Biggest technology launches of 2009

[seema]

Despite slowdown paring down consumer spending, 2009 was a hot year for product launches. The year saw some of the coolest technology debuts and makeovers across categories: mobile phones, media players, software, Netbooks ...

Almost all the big daddies of the tech world, from Microsoft to Apple to Google, Nokia to Samsung to HTC rolled out a number of feature-rich products.

Some received applause for fine looks, others for their attractive pricing, and some for their out of the box thinking. Some made headlines for smashing high-end multimedia features.

Here are some of the biggest technology launches that became talking point of the year 2009.

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[seema]

This year's hottest smartphone launch came, yet again, from Apple! In June this year, Apple launched iPhone 3G S, the upgraded model that offers faster speed and better features. iPhone 3G S can perform tasks up to 3.6 times faster than the previous second-generation model. Apple claims that it is the 'most powerful iPhone ever made.' The phone now boasts of a more acceptable 3 megapixel camera along with video capturing, auto-focus mechanism and editing capabilities.

Users can shoot high-quality VGA video in portrait or landscape mode. They can also edit videos and share them. The new version also has a built-in digital compass that helps users locate their way. Another sorely missed feature 'cut-copy-paste' was introduced in this version. The new iPhone also has MMS capability and offers multimedia messaging, allowing users to send each other pictures from the phone.

iPhone 3G S also has a landscape keyboard. Users can rotate the phone to landscape mode to use a larger keyboard to run apps like mail, messages, notes and Safari.

This model also boasts of improved battery life. Apple claims the new model supports up to 12 hours of talk time, 30 hours of audio, 9 hours of Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback, and five hours of 3G talk time.

[seema]

Google-Microsoft rivalry turned fiercer this year. The search giant showed off its Google Chrome OS, saying that some lower-end PCs called Netbooks will run on it in the second half of 2010.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight OS that will initially come pre-loaded on select models of Netbooks. Google announced that the open-sourcing code of Chrome OS is free, accessible to anyone and open for contributions.

Google-crafted Chrome OS will be tailored exclusively for applications hosted as services in the Internet "cloud." This means that every application on Chrome OS will be a Web application. This according to Google will improve speed and security, as users won't be installing applications on their systems.

As for system requirements, Chrome OS will run on either x86 or ARM processors. But, hardware manufacturers will have to use solid-state drives as Google OS won't support hard drives.

[seema]

Arguably the year's biggest launch came from the World's top software giant Microsoft which launched its latest OS Windows 7.

Among key features, the OS packs Aero, Shake, Peek, Snap, Jump Lists and a redesigned Windows Taskbar which makes it easy for users to do more with photos, music, movies and videos. Other features include HomeGroup, Play To, Windows Live Movie Maker and Remote Media Streaming.

The new system which promises to be faster, less cluttered and has touchscreen features, is available in six editions.

[seema]

Bookworms hated reading on computer screens and found those of mobile phones too cramped. Amazon came up with the perfect solution -- a light weight e-book reader that lets you browse and download books over the air and look snazzy too.

In February this year Amazon launched Kindle 2, a light weight e-book reader that lets users browse and download books. Featuring 16-level grayscale display and improved battery life, Kindle 2 offers 20% faster page-refreshing, a text-to-speech option to read the text aloud, and overall thickness reduced from 0.8 to 0.36 inches (9.1 mm).

Kindle 2 packs 2GB of internal memory of which 1.4 GB is user-accessible. According to Amazon Kindle 2 can hold about 1500 non-illustrated books. In Oct, Amazon announced an international version of the Kindle 2 with a built-in 3G (HSDPA) and EDGE/GSM wireless modem for connectivity in over 100 countries.