Galaxy S4 tops in Consumer Reports

This only further indicates that the market has caught up. It is no longer the iPhone and everyone else. Samsung has clearly differentiated itself from other hardware manufacturers and is on par with Apple. As a result, an incremental upgrade in the form of the iPhone 5S may not be enough to calm fears that Samsung is not going away.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/tech/mobile/galaxy-s4-top-smartphone/index.html

Samsung able to surpass Retina Display

With the Chromebook Pixel from Google and now Samsung’s new hardware, there are now competitors in the game of resolution bragging rights. Still, Apple can still lay claim to the trailblazer and trendsetter labels because many companies continue to emulate rather than innovate. Only a few push innovation to the forefront of what they do. Google and Samsung clearly do not have that problem, but they needed to answer the Retina Display in this form of tech arms race. Otherwise, they risk losing the coolness that is associated with their brands.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/20/samsung-bests-apples-retina-display-with-new-notebook-panel

Speculation begins concerning advertisements on Tumblr

Yes. There will be ads. For what Yahoo paid for it, Yahoo would be foolish not to monetize Tumblr to recoup their investment. It is also a trap that can lead to Tumblr becoming a ghost town. Hopefully, Marissa Mayer means it when she states that ads will be tasteful. Sprinkle too many and the counter culture and millenials will eventually find new pastures. Restrict content and they will feel repressed. Proceed with caution because the task at hand will not be easy.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419196,00.asp

Sony vs Microsoft: XBOX One vs Playstation

This is a win-win for consumers. These two companies are aggressively trying to evolve the entertainment experience consumers have with gaming and entertainment as a whole. Exciting new hardware, cloud services, and more horsepower to power the next generation of games creates an exciting drama to be played out for years to come.

http://www.techhive.com/article/2039281/sony-vs-microsoft-game-console-wars-reignite.html

Yahoo’s Flikr now offers 1 Terabyte of storage

With the UI changes and the focus on making this product relevant again, Yahoo is continuing to make strides to be a competitor in mobile, search, and the current web hierarchy.

1 Terabyte is a significant leap in free disk space for users, but the real story in this announcement is that Yahoo is not the storage space or the UI. Yahoo is stating that it is out there competing and trying to offer compelling experiences, great value price propositions to consumers, and maintain/grow its user base.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2039285/yahoo-overhauls-flickr-with-one-free-terabyte-for-every-user.html

Google Offers is now in Google Plus

The story here is that Google has interwoven its services in such a way that users are logged into them when they log into their account. It is a great strategy considering that some users might not even try a particular service unless it is staring at them on their dashboard. This service just continues that trend. Besides, who does not like coupons?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419164,00.asp

Android takes 75% of the smartphone marketplace

Android continues its market dominance.

Will it continue? Well, there are competitors in the weeds. Windows Phone 8 is now capable of being on a wide range of handsets. For instance, T-Mobile now offers a $150 Windows Phone with no contract. There is talk of Tizen from Samsung, Ubuntu Mobile, and Firefox. It will definitely be interesting.

 

http://www.techhive.com/article/2038968/android-captures-75-of-smartphone-sales-gartner-says.html

Yahoo to buy Tumblr

Yahoo board has reportedly decided to acquire Tumblr. The reasons for this move are many. For instance, this move could signal that Yahoo is still a relevant force in the tech sector. Also, Yahoo may be viewing this as an opportunity to appeal to a younger audience. Otherwise, this is just a move to monetize a platform that supports millions of blogs and hosts billions of posts. That is a lot of web traffic that is going to have to get used to seeing Yahoo ads.

Only time will tell if Tumblr was really worth what Yahoo paid for it. Especially since it is unknown whether members will continue to generate content and users will visit the site after any changes are implemented. If there are too many ads or if the product is allowed to become stale, such a turn of events could cause Tumblr to wither. Hopefully Yahoo has a plan in place to maintain an innovation culture at their soon to be newly acquired property.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2039183/report-yahoo-board-approves-deal-to-buy-tumblr-for-11b.html