With a significant user base of Windows XP, organizations are either strapped for cash, comfortable with what they have, do not see an adequate Return on Investment (ROI) to upgrade operating systems and/or machines, or organizations really do fear change. In order to convince financial officers and project sponsors that upgrading to a more recent iteration of Windows, it is necessary to get over these hurdles. Windows 8.1 has helpful hints built in such as additional icons and has a Start Screen button (sort of like a Start Button) to help new users adjust to the user interface changes (help businesses with retraining, check). Microsoft has made accommodations with hardware manufacturers to give them cheaper prices of Windows licenses for devices with smaller screens. Economy of scale with the transition from non-touch to touch should result in cheaper screens, which means the upgrade costs with go down (lower costs, check). Better security from sandboxing applications and remote device management upgrades are also nice features for the enterprise. So along with these developments, the ability to turn any surface into a screen  might be a catalyst to help convince some of the decision makers to upgrade.

And if that does not do it, end of support for Windows XP is coming up in early 2014.

E-Reading increases and physical books decline

With prices that vary considerably (E-Books may be as much as 30-50% cheaper online or more) and with options such as the Nook or Kindle apps for PCs, it is no wonder that electronic reading has jumped and traditional books have declined. Then, if you add in how dedicated E-Readers have gotten cheaper and  tablet and smartphone ownership has spiked, more and more readers have the option of having a decent, cheaper reading experience than traditional books.

This does not mean that E-Books are better than traditional hard copy books, it just means that the value and price equation has convinced many readers to favor e-books over hard copy, physical books.

http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/12/27/e-book-reading-jumps-print-book-reading-declines/

Tablet ownership has increased

Tablets, when compared to other computing devices like Laptops and Desktops, cost a lot less. They do not necessarily have to have subscription service for data, unless you want to have 3G or 4G service supporting it (Smartphone and Tablet plans range anywhere from $35 to over $100  a month, depending on carrier and coverage). So, when the economy retracted between 2007 and 2009, and the recovery was not as robust as many of us have hoped, users were faced with some stark financial choices. They were also compelled to adjust their entertainment dollars as well.

That was the financial side of things. Now, if you look at the functionality, many users just want to check email, respond to social network updates and notifications, and check the news. Tablets are great at this and have battery life far better than most laptops. Apps have also made tablet use more productive and allowed some users to avoid their laptops and desktops unless there is a task that is just more efficient to do on a laptop or desktop. Tablets and smartphones, because of this increased functionality and productivity at a lower initial cost, are probably the biggest reasons that the PC market is in decline (not Windows 8, although some cite it as a reason).

So, it is not a huge surprise that tablet ownership has increased.

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Tablet-Ownership-2013.aspx

What will be the market reception towards the Lumia 1020?

Having a 41 megapixel camera is an impressive stat. The question that will come when tech users examine the hardware is, “Can I take advantage of it?” Case in point, some Android devices have a low heap size. This means that images will not be taken that exceed this memory size, so many phones are set to reduce the resolution to prevent this. Will users notice? Sometimes. Other times, no. Users want cameras that take great photos and provide quick and easy access to them to show and share.

What will Nokia and Windows Phone be able to do? As part of this discussion, it also comes up whether or not Windows Phone is a compelling enough OS to get users interested in and excited about the camera. Only time will tell.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043940/upcoming-nokia-lumia-1020-shows-off-an-impressive-camera.html