Morning Tech Wrap: Apple, Facebook, Samsung
August 29, 2011 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Apple CEO Steve Jobs; Image via Wikipedia
Tech websites and newspapers have spent the last few days musing over what the future holds for Apple and the tech industry after the resignation of Steve Jobs. Citing the influence that new CEO Tim Cook has held in the past over Apple, PC Mag reports that not a lot will change for the company. However, despite confidence across the board that Cook will keep Apple moving forward, there are concerns he lacks the creativity and vision that Jobs had.
“I like Tim Cook a lot, but I don’t see him as that visionary guy,” one anonymous Apple ex-employee said. “Someone within the organization will become the future visionary person. There are a lot of power struggles going on at Apple right now.” Cook has already made his mark on the company, encouraging efficiency and market aggressiveness. Over the coming years though, he will have to continue that success while inspiring others to do the same.
Meanwhile, Apple is said to be working on a digital television based on its iOS operating system, and plans to launch it next year, according to Venture Beat.
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Samsung has said it will pre-install an instant messaging tool on feature phones and smartphones that run Android or its Bada operating system. The new service, called ChatON, is set to arrive in October. The IM system will offer competition to Apple’s up-and-coming iMessage feature and RIM’s BBM.
Telecoms carriers are concerned that this trend in free IMing will take revenue from text messaging services, Reuters reports. ChatON will work across all major smartphone platforms, including iPhone and BlackBerry. It will allow users to send text, image, video and even hand-written messages.
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Facebook is getting out of the daily deals space after four months of testing, according to Reuters, potentially easing pressure on the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial. “After testing Deal for four months, we’ve decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks,” the company said on Friday in a statement.
“We think there is a lot of power in a social approach to driving people into local business,” Facebook added. “We’ve learned a lot from our test and we’ll continue to evaluate how to best serve local businesses.”
Facebook started offering deals in five cities and had a small sales team arranging the deals with merchants. Facebook also promoted deals from 11 other companies like ReachLocal, Gilt City and Zozi. The exit means one less rival for Groupon as it nears a $750 million public offering later this year.
