In Depth: Winners and losers of CES 2012

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Tweet Page 1: The winners and losers of CES 2012

We were hugely impressed by OnLive for iPad

Now that our jetlag is subsiding, it's time to take a look back at the utter madness that was, and always is, the Consumer Electronics Show.

CES 2012 didn't have a huge amount of absolute stand out kit, but for a time of financial uncertainty, there sure were a lot of launches and the industry certainly hasn't been shy in terms of coming forward with expensive designs.

This was the biggest CES ever, with 1.861 million square feet of exhibit space, beating the previous record from 2008. 153,000 attendees dragged themselves to Las Vegas to traipse the miles around the show and Sin City's infamous megaresort hotels.

So let's look at some of the key themes and check out who did well and who did rather less well.

Ultrabooks are great, but there's a problem

Much to our chagrin, Intel is succeeding in making the Ultrabook moniker stick. Ultrabooks were one of the dominant themes of this CES with so many jumping on the bandwagon to make something that, in basic hardware terms at least, is comparable with the MacBook Air. Trouble is, Intel has a big problem - not that Intel's Mooly Eden would admit it (below). Ultrabooks may be desirable, but they are too expensive. And because of the spec that Intel has put together is tight, it doesn't leave manufacturers much wiggle-room. Hence we're going to see cheaper Ultrabooks, but they'll be lower spec. Core i3 and smaller SSDs won't be uncommon. It's a shame, but inevitable.

Intel does phones

It was also a massive show for Intel as it announced bone fide partners for its Atom chip in smartphones. Lenovo and Motorola have taken a big punt, the latter especially considering its ARM heritage. We can only assume a huge sum of cash was involved. We can't wait to see how this one develops next month at Mobile World Congress 2012 in sunny Barcelona.

Microsoft's move seems odd….

While it's pretty understandable that Microsoft would want to withdraw from doing a keynote talk every year (the last few have been super dull), it seems bizarre that Microsoft would withdraw from having any presence at the show. Still, that's what is currently happening, and the company's massive booth space has already been sold elsewhere for CES 2013. Microsoft's strength is in its partners and it will be happy enough that people like Nokia, Samsung and Lenovo will carry the fight for Windows and Windows Phone – although we'd have expected to see more from the next Xbox by this time next year…

….but they won't be alone

While Microsoft will join Apple has a CES absentee in 2013, we reckon they might join the growing band of companies eschewing a stand in favour of suites at a Las Vegas hotel. Asus and Acer had a presence elsewhere, for example. But while meeting space is allowed, we've seen the CES organisers try and restrict actual exhibiting elsewhere in the past. Dell, who had a massive product and meeting room presence in a separate hotel in 2011, weren't there in 2012 – their key product, the Dell XPS 13, was launched in Intel boss Paul Otellini's keynote.

Nokia is back. Kind of

While the Sony, HTC and LG phone launches at the show were all very nice, Nokia grabbed the headlines. Nokia is beginning from a standing start in the US, but the Lumia 900 was very well received at the show and the when Stephen Elop was joined on stage by Steve Ballmer was a bright moment in a turgid day of press conferences. What's more, a lot of people actually really like Nokia's latest generation of Windows Phones. Even us. The big question, of course, is whether Finland's finest can translate its successful buzz into sales and market share – not only in the US, but elsewhere too.

OLED is still way off mass market

We loved the Samsung and LG 55-inch OLEDs we saw at CES. LG's effort is a ridiculously thin 4mm thick. But while the sets will launch this year, the cost is set to remain probative. $5,000 is the latest estimate for Samsung's Super OLED. Wow. Also interesting was Sony's prototype display technology called Crystal LED, though the company says this new technology is "parallel to its continued development and commercialization of OLED displays." Odd.

The future's in the cloud

Yes, so we've heard it all before. But the OnLive Desktop for iPad really does give us an insight into how we might be using remote computers for tasks more complex than our thin and light portable devices can handle. Here it's about bringing a full desktop experience to the iPad. Clever stuff.

Windows 8 blurs the lines

It's an Ultrabook but it's also a Windows 8 tablet. That's the mantra of one of the finest pieces of hardware we saw at CES 2012, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga. It sets the tone for what is set to be a massive year for mobile computing. Windows 8 will drive a whole raft of devices that don't conform to the usual laptop-tablet designations and Intel is also talking about touch-based Ultrabooks too. But, once again, cost will be a massive issue with all of these options. These kind of devices won't undercut the iPad. Broadly-speaking though, we can't wait for 8.

Google TV is getting better

The Sony NSZ-GP7 set-top box and LG G6 Google TV show what Google's TV platform is capable of. And, while it's still not a brilliant solution, it is better than a lot of the existing smart TV platforms that remain slosw to start up and tedious to use.

Pie-in-the-sky prototypes

CES remains the place to show off your prototype kit. But is Razer's Project Fiona gaming tablet (pictured below) really worth bothering about? Despite all the buzz, it's a hugely thick tablet that we're betting won't ever see the light of day. We also thought Intel's Nikiski see-through notebook was just plain weird. It has a clever glass touchpad that doubles up as a touchscreen when you close the lid. Sadly though, What Laptop magazine editor James Stables reminded us of its resemblance to Windows Vista's Sideshow tech. Which was rubbish. In TV, Sharp's prototype 8K panel boasted 7,680 x 4,320 pixels. That's 16 times the resolution of HD. Remember that we hardly have any content for 4K displays as yet let alone 8K…

Well done, Lenovo

Our company of the show comes from an unlikely quarter. It may seem surprising, but Lenovo is all set to be a superpower in consumer electronics. Lenovo started the way they meant to go on, previewing laptops and tablets aplenty at the first CES event for press last Sunday. It even had the token secret device, in the form of the IdeaPad K2. But it didn't stop there. At another event on Monday it showed the awesome IdeaPad Yoga mentioned above. But then on Tuesday, Intel announced Lenovo as the first partner for Intel Atom smartphones before Lenovo uncovered the K800 handset at yet another event. It was a nightmare to cover for us journalists but, in the words of Sir Bruce, didn't they do well?

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In Depth: 8 brilliant gadgets that totally failed to launch

8 brilliant gadgets that totally failed to launch

What would an alternate universe look like where Microsoft dominated with a slick newspaper-ready tablet, HP had won the smartphone wars, and we were all carrying around a Palm Foleo?

Well, it'd certainly be one that is not quite so Apple-centric. And what's more, it could have happened.

These gadgets and gizmos almost made it into the limelight, but never made it into stores.

They at least offered something new or unusual, but while some never made it past the concept stage, others were announced but never actually made it onto the street.

1. Microsoft Courier

This rather famous failure comes directly from Redmond. Billed as a digital journal, and seen mostly through conceptual mock-ups, the Courier had the makings of a stellar tablet: the Nvidia Tegra processor, lightweight (less than a kilogram), and running Windows CE 6.

The main problem with the device was that, back in March of 2010, rumours started flying about Android touch tablets. The Courier was a style-based device similar to previous Tablet PCs. Still, at 5x7-inches and rumors of some big name content providers, the Courier could have been a contender but Gates killed it. And, if the Kindle Fire has proved anything, it's that a palm-sized tablet can attract attention by emphasising content over features.

[Image credit: Gizmodo]

2. Nokia 600

Considered by many to be the last great effort to keep Symbian alive, the Nokia 600 looked to be a worthy touchscreen phone with a bright, 3.2-inch screen. Many of the specs match up well with Android models: a 5MP camera, support for 32GB flash cards, and a 1GHz processor.

Yet, the phone died quickly right around the time that Nokia started talking to Microsoft about using the Windows Phone 7 OS. Now, the big push for CES: Nokia is reinventing their smartphones sans Symbian.

3. Plastic Logic Que

One of several dozen ebook readers that were supposed to change the world, the Plastic Logic Que was a leading candidate. First seen at CES 2010, the device had a crisp 8.5 x 11 screen and a thin design, but the killer feature was that this e-reader was also a good document manager.

The Que was supposed to let you open Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, and magazines. Another unusual feature: you could sync with your desktop Outlook email. That seems quaint in the age of cloud email, but the Que did look impressive. Unfortunately, it was also overpriced compared to the iPad.

4. Panasonic Jungle

One lesson when it comes to new gadgets: make sure you inspect the photos and early concept videos. It's important to look for an actual interface, not just a full-screen videogame screenshot that someone Photoshopped into place.

The Panasonic Jungle had a full QWERTY keyboard, which could have been a boon for the MMO crowd (e.g., those addicted to Warcraft-like role-players). Alas, the Jungle was yet another incident of roadkill created by the more versatile Apple iPad 2.

5. BlackBerry PlayBook 4G

Whatever happened to the PlayBook 4G? Just a year ago, Research in Motion had trumped up the original PlayBook as the business-centric tablet for those who think the iPad is too consumer-oriented. You can sync your BlackBerry securely to read email or connect over Wi-Fi. Yet, even though US carriers were ready to sign on to provide 4G service, the PlayBook never really caught fire.

6. Sharp Galapagos 10.8-inch

We were all set to start praising this high-resolution tablet, which shipped for a while in Japan but was cancelled abruptly for any worldwide deployments. For one thing, the extra screen size over 10.1 tabs meant a pixel resolution of 1366 x 800.

Even though the Galapagos was yet another Android tablet, Sharp claimed a few extra features beyond the norm, including a social networking app where you can share notes with other Galapagos owners and cloud storage.

7. Palm Foleo

In 2007, it might have seemed like good idea to have a hybrid laptop device that was bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop (although our own Dan Grabham didn't agree). The netbook was still just a figment of a marketing executive's imagination (the first netbooks did not come out until later that year).

Surprisingly, the Foleo did have some interesting features: a Linux OS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, widgets for viewing weather and news, and document viewers for Microsoft Office. Unfortunately, the size was not that different from a netbook, and Palm presumably started getting nervous about the proprietary Linux OS.

8. HP Slate

Somehow, the HP Slate never saw the light of day. Back when Steve Ballmer first showed off this Windows tablet to the world at CES 2010, it was praised as the first real contender to the iPad. And why not? The 8.9-inch screen size, Intel Atom processor, and capacitive touch screen could have worked in a business setting where everyone is using Windows anyway.

The problem: Windows 7 is just not designed for finger input, no matter what Microsoft tells you. And, HP probably already had some alternative ideas for using a competing OS anyway – they eventually made the TouchPad.

]]>

In Depth: 10 tech trends to watch for in 2012

10 tech trends to watch for in 2012

Predicting the future is a tricky business. Some of our picks for 2011 didn't turn up - Augmented Reality remains a potentially great thing rather than a popular, useful thing - and others were damp squibs, such as Google's supposedly world-conquering Chrome OS.

2012 will be different, though: tech giants are finishing off some huge projects, and some of 2011's best things will get even better in the next twelve months. These are our picks for the top tech trends of 2012.

1. Windows 8 revolution

This is the biggie, and not just because of Microsoft's enormous user base: Windows 8 is a dramatically different version of the world's most popular OS, with particular emphasis on tablets.

The PC industry's in the doldrums just now and if Microsoft gets Windows 8 right, it could kick-start the entire sector; however, if it gets it wrong then the only company likely to be smiling is Apple. We'll know much more in February, which is when the public beta is expected to arrive.

2. Really good tablets

If 2011 was when the tablet market learned to walk, 2012 is when it'll learn to run. With Android there's Ice Cream Sandwich, delivering a vastly improved user experience across a dizzying range of devices; on the Windows front that proper, tablet-focused Windows we talked about above; and on the Apple side of things we've got the iPad 3 and its rumoured retina display.

3. Big names in big trouble

Some of tech's biggest firms face a rocky ride in the coming year: the Financial Times reports that the EU "plans to slam Google with a 400-plus page" statement of anti-trust objections before possibly embarking on legal action, while in the US the Federal Trade Commission has ordered Facebook to behave itself or face action. The EU's sniffing around Facebook too, with German regulators being a particular thorn in the social network's side.

Tech firms aren't just facing regulatory issues, though: sometimes they're happy to shoot their own feet. RIM's tablet adventures have been disastrous and the firm is in a mess, with its share price at a record low and staff having to scale mountains of unsold PlayBooks to get to work. We're exaggerating, but only just, and RIM isn't the only firm to make disappointing tablets: Dell's canned the Streak while HP had to slash prices to shift its TouchPads. Expect more unsuccessful tablets in 2012.

4. TV continues to change

The lines between TV and PC will continue to blur in 2012. Apple is working on an Apple TV that will apparently boast Siri voice control and close integration with iCloud and iOS devices, while TV giants such as Sony and Samsung will offer more connected televisions []. Away from the sofa Google's just redesigned YouTube to make it more like a traditional broadcaster, and firms such as Sky are expanding their programming to deliver video on demand on a range of devices.

5. Voice input

We're loath to call this voice recognition, because it's bigger than that: natural language systems such as Apple's Siri are closer to virtual assistants or intelligent software agents than traditional computer voice recognition, not least because you're taking advantage of enormously powerful servers rather than the processing power of your device. Siri's currently in the iPhone 4S, but it's coming to other devices including TVs. Expect Siri's power to increase as Apple adds new functions and app integration, and expect imitators on other platforms.

6. More and more Ultrabooks

We like ultrabooks, the super-thin and super-portable Apple-inspired notebooks from the likes of Acer, Asus and Toshiba. We're not so keen on their prices, though, so it's good to see DigiTimes predicting that prices will fall by as much as 10% in early 2012, bringing Ultrabooks into the sub-$1000 price bracket. We're expecting to see as many as fifty new Ultrabooks at January's CES extravaganza, not to mention new, slimline MacBook Pros from Apple later in the year.

7. The end of boxed software

We predicted this one last year, but Windows 8 didn't arrive as early as we'd hoped: Windows 8 brings the app store model to the majority of the world's desktops, and between it and Apple's Mac App Store (not to mention the mobile app stores on iOS, Android and on Android forks such as Amazon's Kindle Fire) we're looking at the end of shrink-wrapped software boxes.

8. Everything in the cloud

The rise of mobile devices means that we expect to get our stuff on any device, anywhere we happen to be - and more often than not, that means storing our stuff in the cloud. Windows 8 makes much more use of Windows Live and services such as SkyDrive, while Apple's iCloud storage will be supported by more and more desktop and mobile apps. Content, too, will be increasingly cloud-based: music services such as Spotify, Google Music and iTunes Match offer cloud-based music delivery, while services such as Netflix UK and OnLive will deliver streaming movies and games respectively.

9. Mobile payments

There's more to mobile payments than near field communications (NFC) chips, although that's where most of the hype is currently focused. Ebay tells us that 10% of its UK payments are now made via mobile phones, while a recent survey by KPMG found that some 24% of people worldwide are making phone-based payments. Factor in the arrival of NFC chips in mobiles and NFC readers in more high street shops and it's clear that mobile money is going to be a big deal in 2012.

10. Censorship

While ISPs won't - and can't, under EU law - be forced to monitor everybody's online activities, demands for per-site censorship will soundtrack 2012. The BPI is already asking ISPs to block The Pirate Bay, while in the US the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act could result in entire sites being blocked by ISPs, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks as a result of a few users' bad behaviour.

Such US legislation could have global effects, because most of the world's websites are registered in the US: while SOPA is opposed by the tech industry's biggest names, it's widely expected to become law in time for the New Year.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

]]>

In Depth: 8 brilliant gadgets that totally failed to launch

8 brilliant gadgets that totally failed to launch

What would an alternate universe look like where Microsoft dominated with a slick newspaper-ready tablet, HP had won the smartphone wars, and we were all carrying around a Palm Foleo?

Well, it'd certainly be one that is not quite so Apple-centric. And what's more, it could have happened.

These gadgets and gizmos almost made it into the limelight, but never made it into stores.

They at least offered something new or unusual, but while some never made it past the concept stage, others were announced but never actually made it onto the street.

1. Microsoft Courier

This rather famous failure comes directly from Redmond. Billed as a digital journal, and seen mostly through conceptual mock-ups, the Courier had the makings of a stellar tablet: the Nvidia Tegra processor, lightweight (less than a kilogram), and running Windows CE 6.

The main problem with the device was that, back in March of 2010, rumours started flying about Android touch tablets. The Courier was a style-based device similar to previous Tablet PCs. Still, at 5x7-inches and rumors of some big name content providers, the Courier could have been a contender but Gates killed it. And, if the Kindle Fire has proved anything, it's that a palm-sized tablet can attract attention by emphasising content over features.

[Image credit: Gizmodo]

2. Nokia 600

Considered by many to be the last great effort to keep Symbian alive, the Nokia 600 looked to be a worthy touchscreen phone with a bright, 3.2-inch screen. Many of the specs match up well with Android models: a 5MP camera, support for 32GB flash cards, and a 1GHz processor.

Yet, the phone died quickly right around the time that Nokia started talking to Microsoft about using the Windows Phone 7 OS. Now, the big push for CES: Nokia is reinventing their smartphones sans Symbian.

3. Plastic Logic Que

One of several dozen ebook readers that were supposed to change the world, the Plastic Logic Que was a leading candidate. First seen at CES 2010, the device had a crisp 8.5 x 11 screen and a thin design, but the killer feature was that this e-reader was also a good document manager.

The Que was supposed to let you open Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, and magazines. Another unusual feature: you could sync with your desktop Outlook email. That seems quaint in the age of cloud email, but the Que did look impressive. Unfortunately, it was also overpriced compared to the iPad.

4. Panasonic Jungle

One lesson when it comes to new gadgets: make sure you inspect the photos and early concept videos. It's important to look for an actual interface, not just a full-screen videogame screenshot that someone Photoshopped into place.

The Panasonic Jungle had a full QWERTY keyboard, which could have been a boon for the MMO crowd (e.g., those addicted to Warcraft-like role-players). Alas, the Jungle was yet another incident of roadkill created by the more versatile Apple iPad 2.

5. BlackBerry PlayBook 4G

Whatever happened to the PlayBook 4G? Just a year ago, Research in Motion had trumped up the original PlayBook as the business-centric tablet for those who think the iPad is too consumer-oriented. You can sync your BlackBerry securely to read email or connect over Wi-Fi. Yet, even though US carriers were ready to sign on to provide 4G service, the PlayBook never really caught fire.

6. Sharp Galapagos 10.8-inch

We were all set to start praising this high-resolution tablet, which shipped for a while in Japan but was cancelled abruptly for any worldwide deployments. For one thing, the extra screen size over 10.1 tabs meant a pixel resolution of 1366 x 800.

Even though the Galapagos was yet another Android tablet, Sharp claimed a few extra features beyond the norm, including a social networking app where you can share notes with other Galapagos owners and cloud storage.

7. Palm Foleo

In 2007, it might have seemed like good idea to have a hybrid laptop device that was bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop (although our own Dan Grabham didn't agree). The netbook was still just a figment of a marketing executive's imagination (the first netbooks did not come out until later that year).

Surprisingly, the Foleo did have some interesting features: a Linux OS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, widgets for viewing weather and news, and document viewers for Microsoft Office. Unfortunately, the size was not that different from a netbook, and Palm presumably started getting nervous about the proprietary Linux OS.

8. HP Slate

Somehow, the HP Slate never saw the light of day. Back when Steve Ballmer first showed off this Windows tablet to the world at CES 2010, it was praised as the first real contender to the iPad. And why not? The 8.9-inch screen size, Intel Atom processor, and capacitive touch screen could have worked in a business setting where everyone is using Windows anyway.

The problem: Windows 7 is just not designed for finger input, no matter what Microsoft tells you. And, HP probably already had some alternative ideas for using a competing OS anyway – they eventually made the TouchPad.

]]>

In Depth: Best apps for your new tablet or smartphone

Just got an Android or Apple phone or tablet for Christmas? Lucky you!

Both platforms have a wealth of apps, free and paid-for, that you can download and enjoy on your new device.

But with so many apps available, how do you know which ones to get? That's where we come in.

TechRadar is well known for its definitive lists of the best apps for Android and iOS, which we keep regularly updated.

So whether you're looking for the best games, apps to help you take control of your social networks, or apps to help you be more productive at work, we've got you covered.

Below are links to our most popular app roundups…

Best Android apps

50 best free Android apps

40 best free Android games

10 best paid-for Android apps

10 best paid-for Android games

30 best free Android 3.0 apps

10 best free Android apps for kids

10 best office apps for Android

Best iPad apps

50 best free iPad apps

40 best paid-for iPad apps

40 best free iPad games

30 best paid-for iPad games

Best iPhone apps

50 best free iPhone apps

40 best free iPhone games

20 best paid-for iPhone apps

40 best paid-for iPhone games

Best iPhone sat nav apps

10 best iPad and iPhone apps for mobile working

Best Windows Phone apps

20 best free Windows Phone 7.5 Mango apps

Best Windows tablet apps

10 best Windows 7 tablet apps

]]>

In Depth: Microsoft in 2012: what to expect

Microsoft in 2012: what to expect

Microsoft has had plenty of successes in 2011, from record-breaking sales for Kinect and Xbox to the positive reaction to Nokia's Windows Phone.

Windows 7 and Office are still selling well, Bing has managed some moderate increases in market share, especially in the US, and the departures of big names like Ray Ozzie and Robbie Bach haven't caused any ripples.

For the second year in a row, everyone is taking Microsoft seriously.

But when you do well, you have to do even better next time and 2012 could be a challenging year. Microsoft has to ship - and sell - Windows 8 (especially on tablets), Windows Phone has to compete with whatever Apple and Google can come up with next, IE10 has to keep up with Chrome and whatever ridiculous number Firefox gets up to and Microsoft still needs to impress users with its cloud services.

Xbox is still going strong and Kinect could revitalise the market for PCs that aren't all about being as thin and light as a MacBook Air but can Microsoft pull it all together?

Windows Phone 8

There are plenty of Windows Phone 7.5 launches still to come next year, especially for the US market, building on Nokia's momentum with the Lumia 800 – and bringing Skype to the phone. Back at the MIX conference in April corporate vice president Joe Belfiore said Skype would be on the platform "this fall" along with the Mango update.

Unless it squeezes out before Christmas like Lync for Windows Phone, SkyDrive for Windows Phone and iOS, and OneNote for iPad, we're expecting to see Skype for Windows Phone at CES 2012.

SKYPE EVENTUALLY:Promised for Windows Phone this autumn, maybe we'll see it at CES

The bigger news is the two new versions of Windows Phone expected next year; the Tango update that brings Windows Phone to cheaper handsets for developing countries (and anyone who won't switch away from their feature phone until smartphones are just as cheap) and the more interesting Apollo, which will have improvements in the grahics APIs, in Bluetooth and is when we'll probably see NFC.

Apollo, or Windows Phone 8, is what Microsoft mysteriously calls 'common core'; we think that means key programming frameworks from Windows 8 coming to the phone rather than the Windows 8 kernel and we certainly don't think it means throwing away all the Windows Phone 7 apps.

We should get more details on both at Mobile World Congress in February and we expect to see Tango in the spring and Apollo, with IE10 included, by next November.

Windows 8 – and IE 10

The beta of Windows 8 is due a little later than we'd expected; we expect Microsoft to tell us more about what's getting updated during CES but the beta (which will have new features in) will be available in late February, along with the beta of the Windows 8 Store.

That still leaves time for a release candidate and the final release for the autumn; Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs has suggested the launch will be soon after September (so we might see the second service pack for Windows 7 first).

That's when we'll see the final version of IE 10 as well for Windows 7 as well as Windows 8 (and yes, it will have spell checking on Windows 7); "We will release an IE 10 Beta and Release Candidate on Windows 7 prior to IE10's general availability," the IE team said on the official blog. That's a lot longer than the 12 months it took to create and release IE 9.

WINDOWS 8 BETA: Don't worry, the beta won't be this green

The autumn is also late for Windows tablets; by then they'll be competing with iPad 3 and BlackBerry 10 tabs and it's possible Google will have Android Jelly Bean out by the end of next year too. Microsoft obviouslydoesn'tthink it's too late to bring out a tablet but there's certainly a sense of urgency.

Windows Phone president Andy Lees has just taken a sideways step to handle what Steve Ballmer calls "a time-critical opportunity focused on driving maximum impact in 2012 with Windows Phone and Windows 8". We think that means making sure Windows 8 ARM tablets come out on time, work well and don't cause confusion for Windows Phone handsets – especially with Apollo's Windows 8 connection.

Microsoft isn't thinking about Windows 8 as an update that makes the way you use a PC today a little better; this is the operating system the Windows team hope you'll be using for a decade, the way you did Windows XP. Tablets matter but we're expecting to see Microsoft push some exciting new PC ideas too.

Kinect comes to PC

The rumours about the next Xbox are wilder than ever, including a faster connector for a new Kinect that could be sensitive enough to detect the expression on your face – or read your lips.

What we do know is that the PC version of Kinect (launching in "early 2012") is optimised for recognising things that are closer to the screen – like your hands rather than your whole body. That means you can gesture at the screen with your fingers.

So while the idea of TVs from Vizio and Sony with Kinect built in as a remote control is attractive, it's much more plausible that those rumours are actually about monitors for your PC that have Kinect in. The TV market is all about low prices and we don't see TV makers lining up to add a pricey sensor. But a Kinect screen could be the same price as a touch screen monitor – and the perfect match for Windows 8.

Think about it; waving at the Metro Start screen deals with all those complaints about fingerprints and gives you a natural interface that is perfectly suited to a screen you want further away than a tablet or laptop.

It also builds in a microphone for voice control – something Windows already has but hardly anyone uses; expect a Windows version of TellMe to compete with the rumoured Siri-controlled Apple TV.

But when you add Kinect to a screen, you get more than gestures; you get a PC that knows when you're sitting in front of it and which way you're looking. That could lock the screen when you walk away; it can also make video calls look more realistic by adjusting the image to the right perspective.

Steven Bathiche who runs the Applied Sciences group at Microsoft wants to use a Kinect-enabled screen with a Wedge lens (made by a company Microsoft has recently bought) to give you 3D images without glasses, by detecting where your eyes are and steering the beam of light towards them. That could be a 3D TV – or a 3D Xbox screen…

Silverlight 6

Even if we never see Silverlight 6, rumours of Silverlight's demise are almost certainly exaggerated. The newly announced support policy for Silverlightpromises updates for the browsers Silverlight 5 works with today (including Safari, Firefox and Chrome) and hints at support "as browsers evolve".

More importantly, the technology behind Silverlight will continue to be key for building Windows Phone apps, Silverlight is making its way to Xbox - and it's a key part of Windows 8 as one of the ways to build Metro-style apps using WinRT (which is an almost exact superset of current Silverlight features).

Using the XAML markup language, developing in C# and VB.NET on a subset of the .NET runtime, running in a secure sandbox and distributing apps using HTTP rather than an installer; the key principles of Silverlight will all still be there, whatever the technology is called.

The question is really whether there will be another browser plugin called Silverlight. In the long term, Microsoft is moving away from plugins; Andy Lees hinted at this last year when he explained to TechRadar that one reason the Windows Phone browser doesn't have Flash or Silverlight plugins is that "browsers are going to a different extensibility model" and it's even clearer in the plugin-free Metro version of IE10.

As HTML gets more capable, there will be fewer things you need a plugin for - but as long as those things include playing DRM video served by major broadcasters using Microsoft's streaming media server technology, Microsoft will be doing the engineering work to make that happen and delivering a plugin to build on that makes sense.

Office, Live and SkyDrive

A new version of Windows means a new version of Officeand while there are rumours that the beta of Office 2012 will be ready at the end of January it's more likely that we'll see it around the same time as the Windows 8 beta.

The leaked build from Microsoft Russia we saw in August had a cleaner look that matches the Metro-influenced look of desktop apps like the Windows 8 Task Manager, but there will also be Metro versions of key Office apps. The Moorea app for creating HTML pages on a tiled grid that's in the leaked build might be a hint at the type of Metro interface we'll see.

Certainly the Office Metro apps will have to stand out from the Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging Windows Live Metro appsthat were previewed at the Build conference (they'd be the ideal apps to try out from the beta of the Windows Store and we expect to see them with the Windows 8 beta).

SKYDRIVE: It'll be everywhere - out for Windows Phone and iPhone first

Live is going to get more social network features, although it's more about being what the Microsoft job adverts call a "one-stop-shop for users to connect with friends and all their social network" than competing with Google+ and Facebook; this may be where odd social network projects from the research lab in Boston (like Spindex and socl.com) fit in.

And SkyDrive ("your cloud store for anywhere access to your data") is coming to Xbox according to this job advertwhich talks about IEB as well as Windows and Phone.

METRO OFFICE: Could Moorea be the new Office look?

Microsoft is betting on Windows 8 – Steve Ballmer famously called it the company's biggest bet – but it's backing that bet up with cloud services that will be available on more and more platforms. It's going to be another busy year.

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In Depth: Best apps for your new tablet or smartphone

Just got an Android or Apple phone or tablet for Christmas? Lucky you!

Both platforms have a wealth of apps, free and paid-for, that you can download and enjoy on your new device.

But with so many apps available, how do you know which ones to get? That's where we come in.

TechRadar is well known for its definitive lists of the best apps for Android and iOS, which we keep regularly updated.

So whether you're looking for the best games, apps to help you take control of your social networks, or apps to help you be more productive at work, we've got you covered.

Below are links to our most popular app roundups…

Best Android apps

50 best free Android apps

40 best free Android games

10 best paid-for Android apps

10 best paid-for Android games

30 best free Android 3.0 apps

10 best free Android apps for kids

10 best office apps for Android

Best iPad apps

50 best free iPad apps

40 best paid-for iPad apps

40 best free iPad games

30 best paid-for iPad games

Best iPhone apps

50 best free iPhone apps

40 best free iPhone games

20 best paid-for iPhone apps

40 best paid-for iPhone games

Best iPhone sat nav apps

10 best iPad and iPhone apps for mobile working

Best Windows Phone apps

20 best free Windows Phone 7.5 Mango apps

Best Windows tablet apps

10 best Windows 7 tablet apps