Tech Tidbits: Lightsquared Update, iPads vs. Laptops

There were a number of interesting technology tidbits that crossed my desk this week, so rather than hitting on just one I decided to cover a few of them. Here they are, in no particular order:

LightSquared Update:

On the political side, Sen. Charles Grassley is continuing to reconstruct the events surrounding the granting of a conditional waiver by FCC to LightSquared to begin building out and testing its system. By most accounts, the waiver was granted in record time, a fact that has put the LightSquared effort in a negative light and drawn cries of foul play from GPS manufacturers. Sen. Grassley is acquiring information about correspondence and communication that both GPS manufacturers and LightSqared had with the FCC and the federal government leading up to the granting of the waiver. LightSquared has provided the information, and GPS manufacturers Trimble, Deere, and Garmin have agreed to provide it as well. The story on Bloomberg provides more detail.

On the legislative end, the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 does not allow LightSquared to interfere with the military's use of GPS, and mandates some congressional oversight before the LightSquared system would be allowed to proceed forward. Here's the full story from eWeek. 

While the obstacles for LightSquared seem close to insurmountable, we need to stay vigilant and continue to work to ensure GPS is preserved.

Laptops and iPads

I got an email from a company called Poll Position that did a survey asking the question, will tablet computers eventually supplant laptop computers as the portable computing appliance of choice?

Overall, 46% of respondents said that they believe tablets will indeed rule the portable world. But it reported one oddity in its findings. the release read as follows:

"Oddly, younger Americans in the 18-29 age group do not think tablets will replace personal computers. Forty-nine percent said tablets will not replace the personal computer, 37% said the tablets will take the place of laptops and 15% did not offer an opinion."

I've come out on this space as marveling at the speed at which tablets are being adopted in professional arenas, so I'm not terribly surprised that the overall number who believe laptops are on the outs is high. But I'm also not that surprised that younger people are not so quick on the uptake. The iPhone and Android smartphones are so powerful and versatile, in addition to being highly portable and inobtrusive, that as a mobile accessory the tablet doesn't really offer them much beyond taking up more room in the backpack. When you need a computer the task will be generally more substantial and  generally more keyboard intensive -- clear points of weakness for the tablet.

I quipped to one of folks here that perhaps "tablets are for old people." More likely it's that tablets provide access to information and programs that established professionals need, like email, scheduling, etc. I do think tablets will continue to increase in adoption, and perhaps improved voice recognition will diminish the need for a keyboard. But for now, I still like my laptop-smartphone combo.

One other technology note that interested me from a release I received from consumer market research firm The NPD Group (www.npd.com):

U.S. sales of consumer electronics fell 5.9 percent this past holiday season, as smartphones cannibalize sales of standalone gadgets like cameras, camcorders and GPS navigation devices.

The NPD Group reported Sunday that electronics sales, including TVs and PCs, totaled $9.5 billion in the five weeks ending Dec. 24.

Camcorder sales plunged 43 percent, and sales of digital picture frames fell 38 percent. GPS units slumped 33 percent. PC and TV sales slipped just 4 percent, bolstered by sales of TVs bigger than 50 inches.

Cellphone sales are not included in the report.

The figures were released as the consumer electronics industry gathered in Las Vegas for its annual trade show, the largest in the Americas and one of the largest in the world, and jibe with some retail numbers released last week.

Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer, said Friday that December sales lagged because of weak traffic. Sales at stores open a year fell 1.2 percent for the month. However, sales were strong for smartphones, tablet computers and e-readers.

The growing functionality of smartphones could almost render low to medium end camcorder, camera, and audio player manufacturers to look elsewhere for future sales. The fast changing world of technology makes millionaires and has-beens in record time ...

See You In North Dakota?

Every winter I try to get out to something different when it comes to precision conferences, and this year is no exception. I am headed to North Dakota next week to check out the first Precision Agriculture Summit in Jamestown, ND. I am hoping to see some of you there ... they have some excellent speakers and the networking I am sure will be outstanding. You can find the information about the conference here.

Have a great weekend!