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In Depth: Tablets in 2011: what to expect

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Gadgets/Apple%20iPad/More%20pics/1004ipad_hometimes-200-200.jpg"> Twelve months ago the tablet PC market was pretty much nonexistent. With the exception of media tablet devices from the likes of Archos, the tablet PC had quietly crawled into a corner and died several years earlier. However, all that changed when Apple announced the <a href="">iPad</A> and now tablets are the hottest consumer electronics devices out there. The key differentiator between the iPad and previous attempts at tablet PCs was that Apple didn't try to shoehorn a full-blown computer operating system onto the device. In essence, the iPad was a really big iPod touch, and as simplistic as that sounds, it didn't stop it flying off the shelves. People who had never even heard of tablet PCs suddenly had to have one. Now every consumer electronics manufacturer out there is either launching or developing a tablet device to compete with the iPad. So what will 2011 have in store for this new breed of tablet loving consumers? Apple iPad 2 There's no point ignoring the elephant in the room, so we'll kick off with the inevitable iPad 2. Will the iPad 2 be Apple's difficult second album, or will it just be a refinement of the market leading product? Our money's on the latter. When the iPhone 3G launched, it addressed the majority of the iPhone's shortcomings. This time around there's not a whole lot that needs fixing, but we can expect Apple to make enough improvements to convince any fence-sitting consumer to take the plunge. <img alt="iPad 2" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Gadgets/Apple%20iPad/More%20pics/gallery-software-ipod-20100225-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> It's a safe bet that the iPad 2 will sport front and rear facing cameras. Apple has made a big fuss over its FaceTime video calling feature in the iPhone 4, so it's hardly a stretch to assume that the iPad 2 will come suitably FaceTime equipped. Also, the lack of any type of camera in the original iPad saw much criticism. Bumps in processor speed and memory are also likely. With iOS 4.2 allowing multitasking on the iPad, a bit of extra grunt and memory won't go amiss. An increase in screen resolution (surely on the upgrade list) would also make an increase in CPU speed prudent. But the biggest question mark hangs over form factor. Will the iPad 2 be available in different sizes? With many competing tablet devices adopting a 7-inch screen, will Apple offer a smaller version of the iPad? The current iPad can feel a bit large and heavy when reading an e-book or watching a movie, but Apple has oft stated that the large screen is part of the iPad experience. For a full rundown, check out our <a href="">iPad 2 rumours</A> feature. RIM BlackBerry PlayBook The BlackBerry PlayBook has received a lot of attention over the past couple of months, and that's not surprising. Not only is it the first tablet device to spring forth from the BlackBerry stables, but it also sports the most advanced hardware specs yet seen. With a 1GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and a pair of cameras (front and rear facing), the PlayBook certainly ticks all the right boxes. Like the recently launched <a href="">Samsung Galaxy Tab</A>, the Playbook will be a seven-inch device, making it smaller and lighter than the iPad, which is a good thing, assuming you don't value a large screen above all. <img alt="BlackBerry playbook" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/classifications/computing/mobile-computing/Tablets%20and%20touchscreens/BlackBerry_PlayBook/official%20tablet%20angle-crop-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Of course hardware is only part of the equation, and BlackBerry's Tablet OS will have to prove itself against the established Apple and Google operating systems. The BlackBerry App World is also nowhere near as mature as Apple's App Store or even Android's Market. With the PlayBook pencilled in for an early 2011 launch in the US, it won't have much of a run before the iPad 2 rears its head. And with RIM planning a European launch in mid 2011, it could actually appear after Apple's refreshed tablet. For more, check out our <a href="">in-depth technology breakdown of the BlackBerry PlayBook</A>. Android 3.0 Honeycomb Although we've seen a glut of Android-based tablet devices appear in recent months, Froyo, or Android 2.2, isn't ideally suited to a tablet form factor. Samsung may have done a sterling job in making Froyo behave admirably on the Galaxy Tab, but the fact remains that we're going to have to wait for version 3.0 of Android for a truly slick tablet experience. Up until recently, the general assumption was that <a href="">Gingerbread</A> would be version 3.0 of Android, but that proved not to be the case. Gingerbread has just launched as version 2.3 of Android, so we're going to have to wait a little while for version 3.0, and the enhanced tablet functionality that comes with it. What we do know is that <a href="">Android 3.0</A> will be called Honeycomb, and it will be a very tablet friendly operating system. In fact, even though Gingerbread has just launched, Google's Andy Rubin recently showed off a device running Honeycomb, and that device was a prototype tablet from Motorola (below). <img alt="Motorola tablet" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/world%20of%20tech/images/motorola%20android%20tablet2-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> With Google already willing to show new hardware running Honeycomb, we suspect that the gap between versions 2.3 and 3.0 of Android will be minimal. We could see Honeycomb rolled out in early 2011, perhaps even ahead of the impending iPad 2 launch. If Honeycomb can really enhance the Android tablet experience, it could make life hard for Apple. That said, the iPad has already won the hearts, minds and wallets of so many consumers, so we'll need to see something pretty special come out of the Android stable to steal Apple's thunder. HP webOS joins the party A year ago the only tablet rumour that was really competing with the iPad was the <a href="">HP Slate</A>. The Slate was discussed constantly in the tech press and shown off by HP on numerous occasions. It was no surprise to see HP with a tablet device, since the company had produced tablet PCs years ago when Microsoft was pushing the concept. It was equally unsurprising that the HP Slate was set to run Windows 7 as its operating system. However, after Apple announced the iPad, all went quiet in the HP Slate camp until eventually rumours started to surface that the device had been canned. Then HP bought Palm, and all of Palm's technology, including the webOS operating system, as used by the Palm Pre smartphone. You didn't need a slide rule to figure out that HP saw webOS as a potential solution for its tablet hardware, and the company has confirmed that it will be releasing a webOS driven tablet device in early 2011. How early remains to be seen, but a pre-iPad 2 launch certainly wouldn't hurt. There's little doubt that the <a href="">PalmPad</A> – the rumoured name of the forthcoming device – could be a compelling addition to the tablet market. With HPs exceptional hardware know-how and the undeniably impressive webOS providing an intuitive user interface, the PalmPad looks like a strong proposition for 2011. As with the BlackBerry PlayBook, however, the level of app support will be leagues behind Apple. <img alt="Slate 500" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/hp-slate-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Oh, and the latest rumours are that the Slate is back in the plan, with the <a href="">Slate 500</A> (above) recently confirmed (again). So HP could be bringing both webOS and Windows 7 tablets to market in 2011. And there's more… It's clear that 2011 is going to be a big year for tables, and everything mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg. With the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas only weeks away, we're likely to see a whole host of new tablets announced, previewed or launched. Of course we'll be out at <a href="">CES 2011</A>, pushing our way through the crowds and grabbing every new tablet device that we can get our paws on. So, check back in January to see how the tablet PC market is looking as 2011 kicks off.

In Depth: Tablets in 2011: what to expect

Twelve months ago the tablet PC market was pretty much nonexistent. With the exception of media tablet devices from the likes of Archos, th...

In Depth: Apple in 2011: 10 things to expect

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/world%20of%20tech/images/apple-store-coventgarden22-200-200.jpg"> There's every chance Steve Jobs will at some point pull the tech industry equivalent of a rabbit out of a hat in 2011, unleashing an amazing gadget no-one had thought of but that everyone will want (or, if they're a competitor, want to copy). However, through existing Apple announcements, the company's previous form and some cunning and incisive guesswork, we can be pretty sure we'll see the following ten things from the Cupertino giant over the coming months. 1. Mac App Store The Mac App Store is likely to be the first of Apple's major products to appear in 2011. Announced during Apple's unveiling of <a href="">Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)</A>, but also compatible with 10.6 (Snow Leopard), it will bring a streamlined app-purchase, download and update model to the Mac, much like the one for iOS devices. <img alt="Mac app store" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/operating-systems/images/OSX_Lion/2-app-store-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> APPY DAYS: Apple's Mac App Store will simplify application purchase and installation in 2011 <a href="">There will be restrictions</A>, too, but standard Mac installation will still be permitted; therefore, we expect the Mac App Store to be a great system for kick-starting a thriving ecosystem of smaller apps and games on the Mac, with industry giants - initially, at least - sticking with traditional distribution methods. 2. iPad 2 Apple's tight-lipped about what iPad 2 will or won't include, but it's a safe bet it'll incorporate FaceTime, and Jobs's dismissal of the 7-inch form factor of rival tablets suggests iPad 2 will differ from the original little in that regard. Elsewhere, more RAM and storage are likely, and a USB port and a Retina display have been mooted as <a href="">other new features</A>. Whatever we end up with, expect iPad 2 to land a year after the original's debut, <a href="">in April 2011</A>. 3. iOS magazine rack Rumoured to be <a href="">imminent for months</A>, along with the Rupert Murdoch-backed iPad-only newspaper <a href="">The Daily</A>, iOS 4.3 is said to include functionality that will enable Apple to provide a digital magazine rack, including subscriptions. <img alt="iOS magazine rack" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/mac/images/3-wired-app-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> RACK IT UP: Apps like Wired could be on borrowed time as an 'iBooks for magazines' system comes to iOS This is surely a cert for 2011, complementing iBooks nicely, and enabling publishers to free themselves from relying on apps with in-app purchases or services like Zinio for digital magazine distribution for iOS. 4. iPhone 5 Apple's iPhone release schedule is reassuringly regular, and you can expect the iPhone 5 to appear by early July. Unless Apple's been at the crazy juice, you can guarantee that the antennae will work flawlessly, regardless of how you jam the device into your hands, and you can also expect bumps to speed, storage and performance. In terms of functionality, <a href="">a few rumours have surfaced</A>, and Apple's reportedly been experimenting with Near Field Communication, potentially enabling a device to be <a href="">used for making payments</A>. Elsewhere, it's possible US customers will finally be able to escape AT&T, with the iPhone 5 becoming available on Verizon. 5. Mac OS X 10.7 In October, Apple gave everyone a <a href="">sneak peak of Mac OS X 10.7</A>, also known as Lion. The eighth major version of Mac OS X was part of a 'back to the Mac' event, showcasing how iOS devices are now influencing Apple's desktop and laptop products. Lion includes the iOS homescreen-style Launchpad, full-screen apps, auto-save and auto-resume, auto-hiding scrollbars, and more fully utilises multitouch gestures. <img alt="OS x 10.7" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/operating-systems/images/OSX_Lion/3-home-screens-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> iOS INSPIRED: Mac OS X 10.7 takes inspiration from iOS, in order to enhance usability and utilise multitouch During his presentation, Steve Jobs noted that these features were just a taste of what the finished software (due 'summer' 2011) will contain; other rumoured features include a resolution-independent and/or unified interface and an upgraded QuickTime X. 6. Increased focus on iOS With Lion's release, expect Apple to again switch its attention to iOS, perhaps starting to preview aspects of the next major revision to the mobile operating system. It's also fairly likely that a shift will take place in 2011, with Apple very obviously considering iOS the 'default' operating system for Apple products, with Mac OS X repositioned as something more for professionals and anyone else with demanding requirements. Don't be shocked if you hear nothing at all about Mac OS X 10.8 in 2011, but plenty about iOS 4.x and perhaps even iOS 5. 7. Opening up AirPlay AirPlay is a potentially revolutionary technology for the media obsessed, but it's currently hugely constrained. At present, you can live-stream video and audio <a href="">from an iOS device to an Apple TV</A>, but only from a very limited number of Apple's own apps. Developers have shown this limitation has been imposed by Apple itself, <a href="">for reasons unknown</A>; happily, when responding to a MacRumors reader's query regarding AirPlay video working in Safari and third-party apps, Steve Jobs reportedly said: "Yep, hope to add these features to Airplay in 2011". 8. Improvements to MobileMe MobileMe hasn't exactly set the world on fire. Many users cite that it's unstable and unreliable, often bettered by free solutions available from Apple's competitors. In iOS 4.2, Apple surprisingly freed <a href="">Find My iPhone</A> from the paid MobileMe (at least for owners of 2010 iOS devices- cynically, anyone with an older device was blocked from creating the required free account), and in response to another MacRumors reader's email about MobileMe products, Steve Jobs reportedly replied: "Yes, it will get a lot better in 2011". <img alt="Find my iphone" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/mac/images/8-find-my-iphone-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> IT'S HERE: Find My iPhone is now free for 2010 iOS device owners; MobileMe in general might offer more free tools in 2011 Given that Apple's building a massive data centre, there's hope MobileMe might become an integrated part of its operating systems, becoming the backbone for enabling you access to your content from any Apple device or computer. 9. iTunes streaming It's the rumour <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/rumour-apple-to-launch-cloud-based-itunes-in-june-689332">that never dies</A>, but perhaps 2011 will finally be the year Apple augments its existing iTunes Store music purchase options with some kind of streaming service. This could come in the form of Spotify-like streaming, but that would potentially eat into Apple's iTunes Store sales; therefore, we could see an alternative service, such as enabling you to stream your own collection to a device, using the Lala technology Apple acquired, in combination with the in-progress giant data centre. 10. Doomsayers rebuffed Despite all of these things and, perhaps, the odd surprise or two, doomsayers will continue to predict Apple's imminent death, ignoring the massive profits <a href="">the company's generating</A>, the <a href="">boost in headcount and store outlets</A>, and the innovative products it's producing. <img alt="Apple store covent garden" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/world%20of%20tech/images/apple-store-coventgarden21-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> STAIRY EYED: Apple's Covent Garden store wowed the public. Expect many more new stores to open in 2011 Unless Steve Jobs goes crazy and turns Macs into Windows boxes or has the iPhone 5 made out of puppies, this cycle will continue into 2011 and beyond, with Apple offering modest expectations, analysts providing bizarre predictions that bear little relation to what Apple stated, Apple revealing new and huge piles of cash every quarter, Wall Street going berserk at Apple having not revealed a pile of cash 50 times bigger than the moon, hacks saying Apple is doomed for some spurious reason, and Apple stockholders and board members happily watching Apple shares <a href="">continue their upward trajectory</A>.

In Depth: Apple in 2011: 10 things to expect

There's every chance Steve Jobs will at some point pull the tech industry equivalent of a rabbit out of a hat in 2011, unleashing an am...

In Depth: Mobile phones in 2011: what to expect

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/Mobile%20Phones/Google/Nexus_S4x3-200-200.jpg"> Without a doubt, the mobile phone is the ultimate consumer electronic device. Why? Because it's an electronic device that is consumed like no other. Honestly, can you think of any other gadget that you will willingly change almost every year? Would you buy a new TV, games console or Blu-ray player every twelve months? Yet with mobile phones, we simply must have the latest model, with the latest features, despite the fact that there's probably nothing whatsoever wrong with our current handset. The upshot of our willingness to upgrade at the drop of a hat is that mobile phones seem to develop and evolve at an exponential rate. Whether it be hardware, software or network services, the mobile phone market is constantly pushing new boundaries. So, what can we expect to see in 2011? Android Evolution Android has gained a significant amount of ground during 2010. A combination of improved user interface, increased app support and great hardware has made Android a serious contender against the might of the iPhone. And although the Google Nexus One wasn't the success that many had predicted, the HTC Desire (essentially the same phone) was one of the best handsets of the year, if not the best. With Android 2.3 Gingerbread just announced, and a new Google branded handset ready to hit the streets in time for Christmas, Android is set to start 2011 in a strong position. Although the Google Nexus S will be the first phone to run Gingerbread, we should see it rolling out to other Android handsets in early 2011. So, anyone running an HTC Desire or Samsung Galaxy S will be waiting with baited breath for that OTA firmware upgrade. Gingerbread brings quite a few useful changes, but many feel that these changes should have materialised in version 2.2 Froyo. Changes to the soft keyboard promise a far more accurate typing experience – an area where Android handsets have lagged behind the iPhone. There are also improvements to copy and paste, as well as simplified cursor navigation through text. Gingerbread also brings integrated VoIP calling to Android thanks to native SIP support. While support for Near Field Communication (NFC) means that Android phones will be able to interact with NFC devices, taking us one step closer to your phone being your Oyster card when travelling on London Transport. Of course the NFC support is dependant on NFC hardware, so it's only applicable to new phones. <img alt="Android 2.3" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/Mobile%20Phones/Android/android2point3/home-menu-200-100.jpg" width="200"></IMG> For a full rundown on Gingerbread's feature set, check out our in depth article Android 2.3: what you need to know. But despite the fact that Gingerbread will be barely out the door in the New Year, we can expect Android 3.0 Honeycomb to break cover in early 2011. Although the big news with Honeycomb is its enhanced, native tablet support, we're expecting big things for smartphones too. Nothing has been officially confirmed as far as specs go, but the rumours are that Honeycomb will be limited to high-end handsets that have enough grunt to run the OS. This brings Android into line with iOS, where new versions often leave older iPhones struggling to cope. Of course what we consider to be a high-end handset today, could quickly become a mid-range handset in 2011, so Honeycomb could end up being more accessible than the early rumours suggest. 3G is like so over… We've been making do with 3G technology for some time now, and although data rates have improved thanks to rollouts of ever faster HSDPA standards, it's surely about time for our ever more powerful smartphones to have a 4G network to connect to. The latest standard to lay claim to the 4G crown is LTE Advanced or LTE 4dvanced if you go by its logo (see what they've done there?). LTE Advanced has moved to the front of the pack for a number of reasons, but primarily because the majority of major network operators have come out in support of the LTE standard. With theoretical maximum download and upload speeds of 1gbps and 500mbps respectively, LTE Advanced doesn't so much beat HSDPA, it takes it outside and gives it a good kicking! In fact, even the fastest home broadband services couldn't hold a candle to those figures. As always though, it's worth taking special note of that word "theoretical" and the fact that there are no LTE Advanced networks in existence, yet. In fact despite LTE Advanced being touted at 4G, vanilla LTE (non-Advanced) will be the interim standard, offering more conservative, but still very impressive theoretical download and upload speeds of 100mbps and 50mbps respectively. To put this into perspective, LTE Advanced is scheduled to be release 10 of the LTE standard. The current release, version 8, supports a theoretical 300mbps download speed, which we're pretty certain no smartphone user would be disappointed with. And then there's WiMAX – another standard that has often been described as 4G. WiMAX also offers greatly increased data speeds with the added advantage of a very wide coverage area. Although WiMAX has received significant support from technology giants such as Intel, as well as a relatively extensive network rollout in the US through companies such as ClearWire, the fact that the major mobile phone operators have chosen LTE has made life difficult for WiMAX. Of course the other half of the equation is handset hardware, and with rumours spreading of upcoming handsets supporting LTE, the battle for 4G may well be over very soon. Apple iPhone 5 Despite the fact that we chose not to lead with the obvious in this article, there's no getting away from the fact that the <a href="">iPhone 5</A> will be one of major mobile phone events of 2011, just as every other iPhone has been since the first generation unit launched. The iPhone 4 represented a pretty major change over the iPhone 3GS, so most rumours are predicting that the iPhone 5 will be more of an evolution than a revolution. The most obvious issue to address will be the signal strength problem with the iPhone 4, so there's likely to be either a change in case design, or the way the internal components are positioned. The ever present rumour of a smaller iPhone is still doing the rounds, but with the introduction of the high resolution Retina Display screen in the iPhone 4, it would be costly to recreate the pixel density in a smaller screen. More interesting are the suggestions that the iPhone 5 will sport both NFC technology and support for LTE. The latter would make the iPhone 5 one of the first 4G phones on the block, although finding an LTE network to hook it up to might be a challenge. For all the latest iPhone 5 rumours, check out our in depth article <a href="">iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know</A>. Windows Phone Now that <a href="">Windows Phone 7</A> has proved that Microsoft can make a mobile phone operating system that's actually user friendly, we can expect to see lots of movement in the Windows Phone space in 2011. <img alt="HD7" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Mobile%20phones/HTC/HTC%20HD7/PR%20shots/HTC_HD7_2-260-100.jpg" width="260"></IMG> Inevitably there will be more handsets released, that will build on the strong launch units. Add to that the plethora of firmware updates that Microsoft is no doubt already working on, to keep improving Windows Phone 7 both in terms of features and usability. Make no mistake, Microsoft knows that it's playing catch up in the mobile marketplace, but history has taught us never to write off the big M. WebOS phones It's also worth keeping an eye on HP. The company has already confirmed that it will be launching a webOS powered tablet device in early 2011, dubbed the PalmPad, but it's fairly safe to assume that we'll be seeing some new webOS phones as well. HP had previously used Windows Mobile to drive its smartphones, but after paying over a billion Dollars to buy Palm, we're going to go out on a limb and assume that the majority of HP mobile devices will be sporting webOS from now on. Even though the Palm Pre 2 was a little anticlimactic, we still think that HP could pull a pretty compelling smartphone out of the hat in 2011. A Nokia comeback? And what of Nokia? The once dominant player in the mobile phone market has struggled to keep up with the competition. The main difficulty for Nokia has been its insistence on using Symbian to drive its hardware, while the likes of Android and iOS stole the ball. Hell, even Windows Mobile has leapfrogged Symbian on pretty much every relevant level. However, despite being slightly hamstrung by its OS, Nokia has still managed to produce some pretty good handsets recently. The range topping N8 is a surprisingly good bit of kit, and the latest Symbian^3 OS is a huge improvement over previous versions. <img alt="N8" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Mobile%20phones/Nokia/N8/PR%20shots/Nokia_N8_06_lowres-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> However, Symbian^3 is quirky at best, and still way behind the competition when it comes to intuitive ease of use. But as with Microsoft, we're wary of ever writing Nokia off, so we're expecting some updates to Symbian^3 in 2011, coupled with new hardware to exploit the OS to its full potential. Whether Nokia will come up with a true competitor to the iPhone or a high-end Android handset remains to be seen, but deep down, we kind of hope it does. With the Consumer Electronics Show in January and Mobile World Congress in February, we're expecting some big announcements in the next couple of months. We'll be attending both shows, and covering all the big launches in the mobile arena.

In Depth: Mobile phones in 2011: what to expect

Without a doubt, the mobile phone is the ultimate consumer electronic device. Why? Because it's an electronic device that is consumed l...

In Depth: Microsoft in 2011: what to expect

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//images/microsoft_logo-200-200.jpg"> </div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0735625727&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>2010 has been a landmark year for Microsoft with success after success. 
Windows 7: now the fastest-selling operating system ever. Kinect; 2.5 million sold in 25 days. IE9; catching up to Chrome and Firefox on speed and standards support. 
The Office Web Apps from Office 2010 are built into the new Facebook messaging system. Even Windows Phone 7 has turned out well and Bing has been gaining users (in October it had nearly as many visitors as Wikipedia, according to Compete, putting it just outside the top five websites – in the US, at least). 
But what happens next year, with Ray Ozzie gone, Chrome OS hitting the market and tablets galore: a rumoured spring release for the iPad 2, the BlackBerry PlayBook by the second half of the year, HP promising webOS tablets and everyone else building on Android with netbook-friendly Gingerbread.

In Depth: Microsoft in 2011: what to expect

2010 has been a landmark year for Microsoft with success after success. Windows 7: now the fastest-selling operating system ever. Kinect; ...

Sky: Don't expect as many 3D channels as HD

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/tv/images/Sky_3D/Sky3d_football-200-200.jpg"> Sky's 3D guru Brian Lenz has suggested that we won't be seeing the kind of proliferation of 3D channels as the UK has seen for HD. Sky now has 50 HD channels on its satellite platform, with the majority of new shows from the US and major UK broadcasters available in high definition. But Lenz – Sky's director of product development – does not believe that there will be as many 3D channels arriving. <img alt="Sky 3d " src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/tv/images/Sky_3D/skY_Denise_Van_O-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Scale and impact "If 3D is done right then it will have some of the scale and impact of HD," Lenz told What Satellite. "But I don't think we will see the same need for new channels as with HD, where it has become the standard. "[That's] because it will be delivered in different ways, around different types of content." Currently the only dedicated 3D channel is Sky 3D, which is available for free for anyone on Sky's top level package who is lucky enough to have the 3D television and glasses. Major movies and key sporting events are shown on the channel, along with arts content, providing the market with much-needed 3D content.

Sky: Don't expect as many 3D channels as HD

Sky's 3D guru Brian Lenz has suggested that we won't be seeing the kind of proliferation of 3D channels as the UK has seen for HD. S...