Features

• Opinion: Should Facebook make a smartphone?

  By Tony Bradley | 28 May, 2012 18:58

  Rumors have resurfaced that Facebook is working on a project to develop its own smartphone. There are clues and leaks suggesting that Facebook is exploring its mobile options with a possible device launch in 2013.

• WWDC 2012 forecast: Cloudy with a chance of new MacBooks

  By Ian Paul | 16 May, 2012 04:16

  Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is less than one month away, and speculation is high about whether Apple will announce new iCloud features, refreshed MacBook Pros, overhauled versions of iOS and OS X and maybe even a new smartphone during the conference.

• Top 15 Cloud storage tips and tasks

  By Ian Paul | 07 May, 2012 11:31

  No single cloud service can do everything. Some shine when it comes to streaming a cloud music collection from the Web, but stink at syncing desktop folders. Other cloud services are great for sharing photos, but useless for reviewing a document's revision history.

• Opinion: Windows RT may be Microsoft's answer to Apple and Google in the BYOD game

  By Rob Enderle | 04 May, 2012 23:42

  There is an interesting post from the Microsoft Windows team on the Windows On ARM (WOA) version of Windows 8 that was recently renamed Windows RT-which reminded me why I'll never do Microsoft naming again. Windows RT is targeted directly at the iPad users who are bringing that product into the enterprise today on a wave of trend we are alternatively calling consumerization of IT or Bring Your Own Device ( BYOD) because we evidently can't come to a consensus on just one term.

• Why your business still needs newsletters

  By Angela West | 04 May, 2012 22:02

  Marketing gurus pushed email newsletters hard back in the days before social networking. If you believe everything you read online these days, you'd think that Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other Web 2.0 services have left such vehicles in the virtual dust. Not so. Nor has the scourge of spam destroyed newsletters' effectiveness. Email marketing still achieves huge results--and pairing an effective email newsletter with a social media campaign can snag many more customers for your business than relying on social media alone.

• Location-based services: Are they there yet?

  By Brian Proffitt | 03 May, 2012 23:28

  Mobile users are more connected to the Internet than ever. As of December 2011, ComScore estimated that there are 97.9 million smartphone users in the US - nearly a third of the total population.

• 10 fantastic websites you need now

  By Christina DesMarais | 30 April, 2012 05:10

  What the Web offers consumers and technophiles evolves quickly, so keeping up with the latest and greatest sites can be a full-time job. Eye candy, slick utility, and superb shopping are a few themes designers and developers are getting better at serving up.

• The future of the $200 tablet

  By JR Raphael | 26 April, 2012 21:18

  Spending $150 to $200 on a tablet won't get you much these days: In most cases, you're looking at an off-brand Android product with a single-core processor, barely any RAM and a low-resolution, low-quality display. Depending on the device, you might not even have access to Google's app market or other basic services -- and while that approach may work with retailer-backed, limited-use products like Amazon's Kindle Fire, when it comes to more traditional Androidtablets, it doesn't usually lead to the best user experience.

• The enterprise app store: 10 must-have features

  By Shane O'Neill | 26 April, 2012 06:52

  Is 2012 the year app stores will break out in the enterprise?

• Hands on with Google Drive

  By Serenity Caldwell | 25 April, 2012 06:48

  Start your engines: Google’s long-rumored Drive service is officially out and ready for a test… well, drive. The search giant’s answer to services like Dropbox, Drive offers 5GB of free online storage space that also syncs with a local folder on the desktop of your Mac or PC. (An Android app is currently available, with an iOS app in the works.)

• Open for business: It's the year of the corporate app store

  By Paul Krill | 16 April, 2012 20:11

  With more employees using smartphones and tablets for business, enterprises are setting up their own app stores for application distribution, leveraging a consumer model for mobile application access that is tuned to the workplace. Instead of saddling already overburdened IT personnel with getting applications to individual devices, these app stores provide a central distribution mechanism for employees to download applications themselves.

• In depth: Nokia's great Windows Phone hope - Beauty without brawn

  By Galen Gruman | 10 April, 2012 20:13

  Nokia may sell more cellphones than any other company in the world, but it's been all but excluded from the United States for years -- and it's seen its global sales steadily shrink as the iPhone and Android smartphones have become the darlings of buyers in an increasing number of countries. Nokia's relevance has been fast receding, and its Symbian, Maemo, and MeeGo efforts became a pattern of failure for a company that just didn't get it. In response, a year ago, Nokia bet its future largely on Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's answer to Apple's iOS and Google's Android.

• Catching the eye of Google

  By Sarah Putt | 17 April, 2012 03:33

  Google's man in charge of acquisitions - vice-president of corporate development David Lawee - was in Auckland recently, but he was keeping quiet on whether any Kiwi businesses were on his radar.

• How to buy a smartphone for your business

  By Ginny Mies | 06 April, 2012 23:00

  Shopping for a new smartphone is tough: With so many phones out there, finding the best one for your work life and your personal life can be headache-inducing. This guide highlights business features among the different operating systems, explains the best specs for business, and offers advice on the apps you should download once you purchase your smartphone.

• Four ways to become a true social business

  By Jon Ferrara | 04 April, 2012 05:29

  You and I may be fully participating in popular social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but I'll bet your company isn't - at least as well as it could be.