Tag Archive for Tablet

| March 2, 2016
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Tablets are Doomed

Tablets are DoomedTechCrunch reports from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that tablets are dead. Six years after the original iPad ushered in the post-pc era, there were no tablets at the premier mobile showcase. Companies and consumers have moved on.

iPadTo be fair, TechCrunch says that if you looked hard enough, you could find an Android tablet or two stashed away in a corner. And Apple (AAPL), the tablet leader, doesn’t come to MWC. They conclude that tablets are not the future for Samsung’s (005930) and LGs (LGLD) of the consumer electronics world.

In fact, the author reports that Samsung, Sony (SNE), HTC (2498) and LG didn’t have any new tablets to announce. They didn’t even mention tablets during their conferences. It’s not just that people don’t care about tablets anymore — the big electronics companies themselves aren’t even trying to release new products for this market anymore. The article lists a number of reasons why tablets have become so unpopular.

Tablets are now a commodity

tablets have become so unpopular

First, tablets are now a commodity. You can find dozens of perfectly fine tablets for less than $200. And there’s no differentiating factor between Android tablets. As a result, companies are not making a profit from them.

You already have a tablet

Second, chances are you already have a tablet at home and it’s working fine. So the author reports that there’s no reason why you should upgrade it — it probably runs Netflix, Facebook (FB) and the Kindle app. It has a browser and your emails. Long replacement cycles mean you don’t need to pay attention to the new and shiny tablets. The Business Insider also observes tablets are more like PCs — you buy a new one only when the old one is worn out or doesn’t run the software you need.

Phones are getting bigger

everybody uses their phones constantly to interact with other people and do everything they’d do on a tablet.Third, phones are getting bigger. The LG G5 (5.3-inch display) and Samsung Galaxy S7 (5.1-inch display) are the two most interesting flagship phones that were announced at MWC. The first Samsung Galaxy Note had a 5.3-inch display, which could be called a phablet. Today, it would be an average phone. According to TechCrunch, big phones are the new normal, and everybody uses their phones constantly to interact with other people and do everything they’d do on a tablet.

BI explains the phenomenon of phones replacing tablets includes Apple. Apple started making larger phones, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a year ago, which eliminates some of the justification for a bigger touch screen device. Also, consumers upgrade their phones every two or three years, since the carriers subsidize some of that up-front cost (plus, it’s just cool to have a new phone, which you carry with you everywhere in public).

it's just cool to have a new phone, which you carry with you everywhere in publicFor those who need a snapshot of the decline of the tablet, Business Insider presented a chart from Statista based on numbers from IDC. In the last four quarters, tablet sales have been down from the previous year’s quarter. Overall, shipments in the first three quarters of 2015 are down 9% from the same time a year ago.

Business Insider - Global Tablet Market Decline

TechCruch takes a pretty hardcore position on tablets. Tablets had a good run, but won’t be around for much longer. They argue that the iPad is a better tablet than any Android tablet because there aren’t many tablet-optimized apps on the Play Store. This is key to understanding the iPad’s appeal.

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I have covered the issues around tablets since 2011 including the first signs of a decline in Apple’s iPad Teflon armor in 2014.  TC says tablets can still make a comeback. They need to become something else. But something needs to change and soon. Current tablets prove that you should never bet against the smartphone.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Tablet computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| May 26, 2015
Comments Off on Mobile Malware FUD?

Mobile Malware FUD?

Mobile Malware FUD?Just last week, I wondered out loud from my Bach Seat if all the hype around mobile malware was real or just more FUD. Looks like I am not alone, TechCo recently asked a similar question, “Are We Overstating the Threats from Mobile Devices?”

mobile threatsThe author cites several recent reports that back up the claim that the actual mobile threats that mobile devices introduce into the enterprise are overstated. The data indicates that the mobile malware threat is statistically small and has even decreased since 2012.

• A McAfee report shows out of all the malware now out there, only 1.9% of it is mobile malware. The author equates the mobile threat to 4 million / 195 million McAfee knows about.
• Another report (PDF) from Verizon (VZ) shows even lower numbers, with only 0.03 percent of smartphones being infected with what is called “higher grade malicious code.”
hit by lighting• But some numbers go even lower than that. Damballa, a mobile security vendor that monitors roughly half of mobile data traffic, recently released a report that claims you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than by mobile malware. Dramballa found only 9,688 smartphones out of more than 150 million showed signs of malware infection. If you do the math, that comes out to an infection rate of 0.0064 percent.

Even more interesting is that despite the increase in mobile devices, Damballa found the infection rate had declined by half compared to 2012.

Walled gardenThese reports may show mobile threats aren’t as big of a problem as previously thought, but the author asks, why the numbers are so low at all. After all, cybercriminals like to target new platforms and exploit security weaknesses. Why do they seem to be avoiding mobile devices?

The truth of the matter is that mobile users tend to get their apps from high-quality app stores. The stores from Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) work to filter out suspicious apps. If malware is found in apps after they’ve already been on the market for a while, app stores can also execute a kill switch, which takes the app off the store and the devices where they were downloaded. This limits malware’s ability to spread.

remotely wipe devicesThe article concludes that companies that adopt BYOD should just ignore BYOD security; they just don’t have to go all-out as many businesses have done. Most mobile security experts say a mobile device management system remains a good investment to make sure mobile devices are handled appropriately. MDM systems also allow an organization to remotely wipe devices, thus keeping sensitive data safe in the event a device is lost or stolen. But malware really isn’t a factor in those cases, so the overall message from these recent reports is that getting worked up over mobile threats is not necessary. A company can still gain all the benefits of BYOD without having to worry incessantly over what they’re doing to protect every device that connects to their network.

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  • Your BYOD implementation checklist (powermore.dell.com)

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| December 16, 2014
Comments Off on Tablets Still Don’t Rule the World

Tablets Still Don’t Rule the World

Tablets Still Don't Rule the WorldThe rise of tablets like Apple’s (AAPL) iPad, Samsung‘s (005930) Galaxy Tab, and the Google (GOOG) Nexus have grabbed PC buyers’ attention and dollars for several years at the expense of the PC market. Lately, however, it seems that the carnage in the PC market has stabilized. And the growth of the mighty Apple iPad has plateaued.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod sales

iPhone, iPad, and iPod sales from Q1 06 to Q3 14 (in million units) | Statista

Cloud computingCould this be because there is no real business case for the tablets? After being on the market for several years, they have not replaced the PC at work. Don Reisinger at eWeek, recently put out 10 reasons why tablets still cannot replace PCs where he argues that the Post-PC Era is yet not a done deal. He argues despite their popularity, tablets still aren’t powerful or capable enough to replace PCs. He states in the article tablets cannot–and will not–replace PCs. Let’s look at his reasons why.

1. Component power

Over the last few years, mobile components running in tablets have gained in power. However, processors such as NVidia’s (NVDA) Tegra 3 or Apple’s A6X still pale in comparison to the power delivered in PC chips from Intel (INTC) or AMD (AMD). Until that changes, tablets can never replace PCs for the power-hungry users among us the author says.

Apple vs. Microsoft2. App availability

Apple’s App Store now offers over 800,000 applications. And although many of them are worthwhile downloads, few actually deliver the complexity and sophistication customers would find in Microsoft (MSFT) Windows or OS X. Nowhere is that more clear than in the comparison of Office on mobile and PCs. Eweek says until apps gain in sophistication, mobile can never keep up.

3. Virtual keyboards aren’t loved

The problem with all tablets is that they come with virtual keyboards. And although more people are warming to virtual keys, there are still many folks around the globe that like having the standard physical keyboard found in PCs. The blog asks why not? Typing on traditional keyboards with two hands is far more accurate and efficient.

virtual keyboard as a reason he does not use a tabletPaul Mah at FierceCIO echoed the authors, citing the virtual keyboard as a reason he does not use a tablet as his primary work device. I have struggled with iPad virtual keyboards, and yes I did try Bluetooth keyboard cases and found them disagreeable.

4. Windows is the enterprise’s favorite

The article notes that Microsoft holds a dominant position in the enterprise. Tablets are just one front on that battlefield. The enterprise is adopting tablets at a rapid rate. But that doesn’t mean that the corporate world is ready to drop Windows for iOS or Android. In fact, Windows is still the most important software solution for enterprise users. Granted, Microsoft is bringing Windows to tablets, but for now, those products aren’t proving popular. Until they do catch on, PCs will win out.

5. Think about enterprise productivity

Productivity in the enterpriseProductivity in the enterprise is extremely important. And on that front, Mr. Reisinger says PCs are still winning out, Forbes recently estimated that MSFT Office market share will drop from its current 95% to 90% by 2016. Notebooks deliver the same level of mobility as tablets, and desktops deliver the power that designers and other employees might need. Simply put, PCs are still the ideal productivity-maximizing solutions for enterprise users.

6. Tablet prices are still too high

Tablets are expensive. The latest iPad launch can set customers back $929 for 128GB of storage and 4G LTE support. A more powerful notebook can be purchased for several hundred dollars less. The author believes that given the state of the economy and the fact that many tech buyers are looking to save cash wherever possible, PCs can’t be considered obsolete in their battle with tablets.

7. Notebooks are turning into tablets

mobile malware eWeek points out that PC vendors have made the smart decision to cut off the rise of tablets by delivering touch functionality in their products. Lenovo’s Yoga, for example, has a screen that can swivel around and sit atop the keyboard to act as a tablet. As more notebooks take on tablet functionality, devices like Apple’s iPad might look like an awfully poor value for the price.

8. More options across the PC market

The sheer number of options available to customers in the PC market is something that can’t be overlooked. From notebooks to laptops to desktops to ultrabooks, there’s something for everyone. Best of all, the components in those products can be customized to match the respective customer’s needs. The blog concludes that choice, outside of storage space, is something sorely lacking in the tablet market. And customers know it.

9. The security advantage is going away

 

Tablet malwareWhen tablets started to make inroads into the PC market, many speculated that it was because of the comparative safety that went along with using such products over notebooks. Now, the author says things have changed. Android is the top target for malicious hackers now, according to several security reports, and has become the next frontier in malware. That could prove extremely troublesome for tablet adoption if things continue to get worse.

10. Tablet OSs need to grow up

Android and iOS, the two most popular tablet operating systems, are nice and effective in the mobile world. But they haven’t grown up yet. Mr. Reisinger says Apple’s iOS, lacks a file system. Android comes in too many flavors for customers to get comfortable with its functionality. Mobile operating systems have to grow up. If they don’t, tablets will never match PCs.

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Huge phoneI just got back from the annual run to the big-box store for Christmas shopping and saw another reason the tablet still does not rule the world. Pfablets.  Some of these things are just as big as an iPad Mini. Now it’s time for a good Gin and Tonic after facing the holi-dazed shopping hordes.

Dell and Intel released a report [pdf] that says the desktop is still the workhorse of the average office. They found that 77% of office tasks are completed with a traditional PC.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| November 7, 2013
Comments Off on 802.11ac Wi-Fi – Don’t Bother Yet

802.11ac Wi-Fi – Don’t Bother Yet

802.11ac Wi-Fi - Don't Bother YetThe new iPads are here! The new iPads are here! There’s no 802.11ac here! But that’s expected. Experienced Apple watchers know that Apple likes to let new radio technologies mature before they integrate them into their new idevices. So that means most enterprises can slow their plans to upgrade their Wi-Fi to the new standard according to Kevin Fitchard at GigaOM.

The new iPads are hereThe latest Apple (AAPL) tablet doesn’t sport the new soon-to-be-completed IEEE 802.11ac standard, even though Apple’s latest generation routers, PCs, and laptops all support it. GigaOM reports Apple is providing is a speed boost to the now thoroughly established 802.11n networking standard in the form of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) smart antenna technology. Like many Wi-Fi routers on the market, the iPad Air has dual antennas, allowing it to wend two parallel paths over the unlicensed airwaves. The MIMO implementation will double the speeds at which the iPad can access Wi-Fi networks, according to Apple.

The Wi-Fi Alliance only began certifying commercial 802.11ac devices in June, and even those devices only incorporate partial versions of the full 802.11ac spec. The IEEE isn’t expected to fully complete the standard until 2014. Very few smartphones and tablets have ac embedded as of yet, though the technology is making its way into consumer and enterprise routers and PCs, including Apple’s newest MacBooks and iMacs.

iPad AirBut waiting another year for 802.11ac-enabled iPhones and iPads also means we’ll probably have to wait another year before we see wide-scale adoption of the standard in public hotspots and access points. Unlike in the home, most outdoor and public Wi-Fi connections are made over mobile devices, not PCs.

In an interview with GigaOM, Boingo VP of corporate communications Christian Gunning said it hasn’t turned up 802.11ac in any of its hundreds of thousands of owned and managed hotspots yet, simply because it’s seeing very few devices with ac radios trying to access its network.

higher-powered 802.3at Power over EthernetFierceCIO‘s Paul Mah offers more reasons to delay the roll-out of 802.11ac. The advanced 802.11ac radio is more power-hungry than earlier iterations of Wi-Fi. So it will more likely need the use of the higher-powered 802.3at Power over Ethernet (PoE) to run 802.11ac with all its bells and whistles. It is possible that businesses still on 802.3af PoE (rb- Majority) may well have to incur extra infrastructure costs to deploy 802.11ac today. Mr. Mah contends that it is yet to be seen if improved 802.11ac chipsets will allow firms to stick with legacy PoE. (rb- For a refresher on PoE, check out these posts 802.3af and 802.3at)

Another consideration according to FierceCIO is clients. The handful of business-grade 802.11ac wireless APs on the market today typically support three spatial streams, which allows for a (theoretical) maximum data rate of 1.3Gbps in the 5GHz band. Though this is a significant improvement over 450 Mbps 802.11n, the dearth of 802.11ac client devices renders this a moot point. Some will argue that Apple did incorporate 802.11ac into the new MacBook Air laptops.  However, they did not include it in the new iPads, or the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones. And with no smartphones or tablets equipped with 802.11ac capabilities today, this does make deploying it a rather pointless strategy for BYOD.

802.11ac "second wave"Finally, Mr. Mah points out that while 1.3Gbps is a good speed to have, we should keep in mind that 802.11ac does have a theoretical maximum speed of 7 Gbps. A “second wave” of 802.11ac that implements four or more data streams for much faster speeds should be arriving in the second half of 2014. He says current signs are that this second wave of 802.11ac devices might need new processor chips–which means you will have to buy new 802.11ac hardware to benefit.

GigaOM’s Fitchard stresses Apple’s influence when it comes to popularizing new technology, he says the iPhone and the iPad’s reach shouldn’t be underestimated. As an example, new Passpoint-certified phones have been out for more than a year, but it wasn’t until Apple started offering support for Passpoint’s automatic login technology in iOS7 that the wireless industry took notice. It was only after Apple made iOS7 publicly available, that Boingo started Passpoint trials.

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I’m not saying 802.11ac is a bad thing, but enterprises need to ignore the hype cycle and make decisions that are best for them and not the multi-billion dollar networking industry. IMHO 802.11ac is still immature, there are few devices out there that can fully take advantage, the full feature set is not fully implemented in silicon and you finished the upgrade to 802.11n yet?

What to do?

What does your wired network look like? Are you still connecting your AP’s at 100 Mbps? That is a bottleneck with 802.11n.

Do you have enough juice? What is your PoE status? Do you have enough PoE+ ports? Are they being used for just an access port – wasting the extra costs of a PoE port?

Both switches cost money, is there a budget available for these items or is IT going to spend an operational budget to address a structural issue?

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: wi-fi | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| October 22, 2013
Comments Off on More Tech Trouble at School

More Tech Trouble at School

More Tech Trouble at SchoolIt’s not a good time for tech in schools. The security woes at school are not limited to the iPad debacle at LAUSD. (rb- You can see my coverage here – Updates since the first article – LAUSD started confiscating the iPads and delayed the district-wide roll out one year until 2015.) GigaOM’s Ki Mae Heussner writes that Guilford County Schools in North Carolina has suspended its tablet program with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s Amplify after reports of faulty equipment.

NC school district suspends tablet program

uspended its tablet programThe district reportedly spent $16.4 million ($299 / device + a 2-year subscription at $99 per year) of a $30 million Race to the Top grant to pay for the tablets and content. The device is a 10-inch ASUS (2357) tablet running the Google (GOOG) Jellybean Android operating system. It comes pre-loaded with content and apps curated by Amplify. It enables teachers to distribute content across a class or grade level and control the content on students’ screens.

GigaOM cites the school district’s website, which says they have sent 10% of their 15,000 devices back to Amplify because of broken screens. About 2,000 cases have also been problematic. In one instance, a student returned a defective charger, reporting that overheating caused the plastic to melt. While the district said it expected a few glitches with the rollout, school officials decided to pause the program for safety’s sake. GigaOM claims the pause is a big setback for Amplify, which launched its education-optimized tablet at hipster South by Southwest earlier this year.

NewsCorpSince its launch, skeptics have wondered how schools would respond to the privacy questions and the prospect of doing business with Amplify’s parent company News Corp. (given its phone-hacking scandal). Ms. Heussner speculates that the suspension could give schools more reason for pause when it comes to embracing the new technology.

Asus told GigaOM that out of 500,000 chargers of its kind that they have shipped globally, only the one in Guilford overheated and melted. Justin Hamilton, Amplify’s SVP of corporate communications seems to be blaming the customer. He claimed the broken screen rate in Guilford is higher than in other school districts. “We’re working very closely with the district on this and hope to have things resolved and the program back up and running very soon,” Mr. Hamilton said.

Indiana mobile security fail

circumvented the security on district-issued Apple iPadsIn Indiana, Education Week reports that between 300 and 400 students in the Center Grove school district circumvented the security devices on district-issued Apple (AAPL) iPads within hours of receiving the devices according to a report last week in the Daily Journal.

Apparently, students found ways to reprogram the iPads so they could download games and apps for social media sites, according to the report. Center Grove officials attributed the problem to their security program not being able to handle the 2,000+ devices they distributed.

spread like wildfireKeith Krueger, the CEO for the Consortium for School Networking, said such problems are increasingly common as districts deploy an increasing number of devices. “Kids and adults find ways to hack through things, and it can spread like wildfire,” he said. “It’s frustrating, and it’s a huge challenge for any district.”

Data center failures

In addition to the tablet troubles, Data Center Knowledge’s Rich Miller reports several school data center failures. According to DCK, two public school systems suffered data center failures that crippled their IT systems.

data center fire suppression systemIn Oregon, the Beaverton School District experienced several days of disruption after an errant alarm set off its data center fire suppression system. The fire suppression system damaged hard drives and servers. That left Beaverton schools unable to use email or access class lists, student schedules, and online textbooks. “It knocked all of the systems in the data center off-line,” said Steve Langford, chief technology officer. “All of the systems that staff needs to do their jobs.” District IT staff worked over the Labor Day weekend to replace the damaged systems.

In California, the Davis Unified School District started school without key IT services after the district’s servers overheated. DCK reports an air conditioner unit failed, allowing the temperature in the server room to rise to 120 degrees F. “There’s an incredible impact on everyone in the whole organization,” says the district’s Kim Wallace. “Students can’t access computers. Teachers can’t take attendance. Parents can’t email. We can’t email out.” The DCK article said staff were still troubleshooting damaged equipment and lost data.

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The best strategy, COSN’s Krueger said, is to combine the best possible security filters and other technical measures with a comprehensive responsible or acceptable use policy that students and families must sign and a commitment to enforcement. “It’s not surprising that a school district would have some breaches,” he said. “The question is how do you leverage it into a teachable moment?”

Who needs the teachable moment? Sure the kids need to understand there are real consequences for their actions but, can the politicians administrators be taught to be serious about IT? Seems to me that most of these failures are management failures. It is probable that these failures could have been reduced with proper project management.

proper project managementIt is my experience that many administrators do not recognize project management professionals. It appears they would stick with the good ole boy network and hire their less qualified friends or the professional BSer’s.

Now about project management? Modern backup system? Disaster Recovery plan?  BCP?

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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