Age of Geeks: Tech time full of news and surprises

Columns October 16, 2013

Unlike my previous column, this issue is all about future releases, acquisitions, and surprises. There’s news from the phone and web sectors. Now that the annual IFA technology trade show is over, we thought we’d get a break from new releases and surprises. But, here we are again, still talking about these releases and some pleasant surprises.

HTC to be acquired by Lenovo?

This surprising news coming from Taiwan’s Apple Daily suggests Lenovo has been having talks with smartphone manufacturer HTC to discuss the terms of a possible acquisition deal to be completed in the first half of 2014. According to the report, meetings have been held since late August, but there’s no mention of how much the deal will be worth if it goes through. Either way, it may be just what HTC needed in these hard times.

Google Shopping search now brings localized results

Well, some very pleasant news from Google. Now people won’t have to worry about where to shop or go through all meaningless search results that display shops from all around the world, where only local searches would have sufficed. As always, our friendly search engine Google has come up with an idea that suits everyone. Google has now attempted to localize the shopping experience with Google Shopping. Enter the name of a product and you could find an ad from a local merchant. The ad might also have a link to the retailer’s website where you can look at the product before visiting the actual store.

Galaxy Round with curved display official

The Korean Electronics company did it again! They have come up with an idea that could be revolutionary in smartphone market. Samsung has been teasing us with prototypes of flexible screens for years, and now it’s finally made the important step to put such a panel into a commercial product. Here comes the Galaxy Round, a Note 3-like smartphone/tablet, the screen and body of which introduce a new, slightly curved design. Keep in mind, the display is curved, but the device isn’t flexible itself.

Looking ahead to next time, these upcoming two weeks are important for the technology sector. Of course, Apple is unveiling the new iPad, and then there is an Android update as well. We will have more information in the next issue!