forecast

Most people, when they see a hurricane coming, hunker down or move out of its path. Surfers, on the other hand, aren't like most people. To them, a hurricane is to be tracked for the swells it brings. And with an iPhone or Android phone, a surfer can keep tabs on local conditions, ready to grab his or her board and hit the water when the waves are just right.

Before we proceed any further, allow me a disclaimer, lest I be dubbed a poser by surfers reading this post. I am not a surfer. I live in New Hampshire--not exactly the world's hottest surf spot. There is, however, a small surf scene here. I live an hour from the NH seacoast and have a few friends who regularly make the trek to Hampton or Jenness to go surfing. I've tagged along with them a handful of times, and with their encouragement and large, foam board, I have successfully ridden embarrassingly small waves.

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Market researcher IHS-iSuppli said the iPad will continue to gain market share and spelled out the secrets of its success more than a year and a half after Apple introduced the groundbreaking product.

Steve Jobs--who resigned from Apple as CEO today--introduced the iPad in January of 2010 and its been a nonstop success ever since. Apple is set to increase shipments of the iPad "capitalizing on its shrewd strategy, as well as its competitors' stumbles," iSuppli said in a research note today. This alone will cause the global tablet market to expand.

Global media tablet shipments now are … Read more

The Weather Channel app lets you access all the latest global weather information right from your Android mobile device. More than just a source for current weather readings, the app gives you hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day forecasts as well. And for those who travel frequently (or who like to keep tabs on the weather elsewhere) you can save multiple locations to a single page. Tap the Locations icon to get a quick glance of all of your saved locations, and tap any location to get more details. There's also a nifty Maps Screen, which overlays details like Temperature and … Read more

LONDON--The tablet market, pushed by the arrival of PC makers and lower-cost products, likely will quickly transform into one dominated by commodity products, an analyst predicted today.

"This could become the fastest-commoditized market in history," said Richard Windsor of Nomura Securities, speaking here at the Open Mobile Summit. "The tablet honeymoon will likely be over in 2012."

Today, Apple's iPad dominates the market, challenged by a new host of contenders such as Motorola's Xoom, Samsung's Galaxy Tab line, Research In Motion's PlayBook, and--starting July 1--Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad. For the most part, … Read more

After earlier predicting a profitable fiscal year, Sony now expects to lose a total of 260 billion yen ($3.2 billion) for the year, a change due in huge part to the effects of the Japanese earthquake.

In a statement (PDF) released today, the electronics giant revised its figures for its fiscal year ended March 31 from those originally offered in February. The forecast of a $3.2 billion loss is quite different than its earlier projection of a profit of 70 billion yen ($857 million) for the year.

Sony also slightly lowered its revenue forecast to 7.18 trillion … Read more

Planning a good time to visit the beach, do some yard work, or stay inside and read are all heavily dependent on one factor: the weather. Choosing that ideal time during the day can save you from either freezing, sweating or getting soaked by rain and make the overall experience more pleasant. Here are three easy steps for finding the hour-by-hour forecast on your Android device:

1. Open the News & Weather app located in your app drawer. If you can't find it, open the Clock app and press on the current temperature.

Now that you have the main … Read more

The camera market will grow 7.8 percent to 131 million units from 2010 to 2011, the Camera and Imaging Products Association forecast today.

As has been the case for some years, cameras with interchangeable lenses are a smaller but faster-growing market. That segment--which now includes compact mirrorless models from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, and Olympus that are smaller than traditional SLR cameras--should grow 20.2 percent to 15.5 million units in 2011, CIPA forecast.

Cameras with built-in lenses, a much broader market but one in more danger of losses to the growing use of phones for photography, should grow … Read more

People in the technology world just now adjusting to the arrival of 802.11n should begin bracing themselves for 802.11ac.

For those who can't keep up with the alphanumeric jumbles that are technology standards, 802.11n is at the moment the fastest version of Wi-Fi. The arrival of 802.11n was delayed by interminable standards wrangling--thus the profusion of "Draft N" wireless routers--and research firm In-Stat already predicts its faster successor, 802.11ac, soon will surge into the market.

From zero 802.11ac devices this year and the first ones next year--the standard isn't done yet… Read more

The glory days of the digital camera market are coming to an end.

So concludes analyst firm iSuppli, which forecasts modest growth in coming years followed by decline as camera phones take over.

It'll still be a huge market, with tens of millions of units sold annually--just not as big as it once was after it peaks in 2013, the firm forecast.

"During [2014], shipments are expected to decline by 0.6 percent to 135.4 million units, with low-end DSC [digital still camera] models expected to encounter stiff opposition from the cameras in cell phones, which increasingly … Read more