Twitter inventor tweets his new company
Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, has moved from simplified blogging to a simplified payments side-project, with the launch of the start-up, Square.
In typical Twitter style, Dorsey announced the company with a tweet rather than a press release today:
“Announcing our new company, called @Square, which I’m thrilled to be a part of: http://squareup.com,” he wrote, in 99 characters. Read more
Starting today: FT Personal Technology
Choosing the technology that best suits your life can be a full time job. And these days, it’s not just a matter of deciphering the bits and bytes or picking the coolest gadget: the best software and Web applications, or the availability of games and other digital content, are often key to determining the overall experience.
From Android to ZillionTV, there is so much to learn. Read more
2009 Essential Gadgets – Year of the smartphone
What were the must-have gadgets of 2009? We thought we’d launch this personal tech section of the blog with our recommendations on the year’s best devices.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll look at ten different categories, from eReaders to pico projectors, from the best audio experiences to cameras and camcorders.
Smartphones have made the biggest impact this year and, after the jump, are the thoughts of personal tech correspondent Paul Taylor on the best of them (Dollars and hearts represent value for money and desirability, out of five) . We’re also looking at the rise of Android and republishing our reviews of the latest smartphones – the Motorola Droid and Palm Pixi. Read more
Android: It’s the software, stupid
Picking a smartphone based on its operating system might seem a strange thing to do. But this year’s emergence of Google’ Android and Palm’s WebOS as worthy rivals of the iPhone OS was a handy reminder of the increasing importance of software in determining user experience, and a direct challenge to the traditional powers of the smartphone business: Nokia, Microsoft and Research in Motion.
Of the new software platforms, Android remains the most intriguing. I was among the doubters before the first handset hit the streets. But almost to my own surprise I now find I’ve ditched my BlackBerry (something I never thought I’d do) and count myself an Android user (version 1.5 of the software, on an HTC handset). Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
