Paul Taylor

I am the FT's personal technology columnist and this blog is about gadgets, gizmos, software and services. It is a place to ask personal technology related questions and hopefully get answers in plain English. It is also a home for short, sometimes sharp, reviews and observations about the personal tech industry. Comments and criticism are welcome. For a bit more on my background, see my columnist page.

Paul Taylor ooVoo launches new Facebook and iPad apps

May 22, 2012 8:56 pm by Paul Taylor

Since its launch in 2007 ooVoo has helped refine the consumer video chat market with its free high definition app. In the process it has become a favourite with the teenagers and young adults under 25 who make up more than two thirds of its 46m users.

Now the New York-based company’s management team, led by executive chairman Robert Jackman, is trying to consolidate its grip on the youth market with a upgrade to its social video chat service designed to make it easier to use and available on more devices.

Continue reading: “ooVoo launches new Facebook and iPad apps”

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Social, Tech |
From Personal Tech column May 3, 2012

 

HTC One

Smartphones have become the favoured web and social media tool for the “post-PC generation”. As well as being great communications devices, the latest crop boasts features designed to please the most discerning consumers – including better battery life, advanced digital photo apps and high-quality audio.

Continue reading: “Handsets smarten up”

Tags: , ,
Posted in Personal technology, Smartphones |

Paul Taylor Nokia’s Lumia 900 needs to succeed

April 4, 2012 9:10 pm by Paul Taylor

Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia 900, available today in the US from AT&T, has broad shoulders – which is fortunate because Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T all need this new handset to be a big success.

The Lumia 900 runs on AT&T’s expanding LTE network and boasts a distinctive unibody design with curved side edges, a big 4.3 inch screen and an 8 megapixel digital camera sensor but despite these high-end specs, costs only $99.

Continue reading: “Nokia’s Lumia 900 needs to succeed”

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Mobile, Personal technology, Smartphones, Telecoms |
From personal technology column March 29, 2012

AKG Headphones

Harman’s AKG K495 NC headphones

Noise-cancelling headphones enable consumers to listen to music without the annoyance of background noise such as the drone of traffic on a busy road or the whine of aircraft engines. The three headphones featured here are the latest entrants in an increasingly crowded market for sophisticated noise-cancelling headphones that satisfy audio enthusiasts.

Continue reading: “Sounds of silence”

Tags: , ,
Posted in Consumer Electronics, Personal technology |
From personal tech column March 1, 2012

For mobile gadget enthusiasts, the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona provides a smorgasbord of delights.

This year’s show, which ended on Thursday, was no exception. So here are three handsets which, for different reasons, stand out in an increasingly crowded smartphone market.

Continue reading: “Hot handsets from this year’s mobile catwalk”

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Posted in Personal technology, Smartphones |

Paul Taylor RIM: Down but not out?

February 22, 2012 2:07 am by Paul Taylor

It has taken Research in Motion 10 months to update the software running its PlayBook tablet and deliver features like native email that should have been there to start with.

Aside from email, RIM’s PlayBook 2.0 software, released as a free upgrade for users today, adds features including support for Android apps in a belated effort to address weaknesses that have attracted widespread criticism and rendered the PlayBook an afterthought in the fast growing PC tablet market.

Continue reading: “RIM: Down but not out?”

Posted in Software, Tech |
From PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY COLUMN February 9, 2012

Audio technica

It used to be difficult and costly to convert music on vinyl records, cassette tape recordings or photographic prints and transparencies into digital files, but several new products aimed at non-professionals make the task much easier and deliver high-quality results.

Audio Technica’s AT-LP120 USB turntable 5/5 (pictured, above)

Continue reading: “Records, tapes and photos go digital”

Tags: ,
Posted in Personal technology |

Paul Taylor Nokia’s Mango-powered Lumia 710 deserves to succeed

January 6, 2012 7:19 pm by Paul Taylor

Nokia’s Lumia 710, which went on sale in the US yesterday and is due in Europe shortly, is one of the first products of the partnership between Microsoft and the Finnish phone company which is relying on the new operating system to revitalise its flagging fortunes.

The launch of the Lumia 710 which costs $50 with a T-Mobile USA contract also marks Nokia’s re-entry into the US market where Stephen Elop, Nokia’s chief executive, has vowed it must succeed.

Continue reading: “Nokia’s Mango-powered Lumia 710 deserves to succeed”

Posted in Personal technology, Smartphones |

Paul Taylor Steve Jobs, Apple and the FT

October 6, 2011 8:04 pm by Paul Taylor

On reflection.

When I first arrived in New York as a junior reporter for the Financial Times in 1982 we used to write our copy on a set of pale blue teleprinters. Then when it was time to file – and often later – we would switch the teleprinters into ‘online mode’ and pressed the ‘send’ button.

The teleprinter then spewed out a yellow punched ribbon tape and at the same time magically transmitted the copy over a leased Reuters data link to a printer that sat on the FT’s foreign desk in London and was affectionately called the ‘hot line.’

Continue reading: “Steve Jobs, Apple and the FT”

Posted in Personal technology |

Paul Taylor Moto’s Bionic smartphone

September 7, 2011 9:17 pm by Paul Taylor

One of the biggest challenges for Android-based smartphone makers is to differentiate their products from their rivals. With the Motorola Droid Bionic designed to run on Verizon’s high speed LTE wireless network, Motorola Mobility is seeking to outpace its rivals in three ways – hardware specs, battery life and accessories.

The Bionic’s basic specs are reasonably impressive beginning with its big 4.3 inch qHD screen manufactured using Corning’s scratch-proof Gorilla Glass. Other features include a dual-core 1GHz processor with 1GB of dedicated Ram, front and rear facing digital cameras and 32GB of memory including a 16GB micro-SD card.

Continue reading: “Moto’s Bionic smartphone”

Posted in Mobile, Personal technology, Smartphones, Tech, Telecoms |
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