TOP TECH STORIES OF THE YEAR

TOP TECH STORIES OF THE YEAR

iPhone 5 and the iPad mini

Trudging through the trail of 2012 tech stories and yanking out the best was an onerous task. After much scrutiny, we have unearthed the absolute best.

The iPhone’s release in September this year was one of the most highly anticipated events in the 2012 tech calendar. Apple did not disappoint. The new iPhone is thinner, lighter and has a bigger screen size. Apple fan-boys, wowed by the beautiful new toy, flooded the company with pre-orders snapping up more than 4 million iPhones in the first three days after launch. 

The iPhone is Apple’s brightest jewel in an already glittering product portfolio that includes bestsellers like the MacBook range and the iPad. Consider this: Revenue from the iPhone is more than the combined revenues of all Microsoft products! It also contributes to more than 50 per cent of all Apple revenues and two-thirds of the profits. 

You’d think that Apple would take it easy after the iPhone release. But no, for months on end there were rumours of a new iPad, a smaller version, and maybe cheaper, too. Rumours proved to be true. Tim Cook released it in October during a special Apple event. Dubbed the iPad mini, it was Apple’s response to the changing tastes of consumers, and competition from the likes of Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. While demand for the iPad mini has not been as rabid as the iPhone or iPad, expect that to pick up as and when Apple irons out chinks to current product and drops the current high price