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As the head honcho for deals at ITProPortal.com, it is my duty (and an obsession) to keep track of pricing trends as they are often indicative of how a product (or range of products) is performing. I couldn't help but notice that the arrival of Google's Nexus 7 and its widespread availability has caused the price of Android tablets - especially small format models - to significantly. A quick look at some tablet deals from over the past few weeks; the prices of Archos tablets, Ainol tablets, Motorola's XOOM 2 pair, the LG Optimus Pad 3D as well as the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 have all been significantly reduced, by as much as half.
I also noted that the price of the RIM Blackberry PlayBook has dropped again to £129, a 67 per cent drop from its £399 suggested retail price. The Google Nexus 7 - which is available in two versions costing £159 and £199 - may end up reigning supreme over vast swathes of the Android tablet market, a fact highlighted in this article. The Google Nexus 7 is similar to the Amazon Kindle Fire in that Google is ready to sell the Nexus 7 with a very thin margin and hope to make money from services and content. Whether this will severely injure the hard hit Amazon tablet market, only time will tell.
Like it or not, the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple decides to call it) is a never ending source of rumours. The past week saw rumours about Apple encouraging speaker manufacturers to build wireless speaker docks, as rumours of an iPhone 5 with a smaller 19-pin connector intensify.
We also hear that 21 September will be the iPhone 5 launch date, according to a French blog that got the scoop from China, where Apple's partners are reported to have already started production. For all we know, Apple is likely to call the successor to the iPhone 4S the "new iPhone".
Londoners and billions of viewers witnessed the start of the 30th modern Olympic games, which some have already called the most digital games ever, not least because of how technology will permeate this global sporting event. Undoubtedly, the London 2012 Olympics will raise the bar when it comes to using tech, having implemented some of the most advanced, cutting edge hardware and software solutions available.
In addition, since Beijing, social network platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have grown in importance and now rival - and in some cases even surpass - traditional media. The case of an athlete being banned because of what she said on her Twitter account or YouTube being forced to remove illegal videos linked to yesterday's ceremony highlight the ubiquity of the social graph.
Wireless connectivity is likely to be a major talking point at the Olympics too, not least because mobile networks will be put under considerable strain (check out our feature on how mobile networks will cope with the massive rise in traffic).
Operators have gone out of their way to make life easier for those who will want to be connected while visiting the capital during the games. Virgin Media rolled out free Wi-Fi services on tube platforms (handy when you have to wait hours for your next train during the games), Orange has announced 3G services in the Channel Tunnel and O2 has launched a free Wi-Fi service covering some of the most popular tourist areas in London.
For more coverage of the London 2012 Olympics from a technology perspective, read our dedicated IT Olympics channel.
