Top 15 Technology events in 2011

2011 will definitely go down as one of the most happening years in IT sector with a number of intriguing events taking place. We had the launch of Google plus, takeover of Skype, slip of Nokia, emergence of Samsung, bitter smartphone wars and lots more events in 2011.

You couldn’t have asked anything more even in a typical Bollywood masala movie.
Initially, I was intended to title this blog as “Top 10 Technology events in 2011″ but when I started counting the technology events in 2011 then my count reached somewhere close to 30. But, somehow I managed to bring it down to 15 that’s why you’re seeing the title as “Top 15 Technology events in 2011″.

In this blog, I have compiled a list of the top 15 technical events that took place in the year 2011,

1. Launch of Google+: After repeatedly failing to establish its hold on the social media market with Orkut and Buzz, this time Google came-up with the new Google Plus in 2011. Initially Google plus was launched to limited users only, but after few months it was opened to everyone. Most Google services now carries a link to users Google plus profile that’s usually seen in black bar at the top. Soon after the release, Google Plus became the most important service for Google. Moreover, Google plus had been a revelation since launch, breaking multiple records and becoming the fastest rising website of all time. It ticked the 25 million mark within 2 months of its launch.
2. Death of Steven Jobs: The saddest event in 2011; Steven Paul Jobs was the CEO and godfather of Apple Inc. This well-known American businessman died on October 5, 2011. He is identified as the pioneer of personal computer revolution and best remembered for iPod and iPad devices. He had been suffering from islet-cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, due to which he got affected by respiratory arrest.
3. Apple vs Samsung court battle: On 18 April, 2011, fight between Samsung and Apple Inc. surfaced which extended to more than 9 countries all over the world. Apple alleged Samsung of copying the design of its highly successful iPhone and iPad devices. As a result of the court battle, some European countries including Germany and the Netherlands banned the sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab. Australia also banned the sales of Samsung Galaxy phones which was later lifted in December. This could easily go down as the biggest rivalry and second biggest technology event in 2011.
4. Skype purchased by Microsoft: Microsoft purchased Skype for a whopping $8.56 billion. Skype is by far the best VOIP service with a reach of over 124 million per year. With Skype, Microsoft is looking to challenge Google and Apple in the mobile platform arena. Probably the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Phone 7 (Mobile OS) and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s Facetime. Many analysts however feels that the deal isn’t going to be that fruitful for Microsoft.
5. Aakash tablet launch: Probably the biggest of all 2011 events occurred when India announced the launch of the cheapest computer, Aakash tablet. The tablet costs merely $35 for students $60 for common people. It was developed by Datawind, a London based IT firm in collaboration of students of IIT Rajasthan. Aakash tablet runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) OS, 366Mhz Atom processor, 256Mb RAM and comes with more than 15k pre-installed apps. Second version of Aakash tablet, Aakash-2 is under development. It’ll have more features and costs the same.
6. Windows 8 Operating System: Windows 8 operating system is coming in Feb 2011 but Microsoft announced the news and released the developer preview to get the hands on review of the latest operating system by Microsoft. It has a refreshing new look with all tile based startup, USB 3.0 for faster data transfer, metro-style interface, improved booting speed, improved multitasking, Internet Explorer 10 and lots more. With Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft is trying to make a greater impact on personal computer users.
7. Galaxy Smartphone SII launch: 2011 also sees the launch of the greatest smartphone ever, the Samsung Galaxy S2. Riding on the highly sucessful Android operating system, the smartphone broke all records with huge sales all over the world. The official launch of the Samsung was announced at the Mobile World Congress on February 13, 2011. This smartphone single handedly brought Samsung from 3rd position to the largest smartphone maker in the world dislodging Nokia and surpassing Apple.
8. iPhone 4S launch: iPhone 4S, the fifth generation of the iPhone was developed by Apple and launched in 2011. iPhone 4S combine combines internet communicator, mobile phone and touchscreen with widescreen iPod. Apple iPhone 4S runs on iOS5 operating system with A5 dual core processor making it one of the fastest iPhone ever, 8MP camera that allows 1080 HD recording, better data transfer speed and lots more. Apple applied a clever marketing strategy by taking pre-orders rather than selling it from the App store. Its available in 7 countries including India from October 7, 2011.
9. iPad 2 launch: iPad 2 launch by Apple is one of the biggest announcement by Apple in 2011, its released in 25 countries. It’s used as a platform for web content, presentation, games, music, movies, periodicals and audio visual media books. iPad 2 is lightweight, runs iOS5 operating system and full support to cloud computing.
10. Nokia loses top spot: Slip of Nokia is a major technical event in 2011; the year has been disastrous for Nokia. After ruling the smartphone market for more than 15 years it was dislodged from top spot by Samsung. Samsung became the biggest smartphone marker in the world while Nokia slipped to 3rd position; Apple is still placed at the second spot.
11. Death of Dennis Ritchie: After the death of Steve Jobs, another tragic event took place in 2011 when a great American computer scientist, Dennis Richie passed away on October 12, 2011. He created the UNIX operating system and was most famous among students as the father of C Programming language. His death didn’t received much media coverage as Steve Jobs but his work in the field of computers will be remembered for a long time.
12. Google service redesign: Google look became a bit monotonous but 2011 marks a complete redesign of almost all Google services including Gmail, YouTube, AdWords, AdSense, Apps and many others. This is an attempt by Google inject some new flavor to monotonous look and also to blend Google products with the appearance of Google Plus, the social networking site by Google.
13. Oracle suing Google: Google’s Android operating system for smartphones is written in Java, owned by Oracle. Soon after the release of Android, Oracle slammed Google for patent violation on the use of Java technology in Android. The case was filed in 2010 continues to be a big headline in the initial days of 2011. The matter is now resolved.
14. Facebook face-lift: This year, Facebook did a minor change in appearance of the news feeds, its now divided in time-lines. Also, more control is provided over the content one want to see in the feed, users can now filter the updates of their friends. Another great addition by Facebook is the subscribe button that allows you to get updates from eminent personalities across the globe.
15. Twitter launches: 2011 has been harsh on Twitter but it bounced back with the launch of tweet button and photo-sharing service. Now one can directly follow a website or a person by just clicking the follow button, just like you ‘like’ and ‘+1′ a content on web. Also, you can share images with your followers with twitter’s photo sharing service.