Week in review: December 16, 2011

A quick recap of some Hardware 2.0 highlights from the past week that you might have missed.

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  How much would you pay for a Windows 8 tablet? You can pick up an iPad starting at $499, a Kindle Fire for $199, and there are even Android tablets that come in at around $99 - So how much would you be willing to pay for a Windows 8 tablet?
• Samsung ads hit out at Apple fanboys It’s now Samsung’s turn to be on a roll when it comes to poking fun … this time at Apple users.
• Take that Android! Apple's 100 Million Mac App Store downloads 100 million download in less than a year.
• Could Apple bring a PC App Store to Windows? I can already buy music and movies from Apple on my Windows PCs, so why can’t I buy software from Apple to run on my Windows systems?
• Premium rate SMS Trojans hit Google's Android Market Trojans appear in Google’s Android Market.
• Adblock Plus to start allowing 'non-intrusive ads' Not all ads are created equal.
• Windows Phone hit by SMS vulnerability SMS message causes device to reboot and disables access to the messaging hub.
• Carrier IQ 'may have' collected text messages This is why software like Carrier IQ is a bad idea.

• iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch? Apple and Google has forced every major handset provider through a major transition.
• Microsoft's Steve Ballmer rated #3 worst tech company CEO ... can you guess who is at #1 and #2? Employee approval rating of only 35%, down from 49% only a year ago.
• Carrier IQ comes under FTC and FCC scrutiny “We are complying with all investigations at this time as we have nothing to hide.”
• Is Samsung's Apple fanboy bashing having an effect? Hearing negative stuff about a brand is one thing, but will this have an effect on consumer’s perception of the iPhone, and will this translate into a drop in sales?
• How will Internet Explorer users react to being pushed to IE9? Microsoft is to kick off the process of automatically upgrading Windows users who are using old versions of the Internet Explorer to the latest and greatest version, IE9.
• Interbrand 'Best Global Brands 2011' - Apple climbs to #8 Apart from Apple’s appearance at #8, there’s no change at the top.
• It's not 'Apple TV' any more, it's 'Siri TV' ... ugh ... Building a digital unicorn, a saddle for it, and even a stable.
• iOS 5.1 beta 2 still doesn't address iPhone 4S/4 battery issue However, bear in mind that this is a beta.
• Has Apple made an iPhone 4 port of Siri 'legally' possible? No! I hate to be a spoil-sport but I feel the need to point something out.