Biggest international tech stories of 2013
Tech companies in decline, giants shaking hands and the ever-watchful eye of Big Brother are but a few of the biggest news stories that took place in 2013.
BusinessTech takes a look at the 5 biggest topics that were hot on everyone’s lips across the globe this year.
Gaming
Next generation console war begins
2013 saw the start of a new all-out war of gaming consoles for the next generation, as both Sony and Microsoft launched new platforms in the US markets.
Often the centre of zealous fanboyism, the video gaming industry is becoming a massive entertainment market worth tens of billions of dollars across the globe.
The launch of two new big-name consoles in the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 marks the next step of the market’s evolution.
Both Sony and Microsoft made headlines throughout the year, feeding off the buzz before their respective consoles were announced, right up until the point of their launch.
While the war has just started, public opinion and sales have already tipped the scales in favour of Sony’s offering, as Microsoft continues to scramble around delayed launch waves and tidying up the fallout of a dismal PR and marketing campaign.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
Microsoft and Nokia make waves
In September 2013, Microsoft announced that it was going to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for $7.2 billion – the software giant’s biggest move into the mobile market.
While the buy wasn’t necessarily a massive shock – various US media had reported on the talks 3 months prior to the announcement, and Nokia had long-since been using Microsoft’s Windows Phone software on its Lumia devices – the move was a significant marriage of phone hardware and software in a world dominated by Apple and Samsung.
Former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer – who stepped down from the company in September – has been criticized for missing the mobile revolution – with Microsoft’s foray into the market, the Surface tablet, being met with tepid sales and unenthused consumer response.
With the Nokia purchase getting approval across all its regions of operation (despite some unhappy Finns), analysts believe this may be a brighter, bolder step for Microsoft in the world of mobile.
Twitter IPO
Twitter goes public
Last year it was Facebook and this year it was Twitter.
2013 saw Twitter as the latest tech company to make its way into the domain of the publicly listed – and unlike Facebook’s much talked-about public offering last year – things went off without a hitch.
When the social media company listed in early November, investors were buzzing in a fever similar to the dot-com hey-days, boosting the company’s shares from its listing price of $28, to over $40 within hours of trading.
In the weeks that followed the buzz eventually started to die down, but Twitter never performed particularly poorly on the New York Stock Exchange – a stark contrast to the Facebook offering in 2012, which saw the social network’s stock price sink in the first months of trade.
on 11 December, Twitter’s stock – on the face of solid strategic drives, particularly around advertising – saw renewed interest in its shares, pushing the company to an all-time high of $52.
BlackBerry Sinking
Sink or swim at BlackBerry
A company which drew interest in very much the opposite vein to Twitter’s success and Microsoft and Nokia’s optimistic tread, was BlackBerry – which nearly saw itself fold completely in its toughest year, yet.
With dropping market share, mounting losses, and muted response to its latest BlackBerry 10 devices, BlackBerry found itself in a widely reported and highly public decline in 2013 – which resulted in the company looking at various options to drag itself out of its problems.
From selling parts of its business (which shareholders weren’t so fond of) to selling the company altogether – BlackBerry faced a tough year with a lot of difficult decisions.
Ultimately, the once-dominating smartphone company opted to take a loan from its shareholders to keep the business running, while restructuring its management – including letting go of CEO Thorsten Heins – and playing on its strengths.
BlackBerry remains a popular device in emerging markets like South Africa, excels in its enterprise unit, and has finally opened up its BlackBerry Messenger network to other platforms.
In the words of new BlackBerry Interim Chief Executive, John Chen, “BlackBerry is here to stay”.
Big Brother is watching you
No way, NSA
The news that rocked the tech world in its entirety in 2013 was the leaking of reports showing the extent to which the United States government was spying on…pretty much everyone.
Around the middle of the year, it was disillusioned former CIA computer technician, Edward Snowden, who had worked as a contactor at the NSA, who identified himself as the source of multiple disclosures on the US government’s surveillance network.
From major tech companies like Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft – to other governments and multi-national institutions, no one came away untouched by the US National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) PRISM program – which allegedly gave the agency direct, warrantless access to user data.
The US government has continuously defended the measures it took to protect American citizens, claiming the methods were necessary to effectively fight against terrorism – and because letting the world know about its activities apparently put national security at risk, the USA went after Snowden.
In a modern spy-tale move, Snowden fled his home country and effectively remains “on the run”, having found asylum Russia – while tech and media companies tried to shake off the stigma of having been “compromised” by the NSA’s spy network.
More on the biggest news stories
Cyber spying, privacy violation and data collection controversy erupts
Microsoft-Nokia deal: not everyone is happy
PlayStation 4 make or break for Sony
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