It’s definitely September – despite the shortened workweek, we’ve already seen some major product releases from Amazon and Nokia, big news on the $ 69 million e-book settlement case, and, of course, the Democratic National Convention. Over on GigaOM Pro, our analysts and curators are looking at the long-term prospects for some of the week’s newsmakers: what are Nokia’s long term prospects? How can the federal government (under any administration) fund clean tech research? See what else has been trending on GigaOM Pro.
Note: GigaOM Pro is a subscription-based research service offering in-depth, timely analysis of developing trends and technologies. Visit pro.gigaom.comto learn more about it.
Printed engine prototype by Mccor Technologies
Cleantech: Adam Lesser
A sustainable funding source for cleantech research
On the heels of Solyndra’s one-year bankruptcy anniversary, Pro curator Adam Lesser writes about the country’s need to develop subsidies and tech investments that will spur a new energy economy – benefits that the fossil fuel industry currently receives. Lesser looks at large- and small-scale examples from India to Germany and speculates about the likelihood of a domestic tax and fun program. But a big question remains: what’s the best way to finance cleantech research?
Cloud: Tim Berglund
Emerging trends in the non-relational database market
It’s no surprise that big data is big business – after all, we recently launched a Data channel to showcase our coverage of that space. Pro analyst Tim Berglund breaks down the complex and crowded non-relational database market, focusing on Cassandra, Neo4J and Datomic, with an additional shortlist of companies to watch. While this form of database has existed, at least nominally, for the past 15 years, major innovations and developments have only truly emerged in within the past 3 years. Berglund analyzes this more recent history as he suggests like future developments and asks: what’s in store for NoSQL?
Connected Consumer: Todd Grimm
A field guide to 3D printing
The 3D printing market has undergone incredible innovation over the past 24 months: products now range from the $ 299 Makerbot to far more complex (and costly) industrial-grade devices. With that explosion of growth has come a mixed set of standards, definitions and expectations for both consumers and suppliers. Pro analyst Todd Grimm highlights the necessity of establishing a comprehensive glossary of terms for the 3D printing industry at large, and provides a nuanced breakdown of the current terminologies, technologies, applications and use cases in the existing 3D printing market.
Mobile: Colin Gibbs
Nokia is all-in with Microsoft, but Windows Phone success won’t be enough
As a lead up to this week’s release of the new Lumia 920 Windows 8 Phone, Pro curator Colin Gibbs takes a hard look at Nokia’s future. This could be the make-or-break moment for the company, which has been posting major operating losses for the past few years. But after disappointing sales figures for the Lumia 900 released earlier this year, competition from other handset manufacturers, and with the next iPhone slated for release later this fall, Nokia has a lot of work to do. Can the Windows Phone 8 help Nokia return to relevance in the world of smartphone manufacturing?
