Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things to do, as we have been told by at least a million love songs. In the IT world, however, it is one of the most frequently occurring events.

Technology by its very nature signifies a fast changing market. New products are launched almost every day. This means, meanwhile, that some other products have to give ground and depart for the IT market’s version of the Hades.

Today’s coolest IT toys and gadgets, after all, are tomorrow’s landfill residents.
 
Sayonara, Walkman

Sony, Japan’s consumer electronics giant, announced the death of the Walkman last week. Born in the 70s, the iconic portable music player came of age in the 1980s and kept growing in the 1990s.

The coming of the new millennium saw the Walkman’s decline both in terms of sales and popularity. As younger generations of consumers fell in love with MP3 players, and in particular, with those iPods from a certain Cupertino company, the Walkman gradually became a dying breed.

Sony was left with no choice but draw the curtains on its era-defining portable music player. After selling more than 220 million units in three decades, the Walkman is no more.

If it were of any comfort to die-hard Walkman fans and enthusiasts, Sony plans to keep manufacturing the portable cassette-playing gadget, although not in Japan but in China.
Also, the Walkman brand lives on with Sony’s Walkman lines of MP3 players and portable media players, as well as with Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones and smartphones.
 
White iPhone 4

The white edition of Apple’s iPhone 4 smartphone will not be available until spring. The company said it regrets disappointing consumers but gave no explanation for the delay. The company earlier had hoped to make white iPhone 4 smartphones available late this year.
Unfortunately, Apple seems to be having some difficulties in manufacturing white eleph…, er, iPhone 4 smartphones.
 
Apple’s Copyright Infringement Case

Readers would find this rather hard to believe; but yes, indeed, Apple has been sued for alleged copyright infringement in China. Computer screen manufacturer Proview Technology says it owns the rights to the iPad brand in China. The company reportedly registered the trademark in January 2000 and still owns the rights to use the name in the country.
Proview Technology, according to media reports, is asking for $800 million for the copyright.

This is rather interesting. It usually is when a China-based company does the complaining of copyright infringement, instead of being accused of ripping off other companies’ intellectual properties.

I am wondering how this development would affect Apple’s marketing plans for the iPad in China.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.