Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, which he founded in 2012. Reticle Research analyzes consumer adoption and usage of technology.
Prior to founding Reticle Research, Rubin was executive director of industry analysis for consumer technology at The NPD Group, a market research firm well-known for tracking sales of electronics, PCs, cell phones and other consumer gadgets. Prior to joining NPD, Rubin was vice president and chief research fellow at Jupiter Research, where he founded the firm’s first technology research practice covering Net-connected devices as well as the evolution of broadband and wireless data. Rubin also created the firm’s research report structural guidelines.
Rubin has been a frequent speaker at many industry events, including CES, CTIA and IFA. He has written the Switched On column for Engadget since 2004, and also maintains columns at ABCNews.com, TechCrunch and TUAW.
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
An ancient and once-sacred bond between author and audience, reading and writing have become but two more tasks along with a multitude of other things that we do on a host of digital devices — watcing videos, listening to music, playing games, and really anything except using Facebook Home. Still… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
These days, it seems that anything that whiffs of the traditional PC has all the market appeal of a month-old banana. Microsoft and its hardware cohorts are trying to fight back against the image of the staid tower and notebook with touch-enabled, all-in-one computers, clickety-covered tablets and… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
One of the hottest areas of tech interest right now is the Internet of Things, wherein everyday objects communicate with each other. As doorknobs and clothing learn to communicate, we can only hope that… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
The mere mention of those particular articles of clothing that protect our private bits from coming into contact with our clothing (or perhaps vice versa) has long been enough to drive children into… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Backed or Whacked first explored the murky underworld of iPad wearing devices last November. The GoPad saw its Kickstarter campaign whacked despite a temptation-inducing expository video. With a… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Last week, Backed or Whacked look at a trio of wristbands that can hold a buck, make a bun and prevent a burn all without any assistance from a successful mobile app platform. But as a host of digital… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Crowdfunding sites have become a breeding ground for smartwatches and even a fair number of dumb watches. But assuming one opts in for such a portable time-telling conveyance, that usually leaves a second… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
There are a number of schools regarding the existence of alien intelligent races. Among those who refute that we’ve been able to detect extraterrestrials among us, there are a broad range of theories. Perhaps such beings don’t exist. Perhaps they haven’t advanced far enough to reach us. Or… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Last week’s Backed or Whacked column looked at a trio of small, easily attached bicycle accessories that could beef up your ride’s horn, assist in toting shopping bags, or add more secure footing to… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Back in January, Backed or Whacked looked at three crowdfunding projects that were aimed at getting novel takes on bicycles off the ground, or at least on the ground. But not every crowdfunded bicycle… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Our furry friends are often labelled our faithful companions, but their loyalty can often come at a price. Indiegogo inventors have been applying creativity to address each of these options to help… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Once rejected by Kickstarter, the smartphone-controlled door lock Lockitron was a crowdfunding hit on its own site. Still, for the foreseeable future, most locks will be opened with the insertion and… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Kickstarter has seen its share of campaigns that spin out of control, but it’s a lot more impressive when spin is in control. Seeing that potential, a trio of tethered toys has recently cropped up on the site, with each appealing to different levels of rotational robustness. Here’s the spin… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
In last week’s Backed or Whacked, I discussed watches, one of the mixes of fashion and function that many wear every day. Another example of such a combination is eyewear, where crowdfunding endeavors have taken approaches that range from high art to high volume in pursuit of recreational… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Last year, Kickstarter launched a bumper crop of smart watches that connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone. The field was led by the record-setting Pebble, but also included products such as… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Beyond making their way in the dark, modern humans have many basic needs — maintaining well-being, feeling secure, and enforcing as much control over their domain as possible while exerting as… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Last week’s Backed or Whacked focused on devices that can remotely provide input to smartphones; this week, we venture beyond the bounds of simple information retrieval and toward illuminated products that can actually be controlled by one’s pocket companion, particularly in the home. → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Some say the cloud has replaced the PC as the digital hub. That may be true for data, but devices that create that data often need to make at least a pitstop before being distributed, and, increasingly, that interim destination is an app on a smartphone. Information and video can now be applied… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Bikes and tech go back a long way. During his first stint at Apple, Steve Jobs would talk about how, when one compared the efficiency of various animals in advancing a kilometer, humans fared poorly, a distant species from the class-leading condor. But when you did the same comparison with a… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Whether you rocked your New Year’s Eve Gangnam Style, fed your Bieber fever or just took in a traditional Auld Lang Syne, there was an opportunity to get that music out of your smartphone and share it with the rest of the party. And as long as that party wasn’t larger than, say, a… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column looks at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
The period leading up to the New Year is often a time of self-reflection. Resolutions often relate to people wanting to create a better version of themselves or at least a thinner version of themselves. → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
‘Tis the season when our thoughts often turn to the wee ones in our lives, and that has certainly been on the minds of some crowdfunding project owners and backers. → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
Crowdfunding campaigns employ all kinds of logical and emotional appeals to get you to dig into your wallet. But in just the past few months, there’s been a rush of different products seeking to replace yours. Why Kickstarter — which screens all projects — saw fit to greenlight 10 variations… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals. Follow him on Twitter @rossrubin. Given Kickstarter’s mission as a place to promote creative projects, gadgets that have roots in the arts seem to have a particular affinity with the service. For… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
High-quality videoconferencing was once the exclusive province of rich institutions with dedicated high-speed connections. Two recent Kickstarter projects take iPhone video interaction to places it has never been before. → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and writer for Engadget. His column examines crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
Designers of innovative high-tech products often face a dilemma between two of Kickstarter’s more popular categories. Should they mix in with the host of camera stabilizers, video dollies and iPhone… → Read More
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and writer for Engadget. Each column will look at crowdfunded products that have either met or missed their funding goals.
The iPad mini stole the show at Apple’s far-flung October 23rd product introduction, creating a more compelling alternative to the iPad 2 while taking a backseat to the muscled-up fourth-generation… → Read More
Companies keep trying to affix touchscreens to our refrigerators and develop more infomercial-friendly variations of the blender, but the kitchen still remains a relatively low-tech sanctuary. Even as we hurtle toward a Wall-E-era existence of complete automation and leisure, the simple joys of preparing a meal in one’s own kitchen can be invigorating. And while Kickstarter has begun to… → Read More
Editor’s note: This weekend we’re running a new column called Backed or Whacked by Ross Rubin.
Cloud-connected smartphones and tablets have become vast repositories of our information. Still, there’s more to be done to facilitate getting data into and out of them, at least according to a couple of Kickstarter projects having different degrees of success. → Read More
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