Story first appeared on ABC News -
The two biggest — and bitterest — rivals in the smartphone market will have to endure another bruising trial after a federal judge ruled that jurors miscalculated nearly half the $1 billion in damages it found Samsung Electronics owed Apple Inc. for patent infringement.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh wiped out $450 million from the verdict and ordered a new trial to reconsider damages related to 14 Samsung products including some products in its hot-selling Galaxy lineup jurors in August found were using Apple's technology without permission. Koh said jurors in the three-week trial had not properly followed her instruction in calculating some of the damages.
She also concluded that mistakes had been made in determining when Apple had first notified Samsung about the alleged violations of patents for its trend-setting iPhone and IPad.
"We are pleased that the court decided to strike $450,514,650 from the jury's award," Samsung spokeswoman Lauren Restuccia said.
Koh didn't toss out the jurors underlying finding that two dozen Samsung products infringed patents Apple used to develop its iPad and iPhone products. The new jury will be tasked with only determining what Samsung owes Apple.
Apple declined to comment on the Koh's ruling, which still did leave Samsung with a bill to just under $599 million. The judge said the tab will probably increase after the appeals of both companies are resolved.
Apple is seeking more damages and Samsung a complete dismissal of the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Washington, D.C.-based court that handles all patent appeals. The new trial to recalculate the damages could also increase the award.
Still, the ruling was the second significant setback in Koh's courtroom since the headline grabbing verdict was announced.
In December, Koh refused to order a sales ban on the products the jury found infringed Apple's patents. She said Apple failed to prove the purloined technology is what drove consumers to buy a Samsung product instead of an Apple iPhone or iPad. Samsung says that it is continues to sell only three of the two dozen products found to have infringed Apple's patents.
After a three-week trial closely followed in Silicon Valley, the jury decided that Samsung ripped off the trailblazing technology and sleek designs used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. Jurors ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion.
Apple filed another lawsuit last year accusing Samsung's newer line of products of continuing to use technology controlled by Apple. Koh has scheduled trial in that case for early next year. She has implored both companies on several occasions to settle their difference with little success.
Apple filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.
The jury found that several Samsung products illegally used such Apple creations as the "bounce-back" feature when a user scrolls to an end image, and the ability to zoom text with a tap of a finger.
Samsung has mounted an aggressive post-trial attack on the verdict, raising a number of legal issues that allege the South Korean company was treated unfairly in a federal courtroom a dozen miles from Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Samsung alleges that some of Apple's patents shouldn't have been awarded in the first place and that the jury made mistakes in calculating the damage award.
Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken it as the leading smartphone maker. Samsung's Galaxy line of phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers.
Apple and Samsung have filed similar lawsuits in eight other countries, including South Korea, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia.
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2013
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Apple iPad Mini Review
story first appeared on usatoday.com
Science fiction version: Mad scientists inside Apple's ultra-secretive lab plunge a recent iPad into boiling stew. What emerges is a near identical but considerably smaller and lighter tablet.
Figure Apple relied on more conventional (if no less secret) lab behavior in designing the iPad Mini that reaches stores Friday. But no matter how the downsized tablet came to be, the natural question is how it differs from its bigger sibling and rival tablets with similar-size small screens, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Barnes & Noble Nook HD, and Google Nexus 7.
The smaller form changes the way you approach the tablet. I've never hesitated to travel with the bigger iPad. It's terrific for reading, watching movies and playing games on an airplane — but given a choice, before a road trip I would now more likely grab the little guy. It's the right size for immersing yourself in a novel. Held sideways, it's simple to bang out an email with your fingers. Battery life is excellent
A tour of the Mini reveals the usual home button on the bottom front, power button and headphone jack on the top, and volume controls on the side. Front and rear cameras are on either side, just like on the bigger iPad. You're greeted by the customary home screen layout with icons for Safari, Mail, Videos and Music parked at the bottom of the display.
You can even exploit the Siri voice assistant. And the Mini runs iOS 6, the latest iteration of Apple's mobile operating system software.
But it is the multitude of apps — 275,000 optimized for the tablet are available in the Apple App store— coupled with Apple's formidable iTunes ecosystem for music, movies and TV shows that represents a major reason why the iPad, big or small, is still the tablet to beat.
That is not to say that the Kindle Fire HD, Nook HD, and Nexus 7 don't pose strong alternatives to the iPad Mini. Those tablets have starting prices of $199 that undercut the $329 starting price of the Mini that has Wi-Fi only and 16 gigabytes of storage.
Amazon, for one, already is running ads comparing Kindle Fire HD with the Mini — bragging about the Fire's impressive high-definition screen and its stereo speakers. The speakers on the Mini are mono. And its screen, though nice, does not afford the beautiful, super-crisp "retina displays" on the latest larger iPads, iPhones or Macintosh computers. But the Kindle is heavier and has fewer apps.
(Update on Wednesday: Amazon is no longer running the ad. Apple confirms that the Mini does indeed have stereo.)
Prices for the Wi-Fi-only Mini climb to $429 for 32GB and $529 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models, available later in the U.S. from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, command $459, $559 and $659, respectively. (The unit I've been testing for a week is Wi-Fi only.)
To be sure, the 7.9 inch display on the Mini, vs. 9.7-inches for full-size iPads, gives you a lot less screen real estate to play with. But at a shade under 0.7 pounds and 0.28-inches thick, the paperback-size Mini is 53% lighter and 23% thinner than the newest iPad. It is just wide enough that I was not able to stash it in one inside sport jacket pocket but was able to slip it into another. Compared with the 7-inch screens on some of Kindle, Nook and Nexus devices, though, the iPad Mini is 35% roomier.
Sitting in a cramped airline seat, or lying in bed, I found reading on the Mini to be a generally a more pleasurable experience than reading on the full-size iPad. But though you can now more easily hold a Mini with one hand, I still tended to use two.
Speed: Inside, the iPad Mini has an Apple-designed dual core A5 processor, a version of which powered the iPad 2. But I did detect some sluggishness. At the same time that I was downloading some content in the background, it took several seconds for the screen shots I captured on the device to land in the Photos app. I've never experienced the delay on a bigger iPad.
Cameras: The iPad Mini has two good cameras, including one on the front for doing FaceTime video calls, and a rear 5-megapixel camera that can capture 1080p high-definition video. The quality of FaceTime is related to your network connection, so even in a Wi-Fi environment, I sometimes lost sight of the person at the other end of the call.
Battery life: On the Wi-Fi model, Apple claims 10 hours of battery life while surfing the Web, watching video or listening to music. I was well on my way to confirming that. Nine hours into my test with Wi-Fi on, brightness at 75% and a video playing, I still had about 25% of juice left. But I cut my test short because of a power outage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Apple promises about an hour less battery life on the cellular models.
Connectors: Like the new iPhone 5, and fourth generation iPad announced last week, the Mini makes use of Apple's new Lightning connector. Unless you purchase adapters, you may not be able to use the Mini on some older accessories. Speaking of accessories, Apple has designed a handsome $39 iPad Mini Smart Cover (in one of 6 colors) that magnetically aligns itself to the tablet. It's made with a microfiber lining that Apple says keeps the screen clean.
But in the absence of a USB connector or SD card slot, you'll need pricey $29 Lightning adapter accessories to connect the Mini to a digital camera or to insert a memory card from your camera into the tablet. On older iPads with a 30-pin dock connector camera kit, you got both connectors for $29.
The big picture on the small iPad: Despite a few quibbles and strong competitors in the space, the Mini is a splendid choice for folks who held off buying an iPad because it was too large or too expensive.
Science fiction version: Mad scientists inside Apple's ultra-secretive lab plunge a recent iPad into boiling stew. What emerges is a near identical but considerably smaller and lighter tablet.
Figure Apple relied on more conventional (if no less secret) lab behavior in designing the iPad Mini that reaches stores Friday. But no matter how the downsized tablet came to be, the natural question is how it differs from its bigger sibling and rival tablets with similar-size small screens, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Barnes & Noble Nook HD, and Google Nexus 7.
The smaller form changes the way you approach the tablet. I've never hesitated to travel with the bigger iPad. It's terrific for reading, watching movies and playing games on an airplane — but given a choice, before a road trip I would now more likely grab the little guy. It's the right size for immersing yourself in a novel. Held sideways, it's simple to bang out an email with your fingers. Battery life is excellent
A tour of the Mini reveals the usual home button on the bottom front, power button and headphone jack on the top, and volume controls on the side. Front and rear cameras are on either side, just like on the bigger iPad. You're greeted by the customary home screen layout with icons for Safari, Mail, Videos and Music parked at the bottom of the display.
You can even exploit the Siri voice assistant. And the Mini runs iOS 6, the latest iteration of Apple's mobile operating system software.
But it is the multitude of apps — 275,000 optimized for the tablet are available in the Apple App store— coupled with Apple's formidable iTunes ecosystem for music, movies and TV shows that represents a major reason why the iPad, big or small, is still the tablet to beat.
That is not to say that the Kindle Fire HD, Nook HD, and Nexus 7 don't pose strong alternatives to the iPad Mini. Those tablets have starting prices of $199 that undercut the $329 starting price of the Mini that has Wi-Fi only and 16 gigabytes of storage.
Amazon, for one, already is running ads comparing Kindle Fire HD with the Mini — bragging about the Fire's impressive high-definition screen and its stereo speakers. The speakers on the Mini are mono. And its screen, though nice, does not afford the beautiful, super-crisp "retina displays" on the latest larger iPads, iPhones or Macintosh computers. But the Kindle is heavier and has fewer apps.
(Update on Wednesday: Amazon is no longer running the ad. Apple confirms that the Mini does indeed have stereo.)
Prices for the Wi-Fi-only Mini climb to $429 for 32GB and $529 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models, available later in the U.S. from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, command $459, $559 and $659, respectively. (The unit I've been testing for a week is Wi-Fi only.)
To be sure, the 7.9 inch display on the Mini, vs. 9.7-inches for full-size iPads, gives you a lot less screen real estate to play with. But at a shade under 0.7 pounds and 0.28-inches thick, the paperback-size Mini is 53% lighter and 23% thinner than the newest iPad. It is just wide enough that I was not able to stash it in one inside sport jacket pocket but was able to slip it into another. Compared with the 7-inch screens on some of Kindle, Nook and Nexus devices, though, the iPad Mini is 35% roomier.
Sitting in a cramped airline seat, or lying in bed, I found reading on the Mini to be a generally a more pleasurable experience than reading on the full-size iPad. But though you can now more easily hold a Mini with one hand, I still tended to use two.
Speed: Inside, the iPad Mini has an Apple-designed dual core A5 processor, a version of which powered the iPad 2. But I did detect some sluggishness. At the same time that I was downloading some content in the background, it took several seconds for the screen shots I captured on the device to land in the Photos app. I've never experienced the delay on a bigger iPad.
Cameras: The iPad Mini has two good cameras, including one on the front for doing FaceTime video calls, and a rear 5-megapixel camera that can capture 1080p high-definition video. The quality of FaceTime is related to your network connection, so even in a Wi-Fi environment, I sometimes lost sight of the person at the other end of the call.
Battery life: On the Wi-Fi model, Apple claims 10 hours of battery life while surfing the Web, watching video or listening to music. I was well on my way to confirming that. Nine hours into my test with Wi-Fi on, brightness at 75% and a video playing, I still had about 25% of juice left. But I cut my test short because of a power outage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Apple promises about an hour less battery life on the cellular models.
Connectors: Like the new iPhone 5, and fourth generation iPad announced last week, the Mini makes use of Apple's new Lightning connector. Unless you purchase adapters, you may not be able to use the Mini on some older accessories. Speaking of accessories, Apple has designed a handsome $39 iPad Mini Smart Cover (in one of 6 colors) that magnetically aligns itself to the tablet. It's made with a microfiber lining that Apple says keeps the screen clean.
But in the absence of a USB connector or SD card slot, you'll need pricey $29 Lightning adapter accessories to connect the Mini to a digital camera or to insert a memory card from your camera into the tablet. On older iPads with a 30-pin dock connector camera kit, you got both connectors for $29.
The big picture on the small iPad: Despite a few quibbles and strong competitors in the space, the Mini is a splendid choice for folks who held off buying an iPad because it was too large or too expensive.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Education Use of Apple iPad Growing
Story first appeared on Bloomberg News
Julie Garcia handed Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPads to students in her seventh-grade pre-algebra class on a recent morning before showing the pupils how to use the tablet to graph data, hunt for correlations and record how-to videos.
A math instructor at Innovation Middle School, Garcia is one of the first to use some of the more than 25,000 iPads the San Diego Unified School District bought from Apple this year.
Garcia said it is the "cool factor" as she looks over the room of students tapping energetically on tablets.
For districts around the country, though, it’s the price as much as the cool quotient that could draw them to a new, smaller version of the iPad that Apple will unveil tomorrow at an event in San Jose, California. Apple has long been a leader in education, and schools began embracing the iPad soon after its 2010 debut. Yet as fiscal budget shortfalls crimp spending all the more, schools in growing numbers are warming to the handheld devices as an alternative to more expensive laptops.
Now schools, as well as consumers, are about to get another big price break: The smaller iPad may cost as little as $249, according to Barclays Plc. That compares with $499 to $829 for the current iPad.
Beyond the school market of course, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will use the device to try to widen Apple’s lead over Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. and fend off a more recent threat from Microsoft Corp. in the market for tablets, which NPD DisplaySearch predicts will more than double to $162 billion by 2017. Cook will unveil an iPad with a 7.85-inch screen diagonally, people familiar with its development said in August. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.
iPad Shift
Yet Apple executives plan to make a point of highlighting the iPad’s educational capabilities at tomorrow’s event, according to a person with knowledge of the planning. Little wonder. Education spending on information technology, including hardware, was about $19.7 billion in the 2010-2011 period, according to the Center for Digital Education.
Educators’ bet on tablets mirrors a trend in the broader consumer-electronics market, where consumers are buying iPads instead of traditional personal computers. PC sales in K-12 fell 8 percent in the U.S. last quarter, the third straight decline, Gartner said.
James Ponce, the superintendent of the McAllen Independent School District in Texas said they are moving away from desktops and laptops to tablet devices.
School Sales
The education push is part of a strategy put in place under co-Founder Steve Jobs, before the iPad was introduced in 2010. While Apple has a history of selling Mac computers to schools, the company realigned its education sales force to emphasize iPads, a person familiar with the changes said.
Innovation Middle School has traditionally used Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) computers because Macs are too expensive, said Harlan Klein, the school’s principal.
The new iPad comes at a critical time for Apple. Its shares have dropped 13 percent since reaching a record on Sept. 19, two days before the company released the iPhone 5. Sales of the smartphone have been constrained by supply constraints. Apple is also facing fresh competition in tablets from Microsoft (MSFT), which on Oct. 26 will release the Surface, its first foray into hardware. Apple had about 70 percent of the market in the second quarter, compared with Samsung Electronics Co., which had 9.2 percent, and Amazon’s 4.2 percent, according to IHS ISuppli.
Courting Educators
To woo educators, Apple’s sales staff meets regularly with school administrators and procurement officers across the U.S. The company has sales staff assigned to work with schools in particular regions of the U.S., and pays for district officials to visit Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, to learn about new products.
The company will need to set the new iPad’s price right to woo cash-strapped districts.
Vineet Madan, a senior vice president at McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) education unit said there would be a real aggressive uptake in the K-12 market when tablets get into the $200-$300 range.
To save money, San Diego’s school district bought iPad 2s after Apple dropped the price of that model when the newest version was introduced earlier this year.
Training Teachers
Drawing on funds raised through a voter-approved bond measure, the district spent about $370 on each iPad, which comes pre-loaded with various educational applications, Browne said.
Besides budgetary constraints, a major challenge for schools is training teachers and managing all the new equipment and software. If a teacher wants to use an iPad math application, synchronizing a classroom of devices and monitoring all the students’ work can be time consuming. In San Diego, a team of eight employees helps train teachers and manage new technology.
Touch Screens
In southern Texas, Ponce of the McAllen Independent School District reached out to Apple soon after the district decided to get away from buying laptops and desktops, which he said were expensive to maintain and unappealing for many students. Apple was at the table helping craft the district’s strategy for integrating technology in classrooms, he said.
The work resulted in McAllen buying about 25,000 iPads, paying Apple about $3.5 million a year as part of a financing deal the district worked out with Apple. About half the district’s technology budget is now going to Apple, Ponce said. Students are using iPad applications to test for vocabulary, make presentations and compile class notes.
While some teachers have resisted the new technology, many are adapting because they see students are increasingly fluent with touch-screen-based technology, said Courtney Browne, a technology resource teacher at San Diego Unified School District.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Logitech Puts Out Solar iPad Keyboard
Story first appeared in All Things D.
If you love your iPad but don’t love its virtual keyboard, Logitech has a snappy new solution for you — and it’s environmentally friendly to boot.
The accessory maker today revealed its Solar Keyboard Folio, an iPad case with a built-in Bluetooth keyboard.
Add-on keyboards for the iPad certainly aren’t a new thing. What sets the Solar Keyboard Folio apart from the rest is that it doesn’t require a cable or battery for power or recharging. Instead, the case features integrated solar cells that draw juice from indoor and outdoor light. Much like the photovoltaic cells used in home solar panel racks and Solar Carports.
Logitech says that when fully charged, the keyboard’s battery can last up to two years, based on two hours of usage per day.
When not in use, the Solar Keyboard Folio doubles as a protective case for your tablet, and like the Smart Cover, the iPad automatically wakes up when you open the case, and goes to sleep when in the closed position.
The book-style case can be positioned at two different angles, one that places the iPad in an upright position for full access to the keyboard, and one that’s better suited for viewing media.
The Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio works with the third-generation iPad and iPad 2, so unfortunately, if you have an original iPad, you’re out of luck. It will be available in the U.S. and Europe this month for $129.99.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Don't Sell Your Old Smartphone
Story first appeared in The Detroit Free Press.
Thinking of selling your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead.
If you were planning to sell an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, however, you may want to think again, according to a McAfee identify theft expert.
The expert recently purchased 30 electronic devices from Craigslist -- mostly smartphones and laptops -- to see how effective normal people are at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
After he got the devices home he, did some digging around in the phones and computers himself and then sent the machines to a forensics expert to see what personal data he might glean.
Fifteen devices revealed no information about the previous owner's identity, no matter how thoroughly the experts looked. But as for those other 15 devices -- they coughed up plenty of private data.
The expert was able to get bank account information, Social Security numbers, court documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data off those devices with not much effort.
And the worst part? Most of those devices had already been "wiped" by their previous owner -- meaning all personal files had been deleted and the user had restored the device's factory settings as per the manufacturer's instructions. The data is still there after following manufacturer protocol.
So, what's the difference between the devices that still reveal personal information after being wiped and those that don't?
It came down to the type of device that was sold and what kind of operating system it was running.
BlackBerrys were totally impenetrable. Resetting to factory settings on a Blackberry totally wiped any and all personal data from the machine. Similarly, he was unable to get data off devices running iOS such as the iPad and the iPhone. Devices running Windows 7 that are wiped by their owners also got his vote of confidence.
As for smartphones running the Android system and computers running Windows XP, it is recommended that people don't sell them at all.
You don't want to sell your identity for $50. Either put the device in storage indefinitely, or put holes in the hard drive to make certain that the information cannot be pulled.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Thinking of selling your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead.
If you were planning to sell an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, however, you may want to think again, according to a McAfee identify theft expert.
The expert recently purchased 30 electronic devices from Craigslist -- mostly smartphones and laptops -- to see how effective normal people are at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
After he got the devices home he, did some digging around in the phones and computers himself and then sent the machines to a forensics expert to see what personal data he might glean.
Fifteen devices revealed no information about the previous owner's identity, no matter how thoroughly the experts looked. But as for those other 15 devices -- they coughed up plenty of private data.
The expert was able to get bank account information, Social Security numbers, court documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data off those devices with not much effort.
And the worst part? Most of those devices had already been "wiped" by their previous owner -- meaning all personal files had been deleted and the user had restored the device's factory settings as per the manufacturer's instructions. The data is still there after following manufacturer protocol.
So, what's the difference between the devices that still reveal personal information after being wiped and those that don't?
It came down to the type of device that was sold and what kind of operating system it was running.
BlackBerrys were totally impenetrable. Resetting to factory settings on a Blackberry totally wiped any and all personal data from the machine. Similarly, he was unable to get data off devices running iOS such as the iPad and the iPhone. Devices running Windows 7 that are wiped by their owners also got his vote of confidence.
As for smartphones running the Android system and computers running Windows XP, it is recommended that people don't sell them at all.
You don't want to sell your identity for $50. Either put the device in storage indefinitely, or put holes in the hard drive to make certain that the information cannot be pulled.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Chinese Company vs. iPads
First appeared in Associated Press
A Chinese company said Tuesday it will ask customs officials
to ban imports and exports of Apple's iPads due to a dispute over ownership of
the trademark.
All of Apple's iPads are manufactured in China, meaning
global sales of the popular tablet computers might be affected if authorities
agreed to enforce such a request by Shenzhen Proview Technology.
The dispute with Proview, which won a court ruling that it
owns the iPad name in China, has resulted in authorities seizing iPads from
retailers in one city. Proview said it has asked for enforcement in 30 other
cities.
"We are now working on a request to China Customs to
ban and seize all the import and export of the iPad products that have violated
the trademark," said Xie Xianghui, a Proview lawyer. He gave no indication
when the request might be filed.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, defended its
ownership of the iPad name.
"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad
trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor
their agreement with Apple in China," said an Apple Inc. spokeswoman in
Beijing, Carolyn Wu.
Wu declined to comment on the possibility of Proview
requesting a ban on iPad imports and exports.
China is Apple's fastest-growing market. Its iPads and
iPhones are manufactured by a contractor, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technologies
Group, at factories in southern China.
Shenzhen Proview Technology registered the iPad trademark in
China in 2001. Apple bought rights to the name from a Taiwan company affiliated
with Proview but the mainland company says it still owns the name in China. A
Chinese court rejected Apple's claim to the name in China last year. Apple has
appealed.
"Our case is still pending in mainland China," Wu
said.
Chinese rules allow trademark owners to request seizure of
goods that violate their rights, according to Stan Abrams, an American lawyer
who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing's Central University of
Finance and Economics.
The rules were enacted partly in response to foreign
pressure for Beijing to stamp out rampant unlicensed copying of foreign movies,
music and designer clothes. Abrams said exports can be seized under rules meant
to prevent manufacturers in China from sending unlicensed copies to other
markets.
"All of these things that Proview can do, whether it's
going to court or Customs, these are the things that we want to see,"
Abrams said. "So it's definitely ironic."
Chinese news reports say Proview, which makes computer
displays, is deep in debt and needs a big settlement from Apple.
Proview has yet to make an offer to settle, said Xie, the
company's lawyer.
"We are now focusing our work on upholding rights and
haven't made negotiation proposals to Apple yet," he said. "As for
the reasons, you should ask Apple."
Shenzhen Proview Technology is a subsidiary of LCD screen
maker Proview International Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong.
Apple bought rights to the iPad name in 2009 from a Taiwan
affiliate, Proview Taipei, that registered it in various countries as early as
2000.
A Chinese court ruled in December that Proview is not bound
by that agreement. It rejected Apple's complaint that Proview was violating its
rights.
Apple might be able to sue the Taiwan company on contract
grounds for selling name rights it didn't own, Abrams said. But he said a
victory in such a suit would not give Apple rights to the name on the mainland.
"This kind of thing happens, but it's a mistake and
it's a really bad one in this case," Abrams said. "They're paying for
it now."
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Holiday Sales Didn't Help Microsoft
First appeared in NY Times
Weak sales of personal computers made for a tough holiday selling season for Microsoft.
The results, released Thursday after the markets closed, are a sign of the challenges that Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., faces as it tries to adapt to deep changes in the technology industry. While Microsoft continues to reap profits from products like Windows and Office, growth is shifting away from the personal computer industry on which those two software franchises rest toward mobile devices like tablets and smartphones.
The company said net income in its second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, declined slightly to $6.62 billion, or 78 cents a share, from $6.63 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said revenue was up 5 percent at $20.89 billion.
The earnings exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had predicted 76 cents a share, though Microsoft fell short of their revenue forecast of $20.93 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
The PC market is looking increasingly shaky. Microsoft said revenue from Windows, one of the pillars of its profits, fell 6 percent, to $4.74 billion, in the quarter.
Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said that most analysts had braced for poor Windows sales but that the actual numbers were worse than most had expected.
“We were negative 4 percent, and they still missed,” he said.
In an interview, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Peter S. Klein, said the decline in Windows sales was the result of problems in the consumer market, not purchases of PCs by businesses, which continued to grow during the quarter. He said the sales of the inexpensive laptops known as netbooks were especially bad, falling to 2 percent of worldwide consumer PC shipments in the quarter, from 8 percent a year earlier.
Worldwide shipments of PCs fell 0.2 percent during the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period, while PC shipments in the United States fell 5 percent for all of 2011, the worst showing since 2001, according to the International Data Corporation. IDC attributed the anemic results to weak economic conditions and shortages of hard disks caused by flooding in Thailand, a manufacturing center for those devices.
The weakness in Microsoft’s report also reflects competition from cellphones and tablets like Apple’s iPad.
After stumbling in mobile phones and tablets in recent years, Microsoft finally has software products for these devices that are winning positive early reviews. But Microsoft’s tablet and cellphone plans have not yet begun to produce big sales.
The company released its redesigned mobile operating system, Windows Phone, in fall 2010, but the first smartphones that used the software were lackluster and had tepid support from wireless carriers. Microsoft is betting that a partnership with Nokia, the Finnish cellphone maker, will help turn around its mobile business. The first devices from their collaboration went on sale only recently.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system are devouring most of the market. During the fourth quarter, Android phones accounted for 51.7 percent of the smartphones acquired by United States consumers within three months, while the iPhone accounted for 37 percent, according to estimates by Nielsen. Phones running Microsoft software, including an older operating system it is no longer developing, accounted for 3.8 percent, Nielsen said.
Microsoft is also developing a new version of its flagship operating system, Windows 8, to run tablet computers. Early test versions of the software have been praised by developers and technophiles. The software is not expected to go on sale until late this year, though.
Other parts of Microsoft’s business are performing well, especially its entertainment and devices division, dominated by sales of the Xbox video game system and related products. Revenue from that division grew 15 percent to $4.24 billion from the year-earlier period, reflecting strong sales of the Xbox 360 console, the Kinect game sensor and the Xbox Live online game service.
Another standout was Microsoft’s server and tools division, which sells databases and other software to businesses. That division’s sales rose 11 percent, to $4.77 billion.
Weak sales of personal computers made for a tough holiday selling season for Microsoft.
The results, released Thursday after the markets closed, are a sign of the challenges that Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., faces as it tries to adapt to deep changes in the technology industry. While Microsoft continues to reap profits from products like Windows and Office, growth is shifting away from the personal computer industry on which those two software franchises rest toward mobile devices like tablets and smartphones.
The company said net income in its second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, declined slightly to $6.62 billion, or 78 cents a share, from $6.63 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said revenue was up 5 percent at $20.89 billion.
The earnings exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had predicted 76 cents a share, though Microsoft fell short of their revenue forecast of $20.93 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
The PC market is looking increasingly shaky. Microsoft said revenue from Windows, one of the pillars of its profits, fell 6 percent, to $4.74 billion, in the quarter.
Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said that most analysts had braced for poor Windows sales but that the actual numbers were worse than most had expected.
“We were negative 4 percent, and they still missed,” he said.
In an interview, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Peter S. Klein, said the decline in Windows sales was the result of problems in the consumer market, not purchases of PCs by businesses, which continued to grow during the quarter. He said the sales of the inexpensive laptops known as netbooks were especially bad, falling to 2 percent of worldwide consumer PC shipments in the quarter, from 8 percent a year earlier.
Worldwide shipments of PCs fell 0.2 percent during the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period, while PC shipments in the United States fell 5 percent for all of 2011, the worst showing since 2001, according to the International Data Corporation. IDC attributed the anemic results to weak economic conditions and shortages of hard disks caused by flooding in Thailand, a manufacturing center for those devices.
The weakness in Microsoft’s report also reflects competition from cellphones and tablets like Apple’s iPad.
After stumbling in mobile phones and tablets in recent years, Microsoft finally has software products for these devices that are winning positive early reviews. But Microsoft’s tablet and cellphone plans have not yet begun to produce big sales.
The company released its redesigned mobile operating system, Windows Phone, in fall 2010, but the first smartphones that used the software were lackluster and had tepid support from wireless carriers. Microsoft is betting that a partnership with Nokia, the Finnish cellphone maker, will help turn around its mobile business. The first devices from their collaboration went on sale only recently.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system are devouring most of the market. During the fourth quarter, Android phones accounted for 51.7 percent of the smartphones acquired by United States consumers within three months, while the iPhone accounted for 37 percent, according to estimates by Nielsen. Phones running Microsoft software, including an older operating system it is no longer developing, accounted for 3.8 percent, Nielsen said.
Microsoft is also developing a new version of its flagship operating system, Windows 8, to run tablet computers. Early test versions of the software have been praised by developers and technophiles. The software is not expected to go on sale until late this year, though.
Other parts of Microsoft’s business are performing well, especially its entertainment and devices division, dominated by sales of the Xbox video game system and related products. Revenue from that division grew 15 percent to $4.24 billion from the year-earlier period, reflecting strong sales of the Xbox 360 console, the Kinect game sensor and the Xbox Live online game service.
Another standout was Microsoft’s server and tools division, which sells databases and other software to businesses. That division’s sales rose 11 percent, to $4.77 billion.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Technology: IPad Outsells 19-1
Story first appeared in Bloomberg News.
Research In Motion Ltd., depending on its new PlayBook to bolster sales as demand for its BlackBerry phones withers, may have shipped just one of the tablet computers last quarter for every 19 iPads from Apple Inc.
The company, which reports earnings tomorrow, probably sold about 490,000 PlayBooks during the first full quarter of sales, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts, compared with the 9.25 million iPads shipped last quarter. Analysts cut estimates for full-year PlayBook shipments, to an average of 2.2 million, according to the survey.
RIM overplayed the PlayBook in terms of its sales and prospects,
said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York. What this really shows is that the company’s prospects will depend on the next generation of BlackBerrys.
When RIM first disclosed plans for a tablet last year, analysts including Tero Kuittinen, then at MKM Partners LLC, said the device had the potential to evolve into a significant new product category.
Yet RIM didn’t get the 7-inch tablet to market until April, a year after the first iPad and behind rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.
Even then, RIM drew criticism for introducing the PlayBook without dedicated e-mail or instant messaging and a shortage of consumer applications like Netflix Inc. movies.
The company will ship about 1.5 million tablets this year, compared with 39.2 million for Apple and 7 million for Samsung, said Michael Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Ltd.
Minneapolis-based Walkley, who has a hold rating on the company said RIM hasn’t given up on the PlayBook, but it’s clearly off to a poor start. That creates huge pressure on the new BlackBerry phones, he said.
Revenue Decline
Last week, Walkley lowered his PlayBook forecast for fiscal 2012 to
1.5 million from 2.2 million, and William Power, an analyst at Robert W Baird & Co., cut his 2012 estimate to 2 million units from 2.45 million. This week, Steven Li, an analyst at Raymond James Ltd., reduced his PlayBook forecast to 2.4 million units from 4 million.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company will likely report its first revenue decline in nine years when it releases results tomorrow. Sales for the fiscal second quarter will probably decline to $4.53 billion from $4.62 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Profit may drop to 91 cents a share from $1.46, according to analysts.
New Smartphones
RIM is struggling to compete in the smartphone market against Apple and companies such as Samsung and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system. RIM’s share of the global smartphone-software market dropped to 12 percent in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner Inc. In the same period, Apple climbed to 18 percent from 14 percent, and Android rose to 43 percent of the market.
After its last earnings report in June, RIM tumbled 21 percent as the company cut its profit forecast for the year. RIM also unveiled plans to eliminate about 2,000 jobs, or a 10th of its workforce.
RIM slipped 4 cents to $30.13 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading and has dropped 48 percent this year.
The company is introducing new smartphones to gain back ground against rivals. RIM started selling phones that run on the BlackBerry 7 operating system in the U.S. this month and in Europe last month. The company plans to shift to a new operating system, QNX, with a lineup of phones that co-Chief Executive Officer Mike Lazaridis said will come out in early 2012.
Analysts have mixed impressions of the latest phones. Power, of Robert W Baird, said early sales of the BlackBerry 7 phones are sluggish.
Ehud Gelblum, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said positive initial reviews may bolster sales.
QNX Prospects
Models like the new touchscreen Bold 9900 are proving popular with corporate users and existing BlackBerry fans, while phones without keyboards like the Torch 9810, aimed at ordinary customers, are selling less well, said Canaccord’s Walkley.
He said consumer-centric retail store checks indicated smartphone customers continue to overwhelmingly choose the iPhone 4 or new Android smartphones.
The real test of RIM’s ability to compete with Apple and Google will come when it introduces the first QNX phones, said Gelblum. Because of how long it took RIM to get the PlayBook on the market, he’s concerned they may be delayed.
Gelblum, who is based in New York and rates RIM equal weight and said BB7 is just a stepping stone to QNX devices, but given RIM’s recent track record, it is difficult to know for certain if these devices ship on time.
Slow sales of RIM’s PlayBook raise the stakes for the next generation of smartphones. Now more than ever, RIM needs a hit to rebound the company's fortunes.
Research In Motion Ltd., depending on its new PlayBook to bolster sales as demand for its BlackBerry phones withers, may have shipped just one of the tablet computers last quarter for every 19 iPads from Apple Inc.
The company, which reports earnings tomorrow, probably sold about 490,000 PlayBooks during the first full quarter of sales, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts, compared with the 9.25 million iPads shipped last quarter. Analysts cut estimates for full-year PlayBook shipments, to an average of 2.2 million, according to the survey.
RIM overplayed the PlayBook in terms of its sales and prospects,
said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York. What this really shows is that the company’s prospects will depend on the next generation of BlackBerrys.
When RIM first disclosed plans for a tablet last year, analysts including Tero Kuittinen, then at MKM Partners LLC, said the device had the potential to evolve into a significant new product category.
Yet RIM didn’t get the 7-inch tablet to market until April, a year after the first iPad and behind rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.
Even then, RIM drew criticism for introducing the PlayBook without dedicated e-mail or instant messaging and a shortage of consumer applications like Netflix Inc. movies.
The company will ship about 1.5 million tablets this year, compared with 39.2 million for Apple and 7 million for Samsung, said Michael Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Ltd.
Minneapolis-based Walkley, who has a hold rating on the company said RIM hasn’t given up on the PlayBook, but it’s clearly off to a poor start. That creates huge pressure on the new BlackBerry phones, he said.
Revenue Decline
Last week, Walkley lowered his PlayBook forecast for fiscal 2012 to
1.5 million from 2.2 million, and William Power, an analyst at Robert W Baird & Co., cut his 2012 estimate to 2 million units from 2.45 million. This week, Steven Li, an analyst at Raymond James Ltd., reduced his PlayBook forecast to 2.4 million units from 4 million.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company will likely report its first revenue decline in nine years when it releases results tomorrow. Sales for the fiscal second quarter will probably decline to $4.53 billion from $4.62 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Profit may drop to 91 cents a share from $1.46, according to analysts.
New Smartphones
RIM is struggling to compete in the smartphone market against Apple and companies such as Samsung and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system. RIM’s share of the global smartphone-software market dropped to 12 percent in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner Inc. In the same period, Apple climbed to 18 percent from 14 percent, and Android rose to 43 percent of the market.
After its last earnings report in June, RIM tumbled 21 percent as the company cut its profit forecast for the year. RIM also unveiled plans to eliminate about 2,000 jobs, or a 10th of its workforce.
RIM slipped 4 cents to $30.13 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading and has dropped 48 percent this year.
The company is introducing new smartphones to gain back ground against rivals. RIM started selling phones that run on the BlackBerry 7 operating system in the U.S. this month and in Europe last month. The company plans to shift to a new operating system, QNX, with a lineup of phones that co-Chief Executive Officer Mike Lazaridis said will come out in early 2012.
Analysts have mixed impressions of the latest phones. Power, of Robert W Baird, said early sales of the BlackBerry 7 phones are sluggish.
Ehud Gelblum, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said positive initial reviews may bolster sales.
QNX Prospects
Models like the new touchscreen Bold 9900 are proving popular with corporate users and existing BlackBerry fans, while phones without keyboards like the Torch 9810, aimed at ordinary customers, are selling less well, said Canaccord’s Walkley.
He said consumer-centric retail store checks indicated smartphone customers continue to overwhelmingly choose the iPhone 4 or new Android smartphones.
The real test of RIM’s ability to compete with Apple and Google will come when it introduces the first QNX phones, said Gelblum. Because of how long it took RIM to get the PlayBook on the market, he’s concerned they may be delayed.
Gelblum, who is based in New York and rates RIM equal weight and said BB7 is just a stepping stone to QNX devices, but given RIM’s recent track record, it is difficult to know for certain if these devices ship on time.
Slow sales of RIM’s PlayBook raise the stakes for the next generation of smartphones. Now more than ever, RIM needs a hit to rebound the company's fortunes.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
BlackBerry PlayBook to take on the iPad
USA Today
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion just unveiled its answer to Apple's iPad -- the BlackBerry Playbook.
The tablet PC is aimed at professionals, who already make up RIM's core market. Here's how it compares to the iPad:
BlackBerry PlayBook
Screen size 7 inches
Weight 0.9 pounds
Thickness 0.4 inches
Storage 1 GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi + cellular through a BlackBerry
Cameras Two (front and back)
Apple iPad (several models available)
Screen size 9.7 inches
Weight 1.5 pounds or 1.6 pounds
Thickness 0.5 inches
Storage 16, 32, or 64 GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + cellular through AT&T
Cameras None
Research in Motion showed off the tablet for the first time Monday and is set to launch it early 2011, with an international rollout later in the year. With it RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple's iPad, which kicked-started the tablet market when it launched in April.
The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about to the iPad's. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back.
The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed — perhaps because the user walks away with the phone — no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.
But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full Web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems's format for video and interactive material on the Web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or "apps," Balsillie said.
"I don't need to download a YouTube app if I've got YouTube on the Web," said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company's mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.
"Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility," Balsillie said. "What we're launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full Web fidelity."
In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and "this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they're looking for."
Analysts agree that RIM's close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple's early lead.
"We do think that RIM has a play with enterprise customers because it has established relationships with so many businesses, and its technology is so deeply integrated with their IT departments," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.
RIM is using a new operating system, built by QNX Software Systems, which it took over earlier this year, to harness the power of the tablet, but Balsillie said it will run existing apps for BlackBerry phones.
IDC predicts that the corporate market for tablet computers will grow as a portion of overall sales over the next few years. The firm forecasts that roughly 11% of overall tablet shipments, or 6.5 million units, will be to businesses, government agencies or schools by 2014. That would be up from just 2%, or 300,000 units, this year. And that figure doesn't count those who buy tablet computers on their own and use them for work.
RIM doesn't want the PlayBook to be just for work — the company invited video game maker Electronic Arts to help introduce the Playbook at an event in San Francisco on Monday — but it's clear that its advantages will lie in the work arena.
The iPad has prompted a wave of competitors, so RIM won't be alone going after the tablet market. Computer maker Dell came out with its own tablet computer in August called the Streak. Samsung Electronics plans to launch the Galaxy Tab next month and has already lined up all four major U.S. carriers to sell it and provide wireless service for it. Cisco Systems is also going after business customers with a tablet called the Cius early next year.
The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about to the iPad's. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back.
The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed — perhaps because the user walks away with the phone — no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.
But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full Web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems's format for video and interactive material on the Web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or "apps," Balsillie said.
"I don't need to download a YouTube app if I've got YouTube on the Web," said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company's mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.
"Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility," Balsillie said. "What we're launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full Web fidelity."
In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and "this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they're looking for."
Analysts agree that RIM's close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple's early lead.
"We do think that RIM has a play with enterprise customers because it has established relationships with so many businesses, and its technology is so deeply integrated with their IT departments," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.
RIM is using a new operating system, built by QNX Software Systems, which it took over earlier this year, to harness the power of the tablet, but Balsillie said it will run existing apps for BlackBerry phones.
IDC predicts that the corporate market for tablet computers will grow as a portion of overall sales over the next few years. The firm forecasts that roughly 11% of overall tablet shipments, or 6.5 million units, will be to businesses, government agencies or schools by 2014. That would be up from just 2%, or 300,000 units, this year. And that figure doesn't count those who buy tablet computers on their own and use them for work.
RIM doesn't want the PlayBook to be just for work — the company invited video game maker Electronic Arts to help introduce the Playbook at an event in San Francisco on Monday — but it's clear that its advantages will lie in the work arena.
The iPad has prompted a wave of competitors, so RIM won't be alone going after the tablet market. Computer maker Dell came out with its own tablet computer in August called the Streak. Samsung Electronics plans to launch the Galaxy Tab next month and has already lined up all four major U.S. carriers to sell it and provide wireless service for it. Cisco Systems is also going after business customers with a tablet called the Cius early next year.
Monday, September 13, 2010
AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Said to Plan Samsung Tablet to Rival IPad
Bloomberg
AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless plan to sell a tablet computer from Samsung Electronics Co. to rival the iPad, said three people familiar with the matter.
AT&T and Sprint plan to offer the device, called the Galaxy Tab, for less than Samsung’s wholesale price by bundling it with monthly wireless service contracts, two people said. Samsung, the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, is scheduled to announce the carriers’ support at a Sept. 16 event in New York, said the people said, who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public.
Subsidies may help tablets such as the Galaxy stand out against Apple Inc.’s iPad, which starts at $499. Verizon Wireless hasn’t yet decided on such subsidies, said one person.
“The carrier-subsidized model would be very interesting,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw. “The market is going to be very crowded.”
Several companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are introducing tablet computers following the success of the iPad, a 9.7-inch touch-screen that acts as an e- reader, media player, word processor and calendar. The PCs access the Web through data plan contracts that represent the fastest-growing source of sales for the carriers.
Ashley Zandy, an AT&T spokeswoman; Cristi Allen, a Sprint spokeswoman; Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, and Ashley Lane, spokeswoman for Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung, declined to comment.
First in Europe
The Galaxy tablet goes on sale in Europe in October, before the U.S., and the company has plans for more of the devices next year, WP Hong, Samsung’s head of global planning, said at a electronics conference in Berlin this month.
The device, based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, has a 7-inch screen and is able to play high-definition videos. The Galaxy has a global-positioning system, cameras on each side for video calling and acts as a mobile phone.
Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, plans to introduce a tablet in November, people familiar with the plans have said. Motorola Inc., which makes Android-based smartphones, is also planning a tablet device for the holiday season, people familiar with the matter had said.
“I don’t think any of them are going to seriously challenge Apple for the lead over the holiday season at this point,” said Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at researcher iSuppli. “From a manufacturing standpoint, it would be a huge hurdle unless they’re going to start out of the gate at the volume that Apple is doing -- which would be risky at best.”
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, sold more than 3 million iPads in the first 80 days after it went on sale. To compete, tablet makers will have to offer something unique that the iPad doesn’t have, or cut their prices, Alexander said in an interview.
AT&T and Sprint plan to offer the device, called the Galaxy Tab, for less than Samsung’s wholesale price by bundling it with monthly wireless service contracts, two people said. Samsung, the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, is scheduled to announce the carriers’ support at a Sept. 16 event in New York, said the people said, who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public.
Subsidies may help tablets such as the Galaxy stand out against Apple Inc.’s iPad, which starts at $499. Verizon Wireless hasn’t yet decided on such subsidies, said one person.
“The carrier-subsidized model would be very interesting,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw. “The market is going to be very crowded.”
Several companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are introducing tablet computers following the success of the iPad, a 9.7-inch touch-screen that acts as an e- reader, media player, word processor and calendar. The PCs access the Web through data plan contracts that represent the fastest-growing source of sales for the carriers.
Ashley Zandy, an AT&T spokeswoman; Cristi Allen, a Sprint spokeswoman; Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, and Ashley Lane, spokeswoman for Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung, declined to comment.
First in Europe
The Galaxy tablet goes on sale in Europe in October, before the U.S., and the company has plans for more of the devices next year, WP Hong, Samsung’s head of global planning, said at a electronics conference in Berlin this month.
The device, based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, has a 7-inch screen and is able to play high-definition videos. The Galaxy has a global-positioning system, cameras on each side for video calling and acts as a mobile phone.
Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, plans to introduce a tablet in November, people familiar with the plans have said. Motorola Inc., which makes Android-based smartphones, is also planning a tablet device for the holiday season, people familiar with the matter had said.
“I don’t think any of them are going to seriously challenge Apple for the lead over the holiday season at this point,” said Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at researcher iSuppli. “From a manufacturing standpoint, it would be a huge hurdle unless they’re going to start out of the gate at the volume that Apple is doing -- which would be risky at best.”
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, sold more than 3 million iPads in the first 80 days after it went on sale. To compete, tablet makers will have to offer something unique that the iPad doesn’t have, or cut their prices, Alexander said in an interview.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
This IS your Grandfather's iPad as Japan Elderly Embrace Apple
Bloomberg
Hikosaburo Yasuda says he knows a trend when he sees one and plans to buy Apple Inc.’s iPad to keep up with junior members in his computer club. Yasuda is 95.
“It’s important to always try new things, otherwise you get left behind,” Yasuda said. “All these books in just one place, and so many familiar, classic titles that I’ve never had a chance to read. I want to buy the iPad just for that.”
Yasuda and his peers, looking for easier ways to browse the Web and send e-mails, are a potentially lucrative demographic for Apple as the proportion of people aged 65 and over climbs to records each year in countries including the U.S., China and France. Japan has the world’s oldest society, with the elderly accounting for an estimated 22 percent of the population, almost triple the global average.
“The iPad is a good tool for the elderly because it’s very forgiving of mistakes, something the seniors fear when dealing with computers,” said researcher Takahiro Miura of the University of Tokyo, whose team is working with International Business Machines Corp. on using computers to help senior citizens rejoin the workforce. “Unlike the PC, it doesn’t require prior knowledge.”
Android Competition
Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, said the tablet helps him communicate with his 2-year-old grandson, who turns it on himself to play games. Kitamura uses it to follow the Hanshin Tigers baseball team and show vacation pictures.
“I think using the iPad could help keep dementia at bay,” he said. “Trying new things like that is a good mental exercise.”
James Cordwell, a technology analyst at Atlantic Equities Service in London, said the iPad’s appeal to the elderly is helping the company reach beyond its traditional base of younger customers and fend off Google Inc.’s Android mobile-device operating system, which targets more technologically savvy users.
“Demographically, the world, especially in developed markets, is getting older and it’s probably where Apple is least penetrated,” Cordwell said. Elderly users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.”
Apple, the world’s biggest technology company by market value, said net income leaped 78 percent and revenue reached a record $15.7 billion last quarter, the first to include sales of the iPad tablet computer and the newest iPhone.
BlackBerry, Hewlett-Packard
Customers bought 3.27 million iPads, which sell for $499 in the U.S. and 48,800 yen ($565) in Japan for the low-end model. Research firm ISuppli Corp., of El Segundo, California, said Apple may ship 12.9 million this year.
“Every age group is important to Apple,” said Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based spokeswoman for Apple. The Cupertino, California-based company doesn’t provide a breakdown of iPad sales by region or age.
Apple faces competition from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., which plans to introduce a tablet computer in November, two people familiar with the plans said last month. Hewlett-Packard Co. and LG Electronics Inc. also said they plan to introduce tablet computers.
The iPad’s appeal to seniors extends beyond Japan. Marti Weston, of Arlington, Virginia, bought her father one for his 87th birthday in May. She downloaded applications for newspapers, classical music, the Bible and works by Plato and Shakespeare.
‘Disciplined Finger’
Her father, the Rev. Elmo Pascale, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, found it frustrating to type his journals into a computer using Windows, she said. Weston gave her father tutorials on the iPad, and now he’s downloading lectures and searching YouTube for videos.
“This ‘book-sized’ pad has become my news and entertainment source, requiring only a disciplined index finger and a rare recharging of its battery,” Pascale wrote on his daughter’s blog. “Thanks a million!”
Eiji Mori, an analyst at research firm BCN Inc. in Tokyo, said elderly consumers unfamiliar with technology are drawn to Apple.
“The iPad’s intuitive interface and the ability to enlarge text make for an appealing proposition to seniors,” Mori said. “It will rapidly increase in popularity among the elderly once the product shortages are dealt with and there is a selection of appropriate contents, such as e-books.”
Elderly Spending
The iPad also could help reintroduce the elderly into the workforce and create more opportunities to interact with young people, Miura said.
The Nakano Community Center frequented by Yasuda offers three computer clubs run by Toshihiro Okada, a 79-year-old retired architect. Members call him “The Saint” because he often bikes to their homes to troubleshoot computer problems.
He said three elderly friends bought iPads.
“Seniors these days have the trifecta of time, money and curiosity,” Okada said. “The iPad is never out of my hands.”
Annual spending per person in a Japanese household of people 65 and older was 1.34 million yen last year, higher than the national average of 1.24 million yen and second only to the under-30 age group, according to a report by the country’s Cabinet Office.
The elderly devote about 15.4 percent of household expenditures to entertainment and cultural activities, compared with the 13.5 percent national average, the report said.
Masato Enjuji, 89, and Yoshitaka Yamazaki, 77, said they bought iPads mostly out of curiosity after seeing Okada use his.
Enjuji, a retired sundry wholesaler, reads e-books and browses photos. He likened his discovery of the device to the time he learned Morse code as a 17-year-old.
“You’ve got to use your head, your eyes, your hands,” he said. “You can’t wall yourself in by thinking something is too difficult.”
“It’s important to always try new things, otherwise you get left behind,” Yasuda said. “All these books in just one place, and so many familiar, classic titles that I’ve never had a chance to read. I want to buy the iPad just for that.”
Yasuda and his peers, looking for easier ways to browse the Web and send e-mails, are a potentially lucrative demographic for Apple as the proportion of people aged 65 and over climbs to records each year in countries including the U.S., China and France. Japan has the world’s oldest society, with the elderly accounting for an estimated 22 percent of the population, almost triple the global average.
“The iPad is a good tool for the elderly because it’s very forgiving of mistakes, something the seniors fear when dealing with computers,” said researcher Takahiro Miura of the University of Tokyo, whose team is working with International Business Machines Corp. on using computers to help senior citizens rejoin the workforce. “Unlike the PC, it doesn’t require prior knowledge.”
Android Competition
Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, said the tablet helps him communicate with his 2-year-old grandson, who turns it on himself to play games. Kitamura uses it to follow the Hanshin Tigers baseball team and show vacation pictures.
“I think using the iPad could help keep dementia at bay,” he said. “Trying new things like that is a good mental exercise.”
James Cordwell, a technology analyst at Atlantic Equities Service in London, said the iPad’s appeal to the elderly is helping the company reach beyond its traditional base of younger customers and fend off Google Inc.’s Android mobile-device operating system, which targets more technologically savvy users.
“Demographically, the world, especially in developed markets, is getting older and it’s probably where Apple is least penetrated,” Cordwell said. Elderly users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.”
Apple, the world’s biggest technology company by market value, said net income leaped 78 percent and revenue reached a record $15.7 billion last quarter, the first to include sales of the iPad tablet computer and the newest iPhone.
BlackBerry, Hewlett-Packard
Customers bought 3.27 million iPads, which sell for $499 in the U.S. and 48,800 yen ($565) in Japan for the low-end model. Research firm ISuppli Corp., of El Segundo, California, said Apple may ship 12.9 million this year.
“Every age group is important to Apple,” said Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based spokeswoman for Apple. The Cupertino, California-based company doesn’t provide a breakdown of iPad sales by region or age.
Apple faces competition from BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., which plans to introduce a tablet computer in November, two people familiar with the plans said last month. Hewlett-Packard Co. and LG Electronics Inc. also said they plan to introduce tablet computers.
The iPad’s appeal to seniors extends beyond Japan. Marti Weston, of Arlington, Virginia, bought her father one for his 87th birthday in May. She downloaded applications for newspapers, classical music, the Bible and works by Plato and Shakespeare.
‘Disciplined Finger’
Her father, the Rev. Elmo Pascale, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, found it frustrating to type his journals into a computer using Windows, she said. Weston gave her father tutorials on the iPad, and now he’s downloading lectures and searching YouTube for videos.
“This ‘book-sized’ pad has become my news and entertainment source, requiring only a disciplined index finger and a rare recharging of its battery,” Pascale wrote on his daughter’s blog. “Thanks a million!”
Eiji Mori, an analyst at research firm BCN Inc. in Tokyo, said elderly consumers unfamiliar with technology are drawn to Apple.
“The iPad’s intuitive interface and the ability to enlarge text make for an appealing proposition to seniors,” Mori said. “It will rapidly increase in popularity among the elderly once the product shortages are dealt with and there is a selection of appropriate contents, such as e-books.”
Elderly Spending
The iPad also could help reintroduce the elderly into the workforce and create more opportunities to interact with young people, Miura said.
The Nakano Community Center frequented by Yasuda offers three computer clubs run by Toshihiro Okada, a 79-year-old retired architect. Members call him “The Saint” because he often bikes to their homes to troubleshoot computer problems.
He said three elderly friends bought iPads.
“Seniors these days have the trifecta of time, money and curiosity,” Okada said. “The iPad is never out of my hands.”
Annual spending per person in a Japanese household of people 65 and older was 1.34 million yen last year, higher than the national average of 1.24 million yen and second only to the under-30 age group, according to a report by the country’s Cabinet Office.
The elderly devote about 15.4 percent of household expenditures to entertainment and cultural activities, compared with the 13.5 percent national average, the report said.
Masato Enjuji, 89, and Yoshitaka Yamazaki, 77, said they bought iPads mostly out of curiosity after seeing Okada use his.
Enjuji, a retired sundry wholesaler, reads e-books and browses photos. He likened his discovery of the device to the time he learned Morse code as a 17-year-old.
“You’ve got to use your head, your eyes, your hands,” he said. “You can’t wall yourself in by thinking something is too difficult.”
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