Apple, which has for long ignored India, appears to be vying for the attention of the affluent Indian smartphone buyer who has been cultivated assiduously by rival Samsung for many years.
The increased level of interest in India is happening in the backdrop of concern among Apple's investors that the iconic company may have hit a plateau as smartphone penetration levels saturate in developed markets.
It is in the middle of an extensive advertising and marketing campaign for its iPhone, pivoting away from a strategy that relied on tie-ups with mobile operators. This, analysts said, could be the beginning of a sustained effort by Apple, which also makes the iPad tablet, to compete in the top end of the smartphone market.
"Apple is doing what it did in China three or four years ago. They studied the market, learned consumer needs and suddenly went aggressive," said Jayanth Kolla, founder and partner at Convergence Catalyst, a telecom research firm. "From having about 30 people here six months ago, Apple India is now about 150-people strong."
Market researcher IDC estimates that over the past three months, sales of Apple devices, especially iPhones, have gone up by 3-4 times. Part of the success has to do with opting for an open distribution model, signing up with distributors Redington and Ingram Micro. "Apple is aggressively looking at the Asia-Pacific market with strong focus on China and India," said Manasi Yadav, a senior analyst at IDC India.
More than 700 million smartphones were shipped in 2012, and in the final quarter of the year Samsung cornered 29% of the market compared with Apple's 22%. Smartphone penetration rates in developed economies stand at over 50%, compared with less than 10% in India.
Apple, founded by the late Steve Jobs who came to India in search of spiritual salvation, has had only a marginal presence in the country. It has a negligible share of the local smartphone market, where Samsung is the clear leader. The company, which shuttered a technology support centre in the country a few years ago, declined comment for the report.
Last month, Redington, which handles nearly 70% of Apple's India sales, surprised analysts with better-than-expected revenue from iPhone shipments — a little over Rs 400 crore in the December quarter. Redington, which declined comment for the report, told analysts during an earnings call that Apple reimbursed it the cost of full-page newspaper advertisements through higher margins on iPhones.
Brokerage Nomura reported that Redington's costs in the December quarter jumped 20% from the preceding three months, driven mostly by iPhone-related advertisements. "It is a joint effort by Apple and its distributors. While other brands have an in-house team for advertisements, Apple does that through its partners," said JK Jaishankar, managing director of Ingram Micro India, one of the largest distributors of electronic merchandise.
Beyond the brand positioning and visibility, Apple is also trying to make its products, although expensive, accessible to a broader base of consumers. Its iPhone 5 sells in India for Rs 45,000 and competes with Samsung's Galaxy S III, the Samsung Note II (which run on the Android operating system) and Nokia Lumia 920 (which ships with Windows 8). Some 251 million phones are expected to be sold in India this year.
"Apple understands that instalments-based payment is an effective tool for bridging the gap between value and affordability. We started the EMI scheme with Apple early this year and witnessed a three-fold increase in sales," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO of TheMobileStore, a national retail chain that operates 1,000 outlets in 150 cities.
Despite its recent marketing efforts, Apple will struggle for volume growth and market share because of its limited product range, experts said. "Aggressive marketing and a push with distributors can increase brand visibility and connect, but they would need a broader portfolio for increasing market share," said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Friday, 8 February 2013
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Samsung galaxy s4 vs iPhone 6 (rumour round)
Samsung galaxy s4
Display -1080 HD display
The Galaxy S4 will almost certainly use a 4.99-inch Full HD 1080P display with a pixel density of 441 ppi
The Galaxy S4 is expected to use a quad-core processor, support 4G LTE in the U.S. and feature a 13MP rear facing camera. A 2600 mAh battery is rumored, as is the wireless charging kit which could arrive at launch.
Colours-black and white possibly
iPhone 6
+retina display
4 or More that 4 inches possibly 4.5 or so or four-inch IPS variant with a resolution of 1917 x 1080 pixels
+HD recording
Colours-more than black and white
Memory-quite possible to have 128gb storage or remains 64
iOS 7
Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15
LTE
13-megapixel camera
A6x processor
Display -1080 HD display
The Galaxy S4 will almost certainly use a 4.99-inch Full HD 1080P display with a pixel density of 441 ppi
The Galaxy S4 is expected to use a quad-core processor, support 4G LTE in the U.S. and feature a 13MP rear facing camera. A 2600 mAh battery is rumored, as is the wireless charging kit which could arrive at launch.
Colours-black and white possibly
iPhone 6
+retina display
4 or More that 4 inches possibly 4.5 or so or four-inch IPS variant with a resolution of 1917 x 1080 pixels
+HD recording
Colours-more than black and white
Memory-quite possible to have 128gb storage or remains 64
iOS 7
Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15
LTE
13-megapixel camera
A6x processor
Samsung Galaxy S4 Release Rumored for May or June in U.S.
The U.S. Samsung Galaxy S4 release date is rumored for May or June, a month or two behind the likely Galaxy S4 release in Europe.
Leaks pointed to a Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event on March 22nd, but a new report from SamMobile claims Samsung will hold an Unpacked event on March 15th to launch the Galaxy S4.
It’s not clear where the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch will take place, but New York City is a likely location in the U.S. Samsung is expected to send invitations to the Galaxy S4 launch event shortly after Mobile World Congress, which runs from February 25th to the 28th in Barcelona Spain. Samsung will be at MWC 2013, but is reportedly not planning to launch the Galaxy S4 there.
The Galaxy S3 was first released in late May internationally, and arrived in the U.S. a month later in late June, with availability on the major U.S. carriers by July 2012.
Galaxy S4 Accessories
Samsung is reportedly prepping a number of Samsung Galaxy S4 accessories for release alongside the phone. SamMobile reports that Samsung is planning these accessories for April, so U.S. shoppers may not need to wait for Galaxy S4 accessories. Many of these rumored Galaxy S4 accessories are similar to those for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.
Clear Cover
Flip Cover
Protective Cover
Pouch
Extra Battery Kit
Wireless Charging Kit
HDTV Adapter
Headset
If Samsung can deliver the Wireless Charging Kit at launch it would mark a change from the Galaxy S3, which is still missing an official wireless charging kit. There is no mention of a Smart Dock, like the one for the Galaxy Note 2, which turns the device into a small computer with multiple USB ports and an HDMI out. Also missing from the rumored Galaxy S4 accessories is an extended battery.
In addition to the new Samsung Youm flexible display prototype that the company showed off earlier today, Samsung also announced a brand new Exynos processor called the Exynos 5 Octa which features an octo-core CPU and takes advantage of ARM’s big.LITTLE processing power. The fact that the processor has 8-cores doesn’t mean that it’s an octo-core processor.
The Galaxy S4 display could feature the new Exynos 5 Octa processor from Samsung.
Instead, there are two sets of four-cores that will run as needed. One set of four cores is Cortex A15 and the other set of cores on the Exynos 5 Octa is Cortex A7. Depending on how the device is being used, one set of four cores will spring into action. High performance will be handled by the more powerful Cortex A15 cores while the low-level usage will be tackled by the Cortex A7.
Samsung also touts the battery life with this chip which is going to be used in smartphones, tablets and more. According to Samsung, the Exynos 5 Octa uses 70-percent less power than a typical quad-core Cortex A15 processor and it also supplies better battery life than its own Exynos 5 processor that is found in the company’s Nexus 10 Android tablet.
The announcement comes after NVIDIA and Qualcomm made their two big processor announcements with NVIDIA announcing the Tegra 4 and Qualcomm revealing its Snapdragon 800 processor which is said to deliver much better performance than its current Snapdragon S4 processor.
The Galaxy S4 remains a mystery, but a better picture of the Galaxy S4 is coming together thanks to rumors and leaks. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected in two colors, black and white, but little is known about what the device looks like. This isn’t stopping various renders from showing what the Galaxy S4 could look like based on past Galaxy smartphones.
The Galaxy S4 will almost certainly use a 4.99-inch Full HD 1080P display with a pixel density of 441 ppi. Samsung is reportedly manufacturing this display for an early March Galaxy S4 launch.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Google glasses
What is it?
Project Glass is a research and development program by Google to develop an augmented reality head-mounted display (HMD).[2] Project Glass products would display information in smartphone-like format[3] hands-free and could interact with the Internet via natural language voice commands.[4] The prototype's functionality and minimalist appearance (aluminium strip with 2 nose pads) has been compared to Steve Mann's EyeTap.[5]
The operating system software used in the glasses will be Google's Android.[6]
Project Glass is being developed by Google X Lab,[7] which has worked on other futuristic technologies such as self-driving cars. The project was announced on Google+ by Babak Parviz, an electrical engineer who has also worked on putting displays into contact lenses; Steve Lee, a project manager and "geolocation specialist"; and Sebastian Thrun, who developed Udacity as well as worked on the self-driving car project.[8] Google has patented the design of Project Glass.[9]
The Google Glass project is making use of bone conduction technology in order to transmit sound to the wearer of the device and save users from needing headphones. Google’s Project Glass was filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday.
Using bone conduction, Google Glass could stray from traditional audio earpiece technology. An internal transducer mechanism vibrates bones in the wearer’s head, generating more vibrations in the cochlea (the fluid-filled part of the ear), turning all of these vibrations into what the wearer hears as sound.
Google filed for the audio device’s patent just a week prior to the FCC confirmation which only makes one note of the “vibrating element”.
Bone conduction audio is said to provide many advantages over most headphones. Some people say that the audio is clearer, while others report that it removes any obstructions in the way of real-world audio (such as day-to-day traffic noise and important alerts from passers-by).
The vibrating element is expected to be included on the Explorer Edition of Google Glass. The Explorer is said to cost around $1,500 and will be released in 2013, readying the market for a projected 2014 release.
Do you believe bone conduction audio is a step up from traditional headphones? What advantages or disadvantages do you see with the new addition? Will you purchase Google Glass when it is released to the public?
Google's new wearable computer, Google Glass, uses the human skull to conduct sound.
The news comes from Google's documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission which shows how the computer that sits on one's nose like a pair of glasses, uses "bone conduction" to send vibrations to the inner ear and make sounds, according to The Independent. The advantage of using the skull to transmit sounds is that it allows the person to hear ambient noise, too.
Google Glass, which has been modeled frequently by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, doesn't have any earbuds, so it's not surprising that its creators had to use their creativity to make sound audible. While the "bone conduction" sounds a little odd, we feel sound vibrations everyday in our bones from someone's car pumping bass to jackhammering construction. At least this time it's something that we want to hear.
Mr Brin, 39, who runs the secretive “Google X” development group, has also been spotted wearing the hi-tech specs around San Francisco. He demonstrated an early iteration of Google Glass at a conference in May 2012, where the audience was treated to a live feed from the glasses’ built-in miniature camera, worn by members of a skydiving team in freefall.
When the headset is connected to a wireless network, it can overlay augmented reality information about the wearer’s surroundings, culled from Google search and location data, on to their view. It can also capture video and photos and instantly share them online. According to the FCC papers, the device can store video files and be recharged with a power cable that attaches to the right-hand arm of the spectacle frame. Mr Brin has admitted its battery life is a work in progress.
The $1,500 device is expected to be delivered to software developers sometime this year, and Google has already begun to host “hackathons” in New York and San Francisco, for those developers to brainstorm new and exciting applications for Glass. The firm has said it hopes to make the device available to the public by the end of 2014.
Project Glass is a research and development program by Google to develop an augmented reality head-mounted display (HMD).[2] Project Glass products would display information in smartphone-like format[3] hands-free and could interact with the Internet via natural language voice commands.[4] The prototype's functionality and minimalist appearance (aluminium strip with 2 nose pads) has been compared to Steve Mann's EyeTap.[5]
The operating system software used in the glasses will be Google's Android.[6]
Project Glass is being developed by Google X Lab,[7] which has worked on other futuristic technologies such as self-driving cars. The project was announced on Google+ by Babak Parviz, an electrical engineer who has also worked on putting displays into contact lenses; Steve Lee, a project manager and "geolocation specialist"; and Sebastian Thrun, who developed Udacity as well as worked on the self-driving car project.[8] Google has patented the design of Project Glass.[9]
The Google Glass project is making use of bone conduction technology in order to transmit sound to the wearer of the device and save users from needing headphones. Google’s Project Glass was filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday.
Using bone conduction, Google Glass could stray from traditional audio earpiece technology. An internal transducer mechanism vibrates bones in the wearer’s head, generating more vibrations in the cochlea (the fluid-filled part of the ear), turning all of these vibrations into what the wearer hears as sound.
Google filed for the audio device’s patent just a week prior to the FCC confirmation which only makes one note of the “vibrating element”.
Bone conduction audio is said to provide many advantages over most headphones. Some people say that the audio is clearer, while others report that it removes any obstructions in the way of real-world audio (such as day-to-day traffic noise and important alerts from passers-by).
The vibrating element is expected to be included on the Explorer Edition of Google Glass. The Explorer is said to cost around $1,500 and will be released in 2013, readying the market for a projected 2014 release.
Do you believe bone conduction audio is a step up from traditional headphones? What advantages or disadvantages do you see with the new addition? Will you purchase Google Glass when it is released to the public?
Google's new wearable computer, Google Glass, uses the human skull to conduct sound.
The news comes from Google's documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission which shows how the computer that sits on one's nose like a pair of glasses, uses "bone conduction" to send vibrations to the inner ear and make sounds, according to The Independent. The advantage of using the skull to transmit sounds is that it allows the person to hear ambient noise, too.
Google Glass, which has been modeled frequently by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, doesn't have any earbuds, so it's not surprising that its creators had to use their creativity to make sound audible. While the "bone conduction" sounds a little odd, we feel sound vibrations everyday in our bones from someone's car pumping bass to jackhammering construction. At least this time it's something that we want to hear.
Mr Brin, 39, who runs the secretive “Google X” development group, has also been spotted wearing the hi-tech specs around San Francisco. He demonstrated an early iteration of Google Glass at a conference in May 2012, where the audience was treated to a live feed from the glasses’ built-in miniature camera, worn by members of a skydiving team in freefall.
When the headset is connected to a wireless network, it can overlay augmented reality information about the wearer’s surroundings, culled from Google search and location data, on to their view. It can also capture video and photos and instantly share them online. According to the FCC papers, the device can store video files and be recharged with a power cable that attaches to the right-hand arm of the spectacle frame. Mr Brin has admitted its battery life is a work in progress.
The $1,500 device is expected to be delivered to software developers sometime this year, and Google has already begun to host “hackathons” in New York and San Francisco, for those developers to brainstorm new and exciting applications for Glass. The firm has said it hopes to make the device available to the public by the end of 2014.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Do you know about the 3d printer?not yet
Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes).
3D printing is usually performed by a materials printer using digital technology. Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially.[3]
The technology is used in jewellery, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields.
Product Round-up You may not know why but you probably want a 3D printer. These are intrinsically cool devices: A mix of engineering, electrical engineering, material science, chemistry, electronics and software.
As an emerging technology you need to understand a bit of all of these to get the most from a hobbyist device, just as early computer users needed to be competent with a soldering iron and writing assembly code. Here we look at ten of the most interesting 3D printers around. There is a mix of technologies, and some are not yet shipping, but it goes to show just how diverse this nascent industry is.
3D Touch 3D printer
This is an extruder-type printer that does Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) using ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It’s unusual in that it is quite good looking and has up to three heads, meaning it can print in three colours of plastic at a time. The extruders use a screw mechanism and the heat comes from the platform. Colours are “spot” colours and they cannot be mixed. Files are printed from a USB stick and there is a touchscreen user interface. It is beautifully finished in stainless steel and aluminium, and is particularly targeted at education. The device has an exceptionally print area of 27.5x 27.5x 21cm.
Steampunk styling and aluminium construction give this Polish printer a special feel, with the exposed parts adding to the design rather than making it look unfinished. The handle on the top makes it transportable rather than portable. Individual parts seem particularly well finished, and an innovation is the self-tensioning belts. As an FDM printer it uses ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It will print models of up to 20 x 26 x 18cm albeit slowly at 100mm/minute. Two nozzles are available in 0.3mm and 0.5mm. These machines have been shipping since summer 2012.The technology behind 3D printing has allowed users to craft musical instruments and prosthetic limbs, and now European scientists are taking a serious look at printing their own moon base.
The European Space Agency (ESA) study is investigating how practical constructing a manned base on the moon only using 3D printing technology could be, given that it would rely primarily on lunar dirt for building materials.
"Terrestrial 3D printing technology has produced entire structures," Laurent Pambaguian, who heads the project for ESA, said in a statement. "Our industrial team investigated if it could similarly be employed to build a lunar habitat."
A moon base with style
"As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials," Xavier De Kestelier of Foster + Partners said in a statement. "Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic."
Foster + Partners' 3D printed design is a simple four-person moon base that can be made completely out of repurposed moon dirt, which scientists call "regolith."
Because the entire design is made primarily from indigenous lunar materials moon, there is no need to transport costly materials from the Earth into space. The base would be built using a robotic printer roving over an inflatable dome.
"3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth," Scott Hovland of ESA’s human spaceflight team said. "The new possibilities this work opens up can then be considered by international space agencies as part of the current development of a common exploration strategy."
Hollow moon dirt walls
The base would have a cell-like but strong frame resembling the structure of bird bones that will protect lunar residents from gamma radiation and micrometeorites that could destroy a less robust build.
ESA and the agency's partners have already built part of the base. Using a mixture of silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron and magnesium oxides meant to simulate surface of the moon. The team has started printing various structures inside a vacuum chamber.
This isn't the first time a space agency has considered 3D printing a lunar base . Last year, NASA officials challenged researchers at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. to 3D print the ceramic-like simulated lunar regolith into smooth, cylindrical shapes to test the strength of the material.
Foster + Partners is also partnering with other firms to build the first private spaceport in the world. Known as Spaceport America, the $209 million base will serve as a hub for commercial spaceflight. The spaceport should be completed later this year.
3D printing is usually performed by a materials printer using digital technology. Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially.[3]
The technology is used in jewellery, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields.
Product Round-up You may not know why but you probably want a 3D printer. These are intrinsically cool devices: A mix of engineering, electrical engineering, material science, chemistry, electronics and software.
As an emerging technology you need to understand a bit of all of these to get the most from a hobbyist device, just as early computer users needed to be competent with a soldering iron and writing assembly code. Here we look at ten of the most interesting 3D printers around. There is a mix of technologies, and some are not yet shipping, but it goes to show just how diverse this nascent industry is.
3D Touch 3D printer
This is an extruder-type printer that does Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) using ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It’s unusual in that it is quite good looking and has up to three heads, meaning it can print in three colours of plastic at a time. The extruders use a screw mechanism and the heat comes from the platform. Colours are “spot” colours and they cannot be mixed. Files are printed from a USB stick and there is a touchscreen user interface. It is beautifully finished in stainless steel and aluminium, and is particularly targeted at education. The device has an exceptionally print area of 27.5x 27.5x 21cm.
Steampunk styling and aluminium construction give this Polish printer a special feel, with the exposed parts adding to the design rather than making it look unfinished. The handle on the top makes it transportable rather than portable. Individual parts seem particularly well finished, and an innovation is the self-tensioning belts. As an FDM printer it uses ABS or PLA thermoplastic from a spool. It will print models of up to 20 x 26 x 18cm albeit slowly at 100mm/minute. Two nozzles are available in 0.3mm and 0.5mm. These machines have been shipping since summer 2012.The technology behind 3D printing has allowed users to craft musical instruments and prosthetic limbs, and now European scientists are taking a serious look at printing their own moon base.
The European Space Agency (ESA) study is investigating how practical constructing a manned base on the moon only using 3D printing technology could be, given that it would rely primarily on lunar dirt for building materials.
"Terrestrial 3D printing technology has produced entire structures," Laurent Pambaguian, who heads the project for ESA, said in a statement. "Our industrial team investigated if it could similarly be employed to build a lunar habitat."
A moon base with style
"As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials," Xavier De Kestelier of Foster + Partners said in a statement. "Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic."
Foster + Partners' 3D printed design is a simple four-person moon base that can be made completely out of repurposed moon dirt, which scientists call "regolith."
Because the entire design is made primarily from indigenous lunar materials moon, there is no need to transport costly materials from the Earth into space. The base would be built using a robotic printer roving over an inflatable dome.
"3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth," Scott Hovland of ESA’s human spaceflight team said. "The new possibilities this work opens up can then be considered by international space agencies as part of the current development of a common exploration strategy."
Hollow moon dirt walls
The base would have a cell-like but strong frame resembling the structure of bird bones that will protect lunar residents from gamma radiation and micrometeorites that could destroy a less robust build.
ESA and the agency's partners have already built part of the base. Using a mixture of silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron and magnesium oxides meant to simulate surface of the moon. The team has started printing various structures inside a vacuum chamber.
This isn't the first time a space agency has considered 3D printing a lunar base . Last year, NASA officials challenged researchers at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. to 3D print the ceramic-like simulated lunar regolith into smooth, cylindrical shapes to test the strength of the material.
Foster + Partners is also partnering with other firms to build the first private spaceport in the world. Known as Spaceport America, the $209 million base will serve as a hub for commercial spaceflight. The spaceport should be completed later this year.
iPhone 6-midyear launch,larger display?
Apple iPhone 6: Rumours swirl about mid-year launch?
The US technology giant Apple Inc . is reported to have started preliminary builds of the next iPhone, dubbed iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S. The new iPhone is likely to be launched in June or July, said a report.
The report on macworld.com.au said: "Apple is currently testing two new iPhone prototypes, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek told investors in a note this week. One of the prototypes is the 'iPhone 5S', said Misek, while the other is likely to be the widely speculated cheaper iPhone."
The analyst has reportedly predicted that the next iPhone will be 0.8 inches bigger than the iPhone 5 's at 4.8 inches diagonally, adding "Similar to the iPad mini, we expect a concentrated low-cost iPhone rather than a 'cheap' one. Likely specs: polycarbonate case with 4in non-Retina display and no LTE."
Recently, Apple overtook Samsung to become the largest mobile phone vendor in the US in the fourth quarter of 2012.
In its latest report, research firm Strategy Analytics estimated that Apple shipped 17.7 million mobile phones in the US for a record 34 percent share of the market in the fourth quarter of 2012, making the tech giant the No.1 mobile phone vendor by volume in the US for the first time ever.
Samsung, Apple's arch-rival, shipped 16.8 million handsets for a 32 percent market share in the country, reported Xinhua.
The report said Apple's success has been driven by its popular ecosystem of iPhones and App Store, generous carrier subsidies and extensive marketing around the new iPhone 5 model.
However, Apple's hard-won victory is expected to be short-lived. Samsung had been the No.1 mobile phone vendor in the US since 2008 and it will surely be keen to recapture the title this year by launching improved new models such as the rumored Galaxy S4, Strategy Analytics said.
Meanwhile, the report pointed out that despite a solid fourth-quarter performance, the US mobile phone market had contracted for the first three quarters of 2012, making annual mobile phone shipments fall by 11 percent in 2012 from the year of 2011.
Earlier the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had halved its orders for the iPhone 5. The report led Apple's share price to dip below $500 per share on Monday, but some suggest that the WSJ report was flawed, and that there may have been some stock manipulation involved.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Apple's 128GB iPad Just Gave Every Android Tablet Manufacturer
Apple’s announcement of a new iPad SKU with 128GB of storage is a wonderful tactical stroke. While consumers are going to love the extra choice, and hardcore users will flock to the extra storage capacity, it’s the Android tablet manufacturers that are going to be crunching the numbers overnight.
By increasing the top level of storage on the iPad, it will drive public perception towards ‘tablets should have 128GB of storage’. That 128GB has been seen as a psychological target by many people looking at iOS devices, and now it’s here (and is following the standard Apple model of doubling storage for $100 more) many will say it was obvious.
Importantly for Apple, they’ve got their tablet with the magic numbers on sale first.
The competition are still kicking around at the 64GB mark, although some are not even that close. The Nexus 10? 16GB or 32 GB. The Galaxy Note? 16GB to 64Gb. The BlackBerry PlayBook? 16GB to 64GB. The Kindle Fire? 16GB to 32GB for the seven inch, and 64GB for the 8.9 inch.
Apple has topped them all, and the other manufacturers are going to have to start offering higher specs in storage or run the risk of being left behind in what is the next step in a specification war.
Always fight on territory that is comfortable to you, and awkward for your opponents. There’s probably a Sun Tzu quote that covers that, but the principle stands..
If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that TIm Cook understands the supply chain, and can extract the maximum value out of it. Under his guidance Apple has better access, at preferential rates, to more component suppliers than the majority of other manufacturers. The iPad 4 with 128GB hits the stores in seven days, and the competition are left standing still.
Even if they wanted to react, they’re going to be at a disadvantage in terms of manufacturing and sourcing supplies (unless they had plans in place already). Once they do reach the shops, it will still be first mover advantage to Apple, and their public perception as innovators remains.
As for the rapidly rising cost of memory pushing up the bill of materials, this matters less to Apple, a company that can traditionally keep prices high. But Android devices, many of which are built to a specified cost and occupy the lower end of the price scales, will have less room to absorb around an increased production cost.
The 128GB iPad is an attractive product for a number of iPad users, but I suspect that the knock-on effects in the rest of the tablet space are a very nice bonus for Tim Cook and his team at Apple.
By increasing the top level of storage on the iPad, it will drive public perception towards ‘tablets should have 128GB of storage’. That 128GB has been seen as a psychological target by many people looking at iOS devices, and now it’s here (and is following the standard Apple model of doubling storage for $100 more) many will say it was obvious.
Importantly for Apple, they’ve got their tablet with the magic numbers on sale first.
The competition are still kicking around at the 64GB mark, although some are not even that close. The Nexus 10? 16GB or 32 GB. The Galaxy Note? 16GB to 64Gb. The BlackBerry PlayBook? 16GB to 64GB. The Kindle Fire? 16GB to 32GB for the seven inch, and 64GB for the 8.9 inch.
Apple has topped them all, and the other manufacturers are going to have to start offering higher specs in storage or run the risk of being left behind in what is the next step in a specification war.
Always fight on territory that is comfortable to you, and awkward for your opponents. There’s probably a Sun Tzu quote that covers that, but the principle stands..
If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that TIm Cook understands the supply chain, and can extract the maximum value out of it. Under his guidance Apple has better access, at preferential rates, to more component suppliers than the majority of other manufacturers. The iPad 4 with 128GB hits the stores in seven days, and the competition are left standing still.
Even if they wanted to react, they’re going to be at a disadvantage in terms of manufacturing and sourcing supplies (unless they had plans in place already). Once they do reach the shops, it will still be first mover advantage to Apple, and their public perception as innovators remains.
As for the rapidly rising cost of memory pushing up the bill of materials, this matters less to Apple, a company that can traditionally keep prices high. But Android devices, many of which are built to a specified cost and occupy the lower end of the price scales, will have less room to absorb around an increased production cost.
The 128GB iPad is an attractive product for a number of iPad users, but I suspect that the knock-on effects in the rest of the tablet space are a very nice bonus for Tim Cook and his team at Apple.
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