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Mark Zuckerberg Worth $18 Billion, Richer Than Google Boys |
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Mark
Zuckerberg is worth over $18 billion, according to new estimates,
making him richer than Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and
mostly everyone else.
Though it's not really fair, this development begs to be read as a reflection of Google's and Facebook's current situations. Facebook's user base is growing at a brisk pace and people now spend much more time on its site -- 375 minutes per month -- than the 231 minutes they spread across all of Google's web properties together, according to ComScore. The company also appears to be branching out, with feelers in the streaming video market and a rumored project that would free it from the restraints of Apple's App Store on iOS devices. Google is no underdog, but it's taken some lumps lately. The Internet giant is under regulatory scrutiny at home and abroad, which could lead to massive legal fees, if not damages. Its stock price is down about 16 percent for the year. And until today's Google+ announcement, the company consistently failed at one of the most important facets of its strategy: social networking. There's also Google's mobile push. Android is growing at an astounding rate. Facebook may have a lot of mobile users, but many of them are using a Google platform to connect to the social network. |
HP to License WebOS to Spread Adoption |
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HP
today said it plans license its WebOS platform, as the company hopes to
spark interest from developers to help it compete with Apple and
Google.
" We are talking to a number of companies," said HP CEO Leo Apotheker to Bloomberg. " I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations." Apotheker said the company is not in a rush to find a suitable partner. Three sources say HP has already met with Samsung about the possibility of installing WebOS on Samsung's smartphones. The South Korean company currently uses Android for its Galaxy tablet, but may use WebOS to customize its smartphone line. HP is looking for a partner who can offer design and development improvements to the system. " Our model is not to be in the licensing business," said Jon Rubinstein, the executive in charge of developing WebOS. " We believe there is strength in being able to build the ecosystem, but HP is willing to partner with one or two special companies." History is not on HP's side, as no company has ever licensed its operating system to a competitor while still using the system in its own hardware. Companies either solely license their own systems, like Google and Microsoft, or create first-party devices to run the operating system, like Apple and RIM. HP's goal is to compete with Apple's iOS and Google's Android in the software field. But to do so, HP needs WebOS to become a viable option for handset makers so they can attract developers to their platform. HP has had difficulty selling its handsets and tablets, as consumers continue to choose Apple and Android devices. If HP can find a partner to use WebOS and create a large user base for the platform, it can attract developers to its operating system. The problem for HP is Apple and Google's massive popularity. Google currently dominates the U.S. smartphone market, controlling around 50 percent, while Apple controls over a quarter. Consumers are deciding with their dollars, leaving little breathing room for HP to make an impact on the market. HP must find a partner to use WebOS if it hopes to have to succeed against mobile giants Apple and Google. If it is unable to do so, the company has little to no chance of gaining ground on the more popular operating systems on the market. A licensing partnership may help the OS scale more quickly in the market, but that market is already full of fierce competitors already staking out territory with consumers. To speed up development of WebOS, in March, HP said it would ship every one of its PCs with the ability to run the fledgling platform. |
Mobile Devices Use More Wi-Fi Than PCs |
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Mobile
devices now surpass computers in Wi-Fi network usage, as more people
access the Internet with smartphones and tablets than traditional PCs.
IPhones and iPads still take the largest chunk of Wi-Fi usage, but the Android devices are catching up fast from its measly one percent a year ago. Google's Android platform is gaining ground quickly in the mobile market. It still lags in the number of apps offered in Android Market, but as Google revamps its online store, more developers are flocking to the operating system. As the gap narrows between Apple and Google, however, it is getting wider between mobile devices and PCs. Microsoft's Windows sales declined in the first quarter, dropping along with netbook and traditional PC sales as more people opt for tablets. " Smartphones and tablets are so much more mobile than laptops the idea of someone pulling out a laptop in a store to check e-mail, Facebook or prices -- it's very impractical," said Kiren Sekar, Meraki's marketing director. " What we're seeing with these mobile devices is it's practical and enjoyable to do that." Meraki also reported that Apple devices are the most popular Wi-Fi gobblers at restaurants and coffee shops' public networks. Keeping with the upward mobile trend, Apple's new Lion OS and Microsoft's Windows 8 OS both provide touch screen capabilities for desktops. Their inspiration comes from tablets and smartphones that no longer require physical keyboards, leading some to believe even computer mice will soon become obsolete. Apple and Google devices haven taken off, and desktop PCs may soon go the way of the dinosaur. | |||||||||
only result will tell, coming sep, will spice be in Singapore and q1 2011/12 results
ROI25per ( Date: 21-Jun-2011 19:28) Posted:
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SAME THINKING AS MODI
Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as India, China, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil are regions that could yield the “next one billion people” who’ll buy mobile phones, McDowell said.
Nokia Unveils New Phones in Asia
By
Ketaki Gokhale and Diana ben-Aaron
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Jun 21, 2011 4:22 PM GMT+0800
The new Nokia Oyj N9 smartphone is seen at the Nokia booth at CommunicAsia2011 in Singapore. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
Stephen Elop, chief executive officer of Nokia Oyj. Photographer: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg
Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) unveiled mobile phones at both ends of its range to fend off competition from cheap unbranded handsets and smartphones powered by Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android.
The C2-03 model will target consumers in emerging markets by making it easier to switch between different phone numbers, Mary McDowell, the executive vice president who runs low-end phones, said in Singapore today. Nokia also showed the N9, a touchscreen smartphone based on its MeeGo software that will start shipping later this year.
Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop is turning his focus toward winning back customers in Asia, home to the world’s two biggest mobile-phone markets, after spending his first months devising a plan to fight Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Android-based devices in Europe and the U.S. Nokia’s market share in China and India tumbled by more than a third last year, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
“Nokia recognizes it needs to move more quickly to make up lost ground in emerging markets, particularly India where agile opportunist competitors have taken market share,” said Ben Wood, a London-based analyst with CCS Insight.
Nokia rose as much as 12 cents, or 3 percent, to 4.17 euros and traded at 4.16 euros as of 11:21 a.m. in Helsinki, valuing the Espoo, Finland-based company at 15.6 billion euros ($22 billion). The stock is down 46 percent this year.
Market Share
“The reality is that 90 percent of the world does not have or cannot afford a smartphone or a high-end device,” said Elop in his first major speech in Asia since the former Microsoft Corp. executive took the helm at Nokia in September last year. “This gap creates an opportunity.”
Elop plans to increase investment in low-end phones that have sold well in Asia as well as emerging-market countries elsewhere. These models accounted for about half of Nokia’s handset revenue and 78 percent of units shipped last year.
They face competition from cheaper Android phones from companies such as ZTE Corp. (000063) as well as a flood of unbranded phones from smaller Chinese manufacturers, built on chipsets from MediaTek Inc.
While China led Nokia’s markets in the first quarter with a 30 percent sales increase, the company said May 31 intensifying competition from local suppliers in the country was driving down prices. China and the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 45 percent of Nokia’s device sales in the first quarter.
Touch, Type
That hasn’t stopped the slide. Its market share in China tumbled to 20.4 percent last year from 31.5 percent in 2009 and in India, Nokia dropped to 30.2 percent from 48.9 percent in one year, according to estimates at Gartner.
The C2-03 model, a touch-and-type device combining a touchscreen and a keypad, will have the ability to carry two SIM cards, facilitating the use of two phone numbers. It will also feature maps and location-based services without the user requiring to sign up for a plan with the carrier.
“Touch and type allows them to introduce something at the low end that other guys don’t have quite yet,” said Mikko Ervasti, an analyst at Evli Bank in Helsinki. “It will help to get some part of the market in the low end.”
Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as India, China, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil are regions that could yield the “next one billion people” who’ll buy mobile phones, McDowell said.
‘Full Swing’
“In the third time in a month, we’re debuting another dual-SIM device,” McDowell said. “We may be late to this party, but we’re in full swing now.”
At the high end, Nokia faces competition from Apple’s iPhone and a welter of Android-based devices that are starting to match the iPhone’s capabilities in apps, Web surfing and media delivery. These touchscreens also integrate increasingly well with corporate e-mail and other systems, making them a threat to Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry line as well.
The N9 user has no buttons on the face and works by swipe and tap gestures on the screen. The touch interface extends to accessories like headphones and speakers which are activated through tapping them using so-called near field communications technology, senior vice president Marko Ahtisaari said.
Nokia last week settled its dispute with Apple over patents including one for wiping gestures on a touchscreen in a deal that gives the Finnish company a one-time payment and royalties.
Symbian Phones
Nokia’s “primary smartphone strategy” remains the Windows phone, Elop said, which will be unveiled this year and will begin to ship “in volume” in 2012. Nokia is planning to introduce 10 devices based on Symbian, the software it’s phasing out as it switches to Microsoft’s platform.
Last quarter, Nokia’s handset revenue dipped below Apple’s iPhone sales for the first time. Android smartphone software, offered on devices from dozens of vendors is expected to be the world’s most used smartphone system this year, according to Gartner.
Globally, Nokia’s shipments fell 2.3 percent in the first quarter, driving down its market share more than 5 percentage points to 25.1 percent, according to Gartner. Apple boosted its share to 3.9 percent, ZTE to 2.3 percent and HTC to 2.2 percent.
Nokia Focuses on Asia |
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Nokia
today announced it will begin offering low-end handsets in Asia, as the
company tries to regain market share now dominated by Apple and Android
devices.
Elop is set to outline the company's strategy tomorrow at the Nokia Connection 2011 conference in Singapore. With this strategy, the company sees an opportunity to re-capture its standing as the world's largest handset maker by revenue, a title Apple recently snagged from Nokia. Asia is currently the world's largest mobile market and analysts say it will continue to expand, meaning Nokia has an opportunity to capitalize on an eager population. Over the next five years, experts believe Asia's mobile market will expand by 40 percent, totaling nearly one billion devices in the region. Nokia didn't catch on with smartphones focused on touchscreens and applications, and this complacency shows in its market shares. Before the debut of Apple's iPhone in 2007, the Finnish company controlled about 50 percent of the global handset market. Four years later, the figure hovers around a quarter. Analysts also predict both Samsung and Apple will soon leapfrog Nokia as the top global handset maker by shipments, a title Nokia has held since 1996. And, Apple has already surpassed Nokia in terms of revenue with just one phone. The company expects its net sales in the second quarter of 2011 to be " substantially below" its earlier prediction of $8.7 billion thanks to the popularity of the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices. Despite its setbacks, Nokia is making strides to end its misfortunes. In February, Nokia and Microsoft announced a partnership to develop Windows operating system on Nokia devices. As a result, Nokia has shed its outdated Symbian operating system, and will move forward with Windows Phone 7 for its future devices. Elop defended Nokia's choice of the unproven Windows mobile operating system over Android, which has blossomed into the most used operating system in the world. " The biggest question for us was what degree of influence we could have over Android to ensure differentiation," Elop said. " Is sustainable long-term differentiation possible with Android? We felt the opportunity for that was better with Windows Phone." Last week, Nokia announced it will be releasing its Windows Phone 7 by the end of the year in six European countries, including France, Germany and the U.K. But the partnership with Microsoft comes with a heavy price for the handset maker. As part of the agreement, Nokia began a two-year " transition" period as it changes from Symbian to Windows. Nokia devices using Windows are not ready for shipment yet, and the company has stopped producing devices with Symbian, putting the company in a sort of limbo until it can begin shipping new phones out. The company's focus on Asia shows it is shifting gears in its direct competition with Apple and Android. Though wildly-popular in North America and Europe, these devices haven't caught on as much in Asian countries. Nokia is betting this focus, along with its Microsoft partnership, should help Nokia regain ground in the industry it dominated for nearly 15 years. |
Apple Adds to Accusations Against Samsung |
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Apple
today alleged Samsung violated even more of its patents, adding more
fuel to the copyright litigation fire between the two companies.
Galaxy S 4G, for example, closely resembles the iPhone. Apple's well-timed addendum comes as the two companies meet in court today to hear whether a judge will permit Samsung to view Apple's new generation smartphone and tablet. Samsung had asked to see the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 today because its countersuit alleges that in fact Apple copied Samsung's designs. By adding more complaints to the list, and especially by insisting Samsung hasn't copied its newest phones and tablets, Apple is hoping to avoid revealing the new iPhone and iPad to its rival. Samsung has the disadvantage in this battle so far, as it already had to show Apple its Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, as well as the Infuse 4G and 4G LTE per court order. Apple had earlier demanded this action in order to check the devices for copyright infringement. Only the companies' lawyers will check out the phones, however, so Apple engineers will not absorb Samsung's trade secrets. Whether Apple's new list of patent complaints against Samsung will spare it the same fate today remains to be seen. The war between these two companies began in April when Apple accused Samsung of " slavishly copying" its iPhones and iPads. Apple has a number of pending patent lawsuits against various companies like HTC, Microsoft and Motorola, so the Samsung suit was something of a routine legal practice for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company. Samsung, however, didn't take the charges lying down and countersued Apple on the similar counts on patent infringement, locking the two giants in mutual litigation, parallel demands to see rival devices and an escalating passel of complaints. Apple hasn't always been successful in its legal endeavors, however. A court recently ruled that Apple had to pay Nokia a lump sum, plus continuing royalties, for using the Finnish company's patents in its technology. This is the one of the first major losses in the patent arena for Apple and could help other companies like Samsung build a strong case against the iPhone maker. As the two giants tussle in their battle for patent supremacy, however, they are also struggling to maintain their friendship. The two rely on each other as producer and supplier, with Samsung making LCD displays and chips for one of its biggest and most profitable customers, Apple. Some sources suggest the lawsuit is eroding their special relationship, hinting that IBM may be poised to step in if Apple drops Samsung as a major manufacturer. Whatever the ultimate outcome of the courtroom fight between Samsung and Apple, today's move by Apple suggests it will stop at nothing to win, and that the fight between these two tech giants will be protracted. | |||||||||||||
Nokia to Debut Windows Phones in Europe |
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Nokia
plans to launch its Windows Phone 7 products in six European nations
this year, in a move to turnaround its struggling fortunes.
Nokia and Microsoft both have a lot at stake with a Nokia Windows Phone release. Nokia has fallen on difficult times lately, witnessing declining profits and market share. The Finnish company tried to stem the losses by cutting the cord on its outdated Symbian software, but may not have acted quickly enough, and its slow pace in embracing the importance of app-centric, touchscreen devices have left it out in the cold. Analysts are predicting Nokia, which now controls 24 percent of the smartphone market, will relinquish its crown as top global handset maker, a title held since 1996, to Samsung and Apple. Nokia last month announced lowered forecasts and more hard times ahead, putting increasing pressure on its partnership with Microsoft to yield impressive results. The Finnish phone maker expects its net sales in the second quarter of 2011 to be " substantially below" its earlier prediction of $8.7 billion, attributing the shortfall to fierce competition from Apple, Android and BlackBerry in the smartphone market. If Nokia needs help, so does Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash.-based company is banking on anything to help it get back on track in the mobile market. Microsoft has been slow at getting its footing in the smartphone industry, and now is playing catch up to Apple and Google. Despite bad news, the outlook for Microsoft is looking up. After a sub-par release of the Windows Phone 7 in Nov. 2010, Microsoft has seen sales of the of the phone nearly double from April to May. A Millennial Media study found the number of Windows Phone handsets grew over 90 percent from month to month, though it still controls just one percent of the market. Research firm IDC predicts if the Nokia deal can be successful, it could help Microsoft become the second largest smartphone platform in the world by 2015, trailing only Android. Nokia is still the largest handset manufacturer globally, and still carries a creditable name in the phone industry, making it a potential easy sell for consumers, especially abroad and in emerging markets. For its part, Microsoft will be releasing an update for the Windows Phone 7, dubbed Mango, which will include over 500 new features, including Twitter integration, turn-by-turn navigation and improved speeds when changing between applications. Consumers look for the phone that will give them the most bang for their buck, so if Microsoft can offer these features plus hundreds more, it could make consumers take notice. Both Nokia and Microsoft have a lot at stake with this partnership. If successful, Nokia could again become the popular handset maker it once was, while Microsoft can return to be to one of the top technology companies in the world in a newly mobile era. |
Spice Mobile to manufacture low-cost tablets, smartphones
Published on Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 21:54 | Source : PTI
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Spice Mobile, a B K Modi-promoted Spice Group company, may soon enter in to a tie-up with a leading chip maker to manufacture low-cost tablets and smartphones.
Dilip Modi, Managing Director of Spice Mobility, on Wednesday said the company is also in discussions with a couple of companies in Nigeria and South Africa for acquisition.
Spice Global is actively considering listing in one of the exchanges of London, USA and Hong Kong, he said.
" We are on the verge of entering into a strategic partnership with one of the leading chip making companies to develop smart devices on low-cost platform. What we are trying to do is that we want people to afford smartphones with all the applications," Modi told reporters.
He said the company wants to be known as the " Apple of Asia" and will come out with many interesting products such as Blueberries and touch screen devices with applications like messaging and social networking at a much lower cost.
Spice Mobility is currently looking at acquiring three firm each in Nigeria, South Africa and West Asia, he said.
" We are currently evaluating acquisitions in Nigeria and South Africa. I can''t disclose the names at this time. In the Middle East (West Asia) we are in discussions in one of the leading mobile retail players," he added.
While declining to reveal the names of those firms, Modi said the aim of the company is to sell 35 to 40 million handsets across the regions it is present in.
Spice Global, the parent company of the Group, is mulling overseas listing to raise around USD 1 billion.
The company advisors are working on the exact fund size.
A major part of the funds raised through listing will be used for acquisitions, Modi said.
Spice i2i, another Group company, recently acquired Indonesian mobile player Affinity Group for USD 175 million.
Modi said Affinity, which owns the local brand ''Nexian'', is in the second place in Indonesia with 21% market share in the mobile handset business next to Nokia.
Apart from contract manufacturing partnerships in Taiwan and China for mobile devices, Spice has an assembling facility at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
Spice Global, the parent company of the Group, is mulling overseas listing to raise around USD 1 billion.
The company advisors are working on the exact fund size. A major part of the funds raised through listing will be used for acquisitions, Modi said.
Spice i2i, another Group company, recently acquired Indonesian mobile player Affinity Group for USD 175 million.
Modi said Affinity, which owns the local brand `Nexian'', is in the second place in Indonesia with 21% market share in the mobile handset business next to Nokia.
Apart from contract manufacturing partnerships in Taiwan and China for mobile devices, Spice has an assembling facility at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
A Phone Unlike Any Other |
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Project
Rimino's handset prototype aims to make human-mobile interaction more
intuitive, joining other such models that hint at the future of mobile
phones.
" Rimino represents a future that is envisioned to be more aligned with what we need and want as people instead of our needs and wants being dictated by technology," the project's site states. The prototype is bendable, can be used as a virtual pen on a hard surface, and responds to such unique commands as blowing on its surface, putting it in a pocket and shading it from light. It even captures information like location, time, temperature, light, moisture and air flow, translating this data into a readable form. For those who want to send virtual kisses or give friends a sneak preview of freshly baked cookies, the phone can capture and transmits vibrations as well as smells. Rather than being app-centric, the Rimino phone is goal-oriented. It eliminates the necessity to think of which app would best be suited to a specific task rather, the phone presents users with the most helpful options possible after it receives data. For example, if someone takes a picture, normally she needs to upload it to Facebook via an app, but the Rimino phone would let her do this in one smooth motion. Besides the Rimino phone, the Origami phone created by Chengyuan Wei promotes a simpler future for mobile devices. The 2D paper handset folds into 3D shapes, stripping the phone down to bare essentials. The " invisible phone" goes even further, as researchers from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Postdam have created a prototype that transforms users' own hands into phones. By wearing a camera on their foreheads, people can trace a finger on their palms and dispense with plastic or paper phones altogether. Transparent phones also pare down handsets to their basics, like the completely clear sapphire design by Aston Martin and LG's GD9000 with its transparent keyboard. Research teams like Rimino and Hasso Plattner are stretching the boundaries to create handsets of the future. From their designs at least, it seems phones are likely to get even smarter and more intuitively simplistic. |
Apple to Sell Unlocked IPhone 4 |
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Apple today began selling unlocked versions of its iPhone 4, allowing people to use the device overseas without large roaming rates and possibly attempting to ramp up its business appeal.
Apple is offering white and black models of both its 16-gigabyte device for $650 and 32-gigabyte device for $750. Apple currently sells locked, contract-only versions of the iPhone 4 for $200 for the 16-gigabyte model, and $300 for the 32-gigabyte. " If you don't want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone 4 is the best choice," said Apple on the device's product page. Consumers who wanted unlocked versions of the iPhone previously had to use back-door measures like jailbreaking their devices. With Apple's new offering, U.S. customers join those in countries like Canada and the U.K. where unlocked devices are already commonly available. With an unlocked device, iPhone users who travel abroad can choose and to swap carriers and SIM cards on the fly. Doing so will allow them to avoid enormous international roaming fees from AT& T. Though the asking price of the unlocked device is higher compared to locked phones, travelers who take the unlocked iPhone 4 may save money in the long-run. The unlocked iPhone could be another step for Apple in appealing to the business-minded global corporate sector, which has long preferred Research in Motion's BlackBerry line of smartphones. In May, Deutsche Bank introduced a pilot program allowing employees to use iPhones instead of their traditional BlackBerry devices. Thanks to iPhone app Good Technology, which better encrypts e-mails on the iPhone, employees were able to check e-mail on their iPhone. Deutsche Bank could join J.P. Morgan Chase, among other banks, which are opting for the iPhone over BlackBerry. The U.S. government is allowing many of its employees to trade their Berries for Apples, as some government workers will be moving from BlackBerry devices to iPhones. Employees at the ATF, Department of Veterans Affairs, Congress, the State Department and other agencies have been given the option to use iPhones, iPads and sometimes Android devices rather than the formerly-mandated BlackBerry smartphones. Last week, Apple announced its iMessage service, allowing users to connect with other iPhone users immediately in an instant message-type setting similar to BlackBerry's popular BBM texting feature. The service will run over 3G and Wi-Fi rather than SMS, which can become costly if a user doesn't have an unlimited texting plan. Users can instantly send text, photos and other files through the service, and even group chat with other co-workers. Apple accounts for about 17 percent of the overall market share, but hasn't made much of a dent in the business sector, so this latest announcement could position Apple to continue making strides in that direction. | |||||||||