PC

mobile
January 20, 2012
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Tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase online than smartphone owners

By on January 20, 2012 at 7:20 AM.

Tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase online than smartphone owners

Tablet owners spend big bucks online according to a new report. In fact, the new study published by Adobe Digital Marketing Insights suggests that tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase than smartphone owners on retail purchases, and over 20% more than PC users. The study found that smartphone owners spent about $80 per purchase on average but tablet owners spent an average of $123. Laptop/PC users spent $102 per retail purchase on average in 2011. Tablet owners are three times more likely to make a purchase on a retail website than a smartphone user is, too. Adobe Digital Marketing Insights gathered its data from more than 150 U.S. retailers last year and more than 16.2 billion transactions made online. More →

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Software
January 19, 2012
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Apple releases iTunes 10.5.3

By on January 19, 2012 at 11:35 AM.

Apple releases iTunes 10.5.3

Apple on Thursday released an updated version of its iTunes software following a series of announcements made during the company’s press conference in New York City. The Cupertino, California-based firm unveiled its new interactive iPad textbook product alongside iBooks 2 Thursday morning, and it also took the wraps off of an updated iTunes U service that includes new tools for teachers and a new iPad app. To accommodate Apple’s new features, the company also pushed out iTunes 10.5.3, which is available for download immediately. Apple’s official change log follows below. More →

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Computers
January 18, 2012
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Android and iOS said to contribute to the fall of personal computing

By on January 18, 2012 at 5:55 PM.

Android and iOS said to contribute to the fall of personal computing

Horace Dediu of Asymco put together a graph plotting the history of personal computing over the last 37 years. Dediu took PC data published by Jeremy Reimer and added smartphone stats along with updated PC and Apple numbers from research firm Gartner. From the data we can see that when combined, Android and iOS account for a higher shipment volume than the entire PC industry. When excluding Macs, the PC industry accounted for just 336 million units shipped in 2011, in comparison to 358 million Android and iOS units. Dediu added that the iPad cannot be considered a niche product. “The absolute volume of units sold after less than two years is enough to place it within an order of magnitude of all PCs sold,” said Dediu. “We can also observe that it has a higher trajectory than the iPhone which became a disruptive force in itself.” More →

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Business
January 13, 2012
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Best Buy reorganizes to focus on connected device sales

By on January 13, 2012 at 7:15 PM.

Best Buy reorganizes to focus on connected device sales

During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Best Buy announced that it will reorganize part of its business to focus on sales of connected devices such as tablets, smartphones and computers. Best Buy has created a new retail “connectivity business group,” Forbes said Friday, that will sell the aforementioned devices in Best Buy Mobile and Best Buy retail stores with 3G and 4G wireless service plans. Forbes explained that the connectivity business group (CBG) is similar to Best Buy Mobile but incorporates more devices and will include 15,000 employees from Best Buy Mobile and another 20,000 from Best Buy retail stores who previously worked to sell tablets and computers. Consumers likely won’t see any form of CBG branding and the changes will mostly affect Best Buy’s training practices for its Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores. Both stores will sell the products and Best Buy Mobile will likely begin offering connected laptops and tablets in addition to its current smartphone catalog. More →

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Business
December 23, 2011
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2012 may be a flat year for PC shipments, analyst says

By on December 23, 2011 at 3:20 PM.

2012 may be a flat year for PC shipments, analyst says

Despite the launch of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system and the introduction of ultra-thin Intel-powered ultrabooks, Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes thinks the PC industry will see little or no growth in 2012. Reitzes recently said that he expects PC unit growth to hover around just 0.8%, down from his original forecast of 5.1%. He argued that hard drive shortages “could impact some supply” during the first half of next year and that tablets and smartphones will “continue to cannibalize the PC market — especially as docking options become more robust.” Recent flooding in Thailand affected two major hard drive suppliers, Western Digital and Seagate, causing a hard drive shortage that impacted much of the industry. Reitzes also blames the poor economy for his lowered estimates, and he argued that corporations are less likely to refresh their PCs since unemployment is still high. The analyst’s figures aren’t that far off from other industry predictions. IDC recently said the flooding in Thailand could cause PC shipment growth to fall to between 2.2% and 3.4%, down from the firm’s original forecast of 5.1% growth over 2011.

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Business
November 30, 2011
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HP to decide fate of webOS within two weeks

By on November 30, 2011 at 11:45 AM.

HP to decide fate of webOS within two weeks

Hewlett-Packard’s webOS hardware is dead and buried but the fate of the platform itself remains to be determined. HP may hold on to the OS and use it on printers and PCs, and there have been plenty of rumors surrounding talks the company is having in an effort to license the platform to other firms. According to an interview in French newspaper Le Figaro, HP CEO Meg Whitman has gone on record in stating that a decision regarding the fate of webOS will be made within two weeks. HP took possession of webOS when it acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in 2010, and that buy yielded one failed tablet that was discontinued shortly after launching, three failed smartphones and soon, perhaps, the death of webOS itself. The promising mobile platform BGR once heralded as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant smartphone market now finds itself an afterthought in a space dominated by two major players: Apple and Google. As RIM prepares a fresh new OS in an attempt to regain momentum and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform looks ready to take off, HP and any potential webOS licensees certainly have their work cut out for them. More →

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Computers
November 18, 2011
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Qualcomm: Snapdragon-powered Windows 8 PCs will launch next year

By on November 18, 2011 at 7:30 AM.

Qualcomm: Snapdragon-powered Windows 8 PCs will launch next year

Speaking at an investor meeting recently, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that his company is working with Microsoft in an effort to deploy Windows 8-powered computers that run on Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon processors. “We’re going to see some interesting stuff going on,” Jacobs said. “Windows 8 on ARM is a big opportunity.” It’s not an easy task: Microsoft’s previous operating systems, and the existing applications, are designed to run on x86 processors. Qualcomm is optimistic that Snapdragon PCs will be available by the end of next year however, and that developers will rewrite applications to run properly on ARM processors. “For the apps that you really care about, I don’t see it as a significant growth inhibitor in terms of ARM vs. Windows,” Qualcomm chief operating officer Steve Mollenkopf said according to CNET. “I don’t think the impact is as significant as what others believe.” More →

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Computers
November 10, 2011
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Samsung to offer touchscreen-equipped Windows 8 PC in 2012

By on November 10, 2011 at 7:00 AM.

Samsung to offer touchscreen-equipped Windows 8 PC in 2012

Head of sales and marketing for Samsung’s personal computer business Uhm Kyu Ho confirmed recently that his company will launch a Windows 8-powered computer during the second half of next year. The device will offer a touchscreen and will likely serve as the successor to the company’s Series 7 slate PC, Bloomberg said Wednesday. Samsung isn’t the only one ready to deploy the new operating system. Recent rumors have suggested that Dell has a device scheduled to launch during third quarter of 2012, and HP CEO Meg Whitman confirmed that her company will sell a Windows 8 computer sometime next year. Additionally, smartphone maker HTC is also rumored to be working on a Windows 8 tablet. On September 13th, Microsoft announced that it was beginning to ship its brand new Windows 8 operating system to developers. The OS offers a number of enhancements over Windows 7, most notably the company’s new “Metro” user interface. More →

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Business
November 1, 2011
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HP PC exec Phil McKinney announces his exit

By on November 1, 2011 at 10:20 PM.

HP PC exec Phil McKinney announces his exit

HP personal systems group (PSG) chief technology officer Phil McKinney announced recently that he will be retiring from the company. A few days ago, HP confirmed that it no longer had plans to spin off its personal systems group, an idea that was originally hatched by former CEO Léo Apotheker. “My time at HP started out as an advisor on innovation that turned into a request to join for a year or so to “help grow the innovation culture at HP”,” McKinney explained in a public letter published on his personal blog. “That was 9 years ago. I can honestly say that I’ve done everything that is within my power to fulfill that objective. I’m also excited that once again, I will be able to take on board seats, advisory roles and mentoring opportunities since I will no longer have to worry about conflict of interest and other corporate restrictions.” His final day with HP will be December 31st, 2011. More →

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Retail
October 31, 2011
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Best Buy offering $150 32GB TouchPad with HP notebook purchase

By on October 31, 2011 at 9:25 PM.

Best Buy offering $150 32GB TouchPad with HP notebook purchase

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. Best Buy announced on Monday that customers who purchase an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer can opt to purchase an HP TouchPad tablet for an additional $149. The deal, which gives a small breath of life to a tablet that has already been killed-off by HP, kicks off on November 1st. Interested buyers can also purchase the TouchPad for $599.99, the tablet’s initial launch price, without buying an HP computer. As a quick refresher, the TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch XGA display, 32GB of storage, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and NFC. Read on for the full press release from Best Buy. More →

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Business
October 12, 2011
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Gartner: Global PC shipments jump just 3% in Q3 2011

By on October 12, 2011 at 9:15 PM.

Gartner: Global PC shipments jump just 3% in Q3 2011

Global shipments of PCs grew slightly but less than analysts had predicted during the third quarter of 2011, Gartner said recently, citing preliminary findings of a new research report. 91.8 million PCs were shipped during the quarter, a 3.2% jumped from the same quarter of last year. The figures are lower than Gartner’s original estimate, which suggested PC vendors would ship 5.1% more units during the quarter. Gartner said the lower sales can be attributed to a weak Western European PC market. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 20, 2011
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HP may keep its PC business after all

By on September 20, 2011 at 3:40 PM.

HP may keep its PC business after all

In a recent interview with CRN, HP chairman Ray Lane outlined situations in which HP may hang on to its PC business. “If we don’t make that decision [to spin off], it’s because of two things: We can’t offer a better proposition to customers and investors,” Lane said. “If we can’t it stays inside HP.” If the company does decide to spin-off its personal systems group, Lane has suggested the company call it the “HP PC Business.” HP has the “largest and most profitable [PC] business in the world,” Lane explained during the InformationWeek 500 conference in California. “I am lobbying, and I don’t have to lobby very hard, to call it the HP PC Business. Call it HP. It will be a sister company,” Lane explained, pointing to HP’s spinoff of Agilent. “Agilent was a better business once spun off, because it was a very different business from what the rest of HP was doing.” Read on for more. More →

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Featured
September 13, 2011
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Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-post-PC era

By on September 13, 2011 at 3:25 PM.

Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-post-PC era

Microsoft executives took to the stage at the annual BUILD developer conference on Tuesday to give the world its first real look at the future of the Windows operating system. The reception, as you’ve likely read by now, has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, Apple bloggers were apparently so flustered by the platform that they resorted to bombarding Twitter with jokes about cooling fans and Silverlight instead of stopping for a moment to realize that Microsoft is showing us the future of computing. The PC was the future, and it let people perform functions they never thought possible. Then the tablet was the future, and it let people interact with content in ways they never thought possible. Now, the future means all things to all people. Read on for more. More →

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