Lenovo to build on PC success with international smartphone release, leaves HP in its dust

Research indicates Lenovo has become the world's number one PC manufacturer, as the company announces plans to expand its smartphone range.

Lenovo is riding a wave of success at the moment, after announcing some exciting Windows 8 tablets, and now it appears the company has become the world’s number one PC manufacturer, and is preparing to release its smartphone range internationally too.

Research firm Gartner has released data that shows Lenovo has pushed past Hewlett-Packard to take the number one spot, and the figures read like this: HP can claim a 15.5-percent global market share, with 13.55 million units shipped, while Lenovo has a 15.7-percent market share with 13.77 million units heading out the door this quarter.

Perhaps more importantly, Gartner shows HP’s sales as down 16.4-percent on last year, while Lenovo is up by just under 10-percent. If you had to choose a direction as a company, you’d want to be the one going up.

According to Reuters, researchers from IDC still put Lenovo ahead of HP, with market shares of 15.7 and 15.9-percent respectively. HP told them that IDC’s report was “more expansive,” but then, they would say that. Almost regardless of who’s right today, the trend certainly indicates the position swap will happen soon.

HP’s CEO Meg Whitman has been quoted as saying the company is in the first year of a five-year restructuring plan, but despite the much-publicized downturn in PC sales — IDC says global sales have dropped by 8.6-percent since July — it still hasn’t made up its mind about re-entering the smartphone and tablet market. Recent reports seem to indicate confusion regarding this market segment within HP.

Lenovo to enter international smartphone market

Lenovo feels rather differently. It already produces smartphones for a variety of Eastern markets and in June this year, overtook both Nokia and Huawei to take second place in the Chinese market. Perhaps most tellingly — and a point HP needs to hear — is that its phone sales surpassed that of its PC sales for the first time there too.

It’s not just low-end hardware the company produces either, as it introduced the LePhone K860 in August, which has a 5-inch display with a 720p resolution, a quad-core processor (actually Samsung’s Exynos 4 Quad, also seen in the Galaxy S3), Android 4.0 and an 8-megapixel camera. It’s destined for Japan sometime later this year.

The momentum is there for Lenovo, and it’s already producing some interesting hardware, so it’s no surprise to see the following message posted on its Facebook page: “We won’t stop at laptops and tablets. For the first time, Lenovo is making plans to sell smartphones outside China.”

Introducing new hardware into the already massively competitive US and European markets isn’t going to be easy, but Lenovo knows it has little choice. Besides, it can always look at the lucrative African, Russian and South American markets initially, before hitting the rest of Europe and the US with devices such as the K860.

Lenovo hasn’t provided any further details, and we’d be surprised to see any releases this year, but it’s still a very positive step from a highly motivated company. Whether HP will respond remains to be seen.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/lenovo-to-build-on-pc-success-with-international-smartphone-release/

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Why smart consumers make dumb decisions on smartphones

Are you lining up for the iPhone 5 because it’s tailored to your needs better than any other phone, or because it’s the new iPhone?

Given the massive success of the iPhone despite a number of problems (Wi-Fi, maps), tech pundits have been writing stories this week about the death of Android and suggesting it become more like iOS. This is ironic, considering Apple still maintains that Android was essentially a stolen product.

Microsoft isn’t even in the discussion, because the few of us who have Windows phones are just thankful that we aren’t in lines, that we have more hardware choices than the iPhone buyers have, and have fewer malware problems than the Google folks have. Because everyone else is on the other two platforms, in our minds, we Microsoft users are the new elite geeks. In everyone else’s heads, we’re just geeks.

However, underneath all of the buying activity is an unfortunate trend: Consumers are thinking about what they need and want less and less. Did those in line waiting for the iPhone first sit down and think through what they liked and didn’t like about their existing phones? Did they consider what features were worth their money? Did they eventually come to a well-thought-through conclusion, or did they just go rabid when the words “new iPhone” came from Apple?

Despite the massive amounts of information on the Web that should help us make better decisions, we increasingly focus on stuff that agrees with a decision we’ve already made. That is foolish, and it even could be dangerous.

Ultrabook example

Because passion surrounds anything Apple, and I don’t want to get buried in hate mail for suggesting another phone might be better for you, let me use a different platform as an example. I was recently asked, if I to buy an Ultrabook today, which I would choose.

Currently I’m using a Samsung Slate running Windows 8, so the thought of returning to a laptop configuration forced me to sit down and think through the decision. The number one priority for me is battery life. I’m always forgetting where I’ve left my laptop and forgetting to keep it charged. But as I thought some more, I realized battery life really wasn’t what I needed. What I need is the ability to fast-charge the device, because I generally have 30 minutes to an hour to get ready. But even a 20-hour battery will be dead if it has been sitting for a few weeks. (Unless you completely turn off a laptop, it will slowly drain its battery in suspend.)

So I decided what I really wanted was a fast-charging battery with decent life. This led me to the Lenovo Carbon X-1, which also has the best keyboard, one of the best touchpads, and a decent set of ports. The Carbon X-1 is also is sturdy (semi-hardened). But I would have traded all of these things (well, maybe not all) for that eight-hour battery that can charge to 80 percent in 35 minutes. The sexiest notebook does me no good if the battery is dead. Most of the events I attend have many analysts, and typically only three or four plugs, most of which the A\V guys use. So I regularly need a good battery.

Despite not being the most popular Ultrabook, the ThinkPad Carbon X-1 is a perfect fit to my particular needs and situation.

Why I ‘ve avoided the iPhone 5

The feature most important to me on a smartphone is a keyboard, because I’m often writing long answers to long questions. Usually I’m carrying something in one hand, which means I need a single-handed phone experience. Yes, I can and have lived off a screen phone, but I’m far slower typing on it single handedly. I prefer a portrait keyboard. That’s why I keep returning to my old, obsolete, 3G Dell smartphone. I have no doubt that eventually I’ll have to give it up, but I’m not going to do it easily. I can get around the 3G to 4G thing with a Verizon 4G hotspot (which works just fine with my tablets and notebook computer).

If I need a bigger screen, my 7-inch Kindle Fire HD is far better than even the biggest super smartphones, and all my data flows fast through that Verizon hotspot. When I travel, the hotspot stays home, forcing me onto Wi-Fi and keeping my data charges from nosebleed range. (If you want an impressive cell phone bill – as in four digits – let your kid use his or her iPhone on roaming while on vacation.)

The iPhone 5 lacks my needed keyboard, its Wi-Fi is having problems, and its navigation is totally broken. Until those last two things are fixed, I’d be very unhappy with the iPhone 5. (I actually use phone navigation a lot.)

Based on the things I do with a phone, the Windows platform is the best one for me. Maybe I’m unique, but I’m OK with that – I’ve never liked looking like everyone else.

Pick what you want

The point of this piece isn’t to slam the iPhone 5, but to point out a practice that likely causes too many folks to buy a phone that doesn’t meet their needs. People who need and use phone navigation and Wi-Fi should buy a different phone, or at least wait until Apple fixes the iPhone issues. (The Wi-Fi issue may be fixed by the time you read this; the mapping issue likely will take far longer.)

A smartphone will cost you around $1,000 a year. Everyone should think through what they need before spending that kind of money. You may discover that your existing phone — or a phone other than the one folks are lining up for — better fits your needs. Because you have to live with a phone for about two years, taking time to make a good decision makes sense. And if more of us planned before we purchased, we’d likely find more phones tailored to our unique needs, and be less likely to stand in line for hours to get a phone that almost everyone else has.

Guest contributor Rob Enderle is the founder and principal analyst for the Enderle Group, and one of the most frequently quoted tech pundits in the world. Opinion pieces denote the opinions of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of Digital Trends.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-smart-consumers-make-dumb-decisions-on-smartphones/

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Square raises $200m and touts a $3.25bn valuation

Square mobile has been a huge success

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payment service Square is now worth a reported $3.25 billion (£2bn) following a recent injection of cash.

A round of funding has raised $200 million (£125m), which will see the company expand beyond the United States later this year, according to AllThingsD.

Significantly, a large chunk of that sweet investment dollar came from Starbucks, which will now switch to using the Square technology and allow customers to pay for coffee using the Square app.

Boost for small businesses... and Starbucks

Square has been a huge boon for small business owners allowing them to take credit card payments, simply by plugging a white dongle into the headphone jack of an iOS or Android devices.

Square is now processing $8 billion a year in credit and debit card transactions.

Once Starbucks starts using the service, those numbers are likely to go through the roof.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/square-raises-200m-and-touts-a-3-25bn-valuation-1098030

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Loose lips sink ships: Why has Tim Cook’s Apple sprung a leak?

The success of this year's iPhone 5 rumor mill proves one thing: Tim Cook no longer has control of Apple's secrets. Why is that?

Welp, the iPhone 5 is here. And, as feared, not a thing about the device was a surprise. Not the screen size. Not the processor. Not the design. Not the name. Not the release date. Not even the freakin’ headphones. We saw all of these details before, in the months leading up to today’s big announcement. In other words, everything about the iPhone 5 leaked, snatching away Apple’s long-held ability to control the message about its own products — a skillful secrecy that has defined the company for the past decade and helped make it such an astounding success.

None of this is to say that the iPhone 5 is a disappointment, nor lacking in any way. If you like the Apple ecosystem, then the iPhone 5 is great, probably the best phone on the market. Nor do I mean that Apple needs to blow our minds with every product — that’s just not how technological innovation works. Yes, the iPhone was groundbreaking in 2007. And the iPad set fire to the tablet form factor, which wallowed in obscurity and uselessness for a decade before receiving an incendiary dose of the Apple magic.

No — what I’m talking about here is the value of secrecy, and what it means to no longer have the ability or will to keep a secret.

At the D10 Conference in May, Apple CEO Tim Cook famously stated that Apple would “double down on secrecy on products.” But if this year’s iPhone rumor season is anything more than a fluke, it would appear that Cook has either decided to scrap that plan altogether, or fundamentally failed the mission.

It is entirely possible that, with the late Steve Jobs no longer in control, Cook decided to lift the iron curtain that has long surrounded Apple for strategic purposes. Some have suggested that, because the new iPhone now has an entirely different dock connector, Apple decided to leak the information in the press as a thinly veiled heads up to third-party accessory makers whose business would be monumentally impacted by the change. But why not simply share this information directly, and demand the same level of secrecy as Apple has historically required? Hasn’t Tim Cook ever heard of a non-disclosure agreement?

The more viable conclusion is that Apple has lost its ability to keep a secret. Why is that?

One theory is that Tim Cook is simply not as feared by Apple’s suppliers as Jobs was. Jobs is infamous for his brutal inflexibility, with employees and business partners alike. Cook, by contrast, is reportedly not nearly as frightening a leader. His wrath not as wrathful. His iron fist a bit rubbery.

Of course, it may simply be that Apple has grown too large for secrecy to remain a viable option. As of 2011, Apple listed (pdf) more than 150 companies in its supply chain. Perhaps this year it reached a breaking point: the list simply grew too long to stay in one solid piece. And out of the cracks flowed the company’s secrets.

Maybe. But I find it difficult to dismiss Cook’s role in it. For whatever reason, Apple’s relationship with its suppliers has drastically changed during his tenure. Leaks of iPhone 5 components were constant and nearly systematic. Nearly every week, for months on end, new tidbits about the device made their way onto the Web. Not just blurry shots of nearly unrecognizable prototypes as we occasionally saw during Jobs’ reign, but full videos of people showing off what we now know to be authentic iPhone 5 components.

Have Foxconn leaders sensed Apple’s new, less-dangerous demeanor, and allowed the many iPhone components to make their to leak into the public for their own purposes? Or perhaps it was LG Display, or Japan Display, where the iPhone 5 screens are made, which saw the weakness and let down its guard?

It’s impossible for me to say where exactly the leaks came from, or whether there was a single source or many. What I can say, however, is that if this is Tim Cook doubling down on Apple’s secrecy, then he just lost that hand.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-tim-cook-secrecy/

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