Dell launches new PC monitors

MANILA, Philippines — Dell has launched its new line-up of computer monitors during the company’s year-end briefing in Taguig last Friday.

The product line includes the flagship UP2715K, a 5k monitor with almost twice the resolution of a 4k monitor, the U3415W, Dell’s first type of 34-inch curved screen monitor, the Ultra HD 4k monitor P2715Q and the UltraSharp monitor U2515H.

“We are excited to announce Dell’s new monitor line-up in sizes and price points that will be compelling to customers seeking for higher resolutions,” Jasmon Ching, Dell South Asia brand marketing manager, said. “Today’s announcement reinforces how Dell has led in product innovation by making the latest monitor technologies available to everyone, regardless of their usage and budget.”

The premium product UP 2715K goes for $2,499 (about P111,492) and is designed primarily for color-based and high-resolution imaging industries as well as game and software developers. The product is mainly a 27-inch 16:9 ultra-HD 5k screen panel with a resolution of 5120×2880 (over 14 million pixels), or seven times better than full-HD monitors. According to Dell, the UP2715K can display 1.07 billion colors and has an 86 percent decrease of harmful reflection compared to other products for a more accurate display performance.

The curved display U3415W, on the other hand, retails for $1,199 (about P53,493) and has a sharpness of 3440×1440 resolution on 21:9 screen.

“The curved display and wide field of view work together to give gamers a competitive edge, requiring less eye movement when compared to a flat panel display, enabling players to take advantage of their peripheral vision when the competition heats up,” the company said in a press statement.

Dell also unveiled the P2715Q Ultra HD ($699 or P31,168), which has a 3840×2160 resolution with more than 8 million pixels, and the U2515H ($479 or about P21,375), which has a 2560×1440 QHD resolution.

source: interaksyon.com

Junglecat is an iOS controller

CARLSBAD, California — Gaming entertainment devices and software maker, Razer, recently announced its much-anticipated Razer Junglecat gamepad for iOS devices.

Leveraging its significant experience developing high-performance gaming controllers for console and PC, Razer’s entrée into mobile phone hardware offers consumers a combination of gaming-grade control and customizability with unimpeded phone access.

The Razer Junglecat’s engineering team shaved every millimeter possible in the controller’s design to ensure it molds seamlessly with the sleek profile of the iPhone.

The result is an ultra-durable slider that reveals or hides the gamepad as desired. With a full set of gaming functions resident in the Razer Junglecat’s AXBY pressure-sensitive buttons, D-pad and bumpers, on screen controls are eliminated, leaving valuable screen real estate free.

Users can leave the Razer Junglecat attached, as all buttons and ports remain available in its pocket-ready compact form. At only 20 mm thin, the controller feels like a standard protective case.

The Razer Junglecat comes with a downloadable iOS app that lets users remap and define all of its button functions, as well as adjust pressure sensitivity according to preference.

Up to 20 personalized profiles can be stored on the app, allowing users to select a corresponding profile for their favorite games. Whether it is custom sensitivity for an adrenaline-pumping racing game or an array of programmed keybinds for an intense adventure game, the Razer Junglecat iOS companion app will allow users to tailor their gaming experiences.

As an MFi (Made For iPhone) product, the Razer Junglecat is enabled for the latest features of Apple devices recently announced at WWDC.

Game Controller Forwarding, for instance, will allow the Razer Junglecat and iPhone 5/5s to act as a wireless controller for larger-screen Apple products.

The chore of finding games for iOS controllers is made easy with the Junglecat’s iOS companion app, as well.


The software keeps gamers up-to-date on the latest titles optimized for controller play, scouring the entire App Store for titles that are perfect for a player and his or her iOS controller — whether it is a Razer Junglecat or another brand’s iOS compatible controller.

“Game development is cascading into mobile with incredible production values and at a record pace, and the crossover of console gamers playing on their iOS and other mobile devices is growing in stride,” Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director, said. “The opportunity to design a sleek, high-performance gamepad controller for the iPhone was an exciting proposition that we can’t wait to share with our community and the world.”

The Razer Junglecat is the latest console-style controller from Razer and is the Company’s first interface for mobile phones.

Its other controllers include the Razer Sabertooth and Razer Atrox, as well as the Razer Gamepad Controller for the Razer Edge gaming tablet, the CNET 2013 Consumer Electronics Show “Best of Show,” “People’s Voice” and “Best Gaming” award winner.

The Razer Junglecat companion app is the latest software in a long line of developments from Razer, building upon its Razer Synapse cloud configurator and following the recent release of Razer Comms VoIP for mobile devices. Razer currently has more than 8 million user accounts registered across its software platform.



Razer Junglecat features:

• iOS7 fully supported gamepad:
• Precision D-pad
• Highly sensitive ABXY action buttons and bumpers
• Highly durable, collapsible sliding mechanism for portability
• Pocket-able for access anytime, anywhere
• Downloadable companion iOS app
• Designed for the Apple iPhone 5/5s
• Open access to all of the phone’s portals and buttons
• Approximate size: 150 mm (5.9 in.) long; 65 mm (2.5 in.) wide; 18 mm (0.7 in.) tall

source: interaksyon.com

Dell SS240T: Mind-blowing monitor

Mind-blowing.

This piece of new technology conjures up scenes from hit Hollywood movies and puts us right into the action, one cool swipe at a time.

You open and close apps and execute programs and process by touching, pointing and dragging using your finger, instead of a mouse or touchpad, on the display monitor itself.

We are not talking about the latest tablet around—innovation, you can see anywhere today.

It’s a desktop touchscreen monitor we’ve tested from giant PC maker Dell.

Called the Dell S2240T, the flat 21.5-inch display won’t impress you off-the-box yet as it seems just like any ordinary monitor. However, when I connected the accompanying cables to my VGA or HDMI ports and the additional USB port to my laptop, the ordinary chores of checking my Outlook, launch Word or Excel, and even bring up a Photoshop window, turned into one fascinating experience.

Even if I’m using Windows 7, which still shows the traditional Windows interface, clicking on icons and maneuvering on the menus of the applications was as easy as picking up, using or leaving items on a real desktop or table. What’s extra cool is picking up items and organizing them into folders, which made my usual computing not only convenient but fun.

Yes, it is just a desktop version of your favorite tablet, and I admit it would still take time before users can really get a hang of it, using a touchscreen instead of a mouse, on a desktop. Some might even just opt to use a tablet instead of using a touchscreen monitor, given its handy and light form factor. But the innovation is something we must welcome as it puts the desktop experience on a higher plain, transforming it into a cool, futuristic interface everyone would want in their office cubicles or study tables.

But, I recommend using this monitor with Windows 8, which clearly defines the touchscreen desktop experience.

The LED touchscreen provides even more than what its target audience demands. Sliding, swiping, pinching, or stretching those desktop items on a large screen to view photos, play games, and browse websites is just so cool, you won’t want to get your hands off it. The multi-touch feature allows you to execute desktop programs more conveniently and easily with its 10-point touch capability. This means it recognizes up to 10 touch points simultaneously.

Not only does the multi-touch capability make you crave for the Dell S2240T, the image quality, too! It offers a full 1920 x 1080 full-HD resolution, a dynamic contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1 and support 16.7 million colors. It also has a wide 178-degree viewing angle, allowing screen views from almost any angle without sacrificing image quality.

And this I have to say: the design is just truly jaw-dropping, not only aesthetically but functionally. The end-to-end glass screen makes it look stunning and offer a smooth touch experience for users. What amazed me was its ergonomic stand that allows the user to easily adjust the panel up to 60 degrees of tilt. Users can choose the best angle wherein they can comfortably type or touch the screen. Do you want to mount the monitor on the wall? You can do that as well, with a VESA-compatible mount for viewing flexibility.

It supports a wide array of signal inputs, including DVI, HDMI and VGA. Because my laptop does not have an HDMI or DVI port, I used the “classic” VGA connection and still, the astonishment was there. But what’s further impressive was its low power consumption and eco-friendly features. Despite loads of functions, the Dell S2240T consumes only 20W of electricity, arsenic-free glass, and mercury-free LED panel that not only saves power but pushes to protect the environment.




There may be some kinks along the way, as some touches have not followed what I wanted. Like when I wanted to touch the File menu, the Edit menu on its right appeared instead. Also there were times when I still reached for the USB mouse when I wanted to access right-click menus or other options. But for sure, Dell will address this and make the experience even more compelling.

As it is, it’s still like living a dream.

source: interaksyon.com

Lenovo tops PC makers

Lenovo Group held on to its position as the world’s No. 1 personal computer maker in the latest quarter despite a drastic dip in its core Chinese market, according to figures published by tech research firm Gartner on Wednesday.

Overall, the latest numbers showed an 8.6 percent decline in PC sales in the third quarter, confirming a worldwide trend towards tablets that has benefited Apple Inc and Google Inc but hurt traditional PC stalwarts Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 80.3 million in the latest three month period, the lowest level since 2008, Gartner said, despite the ‘back to school’ season when sales traditionally spike.

Europe, Middle East and Africa was the worst hit region, with a 13.7 percent decline in PC sales, followed by Asia Pacific with an 11.2 percent decline. The U.S. market increased 3.5 percent, helped by low inventories being re-stocked and the popularity of models featuring the latest Intel chips, Gartner said.

“Consumers’ shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs both in mature as well as in emerging markets,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets.”

Strong sales in the United States and Europe helped Chinese PC maker Lenovo hold onto the top spot among manufacturers, offsetting the decline in Asia.

Lenovo’s overall shipments rose 2.8 percent over a year ago to give the company a 17.6 percent share of the global market.

Former No. 1 Hewlett-Packard Co, which is being remodeled by Chief Executive Meg Whitman, posted a 1.5 percent growth in shipments for a 17.1 percent global market share. It was H-P’s first positive shipment growth figure since the first quarter of 2012. Whitman said on Wednesday that she expected to stabilize revenues next year as she continues her work to reverse the company’s fortunes.

source: interaksyon.com

ASUS Launches MicroATX Motherboards For Superior HTPC Performance

ASUS announced a new range of microATX motherboards with onboard HDMI and DVI ports for Intel® and AMD processors with integrated graphics, and USB 3.0 ports with performance-enhancing ASUS USB 3.0 Boost technology. By removing the need for a discrete graphics card, the new motherboards provide a more affordable option for home entertainment PCs that can fully exploit high-performance USB 3.0 storage.

CPU-integrated graphics support with onboard HDMI and DVI ports The latest Intel 22nm CPUs feature Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, while AMD Socket FM2 Athlon and A-Series APUs have integrated AMD HD 7000 Series discrete-level Radeon GPUs.


The processors provide excellent 2D and 3D graphics performance, without the need for a separate graphics card, which in turn results in lower PC build costs.

The new ASUS microATX motherboards support the integrated graphics features of both processor families, and each model features both an HDMI port for use with HDTVs and a DVI port for connection to desktop displays.

The ASUS B75M-A, H61M-PLUS, H61M-A/USB3 and H61M-A are microATX motherboards designed for Intel processors; the A85XM-A, A55M-A/USB3, A55M-A are for AMD APUs.

The microATX form factor and reduced cooling requirements of these new motherboards make them ideally suited for compact desktop and home entertainment PCs.

USB 3.0 has data-transfer speeds up to 10-times faster than USB 2.0.

The new microATX motherboards announced today improve upon this further with exclusive ASUS USB 3.0 Boost technology, for data transfer speeds up to 1.7-times faster than ordinary USB 3.0. USB 3.0 Boost uses the industry standard USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) to increase data throughput by using multiple channels in parallel, rather than just the one channel of ordinary USB 3.0.

This allows USB 3.0 Boost to use the entire bandwidth of a USB 3.0 connection for significant time savings with large file transfers and smoother HD video streaming.

UASP requires a UASP-enabled drive or drive enclosure to deliver its full performance benefits, but ASUS USB 3.0 Boost technology also incorporates an optimized ‘turbo’ mode for data transfer speed improvements from any standard USB 3.0 device.

USB 3.0 Boost is supported by the ASUS B75M-A, H61M-PLUS and H61M-A/USB3 Intel-based motherboards.

source: mb.com.ph

AMD hires chip veterans, diversifies beyond PCs

SAN FRANCISCO — Advanced Micro Devices Inc has hired two senior engineers with experience at Qualcomm Inc and Apple Inc, its latest high-level recruitments as it diversifies beyond a slowing personal computer industry, sources close to the chipmaker said.

Charles Matar, with expertise in low-power and embedded chip design, joined as AMD’s vice president of System-on-Chip Development, two sources said. Matar most recently worked at Qualcomm.

Wayne Meretsky, who worked at Apple in the 1990s on the Mac, was named vice president, software IP development, they said. Meretsky will lead software developments for AMD’s chips.

AMD spokesman Drew Prairie also confirmed that AMD hired the two engineers to help the chipmaker expand into new markets, but he did not provide details.

AMD depends on the PC industry for about 80 percent of its revenue. With sales in that business falling due to a growing preference for smartphones and tablets, the company is rushing to expand into new markets for its chip processors and graphics technology.

One of Silicon Valley’s oldest chipmakers, AMD has experienced major changes in its lineup of executives and senior engineers since Chief Executive Rory Read moved over from PC maker Lenovo in 2011 promising to make the struggling chipmaker more efficient.

In October, AMD announced it was laying off 15 percent of its workforce, its second round of job cuts in less than a year.

Matar and Meretsky both worked at AMD earlier in their careers. Their return follows chip guru Jim Keller, who joined AMD as chief architect in August last year.

Keller was previously a director at Apple in charge of designing mobile processors used in the iPad and iPhone.

Sunnyvale, California-based AMD hopes to increase sales in markets such as communications, microservers, digital signs and stripped down “thin client” computers. It wants those non-PC markets to account for as much as 50 percent of its revenue within three or four years.

Matar will focus on designing SoCs, or “system on a chips,” which integrate several features found on a computer into a single piece of silicon. The technology is widely used in smartphones, tablets and embedded devices.

The chipmaker plans to ship a new low power processor, codenamed Temash, for tablets and hybrid laptops running Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform in the first half of this year.

Its Kabini laptop processor, also planned for early 2013, will have 50 percent better performance than its predecessor, according to AMD.

source: interaksyon.com

Acer Aspire Z5770 Olympic Edition offers high-def family entertainment

MANILA, Philippines - Every athlete’s ultimate dream is to bring honor and glory not only to his name but also to his family and country. Standing atop the podium in the Olympics, gold medal around the neck, national anthem playing in the background — defines that dream.

Every IT enthusiast or consumer also has his own dream PC, which they can find in the Acer Aspire Z5770 Olympic Edition All-In-One PC. It’s a full touch, high-definition, crisp-sounding and connect-to-all PC from Acer, one of the world’s most trusted IT technology innovators.

The Acer Aspire Z5770 All-In-One PC’s podium-worthy features are all about delivering power in its performance. Using second-generation Intel Core i3 processor and Intel H61 Express Chipset, with NVIDIA GeForce GT520 graphics and 4GB DDR3 memory, it provides dynamic processing performance and faster multitasking capabilities and at the same time consumes less power.

The display capability of the Acer Aspire Z5770 Olympic Edition All-In-One PC is also a gold medal-worthy feature. With a full-HD 23-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, high-brightness LED-backlit TFT LCD full-HD capable of up to a 23-degree tilt, it’s an impressive display set that anyone can truly marvel at.

And with the Acer TouchPortal software, it gives users a smarter, multi-touch way of accessing the PC and the Internet, whether for multimedia functions or social networking activities for a more intuitive user experience.

With this new and advanced member of the Acer Aspire All-In-One PC family, there is a 1TB 7200rpm hard drive for more storage capabilities for the users’ personal, fun or work files like video presentations, favorite games or movies they can enjoy with colleagues while taking a break or with the whole family during weekend bonding times.

Plus with an optimized Dolby Home Theater4 audio enhancement and two built-in stereo speakers, HDMI connectivity, two USB 3.0 ports, multimedia entertainment or professional audio-video needs are of Olympic caliber. Every decibel of sound and pixel of image resolution is clear, crisp and lucid for everyone’s enjoyment.

Connecting to the Internet is also as fast as a record-breaking 100-meter dash in the Olympics with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity and Gigabit Ethernet that the Acer Aspire Z5770 All-In-One PC brings to both office or home users.

And it’s an experience to marvel at the Acer Aspire Z5770 All-In-One PC’s contemporary design that will fit any room or space at home or at the office. Its elegant aluminum color frame, a slim side adumbration (or outlined form), makes it a perfect and neat fit to any space, personal or professional. It even has a VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)-standard wall mount for an even more space-saving application.

source: philstar.com

Lenovo knocks HP from top of global PC market: Gartner

SAN FRANCISCO/HONG KONG — China’s Lenovo Group Ltd edged out Silicon Valley icon Hewlett-Packard Co to become the world’s No. 1 PC maker in the third quarter, according to data released by research house Gartner on Wednesday.

A rival to Gartner, IDC, still ranks HP in the lead – but by less than half a percentage point – in terms of PC shipments worldwide. Both studies reinforce HP’s struggles against rivals as new chief executive Meg Whitman tries to overhaul the stalled 73-year-old company.

Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell over 8 percent in the third quarter to 87.5 million, the steepest decline since 2001, Gartner analysts said.

PC demand growth has crumbled over the past year as more consumers flock to ultra-portable and increasingly powerful tablets and smartphones for basic computing.

“It’s quite a tough year for PC makers because (Microsoft’s) Windows 8 is not launched yet and some consumers are waiting for that. Cannibalisation of tablet PCs is also another factor,” said Eve Jung, an analyst with Nomura Securities in Taipei.

Both sets of data show that Lenovo, Taiwan’s Acer and other Asian PC makers are taking share away from U.S. competitors HP and Dell, which held on to the No. 3 spot in the quarter.

Lenovo, which has a market value of $8.2 billion, said it believed there was room for continued growth in the sector.

“We are establishing even deeper roots in each major market around the world. In addition to localized sales and distribution teams in major markets, we are establishing an even stronger manufacturing footprint,” Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said in a statement.

This year the company has bought Brazilian electronics maker CCE, valued at a base price of 300 million reais ($148 million), and U.S. cloud computing firm Stoneware.

China’s tech rise

Lenovo’s rise highlights the advance of China’s technology firms on the world stage in recent years as a result of aggressive pricing, overseas acquisitions, and taking advantage of a fast-growing home market.

The Chinese company, which vaulted into the PC market by buying IBM’s personal computer division in 2005, took the top spot for the first time by growing its market share to 15.7 percent, shipping an estimated 13.77 million units during the quarter, up nearly 10 percent from a year ago, Gartner said.

HP’s global PC share stood at 15.5 percent after shipping 13.55 million units, down 16.4 percent from a year ago, Gartner said, adding that this was the first time HP has not been the top-ranked PC vendor position since 2006.

IDC had HP at the No. 1 spot with a 15.9 percent market share, marginally ahead of Lenovo’s 15.7 percent share.

HP responded to Gartner’s study by saying IDC’s was more expansive.

“While there are a variety of PC share reports in the market, some don’t measure the market in its entirety,” HP said in a statement. “The IDC analysis includes the very important workstation segment, and therefore is more comprehensive.”

HP shares closed 1.32 percent lower at $14.18 on Wednesday, after touching $14.02, its lowest level since October 2002.

Lenovo’s shares ended up 0.3 percent on Thursday, compared with a 0.4 rise in the benchmark Hong Kong index.

Since the start of 2012, Lenovo’s shares have risen more than 9 percent, in contrast to a roughly 40 percent drop in HP’s stock, a 35 percent fall in Dell and Acer’s 21 percent slide.

Analysts say PC makers are suffering from still-sluggish growth in consumer and corporate spending across the globe, even in once-reliably hot markets like China, Lenovo’s home turf. The industry’s future is uncertain, partly because of a proliferation of computing devices from tablets of all sizes to smartphones.

“PCs are going through a severe slump,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker.

“A weak global economy as well as questions about PC market saturation and delayed replacement cycles are certainly a factor, but the hard question of what is the ‘it’ product for PCs remain unanswered.”

source: interaksyon.com

Acer, Samsung loosen grip as Philippine PC market plateaus in Q2 — IDC

MANILA, Philippines — PC shipments to the Philippines stagnated to a meager 1.5-percent growth in the 2nd quarter of the year, with leaders Acer and Samsung losing market share due to overstocking problems, research firm IDC reported recently.

Smaller PC vendors, IDC noted, outperformed both Acer and Samsung during the quarter as the former launched “aggressive pricing and hardware bundling strategies.”

The total number of PC units shipped within the quarter amounted to 551,000, more than half of which were consumer-grade notebooks.

While waning in numbers, the desktop form factor still turned out to be dominant during the 2nd quarter of the year, with over five desktops sold for every four notebooks, IDC found.

During the period, netbooks — or mininotebooks, as IDC calls it — gained renewed prominence among Filipino consumers as the smaller vendors were able to resolve the shortage of netbook processors reported in previous quarters.

“MNC PC brands are starting to encroach upon the market share of one another as the consumer market is not expanding at a rapid enough pace,” explained Juan-Jin Ng, market analyst for client devices research at IDC Asia/Pacific.

“As PC prices grow even more homogenous across most major brands, we will eventually see the stranglehold of the top 2 vendors on the retail market declining over the coming quarters,” he added.

Public-sector PC deployments, IDC noted, grew to a standstill during the second quarter, but incremental rollouts by the Department of Education helped boost commercial PC shipments to a 1.7 percent growth.

IDC believes the resilient Philippine economy, which grew by a rate of 5.9 percent from April to June, had likely contributed to a still positive growth rate during the period.

“The resilience of the economy in the Philippines to the global economic crises as well as the commitment of the current government towards IT spending has kept the overall commercial segment outlook positive,” Juan-Jin added.

Prospects aren’t too bright in the third quarter of the year for PC shipments, though, as vendors hold off on stocking current models in anticipation of Windows 8, due to be released on October 26.

“As such, the PC market should see a boost only in Q4. However, the PC market should find temporary respite in the commercial segment as government and enterprise spending, especially from BPOs, are expected to get underway in Q3,” the IDC analyst said.

source: interaksyon.com

Intel to showcase new chips as investors eye stagnant PC sales

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp will tout a new generation of processors next week that consume less power, hoping to reinvigorate a stagnant personal computer industry and soothe increasing concerns about its growth.

Wall Street is reassessing its outlook for the top chipmaker after Hewlett-Packard Co and Inc warned last month of weak demand for PCs.

At least eight analysts have reduced their revenue estimates for the dominant PC chipmaker since August 23, pointing to poor economies in Europe, the United States and China, as well as the growing popularity of mobile gadgets.

“The risk of a (negative) preannouncement is extremely high at this point,” said Patrick Wang, an analyst at Evercore Partners. “I think the supply chain is reeling at the elevated levels of inventory out there.”

The top chipmaker is banking on Microsoft Corp’s much anticipated launch of its Windows 8 platform in October to help slow the growing numbers of consumers buying smartphones and tablets instead of personal computers.

Devices running Windows 8 and powered by Intel’s latest components will be a major draw when thousands of technology professionals descend on the annual Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco next week.

Low power

Analysts on average expect revenue of $14.2 billion when Intel reports its third-quarter results in October, still well within the company’s forecast of $13.8 billion to 14.8 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

But in a further sign of growing investor caution, the ratio of put options for Intel shares to call options has risen close to highs not seen since 2006, said Jim Strugger, a derivatives strategist at MKM Partners.

Fears of slowing global PC shipments have helped push Intel’s shares down about 11 percent since the end of April.

At the forum, Intel’s next-generation PC processor, codenamed Haswell, will be front and center, with executives talking up improved power performance letting future laptops stay on longer without needing a recharge.

Haswell, due to appear in a crop of laptops released for next year’s holiday season, will improve on computing and graphics features and is targeted to slash electricity consumption from 17 watts to 10 watts, according to Intel.

Intel is also expected to show off a range of Ultrabook laptops powered by recently launched Ivy Bridge processors, as well as hybrid devices with screens that detach from keyboards to be used as tablets.

Intel’s processors are used in 80 percent of the world’s PCs but the Santa Clara, California company has been slow to adapt its chips for smartphones and tablets and now trails Qualcomm Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which design their chips using power-efficient technology licensed from ARM Holdings Plc.

The combined market for PCs, smartphones and tablets is expected to almost double over the next four years, but Intel’s share of the processors used in them will dip from 35 percent to 29 percent, according to a report this week from IHS iSuppli.

Underscoring mobile gadgets’ heft in the tech industry, Apple on Wednesday will become a distraction for participants at Intel’s forum when it holds a nearby event where it is expected to launch its newest iPhone.

More and more choices

The upcoming introduction of tablets running a version of Windows 8 designed to work with ARM-based chips is creating additional uncertainty for manufacturers trying to predict what kinds of new devices will catch on with consumers, said Vijay Rakesh, an analyst at Sterne Agee.

Previous versions of Windows worked only with “x86″ chips made by Intel and smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices.

“The issue is, can we have x86- and ARM-based systems? That’s still a question mark,” Rakesh said. “And then, what is the pricing of these systems versus the iPads and Kindles and other tablets that are out there?”

Intel’s new Medfield processor, showcased in phones launched this year in Russia, India and the United Kingdom, surprised some critics who believed the chips would consume too much power.

Motorola Mobility, owned by Google Inc, is expected to unveil an Intel-based smartphone in London on September 18, the first of a multi-device agreement with the chipmaker.

“They have a respectable seat at the (mobile) table because they surprised a lot of people with Medfield and just how well that did perform,” said Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. “Their big chance to get more credibility will come with Motorola.”

source: interaksyon.com

Asus ‘surprised’ by high Ultrabook demand in price-sensitive PH market

MANILA, Philippines — Taiwanese PC vendor Asus said it did not expect the high demand for its Ultrabook line from Filipino consumers considering the steep price slapped on initial units, a local executive said recently.

Despite the quick depletion of stocks, Asus Philippines System Technical PR Eason de Guzman admitted that they are still cautious about the Ultrabook market in the Philippines, which is largely known as a price-sensitive market.

In fact, De Guzman said they only brought in about 200 for the initial batch of Asus Zenbook Ultrabooks to be sold locally, which have quickly been lapped up by consumers in about a month’s time.

Launched in November, the 13-inch Asus Zenbook UX31 retailed for P59,995, while the lower-end 11-inch UX21 model was sold for P53,995.

Despite the expensive price tag, De Guzman said consumers still went for the Ultrabook models. “The demand for the Ultrabook was really unprecedented in the Philippines,” he said. “We were a little bit hesitant of [launching] the Zenbook here, because we’re a price-sensitive market. That is why we were really shocked.”

The ASUS executive said they have plans of bringing in a fresh batch by the second week of April — around the same volume of units–along with the limited edition hot pink model.

Still, De Guzman said they have observed that consumers who are capable of buying a P40,000 computer would still opt for a high-performance one instead of the portability offered by Ultrabooks.

“They would still prefer the high-end performance notebook, even if still a little bit bulky,” he said. “People who buy Ultrabook buy it for the portability and the design.”

While Ultrabooks constitute just a minute part of the computer company’s overall sales, the executive said they are seeing big potential for the new segment “because Intel is really pushing for Ultrabooks.”

The plan, according to him, is to have Ultrabooks the standard form factor for notebooks in three years’ time. Intel had earlier announced they are seeing as much as 40 percent Ultrabook penetration by the end of 2012.

He further disclosed that they are looking to do a refresh of their Zenbook line this year, especially after the launch of Intel’s new processors. ”

“During the upgrade of Intel processors in April 29, look forward to announcement from Asus as well,” he added.

Just recently, Asus launched a hot pink version of its Zenbook UX31 Ultrabook, which brandishes a neon pink color on the lid while the inner body is coated in black. The unit’s keyboard prints are also printed in pink to make the unit stand out from its counterparts.

The hot pink Zenbook still boasts of incredible speed with 2 seconds Instant On, incredible performance with 2nd Gen Intel Core processors and incredible beauty with a 3mm
height in front and 9mm height at the back.

It will retail for P59,995 and will become available by the first week of April.

source: interaksyon.com