India could have more than one billion mobile phone users by 2015, with the bulk of that growth in rural areas, one of the country's top telecom executives said on Wednesday.
Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India's biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel, told an industry conference in Hong Kong that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years.
"Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible," he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region's largest telecom industry gathering.
"The largest growth will happen in the rural market," he said, adding that pricing wars between providers were knocking down rates in the Indian market and making phones affordable to more people.
Competition in India has become even more aggressive as new players unleash deeper price cuts with innovative per-second billing plans that have pushed call costs down to less than a cent a minute.
"There is hyper-competition like no other place in the world," he said.
India is the world's second-biggest cellular market with more than 400 million users, lagging behind only China, which has over 600 million users.
Rural customers are also seen as key to growth in China, said Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, one of the nation's three major telecoms operators.
The company aims to tap "vast rural areas" for growth as demand for basic mobile voice services slows in saturated urban markets, he said, with customers now looking for multi-function devices that can send emails or play movies.
"Voice is a mature market in some areas, but we still see some growth potential," Chang told the conference. "Voice will be in continuous demand (in China)."
But Chinese operators must boost their data business to offset falling prices on voice calls, he said.
Chang has said he expects Apple's iconic iPhone, which Unicom distributes, will be China's highest-selling smartphone despite disappointing results after its official launch this month.
Mobile connections in Asia Pacific are expected to cross the two billion mark this year, more than triple the level in 2003, according to statistics released by conference organiser GSMA, a mobile industry trade group.
Agencies
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Will Nokia close its gaming service N-Gage?
Nokia will close its battered gaming service N-Gage next year, acknowledging failure in its first major services offering.
The handset maker's mobile gaming push has encountered major challenges over the years, with consumers first shunning its dedicated gaming phones.
The online gaming service, opened last year, never moved beyond a niche audience.
Nokia has started to look for new revenues from online services as its traditional handset market is maturing, with games and music being the first focus areas of the cellphone maker.
"We will no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform," Nokia said on its N-Gage blog.
It said the games from its first major services offering can be purchased until the end of September 2010, and the community site will remain in operation throughout 2010.
After closing the N-Gage service it will continue to sell mobile games at its Ovi Store, a smaller rival to Apple's popular App Store.
Agencies
The handset maker's mobile gaming push has encountered major challenges over the years, with consumers first shunning its dedicated gaming phones.
The online gaming service, opened last year, never moved beyond a niche audience.
Nokia has started to look for new revenues from online services as its traditional handset market is maturing, with games and music being the first focus areas of the cellphone maker.
"We will no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform," Nokia said on its N-Gage blog.
It said the games from its first major services offering can be purchased until the end of September 2010, and the community site will remain in operation throughout 2010.
After closing the N-Gage service it will continue to sell mobile games at its Ovi Store, a smaller rival to Apple's popular App Store.
Agencies
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Omniture to be acquired by Adobe for $1.8 billion
Adobe Systems Inc plans to pay $1.8 billion for fast-growing business software maker Omniture Inc as the maker of Photoshop and Acrobat looks to turn around declining sales.
Adobe, which announced the deal on Tuesday as it reported lower quarterly sales and profit, has been struggling over the past year as the recession hurt technology spending and customers declined to upgrade older versions of its programs.
The acquisition would give Adobe a new stream of revenue to offset that decline. Omniture charges customers fees based on monthly website traffic, so sales are less sensitive to economic swings than Adobe.
"There is no way Adobe can grow organically. This is a smart move," said Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry.
Advertising agencies and companies use Omniture's software to analyze how consumers use websites. It is the biggest provider of such services, competing with Google Inc and other smaller players. The vast majority of all professional websites are built with Adobe's Creative Suite line of design software.
Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Sasa Zorovic said Adobe's customers will not necessarily choose to subscribe to Omniture's services simply because its technology is embedded into Creative Suite.
"It will require some selling, but I think the opportunity is there," he said.
Adobe, whose software competes with products from Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, agreed to pay $21.50 per share in cash for Omniture, a 24 percent premium over Omniture's closing price on Tuesday.
Omniture shares soared 25 percent to $21.74 in after-hours trading, while Adobe shares slid 4.5 percent to $34.06.
The deal would be Adobe's second-largest acquisition after its $3.4 billion purchase of Macromedia in December 2005.
Omniture would become a unit of Adobe, headed by its current chief executive, Josh James. Adobe said the deal should close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and would add to Adobe's per-share earnings in fiscal 2010.
Adobe said it would be paid a fee of $64 million by Omniture if the deal is terminated, according to a regulatory filing.
Adobe also reported on Tuesday that fiscal third-quarter earnings, excluding items, fell to 35 cents per share from 50 cents per share a year ago. That beat Wall Street's average forecast by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Second-quarter sales fell 21 percent to $697.5 million, but beat analysts' average forecast of $686.2 million. For the fiscal fourth quarter, not counting any effect of the Omniture deal, Adobe forecast revenue and earnings, excluding items broadly in line with analysts' estimates.
Agencies
Adobe, which announced the deal on Tuesday as it reported lower quarterly sales and profit, has been struggling over the past year as the recession hurt technology spending and customers declined to upgrade older versions of its programs.
The acquisition would give Adobe a new stream of revenue to offset that decline. Omniture charges customers fees based on monthly website traffic, so sales are less sensitive to economic swings than Adobe.
"There is no way Adobe can grow organically. This is a smart move," said Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry.
Advertising agencies and companies use Omniture's software to analyze how consumers use websites. It is the biggest provider of such services, competing with Google Inc and other smaller players. The vast majority of all professional websites are built with Adobe's Creative Suite line of design software.
Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Sasa Zorovic said Adobe's customers will not necessarily choose to subscribe to Omniture's services simply because its technology is embedded into Creative Suite.
"It will require some selling, but I think the opportunity is there," he said.
Adobe, whose software competes with products from Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, agreed to pay $21.50 per share in cash for Omniture, a 24 percent premium over Omniture's closing price on Tuesday.
Omniture shares soared 25 percent to $21.74 in after-hours trading, while Adobe shares slid 4.5 percent to $34.06.
The deal would be Adobe's second-largest acquisition after its $3.4 billion purchase of Macromedia in December 2005.
Omniture would become a unit of Adobe, headed by its current chief executive, Josh James. Adobe said the deal should close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and would add to Adobe's per-share earnings in fiscal 2010.
Adobe said it would be paid a fee of $64 million by Omniture if the deal is terminated, according to a regulatory filing.
Adobe also reported on Tuesday that fiscal third-quarter earnings, excluding items, fell to 35 cents per share from 50 cents per share a year ago. That beat Wall Street's average forecast by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Second-quarter sales fell 21 percent to $697.5 million, but beat analysts' average forecast of $686.2 million. For the fiscal fourth quarter, not counting any effect of the Omniture deal, Adobe forecast revenue and earnings, excluding items broadly in line with analysts' estimates.
Agencies
Monday, September 7, 2009
Battle hots up for T-Mobile bidding
MOBILE phone operators Vodafone and O2 are understood to be locked in a £3.5bn bid battle for rival T-Mobile UK.
Both Newbury-based Vodafone and O2 - which is owned by Telefonica Spain - are reported to have bid £3.5bn for the group which has been put up for sale by its German owner Deutsche Telekom.
T-Mobile has 16.6 million customers, so success for either group would make it the biggest mobile operator in the UK.
But there are concerns that T-Mobile UK could be withdrawn from sale altogether, as the offers, which were discussed by Deutsche Telekom's board at the end of last month, are below the expectations of the group's chief executive, Rene Obermann.
A sale at £3.5bn would lead to Deutsche Telekom having to make another writedown on the division after the group took a £1.6bn hit on the business in May, as a result of it losing customers to rivals and declining margins.
The auction is understood to be in its final stages and a decision is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
If Vodafone was successful in its bid, the deal would boost its share of the UK mobile market to 40 per cent of revenues and a near 50 per cent share by customer numbers with 35 million subscribers enabling it to overtake O2 and regain its crown as the country's biggest mobile operator. O2 would see its market share jump to 43 per cent if it is successful, building on the increase seen following its exclusive deal with Apple to supply iPhone handsets.
Telefonica is said to be concerned that O2 would lose its market-leading position in the UK if Vodafone goes ahead with an offer. But both offers are conditional as any deal is likely to be scrutinised by telecoms regulator Ofcom.
Bankers are understood to have given T-Mobile UK a standalone value of £2.5bn, but this could rise by a further £1bn if it was combined with another operator.
Agencies
Both Newbury-based Vodafone and O2 - which is owned by Telefonica Spain - are reported to have bid £3.5bn for the group which has been put up for sale by its German owner Deutsche Telekom.
T-Mobile has 16.6 million customers, so success for either group would make it the biggest mobile operator in the UK.
But there are concerns that T-Mobile UK could be withdrawn from sale altogether, as the offers, which were discussed by Deutsche Telekom's board at the end of last month, are below the expectations of the group's chief executive, Rene Obermann.
A sale at £3.5bn would lead to Deutsche Telekom having to make another writedown on the division after the group took a £1.6bn hit on the business in May, as a result of it losing customers to rivals and declining margins.
The auction is understood to be in its final stages and a decision is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
If Vodafone was successful in its bid, the deal would boost its share of the UK mobile market to 40 per cent of revenues and a near 50 per cent share by customer numbers with 35 million subscribers enabling it to overtake O2 and regain its crown as the country's biggest mobile operator. O2 would see its market share jump to 43 per cent if it is successful, building on the increase seen following its exclusive deal with Apple to supply iPhone handsets.
Telefonica is said to be concerned that O2 would lose its market-leading position in the UK if Vodafone goes ahead with an offer. But both offers are conditional as any deal is likely to be scrutinised by telecoms regulator Ofcom.
Bankers are understood to have given T-Mobile UK a standalone value of £2.5bn, but this could rise by a further £1bn if it was combined with another operator.
Agencies
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
New Internet browser from Opera
Norway's Opera Software released on Tuesday a new version of its browser, Opera 10, promising faster downloads, new design and new fea
tures.
Opera battles for the spot of third-largest browser maker with Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, but is far behind Microsoft and Mozilla Foundation.
Opera said the new browser is significantly faster on resource-intensive pages such as Gmail and Facebook, and adds features like full thumbnails of all open tabs.
Opera said its Turbo feature for slow connections, which packages web pages, makes the browser up to eight times faster than rival browsers in low connection speeds.
"We have worked a lot on Opera Turbo technology and have also made major improvements on the overall product stability. This is the most stable Opera browser yet," the company said.
The companies usually release several successive test versions of their browsers so they can incorporate user feedback in a series of improvements before their final launch. Microsoft launched its latest IE8 browser in March after a year of public beta testing.
Opera unveiled a public test version of the browser on June 3. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is used for about 60 per cent of global Internet traffic, and Mozilla's Firefox has about 30 per cent, with usage of Opera, Google and Apple all around 3 per cent each, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter.
Opera has a small share of the global desktop browser market, but its browser is the most popular in countries like Russia or Ukraine, and its mobile browser is the most widely used browser on handsets.
Agencies
tures.
Opera battles for the spot of third-largest browser maker with Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, but is far behind Microsoft and Mozilla Foundation.
Opera said the new browser is significantly faster on resource-intensive pages such as Gmail and Facebook, and adds features like full thumbnails of all open tabs.
Opera said its Turbo feature for slow connections, which packages web pages, makes the browser up to eight times faster than rival browsers in low connection speeds.
"We have worked a lot on Opera Turbo technology and have also made major improvements on the overall product stability. This is the most stable Opera browser yet," the company said.
The companies usually release several successive test versions of their browsers so they can incorporate user feedback in a series of improvements before their final launch. Microsoft launched its latest IE8 browser in March after a year of public beta testing.
Opera unveiled a public test version of the browser on June 3. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is used for about 60 per cent of global Internet traffic, and Mozilla's Firefox has about 30 per cent, with usage of Opera, Google and Apple all around 3 per cent each, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter.
Opera has a small share of the global desktop browser market, but its browser is the most popular in countries like Russia or Ukraine, and its mobile browser is the most widely used browser on handsets.
Agencies
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Has Apple unleashed Snow Leopard earlier into the wild?
Apple released its Snow Leopard into the wild a little early, while Microsoft revealed its release plans for Windows 7 this week.
Apple began shipping its newest operating system to customers on Friday, a little earlier than expected. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is not as much about adding new features as it is about refining the code in the operating system. For instance, according to Apple, 90 percent of the Mac OS X code has been worked on for the Snow Leopard release.
The CNET Reviews team took the new OS for a spin and gave it a rating of excellent in its review:
Interface enhancements like Expose in the Dock and better file and folder viewing in Stacks make finding apps and files much easier. A completely overhauled QuickTime X now sports a cleaner interface and recording tools. The much-anticipated Exchange support across Mail, the Address Book, and iCal is huge for those who take their Macs to work.
However, the team notes that Snow Leopard will work only on Intel-powered Macs; PowerPC users are out of luck.
Snow Leopard could include some features that would make it secure, or at least push it closer to the level of security that Vista and Windows 7 have, experts said this week.
Contrary to popular belief, Macintosh is not more secure from a software standpoint than modern Windows; it's merely safer to use because malware writers prefer to target the platform with the biggest install base, according to Charlie Miller and Dino Dai Zovi, co-authors of The Mac Hacker's Handbook, which came out this spring.
"Apple hasn't implemented all the security features that Vista has," Miller said. "They made some improvements in Leopard, but they are still behind."
Mac OS X Snow Leopard will cost $29 as an upgrade for Leopard users. For Mac OS X Tiger users, the Mac Box Set, which includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09, will cost $169.
CNET.com
Apple began shipping its newest operating system to customers on Friday, a little earlier than expected. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is not as much about adding new features as it is about refining the code in the operating system. For instance, according to Apple, 90 percent of the Mac OS X code has been worked on for the Snow Leopard release.
The CNET Reviews team took the new OS for a spin and gave it a rating of excellent in its review:
Interface enhancements like Expose in the Dock and better file and folder viewing in Stacks make finding apps and files much easier. A completely overhauled QuickTime X now sports a cleaner interface and recording tools. The much-anticipated Exchange support across Mail, the Address Book, and iCal is huge for those who take their Macs to work.
However, the team notes that Snow Leopard will work only on Intel-powered Macs; PowerPC users are out of luck.
Snow Leopard could include some features that would make it secure, or at least push it closer to the level of security that Vista and Windows 7 have, experts said this week.
Contrary to popular belief, Macintosh is not more secure from a software standpoint than modern Windows; it's merely safer to use because malware writers prefer to target the platform with the biggest install base, according to Charlie Miller and Dino Dai Zovi, co-authors of The Mac Hacker's Handbook, which came out this spring.
"Apple hasn't implemented all the security features that Vista has," Miller said. "They made some improvements in Leopard, but they are still behind."
Mac OS X Snow Leopard will cost $29 as an upgrade for Leopard users. For Mac OS X Tiger users, the Mac Box Set, which includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09, will cost $169.
CNET.com
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Is Apple iphone set for a launch in China?
Apple Inc is getting closer to clearing the hurdles to start selling iPhones in China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
It is one of the last major phone markets Apple has yet to tap, the paper said. China is the world's largest mobile market with some 687 million subscribers, the paper said, compared with more than 270 million subscribers in the United States.
But Apple faces competition from other smart phones that are set to launch in China in coming months, the paper said. The company must still complete negotiations with state-owned wireless operator China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., which is expected to carry the iPhone, the paper said. Analysts told the paper those talks are nearing conclusion. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison declined comment.
Agencies
It is one of the last major phone markets Apple has yet to tap, the paper said. China is the world's largest mobile market with some 687 million subscribers, the paper said, compared with more than 270 million subscribers in the United States.
But Apple faces competition from other smart phones that are set to launch in China in coming months, the paper said. The company must still complete negotiations with state-owned wireless operator China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., which is expected to carry the iPhone, the paper said. Analysts told the paper those talks are nearing conclusion. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison declined comment.
Agencies
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
New Booklet 3G from Nokia to take on Apple, Dell
Nokia started as a computer company in 1980's but sold the business in 1991 to focus on mobile phones. Now after two decades Nokia is all set to launch its booklet called "Booklet 3G" to broaden its product range to survive the tough competition in the declining mobile market.
Nokia is facing tough competition in the mobile market as many new players are now entering in the scene. Dell, Acer and Hewlett Packard (HP) are all interested to launch products in the mobile category. There are many speculations that Apple will soon be launching a tablet-type touch screen by next year. Nokia plans to take on these competitors in their own backyard with the launch of its Booklet 3G.
This booklet will mostly be mistaken for a netbook but it focuses on on-the-go networking. It is powered by a Windows operating system (not clear yet if it is Windows 7) and has a 10-inch color screen. It has both 3G and GPS functionality, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when there's a network available. It will also have access to Nokia Music store and Ovi maps. Nokia claims that the Booklet will run for 12 hours on a battery charge.
"A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility, and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all-day, always-on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's Executive Vice-President for devices to Telegraph.
Nokia will mostly give further details about pricing early next month at Nokia World '09 in Stuttgart. It is expected that the booklet will be expensive and will be in the range of $700 to $1000.
Agencies
Nokia is facing tough competition in the mobile market as many new players are now entering in the scene. Dell, Acer and Hewlett Packard (HP) are all interested to launch products in the mobile category. There are many speculations that Apple will soon be launching a tablet-type touch screen by next year. Nokia plans to take on these competitors in their own backyard with the launch of its Booklet 3G.
This booklet will mostly be mistaken for a netbook but it focuses on on-the-go networking. It is powered by a Windows operating system (not clear yet if it is Windows 7) and has a 10-inch color screen. It has both 3G and GPS functionality, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when there's a network available. It will also have access to Nokia Music store and Ovi maps. Nokia claims that the Booklet will run for 12 hours on a battery charge.
"A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility, and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all-day, always-on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's Executive Vice-President for devices to Telegraph.
Nokia will mostly give further details about pricing early next month at Nokia World '09 in Stuttgart. It is expected that the booklet will be expensive and will be in the range of $700 to $1000.
Agencies
New tablet may replace keyboard with touch-screen
Apple is shrinking its Mac computer and bringing out a tablet that is small enough to be carried in a handbag but big enough for comfortable web surfing, newspaper reading and watching movies. The computer will revolutionize laptops as we know them because it is one flat touch-screen device without a keyboard.
Speculations have reached a feverish pitch that by 2010, the revolutionary touch-screen gadget will be in a store near you. Blogs are alive with rumours that the tablet’s launch will be announced in September by Steve Jobs, Apple founder and CEO, and launched in time for the Christmas market, reports the Telegraph.
The product is believed to have been in development for the past six years, with Jobs personally involved over the last two. If the speculation is true, it could be the next technological breakthrough for Apple, which has sold more than 200 million iPods since its launch in 2001. The tablet will be billed as the solution for people who work a lot on the move, but don’t want to be burdened with a laptop.
Pundits are predicting that our lives will never be the same. “People expect it to be the ultimate Apple surprise. This thing will knock people’s socks off,”Leander Kahney, a blogger and author of The Cult of Mac, told the Observer.
“Apple will totally rejig the computing experience. You won’t manipulate a keyboard and mouse any more but rather use an intuitive touch-screen. It will very tactile. It will be a whole new paradigm.”
Gene Munster, a technology research analyst, estimated that the tablet, with an onscreen keyboard like the iPhone, would cost around $600, putting it between the high-end iPod Touch at $399 and the Mac-Book, which starts at $999.
Agencies
Speculations have reached a feverish pitch that by 2010, the revolutionary touch-screen gadget will be in a store near you. Blogs are alive with rumours that the tablet’s launch will be announced in September by Steve Jobs, Apple founder and CEO, and launched in time for the Christmas market, reports the Telegraph.
The product is believed to have been in development for the past six years, with Jobs personally involved over the last two. If the speculation is true, it could be the next technological breakthrough for Apple, which has sold more than 200 million iPods since its launch in 2001. The tablet will be billed as the solution for people who work a lot on the move, but don’t want to be burdened with a laptop.
Pundits are predicting that our lives will never be the same. “People expect it to be the ultimate Apple surprise. This thing will knock people’s socks off,”Leander Kahney, a blogger and author of The Cult of Mac, told the Observer.
“Apple will totally rejig the computing experience. You won’t manipulate a keyboard and mouse any more but rather use an intuitive touch-screen. It will very tactile. It will be a whole new paradigm.”
Gene Munster, a technology research analyst, estimated that the tablet, with an onscreen keyboard like the iPhone, would cost around $600, putting it between the high-end iPod Touch at $399 and the Mac-Book, which starts at $999.
Agencies
Sunday, August 23, 2009
$1 salary for Oracle CEO Larry Ellison
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will receive a base salary of $1 for fiscal 2010, according to a regulatory document filed Friday.
That's a decrease of $999,999 from last year. But Ellison won't exactly be starving. He is the world's fourth wealthiest person, according to Forbes.
And according to Oracle's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ellison's base pay of $1 million in fiscal 2009 only accounted for 1.2 percent of his total compensation anyway. Ninety-seven percent was in the form of stock.
Still, Ellison's new $1 base pay puts him on the salary pedestal with the likes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
"The compensation committee recognizes that Mr. Ellison has a significant equity interest in Oracle, but believes he should still receive annual compensation because Mr. Ellison plays an active and vital role in our operations, strategy and growth. Nevertheless, during fiscal 2010, Mr. Ellison agreed to decrease his annual salary to $1," Oracle said in the filing.
Oracle's fiscal 2010 began June 1.
Ellison, who is 64, founded Oracle in 1977. According to the SEC filing, he owns 1.18 billion shares of Oracle, or 23.4 percent of the company's total stock.
Agencies
That's a decrease of $999,999 from last year. But Ellison won't exactly be starving. He is the world's fourth wealthiest person, according to Forbes.
And according to Oracle's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ellison's base pay of $1 million in fiscal 2009 only accounted for 1.2 percent of his total compensation anyway. Ninety-seven percent was in the form of stock.
Still, Ellison's new $1 base pay puts him on the salary pedestal with the likes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
"The compensation committee recognizes that Mr. Ellison has a significant equity interest in Oracle, but believes he should still receive annual compensation because Mr. Ellison plays an active and vital role in our operations, strategy and growth. Nevertheless, during fiscal 2010, Mr. Ellison agreed to decrease his annual salary to $1," Oracle said in the filing.
Oracle's fiscal 2010 began June 1.
Ellison, who is 64, founded Oracle in 1977. According to the SEC filing, he owns 1.18 billion shares of Oracle, or 23.4 percent of the company's total stock.
Agencies
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
OLED technology emerges big in new smartphone
It consumes little power, gives superior picture quality and was touted as the future of all displays, but organic screen
technology has been languishing in manufacturers' backrooms until now.
Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) displays are making a belated appearance in pricier smartphones as makers latch on to the technology to get an edge in a sector where competition is fierce and features matter more than price.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No.2 mobile phone maker and a main proponent of the technology, has eight models featuring organic screens and plans to roll out about 10 more by the year-end.
In the United States, its Impression model is sold via AT&T, and Sprint Nextel will also offer at least one Samsung phone using AM-OLED technology.
Global cellphone leader Nokia is offering AM-OLED in its N85 and N86 high-end models as it fends off smartphone rivals such as Research In Motion and Apple.
Fans of the technology say that while AM-OLED mobile phone screens are 50-80 percent more expensive than conventional LCD screens and their high price has kept them from mass-production, their time may have come.
"I think the economics of it are somewhat irrelevant," said Ben Wood, an analyst at wireless research firm CCS Insight. "It's a real differentiator. I predict you'll see AM-OLED devices from all the major manufacturers within 12 months from now."
But AM-OLED technology failed to catch on for a reason. The screens are more expensive to produce, and supply is restricted to a few manufacturers, primarily Samsung Mobile Display, which has 97 percent share of the market.
"I've no doubt about (AM-OLED) growth over the long term. But whether all players would immediately follow the trend set by Samsung, I'm not sure," said Oh In-bum, an analyst at Dongbu Securities.
The appeal of AM-OLED technology lies in the thin layer of organic materials that allow screens to glow on their own, unlike liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, resulting in slimmer screens that use less power, boast faster response speed and have more vivid colours.
Samsung is the main proponent of a wider adoption of the technology, and forecasts 37.5 percent of all mobile phones sold in 2015 will have AM-OLED screens, up from 2.3 percent in 2009.
Samsung Mobile Display aims to sell 23 million units of AM-OLED displays this year, up from 7 million in 2008. Jeff Kim, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, expects Samsung's sales to reach 49 million next year.
LCDS TOUGH TO BEAT
Analysts are hopeful that AM-OLED prices will come down as output increases, lifting the biggest hurdle for wider adoption.
"Technologies have been advancing at a faster-than-expected rate and even in the downturn, consumers are keen to buy high-end products," said Hyundai Securities' Kim.
He expects the premium for a 2.8-inch AM-OLED display (used largely in handsets) over the same-size LCD screen to narrow to 10-20 percent within two years from 50 percent now. Displays typically make up 10-20 percent of a phone's manufacturing cost.
But some analysts have lower expectations as many manufacturers remain comfortable with mass-produced LCD screens. Vinita Jakhanwal, analyst at iSuppli, expects AM-OLED phones to account for only about 10 percent of all phones sold in 2013.
"This still means LCD has the bulk of the market," Jakhanwal said. "LCD screens are evolving too and they're improving their performance." LG Electronics, Samsung's home rival and the third-ranked handset maker, went for a premium LCD display on its 'New Chocolate' touchscreen phone.
Its screen-making affiliate LG Display is also building a new production line for more technologically advanced LCD screens for mobiles.
And for the AM-OLED business to grow in scale and turn profitable, the technology needs more manufacturers. Apart from Samsung, the only other two manufacturers are LG Display and a unit of Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp.
Industry specialists also note that while organic displays for handsets appear ready to take off, the sheer cost of using the technology on larger PC and TV screens is still prohibitive. Japan's Sony Corp launched the world's first OLED TV in late 2007, but has not followed with new models.
Agencies
technology has been languishing in manufacturers' backrooms until now.
Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) displays are making a belated appearance in pricier smartphones as makers latch on to the technology to get an edge in a sector where competition is fierce and features matter more than price.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No.2 mobile phone maker and a main proponent of the technology, has eight models featuring organic screens and plans to roll out about 10 more by the year-end.
In the United States, its Impression model is sold via AT&T, and Sprint Nextel will also offer at least one Samsung phone using AM-OLED technology.
Global cellphone leader Nokia is offering AM-OLED in its N85 and N86 high-end models as it fends off smartphone rivals such as Research In Motion and Apple.
Fans of the technology say that while AM-OLED mobile phone screens are 50-80 percent more expensive than conventional LCD screens and their high price has kept them from mass-production, their time may have come.
"I think the economics of it are somewhat irrelevant," said Ben Wood, an analyst at wireless research firm CCS Insight. "It's a real differentiator. I predict you'll see AM-OLED devices from all the major manufacturers within 12 months from now."
But AM-OLED technology failed to catch on for a reason. The screens are more expensive to produce, and supply is restricted to a few manufacturers, primarily Samsung Mobile Display, which has 97 percent share of the market.
"I've no doubt about (AM-OLED) growth over the long term. But whether all players would immediately follow the trend set by Samsung, I'm not sure," said Oh In-bum, an analyst at Dongbu Securities.
The appeal of AM-OLED technology lies in the thin layer of organic materials that allow screens to glow on their own, unlike liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, resulting in slimmer screens that use less power, boast faster response speed and have more vivid colours.
Samsung is the main proponent of a wider adoption of the technology, and forecasts 37.5 percent of all mobile phones sold in 2015 will have AM-OLED screens, up from 2.3 percent in 2009.
Samsung Mobile Display aims to sell 23 million units of AM-OLED displays this year, up from 7 million in 2008. Jeff Kim, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, expects Samsung's sales to reach 49 million next year.
LCDS TOUGH TO BEAT
Analysts are hopeful that AM-OLED prices will come down as output increases, lifting the biggest hurdle for wider adoption.
"Technologies have been advancing at a faster-than-expected rate and even in the downturn, consumers are keen to buy high-end products," said Hyundai Securities' Kim.
He expects the premium for a 2.8-inch AM-OLED display (used largely in handsets) over the same-size LCD screen to narrow to 10-20 percent within two years from 50 percent now. Displays typically make up 10-20 percent of a phone's manufacturing cost.
But some analysts have lower expectations as many manufacturers remain comfortable with mass-produced LCD screens. Vinita Jakhanwal, analyst at iSuppli, expects AM-OLED phones to account for only about 10 percent of all phones sold in 2013.
"This still means LCD has the bulk of the market," Jakhanwal said. "LCD screens are evolving too and they're improving their performance." LG Electronics, Samsung's home rival and the third-ranked handset maker, went for a premium LCD display on its 'New Chocolate' touchscreen phone.
Its screen-making affiliate LG Display is also building a new production line for more technologically advanced LCD screens for mobiles.
And for the AM-OLED business to grow in scale and turn profitable, the technology needs more manufacturers. Apart from Samsung, the only other two manufacturers are LG Display and a unit of Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp.
Industry specialists also note that while organic displays for handsets appear ready to take off, the sheer cost of using the technology on larger PC and TV screens is still prohibitive. Japan's Sony Corp launched the world's first OLED TV in late 2007, but has not followed with new models.
Agencies
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Apple,Palm battle it for the smartphone market
Palm Inc has fired another volley at Apple Inc in their smartphone war, as the two rivals tussle over whether iTunes should be compatible with Palm's new Pre smartphone.
Palm, whose executive ranks include former Apple brass, released a software update for the Pre this week that allows it to sync again with Apple's iTunes media management software.
The move comes after Apple last week issued its own software update to close a loophole in iTunes that had allowed it to sync with the Pre. ITunes is designed to work with Apple's iPod and iPhone products.
Palm mimicks Steve Jobs
Palm announced the software update in a blog post that mimicked Steve Jobs' signature catchphrase "Oh, and one more thing," which the Apple chief executive has often used to announce a brand new product.
"Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That's right -- you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1)," said Palm's blog posted late on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear when Apple may issue another software patch to counter Palm's move. When asked for comment, an Apple spokesman said, "As we've said before, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.
$200 Pre was launched in June
The $200 Pre launched in early June as a competitor to Apple Inc.'s iPhone, became the first non-Apple device that could connect directly to iTunes. Palm launched the Pre to good reviews, seeking to win a slice of the touch screen smartphone market now dominated by Apple's iPhone. Prior to the launch, Palm had touted that the Pre "synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes."
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky estimates Palm has sold 325,000 to 375,000 Pre phones so far, ahead of expectations. In comparison, Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3GS units in the first three days on the market.
While analysts and the Pre's carrier, Sprint Nextel Corp, have said it's too soon to know if the phone will be a real hit, it has already sparked a huge rally in Palm shares this year.
War with Apple generating plenty of drama
Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton said the war with Apple is generating plenty of drama, even though few Pre users bought their phone with the intention of syncing with iTunes.
"There's a lot of hype around it," he said, noting that some senior Palm personnel formerly worked at Apple, making the rivalry between the two companies seem that much sharper even if the dispute will likely have a limited economic impact.
Palm Chief Executive Jon Rubinstein had helped create the iPod, and senior vice president of product development Mike Bell also used to work at Apple.
Rubinstein was brought in as Palm's executive chairman from Apple
Rubinstein was brought in as Palm's executive chairman when private equity firm Elevation Partners bought a stake in the company in 2007, and he was named CEO last month. Elevation's co-founders include tech investor Roger McNamee, former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson and singer Bono.
Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu called Palm's move a "modest negative" for the company.
"While we acknowledge this is a short-term fix, frankly, we would have preferred Palm respond in a more professional and mature fashion," he wrote in a research note. "We do not believe hacking third-party software to work with one's hardware is a viable long-term business model, especially for a publicly traded company."
Palm was a pioneer of handheld devices
Palm was a pioneer of handheld devices, but has fallen well behind competitors like Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd.
"Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content that they own without interference across devices and services," Palm spokeswoman Leslie Letts said.
Indiatimes
Palm, whose executive ranks include former Apple brass, released a software update for the Pre this week that allows it to sync again with Apple's iTunes media management software.
The move comes after Apple last week issued its own software update to close a loophole in iTunes that had allowed it to sync with the Pre. ITunes is designed to work with Apple's iPod and iPhone products.
Palm mimicks Steve Jobs
Palm announced the software update in a blog post that mimicked Steve Jobs' signature catchphrase "Oh, and one more thing," which the Apple chief executive has often used to announce a brand new product.
"Oh, and one more thing: Palm webOS 1.1 re-enables Palm media sync. That's right -- you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1)," said Palm's blog posted late on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear when Apple may issue another software patch to counter Palm's move. When asked for comment, an Apple spokesman said, "As we've said before, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.
$200 Pre was launched in June
The $200 Pre launched in early June as a competitor to Apple Inc.'s iPhone, became the first non-Apple device that could connect directly to iTunes. Palm launched the Pre to good reviews, seeking to win a slice of the touch screen smartphone market now dominated by Apple's iPhone. Prior to the launch, Palm had touted that the Pre "synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes."
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky estimates Palm has sold 325,000 to 375,000 Pre phones so far, ahead of expectations. In comparison, Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3GS units in the first three days on the market.
While analysts and the Pre's carrier, Sprint Nextel Corp, have said it's too soon to know if the phone will be a real hit, it has already sparked a huge rally in Palm shares this year.
War with Apple generating plenty of drama
Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton said the war with Apple is generating plenty of drama, even though few Pre users bought their phone with the intention of syncing with iTunes.
"There's a lot of hype around it," he said, noting that some senior Palm personnel formerly worked at Apple, making the rivalry between the two companies seem that much sharper even if the dispute will likely have a limited economic impact.
Palm Chief Executive Jon Rubinstein had helped create the iPod, and senior vice president of product development Mike Bell also used to work at Apple.
Rubinstein was brought in as Palm's executive chairman from Apple
Rubinstein was brought in as Palm's executive chairman when private equity firm Elevation Partners bought a stake in the company in 2007, and he was named CEO last month. Elevation's co-founders include tech investor Roger McNamee, former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson and singer Bono.
Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu called Palm's move a "modest negative" for the company.
"While we acknowledge this is a short-term fix, frankly, we would have preferred Palm respond in a more professional and mature fashion," he wrote in a research note. "We do not believe hacking third-party software to work with one's hardware is a viable long-term business model, especially for a publicly traded company."
Palm was a pioneer of handheld devices
Palm was a pioneer of handheld devices, but has fallen well behind competitors like Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd.
"Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content that they own without interference across devices and services," Palm spokeswoman Leslie Letts said.
Indiatimes
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Who can replace Steve Jobs?
Apple is often seen synonymous with its CEO Steve Jobs. The company's charismatic CEO is regarded as Apple's face and soul by many. In fact, till a few months back it was tough to imagine Apple without its CEO Steve Jobs. Little doubt then that the news about Steve Jobs taking a medical leave sent the company's stocks plummeting.
The investors as well as the analysts linked the company's fortune with Jobs’ health. Most couldn't comprehend an Apple without Steve Jobs. However, Jobs’ five-month long medical leave seems to have changed the perception somewhat. Analysts believe that investors have gotten comfortable with Apple's management team as well as their ability to run the company without Jobs' oversight.
But the big question still remains: in case the CEO Jobs retires due to health or other reasons who will replace him? Who can sustain Apple's glory? So far Apple has been silent on any succession plan.
Fortune magazine listed the men who can fit into CEO Jobs’ shoes. Here's over to Apple's potential CEOs.
Timothy D Cook (Chief operating officer)
The top contender for the post of Apple's next CEO is Timothy D Cook, Apple's Chief operating officer.
Responsible for the company's worldwide sales and operations, he was the man in-charge for running Apple when Steve Jobs went on medical leave this year in January. In 2004 too when Jobs underwent surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, Cook rightly filled his place.
An IBM & Compaq veteran, Cook was brought on in 1998 to overhaul Apple’s inefficient manufacturing and logistics. At the time, the company’s Macintosh customers were switching to cheaper machines from Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Cook earned an engineering degree from Auburn University and went on to do Master's of Business Administration from Duke University in North Carolina.
He sits on the board at Nike Inc, the world’s largest maker of sneakers, and is an avid biker. Cook also has a passion for cycling.
Ron Johnson (Senior vice president, retail)
Another potential successor to Steve Jobs is Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president, retail.
Johnson, who joined in January 2000, reports directly to CEO Steve Jobs. Johnson leads Apple's retail strategy and is responsible for its overall execution and performance.
Having spent more than 20 years of experience in retail and merchandising, Johnson is credited for opening over 200 Apple stores. Before joining Apple, Johnson held various management positions at the Target Corporation, most recently as Vice President of Merchandising for Target Stores.
Johnson did MBA from Harvard and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University.
Philip W Schiller (Senior vice president, worldwide product marketing)
Another contender for the Apple's top job is Philip W Schiller, credited for delivering Apple's most popular products, including iPhone, iPod, Safari and Macbook.
Schiller is Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing and reports directly to Steve Jobs. A member of Apple’s executive team, he is responsible for the company’s product marketing, developer relations, and business marketing programs.
Prior to Apple, Schiller served as Vice President of Product Marketing at Macromedia, Inc of San Francisco, as Director of Product Marketing at FirePower Systems, Inc of Menlo Park, as an Information Technology Manager at Nolan, Norton & Company of Lexington, and as a Programmer and Systems Analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Having over twenty four years of marketing and management experience, Schiller graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boston College in 1982.
Scott Forstall (Senior vice president, iPhone software)
Having joined Apple in the year 1997, alongwith Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, Senior vice president, iPhone software, is another key contender for Apple's CEO post.
Forstall leads the team responsible for delivering software of Apple iPhone including the user interface, applications, frameworks and operating system.
Forstall is credited for the original architects of Mac OS X and its Aqua user interface. He was responsible for several releases of the operating system, most importantly Mac OS X Leopard. Before Apple, he worked at NeXT developing core technologies.
Forstall received both a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University.
Jonathan Ive (Senior vice president, industrial design)
The man credited for designing key Apple products, Jonathan Ive, senior vice president, industrial design, too figures in the potential CEO's list.
Joining Apple in 1996, London born designer Jonathan Ive has been responsible for leading Apple's design team.
Ive holds a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic. In 2003 he was named Designer of the Year by the Design Museum London and awarded the title Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.
Peter Oppenheimer (Chief financial officer)
Another prime contender for the job of Apple CEO is chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer. Joining Apple in July 1996, Oppenheimer has been CFO of the company since June 2004. Oppenheimer has also served Apple as vice president and corporate controller and as senior director of finance for Americas.
In his capacity as CFO, Oppenheimer oversees the controller, treasury, investor relations, tax, information systems, internal audit and facilities functions. He reports to the CEO and serves on the company’s executive committee.
Prior to joining Apple, Oppenheimer was CFO of one of the four business units for Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP). Before that, Oppenheimer spent six years in the Information Technology Consulting Practice with Coopers and Lybrand.
Oppenheimer received a bachelors degree from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara, both with honors.
Bertrand Serlet (Senior vice president, software engineering)
Another front runner for the Apple CEO's post is the company's senior vice president of software engineering, Bertrand Serlet.
Credited for the release of Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard, Serlet is responsible for leading Apple's Software Engineering group. He reports directly to Steve Jobs.
Having joined Apple in 1997, Serlet has played a key role in the definition, development and creation of Mac OS X. As vice president of Platform Technology, Serlet managed the largest part of the Mac OS software engineering group. Prior to joining Apple, Serlet spent 4 years at Xerox PARC and then joined NeXT in 1989.
Serlet holds a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Orsay, France.
Sina Tamaddon (Senior vice president, applications)
Another NeXT veteran who is said to possess the capability to fit into Steve Jobs' shoes is Sina Tamaddon, senior vice president, applications.
Tamaddon joined Apple in 1997, the same year when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. He has also been the company's senior vice president, worldwide service and support, and vice president and general manager, Newton Group.
Before joining Apple, Tamaddon was NeXT's vice president, Europe from September 1996 through March 1997. From August 1994 to August 1996, Tamaddon was vice president, professional services with NeXT.
Daniel Cooperman (Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary)
Apple's chief legal officer, Daniel Cooperman, too is said to be in the race for Apple's CEO job.
Responsible for Apple’s legal department, Cooperman looks into worldwide legal policies, corporate governance, securities compliance, commercial licensing, intellectual property, employment law, litigation, patent law, mergers and acquisitions and legal support for Apple’s various business units. Cooperman also manages Apple’s Government Affairs and Global Security groups.
Cooperman came to Apple from Oracle in November 2007, where he was General Counsel. He was with Oracle for 11 years. Cooperman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Business Software Alliance, a trade association in the software industry. He is president of the Association of General Counsel and is on the Advisory Council for the Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School.
Before Oracle, he was a partner with the San Francisco-based law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (now known as Bingham McCutchen), and served as chair of the firm's 65-lawyer Business & Transactions Group and managing partner of the San Jose office.
Bob Mansfield (Senior vice president, Mac hardware engineering)
The man credited for delivering Mac products, Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Macintosh Hardware Engineering, too figures in the list of potential Apple CEOs.
Reporting to Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, Bob oversees the team that has delivered products including MacBook Air and the all-in-one iMac line.
Prior to joining Apple in 1999, Bob was vice president of Engineering at Raycer Graphics, which Apple acquired. Previously, Mansfield was a senior director at SGI, responsible for the development of various microprocessor designs.
Mansfield earned a BSEE degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1982.
Indiatimes
The investors as well as the analysts linked the company's fortune with Jobs’ health. Most couldn't comprehend an Apple without Steve Jobs. However, Jobs’ five-month long medical leave seems to have changed the perception somewhat. Analysts believe that investors have gotten comfortable with Apple's management team as well as their ability to run the company without Jobs' oversight.
But the big question still remains: in case the CEO Jobs retires due to health or other reasons who will replace him? Who can sustain Apple's glory? So far Apple has been silent on any succession plan.
Fortune magazine listed the men who can fit into CEO Jobs’ shoes. Here's over to Apple's potential CEOs.
Timothy D Cook (Chief operating officer)
The top contender for the post of Apple's next CEO is Timothy D Cook, Apple's Chief operating officer.
Responsible for the company's worldwide sales and operations, he was the man in-charge for running Apple when Steve Jobs went on medical leave this year in January. In 2004 too when Jobs underwent surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, Cook rightly filled his place.
An IBM & Compaq veteran, Cook was brought on in 1998 to overhaul Apple’s inefficient manufacturing and logistics. At the time, the company’s Macintosh customers were switching to cheaper machines from Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Cook earned an engineering degree from Auburn University and went on to do Master's of Business Administration from Duke University in North Carolina.
He sits on the board at Nike Inc, the world’s largest maker of sneakers, and is an avid biker. Cook also has a passion for cycling.
Ron Johnson (Senior vice president, retail)
Another potential successor to Steve Jobs is Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president, retail.
Johnson, who joined in January 2000, reports directly to CEO Steve Jobs. Johnson leads Apple's retail strategy and is responsible for its overall execution and performance.
Having spent more than 20 years of experience in retail and merchandising, Johnson is credited for opening over 200 Apple stores. Before joining Apple, Johnson held various management positions at the Target Corporation, most recently as Vice President of Merchandising for Target Stores.
Johnson did MBA from Harvard and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University.
Philip W Schiller (Senior vice president, worldwide product marketing)
Another contender for the Apple's top job is Philip W Schiller, credited for delivering Apple's most popular products, including iPhone, iPod, Safari and Macbook.
Schiller is Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing and reports directly to Steve Jobs. A member of Apple’s executive team, he is responsible for the company’s product marketing, developer relations, and business marketing programs.
Prior to Apple, Schiller served as Vice President of Product Marketing at Macromedia, Inc of San Francisco, as Director of Product Marketing at FirePower Systems, Inc of Menlo Park, as an Information Technology Manager at Nolan, Norton & Company of Lexington, and as a Programmer and Systems Analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Having over twenty four years of marketing and management experience, Schiller graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boston College in 1982.
Scott Forstall (Senior vice president, iPhone software)
Having joined Apple in the year 1997, alongwith Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, Senior vice president, iPhone software, is another key contender for Apple's CEO post.
Forstall leads the team responsible for delivering software of Apple iPhone including the user interface, applications, frameworks and operating system.
Forstall is credited for the original architects of Mac OS X and its Aqua user interface. He was responsible for several releases of the operating system, most importantly Mac OS X Leopard. Before Apple, he worked at NeXT developing core technologies.
Forstall received both a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University.
Jonathan Ive (Senior vice president, industrial design)
The man credited for designing key Apple products, Jonathan Ive, senior vice president, industrial design, too figures in the potential CEO's list.
Joining Apple in 1996, London born designer Jonathan Ive has been responsible for leading Apple's design team.
Ive holds a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic. In 2003 he was named Designer of the Year by the Design Museum London and awarded the title Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.
Peter Oppenheimer (Chief financial officer)
Another prime contender for the job of Apple CEO is chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer. Joining Apple in July 1996, Oppenheimer has been CFO of the company since June 2004. Oppenheimer has also served Apple as vice president and corporate controller and as senior director of finance for Americas.
In his capacity as CFO, Oppenheimer oversees the controller, treasury, investor relations, tax, information systems, internal audit and facilities functions. He reports to the CEO and serves on the company’s executive committee.
Prior to joining Apple, Oppenheimer was CFO of one of the four business units for Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP). Before that, Oppenheimer spent six years in the Information Technology Consulting Practice with Coopers and Lybrand.
Oppenheimer received a bachelors degree from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara, both with honors.
Bertrand Serlet (Senior vice president, software engineering)
Another front runner for the Apple CEO's post is the company's senior vice president of software engineering, Bertrand Serlet.
Credited for the release of Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard, Serlet is responsible for leading Apple's Software Engineering group. He reports directly to Steve Jobs.
Having joined Apple in 1997, Serlet has played a key role in the definition, development and creation of Mac OS X. As vice president of Platform Technology, Serlet managed the largest part of the Mac OS software engineering group. Prior to joining Apple, Serlet spent 4 years at Xerox PARC and then joined NeXT in 1989.
Serlet holds a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Orsay, France.
Sina Tamaddon (Senior vice president, applications)
Another NeXT veteran who is said to possess the capability to fit into Steve Jobs' shoes is Sina Tamaddon, senior vice president, applications.
Tamaddon joined Apple in 1997, the same year when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. He has also been the company's senior vice president, worldwide service and support, and vice president and general manager, Newton Group.
Before joining Apple, Tamaddon was NeXT's vice president, Europe from September 1996 through March 1997. From August 1994 to August 1996, Tamaddon was vice president, professional services with NeXT.
Daniel Cooperman (Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary)
Apple's chief legal officer, Daniel Cooperman, too is said to be in the race for Apple's CEO job.
Responsible for Apple’s legal department, Cooperman looks into worldwide legal policies, corporate governance, securities compliance, commercial licensing, intellectual property, employment law, litigation, patent law, mergers and acquisitions and legal support for Apple’s various business units. Cooperman also manages Apple’s Government Affairs and Global Security groups.
Cooperman came to Apple from Oracle in November 2007, where he was General Counsel. He was with Oracle for 11 years. Cooperman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Business Software Alliance, a trade association in the software industry. He is president of the Association of General Counsel and is on the Advisory Council for the Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School.
Before Oracle, he was a partner with the San Francisco-based law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen (now known as Bingham McCutchen), and served as chair of the firm's 65-lawyer Business & Transactions Group and managing partner of the San Jose office.
Bob Mansfield (Senior vice president, Mac hardware engineering)
The man credited for delivering Mac products, Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Macintosh Hardware Engineering, too figures in the list of potential Apple CEOs.
Reporting to Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, Bob oversees the team that has delivered products including MacBook Air and the all-in-one iMac line.
Prior to joining Apple in 1999, Bob was vice president of Engineering at Raycer Graphics, which Apple acquired. Previously, Mansfield was a senior director at SGI, responsible for the development of various microprocessor designs.
Mansfield earned a BSEE degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1982.
Indiatimes
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Google emerges as the world's first 100 billion dollar brand
They changed the lexicon for the word, search. Now the phrase "I'll just Google it" has helped make the internet search giant become world's first $100 billion brand beating other household names like Microsoft, and Coca Cola to McDonald's.
The analysts of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by consultants Millward Brown found that the company's value of $101.4 billion puts it 25 percent more valuable than computer software king Microsoft at $77.3 billion, reported Daily Mail Thursday.
Coca Cola ($68.5 billion) managed the third place in the list.
Technology companies make up the bulk of the top 10 with IBM (fourth at $67.5 billion), Apple (sixth at $63.9 billion) and China Mobile (seventh at $62.2 billion), along with consumables like cigarette brand Marlboro (10th at 50.1 billion) and burger chain McDonald's (fifth at $67.3 billion).
Energy major GE (eight at $59.9 billion) and telecom giant Vodafone (ninth at $50.2 billion) complete the top 10 valuable brands in the world.
Google, formed at Stanford University by students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997, went up 16 percent in brand value in the past year to just break the $100 billion mark.
Google marketing manager Lorraine Twohill said: "We know that without consumers you have nothing and there is a great element of trust in us.
"We think about the consumer first and expect everything else to fall into place after that. We don't feel big. We still work in little crappy teams and we feel very small."
Among industries to see their value grow over the past year, most are 'stay at home' brands, said the Millward Brown research. Coffee companies like Nescafe benefitted from cutbacks on drinking expensive lattes in Starbucks and other coffee shops, for instance.
Soft drinks, fast food and beer brands also grew as more people stayed at home to eat and drink while online sites like eBay and Amazon also grew.
Car companies, insurers, clothing brands and, not surprisingly, financial institutions were the ones to suffer the most, the research found.
Millward Brown chief executive Joanna Seddon said: "In the current environment, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times.
"Those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend. The recession does not always harm individual brands as much as it does faceless corporations," she added.
Agencies
The analysts of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by consultants Millward Brown found that the company's value of $101.4 billion puts it 25 percent more valuable than computer software king Microsoft at $77.3 billion, reported Daily Mail Thursday.
Coca Cola ($68.5 billion) managed the third place in the list.
Technology companies make up the bulk of the top 10 with IBM (fourth at $67.5 billion), Apple (sixth at $63.9 billion) and China Mobile (seventh at $62.2 billion), along with consumables like cigarette brand Marlboro (10th at 50.1 billion) and burger chain McDonald's (fifth at $67.3 billion).
Energy major GE (eight at $59.9 billion) and telecom giant Vodafone (ninth at $50.2 billion) complete the top 10 valuable brands in the world.
Google, formed at Stanford University by students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997, went up 16 percent in brand value in the past year to just break the $100 billion mark.
Google marketing manager Lorraine Twohill said: "We know that without consumers you have nothing and there is a great element of trust in us.
"We think about the consumer first and expect everything else to fall into place after that. We don't feel big. We still work in little crappy teams and we feel very small."
Among industries to see their value grow over the past year, most are 'stay at home' brands, said the Millward Brown research. Coffee companies like Nescafe benefitted from cutbacks on drinking expensive lattes in Starbucks and other coffee shops, for instance.
Soft drinks, fast food and beer brands also grew as more people stayed at home to eat and drink while online sites like eBay and Amazon also grew.
Car companies, insurers, clothing brands and, not surprisingly, financial institutions were the ones to suffer the most, the research found.
Millward Brown chief executive Joanna Seddon said: "In the current environment, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times.
"Those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend. The recession does not always harm individual brands as much as it does faceless corporations," she added.
Agencies
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Had Apple fired 1,600 from retail stores?
Apple has fired some 1,600 employees from its chain of retail stores due to slackening consumer demand, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The job cuts were referenced in a securities filing by Apple Thursday in which the company said it had 14,000 full-time equivalent employees in its retail division as of March 28, down from the 15,600 as of the end of December.
The move came as Apple's recent earnings report showed a drop in sales for its Mac computer line, which is the biggest earner at the stores.
According to the earnings statement, the average revenue per Apple store fell about 17 percent to $5.9 million in the quarter, while the retail division's operating income was also down due to the "challenging consumer-spending environment," Apple said.
Agencies
The job cuts were referenced in a securities filing by Apple Thursday in which the company said it had 14,000 full-time equivalent employees in its retail division as of March 28, down from the 15,600 as of the end of December.
The move came as Apple's recent earnings report showed a drop in sales for its Mac computer line, which is the biggest earner at the stores.
According to the earnings statement, the average revenue per Apple store fell about 17 percent to $5.9 million in the quarter, while the retail division's operating income was also down due to the "challenging consumer-spending environment," Apple said.
Agencies
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Is HP top PC maker in US?
Global shipments of personal computers fell 7.1 percent in the first three months of the year, but the decline was smaller than expected and research group IDC on Wednesday said the industry could turn around by the end of the year.
A second research group, Gartner Inc, calculated first-quarter PC shipments fell 6.5 percent from the same period in 2008. The two groups use different methods to track PC shipments.
IDC had predicted worldwide shipments would fall 8.2 percent in the quarter. The US market was also much stronger than IDC forecast, with PC shipments falling 3.1 percent from a year ago, compared with an expected 8.9 percent drop. By Gartner's count, US shipments dipped less than one percent.
"Based on the U..being the center of the financial crisis, and looking at trends of last recession, we were concerned that demand and growth would continue to decline," said Loren Loverde, an IDC program director.
Instead, the US PC market, which took a beating in the fourth quarter, benefited from intense price competition among PC makers as well as the growing demand for netbooks, or small, cheap, low-powered laptops.
Both groups reported that Hewlett-Packard Co used the trend to overtake Dell Inc as the top PC maker in the US HP's lower prices and more established brand among shoppers helped push its market share to 27.6 percent. Dell's share fell to 26.3 percent as it struggled to reorganize its consumer business, according to IDC.
Taiwan's Acer Inc, the No 3 PC maker in the US and a force in the netbook market, snagged 10.5 percent of the market. Apple Inc's share edged up to 7.6 percent, and Japan-based Toshiba Corp, the fifth-largest, took 6.6 percent.
Worldwide, HP's market share crept up to 20.5 percent while Dell's slipped a few points to 13.6 percent, IDC reported. HP's shipments rose 2.9 percent as Dell's plunged 16.7 percent.
No 3 Acer captured 11.6 percent of PC shipments worldwide. China's Lenovo Group's share was flat at 7 percent, and Toshiba's share edged up to 5.4 percent.
Chipmaker Intel Corp. on Tuesday said personal computer sales "bottomed out" in the first quarter. Neither IDC nor Gartner wanted to match Intel's bold assessment, but IDC took a more optimistic stance.
"I don't think Intel's comment was meant to say we're going to come roaring back next quarter," Loverde said. "It's likely we won't see growth deteriorate from here."
Before the release of Wednesday's numbers, IDC had forecast an 8.4 percent decline in the second quarter and a 4.5 percent drop in the third before seeing growth in the fourth quarter.
George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, said in a statement that retailers may be restocking inventory, but "this restocking should not be interpreted as a recovery in PC end-user demand. It's still unclear if the global PC market has hit the bottom."
Agencies
A second research group, Gartner Inc, calculated first-quarter PC shipments fell 6.5 percent from the same period in 2008. The two groups use different methods to track PC shipments.
IDC had predicted worldwide shipments would fall 8.2 percent in the quarter. The US market was also much stronger than IDC forecast, with PC shipments falling 3.1 percent from a year ago, compared with an expected 8.9 percent drop. By Gartner's count, US shipments dipped less than one percent.
"Based on the U..being the center of the financial crisis, and looking at trends of last recession, we were concerned that demand and growth would continue to decline," said Loren Loverde, an IDC program director.
Instead, the US PC market, which took a beating in the fourth quarter, benefited from intense price competition among PC makers as well as the growing demand for netbooks, or small, cheap, low-powered laptops.
Both groups reported that Hewlett-Packard Co used the trend to overtake Dell Inc as the top PC maker in the US HP's lower prices and more established brand among shoppers helped push its market share to 27.6 percent. Dell's share fell to 26.3 percent as it struggled to reorganize its consumer business, according to IDC.
Taiwan's Acer Inc, the No 3 PC maker in the US and a force in the netbook market, snagged 10.5 percent of the market. Apple Inc's share edged up to 7.6 percent, and Japan-based Toshiba Corp, the fifth-largest, took 6.6 percent.
Worldwide, HP's market share crept up to 20.5 percent while Dell's slipped a few points to 13.6 percent, IDC reported. HP's shipments rose 2.9 percent as Dell's plunged 16.7 percent.
No 3 Acer captured 11.6 percent of PC shipments worldwide. China's Lenovo Group's share was flat at 7 percent, and Toshiba's share edged up to 5.4 percent.
Chipmaker Intel Corp. on Tuesday said personal computer sales "bottomed out" in the first quarter. Neither IDC nor Gartner wanted to match Intel's bold assessment, but IDC took a more optimistic stance.
"I don't think Intel's comment was meant to say we're going to come roaring back next quarter," Loverde said. "It's likely we won't see growth deteriorate from here."
Before the release of Wednesday's numbers, IDC had forecast an 8.4 percent decline in the second quarter and a 4.5 percent drop in the third before seeing growth in the fourth quarter.
George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, said in a statement that retailers may be restocking inventory, but "this restocking should not be interpreted as a recovery in PC end-user demand. It's still unclear if the global PC market has hit the bottom."
Agencies
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Yahoo offers iPhone-like Web for masses
Yahoo announced a new mobile service on Tuesday that will deliver an iPhone-like experience for people who cannot or will not splash out for the iconic but pricey Apple device as times get hard.
Yahoo Mobile will launch at the end of March in a form downloadable to any phone with a Web browser and from May in custom versions for hundreds of smartphones.
"There is a growing number of consumers out there who are not Apple iPhone users but want a rich starting experience," Marco Boerries, the head of Yahoo's mobile division, told the media in an interview.
Yahoo will also launch a version of Yahoo Mobile, designed to be a starting point for users to access the Internet, for the iPhone itself at the end of March. A test version for a limited number of public users is going live this week.
Yahoo Mobile offers a front page with colorful, boxy icons resembling the iPhone's for launching popular applications such as a Web browser, mail, news, weather and social network sites like Facebook.
Users also have the option to easily add any software or Web sites they choose to download on their phones.
The company plans in coming months to promote Yahoo Mobile via a series of 70 major operator partnerships it has struck to reach 850 million mobile subscribers around the globe.
Fifty of those partnerships already offer Yahoo services and the company expects the rest to adopt Yahoo Mobile in coming months, Boerries said.
Yahoo has developed versions that work on hundreds of mid-range and high-end mobile phones from BlackBerry maker RIM, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, as well as phones running Microsoft Windows.
Boerries defines the universe of phones that can effectively run Yahoo Mobile as "every phone that's shipped in the last two years that has a decent HTML-capable browser." He added: "We don't want to make lowest common denominator stuff."
A more general version of the service downloadable from the Web will also work on older phones but will not be tailored to those phones' specifications. Boerries demonstrated it on an old Sony Ericsson model.
Boerries said last year's on-again off-again talks with would-be buyer Microsoft had not significantly distracted his team, and said he had kept his key staff together for years.
After some prior delays in introducing services such as Yahoo Go, Boerries professed relief that his fuller vision of putting the Web on phones had arrived on time: "It is really, for me, making it all come together."
"This is like the uber-replacement of Yahoo Go."
Agencies
Yahoo Mobile will launch at the end of March in a form downloadable to any phone with a Web browser and from May in custom versions for hundreds of smartphones.
"There is a growing number of consumers out there who are not Apple iPhone users but want a rich starting experience," Marco Boerries, the head of Yahoo's mobile division, told the media in an interview.
Yahoo will also launch a version of Yahoo Mobile, designed to be a starting point for users to access the Internet, for the iPhone itself at the end of March. A test version for a limited number of public users is going live this week.
Yahoo Mobile offers a front page with colorful, boxy icons resembling the iPhone's for launching popular applications such as a Web browser, mail, news, weather and social network sites like Facebook.
Users also have the option to easily add any software or Web sites they choose to download on their phones.
The company plans in coming months to promote Yahoo Mobile via a series of 70 major operator partnerships it has struck to reach 850 million mobile subscribers around the globe.
Fifty of those partnerships already offer Yahoo services and the company expects the rest to adopt Yahoo Mobile in coming months, Boerries said.
Yahoo has developed versions that work on hundreds of mid-range and high-end mobile phones from BlackBerry maker RIM, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, as well as phones running Microsoft Windows.
Boerries defines the universe of phones that can effectively run Yahoo Mobile as "every phone that's shipped in the last two years that has a decent HTML-capable browser." He added: "We don't want to make lowest common denominator stuff."
A more general version of the service downloadable from the Web will also work on older phones but will not be tailored to those phones' specifications. Boerries demonstrated it on an old Sony Ericsson model.
Boerries said last year's on-again off-again talks with would-be buyer Microsoft had not significantly distracted his team, and said he had kept his key staff together for years.
After some prior delays in introducing services such as Yahoo Go, Boerries professed relief that his fuller vision of putting the Web on phones had arrived on time: "It is really, for me, making it all come together."
"This is like the uber-replacement of Yahoo Go."
Agencies
Friday, December 26, 2008
Techies bidding farewell in 2008
It's time to bid adieu to the year 2008, the year which witnessed the farewells of some of the biggest names in the technology world -- some of the marking the end of an era.
While most of these were ceremonious exits with some moving to take up their passions or philanthropy, others in pursuit of greener pastures. There were also some unceremonious exits, where some CEOs were made to resign penalising them for falling revenues and constant battering of their company's stocks at the bourses.
Here's looking into some of the most high-profile exits of 2008:
Arun Sarin, Vodafone
One of the most successful CEOs of British telecom giant Vodafone, Arun Sarin, quit the company in the July 2008 to don a new challenge.
During his five year tenure at the world's largest mobile firm, Sarin is credited for acquiring a controlling stake in one of India's biggest mobile phone companies, Hutchison Essar. Under him Vodafone posted group revenue of 35.5 billion pounds for the year ending March 31, an increase of 14.1 per cent, and organic growth of 4.2 per cent. This came in marginally higher than market consensus, provided by the company, of 35.2 billion to 35.4 billion pounds.
Under Sarin, Vodafone expanded aggressively into emerging markets, including Romania, the Czech Republic and Turkey. Sarin visited India before his exit along with his successor to participate in Vodafone-Essar board meeting, triggering speculation that he may join Tatas, but officials of the Indian conglomerate debunked any such report.
Post-exit Sarin planned a trekking trip to Himalayas before settling in California. Recently, Sarin, 53, who quit Vodafone at the pinnacle of his career, was speculated to be the most sought-after contender for the position of Yahoo CEO, after the Jerry Yang's exit.
Sarin, however, said he was not keen on the position. Sarin is looking at alternative roles at other US public companies as well as at a private equity firm, the Financial Times wrote recently.
The India-born US citizen is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and has an MBA degree from University of California, Berkley.
Bill Gates, Microsoft
This was surely the biggest farewell of 2008. The exit of Bill Gates marked an end of era. Gates retired from Microsoft, the company he co-founded with college-friend Paul Allen in 1975.
In June, Gates quit as full-time chairman and software architect of the world's largest software company to work full-time at his charitable organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will remain the company's non-executive chairman.
A Harvard College drop out, Gates has been a permanent fixture in the Forbes Richest people list, holding the numero uno slot for 15 years in a row between 1993 and 2007. In 2008, Gates was topped by investor Warren Buffett and Mexico's telecom tycoon Carlos Slim in the world's wealthiest list.
Bill Gates' key creation is Microsoft, a company with sales of $51 billion as of June 2007 with 78,000 employees across 105 countries. Almost 90 per cent of the estimated 1 billion computers (desktop and laptop) in the world run on Microsoft's Windows and Office. The company has products across the layers network, operating system, database, middleware, application software.
Gates departure comes at a time when Microsoft is engaged in an escalating rivalry with Google and other competitors who are using the internet to chip away at its software dominance.
During his recent visit to India, Gates launched a major initiative for India’s public healthcare with a special focus on eradicating polio.
Jerry Yang, Yahoo
After a rocky tenure at Yahoo, co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive this November.
Among the Silicon Valley dotcom billionaires, Yang was named CEO in June 2007 after Terry Semel exit. As CEO, Yang struggled to turn around the company's dwindling fortunes. The rejection of Microsoft offer and a failed advertising deal with Google marred his brief tenure.
Earlier this year, Yang rejected a $33 per share offer by Microsoft for Yahoo worth a total of more than $47 billion. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer later withdrew the offer after Yang sought $37 per share. The negotiating breakdown triggered a shareholder revolt led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called for Yang's ouster in July. Since then Yahoo has been trading at between $10-12 a share.
With a fortune estimated at $2.23 billion, some shareholders accused Yang of putting his personal affection for the company he created over the interests of its shareholders. After squandering the opportunity to sell to Microsoft, Yang tried to boost Yahoo's profit by forging an advertising partnership with Google. But this backup plan too fell when Google walked away from the deal to avoid a court battle with the US Justice Department, which concluded that the partnership may throttle competition in the online advertising market.
Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm
Indian engineering whizkid Sanjay Jha left Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) group as COO and president this year to join beleaguered US telecom major Motorola as CEO of Mobile Devices.
At Motorola, Jha holds a key task to pull the American cellphone pioneer which slipped to the fourth position in global handset sales and the downslide has been quite sharp.
What top's Jha's priorities is reversing the fortunes of the company’s loss-making handset business -- comprising over one third of Motorola’s total business worth $36.6 billion.
Forty five-year-old Jha started as a senior engineer at Qualcomm VLSI (very large scale integration) group in 1994 and was promoted as senior vice-president of engineering in 1998.
He was elevated as the president of QCT in 2003 when the chipset and software division was started at Qualcomm. For the past five years, this division of Qualcomm has been ranked among the world's largest fabless semiconductor producers, and was rated as being ahead of the leader Texas Instruments last year. Qualcomm had sold its own CDMA cell phone business to Kyocera in February 2000.
Neelam Dhawan, Microsoft
Ending her three-and-a-half years stint as MD Microsoft India, Neelam Dhawan joined Hewlett-Packard India as its managing director in June.
At HP, 48-year-old Neelam holds key tasks of driving overall strategy, revenues and profitability for HP India. Currently she reports to Balu Doraisamy, MD, HP Asia Pacific & Japan.
During her tenure at Microsoft, she looked into the strategic focus and improved company's operating efficiency and execution, as well as its financial performance and customer focus.
Prior to Microsoft, Neelam worked with Compaq as head (Enterprise Sales) and HP as vice president (Customer Solutions Group). Under her leadership the Rs 16,000-crore Hewlett-Packard recently won a multi-million dollar Godrej outsourcing deal.
An economics graduate from St Stephen’s College Delhi, Neelam holds a masters in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University.
Lee Kun-hee, Samsung
In one of the most sensational and controversial exits of the year, Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, resigned following an indictment on tax evasion charges after a counsel investigation.
Known to be the most powerful Korean tycoon, Lee was charged with $133m tax evasion and breach of trust during his 20-year tenure at Samsung. Lee was also charged with damaging the interest of other shareholders. He was accused of forcing Samsung subsidiaries to sell shares to his son at unfairly low prices.
However, the company was cleared of the most serious allegation that it raised money to bribe influential citizens and ministers in its native South Korea.
Joining Lee in stepping down were Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo and Lee Jae-yong, the chairman's son and heir apparent to the Samsung throne. Nine other senior executives also left Samsung following the charges.
Sixty six-year old Lee is credited of having built $160-billion Samsung Group which is Korea Inc's pride, accounting for roughly 21 per cent of the country's total exports.
Ben Verwaayen, British Telecom
British Telecom Group, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Europe, saw the departure of its CEO Ben Verwaayen in the month of April.
Having served BT for almost six years, Verwaayen headed back to the US to take up a position with a venture capital firm. Verwaayen joined BT in January 2002 after quitting his job from US equipment vendor Lucent.
During his tenure at BT, Verwaayen initiated a complete broadband overhaul of BT's aging infrastructure. He mended fences with Ofcom, the UK's version of the FCC.
Fifty-six year old Dutch national was also awarded an honorary knighthood for services to the communications industry. Verwaayen helped BT buy a slew of US-based companies including Infonet, Radianz, Counterpane and INS pushing the telecom giant into a number of emerging markets.
Ian Livingston, who was chief executive of BT Retail, succeeded Verwaayen.
Farewell in the wings: Steve Jobs?
Apple recently announced that its Chief Executive Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote address at the Macworld trade show next month. The announcement once again revived investors' concerns about the state of his health and sent the company's shares down.
Apple spokesman, however, denied that Jobs was missing the show due to health issues. Instead of Jobs, Philip Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, will deliver the keynote.
However, Samuel Wilson, an analyst at JMP Securities, said Jobs' absence at the event was important. "It's like the first time in a long time he hasn't spoken in Macworld. Why is he not speaking this year would be the question."
Investors have been concerned Jobs health after he was diagnosed with cancer some years back. In 2004, Jobs, 53, said he had undergone successful surgery to remove a rare type of pancreatic cancer. In September, Jobs, who is often perceived as irreplaceable as Apple's leader, appeared thin but jaunty as he introduced new iPod digital music players.
Macworld is a cultural event that draws thousands of Apple fans and technology aficionados to San Francisco, where they have been treated to major announcements from Jobs in past years, including the launch of the iPhone in 2007.
Source: Indiatimes Infotech
While most of these were ceremonious exits with some moving to take up their passions or philanthropy, others in pursuit of greener pastures. There were also some unceremonious exits, where some CEOs were made to resign penalising them for falling revenues and constant battering of their company's stocks at the bourses.
Here's looking into some of the most high-profile exits of 2008:
Arun Sarin, Vodafone
One of the most successful CEOs of British telecom giant Vodafone, Arun Sarin, quit the company in the July 2008 to don a new challenge.
During his five year tenure at the world's largest mobile firm, Sarin is credited for acquiring a controlling stake in one of India's biggest mobile phone companies, Hutchison Essar. Under him Vodafone posted group revenue of 35.5 billion pounds for the year ending March 31, an increase of 14.1 per cent, and organic growth of 4.2 per cent. This came in marginally higher than market consensus, provided by the company, of 35.2 billion to 35.4 billion pounds.
Under Sarin, Vodafone expanded aggressively into emerging markets, including Romania, the Czech Republic and Turkey. Sarin visited India before his exit along with his successor to participate in Vodafone-Essar board meeting, triggering speculation that he may join Tatas, but officials of the Indian conglomerate debunked any such report.
Post-exit Sarin planned a trekking trip to Himalayas before settling in California. Recently, Sarin, 53, who quit Vodafone at the pinnacle of his career, was speculated to be the most sought-after contender for the position of Yahoo CEO, after the Jerry Yang's exit.
Sarin, however, said he was not keen on the position. Sarin is looking at alternative roles at other US public companies as well as at a private equity firm, the Financial Times wrote recently.
The India-born US citizen is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and has an MBA degree from University of California, Berkley.
Bill Gates, Microsoft
This was surely the biggest farewell of 2008. The exit of Bill Gates marked an end of era. Gates retired from Microsoft, the company he co-founded with college-friend Paul Allen in 1975.
In June, Gates quit as full-time chairman and software architect of the world's largest software company to work full-time at his charitable organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will remain the company's non-executive chairman.
A Harvard College drop out, Gates has been a permanent fixture in the Forbes Richest people list, holding the numero uno slot for 15 years in a row between 1993 and 2007. In 2008, Gates was topped by investor Warren Buffett and Mexico's telecom tycoon Carlos Slim in the world's wealthiest list.
Bill Gates' key creation is Microsoft, a company with sales of $51 billion as of June 2007 with 78,000 employees across 105 countries. Almost 90 per cent of the estimated 1 billion computers (desktop and laptop) in the world run on Microsoft's Windows and Office. The company has products across the layers network, operating system, database, middleware, application software.
Gates departure comes at a time when Microsoft is engaged in an escalating rivalry with Google and other competitors who are using the internet to chip away at its software dominance.
During his recent visit to India, Gates launched a major initiative for India’s public healthcare with a special focus on eradicating polio.
Jerry Yang, Yahoo
After a rocky tenure at Yahoo, co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive this November.
Among the Silicon Valley dotcom billionaires, Yang was named CEO in June 2007 after Terry Semel exit. As CEO, Yang struggled to turn around the company's dwindling fortunes. The rejection of Microsoft offer and a failed advertising deal with Google marred his brief tenure.
Earlier this year, Yang rejected a $33 per share offer by Microsoft for Yahoo worth a total of more than $47 billion. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer later withdrew the offer after Yang sought $37 per share. The negotiating breakdown triggered a shareholder revolt led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called for Yang's ouster in July. Since then Yahoo has been trading at between $10-12 a share.
With a fortune estimated at $2.23 billion, some shareholders accused Yang of putting his personal affection for the company he created over the interests of its shareholders. After squandering the opportunity to sell to Microsoft, Yang tried to boost Yahoo's profit by forging an advertising partnership with Google. But this backup plan too fell when Google walked away from the deal to avoid a court battle with the US Justice Department, which concluded that the partnership may throttle competition in the online advertising market.
Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm
Indian engineering whizkid Sanjay Jha left Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) group as COO and president this year to join beleaguered US telecom major Motorola as CEO of Mobile Devices.
At Motorola, Jha holds a key task to pull the American cellphone pioneer which slipped to the fourth position in global handset sales and the downslide has been quite sharp.
What top's Jha's priorities is reversing the fortunes of the company’s loss-making handset business -- comprising over one third of Motorola’s total business worth $36.6 billion.
Forty five-year-old Jha started as a senior engineer at Qualcomm VLSI (very large scale integration) group in 1994 and was promoted as senior vice-president of engineering in 1998.
He was elevated as the president of QCT in 2003 when the chipset and software division was started at Qualcomm. For the past five years, this division of Qualcomm has been ranked among the world's largest fabless semiconductor producers, and was rated as being ahead of the leader Texas Instruments last year. Qualcomm had sold its own CDMA cell phone business to Kyocera in February 2000.
Neelam Dhawan, Microsoft
Ending her three-and-a-half years stint as MD Microsoft India, Neelam Dhawan joined Hewlett-Packard India as its managing director in June.
At HP, 48-year-old Neelam holds key tasks of driving overall strategy, revenues and profitability for HP India. Currently she reports to Balu Doraisamy, MD, HP Asia Pacific & Japan.
During her tenure at Microsoft, she looked into the strategic focus and improved company's operating efficiency and execution, as well as its financial performance and customer focus.
Prior to Microsoft, Neelam worked with Compaq as head (Enterprise Sales) and HP as vice president (Customer Solutions Group). Under her leadership the Rs 16,000-crore Hewlett-Packard recently won a multi-million dollar Godrej outsourcing deal.
An economics graduate from St Stephen’s College Delhi, Neelam holds a masters in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University.
Lee Kun-hee, Samsung
In one of the most sensational and controversial exits of the year, Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, resigned following an indictment on tax evasion charges after a counsel investigation.
Known to be the most powerful Korean tycoon, Lee was charged with $133m tax evasion and breach of trust during his 20-year tenure at Samsung. Lee was also charged with damaging the interest of other shareholders. He was accused of forcing Samsung subsidiaries to sell shares to his son at unfairly low prices.
However, the company was cleared of the most serious allegation that it raised money to bribe influential citizens and ministers in its native South Korea.
Joining Lee in stepping down were Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo and Lee Jae-yong, the chairman's son and heir apparent to the Samsung throne. Nine other senior executives also left Samsung following the charges.
Sixty six-year old Lee is credited of having built $160-billion Samsung Group which is Korea Inc's pride, accounting for roughly 21 per cent of the country's total exports.
Ben Verwaayen, British Telecom
British Telecom Group, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Europe, saw the departure of its CEO Ben Verwaayen in the month of April.
Having served BT for almost six years, Verwaayen headed back to the US to take up a position with a venture capital firm. Verwaayen joined BT in January 2002 after quitting his job from US equipment vendor Lucent.
During his tenure at BT, Verwaayen initiated a complete broadband overhaul of BT's aging infrastructure. He mended fences with Ofcom, the UK's version of the FCC.
Fifty-six year old Dutch national was also awarded an honorary knighthood for services to the communications industry. Verwaayen helped BT buy a slew of US-based companies including Infonet, Radianz, Counterpane and INS pushing the telecom giant into a number of emerging markets.
Ian Livingston, who was chief executive of BT Retail, succeeded Verwaayen.
Farewell in the wings: Steve Jobs?
Apple recently announced that its Chief Executive Steve Jobs will not deliver the keynote address at the Macworld trade show next month. The announcement once again revived investors' concerns about the state of his health and sent the company's shares down.
Apple spokesman, however, denied that Jobs was missing the show due to health issues. Instead of Jobs, Philip Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, will deliver the keynote.
However, Samuel Wilson, an analyst at JMP Securities, said Jobs' absence at the event was important. "It's like the first time in a long time he hasn't spoken in Macworld. Why is he not speaking this year would be the question."
Investors have been concerned Jobs health after he was diagnosed with cancer some years back. In 2004, Jobs, 53, said he had undergone successful surgery to remove a rare type of pancreatic cancer. In September, Jobs, who is often perceived as irreplaceable as Apple's leader, appeared thin but jaunty as he introduced new iPod digital music players.
Macworld is a cultural event that draws thousands of Apple fans and technology aficionados to San Francisco, where they have been treated to major announcements from Jobs in past years, including the launch of the iPhone in 2007.
Source: Indiatimes Infotech
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Motorola bosses take 25% pay cut
Motorola Inc, the second-biggest US seller of mobile phones, will freeze US pension plans and reduce executive salaries to help cope with the economic slump.
Co-Chief Executive Officers Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha are taking a 25 per cent cut in base salary in 2009, Motorola said in a statement. Employees in many markets won’t get a raise, and the company will temporarily stop making matching contributions to US workers’ retirement investment accounts.
Jha, hired in August to lead the wireless device division, seeks to turn around a unit that has posted operating losses of $2.8 billion since the start of 2007. He tapped Google Inc to supply software for phones after losing market share to Samsung Electronics Inc and Apple Inc, whose iPhone 3G topped Motorola’s Razr in the third quarter as the most popular US phone.
“Turnarounds are always hard to execute on, and a bad economy makes them tougher,” said Tavis McCourt, an analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co in Nashville. “I’d be shocked if this is all they do in 2009.”
The pay cuts and pension freeze will help Motorola add to the $800 million in annual costs savings it announced in October, including 3,000 job cuts, the company said.
Worldwide mobile-phone sales will drop 13 per cent next year, the first decline since 2001, as economic growth slows, analysts at Citigroup Inc said in a research note.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, rose 5 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $4.46 at 12:07 pm in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had dropped 73 per cent this year before today.
Source: Agencies
Co-Chief Executive Officers Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha are taking a 25 per cent cut in base salary in 2009, Motorola said in a statement. Employees in many markets won’t get a raise, and the company will temporarily stop making matching contributions to US workers’ retirement investment accounts.
Jha, hired in August to lead the wireless device division, seeks to turn around a unit that has posted operating losses of $2.8 billion since the start of 2007. He tapped Google Inc to supply software for phones after losing market share to Samsung Electronics Inc and Apple Inc, whose iPhone 3G topped Motorola’s Razr in the third quarter as the most popular US phone.
“Turnarounds are always hard to execute on, and a bad economy makes them tougher,” said Tavis McCourt, an analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co in Nashville. “I’d be shocked if this is all they do in 2009.”
The pay cuts and pension freeze will help Motorola add to the $800 million in annual costs savings it announced in October, including 3,000 job cuts, the company said.
Worldwide mobile-phone sales will drop 13 per cent next year, the first decline since 2001, as economic growth slows, analysts at Citigroup Inc said in a research note.
Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, rose 5 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $4.46 at 12:07 pm in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had dropped 73 per cent this year before today.
Source: Agencies
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Own a personal supercomputer!
US technology firm NVIDIA rolled out high-performance “personal supercomputers” that let desktop workstations handle mind-boggling tasks once far beyond their capabilities.
Computers built with innovative NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of handling calculations typically relegated to expensive supercomputing “clusters”, a technology breakthrough the company says could soon bring lightning speeds to the next generation of computers aimed at the consumer market.
NVIDIA’s Tesla Personal Supercomputers deliver approximately 250 times the processing power of current computer workstations for similar prices, according to the California-based company. “This changes everything. This supercomputing power is being brought to the workstation,” Tesla computing products general manager Andy Keane said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities and research facilities are already using GPU-based personal supercomputers. “GPU-based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier,” said Jack Collins of the Advanced Biomedical Computing Centre in the US state of Maryland. “This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs.”
NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became renowned for GPUs that drive sophisticated computer game and video hardware. While CPUs typically handle tasks in a linear style, zipping from start to finish in series, GPUs work on tasks simultaneously in order to do things such as get colour pixels together on screens to present moving images. Sets of NVIDIA chips built for speed, power, and superior graphics production are built into upgraded Macintosh notebook computers recently rolled out by Apple.
GPUs that could do parallel computing mathematics at lightning speed were engineered by NVIDIA to make Tesla chips that put desktop workstations on par with supercomputers at one 100th of the price. “You can’t ignore the GPU; you can’t say it is just a game chip,” Keane said.
Computers built with innovative NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of handling calculations typically relegated to expensive supercomputing “clusters”, a technology breakthrough the company says could soon bring lightning speeds to the next generation of computers aimed at the consumer market.
NVIDIA’s Tesla Personal Supercomputers deliver approximately 250 times the processing power of current computer workstations for similar prices, according to the California-based company. “This changes everything. This supercomputing power is being brought to the workstation,” Tesla computing products general manager Andy Keane said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities and research facilities are already using GPU-based personal supercomputers. “GPU-based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier,” said Jack Collins of the Advanced Biomedical Computing Centre in the US state of Maryland. “This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs.”
NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became renowned for GPUs that drive sophisticated computer game and video hardware. While CPUs typically handle tasks in a linear style, zipping from start to finish in series, GPUs work on tasks simultaneously in order to do things such as get colour pixels together on screens to present moving images. Sets of NVIDIA chips built for speed, power, and superior graphics production are built into upgraded Macintosh notebook computers recently rolled out by Apple.
GPUs that could do parallel computing mathematics at lightning speed were engineered by NVIDIA to make Tesla chips that put desktop workstations on par with supercomputers at one 100th of the price. “You can’t ignore the GPU; you can’t say it is just a game chip,” Keane said.
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