Acer’s New Swift 5 Fuses Style, Portability and Performance in India

Editor’s Summary

* An ultrathin-and-light notebook that strives to pack as much power and performance as possible into an ultraportable chassis

* Features the next gen Intel® Core™ processors with powerful integrated graphics based on Intel’s new Xe architecture and optional NVIDIA® GeForce® MX350 GPUs[i]

* A touchscreen covered with Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass[ii] is surrounded by four ultra-narrow bezels to offer an immersive 90% screen-to-body ratio. Additionally, users have the option to further include an antimicrobial coating on other exposed surfaces[iii]

* An all-day battery that can be fast-charged for when work cannot wait, yielding four hours of use from a 30-minute charge

Acer has announced its new Swift 5 notebook that offers a new take on productivity, powerful yet light enough to be carried around throughout the day. The ultraportable device is a beacon of both design and performance, sporting a professional aesthetic that is backed up by impressive functionality. This year’s model features ultra-narrow bezels that allow for a 90% screen-to-body ratio, a touchscreen with Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass and new colors, such as mist green.

“The new Swift 5 pushes the envelope on what thin-and-light notebooks can be,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “A productivity powerhouse housed in a sleek and ultraportable chassis, the Swift 5 is an excellent option for professionals who are always on the move and seeking a device capable of keeping up with them.”

Less Than 1 kg1: Do More With Less

The Acer Swift 5 is an ultrathin-and-light notebook that sits at the intersection of style, power and portability. Its 14.95 mm (0.59 in) chassis is made from high-grade magnesium-lithium and magnesium-aluminum, allowing it to pack the next gen Intel® Core™ processors with powerful integrated graphics based on Intel’s new Xe architecture and optional NVIDIA® GeForce® MX350 GPUs while staying under 1 kg1 (2.2 lbs). This power makes it possible to seamlessly run multiple applications at once, and 1 TB of high-speed PCle SSD storage on top of up to 16 GB LPDDRAX ensures that they load quickly. Furthermore, those in the office or on a conference call will appreciate the ability to control how much sound the device makes by alternating between three cooling modes: silent, normal or performance.

Svelte Aesthetics and a Stunning Screen

The Swift 5 has an elegant design that comes in two color palates: mist green or safari gold, both with gold accents. The notebook’s all-metal chassis is defined by confidently sharp angles and a minimalist profile that makes it an excellent option for image-conscious professionals. That being said, the Swift 5’s design is not all about looks. This year’s model includes a specially designed hinge that slightly elevates the device while the screen is opened, allowing for a more ergonomic typing experience, better thermal performance and, most notably, makes the device’s beautiful screen more prominent.

Opening the notebook reveals a generously large trackpad and a 14-inch FHD IPS[iv] touchscreen display, both of which support multi-finger gestures to offer an incredibly intuitive experience. The screen features 300 nits brightness1, covers 72% of the NTSC gamut and is surrounded by ultra-narrow bezels on all four sides that allow for up to a 90% screen-to-body ratio, creating a vivid and immersive viewing experience that makes the Swift 5 perfect for enjoying movies and relaxing after work.

Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass

The Swift 5’s touchscreen display is covered with a layer of Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass2, which has been specially formulated to reduce the growth of odor and stain-causing microorganisms on the touch display.

Additionally, users have the option to further include an antimicrobial coating[v] on the touchpad, keyboard and all covers of the device.

Full Connectivity and All-Day Battery Life

The Swift 5 features a large 56 Wh1 battery that lasts all day and can be fast-charged in a pinch, granting 4 hours of use[vi] off just a 30-minute charge-time. A host of connectivity options such as USB Type-C, Thunderbolt™ and USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, in addition to dual-band Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (GIG+) and Bluetooth 5.0, make it an excellent choice for professionals and users who need to work on the go. For convenience and security, the Swift 5 is also equipped with an embedded fingerprint reader for Windows Hello. It also supports Wake on Voice, enabling users to activate and query Windows 10 even when the screen is off.

Major management shake-up at Intel Inc

Intel is expected to reveal a sweeping management change today, said the New York Times attributing to people briefed on the company. This management shake-up will witness its core chip Business Head Patrick Gelsinger leave the company after 30 years.

As Gelsinger departs, Sean Maloney, Intel's Head of Sales and Marketing, would take on an even larger role at the company. Maloney will look after the major chip businesses in Intel including its PC, graphics and server chips.

Also, Maloney, Intel's Sales Chief, is considered to be one of the possible successor to Intel CEO Paul Otellini. Another report from the Wall Street Journal, said 48-year-old Gelsinger would run computer-storage giant EMC's storage-products operations and some smaller software units.

Agencies

Forecast of animation and gaming lowered by NASSCOM

Nasscom, the apex body of IT software and services has lowered its 2012 forecast for the animation industry by 27.7 percent and gaming industry by 16.3 percent. It now expects revenues from the animation industry to touch $830 million against the earlier estimate of $1060 million and revenues from the gaming industry to touch $830 million against $1163 million.

In its press statement, Nasscom stated that this downward revision is largely on account of slackened demand due to the global economic downturn and the domestic box office for animation movies has not picked up as estimated, end-to-end skill sets not being developed in the animation services industry and proof of concept or IP creation not up to the expectations.

Som Mittal, President of Nasscom said, "NASSCOM recognizes this industry as a significant user of technology and can further showcase India's well established credentials in the IT Industry space. However, being in a nascent stage of development, it is critical for all stakeholders to come together and create an environment that nurtures this industry for it to be able to compete at a global scale."

The economic crisis has hurt the earnings of Indian IT companies with NASSCOM forecasting four to seven percent rise in India's software services and exports for the year to March 2010, sharply slower than the past years' robust growth.

Agencies

What can you do with 3G services In India?

With 3G, the next-gen mobile service launched in Delhi, your handset becomes an all-purpose device. Here’s what all you can do and what it offers.

* Browse Internet and send, receive large emails including graphics. 3G also enables faster movie downloads.

* Make video calls and videoconference (possible on 3G to 3G calls).

* Get streaming TV on phone screen with pause, record features. MTNL’s IPTV network currently offers 4 channels, will expand to 10 channels in 10 days and 40 in 2-3 weeks.

* Remote access footage from CCTV (could also help police and in traffic management).

* Play interactive games on Net sites, access bank accounts and shop online.

* Get high-speed Web navigation, maps.

* 3G services give mobile users high-quality voice transmission and access to high-end data applications on their mobile phones.

2G vs 3G
3G represents the next step in the evolution of mobile telephony, offering markedly greater capacity and efficiency than the current 2G systems.

While 2G is focused on voice, 3G supports high-speed data of at least 144 kbps enabling broadband Internet access on the mobile, and "triple play" features like mobile TV and converged communication services.

Similarly, 3G will allow operators to enhance their capacities for voice traffic as well. Currently, key operators are facing severe 2G spectrum crunch in top 20-30 cities which is hampering their future growth. As the government has indicated that it has limited spectrum left for 2G services.

Also, while 3G is good for data services, it is also three times more efficient than current technologies in packing in subscribers.

Top speed
* 2G -- 10kb/sec

* 3G -- 2mb/sec

Time taken to download a 3-min MP3 song
* 2G -- 31 to 40 minutes

* 3G -- 11 secs to 1.5 min

How much will it cost?
MTNL will release tariff plan after a month. It’s only servicing corporate clients at the moment and will rely on their feedback before commercial launch.

Source: Times of India

Is the slowdown, an opportunity in itself?

The current slowdown will also give an impetus to many technologies, some of which include Green IT, cloud computing, graphics and Web, writes Anil Chopra, editor at Cybermedia.

Media the world over is predicting this to be the worst economic slowdown ever. But then, people who have lived through various economic cycles would easily be able to split the hype from reality, and tell that while the causes of a slowdown vary, their impact is usually similar in nature. We can easily apply this formula to the current slowdown and predict that this one is no different from the previous one or the one before that.

Let's look at the slowdown of 2001, which happened due to the great dot com bust and compare it with the current one. Much before it actually happened, people predicted that there was a dot com bubble just waiting to burst, and bring with it a recession. But nobody of course could in their wildest of dreams predict the disaster that followed and brought down with it the US and world economy-the Sep 11 attack on WTC. Markets crashed, demands dipped, giving rise to higher unemployment, pink slips, and company closures.

Now let's come to the current slowdown. Much before it started, people knew that it would be caused by the US sub-prime crisis. Nobody however, had predicted that it would be so bad that many leading multi-national banks and financial institutes would go bankrupt. But the results of the current slowdown remain similar to the previous one-job cuts, stock market crash, dip in market demands, and the like.

So the key learning from slowdowns is that they're a way for markets to correct themselves and provide everyone an opportunity to think about the next big thing. After the dot com bust, the web emerged stronger than ever. Today everyone's going gaga over Web 2.0, social networking, and the benefits it provides. The humble server room transformed itself into a powerful data center to host business critical applications, and e-Commerce became a standard practice amongst most enterprises. The WTC attack reduced air travel, giving a boost to video conferencing, and also made DR and BCP common practice amongst enterprises.

Likewise, the current slowdown will also give an impetus to many technologies, some of which include Green IT, cloud computing, graphics, web, etc. We've talked about ten of them along with their likely future impact in this month's cover story.

It's also forcing CIOs to reduce their IT purchase and focus more on improving efficiencies within their existing IT infrastructures. We've talked about the impact of the slowdown on enterprises at length in our IT strategy guide for CIOs along with tips on how to survive the slowdown.

Lastly, the good thing about a slowdown is that it reduces complacency and forces people to think differently and identify new opportunities. So why should it be different during the current slowdown? Our IT careers story this time explains just how bad is the job market and areas that are growing.

So treat the slowdown as an opportunity and take yourself to the next level. All the best and wish you a fulfilling new year ahead!

Source: Cybermedia