As Lenovo Gears Up To Expand Beyond China It Announces New Range Of Tablets
Lenovo Group, which trades in this country as Lenovo Computers Australia is preparing to launch two Android powered tablets and a tablet that will run an operating system for tablets developed by Microsoft in the US this summer, according to the company president, as the company gears up to embark on its stated strategy of expanding beyond its key domestic market of China.
Lenovo Coupons is the world’s fourth largest PC maker and often described as the world’s fasted growing, having become a global player after the transformational acquisition of International Business Machine Corp’s (IBM) PC business in 2005.
Since then the company has developed an array of products including its smartphone offering dubbed the LePhone, which in Putonghua means “Happy Phone” and a touchscreen tablet dubbed the LePad. Both devices run on the Android operating system, and are currently available only in China.
Rory Read, Lenovo Group’s president and chief operating officer, in a recent interview with Dow Jones said that the company was planning a global tablet release aimed at consumers scheduled for later in the year, with the most likely release date in July, followed by a tablet device aimed at its key enterprise segment likely to roll out in August.
Both devices according to Mr. Read will be powered by Honeycomb, the version of Android specially developed for tablets as opposed to phones, and will have 10-inch screens.
Mr. Read says that pricing will cater towards the mainstream, with a range of between US$450 to $900 depending on the configuration of the tablet.
The consumer version will be dubbed “IdeaPad,” while the business version–which will include a stylus for signature capture–will be branded for the ThinkPad line acquired from IBM, he said.
Additionally Lenovo Coupons says it will roll out a 10 inch tablet that will run on the Windows operating system, well before Windows 8 is launched, since the company believes there is much interest. Lenovo also plans to launch 7 inch tablets later in the cycle.
“We’ve really been working to tailor the experience” of our tablets, Read said. “Some of the early-generation Android devices were a little ahead of their time, and what we’re doing here is making sure [our tablets] are strong. We only have one opportunity to make that first good impression.”
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Sneak Preview At Windows 8
Many industry watchers have been excited about Windows 8 for quite a while now, earlier in the week Microsoft demonstrated some of the overhauls that are expected to come to both tablets and desktops that are look very similar to the Windows Phone OS, run on handsets like the Venue Pro, sold by Dell Australia.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the new interface makes use of a start page that uses the tile based Metro User Interface that many users of Windows Phone like the Venue Pro, sold by Dell Australia have come to love, and now takes the place of the traditional start menu. From the start page, users can quickly launch full screen HTML 5 powered applications, and seamlessly switch between them, or snap them together at the side of the screen for side by side touch screen multitasking.
The new operating system does not mean the end of the desktop application of course. For those running Windows 8 on their desktop, users may simply head into the extremely familiar Windows desktop which will enable them to run their usual applications in traditional Windows mode. As yet, it still remains unclear exactly how this will work, since this is still quite a look at a very new operating system, and things are more than likely going to change, however as MS’s Management says in the video, you will be able to use Windows 8 across all machines, desktop, laptop, and tablet.
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iPad and iPhone Looking Increasingly Dominant In Enterprise Segment
Whilst Android may be the dominant consumer mobile operating system, Apple continues its upward trajectory in the enterprise segment with its iOS operating system according to Intermedia a hosting provider of Microsoft Exchange.
According to the company 61 per cent of the smartphones owned by its 320,000 enterprise customers are iPhones, 17 per cent of devices used by the company’s customers ran Android. The iPad however is the clear dominant device in the tablet segment of the market.
The remaining 22 per cent of devices were from the “others” category which includes Palm, Symbian, and Windows Phone devices. The iPhone saw its share of all activations increase to 64 per cent during April, whilst Android experienced an increase of 33 per cent in terms of all new devices that were purchases online during the same month.
Statistics from Intermedia do not include BlackBerry devices, since those devices do not make use of ActiveSync.
iPads account for 99.8 percent of all new tablet activations, with the tiny fraction that remains split between the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, and Huawei S7.
iPad adoption in the enterprise segment is indeed quite impressive, and according to Apple which trades in the country as Apple Computers Australia nearly 75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are either already actively using the device or testing it for deployment. Apple said that nearly 88 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are doing the same with the iPhone.
The success of the iPad in the enterprise segment of the market is due to Apple’s ability to execute, bringing a tablet to market as a fully finished product that has both a smooth and dependable user experience, something Google has been unable to replicate with Android.
IT managers are far less likely to take risks with unproven platforms than consumers are, and whilst Android maybe highly successful with the latter, it has yet to prove itself to be comparable to iOS in terms of stability, regardless of whether one is comparing tablets or smartphones.
The other thing working in Apple’s favour is that Android is said to be much less secure than iOS, which is likely to drive a stake of fear through any IT manager who is already dealing with the risks that come with integrating consumer devices into the enterprise segment. Finally, Android OS fragmentation is a considerable issue when it comes to being able to provide comprehensive IT support.
Whilst Android is clearly dominant in the consumer segment of the market, it would appear that Apple is making ever increasing inroads into the highly prized enterprise segment in large part due to the iPad, which may even result in iOS one day becoming the dominant operating system for the business world.
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Dell Unveils Enterprise Mobility Services
Computer manufacturing giant Dell, which operates in the country as Dell Australia, in its bid to grab a large slice of the nascent but fast growing market for hardware, software and services for company’s delivering data to employees with mobile devices, has launched the first of its mobile enterprise services.
Last week the company unveiled its Enterprise Mobility Services, which offers its customers everything required for their employees to access critical data whilst they are travelling using a smartphone or tablet.
Dell has built the new service largely through its acquisition of Perot Systems, which it bought in 2009 for US$3.9 billion. Dell is also heavily depending on partner software that will run on its hardware, though the company declined to name who its partners were. All technology deployed through Dell mobile services will carry the company’s brand and Dell will be the sole provider of support.
Dell has developed a strategy based on the assumption that company’s going forward will have to support multiple devices on their network, including BlackBerry’s, iPhones, Android based phones and a growing plethora of tablet devices.
That assumption is in line with those of rivals and technology analysts with IBM and HP also rushing to offer mobile computing services, which many tech watchers believe may eventually replace the traditional laptop as the mainstream method of disseminating and analyzing corporate information and data used for decision making.
Dell’s strategy is to support an environment filled with heterogeneous mobile devices, by deploying a mobile application server that will handle communication between those devices and corporate data centres.
The company will deploy a mobile device management client on the mobile devices which will request data through the server based on the users access rights. The client also works in conjunction with the server on whatever authentication mechanism the customer wants.
Dell’s solution will also take care of application processing so that corporate IT departments will not be required to develop individual applications for every type of connected device. When employees also wish to use their personal smartphones, Dell has developed a solution that partitions the device’s storage so that corporate date is kept separate from personal data.
Additionally Dell has developed technology that can erase data remotely from lost or stolen devices, and set up location services designed to find devices.
The pricing of the service has not yet been disclosed but the company will sell the service on a subscription basis, which will either be monthly or annually depending on the number of devices accessing the network.
Dell over the last few years has rapidly been expanding beyond its legacy hardware business into software, services and support, replicating the IBM model. Dell’s acquisition of Perot Systems in 2009 was a large step in that direction.
Chief Executive Michael Dell in an interview with Barron’s last year said “We are changing our business from being manufacturing-based to one that’s focused on services and solutions. And no, we’re not done.”
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Dell Hoping For Another Blow Out Quarter
This evening computer manufacturing giant Dell, which operates in the country as Dell Australia reports earnings. The company is hoping that robust spending by businesses and falling costs of components will help the company on its way to greater profitability, convincing investors who remain sceptical over its turnaround story.
The world’s second largest maker of personal computer is seeking to become a major player in the data centre equipment segment, as well as in the red hot mobile device space. The vast majority of its revenue however is still derived from its low margin PC business, something the company has made a lot of effort diversifying away from.
Dell has faced a rocky road in its efforts to revive its fortunes, and many analysts believe that the company first needs to deliver consistency before investors are fully convinced that the company is a compelling buy.
Analysts want to know exactly what plans Dell has for reviving its fortunes in a sustainable and consistent manner, and how it will manage to boost its gross margin beyond 20 per cent.
Dell’s earnings in the previous quarter blew away analysts expectations prompting the company to raise its yearly forecast. Despite the blow out result, investors have remained cautious on the company stock as worries persist that the company is welded to its low margin commoditised PC business, which remain a drag on margins and has very little opportunity for significant growth.
Dell’s shares often trade off its gross margin performance, which have been very volatile. The company has missed analyst margin expectations during six of the past eight quarters.
The company’s share continue to underperform the index, and are flat for the year compared to a 30 per cent gain in the Nasdaq.
Michael Dell, the company’s chief executive has made his intentions clear, and is willing to make use of the company’s $14 billion war chest to make acquisitions that would diversify the company’s earnings and boost its margins, particularly in the area of software and storage.
Dell has been extremely active in the market for hand held mobile devices, launching a slew of tablet and smartphone offerings that have had mixed results.
Dell trades at near 10 times forward earnings, a bit better than rival HP, but a lower valuation than IBM.
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Apple Said To Be Working On Low Cost iPhone
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Apple, which operates in the country through Apple Computers Australia is said to be developing new iPhone models that will squarely aimed taming the advance of handsets running the Android operating system according to a report from the Bloomberg news agency which cited unnamed sources.
The report suggests that one of the models being developed would be both cheaper and smaller than then models released until now, according to a source that declined to be named and claimed they had seen a prototype.
Apple chief Steve Jobs, who is currently on a medical leave of absence continues to remain involved in strategic decisions, may want the company to widen the appeal of its smartphone products through lower prices and stem the tide of ceding market share to Android powered devices. Less expensive iPhones would also increase pressure on Nokia whose products are particularly popular in both Europe and some emerging markets.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment for the Bloomberg news story.
According to the report, Apple is considering whether to make the new iPhone available for US$200 without the requirement of buyers to commit to a two year contract with a wireless carrier. Currently the iPhone 4 costs between US$200 to $300 in the US when the phone is subsidized by a wireless carrier such as Verizon or AT&T.
The source cited in the report says Apple intends to unveil the device towards the middle of the year, however the company may either delay the launch or even scrap it completely. Apple often works on products that don’t get release and few Apple employees know any details about the project.
According to the source, the prototype of the new product is roughly a third smaller than the iPhone 4 and has no home button. The product will be a comparatively low cost phone making use of components used in current models of the iPhone rather than the more costly advanced components that will be used for future versions of the iPhone.
Sources also say the company is developing dual mode phones which would be able to work on both GSM and CDMA networks, though whether that capability will be offered on low cost iPhones has not been determined.
Another technology the company is developing, is what it calls universal SIM, which allows users of the iPhone to choose from a variety of GSM networks without the requirement of having to switch SIM cards that are usually tied to a single network. Universal SIM capability built-in would help cut the cost of distributing and managing millions of SIM cards.
The universal SIM feature would give Apple the upper hand over mobile network providers in the battle to control customers, since it would make the device affordable without a subsidy, and buyers would no longer have to agree to onerous terms such as termination fees that carriers demand for subsidizing the cost of the phone.
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Lenovo Bets Heavily On Smartphone And Tablets To Counter Apple Threat
China’s largest PC manufacturer and the worlds fourth largest maker of personal computers Lenovo Group says it is heavily betting on its LePad tablet and LePhone smartphone to counter the expansion and dominance of Apple in both those product categories.
“We have an extreme focus on the innovation of LePad and LePhone because these products will dominate the future market,” Chairman Liu Chuanzhi said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. “Anyone who loses this battle will be phased out from the history of this industry.”
Lenovo generates half of its global sales from its domestic China market and faces a strong threat from Apple after the maker of the iPad and iPhone opened three stores in the country and the interim chief executive Tim Cook described its market as a “top priority.”
Consumers however may stay away from Lenovo’s tablet offering because it runs on a modified version of the Android operating system that is not compatible with applications available on Google’s online app store, says Yaunata Securities technology analyst Vincent Chen.
“Lenovo will have to convince vendors they can grow big, otherwise consumers will not be interested because there will be very limited choice of software. Lenovo is the PC king in China, so they think they can differentiate and attract enough interest. In my view that’s a challenge.” Mr. Chen said
Apple has been relatively late to the Chinese market and only opened its first store in the country in 2008, however that store generates the company’s highest traffic and revenue across all its stores globally Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said last week.
Lenovo which is the owner and make of the ThinkPad range of laptops has ambitions of diversifying and expanding beyond China in order to drive revenue growth. Last week the company agreed to invest US$175 million in a joint venture with Japan’s NEC to expand in the Japanese PC market.
The company began selling its LePhone in May last year, however the device is currently only available in China. According to the Lenovo Chairman, the company will launch the LePad by the end of the current quarter.
“History has proved we are good at catching up with the market’s leaders,” Liu said. “Though Apple is winning a significant share in the Chinese market, it has not gained a clearly leading position yet. Our advantage is we know this market better.”
98 per cent of 2009 annual sales for Lenovo was derived from personal computers, whilst less than 1 per cent were derived from the sales of smartphones. According to market research firm IDC, the company has 10 per cent of the global market for PC’s in unit terms.
According to the terms of its new Japanese joint venture, Lenovo and NEC will transfer their Japan PC assets into the venture, named Lenovo NEC Holdings BV, in which Lenovo holds a 51 percent stake.
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Dell To Launch iPad Killer Running Android 3.0
Early last week, Google began making its Android 3.0 Preview SDK available to developers who wanted to make applications for tablet devices that run the Android 3.0 operating system.
Computer manufacturing giant Dell is expected to be a key manufacturer of tablets running Android 3.0 and according to Tim Weber of the BBC, the company’s chief executive has said that his company fully intends to deliver the goods.
“Michael Dell tells me that as soon as Android 3.0 Honeycomb is fully available, Dell will ship iPad-sized tablets.” Mr. Weber said via twitter.
The competition underway in the tablet space between Dell and Android appears to be particularly intense. Dell has just rolled out a mobility online store which offers Windows Phone 7, Android and even BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, and according to Mr. Weber, the company has planned the launch of several new Windows Phone 7 models.
Perhaps most intriguing in the Dell/Apple rivalry is that Dell says it intends to launch a direct competitor to the iPad, a powerful tablet optimized for capacitive touch screens.
The new Android operating system provides players such as Dell a unique opportunity to challenge Apple in the tablet space at a much earlier stage in the life cycle compared to when Apple introduced the iPhone.
Microsoft, which it has to be said lost an opportunity to establish itself as a key player in hand held is working hard to rectify that and is working on Windows 8 which will support ARM architecture.
Apple interim chief executive Tim Cook said the following about iPad competitors during an earnings call recently:
“We’re not sitting still. We have a huge first-mover advantage. And a huge user advantage from iTunes to the App Store. Huge number of apps and an ecosystem. We’re very confident entering into a fight with anyone.”
Mr. Cook has every reason to feel so confident, since until now, every single device the company has launched which runs on its iOS has been a dramatic success. Last year Cupertino California based Apple acquired Intrinsity, a company that is capable of building application processors that are better than ARM’s own designs.
Within a few years however, perhaps as early as 2013, the next generation of ARM chips will also be on the market.
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Dell Venue Pro Review
The philosophy of a smartphone designer is the same as that of runway models and ballerinas, and that is one can never be thin enough.
Dell however has adopted a contrasting approach with its latest Windows 7 Phone the Venue Pro. Despite the device being both beautiful and agile, the Venue Pro however is quite the fatty.
Weighing in at 6.8 ounces it is heavier than all its rivals, and the main reason behind its weight, is the slide out QWERTY keyboard. The other reason for the device’s heft is the large and chromatically rich 4.1-inch, 800 x 480 AMOLED touchscreen. Every other feature on the device however is both understated and efficient.
Despite the drawback of the weight and dimension of the device, it does seem to be a worthwhile trade off. The Venue Pro seems much less a slate like smartphone and much more like the feature rich, productivity driven pocket PC’s of the past.
That style of productivity driven device seems to have fallen out of fashion, and Dell’s decision to inject some aspects of that concept into an inexpensive and streamlines smartphone was an intelligent move.
The Venue Pro is deserving of its praise, the device is powered by a generic 1 GHz processor and is able to whip through Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 OS which is animation heavy without any problem, and switching and swiping through menus was extremely smooth, and when we tested the device, we did not find any stutters or lag when it came to launching apps.
The device’s large screen makes it well suited for such tasks, and whilst the asymmetric multi screen Windows 7 menus takes some getting used to, the Venue Pro does manage to present them well.
As said earlier its greatest strength is its productivity, so far no smartphone operating system has truly provided the elegant simplicity needed for mobile document editing. The Venue Pro does however have some unique features, the solid slide out keyboard is a great counterpart for Microsoft’s stripped down Word application, and the larger screen size even makes working with Excel possible. It goes without saying that the integrated Xbox Live support and large library of titles makes gaming a joy.
Despite all the strengths mentioned, as a basic phone, the Venue Pro is little more than mediocre, and whilst voice quality was good, the device kept jumping between 2G and 3G networks in the middle of tasks or dropping to no signal at all.
The speaker phone on the device was a little dodgy, though it is workable, it was lightly distorted at high volumes. The battery is lacking, and it is perhaps not the best option for big talkers or road warriors.
Even with its shortcomings, the union of business and pleasure, combined with solid design does make it an attractive phone, and its likely sub US$200 price points, adds to its attractiveness. Dell Australia will likely release the phone sometime later in the year.
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Apple’s China Retail Outlets Company’s Highest Grossing Stores Worldwide
Less than three years after opening its first store in Beijing, Cupertino California Apple’s China stores are now the company’s highest grossing stores worldwide, and Apple says it plans to open a further 25 stores nationwide through 2012, after Tim Cook, Apple Chief Operating Officer referred to China as a “top priority.”
Apple’s revenue from the Greater China region, which also includes Hong Kong and Taiwan has grown an astonishing fourfold from a year earlier, to US$2.6 billion, and according to Morgan Stanley, the region could provide anywhere between “well over half” to as much as 100 per cent of total earnings growth for Apple during the next couple of years.
“We put enormous energy into China, and the results of that have been absolutely staggering. It’s clear that we’re introducing a lot of people to Apple who previously had not been introduced to the company.” said Mr. Cook.
Globally, Apple operated 323 retail outlets by the end of the first quarter, of which 87 are in countries other than the US. Apple’s retail operations have been on a tear and during the first quarter generated a record US$3.85 billion during the first quarter, up from $1.97 billion during the same time frame in the previous years.
Apple’s four China stores standout however, says Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, who during the company’s most recent earnings call said on average the Chinese stores generate both the highest traffic and highest revenue.
The four Apple stores in China generate, on average, the highest traffic and highest revenue of any company stores in the world, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on the call.
Apple opened its first China store in Beijing in 2008, prior to the store’s opening, the only way Chinese consumers could buy the company’s products was from grey market retailers who has smuggled merchandise from Hong Kong.
The iPhone only became officially available in China during the fourth quarter of 2009, nearly two years after the device was launched in the US.
In the Last six months, The company has added the Joy City Mall store and two in Shanghai. Apple is gearing up to open a further 40 to 50 more stores worldwide in 2011, with more than half of them outside of the US, the company said during its quarterly earnings report, without specifying exactly how many of those would be in China.
The company’s Hong Kong-based spokeswoman, Jill Tan, declined to comment on plans for new stores in China.
Apple does not disclose the revenue generated at individuals stores. Its flagship “Cube” Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue is thought to be the company’s most trafficked US store.
This month, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved the iPad for sale in the country, and the Wi-Fi version is now available.
Morgan Stanley estimates China sales will more than triple this year, clocking an eye popping $9.4 billion, up from its current $2.9 billion. Morgan Stanley believes that China sales may reach $15.2 billion in 2012.
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