Author: Eva Glass

Eva Glass first rose to prominence in The INQUIRER. She continues to work behind the scenes to dig out the best stories.

Seagate to phase out 7200rpm notebook drives this year

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - News, Products

seagate-hddSeagate is planning to kill off 7200rpm notebook hard drives by the end of the year, but the decision is raising quite a few questions, and eyebrows.

Ultrabooks and high end notebooks have already shifted to SSDs, or in some cases hybrid drives, hence Seagate’s decision should come as no surprise. Traditional 7200rpm drives tend to generate quite a bit of heat and they need a lot more power than SSDs, so they’re anything but an ideal choice for thin and light notebooks.

David Burks, Seagate’s director of marketing and product management, told X-bit Labs that the company will stop building 7200rpm notebook drives “at the end of 2013”. Seagate already offers a range of hybrid 2.5-inch drives to OEMs and retailers, but it is expected to refresh its lineup later this year. The phase out should coincide with the introduction of next generation Seagate hybrid drives.

Western Digital recently showcased its first 2.5-inch hybrids, with a lot more NAND cache than Seagate Momentus XT series hybrid drives, but neither company has made a serious effort to enter the SSD market, which is overcrowded as it is.

However, although Seagate will stop producing 7200rpm notebook drives this year, they will probably be on the market for the better part of 2014. Since Western Digital is a relative newcomer to the hybrid market, it might keep building 7200rpm drives a bit longer, although it is more than likely that WD will drop 7200rpm drives in favour of hybrids as well.

iPad mini sales figures prove Steve Jobs wrong

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - News, Products

iPad-miniLess than three years ago, Apple boss Steve Jobs famously proclaimed that 7-inch tablets would be dead on arrival. However, according to the latest NPD DisplaySearch statistics, small tablets are doing rather well and Apple’s own iPad mini is overtaking full size iPads.

The iPad mini got a lukewarm reception when it launched last year. Many tech hacks did not like it, although the usual shills went out of their way to prove that it is the best thing since sliced bread, but on the whole it was just a repackaged iPad 2 with a somewhat smaller screen. However, it did have a couple of things going for it. It was a lot smaller and lighter than 9.7-inch iPads, and it launched at $329.

Many didn’t believe Apple would experience much cannibalisation, as the iPad 3, with its gorgeous Retina display, was in a league of its own a year ago and the iPad mini seemed like a compromised product with subpar specs. It was thought there was enough of a gap between the two form factors to prevent cannibalisation. That assumption was wrong.

NPD’s figures show that shipments of 9.7-inch panels fell off a cliff over the past couple of months. Total shipments in December were 7.4 million, but late last year Apple kindly asked Sharp to reduce production to a minimum, so January shipments were just 1.3 million. Meanwhile shipments of 7.9-inch panels increased, hitting 5 million units in January.

NPD DisplaySearch reckons Apple was planning to ship 100 million iPads in 2013, but that figure has now been revised to 88 million units. Apple originally expected it could sell 60 million 9.7-inch iPads and 40 million minis, but now it seems that it will sell just 33 million 9.7-inchers and a whopping 55 million iPad minis.

Apple was never afraid of cannibalisation. If it came up with a new product, it would let it eat into sales of existing products, no questions asked. It is better to cannibalise your own sales than to have someone else do it for you. However, Apple might be getting a bit more cannibalisation than it bargained for, coming from a dead-on-arrival 7-inch tablet. It is also worth noting that the iPad mini was the first iOS product Steve Jobs did not sign off on. Intel has never mastered the art of cannibilisation.

Google Play gift cards set to hit UK

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - News, Products

googleplaycardsGoogle Play gift cards are coming to the UK, just three months late for Christmas. Google has apparently leaked a few details on its Google Play Support page, indicating that British Googleites will soon be able to pick up virtual gift cards.

Google launched its gift card service in the US last August, in four denominations: $10, $15, $25 and $50. Britain is getting three denominations, £10, £25 and £50. However, it is still unclear when Google will roll out the new service and the company is not commenting. With plenty of references on its own pages, it shouldn’t be long before we see the cards on sale across Britain.

The leak was unearthed by Android UK News, which also reports that the maximum credit allowed will be £2,000. That should be more than enough for any Google Play addict.

The big question at this point is who will carry them? Carphone Warehouse and similar outfits are the obvious choice, but we could be in for a surprise.

Google might be too late for Christmas, but in a few months time Brits should be able to spoil their offspring with hassle free virtual gift cards.

Windows 8 fails to woo people’s hearts and minds

Posted on March 4, 2013 by - News, Opinions

msNobody expected Windows 8 to have a huge impact on the sluggish PC market, but now it seems that things could be a bit worse than Redmond would have us believe.

According to monthly statistics from NetMarketShare, sales of Windows 8 are not picking up much speed. In fact, in February Windows 8 ranked behind XP and Windows 7, with 38.99 per cent and 44.55 per cent share respectively.

At 2.76 per cent of web traffic, Windows 8 is even trailing behind Vista, one of Microsoft’s biggest lemons, which is still terrorising 5.17 percent of PC users.

The share of Windows 8 PCs on the web saw very little growth, just 0.41 percent from January, when it commanded a 2.26 percent share. In December the share was 1.72 percent.

The trend must be raising some eyebrows at Redmond, but there doesn’t seem to be much anyone can do to speed up Windows 8 adoption now. Although cutting the price is always an option, it would probably result in a brief spike, followed by plenty of angry questions from shareholders.

A quick glance at a couple of European price search engines reveals a relatively high number of Windows 7 desktops and laptops in practically every market segment, although Windows 8 is gaining a lot more traction in the high end and in Ultrabooks. However, volumes are what matter, as the same OS ships with a £1,000 Ultrabook and a dirt cheap 15-incher. Speaking of the latter, thousands of 15.6-inch and 16-inch laptops are still listed as shipping with Windows 7. Many of them can be upgraded to Windows 8 at no cost, but then again plenty can’t.

Holiday PC sales failed to impress and it appears that there are tons of early- to mid-2012 Windows 7 laptops and desktops in the channel. In fact, out of a few thousand 15-inchers listed at Skinflint, just 183 SKUs ship with Windows 8 Pro and 578 with Windows 8. However, 1396 SKUs are shipped with Windows 7 in four distinct flavours. The trend is even more evident on the continent.

At this rate, it will take a few quarters to get rid of Windows 7 inventory. In addition, very few consumers seem to be upgrading their existing PCs to Windows 8, despite the fact that the vast majority of Windows 7 PCs will easily run the new OS. In fact, most will end up even faster, without any hardware upgrades. However, money is tight and few people are willing to upgrade their operating system, especially as Windows 8 doesn’t bring a whole lot of headline features to the table.

Toyota GT86 lets its hair down, goes convertible

Posted on March 1, 2013 by - Fun Stuff, News, Products

gt86-330pxToyota’s GT86, one of the hottest coupes to launch in 2012, is about to get a Mediterranean friendly convertible version. Toyota has spilled the beans on the new cabrio, with a set of detailed and absolutely gorgeous press shots ahead of the Geneva Motor Show.

The concept is dubbed FT-86 Open, but by the look of things it won’t remain a concept car to drool over – it will probably go on sale, as is. Toyota is apparently still mulling serial production, but we have no doubt that it will find plenty of takers if it chooses to launch the Open. In fact, the car practically looks production ready, so Toyota might be just playing hard to get in order to boost interest.

gt86-interior

Needless to say, the FT-86 Open shares the same platform and rear wheel drive powertrain, praised by reviewers across the world. It means it should get the same Subaru 2-litre boxer with Toyota’s D-4S injection system, capable of delivering 200bhp and 151lb•ft of torque and a six-speed manual gearbox. There is still no word or performance, but the coupe version can hit 60mph in just 6 seconds, although the cabrio should end up a bit slower (and heavier).

gt86-side

The roof is an automatic, fabric affair, none of that foldable hardtop nonsense, which means it shouldn’t end up too heavy, or lose a ton of boot space with the roof down. Better yet, it looks good, very good. It looks even better than the coupe, a bit more elegant and tame and it should appeal to a wide range of potential customers, including fashionistas, proper petrol heads and ladies, who tend to prefer cabrios over coupes.

Since it is still basically a concept car, although it appears to be production ready, there is no word on pricing or availability. However, the GT-86 coupe starts at £24,995, which sounds like more than a fair price in this segment, so the cabrio shouldn’t end up too pricey, either.

Europe to binge on cheap tablets

Posted on March 1, 2013 by - News, Opinions

nexus7The tablet boom is still going strong and according to Forrester Research, plenty of growth is expected over the next few years. Tablet ownership in Europe is expected to quadruple by 2017.

At the moment, an estimated 14 percent of European online consumers own a tablet, and the number should hit 55 percent by 2017. But who stands to gain from the boom?

Heavyweights hug mobile payments, but more work ahead

Posted on March 1, 2013 by - News, Opinions

google-walletA series of optimistic reports and forecasts on e-commerce seems to indicate that mobile payments are becoming increasingly commonplace and that we could soon ditch our trusty leather wallets in favour of smartphones. Sadly though, we won’t, at least not anytime soon.

The trend is positive and we are seeing a lot of growth, especially in m-commerce. In addition, a number of big players have made significant announcements in recent months. Last week Visa expanded its Visa Ready Partner Programme in an effort to get more vendors, developers and retailers on board. Samsung followed up with a service of its own, the Samsung Wallet, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s Passbook app. Samsung already managed to attract several partners for its new service, including Visa.

Then there is MasterCard’s MasterPass service, which allows retailers come up with their own applications and services, based on MasterCard’s infrastructure. PayPal is no newcomer to the market, but its PayPal Here service is. Launched in the US last year, it finally found its way across the pond to European shores. It offers a comprehensive solution, with a hardware dongle and cross-platform app support, and it allows users to pay using credit cards, cash, PayPall wallet or checks.

What about the elephant in the room? Well, there’s actually two elephants. Google Wallet has been around for quite a while, but it failed to take off. It was supposed to demonstrate NFC capabilities on Nexus gear, dating back to the Nexus S, which it did. However, much like NFC, Google Wallet never made much of a name for itself.

It might have something to do with the second elephant, Apple, as it never embraced NFC technology and it is still unclear whether the next iPhone will feature it. Apple has not made much noise on the mobile payment front, which doesn’t mean it is not looking into it. To the contrary, Apple has already filed several patents for NFC enabled devices and services. Cupertino doesn’t like spilling the beans on upcoming products and services, and unlike some companies, it tends to have excellent execution. It is also worth noting that Apple bought AuthenTec, a maker of fingerprint sensors and security solutions, for $356 million last year.

With all that in mind, nobody should be surprised by soaring m-commerce and mobile payments statistics. In fact, we should be seeing even more services, from brick and mortar shops to pubs, but we aren’t. Mobile payments and are still geeky turf, with little traction among mainstream consumers. The sheer lack of widespread support for m-commerce platforms and the fast pace of development means that many consumers don’t even know it exists. What’s more, many of those that do still have some reservations.

Privacy and security are valid concerns, but a recent survey by Intela revealed that the majority of smartphone users in the UK now feel comfortable with mobile payments. It is hardly surprising, as most smartphone users have grown accustomed to making micro transactions in app stores or through in-app payments. The difference between spending a few pence on an app and a few pounds in a retail shop is philosophical and not technical in nature. In fact, it appears that humble micro transactions have already done more for m-commerce confidence than all the fancy services rolled out by credit card companies and tech outfits.

In spite of that, smartphones will not replace wallets, at least not entirely and certainly not anytime soon. Cash can’t be hacked, it can’t be rendered useless by a flat battery or a few drops of lager. In some cases it is just more practical. The same pretty much goes for credit cards. Smartphones have their own set of advantages. Motorway tolls, public transportation, congestion charges and parking based on GPS information are some that come to mind. Phones are an excellent payment platform, but they will complement cash and cards, not replace them.

20 shops close a day and it’s getting worse

Posted on February 28, 2013 by - News, Opinions

highstreetRetail chains in Britain closed an average of 20 stores a day over the past year. According to a report by the Local Data Company and PwC, the number of shop closures in 2012 soared tenfold on the year before.

It makes for some depressing reading to say the least. The survey found that 1,779 stores were closed in 2012, compared to just 174 in 2011.

The downturn seems to be affecting every sector, from travel agents and sports goods shops, to banks, computer game shops and jewellers. However, some businesses seem to have bucked the trend, including charity shops, pawnbrokers, pound shops, betting shops and payday loan companies, basically all the services people are likely to use when they are broke like Greece and out of work like Spanish youths.

It gets worse. The number of closures is predicted to rise and the rate of closures in December, January and February is up and could hit 28 a day. Many companies are falling into administration, including former heavyweights like HMV. Blockbuster, Jessops and Comet are down and out as well.

Mike Jervis, insolvency partner and retail specialist at PwC believes the downward trend is getting even worse in 2013.

“2012 saw more retail chains go into insolvency than ever before. The failed chains generally shared two problems- too many stores and too little multi-channel activity,” he said. “A number of them had failed to deal with their underlying issues by hiding behind light touch restructuring processes, especially Company Voluntary Arrangements.”

Christine Cross, chief retail adviser to PwC, said the figures are more disappointing than many had hoped, but she pointed out that several major chains were forced to resort to closures and this was anticipated for a long time.

“What is surprising is the speed at which stores have been picked up by value and grocery retailers in particular. Good businesses with good operating models and good people don’t fail,” she said.

Although closures are up across the board, some regions have taken a bigger hit than others. The South East leads the way with 376 closures, 265 shops closed their doors in West Midlands and the North West saw 215 closures. The North East, Scotland, Yorkshire and the Humber stayed in double digits.

Radeon bundle gambit pays off for AMD

Posted on February 27, 2013 by - Gossip, News, Products

amdhq1Earlier this month AMD went into damage control mode, after comments made by an exec in China were misinterpreted by tech hacks, or Google translate. The comments seemed to indicate that AMD’s next generation Radeons will not appear this year, while in fact AMD’s strategy this year will be to focus on HD 7000 sales, with HD 8000 products coming on line in late 2013. 

iPad thrashes Android tablets in enterprise

Posted on February 27, 2013 by - News, Products

ipad-enterpriseAlthough Apple is losing tablet market share to cheaper Android tablets, the iPad is still the clear leader in corporations.

According to a report from mobile device management outfit Good Technology, the iPad accounted for 93.2 percent of tablet activations across its business oriented consumer base. Android ended up with just 6.8 percent.

Mind you, Good Technology serves one in two Fortune 100 companies, which means its clients are not Facebook addicted teens.

However, Google is making up ground. A year ago, Google’s share of tablet activations was a mere 2.7 percent and it more than doubled in under a year. At this rate it will barely creep into double digit territory by the end of 2013.

Good Technology attributes Apple’s massive lead in business to a combination of factors, such as BYOD, the sheer popularity and user base of the iPad and the consumerization of IT. Then there is the ecosystem. Apple still enjoys a clear lead in iOS productivity apps and tablet centric apps in general.

Oddly enough, Apple’s lead extends to smartphones as well. The business crowd is usually associated with boring BlackBerry devices, but Good’s figures reveal that the iPhone accounted for 77 percent of activations across its user base and its share is still growing. It was 71 percent in Q4 2011. The ecosystem gap between iOS and Android is not as significant in phones as it is in the tablet space, so it is more than likely that business users are choosing it for the sake of compatibility, or superior build quality.

Now it’s Microsoft’s turn to take on the iPad in enterprise, with Windows RT and Windows 8 tablets. And fail.

Google needs no shops says Rubin

Posted on February 27, 2013 by - News, Products

nexus7Rumours of Google’s retail store push seem to have been just that, groundless rumours. Android boss Andy Rubin now says that Google does not need its own retail stores.

Speaking to AllThingsD, Rubin said the need for physical stores is simply not there anymore. Consumers can get plenty of information online or through word of mouth.

Taking into account the sheer volume of bias and fanboy fuelled hype found in most tech reviews, we believe the latter option is a better choice.

However, Rubin believes consumers no longer have to go into stores to “feel” gadgets. He added that Google’s hardware effort is still in its infancy and we have to agree. Google’s Nexus programme is basically a way of showing the world how not to launch and market phones, or how to ruin perfectly good products with terrible execution.

“For Nexus, I don’t think the program is far enough along to think about the necessity of having these things in a retail store,” said Rubin. He went on to say that Google has no retail store plans and that it has nothing to announce. That’s nada.

For some strange reason, Google seems to view Nexus gear as a nuisance, something to get out of the way while developing newer versions of Android and web services. Tangible stuff is dirty in the Google mindset. Even Rubin refers to his own Nexus gear as “these things,” rather than actual products that could be very competitive and generate plenty of revenue if Google somehow managed to do things right.

Just ask Samsung.

Retail sales index slump blamed on weather

Posted on February 26, 2013 by - News

snow-london

UK retail sales are down and it seems the slump is worse than economists had predicted. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), retail sales will hit a five-month low in February.

Although volumes continued to strengthen in the first half of February, the pace of growth slowed down once again. CBI found that 37 percent of retailers saw an increase in their volume in early 2013, while 29 percent reported a decline.

The resulting balance of 8 percent was the lowest figure since September 2012. It was also the third consecutive month in which the pace of growth had slowed. Economists expected growth to drop to 16 percent, down from 17 in January. They also expected the volume of orders to remain flat, but they fell 19 percent, the lowest figure since November 2011.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. CBI reckons the business situation is actually improving. The business situation balance rose to +12, the best result since August 2011. Some retail sub-sectors also did quite well, such as clothing, furniture and none-store goods, which includes online and mail order sales. In fact, non-store sales were up 70 percent.

“We all know trading is tough, and the bad weather hasn’t exactly been encouraging shoppers to hit the high street lately,” said Barry Williams, Chairman of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey.

So, it appears that strong non-store sales had a lot to do with horrid weather, and the weather also contributed to the sharp decline in retail footfall last month.

Posh hotels gouge guests for Wi-Fi

Posted on February 26, 2013 by - News, Opinions

hotel-roomIt is no secret that free Wi-Fi is good for business, so it is available practically everywhere, from pubs and service stations, to public institutions.

However, it is still not available in most hotels and according to a survey carried out by travel site Gogobot, posh hotels are still charging an arm and a leg for a bit of Wi-Fi.

On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with charging a few pounds for unlimited Wi-Fi, but the survey also confirms another angle – the pricier the hotel, the pricier the Wi-Fi. It is cheeky, to say the least.

Gogobot’s survey of UK hotels revealed that some establishments, such as the Hilton, charge as much as £15 per day. Smaller boutique or independent hotels are cheaper and some offer free Wi-Fi, while others charge up to £5 and £8 per day. It doesn’t sound like too much, but the cost can quickly add up in a matter of days and it is obvious that frequent travellers (or their employers) could end up wasting hundreds of pounds on overpriced Wi-Fi over the course of a single year.

What’s more, the survey found that Wi-Fi access was at times spotty and unreliable, reports Mashable. Quality remains a problem, no matter how much you pay.

“There is no correlation between the amount you pay and the quality you get,” Kelly Lees, general manager in Europe said. She argued that tetherless travel is here to stay and the days of connecting to the internet using Ethernet in hotels are “long gone”.

However, things could be about to change. Lees says Wi-Fi prices are starting to affect hotel ratings. Travellers who believe they were ripped off on Wi-Fi will not give hotels a five-star rating. In addition, the availability of low cost 3G/4G services could make hotel Wi-Fi as obsolete as Ethernet, unless hotels finally realize that they stand to gain more by offering free Wi-Fi rather than making their guests pay through the nose for every byte consumed on business trips.

Warehouse space hits record low

Posted on February 25, 2013 by - News

forkliftRetail is hurting and the slowdown now appears to be trickling down to warehouse outfits, who are slowly running out of space. 

According to a report from Jones Lang LaSalle, the amount of warehouse space available in the UK is at its lowest level since records began. Some regions are already experiencing shortages of immediately available space.

Tim Johnson of Jones Lang LaSalle told Logistics Manager that the amount of immediately available new floor space is at its lowest level since his outfit started keeping records and it currently sits at just 8 million sq ft UK-wide.

“This is 71 per cent below its pre-recession peak of nearly 29 million sq ft in March 2008 – this definitely affected take up levels last year,” he said.

The vacancy rate in December 2012 stood at about 10 percent across the UK. Overall take-up in 2012 was lower than in 2011 due to a lower level of overall economic activity. Worse, occupier demand slowed down in 2012, but even so the amount of available space kept declining. Construction of new facilities slowed down after the 2008 meltdown and it is currently at the lowest level since 2005.

Jon Sleeman, director EMEA Logistics & Industrial Research at Jones Lang LaSalle, pointed out that the availability of good quality space is now becoming a real issue and some clients are being forced to consider alternatives, such as build to suit developments. On a positive note, he argued that some developers with infrastructure and planning in place stand to benefit from the downturn.