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Wednesday 09 February 2011

HP Introduces The TouchPad [ 09-02-2011 19:23 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith

The third major product announcement from HP today was of course the much anticipated tablet, the HP TouchPad. The Veer and the Pre 3 look great, but this was always what the event was really about.

It's running a previously unseed webOS 3.0 build and is just a smidgen smaller than the iPad, sporting a 9.7 inch display. It's just over one and a half pounds in weight and measures just under 14mm thick.

In terms of the actual specifications we're looking at a 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB (or 32 GB) of internal storage and all the usual wireless connectivity options. The initial version will support WiFi only, but 3G and 4G versions will be released later.

The demo of the TouchPad in action really presented it in a good light, full screen Flash video played back smoothly and webpages rendered about as well as they would on the desktop. The interface looked to really flow with things like notifications being unobtrusive whilst access to services like Twitter and Facebook was pretty effortless.

The real killer here though is the interplay between the TouchPad and the Pre 3. The TouchPad can handle calls, video calls (yes it has a front facing camera) and text messages when you aren't using your Pre 3. The interaction was extremely fluid and the ability to transfer content from one to the other (called 'Touch-to-Share') e.g. the webpage you are currently viewing looks, for lack of a better word, breathtaking.

There are other tablets out there of course, but ever since the iPad this is really the first tablet I've heard about that really feels like it's bring a new game to town. HP have really raised the bar with this one.

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HP Veer: Itsy Bitsy Power House [ 09-02-2011 19:13 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: via Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith

The Pre 3 might be stealing the majority of the headlines in the coming days, but HP also unveiled the HP Veer today, a diminutive little smartphone that is about the size of a credit card.

Don't let the small stature fool you though, like it's bigger brother the Veer is doing some serious business under the hood. Take the processor, for example, it's a 800 Mhz Qualcomm affair, not bad at all given the size of the handset and more than adequate for most tasks. The camera comes in at 5 MP just like it's big brother the Pre 3 and there are all the usual connectivity options e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.

The screen is obviously smaller, measuring a still respectable 2.6 inches with a 320x400 resolution. It was hard to see from the presentation, but given the size of the handset overall I'm left wondering how usable the QWERTY keyboard will be.

Given how popular itsy bitsy handset tend to be, just look at the likes of the X10 Mini, which got quite the following, the Veer could prove to be a pretty big hit for HP.

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Pre 3 Brings New Awesomeness To webOS [ 09-02-2011 18:49 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith

HP have just taken the lid off their new smartphone, the Pre 3. Unimaginatively titled it may be, but this thing is packing some very serious fire power.

If the Pre 2 wasn't exactly setting the world ablaze as a successor to the original Pre the Pre 3 is definitely bringing the goods. The form factor is pretty much the same as previous models, but there are some pretty sweet improvements here such as the 800x480 3.6 inch screen and the QWERTY keypad looks more spacious too.

Under the hood there is a ridiculously fast 1.4 Ghz (yes 1.4 Ghz!) Qualcomm chip that runs the whole thing with 512 MB of RAM to back it up (the same as the Pre 2). The handset supports 720p HD video and sports a 5 MP camera on the back for taking pictures as well as a front facing camera for video calling.

Undoutedly the coolest part of today's announcement was the interaction between the Pre 3 and the new HP tablet, the TouchPad. Tapping the Pre 3 against the TouchPad immediately transfered a web page from the tablet to the phone. You can't get much slicker than that. The two devices also hook up in other ways, such as text messages and phone calls transferring to the tablet when the phone isn't being used.

The single most annoying thing about the Pre 3 is how long we will have to wait to get our hands on it though ... summer 2011. Bah!

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N9 Cancelled? [ 09-02-2011 18:35 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: Reuters Translation by: Paul Smith

Reuters are running a report saying that the Nokia N9 has been scrapped, before it even fully launched. Citing industry sources 'close to the company' the report states that development on the N9 has now ended, but that another MeeGo device could be unveiled next week at MWC.

In his memo to the company CEO Stephen Elop made mention of one MeeGo device this year and if there is to be a new handset introduced at MWC then presumably the N9 really is on the way out the door. If the N9 really has been cancelled then it represents a hard blow to MeeGo ever really taking off and is likely to shake investor confidence as well as casting a shadow over the whole ecosystem.

With a major strategic announcement expected on Friday these are proving to be stormy days for Nokia and all eyes will be looking to see what the Finnish company can pull out of the hat to turn things around

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Google: Nokia & Microsoft Are 'Turkeys' [ 09-02-2011 18:20 ]

Author: Ivanov Konstantin Source: The Next Web Translation by: Paul Smith

With Nokia expected to make some sort of strategic announcement about the company's future direction on Friday the betting man has been putting good money on some sort of partnership being announced with Microsoft. If there was ever any credence to a possible Nokia-Android partnership that seems to be completely off the table now with Google's VP of Engineering tweeting:

Note the hashtag, the quote is thus in reference to Nokia and Microsoft. Apart from circumstantialy confirming that there is indeed a deal between the two about to be announced it underlines that Google is not in the least worried by such a collaboration.

Interestingly, and whether intentional or otherwise, the tweet harkens back to a comment made by Nokia about the partnership between BenQ and Siemens. Those two companies were described as turkeys by Nokia's then executive VP Anssi Vanjoki with the meaning being that it was no threat to Nokia.

Whether such a partnership will turn out to be a threat to Android remains to be seen, but given Android's current performance Google can be forgiven for feeling less than threatened.

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Memo From Nokia CEO Lays It Bare [ 09-02-2011 17:52 ]

Author: Serge Novikov Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith

Whizzing around the internet today is a remarkable document from Nokia, an internal memo from new CEO Stephen Elop that assesses the company's situation and pulls no punches in doing so. So without further ado let's get right into the memo!

The assessment the memo presents of Nokia is not a good one. It lays out the situation that we tech writers and just about anyone with even a passing interest in mobile phones is already aware of: Nokia has lost its momentum and ceded the market to other, more innovative companies. That's the long and short of it.

Mr Elop makes reference to Apple and Google in particular as having effectively challenged Nokia in the high-end, and in Android's case, the mid-range too. His view of Apple is nicely summed up in one particularly striking line: "They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range." He also acknowledges Google's Android has shifted the market "Google has become a gravitational force, drawing much of the industry's innovation to its core." These quotes may not seem particularly hard hitting, after all we in the mobile tech brigade have been saying as much for a while now, but remember who typed those lines; the head of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer.

One particular quote that really struck me encapsulated the whole situation for Nokia's smartphone business:

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.

Note the word 'Unbelievable' at the end of that quote. That one word really sums up what has happened to Nokia over the past three or four years. For Nokia, sitting high in its ivory tower overlooking all the other manufacturers it really must have been unbelievable that their insurmountable position at the top of the pile could be so effectively and so rapidly challenged.

It's not just the likes of Google and Apple that are causing concern at Nokia, the cheaply produced handsets appearing in China are eroding Nokia's market share in developing markets. Mr Elop notes that around a third of mobile phones sold globally are the masses of cheap devices coming out of China.

So what is to be done about this state of affairs? Well the memo contains nothing specific, although there is a hint that all options are on the table including joining an existing eco-system. There are already rumours that Nokia will announce a partnership with Microsoft on Friday. Indeed the memo does mention that a new startegy will be announced on Friday, but exactly what that will be remains to be seen.

The full memo is included below:

Hello there,

There is a pertinent story about a man who was working on an oil platform in the North Sea. He woke up one night from a loud explosion, which suddenly set his entire oil platform on fire. In mere moments, he was surrounded by flames. Through the smoke and heat, he barely made his way out of the chaos to the platform's edge. When he looked down over the edge, all he could see were the dark, cold, foreboding Atlantic waters.

As the fire approached him, the man had mere seconds to react. He could stand on the platform, and inevitably be consumed by the burning flames. Or, he could plunge 30 meters in to the freezing waters. The man was standing upon a "burning platform," and he needed to make a choice.

He decided to jump. It was unexpected. In ordinary circumstances, the man would never consider plunging into icy waters. But these were not ordinary times - his platform was on fire. The man survived the fall and the waters. After he was rescued, he noted that a "burning platform" caused a radical change in his behaviour.

We too, are standing on a "burning platform," and we must decide how we are going to change our behaviour.

Over the past few months, I've shared with you what I've heard from our shareholders, operators, developers, suppliers and from you. Today, I'm going to share what I've learned and what I have come to believe.

I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform.

And, we have more than one explosion - we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fuelling a blazing fire around us.

For example, there is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever expected. Apple disrupted the market by redefining the smartphone and attracting developers to a closed, but very powerful ecosystem.

In 2008, Apple's market share in the $300+ price range was 25 percent; by 2010 it escalated to 61 percent. They are enjoying a tremendous growth trajectory with a 78 percent earnings growth year over year in Q4 2010. Apple demonstrated that if designed well, consumers would buy a high-priced phone with a great experience and developers would build applications. They changed the game, and today, Apple owns the high-end range.

And then, there is Android. In about two years, Android created a platform that attracts application developers, service providers and hardware manufacturers. Android came in at the high-end, they are now winning the mid-range, and quickly they are going downstream to phones under €100. Google has become a gravitational force, drawing much of the industry's innovation to its core.

Let's not forget about the low-end price range. In 2008, MediaTek supplied complete reference designs for phone chipsets, which enabled manufacturers in the Shenzhen region of China to produce phones at an unbelievable pace. By some accounts, this ecosystem now produces more than one third of the phones sold globally - taking share from us in emerging markets.

While competitors poured flames on our market share, what happened at Nokia? We fell behind, we missed big trends, and we lost time. At that time, we thought we were making the right decisions; but, with the benefit of hindsight, we now find ourselves years behind.

The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable.

We have some brilliant sources of innovation inside Nokia, but we are not bringing it to market fast enough. We thought MeeGo would be a platform for winning high-end smartphones. However, at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market.

At the midrange, we have Symbian. It has proven to be non-competitive in leading markets like North America. Additionally, Symbian is proving to be an increasingly difficult environment in which to develop to meet the continuously expanding consumer requirements, leading to slowness in product development and also creating a disadvantage when we seek to take advantage of new hardware platforms. As a result, if we continue like before, we will get further and further behind, while our competitors advance further and further ahead.

At the lower-end price range, Chinese OEMs are cranking out a device much faster than, as one Nokia employee said only partially in jest, "the time that it takes us to polish a PowerPoint presentation." They are fast, they are cheap, and they are challenging us.

And the truly perplexing aspect is that we're not even fighting with the right weapons. We are still too often trying to approach each price range on a device-to-device basis.

The battle of devices has now become a war of ecosystems, where ecosystems include not only the hardware and software of the device, but developers, applications, ecommerce, advertising, search, social applications, location-based services, unified communications and many other things. Our competitors aren't taking our market share with devices; they are taking our market share with an entire ecosystem. This means we're going to have to decide how we either build, catalyse or join an ecosystem.

This is one of the decisions we need to make. In the meantime, we've lost market share, we've lost mind share and we've lost time.

On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's informed that they will put our A long term and A-1 short term ratings on negative credit watch. This is a similar rating action to the one that Moody's took last week. Basically it means that during the next few weeks they will make an analysis of Nokia, and decide on a possible credit rating downgrade. Why are these credit agencies contemplating these changes? Because they are concerned about our competitiveness.

Consumer preference for Nokia declined worldwide. In the UK, our brand preference has slipped to 20 percent, which is 8 percent lower than last year. That means only 1 out of 5 people in the UK prefer Nokia to other brands. It's also down in the other markets, which are traditionally our strongholds: Russia, Germany, Indonesia, UAE, and on and on and on.

How did we get to this point? Why did we fall behind when the world around us evolved?

This is what I have been trying to understand. I believe at least some of it has been due to our attitude inside Nokia. We poured gasoline on our own burning platform. I believe we have lacked accountability and leadership to align and direct the company through these disruptive times. We had a series of misses. We haven't been delivering innovation fast enough. We're not collaborating internally.

Nokia, our platform is burning.

We are working on a path forward -- a path to rebuild our market leadership. When we share the new strategy on February 11, it will be a huge effort to transform our company. But, I believe that together, we can face the challenges ahead of us. Together, we can choose to define our future.

The burning platform, upon which the man found himself, caused the man to shift his behaviour, and take a bold and brave step into an uncertain future. He was able to tell his story. Now, we have a great opportunity to do the same.

Stephen.