Smart Office

Menu

David Richards

OZ Auto Technology Scores A Gig In Chicago

by

The Yanks like their cars big so the Aussie designers at the General have dished up a beast of a vehicle which will go on show at the Chicago Motor Show this week.

A concept car designed and built in Australia is about to take centre stage at the Chicago Auto Show. The hybrid-powered GMC Denali XT, a cross between a sports utility vehicle and a more traditional US style pick-up truck, was produced at GM Holden’s design centre at Port Melbourne.


Click to enlarge

US web site Auto Blog said “Ever since it became know that GM would be bringing the rear-wheel-drive Pontiac G8 sedan to the US market from Australia, fans of the old El Camino have been salivating for them to bring over the Holden “Ute”, as well. For the uninitiated, Australians use the term “Ute” to describe utility vehicles that are car-based pickup trucks. Both Holden and Ford offer Utes based on their rear-wheel-drive passenger car platforms.

 

 

 

 

 



Camino fans can now relax, because the first US iteration is arriving in Chicago this week and it’s got some interesting twists. The GMC Denali XT concept is inspired by the Holden Crewman, which was a four-door variant of the Commodore with a pickup truck bed out back. While this layout is nothing new to our friends Down Under, what is unique to the Denali XT is its powertrain, and it provides some interesting hints as to what we might be seeing in this and other vehicles from the General.

“This was a great program to work on as I was given the opportunity to really stretch the limits of the global rear-wheel-drive architecture and create a truck with unique and bold proportions,” said lead designer Warrack Leach.


Click to enlarge

“GMC has such a rich heritage of producing great trucks and it was essential we kept that in mind while at the same time exploring how far we could take this concept.”

The Denali XT features a more efficient 4.9 litre version of GM’s small-block V8 which has been combined with the company’s two-mode hybrid propulsion system. Capable of running on all electric power at lower speeds, the concept vehicle provides for a 50 per cent fuel economy improvement over comparable small pick-up trucks.

Although just a concept at this stage, GMC general manager Jim Bunnell said the Denali XT was perfectly suited to a variety of active lifestyle activities. “Like all GMCs, the Denali XT is functional and capable, but it blends those traits with a more efficient, sporty driving experience,” Mr Bunnell said.

 

“It is a vehicle that exemplifies GMCs engineering excellence, as well as GMs commitment to hybrid and advanced technologies.” The vehicle will be on display at the Chicago show from February 6-17.

Telstra Launch World First Wireless Modem Capable Of Speeds Up To 35Mbps

by

Telstra has just delivered the Federal Opposition a leg up with the release of a brand new Wireless modem than is capable of speeds up to 35Mbs. The modem which runs on the Telstra Next G Network delivers the world’s fastest national mobile broadband service, works in all capital cities and more than 100 regional centres.

Officially Telstra is claiming speeds up to 20Mps, in a demonstration conducted in Melbourne Telstra was able to achieve speeds of up to 28Mbps and up to 35Mbs during a press event in Sydney.
The new Ultimate USB is up to twice as fast as Telstra’s current fastest Next G modem.
Two thousand devices have launched today for Telstra business customers, before the widespread launch of the Ultimate later this year.
Right now wireless and fibre broadband is flavour of the day with politicans, as Labor slug it out with the Liberal Coalition who are proposing a $6.5 Billion dollar Wireless Network Vs Labors $45 Billion NBN fibre offering. 
At a delayed press briefing in Sydney today Telstra executives refused to get drawn into the political debate of fibre Vs wireless. “Its business as normal at Telstra and that means getting on with launching fast wireless broadband” said Mike Wright of Telstra’s Network Products and Services Group. 
The event which was originally scheduled for the week after the election was postponed until today.
“These new speeds mean that Australian’s can now access mobile broadband at speeds typically reserved for the office,” Telstra Business Group Managing Director, Deena Shiff said.
In area’s outside of the CBD and the 100 regional centres nominated by Telstra users of the Ultimate USB Modem will get typical download speeds of up to 8Mbps, which is still significantly faster than Telstra’s mobile broadband competitors.
“And like all Next G devices, the service always operates at 3G speeds and won’t drop back to 2G like our competitors’ mobile broadband services can do,” Ms Shiff said.

 
 “The new Telstra Ultimate USB Modem provides customers with the speeds needed to handle large files, multitask and update cloud-hosted applications effortlessly on the go.”
The Telstra Ultimate USB Modem is the world’s first commercial modem to use a new generation of mobile broadband technology called dual channel HSPA+. The modem and enabling network technology was developed in collaboration with technology companies Ericsson, Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless.
Pricing and availability
The Telstra Ultimate USB can be purchased in conjunction with a range of mobile broadband plans including for $0 upfront with a $69 plan over 24 months (minimum total cost $1,656) or outright for $299. It is available from 25 August through Telstra Business and Telstra Enterprise & Government account managers.

Dell Praised For Quick Response

by

ell who is recalling more than four million lithium-ion batteries, the largest PC recall in PC consumer history, have been praised for thier efforts after videos of computers erupting into flames began showing up on websites.

 Dell, previously slow to respond to consumers, has quickly mobilised a massive effort to address its customer’s computer battery problems.
 
the viral rounds. But marketing experts said Dell — which hasn’t exactly been known for swift consumer response — is doing the smart thing with a recall that could actually result in long-term benefits for the brand.

Eating all costs
“The fact that they’re eating all the costs and getting Sony [the maker of the battery] to ramp up production of a battery that’s not even made anymore, delivering to customers as quickly as possible, and offering apologies and mea culpas, those are exactly the right moves to be making,” said Jeff Swystun, global director at Interbrand.

In the short term, the bad news is the impression of poor quality will create a rather strong negative impression of Dell, and, to a lesser extent, Sony. The good news is that Dell is addressing the problems fast and transparently, using its month-old blog to communicate with consumers.

Blog apology
Company executives have posted several long blog reports, including one from Alex Gruzen, who heads the company’s mobility group, in which he apologized to “all affected customers” and invited comments. (There were 18 as of press time.) Other posts from the digital-media manager even dispute news reports, in particular one in which a former Dell technician said the overheating problem began years ago.

Dell is also tracking customer calls, website hits, and batteries shipped so far on direct2dell.com. Since the announcement, Dell has been handling 500 calls every 30 minutes, with more than 15.4 million people accessing the recall website (Dellbatteryprogram.com). More than 84,000 orders for new batteries have been taken.

“It’s a customer-service nightmare any way you look at it,” said Jupiter Research analyst Emily Riley. “But as quickly as they can address it and as completely as possible, the better.”

Additional worries
Dell, already beset by customer-service problems that grew out of unaddressed complaints by well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis, could ill afford another public debacle, especially as the company gets set to release less-than-stellar third-quarter figures Aug. 17.

However, there is also an opportunity to turn the recall into a positive, analysts agreed. If Dell can truly make the recall experience as painless and friendly as possible, consumers could walk away with a better impression of the company.

“The possibility here is that customers are so thrilled by the process and how they are treated, that they actually think more of Dell when it’s all done,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group. “They’re really trying to take this opportunity to not only touch customers, but to be apologetic, transparent, open about the process, and let customers know that working with Dell is a pleasure. Particularly if you walk away with the idea that Dell isn’t the only one having battery problems — and they’re not.”

 

GNC LiveWell Sale Campaign Misleading Shoppers

by

The NSW Department of Fair Trading is set to be asked to investigate the activities of GNC LiveWell which operates retail health stores in Australia following complaints that the company is engaging in misleading marketing.

Currently the Australian operation which is part of a Singapore based GNC LiveWell franchise is running an up to 40% discount sale based on 25% off for two items 30% for 3 items up to 40% off for 4 items.  However when customers go to collect the discounts they are told that they are not available.

Renowned for their expensive vitamins and health care products, GNC LiveWell is the world’s largest health retailer specialising in herb, vitamin, weight management and sports nutrition. GNC has over 6,000 stores in 40 countries worldwide.

Investigations by SmartOffice of GNC LiveWell stores such as the one at North Sydney’s Greenwood Plaza found that the stores are plastered with point of sale material advertising the offer. Shelves of vitamins have pointers that say “20% 30% 40% off these items.


Click to enlarge


The only problem is that the discounts are not available on many of the advertised items despite advertising indicating that discounts are available.

 

When SmartOffice visited the North Sydney store we collected two items from shelves marked with the discount offer. At the checkout till the items were rung up with GNC LiveWell staff asking for the full retail price of the items which were not cheap at $89.50.

When questioned why the 25% discount was not being applied the staff said, “The discounts do not apply to these items” When we point to the shelf where the goods had come from along with the poster saying 20% 30% 40% off these items they said, “It is all marketing, we are not giving discounts to items on those shelves. The discounts apply to other products.”

When we questioned as to why pointers were on the shelves where the items had come from indicating that discounts were available a manager stepped in saying, “It is all marketing, everyone does it”.

When we pointed out to her one of the posters that promoted the offer of a 25% discount off two items she said, “Conditions apply”. When it was pointed out that the word conditions apply was not showing she lifted up the plastic display item to show the words in 8point type hidden from view.

Other posters in the store also had the words conditions apply yet when we asked to see those conditions the manager was unable to produce the written conditions.

When it was put to her that this was blatantly misleading she said, “It’s all advertising and marketing, everyone does it we are not alone. If you want to take the issue up with management call our head office.”

Police Seize Monitors Packed With Coke

by

Computer Monitors being shipped from Canada have netted Australian Federal Police 135Kilo of Cocaine worth more than $35 million dollars. It is believed that the gang shipping the goods had knowledge of the IT industry in Australia and links to a Queensland IT dealer.

 

 Federal Police also suspect the operation was linked to a massive international drug importation racket where IT gear was being used to ship illegal substances. According to Federal Police sources in Canberra it is the third time this year that police have detected illegal substances in gear being shipped from Canada.

The second major consignment of illegal drugs intercepted en route from Canada in the past four months, the container of 420 monitors was selected by Customs for x-ray in Brisbane on September 8.

Cocaine was found in 136 sealed packets concealed in 33 of the monitors, with 120,000 ecstasy tablets also discovered, worth an estimated $3.5 million, the Australian Federal Police said.

Five men were arrested in Brisbane last night after earlier trying to access the shipment at a warehouse. A sixth – allegedly the intended recipient of the importation – was arrested at eastern Sydney’s Darling Point.

Search warrants were executed at Geebung, Kangaroo Point, Spring Hill and the CBD in Brisbane, as well as at premises in Coolangatta and Sydney’s Darling Point. It is believed to be the biggest seizure of the drug in Queensland’s history, and the nation’s fifth-largest – the most significant since almost one tonne was found off Western Australia in July 2001.

AFP National Manager Border and International Network Mike Phelan said it was likely the shipments were linked to a sophisticated international drug ring.

“The AFP believes the people who have been arrested and charged in this operation were part of a highly sophisticated international drug importation and distribution network,” Mr Phelan said. “The AFP is currently liaising with its law enforcement colleagues in Canada and conducting further inquiries in relation to this significant importation and the international syndicate allegedly responsible for it.”

The five Brisbane men have been charged with a number of offences, including importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, and are due to face Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

The Sydney man will appear in Central Local Court charged with two counts of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.

The offences carry a maximum penalty of $825,000 or life imprisonment.

Thrifty Car Rental Spooks Market

by

There is no better indicator of an economy than the performance of car rental companies. When the going is good Companies rent. So when Thrifty recently reported a major downturn analysts got spooked.

Dollar Thrifty says it expects its full year earnings to be 90 to 95 cents per share, way off analysts’ estimates and the company’s own prediction of earnings from $1.70 to $1.85 per share.

The results demonstrate “the headwinds that have affected the car rental industry,” noted Christina Woo, an analyst at Morgan Stanley (MS). She listed the factors behind the disappointment, with a 40 to 45 cents per share hit from “weaker than expected travel demand” at the top of the list.

“It puts on display how sensitive their business is to overall consumer spending and consumer travel habits,” says Morningstar (MORN) analyst Sumit Desai.

Poor Canadian results took a toll, causing a 25 cents per share hit to earnings.

But Dollar Thrifty also absorbed some of the problems afflicting Detroit automakers, the main vehicle suppliers to the industry. Problems delivering new cars caused a 15-cent hit to earnings, while the weak used car market made it less profitable to resell cars, causing a 10-cent hit.

 

Car rentals are basically a “commodity product,” Desai says, with most customers choosing the cheaper rental every time. Troubled times for Chrysler, Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) mean the automakers are trying to extract more profits from rental companies. But, in such a competitive business, rental firms have a tough time passing those higher costs onto customers, especially if travel demand is weak.

“The car rental companies are basically at the mercy of Detroit,” Desai says.

In the past year, Hertz is off 24%, Avis Budget is down 55% and Dollar Thrifty has fallen 65%. By late on Feb. 4, both Hertz and Avis Budget shares had recovered from their lowest levels of the trading day. That perhaps reflected optimism that they will partly escape the tough times afflicting Dollar Thrifty.

Investors can hope for better days ahead, but the danger for investors is that a serious recession could undercut profits even further. If consumers keep cutting back on spending, Dollar Thrifty’s woes could be an early sign of worse times for not just rental companies but the entire travel industry

 

Yahoo Snubs Australia With New Mail Service

by

Yahoo is introducing a new mail structure that allows users to trade messages with mobile phone users, however Australians are at this stage being denied access to the service, though it is being rolled out in the Philippines.

The new e-mail-to-phone connection is one of the features the Internet media giant plans to add as it makes available to the more than 250 million Yahoo Mail users a new version of the world’s most popular e-mail program in coming weeks.

The Yahoo Mail overhaul is part of a drive to transform its e-mail franchise into more of a social activity that blends the convenience of instant communication with the implicit network of relationships found in one’s online address book.

Already this year Yahoo has been testing another feature that lets its e-mail users communicate using conventional e-mail or via instant messages using either Yahoo Messenger or Microsoft Live Messenger.

“Our goal is to make (Yahoo) Mail a more social experience,” John Kremer, vice president of Yahoo Mail, said in a phone interview. “We really look at ourselves as sitting on top of the largest dormant social network out there.”

Kremer said by upgrading the e-mail service technology, the Sunnyvale, California-based company aims to lay the groundwork for adding more social-networking features later this year.

Yahoo is scrambling to make its services more relevant as many Internet users spend more and more time on social networks like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook and less time passing through portals like Yahoo, AOL.com or Microsoft Corp’s MSN.

The new version of Yahoo Mail gives users three options for communicating with contacts — e-mail, online instant-messaging or text-messaging to mobile phone users. Users can switch between the three, depending on which is most convenient.

Initially, the text-messaging feature will be available to Yahoo Mail members in the United States, Canada, India and the Philippines. To text a friend, users simply enter a mobile phone number, type a text message in Yahoo Mail and hit send. 

LG OZ Appoints New Marketing Director

by

EXCLUSIVE: LG Australia has appointed a former Electrolux and Johnson and Johnson marketing executive as their new Marketing Director to replace the dumped David Brand.

Nick Gibson, who quit Electrolux in March 2009 to start NP Gibson Consulting was prior to that, the Vice President Product Development Asia Pacific for Fabric Care, and Marketing Director Electrolux Australia. He worked there between June 2005 and March 2009.
Prior to that he was Marketing Director at Johnson & Johnson Pacific where he worked for five years.
The appointment follows a major shake up at LG Australia who is still facing a multimillion dollar fine following false marketing claims that were exposed by Choice Australia. 


Click to enlarge
Nick Gibson Centre at Electrolux function.
Currently under investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, LG Australia is facing further fines for misleading consumers after consumer watchdog Choice claimed that LG Electronics haD duped consumers by using an illegal device within some fridges to make them appear more energy efficient.
Earlier this year Choice, said that they had recently discovered a banned circumvention device within two LG fridges which overestimates the energy efficiency of the product. Choice reported the problem to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Shortly afterwards LG Electronics in Korea moved to restructure their Australian operation. 
During the past six months LG Australia has dumped several senior executives including the marketing manager of Audio Visual Consumer Products, the Marketing Manager of their mobile Division the overall Marketing Manager of LG Australia David Brand.

 
Also dumped was the company’s Australian Managing Director, Daniel Shin. He was replaced by William Cho who previously was Managing Director of LG Canada.
According to Brad Reed, a former Nokia Executive who was recently appointed Marketing Manager of Mobile at LG Australia, the company is set to invest significantly in marketing. “The primary objective is to get LG Australia to #1 in the consumer electronics market” said Reed last night when launch two new LG Android phones into the Australian Smartphone market.

Senior Mobile Exec Quits Telstra

by

EXCLUSIVE: Ross Fielding the Executive Director Mobility Products & Device Management at Telstra has quite and will leave the Company this week after 23 years working for Telstra.

No explanation has been given by Telstra for Fielding’s departure who was a senior executive in the mobility division which in the last financial year grew 5.9%. 
In his role at Telstra Fielding was responsible for product strategy, planning, development and lifecycle management across the mobile division. 
Often the front executive for Telstra when vendors were launching new phones Fielding is tipped to be taking on a new role in the phone industry however he is at this stage refusing to say where he is going.
“I will be leaving Telstra on Thursday and at this stage I cannot say what I will be doing” he told ChannelNews. 
Prior to his current role, Fielding was Executive Director Strategy, Planning & Operations – Telstra Product Management (TPM) and played a key role in the establishment and structuring of the overall TPM group from its inception.  
 In this role, Ross was accountable for establishing the overall Product Strategy and Roadmaps (for all Telstra product sets – fixed, mobility, broadband and IP based), the development and management of the group’s business plans, the management of the Devices function (strategy / ranging / procurement / distribution / life cycle management) and the overall operational management of the TPM group.

 
Ross has been with Telstra for 23 years and has held executive positions in a variety of areas; Chief Information Officer – Consumer / Retail, teams both large and small.
Prior to joining Telstra, Ross worked with Ericsson Australia.
Ross has a Bachelor of Engineering (majoring in electronics / communications), is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and sits on the board of m.net Corporation Limited and AMTA (Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association).

Westpac Web Site Crashes Again Second Time This Week

by

Westpac’s Internet banking services has again crashed leaving tens of thousands of customers without access to their accounts, on what is a traditional busy Internet banking day, due to many employees being paid on a Thursday.

This is the second time this week that Westpac customers have been denied access to Internet banking.

On Tuesday customers of the bank that uses the slogan “We are a bank that you can bank on” were left without account access for over 7 hours.

On Tuesday Westpac blamed an overnight Authorised Program Analysis Report (APAR) patch for their problems however this time there is no explanation.

Insiders who have contacted SmartHouse claim that the crash could relate to “security” issues due constant Trojan attacks.

In 2008 the Westpac online site was down for five days due to the Company failing to install proper backup that allowed their systems to be restored from a mirror site after a technician pulled a power cable at the Companies North Ryde Processing Centre. 

The site which has been described as one of the “worst in Australia” processes millions of transaction daily.