They say a job is only a job, but apparently not when you work for Steve Jobs.
Oonagh Reidy
iPad 2 Sparks Beijing Store iRiot
Four people were hospitalised and several others injured at Apple store as iPad 2 queues lose control.
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We’ve heard of demand reaching fever pitch but this was far more sinister as sales of iPad 2 sparks a mini riot in Beijing with a glass door also being broken as part of the violence in the top Apple store, according to AP report.
The outburst happened in store located in the Sanlitun district in the Chinese capital, after a non Chinese employee allegedly pushed and beat crowds suspected of jumping the long lines queuing up get their hands on the iPad 2 which went on sale there on Friday, for the first time.
The crowd exploded in anger at the beatings and broke bottles and other devices in the incident.
And queues are no laughing matter apparently, with reports suggesting people are even selling their place in the line such is the feverish demand for Apple’s second ever tab device.
The Apple store also closed early on Saturday to avoid further madness inspired by the much sought after device, local news reports suggest.
The release also inspired long queues here with many Sydneysiders lining up over night and over the next week, when it was released in March.
Chinese buyers have also begun selling the device online for a profit, such is the enthusiasm for the iPad 2.
Google & Facebook’s Skype Scramble
It’s the battle of the titans.. over Skype.
Motorola Atrix $449 ‘Lapdock’ ..A No Brainer?
Last night Moto introduced Atrix, the “world’s most powerful smartphone” but also brought some other friends along.
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But is there a danger the new superphone could be too powerful? Well possibly when you connect it to the newly unveiled lapdock.
At its Sydney debut yesterday, it showcased Atrix’s computer buddy, the Lapdock (pictured), a “no brains” laptop docking device, allowing users view movies, apps and listen to music on a larger 11.6 inch screen.
In fact, Moto is so serious about its high end handset, they reckon users can throw their laptop out and let the Atrix take centre stage for all computing tasks at home or on the go, thanks to its new mobile docking concept.
The idea behind the lapdock is users who want to store all apps, music and memory solely on one small device can simply transfer on to a larger PC screen, which comes with full keyboard, track pad and speakers.
However, it appears there may be some holes in this technology, one in particular which struck attendees at the demo last night.
Number one, if users fork out $450 for the lapdock, what happens in a years’ time when they want to upgrade. Will its makers release newer smartphones which are lapdock compatible?
When quizzed about this, one Motorola exec I spoke with said he wasn’t sure about this and admitted it was a valid point.
Also, the price. Why would you want to spend $449 on a ‘no brains’ laptop on top of the price of the Atrix ($840 outright or bought on a Telstra package) when you could land a decent spec notebook or maybe even a tablet for that price?
And thirdly, it seems the lapdock might be biting off more than it can chew in terms of data.
Connecting an Atrix to the device means it will consume data at PC levels, although data allowances from most smartphones often have a 1/1.5GB ceiling and anything beyond that will mean an additional cost.
Moto’s Anthony Petts admitted he had exceeded his 1GB monthly data allowance when using the lapdock, despite never previously hitting the ceiling with previous devices.
Telstra’s Freedom package gives data allowances starting from just 1.5GB on $29 although this does extend to 12GB on the $79 cap plan.
Although it is a seriously nifty concept, incredibly light at 1.1kg and slips in easily at the back, eyebrows were definitely raised about its implications.
Atrix’s other “companion” docking stations include HD multimedia dock, retailing at $129, which has three USB ports and a HDMI out letting it connect to other devices, and to this end, has developed a new entertainment centre, which amasses all content into one location.
It also unveiled a stream of other accessories including a standard dock which also acts as a charger for the device as well as a bluetoooth keyboard ($79) and car charger ($69).
For the full lowdown on the Atrix read ‘Worlds Most Powerful’ Motorola Atrix $840: Can You Handle It? here
Telstra Lands New International Boss
Martijn Blanken is the new chief operating officer of Telstra International.
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Based in Hong Kong, Blanken will be responsible for its global network, IT and operations, as well as “strategic planning and control of the group’s technology roadmap,” Telstra said in a statement.
He will report to Tarek Robbiati, Group MD Telstra International, which is headquartered in Hong Kong.
Blanken joined the telco in 2009 and led “a major restructure program” focused on the network services business, which was attributed to the massive growth experienced by the division.
Prior to Telstra, Blanken was the GM and vice president, of Openwave Systems (Asia Pacific, Japan) as well as held several senior positions at European telco KPN Royal Dutch Telecom, including managing director of the Managed Services and Outsourcing division.
“With more than 16 years of sales, marketing, operational and executive management experience in telecommunications, software and service integration businesses, Martijn brings extensive expertise and talent to Telstra International, ,” said Robbiati.
“Martijn will play an integral role in realising the benefits of our recently-added capabilities from Reach and will be a key driver of the group’s strategy to deliver greater customer and shareholder value.”
Telstra’s International arm manages its assets outside Australia and New Zealand including Hong Kong’s mobile operator, CSL, China-based search and advertising businesses as well as global networks.
Retail Sales ‘Dismal’, Dept Stores Big Loser
March retail figures slump as department stores and household goods are the biggest losers.The Australian Retailers Association said the ABS’s trading figures March, which showed a 0.5 percent decline compared to the previous months, was down to cautious consumer spending in light of flood threats and looming carbon tax.
“Dismal sales across all retail categories as the threat of flood levies and the carbon tax kept consumers’ wallets shut,” said ARA Executive Director Russell.
This is in line with recent market outlooks by the likes of Harvey Norman who has cited poor weather and the strong
Australian dollar as mitigating factors in its battle to increase profit margins.
And department stores were the biggest losers although sales were poor across the board, Zimmerman admitted.
Department stores (-3.0 percent), food (-0.4 percent) and household goods retailing (-0.3% percent) all showed drops.
And these latest trading figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, bucked previous upward trends in retail which witnessed a 0.3 per cent jump in January and 0.8 per cent for February.
However,the retail boss warned any new taxes introduced by Treasurer Wayne Swan in next Tuesday’s Federal budget would bring a further drop in retail.
“Disappointing March retail trade is a sure sign to the Government that household discretionary spend is tighter than ever and consumers will react to any new taxes announced in Tuesday’s Budget by further tightening their purse strings.
“The Government must make sure any attempt to reduce debt in the Budget is done by cutting back on Government spending, not by taking more cash away from consumers with new and increased taxes.
And what is more worrying is analysts are now suggesting the decline may point to an overall slump in the economy.
“Today’s weak data – while likely overstating the extent of weakness across the broader consumer sector, and the floods remain a point of uncertainty – reinforce a now likely negative first quarter GDP print,” said UBS chief economist Scott Haslem.
Queensland showed the biggest monthly retail decline in sales of any state with a 2.9 percent fall, followed by New South Wales (-0.1 percent), Tasmania (-1.4 percent) and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.3 percent).
Victoria bucked the trend showing a 0.9 per cent rise in sales as did South Australia and the Northern Territory.
“Year-on-year growth for March is also well below the current rate of inflation at 2.2 percent and is yet another blow to the sector that has been struggling with poor trading conditions for over 18 months,” he added.
Tough Times Ahead, Warns HP Boss
HP boss warns “another tough quarter” ahead, in a leaked memo.
Hewlett Packard’s new chief Leo Apotheker wrote to senior company execs last week warning of tough time ahead, referring to the May-July period.
He also instructed management to “watch every penny and minimise all hiring.”
It “is going to be another tough quarter, one in which we will be driving hard for revenue and profit,” the leaked memo reportedly warned.
The news sent share prices tumbling by $US1.80, or 4.5 per cent, according to AP. Its shares have already taken a 17% dive since its last earnings report earlier this year.
This followed scandals at senior management which prompted the departure of former CEO, Mark Hurd last August and a major shake out of the board.
The PC giant also pushed its Q2 earnings report forward to Tuesday. The original date was set for Wednesday although it declined to give a reason for the move.
Analysts believe the PC maker will post earnings per share of $US1.21 per share on $US31.6bn revenue.
Revealed: Toshiba’s First 21.5 Inch HD All-In-1 PC
Running on Intel Core i5/i7 processor, this all powerful device also has HD screen and six USBs to boot.
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The first time Toshiba has ever dipped its toes into the all-in-one world, it has released the DX1210 PC, the “central hub” for all devices, used as a base for managing notebooks, tablets or mobiles.
Powered optionally by either the Intel Core i7 or i5 processors, the 21.5 inch full LCD HD display (1920X1080 res), with CyberLink PowerCinema pre-installed, means the new DX is “is like being at the movies” with a built in DVD player and TV tuner.
This smart touch screen device also converts standard definition video to HD via Resolution+ technology and doesn’t spare on high end sound, accompanied by Onkyo speakers and Dolby Audio processing.
Users can also listen to music when the device is asleep and also acts as a charging port for devices like smartphones.
It also has a whopping six USB ports (two 3.0’s) allowing multiple devices hook up at same time including an HDMI in – as well as a wireless keyboard for easy portability and web cam.
It also transfers multimedia data 10 times faster than the previous generation models, so is ideal for downloading pics or movies, says Toshiba.
Security wise, it contains face recognition technology which allows verified users to log on by just looking at the PC.
Other “extremely useful features include a touch screen interface so families will no longer have to worry about losing the remote control and a virtual corkboard to stick up post it notes,” says Toshiba’s Product Manager, Anthony Geronimo.
“It’s not uncommon for households to have several technology devices in different rooms, so the DX1210 is a great solution for managing multiple devices through a single hub.”
All-In-One DX1210 PC is selling at selected retailers for RRP of $1,899 in ‘Precious Black.’
However if you want it in white you can only buy it from Harvey Norman outlets.
Fujitsu Bags $100M NBN Deal As Telstra Fed Carrots
Fujitsu Australia is NBN Co’s “prime alliance partner” it said today.
The ICT giant and construction partner ServiceStream, will provide managed services including network design, construction and installation works in new housing developments.
The duo will work alongside working NBN Co’s operations team.
“Fujitsu has the capacity and scale of operations to meet NBN Co’s unique requirement for the deployment of fibre to a large number of discrete locations across the country simultaneously,” NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said today.
The latest agreement, tipped earlier this month, described by Quigley as a “key milestone ” is worth $100 million a year to Fujitsu and comes after much protracted talks with other construction companies bidding for work including Telstra, which were halted following accusations of price gouging.
Read Plan B: Fujitsu & Optus Cut NBN Deals here
The national broadband network is set to cost $36billion to complete, at current estimates.
Since January 1, the new broadband provider has received more than 1,480 applications from housing developers, meaning 133,000 premises are to be connected to the fibre network across the nation.
However, the fibre deployment will be spread over a period of up to three years, “due to different construction timeframes and housing demand,” NBN Co also revealed.
“We are proud to be part of one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Australia, bringing digital services to the nation,” said Mike Foster, CEO of Fujitsu.
The awarding of this contract followed what was described “an extensive procurement process that started with requests for tenders in December 2010.”
And with one major milestone out of the way, the government and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy are trying to achieve another – to speed up the signing of the deal with Telstra to transfer its copper fibre network and give access to its infrastructure over to the NBN Co.
Federal budget papers released this week reveal the government could be set to give carrots to the telco to sweeten it up ahead of the $11bn deal sign off, by providing financial backing and guarantees.
“The government is considering the provision of financial support arrangements to facilitate the finalisation of the agreements,” the budget papers state.
Yes: Optus Mob Users Hit 9M As Vodafone Suffers
Optus celebrates “strong” Aussie growth as more customers say ‘yes.’The Singtel owned telco today reported a massive lift mobile performance signing on 151,000 new users in the postpaid bracket alone in the first three months of the year.
Its mobile customer base showed an increase of more than half a million customers (582,000) compared to a year ago, with total post-paid users for the No.2 telco now standing at 4.77 million.
Pre tax earnings (EBITDA) also rose 4.2 per cent for the first quarter of the year, “driven by contributions from all its segments,” it said today.
Telstra signed on 1.2 million new mobile users for the same quarter, while Vodafone lost 224,000 post paid subscribers.
Vodafone Hutchinson Australia, besieged by widespread consumer discontent at its poor service and the gains made by both Optus and Telstra appear to be symptomatic of users fleeing the service in rapid numbers.
However, it did manage to add 94,000 on its prepaid service.
Optus also grew on mobile 3G broadband customers, with numbers jumping to 5.09 million – a lift of 5 per cent year-over-year.
1.28 million of this figure accounts for wireless broadband users. Its consumer fixed line revenue also jumped 91 per cent, and lively take up of phone and internet bundles including its Fusion plans, pushed fixed line broadband user numbers to 960,000.
Optus revenue for its latest fiscal quarter to 31 March was $2.32bn – a hike of 4.1 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. Net profits also jumped 15 per cent to $261m while for the year hit $776m.
It attributed its success to its new products including controversial Femtocell service, a device which enhances broadband coverage in the the home as well as its cloud technology for back up of Smartphones and PC’s.
Total group revenue for the year end 31 March was $9.28m – a 3.7 percent jump for Singtel, which also saw a lift in local operations in Singapore, said to be delivering “strong performance.”
“In a highly competitive environment, Optus delivered EBITDA growth, improved cash flow and strengthened its market position with our mobile customer base growing to 9 million for the first time,” CEO Paul Sullivan said in a statement.
The news comes just days after Optus announce its hook up with IPTV provider FetchTV, which will put it head to head with Telstra’s T Box and other services.
Read Optus Nab FetchTV For IPTV As Telstra T Box Battle Looms here