The Asus S6F will certainly turn heads, but will it do so for the right reasons?
Web Development
Panasonic Launches 1080p Pro Camcorder
The new Panasonic HD shoulder-mount camcorder is designed to provide a common production broadcast platform in HDD5 quality and is the first to achieve native full HD in 4:2:2, 10 bit without pre-filtering, the company says.
Conforming to EBU requirements, the new AJ-HPX3000G offers industry-standard DVCPRO50/HD content compatibility for high-end television, film, and commercial productions. A first in a shoulder-mounted camcorder, says Panasonic.
The inclusion of AVC-I (H.264 compliant), according to Panasonic, gives this camcorder a significantly better compression scheme than the older-generation MPEG-2 and offers DVCPRO HD quality at half the bandwidth, creating substantial savings in both storage and distribution, not to mention increasing the capacity of P2 mobile storage devices.
The AJ-HPX3000G uses three newly developed high-density 2.2-million-pixel CCDs, 14-bit A/D conversion and 12-pole matrix colour correction. Its AVC-Intra recording capability is offered in two switchable modes, 100M mode for near D-5 HD quality, and 50M for situations where high bandwidth efficiency is also important. The camera is 50/60-Hz switchable for use around the world and offers superb 1080 recordings in DVCPRO HD in 30p, 60i, 50i, and at 24p (over 60i) and 25p (over 50i), as well as SD recording in DVCPRO50.
Equipped with five P2 card slots and a side-mounted, 3.5-inch colour LCD monitor, this P2 HD camcorder also features Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC) function designed to fix registration errors and minimise lateral chromatic aberration in lenses.
The AJ-HPX3000G comes standard with professional input/output options including industry-standard IT interfaces such as USB 2 host and device, IEEE 1394A and optional HD/SD-SDI. Features that add flexibility include genlock input for HD Tri-Level Sync or VBS input use, SMPTE timecode, two-wheel optical filters (ND and CC) and an optional HD/SD-SDI input for external line recording.
Filling out an online registration form gives owners a five-year limited warranty on the product.
RRP: $69,385
See: www.panasonic.com.au
Another World first From Samsung
Samsung SDI has revealed a 3D active matrix (AM) OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display, which it claims is the world’s first, at San Francisco’s Society for Information Display (SID) show.
The 4.3-inch prototype provides the world’s highest resolution, WQVGA(480_272), in terms of 3D images, the company said.
The new product is also much faster in displaying 3D images than existing LCD-based 3D displays by adopting AM OLEDs whose response time is 1,000 times faster than that of TFT LCDs, the company added.
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Samsung SDI emphasized that by adopting a new technology called Time Division Parallax Barrier Method, the 4.3-inch prototype can realize the same level of resolution even when users convert 2D images into 3D, while existing LCD-based 3D displays decrease the resolution by half during the conversion.
The company said it aims to commercialize the product by the end of 2007 and is stepping up the development of the technology for use with notebooks, TV and home automation control devices.
Within the next ten years, most flat-panel displays will adopt the 3D display technology, Samsung SDI executive vice president Chung Ho-Kyoon said.
According to iSuppli, the global demand for 3D display panels is expected to increase from 4.9 million units in 2007 to 8.1 million units in 2010.
Radical New Small Speakers From Bose
Bose, the company which pioneered early small cube like speakers that had huge appeal among women is set to roll out a new generation of small speakers that incorporate a patented proprietary driver design. The speakers are designed to work with a PC system are also set to be sold via Apple stores.
At only 12.4 X6.6 centimetres each solid-aluminium speaker in the new Bose Computer MusicMonitor system is about 50 percent smaller than the enclosures used in Bose’s other two-enclosure PC-speaker system, and although smaller, the ported pair delivers deeper bass to create music “as close as possible to the original performance,” said Phil Hess, home entertainment marketing director.
The speakers are expected to sell in Australia for around $499 and will be released at a press conference later this month.
Our patented design is the key ingredient that enabled Bose to build a pair of powered PC speakers said to deliver “lifelike sound with musical accuracy from the smallest most unobtrusive speakers we can design,” Santiago Carvajal, category business manager added.
To deliver on the promise of lifelike sound, the speakers must move a lot of air despite their small size to deliver bass, Carvajal explained, and the solution to that challenge was “dual opposing internal passive radiators” mounted inside each enclosure behind a single active full-range driver. The acoustic output of the twin radiators is directed out of unobtrusive side-firing slots on each side of the enclosure.
Because each passive radiator alternately move toward the other and then pushes away, the acoustic energy of each radiator “enters the room at the same time” to reinforce bass output, Carvajal said. At the same time, each radiator “cancels the primary mechanical vibrations” of its paired radiator to keep the speakers from “walking” around the desk as the music plays, he said.
The Computer MusicMonitor system was designed to follow the PC out of the home office into other rooms of the house.
Bose also offers three-piece speaker systems with a separate bass module to deliver deeper bass and higher SPLs than the MusicMonitors deliver, but the company said the MusicMonitors’ goal was to accompany computers out of the home office into more visible rooms where clutter is less desirable. As a result, Bose focused its engineering acumen on accuracy, unobtrusiveness, and elegant design combined with good SPL and bass performance that’s “plenty loud for a personal listening experience,” Hess said.
Because PCs are now used in kitchens and other prominent rooms, “The objective was lifelike sound from the smallest possible speakers for the desktop listener,” Carvajal added. As a result, the company “focused performance targets on the near-field,” although the MusicMonitor system can fill up a small room with sound, he said.
The shift in a home PC’s location from home offices to other rooms in the house reflects the PC’s evolution from a business tool to a communication and entertainment tools, Carvajal noted.
The MusicMonitors’ performance also depends on other design elements, including the use of digital signal processing with proprietary algorithms to “achieve accuracy and detail,” neodymium magnets for high output and efficiency, and proprietary digital-switching amps that produce less heat in a small enclosure, Carvajal said. A full aluminum enclosure was necessary, he added, to help dissipate heat from the amps into the room, create a visual design harmonious with modern PC and laptop designs, and withstand the high internal air pressures that would otherwise create unwanted secondary vibrations.
To deliver on Bose’s keep-it-simple mantra, the speakers connect to a PC via mini stereo audio jack without the need to load drivers, the company said. Control buttons appear on one enclosure and on an included remote. The power supply is outboard, and a carrying case is available separately.
“The demand for smaller and better has never stopped,” Carvajal insisted. The MusicMonitors, he said, represent “our best effort” toward that goal.
The Next Big Thing Is Power
Power is set to be the next multi billion dollar market with several vendors investing millions into R&D.NEC also has developed an extremely thin (about 1/100th of an inch) rechargeable battery that the company claims can be recharged in about 30 seconds. But the battery’s main claim to fame is its flexibility, which makes it ideal for smart ID cards and similar devices
It seems like my two-year-old grandson Max’s first word was “batteries.” Hardly surprising since he’s surrounded by toys that almost fly around the room (some by remote control), feature an impressive array of flashing lights and make lots of noise.
Of course, as he gets a little older, he’ll be thinking about getting his own cell phone, MP3 player, probably with video playback capability, a digital camera/camcorder and whatever other innovative new products the industry thinks up during the next several years.
Obviously, all of these products need batteries-billions of dollars worth of batteries. And with new technologies emerging, consumer electronics OEMs and retailers finally can talk seriously about batteries and product differentiation in the same breath and the new products they’re marketing and developing.
The arrival of the first generation of mico fuel cells promises up to 20 hours of cell phone or laptop operation from a single fuel cell cartridge.
“The category has been relatively flat in the past few years,” says Brian Kimberlin, director of marketing for the Panasonic Battery Corp. of America. But that’s changing. The growth of multifunction devices, price decreases and increased competition in the category seem to be boosting battery sales.
NanoMarkets LC, a market research and consulting firm, recently projected the market for batteries for mobile electronics, communications and computing will top $9 billion by the year 2010, with new battery chemistries expected to account for a growing percentage of that revenue. Nano Markets also believe that firms such as Duracell, Energizer, (Gillette), Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba and Ultralife will continue to dominate the power source market for mobile devices.
Companies like Panasonic have another advantage. “We’re an electronics company,” says Kimberlin. “We know what’s coming in the future, so we’re trying to make sure we have the right portable power for those types of products.”
DEAD ON ARRIVAL
The big issue with most consumers is the often short time span between required battery changes or charges. NanoMarkets calls it the single biggest obstacle to the ubiquitous computing and smart phones, and says the current generation of lithium batteries, even while doubling their energy capacity during the past 10 years, “simply doesn’t have the capacity to support the multifunctional, always-on operating model that now is being pushed by handset and computer makers.”
Battery manufacturers concur, readily admitting that consumers have been complaining for years that their batteries don’t last long enough to enable them to get the full benefit of their new high-tech portable electronics.
Hoping to improve their performance, battery manufacturers have continued to tweak the chemistry of their batteries, but this only goes so far. Panasonic’s parent company, Matsushita Electric Industrial, announced about a year ago that it was jointly developing with Intel Corp. rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries with enough efficiency to keep a notebook PC running for at least eight hours. Under this arrangement, Matsushita would work to improve its battery technology, while Intel would develop the power-saving circuit technology.
Meanwhile, the race is on to create totally new products and features. Portable consumer devices such as mobile phones, MP3 and audio CD players, digital cameras, notebooks and laptops, and PDAs are offering new products with new features, driving the growth of rechargeable, high density lithium batteries, while other, older battery technologies such as nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and nickel cadmium (NiCd) continue to hang in there as consumer market staples. (iPod and other digital music players are designed to run on AAA batteries, mainly because they’re relatively inexpensive. Apple Computer alone sold 14 million iPods in the fourth quarter alone, and it’s estimated that about 25 million people own MP3 players.)
“The big news is lithium-ion batteries, particularly their impact on digital cameras, although some low-end digital cameras still require alkaline batteries,” says Sara Bradford, research manager for the Power Systems Group at market researcher Frost & Sullivan. “The issue is usage,” says Bradford. Can today’s batteries handle all of the features and functions currently being offered in new mobile phones? Even Li-ion batteries are limited to 500-1,000 recharges, depending on usage.
The problem, she says, is that “the market for multifunctional devices is growing at a higher rate than improvements in the batteries themselves.” But along with that growth comes more battery sales. Bradford says revenue from consumer secondary rechargeable batteries exceeded $4.2 billion in 2004, and she expects the market for these batteries to continue to grow at a steady rate during the next several years.
The growth of lithium rechargeable batteries in the mobile audio and video segment also looks healthy, she says, despite strong competition from other battery types. Another issue is that battery manufacturers only have been able to make small improvements in battery technology and-until recently-very little in the way of product differentiation.
THE PROMISE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The big three-Duracell, Energizer and Panasonic-have entered the next generation battery war with the introduction of new technology batteries-nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH) battery for Panasonic and Duracell and Energizer’s e2 Lithium model.
Panasonic launched its NiOOH-based Oxyride Extreme Power battery in July 2005. It competes with alkaline and already is available at several major retailers. In early February, Duracell introduced its PowerPix, also a NiOOH battery. Energizer is promoting its e2 Lithium, which is available in all popular battery sizes, as the only AA 1.5-volt Li-ion battery.
Panasonic says it has continued to improve its Oxyride batteries (an upgraded version is scheduled to hit retailers’ shelves this spring) and offers independent lab testing to show a performance comparison showing the number of photos a digital camera was able to take using AA Duracell Coppertop, Duracell Ultra, Energizer Max, Energizer E2 Titanium, Panasonic Digital, Panasonic Oxyride and new and improved Panasonic Oxyride batteries. Panasonic says tests show that both current and new Oxyride batteries outperform alkaline by as many as 3.2 times. (Most compact cameras use Li-ion cells and provide, on average, about 300 shots between charges.)
“THE BIG NEWS IS LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES, PARTICULARLY THEIR IMPACT ON DIGITAL CAMERAS” – Sara Bradford, research manager for the Power Systems Group at market researcher Frost & Sullivan
Another version of Li-ion is lithium polymer batteries, used mostly with smartcards and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, but also in military, medical and slim line smartphone applications. Sales of these batteries are projected to reach $1 billion in 2010.
The highly-touted and long-awaited micro fuel cells will be next, if they can get past the prototype stage.
So far, fuel cell companies only have been providing portable device manufacturers with prototypes or very small commercial orders. Panasonic demonstrated its fuel cell technology for laptop computers at the 2006 International CES in Las Vegas. But the arrival of the first generation of mico fuel cells promises up to 20 hours of cell phone or laptop operation from a single fuel cell cartridge.
Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, NEC, Neah Power Systems, MTI Microfuel Cells, Panasonic and Smart Fuel Cell AG usually are mentioned as key players in the portable fuel cell business. Casio, Samsung, Sony and chip manufacturer STMicroelectronics also are known to be developing fuel cells small enough to fit inside a mobile handset, as are IBM and Sanyo, which announced plans to produce a methanol-based IBM Thinkpad before IBM sold its PC business to Lenova, a Chinese company.
Fujitsu Laboratories is working with Japanese cell phone carrier NTT DoCoMo to develop a prototype of a micro fuel cell and an external re-charger for FOMA handsets. Fujitsu says it is concentrating its R&D on developing replaceable fuel cells to extend the operation time of mobile devices. Fujitsu expects its micro fuel cells to provide 10 times the operating capacity of conventional Li-ion batteries eventually.
KDDI, another leading Japanese telecom operator, has been working with Toshiba and Hitachi to produce a prototype of a mobile phone powered by fuel cells.
Nokia, on the other hand, announced about a year ago that it was canceling plans for the development of a methanol-based fuel-cell-powered cell phone, mainly because the phone had more features than the fuel cell could handle. However, Motorola, Nokia’s leading competitor in the cell phone market, says it is continuing its fuel cell research program and remains bullish on the technology.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Despite all the excitement about micro fuel cells, commercialization of this technology is still down the road. 
The delay is not only a function of further developing the technology, but in lowering the cost of this new technology to acceptable consumer market levels. Another issue is developing industry standards for the types of fuels to be used in these new power sources. It appears that the first fuel cells used with CE products won’t actually be small enough to be integrated into any portable device, but could very well be portable units themselves-actually accessories, probably about the size of a paperback book-that could be used to charge other portable devices. The industry will have to come to an agreement on a standard size for fuel cell cartridges, not only to enable the use of virtually any brand of fuel cell but because retailers will dedicate only so much shelf space for different sizes or types of cartridges.
The fuel for these new batteries is a critical issue. Currently, the micro fuel cell of choice is methanol, but this material has safety issues and wasn’t allowed on commercial aircraft. This could change as Underwriters Laboratories and CSA America, which develops standards for fuel cells and related energy sectors in the U.S. market, are jointly developing a new standard that will set requirements for micro fuel cell systems, including the cartridges. The possibility under discussion is that consumers would be able to carry two cigarette lighter-size fuel cell cartridges at a time on board an airplane.
But the list of possibilities for fuels is not limited to methanol, says Harry Jones, a UL senior research engineer. Other candidates include butane, hydrogen, formic acid (Motorola has invested in Tekion Inc., which is working to commercialize this technology), and bio-fuel cells, which power implantable electrically operated medical devices. F&S’s Bradford also says some product designers are looking at a syringe type of refueling of their portable electronic products, while others are thinking more along the lines of a credit card design, where users could simply slide the fuel cell into their device, and then discard it when it’s depleted. In fact, all of the cartridge designs currently under development would be disposable.
Other new battery technologies are showing promise as well.
NEC has developed what it calls an Organic Radical Battery (ORB) that is based on a cell structure similar to Li-ion batteries. This new battery uses an organic compound called PTMA. It also offers higher power than Li-ion batteries of a similar size, but not quite the same energy density-a measure of how long the battery will last. A prototype of the battery measures 55 mm by 43 mm by 4 mm thick, or about the size of a stack of three credit cards. NEC says the ORB is still under development and may be two or three years away from retailer’s shelves.
NEC also has developed an extremely thin (about 1/100th of an inch) rechargeable battery that the company claims can be recharged in about 30 seconds. But the battery’s main claim to fame is its flexibility, which makes it ideal for smart ID cards and similar devices. NEC hasn’t said when the new battery will be available commercially, or what products it will target with the new battery.
An environmentally friendly development is Sony’s relatively new mercury-free silver oxide battery. Announced in the fall of 2004, Sony began delivering 10 models of the battery worldwide in January 2005. They’re mainly used for wrist watches and small thermometers, but they also are finding their way into mobile games.
POWER MANAGEMENT IS CRITICAL
The semiconductor industry also has made a huge contribution to improving battery life with the development of specially-designed power management chips that dynamically can allocate power usage for feature-rich products. “The run-time of batteries would be significantly less without the development of these chips,” says Bradford of F&S.
Typical of these devices is Intel’s new Core Duo processor which reportedly offers more running time for notebooks and laptops. Another example is Linear Technology’s highly miniaturized, fully integrated battery IC for charging single-cell Lio-ion batteries. Advanced Analogic Technologies also has developed a Li-ion/polymer battery charger IC that operates off both USB and AC adapter inputs.
According to David Brown, senior applications engineering manager at AAT, the unit simplifies design, decreases charging time and increases system reliability by integrating a charge reduction function that automatically compensates for voltage sags and throttles back the charge current depending upon how much current other loads on the device are consuming.
ADVANCE ANALOGIC TECHNOLOGY’S BATTERY IC SIMPLIFIES DESIGN, DECREASES CHARGING TIME AND INCREASES SYSTEM RELIABILITY BY INTEGRATING A CHARGE REDUCTION FUNCTION. – David Brown, senior applications engineering manager at ATT
Plug-in portable power sources, or boosters, also have proved to be a factor in the portable device market, especially among business users and travelers. Big Wave Power, for example, has introduced the Titan, a portable power source that can recharge virtually any DC-powered portable electronic device. The company claims the Titan prolongs battery life up to 10 times over Li-ion-based rechargeable batteries, and can last more than 3,500 recharge cycles.
Turbo Charge has a new cell phone charger about the size of a lipstick case, gives cell phones as much as two hours of talk time or 40 hours of standby time and protects cell phone and PDA batteries from overload and other damage.
Lenmar Enterperises’ Mach 1 Lightning Speed Charger chargers two AA cells in eight minutes and four NiMH AA/AAA cells in 15 minutes.
Plug-in Cell Booster devices provide cell phones and other portable products with as much as 60 minutes of additional power if your phone’s battery unexpectedly goes dead.
Solar energy is a more obvious source of power. A new product from Soldius, a Dutch company, recharges cell phones and iPods directly in two to three hours. In other words, it doesn’t have to store solar energy in an internal battery and then use the battery to recharge a cell phone. Mysoldius, as the product is called, just has to be placed in direct sunlight. Soldius also offers a golf bag with integrated solar panels than can charge a mobile phone or other personal electronic devices. There are four golf bags in the line, ranging in price from $200 to $800.
Once you acquire the technology, solar power is free. The same is true with rechargeable batteries if you can find a public place, such as an airport, to recharge. Unlike solar power, micro fuel cells may be a little pricey, at least initially. But as Bradford points out, “Some people want access to power almost around the clock, but will everyone buy into fuel cells?”
NanMarkets’ analysis is mixed. It says traditional battery technologies are still the standard, especially lithium, and probably will be for many years. But it also projects a market for fuel cells worth $1.6 billion by 2010, jumping to $2.7 billion in 2012.
Some market analysts believe those numbers are low. Attendees at the Portable Power Developer’s Conference held in San Jose last year were told that product designers will not wait for the “ultimate” energy storage solution; it may never arrive. And even if an improved energy solution is introduced, the emphasis will always be on getting the maximum possible performance from the device, and that implies continued focus on developments in advanced power architectures, sophisticated power management and efficient energy utilization. V
By Ron Schneiderman
May/June 2006
Will The Apple iPhone Be as Successful As The iPod?
In a few weeks time Apple will roll out it’s latest baby the iPhone. But will it be as succesful as the iPod. Some pundits say no.
It would take a pretty technologically insular personality to be oblivious of the fact that Apple’s long awaited iPhone is being released next month in the USA. Ever since the release of the iPod six years ago, Apple’s best advertising has come free of charge. It’s not surprising then that nowadays just about everyone seems to be talking about the company’s latest creation.
Apple has a history of being cutting-edge: it invented the PC as we know it today, and back in 1983 it was the first organization to introduce a personal computer that used the graphical user interface. The company went on to introduce the Mac in 1984, the Power Book 100 in 1991, and of course the iPod in 2001. Its latest device continues this tradition of innovation.
With the impending release of the iPhone, Apple is digging its heels into the forefront of a movement not simply to change the face of the cell phone market, but rather to continue radicalizing the digital consumer electronics industry as we know it. While smart phones that allow consumers to listen to music, surf the Net and make phone calls already exist, Apple’s new venture aims to take the concept of user friendliness to levels that no other phone has achieved, by coupling a revolutionary multi-touch user interface with the convenience of consolidation. But is the iPhone going to be able to achieve the same success levels as the iPod?
What’s so Great About the iPod Anyway?
Last month, the company reported sales of 10.5 million iPods and a 77.9% market share for the March quarter. It seems the iPod and its accompanying iTunes have carved out an impregnably exclusive status within the digital music industry.
Just how has Apple’s portable music player inducted so many millions of die hard aficionados? “Apple was the first company to do it right,” says Chris Breen, Senior Director of MacWorld magazine. In a limited market of portable music players that were hard to use and offered poor storage capacities, Apple’s focus on optimizing user experience by making the iPod convenient and user friendly, proved pivotal to its success. Catering to multiple preferences, iPods come in a range of sizes, colors and storage capacities, but there is one thing that’s uniform– they all sport a similar user interface that makes them easy to use.
And then there’s the other thing. Apart from its purely technical advantages, the iPod exudes the ‘Cool Factor.’ The frenzied hype surrounding the device stems partly from word of mouth (everyone’s doing it,) partly from the fact that the players are just plain snazzy to look at, and partly from an incredibly innovative advertising campaign consisting of dark silhouettes, brilliant white headphones, psychedelic backgrounds, and insidiously catchy music — the type that forces you to sing in the shower for hours after.
“The iPod is hip. It looks cool. People want cool things. And the iPod remains one of today’s coolest gadgets. If you ask your parents for a music player for your birthday, it had better be an iPod or you’re going to feel like a tool,” states a matter of fact Breen.
Can the iPhone Even Come Close?
The buzz preceding the upcoming iPhone rings similar to the hype that the iPod has whipped up around its slender frame since 2001, and in keeping with tradition, the hype is largely focused on the phone’s radical user interface. The iPhone boasts a patented ‘multi-touch’ keyboard technology that allows users to interact directly with the device using their fingers instead of conventional buttons. The wide display area serves as both keyboard and control panel, and is one large luminous screen that changes according to the functions desired. If you’re checking your voicemail for instance, your message appears as a visual icon. Poke the message you want to listen to and you’ve got it.
“We are all born with the ultimate pointing device — our fingers — and the iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse,” stated Apple’s Steve Jobs at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The CEO hailed the phone as a “magical device” that would “revolutionize the industry,” explaining that it combines three different products — a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and an Internet communications mechanism — into one portable device.
Speculation is now running rampant as to whether the iPhone will be to the mobile phone market what the iPod is to the digital music market. Apple has indicated an intention to take 1 percent of the world market for cell phones, or 10 million phones per year, by the end of 2008. The company may actually do better than that.
The latest USA-based ChangeWave consumer cell phone survey, which polled 2,640 users, indicates that if the phone lives up to expectations, Apple is likely to exceed its 2008 goals. In fact, the survey indicates that the iPhone could alter the face of the cell phone industry dramatically. At the moment, according to ChangeWave, the market belongs primarily to Motorola (33 percent), LG (15 percent), and Nokia (14 percent). The survey indicates that with the release of Apple’s new phone, Motorola’s share among consumers will register a dramatic decline — perhaps falling as low as 17 percent.
“As more and more consumers switch to the iPhone, we are going to see a huge migration from cell phone manufacturers like Motorola to the hipper, cooler iPhone,” states Tobin Smith, founder of ChangeWave Research and editor of ChangeWave Investing. “And, because of Apple’s deal with AT&T’s Cingular as their exclusive service provider for the iPhone, we are also going to see a big migration away from Verizon and other cellular providers.” About 79 percent of likely buyers from the survey said they would abandon their existing wireless carrier, switching to Cingular to use the new iPhone.
This may seem like a huge percentage, but the number of likely buyers is limited: the survey indicates that just 9 percent of respondents said they are likely to buy the phone for themselves, and just 7 percent are likely to buy it as a gift for someone else.
Apple experts, such as MacWorld’s Chris Breen, and Editorial Director Jason Snell, argue that the company is unlikely to dominate the cell phone market the way it does the music player market. First and foremost, the iPod entered a far less competitive and well populated market than the one the iPhone will have to crack. Additionally, Apple has limited itself by committing to Cingular, which has a customer base of about 60 million. It is notable that 55 percent of those polled in the ChangeWave survey expressed satisfaction with their existing cell phones — indicating no intention of switching networks.
Snell points out that that doesn’t necessarily mean Apple made a mistake however. It would have been impractical for the company to try to launch the iPhone independent of an established service provider. Had it done so, Jobs and his team would be faced with creating different versions of the phone to fit the capabilities and structures of different networks. Plus, even if Apple could overcome its technical complications and enter into agreements with cell phone providers other than Cingular, other networks might not even be interested in partnering with it. Jack Shofield of the Guardian Technology blog explains that adopting the iPhone will not prove lucrative for all providers. For Cingular, which does not offer its own music business and which currently has exclusive dibs on the iPhone, the deal makes sense. However for network providers that aim to sell music and movie downloads directly to their consumers, adopting the iPhone could mean forsaking a hefty chunk of potential profit as well as reinforcing Apple’s dominance over the digital music market.
Additionally, the potential success of the iPhone could be dampened by its price. If looked at as three devices in one, the price isn’t unreasonable — buying a 4GB iPod Nano and a BlackBerry 8700c (which acts as a phone and Internet device) separately for instance would set you back about $500. But when looked at as simply a phone, which is the way many people perceive the device, it’s just plain expensive. People may not be willing to pay $499 to $599 for a cell phone that does not function any better as a phone per se, in that it makes calls as well as the next phone.
Some consumers will just not be interested in all the additional capabilities that the iPhone offers. “What the iPhone potentially does promise is to make the features that most people don’t use on their phones — web browsing, more advanced kinds of messaging, email, music playback, etc — far easier to use,” states Breen. “The question is how many people desire these kinds of features; are there enough to propel the iPhone to the top of the heap? I kind of doubt it. If less expensive iPhones appear, younger users are likely to gravitate to them in a big way. I’m not so sure about the parent who just needs to keep in touch with their kid, or the grandparent who flings a cell phone into the glove compartment for safety sake, or the many, many people who just want to make a call.”
According to Steve Koenig, Senior Manager for Industry Analysis at the Consumer Electronics Association, research indicates that in spite of the ‘new convergence’ among consumer electronics, strong counter trends to consolidation do exist. Many users continue to prefer stand alone devices that perform their designated function as simply and effectively as possible, others may simply shy away from the idea of having one master device that could get lost or broken.
It isn’t All Bad News Though
While Apple is unlikely to dominate the cell phone market, its new device is expected to make a large mark on the smart phone market. And in the long term, once the company begins to diversify, producing iPhones of different prices, sizes and capacities, similar to what it now offers with the iPod, it could begin to make an impact on the cell phone market in general.
ChangeWave’s survey corroborates this, revealing that while 28 percent of those polled stated that the new phone was too expensive, 10 percent stated that they would consider buying a 4 GB version of the phone if the price fell, and 20 percent stated they would consider buying the 8GB version upon a price cut.
Jason Snell points out that the potential appeal of the iPhone will also be bolstered by the huge fan following behind iPod. The iPod’s appeal will have a trickle down effect on the iPhone because iPhone users will get not just any music player, but an iPod.
And there’s a guaranteed silver lining — even if consumers do not buy Apple’s new phone, they are likely to benefit, as the phone is bound to drive innovation within the consumer electronics industry in general, and the cell phone industry in particular. “In the past, cell phones produced have been a combination of the preferences of cell phone providers and carriers, which means that features have been compromised and the phones, while good enough are never amazing. The iPhone necessarily will inspire better cell phones from other companies such as TMobile and Verizon, thus benefiting all users,” explains Snell.
What’s the Bottomline Here?
The iPod set an impossibly high bar, one that the iPhone will not match or even come close to. But the new device could still be very successful, particularly in the long term. By combining a phone, a music player and an Internet device all in one, while coupling them with the most user friendly interface it could conceive of, Apple aims to embody one of the most fundamental ideals that underlies modern day consumerism: convenience. This proposition is bolstered by the company’s recent release of Apple TV, which wirelessly syncs the iTunes content off one’s computer with one’s TV — once again aiming to maximize convenience.
For an increasing number of consumers, less has never been more than it is today: the smaller the better, the sleeker the better, the simpler the better, and the more consolidated the better. The iPhone is likely to emerge as a forerunner in this movement towards simplifying the digital media industry.
Kingston Launches USB Flash For Business
The new USB flash drive from Kingston is targeted at business users, offering storage capacities up to 8GB and software which allows users to work across multiple PCs by syncing files, email and Internet settings on the drive itself.
The MigoSync software which is preloaded on the DataTraveler 400 USB flash drives, also comes with Universal Mail Format, which enables a user to access email on a guest PC, even when it does not support the user’s primary email application for formats including Windows Mail, Outlook, Outlook Express or Lotus Notes, Kingston says.
“Accessing email and keeping sections of the drive secure through password protection make the DT400 a powerful device for anyone to stay safely connected with work or home while on the go,” said Kingston ANZ Regional Manager, Vaughan Nankivell.
The password protection and MigoSync features are not compatible with Mac OS.
The Kingston DataTraveler 400 is supported by a five-year warranty and free technical support.
RRP:
DT400 2GB: $45.90
DT400 4GB: $ 79.90
DT400 8GB: $ 183.90
See: www.Kingston.com
Faster Transfers From SD Cards
The X-speed ratings are a way for Kingston to help consumers rate the speed of a storage card similar to the way CD and DVD drives are rated based on their X-speed.
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| The new SD card from Kingston Technology. |
However, the speed will actually vary depending on the host hardware, software and usage. You can get more info on the speed ratings here.
“Kingston developed the SD Ultimate line to give serious and professional digital enthusiasts a greater array of choices for their digital media,” said Keith Hamilton, Regional Manager, Kingston Technology. “Our SD Ultimate cards provide superior performance to help users optimize their high-end digital equipment, whether a digital camera, MP3 player or PDA,” he added.
The cards are priced $139 for the 512MB (RRP) and $299 for the 1GB (RRP). They are available from Simms International, Ingram Micro and Synnex.
The company also plans to offer a high speed Compact Flash line under the Ultimate brand.
Microsoft, Apple Schtum On ‘Price Gouging’
Microsoft are saying zero on the price gouging controversy currently hanging over it, Apple and Adobe.
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The software giant said it was not commenting on the issue when contacted by Smarthouse yesterday, as fellow tech company Adobe cut the prices of its Cloud suite by 20%, in the wake of the price gouging that has implicated the tech giants in Oz.
Microsft Australia also refused to comment when we asked the spokesperson if they were planning to drop the prices of its software, like Adobe.
Apple, Adobe and Microsoft were all being summoned to the parliamentary IT pricing inquiry which is investigating possible price goughing of Aussie consumers, it emerged this week.
Apple too are making zero noise about the affair and said “we will be making no comment at this time,” according to a spokesperson.
Maybe they are hurriedly getting their PR spin together as Adobe did when its sent its global CEO to Sydney yesterday to face the media who had plenty of questions for him.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen had a less than happy experience at yesterday’s opening of the graphics and design company’s new Australian HQ in Darling Park, Sydney.
All Narayen and local CEO Paul Robson wanted to talk about was the wonderful new office and demo suite with cinema seating and surround sound.
All the press wanted to discuss was the hugely disproportionate prices Adobe continues to put on its boxed software in Australia, compared to American pricing – eg, Creative Suite Master Collection at US$2599 (A$2514) in the States, $4344 in Australia, or an $1830 difference in Aussie dollars.
It’s enough, as consumer group Choice has pointed out, to make it cheaper to fly to the US and pick up a copy there – a claim repeated this week by Luke Hopewell on Gizmodo and the News Ltd press.
The media charge at yesterday’s bunfight was led by Web site Delimiter’s Ren_ LeMay, who repeatedly asked Narayen for the reasoning behind the discrepancy – only to meet repeated stonewalling by the Adobe boss, who rambled on instead about the great value of the new monthly subscription based version, Creative Cloud – which is now based almost identically with the US.”I’m sorry, sir – you’re really not answering my questions,” interjected Ren_, though he still didn’t get an answer.
Paul Robson sought to change the subject, calling for questions about the new offices – but only scored more about pricing. The Q&A session was politely called off.But Ren_ wasn’t finished.
Back at Delimiter he posted a 1500-word rant on the affair, which he termed a “farce”, plus a video of Narayen batting back Ren_’s questions.
Alcatel Buys Lucent
French communications-equipment maker Alcatel has agreed to acquire US-based rival Lucent Technologies for US$13.4 billion to gain market heft and broaden its product mix.