EU agrees single charger standard, in blow to Apple

Yahoo – AFP, Alex PIGMAN, June 7, 2022

 

European officials on Tuesday agreed the text of a proposed EU law imposing a standard charger for smartphones, tablets and laptops sold in the bloc, in a blow to Apple. 

EU member states and MEPs believe a standard cable for all devices will cut back on electronic waste, but iPhone juggernaut Apple argues a one-size-fits-all charger would slow innovation and create more pollution. 

For most portable devices the requirement for charging via a USB Type-C port will come into effect from late 2024, negotiators said, while laptops will be given more time. 

The USB-C rule will also stretch to digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable speakers and E-readers, they said. 

Lawmakers agreed on the common charger based on a proposal that was made by the EU executive -- the European Commission -- in September, but came more than a decade after the European Parliament first pushed for it. 

The decision will be formally ratified by European Parliament and among EU member states later this year before entering into effect. 

"We have been able to do it in nine months, that means that we can ... move fast when there is a political will," the EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said. 

"We are able to say to the lobbies, 'sorry, but here it is Europe and we're working for our people'," he said. 

The 27-nation union is home to 450 million people, some of the world's richest consumers, and the imposition of the USB-C as standard could affect the entire global market. 

"This is a rule which will apply to everyone," said MEP Alex Agius Saliba, who led the negotiations for the European Parliament. 

"If Apple ... or anyone wants to market their product, sell their products within our internal market, they have to abide by our rules and their device has to be USB-C," he said. 

The rules will also give shoppers the option to opt out of receiving a new charging cable when purchasing an electronic device. 

'Planning ahead'

And in order to prepare for the future, the law has provisions to set a standard on wireless charging. 

This was "not to end up ... legislating for a technology which is basically dying out, so we are also planning ahead," Saliba said. 

Apple, which already uses USB-C connectors on some of its iPads and laptop computers, has insisted any legislation to force a universal charger for all mobiles in the European Union is unwarranted. 

"The proposal is vastly disproportionate to any perceived problem," the company said in its response to the commission when the law was being drafted. 

Imposing a charger standard, it argued, would stifle innovation and "reduce European consumer choice by removing more affordable older models from the market". 

Consumers currently have to decide between phones served by three main chargers: "Lightning" for Apple handsets, the micro-USB widely used on most other mobile phones and the newer USB-C that is increasingly coming into use. 

That range is already greatly simplified from 2009, when dozens of different types of chargers were bundled with mobile phones, creating piles of electronic garbage when users changed brands.

In making its proposal last year, the EU said the current situation remained wasteful and that European consumers spent approximately 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) annually on standalone chargers they bought separately. 

The European Commission had long defended a voluntary agreement it made with the device industry that was set in place in 2009 and saw a big reduction in cables, but Apple refused to abide by it.

Google v Huawei hits millions of smartphone users

Yahoo – AFP, Erwan LUCAS, May 20, 2019

Huawei users will start losing access to Google's proprietary services such as
Gmail and Maps (AFP Photo/ALAIN JOCARD, CHRISTOF STACHE)

Paris (AFP) - Hundreds of millions of smartphone users will be affected by Google's decision to sever its Android operating system ties with Chinese handset maker Huawei.

The decision, in the midst of a US trade war with China, means that Huawei users will start losing access to Google's proprietary services such as Gmail and Maps, and be shut out of future upgrades to Android on their phones.

The move by the California internet giant on the software front was compounded by news that US chipmakers have stopped supplying Huawei, hitting the hardware of its phones.

Many customers affected

Huawei sold nearly 203 million phones last year, up from 150 million in 2017, according to data tracking firm Gartner, overtaking Apple to threaten Samsung atop the global charts.

For the first quarter of 2019, before its recent run-in with President Donald Trump's administration, Huawei sold 59 million handhelds, IDC calculated.

Those users risk losing access to important upgrades to Android released by Google in future, although for now Huawei said it would continue to provide security updates.

The Chinese company will only be able to access software patches and distribute them from Android's open source project, not proprietary information retained by Google, meaning that apps on Huawei phones could become unusable.

An ongoing trade dispute is unlikely to be helped by a fresh US move 

against Huawei (AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR)

No easy fix for Huawei

To get around the Google ban, Huawei would ultimately have to build its own operating system, as Apple has for its iPhones. That cannot be done in a hurry.

Microsoft offers a salutary example. Between 2010 and 2017, the US company tried to entice users to buy phones built on its own Windows mobile operating system. But the phones never took off and the company pulled the plug on the OS.

Huawei does have a big advantage over Microsoft, given the bigger scale of its mobile market penetration.

Software developers might feel compelled to offer a Huawei-specific version of their apps. Or the Chinese manufacturer could start a new branch of the Android family based on the open source version available now.

But that will all take time.

Risks for Google too

The widespread mobile usage of Maps, Gmail and Google's other services has helped the US company build a market-leading position with Android alongside its crushing dominance in desktop browsing.

But in cutting off Huawei, Google risks being deprived of the revenue-generating data of all those phone owners around the world.

And other Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus, will be watching closely.

Should Huawei build its own system, it's conceivable that those companies might join it, in a bid to end their own vulnerability to future actions by the US government or companies.

Google Unveils Unified Email for Android Users

Jakarta Globe, AFP, Mar 31, 2015

This Sept. 2, 2012 file photo shows the Google logo during a press announcement
at Google headquarters in New York. (AFP Photo/Emmanuel Dunand)

San Francisco. Google said on Monday it was updating its mobile Gmail app for Android device users to allow them to manage multiple email accounts from a single program.

“Starting today, you’ll be able to view all your mail at once, regardless of which account it’s from, using the new ‘All Inboxes’ option,” Google software engineer Regis Decamps said in a blog post.

“This way, you can read and respond to all your messages without having to hop between accounts.”

The new app will aggregate email from rival services such as Yahoo and Microsoft Outlook, among others.

Gmail had allowed users to access multiple accounts from desktop computers, but the new app aims to seamlessly integrate the various email services in a unified inbox with search and preview capability.

Agence France-Presse

New Partnerships Extend Microsoft’s Reach Into Android

Jakarta Globe, AFP,  Mar 24, 2015

This March 27, 2014 file photo shows the Microsoft logo seen in San Francisco,
California. Microsoft says its new Windows 10 operating system will be coming
"this summer" in 190 countries and 111 languages. (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Washington. Microsoft on Monday unveiled partnerships with Samsung and other manufacturers to install its services including Word and Skype on devices powered by the rival Google Android system.

The move is part of a push by Microsoft, which has been lagging in efforts to get Windows-powered devices in the marketplace, to deliver services to consumers and businesses using Apple and Android hardware.

Microsoft said it was expanding a deal with Samsung — which had already agreed on pre-installing Microsoft services on its high-end smartphones — to include some tablets.

The deal will provide Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on “select Samsung Android tablets,” a statement from the Redmond, Washington, group said.

”Our partnership with Samsung is emblematic of our efforts to bring the best of Microsoft’s productivity services to everyone, on every device, so people can be productive wherever, however and whenever they want,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Microsoft.

In a separate statement, Johnson said 10 other hardware makers would also install Microsoft services on their Android devices.

These firms include US-based Dell, TrekStor of Germany, JP Sa Couto of Portugal, Datamatic of Italy, DEXP of Russia, Hipstreet of Canada, QMobile of Pakistan, Tecno of Africa, and Casper of Turkey, and Pegatron — a Taiwan-based firm which makes devices for other brands.

”Original device manufacturers are important because they extend Microsoft services to the ecosystem,” Johnson said.

”More specifically, they help to reach a greater number of other device manufacturers, resulting in even more choice for customers around the world. And for Microsoft, this is part of the company’s mobile-first, cloud-first vision.”

Agence France-Presse

Taiwan-developed technology can bootup phones in just 6 seconds

Want China Times, CNA 2014-11-11

Lo Shi-wu shows off his invention, Nov. 10. (Photo/CNA)

A researcher in southern Taiwan has developed a potentially energy-saving technology that he says allows smartphones to boot up in as little as six seconds.

"When I looked at the code in the operating system relating to power-saving, I realized there was a more efficient way to code it and started looking into it," said Lo Shi-wu, an assistant professor of computer science and information engineering at National Chung Cheng University.

On average, it takes 40 seconds for most devices to turn on, according to the researcher.

Lo explained Monday that this technology could save energy by encouraging people to switch off their phones when not in use, something many people currently avoid because they feel turning the phone back on when they want to use it can take too long.

Calling his invention an improvement on other energy-saving designs for phones, Lo said it works based on the random access ability of flash memory.

The technology has been patented in Taiwan and South Korea and has already been transferred to several major chip and software companies, Lo said, without specifying the companies.

While it has obvious applications in mobile devices running Google's Android operating system and internet-capable devices, Lo suggested that in the future, car computers and Web-based TV services, such as Chunghwa Telecom's Multimedia on Demand (MOD), could integrate it as well.

Putin gives Xi world's first dual-screen smartphone

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-11-10

Vladimir Putin gives Xi Jinping a new Yotaphone 2. (Internet photo)

Chinese president Xi Jinping has become the owner of the world's first dual-screen smartphone courtesy of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Xi was personally presented with a YotaPhone 2, developed by Russia's state-owned tech company Rostec, by Putin, who had arrived in Beijing on Sunday ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leadership summit on Nov. 10-11.

Apart from a traditional LCD screen on one side, the back of the YotaPhone 2 features a 4.7-inch electronic paper display (EPD) for reading e-books and playing simple games like Sudoku or chess. If the main screen runs out of battery, the EPD side can act as a backup.

The special edition of the smartphone Xi received has reportedly been installed with special Russian, Chinese and APEC paraphernalia. It also includes a special data protection system developed by Russian engineers, which is said to make the phone "unique" in regard of safety levels.

Xi was reportedly all smiles when he received the gift, and later even asked Putin, "Do we have partnership in this project as well?" to which Putin responded, "Will do!"

The official launch of the YotaPhone 2, which runs on Google's Android operating system, is scheduled for December. The phone will then hit European markets before arriving in China and South-East Asia in the first quarter of 2015.

Apart from playing with his new phone, Xi also managed to squeeze in the execution of 17 bilateral cooperation agreements with Putin that traverse areas such as natural gas, oil, nuclear power, transportation, aerospace and finance.

New Microsoft-Nokia smartphone is... Android

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, 24 June 2014

CEO of Nokia Corporation Stephen Elop presents the new Nokia X at the

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, on February 24, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Lluis Gene)

CEO of Nokia Corporation Stephen Elop presents the new Nokia X at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, on February 24, 2014 (AFP Photo/Lluis Gene)

Washington (AFP) - Microsoft on Tuesday rolled out its first new Nokia smartphone since acquiring the Finnish group's handset division -- using the Android operating system from arch-rival Google.

Microsoft said the Nokia X2, an updated version of a handset unveiled this year before the takeover was completed, was "designed to introduce the 'next billion' people to the mobile Internet and cloud services."

The device will be sold worldwide as a dual-SIM phone at a price of $135 (99 euros), Microsoft said in a statement.

While Microsoft has been struggling to get a foothold in the smartphone market with its Windows Phone operating system, the X2 "provides access to a world of Android apps and popular Microsoft services," the statement said.

Even though it uses the rival Android platform the X2 offers "a gateway to Microsoft services," including the Skype messaging program and OneDrive cloud storage.

The initial Nokia X was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, before Microsoft completed its takeover of Nokia's handset division in April.

The new version cuts the price of a phone which has had success in some countries.

"The Nokia X family is going from strength to strength, with the Nokia X smartphone achieving top-selling status in Pakistan, Russia, Kenya and Nigeria, while earning the third-best-selling smartphone spot in India,” said Timo Toikkanen, head of mobile phones for the Microsoft Devices Group.

"The Nokia X2 elevates the Nokia X experience with a stellar new design, ease of use and new Microsoft experiences. We're proud to continue to bring smartphone innovation to lower and lower price points."

With the Nokia X unveiled in February, Android applications work, but users cannot access Google's services, notably its applications store, Google Play.

Tuesday's statement said users would have access to the Nokia Store as "the place for finding the highest-quality Android apps" for the device.

Windows Phone has managed to get only around 3.5 percent of the global smartphone market, while Android has more than 80 percent, according to recent figures from research firm IDC.

'As many phones as possible

Roger Kay, analyst with Endpoint Technologies, said the Android phone makes sense in view of the fragile position of the Windows Phone platform.

"Google has the dominant platform and Apple is number two, so there is a question about whether there is room for a number three," Kay said.

He added that the Nokia unit appears to be maintaining some independence after being acquired by Microsoft and that "they want to sell as many phones as possible."

"Microsoft is hanging onto the phone business by its fingernails," he said. "One bump and they could be gone. You still have a whole phone business in Nokia so it makes sense to be on the dominant platform."

Microsoft closed the deal in April with some adjustments from the announced price of $7.52 billion (5.44 billion euros). The US company agreed to exclude factories in India and South Korea.

Nokia was the world leader in mobile phones until it was challenged by Apple's iPhone in 2007 and later Samsung.

Asustek unveils world's first 5-in-1 laptop at Taipei Computex

Want China Times, CNA and Staff Reporter 2014-06-03

The ASUS Transformer Book V. (Photo courtesy of Asustek)

Taiwan-based PC maker Asustek unveiled Monday a line of new products at this year's Computex Taipei computer trade show, with a converged notebook that enables five modes across the Windows and Android platforms given pride of place.

The Transformer Book V is a 12.5-inch tablet combined with a detachable keyboard dock and a 5-inch smartphone. Based on different usage scenarios, the device, which supports dual operating systems, can transform into a Windows laptop, a Windows tablet, an Android laptop, an Android tablet, or an Android smartphone.

"Asus is passionate about technology and driven by innovation," Asustek chairperson Jonney Shih said at a pre-show press conference. "We dream, we dare and we strive to create an effortless and joyful digital life for everyone."

The five-mode Transformer Book V is expected to hit store shelves in September or October this year, according to Asustek.

Also on display at the company's product showcase was the Transformer Book T300 Chi, a high-performance detachable notebook powered by Intel's next-generation Core series processor, which comes with a 12.5-inch tablet. The T300 Chi features LTE support and is equipped with a 2560 x 1440 high-resolution display.

Jerry Shen, Asustek chief executive officer, told a press briefing after the product showcase that both the Transformer Book V and the T300 Chi are expected to create "huge volumes" of shipments this year because of their competitive prices.

He declined to specify prices, saying only that the monthly shipments of the T300 Chi could rank second among all the company's notebooks when the T300 Chi starts shipping in the third quarter, behind only the successful T100 model.

"We will not sacrifice any user experience [on the T300 Chi] and will make all its five modes perfect," Shen added.

Asustek shares ended up 1.38% at NT$331 (US$11) Monday in Taipei trading before the product announcement.

Microsoft's golden era in China coming to an end

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-05-24

A Windows 8 advertisement. (Photo/CFP)

Chinese authorities announced on May 16 that Windows 8 will be banned from government computers.

Microsoft will not only lose government purchase orders, but will also lose the central enterprise purchases and OEM market–the three major revenue sources for Microsoft in China, according to Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald.

This means that Microsoft's golden era in the Chinese market is coming to an end, the paper said.

In the context of China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, Microsoft began changing its strategy in China, making conciliatory moves where it had previously been confrontational. Such a strategy eventually won the support of the government, collaborative partners, as well as customers.

Microsoft took over government procurement, the central enterprises and the OEM market in China one by one.

China has become Microsoft's most important regional market in the world, but now, it has to say goodbye to all of it.

Independent IT analyst Sun Yongjie stated that the Central Government Procurement Center refused to purchase Windows 8 for three reasons.

Firstly, the user experience for Windows 8 was not good.

Secondly, due to trade friction between China and the United States, in which government procurement has been a major bargaining chip for China.

The third reason is that the Central Government Procurement Center hopes Microsoft will lower the price of Windows 8, as complaints about the high price have not only come from average customers, but also from OEM manufacturers, as well as government and trade buyers.

Product experience has always been a problem with Windows 8. Microsoft announced on April 8 that it would stop technical support for Windows XP despite the fact that it still accounts for 25.4% of the world PC market, and more than half of the Chinese market.

Innovation is lacking in Windows 8 and Windows 7, and users are not keen on upgrading their operating system, according to the paper.

Sun also said that the government has other choices if it does not want to buy Windows 8, such as using Windows7 or XP, especially because the latter is considered one of the Microsoft's best operating systems.

The newspaper stated that Microsoft's dilemma has to do with its inability to adapt to user habits.

In the past, the PC was an office product, but nowadays given the additional applications of the internet, such as videos and games, tablet and smartphones are more suitable to customers' needs. The tablet and smartphone market are dominated by Android and iOS, however, and Microsoft has tried to combine the experience of a traditional PC and tablet in its Windows 8, but this has not gone down well with customers, the paper said.

Related Article:

IT giants to protect Chinese users after Windows XP shutdown

Apple and Google settle patent row

BBC News, 17 May 2014

Smartphones. File photo

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• Samsung 'squarterly profit declines
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Mobile phone industry giants Apple and Google have agreed to dismiss lawsuits they had brought against each other over technology patents.

In a joint statement, the companies said they would work together in "some areas of patent reform".

But the deal did not include licensing their technology to each other.

Apple - which produces iPhones - and firms that make phones using Google's Android software earlier filed dozens of lawsuits against one another.

Earlier this month, a jury in California ordered South Korea's Samsung firm to pay Apple $119.6m (£71m) for for infringing two of its patents.

The court also ruled that Apple infringed Samsung's patents and awarded $158,000 in damages.

Android software is now installed on some 80% of new phones sold every year.

CES 2014: driverless cars are coming and they want to be your friends

Car makers, partnered with Google and chip-maker Nvidia, have taken over much of the gadget expo to offer previews of vehicles connected to smartphones and mobile computing tech

theguardian.com, Rory Carroll in Las Vegas, Thursday 9 January 2014

BMW displays its self-assisted car during CES 2014 in Las Vegas.
Photograph: Joe Klamar /AFP /Getty Images

If you were a fan of Knight Rider and dreamed of a car that could talk, drive itself and save you from peril, hold tight: it's coming.

It does not exactly resemble Kitt, the Pontiac Firebird with a silky voice, and David Hasselhoff is not behind the wheel, but the spirit of the 1980s TV series pervades this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Car makers have taken over much of the world's biggest gadget expo to offer sneak previews of vehicles connected to smartphones and mobile computing technologies.

Google and chip-maker Nvidia announced an alliance with GM, Honda, Audi, Hyundai to install cutting-edge Android technology into cars, a response to Apple's vigorous promotion of its own iOS car technology.

“We're getting to the point where the car is an extension of you and really looks out for you,” said Thilo Koslowski, an automotive analyst at Gartner. “The car is ideally suited for this, more so than your phone or a tablet or another computing device.”

A vehicle was a controlled environment with space for multiple sensors, creating a unique platform to satisfy and anticipate needs and desires, he said.

“I can foresee that cars will become self-aware where they can really understand what is happening inside and outside. That together will create a self-aware vehicle that can look out for you, that can control the information and focus on providing the right information at the right times to protect you, inform you and entertain you.” Kitt was getting closer, said Koslowski.

In Knight Rider, conceived by producer Glen Larson as “the Lone Ranger with a car", Hasselhoff's character fights crime from the seat of a sleek black machine imbued with artificial intelligence, courtesy of a do-gooder billionaire. (Kitt was an acronym for Knight Industries Two Thousand).

The models being touted at CES – nine manufacturers have filled 140,000 sq ft of exhibition space, a quarter up from last year – are not designed to save you from villains with mullets so much as your environment.

A broken traffic light snarling early morning traffic? Your car, connected to your phone and household devices, may wake you up early to warn you and to suggest an alternative route. Temperatures dropping below freezing? It will ping you a message suggesting you start the engine, remotely of course, before your scheduled departure.

Once self-driving cars become legal – widely deemed a matter of when, not if – they will also be able to save you from yourself, your possibly texting, babbling, eating, boozing, distracted self.

“Driverless cars? It's coming,” said Barry Ratzlaff, director of customer connect at Hyundai Motor Company. “This” – he indicated a dashboard glowing with an 8.5in screen – “is going to become standard. All cars will be connected.”

We were seated in a Hyundai prototype with a built-in modem due for unveiling at next week's Detroit auto show. Gawkers on the expo floor peered into the tinted windows, trying in vain to see in.

“The last journalist I had in here asked to go to Hooters,” grinned Ratzlaff. “How about …” his voice adjusted for voice recognition software – “1807 Harvey Court, Colby, Kansas”.

The Google Places software pinpointed the location and suggested a route.

Ratzlaff gave another command. “Ethiopian food.” A list of five Ethiopian restaurants within a 2.1-mile radius appeared on the screen.

Hyundai will develop cars compatible with both the Android and iOS eco-systems to give consumers a choice, he said. It was unclear if it would do the same for Microsoft. “The jury's still out. We don't know if it'll grow enough.”

It remains to be seen whether an industry standard for connected cars and in-vehicle apps evolves.

Meantime even premium manufacturers are racing to collaborate with technology companies. Earlier this week, Audi's chairman Rupert Stadler said the company would install 4G high-speed broadband into its vehicles.

He showed off a 10.2-inch Android tablet, called the Mobile Audi Smart Display, which connects with wifi. Passengers can use it to control the car's infotainment system. It is designed to withstand crashes and extreme temperatures.


You can control BMW's new i3 electric car with Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Bluetooth wireless technology.

Ford announced two new apps for its Sync AppLink system. One helps drivers access Parkopedia's 28m listed parking spots to search the nearest, cheapest options.

The other lets registered users order a Domino's pizza using voice-recognition software for either pickup or delivery. “Save your information in your Pizza Profile and it'll be sent to your house without even the push of a button, which strikes us as awesome a use of technology as we've ever seen,” gushed Autoblog.

In the wake of Her, a film set in the near future about a man who falls in love with the voice of his phone's operating system, it would be little surprise if Hollywood rebooted Knight Rider, this time with a female voice.

“A lot of people already have personal relationships with their automobiles and with this technology … the car will become an extension, a companion,” said Koslowski.

Philips will launch Android Smart TVs in 2014

The Gadget Website, Thomas Tamblyn, 6 Jan 2014

Philips has confirmed that its new range of Android-powered Smart TVs will have access to Google Play and to all of Philips' own Smart TV apps

Philips has announced it will be launching Android-powered Smart TVs in 2014. The company has confirmed that the new Ambilight TVs will have full access to both Google Play and the current range of Philips Smart TV apps.

Although we don't have any models, pictures or specs what we do know is that the TVs will be powered by a 'powerful quad-core chip' with Philips suggesting that they'll be more than up to the task of handling even the most hardcore HD Android games.

By merging Google Play with their own offering of Smart TV apps Philips is no doubt hoping to gain an advantage over the array of Smart TVs which have been appearing in the last year.

One of the most notable competitors will almost certainly be the arrival of LG's webOS powered Smart TVs which, although not officially announced, have already been spotted in the halls at CES 2014.

If you're hoping to get your hands on an Android-powered Philips TV then the company has pegged a release date of around June 2014 and has confirmed that Android will only be heading to their top-of-the-range Ambilight TVs.

Google taps into PC market with Asus's Chromebox in 2014

Want China Times, Chan Tzuhsien and Staff Reporter 2013-10-29

A user checks out a Chromebook laptop at a launch event in the US, Feb. 21.
 (Photo/CFP)

Google has been eyeing the personal computer market, with several brand makers, including Taiwan's Asus, gearing up for rolling out devices that run on Google operating systems.

In addition to Acer, HP and Samsung, Japan-based Toshiba also recently partenered up with Google after it introduced its version of the Chromebook at the Intel Developer Forum. Asus will launch the Chromebox, reportedly a tiny device no bigger than the +Google TV settop box, next year. Asus's assembler Quanta is said to be ready for production.

The market was abuzz earlier this year with news that Google was planning to adopt its Android operating system for traditional notebooks that will be configured with a touch screen, and will be aimed at capturing a market share in both the tablet and notebook markets.

Lenovo's IdeaPad A10, priced at US$249, was the first notebook model to run on the Android operating system, and it has a 10.1-inch screen and a Rockchip ARM chip. The reversible screen on the device means the device functions as both a tablet and a notebook.

Other Android notebooks, developed by HP and Samsung, are expected to hit the shelves during the second quarter of 2014. However, some market observers have displayed a negative attitude toward the Android tablet, which along with the Chromebook will target the lower-end of the market.

The sales momentum in the notebook market also remains weak. Several brand makers hope to boost the sales with Google's Chromebook and Android notebooks.

At present, three of the top five sales on Amazon were for Chromebook, with Samsung's Chromebook being the most popular and the fourth and fifth places being taken by the HP and Acer C720 Chromebooks.

Hugo Barra quits Android to help Xiaomi's overseas expansion

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-08-30

Hugo Barra shows off Google's Nexus 7 tablet. (Photo/CFP)

Hugo Barra, former vice president of Android's product management department, has left the Google mobile platform. His departure follows rumors of a romantic relationship with Google co-founder Sergey Brin's estranged wife Anne Wojcicki.

Barra announced on his Google+ page that he is leaving the internet giant to join Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi, which has grew rapidly since 2011. He will help the company to expand its business in overseas markets and facilitate its further cooperation with Android's operating system. It is speculated that Barra will attend Xiaomi's next product launch on Sept. 5.

Barra joined Google in March 2008 and was promoted to vice president in his second year at the company. He has been considered a spokesman for Android and never missed Google's events to unveil new products and I/O developers. In early July, he demonstrated the second generation of Google's Nexus 7 tablet.

He was formerly romantically involved with Amanda Rosenberg, manager responsible for marketing Google Glass and for the slogan "Ok, Glass." He has more recently been linked to Anne Wojcicki, who is separated from her husband.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the company will work with Barra as it targets international markets. The company has not ruled out the possibility of teaming up with Google's Android department to help ensure Android's development in China will not be blocked by antitrust investigations　

References:

Xiaomi　　小米

Lei Jun　　雷軍

Sony launches giant waterproof Xperia Z Ultra phone

BBC News, Leo Kelion, Technology reporter, 25 June 2013

Related Stories 

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The Xperia Z Ultra is marketed as
being waterproof

Sony has announced a waterproof Android smartphone with a 6.4in screen (16.3cm).

The firm is pitching the Xperia Z Ultra as being the slimmest large-screened handset on the market.

It can also accept sketches or notes written using a standard pencil or metal-tipped pen in addition to an optional stylus.

The firm says it intends for the device to challenge Samsung's dominance of the jumbo-sized handset sector.

According to a study by consultants Transparency Market Research, Samsung accounted for 70% of the overall "superphone and phablet" market in 2012 thanks to the popularity of models including the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.

Earlier this year, it added the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Mega - a 6.3in-screened handset - to its line-up.

Sony already offers a 5in handset of its own, the original Xperia Z, which it unveiled in January.

The Ultra follow-up was unveiled at the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai. The new device will go on sale in China, Indonesia and Singapore in July and then in Europe in September.

"Southeast Asia is the key market for the product because the trend towards large-screened smartphone devices is stronger there," Calum MacDougall, director of Xperia marketing, told the BBC.

"But we also see the trend in Europe as well.

"In the large-screen segment at the moment most consumers are looking at the Galaxy Note. Now we can offer something that is really distinct: a stronger screen, greater portability, waterproofing and something different around the stylus and the pen."

Sony is not alone in seeking to erode Samsung's lead.

Over recent months Huawei has announced the the 6.1in Ascend Mate; ZTE the 5.7in Grand Memo; Acer the 5.7in Liquid S1; Asus the 6in FonePad Note; and Lenovo the 5.5in Ideaphone K900.

Mr MacDougall said Sony intended to compete against these by promoting the Xperia Z Ultra's "premium" features rather than trying to match or undercut the Chinese and Taiwanese firms' prices.

The Japanese firm reported its first annual profit in five years in May, but some analysts said its figures were skewed by asset sales and did not reflect a turnaround for its electronics divisions.

Headphone flap-free

The Xperia Z Ultra is 6.5mm (0.26in) thick - only slightly deeper than the thinnest device on the market, Huawei's Ascend P6.

Sony's new model is a fraction bigger
than Samsung's Galaxy Mega

Unlike the original Xperia Z the new phone does not need a flap over its headphone socket to protect it from water damage, addressing complaints the feature was fiddly to use.

It can also be submerged to a deeper limit - 1.5m (4.9ft) in freshwater for up to half an hour.

The device also features:

• A 1080p resolution screen with in-built software to upgrade lower definition videos and photos
• 16 gigabytes of internal storage with support for 64GB microSD cards
• An 8 megapixel rear camera
• A battery offering up to 11 hours talk time or 120 hours of audio playback - a figure which Sony claims is a record

Those concerned about using such a big device for quick tasks are also offered an optional bluetooth add-on which can be paired to the handset using NFC (near field communication) to make calls, view text messages or stream music.

The accessory is similar to the HTC's Mini accessory announced in January for its 5in Butterfly handset.

Transparency Market Research said that over 150 million Android super-sized phones were sold in 2012 and predicted the market would grow to 400 million by 2018.

Another consultancy firm, Frost & Sullivan, agrees that demand for such devices appears to be robust despite the fact many users would struggle to use them unless they had both hands free.

"For many people in developing parts the phablet is their first communications and computing device and allows them to have a single machine rather than multiple ones," the firm's managing director Manoj Menon told the BBC.

"But going forward companies are going to find it increasingly hard to differentiate between their products on size - it will have to be on software and other features. So, Sony seems to have the right strategy at this time."

Samsung Ativ Q tablet runs both Windows 8 and Android

BBC News, 20 June 2013

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Samsung has unveiled a tablet that can switch between the Windows 8 and Android operating systems.

The Ativ Q has a 13.3in (33.8cm) screen that sits over a keyboard that can be folded out for typing or set to act as a stand. In addition it has a stylus.

It comes just over a fortnight after Asus unveiled its own laptop-tablet hybrid which also runs both Microsoft and Google's systems.

One analyst said he expected this to be a trend that other firms would follow.

"It's a very cost-effective way for manufacturers to offer extra value to consumers at a time when it's very hard to differentiate benefits from one device to another," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group.

"You can tap into the industry-standard Windows productivity solutions - from Office to third-party programmes - as well as all the mobile apps of Google's system. It's the logical next step."

The Ativ Q runs off Intel's new Haswell chip and Samsung said it offered up to nine hours of battery life. It added that the device's screen had been designed to be bright enough to be used outside on a sunny day.

The launch was announced at a press conference in London.

Android camera

Samsung also showed off another touchscreen computer, the Ativ Tab 3 which it described as the world's thinnest tablet to run the full Windows 8 system, as well as new PCs.

Among the other announcements was the Galaxy NX - a camera which allows its lenses to be changed, runs off the Android system and supports 4G data transfers.

It marks the firm's latest attempt to sell a device which offers higher quality images than the typical smartphone, but also allows pictures and video to be edited with apps and uploaded to the internet.

Samsung added an Android-powered
 interchangeable lens camera to its Galaxy line-up

It adds to a product line that also includes a handset featuring a 10x optical zoom.

"The Galaxy NX camera looks impressive and is more likely to appeal to serious photographers than its S4 zoom, which is quite a bulky smartphone because of the lens on the back," said Graeme Neill, deputy editor at Mobile Today.

"Samsung's main difference from its rival Apple is the sheer volume of products it brings to market.

"It is really determined to be making a smartphone, tablet, camera and laptop for everybody, from those who want high-end devices to consumers on a budget."

The announcements come at a time when the South Korean firm's stock has come under pressure.

Samsung Electronics shares have fallen by nearly 14% since 4 June after a number of banks cut their profit forecasts for the company.

They said they were worried its flagship Android device, the Galaxy S4, was not selling as well as they had previously predicted and raised concerns about rising competition from Chinese smart device makers.