Computer Industry News: 19/06/09

LG ELECTRONICS EXPANDS TECH PRODUCTS RANGE
Urvashi Jha
Financial Chronicle  Deccan Herald  The Economic Times  

LG Electronics India on Thursday entered the information technology (IT) hardware segment by launching a slew of high technology products.

The Rs 10,730-crore company has launched network monitors offering multi-user computing solutions based on virtualisation, projectors, digital signage and network-attached storage (NAS) device.

Till date LG Electronics only offered PC monitors and optical drives in India catering to the consumer segment. With these new products, the business solutions division of LG Electronics aims to clock revenues of Rs 1,100 crore in 2009, up from Rs 989 crore in 2008.

“With the new products, the contribution to the pie will be well-balanced between B2B and B2C segments,” said R Manikandan, marketing head, business solutions, LG Electronics India. Until now, PC monitors accounted for 70 percent of the revenues of the business solutions division. LG Electronics has 20 percent market share in the estimated 5.5 million units PC monitor market.

LG Electronics will target education, government, business process outsourcing and the small and medium businesses segment with these new products. The company hopes to sell one million liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, 40,000 network monitors, in addition to 16,000 commercial display digital signage and 5,000 projectors this year.

Moon B Shin, managing director of LG Electronics India, said, “Going forward, we will come up with integrated solutions offering besides new technology products to cater to the B2B market.” The digital signage, NAS and projectors would be imported from South Korea, while the network monitor will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the company plans to set up a design centre in Noida besides expanding its research and development (R&D) base there. LG Electronics has earmarked an investment of Rs 400 crore for R&D. In the past five years, the company has invested Rs 200 crore every year on R&D and from this year onwards, the company aims to double this investment. LG Electronics India aims to achieve turnover of Rs 13,000 crore in 2009.

Further in the consumer electronics segment, LG Electronics plans to launch water purifiers and air cleaners in the near term.

INTEX EYES RS 70 CRORE REVENUES FROM ANDHRA
Chennai/Hyderabad
Business Standard

Intex Technologies (India) Limited, a New Delhi-headquartered IT hardware, mobile phones and electronics company, is targeting revenues of Rs 70 crore from Andhra Pradesh in the current financial year, an increase of 90 percent over FY09.

“More than 50 percent of the targeted turnover will be contributed by Intex Computer Peripherals – the biggest and oldest product vertical of the company – while the rest will come from our PC, consumer electronics and mobile phone business verticals. Nationally, the company expects a total turnover of Rs 800 crore this year, from Rs 464 last year,” Kaushik Chatterjee, zonal sales manager (computer peripherals-south), said here on Wednesday.

The sales growth in Intex’s computer peripherals vertical will be achieved by further penetration into Tier-II and Tier-III regions including Vijayawada, Warangal, Karimnagar, Rangareddy, Guntur, Rayalaseema, Khammam, Nalgonda, East and West Godavari and Srikakulam through the two major hubs of the company feeding the entire state – Hyderabad and Vizag.

“Intex currently has 25 direct channel partners and 150 dealers, which will seen an uptick of about 40 percent this year,” Chatterjee said.

HP EXPANSION
Business Standard

Hewlett Packard (HP) plans to expand its presence in India by opening around 200 flagship outlets. The company has 300 such stores and will take it up to 500 by the end of this year.

LCD MONITOR PRICES SURGE 2-7 PERCENT ON SUPPLY GAP
Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee, Bindu D. Menon, New Delhi
The Hindu Business Line

Consumers have to shell out more to buy LCD monitors, as vendors have raised the prices of these products anywhere between 2 percent and 7 percent, since March. Leading players, including LG, Samsung and Intex, attribute the price rise to the change in demand-supply situation, and global currency fluctuations.

“The panel prices have increased by nearly 10 percent, but the impact was offset to some extent by the stronger rupee, and so, in our case, the LCD monitor prices have gone up by four percent in the last three months,” said R. Manikandan, Business Group Head, Digital Display & Storage, LG Electronics India.

According to industry observers, there has been acute shortage of panels in the Indian market. Several global manufacturers had cut back on production following the economic slowdown.

As a result of the changed demand-supply equation, the panel prices shot up by about 10-15 percent.

A Samsung spokesperson when contacted said that it had effected a price rise of 2-3 percent, last month.

“We have absorbed most of the costs. But last month we did raise the prices by 2-3 percent as imports from Korea were sluggish”.

ACER LAUNCHES ASPIRE 5536 NOTEBOOK
Bangalore
The Times of India

Acer has refreshed its notebook line-up with the launch of Aspire 5536 powered by AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core processor.

The notebook also packs AMD’s latest M780G chipset with ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics high quality visual experience.

The notebook has a 15.6-inch HD CineCrystal screen, 2GB DDR3 1067 MHz upgradeable to 4GB, 320GB HDD, 8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive, Dolby8-optimized surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers and webcam.

In addition, the notebook is equipped with floating keyboards and controls, multi-gesture touchpad that comes with circular-motion scrolling for navigation, pinch-action for zoom-in and zoom-out and page flip for browsing and flipping through web pages and photos.

Announcing the launch, S Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India said, “AMD mobile technology helps us address the needs of today’s mobile consumers who want more performance and more digital entertainment from their notebook PCs."

Tomonobu Kamiya, Sales Development Director, Asia-Pacific and Japan, AMD said, “Aspire 5536 enables users to enjoy HD quality multimedia content, in a thin-and-light notebook which also offers long battery life.”

The notebook will be available for Rs 28,499 for Linux OS and Rs 30,499 featuring Windows Vista Home Basic OS.

THE IT LIST
The Times Of India, (Chennai edition)

When it came to products, incremental achievements were the name of the game this year. Products like silicon chips which one can swallow for personalised medicine, space-age swimsuits from Speedo to help swimmers slice through the water faster, flexible displays and SLR camera with video recording capability found a place in the list. Here's a look into the top ten technology breakthroughs over the last year...

Apple's App Store
Apple's App Store has made creating and distributing mobile applications for cell phone users easy - jumpstarting the mobile-app development market. For thousands of programmers, the cell phone is the new PC. App Stores have changed forever, the way we use phones, turning them into personalised devices filled with utilities and handy tools.

Android
The HTC T-Mobile G1 phone scores with its operating system, Android; the free mobile operating system from Google. It's the first mobile OS to make its debut in years and the G1 is just the first of what will be many phones that use it. At least half a dozen manufacturers are likely to release Android phones in 2009, increasing the pressure on other smartphone operating systems.

USB 3.0
The Universal Serial Bus, or USB, a popular standard for transferring files to your PC or charging your iPhone, got its first major update in eight years. USB 3.0 will be 10 times faster than the current USB 2.0 standard, and will increase the amount of electrical current that can be delivered through a USB cable.

Video-capable
SLRs This year, two new cameras, the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II not only capture top-notch still images, but also let the photographer shoot high-definition videos as well. For years, high-end, single-lens reflex cameras have been unable to do what even $100 pocket cams can do: Shoot video. That's because of the type of imaging chip used by SLRs. Shooting high-definition videos with an SLR is cheap compared to using professional video equipment - and it gives photographers access to a wide range of lenses.

The memristor
The discovery of the "memristor" or memory transistor will make it possible to develop computer systems that remember what's stored in memory when they are turned off. That means computers that don't need to be booted up and systems that are far more energy efficient than the current crop. Memristors are still primarily confined to the lab, so commercial products based on this kind of circuitry will not be available for at least five years.

GPS in phones and laptops
This year, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used in many new technologies. The GPS system has been operational since 1978 and available for commercial use since 1993, but for years its use was relegated to expensive personal navigation devices and the dashboards of high-end cars.

Flash memory
When Apple blessed the iPod with flash memory, it gave new life to a technology that had long played second fiddle to hard disk drives. The who's who of the tech industry - EMC, Sun Microsystems, Intel and Hitachi are championing flash drives for larger business users.

STYLE FILE
The Times of India

Want a trendy laptop? Sony’s NW notebooks are quite classy in two-toned casings with 15.5” screens. The reverse hinge minimises storage space quite a bit. Made of a single metal sheet with ample space between keys, they feature enhanced usability and ensure fatigue-free and error-free typing. Price: Rs 37,900

 

Computer Hardware Update: 16/06/09

 

GET REAL WITH DIGITAL BOLLYWOOD
Omkar Sapre, Pune
The Economic Times (Kolkata edition)

Graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia is stepping up its two year-old ‘Digital Bollywood’ initiative. It now wants to get involved with Hindi films from the scriptwriting stage to promoting visual effects, also called VFX. The aim is to help filmmakers reduce costs by using VFX.

While Nvidia does this routinely with Hollywood filmmakers, this is the first time the company is getting involved with Indian producers. It had scaled back its plans for Bollywood following the recession in its home market in the US, but is now reactivating the connection.

Prasad Phadke, Nvidia’s head of professional solutions business in India, said: “Nvidia technology is used by VFX studios in India and almost every visual effect in Bollywood films makes use of our products. Till now, we stepped in only at the post-production stage through the visual effect studios, to whom we supply our technology. We are now trying to get involved with the producers at the pre-production stage, when they finalise the script and get an idea of locations and duration, they need to shoot the film. We will give them an understanding of the technology which they can use to optimise costs and maximise returns.”

Nvidia is working with two Bollywood producers who Phadke declined to name.

Visual effects or VFX is a ‘cheat-theeye’ technique where certain non-existent objects are created on screen to make the audience believe those are actually real. In its simplest form, VFX is used for a double role, with images of the actor in both the roles shown on the screen at the same time.

VFX also recreates what exists in real life, where a real life shoot is costly, time consuming, involves safety or logistic issues. The Miami skyline in Dharma Production’s Dostana, the stadium crowd in Yashraj’s Chak De, the shots of Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan inside the Taj Mahal in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 are instances of the technology used in Bollywood films. The clever use of VFX helped reduce effort and cost.

IBM CLAIMS NO.1 SPOT
Bangalore
The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)

IBM said that it has attained number one position in the India external disk storage market and non-x86 Unix server market in terms of factory revenue in Q1 of 2009 as per IDC’s Asia-Pacific enterprise disk storage and enterprise server tracker. IBM said that in external disk storage market, it has attained a 33.1 percent share in terms of factory revenue, thereby registering a substantial gain of 18 points y-on-y. It also said that in Unix server market segment it has attained a 39.2 percent share in terms of factory revenue.

MS TO PUSH XBOX 360 SALES THROUGH 300 MORE OUTLETS
Saahil Anant
Financial Chronicle

Software giant Microsoft Corp is focusing heavily on the retail and online segments to drive sales for its XBOX 360 gaming consoles this year, in a bid to cash in on the gaming market in India that is growing at 30-35 percent annually.

“Our focus this year is on the retail and online segments,” Jaspreet Bindra, regional director, entertainment and devices division of Microsoft India said. The XBOX console is sold in large format retail stores such as Tata’s Croma and Reliance Digital.

“Most retail chains shut down some of their stores and stopped taking stuff (consoles and their equipment) due to the recession, which was challenging,” Bindra said. The company hopes to set up more such retail chains to expand XBOX 360’s distribution across the country.

“Around 200 retail stores and 100 specialty gaming stores are expected to open over the next one year,” he added.

Microsoft is hoping the country’s broadband operators will beef up internet speed in the country – which would be beneficial to XBOX 360’s ‘Live’ service – which allows users to connect to the internet and interact globally. A minimum speed of 512 kilobites per second (kbps) is required for the service to run smoothly, which creates a problem for gamers living in cities with low broadband speed. “High speed of broadband is a challenge in India, but I see some scope in this space because broadband operators are coming up with speeds more than 16 megabits (mb),” Bindra said. Globally, the Live service on XBOX is used on 20 million out of the total 30 million consoles.

Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter would also be able accessible in the next four months, he added. The total gaming market in India (console, mobile, PC and online) is a mere $120 million, as compared to the global gaming market, which is pegged around $35 billion. It is estimated that the Indian gaming market will reach $500 million over the next three-five years.

At the moment, there are two versions of XBOX being sold in the Indian market – Arcade, which costs Rs 16,990, and Pro, priced at Rs 27,990. Microsoft’s next console launch will be project Natal, which would allow gamers to play without a joystick. Bindra, however, did not wish to comment on the console’s launch date and price.

 

LENOVO OPENS STORE IN KOCHI
Kochi
The Hindu Business Line

Lenovo on Monday announced the expansion of its retail presence in Kerala with the inauguration of its 8th Lenovo exclusive store (LES) in the State, in lieu with Oxygen, the digital shop.

Kerala is among the most important States for Lenovo in India and the company is aiming to strengthen its presence by offering consumers from stylish innovative products to a strong network of sales points and service centres, Aditi Ganguly, National Activation Manager, Lenovo India, said.

The newly opened store in Kochi will offer the company’s full range of stylish feature rich cutting edge Lenovo IdeaPad notebooks and netbooks and desktops including the latest Lenovo IdeaCentre A 600 all in one desktop.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 was also unveiled here.

SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT SLUMP BOTTOMING OUT
Bangalore
The Times of India (Bangalore edition)

The semiconductor equipment industry will gradually improve through the rest of the year and into 2010, according to a report by Gartner.

“The outlook is beginning to improve, as it appears capital equipment spending has bottomed out in the second quarter of 2009,” according to the consulting firm. But the current uptick in semiconductor sales will not be sufficient to overcome the effects of industry-wide overcapacity and low utilization rates in the short term. The industry has faced one of the worst downturns, and has been responding to it by eliminating unnecessary spending, cutting purchases and inventories and not doing anything dramatic.

Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is on pace to total $24.3 billion in 2009, a 44.8% decline from the 2008 spending of $44 billion. In 2010, such spending is forecast to reach $29.4 billion, a 20.9% increase from 2009.

 

Computer Industry News: 15/06/09

LEXMARK AIMS TO DOUBLE SALES
Mumbai, June 15, 2009
The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)  Financial Chronicle  

Global printing and imaging solutions provider, Lexmark International, aims to double its sales revenue from laser printers in the country to $20 million in the next two-three years, a top company official said. “In 2008, we earned a revenue of $10 million through sales of our laser printers. We are targeting to double this to $20 million by 2011,” Lexmark International India’s country manager, Kumar Priya Ranjan, said here. The company’s focus in the country would be on the enterprise space in banking, retail and insurance, Ranjan said. Lexmark International reported revenues of $4.6 billion worldwide in 2008, he said.

SERVER MARKET IS SEEING A DRAMATIC SHIFT
BV Mahalakshmi, June 15, 2009
Financial Chronicle

Servers are back in the limelight. Emerging technologies like virtualisation and cloud computing are changing the way servers are deployed today. The focus is slowly moving away from just raw performance to scalability and return on investment. “I feel that the server market is as exciting as ever right now,” says Jeff VerHeul, corporate vice-president of Central Engineering at AMD. He is also the co-leader of AMD’s Central Engineering group with Chekib Akrout, having direct responsibility for AMD’s system on chip (SOC) and Unified Northbridge engineering efforts. Previously, Jeff was responsible for AMD’s design engineering organisation, including driving AMD’s silicon roadmaps and providing leadership to seven engineering sites worldwide. Jeff is confident about the growing server market due to emerging technologies. In a recent chat, he accepts that the war in the server market is on and AMD would be keeping momentum, hopefully to launch a 12-core processor by the first quarter of 2010.

Excerpts:

After the launch of Istanbul, how do you view the server business globally and specifically, growing markets such as India?

Emerging technologies like virtualisation and cloud computing are changing the way servers are deployed today. The focus is slowly moving from just raw performance to scalability and return on investment. In the 4P (socket) server and the 8P server market, we view the trend as moving towards performance and expandability. Virtualisation is driving the need for more cores and greater scalability. In the 1P and mainstream 2P server market, power efficiency and value appear to be the primary drivers for ultra-dense and cloud computing environments.

There are essentially two sets of requirements in the enterprise sector: virtualisation, which is driving the need for more number of cores and scalability and cloud computing, which is driving the need for greater energy efficiency. Both have huge potential in India and AMD is addressing this with Istanbul—the new six-core AMD Opteron processor. We will continue to serve the needs of this market with a strong, customer-driven roadmap. While Istanbul is based on the same robust 45nm silicon as Shanghai, there are two additional CPU cores that have been added without an increase in the power envelope.

Additionally, AMD has made enhancements to the coherent HyperTransport technology interconnect with the innovative HyperTransport technology HT Assist that is designed to reduce traffic in processor-to-processor communications. Additionally, the Northbridge speed on Istanbul processors has been increased to 2.2GHz—as compared to 2.0GHz for Shanghai.

The war in the server market seems to be intensifying with Intel planning to launch 8-core Nehalem Ex chip by 2010. How do you plan to improve AMD’s marketshare?

We are not standing still. We are working on our next-generation products. Because of AMD’s near perfect engineering effort, and Global Foundries’ superior manufacturing execution, we launched our Istanbul processor several months ahead of the scheduled launch, originally planned for the second half of 2009. We will keep our momentum and launch the 12-core processor by the first quarter of 2010.

We are focused on delivering the best products for the market regardless of the macro economic conditions. I feel that the server market is as exciting as ever right now. Earlier, the focus was on raw performance, but the customer value shift is currently underway with virtualisation driving the need for more cores and for greater scalability, performance and expandability. Because of a dramatic customer value shift happening in the server market, AMD believes the purchase decision is no longer simply based on the speed or number of processors in the server—its now about how a server must be used and what it must do. Performance per watt (energy efficiency) is also a key consideration. AMD’s roadmap has and will evolve to address emerging trends and such keen-sighted innovation will definitely help us strengthen our market position.

A recent IDC report said that the server shipments may sink to 26% in first the quarter, but there could be a reverse in 2010...

We are focused on creating solutions that customers will require. This is still a large market and a strategic priority for us, regardless of near-term economic dynamics.

AMD is tightening its focus both in microprocessors and graphics innovation. What is the role you envisage for the Indian engineering team in this exercise?

Our new ‘One AMD’ structure was designed to optimise AMD’s operations and further integrate the company’s x86 processor and graphics technologies. When it comes to high end technology products/solutions such as processors, the development process is not as simple as it seems. The ever changing market dynamics pose a challenging environment for the engineering teams to deliver business relevant products, not to forget in the least time-to-market. This has resulted in a closely coordinated effort across all of AMD’s development centres.

AMD’s India R&D operations are part of our Processor Solutions Engineering group, which directs the development and execution of AMD’s CPU platform/product roadmaps in partnership with AMD’s business units. AMD’s R&D centres in India have played a pivotal role in the development of our current and next generation products for a long time now.

HANDY DIGITAL ART
Priyanka Joshi, New Delhi, June 15, 2009
Business Standard

Graphics tablets are a handy alternative to mouse pads. They function as a great input device to help speed production time for photo editing, design and art creation. A capable graphics tablet can perform a variety of non-drawing tasks that are difficult to perform with a mouse, and these include editing images, creating digital signatures or sketching diagrams or flow charts.

Intuos4 pen tablet: Wacom, the most popular name in graphics tablet, recently launched Intuos4 pen tablet that’s best suited for those who want a highly portable, professional device that snuggles comfortably in the laptop bag. The tablet has been designed intelligently, with a button layout that works well for both left- and right-handed users. With Intuos4, the keys and a touch strip are located on one side of the tablet to facilitate an easy access.

The circular touch-pad reduces repetitive motion strain and makes more sense for most functions. The centre of the ring toggles between 4 different functions, giving it a wider variety of potential uses. The entire tablet can also be flipped 180 degrees for left- or right-handed use. The pen that is bundled along the tablet has a nib point that functions just like a pencil and the other end serves as the eraser.

The Wacom Intuos4 tablet comes in four sizes . The smallest sized Wacom tablet starts at Rs 14,000 and the largest costs Rs 46,200. The money is worth investing for graphic designers, animators, photographers, business offices, educational institutions and ofcourse kids.

Bamboo Fun tablet: Alternative input devices come and go, but the Wacom

Bamboo Fun tablet can be a stylish change. The Bamboo pen-tablet can mimic the pencil & paper experience in a very high -tech way. Starting up is simple, it requires plugging the USB cable into the tablet’s port, followed by installation of drivers from the CD. The pen (comes with the tablet) is very comfortable and Wacom has done away with the clear acrylic removable surface, replacing it with a textured surface that renders a pen-on-paper experience.

The tablet detects the pen movement well before the pen even touches it. Keeping the number of controls to just three, Wacom’s made the tablet a lot less complicated. A touch-pad scroll wheel makes it easy to scroll up and down pages and zoom in and out. Users have to just move finger in a circular motion to scroll up or down or zoom in or out.

Handwriting recognition is great on this device. Just try to do your child’s math homework and you will realise why Wacom’s calling this a Bamboo Fun tablet. Prices start at Rs 6,499 (depending on size of the tablet). The Bamboo Fun tablet packs in a cordless mouse too. The tablet, pen, tablet controls, and mouse make a comprehensive set of input devices that can completely replace your regular keyboard and mouse, if you like.

With both Bamboo Fun and Intuos4, you can explore the pen-based features that are included in operating systems like Microsoft Windows Vista and Mac OS. Users can also personalise their notes in documents or append signatures at the end of emails with a graphics tablet. It really is great fun when you can use the tablet to create drawings, turn your photographs into works of art, or practice your drawing skills.

SWITCHED ON
June 15, 2009
The Hindu Business Line

Delta Group has introduced a new range of 1 KVA to 3 KVA UPS systems called E Series in the Indian market, aimed at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the corporate segment. Besides other features, the UPS has extended battery runtime up to 4 hours as standard and scalable up to 24 hours, says the company. The UPS has a two-year warranty as per manufacture standard format and is available at a starting price of Rs 9,999, says the company.

LAPTOPS FOR STUDENTS
New Delhi, June 15, 2009
The Statesman

Going tech-savvy, SRC this academic year will facilitate purchase of laptops for its students so that they make best use of technology. “It will lessen the paper work and students can share academic matter and assessment with their teacher any time,” said Prof Jain. The faculty member (65) have already received laptops made by Dell.

CATCH THEM YOUNG!
The Financial Express

It’s hot! I am not talking about the soaring mercury over most parts of the country alone, but also about the very compact, almost pocket-able, lightweight computers called netbook

HP (Hewlett Packard) used fashion icon Vivienne Tam’s flowing floral design in shades of red to hook young corporate ladies to grab their limited edition Clutch at a premium price. Sony targeted the hip pocket of the young ladies’ jeans with the introduction of their rather pricey Sony Vaio P. The other players who are in the race such as Acer, MSI, Lenovo and LG are already in the process to come out with their generation-II netbooks

Not to be left behind, computer giant Dell too has entered the fray by launching their netbook called Latitude 2100 Education. This time aiming the school going kids. Catch them young!

LEADING THE FUTURE
June 15, 2009
The Financial Express

Samsung India is relying on premium technology, innovative products to drive its growth in India this Year. The company is looking at a 25-27 percent growth in sales this year on a sales turnover of US$1.7 Billion that it achieved in the year 2008.

The Company has launched innovative, leading technology products in the Consumer Electronics, Mobile and the IT product categories which will be the growth drivers for the company in this year.

THE NAME INDIA TRUSTS
June 15, 2009
The Financial Express

Samsung has today become a household name in India. In an interaction, Jung Soo Shin, President & CEO, Samsung talks about the company’s future plans for the Indian market -

Samsung is today a leader in a variety of products. What will be your area of focus for the years 2009-10?

In the Year 2009, new technologies like LED TVs, business segments like mobile phones and netbook/notebooks will be the growth drivers for the company in India.

Samsung has launched mobile handsets which are based on extremely advanced technological base; how are you catching up vis a vis the competitions in terms of the acceptance? What are the expectations which will truly define the Samsung in this category?

Today, we are the second larget mobile handset player, globally as well as in the Indian market. We are trying to reach out to customers across different segments with mobiles for every lifestyle. We have a portfolio of over 50 handsets across the essential, multimedia, touch screen, dual sim and business phone segments. True to our Next is what? Philosophy, we want to provide our consumers with the next level of mobile experience, be it in the entry level Guru series or our touch screen phones.

The overall approach is to give our consumers differentiated products in every segment and an enhanced user experience.