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BetaNews.Com (10 non lus)

The Chinese are coming, and they're taking your smartphone

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 9:35pm CET par Ed Oswald

Highlighting the increased clout of the Chinese consumer in today's high-tech marketplace, research firm Strategy Analytics released results of a study Wednesday that finds smartphone shipments to China eclipsed the United States for the first time last quarter. At 24 million units, China is now the largest smartphone market in the world.

The findings show why phone manufacturers have increasingly turned their attention to the Far East. Apple began selling the iPhone in China in 2009 on China Unicom, and other manufacturers increasingly are looking to the country and its TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE homegrown networking technologies.

Smartphone sales are going in two different directions, depending on the country. In China, sales were up 58 percent over the second quarter, while in the United States they fell by 7 percent. In other words, there's a lot of money to be made across the Pacific.

"China's rapid growth has been driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in retail channels, aggressive subsidizing by operators of high-end models like the Apple iPhone, and an emerging wave of low-cost Android models from local Chinese brands such as ZTE", Strategy Analytics director Tom Kang explains.

Whereas in America HTC leads all smartphone manufacturers with 24 percent share, in China the leader is Nokia. The Finnish phone maker's strength here can be seen as nothing but good news, considering its weakness worldwide. Capturing a third of the market just a year ago, Strategy Analytics found its worldwide share cut by over half to 14 percent in the third quarter.

"China is now at the forefront of the worldwide mobile computing boom", executive director Neil Mawston adds. "China has become a large and growing smartphone market that no hardware vendor, component maker or content developer can afford to ignore".

Photo Credit: Koshevnyk/Shutterstock
Is Microsoft preparing another Yahoo bid?

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 8:24pm CET par Ed Oswald

The stage is set for an eventful holiday season at Yahoo. Sources close to the struggling Sunnyvale, Calif. search company tell the New York Times that Microsoft has signed a non-disclosure agreement which allows it to look into the media giant's books. The Redmond, Wash.-based company joins Silver Lake, TPG Capital and several others as potential suitors.

Talk of a Yahoo sale has increased since September, when a memo from former CEO Jerry Yang leaked to the press. "Our advisers are working with us to develop ideas that we will pursue proactively. At the same time, they are fielding inquiries from multiple parties that have already expressed interest in a number of potential options", the note reads.

Yahoo's NDA forbids those pursuing the company from talking to other potential bidders. Microsoft may have found a way around that provision though, as it has already held discussions with some of the bidders including Silver Lake, according to the Times.

Microsoft does have a business interest in Yahoo. In July 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo signed an agreement outsouring search. Thirteen months later, Bing started serving up Yahoo search results. The agreement has helped make Microsoft search a viable alternative to Google; combined Microsoft and Yahoo US search share was 30 percent in October, according to comScore. Not playing a part in where Yahoo ends up could prove detrimental to Microsoft.

The company appears to be mounting an effort to purchase Yahoo outright rather than take a minority stake. Other potential suitors will likely take that route. There are other companies also considering bids including Alibaba, which Yahoo owns a 40 percent stake in.

This would be Microsoft's second shot at Yahoo. The software giant mounted a $44.6 billion hostile takeover in February 2008, which failed. Neither company responded to BetaNews' request for comment. The NDA would likely prohibit Microsoft and Yahoo from confirming any new bid.
EssentialPIM 4.5 Pro syncs with Google Docs

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 7:27pm CET par Nick Peers

Astonsoft Ltd has released version 4.5 of both free and Pro editions of its personal information manager, EssentialPIM. Version 4.5, which is also available as a portable build, adds a number of new features and improvements.

The most notable new features -- full sync capabilities with Google Docs and Google Tasks, a new Attachment Manager and support for custom fields and filters in the To Do Module -- are restricted to EssentialPIM 4.5 Pro only.

Other minor new features are available to both Free and Pro users. EssentialPIM 4.5 gains support for one-way syncs with all supported online services, with a new option for choosing whether to synchronize First/Last or Last/First names. The password module is also the recipient of several unspecified “improvements”.

The email module has also been improved, with a new compress command for each IMAP folder helping reclaim lost disk space. Email can also now be received through a proxy server, and Unicode attachment support has also been added.

EssentialPIM 4.5 also adds support for Plaxo import and LinkedIn import and export. The interface has been refreshed with a new font and the Attachments toolbar has also been improved. In terms of performance tweaks, the program claims to open EPIM Today and Mail modules quicker than the previous build.

EssentialPIM 4.5 Free and EssentialPIM 4.5 Free Portable are available for free download for PCs running Windows 2000 or later. EssentialPIM 4.5 Pro is also available as a free trial download – the full version costs $39.95.

Photo Credit: tele52/Shutterstock
Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 treats cloud and desktop the same

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 6:35pm CET par Mike Williams

Ashampoo’s Burning Studio has never made quite as many headlines as the big disc burning suites, perhaps because the program concentrates on ease of use rather than forever adding unnecessary "bonus"features that you’ll never use.

The package still manages to include interesting capabilities that you won’t always find elsewhere, though, like the ability to create interactive autostart menus for your data discs. And the latest release, Ashampoo Burning Studio 11, continues this tradition with easy and time-saving integration for your Facebook, Dropbox, Picasa and Flickr accounts.

The idea is a simple one. Traditionally disc burning tools have assumed any files you’d like to burn are located on your own PC, but these days there’s a good chance that at least some will be stored in the cloud somewhere. And so whenever you add files to a project, Burning Studio 11 now uses a custom dialog that allows you to directly access your Flickr, Picasa, Dropbox and Facebook accounts, browse your stored files and select whatever you need, just as easily as if they were on your own desktop.

Other additions this time around are much smaller, though very practical and still worth having. So, for instance, Burning Studio 11 can burn audio CDs from many common playlist formats. The program has an option to normalize the volume of MP3 and WMA CDs. And as well as creating and burning images, Burning Studio 11 now makes it easy to browse them, and extract whatever files and folders you like.

Not every new feature is quite as interesting. The new Compact Mode, for example, just reduces the program to an icon, where you can drag and drop files whenever you want to burn discs. Which is fine, but others have done something similar with desktop gadgets for quite some time.

Overall, though, Burning Studio 11 remains an excellent program, which manages to be easy to use without compromising on functionality. It now also performs better than ever, thanks to new multi-core optimizations, and so if you’re looking for a burning suite without all the usual bloat then this could be a sensible choice.
ArtWeaver 3 adds team creation features

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 6:23pm CET par Nick Peers

Boris Eyrich Software has released version 3.0 of its painting application. Artweaver 3.0 Free, which is also available as a paid-for Plus edition with more features, adds a new collaborative feature that allows artists sat at different computers to work on the same document -- either over their local area network or via ArtweaverTeam.com (free account required).

This is the only new feature in the free version, and is accompanied by a number of unspecified bug fixes. The Plus Edition, which costs €29, boasts many more new features to go with its enhanced feature set, plus performance and interface improvements.

The new collaborative feature works across local area networks or, from free accounts, the Internet via ArtweaverTeam.com. It’s managed via a new Team window where users can come together to work simultaneously on the same document, using the window to chat as they work.

The Plus edition adds a number of new features: two new brushes (warping and coloring), a Filter Gallery, new views for preset selectors (List and Thumbnail) and a new layer properties dialog with extra settings. Improvements include faster read operations, better drag-and-drop palette docking and various interface tweaks.

Artweaver Free 3.0 is a free-for-personal-use download for PCs running Windows XP or later. Artweaver Plus 3.0 costs €29 and can be downloaded as a 14-day trial separately.
PhatPad for Android tablets launches in beta: dumb name, but great app

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 6:16pm CET par Tim Conneally

PhatWare, makers of WritePad, CalliGrapher, PenOffice, and PhatNotes, launched the public beta of PhatPad for Android on Wednesday, a brainstorming, note taking and free drawing app for tablets.

PhatPad lets users draw with their fingers, jot handwritten notes, or use a mixture of pictures and drawings, handwritten text, typed text, and audio notes in a single field. With its handwriting recognition engine, users can hand write notes, and then convert them to copy-and-pasteable text. Documents created in PhatPad can then be synchronized with Dropbox, or exported as a PDF to local storage.

PhatPad was released one year ago for the iPad with essentially the same features as this Android beta version, and it eventually got some powerful additional features like synchronization with Evernote and Google Docs, and AirPrint compatibility. Since its release, it has received good reviews and enjoyed modest success.

The initial beta test period will only last until December 31, and the .apk is available immediately, the company expects the final version to be released before the beta ends. The launch price hasn't been announced yet, but the final app on iOS has cost between $4.99 and $7.99 at different times of the year.

Download PhatPad Beta 1 for Android by clicking here.
O&O releases new defrag and disk image server software

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 6:07pm CET par Mike Williams

Hard drive management specialist O&O Software has revealed the latest Server Editions of its flagship defrag and disk imaging tools. But while the packages are clearly targeted at businesses, they could be useful to anyone who has to manage a network.

The core functionality is the same as you’ll see in the other editions. So, for instance, DiskImage 6 Server Edition is a versatile tool for backing up everything from selected files and folders, to individual partitions or complete hard drives. It’s highly flexible (you can exclude particular files from an image backup, or restore only whatever elements of an image that you actually need), and is packed with essential features.

And Defrag 15 Server Edition is perhaps even more configurable, with multiple defrag methods (on demand, on schedule, at boot time, automatically, and more) and strategies so your system is always running at its peak performance.

In combination with O&O’s Enterprise Management Console, though, you’re able to deploy and remotely install the programs on other networked PCs, then control them from your own system. So in just a few clicks you’re able to set up jobs to automate the backup or defragmentation of your entire network, but without ever leaving your own PC, or requiring other network users to do anything at all.

And, as you might guess from the “Server Edition” name, the programs can also be installed on Windows Server (2003, 2008 and 2008 R2). While other business-friendly features include O&O Defrag 15 Server Edition’s Active Directory integration.

There is a price to pay for this extra power, of course. O&O Defrag costs $23 for the Professional Edition, $99 for the Server; DiskImage 6 is $29.95 for the regular Professional Edition, $99 for theServer option. The network management features could save you a great deal of time, though, and of course if they appeal then you can sample the trial version before you buy.

Photo Credit: Raimundas/Shutterstock
'The Next Big Thing' isn't iPhone

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 5:11pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Last night I watched Samsung TV commercial "The Next Big Thing is Already Here" about a dozen times on YouTube. I'm a sucker for good advertising, and this one is clever to a punch and already is viral among tech blogs. Apple used to make adverts like this one -- inventive, clever, memorable -- now they're staid and boring. Anyone remember Apple's hugely successful "Switchers" and "Get a Mac" marketing campaigns from the last decade? This new TV spot is a hilarious poke at yokels waiting in line for the newest iPhone, all without mentioning Apple; meanwhile something better is already here -- from Samsung.

Now before some commenter calls me anti-Apple, because I watched the commercial a dozen times and it snarks the iPhone cult, my interest is bigger. The advert is clever in so many ways, particularly how it uses jump cuts or little touches make it real. Example: When the iPhone line waiters ask to see a Samsung Galaxy S II, the owner holds it up. Someone in the line leans forward, raises his arm and says: "Can I see it with my hands?" I've embedded the long version above, which isn't as tight or dramatic as the 60-second spot. There's something to be said about tighter editing, more closeups and shorter jump cuts. The 30-second edit is good, too. Update: The 15-second ad is absolutely cruel.

"The Next Big Thing" is among the best tech ads I've seen in years. But it's not the only one recently notable, and, unsurprisingly, to sell smartphones. Last week, I praised the new commercial for the Google-branded, Samsung-manufactured Galaxy Nexus. The advert is aspirational in the best ways, showing how the phone can empower you. Both commercials share a similar quality: Emphasis on the individual, over the crowd, which is startling considering how group oriented is the Millennial generation -- where sometimes it seems standing out is a crime.

"You" is everything in marketing. The best advertising shows how product X, Y or Z makes your life better. It's part of the allure of Apple nomenclature, by the way -- the "i" products. You read iPhone, iPod or iTunes but the connotation is something bigger: I, the capital letter. When I stands alone it is capitalized and refers to you, the subject. You read iPhone but really say IPhone as in my phone. Subliminal connotations have emotional hooks that, whether people want to admit it or not, impact buying decisions. Ask yourself: How often do you buy something ultimately because it feels right?

Circling back to this empowering the individual theme, there are other recent, excellent smartphone advertising examples. HTC's "Get Closer to Your Contacts" is another exceptional commercial. Here a female artist uses the photos of friends from the People hub of her Windows Phone to create a collage. The phone empowers her to express individual creativity from those folks most important to her: "In the right hands it brings you closer".

The commercial's tone reminds of an older promotional for the Nokia N79. Here a fashion designer uses the phone: "My online life has to stay with me all the time". Nokia doesn't get enough credit for its marketing, that's in part because there's so little of it in the United States and tech bloggers and journalists here are too obsessed with iPhone. Nokia marketing is exceptionally good, and it's one of the major reasons for the mobile device maker's global success. Nokia's challenge now is to reignite the kind of marketing for Windows Phone that put Symbian into the hands of billions.

By comparison, Apple advertising, while still aspirational, feels all the same. There's a dryness to commercials promoting Siri on iPhone or iPad 2 benefits. They're not bad adverts, just not as clever or memorable as those from the last decade. Meanwhile, competitors do much better. I can't emphasize the importance of that. I remember, for example, when only Apple advertised MP3 players, so is it any wonder people bought iPod when seemingly the only choice? Apple is renown for its marketing, but that's an advantage competitors are chipping away. Enjoy the embedded videos.
Nokia Siemens to lay off 17,000, eliminate unfocused business groups

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 3:23pm CET par Tim Conneally

Network infrastructure joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks announced on Wednesday its plans to cut more than a billion Euro in overhead by the end of 2013. These plans involve refocusing on mobile broadband infrastructure, and cutting its global workforce by 17,000 workers.

As of November first, Nokia Siemens Networks employed 74,000 globally, so this will constitute a 23% reduction in workforce.

The joint venture today said the reductions will include the elimination of the company’s matrix organizational structure, consolidation of sites, transference of activities to global delivery centers, consolidation of certain central functions, and elimination of redundancies from the integration of Motorola’s wireless assets it acquired for $1.2 billion last year, as well as efficiencies in service operations, and process simplification.

Nokia Siemens did not announce the countries in which it plans to institute these reductions, but says it will add more information "as the process proceeds."

Additionally, the company says the business areas that do not mesh well with the focus on mobile broadband will be divested or sold off.

“As we look towards the prospect of an independent future, we need to take action now to improve our profitability and cash generation,” said Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks. “These planned reductions are regrettable but necessary, and it is our goal to make them in a fair and responsible way, providing the support we can to employees and communities.”

Photo: Karen Roach/Shutterstock
Microsoft states the obvious about Kinect for Windows

Publié: novembre 23, 2011, 1:27am CET par Joe Wilcox

There's going to be a controller. Enough people inquired about the obvious that Craig Eisler, Kinect for Windows general manager, felt obliged to answer.

"We’ve been asked whether there will also be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows", he blogs today. "The answer is yes; building on the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device, we have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios".

Like, why wouldn't there be Kinect hardware for Windows?

"Simple changes include shortening the USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals", he writes. Wow. I'm simply quaking at the keyboard.

"Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters", he continues. Oh? Do tell more.

"'Near Mode' will enable a whole new class of 'close up' applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360", Eisler explains. "This is one of the most requested features from the many developers and companies participating in our Kinect for Windows pilot program and folks commenting on our forums, and we’re pleased to deliver this, and more, at launch".

Microsoft released the Kinect SDK for Windows beta in June. Commercial availability is expected in early 2012. Shall we guess Consumer Electronics Show in January? That's what I expect. Timing and venue are appropriate.

Meanwhile Eisler will be busy with another project: "The Kinect Accelerator". According to Microsoft:

Through this program, Microsoft is supporting entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators like you to bring to life a wide range of business ideas that leverage the limitless possibilities Kinect enables. Following a competitive screening process, ten finalists will be chosen for this unique three month incubation program running from March to May, 2012 in Seattle, WA.

Accelerator resonates with Microsoft's recently debuted "Kinect Affect" marketing campaign promoting the natural user interface technology outside of gaming, particularly for business purposes.

It's preparation for the big Kinect for Windows push that could dramatically change how businesses and individuals interact with their computers. No one should underestimate just how Kinect could revitalize the Windows PC's importance -- transforming it from that box people take for granted into something quite wondrous. You don't believe me? Watch some of the Kinect Effect videos and see how the technology is already changing lives -- all without the new hardware or final SDK.