Lenovo starts LePad sale in China
China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. has started the sale of its first tablet PC, LePad in China.
Lenovo’s move comes after other major electronics companies like Dell Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. have begun selling tablet devices to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPad. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. will start selling its PlayBook in North America next month.
The LePad has a 10.1 inch screen and runs Google Inc.’s Android software. Lenovo is selling four versions, starting at US$533 for a version with Wi-Fi wireless Internet connectivity and 16 gigabytes of memory. A version with 3G cellular connectivity and the same amount of memory starts at US$700.
As per Lenovo spokesman Jay Chen, the LePad went on sale in China on Monday and will go on sale outside China by June.
LG plans for quadruple increase in 2011 smartphone sales
The world’s third-largest maker of mobile phones, LG Electronics Inc., aims to fourfold smartphone sales this year in an effort to turn around its money-losing handset business.
According to the company, smartphone sales are targeted to rise to 30 million units, without providing a year-earlier figure. Including other types of handsets, LG plans to sell 150 million phones, a 30% increase from last year.
The mobile-phone division posted a third straight quarterly loss last month after LG’s sales of smartphones lagged behind rivals such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. LG is rolling out more of its Optimus models powered by Google Inc.’s Android software and equipped with the latest technologies, including 3-D functionality, to revive earnings.
According to the company, the electronics maker will introduce 20 smartphones this year and expand its research and development staff by 15% percent to more than 6,000 employees. The handset maker unveiled an 8.9-inch tablet computer called the LG Optimus Pad and the LG Optimus 3D smartphone, capable of recording 3-D images, at the event this week.
S. Korea’s SK to unveil smartphone with set top box capability
South Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said on Monday that it will release a smartphone that can also serve as a set-top box, playing content on personal computers, tablet PCs and TVs.
The smartphone named “Galaxy S hoppin,” made by Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930), will hit shelves in the local market this week, SK Telecom said in a statement.
The new phone represents the company’s efforts to tap into the growing demand for the seamless exchange of content on different devices, including smartphones, personal computers, tablet PCs and TVs.
Connecting the new smartphone to the TV will turn the phone into a set-top box, which allows streaming content saved on the phone to be displayed on larger TV screens, SK Telecom said. As they leave the living room, consumers can pick up the movie where they left off on smartphones or other devices.
The service at this stage requires the new smartphone to view the same content on desktop computers, phones and TVs. But SK Telecom will later upgrade the service to allow direct streaming of Web content on TVs without smartphones, according to Lee Jae-hwan, a company official.
Mobile software makers, cable companies and TV manufacturers have been stepping up their efforts to find the best way to seamlessly bring the endless sources on the Internet to the living room.
Apple Inc., Google Inc., Comcast Corp. and Samsung Electronics are among the companies that are racing to grab a lead in the market where one source of content works on multiple devices and consumer electronics products, but no business model has emerged as a clear winner yet.
The Korean mobile carrier, which accounts for about half of the country’s wireless market, plans to offer some 3,500 movies, TV shows and music videos initially and later expand the list to 10,000. One movie will be priced between 1,000 won and 3,500 won (US$3.13).
The Galaxy S hoppin sports the same features as the Galaxy S, including the Android system and a 4-inch screen.
IBM, Samsung in cooperation to develop chip technology
IBM and Samsung Electronics Co have announced that both the companies will jointly develop new semiconductor technology to be used in smartphones and other new gadgets.
According to the company, International Business Machines Corp and Samsung are planning to research new chip materials and improvements in process technology, to develop smaller and more energy efficient semiconductor products.
The step comes as more consumers and office workers are using mobile phones and tablet computers for Web access, leading to demand for new kinds of semiconductor technologies.
Acer Unveils Three Tablet Computers
The world’s second- largest computer maker, Acer has unveiled a lineup of three tablet devices to compete with Apple’s iPad.
According to Acer, two of the three tablets will be based on Google Inc.’s Android platform and feature 7-inch and 10.1-inch screens, while the third 10.1-inch-display device will run on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software. Acer intends to capture about 10% of the market for tablets.
Acer is the latest PC maker to join the tablet PC bandwagon after Apple Inc.’s iPad attracted strong consumer demand. Many device makers including BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., have recently announced plans to introduce tablets to compete with Apple’s wildly popular product.
According to Jim Wong, Acer’s head of information-technology products, this is a market that’s still not fully known, not fully satisfied. The company expects 40 million to 50 million tablets will be sold worldwide next year.
The two Android tablets will be available in April and the Microsoft device will go on sale in February. All three will offer Wi-Fi connectivity and allow users to surf the Internet using a 3G connection. Wong said the tablets would likely be in the previously stated range of $299 to $699.
Acer has also released a smartphone with a 4.8-inch screen based on Android that they touted as a phone with the soul of a tablet.
Gemalto files patent infringement lawsuit on Android in US
Gemalto, French smart card maker and digital security company NV has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. against Google Inc., HTC Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics CO., Ltd. and Samsung Telecommunications America LLC.
According to the company’s statement, the lawsuit concerns the use of Gemalto’s innovations in the Android operating system, Dalvik virtual machine and associated development tools and products. The patented technologies in the lawsuit, in particular Gemalto’s Java Card Technology, were developed in the 1990′s at Gemalto’s research and development facilities in Texas.
According to the complaint on the website of the U.S. law firm hired by Gemalto, McKool Smith, the Java Card Technology enables Java applications and applications developed in other high level programming languages to run on resource-constrained devices such as smart cards and mobile phones.
As per the complaint, the Mountain View, California-based Internet search giant Google develops and actively distributes to application developers and device manufacturers what it refers to as the Android Platform, which incorporates Gemalto’s patented Java Card Technology without its permission. Taiwan’s HTC, U.S. telecommunications company Motorola and Korean company Samsung Electronics make, use, sell and offer to sell Android Devices having the Android Operating System and Android Applications, including mobile phones. The Android devices provided by defendants that incorporate the Android Operating System and Android Applications infringe one or more claims of the patents-in-suit.
