Lenovo to Try Laptops for Small Business More

In any country, small businesses perhaps generate most number of jobs. So, this is an attractive market for laptop makers. Lenovo is now taking this market seriously. In a bid to attract small business customers, the company has launched two ThinkPad Edge laptops. There two models have some attractive features. The thing that I liked most is the fact that would support 3G and 4G technology. It means that they will support high speed Internet and you can be truly portable.

From a press release of the company:

Edge Out the Competition

Starting at just $599, the affordable ThinkPad Edge laptops combine price, productivity features SMBs need like fast processing, wireless options and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) features, in a sleek, modern design. The laptops come equipped with:

 Choices of the latest Intel® Core™ i5 and i3 Series as well as Celeron™ processors

Strong VoIP features including high resolution cameras and an HD LED screen

Array of multimedia with DVD/RW, VGA and HDMI out for watching HD content and a 7-in1 multicard reader

Choices of wireless technologies including 4G, 3G and WiFi

Comfortable spill-resistant new contemporary-style ThinkPad keyboard with multitouch touchpad

Heatwave red or midnight black finishes

 To help save busy SMBs time and money, Lenovo also includes ThinkVantage Technologies (TVT) productivity tools. TVTs like Rescue and Recovery help recover lost or corrupted files while Access Connections helps easily connect and manage Internet connections.

Apple would sell its old iPhone models at full price without any contract from AT&T

Now you can buy an Apple iPhone without any contract from AT&T. However, there are two drawbacks- first, you would have to pay full price of the phone; second, though the phone is said to be unlocked, it would not run on any other network. I do not know what Apple is really trying to do. However, this offer has not been confirmed yet. Popular gadget website, Gizmodo, dug out an internal memo from Apple which says:

"Effective immediately, customers purchasing an iPhone as a device only at full price are no longer required to have an AT&T account."

The memo specifically refers to the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S, two of the older versions of Apple iPhone. It is believed that Apple is trying to empty its inventory as it is going to release iPhone 4G in the middle of 2010. Business analysts say that this would not create any serious change. The 8GB iPhone 3G without contact would sell for $499, the 16GB iPhone 3GS would sell for $599 and 32GB iPhone 3GS would sell for $699. Are you interested?

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Facebook vs Google: The New Rivalry?

Facebook just overtook Google as the most visited website. Many people perhaps became surprised but I was not surprised because Facebook is now very popular and everyone I know think that Facebook is part of their life. I am only one of the rare persons who still do not have a facebook account or who don’t visit the website. On the other hand, I find Google very useful and I can not think of life without Google everyday.

So, if you want to compare between these two websites then you will notice one thing. Facebook is mainly for fun and entertainment. On the other hand, when you need to search something you have to do it with Google. There is a fear now that a Facebook may develop its own search system or come in partnership with Yahoo or Microsoft. Then, it can cause a serious damage to the search engine business of Google. However, I am not worried for it because as long as Google can produce relevant search result, I don’t see any problem with the search engine business of Google.

When you need to search about something we automatically visit Google and it brings us the best result. If Facebook can do so then I have no problem to controvert to Facebook. However, I am not impressed with Yahoo search and Live search. One of the things is that I have noticed is that Yahoo and Microsoft both are not good when it comes to real time search. For example, I am writing this entry and after few minutes I will upload it. When I upload it then Google will index it within just one to five minutes. Often I can find that my entries get index within one minute. However, I am not sure whether Live or Yahoo will index it even in the next 24 hours.

The basic idea of Facebook is very simple. It wants that more and more people visit the website and then they can earn money. On the other hand, Google has given some free facilities like Blogger and Google has also partnered with many persons around the world like me to give the opportunity to earn money. I live in a country where Adsense is the only way I can earn money in internet. 

Apple observed 1,20,000 iPad pre orders on March 12th

From March 12, 2010, Apple started to take pre-orders for its much talked about iPad. Apple sold 1,20,000 units on the first day which dropped considerably in the second and third day. The AAPL Sanity Board at Investor Village came up with this number. They also reported that Apple sold 51,000 units in the first two hours. Apple Insider reports:

Most among the preorders tracked at Investor Village opted for the Wi-Fi-only model, coming on top by a two-to-one margin. The Wi-Fi iPad will be available April 3, while the 3G-enabled versions, which carry a $130 premium, will arrive later that month. Preorders saw a relatively even split among capacities, with the largest model, 64GB, accounting for 35 percent of orders.

According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt, by Saturday and Sunday, the orders came down to 1000 units per hour. Another famous blogger, Daniel Tello, who goes by the name, Deagol, tracked Apple’s numbers and predicted that Apple would be able to sell about 30,000 iPad preorders on weekdays and half of that on weekends. He predicted that Apple would receive about half-million pre-orders. He said that Apple would sell 1 million units by the second week after the shipment of device starts.

Facebook is going to open operations and support center in India

On March 15, 2010, famous social networking site, Facebook, announced that it is going to open its operations and support center in India to provide better services to its customers in the U.S and other countries. The announcement comes a week after it announced to open two new facilities in Austin and Texas.

Facebook will open office in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh and the most populous city of the state. The city already houses offices of many famous multi-national tech-companies. Don Faul, Facebook director of global online operations wrote:

"As more and more people share and connect on Facebook, we are growing our operations and teams to support them around the world,...By having multiple support centers in a variety of time zones, we can provide better round-the-clock, multi-lingual support,"

Faul did not mention how many people Facebook would hire in its Indian center. The company is receiving $200,000 “economic development incentives” from Hyderabad authority.

On the other hand, in the new facilities in Austin and Texas, Facebook will hire 200 sales and operations workers.

Faul said that both these offices would allow Facebook to offer better services to its more than 400 million customers and advertisers and developers.

Related article:

Information Week

Apple announced to give users a new iPad if it faces battery problem

The pre-order for Apple iPad has started and Apple announced that it will replace your old iPad with a new one for $99 in case if your device’s battery is damaged during the warranty period. PC Mag.com reports:

Provided your iPad hasn't gone through some catastrophic amount of damage--"as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications," suggests Apple--then you'll be eligible to take advantage of the company's battery replacement service.

Battery is one of the major drawbacks of Apple products such as the iPhone and iPod and the company has battery replacement offers for these products. Apple iPhone owners would get a free battery replacement if their devices' working capacity drops below 50% in the first year of ownership.

Now, you can ask, why charge $99? The new iPad you will receive is not actually a fresh iPad that just came out from Apple’s manufacturing line. It is actually a refurbished product. When a user returns an Apple product, Apple places it under “Fix it” bean. The product is then fixed and stored. When another user come up with a similar but damaged product, Apple send that refurbished item to the user. This is done to save time. Apple also uses the same approach for its battery replacement. The $99 actually covers the cost of refurbishing.

Issues Apple need to take care regarding its iPad

Apple iPad is coming to the market next month. So many things have been said about this device. Many people feel that it would be so popular like other Apple devices such the iPhone or Apple iPod. I also talked about the strength and weaknesses of Apple iPad in my earlier posts. Here are some of the issues Apple need to pay attention regarding the iPad.

The Apple iPad will support iPhone tethering. Recently, Steve Jobs had an email interview with Swedish record producer, Jezper Söderlund. In answer to one of Jezper’s question, Mr. Jobs said that Apple iPad would not support tethering. The iPhone can share its Wi-Fi with desktop or laptop. However, it is not possible with the iPad but it is not the device’s fault. AT&T the official carrier of the iPhone does not support tethering in the U.S. AT&T said that it would support tethering but did not give out any particular date. This means that iPhone subscribers who are also using the iPad would have to pay for another data plan. I think, AT&T is intentionally doing it so that users could not put too much pressure on its network. The iPhone users already consume lion’s share of AT&T’s 3G data services and it failed to keep up with their appetite. It does not want to see the same thing with the iPad.

Many did not like the idea that Apple iPad has no camera. Since its unveiling, numerous news reports said that Apple would offer camera in future models while some news reports said that the iPad would come to the stores with camera. Anyway, people are asking for camera.

Apple does not support flash which means you would not be able to access Disney, Hulu, ESPN, Farmville, JibJab, and many flash based online games. This is why famous publisher, Condé Nast, is only going to release its Wired magazine content on the iPad. It already has an application for the iPhone which enables the users to access its GQ magazine on the iPhone. The publisher develops its content around Adobe flash.

Lack of USB is another major problem for the iPad. The iPad has a docking port which limits the capability of buying accessories for the device. Many believe that this has been intentionally done by Apple so that people buy its accessories.

Though most of the applications of the Apple iPhone run on the iPad, some applications still run on small screen. This will come as a disappointment for many users.

The Apple iPad comes with LED backlit In-Plane Switching (IPS) display which is not so power efficient. Too much movie watching or game playing will drain battery power. LED screens are also not good for the eyes compared to e-ink displays of the ebook readers including the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. So, in reality Apple is not such an effective e-book reader.

Already iPhone subscribers are not happy with AT&T’s service. Who knows if Apple iPad users would run into the same problem or not.

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PC mag.com

Apple showed iPad commercial at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony

The much talked about Apple iPad is coming to the market in April. Prior to that, the company showed the first Apple iPad commercial during the 82^nd Academy Awards ceremony. The commercial was very simple. It showed a person using an Apple iPad by putting on his lap. The commercial briefly showed the various functions an Apple iPad can perform.

This is not the first time, Apple showed ads for its products during a high profile TV show. In 1984, Apple unveiled the Macintosh personal computer during the Super Bowl XVIII. The company also showed iPhone ads during Oscar ceremonies in the past. The new commercial had been posted on YouTube. You can also look at it here.

The 82^nd Academy Awards ceremony organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. ABC Channel broadcasted the show. Famous Hollywood actors, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosted the show.

The Apple iPad was unveiled at an event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on January 27, 2010. The device sports a 9.7 inch screen. It would hit the market on April 3, 2010 but Apple would start taking pre-orders starting from March 12, 2010. The device will be released in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. in late April.

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PC World

Apple iPad launched might be delayed by a month

Apple’s iPad launch might be postponed by a month and would be released only in the U.S. initially. In a research note, published on March 1, 2010, Peter Misek, an analyst from Canaccord Adams, claimed hearing a rumor of “manufacturing bottleneck” which would limit the production of iPad to 300,000 units. Earlier, Apple announced that 1000k iPads would be ready to be released. Channel Register.co.uk reports:

"An unspecified production problem at the iPad's manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision, will likely limit the launch region to the US," Misek said in the note. "It is also possible that, given the limited number of units available in March, the launch will be delayed for a month."

Misek also said that this delay would not have a major impact on the demand of Apple iPad except few unhappy Apple fans. Misek predicted that Apple would sell roughly 1.2 million iPads in 2010 and 3.5 million in 2011. He also raised the forecast of his iPhone sales in the current quarter to 7.9 million units from his previous prediction of 7.2 million.

Condé Nast’s will release content on iPad but first Apple and Adobe should clear things out

With Apple slated to come out in March, publishers are lining up to release their content on Apple iPad tablet PC. Condé Nast, announced that it will provide content for Apple iPad. The deal has not been finalized yet. Initially, it would only release its Wired magazine on the iPad. The publisher will also experience with different prices, advertisements and “approaches” to digitize the magazine.

For a long time, Condé Nast has been working on developing a version of Wired that would run on Apple iPad. In the fall of 2009, Condé Nast unveiled the conceptual version of its Wired magazine application. In January, Condé Nast showed a demo at a small industry gathering prior to the release of Apple iPad. In February, the publisher demonstrated the Wired magazine application in front of a crowd at TED conference.

The biggest hurdle is that Condé Nast built its applications around Adobe Flash, which the iPad does not support. By this time, all of you know about the war of words between Steve Jobs and Adobe. For this reason, Condé Nast said that it would only release Wired on iPad. Unless iPad and Adobe work something out, it would not release its other magazines. Condé Nast also has an application for its GQ magazine that is available on the iPhone.

Till October 2010, Condé Nast will run “R&D” where Condé Nast will experiment with two different distribution models.

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The Christian Science Monitor