Month: July 2009 (Page 10 of 13)

      Eric Schmidt to Reconsider His Role on Apple’s Board

      July 10, 2009 /

      Eric Schmidt.After unveiling Chrome OS this week, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said he will consider recusing himself from Apple’s board. The Chrome OS launch adds another dimension to the areas in which Apple and Google compete with one another.

      In speaking to reporters at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Schmidt said, “I’ll talk to the Apple people. At the moment, there’s no issue.” Schmidt has already been taking leave from any Apple board meeting in which the iPhone was a hot topic. Obviously Google competes directly with the iPhone with their Android operating system.

      Under federal law, no person can sit on the two board of two companies if it decreases competition between them. Schmidt’s been trying to avoid these kind of questions by opting out of certain meetings, but you kinda have to wonder what goes on behind closed doors. It’s not any kind of surprise that the FTC is curious, too.

      Like Schmidt said, though, for now there’s nothing to worry about. I guess we’ll have to see what happens in the coming months for both Apple and Google.

      Apple, Computers, iPhone, News

      Kindle Drops to $299

      July 9, 2009 /

      The Kindle 2.In case you missed it yesterday, Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle to $299. Rumor has it the price drop comes as a result of increased competition from other manufacturers eager to enter the market.

      Ross Rubin, a consumer analyst at NPD group had some disparaging remarks. “While it is a significant drop both in terms of the overall percentage of the price as well as getting under the $300 barrier, it is still not going to be enough to break it out of its niche,” he said. For the most part I agree. Getting under $300 probably means a few more people will pick up the device, but the price of the media hasn’t changed, and neither have the DRM issues, so it’s tough to see the Kindle really “take off” as a result of the cut.

      Amazon will be offering consumers a $60 credit if they purchased a Kindle in the last 30 days. The Kindle DX, which sports a larger screen, remains at the $489 price point. For now, anyway.

      Digital Media, News

      Acer Unveils T91 Tablet

      July 9, 2009 /

      Acer's T91 tablet PC.As Acer continues to climb the ranks in the world’s top hardware manufacturers (they’re number three for the people keeping track at home) they’re adding plenty of new products to their lineup, including this tablet PC. Dubbed the T91, early reports suggested the tablet might run as much as $700. Today we found out, though, that the T91 will sell for just $500.

      The real unfortunate news is that this is the single-touch version running Windows XP, not that sexy new multi-touch running Windows 7. And if this one is $500, I hate to think what the multi-touch version is going to cost. Probably more than I care to spend on a netbook.

      As for specs, $500 will get you the standard netbook fare. The T91 comes with an Atom Z520 processor clocked at 1.33Ghz, a 16GB SSD, a gig of ram and Bluetooth and 802.11n for wireless. Not a bad bundle, just hard to justify when a multi-touch can be far off.

      Computers

      Sony Says PS3 Price Cut Requests are “A Lot of Noise”

      July 8, 2009 /

      Sony's Howard Stringer isn't happy with Activision.Shortly after arriving at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Sony Corp CEO Howard Stringer had some strong words regarding recent price reduction requests from Activision CEO Bob Kotick.

      “He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer said. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business.” Stringer’s remarks come in response to an interview with Bob Kotick in June, in which Kotick mentioned Activision might seriously consider dropping the PS3 as a platform if costs didn’t come down.

      Stringer says the decision to maintain the PS3’s current price comes down to simple logic. “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic.” Well meeeOW, Mr. Stringer. Sounds like Activisions concerns may have touched a vein. Still, Stringer remains confident that the market will rebound.

      Can Sony remain financially stable in our global return from recession? A lot of developers seem to think no, as more publishers join the list clamoring for a price cut. Maybe this is just Stringer’s way of staying quiet until he can drop the PS3 Slim bomb on the world, and that’s when the price would come down. Even with a price cut, though, there’s still the increased cost for console developers on the PS3. If Sony can’t reduce development costs, no amount of logic will work Stringer out of the hole he’s in.

      Gaming, News

      Google Set to Release Chrome OS

      July 8, 2009 /

      A couple years ago the big news was Google scooping up OS developers from all over the world, including a few of Microsoft’s employees. That set us all to waiting for the search giant’s first foray into operating systems, but the most we’ve seen since is the release of Google Chrome, the company’s first web browser (which sits around 1% market share), and Android, Google’s mobile OS.

      At long last, though, Google is set to take on Redmond with their first operating system designed for full PC application, the Google Chrome Operating System. Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of product management says Chrome OS is “our attempt to rethink what operating systems should be.”

      Initially designed for the netbook market, Chrome OS has a huge task before it. Windows currently runs almost 90% of the PC market. That’s not exactly small potatoes. Google is in a good position, though, as netbooks continue to gain popularity and manufacturers look for lighter-weight, faster operating systems to run the trimmed-down computers. Acer, for example, has already agreed to develop several netbooks to run on Android for 2010.

      Set for release in the second half of 2010, there’s still no word on what Chrome OS will cost. Market analysts at Enderle group expect simply a nominal fee, which is one thing that could easily woo manufacturers. Microsoft does not release its manufacturer prices, but most analysts speculate they charge something like $20 for XP and as much as $150 for Vista. Undercutting that price could result in not only a deal for manufacturers but a price cut for consumers as well.

      Google hasn’t said much regarding Chrome OS as a system for running high end PCs, like the gaming PCs a lot of us geeks are concerned with. The OS is based on Linux, though, so I’d imagine they can beef it up for just that sort of capability. For now, the OS is meant for folks looking for a quick OS for web browsing and other simple applications.

      Microsoft has yet to comment.

      Source: Reuters

      Computers, microsoft, News

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