Technology News and Gadgets Updates: 12/09/10

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Google's new Chrome OS to cut PC prices

NEW DELHI: Google has launched a test version of the Chrome OS, its much-awaited and delayed internet-centric operating system that analysts say could make the personal computer cheaper by up to 25% in India.

"Chrome OS is essentially a free software," says Sundar Pichai, vice-president for product management at Google, and one of the two leaders of a team that developed the new software.

An operating system makes up for roughly a fifth, and in many cases a fourth, of a PC's cost. For this reason, experts expect a fall in computer prices in 2011 because the Google OS is free. For example, a Rs 22,000 PC shipped from an original equipment maker costs as much because it comes with an operating system priced at nearly Rs 4,000. Likewise, a Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic version costing Rs 5,690 and the Windows 7 Ultimate at Rs 11,190 add to PC prices.

"Google Chrome is bound to bring down PC costs, given that it will be open source and will not have associated licensing fees," says Pankaj Arora, Managing Director of Protiviti Consulting.
The price factor apart, users of the Chrome OS computers can also look forward to other benefits. For starters, they do not have to install software. Rather, the PCs rely on applications delivered over the internet, making it easy for users to access files and applications from any machine.

Chrome ideal for people on the move

Chrome PCs also start up quickly, taking users to a browser within 10 seconds after booting. "The Chrome is ideal for an increasing number of people who need to access or record information in their daily work, but are seldom at a desk with a PC and ethernet connection," says tech consultancy Ovum. Though aimed at netbooks, the lightweight Chrome can support desktops and laptops as well because it runs on both X86 (Intel Pentium, Atom family) as well as the ARM chip systems. Besides Google features such as Docs for spreadsheets, presentations and word processors as well as Reader for PDF documents, users can hook up with common accessories such as calculator and tabs for Facebook, YouTube and built-in security features via a browser.

Google first announced Chrome OS in July 2009 along with plans to sell netbooks running the software from the second half of 2010. Tuesday's news conference in San Francisco at which the internet giant began distributing a limited number of PC models running the software does not mean that users are about to lay their hands on the Chrome OS. Google's inability to go beyond a test version means that customers are staring at a further delay.

The Chrome OS will only be available to a select group of users because the new devices running the software are being shipped by Google's partners such as Samsung and Acer for now, says Mr Pichai. Acer and Samsung devices are expected to hit the market in mid-2011. "We are (also) working with multiple PC manufacturers to bring a number of netbooks to the market next year," he adds.

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WikiLeaks' payment processor to sue Visa & MasterCard

WikiLeaks' payment processor said Thursday that it was preparing to sue credit card companies Visa and MasterCard over their refusal to process donations to the secret-spilling website. Andreas Fink, the CEO of Iceland's DataCell ehf, told The Associated Press that he would seek damages from the American financial companies over their decision to block WikiLeaks funds.

"It's difficult to believe that such a large company as Visa can make a political decision," Fink said in a telephone interview from Switzerland. In an earlier statement, his company had defended the WikiLeaks, saying that "it is simply ridiculous to think WikiLeaks has done anything criminal."

WikiLeaks has been under intense pressure since it began publishing some 250,000 U.S. State Department cables, with attacks on its websites and threats against its founder, Julian Assange, who is now in a British jail fighting extradition to Sweden on sex crime allegations.

A host of U.S. Internet and financial companies have severed their links to the controversial website, some citing terms of use violations. Earlier this week, Visa and MasterCard said they would stop processing payments to WikiLeaks, although they have not offered a detailed explanation of why. Supporters have reacted with outrage — with many noting that unsavory organizations such as the American KKK and the far-right British National Party both claim to accept Visa and MasterCard.

MasterCard has declined repeated requests for comment. Visa Europe Ltd. spokesman Simon Kleine said organizations could receive funds through Visa so long as they were legal and didn't breach the company's operating rules.
But he said that when issues arose "we need to ensure that they're in compliance with our operating rules and in compliance with local laws."

He declined to say what those issues were in WikiLeaks' case. "We investigate on a commercially confidential basis," he said.

Fink said that he was officially notified of the dual suspensions through Danish financial services company Teller, which runs part of the payment infrastructure. He said a team from Teller was on its way to Iceland to conduct what he described as "due diligence."

Meanwhile, he said, credit card donations to WikiLeaks were frozen at least until next week, something which he said was costing his company money.

"Not accepting any credit card authorizations is basically killing the business," he said. He did not specify the kinds of damages he was seeking.

Fink's statement comes as Internet payment company PayPal says it will return the money frozen in WikiLeaks' account to the foundation that was fundraising for it. In a blog post, PayPal Inc. defended its decision, which it denied had come as a result of lobbying from the U.S. government.

BlackBerry maker downgraded as Apple set to unveil iPad2

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) have retreated after two brokerages downgraded the Canadian wireless giant in view of the stiff competition from Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices.

RIM stock closed Tuesday at $62.12, slipping about two percent immediately after its downgrading by CSLA brokerage to "underperform" and by Gleacher & Co to "neutral" for 2011.

Its shares had registered big gains last weak after RIM touted its yet-to-be-launched PlayBook tablet as a better performer than Apple's iPad.

The RIM downgrading also came amid reports that Apple is set to release a new version of the iPad early next year even before the BlackBerry's PlayBook hits the US market in the first quarter of 2011.

According to Digitimes, Taiwan's Foxconn Electronics, which makes Apple products, will ship the iPad2 "within the next 100 days with initial shipments to reach 400,000-600,000 units".

Digitimes said: "The iPad 2 will ship as soon as the end of February in 2011. Apple originally planned to start mass production in January, but because the device's firmware is currently still in testing, Apple has been postponing the schedule."

After sinking below $50, RIM stock rose last week after its intense video campaign to promote the PlayBook tablet and positive reports about the Torch 9800 smart phone.

In a 3-minute video last month, RIM showed how its PlayBook will beat Apple's iPad in terms of features, size and performance. In fact, RIM shares shot up 5.40 percent last Tuesday on these positive reports.

But the two brokerage firms see shrinking of RIM's share in the smart phone markets as the iPhone and Google Android devices continue their onslaught on the BlackBerry.

The RIM smart phone, which till last year dominated the US market, has been overtaken by both the iPhone and Google Android devices.

Since RIM's BlackBerry App World is no comparison to Apple's, RIM Tuesday said it started accepting new apps from independent developers. In a statement, RIM said developers can become eligible to get a free BlackBerry PlayBook if their app is submitted and approved for distribution on BlackBerry App World prior to the launch of the PlayBook early next year.

Motorola tablet taps Nvidia for 3D

Motorola's upcoming tablet packs relatively powerful Nvidia 3D silicon, confirming a demo Nvidia did a year ago at the Consumer Electronics Show and underscoring the importance of graphics in future tablets.
The Motorola prototype running Google's Honeycomb, the next version of Android, was shown at the D: Dive Into Mobile in San Francisco Monday.
"We're taking advantage of the 3D processing power. The particular processor is Nvidia. Their dual-core 3D processor. These guys really know 3D," said Google's Andy Rubin when showing off a new 3D version of Google Maps, which is due for cell phones "in a matter of days." The new version of Google Maps for Mobile will draw using vector graphics, which can result in more responsive mapping because less bandwidth is required. Google Maps will also allow buildings and locations to be rotated via a touch interface. His discussion of the tablet was streamed from the conference (see video, right).

That processor would be Nvidia's Tegra 2, of course. That chip is one of the first to pack a dual-core Cortex-A9 ARM processor with a graphics chip that delivers mobile "3D game playability and a visually engaging, highly-responsive 3D user interface," according to Nvidia.

Motorola's tablet was first revealed via an Nvidia demo at last year's Consumer Electronics Show. At that time, an Nvidia representative characterized the device as a Motorola-Verizon tablet and said it contained an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor.
The tablet's 3D capability that Rubin praised shows that Nvidia's expertise in 3D may give it a leg up on competitors. And it certainly puts Intel on notice, which has not emphasized 3D to date in its mainstream Atom processors targeted at small devices like tablets.
And a wave of tablets is about to break packing dual-core chips from Texas Instruments (OMAP 4) and Qualcomm (MSM8660), according to Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, all packing enhanced 3D processing. "[Nvidia] is fairly competitive but the offset is Qualcomm, which has most of the wins in new tablets," Kumar said, adding that TI will also be in a few high-profile designs.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab red flag for Intel

No. 2 chipmaker Samsung is showing Intel how to succeed in the brave new world of tablets and smartphones.

While Intel is the largest chipmaker in the world, Samsung is No. 2. And, unlike Intel, it also has a large and successful affiliated consumer arm that churns out products like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Not surprisingly, many of those products use Samsung silicon too.
That's a vertically integrated strategy that Intel can't match. And that's not all. Samsung also supplies chips to outside customers (Intel's business model) like Apple which use its chips in outrageously popular products like the iPhone and iPad.
The scary part is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is a solid product and worthy competitor to the iPad, even besting it with features like front and back cameras--a feature you won't see until the iPad 2, most likely. (I test drove the Android-based 7-inch Galaxy Tab for about 30 minutes and was very impressed).
That puts Samsung in two of the leading tablet designs on the market--one its own product.
Before I go too far, let me back off a bit by saying that Intel's dominance in the hundred-billion-dollar-plus annual PC market has given it an almost unassailable lead in chips. Intel is also the leading chip supplier for the tens of millions of servers worldwide that power the Internet. The latter a nontrivial point often obscured by the glare of glitzy end-user products like the iPad (which uses Intel-powered servers when accessing Web sites worldwide).
That said, Intel is obviously racing to play catch-up in tablets and smartphones, two of the fastest-growing computing markets. The chipmaker has formed a new business unit for Netbooks and tablets and CEO Paul Otellini spent a lot of time at a technology conference today explaining how it's going to eventually be competitive.
"It's important to keep a perspective in the early days of any market. Things change. Markets change," Otellini said today. "It wasn't too long ago--2003--where virtually all of the silicon in a storage system was custom. It's grown dramatically over the intervening seven years to where we now are the predominate architecture for storage vendors," he said, implying that Intel will could eventually become a big player in tablets and smartphones.

Intel: Dell, Toshiba, Acer tablets coming in 2011

Intel CEO Paul Otellini said today that its chips will be in more than 35 different tablet designs in 2011, while clarifying that two lines of Atom processors will be used in tablets.
"We're going to make sure we support all of the viable operating systems that are in the marketplace," Otellini said at the Barclays Capital 2010 Global Technology Conference. The conference audio was streamed live over the Internet.
Intel listed more than 15 brands, including upcoming consumer tablets from Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, and Motion Computing. "A number of them on Windows. A number of them on Android--both Froyo and Honeycomb [versions of Android]," Otellini said.

"We have two flavors of products," Otellini said, speaking about the two lines of Atom processors for tablets. "One carries our PC legacy, the codename is Oak Trail. This is for the Windows environment. That's important for people who want the advantage of PC peripheral compatibility. All the printers in the world work, all the USB drivers in the world work. Any PC peripheral will work perfectly well with Oak Trail. [It is a] very solid, high-performance, low-power version of Atom," he said.
Otellini continued. "We have an even more optimized [Atom] version called Moorestown. For people who want the most lightweight, longest battery life, thinnest machine. It doesn't carry the PC compatibility. It's got the x86 instruction set, so Internet compatibility is there, but we're not worrying about legacy support [in Windows]," Otellini said.
"Consumer [tablet] products will roll out in the first half of next year on all three operating systems," he said.
Otellini also reiterated that getting Intel's chips into smartphones will take time. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." He said the second-generation Atom processor for phones, dubbed "Medfield," is "in customer sampling...for shipment [in phones] in 2011 and 2012. You will see smartphones from premier-branded vendors in the marketplace in [the second quarter of] 2011 with Intel silicon inside them."