Apple's iPad2 launch delayed to June: Broker note

The launch of Apple Inc's iPad2 tablet will be delayed to June from April as maker Hon Hai faces production bottlenecks due to the device's new design, Taiwanese brokerage Yuanta Securities said in a note.

Component makers had to change their production processes after Apple made design changes to the iPad2 before the Lunar New Year at the beginning of February.

"Our checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production process and it is taking time to resolve them," Yuanta's head of downstream tech equities, Vincent Chen, wrote in the note on Tuesday.

Hon Hai declined to comment on the note. Apple was not immediately available for comment.

The note said that if the launch of the iPad2 is delayed by two months, total iPad shipments would be 23 million units this year, down from the broker's original forecast of 30.6 million units.

Manufacturing sources have previously said the new model would have cameras on the front and and back of the device and would be slimmer, lighter and have a better resolution display than the first iPad.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Google says working with EU over rivals' concerns

Web search giant Google said on Tuesday it was working with the European Commission to address competition concerns after a rival renewed complaints of anticompetitive behaviour .

"We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission, explaining many aspects of our business," Google spokesman Al Verney said.

"We believe there is always room for improvement, so we are working to address any potential concerns."

The creator of French legal search engine Ejustice.fr said earlier it had added to its complaints to European regulators over Google's business practices.

The French company is one of three online search engines that have already accused the world's No. 1 in web search of abusing its dominant position by demoting rival sites in results and giving preference to its own services.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Nokia partners with Reliance Communications to provide Ovi Store content

Mobile handset manufacturer Nokia today entered into a partnership with telecom service provider Reliance Communications to provide the exclusive excess to Nokia's Ovi Store.

Reliance Communications consumers can now exclusively access the plethora of 'paid-for' content available on the Ovi Store, through integrated operator billing, for a three month period, the company said in a statement.

The amount will be either included in their monthly mobile phone bills or deducted from the pre-paid balance, as per their data plans.

The Ovi Store supports the widest range of content and file types including applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services and much more.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

GSLV failure: Russian, Indian scientists differ on cause

The mystery over the mid-air crashing of an Indian rocket in December continues with officials of the Indian space agency and experts from Russia, which supplied the cryogenic engine, differing on the possible cause of the rocket's failure.

The Russians have pointed their fingers at the rocket's bigger heat shield (4 metre) as the proximate cause for high atmospheric load on the rocket that broke it. Refuting that theory, Indian officials cited an earlier GSLV rocket that went up with a heat shield of similar size.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) 418-tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket (cost Rs.175 crore) carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-5P (weight 2,310 kg, cost Rs.150 crore) veered off its flight path and began disintegrating within one minute after lift-off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Dec 25, 2010.

"The Russians have attributed the failure to bigger heat shield. However, we have established why it can't be," former ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair, who heads the failure analysis committee (FAC), told a news agency.

Till date the FAC has met thrice - the first meeting was in January and the subsequent two meetings were held Feb 7 and Feb 14 at Thiruvanathapurm in Kerala.

According to the ISRO, the rocket's failure was due to the snapping of 10 connectors that carry command signals from the onboard computer to the control electronics of the four strap-on motors in the first stage.

The German made connectors are fixed on a metal plate. The plate, in turn, is fixed to a shroud or cylindrical cover that comes between the cryogenic engine and the lower stage (engine).

Cloud Computing explained through usersa

Like most technology jargons, cloud computing is best explained through users. For small businesses, cloud computing offers an opportunity to use sophisticated solutions like enterprise resource planning at less than half the cost by avoiding upfront investments in buying software licences and any computer hardware. ET spoke to over dozen users of cloud computing solutions and selected a few from the industrial clusters of Tirupur and Peenya (near Bangalore) to see whether this cloud can really rain benefits.

Now, functioning becomes easier: PS NAIR, MD, ETA Technologies

When ETA Technologies decided to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software two years back, it was the beginning of a transformation. Along with a few other companies, which formed the Bangalore Machine Tool Manufacturing Network , ETA Technologies paid Rs 2 lakh and installed a cloud based ERP software to make functioning easier.

For ETA, it simplified the process of judging quality parameters, quantifying wastage and taking action based on reports generated. Item delays, reason for delays, costing and tracking items became simpler post ERP implementation. "From a customer service standpoint, we have a ready-reckoner of complaints on which the top manage-ment can work on,” says Nair, managing director, ETA Technologies.

“We are also able to check quality parameters and follow-up with suppliers. We have a record of items that get delayed and the reasons why they get delayed. On the manufacturing side, it was very difficult to keep track of each item that goes into a machine we build. But now, each item is segregated and is easier to handle costing,” he points out. ETA Technologies makes special purpose machines, electrical upsetting machines, assembly machines and test rigs for auto components.

HCL Tech renews contract with state of Virginia

In a year when India's top tech firms are pushing harder to gain a share of the $100-billion US government outsourcing market, HCL Technologies has renewed its contract with the state of Virginia, as more government departments seek to lower costs by giving away non-core work.

Government sector contracts are being outsourced to Indian IT firms as more US states look to gain greater efficiencies and reduce costs. Experts say this could get a bigger boost as the US federal budget proposes to cut more than $61 billion from current spending levels this year.

When contacted by ET last week, Michael Novak , sourcing specialist at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, confirmed that the state has renewed its contract with HCL through November of this year.

"IT services firms could see a significant increase in business as government agencies look to IT services providers to help them gain efficiencies. The federal budget proposal focuses on three major initiatives, including modernising legacy systems and applications; streamlining or consolidating data centre operations; and adopting new infrastructure technologies including cloud computing and virtualization," Shami Khorana, president, Americas, HCL Technologies said. HCL had signed a contract with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency for enterprise content management (ECM) systems integration that has been renewed after it got over in 2009.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite

NASA is set to launch its latest Earth-orbiting satellite on a $424 million mission to analyze airborne grit spewed by volcanoes, forest fires, smokestacks and tailpipes.

The Glory satellite is slated to blast off before dawn Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Taurus XL rocket. Once boosted to an altitude of 440 miles, it will join a fleet of satellites that has been collecting climate data for years.

Its main job will be to study fine airborne particles known as aerosols. Smaller than the diameter of a human hair, these ubiquitous specks can track great distances across the globe and are largely responsible for producing hazy skies.

Scientists know very little about aerosols and their effect on climate. A better understanding is critical to improving climate models.

"We need to know these particles much better than we do," said project scientist Michael Mishchenko of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Over the past century, average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide. Scientists blame carbon dioxide, mostly from the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels, as the chief cause of global warming.

Unlike greenhouse gases that linger in the atmosphere for years, aerosols are short-lived — staying aloft for weeks — so it's much harder to measure them than carbon dioxide.