Vendor News

Joan Comes to the Home Office

2020-06-16T00:00:00Z

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a massive increase of home workers-- and many need a way to let family members know when they can (and cannot) interrupt.

And that means Joan Home, a consumer version of the Visionect meeting room display solution.

A small and lightweight ePaper display able to display current availability and the calendar/schedule for the day, Joan connects to existing calendars wirelessly, with support for all major ones, and updates user status in real-time without need to install yet another app.

Services Drive Apple Fiscal Q2

2020-04-30T00:00:00Z

Apple announces the financial results for fiscal Q2 2020 (ending 28 March 2020)-- revenues for the quarter total $58.3 billion, a 1% Y-o-Y increase, with international sales accounting for 62% of the quarterly total.

“Despite Covid-19’s unprecedented global impact, we’re proud to report that Apple grew for the quarter, driven by an all-time record in Services and a quarterly record for Wearables,” CEO Tim Cook says. “In this difficult environment, our users are depending on Apple products in renewed ways to stay connected, informed, creative, and productive. We feel motivated and inspired to not only keep meeting these needs in innovative ways, but to continue giving back to support the global response, from the tens of millions of face masks and custom-built face shields we’ve sent to medical professionals around the world, to the millions we’ve donated to organizations like Global Citizen and America’s Food Fund.”

OnePlus Downsizes European Operations

2020-04-27T00:00:00Z

OnePlus smartphones appear to be not doing too well in European markets, as Engadget reports the company has announced "significant redundancies" across many regional offices, including the UK, France and Germany.

According to "sources close to the matter," OnePlus has downsized regional offices by as much as 80%, leaving skeletal teams of "around three people" in some countries. The company has already done something similar in other European offices earlier last year, with the downsizing (and eventual complete laying off) of teams in Spain and Italy, followed by "large turnover" of UK staff.

In turn OnePlus confirms it is streamlining operations in Europe through an official forum post by European Head of strategy Tuomas Lampen. The post states the company is making "organisational changes" in Germany France and the UK, leading to the firing of 20 employees in the three markets. However the company also plans to relocate staff in other European offices, and is also looking to hire more employees in the Nordic region and Benelux.

Coronavirus Leads to Samsung, LG Factory Closures

2020-03-02T00:00:00Z

Concerns involving the coronavirus (aka Covid-19) have affected two of the biggest CE vendors in the world-- Reuters reports both Samsung and LG are closing factories in S. Korea following employees testing positive for the virus.

The first closure involves a Samsung mobile device factory complex in the city of Gumi. The company confirmed one case of an infected employee at the factory, leading to the shutdown of the entire facility. In addition, all colleagues of the infected employee were put in self-quarantine, and are being tested for possible infection.

EU Investigates Qualcomm Over Antitrust Claims

2020-02-07T00:00:00Z

A Qualcomm Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing reveals the chipmaker is yet again under investigation by the EU for possible anti-competitive tactics in the radio frequency chip market.

First revealed by Reuters, the filing shows the EU is investigating whether Qualcomm abused its market muscle in 5G baseband processors to force companies to adopt its radio frequency front end chips instead of 3rd party solutions from the likes of Broadcom or Skyworks. The investigation started on 3 December 2019, and is the latest in a string of regulatory issues leading to billions of dollars in fines for Qualcomm. Last year the company lost a case with the US Federal Trade in Commission (FTC), one currently locked in appeal.

Samsung Names New Smartphone CEO

2020-01-20T00:00:00Z

Samsung appoints a replacement for DJ Koh as smartphone division CEO-- Roh Tae-Moon, a former mobile development head and the 3rd CEO for the division in the past 12 years, follow DJ Koh and JK Shin.

At age 51, Roh Tae-Moon is the youngest president at the S. Korean giant. His promotion, according to Reuters, comes as part of a later-than-usual reshuffle amid a series of court cases involving a number of top Samsung execs, including leader Jay. Y Lee. Roh Tae-Moon led development of the successful Galaxy line of devices, and championed the shift to outsource more handset production.

Samsung remains the leader in terms of global mobile marketshare, but it faces tightening competition at the lower and mid-tiers of the market form the likes of Huawei, Vivo and Oppo. As such, Roh Tae-Moon has the tough job of ensuring the S. Korean company's relevance, especially after recent stumbles such as the Galaxy Fold.

Apple Completes Intel Modem Business Acquisition

2019-12-02T00:00:00Z

Intel announces the sale of the "majority" of its smartphone modem business is now complete-- a deal Reuters reports was done at a "multi-billion dollar loss," despite a $1 billion pricetag.

First confirmed back in July 2019, the acquisition brings a slew of mobile modem technology to the Apple fold. As a result, the iPhone maker will be able to create such iDevice components in-house, rather than depend on the likes of Qualcomm. The deal only covers smartphone modems, and Intel is still able to make modems for PCs, IoT devices and autonomous vehicles.

But why did Intel offload the smartphone modem business? A brief filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a couple of clues. According to the filing, Intel was forced out of the smartphone modem market by... Qualcomm. Intel claims Qualcom "strangled competition" through possibly unfair patent licensing practices, leading to "artificial and insurmountable barriers" not even the biggest PC chipmaker in the world could, well, surmount.

Bloomberg: Apple AR/VR Hardware on the Way?

2019-11-15T12:01:37Z

Apple is working on a "range" of augmented and virtual reality devices, Bloomberg reports, with unnamed "people familiar with the plans" adding the iPhone maker is basing such hardware on a new 3D sensor system.

The first device using the 3D sensor system is the 2020 iPad Pro update-- one featuring a 2-camera module and a "small hole" housing the 3D system. It should allow users to create "3D reconstructions of rooms, object and people," and will eventually be available in the high end 5G-capable iPhones set for launch next year.

Google Buys Fitbit

2019-11-01T00:00:00Z

Google confirms an earlier Reuters report with the acquisition of Fitbit, a deal worth $2.1 billion bringing the activity tracker maker directly within the massive fold of the search giant itself.

"Fitbit has been a true pioneer in the industry and has created terrific products, experiences and a vibrant community of users," Google says. "We're looking forward to working with the incredible talent at Fitbit, and bringing together the best hardware, software and AI, to build wearables to help even more people around the world."

Samsung Teases Foldable Phone Concept

2019-10-29T00:00:00Z

Samsung uses its 2019 developer concept to tease a foldable phone concept-- one using a flexible display to take on the flip phone, making a device users can fold in half.

“This brand-new form factor that we’re now exploring will not only easily fit in your pocket, but it also changes the way you use your phone,” head of framework R&D group Hyesoon Jeong says at the Samsung Developer Conference. He also says the concept sets to make foldable technology "more compact," as well as extend it to new form factors.