Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China for second time in less than a year

Apple Inc's Chief Executive Tim Cook is meeting with partners and government officials in China on his second visit to the firm's second-largest market in less than a year.

China is Apple's fastest-growing market, with the maker of the popular iPhone and iPad opening a raft of retail stores last year. Last month, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the country in just three days, the company's best ever smartphone launch in the country.

Despite the roaring success of iPhone sales in China, analysts say the company's longer-term outlook in the market may hinge on expanding its partners to include China Mobile Ltd, the country's top telecoms carrier.

"Tim is in Beijing meeting with government officials and partners. China is an important market for us and we look forward to continued customer excitement and growth here," Apple's spokeswoman in China Carolyn Wu said on Wednesday.

She declined to say whether or not Cook would be meeting with China Mobile executives.

In China, the iPhone is currently sold through Apple's seven stores, resellers and through China Unicom and China Telecom - which together have fewer than half the mobile subscribers of bigger rival China Mobile.

A deal with China's biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improving Apple's distribution in a market of 290 million users. Apple has been in talks on a tie-up with China Mobile for four years.

China Mobile and Apple initially said they were separated only by a technical issue - as the Chinese carrier runs a different 3G network from most of the world - but that has evolved into a broader and more complex issue of revenue-sharing.

On Tuesday, Cook met with the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Miao Wei, where they discussed the development of the smartphone industry and innovation trends, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

China, Apple's biggest market after the United States, currently accounts for about 15 percent of its annual revenue.

Panasonic showcases its new TV line up headed by 56-inch 4K OLED TV

The star products at this year's CES seem to be OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) and ultrahigh definition TVs. After Sony, Samsung and LG it was Panasonic's turn to showcase its OLED TV.

Thanks to OLED technology, the 56-inch set from Panasonic Corp. is less than half an inch thick and weighs 27 pounds, about half of what equivalent conventional sets weigh. The set has four times the resolution of today's high-definition sets.

Apart from this, Panasonic also showcased 16 new LED/ LCD TVs that will be a part of their 2013 Viera line-up. These TVs span across 32-inches to 60-inches and are designed to meet the needs of varied consumers.

The Japanese TV maker also showcased a few new features that the company is now introducing. One such feature is 'My Home Screen'. This feature will be available in Viera WT60, DT60, ET60, and E60 Series and will allows each user in the home to create their own personal home screen giving them quick access to their favourite content.

Another nifty feature that will be available to WT60, DT60, ET60, and E60 Series TV is Swipe and Share 2.0. This feature allows users to tap their NFC smartphone against their TV to share content.

"Panasonic's new LED/LCD models transform the home, creating not only the ultimate viewing experience, but the finest in design innovation, allowing the television to become the centrepiece of the home" said Henry Hauser, Vice President, Merchandising Group, Panasonic Consumer Marketing Company of North America. "We're committed to pushing the envelope in terms of form and functionality while maintaining our strong commitment to producing the most environmentally-friendly products."

Panasonic has also showcased its Plasma range for 2013, which comprises of with 16 new models ranging from 42-inches to 65-inches. These TVs are expected to be available from February 2013.

Features such as 'My Home Screen' and 'Swipe and Share 2.0' are also available to Plasma TV users who purchase Viera ZT60, VT60, and ST60 Series. Additionally, Plasma TV users will also get 'Touch Pen' feature, which allows users to add their own writing to their photos on screen and transfer them back to their smart devices using the optional Electronic Touch Pen (TY-TP10U) accessory.

Electronic Touch Pen (TY-TP10U) accessory is a new accessory and will have to be purchased separately.

"Panasonic continually strives to surpass the previous year's successes, and the new 2013 series of VIERA Plasma HDTVs does just that," said Henry Hauser, Vice President, Merchandising Group, Panasonic Consumer Marketing Company of North America. "The series' enhanced VIERA Connect IPTV functionality, superior picture and sound quality, and advanced connectivity capabilities have completely transformed the TV viewing experience. With the 16 new models, Panasonic has set the bar for years to come."

With Inputs from Associated Press

Panasonic shows off a 20-inch 4K Windows 8 tablet at CES

One of the most interesting announcements from Panasonic was the huge 20-inch Windows 8 tablet touting a whopping 4K resolution offering ultra sharp and crisp images. The 4K resolution until now was restricted only to televisions (Also see: Panasonic showcases its new TV line up headed by 56-inch 4K OLED TV)

Measuring 18.7x13.1x0.4 inches, the tablet is very light and incredibly thin and is mainly targeted at industry and business professionals. The tablet also comes with a stylus that can serve as an excellent tool for photographers, graphic designers and even video editors to multitask on-the-go.

The tablet makes use of Anoto's digital writing technology. Panasonic is looking forward to implementing this technology in in the development of its various next generation products. The technology can turn virtually any surface, including large formats, into a "live digital surface" in which the dot pattern is read by a digital pen and converted into computer-usable data. 

Details on the tablet's hardware specifications seem to be minimal at this point, considering it is just a prototype and a pretty good one at that.

What is known, courtesy Engadget, is that it packs in an Intel Core i5 and includes Micro-USB, microSD and Wi-Fi. As of now, the tablet promises two hours of battery on-the-go, which may not sound like much right now, but we expect it to improve.

Mashable reports that the prototype features a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 34207U vPro processor with 4GB RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. Screen resolution stood at 3840x2560 translating to a 230ppi density. Panasonic didn't reveal much details on the GPU, only saying that it will be Nvidia GeForce.

The tablet doesn't have a name yet and even pricing and availability details currently remain unknown, which is no surprise given Panasonic is just showcasing it as a prototype.

India displaces Brazil, Russia to become fourth largest market for Sony

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony today said its Indian operations have emerged as its fourth largest globally, overtaking businesses in Brazil and Russia by the end of December quarter this fiscal.

The sluggish demand in developed nations has helped the company's growing subsidiary Sony India, which has clocked a revenue of over Rs. 6,000 crore during April-December period in 2012-13, to improve its position in global ranking.

"The Indian operations has become the number four in global ranking. We have overtaken Brazil and Russia, which were ahead of us in last fiscal," Sony India Managing Director Kenichiro Hibi told reporters here.

The existing top three positions are held by the US, China and Japan, he said without sharing details.

"We have almost touched last year's revenue... We are completely on our track to treble our turnover to Rs. 20,000 crore by 2015," Hibi said.

The Indian operations' revenue for 2011-12 was Rs. 6,313 crore compared to Rs. 5,446 crore in the previous fiscal. The company is expecting 30-40 percent growth in this fiscal.

Sony India's achievement comes at a time when its parent is reporting losses due to unfavourable foreign exchange rates, impact of tsunami in Japan, floods in Thailand and adverse market sentiments in developed countries.

Sony Corporation reported 9.58 percent fall in its sales for the year ending March 31, 2012, at 6.49 trillion yen. Its net loss also widened to 456.7 billion yen in the year.

For the quarter ending September 30 last year, the Japanese major incurred a net loss of 15.5 billion yen. Its sales stood at 1,604.7 billion yen.

Asked about the growth driver for Sony India, Hibi said: "Bravia, Vaio and Xperia are the major contributor to our rise. These three have contributed 70 percent of our revenue."

He further said the Indian operations is contributing 5-10 percent of Sony Corp's global revenue at present and it "has the potential to grow".

When asked if Sony India will be able to move further in the ranking, Hibi said: "The gap between Japan and India is very big, but the growth rate in India is higher than that of the parent... The headquarter is focussing more in India and it is a very strategic market."

To expand its presence further, the company is looking to customise products more to meet Indian customers' demand, he added.

The company will also introduce more "affordable and entry-level products, mostly TV sets, but with certain premiumness" in India during next year.

Hibi, however, said the company does not have any plan to set up an assembly line in India at present despite "demand for our products are rising".

Draft industrial plan to focus on IT, tourism

Draft industrial plan to focus on IT, tourism

January 6, 2013

 TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: Since the mining industry, which is the backbone of the Goan economy, is dogged with uncertainty, the State government plans to change tracks and formulate a draft industrial policy with information technology (IT) and tourism, as thrust areas to generate increased revenue and employment.

Speaking to Herald, Industries Minister Mahadev Naik informed that the draft industrial policy, with major emphasis on setting up non-polluting and employment generating industrial units in Goa, was already drafted and forwarded to the chief minister for approval.

However, he said, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar wanted that the policy should have more thrust on the IT and tourism sector. “We have a team of experts who are discussing this issue. We are looking at areas in which we are lagging behind and with mining coming to halt, we need to lay more emphasis on revenue generating areas,” the minister stated.

Naik said that the policy, which was supposed to be finalized by January-end, would be now delayed by another month or two.

The minister said the government is basically aiming at setting up moderate-sized IT and ITES firms, pharmaceuticals and tourism-related industries.

Naik said that the forthcoming industrial policy, also aims at deterring migrant labour from coming into the state. “Industrialization is the only option to mining. The sector will help in generating revenue along with creating job opportunities to mining dependent persons,” he said.

The minister in the past had announced doubling the industrial estate units in the State. Currently Goa has 22 industrial estates mostly located in the hinterland.