Gamers may enjoy a ready supply of Nvidia GPUs, but that may soon change as the AI market heats up.
During the pandemic and crypto heyday, Nvidia’s GPUs were in short supply. The sudden uptick in demand for personal computers and crypto mining rigs combined to drive the price of Nvidia’s GPUs through the roof and make it almost impossible to actually buy one.
Those days may return faster than anyone — except Nvidia, of course — may like. At the GTC 2023 Keynote yesterday, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made it clear that Nvidia is all-in on AI.
“We are at the iPhone moment of AI,” Huang said during his keynote, in which he touted the number of companies rolling out Nvidia’s AI systems. The list of companies includes Atos, AWS, Cirrascale, CoreWeave, Dell, Gigabyte, HPE, Lambda, Lenovo, Oracle, QCT, and Supermicro.
As TechRadar’s John Loeffler points out, the increased demand for Nvidia’s chips in the AI market could eventually force the company to choose between the consumer gaming market and the more profitable commercial market. This could lead to a significant reduction in available GPUs, or it could lead to Nvidia pulling out of the market altogether.
The US is already ramping up pressure on Chinese companies to cooperate with sanctions against Russia, despite China being critical of such sanctions.
The international community is implementing sanctions in an effort to bring a peaceful resolution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in lieu of boots on the ground. One possible impediment to that strategy is China, which provides up to a third of Russia’s semiconductors, and roughly half of its computers and smartphones, potentially giving Russia an important lifeline in its attempts to combat sanctions.
According to Bloomberg, however, the US will likely use export control rules in an effort to force Chinese companies to help with the sanctions, companies like Lenovo. The plan is similar to how the US cut Huawei off from chips made by TSMC, using export rules to prohibit Huawei from benefiting from any technology derived from US intellectual property. As Bloomberg points out, any company that ignores those export rules does so at its own peril, risking being cut off from US-based tech itself, or having its executives prosecuted.
China has made no secret of its disagreement with the international community over sanctions against Russia. With Huawei as a recent example of how poorly things can go for a company that relies on US-based tech, it’s likely many Chinese companies will get on board with restricting tech exports to Russia.
A new Motorola Razr is in development, a third-generation foldable device that could make headway in the market.
The Motorola Razr was one of the most iconic mobile phones in history, before seeing a rebirth as a foldable phone, the first to feature a vertical folding screen. Lenovo purchased Motorola Mobility in 2014, inheriting its smartphone business.
According to Android Authority, a Lenovo executive has confirmed a foldable Razr 3 is in development. The new phone will feature more processing power, an improved interface, as well as an updated appearance.
Given how popular early Razrs were, a competitive folding phone with a traditional flip phone form factor could be a big hit.
The hits keep on coming for Intel as AMD rolls out its Threadripper Pro CPU, aimed at taking on the Intel Xeon.
Intel’s Xeon processors are aimed at workstations and offer a number of advanced features not found in their consumer CPUs. In recent years, AMD has been making significant strides against Intel, as the latter has struggled to keep up with demand and move to 10nm processors.
In particular, AMD’s Ryzen line of CPUs have won almost universal praise, and further illustrated how far Intel has fallen. Now the company has released its Ryzen Threadripper, aimed at the same workstation market as the Xeon.
“AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors are purpose-built to set the new industry standard for professional workstation compute performance,” said Saeid Moshkelani, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Client business unit. “The extreme performance, high core counts and bandwidth of AMD Ryzen Threadripper Processors are now available with AMD PRO technology features including seamless manageability and unique built-in data protection5. Even the most demanding professional environment is addressed with the new AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO line-up, from artists and creators developing breathtaking visual effects, to architects and engineers working with large datasets and complex visualizations, all brought to life on the most advanced professional workstation platform in the world6.”
AMD is launching the CPU in conjunction with Lenovo, who is offering the chip in the ThinkStation P620.
“Our customers need class-leading, innovative solutions to power through the most demanding applications,” said Rob Herman, General Manager, Workstation and Client AI Business Unit, Lenovo. “By leveraging the AMD Threadripper PRO Processors for our newest workstation, the ThinkStation P620, we can offer users the smarter solutions to create complex models, render photorealistic imagery or analyze geophysical and seismic interpretations, while offering crucial security and scalability features to ensure safe and effective operation for our professional users.”
This is great news for IT professionals, AMD and Lenovo. For Intel, this is just the latest in a string of bad news, including the loss of one of their leading chip designers and Apple moving to its own custom silicon.
In good news for Linux, Lenovo has expanded its Linux certification to its entire ThinkPad and ThinkStation lineup.
Toward the end of April, Lenovo announced it would be offering Fedora Workstation on its ThinkPad laptops. Previously, Dell had been the main manufacturer offering an OEM Linux option.
It seems Lenovo is now going all-in on Linux, with both the ThinkPad and ThinkStation lineup being certified for both Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ubuntu LTS
“Now, I’m excited to share Lenovo is moving to certify the full workstation portfolio for top Linux distributions from Ubuntu® and Red Hat® – every model, every configuration,” writes Rob Herman, General Manager, Executive Director Workstation & Client AI Group.
“While many users prefer to customize their own machines – either on hardware without an OS or by wiping an existing client OS, then configuring and installing Linux – this can raise uncertainty with system stability, restricted performance, compatibility, end-user productivity and even IT support for devices. Now that these users are making their way out of the proverbial shadows and onto the enterprise floor, the demand is high for an out-of-the-box solution that removes the barrier for deployment of enterprise-grade hardware within a Linux software ecosystem.”
This is an excellent turn of events for Linux and its users, and will help remove a barrier-to-entry for the operating system.
Lenovo has announced it will soon make Fedora Workstation available on its ThinkPad line of laptops.
Lenovo joins Dell as one of the few PC makers to include an OEM Linux install. Unlike Dell, which is bundling the Ubuntu distribution, Lenovo has chosen to bundle Fedora. Fedora has a long history in the Linux community, and is sponsored by Red Hat.
According to Fedora Magazine, “the Lenovo team has been working with folks at Red Hat who work on Fedora desktop technologies to make sure that the upcoming Fedora 32 Workstation is ready to go on their laptops. The best part about this is that we’re not bending our rules for them. Lenovo is following our existing trademark guidelines and respects our open source principles. That’s right—these laptops ship with software exclusively from the official Fedora repos!”
This is great news for individuals, businesses and organizations of all types looking for a fully supported Windows alternative.
IDC’s year-end report on the tablet market shows good news for Apple and, to a lesser extent, Amazon—and bad news for pretty much everyone else.
According to IDC’s research, Apple widened its market share lead over the course of 2019, going from 29.6% in 2018 to 34.6% in 2019. In particular, the 10.2-inch iPad was a big hit, accounting for 65% of the company’s tablet sales.
Amazon also had a decent year. Although the company posted a 29% decrease in 4Q19 shipments, compared with Q418, Amazon saw an overall increase of 9.9% market share for the year in total, compared with 2018.
In contrast, Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo and others all saw declines in the their market share. Even the segment in general saw an overall decline of 1.5%, making Apple and Amazon’s positive results all the more impressive.
Further blurring the lines between tablet and computer, Lenovo has unveiled the world’s first foldable PC.
Image Source: Lenovo
The ThinkPad X1 Fold is designed to leverage the advantages of a traditional computer, with the benefits of a tablet or smartphone. With book-style form factor, the device offers the ability to use a single large screen or two smaller ones. The device can be held in portrait mode or folded in landscape mode, similar to a laptop. The ThinkPad also includes a Bluetooth Mini Fold Keyboard that stores inside the PC, held by magnets, ready for use when needed.
“In portrait orientation, users can take notes or draw out concepts using the Active Pen or scroll through and sign a legal document. Fold the screen out completely flat and use as a tablet or bend it slightly to read a few chapters on your next flight like a book.
Image Source: Lenovo
“In a more familiar laptop orientation, users can leverage two independent displays to optimize efficiency during certain multitasking activities. Participate in a video call on the upper screen while reviewing and editing a presentation on the lower screen. Compare documents, one above the other or take notes on one screen while watching a lecture on the other. These use cases can of course be done in portrait or landscape mode, whichever suits the user best.
“Finally, X1 Fold is perfectly suited in an office environment. Connect a full-size keyboard and mouse and a second display via USB Type-C and quickly place the device in the optional ThinkPad X1 Fold Stand in portrait or landscape mode. Users will enjoy the performance benefits of a complete desk solution.”
The ThinkPad will offer optional 5G for users who want to take advantage of high-speed connectivity. Lenovo’s foldable PC is a good example of the fundamental shifts PC design is experiencing as result of new technologies and capabilities.
CNET is reporting that Motorola is recommitting to the premium phone market, after years of making budget and midrange phones.
Motorola made headlines in November with an updated version of its iconic Razr phone. The new model keeps the old-style, flip-phone form factor, but reimagined as a folding touchscreen smartphone. The new design has the advantage of a relatively small footprint, while still being able to unfold into a full-size 6.2-inch smartphone.
At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit in Maui, Hawaii, the company made it clear the new Razr is just the beginning. According to CNET, Sergio Buniac, Motorola Mobility president, credited advancement in new technologies as part of the reason for the brand’s return to the premium market.
“Thanks to the new technologies announced today, we’ll have new premium products to announce in early 2020,” Buniac said.
The move is perfectly timed, as the mobile company has finally turned a profit after years of struggling, being sold to Google and finally Lenovo. In addition, with the cell phone market in a transformative stage—with 5G and foldable devices being the two hottest trends—companies that focus exclusively on entry-level phones risk becoming marginalized as the industry continues to evolve.
If Motorola can bring back the sense of quality and style it was once known for, it should be a welcome readdition to the premium phone market.
With the investment, Lyft is much smaller than Uber, the giant of the ride-hailing space.Here are some of the major players who are changing the way we get from Point A to Point B.
Funding: More than $10 billion from traditional venture investors, institutional lenders and tech giants like Google, Microsoft and China’s Baidu, which see value both in its fast-growing ride business and its accumulated data on traffic and rider habits. It’s reportedly seeking additional investors at a valuation of $62.5 billion.
The work depicts Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck jumper carrying an early model of his Apple computer and with a black bin bag slung over his shoulder.
With today’s announcement, SpaceIL is the first of the 16 Lunar X Prize teams to book a ride off the planet. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first Israeli mission — as well as the first private spaceflight mission — to soft-land a vehicle on the lunar surface. Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL, claimed the group isn’t focused on the competition, but they are confident they can win. “I promise you once we land on the Moon, we’ll look around and see we are the first,” he said.
Only three nations have ever landed a spacecraft intact on the Moon: the United States, Russia, and China. Many countries have slammed lunar orbiters or probes into the Moon to study its environment, but gently landing a spacecraft is trickier. The Moon is big enough to have a gravitational pull, but it doesn’t have an atmosphere to slow incoming objects. Spacecraft in lunar orbit must fire retro-rockets, very precisely, in the opposite direction of the Moon. That way they can slowly descend without slamming into the rock. It’s a delicate procedure that usually requires a lot of time and money, which is why only government agencies have been able to do it up until now.
A trait carried over from their debut, luckily for us listeners
Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)
That it was only then, on the homeward voyage, after the encounter, that the final monomania seized him, seems all but certain from the fact that, at intervals during the passage, he was a raving lunatic; and, though unlimbed of a leg, yet such vital strength yet lurked in his Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances, the old man’s delirium seemed left behind him with the Cape Horn swells.
Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.
Lauren Mayberry’s lyrics touches on elements of heartbreak
God the direful madness was now gone; even then, Ahab, in his hidden self, raved on. Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.
But, as in his narrow-flowing monomania, not one jot of Ahab’s broad madness had been left behind; so in that broad madness, not one jot of his great natural intellect had perished. That before living agent, now became the living instrument. If such a furious trope may stand, his special lunacy stormed his general sanity, and carried it, and turned all its concentred cannon upon its own mad mark. I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and that the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they located my tracks. I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an excellent trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The trail was level and quite broad and led upward and in the general direction I wished to go. The cliff arose for several hundred feet on my right, and on my left was an equal and nearly perpendicular drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.
Computer tech company Lenovo is dancing its way into the smartphone market — with Google. Lenovo took the lid off plans for its first consumer mobile device at CES 2016 in Las Vegas this week.
“To break new ground in today’s hypercompetitive smartphone and tablet industries, we must take innovation risks — it’s the only way to truly change the way people use mobile technology,” said Chen Xudong, senior vice president and president of the Mobile Business Group at Lenovo, in a statement
The work depicts Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck jumper carrying an early model of his Apple computer and with a black bin bag slung over his shoulder.
With today’s announcement, SpaceIL is the first of the 16 Lunar X Prize teams to book a ride off the planet. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first Israeli mission — as well as the first private spaceflight mission — to soft-land a vehicle on the lunar surface. Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL, claimed the group isn’t focused on the competition, but they are confident they can win. “I promise you once we land on the Moon, we’ll look around and see we are the first,” he said.
Only three nations have ever landed a spacecraft intact on the Moon: the United States, Russia, and China. Many countries have slammed lunar orbiters or probes into the Moon to study its environment, but gently landing a spacecraft is trickier. The Moon is big enough to have a gravitational pull, but it doesn’t have an atmosphere to slow incoming objects. Spacecraft in lunar orbit must fire retro-rockets, very precisely, in the opposite direction of the Moon. That way they can slowly descend without slamming into the rock. It’s a delicate procedure that usually requires a lot of time and money, which is why only government agencies have been able to do it up until now.
A trait carried over from their debut, luckily for us listeners
Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch. (SpaceX)
That it was only then, on the homeward voyage, after the encounter, that the final monomania seized him, seems all but certain from the fact that, at intervals during the passage, he was a raving lunatic; and, though unlimbed of a leg, yet such vital strength yet lurked in his Egyptian chest, and was moreover intensified by his delirium, that his mates were forced to lace him fast, even there, as he sailed, raving in his hammock. In a strait-jacket, he swung to the mad rockings of the gales. And, when running into more sufferable latitudes, the ship, with mild stun’sails spread, floated across the tranquil tropics, and, to all appearances, the old man’s delirium seemed left behind him with the Cape Horn swells.
Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.
Lauren Mayberry’s lyrics touches on elements of heartbreak
God the direful madness was now gone; even then, Ahab, in his hidden self, raved on. Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form. Ahab’s full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted; like the unabated Hudson, when that noble Northman flows narrowly, but unfathomably through the Highland gorge.
But, as in his narrow-flowing monomania, not one jot of Ahab’s broad madness had been left behind; so in that broad madness, not one jot of his great natural intellect had perished. That before living agent, now became the living instrument. If such a furious trope may stand, his special lunacy stormed his general sanity, and carried it, and turned all its concentred cannon upon its own mad mark. I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and that the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they located my tracks. I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an excellent trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The trail was level and quite broad and led upward and in the general direction I wished to go. The cliff arose for several hundred feet on my right, and on my left was an equal and nearly perpendicular drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.
All the way back in January, Google announced that it was selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. On Thursday, the acquisition was completed.
This includes the Motorola brand and portfolio of smartphones, such as Moto X, Moto G, Moto E and the DROID series. It automatically makes Lenovo the third largest maker of smartphones.
“Motorola is in great hands with Lenovo, a company that’s all-in on making great devices,” said Google CEO Larry Page.
Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said, “Today we achieved a historic milestone for Lenovo and for Motorola – and together we are ready to compete, grow and win in the global smartphone market. By building a strong number three and a credible challenger to the top two in smartphones, we will give the market something it has needed: choice, competition and a new spark of innovation. This partnership has always been a perfect fit. Lenovo has a clear strategy, great global scale, and proven operational excellence. Motorola brings a strong presence in the U.S. and other mature markets, great carrier relationships, an iconic brand, a strong IP portfolio and an incredibly talented team. This is a winning combination.”
Motorola will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lenovo. Its headquarters will stay in Chicago. With the acquisition, Lenovo is taking on 3,500 employees globally and 2,800 in the United States. This includes designers, engineers, sales, and support.
Google will continue to hold the majority of Motorola Mobility patents, though Motorola will get a license to the portfolio. Motorola will retain over 2,000 patents as well.
For years now the smartphone market has largely been largely dominated by Apple and Samsung. Apple has set trends for the high-end market and Samsung has followed along while also flooding the smartphone markets with a wide variety of devices at every price point. Other Android smartphone manufacturers’ market share falls far behind that of Samsung, but the battle for third place is still wide open.
Currently another Korean company, LG, holds third place in global Android smartphone market share. It could be, however, that one of the up-and-coming Chinese companies could soon overtake it.
A new DigiTimes report this week points out that Lenovo, one of the current fastest-growing smartphone (and PC) manufacturers, could soon overtake LG. The report’s unnamed “Taiwan-based supply chain makers” claim that Lenovo’s recent Motorola acquisition will bring it immediately into market share close to companies such as LG, HTC, and Sony.
Lenovo already controls a significant portion of emerging market Android smartphone market share. Motorola also controls a well-known brand in established western markets. As industry growth shifts to countries such as China, Lenovo could continue raising its shipment quantities at a variety of price points.
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Lenovo showed off its Vibe Z, a high-end smartphone that the company released first in markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The company also unveiled two mid-priced S-series smartphones and the low-end A859, demonstrating that the company is well ahead of manufacturers such as HTC and BlackBerry, which are just now beginning to focus on the low end of the market.
Last week, Motorola didn’t really show off any new hardware at Mobile World Congress. After all, the company is soon to change hands as it heads off to Lenovo later this year. Instead, the company took time out to haven an open and frank discussion with its executives to talk about the company’s present and future.
Motorola shared a 30 minute video today in which three executives – Rick Osterloh, Steve Horwitz and Mark Randall – discussed everything Motorola at Mobile World Congress. The event wasn’t streamed so this is the public’s first chance to see how Motorola execs feel about going to Lenovo and its success with the Moto X under Google.
In regards to Lenovo acquiring Motorola, the execs say the two will combine to become the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. They also say the acquisition will help them scale their product development even higher to serve more consumers, especially in emerging markets where Lenovo currently has a strong foothold.
Throughout its history, Motorola has been one of the most well-known mobile hardware developers in the business. Its prominence has waned in recent years, however, in the face of Apple and Samsung. With its move to Lenovo, both companies will no doubt work together to bring Motorola back to the forefront of the mobile discussion.
Remember when Lenovo announced that Ashton Kutcher was their new product engineer last October? Well, apparently that was a legitimate title and Kutcher is going to have significant influence on the company’s next product line.
According to Re/code, Kutcher is in the process of designing a set of special edition smartphones for Lenovo which will launch some time this year.
“This partnership with Lenovo brings together my love of technology and design that makes your life better, said Kutcher back in October. “I can’t wait to dig in and help Lenovo develop future mobile computing products, starting with the Yoga Tablet.”
Though it might seem to some that the Ashton Kutcher/Lenovo partnership is a marketing ploy or at best simply Kutcher lending his name–which has considerable sway–to the company’s new products, Lenovo says that’s not the case. According to Lenovo CMO David Roman, Kutcher is really taking a hands-on approach to designing these phones.
“I know on one level, it sounds corny, but it is real,” Roman told Re/code. “He not only sees himself as an engineer, but he is an engineer. If he sees a problem, he wants to solve it.”
Dennis Woodside has been CEO of Motorola Mobility since Google bought the company in 2012. Since then, Motorola has produced two of 2013’s best smartphones – the Moto X and Moto G. That kind of excellence may very well continue after it’s sold to Lenovo, but Woodside won’t be along for the ride.
On the Motorola blog today, Woodside announced that he would stepping down as Motorola Mobility’s CEO at the end of March. At that time, he will join Dropbox as its COO. After his departure, Jonathan Rosenberg, SVP of Products at Google from 2002 to 2011, will take over as COO at Motorola Mobility.
Here are the full details:
To ensure that Motorola maintains its current momentum and successfully transitions to Lenovo ownership, Jonathan Rosenberg, a longtime Googler and SVP of Products from 2002 to 2011, will step in as COO at Motorola Mobility as of April 1. Jonathan worked very closely with me to build the leadership team at Motorola and has been intimately involved in steering business and product decisions alongside with the current leadership team. Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora will remain Executive Chairman of the Motorola Operating Board, and continue to oversee the strategy.
Even with Woodside gone, it sounds like Motorola will keep doing what it does best – make phones. It’s unknown if the company will have anything on display for this year’s Mobile World Congress as it prepares for the move to Lenovo, but it could very well be the last product unveiling under Woodside. Here’s hoping Motorola shares more info on its ambitious modular smartphone concept.
In 2013, it looked like Google-owned Motorola Mobility had finally hit its stride with the release of the Moto X and Moto G. Despite the success of these two phones, Google is already selling the company.
TechCrunch is reporting that Google will be selling the Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for almost $3 billion. Google purchased the company in 2011 for $12.5 billion. While the difference in price between the two makes it seem like Google may hold onto some patents, but China Daily reports the deal nets Lenovo 10,000 patents. That’s over half of the 17,000 patents Google acquired in its original purchase.
Unfortunately, we won’t know the exact terms of deal until it’s made official. Until then, we can only speculate and speculate we shall. For starters, a rumor popped up this week that Google would be discontinuing its Nexus brand of mobile devices in 2015. Others are stating that Google is simply rebranding the Nexus line as “Play Edition” to keep them in line with the non-Nexus phones currently offered on the Google Play store.
Either way, the sale of Motorola Mobility and the death/rebranding of the Nexus line may mean that Google is interested in moving away from mobile somewhat. The company is really putting a lot of its effort these days behind wearables with Google Glass. Add to that Google’s recent agreement with Samsung to cross-license each other’s patents and you have a perfect storm of speculation regarding the future of Google’s mobile plans.
Whatever happens, Google will remain committed to the Android platform. It just brings into question whether or not Google is committed to Android hardware as well.
We’ll likely find out more tomorrow as Lenovo says it will host a press conference on Thursday to officially announce the acquisition.
UPDATE: Google just made it official with a statement from CEO Larry Page. In the statement, Google cites a competitive market and it needing to be “all-in” for Motorola to succeed which is why they’re selling:
But the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices. It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo—which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere.
Page also confirmed two other notes of interest: Motorola will keep its branding in the move to Lenovo while Google will retain “majority of Motorola’s patents” which is it will “use to defend the entire Android ecosystem.”
At the end, Page adds that business will continual as usual at Motorola as the deal is approved by regulators in both China and the U.S.
Lenovo is one of the biggest players in the computer hardware industry. Its line of PCs and tablets have proven to be popular thanks to their affordability and excellent build quality. Now the company wants to get into the server business.
IBM announced this morning that Lenovo plans to acquire its server business for $2.3 billion. The transaction will include IBM’s System x, BladeCenter and Flex System blade servers and switches, x86-based Flex integrated systems, NeXtScale, and iDataPlex servers and associated software. What Lenovo won’t get is IBM’s System z mainframes, Power Systems, Storage Systems, Power-based Flex servers, and PureApplication and PureData appliances.
“This acquisition demonstrates our willingness to invest in businesses that can help fuel profitable growth and extend our PC Plus strategy,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, Lenovo. “With the right strategy, great execution, continued innovation and a clear commitment to the x86 industry, we are confident that we can grow this business successfully for the long-term, just as we have done with our worldwide PC business.”
Lenovo notes that this latest acquisition is just the latest in its close partnership with IBM. The company previously purchased IBM’s PC business in 2005. Despite no longer owning its hardware business, IBM will continue to work with Lenovo on developing software for x86 systems.
“This divestiture allows IBM to focus on system and software innovations that bring new kinds of value to strategic areas of our business, such as cognitive computing, Big Data and cloud,” said Steve Mills, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, IBM Software and Systems. “IBM has a proven record of innovation and transformation, which has enabled us to create solutions that are highly valued by our clients.”
So, how will this purchase affect those currently on the receiving end of IBM’s server business? Lenovo will take over customer service and maintenance operations upon completion of the transaction, but IBM will continue to “provide maintenance delivery on Lenovo’s behalf” for the foreseeable future.
As for employees of IBM, Lenovo says that it intends to offer employment to the 7,500 employees affected by the transaction.
It’s a brand new year, but the story is largely the same for PC manufacturers. Much like last year, PC shipments continued to decline during the all-important holiday sales quarter.
Market research firm IDC this week released its PC shipment estimates for the fourth quarter of 2013 and the industry has declined, as expected. The firm estimates that PC shipments during the fourth quarter were down 5.6% from the fourth quarter of 2012 – a significant contraction, though one that doesn’t quite hit IDC’s initial prediction of a 6% shipment decline.
“The PC market again came in very close to expectations, but unfortunately failed to significantly change the trajectory of growth,” said Loren Loverde, VP of Worldwide PC Trackers at IDC. “Total shipments have now declined for seven consecutive quarters, and even the holiday shopping season was unable to inspire a turn in consumer spending. Although U.S. growth slipped a little in the fourth quarter, other regions all improved, reinforcing our view that growth rates will continue to improve gradually during 2014 despite remaining in negative territory.”
IDC estimates that PC industry shipments as a whole declined 10% from those seen in 2012. This continuing decline demonstrates just how aggressively the tablet industry is growing and a shift in consumer needs to relatively low-priced mobile devices.
Though HP did manage to take back its market share lead from Lenovo during the third quarter of 2013, the company saw an over 8% shipment decline during the holiday quarter. Lenovo, on the other hand, saw 9% year-over-year shipment growth and led the PC industry with over 15 million units shipped.
“In the United States, market leader HP had a difficult quarter, contracting -12.3% year on year as the market slowed following an HP surge in the third quarter,” said Rajani Singh, senior research analyst for Personal Computing at IDC. “However, Asian majors like Lenovo and Samsung achieved strong double-digit growth, driven partly by a modest commercial uptick and partly due to retail acceptance of their emerging product categories, such as Chromebooks.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts next week, but brands are already jumping the gun and announcing upcoming products.
Lenovo today announced four new smartphones that will lead its mobile lineup in 2014.
The most noteworthy of Lenovo’s new offerings is the Vibe Z, the company’s high-end offering and its first smartphone to offer 4G LTE capabilities. The device will retail for $549 and will launch in a few countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Phillippines) starting in February.
The Vibe Z comes with a 5.5-inch, 1920×1080 display sporting 400 ppi. It also has a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera (5MP front camera), and up to 16GB of storage.
The rest of Lenovo’s offerings are lower-end offerings that will likely sell better in emerging markets.
Two “S Series” offerings have lower hardware specs than the Vibe Z and accompanying lower prices. The S930 comes with a larger 6-inch screen, but one that has only a 1280×720 resolution. The S650’s screen has an even lower resolution of 960×540 and is only 4.7 inches. The S930 will sell for $319, while the S650 will cost customers only $229. Both are available now in countries where Lenovo smartphones are already sold.
Lenovo’s lowest-end offering is the A859, a smartphone designed for consumers looking specifically for cost effectiveness. Starting today the device sells for just $219 and comes with a 5-inch, 1280×720 screen, and 8GB of storage.
Consumer electronics big-box retailer Best Buy has posted some of its Black Friday 2013 doorbusters online.
Amidst Walmart’s complicated 2013 triad of pre-Black Friday sales events, which some might say have diminished the entire concept of Black Friday retail deal-rushing madness, as well has Sears’ online member’s-only presale, Best Buy has launched its own complex pre-Friday sales-viewing advertisement.
What does it all mean? Essentially, Best Buy customers can shop for doorbusters in-store, as soon as brick and mortar locations open at 6:00 p.m., on Thursday, November 28. Later, on Thursday evening, consumers can get a glimpse of ‘Midnight Mystery Doorbusters,’ beginning at 10 p.m. Any deals gleaned there will become physically available in-store at midnight on Friday, November 29.
Another slew of Best Buy in-store doorbusters will become available at 10 a.m. on Friday as well. No word if there is an online preview scheduled for that wave, though Best Buy, much like Sears, does employ a preferred shopper’s program, known as Elite and Elite Plus. Elite Best Buy shoppers can access ultra-secret deals.
Notable deals Best Buy has already posted online include:
-a MacBook Pro 13.3″ Display 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive for $999.99
-a Samsung 55″ Class 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $699.99
-a Lenovo 7″ 16GB Memory Tablet and Case for $129.99
-an Insignia 32″ Class 720p 60Hz LED HDTV for $169.99
-an HTC One Phone for Verizon Wireless, AT&T or Sprint for $49.99
All sales include free shipping.
Below is a clip documenting the general pandemonium that occurs when aggressive pricing begets aggressive shopping, at various big-box retailers during Black Friday events:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBk32OUxCnU
Some Twitter commentary regarding the Best Buy 2013 Black Friday sales event:
People are already camped outside of Best Buy waiting for Black Friday deals.
You couldn't pay me to miss Thanksgiving dinner.
But, as in his narrow-flowing monomania, not one jot of 
