The 5 million mark has been reached in just 85 days, a rate which is 40 days faster than the original GALAXY S took to reach the same sales mark. This rate is set to accelerate as Samsung has just launched GALAXY S II in China, the world’s largest market.
That’s a rate of one Galaxy S II sold every 1.5 seconds, which is about the same rate when it hit sales of three million in 55 days. And it just hit China. The 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus-toting Android smartphone will head its way to the U.S. some time in August.
EA CEO John Riccitiello:
I think there’s going to be an interesting debate when you get to processing power beyond what you can push up with a 1080p or a 720p [system]. Most people squint between 1080p and 720p, because what’s the difference, seriously?
Like Riccitiello said, most won’t be able to tell the difference between the two if sitting at an optimum distance from the display. But if you sit closer, you’ll be able to tell the two apart. It’s not about 720p versus 1080p; it’s about what our eyes can see. As long as there’s a resolution gap between our eyes and the displays we use, graphics and display technology will continue to improve.
I’m surprised at how few people know about this. Refurbished hardware, especially factory refurbished, is actually BETTER than new. Not only will you save money, but you’ll get a piece that went back to a special lab, probably though no hardware fault (most are returns for other reasons). At this lab, every piece of equipment gets special scrutiny and attention. Quality control at the original factory is pretty good, but QC at the refurb bench is excellent.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro that I am using today was factory refurbished by Apple, saved me money, and has been running without a problem since the fall of 2009. This is what I tell my friends: whatever was going to break broke, the company fixed it, and is giving you a discount for the privilege.
As someone who has purchased and read several dozen books on the Kindle app in the past year, I have to say that this sucks. The Amazon bookstore on the iPad was a reader’s paradise: A enormous library with open shelves that let you browse at will, check reviews and more often than not read the first chapter for free. Without that Kindle Store button, however, I suspect many users — if not most — will have no idea how to get started.
A quick aside: the 9.7-inch IPS LCD on the iPad is nice, but it ain’t no reader’s paradise. I think it’s agreed almost universally that the Kindle’s E Ink is much better for reading.
Ed Sutherland, Cult of Mac:
If you love e-reading and the Kindle app for the iPad, you may have noticed the familiar “Kindle Store” button missing. Its absence is causing an uproar online and prompting questions whether Apple is unintentionally pushing consumers to buy iBook alternatives.
Elmer-Dewitt is frustrated that the Kindle Store button in the Kindle iOS app was forced to be removed by Apple. I think Apple is intentional in driving app developers and potential customers to its iBookstore. Is this a good strategy for Apple?
iOS apps and iDevices are a fantastic combination: a UI optimized for fingers combined with a superbly tuned multitouch LCD is perfect. Music on iTunes? Not perfect, but better than most; Spotify is my favorite. Video on iTunes can be much better with a subscription option, which Netflix has. But books don’t work very well.
Let’s go back to the display. E Ink is much better for reading than the best LCDs. Apple doesn’t bring much to the table. Amazon has a considerably larger e-book selection and the more readable Kindle. Apple has less e-books and you’re reading on LCDs, whether it’s on the iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. For those of us who read a lot and want a non-analog experience Amazon is the clear winner. Apple should embrace the usage of Amazon’s Kindle app.
This will become moot soon enough though. Amazon is working on a Kindle tablet. This is what I’ve heard. The Kindle tablet will come in two sizes: 7 and 10 inches. The display technology will be Hydis-developed fringe-field switching (FFS) LCD, manufactured by Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) at its Gen. 6 line (E Ink and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Form Strategic Alliance). FFS is known to be as good as IPS in a number of attributes: wide viewing angles, low shifts in contrast, brightness and color. CPT has also been tapped to supply the touch panel (CPT Touch Panel Supplier For Amazon Tablet), which is rumored to be limited to two touches at a time (Two-Finger Amazon Tablet).
Apple is deliberately forcing potential e-book customers to choose between its iBookstore and others. For luddites like me who would rather read a book made of paper, this is a non-issue, but for the millions who do read on displays this might feel like a conundrum. Well, it isn’t really. With a move away from electrophoretic displays, Amazon loses its biggest advantage: readability. Amazon, with its new tablets, will inadvertently join Apple’s game, a game Apple has been winning for some time.
PS: A reader’s paradise in my mind is a drink, silence, and plenty of time to read a good book.
[...] the total global TV shipment outlook for 2011 has been reduced by about 3% to 252 million units, as demand in many developed countries continues to be very soft.
Director of North American TV Research, Paul Gagnon:
Demand in emerging markets like China, Latin America, and India is continuing to grow strongly with a relatively low level of flat panel TV household penetration; this will more than offset slowdowns in developed regions.
If that’s the case, why the reduction in forecast?
Amazon has settled on a Taiwan-based supply chain for its tablets to be launched in the third quarter of 2011, with TFT-LCD panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) to supply touch sensors for use in 7-inch G/G (Glass on Glass) touch panels, according to supply chain makers.
Amazon’s tablet is rumored to sport E Ink’s Hydis-developed fringe field switching (FFS) TFT LCD, a wide-viewing display technology that is as good as IPS. To make use of CPT’s Gen. 6 TFT LCD line, E Ink will soon own a piece of CPT.
AUO: Consolidated revenue increased 5.2% Q/Q to NT$98,050 million, but the second-largest Taiwan-based LCD manufacturer posted a net loss of NT$10,766 million.
AUO CFO Andy Yang:
In the second quarter of 2011, owing to macro uncertainties and customers’ inventory adjustments, which impacted the order momentum, AUO’s revenue growth and panel pricing trend were weaker than expected.
The trick, it seems, is to expect better.
Sales of smartphones will exceed 420 million devices in 2011, accounting for nearly 28 percent of the entire global handset market [...]
IMS Mobile Technologies Group analyst Josh Builta:
Though the other OEMs are stepping up their efforts in the space, companies such as Apple, HTC and Samsung have a considerable amount of momentum. Catching them will not be an easy task.
As uncertainty in the panel market continues into the third quarter, industry leading TFT LCD panel makers such as Chimei Innolux (CMI) and LG Display both recently decreased their capex budgets. Such action may help ease oversupply in the market. Market watchers also expect AU Optronics (AUO) to lower its capex for 2011. Samsung has indicated no plans to decrease its capex.
Overall 2011 CAPEX might be on the decline but there is a silver lining: LTPS, and OLED. CMI has plans to double its low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) capacity by investing NT$11 billion. LG Display forges ahead in building the world’s largest Gen. 8 OLED fab.
Update: Samsung announced second quarter 2011 results on July 29:
Samsung said the annual projected capex of 23 trillion won remained unchanged, however a shift in allocation to increase semiconductor and reduce LCD investment was possible.
As part of this set of agreements, CPT also gains membership in IV’s IP for Defense program and access to broad areas of strategic cooperation. For customers accused of patent infringement, IV’s IP for Defense program provides them with the ability to obtain patents from IV’s portfolio to support counter-assertion, enabling more efficient negotiations in order to reduce liabilities and achieve favorable licensing terms.
In other words IV’s IPs are nuclear patent warheads. CPT’s strategy: you nuke me, I’ll nuke you. Mutually assured destruction. Nobody wants that, so let’s play nice. With LCD manufacturers getting bombarded with IP infringement cases, having nuclear capability makes for an effective defensive posture. Interestingly, many cases are initiated by IV’s 1300 or so shell companies.
The timing is amusing: This American Life just aired an exposé on IV, a patent troll on steroids.
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