Huawei to launch MediaPad tablet soon

THE NEW HUAWEI MEDIAPAD

Huawei Technologies Co, China's largest maker of phone equipment, said its MediaPad tabletcomputers are being tested by Tribune as news readers. 

The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times are conducting trials of the tablets through the end of this month, and the devices may be rolled out nationwide once those tests are complete, said James Jiang, executive vice president of product solutions at Huawei's device business in the US. 

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is diversifying the company into consumer mobile devices to expand business in the US, where lawmakers have opposed sales of its phone-network equipment because of his Chinese military background. Tribune Chief Executive Officer Eddy Hartenstein is seeking to add a new business to stem losses from declining newspaper circulation and increased printing costs. 

"We are always looking for opportunities to provide companies with products and solutions that will enhance the level of service that they provide to their customers," Jiang said in an e-mail. "In this case, it is about providing the Tribune's readers with a platform that allows them to access news and other content." 

The Chicago-based Tribune Co, which also owns radio and TV stations, filed for bankruptcy in 2008, one year after a leveraged buyout led by real-estate billionaire Sam Zell. Tribune, valued earlier this year by the company at more than $7 billion, owes creditors about $13 billion. The company said May 15 it will stop publishing LA, Los Angeles Times Magazine, on June 3. 

THE NEW HUAWEI MediaPad

Gary Weitman, a Tribune spokesman, declined to comment. 

Huawei unveiled the MediaPad tablet, which runs Google's Android operating system, last year as profit was cut by half. Huawei plans to boost total revenue as much as 20 per cent this year, aided by the push into the consumer market, Controller CT Johnson said last month.

Lenovo unveils 55-inch smart TV

BEIJING/HONG KONG: What a difference nearly 50 years makes. Although the exact origins are lost to time, it was around 1965 that the phrases "boob tube" and "idiot box" were coined to describe the small cathode-ray tube television and the content broadcast on it that many thought foolish.

Fast-forward to 2012 and it's the era of the "smart TV," a slim and stylish - and large - LED flatscreen model connected to the Internet that allows viewers to download movies, play video games and Skype their relatives around the world.

Lenovo K91 smart TV

Smart TVs are also the latest battleground for technology giants like Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Lenovo Group Ltd, each of which is trying to capture the eyeballs and wallets of consumers hungry for content displayed in the comfort of their home in 3D on a high-definition screen.

The latest entry in the market was unveiled in Beijing by Lenovo on Tuesday, where the world's second-largest PC maker showcased its 55-inch K91 smart TVs to attendees who were reading Sina microblogs, playing simulated tennis and watching the movie "Inception" on demo models.

While relatively established in other parts of the world, smart TVs have been slow to catch on in China because of restrictions on content and the concept itself is relatively new.

The K-series is Lenovo's first smart TV and the company decided to launch it on its home turf because it said it would be easier to negotiate content deals in China.

"We been very busy this spring sowing seeds for the future," Lenovo's CEO and chairman, Yang Yuanqing, said during the launch. "Lenovo not only wants to be a leading PC vendor, it also wants to be a global leader in providing Internet consumer devices."

Lenovo may have to play catch-up in the rest of the world as tech heavyweights Samsung and Apple power ahead with their own offerings. Another Korean firm, LG Electronics Inc, the world's No.2 TV maker, plans to launch Internet-enabled TV based on Google's platform in theUnited States in May.

"Whatever Apple does, it sets the trend for some other PC makers," said Vincent Chen, an analyst at Yuanta Securities in Taipei. "For Lenovo, the smart TV is a good strategy for it to consolidate its market share in China. However, content will be the biggest obstacle for Lenovo's smart TVs to be sold outside of China."

Diversification

Lenovo, which has been diversifying into making its Lephone smartphones and Lepad tablet PCs, derived more than 40 per cent of its total nine-month sales of $22 billion in 2011 from China.

Analysts said Lenovo had been dominant in the traditional PC sector, but its foray into smartphones, tablet PCs and now smart TVs, has not been as successful.

The launch of its smart TVs will unlikely have an immediate boost on Lenovo's earnings in coming quarters since it is only being sold in China. By 2015, smart TVs will make up about half of total TVs shipped globally, Lenovo executives said.

Lenovo's smart TV, which comes in four models with prices ranging from 6,499 yuan ($1,032) to 14,999 yuan, uses a Qualcomm Inc processor and runs Google Inc's Android 4.0 operating system.

Lenovo K91 smart TV

Lenovo plans to start selling its smart TV this month at electronics retailer Suning stores in nine cities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The company is already selling a console that could be paired with the new smart TV. The company's Eedoo unit in April launched the CT510 console that will compete with Microsoft Inc's XBox Kinect and Sony Corp's Playstation.

However, Lenovo said its CT510 device is primarily an exercise and entertainment device since sales of so-called gaming consoles are banned in China.

Lenovo's shares fell 4.2 percent on Tuesday, underperforming the main Hang Seng Index's 0.4 per cent loss.

Information Courtesy: The Times Of India

Huawei launches Honor & Ideos X5 smartphones in India.

NEW DELHI: Huawei has announced the launch of Honor and the improved version of Ideos X5 smartphones in the Indian market. 
Running on Google Android Gingerbread,Huawei Honor features a 1,900 mAh battery, promising upto 9 hours of talk time, 6 hours of gaming and 10 hours of video. 

Featuring a 4-inch scratch resistant Gorilla glass and FWVGA display with 245 pixels per inch (PPI), Huawei Honor has a textured scratch-proof back. 

With a 1.4 GHz processor and a gyroscope, Huawei Honor packs an 8 megapixel AF rear camera with HDR, allowing users to capture pictures in ultra-bright and low lights. There's also a front camera for video chatting and 720P video recording and playback features. 

The phone is also DLNA-certified, which means it can play content wirelessly on other DLNA-certified devices such as digital cameras, game consoles and TVs. 

The phone will also let users blacklist and whitelist calls or protect their SMS from unauthorized use. Honor comes with a lock screen that has a built-in quick launch to the camera, SMS and phone apps. 

The phone also bundles an app called 'Data Traffic Manager' which lets users to set their monthly data package budget and offers an overview of data consumption over 2G/3G, WiFi networks and the apps consuming traffic. The phone is priced at Rs 19,990 (approximately). 

The Chinese phone maker has also launched an upgraded and improved version of Ideos X5 with Cloud features, a 1Ghz faster processor, FM Radio and 14.4 Mpbs faster download speeds. 

Priced at Rs 13,800, the new Ideos X5 offers 16GB Cloud space to store images, music and books. With Phone Finder, users can remotely locate phone or lock, backup or delete data to prevent phone from unauthorized use. Huawei Ideos X5 comes with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and ability to capture 720P high definition HD videos. 

Featuring a 3.8-inch WVGA capacitive touch display with multi touch support, Huawei Ideos X5 comes with 1500mAh battery which according to company promises a good standby and talk time.


Courtesy: Times Of India