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Exynos 5 Octa, flexible display enhanced with Microsoft vision et al. from Samsung Components: the only valid future selling at CES 2013
[5:30 – 5:39] of the video embedded in ‘Details’ section below:
Samsung Components [the proper name is Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics]: a $16B operation just for Q3 2012 alone.
WTF are 8 cores for? How the mobile battery will cope with that? And the fundamental (technical only) answers to both questions (objections) are:
[24:00 – 24:50] of the video embedded in ‘Details’ section below:
demo and illustration of the big.LITTLE
Warren East, CEO, ARM:
[24:57] It is providing roughly twice the performance of today’s leading edge smartphones at half the power consumption when running common workloads [25:07]
Add here just the following illustration in order to avoid the (unfortunately) quite typical misunderstanding of having 8 core in Exynos 5 Octa, when in fact there are 4 cores used for different workloads:
WTF is a flexible display for?
[48:53 – 54:00] of the video embedded in ‘Details’ section below:
How Microsoft is using Samsung components to enhance their solutions, Eric Rudder, chief technical strategy officer, Microsoft:
[51:37] We actually have a prototype of Windows Phone and how would look on one of those screens [51:41]
…
[51:41] And Microsoft’s vision is that sensors like Kinect combined with flexible, transparent and projected displays will bring us to a point when any object can be a Surface and can be a computer. I’d like to close with a short video from Microsoft Research which extends interactivity to every surface in your living room. Last year you’ve may seen some videos with precomputed projections. What we’re demoing today is both real-time and fully interactive. And while you may find it hard to believe the footage shown here is exactly what’ve appeared in the lab without any special effects being added. Some companies talk about reality distortion field we’ve actually built one. [52:32]
[52:35 – 53:20] IllumiRoom Projects Images Beyond Your TV for an Immersive Gaming Experience [MicrosoftResearch YouTube channel, Jan 8, 2013]
[53:24] This is just a glimpse of what our future may hold in store for us. We’re excited that this technology can be used in many different ways: to enhance a TV or movie experience, or increase the reality of a flight simulator, or make educational scenarios more exciting. We look forward to our continued partnership with Samsung to deliver the next generation of devices and services. [53:49]
Details
<CES 2013 “warm-up” clips, worth to skip> [3:10]
<Gary Shapiro intro, might be skipped> [6:00]
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa & Flexible Display at CES 2013 Keynote [SamsungTomorrow YouTube channel, Jan 9, 2012]
Samsung Highlights Innovations in Mobile Experiences Driven by Components, in CES Keynote [Samsung press release, January 9, 2013]
Samsung’s President Introduces Broader Partnerships, New Products and the Possibilities They Enable
LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today redefined the story of consumer electronics from its perspective beneath the surface of mobile devices at the 2013 International CES keynote address.
“When you want multiple applications to perform at their best, you want the best application processor currently available—the Exynos 5 Octa.”
Dr. Stephen Woo, president of System LSI Business, Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics, shared the company’s vision of “Mobilizing Possibility,” highlighting the role of components as the engine behind innovation across the mobile landscape. The keynote event illustrated possibilities that Samsung envisions offering through its component solutions, and introduced new products that will herald such expectations.
“We believe the right component DNA drives the discovery of what’s possible,” said Woo. “Components are building blocks—the foundations on which devices are built. We at Samsung’s component solutions are creating new, game-changing components across all aspects of devices.”
Guests from partnering companies, such as Warren East, chief executive officer, ARM; Eric Rudder, chief technical strategy officer, Microsoft; Trevor Schick, senior vice president, enterprise group supply chain procurement, HP; and Glenn Roland, vice president and head of new platforms and OEM, EA; also took part in the event, echoing Samsung’s mission to offer breakthrough products and create shared value (CSV) for both manufacturers and end-users.
Woo opened by presenting Samsung’s goal for Mobilizing Possibility that takes big ideas off the drawing board and brings them to life for end-users, especially in the areas of processing performance, energy-efficient memory solutions and display technology. He emphasized that the limitless possibilities presented by consumer electronics will be based on component innovations by the company.
Processing Power
The first of Samsung’s new products announced at the keynote was the Exynos 5 Octa, the world’s first mobile application processor to implement the ARM® big.LITTLE™ processing technology based on the Cortex™-A15 CPU. Following the Exynos 5 Dual, which is already on board of market-leading products such as the Google Chromebook and Nexus 10, the successor is the newest addition to the Exynos family of application processors.
“The new Exynos 5 Octa introduces a whole new concept in processing architecture…designed for high-end smartphones and tablets,” said Woo. “When you want multiple applications to perform at their best, you want the best application processor currently available—the Exynos 5 Octa.”
To expand on the big.LITTLE concept, Warren East, chief executive officer, ARM, joined Woo on stage and introduced the new technology that has just become available in silicon through the Exynos 5 Octa. Housing a total of eight cores to draw from—four powerful Cortex-A15™ processors to handle processing-intense tasks along with four additional Cortex-A7™ cores for lighter workloads—the application processor offers maximum performance and up to 70 percent higher energy efficiency compared to the previous quad-core Exynos.
Glenn Roland, vice president and head of new platforms and OEM, EA [Electronic Arts], helped Woo demonstrate the processing power of the Exynos 5 Octa by showing off one of EA’s latest 3D racing games, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted. Atop the reference device, the application processor delivered an elevated real-life gaming experience within the mobile platform, rendering stunning graphics performance and real-time response speed.
Green Memory Capabilities
As advanced processing power on mobile devices accelerates easier data creation by the masses, the mobile experience will increasingly become more dependent upon datacenters largely responsible for the proliferating data traffic. Growing in size and capacity, IT systems face challenges both in performance and power savings to secure sustainability moving forward. Memory devices, the main products for servers that make up these datacenters, can deliver substantial gains by adopting cutting-edge technology available from Samsung.
Woo pointed out that managing the power consumption in these datacenters have become crucial and that Samsung’s green memory solutions with solid state drives (SSD) and advanced DRAM (dynamic random access memory) are addressing this key issue with their powerful, yet energy-efficient processing capabilities. Compared to traditional datacenters that incorporate hard disk drives (HDD), server and storage solutions equipped with green memory pull the data processing speeds up six-fold while operating with 26 percent less electricity.
Display Technology
As components on the surface that interact directly with users, display solutions bring the technology advancements to life and make them tangible through the device interface. Woo presented the future possibilities of Samsung’s displays along with Brian Berkeley, senior vice president of Samsung Display. While crystal-clear picture qualities become a reality, the two Samsung speakers were pleased to share that the innovations do not sacrifice energy efficiency.
Woo and Berkeley described the 10.1-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) panel that is currently adopted by the Nexus 10. With a 2560×1600 resolution and 300 pixels per inch (ppi), the panel renders stunning picture qualities while consuming only 75 percent of the energy used in previous display solutions.
Using Samsung’s energy-efficient green LCD technology, the company is currently developing a 10.1-inch model that would lower power consumption even further by 25 percent, while offering equal resolution qualities as its predecessor.
Prototypes and real-life scenarios for Samsung’s line of flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays were also showcased, promising various mobile application opportunities for consumer electronics manufacturers. Dubbed “YOUM,” the flexible display line-up uses extremely thin plastic instead of glass, making it bendable and virtually “unbreakable.” Berkeley featured a smartphone prototype equipped with a curved edge that showed contiguous content along the side of the device.
“Our team was able to make a high-resolution display on extremely thin plastic instead of glass, so it won’t break even if it’s dropped,” said Berkeley. “This new form factor will really begin to change how people interact with their devices, opening up new lifestyle possibilities … [and] allow our partners to create a whole new ecosystem of devices.”
One of Samsung’s partners that bring the company’s state-of-the-art components together is Microsoft, adding more layers of value to the final product with its software solutions, devices and services. Eric Rudder, chief technical strategy officer, Microsoft, took the complete ATIV family of devices as an example through which Samsung’s component solutions and Windows 8 together present new potential in user interfaces. Rudder reported that Microsoft Research has been continuing its work on next-generation display technologies, enabling new modes of human-computer interaction.
Possibility for All
Creating a better world with its resources is one of Samsung’s core values. Samsung’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative, Samsung Hope for Children, was launched in this spirit, through which the company provides its products, expertise and financial support to tackle the needs of children around the world for education and healthcare. Woo emphasized that Samsung’s innovation in components share the same thread as a driver that truly mobilizes possibility without boundaries or barriers.
“When [Samsung’s] technologies harmonize, amazing things happen. Advances in components are giving rise to a whole new era of possibility,” said Woo. “At Samsung, we are passionate about Mobilizing Possibility. Not just for the privileged few, but possibility for all.”
For more information about Samsung’s 2013 International CES keynote, visit www.samsung.com/2013ceskeynote or www.samsungces.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in consumer electronics and the core components that go into them. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 227,000 people across 75 countries with annual sales exceeding US$143 billion. Our goal is opening new possibilities for people everywhere. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
ARM TechCon 2012 – Warren East, CEO ARM Keynote [ARMflix, Nov 2, 2012]
More essential details:
– Cortex-A7 OR Low-Power Leadership for A Smarter Future – The Legend of ARM Cortex-A7 [USD 99 Allwinner, Jan 7, 2013]
– Fast 3d party IP OR the external Intellectual Property which makes Allwinner’s unprecedented pace of further next-gen SoC introductions possible despite of the company size of only 500 employees [USD 99 Allwinner, Dec 28, 2012]
– Samsung Exynos 5250 [Dec 6, 2011]
– for Samsung semiconductor foundry operation: see inside the Qualcomm’s critical reliance on supply constrained 28nm foundry capacity [this same ‘Experiencing the ‘Cloud’ blog, July 27 – Nov 13, 2012]
– Intel targeting ARM based microservers: the Calxeda case [this same ‘Experiencing the ‘Cloud’ blog, Dec 14, 2012]
– Intel’s biggest flop: at least 3-month delay in delivering the power management solution for its first tablet SoC [this same ‘Experiencing the ‘Cloud’ blog, Dec 20, 2012]
Windows RT must work with more chips to take off, ARM CEO says [CNET, Jan 9, 2012]
LAS VEGAS — Microsoft’s newest operating system that runs on cell phone chips is off to a slow start, but it’s only a matter of time before it gains more traction, the chief executive of chip technology designer ARM Holdings said.
Warren East, speaking today in an interview with CNET at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said that for that to happen, Microsoft needs to make its software, dubbed Windows RT, work with more ARM-based processors. He said it eventually will do so, but it’s unclear when that will be.
Currently, Windows RT runs only on Qualcomm and Nvidia chips (it also used to work with Texas Instruments’ processors, but that company decided to move away from providing chips for mobile devices). And only four PC makers ultimately built Windows RT products.
“If Microsoft wants to benefit from the ARM business model and the ARM world, then they’ll have to support multiple players,” East said. “Otherwise, there’s no real advantage for them in working with ARM.”
…
East today noted that when Microsoft first started talking with ARM about making a tablet/PC operating system that works with its processors, Microsoft wanted to work with only one ARM-based chip partner.
“We said, ‘no, no, you need to work with a few, because we have found over the years it helps to work with a few, or otherwise you end up getting too channeled into the requirements of one customer,” he said.
…
Microsoft Research at CES: IllumiRoom [Next at Microsoft blog, Jan 9, 2013]
Earlier this morning at CES, Eric Rudder, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Strategy Officer, joined the Samsung keynote to share Microsoft’s vision for extending computing interactions to any surface in your home. This wasn’t a product launch but I’m excited by the potential shown in the research that we shared.
Imagine a space like your kitchen or a classroom achieving that same level of interactivity as your phone – this will happen through a combination of embedded devices and sensors such as Kinect for Windows. Our research demo only covers educational and entertainment scenarios but the possibilities are endless.
It’s rare for a company to pull back the curtain and share research in such raw form at the world’s largest technology tradeshow. However, we think it’s vitally important to get the next generation of students excited about Computer Science – and what better way than to show off research that makes gaming more fun!
While magicians never share their secrets, researchers have to publish, so, a bit of explanation about the demo is in order. You may have seen interesting 3D-mapped projections over the past few years – Microsoft partners like Nokia and Samsung have both used pre-rendered footage in recent marketing efforts. What’s new in this work is that our researchers used Kinect for Windows to map the room in real-time in order to make projected illusions fully interactive. Most importantly, the effects shown in the video were captured live as they appeared in the living room environment and are not the result of special effects added in post processing.
For more on the science behind this demo, check out the MSR IllumiRoom project site from Hrvoje Benko, Andrew Wilson, Eyal Ofek, and Brett Jones – they’ll have more to come at CHI 2013 in April.
IllumiRoom: Peripheral Projected Illusions for Interactive Experiences [Microsoft Research, Jan 9, 2013 ]
IllumiRoom is a proof-of-concept system from Microsoft Research. It augments the area surrounding a television screen with projected visualizations to enhance the traditional living room entertainment experience.
IllumiRoom uses a Kinect for Windows camera and a projector to blur the lines between on-screen content and the environment we live in allowing us to combine our virtual and physical worlds. For example, our system can change the appearance of the room, induce apparent motion, extend the field of view, and enable entirely new game experiences.
Our system uses the appearance and the geometry of the room (captured by Kinect) to adapt the projected visuals in real-time without any need to custom pre-process the graphics. What you see in the videos below has been captured live and is not the result of any special effects added in post production.
Stay tuned for more information and a paper explaining all the details coming up at ACM CHI 2013.
Kindle Fire with its $200 price pushing everybody up, down or out of the Android tablet market
Suggested preliminary reading: $199 Kindle Fire: Android 2.3 with specific UI layer and cloud services [Sept 29 – Nov 13, 2011]
Update (when neither up or down the market is an option for the company):
Acer Likely to Withdraw From Tablet PC Market [Dec 28, 2011]
Routed by Apple Inc. in the tablet PC competition, the Taiwan-based Acer Inc., one of the world’s top five PC suppliers by market shares, has intended to disband its touch business group in January, 2012, indicating its withdrawal from the competitive landscape to follow the footsteps of HP and Research In Motion.
Headed by Acer’s corporate president Jim Wong, the touch business group was set up in April 2011 to develop and promote tablet PCs and smartphones, regarded as the company’s best promising business unit then.
However, the momentary impression has proven unable to secure the business unit an expected success, as the company, after struggling with the sluggishness of tablet PC sales in the past months, is determined to dissolve the unit starting in January, 2012. Of over 300 workers of the touch business unit, 150, mostly R&D engineers, will be transferred to other business divisions, and only 100 will be retained, with the remainder likely to be laid off, according to industry insiders.
Although the disbandment has yet to be publicized, Acer directors have confirmed that the company has recently merged its Android tablet business, which originally belonged to the touch business group, into its global logistics center management, saying that the once-promising division now exists in name only.
With the touch division to be streamlined, market observers believe that Acer, which just halved its tablet PC sales projection to the range of only 2.5 million to 3 million units from 5 million units optimistically set right after the division was established, is likely to leave the challenging market that has been dominated by Apple with its iPad.
Although global PC makers have eagerly ventured into tablet PC business in the wake of iPad’s success over the past year, many of them, however, have proven unmatchable with Apple in the competition, with HP and RIM already out of the market. Taiwanese contract manufacturers, such as Quanta Computer Inc. and Inventect Corp., have also been jeopardized by customer’s withdrawal from the segment, forced to cut their employees as a result.
The Kindle Fire Is On Fire: Amazon Expected To Ship 3.9 Million This Quarter [Seeking Alpha, Dec 2, 2011]
The Kindle Fire looks like a bona fide hit right out of the gate. New estimates from IHS iSuppli have Amazon.com (AMZN) shipping 3.9 million Kindle Fires this quarter, which would make it the No. 2 tablet after the iPad 2 (with an estimated 18.6 million shipments). The Kindle Fire will become the No. 1 Android tablet by a wide margin (the Samsung (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy Tab is the next biggest, with an estimated 1.4 million shipments).
To put this 3.9 million number in context, just remember that the very first quarter Apple sold the iPad back in the September quarter of 2010, it sold 3.3 million. So the Kindle Fire sold more in its first quarter than the iPad did in its first quarter on the market. Of course, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads the second quarter it was on the market, which was the 2010 holiday quarter.
Quanta shipments of Kindle Fire reach 3-4 million units [Dec 2, 2011]
Shipments of 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet PCs from Quanta Computer to Amazon have reached 3-4 million units, according to industry watchers. However, Quanta declined to comment.
The sources said Amazon has continued to increase its orders for Kindle Fire and aims to see total OEM Kindle Fire shipments reach five million units by the end of December or early January.
Wintek, a major supplier of touch panels for Kindle Fire, has recently raised its internal forecast of shipments to Amazon. Industry sources have estimated that Wintek will ship about 3-3.5 million touch panels for Kindle Fire before January.
However, some makers in the supply chain have built up inventory of needed parts and components steadily, and OEM Quanta has also kept its shipments regular, for the sake of avoiding over stockpiling inventory in case there is a reverse in order visibility, the sources pointed out.
The out-of-the-market case #1: White-box players in China quitting tablet PC market [Dec 8, 2011]
As non-Apple tablet PC players are dropping their tablet PC prices to compete against Kindle Fire, white-box players in China are starting to quit the tablet PC market and can only wait for the rise of the next innovative device to appear in the market.
Since China-based Lenovo is offering its tablet PCs at a price of CNY1,000 (US$158), several large white-box players have quickly dropped their tablet PC prices to help clear their inventory, while several white-box players that offer tablet PCs at below CNY800 are even preparing to sell their devices at cost and then quit the market.
With the launch of Android 4.0 and Nvidia Tegra 3, first-tier brand vendors have been dropping their tablet PC prices to compete for market share, especially Lenovo, which has recently dropped its 7-inch 16GB LaPad A1 from CNY2,500 [$US393] originally to less than CNY1,400 [$US220] and its entry-level 2GB model is offered at CNY1,000 [$US157], cheaper than most of the large white-box players’ models.
Since Lenovo is stronger in the retail channel, while offering warranty and its products have basic quality, these advantages are all piling strong pressure upon white-box players.
Some China-based ODMs pointed out that their orders from white-box players have dropped sharply by about 30-50% with several clients clearing their inventory by dropping prices; however, since they still cannot outmatch first-tier players, some of them have already decided to temporary quit the tablet PC market.
As the situation may become worse, the ODMs expect that more than 70% of the existing white-box players could quit the market by the first quarter of 2012.
Note: White-box is a term often used to describe computer makers who are not the well-known name brands, but rather B- or C-tier players.
The down-the-market case #1: Players drop tablet PC prices to compete against Kindle Fire [Nov 24, 2011]
Several tablet PC players including RIM, High Tech Computer (HTC), Lenovo, and ViewSonic, have dropped their 7-inch tablet PC prices to compete against Amazon’s Kindle Fire, priced at US$199, according to sources from channel retailers.
The sources pointed out that RIM has recently cooperated with Best Buy to offer its 7-inch 16GB PlayBook at a price of US$199, down from US$499 originally. Meanwhile, the price of HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3-based Flyer tablet PC has dropped to US$299, Lenovo’s 7-inch A1 tablet PC to US$199, and ViewSonic’s 7-inch Viewbook 730 to US$169.
Meanwhile, several China-based white-box players are also offering their 7-inch tablet at prices as low as US$75.
In addition to the 16GB model, RIM also dropped its 32GB model from US$599 to US$299.
Since part of the reason consumers buy Kindle Fire is because of its strong content support, even though other brand vendors are trying to attract consumers by lowering their prices, they may not be able to achieve the same sales results as Amazon.
The sources also revealed that several vendors are already in talking with upstream suppliers hoping to develop a tablet PC that costs less than US$199, but since there is still not yet a suitable solution to accomplish such a goal, most of the brand vendors are halting their 7-inch tablet PC projects.
The out-of-the-market case #2: Dell kills off its last Android tablet in the US [Dec 6, 2011]
Dell has taken its 7-inch Streak Android tablet out of commission, according to its website. While some retail sites still have stock, the company no longer offers the Streak for sale from its own website and will no longer produce it. The Dell Android tablet species is officially extinct in the US.
The fadeout of the 7-inch Streak follows the disappearance of the 5-inch Streak in August, when it failed to corner (read: create) the 5-inch tablet market. The 7-inch Streak went on sale in January and was priced at $200 with a T-Mobile contract, but has failed to generate any significant interest in the last year. The only Dell tablet still in production is the 10-inch Streak, sold in China.
From here, Dell will move on to making Windows 8 tablets when the operating system launches next year. Speaking at the Dell World 2011 conference, Michael Dell, the company’s CEO, said that “the Android market has not developed the expectations [Dell] would have had.”
Lenovo Reaffirms Android Commitment In Wake Of Dell Streak 7 Demise [Dec 7, 2011]
Lenovo is reaffirming its commitment to its Android-based tablets – at least for now – in the wake of the demise of Dell (NSDQ:Dell)’s Streak 7 Android tablet. Dell nixed the 7-inch tablet on Tuesday, posting a note on the Streak 7’s landing page saying that the product, unfortunately, is “no longer available for sale.”
Dell declined to comment on exactly why it discontinued the tablet, which was its last Android-based device on the U.S. market.
Many reports, however, are suggesting that Dell pulled the reins on the Streak 7 to start transitioning from Android-based tablets to Windows 8-based tablets, upon the new OS’ release next year. Dell declined to confirm the move, but other PC makers, such as Lenovo, have expressed their commitment to Google’s OS – even if just for now.
“Our tablet strategy today is an Android operating system,” said Chris Frey, vice president of North America Commercial Channels at Lenovo in an interview with CRN. “As operating systems evolve next year and new operating systems become available, we’ll make decisions on the hardware and the operating system that will go on that hardware as we get closer. Right now [Android] is the operating system we have and are driving in the market.”
Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet: An Android Business Slate [Review] [Dec 7, 2011]
Conclusion
Lenovo designed the ThinkPad Tablet with business users in mind. The optional pen accessory and the preloaded software are options business users may appreciate. During our tests, we felt the ThinkPad tablet was great for taking notes, surfing the web, checking email, and many other daily tasks that are typical of a business user.
Battery life with the ThinkPad Tablet is a bit of a mixed bag. Although the tablet is rated at up to five days of use, this longevity is dependent upon the user putting the tablet into suspend mode each time he or she is finished using the tablet. Even then, battery life is sure to vary greatly depending on how much you use the tablet. We would expect that many users may place the tablet on their desk to take a phone call or deal with another interruption and forget to press the power button. In doing so, you’ll suffer a considerable hit in terms of battery life.
In terms of connectivity, the ThinkPad Tablet has a lot going for it. Not only does the ThinkPad Tablet have a full-size USB port, but it also offers a card reader, microUSB port, mini HDMI port, a ThinkPad Tablet dock connector, and headphone jack. Most tablets on the market today offer considerably fewer ports, so this is an area where the ThinkPad Tablet really shines.
IT departments will also appreciate the encryption and remote wipe capabilities of the ThinkPad Tablet. The optional pen accessory is definitely a nice add on that gives the tablet some additional functionality, and we found ourselves using it often during our evaluation process. The biggest drawback to this tablet is its battery managment. Assuming you’re religious about pressing the power button each time you’re finished using the tablet, it won’t be a problem. If you’re like us and tend to forget however, you’ll want to keep a charging cord nearby at all times. Regardless, we feel the ThinkPad Tablet is a great tablet for business users who want some of the added capabilities and software that Lenovo includes. It’s a full-featured device that offers a tablet experience not found in many others on the market right now.
Hot
- NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz ARM SoC w/ NVIDIA graphics
- 1GB of RAM, 16 – 64GB Storage
- Lots of ports: mini HDMI, USB 2.0, micro USB, dock connector
- Full size media card reader
Not
- Relatively short battery life in idle mode
- Pen is not included (costs $30)
[Price: 16GB: $499, 32GB: $569, 64GB: $669]
Apple iPad Sales Slowing as Amazon Lights Kindle Fire [Dec 7, 2011]
Since launching in 2010, Apple’s iPad has been the global leader in tablets. But since Amazon’s first table, the all-new low-priced Kindle Fire came out in November Apple’s dominance may be sagging. In a new analyst note, Shaw Wu of the brokerage firm Stern Ageesees iPad sales as a “little light” in the current quarter.
Wu assigns the blame for light iPad sales to stiff competition, namely from Amazon’s Kindle Fire, priced at $199 while the starting price for the Apple iPad is $499. He also notes that some Apple customers are buying the MacBook Air instead of an iPad, but in lowering his estimate for iPad sales in the quarter from to 13.5 million units from 15 million units, it’s clear the Kindle Fire is the leading culprit.
[from: Apple’s iPad sales look light amid Kindle Fire, MacBook Air popularity [Dec 7, 2011]
Wu wrote in a research note:
In the Mac business, we are seeing particular strength in the MacBook Air, arguably the best ultra-mobile PC on the market. Last but not least, iPads appear a little light of expectations due in part to competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire but also as some users opt for a more full-featured MacBook Air.]
IHS iSuppli estimates Amazon will sell nearly four million Kindle Fire tablets by the end of the year— not bad for a product that didn’t ship until mid-November. Reviewers note that the Kindle Fire isn’t the Apple iPad — it is short on apps and isn’t known for content creation abilities. Yet it seems to serve at a low price what most tablet buyers want — a handy device good for watching videos and Web browsing and content reading on the go.
It’s not like Apple’s iPad dominance is going away, either. If the company sells 13.5 million tablets in the quarter as Wu estimates, the Cupertino, Ca.-based company still has a global leader on its hands. But the Kindle Fire has shown out of the gate that a device can ably compete with the iPad after others like the HP TouchPad and the BlackBerryPlayBook failed.
Wu isn’t the only analyst who thinks the Amazon Kindle Fire is dipping into Apple iPad dominance, either. Another new report from Michael Walkley of Canaccord Genuitysees the same trend.
“With our expectations for a new iPad launch during the March quarter leading to potentially lower inventory levels combined with increased competition from the $200 Kindle Fire,” Walkley said in a note, “we have slightly lowered our December quarter iPad estimates from 14M to 13M units.”
But it’s interesting to note that some analysts don’t think Apple is overly concerned with the low-priced Kindle.
“If anything, we believe that Apple is not too concerned about the low-priced entrants,” wrote Mark Moskowitz, an analyst with J.P. Morgan, in a Dec. 2 research note. “Recall, it has been our view that low-priced, reduced feature-set entrants, such as the Kindle Fire, are soap box derby devices stuck between a tablet and an e-reader.”
iPad feeling some heat from Amazon’s Kindle Fire [Dec 1, 2011]
Apple’s iPad seems to have run into the one Android tabletthat could knock it down a peg or two.
After hitting retailers on November 15 at $199, Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet is already outselling the iPad at Best Buy. Sorting tablets by the top sellers at the Best Buy Web Siteshows the Fire in first place followed by the 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 at $499 coming in second. A range of other iPad flavors from different carriers are scattered throughout the top 40 tablets.
Amazon itself shows the Kindle Fire as the top-selling tableton its site, with the 16GB iPad further down the list. But that seems a less accurate gauge of popularity since Fire buyers may be more likely to pick up the tablet directly from Amazon.
Even before the Fire launched a little more than two weeks ago, the tablet was proving to be a big seller, racking up a huge number of preorders. Pegging the Fire as one of the hottest consumer devices among holiday buyers, research firm DisplaySearch recently increased its shipment projectionsfor the current quarter.
DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim now expects Amazon to ship up to 6 million Fire tablets this season, up from 4 million previously.
Another analyst also sees the Fire giving the iPad some competition, but to a lesser degree.
In an investor note out today, J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said he’d trimmed his fourth-quarter sales estimates for Apple’s tablet to 13 million from 13.3 million previously. Moskowitz attributed the lower forecast mostly to more limited growth in production but also pointed to the Fire.
“To a lesser extent, the Amazon Kindle Fire’s better-than-expected momentum with more price sensitive consumers is a factor, too,” the analyst wrote.
Of course, Apple is certainly in no danger of losing its current dominance in the tablet market. Moskowitz believes that over time the iPad will actually gain more traction in the business and educational markets. And despite the hot holiday demand for the Fire, the analyst doesn’t see Amazon’s current version of its tablet as a strong enough competitor over the long haul.
“We think that for any vendor to wrestle momentum longer-term from Apple, a fully loaded offering is a must, and here, the current revision of the Kindle Fire falls short,” Moskowitz wrote. “We think that, over time, consumers may come away disappointed with the Kindle Fire’s lack of functionality and smaller screen size. In our view, the Kindle Fire is the current Netbook of the media tablet market. The bigger question is whether the Fire evolves into a bona fide tablet in its next-generation release.”
As a consequence of the above two articles one observer dares to note that:
Not even Apple understands the tablet market [Dec 7, 2011]
Just last quarter, iPhone sales took a big dip. Apple (AAPL) was fine as iPads saved the day. This quarter could turn out to be the complete opposite.
If Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu is right, iPad sales will be lower than expected because of the popularity of both Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle Fire table and Apple’s own MacBook Air, as ZDNet’s Larry Dignon notes. It’s a competition sandwich that underscores how little, still, anyone in the tablet market, including Apple, thoroughly understands the dynamics and what people ultimately want to do with the devices.
…
Initial trials are over
Not that the iPad — or other tablets — will whimper and crawl to a corner. Far from it. But given what products that Wu thinks are drawing attention, Kindle Fire and MacBook Air, you have to question whether anyone knows, yet, what consumers want from tablets, particularly as we’ve yet to see any solid numbers (and are unlikely to) for Kindle sales.
The presumption is that Kindle Fire snags the price-sensitive and Amazon fans. The MacBook Air switch is by people who need a lot more than what the iPad can deliver. That throws open a lot of assumptions. What percentage of buyers expected a tablet to be a media access device only? How many realized that they needed more than an on-screen keyboard? What price points will maximize sales?
For most of the Android tablet vendors, the answer to “What do consumers want?” has been, “Something other than what you sell.” Maybe Apple has all the answers, but even that seems pretty unlikely. Last quarter, unit sales were up. This month, maybe down. Steve Jobs was certain that a 7-inch tablet couldn’t see any success, but Amazon seems to be disproving that.
It’s time for everyone to take a step back and reconsider the basic questions. Maybe talk to a lot of customers, do some usability studies, and follow individuals around (with their permission) to better understand how they use the devices. Only some determined research is going to get beyond the seat-of-the-pants navigation that the tech industry seems to heartily embrace so often.
Evercore: Amazon will own 50% of Android tablet market in ’12 [Dec 5, 2011]
The Kindle Fire may “vaporize” the market for every for-profit tablet maker except Apple
In a note to clients Monday about Apple (AAPL), Evercore Partners’ Robert Cihra summarizes the impact of Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle Fire on the tablet market in stark terms:
While Amazon’s Kindle Fire has come out of the gates strong, as expected, we see Apple maintaining its competitive lead, if anything accentuated by what now looks like the only tablet to so far mount any credible iPad challenge apparently needing to do so by selling at cost; not to mention Amazon’s success may just vaporize other “for profit” Android tablet OEM roadmaps (e.g., we est Amazon 50% of all Android tablets in CY12). Meanwhile Apple goes on as the only vendor able to cream off the most profitable segment of each market it targets, whether tablet, smartphone or PC. (emphasis ours)
The up-the-market case #1: Asustek sets shipment goal for 2012 [Dec 6]
Asustek Computer, at its global sales meeting on December 5, has set the shipment goals for its four major product lines for 2012 with notebooks and netbooks together to surpass 22 million units and the company internally expecting shipments to reach 23.8 million units, while tablet PCs will reach at least three million units with the company internally expecting the volume to reach six million units, surpassing Samsung Electronics.
…for tablet PCs, Asustek expects its shipments will reach about 1.8 million units in 2011.
…
As for the recent report that Asustek was not invited into the Windows on ARM (WOA) development project, Asustek noted that it has the strongest R&D ability among notebook vendors and is the largest client of Nvidia; therefore, the company will continue to have tight partnership with ARM-based processor makers over development of the WOA platform.
See also: NVIDIA Tegra 3 and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime [Nov 10 – Dec 2, 2011]
for all related information + Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: The Rolls-Royce of Android tablets [Dec 2, 2011] as one of the first reviews
Note: Wistron Enters Asustek’s Tablet PC Supply Chain [Dec 8, 2011]
Aimed at becoming the largest brand for the Android- and Windows8-enabled tablet PCs, Asustek has aimed to challenge a goal of six million tablet PCs in 2012, three times that of this year’s 1.8 million units.
Asustek Unveils Transformer Prime Amid Aggressive Goal for Tablet Market [Dec 5, 2011]
Asustek Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jerry Shen … vowed that his company will become one of the top tablet brands, next only to Apple (iPad) and Amazon (Kindle Fire). His pledge is considered by some industry executives as a challenge against Samsung, which is now the most popular brand name supplier of tablets only trailing Apple and Amazon.
Demo: Ice Cream Sandwich on Asus Transformer Prime [nvidia, Nov 17, 2011]
The up-the-market case #2: Acer, Lenovo to launch quad-core tablet PCs [Nov 29, 2011]
Acer and Lenovo are set to launch quad-core tablet PCs featuring Google’s Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and Nvidia’s Tegra 3 in the first quarterto compete against Asustek Computer, which has already launched its latest Eee Pad Transformer Prime with Tegra 3 and Samsung Electronics, according to sources from notebook players.
The sources pointed out that the competition over the quad-core tablet PCs will be difficult as these quad-core devices will only see improvements over their performance and design, but will still feature the same concept as their dual-core predecessors.
Therefore, these players may need to battle it out before being able to enter competition against players such as Amazon or Apple, the sources noted.
The sources noted that although these players’ performance in the dual-core tablet PC competition were not as good as expected, they will continue to advance and launch new quad-core devices to defend their brands.
The new quad-core tablet PCs from Acer and Lenovo are expected to be priced between US$459-599.
Since non-Apple players’ machines have no advantage to compete against Amazon or Apple’s tablet PC devices, the sources believe non-Apple players will together account for only 10-15% of the total tablet PC market.
The real up-the-market case: Amazing Screen Technology: Samsung Flexible AMOLED [Dec 4, 2012]
Some time earlier this year there were concept drawings of a Samsung phone with a flexible OLED display. This was a rather intriguing concept that we didn’t think would be happening anytime soon, but we were then proved wrong as Samsung stepped forward and said that flexible display smartphones were in the works and would be introduced some time in 2012.
Now Samsung’s Mobile Display Division has released a new concept video of what a transparent and flexible tablet of the future could look like and what it could accomplish. We’re guessing that Samsung’s flexible smartphone for 2012 won’t be anything like the concept video, but we definitely like where Samsung’s ideas are headed.
It showcases a tablet that can be shrunk and expanded according to our needs, augmented reality translation, and what appears to be 3D imagery as well that seems to literally leap off your screen.
From: Samsung shows off flexible display concept tablet in video [Dec 5, 2011]
In its quarterly earnings call, Samsung’s vice president of investor relations, Robert Yi, told investors, analysts and press, “The flexible display we are looking to introduce sometime in 2012, hopefully the earlier part. The application probably will start from the handset side.”
After flexible-screen mobile phones roll out, the company plans to introduce the same technology for tabletsand other devices.
In January 2011, Samsung purchased Liquivista, a strategic acquisition that will allow it to produce the kinds of displays that were announced today. Liquivista made electrowetting display technology, which is used to create mobile and other consumer electronic displays that are bright, low-power, flexible and transparent.
Flexible screen technology was also a focus of Samsung’s in March, when Yongsuk Choi, director of Samsung Mobile Display, gave an overview of the company’s future mobile device plans. At that time, Choi said most of the flexible-display technology Samsung was working on was still in very early stages.
From: Samsung’s new phones will have flexible screens [Oct 28, 2011]
See also on Samsung Mobile Display site:
– Future Display Used : Flexible Display – Foldable Display – Dual Display – 3D Display – Paper Thin Display: “Flexible Display: AMOLED products that are still fully functional when they are folded or rolled can be expanded and applied to full-color and mobile market as digital signage and e-book markets and technologies are developed.” …
– SMD History: … “Nov 2010: Developed WVGA [Wide VGA 800×480 resolution] Flexible AMOLED for the first time in the world” … “May 2009: Developed the world’s biggest 6.5” of Flexible AMOLED” …
HP, Dell, Acer to expand R&D investments [Nov 24, 2011]
Seeing that the PC industry is going through a slowdown, PC players Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Acer have all expanded their investments in R&D and as the PC industry will enter an atmosphere that is filled with multiple platformsin 2012, each vendor’s R&D, branding and marketing abilities will become important drivers to increase their competitiveness in the future, according to sources from PC players.
HP is set to increase its investment in R&D and to strengthen the related resources. The company also changed its policy to have senior vice president of research, and director of HP Labs Prith Banerjee directly report to company CEO Meg Whitman.
Meanwhile, Dell is set to expand its R&D funding to US$1 billion each year, up 51.28% from US$661 million, that was reported a year ago. Dell also noted that the company will continue to acquire companies in the future and will need more funding to integrate the acquired firms.
Furthermore, Acer’s first R&D center is also expected to increase its total engineers from 600 in the middle of the year to 1,000 by year-end with executives of brand vendors and ODMs all major targets for headhunting.
An Acer executive also pointed out that the PC industry is experiencing a significant change, transitioning from Wintel system dominated to competition between several different platforms. Therefore, to the ability to develop devices based on Google’s Android system or ARM will become important.
AMD helping Android fans port to x86 [Dec 6, 2011]
A team of developers working privately to port the next version of Android to the x86 platform has been receiving a lot of support from AMD, but less from other key players.
The project is seeking to port the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) android-4.0.1_r1 release build to the x86 platform, and Chih-Wei Huang, one of the enthusiasts involved, told The Register that AMD had not only donated two tablets to the cause, but also has a couple of engineers helping out. As a result, the porting to AMD’s Brazos platform is now largely complete and the source code has been made available.
The first porting of Android to the x86 platform was actually done by Google engineers, but he explained that the Google team had not been continuing with the project since Android version 1.5, aka Cupcake. While the developers submit patches to Google, they seldom hear back, although some Google engineers are helping out privately with the project. Intel, too, hasn’t been keen.
“Generally speaking, Google didn’t care for the x86, at least before ICS,” he told The Registerin an email conversation. “Intel doesn’t care, either. They don’t want to help us. I’ve tried to contact Intel in different ways, but the replies were negative.”
Intel’s position has caused the team considerable problems, not least in getting Android to work with the video chipsets, and particularly the hardware acceleration added to Chipzilla’s kit. Work is still continuing, but since this is a voluntary project by people who have day jobs, then Android users might have a while before they can plaster an Intel Inside sticker on their systems.
Chih-Wei Huang, an open source advocate based in Taiwan, started the project with a former colleague in June 2009, and it has morphed to the point where the scheme has 2,600 subscribers to the project forum. He said that while he tried to keep the porting process up to date, it was a lot of work and some people weren’t sharing data.
“Now ICS is more mature for x86 tablet or netbook, so there are more practical reasons to do that,” he said. “Actually, I know some vendors like Bluestack, Viewsonic, and Insyde have already shipped Android-x86.org based products. However, they never contribute back. That usually makes us feel bad and angry.”
Supplementary information: Android: A visual history [Dec 7, 2011]
Samsung push for bada in 2012 and other Linux based devices–with Tizen UPDATE: 1st Tizen devices in 2013
‘bada’ = the Korean word for ‘ocean.’
It is a Linux based proprietary operating system by Samsung which is otherwise rooted in MOCHA (Modular & Configurable Handset S/W Architecture), later evolved into SHP (Samsung Handset Platform) on which the bada OS has been running since 2010 as the smartphone enhancement of the SHP.
Samsung also started a longer term pure Linux based mobile platform development effort in 2007 with the LiMO Foundation (XO v1.0) which has evolved into Samsung Linux Platform (SLP) the v2.0 version of which became LiMo Release 2 and as such the platform for Vodafone 360 smartphones in late 2009.
As the Android tide has killed the Vodafone 360 and similar carrier initiated smartphone platforms Samsung made an alliance with Intel in which SLP and MeeGo will form the basis of a new open source, Linux based device platform, called Tizen, targeted for HTML5/WAC applications. See the Tizen article on Wikipedia for independent and community based description continuously updated, as well as the Tizen project site (tizen.org) site and the related Tizen Association site from the industry consortium dedicated to providing in-market support and actively shaping the industry presence of Tizen.
The latest state of the Tizen effort has been described in:
Update: Tizen 2.0 Magnolia SDK and Source Code Release [Tizen project, Feb 18, 2013] (see also the Tizen 2.0 Release Notes)
We are pleased to announce that Tizen 2.0 source code and SDK are now available at https://developer.tizen.org/downloads/sdk. Tizen 2.0 represents a major milestone for software developers and device vendors. We encourage you to download the new SDK, and let us know what you think of it after you have installed and used it. If you have questions, or need to submit bugs, please visit our community page.
This release includes many new features and improvements over Tizen 1.0 released in April, and Tizen 2.0 alpha in September, 2012. As a Tizen 2.0 developer, you will find strong HTML5/W3C APIs and a new native framework.
Highlights of this release include:
- Enhanced Web framework that provides state-of-the-art HTML5/W3C API support
- Web UI framework, including full-screen and multi-window support
- Additional Tizen device APIs, such as Bluetooth and NFC support, and access to the device’s calendar, call history, and messaging subsystems
- Web Runtime framework supporting new configuration elements for specifying the required features and privileges, and providing the basic runtime environment for NPRuntime plugins
- Native framework supporting full-featured application development and providing a variety of features such as background applications, IP Push, and TTS (Text-To-Speech)
- Core and native reference applications including Calendar, Contacts, Gallery, Phone, Settings, and Video Player
- Enhanced Web IDE providing WYSIWYG design environment, Chrome-based JavaScript inspector, and JavaScript log viewer
- Native IDE providing a project wizard, WYSIWYG design environment, unit test tool, and dynamic analyzer
Go to https://source.tizen.org/release for more information on the release. If you are interested in building Tizen for your own devices, documentation on development and tools is found here: https://source.tizen.org/os-development.
We strongly encourage developers to attend the Tizen Developer Conference, to be held in May 2013 in San Francisco. The conference will cover a variety of Tizen-related topics, including presentations on both application and platform development. The call for papers and the registration for this conference are now open, seehttps://www.tizen.org/events/tizen-developer-conference/2013.
The Tizen Technical Steering Group
Update: Samsung reveals lessons learnt from early Tizen work [Mobile World Live, Oct 3, 2012]
LIVE FROM APPS WORLD [*], LONDON: The evolution of the mobile OS Tizen has taught its development team a number of lessons ahead of the first handset launch next year, according to Samsung’s lead evangelist for Tizen, Cheng Luo [**].
[*Discover the future of multiplatform apps]
[**audio record: Tizen: Yet another open source project or a different one?
abstract: This presentation will answer the question whether Tizen is just another open source project like Maemo and Moblin or it has its unique and different approach to developers and the market. It will focus on the USP [Unique Selling Proposition] of the Tizen platform from different aspects.]Discussing the development of the Linux-based platform for smartphones, which marries the former MeeGo efforts of Intel and Nokia with the work of the LiMo Foundation and is backed by Samsung (among other industry heavyweights), Luo said that the need for all participants to use open standards such as HTML5 when developing the OS has become apparent.
However, he added that HTML5 has been overhyped; despite a lot of “cool stuff”, it is limited by its frame rate. Luo added that the technology should not be used to compete with native apps but more to “fill in the gaps” in functionality.
In terms of licensing and governance, the best long-term strategy has been found to be “transparent governance”, according to Luo.
Luo also stressed the importance of industry support for Tizen to succeed. “To make open source projects move ahead we need strong leaders. You can’t build a healthy ecosystem without industry leaders,” he said. As well as Samsung, Tizen is backed by the likes of Docomo, Intel, NEC, Panasonic, Orange, SK Telecom, Sprint and Vodafone.
The alpha version of the Tizen 2.0 SDK was recently launched, including an improved integrated development environment, user interface framework and a greater number of device APIs. The first Tizen-powered device is due to be released next year, Luo confirmed.
as well as in Tizen 2.0 Alpha SDK and Source Code release [Tizen blog, Sept 25, 2012]:
…
Tizen 2.0 alpha has additional features, tools, and other improvements, including:
- Enhanced Web framework that provides better HTML5/W3C API support and more Tizen Device APIs
- Multi-process Webkit2-based Web Runtime which provides better security and reliability for Web applications
- Advanced HTML5 features such as video subtitles and captions, battery status API, screen orientation API, <keygen> and <details>, and more
- New Tizen Device APIs for file transfer, notifications, and power control
- Advanced IDE & SDK for Web application development
- Install manager support for snapshot-based network installation
- Enhanced support for OpenGL ES
- New Platform SDK that helps platform development based on OBS [Open Build Service]
More information on the release can be found here: https://source.tizen.org/release
…
Documentation on development and tools can be found here: https://source.tizen.org/os-development
As it stands now the Qt technologies in Meego will not be included into Tizen although number of parties are heavily agitating The Linux Foundation for Qt inclusion as well.
Update as of August 10, 2012: After acquiring the Qt commercial licensing business in March 2011 from Nokia, the Helsinki based, ~1000 people strong Digia, with 2011 sales of 121.9 million Euro, yesterday acquired all the rest of the Qt business from Nokia. More details in the Digia extends Its commitment to Qt with plans to acquire full Qt software technology and business From Nokia [Digia’s Qt Commercial Blog, Aug 9, 2012] and Digia Committed to Thriving Qt Ecosystem [KDE.NEWS, Aug 9, 2012] posts from Digia’s R&D director Tuuka Turunen. With this all pre-Windows Phone software platform commitments except the Java based S40 (evolved in the new Asha range) have strategically been revoked by Nokia.
Other updates:
– It’s a Wrap! Tizen Developer Conference Overview [Tizen blog, May 25, 2012]
– Tizen Developer Conference 2012: Converting your web app to Tizen [TheLinuxFoundation YouTube channel, May 16, 2012]
– The slides of the Cheng Lou’s presentation on the conference
– Opening Keynote – Jim Zemlin [TheLinuxFoundation YouTube channel, May 15, 2012]
– Other Keynotes: Imad Sousou & Jong-Deok Choi; Dr. Kiyohito Nagata; James Pearce [TheLinuxFoundation YouTube channel, May 15, 2012]
– Tizen Developer Conference Agenda and Tizen videos on linux.com
– Tizen Developer Conference [Tizen site, March 29, 2012]: “… engages and educates developers on Tizen technology and HTML5 app development for Tizen devices … at the downtown Hyatt in San Francisco, CA on May 7-9th, 2012 … Platina Sponsor OpenMobile …“
– Framingham company breaks the apps barrier [The MetroWest Daily News, Jan 23, 2012]: “… OpenMobile has developed the only compatibility layer that actually takes the Android run time and makes it portable to non-Android devices. This is not a virtualization; OpenMobile’s ACL leverages the actual Android virtual machine and makes it run transparently in the native environment. This is a much deeper and pure engineering integration that provides seamless integration, allows every app to appear as though it was created for the target operating system you are running and provides exactly the same performance as though it were running on a similar Android platform. …“
– With OpenMobile ACL for Tizen there is even much more chance for Android Device Makers Are Mutinying, Says Insider [Technology Review by MIT, April 4, 2012]: “… Nobody wants to just be a manufacturer for Google. You see that with what Amazon has done, where they made it their own, and you also see a whole host of manufacturers taking Android down their own path. …“
– Tizen Developer Conference Agenda [Tizen blog, April 10, 2012]
– 4Q FY2011 Earnings Conference Call [Samsung presentation, Jan 27, 2012]
…
…
…
– Tizen releases source code and SDK previews [Jan 18, 2012]
The nascent Tizen project unveiled its first set of materials on January 9, consisting of “preview” releases of the operating system source code and SDK, both intended to elicit feedback from developers. The announcement was accompanied by the launch of two new mailing lists and online documentation of the project’s architecture and APIs.
…
[Overview of sources, Web APIs and the SDK]
…
A related development on the project management front was the sudden disappearance of the LiMo Foundation web site, which was replaced by the Tizen Association on or about January 1. The Tizen Association is essentially a re-branding of the LiMo Foundation, and, as yet, Intel itself has not finalized its membership. The Association’s site describes its goal as enabling “key stakeholders to actively shape the industry role of Tizen and develop its market presence” by the “gathering of requirements, identification and facilitation of service models, and overall industry marketing and education.” The project itself will continue to be hosted by the Linux Foundation.The specifics of Tizen’s project governance have not been fleshed out, but those are probably details that should come after the code itself has been released and developers have had a chance to work with it. In retrospect, the MeeGo project was very organization-heavy (as it was marketing-heavy), and in the end that did not help it make an impact in the marketplace. Tizen may still be a long way from shipping on commercial devices, but starting with the code rather than the other trappings of a large distributed project is a good first step.
Tizen Association Launched to Drive Industry Engagement for Tizen™ [Tizen Association news release, Jan 9, 2012]
WHAT:
Further to the announcement of 27 September 2011 from LiMo Foundation and Linux Foundation, Tizen Association has now been formed to drive industry engagement and in-market support for the Tizen software platform.Tizen Association comprises mobile industry leaders (see company list below) serving as a Board to guide Tizen and its application ecosystem to fulfill the broad industry requirement for a software platform that enables flexibility in service selection and deployment.
Tizen (www.tizen.org) is a Linux-based open source, standards-based, cross-architecture device software platform, including an operating system, HTML5 application framework and customizable user experience. Tizen will span multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
The industry- and market-facing role of LiMo Foundation has now been incorporated into Tizen Association, while the engineering of the Tizen software platform is taking place within the Tizen open source project hosted by Linux Foundation.
The alpha version of Tizen was released today as open source through the Tizen.org project page.
WHEN:
Tizen Association was formed on 1 January 2012. The alpha release of Tizen was made available on 9 January 2012.
WHERE:
For more information on Tizen Association visit www.tizenassociation.org. To participate in or learn more about the Tizen Project visit http://www.tizen.org.
WHO:
Tizen Association is led by a Board of Directors which guides the industry role of Tizen, including gathering of requirements, identification and facilitation of service models, and industry marketing and education. The Tizen Association Board of Directors includes representation from:
- Intel
- NEC Casio
- NTT DOCOMO
- Panasonic
- Samsung
- SK Telecom
- Telefonica
- Vodafone
CONTACT:
Vivian Kelly for Tizen Association ( viviankelly@interprosepr.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).
# # #
LiMo is a trademark of the LiMo Foundation. The Linux Foundation and Tizen are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Developers (page on Tizen Association site):
Tizen will provide a robust and flexible environment for application developers, based on HTML5 and Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). With broad capabilities and cross platform flexibility, HTML5 is rapidly becoming a preferred development environment for mobile apps and services. The Tizen platform supports Web applications (HTML, Javascript, CSS) and provides a rich set of services that include the application framework, along with content, location, messaging, multimedia, network, social, and system services.
Tools will be made available to help developers use HTML5 and related web technologies to write applications that run across multiple device segments and software platforms. These applications can then be distributed via the Tizen app-store, which offers a flexible and customizable storefront and a common Tizen application catalog to service providers and OEMs . In addition, developers can take advantage of broad distribution of their apps on a wide range of devices coming to market that will support the standards based HTML5 and WAC application framework.
More details on how developers can create, distribute and monetize Tizen applications will be available soon.
End of updates
Tizen has much wider scope than Bada. It will support multiple device categories, such as smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks, and in-vehicle infotainment devices. It is still unclear how Samsung intends to use Tizen for smartphones. One possibility, nevertheless, is to enhance a future bada version with Tizen. Meantime Samsung is starting to put heavy emphasis on bada-based smartphones, with 2012 target of a 17% device share in its offerings.
Considering that in the Q3 2011 Samsung surpassed Apple and took the #1 position on the smartphone market this could bring a very significant change to the current ecosystem wars.
Below you can find all the detailed and relevant information for the above, i.e. the overall situation, bada related information, other Linux activities from Samsung, and Tizen.
The Overall Situation
Samsung’s Won-Pyo Hong on the Mobile Phone Wars: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video) [Nov 11, 2011]
Samsung Bada 2.0 demo on the Wave 3 [Nov 3, 2011]
Samsung wants Bada on 17 per cent of its devices [Nov 4, 2011]
Keith O’ Brien, head of content at Samsung mobile … said, “Next year we expect there to be some changes. 2011 has been about Android and next year, Android will have 66 per cent of Samsung device share and Bada and Windows will have 17 per cent each.”
O’Brien said that Samsung’s strategy is to go for as wide a reach as possible, adding, “Each [OS] gives you a choice. Bada is perfect as it is created in tandem and Bada for us represents a strategy we have always had.”
He admitted, though, “It’s been an Android year and Android has dominated sales.” O’Brien added, “Next year, the market will increase significantly and the size of the smartphone market will increase, with all three platforms growing at the same time.”
…
O’Brien hinted that Samsung is also working on further integrating all of its electronics devices through content, with Bada seen as the perfect OS as it belongs to the electronics firm.
Samsung Takes Top Spot as Smartphone Market Grows 42.6% in the Third Quarter, According to IDC [IDC press release, Nov 3, 2011]
Samsung became the new leader in the worldwide smartphone market, with total smartphone shipments topping the 20 million unit mark for the first time in the company’s history. As in previous quarters, its Android-powered smartphones drove volumes higher, and joining the product mix was Samsung’s refreshed Galaxy S II. In addition, its bada-powered smartphones continued to gain salience in the market, and a new Windows Phone smartphone is expected to launch in 4Q11.
Apple, after taking the number one spot last quarter from Nokia, slipped to the number two spot worldwide. But even after relying on the iPhone 4 for five quarters and the iPhone 3G S for nine, demand for the iPhone remained strong enough for Apple to realize double-digit growth year over year. Now that Apple has launched its iPhone 4S and re-priced its older models in multiple countries, Apple stands poised to challenge Samsung for the leadership position.
Nokia maintained its third place position on the strength of its Symbian phones. Its most popular smartphones included older models, including the 5230, C5, and the C7. In addition, Nokia launched four models based on its newly enhanced Symbian Belle OS, including the Nokia 600, 603, 700, and 701 as well as its first MeeGo-powered smartphone, the N9. While these new models kept Nokia’s selection fresh, the N9 is expected to see limited availability and the Nokia 600 has been cancelled.
HTC moved up one spot and maintained its upward momentum during 3Q11. During the quarter, HTC acquired several companies to complement its devices, including Dashwire for cloud-based sync, Zoodles for kid-oriented applications, and a stake in audio company Beats. At the same time, HTC launched several devices for specific segments, including the multimedia-optimized Sensation, female oriented Rhyme, and the entry-level Explorer. HTC expects to ship similar volumes in 4Q11.
Research In Motion began shipping its new BB OS 7 smartphones to the market during 3Q11, including updated versions of the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve, and the BlackBerry Torch. But, as in previous quarters, the company’s volumes were primarily comprised of older and less expensive models, leading to the company’s first quarter of year-on-year decline and landing in the number 5 position worldwide. Still, this was enough for Research In Motion to maintain a presence among the top five vendors worldwide, with a sizable margin ahead of the remaining vendors.
|
Vendor |
3Q11 Unit Shipments |
3Q11 Market Share |
3Q10 Unit Shipments |
3Q10 Market Share |
Year-over- |
|
Samsung |
23.6 |
20.0% |
7.3 |
8.8% |
223.3% |
|
Apple |
17.1 |
14.5% |
14.1 |
17.0% |
21.3% |
|
Nokia |
16.8 |
14.2% |
26.5 |
32.0% |
-36.6% |
|
HTC |
12.7 |
10.8% |
5.9 |
7.1% |
115.3% |
|
Research |
11.8 |
10.0% |
12.4 |
15.0% |
-4.8% |
|
Others |
36.1 |
30.6% |
16.6 |
20.0% |
117.5% |
|
Total |
118.1 |
100.0% |
82.8 |
100.0% |
42.6 |
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, November 3, 2011
Samsung Electronics Announces Third Quarter 2011 Results [Samsung press release, Oct 28, 2011]
Highlighting the quarterly performance, the Telecommunications businesses recorded all-time high quarterly sales of 14.90 trillion won [US$13.4B], up 37 percent from the previous year, with growth mainly driven by strong sales of Samsung’s GALAXY smartphones. Operating profit for the businesses also hit a record 2.52 trillion won [US$2.3B].
…
“Despite the difficult business environment due to the economic slowdown in developed markets, Samsung achieved a solid performance and recovered its double-digit operating profit margin in the quarter, driven by strong sales of our smartphones,” said Robert Yi, Vice President and Head of Investor Relations.
…
Record Profit Driven By Smartphone Sales Growth
The Telecommunications businesses – including mobile communications and telecommunication systems – posted a record operating profit of 2.52 trillion won on revenue of 14.90 trillion won. This represents an operating profit margin of 16.9 percent for the quarter.
Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business saw revenues rise 39 percent year-on-year to 14.42 trillion won [US$13B]. Handset shipments rose more than 20 percent quarter-on-quarter, driven by growth in the smartphone segment where sales were up more than 40 percent on-quarter and 300 percent year-on-year. Samsung continued the global rollout of its flagship GALAXY SII, which has now sold more than 10 million units in the five months since its introduction.
Despite enhanced price competition, the average sales price of Samsung’s handsets increased on-quarter, while sales volume for the GALAXY Tab portfolio of tablets increased with the expansion of the 8.9- and 10.1-inch devices into the lineup.
Samsung expects strong seasonal demand to drive sales of its diverse portfolio of smartphones in the fourth quarter assisted by the launch of new premium devices, including GALAXY Nexus which features the latest Android 4.0 operating system for the first time in a smartphone, and the 5.3-inch GALAXY Note which is opening a new mobile device category. Strong demand in developed countries will sustain tablet growth in the quarter.
For the Telecommunications Systems Business, sales and profitability improved year-on-year due to the expansion of its 4G Long-term Evolution (LTE) business and 3G network upgrade business. Samsung expects strong network sales growth with expansion of LTE business in North America and Asia as well as 3G network upgrade business globally.
Q3 2011 Earnings Release presentation [Samsung, Oct 28, 2011]
My comments:
– The Telecom segment has become the #1 profit center of Samsung in a year by increasing its contribution from 24% in 3Q ’10 to 59% in 3Q ’11. The profit margin has grown from 10.7% to 16.9% at the same time. The revenue contribution from 27% to 36%. This is only because of the Mobile Communications Business subsegment since the rest of the Telecom segment essentialy experienced no growth, having a revenue of 0.46 Trillion Won [US$414M] in 3Q ’10 and 0.48 Trillion Won [US$432M] in 3Q ’11, which constituted only 4.2% and 3.2% of the whole Telecom revenue subsequently.
– This is a quite remarkable change for Samsung since the profit margin of the previous #1 profit center, the Semiconductor segment, has decreased from 32.1% to 16.8% at the same time, and its revenue contribution from 26.5% to 23%.
– Even more important is that — according to the Q&A part of the earnings call webcast — the absolute amount of revenue growth and the contribution to the cash flow are more important in longer term for the Mobile subsegment than either keeping the currently achieved profit margin or buying market share agressively by joining the price competition.
– In fact for 4Q they intend to maintain profitability by introducing new premium products in the high-end (Galaxy Nexus and the new category, Galaxy Notes) as well as new ones to the mass-market (Galaxy Y for moving into the mid low-end and Galaxy Y Pro).
– Please note that on the corresponding presentation slide showing their 4Q flagship products (see the excerpt above) there is also a Windows Phone-based model as a premium offering and a bada based new model as a mass-market offering. This is a clear indication that they intend to work on lower end of the market with their own platform.
– See also: TI’s OMAP4460 in Samsung GALAXY Nexus with Android 4.0 [Oct 21, 2011]
– Samsung celebrates 30 million global sales of GALAXY S and GALAXY SII [Samsung press release, Oct 17, 2011]
GALAXY SII has set a new record for Samsung, generating more than 10 million sales – quicker than any device in Samsung’s history. … Launched in 2010, Samsung GALAXY S reached almost 20 million unit sales, making it the highest-selling mobile device in Samsung’s portfolio to date, and another record-breaker for the company and the mobile market.
– GALAXY Note hits European markets [Samsung press release, Oct 21, 2011]:
GALAXY Note features the world’s first and largest 5.3” HD Super AMOLED display. This is an expansive high-resolution smart screen that provides an immersive and best in class viewing experience while ensuring smartphone portability and on the go usability. Additionally, an advanced pen-input technology, called the S Pen, combines with GALAXY Note’s full touch screen to introduce a unique user experience. Taking full advantage of the large display, GALAXY Note users will be able to multi-task, create and consume more, with fewer interruptions, while on the go.
The incorporated digital S Pen can be used for accurate sketching and artwork, while superior handwriting recognition allows ideas to be freely captured and shared with other devices without the need to perform any additional digitization; handwritten text is accurately converted into digital characters.
“GALAXY Note is a revolutionary product to open a new category in the mobile industry and I am very proud of this accomplishment,” said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. “Samsung GALAXY Note will redefine and enhance mobile communication by offering a more advanced, productive and creative user experience with its new innovative features such as S Memo, S Planner and S Choice.”
– Other information from the earnings call webcast:
- Regarding 3Q 2011 performance:
– Success of the high-end flagship Galaxy SII: 10 million units in the first 5 months, as well as the strong Galaxy brand: mass-market smartphones Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Mini.
– Units 20% YoY, smartphone sales (revenue): 40% QoQ, ~300% YoY - Regarding technology support from the other segments for the future:
– Flexible display: 2012, first in handsets
– Securing baseband technology for the AP business: currently looking for any possible solution — from inside or outside of Samsung — with regard to baseband technology
Samsung Y Smartphone – For the Young and the Restless [product page on Reliance Digital site in India, Oct 17, 2011, excerpted on Dec 29, 2011]
…
So make a SMART CHOICE – Buy the Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 Smartphone from any Reliance Digital Store… And we will make a SMART OFFER – 10% cash back on purchase! or 6 months easy finance on credit card at 0% interest and no processing fee!!
MRP : 7830
Offer Price : 7,399 (Gujarat, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu)Offer Price : 7,249 (Rest of India) [ US$137 ]
Quick Specs:
Specs Value Dimension 104 x 58 x 11.5 mm (97.5 gms) Display 3.0″ QVGA TFT (320 x 240) Camera 2.0 Megapixel FF cameras – Panorama Shot, Smile Shot Mobile Apps Samsung Apps / Android Market – Various applications downloadable Social Hub Integrates all SNS, email, and calendar accounts – Integrated Calendar (Google/Outlook) TouchWiz for Android Multiple Home screen, Hybrid Widgets Bluetooth BT 3.0 HS USB USB 2.0 FM FM Radio + RDS Music Music Player with SoundAlive – 3.5 mm Ear Jack – MP3/ AMR-NB/ AMR-WB/ AAC/ AAC+/ e-AAC+/ i-Melody/Midi (SMF)/ WAV/ OGG Video Video Playing (VGA@30fps), Video Recording (QVGA @ 15fps), Codec ( H.263, H.264, MPEG4), Format(3GPP, MPEG4, MKV) Operating system Samsung Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Processor 832 MHz (BCM21552) [Broadcom] Memory 180 MB + MicroSD 2 GB inbox (Up to 32 GB) Battery Standard li-on (1,200 mAh), Standby time – 400 hrs (2G), 350 hrs (3G), Talk time – 560 mins.(2G), 300 mins. (3G) Network HSDPA 7.2 900/2100 – EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 Sensor Accelerometer Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass Integrated email Gmail, MS Exchange ActiveSync Additional Features SWYPE, Document Viewer, Multi Touch zoom-in & out
(Yonhap Interview) Samsung bullish on smartphones, tablets [July 18, 2011]
Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to outdo its smartphone sales target this year, with the popularity of its latest Android devices and upcoming bada phones, which run on its own mobile software, and a ramp-up in low-cost smartphones, … said Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung’s mobile communications and digital imaging.
“We will likely sell more than 60 million smartphones this year,” Shin said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in his office in Suwon. “The Galaxy S2 has been well-received not only in Korea, but also in Japan, Europe and other regions, and responses to other smartphones have been positive as well.”
In February, Shin estimated Samsung’s annual mobile handset sales will hit a record high of 300 million this year, including 60 million smartphones. The company, which is only behind Nokia Corp. in terms of mobile phone shipments, sold 280 million cell phones in 2010, including 25 million smartphones.
“For the first time, Samsung’s cell phone sales will top 300 million this year. It is a very meaningful and important event,” he said. “To meet the goal, Samsung should manufacture and sell 1 million phones on a daily average and secure components for 1 million handsets every day, which isn’t an easy task.”
Part of its strategies is to boost its smartphone lineup outside Google Inc.’s Android system, including handsets running on its own proprietary mobile software, bada, and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows-based phones, Shin said. Samsung will release more “noteworthy” bada smartphones during the rest of the year, with some of them to be featured during a September trade show in Berlin.
It will also raise the production of low-cost smartphones as mid-range smartphones are replacing low-end cell phones that cannot surf the Web or download applications. Shin forecast that mass-market smartphones will become available for as low as US$150 and Samsung will try to advance into that price bracket before December.
Under Shin’s leadership, the electronics giant nimbly transformed from a smartphone laggard into a leading player in the highly profitable, fastest-growing segment of the wireless market in a mere year.
…
On the software front, Samsung plans to break into the cloud computing system, following Google, Amazon and Apple, Shin said.
“We have plans. We will respond,” he said without elaboration.
bada related information
Samsung opens Bada 2.0 to developers [Nov 4, 2011]
At a Samsung developer day yesterday, the phone maker announced that Bada 2.0 is now live, with a development kit and new features, and that the Wave 3 smartphone is coming to the UK “later this year”.
Samsung mobile UK MD, Simon Stanford said that Bada “will be a big focus” for the company “in 2012 and beyond”.
The firm claims to have so far seen 5,300,201 downloads of Bada in the UK with 300,000 Bada devices sold in the UK and eight million worldwide.
A Trio of new bada 2.0-powered ‘Wave’ Smartphones to Debut at Berlin [Samsung Tomorrow, Aug 30, 2011]
Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of the flagship 4” chic smartphone Wave 3, the social-powerhouse Wave M and the smart-start Wave Y. These all wave smartphones will be on display at Samsung’s Stand at IFA 2011 in Berlin.
All three devices, borne of Samsung’s heritage in innovation, are powered by Samsung’s own new Bada 2.0 platform which brings together a wide variety of new capabilities including multi-tasking, Wi-Fi Direct, voice recognition and Near Field Communication.
ChatONis Samsung’s proprietary mobile communication service that works across all major mobile devices. A global cross-platform communication service links all your friends and contacts instantly. Micro-communities can be set up through group chat, while a web client allows the sharing of content and conversations between mobile and PC.
Samsung Apps, an integrated application store for Samsung smartphones, is also available. With an improved UI and enhanced store features, Samsung Apps offers a wide variety of applications from globally well-known content to locally-customized applications.
“Smartphones are gaining popularity by the day. The new additions to the Wave portfolio are the first to benefit from the power of our bada 2.0 platform; the full extent of our commitment is clear to see in each device. We’ve produced easy-to-use smartphones that will inspire the market,”
– JK Shin, President and Mobile Communications business
bada 2.0 Interview (Justin Hong, VP with Samsung Mobile Communication) [Aug 26, 2011]
Samsung Wave [Sept 1, 2011]
The new bada 2.0 products summarized in a table view:
The Chronicles of Bada OS [Samsung Tomorrow, Oct 17, 2011]
Bada is an exclusive operating system (OS) for mobile devices developed by Samsung Electronics. Development was underway in 2010 when the smartphone wave started sweeping the worldwide mobile phone market. Since then Samsung has been gradually ramping up its mobile phone market share, selling mobile phones that are equipped with its latest OS, Bada 1.2. The main goal of Bada is not to compete with iOS or Android but to make easy-to-use and cost effective devices for everyone.
Smartphones which run Bada have proven extremely popular in Europe where consumers are more financially conservative, and the Bada-equipped phones have even ranked as the best selling smartphones in France. As far as market share is concerned, they beat Microsoft’s Windows OS smartphones.
Also, Bada offers support for running Samsung Apps with the purpose of creating its own mobile eco-system, with the total number of apps recently hitting 100 million downloads.
Launched at the same time as Galaxy S, Wave, (the first Bada-based flagship model), Wave37 and low-end Wave578 as well as Wave723 were most popular in Europe.
Bada 1.2 and the latest version, Bada 2.0, have a long history since around the year 2000. Of course, 10 years ago, the smartphone market wasn’t what it is now. Smartphones began to gain momentum only a couple of years ago whereas Bada has been around and constantly evolving over more than 10 years.
Bada OS runs on SHP (Samsung Handset Platform), which originates back to MOCHA (Modular & Configurable Handset S/W Architecture). MOCHA was developed by Samsung Electronics Software Laboratory which was looking ahead to the future growth of software segment. The laboratory aimed to develop an easily replicable platform that was able to easily multi-task.
Based on this platform, the first video-capable 3G mobile phone (SGH-Z100) was released to the European market. After its successful launch, MOCHA was replaced by SHP, a further developed version of MOCHA, which is now applied to many 3G mobile phones. Each year, about 50 to 60 million handsets with SHP are shipped out of Samsung’s 200 million annual production volumes.
SHP has claimed a very important part of Samsung Electronics Mobile Business Division for over 10 years and the platform was upgraded in 2010 to keep pace with the popularization of smartphones. The new generation contains such features as multipoint-touch, 3D graphics and an enhanced User Interface (UI) among other features. A middleware layer, called OSP (Open Service Platform), was added to the platform to be later renamed Bada, on which you could develop various applications or download apps from the Samsung app store.
Samsung enhances its own mobile platform with the launch of ‘bada 2.0’ [Samsung Tomorrow, Aug 25, 2011]
Unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February 2011, bada 2.0 includes many compelling, new features. Borne of Samsung’s heritage in innovation, bada 2.0 brings together a wide variety of new capabilities including multi-tasking, Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC) and voice recognition. It enables smartphone users to experience advanced services such as mobile payment, transport pass-card recharge and file sharing without Internet networking.
With the improved support for web applications including Flash and HTML 5, users can experience enhanced web capabilities. It also means that smartphones based on bada 2.0 can run any web application developed with Flash or HTML. Samsung expects that this upgrade will help to greatly expand its developer community into Flash and JavaScript as well as the existing C++ community.
A key feature for developer partners is the introduction of In-app Ads. Using the Ads API (Application Programming Interface) developers for bada 2.0 can easily insert advertisements, creating new revenue opportunities. Samsung has also upgraded and strengthened its application development environment, providing developers with increased support. An Emulator has been added to foster a development process suitable to the target environment. Tools such as Profiler optimize the device’s performance ensuring that resources like memory and processing power are used to their fullest capacity.
Samsung has enhanced the ‘Samsung Apps’ retail store and expanded full availability through to 121 countries worldwide. With this 2.0 version, more differentiated functions will be offered from Samsung Apps, including new purchasing options and recommendations.
In the third quarter this year, three new Wave smartphones, powered by bada 2.0, will launch the market; the devices will range from premium models with enhanced performance to entry-level devices that focus on affordability. Bada 2.0 SDK can be downloaded from the bada developer site (developer.bada.com).
Other Linux activities from Samsung
Samsung Linux Platform v1.0 / v2.0 (Nov. 2008 ~ Present)
Samsung Linux Platform (SLP) is a mobile operating system based on the Linux 2.6 kernel and X.org server. Evolving from XO v1.0, SLP changed and developed several features, such as the replacement of the window system to X Window, as well as the support of EFL (Enlightenment Foundation Library) for applications. Furthermore, SLP has gradually expanded its target devices from mobile phones to TVs, cameras, MP3 players, tablets, and laptops. Not only has SLP been compatible with LiMo, but the SLP team has become LiMo foundation’s leading contributor. SLP’s design is based on the principles of the standard Linux desktop, suitably adapted for the mobile environment. SLP reuses a large number of Open Source components. Hence, its software architecture is easy to understand for anyone familiar with a standard Linux desktop. The SLP software stack has a layered architecture consisting of applications, middleware, and the Linux kernel.
Members: approximately 300 developers…
Vodafone 360 H1 / M1 – Linux-based SNS Specialized Smartphones (Jun. 2009 ~ Sep. 2009)
Based on SLP2, Vodafone 360 H1 and Vodafone 360 M1 are smartphones, the first LiMo Release 2 products that provide Vodafone’s specialized 360 online service focused on SNS. H1 is a high-end model based on TI (Texas Instruments)’s omap3430 CPU, which has the SGX340 GPU core. M1 is a lower-priced model based on SEC (Samsung Electronics)’s S3C6410 CPU. The Vodafone 360 H1 features a large 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED display, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with the capability to shoot 720p high-definition video, 16 GB of onboard storage, integrated GPS, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking capabilities. It also supports EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 and HSDPA mobile broadband capabilities. The M1 scales back slightly, providing a 3.2-inch TFT display, 1 GB of memory (with microSD expansion), a 3-megapixel camera, and integrated GPS. The M1 lacks Wi-Fi, but still offers HSDPA. Both phones feature a unique 3D interface that enables users to have a depth-based chronological view of mail and calendar items, as well as tie into exclusive Vodafone services.
Members: over 500 developers
XO v1.0 – LiMo Compatible Linux Platform (Sep. 2007 ~ Oct. 2008)
XO is a Linux-based mobile platform that provides high level features, performance, and reliability, while supporting multiple sets of BSP, Window System, and Mobile Browser. XO is compatible with LiMo Release 1. The LiMo Platform is a modern Linux-based Operating System for mobile handsets. As a window system, XO adopted DirectFB, a thin library that provides hardware graphics acceleration, input device handling and abstraction, integrated windowing system with support for translucent windows, and multiple display layers, not only on top of the Linux Frame Buffer Device.
Members: about 120 developers
Vodafone kills 360 at last [Oct 19, 2011]
Its attempt to create its own-branded mobile web experience will be closed down by year end
Vodafone is to shut down its 360 cloud-based service by the end of the year, in another blow to carriers’ hopes of creating web offerings under their own brands to fight back against Google and Apple.
In many ways, 360 was forward looking when it was introduced in 2009. It offered storage and synchronization across multiple devices in the cloud, long before iCloud or Amazon Cloud Drive came to Android, and it unified key user experiences such as social networks around a single address book and UI. It also included a portal for accessing music and video content, a number of third party widgets, and an application store.
There were several problems though. For one, Vodafone wanted 360 to be more than just a useful service to go a step further than simpler cloud offerings like O2’s. It wanted it to be a vehicle to assert its own independence in the software platform, so it ran the initial offering on LiMO, a Linux-based OS which was the latest attempt to create a carrier-controlled mobile environment (it is now merged with MeeGo to form Tizen). As with other such attempts, developers and consumers remained largely indifferent, putting their efforts into the mass market Android and iOS, and so after a while Vodafone scaled back its ambitions and transferred key elements of 360, such as the address book, to the Google OS.
However, the LiMO plan had cost it the interest of many handset makers and developers, and by the time it reworked the offering, other cloud services had appeared. Its main smartphone partner for LiMO and 360 was Samsung, but despite a friendly user interface, the 360-branded handsets were never as heavy hitting as models such as Galaxy Sand eventually they were axed altogether, relegating 360 to a service available on a range of smartphones.
Vodafone compounded its problems by trying to use its new-found Android support to push its 360 agenda. It caused a storm of negative publicity for its service when it forcibly downloaded 360-branded apps and UIs when customers upgraded their Android release on certain HTC handsets.
All these missteps meant 360 was pushed to the back of the Vodafone armory, along with its loftier cloud ambitions, and this week it confirmed it would phase out the brand over the next few months. It sent text messages to customers advising them to copy any contact details, emails or photos currently stored in the cloud before December 31. The writing has been on the wall for this round of Vodafone’s over-the-top endeavours for a while – a year ago, its head of internet services, Pieter Knook, poached from Microsoft two years earlier, resigned.
Samsung’s Software Prowess: Big Changes are Coming! [Samsung Tomorrow, Oct 14, 2011]
Dubbed as the Next Generation Software R&D Group, Samsung’s elite crew of programmers and experts endeavor to develop software for next generation media. It’s always hard to predict the future, but this group continues to move forward, based on media-market analyses and ongoing research. We had a chance to speak with some of the folks about the development.
…
Q. What does your team do?
Lee: The team develops the right software for the next generation mediabased on our research and analysis as to what types of media will prevail in the market. Bada, Android and iOS are currently in equal positions, allowing users of these devices to download applications from their own proprietary online application stores, such as “App Store” or “Android Market”.
In contrast, web-based OS will be using a cloud-based approach rather than individual users running applications installed on their devices. With the advent of web OS, users on any browser-enabled mobile device will be able to access a whole slew of services on the web without the bothersome task of installing. It is our top priority to develop web OS-specific software accessible to everyone.
Kim: It started with a big idea of building an open web application platform allowing you to run apps online written for any devices. Just to be clear, “next generation software” means applications distributed across web servers or online or running inside the cloud. We’ve been trying to explore possibilities for better solutions, continuing to engage in research and development to get geared up to be the market leader in the future.
Q. Can you share a bit more specifically what you do?
Kim: My team is currently developing UI related functions for a SLP browser. I’m sure it’s safe to say we’re the end user’s first point of contact, as they first come face-to-face with the UI when using the browser.
Lee: I’m looking after a script engine that converts JavaScript, being the only dynamic language on the web, into programming languages, which will help speed up PC gaming.
Park: I’m working on webcore, linking UI with the script engine.
Q. Tell us about your future goals.
Lee: We are looking at about 3 years for the emergence of a huge market for the web-based standard OS, creating an integrated ecosystem for mobile applications. Wouldn’t it be nice for us to take the lead?
This group debuted back in January, consisting of 40 professional engineers assembled and organized from the ground up within Samsung. Keeping up with the unprecedented pace of emerging technology, this team is now in the midst of developing web OS-specific software accessible to everyone. Samsung has a lot of confidence in its group of excited, passionate and able engineers. Shouldn’t be long before you have something made by this group running in your hands.
Tizen
Welcome Tizen to the Linux Foundation [Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation, Sept 27, 2011]
Tizen is a Linux-based, open source platform designed to address the future of HTML5-based applications across a variety of device types.
Welcome to Tizen [Dawn Foster, Community Manager for MeeGo, Intel, Sept 27, 2011]
Tizen will support multiple device categories, such as smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks, and in-vehicle infotainment devices.
…
The Tizen application programming interfaces are based on HTML5 and other web standards, and we anticipate that the vast majority of Tizen application development will be based on these emerging standards. These APIs will cover various platform capabilities, such as messaging, multimedia, camera, network, and social media. For those who use native code in their applications, the Tizen SDK will include a native development kit. We will open the entire Tizen software stack, from the core OS up through the core applications and polished user interfaces.We expect the first release of Tizen and its SDK in the first quarter of 2012.
What’s Next for MeeGo [Imad Sousou, Meego’s technical steering group co-leader, Director, Intel Open Source Technology Center, Sept 27, 2011]
I want to personally thank everyone who has participated in MeeGo over the past year and a half, and I encourage you to join us at Tizen.org.
Limo Foundation And Linux Foundation Announce New Open Source Software Platform [LiMo Foundation™ and the Linux Foundation global press release, Morgan Gillis, Executive Director of LiMo Foundation, Sept 27, 2011]
Tizen combines the best open source technologies from LiMo and the Linux Foundation and adds a robust and flexible standards-based HTML5 and WAC web development environment within which device-independent applications can be produced efficiently for unconstrained cross-platform deployment. This approach leverages the robustness and flexibility of HTML5 which is rapidly emerging as a preferred application environment for mobile applications and the broad carrier support of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). Tizen additionally carries a state-of-the-art reference user interface enabling the creation of highly attractive and innovative user experience that can be further customized by operators and manufacturers.
…
… a well-timed step change which unites major mobile Linux proponents within a renewed ecosystem with an open web vision of application development which will help device vendors to innovate through software and liberalize access to consumers for developers and service providers.
(and see also LiMo&Tizen for what’s actually happening there).
Tizen Summit Asia 2011 coming! [Oct 27, 2011]
Nomovok organizes Tizen Summit Asia 2011 at Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall 8-9 December. The event gathers together Open Source Vendors, OEMs, operators and other Tizen project contributors, together with local Open Source contributors in China. Check the event website and register here!
Dear Intel & Samsung, Can Tizen have some Qt ? [Oct 24, 2011]
Is banking everything on HTML5/JS/CSS3 the best way forward ? I think Not. Could we not have HTML5 + Qt Support in Tizen ? Already Nomovok have announced that they will provide Tizen with integrated Qt, but for this to work we need it to be adopted by the project as a whole. If we lose Qt then we Lose a lot of Developers that believe in it and NOT in HTML5 and have not bought into being able to make the move to HTML5. For the wholesale of applications HTML5 seems like the one, but for more specialist applications Qt is a Development Framework that a lot of development companies prefer and that is a fact that you can’t get away from.
….
sleeve says: October 26, 2011 at 10:33 pm
@uncle steve: now intel says no to qt?
no, samsung says no to qt as it is open source LGPL and any improvement or deployment would help Nokia tiny 1% – Samsung afraids. Samsung is happy with its vaporware BSD-licensed englightement without even one stable release in 11 yearsbecause the license allows to close any single bit if needed. If enlightenment fails samsung will use the backup tech aka HTML5 as already plans and no qt at all. Again, because in their flawed perception that would give nokia a point. All in samsung’s SLP/Limo – 4 bloody years without even single flawed release. The korean giant is strong in pushing hardware that’s all about it. Otherwise bada would be such a success for them.
Yeah Intel apparently HAPPILY supports qt on its part of tizen on its hardware and in AppUp stores. Intel wants apps SO qt will give what enlightenement wont.
More info about Tizen… [Florent Viard, Oct 24, 2011]
Hi all,
I want to share with you all the info the MeeGo Network France gathered from unofficial sources about Tizen.
Some of these info could be inaccurate, so consider them with care.
When the Tizen project was announced, it was more a “political” decision about a view for a future system than the announcement of an already existing new technical platform.
Ever since then, the Linux Foundation, Intel and Samsung are working on how they could create it based on MeeGo and Limo. It looks like they are still not sure of the architecture and this is certainly why they haven’t disclosed any technical info yet.
A big part of Tizen will be to have a framework and the corresponding SDK to support HTML5-WAC applications. Native applications development should also be supported through the usage of the EFL (Enlightenment_Foundation_Libraries –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_Foundation_Libraries) with the SDK. So we could suppose that the reference UI of the system will also be based on the EFL.How the merge between MeeGo and Limo will be done? MeeGo will give a big part of the system with the components that are not QT-based, and Limo will provide the EFL components. More components of Limo will be used for the handset stack of Tizen. So, the overall appearance of the system should be similar to MeeGo and it should not be too hard to have derived version with the QT-things for those who want it.
In the current planning, the first version of Tizen is supposed to be released in February 2012 with the SDK. But we don’t know if the development and sources will be opened to everyone before this.
>From the governance side, the reassuring thing that we heard is that Samsung and Intel really want to have Tizen be a common system shared with other manufacturers and not be seen as their own system, so they gave the leadership to the Linux Foundation. And that is why there is currently not so much communication coming from Samsung or Intel about Tizen, because it is of the responsibility of the Linux Foundation to decide what and when communicate and if there could be community involvement or not in the first stage of Tizen.
So, our questions go to the Linux Foundation to know when they will start to disclose more info? If nothing will be available before February 2012, maybe it will be good to at least release MeeGo 1.3?
Don’t hesitate to reply if you want to correct things or if you have more details.
++
Florent
MeeGo Network France
Re: More info about Tizen… [Dawn M Foster, Community Manager for MeeGo, Intel, Oct 26, 2011]
On Oct 26, 2011, at 6:32 AM, Arnaud Delcasse wrote:
> Novomok looks like actually being the organizer, yes. But Linux
> Foundation people are announced for keynotes and presentations.
> On IRC, Paimen from Novomok said that he would send more
> informations on the mailing list “later today”.
>
> Short things I’ve read from him on IRC :
> – this would be an “unofficial” summit (14:16:56 Paimen | so
> basically this is unofficial event for community and vendors)
> – it replaces a “MeeGo summit” which should have been organized in
> Asia (14:18:19 Paimen | well it supposed to be meego summit
> and because of current events we decided to change it for open forum
> for tizen)Yes, it is being organized by Nomovok as an unofficial summit, but we’ve known about it, and I have also been talking to Pasi Nieminen about this summit. We’ll work with Pasi and others to help clear up this confusion shortly.
Re: More info about Tizen… [Akira Tsukamoto, Oct 26, 2011]
Hi all,
I work for Nomovok and I would like to add some comments about Tizen summit in Asia: http://tizensummitasia2011.com/
- I understand your frustration having no public information released from the Linux Foundation and relevant companies yet. Please be patient for a while because they are preparing the background to make the information public.
- I understand that when the Linux Foundation frozen the all the MeeGo development infrastructure such as wiki, build server and repository, equivalent Tizen infrastructures are not hosted yet. It is also ongoing and please be patient.
- As Ms. Dawn Foster from Intel mentioned that Pasi is the CEO of the Nomovok and coordinating the Tizen Summit 2011 in Beijing with the Linux Foundation and relevant companies, so it is concrete event.
- The main purpose of having the Tizen Summit is to get all the people interested on Tizen to have face to face gathering and share the information together. This activities should improve the speed of project of Tizen process.
I Hope thing gets clear with the above.
Jukka Raninen is also the person who has clear situation for the event.Thanks,
Akira
Will Intel’s Tizen mobile operating system succeed where MeeGo failed? [Dr. Axel Rauschmayer, Oct 20, 2011, ]
Tizen [1], Intel’s new mobile operating system, is supposed to succeed where MeeGo failed. However, the article “From MeeGo to Tizen: the making of another software bubble” by David Neary for VisionMobile expresses doubt:
One thing which has not changed from MeeGo is the wide range of participants being targeted by the project. At the moment, the target audience can best be summarised as “everyone”. Tizen is aimed at platform developers, integrators, vendors, application developers, and mobile enthusiasts. That’s a very wide range of target audiences, each with different needs and expectations. Not knowing your target customer is a surefire way to throw money down the drain.
Technology-wise, there are also many cooks:
We also know is that the primary APIs for 3rd party developers are targeting HTML5 and WAC environments. WAC stands for Wholesale Applications Community, a set of APIs for building and delivering rich HTML5 applications, based on APIs from JIL (Joint Innovation Labs) and BONDI (a platform specified by the now-defunct Open Mobile Terminal Platform, OMTP). The Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL), are also set to be a key part of the platform. We can infer two things from this: Qt will be taking a back seat in Tizen, if it is part of the platform at all, and it appears that SLP [the Samsung Linux Platform] will be the basis of the Tizen platform.
Explanations:
- WAC is an organization run by telecom companies – not by handset makers. Supporting its standards smells like a marketing decision, not a technical decision. At least it makes sense in the HTML5 context. Compare: RIM supporting Android apps on the PlayBook where a completely different technology is hosted by the native QNX.
- EFL is a portable user interface library that originated with the X11 (Unix) window manager Enlightenment. It has bindings for several languages, including Python, JavaScript, Perl, C++, and Ruby.
The world could really use a truly open mobile operating system. Using HTML5 for the user interface layer also makes a lot of sense. I’ve always wondered why Intel does not go it alone. So far it has not had a lot of luck with its partners; and with Tizen, it is already doing all the talking, while Samsung is largely silent. Another paragraph from the article explains the reason:
Tizen seems set to be another victim of misaligned incentives across several industry partners. Samsung is bringing SLP to the “standards” table simply to find a new home for it, now that LiMo [the organization that previously backed SLP] is winding down. Intel is seeking another marriage of convenience, trying to tempt a major OEM to ship significant x86 chip volumes.
Related reading:
Experiencing the Cloud 