The first photos of the latest device from the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) foundation have emerged, with the XO 3.0 tablet to be shown off at CES 2012. The $100 tablet is a follow-up to the organization's low-cost laptop, which has already been distributed to more than 2 million underprivileged children globally.
The XO 3.0 tablet has an 8-inch 1024 x 768 Pixel Qi sunlight-readable display, 512MB of RAM, and circuitry that allows it to be charged directly by hand cranks or solar panels. In fact, the XO 3.0 can get 10 minutes of runtime from one minute of cranking (cranks will NOT be shipped standard with the device).
It will have 8 to 10 hours of battery life, and a Marvell Armada PXA618 processor. Nicely, the tablet can be equipped with either Android or Sugar, which is the OLPC Foundation's own Linux operating system, designed specifically for children.
According to Marvell's own website, the Armada PXA618 SoC integrates a gigahertz-class CPU, full HD 1080p encode and decode, an integrated ISP capable of 16MP image capture, an integrated audio processing engine for extremely low power audio playback and exceptional high quality sound and advanced 3D graphics. The processor is supposed to be very lower-power.
Unspecified, but apparent from the OLPC-provided images are a full-size USB port, two ports which are probably audio, and a possible microSD slot. There also seems to be a front-facing camera at the top.
The price target is still $100, but the XO 3.0, like the prior XO laptops, won't be sold directly to consumers or parents. Instead, the foundation will sell the tablets directly in bulk to countries who want to ensure their children can have computers. Examples of countries that have deployed thousands of XO laptops include Peru and Uruguay.
OLPC's CEO Ed McNierney and OLPC founder Nicholas Negoroponte said that $100 price point can be met, but only by sacrificing some "premium" components. They said that a version priced at $100 wouldn't necessarily have the Pixel Qi display, but instead a regular LCD, and other unspecified components might be omitted, as well.
Samsung may be the biggest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, but that's leveraging one of Android strengths (and weaknesses, per fragmentation): a huge selection of different devices. When it comes to a single smartphone handset, look to Apple,, and hen it comes to the U.S., the iPhone 4S is the top seller at all three wireless carriers currently selling it.
According to checks by Canaccord Genuity, despite only being available for half the month, Apple's iPhone 4S was the best-selling smartphone in October for AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint. The previous model, the iPhone 4 hasn't dropped off the map, either: it was also found to be among the top three best-selling smartphones at each of those carriers, as well.
Canaccord analyst Mike Walkley wrote the following in a research note on Friday: "Our October checks indicated the iPhone 4S was the top selling model at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon with the iPhone 4, now $100, a top 3 selling model at each of those channels.” He added that Q4 2011 will probably see record iPhone sales.
This is despite the fact that the iPhone 4S was only minimally changed from the iPhone 4, and many expressed disappointment at the lack of changes. Those who were disappointed were not, apparently, prospective customers.
Walkley increased his earlier Q4 2011 calendar year (Apple fiscal year Q1 2012) iPhone sales estimate from 27 million units to 29 million units. He also increased his price target for the stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) to $560 from $545, and reconfirmed his Buy rating.
Samsung may be the biggest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, but that's leveraging one of Android strengths (and weaknesses, per fragmentation): a huge selection of different devices. When it comes to a single smartphone handset, look to Apple,, and hen it comes to the U.S., the iPhone 4S is the top seller at all three wireless carriers currently selling it.
According to checks by Canaccord Genuity, despite only being available for half the month, Apple's iPhone 4S was the best-selling smartphone in October for AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint. The previous model, the iPhone 4 hasn't dropped off the map, either: it was also found to be among the top three best-selling smartphones at each of those carriers, as well.
Canaccord analyst Mike Walkley wrote the following in a research note on Friday: "Our October checks indicated the iPhone 4S was the top selling model at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon with the iPhone 4, now $100, a top 3 selling model at each of those channels.” He added that Q4 2011 will probably see record iPhone sales.
This is despite the fact that the iPhone 4S was only minimally changed from the iPhone 4, and many expressed disappointment at the lack of changes. Those who were disappointed were not, apparently, prospective customers.
Walkley increased his earlier Q4 2011 calendar year (Apple fiscal year Q1 2012) iPhone sales estimate from 27 million units to 29 million units. He also increased his price target for the stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) to $560 from $545, and reconfirmed his Buy rating.
The market continues to digest the huge Google - Motorola Mobility deal that was announced on Monday. Opinions are all over the place, but there are negative ones, and they include Standard and Poors.
S&P has downgraded Google stock, and not just from "buy" to "neutral," but all the way down to sell. It also lowered its price target for Google from $700 to $500.
Most analysts believe that Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, one of its primary partners in the Android ecosystem, isn't about getting into the handset business. Instead
S&P analyst Scott Kessler said, “After further consideration of GOOG’s plans announced yesterday to purchase Motorola Mobility, we see greater risk to the company and stock. We expect the transaction to be consummated next year, but later than early 2012, which GOOG indicated. Moreover, despite MMI’s extensive and valuable patent portfolio, we are not sure it will protect Android from IP issues. We also believe the purchase of MMI would negatively impact GOOG’s growth, margins and balance sheet. Based on revised DCF analysis, we are cutting our 12-month target price.”
Aside from wondering why we should trust S&P's rating abilities considering it rated all those mortgage debt securities that essentially brought down the U.S. and global economy as AAA, yet just downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, mostly over the political "blackmailing" that the GOP has seen fit to use of late, more than the U.S.' ability to repay its obligations, we'd tend to agree with some of their statements.
For one, Motorola Mobility continues to bleed cash, although at a much slower rate since it went all-in with Android on handsets. For another, despite the fact that Google has said that Motorola will operate as a separate company, we can already see the heads of the CEOs of Samsung, HTC, LG, and more nodding as they say "Yeah, right."
Google can assure its partners all it wants to, but despite NDAs and posturing, whether or not they will be reassured that Motorola won't get the inside track on Android features and code remains to be seen.
It's been theorized that Google might divest itself of the set-top box part of Motorola Mobility. Some have even wondered if Motorola will completely dump the handset business, as well, since a) it is Samsung and HTC that are the top Android OEMs, b) it wanted the 17,000 Motorola patents and 7,500 patents in progress as the main part of the deal, not to get into the hardware business.
Truly, we'll need to see what happens. The thing is, you won't see Android handsets drop to a trickle in the near future, as some have speculated, as there are many handsets already in development. OEMs won't halt production of these because of carrier agreements.
You also won't see a large defection to Windows Phone. While Microsoft does not own Nokia, its deal with Nokia gives the Espoo-based company a major advantage over other OEMs. As well, would you like to put all your money on a platform that saw its market share drop significantly year-over-year despite the fact that it was being compared with Windows Mobile's market share last year?
You can watch Kessler discussing his Google downgrade on CNBC, below.
The confusing mish-mash of rumors that center on the next-generation iPhone continues to get more complicated. Earlier, it was said that Apple would launch both a cheaper and pre-paid iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5 this September. Now, an analyst believes that Apple may make the iPhone 3GS free with a service agreement when the next-generation iPhone launches.
The information came in an investor note by RBC Capital Markets General Manager Mike Abramsky. Abramsky claims Apple is expected to finally offer a free iPhone (once again, on contract, so hardly free). The idea, much like the iPhone 4S rumor, would be to engage mid-market smartphone buyers and slow the momentum of Android.
Of course, the iPhone 3GS lacks the iPhone 4's FaceTime camera, and obviously the next-generation iPhone would have FaceTime support, as well, although perhaps not the lower-spec iPhone 4S (if in fact it comes to fruition).
Abramsky predicts a doubling Apple’s global addressable market to 150 million smartphones. If Apple were to combine this with an iPhone 4S, what might be wrought? Abramsky currently has an Outperform rating on Apple stock with a price target of $450. Apple stock closed on Wednesday at $334.04.
This might be great for AT&T, but would suck for Verizon. Apple has no CDMA iPhone 3GS, which means Verizon would be left out in the cold with this sort of deal. The iPhone 3GS, at least with current iOS builds, is perfectly capable of running the OS well, despite an outdated processor and lower RAM.
That could push Verizon back to the Android smartphones that kept it going until the iPhone was available on its CDMA network. Of course, anyone watching Verizon's releases can't have missed the large number of Android devices it keeps pumping out, even without an additional reason to push them.
The latest rumors in terms of a possible Verizon iPhone have been pointing to Q1 in 2011, and today reports were released of Apple suppliers confirming that information. Analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro with Susquehanna Financial Group said that in a note to investors on Wednesday.
Fidacaro's research note said that information coming from overseas suppliers indicated Apple will begin manufacturing CDMA iPhones in December, and that the Cupertino, CA company is ready to build 3 million of them that month. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA technology in the U.S., with Verizon the largest wireless carrier in the country, although AT&T is rapidly gaining. There are other CDMA networks around the world, but even given that, Verizon is likely to be the target of these iPhones.
In Apple's fiscal Q4, which is actually calendar Q3, Fidacaro expects Apple to sell 11.6 million iPhones, which would be a 39 percent increase from the 8.4 million handsets the company sold in is fiscal Q3, and a record. Susquehanna Financial Group has a positive rating for Apple stock, and has a $365 price target (Apple stock closed Wednesday at $287.75, up $3.98).
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