Google rolls in tablet market with Nexus 7

Google opened fire on iPad and Kindle Fire with a Nexus tablet designed to showcase the latest Android software and be a window into its online shop for films, music and more.

The Nexus 7 tablet computer will be priced at less than half the cost of the market-leading iPad and broadens Google's arsenal in its battle against Apple, Amazon.com, and Microsoft to be at the heart of Internet Age lifestyles.

The seven-inch tablet powered by the latest generation of Android software is being made for Google by Taiwan-based Asus and weighs about as much as a paperback book, according to Android team head Hugo Barra.

"We wanted to design a best-of Google experience optimized around the content available at Google Play," Barra said during a presentation opening the Internet titan's annual developers conference in San Francisco.

Nexus tablets were available for order in Australia, Canada, Britain, and the United States at the Google Play store at a price of $199 and would begin shipping in mid-July, Barra said. That is the same price as Amazon's Kindle Fire.

The tablets come with a $25 coupon for Google Play content -- Google's answer to Amazon and Apple's iTunes stores for books, music, magazines and other content.

"It has always been a goal of the Nexus program to provide you with the best-of Google experience the way Google envisions it," Barra said.

Google also introduced an Android-powered Nexus Q device for wirelessly streaming films or music from Google Play to televisions or speakers.

Along with the new hardware, Google said it is beefing up its Google Play store to offer more entertainment.

"Google Play is your digital entertainment destination, with more than 600,000 apps and games plus music, movies and books," a Google blog post said.

"It's entirely cloud-based, which means all of your content is always available across all of your devices."

In addition to movie rentals, Google will be offering films for sale. The California-based Internet powerhouse boasted partnerships with major studios such as Disney, Paramount and Sony.

"You can watch as much as you like. You can also purchase episodes of your favorite TV shows," the California tech giant said.

Google Play will also be adding digital magazines from Hearst, Conde Nast and other publishers.

The company described Nexus 7 as "a powerful new tablet" which "makes everything, including games, extremely fast."

It weighs 340 grams (12 ounces) and has a front-facing camera.

Android platform developer Chris Yerga said Nexus 7 is also "a serious gaming device."

Google at the same time said it was releasing a new version of its Android software for mobile devices, called "Jelly Bean," which "builds on top of Ice Cream Sandwich," the current iteration of Android.

"It makes everything smoother, faster and more fluid," the Google blog said.

"The keyboard is smarter and more accurate, and can predict your next word. And voice typing is faster, working even when you don't have a data connection."

While Android has leapt to the top of the mobile phone market, Apple remains dominant in tablets, holding around 62 percent of the market to 36 percent for Android, according to research firm IDC.

The news from Google comes just a week after Microsoft took on Apple with a plan to release its own branded tablet called Surface later this year.

"Learning a lesson from Amazon, Google can see that the only way to beat the premium-worthy iPad is to go for the millions of customers who are ready for smaller and cheaper tablets," said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

After hooking fans with a low-price Android tablet, Google could then direct their loyalty to higher-end devices powered by the operating system and build the ranks of customers at Google Play, the analyst reasoned.

"That range of services will be the secret to stitching together this rag-tag fleet of Android gadgets into a platform that can compete with Apple for minutes of users' attention rather than premium device dollars," McQuivey said.

The number of Android devices being used has quadrupled since this time last year to 400 million, with a million new smartphones or tablets powered by the Google-backed software being activated daily, according to Google.

"We are not slowing down," Barra said of Android's growth.

Jelly Bean software improvements included a keyboard that "learns" as it is used and eventually starts predicting words before they are typed. The program has beefed up abilities to convert speech to text or into search queries.

A Google Now feature lets people combine search history, calendar and other information to allow devices to predict needs such as a fast route to work in the morning or a nearby coffee shop.

Google will begin rolling out the Jelly Bean in an update to newer model Android devices in July. Read More

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Comcast to pay $800,000 to resolve FCC probe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that Comcast Corp would pay $800,000 to resolve an investigation of its broadband-related merger conditions.

The FCC said it began the probe after it was tipped that Comcast was not properly marketing its standalone broadband services, violating a condition of its merger with NBC Universal that requires the cable operator to offer reasonably priced Internet services to consumers who do not subscribe to its cable offerings.

"Today's action demonstrates that compliance with Commission orders is not optional," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The consent decree adopted on Wednesday requires Comcast to pay $800,000 to the U.S. Treasury to resolve the dispute. It also, for the first time in FCC history, extends the merger condition for an additional year.

"The unprecedented merger condition extension, significant voluntary contribution, and robust compliance plan send a clear message to the American public and the communications industry that the FCC will vigorously enforce its merger conditions, to the ultimate benefit of consumers," FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Michele Ellison said.

Sena Fitzmaurice, Comcast's vice president of government communications, said the company was pleased that it could address these issues constructively with the FCC and in a consensual manner.

Comcast, the No. 1 provider of video and residential Internet service in the United States, acquired a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co last year.

Approval of the merger after a year-long review by the FCC and Justice Department came with a list of conditions to protect the public interest and prevent anti-competitive practices.

Among those conditions was a requirement to actively market for three years a standalone broadband service with speeds of at least 6 mbps for no more than $49.95 per month - equivalent to terms offered to consumers who bundled their cable and broadband services with Comcast.

"Comcast has incorporated the extensive commitments and conditions from the NBCUniversal transaction into the DNA of our business practices, including the commitment to offer standalone broadband Internet," said Fitzmaurice.

The company introduced a "Performance Starter" option for standalone broadband service to comply with the merger condition. The FCC probe questioned if that service could have been rolled out differently or better, Fitzmaurice said.

Wednesday's consent decree means Comcast must keep that standalone service in place through February 21, 2015.

It also mandates a dedicated Internet page for standalone broadband services, a major advertising promotion in 2013 for the broadband services and training for customer service representatives to ensure they are familiar with the Performance Starter option.  Read More

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Google Internet glasses on the way

Google glasses that overlay the Internet on daily lives should hit the market within two years -- technology the tech giant hopes will someday make fumbling with smartphones obsolete.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin offered the estimated timeline after a project update that included sky divers dropping in with a new version of "Glass" wearable computers.

"I'm so glad that worked," Brin quipped after sky divers wearing the glasses streamed live video during their jump from an airplane to the roof of the San Francisco convention center. "I wasn't really expecting it to."

The sky divers handed off a package to cyclists, who performed stunts as they rode to the edge of the Moscone Center where they handed it off to a man who rappelled down the outside of the building to the third floor.

Another cyclist whisked the cargo the final length of its trip to a stage where Brin and other Google executives were kicking off the California-based company's annual developers conference.

Brin opened the package to show an "Explorer" edition of the glasses that developers could buy for $1,500 to become the first people outside the company to shape the revolutionary eyewear before it gets to market.

Explorer edition glasses should ship early next year, and a version should be ready for the consumer market within a year after that, Brin said.

"Google Glass Explorer edition will be rough around the edges; you have to be into being on the bleeding edge," Brin said of the effort to build a community of developers passionate about taking part in the project.

"This is really new technology and we really want all of you to help shape it."

The eyewear features built-in camera, microphone and speaker technology and can synch to the Internet using wireless connections.

As with the sky divers, cyclists, and wall-walkers who took part in the keynote stunt, video through the eyes of wearers can be streamed live on Google's social network.

Mini-screens in the glasses can display text messages, email or other digitized information from the Internet or mobile gadgets.

"It was kind of a nutty idea that somehow became real," Brin said while discussing Glass after the keynote presentation.

"The notion that you could jump out of an air ship with it and still communicate your experience makes holding a smartphone or laptop seem pretty damn awkward," he continued. "It's about you being less of a slave to your device; it has been really liberating."

Brin said that he wears a prototype pair of Google glasses much of the time as he and other members of the team he heads at the company's X Lab refine the technology.

Google has been speaking with eyeglass frame companies about ideas for a consumer version of the glasses, which he expected would cost "significantly" less than the Explorer prototypes.

"I expect that in three or four years watching people hold a mobile phone in their hands and look down at it will start to be unusual and that this will be normal," Google product manager Steve Lee said, pointing to his Glass eyewear.

The Glass team focused on frequent mobile Internet tasks such as messaging and sharing pictures and not on capabilities such as adding facial or object recognition, according to Brin.

"We definitely experimented with things like facial recognition; it is what a lot of people think about when you talk about a wearable computer," Brin said.

"But it is not the most compelling," he continued. "We have not been quite as excited about it as science fiction movies might be."

The Glass team also figured that the devices wouldn't be primary tools for surfing the Internet or reading digital books.

"But, if you want to see a text message or catch a quick picture, these things are really easy and hands-free," Brin said.

Glass team head Babak Parviz said that along with communicating, the eyewear was crafted to find information so fast that you thought you already knew it.

"It allows you to walk downtown Paris and have other people experience this with you live," Parviz said.

"But even though we have this social camera showing the world through your eyes, the quick access to information is also a critical thing."  Read More

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Apple launches iTunes Store in 12 new Asia markets

Apple launched its iTunes Store in 12 Asian markets on Wednesday, giving consumers access to millions of songs and movies, but regional giants China, India and Indonesia were not on the list.

The move by California-based Apple, which has sold more than 16 billion songs worldwide on the online store, enables it to make more money from digital content in markets where its devices have become hugely popular.

Asian musicians would also benefit from having a secure new platform to sell their work to local fans in a region rife with intellectual piracy.

"What took them so long?" said Chen Wei Li, a 28-year-old Singaporean who owns an iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro laptop.

"I personally am looking to download some music off the iTunes store," he added.

The iTunes Store is now open to consumers with credit cards issued in Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

It was already available in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Customers will now be able to choose from more than 28 million songs, including hits by Asian stars.

They will also be able to rent or buy movies from studios such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Disney and Warner Brothers.

"We know that people will pay for content if they are able to access good services," said Jasper Donat, the Hong Kong-based president of Music Matters, an annual gathering of executives from the music industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Having promoted the Asian music industry around the world for nearly eight years, we are genuinely excited about today's iTunes announcement and look forward to welcoming more digital entertainment platforms and services to the region soon."

But China, India and Indonesia -- the three most populous Asian countries -- were notable omissions from Wednesday's launch.

"We're always working to bring the iTunes Store to more customers around the world, as conditions permit," Apple said in a written reply to AFP when asked why China and India, which have a combined population of 2.5 billion, were not yet included.

Neha Dharia, a Mumbai-based analyst with business research firm Ovum, said several criteria including support for intellectual property rights are considered by Apple before opening up the iTunes Store to any market.

"These include the adoption of Apple devices, consumer preferences for digital distribution of content, ability to forge partnerships for procuring local content and, of course, levels of piracy and the measures to combat it," Dharia told AFP.

Apple's Asian expansion, which followed the December launch of the iTunes Store in Brazil and 15 other Latin American markets, now makes commercial sense despite concerns over piracy, another analyst said.

"Up to a certain point, piracy in the whole region was something they were looking at with a critical eye," said Melissa Chau, a Singapore-based regional research manager with US market intelligence firm IDC.

"But what has changed in the last couple of years was how popular iPads and iPhones have become in this region.

"It makes sense for them to capture revenues from these users who have iPads and iPhones."

Apple is estimated to have shipped 35 million iPhones and iPads in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan in 2011, Chau said.

"This is the natural evolution of an integrated ecosystem for their own products and services," said Chau.

Apple's latest earnings report showed it made a profit of $11.6 billion on revenues of $39.2 billion in the March quarter, thanks largely to booming demand for iPhones and iPads in Asia including China.  Read More

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US court bars Samsung tablet after Apple complaint

A US federal court has barred the sale of Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer, siding with Apple in a bitter dispute between the two tech giants over alleged patent infringement.

The US district court in northern California Tuesday ruled that there was "evidence that Samsung altered its design to make its product look more like Apple's" and that Apple had "presented a strong case" for the injunction.

Samsung said it was "disappointed" with the decision, which the South Korean firm said would "ultimately reduce the availability of superior technological features to consumers in the United States."

Samsung said the preliminary injunction pending further litigation was "based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product's overall design."

"Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted," it said, adding that it would "take necessary legal steps" without elaborating.

The court said it was "unpersuaded by Samsung's arguments."

As a condition of the preliminary injunction, Apple was ordered to post a $2.6 million bond to secure payment of any damages should it be found later that the Samsung product did not infringe on the patent.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment, but in its initial complaint filed in April 2011 it had accused Samsung of having chosen to "slavishly copy" Apple technology in the design of its Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets, which run on Google's Android operating system.  Read More

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Planned Google tablet to rival Amazon: Asustek exec

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Google Inc will soon unveil a tablet co-branded with Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc and priced to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire device, an Asustek executive said on Wednesday.

Amazon's Kindle Fire, which runs a version of Google's Android operating system, sells for $199. Through it users can access Amazon content including books, music and video.

"It's targeting Amazon. The Kindle is based on Google's platform but with its own service, so Google has to launch its own service, too," said the executive of the device.

Google has its own store for apps called Google Play, but does not have anything like Amazon's service.

Bloomberg earlier reported that Google would launch a tablet at its developer conference this week, taking direct aim at Apple Inc's iPad, citing two people familiar with the matter. One of the sources said the 7-inch tablet would showcase new features of Android.

The Asustek executive, who did not want to be named as the planned device has not yet been made public, declined to give details on its price, specifications or launch timetable. Rumors that the search engine giant planned to launch a tablet at its annual developer conference have circulated on tech blogs for weeks.

Google declined to comment.

Apple's iPad had a 68 percent share of the market in January-March, according to data from IDC. Amazon had a little over 4 percent, lagging Samsung Electronics and Lenovo. Microsoft last week introduced its own line of tablet computers, marking a major strategic shift for the software giant as it struggles to compete with Apple and re-invent its aging Windows franchise.

Google has previously worked with hardware manufacturers HTC and Samsung to produce co-branded Android mobile phones under the Nexus brand. This would be its first such tablet device.

Asustek shares gained 2.6 percent in Taipei, outperforming a 0.6 percent gain on the benchmark stock index.  Read More

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Lenovo shares hit over 4-month low on concern over PC outlook

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No.2 PC maker, fell by more than 6 percent to a more than four-month intraday low on market concern over the outlook for the PC market amid the global economic slowdown.

Lenovo's shares fell as much as 6.3 percent to HK$6.26 in afternoon trade, extending earlier losses and hitting the lowest intraday level since February 9.

"The huge increase in volume suggests that a major holder is now exiting the stock," said a trader who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

An analyst said Lenovo's stock had outperformed peers such as market leader Hewlett-Packard Co and No.3 PC vendor Dell Inc this year, but worries over Europe's economy and a further slowdown in China might dampen PC demand and could affect the Chinese company.

Lenovo shares are still up 22 percent so far this year, outperforming the main Hang Seng Index's 2.9 percent gain, Dell's 16.7 percent fall and HP's 20.1 percent loss.  Read More

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