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Xbox COO sees dedicated handheld market as a 'red ocean,' will let Sony and Nintendo swim in it
Dennis Durkin is COO and CFO for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. He's also a dude thoroughly disillusioned with the future of portable consoles. Speaking to IndustryGamers, Durkin explains that the "crowded" nature of the mobile gaming market right now makes it extremely difficult to launch a dedicated handheld gaming device successfully -- in his colorful words, it's "a very, very red ocean." Whose blood is soiling those waters? The Nintendo 3DS, says Durkin, which has sold reasonably well, but has clearly failed to reach the lofty expectations set for it by fans and previous handhelds from the company. Likewise, the PS Vita invites a lot of skepticism from the Xbox chief, who says his excitement is reserved for what Microsoft can do with Kinect, Xbox Live and unique content. You might say it's to be expected that an Xbox exec would be casting doubt over Sony's great new hope, but what we learn in the process is that Microsoft has no intentions of squaring up to its home console nemesis on the mobile front. Not with dedicated hardware, anyway.
Dell XPS 15z coming tomorrow for $999? (updated)
The thinnest 15-inch laptop "on the planet" is coming tomorrow, costing a measly $999, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a profile of Dell's recent history and forthcoming plans in the consumer electronics market, the financial paper twice makes reference to an ultrathin, $999 laptop that is set to launch on Tuesday of this week. Pairing that intel with the abundance of leaks surrounding the slinky 15.6-inch XPS 15z -- including a Michael Dell tweet promising it's "coming soon" -- leads us to the conclusion that we've finally gotten ahold of the price and date for Dell's next big thing. Interestingly enough, the WSJ article goes on to say that Dell had canned a similar set of slim laptops earlier in the year, which might give us greater hope for the quality of the 15z -- it survived where others didn't. Other disclosures in the piece include a quote from Michael Dell, saying that he "didn't completely see" the tablet boom coming, which might explain why sales of his company's Streak tablets have been low enough to be described as "immaterial." There's also a discussion of the abortive Zing music service and related MP3 players that never were, but you'll have to hit the source link to learn more about them. Update: As further evidence of the 15z's imminent release, the tease has turned into a show with a video that fully reveals its slimline chassis and declares that the new Dell packs the Streak's Stage UI as well. [Thanks, Ishai and Ming Han] Update 2: And now we have the answer to our headline question: yes.
Nokia's Windows Phones will feature dual-core ST-Ericsson U8500, says STMicroelectronics chief
As you'll no doubt be aware, Qualcomm currently enjoys a stranglehold on processing hardware inside Windows Phone handsets. Its Snapdragon chip stars in both Microsoft's original and updated chassis spec for the platform, but its hegemony may soon be coming to an end. STMicroelectronics (the ST in ST-Ericsson) boss Carlo Bozotti is cited by Forbes as saying that Nokia will use ST-Ericsson hardware to power at least some of its Windows Phones. The dual-core U8500, a long-time Nokia favorite, is touted as the first such system-on-chip to appear, with its successors helping to populate Nokia's expansive WP lineup in 2012. The only intel we've had so far on Nokia's initial handsets for the new OS revolved around Qualcomm-based devices, so even if ST-Ericsson is indeed going to infiltrate the Windows Phone ecosystem, it doesn't look likely to be among the very first Nokias out of the gate.
Intel admits Apple 'helps shape' its roadmap, keeps foot lodged firmly in mouth
We knew Intel and Apple had a close working relationship when it came to developing Thunderbolt, but now an exec from Santa Clara has taken the declarations of mutual admiration to the next level. Tom Kilroy, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel's Sales and Marketing Group, told a Reuters tech summit that Apple isn't merely important to his company's plans, it actually "helps shape [Intel's] roadmap." Those are strong words coming from the world's biggest maker of processor chips, one that you wouldn't expect to be beholden to any hardware or software partner. Additionally, it marks the second time this week that Intel has indirectly slighted Microsoft, the first one being a damning analysis of Windows 8 on ARM by fellow Intel SVP Renee James. It'd be easy to conclude that we're seeing cracks developing in the old Wintel bond, but we reckon it's more likely that Chipzilla is simply finding the wrong words to express otherwise benign thoughts. Hit the source link for more from Mr. Kilroy.
NVIDIA CEO disappointed by Android tablet sales, blames pricing and poor app selection
It won't have escaped your attention that just about every Honeycomb tablet shipping in the first half of this year features, or will feature, NVIDIA's Tegra 2 hardware. Unfortunately for NVIDIA, reception for the Android 3.0 slates has been a little underwhelming, and the company's Chief Eloquence Officer, Jen-Hsun Huang, has had a few words to say about it. He sees the relative paucity of tablet-optimized Android apps as a weakness, while also expressing the belief that cheaper WiFi-only models should've been the standard shipping config rather than fully fledged 3G / 4G variants as Motorola has been pushing with the Xoom. All in all, his is a very sane and accurate analysis, but Mr. Huang loves to look to the future as much as he enjoys talking about the present, and in his opinion all these major downsides have already been "largely addressed" by "a new wave" of Android tablets. He doesn't specify the devices that constitute said wave, but his emphasis on thinness and lightness leads us to believe he's talking up Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 models. Hit the source links to read more from the bronzed stallion in charge of NVIDIA.
Nintendo confirms next Wii coming in 2012, will preview it at E3
Nintendo has just announced it plans to introduce a successor to its Wii console next year, a "playable model" of which will be shown off at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles coming up on June 7th. No details are available as to how the next Wii will improve on the first one, though we imagine Nintendo will be happy if it simply matches the success of its current-gen home entertainer -- the brief note publicizing the new roadmap also comes with a total of Wii sales accumulated between its launch in '06 and the end of last month: 86.01 million. That's said to be on a "consolidated shipment basis," so maybe Nintendo is mixing its definitions of sales and shipments the way Sony likes to, but it's a mighty big number either way. Bring on E3, we say! Update: Bloomberg has provided the first official hint about Nintendo's next console with a quote from company President Satoru Iwata. Nintendo will "propose a new approach to home video game consoles," though it won't be a simple move to 3D, as Iwata notes "it's difficult to make 3-D images a key feature, because 3-D televisions haven't obtained wide acceptance yet." Given that motion gaming is no longer new and 3D is off the table until 3DTVs go mainstream, we're now left facing only one potentiality -- Nintendo is planning on bringing genuine innovation to our living rooms. We suppose it also adds fuel to the rumor of a crazy next-gen controller to go with this next-gen console.
Fiat will lose $10,000 on every 500 EV it sells, still intends to bring it to US in 2012
Any new technology generally costs an arm, a leg, and a bit of your sanity to adopt early, but that's a luxury that the well settled auto market cannot afford. In light of its elastic economics, car makers looking to go electric have had to be extremely aggressive in cutting their own profits, an aggressiveness that's now been estimated by Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne to cost them as much as $10,000 per unit sold. Fiat's famed little car, the Cinquecento, is going to be hitting the US in a new EV configuration in 2012, in spite of the fact it'll be causing a ding to the company's bottom line. It's not actually clear whether Mr. Marchionne is factoring in research and development costs or whether he's talking purely of material costs, though Fiat's fate is hardly unique -- the Nissan Leaf isn't expected to generate a profit for a good couple of years yet. The Fiat 500 EV's likely price was indirectly revealed, too, by the company chief's assertion that it'll retail for about three times the cost of its gas-powered version. So about $45,000. Yikes!
LTE iPhone noise builds steam with a grain of Wang
Has it got the fourgees? Well, if you're talking about Apple's iPhone and believe what you hear from China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou, it very soon will. Following in the well publicized footsteps of Verizon CEO Dan Mead, Mr. Jianzhou tells us that Steve Jobs himself "has expressed his interest in an LTE iPhone and is willing to start the development at an early date." Of course, the crux of the issue will be in ascertaining how early "an early date" might be, but it's not completely out of the realm of reason to believe that Apple may already be cranking away on an LTE-capable iPhone 5. We all know how much Steve loves to compare measurements with the competition and the iPhone's lack of a fourth G will probably be driving him mad by the time the summer rolls around. Either way, we've now got two extremely senior dudes claiming LTE is on Apple's roadmap.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: NGP will be 'dead on arrival,' says ngmoco boss
In all honesty, you would expect the leader of a team concerned exclusively with producing games for smartphone platforms like iOS and Android to be dismissive of a new dedicated handheld console's chances, but it's still jarring to hear such a strident dismissal of the Sony NGP's chances. In an interview at GDC this year -- yes, the same place where we were treated to some very impressive demos of the NGP's performance -- ngmoco CEO Neil Young has expressed his belief that Sony's next PSP will be "dead on arrival." Claiming that the new portable will be incapable of competing with the rich ecosystems and affordable pricing models that smartphones now offer, Young says not even the crazy specs or PS3-like gaming will help the NGP survive. This echoes comments from Satoru Iwata last year saying that Apple, not Sony, is the "enemy of the future" for handheld consoles, though Young does close off on a positive note, saying that he sees brighter prospects for the 3DS thanks to Nintendo's rich collection of own-brand franchises and reserves of fan loyalty. So that's it, folks, better start selling those Sony shares while they're still worth something! Or not, it's up to you. [Thanks, Dominick]
Motorola: all our high-end smartphones will have Webtop from June onwards
You know how Motorola's Atrix is unique in having all these docking stations and a Webtop app that collectively turn it into a far more versatile computer than your average superpowered smartphone? Well, Sanjay Jha has just told investors at a Morgan Stanley shindig that the Atrix won't be unique for long -- the Webtop app will be making an appearance on all of Moto's "high performance" smartphones in the second half of this year, and we're told that the only reason the Droid Bionic won't be shipping with it was the simple constraint of time. What that implies, but something Jha didn't say, is that the Bionic and Moto's other forthcoming devices are likely to have laptop docks of their own -- hopefully with a connector that makes the docking accessory interchangeable between models.
Verizon CEO claims Apple LTE products are coming, doesn't specify when
Dan Mead, Lowell McAdam's successor at the helm of Verizon Wireless, has told the Wall Street Journal that we'll "see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it." No further details were forthcoming from the chief exec, such as timing and the particular shape of Apple's participation in Verizon's LTE plans, but at least we now have an indication that Cupertino is actively working toward 4G connectivity. Mead's comments came as part of an interview discussing the iPhone 4's launch on his network, which has already seen the device bust through Verizon's opening sales record. Notably, at the actual launch of that phone, Tim Cook said an LTE version of the iPhone would have required too many compromises, so we suspect those compromises are exactly what Apple's working on right now.
HP CEO says company is taking 'too long to get to market' with innovations, we wholeheartedly agree
Leo Apotheker, HP's successor to the infamous Mark Hurd, has sat down for a chat with the Wall Street Journal recently, and while most of it is innocuous corporate-speak -- "we need to fire up our innovation engine" -- there was one quote that piqued our interest. The new chief believes HP needs to get its products to market faster, rejecting Sam Palmisano's suggestion that HP has lost its innovative touch and insisting that his company's weakness has been in just not getting the products out to store shelves quickly enough. Of course, you could say that that's an error HP is repeating again with the launch of its new webOS devices -- the TouchPad, the Pre 3 and the Veer -- none of which are expected to arrive before this spring. However, to be fair to Apotheker, he's still relatively new to the job and these words from him could well signal a change for the better in future product cycles. Full interview at the source.
Nokia smartphone market share shrinks to 31 percent, operating profit takes a beating too
Stephen Elop's first quarterly results as Nokia CEO have just come out, and while the company's still growing, others seem to be speeding ahead of it. Nokia's reporting its converged mobile devices (smartphones, to you and us) reached volumes of 28.3 million during Q4 2010, which is a neat bump from 20.8 million at the same time last year and 26.5 million in the previous quarter. However, in the context of the broader smartphone marketplace, that figure now amounts to only a 31 percent share, according to Nokia's own estimates, which is a major dip relative to its 40 percent slice in Q4 2009 and 38 percent in Q3 2010. Elop's perspective on the matter is as follows: "In Q4 we delivered solid performance across all three of our businesses, and generated outstanding cash flow. Additionally, growth trends in the mobile devices market continue to be encouraging. Yet, Nokia faces some significant challenges in our competitiveness and our execution. In short, the industry changed, and now it's time for Nokia to change faster." When your operating profit goes from €1.47b (€950m net) a year ago to €1.09b (€745m net) this year, the response should indeed be to change and to change fast. Nokia's still not disclosing sales figures of the N8, but given that this was the first full reporting period where the company's Symbian flagship has been on sale, it doesn't seem to have had quite the impact Espoo will have hoped for. Wanna try again with the N9? Update: Nokia's investor relations call has borne a few more interesting tidbits from the new man in charge. Elop is quoted as saying Nokia must "build or join a competitive ecosystem," with the latter verb in that sentence sure to renew discussions of why the Finnish company should / shouldn't switch to an OS such as Android or Windows Phone 7. We still think that'll be the very last resort over in Espoo, but Elop apparently believes Nokia has the brand recognition and operator relationships to make such a move if it wanted to. Which of course it doesn't. Or does it? Let's wait for Nokia's Strategy and Financial Briefing in London on February 11th -- Mr. Elop's expected to be a lot more specific about his company's roadmap going forward on that day.
Verizon CEO: 4G can be a 'substitute' for home internet and cable, will accelerate cord cutting
Sometimes, you have to wonder if these CEO types are being paid the big bucks just because they can believe their own outlandish claims. Latest to try and push the boundaries of credulity is Verizon's Ivan Seidenberg, who told an investor conference that he sees the company's newly unveiled 4G offering as becoming a "modest substitute" for premium home entertainment services as offered by cable and online streaming companies. He concedes that for now VZW's new LTE network will be viewed as an addition, rather than a replacement, to our connected world, but, over time, Seidenberg expects that its presence will be enough to convince more people to cut the cord. Perhaps those who'll find the $50 per 5GB levy easiest to swallow will be people with no cord at all -- the folks in rural areas for whom wired broadband isn't yet an option. As to the rest of us, we'll just wait until the economics start to look a tiny bit more appealing. Update: Speaking of economics, Fierce Wireless has another disclosure from the same conference. On the topic of LTE smartphone plans, Ivan said Verizon is still undecided on pricing, but he sees 10GB a month as the "floor of what people will do," going on to say that Verizon must "hold firm as best we can until the entire environment is mature enough." Listen to the webcast of his speech at the link below.
