Leading PC suppliers announce Windows 8 devices

Leading PC suppliers announce Windows 8 devices

Several leading PC suppliers, including HP, Dell, Asus, Toshiba and Sony, have announced products from laptops to smartphones that will run Microsoft’s newest operating system Windows 8, expected to be released in October.

Windows 8 supports the use of touchscreen technology and many of the new products announced are hybrid devices, combining tablet and laptop capability in one. 

HP announced a hybrid device, the Envy x2, which doubles as a notebook and a tablet by using a detachable touchscreen.

Dell’s offering is branded under its XPS range. Products include the XPS Duo 12, a hybrid laptop and tablet with a flip-hinge touchscreen display allowing the device to be used as a touch-driven slate as well as a traditional laptop. Dell also announced the 10-inch XPS 10 tablet, which will run the Windows RT version of the operating system (OS).

Toshiba has introduced its Satellite U920T, a tablet with a slide-out keyboard running Windows 8. Sony’s Vaio Duo 11 is a touchscreen tablet that also features a small keyboard which users slide to unveil.

Asus launched a number of devices in June, which also run Windows 8, including the Vivo range with a detachable keyboard, and the Taichi device which has a double-sided display and acts as a tablet when the lid of the laptop is closed.

Lenovo also announced a series of Windows 8 devices. Lenovo’s products are traditional laptops which are not hybrid or touch screen, however the S Series laptops will feature Windows 8 functionality once available this Autumn.

Seeing the big players announcing  products on the highly anticipated operating system is encouraging, but it won’t necessarily convince businesses to upgrade, according to Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at Quocirca.

“OS upgrades don’t happen quickly based on hardware, they tend to move based on software decisions. More often, if a piece of software isn’t going to be supported on a new OS, that pulls people forward to upgrade," he said.

“Businesses will like the direction Microsoft is going in, with mobile and desktop looking a lot closer and happier together, which it hasn’t in the past. This will be seen as encouraging but not enough to switch or upgrade.”

Microsoft’s two-pronged desktop and mobile approach puts the firm in a much better position than Blackberry and Android-based devices to compete with Apple in the growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, said Bamforth.

But he is not convinced that hybrid devices will take off in the enterprise market: “It’s not necessarily about replacing a specific device, but a way of working. It’s about how people work and how people are comfortable," he said.

“I’m not convinced by the transformer-type model. Tablets with detachable keyboards which can be left behind rather than forced to carry around, will take off more than the flip-type models. There are more usage scenarios where you don’t need a keyboard all the time - and people who do might just stick with a laptop.”

Acer sees sales stall

Acer sees sales stall

Acer saw sales stalll in its second quarter, down 2.2% compared to the first three months of the year.

The Taiwanese company said it didn’t expect revenue to pick up until its fourth quarter.

But Acer will start shipping products for the launch of Microsoft Windows 8 in August and September, therefore anticipates revenues to rebound, and consequently expects third quarter revenues to be about the same as the second quarter, said the company.

The company also said a one-time tax settlement of NT$410m affected its income.

The news follows record sales from Chinese rival Lenovo, which saw a  44% year-over-year in its latest results.

Andrew Buss, service director analyst at Freeform Dynamics said the results reflect a tumultuous last few years at the company.

“Acer had a policy of pile it high and sell it cheap, which worked in the boom time but when the downturn happened it was  left with a lot of stock it had to write off,” he said.

“Also the lower end of the market, which it has typically targeted, has cannibalised by things like iPad, as people look to purchase tablets instead of netbook and lower cost PCs.  

“Alternatively Lenovo has focused on the mid- to upper end of the market and only recently moved into the consumer space.”

Buss said Acer should see an increase in sales with the release of Windows 8, but shouldn’t rely on that as a long-term strategy to improve sales.

Microsoft reports first loss since 1986

Microsoft reports first loss since 1986

Microsoft reported its first operating loss since the company went public, during its results call last night.

The software giant made some revenue gains in the fourth quarter of 2012, rising 4% year-on-year to $18.06bn, but it also reported an operating loss of $492m, equivalent to $0.06 per share.

The main culprit for the loss was online advertising service aQuantive. Microsoft bought the firm back in 2007 for $6.3bn in an attempt to compete against Google’s massive advertising revenues, but the acquisition never paid off and the company suffered a write-down of almost $6.2bn for the impairment of goodwill – touting the business as more profitable than it was.

On top of this, Microsoft also had to defer $540m of revenue related to an upgrade offer on its Windows operating system (OS), again leaving it out of pocket.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, did not want to dwell on the figures showing the first loss for the company in 26 years, but wanted to reassure investors the launch of Windows 8 in October would put the firm back on track.

“We’re fast approaching the most exciting launch season in Microsoft history,” he said. “Over the coming year, we’ll release the next versions of Windows, Office, Windows Server, Windows Phone, and many other products and services that will drive our business forward and provide unprecedented opportunity to our customers and partners.”

Peter Klein, chief financial officer (CFO) at Microsoft, added: “We are focusing our resources in strategic areas that will deliver shareholder value and long-term growth opportunities.”

Although the Windows and Windows Live divisions suffered, other areas within Microsoft shone during the quarter. The server and tools business grew by 13%, due to more sales of its SQL Server and System Center products.

“Our enterprise business is firing on all cylinders and we couldn’t be more excited about the wave of innovation and new releases that position us well for the coming years,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer (COO) at Microsoft.

Microsoft confirms Windows 8 OS release in October

Microsoft has confirmed its Windows 8 operating system (OS) will launch in October.

The announcement was made at the company’s worldwide partner conference by Windows CFO Tami RellerReller also confirmed the RTM version of the OS would be ready for August.

For those looking to buy a PC or laptop running the current Windows 7 OS, Reller confirmed they would be able to update to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, said the OS was a key part of what he called the most important year for Microsoft, beating even the founding of the company or the launch of the PC.

“This year is really unparalleled,” Ballmer said. “The core of Microsoft is reinventing itself for the modern era. It will be the best year ever.”

The launch date also revealed when the first Microsoft Surface tablet will hit the shelves, as the ARM-based model is set to be released at the same time Windows 8 goes to market.

However, Ballmer didn’t make any huge predictions for tablet sales, claiming that, of the 375 million PCs he expected to ship with the latest OS, only “a few million” copies would be running on the portable devices.

Focus has now turned to the Office announcement due tonight, which is likely to be an updated version of the productivity suite.