HP announces two new Android & Windows 8 Tablets

HP has announced the Android-powered SlateBook x2 and the Windows-powered Split x2. The SlateBook x2 is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200-pixel display and a new 1.8GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. The tablet also features 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a rear-camera capable of 1080p video recording, an SD card slot, HDMI-out, a USB port and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

The Split x2 is equipped with a 13.3-inch 1366 x 768-pixel display and has the option of an Intel i3 or i5 processor. The device is powered by Windows 8 and also features an 8-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM, a micro SD reader, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, an SD card slot, HDMI-out and up to 128GB of internal solid state storage as well as a 500GB hard disk drive.

Both devices SlateBook x2 and Split x2 include a keyboard dock with an extra battery that is similar to the ASUS Transformer series. The devices will be available in August.

HP to offer webOS mobile software to developers

Hewlett Packard Co has decided to open its webOS mobile operating system to developers and companies, potentially taking on Google Inc's free Android platform that is popular with handset makers.

HP, which acquired webOS in a $1.2 billion purchase of Palm in 2010, had been trying to figure out how to recoup its investment after a failed foray into the smartphone and tablet market.

HP Chief Executive Meg Whitman said the company looked at a number of options for webOS, including a sale and shut down of the division.

The technology giant will make webOS available under an open source licensing agreement, but it has still not hashed out the terms of the licensing deal it plans to offer.

There are a number of open source projects that can be used as examples for deciding the structure of licensing, including Android and browser Mozilla.

The company plans to solicit ideas from developers before deciding on the licensing terms, Whitman said.

Whitman also said HP may get back into the consumer tablet market in 2013 but it will not be making any more smartphones.

The future of webOS had been in limbo since August after HP killed its flagship webOS-based TouchPad tablet following poor sales.

While Google has the world's most-used mobile system with over 550,000 devices activated every day, HP's webOS could be an alternative to companies apprehensive that the Web search giant may compete with them directly in the smartphone handset market through its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility.

The webOS platform, which had been HP-only software, is widely viewed as a strong mobile platform, but has been criticized for having few applications - an important consideration while choosing a mobile device.

Most developers prefer to work on Apple Inc's iOS or Google's Android because both are on millions of devices - unlike webOS.

HP has not revealed its plans for any mobile hardware after the TouchPad was killed.

Lenovo becomes world's second largest PC maker, HP on top

Chinese computer maker Lenovo moved up a place to become the world’s second largest PC maker, according to figures released for the third quarter. Dell dropped from second to third place.

Separate figures released by research firms Gartner and IDC on Wednesday had Hewlett-Packard (HP) remaining in top spot in terms of PC market share. Gartner’s figures showed HP as having 17.7 percent share of the market in the third quarter, Lenovo 13.5 percent and Dell 11.6 percent.

Despite selling the most PCs, HP’s new CEO, Meg Whitman, said last week that a decision would be made by the end of this month on whether the company will stay in the PC business – a business which, despite healthy sales for the California-based company, isn’t proving to be a particularly big money-spinner.

A look at the overall figures for worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter shows growth of 3.6 percent on those of a year ago, said IDC, falling slightly short of the firm’s projections.

Gartner, which reported a similarly low growth rate, said that the growing popularity of devices such as tablets was a factor. The global recession also meant consumers were being more careful about how they spent their money.

However, IDC senior research analyst Jay Chou believes sales will pick up next year as updated laptop models with extra features are brought to market.

Among the top five PC vendors, both Gartner and IDC showed Beijing-based Lenovo as experiencing strong growth on the same quarter a year ago, at 25.2 percent and 36.1 percent respectively. Taiwan-based Asus, the fifth biggest PC maker, also showed strong growth. HP’s growth was less impressive, with both research firms putting it at just 5.3 percent.

Despite Acer’s poor showing, the figures demonstrate to some extent the growing strength of Chinese companies in the global electronics market. Both research firms pointed out that Lenovo’s strong figures were partly as a result of its purchase of German electronics maker Medion in June and the launch of a joint venture with Japan’s NEC in July, giving it better access to European and Japanese markets.

As for the US PC market, HP remained in top position with regards to market share for the third quarter, while Apple showed the strongest growth.

Apple becomes largest chip buyer

Driven by the success of the iPhone and iPad, Apple Inc. has become the world's largest buyer of chips for computers and phones.

Apple bought $17.5 billion worth of chips last year, surpassing computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. as the largest consumer, IHS iSuppli said. That was an increase of 80 percent from the year before, reflecting Apple's continuing sales surge.

An iPhone contains about $80 worth of chips, according to iSuppli. The chips include the central processor that acts as the brains of the device, radio chips that let it talk to cell towers and the audio chip that converts the owner's voice into a stream of data.

The finding that Apple is the No. 1 buyer cements its standing as a company that has the clout, and the cash, to buy chips and other crucial components such as touchscreens when other companies struggle because of supply constraints.

Apple said in January that it had spent $3.9 billion on long-term contracts to secure supplies for the next two years of a "very strategic" component it wouldn't name. Few other companies are able to commit that much money.

Last summer, high-tech manufacturers were scrambling to buy chips as sales started reviving after the recession and chip-makers had yet to ramp production back up. But Apple reported no chip supply problems; it blamed shortages of iPhones and iPads instead on limited assembly-line capacity.

IPhones and iPads use large amounts of expensive flash memory, accounting for much of Apple's chip consumption. Apple sold 48 million iPhones last year, up 89 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, PC industry sales grew 14 percent, iSuppli said. IPads went on sale for the first time last year.

Samsung, Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. are leading makers of flash memory.

The $17.5 billion figure means more than a third of Apple's "cost of revenue" - expenditures excluding corporate overhead - went toward chip purchases last year.

Samsung Electronics Co., which makes a wide variety of electronics, and PC maker Dell Inc. were the No. 3 and 4 chip buyers. No. 5 is Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of phones. However, its output is dominated by cheap phones that don't use as many or as pricey chips as the iPhone.
ISuppli expects Apple to extend its lead this year by buying chips for $22.4 billion, compared with $14.8 billion at HP.

HP offers 3G Mobile Broadband Service to Business Laptops

Hewlett-Packard said it will start offering pay-as-you-go 3G mobile broadband services for its business laptops as the company looks to package more services with PCs.

HP is offering the DataPass mobile broadband service with its new 3G-enabled Elitebook business laptops, which were also announced on Monday. The service provides access to 3G data networks in the U.S., and does not require a user to sign a monthly or yearly contract with a wireless carrier.

The DataPass service can be purchased easily in blocks through the laptop, and users don't need to pay any activation fee, said Mike Hockey, an HP spokesman. With plans starting at US$5, the service is good for quick access to the Internet for different durations at places like airports or hotels, where Internet access could otherwise be expensive.

Users can buy a US$5 data plan for 75MB of data over 5 hours, $10 for 150MB of data over 3 days, $20 for 450MB of data over 14 days, or $30 for 1GB of data over 30 days.

The service is available in the U.S. only and worldwide availability is being explored. The service is 3G-only, and access to 4G networks is not yet offered through the service.

The service is available only with HP laptops, which could include optional hardware such as a modem to access 3G networks. Software on the laptop shows availability of a DataPass network at the user's location.

The company does not intend to become a telecom service provider, and the service is being provided as a convenience to customers. Users can continue using mobile broadband services from other network providers such as Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile.

The service will be available with new Elitebook business laptops announced by HP on Monday. The laptops provide longer battery life than older models and are equipped with Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors.

The Elitebook 5330m is less than 1 inch (25.4 millimeters) thick and weighs less than four pounds (1.81 kilograms). It includes a 13.3-inch screen and will be available with Intel's latest Core i5 and i3 processors. With a four-cell battery and solid-state drive storage, the laptop can provide up to 6.5 hours of battery life, according to the company. The laptop is priced starting at $799 and will become available worldwide this month.

HP also announced the Elitebook 2560p ultraportable and 2760p convertible tablets. The laptops come with Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors.

The 2560p weighs 3.68 pounds and comes with a 12.5-inch screen, which is the same size as the display on Lenovo's latest ThinkPad X220 tablet that is available since April. The Elitebook 2560p is priced starting at $1,099.

The 2760p is a convertible laptop with a 12.1-inch convertible screen that flips around for users to take notes using a pen input. With a six-cell battery and a hard drive, the laptop provides 8.5 hours of battery life. The laptop will become available worldwide this month starting at $1,499.

HP preparing new versions of EliteBook ultraportables

Materials available from HP’s U.S. and Japanese Web sites indicate computer maker Hewlett-Packard is preparing new versions of its EliteBook ultraportable notebooks, including power-sipping versions of Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and USB 3.0 for fast connectivity to peripherals. Although the EliteBooks have historically been oriented at business and enterprise users, they’ve also been embraced by road warriors and travelers, who value their performance-per-ounce ratio. According to information that’s come out of HP so far, the new EliteBook models - the 2560p and 2760p convertible tablet PC will feature second-generation Intel Core processors, including the Core i5-2537M and Core i7-2617M, matching processors already available in the 15-inch EliteBook model. HP’s ultraportable EliteBooks typically have 12.1-inch displays; however, material on HP’s Japanese site suggests HP might be offering a model with a 13-inch display with up to 1,440 by 900-pixel native resolution. Reports also have the new ultraportable EliteBooks offering integrated 33G connectivity as an option; the current EliteBook 3540p offers 3G service from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint as an option in the United States.