White iPhone 4 available at Apple Online Store

After an extended period of downtime, the white iPhone 4 is now available in Apple Online Store. The device should also become available in Apple retail stores as well as AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores and at select Apple authorized resellers.

The price and functionality of the white iPhone 4 is exactly the same as the black version, but the thrill of finally having the often delayed device should be enough to prompt quite a few customers to spend their hard-earned cash. Bear in mind that the shipping time for the black iPhone 4 is "within 24 hours," while the white version ships in "3-5 business days."

Nokia to slash 7000 jobs worldwide

Nokia Corp. said it will slash 7,000 jobs worldwide, through both layoffs and outsourcing, as it strives to cut costs and catch up with its top rivals in the smartphone market.

Most of the 4,000 layoffs, due by the end of 2012, will be in Denmark, Finland and Britain. It also plans to transfer 3,000 workers in China, Finland, India, Britain and the United States to Accenture PLC as it outsources Symbian platform operations to the global management-consulting firm, in a major shift of strategy.

The announcements came as the world's top cellphone maker seeks to cut operating expenses by euro1 billion ($1.5 billion) by 2013 amid fierce competition that has seen its market share plunge and its profits plummet.

Markets had been eagerly expecting signals about company policy from Nokia's new CEO Stephen Elop since he took over in September and even more so since the Feb. 11 announcement that Nokia and Microsoft Corp. were teaming up to challenge rivals such as Research in Motion, Apple Inc. and Google.

The announcements came as Nokia, which has 13,000 employees in Finland but indirectly provides work for more than 20,000 people, had called workers for company briefings in several cities.

Elop said that none of the employees will lose their jobs this year, and that the personnel transfers would be made "over time."

Recently, Nokia has faced stiff competition from Research in Motion's Blackberry, Apple's iPhone and Google's Android at the top end of the market, as well as feeling the pinch from numerous Asian handset makers that produce cheaper phones in emerging markets.

It has been the world's largest handset maker since 1998, selling 432 million devices last year - more than its three closest rivals combined. But its market share continues to fall, to 29 percent in this year's first quarter - its lowest level since the late 1990s.

Even more damaging has been Nokia's inability to meet the challenges of new smartphones, a field where it used to be the leading innovator.

Today, the iPhone has set the standard for smartphones while BlackBerrys have become the favorite of the corporate set. And on the software front, Android has emerged as the top choice for phone makers that want to challenge the iPhone.

According to industry experts, Nokia's future depends a lot on the success of its partnership with Microsoft and the type of phone they launch, expected late this year or in 2012.

The Espoo-based company, near Helsinki, employs 132,500 people - 7 percent more than a year ago.

HTC Flyer Tablet Priced at $499

The 7-inch Android tablet, HTC's Flyer goes up for pre-order in Best Buy stores. The tablet will cost $499 for a 16 GB model with Wi-Fi, but there's no firm release date. For now, Best Buy is going ahead with a vague timeline of "later this spring." A 4G model will launch on Sprint this summer as the HTC Evo View.

The Flyer's claim to fame is an optional pen-HTC calls it the "Scribe"-that doesn't quite behave like a stylus. The Scribe isn't used for navigation, but for marking up web pages and creating handwritten notes. A built-in notebook app allows the user to record audio. Eventually, HTC will open up Scribe to third-party developers who want to add notation to their own apps. No word on HTC Scribe pricing just yet.

It's a neat-sounding feature that distracts somewhat from the Flyer's potential drawbacks. Instead of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the Flyer will ship with Android 2.4 and tablet optimizations through HTC's Sense interface although HTC's Flyer only matches it. The Flyer is also a bit chunky, at 0.51 inches thick.

Best Buy is taking pre-orders for HTC Flyer at $499.

Sony enters tablet PC market with S1, S2

Sony launched its first tablet computers in an ambitious attempt to grab the No.2 spot from Samsung in a fast-growing market dominated by Apple's year-old iPad.

The gadgets, based on Google's Android 3.0 operating system, could be some of the Japanese company's most important new products since the Playstation game console made its debut in 1994.

Sony, also the inventor of the Walkman and once a symbol of Japan's high-tech, is now struggling to come up with hit devices and improve profit margins as it competes with Apple, Samsung Electronics and Nintendo.

Sony's tablets join more than 100 iPad challengers based on Android, and may struggle to differentiate themselves, although Sony does have the advantage of being able to link the tablets to its gaming and entertainment offerings.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab is Apple's strongest competitor while Motorola, LG Electronics and HTC are flooding the market with tablets running Android.

Sony's black, glossy devices, code-named S1 and S2, will be the first tablets to enable the use of PlayStation games.

Sony is banking on the unusual, off-center design of the S1 and access to first generation PlayStation games and its other networked content to differentiate the products from the flood of tablets in the market.

RIM has priced its PlayBook to match the iPad, has struggled to win consumer fans since launching the device last week. Hewlett-Packard Co unveiled its entrant in the tablet race in February.

Sony's tablets will be WiFi and 3G/4G compatible. S1 has a 9.4-inch display and a curved design that Sony said makes it easier to hold for long periods of time. The S2 has two 5.5-inch displays in a clamshell design.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 available for $450 at Best Buy

Acer's Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet has arrived on schedule, bringing an interesting array of features for a very competitive price.

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 features a 10.1-inch screen 1280×800 TFT WXGA screen, an Nvidia Tegra 250 1GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of flash storage with the possibility of extending the storage capacity up to 32 GB via a Micro-SD card. It's got a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front one for video chats, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a USB 2.0 port and a battery that should last around 10 hours if you're using the device for browsing the web.

While those specifications sound very similar to those of another Android 3.0 tablet, the Motorola Xoom, Acer's tablet does have the advantage of a brushed aluminum back and a much lower price.

The Acer Iconia Tab is available at Best Buy for $450..

T-Mobile launches new Android phones: LG G2x and Samsung Sidekick 4G

T-Mobile is in full-swing, as they recently launched two new Android smartphones, the LG G2x and the Samsung Sidekick 4G as well as a tablet, the LG-Slate.

The Sidekick 4G is the first edition of the handset to be powered by Android (2.2) and features a 3.5-inch display with a forward-facing camera and a 3-megapixel on its rear. The Sidekick also has Cloud Text, in which users can access their text messages via phone or PC.

After a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract with unlimited data, the handset costs about $100, but for those who opt for the two-year contract and go with a lower-end data plan will have to pay $149.99.

As for the LG G2X, you can buy it from Amazon Wireless for $149, or any T-Mobile retailer. It’s described as long and lean and the touchscreen measures in at 4-inches. The front camera is 1.3 megapixels and an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash are on the rear of the smartphone.

Amazon selling HTC ThunderBolt for $129.99

The mobile division of Amazon is currently selling the HTC ThunderBolt 4G for $129.99 to all new customers who sign up for a plan on Verizon. Those looking to upgrade and renew their contract aren’t as fortunate. The renewal price is $199.99. Those who are interested will have to act fast. It expires at midnight on Monday, April 25.

The ThunderBolt, which normally retails for $249.99, is the first phone on Verizon to take advantage of the carrier’s new 4G LTE network. It has performed very well, selling 260,000 units in its first two weeks on the market. We have no complaints about the Android device except for its battery, which tends to drain very quickly due to the demands of Verizon’s 4G network.

IBM tailors BPM Software for Small Business

IBM has customized its new BPM (business process management) software to help small and midsized organizations set up their own automated workflows just like big businesses do.

Most BPM tools "are built for thousands of users and to run across multiple servers, and so they can get complex and expensive. This software addresses the BPM need in the mid-market," said Ron Kline, an IBM director for marketing to small and midsized businesses. "It fits the need for a midsized company, without it being too lightweight."

The software is based on the recently revamped enterprise BPM software IBM launched earlier this month, called Business Process Manager.

The standard edition of Business Process Manager combined two of IBM's previous BPM offerings, the WebSphere Process Server and IBM WebSphere Lombardi Edition. IBM obtained the latter when it purchased Lombardi last year.

This Express edition offers the same capabilities, though its usage is limited to four CPUs, 200 users and three "authors," or administrators who build the processes, Kline said.

BPM software is designed to automate routine business processes, such as hiring help or tracking shipments.

The new software is "departmentally oriented," Kline said. "You wouldn't use this software like a large enterprise would to track multiple processes across your entire business process."

Instead, this software could accommodate a handful of processes. Organizations can upgrade to the standard edition should they require larger deployments. The standard edition has no user limit and can be clustered across multiple servers.

Express is different from IBM's Blueworks Live, another lightweight IBM BPM offering, in that its processes can be coupled with back-office systems, such as CRM (customer relationship management) software.

This software could be used to automate simple processes such as filing and submitting expense reports, Kline said. Instead of having employees fill out spreadsheets and e-mail them to their supervisors to be approved, an organization could use this software to automatically shuttle the employee's expense data, once filled out, to the supervisor for approval, and then submit the approved data to the appropriate financial system.

BPM Express is available directly from IBM and through its partners. The price for the software itself starts at US$600 per author and $120 per user. An average deployment for about 200 users would cost around $25,000, Kline said.

Sony Delays Launch of 3D Camcorder

Sony is delaying the launch of its 3D Handycam video camera by roughly a month due to difficulty securing parts following the March 11 earthquake in Japan.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami halted factories and disrupted the distribution networks and supply chains on which Japanese electronics makers rely. For Sony, the knock-on effect of this disruption has been a shortage of at least one component for the new camcorders.

The camcorder was previously due to launch this month, but will now be available in Japan from May 13. Revised launch dates for other markets were not immediately available from the company's headquarters in Tokyo.

The HDR-T10 Handycam was first unveiled at January's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is distinctive for its dual lenses. Behind the lenses are dual image sensors and processors, which add to the complexity and bulk of the camcorder but, according to Sony, result in a superior picture compared to single-lens 3D camcorders.

Other features include a screen that shows 3D images without the need for special glasses. In the U.S., the camcorder will cost around US$1,500.

It's the second Sony group announcement this week of quake-related disruptions to product plans. On Tuesday, Sony Ericsson said it faces difficulty obtaining some parts for high-end cell phones due to the earthquake. As a result, supplies of its flagship Xperia Arc, Xperia Play and Xperia Neo phones will be affected in the current quarter.

Apple sues Samsung for copying product designs

According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal, Apple has sued Samsung for copying the iPad, iPod and iPhone with its Galaxy Tab and Galaxy handsets. The lawsuit says, Samsung has copied the designs of the Apple products with some of it’s leading smartphones (Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Nexus S), as well as the Galaxy Tab touchscreen tablet.

Samsung copied Apple technologies, designs and even packaging with its Google Android-based products, according to a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple’s action against Samsung includes trademark infringement claims, as well as a plethora of patent claims. Apple is seeking a jury trial in the case.

"Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple's innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple's valuable intellectual property rights," Apple said in the complaint.

Late last year, Samsung became the first major consumer electronics maker to roll out a tablet to compete with the iPad. It is also one of the world's largest makers of mobile phones, especially handsets that use Android.

The complaint includes 10 charges of patent infringement, two of trademark violation and two of trade dress violations, plus unjust enrichment and unfair business practices. Apple named Samsung Electronics, Samsung America and Samsung Telecommunications America as defendants. The case was filed at the district court in San Francisco but is being transferred to Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler at the court's Oakland, California, location.

The allegations span a broad range of Samsung's mobile devices, including the Epic 4G, Captivate, Indulge, Nexus S and Galaxy S 4G smartphones as well as the Galaxy Tab. Apple singled out the Galaxy product line for criticism.

"The copying is so pervasive, that the Samsung Galaxy products appear to be actual Apple products - with the same rectangular shape with rounded corners, silver edging, a flat surface face with substantial top and bottom black borders, gently curving edges on the back, and a display of colorful square icons with rounded corners," the complaint said.

Apple wants an injunction to stop Samsung's alleged intellectual property violations, along with actual and punitive damages, Samsung's "wrongfully obtained profits" and funds for corrective advertising about the allegedly confusing products.

A particularly interesting part of this legal action centers on the fact that Apple devices incorporate a number of components made by none other than Samsung. And even as recently as February it was being reported that Apple would be spending a whopping $7.8 billion on Samsung parts. It seems that Apple would prefer it if Samsung stuck to making components rather than complete devices.

RIM PlayBook hits market with an app deficit

Research In Motion’s PlayBook is starting off with a definite apps deficit as it hits the market Tuesday. It will only have 3,000 apps vs. the hundreds of thousands available for the iPad from Apple. Omar El Akkad reports in The Globe and Mail: “Apple’s iPad can make use of the hundreds of thousands of apps built for the smaller iPhone. But PlayBook owners won’t be able to use even the much smaller number of BlackBerry apps until RIM has a fix ready this summer.” He said RIM will enable PlayBook users to run apps designed for competing tablets from Google’s Android operating system this summer. “The move means an infusion of tens of thousands of apps for the PlayBook,” he said. Farhad Manjoo points out other issues in Slate: “Reviewers who have gotten early access to the PlayBook have been almost universally puzzled by how half-baked it is. In its current form, the PlayBook doesn't include any apps to access your email, calendar and address book. To get those things, you've got to have a BlackBerry phone, too.” He describes this approach as nothing less than insane and a sign of a company “circling the drain.” He said RIM’s co-CEOs have been “comically incoherent about their plans for the future” as its share of the smartphone market has been gobbled. RIM, based in Waterloo, Canada, seems to have taken on a bunker mentality. They’re not feeling the love. Mike Lazaridis, “the brain behind the BlackBerry,” is taking a leaf from the boys over at South Park who sang in the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: “Blame Canada.” El Akkad said: “Lazaridis is proud of his role in turning this – RIM, the city of Waterloo, the university, the institutes – into a hotbed of innovation. But he is bothered, too, because he believes people don’t understand how much all of this is really worth. “Maybe we’re just not good at promoting ourselves. Maybe that’s the Canadian way.” He said that he and fellow CEO, Jim Balsillie, perhaps should have moved the company to Silicon Valley instead of remaining “loyal patriots” to the Great White North. PlayBook will show whether RIM has a second act in its playbook following its success with BlackBerry in the corporate and government markets, and whether it can penetrate a consumer market created by and dominated by Apple. El Akkad said, “It’s an audacious strategy. If it succeeds, RIM just might regain the ground it has lost in the smartphone market, while finding new sources of revenue. But if the strategy fails, then arguably so does RIM. At the very least, it would relegate it to No. 3 status for a long time to come, a poor cousin to Apple and Google – two companies that five years ago were not even in RIM’s business of wireless communications.”

Gigabyte to launch Dual-boot Windows-Android Tablet

Taiwanese motherboard maker Gigabyte Technology will come out with two Android tablets later this year, including one that can also run Windows, and a Windows 8 tablet next year, the company senior vice president has said. Those tablets follow the release of Gigabyte's S1080, a heavy tablet that runs Windows 7 Home Premium. The Gigabyte tablets will enter an increasingly crowded tablet market, as makers from Apple to obscure white-box brands launch new models this year. Gigabyte tablets due by July will come in two screen sizes, 7 inches and 10 inches, said Senior Vice President Richard Ma. The larger ones will run Google's Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS, which was designed expressly for tablets, and the smaller ones will run the older Android 2.2 system. Android 3.0 better supports bigger screens, whereas Android 2.x was designed for mobile phones. Another line of Gigabyte tablets, due in October, will be able to run either Windows 7 or Android, letting users choose when they start up the machine. That would give something to both casual Internet users who prefer Android and to business users who find Windows more compatible with Microsoft Office software. Gigabyte has not decided which Android version to use. Although Android users can use tablets to read documents, compatible tablet software seldom allows editing those files and therefore the system does not appeal to business users. Both the tablets release in July and in October will use Intel Atom processors but not include USB ports. They will sell for less than US$400 per unit, he said. He would not release other specifications, saying they had not been finalized. Gigabyte will also begin developing a Windows 8 tablet by the end of the year. That tablet will be on the market in the final quarter of 2012, possibly using an ARM processor. Microsoft demonstrated an early build of Internet Explorer 10 running on an ARM chip at the Mix11 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, and has said that the next version of Windows will work on ARM processors as well as those based on the x86 architecture. "Everyone is hoping that Windows 8 will support ARM," Ma said. If ARM and Windows don't work together by late next year then, the tablet due on the market then will use an Intel x86 processor, Ma said. He did not give detailed specifications for the planned Windows 8 tablet. Gigabyte, not a household name in many developed markets, will sell tablets and notebook computers through B2C e-commerce channels to cut retail costs. But the tablets are more likely to gain a following in developing markets, said Michael Clendenin, managing director of RedTech Advisors in Shanghai.