Exclusive Interview
Exclusive Interview ultrabook satelLite The ultrabook concept addresses many increasingly popular mobile usage scenarios which are rapidly becoming part of daily life, and with the new Satellite U940 Toshiba is offering these premium benefits to the broadest possible audience. The U940 provides the convenience and mobility of an Ultrabook, but is competitively positioned to widen the appeal of the concept. In addition to that, Toshiba is highlighting the world’s first 21:9 widescreen Ultrabook, the Satellite U840W. This enables users to enjoy full-screen multimedia consumption in a cinematic format, with the additional pleasure of an impressive Harman Kardon sound. The Satellite U840W also incorporates Toshiba’s unique split-screen technology which allows users to organise up to nine different areas on the wide screen featuring user-defined content. Alternatively there is the possibility of a situation where you are running an office application, and have a social media application open on the same screen. “Our engineering expertise allowed us to develop the perfect device for mobile content consumption and creation. ” New Forms, New Experiences Toshiba is positioning itself on the interface between CE and IT Tim Jaekel, Head of Product Marketing B2C at Toshiba Europe tells IFA International what products and innovations the company is highlighting at IFA 2012... We are showing our entire range, but we are specifically highlighting products that provide new user experiences and products with new form factors. We are especially excited about our Satellite U920t which unites the Ultrabook concept with the world of tablets. Our engineering expertise allowed us to develop the perfect device for mobile content consumption and creation. That means it has the slim beauty of a fully featured ultrabook, the practicality of converting into a tablet and all the new intuitive touch functionality of Windows 8. You mentioned touch screens earlier in connection with the U920t, to what degree is Toshiba implementing touch in other products? Touch is very important as a natural and intuitive user interface. So we are increasingly integrating touch screens into our lineup. There are two products I would highlight that we are showing at IFA in addition to the U920t: the Toshiba LX830 and the Satellite P845. The Toshiba LX830 is our 23” all-in-one PC which really benefits from the easy touch navigation of Windows 8. Two complementary qualities, the design and a touch screen, mean that the LX830 can be used as a device in any part of the home, either as a traditional home office PC, or as a device in the kitchen where touch allows you to control an entertainment hub as well as a daily lifeorganiser. The Satellite P845 is a 14” premium product combining portability with high-media performance coming from a powerful GPU, Harman Kardon speakers, and the full range of connectivity. It is enhanced by touch which brings more intuitive handling of content to a laptop. How important is IT/ CE "convergence" as we move forward? Tim Jaekel Head of Product Marketing B2C at Toshiba Europe This is an ever evolving trend. I have mentioned our cinematic Ultrabook already, but also accessing and sharing content across devices is one of the key themes of our booth under the motto ‘be inspired, be connected’. We are showing wireless connection between tablets, laptops and TVs. So whether it is accessing content from the cloud, or moving and sharing content across the devices, this is an increasingly common activity in daily life, and we are demonstrating how we have enabled this in our devices. Hall 21 Stand 101 16
Exclusive Interview E Hao E Hao, Chief Sales Officer, TCL Multimedia, joined TCL in 2004 as the assistant to Mr. Li Dongsheng, Chairman of TCL. He was then put in charge of sales and marketing for emerging markets, and following on from his success in this role, he was put in charge of Europe, North America and China for Global sales and Marketing of TCL Multimedia. SHENZEN FACTORY DELIVERS VERTICAL INTEGRATION E Hao, Chief Sales Officer of TCL Multimedia says that speed is a necessity in the global market place and vertical integration is an important criterion for improving speed and efficiency. "LCD TVs are very different from the old CRT sets in that the panel make up about 50% of the entire TV set. It is therefore a must to own and operate your own panel production plant to achieve ultimate competitiveness," says Hao. "Market leaders such as Sony and Panasonic are vertically integrated operations and the Shenzen China Star Gen 8 factory gives us the potential to realise our goal of becoming one of the top end leaders." IFA'S DUAL ROLE IN TCL'S MARKETING STRATEGY "IFA is important for us. It plays two vital roles in our marketing strategy. To showcase our products, messages and ideas. It also gives us an opportunity to learn from the brand leaders such as Samsung and Sony to see what the trends are for the entire TV industry. That helps us to plan for the future," says E Hao, Chief Sales Officer of TCL Multimedia. "At IFA we saw clearly how the South Koreans surpassed the Japanese in the past 5-10 years and now you can see that the Chinese players are getting stronger and stronger. IFA helps us to position ourselves in the global industry." Speeding Past the Competition The new TCL iCE SCREEN appeals to a younger market iCE SCREEN is the world's first large screen mobile entertainment smart cloud product and epitomises TCL's targeting of a younger market. E Hao, Chief Sales Officer of TCL Multimedia says that together with the development of affordable innovative products, it is speed that gives a vital edge in a turbulent and ever more competitive global marketplace... [ Interview by Mark Dezzani ] Speed is the most important element in the CE industry today, especially in the TV market where competition is very strong. Speed differentiates TCL from our competitors who we believe are not as fast at reacting to market trends as we are. "Speed is a necessity in the global market place and vertical integration is an important criterion for improving speed and efficiency." Speed is applied throughout all of our operations from product design through to marketing and gives us a vital competitive edge and greater efficiency. We are the fastest growing CE company in China, the leader in our domestic market and on a global scale, the leading Chinese brand. Last year we manufactured over 10 million LCD TV sets and we are expecting double digit growth this year. Whilst the global TV market is experiencing single digit growth, we are looking at 50% growth this year. Can you give an example of a new product that encapsulates the TCL brand motto of 'Affordable Innovation'? The TCL brand is targeting the younger generation and a breakthrough technology for us is the iCE SCREEN, a joint venture with Tencent, the leading Chinese integrated ISP. It is the world's first large screen mobile entertainment smart cloud product with four core applications; a large portable screen; a high-speed video player; a stylish music and photo album and HD video communications - offering consumers the ultimate 3C (Communication, Computer and Consumer electronics) experience. The younger generation are now used to surfing the web and watching video in a mobile environment via the small screens of smart phones and tablets. The iCE SCREEN has a large 26" screen but it is very light and portable with no TV tuner and all of its functions coming from the Internet via cloud technology. It has a rotary hanger that enables viewing in both horizontal or vertical mode. More and more video is being shot on mobile devices in the vertical mode and video shot this way looks fantastic on this large mobile screen. How is the TCL product strategy for Europe progressing? Since our licensing of the Thomson TV brand in 2004, after an initial difficult period, we have been leveraging the brand equity of Thomson and differentiating the Thomson and TCL brands in Europe. Jens Heithecker Executive Director, IFA E Hao Chief Sales Officer, TCL Multimedia "Speed is the most important element in the CE industry today." Thomson is the traditional TV brand for households with a family image. TCL is targeted as a younger more fashionable brand. The product design, packaging and marketing for each of the brands in Europe is very different. Affordable innovation is also at the heart of our product strategy for Europe. Following on from the launch of Smart TVs we have now upgraded to the Cloud TV market. We have an upgraded version of 3D TVs using multi-view technology and a 'Family Function' that enables a husband to watch a football match whilst his wife can watch a soap opera on the same screen at the same time. Hall 21 Stand 104 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Tuesday 4 th September 2012 17
