ADVERTORIAL INFORMATION
ADVERTORIAL INFORMATION LIFESTYLEPC'S MONITORS STORAGE COMPONENTS More to the PC Market than the PC THE NEXT GENERATION Intel’s fourth generation core processor goes by the codename Haswell. Haswell marks a number of firsts for Intel, including leadingedge technologies like on-chip voltage regulators, eDRAM, and their first graphics engine that fully supports the DX11.1 specification and OpenGL 4.0. Haswell is primed to offer a considerable performance increase on previous generation core processors. Tablets re-shape the information technology (IT) landscape as the PC records its longest sales dip. Yet the consumer IT area as a whole remains buoyant — monitors continue to surprise, networking and connectivity thrive, personal storage grows, and consumers still covet accessories. Worldwide, PC shipments dropped to 76 million units in the second quarter of 2013, a 10.9% decrease from the same period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of declining shipments — the longest duration of decline in the PC market’s history — as inexpensive tablets displace the low-end machines used primarily for consumption in mature and developed markets. Some industry research companies include tablets as PCs, while others try to create a new category to measure. But no one denies the impact that tablets are having on the consumer IT business. Says Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner: “In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.” ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE RIGHT SCREEN? Bob Raikes of the European Display Market Research specialist, Meko, explains a number of uses for the new generation of displays that consumers may be overlooking. For many users, the monitor on their PC is still the main display that they interact with. However, unless the buyer has been careful in their selection, it may be the screen with the lowest resolution in their day-to-day lives. New phones are better, TVs are often better, and the best tablets are much better. From the panel-maker’s point of view, monitors are still important. In the last quarter, LG Display, the component display side of LG's business, got more revenue from monitor panels than from tablets and smartphones combined – around 20% of their total revenue. The European monitor market is worth around €5bn a year – down a long way from its peak at €13.6bn in 2007, but still a substantial business, and with volumes of around 34 million this year. That's about 100,000 a day across Europe – not a small business. It's worth making sure that the monitor is a good one when 40- 50 hours per week are spent staring at it. Many monitors now have wide viewing angles, mainly using IPS or PLS technology, and without huge cost increases. That means users don't get the horrible changes in contrast and colour of cheaper monitors. Many consumers have been buying other mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Monitors with MHL connectors, can be paired with compatible phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy range), to view content from mobile devices on a large, high quality display. Adding a Bluetooth game controller makes for a pretty good game console. Using a USB or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with a smartphone or tablet creates a very reasonable device for productivity applications such as word processing or spreadsheets. Streaming TV is much more comfortable to watch on a decent sized screen than a phone. And with MHL the mobile device is being charged at the same time. Bob Raikes Managing Director, Meko 22
INFORMATION LIFESTYLE The Era of the Mouse Is Over Yifang brings ultra-thin tablets, a smart watch, digital pens and more to IFA Yifang Executive Director Kenny Hua tells IFA International about the company's enthusiasm for the post-mouse era and how it has affected product development, plus what to expect next from the company... For us, the post-mouse era also means the touch era. Touch-screens and touch-control are huge trends, and not only for smartphones and tablets, but increasingly for computers. Kenny Hua Executive Director, Yifang “Touch-screens and touchcontrol are huge trends” What new products are you showing at IFA this year? In addition to tablets and digital pens, we are showing some next-generation smart devices, including Smart Lighting, Smart Switch, Home Environment Sensor, Smart Watch, Smart Pedometer and a Key Fob. Cloud is an important trend. How has your introduction of the CloudMemo been received in Europe? The first-generation CloudMemo was based on Bluetooth, but it was complicated for users to upload hand-written notes first to a smartphone and then to the cloud. The second-generation CloudMemo based on wifi is more user-friendly. We believe the WIFI CloudMemo will win more customers in Europe, and we have brands to introduce it to the market. The Android tablet market is proving to be highly competitive. What factors affect sales the most? How important is design and size? The hardware configuration affects sales the most. The Android tablet market is competitive. Given the best possible hardware configuration, Yifang emphasises design and the high quality of the M778, M780 and M878 tablets which feature Quad-core plus 3G. The M878 is a 7.85-inch tablet that is a mere 6mm wide. Which of your products do you feel was capture the most attention at IFA? The Home Automation & Smart Wearable Devices has received the most attention at IFA. Our smart watch is a mobile phone accessory with incoming call and message alerts. It is always on due to low power consumption and has a pedometer function. Smart TVs are the fashion. How will THTF further develop the mobile and streaming aspects that make a smart TV? We are exploring simple, cost-effective and great smart TVs, which will be launched in America and Europe in 2013 Q4. Visitors to IFA have a chance to see all the features of our new generation TVs. What new products do you have at IFA and how do they reflect market trends? We are launching an innovative TV using special material – paper – reflecting the trend of environmentally friendly ideas, and we are also going to show a 55” OLED TV. Hall 25 Stand 165 Gianfranco Lanci President, EMEA Lenovo Vice-President Lenovo Group “We are one of the few players with a full offer and a full user experience.” Hall 18 Stand 102 Moving In on Mobile Lenovo leaves rivals behind in PC-plus computing IFA International talked with Gianfranco Lanci, Lenovo President of EMEA and Vice-President of the Lenovo Group, about the consumer IT market. Is it still possible for a PC maker to launch into a maturing smartphone market? There are very few players from the PC business looking at PC-plus computing in terms of smartphones. We are one of the few players with a full offer and a full user experience. We started with the smartphone business in China and so we have built up our know-how. Has the relationship changed between large retailers and their PC suppliers? Both groups are under pressure. Has that pressure formed any new bonds? What we see at retail is that, soon, some countries will experience integration or mergers. There’s not room enough for all these big players. The survivors will be the ones who have learned how to build demand, not only by promoting the ‘best price’ but by understanding user experience and customer behaviour. Germany has been a very successful market for Lenovo. What factors make Lenovo’s market share higher in Germany than, for example, France? We started investing earlier in Germany than France. Our investment in MEDIUM is helping. When we make a different level investment in other markets — which we intend to do — we’ll see similar results. NEW YOGA POSITIONING Lenovo, creator of multimode computing, has expanded its portfolio of multimode devices. The new line-up starts with two new Yoga convertibles: the Yoga 2 Pro, successor to the original 360-degree flipand-fold 13.3-inch Yoga; and the new ThinkPad Yoga, with its multimode design and businessheavy features. Lenovo is also bringing multimode computing to mainstream laptops and desktops with its new dual mode Lenovo Flex 14- and 15-inch laptops and Flex 20 all-in-one (AIO) desktop. These machines give consumers all the productivity of a PC plus one extra mode, essentially giving them two powerful devices at one affordable price. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday 11 th September 2013 23
