Amazon Kindle Fire to start shipping earlier than expected

The tablet war seems to be heating up as the holiday season is fast approaching. Last week, Barnes and Noble launched the Nook tablet and now Amazon brings its highly anticipated Kindle Fire tablet onto store shelves earlier than expected, reports Reuters.

Kindle Fire shipping earlier than expected

The Kindle Fire was expected to bring in some competition to the iPad, but seemingly it’s now pitted against the Nook tablet, owing to the release dates. Both Nook and Amazon will start shipping their devices this week, which come with a few similar traits like a 7-inch screen and low cost. Analysts predict that Amazon may sell 3 to 5 million Fire tablets this quarter, making it the hottest gadget for holidays. Amazon even states that the Kindle Fire is its bestselling device and the company intends to increase the production. While Nook’s selling attribute is said to be the reading support and the Nook Newsstand, Amazon just announced 400 magazines and newspapers, adding similar fuel to the 'Fire.' So, what’s your pick – Kindle Fire or Nook?

Chromebooks likely to launch in India early next year

Google had taken the wraps off its Google Chromebook running on the Chrome OS (cloud based) at the Google I/O, earlier this year. The Chromebook has been crafted especially for Internet browsing. In the past, we've seen Samsung and Acer Chromebooks carry price tags ranging from $349 (approx. Rs.17,675) to $499 (approx. Rs.25,271). Now, a report in The Hindu confirms that Chromebooks could be here by early next year.

Google Chromebooks coming to India?

The Chrome browser is quite popular in India. In fact, according to the StatCounter Global stats, it even surpassed IE to take the second spot after Firefox.

Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice-President, Chrome and Apps for Google, said: “We are very excited about chrome books we have taken our 1st step in the long journey. So we have exceeded the market in many countries to gain mindshare. In 2012 we will be expanding in more countries and it's my hope that we will be India also.” He further said, “I would be very surprised if Chromebooks are not shipped in India by early 2012. We see India as a huge potential market for us.” He also spoke about the failure of Buzz and how it has helped in the making of Google+."

Android snaps up 52% of mobile phone market

Google has reason to celebrate this week, with a recent study showing that Android, its mobile phone operation system, has now take 52 per cent of the smartphone market.
This percentage is even more impressive when you consider that Android only had 25.3 per cent market share in Q3 2010.
According to Gartner this means that when it comes to worldwide sales, Android trounced the opposition with over 60 million smartphones sold.
Its nearest rival was Symbian, which took 16.9 per cent of the market – a drop of 20 per cent when you compare the OS to how it was doing at the same time last year.
When it comes to iOS, it also saw a drop in its share of the market, albeit a small one. Over 17 million iOS handsets were sold which equates to a 15 per cent market share, down from 16.6 per cent a year ago.
Apple shouldn't be too worried about this drop, however, as it is said to have happened because consumers were waiting for the iPhone 4S to arrive before making a purchase decision.
RIM should start worrying though, as it lost over 4 per cent of its share and is now down to just 11 per cent, the reason that is cited is that the company has fallen out of favour with the US market.

Suffering from delay

Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, said about the results: "Apple's iOS market share suffered from delayed purchases as consumers waited for the new iPhone.
"Continued pressure is impacting RIM's performance, and its smartphone share reached its lowest point so far in the US market, where it dropped to 10 per cent."
Next year's results should be even more interesting as we will see how much of an impact Microsoft's Windows Phone OS will have on market share.
This week sees the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800, the flagship phone for the OS so far, and this is a long line of releases that will make use of Microsoft's refreshed and well-received mobile operating system.

Android activation total doubles in six months

Google has now activated an astonishing 200 million Android handsets, a figure which has doubled in the last six months alone.
The company made the announcement prior to the unveiling of the new-and-improved Google Music service at an Android event in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
At its I/O conference in May, the search giant revealed it had topped 100m activations, but thanks to a whopping 550,000 new devices being approved every day it has managed to hit this new landmark.
Earlier this week it was confirmed that Android conquered 52 per cent of the total smartphone market in Q3 of 2011.

Apple chasers

Google is now fast approaching Apple's last reported activation total for iOS devices, which it claimed as 250 million back at the iPhone 4S launch in October.
Android's seemingly unstoppable rise is likely to be accentuated by the gradual roll-out of its new 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update in the coming months.
Like Apple, Google's figure accounts for both smartphones and tablets.

AMD officially launches Opteron 6200 and 4200 CPUs

AMD today announced the launch and availability of its AMD Opteron 6200 and 4200 Series processors (formerly code-named “Interlagos” and “Valencia”). The new AMD Opteron processors are designed to give enterprises better performance with upto 84 percent higher performance, increased scalability for virtualization with up to 73 percent more memory bandwidth and more efficient economics for the Cloud  with half the power per core.

AMD also announced the expansion of its 2012 roadmap with the addition of the new AMD Opteron 3000 Series platform. This is targeted at the ultra-dense, ultra-low power 1P Web Hosting/Web Serving and Microserver markets. The first processor will be the 4-8 core CPU code-named “Zurich”, expected to ship in the first half of 2012. Zurich is based on the “Bulldozer” architecture and leverages the new Socket AM3+. The AMD Opteron 3000 series offering is designed for hosting customers who require dedicated servers for their customers. AMD is also introducing embedded server processors designed for high-end embedded systems such as storage, telecommunications and networking infrastructure. Some key features of the new Opteron series CPUs include:

• Better power efficiency with power envelopes that are consistent with previous generation platforms and as low as 4.375W per core

• Up to 24 percent to 84 percent better performance on key cloud, virtualization and HPC workloads

• Highest 2P server TPCC score

• Lowest cost per virtual machine

• Up to 4 memory channels with up to 1600 MHz memory

• The only x86 processor to support ultra-low voltage 1.25v memory

• Supports up to 12 DIMMs per CPU for up to 384GB memory per CPU

Up to Four x16 HyperTransport  technology (HT3) Links at up to 6.4GT/s per link 

Fujifilm launches FinePix S2950 in India at Rs.10,999

Building on their existing range of superzooms, Fujifilm have recently unveiled the FinePix S2950 in India. This camera sports some pretty impressive specifications such as a 14 mp CCD sensor, 18x optical zoom, 3-inch screen, etc. and is targeted at the younger generation as well as budding photographers. It also features an electronic viewfinder that the brand claims is highly responsive and that can easily switch between the LCD display and the EVF by merely putting one’s eyes on the EVF.

Superzoom that is targeted at a yonger audience

Speaking at the launch, Mr. K. Tanaka, MD, Fujifilm India, said, “Fujifilm is pleased to introduce latest FinePix S2950 camera to the market. The camera is technically sound that features latest Japanese technology. This camera is a special treat for photography enthusiasts. This is a highly user friendly camera that ensures the best photography experience to professional, as well as, amateur photographers”.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Fujifilm FinePix S2950

• 14.0 Megapixel CCD sensor
• Fujinon 18x optical zoom lens
• CCD-shift type image stabilizer
• Aperture F3.1- F5.6
• 3-inch LCD display
• 0.2-inch LCD Electronic Viewfinder
• 720p HD video recording
• SR Auto, 6 scene-recognition
• SD / SDHC memory card support
• 110.2 x 73.4 x 81.4 mm
• Weight approximately 437g

Fujifilm claims that this camera is highly user-friendly. The FinePix S2950 is available in India at a maximum retail price of Rs.10,999.

Qualcomm launches range of smartphone processors

Qualcomm has launched a bunch of new smartphone processors under the Snapdragon S1 and S4 series. The S4 line of processors are designed keeping in mind the lower design costs, but by introducing 3G and 4G standards to phones that use them. The processors should allow OEMs to use the processors on everything from basic smartphones to high-end devices, including tablets. Qualcomm has also developed software optimized for use with their hardware. The new Krait CPU-powered S4 chipsets launched are the MSM8660A, MSM8260A, MSM8630, MSM8230, MSM8627, MSM8227, APQ8060A and APQ8030. Qualcomm expects devices powered by these new chipsets to be out sometime early in the year 2012.

The S1 line of processors are designed for entry-level devices. The upgraded chipsets are the MSM7225A, MSM7625A, MSM7227A and MSM7627A. The devices in the portfolio have been designed for devices for those moving from 2G to 3G phones. Qualcomm’s S3 line of chipsets are designed for multi-tasking and gaming devices, while the S2 line is more for high-performance line of smartphones and tablets. Qualcomm has an image of delivering hardware for high-end performance smartphones and tablets. The new chipsets launched should help them expand in the more price-sensitive segments as well.