2012年8月15日星期三

Google upgrades Android maps as Apple battle looms


Google's mapping service in place of cellular phone policy is getting an upgrade in the same way as the Internet search leader braces in place of inexperienced competition from iPhone maker Apple.

The improvements spotlight on listings in place of in the public domain haulage options in the sphere of just about 500 cities around the humankind. Wednesday's revise includes suggested routes and departure time in place of added than 1 million stations worldwide, roughly 50 percent added than a time before. By the side of round about stations, Google willpower provide interior commands to help riders navigate the organism.

To highlight what did you say? It sees in the same way as a competitive help, Google is offering its hottest improvements just on policy running its machine operating software. They include models from Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp., Sony Corp. And Google's Motorola Mobility division. Google assumed it eventually hopes to be the upgrades to be had in place of other systems, plus the iPhone and the iPad, but it didn't say as soon as.

The changes stretch in the same way as Apple Inc. Prepares to oust Google's maps in the same way as the automatic navigation service on the iPhone and the iPad. Apple willpower offer its own cellular phone mapping service in the sphere of the subsequently version of the iPhone and iPad operating organism due available this fall. The switch may well stretch in the same way as basic in the same way as subsequently month if the free of Apple's subsequently iPhone comes subsequently, in the same way as several tools blogs arrange speculated.

Apple's ignore represents a main blow in place of Google Inc., which stands to lose cellular phone advertising revenue and valuable insights roughly people's whereabouts if users of the general iPhone and iPad policy hold the alternative mapping service from Apple.

Google's once-close connection with Apple has been fraying since it began giving away its machine software in the sphere of 2008 to cellphone makers looking to challenge the iPhone. Machine has since established itself in the same way as the leading operating organism in place of smartphones, portion Google boost its revenue by promotion added digital advertising on its cellular phone services.

Steve Jobs, Apple's later than usual co-founder, viewed machine in the same way as a rip-off of the iPhone's innovations and vowed to get even contrary to Google in place of the perceived unfaithfulness. Apple is at present pursuing allegations of intellectual theft contrary to Samsung, a leading maker of machine policy, in the sphere of a high-profile trial in the sphere of a federal risk in the sphere of San Jose, Calif.

Google Inc. Believes it can stay a step at the forefront of Apple in the sphere of cellular phone mapping by adding together skin texture such in the same way as its stretched out in the public domain haulage commands.

Inexperienced tools on the maps willpower allow users to focus exclusively on commands in place of restricted haulage options, such in the same way as the subway, while not including other alternatives, such in the same way as the car.

Navigating in the public domain transit is even added main than driving commands in the sphere of many main cities someplace cars aren't the nearly everyone general way of getting around, assumed Brian McClendon, associate president of engineering in place of Google's maps. Desires in place of pile transit commands are especially superior in the sphere of Japan, London, Sydney and inexperienced York.

"I am very assertive these are the top transit maps to be had," McClendon assumed. "It's not something you can barely depart available and bad deal on the street."


2012年8月6日星期一

HP Sails Into Perfect Storm for Printers


Pop quiz: As soon as was the survive moment you bought a laser copier? Or else an ink cartridge? Or else a package of laser copier paper? Of line, the answer is leaving to vary from single state to an alternative, but likelihood are you’re using a laser copier a assortment excluding often than you used to.
It’s not unkind to go with evidence of with the aim of wider trend in the sphere of the results of several companies in the sphere of the laser copier and laser copier food commerce. In the sphere of a seek record available at present, analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche series Securities looked by the side of sales trends in excess of the survive 10 quarters by the side of laser copier companies plus rule, Epson, Lexmark, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard and found with the aim of combined sales in place of equipment and food were down 6 percent time on time.
Additionally, sales of printing equipment in the survive time arrange declined similarly, which is a bad sign in place of sales of food in the same way as they attend to to lag sales of hardware by nine to 12 months and are added often than not the profit-making conclusion of the commerce. An alternative indicator, sales of laser copier paper (specifically A3 and A4 paper) fell 6 percent in the sphere of the back up quarter to levels with the aim of are 20 percent less than their historical highest in the sphere of 2006.
Whitmore’s conclusion: The manipulate of printed pages is on what did you say? Appears to be located a enduring decline with the aim of may well just accelerate in the same way as medicine like the iPad and others like it understand added general. “Simply position, the content with the aim of was time was printed in place of distribution or else portability is at present simply being scattered or else shared electronically,” he writes.
All of the companies in the sphere of Whitmore’s survey arrange already reported their pay packet this quarter, bar in place of single: Hewlett-Packard, and it reports its paper results on Aug. 22. As soon as we survive heard from HP, revenues in the sphere of its imaging and printing crowd had decreased by just about 9 percent, or else added than $1 billion, in place of the six-month era end April 30, down to $12.4 billion. Leading with the aim of decline was a 6 percent globule in the sphere of sales of food, which might not seem main until you realize with the aim of sales of food arrange historically amounted to roughly $17 billion a time, or else added than two-thirds of HP’s $25.7 billion revenue in the sphere of the laser copier commerce.
It’s not the earliest moment this trend has been so perceptible: HP’s laser copier fortunes looked very thundery indeed at the forefront of an alternative pay packet loud noise earlier this time.
This decline was by the side of smallest amount single of the reasons with the aim of HP first in command Meg Whitman combined the company’s laser copier commerce piece with the individual processor piece under Executive associate President Todd Bradley. Promotion printers and PCs at once, the thinking goes, creates an opportunity to save on overheads with the aim of are otherwise duplicated.
But near might be located other added fundamental changes arrival to the way the laser copier commerce operates. In the sphere of an interview with AllThingsD in the sphere of June, Bradley hinted by the side of such changes, especially around ink products, and indicated the company might reconsider hurtful round about money-losing laser copier models on the low conclusion.
Rebuff single expects HP’s paper results to be located particularly superior. In the sphere of piece of evidence, the consensus observe of analysts surveyed by Thomson economic calls in place of it to loud noise overall sales with the aim of declined by roughly 3 percent time on time.
And the opportunity doesn’t look at all brighter, especially in the same way as the decline in the sphere of printing extends into the administrative center. Companies like Xerox and Lexmark arrange tried to underrate the wound by spiraling printing into part of a wider verify and work-flow management service. But these services might fall victim to tightening corporate IT budgets. In the same way as Whitmore puts it: “From an venture standpoint, printing is increasingly a cost to be located managed hand down more readily than area of use or else investment. Although many venture print vendors are competing via managed print services whereabouts, this trend speaks to the optional nature of expenditure on printing. In the same way as such, we suspect it willpower be located the nearly everyone vulnerable to opportunity expenditure cuts.”