Business Tech

Intel chip gives new hope for Windows 8 tablets

Analysts are upbeat about Intel's new mobile chip design due later this year. That could mean a much-needed boost for Windows 8 tablets -- where many of those chips will land.

Imagine this: an ultraslim, light tablet with roughly twice the performance of any Atom-based Windows 8 tablet on the market now. (And that's the full version of Windows, not Windows RT.)

That could happen in the second half of this year.

So think of Windows Blue (or Windows 8.1) products similar to Samsung's 0.38-inch thick ATIV Smart PC 500T Tablet or Dell's 0.… Read more

Toshiba: Microsoft confused tablet buyers with Windows 8

Microsoft's strategy to push both Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets has confused the market, according to a Toshiba executive.

In a Toshiba product launch on Wednesday in Sydney, Australia, Mark Whittard, managing director of Toshiba Australia, criticized Microsoft's dual operating system approach. Marketing two types of tablets -- one line with Windows 8, the other with Windows RT -- confused consumers, Whittard said, according to The Australian.

"I think one of the challenges is, there was a lot of confusion with Windows 8, my personal view is that they (Microsoft) confused the market with a couple … Read more

AOL profit rises thanks to boost in ad revenue

AOL has continued to shed subscribers but managed to turn a decent profit last quarter thanks mostly to its advertising trade.

The online Internet provider scored a 9 percent increase in global advertising revenue for the first quarter, compared with the year-ago quarter. Global display revenue climbed by 8 percent year over year thanks to 6 percent growth in the U.S. and ongoing double-digit growth abroad.

AOL also saw a 9 percent rise in search revenue due to gains in global queries and higher revenue per search at AOL.com.

"Growth continues at AOL," AOL CEO Tim … Read more

'Next' iPhone display production to begin, says Japan report

A Japan-based report indicates that production of at least one key component for the next iPhone will begin next month.

Sharp will begin volume production in June of the display "panel" for the "next" iPhone model at its Kameyama plant in Mie prefecture, according to a report in Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, a major Japanese industrial newspaper.

Sharp's Kameyama plant has not been operating at anywhere near full capacity but production of the next iPhone's display is expected to bring the plant to "full production," the report said.

The specifications for next iPhone … Read more

BitTorrent to monetize its file-distribution platform

Torrents are indisputably one of the fastest ways to distribute files, but they've been extremely hard to monetize -- until now.

BitTorrent has built a preliminary format called the BitTorrent Bundle, which will let content owners charge for some files within a torrent. The company has partnered with the music label Ultra to test out the Bundle Alpha by sharing a mix of behind-the-scenes music, videos, and a "digital tour booklet" from Kaskade, a star in the realm of electronic dance music. It's all part of the artist's 2012 "Freaks of Nature" tour … Read more

Qualcomm walks fine line between privacy, connected devices

NEW YORK--Qualcomm is walking a fine line between enabling the "Internet of Things" and protecting users' privacy, the chipmaker's chief executive said Tuesday.

Paul Jacobs, speaking at the Wired Business Conference in New York, said that nearly everything people interact with will be connected to the Internet in the future, but that also means companies have to figure out a way to make such technology less intrusive.

For example, department stores or restaurants can detect when someone is walking by and send them coupons, but not all people may want to receive those offers. So Qualcomm and … Read more

SoftBank: Our Sprint bid is better for this reason -- TD-LTE

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son says his company's $20.1 billion acquisition offer is best for Sprint, even though Dish Nework's bid is higher.

Speaking Tuesday at an event in Tokyo, Son told reporters the LTE network efficiencies that his company can bring to Sprint would dramatically improve the value of Sprint's network to customers. And that's all because of an LTE variant that Softbank already uses, called TD-LTE.

Softbank has been using TD-LTE for quite some time, and as Son points out, it's doing so in Japan "on a large scale."

TD (Time … Read more

Tablet shipments to surpass PCs before year's end, says analyst

PC shipments may finally play second fiddle to those of tablets before the year is over, at least according to one analyst.

In one scenario outlined today by Sameer Singh, head analyst at technology incubator BitChemy Ventures, PC shipments will fall to between 70 million and 75 million in the fourth quarter, while tablet shipments would rise to almost 80 million. If so, that would be the first quarter in which tablet shipments outshine those of PCs.

In a second scenario, the crossover could happen even sooner. PC shipments could decline to around 65 million in the third quarter, while … Read more

Retina iPad Mini display could go into production soon

Production of the display for Retina iPad Mini should start in the coming months, boasting one of the highest tablet resolutions to date, NPD DisplaySearch told CNET Monday.

"We should see the start of mass production of the panels in June or July," said Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.

LG Display will be one of the major manufacturers of the display, he said, adding that Samsung is not a supplier for the Mini.

"Samsung is currently not in the iPad Mini and they won't be in the next generation. LGD is becoming a much … Read more