REVIEW OF THE YEAR
2010: A Review
It wasn’t all about the iPad in 2010. Okay, it was mostly about the iPad, but a whole host of other tablets also hit the market this year and the industry went mad for 3D. At the same time, we sadly saw significant job losses at HP, and revelations of employee working conditions at Foxconn shocked the industry. Lisa Foster looks back at it all…
JANUARY The year starts as it goes on, and on, and on – with industry buzz focusing on Apple’s rumoured tablet. The month kicks off with speculation about the ‘iSlate’, and Steve Jobs finally unveils the iPad later in the month. Meanwhile, 3D is the key trend at CES, with most major vendors announcing new products featuring the technology.
FEBRUARY Google is again rumoured to be investigating the possibilities of branded mobile PCs. Research by a UK gift retailer shows that IT workers are the most thoughtful when it comes to buying gifts for their loved ones. Microsoft reveals its new Windows Phone 7 Series mobile operating system. European and US regulators approve Microsoft’s search engine partnership with Yahoo, paving the way for the firms to take on Google. Intel rolls out its biggest product launch in ten years with the 2010 Core family of chips.
MARCH Apple announces that the iPad will be available in the UK from late April. Sony and Intel join forces with Google to bring a new generation of internet TVs and set top boxes to marktet, in a project called Google TV. An Apple fan moulds the head of Steve Jobs from mozzarella and posts the results to a cookery website. Ken, the creator of the ‘Steve Jobs Cheese Head’, has also created a recipe for ‘Spicy Steve Nachos Supreme’. DSGi powers ahead with its revamp plans, choosing 60 sites to become combined Currys and PC World stores. HP faces another round of strikes in the UK, as the row between management and union employees continues over jobs and pay cuts. The third PCR Awards take place at Kensington’s Royal Garden Hotel, with Microsoft picking up Software Publisher and Campaign of the Year, as well as the prestigious Grand Prix. EntaTech cleans up in the
www.pcr-online.biz
distribution category, taking home the Sales Team and Distributor of the Year prizes.
APRIL Craft retailers should start stocking software alongside items such as knitting needles and glitter pens, a Serif exec says, bizarrely. She adds that getting these retailers onboard is “a challenge”. Hardly surprising… HP signs an agreement that will see it acquire smart phone vendor Palm. Best Buy’s flagship UK store opens its doors in Thurrock, bringing the US retailer its biggest opening day sales ever.
MAY Microsoft claims to be “quietly confident” about the imminent launch of Office 2010, after clocking millions of beta downloads and receiving positive feedback from retail and reseller partners. Channel Expo makes its London debut, filling Olympia’s National Hall with 94 exhibitors and 3,400 visitors.
Apple delays the UK launch of iPad due to
overwhelming demand in the US. The device eventually hits British stores at the tail-end of May, with many retailers opening early and consumers queuing to buy the device. Foxconn says that it is looking to change the way it operates its factories, following a spate of suicides at its Shenzhen site. Apple, HP and Dell reveal that they are investigating conditions at the plant. Apple’s market value overtakes that of Microsoft for the first time ever. At the close of business at the New York Stock Exchange on May 27th, Apple’s market value was $222 billion, while Microsoft stood at $219bn.
JUNE Asus becomes the latest vendor to take on the iPad, lining up its rival Eee Pad.
HP reveals that it will cut 9,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
Toshiba announces that it will launch the world’s first 3D Blu-ray laptop in July in Japan. Heralded as the biggest leap since Apple’s original smartphone, the iPhone 4 is unveiled to huge cheers at the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. TVs that can talk to their owners are now a reality, thanks to British firm Ocean Blue Software, whose text-to- speech technology is being built into set-top boxes.
December PCR 17
>>>
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116