Archive for 2013

Who is the highest paid person at HTC? Iron Man of course!

It looks like shareholders of HTC took the decline of the company last year very seriously. According to a report at the Wall Street Journal, HTC Execs including the CEO Peter Chou all had pay reductions last year that amounted to a 50% drop. Here’s a quote with more of the details,

The embattled Taiwanese smartphone maker paid 31 executives a combined 660.5 million New Taiwan dollars (US$22 million) in salary, retirement pay, bonus and profit sharing last year, down 51% from NT$1.36 billion in 2011, according to the report.

The belt-tightening comes after a slide in HTC’s market share and earnings over the past two years amid product delays, unsuccessful marketing campaigns and growing competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and low-cost Chinese smartphone makers.

HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou and President of Engineering and Operations Fred Liu made less than NT$100 million each in total compensation last year for the first time in two years, while other high-level executives also moved to lower compensation brackets.

~ WSJ Meanwhile, it looks like the executives aren’t just banking on the HTC One to save them, they are trying to enlist the aid of Iron Man too! Seriously, HTC just signed Robert Downey Jr. to a $12 Million USD marketing agreement, in which he will assist them with a variety of television, print, and billboard advertising. There’s no word on if he will actually be in "Iron Man mode", but that seems unlikely. HTC would have to secure IP rights from Marvel to make that happen, so he will probably have to leave his repulsor beams at home.
Still, they are probably banking on the fact that people associate him with the character. In the long run, it could be a real adrenaline shot in the arm to HTC at a time when they need to keep the forward momentum going with the success of their HTC One.

Sauce: Phandroid

Posted by: Gareth

A good-bye to EU roaming charges?

It’s looking increasingly like using mobile service will likely be much cheaper soon when you roam around Europe. The European Union is planning to end mobile roaming charges next year. Here’s a quote with more of the details,

The group of 27 European Commissioners voted in Brussels on Tuesday to drive the package through in time for the European elections in May next year, to come into force as soon as 1 July 2014.
“They agreed that this time next year we will have got rid of these charges,” a Brussels source said Officials will draw up and publish detailed proposals in the next six weeks.
They expect the death of roaming charges to typically wipe 2pc off mobile operators’ revenues, after several years of tightening regulations designed to put an end to shockingly high bills for holiday makers and business travellers. They argue that operators will gain in the longer term by customers using their mobiles more abroad, particularly to access the internet.
The reforms are designed to encourage radical consolidation of European mobile network operators. A source familiar with the plans said the European Commission believes there are far too many companies offering services across the 27 member states and that the fragmentation is a barrier to badly-needed investment. Without upgrades, mobile networks will buckle under the pressure of the rapid growth in internet traffic, it is feared.
“There are around 100 operators in Europe and only four in the US,” the source said. “That’s not sustainable if we’re going to have a single market and investment. Europe has less 4G mobile broadband than Africa at the moment.”
“Consolidation is not the aim. The aim is a single market, but if it means we get fewer, stronger operators, that’s good.”
With no roaming fees, officials believe the single market will mean foreign operators will be able to compete for British customers, and vice-versa. They are likely to form airline style alliances that will lead to mergers, it is hoped.

While this move is designed to help reduce costs for European consumers, it is also meant to reduce the disparate, fragmented multiple carriers across Europe and foster more cooperation between them. Of course, with the ensuing consolidation, the EU needs to be careful they don’t end up with the same situation as there is in the U.S.. It can easily be argued that the U.S. doesn’t have enough consumer choice between carriers. Somehow there must be some happy middle ground. Perhaps this new move by the EU will find that perfect balance.

Source: Telegraph

HTC Desire 200

HTC have just made the rumoured HTC Desire 200 official.

The Desire 200 launches as a budget handset and has a Desire HD Mini look to it with a 3.5″ LCD screen offering a seemingly old-school 320×480 resolution. There’s a 1GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM which should be adequate for the entry level but the 4GB of built in storage will have many reaching for a MicroSD card, which fortunately the Desire 200 supports up to 32GB cards.

The fact that there is a removable battery will keep many happy in that the can have a stand by battery ready to swap when needed.

Full spec can be found below:

Highlights From Apple’s Conference

Monday, June 10 marked the beginning of a big week for Apple, as the tech titan held its Worldwide Developers Conference to unveil new innovations and products. Over the past 6 months or so, many begun to question whether or not Apple has begun to lose its edge in tech competition, and some feel that the closest you can come to an exciting new Apple product is a new iPad accessory from MySmartBuy. Nevertheless, the company remains driven and creative, and truth be told is still ahead of its competitors. In that regard, the Conference contained a bit more news than many expected.

Of course, there’s no significant iPhone upgrade coming just yet – but here are a few words on some of the improvements and new products Apple announced at the conference.

iOS7
The highlight of the conference, iOS7 is generating more positive press than Apple has seen in over a year. Specific upgrades involve automatically updating apps and a "flat" visual design, as opposed to the current 3D design. iOS7 will be available on iPhone 4 and all newer models, as well as the iPad Mini and iPad 2.

iRadio
Essentially Apple’s very own version of Pandora, iRadio, coming in the fall, is a personalized Internet radio station. It will choose music based on user preferences and iTunes purchases, and will come in both a free and paid ($25) edition.

Photo Organization On Devices
Until now, Apple devices have offered little organization when it comes to photos. Now, these devices will automatically catalogue photos based on the time and location at which they were taken, allowing for smoother organization.

iBooks Updates
Not only will the iBooks feature now be available on Mac computers in addition to mobile devices, but the design has also changed. Instead of the classic wooden bookshelf appearance, the new iBooks looks more like iTunes, with a white background and book covers on display in rows and search categories.

Macbook Air Changes
The main change with the Macbook Air is what essentially amounts to all day battery life. For the 11-inch version, battery will last for 9 hours; for the 13-inch, an astounding 12 hours of battery will be available.

Password Assistance
Remembering different passwords for different sites and programs across all our devices can be a tough task. Apple is now providing us with Cloud support for passwords, allowing devices to remember all of our passwords in a secure fashion.

Siri Updates
Siri is becoming more dynamic, with the main change being the fun option of a male or female voice. New commands, such as "play my last voicemail," are also available for the ever-improving robot voice.

Mac Pro
This peculiar, all-black cylinder shaped computer was perhaps the most mysterious highlight of the conference. But basically, it sounds like an incredibly capable and powerful new computer option coming soon.

Posted by: Matt