Hasta La Gadget!

It was just about a year-and-a-half ago when Apple unveiled the iPad 2. It was crazy thinner than the first-gen iPad and had better graphics and a faster processor. According to Evercore Partners analyst Rob Cihra, the iPad 2 will be phased out once the iPad mini launches. It might sound crazy, but Cihra says the move will streamline the company’s product line.

Cihra mentioned in a note to investors that he thinks Apple will be phasing out the iPad 2 (which Apple is still selling for a discounted $399), because the company wants “clearer product tiers.” Cirha believes that once the iPad mini is released, Apple will only have two iPad models to sell — the regular 10-inch third-generation iPad, and the new 7.8-inch iPad mini.

Cihra also believes that Apple will sell close to 7 million iPad minis in Q4, and a total of 26 million iPads during the holiday season if you count both models. Apple will soon announce its Q3 earnings, and Cihra believes Apple sold 27 million iPhones, 17 million iPads, 5.7 million iPods, and 4.9 million Macs, which would result in a revenue of $36.5 billion, with a predicted revenue of $56.1 billion in Q4.

The move to oust the iPad 2 might seem crazy since the device just came out only a year-and-a-half ago, but the strategy of Apple offering only a full-size iPad and a smaller iPad at a cheaper cost makes sense. In the meantime, we’ll have to look forward to October 23, when Apple hold an event to announce what we all expect to be the iPad mini.

[via Apple Insider]

iPad 2 rumored to be phased out after iPad mini launch is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chinese manufacturing company PCH International has announced its 2011 full year results – reporting a big rise in revenue and record profits off the back of strong demand for smartphones, tablets and ereaders. The company, which has its corporate headquarters in Cork, Ireland and operational headquarters in Shenzhen, China, designs and makes consumer electronics in partnership with PC makers and consumer electronics brands.

PCH International reported a 72 percent increase in revenue for the year — to $710 million — while gross profit for the year totalled $70.7 million, an increase of 46.6 percent year-on-year, translating to a net profit of $17.9 million. EBITDA amounted to a record $24.5 million — a 37.9 percent year-on-year rise.

Commenting on the results, CEO Liam Casey pointed to the company’s focus on supply chain and speeding up time-to-market for its customers’ products as key factors contributing to its growth

We operate in a very fast-paced and dynamic industry and we are working with the world’s top brands and world’s best entrepreneurs. This means we have to continuously adapt to offer our customers the best possible services. PCH is revolutionizing traditional supply chain models, and as a result we continue to dramatically shorten the time-to-market for the latest products on the market.

Our continued focus during 2011 facilitated not only strong growth for PCH but also continued success for our customers. We recognize the opportunities to further scale the business and are investing heavily during 2012 to ensure that PCH continues to expand our service offerings, expand the geographies in which we operate, deepen our skillset and most importantly to deliver peace of mind to our customers. We are very excited by the opportunities that lie ahead of us.

Last year PCH raised $30m in funding from a combination of existing and new investors — taking its total investment pot to-date to circa $77 million. It also launched its own business accelerator program — called PCH Accelerator – to partner with startups on projects including Intuitive Automata’s heathcare robot, Autum.

Shopping for a smartphone can be an exciting and arduous experience. Along with the promise of something new and fantastic, it brings the fear of commitment, and even worse, the prospect of saddling yourself to a lousy device for two years. Fortunately for you, Engadget spends tons of time playing with the latest gear and we’re constantly on the lookout for what’s coming next. If you’re wanting to take the pain out of shopping for a smartphone, you’ve come to the right place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: your one-stop resource to finding the best and most exciting handsets on the market today.

Before you dive in, however, we’ve introduced a few changes to the buyer’s guide, so take a minute to prepare yourself for what’s in store. First and foremost, you’ll now find alternate selections to supplement our top picks. This should already be familiar to many of you, which is the same format we use for our seasonal gift guides. The next one is a biggie: we’ve dropped the QWERTY selection. By and large, manufacturers and carriers alike have shifted their focus away from keyboard-equipped smartphones, and you’ll rarely find more than one option on any given carrier. That said, if you still insist on the tactile experience, you’ll always find everything you need to know in our reviews. Finally, whenever possible, you’ll now find prices from Amazon Wireless, which allows us to provide you with more compelling budget selections and highlight the substantial savings that you can score by circumventing the carriers. It’s not like they need your charity, anyway.

If you’re curious to see how it all unfolded — and we know you are — join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Continue reading Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, Google, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, LG, T-Mobile

Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t think that Lenovo is keeping the IdeaPad Yoga’s bendy secrets all to itself: its Japanese partner NEC is bringing a variant of the ARM-based Yoga 11 to the land of the rising sun as the LaVie Y. The 11.6-inch blend of laptop and tablet keeps the signature 360-degree display, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as its more internationally-minded counterpart, and confirms that there’s a quad-core Tegra 3 powering either of the Windows RT systems. What differences exist will stem from the software: there’s hints of a custom NEC app on an otherwise vanilla interpretation of Microsoft’s platform. The LaVie Y should precede its IdeaPad sibling by days, arriving in stores around November 22nd, although any local buyers will pay dearly for the privilege with an estimated $1,136 price. We’d suggest that patience ought to be a virtue for everyone else.

[Thanks, Gerald]

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Lenovo

NEC LaVie Y brings Lenovo’s 360-degree IdeaPad Yoga hybrid tablet to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, someone is building a full-scale model of the Millenium Falcon. Pure craziness! Or is it? If Chris Lee and his friends succeed, maybe someone can finally beat Han’s Kessel run record.

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