May 31st, 2012
very well be the iPad, which Apple has had trouble selling in the country due to a legal battle.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "According to the website of China's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, an Apple device with thirdgeneration, or 3G, data capabilities has been issued the license needed for the company to begin sales in China. The device would be compatible with the network of China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., Apple's longtime partner in releasing its popular iPhone and iPad devices. The notice on the website didn't name the device, listed as 'model number A1430.'" An ID lookup on EveryMac.com’s product identifier reveals that the number A1430 belongs to the 3rd generation Apple iPad. This model includes both Wi-Fi and cellular service. Previously, Chinese regulators did approve a Wi-Fi only version of the iPad. However, this device never did go on sale anywhere in the country. This is likely due to Apple's legal battle with Proview, a Chinese manufacturer who claimed to own the 'iPad' trademark in China. There is an enormous amount of growing that Apple could potentially do in China, and it needs to resolve its battles soon. This new step, whatever it was, could be very beneficial for Apple’s business in China, which is considered the most important market to Apple after North America. In the meantime, Apple still needs to get a better foothold in the country. Currently, Android phones dominate the nation's market, and Microsoft recently claimed that Windows phone sales were also surpassing the iPhone there.
Sony's future gaming console will have an optical drive Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-s-future-gaming-console-willhave-an-optical-drive/16094.html May 31st, 2012
Published by: VR-Zone
collecting physical copies of video games may not come to an end after all.
Cloud gaming services such as Valve’s Steam are stirring up the traditional brick and mortar gaming market, but according to WSJ.com, Sony will not abandon the optical disk in its next gaming console. Hence, the days of people collecting physical copies of video games may not come to an end after all. In 2013, Sony will release the PlayStation 3’s successor with improved hardware while maintaining most of the same business strategies. Sony has reported profit from its PS3 platform the last two years, and Sony’s Chief Executive, Kazuo Hirai, hopes that the new console will continue to rake in the profits. Many brick and mortar companies that associate themselves with Sony will be at risk of incurring huge losses in revenue if Sony did decide to go the downloadable content only route in the next Sony gaming console. GameStop, a major outlet for many PS3 games, agrees that it will need to transition to a cloud system of distributing gaming titles to remain relevant in the gaming market. However, as with any major industry transitions, it will take some time to adopt. "If we all agree the technology is inevitable—which I think it is because it's like death and taxes—it's still going to take longer to happen than it did for music and movies," GameStop’s CEO, Paul Raines, commented about the gaming market’s transition to a cloud based platform. Perhaps Sony is trying to maintain a good relation between itself and its business partners by opting to keep the optical drive as the main mean of software decoding. However, that does not mean that Sony is unaware of the inevitable market transition to the clouds. Sony intend to integrate more downloadable contents into its future console, more than it currently has in its PS3 console. In addition to maintaining good relationships with its partners, Sony believes that worldwide internet connections are not stable enough for it to make a complete transition to downloadable only contents. Sony wants its product to be in the hands of as many people as possible, and to make a product that requires a fast and stable internet connection only limits that objective.
Cloud gaming services such as Valve’s Steam are stirring up the traditional brick and mortar gaming market, but according to WSJ.com, Sony will not abandon the optical disk in its next gaming console. Hence, the days of people
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