Sony Tablets Face

Sony's new tablet computers failed to excite gadget reviewers and analysts who criticized the pricing and quality of the devices, underscoring the battle Sony faces regaining its consumer electronics crown.
Sony Corp is already late to the game with its first tablet, which hits stores this month, more than a year and a half after Apple Inc launched the blockbuster iPad and almost a year since Samsung Electronics Co Ltd came out with the GalaxyTab. Samsung's Galaxy occupies the No.2 slot in tablets that Sony is targeting.
Reviewers and analysts highlighted a high price and features that suggested Sony would remain an also-ran rather than a leader in the tablet market. Two versions of Sony's main tablet cost $499 and $599, the same price as two lower-end Apple iPad models.
"Consumers want tablets, but they are not prepared to pay the same amount they'd pay for an iPad for something that's not an iPad," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. "Despite the brand and different design, with its pricing so close to the iPad, it will be challenging for Sony."
Once a symbol of Japan's high-tech might, the maker of the Walkman and PlayStation gaming console is struggling under the weight of its money-losing TV division and badly needs the boost of a hit product.
"Sony really must be in the tablet market and must succeed," said Mito Securities electronics analyst Keita Wakabayashi.
Worldwide tablet shipments are forecast to more than triple this year to 60 million tablets and then rise to 275.3 million units by 2015, according to a report this month from research firm IHS iSuppli.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
Sony's new tablets run on Google Inc's Android software, like the GalaxyTab and many other tablets from Acer Inc, Asustek Computer Inc and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
It is trying to distinguish its tablets from other Android players with features such as having one model function as a universal remote, while another folds like a clamshell and offers access to some first generation PlayStation games.
Backed by a disco beat during an event in Berlin to unveil the devices on Wednesday, Sony CEO Howard Stringer brushed off concerns the company waited too long to get into the tablet market.
"We want to prove it's not who makes it first that counts but who makes it better," Stringer said.
ased on the initial reception, Sony has failed in that regard.
Tech reviewers credited Sony for coming up with a unique curvy design for the S tablet, which resembles a folded-back magazine and makes it easier to hold with one hand, but the quality of the hardware was questioned.
A review on the Gizmodo tech blog called the tablet "extremely plasticky" and said its screen scratched more easily than other tablets.
Sony vowed in January to become the world's No. 2 tablet maker -- behind Apple -- by 2012 and Sony executives stuck to that ambitious claim ahead of the tablet launch.
But research firm Forrester put out a blog post saying Sony's pricing "raises a red flag."
At a low-key Japanese launch of the tablets in Tokyo on Thursday, Sony hinted it could be flexible on pricing.
"We'll see and study how the market will react and we'll take any necessary action," said Hideyuki Furumi, deputy president of the Sony division in charge of the new tablets.
"But then again, we don't want to do competition simply on prices, because we have a lot of differentiation points," he added, saying the entertainment features would be expanded over time.
One expert who has played with the single-screen "Sony Tablet: S" also was doubtful it could compete with rivals that sell high-end tablets at the same price.
Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief of the Engadget tech blog, said the tablet's hardware was underwhelming and its feel and design trailed the iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab.
"I honestly don't think this is going to be the tablet that really catapults Sony into the lead on the Android front, which is where it needs to be if it wants to be No. 2 in the tablet market," Stevens said.
Some tech bloggers anticipate Amazon will more likely prove a competitor to Apple, with a tablet that has not been officially announced but is expected in the next few weeks.
CROWDED MARKET
Sony joins a slew of technology companies hoping to win a share in a market where many have stumbled in pursuit of Apple.
Hewlett Packard's Co decision to drop its Touchpad tablet only weeks after it came out shows how easy it is to fail. Sales soared only after HP slashed the price to $99 from $399 and $499, prompting the company to announce a further "final run" of the tablets to meet demand.
Sony said the S tablet is unique because of a universal remote inside the computer that can be used to control stereos, cable television boxes and TV sets.
The wifi-only device has a 9.4 inch screen, weighs 1.33 lbs and has front and rear cameras.
A 16 gigabyte version of the tablet will cost $499 in the United States, while the 32 GB version will retail for $599. In Europe, the S will cost 479 euros. It can be pre-ordered on Wednesday and will be in stores in September.
Sony's second tablet, the P, comes with 4 GB of memory and looks like a clutch purse. It has two 5.5-inch screens that can be folded together and weighs less than a pound.
The tablet also offers 4G cellular service. In Europe, the P will cost 599 euros and be out in November. Sony said it would be in stores in the United States later this year, but did not provide a date or price.

Facebook Preps

Facebook is putting finishing touches to new features on users' home pages that deeply integrate music services from partners including Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker and Rdio, according to people familiar with the plans.
The music platform is expected to be unveiled at Facebook's developer conference, which kicks off on September 22.
Facebook was not immediately available for comment.
Though Facebook is the world's most popular social networking services with more than 750 million users, its founder Mark Zuckerberg is keen to increase the amount of time users spend in the Facebook environment.
Music is said to be just one aspect of the strategy to improve Facebook's 'stickiness' and it is also expected to partner with other media content owners like movie studios.
"They are working on a platform for music where the goal is to create a connective tissue for fans," said one person familiar with the talks who asked not to be named as the plans are confidential.
Facebook has declined to comment on its new music platform before, but in July several technology blogs reported a software engineer had uncovered programing code for a Facebook product called 'Vibes' for music downloading.
Facebook could give an important boost to its fledgling music streaming partners as they try to compete in a digital music sector dominated by Apple Inc's iTunes's download store. Apple is also readying a streaming service called iTunes Match expected to launch this fall.
The largest music subscription service, Rhapsody, has about 800,000 paying users after nearly 10 years. The next largest in the United States is believed to be Slacker, which claims some 400,000 subscribers, while more recent start-ups like MOG and Rdio are estimated to have significantly less than that.
London-based Spotify, which launched in the United States in July, has more than 1 million paying subscribers and some 10 million users registered to its free access service across Europe. Spotify is believed to have partly benefited from its early integration into Facebook's platform.
The most popular music app on Facebook is currently BandPage, a service from RootMusic that enables artists to market their songs, videos and tour dates. It has over 250,000 artists and 30 million active users monthly. Last month it raised $16 million in Series B funding.
While all the existing music services can already be used on Facebook, the deeper integration will enable Facebook users who are subscribers to a service to share songs and playlists seamlessly with each other and to see what friends are listening to, and more.
The digital music services hope Facebook users will sign up with them after seeing friends sharing playlists that require subscription.
Another senior executive close to the talks said social networking is important to help overcome one of the key challenges for digital music companies: how to help fans discover new music rather than just search for artists and songs they already know. "Your friends are engaging with you on Facebook, he said. "It's the new form of radio or TV."
Though the prospective business partners have high hopes for Facebook, combining social networking and digital music hasn't always been a guarantee of success.

North Korea Demands Peace Treaty With US

North Korea demanded Wednesday that the United States sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, as a senior North Korean diplomat visited New York to negotiate ways to restart six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. In an editorial marking the 58th anniversary of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 war, the North's official Korean Central News Agency insisted that a peace treaty could go a long way toward resolving a deadlock over Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons. North Korea has long called for a peace treaty with the United States since the armistice left the Korean peninsula in a technical state of war. Its latest push comes as North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan makes a fresh attempt to reopen six-nation talks that were last held in December 2008. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited Kim to New York to meet with U.S. officials later this week only after nuclear envoys from the Koreas held surprise talks last week. Seoul blames North Korea for two attacks that killed 50 South Koreans last year and has demanded that Pyongyang show remorse. The United States has insisted that its ally Seoul must be satisfied that inter-Korean ties are improving before it will pursue more nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. Kim told reporters after landing Tuesday in New York that he was "optimistic of the prospects for the six-way talks and the North Korea-U.S. relationship," according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. "I believe North Korea-U.S. relations will improve, as now is the time for countries to reconcile." Despite Kim's positive tone, North Korea is making clear ahead of the New York talks that it wants a separate dialogue on signing a peace treaty, in addition to six-nation nuclear negotiations, said Kim Keun-sik, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University in South Korea. The six-nation talks group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. They were initially designed to provide the North with security guarantees and economic assistance in return for its nuclear dismantlement. After months of tension heightened by the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean island last November, the nuclear envoys of the two countries met in a regional security forum in Indonesia last week and agreed to push for the resumption of nuclear disarmament talks. "The (Korean) peninsula stands at the crossroads of detente and a vicious cycle of escalation tension," North Korean media said Wednesday, likening the current cease-fire among the countries who fought in the Korean War to "a time bomb." Blasting the United States for its involvement in the war, North Korea's central television ran footage of veterans describing their fight against enemy forces as the official media marked what it called a victory anniversary. Reports also touted the wartime activities of the country's revered founder Kim Il Sung, whose son Kim Jong Il is now ruling the country and trying to hand over power to his own son. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, in which North Korea and China fought against U.S., South Korean and U.N. forces.

Retailers, Cash Rich, To Spend On IT

Retailers have cash on their balance sheets and nearly half of 100 top retail executives said they are planning to spend it on technology, a survey said on Tuesday. Forty-seven percent of executives said they will be investing primarily in calendar year 2012 in analytical tools to improve company growth, expansion and planning. The survey, conducted in May and June by audit, tax, and advisory firm KPMG LLP, showed that 72 percent of the retailers said they have a great deal of cash on their balance sheets. Fifty-six percent of them said they only expect a modest improvement in the economy, revenue, and hiring in 2012. The outlook beyond 2012 does not appear promising either: 40 percent of the survey respondents said they don't expect a full economic recovery until 2013-2014 or later. And of the 100 retail executives, 23 percent said headcount would never return to pre-recession levels. According to Mark Larson, KPMG global retail leader, retailers and their growing, will spend money on analytical tools to examine the enormous amount of data captured online and at the cash register. "Analytics says let's use emerging technology to do a deep dive into that data to make it useful," he said. The survey shows that retail leaders do not expect spending to significantly increase in the next year. "The customer's wallet is not going to be growing, so the game has to be to grab more of that wallet," said Larson. "We need to neatly dive into their behavior to really understand what they value and what they're going to buy."

Major quakes strike in Pacific off Alaska

A major earthquake of 7.4 magnitude struck in the Pacific Ocean more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of Anchorage on Thursday, prompting a brief tsunami warning for part of the remote Aleutian Islands chain.
No damage or injuries were reported. The warning, which extended for roughly 800 miles (1,300 km) -- from Unimak Pass, northeast of Dutch Harbor, westward to Amchitka Pass, west of Adak Island -- was canceled after a little more than an hour.
A tsunami wave measuring just 6 centimetres tall was recorded at Nikolski, a tiny Aleut village on the island of Umnak, and a 10-centimeter wave was observed at Adak, said Becki Legatt, a spokeswoman for the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska.
The coast of the entire Alaska peninsula and all of the Alaska mainland were never considered to be threatened.
The quake struck shortly after 7 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) at a depth of about 25 miles (40 km). A second tremor of magnitude 7.2 hit in the same vicinity of the Aleutians a half-minute later, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Quakes of 7 to 8 magnitudes and higher are relatively common in the Aleutians but are generally of little consequence because the island chain is so remote and sparsely populated.
"This is a very seismically active area," said Randy Baldwin, a USGS geophysicist with the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.
A tsunami warning means all coastal residents in the warning area who are near the beach or in low-lying regions should move immediately to higher ground and away from harbors and inlets, including those sheltered directly from the sea.

Small Talk With Strangers Disappear

The art of making small talk with strangers is fast disappearing as more and more people prefer to communicate through social networking site Facebook, reveals a new survey. The survey carried out by organic tea brand Clipper revealed that two-thirds of Britons regularly talk to people on Facebook who they would never see in person. A staggering 70 percent of the 1,000 people polled said they thought the art of conversation was dying because of texting, email and social media. A third would strike up a conversation with a stranger only if they were lost and needed directions, and just over half said they see the same people every day on the way to work, at lunch or walking the dog. But four out of 10 said it would be "weird" to say hello, while others said they were shy or "could not think of anything to say", so ignored them. The problem is particularly bad among those aged under 30, with 58 percent saying they avoid talking to people they see often, but do not really know. However, their parents' generation appeared friendlier with 63 percent of people aged between 45 and 59 happy to strike up a conversation with people they see regularly. Pensioners were friendlier still with 74 percent happy to talk to people they see on a daily basis. "There is a great nostalgia about manners and a sense there was some golden age, but what people really crave is that we all treat each other with respect," the Daily Express quoted etiquette expert and former 'That's Life!' presenter Simon Fanshawe as saying.

Netizens Sore Rules

In the age of internet-fuelled information explosion, the government's new rule allowing telecom companies and blogging sites, among others, to remove 'objectionable' content from the web without informing users is a violation of the right to freedom of speech, say netizens and cyber law experts. The Information Technology (Due Diligence Observed by Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, say that intermediaries - which include telecommunication companies, internet service providers (ISP), blogging sites, search engines, as well as cyber cafes - can remove 'objectionable' content without notifying the user. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced the rules last month. Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate, said: 'It (the new rules) is in direct violation to the freedom of speech, which is a fundamental right and mentioned in article 19 of the constitution.' 'The new rules say that intermediaries should remove such kind of objectionable items within 36 hours without informing the users. They have the right to remove any post on a blog or site, work with the user to correct the post or disable access to their services altogether,' Duggal told IANS. According to InternetWorldStat.com, India stands fourth in the world in internet surfing with 8.5 percent of the country's population using the internet. Nishant Shah, director (research) of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, said the government should recognise blogging as the right of the people and that the new rule is 'against the fundamental right of freedom of speech'. Pushkar Raj, general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), plans to knock the door of the Supreme Court in a week's time on the issue. 'The biggest problem of this rule is that it gives a lot of power to lower-ranking police officials without any kind of supervision. In this era of information flow, it is very hard to define the term 'intermediaries',' Raj told IANS. The rules also say that the intermediaries will preserve such kind of information and maintain records for at least 90 days for investigation purposes. Taha Sahil, a management student in Amity University, said the internet was the only weapon to spread the truth and these rules would curb that. 'It's like snatching away our freedom of speech. We all know that the media is biased and blogs and other web portals are the only unbiased source through which people can write and spread the truth. Moreover, this rule does not give any opportunity to the user to defend his work or even appeal,' Sahil said. The new IT rule specifies that the intermediaries should not display, upload, modify or publish any information that is 'harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, pornographic, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, disparaging, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable, relating to money laundering or gambling'. Bloggers say the new rule is too tedious and will discourage them from blogging. Shivam Vij, a Delhi-based journalist and blogger, said: 'This rule is so vast that it causes confusion and annoyance. Who defines that the content is objectionable and how?' The new rule also gives the government easier access to content from the intermediaries. The intermediaries will be required to provide information to authorised government agencies for investigation and cyber security. Ghulam Muhammed, a Mumbai-based blogger, is one of the net users who partly agreed with the reasons behind the government's initiative. 'The government's control on internet is in essence a draconian measure. But on the good side, it will control things like the spread of pornography,' Muhammad said. Internet service providers argue that the rules are transparent enough and it was high time such legislation was put in place as people had suffered in the past because of malicious content being posted against them. 'There are sets of words defined and most of them are illegal under the law, though there are a few loose words which need to be taken care of,' said Subho Ray, president, Internet and Mobile Association of India. 'If the user has a problem with his content being removed, he can move court and if the court agrees to his appeal his content can be put back again,' he added.