Lenovo Latest Tech Firm in Formula One
PC manufacturer Lenovo becomes the latest ICT firm to sponsor a Formula One team. Lenovo has signed up to have their technology be a part of the AT&T Williams team. Lenovo PC technology will be used throughout the AT&T Williams team on functions ranging from ignition checks to race operations and inventory and the Lenovo logo will be displayed in the dominant branding position on the 2007 cars of drivers Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz.
Formula One is a data-intensive, computing-intensive endeavor, highly focused and invested in innovation and development, and highly dependent on information technology. The AT&T Williams team will use Lenovo PC technology in every functional area of its business, and a Lenovo notebook PC will form an integral part of starting the F1 car before each race, practice and test session.
Many other tech companies sponsor F1 teams including Intel, AMD, Vodafone and Panasonic. Tech companies are increasingly popular sponsors of Motor Sports as tobacco companies are increasingly being phased out as sponsors due to various national legislation.
TV Antennas Still in Use
A survey by Arab Advisors Group, “Saudi Arabia Media Survey 2007,” reveals that terrestrial TV still has a good base in Saudi Arabia with 48.4 percent of households stating that they tune into it. However, 93.9 percent of households own a satellite dish. Additionally, 73.7 percent of people in Saudi Arabia also listen to radio programs, with over half of the listeners tuning in to radio shows on a daily basis.
In regards to what people watch on TV, the audience of news programs spans all age groups, but peaks with older age groups. A larger percentage of the younger generation watch game and contest shows, as well as fashion and music shows. Those who had higher education levels mostly tuned in to political shows. High school and university level students mostly tuned in to sports, health and fitness programs.
Tips for Saving Electricity
In another month it will be time to turn the airconditioners on again and then everybody’s electric bills will go sky high. Consumer electronic devices can use electricity needlessly. Try the following measure to help trim your electric bill.
• Unplug mobile phone or PDA chargers when batteries are fully charged or when the chargers are not in use.
• Be power-wise with your PC. Most personal computers have power management features that control energy consumption. Look under “Power Options” in the “Control Panel” of your PC.
• When you’re finished watching a movie or playing a videogame, don’t forget to turn off the DVD player or videogame console as well as the television itself.
• Check owners’ manuals to make sure you’re taking full advantage of any energy-conservation capabilities of your electronics.
• Plug electronics, such as TVs, DVD players and audio systems, into power strips, and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use especially for long periods of time. Be sure to read the manual first to make sure you won’t affect the product.
• When in the market for home office products, consider a multifunction device, which combines printing, copying, scanning and faxing.
Handheld Device Shipments Down
The worldwide handheld device market slumped further at the close of 2006, despite several notable vendors posting seasonal increases in shipments. According to IDC’s Worldwide Handheld QView, vendors shipped 5.5 million units in 2006, down 28.5 percent from the 7.6 million units shipped in 2005. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2006, vendors shipped a total of 1.5 million units, or 35.9 percent less than the 2.3 million units shipped during 4Q05. Looking ahead, IDC expects this downward trend to continue in 2007.
“The handheld devices market is under intense pressure from networked mobile devices,” said Ramon Llamas, research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. “Features found on handheld devices, including personal information management (PIM) functionality, multimedia, and Bluetooth connectivity have also been included on converged mobile devices (commonly known as smartphones) and high-end phones. The proliferation of notebook computers with embedded wireless WiFi has also allowed users to remain connected while on the go, further reducing the demand for handheld devices. Finally, GPS devices have gained momentum in the marketplace, and also negatively impacted handheld devices.”
He continued, “Handheld vendors have expanded their portfolios to include networked devices, and put greater focus on the latter. In some cases, a vendor has put more resources to developing its converged mobile device portfolio while its handheld device portfolio has remained largely unchanged. In other cases, a vendor’s total shipments for handheld devices have been less than for its personal navigation devices.”
As for rating handheld device vendors in 2006, Palm took top honors, capturing the clear majority of shipments both for the quarter and the year. HP held steady as the No. 2 vendor worldwide both for the quarter and for the year. Of the leading vendors, Mio was the only company to post both a quarterly and full-year increase in shipments, and just edged past Dell to lay claim to the No. 3 position worldwide during 4Q06. Dell finished the fourth quarter just slightly behind Mio, but in terms of full-year shipments, Dell finished the year ahead of Mio. From both a fourth quarter and a full-year perspective, Dell’s shipment volumes declined greater than the industry average. In 4Q2006, Acer rounded out the Top 5, but had the largest year-on-year Q4 decrease of the Top 5 vendors. In addition, Acer did not rank as the No. 5 vendor for 2006. That honor went to Sharp.
