Chromebook Pixel: How Google hopes to play in the premium space

Even with the current low market penetration predictions for laptops and desktops in the coming years, Google has introduced a Google-branded high-resolution Chrome OS portable computer with a touchscreen, a shift that blurs the boundaries between keyboard-oriented laptops and touch-oriented tablets and between the company's mobile Android operating system and its Web-centric Chrome OS.

Fulfilling a prediction made late last year, Sundar Pichai, SVP of Chrome and apps, demonstrated the Chromebook Pixel, the first Chrome OS device aimed at power users, at a media event in San Francisco.

Pichai described the Pixel as both as a fully engineered product and a reference device to show Google's hardware partners how a Chrome OS touchscreen device can work. The Pixel is by far the most premium Chromebook that we've seen to date: it has a Retina-like high resolution touchscreen display, a powerful Core i5 processor, and an upscale metal chassis. It also has a similarly upscale price of $1,299.

But hardware and price aren't the only unique aspects of the Pixel — where earlier Chromebooks have been made by a variety of manufacturers, including Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, and even HP, the Pixel is the first model to be designed entirely in-house by Google and carry just a Google logoPichai said the screen was "the highest resolution screen that's ever been shipped on a laptop." For the sake of comparison, the Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display has a pixel density of 220 ppi.

The Pixel is different, however. The Chromebook's $1,299 price is more than Apple asks for a 13-inch MacBook Air, and significantly more than what you pay for your average Windows 8 Ultrabook, even when considering a model with a touchscreen. Apart from the high resolution display, the Chromebook doesn't really do anything more than those computers — and many would argue that since it's little more than a juiced-up web browser, it can do significantly less. Additionally, it doesn't offer a significantly faster processor, it isn't thinner or lighter than other laptops, and its five hours of expected battery life is little more than average for an ultraportable laptop.

Pichai also highlighted the device's speed. "It's an incredibly fast experience," he said. "In my personal experience, this is the fastest laptop I've used." At 3.35 pounds, the Chromebook Pixel is about a pound heavier than Apple's MacBook Air, which appears to be the Pixel's primary competition, at least in terms of price. Despite its heft, the Pixel is a beautifully designed device, one that includes several custom-designed components. Pichai insists the Pixel compares favorably with Apple's ultraportable notebook.

"I think it will stand up very, very well against a Macbook Air," said Pichai. "... What you're getting from our hardware is in many ways far superior."

Google has partnered with Verizon to provide an LTE wireless connectivity option. It is providing Pixel buyers with 1 TB of Google Drive storage at no cost for three years. That much storage normally would cost about $600 annually.

The Wi-Fi version (32 GB) of the Chromebook Pixel is available for $1,299. It can be ordered through the Google Play store, with shipping scheduled in about one week. The LTE version (64 GB) costs $1,499. It is also available for order through Google Play, with shipping planned for April. On Friday, Best Buy will begin taking Chromebook Pixel orders.

To make the prospect of living in the cloud more appealing, Google is planning in three months to integrate Quickoffice (acquired by Google last year) into a future version of its Chrome browser and Chrome OS using its Native Client technology. This will allow Word and Excel documents to be opened and edited natively in Google Apps rather than converted to the Google Apps format. As a result, the Pixel should appeal to businesses that rely on Microsoft Office.

Google is also planning to release in its Chrome Web Store a Google+ Photos app that supports automatic photo uploading from SD cards. Armed with a touchscreen, Chromebooks may be ready to transition from the role of understudy to star.

In October, Pichai described Chromebooks as a complement to existing PCs. And Google supported that sidekick role through its Chrome Remote Desktop software, a Chrome browser extension that lets Chrome OS users access and administer OS X or Windows computers from afar.

But the touch-oriented Pixel presents a challenge to personal computers running OS X, Linux or Windows, as well as tablets running Android. It aspires to be a primary computing device for those who want to "live in the cloud," as Pichai puts it.

Google first launched Chrome OS laptops with partners Acer and Samsung in mid-2011. Rather than trying to offer devices that were more powerful than leading PCs at the time, Google and its partners offered devices that were more affordable, more manageable and more secure. Initially, Chromebooks sold poorly, but following the launch of second-generation devices in May 2012 and third-generation devices in October 2012, including an ARM-based Chromebook from Samsung, demand appeared to rise. Pichai noted that Samsung's recent model Chromebook has remained atop Amazon.com's laptop bestseller list for the entire 125-day period it has been available.

Some of the credit for rising Chromebook demand should go to Google for expanding the number of Chromebook kiosks at Best Buy stores. But Acer and Samsung played a part too by making Chromebook laptops more appealing.

Signal Alliance concludes Customer Week 2013

As part of the activities marking their annual customer appreciation week, Nigeria’s leading enterprise solutions and systems specialists Signal Alliance has embarked on various activities meant to show appreciation and commitment to their existing customer base. With visitations scheduled for her plethora of clients drawn from banking, insurance, manufacturing, aviation, energy and public sectors of the economy, the company once again has demonstrated its customer relationship abilities.

These activities, which started with visitations to some key customers of Signal Alliance has seen the company visiting the likes of Union Bank Plc., Mansard Insurance, Pan Ocean, Dangote group, Nigerian Breweries, Aero Contractors, etc, within the period of the Customer week.

Justifying the importance of this annual exercise, the managing director of Signal Alliance Collins Onuegbu explained that though information technology activities tends to eliminate the personal touch needed in business relationships, Signal Alliance devised this scheme to bring back the age long means of interacting with customers. “We can’t let machines rule everything in our life and that’s why we take out time to physically visit our esteemed customers and show them, as humans, that we appreciate doing business with them as well as reward them for sticking with us as preferred service provider” he said.

In addition to using these visits to appreciate their customers, which has taken a better part of the week, the company is also using the visitation to reward their customers by offering free services via Gift Vouchers to their customers. According to Desmond Omovie, the company’s head of branding and marketing communications, the Gift vouchers contain four specialized offers from Signal Alliance each worth at least US$3000.

He said: “We are offering them free services in either of Infrastructure Network Assessment, Unified Communications Pilot Assessment, Enterprise Cloud Readiness Assessment or SharePoint Deployment Planning Services”. Even though these services represent a profitable aspect of the business, Mr. Omovie believes that offering them free to their customers as part of the benefits of the customer week is another way Signal Alliance shows that retaining the goodwill and productivity of their customers far outweighs the financial gains in the business.

Reacting to the gesture on behalf of some of the customers of Signal Alliance, the Group Head IT of Union Bank PlcMr. Peter Iwegbu, thanked the management and staff of Signal Alliance for the visit and reiterated his appreciation of the professional relationship that exists between both companies.

Activities for the Customer Week rounded up with a visit to the Little Saints Orphanage in Lagos as well as a Breakfast Meeting with industry experts and customers of Signal Alliance in Lagos.

Aviat Networks gets $10 Million Microwave Backhaul Contract For U.S. Metropolitan Area

Aviat Networks, Inc., the leading expert in microwave networking solutions, today announced that it received orders worth over $10 million for a combination of microwave backhaul equipment and services to support the public safety network of one of the largest city municipalities in the United States. This win reinforces Aviat’s position as the most trusted supplier for first responder microwave systems. A large proportion of the revenue was recorded in the company’s second fiscal quarter with the balance to be spread over the next two to three quarters.

The network supports the city’s police, firefighters and other first responders on a multi-agency wireless system. Aviat is installing Eclipse IRU 600 and Eclipse ODU 600 radios to provide seamless migration to IP/MPLS and LTE while supporting the mission-critical requirements of existing TDM traffic, which will fully enable interagency communications critical in addressing challenges during natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other large-scale first-responder challenges.

In addition to improving interagency communications, the network will provide infrastructure capable of supporting the state’s future LTE network and associated high-bandwidth applications such as video. According to a November 2012 public safety LTE and broadband market report by research firm Signals and Systems Telecom (SNS Telecom), mobile video surveillance has a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent over the next five years, amounting to an estimated $2.5 billion of global revenues in 2016.

“The public safety LTE infrastructure will need to support the next wave of in-field crime-fighting tools, such as mobile surveillance video,” say Tony Ljubicich, vice president of sales, the Americas, Aviat Networks. “This upgrade of the city’s wireless voice and data microwave backhaul will deliver LTE-proven bandwidth for video as well as other real-time applications such as fingerprint matching and identity checks. Moreover, it is set to be leveraged for integration into the statewide radio system when the time comes.”

RIM Rebrands finally to BlackBerry

This was a massive week for Research In Motion, which announced its long-anticipated BlackBerry 10 OS, two new smartphones and a major corporate rebranding.

Keen to draw a line under a frustrating period marred by delayed product launches and share losses, RIM changed its company name to BlackBerry on Wednesday. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company will trade under the ticker symbol "BBRY" from Feb. 4.

The Canadian handset maker unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and two new smartphones: the Z10 and Q10. The Z10 is a touchscreen device with a 4.2-inch display, while the Q10 comes with a physical QWERTY keyboard.

Clearly intent on injecting some youthful vitality into the company's image, BlackBerry also appointed Alicia Keys as the company's new global creative director. Investors, however, were unmoved by the flurry of announcements, and the company's shares fell sharply in the hours following Wednesday's news.

BlackBerry also offered a brief glimpse of the company's Super Bowl ad on Friday while the company's shares ended the week down nearly 26% at $13.02. Chief Executive Thorsten Heins has announced that RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take the name of its signature product, signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email.

"From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry," Heins said at the New York launch. "It is one brand; it is one promise." RIM, which is already starting to call itself BlackBerry, had initially planned to launch the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones in 2011. But it pushed the date back twice as it struggled to work with a new operating system.

"The biggest disappointment was the delay in the U.S., that it will take so long before the devices get going there," said Eric Jackson, founder and managing Partner at Ironfire Capital LLC in New York. Heins said the delays reflected the need for U.S. carrier testing, although carrier AT&T offered few clues on what that meant.

"We are very enthusiastic about the devices. We will announce pricing, availability, and other information at a later date. Beyond that, nothing to add," said spokesman Mark Siegel. RIM launched its first BlackBerry back in 1999 as a way for busy executives to stay in touch with their clients and their offices, and the Canadian company quickly cornered the market for secure corporate and government email.

But its star faded as competition rose. The BlackBerry is now a far-behind also-ran in the race for market share, with a 3.4 percent global showing in the fourth quarter, down from 20 percent three years before. Its North American market share is even worse: a mere 2 percent in the fourth quarter.

RIM shares tumbled along with the company's market share, and the stock is down 90 percent from its 2008 peak. The shares fell as much as 8 percent on Wednesday, although they are still more than twice the level of their September 2012 low, reflecting ever-louder buzz about the new devices.

Etisalat and Pacific Controls to Offer M2M Technology for Middle East, Africa and Asia

Etisalat Group and Pacific Controls, the leading global automation company, has announced an agreement to jointly offer unique Machine-to-Machine based (M2M Technology) Sustainable Development applications and support to clients across Etisalat's footprint. This is meant to bring environmentally beneficial, green IT to the Middle East, Africa and Asia covering fifteen countries in total.

The new agreement was signed at a press conference in Dubai by Khalifa Al Shamsi , Chief Digital Services Officer, Etisalat Group and Dilip Rahulan , Executive Chairman of Pacific Controls.

The event was organised to coincide with a visit from the President of the GSM Association (GSMA) Mobile for Development Program, Mr Lawrence Yanovitch and the program's Managing Director Chris Locke . Sougata Nandi , Chief Executive Officer at Pacific Controls, Ahmed bin Ali , Senior Vice President Corporate Communications - Etisalat Group, Abdulla Hashim , Senior Vice President Business Solutions - Etisalat UAE, Dr Shane Rooney , Vice President Machine-to-Machine, Zakarya Alashek Ag. Senior Manager/PM-Mobility Solutions and M2M and other senior management representatives were present for the signing.

"This partnership brings a unique offering that utilizes ICT to deliver sustainable development. It leverages M2M technology to deliver managed energy services and business intelligence in real time, which helps to reduce a company's carbon footprint. We are delighted to be working with Pacific Controls on such a positive goal which shows how mobile and ICT can tangibly benefit the communities in which we live, work and play," said Khalifa Al Shamsi , Chief Digital Services Officer at Etisalat Group.

He continued: "Energy consumption today is at an all-time high, leading to increased ecological and environmental pressure to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. As a leader in the telecommunications industry, Etisalat is well positioned to spearhead this initiative in alliance with Pacific Controls, leveraging technologies like M2M to effectively reduce the carbon footprint of the UAE. With this agreement, we are now also able to expand our carbon reduction efforts across our 15 markets."

Dilip Rahulan , Executive Chairman of Pacific Controls, said, "Mankind is facing unprecedented challenge of Climate Change. Pacific Controls' Enterprise City Management Platform, coupled with Etisalat's extensive mobile network coverage, has already manifested that ICT can save the climate at the speed of light. Facilities are reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint by up to 30% through the Energy Star programme that requires only a few days to implement. With real time profiling of energy consumptions, participating organizations are now able to report on their carbon footprint online."

The agreement aims to reduce the carbon footprint of companies across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and was launched in the UAE in December 2011 as the "Emirates Energy Star".  Since its launch, the programme has eliminated more than 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions in the UAE, achieved purely through active 24X7 Monitoring and Control of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment across 50 participating facilities, constituting an overall built-up space in excess of 9 million sq. ft.

The overall goal of the Emirates Energy Star programme is to reduce the carbon emissions of the UAE by 20% by 2020. The programme combines the strength of Galaxy software platform, Global Command Control Centre, Subject Matter Experts and Mobile Network to reduce operating costs of facilities.          

Some of the additional benefits offered via the programme is creating business intelligence through data collected and analysed from thousands of devices connected across buildings.

Pacific Control Systems (PCS) provides ICT enabled managed services and converged engineering solutions for buildings and infrastructure projects globally. PCS has pioneered the technology for Smart Cities in which buildings and infrastructure are managed centrally to increase sustainability, leveraging the ICT infrastructure of telecom operators around the world.

Austin Okere of CWG Teaches With Authors Steve Blank And Bob Dorf At Columbia

CWG Boss, Austin Okere just back from Columbia Business School, New York, where he participated as an instructor at the Steve Blank “Lean Launch Pad” Class, plans to bring the novel concept to Nigeria.

The Lean Launch Pad is joining forces with Startup Weekend, Udacity, TechStars and Startup America to offer some of the world’s most effective experiential entrepreneurship education.

By combining content from the world’s leading expert in customer development with local mentors and leaders in an intensive flipped-classroom style course, the movement has been able to create a unique, effective experience for teams of entrepreneurs that are serious about growing a customer-driven startup.

The program is already being offered in 15 cities around the world, with another 25 programs launching in February. The goal is to expand the program to more than 100 cities in 2013.  

Thus far, seasoned entrepreneurs such as Steve Blank are teaching NEXT in Silicon Valley, Andy Sack (TechStars Seattle founder) in Seattle, Alex Farcet (founder of Startupbootcamp) in multiple European cities, Eric Koester (founder of Zaarly) in Washington, DC with countless others joining.  

The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurial Center at CBS, where Okere has been a guest lecturer since 2009, conveyed in their invitation their belief that his experience and contribution to entrepreneurial ship in emerging markets will provide unparalleled contribution to the class of aspiring entrepreneurs.

The Computer Warehouse Group, whose case study is a regular feature at Columbia Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, as well as many other institutions in Africa, including the prestigious Lagos Business School, chronicles the trials, challenges and triumph of entrepreneurship in the challenging environment that characterizes Sub Saharan Africa.

The Lean Launch Pad course provides real world, hands-on learning on what it is like to actually

start a high-tech company. It is a practical class where the goal is to create an entrepreneurial experience with all of the pressures and demands of the real world in an early stage start up.

The syllabus for the course is drawn majorly from the bestselling book, The Startup Owner’s Manual, co-authored by serial entrepreneurs Steve Blank and Bob Dorf, and the revolutionary new book, Business Model Generation co-authored by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

These two books provide insights into powerful, simple, tested tools for understanding, designing, reworking, and implementing business models, through a business model canvas, that defines unique value propositions for specific customer segments, and the relationships and channels to deliver these to the customer to maximize revenue. It also helps the entrepreneur identify key resources, partners and key activities to be performed and at what cost.

The course provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide to getting startups right. It walks entrepreneurs through the customer development process that gets them out of the building to develop wining products that customers will buy.

There is an increasing global focus and emphasis on entrepreneurship as the most viable vehicle for job creation. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2011 report, there is an upsurge in entrepreneurship around the world, with a total number of about 400 million spread across 54 countries. The GEM in its 2006 report revealed that there was a systematic relationship between a country’s level of economic development and its level of entrepreneurial activity. It noted that countries with similar per capita GDP tend to exhibit similar levels of entrepreneurial activity.

At low levels of per capita GDP, industrial structure is characterized by the prevalence of many very small enterprises. As per capita income increases, industrialization and economies of scale allow larger and established firms to satisfy the increasing demand of growing markets and to increase their relative role in the economy.

On his involvement in the Block Week Course at Columbia Business School Okere said “I believe that it is better to have a thousand millionaires than a ten billionaires. It is better still to have a million people with access to a hundred thousand dollars, if they can be taught how to nurture and grow it through entrepreneurial endeavor; and I intend to do something about it, so when I was invited, I did not hesitate in accepting, with a view to bringing the concept to Africa”.

Okere whose entrepreneurial advocacy has taken him on similar teaching expeditions across Africa; through Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania also remarked “I like to put the story of the Computer Warehouse Group out there because such success stories contribute immensely to the attraction of capital to the region, which combined with the entrepreneurial acumen and the youthful population unleashes waves of economic boom, which in turn lifts the pile at bottom of the pyramid into the more desirable networked economy of the emerging global village. Besides, it provides the perfect opportunity to be a brand ambassador for Africa”.

  

Okere, one of Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneurs has made quite a name for himself over the past 20 years, growing the Computer Warehouse Group into a $130 million revenue company, with 650 staff spread across Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon. In 2012 he was named ICT Man of the Decade by ICT Watch Africa Digital Network, and CWG was named Conglomerate of the Year. The organizers cited CWG’s immense contributions toward the growth and development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), youth empowerment through ICT education, and nation building.

In 2011 Austin was equally named the ICT Personality of the year by Technology Africa, and the most outstanding ICT Personality of the Decade in 2010 by ICT Watch Africa. He has also received the IT Personality of the Year award by the Nigerian IT and Telecom Awards, among many others.

The Computer Warehouse Group was recently ranked among the top 50 Technology Companies in West Africa, and also bagged the Award of the ICT Company of the Year 2012 by Technology Africa.

Okere who shall be participating at the Economist Group’s Nigerian Summit in March intends to take his entrepreneurial advocacy very strongly to the Forum to attract the much needed focus.