We considered getting rid of PCs — for about two seconds

Apart from the many synergies (including cost advantages) that might be lost if H.P. abandoned the PC division, the move would seem to undo years of strategy. The status of the PC division had been under constant review during the Hurd regime. But as one former H.P. executive told me, “We considered getting rid of PCs — for about two seconds.” It’s true that the PC business has lower margins — currently 5.8 percent compared with the rest of the company’s average of 11 percent. But given H.P.’s sales and marketing channels, the huge PC division was considered the foundation that supported servers, storage, software and eventually services, enabling H.P. to compete across the $150 billion infrastructure market as the world’s largest computer company.

Source: nytimes

Are there any good buys out there for HP?

HP’s deal to buy Autonomy seems expensive for leftover of a software company.

Software is a big part of IBM’s profits and it is growing rapidly.  IBM and Oracle have been on buying sprees, picking up one software firm after another.  HP has not.  Software is only three percent of HP’s business.  Are there any good buys out there for HP?  Again it could be a matter of timing.  HP is late getting started.  The best deals may already be gone.

Source: Cringely

Not rebellion, but luxury

The result is that Apple’s image in China now emphasizes not rebellion, but luxury — or as Wolf puts it, “exclusivity.” Its gorgeous glass-walled stores are located next to high-end clothing boutiques like Armani, Versace, and BMW Lifestyle. Apple is seen as the choice of “top white-collar professionals,” as stylish 30-something Lily Ou told me, glancing up from a row of brightly colored iPhone cases at Beijing’s Sanlitun Apple Store. Ou is a sales manager for an international food distributor. “I like to show off my Apple identity,” she said.

Source: Foreign Policy

Zynga goes to China

This will be interesting to watch how it plays out, online gaming is one space China famously sets the stage.

“As a social game developer, Zynga fully recognizes the value of Tencent’s Open Platform and their professional service capability,” said Andy Tian, general manager of Zynga China.

“CityVille is Zynga’s largest and most popular game and Zynga is proud to partner with the leading open platform in China to bring the innovation and delight of the game to Chinese players. We are excited that a fully localized Zynga City will be introduced to the Chinese audience and look forward to enabling them to connect in a fun, harmonious way.”

Source: Telegraph

Some winning cards in its legal poker game

Pierre Ferragu, an analyst with BernsteinResearch, believes the takeover of S3 will provide HTC with some winning cards in its legal poker game. It also shows, says Mr Ferragu, that the next phase of mobile-phone development will be driven at least as much by the courts as by consumers.

Source: Economist

"Business is like a multidimensional probabilistic chessboard. The rules aren’t set, and the same moves don’t always make you win. A lot of people can be really good in a set-piece battle; my biggest differentiating skill is I can invent new pieces."

Source: Elon Musk

Running to Windows Phone 7?

Sounds a bit dramatic but I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes them look at Windows Phone’s with a more open mind as a product strategy.

Apple’s early win against HTC has sent some Chinese phone makers running to Windows Phone 7, a source said. Mainland Chinese paper 21st Century Business Herald understood that local companies were adding or improving their support for Windows Phone and would use the new Mango build alongside or in place of Android. Huawei and ZTE were already planning to add WP7 devices, although for them it was to diversify their lines more than a defensive strategy.

Source: Electronista

Television is where the big money is

Neither Carey nor Elisabeth Murdoch has any particular love for newspapers; if the Dow Jones special committee starts causing nuisance, or if News International needs to be sold, they’re perfectly capable of letting that business go. Television is where the big money is, and neither of them wants to see News Corp’s global TV ambitions permanently derailed by a bunch of tabloid hacks. Murdoch’s empire might well yet be inherited by one of his children. But that empire might well be very light on newspapers. 

Source: Reuters

"Tabloid editors aren’t strategists, they are instinctive; they don’t run businesses, they run campaigns, or feuds. The only truly successful one with longevity is Paul Dacre of the Mail, and he’s never ventured anywhere near the share price."

Source: Guardian

China a big growth opportunity for Apple?

Regardless of when the device debuts on China Telecom, the implications of a broadening of iPhone distribution in China are significant. As I’ve noted here before there are potentially massive growth opportunities for Apple in the Asia-Pacific. China Telecom currently has about 105.7 million wireless subscribers and 19.7 million of them use 3G. That’s a vast untapped market, one that Ticonderoga analyst Brian White says could represent a revenue opportunity for the iPhone of $8 billion to $9 billion.

Source: allthingsd