Jacky's Electronics Blog

Why we're waiting for the Galaxy SIII...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Remember a few months ago when we were all waiting for the Apple keynote to see whether Apple would indeed introduce an iPad 3 or last year when we expected an iPhone 5? What happened? Many of us were disappointed to find out those products never happened despite all the rumours that were circulating.

The revolution we wanted never happened that many wanted but something quite strange has been happened in the smartphone industry in the last few weeks. There have been people speculating and awaiting what's coming in a new smartphone and for once it's not an Apple product.

Samsung have succeeded in keeping everyone on their toes with what the Samsung Galaxy SIII will be when it is finally announced. Samsung have given an indication today that we need only wait a few more weeks as they will most likely make the announcement on May 3rd. Samsung looks to have settled on a roll-out strategy similar to Apple's where they announce one big product every year and to their credit that they've managed to get people this excited.

Samsung has become the de facto standard of what Android is and in the battle with Apple internationally, it has firmly set its sights of what Google Android / Samsung can do to gain mainstream acceptance within the Middle East.

Let's hope Samsung doesn't disappoint us with the Galaxy SIII announcement (if it is indeed called that) like Apple has done because you get a sense that many consumers aren't going to be quite as tolerant as they have been with Apple thus far.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Jacky's Valentine's Day Competition draws 400 entries.

noreply@blogger.com (Jacky's Electronics) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Jacky’s hosted its Valentine’s Day competition from 30 Jan to 12 Feb 2012 to celebrate love with a twist of fascination for gadgets and provide a platform of expression and sharing in the form of competition.

The Jury and team has taken all care to ensure that all the entries were given its due worth however the competition was stiff and there could only be three winners.

The Three most heartiest entries that have been chosen Winners by our JURY are as follows:

******
Samay Majhi - Winner | 2 * Iphone 4S
Loreamel Bunyi-Vespiras - Runner up 1 | 2 * Sony Tablet
Sanju Scaria - Runner up 2 | 1* Shaver & 1 * Epilator

******

To all our ardent fans and all the community members who have painstakingly contributed and followed the competition, we would like to share our approach and behind-the-scene work that reinforces our responsibility to our fan community and commitment to conduct in fairness.

The competition ran over 14 days and drew whopping 400 entries. The Competition was closely monitored on daily basis; for fairness edited entries were NOT considered despite some with higher Likes than other. While there was community led policing and reporting of the fake likes on our wall, our team engaged in detailed screening of all entries for identifying Fake profiles, Fake Profile likes, no referral likes that eventually were eliminated. All comments were moderated by Jacky’s; certain comments that have been deleted are due to abusive language.

Entries have been shortlisted on the criteria of authenticity, creativity, uniqueness, personal relevance in the message and relevance to gadgets along with public likeability. There have been entries that have been more creative but with lesser likes and couldn’t be considered for shortlist whilst entries with high number of likes but falling short on the other criteria. The Entries that have won the competition have scored well across over all the criteria’s.

We maintain that the judgment has been fair and believe that most of the participants acknowledge it.

The Essence of any competition is participation and fun, which undoubtedly has been brought about by each participant and we can’t thank enough for everybody’s contribution.

Being a competition, we expect most of the people will sport the underlying spirit. While winning remains important, it’s VITAL to play to one’s true potential and take the result in a positive stride.

Hope you have a great Valentine's with your loved ones and spread the Cheer :-)

Post by: Manish Arora, Head- Retail Marketing, Jacky's Electronics

Camera trends & Best sellers for DSF 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jacky's Electronics) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Some photos capture more than the visual aspect, they go beyond the scenic and capture the imagination of the person behind the lens. Whether you are one of those who has been dreaming to embark on creating your photo tales but remain overwhelmed with the so called sophistication around the DIY or more formally known Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera range, or you might be the one who believes that you might not be able to exert yourself beyond push of a button with a point and shoot digital still camera (DSC), this read should help you in making your pick.

Current Trends

§ As the age of Smart phone cameras emerge, the ‘low end’ point-n-shoot market is evolving into “bridge cameras” that feature long zooms and manual override capability, and sometimes RAW mode. Or just nice pocket cameras with a fair amount of capability relative to the smart phone. Likewise, the mid range is moving into low end DSLRs.

§ The consumer video camera market is shrinking. More and more people either use their smart phone or their “bridge camera” or DSLR to shoot video. It seems to be working for them.

§ The new generations of digital still cameras have Wi-Fi capability to upload photos and videos direct from the camera to YouTube and social media websites. This includes more sophisticated touch screen for better user interface experience.

§ The video camera market will exist mostly at the high end, in the near future. Think larger sensors (m43, APS-C) and interchangeable lenses.

Future Trend:

§ It should not be a long wait before we will see some of the key players in this category introducing cameras with capabilities that allow ‘apps’ to make it smarter, just like your smart phone, or your tablet or notebook computer.

§ Lytro Cameras; The Lytro camera may be the most diminutive object to start a revolution. With its simple, rectangular form factor, the Lytro looks more ready to bestow the user with a half-dozen Oreo cookies than a totally new kind of photography. The Lytro is the world’s first consumer light-field camera. Unlike conventional models, a light-field camera captures all the light information from all the rays in its field of view — not just color and intensity, but direction as well. The method has a number of novel applications, the most publicized being photos that the viewer can focus after the fact.

Best Sellers:

1. Canon EOS1100DKIT

This is the DSLR with a very high demand in the market. The Canon EOS1100D is a 12 Megapixel DSLR with a 2.7” LCD screen. It has a wide area 9 point Auto Focus system with HD movie recording capabilities. This model has ISO 100-6400 sensitivity with Live View features and on screen feature guide. This DSF Jacky’s is selling this model for Dhs. 3099 along with a bundle including of 18-55mm DC lens, EF55-250mm IS lens worth Dhs. 1899 and a EF50mm 1.8 lens worth Dhs. 449. The bundle also consists of a 16 GB SD card worth Dhs. 99, a Carry Case and a Dhs.100 Jacky’s Gift Voucher. Along with this offer Jacky’s is also giving away premium Gifts worth Dhs. 350 in the form of Branded Perfume Sets OR Targus Pilot case along with the DSLR camera. A customer will have a total saving of Dhs.1599 with this bundle package.

2. Canon EOS500DKIT

This is the DSLR with advanced features; it has 15.1 Megapixel with CMOS sensor, 3.4 frames per second with up to 170 JPEG burst, 3.0” clear view LCD with Live View, 9-point Auto Focus system and supports full HD 1080p movies. This DSF Jacky’s offers this model for Dhs.3199 with the 18-55mm DC lens along with EF 75-300mm lens worth Dhs.899 and other items in the bundle include battery grip worth Dhs.799, Dhs.200 Jacky’s Gift Voucher, 16GB SD Card worth Dhs.99 and a Carry Case. Also you get premium gifts worth Dhs. 350 in the form of Branded perfume set OR Targus Pilot case. A customer makes a total saving of Dhs. 1350 with this bundle package.

3. Fujifilm FinePix S3300

This is a Pict-bridge camera with 14 Megapixel, 26x optical zoom, 3.0” LCD screen, 24mm Wide Angle Lens, ISO6400 sensitivity and Electronics viewfinder. This DSF Jacky’s is selling at Dhs.1699 with a Free LG 32” LCD TV worth Dhs.1099, 4GB Memory card and Case. Also you get premium gifts worth Dhs.300 in the form of branded perfume and cross pen. A customer avails a 40% saving with this bundle offer on the camera.

4. Sony Cyber-shot DSCW570

Sony was the first ones to launch a 16.1 Megapixel camera with 5x optical zoom, 25mm Wide angle lens, 720p HD Movie recording, Optical Steady Shoot and unique feature of Sweep panorama. This model is one of the hottest products in the market with limited stock availability at most times due to its amazing performance and features. This DSF Jacky’s is offering this model for Dhs. 664 with a bundle promotion of 16GB card worth Dhs.100 Free along with a 2GB card and Carry Case. You also get a free cross pen worth Dhs.150 this DSF. A customer makes a saving of Dhs. 85 with this bundle.

5. Nikon Coolpix S6200

Nikon’s Coolpix S6200 offers this 16 Megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom, 2.7” LCD Screen, 720p HD Movie Recording, 18 optimized scene modes and USB charging abilities. This model is now offered at Dhs. 699 and was previously offered at Dhs. 999. You get a promotional bundle of 4 GB card and case. The DSF premium gift this season with this model is a cross pen worth Dhs. 150. Customer can save 30% on this bundle deal.

6. Samsung MV800

Samsung MV800 is 16Megapixel camera with Multi view Flip out Display; it has 5x optical zoom, 3.0” Touch LCD Screen with its Live Panorama and HD Movie Feature. Samsung has used its expertise in smart phones and tablets to create a unique digital photography experience with the interface of this camera being similar to that of a smart phone looking at the icons and the Apps. The DSF offer from Jacky’s is that it is priced now at Dhs. 999 with a free 4 GB SD card and case, earlier was Dhs. 1199. The DSF premium gifts this season with this model are a cross pen & branded perfume worth Dhs. 300. It is available in Black, Red, and White Colors.

7. Panasonic DMCGF3KGCK

Panasonic has launched this Micro 4x3 Mirror less camera, making it a compact. It is an entry level camera in its category to be challenging as an alternative to the DSLR cameras. This camera features a 12 Megapixel with 3.0” LCD touch screen, 3D photo support, 14-42mm lens, Full AVCHD Video recording and it is the camera with world’s Fastest Auto Focus of just 0.1 second. This DSF it is priced at Dhs. 2599 with a Free 4 GB SD card and bag along with a Dhs.500 Jacky’s Gift Voucher. The DSF premium gift this season with this model is a branded perfume set worth Dhs. 350.

8. Panasonic SDRT76

Panasonic has Memory Video Camera this DSF with 78X Optical zoom which is very powerful. This Video camera has a 8 GB Flash Memory, 33mm Wide Angle Lens, Intelligent Auto Focus, YouTube Up loader, Advanced O.I.S, Wind Noise Canceller, 1.9 second Quick Power On and it is the only Video Camera to be Made in Japan. In Jacky’s it is selling for Dhs. 1199 and we are offering a Free Digital Still Camera Ls-5 worth Dhs. 379 and two 2 GB SD Cards, Tripod , Camera case, camera bag and Battery Charger. The DSF premium gifts this season with this model are a cross pen & branded perfume worth Dhs. 300.

9. JVC GZHM445

This is a hot offer product this DSF with the 1.5 Megapixel CMOS Sensor camera with 40x optical zoom, face recognition features, LED light, Advanced Image stabilizer, Time lapse recording and Dual Card Slot. This DSF Jacky’s is selling them for Dhs.1199 with free Dhs.100 Gift Voucher, 8 GB + 4 GB SD Cards, Tripod and Case. Previous price was Dhs. 1499 and with this bundle offer customer saves Dhs. 500. This camera is available in 3 colors namely silver, red and black. The DSF premium gifts this season with this model are a cross pen & branded perfume worth Dhs. 300.

Posted By: Deepak Kriplani, Deputy - Buying Head & Hareesh Keerthy, Marketing Executive, Jacky's Electronics

The Non-Death of Ultrabooks

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Is the laptop dead?

Have Ultrabooks failed before they’ve even had a chance to make an impact?

If you listen to a lot of the analysts, journalists and industry observers out there, they would make you believe that this is indeed the case. The things is, I don’t think many of them have actually understood the opportunities that Ultrabooks possess.

Case in point: there was a story that circulated in Fast Company this week entitled “Is the Laptop Dead? Yup” where the author of the story, Kit Eaton has essentially said ultrabooks are just another name for a laptop and there isn’t much of a future left for them. Most journalists including Eaton seem to see Ultrabooks as merely a Macbook Air competitor which may get some extra bells and whistles going forward such as touch screens or pico projectors.

HP may launch a dual-touchscreen Ultrabook this week at the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Image: slashgear.com

Another story that appeared in AllThingsD this week titled “Ultrabooks, the Ultra-Fancy New Name for Laptops” says it bluntly where the author, Ina Fried, says in short that Intel is playing a game of deception wherein they’ve simply just renamed laptops with a new term that allows it compete at a value similar to that of the Macbook Air.

I’ve had the benefit of spending a decent amount of time with Intel to understand their vision of the Ultrabooks that shows you there is a lot more to it than the critics have given Intel credit for. What we’re seeing now and likely to see at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is just the first generation of the Ultrabooks. Towards the latter part of 2012 and 2013 is when we’ll really see Ultrabooks take centre stage.

Ultrabooks are a form factor that will mutate itself and be a cross between what we’re used to seeing in our conventional laptop computers, tablets and smartphones as we seem them today. The form factor will move beyond the clam shape designs that we’re used to seeing into candy bar, tablet or slider form factors. The operating system will be Windows 8 or possibly even Android. Ultrabooks will have touch screen capabilities. They will also most likely have a wireless video streaming technology so that you can work with your Ultrabook off your monitor, TV set or any other display device that you may have (Intel already has a WIDI technology that’s been around for years that can enable this today). The battery life could well reach 30 days and switch on instantly much like your tablet does today. You won’t switch off an ultrabook, you’ll put it into a standby mode like you do with your tablet. Ultrabooks will also be capable of downloading your mails even when they’re off much like your smartphone does when it’s standby mode.

With all of this, Ultrabooks will move well beyond what conventional clamshell laptops of today do. To say Ultrabooks or laptops are dead is a premature statement. There is still life left to this but judge the category not by comparing it merely to what a Macbook Air is as who knows what the Macbook Air will look like later in 2012.

Update (9th Jan 2012): Intel showed off some of what we can expect from their Ultrabooks with something called Nikiski. Engadget has got a video on their site and it's worth checking out (click here to see it). I hope to have see this tomorrow hopefully during the Intel keynote here at CES.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Sharing Digital Content

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:56:00 +0000

Several months ago we'd put out a post on our blog entitled "Digital Dilemma: How do you share content?" where we asked three questions with regards the frustration we have living in the UAE with access to digital content that we've currently got on our smartphones, tablets or e-readers. While not much has changed in this region since then, it's comforting to know that some of the questions we had raised are being answered internationally.

1. How do you buy it?

To answer the first question which we asked in our original post, we're still sadly in a part of the world where most content providers haven't given us a means to legally purchase digital content. Google's Android doesn't allow you to buy Apps. Apple's iTunes only lets you buy Apps but not music, TV shows or music. Amazon's Kindle is not officially supported in the Middle East. This has then meant that if you live in the UAE and you want to legally get access to this digital content, you're using a foreign SIM card in your Google phone to access paid Apps on Google's Android Market, buying Gift Cards from the US or UK to access Apple's iTunes store or using an American billing address to buy content for your Amazon Kindle e-reader. There is still no timeline on the horizon as to when the situation will change and sadly this question still remains unanswered.

Image: philosophyblog.com.au

2. What do you do if you only want the content for a short period of time and have no intention of buying it?

One of the other frustrations till now had been how do you borrow a book digitally as you would from a library. Amazon and Apple both have services where you can either rent a textbook for a year or rent a movie. This is often times at 30-40% of the cost of buying the content but at least you now an alternative if you can access the content using the means mentioned above.

3. How do you lend the content to a friend or family member?

This is something that Amazon recently helped address recently via the Kindle. If you own a Kindle, you can now lend books to another person in several cases which in essence would be like lending a hard copy of a book to a friend. There are certain time restrictions but it's good to know that at least an option has been worked out. If you've got a Kindle and are interested in knowing more about this, there's more information at this link.

The bottom line is that to get access to digital content legally in the UAE, there are still several hoops you have to maneuver through until you get to where you want. There are some people who will go through this trouble but the rest end up getting the content where they find it, which is often on an illegal peer-to-peer download services. Content providers are yet to take this region seriously enough and until then, have to accept the fact that they've created a treasure hove of pirates in the region. Things can change and content providers can start to get their rightful share of the pie if they gave us a solution. Till then, they like us have come to accept the fact that the digital dilemma will remain as it is and the region will remain behind most of the developed world when it comes to digital content.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

2011 Jacky's Festive Guide - TV's and Cameras

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:11:00 +0000

Following on from our previous post on what products that could be a part of your shopping list this festive season, we've worked out a second list of recommendations for those looking to buy TV's and cameras. The trends have clearly moved towards 3D, connectivity and HD quality images in both these categories as you'll see in the write-up below.

Samsung MV-800 Digital Camera

Samsung may not be the first name you think of when thinking of cameras but what has made Samsung rather unique is that they've taken their expertise in smartphones and started incorporating this into digital cameras. The interface of several Samsung digital cameras is starting to resemble that of a smart phone and the use of icons on the touch screen would make you think you were using an Android-powered digital camera. Even the picture modes or filters that are available will remind you somewhat of Apps that are used on smartphones today like Instagram or Halftone.

Apart from the interface though, the MV-800 is unique in that it has a rotating LCD screen that can tilt out to 180 degrees. That means you can take pictures from angles where you wouldn't have been able to see the viewfinder traditionally. The MV-800 also has a sweep panorama function that allows you to take wide shots or sweeping pictures much more easily. The camera has a 3" LCD screen, 16 mega-pixel picture quality and 5x optical zoom.

Olympus SZ10 3D Camera

The challenge for most manufacturers of 3D cameras has been in capturing 3D content. To capture 3D content, you generally need to use two lenses and this can be an expensive proposition. Olympus has worked out a solution for their SZ10 camera wherein using a single lens, you can take 3D pictures by taking a picture twice out of the same lens. This means that you have got 3D quality images in a camera that can be more affordable and which is also compact.

Will all pictures come out great in 3D? The jury is still out on this as it may work for pictures where the subject remains still but in a dynamic setting, it may not give the best result as it's taking a picture a second time to get the 3D effect. Also, you can't preview how the image looks in 3D on the LCD screen as its not 3D enabled so it is only when you connect it to a 3D enabled television or computer that you can check the picture quality. The argument is that glasses-free 3D may still give you a headache if you use it for too long on a tiny LCD on a digital camera and commercially it probably would be much more expensive.

Other features of this camera include 18X optical wide zoom, dual image stabilization, 720p HD video capture, HDMI connectivity and a host of magic filters to take pictures with. A lot of this functionality is not found in most smartphone cameras today and thus meaning, Olympus has tried to carve out a niche for themselves.

Canon EOS 600D and Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Cameras

Buying or using a D-SLR camera was a daunting thought once upon for most consumers as they were extremely complicated to use, required a lot of photographer skill and were expensive. Over the last couple of years, we've seen a lot of this change as most major manufacturers started designing these cameras keeping the consumer in mind. In this regards, the Canon EOS 600D and Nikon D5100 D-SLRs have been probably the most popular D-SLR in the consumer range of both brands. A lot of the functionality that you would expect to find in a typical point and shoot camera is now included in these D-SLRs which means that most members of the family can expect to use the camera without too much difficulty.

Canon EOS 600D

The quality of pictures at the end of the day from a D-SLR is far superior to what you'll find coming out of even the best camera phones so if you're looking to preserve any of your special moments, a D-SLR camera is the product for you.

Nikon D5100

The Canon EOS 600D is a 18 megapixel camera whereas Nikon's D5100 is a 16.2 megapixel camera. Both have a 3" LCD screen. Both have got on-screen feature guides that help explain the different modes a little better and both would work well in challenging situations where a camera or point & shoot camera may not give ideal results. The Nikon D5100 also has Full HD recording capabilities and thus can be used for video recording where required.

Deciding between these two brands really comes down to personal preferences at the end of the day but once you decide on a brand, be prepared to keep investing in the long term as the lenses generally are brand specific and you may be locked into that particular brand in the long term.

Samsung UA55D6600 LED Smart TV and LG 55LW6510 Internet TV

Samsung UA55D6600 Smart TV

The idea of a TV being "smart" or Internet-enabled has in theory been something that should've and could've been possible for a long time but it's only really been in the last year or so that we've seen this category develop. The fact is that for a long time we've been dependent on using our computers at home for a lot of tasks that we're now realizing we can do on other devices, whether it be a smartphone, tablet or even a television. Connectivity to social platforms like Facebook and Twitter on a television may not seem too exciting as those are probably best experienced on a tablet, laptop or smartphone but connecting to YouTube, Skype (wherever it is legal) and movie streaming sites, a Smart or Internet enabled television could be ideal. Even if you've got a WIFI network setup at home, it could be possible to stream your TV shows and movies that you've downloaded onto your television, thus making the entire experience of watching a TV show or movie more sociable.

Initially it may not seem that you'd need a Smart or Internet TV and sounds like a "nice to have" than a "must have" but as you start using it, you realize how easily it fits into your domestic lifestyle.

LG 55LW6510 Internet TV

The Samsung Smart TV is a Full HD 55" LED TV. It has Samsung's "All Share" functionality that allows you to connect several devices within your household wirelessly. It also the ability to convert 2D content into 3D content. During the festive period, it's also coming bundled with a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The equivalent model in LG is also a Full HD 55" LED TV. It can also convert 2D content to 3D and unlike Samsung, uses regular 3D glasses, similar to what you'd use in a cinema, which are much cheaper than the glasses used by other manufacturers. The LG TV has two USB slots and three HDMI slots on the TV. It's coming bundled with a WIFI dongle and Blu-Ray DVD player during the festive season.

Posted By: Mahesh Chotrani, Head - Retail Buying and Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

2011 Jacky's Festive Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:19:00 +0000

With an action-packed end to the year, we've been getting all sorts of requests with regards what would be our picks during this festive season here at Jacky's, so we decided to do a festive gadget guide of our own. Before we get into our recommendations, we'd also like to remind you to ensure you dispose of your products responsibly. At Jacky's for example, we have our Eco-Exchange program, wherein you can recycle used phones, cameras, gaming consoles and laptops. Everything traded-in under our Eco-Exchange program is re-used or recycled and nothing ends up in a landfill. If you want to set an example for the next generation, then we request you to please think of your environment when buying your next set of festive toys.

We hope you find our shopping guide useful and look forward to your feedback on it.

Acer S3 Ultrabook

A lot has been said about the Ultrabook category since we first it at GITEX Shopper's this year and till now, demand has far outstripped supply at our retail outlets. Acer has been the first brand to market the ultrabook in this region and has had thus had the first mover advantage.

Image courtesy: engadget.com, photographed is the
Core i7 variant of the Acer S3

What makes an ultrabook unique is the fact that it is designed to be super slim (like the Macbook Air) except that it runs on Windows 7. For people who don't want to make the switch to Apple but want an ultra-slim notebook that switches on instantly, the S3 Ultrabook is the product for you.

There are various models of the Ultrabook, but our pick would be the model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 13.3" LED screen, 4GB RAM and 240GB SSD. This model typically retails for Dhs. 5,299, though there are some variations of the S3 Ultrabook that retail for as low as Dhs. 3,599.

An SSD for those who aren't sure is an alternative to a conventional hard disk that we're used to normally having in most notebooks and PC's. An SSD is uses flash memory similar to what is used in most MP3 players and smartphones today. SSD's are normally more stable than conventional hard disks.

Dyson Air Multiplier

Dyson have always been known for having cool products and their bladeless fan is no exception. If you ever thought a simple fan wouldn't be able to grab your attention, then you are indeed mistaken. The Air Multiplier works using a motor that's in the base of the fan which can suck in air and push it up into the ring. There are tiny, millimeter long slits which the air rushes out of which are designed to push air out uniformly around the ring. If you ever wanted to get someone a housewarming present, this would be the one to get. Prices range from Dhs. 1,299 to Dhs. 1,899.

Apple iPad 2

Image: cnet.com.au

Nearly two years after Apple basically introduced the tablet category to the world, they still run supreme with their tablet offering. The user-experience and variety of apps that are available for Apple still make it a must-have product. For those who've never owned a tablet before, it's never too late and no matter whether you're talking about a child who's just a few years old or a grand parent who's never used a computer before, the ease of use of the iPad, makes it the perfect gift during the festive season. Prices vary based on capacity (16, 32 and 6GB) and connectivity (Wifi or 3G + Wifi). The iPad 2 is also available in two colors, white and black.

Samsung 8.9" Galaxy Tab

Image: slashgear.com

The only major brand that's managed to dent Apple's sales overall in tablets in this region has been Samsung. Starting initially with a 7" model, Samsung added various products to ensure they had a portfolio of tablets in different sizes. The 8.9" is probably our pick of the lot as it doesn't feel too small in your hands when you're browsing a website or watching a movie and still remains handy enough to carry around. The Galaxy Tab is different from the Apple tablets in that it runs on the Android operating system and thus ties you into Google's ecosystem. It has a better camera than the iPad 2 (three megapixels) and can accommodate an SD card in case you want to increase the memory on your tablet as the standard model comes with 16GB memory but you can expand it by 32GB using an SD card.

BlackBerry Bold 9900

Image: engadget.com

The market leader in the UAE for smartphones is BlackBerry and it's no surprise that the Bold 9900 was an instant hit from the moment we launched it in August of this year. It's running on the latest version of RIM's operating system, boasts a wider screen, faster processor and superior camera. The stand out feature of this device though is the fact that apart from a bigger keyboard, it also has a touch screen that makes surfing the web or accessing apps on the phone that much quicker. There is also a new BlackBerry Curve that was recently introduced that boasts the new operating system and touchscreen capabilities but the Bold 9900 still remains our pick within the BlackBerry line-up (to see a more detailed review we did on the Bold 9900, please click here).

Samsung Galaxy Note

Image: guardian.co.uk

Is it a phone or is it a tablet? This is the question we asked ourselves when we first saw this device at the Samsung stand at GITEX Shopper's. Since then, Samsung has gone ahead and answered this question for us and said it's a smartphone. Boasting a massive 5.3" screen, this Android-powered device looks like a bigger version of Samsung's hugely successful Galaxy SII smartphone. It has super sleek, has an extremely quick interface and packs in the power as far as camera (8 megapixel with flash), processor (dual-core 1.4 Ghz) & network connectivity go (HSPA+ with supported speeds of 21 mbps). It also has a little stylus that pops out of the phone so if you want to take notes the old-fashioned way, you can still write them down. This is a phone that makes a statement wherever you take it and if you want to be noticed this festive season, this may be the device for you.

Nokia N9

2011 has been a year re-emergence for Nokia. After taking the decision at the beginning of the year to start partnering with Microsoft on their next generation of smartphones, Nokia surprised everyone with this phone that runs on the MEEGO operating system. More fundamental than the operating system is the philosophy that Nokia has adopted on this device which Nokia hopes changes the way we use our smartphone. Apple for all intensive purposes changed the accepted norms of what we'd expect from a smartphone when they launched their iPhones but Nokia has again challenged this by deciding to drop the concept of a home or back button. The N9 fundamentally works off three screens and the belief at Nokia is that you need three screens to run your phone that you can swipe to and from. If you're curious what Nokia has in-store with Windows Phone 7 in the future, the N9 is a good indication of that and we hope many of the fundamental shifts that Nokia has implemented on the N9 will carry forward into the devices we see coming in 2012.

Apple iPhone 4S

Image: apple.com

The hope is that Apple announces the launch of the iPhone 4S via their authorized partners, du and etisalat, before the year is out. This is good news if you're a die-hard Apple fan or someone who's been delaying buying an iPhone because you were waiting for this to be officially launched in the UAE. When it'll launch is still a mystery, what price it'll launch at is still a mystery but what we do know, is that when it launches, it'll no doubt be one of the most successful products for us this festive season and we don't require Apple's digital assistant, Siri, to tell us that.

Posted By: Mahesh Chotrani, Head - Retail Buying and Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Carrier IQ: Is it Worth the Fuss?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 06:13:00 +0000

The past week in the United States, the technology blogs and publications have created an uproar over the role of a company that's been apparently snooping on most people that own a smartphone. The company at the centre of the scandal is Carrier IQ and they've opened up a can of worms with regards data privacy in the US media.

Carrier IQ has said they've worked with most major vendors so regardless of whether you've been using an iPhone, BlackBerry or most variants of Android, you've probably been feeding data back to Carrier IQ on how you use your phone. Who wants this data? Well, it seems manufacturers and telecom companies are keen to analyze what we've been doing and have been using the services of companies like Carrier IQ to gather this (Gizmodo have a nice summary entitled "What is Carrier IQ?").

The fuss apparently though has been dug up because Carrier IQ could actually gather keystroke data which means if you've been feeding in credit card data or anything else sensitive into your smartphone, they could be recording all of this.

Of course, Carrier IQ denies it would keep that and most manufacturers are now trying to distance themselves from Carrier IQ as well, but this really does beg the bigger question: As consumers in a digital era, should we be surprised that we're being digitally analyzed?

Image: filmandmusicfashion.com

My basic belief is that if you've got nothing to hide, then you shouldn't worry. As individuals, we've all got digital fingerprints plastered over the Internet and it may not always seem obvious to us, but if someone wanted to, they could piece together everything about our lives like a jigsaw puzzle. We've moved on from the age of when Peter Sellers was playing the role of Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies and so has any sense of privacy we can expect to have.

Most of us have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google (Gmail), Hotmail, Yahoo, Amazon or Apple iTunes these days and in most cases, these are linked back to our desktop or notebook computer, smartphone, tablet or e-reader. We've had no problems that these companies with whom we have an account are using this data every minute of every day to either recommend products or push advertisements our way. They've all get access to a treasure trove of data about our lives and probably use some sort of data consolidation and analytic tool in the background. Carrier IQ is no different. It is a tool used to consolidate and analyze our usage patterns.

The responsibility for digital data and digital fingerprints lies with us as individuals. If we don't want to be traced, we do have an option. That option is to not buy a smartphone, not use a browser, a social networking service, a search engine, an online commerce retailer or an e-mail account. The moment we do, it is implied we've consented to have our lives under the magnifying glass.

The US Senate has now weighed into the Carrier IQ case and I'm sure there will be countless more investigations. The fact is that even if Carrier IQ is slapped over the wrist or dropped as a partner by most smartphone manufacturers, someone else will replace them in this space. Data privacy laws only go so far but in the digital age, you can't expect to remain private if you want to remain connected.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

An Open Letter to TV Manufacturers

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:09:00 +0000

Dear TV Manufacturers:

Please don't mind the format of this open letter. I speak today to you not as a retailer of your products but as a consumer who has enjoyed the innovations you've given us in terms of TV technology but who is also frustrated with your inability to innovate in the ways I'd like.

While most of you have brilliant engineers working on your products, the benchmark for user experience has changed significantly over the last couple of years where many of you have fallen short. The reasons for this are numerous but consumer expectations far exceed the innovations we've witnessed in the last couple of years.

Image: eikongraphia.com

A simple case in point for example is that you've worked on trying to make the television as slim as possible that it is today as thick as a picture frame. This is nice to have but this is ruined when you hang it on your wall and have wires to connect to your external devices dangling down. Do you ever see a picture frame with wires hanging from it? The answer is NO, so why should we have wires hanging down the bottom of our super slim televisions?

Why haven't any of you come with a solution that totally eliminates the clutter of wires that seem to hang off every TV?

Even when you do insist on us having to use cables to connect everything up, why do you keep the access for the cables on the back of the television? I know, a few of you keep slots on the sides of the TV as well but the vast majority of the slots are always on the back of the TV. Now put yourselves in the shoes of a consumer who buys another piece of gear and wants to connect it to his TV that's hanging on his wall. What does he do? If the majority of the slots for the cables are on the back of the TV, it means he needs to call a technician to come over to his house, take the TV off the wall, fix the cable on and then hang it again. If you don't think this is happening, I can tell you, I've had to do just that in the last 24 hours. I at least have an access to a pool of technicians who would come over to my house and do this for me as a favour but the normal consumer would have had to pay for a technician to come to their house just to install an HDMI cable.

I know you have great engineers working for you, but please get someone to review the designs with the consumer in mind. Don't work in silo's where each department operates independently. Your design team, your hardware engineers and your software teams all need to design a product together. The norms and status quo in your industry is join to be challenged and when it does happen, it's not going to be about who has better technology. It is going to be about who's innovated on the user experience.

In his biography, Steve Jobs has already mentioned televisions was an industry he was going to target. What could Apple do differently with TV's that you aren't doing at the moment? Think about it because you need to move out of the comfort zone you're in at the moment as far as innovation goes. Slimmer or higher resolution TV's is not the only thing the consumer wants today.

As a multi-brand retailer, I'm happy to continue selling your products, but I urge you as a manufacturer, please listen to your consumers as they are the ones who finally make the final decision to buy your brand. If your brand doesn't deliver on the overall expectations of user experience, then don't expect consumers to buy them. Marketing budgets will not convince them. They are smarter than that. I know a lot has changed in a very short time and I know you've worked hard to bring certain innovations to the table, whether it be Internet-enabled TV's or 3D TV's, but these could still be considered works in progress to the end consumer. We expect more from you and we hope you'll do what it takes to deliver on these expectations or you could see someone else pull the rug out from under you before they start to dominate your industry.

Yours sincerely,
ASHISH PANJABI
Chief Operating Officer
Jacky's Electronics LLC

The iMessage Uproar in the UAE

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:09:00 +0000

It's been an interesting month or so on our blog. Even though we haven't posted much, we found traffic on the way up during October and the early part of November. This was largely due to one topic: iMessage.

In June, we had innocently asked the question "Will iMessage be blocked like FaceTime?" The rationale was that if Apple's FaceTime was blocked earlier and BlackBerry's Messenger service had come under scrutiny, then the same may be the case with iMessage.

While this post was clicked and viewed by many of you in June, we were surprised to see more people accessing this story from the second week of October onwards when the iPhone 4S was officially launched in markets like the US and UK. The parallel iPhone units started flowing into the country and with iMessage not working on some devices initially during this time. This was also when iOS5 was also available for download for other Apple devices in the iPhone and iPad family. This led to the second wave of people accessing this post.

When iMessage was officially blocked this week by the telecom players in the UAE, we saw the third wave of visitors to our page kick in. The post on iMessage is now ranked as the second most popular post on our blog as per our stat server.

The passion that most Apple users have got for their products and services is unique. An Apple fanboy (or girl) is forever ready to get vocal about their love for Apple products. We all probably know a few such people and it amazes us to see how vocal the reactions are when services like iMessage get blocked.

The truth of the matter is that services like iMessage can't be blocked infinitely. I don't think Apple fans would allow it to happen. They are a bunch that doesn't mind voicing their views and I think this was partly the reason we saw some services resume within a few hours.

How the TRA or the telecom companies should've handled the entire episode is another story but all in all, it's been interesting to see how iMessage and Apple fans have at least kept our blog active during a period when we didn't say much. Thank you all for visiting us thus far and we promise to have many more posts coming on this blog shortly.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Amazon: We Didn't Start the Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:37:00 +0000

I had convinced myself last night I wouldn't write about the Amazon tablet announcement today as I seemed to have to been discussing non-stop for the last few days.

All that changed this morning though when I woke up and started humming the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Amazon has indeed not started the fire ("Fire" by the way is the name of the new Amazon tablet), but Amazon has added the flames to what is a rapidly changing tablet, content distribution, cloud computing and web surfing game. The chorus to Joel's song says "We didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world was turning." Amazon realized it's not always about being first to the table but about thinking through your strategy and offering something that makes people go WOW!

This is what Amazon did.

Hardware- they offered a subsidized tablet (that looks a lot like the BlackBerry PlayBook).
Operating System - they used an operating system that's so far struggled on tablets (Android).
Content & AppStore - they offered content (which they've been doing for years and where everyone except Apple has struggled. Further they distributed the content through their WhisperSync technology (and cut out the complications that Apple initially had of needing a cable to connect the device to your computer)
Multi-Device Approach - They made it easy again through WhisperSync to move content across devices seemlessly.
Browsing & Cloud - Amazon used their expertise in cloud computing to not only talk about storing your content on a cloud but also offering a solution to speed up browsing by loading all the heavy bits of a webpage on their cloud servers, thus giving you a speedier & lighter browsing experience.
User Friendliness - they gave you a solution that requires no configuration, no setup and that knows who you are right from the moment when you open up the box.

What last night's presentation highlighted was the fact that while many companies went out to imitate Apple, most forgot to innovate. Amazon took their time, sat quietly in the back and did what most brands should've done.

The second half of chorus of Joel's song says "We didn't start the fire. No we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it." This sums up what the competition was trying to do in the meantime. The fire was lit by Apple but flames grew bigger last night when Amazon rolled out their strategy and just like that companies like Samsung, Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, HTC and the rest realized, they now have a new competitor in Amazon.

It'll be interesting to see what Apple does next week at their iPhone event and what the response from their camp is.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Here we go again...Mobile Number Portability Delayed Again...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:28:00 +0000

In what seems to be a never-ending story, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) have come out and said that Mobile Number Portability (MNP), that was to have been implemented years again has been delayed once more. At the risk of sounding like a teen-pop music fan, the song "Here We Go Again" by Demi Lovato really captures the essence of how a lot of people with this delay (the video of the song is below and the lyrics at the bottom of this post).

Apart from the fortunes of the telecom operators, the people who've really lost out here have been the end-consumers and to keep them hanging for this long has been unfair. We've heard feedback from numerous people who've wanted to switch from one operator to the other but the hassle of getting a new phone number has put them off.

If the UAE is to have a truly competitive telecommunications market, the launch of MNP is a must. This is when true competition comes in. Many mature and developing markets offer this and although the TRA has put the reasons down to "technical difficulties," the fact is, whatever the difficulty is, it shouldn't have taken two or three years to resolve if someone wanted to ensure it was done.

If MNP is to happen, it should happen soon. When the talk was that MNP Q3/2011, many people including myself thought it may be delayed so a grand announcement can be during GITEX Technology Week. This sadly will not be the case and I don't know how many people will continue waiting for MNP to finally happen before switching carriers. A lot of people have been paying more for their telecom services or putting up with services that are not to their satisfaction thinking they'd be tolerant and wait for MNP to be implemented but if there is no believable timeline given, it may be worth to bite the bullet and adopt a new phone number.

To read other posts we've done on MNP, click here.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Lyrics to Here We Go Again - Demi Lovato
Songwriters: Filian, Mher; Hasson, Isaac R; Robbins, Lindy;

I throw all of your stuff away
Then I clear you out of my head
I tear you out of my heart
And ignore all your messages

I tell everyone we are through
'Cause I'm so much better without you
But it's just another pretty lie
'Cause I break down
Every time you come around
Oh oh!

So how did you get here under my skin?
I swore that I'd never let you back in
Should've known better than trying to let you go
'Cause here we go go go again

Hard as I try I know I can't quit
Something about you is so addictive
We're falling together, you'd think that by now I'd know
'Cause here we go go go again

You never know what you want
And you never say what you mean
But I start to go insane
Every time that you look at me

You only hear half of what I say
And you're always showing up too late
And I know that I should say goodbye
But it's no use
Can't be with or without you!
Oh oh

So how did you get here under my skin?
[ From : http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/demi-lovato-lyrics/here-we-go-again-lyrics.html ]
I swore that I'd never let you back in
Should've known better than trying to let you go
'Cause here we go go go again

Hard as I try I know I can't quit
Something about you is so addictive
We're falling together, you'd think that by now I'd know
'Cause here we go go go again, 'gain

And again
(And again)
And again
(And again)
And again!

I threw all of your stuff away
And I cleared you out of my head
And I tore you out of my heart
Oh oh, oh oh

So how did you get here under my skin?
I swore that I'd never let you back in
Should've known better than trying to let you go
'Cause here we go go go again

Hard as I try I know I can't quit
Something about you is so addictive
We're falling together, you'd think that by now I'd know
'Cause here we go go

Here we go again
Here we go again!
Should've known better than trying to let you go
'Cause here we go go go again

Again
And again
And again
And again

Amazon's Tablet & the Piracy of Digital Content

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:43:00 +0000

Tomorrow evening Amazon will most likely be unveiling their tablet and also entering a marketplace where many brands have been trying to conquer Apple's dominance without any measurable level of success.

Why then would Amazon think their tablet can do any better?

Apart from the fact that they've had a number of years success with an e-reader called the Kindle, they've also had another ace up their sleeve which most other tablet manufacturers have struggled and that is digital content. To succeed in the tablet or smartphone business, you need to build the right eco-system around your product (to read a previous post we did on the eco-system, click here for First to market or first to create an ecosystem?). It is not about hardware specs anymore and Amazon knows.

What type of content does Amazon have today:

Books - Amazon has been in the book business for years and with the Kindle e-reader, they've had a few years to build up their library of digital content that can port over to most tablets today.
Music - Amazon also sells music, both CD's and MP3's for downloads so they can satisfy someone who's looking to use their tablet for listening to music.
Movies & TV Shows - Amazon recently launched their own video streaming service similar to Netflix, which means access to TV shows and movies off a tablet or PC screen. In addition to that, Amazon has had a relationship with most content publishers in this space for years because they've been selling their shows and movies as a DVD for many years as well.
Subscription & Rental Models - Amazon recently started offering the ability to rent or borrow a book much as you would in a typical library (sans the late fees). This together with their ability to allow you to subscribe to newspapers and magazines gives Amazon an added advantage over most other platforms out there today.
Cloud Services - Amazon has been busy in the background hosting web services through Amazon Web Services and with Apple talking of iCloud, Amazon has also got their own cloud service ready to roll-out (we blogged about Amazon's cloud service a few months ago, click here to read
Amazon: Home of Cloudy Computing and iCloud: Is this the end of the road for hard drives?).
Games - Amazon is not really known as a destination for downloading games from but they've been selling software for most consoles for many years now. The know-how in offering games for download shouldn't be a huge challenge for a company like Amazon to offer.
App Store - This is probably where Amazon stands out from Apple's competitors. Many have tried using their own App Store or relying on Google's Android Market, but that hasn't always been successful primarily because they didn't have the digital library that Amazon has. The fact that Amazon found it feasible to launch their own Android App Store without really involving Google means they've been working hard on this for a while now.

Should I buy the Amazon tablet if I live in the UAE?

However, if you're living in a country like the United Arab Emirates, don't start jumping for joy yet. Indications are that Amazon is not planning to launch the Kindle e-reader or their tablets here anytime soon. Even if you were to import the tablet yourself, access to content would be limited as Amazon generally doesn't sell any of their digital content in the UAE.

Why might you ask is the reason? One reason would be that while Amazon has got the content ready digitally, the copyright holders have restricted the regions into which Amazon can sell their digital content. The Middle East generally doesn't figure in most of these agreements. Secondly, the market has to be big enough for Amazon to see it as a priority, which it clearly doesn't at the moment. There are ways around this though but it involves showing that you have an address within a country that Amazon is allowed to sell their digital content in (which works when buying books but not music).

Fueling Piracy

This is not something unique to Amazon though. Most of the content that can be sold digitally in this region, isn't. The reason is that there are various archaic content distribution agreements that exist that still haven't been addressed in this region. The end result of this is that piracy has unfortunately been rampant.

If a legal alternative to download or access digital content was provided, then I'm fairly confident piracy rates would reduce. At the moment, there is a flaw in the system and that has to be addressed. Asking consumers to buy DVD's or CD's instead or blaming internet service providers isn't the solution (click here to see a story in ArabianBusiness eluded to this week). Providing access to the content legally is what had to addressed by the content distribution companies and until they fail to do this, they're only continuing to make the hole that they dug deeper (click here to read a previous post on digital content piracy - Digital Dilemma: How do you share content?).

Concluding Remarks...

As much as we'd like to say the United Arab Emirates is advanced because we get the latest and greatest products quickly or because we've got one of the most advanced telecommunications infrastructures in the world, we're falling behind because we've lost out on offering the most advanced services.

There is no reason why we shouldn't have services like Netflix, Spotify, Rdio or Skype in this region. The same goes with having an iTunes store where you can buy music or TV shows from or an Amazon App Store that you can buy books from (without having to show you live in a different country).

If piracy has been a problem here or if new product innovations are being held back here, it has a lot to do with ensuring the entire ecosystem exists. The ecosystem today means having the right hardware, operating system, telecoms capabilities and content. We have three out of four and the most glaring area we've missed out on is content. Let's hope someone can lead the way here and ensure this happens soon so we don't continue to drift behind the times.

To know more about how else the Amazon tablet may do, have a read through this article that appeared in PCWorld this week.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

GeekFest and Jacky's Eco-Exchange

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:31:00 +0000

Jacky’s bring Eco-Exchange to Geekfest taking place at The New Shelter (http://www.shelter.ae) on Thursday, September 22 from 7:30pm onwards.

It’s Jacky’s first out -of-home recycling drive and you can be a part by bringing in your old devices (mobiles, laptops, MP3 players, cameras or gaming consoles) and everyone attending Geekfest is encouraged to bring their old devices so we can dispose of them responsibly.

With technology changing faster than speed of thought, It’s not surprising to get overwhelmed and owing up a new piece of tech wonder quicker than ever. Almost every choice involves leaving something behind in the backyard perhaps sitting idle and eventually dead with a little itch of the metal pile up, the locked residual economic value and perhaps some would imagine the impact on environment by materials not being disposed as they should have been.

Understanding the responsibility that lies with us as a Retailer, in not only providing best in the class of products and services but also to provide appropriate end of life solutions for the products we sell. Jacky’s Electronics, in 2010 started offering, a service called ‘Eco-Exchange: Recycling that pays’, which aims to drive consumer awareness for the proper disposal of electronic products in the UAE.

This program kicked-off as an "In Store" solution for customers to bring their old/unwanted (no matter where they were purchased) consumer electronics for recycling. Regardless of where the product is bought, what brand it is, or how old it is, the product can be properly and safely recycled.

The Eco-Exchange Programme currently accepts gadgets such as old mobile phones, notebooks, cameras, MP3 players and gaming consoles. The recycling is done free of charge and if the product stand a value then a cash voucher is offered for purchase. The value of the product is calculated in-store by trained Customer Service Executives who use a custom-built online portal to help determine what the value of the product would be, whether it is working or non-working.

Importantly this program facilitates to trade-in devices in whatever brand or condition giving freedom of choice to buy latest device and keep up with the technology yet remain socially responsible and get the locked value out.

All collected devices are 100% reused or recycled to the highest industry standards, including ISO 14001 and 9001, through a strict zero landfill policy, so nothing is disposed in a manner that would harm the environment.

To learn more about GeekFest, have a read through these links:

GeekFest Dubai and The New Shelter

GeekaFest - The Skinny

GeekFest Workshops - GeekShops!

Posted By: Manish Arora, Head - Retail Marketing, Jacky's Electronics

Who's leading the Post-PC Evolution: Apple or Microsoft?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:22:00 +0000

Several months ago, there was a story on our blog about the Post-PC world that Apple's Steve Jobs spoke about (click here to read that post). In essence, Jobs said we're moving onto a world beyond PC's and we'd better get ready for the ride.

So for all this time, we've sat and assumed Apple was leading the way forward.

I would've agreed with this sentiment until I got thinking following Microsoft's unveiling of Windows 8 to the developer community and reading an analysis by Boy Genius Report (click here to read the whole story). Microsoft looks to be moving a step ahead of Apple because they're moving towards unifying the operating system on tablets and PC's in what Boy Genius calls the post-post-PC era.

While the popular opinion is that Microsoft has been behind the times in the last couple of years, you have to wonder if they will rebound. Acquisitions like Skype or partnerships like the one they have with Nokia have seen that Microsoft is looking for a way forward. The traditional WINTEL days (where Windows was always associated with Intel) seems to be a thing of the past. Intel this week unveiled their partnership with Google for Android, Microsoft said they're working with ARM, which clearly shows everyone is working with everyone in the race to get ahead.

Apple's vision till now has been led by a team that Steve Jobs put together while CEO of Apple. Jobs obviously has the confidence that his team can still carry this vision forward. However, most of Apple's competitors like Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung or Google are probably seeing this as their opportunity to leapfrog ahead.

While Windows 8 does have many people including me excited, what Apple has up their sleeve is still the six four million dollar question. Did Boy Genius call it too early by declaring Microsoft is ushering in the post-post-PC era, who knows? It's a bold statement to make or to predict anything in such a rapidly changing industry but what's for sure, it will be an interesting period ahead in the tech space going forward.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Ultrabooks: Is it about the Hardware or Software?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:49:00 +0000

In the last one week, we've seen a bevy of announcements from various IT vendors like Acer, Asus and Lenovo who were bubbling with excitement about the launch of their Ultrabooks (not sure what an Ultrabook is, click here to learn more about it).

Why were they excited?
In short, because they've got a product now to compete against Apple's MacBook Air.

Acer has set high expectations for their Ultrabook

Should they be excited?
Yes, because till now, most laptop manufacturers have struggled to make major inroads into the lucrative tablet segment that Apple dominates with their iPad's and without having a product to compete with MacBook Air, they were left to fight it out in the traditional laptop computer segment, which has been seeing a downwards spiral as far as prices go. The drop in prices has been so steep, that even an industry leader like HP has had to re-think how they position their PC business overall. Now with a product that can compete with the MacBook Air, most laptop manufacturers hope they can make inroads again into a segment dominated by Apple that's been able to sell the MacBook Air at a premium.

Will Ultrabooks succeed?
While talking to one industry insider, it came out in discussion that this could actually determine whether it is the hardware or software that makes a difference. Apple had a design that no one else had with the MacBook Air. With other brands now coming with similar designs, it becomes clearly a battle of operating systems and is a case of Microsoft competing with Apple. With most Ultrabooks also slated at around the USD 1,000 mark, it'll be interesting to see if they're able to grab marketshare at a price point lower than that of Apple.

Is it a MacBook Air? No
it's an Acer Aspire 3951

What we may also see happen (and will most likely happen) is that a lot of traditional laptop sales start converging towards Ultrabooks. With the era of cloud computing ahead of us, portability is increasingly becoming the need of the hour and if you can get a nice 13" screen that is light enough to carry around, you could see many users compromise on hard disk space in the short term.

So who wins?
Intel is probably the party that benefits the most in this case as both Apple and the PC brands marketing Ultrabooks use their processors.

Do I still need a tablet?
It depends entirely on how, where and what you plan to do with it. If you plan to use it primarily for work though, I'd still recommend buying an ultrabook or a laptop if you need Windows or else a MacBook.

When will it be available?
We've been told by a few brands that they'll have some Ultrabooks available in limited quantities by GITEX Shopper's which takes place from October 8 - 15, 2011.

Update: As rightly pointed out by Mita Srinavasan (@mita56 on Twitter), we missed out talking about where Google fits into the picture here and their Chromebooks. This is a valid piece of feedback so it may well turn into a three-way battle of Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Google.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Wiki-Review: The Motorola (Google?) Atrix

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:00:00 +0000

An object from the future.

That was my first thought when I saw the videos of the Motorola Atrix from the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where it won the Best of CES award.

It was a spark that lit a flame of unabashed gadget lust.

Not only was it the most powerful Android phone to date, the first to sport a dual-core processor, it is also the heart of an ecosystem of modular accessories that extended its functionality beyond that of a mere smartphone, enabled by a host of modifications that Motorola has made to the Android operating system - it speaks to the promise of innovation that Google expounded when they launched Android.

The most exciting of these accessories is the Lapdock (pictured above). The dock itself is essentially a large battery wrapped in a sleek dark grey aluminum package housing a full-sized keyboard, generous trackpad and crisp 11.6", 1330x768 resolution screen and weighing in at just over 1kg it resembles nothing so much as a competitor to Apple's Macbook Air. Except that the Lapdock doesn't do anything until you insert the handset into a hinged dock behind the screen and that's when the magic starts: a glowing red Motorola logo pops up on the screen and within about 20 seconds you're in what's dubbed the Webtop environment.

Basically this a custom shell and graphic user interface (GUI) built on top of a lightweight instance of the Linux operating system. The phone continues to run live in a window that allows you to access all of the phone's functions, including voice calls, SMS and apps. A bar along the top of the screen has notifications and status indicators and along the bottom of the screen there are shortcuts to important phone apps such as the dialer, contacts, file system and most importantly a full blown, desktop version (v 3.6) of Mozilla's Firefox web browser - which is where things get really interesting. Having a desktop grade browser, running flash, means that you can access pretty much any website or web application as you would from a traditional computer including cloud based productivity suites such Google Docs and Microsoft Office Live, as well as video sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

The HD dock allows one to bring the same experience to the desktop.

Narain's Atrix set-up with all the accessories connected.

Bluetooth and native Linux drivers make for easy interface with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

So was that gadget lust justified?

I've had the Atrix for a month now and have been using it both as my primary phone and laptop.

Undoubtedly it is a paradigm shifting device, one that challenges conventional notions of what a computer is.

However, in order to get the most out of it one either already has to have a cloud based workflow (which I do) or be ready to move to one and be ready to accept some compromises.

From a hardware point of view the phone itself is fairly anonymous, but it feels well constructed and solid - the, crisp, bright 4" 960x540 screen is covered with a sheet of Corning's scratch and shatter resistant Gorilla Glass. It has both a 5mp rear facing camera and 2mp front facing camera for video chats and checking your hair. The removable battery panel has a faux carbon fiber look to it, handsome but without any tactile texture, making it a bit of the slippery side though I have yet to drop it. The power button is unique in both design and placement, with an integrated fingerprint reader, positioned at the top center of the back panel.

While it presently runs Android Froyo (2.2), not the latest version Gingerbread (2.3) - this is due not just to Motorola's customizations associated with Webtop but also with the tweaks its made to Android itself dubbed Motoblur. Many reviewers have criticized Motoblur but personally I find it an enhances Android from both aesthetic and functional points of view making for a slick and unobtrusive package with hands-down the best Android email client for non-Gmail accounts. You can feel both Motorola's experience at phone making and the thinking they've put into making the device enterprise ready come to bear in Motoblur, not just in the email client but also contacts, calendar and other core functions.

As already mentioned the Lapdock is beautifully designed, thin, light, sturdy and delivers up to 8 hours over battery life while simultaneously charging the phone - it does have it's downsides though, namely in the form of small keys and slightly poor accuracy on the trackpad (which also doesn't allow for even the most basic gesture based input). Also, while there are a variety of keyboard shortcuts available for Android functions, such as the CTRL key bringing up the Android menu, there are no indications of this on the keyboard itself so it's a bit of a treasure hunt when it comes to figuring them out.

But the bigger question is: Does a phone, even a dual-core 1GHz one, have enough horsepower to run a desktop grade browser?

The answer is linked to one's expectations - the reality is that it will not deliver performance anywhere near the current generation of Intel Core i3 laptops. It is more akin to Atom powered netbooks - not sluggish (unless one has many, many browser tabs open) but there is discernible lag. Which means that while multi-tasking isn't impossible, one is probably better off focusing on one or top tasks at a time (in some ways not a bad thing) - this applies primarily to browser based applications, one can quite happily have multiple Android applications running in the background (like a music player) and still have a good browsing experience.

Also, the phone chokes on HD video greater than 720p though the forthcoming upgrade to 2.3 allegedly solves this issues for video stored on the device, but not for streaming web video.

Battery life is on par with other high-end phones but using it in conjunction with the Lapdock significantly extends it.

So, who is this phone for?

If you're looking for the latest, greatest standalone Android powered smartphone and are happy to accept a heavy manufacturer's custom skin then you're probably better off with Samsung's flagship Galaxy II S or HTC's Sensation.

On the other hand, if your workflow is cloud based, you regularly tether your phone and laptop because you need internet access on the go and you are looking to minimize the number and weight of the gadgets you're carrying on a daily basis then the Atrix is certainly worthy of your consideration.

And remember, you're buying a piece of the future. Today.

My set-up is as follows:

Motorola Atrix - AED. 2,399
Lapdock - AED. 400
HD Dock - AED. 400
16GB MicroSD Card - AED. 120
Logitech DiNovo Edge Bluetooth Keyboard - AED. 350
Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse - AED. 325
LG 23" LED Monitor - AED. 695

Posted By: Narain Jashanmal, General Manager, Jashanmalbooks.com

Narain posted this as a guest reviewer for us. He is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he majored in Screenwriting and has had a lifelong affair with technology since he got his first computer at the age of 4. If you're on Twitter, you can follow Narain on his twitter handle (@njashanmal)

HP & the Industry's Obsession with Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 06:57:00 +0000

"Please fasten your seat belt. The captain has announced of turbulence up ahead on the approach to Las Vegas."

This seems to describe the smartphone and IT industry in general this week.

It started off this week with Google saying they were getting engaged to Motorola and hoping their marriage could be concluded as soon as legally possible. It ended with HP saying they don't want the step children they adopted last year (Palm / WebOS / tablets / smartphones ) and that they're also considering a divorce from their PC business unit.

Las Vegas has always been known for rather infamously for its overnight marriages that many can barely recall when they wake up in the morning. The question now is what other quickie engagements, marriages, divorces, deaths and adoptions can we expect to see?

Keeping with the Vegas theme, HP's CFO even went as far as saying that continuing with their tablet and smartphone business would've meant they were gambling with their Q4 results (click here for details).

Samsung, HTC, RIM, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, LG, Sony Ericsson, Lenovo, Nokia, Acer, Asus, Toshiba and Dell have all been reasonably quiet this week except for their politically correct statements saying they embrace change positively. We all know that they'd all be sleeping with a bit unease until they can figure out what happens next but until then it may be worth watching a movie like Casino, Oceans Eleven, The Hangover or any other movie that was based in Las Vegas (click here for a list of movies based in Las Vegas) because a lot seems to be happening and it's all got a Vegas feel to it.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

What happens to Samsung, LG & HTC after Google acquisition of Motorola?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:39:00 +0000

About an hour ago from the time this post was written, news came emerged that Google had agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility for USD 12.5 billion.

While this is huge news, it draws the bigger question as to what it means for the other brands that have championed Android as their platform of choice.

As it stands right now, Apple has got their own hardware and OS platform, as do the like of RIM (BlackBerry OS / QNX) and HP (WebOS). Nokia of course will also be partnered with Windows Phone OS early in the new year. If the Google Android tie up with a Motorola hardware offering is exclusive, then it may leave the likes of Samsung, LG and HTC out in the dark.

Samsung has Bada as a back-up OS but I'm not sure if they intended for this to ever replace Android. This may also mean we see more alliances or acquisitions as the likes of HP with WebOS is still struggling and may find partnering with Samsung or HTC is the way forward. RIM also has been under pressure and may find HTC, LG or Samsung as a possible partner in challenging the dominance of Apple and Google.

Microsoft may also react with a move of their own. They clearly don't want to be left behind and what they do going forward could determine the future of the smartphone industry just as much as Google and Apple.

Of course at this stage, there is nothing official as Google hasn't said much yet and this is all speculation but it'll be one to watch for sure.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

2012: A New Lease of Life (for the PlayBook)

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:52:00 +0000

For most manufacturers of notebook computers and smartphones, 2011 has been the year of launching their first foray into tablets. We've seen various players come in this year whether it be Motorola, Acer, ViewSonic, HTC, HP and BlackBerry.

Most brands have been playing catch up to Apple and most are still well behind (at Jacky's, Apple still has a 85% share in tablet category).

The main challenge most tablets have faced is that they don't run on iOS, which has been till today, probably the best tablet-based operating system. Google has been promising a lot on Android and most manufacturers have been trying to bank on this but none has made the sort of inroads that Apple made initially. The user experience doesn't quite compare to that of iOS and the biggest driver for a tablet is Apps, which are still sadly missing on Android's tablet-optimized OS called Honeycomb.

What are the alternatives then? HP launched their WebOS based tablets in the US last month but have struggled. Microsoft has been promising Windows based tablets but those will only come in 2012 when Windows 8 is out. RIM has had their BlackBerry PlayBook out which works on a wonderfully designed QNX-based operating system but has struggled to gain overall acceptance due to the dearth of Apps and lack of an e-mail client.

Hopefully 2012 means boom not gloom
for RIM's QNX-based devices.

There was therefore good news this week for BlackBerry fans when rumours emerged of a QNX-based BlackBerry smartphone that could be out in 2012 (click here for more info). Why is this good news? Well, it means RIM could put their hat back in the tablet race and do a credible job this time around. They've got a fantastic product (as was reviewed by us earlier - click here for the review), but it's struggled because it didn't have the Apps. For Apps to be exist, an App developer has to justify it financially and from a resource perspective. If the audience for a particular OS grows, then it means there are more opportunities for it to gain a critical mass and become more interesting for an App developer. The scenario could change in 2012 for RIM with QNX-based tablets and smartphones.

Right now, the PlayBook misses out because it doesn't have basic Apps yet like a native Twitter client or a game like Angry Birds (though this has been promised by RIM). Hopefully, the stories of a QNX-based smartphone are true and hopefully we see Apple facing some real competition next year because honestly, it's about time someone else started challenging them.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

How Bold is the BlackBerry Bold 9900?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:09:00 +0000

RIM, the company behind the BlackBerry brand has been at the firing end of late when it comes to press coverage with a lot of stories circulating about whether the company has a future.

Therefore, it's with no surprise RIM fired back this week and decided to let their products do the talking. The first of this is the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 which is due for launch in UAE towards the end of August.

The BlackBerry Bold has had its fourth iteration since the series began and I've fortunately been the owner of all four devices. I had actually seen the Bold 9900 for the first time in May this year when I was at BlackBerry World in Orlando which is when RIM had made the announcement of what was eagerly awaited as the next in the ever popular series of BlackBerry Bold handsets. I had had the opportunity to actually play with the Bold 9900 at that time but in the last one week, the local office of RIM sent me a handset to use and I must say I've been impressed.

A picture of a pre-release version of the
BlackBerry Bold 9900 I took when at
BlackBerry World in May 2011.

As with any device, there are going to be some things you like and some things you don't like. In this case, I've probably got to say, I liked more things overall.

The Keyboard

New vs. Old. The Bold 9900 (Left) and Bold 9870 (Right).

The keyboard has been the talking point as RIM has always been acknowledged for having one of the best keyboards out there and they haven't disappointed us this time. The keyboard is the largest that RIM has ever had on any of their devices and even if you've got fat thumbs, it's easy enough to use.

Touch & Type Functionality

What I've loved the most has been the Touch & Type functionality. The screen on the Bold 9900 can be used as a touch screen so if you want to check a message quickly, browse through Facebook or just open a menu, you tap on the screen. You still have the trackpad to do all of that for you if you want. However, there is no onscreen keyboard so everything has to be typed through the physical keyboard. I actually don't mind this. It is liberating to know you can swipe through pictures on your phone or zoom in without having to rely on a touchpad, especially since that is what most touch-only devices do best. Touch & Type is not new, RIM has had it on the Torch 9800 but I prefer a candy-bar phone design instead of a slider so this for me is a winner.

New Operating System

To make sure this touch and type functionality came into place, RIM has released a new version of their BlackBerry OS and this runs on OS7. Honestly, apart from a few graphical changes, OS7 is very similar to OS6 that runs on the previous generation of BlackBerry Bold 9870 and Torch 9800. The operating system has been smooth so far and its very rare you get a buggy operating system out of RIM. They've always been robust and the same is the case here.

Memory

The new Bold 9900 also comes with 8GB on-board flash memory plus the option of adding a memory card. 8GB is plenty for most people unless you plan on carrying your music or movies around which is where I can see a memory card still being useful.

Screen / Resolution

RIM has been talking about the fact that they've improved their graphics resolution on this device. This may be the case but what I found more evident is that they've given you the freedom to use the screen as you wish. With a bigger screen on this device as compared to the Bold 9780, you can use the whole screen if you want without anything else appearing in the way by hiding all menus and notification screens.

The bigger screen's advantage can be seen in the Bold 9900 (right) vs. the Bold 9870 (left)

Speed

The Bold 9900 is noticeably quicker. As an owner of a Samsung Galaxy SII, I've seen how quick phones an be and the Bold 9900 is using a new faster 1.2GHz chipset. How do you know how quick the Bold 9900 is? Try re-booting it. On the previous Bold 9870, re-booting the phone could mean five minutes down time. On the Bold 9900, it takes about a minute.

Network Speed

Now this is something that miffed me. This phone is supposedly able to connect to HSPA+ mobile networks which means speeds superior to that of a regular 3G connection that we're so used to. I use HSPA+ on my Samsung Galaxy SII and it is mind-boggling quick. On the BlackBerry Bold 9900 though, the fastest I could connect was on 3G. I would give RIM the benefit of the doubt here though as the problem could be with me and the data plans I have. My Galaxy SII is running on a data plan through one mobile operator and my BlackBerry package is on a rival mobile operators network. It could just be that the mobile operator I'm using for my BlackBerry hasn't yet completed their network upgrade and this could be something that becomes live soon enough.

What's stayed the same...

With all of this said, some things have remained the same in the Bold 9900. For example, if you had the Bold 9870, you won't notice a major change in the camera functionality of this device.

Battery life also seems to be similar to that on all other BlackBerry devices. I'm yet to come across a problem with any device I've used from RIM where the battery has been drained out before the end of the day or where it can't be used for more than a day on a single charge. The same isn't necessarily the case with various other brands of smartphones.

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), which has probably been the biggest driver of RIM's success in this region still works just as well and is in fact using the new version of BBM which was launched recently on BlackBerry AppWorld. Most other Apps I used to use on my previous BlackBerry, seem to work just as well.

Convenience Key

What you do miss out though on is the fact that the Bold 9900 has only one convenience key button on the right side of the device whereas the Bold 9870 had one on each side. This means you've got one less key to use a shortcut and can take some getting used to. With the touch screen though, it is quicker and easier to open up Apps though.

Size

The biggest adjustment though is getting used to the size of the Bold 9900. For those who used to use the old Bold 9000, they'd be used to design and layout of this device but my guess is, most people have transitioned on from that to the Bold 9700 / 9780, which was a form factor more similar to RIM's Curve series of smartphones. The Bold 9900 is wider, bigger and takes more space in the pocket, though RIM have tried to make up for this by making the unit slimmer. To get a bigger screen and keyboard, something had to give and this is evident in the physical dimensions of the device.

Future of the Operating System?

As with any smartphone purchase these days, the life of the devices can't be expected to extend beyond 12 - 18 months. Apple has proven this with a new family of iPhone's out literally every year for the last four years and RIM has released this device nearly a year after the Torch 9800 came out. Most smartphone buyers know this but most of them also know that when buying a smartphone, you hope the operating system will last longer than the life of the smartphone. In this case, with OS7, RIM is using an upgraded version of their previous operating systems but all of this is due to undergo a drastic change as RIM will be adopting a completely different operating system in future. This new operating system will be based on QNX architecture that RIM acquired and which is being used currently on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The QNX architecture may be fantastic use but it isn't compatible with current versions of RIM's operating systems and this means that most Apps that you're currently using won't work on the new devices that come out in 2012. This also means that if you've bought a device today, there is no real upgrade path from an operating system point of view unless RIM manages to surprise us somehow with an interface that works on both systems.

The fact is, the operating system market has been getting very competitive with each platform raising their game, whether it be Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows 8 (due next year), HP's WebOS or indeed BlackBerry's own OS. If the operating systems don't move forward, then the companies that have hardware for those OS's can't expect to move forward either. This does mean that hardware manufacturers are left with touch choices and RIM has clearly decided to make one here.

Concluding Remarks

There will be some out there who are going to be critical of the fact that BlackBerry devices don't offer the same functionality as an Apple or Android device. I don't think they're intended to necessarily to replicate everything an Apple or Android does. Although I always carry around two handsets at any given point of time, the fact remains, I've had a BlackBerry with me always for the last four years. The other handsets have changed, whether it be a Nokia, HTC, Apple or Samsung device. I can't afford to be without the BlackBerry and I think this is probably true with many other users. The Touch & Type interface is the real winner for me in this device as I often found myself touching the screen of by Bold 9870 previously just out of habit and not seeing anything happen. Nokia has had Touch & Type on some of their devices but if you want to take advantage of the relatively competitively priced BlackBerry data plans that we have int he UAE and use BlackBerry apps, namely BBM, the Bold 9900 is the way to go.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

Digital Dilemma: How do you share content?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:37:00 +0000

It's been a few weeks since our last post but we've always felt it's better to say something worthwhile than just to say something for heck of it.

What brought about this post? Well, it was triggered by an article that I read about cloud computing in a local newspaper that got me thinking about digital content and how we consume it.

In the last couple of years we've seen virtually every sort of content source turn digital whether it be the music we listen to, the movies we watch or the books we read. While this has been a welcome change for many people, it's brought about a few questions, some of which are yet to be answered by content providers.

Firstly, was the question of how do buy it? Sadly, in the Middle East the number of online stores for buying music, TV shows, movies or books is limited and in some cases non-existent. This then only creates an environment where piracy thrives because the publishers haven't found a solution to deliver their content digitally.

Mr. Publisher, please find a way for me to share a newspaper
digitally? (Image from Flickr by Pingu1963)

The second question that arises is that if you could get the content, what do you if you want it only for a short period of time and have no intention of buying it? In the normal world, you could always go to a library or rental store and rent the content, whether it be a movie or book. The likes of Amazon have now said you can't rent textbooks on their e-book reader (the Kindle) and Apple allows you to rent movies and TV shows (click here for a link to Amazon's textbook rental story).

However, there is a third question that arises which has yet to be answered. How do you lend content to a friend or family member? Till now if you had a magazine, newspaper, book, video game, movie, song or TV show, you may have shared it within your family, with your friends or passed it around your office for everyone to enjoy. With an e-book, song, movie or newspaper on your digital device, there is no way to actually share this legally in many cases. While in many cases, it could be argued that digital content such as books are cheaper in a digital format than it would be in a printed format, the fact is that in many cases, it may be 20-30% cheaper. This can still be an expensive proposition.

Will Apple's iCloud lead to iPiracy?
(Image from Flickr by zoofythejinx13)

With Apple's iCloud also due to for launch this autumn, it'll be interesting to see if this becomes a haven for piracy as content providers work out a way to find better ways of sharing content. Whether you call it lending, borrowing, recycling, donating or re-gifting, you can't expect people to stop doing it.

While the advent of digital content has been a positive change, the pace of change in how it is distributed or how it is re-distributed is still lagging sadly, especially so in the Middle East. With devices like tablets, e-book readers and tablets becoming more mainstream, there is only so long you can hold consumers back before they get impatient. The result of this impatience can often times mean piracy and hopefully publishers address this before it spirals further out of control.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

What changes in four years?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashish Panjabi) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:35:00 +0000

During the last week of June, there were a couple of news pieces floating around talking about the fact that Apple's iPhone had turned four years old and Apple had gone from zero to hero within four short years in the mobile phone industry.

At the same time of reading this, there was also a Twitter conversation that was going on between us and Gaganjeet Sethi, one of our followers on Twitter (@gaganjeet). In that we were discussing the merits of HP's WebOS strategy, where HP was trying to enter the smartphone and tablet battle with remnants of the company once known as Palm. Gaganjeet felt there was no chance HP could make a foothold and felt they are out of the race even before they even started trying to enter it.

This is when we responded back saying you can't concede that one platform is going to dominate another platform in the long term as a lot can change very quickly. Gaganjeet agreed with us eventually but also, he'd inspired a blog post for us.

With this story about the iPhone turning four fresh in my mind, I got to thinking to of other examples of what's changed in four years. Here's a summary that came to mind:

Four years ago, Nokia was the leading smartphone and mobile phone manufacturer. Anyone who remembers the days of the Nokia Communicator family of products knows that Nokia created the smartphone segment.
Due to Nokia's dominance, Symbian was the preferred OS. Windows Mobile was making attempts to break in through earlier attempts of brands like iMate (which has since disappeared) and O2. Symbian though is what brands like LG and Samsung also banked upon to break into the market.
Motorola's Razr was still a relatively successful product for the company. No one else quite mastered the clamshell mobile phone segment like Motorola has and the Razr was one of those that kept them on top.
When buying a smartphone, the choices would've been iMate, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, O2, HP and Palm. BlackBerry's weren't available yet in the UAE, Apple was just getting into the game, Samsung & LG hadn't ventured in yet, Motorola was busy in the feature phone mobile phone market and HTC was just moving out of their shell as an OEM manufacturer into being a branded smartphone device manufacturer.
Android as an OS platform didn't exist.
Twitter was in its infancy and unknown to most of us.
A tablet was something a doctor gave you when we weren't well, not something you used while sitting in bed to watch movies on, read books or check your Facebook status updates.

While there's no doubt a lot more that can be added onto this list, it just goes to show you can't predict what'll dominate in two years, three years or five years from now. The industry changes so quickly that you can't ever count anyone out. WebOS could indeed turn out to the dominant OS platform of the future, RIM could turn their fortunes around or a Nokia-Windows Phone combination could bring the whole industry back into their grip. They all could crash and burn as well.

All too often, many in the journalist or analyst community have been quick to condemn the fate of an OS or a smartphone brand without actually waiting for them set foot properly. With the launch of the iPhone four years ago, I wonder how many of those same journalists or analysts would've been able to predict the fact that Nokia would lose their number one spot in mobile phone sales in Europe to Samsung or that Apple would rise as rapidly as it did in a recession-hit world.

Keeping an open mind is difficult, even for those of us who try to remain objective but reflecting back like this every once in a while, can help keep things in perspective and show us how many times we actually got it wrong.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

The Top 5 Android Smartphones this DSS

noreply@blogger.com (Jacky's Electronics) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Over the last couple of months, we've seen a definite uptick in the adoption of Android based devices here in the UAE. While RIM's BlackBerry brand is still tops when it comes to smart phone sales in our retail outlets, followed by Apple, we've seen the Android platform grow steadily.

Partly, this has been because we've seen more brands throw their hat into the smartphone race (where as RIM and Apple use their own proprietary operating system software) but more and more this has been because of the improvement of the quality of products we've seen coming from a lot of the smartphone manufacturers. The introduction of Android 2.2 (codenamed Froyo) and Android 2.3 (codenamed Gingerbread) have meant the operating system and the Apps we've seen have started to gain traction amongst many early adopters, especially since the Google Market app store was introduced in this region a few months ago.

In this summary, we discuss the 5 most successful Android-based smartphones that are currently on sale with us.

1. LG Optimus Black

This is a relatively new launch with us and one of the big advantages of this device has been its weight. At only 109 grams, it's one of the lightest smartphones on the market which is especially impressive considering it has a 4" screen. It has got a relatively quick 1GHz processor. It has a 5 megapixel camera and an LED flash but comes with only 2GB storage and 512MB RAM which means you need to use a memory card if you plan on taking a lot of pictures or recording videos. It comes standard with Android 2.2 but can be upgraded to Gingerbread (Android 2.3). Priced at Dhs. 1,799, it certainly isn't the most expensive device but does compete with the upper-end of the smartphone market.

2. Samsung Galaxy Ace

This is largely a budget device as it comes competitively priced at Dhs. 1,099. Unlike most of the top end smartphones which are now coming with processors about the 1GHz threshold, this comes with a 800 MHz processor from ARM and a 3.5" touchscreen. It was designed for Android 2.2 but does have an upgrade to 2.3 (Gingerbread) available. It has a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash but only 158MB storage which makes using a memory card a must on this device.

3. Motorola Defy

Motorola hasn't really ever the level of success in this region as they have in the United States but when they have succeeded, it has been due to the fact that they've had a niche product. The Defy's advantages is that it is dustproof, scratch and water resistant, which means it is great for this climate or for those who've got young kids. It has a 3.7" touchscreen which is similar to that on the iPhone 3GS. It has a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and an 800 MHz processor but runs Android 2.1 (Eclair) out of the box. It can be upgraded to Android 2.2 but if you want Gingerbread, it isn't available on this device at the moment. Motorola also uses their MotoBlur skin on Android devices which for someone who's been on using various Android devices for a while can feel cumbersome. It has 2GB storage and 512MB RAM. Priced at Dhs. 1,399, it is more expensive than the Galaxy Ace but given the fact that it is sturdier by design, may make it justify the extra premium.

4. Sony Ericsson Arc

Sony Ericsson has taken a lot of stick initially when they entered the smartphone race as they would announce devices many months before they were launched and when they came to market, they felt and looked out-dated. A lot of their devices ran Android 1.6 when the market had shifted to Android 2.1 and 2.2. It was a surprise therefore when the Sony Ericsson Arc came out because it was one of the first devices to come with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) right out of the box. What's more, Sony Ericsson decided not to interfere too much with skinning the device and has kept it as close as possible to what Google would called a "stock" Android device. It carries a whopping 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash and a 1 GHz Scorpion processor. The 4.3" touch screen uses a variation of Sony's Bravia engine but what has really made this device stand out is how slim it is. For all of this though, you do pay a price and it is currently marketed at Dhs. 2,399 which makes it the most expensive of the five phones we're reviewing here.

5. Samsung Galaxy S

This has been the device that has single-handedly turned Samsung's fortunes around in the smartphone race and brought back a revival of sorts within Android handsets in general. Firstly, this device came with a 4" AMOLED screen which was at the time one of the only competitors for Apple's iPhone Retina screen. It was also one of the first with a 1GHz processor and had a generous 16GB storage and 478MB RAM. It has a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and runs on Android 2.2 out of the box, though the 2.3 upgrade can be downloaded. The successor to this model has now been released which has meant the price of this device dropped recently to Dhs. 1,599 which makes it a bargain given the power-packed features it has.

What about HTC?

HTC has long been regarded as one of the stalwarts of the smartphone business and is one of the fastest growing smartphone manufacturers in the world right now. Recently they took over Nokia as far as market capitalization goes and are going from strength to strength. They didn't figure in our sales figures though in the first half of this year as we were working out our commercial terms with HTC. This I'm glad to say was concluded recently and we've started selling HTC devices again.

One the prima donna's in HTC's suite of Android devices has to be the Sensation. This has all the bells and whistles that you'd expect in a top-end smartphone including a 4.3" QHD touchscreen, HD video recording, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 768MB RAM, 1GB memory, an 8 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash. Out of the box, the device runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has HTC's Sense skin l loaded on it. Sense has been HTC's way of unifying the smartphone experience across their devices and whether the device runs on Android or Windows Phone 7, the idea was that it should be as similar an experience as possible. The end result is that some people don't mind it and others hate it. It's all down to personal preference at the end of the day. It weighs 148 grams and it retails at Dhs. 2,599. It should be within our top-sellers very soon we hope.

Did we forget the Galaxy SII?

The talk of the town has been the Samsung Galaxy SII. Especially since they've plastered Dubai and the rest of the country with their advertising and impressive road shows. Since this device has only just launched we felt it couldn't place it in just yet as we've been constrained with some initial supply issues but whatever has been coming in has been selling out immediately. Just as the Samsung Galaxy S set the benchmark for Android devices, the Galaxy SII has done much the same. This is a super slim device and comes with a slightly bigger screen than the original Galaxy (4.3" vs. 4.0"). It has a newer generation of Samsung's AMOLED technology called Super AMOLED Plus. It has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor like the HTC Sensation and a similar 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash. It also runs on Android 2.3 like most new devices that are being released today. The base model comes with 16GB memory built-in and with a memory card input, this can mean you can take HD quality videos without any issue. It is also extremely slim and lightweight which is really what makes the device stand out. With HSPA+ connectivity, it is provides one of the fastest broadband mobile connections that you can get on a smartphone. Priced though at Dhs. 2,599, it is competing at the top end of the smartphone market where it has set the benchmark for what an Android device should be and could very well compete with the next generation iPhone's from Apple.

Concluding Remarks

Android has been a platform that has been misunderstood by many. Part of the reason has been that it has been fragmented in terms of communication with so many brands promoting or marketing Android-based devices differently. However, it is one of those platforms that once you get hooked into, you find difficult to abandon. Personally, I had tried migrating once and ended up moving back to my iPhone. I'm trying it again and am enjoying it more this time, especially since I saw a lot of what Steve Jobs presented that was coming in iOS5 for Apple devices is already present on Android.

While I do love the Apple experience, I'm myself starting to appreciate Android more as I've seen it has been revolutionizing the smartphone experience far more than any other platform lately. There is a learning curve for sure, especially if you've come from another platform but it is worth the switch if you decide to make it.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics
Editorial Contributions Provided By: Thomas Lobo, Buyer, Jacky's Electronics

How to Start Listening to your Forgotten Music

noreply@blogger.com (Jacky's Electronics) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:52:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I came across a headline in a story that said "Study: 81% of iTunes Collections Never Get Played. Ever..." According to the story, the average user has 5,409 songs in their iTunes library and only ever plays on average a little over 1,200 of these songs. Over 4,000 songs in the average iTunes collection are never heard.

Source: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/052511itunes

WOW!

If you live in a part of the world where Apple sells music over iTunes (unlike those of us here in the United Arab Emirates), it would mean that the average user would've spent close US$ 5,000 downloading music from Apple and wasted about US$ 4,000 of that as they never listened to it.

On the flip side, if Apple were to sell music all over the world (including here in the United Arab Emirates), it would mean Apple could've earned another US$ 4,000 per consumer they have in such regions. With iCloud and Apple's iTunes Match feature where you can start buying music from Apple that is already loaded on your local playlist, it means even more dollar signs for Apple. I'm not even going to start calculating much this could be as the number of zeros would no doubt give me a headache.

How to start listening to the other 4,000 songs

Image: www.YouGotRickRolled.com

There is hope. If you have realized you are on of those with over 4,000 songs that you've never listened to, try setting up your "Genius" feature on iTunes. Genius is a nifty algorithm that Apple have put into iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad players that selects songs for you to listen to based on what you're playing right now. For example, I'm listening to some music as I type this blog post. In fact, I'm listening to A-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on TV" and when I clicked on the Genius option, it's set up a play list that includes Chesney Hawkes' "One & Only," Kylie Minogue's "I Should be So Lucky" and "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors.

What Genius does in essence is match the music to your mood, genre, time period and artist selection. All of a sudden, you're listening to a song from Rick Astley that you forgot ever existed.

The one caveat to having the Genius feature enabled is that it won't work if your Apple account shows you live in a country where Apple doesn't sell music over iTunes. To get around this, you need to setup your Apple account to show that you live in a country where Apple sells music online. I'm not going to get into how this can be done but if you search for it on Google (or the search engine of your choice), you'll no doubt find out how to do this.

If you have a chance, try out Genius and before you know it, you'll be listening to all those of thousands of songs that have been ignored for all these years on your iTunes playlist.

Posted By: Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Electronics

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