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Posts Tagged ‘Production’

HTC in disarray: staff departures, ‘disastrous’ First, and production problems cloud company’s future

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HTC CEO Peter Chou

The Verge has learned that HTC’s Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC’s overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One.

It’s not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession — most recently Jason Gordon, the company’s vice president of global communications. Other fresh departures include global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, director of digital marketing John Starkweather, and product strategy manager Eric Lin.

It’s not a coordinated poaching effort that’s draining HTC’s Seattle-based North American operations….

HTC Pledges To Pump Up ‘One’ Production While Samsung’s New Flagship Ships Like Crazy

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Author: Jon Mitchell

Oh HTC. You’ve produced one of the finest Android smartphones ever (seriously, just look at all these reviews), but you’ve faced more than your share of challenges when it came to actually pumping your top-tier One smartphone. As it happens, that may all soon change.

FocusTaiwan reported earlier today that HTC is preparing to pump out more of its wonderful Ones in short order — Jack Tong, the company’s North Asia president, noted that this month’s production capacity for the flagship device is twice that of April, and that surge will only continue into June.

Sounds pretty yawn-worthy, right? Normally I would spend too much time dwelling on the finer points of production capacity, but here’s a device that was launched to widespread praise by an underdog smartphone company some people have written off, and HTC has basically been getting screwed thanks to part shortages for the One’s Ultrapixel camera and a brief injunction due to the HDR microphone it uses. It’s like a perfect storm of headaches for a company that really, really doesn’t need it — one look at its Q1 financials and it’s clear that HTC needed this launch to go as smoothly as possible. It didn’t.

For what it’s worth, HTC hasn’t disclosed how many Ones it’s shipped since it launched earlier this year. Meanwhile, rival Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has become the Korean electronics giant’s fastest moving smartphone — Samsung shipped 6 million units in just over two weeks, and it hopes to cross the 10 million unit threshold by the end of this month. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that Google’s Hugo Barra showed off a version of the S4 at the company’s I/O developer conference that runs a version of Android that’s unfettered by the software bloat that many a reviewer took umbrage at. Company representatives were careful not to call it a Nexus — even though it seems to harbor many of the advantages inherent to the Nexus line like a clean Android build and access to frequent software updates.

As I noted towards the end of my HTC One review, the wireless industry isn’t a meritocracy — the well-executed device doesn’t always wind up saving the day. Hopefully now that some of these production woes have been ironed out we’ll see HTC live to fight another day, but that’s still far from a given.

Porsche shows 918 Spyder in production form

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Author: Brittany Turner

Porsche isn’t about to let the LaFerrari steal the hybrid spotlight: it just unveiled the finished design of the 918 Spyder, which is expected to ship as a 2015 model. The look won’t shock anyone keeping up with their spy videos, although Porsche’s formal unveiling helps firm up the specifications that customers will get if they’ve dutifully shelled out $ 845,000. The performance is even more intimidating than it was in 2011, we know that much: there’s 887HP of combined V8 and plug-in electric power, a 0-62MPH time of 2.8 seconds and up to 18 miles of gas-free driving. About the only disappointment (price notwithstanding) is the lack of options beyond a weight reduction package. We doubt many Spyder buyers will complain when they can even outrace a 911 GT3.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

Source: Porsche

iPad Mini With Retina Display Screen Production To Start In June Or July, NPD DisplaySearch Says

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Author: Melissa Shroeder

The iPad mini is quickly becoming a key component of Apple’s product lineup, and according to some sources, might even be the best-selling tablet Apple makes at this point. The smaller tablet hit shelves in early November last year, and likely had a huge impact on Apple’s record tablet sales last quarter, which topped 19.5 million devices. It’s impossible not to see a Retina update in the mini’s future, and new reports (via MacRumors) claim we’ll see production begin for that device this summer.

NPD DisplaySearch analyst says we should see display panel production begin for a Retina iPad mini beginning in June or July, which will be sourced primarily from LG Display, and specifically not from Samsung, Apple’s sometime partner, but not a display supplier for the current iPad mini. The iPad mini with Retina Display should have a 2,048×1536 pixel, 7.9-inch screen, which makes for a PPI of 324, or just about the same as that of the iPhone 5. That would make it fully compatible with apps designed for the full-sized iPad’s Retina screen, but give it an even higher pixel density at the same time thanks to the smaller screen dimensions.

This production start date would fit with an anticipated ship date of between July and September for a Retina iPad mini, thought we’d be much more likely to see such a device arrive in the fall according to recent statements by Apple CEO Tim Cook. During the most recent Apple investor call, he told people to look to fall and 2014 specifically for exciting new product launches from Apple, which seems to indicate we might have to wait at least that long for something as exciting as an iPad mini refresh.

A Retina screen on the iPad mini would help Apple address the only real shortcoming reviewers and critics have identified on the tablet thus far. When the first reviews hit the web, mention of the lack of a Retina display was almost universal, though few cited it as a dealbreaking oversight. Even so, the addition of that capability will likely bring at least as much praise as its absence brought raised eyebrows.

Early rumored case leaks have shown that the next generation might be slightly thicker than the existing version, which would be in keeping with what happened between the iPad 2 and the first Retina Display iPad, which gained both girth and weight over its predecessor. I’m personally hoping that this is an early prototype; the size and weight change between the iPad 2 and 3rd gen device was very noticeable, and took away from the benefits of having a better screen.

Apple isn’t hurting in the tablet game, but some competitors are starting to show stronger numbers than they have in the past, including Asus, which reported earnings this week. Those included 3 million tablets sold for the quarter, a larger portion of which are likely the Nexus 7 Android devices it makes for Google. NPD DisplaySearch says that the Kindle Fire line of tablets will get 300 ppi or higher displays in the next generation, too, so Apple bringing the best-of-breed display in its next-gen device makes sense in terms of helping keep its dominating lead.

New advances with E. coli bacteria could eventually improve biofuel production

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Author:

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Currently, producing fuel directly from biological products can lead to some tough choices. The resulting biofuel usually either needs to be mixed with regular petroleum or the vehicles themselves need to be modified to work with it. New research published recently details the work of scientists to try to avoid both problems by creating a biofuel that’s compatible with diesel engines. “Producing a commercial biofuel that can be used without needing to modify vehicles has been the goal of this project from the outset,” says Professor John Love of the University of Exeter. The study (funded by Shell), used E. coli to create the “bio-fossil-fuels,” as Love calls them, though this biofuel is a long way from your gas tank. It takes around 100…

Blackmagic’s Production Camera 4K gets full size cinema sensor, $3,995 pricetag

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Author: Nancy Kennedy

No issue how tough companies try and conceal, when it concerns trade convention floors there’s always the threat that someone will snap an image and steal their thunder. The latest casualty is Blackmagic, which will be announcing both a Pocket Movie theater Camera and this, its Manufacturing Camera 4K. We’re relatively sure that this will sit above its Movie theater Camera, providing a bigger Super 35 sensor, global shutter and Thunderbolt port together with the SSD recorder, touchscreen LCD and EF lens mount we discovered on in 2012′s model. When the business navigates to revealing the hardware appropriately, it’ll be readily available for $ 3,995– reduced adequate to make even the most ardent of DSLR fans reconsider.

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Terrafugia’s Transition aircraft not likely to see production this year

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Author: Markus Smith

Terrafugia’s Transition flying car (or driveable plane) has stayed out of the spotlight since we caught a glimpse of it last year, but AOL Autos recently checked-in with the daring manufacturer to gauge its progress. Sure, the prototype has already scored a VIN from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and an N-number from the Federal Aviation Administration, but it turns out the land /air hybrid is still awaiting complete certification by the NHTSA. Production dates won’t be announced until the craft has been rubber-stamped by Uncle Sam, and that isn’t expected to occur within the next 12 months. For now, suppliers are being lined up, and it’s very likely that another prototype will be fashioned before it hits the assembly line. You might not be able to sit inside your very own Transition soon, but you will be able to see the first model on display at Cape Cod’s Heritage Museum this summer.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: Autoblog

Source: AOL Autos

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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Author: Matthew Baker

LEGO is ceasing production of the Star Wars Jabba’s Palace playset at the end of this year amidst complaints from Austria’s Turkish community that the building is “mosque-like” and the minifigs included give Muslims a bad rap. Things to complain about: apparently we’re getting to the very bottom of the list.

Furious Muslim critics complained that the Lego set’s Asian and oriental figures were “deceitful and criminal” characters such as gun-runners, slave masters and terrorists.

“This sort of thing does not belong in a child’s bedroom,” said Melissa Gunes, a spokeswoman for Austria’s Turkish Cultural Association. Critics also claimed that the palace had an uncanny resemblance to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque. “The game is pedagogical dynamite. It depicts Muslims as terrorists,” the TCA complained, adding that Jabba was shown to be a “terrorist who likes to smoke hookah and have his victims killed”.

Did you read that? PEDAGOGICAL DYNAMITE, FOLKS. I honestly tried to imagine the set depicting Muslims as terrorists, and I couldn’t. And that’s saying a lot because I can imagine almost ANYTHING. The things I see when I close my eyes — you could make a movie about them but nobody would ever be the same afterwards.

UPDATE: LEGO has stated they’re ending production of the playset at the end of the year because it was already determined as the end of the product’s life-cycle and not because of the criticism.

Thanks to Chillivanilly, who just stockpiled like 100 of them to sell on eBay in twenty years.

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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Author:

LEGO is ceasing production of the Star Wars Jabba’s Palace playset at the end of this year amidst complaints from Austria’s Turkish community that the building is “mosque-like” and the minifigs included give Muslims a bad rap. Things to complain about: apparently we’re getting to the very bottom of the list.

Furious Muslim critics complained that the Lego set’s Asian and oriental figures were “deceitful and criminal” characters such as gun-runners, slave masters and terrorists.

“This sort of thing does not belong in a child’s bedroom,” said Melissa Gunes, a spokeswoman for Austria’s Turkish Cultural Association. Critics also claimed that the palace had an uncanny resemblance to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque. “The game is pedagogical dynamite. It depicts Muslims as terrorists,” the TCA complained, adding that Jabba was shown to be a “terrorist who likes to smoke hookah and have his victims killed”.

Did you read that? PEDAGOGICAL DYNAMITE, FOLKS. I honestly tried to imagine the set depicting Muslims as terrorists, and I couldn’t. And that’s saying a lot because I can imagine almost ANYTHING. The things I see when I close my eyes — you could make a movie about them but nobody would ever be the same afterwards.

UPDATE: LEGO has stated they’re ending production of the playset at the end of the year because it was already determined as the end of the product’s life-cycle and not because of the criticism.

Thanks to Chillivanilly, who just stockpiled like 100 of them to sell on eBay in twenty years.

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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Author: Jenny Zhao

LEGO is ceasing production of the Star Wars Jabba’s Palace playset at the end of this year amidst complaints from Austria’s Turkish community that the building is “mosque-like” and the minifigs included give Muslims a bad rap. Things to complain about: apparently we’re getting to the very bottom of the list.

Furious Muslim critics complained that the Lego set’s Asian and oriental figures were “deceitful and criminal” characters such as gun-runners, slave masters and terrorists.

“This sort of thing does not belong in a child’s bedroom,” said Melissa Gunes, a spokeswoman for Austria’s Turkish Cultural Association. Critics also claimed that the palace had an uncanny resemblance to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque. “The game is pedagogical dynamite. It depicts Muslims as terrorists,” the TCA complained, adding that Jabba was shown to be a “terrorist who likes to smoke hookah and have his victims killed”.

Did you read that? PEDAGOGICAL DYNAMITE, FOLKS. I honestly tried to imagine the set depicting Muslims as terrorists, and I couldn’t. And that’s saying a lot because I can imagine almost ANYTHING. The things I see when I close my eyes — you could make a movie about them but nobody would ever be the same afterwards.

UPDATE: LEGO has stated they’re ending production of the playset at the end of the year because it was already determined as the end of the product’s life-cycle and not because of the criticism.

Thanks to Chillivanilly, who just stockpiled like 100 of them to sell on eBay in twenty years.

Posts Tagged ‘Production’

HTC in disarray: staff departures, ‘disastrous’ First, and production problems cloud company’s future

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HTC Pledges To Pump Up ‘One’ Production While Samsung’s New Flagship Ships Like Crazy

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Porsche shows 918 Spyder in production form

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iPad Mini With Retina Display Screen Production To Start In June Or July, NPD DisplaySearch Says

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New advances with E. coli bacteria could eventually improve biofuel production

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Blackmagic’s Production Camera 4K gets full size cinema sensor, $3,995 pricetag

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Terrafugia’s Transition aircraft not likely to see production this year

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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LEGO Ending Jabba’s Palace Playset Production Amidst ‘Anti-Islamic’ Complaints (Allegedly Unrelated Though)

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