Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 110, providing a
summary of major news items from the printing, publishing, packaging,
digital, and communications technology sectors. PIND incorporates brief
summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look
up that all important detail, digging deeper behind the headline.
Kodak takes the late-comers top spot this week following yesterday’s revelations regarding the bits of the business it wants to offload in the great sell off. Following the less than successful patents sale,
the company now wants rid of film and its “personalised imaging” and
“document imaging” businesses – which are not the print-focused bits,
even though it sounds very much like it! It seems to comprise in-store
photo printing kiosks and those annoying picture-taking systems at theme parks
that snap you eyes-tight-shut and open-mouthed as you round the last
corner of the ride of death. Read the links; more will surely follow.
Elsewhere the web printing part of the Alderson Brothers Print Group appears to have fallen on hard times, or is banking with the wrong bankers, depending on which version of the story you wish to believe. We hope it’s the bankers fault; we like Pete and Ron.
In the world of publishing the HarperCollins Chief Exec has been using the description “multimedia content providers” to describe the business. Needs further investigation!
Further to last week’s rumours, iPad Mini appears
to have gotten itself a release date, if you believe everything you
read. Our concerns about the probably size of this “mini” still remain.
Also further to our extensive Tablet Talk last week, we have noted a general trimming of Android tablet prices in all areas of the market. A visit to the local HMV store was followed by a stroll through the pages of Amazon. These views confirmed our thoughts that the arrival of the Google Nexus 7 has set new pricing levels for Android product right across the board. Seven, eight, nine and ten-inch Android tablets are now being heavily discounted to bring them into the same price arena as the Nexus, many dropping below the £200 mark, and closer to £150, in order to remain competitive.
Samsung might generally still be expecting higher returns, but then they have big bills
to pay right now too! If you are going the wrong side of £300 for a
ten-inch tablet you need very good reason not to be going the whole hog
and buying an iPad, in our opinion.
These are virtually all Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich / ICS) based too, which really is the final nail in the coffin for earlier versions: retailers might as well give them away! You, being an avid reader of PIND and other tech info, would not be seen dead with one for sure, unless there was an obvious and immediate upgrade path.
For those of you that have also invested your pocket money in Google Nexus 7, here are a couple of web based forums that you might like to stick your name on. Generally quite good info, and answers to the questions that you didn’t know you had.
Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.
PIND110
Missed Issue 109, including Heidelberg IPEX exit? Then simply click here!
Issue 108: Kodak Patents
Issue 107: Olympic Print
Issue 106: Mountain Lion Launch
Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.
Kodak takes the late-comers top spot this week following yesterday’s revelations regarding the bits of the business it wants to offload in the great sell off. Following the less than successful patents sale,
the company now wants rid of film and its “personalised imaging” and
“document imaging” businesses – which are not the print-focused bits,
even though it sounds very much like it! It seems to comprise in-store
photo printing kiosks and those annoying picture-taking systems at theme parks
that snap you eyes-tight-shut and open-mouthed as you round the last
corner of the ride of death. Read the links; more will surely follow.Elsewhere the web printing part of the Alderson Brothers Print Group appears to have fallen on hard times, or is banking with the wrong bankers, depending on which version of the story you wish to believe. We hope it’s the bankers fault; we like Pete and Ron.
In the world of publishing the HarperCollins Chief Exec has been using the description “multimedia content providers” to describe the business. Needs further investigation!
Further to last week’s rumours, iPad Mini appears
to have gotten itself a release date, if you believe everything you
read. Our concerns about the probably size of this “mini” still remain.Also further to our extensive Tablet Talk last week, we have noted a general trimming of Android tablet prices in all areas of the market. A visit to the local HMV store was followed by a stroll through the pages of Amazon. These views confirmed our thoughts that the arrival of the Google Nexus 7 has set new pricing levels for Android product right across the board. Seven, eight, nine and ten-inch Android tablets are now being heavily discounted to bring them into the same price arena as the Nexus, many dropping below the £200 mark, and closer to £150, in order to remain competitive.
Samsung might generally still be expecting higher returns, but then they have big bills
to pay right now too! If you are going the wrong side of £300 for a
ten-inch tablet you need very good reason not to be going the whole hog
and buying an iPad, in our opinion.These are virtually all Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich / ICS) based too, which really is the final nail in the coffin for earlier versions: retailers might as well give them away! You, being an avid reader of PIND and other tech info, would not be seen dead with one for sure, unless there was an obvious and immediate upgrade path.
For those of you that have also invested your pocket money in Google Nexus 7, here are a couple of web based forums that you might like to stick your name on. Generally quite good info, and answers to the questions that you didn’t know you had.Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.
PIND110
Missed Issue 109, including Heidelberg IPEX exit? Then simply click here!
Issue 108: Kodak Patents
Issue 107: Olympic Print
Issue 106: Mountain Lion Launch
Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.
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