Back to 1999, I worked at a Computer Peripheral Dept of an electronic company. The prospective of the future was discussed often. You got to visualize the future, then you would be able to come up with ideas to fulfill the needs. Since TV was the most reputed product of the company then, so consequently it was depicted to be the center of "digital home". (It was true to many, TV was virtually the center of many homes no matter it was "digital" or not.) Not long, the company along with others founded,"Digital Home Working Group", which later changed its name to DLNA, Digital Living Network Alliance in 2003.
At that time, it was an era of computer. The focus of people's thoughts was at PC/NB, mobile was still improving its battery capacity and making its size smaller. There were sequences of merger and acquisition among PC companies, but not much with consumer electronic ones.
Lately, TV appeared to be quite a popular subject of the tech news or businessn ews. A bit more than a decade from then, I am now looking back, kinds of products, specifications, standards ...from prototype to mature product, from a fancy expensive gadget becoming a must-have... Nowadays, it looks that mobile phone and TV could be the points of digital converge. What was missed out from the concept at the time was "capability of cloud computing", though the working pattern as terminal (client) to server was also considered as most efficient way of data processing and storage.
A vision of future or trend is good, but yet enough to produce good revenue or income. The iPod replaced the status quo of walkman representing a new viewpoint of business, in addition to hardware, software and service, the whole biz model is the most critical of all. The good sales record of Kindle also tells the very same story.
不做TV卻獨鍾雲端，廣達：雲端醫療已有眉目精實新聞 2010-04-27 08:35:47
記者 何佩珊 報導
雖然
仁寶、緯創和鴻海都相當積極跨入TV代工領域，且得到不錯的成績，但廣達還是獨鍾雲端。廣達董事長林百里表示，雖然做不到「Me only」，也一定要做到「Me first」，就像是廣達當年帶頭做NB一樣，而TV代工這種「Me too」的產品，則不是他的志向。他表示，雲端才是廣達下一個十年的研發和業務主軸。
林百里表示，人要知道自己的長處和短處，所以他
不會去做TV代工，而且他已經61歲了，一定要做對人類有用的事，不會去做Me too的產品。而NB也已經做20年了，現在雖然有很好的量和獲利，但他要為廣達找到下一個春天。
而在雲端這塊市場上，廣達在伺服器端雖有所準備，但著墨更多的則是終端裝置。他表示，
未來會以人本自動化為雲端運算發展主軸，朝醫療、手持裝置、膝上裝置、智慧家庭、智慧辦公室和智慧城市這6大環境應用著手開發新產品。而目前看來，廣達似乎在醫療這塊比較有進展，預計會推出心臟感測的相關裝置，且已有客戶有意購買，不過林百里也指出，順利的話，這項產品最快也要等到2011年才會推出。
雖然林百里直言，雲端最主要的商機還是來自服務，對於硬體製造商來說賺不了什麼錢。而且他很清楚
廣達是一家製造型公司，就公司的資源、能力來看都還不足以成為一個服務的公司，所以目前也沒有發展服務的計畫，主要還是做雲端硬體。
但這不代表廣達在雲端上無利可圖。他表示，最初廣達領先做NB時，毛利率還是可以達到20%的水準，因此，現在領先做雲端裝置，一定也可以帶來更高的毛利。而且林百里指出，東西單獨賣很便宜，但是軟硬體搭配出一整套解決方案就會很值錢了。不過要做到這樣的程度，他坦言廣達的軟體能力還需要加強。
除了不斷招募更多人才，廣達也積極和全球各大學進行合作，提早掌握關鍵產品作佈局。同時，因為雲端尚未標準化，在地化相當重要，所以廣達在中、美、歐洲都設有合作公司來經營當地市場。
不過當被問及雲端何時可為廣達帶來實際獲利時，林百里回應，烏龜不會短跑，只會長跑，廣達會一步步來，技術要先做好，再去做裝置、然後做軟體、系統，最後才談商業模式。而目前六大領域的研發同時在進行，希望明（2011）年就可以有產品出來。他表示，生意尚未落實之前他不會多說，且他也不認為雲端的商機應該被數字化。
http://www.funddj.com/KMDJ/News/NewsViewer.aspx?a=41d21656-a969-44e9-a7e9-09611bbfeeec蘋果谷歌欲涉足電視 向韓企發起挑戰朝鮮日報記者 成好哲 (2010.04.26 16:47)
稱霸全球電視市場的三星電子和LG電子面臨來自蘋果和谷歌的挑戰。
近幾年通過與日本索尼和夏普的激烈競爭，
三星電子和LG電子的全球電視市場佔有率已分列前二。其間，專家們認為韓國的電視產業會在一段時間內領先於日本。但蘋果和谷歌加入戰團，這就成為了會改變市場格局的新變數。蘋果公司CEO史蒂夫-喬布斯最近說：“將在年內推出非凡（extraordinary）的新產品。”外電將這段話解釋為，蘋果公司可能涉足電視市場。此外，
谷歌也在加緊推出內裝谷歌開發的作業系統——Android的電視。 蘋果公司和谷歌計畫推出的電視可以上網下載各種視頻和軟體，具有一定的電腦功能。例如，“谷歌電視”(Google TV)可以在觀看電視時切換到推特（Tweet）或Facebook等社交服務網站，同朋友進行對話或進入YouTube等視頻網站檢索所需視頻。
Eugene投資證券公司分析師Jeon Seong-hun說：“蘋果最快可能在今年第四季度，谷歌最快是在今年11月左右推出新的電視。韓國電視生產商如果不能正確應對蘋果和谷歌掀起的電視新發展趨勢，很有可能被排擠出主流市場。”
◆“美日台”將威脅“韓國製造”
去年底，
臺灣電子製造業巨頭鴻海集團收購了索尼的墨西哥LCD電視工廠。同時以換股方式和大型LCD面板廠商臺灣奇美電子（CMO）進行合併。奇美電子一直從蘋果公司接單，為其生產“iPod”和“iPhone”。據悉，鴻海集團正準備接單生產蘋果公司即將推出的電視。
谷歌在本月中旬收購了一家名為“Agnilux”的晶片設計公司。Agnilux是由A4處理器（蘋果公司的主要產品使用的中央處理器）的開發者創辦的公司。谷歌的戰略是通過收購該公司，將加強包括電視在內的硬體技術力量。
谷歌計畫與索尼合作，解決製造電視機方面的問題。《紐約時報》報導說：“早在幾個月前，
谷歌就與索尼和英代爾聯手開發全新概念的谷歌電視機。”索尼擁有世界頂級的電視製造技術。如果索尼加入谷歌陣營，谷歌的電視製造技術就不會比三星電子和LG電子差。
此外，蘋果和谷歌擁有三星電子和LG電子所不具備的“軟體優勢”。蘋果可以在電視機上安裝18萬個應用軟體。谷歌則可以把網上搜索等相關技術應用到電視機上。
◆“電視市場不會重蹈智慧手機覆轍”
上月9日，三星電子首爾總部5樓會議室，450多名韓國遊戲及軟體發展人員濟濟一堂。當天三星電子錶示，只要有人開發出一定水平以上的電視應用軟體，就可以在示範運營的“
三星電視App store”上銷售。這是把蘋果的“手機軟體商店”戰略套用到電視市場上的。
三星電子的專務金炫奭說：“如果蘋果和谷歌能夠改變電視行業的‘遊戲規則’，那的確會造成威脅。可是蘋果公司的應用程式再好，競爭成敗的關鍵仍在於多少消費者擁有可以使用這些程式的電視機。”
在三星電子去年售出的電視機中，11%具有上網功能。今年三星電子計畫把其比例擴至30-40%，以確保世界最大的上網電視基礎。 LG電子今年初聘請各界專家，成立了由200人組建的智慧電視專案組，針對蘋果和谷歌的電視上網平臺（platform），開發自主上網平臺。LG電子的相關人士說：“目前正在加大這個領域的投資。在開發自主平臺的同時，如果谷歌方面提出合作，也會考慮加入谷歌的方案。”
http://chn.chosun.com/big5/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/26/20100426000031.htmlMarch 28, 2010
Sony Pursues a Bold Success to Match Its ScaleBy HIROKO TABUCHINAGOYA, Japan — The airy new Sony store in this central Japanese city has floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek white counters and friendly employees, called stylists, who offer advice and tailored counseling on Sony gadgets.“It’s just like the Apple store,” laughed Yuka Hara, 23, a publishing company employee who was one of thousands of visitors on the store’s first day of business this month.The store’s copycat design, although more hip and up-to-date than the company’s traditional Sony Style retail outlets, is emblematic of Sony’s struggle to regain its footing in recent years after a host of missteps: the company always seems to be playing catch-up instead of leaping ahead.“Sony once hit home runs, but now it’s lost its touch,” said Akihiko Jojima, an analyst and author of the book “Sony’s Sickness.” “Sony still makes competent products but they’re all just boring ground balls.”It’s been a humbling fall for the company, which once shook up entire categories of electronics with its Walkman music player and PlayStation game console, and commanded premium prices for top-quality products.In the last few years, its position as a consumer electronics titan has been usurped by more nimble competitors. The iPod from Apple dominates digital music players. In gaming, both the PlayStation 3 and its PlayStation Portable consoles from Sony trail the competing Wii and DS machines from Nintendo — and the DS is about to get a 3-D upgrade. Samsung Electronics leads in the global flat-panel TV market, a traditional stronghold of Sony, based in Tokyo.Sony’s pioneering e-book reader lost its early lead to the Kindle from Amazon.com. And in the fast-growing smartphone market, an important area for future growth, Sony’s hands have been tied. Under a 2001 deal that spun off its mobile phone operations into a joint venture with Ericsson, Sony has been prevented from offering cellphones that draw heavily on its own other technologies.All the while, Sony has failed to leverage the wealth of content at its music and cinema arms to the advantage of the wider company.Sony, while acknowledging its past stumbles, says that its comeback has begun.“We will go on the offensive in 2010,” said Yoshihisa Ishida, a Sony senior vice president, at the unveiling of a new 3-D television in Tokyo this month. Sony will begin selling 3-D TVs in June, joining an industrywide push to bring the technology behind the hit movie “Avatar” from cinemas to living rooms.In the next few weeks, Sony will introduce a new online service that will eventually let users download music, television shows, movies and games from the company’s extensive library onto gadgets like computers, Blu-ray players, televisions, game consoles and digital cameras. The network, tentatively called the Sony Online Service, will be based on the company’s existing PlayStation Network, a game download site with more than 40 million accounts.Sony is working with Google and Intel on Google TV, a platform for a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes that will make it easier to browse the Web on TV screens. The first devices featuring the technology are expected to be on sale this summer.The company is also working on tablet computers similar to the coming iPad from Apple. “You’ll see many different products that you can probably compare with the iPad,” said a Sony engineer who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.Whatever the mode of attack, the next steps by Sony’s chief executive, Howard Stringer — who promised to make Sony “cool again” when he took the helm at the manufacturer in 2005 — will be critical.Sony’s finances, battered in the global financial crisis, are finally improving after an aggressive cost-cutting drive and a revival in sales. In the final quarter of 2009, Sony surpassed analysts’ expectations with a sevenfold increase in profit, to 79 billion yen, or $853 million.And with Mr. Stringer’s favorite lieutenants finally in place after a management reshuffle last year, investors hope that he can finally focus on his oft-stated vision to link Sony’s hardware with its software. Sony’s stock price has doubled in the last year, outperforming the broader Japanese stock market.“If you add up all of Sony’s cellphones, digital cameras, music players, computers, you get a network that would dwarf Apple’s,” said Eiichi Katayama, a technology analyst at Nomura Securities in Tokyo. “And Sony also has content. They could become a force to contend with.” (
Though Apple wons no content, its iTunes become the biggest platform of electronicalized content, which I believed was the key for iPod's and iPhone's success. )Sony’s new retail concept in Nagoya, which the company plans to introduce worldwide if it is successful, is an effort to showcase its entire network of products. Displays at the store show how various gadgets can work together: a camcorder, Blu-ray player and TV, for example, or a camera, Vaio laptop and digital photo frame.The store got off to a flying start. More than 300 people lined up for the March 17 opening of the sleek space, designed by the architect Tadao Ando (安藤忠雄). A line quickly formed in front of Sony’s new 3-D televisions.“Sony quality has always been the best,” said Yusuke Takagi, 20, a design student in Nagoya, who said he owned a PlayStation 3, a PlayStation Portable and a CyberShot camera. But he said he was also intrigued by the iPad tablet, which goes on sale at the end of April in Japan.Sony tried to marry its hardware with content long before Mr. Stringer’s arrival. In 1987, Sony bought CBS Records for $2 billion and followed through two years later with a $3.4 billion purchase of Columbia Pictures. By the late 1990s, Sony was pushing what it called a “ubiquitous value network,” in which gadgets would seamlessly communicate with one another, beaming back and forth music, movies, messages and phone conversations.But a series of blunders continue to keep that network elusive. Norihiko Fujita (藤田范彥), a former Sony executive who is now a lawmaker in Japan’s governing party, says Sony’s biggest mistake was to misread the importance of mobile phones.In 2001, when Sony spun off its cellphone business into the joint venture, “There was the sense that mobile phones were weighing down the company,” said Mr. Fujita, who helped negotiate the deal. “My heart still hurts to think about it.”With Sony’s mobile engineers dispatched to the venture — and an agreement that forbids Sony from competing in the business — the company found it difficult to work on multipurpose handsets that drew heavily on its other technologies. For example, Sony’s video games arm was prevented from developing a PlayStation phone, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.Sony officials declined to comment on the cellphone issue.But in February, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Mr. Stringer said that cellphones are now “the world’s most ubiquitous computer” and indicated that Sony would somehow get back in the game.“We are building a new network service that will connect many more network-enabled products,” he said. “We are committed to extending that service to Sony Ericsson mobile phones.”Sony needs to focus on building one blockbuster multifunction device, said Mr. Katayama, the Nomura analyst. “It needs to build a network, but it also needs to make sure consumers have a ticket to play.”At the Nagoya store, at least, expectations were running high.“I think Sony can make a global comeback,” said Yoshio Kamiya, a university lecturer in computing. “I’m hoping that soon Sony and Apple can finally play sumo.”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/technology/29sony.html
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