News

Business Tablets

• February 14, 2013 14 Feb'13

  Tablet, smartphone shift a ‘permanent trend’ says Gartner

  The hoped-for upswing in PC shipments looks more out of reach than ever before as analysts declare the shift to tablets and smartphones a “permanent trend

• February 13, 2013 13 Feb'13

  Apple boss open to making large acqusitions

  Apple CEO Tim Cook has used a speech at a technology conference to deny that his firm has an aversion to making large acquisitions

• February 12, 2013 12 Feb'13

  Many still see life in traditional kit sales

  Despite growing services revenues many in the channel continue to view traditional kit sales as a key source of income

• February 11, 2013 11 Feb'13

  Phones 4u backs off distribution to TD Mobile

  Tech Data Mobile has been handed the contract to manage the end-to-end supply chain operation for mobility retailer Phones 4u in the UK and Ireland

• February 11, 2013 11 Feb'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 8 February 2013

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• February 01, 2013 01 Feb'13

  Surface yet to make a dent in tablet market

  The arrival of Microsoft's Surface tablet did not impact its competition with the fourth quarter analysis of the market from IDC showing that Apple still dominates the form factor

• January 31, 2013 31 Jan'13

  Dell tipped to plough $1bn into buyout deal

  Michael Dell is tipped to invest up to $1bn of his personal fortune into the proposed buy out of Dell to ensure he retains majority control of the PC maker if it goes private

• January 29, 2013 29 Jan'13

  Low end tablets enjoy solid end of year

  Figures from Context showing which tablets sold through distribution has revealed a strong end of the year for Apple, Blackberry and Samsung.

• January 25, 2013 25 Jan'13

  Profits dip at Microsoft despite Windows 8 launch

  Microsoft has reported a profit drop despite the October launch of Windows 8 as it talks up its decision to enter the hardware market with the Surface tablet

• January 24, 2013 24 Jan'13

  Apple breaks records but Q1 still disappoints

  Apple managed to break its own sales records but because iPhone shipments failed to hit expectations it saw its share price tumble

• January 22, 2013 22 Jan'13

  Acer channel promise builds on Olympic legacy

  Acer has launched a new four-pronged programme to help partners exploit growing demand for its hardware offerings from business users, prompted partly by its success as an official worldwide Olympic partner

• January 21, 2013 21 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 18 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most widely read channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 18, 2013 18 Jan'13

  Intel talks up tablets as spending plans stir worries

  Intel has talked about the impact of tablets being a positive in its next fiscal year but its plans to spend $13bn have worried investors

• January 17, 2013 17 Jan'13

  Fujitsu hardware business plans aggressive 2013

  Following a year of substantial growth within its channel organisation, Fujitsu has said it will look to build bridges with the great and the good of the channel in 2013, as well as aggressively going after its rivals’ market share

• January 17, 2013 17 Jan'13

  Dixons sales up over key festive period

  Dixons has managed to increase its sales over the Christmas period year-on-year indicating that despite Comet's demise there is still life in the PC and electrical retail sector

• January 15, 2013 15 Jan'13

  Shares rise on talk of Dell going private

  Dell's shares have risen following reports that the founder Michael Dell will lead an MBO backed by private equity that will take the firm private

• January 15, 2013 15 Jan'13

  HMV the latest high street casualty

  HMV has joined the ranks of Jessops and Comet as the firm called in administrators after admitting it is not going to be able to meet banking covenants at the end of the month

• January 14, 2013 14 Jan'13

  PC market in midst of “structural shift” says Gartner

  As global PC shipment figures decline yet again, analysts at Gartner have said the PC market is in the midst of a “structural shift” as demand for tablets continues to grow

• January 08, 2013 08 Jan'13

  Samsung: BYOD the norm by 2014

  Samsung gave its views on the growth of consumerisation and BYOD in the enterprise at CES in Las Vegas

• January 07, 2013 07 Jan'13

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 4 January 2013

  Our regular look back at the most read channel news stories from the past seven days

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  AMD unveils CFO to get growth going

  AMD has announced a permanent replacement to fill a CFO position that has been run on an interim basis since the last holder of that title left in September

• January 03, 2013 03 Jan'13

  Gartner: global ICT spend up 4.2% in 2013

  Gartner has predicted that global ICT spending will grow by 4.2% to reach $3.7tn (£2.3tn) during 2013, up from its previous forecast of 3.8%

• January 02, 2013 02 Jan'13

  Tablets prove a hit at Christmas

  The numbers of tablets activated on Christmas Day smashed previous records as large numbers of users switched on their gifts from Santa

• December 20, 2012 20 Dec'12

  Business adoption of Windows 8 still low

  Adoption of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 8, has so far been slow across businesses in western Europe, with penetration through the channel substantially lower than for Windows 7

• December 18, 2012 18 Dec'12

  Design to dominate PC hardware agenda in 2013

  The design and branding of hardware is going to be come even more important next year as laptop and tablet vendors look to exploit the touch functionality offered in Windows 8

• December 18, 2012 18 Dec'12

  OpCapita engulfed in growing row as Comet shuts down

  With its remaining stores closing for good on 18 December, private equity backer OpCapita is under pressure over its role in the collapse of Comet

• December 13, 2012 13 Dec'12

  UK leads the way in mobile adoption, reports Ofcom

  The UK is leading the way in its use of mobile devices and shopping online according to the a 17 country survey from Ofcom

• December 10, 2012 10 Dec'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 7 December 2012

  Our regular look back at some of the most widely read channel news stories from the past seven days

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  C2000 sets ambition for £3bn turnover

  Having already beaten its target of hitting the £2bn revenue mark in the UK Computer 2000 has now raised the bar higher as it looks to continue growth

• December 07, 2012 07 Dec'12

  End drawing near for Comet

  As more stores prepare for a last weekend of trading the prospect of the entire retail operation disappearing from the high street is looking more likely

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  Cook shakes up Apple supply chain with move to US

  Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed plans to shake-up the vendor’s supply chain by moving production of one of its lines of Mac computers to the United States

• December 06, 2012 06 Dec'12

  BYOD hype still far from reality

  Despite the large amount of hype around the subject not many customers have allowed their organisations to roll out BYOD

• December 05, 2012 05 Dec'12

  Spirit of HP a strength for Whitman

  HP CEO Meg Whitman has talked of the DNA the company has thanks to its founders as she talked up its attempts to return to better days

• November 29, 2012 29 Nov'12

  Dixons returns UK profit for first time in five years

  Electrical retail is not all doom and gloom with Dixons Retail delivering a solid set of interim numbers for its first half as it enjoys the benefits of a strong summer of sport and Comet's demise

• November 28, 2012 28 Nov'12

  Further 125 Comet stores face the axe

  More Comet stores are set to bring down the shutters unless a firm offer can be made for the business as administrators look to cut costs further

• November 27, 2012 27 Nov'12

  Turnaround expert linked with Comet

  An entrepreneur that has a track record in turning around struggling businesses has been linked as a possible buyer for the struggling retailer Comet

• November 23, 2012 23 Nov'12

  DRL emerges as buyer for Comet's online business

  The first confirmed buyer for struggling Comet has emerged but online appliance specialist DRL only wants to pick up the web side of the retailers business

• November 19, 2012 19 Nov'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 16 November 2012

  A selection of the most viewed stories on MicroScope in the week ending 16 November 2012

• November 19, 2012 19 Nov'12

  Lack of buyer sparks Comet store closures

  The failure to find a buyer means that 41 Comet stores will be closed at the end of the month as the struggling retailer looks to control costs

• November 14, 2012 14 Nov'12

  SMEs unwilling to invest in staff recruitment

  An annual survey of the global SME market from Spiceworks has revealed that although budgets are expected to go up the hiring of new staff has stalled in the sector

• November 09, 2012 09 Nov'12

  Comet administrators swing axe on 330 staff

  One week after being appointed Comet's administrators have made 330 staff redundant as the struggling retailer looks to trim costs

• November 09, 2012 09 Nov'12

  Users start reporting Surface cover problems

  With the dust hardly settled after the launch of Microsoft's Surface tablet there are already reports from users that the cover with an integrated keyboard is splitting

• November 09, 2012 09 Nov'12

  Tablet growth pays off for Nvidia

  The growth in demand for its graphic chips from the smartphone and tablet market helped boost Nvidia's third quarter numbers and allow the vendor to introduce its first quarterly dividend

• November 08, 2012 08 Nov'12

  C2000 launches Windows 8 website to channel

  Computer 2000 has launched a dedicated Windows 8 website to bring reseller partners up to speed on the new operating system

• November 08, 2012 08 Nov'12

  Lenovo numbers solid but PC growth rate slows

  Lenovo has continued to duck the blight afflicting the global PC market after posting another strong quarter, with pre-tax income hitting a new record, but its growth rate now seems to be slowing

• November 07, 2012 07 Nov'12

  Dixons offers Comet staff yuletide lifeline

  Dixons is offering staff at the beleagured Comet stores the prospect of Christmas work as it looks to recruit 3,000 additional seasonal workers

• November 05, 2012 05 Nov'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 2 November 2012

  Our regular look back at the most important channel news stories from the past seven days

• November 01, 2012 01 Nov'12

  X2 Computing focuses on pre-sales

  X2 Computing, a provider of bespoke mobile computing technologies, has appointed David Cull as pre-sales technical consultant from Box Technologies

• November 01, 2012 01 Nov'12

  Comet to fall into administration next week

  Troubled electricals and IT retailer Comet is to be placed into administrationwith around 6,000 jobs at risk across the UK

• October 30, 2012 30 Oct'12

  Apple ditches retail head Browett

  Apple Retail head John Browett has been handed his marching orders after barely six months in command as part of a major boardroom reshuffle

• October 29, 2012 29 Oct'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 26 October 2012

  Our regular look back at the most popular ICT channel news stories from the past week

• October 26, 2012 26 Oct'12

  Apple sets sights on strong end to the year

  Apple has delivered a solid set of numbers for its fourth fiscal quarter but is looking forward to a busy Christmas time with its iPad mini and iPhone 5 to put in shop windows

• October 26, 2012 26 Oct'12

  Pre-iPad mini 7 inch tablet market enjoys summer boom

  Even before the launch of the iPad mini the latest figures from Context reveal that the 7 inch tablet market is booming thanks to Google and Samsung

• October 25, 2012 25 Oct'12

  Windows 8 gives Microsoft shot at phones and tablets

  IDC believes that Windows 8 provides the potential for Microsoft to catch up on rivals and get its operating system established in the smart phone and tablet worlds

• October 23, 2012 23 Oct'12

  Apple will turbocharge 7 inch tablet market with iPad mini

  Analysts believe Apple's 7 inch iPad mini tablet will have a massive impact on the demand and sales of hardware in that segment of the market

• October 22, 2012 22 Oct'12

  Surface already ticking corporate boxes

  The Microsoft Windows 8-based tablet Surface looks like getting a good run at the business market as SecureData reveals users are attracted by the compatibility of the operating system with existing infrastructure

• October 22, 2012 22 Oct'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 19 October 2012

  Our regular look back at the most popular ICT channel news stories from the past week

• October 18, 2012 18 Oct'12

  C2000 bolsters public sector team

  Computer 2000 has hired a special bids and pricing specialist as part of its public sector team to keep growing that side of its business

• October 18, 2012 18 Oct'12

  VIP Computers pulls Realtime into single entity

  VIP Computers is merging Realtime Distribution into a single entity as it looks to solidify the business in the current tough economic conditions

• October 17, 2012 17 Oct'12

  Intel hurt by lack of tablet action

  Intel's lack of involvement in the tablet market and the ongoing depression in the corporate PC business have led to a gloomy third quarter

• October 15, 2012 15 Oct'12

  Citrix resellers predicting 'workshifting' opportunities

  Citrix resellers are expecting the growth in mobility will provide them with plenty of opportunities to provide the support required for BYOD environments

• October 15, 2012 15 Oct'12

  HP believes business tablet should be a winner

  Hewlett-Packard believes that it has a chance to gain enterprise market share with a tablet specifically designed for that audience rather than aimed at consumers

• October 12, 2012 12 Oct'12

  Amazon boss confirms Kindle sold at cost

  Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos has confirmed that it doesn't expect to make money out of its hardware selling it at cost to try and enourage users to spend online at its retail store

• October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 5 October 2012

  Our regular look back at the most read content on MicroScope.co.uk from the past week

• October 08, 2012 08 Oct'12

  Foxconn denies staff troubles will knock production

  Foxconn has played down concerns that a strike by workers has had an impact on the production of the latest iPhone

• October 05, 2012 05 Oct'12

  One year from Jobs passing and Apple remains strong

  Apple has shown that it was more than a one man company in the year since the death of its former CEO Steve Jobs with its share price continuing to climb above rivals

• October 02, 2012 02 Oct'12

  Insight finds divided response to BYOD

  BYOD is dividing customers into those who see it as a benefit and others who are worried it will drive up costs over time and will involve buying more software licenses

• October 02, 2012 02 Oct'12

  Apple overtakes IBM to become largest tech brand

  Apple has become the largest global technology brand according to the latest Interbrand ranking pushing IBM into third place

• October 01, 2012 01 Oct'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 28 September 2012

  Our regular look back at the most popular news stories from the past seven days on MicroScope.co.uk

• September 28, 2012 28 Sep'12

  Intel and friends roll out tablet plans

  Intel and a host of OEM partners including Acer, ASUS, HP and Dell have unveilved tablets based on the Atom processor and Windows 8 to challenge Apple and Amazon

• September 24, 2012 24 Sep'12

  Equanet finds BYOD still sparks security fears

  Equanet has found that security fears about BYOD continue to persist among IT directors as they worry about the implications of allowing staff to use their own devices

• September 24, 2012 24 Sep'12

  Foxconn fight halts production

  A mass fight involving staff at the Foxconn factory in northern China left 40 workers requiring hospital treatment and halted production at the plant

• September 24, 2012 24 Sep'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 21 September 2012

  Our regular look back at the most read stories from the past week on MicroScope.co.uk

• September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12

  Olympics have negative effect on the high street

  The Olympics kept shoppers away last month and also prevented them from clicking through their web orders according to the latest Office of National Statistics figures

• September 20, 2012 20 Sep'12

  m-hance makes in-house social tool available to SMEs

  Business software reseller m-hance has unveiled its own SME enterprise social networking (ESN) tool in a bid to capitalise on a market that looks set to be worth £2.8bn by 2016, according to IDC

• September 18, 2012 18 Sep'12

  Apple partner Square gets new London home

  Apple Premium Reseller Square Group has moved into its new South London home, a stone's throw from the Shard

• September 17, 2012 17 Sep'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 14 September 2012

  Our regular rundown of the most read stories of the past week on MicroScope.co.uk

• September 14, 2012 14 Sep'12

  HP to re-enter tablet market targeting enterprise space

  Just a year and a month after the then CEO of HP Leo Apotheker killed off the vendor's TouchPad tablet the vendor is set to return with a business model for the autumn

• September 14, 2012 14 Sep'12

  Repair chain PC PAL plans rapid expansion

  Computer hardware franchise chain PC PAL has set out plans to double its operations in the next year and a half

• September 13, 2012 13 Sep'12

  Tablets gaining increased backing from CIOs

  CIOs are increasingly viewing tablets as a positive force according to the findings contained in the latest Technology Index from BT Engage IT

• September 10, 2012 10 Sep'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 7 September 2012

  Our regular look back at the biggest stories from the last week on MicroScope.co.uk

• September 07, 2012 07 Sep'12

  Amazon aims for high end of tablet market

  Amazon has taken the wraps off two new Kindle Fire models aiming to challenge Apple and shore up its position in an increasingly crowded tablet market

• September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12

  Centrify signs Cohort to target Apple users

  Security and compliance solutions provider Centrify has signed VAD Cohort to market its DirectControl for Mac and Mobile product suites.

• September 06, 2012 06 Sep'12

  Dixons boosted by summer of sport

  Dixons Retail Group has seen sales figures climb in the summer better than it expected thanks to people buying TVs and tablets to watch the Olympics

• August 30, 2012 30 Aug'12

  Education specialist joins Lanway

  IT solutions and comms specialist Lanway have appointed Julie Anderson as account manager extending their education expertise.

• August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12

  Thai floods just a memory for resurgent WD

  Six months after losing its hard disk drive crown to Seagate when its Thai facilities were flooded, Western Digital (WD) is again sitting pretty on top of the global hard disk drive market.

• August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12

  Apple partner Square gets teeth into audio-visual market

  Apple Premium Reseller Square Group has bought into the audio-visual market with the purchase of sector specialist, Digital Vision AV.

• August 28, 2012 28 Aug'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 24 August 2012

  Our weekly round-up of the most popular digital content here on MicroScope.co.uk.

• August 23, 2012 23 Aug'12

  BYOD offers data roaming opportunity for channel

  iPass has published a Mobile Workforce Report, saying Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the workplace is creating a generation of productive workaholics.

• August 22, 2012 22 Aug'12

  AMD VP to lead EMEA sales

  AMD corporate veep Darren Grasby is to head up sales efforts in EMEA, reporting to chief sales officer John Byrne.

• August 17, 2012 17 Aug'12

  Consumer sentiment hurting Acer

  Acer booked a slight decline in Q2 sequential revenues as the worldwide PC market continued to slide in the face of weak consumer demand.

• August 17, 2012 17 Aug'12

  BYOD driving wedge between staff and IT department

  The speed of the rise of BYOD has caught some firms by surprise but the lack of engagement by IT departments threatens their relevance, according to Hornbill research

• August 16, 2012 16 Aug'12

  Protect and attack delivers for Lenovo

  Lenovo's strategy of growing market share has delivered to the bottom line in its third fiscal quarter as pre-tax profits and revenue increased.

• August 15, 2012 15 Aug'12

  Apple dominating tablet market

  Apple is dominating the tablet world with a global share that none of its rivals are anywhere close to matching or threatening over the rest of this year

• August 14, 2012 14 Aug'12

  Microsoft reveals RT PC partners

  Microsoft has revealed the four OEM manufacturers that will be producing tablets alongside its own Surface once the next version of its operating system comes out in October

• August 13, 2012 13 Aug'12

  MicroScope's top stories, week ending 10 August 2012

  Our weekly run-down of the biggest stories here on MicroScope.co.uk.

• August 13, 2012 13 Aug'12

  Corporate desktop purchasing fading into history

  The days of large scale corporate desktop PC refreshes look set to end as a result of BYOD changing the way staff acquire technology

• August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12

  Channel helps tablets head into business

  The channel has done its part to get tablets, in particular the iPad, into the corporate world

• August 10, 2012 10 Aug'12

  Dixons polishes off PIXmania

  Dixons Retail has bought out PIXmania founders Steve and Jean-Emile Rosenblum for €10m (£8m) in cash, taking its stake in the online retailer to 99%.

• August 09, 2012 09 Aug'12

  Education bounces back as higher ed starts spending

  The education sector could once again be fertile ground for resellers as it produced growth for the first time in a couple of years