Acer tablet takes chunk out of Apple’s iPad

There is a war waiting to happen, reputations to be trumped, brands to be tarnished and consumers to be rewarded....with some choice!

After a six month monopoly, there looks like there’s going to be some proper competition for the supposedly all conquering iPad; the tablet PC which has completely monopolised the hand held tablet market. Like most people, we love Apple, we love the iPad; the way it looks; the way it feels. However, we haven’t had the chance to fall in love with anything else... until now. The majority of the red-blooded public like change, and with competition growing there’s no harm in a bit of window shopping.

So after the heralded release of Apple’s iPad in April, Acer and several other manufacturers are circling the tablet PC landscape like rapid predators, ready to unleash their own bespoke interpretations.

Even before iPad’s launch, head of Acer’s IT products division Jim Wong confirmed that the company would be expanding its portfolio to include a tablet PC, in line with similar launches from HP, Toshiba and Sony. The iPad may stand alone on the market now, but it needs to be wary; it has a bullseye on its 10 inch touchscreen (speaking figuratively of course, although don’t count out a bullseye app).

Acer may seem combative, but that attitude comes with the territory. Acer is among the top three biggest PC manufacturers in the world, and stepping up is an important move to maintain a dominant market position.

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci has been vocal in promoting the new Acer tablet, unveiling various
models throughout Q2 and Q3, including a five inch, seven inch and nine inch prototype. Originally
Acer announced a seven inch model, which would be a direct competitor to the iPad (although
slightly smaller), running Google Android OS. “We are not convinced that 10 inches is the right size
for this type of device: it becomes too close to a netbook in size, and why should it not be a
netbook with full PC capability?" Lanci told APC in relation to the size of the iPad screen.

For functionality and aesthetics the new Acer tablet will sport a QWERTY keypad and embedded
3G, which will likely get it mentioned under the same breath as the Kindle. Either way, Lanci
believes the release of the Acer tablet will take a huge bite out of Apple’s market share, from their
current 100 percent position to something closer to 25 percent. Like the iPad, the as yet unnamed
Acer device will make primary use of “books, music and videos, browsing the Internet, email and
chatting.”

“I think people [are] start[ing] to recognize Acer as one of the first companies to come up with new
innovation or new implementation in terms of technology,” Lanci told MeetTheBoss.TV last week.
“The tablet [is] a big opportunity [for Acer].”

So ring the bell, let the slugfest commence, let the noses be bloodied and may the best tablet win.
To watch the full interview click here at MeetTheBoss.tv

Vodafone transforms IT nerds into IS leaders

“No longer is it adequate just to get a computer science degree and focus on the technical aspects of the job.” says Albert Hitchcock, Global CIO, Vodafone in an exclusive interview for MeettheBoss.com

Albert Hitchcock took charge of the technology information services organization at Vodafone Group plc (LON: VOD) in August 2007, following some 14 years with Nortel and took time out of his busy schedule to share his thoughts on the future of IT function for MeettheBoss.com.

In today’s super-competitive marketplace, he feels many companies and many technology professionals are missing a trick: “Information systems,” he says, “must be at the forefront of the business.”

Hitchcock believes that in the past the I.T. function was often viewed as “a necessary evil”, remote from the business and running in the background. This has to change “because of the way business is carried out today”, but the people who could benefit most from that change may be short-skilled.

In the interview for MeettheBoss.com, Hitchcock says that many I.T. professionals are missing out on opportunities because they lack business expertise. “Increasingly I.T. professionals have to be confident at communicating. They have to be good leaders. They have to inspire their teams. They have to be able to understand the dynamics of the business they’re in and contribute to business decisions [and] discussions … which is a change, right, and a lot of I.T. professionals are not so comfortable with that aspect.”

To find out how Vodafone is transforming its I.T. staffers:

http://www.meettheboss.com/Broadcast-Player.aspx?Play=1&MediaID=118

Tired of Twitter? Facebook Fatigue? In one week 200,000 executives choose business over social.

There has been no shortage of conversation about online networking in the last year. Communities such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are a fantastic resource to all - But what are the true business benefits of Social networking?


‘Social networking sites are great to catch-up with old friends, share photographs, music and links but in this climate does the executive community have time for this?’ Asked Spencer Green CEO of MeettheBoss.com - the business networking service. ’’Credit isn’t the only casualty of the crunch: time is another scarce resource for executives, they need immediate value when online’’ and reports show he is right with 200,000 executives world-wide flooding to his business site for answers since its re-launch on May 11th 2009.


US executives are leading the way with nearly 100,000 new active members from companies such as Wal-mart, GE, Procter and Gamble, Citi and Shell signing up. “The influx of new US business members could be associated to the Economic downturn or just simply because the American executive is more innate to the new technology, either way they have embraced the site and are reaching out to the world through MeettheBoss.com’’ – Harlan Davis – Director - MeettheBoss.com
The website has also expanded into key vertical channels such as Telecoms, Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas and Utilities. Each industry channel is limited to 20,000 users and provides specific content and contacts related to the user, such walled communities provide each executive an exclusive platform to share ideas and communicate with peers from around the world securely and privately.


If you are a key executive not related directly to the aforementioned channels, you are invited to the horizontal network of business management where you can pick up leadership lessons and business learning from executives like Manfred Fitzgerald, Director of Brand & Design at Lamborghini, Vinton Cerf – Chief Evangelist at Google and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos . New industry channels will be create on request of the users, the next month will see manufacturing and retail launch.


‘Meet the boss is a new, modern, convenient networking and information platform. I tried to use MeettheBoss on a daily basis, for networking and information research. Meettheboss TV is not only interesting but also enjoyable.’ Detlaf Guenther – CISO – Volkwagen.


‘The site is professional and easy to navigate. Good to see the outside perspective for every executive’ Dragan Majetic - Vice-President Strategic Marketing -Merz Pharmaceuticals.


The sites features include free video conferencing and roundtable functionality, instant messaging, email, calendar, a fully searchable whitepaper module, and most importantly, ‘smartwords’ – an intelligent spine around which the whole site sits.“MeettheBoss.com was built on an ever-expanding database of keywords, dedicated to specific industries,” explains Harlan. “A very cool new central console ‘feeds’ each member specific content, people, and broadcasts based on their activity across the site – from the weather, to industry blogs, contacts, and even news from their favorite newspapers. ‘Smartwords’ means you get everything in one place unique to you, quickly and easily. And if you want to connect with a network of your peers/colleagues at the same time, or join in a live peer-led discussion group, well, you can do that too. It’s the ultimate aggregator”


It seems like sites such as MeettheBoss are the future of Web 2.0. - Well 200,000 executives seem to agree

Questions

Why are executives rushing to join online communities?
What is the true business value of online networking?
Is mere contact building enough? Or will sites have to be more innovative to maintain interest?
And if so, what next?
Will face-to-face contact ever be replaced?