NEW YORK -China hits tech milestone: PC shipments pass US
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — China has passed an important technological milestone: It became the world's biggest consumer of PCs in the second quarter, according to new market research by IDC.
Computer makers shipped about 18.5 million PCs in China in the second quarter, compared with 17.7 million in the U.S.
The U.S. is still expected to be the world's largest market for the full year, but it will likely lose that distinction next year. IDC forecasts that 85.2 million PCs will be shipped in China compared with 76.6 million in the U.S. in 2012.
"China's lead in the PC market is a huge shift that reflects the rising fortunes of emerging markets as well as the relative stagnation of more mature regions," said Loren Loverde, an IDC vice president. "While the immediate economic circumstances in the US and other markets had a significant impact on the timing of China's move to the lead, they have not changed the trend, but accelerated it."
China's PC market is growing at a time that the U.S. and European PC markets are contracting, the result of economic anxieties and competition from smartphones and tablet computers such as Apple's iPad.
China already has the world's largest Internet population, having surpassed the U.S. in 2008.
Market research numbers such as IDC's are imprecise measurements. IDC's figures refer to shipments to distributors and end users, so they include PCs that may ultimately not have been sold. However, they are often the best public gauge about the strength of the spread of technology.— Jordan Robertson, AP Technology Writer—
United Continental giving iPads to pilots
CHICAGO (AP) — United and Continental airlines are replacing pilots' paper flight manuals with 11,000 iPads, which the airlines say will reduce weight and save fuel.
United Continental Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it will also give pilots paperless navigation charts through an iPad application.
The world's biggest airline company said it began distributing the Apple Inc. handheld wireless devices this month and all pilots will have one by the end of the year. The company said it would ensure that pilots always have the latest navigation information.
The company said each iPad weighs less than 1.5 pounds and will replace 38 pounds of paper, including operating manuals, navigation charts and logbooks. The airline expects to save 326,000 gallons of jet fuel a year with the lighter weight and reduce the risk of injury to pilots who must currently tote paper-filled flight bags to and from aircraft.
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines began testing iPads in the cockpit on trans-Pacific flights two months ago. American could expand the program if the six-month test goes well.
Alaska Airlines said in May that it was distributing iPads to its pilots.—
RIM introduces new BlackBerry Curves
NEW YORK (AP) — Research In Motion Ltd. announced three new models in its popular low-end BlackBerry Curve range, featuring its new BlackBerry 7 operating system.
The Canadian company showed off high-end models Tuesday updated with the new software three weeks ago.
The new Curve models — 9350, 9360 and 9370 — will go on sale in Canada this month and in the rest of the world in September. In the U.S., Sprint Nextel Corp. said it will start selling the 9350 on Sept. 9 for $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate.
RIM says the new BlackBerry 7 OS is much faster, particularly for Web browsing.
Like the new Bold model announced three weeks ago, the new Curves will have built-in Near-Field Communications chips, so they can be used in place of credit cards by swiping them across properly equipped payment terminals.
Many companies, including cellphone carriers like AT&T and Web companies like Google Inc. are promoting the idea of using phones as digital "wallets," but few stores have the right terminals.—
People and other magazines added to Nook
NEW YORK (AP) — People, Fortune and other leading magazines are coming to the Nook.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced Tuesday that it had agreed with Time to make all 21 of its U.S. releases available on its Nook Color e-reader by the end of the year. People, Fortune, Time and Sports Illustrated were added Tuesday to the Nook Newsstand, with InStyle and Entertainment Weekly among those expected over the next few months. As of Tuesday, the Meredith Corp.'s Fitness and Parents magazine also were available on the Nook.
The Nook's color reader has become a strong competitor to Apple's iPad, which offers apps for Time and Meredith publications, as a favorite touchscreen device for reading magazines online. Sales on the Nook have been especially strong for publications such as Women's Health and Cosmopolitan.
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