PC sales climb as pandemic keeps consumers at home — trackers

Gartner and International Data Corporation (IDC) reports released Thursday show shipments of desktop computers, laptops and workstations grew in the second quarter as pandemic-related disruptions to the supply chain were overcome.

“The strong demand driven by work-from-home as well as e-learning needs has surpassed previous expectations and has once again put the PC at the center of consumers’ tech portfolio,” said IDC Mobile Device Trackers research manager Jitesh Ubrani.


“What remains to be seen is if this demand and high level of usage continues during a recession and into the post-COVID world since budgets are shrinking while schools and workplaces reopen.”

IDC determined that PC shipments worldwide jumped 11.2% to 72.3 million units in the same quarter a year earlier. Gartner had the climb at 2.8%, to 64.8 million units.

Both market trackers ranked HP and Lenovo as the top two PC makers, with Dell in third place. Apple, which doesn’t use Microsoft’s Windows operating system but is nevertheless grouped among PC makers, came in fourth.

Gartner research director Mikako Kitagawa described the second-quarter figures as a short-term recovery, with some of the growth due to distributors and shops restocking supplies as they become available.


Early indicators suggest strong PC shipments for education, business, and consumer uses such as streaming entertainment, according to IDC’s devices and displays research vice president Linn Huang.

“With inventory still back-ordered, this goodwill will continue into July,” Huang said.

“However, as we head deeper into a global recession, the goodwill sentiment will increasingly sour.”

Agence France-Presse

HP rejects Xerox takeover offer again

NEW YORK, United States - Computer and printer maker HP on Sunday reiterated its rejection of Xerox's $33 billion takeover bid, saying the sum "significantly undervalues" the company.

A tie-up would unite two firms with storied histories: Xerox was founded in 1906 and became a household name with its copy machine.

HP, which traces its history back to 1939, began making audio equipment but ended up as one of the early leaders of the Silicon Valley tech industry.

"We reiterate that we reject Xerox's proposal as it significantly undervalues HP," the HP board of directors said in a letter.

"There continues to be uncertainty regarding Xerox's ability to raise the cash portion of the proposed consideration."

Xerox last week said it was "very surprised" by HP's first rejection of the cash-and-stock offer, which sets a value of $22 per share for the computing firm.

The offer represents a 29 percent premium to HP's recent average trading price, Xerox chairman and chief executive John Visentin said.

Activist investor Carl Icahn recently told The Wall Street Journal that the tie-up was a "no-brainer" that would increase returns for shareholders of both companies.

In the absence of a deal, Xerox said it would "take its compelling case to create superior value for our respective shareholders directly to your shareholders."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

HP says open to exploring bid for Xerox

HP Inc said on Sunday it was open to exploring a bid for US printer maker Xerox Corp after rebuffing a $33.5 billion cash-and-stock acquisition offer from the latter as "significantly" undervaluing the personal computer maker.

Xerox made the offer for HP, a company more than three times its size, on Nov. 5, after it resolved a dispute with its joint venture partner Fujifilm Holdings Corp that represented billions of dollars in potential liabilities.

Responding to Xerox's offer on Sunday, HP said in a statement that it would saddle the combined company with "outsized debt" and was not in the best interest of its shareholders.

However, HP left the door open for a deal that would involve it becoming the acquirer of Xerox, stating that it recognized the potential benefits of consolidation.

"With substantive engagement from Xerox management and access to diligence information on Xerox, we believe that we can quickly evaluate the merits of a potential transaction," HP said in its statement.

The move puts pressure on Xerox to open its books to HP. Xerox did not immediately respond on Sunday to a request for comment on whether it will engage with HP in negotiations as the potential acquisition target, rather than the acquirer.

HP on Sunday published Xerox CEO John Visentin's Nov. 5 offer letter to HP, in which he stated that his company was "prepared to devote all necessary resources to finalize our due diligence on an accelerated basis."

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who took over Xerox's board last year together with fellow billionaire businessman Darwin Deason, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week that he was not set on a particular structure for a deal with HP, as long as a combination is achieved. Icahn has also amassed a 4-percent stake in HP.

Xerox had offered HP shareholders $22 per share that included $17 in cash and 0.137 Xerox shares for each HP share, according to the Nov. 5 letter. The offer would have resulted in HP shareholders owning about 48 percent of the combined company. HP shares ended trading on Friday at $20.18.

Many analysts have said there is merit in the companies combining to better cope with a stagnating printing market, but some cited challenges to integration, given their different offerings and pricing models.

Xerox scrapped its $6.1 billion deal to merge with Fujifilm last year under pressure from Icahn and Deason.

Xerox announced earlier this month it would sell its 25 percent stake in the joint venture for $2.3 billion. Fujifilm also agreed to drop a lawsuit against Xerox, which it was pursuing following their failed merger.

TEST FOR NEW HP CEO

The negotiations with Xerox represent a major test for HP's new CEO, Enrique Lores, the former president of HP's imaging and printing business, who officially took over earlier this month.

HP is mindful of large acquisitions given its fateful deal for British software company Autonomy almost a decade ago. HP bought Autonomy for $11.1 billion in 2011 as the centerpiece of its unsuccessful pivot to software. Little over a year later, it wrote off $8.8 billion, $5 billion of which it put down to accounting improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures.

More recently, HP has been struggling with its printer business segment recently, with the division's third-quarter revenue dropping 5% on-year. It has announced a cost-saving program worth more than $1 billion that could result in its shedding about 16 percent of its workforce, or about 9,000 employees, over the next few years.

Xerox's stock has rallied under Visentin, who took over last year as CEO. However, HP said on Sunday that a decline in Xerox's revenue since June 2018 from $10.2 billion to $9.2 "raises significant questions" regarding the trajectory of Xerox's business and future prospects.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: HP unveils world's thinnest laptop

Hewlett Packard (HP) has grabbed the title for the world's thinnest unveiled laptop.

The tech company has unveiled a new ultraportable that weighs only a little over two and a half pounds.

The HP Spectre is only over a centimeter thick and boasts about 10 hours of battery life.

Public can pre-order the world's thinnest laptop for a staggering $1,700 or just about P78,000.

This is the latest effort of the company to boost its slumping PC division since it reported a huge plummet in laptop and desktop sales in 2015.

-Mornings @ ANC, April 6, 2016

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

HP to stop producing hardware for webOS

HP has announced that they will stop producing hardware for webOS on all their current devices which includes the HP TouchPad.

Due to the decision of HP, Best Buy stores will be selling their remaining inventory at a lower price. The 16GB TouchPad is $99 and the 32GB is $149.

A lot of buyers were attracted by the price and streaming in US Best Buy stores to buy the last remaining units of tablets.