Comments on: Apotheker Out, As HP Names Meg Whitman CEO

With power moving away from owners of securities, this new system has been led afoul by "grossly excessive executive compensation and stock options, part of an enormous transfer of wealth from public investors to the hands of business leaders, corporate insiders and financial intermediaries."

"In 1980, the compensation of the average chief executive officer was forty-two times that of the average worker; by the year 2004, the ratio had soared to 280 times that of the average worker (down from an astonishing 531 times at the peak in 2000). Over the past quarter-century, CEO compensation measured in current dollars rose nearly sixteen times over , while the compensation of the average worker slightly more than doubled. Measured in real(1980) dollars, however, the compensation of the average worker rose just 0.3 percent per year, barely enough to maintain his or her standard of living. Yet CEO compensation rose at a rate of 8.5 percent annually, increasing by more than seven times in real terms during the period. The rationale was that these executives had "created wealth" for their shareholders. But were CEOs actually creating value commensurate with this huge increase in compenstion? Certainly the average CEO was not. In real terms, aggregate corporate profits grew at an annual rate of just 2.9 percent, compared to 3.1 percent for our nation's economy, as represented by the Gross Domestic Product. How that somewhat dispiriting lag can drive average CEO compensation to a cool 9.8 million in 2004 is one of the great anomalies of the age."
— John Bogle

Dear HP Employees:

This afternoon, HP issued a press release announcing my resignation as president and CEO, positions I have held with great honor this past year. Meg Whitman will assume the role of president and CEO.

As you know, Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution and has served HP well as a member of the board for the past eight months. Meg will be supported by a broad and deep management team, and I have the utmost confidence that HP will succeed in executing its strategic evolution.

On a personal level, I cannot begin to express the admiration I have for all of you – and what you have accomplished together. Over the past year, we were tasked with developing a strategic vision for HP and I know we have made important contributions to the company's future.

Your efforts on behalf of HP and your dedication to our customers have inspired me – and I am confident that HP has a bright future because of the talented people that come to work here every day. Thank you for your commitment to HP and for your dedication in serving HP's customers and partners. It has been a tremendous honor and a pleasure to work with you here at HP.

Sincerely,

Léo Apotheker

Sent From My TouchPad

What a disaster today. It was the biggest non-event ever. Siri looks awesome, as does iOS 5 but 99% of those cloud features (such as the "PC-free activation") have been standard on Android and WebOS for YEARS! The only 4S hardware I am jealous of is that seemingly awesome camera and the 64GB of internal storage. All of the companies in the Android camp as well as Sandisk etc should be flogged for not flooding the market with cheap 64GB microSDXC cards (and compatible hardware) by now to counter Apple's big "storage advangage". With unlimited data rapidly becoming a thing of the past and overloaded wireless networks, I prefer my locally stored media, thanks.

And, c'mon, Apple...3.5" screen and 3G-only connectivity? That just screams 2007/2008! I am honestly surprised to see the 3GS still hanging in there but it's a testament to Apple's code monkeys that a relatively ancient and underpowered device like that can handle iOS 5 so well.

I fully expect ICS and the Samsung Nexus Prime to blow everyone's socks off next week. However, Android 2.x is really showing its age and Honeycomb is a huge disappointment in almost every way. Google desperately needs to shore up their OS now that the hardware specs for phones are basically on par with a low-end PC.
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Apple isn't playing a game w/ specs (samsung and google will always win that battle) - instead they're focusing on evolutionary improvements and usability.

Apple has moved towards updating the iPhone line twice a year; I expect we'll see another upgrade sooner rather than later.

For those eligible to upgrade, the iPhone 4S does look fantastic.

I'll be upgrading when the iPhone has 4G, but I think having the Siri assistant integrated into iOS 5 will be the killer feature for the iPhone 4S (in addition to all of the internal improvements).

iOS is already faster and more efficient then Android - throw in a dual core cpu, and android devices need much faster hardware in order to keep up.

http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4228986/Apple-iPhone-4S--Beginning-of-the-end-

That course sounds much more conservative and staid than what they actually did.

That would be news to the many, many models which are now available sporting bigger screens, and the many people who are buying them. It's not an exaggeration to say that the iPhone is now pretty much the only successful smartphone with a screen less than 4" in size.

-4.65" 720P AMOLED screen will set a new benchmark for EVERY mobile device
-Dual core 1.2 or 1.5Ghz. Either way this puppy will be FAST
-Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0
-Updates will come straight from Google and not hindered by Verizon or Samsung's bloatware and length customization process.
-LTE!
-1080p video recording and supposedly excellent camera optics will make this a potential P&S camera replacement
-Slim and curved form factor

Potential negatives of this device:
-Horrible battery life. I've seen my boss' Droid Bionic chew through a fully-charged extended battery in an afternoon in a fringe area. The NP may have a fixed battery and/or an extended option may not be available. Add to that the demands of that big high-res screen

-No HDMI-out. Why do Samsung and HTC insist on using that horrific MHL dongle? It's poorly supported, cumbersome, and has NO tangible benefit over a conventional microHDMI port. Moto has done it right with their side-by-side microUSB and microHDMI ports on their Droid line.

-No expandable storage. Just like Palm before them, Samsung is trying to be "cool" and ape Apple with non-expandable storage. I have nearly 40GB of data sitting here on my Droid X2 now (8GB internal and 32GB microSDHC card). I use my phone as my flash drive and carry gigs of documents and photos for work on there, as well as the majority of my music collection (high bit rate) and a few movies. I don't trust the cloud for certain documents nor do I want to get too comfy with Dropbox b/c I JUST KNOW that any day now VZW is going to crack down hard on the grandfathered unlimited plans. I would also not rule out Google having a hand in this as they have showcased continued imcompetence trying to get full read/write expansion card capabilities into Honeycomb. Android Honeycomb in SO MANY ways is like Palm's WebOS: snazzy to look at but missing or worse at certain functions than its older but proven predecessor.

At any rate, I am going to be eligible for an upgrade in a few months, so I will be sorely tempted by the NP. That screen is just to die for.
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1. If No LED indicator.
2. If No Sprint. I pay $72/month w taxes etc. for unlimited everything. I like Sprint and wont leave.

Palms used to sell "quite well" not too long ago. they were the leader and so they felt their specs were "good enough" in spite of the growing competition - and the rest is history.

Gekko wrote:
>Doen's that just prove the point though? The iPhone is selling quite well at the current screen size, and there's no indication that the 4S will not sell just as well as the 4.

Palms used to sell "quite well" not too long ago. they were the leader and so they felt their specs were "good enough" in spite of the growing competition - and the rest is history.

But screen size isn't necessarily synonymous with innovation. That was my initial point. Apple is pushing the operating system further, which is the source of the iPhone's real appeal.

This is what I meant when I asked if Apple would really be doing their job if they had just upgraded the specs of the iPhone and left the OS static. I would think that was much more similar to Palm's approach--incremental upgrades while you let the OS rot.

Bingo. There was a time when it was the Palm Treo that was king of all the smartphones, and nothing could touch it. What was one of the things that helped bring it down? People wanted larger screens.

When a company has a massive hit product like the iPhone, there can be a huge temptation not to change the formula, lest you risk the "they changed it, now it sucks" effect. Nor is that exactly imaginary, since it happens on a regular basis, the most famous example being "New Coke." But an excessive fear of change--particularly when it comes to electronics--is just as dangerous.

hkk, we'll see what the real story is when it comes to the MicroSD slot. But I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't advertise it yet, since the "big deal" is the screen size and to a lesser extent the battery.

Speaking of batteries, I'm not sure if anyone else here has extensive experience with some of Samsung's recent devices, but you should be in for a pleasant surprise. The Samsung Infuse, which sports a 4.5 inch screen and 1750 mAh battery, gets excellent battery life primarily because Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus screens are pretty efficient.

Regardless of whether it has a MicroSD slot (the lack of which I would find troubling, but not fatal), the Prime appears likely to set a new standard for high end smartphones, particularly in the screen department. Super AMOLED Plus screens are pretty dazzling in just 800 x 480; 1280 x 720 is going to be stunning.

http://gizmodo.com/5847981/this-is-why-the-iphones-screen-will-always-be-35-inches

but i'm not buying it.

And Gekko, another thought is the international market. Are those big screened Android devices selling well all over the world, or just in America? The markets are very different.

To all those who've never seen a Super AMOLED Plus screen (and regular Super AMOLED doesn't count), trust me when I say this: the difference between SAMOLED+ and a regular LCD is amazing, like the difference between DVD and HDTV. It's a vastly superior screen technology, and I'm not at all surprised that Samsung is keeping it to themselves.

Nastebu: I understand what you meant, but as a rule people don't see OS alterations as much as they see hardware. Most customers might never take full use of the capabilities of a smartphone's platform, but they DO make better use things like keyboards, expansion slots, etcetera. I would hazard a guess that most people don't use Android's voice command options, even though they're amazing. Hell, I don't use them and I've written articles about them. Siri might be impressive, but then so was the transition to Palm OS 5 from 4.1. Software doesn't necessarily save a company if people are craving different hardware.

Again, I'm not saying Palm is a perfect analogy, but it's a convenient one: once the market leader, eventually reduced to an also-ran by virtue of not enough innovation.

Apple could be in that position in a year or two, if they don't diversify. Android has already eclipsed them in sales. It's not a big step from their 45% of the market to become 25% of the market, if they don't read people's interests right.

Palm had countless opportunities to use its MASSIVE advantage of being first in class/first to market, yet repeatedly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory:

Remember the Treo was out in 2003 and entered the Palm Collective back in 2004: where was the turnkey corporate email solution from Palm that could have competed with RIM?

Remember the "30,000 apps" Palm had a decade ago when NO ONE else had ANY apps: where was the Palm-run app store?

Remember the massive sales that iPod generated over the past decade: where was a PalmOS MP3 player/PMP?

Remember the massive sales that iPod Touch has generated over the past 2 years even though Palm declared that no one wants a PDA-type device: where was a webOS MP3 player/PMP?

If Palm was incapable of bothering to lift a finger and`doing what was PAINFULLY obvious to capitalize (and potentially generate MASSIVE profits) on assets that were already in its possession for YEARS, does it seem likely that they could have produced anything as innovative as Apple has in recent years?

Hint: No.

- Fake Jeff Hawkins

In all fairness that is a sort of a slapshod list of devices. I mean, I could comb through the offerings of the various carriers and probably triple that device list with any number of BB or Android-based device (as well as anything running WebOS).

And I must say that would also add the iPhone 3GS to that list. Yes, it might (barely) run iOS5 now but I am Apple will do it like they did the 1/2G iPod Touch and iPhone 3G with iOS 4.x and cease updating it for the duration of iOS5. The 3GS is already well over 2 years old, so anyone getting now for "free" on a 2yr contract is going to be in agony in 6-12 months when they have a slow EOL device and still a good bit of time remaining on their contract. I'd rather have seen the 3GS drop to $200 unlocked and the iPhone 4 8GB become a <$100 device (in all actuality, the iPhone 4 is still a superb device and is hampered only by its skimpy 8GB of storage).

I have a Moto Droid X2 which, like Gekko's Evo 4G, is on that list. Only difference is that my device came out in May of this year and Gekko's phone came out in June of 2010. Gekko truly has gotten his money's worth from his handset whereas I will need to be looking for a new handset if I want some Ice Cream Sandwich love in the coming months.

I am actually advising against anyone buying an Android-based phone now until the whole ICS/4.0 rollout has commenced. Otherwise, it would be quite easy to end up with an orphaned device. The Galaxy Nexus looks like a superb device but I am terrified it'll have horrible battery life. Add to that no HDMI-out and no expandable storage and you have a device just a few points short of being a smash hit.

BattSix looks quite cool! How long has that project been in the works?
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You might want to post a bit about Battsix on the various Android forums, especially in the developer sections and sites like XDA, and see if you can stir up some interest there.
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Get a room.