Today’s topics include AT&T’s new LTE modules for the IoT market, a big reveal of new notebooks by HP, the debut of Acer’s premium Windows 10 smartphone, and EMC’s plan to downsize in advance of a planned acquisition by Dell.
AT&T announced a family of Long Term Evolution (LTE) modules to meet the needs of a range of Internet of things (IoT) applications. These modules are designed to simplify and lower the cost of IoT device designs as well as to improve device performance.
The modules are expected to become available from Wistron NeWeb (WNC), with pricing starting at $14.99 each, plus applicable taxes, beginning in the second quarter.
HP has taken wraps off of several new notebooks at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The new notebooks are aimed at business customers, but sport high-end consumer fit and finish.
The HP EliteBook Folio running Windows 10 Pro is a good example of how HP is showing off its consumer expertise while not sacrificing any of the enterprise features prized by IT.
Billed by HP as “the world’s thinnest and lightest business-class notebook,” the Elitebook Folio is 21 percent slimmer and 15 percent lighter, at just under a kilogram, than its predecessor, the HP EliteBook 1020.
During this week’s CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Acer is showing off its new Liquid Jade Primo handset.
Running Windows 10 Mobile, the premium smartphone will support the mode-switching Continuum feature that provides a Windows desktop experience when it’s connected to a dock, a monitor with USB Type-C support or wireless display accessories.
Liquid Jade Primo will be joining Microsoft’s own flagship Windows 10 smartphones in the mobile market.
EMC will cut jobs ahead of its expected acquisition by Dell later this year. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Dec. 31, EMC officials stated that company management had approved a restructuring plan aimed at reducing expenses by $850 million annually.
The plan calls for an unspecified number of jobs to be cut, with most of those layoffs occurring by the end of the first quarter. The remaining job cuts will be completed by the end of the year, according to the SEC filing.