Enterprise
IDC reveals top 5 smartphone brands in Asean in 2015
A few phone makers have found themselves swimming in good vibes lately when analyst firm IDC released its findings on the Southeast Asia smartphone market, which made over 100 million sales in 2015.
According to the company, which tracks industry trends and shipments in over 110 countries, including the Philippines, Samsung dominated the Asean region the previous year, with 21.7 million units shipped, representing 21.5 percent of the business, though it dropped in market share by nearly 1 percent on 2014 figures.
ASUS, Apple, OPPO, and Lava comprise the rest of the top five vendors in the region, accounting for 8.3, 6, 5.6, and 5.1 percent market share, respectively.
“Samsung remains at the top with 18 percent growth [in shipments] over 2014, as it launched the Galaxy J series that had models ranging from US$75 to US$200. ASUS broadened its range of handsets, introducing devices with price points ranging from US$100 to US$250 and larger screens such as the ZenFone 2 series and the ZenFone Go,” IDC said in a press release.
The firm added that the smartphone vendors that took a hit when Chinese brands expanded overseas have weathered the storm of low-cost devices flooding the region by bringing in products aimed at “budget-conscious consumers.”
Some of you may be wondering how Lava — a brand you’ve probably never heard of on this side of the planet — broke into the list. But consider that Lava’s distribution channels include Indonesia and Thailand, two of the biggest markets for mobile in Southeast Asia, combining for 51 percent of shipments last year. In case you’re wondering, the Philippines ranked third with 14 percent market share.
What’s actually more surprising is Apple holding on to the number three spot, brand-wise, though we don’t imagine that would be the case this year as well. Not with the likes of OPPO doubling down on lower-end devices that appeal to a wider audience. Perhaps that explains why Apple is rumored to announce a smaller — and possibly — cheaper version of the iPhone later this month.
[irp posts=”9610″ name=”ASUS aims to double phone shipments, release ZenFone 4 soon”]
Enterprise
AMD poised to lead agentic AI era with high-performance CPUs
AMD is prepared to lead the industry in its agentic AI era with their high-performance CPU strategy.
As the industry pivots from simple AI models to agentic AI systems that are capable of independent planning and decision-making, the CPU is reclaiming its role as the critical “head coach” of the data center.
This was noted by AMD CEO and Chair Dr. Lisa Su during the AMD Advancing AI event last year. The rise of autonomous agents has transformed inference into a complex and multi-step workflow that demands sophisticated logic and orchestration.
And while high-performance GPUs are necessary to generate insights in real time, the surrounding infrastructure is just as important.
This is where CPUs enter the picture. Their performance and efficiency are more important than ever in the overall performance of modern AI infrastructure.
And AMD delivers an advantage with their offerings. In recently published data, a 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPU-based system is estimated to perform up to 2.1x better per core against an NVIDIA Grace Superchip-based system.
The same system AMD-based system also delivers up to 2.26x uplift on SPECpower, measuring operations per watt.
The x86 CPU architecture gives customers the advantage of a broad, proven software ecosystem that can run existing workloads natively.
This avoids the costly refactoring and code-base duplication often required when switching to Arm-based alternatives.
Looking ahead, AMD is doubling down on the balanced system philosophy. Future architectures such as the “Venice” CPUs will power the “Helios” rack-scale AI design.
By integrating EPYC CPUs with Instinct GPUs and the ROCm software stack, AMD aims to maximize cluster-level performance and lower the total cost of ownership in the agentic era.
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? After a year of wrestling through tariffs from the current American administration, Nintendo has decided to sue the United States.
Last year, the Trump administration was trigger-happy with implement tariffs on countries everywhere. Though the controversy mostly circulated around geopolitics, major corporations also found themselves on the receiving end of Trump’s ire. All over the world, the tariffs sparked product delays and price hikes.
Nintendo is no exception. As a result of the fiasco, the company had to delay the launch of the Switch 2, in anticipation of disruptions caused by the tariffs. First reported by Aftermath, the Japanese gaming giant is now going after the American government over refunds associated with the tariffs.
Now, the tariffs aren’t a big issue anymore. Notably, the Supreme Court scratched off the White House’s implementations that the former found illegal. While a big sigh of relief for future business, corporations like Nintendo have already paid duties and deposits in the past. As a result, Nintendo is now looking for recompense for what they paid before.
Nintendo isn’t the first company to seek restitution over the illegal tariffs. Others, including FedEx and Revlon, are also asking for refunds. However, the Japanese giant is certainly one of the biggest names to cross the government’s path. After all, the company is notoriously litigious over anything it considers as an affront to its business, including small streamers using Pokémon on their broadcasts.
With all its global resources, Nintendo likely won’t just give up without a fight.
SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is now Nintendo’s best-selling console ever
Enterprise
Paramount wins bid for HBO Max, plans to merge streaming apps
It’s all part of the deal to acquire the Warner Bros. library.
Last year ended with the bombshell announcement that Netflix might buy the entire Warner Bros. library. However, after some finagling and a rocky start, Paramount has now emerged as the main suitor for the lucrative library.
At the end of last year, it seemed all but confirmed that the gigantic Warner Bros. library was coming to Netflix as part of a huge buyout deal. This became even clearer when Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s initial bid to counter Netflix. However, Paramount recently revised its offer to an astounding US$ 110 billion, or US$ 31 per share, which Warner Bros. Discovery signed off on. Netflix passed on the opportunity for a counteroffer, making Paramount the sole bidder.
Today, Paramount has announced that, if the deal pushes through, they will merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streaming service. This means that Paramount’s CBS, Comedy Central, and MTV will be under the same roof as DC, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Mission: Impossible.
The value of the above names alone makes this into one of the most lucrative deals for Paramount. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. The combined entity will reportedly carry US$ 79 billion in net debt for both purchasing Warner Bros. and refinancing the newly purchased property.
Currently, the deal is expected to go through regulatory approval ending in the second half of 2026.
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