ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

Are your customer' Raspberry Pi microPCs overheating? element14 has a solution with a miniature heatsink for the case-free credit card-size device.

Designed for the Pi CPU, the heatsink features a self-adhesive thermal layer and offers thermal resistance of 25°C/W. Through simple, passive cooling requires no fan and has a low profile (13x13x10mm) allowing it to fit in most cases.

The heatsink kit is available now for all of £4.98.

Go Pi Heatsink Kit

Microsoft marks the next step towards the release of Windows 8.1 (formerly known as Blue) and passes the update (both Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 versions) to its hardware partners.

The update rolls out from 18 October 2013 as well devices carrying the latest version of the OS such as tablets, lightweight notebooks, 2-in-1 devices and regular PCs.

“In many ways, this marks a new day at Microsoft, reflecting a number of rapid release firsts," a company statement says. "Thanks, in part, to customer feedback and an unparalleled level of collaboration across product teams, Windows 8.1 is a significant update. We have delivered in a very short time an update to the OS that will bring an even greater unified experience for our customers."

What does it take to succeed in accessories? What does it take for a distributor to turn manufacturer and build its own range of best-selling accessories?

We interviewed Paulius Paršeliūnas, General Manager of ACME Europe (photo below).

ACME started life as a distributor in 1993 and in 2012 ACME Group turnover reached 204,5 million euro, including exports to 36 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Today the ACME brand of accessories is winning European awards and expected to grow to one-third of the Group’s business.

To succeed in accessories, it’s clear you need a Big Hit. You need a winning product that earns public and press attention; one that roars out for reviews and awards and calls attention to the rest of the range-- and for ACME, that winner is the first of ACME’s new Urban harmony range of products: the PEANUT mouse.

As the name “PEANUT” suggests, it is not physical size that makes this an award-winning product…it’s the concept and design that wins over users.

“An absolute success,” declares Paršeliūnas. “At first we won national Lithuanian awards and after that international competitions such as “Plus X Award 2012” and “iF Product Design Award 2013” gave us either commendations or awards.”

Estimates from Canalys this month show Apple continuing to lead the global PC market, with China’s Lenovo in a strong second place. Canalys includes tablets in its numbers, reflecting the impact iPad and other devices have had on the overall market.

Apple held a 17% share in Q2 2013, with 18.6 million units, of which around 15M were iPads. Lenovo’s 13% share was primarily PCs, with only around 1.5M tablets shipped. The other big winner was Samsung, with a 10% share, and growth of 106% year on year.

These numbers reflect two intersecting discontinuities, whose impact is still reverberating across the industry. These are the growth of the tablet form factor, dubbed the “post PC world” by Steve Jobs, and the eastwards shift of the global economic centre of gravity, in particular towards China. These transitions are still playing out, and history will be the final judge, but we can pinpoint their defining moments.