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Changes in Leadership at Darty

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Darty appoints a new CEO-- Régis Schultz from French furniture and electrical retailer BUT, who starts leadership duties from 1 May 2013.

SchultzSchultz was BUT CEO since 2008, where he led "major" product offer and store format renewals. He was also CEO at Kingfisher DIY business B&Q. Back in the day Schultz was also 16th best tennis player in France.

He takes over from Finance Director Dimonic Platt, who was interim CEO after the September 2012 stepping down of Thierry Falque-Pierrotin due to shareholder flak over his receiving a "golden hello" worth £720000 in shares (a gift of sorts later described as a "mistake").

Meanwhile Darty France managing director Bruno Cremel steps down by "mutual agreement" by end of May 2013 following a hand over process with Schultz.

"The Board and I look forward to working with [Schultz] on our plans-– "Nouvelle Confiance"-– to restore shareholder value by eliminating  losses at our non-core businesses, increasing profitability in our core businesses from our market leadership and developing future growth initiatives," chairman Alan Parker remarks.

Darty dropped its Italian operations back in November 2012, and is reportedly "exploring options" for its struggling divisions in Spain, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Go Darty Appointment of New Chief Executive

IDC: Q4 Tablet Shipments Reach "Record"

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Global Q4 2012 tablet shipments outpace forecasts with "record" totals according to IDC, as the market grows by 75.3% Y-o-Y and shipments reach 52.5 million units, up from 29.9m in Q4 2011.

Catalysts for such growth include lower average selling prices (ASPs), a wider product range and increased holiday spending.

Of course, tablets are a stark contrast to PCs-- where shipments saw declines during the holiday season, a first in over 5 years.

Apple continues to lead the market, with shipments reaching 22.9m units (wih 48.1% Y-o-Y growth) thanks to the iPad mini and 4th generation iPad launches. However increasingly strong competition continues to cause decline in Apple tablet share, from 46.4% in Q3 2012 to 43.6% in Q4.

HP Joins Chrome Ranks

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HP is the next vendor to take on the Google cloud-based OS with the Pavilion 14 Chromebook, a 14-inch number similar to the Samsung Chromebook and the Acer C7.

HP ChromebookIt carries a 1366 x 768 resolution display, 1.1GHz Intel Celeron 847 CPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. Google also includes 100GB of free online storage for 2 years.

Connectivity options include HDMI, x3 USB, ethernet port and SD reader, while the battery provides up to 4 hours and 15 minutes of power.

The Pavilion 14 Chromebook is available now.

Go HP Pavilion Chromebook

RIM Launches BlackBerries, Changes Name

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"BlackBerry" is now more than just a smartphone name-- on the BlackBerry 10 launch Research in Motion renames itself to BlackBerry in a move to consolidate the company brand.

Z10"As we launch BlackBerry 10 around the world, now is the right time to adopt the iconic BlackBerry name" CEO Thorsten Heins says.

Now the hopes of a renamed RIM (sorry, BlackBerry) lie in not one, but two smartphones running on the latest BlackBerry OS version-- the Z10 and the Q10.

The Z10 is the BlackBerry take on the iPhone concept, with a 4.2-inch 1280 x 768 resolution touchscreen, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage (expandable via microSD slot).

Lenovo Reports "Record" Q3

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Global Q3 2012/13 Lenovo sales total $9.4 billion with 12% Y-o-Y growth-- a record as the PC maker remains the only major vendor with positive results as we speak.

LenovoCompany earnings amount to $205 million (with 34% Y-o-Y growth) while operating profit grows by 26% to $243m.

According to Gartner Lenovo is the 2nd largest PC vendor in both EMEA and WW during Q4 2012, with shipments growing by 7.9% Y-o-Y.

The company attributes such results to its "Protect and Attack" strategy-- protection of its China and PC profit pools while attacking every other segment (both market- and geography-wise). Thus "Attack" businesses make 50% of Lenovo revenues, with Mobile Internet and Digital Home (MIDH) accounting for 11% of Q3 revenues.

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