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UK retailer Maplin Electronics names John Cleland as new CEO, starting from March 2012.

Most recently Esporta (the fitness chain acquired in 2011 by Virgin) CEO, Cleland has extensive retail experience-- holding senior roles at Asda, Walmart Japan, Somerfield and B&Q.

The hiring reunites Cleland with current Maplin chairman (and ex-Somerfield chairman) John Lovering. The two (together with Paul Mason) turned Somerfield around before selling it to The Co-op in 2009.

Lovering says "He [Cleland] will be instrumental in implementing our growth plans on the high street and through multi-channels."

Go Maplin

Samsung adds yet an other tablet to the Galaxy series at Mobile World Congress 2012-- the Galaxy Note 10.1, an upsizing of the Galaxy Note phablet with Wacom S-Pen support.

Looking very similar to the Galaxy Tab, the Note 10.1 runs on Android 4.0 and carries a 10.1" WXGA display, 1.4GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and up to 64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD slot). It also has x2 cameras (3MP back, 2MP front) and connectivity via HSPA+ 21Mbps radio, wifi and Bluetooth.

More interesting is the S-Pen support-- with a number of optimised apps such as an updated S Note note-taking app, with new shape- and formula-matching functions. The tablet also includes pre-installed versions of Adobe Photoshop Touch and Ideas, complete with pressure sensitivity support.

Samsung also plans to release the S-Pen SDK, which should boost developer support somewhat.

Go Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

IHS iSuppli projects dramatic growth for WW residential gateway shipments-- predicting the market will triple during the 2012 to 2015 period as gateways start replacing the traditional STB.

Residential gateway and thin client box shipments are "miniscule at present." Global 2011 shipments total 345000, and a mere 1000 units in 2010. However iSuppli expects 2012 shipments to reach  4.2M, before climbing to 12.6M in 2015.

Residential gateways link a wide range of devices-- with a STB acting as a central server connecting to thin client boxes, delivering content to media devices such as smartphones and tablets.

iSuppli also believes the key component inside the residential gateway-- the media processor-- is "ready for prime time" thanks to technology from the likes of Intel, Broadcom and STMicroelectronics.

Operators are set to save money using gateways (by moving to cheaper server/client configurations) while boosting revenues by charging for the increased connectivity gateways provide. On the other hand customers gain in the beaming of real-time HD video to all media devices.

iSuppli does not expect residential gateways to "settle" on a single networking standard-- instead employing a "mix," as wired or wireless, Cat5, coax and powerline "vie to be the backbone of the connected home."

Go Residential Gateway Market Projected to Triple from 2012 to 2015 (IHS iSuppli)

According to DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim Google will start producing a Google-branded tablet as early as April 2012, with an initial production run totalling 1.5 to 2 million units.

Speaking with CNet, Shim says the Google tablet will probably compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire as an alternative low-cost model-- running on Android 4.0, it should have a 7" 1280x800 display and cost around $199.

After the Motorola Mobility acquision, it makes sense for Google to start producing ist own hardware. Motorola already has 3 tablet models, the Xoom, Xoom 2 and the Droid Xyboard.

Google is also reportedly working on a Google-branded wireless music streaming system, further cementing claims of Google planning to enter the hardware arena. Earlier in December 2011, Google's Eric Schmidt was also reported saying Google is laying the groundwork to “market a tablet of the highest quality.”

Go Google May Enter Tablet Market With 7" Design (CNet)

Go Google to Take on Living Room Sound