Tarsus Technologies has announced the local availability of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y500P, an entertainment-centric notebook whose exceptional performance features and attractive price tag are sure to blow multimedia enthusiasts away.

The Y550P is differentiated from competitive products by a holistic design that has a total immersive entertainment experience in mind. As such, it allows users to create their own personal movie theatres or music concerts with all of the additional comforts of home. The Y550P will completely redefine the way high-definition portable entertainment is viewed.

“This notebook comes packed with a 2.26GHz Intel Core i3 350M processor, a Nvidia GeForce GT 240M graphics card and an impressive 4GB DDR3 DRAM memory,” says Alexi Hume, Lenovo product manager at Tarsus Technologies.

“This ticks all the important boxes for gamers, movie buffs and other users seeking the ultimate entertainment thrill: speed, performance and a superior graphics card that can handle even the most intense games and high-definition movies,” she continues.

“Add to this a 15.6 inch high-definition LED display, Dolby Home Theater sound, a 500GB hard disk and a host of connectivity options and the needs of even the most hardcore gamers and dedicated movie fans are more than likely to be satisfied,” Hume says

“Furthermore, it comes loaded with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium and this, along with the OneKey Theater function, means it is the perfect traveling entertainment companion,” she adds.

“Round this out with a long battery life and a host of included software and users of this notebook will be able to work just as hard as they play.

“By packaging these high-level specs at an attractive price point and with its innovative, well-respected brand name, Lenovo has succeeded in delivering exceptional value to its end-user customers,” she says.

“We are convinced that this model will be embraced by resellers and retailers alike, purely because it represents excellent value and a breathtaking entertainment sensation all in one box,” she concludes.

While Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system has been met with far more enthusiasm and respect than its predecessor, the damage the company did with the release of Windows Vista in 2006 is taking some time to repair.

“While there’s undoubtedly a more positive outlook from our corporate and enterprise customers, the vast majority of IT directors and CIOs we’re dealing with haven’t yet made their plans for Windows 7 clear,” says Shane Krog, Acer desktop product manager at Tarsus Technologies.

“That’s the primary reason we’ve taken a two-pronged approach to the operating system we bundle with new Acer machines,” Krog continues.

“And interestingly enough, Windows XP is still on the agenda,” he says.

Because of the negative response that the market is still showing to Windows Vista, Krog says that each new Acer business computer comes with a choice of Windows XP or Windows 7 Professional.

“Users are able to select the version of operating system they would like to install on the system’s first boot,” he explains.

“The best part, however, is that should they change their mind at any stage, they can simply back their data up and using Acer’s eRecovery management tool, reboot into the software provisioning feature and set it to factory restore with a different operating system.

“This substantially streamlines issues with software licensing, driver compatibility and overall ease-of-use,” he continues.

“We also see it as a substantial value-add, and based on feedback from our business customers know it’s a vital differentiator,” he says.

Ultimately Krog says that nobody can truly know when the switch to Windows 7 will take place properly, but in the interim Tarsus is ensuring that its customers have the convenience of choosing between the two most used operating systems on the planet.

“I personally believe that the market will be completely switched over by the middle of 2011,” he says.

“And more users should strongly consider the shift – Windows 7 is a vast improvement on everything that’s come before it,” he concludes.

Business Connexion Namibia was awarded the Acer reseller of the year at a glamorous ceremony in Athens, Greece.

Ferdi Graupe, Managing Director at Business Connexion Namibia says: “We are extremely proud to receive this prestigious award as it recognises our commitment and loyalty towards the Acer brand.  In 2010, we as Business Connexion Namibia are entering the 20^th year of Acer product distribution in Namibia and the quality, excellent supply chain and support structures offer our clients in Namibia excellent value of ownership. I can certainly say that there is much to admire and take note in Acer’s quick march up the global scale of computer manufacturers”

Taiwan-based Acer has been one of the shining stars on the personal computer scene for some years now and they’ve just recently taken over the number two spot in overall computer sales worldwide from competitors Dell. That is all computers including desktops, notebooks, and netbooks. According to Graham Braum, Country Manager Africa and Levant, Acer is “very close” to taking over the number one spot from HP and Acer aims to take the throne in 2011 in terms of the mobile PC segment.

“Acer’s notebooks are doing even better in our region – Middle East and Africa – where they are ranked number one,” he announced.

Three years ago Acer embarked on their multi-brand strategy, taking on board big brands, including Packard Bell (acquired in 2008), Gateway (acquired in 2007), and eMachines (also acquired in 2007, through the acquisition of Gateway). Increasing the product range has enabled Acer to reach a broad spectrum of customers and ensures they cater to all PC, notebook and netbook requirements, strengthening their market share.

Braum explains that the driving force behind Acer is its will to empower through technology, and bring the latest technologies available to their customers in all forms.

“We’re focused on what the customers want. So whatever technology is available we partner that with the right product. We ask our customers what they are looking for,” he says.

It’s clear from Acer and other companies that what customers are increasingly demanding is mobility. Braum said that approximately 220 million notebooks are sold worldwide out of the 400 million total PCs sold.

In terms of mobile phones, Braum explained that in the region of 1.2 billion units were sold worldwide with 270 million of those being smartphones. “We can estimate that there is a combined market of about 500 million units of “internet centric products”. Netbooks contribute about 15% of the total notebook market, and this is expected to increase to around 25% in 2012, where is will stabilise.” He added.

“Windows 7, launched by Microsoft, will be driving consumer demand for the foreseeable future,” said Braum. “The business segment will follow suit being more careful in their investments, it will take them a while longer to fully embrace Windows 7. According to Braum, whatever problems or “deficiencies” that were present in Windows Vista are not present in Windows 7. It will bring a “better customer experience,” he said.

An exciting new application being offered by Windows 7 is touch capability, which is built-in to the Operating System (OS). This is something that Acer will take full advantage of in both desktop and notebook computers. “Windows 7”, he continued, “also brings better performance and new functionality to the mobile computing segment, which in turn offers exciting opportunities for Acer.”

Tarsus’ Acer PM takes a closer look at what the channel and its customers should know

The shipping date for Windows 7 is upon us and there’s still a ton of confusion in the technology channel as to what customers should know and what the primary reasons to upgrade are.

“The good news is that market experts seem convinced that Windows 7 is going to be a winner,” says Shane Krog, Acer desktop product manager at Tarsus.”

“Furthermore,” Krog says, “the confusion in the market is perfectly normal, considering the pain experienced with the adoption and subsequent support of Windows Vista through its stabilisation.

“However, resellers need to know that Windows 7 is a very different animal,” he says, “and having tested it internally for some months now, there’s absolutely no doubt in Tarsus’ mind that a swift migration to the new operating system is the best route to follow.”

But what benefits should resellers and their customers be aware of as they formalise their plans?

“The benefits that Windows 7 brings to the table can be divided into three categories; namely that it works better, allows users to be more efficient and improves security,” says Krog.

“Under the topic of ‘works better’,” Krog says, “the process of connecting to wired and wireless networks has been streamlined, the sharing of data has been simplified with home-groups and users largely being able to support themselves through troubleshooting issues with ‘Action Centre’.

“The most compelling benefit under the ‘works better’ banner is undoubtedly the fact that customers can run legacy applications in a separate XP-mode, which actually boots up a separate instance of Windows XP under the Windows 7 hood,” Krog says.

“We see this as one of the primary reasons to consider the OS,” he adds.

Under the banner of ‘more efficiency’, Krog says, “Microsoft has streamlined and extended its desktop search, allowing files and applications to be easily located; brought a feature called ‘Libraries’ into the equation to centralise access to music, pictures, video and other documents; substantially overhauled the way its operating system behaves visually; and made it perform better with older hardware.

“The most important benefit comes last, however, and Windows 7’s improved stability and security is a good enough reason to move on its own,” says Krog.

“Simple to use backup tools, built-in encryption that simply has to be enabled and the ability to roll a file-version back using the aptly-named ‘previous versions’ feature rank highly on the list of security and stability features that enterprises should be considering.

“The overall stability of the operating system in practice, evidenced by the fact that we experienced far less system crashes, no data loss and better application behavior during our testing is the clincher though,” says Krog.

“New features are great, however, there’s simply no substitute for the improved stability of the operating system – and we’re counting on that factor to drive confidence back into the market,” he concludes.