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

In this last decade, the undisputed leader in consumer electronics has been Apple...people stood in lines just to buy Apple’s i-products, their much-coveted inventory has been sold out often, and their subcontractors regularly ran out of components trying to meet demand. Nothing has been hotter in CE than sizzling Apple, right?

So here’s a question for you. Do you think you would you have done better 10 years ago by accepting 5 euro for each iPad sold (25 million as of June 2011), each iPhone sold (100 million as of March 2011) and each iPod sold (300 million at Jan. 2011)—or by accepting 1 euro for each SD memory card shipped?

Yes, that’s right...the SD memory card...that humble, under-estimated memory card that goes inside mobile phones, media players, computers, televisions, personal navigation devices, digital cameras and many other consumer electronics gadgets.

You probably guessed right if you read the title of this article: the SD memory card is one of the consumer electronics industry’s most successful innovations with an estimated 2.5 billion SD memory cards shipped in its 10-year history.

During those 10 years as Apple polished its fame, SD memory card went quietly about its business. Life is not fair and nor is business... the SD memory card will probably never receive the public acclaim that Apple elicits. Yet inside the CE business, this unsung product hero has outsold Apple’s biggest hits by 5:1.

During the past 10 years, the SD Association has seen an estimated 8000-plus consumer electronics models manufactured by more than 400 brands worldwide rely on SD standards. More than 1000 members give the SD memory card an ecosystem that boosts the removable media market leader to nearly 80% market share today.

And it all started with a first SD memory cards that offered an impressive (at that time) 8MB of storage capacity in the size of a postage stamp.

If that one sales record of 2.5 billion sold was all to be said, SD would still go down in CE history as one of our greatest products...but-- like Apple—the SD Association has had to adopt continuous innovation to succeed.

WIMM Labs believes the future will come in small packages -- it unveils the WIMM platform, a miniature computer currently available in a limited number of developer preview kits.

The result of a partnership with Foxconn, the preview kit (known as the WIMM One) is a 1" slab packing a reflective colour touchscreen (160 x 160 resolution), wifi, Bluetooth and GPS radios, vibrate motor, accelerometer and magnetometer.

Running on Android 2.1, it comes complete with "micro apps" (such as world clock and calendar) and pairs with smartphones via Bluetooth to alert users of incoming calls and text messages as well as sharing the phone's network connection.

The preview kit includes a  wrist strap in which users can pop in the device (similar those on offer for iPad nanos). Music player and bicycle adapters are also in the works.

WIMM Labs is currently looking for developers (with a public SDK to be available in Q3 2011), as well as licensees willing to make products using the WIMMplatform.

Go WIMM Labs

Toshiba announces the MQo1ABD series, its first 2.5" HDDs using 500GB/platter technology in the 9.5mm high form factor to reach capacities of up to 1TB.

Designed for high-end notebooks, desktop PCs, DVR set top boxes and games consoles, Toshiba says the drives store up to 744GB of data per square inch-- 37% more than its previous 2.5" models, with speeds of up to 5400 RPM.

The HDDs also consume only 0.55W during idle mode, while emitting a maximum of 19dB (when idle) and 24dB (during seek operations) of sound.

Go Toshiba Storage

Greek PC reseller Plaisio sees an increase in profits for 2011's first half-- despite a double-digit decrease in sales.

In total Plaisio earns post-taxes profits of €2.7m-- a Y-o-Y increase of 237%-- from sales of €157.4m with losses reaching -14.6% Y-o-Y.

The company attributes its success-- in a Greece going through austerity programmes as the EU fears its default-- to the profitability of its own-brands PCs, Turbo -X and Q Connect και @work.

One can say this is a good performance, particularly in comparison to some retailers in less hard hit markets.

Go Plaisio H1 2011 Earnings