PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Five for Friday is a weekly feature to give a brief roundup of our top five stories from the week that you might have missed. Think we left anything out? Let us know your favourite stories of the week by pinging us a tweet @pcr_online.
Logitech eyes up console gaming market with $85 million acquisition of Astro
With just the I’s left to dot on an $85 million deal, Logitech has announced that it is acquiring console gaming headset maker Astro gaming. The deal is expected to go through in August, with Astro joining the Logitech’s PC gaming-focused Logitech G division.
Although Logitech historically caters for PC gamers, with mice, keyboards and headsets, the company said Astro will continue to remain a ‘console-first brand’. Logitech also said that it had ‘no plans’ to shut the Astro brand down and the company believes it will allow them to cover more ground while not impacting on their current product lines.
PC sales hit 10-year low, but it could be worse
In its latest report Gartner said that 61.1 million shipments were made in the second quarter, down 4.3 per cent from the same quarter in 2016. Meanwhile IDC said that combined desktop, notebook and workstation shipments were down 3.3 per cent to 60.5 million units for Q2, the lowest number recorded since 2007. And while that sounds like bad news, it is still better than the firm’s previous prediction of a 3.9 per cent decline. Despite the slump, some 60 million shipments are still being made per quarter, meaning over 650,000 PCs are switched on for the first time every day.
Amazon sold an estimated $2.9bn of goods on Prime Day – here’s how
This past Tuesday saw Amazon hold it’s third annual Prime Day event and now, with the dust settled, the company has declared it the "biggest global shopping event in Amazon history".
The event, which saw Prime members take advantage of 30 hours of exclusive deals, grew 60 per cent from last year’s Prime Day which was already the biggest day in the company’s history. Though Amazon hasn’t announced how much money was made, analysts have estimated that $2.9 billion worth of goods were sold, equating to 88 million units.
Toshiba to be dropped from Nikkei 225 for first time since 1950
Toshiba is set to be dropped from the top tier of the Tokyo Stock Exchange as it financial woes continue. A spokesperson for Japan’s Nikkei 225 index said that watch and printer manufacturer Seiko Epson will replace the troubled technology company on August 1.
It will be the first time that Japanese conglomerate will not be included in the list of Japan’s top 225 companies since the Nikkei 225 index was formed in 1950. Instead it will be demoted to the second tier of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after it fell into negative shareholder equity following major losses in its US nuclear business, Westinghouse.
Oculus cuts price on Rift VR to £399
Oculus has slashed the price of its Rift VR headset and touch controller bundle to £399 – £200 off its RRP.
The cut comes as a part of the Facebook-owned company’s ‘Summer of Rift’ sale, with the bundle returning to its original price in six weeks. It also brings the new headset to within £50 of Sony’s PlayStation VR headset.
Shoppers in the States are getting a better deal though, with the bundle dropping down to $399 (around £306), though speakiong with PCR’s sister publication MCV, Oculus’ VP of content Jason Rubin said he felt that the Rift has finally reached "a compelling price point" for the average consumer.
"We think that [a £399] price point is very mass market," Rubin said. "It’s been proven on other high-end VR systems that are succeeding right now, and we think with the best library in the business, even more great announcements of software coming in the near future, and really the best multiplayer and single player games out there, that now’s the time to do this and really drive people into high-end VR. So we’re very excited to announce that."
