Coca-Cola on Thursday launched a facial-matching Facebook application called the Coke Zero Facial Profiler.
As long as users have at least three photos of themselves in their Facebook profile, the application searches across other pictures from Facebook users that have used the app to find someone whose face matches theirs most accurately. Those that don't have three images can either upload a picture into the app from their desktop or capture a picture from their Webcam.
I had a chance to use the app this afternoon. After it is added to your profile, you can immediately direct it to find pictures in your profile. That process takes a little longer than I would have liked, but it wasn't so bad that I wanted to move on.
To match up my face to someone else's, I took a picture with my Web cam. After I chose the picture I wanted to use, the app asked me to drag my image to match the shadowed outline of a head. I also needed to move markers over my eyes to ensure that the application was reading my image correctly.
My only issue with Coca-Cola's facial-matching app is that it took too long to find a match. I realize that it's searching through several faces to find the right person, but the experience left me wishing that it would end sooner than it did.
After finding a match (the app said it was a 60 percent fit), I was given the option of connecting with the person I matched up with. It was a nice option, but I was unsure how that conversation would go--"So, you don't know me, but our faces are about 60 percent alike. Wanna be friends?"--so I opted against it.
Overall, Coca-Cola's app is worth trying out once or twice, even if just for a laugh. But until more people try it out, and their images are added to the database, I'm just not sure that it has the kind of lasting power so many other apps on the social network have. I would come back to it in a month or two to see if the matching can improve, though.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
FarmVille maker unleashes PetVille
Zynga, the social-gaming developer behind the wildly popular Facebook game FarmVille, announced on Thursday that it has launched a new game for the social network, this one called PetVille. The news was originally reported on the Games.com blog.
According to the company, PetVille allows Facebook users to "raise, dress, and care for a pet" that they've created. Gamers can also visit friends' in-game houses and "play with their pets to earn coins you can use to make your own house the coolest on the block!"
Although PetVille's userbase pales in comparison to Zynga's FarmVille, which currently has almost 70 million active users, the game has already added 125 gamers as of this writing and more than 400 people have become fans of the title. Considering the popularity of Zynga's other games, it's likely that PetVille will enjoy the same kind of success.
If you're a FarmVille fan or you just like playing games on social networks, you can check out PetVille by clicking here.
According to the company, PetVille allows Facebook users to "raise, dress, and care for a pet" that they've created. Gamers can also visit friends' in-game houses and "play with their pets to earn coins you can use to make your own house the coolest on the block!"
Although PetVille's userbase pales in comparison to Zynga's FarmVille, which currently has almost 70 million active users, the game has already added 125 gamers as of this writing and more than 400 people have become fans of the title. Considering the popularity of Zynga's other games, it's likely that PetVille will enjoy the same kind of success.
If you're a FarmVille fan or you just like playing games on social networks, you can check out PetVille by clicking here.
New Droid ad: iPhone is 'digitally clueless'
Perhaps you have already become used to Verizon's Droid tossing names at the iPhone like an 8-year-old boy behind his teacher's back.
However, the latest ill feelings directed at Apple's little cutey seem beyond even anything heard in an elementary school.
In a new TV spot, Droid asks an important question: "Should a phone be pretty?" To which many sane people would say "yes," and many emotionally challenged beings made of metal would say, "Huh? What?"
Its answer--the latest in its presentation of the Droid as a robotphone--is to hurl metallic-tasting custard pies as if the Apple store was a state fair.
"Should it be a tiara-wearing digitally clueless beauty pageant queen?" belches the ad's rhetoric, clearly referencing the iPhone, while wrapping the pie in a question.
I know many Socratically-inclined Apple fanpersons will object to the notion that beauty is only skin deep. But they will surely rail against the mere suggestion that the iPhone is digitally clueless.
Of course, this ad implicitly suggests that the Droid is, well, one of Cinderella's sisters, which might well affect its abilities to entice certain sectors of the populace.
Actually, the suggestion is more than implicit, for the deeply hirsute voice declares: "Is it a precious porcelain figurine of a phone? In truth, no."
So do you wait for a design that is pretty and is, as this ad so elegantly puts it, "racehorse duct-taped to a Scud missile fast" or do you have to compromise?
I know they say you can't have everything in life, but surely there must be some very attractive engineer out there who can give us everything in a few square inches of cell phone.
However, the latest ill feelings directed at Apple's little cutey seem beyond even anything heard in an elementary school.
In a new TV spot, Droid asks an important question: "Should a phone be pretty?" To which many sane people would say "yes," and many emotionally challenged beings made of metal would say, "Huh? What?"
Its answer--the latest in its presentation of the Droid as a robotphone--is to hurl metallic-tasting custard pies as if the Apple store was a state fair.
"Should it be a tiara-wearing digitally clueless beauty pageant queen?" belches the ad's rhetoric, clearly referencing the iPhone, while wrapping the pie in a question.
I know many Socratically-inclined Apple fanpersons will object to the notion that beauty is only skin deep. But they will surely rail against the mere suggestion that the iPhone is digitally clueless.
Of course, this ad implicitly suggests that the Droid is, well, one of Cinderella's sisters, which might well affect its abilities to entice certain sectors of the populace.
Actually, the suggestion is more than implicit, for the deeply hirsute voice declares: "Is it a precious porcelain figurine of a phone? In truth, no."
So do you wait for a design that is pretty and is, as this ad so elegantly puts it, "racehorse duct-taped to a Scud missile fast" or do you have to compromise?
I know they say you can't have everything in life, but surely there must be some very attractive engineer out there who can give us everything in a few square inches of cell phone.
Friendster gets a face-lift, looks for love?
Onetime social-networking pioneer Friendster unveiled a new design on Thursday, and it's focusing on the demographic that has kept it afloat for the past few years: the Asian youth market. And according to Reuters, Friendster may also be sold to a buyer in Asia by the end of the month for at least $100 million.
Yes, Friendster still exists. The first big social network to take off, it was surpassed by the likes of MySpace and Facebook, and its popularity in much of the world quickly faded. Now, it says it has 75 million registered users (no word on how many are active), and that 90 percent of its traffic comes from the Asia-Pacific region. It started offering translated versions of the site two years ago.
New to the revamped Friendster are a suite of features designed to capitalize on the social-gaming craze: a virtual currency, an array of games, and virtual gifts.
Friendster CEO Richard Kimber confirmed to Reuters that the company was shopping itself to buyers, and that investment bank Morgan Stanley had been hired to handle the sale and that the company is working with "a shortlist" of potential suitors. It won't be the first time it's been looking to sell: CNET reported in 2005 that investment bank Montgomery & Co. had been hired for the same purpose.
Kimber, a former Googler, joined Friendster last year right around the same time that it raised $20 million in venture funding in a round led by IDG Ventures.
Yes, Friendster still exists. The first big social network to take off, it was surpassed by the likes of MySpace and Facebook, and its popularity in much of the world quickly faded. Now, it says it has 75 million registered users (no word on how many are active), and that 90 percent of its traffic comes from the Asia-Pacific region. It started offering translated versions of the site two years ago.
New to the revamped Friendster are a suite of features designed to capitalize on the social-gaming craze: a virtual currency, an array of games, and virtual gifts.
Friendster CEO Richard Kimber confirmed to Reuters that the company was shopping itself to buyers, and that investment bank Morgan Stanley had been hired to handle the sale and that the company is working with "a shortlist" of potential suitors. It won't be the first time it's been looking to sell: CNET reported in 2005 that investment bank Montgomery & Co. had been hired for the same purpose.
Kimber, a former Googler, joined Friendster last year right around the same time that it raised $20 million in venture funding in a round led by IDG Ventures.
Acer 17-inch, Intel dual-core laptop falls to $479
Staples is selling a big-screen laptop with robust features that belie its low price.
Acer laptop packs a 17.3-inch 1600 x 900 screen, dual-core Intel processor, and 4GB of memory.
Acer laptop packs a 17.3-inch 1600 x 900 screen, dual-core Intel processor, and 4GB of memory.
As 17-inch laptops go, it's a lot of laptop for the money, compared with higher-priced systems from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard. Big-screen, 17-inch-class laptops priced a couple of hundred dollars above the Acer typically offer slightly faster processors and higher-performance graphics. But for the average user, there's not much difference.
And what do you get for $479? The Acer Aspire AS7736Z-4809 comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, a dual-core Intel Pentium Processor T4300 (2.1GHz), 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk drive, 8X DVD double-layer optical drive, a Webcam, and a 17.3-inch LED display with 1600 x 900 resolution.
A 17-inch laptop with high-definition screen resolution and plenty of memory to run 64-bit Windows 7--that's nothing to sniff at.
Acer laptop packs a 17.3-inch 1600 x 900 screen, dual-core Intel processor, and 4GB of memory.
Acer laptop packs a 17.3-inch 1600 x 900 screen, dual-core Intel processor, and 4GB of memory.
As 17-inch laptops go, it's a lot of laptop for the money, compared with higher-priced systems from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard. Big-screen, 17-inch-class laptops priced a couple of hundred dollars above the Acer typically offer slightly faster processors and higher-performance graphics. But for the average user, there's not much difference.
And what do you get for $479? The Acer Aspire AS7736Z-4809 comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, a dual-core Intel Pentium Processor T4300 (2.1GHz), 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk drive, 8X DVD double-layer optical drive, a Webcam, and a 17.3-inch LED display with 1600 x 900 resolution.
A 17-inch laptop with high-definition screen resolution and plenty of memory to run 64-bit Windows 7--that's nothing to sniff at.
Apple updates Mac Pro with 3.33GHz chip option
Apple on Friday quietly updated its high-end Mac Pro computer with an option for a faster processor.
First noted by AppleInsider, the 3.33GHz quad-core Intel Xeon option will add $1,200 to the price of the base configuration, which currently sells for $2,499. An option for the 2.93GHz processor, introduced in March, is still available for an extra $400 over the base model.
The current Mac Pro base configuration ships with a 2.66GHz quad-core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor.
The custom configuration options for the Mac Pro also enable buyers to add up to 16GB of RAM, as many as four 2-terabyte hard drives, and a variety of graphics cards, in additional to other components and software.
When it introduced the Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro in March, Apple added options for the Nvidia GeForce GT 120 and the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics cards, as well as three channels of memory designed to cut latency by up to 40 percent on the machines.
While Apple's iMac and Mac Mini are recognized by most consumers for their design, the Mac Pro is the machine of choice by many IT, graphics, and audio pros for its superior power.
First noted by AppleInsider, the 3.33GHz quad-core Intel Xeon option will add $1,200 to the price of the base configuration, which currently sells for $2,499. An option for the 2.93GHz processor, introduced in March, is still available for an extra $400 over the base model.
The current Mac Pro base configuration ships with a 2.66GHz quad-core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor.
The custom configuration options for the Mac Pro also enable buyers to add up to 16GB of RAM, as many as four 2-terabyte hard drives, and a variety of graphics cards, in additional to other components and software.
When it introduced the Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro in March, Apple added options for the Nvidia GeForce GT 120 and the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics cards, as well as three channels of memory designed to cut latency by up to 40 percent on the machines.
While Apple's iMac and Mac Mini are recognized by most consumers for their design, the Mac Pro is the machine of choice by many IT, graphics, and audio pros for its superior power.
In mobile, do developers or consumers matter most?
The mobile-computing world is increasingly a two-horse race between Google and Apple, with Apple clearly in the lead but Google Android making up ground quickly. Microsoft and Symbian are also still in the game, but the ultimate winner will be the one that best appeals to consumers or developers.
Or both.
Sexy? Yes. But what about the developers?
This struck home while reading Mark Sigal's analysis of the "inevitability" of Google Android. On his way to dismantling the idea that Google's victory is assured, Sigal stumbles into apparently divergent interest groups:
[U]nlike the PC, where "good enough" was the bar required to seize the market,...for most consumers, their mobile device of choice is a lifestyle decision, a personal, ever-present extension of themselves that is resident in a way that never existed before with the PC--a value proposition that Apple has completely run with on iPhone (and iPod before that).
Fundamentally, though, mobile is a platform play, a game that is largely won by securing the hearts and minds of developers, and for them, the expectation bar is now set pretty high, owing to the success of iPhone across so many domains....
If you're Google (or Microsoft or Symbian), then, who do you target? Developers or consumers?
It's a real question, as while both parties' interests ultimately converge (consumers want developers to make great applications so that those same consumers can pay the developers lots of money), the short-term interests of consumers (sexy product) and developers (ease and richness of development platform) don't necessarily go together.
Motorola RAZR? Sexy product, lame development platform. Windows Mobile? Arguably a solid development platform...with almost zero sex appeal for consumers.
This is why John Carroll is probably right to argue that Microsoft should reinvigorate its mobile strategy with an emphasis on .Net as a powerful way for developers to write powerful mobile applications, it's not going to be enough. Microsoft can port all the business applications it wants for Windows Mobile. It won't matter.
Consumers don't buy business applications. Not until after they've chosen a phone that meets their personal needs, first.
Yes, enterprises do try to dictate corporate standards with Blackberrys and dull Dell PCs heading the list. But in the fast-changing mobile market, you can't hope that consumers will be forced to use your software. You want them to want to do so.
This is why I believe Google has a good chance of taking a serious bite out of Apple, and Symbian and Microsoft do not. Symbian is too difficult an application development platform, as Gartner notes, and Microsoft...is boring.
Not that it needs to be. XBox certainly isn't, and actually helped Microsoft surpass Apple in a recent consumer survey focused on product innovation.
But not in mobile, or even in computers. Apple understands how to create wicked cool products that consumers want, which is why its Mac sales are projected to grow by 26 percent in 2010, right through the recession, and why its iPhone continues to thrive.
But Apple's Achilles heel could well be developers, which are reportedly tiring of Apple's apparently arbitrary application approval and updating process. If Google can continue to help handset manufacturers to achieve the "Wow factor," while simultaneously creating a more open, robust development platform, it just might be able to beat Apple at the game it started.
In other words, the winning mobile vendor will be the one that marries sex appeal for consumers with platform appeal for developers. Google is on course to deliver, but it probably needs to win big with consumers before it makes waves with developers.
Or both.
Sexy? Yes. But what about the developers?
This struck home while reading Mark Sigal's analysis of the "inevitability" of Google Android. On his way to dismantling the idea that Google's victory is assured, Sigal stumbles into apparently divergent interest groups:
[U]nlike the PC, where "good enough" was the bar required to seize the market,...for most consumers, their mobile device of choice is a lifestyle decision, a personal, ever-present extension of themselves that is resident in a way that never existed before with the PC--a value proposition that Apple has completely run with on iPhone (and iPod before that).
Fundamentally, though, mobile is a platform play, a game that is largely won by securing the hearts and minds of developers, and for them, the expectation bar is now set pretty high, owing to the success of iPhone across so many domains....
If you're Google (or Microsoft or Symbian), then, who do you target? Developers or consumers?
It's a real question, as while both parties' interests ultimately converge (consumers want developers to make great applications so that those same consumers can pay the developers lots of money), the short-term interests of consumers (sexy product) and developers (ease and richness of development platform) don't necessarily go together.
Motorola RAZR? Sexy product, lame development platform. Windows Mobile? Arguably a solid development platform...with almost zero sex appeal for consumers.
This is why John Carroll is probably right to argue that Microsoft should reinvigorate its mobile strategy with an emphasis on .Net as a powerful way for developers to write powerful mobile applications, it's not going to be enough. Microsoft can port all the business applications it wants for Windows Mobile. It won't matter.
Consumers don't buy business applications. Not until after they've chosen a phone that meets their personal needs, first.
Yes, enterprises do try to dictate corporate standards with Blackberrys and dull Dell PCs heading the list. But in the fast-changing mobile market, you can't hope that consumers will be forced to use your software. You want them to want to do so.
This is why I believe Google has a good chance of taking a serious bite out of Apple, and Symbian and Microsoft do not. Symbian is too difficult an application development platform, as Gartner notes, and Microsoft...is boring.
Not that it needs to be. XBox certainly isn't, and actually helped Microsoft surpass Apple in a recent consumer survey focused on product innovation.
But not in mobile, or even in computers. Apple understands how to create wicked cool products that consumers want, which is why its Mac sales are projected to grow by 26 percent in 2010, right through the recession, and why its iPhone continues to thrive.
But Apple's Achilles heel could well be developers, which are reportedly tiring of Apple's apparently arbitrary application approval and updating process. If Google can continue to help handset manufacturers to achieve the "Wow factor," while simultaneously creating a more open, robust development platform, it just might be able to beat Apple at the game it started.
In other words, the winning mobile vendor will be the one that marries sex appeal for consumers with platform appeal for developers. Google is on course to deliver, but it probably needs to win big with consumers before it makes waves with developers.
Windows 7 family pack starting to sell out
When Microsoft announced the Windows 7 Family Pack option, it said that the three-user bundle of Windows 7 Home Premium would be available only for a limited time.
"The Windows 7 Family Pack was introduced as a limited time offer while supplies last in select geographies," Microsoft said in a statement. "Response has been very positive and in some cases, the offer has sold out. "
The company wouldn't say how many copies have sold or how many it allocated for the family pack option. It also said it has no current plans to extend the offer.
Microsoft's own online store appears to be sold out, though those in Orange County, Calif. or Scottsdale, Ariz. could check out the retail spots.
Amazon itself is sold out, although some other sellers are offering it on Amazon's site, but at prices well above its suggested price.
Computer users had been asking Microsoft since the days of Vista and longer to offer a discount to those trying to outfit more than one PC with the latest version of Windows. Microsoft finally confirmed in July that it would have a family pack option.
When it announced full details later that month, though, Microsoft said that the $149 package would be available "while supplies last." At the time I pressed them for more details and the company would not say how many copies it planned to sell nor how long the offer would last.
Apple, by contrast, has offered its Mac OS X family pack since 2002. That version covers up to five computers in a household.
"The Windows 7 Family Pack was introduced as a limited time offer while supplies last in select geographies," Microsoft said in a statement. "Response has been very positive and in some cases, the offer has sold out. "
The company wouldn't say how many copies have sold or how many it allocated for the family pack option. It also said it has no current plans to extend the offer.
Microsoft's own online store appears to be sold out, though those in Orange County, Calif. or Scottsdale, Ariz. could check out the retail spots.
Amazon itself is sold out, although some other sellers are offering it on Amazon's site, but at prices well above its suggested price.
Computer users had been asking Microsoft since the days of Vista and longer to offer a discount to those trying to outfit more than one PC with the latest version of Windows. Microsoft finally confirmed in July that it would have a family pack option.
When it announced full details later that month, though, Microsoft said that the $149 package would be available "while supplies last." At the time I pressed them for more details and the company would not say how many copies it planned to sell nor how long the offer would last.
Apple, by contrast, has offered its Mac OS X family pack since 2002. That version covers up to five computers in a household.
Yahoo, Microsoft finalize search deal
Yahoo and Microsoft have finalized their agreement to install Microsoft as the exclusive search provider for Yahoo's network of sites, the companies announced Friday.
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer first approved a search deal in July, but the matter took a little extra time to complete.
The deal, first reached in July, still needs to be approved by the U.S. government before it becomes final. But the companies said in October that they needed more time to complete the deal due to the "complex nature of this transaction," and Friday's announcement is likely the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking review from expensive lawyers.
At least company executives didn't have to rack up the frequent-flier miles to finalize this year; they signed it virtually, with Microsoft's Qi Lu and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz representing their respective companies on the licensing agreement and Ballmer and Bartz inking the definitive agreement, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will provide search technology to Yahoo for up to 10 years, also gaining access to Yahoo's search technology assets and several hundred employees. It will then pay Yahoo a significant portion of the ad revenue generated alongside those searches.
A Yahoo representative declined to comment on the specifics of what held up the final approval of the deal. Both parties said they still expect the deal to become final in early 2010, although the government is sure to take a long hard look.
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer first approved a search deal in July, but the matter took a little extra time to complete.
The deal, first reached in July, still needs to be approved by the U.S. government before it becomes final. But the companies said in October that they needed more time to complete the deal due to the "complex nature of this transaction," and Friday's announcement is likely the result of hundreds of hours of painstaking review from expensive lawyers.
At least company executives didn't have to rack up the frequent-flier miles to finalize this year; they signed it virtually, with Microsoft's Qi Lu and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz representing their respective companies on the licensing agreement and Ballmer and Bartz inking the definitive agreement, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will provide search technology to Yahoo for up to 10 years, also gaining access to Yahoo's search technology assets and several hundred employees. It will then pay Yahoo a significant portion of the ad revenue generated alongside those searches.
A Yahoo representative declined to comment on the specifics of what held up the final approval of the deal. Both parties said they still expect the deal to become final in early 2010, although the government is sure to take a long hard look.
Google extends personalized search to all
Google now intends to deliver customized search results even to those searching its site without having signed into a Google account.
Google keeps a history of your Web searches for up to 180 days, using what it says is an anonymous cookie in your browser to track your search queries and the results you most frequently click on. For several years it has allowed those with Google accounts to receive customized search results based on that history, but now even those without Google accounts will receive tailored results based on a history of their search activity, Google said in a blog post late Friday.
For example, Google described in a video how the query "SOX" might signal one type of search intent coming from baseball fans in Boston or Chicago, and another type of intent from an accountant closing the books on the quarter. Based on that particular person's search profile, Google can promote links to baseball scores or Sarbanes-Oxley details higher in search results than other links affiliated with those queries.
This, of course, is not just about search results. By building a profile of past searches, Google can also gain insights into what kinds of advertising you're most likely to favor, therefore placing more targeted (and expensive) ads alongside those search results
Privacy advocates will likely be put off by the fact that this is an opt-out rather than opt-in service. Beforehand, the customized search results were only available to those who were signed into a Google account, and although Google has always stored the search history of anyone who visits its site, it didn't change individual search results based on that history.
Google was careful to describe the procedure for opting out of personalized results, and emphasized that it doesn't know who specifically is attached to a given set of search queries. But in essence, even those who search Google without being signed in can now be used to help Google improve the targeting of its search results and its ads.
Google keeps a history of your Web searches for up to 180 days, using what it says is an anonymous cookie in your browser to track your search queries and the results you most frequently click on. For several years it has allowed those with Google accounts to receive customized search results based on that history, but now even those without Google accounts will receive tailored results based on a history of their search activity, Google said in a blog post late Friday.
For example, Google described in a video how the query "SOX" might signal one type of search intent coming from baseball fans in Boston or Chicago, and another type of intent from an accountant closing the books on the quarter. Based on that particular person's search profile, Google can promote links to baseball scores or Sarbanes-Oxley details higher in search results than other links affiliated with those queries.
This, of course, is not just about search results. By building a profile of past searches, Google can also gain insights into what kinds of advertising you're most likely to favor, therefore placing more targeted (and expensive) ads alongside those search results
Privacy advocates will likely be put off by the fact that this is an opt-out rather than opt-in service. Beforehand, the customized search results were only available to those who were signed into a Google account, and although Google has always stored the search history of anyone who visits its site, it didn't change individual search results based on that history.
Google was careful to describe the procedure for opting out of personalized results, and emphasized that it doesn't know who specifically is attached to a given set of search queries. But in essence, even those who search Google without being signed in can now be used to help Google improve the targeting of its search results and its ads.
Dell forms communications unit
Showing it's serious about smartphones, Dell is reorganizing the company around its newest product.
Dell is forming a new communications business unit to be helmed by Ron Garriques, a former Motorola executive brought in to run Dell's consumer business two years ago, Reuters first reported Friday. Dell officials confirmed that the consumer group will be folded into the small and medium business group run by Steve Felice.
Dell started selling its first smartphone at the end of November in China and Brazil only. The new unit run by Garriques will develop hardware and software for phones and other mobile Internet devices.
Dell has recently fallen even further behind its once-lofty perch as the world's biggest producer of PCs. It is now No. 3 behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer, both of which offer consumers computers and smartphones. The company is, like most consumer hardware makers, increasingly moving to smaller mobile computers like smartphones and laptops as the desktop market has cratered.
Dell is forming a new communications business unit to be helmed by Ron Garriques, a former Motorola executive brought in to run Dell's consumer business two years ago, Reuters first reported Friday. Dell officials confirmed that the consumer group will be folded into the small and medium business group run by Steve Felice.
Dell started selling its first smartphone at the end of November in China and Brazil only. The new unit run by Garriques will develop hardware and software for phones and other mobile Internet devices.
Dell has recently fallen even further behind its once-lofty perch as the world's biggest producer of PCs. It is now No. 3 behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer, both of which offer consumers computers and smartphones. The company is, like most consumer hardware makers, increasingly moving to smaller mobile computers like smartphones and laptops as the desktop market has cratered.
Google Chrome now bundled with Avast
You wouldn't necessarily expect it, but Avast and Google Chrome might be the next peanut butter-and-jelly combo in the software world. Google's nascent browser has paired with one of the most popular free security programs in the world so that when users run the Avast installer on a computer that has neither Chrome nor Avast, they'll be offered a chance to install Chrome simultaneously. This is the first such bundling for Avast in its 21-year existence.
The Chrome option in the Avast installer does two things differently from the more familiar opt-out user experience that many programs provide in an installer in exchange for financial sponsorship. For one thing, the Chrome window only turns up if you don't already have it installed, but more importantly, it forces users to actively choose installation. Neither the "yes, install" nor the "no, don't install" radio buttons are checked by default. Of course, users are forced to check off "no" if they don't want it, but this should dramatically cut down on the incidence of accidental installations that tend to plague otherwise-similar piggybacking installs.
The Avast/Chrome combo may strike some as an odd couple, or at least more beneficial for Avast than for Chrome, but keep in mind that Avast has more than double the users that Chrome does. Google's Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai said Chrome had more than 40 million users at the Chrome OS press conference at the end of October, and the end of November saw NetApplications peg Chrome at 3.93 percent of the browser market, a 0.35 percentage point increase. Meanwhile, on Avast's Web site, the Czech Republic-based security vendor is preparing to fly its 100 millionth user to Prague on an expenses-paid trip.
A Google spokesman indicated that other deals might be in the works. "Users' response to Google Chrome has been outstanding, and we're continuing to explore ways to make Chrome accessible to even more people. This could potentially include distribution via a number of channels, such as the distribution we are currently doing with Avast."
The Chrome option in the Avast installer does two things differently from the more familiar opt-out user experience that many programs provide in an installer in exchange for financial sponsorship. For one thing, the Chrome window only turns up if you don't already have it installed, but more importantly, it forces users to actively choose installation. Neither the "yes, install" nor the "no, don't install" radio buttons are checked by default. Of course, users are forced to check off "no" if they don't want it, but this should dramatically cut down on the incidence of accidental installations that tend to plague otherwise-similar piggybacking installs.
The Avast/Chrome combo may strike some as an odd couple, or at least more beneficial for Avast than for Chrome, but keep in mind that Avast has more than double the users that Chrome does. Google's Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai said Chrome had more than 40 million users at the Chrome OS press conference at the end of October, and the end of November saw NetApplications peg Chrome at 3.93 percent of the browser market, a 0.35 percentage point increase. Meanwhile, on Avast's Web site, the Czech Republic-based security vendor is preparing to fly its 100 millionth user to Prague on an expenses-paid trip.
A Google spokesman indicated that other deals might be in the works. "Users' response to Google Chrome has been outstanding, and we're continuing to explore ways to make Chrome accessible to even more people. This could potentially include distribution via a number of channels, such as the distribution we are currently doing with Avast."
MySpace to adopt Facebook Connect
MySpace's rumored adoption of Facebook Connect could be happening in the near future--as soon as early 2010, Inside Facebook reports.
MySpace and Facebook have historically been rivals, with Facebook having ousted MySpace from their spot as the top social network, but their relations have been of a friendlier nature as of late. It appears as though MySpace has effectively given up on winning the social-networking war and is instead focusing on its already strong entertainment business, which includes the market leader, MySpace Music.
The extent of MySpace's Facebook Connect integration isn't yet known, but it is expected initially to leverage MySpace's media content, like music. This news comes right on the heels of Yahoo announcing a massive Facebook Connect implementation across all of its sites. Facebook and Google are currently battling it out for the Web identity crown. With Yahoo and MySpace out of the race, 2010 should prove to be an interesting year as Facebook and Google both try to carve out pieces of the market.
MySpace and Facebook have historically been rivals, with Facebook having ousted MySpace from their spot as the top social network, but their relations have been of a friendlier nature as of late. It appears as though MySpace has effectively given up on winning the social-networking war and is instead focusing on its already strong entertainment business, which includes the market leader, MySpace Music.
The extent of MySpace's Facebook Connect integration isn't yet known, but it is expected initially to leverage MySpace's media content, like music. This news comes right on the heels of Yahoo announcing a massive Facebook Connect implementation across all of its sites. Facebook and Google are currently battling it out for the Web identity crown. With Yahoo and MySpace out of the race, 2010 should prove to be an interesting year as Facebook and Google both try to carve out pieces of the market.
MediaNet could power the online music revolution
I had a fascinating conversation with MediaNet CEO Alan McGlade on Friday morning. Unless you're deeply involved in online music, you probably don't know MediaNet, but it's the back end powering a lot of music services you might have used, including MOG's subscription service that launched earlier this week, as well as Microsoft's excellent Zune Pass subscription service and iLike's online music marketplace. (MySpace acquired iLike in August, and in November, links to iLike's service began appearing directly in music-related search results on Google.)
They've also got more history in online music than just about anyone. The company started off as MusicNet, with part-ownership by three of the then-Big Five major labels: BMG, EMI, and Warner. They powered RealNetworks' music initiatives before RealNetworks bought Rhapsody. They powered Yahoo Music. They powered MTV's online music store.
These early stores went nowhere. Content owners insisted on digital rights management (DRM) restrictions, which meant that content from these stores had restricted use rights and couldn't be played on every device--including, in most cases, Apple's iconic iPod. Setting up a store using MediaNet's platform often took 18 months and significant technical expertise. In the meantime, Apple focused on a dedicated online store for its own devices, and completely dominated the market for music downloads.
But the landscape has changed. Labels don't want to be beholden to Apple. They no longer insist on DRM for single-song downloads, and have realized that the more outlets there are for their digital music, the more customers they'll reach, and the more sales they'll have. (Amazing it took this long to figure out.) MediaNet is, in my opinion, incredibly well positioned to take advantage of this sea change.
In October, the company released a set of technologies called MN Open that make it almost trivially simple for companies to add a wide variety of music consumption options to their Web sites. Sure, companies can still use MediaNet to build an end-to-end service like MOG.
But say you're Fox Interactive and want to make a story about Aerosmith more engaging. Using a MediaNet component, Fox created a link for the first mention of the word Aerosmith that took users to a page with more information about the band, and links to play and buy some of their popular songs. Fox also posted Aerosmith songs in a box directly on the story page.
MediaNet handled all the heavy lifting: licensing the music, streaming the samples, and fulfilling the transaction. Fox kept its brand and design throughout the process, and users didn't have to leave the site to buy the song. Best of all for Fox, it didn't have to make any up-front payment to use MediaNet's technology. Instead, MediaNet takes the customary cut of any song purchased through the site (about 60 percent, if it's anything like Apple). The model's the same for sites that offer free ad-supported streams or subscriptions--MediaNet takes a portion of each transaction, then handles payment to the content owners.
Now imagine this kind of integration on sites for radio stations, record labels, or your favorite bands. Imagine your ISP or cell phone carrier offering you a music subscription service bundled with your Internet service or smartphone. In this world, users won't have to go to iTunes or Amazon MP3, or subscribe to Rhapsody (or MOG for that matter). Music will be available for consumption everywhere. And content owners will get paid regardless of where users buy it.
According to McGlade, it's already happening--he said MediaNet is adding about one new distributor per day, and has already got about 50 customers using the Open ML platform. One site, GetPlaylists.com, was able to add playable song samples and downloads-for-sale in only two days with Open ML, according to McGlade.
Thanks to this upsurge, the company--which is owned by a private equity firm and no longer has any direct ownership affiliation with the major labels--has recently crossed over into profitability. A rare situation indeed in today's online music landscape.
It's a great vision, and something that Microsoft, the original platform company, could have done. But Microsoft spent years pushing the Windows Media Platform, which made heavy use of Microsoft codecs and file wrappers (instead of MP3s, which were becoming the industry standard). Microsoft also spent a lot of effort trying to enable the labels' DRM demands--for example, by building a platform to enable subscription-based downloads to be transferred to portable devices. Then, just as the labels were getting ready to abandon DRM, Microsoft basically gave up pushing Windows Media as a general-purpose platform for distributors and device makers, and instead started trying to mimic Apple's end-to-end software+service+device with the Zune strategy.
Talk about an opportunity lost! Instead of struggling along with something like 2 percent of the digital media player market, Microsoft could have ended up powering the music technology on thousands of Web sites.
Another aside: while MusicNet offers a lot of flexibility for distributors--downloads, samples, free streams, or subscriptions are all supported--McGlade is most bullish on subscriptions as the digital business model of the future. He admits that old fogeys accustomed to CDs and vinyl will have a hard time giving up the concept of ownership, but suggests that today's teenagers don't care--they want music on demand from any device, any time, in any location, and don't need to have the files physically present. McGlade thinks that subscriptions will have the best chance of taking off if they're bundled with some other product, like ISP service.
Scoff all you want about subscriptions, but the concept keeps coming up: music industry expert Donald Passman also believes they're the best chance for the music industry to thrive in the future. Even Apple finally seems to be bending to the idea of streaming music with its acquisition of Lala, although Lala isn't a straight subscription service, but more of an online music locker with some free streams, plus fee-based individual streams.
They've also got more history in online music than just about anyone. The company started off as MusicNet, with part-ownership by three of the then-Big Five major labels: BMG, EMI, and Warner. They powered RealNetworks' music initiatives before RealNetworks bought Rhapsody. They powered Yahoo Music. They powered MTV's online music store.
These early stores went nowhere. Content owners insisted on digital rights management (DRM) restrictions, which meant that content from these stores had restricted use rights and couldn't be played on every device--including, in most cases, Apple's iconic iPod. Setting up a store using MediaNet's platform often took 18 months and significant technical expertise. In the meantime, Apple focused on a dedicated online store for its own devices, and completely dominated the market for music downloads.
But the landscape has changed. Labels don't want to be beholden to Apple. They no longer insist on DRM for single-song downloads, and have realized that the more outlets there are for their digital music, the more customers they'll reach, and the more sales they'll have. (Amazing it took this long to figure out.) MediaNet is, in my opinion, incredibly well positioned to take advantage of this sea change.
In October, the company released a set of technologies called MN Open that make it almost trivially simple for companies to add a wide variety of music consumption options to their Web sites. Sure, companies can still use MediaNet to build an end-to-end service like MOG.
But say you're Fox Interactive and want to make a story about Aerosmith more engaging. Using a MediaNet component, Fox created a link for the first mention of the word Aerosmith that took users to a page with more information about the band, and links to play and buy some of their popular songs. Fox also posted Aerosmith songs in a box directly on the story page.
MediaNet handled all the heavy lifting: licensing the music, streaming the samples, and fulfilling the transaction. Fox kept its brand and design throughout the process, and users didn't have to leave the site to buy the song. Best of all for Fox, it didn't have to make any up-front payment to use MediaNet's technology. Instead, MediaNet takes the customary cut of any song purchased through the site (about 60 percent, if it's anything like Apple). The model's the same for sites that offer free ad-supported streams or subscriptions--MediaNet takes a portion of each transaction, then handles payment to the content owners.
Now imagine this kind of integration on sites for radio stations, record labels, or your favorite bands. Imagine your ISP or cell phone carrier offering you a music subscription service bundled with your Internet service or smartphone. In this world, users won't have to go to iTunes or Amazon MP3, or subscribe to Rhapsody (or MOG for that matter). Music will be available for consumption everywhere. And content owners will get paid regardless of where users buy it.
According to McGlade, it's already happening--he said MediaNet is adding about one new distributor per day, and has already got about 50 customers using the Open ML platform. One site, GetPlaylists.com, was able to add playable song samples and downloads-for-sale in only two days with Open ML, according to McGlade.
Thanks to this upsurge, the company--which is owned by a private equity firm and no longer has any direct ownership affiliation with the major labels--has recently crossed over into profitability. A rare situation indeed in today's online music landscape.
It's a great vision, and something that Microsoft, the original platform company, could have done. But Microsoft spent years pushing the Windows Media Platform, which made heavy use of Microsoft codecs and file wrappers (instead of MP3s, which were becoming the industry standard). Microsoft also spent a lot of effort trying to enable the labels' DRM demands--for example, by building a platform to enable subscription-based downloads to be transferred to portable devices. Then, just as the labels were getting ready to abandon DRM, Microsoft basically gave up pushing Windows Media as a general-purpose platform for distributors and device makers, and instead started trying to mimic Apple's end-to-end software+service+device with the Zune strategy.
Talk about an opportunity lost! Instead of struggling along with something like 2 percent of the digital media player market, Microsoft could have ended up powering the music technology on thousands of Web sites.
Another aside: while MusicNet offers a lot of flexibility for distributors--downloads, samples, free streams, or subscriptions are all supported--McGlade is most bullish on subscriptions as the digital business model of the future. He admits that old fogeys accustomed to CDs and vinyl will have a hard time giving up the concept of ownership, but suggests that today's teenagers don't care--they want music on demand from any device, any time, in any location, and don't need to have the files physically present. McGlade thinks that subscriptions will have the best chance of taking off if they're bundled with some other product, like ISP service.
Scoff all you want about subscriptions, but the concept keeps coming up: music industry expert Donald Passman also believes they're the best chance for the music industry to thrive in the future. Even Apple finally seems to be bending to the idea of streaming music with its acquisition of Lala, although Lala isn't a straight subscription service, but more of an online music locker with some free streams, plus fee-based individual streams.
Best Buy's little Black Friday the 13th
Sometimes, readers write to me. Sometimes, a couple of their words begin with an "f" or a "b." However, on Friday it was just "b"s. "Best Buy," "Best Buy," they said, along with one or two other words beginning with "b."
The customers' simmering frustration seemed to be directed at a Black Friday offer of a spectacular deal on an HP Pavilion P6214y package. I am sure this was a very fine offer. Unfortunately, Best Buy kept taking orders for it after it didn't have any more of the product.
The Best Buy community forum was positively humming with anguish. A poster named Ibanezlord wrote: "I ordered the HP Pavillion P6214y bundle the minute it was available online which was on 11/26 around 11:36pm Pacific time. How long will it be untill (sic) I receive my entire order?"
This sounded reasonable. Measured, even.
Ibanezlord continued: "The printer is supposed to be here this Friday 12/4, but I am more concerned on how long it is going to take to get the whole package. I would hate for BB to send me a part of the package and then expect me to pay shipping to send it back if my computer never shows up. Why would BB sell me something they do not even have in stock? Also, there was no indication of the package being back ordered."
The more I read, the more concerned I became. I know people can get rather upset when they buy things, when they Best Buy things, and then don't get them. Posters to Best Buy's forums were concerned that they wouldn't even get their shipping fees back. And it's the little things that can really rile.
So I contacted Best Buy about the readers' complaints, and the official reply was this: "On Thanksgiving morning we noticed a system error that allowed a limited quantity of special offers to be processed after the product had sold out. This resulted in a limited number of orders involving those products to be canceled."
As all mathematicians know, many numbers have their limits, but this was an offer that enticed people to buy computers with very lovely numbers.
Best Buy continued: "While it is unusual for our system to experience errors like this, as soon as we became aware of the issue we fixed it and notified affected customers. We encourage those customers to contact us if they have any questions, and we'll continue to make the appropriate adjustments to ensure our customers receive the service they expect when shopping with Best Buy. We apologize for the uncommon error."
But will Best Buy do anything for these depressed, disconsolate, discombobulated customers?
I did ask. And here's the reply I got late Friday from Erin Gunderson at Best Buy: "At this time we are encouraging affected customers to contact our customer relations department. Once they get in touch with a representative, we will handle [the problem] on a case by case basis."
One can only hope it will all be handled with that most service-oriented "f" and "b"- fair and balanced.
The customers' simmering frustration seemed to be directed at a Black Friday offer of a spectacular deal on an HP Pavilion P6214y package. I am sure this was a very fine offer. Unfortunately, Best Buy kept taking orders for it after it didn't have any more of the product.
The Best Buy community forum was positively humming with anguish. A poster named Ibanezlord wrote: "I ordered the HP Pavillion P6214y bundle the minute it was available online which was on 11/26 around 11:36pm Pacific time. How long will it be untill (sic) I receive my entire order?"
This sounded reasonable. Measured, even.
Ibanezlord continued: "The printer is supposed to be here this Friday 12/4, but I am more concerned on how long it is going to take to get the whole package. I would hate for BB to send me a part of the package and then expect me to pay shipping to send it back if my computer never shows up. Why would BB sell me something they do not even have in stock? Also, there was no indication of the package being back ordered."
The more I read, the more concerned I became. I know people can get rather upset when they buy things, when they Best Buy things, and then don't get them. Posters to Best Buy's forums were concerned that they wouldn't even get their shipping fees back. And it's the little things that can really rile.
So I contacted Best Buy about the readers' complaints, and the official reply was this: "On Thanksgiving morning we noticed a system error that allowed a limited quantity of special offers to be processed after the product had sold out. This resulted in a limited number of orders involving those products to be canceled."
As all mathematicians know, many numbers have their limits, but this was an offer that enticed people to buy computers with very lovely numbers.
Best Buy continued: "While it is unusual for our system to experience errors like this, as soon as we became aware of the issue we fixed it and notified affected customers. We encourage those customers to contact us if they have any questions, and we'll continue to make the appropriate adjustments to ensure our customers receive the service they expect when shopping with Best Buy. We apologize for the uncommon error."
But will Best Buy do anything for these depressed, disconsolate, discombobulated customers?
I did ask. And here's the reply I got late Friday from Erin Gunderson at Best Buy: "At this time we are encouraging affected customers to contact our customer relations department. Once they get in touch with a representative, we will handle [the problem] on a case by case basis."
One can only hope it will all be handled with that most service-oriented "f" and "b"- fair and balanced.
Iran Internet access down pre-protests, report says
Two days ahead of a new round of planned protests against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Internet access in the nation's capital is largely down, according to Agence France Presse.
Sources close to Iran's technical services say the cut to Tehran's outside access was the result of "a decision by the authorities" and not a technical breakdown, the news agency reports. Telecommunications ministry officials were unavailable for comment.
Protests are scheduled Monday to mark Student Day, the anniversary of the December 6, 1953, killing of three of University of Tehran students by Iranian police. The students were protesting then-U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon's visit, which followed the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq.
As the nation gets ready to mark the annual day of remembrance, several Web sites have reported that Iranian opposition groups are preparing to hold fresh protests against Ahmadinejad. Scores of arrests have already been reported in advance of Student Day.
Since widespread post-election upheaval broke out in June amid charges of government vote-rigging, Internet lines, texting, and even mobile phone service have been cut or scrambled. But the weekend's Internet outage marks the first such occurrence to take place this far in advance of protests, AFP reports.
Sources close to Iran's technical services say the cut to Tehran's outside access was the result of "a decision by the authorities" and not a technical breakdown, the news agency reports. Telecommunications ministry officials were unavailable for comment.
Protests are scheduled Monday to mark Student Day, the anniversary of the December 6, 1953, killing of three of University of Tehran students by Iranian police. The students were protesting then-U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon's visit, which followed the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq.
As the nation gets ready to mark the annual day of remembrance, several Web sites have reported that Iranian opposition groups are preparing to hold fresh protests against Ahmadinejad. Scores of arrests have already been reported in advance of Student Day.
Since widespread post-election upheaval broke out in June amid charges of government vote-rigging, Internet lines, texting, and even mobile phone service have been cut or scrambled. But the weekend's Internet outage marks the first such occurrence to take place this far in advance of protests, AFP reports.
New Pogoplug Brings Mobile Devices Into the Cloud
The Pogoplug allows a user to run a personal cloud server from a home network. The data resides on hard drives and thumb drives that plug directly into the Pogoplug device; from there, the data can be accessed from anywhere via the Internet. Keep in mind that some ISPs forbid customers from hooking servers up to residential connections, though those rules are rarely enforced.
n Friday, Cloud Engines launched a bigger, shinier version of its Pogoplug USB file-sharing device/service.This will let users share files, photos and videos directly from USB drives or memory sticks plugged into the Pogoplug device with friends or clients over the Internet.
The device is accessible from smartphones and mobile computers.
What Is Pogoplug?
Pogoplug is made up of two components: an adapter that plugs into a router and accepts any USB 2.0 drive or memory stick, and the Pogoplug service. Drives can be formatted with NTFS, FAT32, and Mac OS X.
Users can attach multiple drives to the Pogoplug adapter by using a USB hub. Storage capacity is limited only by the size and number of drives the user chooses to connect to the device. "I've got 3 TBs on my home computer that I share over Pogoplug," Jeff Fochtman, Cloud Engines' vice president of sales Download Free eBook - The Edge of Success: 9 Building Blocks to Double Your Sales and marketing, told TechNewsWorld.
Pogoplug also serves as an alternative to network-attached storage (NAS). "NAS comes with the hard drive included, while Pogoplug does not, but it's much simpler to set up than a NAS system," Fochtman pointed out.
Users can back up their hard drives using the Pogoplug device by dragging and dropping files using Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Cloud Engines does not have a specific backup application for the device yet.
Pogoplug's service consists of an interface through which users can access their hard drives or provide friends or clients access to their hard drives, as well as secure storage of users' shared information. "We never store your data on our cloud platform," Fochtman explained. "We only securely store information about who you share your files and pictures with."
The online service is included in the cost of the device. The newest Pogoplug device, which will ship by mid-December, is priced at $129.
The Son of Pogoplug
Cloud Engines made at least one unusual decision in designing the new Pogoplug. It's color: Pink. "We wanted to make it stand out because the functionality of the product stands out," Fochtman explained.
Well yes, but pink is for panthers and Donald Trump's ties, not electronics, right? Not to worry, according to Fochtman -- the product is easily hidden away, and guys, it will not endanger your guyhood. "Most people will put the product where the router is, and you're not going to put the router on the center mantle of your fireplace," Fochtman pointed out.
Picasa, Flickr and other online services that let you share files and pix are free, so why would anyone shell out $129 for something that essentially offers fairly similar capabilities? "Windows Home Server machines have much of the features that Pogoplug offers, and many Web sites now offer online storage for a monthly charge, or sometimes even for free," Allen Nogee, a principal analyst at In-Statpointed out. "In many cases, that data is kept in a secure data center and backed up regularly, which the Pogoplug isn't."
Updating drives attached to the Pogoplug device is just a matter of dragging and dropping files onto them. Also, there is no limit to the amount of data users can put on the device; and it offers addedsecurity and privacy that public cloud services sometimes lack -- ask anyone whose data has been exposed inadvertently on Google(Nasdaq: GOOG).
Pogoplug's service uses the HTTPS Secure protocol to link home networks to the Internet. Users have to go through its secure Web site to access drives, so outside access is limited. "It's fairly good security because people can only access your drive and not other PCs on your network or your local area network," Nogee said. "The security aspects are fairly contained."
There is one downside to the Pogoplug -- broadband providers' terms of service. "Most broadband providers that provide service to a home usually state in the contract that customers are prohibited from operating any type of server on their network," Nogee pointed out. "This means a Web server, a mail server or, in the case of the Pogoplug, a file server." While this rule is not often enforced, it's out there. "That's something to think about," Nogee said.
New Outlets for Data, Sales
Meanwhile, Cloud Engines is working on distribution and adding new features to the Pogoplug. As of Friday, its service can be accessed from the BlackBerry and the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid in addition to the iPhone.
The company also plans to widen its distribution. "We're looking at retail Increase Customer Sales with Email Marketing -- Free Trial from VerticalResponse stores, and are going to Europe," Cloud Engines' Fochtman said.
The company is also targeting the SMB market. "We think the current product is great for creative professionals, architects, small firms and any business that has clients which has been relying on FTP servers," Fochtman explained.
"Running an FTP server requires a level of technical expertise that small businesses don't often have or need. Our system is much simpler to set up," he said.
Oh, and that broadband provider restriction on servers? It does not apply to the sort of connections offices usually set up, Nogee said.
n Friday, Cloud Engines launched a bigger, shinier version of its Pogoplug USB file-sharing device/service.This will let users share files, photos and videos directly from USB drives or memory sticks plugged into the Pogoplug device with friends or clients over the Internet.
The device is accessible from smartphones and mobile computers.
What Is Pogoplug?
Pogoplug is made up of two components: an adapter that plugs into a router and accepts any USB 2.0 drive or memory stick, and the Pogoplug service. Drives can be formatted with NTFS, FAT32, and Mac OS X.
Users can attach multiple drives to the Pogoplug adapter by using a USB hub. Storage capacity is limited only by the size and number of drives the user chooses to connect to the device. "I've got 3 TBs on my home computer that I share over Pogoplug," Jeff Fochtman, Cloud Engines' vice president of sales Download Free eBook - The Edge of Success: 9 Building Blocks to Double Your Sales and marketing, told TechNewsWorld.
Pogoplug also serves as an alternative to network-attached storage (NAS). "NAS comes with the hard drive included, while Pogoplug does not, but it's much simpler to set up than a NAS system," Fochtman pointed out.
Users can back up their hard drives using the Pogoplug device by dragging and dropping files using Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Cloud Engines does not have a specific backup application for the device yet.
Pogoplug's service consists of an interface through which users can access their hard drives or provide friends or clients access to their hard drives, as well as secure storage of users' shared information. "We never store your data on our cloud platform," Fochtman explained. "We only securely store information about who you share your files and pictures with."
The online service is included in the cost of the device. The newest Pogoplug device, which will ship by mid-December, is priced at $129.
The Son of Pogoplug
Cloud Engines made at least one unusual decision in designing the new Pogoplug. It's color: Pink. "We wanted to make it stand out because the functionality of the product stands out," Fochtman explained.
Well yes, but pink is for panthers and Donald Trump's ties, not electronics, right? Not to worry, according to Fochtman -- the product is easily hidden away, and guys, it will not endanger your guyhood. "Most people will put the product where the router is, and you're not going to put the router on the center mantle of your fireplace," Fochtman pointed out.
Picasa, Flickr and other online services that let you share files and pix are free, so why would anyone shell out $129 for something that essentially offers fairly similar capabilities? "Windows Home Server machines have much of the features that Pogoplug offers, and many Web sites now offer online storage for a monthly charge, or sometimes even for free," Allen Nogee, a principal analyst at In-Statpointed out. "In many cases, that data is kept in a secure data center and backed up regularly, which the Pogoplug isn't."
Updating drives attached to the Pogoplug device is just a matter of dragging and dropping files onto them. Also, there is no limit to the amount of data users can put on the device; and it offers addedsecurity and privacy that public cloud services sometimes lack -- ask anyone whose data has been exposed inadvertently on Google(Nasdaq: GOOG).
Pogoplug's service uses the HTTPS Secure protocol to link home networks to the Internet. Users have to go through its secure Web site to access drives, so outside access is limited. "It's fairly good security because people can only access your drive and not other PCs on your network or your local area network," Nogee said. "The security aspects are fairly contained."
There is one downside to the Pogoplug -- broadband providers' terms of service. "Most broadband providers that provide service to a home usually state in the contract that customers are prohibited from operating any type of server on their network," Nogee pointed out. "This means a Web server, a mail server or, in the case of the Pogoplug, a file server." While this rule is not often enforced, it's out there. "That's something to think about," Nogee said.
New Outlets for Data, Sales
Meanwhile, Cloud Engines is working on distribution and adding new features to the Pogoplug. As of Friday, its service can be accessed from the BlackBerry and the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid in addition to the iPhone.
The company also plans to widen its distribution. "We're looking at retail Increase Customer Sales with Email Marketing -- Free Trial from VerticalResponse stores, and are going to Europe," Cloud Engines' Fochtman said.
The company is also targeting the SMB market. "We think the current product is great for creative professionals, architects, small firms and any business that has clients which has been relying on FTP servers," Fochtman explained.
"Running an FTP server requires a level of technical expertise that small businesses don't often have or need. Our system is much simpler to set up," he said.
Oh, and that broadband provider restriction on servers? It does not apply to the sort of connections offices usually set up, Nogee said.
MS release Office Mobile 10 Beta, confirm WinMo 7 for March 2010
Yesterday the Microsoft Office Vice President Kurt Delbene confirmed the rumors that the Windows Mobile 7 announcement is scheduled to Q1 2010 and more specifically it will take place during the Microsoft MIX 2010 conference in March.
This is really good news. It turns out the rumors for the Q1 2010 announcement are true and the Windows Mobile 7 will show its face in less than half an year. We really hope that it won't take another half an year before we see actual devices running it, but it will probably be the case with Q3 2010 rumored as a release date.
Today Microsoft also released the beta versions of both desktop and mobile Office 2010. If you own a Windows Mobile 6.5 device, you are welcomed to download the beta from the Windows Marketplace (it's free).
What's more interesting is a posted and then removed screenshot of the Office Mobile 10 on its official page. It shows a UI, we already saw a couple of months ago, claiming it is from the Windows Mobile 7. Well, nowadays it still looks outdated, but no one knows for sure if it is actually from the Windows 7 or just some mock up interface for media use.
Anyway, we are all waiting to see the next Windows Mobile installment in March 2010.
This is really good news. It turns out the rumors for the Q1 2010 announcement are true and the Windows Mobile 7 will show its face in less than half an year. We really hope that it won't take another half an year before we see actual devices running it, but it will probably be the case with Q3 2010 rumored as a release date.
Today Microsoft also released the beta versions of both desktop and mobile Office 2010. If you own a Windows Mobile 6.5 device, you are welcomed to download the beta from the Windows Marketplace (it's free).
What's more interesting is a posted and then removed screenshot of the Office Mobile 10 on its official page. It shows a UI, we already saw a couple of months ago, claiming it is from the Windows Mobile 7. Well, nowadays it still looks outdated, but no one knows for sure if it is actually from the Windows 7 or just some mock up interface for media use.
Anyway, we are all waiting to see the next Windows Mobile installment in March 2010.
Chrome OS security: 'Sandboxing' and auto updates
With most computers threatened by attacks coming through Web applications, it's no surprise that security would be a key piece of Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system that stores data in the cloud.Google showed off its new lightweight operating system designed for Netbooks and cloud computing on Thursday. As anticipated, it will rely on many of the same security features and concepts used by the Chrome browser.
"The browser is the operating system. We've expanded the browser to add operating system functionality," Caesar Sengupta, a group product manager at Google, said in an interview.
Chrome OS uses a combination of operating system-level protections and exploit mitigation techniques to limit the attack surface, or amount of code that can be targeted in an attack, and to reduce the likelihood of an attack being successful. "The biggest security impact is that all applications run within the browser," Sengupta said.
Chrome relies heavily on sandboxing, keeping different processes and applications in separate partitions. This limits the interaction between applications and the OS kernel.
For example, with conventional operating systems, if an application crashes, it can crash or otherwise affect other programs that are running, Sengupta said. "But if everything is sandboxed, that becomes more difficult to do," he added.
Many systems are compromised by deceptive attacks, such as when a user opens an innocent-looking PowerPoint file which unleashes a virus or other malware that can get access to everything on the computer.
With Chrome, "applications can't just download any binary and run it," Sengupta said.
Chrome has a verified boot process that uses cryptography to ensure that the Linux kernel, the nonvolatile system memory, and the partition table are not tampered with when the system starts up, according to a security overview of Chrome. (Google security engineer Will Drewry explains the security concepts of Chrome OS in avideo on YouTube.)
"Right now, on your conventional operating system, any kind of process can run, which makes it difficult to predict what any process will do," Sengupta said. "On Chrome, because the whole operating system is essentially signed by Google, there is a lot we can do to make it secure."
If an application manages somehow to break out of the browser sandbox, to get through the kernel hardening and processing infrastructure, and manages to change something on the operating system, the changes will be detected the next time the user boots up the machine. "As soon as it detects something is different and not signed by Google, it will warn the user and try to clean itself again," Sengupta said.
Cleaning up is easier than with a standard operating system, too, because the system data is separated from the user data, which includes user preferences, system settings, and a local cache of data stored on the Google servers in the cloud, he said.
All user data stored by the operating system, browser, and any plug-ins are encrypted and users cannot access each others' data on a shared device, according to the Chrome OS security page.
Meanwhile, Chrome will automatically update to get the most recent software and patches for the operating system, just like the Chrome browser updates in the background while users are online, Sengupta said. Users will not run the risk of having their system get infected or compromised before they can install updates, as happens with Windows and other software.
In addition, the antiphishing technology found in the Chrome browser will protect Chrome OS users from inadvertently visiting malicious Web sites, he said.
Google is publishing detailed design documents on Chrome OS, which will allow security experts to scour the code for weaknesses over the next year before the operating system is released to the public, according to Sengupta.
There are some security and networking technologies that are supported in other operating systems that Google is passing on, at least for now.
Google will keep an eye on biometric authentication technologies, but believes that the cost/reliability trade-off is not where it needs to be just yet, according to the security overview for Chrome OS. Smart cards and USB crypto tokens are "interesting technology, but we don't want our users to have to keep track of a physically distinct item just to use their devices," the overview concludes.
Google is likewise not interested in Bluetooth, a wireless protocol widely used in laptops and handheld devices, for authentication. "Bluetooth adds a whole new software stack to our login/screenlocker code that could potentially be buggy, and the security of the pairing protocol has been criticized in the past," the security overview says.
"The browser is the operating system. We've expanded the browser to add operating system functionality," Caesar Sengupta, a group product manager at Google, said in an interview.
Chrome OS uses a combination of operating system-level protections and exploit mitigation techniques to limit the attack surface, or amount of code that can be targeted in an attack, and to reduce the likelihood of an attack being successful. "The biggest security impact is that all applications run within the browser," Sengupta said.
Chrome relies heavily on sandboxing, keeping different processes and applications in separate partitions. This limits the interaction between applications and the OS kernel.
For example, with conventional operating systems, if an application crashes, it can crash or otherwise affect other programs that are running, Sengupta said. "But if everything is sandboxed, that becomes more difficult to do," he added.
Many systems are compromised by deceptive attacks, such as when a user opens an innocent-looking PowerPoint file which unleashes a virus or other malware that can get access to everything on the computer.
With Chrome, "applications can't just download any binary and run it," Sengupta said.
Chrome has a verified boot process that uses cryptography to ensure that the Linux kernel, the nonvolatile system memory, and the partition table are not tampered with when the system starts up, according to a security overview of Chrome. (Google security engineer Will Drewry explains the security concepts of Chrome OS in avideo on YouTube.)
"Right now, on your conventional operating system, any kind of process can run, which makes it difficult to predict what any process will do," Sengupta said. "On Chrome, because the whole operating system is essentially signed by Google, there is a lot we can do to make it secure."
If an application manages somehow to break out of the browser sandbox, to get through the kernel hardening and processing infrastructure, and manages to change something on the operating system, the changes will be detected the next time the user boots up the machine. "As soon as it detects something is different and not signed by Google, it will warn the user and try to clean itself again," Sengupta said.
Cleaning up is easier than with a standard operating system, too, because the system data is separated from the user data, which includes user preferences, system settings, and a local cache of data stored on the Google servers in the cloud, he said.
All user data stored by the operating system, browser, and any plug-ins are encrypted and users cannot access each others' data on a shared device, according to the Chrome OS security page.
Meanwhile, Chrome will automatically update to get the most recent software and patches for the operating system, just like the Chrome browser updates in the background while users are online, Sengupta said. Users will not run the risk of having their system get infected or compromised before they can install updates, as happens with Windows and other software.
In addition, the antiphishing technology found in the Chrome browser will protect Chrome OS users from inadvertently visiting malicious Web sites, he said.
Google is publishing detailed design documents on Chrome OS, which will allow security experts to scour the code for weaknesses over the next year before the operating system is released to the public, according to Sengupta.
There are some security and networking technologies that are supported in other operating systems that Google is passing on, at least for now.
Google will keep an eye on biometric authentication technologies, but believes that the cost/reliability trade-off is not where it needs to be just yet, according to the security overview for Chrome OS. Smart cards and USB crypto tokens are "interesting technology, but we don't want our users to have to keep track of a physically distinct item just to use their devices," the overview concludes.
Google is likewise not interested in Bluetooth, a wireless protocol widely used in laptops and handheld devices, for authentication. "Bluetooth adds a whole new software stack to our login/screenlocker code that could potentially be buggy, and the security of the pairing protocol has been criticized in the past," the security overview says.
HP Envy eclipses the Apple MacBook
The Hewlett-Packard Envy 13 offers an excellent example of what a cutting-edge ultraportable should be--and it moves past the Apple MacBook Air in some important respects, despite its overly ambitious price tag.
First, let me say that I use a MacBook Air as my main machine and am well aware of its merits. That said, it is beginning to look a little long in the tooth when juxtaposed with the Envy 13. I will also draw comparisons with 13-inch MacBook Pro since the Envy seems to fall somewhere between this and the Air.
Let's start with the Envy's engine. The Envy offers a ULV (ultra-low-voltage) processor option that you won't find in any Apple MacBook: a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SU9600 that draws a mere 10 watts. This is Intel's highest-performance 10-watt dual-core processor--a crucial power-saving and heat-reducing option for ultra-thin designs like the Envy or MacBook Air. The more widely used SL9600 (which many reviewers mistakenly refer to as "ultra low power") draws 17 watts.
But HP charges a premium for this processor, too. Selecting the power-sipping SU9600 adds $200 to the cost of the Envy. But at least it's an option.
Next, graphics. The Envy has switchable graphics. What does this get you? More battery life. When plugged in, the Envy uses the "discrete" (standalone) ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics processor. When unplugged it switches to the less-power-hungry--and lower performance--Intel integrated graphics.
The truth be told, most of the time users don't need discrete graphics. But it can be a godsend in Windows 7, for example, when doing transcoding--which converts, for instance, a movie on a PC to a format that makes it viewable on an iPhone or iPod. And, of course, discrete graphics is needed for playing demanding games.
The ATI 4330 graphics seem to be more capable than the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics used in both the 13-inch MacBook Pro and Air, according to reviewers. "Technically it is more powerful than the integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400 graphics," according to CNET Reviews.
And the Envy has a high-resolution screen option, yet another Apple-trumping extra. The 1,600-by-900 resolution screen is a step up from the MacBook Air's and Pro's 13-inch, 1,280-by-800 display.
In the storage department, the Envy has a more reasonable pricing scheme compared with the 13-inch MacBook Pro. HP has just begun offering an Intel 160GB solid-state drive option. This adds $200 to the standard 5400RPM hard disk drive.
Though the 13-inch MacBook Pro offers both 128GB and 256GB solid-state drive options, these add a whopping $350 and $800, respectively, to the price. That's almost a deal-breaker, in my opinion. Especially if a consumer adds this option to the $1,499 13-inch MacBook model. And the $1,799 MacBook Air offers only a 128GB SSD.
HP Envy 13:
* $1,699
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400 (w/ 10-watt SU9600 option)
* 250GB 5400RPM hard disk drive (w/ 160GB Intel solid-state drive option)
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 Graphics w/512MB
* 4-cell battery (w/ extra 6-cell battery option)
* 3GB DDR3 memory
* No built-in optical drive
* Weight: 3.8 pounds
Apple MacBook Air:
* $1,499
* Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
* Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo (w/ 2.16GHz processor option)
* 120GB 4200RPM hard disk drive (w/ 128GB solid-state drive option)
* Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics
* Battery rated at 5 hours
* 2GB DDR3 memory
* No built-in optical drive
* Weight: 3 pounds
(Note: options add cost to the listed Envy and Air base prices.)
Battery life may offer the starkest contrast. Here, once again, the choices that HP offers make the MacBook's feature set look limited by comparison. A 6-cell option boosts the battery life to an almost-unheard-of 14 hours, according to reviews. This is roughly three times the battery life offered on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air, by comparison, delivers, at best, four hours, in my experience.
There is one slight drawback, however. Adding the optional 6-cell battery bumps up the Envy's weight to just more than five pounds (because the extra 6-cell battery is used in tandem with the built-in 4-cell unit), thereby pushing it out of the ultraportable category.
Now we get to the possible deal breaker for the Envy: price. As other reviewers have said--including CNET Reviews--this may be big barrier for some consumers who would be leaning toward the Envy. It starts at $1,699 with a configuration that most consumers won't see as that different from the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro. Throw in the Pro's built-in optical drive, at it looks even worse for the Envy.
A comparison with the MacBook Air is a little better, but not much. The Air starts at $1,499 with a 120GB (4200RPM) hard disk drive. Adding a faster processor and solid-state drive to the Air hikes the price to $1,799. Even at that price point, the Air still looks better to me--because it's thinner and weighs almost a pound less--despite the Envy's technological advantages described above.
Some consumers looking for the latest and greatest in ultraportable design will of course buy the Envy 13 or its high-powered 15-inch cousin, which packs a quad-core mobile Intel Core i7 processor. But HP appears to be artificially elevating the Envy 13 to the rarefied ultra-elite category of laptops like the new Dell Adamo XPS, which offers a truly radical physical design starting at $1,799.
If HP drops the price a little it has a very competitive product and may bring prospective MacBook buyers into the HP fold.
First, let me say that I use a MacBook Air as my main machine and am well aware of its merits. That said, it is beginning to look a little long in the tooth when juxtaposed with the Envy 13. I will also draw comparisons with 13-inch MacBook Pro since the Envy seems to fall somewhere between this and the Air.
Let's start with the Envy's engine. The Envy offers a ULV (ultra-low-voltage) processor option that you won't find in any Apple MacBook: a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SU9600 that draws a mere 10 watts. This is Intel's highest-performance 10-watt dual-core processor--a crucial power-saving and heat-reducing option for ultra-thin designs like the Envy or MacBook Air. The more widely used SL9600 (which many reviewers mistakenly refer to as "ultra low power") draws 17 watts.
But HP charges a premium for this processor, too. Selecting the power-sipping SU9600 adds $200 to the cost of the Envy. But at least it's an option.
Next, graphics. The Envy has switchable graphics. What does this get you? More battery life. When plugged in, the Envy uses the "discrete" (standalone) ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics processor. When unplugged it switches to the less-power-hungry--and lower performance--Intel integrated graphics.
The truth be told, most of the time users don't need discrete graphics. But it can be a godsend in Windows 7, for example, when doing transcoding--which converts, for instance, a movie on a PC to a format that makes it viewable on an iPhone or iPod. And, of course, discrete graphics is needed for playing demanding games.
The ATI 4330 graphics seem to be more capable than the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics used in both the 13-inch MacBook Pro and Air, according to reviewers. "Technically it is more powerful than the integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400 graphics," according to CNET Reviews.
And the Envy has a high-resolution screen option, yet another Apple-trumping extra. The 1,600-by-900 resolution screen is a step up from the MacBook Air's and Pro's 13-inch, 1,280-by-800 display.
In the storage department, the Envy has a more reasonable pricing scheme compared with the 13-inch MacBook Pro. HP has just begun offering an Intel 160GB solid-state drive option. This adds $200 to the standard 5400RPM hard disk drive.
Though the 13-inch MacBook Pro offers both 128GB and 256GB solid-state drive options, these add a whopping $350 and $800, respectively, to the price. That's almost a deal-breaker, in my opinion. Especially if a consumer adds this option to the $1,499 13-inch MacBook model. And the $1,799 MacBook Air offers only a 128GB SSD.
HP Envy 13:
* $1,699
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400 (w/ 10-watt SU9600 option)
* 250GB 5400RPM hard disk drive (w/ 160GB Intel solid-state drive option)
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 Graphics w/512MB
* 4-cell battery (w/ extra 6-cell battery option)
* 3GB DDR3 memory
* No built-in optical drive
* Weight: 3.8 pounds
Apple MacBook Air:
* $1,499
* Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
* Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo (w/ 2.16GHz processor option)
* 120GB 4200RPM hard disk drive (w/ 128GB solid-state drive option)
* Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics
* Battery rated at 5 hours
* 2GB DDR3 memory
* No built-in optical drive
* Weight: 3 pounds
(Note: options add cost to the listed Envy and Air base prices.)
Battery life may offer the starkest contrast. Here, once again, the choices that HP offers make the MacBook's feature set look limited by comparison. A 6-cell option boosts the battery life to an almost-unheard-of 14 hours, according to reviews. This is roughly three times the battery life offered on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air, by comparison, delivers, at best, four hours, in my experience.
There is one slight drawback, however. Adding the optional 6-cell battery bumps up the Envy's weight to just more than five pounds (because the extra 6-cell battery is used in tandem with the built-in 4-cell unit), thereby pushing it out of the ultraportable category.
Now we get to the possible deal breaker for the Envy: price. As other reviewers have said--including CNET Reviews--this may be big barrier for some consumers who would be leaning toward the Envy. It starts at $1,699 with a configuration that most consumers won't see as that different from the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro. Throw in the Pro's built-in optical drive, at it looks even worse for the Envy.
A comparison with the MacBook Air is a little better, but not much. The Air starts at $1,499 with a 120GB (4200RPM) hard disk drive. Adding a faster processor and solid-state drive to the Air hikes the price to $1,799. Even at that price point, the Air still looks better to me--because it's thinner and weighs almost a pound less--despite the Envy's technological advantages described above.
Some consumers looking for the latest and greatest in ultraportable design will of course buy the Envy 13 or its high-powered 15-inch cousin, which packs a quad-core mobile Intel Core i7 processor. But HP appears to be artificially elevating the Envy 13 to the rarefied ultra-elite category of laptops like the new Dell Adamo XPS, which offers a truly radical physical design starting at $1,799.
If HP drops the price a little it has a very competitive product and may bring prospective MacBook buyers into the HP fold.
3G wireless still holds promise
There's been a lot of talk in 2009 about the next generation of wireless technology, known as 4G wireless broadband, but the current generation of 3G wireless technology is far from dead.
For many wireless operators, especially those that have built their networks using the global standard GSM, the current 3G wireless technology called HSPA still has some legs left. And while many carriers are planning their 4G networks, hundreds of wireless providers throughout the world are also expected to upgrade existing network infrastructure with the latest versions of the 3G wireless technology to increase speeds and offer new services. And because these network speeds will match current 4G speeds, consumers will likely see no difference in capability.For this reason, the next few years will likely continue to be all about 3G technology. And 4G services, where they will be available, will likely appeal only to niche audiences.
"The average consumer doesn't care about peak data rates or network acronyms," said Dan Warren, the GSM Association's director of technology. "They just care about the experience. They want to be able to watch YouTube or get live traffic updates on their smartphones. And they don't care whether it's a new network or a current network that is being upgraded."
Mobile operators around the world are seeing a huge growth in the amount of mobile data traffic across their networks. This trend is expected to continue as more consumers buy smartphone and jump onto the mobile Web. By 2014, mobile devices are expected to send and receive more data in one month than in all of 2008.
Three-quarters of this traffic will be attributed to Internet access, while nearly all the rest will be due to music and video streaming, the GSM Association recently said. The new usage patterns will put strains on carrier networks, and operators are planning now to keep up with demand. Already, AT&T, which is the exclusive carrier for theiPhone in the U.S., is struggling to keep up with the heavy data usage.
While 4G networks will certainly increase network speeds and capacity, these networks and the devices that can be used on these networks will not be built overnight. This is why many carriers who are looking to meet demands today are turning toward advanced 3G upgrades.
T-Mobile USA, the smallest of the major U.S. wireless operators, has adopted this strategy. The company is currently upgrading its existing HSPA network, which launched just last year, to HSPA Plus, the most advanced 3G technology available. It has already started testing the new service in Philadelphia. And the company expects to deploy the lion's share of its upgrade across its entire footprint in 2010.
Meanwhile other operators, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are looking toward 4G technologies.
To the 4th power: WiMax vs. LTE
Two technologies dominate the 4G landscape: WiMax and LTE. In the WiMax corner is a company called Clearwire, which is backed by Sprint and Intel, as well as the nation's biggest cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The company is currently building its network and has 13 cities up and running with service.
In the LTE corner is the rest of the wireless industry, including at least 50 mobile operators worldwide that have already committed to LTE plans, trials or deployments. The first LTE networks, including one being built by Verizon Wireless here in the U.S., are expected to be rolled out next year. NTT DoComo of Japan and TeliaSonera of Sweden have also committed to deploying LTE next year. That said, major network expansions aren't expected until at least 2011.
One of the problems that 4G carriers will face is that initially their networks will be islands of service. And it will take years for operators to blanket the country with their services. For example, Clearwire has mostly deployed its service in cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Verizon will likely do the same thing with its LTE network. And then the networks will spread from there. Verizon expects to launch 25 to 30 with 4G service in 2010.
Another problem 4G operators face is a dearth of new devices. Clearwire's WiMax service has been available for more than a year in some cities, and it still only offers USB modems, PC cards, subscriber modems and WiMax-enabled laptops. So far no one has started selling mobile devices, such as WiMax embedded phones. In fact, in January Nokia, one of the initial eco-system backers of WiMax, canceled its N810 WiMax Edition tablet. More devices aren't likely to be developed until the network is more extensive. Sprint is offering a dual-mode servicethat allows laptop users to switch between its 3G mobile broadband service and the 4G WiMax service, where it's available. But the service is only available for laptops.
As for LTE, no devices exist today because no LTE network exists. Since most of the world's wireless operators will likely use LTE for their next-generation networks, it's a fair bet that there will eventually be a plethora of LTE devices. And carriers, such as Verizon, will likely embed dual-mode chips that work with 3G networks, too. But given the fact that new wireless technology first shows up in laptops and then moves to phones, it's unlikely that consumers will see any LTE-enabled mobile devices for at least another 18 months to two years. And after that, it could take many more months to fill the pipeline.
Meanwhile, there are already 1,600 HSPA-enabled devices on the market, including smartphones, Netbooks, and laptops, according to the GSM Association. There are currently 321 HSPA networks across 120 countries worldwide, and 285 of these networks are commercially live, supporting more than 167.5 million connections.
And while Clearwire reported it added 173,000 new WiMax subscribers in the third quarter of 2009, the GSMA reports that more than 9 million new HSPA connections are added globally every month, with about 1.3 million of these connections coming from the U.S.
The need for speed
Of course, it's true that current 3G technology is considerably slower than 4G networks. Today's 3G technology, whether it is HSPA or EV-DO, offers typical download speeds of between 400 Kbps to 700Kbps. But the latest version of HSPA, called HSPA Plus, offers average download speeds between 4 Mbps and 6 Mbps. This is the same download speed range that Clearwire's WiMax service offers today.
It's difficult to compare these speeds with LTE, since there are no commercial deployments of LTE. But some experts say average speeds for LTE will initially exceed the 4Mbps range. Some people are expecting the service to offer average speeds around 15 Mbps to 20 Mbps.Because there is little difference between WiMax and HSPA Plus in terms of speed, many operators are opting to invest in upgrading their networks to this technology while they plan for their eventual LTE migration. The GSMA says there are now 56 networks globally deploying HSPA Plus. And 28 of those networks are now live.
T-Mobile USA, as mentioned earlier, is one of them. AT&T initially indicated it was looking into HSPA Plus, but the company has more recently backed away from those claims. Instead, the company has said it is upgrading to a different version of HSPA called HSPA 7.2. AT&T's chief technology officer, John Donovan, said at the CTIA Wireless trade show last month that AT&T will start its LTE upgrade in 2011.
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for the company, said AT&T is keeping its options open.
"We are trying to stay flexible in how we increase 3G speeds as we transition to LTE," he said in an e-mail.
This means that T-Mobile is likely to be the first major U.S. carrier to compete against Clearwire's WiMax service.
T-Mobile has been criticized for entering the 3G market in the U.S. late, but the company has been working aggressively to catch up. At the beginning of 2009, T-Mobile could reach about 100 million people with its 3G wireless service. By the end of the year more 200 million people will have access to its network, according to Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering operations for T-Mobile.
By contrast, Clearwire's WiMax service currently reaches about 30 million U.S. residents. And the company plans to reach about 120 million by the end of 2010.
As for subscribers, Clearwire said that at the end of the third quarter of 2009 it had about 555,000 subscribers, which includes people who have subscribed to the service via its partners Sprint, Comcast, and Time Warner, which are reselling the service. T-Mobile finished the third quarter with a total of 33.4 million customers.
"We have been rapidly expanding the reach of our network over the past 12 to 18 months," Ray said. "And in 2010 we are looking to jump ahead with a leading 3G experience. The only thing that will come close are data sticks from Clearwire. And their service is limited geographically."
Ray said the HSPA-Plus strategy allows T-Mobile to better compete against AT&T and Verizon, because it allows T-Mobile to stretch its 3G investment while still offering faster and more ubiquitous coverage for consumers.
"We may have been a little late to the 3G dance," Ray added. "But clearly the mobile data explosion is rapidly growing today. And our plan for 2010 will put us in a leading position to handle these demands."
T-Mobile USA hasn't said for certain that it will use LTE when it eventually builds a 4G wireless network. But considering that its parent company in Europe, T-Mobile, has committed to using the technology, it's a safe bet the U.S. affiliate will as well.
Ray said for now it's better for T-Mobile to leverage HSPA's existing device ecosystem. The company is already offering several devices, such as the Motorola Cliq, the HTC myTouch, and the Samsung Behold that are equipped with the faster HSPA 7.2 technology. And he said that T-Mobile expects to have HSPA Plus handsets on the market in 2010.
"Because there are a large number of operators throughout the world upgrading to HSPA Plus, it's already on the device roadmaps," he said. "This means we can bring the advanced 3G experience to consumers in mobile devices in 2010. And that is not the case with either LTE or WiMax."
The next generation of wireless may be on its way, but it's a slow road. In the meantime, consumers will likely get more out of faster 3G networks, such as T-Mobile's network than the budding services from Clearwire or Verizon Wireless. It will certainly be a fun horse race to follow.
For many wireless operators, especially those that have built their networks using the global standard GSM, the current 3G wireless technology called HSPA still has some legs left. And while many carriers are planning their 4G networks, hundreds of wireless providers throughout the world are also expected to upgrade existing network infrastructure with the latest versions of the 3G wireless technology to increase speeds and offer new services. And because these network speeds will match current 4G speeds, consumers will likely see no difference in capability.For this reason, the next few years will likely continue to be all about 3G technology. And 4G services, where they will be available, will likely appeal only to niche audiences.
"The average consumer doesn't care about peak data rates or network acronyms," said Dan Warren, the GSM Association's director of technology. "They just care about the experience. They want to be able to watch YouTube or get live traffic updates on their smartphones. And they don't care whether it's a new network or a current network that is being upgraded."
Mobile operators around the world are seeing a huge growth in the amount of mobile data traffic across their networks. This trend is expected to continue as more consumers buy smartphone and jump onto the mobile Web. By 2014, mobile devices are expected to send and receive more data in one month than in all of 2008.
Three-quarters of this traffic will be attributed to Internet access, while nearly all the rest will be due to music and video streaming, the GSM Association recently said. The new usage patterns will put strains on carrier networks, and operators are planning now to keep up with demand. Already, AT&T, which is the exclusive carrier for theiPhone in the U.S., is struggling to keep up with the heavy data usage.
While 4G networks will certainly increase network speeds and capacity, these networks and the devices that can be used on these networks will not be built overnight. This is why many carriers who are looking to meet demands today are turning toward advanced 3G upgrades.
T-Mobile USA, the smallest of the major U.S. wireless operators, has adopted this strategy. The company is currently upgrading its existing HSPA network, which launched just last year, to HSPA Plus, the most advanced 3G technology available. It has already started testing the new service in Philadelphia. And the company expects to deploy the lion's share of its upgrade across its entire footprint in 2010.
Meanwhile other operators, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are looking toward 4G technologies.
To the 4th power: WiMax vs. LTE
Two technologies dominate the 4G landscape: WiMax and LTE. In the WiMax corner is a company called Clearwire, which is backed by Sprint and Intel, as well as the nation's biggest cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The company is currently building its network and has 13 cities up and running with service.
In the LTE corner is the rest of the wireless industry, including at least 50 mobile operators worldwide that have already committed to LTE plans, trials or deployments. The first LTE networks, including one being built by Verizon Wireless here in the U.S., are expected to be rolled out next year. NTT DoComo of Japan and TeliaSonera of Sweden have also committed to deploying LTE next year. That said, major network expansions aren't expected until at least 2011.
One of the problems that 4G carriers will face is that initially their networks will be islands of service. And it will take years for operators to blanket the country with their services. For example, Clearwire has mostly deployed its service in cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Verizon will likely do the same thing with its LTE network. And then the networks will spread from there. Verizon expects to launch 25 to 30 with 4G service in 2010.
Another problem 4G operators face is a dearth of new devices. Clearwire's WiMax service has been available for more than a year in some cities, and it still only offers USB modems, PC cards, subscriber modems and WiMax-enabled laptops. So far no one has started selling mobile devices, such as WiMax embedded phones. In fact, in January Nokia, one of the initial eco-system backers of WiMax, canceled its N810 WiMax Edition tablet. More devices aren't likely to be developed until the network is more extensive. Sprint is offering a dual-mode servicethat allows laptop users to switch between its 3G mobile broadband service and the 4G WiMax service, where it's available. But the service is only available for laptops.
As for LTE, no devices exist today because no LTE network exists. Since most of the world's wireless operators will likely use LTE for their next-generation networks, it's a fair bet that there will eventually be a plethora of LTE devices. And carriers, such as Verizon, will likely embed dual-mode chips that work with 3G networks, too. But given the fact that new wireless technology first shows up in laptops and then moves to phones, it's unlikely that consumers will see any LTE-enabled mobile devices for at least another 18 months to two years. And after that, it could take many more months to fill the pipeline.
Meanwhile, there are already 1,600 HSPA-enabled devices on the market, including smartphones, Netbooks, and laptops, according to the GSM Association. There are currently 321 HSPA networks across 120 countries worldwide, and 285 of these networks are commercially live, supporting more than 167.5 million connections.
And while Clearwire reported it added 173,000 new WiMax subscribers in the third quarter of 2009, the GSMA reports that more than 9 million new HSPA connections are added globally every month, with about 1.3 million of these connections coming from the U.S.
The need for speed
Of course, it's true that current 3G technology is considerably slower than 4G networks. Today's 3G technology, whether it is HSPA or EV-DO, offers typical download speeds of between 400 Kbps to 700Kbps. But the latest version of HSPA, called HSPA Plus, offers average download speeds between 4 Mbps and 6 Mbps. This is the same download speed range that Clearwire's WiMax service offers today.
It's difficult to compare these speeds with LTE, since there are no commercial deployments of LTE. But some experts say average speeds for LTE will initially exceed the 4Mbps range. Some people are expecting the service to offer average speeds around 15 Mbps to 20 Mbps.Because there is little difference between WiMax and HSPA Plus in terms of speed, many operators are opting to invest in upgrading their networks to this technology while they plan for their eventual LTE migration. The GSMA says there are now 56 networks globally deploying HSPA Plus. And 28 of those networks are now live.
T-Mobile USA, as mentioned earlier, is one of them. AT&T initially indicated it was looking into HSPA Plus, but the company has more recently backed away from those claims. Instead, the company has said it is upgrading to a different version of HSPA called HSPA 7.2. AT&T's chief technology officer, John Donovan, said at the CTIA Wireless trade show last month that AT&T will start its LTE upgrade in 2011.
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for the company, said AT&T is keeping its options open.
"We are trying to stay flexible in how we increase 3G speeds as we transition to LTE," he said in an e-mail.
This means that T-Mobile is likely to be the first major U.S. carrier to compete against Clearwire's WiMax service.
T-Mobile has been criticized for entering the 3G market in the U.S. late, but the company has been working aggressively to catch up. At the beginning of 2009, T-Mobile could reach about 100 million people with its 3G wireless service. By the end of the year more 200 million people will have access to its network, according to Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering operations for T-Mobile.
By contrast, Clearwire's WiMax service currently reaches about 30 million U.S. residents. And the company plans to reach about 120 million by the end of 2010.
As for subscribers, Clearwire said that at the end of the third quarter of 2009 it had about 555,000 subscribers, which includes people who have subscribed to the service via its partners Sprint, Comcast, and Time Warner, which are reselling the service. T-Mobile finished the third quarter with a total of 33.4 million customers.
"We have been rapidly expanding the reach of our network over the past 12 to 18 months," Ray said. "And in 2010 we are looking to jump ahead with a leading 3G experience. The only thing that will come close are data sticks from Clearwire. And their service is limited geographically."
Ray said the HSPA-Plus strategy allows T-Mobile to better compete against AT&T and Verizon, because it allows T-Mobile to stretch its 3G investment while still offering faster and more ubiquitous coverage for consumers.
"We may have been a little late to the 3G dance," Ray added. "But clearly the mobile data explosion is rapidly growing today. And our plan for 2010 will put us in a leading position to handle these demands."
T-Mobile USA hasn't said for certain that it will use LTE when it eventually builds a 4G wireless network. But considering that its parent company in Europe, T-Mobile, has committed to using the technology, it's a safe bet the U.S. affiliate will as well.
Ray said for now it's better for T-Mobile to leverage HSPA's existing device ecosystem. The company is already offering several devices, such as the Motorola Cliq, the HTC myTouch, and the Samsung Behold that are equipped with the faster HSPA 7.2 technology. And he said that T-Mobile expects to have HSPA Plus handsets on the market in 2010.
"Because there are a large number of operators throughout the world upgrading to HSPA Plus, it's already on the device roadmaps," he said. "This means we can bring the advanced 3G experience to consumers in mobile devices in 2010. And that is not the case with either LTE or WiMax."
The next generation of wireless may be on its way, but it's a slow road. In the meantime, consumers will likely get more out of faster 3G networks, such as T-Mobile's network than the budding services from Clearwire or Verizon Wireless. It will certainly be a fun horse race to follow.
Government delays new ban on Internet gambling
WASHINGTON -
The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserveare giving U.S. financial institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to ban unlawful Internet gambling.
The two agencies said Friday that the new rules, which were to take effect on Dec. 1, would be delayed until June 1 of next year.
The rules seek to curb online gambling by prohibiting financial institutions from accepting payments from credit cards, checks orelectronic fund transfers to settle online wagers. The financial industry complained that the new rules would be difficult to enforce because they did not offer a clear definition of what constitutes Internet gambling.
The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserveare giving U.S. financial institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to ban unlawful Internet gambling.
The two agencies said Friday that the new rules, which were to take effect on Dec. 1, would be delayed until June 1 of next year.
The rules seek to curb online gambling by prohibiting financial institutions from accepting payments from credit cards, checks orelectronic fund transfers to settle online wagers. The financial industry complained that the new rules would be difficult to enforce because they did not offer a clear definition of what constitutes Internet gambling.
Sony Bravia 46-Inch HDTV
Wal-Mart has a 46-inch HDTV, the Sony Bravia KDL-46S504, on sale for $798. This 1080p HDTV features a 60Hz refresh rate and a 20,000:1 contrast ratio. It also has three HDMI inputs, and is Bravia Link compatible. The lowest price we found for the KDL-46S504 on PriceGrabber was $1200 at Crutchfield, so you'd save about $400.
Oracle Asia Pacific experiences growth in Q3 FY2009
Organizations across key industries in Asia Pacific continue to adopt or expand implementations of Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Enterprise Performance Management and Oracle Business Intelligence, and Oracle Applications for their strategic company-wide business systems.
Allied Bank, Barclays Bank Pakistan, Berger Paints Pakistan, EFU Life Assurance Ltd and Wateen Telecom from Pakistan are among those organizations who have selected Oracle to streamline their business processes.
“Now more than ever, customers are looking to information technology to meet a wide range of business challenges, such as reducing risks, innovating business processes, delivering superior customer service, and building a foundation for growth,” said Steve Au-Yeung, Senior Vice President, Oracle Asia Pacific. "Organizations continue to choose Oracle’s standards-based software solutions to replace legacy, proprietary systems, so as to optimize performance and lower costs. Our strategy to offer choice and value is winning customers across the region."
Allied Bank has chosen to implement Oracle Database with RAC and OEM Packs to help their core banking transformation. "After careful internal analysis and reviewing all our options we opted for the award winning Oracle Database with its Real Application Clusters & Grid Control solution to help us with our technology led core banking transformation project," said Mr Mujahid Ali, CIO Allied Bank Ltd. "Oracle Technology products are specially recognized for providing scalability, high availability and ease of management for mission-critical applications like Temenos T24. This technology platform will enable us to be highly competitive and maintain customer satisfaction though high quality and 24x7 banking services."
Berger Paints Pakistan has also selected key modules from the Oracle E-Business Suite to improve and standardize its business operations to gain a consolidated picture of its Finance, Sales, inventory and customer order information. It expects to benefit from capabilities such as improved production planning, greater operational efficiency, and improved manufacturing productivity. “Oracle E-Business Suite will empower us with critical and real time knowledge about our assets, financials and all the core aspects of the manufacturing process”, said Sarfaraz Arif, Senior Manager MIS, Berger Paints. “Critically, the Oracle applications we have implemented will provide us a 360-degree view of Berger Paints’ financial and operational information to company decision makers that will enhance its operational infrastructure to increase the efficiency of the organization and support further expansion”.
Wateen Telecom has also implemented a wide range of Oracle Database and Database Options including RAC, Data Mining and Advanced Security. "Wateen Telecom is operating in a highly aggressive environment. In order to gain a competitive edge, we need to be able to transform available data into consolidated, meaningful, timely and actionable information. From a technology perspective, performance, scalability and manageability are primary requirements for us," said Amir Khan, Chief Information Office, Wateen Telecom.
Selection of Q3FY09 Customer Wins
Communications, Media, Utilities: Aircel (India); Axis (Indonesia); China Unicom Co., Ltd.(China); PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Indonesia); Saigon Telecom Services Company (Vietnam); Samsung Networks Inc. (Korea); Shenhua Beijing Guohua Electric Power Co., Ltd Corporation (China); SK TELECOM CO., LTD (Korea); SPI ELECTRICITY PTY LTD (Australia); Total Access Communications (Thailand); True Corporation Public Company Limited (Thailand); Wateen Telecom (Pakistan); Wharf T & T Limited (Hong Kong); Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Company Ltd. (China).
Manufacturing, Retail : Best Buy China (China); China Agri-Industries Holdings Limited (China); China International Shipping Container (Group) Shanghai (China); Cong Ty Co Phan Sonadezi Chau Duc (Vietnam); Dah Chong Hong Holdings (Hong Kong); Fonterra Australia (Australia); Foster’s Group Ltd (Foster’s)(Australia); FPT Corporation (Vietnam); GTL (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Singapore); Hunan Hualing Steel Co., Ltd. (China); India Yamaha Motor Pvt Limited (India); Masan Industrial Joint Venture Co. (Vietnam); Panasonic Plasma Display Shanghai Co., Ltd (China); Primax Electronics Ltd (Taiwan); PT. Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk. (Indonesia); PT. Total Indonesie (Indonesia); Qingdao Sen Kylin Tyre Ltd (China); Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd (Digital semiconductor division) (Korea); Shanghai JA Solar PV Technology Co Ltd (China); Shenzhen Coship Electronics Co., Ltd. (China); Wei Lih Food Industry Company Limited (Taiwan); Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vietnam).
Financial Services: Shinhan Financial Group (Korea); Allied Bank of Pakistan Limited (Pakistan); MSIG Holdings (Asia) Pte Ltd (Singapore); PT. Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis (Indonesia); PT Bank Ekspor Indonesia (Indonesia); PT. Bank DBS Indonesia (Indonesia); Banco de Oro Universal Bank (Philippines); EFU Life Assurance Ltd (Pakistan)
Government, Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences: Amway (china) Company Limited (China); Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (Thailand); Beijing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (China); The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Singapore Post Limited (Singapore); COFCO 606 (part of China Agri- Industries Holdings Limited ( COFCO) (China); Deputi Bidang Survey, Gleneagles Clinical Research Center (Singapore); Pengukuran dan Pemetaan - Badan Pertanahan Nasional (Indonesia); Bureau of Meteorology (Australia); PT. Dexa Medica (Indonesia); Singapore Tourism Board (Singapore).
Professional Services: Central Realty Services Co., Ltd. (Thailand); Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty Limited (Australia); Korea Educational Broadcasting System (Korea); MFEC Pcl. (Thailand); Nutune Singapore Pte Ltd (Singapore); PT. Bursa Efek Indonesia (Indonesia).
Awards and Recognition:
Telecom Asia Readers’ Choice Awards: Best SDP Provider of the Year. Recognizes strength of Service Delivery Platform (SDP) solutions from combined Oracle and BEA communications products
2008 SCMLogistics Excellence Awards - Best Transportation Management Software Award. Oracle won this award for the 3rd time, and this recognition signals the continued growth and performance of Oracle Transportation Management in Asia Pacific. (Forrester press announcement, Gartner press announcement)
Allied Bank, Barclays Bank Pakistan, Berger Paints Pakistan, EFU Life Assurance Ltd and Wateen Telecom from Pakistan are among those organizations who have selected Oracle to streamline their business processes.
“Now more than ever, customers are looking to information technology to meet a wide range of business challenges, such as reducing risks, innovating business processes, delivering superior customer service, and building a foundation for growth,” said Steve Au-Yeung, Senior Vice President, Oracle Asia Pacific. "Organizations continue to choose Oracle’s standards-based software solutions to replace legacy, proprietary systems, so as to optimize performance and lower costs. Our strategy to offer choice and value is winning customers across the region."
Allied Bank has chosen to implement Oracle Database with RAC and OEM Packs to help their core banking transformation. "After careful internal analysis and reviewing all our options we opted for the award winning Oracle Database with its Real Application Clusters & Grid Control solution to help us with our technology led core banking transformation project," said Mr Mujahid Ali, CIO Allied Bank Ltd. "Oracle Technology products are specially recognized for providing scalability, high availability and ease of management for mission-critical applications like Temenos T24. This technology platform will enable us to be highly competitive and maintain customer satisfaction though high quality and 24x7 banking services."
Berger Paints Pakistan has also selected key modules from the Oracle E-Business Suite to improve and standardize its business operations to gain a consolidated picture of its Finance, Sales, inventory and customer order information. It expects to benefit from capabilities such as improved production planning, greater operational efficiency, and improved manufacturing productivity. “Oracle E-Business Suite will empower us with critical and real time knowledge about our assets, financials and all the core aspects of the manufacturing process”, said Sarfaraz Arif, Senior Manager MIS, Berger Paints. “Critically, the Oracle applications we have implemented will provide us a 360-degree view of Berger Paints’ financial and operational information to company decision makers that will enhance its operational infrastructure to increase the efficiency of the organization and support further expansion”.
Wateen Telecom has also implemented a wide range of Oracle Database and Database Options including RAC, Data Mining and Advanced Security. "Wateen Telecom is operating in a highly aggressive environment. In order to gain a competitive edge, we need to be able to transform available data into consolidated, meaningful, timely and actionable information. From a technology perspective, performance, scalability and manageability are primary requirements for us," said Amir Khan, Chief Information Office, Wateen Telecom.
Selection of Q3FY09 Customer Wins
Communications, Media, Utilities: Aircel (India); Axis (Indonesia); China Unicom Co., Ltd.(China); PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Indonesia); Saigon Telecom Services Company (Vietnam); Samsung Networks Inc. (Korea); Shenhua Beijing Guohua Electric Power Co., Ltd Corporation (China); SK TELECOM CO., LTD (Korea); SPI ELECTRICITY PTY LTD (Australia); Total Access Communications (Thailand); True Corporation Public Company Limited (Thailand); Wateen Telecom (Pakistan); Wharf T & T Limited (Hong Kong); Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group Company Ltd. (China).
Manufacturing, Retail : Best Buy China (China); China Agri-Industries Holdings Limited (China); China International Shipping Container (Group) Shanghai (China); Cong Ty Co Phan Sonadezi Chau Duc (Vietnam); Dah Chong Hong Holdings (Hong Kong); Fonterra Australia (Australia); Foster’s Group Ltd (Foster’s)(Australia); FPT Corporation (Vietnam); GTL (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Singapore); Hunan Hualing Steel Co., Ltd. (China); India Yamaha Motor Pvt Limited (India); Masan Industrial Joint Venture Co. (Vietnam); Panasonic Plasma Display Shanghai Co., Ltd (China); Primax Electronics Ltd (Taiwan); PT. Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk. (Indonesia); PT. Total Indonesie (Indonesia); Qingdao Sen Kylin Tyre Ltd (China); Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd (Digital semiconductor division) (Korea); Shanghai JA Solar PV Technology Co Ltd (China); Shenzhen Coship Electronics Co., Ltd. (China); Wei Lih Food Industry Company Limited (Taiwan); Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vietnam).
Financial Services: Shinhan Financial Group (Korea); Allied Bank of Pakistan Limited (Pakistan); MSIG Holdings (Asia) Pte Ltd (Singapore); PT. Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis (Indonesia); PT Bank Ekspor Indonesia (Indonesia); PT. Bank DBS Indonesia (Indonesia); Banco de Oro Universal Bank (Philippines); EFU Life Assurance Ltd (Pakistan)
Government, Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences: Amway (china) Company Limited (China); Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (Thailand); Beijing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (China); The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong); Singapore Post Limited (Singapore); COFCO 606 (part of China Agri- Industries Holdings Limited ( COFCO) (China); Deputi Bidang Survey, Gleneagles Clinical Research Center (Singapore); Pengukuran dan Pemetaan - Badan Pertanahan Nasional (Indonesia); Bureau of Meteorology (Australia); PT. Dexa Medica (Indonesia); Singapore Tourism Board (Singapore).
Professional Services: Central Realty Services Co., Ltd. (Thailand); Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty Limited (Australia); Korea Educational Broadcasting System (Korea); MFEC Pcl. (Thailand); Nutune Singapore Pte Ltd (Singapore); PT. Bursa Efek Indonesia (Indonesia).
Awards and Recognition:
Telecom Asia Readers’ Choice Awards: Best SDP Provider of the Year. Recognizes strength of Service Delivery Platform (SDP) solutions from combined Oracle and BEA communications products
2008 SCMLogistics Excellence Awards - Best Transportation Management Software Award. Oracle won this award for the 3rd time, and this recognition signals the continued growth and performance of Oracle Transportation Management in Asia Pacific. (Forrester press announcement, Gartner press announcement)
Bakcell to expand its GSM service in Azerbaijan
Nokia Siemens Networks will provide a GSM network expansion and upgrade to EDGE for enhanced quality and coverage
Bakcell, Azerbaijan's second largest mobile operator, is expanding its 2G network to meet the growing needs of consumers across the country. The network upgrade to EDGE provided by Nokia Siemens Networks will extend the coverage of the network and enhance the quality of service to Bakcell subscribers, addressing the growing need for new mobile data services.
Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will provide to Bakcell a comprehensive radio and a core network extension, introducing its Flexi EDGE Base Station Platform to the Bakcell network. The modular Flexi concept will help Bakcell to implement lean site designs and reduce operational costs through the market’s lowest power consumption provided by Flexi.
Ineke Botter, CEO of Bakcell, commented: "It is our aim to provide our subscribers in Baku and the regions with the latest technology and better network coverage. We are convinced that with the new Nokia Siemens Networks technology, Bakcell will be in a position to develop novel data services for its subscribers. The technology is environmentally friendly and enables Bakcell to ensure flexibility in offering a new variety of user friendly mobile services such as combined video, internet and audio usage. It will also allow the simultaneous use of voice and data at a speed comparable to ADSL."
"We are extremely happy to be chosen by Bakcell for this important network extension in many new regions in Azerbaijan. With our advanced products, we will be able to significantly improve the quality of service to the Bakcell subscribers, and prepare the network for rapidly growing data communication needs. Earlier, the two companies have worked together since 2006 in the Baku area – now with this expansion, we are committed to providing the same proven support in all of Azerbaijan," said Walter Lemor, Head of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Nokia Siemens Networks.
The pioneering Flexi Base Station chosen by Bakcell is revolutionary small, modular and easy to install, reflected in faster network roll outs. It also allows easy site sharing with other operators. Market leader in energy efficiency, Flexi Base Station can bring up to 70% savings to operators in site energy consumption. It is a future ready platform which can easily be combined with other advanced mobile radio technologies such as 3G, WiMAX and LTE.
Deliveries to Bakcell will start in March 2009, and the network extension will be fully implemented by the end of 2009.
Nokia Siemens Networks is the industry leader in WCDMA/HSPA, to date having close to 150 3G radio network references, with over 110 networks in commercial use. The company is also the indisputable leader in EDGE with close to 180 references and commercial deployments. Nokia Siemens Networks is the forerunner in flat network architecture with its I-HSPA innovation and end-to-end LTE solution enabling a smooth migration path for operators to LTE.
Bakcell, Azerbaijan's second largest mobile operator, is expanding its 2G network to meet the growing needs of consumers across the country. The network upgrade to EDGE provided by Nokia Siemens Networks will extend the coverage of the network and enhance the quality of service to Bakcell subscribers, addressing the growing need for new mobile data services.
Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will provide to Bakcell a comprehensive radio and a core network extension, introducing its Flexi EDGE Base Station Platform to the Bakcell network. The modular Flexi concept will help Bakcell to implement lean site designs and reduce operational costs through the market’s lowest power consumption provided by Flexi.
Ineke Botter, CEO of Bakcell, commented: "It is our aim to provide our subscribers in Baku and the regions with the latest technology and better network coverage. We are convinced that with the new Nokia Siemens Networks technology, Bakcell will be in a position to develop novel data services for its subscribers. The technology is environmentally friendly and enables Bakcell to ensure flexibility in offering a new variety of user friendly mobile services such as combined video, internet and audio usage. It will also allow the simultaneous use of voice and data at a speed comparable to ADSL."
"We are extremely happy to be chosen by Bakcell for this important network extension in many new regions in Azerbaijan. With our advanced products, we will be able to significantly improve the quality of service to the Bakcell subscribers, and prepare the network for rapidly growing data communication needs. Earlier, the two companies have worked together since 2006 in the Baku area – now with this expansion, we are committed to providing the same proven support in all of Azerbaijan," said Walter Lemor, Head of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Nokia Siemens Networks.
The pioneering Flexi Base Station chosen by Bakcell is revolutionary small, modular and easy to install, reflected in faster network roll outs. It also allows easy site sharing with other operators. Market leader in energy efficiency, Flexi Base Station can bring up to 70% savings to operators in site energy consumption. It is a future ready platform which can easily be combined with other advanced mobile radio technologies such as 3G, WiMAX and LTE.
Deliveries to Bakcell will start in March 2009, and the network extension will be fully implemented by the end of 2009.
Nokia Siemens Networks is the industry leader in WCDMA/HSPA, to date having close to 150 3G radio network references, with over 110 networks in commercial use. The company is also the indisputable leader in EDGE with close to 180 references and commercial deployments. Nokia Siemens Networks is the forerunner in flat network architecture with its I-HSPA innovation and end-to-end LTE solution enabling a smooth migration path for operators to LTE.
Dialog Telekom to deploy solar and wind-powered base stations in Sri Lanka
The GSMA today announced that it is working with Dialog Telekom to deploy ten solar and wind-powered base stations in Sri Lanka as part of its Green Power for Mobile programme. The trial, which will deploy five off-grid and five on-grid base stations, has seen two sites go live this month and a further eight sites will go live in March and April this year. The goal of the trial is to use a number of different scenarios with equipment from nine different vendors to demonstrate the range of options available and the commercial viability of rolling out mobile networks using renewable forms of energy.
The base stations, which rely on a sophisticated methodology for calculating the optimum mix between solar and wind technology, such as the size of the wind turbine or solar panels, will save up to 109 thousand litres of diesel per annum and cut carbon emission by up to 294 tonnes per annum. Up to now, off-grid base stations have primarily been powered by generators running on diesel fuel, which is increasingly expensive, generates carbon dioxide emissions, and can be difficult to transport to remote locations. There are also issues with the reliability of the electricity grid in Sri Lanka, so the trial will also investigate powering on-grid base stations, during downtime, with renewable energy.
"Being able to utilise practical, cost effective and renewable sources of power is crucial for operators wanting to provide a broad range of mobile coverage, over vast rural areas, far beyond the reach of national electricity grids," said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer for the GSMA. "Dialog Telekom, as part of the GSMA's Green Power for Mobile programme, has used a number of different scenarios to prove to the industry that renewable energy is a real and viable alternative to on-grid and generator power."
The trial will assess the plethora of renewable energy providers in the marketplace today, further demonstrating the viability of non-traditional forms of power. The GSMA's Development Fund, who initiated the Green Power for Mobile programme, will make the results from the trial public later this year. The nine top-tier vendors chosen to provide the technology for the trial include BP Solar and Tenesol for solar panels, Southwest Windpower, Bergey Windpower, Proven Energy and Kestrel for wind turbines, PowerOasis for power controllers and remote monitoring technology, and Exide Technologies and BYD for batteries.
"We have consistently striven to extend modern technology access to rural communities and thereby enrich lives," said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Telekom PLC. "Social and environmental responsibilities matter to Dialog Telekom as much as economic performance, and this trial epitomises this commitment to integrate sustainability into our operations."
Don Price, Group Chief Technology Officer of TM International Berhad, commented: "TMI is delighted to be associated with the GSMA in pioneering this initiative in collaboration with our Sri Lankan operation, Dialog Telekom PLC. We are confident this much-needed programme will enable the industry at large to move the green power debate from hype to reality, ensuring that a renewable energy agenda can present a pragmatic business case to connect the unconnected."
The GSMA's Green Power for Mobile programme, launched last year, is backed by 25 mobile operators and has built up a deep pool of expertise in selecting the ideal combination of renewable energy sources to suit local conditions. The programme aims to help the mobile industry to take advantage of renewable energy to power 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries by 2012. Today less than 2,000 base stations worldwide are powered by renewable energy sources.
The base stations, which rely on a sophisticated methodology for calculating the optimum mix between solar and wind technology, such as the size of the wind turbine or solar panels, will save up to 109 thousand litres of diesel per annum and cut carbon emission by up to 294 tonnes per annum. Up to now, off-grid base stations have primarily been powered by generators running on diesel fuel, which is increasingly expensive, generates carbon dioxide emissions, and can be difficult to transport to remote locations. There are also issues with the reliability of the electricity grid in Sri Lanka, so the trial will also investigate powering on-grid base stations, during downtime, with renewable energy.
"Being able to utilise practical, cost effective and renewable sources of power is crucial for operators wanting to provide a broad range of mobile coverage, over vast rural areas, far beyond the reach of national electricity grids," said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer for the GSMA. "Dialog Telekom, as part of the GSMA's Green Power for Mobile programme, has used a number of different scenarios to prove to the industry that renewable energy is a real and viable alternative to on-grid and generator power."
The trial will assess the plethora of renewable energy providers in the marketplace today, further demonstrating the viability of non-traditional forms of power. The GSMA's Development Fund, who initiated the Green Power for Mobile programme, will make the results from the trial public later this year. The nine top-tier vendors chosen to provide the technology for the trial include BP Solar and Tenesol for solar panels, Southwest Windpower, Bergey Windpower, Proven Energy and Kestrel for wind turbines, PowerOasis for power controllers and remote monitoring technology, and Exide Technologies and BYD for batteries.
"We have consistently striven to extend modern technology access to rural communities and thereby enrich lives," said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Telekom PLC. "Social and environmental responsibilities matter to Dialog Telekom as much as economic performance, and this trial epitomises this commitment to integrate sustainability into our operations."
Don Price, Group Chief Technology Officer of TM International Berhad, commented: "TMI is delighted to be associated with the GSMA in pioneering this initiative in collaboration with our Sri Lankan operation, Dialog Telekom PLC. We are confident this much-needed programme will enable the industry at large to move the green power debate from hype to reality, ensuring that a renewable energy agenda can present a pragmatic business case to connect the unconnected."
The GSMA's Green Power for Mobile programme, launched last year, is backed by 25 mobile operators and has built up a deep pool of expertise in selecting the ideal combination of renewable energy sources to suit local conditions. The programme aims to help the mobile industry to take advantage of renewable energy to power 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries by 2012. Today less than 2,000 base stations worldwide are powered by renewable energy sources.
Etisalat net profits grow 19% to Dhs8.7b in 2008
Etisalat announces preliminary financial results for the period ending 31st December, 2008
Etisalat today announced its preliminary results for 2008, reporting total annual Net Profits of Dhs8.665bn. This shows a growth of 19% over 2007's figures, when the Group recorded Dhs 7.297bn in Net Profits.
During the fourth quarter of 2008 the Group recorded a Net Profit of Dhs 2.1bn, before year-end adjustments, reflecting an increase of 18% as compared to the same period in 2007.
Etisalat also reported Dhs 26.119bn in Net Revenues for 2008, 22% higher than 2007’s results of Dhs 21.340bn. Etisalat's Net Revenues during the fourth quarter of 2008 stood at Dhs 7.1bn as against Dhs 6bn in 2007, reflecting an increase of 18%.
Total assets also increased from Dhs 52.4bn in 2007 to Dhs 62.1bn, growing 18%. Earning per share has increased from Dhs1.22 in 2007 to Dhs1.45 in 2008 after the issuance of 998.25mn bonus shares in the ratio of 1:5 in 2008.
Mohammed Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: "The significant results achieved by Etisalat in 2008 reflect the company's ability to manage and sustain our growth as we pursue our ambition to become one of the top ten telecommunications companies in the world. Etisalat is now regarded as one of the strongest players in the telecom market, both regionally and internationally. This has been achieved by our commitment to implement the best international standards at all business levels."
"Acquiring new licenses in Iran and India provides us with significant growth opportunities, and will support the development of our company for many years to come," he added.
Mohammed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat, said: "Etisalat's consistently strong performance is a direct result of our extensive operational achievements at home and abroad. At the end of 2008, the number of Etisalat mobile subscribers in the UAE grew 14% compared to 2007 to reach 7.3mn, fixed line subscribers grew 3% to 1.36mn and Internet subscribers grew 31% to 1.15mn."
Etisalat today announced its preliminary results for 2008, reporting total annual Net Profits of Dhs8.665bn. This shows a growth of 19% over 2007's figures, when the Group recorded Dhs 7.297bn in Net Profits.
During the fourth quarter of 2008 the Group recorded a Net Profit of Dhs 2.1bn, before year-end adjustments, reflecting an increase of 18% as compared to the same period in 2007.
Etisalat also reported Dhs 26.119bn in Net Revenues for 2008, 22% higher than 2007’s results of Dhs 21.340bn. Etisalat's Net Revenues during the fourth quarter of 2008 stood at Dhs 7.1bn as against Dhs 6bn in 2007, reflecting an increase of 18%.
Total assets also increased from Dhs 52.4bn in 2007 to Dhs 62.1bn, growing 18%. Earning per share has increased from Dhs1.22 in 2007 to Dhs1.45 in 2008 after the issuance of 998.25mn bonus shares in the ratio of 1:5 in 2008.
Mohammed Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: "The significant results achieved by Etisalat in 2008 reflect the company's ability to manage and sustain our growth as we pursue our ambition to become one of the top ten telecommunications companies in the world. Etisalat is now regarded as one of the strongest players in the telecom market, both regionally and internationally. This has been achieved by our commitment to implement the best international standards at all business levels."
"Acquiring new licenses in Iran and India provides us with significant growth opportunities, and will support the development of our company for many years to come," he added.
Mohammed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat, said: "Etisalat's consistently strong performance is a direct result of our extensive operational achievements at home and abroad. At the end of 2008, the number of Etisalat mobile subscribers in the UAE grew 14% compared to 2007 to reach 7.3mn, fixed line subscribers grew 3% to 1.36mn and Internet subscribers grew 31% to 1.15mn."
NSN grabs Thailand's major 3G contract
Nokia Siemens Networks is one of two vendors selected by DTAC to supply gear for its 3G Network. Total Access Communication Public Company Ltd. (DTAC) has signed a frame agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks as one of its two vendors to upgrade its network to 3G.
"It is just a question of time before 3G becomes mainstream in Thailand," said Tore Johnsen, CEO, DTAC. "To be suitably prepared for the change, we have chosen two vendors – one of them being our long trusted 2G partner, Nokia Siemens Networks. Having worked with them since 2000, we are certain they will guide us through the high speed data demands that will become the norm for mobile communications in the future."
"One of the biggest deterrents to 3G has been the associated capital outlay in upgrading current 2G networks,” said Christian Fredrikson, Head of Asia Pacific, Nokia Siemens Networks. ”Our technology provides a cost efficient, smooth and future-proof migration path, enabling operators to embrace the next wave of wireless communications."
In the frame contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver radio access network with both 2G and 3G technologies to DTAC. In the Core network, DTAC’s Circuit Switch will be enhanced to accommodate 2G/3G, and a Packet Switch will be introduced for high speed packet access (HSPA). This will help DTAC to increase its high speed data throughput in packet core network that simplifies the network and the data flow between the end-user and the Internet.
Total Access Communication Public Company Limited, or "DTAC", is a leading telecommunication services providers in Thailand. Founded in August 1989, it operates 800 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands under a concession granted by the Communications Authority of Thailand ("CAT").
"It is just a question of time before 3G becomes mainstream in Thailand," said Tore Johnsen, CEO, DTAC. "To be suitably prepared for the change, we have chosen two vendors – one of them being our long trusted 2G partner, Nokia Siemens Networks. Having worked with them since 2000, we are certain they will guide us through the high speed data demands that will become the norm for mobile communications in the future."
"One of the biggest deterrents to 3G has been the associated capital outlay in upgrading current 2G networks,” said Christian Fredrikson, Head of Asia Pacific, Nokia Siemens Networks. ”Our technology provides a cost efficient, smooth and future-proof migration path, enabling operators to embrace the next wave of wireless communications."
In the frame contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver radio access network with both 2G and 3G technologies to DTAC. In the Core network, DTAC’s Circuit Switch will be enhanced to accommodate 2G/3G, and a Packet Switch will be introduced for high speed packet access (HSPA). This will help DTAC to increase its high speed data throughput in packet core network that simplifies the network and the data flow between the end-user and the Internet.
Total Access Communication Public Company Limited, or "DTAC", is a leading telecommunication services providers in Thailand. Founded in August 1989, it operates 800 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands under a concession granted by the Communications Authority of Thailand ("CAT").
Etisalat grabs 'Best International Carrier' award
Over 500 influencers and decision-makers, CEOs and senior executives gathered in London to witness Etisalat and other leading telecommunications players being awarded for their contribution to the telecommunications industry in 2008. This was for the World Communications Awards (WCA), in which Etisalat was named the world's 'Best International Carrier'.
"The short-list for the Best International Carrier Award was made up of operators who were already recognized as the best in their region. This year the shortlist was formed of the 'Best Regional Operators' from each of five key areas: Europe; Middle East & Africa; Asia/Asia Pacific; North America; and Latin America & Rest of the World. The winner is considered the best of the best across all regions," said Rob Chambers, Publisher, Total Telecom the organizers of the World Communications Awards.
Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat said: "We are delighted to have been acknowledged as the best international carrier in the world in 2008. This is a major landmark in Etisalats history and is also a clear indication that our international expansion strategy is succeeding. More than this, the award recognises the quality and commitment shown by each our employees and I wish to take this opportunity to thank each of them for making Etisalat the best in the world."
Mohammed Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat, said: "I challenge all of our people, suppliers and partners to work even harder. Our mission, to extend our customer's reach, has never been more relevant and with this award, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to work with device manufacturers, content providers and other major operators to set the agenda for the global telecommunications industry in the future."
Etisalat's achievements had been judged and recognised by a panel of 15 international judges from expert organsiations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Ovum, Frost & Sullivan KPMG, Total Telecom, ETNO, and The Economist.
David Molony, Principal Analyst, IP Enterprise Practise for Ovum who was also the chairman of the judging panel said: "This year's big operator trophies have been swept by Orange, Belgacom and Etisalat, but as ever the competition was just as close as could be. Our congratulations to them, and to all the finalists who made the judging so difficult."
Etisalat has grown from its home market in the United Arab Emirates to a commanding position in the Middle East and Africa region. The judges applauded the group’s service quality and recognised the exceptional growth driven by rapid market share gains in the region's larger economies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. One judge pointed to "comprehensive high-quality services", while another said it was exactly the kind of example they were looking for "of an aspiring telecoms operator with international ambitions". A compound revenue growth of 29% per annum since 2005 places Etisalat amongst the world’s fastest growing network operators. The judges said it is fitting that the most technologically advanced operator in the Middle East is gaining due recognition on the international stage.
Etisalat was also a finalist in the Best Brand category. The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation operates under the Etisalat brand in the UAE, Egypt, Afghanistan and Nigeria. "Etisalat is an extremely well-known brand globally," said one judge. "International expansion has helped impressive brand development despite a small home market," said another, a point picked up by a third member of the panel: "An entry that shows how the company has understood the importance of international branding in helping growth plans for the operating division."
The World Communication Awards recognise the companies and individuals responsible for the innovations, achievements and great new services that are helping to build tomorrow’s industry. The Awards are open to all communications providers, whether they are traditional carrier, service provider, multimedia content provider or another organisation providing a communication service.
The World Communication Awards maintain their fiercely protected independence and focus on the big issues, while encouraging more entries from communications providers across the globe, both large and small, to ensure the awards can truly claim 'world' status.
Etisalat is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world and the largest operator in the Arab world headquartered in the UAE (as per FT500 March 31, 2008). Etisalat operates in 17 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, servicing over 74m customers out of a total population that exceeds 1.6bn people.
"The short-list for the Best International Carrier Award was made up of operators who were already recognized as the best in their region. This year the shortlist was formed of the 'Best Regional Operators' from each of five key areas: Europe; Middle East & Africa; Asia/Asia Pacific; North America; and Latin America & Rest of the World. The winner is considered the best of the best across all regions," said Rob Chambers, Publisher, Total Telecom the organizers of the World Communications Awards.
Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat said: "We are delighted to have been acknowledged as the best international carrier in the world in 2008. This is a major landmark in Etisalats history and is also a clear indication that our international expansion strategy is succeeding. More than this, the award recognises the quality and commitment shown by each our employees and I wish to take this opportunity to thank each of them for making Etisalat the best in the world."
Mohammed Al Qamzi, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat, said: "I challenge all of our people, suppliers and partners to work even harder. Our mission, to extend our customer's reach, has never been more relevant and with this award, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to work with device manufacturers, content providers and other major operators to set the agenda for the global telecommunications industry in the future."
Etisalat's achievements had been judged and recognised by a panel of 15 international judges from expert organsiations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Ovum, Frost & Sullivan KPMG, Total Telecom, ETNO, and The Economist.
David Molony, Principal Analyst, IP Enterprise Practise for Ovum who was also the chairman of the judging panel said: "This year's big operator trophies have been swept by Orange, Belgacom and Etisalat, but as ever the competition was just as close as could be. Our congratulations to them, and to all the finalists who made the judging so difficult."
Etisalat has grown from its home market in the United Arab Emirates to a commanding position in the Middle East and Africa region. The judges applauded the group’s service quality and recognised the exceptional growth driven by rapid market share gains in the region's larger economies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. One judge pointed to "comprehensive high-quality services", while another said it was exactly the kind of example they were looking for "of an aspiring telecoms operator with international ambitions". A compound revenue growth of 29% per annum since 2005 places Etisalat amongst the world’s fastest growing network operators. The judges said it is fitting that the most technologically advanced operator in the Middle East is gaining due recognition on the international stage.
Etisalat was also a finalist in the Best Brand category. The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation operates under the Etisalat brand in the UAE, Egypt, Afghanistan and Nigeria. "Etisalat is an extremely well-known brand globally," said one judge. "International expansion has helped impressive brand development despite a small home market," said another, a point picked up by a third member of the panel: "An entry that shows how the company has understood the importance of international branding in helping growth plans for the operating division."
The World Communication Awards recognise the companies and individuals responsible for the innovations, achievements and great new services that are helping to build tomorrow’s industry. The Awards are open to all communications providers, whether they are traditional carrier, service provider, multimedia content provider or another organisation providing a communication service.
The World Communication Awards maintain their fiercely protected independence and focus on the big issues, while encouraging more entries from communications providers across the globe, both large and small, to ensure the awards can truly claim 'world' status.
Etisalat is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world and the largest operator in the Arab world headquartered in the UAE (as per FT500 March 31, 2008). Etisalat operates in 17 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, servicing over 74m customers out of a total population that exceeds 1.6bn people.
Ericsson and Orange to deploy green technology in rural Africa
Orange Guinea Conakry and Ericsson are deploying more than 100 base stations fully powered by solar energy, connecting remote parts of rural Africa. Using Ericsson's energy-efficient base stations, a hybrid diesel-battery solution and solar panels, Orange is increasing mobile coverage in rural and urban areas, while taking concrete steps towards its target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020. This enables remote areas without an established power grid to get access mobile communications.
Alassane Diene, CEO of Orange-Guinea Conakry, says: "We are reducing our energy bill. These base stations are also easier to install and require less maintenance than the traditional site. They also offer greater reliability and therefore considerably improved quality of service."
Jan Embro, President of Ericsson for sub-Saharan Africa, says: "It is extremely exciting to be able to run sites on alternative energy sources. Limiting dependency on fossil fuels brings many advantages, but the greatest is the ability to offer sustainable connectivity to low-income users in remote areas across Africa."
Ericsson's hybrid diesel-battery energy solution replaces one of a site's diesel generators with a bank of specially designed batteries that can handle a large amount of charging and discharging. This self-contained power solution can be set to meet the batteries' optimal charging and discharging levels, extending the lifetime of the battery and the generator, and reducing energy-related costs by about 50 percent.
The Ericsson BTS 2111 radio base station is a main-remote solution without any active moving parts such as cooling fans. It reduces energy consumption up to 50 percent, allowing the site to be fully powered by solar energy, supported by a battery bank for 24/7 operation.
This rollout program supports the sustainability initiatives of both Ericsson and Orange, focusing on reducing the carbon footprint while making communication more affordable and accessible. Orange Group intends to have more than 1000 wholly solar-powered base stations in its African operations by the end of 2009.
Ericsson was first to deploy solar power in telecom, back in 2000. As radio technology becomes more energy-efficient, solar solutions have become increasingly economically viable. Reaching the next billion subscribers means expanding to rural off-grid areas. Ericsson sees attractive business cases for using renewable solutions all around the world.
Alassane Diene, CEO of Orange-Guinea Conakry, says: "We are reducing our energy bill. These base stations are also easier to install and require less maintenance than the traditional site. They also offer greater reliability and therefore considerably improved quality of service."
Jan Embro, President of Ericsson for sub-Saharan Africa, says: "It is extremely exciting to be able to run sites on alternative energy sources. Limiting dependency on fossil fuels brings many advantages, but the greatest is the ability to offer sustainable connectivity to low-income users in remote areas across Africa."
Ericsson's hybrid diesel-battery energy solution replaces one of a site's diesel generators with a bank of specially designed batteries that can handle a large amount of charging and discharging. This self-contained power solution can be set to meet the batteries' optimal charging and discharging levels, extending the lifetime of the battery and the generator, and reducing energy-related costs by about 50 percent.
The Ericsson BTS 2111 radio base station is a main-remote solution without any active moving parts such as cooling fans. It reduces energy consumption up to 50 percent, allowing the site to be fully powered by solar energy, supported by a battery bank for 24/7 operation.
This rollout program supports the sustainability initiatives of both Ericsson and Orange, focusing on reducing the carbon footprint while making communication more affordable and accessible. Orange Group intends to have more than 1000 wholly solar-powered base stations in its African operations by the end of 2009.
Ericsson was first to deploy solar power in telecom, back in 2000. As radio technology becomes more energy-efficient, solar solutions have become increasingly economically viable. Reaching the next billion subscribers means expanding to rural off-grid areas. Ericsson sees attractive business cases for using renewable solutions all around the world.
Alcatel-Lucent goes for mobile advertising
Alcatel-Lucent and 1020 Placecast to deliver unique location-based mobile advertising service to network providers and brands
Scalable solution pushes location-relevant brand messaging and advertisements to customers when and where they want them
Alcatel-Lucent and 1020 Placecast, the leading cross-platform location-based advertising solution provider, has announced that they will jointly provide mobile service providers and brands with a unique, location-based service – hosted by Alcatel-Lucent - that delivers highly relevant messaging and advertising to mobile consumers who opt into the service.
Together, 1020 Placecast and Alcatel-Lucent are offering an end-to-end service that enables service providers to support brands in reaching their target audiences wherever they are in innovative new ways. As part of this service, 1020 Placecast leverages its unique ad engine to weave location information into highly relevant messages -- enabling brands and advertising agencies with scalable, proximity marketing campaigns that will be pushed to consumers' mobile devices in SMS and MMS formats. Alcatel-Lucent, leveraging its Geographic Messaging Services Platform (GMSP) as a hosted service, tracks opt-in subscribers’ locations on behalf of the service provider and pushes mobile content to the subscriber when and where is appropriate - based on the advertising campaign developed and managed by the 1020 Placecast platform.
The network service can support millions of subscribers –- far more than any competing product on the market today -- making proximity marketing campaigns for service providers and marketers a reality. It creates an environment where service providers and advertisers can partner in developing and delivering a new generation of revenue-generating mobile advertising services to customers -- a market that is expected to reach nearly $5 billion in U.S. service provider revenue by 2011 according to the report “Mobile Advertising: The Service Provider Revenue Opportunity” published by Heavy Reading Research.
Thanks to this joint offering, mobile service providers can, for example, offer consumers an opt-in service where they will receive a mobile message offering a discount at a consumer's favorite retailer around the corner on their way to work. The message could include the store address, phone number, proximity to the customer, and other brand and carrier developed content. For subscribers, receiving messages and advertising from brands subscribers care about – at the time and place they are most interested in getting them – enhances the mobile experience. By maximizing advertising effectiveness in reaching brands' target audiences, it generates increased advertising spend with service providers.
"One of the key benefits of mobile marketing is the precise location targeting inherent in mobile devices and communication networks," says Michael Boland, program director, mobile local media, for The Kelsey Group, a leading provider of local advertising research, analysis, data and competitive metrics. "Pulling together Alcatel-Lucent’s location service with Placecast’s location-based ad serving engine should create a greater ability to deliver more relevant ads that perform better."
Adds Gani Nayak, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Rich Communication business, "This offering enables carriers, and the brands they support, to create a highly-relevant and personalized experience for mobile users while also delivering immediate return on investment. It combines Alcatel-Lucent's best-in-class geo-fencing technology -- which supports millions of virtual fences -- with Placecast's leading location-based ad platform to launch large-scale, proximity-based mobile marketing campaigns."
The turnkey service, available in North American, seamlessly delivers messages and advertisements to any mobile device and screen without a capital investment by service providers. Subscribers simply sign-up for the service and select the kinds of messages and offers they want to receive. Their privacy is protected because their exact location is never revealed -- only the fact that they have entered a designated geographical area.
"Alcatel-Lucent's technology allows us to trigger the delivery of a tailored marketing message to a subscriber who has opted into the service when they enter a specific zone," said Alistair Goodman, CEO of 1020 Placecast. "This enables a direct connection from mobile to the physical world. We're excited to partner with such an established solutions provider and offer carriers the best targeting and delivery in location-based mobile advertising and marketing."
Scalable solution pushes location-relevant brand messaging and advertisements to customers when and where they want them
Alcatel-Lucent and 1020 Placecast, the leading cross-platform location-based advertising solution provider, has announced that they will jointly provide mobile service providers and brands with a unique, location-based service – hosted by Alcatel-Lucent - that delivers highly relevant messaging and advertising to mobile consumers who opt into the service.
Together, 1020 Placecast and Alcatel-Lucent are offering an end-to-end service that enables service providers to support brands in reaching their target audiences wherever they are in innovative new ways. As part of this service, 1020 Placecast leverages its unique ad engine to weave location information into highly relevant messages -- enabling brands and advertising agencies with scalable, proximity marketing campaigns that will be pushed to consumers' mobile devices in SMS and MMS formats. Alcatel-Lucent, leveraging its Geographic Messaging Services Platform (GMSP) as a hosted service, tracks opt-in subscribers’ locations on behalf of the service provider and pushes mobile content to the subscriber when and where is appropriate - based on the advertising campaign developed and managed by the 1020 Placecast platform.
The network service can support millions of subscribers –- far more than any competing product on the market today -- making proximity marketing campaigns for service providers and marketers a reality. It creates an environment where service providers and advertisers can partner in developing and delivering a new generation of revenue-generating mobile advertising services to customers -- a market that is expected to reach nearly $5 billion in U.S. service provider revenue by 2011 according to the report “Mobile Advertising: The Service Provider Revenue Opportunity” published by Heavy Reading Research.
Thanks to this joint offering, mobile service providers can, for example, offer consumers an opt-in service where they will receive a mobile message offering a discount at a consumer's favorite retailer around the corner on their way to work. The message could include the store address, phone number, proximity to the customer, and other brand and carrier developed content. For subscribers, receiving messages and advertising from brands subscribers care about – at the time and place they are most interested in getting them – enhances the mobile experience. By maximizing advertising effectiveness in reaching brands' target audiences, it generates increased advertising spend with service providers.
"One of the key benefits of mobile marketing is the precise location targeting inherent in mobile devices and communication networks," says Michael Boland, program director, mobile local media, for The Kelsey Group, a leading provider of local advertising research, analysis, data and competitive metrics. "Pulling together Alcatel-Lucent’s location service with Placecast’s location-based ad serving engine should create a greater ability to deliver more relevant ads that perform better."
Adds Gani Nayak, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Rich Communication business, "This offering enables carriers, and the brands they support, to create a highly-relevant and personalized experience for mobile users while also delivering immediate return on investment. It combines Alcatel-Lucent's best-in-class geo-fencing technology -- which supports millions of virtual fences -- with Placecast's leading location-based ad platform to launch large-scale, proximity-based mobile marketing campaigns."
The turnkey service, available in North American, seamlessly delivers messages and advertisements to any mobile device and screen without a capital investment by service providers. Subscribers simply sign-up for the service and select the kinds of messages and offers they want to receive. Their privacy is protected because their exact location is never revealed -- only the fact that they have entered a designated geographical area.
"Alcatel-Lucent's technology allows us to trigger the delivery of a tailored marketing message to a subscriber who has opted into the service when they enter a specific zone," said Alistair Goodman, CEO of 1020 Placecast. "This enables a direct connection from mobile to the physical world. We're excited to partner with such an established solutions provider and offer carriers the best targeting and delivery in location-based mobile advertising and marketing."
NSN wins Telenor Pakistan expansion contract
Nokia Siemens Networks has been awarded a frame contract to undertake Telenor Pakistan's network expansion over a period of five years. Telenor Pakistan, is further expanding its vast network and upgrading its infrastructure. This will enable the service provider to reach out to new subscribers, improve customer experience, and introduce additional feature-rich services quickly and cost effectively.
"The mobile space in Pakistan is intensely competitive, and the low ARPU levels combined with acute power shortages add to the challenge. As we started planning for our future growth, we aimed to choose our technology infrastructure and solution partner, carefully," said Irfan Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Telenor Pakistan. "We chose Nokia Siemens Networks for its proven capabilities in large scale expansions with a fast time to market, and in particular for its strong services capabilities."
Under this turnkey contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will undertake the site acquisition, construction, network implementation, logistics and project management. It will implement the Flexi Base Station, a pioneering product that is modular, easy to deploy, and energy efficient making it ideal for network expansion at reduced costs. Once implemented, Nokia Siemens Networks will monitor, manage and optimize the network using its NetAct and ServeAtOnce offering to ensure the highest service quality, and also train Telenor Pakistan’s team.
"For operators in emerging markets, the challenge isn’t just about achieving more while spending less, but also about offering more, while asking for less. Our unique model which combines leading edge product innovations, with strong implementation and management abilities, provides the best technology solution, with optimal CAPEX and OPEX savings, and this is what won Telenor Pakistan over," said Saad M. Waraich, Pakistan and Afghanistan Country Director, Nokia Siemens Networks.
Nokia Siemens Networks has extensive experience in rapid network rolls outs, specifically in emerging markets. Globally, a Nokia Siemens Networks base station goes live every three minutes. During 2008, the company rolled out 200,000 sites across the world.
"The mobile space in Pakistan is intensely competitive, and the low ARPU levels combined with acute power shortages add to the challenge. As we started planning for our future growth, we aimed to choose our technology infrastructure and solution partner, carefully," said Irfan Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Telenor Pakistan. "We chose Nokia Siemens Networks for its proven capabilities in large scale expansions with a fast time to market, and in particular for its strong services capabilities."
Under this turnkey contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will undertake the site acquisition, construction, network implementation, logistics and project management. It will implement the Flexi Base Station, a pioneering product that is modular, easy to deploy, and energy efficient making it ideal for network expansion at reduced costs. Once implemented, Nokia Siemens Networks will monitor, manage and optimize the network using its NetAct and ServeAtOnce offering to ensure the highest service quality, and also train Telenor Pakistan’s team.
"For operators in emerging markets, the challenge isn’t just about achieving more while spending less, but also about offering more, while asking for less. Our unique model which combines leading edge product innovations, with strong implementation and management abilities, provides the best technology solution, with optimal CAPEX and OPEX savings, and this is what won Telenor Pakistan over," said Saad M. Waraich, Pakistan and Afghanistan Country Director, Nokia Siemens Networks.
Nokia Siemens Networks has extensive experience in rapid network rolls outs, specifically in emerging markets. Globally, a Nokia Siemens Networks base station goes live every three minutes. During 2008, the company rolled out 200,000 sites across the world.
Handset sales down, smartphones rise, says Gartner
Inventory Destocking Adds 25 Million Units to Sell-In
Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 269.1 million units in the first quarter of 2009, a 9.4 per cent decrease from the first quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales surpassed 36.4 million units, a 12.7 per cent increase from the same period last year.
"There were some signs of a recovery in markets such as North America and China, but overall sales in the first quarter of 2009 registered the biggest quarter-on-quarter contraction since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001," said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. "This was also the first time the market contracted year over year during the first quarter, a period traditionally helped by strong seasonality in the Asia/Pacific market."
The channel intensified its efforts in the first quarter of 2009 to reduce the levels of stock it holds, as Gartner predicted in the fourth quarter of 2008. Stock reduction is intended to minimize capital investment in response to low consumer confidence. Sales into the channel were just short of 244 million units in the first quarter of 2009, while sales to users were just over 269 million units — a difference of 25 million units, compared with 17 million units in the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest difference ever recorded. Gartner expects channel inventory reductions to continue into the second quarter of 2009, albeit with lower volumes.
Nokia continued to lead the mobile phone market, but its share dropped to 36.2 per cent from 39.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 (see Table 1). Samsung retained second place and improved its market share as its sales totalled 51.4 million units. After dropping to the fifth position in the fourth quarter of 2008, Motorola overtook Sony Ericsson to regain fourth place.
Smartphone sales represented 13.5 per cent of all mobile device sales in the first quarter of 2009, compared with 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2008. Gartner analysts said positive performance by Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple (see Table 2) showed that services and applications are now instrumental to smartphones’ success.
"Much of the smartphone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touchscreen products, both in midtier and high-end devices," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. "'Touch for the sake of touch' was enough of a driver in the midtier space, but tighter integration with applications and services around music, mobile e-mail, and Internet browsing made the difference at the high end of the market."
Vendor Performance
Nokia’s worldwide sales reached 97.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009, thanks to reductions in inventory in markets such as Asia/Pacific and Latin America. This was the first time Nokia’s sales dipped below 100 million units since the first quarter of 2007. The real impact of the current market recession was on the average selling price (ASP), which saw an 18 per cent drop year over year. Nokia managed to grow its sales in the smartphone segment by introducing the Nokia 5800 into more regions.
Samsung had a very successful first quarter of 2009. With sales of 51.4 million units, Samsung's market share grew 4.7 percentage points to 19.1 per cent. It returned to double-digit profitability due to a good product mix. Sales of its Omnia, Tocco and Pixon handsets continued to benefit from strong consumer interest in touchscreen devices. The arrival of the Tocco Ultra Edition late in the first quarter of 2009, and the announcement of its first Android-based product, the i7500, will help Samsung in a highly competitive second half of 2009.
LG sold 26.5 million units in the first quarter of 2009, growing its market share by 1.9 percentage points year over year. The company benefited from a very strong portfolio of touchscreen, messaging and imaging devices. The new LG Arena device showcases a new user interface that demonstrates a positive focus on improving usability. However, Gartner said LG’s biggest challenge is to become competitive in the smartphone segment as services and applications become more important to customers.
Motorola continued to experience significant difficulties even in its home market, but it had a solid quarter with prepaid operators Boost Mobile and Tracfone. It expects worldwide sales of iDEN handsets to be up 50 per cent in 2009 compared with 2008. These factors will help sustain Motorola until it revamps its portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2009. Motorola has committed to Android not only to revamp its position in the second half of 2009, but also to produce long-term performance improvements. Gartner analysts question how Motorola will be able to differentiate its offering when so many players in the mobile device market will be delivering Android-based products at the same time.
Sony Ericsson lost market share compared both with the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2008, with sales of 14.5 million units. While the recession contributed to this decline, a weak product portfolio was also a factor. The product features that helped Sony Ericsson become one of the world's top vendors — imaging and music — are now too common to serve as a differentiator. Sony Ericsson is late to catch on to the popularity of touchscreen devices and has a limited smartphone portfolio. While its focus on services through Play Now Arena is important, Sony Ericsson needs to ensure its devices include the most desirable applications and features for consumers.
"With inventory-reduction efforts expected to continue in the second quarter of 2009, although to a lesser extent than what we have seen so far, and better-than-expected figures for the first quarter of 2009, we remain confident that overall sales to users for 2009 will remain considerably higher than the sell-in that many vendors are expecting,” Ms Milanesi said. “Device vendors will focus increasingly on smartphones, improved user interfaces and services to differentiate themselves and fuel consumer demand. We maintain our view that sales to users will decrease by about 4 per cent for 2009 compared with 2008, while sell-in will slow to around a 10 per cent decrease."
Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 269.1 million units in the first quarter of 2009, a 9.4 per cent decrease from the first quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales surpassed 36.4 million units, a 12.7 per cent increase from the same period last year.
"There were some signs of a recovery in markets such as North America and China, but overall sales in the first quarter of 2009 registered the biggest quarter-on-quarter contraction since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001," said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. "This was also the first time the market contracted year over year during the first quarter, a period traditionally helped by strong seasonality in the Asia/Pacific market."
The channel intensified its efforts in the first quarter of 2009 to reduce the levels of stock it holds, as Gartner predicted in the fourth quarter of 2008. Stock reduction is intended to minimize capital investment in response to low consumer confidence. Sales into the channel were just short of 244 million units in the first quarter of 2009, while sales to users were just over 269 million units — a difference of 25 million units, compared with 17 million units in the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest difference ever recorded. Gartner expects channel inventory reductions to continue into the second quarter of 2009, albeit with lower volumes.
Nokia continued to lead the mobile phone market, but its share dropped to 36.2 per cent from 39.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 (see Table 1). Samsung retained second place and improved its market share as its sales totalled 51.4 million units. After dropping to the fifth position in the fourth quarter of 2008, Motorola overtook Sony Ericsson to regain fourth place.
Smartphone sales represented 13.5 per cent of all mobile device sales in the first quarter of 2009, compared with 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2008. Gartner analysts said positive performance by Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple (see Table 2) showed that services and applications are now instrumental to smartphones’ success.
"Much of the smartphone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touchscreen products, both in midtier and high-end devices," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, based in Egham, UK. "'Touch for the sake of touch' was enough of a driver in the midtier space, but tighter integration with applications and services around music, mobile e-mail, and Internet browsing made the difference at the high end of the market."
Vendor Performance
Nokia’s worldwide sales reached 97.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009, thanks to reductions in inventory in markets such as Asia/Pacific and Latin America. This was the first time Nokia’s sales dipped below 100 million units since the first quarter of 2007. The real impact of the current market recession was on the average selling price (ASP), which saw an 18 per cent drop year over year. Nokia managed to grow its sales in the smartphone segment by introducing the Nokia 5800 into more regions.
Samsung had a very successful first quarter of 2009. With sales of 51.4 million units, Samsung's market share grew 4.7 percentage points to 19.1 per cent. It returned to double-digit profitability due to a good product mix. Sales of its Omnia, Tocco and Pixon handsets continued to benefit from strong consumer interest in touchscreen devices. The arrival of the Tocco Ultra Edition late in the first quarter of 2009, and the announcement of its first Android-based product, the i7500, will help Samsung in a highly competitive second half of 2009.
LG sold 26.5 million units in the first quarter of 2009, growing its market share by 1.9 percentage points year over year. The company benefited from a very strong portfolio of touchscreen, messaging and imaging devices. The new LG Arena device showcases a new user interface that demonstrates a positive focus on improving usability. However, Gartner said LG’s biggest challenge is to become competitive in the smartphone segment as services and applications become more important to customers.
Motorola continued to experience significant difficulties even in its home market, but it had a solid quarter with prepaid operators Boost Mobile and Tracfone. It expects worldwide sales of iDEN handsets to be up 50 per cent in 2009 compared with 2008. These factors will help sustain Motorola until it revamps its portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2009. Motorola has committed to Android not only to revamp its position in the second half of 2009, but also to produce long-term performance improvements. Gartner analysts question how Motorola will be able to differentiate its offering when so many players in the mobile device market will be delivering Android-based products at the same time.
Sony Ericsson lost market share compared both with the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2008, with sales of 14.5 million units. While the recession contributed to this decline, a weak product portfolio was also a factor. The product features that helped Sony Ericsson become one of the world's top vendors — imaging and music — are now too common to serve as a differentiator. Sony Ericsson is late to catch on to the popularity of touchscreen devices and has a limited smartphone portfolio. While its focus on services through Play Now Arena is important, Sony Ericsson needs to ensure its devices include the most desirable applications and features for consumers.
"With inventory-reduction efforts expected to continue in the second quarter of 2009, although to a lesser extent than what we have seen so far, and better-than-expected figures for the first quarter of 2009, we remain confident that overall sales to users for 2009 will remain considerably higher than the sell-in that many vendors are expecting,” Ms Milanesi said. “Device vendors will focus increasingly on smartphones, improved user interfaces and services to differentiate themselves and fuel consumer demand. We maintain our view that sales to users will decrease by about 4 per cent for 2009 compared with 2008, while sell-in will slow to around a 10 per cent decrease."
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