Tech MoJo

Apple iOS still the king, but Android catching up fast

2011-05-03T16:11:00.002+08:00

DESPITE mounting competition from other operating systems (OSs), Apple’s iOS will continue to own the majority of the worldwide media tablet through 2015, according to Gartner, Inc. Due to the success of Apple’s iPad, iOS will account for 69 percent of media tablet OSs in 2011, and represent 47 percent of the media tablet market in 2015.

Gartner analysts said Apple iPad did to the tablet PC market what the iPhone did to the smartphone market: re-invented it. A media tablet is not just a different form factor to perform the same tasks that can be done on a PC. Tablets deliver a richer experience around content consumption, thanks to the ecosystem they support. The richer the ecosystem, the stronger the pull for consumers.

“Seeing the response from both consumers and enterprises to the iPad, many vendors are trying to compete by first delivering on hardware and then trying to leverage the platform ecosystem,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

“Many, however, are making the same mistake that was made in the first response wave to the iPhone, as they are prioritizing hardware features over applications, services and overall user experience. Tablets will be much more dependent on the latter than smartphones have been, and the sooner vendors realize that the better chance they have to compete head-to-head with Apple.”

Google’s Android OS is forecast to increase its worldwide share of the media tablet market from 20 percent in 2011 to 39 percent in 2015. Analysts said Google’s decision not to open up the Honeycomb, its first OS version dedicated to tablets, to third parties will prevent fragmentation, but it will also slow the price decline and ultimately cap market share.

“Volume will be driven by support from many players, the ecosystem of applications for tablets getting more competitive and some platform flexibility allowing lower price points,” said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner. “The new licensing model Google has introduced with Honeycomb enables Google to drive more control, allowing only optimal tablet implementations that don’t compromise quality of experience. This might mean that prices will drop at a slower pace than what we have seen in the smartphone market.”

With the migration of Blackberry devices to QNX – the OS used on the Blackberry PlayBook - in 2012, RIM will be able to offer users a consistent experience across its whole product portfolio and create a single developer community. While QNX is a strong platform that delivers on performance, graphics and multitasking features, Gartner analysts said success in the media tablet market will be driven by richness of ecosystem.

“It will take time and significant effort for RIM to attract developers and deliver a compelling ecosystem of applications and services around QNX to position it as a viable alternative to Apple or Android. This will limit RIM’s market share growth over the forecast period,” Milanesi said. “It will be mainly organizations that will be interested in RIM’s tablets because they either already have RIM’s infrastructure deployed or have stringent security requirements.”

Gartner analysts said platforms such as MeeGo and WebOS, which currently have a weak presence in the smartphone market, will have a limited appeal unless they can grow that business.

“Smartphone users will want to buy a tablet that runs the same operating system as their smartphone. This is so that they can share applications across devices as well as for the sense of familiarity the user interfaces will bring,” Ms. Milanesi said. “Vendors developing on Android should be prepared to see more cross brand ownership as some users might put OS over brand when it comes to the purchasing decision. Improvements on usability and brand recognition are the strongest differentiators they can focus on.”

A media tablet is a device based on a touchscreen display (typically with a multitouch interface) whose primary focus is the consumption of media. The devices have screens with a diagonal dimension that is over 5 inches and may include screens that are as large as is practical for handheld use, roughly up to 15 inches. The media tablet runs a lightweight OS such as Android and iOS that is more limited than, or a subset of, the traditional fully featured OS such as Windows.

iPad 2 pandemic hits Klang Valley

2011-04-30T12:38:00.002+08:00

They've waited outside Machines since 6am and some slept there

MOVE aside Justine Bieber, it's iPad 2's turn to turn Malaysians into frenzy mode. Apple did it again this time as thousands of iPad die-hard fans thronged its distributors around Klang Valley early Friday morning to get the first batch of iPad 2.
The 10-inch touch screen device, that was first announced in the US on March 2 by Steve Jobs, has once again proved that it's still the king tablet computers in the market. Despite the hush-hush tactic adopted by Apple on the exact date of the launch, these fans somehow knew from a week ago that April 29 is the day, and some hardcore fans had camped outside Machines stores in two malls, Mid-Valley and Sunway Pyramid, to ensure they get the first iPads from the first batch.

One hour before Machines opens

It was an unusual sight in shopping complexes with Apple authorised distributors on Friday morning as fans had gathered as early as 6am, despite the stores' opening time of 10am.

By 9am, about 300 people had already formed a long circular que at Mid Valley's Machines outlet, patiently waiting for the store to open.

Machines in Mid-Valley was reported to offer 600 units of iPad 2 on Friday while Harvey Norman on the lower ground floor offered 50 units, all snapped up within an hour after the stores opened.

The first to be there was Internet marketer Wilson Lim, 26, who had booked a spot right in front of Machines in Mid Valley from 9pm last Thursday.

"I've been waiting for iPad 2 even since iPad 1 was available and I want to make sure that I'll be among the first Malaysians to own it officially," he said.

Lim and a bunch of other hardcore iPad were lucky as Mid-Valley mall's management had granted permission for iPad buyers to camp outside Machines the night before.

"I run a blog on iPad and have been following closely rumours and forums on this device and got the actual date of the iPad 2 availability," he said, adding thatt he will use his new 32GB Wi-Fi version iPad 2 for reading e-books, playing games and blogging.

Another early bird, Swee Wai Hoow, 25, an iPhone application engineer, started to camp outside Machines in Mid Valley as soon as the store closed its doors on Thursday night. He was there with three other friends, all iPad and iPhone applications engineers, from the night before.

"Originally we plan to go to Singapore to get the iPad 2, but since the availability of the products for these two countries fall on the same day, it's better and easier for us to just get it here," said Hoow.

"Malaysian were lucky too as the iPad 2 models here are cheaper than the ones in Singapore," he said.

For instance, a 16GB Wi-Fi version in Singapore costs S$728 (RM1,674), the same model here costs RM1,499. All the iPad 2 models are also cheaper by RM100 compared to iPad 1.

iPad 2 now in white frame too

Hoow said he's looking forward to experience the faster processor, longer battery life and faster graphic processor.

"Apple claims that the iPad 2 graphic processor is nine times faster than the previous version, and we're hoping to utilise this feature to develop more advance games for this platform. The the dual-cameras is also useful as we can also implement some ideas to make new games and applications," he said.

Meanwhile, sisters Siti Hafsah Mohd Hashim and Siti Hanizah Mohd Hashim came all the way from Sarawak to get their first iPad 2.

Wilson Lim"We've been following online forums and related Apple websites to know the exact date of the ipad 2 availability here and once we knew that it will be on Friday, April 29, we booked a room at the Gardens Hotel to ensure that our quest for iPad 2 will be a fruitful one," said Siti Hafsah.
"What I like about iPad 2 is the big screen size and thin form factor. This will make it easy for me to read e-books and online articles," she said.

The iPad 2 madness does not just hit the young generations, but also senior citizen as there were a few of them who joined the que on the early morning in Mid Valley.

One of them, Marcus LG Teoh, 56, said he's been watching his friends playing with iPad 1 all this while.

Wilson Lim spent the night in front of Machines to get the pole position

"I looks interesting and I tell myself that I am going to get the iPad 2," he said. Teoh was there at Machines queuing up from 7am.

"It's worthy it. Now I finally can feel and play with this elegant device," he said.

"My friends have been telling me that iPad games will be good for enhancing ones' hand co-ordination and reflex, and it is also a good way to keep senior citizen like me occupied and stimulate our minds," he said.

Teoh, who is still working as sales manager for a medical equipment company, said the iPad 2 will be a good device for business presentation.

"The ability to blow up pictures and graphics with your fingers seems attractive," he said.

Finally, close friends, Fadly Hashim, Izzat Zumairi and Roszaimy Yaakob have decided to get the 16GB Wi-Fi versions and in white.

"The white one looks really outstanding to me and I think people will straigh away know that we're holding iPad 2," says Fadly.

The three of them knew about the launch from chat forum on the Internet.

"The faster processor and longer 10 hours battery are a plus to the users. For example, I can run more applications faster and take the device out and use it the whole day without having to worry about charging it," says Izzat.

The launch has also attracted mobile broadband service providers like YES and Maxis to send their promoters at the stores to attract buyers.

There are six iPad 2 models namely the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB (Wi-Fi) and 16GB, 32GB, 64GB (Wi-Fi + 3G) and are priced at RM1,499, RM1,799, RM2,099, RM1,899, RM2,199 and RM2,499 respectively and they come in two colours - black and white.

Among the new features in the iPad 2 include LED-backlit display, dual-core A5 chip, dual cameras, 10 hours battery life, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology and 3G data service.

Will Motorola's tablet strategy work?

2011-04-29T00:27:00.001+08:00

Models with the new Motorola Xoom

THE much talked-about Motorola Xoom is finally here on our shore just a day before the anciously-awaited iPad 2 availability, but will it be able to attract tablet enthusiasts?

On paper, it looks like the Xoom is a pretty capable contender in the tablet space with its first-of-its-kind dual-core processor, 16:9 aspect ration 10.2-inch screen, high-definition screen, HDMI, SD slots and many more.

The dual-core 1GHz processor alone will allow users to muti-task a lot of applications. Anybody would like to have this powerful machine as their Web companion, no doubt about it.

But at RM2,499 for only a WiFi version and a tie-up to a 24-month data plan from Maxis is a bit too much to ask, despite the fact that Motorola throws in its DEFY 3G smartphone with the package - you'll get two nice devices with one purchase.

The current Xoom WiFi version needs the DEFY phone to make it a truly mobile warrior.

Is this a smart move? my answer yes and no.

Firstly, if I don't have a smartphone and a tablet, I may lean towards this package (RM2,499 for two smart devices sounds good), but if I already have a smartphone, I may not want to spend RM2,499 for a Wi-Fi version tablet.

Secondly, Maxis is also offering HTC Flyer (a 7-inchAndroid 1.5GHz tablet with 3G capability) from just RM199 with an undisclosed data plan. Retail price of the device is RM2,499. This may sound more reasonable, spend RM199 with a data-plan tie-up. The discount on the device is huge here.

Thirdly, iPad 2 is officially available today with no tie-up to any telcos. You can buy it off the shelves from local Apple distributors from RM1,499 to RM2,499.

Then, there is also Acer Iconia Tab A500, a 10-inch Android tablet from RM1,599, also off the shelves, and a few more tablets like Samsung Tab, Viewsonic, Dell Streak 5, etc.

Come to think of it, this tablet war is really about strategy - pricing, tie-ups. The devices are just about the same.

Dell joins tablet war

2011-04-28T12:24:00.000+08:00

NOTEBOOK and PC maker Dell has joined the Malaysian tablet war with the launch of its Streak 5 device.
Unlike the other players which focus on the 10-inch and 7-inch screen tablets, Dell has decided to go for a smaller 5-inch size, making it the smallest tablet so far available in Malaysia.
The Android 2.2 (Froyo) tablet is already available in the market since Wednesday at RM2,099.
What's so special about this mini tablet is that it can double up as a phone, means you don't need to carry a phone with it. This makes sense because at five-inches, doubling the Streak 5 as a phone does not awkward, compared to holding a 7-inch tablet close to your ear.
You can also synch your contacts with Facebook and import their profile images so that at a glance you can see who’s calling.
The device also offers Global Positioning System and eCompass functionality. Text-to-voice and turn-by-turn directions let you keep your eyes on the road, while Google Maps’ live traffic functionality helps you avoid those dreaded red zones (requires 3G connection).
The best part is the mini Streak 5 tablet phone multitasks, so you can play your favorite driving tunes and receive calls at the same time.
The tablet also comes with a 5MP camera on its back and a VGA one of the front.
Dell Streak 5 Android 2.2 Tablet includes the Stage User Interface (UI) and a collection of widgets that bring your content such as music, photos and email to your home screen.
It even includes Adobe Flash 10.1 support1 for the full mobile Web experience and the capability to use your Dell Streak 5 tablet phone as a portable WiFi hotspot that can be shared with up to eight other devices

iPad 2 finally here

2011-04-28T12:18:00.000+08:00

Apple-authorised resellers nationwide are gearing up for the much-anticipated iPad 2 launch, expected to take place tomorrow.
For the past couple of weeks, a number of resellers have opened up bookings for the second generation iPad. Consumers can register and put in a certain deposit.
"This will guarantee that they will get the product once it's available. This will avoid disappointment as we are anticipating a very high demand for the iPad 2," said one reseller, who is expecting a sold-out launch of the product at its chain of outlets.
With the iPad 1 stock already running dry at most major reseller outlets, the shelves are ready to be filled with iPad 2.
This product has been gaining popularity since it was launched in the United States in March.
The iPad 2 is 33 per cent thinner than its predecessor, weighing just 601 grammes, compared with iPad 1, which weighs 680 grammes.
It will have more goodies, such as a dual camera and a host of apps that include iMovie, FaceTime, Garage Band and Photo Booth.
Under the "hood" is Apple's new iOS4 4.3, which is said to be faster and offers better processing power for running applications like video-conferencing, movies and games.
iPad 2 also offers HDMI support, which means that users can connect the device to a high-definition TV for a playback function of videos or pictures.
Previous iPad sales in Malaysia were split 50:50 between the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G models. For the iPad 2, the Wi-Fi+3G is expected to be more popular due to the availability of new features like FaceTimes and dual camera, which would be more practical with 3G services.
In terms of pricing, Malaysia is expected to be one of the cheapest places where you can get an iPad 2, with prices expected to range from RM1,500 for the 16GB WiFi variant to RM2,500 for the 64GB Wi-Fi+3G variant.

Fly with HTC Flyer

2011-04-28T12:03:00.000+08:00

THE tablet PC market is set to get hotter with the latest announcement of HTC Flyer, a seven-inch touch-screen device.
Designed to meet the needs of mobile executives and tablet enthusiasts, the Flyer will be first through telecommunications Maxis starting May 12, 2011.
The telecommunications service provider has also singed a memorandum of understanding to allow it to be the first telco in Malaysia to exclusively offer existing and up-and-coming HTC smart devices to their customers.
According to Maxis' chief executive officer, Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke, the partnership with HTC began last year when Maxis partnered HTC to be the first to offer its customers the HTC Desire, Desire Z, Wildfire, HTC HD7 and HTC 7 Mozart.
"Today's partnership with HTC will ensure that Maxis customers will continue to be to the first in Malaysia to enjoy HTC’s new devices," he said at the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Maxis said it will offer the RM2,499 HTC Flyer at just RM199 with a selected wireless data plans, which will be announced soon.
Besides the HTC Flyer, Maxis also offers current HTC's flagship smartphone, the HTC Desire S.
To date, Maxis has 13.92 million subscribers with 41.5 percent of its mobile revenue coming from non-voice services.
Van Overbeke said besides offering exclusive devices for its clients, Maxis will also continue developing applications for these devices as an added value to the customers.
Commenting on the new Flyer tablet, HTC Asia's senior director of product marketing, Darren Sng, said that the new tablet offers users both convenience and power in one device.
"We've chosen to develop the Flyer in a seven-inch form factor to make it easy to hold. For example, when you write, you want to hold the device in one hand and the other hand writing, but if it's a 10-inch device, it will be difficult to do this," he said.
The Flyer is encased in a sleek aluminum unibody. It is also ultra-light, weighing as little as a paperback book, and compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket only.
"These features will make it easy for users to slip the device in their jacket pocket or even a small handbag.
The tablet is also said to be the current fastest tablet with a 1.5GHz processor and high-speed HSPA+ wireless capabilities.
As the device is designed for users to take notes with it, Sng said HTC has include a new technology called HTC Scribe, which transforms traditional note-taking into smart note-taking by integrating natural onscreen writing with thoughtful and integrated innovations.
"This technology enables users to use the included pen to take notes, sign contracts, draw pictures, or even write on a web page or photo. A feature called Timemark enables you to capture the audio of a meeting in line with your written notes, so tapping on a word in your notes instantly takes you to that exact place in time in the audio recording of the meeting. Notes are also integrated with the calendar so when there is an appointment reminder you are automatically prompted with an opportunity to begin a new note or in the case of recurring meetings, to continue where the last meeting left off," he explained.
Besides that, HTC will also be introducing NTC Watch, which is a movie download service to be used on its devices.
"With this service, users will be able to download premium Hollywood movies to their device," said Sng, adding that the service will be managed by HTC and will only be available in the fourth quarter of this year.
The HTC Desire S smartphone is already available atv RN1,299 onwards with Maxis data plans.
The Android-based phone features HTC’s trademark aluminum unibody and Qualcomm’s new 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 processor.
Its other features include dual front and back cameras, HD video recording and a 3.7-inch WVGA display.

World's Largest 3D Plasma TV for RM2.5 million

2011-04-11T23:04:00.000+08:00

PANASONIC Corporation, a world leader in the HDTV technology, has developed the world's largest1) 152-inch 4K x 2K definition Full HD 3D plasma display. The TV was displayed at Genting Highland recently and costs a whopping RM2.5 million.

The display features a revolutionary new plasma display panel (PDP) Panasonic developed with its new super-efficient quadruple luminous efficiency technology.

The technology enhances PDP’s unique advantages as self-illuminating device, contributing to delivering an overwhelming immersive experience to viewers.

By employing the newly-developed ultra high-speed 3D drive technology, which adopts the super-efficient quadruple luminous efficiency technology, the new panel achieves a higher illuminating speed, about one fourth the speed of conventional Full HD panels4). This technology enables high-quality Full HD 3D display on the ultra large 152-inch 4K x 2K (4,096 x 2,160 pixels) panel.

Era of Internet TVs

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000+08:00

PEOPLE want to use the Internet everywhere today on any device, and the latest trend is to have it on TVs.

To meet this new demand, Panasonic Malaysia will be offering Viera Connect, a new cloud-based Internet service, in line with the launch of its Viera plasma, LED and LCD TVs for 2011.

The company's managing director Jeff Lee said the function of TVs has changed through out the years.

"From just a large box to play films to displaring vivid colour in full HD and 3D format, TVs today have embraced the Internet technology, hence giving birth to what we called Internet protocol TV or IPTV," he said at the product launch in Genting Highland last week.

Lee said as the demand for flat panel TVs becomes stable, there will be two key factors that will drive the market and these are 3D technology and IPTV functionality.

"By 2014, we expect 3D TVs to make up over 30 ercent of the global market, which is equivalent to 90 million sets. Similarly we expect 40 percent of all TVs to have IPTV functionality by the same year," he said.

Panasonic's IPTV offerings will be available via Viera Connect, which is the company's cloud-based Internet service.

Within this expanding market, Panasonic's IPTVs have an edge as they have the capacity to deliver wide-ranging content and services that meet the needs of local consumers.

Lee said among the services users can expect from Viera Connect include video, music, games, social networking, news and information.

The video services include streaming platforms such as YouTube, USTREAM, WOW TV and Dailymotion; while the music service will allow users to stream and listen to music via SHOUTcast, a media streaming application on their Viera TVs.

For gamers, the service now offers a number of games which include Penalty Shoot Out, Free throw, Black Jack, Chess, Poker, Solitaire, Mine Sweeper, Dracula’s coffin and Number Place, and uers can download them for free.

Meanwhile, the social networking, news and information service will enable uers to log on to Facebook and Twitter on their Viera TVs, as well as make video calls via the Skype application. Lee said Panasonic will be working towards creating more exciting television experiences by accelerating the development of related technologies, as well as collaborating with developers to create more content for Viera Connect.

"We are also the official sponsor for next year's Olympic Game in London where many of the events will be shown in 3D," he said.

On the 3D technology segment, he said today Panasonic has 3D offerings from screen sizes between 37-inch up to 152-inch. The 3D full HD feature will be sustained by two key panel technologies that are the NeoPlasma for the Viera plasma TVs and IPS Alpha for the Viera LED LCD and LCD Tvs.

Altogether, Panasonic launcged 13 new TVs which include nine plasma models and four LED LCDs, and three LCD models, off which six are 3D models.

"This time, we have also made available 3D glasses in different sizes to better cater to people's comfortability wearing them," said Lee.

Other enhancement made include making 2D sources into 3D, THX-certified picture quality, Wi-Fi ready, 15 percent improvemet in luminous efficiency for better picture quality and lower power consumption.

Commenting on sales target, Panasonic malaysia's marketing director Hidekazu Sasaki said the company is looking at 23 percent share in the total flat panel sales in Malaysia this year, which is the same as 2010.

"However, in the 3D segment, we target to achieve 20 percent market share from 15 percent last year," he said.

Sasaki said Malaysia is a very important market to Panasonic sales contribution with a number one postion in Southeast Asia and number eight in the world.

"Globally, Panasonic is loking at double-digit growth this year," he added. On weather the recent Earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan will affect Panasonic business and product shipment to Malaysia, deputy managing director Chris Tomachi said the effect is not big as Panasonic main production plant in Japan is located at the Western part of the country.

"However, some of our component makers are based in the disaster area and we are doing all the best we could to ensure production is not affected," he said. Tomachi said Panasonic also has major plants in Malaysia and Thailand which are secure from the disaster and these plants will keep producing products as usual.

Pic above: At the launcing of Viera's TV platform are (from left) Sasaki, Lee, Tomachi and Panasonic Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Singapore's deputy managing director Hiroyoshi Suga.

Potential iPad killer?

2011-04-11T22:40:00.000+08:00

COMPUTER maker Acer is ready to capture the local tablet personal computer (PC) market with the introduction of its Iconia Tab A500 tablet.

The Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)-based touch screen device is expected to be available in stores locally at the end of April and will come in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi plus 3G version.

According to the company's director, brand management and product marketing division, smart handheld, Andy Chang, the Iconia Tab A500 has been designed thoroughly to meet the current and future needs of tablet users.

"We've seen a lot of limitations that previous tablets in the market had like the absence of memory expansion slot, camera functions, HDMI slots, etc, and we have included all these in the Tab A500 tablet," he said in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The Acer 10.1-inch tablet comes with a micro SD slot that supports up to 32GB external storage, mini HDMI for connectivity to flat panel TVs, dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2, which is said to deliver up to two time faster browsing, better graphics and optimised HD viewing, 3D and console-quality gaming, and multimedia playback.

Besides that, it also comes with a five-megapixel rear-facing camera plus 2MP front-facing camera for video recording, video chat, or picture taking. The camera can also be used as a barcode scanner.

Chang is optimistic that tablet PC will be as famous as the notebook and netbook among computer users.

"The devices will not out do each other as both have their own advantages. While notebooks and netbooks are best designed for e-mail, Web browsing, power point presentation, tablets are designed for slightly different purpose. We believe people will use tablets differently from the way they use notebooks or netbooks," he said.

"Study shows that the top three applications people do on tablets are gaming, browsing and social networking, and this is what the Aconia A500 has also been designed for," he added. Commenting on the reason for Acer to adopt Android for the Iconia Tab A500, Chang said this is due to the strong support the OS gets from application developers.

"The Android-based OS and the number of applications available give users the future they can expect. So when you buy a tablet like the Iconia, you will get more than just the preload games, ebooks, apps, MP3 tools," he said.

Chang also said the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is a strong platform. In terms of applications, the Androind market now has more than 100,000 applications and the OS has also grew 600 percent over the last year in the smartphone category. The version 3.0 will make it an even stronger competitior.

"It offers a very quick customisation, smooth operations like drag and drop at just your fingertips," he said. As the tablet market gets more competitive this year, Chang said it is likely that every other vendor will offer about the same product. "For Acer, we have leveraged our PC experience and applied it to the Iconia Tab A500. We make sure the hardware is very competitive and offers parellel experience at a reasonal cost possible," he said. One example is to make the view angel possible at 80 to 85 degree to allow users to the widest viewing angle possible Besides that, Acer has also included its own applications like the clear.fi media sharing system for seamless integration in the home clear.fi environment to easily access, play and share multimedia across the home network and to instantly publish updates to social media networks.

The Iconia Tab A500 also comes with Acer's Social Jogger, which is an application that allows users to login into multiple social networking accounts once. Its full capacitive multi-touch screen ensures an optimal on-screen experience from every angle.

The the hardware side, the Tab A500 offers aluminum casing to give a cool look and feel, while its high gloss finish anodizing decorated with laser engraved textures demonstrates subtle sophistication.

"Despite being just 13.3mm thick, it's powerful enough to provide fun and productivity in any location and would survive a drop from a table height," said Chang, adding that Acer also has plans to launch 3D tablet in Q1 next year.

The Iconia Tab A500 will be price from RM1,599 to RM1,999 depending on models. Besides the Iconia Tab A500, Acer will also be offering a smallr seven-inch Tab A100 tablet , which will be on the shelf in late May. It comes with 8GB and 16GB storage and will be priced from RM1,099 and 1,499.

Better Web experience with IE9

2011-04-11T22:31:00.000+08:00

AFTER doing a thorough case study on Web browsing habits and concerns among people in 11 countries, including Malaysia, and 21 countries in Europe, Microsoft launched its latest browser, the Internet Explorer 9 (IE9).

According to Microsoft Malaysia's chief marketing and operations officer Danny Ong, the days of the Internet was just a place to get information was long gone.

"Today, people use the Net to interact, connect, share thoughts through videos, photos and applications, and the IE9 has been designed to meet that needs, offering features that the users like most," he said at the launch of the browser last week in Kuala Lumpur. Ong said based on the study that Microsoft did, speed, safe, abd cluter-free browser took top priority among Malaysians when it comes to Web browsing.

"In Malaysia, 91 percent of users named speed as an important feature of their Web-surfing experience, more so than most other countries in the region," he said.

Like most other countries in Asia-Pacific, Malaysian users tend to struggle the most with loading video content on the Web. It is also found that Malaysians have the desire to have greater speed for their browsers, especially when 77 percent of them want to watch high-definition (HD) movies on the Internet in the future.

Aside from speed, users in Malaysia seemed to be the most concerned about security, with only two percent of responses admitting to never worried about downloading unsafe content online. Another aspect that holds clear to Malaysian users is the need for a clean and clutter-free browser as part of their Web-surfing experience.

What Microsoft did with IE9 is featuring new features like Hardware Acceleration to harness the full potential of the PC and make online experience much faster. The company has also added a tool called SmartScreen Filter which can protect the computer by warning users when attempting to view sites or download files that are potentially unsafe.

A Tracking Protection is also added to allow more level of control and choice about the information users reveal about their online activities. Elaborating further on the features of IE9, Microsoft Asia Pacific's product manager Jonathan Wong said the new browser now has site-centric approach to bring sties front and centre through Windows 7, to enable better Web experience. "We've include features such as Pinned Sites and JumpList to enable people to put their Websites directly on Windows 7 taskbar as though they are native applications, and then to quickly perform tasks related to those Websites, such as check their inbox, see breaking news or accept a friend invitation," he said.

"Currently, there are about 1,000 of the world's top sites are offering the pinning features, like FB, Twitter, Wordpress, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Huffington Post, etc," he adds. Besides that, the new version of IE also takes advantage the power of modern Windows PC hardware to improve all-around Web browsing performance. For example, IE9 harnesses the power of graphics processing unit (GPU), unlocking 90 percent of the PC's power.

"Developers can now build faster Websites using the interoperable HTML 5 or by using plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft Silverlight," he said.

On the security aspect, Wong said IE9 is now designed with built-in security, privacy and reliability technologies that keep users safer online," he said, adding that the Tracking protection feature in IE9 put users in control of what data they are sharing as they move around the Web. IE9 also provides SamrtScreen filter, a feature which uses reputation data to remove unnecessary warnings for well-known files and more severe warnings when the download has a higher risk of being malicious.

To date, Microsoft claims that the SmartScreen feature has blocked over 1.5 billion malware and phishing attacks and blocking over three million attacks each day. Users can view more features of the IE9 at www.BeautyoftheWeb.com

First IT fair of 2011

2011-04-11T22:24:00.000+08:00

MORE than 150,000 visitors thronged the inaugural Malaysia IT Fair at Mid Valley conventre centre from Jan 28 to Jan 30, 2011. Themed "Bringing IT closer to you", the fair was organised by Unified Distribution Technologies Sdn Bhd and showcased more than 80 IT product brands with more than 200 booths over approximately 4,776 square metres. Although less than half the size the bigger PC Fair, the Malaysia IT Fair managed to offer quite a good range of products for visitors including laptops/netbooks, cameras, storage, security software, and many more at discounted prices. What's new and interesting about this fair is the inclusion of activities for visitors like auctions, trivia, contest and on-stage games, which truly succeeded in engaging visitors. For example, the auction sessions allowed visitors to buy items like iPads, smartphones, laptops, speakers and peripherals starting from RM1. In conjunction with the rabbit year celebration, the organiser has also invited a well-known Malaysian Feng Shui master Kenny Hoo to give Feng Shui outlooks to the visitors.

Smartphones getting smarter

2011-04-11T22:11:00.000+08:00

SMARTPHONES are getting smarter than ever, and Google forsee more innovations are coming to the mobile operating systems (OSes).

According to Google Southeast Asia's head of marketing, Derek Callow, today's smartphones are now more powerful than computers were just a few decades ago, which means that with a good data connection, people can now access the power of a million computers right from their pocket. "We want to take advantage of these trends by innovating on the unique features a phone offers that regular desktop computers don't have," he said.

"Phones have become very sophisticated and next year five billion mobile phones will be in the market. Our goal is to build innovative mobile apps that work seamlessly across platforms, such as Goggles, Voice Search, Latitude and Maps for mobile," he said.

For example, phones have eyes through their built-in cameras, allowing us to develop products like Goggles so one can search the web through images.

Or transforming the microphone one normally use to talk with his/her friends, into a way for you to easily speak a search term into your phone. "We want to create compelling - almost magical - mobile applications across all platforms and devices so that users can easily access information wherever they might be," he added.

Commenting on the trends for mobile OS and the mobile phone market in Malaysia, Callow said the number of people accessing and searching the Web from their mobile phones is on the increase as more people use Android-powered devices and other mobiles and operating systems. "And increased adoption means more web searches and more opportunities for advertising revenue and growth.

This in turn, creates a better, more innovative web, whether people access it via PC or mobile, which is a win-win situation for all parties," he said. According to the latest third-party statistics, Malaysia achieved a 218 percent increase in mobile advertising revenue this year compared to 2009, garnering an overall growth of 103 percent in 2010.

"This increase not only holds true for Malaysia, but most parts of the world as well. With more than half of all new Internet connections now coming from mobile phones, mobile has quickly become a critical part of our business, and will continue to do so in 2011," said Callow. As for Android, the OS is delivered via a global partnership network of 27 OEMs and 169 carriers in 96 countries with 300,000 daily Android activations.

The OS now has over 100,000 apps. From an unknown operating system a couple of years back, Google Android is getting much attention these days among smartphone phone and tablet computer users. As of January this year, there are over 145 compatible Android devices around the world with global partnership network of 27 OEMs and 169 carriers in 96 countries and 300,000 daily activations.

"This is a long way from when we first introduced the first Android-powered device, the T-Mobile G1, in October 2008. We’re obviously very pleased by Android’s success, which is largely because it’s open source, so anyone can use it in their devices," he said. He said Google is fully committed the development in the mobile space.

"We have teams across the globe working to optimise Google’s products across all platforms and devices. We are also working on new innovations, such as Google Goggles and Voice Search, to take advantage of the unique features mobile devices offer," he added. What makes Android different is that it is open.

"The openness of Android drives innovation for developers, who can utilise its open source platform to create apps that cater to the needs of users, and for handphone manufacturers, who can use the flexibility Android provides to customise the experience on their devices," says Callow. "The more users become familiar with how the Android operating system on their phone can make the phone more powerful and yet easier to use, the more platform providers and handset manufacturers will need to innovate and compete to give users what they want. This will mean mobile phones should get better and better," he said.

There is also the appeal of App Inventor, a new tool in Google Labs that makes it easy for anyone, programmers and non-programmers, professionals and students, to create mobile applications for Android-powered devices. "For many people, their mobile phone and access to the Internet is always within reach. App Inventor for Android gives everyone, regardless of programming experience, the opportunity to control and reshape their communication experience," said Callow.

For the upcoming Android version that is Honeycomb, Goolge is said has optimised it for tablet form factors, featuring a brand new user interface designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes. "It also improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customisation. It will also feature the latest Google Mobile innovations including Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, access to over three million Google eBooks, and Google Talk with video and voice chat," said Callow.

The other new verion Gingerbread, or Android 2.3, comes with a more refined user interface across the system, making it easier to learn, faster to use, and more power-efficient. There’s also faster, more intuitive text input and a redesigned soft keyboard for faster text input and editing, an updated set of standard applications that lets the user take new approaches to managing information and relationships and improved power management.

"Because they’re open source, Android availability in a country is determined by phone makers, not Google. It’s also up to the phone manufacturer to decide which version of Android to use on their products, whether device or tablet," he said.

It's raining tablets

2011-04-11T21:39:00.000+08:00

IF 2010 was the year of iPad, this year could be the year of tablet war.

The recently-concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US, showed that majority of the consumer electronic product players are banking on tablets and touch-screen technologies to drive their products in the ever-competitive consumer electronics market.

Market research company Gartner expects tablet PC sales this year to shoot the roof with triple sales from 2010, while technology research firm Yankee Group estimated that tablet sales will grow from 21 million in 2010 to 168 million in 2014. Apple, which is now enjoying huge success with its iPad, still have the pole position in this war being the first to really come out with real tablet, but competitions are just seconds behind it.

The sleek A4-sized tablet of joy is now faced with more than 50 competitors knocking at its door wanting a piece of the market share. At CES 2011 alone, easily 50 PCs were announced, signalling huge competition ahead. Companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola, Asus, Lenovo, Fujitsu, RIM, Dell and Sharp have shown that they are ready for the tablet war with their own versions of the devices, expected to hit the market this year.

And many of these tablet PCs are expected to run on Google's latest Android 3.0 operating system, also known as Honeycomb. Apple, although didn't make any appeareance at CES 2011, has been rumoured to come out with iPad 2 this year. This could futher add the heat to the already hot market.

The beginning of the end of record stores

2010-02-07T10:07:00.000+08:00

Berka (third from left) with American band Boys Like Girls at the launch of the new Nokia Comes With Music X6 phones.

THE music retail industry is changing. Once people who wanted to listen to their favourite artists would go to a music store and buy their album, in CD format.

But now, it's different. The new generation of youngsters would just go online get the songs they wanted. It's easeir that way and costs less or even free.

For these users, they were born in the Internet age and buying and getting things online have been what they do everyday.

For the industry, tuning to what the people need and like is vital, and Nokia has made a good start with its "Comes With Music" initiatives.

Knowing what its young users want, the gloabal phone vendor has bundled its latest phones, the X6, with songs offerings, for free.

According to the company's general manager, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei Vlasta Berka, the new phone comes with Nokia's Comes With Music service, offering users unlimited access to million of tracks from a diverse catalogue of international and local artists.
"The service offers consumers a new way to discover and download music, revamping their entire digital music experience," he said at the launch of the phone in Kuala Lumpur recently.
The Nokia's music catalogue comprises a diverse range from all four major record labels, namely Sony Music, EMI Group, Warner Music Group, Universal as well as independent record labels.
With Comes With Music-enabled devices, users will have access to download and keep high-quality tracks on Ovi Music.

Currently, there are 3.5 million songs and growing worth RM80 million for download over the Comes With Music service for the next 12 months.
What Nokia is doing could help the industry fight music piracy as consumers can legitimately download songs from the correct source.

This way, music makers can be rewarded better over what they do. Hence, help fluorish the local music industry.

Besides that, partnership with the local music industry is important and Comes With Music provides great opportunity for local artists to get their music heard by fans locally and internationally.

Meanwhile, Recording Industry Malaysia (RIM)'s chairman and Universal Music Group International senior vice president, Asean, Sandy Monteiro said the service offered by Nokia will revive the slow music industry, in terms of CD sales.
Over the last 10 years, the music industry has dropped 50 percent worldwide. Ironically, he said although the music industry looks like a sinking industry, the consumption of music is higher than ever as people are now moving online to get their music.

Monteiro said in 2004, digital music download accounted for five percent of the industry sales, but last year, it had grown to 30 percent," he said, adding that in a few years' time digital downloads will over take CD sales.
Monteiro said local artists will benefit as they will get their share of royalty every time their song is downloaded.
Apparently, there is a mechanism that track the number of downloads, etc so that every artist will get what they deserve.

Sony greets 2010 with fresh technologies

2010-01-27T09:21:00.000+08:00

THREE-dimensional TVs, Blu-ray, Internet and network-enabled tech will be among the hot consumer product trends from Sony Electronics for 2010 as the company steps up efforts to offer users new enhancements in the consumer electronics market.
Its president and chief operating officer Stan Glasgow said under the three umbrellas of the consumer tech above, Sony is rolling out new products and technologies that will change consumers' perception and experience.

"The new products will see Sony uniting its strength in the electronics, movies, music and games arena, he said at the new products showcase at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010 in Las Vegas, US.
"We’re serious about delivering entertainment experiences that inspire, excite, and engage consumers. At the same time, we’re committed to providing them with the content they want everywhere and anywhere,” he said of Sony's direction in the consumer electronics market.

This year will see Sony making big moves in the 3D TV and related 3D tech areas. The new products from Sony will change how people view TVs, acquire high definition and 3D content, and use social networking sites.
Its new 3D capable Bravia NX800 LCD televisions for 2010 will include its first full HD 3D integrated TV, bundled with two pair of active shutter glasses as well as a built-in transmitter. The Edge LED Backlit LCD series will feature screen sizes from 22 to 60 inches to suit the broadest range of consumers.

The 3D TV is said to feature Monolithic design that allows it to be displayed at a six-degree upward slant, for natural viewing experience.
Complementing these sets are two other series of 3D-capable models that will have many of the same features, with the active shutter glasses and 3D Sync Transmitter which come separately.

Besides that, Sony’s 3D initiative also extends to several other products, including a soon-to-be announced Blu-ray 3D player and home theater system, in addition to upcoming 3D announcements for Vaio PCs and digital still cameras.
"To ensure there is "live link" in the 3D space, we (Sony) does not only coming up with the products, but also working on content creation, acquisition, production to distribution and presentation in theaters and the home," said Glasgow.

In an agreement announced at CES, Sony has signed on to be an official sponsor of ESPN’s new 3D network. Under the agreement, ESPN will utilise Sony professional HD cameras for its productions.
"ESPN will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events in 3D during its first year beginning with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match on June 11 featuring South Africa vs Mexico," he said.

Other events to be produced in 3D include up to 25 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, Summer X Games, college basketball, NBA basketball, college football and basketball.
On the Blu-ray department, Glasgow said the technology is now an integral part of several Sony products.

The entry-level BD players, PlayStation 3 systems, Vaio PCs with read/write drives, a 400-disc mega-changer that utilises Gracenote Music and Video ID technology to the latest networked player that combines full Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD, and SA-CD functionality with the ability to instantly stream movies, videos, music and more from Netflix, Amazon video on demand, YouTube, Slacker Internet Radio, Pandora, NPR, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, and more than 25 content providers through the Sony Bravia Internet video platform.

Another new product by Sony at the CES is the Dash device. "It takes on a new dimension on how people access and customise content," said Glasgow.
The Dash device, which looks like a digital photo frame, is a personal Internet viewer with a seven-inch colour touch screen to allow users to have quick, customised information and entertainment.

"The Dash device accesses a wireless home network and continuously updates information designated by the user. That information is then delivered by more than 1,000 selectable free apps to give consumers customised Internet content," said Glasgow, adding that being connected these days is critically important, but equally important is the ability to choose and personalise content like Facebook, etc.

On the digital book front, Sony also announced the third addition to its Reader line digital book products, the Reader Daily Edition, joins the Reader Pocket Edition and Reader Touch Edition, and offers wireless access to new releases and The New York Times bestsellers in Sony’s Reader Store (www.readerstore.com).

Continuing its efforst in the digital imaging sector, Sony this year is making new enhancement to its Cyber-shot digital still cameras, digital SLRs and Handycam camcorders.
"The new enhancements will give consumers more flexibility in creating and managing their content," said Glasgow.

He said Sony’s new consumer Handycam camcorders, Cyber-shot digital still cameras, and several other devices are now be capable of using SD and SDHC as well as Memory Stick flash memory cards.
Additionally, Sony will introduce SD and microSD memory cards in sizes ranging from two to 32 Gigabytes. Sony will continue to advance the Memory Stick format and will now add the SD format to its full-line media offerings as well (microSD/microSDHC cards will range from 2 to 8 Gigabytes).

Besides that, Sony is also unveiling 17 new camcorder models, starting with a new prosumer model, HDR-AX2000 that delivers full HD performance with film-like progressive scan.
The social media activities the past years has gotten Sony's attention and the company has come out with a special camera device known as Bloggie to cater to this Web community.

Its new Bloggie camera models MHS-PM5 and MHS-CM5 include some of the same features and shooting options found in more expensive cameras, such as face detection and image stabilisation, along with the ability to easily upload content to popular video sharing Web sites in an ultra-compact body.

Finally, Sony has also introduced a new element of Sony’s digital imaging plans is the TransferJet feature, a wireless high-speed data transfer technology that allows two TransferJet-enabled cameras to communicate and transfer files simply by bringing the TransferJet marks on each product within one inch of each other. The Transfer Jet technology will also find its way into Sony’s VAIO notebook line, starting with the F Series.
To transfer photos, TransferJet-enabled still cameras must each utilise the TransferJet Memory Stick media. The technology will be featured in the Cyber-shot line beginning in February and other Sony products throughout 2010.

The Sony product announcement was highlighted with a special appearance by singer Taylor Swift, who will document her life using Sony products.

The promise of 3D

2010-01-27T08:52:00.000+08:00

THREE-dimensional (3D) products and content are expected to hit the consumer market in a very big manner starting this year.
Although none of the products are visible yet in local stores, vendors like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips and many more have generally "agree" that 3D will be the technology moving forward, after plasma, LCD and LED.

The recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010 in Las Vegas witnessed some of the 3D products that will hit the market starting summer this year.
Among them include 3D TVs and glasses, 3D Blu-ray players, and 3D content effort.
For those who still wonder what 3D TVs are, they are a new breed of TVs that allow you to view content in 3D. Meaning by wearing the 3D glasses, you see the content moving towards you or at least not in the limited retangular borders of the TV.

The whole industry is really up to this technology that the whole floor dedicated to home entertainment products was dominated by 3D TVs by all the major players like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, LG. Even Chinese manufacturer TCL came out with an impressive set of 3D TV technologies.
The companies' approaches to this new technologies may be slightly from one another, but their aims are similar, that 3D TVs and accessories related to it are set the change the TV and home entertainment industry for good.

Sony, for instance, made its entry into this market with the Bravia series, the XBR-LX900 series. The TV is not just able to play 3D content, but with added connectivity features like Internet video capability with integrated 802.11n WiFi connectivity. This means users can not just view content from a local source like a Blu-ray player or satellite, but stream them from the Web.
Samsung, meanwhile, showcased the company's might in the TV display arena and signaling its readiness to take on other players anytime.

It's range of 3D TVs product lineups include ED-backlit LCD and PDP TVs of the 7000 series and above, as well as the 750 series LCD TVs.
Samsung shows that it's moving a step ahead in the all-new 3D TV arena. Its 3D TVs can be viewed without having to put on special 3D eyewear, meaning that consumers still can view the content in 3D using their naked eyes. China brand TCL also came out with the same concept with eyewear-free 3D TVs.

Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG and Toshiba all announced that their some models 3D TVs will be available on the market 2010 this year, but certain model will come either later in the year or in 2011.
None of these companies unveiled the prices for their new 3D TVs, but consumers can expect to burn their pocket with this new line of home entertainment panels.
Following the announcements of the 3D TVs, these players also came out with products that will play the content. This include 3d Blu-ray players, 3D eyewear, 3D cameras and camcorders, and plans for more 3D content.

The 3D content may be at the moment, but be prepared to see floods of it coming later this year. The Blu-ray disc association has agreed upon a 3D standard, which allows 3D movies and games to be released on Blu-ray disc players and Sony's PS3 video game consoles which will soon hit the market by mid this year.
ESPN will start broadcasting in 3D this summer with a World Cup football match. Also Discovery Communications, Sony and Imax announced plans for a joint venture that will roll out the first 24/7 dedicated 3D television network in the US next year.

So, you may be wondering when will the first 3D TVs an its related products will be available in Malaysian shores.
According to Sony officials I talked to at CES, Sony will stat displaying its 3D products in its stores worldwide starting February, but products will only be sold in Summer, that means around second or third quarter of this year.
So it's not a long time to go.
Price-wise, none of the companies at CES unveiled their prices for the 3D TVs, but based on the current LED LCD TVs, I guess the 3D TVs would be around at least RM10,000 for start, I could be wrong. Mmmmm

Now you can DIY your company portal

2009-06-02T16:49:00.000+08:00

WANT to embrace the Internet to expand your business, but worried about the cost?
Yes it may be expensive to have people managing your company's portal, but what if there is a way to do it yourself?

But... I'm not an expert
What if everything is template-based. You just have to fill in the blanks. Sure you can do it.
The DIY portal solution is here, and it's made-in-Malaysia.
Local e-business specialist Skali has come up with a DIY Web portal solution aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) andsmall office-home office (SOHO) outfits.
Called WebbingPortal, the solution offers businesses with little budgetto easily establish a Web presence, said Skali Managed E-business SdnBhd's chief executive officer Roslan Brahim.

It used to be difficult
"Traditionally, it has always been troublesome for the small players tohave a Web presence as it involves a lot of work and cost. Today, a professional Web portal can be created and run live in just two hours through WebbingPortal and at a fraction of the cost," said Roslan at Skali's head quarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The minimal amount involved to create a five-page business portal isusually about RM1,600;WebbingPortal is available from as low as RM288.
According to Roslan, although there are many companies with Web portals,the reality is that there are even more that do not.

Thousands of companies but little with Web presence
Believe it or not, about 80 per cent of the companies out there have no Web presence. Theyare basically SMBs and SOHO outfits, which have been known to want to tap the Internet but have limited budget and resources to do so.
Well, they can now do so with the template-based WebbingPortal. "Customers can also tweak the design of the Web site to their likingif they have better skin, background pictures, etc," Roslan said.

For the cottage industry
Besides SMBs, Skali is targeting the DIY Web solution at the local cottage and home industry such as songket weavers, kuih sellers, cakemakers and keropok producers.
"Most of these people use blogs to promote their products, but a blog'scapability as a business platform is limited. It also doesn't lookprofessional," Roslan said.

Affordable
Skali is offering four packages for WebbingPortal: WXP SOHO, WXP Biz,WXP Pro and WXP E-Commerce, priced at RM288, RM588, RM988 and RM3,888respectively.

All in the "red" except security

2009-06-02T16:36:00.000+08:00

THE security software market in the Asia-Pacific is growing, despite the unfavourable economic conditions.

The segment remains in the black when other portions of ICT spending have gone into the red since March, according to IDC Malaysia's programme manager, software research RogerLing.

Why companies still invest in security

The main reason behind the continued demand is due to concerns ofsecurity breaches and data losses.

Organisations can reduce their budgeton other things, but when it comes to security, they cannot compromise, said Ling from IDC.

"Organisations see security as an area that needs to bemaintained or increased to survive," he said.

In a recent IDC survey of over 1,300 IT executives and chief information officers in the region, over 36 per cent of the respondents said they will increase their infrastructure software spending over the next 18 months. And from this group, 63 per cent said they will focus their IT budget on security software to address threats and improve compliance.

These findings confirmed that IT securityinvestments have now become even more important as businesses recognisethe need to hedge themselves against security attacks.

What areas companies are focusing on

Based on the IDC survey, two areas of security that companies arefocusing on are data loss prevention and Web and messaging security.

In planning for their security infrastructure investments, organisationsneed to look beyond anti-virus solutions, Ling said. "Most people still think that security is all about anti-virus. If thatis the case, your security infrastructure is not well-protected becauseyou are only thinking of one aspect of the whole infrastructure," he said,adding that the people aspect of security needs to be addressed, too.

"Organisations need to look at data loss, identity and access solutionsfor the people aspect of the security infrastructure. Look beyond anti-virus as threats come from many angles."

Is LED the future of lighting?

2009-06-02T14:47:00.000+08:00

Many may still not familiar with LED or light-emitting diode lights, but it seems that the lighting industry is moving towards this technology.

Yours truly was lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit one of the biggest lighting event in the world, the Lightfair International in New York last month.

Almost all of the 500 exhibitors at the event have at least one product or some all products based on LED technology.

Tech&U, New Straits Times, was there on the invitation by Philips, one of the main exhibitors at Lightfair.

What's the big deal about LED

Put aside the price. Its benefits are a lot actually, in the long run - low maintenance, energy saving, multi-colour and programmable.

Unlike normal bulbs or lights, can can only last a few thousand hours, LEDs can give lights up to 60,000 hours.

It's like once you install and LED light, you can forget about changing it. Besides long lasting, it saves energy up to 80 percent than current technology.

Talk about green house effect, LED could be part of the answers in lowering carbon emissions.

Besides that, the LED bulbs can produce any desiredcolour (up to 16 million colours), which is not possible with any other existing technology.

These include creating effects such as colour wall washing and sharp light/ shadowlines.

It's programmable

LED also allows consumers to minimise light pollution since it can beprecisely targeted - because it is programmable with a computing software.

One of the most common sights of LED lighting use today is in billboardadvertisements in famous intersections such as Times Square in New York,Piccadilly Circus in London, and Ginza in Tokyo.

The effects are amazingwhere these advertisements come alive with millions of colours, and withvideo capability they can easily capture the attention of passers-by.

Even though not available in this region yet, LED lighting is alreadybeing used today in homes as decorative lighting, very often usingcolours. A key feature of LED-based lighting is the ability to change the colourof the light. This opens up the possibility of personalising light effectsto change the ambience in a room or the colour of an object.

New Facebook threat emerges

2009-02-26T16:46:00.000+08:00

FACEBOOK diehards beware. A new threat has emerged in a form of a third-party application.
IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded users to exercise caution about which third-party applications they install on their profile.

The warning follows reports that a rogue application, called ‘Error Check System’ has bombarded some members of the social networking site with bogus notification messages saying that friends had experienced problems viewing their profiles. Since Facebook does not approve applications before they are made available on the site, users are often putting their trust in complete strangers when they choose to install the next application.

In this instance, there was nothing wrong with the recipient’s profiles and the warning messages were in fact a viral attempt by a third party to recruit more users, and - potentially - steal personal information for financial gain. "Facebook applications are very popular and once all your friends have downloaded the latest must-have, it’s very tempting to follow suit," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"But, installing all applications sent your way, could open up serious holes in your security and allow hackers to gain access to your profile and the information stored on it. Just like with other computing applications, it's essential to exercise caution when you're not sure of the origin - just because your friends have downloaded it, doesn't necessarily mean it’s safe."

Another IT security firm F-Secure, meanwhile, reported that the latest Facebook fake application is a particularly sophisticated form of social engineering.
This program doesn’t lure users into installing malware promising nude pics of Angelina Jolie or a Nigerian inheritance, this applications spreads to generate publicity for itself. Once the media report on the suspected Facebook threat, and tech-savvy readers google the name of the application to find out more about it, that’s where the actual threat surfaces: rogue anti-virus sites that appear among the search results.

The Facebook application didn't do very much other than spread itself… it did however create a newsworthy story. And now people will be searching for that story and will stumble upon fake anti-virus sites and inject themselves with malware. F-Secure said the "Error Check System" application does not do anything malicious but it does spread to the user's friends without any form of interaction or authorisation from you.

In other words, it spreads like a worm causing more Facebook users to install the application. However, if the user is curious (which in this case, highly likely would because Facebook users kept getting notifications that your friend has faced some errors when checking your profile) and punches in "Error Check System" in Google, the first result returned will prompt you to install a rogueware when clicked on.

Facebook users can recognise what they are seeing is a fake Facebook application because this application has very poor grammar, but then again applications available on Facebook are not verified by Facebook. You are using and installing them at your own risk.
F-Secure said at the moment, Facebook users should exercise extreme caution when installing these third-party applications. Always when in doubt, think twice and if it is too good to be true, it truly is.

For more info go to:

http://www.sophos.com/facebook
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/02/23/beware-error-check-system

The Dawn of Broadband TV

2009-02-25T17:01:00.000+08:00

Will broadband TV or Internet-based TV affect the currently popular satellite TV or even the free-t-air TV? It's a difficult question to answer, but what I can say is that broadband TV is slowly making its way here.

In making the first move, Telekom Malaysia (TM) has launched their Web TV initiative known as Hypp.TV last week in a rather big way with 30 channels covering genres such as news and current affairs, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, movie and drama.
The channels include Channel News Asia, Al-Jazeera English, CCTV4, Bloomberg TV, Barclays Premier League, Fashion TV, RED TV, Bollywood entertainment, Korean and Chinese. The TM's broadband TV also features some first-in-Malaysia content such as Luxe TV, Warner Bros Sorothy Forever and Wedding TV.

Actually, Hypp.TV has been around for more than a year ago, but only offers limited content, but this time around, TM is making sure that the revamped version will be a killer application.
The move by the local telecom giant can be seen as timely in the sense that broadband penetration in Malaysia is increasing rapidly. Now the market knows there is an alternative TV on top of the existing free-to-air TV and Astro.

Opportunitiny-wise, it looks great, what more with the country's broadband penetration has reached 21.1 percent as of last year, surpassing the target of 20 per cent that had been set under the National Broadband Implementation Plan, based on a Bernama report. Now the country had set a target of 50 per cent rate in household broadband penetration in 2010.
It's a bit too ambitious to say that broadband TV will be accepted by all as not everybody will agree to the idea of watching TV on a computer screen or mobile devices. But how about watching it on a normal TV, would people buy the idea? Probably yes.

The availability of high-definition TVs will allow consumers to connect their computers to the TV screen. This will drive up the uptake of Web TV services, what more with these TVs getting more affordable from time to time.

Users will just need to connect their PC or notebook computer to their HDTV via HDMI cable and to have the Internet or WebTV content on their big TV screen.
In terms of picture quality, TM assured that users would not face buffering problem as in watching videos on Youtube. That is good, if not it makes no point.

Currently, TM is only offering the service exclusively to its Streamyx subscribers, targeting 30 to 40 percent of them to subscribe to the service (available at www.hypp.tv). TM now has 1.5 million Streamyx subscribers.
TM Group's executive vice president, consumer, Jeremy Kung, said the Hypp.TV is a value-added service for the Streamyx subscribers, but hinted that TM will also made it available to people living outside Malaysia in the near future. The company is using peer-to-peer technology to ensure uninterruptible service.

What will attract users to Web TV, I think, is the flexibility it offers. For example, TM is offering both broadcast and on-demand (pulled content).
The traditional business model of "take-what-we-offer-you" approach now is being undermined by consumer demand for an à la carte, "give-me-what-I-want-when-I-want-it" model. This is one of the best advantages of Web TV - watch what I want and when I want it.

And at just RM9.90 per month, I think there will be positive response from the public.
It probably takes at least five to 10 more years before broadband TV can really become a household item, but it may take even shorter than that if the service providers (not just TM alone) can live up to their promises and service quality.

Broadband access getting more affordable

2009-02-17T17:02:00.000+08:00

LIKE it or not, broadband subscription rates in Malaysia over the past years have always been expensive.
For a 1Mbps connection, one has to pay from RM99 and above. That's way above majority Malaysians' affordability bracket.

However, Packet One (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the first provider of WiMax services in Malaysia has come out with below RM50 package for a broadband connection.
That's good news for all Malaysians who have been waiting for more affordable broadband services all these years.

According to P1, the new subscription plans are introduced in response to feedback received from P1 WiMax subscribers and the general public.
I think such package is great especially for current dial-up users who would like to upgrade to broadband. The service is now available at RM49 and subscribers will get to surf at 400kbps - which is decent enough for doing video streaming like Youtube.
On a bigger picture, P1's offering may be able to help the country achieve its 50 percent broadband penetration target by 2010.

For year 2008, IDC reports a forecast of broadband revenues totaling RM1.0 Billion. This makes up about 0.2 percent revenue contribution to the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM534.7 billion.
In the following two years, IDC projects that Malaysia’s broadband revenues will progressively increase its contribution, at about 0.2 percent per annum, to the nation’s GDP. In 2009, Malaysia’s broadband revenues is projected to be RM1.2 billion against the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM566.8 billion, and in 2010, IDC reports a forecast of broadband revenues totaling RM1.4 billion against the nation’s forecasted GDP of RM600.8 billion.

Lincoln Lee, IDC’s Telecommunication Research Manager for Malaysia, says, "Although the forecasted percentage contribution of broadband revenues to GDP may seem relatively small, we still see this as a positive sign. Potentially, we are looking at an enormous ripple effect - the continuous climb in broadband revenues will stimulate growth in other IT sectors such as e-commerce and PC Sales."

He says it is highly possible for the growth rate of broadband revenues to increase further, with the raise of PC penetration in Malaysian households, the imminent launch of WiMax services, as well as the government's investment in High Speed Broadband Services.
To P1, congratulations for being able to offer this affordable broadband package, and hopefully other players will follow suit.
The latest areas to have P1 W1MAX coverage this week include parts of Bukit Raja in Klang, Ampang in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Kemuning in Shah Alam, Taman Lian Hoe in OUG Kuala Lumpur, Section 14 in Petaling Jaya, Penang Town Centre and Kampung Syed in Ayer Itam, also in Penang island. Detailed information on the current P1 W1MAX subscription plans and reseller location can be obtained at www.p1.com.my.

Real traffic info where art thou?

2009-01-21T17:21:00.000+08:00

YOU see them in major roads and highways, but most of the time they're either not working or not giving the much needed information to road users.

I'm referring to the sophisticated traffic electronic display known as ITIS, a short form for Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS), which are designed and implemented to make driving easier and more convinient.

However, after millions of ringgit spent to set up the system, it's sad to know that only a portion of them are working (see NST Street's report http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Tuesday/Stories/2458018/Article/index_html).

The system not working is one thing (maybe due to wire theft, network down, etc), but as a road user, I find that most of the time these traffic electronic displays fail to display (most of the time) information relevant to motorists.

For example, you do not want to see the system displaying “Pandu Cermat Jiwa Selamat” or “Berhati hati di Jalan Raya” or even worst “Untuk Maklumat Trafik sila layari www.........”. People already know that.

It's okay to have this reminder once in a while, but not 70 percent of the time, especially when your are stuck in a bumper to bumper wondering what's happening ahead, and what you see displayed on the system is “Ingatlah Yang Tersayang”.

What people want is the condition of the roads and connecting roads 10 to 20 kms away or if there's an accident or roadworks ahead, before they turn into the road or highway. This will give them enough time to make route adjustment.

System such as ITIS was developed to enable informed decisions to be made on travel such as on choice of routes, modes and schedules.
It's capable of capturing real-time traffic information for incident management and long-term transport planning and helps to alleviate traffic congestion and delays during the rush hour and in emergency situations. So it should perform what it is intended to do.

When the number of cars, motorbikes, lorries, and buses keep flooding our roads and increasing in numbers, it's good to have an efficient and relevant traffic information system.

Malaysian “Pixar” becoming a reality?

2009-01-20T16:31:00.000+08:00

WHILE channel surfing the TV last night, I came across this preview of a soon-to-be-shown three-dimensional (3D) animated movie, called Geng The Movie with Upin & Ipin on Channel 4 Astro.

It's about an adventurous journey of a group of Kampung kids into the world mystery.
At first I didn't believe that this is a local production based on the quality of the movie, mmmm.... it's almost near Hollywood's 3D films like Nemo, Cars, The Incredible, (I'm just exaggerating here), but the truth is the international quality is there, and I was just watching it from my normal 29-inch TV.

What amazed me is that the characters in the movie look alive and with emotions – the facial expressions, the movements, voice over, and the surroundings in the film look perfect too.
The production house that produces the movie is Les' Copaque or some would pronounce it Last Copac (which in Bahasa Pasar means last minute).

I've heard about this company a couple of years ago when covering ICT-related events especially those related to Multimedia Development Corporation (MdeC), but never had the chance to meet up with the people behind it.

I know that MDeC has been nurturing local technoprenuers (that is IT entrepreneurs) to enhance the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative and has been giving out grants and technology assistance to those who are interested to pursue business in the ICT area, and generating 3D content is one of the focus areas.

At first I thought some famous local film producers may have been involved in the making of this animated movie, but I was wrong.

Les' Copaque was made up of energetic youngsters, fresh graduates and even school kids that apparently have lots of talent.

The movie is said to have cost RM4 million to produce, but based on the quality, it's way cheaper than any Hollywood's animated 3D films.

Since producing such movie needs really powerful computers, it's good to know that Mimos (the country's R&D arm) has lend its hand to Les' Copaque by allowing the production house to use its Grid Computing facilities – which is a network of really powerful computers.

Kudos to Les' Copaque and all the talents behind it, MDeC, MOSTI, Mimos and others for making this first truly Malaysian 3D animated film a reality.

Who knows this film may be making its way to the Cannes Film Festival and put Malaysia in the spotlight in the international film arena.

Geng The Movie will start screening from Feb 12, 2008. Go watch it to support our first truly animated 3D film. I'm taking the whole family there.

Hello There

2009-01-20T15:25:00.000+08:00

Hi, finally I have my own blog after years of reading people's entries.
Why Malaysian MoJo? This got to do with my job as a journalist with the New Straits Times.
Mojo is a short form for mobile journalist.
Most of the postings will be on happenings in the local ICT industry, but I will also talk about current issues.
Hope you'll enjoy this blog.

Izwan Ismail
Malaysian MoJo