Apple iOS still the king, but Android catching up fast

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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.