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  • PC disc drives to boost Blu-ray growth


    Blu-ray Disc drives installed on PCs are expected to help “convert” more consumers to the format, with growth forecast at 117 per cent annually through 2013.

    According to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a report from IMS Research shows that non-broadcast HD video households are expected to increase 90 per cent annually through 2013, reaching 38 million homes worldwide.

    Although the research study shows that satellite continues to lead in households converting from analog to digital, OEM-installed Blu-ray Disc drives on PCs are expected to play an important role in increasing user numbers for the format.

    Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the BDA Global Promotions Committee said: “Blu-ray drives within PCs is a key strategic market which we foresee growing strongly in the short, medium and long term.”

    IMS Research suggests that the increasing prevalent of Blu-ray discs in PCs over the next five years will help generate revenue of US$46 billion for Blu-ray.

    Over the next 12 months, the market will see Blu-ray PC offerings from Dell, HP, FujitsuSiemens, Packard Bell, Acer and Sony.

    As a result, Blu-ray Disc sales are expected to benefit as well as sales in the HDTV display market.
    The IMS report joins a study from Futuresource Consulting, which forecasta that Blu-ray discs will outsell standard DVDs by 2012.

  • Copy and Paste comes to iPhone

    Openclip framework adds Copy and Paste without violating the iPhone SDK agreement

    A college student has developed an open source framework that allows cross-application Copy and Paste on the iPhone.

    Zac White says his Open Clip framework uses a shared space on the iPhone that can be accessed by applications to enable Copy and Paste – without falling foul of the iPhone SDK agreement.

    Apple forbids applications from running in the background because it would take up too much of the iPhone’s resources.
    Also, developers are not allowed to create plug-ins that make their apps work with other apps on the iPhone.

    However, when a developer adds the OpenClip framework to an iPhone app, that app can then access the common area and write to it, and read from it, thereby enabling copy and paste between participating apps.

    In an interview with Geek Brief’s Cali Lewis, White explained that OpenClip is a way for developers to include system wide Copy and
    Paste on the iPhone.

    The Oklahoma University student has started a non-profit, open-source community project for OpenClip.
    “It’s a device that allows apps to talk to each other,” he said. “It’s a very extensible way to get data between applications.”

    A key element is for as many apps to implement the OpenClip framework – since the wider the participation, the more apps users can Copy and Paste between.

    White suggests iPhone users email app developers about the advantages of OpenClip and asks app developers to show their participation by placing the OpenClip badge on their websites.

    He stressed that the framework created is not on a jailbreak phone and fully complied with Apple’s SDK agreement.

    In the interview with Geek Brief, White explains how he met iPhone App Store developer Juviwhale (creator of the MagicPad app) at iPhone Dev Camp, where the OpenClip framework was developed as a “weekend hack”.

    He effectively gave MagicPad’s localized cut/copy/paste cross-application functionality with the open-source OpenClip framework.
    It uses the API used by Apple on OS X to allow developers to easily implement OpenClip with the minimum of coding.

    Zac White

    White explains that the biggest factor was making it easy for developers to integrate it into their  apps, including having the documentation written for the API on Apple.com.

    Another element he considered was ease of transition for developers and users when Apple, finally, implements its own Copy and Paste. By adopting the API used on OS X, White expects a future transition to be “very easy”.

    He does admit that OpenClip has some limitations. “It is completely possible that apps that use this wouldn’t get on the App Store. Not for any real reason other than it will eventually step on Apple’s toes,” he said.

    “It is also conceivable that the technology this is built on will break in the future. The hope is that the update that breaks this also brings copy and paste support.

    Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s head of iPod and iPhone marketing has previously stated that cut, copy, and paste is on the future feature list.

    But his view that the function is not a “priority” is not shared by many users.
    Please let us know what you think about the OpenClip development and how – if at all – Apple will respond to it.

  • Impressive growth for Asian LCD HDTVs sales

    GfK mid-year report shows Asian retail spend on consumer electronics reaches US$ 11.5 Billion

    Demand for consumer electronics in the Asian market is growing strongly despite reports of a gloomy economic outlook, according to research company GfK.

    Its report, Pan Asia Consumer Electronics Data Summary, highlights the trends in the region’s growing consumer electronics sector.

    The results show a retail spend of approximately US$ 11.5 Billion dollars in the first half of 2008, which is an increase of 13 per cent year on year.

    Among the highlights are sales of LCD TVs, with growth in South East Asia more than double year-on-year.
    Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam all lead the way with over 250 per cent retail volume growth for LCD TV in the first half of the year when compared to the first six months retail sales of 2007.

    Malaysia and Thailand register first half LCD TV retail volume growth rates above 115 per cent compared to the January to June period one year ago.

    In other parts of Asia, GfK reported that even advanced markets such as Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan also report first half double-digit growth rates in the retail sector for LCD TV.

    Elsewhere, year on year LCD TV retail volumes grow by more than 50 per cent in Australia and New Zealand, and jump up 79 per cent in the Philippines.

    Steven Kaiser, commercial director CE, GfK Asia, said the data portrayed very positive news on the consumer electronics market across the region for the first half of 2008, with increases in volume and value in many product segments.

    “Our data shows a strong and healthy consumer climate throughout Asia which, thus far, has been less affected by the economic woes in other parts of the world,” he said.

    For televisions, GfK Asia data indicates that, in general, consumers in Asia continue to favor LCD TVs over plasma TVs during the first half of 2008.

    When China is excluded, total Asia LCD TV retail volume growth outpaces plasma TV growth figures.

    In China as well, LCD TVs dominate the television landscape. The data shows LCD TVs capture nearly 80 per cent of China’s television market, even though plasma TV retail volumes grew by 79 per cent in the first half of the 2008 when compared to the same period last year.

  • Turkey and Kenya latest to agree iPhone deals

    Apple’s 3G iPhone rollout continues as more providers strike deals offering the handset

    Telecom providers in Turkey and Kenya are the latest to announce they will be bringing the 3G iPhone to their markets as the international rollout of the handset continues.

    On August 22nd, the current list of 22 nations where the iPhone has already been launched will be extended to give another 20 countries access to Apple’s latest product.

    A further 28 countries will then receive the iPhone by the end of 2008 to reach Apple’s stated goal of introducing the handset to more than 70 nations by year’s end.

    Turkcell, the leading provider of mobile communications services in Turkey, has announced that it will be ones of those bringing the iPhone to its customers later in the year.

    Lale Saral Develioglu, Turkcell’s chief marketing officer, said the smartphone would be offered to its prepaid and post-paid
    customers. “We’re very excited to be working with Apple to bring the iPhone 3G to Turkey,” he said.

    Turkcell recently started offering RIM’s latest high-end smartphone, the BlackBerry Bold 9000.

    Meanwhile, Telkom Kenya will start selling the iPhone in Kenya next month after launching its mobile phone service under the Orange brand.

    The company’s chief commercial and marketing officer, Njeri Rionge, said Orange entered into a contract with Apple that gave it the right to sell the iPhone in Kenya.

    Sales will commence once the mobile service rolls out. However, Rionge said Telkom Kenya has yet to decide whether to offer the iPhone 3G, the older version or both.

  • Smartphone sales grow but pace slackens

    Smartphone shipments to EMEA market rise over 28 per cent on year in 2Q08

    Smartphone sales in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) market reached 12.57 million units in the second quarter of 2008, representing a 28.2 per cent on-year growth, according to market research firm Canalys.

    While the results signal the second biggest quarter ever in volume terms for “converged” devices, the growth was the lowest level recorded in the past 18 months.

    Canalys reports that an estimated 58 per cent of devices had integrated Wi-Fi, 13 per cent had stylus or finger-driven touch screens and 38 per cent had integrated GPS.

    However, Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at Canalys, said the drive by smartphone manufacturers to cram more technology onto platforms is leading to shorter battery life and more disgruntled customers.

    Canalys polled 4,000 European phone users and the number-one concern they expressed was battery life.

    “People are wary of draining their battery and not being able to make calls,” he said. “Battery life is not helped by having GPS and Wi-Fi turned on, nor by having a large bright screen for navigation or web browsing.

    “But there is clear demand for those features and applications, and advances in battery technology would enable quite substantial changes in usage patterns with all the service revenue benefits that would bring.”

    The Canalys EMEA report shows that Nokia remains the smartphone market leader – with a 71.2 per cent share of the segment – but this is down from 79.2 per cent of a year earlier.

    The Finnish giant saw its shipments of smartphones to the EMEA market rise 14.6 per cent on year to 8.95 million units in the second quarter.

    Other vendors in the top five posted much higher than average year-on-year growth, with second-placed RIM closing the market share gap by several points, and HTC, Motorola and Samsung more than doubling their shipments.

    Both HTC and RIM have moving steadily toward the one million shipments per quarter mark in EMEA and enjoy similar market shares.

    However, Apple could spoil this progress in Q3 following its launch of the 3G iPhone in many countries in the region.

    High Tech Computer made notable gains in the EMEA smartphone market, with an impressive rise of 118.7 per cent on year to 880,000 units in the second quarter, giving it a 7 per cent market share.

  • Google expanding Android team as HTC handset approved

    More designers needed as first Android-powered handset passed by FCC

    The team responsible for Google’s Android open-source operating system is to be enlarged with openings for designers, engineers, and developers.

    Ads from the search giant ask for people who can work in areas as diverse as “innovative” hardware user interface design, battery life, RF issues, and handset-security software.

    The expansion of the phone project in Mountain View, California, comes as an Android-powered handset from High Tech Computer Corp (HTC) passed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements.

    The HTC Dream is expected to be available in the US through T-Mobile sometime between October and the end of the year – making it the first to launch with the open-source operating system.

    Although details remain scant on the Dream, the FCC listing confirmed that the HTC model will be the Dream as the handset was labeled the “DREA100”. It has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and runs on the 850/1700/1900MHz bands.

    For candidates hopeful of joining Google’s Android team, the key job ad word is “collaboration”, with the stress on the need for people to work with the company’s multiple partners in the Open Handset Alliance.

    “The Google Android team offers a collaborative environment in which we help partners across the globe to create world-class hand held products,” says the ad copy.

    Competition shouldn’t be long in coming as the open-source Linux handset front is pushing for its first launch – perhaps by early next year. Verizon Wireless is reported to be preparing its first handsets from the LiMo Foundation.

  • Speedway latest sport to benefit from demand for HD coverage

    Sky HD coverage extended to speedway while Singapore’s nighttime F1 to be lit up

    Sport is proving to be a great catalyst in expanding the availability of HD coverage around the world.

    NBC’s impressive US viewing figures for its coverage of the Olympics are in no small part down to the fact that for the first time the Games are being shown entirely in high def.

    Now Arqiva has announced it has upgraded Sky’s coverage of key international speedway events to HD.

    Two HD outside broadcasts trucks were deployed to both the UK Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff and the UK Speedway World Cup in Coventry.

    Working closely with Sky each event involved around 65 Arqiva crew and 27 HD cameras including seven radio cameras for comprehensive interview coverage.

    The move to HD represents an important step up for Sky’s speedway offering which Arqiva has serviced continuously for the past nine years.

    Darren Long, Head of Sky Sports Operations, said Arqiva provided Sky with standard-definition coverage of over 40 speedway meetings each year.

    “The decision to upgrade key speedway events to high definition has been driven by demand from Eastern European countries where the sport is particularly popular and where HD technology is increasingly available,” he said.

    Michael Bass, managing director of outside broadcasts at Arqiva, said speedway bikes accelerated as fast as Formula 1 cars.

    “HD picture and sound perfectly captures all the atmosphere of this adrenalin fuelled sport,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Philips have announced that its projectors have been selected to light up the first ever Formula One night race in Singapore.

    By creating near-daylight conditions at night, the lighting not only allows drivers to race safely at speeds of more than 300km per hour, but also gives ideal conditions for film and photography.

    Philips say this will enable camera crews to capture sharper images that comply with HDTV standards for viewers around the world.

    The company was selected by Valerio Maioli SpA, the Italian consultant company appointed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, to light up the race on 28 September.

    Philips worked with Maiolo to develop a dedicated reflector for the system.

    The lighting system avoids glare by projecting the light beams at different angles rather than vertically. This is to prevent glare in wet weather conditions.

    The Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore is fitted with nearly 1,500 lighting projectors, illuminating the 5.067km track with light that is four times brighter than a football stadium at night.

  • Microsoft claims first with native Blu-ray support


    Microsoft has announced that it is the first operating system developer to more completely incorporate Blu-ray support into its platform, with the addition of the Windows Feature Pack for Storage.

    This will allow Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 users to burn Blu-ray discs directly from the OS without the need for usually expensive third party applications.

    The software giant says the upgraded storage patch will add the ability to “lock down removable storage with a certificate or password to prevent the theft of secure material”.

    It also says it will add new forms of Smart Card support for government workers and others that depend on the standard to access networks and data.

    The pack has been in non-disclosure laced beta testing for quite some time, but can now be seen on the Microsoft Connect website.

    When released, it will upgrade Windows XP and Vista, as well as Server 2003 and 2008.
    No release date has been announced for the Feature Pack.

  • US$10 discount for trading up from DVD to Blu-ray

    Paramount is to provide a $10 rebate on titles upgraded to Blu-ray as figures show BD sales up 300 per cent

    Blu-ray still has some way to go before it fulfills the hype and replaces DVD – but one Hollywood studio has come up with a novel way of geeing it along.

    Paramount will provide a US$10 rebate to consumers to upgrading their DVD titles with Blu-ray versions of the same movie.
    The rebate will be offered for select Paramount and DreamWorks titles.

    While owners of Blu-ray equipment are arguably more likely to buy new Blu-ray titles, the Paramount rebate might be sufficiently attractive to entice viewers to upgrade their favorite DVDs to Blu-ray.

    If other studios follow Paramount’s lead, the drive to take Blu-ray mainstream may come about far sooner.

    Certificates will be placed in the packaging of the Paramount Blu-ray products, which must be filled out and mailed in along with the proof-of-purchase tabs from both the DVD and Blu-ray versions. The receipt for the new Blu-ray title is also required.

    The rebate applies to purchases of the chosen titles before December 31st, 2009, and all rebate claims must be postmarked by January 31st, 2010.

    Meanwhile, in a further boost to Blu-ray’s fortunes, a report from the Redhill Group suggests that Blu-ray sales are actually quite solid for the year, and up 300 per cent year-on-year from 2007.

    According Redhill’s Home Media Research, Blu-ray movies are selling at about 1.14 million per month on average for the year, for a total of about 8 million.

    The combined total for 2006 and 2007 was about 6 million discs sold.

  • T-Mobile to launch first Android smartphone

    Google’s Android operating system to be offered on HTC phone

    T-Mobile is to be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software.

    The phone will be made by HTC, one of the largest makers of mobile phones in the world, and is expected to go on sale in the United States before Christmas, according to reports.

    Google is making the Android operating system software available free to an alliance of companies, including mobile phone carriers and manufacturers who have agreed to provide devices which, like personal computers, allow users to decide which applications run on them.

    Google thinks that many consumers will want to personalise their mobile phones with unique applications and services.

    The mobile Web is seen as vital to the long-term growth of Google’s digital advertising business.

    Flagged as a worthy rival to Apple’s 3G iPhone, the HTC smartphone will have a touch screen.
    But the screen can slide out to expose a full five-row keyboard.

    While other carriers and manufacturers have plans to offer phones based on Google’s software, the T-Mobile-HTC phone is expected to be the only Android phone available in the US this year.

    Some makers of mobile software programs have complained that creating applications for Android has been difficult.
    They claim Google has continued to make changes to the operating system and at times has been too busy to provide support to developers.