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  • Ronald D. Sugar Joined Apple’s Board of Directors

          foto: Northrop Grumman

    Apple announced that Dr. Ronald D. Sugar, former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation, was appointed to Apple’s Board of Directors. He will serve as the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

    Sugar served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at  Northrop Grumman from 2003 until his retirement in 2010. Previous to Northrop, he held executive positions at Litton and TRW, where he served as chief financial officer.

    He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a director of Chevron Corporation, Amgen Inc. and Air Lease Corporation, and serves as a senior advisor to the private investment firm Ares Management LLC.

    He is a trustee of the University of Southern California, where he also holds the Judge Widney Chair as Professor of Management and Technology. He is a member of the boards of UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and several other philanthropic organizations focused on children and education.

    He graduated summa cum laude in engineering in 1968 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also received master’s and doctorate degrees in the same field. He subsequently completed executive programs at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard.

    “Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple’s Board,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “In addition to having been the CEO of a high-tech Fortune 100 company, Ron has a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the development of some very sophisticated technology.”

    “I have always had enormous admiration for the people of Apple,” said Sugar. “It is a special privilege to serve on the board of such an amazing company.”

  • Motorola Research Reveals New TV Viewing Habits

    Paid-for television content – whether through cable, satellite or the internet – is preferred over free-to-air services – even in markets where free programming is more readily available, according to global research from Motorola Mobility.

    Motorola Mobility’s Global 2010 Media Engagement Barometer – an independent global study of video-consumption habits among 7,500 consumers in 13 markets by research agency Vanson Bourne – shows that while free-to-air services are available to 67 percent of global viewers, compared to 57 percent for paid-for services, the most preferred TV services are subscription only.

    The research also shows that social media is changing viewing experiences. Forty-two percent of viewers globally have had an email conversation, engaged in an instant message chat or used a social network to discuss a program or video while they were watching it. Of this group, 22 percent said that social-media multi-tasking is a regular part of their viewing experience and 61 percent would be prepared to pay more for a service that offered these capabilities.

    The future looks bright for high-definition television products and services worldwide. Of viewers surveyed, 75 percent either own or plan to own an HD television in the next 18 months and 25 percent are expected to upgrade their TVs to include 3D in the same timeframe.

    “The research clearly shows a changing television landscape, one where subscription services are becoming mainstream, augmented by social activities revolving around Internet chat and networking channels,” said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer, Motorola Mobility. “As we advance further into the Internet Era of TV, the ability for service providers to differentiate their offers will become even more crucial as consumers look for extra value from their subscriptions. The good news is that, based on these findings, consumers are willing to pay for the services providing the value.”

    Though the TV is still central in most homes, viewing habits have evolved alongside consumer expectations of where content is consumed. Just over two-thirds of the sample said it was either quite or very important to be able to access free content on devices other than the main television set in the home; that compared to only 39 percent when asked a similar question for subscription content. This suggests the majority of paid-for content is consumed on one device (the TV) and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

    A quarter of respondents said it is important to be able to access free content when out and about; this is even truer in China where 49 percent of respondents said this sort of access is very important.

    “The findings suggest that the huge increase in the availability of video content is leading to viewers tiering their viewing habits in terms of preference, notionally based around payment,” Ogle said. “Yes, they’re watching content on laptops and other devices, but they are still staying loyal to the television set. This is a powerful message for the service providers. Stickiness does exist, providing all parts of the offering are attractive to subscribers.”

    Community

    China, the United Arab Emirates and Russia are the most enthusiastic when it comes to integrating social media into their viewing habits. The Japanese, Germans and viewers in the Nordics are the least likely to chat, use instant messaging or a platform like Twitter or Facebook® to discuss a program or video while they are watching it. According to the study, 84 percent of Japanese viewers have never undertaken such an activity. Globally, however, 58 percent of people who have used social media during a TV program would change their service provider if this was offered as an integrated service.

    Context

    Shopping via television is of interest to 42 percent of viewers globally, followed by chat (30 percent) and updating a social media site (27 percent). Being able to use micro-blogging platform Twitter came in lowest with only 17 percent.

    One in five respondents would be interested in a recommendation engine that tracked viewing habits and suggested content based on viewer preference in addition to popular content their friends are watching. There is also interest in a device and service that would allow users to channel all of their digital media (films, photos, music, etc.) through the television set. Viewers also want to troubleshoot issues, giving service providers an opportunity to offer enhanced services.

    The content diet

    The average amount of hours spent watching television and video content per week is 17. North America and Japanese viewers watch the most (21 hours each). South Koreans watch the least (13 hours). The average daily video diet consists primarily of scheduled broadcast content (both free and subscription), although 34 percent watch an equal mix of scheduled content, Internet and on-demand services, and pre-recorded content.

    “The research clearly shows a diverse market. While there are definite trends emerging, each region has its own challenges and opportunities thanks to cultural, technological and economic factors,” Ogle said. “Service providers need to develop a keen understanding of their customers’ needs in each market and be agile enough to roll out services that meet specific requirements and desires. This means having the content and delivery platforms in place to react to customer demand, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.”

  • Avaya Expands Business Collaboration for Small and Medium Enterprise Market

    Avaya introduced the new version of Avaya IP Office—the company’s flagship communications solution for small and medium-sized enterprises.

    According to the company,  Avaya IP Office Release 6.1 delivers a host of business collaboration and customer service enhancements "that can improve ease-of-use and worker productivity for SME workers, and generate significant new efficiencies for businesses."

    Avaya IP Office has been recognized for its total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits, delivering savings of approximately 25% in acquisition and ownership costs when compared with a competing vendor solution.

    The new version of Avaya IP Office expands upon its TCO strengths by enabling installation via a single DVD containing the open standards-based Linux operating system (OS) and key communications applications. Formerly, the OS and IP Office applications had to be installed via several sources and multiple DVDs.

    "This new approach can cut down software installation times by as much as 75%,2 saving on labor costs while simplifying installation. Additionally, when compared to other OS environments, Linux does not require user licenses, driving further savings for Avaya IP Office users," as the company claims.

    Other advancements introduced by Avaya include:

    * Flexible Avaya one-X Portal for IP Office: The solution’s dynamic Web-based desktop communications interface for remote, mobile and office workers features a newly-designed, customizable interface with drag and drop application gadgets. The solution—which lets users manage calls, instant messages and e-mails from one PC-based portal—is more flexible, allowing users to place gadgets (i.e. Directory, Call Log, etc.) wherever they want on their screen. Further customization includes ‘skins’ and branding with a business’ name.

    * Improved Contact Center Reporting: Now, an SME can gauge the success of a customer campaign through location-based business intelligence that analyzes the calls flowing into a contact center, and makes them viewable on a geographic map. This capability provides a visual report of the volume of customer interaction based on each customer’s location.

    * Expanded Video Options: Avaya IP Office expands upon its videoconferencing capabilities, going beyond Softphone-based video to now offer more advanced multi-point HD videoconferencing with up to 4 parties.3 Additionally, it enables video integration with selected third-party SIP phones.

    * Multi-site Management: SME owners can now manage multiple office sites using one consolidated interface and a single log-in. This lets users view and manage all of the key communications parameters (i.e. user rights, hunt groups) of multiple locations (up to 32).

  • China Sourcing Report: VoIP Products 2010

    Traffic upswing in the mobile VoIP sector in China is expected to exceed 100 percent annually till 2014, according to Research and Markets’ recently released "China Sourcing Report: VoIP Products 2010" report.

    The research shows that China suppliers of VoIP equipment are boosting output and exports and at the same time strengthening product development under efforts to sustain growth in the line. Makers are taking advantage of the opportunities brought about by the recent financial crunch to highlight the cost advantages of an IP-based communication setup, especially among SMEs.

    According to the analysts, the upturn in recent months, in fact, resulted from the migration of more enterprises to VoIP channels to leverage improving quality and reduced expenditure compared with traditional technologies.

    The strong market penetration of wireless standards is providing additional impetus. Mobile VoIP in particular is seen as a key growth area. Traffic upswing in this sector is expected to exceed 100 percent annually till 2014.

    The report also finds that under efforts to boost competitiveness and widen market reach, suppliers in China are underscoring high-value models. Several makers provide a broader selection of VoIP equipment to position themselves as a one-stop sourcing solution.

    The report form Research and Markets covers the key VoIP devices manufactured in China, namely routers, gateways, phones, PBXs and ATAs. Wired and wireless equipment is also discussed. You can find the full version of the report here.

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  • Apple's iAd Coming to Europe in December

    Apple announced it will expand its iAd mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January.

    According to research firm IDC, iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers in just four months, with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010.

    iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio.

    iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes content. Developers receive an industry standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. "With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new," as Apple says.

    "We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers," said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd. He added that in just four months, the company doubled the number of advertisers on the network and "thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue."

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  • AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless to Build National Mobile Commerce Network

    AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless have announced the formation of a joint venture chartered with building ISIS, a national mobile commerce network that aims to "fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save."

    Isis’ initial focus will be on building a mobile payment network that utilizes mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases. By utilizing smartphone and near-field communication (NFC) technology to modernize the payments process, Isis intends to deliver new levels of competition and value to consumers and merchants.

    Thew company expects to introduce its service in key geographic markets during the next 18 months.

    Michael Abbott has been named as Chief Executive Officer of Isis. Formerly with GE Capital, Abbott is a veteran financial services executive with extensive experience in the payment and technology industries. "We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes," Abbott said.

    Founding members, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, collectively provide wireless services to more than 200 million consumers who will have access to the Isis service. Isis is working with Discover Financial Services’ payment network, currently accepted at more than seven million merchant locations nationwide, to develop an extensive mobile payment infrastructure for the joint venture.

    Barclaycard US, part of Barclays PLC, is expected to be the first issuer on the network, offering multiple mobile payment products to meet the needs of every customer.

    How It Works

    The new venture will enable contactless mobile payment and commerce services using near-field communication technology. NFC uses short-range, high frequency wireless technology to enable the encrypted exchange of information between devices at a short distance. The new system is being designed and built to include strong security and privacy safeguards.

  • Teneo Partners with Veloxum for First VMware Platform Optimisation in UK

    Teneo, an infrastructure optimisation specialist, has announced a partnership with Veloxum, a global infrastructure utilisation solutions vendor. Veloxum’s ACO offering enables VMware platforms users to analyse and optimise all elements of their platform including the server capacity, networking, physical storage and interaction with clients.

    Many UK organisations have invested heavily in virtualisation projects with the promise of cost savings presented as part of a return on investment (ROI) model. To realise these savings, server platforms need to be continuously ‘tuned’ to suit the applications they are running, and without this continual optimisation it can be difficult for organisations to achieve these results.

    Veloxum ACO is presented as a server specialist “in a box”, which pro-actively ‘tunes’ server settings continuously to ensure optimum performance. Through automating this process, organisations benefit from using a Veloxum appliance which can optimise processes within three minutes from cold, compared to using a specialist server engineer who could take up to three days for a single review of server configurations.

    Once analysis of a server is complete, Veloxum ACO uses patent-pending algorithms to calculate the optimum server configuration settings that will improve all aspects of performance. Veloxum then implements and logs these new optimal configurations, and acts as a continuous ‘tune-up’ service to configure elements automatically without requiring any user intervention or specialist skills. Veloxum works across a range of applications and platforms, to help fine tune settings for MS SharePoint, Outlook, Exchange, VMware, Citrix, Oracle and more.

    Veloxum allows organisations to increase guest to host density – to run a greater number of VMware instances without increasing physical server capacity. This can lead to dramatic cost savings in terms of deferred capital expenditure on new hardware and reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the areas of support, maintenance, powering and cooling requirements. Veloxum customers typically see a ROI period of less than 6 months.

    Piers Carey    , chief executive officer, Teneo, commented: “Teneo has an enviable track record of building partner relationships with global solution providers who can offer game-changing solutions for our customers’ networks and IT infrastructures. Our strong relationship with Riverbed puts us at the forefront of the WAN optimisation market. Veloxum takes the same concepts into the server market and increases the scale of our data centre solution. Veloxum is unique in what it does – examining configuration settings across all elements of a client’s VMware platform and continually fine-tuning these settings to deliver dramatic improvements in efficiency and dramatic cost savings. Veloxum offers a solution that ticks all the boxes – quick deployment, guaranteed performance improvements and fast return on investment.”

    Kevin Cornell, chief executive officer, Veloxum, said: “Teneo is an excellent partner for Veloxum as we know that Teneo has the experience and capability to understand how Veloxum can help VMware users and to successfully implement our ACO solution. Teneo has a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic for working with vendors who are offering cutting-edge technology to solve customers’ network and infrastructure issues. We look forward to introducing Veloxum solutions to Teneo customers.”

    Veloxum was established in 2007 and is based in California. For Teneo, Veloxum adds to a growing list of best-of-breed IT infrastructure, network and application optimisation vendor partners that it serves in the UK.

  • JVC Announces World's First THX 3D Certified Home Theater Projectors

    Four new JVC home theater projectors are the world’s first to gain THX 3D Display Certification. The four projectors, announced at CEDIA Expo in September while undergoing THX testing, will be available later this month.

    The new THX 3D Certified projectors are the Reference Series DLA-RS60 and DLA-RS50, to be marketed by JVC’s Professional Products Company, and the Procision Series DLA-X9 and DLA-X7, to be available through JVC U.S.A.

    JVC informed that during the THX 3D certification process, more than 400 laboratory tests are conducted, evaluating color accuracy, cross-talk, viewing angles and video processing "to ensure the high quality 3D and 2D display performance that home theater enthusiasts demand."

    The JVC projectors have simple, one button solutions for optimized playback of 3D and 2D movies – THX Cinema Mode to ensure that color reproduction, luminance, blacks, gamma and video processing matches what the filmmaker intended, and THX 3D Cinema Mode, which extends this same level of accuracy for 3D broadcasts and Blu-ray Discs.

    Acording to the company, THX 3D Cinema Mode is designed to deliver highly accurate color in 3D, while minimizing sources of cross-talk and flicker. For further fine-tuning, all THX Modes on JVC projectors can be accessed by THX Professional Calibrators.

    For 3D content, each projector includes two HDMI 1.4a ports and supports side-by-side (broadcast), frame packing (Blu-ray Disc), and above-below 3D transmissions. An external 3D Signal Emitter (PK-EM1) syncs the projected image with JVC’s Active Shutter 3D Glasses (PK-AG1). The external 3D signal emitter ensures solid signal transmission to the 3D glasses for a superior 3D experience, no matter what type of screen is used or how the home theater has been configured, as the company claims.

    The new flagship projectors, the DLA-RS60 and DLA-X9, are built using hand-selected, hand-tested components and provide a 100,000:1 native contrast ratio. For 3D display, both models come with two pairs of 3D glasses along with a PK-EM1 3D Signal Emitter.

    The DLA-RS50 and DLA-X7 offer 70,000:1 native contrast ratio and are compatible with JVC’s PK-AG1 Active Shutter 3D Glasses and PK-EM1 3D Signal Emitter (sold separately) for 3D presentations.

    All four projectors feature three 0.7" 1920 x 1080 D-ILA devices and are designed around JVC’s third generation D-ILA High Dynamic Range optical engine that is optimized to provide exceptional native contrast ratios without a dynamic iris to artificially enhance contrast specifications. A directed light integration system and wire grid polarizer ensures optimum light uniformity and minimal crosstalk in the light path. A 4-step lamp aperture is combined with a 16-step lens aperture to allow more precise management of lamp output, which further improves black level and native contrast.

    With a new short arc gap, lamp brightness has been increased from earlier JVC models to 1,300 ANSI lumens. To reduce motion blur, JVC’s double-speed 120Hz Clear Motion Drive technology uses a newly developed LSI for frame interpolation black frame insertion.

    These same four models also include a new seven-axis color management system (R, G, B, C, M, Y and orange) that allows precise color tuning, especially in skin tones, and a choice of color profiles, including Adobe RGB, DCI and sRGB/HDTV. They have also been designed for ISF certification and will include an ISF C3 mode for professional calibration. Ninety-nine screen correction modes match the projector to 99 specific types of projection screens.

  • Freescale Introduces Comprehensive Solution for Multi-Service Business Gateways

    Freescale has introduced a comprehensive silicon and software solution for the rapid creation of multi-service business gateway (MSBG) equipment combining services such as data, security, voice and fax.

    Based on the QorIQ P1020 processor, the solution integrates Freescale’s VortiQa Security Application Software and D2 Technologies’ embedded vPort VoIP software, as well as virtualization support from Green Hills Software.

    Designed to help OEMs speed and simplify the development of MSBG equipment, the Freescale solution also works with the P1020 and other QorIQ products to serve as a reference design for a range of additional applications such as unified threat management (UTM) appliances, secured routers, IPS/IDS appliances, VPN routers and secured switches.

     "This flexibility helps to extend R&D value and shorten time to market. Since the QorIQ family scales from single to many cores, the solution addresses a broad range of performance and energy efficiency requirements," as the company claims.

    Acording to Freescale, their QorIQ processors deliver "ultra-high" performance to enable the flexibility and scalability to run a large number of services simultaneously. Products based on the MSBG solution can run security applications on one core while running office applications on a second core, giving service providers the flexibility to easily add or subtract office features.

    “Freescale’s MSBG solution brings together the elements a small office needs to function – e-mail, fax, print, conference, WLAN and other capabilities – and then integrates those elements with traditional security and gateway functionality,” said Sathyan Iyengar, vice president of Software Products for the Freescale Networking and Multimedia Group. “Our suite of pre-integrated office services is optimized to take advantage of multicore technology. It helps hardware providers speed time to market and enables a more cost-effective and flexible business model.”

    D2 Technologies’ embedded vPort software allows the solution to deliver the high voice quality, efficiently tuned system implementation and broad OS support necessary for manufacturers to incorporate state-of-the-art VoIP capabilities in their MSBG products.

    “The introduction of the joint Freescale-D2 MSBG solution to the market is timely, as an increasing number of small- to medium-size businesses are choosing to deploy a single, integrated device to replace legacy equipment,” said Doug Makishima, chief operating officer for D2 Technologies. “Additionally, market studies are showing a steady increase in the SMB market’s migration to VoIP technology. OEMs and ODMs looking for a rapid and cost-effective way to tap into these trends now have a solution based on multicore processors that shortens the development cycle for high-performance and economical offerings.”

    Freescale’s MSBG solution includes:

    * The QorIQ P1020 processor, which provides cost and performance scalability to support different product SKUs and multiple users; the low-power operation of the QorIQ product also enables simplified, fanless thermal design for higher reliability and low system-cost end products
    * VortiQa software with Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall and NAT
    * VortiQa performance optimized IPsec Virtual Private Network (VPN) with Quality of Service (QoS) and Traffic Management (TM)
    * D2 Technologies optimized voice features such as G.711, G.729AB, G.726 Voice Compression, G.168 Echo Cancellation, Packet Loss Compensation, Tone Detect/Generate and Jitter Buffer
    * D2 Technologies advanced telephony features such as 3-Party Conferencing, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting/Caller ID, Call Return, and Speed Dial

  • Sofialys and MARMARA Strengthen Their Mobile Marketing Collaboration

    Sofialys, France-based mobile advertising and marketing specialist has announced that it is renewing its mobile marketing collaboration with one of the TUI group’s French brands, Marmara. The two companies have been working together for 2 years in order to develop a "highly effective mobile marketing strategy and innovative operations."

    Sofialys therefore initiated an end2end mobile strategy for the brand with the aim of driving customer acquisition and brand awareness. This took the form of developing mobile push campaigns, a loyalty programme, mobile display campaigns, the creation of a mobile site, online buzz marketing and now, the new Marmara iPhone application.

    Olivier Roche, E-commerce director at MARMARA commented: “It is crucial for a brand such as ours to leverage the potential of any new media capable of boosting brand awareness and acquisition and using mobile media is an extension of our online activities. However, we needed to rely on a partner with strong expertise and the Sofialys team continuously demonstrates not only its ability to be creative but also reliable when it comes to delivering results.”

    The companies said they are now working on new forms and formats of mobile marketing messages and leveraging new opportunities, such as those offered by the iPad and other mobile platforms.

    According to Mokhtar Bouchelaghem, CEO of Sofialys, “Our continuing collaboration with Marmara demonstrates the strength of our relationship and their level of satisfaction with our execution of their mobile strategies. We are very excited to have recently developed and launched their iPhone application and look forward to providing Marmara with our cutting-edge mobile marketing solutions for a long time to come.”

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