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  • Report: European Videoconferencing Endpoints Market

    Videoconferencing has proved to be a viable solution for companies that are reducing their travel expenditure, thereby boosting the European videoconferencing endpoints market growth, says Frost & Sullivan.

    New analysis from the research group, European Videoconferencing Endpoints Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $383.6 million in 2009 and estimates this to reach $1.03 billion in 2015 at a compound annual growth rate of 18.0 per cent.

    According to Frost & Sullivan, the major growth factors of the videoconferencing endpoints market in Europe include the need for companies to decrease travel expenses, search for alternative ways to meet their workers and clients and the stringent environment policies imposed by the European Parliament.

    Additionally, videoconferencing is stepping up the decision-making process and enhancing teamwork in the more-than-ever dispersed workforce.

    "The videoconferencing endpoints market has been witnessing a slow transformation in the recent years, largely attributed to the introduction of high-quality products, such as high-definition conferencing and telepresence, the market’s shift towards converged audio, video and web conferencing solutions, and integration with other existing collaborative applications," states Iwona Petruczynik, Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst.

    However, the report says, the European videoconferencing endpoints market is restrained by several factors. For example, the misconception that videoconferencing services are communications tools used only by large enterprises is hindering the adoption among small and medium businesses.

    Moreover, new communications and collaboration vendors are delivering videoconferencing as a part of a unified solution, creating a one-stop-shop for their customers; however, this is hampering the growth of standalone videoconferencing providers. Poor infrastructure and low bandwidth, especially in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), also have adverse effects on the videoconferencing endpoints market growth.

    "The two main challenges with which the market is constantly battling are – the long-standing belief that videoconferencing is a complicated tool, reserved only for the top level management in large enterprises, and the rise of unified communications (UC), where audio, web, and video-conferencing tools are converging," said Petruczynik.

    Analyst claims that overcoming the first barrier is a constant challenge for vendors. However, with the recession spurring the growth of videoconferencing, these collaboration tools and their benefits have been brought to the fore, especially their increasing ease of use.

    “Videoconferencing vendors should be able to proactively address their clients’ needs and evolve constantly in this market. The trend of shifting towards UC is leading to an increased attention to the adoption and usage of visual collaboration in business,” concluded Petruczynik.

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  • SAP to Acquire Sybase for US $5.8 billion

    SAP and Sybase announced that SAP’s subsidiary, SAP America, has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Sybase. SAP will make an all cash tender offer for all of the shares of Sybase common stock at $65.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $5.8 billion.

    The per share purchase price represents a 44% premium over the three-month average stock price of Sybase. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010.

    The companies claim they both will benefit from synergies across product lines and markets. SAP expects to accelerate the reach of its solutions across mobile platforms and drive forward the realization of its in-memory computing vision. This can drive higher user adoption of SAP software and unlock significant business value out of existing customer investments.

    In addition, Sybase’s mobile platform can connect all applications and data (SAP and non-SAP) and enable them on mobile devices. SAP, Sybase and their customers will be able to tap into Sybase’s messaging network to reach 4 billion mobile subscribers through 850+ operator relationships worldwide and engage their consumers via alerts, transactions and promotions on their mobile devices.

    For Sybase, SAP in-memory technology can provide the opportunity for performance improvements to its analytic processing capabilities. Sybase can also be able to bring its event processing and analytics expertise, which was built in the financial sector, to customers in other industries, markets and product areas in which SAP has a complementary, strong presence.

    Finally, Sybase’s core database business can be enhanced by SAP in-memory technology to deliver integrated transactional and analytical capabilities. At the same time, SAP reinforced its dedication to customer choice by stating that it will continue its commitment to supporting database vendors.

    “With this transaction, SAP will dramatically expand its addressable market by making available its market-leading solutions to hundreds of millions of mobile users, combining the world’s best business software with the world’s most powerful mobile infrastructure platform,” said Bill McDermott, co-CEO of SAP and member of the SAP Executive Board.

    “This is a game-changing transaction for SAP and Sybase customers, who will be better able to connect their employees with key functionality and information from anywhere and make it easier for companies to make faster, more informed business decisions in real time. With SAP’s customer-centric approach, we are resolute in our commitment to support Sybase customers to be best-run businesses,” he added.

    SAP said it will continue to support each organization’s product road map while enhancing products to help customers derive additional value from existing investments.

    It also stated that both companies’ development organizations would remain intact, with the opportunity to cross-collaborate to increase innovation for customers.

    Headquartered in Dublin, California, Sybase delivers a range of solutions to ensure that customer information is securely managed and mobilized to the point of action, including enterprise and mobile databases, middleware, synchronization, encryption and device management software, and mobile messaging services.

    The two companies announced that Sybase will operate as a standalone unit under the name “Sybase, an SAP Company.” Sybase’s management team will continue to run the business. The SAP Executive Board plans to propose to the Supervisory Board to appoint the Chairman and CEO of Sybase to SAP’s Executive Board.

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  • America's First 4G Phone, HTC EVO, Debuts on June 4

    Sprint announced that it will start selling its highly anticipated HTC EVO 4G on June 4. The company will price the device at $199.99 with a two-year service agreement with a new line activation or eligible upgrade.

    HTC EVO 4G will use Sprint’s Everything Data or Business Advantage Messaging and Data plans. Everything Data plans start at $69.99 per month. Mandatory $10 per month Premium Data add-on will allow costumers to use WiMAX when they’re in a Sprint 4G market.

    Additionally, an optional pricing add-on will turn HTC EVO 4G into a mobile hotspot connecting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices (laptops, gaming devices and digital cameras) simultaneously at 4G speeds where available and at 3G speeds anywhere on the Sprint 3G network for $29.99 per month.

    Sprint launched first U.S. 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. According to the company, today, Sprint 4G covers 41 million people and expects to have up to 120 million people covered by the end of 2010.

    "HTC EVO 4G is a fantastic 3G device, but when you use it in our growing 4G coverage area, it becomes a multimedia powerhouse," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO.

    HTC EVO 4G features Android 2.1, the newest version of the HTC Sense, simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G and Wi-Fi coverage areas, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4.3 inch display, two cameras – an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, built-in mobile hotspot functionality allowing up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G and integrated HD video capture.

    "The EVO 4G experience is much like going from TV to HDTV. But EVO has more than just an impressive list of features – it is also fun to use with remarkable gaming, video and web-browsing capabilities," Hesse added.

    With the launch of HTC EVO 4G, Sprint is also launching new video chat service: Qik. The two-way voice and video capability will be available as an upgrade to the preloaded Qik app on HTC EVO 4G to enable conversational, interactive, real-time sharing between mobile devices or from mobile-to-desktop.

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  • NACT and VOIPFUTURE to Deliver VoIP Monitoring to Customers in the US and Canada

    NACT and VOIPFUTURE announced an agreement that establishes NACT as the exclusive distributor of VOIPFUTURE’s Voice Services Monitoring capabilities in the United States and Canada.

    NACT is a provider of prepaid application solutions (NACT’s Vinci, and Vinci Softswitch), having sold and installed more than 650 switching platforms – in 26 countries – that control more than 12 billion minutes of traffic annually.

    VOIPFUTURE specializes in VoIP monitoring and test equipment. Their solution enables communication service providers to monitor the quality of voice traffic crossing their IP networks, and use the data to troubleshoot problems, optimize the performance of their networks, and document the quality of individual call minutes exchanged between peering partners.

    The technology of VOIPFUTURE is based on its own unique speech recognition algorithm which delivers precise information on the voice quality within a telephone conversation and on the service quality status for an entire network.

    The company’s Smart RTP Monitoring Probes are passive, non-intrusive measurement devices located at demarcation points in the network, such as SBCs, gateways or peering points. According to VOIPFUTURE, the integrated solution for network optimization, SLA verification and troubleshooting shows superior performance for full line rate analysis at 1 Gbit/s.

    “Offering competitive voice services poses a number of challenges that are influenced by the dynamic behavior of IP networks, and effective, easy-to-use monitoring capabilities play an essential role for voice service providers,” said Jan Bastian, CEO of VOIPFUTURE.

    “NACT’s new management understands our industry – and they’ve aligned all of the resources that we feel are necessary to develop a market for our technology in US and Canada,” ha added.

    Arnie Goodstein, President of NACT, said: “Of all the VoIP monitoring technologies we’ve looked at, VOIPFUTURE provides a level of granularity and quality that is simply unmatched by any other offering.”

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  • Sharp Develops World’s First 3D Camera for Mobile Devices

    Sharp has developed a 3D camera module for mobile devices capable of capturing high-definition 720p 3D video images, an industry first. Mass production of these modules will begin within 2010. Sharp said they will start shipping samples in July.

    3D images are composed of two views taken using two cameras that simultaneously capture separate images for the right and left eyes. Consequently, a 3D camera requires peripheral circuitry to apply image processing to the two images, for example, to adjust color or to correct positioning between the images from the two cameras. Manufacturers have thus been pursuing designs that reduce the size and weight of 3D cameras and seeking ways to shorten their development period.

    According to Sharp, their new 3D camera incorporates functions to process the image data output by the left and right cameras, including Color Synchronizing Processing to adjust color and brightness, Timing Synchronizing Processing to synchronize the timing of the video signals, and Optical Axis Control Processing to correct positioning.

    Fast Readout Technology transfers video data from the image sensor, enabling 3D images to be captured in high-resolution HD mode. In developing this camera module, Sharp also applied high-density mounting technology to achieve a compact form.

    "Embedding this camera module in mobile devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, and smartphones will contribute to the development of a wide range of new, innovative communications tools," the company said .

  • Goober Introduces New HD Voice and 6-Way Video Conferencing Solution

    Goober Networks, a Unified Communications provider, announced goober 3.0 as a public beta*, a new collaboration solution that includes multi-protocol instant messaging, HD Voice to landlines and cell phones and 6-way video conferencing calls to PCs including Windows and Macintosh.

    goober 3.0 delivers its HD VoIP calling across multiple PCs, including Windows and Macintosh, and the iPhone and iPad with gooberVoIP, which works over Wi-Fi and 3G networks.

    It delivers HD voice quality from 8-16 kilohertz and is able to support video conferencing resolutions from 720 to full HD. No additional hardware is required by the service provider or the end user, and the software-only client can be downloaded for free.

    It supports 227 countries, offering HD VoIP calling worldwide. According to Goober, their flat rates are “versatile and flexible”, offering an average per-minute price “that’s 25-50 percent less expensive than any other VoIP provider.” Calls in the US and Canada are $.01 USD per minute.

    “Goober 3.0 is compatible with today’s 100 million VoIP subscribers worldwide, the 1.6 billion people projected to use IM services by 2012 and the projected 1.9 billion email users by 2013, plus the growing population of social networking and instant messaging sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, GoogleTalk, Jabber, ICQ, MSN, QQ, Yahoo and AOL,” the company said.

    "Goober Chat offers multiple protocol messaging features, allowing friends to join chats, even if they’re using other messengers besides goober, such as ICQ, MSN, GoogleTalk, Jabber, AOL, Yahoo! and QQ – no other UC provider offers this cross-platform chat capability and we’re excited to be the first to bring this capability to the market, so people can simplify their communications from one location," said goober Networks’ CEO Peter Uhlich.

    The solution will be powered by Global IP Solutions’ GIPS VoiceEngine and GIPS VideoEngine.

    *The current beta version offers 4-way video conferencing; however, the final public release of goober 3.0 will support a record-setting 6-way video conferencing capability.

  • Everything Everywhere Joint Venture by Orange and T-Mobile Unveiled

    Everything Everywhere, the joint venture that is claimed to be Britain’s biggest communications company, has been unveiled by Orange and T-Mobile.

    The new company has a customer base of 30 million people: over half of the UK adult population. Orange and T-Mobile promise to transform the industry and give UK consumers” the best coverage, devices, service and communications experience possible.”

    Everything Everywhere is the name of the company that runs Orange and T-Mobile, and the company that all 16,500 employees will work for. The company will be officially integrated on July 1.

    Orange and T-Mobile will continue as brands in the market, with each brand having its own shops, marketing campaigns, propositions and service centers. However, behind the scenes, the two brands will be run by one company, with “one team and one vision.”

    As the companies said, their ambition is to combine both the Orange and T-Mobile networks, cut out duplication, and create a single “super-network.”

    Later this year, customers will experience the first benefits of the merger, with the ability to roam across both networks at no additional cost.

    According to Orange and T-Mobile, the new company intends to propel itself beyond mobile communications, with a greater focus in developing new revenue streams based on the way customers will use their devices in the future. With greater scale, the company intends to develop new revenue streams in adjacent markets, such as mobile advertising and mobile commerce.

    With the company’s new coverage and scale, it also intends to ramp up offers to the business market, as the companies informed.

    There is also a new leadership team for Everything Everywhere, with key personnel from both Orange and T-Mobile. The team is led by Tom Alexander, Chief Executive, and Richard Moat, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive.

    “We are on the verge of a communications revolution. Up until a few years ago, mobile was just about voice and text – not now. Multimedia phones have already started to change the way our customers access the world – for entertainment, education, information – wherever they are, whenever they want,” said Tom Alexander.

    “That is why, through our scale and Britain’s only super-network with its unsurpassed coverage and capacity, we will be leading this revolution, giving customers instant access to everything, everywhere,” he added.

  • NPD: Android Shakes Up U.S. Smartphone Market

    The Android OS continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market in the Q1 of 2010, moving past Apple to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems, according to NPD.

    NPD’s wireless market research reveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (21 percent).

    “As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”

    Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to NPD, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

    “Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry’s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices,” Rubin said. “Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.”

    The report also shows that the continued popularity of messaging phones and smartphones resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones, despite an overall drop in the number of mobile phones purchased in the first quarter.

    The average selling price for all mobile phones in Q1 reached $88, which is a 5 percent increase from Q1 2009. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $151 in Q1 2010, which is a 3 percent decrease over the previous year.

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  • Mobilicity Gets CRTC Approval and Launches in Toronto This Spring

    Mobilicity, formerly known as DAVE Wireless, has received a green light from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to operate as a telecommunications carrier. The new wireless carrier is gearing up to launch in Toronto this spring.

    Rollouts will subsequently take place in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa.

    “It has taken four years to get to this stage and the impact of our upcoming launch will be felt across the country,” said Mobilicity Chairman John Bitove.

    “We want to let consumers know that Mobilicity will be bringing simplicity and value to Canadian wireless customers very soon,” ha added.

    The CRTC approval was granted subject to changes, which Mobilicity has agreed to implement within the required timeframe.

    Mobilicity, formerly known as Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc. (DAVE Wireless), is a Canadian wireless carrier. The company is led by Obelysk, a diversified Canadian holding company, and Quadrangle Capital Partners, a global investor in the telecommunications and media sectors.

    Following the Canadian wireless spectrum auction, Mobilicity holds licenses which cover more than half of Canada’s population in 10 of the 13 largest markets including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

    They were recently named one of Canada’s Top 25 Up and Coming Information & Communication Technology start-ups by the Branham Group.

  • GIPS HD Voice to Power LG FMC VoIP Solution

    Global IP Solutions announced that it has been selected by LG Mobile to provide HD voice for its Fixed Mobile Convergence solution.

    FMC allows telecom operators to combine fixed telephony, cellular telephony and broadband into unified end-user services. The aim is to provide both services with a single phone, which could switch between networks ad hoc. Several industry standardisation activities have been completed in this area such as the Voice call continuity (VCC) specifications defined by the 3GPP.

    Typically, these services rely on Dual Mode Handsets, where the customers’ mobile terminal can support both the wide-area (cellular) access and the local-area technology (for VoIP). However, an alternative approach achieves FMC over 3G mobile networks – eliminating the requirement for Dual Mode. LG SU210

    Last month LG announced the KH3900 JoyPop, the company’s first FMC phone.

    LG Electronics added HD Voice capabilities to its FMC application by integrating GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile, which includes advanced acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) technology. “Good AEC implementation is critical to improve quality of voice calls on mobile devices,” according to LG.

    The company also said that GIPS’ strong local support and expertise team in South Korea ensured a smooth implementation of voice processing technology in their smartphone model SU210/KU2100/LU2100 for FMC solution.

    LG will be initially selling this product to service providers, starting with the South Korea market.

    According to GIPS’ CEO Emerick Woods, implementing GIPS HD voice technology offers service providers assurances that network, bandwidth and delay issues will be overcome.

    GIPS has already enabled HD Voice and Video Chat to the iPad, iPhone as well as to the Android mobiles.

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