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  • Web & Mobility Summit: European Startups in the Time of Crisis

    The second Web & Mobility Summit, the event that aims to bring together Europe’s most innovative web & mobility start-ups, venture capitalists and industry professionals, took place last week in Montreux, Switzerland.

    The committee consisting of business angels, venture capitalists and industry specialists has named Europe’s most promising web & mobility start-ups – the CEOs and VPs of 25 companies selected from a pool of over 400(!) had an opportunity to present to an international delegation of more than 100 influential investors, technology industry leaders, service providers and academics.

    The selected companies come from some of the strongholds of the European scene, such as mobile social networks, mobile publishing, adserving and gaming, as well as ecommerce, e-business, payment and billing.

    Although it was hard to find any big innovation listening to the presentations of the selected start-ups (they presented rather proven and well-tested ideas), it was noticeable that all of the companies are doing well, moneywise, even during the crisis, and it seems that this was a primary criteria for the selection.

    “In the time of crisis, I’m looking forward to seeing well trained, well disciplined companies who have not gotten any funding for a while that are going to be more fine tuned and well developed, ” Robert Lang, President of the Summit, said Biz-News.com in the earlier interview, and it seems to be the confirmation of our observations.

    Biz-News.com liked the idea of Madvertise – an internet-based mobile advertising network and online market place. The easy-to-use online auction system allows advertisers and agencies to quickly set-up cost effective mobile ad campaigns with a broad reach.

    Aloqa, other interesting, Munich-based start-up, has developed an application that proactively notifies mobile users of social opportunities, such as Facebook friends close by, and recommends interesting places, services and events in their vicinity.

    Path Intelligence’s FootPath product is “Google Analytics for the real world”, as this Portsmouth-based company calls it. FootPath detects anonymous data is broadcast by shopper’s phones and uses that data to provide aggregated and automated market research to mall owners.

    Another interesting start-up, Apprupt aims to become an internationally wide reaching cross platform mobile application affiliate network and to brong relevance and addicional monetization opportunities to a non-transparent market environment.

    Whereas Stockholm-based Videoplaza aims at becoming the number one platform globally for monetizing IP delivered video. The company develops and commercializes advanced web video advertising platform providing media owners a way to monetize IP delivered videos.

    “Many of today’s big businesses come from the insane ideas that ware born in the heads of young entrepreneurs. And the most insane, but at the same time brave and successful ideas are born in the time of crisis,” said Martin Varsavsky, CEO of FON, trying to mobilize but also appreciate the start-ups during the gala dinner that took place in the Olympic Museum in Geneva.

    “It’s important to note that the combo of doing great business and dealings mixed with the fine dining and mingling at a great venue is a surre fire way to keep the interest,” Lang noticed.

    Sven Lingjaerde, Founder and President of European Tech Tour, said, “Getting access to venture financing in the current market situation is still tough for young companies, but the number of investment are increasing again.”

    He thinks that great companies have often been built in times like these, when resources are scarce.

    “Currently, there are many healthy, active companies out in the market with experienced management that could propel their development to the next level, with the appropriate amount of support from sophisticated investors. Since valuations are improving and cash itself is still a scarce resource, the second half of 2009 is going to be very interesting and will lay the foundation for the further development of a whole industry sector,” Lingjaerde added.

  • NVIDIA Expands 3D Vision Technology to Notebook Market

    NVIDIA, along with the PC manufacturers, notebook panel manufacturers, and content developers, announced the expansion of the NVIDIA 3D Vision ecosystem to include HD notebook platforms that integrate advanced 120Hz 3D Vision-capable displays directly into the chassis for on-the-go 3D.

    NVIDIA says they have worked closely with display manufacturers, including CPT, LG, CMO, and Samsung, to bring 120Hz 3D Vision-capable panels to notebook platforms.

    These new displays provide 2D capability with crystal clear images, but also deliver flicker-free 3D, with support for high definition playback of 3D games, movies, and photographs.

    With notebook displays available, PC manufacturers are now able to bring 3D Vision notebooks to market. Notebooks will include the 120Hz 3D Vision-capable panel and bundle 3D Vision active-shutter glasses.

    David Choi, Vice President of LG said LG Display is planning to fully support NVIDIA 3D Vision technology with their next generation of 120Hz notebook panels.

    SH Moon, Vice President of Samsung said, “Samsung LCD Division is fully behind NVIDIA’s 3D Vision ecosystem.”

    “NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology provides the best 3D experience that we have seen, and we look forward to bringing this technology to market on notebook panels,” he added.

    The first notebook utilizing NVIDIA 3D Vision is the G51J 3D, introduced last week by ASUS.

    Powered by an Intel Core i7 processor and 64-bit Windows 7, the G51J 3D comes with NVIDIA GeForceGTX 260M with 1GB DDR3 video memory, 15".6 HD LED backlight 1366 x 768 display, dual SATA HDD support, DVD Super-multi / Blu-ray Combo drive and, of course, a pair of 3D Vision active-shutter glasses coupled with a wide-range infra-red emitter.

    The GPU driver and a 120Hz 3D panel render each scene twice, delivering up to 60 images evenly to each eye, amounting to a total of up to 120 images at any given time.

    Clevo, a Taiwan-based notebook manufacturer, is supposed to introduce its first 3D Vision supported notebook in 2010. Stephen Chien, WW Sales and Marketing VP at Clevo said, “The era of 3D is upon us, and immersive 3D gaming and movie watching is indeed an exciting proposition.”

  • Kineto Announces Combined VoLGA / IMS Client for Voice Over LTE

    Kineto, an innovator and supplier of solutions that enable delivery of mobile services over broadband, announced what it claims to be the industry’s first software client that supports both VoLGA (voice over LTE via Generic Access) and IMS voice for LTE handsets.

    An important requirement for any LTE handset is concurrent support for both the interim VoLGA and longer-term IMS voice solutions. Operators around the world will adopt IMS voice on different timelines, so LTE handsets must support the interim approach along with IMS to provide an effective roaming solution.

    Kineto says its combined client is the industry’s first to provide this comprehensive solution.

    According to the company, the new client enables handset manufacturers to easily integrate a combined VoLGA/IMS voice client and accelerate LTE handsets to market.

    In addition, the client can be upgraded over the air through standard procedures to support new and evolving functionality, providing operators, as well as subscribers, a future-proof solution, as they assure.

    Stéphane Téral, principal analyst with Infonetics Research, claims this is an important step for bringing LTE networks to market faster. “The evolution to mobile IMS voice will take longer than many expect, and a combined voice client which can be field upgradeable removes some of the risk associated with LTE rollouts,” he said.

    Kineto’s combined VoLGA/IMS voice client is compliant with the VoLGA Forum’s release 1.0 specifications and is planned to support the recently announced “One Voice” IMS telephony profile.

    VoLGA is defined specifically to pave a smooth migration path to IMS voice. It utilizes many of the same connection protocols defined in IMS voice, including RFC 4867 and RoHC (robust header compression).

    VoLGA works with IMS data services, like the Rich Communications Suite (RCS) over LTE, enabling operators to begin their IMS deployments with new revenue-generating applications while laying the foundation for IMS voice.

    “Kineto’s innovative client architecture, with field upgradeable software, helps operators and handset vendors overcome the complexities of bringing new voice solutions to market,” said Mark Powell, vice president and general manager of Kineto’s client software business unit.

    Uwe Janßen, senior vice president of core networks at Deutsche Telekom said, “While the long-term approach for LTE voice remains IMS, many operators will require an interim voice solution, and we see VoLGA being the best approach, by far. As both are based on the same radio mechanisms, there is a natural evolution from VoLGA to IMS, which is nicely demonstrated by the integrated client.”

  • iSuppli: Cloud Computing Can Effectively Leverage Blade Servers and Virtualization

    Although global shipments of blade servers are set to decline in 2009, the market is expected to return to robust double-digit growth during the following years as global economic conditions improve, according to iSuppli.

    Blade server shipments will amount to 1.04 million units in 2009, down 9 percent from 1.14 million in 2008. This contrasts sharply with the 31.1 percent increase in 2008.

    “In its short history, the blade server market has been able to slash through whatever obstacles the global economy and technology business have placed in front of it. However, in 2009, the blade servers couldn’t cut through the global economic downturn, causing shipments to decline for the first time ever,” said Peter Lin, the iSuppli analyst.

    iSuppli has been continually reducing its shipment forecast throughout the year. According to them, the main factor impacting the market is conservative corporate Information Technology spending at the end of 2008 and in 2009 resulting from the recession.

    Analysts expect that the blade server market will regain its edge somewhat in 2010, when the worldwide economy improves. By 2013, the market will more than double from its 2008 level to more than 2 million units.

    During the period from 2008 to 2013, the blade server market will expand at a CAGR of 13.9 percent, 10 times higher than the server market as a whole. By 2013, blades will account for 23.1 percent of all server shipments, up from 12.9 percent in 2008.

    “This clearly indicates that the blade segment will be the fastest-growing and most important segment of the server industry through 2013,” Lin said.

    Although iSuppli has reduced the total server shipment forecast due to the worldwide economic recession, the company retains its belief that virtualization offers a number of benefits in the consolidation of server infrastructure.

    “Virtualization provides a more efficient server roll-out strategy, which will accelerate enterprise adoption. Therefore, iSuppli’s virtualization forecast is a mid-to-high penetration scenario, where we believe virtualization server penetration of total server shipments will rise at a CAGR of 18.8 percent during the period from 2008 to 2013,” iSuppli states.

    The research group also believes that cloud computing can effectively leverage blade servers and virtualization. “Seeing the potential for cloud computing, there is a race among the main players, which iSuppli believes will become increasingly fierce as the demand for cloud computing keeps growing,” they say.

    According to iSuppli, cloud computing will have a negative effect on server shipments. However, they say, there will be more applications released and users will demand better service levels. Therefore, the demand from the cloud computing service providers will keep increasing, which will offset the negative effect, as they claim.

  • Biz-News.com “Product of the Year Award 2009”

    2009 is coming to a close, a difficult year for many and an opportunity for others.

    With a recession lurching over world economic growth we have seen some companies that have continued betting on innovation and development and have launched some amazing products into the market.

    Last year Biz-News.com celebrated the “Product of the Year Awards 2008”. Nominations where received from all parts of the globe. First hand users explained their experiences and recommended best practices for the most innovative products out there.

    Honouring those who have fought to make the most of this year, Biz-News.com again wishes to call upon its readers to nominate their favourite product of the year.

    Nominations will begin on November 19th and will close on February 15th 2010. Runner ups will be featured in our editorial and winners will have an exclusive interview complete with user reviews and photographic backup published on Biz-News.com.

    To make your vote on the Product of the Year for 2009 please fill in the following form.

    Product of the Year Winners in 2008

    VoIP.biz-news.com
    – MyGlobalTalk by i2Telecom
    – IPsmarx

    Storage.biz-news.com
    – RestorePoint by Tadasoft

    Smartphone.biz-news.com
    – AmAze

  • Biz-News.com “Product of the Year Award 2009”

    2009 is coming to a close, a difficult year for many and an opportunity for others.

    With a recession lurching over world economic growth we have seen some companies that have continued betting on innovation and development and have launched some amazing products into the market.

    Last year Biz-News.com celebrated the “Product of the Year Awards 2008”. Nominations where received from all parts of the globe. First hand users explained their experiences and recommended best practices for the most innovative products out there.

    Honouring those who have fought to make the most of this year, Biz-News.com again wishes to call upon its readers to nominate their favourite product of the year.

    Nominations will begin on November 19th and will close on February 15th 2010. Runner ups will be featured in our editorial and winners will have an exclusive interview complete with user reviews and photographic backup published on Biz-News.com.

    To make your vote on the Product of the Year for 2009 please fill in the following form.

    Product of the Year Winners in 2008

    VoIP.biz-news.com
    – MyGlobalTalk by i2Telecom
    – IPsmarx

    Storage.biz-news.com
    – RestorePoint by Tadasoft

    Smartphone.biz-news.com
    – AmAze

  • Biz-News.com “Product of the Year Award 2009”

    2009 is coming to a close, a difficult year for many and an opportunity for others.

    With a recession lurching over world economic growth we have seen some companies that have continued betting on innovation and development and have launched some amazing products into the market.

    Last year Biz-News.com celebrated the “Product of the Year Awards 2008”. Nominations where received from all parts of the globe. First hand users explained their experiences and recommended best practices for the most innovative products out there.

    Honouring those who have fought to make the most of this year, Biz-News.com again wishes to call upon its readers to nominate their favourite product of the year.

    Nominations will begin on November 19th and will close on February 15th 2010. Runner ups will be featured in our editorial and winners will have an exclusive interview complete with user reviews and photographic backup published on Biz-News.com.

    To make your vote on the Product of the Year for 2009 please fill in the following form.

    Product of the Year Winners in 2008

    VoIP.biz-news.com
    – MyGlobalTalk by i2Telecom
    – IPsmarx

    Storage.biz-news.com
    – RestorePoint by Tadasoft

    Smartphone.biz-news.com
    – AmAze

  • Biz-News.com “Product of the Year Award 2009”

    2009 is coming to a close, a difficult year for many and an opportunity for others.

    With a recession lurching over world economic growth we have seen some companies that have continued betting on innovation and development and have launched some amazing products into the market.

    Last year Biz-News.com celebrated the “Product of the Year Awards 2008”. Nominations where received from all parts of the globe. First hand users explained their experiences and recommended best practices for the most innovative products out there.

    Honouring those who have fought to make the most of this year, Biz-News.com again wishes to call upon its readers to nominate their favourite product of the year.

    Nominations will begin on November 19th and will close on February 15th 2010. Runner ups will be featured in our editorial and winners will have an exclusive interview complete with user reviews and photographic backup published on Biz-News.com.

    To make your vote on the Product of the Year for 2009 please fill in the following form.

    Product of the Year Winners in 2008

    VoIP.biz-news.com
    – MyGlobalTalk by i2Telecom
    – IPsmarx

    Storage.biz-news.com
    – RestorePoint by Tadasoft

    Smartphone.biz-news.com
    – AmAze

  • California Approves New Energy Efficient TV Regulations

    The California Energy Commission approved the U.S. first energy efficiency standards for televisions.

    When these standards are implemented in 2011, new TVs sold in California will be the most energy efficient in the nation, as the commission claims.

    After ten years, the commission estimates the regulations will save $8.1 billion in energy costs and save enough energy to power 864,000 single-family homes.

    The technology neutral standards mandate that new televisions sold in California should consume 33 percent less electricity by 2011 and 49 percent less electricity by 2013. The standards affect only those TVs with a screen size 58 inches or smaller.

    For example, a 42-inch screen would consume 183 watts or less by 2011 and 115 watts or less by 2013. Pacific Gas & Electric estimates that over a decade the standards will reduce CO2 emissions by three million metric tons.

    More than 1,000 TV models on the market today already meet the 2011 standards and cost no more than less efficient sets. The regulations will not affect existing televisions that consumers already own or the TVs currently on retail store shelves.

    Stores will not be prohibited from selling existing stock of older televisions after the standards go into effect.

    California’s per capita electricity use has remained flat for the past 30 years compared to the rest of the nation which has increased its energy consumption by 40 percent.

    "The real winners of these new TV energy efficiencies are California consumers who will be saving billions of dollars and conserving energy while preserving their choice to buy any size or type of TV," said Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas.

    California was recently named the nation’s most energy efficient state by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

    The Energy Commission began working on TV energy efficiency standards in January 2007. Since then, the Commission’s staff collaborated with a variety of stakeholders including major statewide utility companies, the environmental community, TV industry groups and retailers, and consumer groups in an open public process to develop these regulations.

  • AMIMON Introduces Wireless HD Modules for the Notebook Market

    AMIMON, a fabless semiconductor company that specialize in HD solutions, announced the availability of its WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) modules which can be embedded into notebook and netbook enabling a wireless HD connection from PCs to HDTVs.

    Earlier introduced, the company’s WHDI allows flat-panel televisions and multimedia projectors to wirelessly interface to all HDTV video sources at a quality equivalent to that achieved with wired interfaces such as component video, DVI and HDMI.

    Newly released modules are available with a mini-PCI form-factor of 50mm*30mm and will also be offered with a standard Display-Mini card form-factor of 44.4mm*26mm based on the interface defined by the PCI SIG which uses Displayport.

    Additionally, these cards are designed for the WHDI standard and are capable of wirelessly delivering full uncompressed 1080p/60Hz HD content throughout the entire home, as the company claims.

    Notebook PCs embedded with the new WHDI modules are expected to be in the market in 2010 offering the ability to connect notebook wirelessly to any WHDI-enabled HDTV or, through an external WHDI-to-HDMI adaptor, also to any HDTV.

    AMIMON says the new modules will also enable external wireless PC-to-TV accessories (‘dongles’) which connect to the PC and TV via HDMI.

    The WHDI modules are based on the newly developed video modem technology operating in the 5GHz unlicensed band. WHDI co-exists in the same frequency spectrum with Wi-Fi and uses similar RF building blocks and antennas.

    It synergies with Wi-Fi enable a roadmap to integrated WHDI + Wi-Fi semiconductor components which is said to offer notebook OEMs the prospect of a low cost WHDI wireless HD link to the TV.

    According to the firm, the WHDI Modules key features include support for full high definition resolutions up to 1080p/60Hz, Hollywood approved HDCP 2.0 copy protection, 5GHz unlicensed band with support for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), compact form-factor, practically no latency (less than 1 millisecond) and low power consumption modes for portable devices.

    Noam Geri, vice president of marketing and business development for AMIMON believes WHDI is gaining momentum with TV OEMs. “Now also PC OEMs set to offer consumers multiple WHDI enabled products in 2010,” he said.