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  • Gladinet Launches Cloud Gateway for Cloud-Hosted Desktop

    After pioneering the concept of integrating a wide range of cloud services on a PC desktop with its introduction of Cloud Desktop earlier this year, Gladinet, the ubiquitous cloud storage client, rolled out Gladinet Cloud Gateway v1.0 and Cloud Desktop v1.3.

    The company says both new products are designed to meet the cloud computing needs of small and medium-sized businesses – a category that until now was underserved by cloud service providers.

    If Cloud Desktop turns the Internet into a virtual PC, Cloud Gateway is its file server. Built on the same open platform as Cloud Desktop, teh Gateway connects individual desktops to cloud storage through one access point.

    "Cloud Gateway acts as a liaison between Cloud Desktop and cloud storage," explained Gladinet co-founder Jerry Huang.

    "Before, if a company had 100 employees using Cloud Desktop, they needed 100 connections to Amazon S3, Google Docs or whatever services their employees were using. With the Gateway, that’s all changed. Now SMBs only need Cloud Gateway to connect to cloud services, regardless of how many different interfaces or accounts they may have. The Gateway acts as a file server to the Desktops, which simply connect to it over their LAN."

    According to Huang, allowing one server to support many individual desktops, the application gives SMBs the freedom to scale back their own data storage capacity while providing centralized administration and backup capability.

    “Files stored at various offsite data centers are as easy to access as if they resided on the user’s hard drive. Thanks to Cloud Gateway’s use of smart caching, copies of files stored with cloud services are quickly accessible on local desktops – eliminating the problem of lost data in the event of cloud service business closures,” he said.

    Gladinet assures that once configured by an administrator, Cloud Gateway is available to every Cloud Desktop user in a company and requires no account information to be entered by individual users, no matter how many different cloud services they’re using.

  • Google Enters Navigation Market

    It is now official and will completely change the mobile and PND navigation market. Google announced Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 devices.

    It comes with 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting, but unlike most navigation systems, the Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of the phone’s internet connection, as Google claims.

    The features possible because Google Navigation is connected to the internet are:
    • recent map and business data: phone automatically gets the most up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps — there is no need to buy map upgrades or update the device;
    • search by voice: searching destinations using google voice search (speak your destination instead of typing);
    • traffic view: live traffic data over the internet (a traffic indicator light in the corner of the screen glows green, yellow or red, depending on the current traffic conditions along the route);
    • search along route: searching for a specific business along the route (you can also turn on popular layers, such as gas stations, restaurants or parking);
    • satellite view: the same satellite imagery as Google Maps on the desktop;
    • Street View: shows the turn as you’ll see it, with the route overlaid (Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination).

    There is also car dock mode available for certain devices – placing a phone in a car dock activates a special mode (new user interface with, e.g. much larger iconography) that makes it easy to use the device at arm’s length.

    The first phone to have Google Maps Navigation is Motorola’s Droid. It hits the U.S. market next week (Nov. 6th) for $199 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate) and will be available from Verizon with voice plan starting at $39 and a web and email plan for $29 per month.

    Like other Google Maps features, Navigation is free.

    Here is the official Google video

  • OSRAM Sets a Milestone in Developing OLED Technology

    OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has set an important milestone in developing OLED technology. The OLED prototypes that OSRAM has developed as part of a research project are large transparent light sources only a few hundred micrometers thick.

    Thanks to new technology these organic light emitting diodes do not need separate encapsulation and can be made incredibly thin in any layout.

    The company informed that the transparent test samples have a luminous area of 210 cm² and are already showing the enormous potential of OLED light sources.

    “They offer a tantalizing glimpse of the extraordinary lighting applications that may one day become reality,” the company says.

    According to OSRAM even the 17 x 17 cm² OLED panels provide a clear indication of the direction that the OLED lighting market is taking. The demand is for large low-profile transparent light sources.

    The test samples were developed as part of the TOPAS research project funded by the Germany Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The aim of the project is to produce 1 m² large transparent OLED modules and will run until 2011.

    Even though the modules will have to be made larger, they already have many of the properties that distinguish OLEDs from other light sources. They are extremely slim and no longer need expensive encapsulation.

    Their thickness is now defined only by the substrate as the carrier material – at present this is between 300 and 700 µm. OSRAM promises further development work will lead to an even thinner carrier material and therefore even thinner OLEDs.

    “These low-profile OLED modules will be even easier to use in all kinds of applications. They can be made in any shape, take up very little space and can be integrated so discreetly that they are only noticed when they are switched on,” said Dr. Karsten Heuser, head of the OLED division at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors

    The OLED panels can be made transparent without any detracting structures. This is thanks to new developments in electrode design, a special component architecture and a new approach to thin-film technology.

    Without any additional conductor path structures on the light-emitting surface, the current is distributed evenly over the active surface, which in turn leads to uniform luminance.

    The new technology also simplifies the manufacturing process, whether OLEDs are produced on a small molecule or polymer basis. Irrespective of the material of the active layers, the technology can be used for colored, warm white and cold while OLEDs.

    Heuser says the next stage is to integrate the processes into a stable manufacturing operation.

  • Sipera SLiC Makes Smartphone VoIP and UC Secure and “Business Ready”

    After demonstrating how easy it was to eavesdrop and record VoIP calls made over an unsecured WiFi network on the iPhone using open source software called UCSniff, Sipera Systems, which offers real-time Unified Communications (UC) security, released the Sipera Secure Live Communications (SLiC) mobility solution.

    As the smartphone market has exploded, hundreds of communication applications have been introduced that take advantage of WiFi and data services such as 3G, GPRS and other technologies.

    But these applications do not natively integrate into the enterprise security infrastructure, making it difficult for communications security managers to ensure communications privacy, data integrity, and other critical security requirements.

    As a result, employees are using unauthorized VoIP or other UC applications on their smartphones and violating privacy mandates and confidentiality rules, exposing themselves to eavesdropping, and increasing information security risks.

    Sipera claims SLiC solves the smartphone security challenge by “integrating the smartphone into the enterprise communications security infrastructure”.

    “The solution automatically authenticates the smartphone back into the enterprise PBX or call manager, ensures encryption of IP-based communications, enforces security policies in real-time and blocks threats or blacklisted callers,” the company says.

    According to Sipera, “delivering breakthrough enterprise-class communications privacy and security for Voice-over-IP and UC on smartphones, Sipera SLiC makes smartphone VoIP and UC >business ready<.”

    The company states SLiC is the industry’s first security solution enabling enterprises to “tame” the smartphone, permitting employees to use VoIP, UC, cloud telephony, and other low-cost and feature-rich communications applications on mobile devices with complete security and privacy.

    Sipera SLiC enables smartphone VoIP to include smart-card card authentication for accessing enterprise resources, providing unparalleled access control and communications privacy. It uses two-factor authentication with smartphone VoIP for enhanced access control.

    “Secure unified communications on the smartphone will revolutionize enterprise communications, dramatically improving company agility and employee responsiveness,” said John Lochow, President and CEO of Sipera Systems.

  • Interview with Robert Lang of TechTour Web & Mobility Summit

    The European Tech Tour Association launched the first vertical Summit in 2006 (Semiconductor Summit) in a series of vertical events that will gather the best emerging European companies in a given industry sector.

    This initiative sprouted from the need to identify and showcase European technology start-ups in a vertical industry segment to professionals investing or working within this industry. The concept is to structure a best of best startup track along side an innovative industry specific initiative.

    Based on the words from the website, it appears that the growth of the TechTour has been both expected, but the rate at which it’s grown has been surprising. The concept of being able to highlight some of the most innovating, ground breaking ideas in the industry on various topics has worked well for the last four years and has no signs of going weak.

    The Event Itself

    TechTour is nonprofit organization that puts on many events and they either have a country focus or they are industry focus, but both welcome investors, startups, and innovators to come together. Each of them repeat themselves every 3 or 4 years providing a cycle between each event and summit.

    Robert Lang

    More specifically, the Web & Mobility Summit, which takes place on November 18-19, 2009. It is during these events that we pull together a committee from the industry, venture capitalists, and business angels.

    As companies are encouraged to apply, they are responsible for reviewing all the companies in order to determine which will ultimately present. Not all companies will apply. Some companies have enough money to grow their business, so don’t feel the need to present before venture capitalists.

    After selection is completed, the committee will have approximately 200 companies in the database and from there will break down to 25-30 companies that will ultimately be invited to present at the summit. In attendance will be approximately 100 to 150 delegates mainly from the investor side and private equity industry. Some are just looking for innovation and what’s happening in a specific sector.

    “All the CEO’s will have 20 minutes to present their company and in turn the delegates will walkway with a USB stick of the presentations. The pre-selection process involves one screener and one reviewer, so in the end each company has been looked at twice by a qualified group of people,” says Robert Lang, President of the TechTour Web & Mobility Summit.

    This tight screening ensures the highest quality and most thorough review of all companies presenting. Each CEO has roughly 30 min. time to present and a summarized version is provided in a nice binder. It’s also available on a USB stick that screeners will be able to carry wherever they go. Naturally you still get to meet everyone and carry great conversation.

    Selection of Topics

    Summits have a “topic” or industry focus – the geographic Tech Tours are based on a range of industries from the region.

    “As you go from country to country you get different topics, different verticals, and there’s a lot of interest in all sorts of topics,” says Robert.

    In some cases, without a specific focus on a sector, the event becomes too broad and risks not being appealing for someone in the US for example. But if a vertical is selected for example, Clean Technology, then chances are you’ll draw many more people from all over to hear what’s happening in that specific industry.

    When asked how long it had been since a Web & Mobility Summit, Robert says, “The last mobility summit was in 2007, but now we’re doing it again.”

    The Takeaway

    When it comes to participation, Robert comments that man ask the question, “why should I apply?” If you were a company that had a chance to present before 100 VC’s, it acts as a strong introduction for the company, especially if you’ve been pre-screened and preselected. The companies that apply would be looking for expansion capital, startup capital, or go beyond seed money.

    There are other companies that do not make it past the selection committee. Still, these companies will get exposure just from the selection committee alone. So while some companies may not have been a good candidate for the event, the screeners will remember particular companies and keep an eye on them or they themselves might provide capital if they feel the company is strong enough.

    With regards to the kinds of deals this companies can make, Robert Lang says, “Lots can happen behind the scenes from those that didn’t make it but still seem a viable opportunity.”

    In the end, Robert says that every company involved should hopefully takeaway the opportunity for an investor to be interested enough to help the company break through.

    Partner Assistance

    Because it’s a nonprofit, each event lives off delegate fees and their sponsors. Since it’s moving around to many countries, VC’s are regular supporters who will do at least one tech tour a year. There are many other sponsors who become partners by offering meeting rooms and other amenities that help make it a success. Mostly it’s companies looking for innovation that help sponsor these events.

    “There’s quite a mixture of partners, but the identification of being with the TechTour is becoming substantial on it’s own and there are benefits to be had by participating,” Robert says confidently when asked about the direct benefits to the partners.

    The VP and President of the events are selected differently every year as the tour moves providing experience and an opportunity to be a part of this event. It also attracts new faces based on those individuals personal networks and the reach of the conference can grow exponentially.

    Robert Lang is happy to have sponsors and states, “If we didn’t have sponsors we could not run the event.”

    2009 Expectations

    Robert notes that in this time of crisis, he’s 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. Many are looking forward to the dinner in the Olympic museum over looking Lake Geneva. It’s important to note that the combo of doing great business and dealings mixed with fine dining and mingling at a great venue is a sure fire way to keep the interest.

    “If events are not interesting people leave and aren’t inspired to be there, but this event is sure to keep people motivated and engaged,” Robert Lang comments.

    To get more information on how you can be a part of this event, either as an investor or as a presenter, or even if you’re just looking forward to attending, be sure to visit the site for more information.

  • Texas Memory Systems Sets New SPC-1 Records for Flash Storage Performance

    Texas Memory Systems announced that its RamSan-620 Flash Solid State Disk (SSD) has submitted a record setting SPC-1 Result.

    Launched in August, the RamSan-620 produced 254,994.21 SPC-1 IOPS with Average Response Time of 0.72 milliseconds all from a 2U rack-mount chassis.

    The RamSan-620 delivers its performance at a cost of only $1.13 per SPC-1 IOPS. That SPC-1 Price-Performance is better than any competing RAID solution or Flash solution, as the company claims.

    According to the firm, Texas Memory Systems now holds the top 3 positions for storage price-performance as well as Average Response Time.

    "Texas Memory Systems is to be congratulated for producing an SPC-1 Result that demonstrates excellent performance with outstanding response time," said Walter E. Baker, administrator of the Storage Performance Council.

    The Storage Performance Council     (SPC) is a vendor-neutral organization that establishes storage benchmarks and disseminates objective, verifiable storage performance data.

    SPC-1 is a sophisticated performance benchmark for storage subsystems. The benchmark simulates the demands placed upon storage in a typical server-class computer system. SPC-1 provides measurements in support of real-world environments and is designed as a source of comparative storage subsystem performance information.

    The RamSan-6200 is a scaled up system that combines twenty RamSan-620 solid state disks in a single datacenter rack and uses Texas Memory Systems’ TeraWatch software to provide unified management and monitoring from a single GUI console.

    The system utilizes enterprise grade Single Level Cell (SLC) Flash as well as multiple levels of RAID and advanced Flash management algorithms.

    A single RamSan-620 unit provides 5TB of SLC Flash with 250,000 sustained IOPS for random reads and random writes. Each RamSan-620 unit can support 2 to 8 Fibre Channel or up to 4 InfiniBand links.

    The company says the falling cost of high speed SSD now makes it cost-effective to replace racks of hard disk drives. For example, a single 5 terabyte RamSan-620 can outperform a 500 drive RAID at a fraction of the cost, power requirement, and data center space,” the company says.

    “The RamSan-620 established new Flash records using off-the shelf servers and systems that can be reasonably purchased, rather than multi-million dollar, limited environment supercomputing class systems that do not reflect typical data center capabilities,” according to Texas Memory Systems. .

  • Netflix Coming to PlayStation3

    Sony and Netflix – the two of the fastest growing home entertainment brands in the U.S. – are joining forces to make movies and TV episodes from Netflix available to be streamed instantly to TVs via the PlayStation3.

    The streaming via the PS3 system will begin next month at no additional cost to Netflix members in the United States who have a PS3 system.

    Initially, watching movies instantly streamed from Netflix via the PS3 system will be enabled by a free, instant streaming Blu-ray disc that is being made available to all Netflix members.

    The free instant streaming disc leverages Blu-ray’s BD-Live technology to access the Internet and activate the Netflix user interface on the PS3 system, which must be online via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

    The disc will be required for streaming at least until a PS3 software update sometime in late 2010.

    Netflix members slide the disc into their PS3 systems to reveal movies and TV episodes that can be watched instantly. They can use the Netflix Web site or navigate directly on their PS3 systems to add movies and TV shows to their Queues.

    PS3 system enables consumers to play high-definition games, watch Blu-ray movies, listen to music, view photos, browse the internet, and download content from PlayStation Network.

    Netflix, one of the world’s largest online movie rental services, enables to stream movies and TV episodes to a TVs and computers via Netflix ready devices (such as the PS3) and delivers DVDs to homes.

    According to the companies, the PS3 system’s installed base has reached close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix recently reported 11.1 million U.S. subscribers as of September 30.

  • Application Stores as a Great Opportunity for Mobile Navigation


    Application stores are presenting a new, significant channel for the promotion and distribution of mobile applications in EMEA. In recent report Canalys analyzes how important will this channel become for navigation applications, and what opportunities does it present.

    “Turn-by-turn navigation is one of the few types of mobile application that consumers have shown a willingness to pay a valuable premium for. In part, this is because these solutions replicate the dedicated, portable navigation device (PND) proposition that consumers are used to associating with a price tag of up to €250 – and even more for some specialist niche products,” says Canalys.

    But, encouraged by existing application stores, there is an expectation that the applications found in app stores are cheap or even free: certainly Apple has seen mostly free applications downloaded from its store.

    Navigation offerings therefore need to be priced competitively to succeed, while preserving sufficient margins for developers.

    Canalys anticipates that as perpetual solution prices inevitably fall, vendors will look to subscription business models, at least for additional premium content, to deliver higher returns from their customers.

    “Vendors must also watch closely how free or very cheap basic navigation applications, such as Nav4All, AndNav2 and Roadee, perform. Though lacking brand recognition and usually based on community-generated maps of questionable and varying quality, such as those from the OpenStreetMap project, consumer expectations of these solutions are low and relatively simple to exceed,” analytics say.

    Canalys claims if these applications can give a user experience good enough for basic use cases, reviews and ratings and viral promotion could see them taking customers away from established vendors.

    App Marketplace

    Application stores, meanwhile, are already establishing themselves as consumers’ first port of call when looking for mobile applications or device personalisation and enhancement options.

    According to the report, technological and optimisation barriers to mass-market uptake of phone-based navigation in EMEA are continually being eroded. Of the 26.1 million smart phones that shipped in EMEA in H1 2009, 22.6 million (86.7%) had application-accessible integrated GPS chipsets, compared with just 36.0% for the same period in 2008.

    In H1 2009, 42.3% of GPS-integrated smart phones that shipped in EMEA used a touch-screen as the primary input method. Meanwhile, Nokia continues to bundle free periods of turn-by-turn navigation with the vast majority of its S60 smart phones and to offer navigation-focused devices or SKUs, such as the 6710 Navigator and the 5800 Navigation edition, respectively.

    Other handset vendors, such as HTC and Samsung, as well as some operators, have also now finally started to not just pre-install, but actively promote navigation solutions, usually powered by third-party software.

    “All this has helped create a market environment, certainly in the developed markets of Europe, where consumers are now well aware that they can use mobile phones for satellite navigation,” says Canalys.

    Combined with growth in mobile application marketplaces and the accompanying consumer interest in browsing and discovering applications, the EMEA market for phonebased navigation offers exciting growth potential.

    Canalys forecasts that the user base for phone-based navigation in EMEA will grow by 40% year-on-year to 6.3 million in 2009, and by 54% to 9.7 million in 2010.

    How to exploit the new opportunity?

    With June’s iPhone OS 3.0 launch, Apple allowed turn-by-turn navigation applications to be developed for the iPhone and sold via the App Store. Navigon quickly got its MobileNavigator application into the store, beating TomTom, which had already shown its application at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, analyzes Canalys.

    Navigon evidently saw a first-mover advantage and quickly became a leading application on the German and UK stores, where its brand is established, priced at €99.99 for European map coverage, or €50 to €70 for a single country or group of countries.

    The Navigon application, and the similarly priced TomTom solution that followed just over a month later, were positioned as premium applications at price points comparable to entry-level PNDs.

    “ALK, however, took a different approach, quickly placing its perpetually licensed CoPilot Live applications in the store at the much more competitive, affordable prices of €33.99 for specific groups of European countries (eg, the German-speaking DACH countries or Benelux), or €79.99 for Europe-wide coverage.”

    The research says ALK, with a considerably less well-known brand than TomTom, has managed to become a strong contender among turn-by-turn apps on the App Store through being competitive, and now has the highest grossing paid-for application in the UK.

    TomTom’s approach, meanwhile, has been less hurried, for better or worse, and has relied on its brand strength to deliver results and elevate it above a need to enter into a price war. It is also focused on delivering a PNDlike experience as far as possible.

  • IP Becomes More Attractive to SMB's: Interview with Jeff Howe, President of Allworx

    In the world of communication services and VoIP technology there are a lot of companies out there providing services to large businesses and enterprises to help streamline their communication needs and offer them money saving options that will benefit the enterprise and help increase profits.

    What seems to lack is the company that serves the SMB‘s as a provider of similar services in both an easy to use and affordable package.

    Of the few companies out there, Allworx is dedicated to offering a seamless, easy-to-use service that extends the benefits of a VoIP and an integrated communication infrastructure that SMB’s can focus their attention on doing what they were set up to do, focus on the business.

    In a conversation with President of Allworx, Jeff Howe, he explains why they’ve focused on the SMB market,”If you look at IP as an industry all together there are a lot of moving parts right now. For example, from a pure industry perspective, a lot of the key features for the SMB space from a lot of our other competitors are typically missing.”

    The missing part is what he hopes Allworx is able to fulfill for their clients. He notes that many companies have older communications systems in place that make it difficult to to integrate from a TDM to VoIP.

    Integration and Use

    Despite the complexity what Allworx has determined is that companies are looking for mobility and flexibility, along with scalability with their systems.

    Whether a phone call needs to ring on multiple lines, a call needs to be forwarded to another extension or another phone, or if a customer needs the use of a remote phone, these services are vital for a VoIP communications company and necessary to thrive in today’s fast paced industry.

    Jeff Howe

    Jeff Howe makes sure to point out during our discussion that he is currently communicating with me on an Allworxs phone that he simply plugged into a public internet connection with a unique IP that taps into a remote phone application.

    Excited at this prospect Jeff shares his enthusiasm,”So we give them exactly everything they have today but we’re going to give them all the flexibility that VOIP brings to them to enhance their productivity and allow them to be more flexible as they are becoming more of a mobile environment.”

    Making the Switch

    It’s not uncommon for a company to be uncertain when making a large adjustment to existing standards that perhaps have been in place for a long time. Especially difficult, technology is something many fear, and making the switch sometimes takes some convincing. Two of the key factors that become a selling point for VoIP is the ease of use and, secondly, the cost savings.

    Allworx President, Jeff Howe, breaks it down in simple terms, “An Allworks system is really a server and phones. Within that server you have all the capabilities that you’d normally need.”

    He goes on to include, “We talk about the fact that it’s easy to install, simple to install, very simple to maintain because in a server environment, certainly with remote access, the customer doesn’t have to wait for the service trucks so to speak. With remote access I would say that 90% of the issues that arise are all handled remotely and then certainly for the server there are no blades, there are no gateways, everything is right within the Allworks server so its very very simple.”

    In terms of value to the customer, Jeff feels that the packages that Allworx offers are surprising to many because they are robust. Offering many things that competitors typically charge extra for.

    An extra added value for Allworx is their continued success in award winning products from their equipment to their handsets that have been repeatedly awarded for their sound and durability. Jeff truly believes because of the quality of service and quality of product, this helps keep Allworx a viable solution in the SMB market.

    Industry Musings

    When asked about the industry as a whole, Jeff was quick to note that adoption of VoIP technology is still fairly knew for many SMB’s so he’s not seen a tidal wave of new entrants in the market. He does note that with the status of the economy, he’s noticing that the integration into the IP industry is starting to crest, more so than in “normal” times.

    Specifically discussion adoption rates of SMB’s, Jeff Howe says, “I think initially there is a bit of a resistance to migrate to an IP based service for customers right now because at the end of the day it involves investment in the infrastructure with significant capital and then compared to all of the competitors out there, whether its the capable companies or other providers, there tends to be an initial reduction in overall margin.”

    He notes that customers are now being forced to look into options, and IP is becoming more and more attractive to many SMB’s worldwide.

    A transition to new services can actually save enough money that those savings can be added to a company’s bottom line as opposed to being spent on service visit fees.

    In response to whether technology is moving faster than the customers needs, Jeff notes that he does believe this is the case, but it does not necessarily represent a bad thing.

    “I think its just a matter of time before the customers either take on the adoption rate as to what the technologies are. There just seems to be a lot of technology being developed in a lot of different ways,” Jeff notes.

    He continues, “There’s a lot of technology being developed and I think it just depends on what the customer is looking for and for them to pick and choose which technology meets their particular needs.”

    Like any other industry in the market, Allworx is no stranger to conferences. They will be speaking and displaying at the Comptel Plus Fall 2009 Convention & Expo.

  • Mobile Internet in Africa: Interview with Jose Henriques, Vodacom

    Mobile internet is no longer luxury in Africa as it has become a valuable tool of global development, this according to Jose Henriques, Vodacom executive head of internet services.

    Henriques was speaking to Biz-News.com in Johannesburg last week during the Mobile Web Africa conference whose focus was looking at ways of harnessing the potential of internet and applications on mobile devices.

    “It is amazing how such a luxury item has quickly become a valuable tool of global development, shifting from being held to the ears to being held by hand, and becoming an instrument of promoting economic growth,” Henriques said.

    “Mobile phones are the advance guard for mobile broadband networks and at the same time they are promoting economic benefits and providing a basic tool of education, for instance helping parents to afford to educate their children.”

    Jose Henriques

    The conference, organised by All Amber and which was attended by over 150 local and international delegates, heard that Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa (fourth position), Sudan, Algeria, Kenya, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe are the top 10 countries in terms of internet penetration on PC,
    while only 3.3% of Africans have access to internet via their mobile phones.

    These top 10 countries make up of 85% of all internet users market in Africa, according to recent statistics.

    South Africa has over 4.5 million PC internet users and close to 10 million mobile internet users expectation is to have at least 15 million mobile internet users by 2013.

    Mobile penetration

    Henriques explained that despite the limitations of opportunities of fixed-line internet in Africa and the unstoppable rise of mobile revolution and its socio-economic advantages, countries such as Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria are working hard to push for mobile penetration, especially in rural areas.

    The African mobile internet market continues to grow dramatically, staying slightly behind the Middle East (fastest-growing region), with pages viewed having increased by 422% between April 2008 to April 2009, and Google being the number one and Yahoo in third in each of the top 12 countries striving intensively on software development.

    The top 12 countries include SA, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Zambia and Tanzania.

    However, Henriques warned that he said the only way companies will succeed to advance the mobile internet cause is to give a decent access experience to the user, get their price right and affordable and provide content adaptation.

    “One must ensure that the internet is accessed in any phone with cost-effective rates and the possibility to get any big website into a small screen,” he explained.