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  • iSkoot is First VoIP Application in Android Market


    iSkoot has announced that its mobile application, iSkoot for Skype, is launching in the Android Market.

    It is the first VoIP solution available on Google’s new mobile application store.

    Available immediately for download, iSkoot for Skype also runs on nearly all major mobile platforms, including J2ME, S60v3, UIQ, Palm, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

    iSkoot’s solution supports the Skype software, offering Android users on any cellular network the ability to make Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls on their mobile phone. Users can also receive Skype calls and use Skype text chat.

    Although the service offers greatly reduced prices, the calls are not free. See iSkoot’s website for pricing details.

    Jim Hudak, iSkoot vice president of business development, said: "iSkoot continues to work on delivering innovative products that give people a rich mobile experience so that they can cut the cord from their desktop."

    San Francisco-based iSkoot has built significant momentum during the past year with the recent acquisition of Social.IM, the social network IM client.

  • Researchers Opt For COPAN's Fast Access and Security


    One of the world’s leading life science research institutes announced today that it has chosen a COPAN Systems-based storage solution to meet its demanding data storage needs.

    The Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) has a strong record of innovation in the molecular biology of disease.

    Researching, developing, testing and delivering these medical breakthroughs require generating, analyzing and retaining huge quantities of data.

    This critical data is not necessarily accessed regularly but must be kept instantly available at all times for crucial analysis.

    Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland

    Dean Flanders, head of informatics at FMI, said no other company on the market could match the COPAN Systems solution in such a demanding environment.

    “Our competitive review found that no other system could provide this kind of high performance, scalability and cost-effectiveness to meet our persistent data needs," he said.

    "This means we can provide fast access to a vast amount of data in a very small footprint.”

    Located in Basel, Switzerland, a large proportion of FMI’s life science data is generated from microscopy, but new projects led the institute to seek a storage solution to support a wider range of data.

    A single new piece of laboratory equipment can radically alter the organization’s storage needs.

    For example, two new Illumina Genome Analyzers are each capable of producing up to two terabytes of data per week.

    In this environment, FMI sought a cost-effective solution for backing up and restoring multi-terabyte file systems while coping with limited power, cooling and space resources.

    The institute, part of the Novartis Research Foundation, needed to innovate beyond a traditional file server system which leaves too much persistent data on expensive tier one storage, straining existing infrastructure.

    A traditional HSM system was out of the question since the high volume and file size of FMI’s life science data meant a tape system would present slow access rates, data integrity issues and no online access.

    FMI was also concerned about pressure on space, power and cooling resources as their data production grows and their system scales.

    To meet these challenges, FMI selected COPAN Systems’ disk-based Virtual Tape Library, because of its fast access times with the security and reliability of disk.

    The new highly scalable tiered file system has almost no impact to the existing cooling and power infrastructure.

    By migrating persistent data to the new COPAN Systems solution, FMI frees up more expensive tier one storage for its original purpose – modifying and storing quickly changing transactional data.

    Some of the key benefits of the new system for FMI are:

    • Scalability: The system currently holds 40 terabytes of data but can scale in one rack to 896 terabytes without redesigning or changing cooling requirements.
    • Simplicity: By writing a file to FMI’s HSM file system within a defined period of time, the file can be automatically copied to the COPAN Systems MAID platform and another copy created to tape in a remote location as required.
    • Efficiency: COPAN Systems’ ultra-dense disk configurations are enhanced using Enterprise MAID technology. COPAN Systems powers off disks that have no outstanding IO requests, thus reducing power consumption by around 85 percent.

  • Digital-data Explosion Requires New Tools


    By 2011, the digital universe will be ten times the size it was in 2006, according to research from IDC.

    This digital-data explosion will require IT organizations to adopt new tools and standards to ensure an efficient information infrastructure.

    The study points out that existing relationships with business units will have to be transformed.

    It will take all competent hands in an organization to deal with information creation, storage, management, security, retention, and disposal.

    Importantly, the researchers said the problem is not just a technical one, but requires organization-wide policies.

    Titled The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe: An Updated Forecast of Worldwide Information Growth Through 2011, the report highlights several findings that will affect individuals and business around the world in the years to come, including:

    • At 281 billion gigabytes (281 exabytes), the digital universe in 2007 was 10 percent bigger than originally estimated.

    • With a compound annual growth rate of almost 60 percent, the digital universe is growing faster and is projected to be nearly 1.8 zettabytes (1,800 exabytes) in 2011, a 10-fold increase over the next five years.

    • Your "digital shadow" — that is, all the digital information generated about the average person on a daily basis — now surpasses the amount of digital information individuals actively create themselves.

    • The digital universe in 2007 was equal to almost 45 gigabytes (GB) of digital information for every person on earth — or the equivalent of more than 17 billion 8 GB iPhones.

    • About 70 percent of the digital universe is created by individuals, yet enterprises are responsible for the security Relevant Products/Services, privacy, reliability, and compliance of 85 percent.

    To deal with this explosion, IDC says IT organizations must:

    • Transform existing relationships with business units. It will take all competent hands in an organization to deal with information creation, storage Relevant Products/Services, management, security, retention, and disposal. It’s not a technical problem alone.

    • Spearhead the development of organization-wide policies for information governance: information security, information retention, data access, and compliance.

    • Rush new tools and standards into the organization, from storage optimization, unstructured data search, and database Relevant Products/Services analytics to resource pooling (virtualization Relevant Products/Services) and management and security tools. All will be required to make the information infrastructure.

  • Will Microsoft's Cloud-Computing Initiative Be Good For The Storage Industry?


    Microsoft this week finally laid out its cloud-computing strategy during a keynote speech at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2008.

    Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect, announced Windows Azure, a cloud-based service foundation underlying its Azure Services Platform.

    He explained Windows Azure’s role in delivering a software-plus-services approach to computing.

    The Azure Services Platform is intended to help developers build the next generation of applications that will span from the cloud to the enterprise data center and deliver compelling new experiences across the PC, web and phone.

    Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect, Microsoft

    Azure gives Microsoft’s customers the choice of deploying applications via cloud-based Internet services or through on-premises servers, or to combine them in any way that makes the most sense for the needs of their business.

    While the much-awaited news makes clear Microsoft’s intentions, how will it affect the storage industry generally?

    The Register’s Chris Mellor has no doubt that the move towards a few large providers of cloud computing services will spell trouble for many storage vendors.

    Noting that Microsoft has now joined Amazon and Google in offering cloud computing services he cited IDC research, which says cloud computing will grow 16 per cent a year through to 2012.

    He points out that by 2012 there could be six major cloud computing suppliers – Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Dell, HP and IBM – with half a million customers each by 2012, meaning 3 million fewer customers directly buying servers and storage for their apps because they’ve been transferred to the Cloud.

    While Mellor concedes that the storage industry is seen by some as being "ridiculously over-supplied", he concludes that the news that cloud computing is set to grow is very bad news for the storage industry.

    What do you think? Please send us your comment.

  • Enterprises Failing To Properly Encrypt Backup Data


    Backup tapes are being neglected by administrators, according to a study conducted jointly by security vendor Thales Group and Trust Catalyst.

    The results of the survey of 330 large enterprises worldwide showed that 35 per cent don’t know if they will encrypt their backup tapes.

    Failure to have a backup tape encryption plan could place an organization’s data at risk, leading it into a breach of compliance – and possible heavy financial losses.

    Kevin Bocek, director of product marketing at Thales, said storage departments were often more concerned with the cost and speed of data recovery than with encryption.

    Enterprises also felt they lacked access to technology adequate for enterprise-grade tape encryption.

    "Traditionally, storage has been a domain in and of itself, and IT security has been focusing on front-facing business applications, so they don’t pay that much attention to security," he said.

    "Previously, tape encryption technology used to be bolted on or would be an application used for general backup, and some didn’t trust those to encrypt their tapes for backup."

    The situation is changing, as more and more applications come with built-in encryption. However, a new problem then emerges – managing the encryption keys.

    If these are lost, then so is the data.

    The Thales study found that most people do not know where to store their encryption keys. More than 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents answered that they didn’t know where to store keys for seven out of 13 encryption apps.

    Most of the remainder stored their encryption keys in software or on a disk, while very few stored the keys in a dedicated appliance.

    Key management issues would continue to be an issue for backup media, according to Bocek.

  • CEOs Must Take Responsibility For Data Breaches


    A rapid rise in losses from giant databases highlights the need for tougher sanctions to deter such security breaches, according to a privacy watchdog.

    The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is also calling on chief executives to take responsibility for the personal information their organisations hold.

    The number of data breaches reported to the ICO has soared to 277 in the past year.

    New figures, released today by the ICO, include 80 reported breaches by the private sector, 75 within the National Health Service and other health bodies, 28 reported by central government, 26 by local authorities and 47 by the rest of the public sector.

    The ICO is investigating 30 of the most serious cases.

    Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said information can be a toxic liability and that accountability rests at the top.

    He said CEOs must make sure their organisations have the right policies and procedures in place.

    "It is alarming that despite high profile data losses, the threat of enforcement action, a plethora of reports on data handling and clear ICO guidance, the flow of data breaches and sloppy information handling continues," he said.

    "We have already seen examples where data loss or abuse has led to fake credit card transactions, witnesses at risk of physical harm or intimidation, offenders at risk from vigilantes, fake applications for tax credits, falsified Land Registry records and mortgage fraud.

    "Addresses of service personnel, police and prison officers and battered women have also been exposed. Sometimes lives may be at risk."

    Describing these breaches as "serious and worrying", Thomas said this was especially so because personal information is now the lifeblood of government and business.

    He said that as a result data protection has never been more important.

    "It is time for the penny to drop. The more databases that are set up and the more information exchanged from one place to another, the greater the risk of things going wrong," he said.

    "The more you centralise data collection, the greater the risk of multiple records going missing or wrong decisions about real people being made.

    "The more you lose the trust and confidence of customers and the public, the more your prosperity and standing will suffer.

    "Put simply, holding huge collections of personal data brings significant risks."

    Earlier this year, the UK Parliament decided that the ICO should have the power to impose substantial penalties for deliberate or reckless breaches.

    The ICO is working with the government to ensure this measure is implemented as soon as possible.

    It hopes that the threat and reality of substantial penalties will concentrate minds and act as a real deterrent.

  • iPhone Sets The Standard In China


    The iPhone may be made in China but Apple still hasn’t launched its game-changing handset there yet.

    That hasn’t stopped the 3G smartphone having a huge impact on China’s estimated 700 million cell phone market, according to the latest report from Research and Markets.

    It says that Apple’s iPhone has had a significant impact on the smartphone world generally, because of its user interface (UI), user experience (UE), and business model.

    And despite not being officially on sale in China, the report says it has also made a big impact on the smartphone market there as well.

    "The iPhone has set a standard for users’ expectation of entertainment smartphones, resulting in iPhone-like models appearing in the marketplace," the report states.

    Not surprisingly, it goes on to predict that this type of revolutionary UI/UE, enabled by a touchscreen, with acceleration and proximity sensors technologies will be a distinct trend in China’s entertainment smartphone market over the next two years.

    The report analyses Chinese consumer attitudes toward smartphones (including the iPhone) based on a web survey carried out in May 2008.

    Based on this analysis, the repsearch provides drivers and barriers for the Chinese smartphone market and smartphone shipment forecasts from 2008 to 2012.

  • Will Smartphones Be The Death of PNDs?

    With the market for personal navigation devices (PNDs) getting tougher and many smartphones now equipped with GPS, what does the future hold for the likes of TomTom and Garmin?


    Smartphone.biz-news.com asked Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst with Canalys, what direction mobile navigation was taking.

    Blackberry makers RIM recently predicted that GPS navigation solutions on smartphones meant death for sat-nav devices.

    The argument was that there is no need for specific devices for navigation when your mobile can do it for you.

    This received further credence from research by Strategy Analytics showing mobile navigation to be the primary service for which consumers in the US and Western Europe would be willing to pay a relatively high fee per month compared to other mobile services.

    With third quarter results out from both TomTom and Garmin this week – and forecasts being downgraded – the future is looking far from rosy.

    Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst with Canalys, said despite continued growth the PND market was tough and profitability was being squeezed as margins became increasingly tight.

    Both TomTom and Garmin are expected to benefit from aggressive price promotions to hold – and even increase – their market share at the expense of smaller competitors.

    But he said the trend was towards more sales at the lower end of the market than was the case 12 months ago.

    Chris Jones, VP and principal analyst, Canalys

    This was going to force down margins as big volume sales slipped to lower tier devices.

    As well as reducing profitability, Jones said the downside to this was that consumer perception becomes accustomed to GPS prices being lower.

    Buyers then become unwilling to pay extra for higher end products.

    "The big threat is to the margins and profitability of the PND market," he said. "Some vendors have exited the market and we will see others leave in the future."

    Smartphones Challenge PNDs

    To add to the PND industry’s woes there was increasing availability of navigation solutions on smartphones and mobile phones.

    Apple and Nokia have both done much to promote navigation services, with the Finnish giant leading the charge in Europe.

    Nokia expects to sell an estimated 35 million GPS smartphones this year, all equipped with maps and the upgrade option of navigation.

    Jones said the challenge for Nokia was to increase the activation rate.

    "Nokia has the ability to try and accelerate these rates by making it easier to do," he said. "Prices will come down and the free periods offered will lengthen."

    Hope Remains For PNDs

    However, Jones said despite the rise of smartphone navigation options, PNDs still had a future.

    He believes form is still likely to favor PND’s as the navigation device of choice in cars.

    "With smartphones you are looking at a small screen, you can’t touch the device, in many cases there’s no touchscreen or voice activation," he said. "The user interface is not ideal when you are driving.

    "The PND is better in the car but the smartphone is one device that is always with you."

    Work To Be Done With Smartphones

    Out of the car, Jones said more had to be done to inform users about when best to use GPS on smartphones.

    He said there wasn’t any great additional cost to add the technology but it had to be well implemented.

    "People need to understand when GPS will work and where they are not likely to get a fix," he said. "I think that has a lot to do with education and integrating technology into handsets – more sensitive GPS devices that work deeper indoors because invariably the fix is too long."

    Taking five minutes to get a fix – as was the case with some handsets – would do nothing to endear consumers to the technology.

    "It’s not good enough to just put GPS in a handset," he said. "It has to work well in small spaces, with the components that are in there."

    Jones said he expected all smartphones to come with GPS within three years and it would also begin to appear in more lower spec cell phones.

    Whether this, and the continued evolution of smartphone technology, will signal the death of PNDs remains to be seen.

    Please let us know your comments on where the mobile navigation market is going.

  • Consumers Driving Indian HDTV Market


    Growth of The HDTV Market In India

    The general trends in the HDTV market shows that this will probably swell up to 78% as most of the consumers are planning to replace their old television sets with the HDTVs.

    Moreover, this fact is supported by the survey conducted in United States by “Hitachi America”.

    The expansion prospective of the HDTV market in India is equally promising. People, who earn a decent income per month, feel that this can be a proud possession for them and it is fine to pay a good amount as the quality of picture and other facilities associated with it are simply great.

    The surveys revealed the fact that 85% of the people with an annual income of more than Rs. 14.3 lakhs and about 70% of those with the annual earnings of less than Rs.14.3 lakhs are keenly interested in purchasing a HDTV.

    • What are the triggers to success?

    The secret to success of the HDTV market in India depends mainly on the intense desire of the consumers.

    In fact, the women are keener about getting these high definition televisions just like the other consumer durable products.

    They are the ones who take interest and spend ample time to browse the HDTVs available in the market from various companies.

    About 73% women and 51% men take interest in knowing more about the televisions and the specs.

    The functionality and designs of the HDTVs are very much important to acquire the huge market in India.

    In fact this is a general trend that the larger would be the TV screens, the more consumers will be enticed. In fact people are often ready to go beyond their budget to purchase a HDTV with bigger screen.

    • What are the barriers to entry?

    Though the HDTV market in India is quite promising but still there are a few barriers to be conquered.

    First of all, most of the consumers are not much aware of the difference among the available HDTV options.

    In fact, most of the customers do not have any idea what are the different technologies used in the DLP, Plasma and LCD televisions-they feel all of them are same and the features are similar as well.

    This is a complete wrong notion and the brands who wish to avail the huge market in India should put some light on this fact.

    Secondly, some of the buyers are prevented from buying these televisions because of the high price range compared to the normal televisions.

    Some of the local brands sell their products at a very reasonable price and this is why people take more interest in their goods.

    • What does a company need to do to be successful in these markets in India?

    Well calculated strategies are really important to capture the large HDTV market.

    The companies need to educate the buyers and let them know more about the technology, specs and other intricacies of the HDTVs.

    Now only the women but the men should also take equal interest in it.

    This is a great idea to provide as many features as possible keeping the price tag nominal.

    This is a competition market and the companies need to target on larger sales than making large profit from each sale.

    Quality of the products is definitely important and for this they should keep updating the technology and features on a frequent basis.

  • Netflix "Watch Instantly" Comes To Macs


    Online movie rental giant Netflix is finally offering Mac users its instant watching service.

    Windows users have been able to watch movies and TV episodes instantly since early 2007.

    The upgraded service will initially only work on Macs with Intel chips – but the Los Gatos, California-based online DVD rental pioneer said that was around 70 per cent of their Mac subscribers.

    It requires Microsoft’s Silverlight software and Mac users will have to download a Silverlight player to access Netflix’s extensive streaming library.

    The deployment is the first step in an anticipated roll-out of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.

    It is expected that Netflix members who watch content instantly on their computers will enjoy a faster, easier connection and a more robust viewing experience with Silverlight.

    Among the viewing enhancements with the new player is a breakthrough in timeline navigation that vastly improves the use of fast-forwarding and rewinding.

    The new Netflix player takes advantage of PlayReady DRM, which is built into Silverlight, for the playback of protected content on both Windows-based PCs and on Macs.

    That had not been possible with previous generation technologies.