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  • TDS Achieves Prestigious Polycom Choice Partner – Platinum Status


    TDS Telecommunication announced that it has been named as Polycom’s platinum level choice partner. Polycom is the international standards-based unified communications and collaborations. TDS has joined the selected group of VOIP providers in achieving the platinum status for the fourth year in a row. This status is achieved by less than 5% of service providers and it is based on their level of expertise, performance and experience.

    The platinum status, which is the most prestigious Polycom choice partner program, is only achieved by service providers who demonstrate the highest standards in deploying Polycom’s programs. They should demonstrate best of class solutions in order to quality for the award. Customers are assured that TDS, as a Polycom choice award partner has the ability to provide all their projects needs including concept installation, ongoing support as well as management.

    TDS is the seventh largest local exchange telephone company in the US with over 2,500 employees and close to a million subscribers. The company offers services such as VOIP, hosted managed services and dedicated high speed internet.

    Polycom has over 415,000 customers and together with its partners, delivers the most complete video collaboration solutions. The choice partner program is a part of Polycom’s partner network, which represents over 7,000 channels and alliance partners.

  • Nirvanix, IBM Cloud Storage Partner Files for Bankruptcy


    Nirvanix, IBM’s SmartCloud storage service from San Diego last month told customers and partners that it will be shutting down on 30th September. The customers were given just 2 weeks to migrate their data and now the company is filing for bankruptcy.

    The company released this information on a post on its website that revealed chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Nirvanix gave its customers a further 2 weeks to remove their data from its service. The new deadline for data removal is 15th October.

    The website post indicates that Nirvanix sought to file a voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to maximize value for its creditors and search for alternatives to provide the best possible transition for its customers.

    The initial indication of Nirvanix bankruptcy came as a surprise to many people. The company was formed in 2007 and had partnerships with Dell and IBM. The company was lauded for its superb funding and technical prowess.

    The bankruptcy issue was first reported on the wall street journal and this week’s announcement provides some sort of closure for people who have a keen interest on the company. Nirvanix has specifically mentioned Google storage, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure and IBM SoftLayer as possible replacements.

    The bankruptcy paperwork indicates that Dell marketing L.P, formerly known as storage outfit EqualLogic is Nirvanix’s largest creditor. Other creditors include Gartner, Nimsoft and Salesforce.com.

  • A Retro Design for Seiki’s New HDTV


    Retro TVs have gained a lot of attention in the recent past. This might be nostalgia for a time and age when TVs actually looked good. Recently, LG has gone retro with the retro inspired flat panel featuring the ‘70s wood grain look. Seiki has also chosen to go double retro on their new HDTV that goes back to the iMac era in the ‘90s.

    According to a press release, the new HDTV is available in a variety of retro colors such as Mid-century Yellow, Retro Red, Electric Blue, Cadillac Pink and Doo-wop Purple. The retro design comprises of a throwback power as well as volume dais.

    It also features modern components including Full HD 1080p resolution, diagonal LED panel, HDMI, 60Hz panel refresh rate, remote control and VGA ports.

    The most eye catching feature is the bottom-heavy design as well as its overall square appeal. These features make it look similar to the old 4:3 display. If you are looking for a low cost, colored TV for your kid’s room, then this should definitely be your choice.

    The retro design HDTV will initially be available in red color at an MSRP of $329. It will be available in Amazon.com, Fred Meyer stores and other selected national retailers.

  • LG Preps for the G Flex Curved Display Smartphone


    CNET has learned that LG is preparing for its first smartphone with a curved display. Even though plans are still underway, it is believed that LG will go for the name G Flex for its curved smartphone according to reliable sources. The 6 inch display smartphone is slated to be unveiled in November.

    Details of the G Flex are emerging at a time when Samsung is set to unveil its own curved display smartphone. Samsung’s device as well as a Galaxy Note 3 curved version is slated to be unveiled latter this month.

    Jessica Dolcourt, CNET senor editor explains that the flexible display does not mean that the phone will be able to bend or flex. Rather, it will have a curved, but stationary display. The curve is just perfect to fit around your face.

    LG first touted its technology through a press release in May when it launched a curved 55-inch OLED TV panel as well as a 5-inch plastic OLED panel. LG will have a busy month just after releasing its flagship G2 smartphone.

    An LG built Nexus 5 is also set to be unveiled by Google in the next several weeks. Its predecessor, Nexus 4 created a buzz for LG. The new G2 is said to have a more powerful and speedy processor. The G Flex is poised to generate more hype for LG.

    Image: Technology Tell

  • Allowance for Mobile Gateway Patent Application from Voip-Pal.Com


    Voip-Pal has indicated that its patent application Mobile Gateway has been approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Getting an allowance means that the application for Mobile Gateway patent has been closed. It’s issuance as a patent has also been allowed.

    The Chairman and CEO of VoIP-Pal, Dr. Thomas Sawyer indicated that the company now has adequate technology to comply with most government telephony regulations. This is in addition to prior allowances of Routing, Billing and Rating, Enhanced 911 as well as Lawful Intercept (LI).

    Mobile gateway is a revolutionary technology in telephony. International rates can now be lowered to local charges. This provides a lot of benefits to the customers. The VoIP-Pal's patent portfolio can also be incorporated to existing VoIP systems. The company can now act as a regulated telecommunications operator. The patent capabilities are as a result of large investments in research and development efforts that were started over 10 years ago. It also places VoIP-Pal as a leader in the VoIP telephony.

  • New 70-Inch Aquos Sharp Ultra HDTV Gets a $500 Trim


    Sharp's spokesperson has indicated that there has been a $500 reduction on its price. The 70-inch Ultra High-Definition TV has not been released yet. However, its new retail price tag is set at $7,499, down from $7,999. Its new unilateral retail tag also has a $2000 and it is now set at $5,999.

    Previously, Sharp had indicated that there will be an adjustment of the UPP from $7,999 to $6,999. A further $1,000 has been reduced on the UPP which now stands at $5,999.

    The UPP represents the lowest minimum price that Sharp allows retailers to sell its products. There will be a national retail launch on September 15th in various Sharp retail stores. The company is also collaborating with Amazon, major regional retailers as well as other national specialty retailers.

    The Sharp Aquos Ultra LC-70UD1U is set to be the first THX-4K-certified display in the world. Its key features include built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, Flash-enabled browser, LED-backlighting Sharp’s Remote Control, and 3,840 by 2,160 Ultra HD resolutions. It will also feature Sharp’s proprietary DuoBass audio technology.

  • Chinese Cloud Service Provider Kanbox Purchased by Alibaba


    E-commerce titan Alibaba has fully purchased Kanbox, which is a leading cloud storage provider in China, for an undisclosed sum.

    Reports reveal that Alibaba stated that Kanbox users are now able to integrate their accounts on Alibaba related services.

    Kanbox has been having a healthy growth since it was launched in 2010. It has accumulated over 15 million users, with 3 million of those accessing it from mobile. The company is also offering special accounts for Taobao sellers.

    The acquisition comes at a time when Alibaba is continuing to cement its position in both mobile and cloud storage services and also venturing into web services that are consumer oriented, especially smartphones.

    Alibaba released Aliyun OS that was developed using JavaScript and HTML5 in 2011. This project was not successful after Alibaba got a run in with Google after reports that it has developed an OS that is incompatible with android. This halted the upcoming launch of Acer device and the Aliyun OS did not get a large phone maker partnership. The stand alone Aliyun cloud storage is now used by businesses as opposed to average consumers.

    After the acquisition, Alibaba and Kanbox are offering 10TB of free storage. The impact of Kanbox’s acquisition on Alibaba’s Aliyun project is not yet clear. However, the purchase confirms Alibaba’s push to integrate cloud storage infrastructure into its services.

  • Cisco maintains its lead on the Enterprise Session Border Controller Market

    Market research firm Infonetics Research released its Enterprise Session Border Controllers report for the 2nd quarter of 2013 (2Q13). This report tracks the eSBC session shipments and vendor revenue.

    The research company indicated that Cisco has capitalized on its premier position in the market in gateways, routers and IP PBXs in selling its SBCs. The report indicates that Cisco led the eSBC market with 27% of worldwide revenue.

    According to the market highlights, the Enterprise SBCs are set to replace the VoIP Gateways, PBX vendors, routers and spurring gateways as the next generation border elements to integrate SBC technology.

    Infonetics estimates that 2012 and 2017, there will be a 17% market growth in the global enterprise SBC.

    The major market of enterprise SCB today is North America. However this is projected to change as other regions increase the adoption of SIP trunking, IP call centers as well as unified communications.

    Small and large businesses are making use of SCBs to enable interconnect disparate systems, SIP trunking as well as enhanced security in their voice networks.

    Infonetics quarterly SCB report captures the worldwide market size, 2017 forecast, market share and enterprise SCB revenue. The research focused in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, North America and Latin America.

    The companies that were tracked include Edgewater, Oracle, AudioCodes, Cisco, Dialogic, Adtran, Avaya, Siemens Enterprise, OneAccess, Ingate, Edgewater and Sonus Networks.

  • Smartphone with Curved Displays to Be Released By Samsung


    Samsung has indicated that it is going to release a smartphone with curved displays in October. This is a revolutionary invention that is meant to segment its lead in the increasingly saturated market.

    The curved display is at the nascent stage that is shifting towards flexible displays that can even be folded. In January, Samsung released a prototype of products with flexible screens. However, it is faced with tremendous challenges in making other handset components such as batteries which can bed with the rest of the gadget.

    Curved displays are available in large screen televisions released by companies such as Samsung and LG. They are set to offer immense viewing but come at a significantly higher cost.

    In its quest to break new ground, Samsung early this month released the galaxy gear smart watch. It can take photos, and videos, check emails as well as make calls.

    The next frontier in consumer electronics is meant to be wearable computing, which includes goggle’s smart glasses.

    Samsungs watch received some scathing reviews and complains such as it only works together with the oversized Samsung Galaxy note III. However, Samsung is confident that critics will be won over when the gear and Galaxy note III are released in at the end of October.

    Image: IBTimes

  • New Desire 601 and Desire 300 Smartphones Released By HTC


    In its quest to bring better features to the mid range and entry-level market, HTC has unveiled two smartphones. These are the entry-level HTC Desire 300 and the mid-range HTC Desire 601.

    The new HTC Desire 601 borrows a lot of design features from the dual-SIM HTC Desire 600 that was previously announced. These features include 960×540 resolution screen and 4.5-inch size. The phone has a single sim slot and its actual dimensions are 134.5×66.7×9.88mm. It weighs 130 grams and it is slightly thicker than the Desire 600. However, it has a much better 2100mAh battery; Adreno 305 GPU paired up with 1GB of RAM as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with dual-core 1.4GHz CPU part.

    The Desire 601 also supports Video Highlights features as well as HTC Zoe. These features were available in the high end HTC One series smartphones. The phone also features 8GB internal memory, 5 megapixel rear camera as well as Bluetooth and 4.0 802.11bgn WiFi connectivity.

    The desire 300 is a standard entry Smartphone with 5-megapixel auto-focus rear camera and 4.3-inch 800×480 displays. It has a 4GB internal memory with room for expansion.