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  • RIM Announces BlackBerry MVS 5 with Voice over Wi-Fi Calling

    RIM announced BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 with voice over Wi-Fi calling. It works with Cisco UC Manager and enables a business user to use their regular desk phone number and extension from their BlackBerry smartphone.

    According to RIM, with the new version 5, an employee will be able to use a single work phone number shared between their desk phone and BlackBerry smartphone and make and receive enterprise calls on their BlackBerry over a Wi-Fi connection, adding to the existing capability available over cellular networks.

    Calls made through BlackBerry MVS 5 are routed through the corporate phone system/PBX, which helps with adherence to company policies and enables potential savings on long-distance and international roaming charges. It’s easy to use since incoming calls ring simultaneously on the employee’s desk phone and BlackBerry and employees access BlackBerry MVS using the same phone interface that they are already familiar with on their BlackBerry.

    RIM and Cisco have worked closely to integrate BlackBerry MVS 5 with Cisco UC Manager. The solution has been tested for interoperability and will be supported by both RIM and Cisco.

    RIM claims that advanced IT features built into BlackBerry MVS 5 will help to provide “controlled, managed and secure” use of BlackBerry smartphones with the corporate phone system.

    Key features include:
    • Wi-Fi network access controls to set which Wi-Fi networks employees can access
    • Network preference settings with the option of prioritizing the use of Wi-Fi or cellular for making phone calls
    • Authentication to help ensure that only authorized BlackBerry smartphones have access to the corporate phone system
    • Incoming call filtering based on allowed and blocked caller lists

    The company informed that they are working with other companies to make BlackBerry MVS available for a range of PBX systems.

    BlackBerry MVS 5 is expected to be available later this year.

  • Turbulence Ahead for Cloud Computing

    Cloud computing took a serious hit with Google’s exit from search business, and its subsequent service issues, in mainland China, announced Canalys.

    While cloud solutions will remain appealing for certain customers with limited international ambitions, the platform’s inherent security and access issues will herald a shift back to traditional software models, said the industry analyst group in a recently issued report.

    ‘The two biggest trends in the IT industry – the rise of cloud computing and China’s emergence as a global growth engine – have just collided with a bang,’ said Steve Brazier, President and CEO of Canalys.

    ‘The hacking of Google’s systems in China has demonstrated that security weaknesses in the cloud have moved from a possibility to an actuality.’

    Canalys maintains that legacy software companies that reposition themselves for local services, or at least a mixed model, stand to benefit the most from cloud computing flaws, as customers demand increased security and access controls: ‘Customers will want global solutions that help them decide what information is stored where, coupled with systems that function competently, even when Internet access is down or restricted,’ said Brazier.

    As companies have sensitive information across many domains – finance, HR, legal, R&D and marketing, among others – a security breach anywhere could have devastating and far-reaching effects. Likewise, the regulatory threat posed by the local political landscape in emerging countries will influence multinationals’ choice of software platform moving forward.

    ‘It would be extraordinarily naïve for a company to believe Google’s situation with China is unique,’ said Brazier. ‘All the US giants have struggled, while local Internet brands have snagged top positions across major areas, such as search, auctions and video sharing.’

    Late entry, language and cultural issues, such as failure to adapt to local market trading conditions, combined with site performance, have encouraged customers to stick with local solutions in China. Similarly, other emerging regions, such as the Middle East, Russia and Indonesia, are capable of making unilateral business decisions to the detriment of foreign companies, while the situation in India and Brazil – more stable for now – could change due to the influence of neighboring countries.

    According to Canalys, cloud computing will not disappear for some time, due to the continued support of US-based proponents, which have yet to see the model’s challenges in emerging markets. Smaller companies, more willing to live with risks, and public bodies, mainly restricted to national borders, will be less concerned about international access issues and local hacking threats.

    The future of cloud computing will be a key technology track at EMEA’s largest and most influential annual channel event, the Canalys Channels Forum, being held from 5-7 October at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona. This two-day, invitation-only event will feature senior one-to-one meetings, business-savvy keynotes, research into industry and channel trends, and expert-led debates among an audience of more than 500 executives from top vendors, distribution management, leading SMB resellers and Canalys analysts. More information about the event can be found at www.canalyschannelsforum.com.

  • Toshiba Develops 21-inch Autostereoscopic HD Display

    Toshiba has developed a 21-inch autostereoscopic high-definition display for use in next-generation 3D monitors that enables the user to enjoy three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses.

    In recent years, a combination of increasing demands for more realistic images and evolving display technology has been the catalyst for advancements in the development of 3D images and pictures for various applications, and has enabled 3D technology to be put to practical use in the cinema and television industries.

    To date most 3D products have used special glasses to separate a picture into two images: one for the left eye and the other for the right eye. But the market has strongly desired a more versatile and glasses-free approach that could be used anywhere. This new product employs an integral imaging system (a “light field” display) to reproduce a real object as a 3D image that can be viewed without glasses over a wide range of viewing angles. Therefore, the display is suitable for 3D monitors used for advertisements and entertainment appliances.

    The integral imaging system offers a significant reduction in eye fatigue during long periods of viewing, and features a multi-parallax design that enables motion parallax, which cannot be achieved by systems using glasses. The multi-parallax approach results in images that change depending on the viewer’s position. In addition, the viewing angle is wide, and the resulting stereoscopic image is natural and smooth. In some previous integral imaging implementations, there have been issues raised relating to the loss of effective image resolution.

    In previous implementations, if the number of pixels in the display is kept constant and not increased, then the multi-parallax approach will reduce the effective resolution of the 3D display in an inverse proportion to the number of parallax positions. We have addressed this problem by applying LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) technology to develop an ultra-high-definition LCD module for this newly-introduced high-definition and large-screen 3D display.

    This 21-inch auto-stereoscopic high-definition display adopts a lens sheet to control reduction in surface luminance intensity, resulting in brightness comparable to standard 2D displays. The power consumption of the display is relatively low. The new 21-inch display is considered to be environmentally friendly with low power usage.

    Furthermore, the display can be used in a vertical or horizontal position. When used in the vertical position, the user faces the upright screen from the front as a person would usually use a 2D monitor. However, when used in the horizontal position, the user overlooks the stereoscopic image formed by the display lying face-up, as one would overlook a relief model. Compared with the front view, the 3D images seen face-up from the bird’s eye view are more stereoscopic and realistic.

    Toshiba  will showcase this display in booth #631 at SID 2010 International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition, from May 25 to May 27, 2010, in Seattle, WA, USA.

  • Rubberduck’s Mobile TV Solution Now Supports HTTP Streaming

    Rubberduck, a provider of streaming mobile TV services, is upscaling initiatives in HTTP streaming.

    The HTTP streaming infrastructure is already completely integrated with the company’s technical platform, meaning that existing customers may now be served with the same levels of mobile TV carrier grade services.

    The company has now completed the first phase of an ongoing program to provide a new streaming infrastructure built around HTTP streaming, enabling a more robust and flexible live TV and video-on-demand service.

    HTTP, a web standard that has been around for some time, is now being widely adopted for video delivery to mobile devices. The use of this protocol for streaming has been adopted by Apple for their devices, including the iPhone and iPad Operating System.

    The protocol has also been pledged by the likes of Microsoft and Adobe, and with this move Rubberduck is ensuring that its customers can continue to deliver high quality web video to a new generation of mobile devices. In addition, new features such as ‘Step Back in time’, allowing users to rewind while watching videos, are now possible using HTTP.

    “We have been leading this mobile space with RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol), and now we are able to extend our award winning capabilities to HTTP-based services”, said Erling Paulsen, CEO of Rubberduck.

    Rubberduck has supported iPhone streaming to date using a proprietary video player in its TV app but this will become unnecessary with the new streaming infrastructure as streams can now be accessed directly via the iPhone’s browser.

    The company claims that the launch of their white labelled iPhone app created specifically for telecom operators last year generated huge increases in our platform traffic. They ensure that they are now prepared for the increase that will surely continue as they roll out more HTTP streaming services.

    Related articles
    MWC 2010: Interview with Miguel Silva, CCO of Rubberduck
    The Channer: Bringing TV to Your Mobile Phone

  • certgate Launches Complete Security Solution for Smartphones

    Mobile security firm certgate is launching its complete security solution for smartphones at the Infosecurity 2010 fair in London. Based on the certgate Smartphone Protector, the new solution secures three dimensions: mobile device access, data in motion and voice communication.

    The company says it is the first security solution ever for mobile phones that provides complete protection for mobile communication on the basis of hardware-secured certificates.

    “Reliably defending all potential points of attack on a smartphone, it shields against spyware and malware, protects user data from loss and manipulation, stops unauthorised access to data communication, and even secures voice communication from any form of interception,” according to the release.

    The technology of hardware-based device protection and data encryption is at the core of a “top-security” project named ‘SiMKo2’, developed by certgate’s integrator partner T-Systems International, to provide secure mobile communication to the German Federal Government, public administration and selected enterprises. This solution – nicknamed ‘Merkelphone’ – will now be enhanced by certgate with a ciphony module running on VoIP.

    certgate claims their solution resists all spyware and malware attacks on mobile phones as well as ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks. In the event of loss or theft, the certgate Smartphone Protector eliminates the danger of data being circulated or misused: the phone is absolutely inaccessible and its memory remains undecryptable, even under laboratory conditions.

    As it runs on off-the-shelf smartphones, the certgate solution is said to be cost-effective. “Enterprises can benefit from the growth potential and cost-savings of mobile business models without having to buy ‘crypto phones’ that come with a heavy price tag,” as the company claims.

    certgate’s voice encryption application, which is integrated in the smartphone’s normal GUI and directory of contacts, makes use of and is interoperable with SIP and RTP protocols. It works well in PKI environments and runs on a broad variety of Windows Mobile-based smartphones, with further platforms on the way according to certgate.

  • New SATA-II 2.5 SSD Introduced

    Accelerated Memory Production today announced the introduction of its exclusive new Sandforce Driven SATA-II 2.5” SSD,. A new generation of Solid State Drives that offers high capacity with faster transfer speeds and smaller form factors. The new flash-based drive delivers the benefits of a small form factor combined with lower power consumption compared to traditional drives with greater speed capability.

    The SATAsfaction Series can eliminate the performance bottlenecks associated with traditional rotating disk drives offering up to 30,000 random write IOPS.

    “Because there are no moving parts with this drive,” amp inc. engineering specialists explained, “the new SATA-II takes up much less valuable real estate.” Reaction to the new product from manufactures and developers, they continued, “has been overwhelming.” The drives offer SATA 3.0 interface support, as well as faster read and write speeds, and high reliability. They also feature zero acoustic noise, and are far less prone to mechanical failure than traditional SATA solutions.

    New SATAsfaction Series drives are available in a variety of capacities, standard 2.5” and embedded specially designed for applications where compact size and robust performance are required in the Enterprise Market.

    According to Ms. Linda Deming, amp inc. development specialist, “data protection makes the SATA-II SSD an ideal storage solution for the server, embedded defense and mobile environment. “Due to its non-mechanical nature it has higher shock resistance and lower access time than a traditional rotating hard disk.” She continued, “Built-in ECC and EDC ensure error-free transaction for the most demanding applications.

    amp incs’ SSD also incorporates some unique features tailored especially for the enterprise market. These features such as data protection and low power standby make amp inc’s SSD a reliable and environmentally friendly source for storage.

    SATAsfaction Series SATA-II Features:

    • Supports SATA 3.0
    • ATA-7 Compliant
    • Supports native Command Queing (NCQ)
    • Supports PIO and UDMA-6
    • Advance power management
    • Built-in ECC function – 12 bytes/sector
    • Supports Trim
    • 22 pin SATA Plug Interface (7 data, 15 power)
    • S.M.A.R.T. Capable

  • Contemporary Research’s Releases QMOD-HDSC

    Contemporary Research will demonstrate the QMOD-HDSC, the AV industry’s first digital signage-centric HDTV modulator, in Booth 6210 at InfoComm2010 in Las Vegas June 9 to 11.

    “The QMOD-HDSC HDTV Scaler/Modulator shows that digital signage isn’t just for Ethernet anymore,” says Scott Hetzler, president of Contemporary Research.

    “Now you can broadcast signage over an existing broadband network as easily as a digital cable channel. In fact, many are already doing just that, employing the popular QMOD-HD modulator with an HD scaler. Signage PCs always need treatment with a scaler because VGA doesn’t exactly match 16:9 HDTV standards.

    “With the new QMOD-HDSC, the HD video scaler is already inside the modulator. And not just any scaler – QMOD-HDSC features a powerful in-stream scaler with less loss in analog-to-digital conversion, and a wide range of options,” Hetzler stated.

    The new modulator can ingest VGA resolutions, upscale SD-quality signage, adjust positioning, and zoom, shrink, and precisely correct overscanning at displays. By using dedicated processors for scaling, encoding and modulation, the QMOD-HDSC delivers superb image control and broadcast-quality motion graphics and video.

    The versatile integrated HDTV modulator accepts VGA, Component, S-Video and composite video, plus digital and analog audio. GPI inputs trigger EAS from the composite video/stereo ports. Front-panel buttons and LCD display simplify setup, and the QMOD-HDSC mounts two-across in a one rack space.

    Doug Engstrom, CR director for technical communications says, “We’ve partnered with many HDTV digital signage applications over the past year. The input from integrators was that using a scaler in concert with the QMOD-HD delivers the best results. Integrating in-stream scaling within the QMOD greatly simplifies installation, saves rack space, and improves performance. We listen to our integrators, and the QMOD-HDSC is the result.”

    About Contemporary Research
    Contemporary Research designs and creates solutions for an HDTV world, offering cutting-edge products, HDTV display control, digital signage and tuning. CR also supports a proven line of analog TV tuners, closed-captioning tools and commercial and educational media systems. For more information about Contemporary Research products, visit us on the web at www.crwww.com or call (888) 972-2728.

  • Avaya Introduces New Products at Interop 2010

    Avaya today at Interop 2010 unveiled new data products that are specifically designed to support the growing needs of today’s bandwidth-hungry video and unified communications applications.

    These products address the main challenge that enterprises face today: how to cost-effectively add the bandwidth needed to position them for growth.

    The products introduced at this year’s Interop include:

    • Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8800: helps enterprise campuses and data centers boost capacity to embrace UC, virtualization and unified wireless solutions. It is especially suited to support bandwidth-hungry video applications. According to Avaya, the solution provides more than a 150 percent increase in memory while using approximately 33 percent less power compared to existing 8600 options.

    • Avaya Wireless LAN 8100 Series: an advanced Enterprise Class 802.11n wireless solution that “easily and seamlessly” extends UC applications to mobile users. Its ‘split plane’ architecture helps eliminate the inefficiencies and bottlenecks of overlay wired/wireless networks with a solution optimized for voice, UC and video applications. It provides a full 802.11n solution including a wireless controller (WC 8180), 802.11n wireless access points (WAP 8120), management software and partnerships for enhanced application support.

    • Avaya Configuration and Orchestration Manager (COM): is a real-time, web-based, multi-user network configuration management solution. It is part of the Unified Communications Management (UCM) solution that can manage multi-user configuration, provisioning and troubleshooting for a wide range of enterprise technologies. Acting as a unified configuration management platform, COM delivers an extensible architecture allowing it to support pluggable device add-ons through data-driven development models and loadable software components.

    • Avaya Advanced Gateway 2330: a flexible SIP gateway providing cost-effective, survivable voice services for branch locations. It can provide local branch connectivity to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) as well as SIP survivability in case of IP wide-area network failure or service outages. It’s also upgradable to support a full suite of routing and WAN services.

    According to Kevin Kennedy, Avaya President and CEO, the days of the ‘one size fits all’ network solutions are over.

    "The Avaya Data Solutions business is positioned to play a critical role in Avaya’s growth as we lead the industry to ‘Fit for Purpose’ data and SIP-based communications technologies that will redefine the IT value proposition and offer the best return on investment for business communications," he said.

  • RIM Introduces BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G

    RIM today announced two new BlackBerry phones: Bold 9650 – “a global smartphone for CDMA customers” and Pearl 3G – the smallest BlackBerry smartphone yet.

    Bold 9650 supports 3G (EVDO) networks in North America and (HSPA/UMTS) abroad and has a full-QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad and built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g). It also includes 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB microSDHC cards, with a 2 GB card included.

    It comes with 2.44" 480 x 360 display, 3.2 MP camera (with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording), built-in GPS with support for geotagging, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP), support for BlackBerry App World, full HTML web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP, and 1400 mAhr battery (approx. 5 hours of CDMA talk time).

    Pearl 3G is as powerful as it is compact. Measuring less than two inches wide (50 mm) and weighing only 3.3 ounces (93g), it still manages to pack in support for high-speed 3G (UMTS/HSDPA) networks, Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and GPS along with a 624 Mhz processor with 256 MB Flash memory.

    It also features 360×400 display, a 3.2 MP camera with flash, built-in GPS, an optical trackpad, dedicated volume and media keys, support for tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks, voice activated dialing, Bluetooth2.1 (with Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard support), microSD/SDHD memory card slot (support for up to 32 GB), and 1150 mAhr battery ( approx. 5.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks).

    Pearl 3G will be available in two models and several colors. The 9100 model features a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard and the 9105 model features a 14-key traditional phone keyboard. Both include SureType software that can complete words as the user types.

    Both Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G are expected to be available from “various carriers” in the U.S. beginning in May.

  • Visiongain: The Perspectives for Mobile VoIP Market

    The mobile market is growing, up 1.4% to €417 billion in 2010. The strongest growth is posted by data services such as mVoIP, both on fixed and mobile networks, finds Visiongain in its recent “The Mobile VoIP Market Report 2010-2015.”

    Analysts predict that sales of internet connections and data services on fixed networks will grow in 2010 by 7% to almost €200 billion. Mobile data services – such as mVoIP are posting even stronger growth: up 16% to over €140 billion.

    The report also examines how the growing market share of smartphones offers potential for third-party applications developers in the mVoIP market. In 2010 for example, mobile phone users will download over 6 billion applications to their mobile phones, growing to 7 billion by 2013.

    According to Visiongain, there will be opportunities for the mobile telecoms industry in the IP convergence/substitution market. By introducing fixed VoIP to cellular telephony and mobile VoIP to fixed telephony, operators will have the opportunities to grow on a unified voice and multimedia service experience.

    “VoIP services are cheaper than circuit-switched services on traditional legacy networks. VoIP has diversified from purely voice implementation to a complete multimedia experience offering video calling, video conferencing, gaming and many other features,” the analysts say.

    Visiongain claims that the global economic crisis appeared to have had only a slight impact on the global telecommunications and IT markets. After a slight dip of 0.5% in 2009, the information and communications (ICT) market will increase by 1.9% to €2.3 trillion in 2010 and by 3.7% to €2.4 trillion in 2011, according to the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO)’s forecast. The number of mobile subscribers (currently four billion) is set to reach 6 billion by 2013, and smartphones will outsell PCs by 2011, growing to over 50% of the total handset market share by the end of 2013.

    As the report highlights, the strongest growth markets are in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) countries – where in 2010 the Chinese telecom market will grow by 8% to €126 billion and the Indian market will grow by a staggering 15% to €40.5 billion. The inherent cost advantage of mVoIP may help drive and contribute towards wider proliferation of the telecoms sector for the near-term, by way of accelerated take-up among more price-sensitive consumers.

    The research group also notes that the online social networks such as Facebook and Myspace have integrated mVoIP services to offer opportunities for development of third-party applications and software, as well as multimedia content and advertising. Facebook users for example currently send one billion IMs per day.