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Tag: flash

  • Requestec Provides Bell Mobility with 3G Mobile Video Calling App for Facebook

    Requestec, an Adobe Flash-to-SIP telephony provider, announced their key involvement in the release of Bell Mobility’s, Bell Video Call application built on the Facebook platform.

    The application allows Facebook users to visit the profile page of a Bell subscriber that has added the application and click on their Bell Video Call tab. From here, calls can be made from anywhere in the world to the Bell subscriber’s HSPA Video Calling handset; all at no cost to the caller.

    The company claims it’s the first video calling application in North America that is fully integrated into Facebook.

    The application is available to Bell Mobility subscribers with video calling capable phones on the new HSPA network.

    “We were approached by Bell Mobility about the possibility of incorporating video-calling functionality into Facebook. This was our chance to show the world our technology within the Internet’s leading online community, Facebook,” said Requestec’s CEO, Marek Zwiefka-Sibley.

    According to Bell, its the new HSPA network (launched last month) covers 1.2 million square kilometers, reaching approximately 20,000 Canadian towns and cities and 93% of the population. It offers mobile speeds of 21 Mbps.

    Over the last 4 years Requestec has been focusing on developing Adobe Flash-based telephony solutions built on the Zenon Telecommunications platform. In 2008, the company launched Voixio, one of the world’s first web-based no-download Flash-to-SIP telephony services.

  • Intel and Numonyx Announce a Breakthrough in PCM Technology

    Intel and Numonyx, a provider of memory technologies, announced a key breakthrough in the research of phase change memory (PCM), a new non-volatile memory technology that combines many of the benefits of today’s various memory types.

    For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a 64Mb test chip that enables the ability to stack, or place, multiple layers of PCM arrays within a single die.

    These findings pave the way for building memory devices with greater capacity, lower power consumption and optimal space savings for random access non-volatile memory and storage applications, the companies announced.

    The achievements are a result of an ongoing joint research program between Numonyx and Intel that has been focusing on the exploration of multi-layered or stacked PCM cell arrays.

    Intel and Numonyx say their researchers are now able to demonstrate a vertically integrated memory cell – called PCMS (phase change memory and switch). PCMS is comprised of one PCM element layered with a newly used Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) in a true cross point array.

    The ability to layer or stack arrays of PCMS provides the scalability to higher memory densities while maintaining the performance characteristics of PCM, a challenge that is becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain with traditional memory technologies.

    Memory cells are built by stacking a storage element and a selector, with several cells creating memory arrays. Intel and Numonyx researchers were able to deploy a thin film, two-terminal OTS as the selector, matching the physical and electrical properties for PCM scaling.

    With the compatibility of thin-film PCMS, multiple layers of cross point memory arrays are now possible. Once integrated together and embedded in a true cross point array, layered arrays are combined with CMOS circuits for decoding, sensing and logic functions.

    "We are encouraged by this research milestone and see future memory technologies, such as PCMS, as critical for extending the role of memory in computing solutions and in expanding the capabilities for performance and memory scaling," said Al Fazio, Intel Fellow and director, memory technology development.

    Greg Atwood, senior technology fellow at Numonyx, added that the results show the potential for higher density, scalable arrays and NAND-like usage models for PCM products in the future.

    “This is important as traditional flash memory technologies face certain physical limits and reliability issues, yet demand for memory continues to rise in everything from mobile phones to data centers" he said.

    To provide more information about the memory cell, cross point array, experiment and results, Intel and Numonyx will publish a joint paper titled "A Stackable Cross Point Phase Change Memory,” which will be presented at the 2009 International Electron Devices Meeting in Baltimore on Dec. 9.

  • 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. .

  • Akamai Brings HDTV-Like Experience Online

    Akamai Technologies has launched the Akamai HD Network, its next generation video delivery offering and the first platform to deliver HD video online to viewers using Adobe Flash technology, Microsoft Silverlight, and to the iPhone, at broadcast-level audience scale.

    The new HD Network combines Akamai’s patented HD EdgePlatform, adaptive bitrate streaming and DVR technology. It supports live and on-demand HD streaming.

    It was designed as one, comprehensive HD network reaching multiple playback environments and devices (including Flash, Silverlight, and the iPhone) especially for large-scale broadcasters and film distributors.

    According to the press release, the network leverages the following functionalities:

    • Adaptive Bitrate Streaming – a streaming process that is designed to enable uninterrupted playback at HD bitrates that seamlessly adjusts to fluctuations in available bandwidth
    • Instant Response – Immediate response to viewer interactions with the video player, including sub-second time-shifting (such as pause, rewind, seek and play commands) video startup times, and seamless stream switching
    • HD Video Player – Open, standards-based video player for faster time to market
    • HD Player Authentication – Authenticates player for all three environments ensuring only authorized players access content

    What makes this new HD network unique is that it delivers video from HTTP servers located closest to end users (over 50,000 in 900 networks in 70 countries) minimizing packet loss and maximizing streaming.

    “We’re entering a different online world, where many content owners and publishers need to deliver HD-quality video to a much wider online audience, with a higher level of interactivity for consumers. Delivering ‘web-quality’ content to ‘web-sized’ audiences is one thing, but delivering HD-quality content to broadcast-scale audiences is another," said Paul Sagan, President and CEO of Akamai.

    The firm says, two key trends have made it necessary to now evolve how streaming media is delivered on the internet. First, online audiences have grown to broadcast scale. Second, those viewers are demanding higher quality content. Studies show that when higher quality video content is offered, viewer engagement time increases. According to Jupiter Research, 60% of regular online video users are less likely to return to a site for video content if the viewing experience is poor.

    Supporting this level of traffic requires a global network that can manage millions of simultaneous users streaming very high bitrate content, they claims.

    "We are excited to see Akamai’s commitment to HTTP adaptive streaming as the future of online video delivery, as we have worked closely over the past year to build a robust end-to-end media delivery platform with IIS Smooth Streaming and Silverlight," said Steve Sklepowich, director for Silverlight at Microsoft Corp.

    "Together, we’ve proven that these true HD experiences can dramatically increase online viewing times for broadcasters,” he added

  • Epix Network Offers HD Movie Streaming Service


    Epix plans to offer full-length HD movies over the Internet using a dynamic-streaming feature from Akamai Technologies’ content-distribution network.

    The movie service, created by Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate, previously said it was launching as a broadband-video service in May, followed by the linear cable channel in October.

    Akamai will provide the dynamic-streaming feature through Adobe Flash Media Server 3.5.

    This allows video playback to adapt to the capabilities of users’ computers – adjusting the bit rate of the video stream according to processor speeds and Internet connections.

    Epix chief digital officer, Emil Rensing, said it intends to provide new releases, catalog titles and original content over a variety of platforms, including TV, computers and mobile devices.

    Epix has not announced carriage agreements with pay-TV providers.

    "The Epix model of commercial-free, uninterrupted current Hollywood movies will set a new online content bar," he said.

    "Akamai’s dynamic streaming solution enables us to be one of the first to provide the accessibility, quality and convenience which today’s digital consumers desire."

    Epix’s titles are expected to include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Cloverfield, Defiance, Drillbit Taylor, The Duchess, How She Move, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Iron Man.

    The service will also have the rights to all 17 remastered James Bond movies, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

    Akamai and Adobe expect the solution to be commercially available before the end of June.

  • Adobe Announces Plans For Flash on HDTVs


    Adobe has designed a new version of its Flash animation technology that will enable HDTVs, Blu-ray player and other electronics device to stream content directly.

    The development means that webcasters, such as Hulu, will be able to compete more evenly with traditional broadcasters.

    Flash video services are normally only accessible on a TV through game consoles, or by directly attaching a Flash-capable computer.

    And while YouTube can already be seen on a TV using services such as TiVo, Apple TV and Sony’s Bravia Internet TV Link, this is not the full site offering.

    Instead viewers get videos that have been made adapted for each of these products.

    With Flash supported directly in the device, viewers will be able to access the full YouTube selection.

    It will allow consumers to access their favorite Flash technology-based videos, applications, services and other rich Web content across screens.

    Called the Flash Platform for the Digital Home, Adobe’s technology is now being licensed to OEMs and should ship in products scheduled for the second half of 2009.

    Companies which have agreed to support the platform include Broadcom, Comcast, Disney, Intel, Netflix, Atlantic Records and the New York Times.

    No hardware details were released – although it’s understood that manufacturers are planning on holding their announcements when Flash-enabled product lineups are market ready.

    Adobe estimates that Flash is already installed on 98 per cent of all desktop computers and a host of mobile devices.

    David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe, said the new version would dramatically change the way content was viewed on televisions.

    Adobe has been running a preview of its Flash technology for digital home devices this week at its booth at the NAB Show 2009 in Las Vegas.

    It drew large crowds to its mock living room demo, complete with an easy chair to demonstrate the ground-breaking technology, which could finally bring IPTV into the mainstream.

  • Nokia, Vodafone and Adobe Help Kick-off Mobile World Congress 2009

    Nokia, Vodafone and Adobe Help Kick-off Mobile World Congress 2009


    This year’s Mobile World Congress is now underway and already there has been a flurry of announcements and launches from some of the big names lining up in Barcelona.

    Vodafone has unveiled a raft of new mobiles, including its first own-branded consumer GPS phone – the Vodafone 835.

    The 3G candybar handset is to be available across Europe from spring on contract.

    Other newcomers to the 3G range include the Vodafone 735 and Vodafone 736 – a candybar and slider version respectively of the phone.

    Hot on Vodafone’s heels comes Nokia, with the news that it is launching its own online app and media portal – the Ovi Store.

    The Finnish telecoms giant has made its N97 smartphone the first device to be "pre-integrated" with Ovi Store, but existing S40 and S60 customers will be able to download the service from May.

    Not surprisingly, a developer site has been launched offering a 70 per cent revenue share.

    Adobe announced this morning that Flash Player 10 – the full version of Flash that runs on PCs – is to be available on smartphones running Windows Mobile, Google’s Android, Nokia S60/Symbian, and the new Palm operating systems.

    Devices with Flash Player 10 are expected to hit the market starting in early 2010.

    Obviously, the glaring exception to the list of applicable devices is the iPhone – though Adobe executives do promise that it’s coming.

    Earlier, Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO and president of Ericsson, told delegates at MWC that 2008 had been a year of establishing mobile broadband.

    He talked about the impact investment in telecom infrastructure can have on societies and their prosperity – even in the current economic climate.

    "Mobile phones have had a profound impact on peoples’ lives all over the world," he said.

    "The mobile industry is now on the verge of another significant wave of investment, which will bring affordable mobile broadband services to all."

    Svanberg finished by stressing that the fundamentals of the telecoms industry were sound, as was demand.

    "The operators are generally in good shape and the networks are fairly loaded," he said.

    "As we move further into a financially turbulent 2009 our focus will be to manage our company for value creation. In this market environment there will be opportunities to strengthen our position and I am convinced that we are uniquely positioned to capture them."

  • Bitstream Launches "Fastest Mobile Browser"


    Bitstream is launching its new BOLT mobile browser today with the claim that it is the fastest on the market.

    Sampo Kaasila, VP of R&D at Bitstream told smartphone.biz-news, that the new browser was "25-50 per cent faster" than competitor Opera.

    Speaking at Showstoppers on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona he said this was backed up by tests carried out in India.

    While he admitted the tests weren’t done independently of Bitstream, he was confident user experience would bear out the company’s claims.

    Kaasila said the BOLT beta provides a PC desktop-like view of Web pages on even the most basic feature phones.

    It will not, however, be available on the iPhone and Bitstream has no plans at the moment to change that.

    Bitstream is hoping to appeal to hordes of non-iPhone handset owners, of whom only around 15 per cent regularly browse the internet on their mobiles.

    "We are hoping to increase that percentage with BOLT," said Kaasila.

    The mobile browser includes high standards compliance such as AJAX and flash video support.

    Kaasila said it also both optimized to conserve battery life and to minimize data transmissions – so allowing people to browse longer without recharging batteries while consuming less data.

    BOLT supports streaming video from the likes of YouTube, vids.myspace.com, video.yahoo.com, blip.tv, dailymotion.com, and metacafe.com.

    Features of the BOLT public beta release include:

    • Fast, secure, desktop-style web browsing on both high-end and low-end handsets
    • Streaming flash video capabilities
    • WebKit rendering engine offers high standards compliance
    • Support for XML, ATOM and RDF formats of RSS feeds
    • Support for JavaScript and AJAX
    • Split screen and full screen modes for easy navigation and viewing
    • Intuitive keystroke shortcuts for easier navigation and content selection
    • 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for secure access to web pages
    • Server filtering to protect users from spyware and other malware
    • Certificate error notification
    • Easily add and select favorites and view browsing history
    • Ability to clear history and cookies

  • ARCHOS Offers Android-powered HD Media-playing Smartphone


    ARCHOS, the company that "invented the PMP", is to bring out a touchscreen smartphone based on the Android operating system.

    The new ultra-thin Internet Media Tablet (IMT) will allow playback of HD video while offline.

    It is similar to the ARCHOS 5 media tablet – with the big differences being that it will have voice support and deliver "PC-like" performance.

    ARCHOS is to use Texas Instrument’s OMAP 3 platform, which will allow the processor to use less power without affecting performance.

    The IMT will be ready in Q3 of this year.

    ARCHOS is expected to give more details about the device at next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    But a statement from the company did say that it was "looking to expand beyond portable media players to provide solutions for the converged space, where a foundation in high-quality video content delivery is a benefit".

    "ARCHOS is marrying its rich digital media history with voice functionality to tackle new markets," said the company.

    Some core features of this smartphone include:

    • 5-inch touchscreen
    • Adobe Flash and Flash Video support
    • unrestricted access to TV, movies, music
    • games
    • photos
    • TV recording and HD playback
    • 500GB storage
    • 7 hour video playback battery life
    • runs on a 3.5G 7.2Mb/s HSUPA.

    ARCHOS released the first pocket-sized HD-based MP3 player with the Jukebox 6000 in 2000.

    The company claims to have invented the portable media player in 2003 and was the first to bring television recording, wireless and touch screens to PMPs.

  • TringMe Combines Voice with PHP


    TringMe has announced a method of marrying VoIP with PHP – VoicePHP.

    The Bangalore, India-based startup, describes VoicePHP as an extension of PHP that now outputs voice instead of text and also takes input as voice instead of text.

    Other approaches to combining web applications with voice include using Voice XML or Adobe’s Flash.

    TringMe said VoicePHP is intended to do the same things as VoiceXML, but by adopting the familiar PHP programming methology.

    This enables it to remain attractive to the numerous PHP-proficient developers and ensure a stream of voice applications.

    Essentially, with VoicePHP there’s no need to learn a new markup language, tags, or attributes associated with VoiceXML.

    Widely and freely available tools for developing, debugging PHP can be continued to use with VoicePHP.

    It also means that an application written in VoicePHP can be accessed via Flash, instant messenger, Mobile VoIP clients or even conventional phone lines.

    This gives TringMe an advantage over rivals.

    It should also enable the start-up to generate revenue as VoicePHP grows popular and more web-voice application developers use its VoIP platform.