Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • LifeSize Launches Full-HD Telepresence System


    LifeSize Communications has unveiled what it describes as the next generation in video communications – a full HD telepresence solution.

    The system provides life-size images and HD audio for as many as six participants at one time.

    Equipped with multiple camera inputs and dual monitors, it offers standards-based 1080p at 30 frames per second and 720p at 60 frames per second.

    LifeSize Room 200 also supports 720p30 dual streams enabling full-motion, high definition data sharing.

    The company claims that with twice the frame rate and half the latency of other HD systems, its new system delivers a communications experience rivaled only by being there in person.

    Craig Malloy, CEO and founder, LifeSize Communications, said Room 200 unlocked the power of telepresence for knowledge workers everywhere.

    The system is already being used by companies such as Reliance Industries Limited and The Blackstone Group.

    “Now more than ever in today’s economic climate customers are viewing high definition video as a critical lever to help them stay competitive, bridge their globally dispersed work groups, and reduce expenses, “ he said.

    Roopam Jain, principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said LifeSize Room 200 was the industry’s first shipping 1080p30/720p60 Full HD offering.

    LifeSize Room 200 is now available for order with volume availability in early November 2008.

    Prices are expected to be around USD $17,000.

    For companies looking to cut their travel expenses, the idea of HD teleconferencing must look increasingly attractive.

  • No Blu-ray For Macs – For Now


    Steve Jobs quashed suggestions that Apple would upgrade its Mac OS X Leopard to allow Blu-ray because of the cost of licensing and drives.

    Speaking at today’s notebook keynote, Jobs said: "Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. I don’t mean from the consumer point of view.

    “It’s great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we’re waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace before we burden our customers with the cost of the licensing and the cost of the drives."

    Apple was an early backer of Blu-ray, but has been silent about adding Blu-ray drives to its notebooks or desktop computers.

    Other manufactuers, such as Acer and HP , have already been shipping Blu-ray drives with their systems.

    Responding to a question about HDMI, Jobs said the connector interface was "limited in resolution".

    Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, went on to say that "for typical computer use, DisplayPort is the connector of the future".

    Among the announcements at the special event were a redesigned MacBook Pro built using a new construction process similar to the one for the MacBook Air.

  • Voice-enabled MIDs To Be New High-end Smartphones


    You may still be getting your head around the acronyms for ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) but it seems that MID and UMPC will soon be tripping off our tongues.

    The market for UMDs – a catch-all term that includes ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), netbooks, and mobile Internet devices (MIDs) – is expected to grow rapidly, according to ABI Research.

    Total revenues earned by vendors in the UMD market are expected to increase from USD $3.5 billion in 2008 to nearly USD $27 billion in 2013.

    Philip Solis, principal analyst with ABI Research, said that while many UMD devices are currently used as “companions” to mobile phones that will quickly change.

    “Cellular voice-enabled MIDs, in contrast, will be able to replace phones entirely; they will become the new high-end smartphones,” he said.

    The ABI Research report said that over five years the distribution mix for UMDs will change significantly.

    This year, retail sales account for only 14 per cent of shipments, while UMDs provided by mobile operators stand at nearly 30 per cent. The balance are sold directly by manufacturers.

    Operators currently subsidize UMDs for the sake of their potential services revenue, but they would prefer not to.

    By 2013, only 20 per cent will be operator-provided, while retail sales are expected to account for 75 per cent.

    In 2013 more than half of all UMDs will have x86 processors at their heart (largely Intel’s Atom), with the balance based on ARM processors.

    When it comes to operating systems, in 2013 Linux will outnumber Windows devices by two to one across all UMDs, despite the higher return rate for Linux products (compared to Windows products) experienced by netbook vendors today.

  • Blu-ray For Macs?


    An upgrade to the Mac OS X Leopard that would allow Blu-ray is one of the more interesting rumors circulating ahead of Tuesday’s Apple event.

    Currently at 10.5.5, it could be that version 10.5.6 would allow Blu-ray discs to be handled without the need for third-party software add-ons, and would then allow Apple to add Blu-ray drives to its machines.

    If that happens and the MacBook family gets Blu-ray, then it’s likely to happen with the iMac and Mac Pro as well.

    Among the other Apple speculations is one suggesting Apple is working on networked LCD HDTVs.

    Jason Calacanis told CNET UK that an Apple LCD HDTV would be able to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC. Basically the Apple TV box would be integrated in the TV sets.

    While Apple has been specific about what will be discussed at tomorrow’s event – "The spotlight turns to notebooks", according to the invitation, other announcements can’t be ruled out.

  • Blackberry Storm's Clickable Touchscreen a Winner


    Whether the Blackberry Storm unveiled today lives up to its much-hyped “iPhone killer” title remains to be seen.

    What’s certain is that RIM – the champion of corporate emailers – appears to have delivered excellent new touchscreen technology in its first handset not equipped with a physical keyboard.

    The much-awaited Storm has a spring-loaded touchscreen that responds with a “click” like a physical keyboard.

    RIM is counting on the clickable tactile interface being a big factor in challenging Apple’s iPhone and its growing market share – both for business and consumer customers.

    The Storm will be available later this fall, exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the US and Vodafone customers in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand.

    Consumers in RIM’s Canada are also to get the new handset via Telus.

    No price has been disclosed yet but reports suggest the Storm will carry a retail price of USD $199 when it goes on sale as early as November.

    The handset centers on a 3.25-inch, 480×360 display and an accelerometer switches the display from portrait to landscape.

    There is a 3.2MP camera, with video capture, and the phone supports a range of audio, still image and video formats, including MP3, JPEG and MPEG 4, respectively.

    Content is stored on Micro SD memory cards of up to 16GB.

    It’s the use of a touchscreen rather than a physical keyboard for the first time that really signals RIM’s determination to square up to the iPhone and respond to market demands – especially from non-business users.

    The Canadian phonemaker also appears to have listened to users who claim the iPhone’s glass screen is awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback.

    The Storm’s whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger. This could give better typing accuracy compared to the iPhone.

    This enhanced typing feature – combined with BlackBerry push e-mail and tighter server integration – could make the Storm the first touchscreen smartphone truly usable for composing/sending frequent e-mail.

    The smartphone will work both on Verizon Wireless’ network and on Vodafone’s, even though they use incompatible technologies.

    This means the Storm will be equipped with radios to handle both networks, making international roaming a possibility.
    Verizon Wireless is the last of the four national US brands to unveil a flagship touch-screen model.

    AT&T has the iPhone, Sprint Nextel sells the Samsung Instinct, and T-Mobile USA just announced the G1.
    The BlackBerry Storm smartphone also includes the following features and functions:

    • BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support
    • Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go allows users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
    • Built-in GPS supports location-based applications and services, as well as geotagging of photos
    • Media player that can play movies smoothly in full-screen mode, display pictures and slideshows quickly and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge,” “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speaker
    • A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
    • Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome accents surrounding its large (3.25″) glass lens; its exceptional 480 x 360 resolution at 184 ppi is crisp and bright with eye-pleasing clarity
    • An ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts backlighting for ideal screen viewing and an accelerometer that allows customers to view applications in either portrait or landscape mode by simply rotating the handset
    • Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately six hours of talk time on 3G networks and 15 days of standby time
    • Virtual keyboards are also available in AZERTY, QWERTZ and other configurations to support different language groups.

  • US To Miss Out On HTC Touch


    HTC’s Touch HD has joined the Blackberry Bold and Nokia 5800 on the list of 3G smartphones that have no US release date.

    HTC has announced through its Twitter feed that says that although it "looked into it," it has decided that by the time the HD could be converted and imported into the US, the device would be "old news".

    It is promising "other cool stuff" later down the line, but gave no details on what this involved.

    The phone can theoretically support American GSM and EDGE networks, but would likely require conversion of its 3G support to work on networks like AT&T’s.

    The HD’s 3.8-inch touchscreen display is capable of resolutions up to 800×480 – substantially higher than most phones in North America, including the iPhone.

    Among the various other theories being put forward for the decision is that AT&T demanded that the HD be kept out of the US to prevent any competition with the iPhone 3G.

  • Sanyo Laser Could Double Blu-ray Discs' Capacity


    Sanyo has announced that it has developed a blue-violet semiconductor laser capable of outputting 450mW.

    The company said this allows it to read and write data on discs with up to four data layers at speeds of 12X.

    At present, Blu-ray discs store 25GB of data on each of its two layers. Sanyo’s four-layer disc would hold 100GB of data or about eight hours of HD video.

    Sanyo claims that a device equipped with the laser would be able to burn an entire two-hour program to disc in as little as ten minutes.

    The only thing you’ll have to wait for is the new laser coming to market – Sanyo said it’s unlikely to be available for at least another two years.

  • Solar-powered and Wireless – HDTV Doesn't Come Much Cleaner


    Japan’s cutting edge electronics fair CEATAC just ended but it tossed a few interesting titbits into the mix, including a solar-powered HDTV from Sharp.

    The LED-backlit 52-inch set receives up to 220kWh of power from a solar floor panel.

    If “cleaner” technology is set to become ever more important then Panasonic was displaying a variation on this theme.

    It demonstrated a plasma Viera HDTV that was able to transmit video beamed from a Blu-ray deck via a WirelessHD at an uncompressed 1080p across a 60GHz link at up to 4Gbit/s.

    WiHD replaces HDMI wires with radio links and is designed to handle HDTV video streams between AV equipment.

    Aside from excellent picture quality, the technology does away with the need for the clutter of wires and cables that spoil the clean look of today’s often-wall mounted screens.

    Panasonic says the WirelessHD devices will be on sale within a year.

  • BitGravity To Support Interactive HD Video Applications


    BitGravity has announced the release of an application programming interface (API), capable of supporting cutting-edge interactive video applications.

    The new patent-pending Advanced Progressive API provides extensive control over progressive downloads within Flash.

    According to BitGravity, this enables developers to inject advertising, automatically adjust bitrates, add virtual clips and other additional advanced features into their H.264- and FLV-encoded video.

    Barrett Lyon, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and co-founder of BitGravity, said its content delivery network (CDN) was engineered to enable a new wave of HD, live and interactive content on the Internet.

    He said the update of the Advanced Progressive API for BitGravity’s Distributed Origin-based content delivery platform unlocked the ability to create affordable and scalable interactive HD video applications for the first time.

    Customers will be able to add a variety of advanced features to FLV- and H.264-encoded video, such as:

    • enabling auto bitrate adjustment between series of encoded videos,
    • seeking to any portion of video by time code without having to download an entire file,
    • showing select scenes from a larger video,
    • creating start and stop points,
    • allowing time-range requests,
    • synchronizing videos from time codes and
    • delivering bandwidth control.

    “From inception, our service was intended for interactive, fast-loading, HD content delivery across the mainstream Internet, and this new release of our Advanced Progressive API with H.264 support is another milestone in keeping with this original vision,” said Lyon.

  • 12 Mpx Camera, Touchscreen Phone Due From Sony Ericsson


    The smartphone camera race roars on with news that Sony Ericsson is shaping up a 12 megapixel camera on a CyberShot phone.

    Currently codenamed the Kokura, it will apparently also feature a touchscreen and iPhone-like interface, according to Mobilementalism.

    Based on leaked information, the site says the Sony Ericsson handset will be based on the TI3240 chipset with the Symbian OS version 9.4 and S60 interface.

    It also reports another offering from the phone maker – another CyberShot phone currently codenamed the Yurika.

    Aimed at the youth market, it will feature easy access to Facebook, Yahoo!, YouTube and so on.

    According to Mobilementalism, the Yurika will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as a touchscreen and similar iPhone-like interface to the Kokura.