Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • What you might not know about the 4K/Ultra HD TV


    Everybody is talking about the latest advancement in TV technology, the 4K TV, also known as the Ultra HD TV. Sooner or later, you are bound to own one of these, so this is a sneak peak of the facts behind the entire buzz.

    High Resolution

    UHD’s minimum resolution is 3,820 x 2,160, which is around four times the 1080p resolution. The higher resolution is not the only great thing about the improved picture that 4K TV brings to the table. There is talk of the Rec 2020 which will be an improvement in the current 4K TV standards. It will bring improvements to the image color and frame rate to bring an entirely better picture to TV. This new standard will be introduced to TVs sometime in the future so that is something to look forward to.

    What is the difference?

    The extra resolution will probably not have so much impact if you are getting the average 50” TV and sitting around 10 feet from the screen. But sitting closer to the screen or getting a larger TV or projector, around 80” gives you the high quality view that you most probably desire from a 4K TV.

    Ultra HD Vs 4K

    The two terms are used interchangeably for the new high resolution TVs. Officially, 4K is the cinema equivalent for the high resolution picture, around 4096 x 2160.

    Most people will probably use 4K instead of the more appropriate Ultra HD because it is easier to say and type. But as long as the message is clear, I don’t think it matters which name is used for the TVs.

    HDMI 2.0

    This is the new HDMI standard coming, moving from the HDMI 1.4. The current HDMI cable will work with your 4K TV but the HDMI 2.0 allows higher frame rates (60 frames per second) from the 4K signal, a double of what HDMI 1.4 can support.

    Finally

    The development of the Ultra HD televisions has led to the abandonment of plasma TV. TV production companies are finding it increasingly difficult to make Ultra HD plasma TVs.

    Although there is still not enough content for Ultra HD, the displays are clearly the future of TV seeing that prices are already coming down, making it more affordable day by day.

    In a few years, Ultra HD TVs will be more affordable, better, and there will be a lot of content for the displays. Even if you do not get one now, they will probably be a much better investment in the near future.

    Image: Trusred Reviews

  • Google Drive and its Game-Changing Strategy

    Google Drive has recently unleashed a storage structure that is set to change the way people view cloud storage. They have now made it possible to have online storage no matter the size. For the first 15Gb per month no fee will be charged, $1.99 for 100GB, $9.99 for 1TB and $99.99 for 10TB and above. Their new price structure makes it easier to afford online storage especially for large companies.

    Let’s compare Google drive data plan with other plans. Sugar sync charges $55 for a terabyte of data of up to three users while this cost $10 a month at Google drive. Dropbox charges $9.99 for a month’s 100 GB while Google drive offers the same space at around $2 a month. Apple charges $8.33 a month for 50 GB storage while you can be able to double that storage size for a much lesser fee. The most popular cloud service S3 cloud service offers a terabyte of storage space at $85 a month while on Google drive a terabyte cost around $10. Finally Microsoft which offer annual data plans offers 50 GB at $25 for the year while one can be able to get much more data storage and almost the same price.

    With the changes in prices in Google drives data plans, the other companies will try to lower their costs hence making online data storage that was once viewed as an expensive venture more affordable to many people and companies at a regular fee. Now more money will go into the company as opposed to it going into storage Plans for the company. This will be beneficial in making cloud storage one of the most used storage options and thereby lessening the use of traditional storage means. Just by simply changing their price structure, Google drive has been able to revolutionize how cloud storage is viewed.

  • Sharp Introduces New Line of Quattron Pro 4K TVs


    The 4K TV technology scene has seen new entrants coming out to support it and be part of this revolution. One of the latest entrants is Sharp, one of the leading TV manufacturers. Sharp has come up with a variety of Quattron Pro TVs and some have already hit the UK market.

    The UQ10 TVs come in three different screen  sizes that include the LC60UQ10 which is the 60 inch Sharp TV, the LC70UQ10 the 70 inch Sharp TV, and finally the LC80UQ10 80n inch Sharp TV. These Sharp TVs are believed to bring out a extraordinary HD display that is very close to the 4K display. This is possible due to the high number of sub pixels and over a billion color shades that makes it possible to have an excellent image quality

    According to sharp, the reason as to why they have opted for this approach whereby they try to go as close to the 4K technology without necessarily using 4K is due to the fact that very many content producers have not gone into producing 4K content making it a bit harder to sell. Even though the HDTV test hasn’t been able to verify the quality claim, the explanation given by Sharp is very convincing and worth a try. Apart from the excellent image quality, the UQ10 TVs have an Aquos Remote Lite mobile app that allows the user to control the TV straight from their smartphones or tablets.

    These Sharp TVs are set to have a retail price range between £2100 t0 £6300. The LC60UQ10 goes for £2100, the LC70UQ10 for £3200, and finally the LC80UQ10 is priced at £6300. However, only the LC60UQ10 is the in the market with the others to be released soon.

  • How to Manage All Cloud Storage Services Under One Site


    Most people, and companies too, have multiple cloud storage accounts and at times it might be very hard to handle and manage all these accounts separately. Luckily, there is a way you can now access all your storage accounts at the same time. Welcome Multcloud.com, an online site that gives you access to your entire cloud storage under one platform. The site allows you to view your document, transfer them from one cloud to the other among other actions.

    To get access to the site, there are simple steps to follow.

    1. Go to multcloud.com and select the create an account option.

    2. Fill out the registration form and it is better to use a secure password that isn’t  related to any others that you use on the other cloud sites. This will make your Multcloud account more secure.

    3. After completing your registration, click on send and a confirmation link will be sent to your email. Click on the link to complete the registration process.

    4. After, the screen will show the different cloud serves and clicking on the logo will direct you to the site to start the linking process.

    5. After clicking on the logo, click on the blue logo to add the site and to give Multcloud permission to access your account on that cloud service provider.

    6. After adding all your accounts, the page changes to reveal a list of files.

    7. Finally, double click on the file you want to view just like you would on any file.

  • Verizon Challenged on their VoIP Shift


    A consumer advocacy group has recently challenged Verizon for forcing their customers to shift to VoIP and wireless services from the traditional telephone services. The complaint was filed by The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

    It is alleged that Verizon is ignoring repair and maintenance of its copper network as a means of forcing its customers to migrate to the Voice over IP or the wireless services. In doing this the communications company is going contrary to the state and federal laws that require them to provide telephone services to the residents of California. According to TURNs research director Regina Costa, the thing that makes this situation worse is the fact that most of these shifts and migrations are done without the knowledge of the customers.

    However according to Verizon, the company’s main aim is to provide their customers with the best services they can across all their platforms, be it the traditional telephone services or the latest technological platforms. They also said that they would look into the complaint they have received and will respond accordingly.

    The complain TURN filled was as a result of the complains it received from Verizon  customers  who were moved to VoIP without their consent and  the fact that VoIP did not have the same regulations as other  services making it less secure. It has been noted that VoIP does not function during power shortages, and cannot be linked to other services like fax, medical systems among others.

    This just comes after the federal Communications Commission allowed communication carriers the change to run trials to shift customers to IP networks. They are now examining the implications such a shift might have on the customers. As for now TURN wants FCC to order Verizon to repair the copper networks.

  • VoIP Portal: Velocity’s New Addition to The Telecom Sector


    Velocity VoIP has recently launched a VoIP Portal that is said to facilitate easy access to all the services that Velocity offers to its customers. Velocity, being a major provider of hosted VoIP switching and billing solutions for most VoIP services providers, has just brought their services closer to their customers.

    According to Velocity, the main reason as to why they came about with the portal is to enable their customers have access to the services they offer them and make it easier for them to manage their accounts. These latest VoIP addition has a number of benefits in the telecommunication sector.

    To begin with this service allows one to find numbers within the United States and 58 different countries in no time. This is the live provisioning DIDs. Secondly, the VoIP Portal gives one the ability to port in different international carriers and submitting the information electronically as you receive status updates as the numbers are processed. This is termed as the automated LNP Process. The other advantage of this new VoIP Portal is it’s easy to use AIP for all features, including the integration and linking of your website to streamline the new accounts and customers.

    Velocity, which was founded in 2005, has aims to provide the best field for their customers to prosper and at the same time compete in a more advanced and manageable environment.

  • Pocket Friendly LTE Smartphones


    LTE smartphones have become a necessity in today’s society and there are different brands and varieties that emerge every day. However large the smartphone pool is, many people are looking for a smartphone that won’t break their banks. There are smartphones that are both economical and at the same time have phenomenal features. Two of these are the Huawei Kestrel and the Nokia Lumia 635.

    Having just been launched recently, the Nokia Lumia 635 and Huawei–made Kestrel are powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon that runs at 1.2 GHz. The main objective of using the Snapdragon, which was launched June last year, was to reduce the overall cost of the LTE smartphones. The Huawei Kestrel phone has a screen resolution of 960×540 pixels while the Nokia Lumia has an 854×480 pixel resolution.

    Just like the almost similar processor and screen resolution, the weight of the two phones is almost similar, too. The Nokia Lumia weighs 134 grams while the Kestrel weighs 145 grams. On the other hand the Kestrel measures 131×65.3×7.85 millimeters while the Nokia Lumia 129.5×66.7×9.2 millimeters. The integrated storage in both phones is 8GB but have external microSD card slot . The Kestrel has a 1GB RAM while the Nokia Lumia has a 512 MB RAM. An added advantage to the Nokia Lumia 635 is its 7GB online storage.

    Camera wise, the two smartphones have a 5 megapixel camera and video at 720p and 30 frames. The Huawei Kestrel also has an additional 1 megapixel  camera at the back. The two phones also have additional applications installed that help to enhance the phone’s camera. The Huawei Kestrel will be available from the end of April and will retail at $160 while the Nokia Lumia while be available during summer and will retail at $189 without taxes.

  • HTC Releases HTC One M8

    HTC showcased its new smartphone on Tuesday. The company hopes to capture its lost market share to Samsung through the Launch of HTC One M8, an upgrade of their award winning HTC One.

    The new smartphone boasts an improved camera technology, a faster processor, a larger display than its predecessor and upgraded software, the company said.

    During a meeting held in London, Cher Wang, the company’s Chairwoman said that the new smartphone was more advanced than HTC One.

    The smartphone has won numerous awards the latest being ` Smartphone of the Year` in February at a Mobile World Congress.

    She was full of praise for their new model terming it as the best smartphone in the world.

    Despite all the awards and praise by critics, the company still experienced declining sales as it scrambled for a share of the market dominated by market leaders, in terms of sales, such as Apple and Samsung.

    Research conducted by Neil Mawston, a Strategy Analyst, shows a decline in the company’s global market share to 2 percent in 2013 consideringthat over two years ago, a HTC phone was sold out of every 10 smartphones sold in the world.

    Sales figures in February are 36 percent lower compared to the sales of the previous year.

    HTC has introduced cheaper handsets to regain the market share not forgetting its new smartphone HTC One M8.

    Analysts at CCS Insight view the HTC One M8 as the smartphone that will define the success of the company. They also noted that the company had learned vital lessons from the award winning but underperforming predecessor.

    They also added that the phones new design and premium materials would help the company regain its lost market share.

  • Amazon Lowers Its Cloud Prices after Google Slash

    Recent cut by Amazon of its cloud prices are still not enough to rival Google's cloud storage prices. The slash by amazon comes after Google announced a reduction of its storage costs – Google made a reduction on its pricing by a very high margin compared to those of their competitors such as Microsoft, Rackspace, and HP.

    Google newly introduced "sustained use" pricing model has enabled it to pass savings onto users of its cloud. This compares to Amazons model, which guarantee customers saving after they pay upfront.

    Amazon`s senior vice president defended its stand on not responding to Google new model. He said that the company lowered their prices on many occasions without any external or competitive pressure.

    Amazon and Google seem to be at the same level though their prices on key areas such as storage are still significantly different. Google has a flat rate pricing for storage while Amazon does tiered pricing.

    Amazon`s price change indicates an emerging competition among businesses offering cloud computing services. Amazon's strategy, using lower prices, has enabled it to build a successful brand. Google price change is a threat, one that deserves a response, to its cloud business margins. This comes at a time when Google and Microsoft have made continuous investment aimed at grabbing a portion of the revenue streaming into Amazon Web Services.

    Both companies have being experiencing problems that affect their core businesses. Google, for instance, has closed some of its business such as Google Reader and Wave and at times made price changes without warning their customers. This has negatively affected their customers who are now skeptical of their innovations.

    Microsoft despite having the most successful software business customers are suspicious of their products as they will be difficult to license or be costly.
    Amazon`s core business-retail- ensures use of cheap storage, ideal cloud computing, and relatively low margins.

  • Top 3 business VoIP providers

    Many business face obstacles as they aim to become successful and profitable due to a number of things including persistent communication barriers between them and their partners. For businesses that use landlines, they find them slow and outdated. The emergence of Business VoIP providers has come at a good time to not only help businesses grow but also ensure an efficient and faster communication process.

    It is advantageous to switch to business VoIP providers. They have cheaper services than landline costs. For those with international and long distance clients, it is cheaper making calls over the Internet. These services provided by Business VoIP providers among others are aimed at maintaining new relationships.

    Voxilla.com recently announced the Top 3 businessVoIP providers. The criteria used considered additional enhancements, customer satisfaction among others to come with the list of the best business VoIP providers. The top 3 in the list are:

    RingCentral

    RingCentral has an affordable package for their clients. Their services are easy to use, quick and simple to install, as they do not involve use of hardware. Their cloud-based system offers a range of services including fax service, conferencing, call management and mobile apps. Their customer support staff is excellent.

    Vonage

    Their strategy, no installation fees and contracts, has enabled them to rank among the best business VoIP providers. Their international call rates are low and customers can use them whenever they travel. They also offer a virtual assistant, smart phone apps, and voice to email options among many more.

    Mitel

    Mitel services are best suited for small and medium sized businesses. Their phone calls are characterized by clear sound quality. Their clients do not need to worry about loss of important information as they use secure data centers. They have low rates.

    It is important to have the right company for your communication needs.