Archive for the ‘Brands’ Category

M1 & Nokia ups cellular & Wi-Fi networks in SMRT stations

Friday, June 3rd, 2016

M1 boosts network capacity, indoor coverage with Nokia in Singapore’s busiest MRT stations.

The new Flexi Zone small cells network in Orchard MRT, Raffles Place MRT and Jurong East MRT has increased 4G LTE download speeds by up to 2 times, compared to the performance over the existing base station and antenna system.

The new Flexi Zone small cells network in Orchard MRT, Raffles Place MRT and Jurong East MRT has increased 4G LTE download speeds by up to 2 times, compared to the performance over the existing base station and antenna system.

M1 Limited (M1) and Nokia have completed the installation of indoor small cells and WiFi networks to meet the surging data demand of mobile device users at Orchard MRT station, Raffles MRT Station, as well as Jurong East MRT station.

With the high adoption of advanced smart devices in Singapore, the demand for sharing and viewing high-resolution photos and high-definition videos have been growing.

To further improve customer experience in accessing data, M1 is working to provide high quality mobile coverage in MRT stations to thousands of passengers, particularly at the crowded zones during peak hours.

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IBM SolutionsConnect: Garage Track 1 – Accelerate Speed of Innovation

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Businesses compete today in an increasingly digital marketplace, with stakeholders that expect innovative, personalised and efficient interactions with modern digital businesses via interconnected digital technologies.

Brent Michael Nulf shares how enterprises can accelerate their speed of innovation through the adoption of APIs and Microservices.

Following the two keynote presentations at the one-day thought leadership conference by IBM in Singapore, there were two concurrent one-and-a-half-hour Garage Tracks, one on accelerating the speed of innovation and the second on insights-driven IT. I followed the former to find out more about how to extend infrastructure investments to drive innovation. This is the first presentation in this Track.

Following the two keynote presentations at the one-day thought leadership conference by IBM in Singapore, there were two concurrent one-and-a-half-hour Garage Tracks, one on accelerating the speed of innovation and the second on insights-driven IT. I followed the former to find out more about how to extend infrastructure investments to drive innovation. This is the first presentation in this Track.

Brent Michael Nulf – who is a Business Unit Executive for MobileFirst Platform & Cloud, Asia Pacific, IBM Corporation – cited Starbucks, Peugeot and CitiBank as examples of companies that had reaped huge returns by disrupting through digitisation of their businesses.

The world’s most successful digital enterprises – such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, eBay, Salesforce.com – are leveraging an API-base architecture to enable innovation and power growth.

Valuable business assets are exposed as APIs that are consumed by App Developers to develop innovative apps that result in a delightful experience for customers.

However, within enterprises, a fine balance needs to be struck between the demands by the lines of business for fast speed and agility in the digital ecosystem, against the slower pace of the IT departments for integration and scaling of the core enterprise to ensure stability.

The answer to this “Multi-Speed” conundrum is Microservices, which involves the implementation of the SOA architecture to create small autonomous services that work well together.

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IBM SolutionsConnect: Blockchain – Beyond Finance

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Disruption enables enterprises to cut costs involved in technologies whilst reducing the inefficiencies. Alan Lim shares how IBM Blockchain Labs can help you apply blockchain technology to make more efficient an application that is core to your business.

If your business is based on a network of partners, dealers, suppliers and customers; and if your success is based on a system that can be disrupted; AND if you want to become the next disruptor, you should take a serious look at Blockchain technology.

If your business is based on a network of partners, dealers, suppliers and customers; and if your success is based on a system that can be disrupted; AND if you want to become the next disruptor, you should take a serious look at Blockchain technology.

Enterprises can now leverage on the structured approach for an application or a system based on Blockchain tenets.

Blockchain technology is suitable for any enterprise that involves multi-party, multi-layered transactions.

“Blockchain is the next stage of digitisation,” said Raymond Wong – Country Manager, Software, IBM Singapore – during his welcome address for IBM’s one-day thought leadership conference (“Technology Leadership in the Cognitive Era”) in Singapore.

Blockchain entails the principle of a shared ledger with shared data, leading to visibility of not only the entire history of transactions, but also the customer’s relationship data.

Alan Lim noted that some US$1 billion has been spent on Blockchain technology, and that the investment is moving away from BitCoin specific to the underlying Blockchain technology.

Lim is a Lead Software Architect with IBM Software.

Enterprises do not work in silos, instead they thrive in business networks, generating wealth in the marketplace through the transference of goods and services.

The key then is how to engineer trust among the various parties, especially when it is a challenge to monitor asset ownership and transfers/transactions.

Blockchain technology is based on a concept of a decentralised consensus network, introducing replicated, shared, permissioned ledgers for transparency, whilst privacy is maintained by ensuring that relevant parties can only see what they need.

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IBM SolutionsConnect: Disruptive technology in the cognitive era

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

With the blistering pace at which technology develops in this cognitive era, the mantra of the day is “disrupt or be disrupted”. IBM explores the possibilities of exploiting disruptive cutting-edge technologies through real-life case studies of how industry leaders have transformed their organisations and markets to lead the pack.

I am at a one-day thought leadership conference held by technology leader IBM at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore. The conference will discuss leading-edge technologies that organisations can exploit to win. I’m looking forward to the solutions showcase that will demo the latest in cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics, amongst other technologies of the day.

I am at a one-day thought leadership conference held by technology leader IBM at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore. The conference will discuss leading-edge technologies that organisations can exploit to win. I’m looking forward to the solutions showcase that will demo the latest in cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics, amongst other technologies of the day.

Brett Michael Nulf brought delegates through various examples of how technology-driven disruptions had decimated many traditional leaders in various industries in recent years, emphasising the importance for enterprises to stay vigilant in order to avoid getting eliminated because of disruption from existing competitors and new startups.

He mused at how more than seventy percent of companies have dropped off the Fortune 500 list, with the “Unicorn Club” of privately-funded startups reaching US$1bn in value becoming increasingly crowded.

Nulf is a Business Unit Executive for MobileFirst Platform & Cloud, Asia Pacific, IBM Corporation.

He cautioned that although the Fintech arena is currently seeing the most disruptions, other industries are also prone to technology-driven disruptions, such as in manufacturing, healthcare, and even traditional sectors with a long history – such as consumer packaged goods.

An interesting phenomenon that Nulf described was what he called the “Uber syndrome – where a competitor with a completely different business model enters your industry and flattens you”.

It was an interesting example where the innovative newcomer (in this case Uber) enjoyed rapidly growing revenue and market share at the expense of traditional taxis – while the overall pie remained the same.

One key reason why these disruptive newcomers do so well is the speed with which they move and innovate.

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New arrival: Mophie Powerstation line of universal batteries

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Available in multiple battery sizes (1X, 2X, 3X, 5X, 8X), the powerstation line provides dynamic, on-the-go charging options with up to 15,000mAh. Prices below.

Users will enjoy up to 54 additional hours of talk time, 59 additional hours of web browsing, 59 additional hours of video playback, and 272 additional hours of audio time.

Users will enjoy up to 54 additional hours of talk time, 59 additional hours of web browsing, 59 additional hours of video playback, and 272 additional hours of audio time.

Mobile battery case maker Mophie has launched its next generation powerstation lineup of universal battery solutions for mobile devices.

This marks the release of mophie’s slimmest collection of universal power products to date.

These quick-charging devices sport an aluminum finish, and integrate with the company’s mobile power management app, mophie Power.

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

Also showcased at the launch in Suntec City in Singapore was this waterproof batterycase from Mophie. The JuicePack H2PRO for iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 plus are now available in black for S$189 in Singapore. Waterproof, dropproof, dustproof, dirtproof. 2,750mAh battery, for 14hrs additional talk time, 10hrs additional web browsing, 11hrs additional video playback, 50hrs additional music playback.

The mophie Power app allows users to concurringly monitor and manage the battery life of their smartphone and bluetooth-enabled powerstation units (5x and 8x models only).

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New arrival: HP Spectre – world’s thinnest laptop

Friday, May 27th, 2016

The new HP Spectre is only 10.4mm thin (as thin as an AAA battery) and weighs only 1.11kg. Available in Singapore in June from S$2,299.

The stylised logo on this HP Spectre is the new HP logo for its premium line of products.

The stylised logo on this HP Spectre is the new HP logo for its premium line of products.

A carbon fiber bottom creates a thin profile that is both durable and lightweight, keeping the total weight of the notebook at just 1.11kg.

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

The new HP Spectre – seen here at the launch in Singapore at ParkRoyal on Pickering.

High gloss copper accents reflect a hand-polished, jewelry-like finish and a hidden piston hinge creates the illusion of a hinge-less design to offer an unmatched premium look-and-feel.

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New arrival: Linksys EA7500 Max-Stream A1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi router

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

The Linksys Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi Router (EA7500) will launch at Challenger, Hachi.Tech and the PC Show on 2 June 2016 at an SRP of S$329.99. Promotions and specs below.

The next-gen EA7500 Wi-Fi AC1900 Router can connect multiple devices to a network, including multiple 4K and HD video streams simultaneously.

The next-gen EA7500 Wi-Fi AC1900 Router can connect multiple devices to a network, including multiple 4K and HD video streams simultaneously.

The new Linksys AC1900 MU-MIMO router leverages the 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology.

“If you have or are planning to purchase a 4K TV you will need a Max-Stream router to ensure you have a seamless 4K online streaming experience,” said Jaimohan Thampi, head of Linksys BU, International Markets.

The technology helps ensure uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity to multiple devices in the home and functions as if multiple devices have their own dedicated router.

With MU-MIMO, the whole household can enjoy 4K and HD TV streaming to multiple devices as well as play video games, listen to music, check email, shop, and more – all at the same time.

Perfect for families with multiple users with their own streaming devices, the Max-Stream AC1900 leverages MU-MIMO functionality which helps make Wi-Fi networks more efficient when delivering high bandwidth 4K streams to multiple devices at the same time.

Promotions

The Linksys Max-Stream EA7500 will be available at the PC Show at an introductory offer of $299. This special deal will also be available for all Challenger Value Club Members.

As part of a special joint launch bundle, Singtel will be offering the Max-Stream EA7500 at a special deal of $229 to all consumers who sign up for their Singtel Broadband Fibre Plans at the PC Show.

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New arrival: Logitech M238 Party Collection wireless mouse

Monday, May 23rd, 2016

The 2016 Party Collection wireless mouse from Logitech is now available in Singapore for S$29.

There are six designs to choose from: (clockwise from top left) gorillas, flamingos, astronauts, popsicles, cocktails and toucans.

There are six designs to choose from: (clockwise from top left) gorillas, flamingos, astronauts, popsicles, cocktails and toucans.

The festive Party Collection is inspired by the ‘80s Memphis style of design that emphasises bright, contrasting colors and graphic patterns.

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

Monkey finds a BFF. The M238 Logitech “Toucan” wireless mouse from the 2016 Party Collection meets up with the veteran “Monkey” from last year’s Logitech 2015 Play Collection. S$29 in #Singapore now. A single battery lasts up to 12 months!

Each mouse lasts up to 12 months on a single battery and is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, Chrome OS™ or Linux®.

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Cloud data protection fuels Acronis growth in Asia Pacific

Friday, May 20th, 2016

Acronis aims for tenfold increase in service provider and cloud reseller partners in region to meet growing demand for backup and data protection solutions.

Service providers and cloud resellers that are interested in learning more about the Acronis Backup Cloud solution can sign up for a free trial here.

Service providers and cloud resellers that are interested in learning more about the Acronis Backup Cloud solution can sign up for a free trial here. Image: Acronis.

Acronis, a global leader in hybrid cloud data protection, has reported strong momentum in its global cloud data protection business as it broadens its market reach and expands its partner ecosystem across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

“Acronis’ goal to become a global technology leader in hybrid cloud data protection can only be achieved through close relationships with our distributors, partners, and services providers. We will continue to strive to be market leader by going the extra miles to understand our customers needs and through strong channel model scale and accelerate our reach to provide the most comprehensive Cloud Data Management solution,” said Steve Goh, Vice President APAC & Emerging Markets at Acronis.

Following the launch of its new cloud architecture and data protection platform and the roll-out of its world-class partner program in 2015, Acronis has achieved an 800 percent year-on-year growth globally in bookings for Acronis Backup Cloud, its leading backup solution for service providers and cloud resellers.

This included a tenfold growth in managed Cloud storage and a more than 800% increase in the number of devices protected compared to the previous year.

In APAC, Acronis Backup Cloud bookings grew by more than 200 percent year-on-year in 2015, and in the first quarter of 2016 the cloud business doubled comparing to the second half of 2015.

Acronis is poised to build on this strong momentum in the APAC region as it carries out aggressive efforts to sign-up new partners and continue the expansion of its product portfolio in the region.

Tapping into the huge market demand for data protection in APAC

Today’s businesses in APAC face new challenges when it comes to data protection, including huge increases in data volume, man-made and natural disasters, and cyber-threats like ransomware.

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New arrival: Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset

Wednesday, May 18th, 2016

The Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset features WindSmart Technology to let users work on the go – even in at the noisiest places.

The Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset is designed for people on-the-go who need to sound professional, regardless of location.

The Plantronics Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset is designed for people on-the-go who need to sound professional, regardless of location.

The Voyager 5200 will be available at authorised Plantronics retailers for S$199. Voyager 5200 charge case (accessory) retails for S$69.

The Voyager 5200 UC will be available locally from July 2016 onwards and will retail for S$339.

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

Plantronics launched the Voyager 5200 Bluetooth headset in Singapore at the Red Dot Museum (together with the BackBeat GO 3 wireless Bluetooth earbuds).

More details from the press release below.

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