Linksys has launched the world’s first MU-MIMO enabled wireless router. Available from 4 August at Challenger and subsequently at other retail stores and online for S$399.
The new Linksys Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router (EA8500). RRP in Singapore: S$399.
The new Linksys Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router (EA8500) leverages the 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple Output) technology, which helps ensure uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity to all the devices in the home and function as if multiple devices have their own dedicated router.
“MU-MIMO technology revolutionises the wireless experience in the home. The average home has more than 8 devices connecting to the Internet, and they’re not used for just sending emails and tweets. We’re streaming movies and TV shows in high definition, we’re video chatting with our friends and family, and we’re playing video games against competitors around the globe, all on different devices and often at the same time,” said Mike Chen, vice president of product management, Linksys.
With MU-MIMO, the entire household can stream movies, play video games, listen to music, shop, check email and more – all at the same time.
The Linksys EA8500 router incorporates Qualcomm® MU | EFX MU-MIMO technology+, which helps to provide up to 3x faster speeds* compared to current W-Fi.
The combined 2.53 Gbps Wi-Fi speeds (up to 1733 Mbps for 5 GHz and 800 Mbps for 2.4 GHz‡) help minimise buffering and enable faster downloads.
A supercharged 1.4 GHz dual-core CPU and four Gigabit ports offer blazing-fast speeds perfect for heavy-bandwidth wired gaming.
Users can attach devices to the USB 3.0 port and a combo USB 2.0/eSATA port for uninterrupted personal cloud content streaming or to share data across their network.
The four removable external antennas are adjustable for maximum coverage, while beamforming technology concentrates the Wi-Fi signal to each device for stronger, better performance and increased mobile speed and range.
MU-MIMO, or Multi-User, Multi-Input, Multi-Output. Having a MU-MIMO router is like having an individual router dedicated to multiple devices in your home.
The three trade shows will take place in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) from 2-5 June 2015.
CommunicAsia2015, EnterpriseIT2015 and BroadcastAsia2015 in Singapore will put the spotlight on Smart Technologies. From 2-5 June 2015 (Tuesday-Saturday).
The 4-day ICT and broadcasting industry event will put the spotlight on Smart Technologies and feature a lineup of speakers, innovations and launches.
Venue and timings
CommunicAsia2015 and EnterpriseIT2015 exhibitions (MBS Level B2, 1 & 3) will incorporate SatComm2015 and will also include the CommunicAsia2015 Summit (MBS Level 3).
BroadcastAsia2015 exhibition (MBS Level 4 & 5) will incorporate ProfessionalAudioTechnology2015 and will include the Broadcast Asia2015 International Conference & Creative Content Production Conference (MBS Level 3).
The exhibitions are open to business and trade professionals while the Summit and Conference are open to registered delegates only.
Opening hours are from 10:30am – 6:00pm on 2-4 June and 10:30am – 4:00pm on 5 June.
Yesterday CA Technologies released the results of its study on security in the application economy in Asia Pacific & Japan. Here are the results from the respondents in Singapore.
Excerpt of a graphical representation of the survey results for Singapore. To download/view the full enlarged infographic, click on the image above.
The study, sponsored by CA Technologies shows how mobility, APIs and an eye toward growing the business have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security.
“It is paramount for Singapore organizations to stay ahead of the fast-changing IT threat landscape, especially in a geographic location that serves as a strategic regional and global hub for commerce,” said Chua I-Pin, vice president, Asia South, CA Technologies.
Singapore respondents were nearly equally split when asked if security was mostly about control or enabling the business.
49 percent of respondents said security was mostly about control, while 51 percent indicated that it was about both control and enablement.
Key Singapore findings from the study show:
1. Protection as top priorities
Protecting identities (48 percent) and protecting against data breaches (46 percent) were the top security priorities among Singapore respondents.
This was followed closely by improving/supporting compliance and audit (45 percent) and improving the mobile customer experience (39 percent).
A study from CA Technologies reveals the application economy demands a new approach to security in Asia Pacific & Japan.
Excerpt of a graphical representation of the survey results for APJ. To download/view the full enlarged infographic, click on the image above.
Mobility, APIs and Business Enablement are sparking new attitudes towards security and are driving an increase in investment in these areas.
“As more organisations understand the impact of the application economy in the increasingly connected Asia Pacific & Japan business landscape, security is moving from being a back-room afterthought to being a core business function. In the world of ever-increasing connected devices, organisations will leverage security to deliver better customer experience and contribute to positive business outcomes,” said Kenneth Arredondo, president & general manager, Asia Pacific & Japan, CA Technologies.
Protection is still the main driver for security, but a new CA Technologies study reveals that Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) organisations are approaching security from new perspectives, recognising its potential to deliver frictionless and positive customer experience and contribute to business growth in the increasingly competitive application economy.
The study shows how mobility, APIs and business growth have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security, leading to an increase in investment by APJ organisations.
Key findings from the study show four key trends influencing the perception and implementation of security in APJ enterprises:
The most moving photo of 2014 was taken by award-winning Getty Images photographer John Moore. In the photo, a Doctors Without Borders (MSF), health worker in protective clothing carries a child suspected of having Ebola in the MSF treatment center on October 5, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The girl and her mother, showing symptoms of the deadly disease, were awaiting test results for the virus. The Ebola epidemic has killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization.
Powerful imagery of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia by John Moore was top of mind globally with his photos voted #1, #2 and #7 respectively.
A total of 294,219 votes were cast from 164 countries globally on photos included in Getty Images’ Year in Focus, an expert curation of the defining images and videos that encapsulate 2014’s most important moments in the world of news, sport, entertainment and archive anniversaries and obituaries.
A total of 294,219 votes were cast from 164 countries globally on photos included in Getty Images’ Year in Focus, an expert curation of the defining images and videos that encapsulate 2014’s most important moments in the world of news, sport, entertainment and archive anniversaries and obituaries.
Ebola is also the subject of the photo voted #10, taken by Reportage by Getty Images photographer Daniel Berehulak.
Shopping is a favourite past time in Singapore and at the heart of the vendor’s efficiency and the consumer’s experience is the Point Of Sale (POS) being used.
As we step into 2015, Bikash Kumar shares his thoughts on some of the key trends shaping the evolution of POS technology in 2015.
Mobile POS enables greater consumer interaction with the sales staff.
* This article is a guest post written by Bikash Kumar – MD, Integrated Retail Management Consulting Pte. Ltd. The opinions expressed are his own and do not represent that of tech4tea.com.
Bikash Kumar has a Bachelor of Business Studies (1988-91) from the College of Business Studies in the University of Delhi; and an MBA (1991-93) from the Faculty of Management Study from the same university.
The Point of Sale (POS) system is where consumers pay for their purchases in a retail store.
Traditionally, the POS systems have been used to generate information on transactions within a retail outlet.
However, the POS technology has been improving significantly, allowing retail staff to deliver multiple operations, besides just scanning merchandise and generating bills.
According to Integrated Retail, a firm that specialises in designing, deploying and maintaining POS systems across the region, the POS systems are likely to see further enhancements in 2015.
Here are five key changes that we are likely to see.
Morphing from Point of Sale to a Point of Service
POS is increasingly mobile and it is lighter
POS systems are becoming inter-connected
POS system activities are traceable in real time
POS is driving up productivity
Below are my thoughts on each of these key changes.
WeChat has the youngest demographic out of all competing social communications apps, with one third of its global users aged 16 to 24. Andrew Ng attended the media brief for tech4tea.com.
Jason Mander, Head of Trends, GlobalWebIndex, briefing on major trends of the social media scene. To the left is Jowie Law, Director of Global Communications at Tencent, the parent company of WeChat. Photo credit: Andrew Ng.
A recent research by GlobalWebIndex (GWI), a market research company specialising in online consumer behaviour claims that 80% of WeChat’s young users said it was critical for them to be contactable at all times.
“WeChat has witnessed a remarkable growth rate during this period especially among the youth generation, with WeChat’s efficient and entertaining platform continuing to attract users on a massive scale. We are excited about WeChat’s strong growth momentum both globally and throughout Singapore, and expect to see it adding more users in the coming quarters,” said Jason Mander, Head of Trends at GlobalWebIndex.
GWI is a multi-market research company, covering 32 markets and representing 89% of the global Internet population.
Focusing on Singapore specifically, WeChat is most popular with 16 to 34 year olds, with this age group dominating nearly half of the WeChat user base.
According to GWI, WeChat had experienced significant growth with an active user base increase of 156% globally, and a staggering 499% in Singapore between Q1 2013 to Q3 2014.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of the world’s Internet users and 39% within the APAC region now actively use the app.
The partnership will see both companies invest up to US$50 million over the next five years to launch the first Managed Defence Solution powered by FireEye in APAC to help enterprises contain rising cyber-attacks.
Bill Chang (left), CEO, SingTel Group Enterprise and David DeWalt (right), Chairman of the Board and CEO, FireEye.
The money will be used to build infrastructure, recruit people and to train them into security experts.
This initiative is part of the overall cyberdefence strategy that SingTel has envisaged in the modern threat environment.
The strategic partnership between SingTel and FireEye promises to enhance the cyber security eco-system in Asia Pacific and will cover:
Significant investments related to new Advanced Security Operation Centres (ASOCs) in Singapore and Australia.
The launch of the first SingTel Managed Defence solution powered by FireEye in APAC.
Building up cyber security expertise, including training up to 150 professionals to operate the ASOCs.
Setting up new data stores in the region.
Increasing awareness and knowledge of next generation cyber threats through the biannual APAC-focused threat advisory reports by SingTel and FireEye.
More details on each of the above facets of the partnership can be found below, extracted from the press release.
PayPal partners with local merchants to create seamless mobile app experiences and to solve business productivity challenges.
“With smartphone adoption growing and smart devices become more integral to our daily lives, it is more important than ever for businesses to adopt mobile strategies with flawless purchasing experiences,” said Lawrence Chan, Vice President of Merchant Services, Asia Pacific and General Manager for Southeast Asia and Japan, PayPal.
PayPal has announced the general availability of its new mobile software development kit (SDK) in Singapore.
“In 2013, PayPal processed $27 billion in mobile payments globally, so we understand the challenges and opportunities of capturing the mobile market. We are excited to be announcing the launch of the new mobile SDK in Singapore, which offers businesses a simple and secure way to accept mobile payments, as well as the innovation to push the boundaries of mobile commerce and drive productivity,” Chan added.
The new mobile SDK eliminates app redirects, provides a one-time sign-in for future payments and enables both PayPal and credit card payment processing options.
With this, consumers can make seamless and secure payments across their favourite apps in just a few clicks.
PayPal is announcing the launch with four merchant partners which will be the first local businesses in Singapore to go live with the mobile SDK:
Intel and Mitsubishi Electric has announced a new collaboration to develop next-generation factory automation (FA) systems with Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and a pilot program at Intel’s backend manufacturing facility in Malaysia.
“The collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric and Intel on this IoT project has enabled field data from semiconductor manufacturing lines to be collected and analyzed to improve operational performance, yet also contribute energy savings for a more sustainable society,” said Masayuki Yamamoto, group senior vice president, Factory Automation Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.
The pilot demonstrates the benefits of IoT in a factory setting with a focus on delivering productivity enhancement through innovative functions, such as predictive failure, by combining Intel’s expertise in developing solutions for IoT and Mitsubishi Electric’s “e-F@ctory” automation capabilities.
Intel realized a savings of US$9 million over the course of the pilot.
“We believe that other manufacturers can benefit from this joint Intel-Mitsubishi Electric solution, which combines big data analysis, optimized data capture and processing to deliver improved performance and optimized maintenance,” said Yamamoto.
