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Posts Tagged ‘mobile’

Facebook to buy Instagram photo app for US$1 billion

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

US$100 billion Facebook Inc has agreed to fork out US$1 billion in cash and stock to acquire the photo-sharing application for smartphones. The deal is expected to be completed this quarter.

Is Instagram worth one-hundredth of Facebook?

Facebook is probably looking at attracting the users of mobile devices through its acquisition of Instagram – its biggest acquisition yet.

“Instagram, owned by San Francisco-based Burbn Inc, was valued at $500 million after raising about $60 million last week from investors,” Bloomberg was told.The idea is to attract the advertisers interested in reaching the mobile users.

Instagram started out as the top free photo-sharing app on Apple’s App Store with more than 30 million users.

Only last week, the company introduced the app for Android devices as well.

Instagram has only 13 employees so the offer works out to some US$76 million per employee, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“We need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook. That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently,” – Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook fanpage.Instagram was launched in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger with a seed funding of about US$500,000.

It subsequently raised US$7 million in 2011, when it had 1.75 million users, according to Bloomberg.

California-based Facebook is the biggest social-networking service today and intends to raise US$5 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) – which is to date the biggest IPO for an Internet company, valuing it at US$100 billion.

Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said it plans to let Instagram retain its independence, in an effort to reassure Instagram users and potential advertisers.

Tags:acquisition, Android, app, devices, Facebook, Instagram, iOS, mobile, smartphone, tablets
Posted in Android, Announce, App, Facebook, Facebook, Figures, Internet, iOS, Opinion, Photography, Software, Tech news, Tickers | No Comments »

New Android smartphones: Sony Xperia S, P, U, and sola

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Sony has showcased its latest NXT series of Xperia smartphones in Singapore. All are on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) at launch but will be upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) in the second quarter of 2012.

Update: Price & Availability here.

Sony Xperia U - stylish, compact but powerful.

The Xperia S is already available (S$898 without contract) while the Xperia P, U and sola will be available in Q2 of 2012.

Sony Xperia S - avail now at S$898 without contract.

The Xperia S was first unveiled during CES 2012 as the first smartphone in the new Xperia NXT series after Sony bought over Ericsson’s 50% stake in the former Sony-Ericsson joint venture.

The slew of Xperia smartphones will be able to share content with other electronics devices from Sony – such as tablets, notebooks and smart TVs.

Sony is hoping the ability to leverage Sony’s extensive range of IT and lifestyle devices will be a selling point to attract consumers to the Xperia smartphones sold by the wholly owned Sony Mobile Communications (former Sony Ericsson).

Here are the key characteristic of each model:

Xperia S offers a HD experience boasting a brilliant screen for superior viewing.
Xperia P delivers outstanding screen brightness using Sony “WhiteMagic” display technology.
Xperia U packs powerful Sony entertainment in a stylish and compact design.
Xperia sola allows easy access to apps and quick launch of actions with NFC and Xperia SmartTags.

Sony Xperia P - brighter display with "WhiteMagic".

All the Xperia NXT smartphones are designed with an interesting “transparent element” encircling the base of the phone which illuminates when receiving calls, texts and notifications.

The colour of the element is based on whatever is displayed on the screen so that the entire colour scheme is always in harmony.

Paul Mah, a friend who blogs with CIO.com initially thought the colour was based on the mood of the caller. Now that would be something innovative! Stay away when the phone is glowing red.

A new album, video player and music player will deliver compelling entertainment experiences and the new UI design also allows consumers to access their favourite application direct from the lock-screen.

Xperia SmartTags – Switch your smartphone settings with a single Swipe

Sony Xperia sola

The Xperia S, Xperia P and the Xperia sola are NFC enabled.

The Xperia S and Xperia P and come with two NFC Xperia SmartTags in the box, while the Xperia sola comes with four.

Simply swipe the phones on a SmartTag and the pre-configured profile will be launched automatically.

These profiles can be easily personalised to reflect any taste, designed to save consumers’ time and make their lives easier.

Below are the key features for each of the models.

(more…)

Tags:Internet, launch, mobile, Singapore, smartphones, Sony, Xperia
Posted in Android, Events, Gadgets, Internet, Launch, Phones, Prices, Sony, Specifications, Xperia | 2 Comments »

Norton Mobile Security protection for Samsung GALAXY smartphones

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Samsung Galaxy users worldwide will get a full-featured Norton Mobile Security free for 90 days. Usually, a one-year license costs S$19.90.

Complimentary 90-day subscription of Norton Mobile Security for Samsung GALAXY smartphones.

Norton Mobile Security, an application for Android OS, is available in multiple languages.

“With smartphone sales now outpacing PC sales, cybercriminals are devising new threats everyday to steal from mobile users. Consumers need to be protected more than ever,” said Janice Chaffin, group president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec.Samsung Galaxy users will be able to download it from Samsung Apps.

Norton Mobile Security can be downloaded from the ‘Utility’ category in Samsung Apps or by entering ‘Norton Mobile Security’ into the search query at the Samsung Apps.

Norton Mobile Security supports all Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones, including Galaxy S2.

Norton Mobile Security combines anti-theft features with powerful anti-malware to protect user’s important data from loss, theft, viruses and other threats.

The following are the main features.

Remote Locate — Shows you the location of your smartphone so you can find if it’s lost or stolen.
Remote Lock — Lets you remotely lock your lost or stolen phone via the Internet or SMS to keep critical data safe and block unauthorized access.
Remote Wipe — Lets you remotely erase the data on your phone via SMS, blocking access to your private information. In addition, your phone is instantly locked if its SIM card is removed or replaced, so it can’t be used with another SIM card.
Anti-malware — Scans all files and application updates downloaded to your mobile phone and automatically detects and removes threats without slowing you down.
SD Card Scanning — Gives you the option of automatically scanning SD (Secure Digital) memory cards for threats when you plug them into mobile phone.
Automatic LiveUpdate — Automatically downloads and installs security updates keeping you a step ahead of cybercriminals.

Tags:Android, Apps, Galaxy, mobile, Norton, Samsung, security, smartphone
Posted in Announce, App, Gadgets, Galaxy, Norton, Phones, Samsung, Security, Software, Tech news | 2 Comments »

How Singapore IT practitioners perceive mobility risks

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Singapore was one of 12 countries surveyed in a new “Global Study on Mobility Risks” conducted by Ponemon Institute. Out of the overall 4,640 IT and IT security practitioners surveyed, 259 respondents were from Singapore.

Perception of mobile phone use as a threat and presence of security controls to mitigate the risks.

The study was sponsored by content security provider Websense Inc, and is designed to help IT security professionals plan for an increasingly mobile workforce.

“We asked thousands of IT security professionals and found mobile devices were overwhelmingly important to business objectives,” said Dr Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute.Corporate mobile devices and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon are rapidly circumventing enterprise security and policies.

In Singapore, 45 percent of respondents say that their organizations experienced a data breach due to insecure mobile devices, and 22 percent are unsure.

“However, mobile devices put organizations at risk — risks that they do not have the necessary security controls and enforceable policies to address. It’s also clear that employees are deliberately disabling security controls, which is a serious concern,” Dr Ponemon addedThis is slightly less than the overall proportion of 51 percent for all 12 countries.

Fifty-five percent say that their employees circumvent or disengage security features such as passwords and key locks – versus the overall 59 percent.

Below is the Executive Summary for the survey of IT & IT Security Practitioners in Singapore, which was extracted from the “Global Study on Mobility Risks”.

(more…)

Tags:mobile, Ponemon, risk, security, Singapore, Websense
Posted in Enterprise IT, Figures, Mobile, Security, Study, Tech news, Websense | 1 Comment »

BYOD causing security breaches

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

51 percent of organizations lose data through mobile devices, while 59 percent of employees dodge security controls, according to a new “Global Study on Mobility Risks” unveiled at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, USA.

The “Global Study on Mobility Risks” by Ponemon Institute.

Mobile devices help business, but security is needed to prevent costly data loss.

Corporate mobile devices and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon are rapidly circumventing enterprise security and policies. This survey defines mobile devices as laptops, USB drives, smartphones, and tablets.

“IT has spent years working on desktop security and trying to prevent data loss over web and email channels—but mobile devices are radically changing the game,” said Tom Clare, senior director of Product Marketing Management.Seventy-seven percent of more than 4,600 respondents in 12 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States) surveyed agree that the use of mobile devices in the workplace is important to achieving business objectives.

But 76 percent also believe that these devices put their organizations at risk—and only 39 percent have the necessary security controls to address the risk.

The study was conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by content security provider Websense Inc, and is designed to help IT security professionals plan for an increasingly mobile workforce.

“Tablets and iOS devices are replacing corporate laptops as employees bring-their-own-devices to work and access corporate information. These devices open the door to unprecedented loss of sensitive data. IT needs to be concerned about the data that mobile devices access and not the device itself,” Clare added.The research shows that organizations often don’t know how and what data is leaving their networks through non-secure mobile devices.

Traditional static security solutions such as antivirus (AV), firewalls, and passwords are not effective at stopping advanced malware and data theft threats from malicious or negligent insiders.

To safely permit corporate use of mobile devices, Websense has released its new Websense TRITON Mobile Security solution.

Sixty-five percent of respondents are most concerned with employees taking photos or videos in the workplace—probably due to fears about the theft or exposure of confidential information.

Other unacceptable uses include downloading and using internet apps (44 percent) and using personal email accounts (43 percent).

Tags:mobile, Ponemon, risk, security, Websense
Posted in Enterprise IT, Figures, Mobile, Security, Study, Tech news, Websense | 1 Comment »

Akamai to acquire Cotendo

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Expected to happen in the first half of 2012, the combined technology and teams from the merger is expected to help accelerate pace of innovation in cloud and mobile optimisation.

Akamai has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Cotendo, a company that offers an integrated suite of Web and mobile acceleration services.

“By combining our innovative technology and employees with Akamai, we expect our customers and partners will gain access to a comprehensive, global platform and wider portfolio of leading-edge services supported by some of the most experienced providers in the industry,” said Ronni Zehavi, CEO and co-founder of Cotendo.Helping to mitigate the challenges of operating in a hyperconnected world, Akamai provides a secure platform over which businesses can engage users across the Web, mobile, cloud, or a mix of public and private network environments.

Cotendo, on the other hand, offers an integrated suite of Web and mobile acceleration services.

Founded in 2008, Cotendo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, with a technology center in Israel. Cotendo currently has approximately 100 employees, with over 50 based in Israel.

The combination of the two companies’ technologies and teams is expected to increase the pace of innovation in the areas of cloud and mobile optimization.

Under terms of the agreement, Akamai will acquire all of the outstanding equity of Cotendo in exchange for a net cash payment of approximately $268 million, after expected purchase price adjustments, plus the assumption of outstanding unvested options to purchase Cotendo common stock.

The closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, is expected to occur in the first half of 2012.

Tags:Akamai, cloud, Internet, M&A, mobile
Posted in Cloud, Enterprise IT, Internet, Mobile, Technology | No Comments »

SingTel BroadBand on Mobile price plans

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

SingTel has just launched its Prestige 75 LTE mobile broadband service.

The price plan for the BroadBand on Mobile (BBoM) Prestige 75 LTE is shown here.

SingTel Broadband on Mobile Prestige 75 LTE Price Plan
Price (including GST)	$69.90/month
Data Bundle	50GB 3G data (21Mbps) + 10GB LTE data
Excess Charges	$0.512/MB, Capped at $94.16/month
Download Speed	Theoretical: 75Mbps Typical range: 3.4Mbps to 12Mbps
Comes with free LTE dongle and free Wireless@SG (3Mbps)

For comparison, here are the price plans for its other BBoM packages.

3G Mobile broadband plan	Theoretical speed	Typical download speed range	Price
Classic 3.6	3.6Mbps	0.8Mbps to 2.1Mbps	$29.90
Priority 7.2 (with Priority Pass)	7.2Mbps	1.4Mbps to 3.7Mbps	$40.00
Premium 21 (with Priority Pass)	21Mbps	1.7Mbps to 4.8Mbps	$59.90

Tags:4G, BBoM, broadband, dongle, Internet, LTE, mobile, SingTel
Posted in Events, Internet, Launch, Notebooks, Phones, Prices, SingTel, Specifications, Tablets, Tech news | 2 Comments »

SingTel launches commercial LTE mobile broadband

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

SingTel toady announced the commercial launch of the Mobile Prestige 75 (S$69.90 per mth), the first LTE service in Singapore for both consumer and business customers.

Eventually, coverage will grow to 80% of mobile data users by end 2012 and 95% by 2013.

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced the commercial launch of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) BroadBand on Mobile (BBoM) service.

Fast speed

Bandwidth consumption profile

Yuen Kuan Moon, SingTel EVP of Digital Consumer said that SingTel does not offer any unlimited data plans, although the 50GB limit is more than enough for most consumers.

He revealed that 89% of SingTel’s subscriber base consume less than 10GB per mth, 10% consume 10 to 50 GB, while only 1% consume more than 50%.

This effectively means that 11% of subscribers consume 60% of data traffic.

The service offers theoretical download speeds of up to 75Mbps and typical download speeds between 3.4Mbps and 12Mbps.

It provides mobile Internet access that is more than three times faster than existing 3G-based services, with only one-fifth of the network latency.

SingTel 4G LTE will enable many bandwidth-intensive applications, such as cloud storage, music/video/HDTV streaming, video conferencing, online gaming, mobile data networking, rich voice etc.

SingTel’s BBoM Prestige 75 LTE will provide performances and services approaching that of fixed line networks. For instance, it will take only 2 min 14s to stream a 3.5 min-long snippet of video from YouTube.

Coverage evolution

At launch, the service provides outdoor coverage in the central financial district and other areas that experience high data usage.

At launch, SingTel BBoM Prestige 75 will cover the CBD and more than 100 sites.

This includes Shenton Way, Orchard, City Hall, Marina Bay, River Valley, Tanglin, Newton, Novena, Kallang, Rochor, Outram, Tanjong Pagar, Jurong West, Boon Lay, Bukit Panjang, Bedok and Changi.

In-building coverage is available in major shopping malls such as Ngee Ann City, Plaza Singapura, Ang Mo Kio Hub, Tampines Mall, West Mall, Parkway Parade and Jurong IMM. Office buildings such as Republic Plaza and Temasek Tower are also covered.

The service falls back to SingTel’s 3G-based Premium 21 service when users roam outside the LTE coverage area.

USB dongle

Mr Yuen said that SingTel is progressively expanding its network, which is expected to be able to provide LTE coverage for 80 per cent of mobile data users by the end of 2012.

By 2013, coverage will be extended to 95 per cent.

BBoM plans

Broadband on Mobile Prestige 75 will initially be available for USB dongle modems only.

Support for LTE-enabled smartphones and tablets will only be available when these mobile devices become more readily available in the market later on in 2012.

Existing 21Mbps 3G Broadband on Mobile Premium 21 customers can upgrade to LTE with a top-up of $10 per month.

The price plans for SingTel’s various mobile broadband plans can be found here.

Tags:4G, BBoM, broadband, dongle, Internet, LTE, mobile, SingTel
Posted in Events, Internet, Launch, Notebooks, Phones, Prices, SingTel, Specifications, Tablets, Tech news | 2 Comments »

Listening to the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Curious as to the performance of the newly launched Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker, I paid a visit to the Somerset showroom of Atlas Sound & Vision to try it out.

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker @ 111 Somerset

The Atlas showroom at 111 Somerset occupies two levels, with three sound rooms on the upper level. The shiny white sound rooms reminded me of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. – minimalist with round corners and viewports that looked out onto the Somerset Road outside.

The first impression of the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker was how compact it was – less than two inches thick and about the size of a hard cover text book.

At 1.3 kg, it’s not exactly feather weight, but it’s definitely light enough to tote around to a party, a hotel room or even throw in the back of a car. The design is sleek and classy as well.

Setting up is straightforward. Open the cover and fold it backwards to become a stand – like the cover for the iPad 2. Closing the cover back automatically turns off the speaker.
Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker To connect, simply turn on Bluetooth on the mobile device – be it a smartphone, tablet or laptop – and press a button on the speaker. The two devices hook up automatically and gives you a beep.

Sleek and classy design

Simply play the song on the mobile device. You can control the volume from the mobile device itself.

Sound wise, the quality was surprisingly impressive, considering I had reservations about the degradation that the Bluetooth connection would impose.

Mid-range and treble was excellent, although the bass could be stronger. But considering how small the speaker was, the bass performance was already pretty impressive.

Placing the speaker against the wall improves the bass somewhat – 3 dB according to the sales staff.

And if you don’t need the wireless connectivity, you can bypass the Bluetooth degradation by connecting an audio cable from the source to the speaker.

Bring the SoundLink to the beach as a boom box!

As with other Bose audio products, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker does not come cheap, but its price tag reflects the confidence that Bose has in its audio products.

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker at S$549 and S$639 for the standard and premium versions.

The standard speaker is priced at S$549 while the LX model, with premium trim level and leather cover, sets you back by S$639.

Accessory covers in nylon (bright red or royal purple) and leather (burgundy or tan) are available separately for S$59 and S$99, respectively.

Tags:Atlas, Bluetooth, Bose, mobile, SoundLink, speakers, wireless
Posted in Audio, Gadgets, Lifestyle, Phones, Prices, Review, Specifications, Tablets | 4 Comments »

Seagate GoFlex Satellite wins CES award

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

The GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage has been named an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honouree.

Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a panel of independent industrial designers, engineers and members of the media to honour outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 32 product categories.

Started in 1976, the Innovations Design and Engineering Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA),“A first for the industry, the GoFlex Satellite drive extends the limited capacity of mobile devices by wirelessly streaming media without the use of an external power source,” said Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of Seagate Branded Solutions. the producer of the International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow.

The Seagate GoFlex Satellite external hard drive will be displayed at the Innovations Showcase in the Venetian Ballroom during the 2012 International CES, which runs January 10-13, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The GoFlex Satellite was first announced in end-August. The 500GB version became available in Singapore in September at S$299.

Tags:award, GoFlex, HDD, mobile, Satellite, Seagate, storage
Posted in Accessories, Gadgets, Seagate, storage drive, Tablets, Tech news | No Comments »

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