Papon Ratanachaikanont, deputy group chief commercial officer at True, explains the "retailisation" movement being championed at Thailand's only fully integrated telecommunitations and media company to The Nation's Pichaya Changsorn.
About three years ago, when Papon Ratanachaikanont proposed to True's board of directors that the company set up coffee outlets, he was stunned by a question from one board member who asked bluntly: "Who are you?"
Having just left the local unit of auto-maker Mazda to joining the telecom conglomerate, Papon had yet to prove himself.
However, after some intense debate, the board approved Papon's plan, which he now admits was intended to be no more than a "marketing gimmick."
"That's how savvy our board was. They approved a budget of more than Bt100 million and ordered me to return the money within three years," he said.
The entrepreneurial task was a big challenge. Papon himself had not expected True to pursue the business. "We first approached Starbucks for a partnership, but they said they did not know us," he said.
Today, True Coffee has paid back the original investment and is a profitable enterprise, Papon said.
As a vote of confidence and part of the group's "convergence" business policy, the parent company in March assigned Papon to take care of all of the group's retailing units and customer service points, totalling nearly 400 outlets, and unit them. These include True Shops, handling fixed-line telephone and Internet business, the outlets of cellular-phone business True Move, customer-service points for cable-TV unit True Vision, True Coffee and 167 new iPhone kiosks established over the past 45 days under Papon's direction in big discount stores and retail complexes, such as Tesco Lotus.
The physical merger of True'e retail outlets is now complete, but there remains a lot of back-office work to be done, and one of the most challenging areas is people management. Papon, who was earlier responsible for True Coffee, with fewer than 40 outlets and a combined staff of 160, is now managing nearly 400 group outlets employing 2,500 people.
But why did he go for coffee in the first place?
Papon said he believed in the "retailisation" trend now seen around the world. Technology is a "hard side" of the business. People are unable actually to feel and touch it, so it needs an "aesthetic" feature like coffee to merge into it.
"I began with a stark contrast - coffee and technology - but people liked it. A 'soft touch' is important, because it gives an aesthetic dimension to people's communications with True," he said.
"In the previous environment, customers felt like they owed us, because they came in with the sole purpose of paying telecom bills. There was no way to improve customer touch points."
In terms of the company's bottom line, True shops are now no longer a pure cost, accepted in the interests of earining income. Coffee and bakery sales have softened this status.
A new True shop recently opened in Central Chon Buri, the first outlet to merge coffee and other services from day one. Up to 100 True shops will soon incorporate a full coffee-store format, while the rest might have self-service coffee sales or other 'soft-side' features, Papon said.
"It's a reverse psychology. Consumers would not be able to find us if we 'converged' without all of the physical presences," Papon said, referring to True's "convergence lifestyle" business philolophy of cross-selling and cross-marketing its Internet-access, cable-TV and wi wired and wireless telephone-network service.
A longer-term goal is to transform all of True's physical outlets into "third-generation destinations" and lifestyle centres for consumers, he said.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Nokia makes own Money
The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Wednesday it would launch a mobile financial service next year targeting consumers, mainly in emerging markets, with a phone but no banking account.
Nokia said its Nokia Money service was based on the mobile payment platform of Obopay, a privately-owned firm that Nokia invested in earlier this year,and it is now building up a network of agents.
Obopay, which uses text messaging and mobile internet access, charges users a fee to send money or to top up their accounts.
"Mobile-enabled financial services has tremendous growth opportunities," Nokia chief development officer Mary McDowell said, noting there are four billion mobile phone users globally but only 1.6 billion bank accounts and one billion credit cards.
"There is pretty significant gap between people, especially in emerging markets, who have a mobile device yet don't have a bank account," McDowell said.
The announcement is the latest push by Nokia to diversify its business as global handset sales have gone from slowing down over the past few years to contracting due to the recession. The firm also said this week that it would start to make laptops.
Mobile money is one of the hottest topics in the wireless world, but so far take-up of services hasbeen limited mostly to a few emerging markets, as in developed countries, the popularity of online banking has been a brake on mobile money.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a US-based microfinance policy and research centre, has said the market for mobile financial services to poor people in emerging markets will surge from nothing to $5 billion in 2012.
The service began in early 2007 with a launch of Safaricom's M-PESA in Kenya,which has attracted 6.5 million customers, or one in six Kenyans. By the end of 2009, CGAP expects more than 120 mobile money implementations in developing markets.
Nokia did not announce any partnerships with operators or financial institutions, only saying that Nokia Money would be rolled out gradually to selected markets starting in early 2010.
Nokia said its Nokia Money service was based on the mobile payment platform of Obopay, a privately-owned firm that Nokia invested in earlier this year,and it is now building up a network of agents.
Obopay, which uses text messaging and mobile internet access, charges users a fee to send money or to top up their accounts.
"Mobile-enabled financial services has tremendous growth opportunities," Nokia chief development officer Mary McDowell said, noting there are four billion mobile phone users globally but only 1.6 billion bank accounts and one billion credit cards.
"There is pretty significant gap between people, especially in emerging markets, who have a mobile device yet don't have a bank account," McDowell said.
The announcement is the latest push by Nokia to diversify its business as global handset sales have gone from slowing down over the past few years to contracting due to the recession. The firm also said this week that it would start to make laptops.
Mobile money is one of the hottest topics in the wireless world, but so far take-up of services hasbeen limited mostly to a few emerging markets, as in developed countries, the popularity of online banking has been a brake on mobile money.
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a US-based microfinance policy and research centre, has said the market for mobile financial services to poor people in emerging markets will surge from nothing to $5 billion in 2012.
The service began in early 2007 with a launch of Safaricom's M-PESA in Kenya,which has attracted 6.5 million customers, or one in six Kenyans. By the end of 2009, CGAP expects more than 120 mobile money implementations in developing markets.
Nokia did not announce any partnerships with operators or financial institutions, only saying that Nokia Money would be rolled out gradually to selected markets starting in early 2010.
HTC sees big potential here
HTC Corporation, a Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones, is gearing up to capitalise on the fast-growing smartphone handset market in Thailand, a market worth an estimated 8 billion baht this year.
Nattawat Woranopakul, country manager of HTC Thailand, said the local smartphone market had become highly competitive with lower prices now that the four major international brands Nokia, HTC, iPhone and BlackBerry were moving aggressively to promote their products.
While local mobile handset sales overall have been forecast to contract by 25-30% this year, Mr Nattawat said the touch-screen smartphone market was expected to grow 30%.
Sales of smartphone handsets are expected to reach 400,000 this year, up from 300,000 last year. The average smartphone price is around 20,000 baht a unit.
In contrast, he said, demand for con-ventional voice-based mobile phones was expected to plunge significantly with international brands losing ground to generally cheaper house-brand units that offered features such as slots for two SIM cards and mobile television.
Mr Nattawat said the surge in smartphones reflected increasing demand for data communications and growing popularity among young people.
Nokia is the market leader in the smartphone segment in Thailand with a 39% share, followed by HTC with 37%and iPhone and BlackBerry, he said."Thailand is our second largest marketplace in Southeast Asia, behind only Singapore."
HTC yesterday introduced its new HTC Hero smartphone priced at 22,900 baht.
It runs on Google's Android software with customised content profiles and the HTC Sense application system. Other features include GPS and contextual search through Twitter,3.2-inch display,5-megapixel camera and a 2GB micro SD card.
Nattawat Woranopakul, country manager of HTC Thailand, said the local smartphone market had become highly competitive with lower prices now that the four major international brands Nokia, HTC, iPhone and BlackBerry were moving aggressively to promote their products.
While local mobile handset sales overall have been forecast to contract by 25-30% this year, Mr Nattawat said the touch-screen smartphone market was expected to grow 30%.
Sales of smartphone handsets are expected to reach 400,000 this year, up from 300,000 last year. The average smartphone price is around 20,000 baht a unit.
In contrast, he said, demand for con-ventional voice-based mobile phones was expected to plunge significantly with international brands losing ground to generally cheaper house-brand units that offered features such as slots for two SIM cards and mobile television.
Mr Nattawat said the surge in smartphones reflected increasing demand for data communications and growing popularity among young people.
Nokia is the market leader in the smartphone segment in Thailand with a 39% share, followed by HTC with 37%and iPhone and BlackBerry, he said."Thailand is our second largest marketplace in Southeast Asia, behind only Singapore."
HTC yesterday introduced its new HTC Hero smartphone priced at 22,900 baht.
It runs on Google's Android software with customised content profiles and the HTC Sense application system. Other features include GPS and contextual search through Twitter,3.2-inch display,5-megapixel camera and a 2GB micro SD card.
Nokia plans to launch mobile banking
Nokia, the world's leading mobile-phone maker, will launch a service enabling people to make financial transactions with their cellphones, the Finnish telecoms giant said yesterday.
The Nokia Money service will make it possible "to send money to another person by using the person's mobile phone number, as well as to pay merchants for goods and services, pay their utility bills, or recharge their pre-paid SIM cards," the company of Nikia Money agents where consumers can deposit money or withdraw cash from their mobile accounts.
"We believe mobile financial services offer a market opportunity with long term growh potential," Nokia's chief development officer, Mary long term growth potential," Nokia's chief development officer, Mary McDowell, said in the statement. "In many countries, mobilephone ownership significantly exceeds bank account usage," she said noting that there are more than four billion mobile-phone users worldwide compared to 1.6 billion bank accounts.
Nokia is racing to diversify its operations as its rivals Apple and Research in Motion experience raging successes with their respective "smartphones", the iPhone and the Blackberry.
The Nokia Money service will make it possible "to send money to another person by using the person's mobile phone number, as well as to pay merchants for goods and services, pay their utility bills, or recharge their pre-paid SIM cards," the company of Nikia Money agents where consumers can deposit money or withdraw cash from their mobile accounts.
"We believe mobile financial services offer a market opportunity with long term growh potential," Nokia's chief development officer, Mary long term growth potential," Nokia's chief development officer, Mary McDowell, said in the statement. "In many countries, mobilephone ownership significantly exceeds bank account usage," she said noting that there are more than four billion mobile-phone users worldwide compared to 1.6 billion bank accounts.
Nokia is racing to diversify its operations as its rivals Apple and Research in Motion experience raging successes with their respective "smartphones", the iPhone and the Blackberry.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
NOT ENOUGH IPHONE 3GS PHONES SENT OVER TO MEET LOCAL DEMAND
Many customers who booked iPhone 3GS mobile phones will have to wait until the middle of next month because the first shipment from Apple was not enough to go around.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to the president and CEO of True Move as well as deputy group chief commercial officer of True Corp, said yesterday that more than 10,000 phones had been pre-ordered but Apple only supplied 3,500 of the latest models in the first lot.
The first batch will go to those who had specified tomorrow as the delivery date, though those expecting to pick their phones up from Saturday to next Thursday will have to wait for the next lot.
The new lot is expected to arrive some time next week and should be available from the second week of next month. However, Papon could not say how many 3GS phones would be delivered in the second lot.
Customers having to wait for the second lot will be receive a free iPhone leather case as a kind of consolation for the delayed delivery.
There some 3,500 customers waiting to pick up their phones tomorrow and most of them are in Bangkok.
True Move allowed people to reserve the devices from August 5-24 for a deposit of Bt2,000. The customers could set a date for pick up between August 28 and September 3. The 16-gigabyte 3GS phone costs Bt24,500, while the 32GB model goes for Bt28,500.
Papon said several other countries, such as Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, have also experienced the same shortage mainly due to the higher-than-expected demand for the 3GS model, which is a newer version of the iPhone 3G phone.
Those who want to cancel their order and take their Bt2,000 deposit back can do so at all True Move shops from Tuesday onward.
The supply for local consumers should stabilise next month, Papon said.
True Move should be able to make the phones available at all its shops nationwide on September 11.
Papon is not concerned that the supply shortage would have people to rushing to purchase smuggled 3GS phones.
He said pre-bookings for the 3GS model was three times that of the 3G iPhones early this year.
True Move is the exclusive authorised cellular service provider for 3G iPhones here and expects sales of the 3GS iPhone model to exceed 50,000 units this year.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to the president and CEO of True Move as well as deputy group chief commercial officer of True Corp, said yesterday that more than 10,000 phones had been pre-ordered but Apple only supplied 3,500 of the latest models in the first lot.
The first batch will go to those who had specified tomorrow as the delivery date, though those expecting to pick their phones up from Saturday to next Thursday will have to wait for the next lot.
The new lot is expected to arrive some time next week and should be available from the second week of next month. However, Papon could not say how many 3GS phones would be delivered in the second lot.
Customers having to wait for the second lot will be receive a free iPhone leather case as a kind of consolation for the delayed delivery.
There some 3,500 customers waiting to pick up their phones tomorrow and most of them are in Bangkok.
True Move allowed people to reserve the devices from August 5-24 for a deposit of Bt2,000. The customers could set a date for pick up between August 28 and September 3. The 16-gigabyte 3GS phone costs Bt24,500, while the 32GB model goes for Bt28,500.
Papon said several other countries, such as Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, have also experienced the same shortage mainly due to the higher-than-expected demand for the 3GS model, which is a newer version of the iPhone 3G phone.
Those who want to cancel their order and take their Bt2,000 deposit back can do so at all True Move shops from Tuesday onward.
The supply for local consumers should stabilise next month, Papon said.
True Move should be able to make the phones available at all its shops nationwide on September 11.
Papon is not concerned that the supply shortage would have people to rushing to purchase smuggled 3GS phones.
He said pre-bookings for the 3GS model was three times that of the 3G iPhones early this year.
True Move is the exclusive authorised cellular service provider for 3G iPhones here and expects sales of the 3GS iPhone model to exceed 50,000 units this year.
European iPhones "explode"
A French security guard said yesterday his face was struck with shattered glass when the screen of his iPhone exploded, the second such reported incident in France.
Yassine Bouhadi, a 26-year-old supermarket watchman from the southeastern town of Villevieille, said he "was typing a text message ... when the screen exploded". Mr Bouhadi, who says he was hit in the eye with a glass shard,said he was "very angry" and planned to consult a doctor and file a lawsuit seeking damages.
"I want an explanation about this damned telephone," said Mr Bouhadi,who bought the hugely-popular smartphone device for 600 euros (28,900 baht)three months ago. Now he wants his money back.
A French teenager suffered an eye injury in a similar iPhone incident earlier this month, a few weeks after a brouhaha in Britain over an exploding iPod music player owned by an 11-year-old girl.
A US television station also reported last month that an "alarming number"of iPods had burst into flames, although without causing serious injuries, a problem apparently caused by overheated lithium ion batteries.
The US technology giant Apple, which makes the iPhone and iPod, assured the European Union earlier this month that the cases reported so far were "isolated incidents".
Yassine Bouhadi, a 26-year-old supermarket watchman from the southeastern town of Villevieille, said he "was typing a text message ... when the screen exploded". Mr Bouhadi, who says he was hit in the eye with a glass shard,said he was "very angry" and planned to consult a doctor and file a lawsuit seeking damages.
"I want an explanation about this damned telephone," said Mr Bouhadi,who bought the hugely-popular smartphone device for 600 euros (28,900 baht)three months ago. Now he wants his money back.
A French teenager suffered an eye injury in a similar iPhone incident earlier this month, a few weeks after a brouhaha in Britain over an exploding iPod music player owned by an 11-year-old girl.
A US television station also reported last month that an "alarming number"of iPods had burst into flames, although without causing serious injuries, a problem apparently caused by overheated lithium ion batteries.
The US technology giant Apple, which makes the iPhone and iPod, assured the European Union earlier this month that the cases reported so far were "isolated incidents".
NOKIA EXPECTS NEW STRATEGY TO OUTPERFORM THE MARKET
Nokia Thailand believes it will be able to outperform the market this year in terms of both sales volume and sales value, following the recent adjustment of its business strategy.
General manager Shumit Kapoor yesterday forecast that the value of the overall handset market this year would be flat, with volume growing by 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. However, he believes the local economy will start picking up in the next quarter.
Industrialists forecast handset sales of about 8 million in Thailand this year.
Kapoor said he was satisfied with his performance since taking office almost six months ago at a time when the Thai handset market was hit hard by the global economic crisis.
He said he had improved Nokia Thailand's operations and adjusted its marketing strategy to be more localised. As part of the move, Nokia recently appointed Thai celebrities to be campaign ambassadors for selected handset models.
It has also teamed up with mobile-phone operators to aggressively launch selected high-end models, combined with special privileges offered by the operators.
Kapoor said Nokia had continued to focus on all segments of the handset market, but with particular emphasis on the middle to high segments.
Yesterday it unveiled the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, priced at Bt9,250 and available in Thailand next month.
The world's No-1 mobile-phone maker is confronted with competition from all sides in the local market. In the smart-phone segment, the BlackBerry and iPhone 3G devices are gaining rising popularity among Thai tech geeks and businessmen following aggressive tapping of the mass market.
Nokia also faces tough competition from house-brand phones, which offer affordable prices and rich features.
General manager Shumit Kapoor yesterday forecast that the value of the overall handset market this year would be flat, with volume growing by 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. However, he believes the local economy will start picking up in the next quarter.
Industrialists forecast handset sales of about 8 million in Thailand this year.
Kapoor said he was satisfied with his performance since taking office almost six months ago at a time when the Thai handset market was hit hard by the global economic crisis.
He said he had improved Nokia Thailand's operations and adjusted its marketing strategy to be more localised. As part of the move, Nokia recently appointed Thai celebrities to be campaign ambassadors for selected handset models.
It has also teamed up with mobile-phone operators to aggressively launch selected high-end models, combined with special privileges offered by the operators.
Kapoor said Nokia had continued to focus on all segments of the handset market, but with particular emphasis on the middle to high segments.
Yesterday it unveiled the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, priced at Bt9,250 and available in Thailand next month.
The world's No-1 mobile-phone maker is confronted with competition from all sides in the local market. In the smart-phone segment, the BlackBerry and iPhone 3G devices are gaining rising popularity among Thai tech geeks and businessmen following aggressive tapping of the mass market.
Nokia also faces tough competition from house-brand phones, which offer affordable prices and rich features.
Game of denial
The Malaysian government announced then denied it intends to set up filters to block undesirable Internet content like its northern neighbour; on Friday morning, Information Minister Rais Yatim told newsmen he planned to put in filters to block all that "undesirable content";the following Thursday, after talking with Prime Minister, Najib Razak, Mr Yatim announced that existing laws were plenty strong enough to find and to prosecute actual sedition, fraud and child pornography, and he cancelled the country's calls for bids to supply an Internet filter system. China announced that it no longer planned to demand that all personal computers must have the flawed and official censorware program Green Dam ; Li Yizhong, minister of industry and information technology,said only schools and Internet cafes would be compelled to install the software; he actually said with a straight face it was only "to protect the children".
A week after fixing 18 security holes in Mac OS X,Apple Inc issued a security patch for the Bind Internet server standard, which allowed remote hackers to crash servers; Apple also issued a passel of security patches for the hackerfriendly Safari browser, Apple and Windows editions, including a nasty bug whereby a hacker could get Safari to list his malicious website as a Top Site.
Number 1 operating system peddlers Microsoft of America and No 1 yuppiephone tinkers Nokia of Finland announced a joint venture to port Microsoft Office to Nokia phones under the Symbian operating system; it's hard to imagine why anyone would want an office suite on a 2-inch screen, but apparently Nokia executives have convinced Microsoft they need the system to stomp and kick the nice BlackBerry maker Research In Motion .Microsoft announced that Office 2010 for the Apple Mac was on schedule,sort of, and should be ready for sale for the New Year's Eve shopping season next year ; well, that's 2010, right?A judge in Texas told Microsoft tostop selling editions of Word that use custom XML tagging technology; Microsoft lost a patent lawsuit over the XML format to the nice I4i firm, but it will appeal the ruling and won't stop selling Word for a day.Microsoft showed some photos of its new Zune HD, the music player that will certainly crush the Apple iPod; in a huge, shock surprise, the Zune prices will be held under iPod prices; it will have a web browser and the ability to copy high-def video to an HDTV (dock not included).
A British politician who would be prime minister wants to fine every person sharing a file illegally on the Internet to be find ฃ50,000, or 2.8 million baht in real money; Business Secretary Lord Mandelson of the Labour Party said he was "persuaded by the argument for tough laws" against all that piracy that's going on by seven million of his countrymen - after a dinner at the Greek island of Corfu, paid entirely by his close entertainment buddy David Geffen and the Rothschild bank.US President Barack Obama and his government ordered government-run Internet sites to resume dealing cookies to surfers, spurring major privacy concerns from serious civil liberties groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Electronic Frontier Foundation; the groups also blamed private companies, principally Google ,for forcing government sites to use cookies in exchange for permission for the government to use its sites, such as posting videos on YouTube ; Vivek Kundra, the government's chief information officer, explained that the new policy is to improve customer service,but he was in such a hurry he forgot to explain what advantages the government was getting out of suddenly resuming its tracking of users.
Sara Morishige Williams, wife of Twitter CEO Evan Williams, provided graphic examples of "too much information"when she tweeted the birth of her child,minute by minute to 14,000 followers;things we didn't really have to know included "My water broke. It wasn't like Charlotte in Sex and the City . Now,timing contractions on an iPhone app"and "The Contraction Tracker was fun until the contractions got painful";thankfully her husband tweeted nothing.
The World Trade Organisation told China it had to stop censoring films,DVDs and books by funnelling all imports through state agencies; ruling on a suit brought by the United States, the WTO ordered China to open market access; the US claimed that by controlling such imports, China was increasing the demand for pirated goods.
In a report by OECD, the "developed"countries named and shamed the countries with the world's highest mobile phone charges: Canada, Spain and the United States, in that order; the lowest charges among the 30-member OECD were in Finland, with Holland and Sweden a tad higher.Toshiba moved to the dark side; after years spent inventing and championing the losing HD DVD format for high-density disks,Toshiba became a gracious loser and started making Blu-Ray players, now the standard but not yet fabulously popular.
A week after fixing 18 security holes in Mac OS X,Apple Inc issued a security patch for the Bind Internet server standard, which allowed remote hackers to crash servers; Apple also issued a passel of security patches for the hackerfriendly Safari browser, Apple and Windows editions, including a nasty bug whereby a hacker could get Safari to list his malicious website as a Top Site.
Number 1 operating system peddlers Microsoft of America and No 1 yuppiephone tinkers Nokia of Finland announced a joint venture to port Microsoft Office to Nokia phones under the Symbian operating system; it's hard to imagine why anyone would want an office suite on a 2-inch screen, but apparently Nokia executives have convinced Microsoft they need the system to stomp and kick the nice BlackBerry maker Research In Motion .Microsoft announced that Office 2010 for the Apple Mac was on schedule,sort of, and should be ready for sale for the New Year's Eve shopping season next year ; well, that's 2010, right?A judge in Texas told Microsoft tostop selling editions of Word that use custom XML tagging technology; Microsoft lost a patent lawsuit over the XML format to the nice I4i firm, but it will appeal the ruling and won't stop selling Word for a day.Microsoft showed some photos of its new Zune HD, the music player that will certainly crush the Apple iPod; in a huge, shock surprise, the Zune prices will be held under iPod prices; it will have a web browser and the ability to copy high-def video to an HDTV (dock not included).
A British politician who would be prime minister wants to fine every person sharing a file illegally on the Internet to be find ฃ50,000, or 2.8 million baht in real money; Business Secretary Lord Mandelson of the Labour Party said he was "persuaded by the argument for tough laws" against all that piracy that's going on by seven million of his countrymen - after a dinner at the Greek island of Corfu, paid entirely by his close entertainment buddy David Geffen and the Rothschild bank.US President Barack Obama and his government ordered government-run Internet sites to resume dealing cookies to surfers, spurring major privacy concerns from serious civil liberties groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Electronic Frontier Foundation; the groups also blamed private companies, principally Google ,for forcing government sites to use cookies in exchange for permission for the government to use its sites, such as posting videos on YouTube ; Vivek Kundra, the government's chief information officer, explained that the new policy is to improve customer service,but he was in such a hurry he forgot to explain what advantages the government was getting out of suddenly resuming its tracking of users.
Sara Morishige Williams, wife of Twitter CEO Evan Williams, provided graphic examples of "too much information"when she tweeted the birth of her child,minute by minute to 14,000 followers;things we didn't really have to know included "My water broke. It wasn't like Charlotte in Sex and the City . Now,timing contractions on an iPhone app"and "The Contraction Tracker was fun until the contractions got painful";thankfully her husband tweeted nothing.
The World Trade Organisation told China it had to stop censoring films,DVDs and books by funnelling all imports through state agencies; ruling on a suit brought by the United States, the WTO ordered China to open market access; the US claimed that by controlling such imports, China was increasing the demand for pirated goods.
In a report by OECD, the "developed"countries named and shamed the countries with the world's highest mobile phone charges: Canada, Spain and the United States, in that order; the lowest charges among the 30-member OECD were in Finland, with Holland and Sweden a tad higher.Toshiba moved to the dark side; after years spent inventing and championing the losing HD DVD format for high-density disks,Toshiba became a gracious loser and started making Blu-Ray players, now the standard but not yet fabulously popular.
MS reveals power surge for cheaper handsets
Microsoft on Monday unveiled software that lets Twitter, Facebook and other hot Internet services be delivered to low-cost "feature phones" common in developing countries.
The US technology giant will debut OneApp in South Africa and hopes to swiftly roll it out in India, China and other countries where millions of people use feature phones instead of powerful smartphones.
Meanwhile, Finnish telecoms giant Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, announced in Helsinki on Monday it would launch its firstever mini laptop.
The "Booklet 3G" will weigh just 1.25 kilogrammes and will measure just two centimetres wide, Nokia said in a statement.
It will use Microsoft's Windows operating system and have a battery life of up to 12 hours, the company added.
Nokia said it would announce the price and availability of its new pocket computer next month.
Amit Mital, corporate vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group and Startup Business Accelerator at Microsoft said "We designed OneApp from the ground up on feature phones with very limited memory and processing capabilities."
"OneApp will be able to help people do things they couldn't do before with their feature phone - anything from paying their bills to helping diagnose their health issues or just staying connected with friends and family."
Feature phones typically combine calling capabilities with one or two other functions such as playing music or games.
Such devices rely on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks with users unable to browse the Internet and typically paying as they go to download data.
In contrast, smartphones are essentially pocket-sized computers with wireless Internet connectivity.
"With a GPRS-enabled cell phone,consumers can now be part of the app experience, which is taking the world by storm," said Mark Levy, joint chief executive of Blue Label Telecoms.
Microsoft teamed with Blue Label Telecoms to make OneApp part of a new "mibli" mobile service to be offered free in South Africa, according to Mital.
"We're particularly excited by the technology's capacity to transform near-ly any cell phone into a highly sophisticated, cost-effective and user-friendly transactional device," Levy said.
Feature phones are far more common than smartphones in emerging markets,according to Microsoft.
"Right now you have smartphones that are really expensive and feature phones that are free or near-free, and there is a grey area in the middle," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
"This could close the grey area. It's a win for folks who didn't think feature phones were capable enough for them but didn't want to spend the money on a smartphone."
The rate of mobile telephone adoption in places such as India and China is meteoric, with a clear hunger for access to popular Internet services such as social networks and microblogging,Mital said.
OneApp hosts software "in the cloud"- as a service on the Internet - so a feature phone's scant power can be devoted temporarily to whichever applications people opt for, according to Microsoft.
"Think of it as a caching mechanism where the Internet is the place your data is stored and then, when needed,downloaded to the phone," Mital said.
"It means resources are only being used for a single application at any moment, lowering data charges, which is especially important in markets where people don't have all-you-can-eat data plans."
A standardised OneApp platform for applications should let developers take advantage of economies of scale, opening flood gates for new programs for feature phones, according to Enderle.
Currently, applications need to be customised for each model of feature phone. OneApp offers a standard for crafting applications.
Microsoft is talking with potential OneApp partners worldwide and did not disclose how it plans to make money from the feature-phone platform.
The US technology giant will debut OneApp in South Africa and hopes to swiftly roll it out in India, China and other countries where millions of people use feature phones instead of powerful smartphones.
Meanwhile, Finnish telecoms giant Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, announced in Helsinki on Monday it would launch its firstever mini laptop.
The "Booklet 3G" will weigh just 1.25 kilogrammes and will measure just two centimetres wide, Nokia said in a statement.
It will use Microsoft's Windows operating system and have a battery life of up to 12 hours, the company added.
Nokia said it would announce the price and availability of its new pocket computer next month.
Amit Mital, corporate vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group and Startup Business Accelerator at Microsoft said "We designed OneApp from the ground up on feature phones with very limited memory and processing capabilities."
"OneApp will be able to help people do things they couldn't do before with their feature phone - anything from paying their bills to helping diagnose their health issues or just staying connected with friends and family."
Feature phones typically combine calling capabilities with one or two other functions such as playing music or games.
Such devices rely on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks with users unable to browse the Internet and typically paying as they go to download data.
In contrast, smartphones are essentially pocket-sized computers with wireless Internet connectivity.
"With a GPRS-enabled cell phone,consumers can now be part of the app experience, which is taking the world by storm," said Mark Levy, joint chief executive of Blue Label Telecoms.
Microsoft teamed with Blue Label Telecoms to make OneApp part of a new "mibli" mobile service to be offered free in South Africa, according to Mital.
"We're particularly excited by the technology's capacity to transform near-ly any cell phone into a highly sophisticated, cost-effective and user-friendly transactional device," Levy said.
Feature phones are far more common than smartphones in emerging markets,according to Microsoft.
"Right now you have smartphones that are really expensive and feature phones that are free or near-free, and there is a grey area in the middle," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
"This could close the grey area. It's a win for folks who didn't think feature phones were capable enough for them but didn't want to spend the money on a smartphone."
The rate of mobile telephone adoption in places such as India and China is meteoric, with a clear hunger for access to popular Internet services such as social networks and microblogging,Mital said.
OneApp hosts software "in the cloud"- as a service on the Internet - so a feature phone's scant power can be devoted temporarily to whichever applications people opt for, according to Microsoft.
"Think of it as a caching mechanism where the Internet is the place your data is stored and then, when needed,downloaded to the phone," Mital said.
"It means resources are only being used for a single application at any moment, lowering data charges, which is especially important in markets where people don't have all-you-can-eat data plans."
A standardised OneApp platform for applications should let developers take advantage of economies of scale, opening flood gates for new programs for feature phones, according to Enderle.
Currently, applications need to be customised for each model of feature phone. OneApp offers a standard for crafting applications.
Microsoft is talking with potential OneApp partners worldwide and did not disclose how it plans to make money from the feature-phone platform.
Monday, August 24, 2009
HTC, China Mobile in smartphone deal
Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp signed a memorandum yesterday with China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest mobile carrier, to jointly develop smartphones and tap the mainland's rapidly growing telecoms market.
Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's chairman, said the Chinese carrier would invest 47 million yuan ($6.9 million) in the joint project and expects to develop at least seven models by 2010.
HTC, as the Taiwanese company is known, will design and develop the models, while China Mobile will provide customer service and support, according to Wang.
State-owned China Mobile has called its smartphones OPhone, an apparent attempt to compete with Apple Inc's hugely popular iPhone.
"China Mobile has for years purchased cell phones made by HTC to run with its second-generation network, and the new models will be for the cutting-edge third generation network," Wang said.
China is the world's most populous mobile phone market while Taiwan is a leading supplier of computers and semiconductors. China Mobile has tapped into the nascent 3G phone market using the home-grown TD-SCDMA standard.
The co-operation might benefit both sides, given China's vast market. But China Mobile must keep its smartphone prices down in order to attract more 3G users and that would cut into HTC's profit margin, said Vincent Chen, an analyst with Taiwan's Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Inc.
"China Mobile is apparently executing the mainland government's Taiwan friendly policy, but the real benefits to Taiwan remain to be seen," Chen said.
Wang said he would seek closer cooperation with other Taiwanese makers,including MediaTek Inc, a leading chipset designer, and will also buy laptops and e-books from Taiwan.
Wang arrived Taiwan on Friday for a nine-day visit amid a thaw in relations of the longtime foes, which split amid civil war in 1949.
The two sides have cemented closer business ties since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan's president 15 months ago. Seeking greater engagement with China, Ma has relaxed control on two-way investment and ended a ban on direct air and shipping links.
In April, China Mobile agreed to buy 12% of Taiwan's Far EasTone Telecommunications Co for NT$17.8 billion (US$529 million), but the deal has yet to receive approval from the Taiwanese government.
Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's chairman, said the Chinese carrier would invest 47 million yuan ($6.9 million) in the joint project and expects to develop at least seven models by 2010.
HTC, as the Taiwanese company is known, will design and develop the models, while China Mobile will provide customer service and support, according to Wang.
State-owned China Mobile has called its smartphones OPhone, an apparent attempt to compete with Apple Inc's hugely popular iPhone.
"China Mobile has for years purchased cell phones made by HTC to run with its second-generation network, and the new models will be for the cutting-edge third generation network," Wang said.
China is the world's most populous mobile phone market while Taiwan is a leading supplier of computers and semiconductors. China Mobile has tapped into the nascent 3G phone market using the home-grown TD-SCDMA standard.
The co-operation might benefit both sides, given China's vast market. But China Mobile must keep its smartphone prices down in order to attract more 3G users and that would cut into HTC's profit margin, said Vincent Chen, an analyst with Taiwan's Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Inc.
"China Mobile is apparently executing the mainland government's Taiwan friendly policy, but the real benefits to Taiwan remain to be seen," Chen said.
Wang said he would seek closer cooperation with other Taiwanese makers,including MediaTek Inc, a leading chipset designer, and will also buy laptops and e-books from Taiwan.
Wang arrived Taiwan on Friday for a nine-day visit amid a thaw in relations of the longtime foes, which split amid civil war in 1949.
The two sides have cemented closer business ties since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan's president 15 months ago. Seeking greater engagement with China, Ma has relaxed control on two-way investment and ended a ban on direct air and shipping links.
In April, China Mobile agreed to buy 12% of Taiwan's Far EasTone Telecommunications Co for NT$17.8 billion (US$529 million), but the deal has yet to receive approval from the Taiwanese government.
BEING PUT ON HOLD
Mobile phones were a wonderful invention, and so were good manners,andit's a pity the two are not compatible By Andrew Biggs
I haven't seen Nigel for a week so I'm eager to catch up."How was Japan,"I ask him in the lobby of the steely inner-city Bangkok office building where he works."Well, I had a -
WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA ... SUCH A LOVELY PLACE ...SUCH A LOVELY PLACE ... SUCH A LOVELY FACE ... PLENTY OF ROOM AT THE ...
"Hello?" says Nigel."Oh hi Mark, how are you? Yeah, we're on for 2pm, right?"
Nigel's eyes dart over to me as Mark asks him something. With a tiny trace of guilt in the very corner of his voice he replies:"Sure, go ahead." And, as usual,Nigel and I are off to Starbucks, him on the phone, and me left like the proverbial shag on the rock of modern Bangkok life,second fiddle to Thaksin Shinawatra's source of obscene wealth.
As I write this column my fingers are attempting to stage a protest more violent than the red shirts over Songkran. They fear the more I write about this, the more I am in danger of sounding like my parents - something those of us in middle age dread even more than crows feet and the inability to get it up.
Oh, all right, so crucify me for saying it, but whatever happened to the good old days when we had conversations ?These days we are all floating around in cyber space accumulating as many Facebook friends as we can - but God help us if we ever have to actually sit down and talk to them.Unless they phone, of course.It wasn't a year ago Nigel was scowling at his boss's behaviour."You should see him in meetings," he said, shaking his head in disgust."He'll be tying up some big shipping deal with Japanese executives at the Klong Toey port and bang - his mobile phone goes off. And he answers it! Everybody in the meeting is left hanging mid-air. It's unbelievable!"
Well, a year is a long time in the shipping business. They say spouses assume their partner's behaviour over time; that dog owners start to resemble their pets. Nigel has slowly morphed into his boss and he doesn't even know it. These days a conversation with Nigel is a constant reminder of just how over-rated Hotel California isas a song.
And because he is one of my closest friends, it's reached a point where I am like Pavlov's dogs. Whenever I hear that damn song on the radio or in a pub, I stop talking mid-sentence and remind myself I'm not that important.
When was it that the person calling on your mobile phone became more important than the person talking to you in real life? I was in Thailand when mobile phones spread faster than swine flu ever could. AIS even forced its first customers to go to classes to learn how to use them,and clearly manners wasn't part of the curriculum.
I was here when we went through the period where Thais sat in restaurants alone and shouted conversations into their phones, just to show the rest of us how important they were. By the end of the 1990s mobile phones became cheap and everybody, even the lower classes tragically, acquired mobile phones. The novelty wore off, but bad manners wore on.
I still remember the first time I suffered Cellphone Shock. It was back in about 1994 and I was interviewing potential reporters for a magazine job. A very capable young Thai lady, fluent in English,sashayed into the office and as I asked how she enjoyed university, her clunky brick-sized mobile phone started to ring.
"Sorry ... can I answer this?" she asked,and not waiting for an answer, her hand dived into her designer-label bag to answer the phone in Thai."Hello? Yes, I'm fine.I'm being interviewed by my new boss at the moment - can I call you back? Don't forget we have a date tonight at 8. Bye."The phone call ended and she said in English:"Sorry about that. What were you asking?"
Never mind,nong . Like her, I'd forgotten. She'd blown the interview, despite perfect English, an excellent transcript and a father who was a friend of the publisher.
I'm certain any reader under the age of 25 is now shrugging his or her shoulders and thinking: So what did she do wrong?She apologised, didn't she? That is precisely the problem- she said sorry but still went ahead.
Skip to 2009 and that girl is now the norm. Flesh and blood has become secondary to an incoming voice on the latest Nokia, regardless of who it is, with or without an apology.
Some of us older folk have been swept along with the ride but we know, thanks
to parents of a different era, that picking up a phone mid-conversation would give Miss Manners a coronary. Nigel belongs to that era. I know what Mark asked him at lunchtime. It was something like:"Is it convenient for you to talk?" or "Can I ask you something?" Because Nigel looked over to me, a dead giveaway that yes! A little remnant of courtesy made him weigh up Mark's question, and the fact I was standing next to him. Only a remnant though; I lost, remember?
I come from a country that churns out dreadful soap operas like Neighbours and Home And Away , where the actors are as exquisitely attractive as they are extraordinarily dumb. But we Aussies are good at cliff hangers. At the end of each episode we are left with suntanned Nigel, mouth agape, staring at his blonde buxom girlfriend asking:"Whaddya mean you're moi sister, Narelle?" Cue dramatic music.Credits. Shocked viewers return to bland suburban lives. That's how I feel when somebody picks up a mobile phone midconversation. My life suddenly goes on hold. How was Japan, Nigel? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT THRILLING EPISODE COZ MY PHONE'S RINGING.
And in the meantime what am I supposed to do? Stare at him while he has his conversation? Goodness, that would be intruding. Look away self-consciously?Can't do that because it's rude? I can't scowl because that makes me look petty and pathetic. I can't do anything . Then when Nigel chooses to hang up, I am magically back in his life. Cue next outrageous breach of courtesy; he answers my question, two minutes later, as if no time has elapsed at all.
"It was great. Went to a lot of really interesting restaurants. The Japanese are actually quite friendly, you know." I am nodding, but in the churning morass of my inner self I am battling insecurity.How worthless am I; relegated to second place simply with the sound of an Eagles chorus!
Is this only Bangkok, or is this the world? If it's only Bangkok then I'm relieved. We can put it down to a cultural thing with the Thais - another western toy eager to be shown off. But wait a minute - Nigel's not Thai. He's a New Zealander; despite this he is one of my dearest friends. Surely he should know better ...
No, he shouldn't. Bad manners, like broken romances and bad breath, cross all cultures. But I do have a plan. The next time I meet Nigel for coffee I am going to take out my mobile phone and call him. In that way he can't escape me ... flesh and blood clashes inextricably with an incoming call.
In this way everybody will be satisfied;his desire for a piece of technology pressed against his ear, my desire for human contact, and AIS's desire for obscene wealth.
"It's reached a point where I am like Pavlov's dogs. Whenever I hear that damn song on the radio or in a pub, I stop talking mid-sentence and remind myself I'm not that important
"The next time Imeet Nigel for coffee I am going to take out my cell phone and call him.In that way he can't escape me and pathetic. I can't do anything
I haven't seen Nigel for a week so I'm eager to catch up."How was Japan,"I ask him in the lobby of the steely inner-city Bangkok office building where he works."Well, I had a -
WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA ... SUCH A LOVELY PLACE ...SUCH A LOVELY PLACE ... SUCH A LOVELY FACE ... PLENTY OF ROOM AT THE ...
"Hello?" says Nigel."Oh hi Mark, how are you? Yeah, we're on for 2pm, right?"
Nigel's eyes dart over to me as Mark asks him something. With a tiny trace of guilt in the very corner of his voice he replies:"Sure, go ahead." And, as usual,Nigel and I are off to Starbucks, him on the phone, and me left like the proverbial shag on the rock of modern Bangkok life,second fiddle to Thaksin Shinawatra's source of obscene wealth.
As I write this column my fingers are attempting to stage a protest more violent than the red shirts over Songkran. They fear the more I write about this, the more I am in danger of sounding like my parents - something those of us in middle age dread even more than crows feet and the inability to get it up.
Oh, all right, so crucify me for saying it, but whatever happened to the good old days when we had conversations ?These days we are all floating around in cyber space accumulating as many Facebook friends as we can - but God help us if we ever have to actually sit down and talk to them.Unless they phone, of course.It wasn't a year ago Nigel was scowling at his boss's behaviour."You should see him in meetings," he said, shaking his head in disgust."He'll be tying up some big shipping deal with Japanese executives at the Klong Toey port and bang - his mobile phone goes off. And he answers it! Everybody in the meeting is left hanging mid-air. It's unbelievable!"
Well, a year is a long time in the shipping business. They say spouses assume their partner's behaviour over time; that dog owners start to resemble their pets. Nigel has slowly morphed into his boss and he doesn't even know it. These days a conversation with Nigel is a constant reminder of just how over-rated Hotel California isas a song.
And because he is one of my closest friends, it's reached a point where I am like Pavlov's dogs. Whenever I hear that damn song on the radio or in a pub, I stop talking mid-sentence and remind myself I'm not that important.
When was it that the person calling on your mobile phone became more important than the person talking to you in real life? I was in Thailand when mobile phones spread faster than swine flu ever could. AIS even forced its first customers to go to classes to learn how to use them,and clearly manners wasn't part of the curriculum.
I was here when we went through the period where Thais sat in restaurants alone and shouted conversations into their phones, just to show the rest of us how important they were. By the end of the 1990s mobile phones became cheap and everybody, even the lower classes tragically, acquired mobile phones. The novelty wore off, but bad manners wore on.
I still remember the first time I suffered Cellphone Shock. It was back in about 1994 and I was interviewing potential reporters for a magazine job. A very capable young Thai lady, fluent in English,sashayed into the office and as I asked how she enjoyed university, her clunky brick-sized mobile phone started to ring.
"Sorry ... can I answer this?" she asked,and not waiting for an answer, her hand dived into her designer-label bag to answer the phone in Thai."Hello? Yes, I'm fine.I'm being interviewed by my new boss at the moment - can I call you back? Don't forget we have a date tonight at 8. Bye."The phone call ended and she said in English:"Sorry about that. What were you asking?"
Never mind,nong . Like her, I'd forgotten. She'd blown the interview, despite perfect English, an excellent transcript and a father who was a friend of the publisher.
I'm certain any reader under the age of 25 is now shrugging his or her shoulders and thinking: So what did she do wrong?She apologised, didn't she? That is precisely the problem- she said sorry but still went ahead.
Skip to 2009 and that girl is now the norm. Flesh and blood has become secondary to an incoming voice on the latest Nokia, regardless of who it is, with or without an apology.
Some of us older folk have been swept along with the ride but we know, thanks
to parents of a different era, that picking up a phone mid-conversation would give Miss Manners a coronary. Nigel belongs to that era. I know what Mark asked him at lunchtime. It was something like:"Is it convenient for you to talk?" or "Can I ask you something?" Because Nigel looked over to me, a dead giveaway that yes! A little remnant of courtesy made him weigh up Mark's question, and the fact I was standing next to him. Only a remnant though; I lost, remember?
I come from a country that churns out dreadful soap operas like Neighbours and Home And Away , where the actors are as exquisitely attractive as they are extraordinarily dumb. But we Aussies are good at cliff hangers. At the end of each episode we are left with suntanned Nigel, mouth agape, staring at his blonde buxom girlfriend asking:"Whaddya mean you're moi sister, Narelle?" Cue dramatic music.Credits. Shocked viewers return to bland suburban lives. That's how I feel when somebody picks up a mobile phone midconversation. My life suddenly goes on hold. How was Japan, Nigel? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT THRILLING EPISODE COZ MY PHONE'S RINGING.
And in the meantime what am I supposed to do? Stare at him while he has his conversation? Goodness, that would be intruding. Look away self-consciously?Can't do that because it's rude? I can't scowl because that makes me look petty and pathetic. I can't do anything . Then when Nigel chooses to hang up, I am magically back in his life. Cue next outrageous breach of courtesy; he answers my question, two minutes later, as if no time has elapsed at all.
"It was great. Went to a lot of really interesting restaurants. The Japanese are actually quite friendly, you know." I am nodding, but in the churning morass of my inner self I am battling insecurity.How worthless am I; relegated to second place simply with the sound of an Eagles chorus!
Is this only Bangkok, or is this the world? If it's only Bangkok then I'm relieved. We can put it down to a cultural thing with the Thais - another western toy eager to be shown off. But wait a minute - Nigel's not Thai. He's a New Zealander; despite this he is one of my dearest friends. Surely he should know better ...
No, he shouldn't. Bad manners, like broken romances and bad breath, cross all cultures. But I do have a plan. The next time I meet Nigel for coffee I am going to take out my mobile phone and call him. In that way he can't escape me ... flesh and blood clashes inextricably with an incoming call.
In this way everybody will be satisfied;his desire for a piece of technology pressed against his ear, my desire for human contact, and AIS's desire for obscene wealth.
"It's reached a point where I am like Pavlov's dogs. Whenever I hear that damn song on the radio or in a pub, I stop talking mid-sentence and remind myself I'm not that important
"The next time Imeet Nigel for coffee I am going to take out my cell phone and call him.In that way he can't escape me and pathetic. I can't do anything
United against spam
The three biggest mobile phone networks agreed to work together on a common goal - to reduce,and then to remove entirely the estimated nine million SMS spam messages sent to yuppiephone owners every day out of the total of 270 million texts;luckily for subscribers, almost all the spam they get is from the mobile phone companies, so this campaign should be a raging success within minutes;operators AIS of Shingapore,DTAC ofNorway and True Move of Thailand promised to spend 30 million baht on anti-spam software for the systems, and to try to block unsolicited messages across networks; special phone lines have been set up so subscribers can call the three companies whenever they want to block a certain spam.
The decidedly discourteous Nawanit Noichana,31, posted a message on Sanook.com forums suggesting that men might want to call a certain Ms Som for free sex, and provided her actual number; Ms Som in fact was totally unavailable and never knew about the message until she started getting nasty messages, courtesy of her old "friend";the judge was quite understanding about it all, and sentenced Nawanit to 12 hours of community service under threat of a one-year suspended jail sentence.
CEO Adisak Sukumvitaya of Jay Mart predicted his firm would quadruple its market share with a new marketing emphasis on its JFone house brand,from 8.5 percent in March to 40 percent by year's end; he claimed that JFones match the leading brands in functionality including 3G compatibility. Electronics manufacturer Stars Microelectronics (Thailand), prospering thanks to global sales of its keypads, announced plans to launch an IPO on the Stock Exchange of Thailand before the end of September.
World No 1 yuppiephone firm Nokia of Finland warned of "rampant counterfeiting" which might confuse consumers into buying a non-Nokia phone.
Whoa, dood, where's my recession?The Software Industry Promotion Agency reported that the Thai software industry looks likely to grow by six percent this year, outperforming virtually every economic sector; the big reason,said SIPA president Rungruang Limchoopatipa, is heavy demand from neighbouring countries for quality software, digital content and video animation sectors.
Manager Radio , the audio version of ASTV and voice of the yellow shirts and their People's Alliance for Democracy, stuck a sharp stick in the eye of the National Telecommunications Commission; there is no way, said the station's director Kongkiat Buddhalikit,that Manager Radio will pre-register as a community station as the NTC has demanded of every information radio service in the country; Mr Kongkiat told the media that Manager Radio is not a community station according to the NTC's own definition, and will not submit to the commission's authority; according to official figures, Manager was among an estimated 1,000 radio stations holding out on the registration demand,while more than 4,000 stations had succumbed to the demand to register, in return for a temporary one-year broadcast licence; under the licence terms,the NTC can suggest programming to radio stations.
GMM Grammy and RShave found recently that community radio is a great new channel for promoting their music;Soopachai Nillawan, managing director of the RS subsidiary Rsiam, said community radio is especially effective at promoting Luk Thung music, as local disk jockeys become influential with listeners; luckily there is absolutely no chance that any segment of the recording industry would stoop to paying DJs to play their music over that of rivals.
The government announced billions in subsidies to encourage Thais to drive more, and to use more electricity. The government tried to press ahead with promotion of so-called flex-fuel vehicles able to use 85-percent ethanol, but reviving automakers and oil companies said it was far too early to promote alternative energy, since there are almost no vehicles able to use it; Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul asked for lower import duties so that Thais can bring in foreign-made cars instead of buying locally made autos. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said the government still owes 20 billion baht it has given in fuel subsidies, but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his cabinet went ahead with new subsidies which will further add to the Egat debt by decreasing the cost of fuel tariffs (Ft)on the monthly electricity bills.
The decidedly discourteous Nawanit Noichana,31, posted a message on Sanook.com forums suggesting that men might want to call a certain Ms Som for free sex, and provided her actual number; Ms Som in fact was totally unavailable and never knew about the message until she started getting nasty messages, courtesy of her old "friend";the judge was quite understanding about it all, and sentenced Nawanit to 12 hours of community service under threat of a one-year suspended jail sentence.
CEO Adisak Sukumvitaya of Jay Mart predicted his firm would quadruple its market share with a new marketing emphasis on its JFone house brand,from 8.5 percent in March to 40 percent by year's end; he claimed that JFones match the leading brands in functionality including 3G compatibility. Electronics manufacturer Stars Microelectronics (Thailand), prospering thanks to global sales of its keypads, announced plans to launch an IPO on the Stock Exchange of Thailand before the end of September.
World No 1 yuppiephone firm Nokia of Finland warned of "rampant counterfeiting" which might confuse consumers into buying a non-Nokia phone.
Whoa, dood, where's my recession?The Software Industry Promotion Agency reported that the Thai software industry looks likely to grow by six percent this year, outperforming virtually every economic sector; the big reason,said SIPA president Rungruang Limchoopatipa, is heavy demand from neighbouring countries for quality software, digital content and video animation sectors.
Manager Radio , the audio version of ASTV and voice of the yellow shirts and their People's Alliance for Democracy, stuck a sharp stick in the eye of the National Telecommunications Commission; there is no way, said the station's director Kongkiat Buddhalikit,that Manager Radio will pre-register as a community station as the NTC has demanded of every information radio service in the country; Mr Kongkiat told the media that Manager Radio is not a community station according to the NTC's own definition, and will not submit to the commission's authority; according to official figures, Manager was among an estimated 1,000 radio stations holding out on the registration demand,while more than 4,000 stations had succumbed to the demand to register, in return for a temporary one-year broadcast licence; under the licence terms,the NTC can suggest programming to radio stations.
GMM Grammy and RShave found recently that community radio is a great new channel for promoting their music;Soopachai Nillawan, managing director of the RS subsidiary Rsiam, said community radio is especially effective at promoting Luk Thung music, as local disk jockeys become influential with listeners; luckily there is absolutely no chance that any segment of the recording industry would stoop to paying DJs to play their music over that of rivals.
The government announced billions in subsidies to encourage Thais to drive more, and to use more electricity. The government tried to press ahead with promotion of so-called flex-fuel vehicles able to use 85-percent ethanol, but reviving automakers and oil companies said it was far too early to promote alternative energy, since there are almost no vehicles able to use it; Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul asked for lower import duties so that Thais can bring in foreign-made cars instead of buying locally made autos. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand said the government still owes 20 billion baht it has given in fuel subsidies, but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his cabinet went ahead with new subsidies which will further add to the Egat debt by decreasing the cost of fuel tariffs (Ft)on the monthly electricity bills.
Social security
Whoever called them "social networks" must be having a second and third thought after a week of decidedly un-social activity around them; Russians... well, all right people at machines that seemed to be in Russia launched sustained denialof-service attacks that literally knocked Twitter off the air entirely for several hours, and almost did the same to Facebook and the blogging site Live Journal ,which become so slow they were almost unuseable; Georgian blogger Cyxymu said credibly it was all about him- the Russians hate that he tells the truth about the Russian-Georgian spats and war so much, that their e-vigilantes tried to close down all his platforms;the hackers used botnets to launch the attacks; those are machines (possibly yours) that have been hijacked by hackers by a variety of methods including fake email and malicious websites; used typically to mail billions of spam, they are so powerful that they only can be used for good, for evil or for being decidedly unsocial.
Then there are the US Marines, not known as a group to be all that sociable anyhow; their officers ordered all Marines off Twitter and Facebook ; in their typically diplomatic manner, the Marine commanders explained:"These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user-generated content, and targeting by adversaries."
That could be why the National Football League , comprising the major US gridiron clubs, ordered all US professional football players not to use Twitter ;the multi-millionaire sportsmen will be fined $1,701, or 58,054 baht,(it's the NFL's maximum) per Tweet; or maybe NFL officials simply want to flaunt their control of content. The same could be said for the international sports network ESPN , which informed its employees they are banned from sending any sports-related news over Twitter and Facebook without written permission;violators can be fired on the spot.
Apple Inc has done a lot to make the name iPhone a synonym for phone,but the spiffy appliance actually only has an 8 percent share of the smartphone market; just as impressive as the propaganda machine, however, is the accounting office; Bernstein Research reported that in the second quarter of the year, the iPhone and its 65,000 apps (1.5 billion downloaded) had accumulated 32 percent of all profits in the smartphone niche. Google CEO Eric "I Know Jack" Schmidt resigned as a director of Apple Inc ; US regulators said they might well sue Schmidt and Apple for a conflict of interest and attempted monopoly anyhow.
Google announced yet another microscopic upgrade to its quick but faltering Google Chrome web browser;this time, Chrome comes with 29 skins to compete with the 20,000 for Firefox .Apple Inc released Mac OS X 10.5.8,which marginally increased security for Appleholics and makes the AirPort networks work.
Google bought the Internet video specialists On2 Technologies for $106.5 million; the purpose of the deal is to use On2's technology which allow better quality video, all part of the Google hope it can improve YouTube enough to make money from it. US media tycoon Rupert Murdoch of News Corp said he was just kidding about how news wants to be free; beginning almost immediately, you will pay to see the Times (of London) online, or you won't see it;Murdoch said he also will add charges to websites for his other newspapers;it's hard to figure why anyone would pay to see news on the Internet, and not as hard as it is to figure why Murdoch and others believe we will.
Microsoft paid enough money to feed all the world's orphans for weeks in order to make Patrick De Schutter and French friends at Office.com go away and move their website to ContactOffice.com, because Microsoft needs Office.com more than the orphans; in fact Microsoft wouldn't say what it paid for the domain name, and pretended there was some sort of mystery over what product it might promote there;hint: Office 2010 will be partly based on the web, and is in final development at the moment.
Publicis Groupe of France, one of the world's largest advertising companies, paid Microsoft $530 million in cash and stock for Razorfish , Microsoft's "preferred provider" for Internet advertising; the purchase, however, was more significantly an advertising deal,where Publicis agreed to spend grazillions on advertising through Microsoft over the next five years.
Microsoft held its chin up and its upper lip stiff as it came to Asia to promote the abysmally unpopular hosted messaging and small-business aid Business Productivity Online Suite,which some argue does not need the "B" in the initials BPOS; Allison Watson,corporate vice president for Microsoft's worldwide partner group, said in Singapore than Asians will be much faster than farangs in seeing the greatness of BPOS and joining on; the service actually offers free domain names, websites and more for small and medium businesses,and it will likely be a key part of Microsoft's plans to offer more online services like Microsoft Office.
Florida resident Keith R. Griffin told the judge that he did not download 1,000 images of child pornography; he said his cat would jump on the keyboard and by accident hit the keys to download the photos; the detectives knew he was lying, wrote a Wall Street Journal columnist, because cats never use the keyboard commands - they prefer the mouse.
Then there are the US Marines, not known as a group to be all that sociable anyhow; their officers ordered all Marines off Twitter and Facebook ; in their typically diplomatic manner, the Marine commanders explained:"These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user-generated content, and targeting by adversaries."
That could be why the National Football League , comprising the major US gridiron clubs, ordered all US professional football players not to use Twitter ;the multi-millionaire sportsmen will be fined $1,701, or 58,054 baht,(it's the NFL's maximum) per Tweet; or maybe NFL officials simply want to flaunt their control of content. The same could be said for the international sports network ESPN , which informed its employees they are banned from sending any sports-related news over Twitter and Facebook without written permission;violators can be fired on the spot.
Apple Inc has done a lot to make the name iPhone a synonym for phone,but the spiffy appliance actually only has an 8 percent share of the smartphone market; just as impressive as the propaganda machine, however, is the accounting office; Bernstein Research reported that in the second quarter of the year, the iPhone and its 65,000 apps (1.5 billion downloaded) had accumulated 32 percent of all profits in the smartphone niche. Google CEO Eric "I Know Jack" Schmidt resigned as a director of Apple Inc ; US regulators said they might well sue Schmidt and Apple for a conflict of interest and attempted monopoly anyhow.
Google announced yet another microscopic upgrade to its quick but faltering Google Chrome web browser;this time, Chrome comes with 29 skins to compete with the 20,000 for Firefox .Apple Inc released Mac OS X 10.5.8,which marginally increased security for Appleholics and makes the AirPort networks work.
Google bought the Internet video specialists On2 Technologies for $106.5 million; the purpose of the deal is to use On2's technology which allow better quality video, all part of the Google hope it can improve YouTube enough to make money from it. US media tycoon Rupert Murdoch of News Corp said he was just kidding about how news wants to be free; beginning almost immediately, you will pay to see the Times (of London) online, or you won't see it;Murdoch said he also will add charges to websites for his other newspapers;it's hard to figure why anyone would pay to see news on the Internet, and not as hard as it is to figure why Murdoch and others believe we will.
Microsoft paid enough money to feed all the world's orphans for weeks in order to make Patrick De Schutter and French friends at Office.com go away and move their website to ContactOffice.com, because Microsoft needs Office.com more than the orphans; in fact Microsoft wouldn't say what it paid for the domain name, and pretended there was some sort of mystery over what product it might promote there;hint: Office 2010 will be partly based on the web, and is in final development at the moment.
Publicis Groupe of France, one of the world's largest advertising companies, paid Microsoft $530 million in cash and stock for Razorfish , Microsoft's "preferred provider" for Internet advertising; the purchase, however, was more significantly an advertising deal,where Publicis agreed to spend grazillions on advertising through Microsoft over the next five years.
Microsoft held its chin up and its upper lip stiff as it came to Asia to promote the abysmally unpopular hosted messaging and small-business aid Business Productivity Online Suite,which some argue does not need the "B" in the initials BPOS; Allison Watson,corporate vice president for Microsoft's worldwide partner group, said in Singapore than Asians will be much faster than farangs in seeing the greatness of BPOS and joining on; the service actually offers free domain names, websites and more for small and medium businesses,and it will likely be a key part of Microsoft's plans to offer more online services like Microsoft Office.
Florida resident Keith R. Griffin told the judge that he did not download 1,000 images of child pornography; he said his cat would jump on the keyboard and by accident hit the keys to download the photos; the detectives knew he was lying, wrote a Wall Street Journal columnist, because cats never use the keyboard commands - they prefer the mouse.
Microsoft, Nokia collaborate
Microsoft and Nokia,in a challenge to Research in Motion's Blackberry, announced Wednesday that Microsoft Office software will be available on smartphones made by the Finnish company.
The software and mobile phone giants said that from next year, Nokia would include Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, followed by other Office applications.
"This agreement represents an important milestone for both companies and the industry," Stephen Elop, the president of Microsoft Business Division,said in a conference call with reporters.
"It's the first time Microsoft will develop rich Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform," he noted, adding that the two companies have identified several other areas for future joint collaboration.
"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," Elop added in a statement.
"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere," he said.
Microsoft and Nokia said the agreement will allow Nokia smartphone users to view, edit, create and share Office documents and use such popular Microsoft programs as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
Microsoft and Nokia both stressed their commitment to their rival mobile telephone operating systems, Windows Mobile and Symbian.
"Nokia and Microsoft do compete in some areas and we will continue to do so," said Elop."At Microsoft we remain deeply committed to Windows Mobile."
Oistamo emphasized his company's commitment to Symbian and said Microsoft's productivity applications will add "tremendous value to Symbian."
Asked whether the alliance was intended to counter the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone, Oistamo said it was aimed more at the Blackberry, whose email capability is a favourite of office workers worldwide.
"It is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anybody else," the Nokia executive said.
Nokia is the world's leading manufacturer of mobile phones and holds a 45 percent share of the smartphone market, according to the latest figures from research firm Gartner.
But the Finnish company has been facing increased competition in the smartphone business from the iPhone and Blackberry.
Microsoft also faces competition in the mobile phone operating system sector from Google's open-source Android software and free Web-based programs.
Gartner analyst Nick Jones said the agreement was good for Microsoft.
The software and mobile phone giants said that from next year, Nokia would include Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, followed by other Office applications.
"This agreement represents an important milestone for both companies and the industry," Stephen Elop, the president of Microsoft Business Division,said in a conference call with reporters.
"It's the first time Microsoft will develop rich Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform," he noted, adding that the two companies have identified several other areas for future joint collaboration.
"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," Elop added in a statement.
"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere," he said.
Microsoft and Nokia said the agreement will allow Nokia smartphone users to view, edit, create and share Office documents and use such popular Microsoft programs as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
Microsoft and Nokia both stressed their commitment to their rival mobile telephone operating systems, Windows Mobile and Symbian.
"Nokia and Microsoft do compete in some areas and we will continue to do so," said Elop."At Microsoft we remain deeply committed to Windows Mobile."
Oistamo emphasized his company's commitment to Symbian and said Microsoft's productivity applications will add "tremendous value to Symbian."
Asked whether the alliance was intended to counter the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone, Oistamo said it was aimed more at the Blackberry, whose email capability is a favourite of office workers worldwide.
"It is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anybody else," the Nokia executive said.
Nokia is the world's leading manufacturer of mobile phones and holds a 45 percent share of the smartphone market, according to the latest figures from research firm Gartner.
But the Finnish company has been facing increased competition in the smartphone business from the iPhone and Blackberry.
Microsoft also faces competition in the mobile phone operating system sector from Google's open-source Android software and free Web-based programs.
Gartner analyst Nick Jones said the agreement was good for Microsoft.
iPhones' burst "rare"
Apple has told the European Commission that widely reported cases of exploding iPhones should be treated as "isolated incidents", officials in Brussels said yesterday.
Apple is investigating possible causes but insists that there are no general problems with its best-selling product,said a commission spokeswoman.
The European Union's executive arm in Brussels, which is responsible for overseeing the safety of consumer products sold inside the bloc, had last week asked Apple for clarifications following reports of at least three iPhones or iPod music players overheating and exploding in France and Britain. In one such incident,a French teenager's claim that an Apple iPhone shattered in his face.
Apple is investigating possible causes but insists that there are no general problems with its best-selling product,said a commission spokeswoman.
The European Union's executive arm in Brussels, which is responsible for overseeing the safety of consumer products sold inside the bloc, had last week asked Apple for clarifications following reports of at least three iPhones or iPod music players overheating and exploding in France and Britain. In one such incident,a French teenager's claim that an Apple iPhone shattered in his face.
Changes at the top for Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson yesterday entrusted the head of Ericsson's US technology division with the task of leading the struggling cell-phone maker back to profit and reversing a sharp decline in market share.
The 50-50 venture said it named Bert Nordberg as chief executive in place of Dick Komiyama, who retires at the end of this year.
Sony Ericsson has reported steep losses in past quarters and seen its market share slip to below 5%, sparking market speculation of a possible break-up.
"I would go for increased market share and restoring profitability," Nordberg told Reuters when asked where he hopes to see the company in 1-2 years' time.He said he would pursue ongoing restructuring and step up efforts to develop "smash-hit" products.
Nordberg,53, currently executive vice president at Ericsson and head of the firm's Silicon Valley business, said he was extremely confident in support from both parent companies, while turning to profit "can't be too far away."
Of the top five cell-phone vendors,Sony Ericsson saw the sharpest drop in sales from the first quarter.
The firm has missed trends like full keyboards, Internet browsing and navigation, and research firm Gartner said last week its market share fell to just 4.7% globally.
"Nordberg has some big decisions to make from day one," said Ben Wood,head of research at CCS Insight.
"Sony Ericsson needs to streamline its mobile software strategy and further reduce its dependence on mid-tier feature phones while working to restore profitability in the toughest economic climate the mobile phone industry has ever seen."
Sony Ericsson is known for its phones focusing on music and imaging, but it has so far lacked a strong offering of smartphones.
Nordberg said he would look for a strategic revamp of the firm's product portfolio."In this industry you need smash-hit products," he said.
The firm also said Sony CEO Howard Stringer would become new board chairman on Oct 15, replacing Ericsson head Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will become chairman of BP Plc in January.
Nordberg has been with Ericsson since 1996, prior to which he worked with companies including Data General Corp and Digital Equipment Corp.
The 50-50 venture said it named Bert Nordberg as chief executive in place of Dick Komiyama, who retires at the end of this year.
Sony Ericsson has reported steep losses in past quarters and seen its market share slip to below 5%, sparking market speculation of a possible break-up.
"I would go for increased market share and restoring profitability," Nordberg told Reuters when asked where he hopes to see the company in 1-2 years' time.He said he would pursue ongoing restructuring and step up efforts to develop "smash-hit" products.
Nordberg,53, currently executive vice president at Ericsson and head of the firm's Silicon Valley business, said he was extremely confident in support from both parent companies, while turning to profit "can't be too far away."
Of the top five cell-phone vendors,Sony Ericsson saw the sharpest drop in sales from the first quarter.
The firm has missed trends like full keyboards, Internet browsing and navigation, and research firm Gartner said last week its market share fell to just 4.7% globally.
"Nordberg has some big decisions to make from day one," said Ben Wood,head of research at CCS Insight.
"Sony Ericsson needs to streamline its mobile software strategy and further reduce its dependence on mid-tier feature phones while working to restore profitability in the toughest economic climate the mobile phone industry has ever seen."
Sony Ericsson is known for its phones focusing on music and imaging, but it has so far lacked a strong offering of smartphones.
Nordberg said he would look for a strategic revamp of the firm's product portfolio."In this industry you need smash-hit products," he said.
The firm also said Sony CEO Howard Stringer would become new board chairman on Oct 15, replacing Ericsson head Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will become chairman of BP Plc in January.
Nordberg has been with Ericsson since 1996, prior to which he worked with companies including Data General Corp and Digital Equipment Corp.
LOOKING FOR A SMARTPHONE? IT'S A SNAP!
Innovation and design come together in HTC's newest hand-held
From a quick glance at the Snap,it's clear that HTC is aiming this messaging phone at BlackBerry users. It may have a similar design to the BlackBerry Curve range,but the question is: Does the Snap,which costs about 14,900 baht, have enough fancy extras to tempt BlackBerry users into making the switch?
BLACKBERRY DOPPELGANGER
The Snap apes the BlackBerry Curve range both in terms of its overall design and the layout of its controls. The top of the phone is dominated by a fairly large,2.4-inch screen. Beneath this sits a row of buttons,plus a mini trackball that's virtually identical to the pearl trackball found on many BlackBerry handsets. The bottom half of the phone is given over to the full qwerty keyboard.
Although the Snap's screen looks very bright and sharp, its 320 x 240 resolution falls short of that of the similar BlackBerry Curve 8900's screen, which packs a 480 x 360 resolution. This is especially noticeably when you're using the web browser,as the Snap's screen can't display as much text and graphics in one go, and so forces you to scroll around pages more often.
But, while the screen is slightly disappointing, the keyboard is truly brilliant.The keys are circular and rounded on the top, leaving you with a wide surface to press with your fingers or thumbs. As a result, it's very easy to tap out messages and emails at considerable speed.
SOFTWARE UPS AND DOWNS
The Snap runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard operating system. Although it's easy to move through the various menus and option screens using the mini trackball - the Snap doesn't have a touchscreen the layout and design of the Windows Mobile interface is confusing and dated.For example, it can be a long-winded pro-cess to track down specific settings often you have to wade through pages of unnecessary menu entries to find the one you're after. While HTC has previously papered over some of these cracks by adding its TouchFLO interface over the top,the Snap doesn't feature any interface tweaks at all.
Pressing the green button on the bottom right corner of the keyboard activates Inner Circle.
HTC has, however, kitted the Snap out with its Inner Circle software, accessed via a dedicated key on the keyboard. It essentially provides a way to quickly check incoming messages from your most important contacts. Once you've added contacts to your "inner circle" via either the email application or contacts list, messages from these contacts will automatically be filtered to the top of your inbox when you hit the Inner Circle button. It's a smart approach and a significant help when trying to keep on top of a busy inbox.
SPRIGHTLY PERFORMANCE
Under the bonnet, the Snap is pretty wellspecified. The phone's Qualcomm processor is relatively speedy, at 528MHz,and it's backed up with 192MB of RAM, so things tick along at a sprightly pace. There's only 256MB of ROM for storing files and documents, but this can be bumped up with a cheap microSD card.
Connectivity options are good too, with both HSDPA and Wi-Fi support for browsing on the move, and Bluetooth for using the phone with wireless car kits and headsets. As the Snap's quad-band, you'll be able to use it in most countries around the world, and the impressive on-board GPS,which works well in Google Maps, means you won't get lost when you're on your travels.
The Snap's meagre two megapixel camera is very basic by today's standards. It lacks both autofocus and a flash, so it's unsurprising that the photos it takes are pretty poor. We can overlook this problem to an extent, as the Snap is aimed primarily at business users.
More difficult to ignore is the phone's poor battery life. Whereas most BlackBerry devices manage to squeeze a few days of life out of their power packs, the Snap only managed to keep running for about a day and a half under normal usage conditions.
CONCLUSION
We love the HTC Snap's brilliant keyboard and innovative Inner Circle feature, but it's let down considerably by its short battery life and dated Windows Mobile user interface. Consequently, we can't see many people rushing to swap their BlackBerry for a Snap.
CNet Asia
"The phone's Qualcomm processor is relatively speedy, at 528MHz, and it's backed up with 192MB of RAM
From a quick glance at the Snap,it's clear that HTC is aiming this messaging phone at BlackBerry users. It may have a similar design to the BlackBerry Curve range,but the question is: Does the Snap,which costs about 14,900 baht, have enough fancy extras to tempt BlackBerry users into making the switch?
BLACKBERRY DOPPELGANGER
The Snap apes the BlackBerry Curve range both in terms of its overall design and the layout of its controls. The top of the phone is dominated by a fairly large,2.4-inch screen. Beneath this sits a row of buttons,plus a mini trackball that's virtually identical to the pearl trackball found on many BlackBerry handsets. The bottom half of the phone is given over to the full qwerty keyboard.
Although the Snap's screen looks very bright and sharp, its 320 x 240 resolution falls short of that of the similar BlackBerry Curve 8900's screen, which packs a 480 x 360 resolution. This is especially noticeably when you're using the web browser,as the Snap's screen can't display as much text and graphics in one go, and so forces you to scroll around pages more often.
But, while the screen is slightly disappointing, the keyboard is truly brilliant.The keys are circular and rounded on the top, leaving you with a wide surface to press with your fingers or thumbs. As a result, it's very easy to tap out messages and emails at considerable speed.
SOFTWARE UPS AND DOWNS
The Snap runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard operating system. Although it's easy to move through the various menus and option screens using the mini trackball - the Snap doesn't have a touchscreen the layout and design of the Windows Mobile interface is confusing and dated.For example, it can be a long-winded pro-cess to track down specific settings often you have to wade through pages of unnecessary menu entries to find the one you're after. While HTC has previously papered over some of these cracks by adding its TouchFLO interface over the top,the Snap doesn't feature any interface tweaks at all.
Pressing the green button on the bottom right corner of the keyboard activates Inner Circle.
HTC has, however, kitted the Snap out with its Inner Circle software, accessed via a dedicated key on the keyboard. It essentially provides a way to quickly check incoming messages from your most important contacts. Once you've added contacts to your "inner circle" via either the email application or contacts list, messages from these contacts will automatically be filtered to the top of your inbox when you hit the Inner Circle button. It's a smart approach and a significant help when trying to keep on top of a busy inbox.
SPRIGHTLY PERFORMANCE
Under the bonnet, the Snap is pretty wellspecified. The phone's Qualcomm processor is relatively speedy, at 528MHz,and it's backed up with 192MB of RAM, so things tick along at a sprightly pace. There's only 256MB of ROM for storing files and documents, but this can be bumped up with a cheap microSD card.
Connectivity options are good too, with both HSDPA and Wi-Fi support for browsing on the move, and Bluetooth for using the phone with wireless car kits and headsets. As the Snap's quad-band, you'll be able to use it in most countries around the world, and the impressive on-board GPS,which works well in Google Maps, means you won't get lost when you're on your travels.
The Snap's meagre two megapixel camera is very basic by today's standards. It lacks both autofocus and a flash, so it's unsurprising that the photos it takes are pretty poor. We can overlook this problem to an extent, as the Snap is aimed primarily at business users.
More difficult to ignore is the phone's poor battery life. Whereas most BlackBerry devices manage to squeeze a few days of life out of their power packs, the Snap only managed to keep running for about a day and a half under normal usage conditions.
CONCLUSION
We love the HTC Snap's brilliant keyboard and innovative Inner Circle feature, but it's let down considerably by its short battery life and dated Windows Mobile user interface. Consequently, we can't see many people rushing to swap their BlackBerry for a Snap.
CNet Asia
"The phone's Qualcomm processor is relatively speedy, at 528MHz, and it's backed up with 192MB of RAM
Samart ready for upturn
Samart Corporation yesterday reported a 17% year-on-year increase in its secondquarter revenues to 4.44 billion baht in the second quarter of this year, reflecting the recovery of the mobile phone business.
However, net profit declined marginally to 122.3 million baht from 124.5 million a year earlier but up from 43 million in the first quarter. First-half profit was down 38.3% year-on-year to 165.7 million baht.
Chief executive Watchai Vilailuck said Samart's mobile phone distribution arm Samart I-Mobile (SIM) had passed its lowest point and that revenue and profit in the second half would improve.
SIM's revenues for the second quarter declined 10% year-on-year to 2.15 billion baht and net profit fell 8% to 46 million baht.
Amid signs of economic recovery, he said Samart expected its mobile phone sales to remain strong, It plans to 20 handset models to accommodate the GSM, CDMA and 3G services.
SIM is also focusing on exports to countries where it has a strong market base, including Malaysia, Indonesia,India, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Mr Watchai said Samart sold 1.2 million mobile phones during the first half of this year, close to last year's sales,adding that its target of 1.5 million handsets in the second half would be retained and achieved.
The group's ICT business also did well with revenues of 2.9 billion baht in the first half, helped by more government and state enterprise telecom projects.
SAMART shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 6.10 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 24.13 million baht.
However, net profit declined marginally to 122.3 million baht from 124.5 million a year earlier but up from 43 million in the first quarter. First-half profit was down 38.3% year-on-year to 165.7 million baht.
Chief executive Watchai Vilailuck said Samart's mobile phone distribution arm Samart I-Mobile (SIM) had passed its lowest point and that revenue and profit in the second half would improve.
SIM's revenues for the second quarter declined 10% year-on-year to 2.15 billion baht and net profit fell 8% to 46 million baht.
Amid signs of economic recovery, he said Samart expected its mobile phone sales to remain strong, It plans to 20 handset models to accommodate the GSM, CDMA and 3G services.
SIM is also focusing on exports to countries where it has a strong market base, including Malaysia, Indonesia,India, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Mr Watchai said Samart sold 1.2 million mobile phones during the first half of this year, close to last year's sales,adding that its target of 1.5 million handsets in the second half would be retained and achieved.
The group's ICT business also did well with revenues of 2.9 billion baht in the first half, helped by more government and state enterprise telecom projects.
SAMART shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 6.10 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 24.13 million baht.
M'soft Office coming to Nokia smartphones
Microsoft and Nokia, in a challenge to Research in Motion's Blackberry, announced on Wednesday that Microsoft Office software will be available on smartphones made by the Finnish company.
The software and mobile phone giants said that from next year, Nokia would include Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, followed by other Office applications.
"This agreement represents an important milestone for both companies and the industry," said Stephen Elop, the president of Microsoft Business Division.
"It's the first time Microsoft will develop Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform," he noted, adding that the two companies have identified several other areas for future joint collaboration.
"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," Elop said.
"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere," he said.
Microsoft and Nokia said the agreement will allow Nokia smartphone users to view, edit, create and share Office documents and use such popular Microsoft programs as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
Asked whether the alliance was intended to counter the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone, Oistamo said it was aimed more at the Blackberry, whose e-mail capability is a favourite with office workers worldwide.
"It is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anybody else," he said.
The software and mobile phone giants said that from next year, Nokia would include Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, followed by other Office applications.
"This agreement represents an important milestone for both companies and the industry," said Stephen Elop, the president of Microsoft Business Division.
"It's the first time Microsoft will develop Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform," he noted, adding that the two companies have identified several other areas for future joint collaboration.
"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," Elop said.
"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere," he said.
Microsoft and Nokia said the agreement will allow Nokia smartphone users to view, edit, create and share Office documents and use such popular Microsoft programs as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
Asked whether the alliance was intended to counter the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone, Oistamo said it was aimed more at the Blackberry, whose e-mail capability is a favourite with office workers worldwide.
"It is really about creating a formidable challenge for RIM rather than anybody else," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)