Asus Launches Android Table

AsusTek Computer Inc. unveiled a sleek tablet computer on Friday, after the Taiwanese firm saw the sales of its once popular line of mini-laptops stall following the launch of Apple's hit iPad.
AsusTek says the EEE Pad Transformer, which runs on the Android 3.0 operating system, distinguishes itself with an optional keyboard that is superior to docking options for other tablets because of its light weight and flexibility.
Its 10.1-inch screen with a front and rear camera can be detached from the keyboard to allow users on the move quick Web browsing and film viewing. Plugging it to the keyboard dock, the device can then be used as a full-fledged laptop.
"In our own pursuit of perfection, we offer users more options," AsusTek CEO Jerry Shen told The Associated Press. "They can get a full range of functions including 10-finger touch, Flash supported video viewing, e-book reading, and a physical keyboard so they don't have to deal with any inconveniences."
The EEE Pad Transformer, which became available for pre-order in Taiwan on Friday, goes on sale in the U.K. on March 30, to be followed by U.S. sales.
In Taiwan, the 16 GB version without the keyboard sells for 14,900 New Taiwan dollars ($500), while the keyboard version costs NT$17,900 ($600). The company did not provide prices for other markets.
Another Asus tablet, the 12-inch e-Slate powered by the Microsoft Windows operating system, went on sale in January, while two additional Asus tablet models will go on sale soon. Shen said he expected total sales of the four models to reach two million units in 2011.
Taiwan's Acer Inc., the world's third largest computer vendor, has already unveiled four tablet models, as well as a 4.8-inch smartphone that doubles as a tablet. The company says all will be on sale next month.
Shen acknowledged Apple Inc.'s current dominance in the rapidly expanding tablet computer market, but predicted that its market share would fall to 50 percent by 2012, as devices run on Android and Microsoft systems pick up steam.
Asus pioneered netbooks — mini-laptops — to great fanfare in 2007. Once seen as a key to the company's growth, sales remained flat in 2010, Shen said, following the iPad's appearance in the marketplace.

DIGISOL introduces New Network Surveillance Cameras

 

DIGISOL has launched Skyros, a range of IP Surveillance cameras - starting with two feature-rich IP cameras, namely, DG-SC3630 Pan/Tilt Camera with Power over Ethernet and the DG-SC3610W Wireless Pan/Tilt Camera. The new cameras introduced are high-end network cameras designed for professional surveillance and security applications, providing powerful and versatile security solutions for businesses of any size.

The DG-SC3630 and DG-SC3610W supports a wide range of high quality video formats like VGA, QVGA, MJPEG, MPEG4 and H.264 Video Formats with frame rates up to 30fps. These can be viewed using any standard browser. These cameras have local SD card support, which helps in recording images without any special recording software.

 

The DG-SC3630 and DG-SC3610W also support UPnP and DDNS. DDNS allows the camera to use an easy to remember naming format rather than an IP address. UPnP will allow users of Windows XP to access the camera with the click of a mouse without knowing IP address of the camera. These cameras have 9 Infrared LEDs and a light sensor which enables the camera to capture quality images by automatically activiating the IR LEDs. in low-light environment.

Aircell Announces World’s First Airborne Smartphone

Aircell, the leading telecom services and flight web connectivity provider for commercial jets, has recently announced its new Android based Smartphone- Aircell Smartphone. The device will make foray in the commercial jets as the next-generation cabin headset. Along with Android flavor, the device has compact and sleek body design that attracts everybody. This smartphone will be used in jets as a wired or wireless handset.

This especially designed smartphone runs on Android Operating system but the OS version has not been confirmed. It has a 3.8 inches LCD touchscreen display and featured with Bluetooth option. This device can be used as wired connected or wireless that make it to use as a dual purpose device. The handset will be very easy to use, it  will compete with upcoming Gogo Biz voice service.

Presently, the company has not announced full specs and features of the device, we hope it would come with more features such as camera, multimedia features like MP3, MP4 along with an FM Radio etc.

The first Android smartphone for in-flight calling approval by the FCC and FAA to use 800 MHz band frequency for in-flight communications. Aircell is a US based popular network services provider which will bring this handset only for US flights. Till now, the company has not announced the price band of the smartphone but this Aircell Smartphone will be available in late 2011.

Windows Intune Now Available In India

Microsoft India today announced the availability of Windows Intune, a new IT solution to streamline PC and device management and enhance productivity of remote workers for businesses of all sizes across the country. It simplifies how businesses manage and secure PCs using Windows cloud services and Windows 7 by delivering cloud-based management and security capabilities from a single Web-based console that enables users to operate at peak performance from virtually anywhere.

Announcing the availability of Windows Intune, Sumeet Khanna, director - Windows Client, Microsoft India, said, "Microsoft is focused on providing management solutions to help IT organizations give employees access to what they need, when they need it, from anywhere and on a wider variety of device. A solution like Windows Intune is the perfect example of how customers and partners of all sizes can take advantage of cloud computing for easy-to-use PC management and security."

Coming soon: The BlackBerry 'superphone'

Shares of Research In Motion (RIM) sank as much as 12 per cent during after-hour trading Thursday after the BlackBerry maker hinted at less-than-expected results in the current quarter while releasing its fourth quarter earnings.
According to Thursday's results, RIM netted a $934-million profit on total revenue of $5.6 billion during the last quarter of 2010.
During this period, the BlackBerry maker shipped 14.9 million smart phones, taking its total shipment to 52.3 million units in fiscal 2010 - a jump of 43 per cent over 2009.

But the rather surprising gloomy forecast for the current quarter came amid mounting excitement about the company's PlayBook tablet due for release April 19.

Analysts ascribed the gloomy outlook to the transition period at RIM which is switching to a new operating system for its phones and tablets.
However, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said that by discarding its old BlackBerry operating system in favour of the QNX software, Balsillie said RIM would now offer a new class of "superphone" to its clients.
The PlayBook tablet will be the first RIM device to run on the new operating system developed by QNX Software Systems.
RIM acquired this Ottawa-based software company for $200 million in April last year to have exclusive access to its software technology for its tablet.
RIM had announced to run its tablet on the powerful QNX operating system rather than the BlackBerry 6 operating system which was unveiled along with the BlackBerry Torch 9800 in July.
"We are pleased to report record shipments and financial performance in fiscal 2011," RIM co-CEIO Jim Balsillie said, after the fourth quarter results.
"As we enter fiscal 2012, RIM is in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing convergence of the mobile communications and mobile computing markets. We are laying a strong foundation for RIM's expanding market opportunity through focused investments and we are extremely excited about our smartphone, tablet and platform roadmaps," the co-CEO said.
Interestingly, the Canadian wireless giant also announced that its PlayBook tablet will also run Android applications, currently available only on tablets and smart phones that are run by Google's Android operating system.
Since RIM is way behind Apple in offering apps, its decision to run Android applications will give PlayBook users access to 200,000 more apps.

"We feel very good about the PlayBook," said Balsillie.

Acer appoints Cyberstar as National Distributor for server business

Acer India is focusing on increasing its market share in the server market where it has appointed Cyberstar as a national distributor of its servers, the company announced.

Cyberstar is one of the fastest growing distributors of IT Perpherals, Networking Products and Components. Acer with the help of Cyberstar is aiming to address the need of servers for SME’s and SMB’s.


Cyberstar has etched its strategy to reach out to the market more efficiently by dedicating 40 Acer partners across 8 cities and then slowly spread arms throughout the subcontinent, a press release stated.

Playing the role of a national distributor Cyberstar also aims to educate SME’s and SMB’s about how Acer’s Server Products offer the perfect solution to satisfy growing technological needs of an organization.

This will be supported by various other initiatives by Acer and Cyberstar like sending electronic mailers, multi city partner road shows, end customer road shows etc.

Cyberstar also aims to use its presence in 20 cities across India and its strong chain of 3500 active distributors to make Acer servers more popular.

Tablet PCs are enabling cloud based solutions

Small and mid-sized businesses (firms with less than 999 employees) continue to strive to regain their place in a troubled economy. Recent AMI research indicates that SMBs who have embraced mobility generated 40 percent higher revenue growth over the last 12 months compared to those who did not. As the mobile workforce trend continues, mobile devices, including tablet PCs, will play an integral part in supporting these employees.

Until recently, smartphones and notebooks have been the primary tools to process information wirelessly. Tablets are quickly stepping in as a complementary and capable device. But worldwide SMB tablet penetration remains low, about 3 percent, and still has a long way to go before becoming a mainstream IT asset.

"SMB tablet adoption has been highly fragmented across industries," says Michael McDonald, Sr. Associate of Worldwide SMB Sizing for AMI-Partners. "We see the strongest interest in professional services, healthcare, hospitality, and the media businesses. The early adopters realize the intrinsic value in having a highly mobile device that enables users to immediately access data, process information, and respond accordingly. Firms that have embraced tablets are also increasingly moving additional resources to the Cloud, increasing the utility of the tablet."

A recent AMI study has shown that firms with tablets use SaaS applications 20 percent more compared to those without. As a content consumption device the use of productivity suites and document collaboration tools is especially high in tablet firms. Hosted document collaboration usage amongst tablet users is more than double that of non-tablet SMBs, while hosted productivity suite use is nearly 50 percent higher. This steady move and reliance on Cloud infrastructure and applications have put pressure on IT networking resources, namely bandwidth. The increased load on networks has led, in part, to tablet firms increasing their bandwidth speeds, which are now over 10 percent higher than firms without tablets.

"SMB adoption is expected to accelerate as broadband speeds increase and heightened competition drives prices down. We expect average prices to drop nearly 50 percent by 2013," says McDonald. "The tablet PC has almost limitless potential in the SMB space where the device can entrench itself as a valuable resource essential to the on-the-go businessman. The ability of manufacturers, software providers and service providers to adapt to the changing demands of business users will be critical to future success."