icloud, the Online Computer, Today Rolls Out icloud Premium -- a Massive 100 GB of Secure Cloud Storage for Only $39.99 / Year
Everybody Can Now Access All Their Content Anytime and Anywhere
icloud Basic With 3 GB is Available for Free, and Open for Sign-Ups at http://icloud.com
Today's launch of icloud Premium and the 100 GB Super Drive will greatly extend all the amazing capabilities of icloud to the iPhone. The new premium service lets everyone store, access and easily share files through any smart phone or browser. It gives you 100 GB of storage right in your pocket. You will never again feel that you have forgotten to bring important files with you. icloud securely stores files like music, photos, videos, documents, and provides a full management interface and virtual desktop through a browser to organize and share all your content.
icloud launch movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQgdceh66EQ
Daniel Arthursson, icloud's Founder and CEO, says, "Having 100 GB directly accessible in your pocket through an iPhone or smartphone will definitely change how we use and interact with data. With the massive storage of the icloud Super Drive, everything will always be accessible, no need to bring your computer to do a quick PowerPoint presentation, just present it straight out of the cloud."
Facts about the icloud online computer:
* Secure cloud storage with backup accessible from any computer,
iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile phone
* Free basic version includes 50 applications like Office, Mail,
Music, Video, Instant Messaging and Games
* icloud Premium with 100 GB Super Drive now available for $39.99/year
* Community (my.icloud.com) and email @icloud.com
* Zero installation, runs within browsers
* Available worldwide in 26 languages and used in 170 countries
About icloud
Founded in 2001 by Daniel Arthursson, Xcerion provides the free icloud.com service, the world's leading "Cloud OS", a groundbreaking technology with 22 pending patents. Developers have API and tools to build their own cloud applications.
Xcerion is based in Sweden, privately held and funded by Northzone Ventures. Investors include Lou Perazzoli, architect of Windows NT and former Manager Microsoft Core OS and John Connors former CFO Microsoft. Xcerion is a Red Herring Global 100 winner.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Kingston Technology Ships 12GB HyperX Kits for Intel Core i7, X58 Platforms
Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is adding 12GB triple-channel HyperX memory kits in support of Intel’s LGA1366 Core i7 systems. The DDR3 XMP-ready kit consists of six 2GB modules running at 1600MHz and 1.65 volts.
The 12GB memory kit helps increase overall system performance in 64-bit operating systems. System builders and ultra enthusiasts who deploy 12GB of Kingston triple-channel memory will find performance increases in such tasks as video encoding, processing large photo files, graphical rendering and extreme PC games.
The memory kit has been tested with great success on motherboards with six sockets such as the Gigabyte GA-X58-UD6 and Asus P6T Deluxe motherboards. Kingston HyperX memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free technical support. For detailed information please visit the Kingston Web site at www.kingston.com/thailand.
Kingston HyperX 1600MHz 12GB Triple-Channel Kit
Part Number: KHX1600C9D3K6/12GX
Capacity and Features : 12GB 1600MHz (CL9-9-9-27 @ 1.65v)
DDR3 kit of 6 optimized for XMP
Local distributors, please contact American Best T: 662-231-6452. Ingram Micro Thailand T: 662-793-1888. Silicon Data Co., Ltd. T: 662-219-2012 Synnex (Thailand) Co., Ltd. T: 662-553-8888
To discuss this product on Kingston Blog, please go to www.kingston-blog.com.
To try the game “Challenge Your Memory”, please go to www.kingston-blog.com/challenge_your_memory/en/.
To find out if your Kingston product is genuine, Kingston also provides an online verification site: http://www.kingston.com/thailand/verify/default.asp. To try the game “Search for Genuine Kingston”, please go to http://anti-counterfeit.kingston-blog.com/th_index.jsp
About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and sales representatives in the United States, Taiwan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com/thailand.
Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders.
The 12GB memory kit helps increase overall system performance in 64-bit operating systems. System builders and ultra enthusiasts who deploy 12GB of Kingston triple-channel memory will find performance increases in such tasks as video encoding, processing large photo files, graphical rendering and extreme PC games.
The memory kit has been tested with great success on motherboards with six sockets such as the Gigabyte GA-X58-UD6 and Asus P6T Deluxe motherboards. Kingston HyperX memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free technical support. For detailed information please visit the Kingston Web site at www.kingston.com/thailand.
Kingston HyperX 1600MHz 12GB Triple-Channel Kit
Part Number: KHX1600C9D3K6/12GX
Capacity and Features : 12GB 1600MHz (CL9-9-9-27 @ 1.65v)
DDR3 kit of 6 optimized for XMP
Local distributors, please contact American Best T: 662-231-6452. Ingram Micro Thailand T: 662-793-1888. Silicon Data Co., Ltd. T: 662-219-2012 Synnex (Thailand) Co., Ltd. T: 662-553-8888
To discuss this product on Kingston Blog, please go to www.kingston-blog.com.
To try the game “Challenge Your Memory”, please go to www.kingston-blog.com/challenge_your_memory/en/.
To find out if your Kingston product is genuine, Kingston also provides an online verification site: http://www.kingston.com/thailand/verify/default.asp. To try the game “Search for Genuine Kingston”, please go to http://anti-counterfeit.kingston-blog.com/th_index.jsp
About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and sales representatives in the United States, Taiwan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com/thailand.
Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Astro Boy manga to hit US iPhones
Japan's Astro Boy and other comic heroes by late manga legend Osamu Tezuka will soon appear on iPhones and iPods in the United States, Japanese companies said recently.
The English-language Weekly Astro Boy Magazine will be available for iPhone and iPod touch users as early as this month in volumes of about 100 pages each, said Tezuka Productions Co. and D-Arc Inc.
The first large-volume manga service for mobile devices entirely in English comes after the release this weekend of a modern 3D computer animation take on Astro Boy in the United States and China.
First sketched by Tezuka in the 1950s,the Astro Boy series charmed children across the globe with its tale of a powerful little robot boy built by a scientist in the image of his deceased son.
A number of versions of the story have been produced since, most famously the 1960s series which heralded the rise of the influential Japanese anime style of cartoons used in television and film.
The first mobile-device trial volume is free, and the companies aim for one million downloads, said Yoshihide Kinokawa, a director at D-Arc, who was behind the development of the English-language cartoon delivery for iPhones.
Each volume afterwards will sell at 99 cents per weekly.
Readers can see the whole page on the screen and zoom in for close-ups of individual cartoon cells.
"I hope people who saw the movie will want to read the original," Kinokawa said. The companies plan to expand the service to other countries gradually.
The digital weekly will also carry Phoenix ,Black Jack and other works by the late "God of Manga."
The English-language Weekly Astro Boy Magazine will be available for iPhone and iPod touch users as early as this month in volumes of about 100 pages each, said Tezuka Productions Co. and D-Arc Inc.
The first large-volume manga service for mobile devices entirely in English comes after the release this weekend of a modern 3D computer animation take on Astro Boy in the United States and China.
First sketched by Tezuka in the 1950s,the Astro Boy series charmed children across the globe with its tale of a powerful little robot boy built by a scientist in the image of his deceased son.
A number of versions of the story have been produced since, most famously the 1960s series which heralded the rise of the influential Japanese anime style of cartoons used in television and film.
The first mobile-device trial volume is free, and the companies aim for one million downloads, said Yoshihide Kinokawa, a director at D-Arc, who was behind the development of the English-language cartoon delivery for iPhones.
Each volume afterwards will sell at 99 cents per weekly.
Readers can see the whole page on the screen and zoom in for close-ups of individual cartoon cells.
"I hope people who saw the movie will want to read the original," Kinokawa said. The companies plan to expand the service to other countries gradually.
The digital weekly will also carry Phoenix ,Black Jack and other works by the late "God of Manga."
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sony, Fuji boost share of digital-camera market
Digital-camera makers Sony and Fuji have both been able to boost market share this year despite the slowing economy.
Sony Thai yesterday said its share of the digital-camera market had increased by 5 percentage points from last year to 30 per cent.
Fuji's share has risen slightly to 12 per cent.
Sony is the market leader in Thailand, while Fuji is ranked fourth.
Both companies claim their unit sales in the first eight months of the year were better than the market. Sony's sales dropped by less than the market's decline, while Fuji maintained sales from a year earlier.
Taisuke Nakanishi, managing director of Sony Thai, said Sony had maintained its market leadership in the compact digital-camera market with a share of 30 per cent. This, he said, was because Sony is still recognised by consumers as the strong brand for innovative and hi-tech products.
"Amid the economic slowdown, consumers have to keep more of their money in their pockets. If they want to spend, they have to look for value-for-money products and a strong brand they can trust. Our market share during the first eight months increased from last year, while those of smaller brands shrank," he said.
According to Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand)'s electrical-appliance market report revealed last week, unit sales in the digital-camera market from January to July dropped by about 10 per cent from the same period last year.
Nakanishi said Sony's unit sales were expected to pick up in the second half of the year.
Sittiwech Sawedpat, manager for electronic imaging products, Fujifilm (Thailand), said the company had been able to maintain its unit sales from last year because most of its digital compact cameras are priced below Bt10,000.
Sony and Fuji yesterday launched new cameras in order to boost sales in the final quarter. Both companies have focused on innovative products so that they can tap tech-loving shoppers that are willing to spend on new-technology products.
Sony has launched two new Cyber-shot cameras - the DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX - while Fuji has introduced the FinePix S200EXR, FinePix F70EXR and the world's first 3-D digital camera.
Cherdpong Tantipoontam, Sony marketing manager, digital imaging II section, consumer marketing division, said the company expected the new models to boost sales this quarter and maintain unit sales from last year.
The new cameras represent Sony's strategic policy of expanding its customer base in the tech-lovers' segment, as this target group has been less impacted by the global economic crisis.
He said the largest portion of clients using Sony's products were tech-lovers, followed by image-conscious shoppers.
Manus Kanokpaipipat, Fujifilm director and general manager, forecast overall Thai camera sales this year at about 900,000, against the 1 million devices estimated by several manufacturers.
Fuji expects to sell 135,000 digital compact cameras this year, 13-14 per cent higher than last year's 110,000 units.
Sony Thai yesterday said its share of the digital-camera market had increased by 5 percentage points from last year to 30 per cent.
Fuji's share has risen slightly to 12 per cent.
Sony is the market leader in Thailand, while Fuji is ranked fourth.
Both companies claim their unit sales in the first eight months of the year were better than the market. Sony's sales dropped by less than the market's decline, while Fuji maintained sales from a year earlier.
Taisuke Nakanishi, managing director of Sony Thai, said Sony had maintained its market leadership in the compact digital-camera market with a share of 30 per cent. This, he said, was because Sony is still recognised by consumers as the strong brand for innovative and hi-tech products.
"Amid the economic slowdown, consumers have to keep more of their money in their pockets. If they want to spend, they have to look for value-for-money products and a strong brand they can trust. Our market share during the first eight months increased from last year, while those of smaller brands shrank," he said.
According to Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand)'s electrical-appliance market report revealed last week, unit sales in the digital-camera market from January to July dropped by about 10 per cent from the same period last year.
Nakanishi said Sony's unit sales were expected to pick up in the second half of the year.
Sittiwech Sawedpat, manager for electronic imaging products, Fujifilm (Thailand), said the company had been able to maintain its unit sales from last year because most of its digital compact cameras are priced below Bt10,000.
Sony and Fuji yesterday launched new cameras in order to boost sales in the final quarter. Both companies have focused on innovative products so that they can tap tech-loving shoppers that are willing to spend on new-technology products.
Sony has launched two new Cyber-shot cameras - the DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX - while Fuji has introduced the FinePix S200EXR, FinePix F70EXR and the world's first 3-D digital camera.
Cherdpong Tantipoontam, Sony marketing manager, digital imaging II section, consumer marketing division, said the company expected the new models to boost sales this quarter and maintain unit sales from last year.
The new cameras represent Sony's strategic policy of expanding its customer base in the tech-lovers' segment, as this target group has been less impacted by the global economic crisis.
He said the largest portion of clients using Sony's products were tech-lovers, followed by image-conscious shoppers.
Manus Kanokpaipipat, Fujifilm director and general manager, forecast overall Thai camera sales this year at about 900,000, against the 1 million devices estimated by several manufacturers.
Fuji expects to sell 135,000 digital compact cameras this year, 13-14 per cent higher than last year's 110,000 units.
Camera-makers focus on high end, professional segments
Major camera brands are going ahead with development of advanced and innovative products to tap techno-savvy shoppers who are still willing to pay for the latest technology.
Meanwhile, digital cameras focused on the mass market seem to have less attraction for leading brands amid the economic slowdown, as a serious price war continues to be waged in this segment.
Sony Thai last week launched two new models of its Cyber-shot camera equipped with advanced imaging technology. It also introduced the Party-shot, a new digital camera accessory that features an auto-shooting system, for use with the new models.
According to Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand)'s latest report on the digital camera market, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and cameras for professionals show the most potential for growth this year and in the near future. Total camera sales this year are forecast at 1.1 million units. DSLR and professional cameras are expected to account for 6 percent of the total market this year.
Yoji Higashida, senior director, consumer market, Sony Thai, said last week that Sony recently conducted research on roughly 5,000 general consumers. The company identified six groups of IT consumers from the survey. The first three groups are the "Image Conscious", or shoppers who buy IT products for their image, "Connectors", who use IT products to make contact with others, and the "Techno Savvy" group.
Among these groups, the Techno Savvy show the most potential, as they are willing to spend on the latest technology despite the economic slowdown. Therefore, Sony Thai is paying most attention to this group.
The latest Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras are the DSC-TX1 and WX1. The highlight of the two models are the new Exmor R CMOS sensor, which can reduce the "noise" in images by roughly 50 percent, granting users an opportunity to take cleaner photos at higher definition, even in dimly-lit environments, Sony's Sweep Panorama and 10-frames-per-second-burst shooting features are also included.
Another highlight is Party-shot. Users insert the two new Sony digital camera models into the dock of the device. The product is uses Sony's face-detection and smile-detection technologies, intelligent auto-shooting, pans and zooms to enable the cameras to take pictures by themselves.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1, DSC-WX1 and Party-shot are priced at Bt13,990, Bt12,990 and Bt4,990, respectively.
Sittiwech Sawedpat, manager, electronic imaging products, Fujifilm (Thailand), said Fuji would for the first time seriously focus on products priced at more than Bt10,000 each.
Almost all of Fuji's digital cameras are priced below Bt10,000.
Sittiwech said Fuji would also launch the world's first 3-dimensions camera - FinePix Real 3D W1 - at a photography fair to be held in November this year. Users can view 3D pictures on an LCD screen without 3D eyeglasses.
"We should do well if we focus on techno-savvy consumers. I believe that the 3D camera will be the trend in digital cameras next year. We asked Fuji headquarters in Japan to deliver 300 3D cameras to the market in Thailand this year, but we will get only 30 units this year. We expect to sell the entire lot of 3D cameras at the fair," he said.
Premium camera brand Leica recently introduced several new products, as well. Two are the Leica M9 and Leica S2, which are priced at Bt289,000 and Bt890,000, respectively. The cameras are targeted at professionals, a niche market that still needs new technology.
Jimmy Soo, regional manager, Schmidt Marketing (Singapore), Leica's distributor overseeing the Thai and Singaporean markets, said the company's sales in Thailand were still growing but below projections.
The firm expects the Thai market to grow by 10 percent in terms of sales this fiscal year (ending March 2010).
Chitchai Thienkanjanawong, sales and marketing manager for major digital-camera retail chain Big Camera, said DSLR and digital compact pro consumer cameras would be the two segments with the most growth potential over the next two years.
Big Camera plans to invest Bt15 million to Bt20 million next year to renovate existing shops located in shopping malls. It aims to tap high-end shoppers with potential to spend in tough market situations.
The total digital-camera market this year is expected to be worth about Bt10 billion. DSLR cameras are forecast o account for 20 percent of that market.
Meanwhile, digital cameras focused on the mass market seem to have less attraction for leading brands amid the economic slowdown, as a serious price war continues to be waged in this segment.
Sony Thai last week launched two new models of its Cyber-shot camera equipped with advanced imaging technology. It also introduced the Party-shot, a new digital camera accessory that features an auto-shooting system, for use with the new models.
According to Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand)'s latest report on the digital camera market, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and cameras for professionals show the most potential for growth this year and in the near future. Total camera sales this year are forecast at 1.1 million units. DSLR and professional cameras are expected to account for 6 percent of the total market this year.
Yoji Higashida, senior director, consumer market, Sony Thai, said last week that Sony recently conducted research on roughly 5,000 general consumers. The company identified six groups of IT consumers from the survey. The first three groups are the "Image Conscious", or shoppers who buy IT products for their image, "Connectors", who use IT products to make contact with others, and the "Techno Savvy" group.
Among these groups, the Techno Savvy show the most potential, as they are willing to spend on the latest technology despite the economic slowdown. Therefore, Sony Thai is paying most attention to this group.
The latest Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras are the DSC-TX1 and WX1. The highlight of the two models are the new Exmor R CMOS sensor, which can reduce the "noise" in images by roughly 50 percent, granting users an opportunity to take cleaner photos at higher definition, even in dimly-lit environments, Sony's Sweep Panorama and 10-frames-per-second-burst shooting features are also included.
Another highlight is Party-shot. Users insert the two new Sony digital camera models into the dock of the device. The product is uses Sony's face-detection and smile-detection technologies, intelligent auto-shooting, pans and zooms to enable the cameras to take pictures by themselves.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1, DSC-WX1 and Party-shot are priced at Bt13,990, Bt12,990 and Bt4,990, respectively.
Sittiwech Sawedpat, manager, electronic imaging products, Fujifilm (Thailand), said Fuji would for the first time seriously focus on products priced at more than Bt10,000 each.
Almost all of Fuji's digital cameras are priced below Bt10,000.
Sittiwech said Fuji would also launch the world's first 3-dimensions camera - FinePix Real 3D W1 - at a photography fair to be held in November this year. Users can view 3D pictures on an LCD screen without 3D eyeglasses.
"We should do well if we focus on techno-savvy consumers. I believe that the 3D camera will be the trend in digital cameras next year. We asked Fuji headquarters in Japan to deliver 300 3D cameras to the market in Thailand this year, but we will get only 30 units this year. We expect to sell the entire lot of 3D cameras at the fair," he said.
Premium camera brand Leica recently introduced several new products, as well. Two are the Leica M9 and Leica S2, which are priced at Bt289,000 and Bt890,000, respectively. The cameras are targeted at professionals, a niche market that still needs new technology.
Jimmy Soo, regional manager, Schmidt Marketing (Singapore), Leica's distributor overseeing the Thai and Singaporean markets, said the company's sales in Thailand were still growing but below projections.
The firm expects the Thai market to grow by 10 percent in terms of sales this fiscal year (ending March 2010).
Chitchai Thienkanjanawong, sales and marketing manager for major digital-camera retail chain Big Camera, said DSLR and digital compact pro consumer cameras would be the two segments with the most growth potential over the next two years.
Big Camera plans to invest Bt15 million to Bt20 million next year to renovate existing shops located in shopping malls. It aims to tap high-end shoppers with potential to spend in tough market situations.
The total digital-camera market this year is expected to be worth about Bt10 billion. DSLR cameras are forecast o account for 20 percent of that market.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
PENTAX OPTIO E70
Digital cameras make life easier: no extra money on film, images viewable seconds after you've snapped, and they work as a great pick-up line:"You look like you're man enough to handle a camera. Could you take our picture?"
But with every perk, comes less than desirable picture-taking situations. To avoid common camera conundrums (CCC) we can look to the Pentax Optio E70. CCC 1: Mode Mix-Ups
"Go stand near that funny-looking woman. I want to get her in the background of the photo! Ready?Wait, why isn't it taking a picture?Oh, it's in video mode!"
While many probably don't know what purpose half the buttons on digital cameras serve, the E70 fixes that with large, spacious icons. You don't need doll's tea set hands to press the knobs, and you'll never "accidentally" make a sex tape by leaving the video function on. CCC 2: Spotting Sexy Singles
"I want to take a picture of that hot girl walking by, but she's moving so fast!"The E70 has a setting that can be used for good (or evil; up to you). With its Pixel Track SR mode, the camera reduces the effects of motion blur by sharpening fuzzy pixels. This works for hyperactive pets and children too. CCC 3: Charging Challenges
"I forgot to charge my camera! Now I don't even have the option of taking pictures of funny-looking or hot people!"
Even with all its digital glory, the E70 uses simple AA batteries. It's a perfect addition for your travels - to take shots to make the rest of us jealous - and with 10 megapixels and simple features, you'll definitely be able to overcome CCC.
But with every perk, comes less than desirable picture-taking situations. To avoid common camera conundrums (CCC) we can look to the Pentax Optio E70. CCC 1: Mode Mix-Ups
"Go stand near that funny-looking woman. I want to get her in the background of the photo! Ready?Wait, why isn't it taking a picture?Oh, it's in video mode!"
While many probably don't know what purpose half the buttons on digital cameras serve, the E70 fixes that with large, spacious icons. You don't need doll's tea set hands to press the knobs, and you'll never "accidentally" make a sex tape by leaving the video function on. CCC 2: Spotting Sexy Singles
"I want to take a picture of that hot girl walking by, but she's moving so fast!"The E70 has a setting that can be used for good (or evil; up to you). With its Pixel Track SR mode, the camera reduces the effects of motion blur by sharpening fuzzy pixels. This works for hyperactive pets and children too. CCC 3: Charging Challenges
"I forgot to charge my camera! Now I don't even have the option of taking pictures of funny-looking or hot people!"
Even with all its digital glory, the E70 uses simple AA batteries. It's a perfect addition for your travels - to take shots to make the rest of us jealous - and with 10 megapixels and simple features, you'll definitely be able to overcome CCC.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Canon to franchise photo-book service
Canon Marketing (Thailand) will franchise its photo book-making service next quarter to tap rising demand from consumers in the near future, while its traditional enterprise market has been throttled by the global crisis.
"The photo book-making service overseas such as in the US is very popular, as the business so far this year has grown by 35 per cent from last year. We expect our revenue from the new business to grow not less than that in the US," Soontorn Pantaramongkon, senior director and general manager for business imakging solutions, said yesterday.
Canon wants to diversify risk from the corporate market, which took the brunt of the economic slump, while the retail market was relatively unscathed.
The company along with its strategic partner in photo book-making - Sib Khon - were preparing a franchise business model under the brand "imageGang by Canon", as well as a marketing plan aimed at whipping up consumer demand.
The companies plan to unveil the new business model next quarter.
Canon Marketing will recognise revenue from the business by selling printing solutions and after-sales services to the franchisees.
Sib Khon has designed photo book-making software to use with Canon's Press C6000 digital image printer. Canon and Sib Khon started the business at the beginning of this year by setting up the first branch in Siam Square.
The photo book-making service is under Canon's print on-demand business unit (POD). Sales of Canon printers have dropped from last year, while sales of products from the POD and the professional and graphic arts business unit (PGA) have increased by 50 per cent.
About 80 per cent of Canon's revenue comes from multifunction photocopiers, and colour and black-and-white digital printers.
The overall market for those products in the first half of the year slid by 15 per cent from the same half in 2008. Although Canon has lost share in that business - from 23 per cent last year to 20 per cent - it is still the market leader.
POD and PGA focus on printing for young entrepreneurs and SMEs, whose printing volumes are smaller than that of a large corporation.
Examples of printing materials are business cards, manuals, brochures, cards, posters, leaflets and coupons.
Canon targets its total revenue rising 18 per cent this year to Bt1.28 billion, with Bt60 million generated by POD and PGA. That forecast excludes revenue from photo book-making service, which is quite difficult to evaluate this year.
"The photo book-making service overseas such as in the US is very popular, as the business so far this year has grown by 35 per cent from last year. We expect our revenue from the new business to grow not less than that in the US," Soontorn Pantaramongkon, senior director and general manager for business imakging solutions, said yesterday.
Canon wants to diversify risk from the corporate market, which took the brunt of the economic slump, while the retail market was relatively unscathed.
The company along with its strategic partner in photo book-making - Sib Khon - were preparing a franchise business model under the brand "imageGang by Canon", as well as a marketing plan aimed at whipping up consumer demand.
The companies plan to unveil the new business model next quarter.
Canon Marketing will recognise revenue from the business by selling printing solutions and after-sales services to the franchisees.
Sib Khon has designed photo book-making software to use with Canon's Press C6000 digital image printer. Canon and Sib Khon started the business at the beginning of this year by setting up the first branch in Siam Square.
The photo book-making service is under Canon's print on-demand business unit (POD). Sales of Canon printers have dropped from last year, while sales of products from the POD and the professional and graphic arts business unit (PGA) have increased by 50 per cent.
About 80 per cent of Canon's revenue comes from multifunction photocopiers, and colour and black-and-white digital printers.
The overall market for those products in the first half of the year slid by 15 per cent from the same half in 2008. Although Canon has lost share in that business - from 23 per cent last year to 20 per cent - it is still the market leader.
POD and PGA focus on printing for young entrepreneurs and SMEs, whose printing volumes are smaller than that of a large corporation.
Examples of printing materials are business cards, manuals, brochures, cards, posters, leaflets and coupons.
Canon targets its total revenue rising 18 per cent this year to Bt1.28 billion, with Bt60 million generated by POD and PGA. That forecast excludes revenue from photo book-making service, which is quite difficult to evaluate this year.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A CLOSE-UP TALE OF TWO CITIES
How does Berlin compare visually to New York, the epitome of the modern metropolis? German photographer Gerrit Engel has lined the walls of Munich's International Design Museum with nearly 70 images of both, but it's not just a contrast in skylines.
Berline - which next month marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - can't match Manhattan's array of skyscrapers, but in Engel's survey, its buildings have character to spare.
Engel, 44, is an Essen native who trained in architecture and photography in Munich and New York. His acclainmed 1997 debut as a photographer involved images of grain elevators, a theme that had previously drawn Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier.
In the current exhibition, continuing through Novermber 1, Engel examines his subject buildings like a scientist studying exotic beings.
His "portraits" of houses present individual faces that become a panorama of the city.
Photos from both cities are gathered in groups according to similar characteristics and history. There are massive enlargements of some images mounted in the middle of the gallery, among them such familiar edifices as the Trump Tower, Sony Plaza and Rockefeller Centre.
Anything but postcards, the pictures carry all the realism of broad daylight - no pretty red glow or even a blue aky. The soft, milky grey and white shades of the sky allow the details and nuances of colour to stand out in even greater clarity.
The show is a breath of fresh air, a chance to see these cities as never before. New York is renowned for its magnificent skyline, but it's remarkable to see the components singled out, such as the aptly named Majestic Apartments, built in 1931.
There are many such surprises, such as the fact - little known to outsiders - that Manhattan has white wooden houses. Engel's shots of the Morris-Jumel Mansion and the romantic Engine Company No 31, resembling a little castle, give New York a homier perspective than is usually depicted in the news media.
The exhibition is rather small but lots of fun ride. You can visit two great cities in the space of an hour and see both in a whole new light.
Find out more at www.Die-Neue-Sammlung.de.
Berline - which next month marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - can't match Manhattan's array of skyscrapers, but in Engel's survey, its buildings have character to spare.
Engel, 44, is an Essen native who trained in architecture and photography in Munich and New York. His acclainmed 1997 debut as a photographer involved images of grain elevators, a theme that had previously drawn Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier.
In the current exhibition, continuing through Novermber 1, Engel examines his subject buildings like a scientist studying exotic beings.
His "portraits" of houses present individual faces that become a panorama of the city.
Photos from both cities are gathered in groups according to similar characteristics and history. There are massive enlargements of some images mounted in the middle of the gallery, among them such familiar edifices as the Trump Tower, Sony Plaza and Rockefeller Centre.
Anything but postcards, the pictures carry all the realism of broad daylight - no pretty red glow or even a blue aky. The soft, milky grey and white shades of the sky allow the details and nuances of colour to stand out in even greater clarity.
The show is a breath of fresh air, a chance to see these cities as never before. New York is renowned for its magnificent skyline, but it's remarkable to see the components singled out, such as the aptly named Majestic Apartments, built in 1931.
There are many such surprises, such as the fact - little known to outsiders - that Manhattan has white wooden houses. Engel's shots of the Morris-Jumel Mansion and the romantic Engine Company No 31, resembling a little castle, give New York a homier perspective than is usually depicted in the news media.
The exhibition is rather small but lots of fun ride. You can visit two great cities in the space of an hour and see both in a whole new light.
Find out more at www.Die-Neue-Sammlung.de.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
GORGEOUS GADGETS GALORE!
The latest line of devices that keep you up to the times without jeopardising your sense of style
Super sleek and slick
Okay fashionistas, your dream phone has just arrived! LG has recently released the spectacular LG BL40 Chocolate, which is included in its Black Label line. The universal remote lookalike houses a stunning 4-inch display with full cinematic screen (21:9). The high-definition real VGA LCD supports a 345x800 pixel resolution and projects a dualscreen UI that can display two different types of content at the same time. Made out of curved,tempered glass and featuringa5megapixel camera with LED flash, the super sleek and slick device retails at $499(17,020 baht).
A headphone case with style
Paul Frank brings you a very fashionable way to protect your iPod touch. Made from super-durable silicone, the Paul Frank Headphones Julius Case for iPod touch (2nd generation) hugs your iPod touch and keeps it safe from accidental damage while you enjoy listening to music on the go. The flexible outerwear also allows functionality with cut-outs providing access to all touch controls,headphone jack and dock connector for easy in-case use. The Headphones Julius Case is definitely a great way to protect and add a Paul Frank style to your sleek iPod touch without extra bulk. The Paul Frank Headphones Julius Case retails at $29.95(1,018 baht).
All-in-one booklet Nokia delivers a brand new breed of portable devices with its Nokia Booklet 3G - a Windows-based mini laptop PC supported by Intel Atom Processor.With a battery life of up to 12 hours, the Booklet comes toting a glass 10.1-inch HD display with HDMI port for HD video out. Packed with 3G/HSPA/Wi-Fi/Ovi/Built-in camera/Bluetooth/Built-in SD card reader and on-board assisted GPS, the Booklet also supports hot-swappable SIM card functionality.
All of which are placed within a smart aluminium shell that measures in at just 2cm thin and tips the scales at just 1kg.
Expect Nokia's new wave sensation soon!
Must-have running gear
Nike recently unveiled its new Nike+ SportBand to make sure that all beloved runners can achieve real time performance feedback on their distance, pace, time and calories burned with just a glance at their wrist. Not only does it come with a new visibility-enhanced screen and a welded seal to improve water resistance,the Nike+ SportBand also allows runners to enjoy their favourite tunes through its Apple iPod nano, iTouch or iPhone systems. And thanks to Nikeplus.com,runners will be able to find the right gear, the latest event details, track progress and even connect with friends. The Nike+ SportBand retails at 2,190 baht.
Heavenly halal!
Let's altogether, people of all religious beliefs, welcome the month of Ramadan with Eat's My World - the new halal restaurant in town. Located at CentralWorld,7th Floor, Eat's My World features international,100 percent halal cuisines so that you can enjoy all of your favourite dishes from around the world.And since the kitchen is ruled by two young chefs - Bilal and Yassin from Paris, France - you can be sure that this will be the most interesting halal food you'll ever experience here in Bangkok. Recommended dishes are: burritos, grilled duck, chicken creole, cheeseburgers, red curry and tom yum kung. Lunch set,149 baht; Steak Set,249 baht; and Dinner Set,299 baht.
All-weather headset
Jawbone boasts that its Jawbone PRIME(TM) is the best Bluetooth headset they have ever created; continuing Aliph's tradition of marrying technology and design to deliver the best Bluetooth headset on the market. With NoiseAssasin 2.0, Acoustic Voice Activity Detector (Avad), Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) and Digital Signal Processing (DAS), means you'll be able to talk in a tsunami storm if you'd like. In short,Jawbone PRIME(TM) brings you even better audio quality,improved comfort and fresh, fun colour choices. What more could you ask for? Jawbone PRIME(TM) retails at $129.99 (4,421 baht). Check out http://us.jawbone.com.
Speakers that rock!
Bowers & Wilkins shows off its sound system mastery, this time with its first iPod speaker named after the legendary rock band,(Led) Zeppelin. Zeppelin is the first integrated iPod speaker system by the design-house, which takes its quest for true sound to a whole new level as Zeppelin provides a level of sound quality usually available only through dedicated hi-fi separates.Compatible with all the latest generations of iPods and connections at the back of the iPod speaker system allows the user to play other sources such as channelling images from the iPod to the television. All hail the new speaker and the band! Zeppelin rocks! Check out www.bowers-wilkins.com.
Super sleek and slick
Okay fashionistas, your dream phone has just arrived! LG has recently released the spectacular LG BL40 Chocolate, which is included in its Black Label line. The universal remote lookalike houses a stunning 4-inch display with full cinematic screen (21:9). The high-definition real VGA LCD supports a 345x800 pixel resolution and projects a dualscreen UI that can display two different types of content at the same time. Made out of curved,tempered glass and featuringa5megapixel camera with LED flash, the super sleek and slick device retails at $499(17,020 baht).
A headphone case with style
Paul Frank brings you a very fashionable way to protect your iPod touch. Made from super-durable silicone, the Paul Frank Headphones Julius Case for iPod touch (2nd generation) hugs your iPod touch and keeps it safe from accidental damage while you enjoy listening to music on the go. The flexible outerwear also allows functionality with cut-outs providing access to all touch controls,headphone jack and dock connector for easy in-case use. The Headphones Julius Case is definitely a great way to protect and add a Paul Frank style to your sleek iPod touch without extra bulk. The Paul Frank Headphones Julius Case retails at $29.95(1,018 baht).
All-in-one booklet Nokia delivers a brand new breed of portable devices with its Nokia Booklet 3G - a Windows-based mini laptop PC supported by Intel Atom Processor.With a battery life of up to 12 hours, the Booklet comes toting a glass 10.1-inch HD display with HDMI port for HD video out. Packed with 3G/HSPA/Wi-Fi/Ovi/Built-in camera/Bluetooth/Built-in SD card reader and on-board assisted GPS, the Booklet also supports hot-swappable SIM card functionality.
All of which are placed within a smart aluminium shell that measures in at just 2cm thin and tips the scales at just 1kg.
Expect Nokia's new wave sensation soon!
Must-have running gear
Nike recently unveiled its new Nike+ SportBand to make sure that all beloved runners can achieve real time performance feedback on their distance, pace, time and calories burned with just a glance at their wrist. Not only does it come with a new visibility-enhanced screen and a welded seal to improve water resistance,the Nike+ SportBand also allows runners to enjoy their favourite tunes through its Apple iPod nano, iTouch or iPhone systems. And thanks to Nikeplus.com,runners will be able to find the right gear, the latest event details, track progress and even connect with friends. The Nike+ SportBand retails at 2,190 baht.
Heavenly halal!
Let's altogether, people of all religious beliefs, welcome the month of Ramadan with Eat's My World - the new halal restaurant in town. Located at CentralWorld,7th Floor, Eat's My World features international,100 percent halal cuisines so that you can enjoy all of your favourite dishes from around the world.And since the kitchen is ruled by two young chefs - Bilal and Yassin from Paris, France - you can be sure that this will be the most interesting halal food you'll ever experience here in Bangkok. Recommended dishes are: burritos, grilled duck, chicken creole, cheeseburgers, red curry and tom yum kung. Lunch set,149 baht; Steak Set,249 baht; and Dinner Set,299 baht.
All-weather headset
Jawbone boasts that its Jawbone PRIME(TM) is the best Bluetooth headset they have ever created; continuing Aliph's tradition of marrying technology and design to deliver the best Bluetooth headset on the market. With NoiseAssasin 2.0, Acoustic Voice Activity Detector (Avad), Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) and Digital Signal Processing (DAS), means you'll be able to talk in a tsunami storm if you'd like. In short,Jawbone PRIME(TM) brings you even better audio quality,improved comfort and fresh, fun colour choices. What more could you ask for? Jawbone PRIME(TM) retails at $129.99 (4,421 baht). Check out http://us.jawbone.com.
Speakers that rock!
Bowers & Wilkins shows off its sound system mastery, this time with its first iPod speaker named after the legendary rock band,(Led) Zeppelin. Zeppelin is the first integrated iPod speaker system by the design-house, which takes its quest for true sound to a whole new level as Zeppelin provides a level of sound quality usually available only through dedicated hi-fi separates.Compatible with all the latest generations of iPods and connections at the back of the iPod speaker system allows the user to play other sources such as channelling images from the iPod to the television. All hail the new speaker and the band! Zeppelin rocks! Check out www.bowers-wilkins.com.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Steve Jobs returns for highlight event
Charismatic Apple CEO Steve Jobs returned to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership last week, taking the stage for the first time since lengthy medical leave to undergo a liver transplant.
He announced the latest collection of updates to Apple's iPod range:
Nano with a video camera: The Nano, the smallest iPod that has a screen, now comes with a built-in video camera, a microphone, a pedometer, a 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner. It costs US$149 (Bt5,100) for an 8-gigabyte version or $179 for a 16GB model.
Price cuts and storage expansion: The 8GB model of the iPod Touch-basically an iPhone without the phone capabilities - now costs $199, or $30 less. Apple kept prices constant for its larger models, but doubled the storage space; the price tag for a 32GB version is now $299 and a 64GB model sells for $399.
Colourful shuffles: The tiny $79 4GB Shuffle now comes in silver, black, pink, blue and green. A smaller, less expensive version was added - $59 for a 2GB model, also in multiple colours.
Beefier classic: The traditional iPod model now has a 160GB hard drive - a 40GB boost in storage - for the existing price of $249.
Itunes upgrade: The iTunes 9 has cleaned-up software design. It gives users more control over what gets loaded on to iPods and iPhones and introduces a way to organise applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also lets five computers on the same home network share - by streaming or copying - music, video and other content, a departure from the strict copy-right protection that Apple has earlier insisted upon.
Digital albums: ITunes will now sell some albums packged with digital photography, cover art, liner notes and other media reminiscent of the days of vinyl. ITunes LP can include interviews and other video, all of which can be viewed through iTunes. It's a way for recording companies to boost album sales as online stores make it easier to buy songs individually.
He announced the latest collection of updates to Apple's iPod range:
Nano with a video camera: The Nano, the smallest iPod that has a screen, now comes with a built-in video camera, a microphone, a pedometer, a 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner. It costs US$149 (Bt5,100) for an 8-gigabyte version or $179 for a 16GB model.
Price cuts and storage expansion: The 8GB model of the iPod Touch-basically an iPhone without the phone capabilities - now costs $199, or $30 less. Apple kept prices constant for its larger models, but doubled the storage space; the price tag for a 32GB version is now $299 and a 64GB model sells for $399.
Colourful shuffles: The tiny $79 4GB Shuffle now comes in silver, black, pink, blue and green. A smaller, less expensive version was added - $59 for a 2GB model, also in multiple colours.
Beefier classic: The traditional iPod model now has a 160GB hard drive - a 40GB boost in storage - for the existing price of $249.
Itunes upgrade: The iTunes 9 has cleaned-up software design. It gives users more control over what gets loaded on to iPods and iPhones and introduces a way to organise applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also lets five computers on the same home network share - by streaming or copying - music, video and other content, a departure from the strict copy-right protection that Apple has earlier insisted upon.
Digital albums: ITunes will now sell some albums packged with digital photography, cover art, liner notes and other media reminiscent of the days of vinyl. ITunes LP can include interviews and other video, all of which can be viewed through iTunes. It's a way for recording companies to boost album sales as online stores make it easier to buy songs individually.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
APPLE INVESTORS ARE LOOKING BEYOND STEVE JOBS
Apple investors focused on the shortcoming of a new iPod line-up rather than on the reappearance of chief executive Steve Jobs at a product event in San Francisco on Thursday, analysts said.
Apple fell as much as 1.9 per cent yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after Jobs introduced an iPod Nano with a video camera and cut prices on other models. Some investors had expected more, such as an iPod Touch with a camera, said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech.
"That was one potential negative to offset the potential positive surprise that we saw with Steve's appearance," said Marshall.
Investors are less focused on Jobs than they used to be, he said. "The investment community is very comfortable with Apple's existing management team in addition to Steve."
Jobs, 54, spoke publicly about his liver transplant for the first time. he said he now has the liver of a person in their mid-20s who died in a car crash and had donated their organs.
"I would not be here without such generosity," Jobs said. "I'm vertical. I am back at Apple and loving every minute of it."
Jobs, who went on an almost six-month medical levae in January, last appeared at a company event in October, when he introduced Macintosh notebooks.
Dressed in his trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck, Jobs appeared to a standing ovation and spoke for about a half-hour. He mingled with the crowd after his presentation.
Jobs relied on a team of executives, including product marketing chief Phil Schiller, to oversee company events while he was on leave.
Chief operating officer Tim Cook handled Apple's day-to-day management. The executives ran the company "very ably" in his absence, Jobs said. He returned to Apple in June, staying out of the spotlight until yesterday.
"The big news is Steve Jobs looks relatively well," said Ryan Jacob, a fund manager at Jacob Asset Management in Los Angeles. He manages about $40 million, and Apple is one of the fund's largest holdings. "Obviously he's been back at work, but I think it's encouraging that he's well enought to make a full presentation."
Apple's iPhone sales have climbed to 30 million, Jobs said. There are now more than 75,000 applications available at the company's App Store, and users have downloaded more than 1.8 billion of the programmes, he siad. An iPhone version of Electronic Arts' John Madden football game went on sales recently.
Cook was in the audience at the event, along with Apple retail chief Ron Johnson and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In addition to a video camera, the new iPod Nano has an FM radio and pedometre. The 8-gigabyte device costs $149, while a 16-gigabyte model goes for $179. It will compete against products such as Cisco Systems' Flip camera.
Cisco, the largest maker of networking equipment, said it welcomes new competition and that increased use of video will help sales of its routers and switches.
"We are flattered that Apple and others perceive video is an important market," said Jonathan Kaplan, general manager of the consumer product unit at San Jose, California-based Cisco.
Obviously he's been back at work since June but some analysts think it's encouraging that he's well enough to make a full presentation.
Apple fell as much as 1.9 per cent yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after Jobs introduced an iPod Nano with a video camera and cut prices on other models. Some investors had expected more, such as an iPod Touch with a camera, said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech.
"That was one potential negative to offset the potential positive surprise that we saw with Steve's appearance," said Marshall.
Investors are less focused on Jobs than they used to be, he said. "The investment community is very comfortable with Apple's existing management team in addition to Steve."
Jobs, 54, spoke publicly about his liver transplant for the first time. he said he now has the liver of a person in their mid-20s who died in a car crash and had donated their organs.
"I would not be here without such generosity," Jobs said. "I'm vertical. I am back at Apple and loving every minute of it."
Jobs, who went on an almost six-month medical levae in January, last appeared at a company event in October, when he introduced Macintosh notebooks.
Dressed in his trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck, Jobs appeared to a standing ovation and spoke for about a half-hour. He mingled with the crowd after his presentation.
Jobs relied on a team of executives, including product marketing chief Phil Schiller, to oversee company events while he was on leave.
Chief operating officer Tim Cook handled Apple's day-to-day management. The executives ran the company "very ably" in his absence, Jobs said. He returned to Apple in June, staying out of the spotlight until yesterday.
"The big news is Steve Jobs looks relatively well," said Ryan Jacob, a fund manager at Jacob Asset Management in Los Angeles. He manages about $40 million, and Apple is one of the fund's largest holdings. "Obviously he's been back at work, but I think it's encouraging that he's well enought to make a full presentation."
Apple's iPhone sales have climbed to 30 million, Jobs said. There are now more than 75,000 applications available at the company's App Store, and users have downloaded more than 1.8 billion of the programmes, he siad. An iPhone version of Electronic Arts' John Madden football game went on sales recently.
Cook was in the audience at the event, along with Apple retail chief Ron Johnson and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In addition to a video camera, the new iPod Nano has an FM radio and pedometre. The 8-gigabyte device costs $149, while a 16-gigabyte model goes for $179. It will compete against products such as Cisco Systems' Flip camera.
Cisco, the largest maker of networking equipment, said it welcomes new competition and that increased use of video will help sales of its routers and switches.
"We are flattered that Apple and others perceive video is an important market," said Jonathan Kaplan, general manager of the consumer product unit at San Jose, California-based Cisco.
Obviously he's been back at work since June but some analysts think it's encouraging that he's well enough to make a full presentation.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Frail-looking Jobs returns, introduces new Nano
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the spotlight on Wednesday for the first time since having a liver transplant, overshadowing the unveiling of an iPod with a built-in video camera and several new iTunes features.
Jobs, who resumed work part-time in June after nearly six months of medical leave, received a standing ovation from a packed auditorium as he took the stage in his first public appearance in nearly a year.
His dramatic return to centre stage kicked off a music-themed product event that disappointed some industry observers who speculated Apple would announce that the songs of The Beatles would finally be available on iTunes.
The 54-year-old Apple chief executive,the visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod and the iPhone, appeared gaunt but not dramatically more so than during his last public appearance in October 2008.
The notoriously private Jobs, who was wearing his trademark long-sleeved black shirt, jeans and sneakers, referred to his illness right off the bat.
"I'm vertical," he said."I'm back at Apple, loving every day of it.
"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he said."About five months ago I had a liver transplant. So I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs.
"I hope all of us can be as generous and elect to be organ donors," said Jobs,who underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer five years ago.
Jobs also addressed his health in a rare interview following his on-stage performance, telling the New York Times he feels "great".
"I probably need to gain about 30 pounds, but I feel really good," he said."I'm eating like crazy. A lot of ice cream."
Apple did not announce prior to the event at a San Francisco theatre that Jobs would attend, and Silicon Valley technology blogs had been buzzing for days with rumours over whether or not he would show up.
Jobs' appearance was the highlight of the event, during which Apple unveiled updates to iTunes, its online music store,the availability of 30,000 ringtones for sale for the iPhone, and a video cameraequipped iPod.
Jobs said the iPod Nano, Apple's bestselling music player with over 100 million units sold, would now include a video camera, an FM radio, a pedometer and a microphone and speaker.
"You can watch your video on the Nano or sync it back to your computer,"he said."With one click you can send it to YouTube. Pretty amazing to always have a video camera of that quality in your pocket, built right into your Nano."
Jobs said there would be two models - an eight-gigabyte version for $149 and a 16GB model for $179.
He also said that the updated iTunes store would feature iTunes LPs complete with liner notes, photos and other background information - just like record albums of the past.
"Some of us are old enough here that we actually bought LPs," he joked to a crowd made up predominantly of people under 35.
"It was great. You not only got great music, but you got great photography and great liner notes."
Jobs said Apple would be introducing ringtones for sale through the iPhone store at $1.29 each.
Apple also announced it was cutting the prices on various iPod models, with the price of an 8GB iPod Touch, for example, dropping to $199 from $249.
The event closed with a live performance by Grammy Award-winning singer Norah Jones.
But in a sign of who really was the star of the show, Jones got some of her biggest applause when Jobs kissed her on the cheek after she performed two songs.
Jobs, who resumed work part-time in June after nearly six months of medical leave, received a standing ovation from a packed auditorium as he took the stage in his first public appearance in nearly a year.
His dramatic return to centre stage kicked off a music-themed product event that disappointed some industry observers who speculated Apple would announce that the songs of The Beatles would finally be available on iTunes.
The 54-year-old Apple chief executive,the visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod and the iPhone, appeared gaunt but not dramatically more so than during his last public appearance in October 2008.
The notoriously private Jobs, who was wearing his trademark long-sleeved black shirt, jeans and sneakers, referred to his illness right off the bat.
"I'm vertical," he said."I'm back at Apple, loving every day of it.
"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he said."About five months ago I had a liver transplant. So I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs.
"I hope all of us can be as generous and elect to be organ donors," said Jobs,who underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer five years ago.
Jobs also addressed his health in a rare interview following his on-stage performance, telling the New York Times he feels "great".
"I probably need to gain about 30 pounds, but I feel really good," he said."I'm eating like crazy. A lot of ice cream."
Apple did not announce prior to the event at a San Francisco theatre that Jobs would attend, and Silicon Valley technology blogs had been buzzing for days with rumours over whether or not he would show up.
Jobs' appearance was the highlight of the event, during which Apple unveiled updates to iTunes, its online music store,the availability of 30,000 ringtones for sale for the iPhone, and a video cameraequipped iPod.
Jobs said the iPod Nano, Apple's bestselling music player with over 100 million units sold, would now include a video camera, an FM radio, a pedometer and a microphone and speaker.
"You can watch your video on the Nano or sync it back to your computer,"he said."With one click you can send it to YouTube. Pretty amazing to always have a video camera of that quality in your pocket, built right into your Nano."
Jobs said there would be two models - an eight-gigabyte version for $149 and a 16GB model for $179.
He also said that the updated iTunes store would feature iTunes LPs complete with liner notes, photos and other background information - just like record albums of the past.
"Some of us are old enough here that we actually bought LPs," he joked to a crowd made up predominantly of people under 35.
"It was great. You not only got great music, but you got great photography and great liner notes."
Jobs said Apple would be introducing ringtones for sale through the iPhone store at $1.29 each.
Apple also announced it was cutting the prices on various iPod models, with the price of an 8GB iPod Touch, for example, dropping to $199 from $249.
The event closed with a live performance by Grammy Award-winning singer Norah Jones.
But in a sign of who really was the star of the show, Jones got some of her biggest applause when Jobs kissed her on the cheek after she performed two songs.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Kodak taps small businesses
To tap the growth of digital printing,Kodak (Thailand) has consolidated its technology resource bringing to retailers its new look Kodak Digital Express Solution.
Kodak Express Solution will be one of the major focus movements this year as Kodak keeps supporting the retail shops with upgrading their service capability, according to Preecha Prasatwattana, the new managing director since April.
The look of those retailers will be revamped, together with new merchan-dise, to catch up with digital technology.
By the second half year, Preecha said Kodak would concentrate on the activity and package offer for SMEs. A Kodak Express conference will be held for partners and retailers in September and the company will help them to better offer services to customers with The KCPS (KODAK Creative Production Software),the workflow software designed specifically for photo retailers. The package offered to SMEs also includes Kodak Express Light Version which comes up with an APEX printer package that helps SMEs to start photo printing businesses on a small budget.
Thailand is one of the world's best retail systems and Kodak Express is also regarded one of the most advanced in the world, said the managing director who has been overseeing Kodak's Southeast Asia market for over 10 years.
The company will also expand the numbers of printing kiosks in Bangkok and upcountry to around 150 locations by this year.
Digital printing still has a promising growth, at 35 percent, he said.
Preecha admitted that sales of digital cameras had declined during the first half year, around 20 percent, due to the economic slowdown.
Kodak Express Solution will be one of the major focus movements this year as Kodak keeps supporting the retail shops with upgrading their service capability, according to Preecha Prasatwattana, the new managing director since April.
The look of those retailers will be revamped, together with new merchan-dise, to catch up with digital technology.
By the second half year, Preecha said Kodak would concentrate on the activity and package offer for SMEs. A Kodak Express conference will be held for partners and retailers in September and the company will help them to better offer services to customers with The KCPS (KODAK Creative Production Software),the workflow software designed specifically for photo retailers. The package offered to SMEs also includes Kodak Express Light Version which comes up with an APEX printer package that helps SMEs to start photo printing businesses on a small budget.
Thailand is one of the world's best retail systems and Kodak Express is also regarded one of the most advanced in the world, said the managing director who has been overseeing Kodak's Southeast Asia market for over 10 years.
The company will also expand the numbers of printing kiosks in Bangkok and upcountry to around 150 locations by this year.
Digital printing still has a promising growth, at 35 percent, he said.
Preecha admitted that sales of digital cameras had declined during the first half year, around 20 percent, due to the economic slowdown.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Kodak taps small businesses
To tap the growth of digital printing,Kodak (Thailand) has consolidated its technology resource bringing to retailers its new look Kodak Digital Express Solution.
Kodak Express Solution will be one of the major focus movements this year as Kodak keeps supporting the retail shops with upgrading their service capability, according to Preecha Prasatwattana, the new managing director since April.
The look of those retailers will be revamped, together with new merchan-dise, to catch up with digital technology.
By the second half year, Preecha said Kodak would concentrate on the activity and package offer for SMEs. A Kodak Express conference will be held for partners and retailers in September and the company will help them to better offer services to customers with The KCPS (KODAK Creative Production Software),the workflow software designed specifically for photo retailers. The package offered to SMEs also includes Kodak Express Light Version which comes up with an APEX printer package that helps SMEs to start photo printing businesses on a small budget.
Thailand is one of the world's best retail systems and Kodak Express is also regarded one of the most advanced in the world, said the managing director who has been overseeing Kodak's Southeast Asia market for over 10 years.
The company will also expand the numbers of printing kiosks in Bangkok and upcountry to around 150 locations by this year.
Digital printing still has a promising growth, at 35 percent, he said.
Preecha admitted that sales of digital cameras had declined during the first half year, around 20 percent, due to the economic slowdown.
Kodak Express Solution will be one of the major focus movements this year as Kodak keeps supporting the retail shops with upgrading their service capability, according to Preecha Prasatwattana, the new managing director since April.
The look of those retailers will be revamped, together with new merchan-dise, to catch up with digital technology.
By the second half year, Preecha said Kodak would concentrate on the activity and package offer for SMEs. A Kodak Express conference will be held for partners and retailers in September and the company will help them to better offer services to customers with The KCPS (KODAK Creative Production Software),the workflow software designed specifically for photo retailers. The package offered to SMEs also includes Kodak Express Light Version which comes up with an APEX printer package that helps SMEs to start photo printing businesses on a small budget.
Thailand is one of the world's best retail systems and Kodak Express is also regarded one of the most advanced in the world, said the managing director who has been overseeing Kodak's Southeast Asia market for over 10 years.
The company will also expand the numbers of printing kiosks in Bangkok and upcountry to around 150 locations by this year.
Digital printing still has a promising growth, at 35 percent, he said.
Preecha admitted that sales of digital cameras had declined during the first half year, around 20 percent, due to the economic slowdown.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
SONY'S WALKMAN BEATS APPLE'S IPOD
The Walkman outsold the iPod in Japan last week for the first time in four years, handing Japanese electronics giant Sony a rare victory over arch-rival Apple, a survey showed.
Sony's share of the Japanese market for portable music players stood at 43 per cent in the week to August 30, ahead of Apple which had 42.1 per cent in the week to August 30, ahead of Apple which had 42.1 per cent, according to the Tokyo-based marketing research company BCN.
Sony has had a tough time in recent years in the face of the huge popularity of the iPod and other rival products such as Nintendo's Wii.
BCN said Walkman sales were benefiting from an expanded product line-p and more affordable prices.
The iPod has also been a victim of Apple's own success because some people are buying the iPhone - which doubles as a portable music player - instead. Sales of the iPhone are not included in the survey.
But Sony's victory was bitter-sweet because overall sales of portable music players on the decline in Japan, BCN said.
The launch of the Walkman three decades ago revolutionised the way people around the world listened to music and helped transform Sony into a global electronics powerhouse.
But in recent years it has failed to match the success of Apple, which sold 100 million iPods in less than six years after its 2001 launch, making it the fastest selling music player in history. Sales have since topped 200 million.
Sony, the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, announced in May its first annual loss in 14 years and is on course to stay in the red for a second year for the first time in half a century.
Chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing about 10 per cent of the manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit.
Sony's victory was bitter sweet because overall sales of portable music players are on the decline in Japan.
Sony's share of the Japanese market for portable music players stood at 43 per cent in the week to August 30, ahead of Apple which had 42.1 per cent in the week to August 30, ahead of Apple which had 42.1 per cent, according to the Tokyo-based marketing research company BCN.
Sony has had a tough time in recent years in the face of the huge popularity of the iPod and other rival products such as Nintendo's Wii.
BCN said Walkman sales were benefiting from an expanded product line-p and more affordable prices.
The iPod has also been a victim of Apple's own success because some people are buying the iPhone - which doubles as a portable music player - instead. Sales of the iPhone are not included in the survey.
But Sony's victory was bitter-sweet because overall sales of portable music players on the decline in Japan, BCN said.
The launch of the Walkman three decades ago revolutionised the way people around the world listened to music and helped transform Sony into a global electronics powerhouse.
But in recent years it has failed to match the success of Apple, which sold 100 million iPods in less than six years after its 2001 launch, making it the fastest selling music player in history. Sales have since topped 200 million.
Sony, the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, announced in May its first annual loss in 14 years and is on course to stay in the red for a second year for the first time in half a century.
Chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing about 10 per cent of the manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit.
Sony's victory was bitter sweet because overall sales of portable music players are on the decline in Japan.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Kodak launches "Transpromo"
Kodak is going to change the market perception of its "yellow box with camera" to the world of graphic communication by helping businesses to create effective customer communications.
Called "Transpromo", the strategy is all about creating higher value, more effective customer communications to strengthen customer relations and drive higher response rates, said Pat McGrew,Eastman Kodak Data-Driven Communication Segment Evangelist, during an interview with Database .Kodak does this by offering technology that aligns transactional documents and promotional offers, and increases customer loyalty with one-to-one engagement.
McGrew noted that companies around the world use billing statements to have contacts with their customers on a regular basis. Bills, statements,direct mail and other documents are delivered to someone to communicate.The bank and cell phone providers send monthly statements out to their customers.
"The bill is a monthly appointment with customers because customers ex-pect it. If it is postcard or another piece of promotional material, they might throw it away because it something they don't want to take time reading, so why not put more marketing messages on the bill," she said.
McGrew suggested the brand owners,the service providers, and those who deal with the billing should turn that monthly appointment into a regular conversation with their customers.
"The first thing you want is to make sure that it must be easy for them to understand, and add good information content helping the customer to be a better customer."
Credit card companies, banks, insurance companies and telephone companies around the world all have the same number one problem - losing customers.
"Customers leave because they don't think they are getting value for the relationship and because they find it hard to do business with you. That's where the whole story comes together. Teaching them how to make them easy to read, teaching them to design the document so that when someone receives it they know exactly what they are supposed to do. Giving more information so that customers feel you value their time then you can educate them," she said.
Kodak has partnered and worked with the post around the world McGrew said,adding that the post knows their customers. They can adopt the transpromotional strategy to create a personal relationship with customers. For instance, a cell phone provider used bills to tell customers about a special offer allowing them to call a country at a lower rate on a specific day and reminding them that the discount will be coming up.
The bill cost per print is not the right conversation, she said. It is a matter of "cost per response"."If I charge you four times more for your prints, but you get a 500 percent higher response rate, most marketers said yes because most marketing offers made by any brand owners typically only get a 1 or 2 percent response rate. If I can take them 10,12 or 20 percent, which usually use data to create personal relations,then that's a lot more revenue coming back to the company."
Asked how long the business can take to respond, McGrew said that it depends on various factors. Usually for customers, like mobile phone operators in Australia who issue the cell phone bills, from the time they have the idea to the time to implement, takes about 6 to 7 months.
McGrew, whose job is to educate the market globally, said that it is market development, Kodak has to find the printers who are interested in changing the way they print for their customers,find the customers that are interested in working with the printer and educate them, and get to brand agencies, advertising agencies who advise their customers.
"Most brand owners and advertising agencies know all this very well - SMS,web, email, billboard, direct mail but this one they've never heard of, so we have to find those people and tell them this service is available to them and it's an effective market. They can get a higher response rate because this is a personal communication market,this is one-to-one and this can be complimentary to web marketing, to mass marketing."
McGrew, who was recently in Thailand, said she saw tremendous opportunity here."This is an interesting country because you have a rich understanding of colour, you like to communicate in colour. Look at the billboards, every building is colourful so the opportunity to communicate in colour, and also to bring the idea of data-driven personal in market is amazing.
"Kodak has talked to customers here and there is a great deal of interest.Over the next year, you will see your mail box changed, the providers who create bills and statements learn the technique, the access to the technology.
"The most normal thing to do is to work with brand owners, someone has to do data collecting, someone has to do market message development, sometimes the printers provide all of the services for free, so there are a number of different ways that you can handle the cost.
"Way to be successful is get one thing to do first, start with a small project,and learn with the data track the data the use the method. Then once you have experience, you then grow. Then get more sophisticated with the data and with the messaging."
Called "Transpromo", the strategy is all about creating higher value, more effective customer communications to strengthen customer relations and drive higher response rates, said Pat McGrew,Eastman Kodak Data-Driven Communication Segment Evangelist, during an interview with Database .Kodak does this by offering technology that aligns transactional documents and promotional offers, and increases customer loyalty with one-to-one engagement.
McGrew noted that companies around the world use billing statements to have contacts with their customers on a regular basis. Bills, statements,direct mail and other documents are delivered to someone to communicate.The bank and cell phone providers send monthly statements out to their customers.
"The bill is a monthly appointment with customers because customers ex-pect it. If it is postcard or another piece of promotional material, they might throw it away because it something they don't want to take time reading, so why not put more marketing messages on the bill," she said.
McGrew suggested the brand owners,the service providers, and those who deal with the billing should turn that monthly appointment into a regular conversation with their customers.
"The first thing you want is to make sure that it must be easy for them to understand, and add good information content helping the customer to be a better customer."
Credit card companies, banks, insurance companies and telephone companies around the world all have the same number one problem - losing customers.
"Customers leave because they don't think they are getting value for the relationship and because they find it hard to do business with you. That's where the whole story comes together. Teaching them how to make them easy to read, teaching them to design the document so that when someone receives it they know exactly what they are supposed to do. Giving more information so that customers feel you value their time then you can educate them," she said.
Kodak has partnered and worked with the post around the world McGrew said,adding that the post knows their customers. They can adopt the transpromotional strategy to create a personal relationship with customers. For instance, a cell phone provider used bills to tell customers about a special offer allowing them to call a country at a lower rate on a specific day and reminding them that the discount will be coming up.
The bill cost per print is not the right conversation, she said. It is a matter of "cost per response"."If I charge you four times more for your prints, but you get a 500 percent higher response rate, most marketers said yes because most marketing offers made by any brand owners typically only get a 1 or 2 percent response rate. If I can take them 10,12 or 20 percent, which usually use data to create personal relations,then that's a lot more revenue coming back to the company."
Asked how long the business can take to respond, McGrew said that it depends on various factors. Usually for customers, like mobile phone operators in Australia who issue the cell phone bills, from the time they have the idea to the time to implement, takes about 6 to 7 months.
McGrew, whose job is to educate the market globally, said that it is market development, Kodak has to find the printers who are interested in changing the way they print for their customers,find the customers that are interested in working with the printer and educate them, and get to brand agencies, advertising agencies who advise their customers.
"Most brand owners and advertising agencies know all this very well - SMS,web, email, billboard, direct mail but this one they've never heard of, so we have to find those people and tell them this service is available to them and it's an effective market. They can get a higher response rate because this is a personal communication market,this is one-to-one and this can be complimentary to web marketing, to mass marketing."
McGrew, who was recently in Thailand, said she saw tremendous opportunity here."This is an interesting country because you have a rich understanding of colour, you like to communicate in colour. Look at the billboards, every building is colourful so the opportunity to communicate in colour, and also to bring the idea of data-driven personal in market is amazing.
"Kodak has talked to customers here and there is a great deal of interest.Over the next year, you will see your mail box changed, the providers who create bills and statements learn the technique, the access to the technology.
"The most normal thing to do is to work with brand owners, someone has to do data collecting, someone has to do market message development, sometimes the printers provide all of the services for free, so there are a number of different ways that you can handle the cost.
"Way to be successful is get one thing to do first, start with a small project,and learn with the data track the data the use the method. Then once you have experience, you then grow. Then get more sophisticated with the data and with the messaging."
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Canon to restructure stepper division
Japan's Canon Inc said it planned to restructure its loss-making microchip stepper division by December,a move aimed at helping it better compete with ASML and Nikon Corp.
"Canon also aims to return to a trend of increasing profits each year in 2010,"Masahiro Osawa, a managing director,said in an interview yesterday.
The company, the world's largest digital camera maker ahead of Sony Corp and Nikon and a major manufacturer of copiers and printers that competes with Xerox Corp and Ricoh Co Ltd, posted its first annual operating profit decline in nine years in 2008.
"We have begun to see some encouraging signs here and there. We would like to make 2009 the floor for our earnings," Osawa said.
Following Osawa's comments, shares in Canon closed up 6.3% at 3,720 yen,its high for the day and outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical ma-chinery index which gained 3.7%.
Canon's microchip stepper division,which also manufactures LCD-making equipment and accounts for around 14%of revenue, posted an operating loss of 6.4 billion yen ($67 million) in AprilJune as chip makers reined in capital investment.
"The chip and LCD industries are in the midst of drastic changes ... we ourselves are starting to move to transform our business structure," he said, but declined to elaborate.
Canon trails ASML of the Netherlands and Nikon in chip steppers, multi-million dollar machines used to etch circuitry on to silicon wafers to make chips.
Canon last month posted a 72% fall in quarterly operating profit, also hit by sluggish demand for office machines and a firmer yen, but raised its full-year forecast by 6% to reflect more aggressive restructuring steps and a stronger-thanexpected demand for high-end digital cameras.
The restructuring moves included cutting 700 jobs at its chip-making equipment business and absorbing Canon Marketing Japan Inc's chip stepper sales and maintenance operations.
Osawa also said Canon plans to continue development of surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) technology despite sharp falls in LCD prices,although more time will be needed for a commercial launch.
SEDs were once seen as promising next-generation flat displays, but steep price falls in LCD and plasma panels have raised concerns over the viability of the commercially untested technology.
"I believe SEDs have technological competitiveness. But LCD prices have fallen at a much quicker clip than we had anticipated," Owasa said."When it comes to costs and technological expertise for commercial production, we need some time to catch up."
"Canon also aims to return to a trend of increasing profits each year in 2010,"Masahiro Osawa, a managing director,said in an interview yesterday.
The company, the world's largest digital camera maker ahead of Sony Corp and Nikon and a major manufacturer of copiers and printers that competes with Xerox Corp and Ricoh Co Ltd, posted its first annual operating profit decline in nine years in 2008.
"We have begun to see some encouraging signs here and there. We would like to make 2009 the floor for our earnings," Osawa said.
Following Osawa's comments, shares in Canon closed up 6.3% at 3,720 yen,its high for the day and outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical ma-chinery index which gained 3.7%.
Canon's microchip stepper division,which also manufactures LCD-making equipment and accounts for around 14%of revenue, posted an operating loss of 6.4 billion yen ($67 million) in AprilJune as chip makers reined in capital investment.
"The chip and LCD industries are in the midst of drastic changes ... we ourselves are starting to move to transform our business structure," he said, but declined to elaborate.
Canon trails ASML of the Netherlands and Nikon in chip steppers, multi-million dollar machines used to etch circuitry on to silicon wafers to make chips.
Canon last month posted a 72% fall in quarterly operating profit, also hit by sluggish demand for office machines and a firmer yen, but raised its full-year forecast by 6% to reflect more aggressive restructuring steps and a stronger-thanexpected demand for high-end digital cameras.
The restructuring moves included cutting 700 jobs at its chip-making equipment business and absorbing Canon Marketing Japan Inc's chip stepper sales and maintenance operations.
Osawa also said Canon plans to continue development of surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) technology despite sharp falls in LCD prices,although more time will be needed for a commercial launch.
SEDs were once seen as promising next-generation flat displays, but steep price falls in LCD and plasma panels have raised concerns over the viability of the commercially untested technology.
"I believe SEDs have technological competitiveness. But LCD prices have fallen at a much quicker clip than we had anticipated," Owasa said."When it comes to costs and technological expertise for commercial production, we need some time to catch up."
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Olympus may be leading in the superzoom wars with its 26x optical zoom SP-590UZ, but it takes a lot more than a long lens to make a decent longzoom camera. We're talking the same things it takes to make a good digital camera, like speedy performance, a competitive, useful feature set, and good picture quality.
DESIGN AND FEATURES
With the large handgrip, the SP-590UZ looks like a dSLR. The design is typical a big, solid body with a plastic chassis and a large, rubberised grip accommodating the four AA batteries that power the camera.For a nice touch, the bottom of the shooter extends out beneath the lens to provide a more stable platform when mounted on a tripod. Unfortunately, the camera takes two equally inconvenient forms of media:Olympus/Fujifilm's proprietary xD-Picture Cards or microSD media which fits into an xD card adapter.
Overall, the SP-590UZ is fairly straightforward to learn and operate if you've used a digital camera in the past couple of years. In addition to all the usual suspects on the mode dial, the snapper includes Beauty mode which blurs skin slightly.Even if it works extremely well, it's way too slow - approximately 20 seconds between shots - and the result is a two megapixel image.
There is also MyMode which holds up to four groups of custom settings, which includes the focal length setting at the time you saved them. An OK/Func button pulls up frequently needed shooting settings, which include drive mode, white balance, ISO sensitivity, metering, image size and compression.
Besides the standard continuous shooting, there are higher-speed drive modes:6fps and 10fps. However, they operate at reduced image sizes of five and three megapixels, respectively. This includes a precapture high-speed mode that shoots 10 three-megapixel frames at 10fps from focus lock until you snap the photo.
Like most megazooms, the SP-590UZ produces its sharpest shots in Super Macro mode, and the results are pretty sharp.
There are dedicated buttons for exposure compensation, flash, macro mode and selftimer, as well as a toggling Shadow Adjustment and a custom button to which you can assign a variety of capabilities,including image stabiliser, focus/AE lock,and focus mode. You can bracket the exposure up to five shots - most cameras limit you to three - in +/-1/3,2/3 or full stop intervals. While the SP-590UZ supports optical zoom when recording video, at best the camera does 30fps VGA saved as Motion JPEG-compressed AVI files. You can't zoom and record sound at the same time. That's certainly one way to defeat noise created by the lens mechanism moving.
PERFORMANCE
With the exception of overly long shot lag in dim light, the SP-590UZ delivers pretty typical performance for a megazoom. It powers on and shoots in 1.6 seconds, which is actually pretty fast in this class. In good light it matches the focus-and-shoot speed of the best of its class -0.6 second - but in dim light it struggles, resulting in an overly slow 1.4 second delay. Its two second shot-to-shot time matches the rest of the crowd, and enabling flash bumps that to a pretty typical 2.5 seconds. While its continuous shooting rate of 1.2fps sits close to the bottom of its class, frame rate is almost immaterial with an electronic viewfinder (EVF) camera since your real constraint for burst usability is the blackout interval of the viewfinder, which is almost universally bad.
As is typical with EVFs, the colours look completely different than on the LCD, but it refreshes quickly, even in low light, and it is relatively well-magnified. The screen itself is too reflective to work well in direct sunlight, but you can set everything to display only on the EVF. Olympus' optical image stabilizer works well out to the end of the zoom range.
IMAGE QUALITY
We debated on the rating of the SP-590UZ's photo quality. It's not bad, and if you're not picky, you'll probably be very happy with the photos. However, even at low sensitivities (ISO 64 and ISO 100) our photos displayed visible noise, a lack of sharpness and had that painterly artifact quality usually associated with higher ISO images, which makes prints look soft. The automatic white balance yields cool results in all lights (which, ironically, results in pretty good rendering under i-candescent lighting). But metering and exposures are good, and there's practically no fringing.Colours are vibrant and pleasing,but not very accurate. The loresolution video capture looks pretty good and perfectly sufficient for YouTube, but it's hard to get around the audio/zoom trade-off.
Ultimately, the Olympus SP-590UZ ranks as a functional but not particularly notable superzoom. While none of the current models have a 26x optical zoom, as with many superzooms,the EVF makes it impractical to shoot the things most people want the long lens for - childrens'sports, for example. So you may as well go with an alternative.
DESIGN AND FEATURES
With the large handgrip, the SP-590UZ looks like a dSLR. The design is typical a big, solid body with a plastic chassis and a large, rubberised grip accommodating the four AA batteries that power the camera.For a nice touch, the bottom of the shooter extends out beneath the lens to provide a more stable platform when mounted on a tripod. Unfortunately, the camera takes two equally inconvenient forms of media:Olympus/Fujifilm's proprietary xD-Picture Cards or microSD media which fits into an xD card adapter.
Overall, the SP-590UZ is fairly straightforward to learn and operate if you've used a digital camera in the past couple of years. In addition to all the usual suspects on the mode dial, the snapper includes Beauty mode which blurs skin slightly.Even if it works extremely well, it's way too slow - approximately 20 seconds between shots - and the result is a two megapixel image.
There is also MyMode which holds up to four groups of custom settings, which includes the focal length setting at the time you saved them. An OK/Func button pulls up frequently needed shooting settings, which include drive mode, white balance, ISO sensitivity, metering, image size and compression.
Besides the standard continuous shooting, there are higher-speed drive modes:6fps and 10fps. However, they operate at reduced image sizes of five and three megapixels, respectively. This includes a precapture high-speed mode that shoots 10 three-megapixel frames at 10fps from focus lock until you snap the photo.
Like most megazooms, the SP-590UZ produces its sharpest shots in Super Macro mode, and the results are pretty sharp.
There are dedicated buttons for exposure compensation, flash, macro mode and selftimer, as well as a toggling Shadow Adjustment and a custom button to which you can assign a variety of capabilities,including image stabiliser, focus/AE lock,and focus mode. You can bracket the exposure up to five shots - most cameras limit you to three - in +/-1/3,2/3 or full stop intervals. While the SP-590UZ supports optical zoom when recording video, at best the camera does 30fps VGA saved as Motion JPEG-compressed AVI files. You can't zoom and record sound at the same time. That's certainly one way to defeat noise created by the lens mechanism moving.
PERFORMANCE
With the exception of overly long shot lag in dim light, the SP-590UZ delivers pretty typical performance for a megazoom. It powers on and shoots in 1.6 seconds, which is actually pretty fast in this class. In good light it matches the focus-and-shoot speed of the best of its class -0.6 second - but in dim light it struggles, resulting in an overly slow 1.4 second delay. Its two second shot-to-shot time matches the rest of the crowd, and enabling flash bumps that to a pretty typical 2.5 seconds. While its continuous shooting rate of 1.2fps sits close to the bottom of its class, frame rate is almost immaterial with an electronic viewfinder (EVF) camera since your real constraint for burst usability is the blackout interval of the viewfinder, which is almost universally bad.
As is typical with EVFs, the colours look completely different than on the LCD, but it refreshes quickly, even in low light, and it is relatively well-magnified. The screen itself is too reflective to work well in direct sunlight, but you can set everything to display only on the EVF. Olympus' optical image stabilizer works well out to the end of the zoom range.
IMAGE QUALITY
We debated on the rating of the SP-590UZ's photo quality. It's not bad, and if you're not picky, you'll probably be very happy with the photos. However, even at low sensitivities (ISO 64 and ISO 100) our photos displayed visible noise, a lack of sharpness and had that painterly artifact quality usually associated with higher ISO images, which makes prints look soft. The automatic white balance yields cool results in all lights (which, ironically, results in pretty good rendering under i-candescent lighting). But metering and exposures are good, and there's practically no fringing.Colours are vibrant and pleasing,but not very accurate. The loresolution video capture looks pretty good and perfectly sufficient for YouTube, but it's hard to get around the audio/zoom trade-off.
Ultimately, the Olympus SP-590UZ ranks as a functional but not particularly notable superzoom. While none of the current models have a 26x optical zoom, as with many superzooms,the EVF makes it impractical to shoot the things most people want the long lens for - childrens'sports, for example. So you may as well go with an alternative.
KODAK TO EXPAND DIGITAL-PRINTING SERVICE, EXPECTS MARKET TO DOUBLE
Kodak (Thailand) is expanding its digital-printing service,as the market is expected to double each year.
Managing director Preecha Prasatwattana, who assumed the position in April, yesterday said Kodak would install digital-printing kiosks in four Thailand Post brances in Bangkok next month.
If the service proves popular, it may be expanded to other post offices.
Kodak will also increase its picture kiosks to 550 by year-end, from 400 nationwide now. It also has 400 Kokak Express Coloru Labs.
Digital printing now contributes half of the company's total revenue,while the rest comes from digital-camera sales.
The digital-printing market has boomed in recent years, with people taking pictures with not only digital cameras, but also camera phones and printing them out at a kiosk or labs.
Although the digital-camera market saw sales drop 20-25 per cent in the first seven months of the year,Kodak's first half digital-printing revenue rose 35 per cent year on year.
"We've so far maintained our market share of 50 per cent in the digital-printing business," Preecha added.
Managing director Preecha Prasatwattana, who assumed the position in April, yesterday said Kodak would install digital-printing kiosks in four Thailand Post brances in Bangkok next month.
If the service proves popular, it may be expanded to other post offices.
Kodak will also increase its picture kiosks to 550 by year-end, from 400 nationwide now. It also has 400 Kokak Express Coloru Labs.
Digital printing now contributes half of the company's total revenue,while the rest comes from digital-camera sales.
The digital-printing market has boomed in recent years, with people taking pictures with not only digital cameras, but also camera phones and printing them out at a kiosk or labs.
Although the digital-camera market saw sales drop 20-25 per cent in the first seven months of the year,Kodak's first half digital-printing revenue rose 35 per cent year on year.
"We've so far maintained our market share of 50 per cent in the digital-printing business," Preecha added.
Kodak looks to printing to offset camera decline
Kodak (Thailand) aims to maintain last year's sales revenue by offsetting its troubled camera sales - set to hit a five-year low - with its printing sales.
This year the company projects its sales of cameras, which provide about 40% of its revenue, to total 80,000 units,down from 90,000 last year due to the downturn and H1N1 flu keeping shoppers out of department stores.
The company expects its printing businesses such as Kodak Kiosk and Kodak Express Digital Online to generate higher revenue because of their convenience for customers, said managing director Preecha Prasatwattana.
Printing contributes more than half of the company's income while its other businesses provide about 10%.
The company plans to open about 150 kiosks nationwide, bringing its total to 550 by the year-end.
"The investment cost for these kiosks,starting at 60,000 baht, fits with the cur-rent economic situation," he said.
Kodak also plans to launch the Kodak Kiosk at post offices nationwide. The first four kiosks will be installed in Bangkok next month.
"Kiosks providing an express photo printing service still have ample room to grow because customers order photo printing from files in both digital cameras and mobile phones," said Mr Preecha.
Paisan Areepongsa, the company's sales and marketing manager for its consumer digital imaging group, forecast that the downturn will shrink the camera market by 20% this year to between one million and 1.2 million units.
The company plans to launch four camera series, starting at 2,900 baht,over the next few months to help maintain its market share at 7-8%.
This segment has considerable room to grow because only 5-10% of Thailand's households own cameras, said Mr Paisan.
Kodak aims to introduce its first video camera next week, priced at 6,000 baht,to test the market and attract new users.
This year the company projects its sales of cameras, which provide about 40% of its revenue, to total 80,000 units,down from 90,000 last year due to the downturn and H1N1 flu keeping shoppers out of department stores.
The company expects its printing businesses such as Kodak Kiosk and Kodak Express Digital Online to generate higher revenue because of their convenience for customers, said managing director Preecha Prasatwattana.
Printing contributes more than half of the company's income while its other businesses provide about 10%.
The company plans to open about 150 kiosks nationwide, bringing its total to 550 by the year-end.
"The investment cost for these kiosks,starting at 60,000 baht, fits with the cur-rent economic situation," he said.
Kodak also plans to launch the Kodak Kiosk at post offices nationwide. The first four kiosks will be installed in Bangkok next month.
"Kiosks providing an express photo printing service still have ample room to grow because customers order photo printing from files in both digital cameras and mobile phones," said Mr Preecha.
Paisan Areepongsa, the company's sales and marketing manager for its consumer digital imaging group, forecast that the downturn will shrink the camera market by 20% this year to between one million and 1.2 million units.
The company plans to launch four camera series, starting at 2,900 baht,over the next few months to help maintain its market share at 7-8%.
This segment has considerable room to grow because only 5-10% of Thailand's households own cameras, said Mr Paisan.
Kodak aims to introduce its first video camera next week, priced at 6,000 baht,to test the market and attract new users.
CANON AIMS TO BE NO 2 IN CAMCORDERS
Canon Marketing (Thailand) intends to become No 2 locally in digital video camcorders this year, buoyed by its newly launched Legria subbrand.
It is in third place now.
Canon entered the Kingdom's digฌital videocamcorder market 10 years ago but did not focus on it as much as it did its other business, such as inkjet printers.
However, the faster growth of flashmemory camcorders internationally, including in Thailand, is allowing Cannon to focus more on the segment now by launching its new Legria camcorder subbrand, said Warin Tantipongpanich, director and general manager of the Consumer Imaging and Information Division.
Digital video camcorders account for 10 per cent of the division's Bt3 billion in annual sales.
Canon is No 3 in digital video camฌcorders, with a 7percent market share. The No2 player enjoys a 12percent share, while the market leader commands 62 per cent.
The company believes the launch of the new Legria lineup, especially flashmemory camcorders, will drive its market share to 14 per cent this year, enough to bump Canon up into second place.
Warin said the new subbrand would allow Canon to communicate more easily with clients and that the company would create awareness through belowtheline marketing activities.
"We'll hold roadshows to introฌduce Legria digital video camcorders. Customers will be able to see for themselves the quality of these camฌcorders before deciding to buy, which is a good strategy for competing against the market leader," he said.
Warin said flashmemory camฌcorders were the only segment enjoying growth this year, while harddisk and DVD camcorders had declined.
The company predicts the flashmemory camcorders will become a major segment, replacing harddisk camcorders next year.
The overall digital videocamฌcorder market plunged nearly 30 per cent year on year in the first half, because of the economic crisis and reduced consumer purchasing power. However, the overall growth rate for Canon Marketing (Thailand) was 18 per cent.
It is in third place now.
Canon entered the Kingdom's digฌital videocamcorder market 10 years ago but did not focus on it as much as it did its other business, such as inkjet printers.
However, the faster growth of flashmemory camcorders internationally, including in Thailand, is allowing Cannon to focus more on the segment now by launching its new Legria camcorder subbrand, said Warin Tantipongpanich, director and general manager of the Consumer Imaging and Information Division.
Digital video camcorders account for 10 per cent of the division's Bt3 billion in annual sales.
Canon is No 3 in digital video camฌcorders, with a 7percent market share. The No2 player enjoys a 12percent share, while the market leader commands 62 per cent.
The company believes the launch of the new Legria lineup, especially flashmemory camcorders, will drive its market share to 14 per cent this year, enough to bump Canon up into second place.
Warin said the new subbrand would allow Canon to communicate more easily with clients and that the company would create awareness through belowtheline marketing activities.
"We'll hold roadshows to introฌduce Legria digital video camcorders. Customers will be able to see for themselves the quality of these camฌcorders before deciding to buy, which is a good strategy for competing against the market leader," he said.
Warin said flashmemory camฌcorders were the only segment enjoying growth this year, while harddisk and DVD camcorders had declined.
The company predicts the flashmemory camcorders will become a major segment, replacing harddisk camcorders next year.
The overall digital videocamฌcorder market plunged nearly 30 per cent year on year in the first half, because of the economic crisis and reduced consumer purchasing power. However, the overall growth rate for Canon Marketing (Thailand) was 18 per cent.
CHINA INSTALLS NEARLY THREE MILLION SECURITY CAMERAS
Chinese police say they have installed 2.75 million surveillance cameras since 2003 and are expanding the system into the largely neglected countryside.
The cameras are the m ost visible components of police surveillance and notification systems installed around the country, mainly in urbarn areas, according to a news release posted on teh Public Security Ministry's website yesterday.
Such systems have proved controversial in other countries, especially in Britain, which reportedly has 4.2 million surveillance cameras installed, or about one per 14 people. British police say the system has in fact done little to bring down crime.
No debate over privacy rights has taken place in China, where the ratio of cameras to people stands at only one to 472,000, and where tight communist political control and broad and insrusive police pwers have long been the norm. The camera-to-person ratio is believed to be much higher in China's cities, with the capital Beijing having 265,000 cameras, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
But China's moves to combine surveillance cameras with face recognition software has raised concerns about how the equipment will be used. It is not clear how many surveillance cameras in China use such software.
The police news release said widespread camera installation began in 2003, but did not say whether that had made a dent in the crime rate or helped police crack more cases. However, police say violent crime had declined with better enforcement of rules governing weapons and explosives.
The police news release said the Public Security Ministery had recently decided to expand the use of security cameras in the countryside, which is home to about 800 million of the country's 1.3 billion people. Such efforts should "put the safety of the broad masses of the people first and foremost", the release said.
The cameras are the m ost visible components of police surveillance and notification systems installed around the country, mainly in urbarn areas, according to a news release posted on teh Public Security Ministry's website yesterday.
Such systems have proved controversial in other countries, especially in Britain, which reportedly has 4.2 million surveillance cameras installed, or about one per 14 people. British police say the system has in fact done little to bring down crime.
No debate over privacy rights has taken place in China, where the ratio of cameras to people stands at only one to 472,000, and where tight communist political control and broad and insrusive police pwers have long been the norm. The camera-to-person ratio is believed to be much higher in China's cities, with the capital Beijing having 265,000 cameras, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
But China's moves to combine surveillance cameras with face recognition software has raised concerns about how the equipment will be used. It is not clear how many surveillance cameras in China use such software.
The police news release said widespread camera installation began in 2003, but did not say whether that had made a dent in the crime rate or helped police crack more cases. However, police say violent crime had declined with better enforcement of rules governing weapons and explosives.
The police news release said the Public Security Ministery had recently decided to expand the use of security cameras in the countryside, which is home to about 800 million of the country's 1.3 billion people. Such efforts should "put the safety of the broad masses of the people first and foremost", the release said.
KINGDOM A PRIORITY MARKET FOR CCTVS, SAYS SAMSUNG
Thailand has been selected as a priority market, along with Russia and Indonesia, for Samsung Electronics' new strategy to transform its CCTV business from a headquarters-direct operation to a local one.
The change, which allows local units to use their present resources, such as manpower, service network, dealer network, market intelligence and brand awareness, is a key step to achieving the global target of joining the world's top three by 2012.
Do In-rok, vice president for video security systems, yesterday said Thailand was chosen because of its great potential to achieve business-to-business success in supplying all kinds of CCTV products.
"Our Thai subsidiary [Thai Samsung Electronics] is quite strong in the B2B business. With the new local operation strategy, we are able to meet the market's needs and access market segments more effectively," Do said.
Shin Woo-chul, director of area sales and marketing for video security systems, digital media and communications, said the global CCTV market was expected to reach US$41.5 billion (Bt1.4 trillion) next year on growth of about 15 per cent.
"Asia has enjoyed the highest growth rate for CCTV systems, at about 16.8 per cent last year to $2.9 billion in market value, while the CCTV market in Thailand is expected to experience a big increase from $72 million posted last year to $106 million projected by 2011," Shin said.
Samsung Electronics has been in the CCTV market for 16 years.
"Globally, the CCTV market is fragmented, with no powerful brand. The market is occupied by more than 400 players, and many of them are small companies.
"The world market leader, Pelco in the US, has a share of only 5.5 per cent, while the top 10 players in the CCTV market globally have a combined share of less than 50 per cent," Shin said.
Samsung Electronics ranks seventh in the global CCTV market with a 3-per-cent share.
"We want to be at least No 3 in the market with a 5-per-cent share by 2012," he said.
For the CCTV business, the ability to provide immediate technical support is absolutely crucial for
success.
Pelco, for instance, commands 10 per cent of its US market, because they have strong technical support, Shin added.
Thai Samsung Electronics de-puty managing director Arnut Changtrakul said the launch of
CCTV products and access-control systems in Thailand was another piece in the jigsaw puzzle for the Thai operation.
The company is positioning itself as a total solutions provider for various product applications, including home appliances, semiconductors, digital media like audio-video and information-technology products, liquid-crystal-display panels and mobile-phone networks.
"We expect to achieve local sales of Bt120 million from CCTV and access-control systems and a 1.5-2-per-cent market share this year," Arnut said.
The domestic CCTV market is expected to expand 13 per cent to more than Bt2.8 billion this year.
The change, which allows local units to use their present resources, such as manpower, service network, dealer network, market intelligence and brand awareness, is a key step to achieving the global target of joining the world's top three by 2012.
Do In-rok, vice president for video security systems, yesterday said Thailand was chosen because of its great potential to achieve business-to-business success in supplying all kinds of CCTV products.
"Our Thai subsidiary [Thai Samsung Electronics] is quite strong in the B2B business. With the new local operation strategy, we are able to meet the market's needs and access market segments more effectively," Do said.
Shin Woo-chul, director of area sales and marketing for video security systems, digital media and communications, said the global CCTV market was expected to reach US$41.5 billion (Bt1.4 trillion) next year on growth of about 15 per cent.
"Asia has enjoyed the highest growth rate for CCTV systems, at about 16.8 per cent last year to $2.9 billion in market value, while the CCTV market in Thailand is expected to experience a big increase from $72 million posted last year to $106 million projected by 2011," Shin said.
Samsung Electronics has been in the CCTV market for 16 years.
"Globally, the CCTV market is fragmented, with no powerful brand. The market is occupied by more than 400 players, and many of them are small companies.
"The world market leader, Pelco in the US, has a share of only 5.5 per cent, while the top 10 players in the CCTV market globally have a combined share of less than 50 per cent," Shin said.
Samsung Electronics ranks seventh in the global CCTV market with a 3-per-cent share.
"We want to be at least No 3 in the market with a 5-per-cent share by 2012," he said.
For the CCTV business, the ability to provide immediate technical support is absolutely crucial for
success.
Pelco, for instance, commands 10 per cent of its US market, because they have strong technical support, Shin added.
Thai Samsung Electronics de-puty managing director Arnut Changtrakul said the launch of
CCTV products and access-control systems in Thailand was another piece in the jigsaw puzzle for the Thai operation.
The company is positioning itself as a total solutions provider for various product applications, including home appliances, semiconductors, digital media like audio-video and information-technology products, liquid-crystal-display panels and mobile-phone networks.
"We expect to achieve local sales of Bt120 million from CCTV and access-control systems and a 1.5-2-per-cent market share this year," Arnut said.
The domestic CCTV market is expected to expand 13 per cent to more than Bt2.8 billion this year.
iSex HOW PORNOGRAPHY HAS REVOLUTIONISED TECHNOLOGY
By Matilda Battersby, Jack Riley and Dina Rickman
Super 8 projectors
The Super 8 projector rose to popularity due in
part to the large amount of pornographic content which was quickly available for it. The
Super 8 camera was a favourite for fraternity
house "home movies", although it was a drawback that the film had to be developed.
Released in 1965 by Kodak, the film came in
plastic cartridges containing plenty of potential on their 15 metres of film. But the
projector, a temperamental contraption,would sometimes disappoint anxious viewers
by refusing to work.
Polaroid
A need for instant satisfaction prompted the invention of the Polaroid camera. You get to take delightfully rude images of your nearest and dearest in the comfort of your own home and you don't have to wait weeks before you can reap the benefits.Despite the frantic hand flapping that comes with developing a Polaroid negative, you get to see the result in less than a minute. Plus, you get to avoid the embarrassing trip to SnappySnaps to see the disapproving shop assistant.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol was developed to feed the porn market after
frustrated internet users bemoaned the lack of "dirty talk" online. VoIP basically
allows you to use internet-based sex phone lines (a bit like Skype, but filthier)and allows you to view whatever you like
while you chat. What could be simpler?And, you don't even need to hold a phone
to your ear as you can use an ear piece or
web cammike to speak to your "date".
VHS
The war of video formats began in 1975 when Sony launched the Betamax system, closely followed in 1976 by JVC's VHS. Despite the technical superiority of the Betamax system, VHS won the battle for customers as it was easier for amateur pornographers to produce their own content with VHS, and porn was readily available in the VHS format. Although porn helped VHS to dominate over Betamax, the relationship was reciprocal, with VHS offering the pornography industry a system of distribution which allowed it to insinuate itself into the mainstream. The rival Betamax tapes were not long enough to record a film, at only 60 minutes, and adult content was not available on Betamax.
DVD players
The DVD player has not only increased the availability of pornography beyond VHS, but
allowed it to be viewed in a more accessible format. Fans of risque films could quickly flick to
their favoured scenes or pause to view particularly agreeable moments in high definition. The advent of the DVD player has seen
history repeating itself, with the VHS vs Betamax
war being channelled into the fight between HD
DVD and Sony's Blu-ray. Sony appear to be
suffering due to the company's continued reluctance to support the adult films, with Blu-ray
not releasing its first adult film until 2007.
Pay-per-view cable or satellite
The pay-per-view format on satellite and cable helped pornography to thrust itself into the mainstream. Instead of videos only being available to those brave enough to rent racy material face to face, one could order porn from the TV at home,or through premium services within hotels. The ubiquity of pornography available in the home led to Jacqui Smith's husband, a British politician,recently getting in trouble for billing the taxpayer for two porn films he bought on pay-per-view, via his wife's expenses.
The internet
For many, the internet is synonymous with
pornography. While statistics on usage are difficult to come across given the shady legal status of the industry,2007 estimates claimed that
the industry was worth $2.84 billion a year, with
89% of pornography produced in the US. It's difficult to ascertain precisely how much of an influence salacious material had on the rise of the
world wide web, but it's generally acknowledged that which such a sizeable chunk of internet traffic
dedicated to the transmission and reception of pornography we may not have seen the 100% year
on year growth of the internet witnessed from the
mid-'90s to the early noughties.
Interactive television
Have you seen that little red button on some TV remotes? Well, the interactivity that button supplies you with for mainstream news and satellite sports channels was reportedly developed for the porn industry.It was intended to allow users to home in on the most interesting actors/actresses/activities available. Apparently the TV remote control element means you can bypasses the embarrassment of having to sign up and pay-to-view via a call centre.
The video phone
Not only have video phones allowed
customers to view downloaded pornography whenever and wherever they
choose, they have also given the public a constant instrument to film with, allowing
amateurs to immortalise their tawdry
dalliances without the hassle of any forward planning. This benefit has been particularly embraced by teenagers, and has allowed their peers to share amorous moments with one another electronically,
leading to the "sexting" craze, which has been reported in Australia, New Zealand,
the US and the UK.
Camcorder
Electrical outlets in the 1990s saw sales boosted by the libidos of people wanting to make their own adult movies using snappy little camcorders - a far cry from the hefty film cameras of old. With women's magazines lambasting the home-made blue movie as a way to spice up a long-term romance, young and old began to get a bit creative. Just don't forget which tape is which and record Coronation Street over it.
Super 8 projectors
The Super 8 projector rose to popularity due in
part to the large amount of pornographic content which was quickly available for it. The
Super 8 camera was a favourite for fraternity
house "home movies", although it was a drawback that the film had to be developed.
Released in 1965 by Kodak, the film came in
plastic cartridges containing plenty of potential on their 15 metres of film. But the
projector, a temperamental contraption,would sometimes disappoint anxious viewers
by refusing to work.
Polaroid
A need for instant satisfaction prompted the invention of the Polaroid camera. You get to take delightfully rude images of your nearest and dearest in the comfort of your own home and you don't have to wait weeks before you can reap the benefits.Despite the frantic hand flapping that comes with developing a Polaroid negative, you get to see the result in less than a minute. Plus, you get to avoid the embarrassing trip to SnappySnaps to see the disapproving shop assistant.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol was developed to feed the porn market after
frustrated internet users bemoaned the lack of "dirty talk" online. VoIP basically
allows you to use internet-based sex phone lines (a bit like Skype, but filthier)and allows you to view whatever you like
while you chat. What could be simpler?And, you don't even need to hold a phone
to your ear as you can use an ear piece or
web cammike to speak to your "date".
VHS
The war of video formats began in 1975 when Sony launched the Betamax system, closely followed in 1976 by JVC's VHS. Despite the technical superiority of the Betamax system, VHS won the battle for customers as it was easier for amateur pornographers to produce their own content with VHS, and porn was readily available in the VHS format. Although porn helped VHS to dominate over Betamax, the relationship was reciprocal, with VHS offering the pornography industry a system of distribution which allowed it to insinuate itself into the mainstream. The rival Betamax tapes were not long enough to record a film, at only 60 minutes, and adult content was not available on Betamax.
DVD players
The DVD player has not only increased the availability of pornography beyond VHS, but
allowed it to be viewed in a more accessible format. Fans of risque films could quickly flick to
their favoured scenes or pause to view particularly agreeable moments in high definition. The advent of the DVD player has seen
history repeating itself, with the VHS vs Betamax
war being channelled into the fight between HD
DVD and Sony's Blu-ray. Sony appear to be
suffering due to the company's continued reluctance to support the adult films, with Blu-ray
not releasing its first adult film until 2007.
Pay-per-view cable or satellite
The pay-per-view format on satellite and cable helped pornography to thrust itself into the mainstream. Instead of videos only being available to those brave enough to rent racy material face to face, one could order porn from the TV at home,or through premium services within hotels. The ubiquity of pornography available in the home led to Jacqui Smith's husband, a British politician,recently getting in trouble for billing the taxpayer for two porn films he bought on pay-per-view, via his wife's expenses.
The internet
For many, the internet is synonymous with
pornography. While statistics on usage are difficult to come across given the shady legal status of the industry,2007 estimates claimed that
the industry was worth $2.84 billion a year, with
89% of pornography produced in the US. It's difficult to ascertain precisely how much of an influence salacious material had on the rise of the
world wide web, but it's generally acknowledged that which such a sizeable chunk of internet traffic
dedicated to the transmission and reception of pornography we may not have seen the 100% year
on year growth of the internet witnessed from the
mid-'90s to the early noughties.
Interactive television
Have you seen that little red button on some TV remotes? Well, the interactivity that button supplies you with for mainstream news and satellite sports channels was reportedly developed for the porn industry.It was intended to allow users to home in on the most interesting actors/actresses/activities available. Apparently the TV remote control element means you can bypasses the embarrassment of having to sign up and pay-to-view via a call centre.
The video phone
Not only have video phones allowed
customers to view downloaded pornography whenever and wherever they
choose, they have also given the public a constant instrument to film with, allowing
amateurs to immortalise their tawdry
dalliances without the hassle of any forward planning. This benefit has been particularly embraced by teenagers, and has allowed their peers to share amorous moments with one another electronically,
leading to the "sexting" craze, which has been reported in Australia, New Zealand,
the US and the UK.
Camcorder
Electrical outlets in the 1990s saw sales boosted by the libidos of people wanting to make their own adult movies using snappy little camcorders - a far cry from the hefty film cameras of old. With women's magazines lambasting the home-made blue movie as a way to spice up a long-term romance, young and old began to get a bit creative. Just don't forget which tape is which and record Coronation Street over it.
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