Category: Technology

MUMBAI: Spymac Network has launched its international web 2.0 community for video chat, movies and music. The Web 2.0 portal lets the world video chat, share movies, pictures and music across the Internet and earn money at the same time.

The new version of Spymac – which originally started out as a Mac community in 2001 – was launched in January 2007. It is available now in more than 15 international languages and works on both PCs and Macs. A percentage of Spymac‘s advertising income is paid to members who upload the most creative and most viewed movies, music or pictures.

The most active, creative and popular content providers earn the largest amounts of money in this revenue-sharing model based on an exponential curve. The company has since paid out $50 in its first month with a German (Spymac nickname “Jafeth”) earning $5000 for his funny videos/pictures, and a Chinese content provider receiving a cheque for $1300.

Spymac’s content quality-rating system is based on an algorithm taking into account how creative and popular it is. The criteria include how other users rate the content, if it is linked to other sites, the click-rate etc. Users with the most popular content of the day win the daily payout and the best content providers of the month earn the monthly jackpot. Spymac is also working on a system which allows users to rate content as inappropriate and set an alert so that the content will be taken off the site.

Spymac Network CEO Holger Ehlis says, ”The service would be of great interest and benefit to members in developing nations, whose culture and surroundings are sure to be a hit with viewers. They are sure to benefit from our service as those who upload something that people want to see or hear make real money.

“While YouTube announced that it was thinking of a way for members to revenue-share, Spymac is already paying out cheques to its users”.

Among the most powerful features of Spymac is its’ complimentary face-to-face video chat, which allows people to share everyday life over the Internet. Members can have a heart-warming conversation with family, who is away, see the smile of an online sweetheart, or hold a business meeting in the convenience of a living room. The feature is truly compatible, without any of the traditional need for extra software or setup.

Spymac Network CTO Kevin April says, “Spymac takes online dating, staying in touch and finding new friends to a whole new level. All you need is a web browser and an inexpensive web cam to share video and enjoy face-to-face meetings with people from another city, country, or even continent”.

Users can access Spymac for hundreds of thousands of iPod-ready movies, songs and pictures. Spymac‘s movies are also fully compatible with Sony‘s PlayStation Portable, allowing users to easily find new content for their portable entertainment devices. Share video from Spymac to MySpace and other sites with unlimited storage space on offer.

Through its embedding feature, Spymac allows users to stream content across the Internet on other websites. For example, users can insert their favorite pictures and videos into their MySpace profiles, blogs or eBay auctions, turning Spymac into a powerful content hub. This allows users to spice up online ads and auctions with video or audio clips; upload multimedia projects for work or school; liven up blogs, websites and emails; share movies with friends and family and enhance personal profiles on dating and social-networking sites.

By utilising technology, members record live video with a click of a button for immediate release to the Internet. Users can capture pictures, audio and video directly onto Spymac using their own webcams, or easily upload from video cameras or mobile phones. “Spymac simplifies the technology behind different formats, encoders and players, making it easier for people to enjoy online communication” said April.

MUMBAI: Every five seconds a reader buys a romance novel. Now that same person can learn more about the novel’s author, the place where it is set and other behind-the-scenes goodies on romancenovel.tv.

This broadband television network will launch in the US on 14 February 2007 and will aim to bring readers closer to the world of romance novels.

Romance Novel TV (romancenovel.tv) launches with an array of original programming that will feature best-selling authors like Nora Roberts, Christina Dodd, Eloisa James, Mary Jo Putney and JR Ward. Romance Novel TV president Maria Lokken, says, “I am a big fan of romance novels and I was always curious about the authors’ lives and what inspires them. Romance Novel TV lets readers connect with their favorite writers.” Romance Novel TV is working with several publishing houses, which are excited about adding another layer to a market that earned $1.2 billion in sales last year.

Shows will include: On Camera Author Interviews – Fans want to learn more about their favorite authors, who will be the subjects of in-depth interviews. The network will also speak with rising stars as it promotes their books and offers a rare inside look into an author’s life.

Let’s Talk – Filmed in a living room setting, this monthly feature catches three romance novel authors talking about everything from movie stars — to shopping, housing hunting or finding the perfect man. Romancenovel.tv will also feature new book releases every week and offer links to the publishing houses where readers can make purchases. This page will also be home to the “Editor/Publisher” of the week where fans get the inside track on the latest industry trends from the most important people in the business. Romance Novel Virgin – Here one can follow a new author in this soap opera style drama as she meets with her editor, makes revisions, examines cover art and finally sees her novel hit bookshelves. One can expect a bit of angst, a little drama and a weekly cliffhanger.

MUMBAI: Qualcomm, which develops and innovates advanced wireless technologies and data solutions has announced that the company will showcase wireless solutions at the 3GSM
World Congress 2007 in Barcelona, Spain.

The event takes place from 12-15 February 2007. its demonstration includes HSPA and UMTS chipsets, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) mobile TV technology, the latest Brew offerings and applications, location-based services and live demonstrations of the MediaFLO System.

Qualcomm VP, global marketing and investor relations William F. Davidson Jr. says, ” Qualcomm is committed to helping the global wireless industry continue its rapid evolution, as well as achieve its primary goal of ensuring mobile phones and wireless services are accessible and affordable to people in both the developed and developing markets.
“We‘re proud to be a part of 3GSM 2007 and, along with our partners, showcase our advanced wireless solutions.”

During 3GSM 2007, Qualcomm and its partners will be conducting a number of live demonstrations:

— MediaFLO Technologies demonstration of 20 live-streaming television channels, including Spanish and European content from Abertis and Sky, and Clipcasting content from Warner Music Group on three OEM handsets.

— IP datacasting demonstrations of news, sports and weather streaming.

— The world‘s first demonstration of MBMS mobile TV technology, delivering multiple channels over the air using UMTS networks.

— Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7XXX-series chipsets, showcasing stunning 3D graphics and gaming capabilities.

— Position-location capabilities of gpsOne(R) assisted-GPS technology and gpsOneXTRA assistance technology, which expands the capabilities of standalone GPS.

— High-quality VoIP demonstration using HSPA technology, and running simultaneously with other leading data applications such as video sharing, video streaming and Web browsing.

— HSPA video streaming, Web browsing and video sharing.

— Commercial uiOne handsets and demonstrations of advanced uiOne capabilities.

— Brew gaming and BREW locate signature solutions.

— Dell, HP and Lenovo will demonstrate their latest HSDPA-embedded notebook computers in Qualcomm‘s booth, all on the commercial Vodafone Spain HSDPA network.

— OQO in collaboration with Novatel Wireless, will conduct a technology demonstration of their Ultra Mobile PC (OQO model 02) with HSPA capability, incorporating the SM6280 chipset targetted for Europe and Asia.

MUMBAI: MTNL has introduced a value add to its broadband services with ‘Broadband with Wi-Fi‘. These Wi-Fi services are enabled with CPE‘s (Customer Premises Equipment) which have a speed of up to 2 mbps.Using these CPE‘s, subscribers will now be able to create their ‘private hot spots‘ covering a range of 40 meters in their homes and offices. They can also create “Private public hot spots” through MTNL‘s
pre paid broadband service.

Speaking on the occasion MTNL executive director A.K. Arora said, “Broadband with Wi-Fi is an initiative to create ease and comfort for our consumers while at home or work. Broadband MTNL‘s contribution aims to help increase internet penetration and its usage will be significantly driven by these kind of services”.

Broadband with Wi-Fi will bring convenience to consumers to the level that multiple computers, laptops and PDAs can operate simultaneously. This will help household consumers who have more than one device at their residence.
This facet will also help educational institutions such as Engineering, Management, Medical and Research Institutes to save cost and provide better work as well as learning environment.

Convention centers like auditoriums, conference halls, seminar rooms can also be helped through this connection by providing better service and in turn they will be able to enhance their turnover. With broadband Wi-Fi one can access the Internet anywhere and so café‘s restaurants and shopping malls can be converted into infotainment zones.

The Wi-Fi modem works on the latest version 802.11g of Wi-Fi standard and working in unlicensed 2.4 GHz band. It generally provides bandwidth of 54Mbps. The concurrent users can be upto 30. The Wi-Fi modem shall have a range of 40 meter indoor & 60 meter outdoor range. The range varies with
obstacles between Wi-Fi modem and laptop/PC/PDA. With above facilities of modem, one can create Hot spot in each house or corporate. The two types of modem used will be USB and Ethernet port or with 4 Ethernet ports.

Currently MTNL provides Wi-Fi services at domestic airport, India Habitat Center, Pragati Maidan, Vigyan Bhavan, UPSC, Election Commission, IIPA, and Delhi Government etc.

The customers can get this service by dialing 1500 or 22221500.

MUMBAI: Research firm Informa Telecoms and Media predicts that the mobile web will herald dramatic growth in revenues in the mobile content and services market.

The global mobile content, services market is expected to top $150 billion by 2011

Despite falling average revenues per user (Arpu) for mobile operators, the mobile content and services market will continue to grow dramatically as services and applications reach maturity and new services begin to gain traction, according to Informa Telecoms and Media. The latest edition of Informa‘s Mobile Content and Services report reveals that the introduction of a whole host of new players into the value chain presents new opportunities for growth in the mobile content and services market, whilst simultaneously posing a threat to mobile operators who face losing control of the billing relationship with their customers.

The mobile web heralds a new age: Mobile handset and network technology has now evolved to a point where true mobile web access is possible. Informa anticipates that by 2011, just under half of all mobile subscribers worldwide will use mobile browsing, a trend it sees developing with new operator offerings such as T-Mobile‘s ‘Web n Walk‘ service and 3‘s ‘X-Series‘ services. Despite this, messaging, headed by SMS will continue to dominate the overall revenues for the market, generating over half the total revenue in 2011 (from 67% in 2006).

Informa Telecoms and Media senior analyst Daniel Winterbottom who wrote the report says, “Advanced mobile content and services have been slow to take off, but this should not be confused with the deepening relationship that we have with our mobile phones. We may not be buying as many games, full-track downloads or multimedia messages as operators would like, but we are spending a huge amount of time sending and reading text messages and organising our lives using the phone‘s address book, clock, alarm and calendar functions”.

“Over time, users will warm to other data services as well. The mobile web is a prime example: Wap failed to take off when it was first launched, but five years on, more and more users have become comfortable with accessing news or other information on their mobile phones.”

The mobile entertainment space will also see significant innovation and development. Several technologies, such as mobile music, have been available for a number of years but the increased availability of high-speed data networks (such as 3G and HSDPA) is giving further appeal to these services. Mobile music will be a major contributor to the revenues achieved in the mobile entertainment market in the next five years, although its overall share of the market will fall from 40 per cent in 2006 to 36 per cent in 2011 as new forms of entertainment such as mobile TV and video services begin to gain consumer interest. Games, gambling, personalisation and adult content will all see significant growth, as the overall mobile entertainment market grows from US$18.84 billion in 2006 to US$38.12 billion in 2011.

Evolving services: The report investigates a number of other areas which will see growth in the next five years:

User-Generated Content, the big story of the Internet in 2006, will continue to extend to the mobile space as new applications begin to extend communities to users on the move, and provide further means for mobile users to contribute content whilst on the move. Informa forecasts that the user-generated and communities will be worth US$13.17 billion by 2011.

M-Commerce faces a number of challenges and has already hit a few stumbling blocks. Whilst payments for digital content ‘on-portal‘ continue to function, the growth in off-portal content and the migration to the mobile web will open up the market to other players. Google and eBay are both vying hungrily for this space. Using the mobile as a vector for physical payments, however, has proven more complex and whilst the technology, in terms of Near Field Communications chips embedded in handsets, is readily available, it has been a struggle to prove demand outside of the Far East. Informa estimates that the worldwide market for m-commerce was US$359 million in 2006, coming mostly from the Asia-Pacific region.

Mobile TV will continue to be the focus of much excitement from mobile operators as broadcast services using a range of different technologies are rolled out across Europe. It remains to be seen if consumers will be as excited about the services, and how operators will manage the issues of advertising and pricing which will be critical to the success of the service.

Operator strategies: The shape of the mobile content market is defining the evolution of the mobile operator as a business entity. The report investigates alternate approaches that are being taken by different operators, from those remaining ‘pure play‘ mobile, diversifying into new vertical markets or business applications, to those converging into a one stop communications house. It gauges how these strategies will pan out and where each strategy is likely to take hold in different regions.

“The arrival of the mobile web on the mobile handset over in 2007 and beyond will see users embracing the same content they take for granted on their PCs. Operators need to ensure they are firmly locked into this value chain or risk missing out on what will be an enormous market by 2011,” concluded Winterbottom.

MUMBAI: Intec, a BSS/OSS software vendor for fixed, mobile and next-generation networks, announced today that HT Mobile, Vietnam‘s newest nation-wide mobile communications service provider has selected Intec‘s full suite of billing and operations support systems, including interconnect, mediation, convergent billing, and charging solutions and the provision of managed services.

The Intec solution architecture will form a part of the operator‘s strategy to offer advanced mobile services in Vietnam.

This new contract further adds to Intec‘s long-term relationship with the Hutchison Group, particularly its market-leading 3G operations. Intec provides both retail and interconnect billing, plus convergent mediation, to a number of ‘3‘ branded operations, including the UK, Australia, Austria, Sweden, and Italy.

Together the two companies have developed unmatched expertise in the creation of an advanced BSS/OSS architecture that delivers a wide variety of next-generation mobile services to both pre-paid and post-paid customers.

HT Mobile recently launched its advanced CDMA2000 1XEV-DO network in Vietnam, with a network presence in all 64 provinces together with a suite of products and services ranging from prepaid, postpaid, SMS and MMS to high-speed internet as well as infotainment services. The adoption of the Intec Solution Architecture is driven by a compelling need to reduce operational complexity, total cost of ownership, increase service flexibility, reduce and facilitate rapid launch and revenue generation IP-based third generation services.

HT Mobile CEO Elizabete Fong says, “We chose Intec because of its proven track record as an established BSS/OSS vendor across the globe, and because its integrated solution architecture offers us a proven solution based on best-of-breed components. We are confident that its experience will help us to rapidly address the needs of the developing communications market in Vietnam.”

Intec CPP Asia Pacific Norm Halvorson said, “Intec is delighted to work with HT Mobile to deliver leading edge technology, robust performance and benefits of next generation services to a broader section of the Vietnamese society. Our carrier-grade, next-generation BSS/OSS solution supports the business strategies of the world‘s leading carriers and Intec remains committed to continue to enable the rapid rollout of new and innovative services.”

MUMBAI: MediaFlo USA, a subsidiary of Qualcomm has signed a deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN.

The deal will bring sports programming to MediaFlo USA’s new mobile entertainment service.

The new ESPN Mobile TV channel – ESPN’s first on a wireless service – will offer a selection of live, simulcast sports events; breaking sports news, commentary and analysis; and realtime sports scores and game updates. MediaFLO USA will deliver this content directly to subscribers’ mobile phones.

ESPN Enterprises executive VP Salil Mehta says, “The time is right to offer the first-ever sports wireless channel, ESPN Mobile TV. Historically, ESPN has been the leader in adopting new technologies to serve sports fans, and MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service will make ESPN’s world-class programming come to life on the newest generation of mobile phones.”

MediaFlo USA president Gina Lombardi says, “MediaFlo USA is revolutionizing television by offering, for the first time, must-see programming from world-class entertainment brands in a crystal-clear mobile viewing environment.

“One of the keys to the broad adoption of mobile TV is the availability of high-quality content, and our agreement with ESPN will be a compelling draw for sports fans who want anytime, anywhere access to unmatched sports programming.”

Guided by primary market research and consumer trials, MediaFlo USA intends to secure familiar, full-length content from many of the world’s leading media companies and leverage its dedicated, nationwide multicast network to deliver live, full-length, TV-quality programming to mobile phones.

MUMBAI: Of the three metros, Mumbai leads in Cas (conditional access system) adoption with a 25 per cent penetration in set-top boxes (STBs), according to a study by Tam.

While Mumbai has 139000 subscribers buying STBs on a Cas home of 548000, Delhi has a 14 per cent penetration with 97000 out of 676000 homes opting for boxes.

Kolkata is a clear laggard with a 10 per cent penetration, indicating significant differences in offtake across the three metros. Out of 409000 homes, 41000 subscribers have gone ahead and bought boxes.

“Of the 1.63 million homes covered by the Cas footprint, 277000 homes had taken up a STB/DTH connection to access pay channels. Pay TV homes amounted to 17 per cent of the Cas-mandated area,” the study said.

In the first week of January, Tam commissioned AC Nielsen to conduct a ‘Pay TV Homes’ estimation study in the Cas-mandated zones of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The fieldwork periods were 12-16 January in Mumbai, 11-15 January in Delhi and 11-16 January in Kolkata. The fieldwork mid-point was 14 January, Tam said.

Tam further divided the zones into 100 sampling nodes, ensuring “adequate geographical coverage.” It conducted face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The interviewee was the decision maker pertaining to cable subscription. The sample size was 2250 respondents (750 per city).

According to the study, an additional 198000 homes claimed to have subscribed but are awaiting installation of ‘pay TV services.’The ‘under served’ segments included 109000 (20 per cent awaiting installations) in Mumbai, 43000 (6 per cent) in Delhi and 46000 (11 per cent) in Kolkata.

“Cumulatively, 475000 homes had subscribed comprising 29 per cent of the Cas-mandated homes,” the study said.

There are 7.96 million cable homes across the three metros with 1.63 million (approximately 21 per cent) falling under the Cas-mandated zones. Mumbai has 3.25 million cable homes while in Delhi it is 2.61 million and in Kolkata 2.1 million.

The highest offtake for the boxes is in the SEC A strata of Mumbai. Interestingly, the response by Mumbai‘s SEC C is nearly on par with those from SEC A residing in Delhi and Kolkata There is zero demand from SEC D/E in Kolkata. “The offtake levels vary significantly across markets even at a SEC level. The highest offtake is observed in the higher SEC and it declines as one comes down the SEC ladder. Owing to the pre-dominant non-responsive lower SEC, the offtakes seem to have got dampened significantly,” the study pointed out.

Despite low offtake in Kolkata, consumer awareness appeared to be higher than in Delhi and Mumbai. Consumers residing in Delhi appeared to be the least aware.

While consumer awareness has significant ground to cover, price remained the pre-dominant reason for subscribers preferring to decide in favour of free-to-air (FTA) channels.

MUMBAI: Cable operators dry of cash for digital implementation can now look forward to Cisco Systems, Inc. The global networking equipment and network management giant is willing to finance cable operators in India as it sees opportunity in riding the digital cable wave to push its set-top boxes (STBs).

There is a catch, though: operators will have access to the loan only if they use STBs from Scientific Atlanta, the company that Cisco acquired to bulk up on businesses that cater to consumers.

The debt will be provided through its wholly owned subsidiary company, Cisco Capital.

Cisco has approached several small and medium-sized operators in the Cas (conditional access system) areas, offering a variety of financing options. “We are willing to provide soft loans to cable operators which can be paid over a period of time. This way we can push our digital end-to-end solutions including headend, encryption system and boxes,” says a source in the company.

The loan size will depend upon the credit worthiness of the operator and the funding will be made available in phases. “We won‘t be funding the cable network in one go, but infuse it in several doses,” says the source.

Cisco realises how tough it will be to evaluate the health of the cable networks. “Most of them do not have proper documents and it is difficult to rate their creditworthiness,” the source adds.

Among the cable operators Cisco has initiated talks are Kolkata-based Manthan and JPR Network, an independent operator in Mumbai. But there are no takers yet.

“We are more interested in equity than in debt. As we will have to subsidise the STBs, it will be very difficult to recover and repay the loan. The average revenue per user (ARPU) from Cas subscribers is also low. Besides, Scientific Atlanta boxes are more expensive than what is available in China and Korea,” says JPR Network promoter Raja Nadar.

Cisco, however, believes its end-to-end digital solutions and the pressure cable operators face to put quality infrastructure in place will drive in good business. “There is just a 20 per cent difference between what we provide and what others are offering. But we have a better system and bridge an end-to-end requirement,” the source says.

Rajan Raheja-promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom and Asianet are using the Scientific Atlanta headend, STBs and encryption system, the source adds. Hathway, in which Star has a 26 per cent stake, already has seeded Humax STBs and uses News Corp-owned NDS encryption systems.

For Hathway, Scientific Atlanta is going to be a second supply vendor as the market for digital cable expands.

Cisco acquired Scientific Atlanta so that it could tap the rapidly growing cable, satellite and IPTV markets across the world.

MUMBAI: The New Media Group (TNMG) and Taj Television, which owns sports channel Ten Sports, have formed a partnership.

TNMG will distribute and market Taj Television‘s assets to users in Japan and Korea.

TNMG president Randy McGraw says, “We have been really impressed with the content that Ten Sports is producing, the company’s management, and its direction.

“This strategic tie-up goes a long way toward our mission of establishing the preeminent IPTV and sports community management portal for the growing number of people that are under-serviced by legacy broadcasting, DTH and CATV systems in the markets where they live. We are happy to be working with Taj Television.”

Under the agreement between companies, TNMG will distribute Ten Sports to a community of 200,000 South East Asian and Subcontinent community members living and working in Japan and Korea. Taking advantage of the regions broadband and 3G mobile infrastructure, TNMG will work with Taj Television Limited initially on TV offerings, and will eventually will develop offerings for consumption on TV, PC, and mobile phones.

TNMG says that it will give its viewers the World On-Demand, and we are happy to have this solution. South Asians all over Asia will now be able to watch cricket, football, hockey, tennis, and see their favorite players and home teams doing it.

The two companies will eventually collaborate on new, interactive offerings for consumers of Ten Sports’ content.

The companies began services in Japan and other East Asian markets in December, 2006.