Category: Software

MUMBAI: Premier digital media company Yahoo! showcased a lineup of original video for its monthly global audience of 700 million users at its Digital Content NewFront event in New York City.

The internet giant also unveiled a number of new projects, covering a variety of topics — from sports to fashion to relationships — and featuring voices, hosts, and creative talent.

Yahoo!‘s new programming lineup for 2012 and beyond includes: Dancing With Myself (Debuts 2013), Men‘s Slate of Shows and Talent, Talk Show In Development – No Title (Debuts in July) with Jeff Goldblum as host, Stunt Nation (Debuts in July) with Sal Masekela as host, Yahoo! Sports Minute (Live) with Angela Sun as host, KaBOOM! (Debuts in July), The MANual (debuts in July), and Superfans (Debuts in July).

“The media and advertising industries are at a watershed moment, and no one is more poised to take advantage of the shift toward digital content than Yahoo!. Globally, we are a digital media powerhouse, providing high-quality, engaging & personalized content on every screen,” said Yahoo EVP & Head of Global Media Ross Levinsohn.

“We‘re partnering with industry leaders and top Hollywood talent, creating unique, premium experiences for distinct audiences around the world. By doing so, we create a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to connect with highly engaged and targeted audiences. We provide the content experiences that consumers want and the context that advertisers desire.”

BANGALORE: The MTV Voices website will showcase a new animated four part web-series featuring a differently-able cross cultural super hero ‘Silver Scorpion’ that has been created through the ‘Open Hands Initiative’, a partner initiative between the two.

Silver Scorpion is the brainchild of a group of 26 American and Syrian youths with disabilities who gathered in Damascus a about a year ago.

Open Hands Initiative co-founder and chairman Jay T Synder says,” “This is not just a comic book; it’s a breakthrough effort in public diplomacy that helps forge lasting bonds and understanding between the youth of the United States and the Middle East. his type of people-to-people diplomacy is as important now as it was a year ago when we brought these creative young people together, and it will be even more important in the years ahead.”

Liquid Comics co-founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan said. “Great superheroes have always been allegories to larger societal issues and the story of our generation is globalization and our ability to overcome regional and cultural differences to find our common humanity. These students and their experience together speak to the very best of that globalization in the years ahead.”

“MTV Voices is all about giving young people a platform to express ideas, aspirations, concerns about the world in a creative manner”, said Viacom International Media Networks VP of Social Responsibility John Jackson. “The Silver Scorpion project and how its super hero was conceived absolutely reflects that core value and is a natural fit for MTV Voices. Through the story of the super hero, the young Americans and Syrians involved with the project have found a way of sharing their values with the world, and MTV Voices is delighted to bring that to our audience, encouraging them to engage with us on the narrative, the ideas and the vision”.

As recognition of the students work, at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative, former US President Bill Clinton highlighted the Silver Scorpion project, stating that the comic book, “…will help to establish trust and understanding between cultures, to empower young people with disabilities.”

The Silver Scorpion tells the story of an Arab teenager, Bashir Bari, who loses his legs in a tragic accident. The hero envisioned by the students has the power to not only bend metal with his mind, but to transform his world… and ours.

NEW DELHI: Aakash One and Aakash Two tablets – technically named by its manufacturer DataWind as Ubislate 7+ and Ubislate 7C Models – have been formally launched despite the controversy that surrounded the brand with Indian Institute of Technology – Rajasthan rejecting the models and the government shifting the work to IIT- Mumbai.

Providing smartphone communication, Internet access, tablet computing and multimedia entertainment, the devices also pack a powerful combination of content and applications. The totally indigenously produced models are priced at Rs 2,999 ($57) and Rs 3.999 ($76), thus making them the cheapest smartphone-cum-tablet in the world.

Intended to help bridge the digital divide, DataWind’s new products break the affordability barriers of computers and bandwidth constraints of wireless networks to deliver internet access to anybody that can afford a simple mobile phone.

The UbiSlate tablets are the only devices in the market to offer DataWind’s UbiSurfer browser, based on 18 international patents that can deliver internet access on traditional GPRS networks which cover the far reaches of the globe. In India the devices will offer unlimited web-browsing using DataWind’s breakthrough web delivery platform for under Rs.100 a month on traditional mobile networks.

DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told indiantelevision.com that the tablets can be booked on the website of Datawind, and those who book by paying a part of the sum at the time of the booking will be given priority. He expected to clear the complete backlog within a month or two.

Differentiated with a resistive screen on the UbiSlate 7+ to the four-point multi-touch projective capacitive screen on the UbiSlate 7C, both models come with embedded GPRS modems in addition to WiFi connectivity allowing ubiquitous internet access.

The 7” screen tablets support the Android 2.3 operating system that delivers a rich touch-screen graphical user interface which significantly reduces the learning curve for new computer users in joining the world wide web. A powerful 800 Mhz Cortex A8 processor allows smooth usability of a broad range of applications. The embedded HD video co-processor delivers high quality video content making it a perfect multimedia device.

Tuli said, “Over the last year, I have been traveling the globe, talking at the World Bank, with heads of state, at numerous universities and at global conferences, evangelizing the power of the internet to transform people’s lives. We have now created a product that removes the barriers and levels the playing field.”

DataWind’s co-chairman and CTO Raja Singh Tuli added, “Our challenge was not only to create a powerful yet low-cost device, but to truly make it useful, we had to create a technology that could deliver internet access everywhere at an affordable price.”

At the launch event, devices were provided to school children from Guru Harkrishan Public School by Canadian High Commissioner Stewart Beck, Head of Trade and Investment for North India for the UK Trade and Investment from the British High Commission Frances Hooper; CMAI President N K Goyal, and Harvinder Singh Sarna, Member of the Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.

Delivery of UbiSlate 7+ devices have started to consumers who have pre-booked on DataWind’s http://www.ubislate.com/ webiste, and will continue over the next several months before retail availability. Delivery of UbiSlate 7C devices will start at the end of May.

Beck said the primary achievement was not manufacturing the product but making it affordable.

DataWind also unveiled its ecosystem of partners for providing content, applications and access, making it the industry’s largest collaborative effort to deliver consumers a complete turnkey offering in a single unit. DataWind announced relationships with:

Aircel; VMC Systems Ltd.; Yahoo! India; The Indian Express Group; Get Jar for the world’s largest independent app store providing access to over 350,000 software applications; and InMobi independent mobile ad network.

In addition, Reverie Language Technologies Pvt. Ltd. will provide 13 Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Punjabi/Gurmukhi. Mango Learning solutions will provide for game based educational modules, interactive smart books and the full CBSE curriculum; RKS Learning Private Ltd. for TestBag, the most comprehensive solution for testing and e-assessment; Intelligia finger tracing apps to teach letter writing for toddlers; Pixatel for utilities and games created for tablet form factors; Poketalk for call
back long distance services; MyJobs; and Blueworld portal to help encouraging a socially conscience approach to the internet.

In addition, a consumer can buy accessories like a solar battery, a dust cover, a screen protector, car charger, microphone and earpiece, external antennae and a USB Memory Drive.

MUMBAI: US media entertainment company‘s Syfy‘s business development and new enterprise unit, Syfy Ventures, and branded play company Hasbro have announced they will develop the first ever online social game based on the G.I. Joe brand.

This marks the latest addition to Syfy Games‘ action-packed entertainment slate targeting male core gamers on social network platforms.

The game, G.I. Joe: Special Ops, will launch in June on Facebook and Syfy Games.com (www.syfy.com/gijoe), among other platforms worldwide.

In the arena-based combat game, players can join either the G.I JOE team or the villainous Cobra organisation, accessing a huge catalogue of iconic heroes and villains along with spectacular weapons and vehicles.

G.I. Joe: Special Ops will be released under the Syfy Games banner, which is the umbrella brand for Syfy‘s gaming projects, including the partnerships with Trion Worlds (Defiance and Rift) and Bigpoint (Battlestar Galatica Online).

As part of the agreement granting exclusive worldwide licensing rights on online social media platforms for a fresh take on the classic G.I. JOE brand, Syfy Games will serve as publisher. Artplant, creator of the award-winning Battlestar Galactica Online, will develop the game, which will be free-to-play.

Syfy president Dave Howe said, “The G.I. JOE brand holds a special place in fans‘ hearts, and we‘re delighted to offer both those long-time fans and new players an action-packed gaming experience in a fresh and exciting way. Since we launched our social game platform, nearly 90% of our players are male, compared to the typical social game audience which skews female. With G.I. Joe: Special Ops, we will build upon this early momentum and significantly expand our audience to reach that underserved male social gamer and deliver them the best social games around.”

Hasbro senior VP of digital marketing Mark Blecher said, “As a global leader in branded play and gaming, Hasbro is thrilled to be working with Syfy Games to deliver the G.I. Joe: Special Ops social game for Facebook The epic G.I. Joe vs. Cobra saga is a perfect fit for this gaming platform and we‘re excited to deliver our classic characters such as Snake Eyes and Cobra Commander to fans in this new format.”

In addition to G.I. Joe: Special Ops, Syfy Ventures also announced its initial slate of social games, published under the Syfy Games banner. This platform consists of an expanding suite of social games embracing the sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, action/adventure and superhero genres, ranging from original content to games based upon Syfy programming. Syfy Games will use the platform to grow Syfy and third-party published games targeting genre fans and the core gamer. Syfy Monster Island (Developer – Sneaky Games).

Inspired by Syfy‘s Saturday Original Movies (Sharktopus, Mega Python Vs Gatoroid), players hunt down and capture a cadre of bizarre monsters to discover the dark secrets of their origins.

Stardrift Empires (Developer – Blue Frog Gaming)

Players colourise planets, build massive fleets of warships and form alliances as they build their own intergalactic empire.

Rise of Villains (Developer – Eruptive Games) will launch in late Spring. Fans suit up as a super villain with an array of amazing powers and weapons to overthrow governments and take over cities in the ultimate fight for world domination.

MUMBAI: TrueVisions, Thailand‘s nationwide pay TV operator, has selected Irdeto to deploy Irdeto Customer Central, a fully-integrated customer care and billing solution designed to help pay TV operators effectively manage multi-play services.

Irdeto Customer Central will enable TrueVisions to consolidate its cable and satellite subscribers into one database, providing the pay TV operator with a system that is more cost-effective and easier to deploy.

“Irdeto has been a trusted business partner for a long time and has been instrumental to growing our pay TV business in Thailand. Irdeto‘s deep knowledge of the pay media industry and solid track-record in providing innovative solutions specifically designed for pay TV services made them a natural choice for our customer care and billing needs,” said TrueVisions director of information systems Ratchanee Ajchariyawongkul.

TrueVisions is part of True Corp, a brand in Thailand backed by Asia‘s largest agro-conglomerate, the Charoen Pokphand Group.

At present, pay TV penetration in Thailand is one of the highest in Southeast Asia at 50 per cent. According to the Satellite Television Association in Thailand, the penetration of cable and satellite television is expected to reach 80 per cent of the country‘s 20 million households as Asia Pacific is undergoing a digital TV boom that will see penetration increase from 29 per cent in 2012 to 73 per cent in 2016.

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English, the news and current affairs channel, has announced its launch on Tata Sky. The channel, which is already available on the leading direct-to-home operator Dish TV, will now also be available at Tata Sky channel No. 543.

The launch on Tata Sky will add 9 million Indian households to channel‘s reach. Globally, Al Jazeera English is available in over 260 million households across 130 different countries.

“We are delighted to be launching on Tata Sky today, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our new viewers in India to Al Jazeera English,” said Al Jazeera English MD Al Anstey. “India is a really important country for Al Jazeera, with an outward looking, intelligent audience who are interested in what is going on in their world. We are committed to providing the highest quality coverage of India, from the region, and from our bureaux in all corners of the globe. We look forward to continue providing unique, comprehensive and compelling content to all of our viewers across the country.”

Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Nicola Bamford added, “A strong advocate of offering a wide range in every genre, Tata Sky is happy to offer its subscribers the award-winning Al Jazeera English channel on its platform. With a significant mix of both international and India-specific news, we are certain that our subscribers will continue to enjoy our latest addition to the news genre.”

MUMBAI: NDS has announced that its technology is enabling Indonesian pay-TV and DTH operator Indovision to kick-start a progressive migration of its more than one million subscribers from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 set-top boxes for enhanced TV services including interactivity.

Supported by a suite of end-to-end NDS solutions including VideoGuard® conditional access and MediaHighway® set-top box software, Indovision is in the process of deploying MPEG-4 set-top boxes to its entire subscriber base, enabling the launch of both high-quality standard (SD) and high definition (HD) services in a cost-effective manner.

In addition to providing high-quality linear TV services, both the SD and HD set-top boxes will allow users to access an interactive portal using their remote control, with games including Aquatika and Monkey Medallion and educational applications such as Spelling Whizz and Painter Puzzle.

In addition, the NDS MediaHighway Development Kit will enable Indovision to independently develop and add additional games to the platform. This is the first deployment of its type in the Indonesian pay-TV market.

Indovision launched its first MPEG-4 SD set-top box in March 2011, with an already extensive rollout. The operator subsequently announced the launch of its MPEG-4 HD service in February this year with an initial line-up of five HD channels, with plans to expand its offering in the near future.

MNC SkyVision VP director Handhi S. Kentjono said: “NDS’ global expertise in end-to-end solutions has been instrumental in our growth and will allow us to continue to deliver a superior TV-viewing experience as we make the full transition to MPEG-4.” He continued “With the addition of interactive games and the framework to expand our portfolio, we hope to provide an evolving, engaging service for our subscribers.”

NDS senior VP, GM Asia Pacific Sue Taylor commented, “As one of our longest-standing customers in the Asia Pacific region and the leading pay-TV operator in Indonesia, this move testifies that Indovision is a driving force behind the introduction of innovative, interactive TV experiences to the market. We look forward to continuing our support for Indovision as it migrates fully to MPEG-4.”

MUMBAI: Telekom Malaysia‘s pay- television service HyppTV has inked a carriage deal with French international news channel France 24 which will see the channel being aired via TM‘s high-speed broadband service, UniFi.

HyyppTV executive vice president new media Jeremy Kung said the company expected to attract about 2,000 expatriates within two years and about 20,000 university and college students going forward. “France 24 will complement other international and local news channels that are available on HyyppTV, which offers 87 channels consisting of 19 free channels, 33 premium channels, 17 video-on-demand genres and 18 interactive channels,” he told reporters after the launch of the channel.

Kung said the targeted audience-cum-UniFi subscribers would be French expatriates, Malaysian public, particularly the French-speaking group, as well as French-speaking tourists such as from Belgium.

France 24 Asia-Pacific distribution director Brice Bertrand added, “Our first-tier target is French expatriates in Malaysia. There are some 4,000 French people living in Malaysia currently. Second-tier target market would be the Malaysian public and lastly tourism but not limited to French but also Canadian, Belgians and Swiss.”

France 24 is broadcast in French, English and Arabic. It has reached 245 million households worldwide and attracted 45 million TV viewers each week.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games and 6waves, a global social and mobile game publisher, are joining forces to bring a multitude of new interactive games to Facebook through the 6waves publishing platform, some of which will be based on the BBC’s biggest brands.

One of the first games to launch, Top Gear: Speed World, marks the first ever Top Gear social game and will allow fans of the world’s biggest motoring entertainment show to compete in stunt-filled races and take on challenges. Aficionados of the UK Top Gear will recognize some of the most memorable vehicles and stunts from the show’s history
as they customise and collect cars, build their own tracks, , and challenge friends to beat their track times.

BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games executive VP Robert Nashak said, “With Facebook’s global platform and user reach, it’s a natural fit to extend BBC’s IP to social games that can enrich experiences and connections for our fans and their friends. 6waves was an obvious partner because of the company‘s track record of driving success for the developers and brands it works with.”

6waves senior VP of platform Jim Ying said, “BBC Worldwide has made tremendous strides in expanding its brands to consumers through interactive channels. Social games are a successful way to connect consumers directly with brands they love, we couldn’t be happier to be partnered with BBC in this step in their digital strategy.”

In addition to Top Gear: Speed World, Jane Austen’s Rogues and Romance will launch under this partnership. Set to arrive in spring 2012 and developed in partnership with Legacy Interactive, Jane Austen’s Rogues & Romance will re-create the world of her novels and allow players to take part in an imaginative adventure that follows the path of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy after they are married.

Additional game announcements under the partnership will be made throughout the year.

MUMBAI: Smartphones and media tablets continue to capture headlines while consumer electronic devices report healthy interest from consumers.

According to ABI Research’s Technology Barometer survey, 25 per cent of US respondents said they intend to purchase a smartphone during the first half of 2012 – a percentage equaled by HDTVs.

Additionally, more respondents intend to purchase Blu-ray players (17 per cent) and game consoles (18 per cent), rather than media tablets (16 per cent).

ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye said, “Mobile devices have clearly captured the attention of many consumers and companies within the content value chain, but consumer electronics devices like TVs, Blu-ray players, and game consoles remain at the heart of the digital living room. Connectivity continues to present new opportunities for all members within the value chain to enrich the user experience and mobile devices will increasingly be an additive part of the equation.”

Second screen applications and social TV applications like GetGlue, Miso, zeebox, Disney Second Screen, and Shazam are prime examples where mobile devices are accentuating the viewing experience in the living room. Programming the DVR and multiscreen services are also gaining a great deal of attention from pay-TV operators and consumers alike, but this is still a nascent facet of the market.

“There will always be value in viewing content on the large screen, so we do not see these mobile applications as subtractive or competitive to the connected CE space. Respondents, for instance, continue to favour connected CE devices for viewing Internet video content on the main screen over alternatives like smartphones or tablets. While connecting a mobile device to the TV screen or wirelessly mirroring the screen may be foreign to many consumers, this practice will occur more frequently as the market and consumer behavior evolves, but given the portable nature of these devices and social nature of TV viewing fixed devices will continue to have a strong role to play in the digital living room,” said Inouye.