Category: Software

BANGALORE: Microsoft‘s India Development Center (MIDC) today announced their involvement in an end-to-end project to develop ‘Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile‘ – a unified communications client that provides information workers with a premier mobile collaboration experience through native integration of mobile applications with enterprise-grade, real-time communications tools.

Communicator Mobile will extend features of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and Microsoft Office Communicator to the Windows Mobile 2003 SE and Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, both Pocket PC Edition and Smartphone, the company said in an official release.

The development process included getting feedback from usage within Microsoft, Beta users outside Microsoft, and TAP (Technology Adoption Program) partners. The suggestions and feedback from user groups were incorporated into the product in the early stages of the development cycle, the release adds.

Recently unveiled during Steve Ballmer‘s keynote at 3GSM in Barcelona Spain and based on the user interface of the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 desktop client, the client goes beyond simple voice services, incorporating connected communication modes such as more secure instant messaging (IM), presence awareness and integrated VoIP-telephony.

Commenting on the product being completely developed out of India, MIDC VP & MD Srini Koppulu said, “Our India Development Center plays an important role in contributing to future innovations at Microsoft and we are proud to be at the core of Microsoft‘s global development initiatives. The release of Communicator Mobile is an endorsement of Microsoft‘s mission to “innovate, energize, and support Microsoft investments for the mobile user experience.”

Communicator Mobile client increases potential data revenue for mobile operators by driving demand for business-class devices with an enterprise-grade client, adding rich, real-time collaboration capabilities to mobile data networks, the company claimed in the statement.

MUMBAI: Orb Networks, the developer of software for instant access to content everywhere, has partnered with MeeVee, the premier developer of personalised video entertainment search and discovery experiences for consumers on the Internet.

This partnership provides users of both the Orb software and of MeeVee.com with the combined capabilities of MeeVee‘s TV and Internet TV programming search service and Orb‘s technology for playing and recording home or Internet TV on any device with a streaming Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, 3GP Player, Winamp Player or Macromedia Flash Player.

Now from PCs at work, laptops on the road, any computer around the house, and mobile devices on any carrier network or WiFi, users will be able to search for, discover, play and record home or Internet TV shows anytime they want.

Right from the native web browser on any mobile device, users will be able to use the MeeVee search and discovery service to select live TV programming to play or shows to record for future viewing.

The free, award-winning Orb application installed on the user‘s Windows XP PC ensures the user receives a stream of the chosen TV content in the right media format and at the optimal bit-rate for the user‘s data connection. No specialised mobile software or fees beyond a data plan are required.

“Especially as we go into FIFA World Cup season, worldwide demand is exploding for instant access everywhere to TV from home and from the Internet It‘s the perfect time for this partnership with MeeVee, whose easy-to-use interface and personalisation tools like My Planner and My Watchlist bring our users the best solution for discovering and planning what to watch through Orb,” said Orb Networks vice president product marketing Ian McCarthy.

“We‘re pleased to be partnering with Orb to provide their users with our video entertainment search and discovery experience. This partnership will also make it easy for MeeVee users to play and record the television they‘re passionate about, wherever they are,” said MeeVee president Michael Raneri.

MUMBAI: ND SatCom, a global supplier of satellite-based broadband VSAT, broadcast and defence communication network solutions has announced the formation of a 50-50 joint venture with Grintex India Ltd.

ND SatCom-Grintex Communications Limited will offer the complete ND SatCom product portfolio and is based out of the multinational corporate hub at Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, a location which will enable ND SatCom to optimally serve its local clients.

The joint venture will boost activities on the Indian subcontinent to meet the growing demand for satellite communication as the region further realizes its economic potential. The main target markets are the government and broadcast sectors of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

ND Sat Com chairman & CEO Dr Karl Classen will also function as the chairman of ND SatCom-Grintex Communications Ltd. Hariharan Gautam heads the new Indian company as CEO and is supported by a highly qualified and experienced local sales and engineering team.

“From a strategic point of view, the joint venture creates a future-oriented starting point to position ND SatCom-Grintex Communications Ltd. prominently in India and the South Asian region. It is a good platform to reach out to other markets in the region,” comments Gautam.

Dr Karl Classen emphasizes, “The official opening of ND SatCom’s India joint venture represents our long term commitment to become a major provider of satellite communication solutions in this important emerging market.”

Over the last three years, ND SatCom has successfully implemented its policy of establishing itself as a global company with strategic local representations.

Headquartered in Germany, ND SatCom has subsidiaries in Abu Dhabi (UAE), Beijing (China), Dallas (USA) and Moscow (Russia). Furthermore, the company operates through its regional sales and service offices around the world, including Mexico City, Miami and Singapore.

MUMBAI: India and China seem to be the key countries, that are likely to propel the growth and increase of broadband revenues in the Asia-Pacific region and double from 20.7 billion US dollars last year to 55.1 billion US dollars in 2011, as indicated by the Arizona based In-Stat research agency.

The research indicates that the broadband future hinges on developing countries. Thus, Asia‘s broadband future depends on countries like Thailand, India, China, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

These findings highlight that the broadband user base stood at 86.6 million in 2005 and the number will set to increase nearly threefold to 235.7 million users in five years.

“In less developed markets like China and India, broadband access services are expected to demonstrate impressive growth through 2011, and constitute the bulk of Asia Pacific’s broadband subscriber expansion,” says In-Stat analyst Bryan Wang.

He added, “Wide availability of low prices in cyber cafes in these markets is allowing people to experience broadband services without a fixed charge, which will stimulate potential new subscriptions.”

Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore have been the key drivers of the growth broadband space in the past.

Tier-1 markets Japan and South Korea contributed more than 60 per cent of total revenue in 2005, followed by Tier-2 markets Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and Singapore contributing around 15 per cent, the research firm says.

The findings also highlighted that the next-generation broadband services strategy in markets like Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong is to promote value-added broadband services, driven by the launch of compelling broadband content (i.e. IPTV and VoIP) and innovative broadband pricing plans.

Various connection technologies will be competing through 2011, with the current dominating technology, DSL, facing price competition from cable modem and satellite. In the long run, compelling content or ‘killer broadband applications‘, will be the key to success.

This research is part of In-Stat‘s Asia Consumer Convergence Service, which takes an in-depth look at digital home networking related products by country as well as applications markets. This makes it an unique service for anyone interested in consumer markets, in extremely dynamic Asian markets such as China, India, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

MUMBAI: Viacom owned music broadcaster MTV is planning to broaden its sphere in the areas of internet and mobile value-added services (MVAS) in China, according to China Daily.

MTV Networks vice chairman and MTV Networks International president William Roedy has been quoted in a report as saying that, the company will launch broadband services in China at the earliest. According to Roedy, MTV‘s services in China will be provided either by partnership with local firms or through acquisitions.

The report said, MTV and China Mobile, one of China‘s mobile carriers, had agreed last year to offer MTV content to China Mobile users in the form of ring tones, music and picture downloads.

In China, MTV is aired only in the Pearl River Delta in southern province and at a number of upscale residential compounds and hotels in other areas.

MUMBAI: Tri-Vision International Ltd has licensed its V-chip technology to Humax Co. Ltd. of Korea, which is a leading digital satellite set-top box manufacturer.

The license is valid through the expiration of the patent in 2016.

“We are delighted to award a US license to one of the world‘s leading digital satellite set-top box manufacturers. Humax is exporting an extensive array of diversified digital television products and will play an important role in North America‘s transition to digital television,” said Tri-Vision CEO Najmul Siddiqui.

The Humax licensing agreement resulted from negotiations, similar to those that are currently ongoing with the some 20 other companies who have expressed their intent to acquire Tri-Vision‘s US V-chip license.

As part of the transition to a digital television broadcast system in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated new rules to ensure that the V-chip can respond to rating system changes in all digital television receiver products. Tri-Vision‘s open V-chip (also known as V-chip 2.0) is the only known, patented technology capable of accepting modified or new rating systems. The FCC rules took effect 15 March 2006.

Companies which have acquired V-chip licenses for Tri-Vision‘s Canadian Patent No. 2,179,474 and/or U.S. Patent 5,828,402 include Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, Philips, JVC, Matsushita, Sharp, Pioneer, Apex Digital, Samsung, LG Electronics, Funai, Orion, Toshiba, Eastech, Erae Electronics, Seiko Epson, Shenzhen KXD, Newlane, Xiamen, Konka, Optoma, Coretronic, TTE, Syntax-Brillian, Akai, Chunghwa, NEC, Viewsonic amongst others.

MUMBAI: News Corporation’s Fox Entertainment Group and Burger King Holdings, Inc. have teamed to offer hit Fox programming free of charge to the more than 75 million members of MySpace.com.

MySpace.com is Fox Interactive Media’s popular online social networking site. This promotion marks the first time that network TV content is being made available on a series basis through MySpace, as well as MySpace’s entry into the ecommerce arena.

The promotion launches 22 May, in conjunction with the season finale of the record-breaking fifth season of 24. MySpace users will be able to download-to-own two episodes of the Fox drama at no cost from a special ‘Have It Your Way‘ page provided by Burger King. Both the very first episode from 24’s first season and the first episode of the current season will be available. Also offered at launch will be an episode of Speed‘s Pinks and Fuel TV‘s FirstHand.

In addition, MySpace will create a social network around 24, where users can interact with each other, create user generated content and download the entire first and fifth seasons of the top-rated drama for $1.99 per episode.

“This is truly the perfect marriage of compelling content, an extremely creative advertising partner and the Internet’s leading site for young adults. It really exemplifies our overarching strategy of doing deals that make sense organically, and we have high hopes that MySpace users will find it an attractive offering,” said Fox Entertainment Group president digital media Peter Levinsohn.

“It’s the ultimate ‘Have It Your Way’ experience. We’re giving consumers what they want with the choice of free shows – wherever and whenever they want to watch them – and the ability to talk about those shows in the social networking environment of MySpace,” said Burger King Holdings senior director media Gillian Smith.

“MySpace is the largest video site on the web with more video uploaded every day than any other site on the Internet. Our members are avid fans of these shows and are consuming video at a rapid pace, making MySpace the perfect distribution channel for programmers looking to innovate new models,” said Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn.

MUMBAI: The Hong Kong-based PCCW Mobile announced it has become the world‘s first mobile provider to broadcast real-time TV over its 3G network, using Cell Multimedia Broadcast (CMB) technology.

The service was demonstrated today by PCCW executive director Alex Arena at a keynote address at the 2006 Broadband World Forum Asia, being held in Hong Kong.

PCCW will begin broadcasting programming from its IPTV service, now TV, to its 3G mobile trial customer base, using the CMB technology. The technology, developed by Huawei Technologies, allows broadcasts of television programming to 3G phones, states an official release.

The service is being progressively rolled out throughout Hong Kong, with deployment begun in Hong Kong‘s MTR underground railway system nearly complete. Deployment throughout Hong Kong will be completed by end-June, making mobile TV available to all 110,000 users on PCCW mobile‘s 3G trial, the release adds.

“This is a significant innovation by PCCW, allowing us to leverage our extensive content line-up to more people, across more of our platforms, fixed and mobile,” PCCW executive director Alex Arena said. “We are excited to bring this groundbreaking 3G technology to our customers – another world first for us.”

CMB technology allows continuous broadcast feeds of TV programming over the 3G mobile network, reaching many more people simultaneously than other current 3G technologies. The technology is ideal for high density urban areas, including underground railways and other forms of public transport. With broadcast technology, network capacity can support large numbers of concurrent users with minimal impact on the network loading, allowing for cost-effective delivery.

Initial program offers over the mobile network will include now TV‘s Cantonese-language Business News Channel and other news and sports content. Other entertainment and infotainment programming will be added in time. Sports content from ESPN STAR Sports will be available in two weeks time, including ESPN‘s ever-popular SportsCenter news program. Sports event content from Sportev, including action, from next season‘s Barclays English Premier League (2006-07), will be available when the football season begins in August, the release informs.