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Affluent Asian’s to form digital generation: Synovate Pax ’06

Published

19 years ago

October 17, 2006

MUMBAI: The Synovate Pax survey 2006 has revealed insights into media consumption, product and service ownership, purchase intention, lifestyle and attitudes of affluent Asians.

Synovate global head of media Steve Garton said that the results were especially noteworthy because they represented the tenth consecutive year of data on this group of influential consumers.

“Pax now gives us a picture of Asia‘s elites over the past decade. And probably the strongest trend tracked over that time is the emergence of the digital generation. The survey shows how digital has taken off – and taken a firm hold – among the affluent population. Digital communication was still in its early stages when we started Synovate Pax and yet digital technology has changed lives – over the past five years in particular,” Garton said.

Top technologies

The growth of some technologies can be traced over a ten year period. Some findings include:

– Just ten years ago, a mere 11 per cent of affluent Asians owned laptops. In 2006, that figure has grown to 35.7 per cent, representing a 225 per cent increase. A further 11.3 per cent of respondents say they will purchase a laptop or notebook in the next twelve month period.

– In 1997, the first year of the Synovate Pax survey, ownership of desktop computers was 44.2 per cent. It‘s now 64.1 per cent, a rise of 45 per cent.

– The mobile phone has moved from 46.8 per cent to 86.3 per cent over ten years (a rise of 84 per cent), and is much higher in some of the markets surveyed. Singapore‘s mobile phone ownership is 95 per cent and Hong Kong, Sydney, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Taipei all have over 90 per cent ownership.

– Not surprisingly, the internet has enjoyed huge growth over the past ten years. It is now accessed by 71 per cent of Synovate Pax respondents, an increase of 132 per cent since 1997.

The rise of digital

Other technologies have become prominent only within the last five years:

– MP3 players are now owned by 38.7 per cent of affluent Asians, a growth of 116 per cent since 2001 – with a further 7.3 per cent intending to buy one in the next twelve months. On the flipside, the mini-disc player has suffered somewhat at the hands of the MP3 with ownership declining 34 per cent since 2001 – 14.6 per cent of respondents now own one.

– Ownership of digital still cameras has increased 127 per cent over the past five years, from 23.6 per cent in 2001 to 53.6 per cent, meaning more than half of all affluent Asians now have one. There is a further 6.1 per cent who expect to purchase one in the next year. If you include people with digital camera functionality on their mobile phones, a hefty 72.4 per cent of
respondents now have the ability to take digital photographs.

– Digital video cameras are also on the up and up. In 2001, 22.1 per cent owned these items, rising 98 per cent to 43.7 per cent in 2006.

– The DVD player has become an everyday consumer durable in this time frame, with 67.4 per cent ownership in 2006, up 80 per cent from 37.5 per cent in 2001.

– Another growth area in terms of digital technology is flat screen and plasma / LCD TVs. Flat screen TV ownership has increased 136 per cent in a six year period (43.2 per cent now own one) and plasma / LCD TVs are now owned by 17.6per cent of respondents – a rise of 120 per cent over five years.

Synovate Asia Pacific director of Media Research Craig Harvey said the data throws up interesting challenges for technology marketers.

“Affluent Asians now do business on the go and accept this technology as a key part of their everyday life. Many people already have the products they need, meaning marketers should be looking at ways to communicate new features and functions to these elite consumers.

“If you look at the purchase intention data, some technology product categories have dropped over time. Many of these items may be reaching the mature end of their product lifecycle among the affluents, including mobiles without internet access, desktop computers and PDAs. However, other products – like mobiles with internet access and MP3 players – are growing.

“Laptops have maintained steady growth the entire time, probably because they are an essential business tool and need to be kept up-to-date,” he stated.

Garton added that Synovate Pax continually updates its information so that marketers can stay on top of trends. “The trends we‘ve discussed here are largely retrospective. But of course trends are all the more powerful when you can see them as they happen. The beauty of Synovate Pax is that media owners, planners and marketers are always across what‘s happening in the world of affluent Asians right now,” he said.

Applications

Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

1 month ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.