CommunicAsia2007 - Part 1
Spanning across four days, CommunicAsia2007 is back at its preferred habitat at the Singapore Expo to showcase the latest in digital innovations to the world. Out in full swagger are HSDPA, WiMax, VoIP, IPTV and, expectedly, mobile phones. Join us as we take you through these high-tech aisles.
CommunicAsia2007
Reflecting the growing synergy between the media and infocomm industries, visitors to CommunicAsia2007 will witness the next wave of convergent technologies and applications that will enhance enterprises' mobility and general consumers' lifestyles. With over 2,400 exhibitors from 65 countries coming together under one gigantic roof for discussions and to negotiate deals that will determine the directions of several industries in years to come, some of the things you see here could potentially be ubiquitous sooner than you might think. www.hardwarezone.com was there right from the start and here's what we saw.
Nokia Siemens Network
Our first stop was at Nokia Siemens Network. For those of you who are puzzled now, Nokia and Siemens had already merged their mobile and fixed-line phone network equipment businesses in a 50-50 stake. Siemens' contribution to the cause is their network business expertise while Nokia's end is their carrier-related operations.
Ever since the formation of Nokia Siemens Network, IPTV has been a strong emphasis of the cooperative with IPTV deployment in Poland their latest deal to date. As such, we weren't surprised to be greeted by an IPTV demonstration setup as an illustration of the venture's IPTV expertise.
Mobile TV, widely touted as the next big thing in digital mass media convenience, is also another strong arm of Nokia Siemens Network. Above was a live demonstration of mobile TV at work.
Soon to be a reality in most cities around the world, WiMAX was being demonstrated at the booth as well. Here, we have the WiMAX transmitting module (far right) providing high-speed wireless connection for the notebook and a Nokia N770 Internet Tablet (far left).
What you see here is a special Nokia N770 Internet Tablet that's been fitted with a WiMAX module.
ATEN's Booth
Renowned as a KVM switch solutions provider, what you see above is the CS1716, a 16-port MasterView USB KVM switch that can control up to 16 computers. When chained together in a daisy chain configuration, a whopping 512 computers can be controlled using a single keyboard-monitor-mouse setup!
Not just into KVM switches, ATEN also has the VC160 VGA-to-DVI converter box available in its product portfolio.
The ATEN VE600L provides a cheap alternative to expensive DVI cables by using cheaper Ethernet cables to run video signals.
Switching between two DVI video sources can be done easily with the ATEN VS261.
If your home setup has up to four HDMI sources, the ATEN VS481 will be high on your list to help you switch between all the sources.
Eubiq's Booth
If you thought that the humble power socket cannot be revolutionized any further than its current ungainly form, Eubiq will have you impressed in a jiffy.
Originating from sunny Singapore, Eubiq delivers a whole new way of power delivery to devices. Shown above is the GSS system invented by Eubiq. With it, offices, homes and any place that requires numerous multi-port power points can now have a practical, safe and visually pleasing power outlet system that adds flexibility to the way you "plug" into power. Simply insert a plug into the track and you'll get instant power.
Latest entrees to the Eubiq system are these illuminated plugs. With these, locating power points will be much easier compared to tradition power sockets. In local context, Raffles Hospital is currently a client of Eubiq where the Singapore-based firm is installing the Eubiq system for the hospital's wards and nurse areas.
Clearly, if power lines can already be used to form Local Area Networks (LAN), having the Eubiq system would only mean one less infrastructure to plan, which would also result in less costs in setting up or expanding offices.
AVG, Globe7 and Yealink
A growing name in the anti-virus industry is AVG. Their selling point with the latest AVG 7.5 suite is that it consumes minimal system resources while offering complete protection. Of course, if you're just a home user, AVG's free version of anti-virus can still be found on their website.
From the world's number one VoIP provider comes the Globe7 Wireless Internet Phone. Entitlements accompanying each purchase are unlimited free calling to 25 destinations for a year, free phone calls, free real-time video calls and free video upload and sharing.
Offering more portability and even storage is the Globe7 Internet Storage Phone. This product comes with 1GB of flash storage that you may use to save personal files. As it comes preloaded with Globe7 Soft Phone application, users are not required to install any application to start conducting VoIP calls.
From Yealink we have the USB-W2DL wireless dual phone that utilizes both VoIP and PSTN technologies for voice communication. This new model supports Skype, MSN, Yahoo, VoIPBuster and many other VoIP applications.
For offices wanting to incorporate IP telephony minus rewiring, the SIP-T9 presents ease of integration by having two RJ45 ports with built-in routing for VoIP calls and the PC.
Glofiish's Booth
The brand formerly known as E-TEN or glofiish was at CommunicAsia though there was nothing particularly new from the company.
The M700 is a Pocket PC running on the latest Windows Mobile 6.0 and has Wi-Fi connectivity and has built-in GPS. The keyboard slides out for greater comfort when composing those long emails.
With its 640 x 480 VGA display and HSDPA capability, the glofiish X800 is the company's latest smartphone, running on Windows Mobile 6.0. Wi-Fi is also available, together with GPS functionality. A 2.0-megapixel camera is also integrated.
LG's Booth
Probably one of the more extravagant and glamorous booths at this year's CommunicAsia, LG is out in full force to tout its Shine series of mobile phones, with breakdancing performances and classy models. Not to mention the phone giveaways during the shows held at regular intervals.
A special version of LG's heavily marketed Shine mobile phones with calligraphic inscriptions.
Chosen by the GSM Association for this year's '3G for All' campaign, this LG KU250 is a slim and versatile multimedia 3G phone. The 1.7-inch LCD display has a resolution of 176 x 220, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. Music formats supported include MP3, WMA and AAC. There's also built-in memory of 60MB while supporting MicroSD for expandable memory.
For those who require more out of their mobile phones, the LG KS10 smartphone has full Internet browsing capability through HSDPA (1.8Mbps), fast enough to support streaming video. It runs on Symbian OS 9.2 and has a built-in MP3 player and a 2.0-megapixel camera. Internal memory is limited to 70MB but users are probably going to make use of its MicroSD slot anyway.
Available only in Europe currently, the LG KU580's 2.0-inch LCD is oriented in landscape mode with touch sensitive keys with navigation backlights. There's a 2.0-megapixel camera and supports Bluetooth 2.0 and GPRS.
Also on display are mobile phones streaming live TV, a demonstration of terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting.
NTT DoCoMo's Booth
Only in Japan. That's the general impression of NTTDoCoMo's booth where some interesting mobile phone applications were found. As far as we know, most of the services we saw were unavailable outside Japan though there's a less advanced version of i-mode available locally from StarHub.
Motion based mobile phone games that remind us of the Wii. Here's a boxing game where users (depicted by the blue silhouette) have to fight against the enemy AI. The phone camera is enlisted to detect the motion made by the user's hands. Other variants include a fishing game that requires one to move the phone like a fishing rod.
A rather useful feature is NTT's 2-in-1 service, which adds another mobile phone number and mail address to an existing handset for up to two different phone numbers coexisting simultaneously on a single phone. No need to get a different phone/SIM card for the personal and business sides of your life now.
For the less adept or just the lazy, here's a Raku Raku phone from NTTDoCoMo, with its customizable one-touch buttons (the ones marked 1, 2 and 3) for quick functions like calling your wife.
A hint of what you can expect from i-mode FeliCa, a contactless smart card system integrated into the phone mobile, which expands the purpose of mobile phones into being a full-fledged e-wallet equivalent device. Users can ditch their wallets and use only their phones for various purposes like shopping, paying bills and even for discounts during shopping.
Using your i-mode FeliCa enabled phone to pay for traveling on the subway is a current application. The FeliCa chip is developed by Sony, based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
Another interesting thing we saw is this alcohol level breath analyzer device that can be linked to a videophone. An example application is to check if bus drivers are sober before they start on their bus routes. The videophone is used to verify the identity of the user and transmit the information back to the company.
Sony Ericsson's Booth
Sony Ericsson was showing off its latest mobile phones like the new K850 Cyber-shot with a 5-megapixel camera and HSDPA capabilities.
Mobile blogging has never been easier with the Sony Ericsson K850. Snap a shot with its 5-megapixel camera with its auto focus and 16x digital zoom and edit it instantly with its post-processing tools like Photo fix. Then upload the image to your website quickly with the HSDPA connection. Available in either blue or green, this phone will be available in selected markets from early Q4 2007.
Sony Ericsson has tweaked its smartphone designs with the slimmer P1i, which has 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. There's also a full keyboard with a 2.6-inch touchscreen while the autofocus 3.2-megapixel camera makes it easy to 'scan' business cards and store them in the contacts.
Clad in stainless steel with a scratch resistant display, the Sony Ericsson T650i has a clean elegant look complemented by specific themes that result in unique light effects in the screen background. Besides the various themes that are based on the seasons, there's also a 3.2-megapixel camera.
With the SensMe music browsing option on the new W910 Walkman, users can choose a mood based on this 'emotions' grid and the software will decide what songs in your library fits that particular mood. It could be hit or miss but at least it's a different way of choosing your songs to complement your current mood. Thanks to its included 1GB Memory Stick Micro, you should be able to build a decent library on this phone. It will be available only from Q4 2007 in either red or black.
For more dedicated music fans, the Sony Ericsson W960 can contain up to 8GB of songs and managing/transfer of songs is much less of a hassle due to its speedy transfer of up to 1GB data in less than 3 minutes. Touch controls are available for easy browsing of the menus and also the Internet, especially since it also supports 3G and Wi-Fi. There's also a 3.2-megapixel camera. This mobile phone will only come in black and you can expect to see it from Q4 2007.
Targeted at the trendy crowd, the Z250 clamshell phone is just 19mm thick and 90 grams. It has eye-catching metallic patterns and external icons display. Available worldwide from Q3 2007, this phone is aimed at less demanding users with its simple, one-click access interface.
The metallic finish on the Sony Ericsson new clamshell - Z250.
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