Posted on 2009 under Communications |
3
Sep
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) used the opening day of its two-day Nokia World gathering in Stuttgart to announce a widget that lets mobile Facebook users add location data and maps to their status updates. It’s a lifecasting plugin for the existing beta Ovi Maps app and uses handsets’ built-in GPS.
But it is a pretty modest step, given Nokia’s previous grand LBS announcements like Point & Find, which hasn’t yet been delivered to the mass market. Nokia’s previously heralded SoLo (social location) idea, which would combine the phonebook with location data, is again due to be discussed.
In his keynote, CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo addressed onlookers’ criticisms that Nokia has been too trigger-happy with its announcements: “The critics have been right,” he said, promising all services previewed at this Nokia World will be available to try within 48 hours.
This year, Nokia finds itself with falling market share, a worsening image in the US and behind Apple’s curve on smartphone UI innovation – but it still has the opportunity to deliver location-based services to the masses.
“We know we still have a lot of work to do,” Kallasvuo said, “but we have a solid plan in place … our ambition is nothing less than to create the biggest delivery platform for services for mobile …
“Piece by piece, we are building a new Nokia. Is it an up-hill climb? Of course it is, and we still have a way to go – but we at Nokia relish the role and challenge of the underdog.”
Although the latest flagship consumer handset, the N97, has received poor reviews, Kallasvuo said it was selling at a faster rate than its popular N95 predecessor. Future Nokia devices will come in three categories, he said: “Phones, smartphones and mobile computers.”
Nokia World is giving the handset maker a chance to further discuss the Booklet 3G netbook (full specs, €575 price), N900 smartphone and Nokia Money announcements already made in the last two weeks.
But it also announced two new touchscreen music phones, the X3 and X6, which will be a Comes With Music device, and an N97 mini, a slimmed-down version. Release.
Nokia Messaging is getting an upgrade to facilitate status updates to social services.
Posted on 2009 under Communications, News |
31
Aug
NEWS RELEASE
AMD’s World Renowned ATI Radeon ™ HD 4800 Series Found in High Performance iMac and Mac Pro Computers Complements Snow Leopard with OpenCL
— Leading ATI Radeon™ graphics with OpenCL deliver high performance for next
Generation Mac operating system —
Mumbai, India, August 31, 2009 : AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that the world renowned ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series, now found in some of the highest performance iMac and Mac Pro configurations, complements Snow Leopard’s fully compliant OpenCL Version 1.0 implementation. As an open standard specification, OpenCL is a key enabler of ATI Stream technology, which allows developers to create highly efficient applications balanced across CPU and GPU resources for superior performance running on Snow Leopard systems.
“Software developers can better serve end-users through open standards and OpenCL, a major component of Snow Leopard, that enables AMD’s ATI Stream technology to accelerate mainstream applications through the processing the power of a GPU,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. “Whether you’re enjoying HD multimedia content or playing the newest games, the ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 and ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 in the latest Mac Pro and iMac help ATI Stream-enabled applications run faster.”
- ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics are available in the latest Mac Pro, while the ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics power the latest iMac. Designed as high-performance parts for the ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 family of products, these feature-rich graphics processors redefine computer entertainment with advanced capabilities including support for the latest games and a home theater-quality HD multimedia experience on HD-capable monitors for use at work, at home or at play.
- ATI Stream technology leverages multi-core CPU and GPU architectures to accelerate the execution of stream-enabled highly parallel functions enabling software developers to enable improved performance and interactivity across a broad range of OpenCL capable compute platforms.
Resources
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit www.amd.com.
© 2009 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo, Radeon and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Posted on 2009 under Communications, News |
26
Aug
SME Exchange, a necessity for raising risk capital by the SMEs : CII
Procurement incentives essential to create synergies between Small, Medium and the Large industry : CII
At a meeting of the representatives of industry associations with Dr Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, today in New Delhi, CII highlighted the need for providing procurement incentives, enhanced depreciation on IT products, establishment of SME exchange, simplification of labour laws & creation of a uniform credit rating format and processes to facilitate credit availability for the MSMEs. The meeting was held in the presence of Mr Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of MSME & Mr Ashok Chawla, Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance.
According to the CII release, there is a need to provide tax benefits to companies to source from MSMEs and adhere to the payment schedule, as per the terms of the contract, agreed upon with their vendors.This would ensure the growth progression & upgradation of the vendors, in line with the requirements of the vendee and also help to address the issue of payments (delayed), through out the supply chain.
To improve IT consumption in the SMEs CII has recommended that the Government considers according 100% depreciation, once in a block of three financial years, for an annual investment in IT equipment and software up to a limit of Rupees Twenty Five Lakhs, to the MSMEs. This will significantly lower the tax burden on high-tech investment, induce large scale corporate buying of computers, which will raise labor productivity, increase economic growth and give a big boost to the MSMEs.
Facilitating the establishment of SME Exchange while ensuring product innovation and without compromising on risk management will reduce credit requirements on one hand, and broad base equity funding on the other, added the CII release. Towards this SEBI will have to devise separate standards of disclosure and compliance requirements to minimize the cost of listing and compliance, for facilitating the MSME listings.
Adding that the various employee related regulations such as the Provident Fund Act, The Employees State Insurance (ESIC) Act, the Factories Act, the Industrial Disputes Act, the Contract labour Act etc. are seriously impairing the growth of the MSME sector, CII has recommended that the recommendations made by the Working Group on Labour Laws by the Planning Commission and referred in the Report of the 2nd National Labour Commission must be discussed with the Industry, and the various labour regulations be suitably amended.
In an attempt to facilitate & streamline the availability of credit/finance for the MSMEs, CII has recommended that RBI may constitute a group along with the Indian Banks Association and the credit rating agencies to work out a uniform credit rating format and processes to bring about transparency and speed to the credit appraisal procedure. At present while certain credit rating companies do undertake this activity, the problem does not get resolved because individual Bankers undertake the credit rating based on their own formats and internal risk assessment processes.
Mr Salil Singhal, Chairman, CII National MSME Council observed that though it appears that the worst of the crisis period is over, a complete turnaround is not within sight yet for most of the industry. The difficulty is particularly acute for companies and units which have large export dependence. He added that the CII recommendations for MSMEs regarding the procurement incentives, enhanced depreciation on IT products, establishment of SME exchange, simplification of labour laws & creation of a uniform credit rating format, have been tailor made, keeping in view the nascent stage in the economic recovery and the recent drought conditions in a large number of districts across the country.
Commenting on the significant contribution of MSMEs to the Indian economy, the CII Director General, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee said that 2008-09 has been a difficult year for Indian MSMEs. The primary reason being the domestic economic slowdown as a result of the global financial crisis and the other being the subdued export demand. He mentioned that, in spite of the difficult conditions the MSME sector has demonstrated its resilience. The sector has, however, been hugely benefitted from the various measures that have been announced in the last nine months as part of the Government’s stimulus packages, he added.
26th August 2009
New Delhi
Neelam Joshi
Media Desk
Confederation of Indian Industry
23, Institutional Area
Lodi Road
New Delhi – 110 003
Mobile: 9810882431
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Posted on 2009 under Communications |
25
Aug
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has surprised us by unveiling details, specs, pictures and demo video of its forthcoming netbook device nearly two weeks ahead of its Nokia World conflab in Stuttgart. The 10-inch “Booklet 3G” is an attractive, well-specced machine that packs an integrated, hot-swappable SIM card slot.
Nokia has been describing its better consumer smartphones as multimedia computers for some time now. The Booklet, of course, is the closest it has ever got, but still carries over features from Nokia’s mobile heritage – a built-in assisted GPS receiver designed to work with an Ovi Maps gadget.
Indeed, services is a big play here. The Booklet carries an Ovi Suite app for accessing all the services including contacts, picture sharing, calendar, email and Nokia Music Store, also offering sync to a handset. It looks like something of a potential rival to any Android-based netbooks. Also, Nokia is wedded to Android’s mobile rival Symbian, which has no such desktop OS variant on the horizon; hence the strategic alliance with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). This is the most innovation Nokia has gone for a while – but there’s less to get wrong inside an OEM PC running someone else’s OS.
The release materials claim an ambitious 12 hours battery life. Devices EVP Kai Oistamo in the release: “We will create something quite compelling. In doing so we will make the personal computer more social, more helpful and more personal.”
There are no details on carriers for this device; more expected during Nokia World on September 2. Networks have been using the subsidised handset model to tempt contract customers with netbooks for several months. With its existing mobile carrier relationships, Nokia may go in to the subsidised netbook game with an advantage.
