Power efficient chipsets are set to be the main driver as artificial intelligence (AI) moves makes a significant shift from the cloud to the edge, according to ABI Research.
Power efficient chipsets to drive edge AI
Category: Mobile
Apple douses Steam’s plan to put app into iPhone
Online game distributor Steam’s attempt to release the free Steam Link app for iPhones has hit a roadblock from Apple.
Bigger yet smaller with NVIDIA Max-Q
Razer has unveiled a new version of its Razer Blade gaming notebook that sports a bigger screen, smaller bezel and the NVIDIA Max-Q design, an innovative approach to designing the world’s thinnest, fastest, and quietest gaming laptops.
Google puts vehicle icons on Google Maps for iOS
Do you find the vehicle icons in Uber or Grab apps interesting? Well, iOS users can now enjoy the same feature on their iPhones.
Cryptocurrency and Carry
Singapore-headquartered Carry is teaming up with Spoqa of South Korea to bring cryptocurrency payment and blockchain-enhanced loyalty points to brick-and-mortar retailers.
India smartphone market posts strongest Q1 shipment
The India smartphone market shipped 30 million units in Q1, the strongest Q1 performance ever and an 11-percent growth year on year, according to IDC.
ZTE gets reprieve from US President
ZTE looks like it’s getting a chance to resurrect its business, thanks to help from the highest office in the United States. Last week, the China telecom giant announced that it had to cease business activities because of US sanctions on critical components.
ZTE ceases activities
ZTE has hit a massive roadblock that has resulted in the cessation of its business operations. China’s number 2 telecom equipment maker was hit by the US’s seven-year blockade to vital components needed for its devices.
Xiaomi to list in HK
Xiaomi, one of China’s biggest smartphone makers, has picked Hong Kong for its public listing.
Coming soon: WhatsApp group call
Conference calls is coming to WhatsApp! While group chats have been around for a while, the messaging app will be adding group voice call in the coming months, according to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook at his keynote address at F8 developer conference.
Xiaomi bucks trend as China smartphone market dips in Q1
In a quarter when the China smartphone market experienced it biggest ever decline, Xiaomi bucked the trend and grew 37 percent to 12 million units, according to Canalys.
Xiaomi tops India smartphone market in Q1
Building on a momentum of 155 percent annual shipment growth in India last year, Xiaomi started Q1 at the top with a whopping nine million plus units to snag 31 percent market share, according to Canalys.
Gaming and VR focus at Computex
With the global gaming market expected to touch US$128.5 billion in 2020, this year’s Computex will have gaming and virtual reality (VR) as a focus area, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, blockchain, Internet of Things, and innovations and startups.
Friday the 13th launches on Friday the 13th
Blue Wizard Digital waited and waited for this day — Friday the 13th — to release its game Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle worldwide on iOS, Android, and Steam.
Doogee unleashes 4 innovative smartphones
Shenzhen-based Doogee is not one for the humdrum. While most other smartphones sport mostly similar technologies, this maker has decided to go for the different feel with four new phones — the transparent Doogee TT, flip camera Mix 3, slide phone Mix 4, and flexible screen phone.
StarHub bumps 4G speed to 1Gbps
Singapore telco StarHub has upped its 4G speed to 1Gbps — giving users faster access at various parts of the island.
Spotify goes public
Leading music streaming site Spotify will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange today (New York time).
The taxi that looks for you
Where’s a taxi when you need one? That’s the bane of passengers from around the world, except possibly in Taipei where taxis somehow seem to be just where you need them.
IoT goes deep
Arm is taking its recently-announced Project Trillium a step further with a collaboration with NVIDIA. The partners will bring the open-source NVIDIA Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA) architecture into Project Trillium platform for machine learning.
Bangladesh smartphone market continues growth trajectory
Bangladesh mobile operators began offering 4G services last month, albeit in limited areas, after gaining the necessary licences.
Something old, something new
The telecommunications industry, specifically mobile communications, is converging in Barcelona this week. Even before Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicks off today, two companies have fired the first salvo with something old, something new.
India is fastest growing smartphone market in 2017
India has become the fastest growing smartphone market in the world with total shipment growing 14 percent to 124 million units in 2017, according to IDC.
Apple iPhone X is holiday bestseller despite axe rumours
Amid rumours that Apple was going to axe the iPhone X came encouraging sales numbers by Canalys.
Global IT spending to rise to US$3.7t in 2018
Global IT spending is expected to grow to US$3.7 trillion in 2018, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2017, according to Gartner.
Apple apologises
Apple has apologised for slowing down the performance of older iPhone models to prevent accidental shutdowns due to aging batteries.
Apple caught slowing down
The names Benjamin Lazarus, Jeffrey Aberman, Stephen Margolis, Sandy Brodsky, and Victoria Childs are probably unfamiliar to most. But inthe days to come, they may become more popular.
Honda to accelerate smart car R&D with SenseTime
Honda has signed a long-term agreement to develop autonomous cars with SenseTime, a China artificial intelligence (AI) company. The partnership will leverage Honda’s vehicle control system with SenseTime’s AI algorithms to jointly create an autonomous driving […]
Pre-order Razer smartphone on November 23
Razer’s first smartphone will be available for pre-order in Singapore on November 23.
Sweet quarter for Apple in China
The launch of the iPhone 8 and drop of prices of older models have helped Apple turn in a sterling quarter in China, with shipment rising 40 percent to 11 million units this Q3.
Enter the gaming smartphone
Finally, a smartphone that’s made for gamers. Razer has launched in London the latest high-end smartphone with a focus on mobile gaming.
But what makes this phone different from others in the market? And how does it enhance the mobile gaming experience?
Samsung Pay extended to smartwatches
Guess it was only a matter of time as Samsung Pay has been extended to the Gear 3 and Gear Sport. This will let consumers use their smartwatches, on top of their smartphones, to make […]
Smartphone makers in a rush?
In 2016, Samsung had battery overheating issues with its Note 7. Recently, Apple is constantly pushing out iOS 11 fixes to improve battery life for the iPhone 8. And now, Google is working on a solution to address the screen burn-in issues of the Pixel 2.
What’s happening? Are smartphone makers in such a rush to launch new phones that they are cutting short quality tests? Admittedly, this is the probably the hottest segment of the consumer technology market and every player is trying its best to outdo each other.
According to IDC, the worldwide smartphone market will reach a total of 1.53 billion units shipped in 2017, up 4.2 percent from the 1.47 billion units shipped in 2016. That’s a lot of phones and perhaps the reason why makers are hurrying to snare a share.
5 reasons why I like Google Home
By Edward Lim
Perhaps it’s something like a forbidden fruit. The harder it it to get, the more we want it. Google tempted us with the Google Home smart speaker but it was not available in Singapore or anywhere in the region. It was only in July that the device was finally available in Australia.
Anyway, as with most gadget lovers, there’s always a way to get our hands on the desired device. In my case, I managed to snare one in Walmart in San Jose while attending a conference there in April. Actually, I bought two — one as a gift to a friend.
Robotaxis on the way
No steering wheels, pedals or mirrors. Sounds like science fiction but the fully autonomous robotaxi is on its way with the launch of a new system that NVIDIA has codenamed Pegasus.
Pegasus extends the NVIDIA Drive PX AI computing platform to handle Level 5 driverless vehicles. NVIDIA DRIVE PX Pegasus delivers over 320 trillion operations per second — more than 10 times the performance of its predecessor, NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2, announced Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA at his keynote address at GTC Europe in Munich.
Robotaxis powered by NVIDIA DRIVE PX Pegasus will have interiors that feel like a living room and arrive on demand to safely whisk passengers to their destinations, bringing mobility to everyone, including the elderly and disabled.
Google sets up online Singapore store
Hurray, Google has finally set up an online store for Singapore! Amid the flurry of announcements made yesterday, this is probably the most significant for those in Singapore. After all, what’s the point of reading and hearing about all the launches in recent years without being able to buy the products anywhere in the country.
The bad news, however, is that only three products were listed on the Google Wifi, Google Chromecast and the newly-launched Google Pixel 2 XL.
Google’s latest smartphone sports front-facing stereo speakers, and front and rear cameras capable of producing amazing shots using fused image stabilisation of optical and digital zoom. Though the headphone jack is gone, Google has introduced Pixel Buds that can translate up to 40 languages on the fly.
Nokia 3310 makes comeback at under S$100
Nokia’s announcement at Mobile World Congress in February that it was resurrecting the iconic Nokia 3310 was met with enthusiasm, which was quickly dampened when the phone was said to run on 2.5G.
However, Nokia has responded remarkably by upgrading the 3310 to 3G and making it available at “below S$100”.
“Our fans around the world have been asking for this iconic phone to support 3G. Fans asked, we listened, and today welcome the Nokia 3310 3G,” said Mr Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer of HMD Global, maker of the Nokia phone.
Google snares HTC hardware talents
Google is flexing its muscles in the hardware business with the acquisition of a team of hardware talents from HTC. The move marks another milestone in a decade-long relationship between the two companies. “These future […]
New Apple iPhone is real X — for eXpensive!
Even though the X in the newly announced iPhone X is supposed to be pronounced as “10”, it can be interpreted as eXpensive. At S$1,648 for the 64GB version and S$1,888 for the 256GB iteration, […]
Australia PC market bucks global trend by inching up 3.3%
Consumer and enterprise PC purchases are driving growth in the Australia PC market, which includes desktop, notebook and workstation.
The consumer segment grew 8.6 percent year over year (YoY) in Q2, according to IDC.
“The retail channel was negatively impacted by Dick Smith’s exit last year. This year however, promotional events such as Modern PC program run by Harvey Norman spiked growth in the consumer space. AMD’s new Ryzen series launch and EOFY sales further fuelled growth in this segment,” said Sagar Raghavendra, Client Devices Analyst of IDC Australia.
March ending for Google Drive
Google Drive on the PC and Mac will cease to exist in its current form from March 2018. According to a blog post by Google, the app will no longer be supported starting on December […]
New Android devices boost Australia smartphone market in Q2
New Android mobile phone launches spurred growth in Australia, leading to year-on-year growth of 18.4 percent to 2.16 million units, exceeding expectations in Q2, according to IDC.
Smartphones accounted for nearly all of the shipped phones — totalling 2.06 million.
Android returned to being the most popular smartphone OS in Australia. Recently, iOS had overtaken Android as the most popular smartphone OS in Q4 2016 as it held over 54 percent of the market compared to 47 percent for Android.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 available in Singapore from Sep 15
After missing a beat with the Galaxy Note 7, which resulted in a massive recall and lots of bad press, Samsung has launched the Galaxy Note 8 with availability in Singapore from September 15.
Sporting a similar look to the Galaxy S8, the new smartphone’s key differentiator is the S Pen, which is designed to communicate in more personal ways. It has a finer tip, improved pressure sensitivity, and features such as Live Messaging that enable users to better express themselves.
The always on display allows users to stay on top of notifications without unlocking their phone. Screen off memo lets them take up to one hundred pages of notes as soon as they remove the S Pen. Users can also pin notes to the always on display and make edits directly.
Singapore to trial on-demand bus service
Bus commuters have always been dependent on fixed bus routes and timings. What if you can customise your own time and route? That’d be a bus commuter’s dream come true.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) is calling for a tender to seek proposals to trial on-demand, dynamically-routed public bus services.
According to the LTA press release, the trial will enable LTA to evaluate the feasibility of operating public bus services based on real-time commuter demand and along dynamic routes, instead of plying on the basis of pre-determined and fixed timetables and routes. Through a mobile application, commuters will be able to request pick-ups and drop-offs at any bus stop within a defined operating area.
5 reasons why I like the Google Pixel
By Edward Lim When the Google Pixel was first announced late last year, my antenna went up as my trusty Samsung Note Edge though working generally fine and still looking great was slowing down. I’ve […]
Amazon Prime Now makes first SEA stop in Singapore
The online grocery market in Singapore has just gotten hotter with Amazon’s launch of its Prime Now service. It is the e-commerce giant’s first stop in the region. Prime Now offers tens of thousands of […]
The 8s are coming
This is the year of the 8s. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be revealed on August 23 in New York City, according to invitations sent to the media. Samsung will be hoping […]
Students’ demand drives Aussie IT spending
Australian educational institutions are increasing information technology (IT) spending in response to dramatic changes in student expectations, according to IDC.
Spending by Australian educational institutions is expected to peak at US$1.6 billion by 2020, driven by software and services related investments. Education practices are shifting away from the classroom towards e-learning and virtual instructor-led training approaches as students are demanding anytime-anywhere remote access.
In its recently published Australian education sector report, IDC highlights the need to overhaul existing ICT management models in schools and universities so that a step-change improvement in delivery efficiency can be achieved.
30 months on the Edge
By Edward Lim It’s official. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is my longest lasting phone. After 30 months, I’ve finally moved on to another smartphone — the Google Pixel (I’ll share more about this in […]
Vertu no more
Imagine paying more than S$34,000 for a phone? Well, it’s hard to imagine that kind of price tag for mortals who already consider the Google Pixel, iPhone and Samsung S8 expensive. It’s not surprising then […]
Facebook to add ads to Messenger
As if we don’t already have enough of ads. Facebook has announced that it will start rolling out ads to Messenger. With 1.2 billion users, the social media giant does have immense appeal for advertisers. It […]
Device market to dip in 2017
Global demand for devices — PCs, tablets and smartphones — are expected to dip slightly this year, with Gartner projecting shipment exceeding 2.3 billion units, a decline of 0.3 percent from 2016.
However, the market is forecast to return to growth in 2018 with a 1.6 percent increase in shipment.
“Overall, the shipment growth of the device market is steady for the first time in many years. PC shipments are slightly lower while phone shipments are slightly higher — leading to a slight downward revision in shipments from the previous forecast, “said Ranjit Atwal, Research Director of Gartner.
Return of Note 7
The embattled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is making a return — as a limited edition Galaxy Note Fan Edition! According to a statement, Samsung plans to sell the refurbished device (which comes with new battery) from […]
Deeper into AI
The keynote address at Google I/O yesterday showed that Google is much more than just a search company. It is becoming more artificial intelligence (AI). Google is specifically using deep learning to help in many areas of everyday life.
Here are some as shared on Google’s blog post:
Google Assistant can help answer your questions and find information—but it can also help you get all kinds of useful things done. Today we’re adding a few more:
- Schedule new calendar appointments and create reminders. Starting today on Google Home, you can schedule appointments and soon you’ll also be able to add reminders. Since it’s the same Google Assistant across devices, you’ll be able to get a reminder at home or on the go.
- Make your home smarter. We now have 70+ smart home partners supporting the Google Assistant across Google Home and Android phones, including August locks, TP-Link, Honeywell, Logitech, and LG.
China vendors corner India smartphone market
China-based vendors strengthened their grip in the India smartphone market, snaring 51.4 percent share of the smartphone shipment in Q1, according to IDC. They grew 16.9 percent sequentially and an impressive 142.6 percent over the same period last year.
In contrast, share of homegrown vendors dropped to 13.5 percent in the Q1 from 40.5 percent in the same quarter last year.
Overall, 27 million smartphones were shipped in Q1, a 14.8 percent growth over the same period last year. Unlike last year, shipment grew sequentially in the first quarter of 2017 by 4.7 percent recovering from demonetisation impact in Q4.
Huawei smartphone strides ahead in China
Huawei has taken top spot again in China’s smartphone market, edging past Oppo after two quarters of trailing in second place. According to Canalys, the Chinese smartphone giant, which launched the P10 and P10 Plus during MWC, shipped close to 21 million units to secure an 18 percent market share in Q1.
Despite strong annual growth of 55 percent, Oppo fell to second place with shipments of just under 20 million units. Third-placed Vivo had the lowest annual growth of the top three, capturing a 15 percent share with its shipment of 17 million units.
“China’s smartphone market continues to grow, with shipments increasing by over nine percent year on year this quarter. But there is a clear indication that the market is consolidating. The top three vendors are pulling away at the head of the market, accounting for more than 50 percent of shipments for the first time this quarter,” said Lucio Chen, Research Analyst of Canalys.
No devices for US-bound flights from 13 countries
The US authorities are forbidding passengers of airlines from 13 countries to bring any electronic or electrical device larger than a mobile phone. This means that all notebook computers, tablets and cameras are not allowed […]
21b IoT devices with embedded OS by 2022
IoT faces new computing challenges, notably with deployment and scaling, according to ABI Research. Its future will rely in part on using embedded Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS), which support many IoT application features, such as small size, constrained processing resources, low power consumption, limited maintenance, and real-time computing.
ABI Research forecasts 21 billion IoT devices will ship with embedded RTOS by 2022.
“The tremendous expansion of the IoT revived the embedded RTOS market, with open source platforms springing up rapidly to jostle long-established proprietary players. While industrial demand for RTOS has a decade-long history, the development of new IoT applications in other segments, such as consumer, digital home, connected car, and smart cities, jolted demand for embedded RTOS,” said Michela Menting, Research Director of ABI Research.
Youtube: 1b hours of viewing per day!
One billion hours! That’s a lot of time to spend watching video online. And did we say that it’s one billion hours per day. And for just one site. Of course, it helps that that […]
Hello, hello, it’s the Nokia 3310 again!
With a slew of product introductions now on at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, what’s amazing is that an old icon has grabbed loads of attention. Nokia has resurrected its 3310 phone, albeit in an […]
China smartphone market hits record high
Everybody knows China is big but with nearly half a billion smartphones shipped last year, the market is massive — that’s one smartphone for every three person in the world’s most populous country.
According to Canalys estimates, China reached 476.5 million unit shipment, growing year on year at 11.4 percent, far exceeding the annual growth rate of 1.9 percent in 2015. China shipment reached 131.6 million units in Q4, which is the highest single quarter total in history, accounting for nearly a third of worldwide shipment.
Huawei took the top spot in the market with 76.2 million shipment, a small lead ahead of runner-up Oppo with 73.2 million units, followed by Vivo in third place at 63.2 million units.
