At a time when many are struggling or closing shop, the newly-minted US$2 trillion Apple will be opening its third store in Singapore — right on the edge of the water near the iconic Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Microsoft sounds death knell for Internet Explorer
It’s the end of the road for Internet Explorer (IE). Once the king of browsers that reigned in nearly 95 percent of PCs, it will be phased out by 2021.
Driverless bus on trial in Tainan
Tainan has announced the southern Taiwan’s first driveless bus services under the self-driving bus programme of the city’s municipal government and LiLee Systems.
iKala raises US$17m for global expansion
Taiwan-headquartered iKala has raised US$17 million in Series B funding to support in global expansion drive. This latest round of funding is led by Wistron Digital Technology Holding Company, Wistron Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary which focuses on digital technology industries and software application related investments.
Xiaomi upgrades to smartphone x AIoT strategy for the next decade
It seems like only recently that Xiaomi wowed the world with its affordable smartphones that were always sold out at launch. Yet, it has been a decade and the company is looking at building on its smartphone success for the next 10 years.
StarHub starts 5G trial
StarHub is the first off the block in the race to deliver 5G services in Singapore. It ha started a six-month trial for consumers who own a t 5G-enabled smartphone on its three Mobile+ plans.
Zoom establishes first SEA data centre in Singapore
Source: Zoom
Zoom Video Communications has set up its first Southeast Asia data centre in Singapore — its 18th in the world.
New MediaTek Dimensity chip guns for mid-tier 5G smartphones
MediaTek has announced the Dimensity 800U 5G SoC that aims to deliver premium experiences on mid-tier 5G smartphones.
GTC gets second run in October
NVIDIA will be hosting another GPU Technology Conference this year — from October 5 to 9, 2020. Like the first, which moved from March to May because of the pandemic, this second run will be a digital version and feature a recorded keynote address by NVIDIA CEO and Founder Jensen Huang.
ZTE to introduce under-display camera smartphone in China on Sep 1
ZTE will launch the ZTE Axon 20 5G under-display camera smartphone in China on September 1, 2020.
Facebook enables paid online events for small businesses
Source: Facebook
With physical events still not possible due to social distancing in many parts of the world, Facebook is giving individuals and small businesses a lifeline by enabling them to create paid online events on the social media platform.
Korea’s Lunit uses AI to evaluate X-ray images and mammograms
COVID-19 testing has placed a high demand on resources — from testing and screening to treating and caring. Lunit has created an AI-based system to detect pneumonia, often present in COVID-19 infected patients, within seconds.
Taiwan breaks ground on first AI park
Source: BES Engineering
Taiwan broke ground on its first artificial intelligence (AI) park in New Taipei City on August 13. When completed in 2023, the Tucheng AI Science Park will cover an area of 53,000 square meters and feature four 17-story buildings.
Apple and Google in Epic battle
Source: Epic Games
A battle royale is hotting up with Apple and Google at one corner and Epic Games in the other. And all over a US$2 problem. Of course, that applies to just one transaction for 1,000 V-Bucks. Imagine the quantum when that is multiplied by millions of Fortnite users? The amount is staggering and that’s why the two giants are standing their ground against the mega game company.
Xiaomi avails MiTu Kids Watch 4X children’s smartwatch
No bells. No whistles. And definitely no big bang launch. Xiaomi has quietly rolled out in China the MiTu Kids Watch 4X, a new children’s smartwatch that packs quite a punch.
Australia startup Abyss Solutions helps keep oil rig operators afloat
Built into the sea, it is no wonder that corrosion is a common problem for offshore oil and gas platforms. In fact, it is a serious problem that can lead to structural damage and accidents, resulting in loss of lives, productivity and business.
MAS pledges S$250m to drive fintech innovation and adoption
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has committed S$250 million to a scheme to accelerate technology and innovation in the financial sector over the next three years.
AirAsia ramps up digital transformation with Jiffy.ai
AirAsia Group is seizing the opportunity created by the travel lull to accelerate its digital transformation by implementing Jiffy.ai’s artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled automation platform.
Aqara products hit HK and Macau Apple Stores
Aqara door and window sensors detects if door or window is closed or open in real time.
Consumers can now buy Aqara smart home products from Apple Stores in Hong Kong and Macau — both online and physical stores.
DigiCert simplifies TLS certificate management with multi-year plan
DigiCert has announced a new multi-year plan for TLS certificate purchases in the DigiCert CertCentral TLS Manager.
Korea’s Jin Air to offer in-flight VR service
While many airlines are working on limited capacity and looking at ways to trim budgets, Korea’s Jin Air plans to introduce an in-flight virtual reality (VR) service.
One Laptop Programme for needy students in HK
Help is on its way in Hong Kong for needy students who have to study online following the government’s suspension of face-to-face classes in the new academic year amid the severe COVID-19 situation.
NVIDIA lines up GeForce Special Event on September 2
In a terse three-paragraph press release, NVIDIA has announced a GeForce Special Event featuring an address by Jensen Huang (above), its Founder and CEO, on September 2 at 12am (Singapore time).
Working from home doubles enterprise notebook sale in India in Q2
Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash
India’s country-wide lockdown drove everyone to work from home. While this does not augur well for the economy, the move drove sales of enterprise notebooks up by a record 105.5 percent in Q2, according to IDC.
Cloud Expo Asia, Hong Kong goes online
Cloud Expo Asia, Hong Kong is the latest tech event in the region to move online — another casualty of the coronavirus. The dates remain the same — September 23 and 24 — and its contents will be remain online for three weeks after the event.
Huawei unpacks enhanced live streaming solution for merchants
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
In the midst of the pandemic, e-commerce is thriving and creating opportunities for many. At a webinar for developers last week, Huawei unveiled an enhanced live streaming solution that can help merchants and e-commerce platforms tap this fast growing market, which raked in US$3.46 trillion in 2019.
Toshiba sheds notebook business
Toshiba closes a chapter
An icon in notebook computing has become history. Toshiba has left the notebook business following the sale of the remaining shares in its PC business to Sharp.
Experience 90fps gaming with OnePlus and PUBG Mobile
Attention gamers! OnePlus is teaming up with PUBG Mobile to bring 90fps gaming experience on selected OnePlus devices — OnePlus 8 series, OnePlus 7T series and OnePlus 7 Pro — from August 6 to September 6. The caveat is that this exclusive experience is not available in China, Japan and Korea.
Google adds Safe Folder for Android
Source: Google
Passing your smartphone to someone is tantamount to giving the person access to everything in it. Among the most vulnerable items are personal documents, photos, audio clips, and videos. To safeguard personal content, Google has introduced Safe Folder.
Singapore and Australia ink digital economy agreement
Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham signed the agreement via videoconference today. (Photo: MTI/MCI/IMDA)
Singapore has signed a digital economy agreement with Australia, its second after another with Chile and New Zealand in June.
Huawei rolls out GameCenter
Huawei has rolled out its GameCenter game service and distribution platform in 33 countries and regions worldwide — unsurprisingly, North America is excluded.
Caishen releases AI-powered China stock market data monitoring platform
Caishen has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data monitoring platform that provides critical information on China’s secondary investment markets.
Korea’s Muhguri restaurant expands robot fleet
Korea’s Muhguri restaurant has added three more robots to serve food to customers. The latest addition brings to the number of robots deployed at the popular Sokcho restaurant to 11.
IDC: AI market to grow 12.3% in 2020
Despite the economic impact of COVID-19, the artificial intelligence (AI) market is set to grow by 12.3 percent to US$156.5 billion in 2020, according to IDC.
Odd Concepts rolls out AI-based style discovery platform in Singapore
Fancy that fashionable dress on the actress or the sleek pants worn by a celebrity? If you’re wondering where to get one of similar design, you can now do so following the launch of StyleCrush in Singapore.
Intuit acquires TradeGecko
Intuit has acquired Singapore startup TradeGecko, the inventory and order management platform that makes omni-channel commerce easy for small businesses, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to be completed in September 2020.
Goodix seals deal for Dream Chip Technologies
Shenzhen-based Goodix Technology has completed its acquisition of Germany’s Dream Chip Technologies (DCT). The deal will accelerate its ability to deliver integrated solutions for smart mobile devices and automotive applications for a worldwide customer base.
NVIDIA advances Arm acquisition talk
The rumours surrounding NVIDIA’s acquisition of Arm continue to swirl. According to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, the talk is in an advanced stage with a deal expected to be reached in the next few weeks.
Infineon introduces smart entrance counter solution
In response to the urgent need for secure social distancing solution in public buildings, Infineon Technologies has developed a solution that counts people while entering and leaving buildings or rooms and ensures social distancing at the same time.
Huawei propels to top of smartphone market in Q2
Huawei has battled past sanctions and the withdrawal of Android support to climb to the top of the global smartphone market in Q2. The China smartphone maker shipped 55.8 million units, edging past Samsung which had 53.7 million devices, according to Canalys
NVIDIA smashes16 AI performance records
The MLPerf consortium has released the results for MLPerf Training v0.7 machine learning training performance benchmark suite. And NVIDIA has come up tops by breaking 16 AI performance records, doubling the number of records it smashed in 2019.
Intel rejigs technology organisation
It has not been a good week for Intel. AMD has surpassed Intel in share value while Intel’s 7nm manufacturing process has grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons. Not to mention, the delay of its 10nm desktop CPUs for a year.
Garmin ransomed for US$10m
Since last Thursday, Garmin users have been unable to connect to their device’s servers. It seems like the the GPS and wearable device maker has a US$10 million problem on its hands.
Riiid secures US$41.8m funding to fuel expansion
Korea startup Riiid has secured US$41.8 milion to fund the expansion of its AI education solutions and into the global market.
Go live from Messenger Rooms
Facebook Live has emerged as a top platform for live broadcasting for organisations during this trying period. Messenger Rooms was introduced in April to meet the increasing videoconferencing needs. Now, Facebook has announced a way to get the best of both platforms — users can broadcast live to Facebook using Messenger Rooms.
NVIDIA eyes Arm deal
NVIDIA is reported to have sounded out SoftBank on acquiring a stake in British chipmaker Arm. If this pans out, it could be one of the biggest chip deal in the industry.
Mokibo Folio keyboard comes with integrated touchpad for iPad Pro
Innopresso has launched the Mokibo Folio smart keyboard with an integrated touchpad for the iPad Pro on Kickstarter.
Adobe, IBM and Red Hat partner on CX transformation
In an age where personalisation is a big thing, enterprises need to be more mindful of being relevant and relational to customers while ensuring that data security is not compromised. A newly-announced strategic partnership among Adobe, IBM and Red Hat aims to enable companies to deliver more personalised experiences across the customer journey, driving improved engagement, profitability, and loyalty.
Euclideon makes 3D data visualisation software free
Australia-based Euclideon has made free udStream, a 3D data visualisation product that unlocks for businesses the value of volumes of data that previously might have been left untouched.
Genesys Cloud integrates with Microsoft Teams
Genesys Cloud has been fully integrated with Microsoft Teams to give users a more connected, intuitive and productive experience. The move enables call centre agents to collaborate with employees using Teams to resolve customer issues faster and deliver better service.
Fortinet makes OPAQ acquisition
Fortinet has acquired OPAQ Networks, a secure access service edge (SASE) cloud provider for an undisclosed sum.
Zoom sets up base in Bangalore
Bangalore: Abundance of IT talents
Zoom Video Communications has opened a new technology centre in Bangalore, expanding its presence in India with offices and data centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
TPG partners with IDEMIA on LTE SIM cards
TPG Telecom has turned to IDEMIA to provide LTE SIM cards to its SIM-only plan subscribers in Singapore.
Group scan and facial recognition with new D-Link kit
Temperature screening among the new measures in this COVID-19 period. The process can often slow down people movement and create unnecessary crowding due to bunching.
Telstra automates network operations with SON software
Telstra minimises network and technology complexities.
Telstra has centralised and automated its network operations with Nokia’s EdenNet Self-Organising Network (SON) software.
Fujitsu starts new company in Japan
Fujitsu to integrate domestic operations in one company
Fujitsu has formed a new company, Fujitsu Japan Ltd, which will start operations in Japan on October 1. The new setup aims to further expand business in the Japan services market.
Google sows into Jio Platforms
Photo by Karan Mandre on Unsplash
Just 48 hours after its announcement on investing US$10 billion in India, Google has pumped US$4.5 billion to take a 7.73 percent stake in Jio Platforms.
Indonesia telco turns to ForgeRock for identity infrastructure
Indonesia mobile telco XL Axiata has chosen selected ForgeRock Identity Platform for its cloud-based initiative to unify its many customer-facing systems.
Singapore startup JobForesight launches career advice app for students in China
New Vivo X50 series smartphones: Shoot like a professional photographer
Camera capabilities have become a key consideration when choosing a smartphone. Practically every brand of flagship smartphone aims to outdo the other with their camera technologies — whether it’s more lenses or photo enghancement software.
Entelechy Asia 