hoolah and BridgerPay are teaming up to provide merchants in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong the opportunity to offer their customers to pay later in a flexible, convenient and transparent way. Singapore-headquartered hoolah offers merchants […]
Tag: Asia
GSMA launches Innovation Fund for mobile internet adoption and digital inclusion
GSMA has launched it Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion. Set up to increase mobile internet adoption and usage among those who have mobile internet coverage but are not using it, the fund is open for applications for countries in Africa and Asia.
Facebook to build S$1.4b data centre in Singapore
Hot on the heels of Google’s announcement last month that it will build its third data centre in Singapore is Facebook, which declared today that it will be establishing its first Asia data centre in the country.
SenseTime makes triple signing in Singapore
China artificial intelligence (AI) company SenseTime has inked memoranda of understanding (MOU) with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Supercomputing Centre of Singapore (NSCC) and Singtel.
NVIDIA springs Titan X surprise
Just when we thought NVIDIA was done with the Pascal range of GPUs with the benchmark release of the GeForce GTX 1060 early this week, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang pulled off a major surprise with the announcement of the new NVIDIA Titan X at an artificial intelligence meeting in Stanford University.
The new NVIDIA Titan X, based on the new Pascal GPU architecture, is the biggest GPU ever built with a record-breaking 3,584 CUDA cores.
Here are the numbers that matter:
- 11 TFLOPS FP32
- 44 TOPS INT8 (new deep learning inferencing instruction)
- 12B transistors
- 3,584 CUDA cores at 1.53GHz (versus 3,072 cores at 1.08GHz in previous TITAN X)
- Up to 60 percent faster performance than previous TITAN X
- High performance engineering for maximum overclocking
- 12 GB of GDDR5X memory (480 GB/s)
Vietnam only bright spark in Asia PC market
Vietnam is the only growth market for PCs in Asia in Q4, according to IDC. A total of 610,000 PCs were shipped during this period, bringing annual total to 2.13 million units, a two-percent increase over 2014.
In the second half of 2014, promotions of Windows 8.1 with Bing notebooks and the slow but steady growth of convertibles led to an increase in volumes that helped to stabilise the PC market.
“While it helps to prevent the drop of PC shipment in Vietnam, aggressive moves from vendors generally took down the price further that impacts the margins too. Looking at 2015, we’re still expecting a resilient PC spending added with small but growing gaming market to keep the market stable,” said Yen Phan, Market Analyst for PCs at IDC Vietnam.
HTC One mini 2 available in June
The HTC One mini 2, the latest member of the HTC One family, isn’t exactly a mini with its 4.5-inch display, which is 0.2-inch bigger than its previous version. Screen size aside, the smartphone does offer […]
SEA smartphone sales up 61% in first three quarters
Southeast Asia consumers bought 41.5 million smartphones, spending US$10.8 billion in the first three quarters of this year, according to GfK Asia.
Indonesia led the way with sale of 14.8 million smartphones worth more than USS3.33 billion. Thailand and Malaysia were next with 7.2 million and 6.4 million units sold respectively. However, in terms of smartphone sales revenue, the ranking of these two countries are switched with Malaysia garnering US$2.25 billion while Thailand raked in US$1.96 billion in January to September.
“The increasing affordability of smartphones, particularly in the developing markets is helping many consumers in these countries make the switch from their basic feature phones to own their very first smartphone,” said Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology of GfK Asia. “It is worth highlighting the significant milestone of September being the month whereby sales penetration reached the halfway mark; where one in every two mobile handsets purchased in the region is now a smartphone.”
Half billion LTE connections in Asia in 2017
The uptake of 4G-LTE is expected to grow to pass one billion by 2017, according to a new study by GSMA Intelligence. This translates to one in eight of the more than eight billion total mobile connections forecast by that point, up from 176 million LTE connections at the end of 2013. And around half of these are expected to be in Asia.
Nearly 500 LTE networks are forecast to be in service across 128 countries, roughly double the number of live LTE networks today.
“Since the launch of the first commercial 4G-LTE networks in late 2009 we are seeing deployments accelerate across the globe,” said Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer of GSMA. “Our new report highlights a number of factors that are driving LTE growth: the timely allocation of suitable spectrum to mobile operators; the availability of affordable LTE devices; and the implementation of innovative tariffs that encourage adoption of high-speed data services. Mobile operators in both developed and developing markets are seeing LTE services contributing to a significant increase in ARPU.”
NVIDIA GRID VCA makes Asian debut
Visitors to SIGGRAPH Asia last week were the first to see and catch the demo of NVIDIA GRID VCA in Asia. Essentially, NVIDIA GRID VCA is a powerful GPU-based system that runs complex applications such as Autodesk […]
hybris announces B2C Commerce Accelerator for China
hybris has announced the coming availability of hybris B2C Commerce Accelerator for China. As businesses move from a single channel, such as print catalogues, to multiple channels — including online, mobile, print and call centers, complexity increases.
Founded on hybris Commerce Accelerator, hybris B2C Commerce Accelerator for China has been specially configured and equipped with functionalities specifically to address Chinese e-commerce needs.
Adapted expressly for the Chinese market, it comes with pre-configured page templates that are designed to suit the highly characteristic ‘click’ culture and specific shopping atmosphere enjoyed by Chinese consumers, providing big product images, larger merchandising bars and a very visual user experience.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2013 opens in Hong Kong
Computer graphic professionals and enthusiasts made a beeline to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the opening day of SIGGRAPH Asia. The show has returned to Hong Kong after being held in Singapore last […]
GSMA and ITU to drive mobile broadband in APAC
GSMA is collaborating with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in a new programme to encourage the development of mobile broadband in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new “m-Powering for Mobile Broadband” campaign will facilitate the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices in specific policy areas with the goal of encouraging investment in mobile broadband infrastructure, instilling consumer confidence in mobile applications and supporting the long-term growth of the sector.
“Mobile is a transformative technology that has had a significant economic and social impact not only in Asia, but on a global basis,” said Irene Ng, Head of GSMA Asia. “Mobile provides access to healthcare where there are no doctors, access to education where there are no teachers and access to financial services where there are no banks. GSMA is pleased to be working hand in hand with ITU to accelerate the widespread adoption of mobile broadband in Asia and the Pacific, and in turn, to enable new opportunities for economic growth, technological innovation and social development.”
Apple and Samsung clamouring for attention with new colours
Apple and Samsung are slugging it out for attention in Singapore and across Asia. Yesterday, Apple fans in Singapore queued to be among the first to lay their hands on the Apple iPhone 5s and […]
Hong Kong to stay as key Asia Pacific data centre market
Limited land availability and high real estate prices are unlikely to make Hong Kong lose its status as a key data centre market in Asia Pacific, according to Frost & Sullivan.
The limitations are countered by the Hong Kong Government’s continuous support for the sector.
“Hong Kong’s strong political connection to Mainland China allows it to act as a gateway for global companies that seek to tap into opportunities in China’s market,” said Danni Xu, Research Analyst, ICT Practice, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan. “Moreover, Hong Kong’s business-friendly and free-trade environment has drawn a number of multinational corporations (MNCs) to set up their regional headquarters in the country. This has brought in numerous investments and job opportunities, and created demand for data center services.”
WeChat soars past 100m registered users milestone
WeChat has surpassed the 100 million registered user account milestone. That’s remarkable considering the strong competition it is up against.
In the last three months, it doubled its registered user account base reaching the 100 million milestone shortly after an independent survey found that the platform was the fifth most used smartphone app worldwide.
Since its international debut, WeChat has been well received in Asia, quickly becoming the most popular mobile social app in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia across multiple smartphone OS platforms, where the user base has recently gained tremendous growth.
Allen Ma is new CEO of HKSTPC
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) has appointed Allen Ma as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding E Anthony Tan, who has held the position since April 2008.
Joining as CEO-designate on July 22 and taking office on August 1 , Ma believes technology plays a key role in fuelling Hong Kong’s economic transformation and will draw on his 30 years of industrial and business experience to increase the competitiveness of the city as a regional hub for science and technology innovation while building ever stronger collaboration with the Mainland.
His key focus will be to advance HKSTPC’s mission to provide world-class infrastructure and services and promote Hong Kong as a regional hub of innovation and technology.
GSMA to create Connected City experience at Mobile Asia Expo
Visitors to Mobile Asia Expo 2013 in Shanghai will get to delve in a new Connected City experience. They will be able to stroll down a city street of the future and experience the Connected Life powered by intelligent mobile connections.
The Connected City will build on the success of the Connected City at this year’s Mobile World Congress and draw on developments that have put Asia at the forefront of connected device and service uptake.
In partnership with China Mobile, Cisco, Ford Motor Company, Huawei, KT Corp. and SAP, the Connected City will be a life-like urban environment where attendees will experience how these companies are making homes smarter, motoring more intelligent, shopping easier and city living safer in the largest and most forward-thinking mobile market in the world. Each area will bring together the latest in cutting-edge products and services to demonstrate how a connected future, driven by mobile, will simplify and enhance people’s everyday lives.
GSMA launches NFC Experience for Mobile Asia Expo
So much hope was placed on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology but Apple’s non-adoption of the technology was a major dampener. A few other mobile vendors, such as Samsung, have included NFC is selected models of their devices.
Keen to drive the technology, GSMA will be showcasing the NFC Experience at Mobile Asia Expo, an interactive experience through which exhibitors, vendors and attendees will be able to use mobile NFC to exchange information and conduct transactions. Mobile Asia Expo will take place from June 26 to 28 at Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre (SNIEC) in Shanghai.
“We’re excited to launch the NFC Experience for Mobile Asia Expo, as it provides attendees the opportunity to experience first-hand the power of NFC technology throughout the Mobile Asia Expo venue, as well as in the Pudong area of Shanghai,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “We hope that all attendees will take advantage of the many benefits of NFC, from information access and download to retail transactions, among others.”
13 HKSTPC partners win Hong Kong ICT Awards
Hong Kong’s push for innovation has borne further fruits with 13 incubation and partner companies of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) scooping a total of 15 awards at the prestigious Hong Kong ICT Awards. They won with innovations ranging from intelligent interactive advertising display and business solutions for retailers to self-powered smart sensors.
“Despite the keen competition from over 600 entries at the Awards, our partner companies have won two Gold medals, three Silver, two Bronze and several certificates of merits,” said Allen Yeung, Vice President of Business Development and Technology Support of HKSTPC.
“We are delighted that among the 13 awardee companies, six are our incubation companies that are still budding, yet have shown enormous development potentials. Particularly four of them, namely Cenique Infotainment Group Limited, StampUp Limited, QBS Systems Ltd and Voloe Technology Ltd were only admitted to the Programme last year. Their remarkable achievements proved our local technopreneurs are full of creativity and innovation, and that has further affirmed the value of HKSTPC’s Incubation Programmes,” he added.
Hong Kong electronic inventions take centrestage at coming Electronics Fair & ICT-Expo
Three incubation companies of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) will be showcasing their electronic inventions in the concurrent events of Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and the International ICT-Expo held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 13 to 16.
Two of the inventions will have patent registered pending innovations at the “Invention Zone”.
“IP protection is conducive to technological advancement. We thus are keen to offer services and aid funding for our incubation companies in patent application, including free chat with legal experts. We are proud that two companies under our Incu-Tech Programme are selected to exhibit in the ‘Invention Zone’, in which many of the inventions are patent registered or pending. With the valuable opportunity to promote their patented technology at the exhibition, we trust our incubatees can be well connected to industry practitioners and fasten their phase of commercialisation,” said Ir Allen Yeung, Vice President of Business Development and Technology Support of HKSTPC.
hybris partners SingPost for e-commerce fulfillment
Multichannel commerce and communication software leader hybris has teamed up with SingPost for e-commerce fulfillment in Singapore.
“What this means is that customers who are going into e-commerce can take our suite of solutions as well as leverage the strengths of our partners such as SingPost for key parts of their operations such as warehousing, delivery and customer clearance,” Burghardt Groeber, Vice President for Asia, hybris told Entelechy Asia in an exclusive interview.
According to him, Southeast Asia is interesting as there are different countries with different laws, customs, geographical size and reach, languages, currencies and taxes.
Asian mobile players and operators among Global Mobile award winners
Asia is becoming a leading force in the mobile communications space. Mobile product makers Samsung and Asus and mobile operators NTT Docomo, Bharti Airtel and SK Telecom were among the winners at the 18th Annual Global Mobile awards, held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Government of New Zealand also nabbed the Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award.
More than 170 independent analysts, journalists, academics, and subject matter experts and 13 representatives from mobile operators throughout the world participated in the judging of the 2013 awards.
The full list of winners and finalist for the 2013 Global Mobile Awards is available at www.globalmobileawards.com/winners-2013
20,000 to attend 2nd Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai
Mobile Asia Expo will offer more to conference participants in Shanghai from June 26 to 28.
Now in its second year, the expo will include a conference programme featuring CEOs and senior executives from leading companies in Asia and around the world; an extensive exhibition showcasing innovative mobile products and services, including the new Connected City; the App Planet programme for the mobile application development community; a government and regulatory programme; and a variety of other seminars, meetings and educational programmes.
“We are pleased to be returning to Shanghai for our second Mobile Asia Expo,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Building on the success of our inaugural event last year, the 2013 edition of Mobile Asia Expo will attract more than 20,000 attendees, including executives and mobile professionals from across the broad mobile communications ecosystem, government officials, technology-savvy consumers. Mobile Asia Expo 2013 promises to be bigger and better, with a range of new programmes and activities for both business and consumer attendees.”
Smartphones sport up to 19 sensors
Most of us are aware that smartphones have numerous sensors that, well, help to make them smart. But, most believe the number of sensors to be around six to eight. At a presentation at SIGGRAPH […]
ZTE secures US$20b financing to achieve Top 3 target
Under a new financing agreement, China Development Bank (CDB) will expand its financing facility for ZTE to US$20 billion. In 2005, CDB and ZTE began their strategic cooperation based on international standard practices, agreeing a […]
ZTE launches commercial trial VoLTE call with eSRVCC
ZTE has launched the industry’s first commercial trial VoLTE call with enhanced single radio voice call continuity (eSRVCC) in Hong Kong. The VoLTE call with eSRVCC enables higher quality voice calls while the network is […]
Show fatigue?
School holidays, check. Christmas coming, check. Gift giving time, check. All the signs are there but seasoned visitors to SITEX, which started yesterday, noted that the event was a little quieter than normal — and […]
HKSTPC Chairman wins Directors of the Year Awards 2012
Nicholas Brooke, Chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC), has been awarded the “Directors of the Year Awards 2012” by The Hong Kong Institute of Directors. The annual award is highly regarded […]
Mugshot: Ashton-Tate
Remember Ashton-Tate? Some of us may not have heard of the company but it was one of the top software companies in the 1980s and 1990s — ranking alongside Microsoft and Lotus — and is renowned […]
Entelechy Asia 