NEXCOM Goes Full Throttle on Six IoT Applications

TAIPEI, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating unprecedented opportunities in the area of critical infrastructure. Seeing and seizing these, NEXCOM is going full throttle on six revenue-generating applications including IoT, robotics, Industry 4.0, connected car, responsive stores, and security in industry IoT.

2014 marks a monumental year for NEXCOM as revenues hit US$177 million, an increase of 27%. “Years of experience in vertical markets not only paid off but also gave us advanced edges on IoT competition. We had a more equal regional distribution of the revenues: 28% from the Americas, 26% from Europe, 28% from Asia, and 18% from China respectfully. By focusing solutions for these six areas and steady global presence reinforcement, we are well-prepared to drive double-digit growth and market-leading position in the coming 2015,” said Clement Lin, Chairman and CEO of NEXCOM.

In IoT applications, NEXCOM focuses on vertical clouds by developing IoT gateways and complete PaaS (platform as a service) offerings. NEXCOM’s C2C (click to connect and connect to cloud) platform simplifies data mining tasks from vertical clouds with intuitive GUI. C2C PaaS, on the other hand, enables easy integration with third-party SaaS (software as a service) and sends data analysis via computers or mobile devices anytime, anywhere. NEXCOM’s vertical clouds cover not just enterprises but also healthcare establishments including hospitals, nursing homes, and medical center hotels. The latest Medical and Healthcare Informatics Business Unit is dedicated to offering medical facilities one-stop solutions which include hardware platforms, system implementation, and business cloud storage services.

For robotics development, NEXCOM has established an R&D integration center and independently develops EtherCAT controllers. By engaging in downstream servo motor and I/O connection as well as upstream integration with third-party software like CODESYS and self-developed NexECM 2.0 and Xcare 4.0 software, NEXCOM accelerates software/hardware integration and offers remote monitoring capability. With these all-inclusive streamlining capabilities, NEXCOM not just propels mechatronics applications forward but also speeds up customers’ time to market.

To bring IP networking and manufacturing intelligence to the factory floor, NEXCOM’s smart factory solutions of Industry 4.0 combine a distributed control system, SCADA, AMI, safety system, and predictive control and maintenance system. Via IoT gateways, each subsystem sends in-factory data to the cloud, enabling up-to-date decision-making information for the executives.

The IoT is not limited to industrial applications. It also helps to shape the future of retailers. NEXCOM provides digital-physical responsive store solutions that bring shoppers a more interactive and personalized in-store shopping experience. To help physical retailers recreate business value, NEXCOM’s responsive store solutions cover digital signage, digital shelf management systems, digital shopping carts, virtual fitting rooms, and experience centers.

The IoT is also advancing to connected cars, which makes traffic management smarter and accelerates sustainability. NEXCOM’s connected car solutions integrate critical in-vehicle data, data communications, and versatile sensors to turn connected cars into information hubs. Connected cars can perform various tasks. For instance, each car can monitor nearby vehicles to avoid road accidents, communicate with transportation infrastructure to optimize routes, amass sensor-generated data to acquire vehicle status, and provide in-vehicle infotainment to drivers and passengers. All of these make driving safer, smoother and more enjoyable.

Last but not least, privacy and data security remain critical for all IoT applications. To ease big data and related security concerns, NEXCOM’s networking solutions include bandwidth management, industry firewall, industry storage, and industry switch. Thanks to these, users can enjoy unlimited data access with enhanced protection and peace of mind.

About NEXCOM: Founded in 1992, NEXCOM integrates its capabilities and operates six global businesses, which are Multi-Media Solutions, Mobile Computing Solutions, IoT Automation Solutions, Network and Communication Solutions, Intelligent Digital Security, and Medical and Healthcare Informatics. NEXCOM serves its customers worldwide through its subsidiaries in five major industrial countries. Under the IoT megatrend, NEXCOM expands its offerings with solutions in emerging applications including IoT, robots, connected cars, Industry 4.0, and industrial security. www.nexcom.com

Liyin Lin
Marketing Director
Email: liyinlin@nexcom.com.tw
Tel: +886 2 8226 7786 ext. 2110

Oral-B® Unveils New App Technology At Mobile World Congress 2015

— The Revolutionary Oral-B Bluetooth-Enabled Toothbrush and App is Helping to Change Oral Care Behaviors

CINCINNATI, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Oral-B, the worldwide leader in oral care, unveils improvements to its App that connects to its highest performing toothbrushes, by creating seamless brushing routines and allowing for expanded professional guidance, at the 2015 annual GSMA Mobile World Congress meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Oral-B continues to innovate and personalize the Oral-B App, which is already changing oral care behaviors when used with the Bluetooth-connected toothbrush, with the creation of Dental Care Journeys and Professional Guidance. Additionally, Oral-B is proud to announce the opening of the Oral-B App’s Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) in October 2015, which will enable users to become a part of the increasingly connected oral care digital experience by working with third parties.

Since the SmartSeries and Oral-B App’s debut at Mobile World Congress last year, initial results indicate improved worldwide oral care behaviors in a number of important measures. The App data shows that Oral-B electric toothbrush users are now brushing on average 2:24. This increased from less than 60 seconds with a manual toothbrush[1]. Additionally, over half of the recorded brushing sessions included flossing, rinsing, and tongue cleaning. Through a combination of these statistics and consumer feedback, Oral-B can deduce that with real-time feedback, users are encouraged to brush longer, with less force and more in-line with their dental professionals’ recommendations.

Oral Care Statistics from Oral-B SmartSeries and App Use[2]

  • A total of 83 percent of brushing sessions are over two minutes, with a global average brushing duration of 2:24.
  • The Oral-B App has been downloaded nearly 300,000 times since launch; there were 87 percent active users in the month of December 2014.
  • Approximately 60 percent of brushing sessions are leveraging the rinsing, flossing and tongue cleaning App reminders, for a more holistic oral care routine.
  • The Oral-B SmartSeries with the Oral-B App has helped users achieve thorough brushing across all quadrants and areas of the mouth.

“We are encouraged by the consumer feedback and data regarding our App’s ability to improve and maintain oral care routines and have used this proof as inspiration to continue investing and innovating in this area,” said Stephen Squire, Global Brand Director, P&G. “In partnership with dental professionals and consumers, Oral-B has created the next generation brushing experience that utilizes personal goals, unique dental considerations and entertainment to ensure our consumers are getting the best possible results outside a dentist chair.”

After a year of collaborating with consumers and dental professionals to enhance the App, Oral-B has addressed the need for a more personalized brushing experience. Oral-B users can now select journeys to fit their oral care goals and their dental professional can provide direct recommendations and feedback within the App. The goal for these improvements is to ensure a user can comply with their dental professionals’ recommendations between office visits through a streamlined App experience.

Dental Care Journeys: 

  • Each personalized Dental Care Journey is tailor-made to help users’ achieve their oral care goals, including whiter teeth for an upcoming wedding, or fresh breath for food lovers.  
  • The journeys deliver a more active and engaged brushing routine for a pre-designated period of time, and also offer recommendations for corresponding products to match each journey.
  • Users can select among five journeys: Fresh Breath, Plaque Fighter, Whitening, Gum Health or Ortho Care.

Professional Guidance:

  • A dental professional can add extra brushing time for certain focus areas in the mouth, select dental conditions and provide specific brushing and interdental cleaning instructions for his/her patient to follow at home.
  • A dental professional can provide product recommendations via the App, selecting products based on their patients’ specific needs.
  • Patients can share their compliance statistics with their hygienist and dentist via e-mail, as a way to track and discuss improvement areas and help advance their oral care routines.

Beginning in late 2015, the App will allow users to voluntarily integrate their oral care information into other digital programs by opening the API. This will create a seamless venue for users to holistically monitor their well-being, and could potentially provide an opportunity for users to be rewarded for good brushing behavior through various reward programs. Oral-B is working to enable developers to create or extend apps with a user’s brushing data. If interested, please email Oral-B at sdk@oralb.com.

Oral-B will showcase these advancements in the Innovation City during Mobile World Congress, allowing attendees to experience Oral-B’s technology at digital brushing stations, under the guidance of dental professionals.

“The GSMA Innovation City is all about demonstrating how cutting-edge mobile technology is changing our lives for the better and we are delighted that Oral-B is partnering with us for a second consecutive year with its display of oral health technology,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Mobile technology is having a transformative effect on billions of people around the world, in everything from wearables to health and fitness. Oral-B is a prime example of this and we look forward to welcoming them to the City once again.”

The Oral-B SmartSeries electric toothbrush with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is now available in more than 20 markets in Western Europe, North America and Asia. By the summer of 2015, the brush will be available in nearly 50 global markets. Bluetooth connectivity will be introduced to Oral-B Pro 5000 and 5800 models in summer 2015, creating more interactive options at varying price points. The Oral-B App 3.0 will be available for free in iOS and Android in summer 2015.

For more information on Oral-B electric toothbrushes with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, visit oralb.co.uk.

About Oral-B
Oral-B® is the worldwide leader in the over $5 billion brushing market. Part of the Procter & Gamble Company, the brand includes manual and electric toothbrushes for children and adults, oral irrigators and interdental products, such as dental floss. Oral-B® manual toothbrushes are used by more dentists than any other brand in the U.S. and many international markets.

About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Duracell®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

[1] British Dental Health Foundation. May 25, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.dentalhealth.org/news/details/399
[2] IconMobile December Quarterly Report, 2014

SK Telecom Targets Global IoT Market with Lifeware

BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) has unveiled a variety of consumer-centric smart devices, or ‘Lifeware*’, at the Mobile World Congress 2015 with the aim to create opportunities in the global market for the Internet of Things (IoT).

*

Lifeware is a newly-coined word that combines “life” and “hardware/software”, and refers to smart devices that add value to people’s lives.

At its booth located in Hall 3 (3J30), SK Telecom is introducing diverse Lifeware developed to enhance customers’ well-being, health and safety, including Smart Band, Smart Hearing Aid, Smart Beam HD, Linkage, Solar Skin and T Kids Phone JooN.

Smart Band

Smart Band is a chic-looking wearable watch that comes with a range of innovative functionalities. Set on a sleek and slim bracelet strap to satisfy young and stylish customers, Smart Band not only notifies users of incoming calls, SMS-MMS, emails and SNS updates, but also enhances their health by recommending different levels of physical exercise depending on the user’s condition. It also provides fun features like daily horoscopes, selfie remote control and anniversary reminder. Armed with sophisticated design, differentiated features and affordable price, Smart Band is expected to make a strong impression in the market.

Smart Band, a chic looking yet highly functional wearable device designed for the fashion conscious, not only notifies the user of incoming calls, SMS, MMS, emails and SNS updates, but also promotes the user's health through activity tracking and motivation-enhancing features.

Smart Band, a chic looking yet highly functional wearable device designed for the fashion conscious, not only notifies the user of incoming calls, SMS, MMS, emails and SNS updates, but also promotes the user’s health through activity tracking and motivation-enhancing features.

Smart Hearing Aid

Smart Hearing Aid, a Bluetooth earset with a hearing aid feature, has also made its first appearance at Barcelona. While wirelessly connected to users’ smartphones, Smart Hearing Aid provides basic earset features such as hands-free voice calling and CD-quality music play. Then, it sets itself apart from other Bluetooth earphones by offering a four-channel hearing aid feature for people with hearing loss via a smartphone app that supports specialized hearing aid fitting. Developed in response to the rapidly growing aged population and noise pollution, Smart Hearing Aid will enable customers to use hearing aids more conveniently at a reasonable cost. Smart Hearing Aid has been also recognized for its design excellence, receiving the 2015 iF Design Award.

Smart Beam HD

Smart Beam HD is a pico projector built with laser technology to realize three times better image quality than its former version. It projects a high definition image and brightness of over 50 lumens while guaranteeing safety for eyes, and even has a focus-free feature. Moreover, applied with wireless technologies like Miracast and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), the laser projector can be wirelessly connected to the user’s smartphone. Introduced for the first time at CES 2015, Smart Beam HD has drawn great interest from companies around the globe, which has led to a number of sales contracts and technology cooperation.

Meanwhile, Smart Beam, the former version of Smart Beam HD launched in February 2013, has successfully established itself as the representative Lifeware of SK Telecom. To date, a total of over 160,000 units have been sold in 13 countries around the world.

Linkage

Linkage is a portable Wi-Fi speaker capable of providing features and quality that are incomparable to the existing Bluetooth speakers. Scheduled to be launched in March 2015, Linkage is expected to rapidly gain popularity in the market as it offers powerful features in a compact body: It plays Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) music files and can be connected with up to 9 more units to offer surround sound feature.

SolarSkin

SolarSkin is a solar-powered smartphone charging case that can be uses in almost all environments as it uses light to generate electric current to charge a smartphone battery. SK Telecom plans to introduce SolarSkin for Samsung Galaxy Note 3 first and will expand the product for other smartphone models.

T Kids Phone JooN

T Kids Phone JooN is a standalone, wearable 3G phone for children that can be worn as a wristwatch or necklace. Managed through a mobile app named JooNBox installed on parent’s smartphone, T Kids Phone JooN offers diverse features including voice calling, SOS notification, real-time location tracking and Safe Zone settings. With the increasing social interest in children’s safety and parents’ concerns on their children having their first phone at a younger age, T Kids Phone JooN is receiving great response not only in the Korean market but also in the overseas markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the U.S. Furthermore, SK Telecom plans to expand its lineup of Lifeware targeted at enhancing people’s safety and security by launching a follow-up model of T Kids Phone within the first half of this year.

“SK Telecom has taken its appcessaries to the next level with Lifeware, consumer-centric devices that add value to people’s lives,” said Park Chul-soon, Senior Vice President and Head of Convergence Business at SK Telecom. “We expect to create new opportunities in the global IoT market while participating in MWC 2015 and will continue to develop innovative Lifeware that further enhance convenience, health and safety of our customers.”

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, KSE: 017670), established in 1984, is Korea’s largest telecommunications company with more than 28 million mobile subscribers, accounting for over 50% of the market. The company reached KRW 17.164 trillion in revenue in 2014. As the world’s first company to commercialize CDMA, CDMA 2000 1x, CDMA EV-DO and HSDPA networks, SK Telecom launched the nation’s first LTE service in July 2011. SK Telecom also became the world’s first mobile carrier to commercialize 150Mbps LTE-Advanced in June 2013 and 225Mbps LTE-Advanced in June 2014 through Carrier Aggregation(CA). In line with its efforts to swiftly move towards the next-generation mobile network system, or 5G, it successfully commercialized 300Mbps tri-band LTE-A CA. As of December 2014, the company has over 16.7 million LTE and LTE-Advanced subscribers. Based on its strength in network operations business, SK Telecom is seeking new growth engines in areas of platform, Big Data and convergence business. For more information, please visit www.sktelecom.com or email to press@sktelecom.com.

Media Contact
Cindy Kang
SK Telecom Co. Ltd.
(822) 6100-3834
(8210) 9113-2344
psyche@sk.com

Jee-soo Lee
Edelman Korea
(822) 2022-8263
(8210) 4198-6009
Jeesoo.lee@edelman.com

Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150302/8521501227

The 8th Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival: Mobile Film Production Contest

— Documentary “Happy Selfie Time” Seizes Spotlight with 4 Big Awards

HONG KONG, Feb. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Selfie — some might think of those cute headshots that local girls are so obsessed with, or the renowned picture taken during the Oscar ceremony, capturing the happy faces of Hollywood movie stars. However, selfie can be something more, according to documentary “Happy Selfie Time”. The film portrays the story of two ladies who found strength in fighting cancer and learn more about themselves through taking selfies. The film takes home the Grand Award, Gold Award of Best Documentary, Best Campus Award (Tertiary) and Best Fit of Theme Award – Time for Timeless, becoming the biggest winner of The 8th Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival: Mobile Film Production Contest.

Organised by Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), The 8th Mobile Film Production Contest Award Presentation Ceremony was held today (February 13) at Royal Plaza Hotel as a highlight of The 8th Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival, to honour winners of different awards as well as the Best Thematic Micro-film Award — “Consumption is a matter of……” sponsored by Consumer Council. Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival has honoured countless creative and quality local films produced by local independent producers, primary, secondary, tertiary students and people interested in film production. Themed “Time for Timeless” this year, the award echoes with a number of popular movies that manifested the change of time and salutes to the development of classic filming styles over decades in Hong Kong. The Contest has received nearly 160 entries this year. 13 films were shortlisted by Assessment Group in the First Round of Assessment to enter the Final Round of judging following the public voting.

Dr. Ken Fong, Immediate Past Chairman and Honorary Chairman (Life) of Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association remarked, “The internet is an open space for youngsters to engage and communicate mutually with people in the community and even across the globe with mobile films that demonstrate their creativity and values. The Mobile Film Festival encourages audiences to pay attention to things happening around them every day and not to take them lightly.” Guests attending the ceremony include Mrs. Janet Chu, Assistant Head of CreateHK; Mr. Buck Mok, Chairman and Founding member of Hong Kong Animation Association; Mr. Shu-kai Chung, Film Director; Mr. Cheung Cheuk, Documentary Film Director and Mr. Siu-pong Wong, Documentary Film Director.

Winner of 4 big awards, “Happy Selfie Time” is directed by Ms. Yau Wing Yan and Ms. Sun Ming Wai who are students of Hong Kong Baptist University. “Happy Selfie Time” is the true story of two ladies who found happiness and strength in selfie. Cancer-survivor Teresa recorded every step of her battle against the deadly illness with selfies which distracted her from pain and agony. She even held a photo exhibition afterwards. Professional photographer Iris accidentally discovered a meaningful way of selfie by swapping role with her photography “subject”. The discovery sparked her unique series of “cosplay selfies”, featuring herself cosplaying butcher, farmer, petty person beater and many more characters, enabling her to learn more about the lives of others and also herself.

Other awarding winning films also exhibit excellence in storytelling and production techniques. Winner of the Gold Award of Best Micro-film (Drama) goes to “A Mother Lover”, which depicts loneliness of people in the city with a dark, humourous love story happening in a neighbourhood. Winner of Gold Award of Best Animation goes to “Early Testing, Early Prevention” which promotes prevention of HIV with refreshing animation style. Best Campus Award (Primary and Secondary) goes to Sha Tin Methodist College’s “Accepted not Respected”. The entry which centres on the conflict between locals and ethnic minorities in Hong Kong demonstrates sophistication in storytelling that exceeds college level. Best Thematic Micro-film Award — “Consumption is a matter of……” sponsored by Consumer Council goes to “TingDing” by Students of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The film tells the touching story between a grandma and her granddaughter about consumption by elderlies.

In the ceremony, the organizer also announced the 10 films taking part in the judging process which aims to select the film representing Hong Kong in the 5th Hong Kong International Mobile Film Awards (HKIMFA), to compete with mobile films nominated by counterparts from mainland China, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. After two rounds of judging processes, EMPTY SPACE was selected to represent Hong Kong to take part in the contest. The award presentation ceremony will be held on 26 March 2015 in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The 8th Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival: Mobile Film Production Contest

Winners’ List

Award

Film

Director(s)

Grand Award

Happy Selfie Time

Yau Wing Yan, Sun Ming Wai

Best Micro-film (Drama) Award

Gold

A Mother Love

Yeung Ho Yan Terry

Silver

EMPTY SPACE

Lo Wai Lun

Bronze

Dancing Shoes

Samuel Yau

Best Animation Award

Gold

Early testing, Early Prevention

Ivy Sin, Beth Tang

Silver

Speechless

Ng Kai On Andy

Bronze

I’ M

Yip Chak Fung, Fu Hay Kin

Best Documentary Award

Gold

Happy Selfie Time

Yau Wing Yan, Sun Ming Wai

Silver

Accepted not Respected

Chung Tin Ho, Aaron

Bronze

Carry On

Chung Yeun Ying

Special Awards

Best Campus Award
(Primary and Secondary)

Accepted not Respected

Chung Tin Ho, Aaron

Best Campus Award
(Tertiary)

Happy Selfie Time

Yau Wing Yan, Sun Ming Wai

Best Fit of Theme Award –
Time for Timeless

Happy Selfie Time

Yau Wing Yan, Sun Ming Wai

Hong Kong Movie Mobile
User’s Pick Award

Chinese opera of timeless

Lai Ka Wan, Kwong Tsz Shan

The Best Thematic Micro-film Award — “Consumption is a matter of……”

Gold

The Wedding Memories

Tsoi Ho Fung

Silver

Breathe Again

Lai Wing Cheong

Bronze

Ting Ding

Cheng Ka Shing

Special Mention

Happy Selfie Time

Yau Wing Yan, Sun Ming Wai

Portrait Picture Cards

Yeung Mun Tak

Merit

The Chinese Cheongsam

Ma Yan Wan

Dancing Shoes

Samuel Yau

Website: http://mobilefilm.hk/2014/

About Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival

The Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival (HKMFF) was created since 2007. It lives to encourages the young generation to pursuit their dreams with the portable lens whereas preparing them to meet the industry needs. At the meantime, it creates the atmosphere of mobile film appreciations among the public. HKMFF extended its promotion on mobile films towards the globe by establishing the Hong Kong International Mobile Film Awards (HKIMFA) in 2011. The Awards successfully introduced outstanding local productions to the world whilst gathering international attention to Hong Kong. The contest this year continues to open to local independent producers, primary, secondary and tertiary students to submit their mobile films within 30 seconds to 10 minutes in length.

The theme of the 8th HKMFF will be “Time for Timeless”. This is to echo with a number of popular movies that manifested the change of time in our lives in the greater China region recently. This also serves as a salute to the development of classic filming styles over decades in Hong Kong.

NetComm Wireless Launches the n-Hub to Transform Healthcare

SYDNEY, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — NetComm Wireless Limited (ASX: NTC), a leading developer of wireless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices, will today enter the health industry with the launch of its NetComm Wireless n-Hub (NTC-20) at the 2014 mHealth Summit in Washington, DC. Designed to meet rising global demand for M2M healthcare solutions, the n-Hub connects diverse Bluetooth and WiFi enabled mHealth devices to the speed and coverage of cellular networks.

The n-Hub will facilitate healthcare sector innovation as the global ecosystem of mHealth devices grows to exceed 650 million by 2020. The device enables secure data to be sent from the remote patient or client to their practitioner.

“The n-Hub is a game-changer for the global healthcare sector. It combines simplicity with open system flexibility to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and ultimately improve patient outcomes. The n-Hub has the capacity to drive innovation across a wide range of applications such as monitoring the health of elderly relatives, post surgery patient care and keeping tabs on personal health, to name a few,” said David Stewart, Managing Director and CEO, NetComm Wireless.

Engineered for seamless deployment, the n-Hub connects to global networks and its open architecture enable interoperability with most management platforms. Its open Linux Operating System and Software Development Kit (SDK) also enables the freedom to create software applications for virtually any healthcare requirement. 

The software rich n-Hub features: internal antennas for easy deployment; multiple layers of power backup; redundant antennas for increased reliability; an intuitive OLED display and a user friendly interface for simple onsite setup; multimode power and mount options and non-intrusive integration into any home, medical, commercial or industrial environment.

About NetComm Wireless Limited

NetComm Wireless Limited (ASX: NTC) is a leading developer of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices and solutions globally. The company provides 3G, 4G and rural broadband new generation fixed-wireless devices that underpin an increasingly connected world. Leading telecommunications carriers, core network providers and system integrators utilise NetComm Wireless’ solutions to optimise network performance and to support their connected products and services in the M2M and rural broadband markets. For the past 32 years, NetComm Wireless has developed a portfolio of world first data communication products, and is now a globally recognised wireless innovator. Headquartered in Sydney (Australia), NetComm Wireless has offices in the US, Europe/UK, New Zealand, Middle East and Japan. For more information visit www.netcommwireless.com.

ASTRI’s Healthcare Technology Wins Double Honours in Hong Kong and Guangdong

HONG KONG, Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has recently won the Gold Award (Winning Internet-of-Things Technology Category) in the Hong Kong Internet-of-Things (IoT) Awards and the Best IoT Product Award in the Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards with its self-developed Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System.

ASTRI's Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System and the Best IoT Product Award it wins from the Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards

ASTRI’s Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System and the Best IoT Product Award it wins from the Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards

The winning technology is a low-power wireless electrocardiography (ECG) device in a miniature module which allows anyone with a smartphone, tablet or PC to monitor their heart health anytime anywhere with ease. The user’s ECG data can be viewed in real-time or uploaded to a centralized data server where physicians and nurses can gain access for diagnosis purposes. The system supports multi-platform ECG software, providing a total solution for easy, convenient and effective heart health monitoring.

Mr David Kwong, Vice President and R&D Director, IC Design Group of ASTRI said, “It is very encouraging to see that the value of this healthcare technology developed by ASTRI is well recognized not only in Hong Kong but also in the region. With this mobile low-power wireless ECG device, we target to reduce patients’ healthcare costs, help prevent death related to heart diseases and enable healthy living by facilitating the deployment of Virtual Hospital.”

ASTRI’s Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System allows patients under stable condition and yet requiring constant heart monitoring to be discharged from the hospital and be monitored remotely through the System.

Readily available for commercialization, the System is planned to go through a clinical trial for exploring various user scenarios for telemedicine and e-health monitoring through active feedback from doctors and patients.

Hong Kong Internet of Things (IoT) Awards evolves from “Hong Kong RFID Awards”, an annual industry awards established by GS1 Hong Kong in 2008. The awards programme aims to showcase innovation in the field and recognize pioneering enterprises. All the winners will be honoured at GS1 Hong Kong’s 25th anniversary Gala Dinner to be held in December 2014.

Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards is jointly organized by GS1 Hong Kong and Guangdong RFID Technology Service Centre. The Awards Presentation Ceremony was held in Guangzhou on 13 October 2014.

About ASTRI

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the HKSAR Government in 2000 with the mission to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research.

In 2006, ASTRI was designated by the HKSAR Government the Hong Kong Research and Development Centre for Information and Communications Technologies. In 2012, ASTRI received approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish the first Hong Kong Branch of the National Engineering Research Centre for Application Specific Integrated Circuit System.

ASTRI’s R&D efforts traverse four interrelated areas namely Communications Technologies, IC Design, Sensing & Integration and Software & Systems. An Exploratory Research Laboratory was also set up in 2011 to perform research on emerging and interdisciplinary technologies.

Since inception, ASTRI has built a rich portfolio of intellectual properties and nurtured many research talents. It has also succeeded in creating economic impact by transferring new technologies to its customers in Hong Kong, the Mainland and the region.

For more information about ASTRI, please visit www.astri.org.

Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20141020/8521406118

Vodafone Report Shows Asia Pacific Organisations Lead in Adoption of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Solutions

HONG KONG, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —

  • Surging global demand as M2M adoption increases by more than 80% in the past year
  • Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP) powers ahead of US and Europe in M2M take-up
  • Region expected to lead global adoption rates over the next two years
  • More than a fifth of global companies have implemented M2M, expected to be 55% in 2016
  • Consumer electronics is recognised as fastest growing sector, along with automotive

Vodafone published its second annual ‘M2M Adoption Barometer’, a global survey of the machine-to-machine (M2M) market, which finds that companies in Asia Pacific were among the leaders in M2M adoption globally. In 2014, 27% of AMAP based companies on average have adopted M2M solutions  a 15 point increase over 2013. Average adoption rates were 21% in Europe and 17% in the Americas.

M2M, which connects previously isolated machines or devices to the internet to make the ‘Internet of Things’ possible, is now a mainstream solution as 22% of organisations on average globally have adopted M2M, an impressive increase of over 80% on last year; the survey findings suggest.

The survey, carried out by Circle Research, captured the views of more than 600 executives 38% of whom were from the AMAP region — involved in setting M2M strategy in seven key industries across 14 countries, making it one of the leading global surveys of M2M implementation.

The 2013 Vodafone M2M Adoption Barometer report had predicted that the US will be overtaken by the AMAP region as the geography with the widest adoption of M2M. The 2014 survey now predicts that the AMAP region will continue to lead the rest of the world over the next couple of years  with adoption expected to hit 48% on average across companies based in this region in 2015. This year’s report also suggests that by 2016 the gap will be negligible with all regions close to 55% average for adoption.

Globally three sectors have emerged as front runners in M2M with nearly 30% adoption rates: automotive, consumer electronics, and energy and utilities. Vodafone’s report shows that the consumer electronics sector is at the forefront of a shift from the warehouse to the living room. Automotive is the most mature of the sectors where M2M is now seen as an enabler for additional services such as remote maintenance and infotainment. M2M adoption in energy and utilities is also growing rapidly as ‘smart’ home and office services such as intelligent heating and connected security gain popularity.

While more firms are seeing a return on investment from M2M than last year 46% of respondents cited a ‘significant increase’ compared with 36% in 2013  there are still some barriers to adoption, including managing security concerns and the challenges of global deployment.

Director of Machine-to-Machine in Asia Pacific, Vodafone, Niklas Ekarv said: “This year’s report findings leaves no doubt that momentum is accelerating as companies in Asia Pacific begin to realise the commercial potential of the Internet of Things. Machina Research expects M2M connections in Asia to grow at a CAGR of 20% till 2023*. This technology is transforming whole industries across Asia as companies find new ways to operate and engage with their customers. Greater China is expected to dominate Asian M2M revenues as per Machina Research; followed by Japan, India, Korea and Australia. Vodafone has invested in capabilities across Asia Pacific to become the provider of choice for M2M solutions.”

Principal Analyst at Machina Research, Alex Chau, said, “We estimate that the market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow to over 9.4 billion connections by 2023 and is expected to be worth over US$679 billion in revenues a 4x multiplier increase over 2013. Vodafone’s M2M Barometer report indicates just how fast M2M is being adopted. M2M technologies are being used more and more to drive efficiency and add new features, giving companies a competitive edge. It is also starting to facilitate new ways of working, fundamentally changing how organisations do business and how they serve their customers.”

The report is available to download from https://m2m.vodafone.com/barometer2014.

*Source – Machina Research’s M2M Forecast Database

Notes to editors:

About Vodafone Machine-to-Machine (M2M)

Vodafone Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connects previously isolated machines or devices to the internet, delivering new functionality and enhanced services without the need for human intervention. Supported by more than 250 dedicated employees, Vodafone’s global M2M platform makes it easy for global businesses to manage centrally M2M deployments across multiple territories, with greater control and at a lower cost than previously possible. In 2014 Vodafone was named global M2M leader by Machina Research, for the third year in a row. For more information, please visit: https://m2m.vodafone.com/home/.  

About Vodafone

Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 27 countries, partners with mobile networks in 48 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31 March 2014, Vodafone had 434 million mobile customers and 9 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com

Media Relations

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Spreadtrum Announces Mass Production of Next Generation Multimode LTE Modem

SC9620 adopted by leading China handset brands for 3-mode LTE devices

SHANGHAI, Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Spreadtrum Communications (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a leading fabless semiconductor provider in China with advanced technology in 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards, today announced its next generation multimode LTE modem, the SC9620. This new LTE modem pairs with Spreadtrum’s smartphone chipsets to provide customers with a complete turnkey mobile platform for 4G smartphones. Spreadtrum’s 4G mobile platform has been adopted by leading China handset brands Lenovo and Coolpad and is shipping in 3-mode LTE smartphones recently launched for the domestic China market.

The SC9620 is an LTE baseband modem designed for use in 4G smartphones, tablets, or other data devices, supporting 3GPP LTE Release 9 Category 4 at up to 150 Mbps downlink speed. In tandem, Spreadtrum has released a turnkey solution for 3-mode LTE devices supporting TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA and EDGE/GPRS/GSM for the domestic China market. Supported TD-LTE bands include Band 38, 39, 40 and 41.

“Our turnkey solutions for LTE smartphones help reduce the overall time and cost involved in bringing 4G devices to the China market,” said Dr. Leo Li, chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum Communications. “We are pleased to partner with leading handset brands to bring devices to market that meet the needs of China consumers. With this chipset, we are expanding our portfolio to support 4G smartphones and tablets, which will help drive continuing growth in mobile chipset shipments.”

Turnkey solutions supporting 5-mode operation will follow later this year.

About Spreadtrum Communications (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Spreadtrum is a fabless semiconductor company that develops mobile chipset platforms for smartphones, feature phones and other consumer electronics products, supporting 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards. Spreadtrum’s solutions combine its highly integrated, power-efficient chipsets with customizable software and reference designs in a complete turnkey platform, enabling customers to achieve faster design cycles with a lower development cost. Spreadtrum’s customers include global and China-based manufacturers developing mobile products for consumers in China and emerging markets around the world. Spreadtrum is a privately held company headquartered in Shanghai and an affiliate of Tsinghua Unigroup, Ltd. For more information, visit www.spreadtrum.com.

BBC Selects Mindtree for Digital Testing Services

BANGALORE, India and LONDON, Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —

– Multi-year, multi-million contract awarded as part of the BBC digital services framework initiative

Mindtree, a global information technology services company, announced that it has been selected by BBC to test a range of its digital products.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140416/681203)

As part of this non-exclusive engagement, Mindtree will deliver and support testing of digital products and applications. Digital products include applications and websites that run on a wide variety of digital and broadcast platforms. Some of them are desktop computers, mobile devices, cloud, integrated digital TV, internet protocol TV, terrestrial, cable, satellite TV and the web.

Mindtree testing services will include functional, non-functional, test management, exploratory, automation and load testing. BBC selected Mindtree for its testing capabilities, test tools expertise and the ability to effectively deliver the engagement.

Ramesh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head of Technology & Media, Mindtree said, “We are excited to be part of the BBC digital services framework. Millions of citizens globally benefit from BBC and we hope to enrich their experience with our superior digital testing capabilities.”

Richard Smith, Head of Market Engagement, BBC covers the program details on digital services framework at his blog.

About Mindtree 

Mindtree [NSE: MINDTREE; CIN: L72200KA1999PLC025564] delivers technology services and accelerates growth for Global 1000 companies by solving complex business challenges with breakthrough technical innovations. Mindtree specializes in e-commerce, mobility, cloud enablement, digital transformation, business intelligence, data analytics, testing, infrastructure, EAI and ERP solutions. We are among the fastest growing technology firms globally with more than 200 clients and offices in 14 countries.

Visit us at http://www.mindtree.com.

For more information, contact:

Sweta Mohanty
Mindtree
+91-98865-20141
Sweta_Mohanty@mindtree.com

Kiran Farooque
PPR Worldwide
+44(0)207-300-6181
Kiran.Farooque@pprww.com

Siddhartha Tanti
Genesis Burson-Marsteller
+91-99863-62435
Siddhartha.Tanti@bm.com

Pamela Fieldhouse
PPR Worldwide
+44(0)207-300-6181
Kiran.Farooque@pprww.com

David Barkoe
Max Borges Agency
+1-305-374-4404 x167
davidbarkoe@maxborgesagency.com

Mindtree Limited, Global Village, RVCE Post, Mysore Road, Bangalore-560059; CIN: L72200KA1999PLC025564; Phone: +91-80-6706-4000; Fax: +91-80-6706-4100; E-mail: info@mindtree.com / investors@mindtree.com; Website: http://www.mindtree.com

PowerbyProxi Announces Availability of Wireless Power Evaluation Kits for Consumer Electronic Devices

– Evaluation kit enables Resonant Mode charging and Qi compliance

PLEASANTON, Calif., Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — PowerbyProxi, developer of the world’s most advanced and safest wireless power solutions, today announced the release of Proxi-2D EVK-1, an evaluation kit for wireless charging of consumer electronic devices. The evaluation kit enables customers to test the capabilities of PowerbyProxi’s resonant technology features such as full spatial freedom, 7.5W power transfer per receiver (the highest power delivery available on the market) and multi-device charging up to 15W.

Video – http://youtu.be/fcaoST7Nqq0
Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140106/SF40590LOGO

PowerbyProxi recently demonstrated this system at Computex in June, showing significant improvements over the 3.5 to 5W systems currently available. “The Proxi-2D EVK-1 is the next step towards getting advanced resonant wireless charging technology in the hands of consumers,” said Greg Cross, CEO, PowerbyProxi. “Allowing customers to experience the safety, efficiency and speed firsthand, furthers our goal to enable innovation in the market.”

High speed resonant wireless charging of multiple devices, and backwards compatibility with the Wireless Power Consortium’s (WPC) Qi standard, make this an attractive option for OEMs looking to build upon the 50 million Qi devices currently in use through the 500 products on the market today.

Proxi-2D EVK-1 – specifications

PowerbyProxi’s newest evaluation kit includes a transmitter and two receiver modules to test charging of multiple devices at 7.5W per receiver. The system displays resonant mode charging across the entire charging surface for both Qi v1.1 and resonant receivers. The Proxi-2D EVK-1 kit also highlights a critical next step towards the advancement of the Qi specification by delivering a resonant solution capable of Qi v1.1 compliance.

See the Proxi-2D EVK-1 in action on the PowerbyProxi YouTube channel or find more information through the website: http://powerbyproxi.com/evaluation-kits/proxi-2d-evk-1/ .

About PowerbyProxi
PowerbyProxi is a leader in advanced, safe, wireless power solutions for consumer electronics (CE) and industrial markets. Our resonant technologies deliver a better consumer experience with full spatial freedom and multi-device charging, and solve mission-critical problems in demanding, hostile industrial environments. We license technologies and deliver modules to battery and semiconductor suppliers, OEMs/ODMs and system integrators, with proven highly resonant implementations ranging from less than one watt to multiple kilowatts. PowerbyProxi is a venture-backed company spun out of The University of Auckland — an internationally recognized leader in wireless power innovation — and holds a comprehensive portfolio of 221 patents worldwide. For more information visit: www.powerbyproxi.com