NEC gears up toward launch of LTE Mobile Broadband Services with Introduction of iPASOLINK

September 10, 2010 ·  

With emergence of Long Term Evolution (LTE) Services, and its introduction by next year in Japan, equipment manufactures are gearing up to full-fill the operators needs for its long awaited services by introducing new equipments supporting the full IP transport required by LTE. One such company is NEC, which at the beginning of this month announced the launch of its iPASOLINK platform, a key building block in the transformation of backhaul networks to LTE. The new iPASOLINK platform offers a flexible, all-in-one converge design, incorporating packet, microwave and optical technologies, helping operators to deploy high-performance networks without adding unnecessary extra costs.
At the heart of new iPASOLINK platform is a powerful traffic switch delivering efficient aggregation, advanced Quality of Service (QoS) as well as low latency. Furthermore, the new iPASOLINK platform incorporates NEC’s high-capacity microwave transmission technology, capable delivery of gigabits per second throughputs through use of high modulations and XPIC (Cross Polarization Interface Canceller). The new iPASOLINK platform supports multiple 1Gbps optical WDM interfaces.

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Release of Industry’s Highest Performance 32-Bit Dual-Core Microcontrollers with Embedded Flash Memory

September 10, 2010 ·  

Renesas Electronics released two new 32-bit dual-core MCUs with embedded flash memory featuring processing performance of 1024 Dhrystone MIPS at a clock speed of 200 megahertz (MHz), which is world’s highest among existing 32-bit dual-core MCUs with embedded flash memory. The new MCUs comes with two built-in CPU cores, 64 KB of RAM for each core as well as 2MB of flash memory plus an additional 64KB system RAM that are available in a 304-pin fine pitch ball grid array (FBGA) package. The new single chip MCUs are ideal for factory automation systems, printers, home information applications and household equipment.
The new MCUs feature expanded peripheral functions including USB, CAN and Ethernet interfaces as well as an increased number of channels covering conventional peripheral such as timers and serial interfaces. The samples of new MCUs are available now at $35 per unit. The mass production is planned to commence by fall of 2011, with a monthly production of 2,000,000 units by March 2012.

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Development of Industry’s First All-Plastic LED Lamp Using High Thermal Conductivity resin

September 10, 2010 ·  

Iwasaki electric and Teijin have jointly developed world’s first all plastic LED lamp that uses a high thermal conductivity resin, which is made by combining Teijin’s RAHEAMA high thermal conductivity carbon material and polycarbonate resin for making the housing of the lamp instead of aluminum. The new LED lamp which is commercially named “EYELAMP” will be sold under Iwasaki electric by the end of 2010. Well, the all-plastic is really the housing of the Lamp and it does not include the bayonet cap.
The new lamp which weighs only 300 grams, offers one tenth of the power consumption of a conventional mercury-vapor lamp, with brighter illumination, lasting for 40,000 hours, roughly seven times than conventional lamp. The new product comes in a warm-colored 3,000 (Ra80) model as well as white 6,500k (Ra70) one.

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Trident and ARM Join Forces to Deliver a Web-Enabled Set-top Box Platform for Next Generation Internet TV Services

New Set-top Box Platform Converges Broadband and Broadcast Capabilities To Deliver On-line VOD and Broadcast Video Services through Web User Interfaces to the TV

Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a leading provider of set-top box and TV semiconductor solutions, and ARM®, announced today at IBC, Amsterdam that they have brought together all the key Web 2.0 and broadcast elements on a powerful set-top box (STB) platform that can enable consumers to seamlessly view TV programming, run rich internet applications, browse websites and share content anytime and anywhere in the home.  This new platform not only delivers an immersive and interactive home multimedia experience, but also allows developers and operators to target their content package offering and services to maximise ARPU and advertising revenue.

"By combining an industry-leading STB platform with the powerful Cortex™-A Series of processors, Trident and ARM bring the web-based runtime and user interface technologies traditionally found on PCs and mobile phones into the home entertainment system," said Tony Francesca, senior vice president and general manager of the Trident Set-top Box Business Unit.  "We are pleased to be the first to offer this powerful new platform and look forward to continuing to deliver the most advanced multimedia experiences into the home."

"The integration of all the key components to enable a robust, internet media experience at home from the comfort of your sofa is a highly visible demonstration of the growing momentum behind the Cortex-A Series of processors in STBs," said Ian Drew, EVP, Marketing, ARM. "Our leadership position in the development of high-performance, low-power multi-core technology enables ARM to provide the scalable performance demanded by next-generation consumer devices." 

This ARM/Trident initiative provides system developers with the most comprehensive platform to create solutions for internet connected STB applications.  Trident has optimized its industry-first ARM-based 45nm broadcast integrated SoC family to take advantage of the high-performance ARM Cortex-A9 processor.  The ARM Cortex-A9 processor provides a scalable high performance processor required to enable the streaming of high-bandwidth broadband and broadcast content into homes, while significantly improving power efficiency when compared to alternative solutions.

With the ongoing convergence among consumer electronics products, there is increased demand for the transparency of content and data sharing across different screen sizes whether at home, in the car or on the move. The ability to reuse the wide software support for the ARM Cortex-A9 processors enables activities currently going on in other segments to be reused in the STB space.

"Adobe is working with ARM & Trident to optimize the ARM JIT performance for ActionScript 3.0 which is used in the Flash Platform and provides the fundamental engine for driving our runtimes in digital home devices," said Jennifer Carr, senior director, business Development at Adobe.

An extensive ecosystem is being developed around the internet-connected STB, including the following elements:

• Qt, which runs on the Trident STB (Cortex-A9 processor based) platform, provides a consistent user experience from mobile to home. Qt includes browser and widgets functionalities which run on top of QtWebKit, and extensive performance optimization work has been done for Qt running on ARM architectures.  
• Qt is also the development framework for MeeGo and the ARM partnership has already done significant work on this platform around the ARM Cortex-A9 processor.
• Core runtime and plug in components that power the Adobe® Flash® Platform for the Digital Home have been optimized for the ARM Cortex-A9, including ActionScript 3.0 JIT.
• HTML5, a new Web 2.0 standard that incorporates features like video playback, has also been optimised for ARM and will be key for next generation Web type services.
• The Google Android operating system, designed for the ARM architecture and including an ARM Native Development Kit (NDK), ARM targeted JIT as part of the Dalvik Java application framework and support for the Adobe Flash Player 10.1 web plugin.
• Linaro, a not-for profit company, focuses on the lower software layers and provides the best tools and Linux development experience on ARM, quickening the time to market for Linux based distributions.

from-PR Newswire

SUNNYVALE, Calif.

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Sundrop Announces Exclusive Marketing Program for Sugar Creek Foods' Honey Hill Farms Independent Frozen Yogurt Shops

Sugar Creek Foods, a privately-held frozen yogurt manufacturer with independently owned and operated End-Users throughout the United States, has partnered with Sundrop Mobile to utilize Sundrop's loyalTXT™ card-less mobile loyalty solution throughout its network. Sugar Creek will underwrite a sizable portion of the program costs for all of its exclusive Honey Hill Farms End-Users.

In the pilot program, a self-service frozen yogurt shop registered 3,000 customers within the first 6 weeks, an average of more than 66 subscribers per day. After only 21 days, the yogurt shop had enough opt-in subscribers to send its first outbound marketing SMS campaign that generated an ROI that fully paid for the program for its first 8 months of operation.

loyalTXT operates as a "card-less" mobile loyalty program, replacing plastic loyal cards with customers' mobile phones and text messaging. With loyalTXT, a merchant focuses solely on registering customers into the loyalty program at the point of sale, and loyalTXT manages the remainder of the program - customer registration, social media connection, reward distribution - automatically. loyalTXT is easy to use, operationally efficient, and cost-effective.

Bud Gunter, VP of Sales and Marketing at Sugar Creek, says, "We believe so strongly that the mobile loyalty and marketing program developed by Sundrop will help our operators increase sales that we are underwriting a portion of the cost of the service for every exclusive Honey Hill Farms frozen yogurt End-User." Sundrop has developed a yogurt shop-specific marketing program and calendar that will be implemented consistently for each Honey Hills End-User to maximize their results and growth.

from--ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire

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Caterpillar Applauds Presidential Leadership on Infrastructure Investment; Company Calls for Bipartisan Support for a Multi-Year Highway Reauthorization Bill

Citing the need for businesses large and small to remain competitive in the global economy, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) today urged Congress and the Administration to work together on legislation that would improve the nation's highways, ports, airports, railways and infrastructure.  

"Every week as I talk with our customers around the country, I hear from them that a long-term, multi-year highway bill for the United States is the fastest way to get more construction workers back on job sites," said Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman.  "In addition, as a nation we are at risk of falling behind other countries who have made aggressive investments in infrastructure improvements in recent years, putting companies like Caterpillar at a competitive disadvantage."

Recently President Obama called for an increased investment in the nation's infrastructure, and talked of the economic importance to the U.S. related to the re-authorization of the multi-year national highway bill.  

"We know there are still many details and specifics to be worked out; however, it is our hope that the Administration and Congress will come together and work toward a solution to improve our aging infrastructure," Oberhelman added.

from--PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire

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Intel and Qualcomm: A Fight to the Finish between Two Industry Giants

Intel Corp. of the US and Qualcomm Inc. of the US are making preparations to enter processors for tablets and other growing applications. Both companies are leaders in their fields, one in PC processors and the other in mobile phone processors, and both desperately want the new market. The outcome of the battle will sway the entire mobile equipment processor market.

Intel, the ruling master of the PC microprocessor market, and Qualcomm, top dog in mobile phone chipsets, are heading for a face-off. The battleground is processors in portable equipment, such as the tablet terminals that exploded with the appearance of the iPad from Apple Inc. of the US (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Intel and Qualcomm Head for a Face-Off

PC microprocessor giant Intel and mobile phone chipset giant Qualcomm are on collision course in this new market midway between them.

Over the last year, Qualcomm has achieved major success in the smartphone sector, building on its years of supplying baseband processor ICs and application processors to mobile phones. The lever they used to accomplish it was the Snapdragon processor, which first showed up in a handset in summer 2009. It single-chips a 1GHz central processing unit (CPU) core and a baseband processor handling 3rd-generation mobile communications (3G) technology. Already about a dozen handsets offer the Snapdragon, primarily those running Android and Windows Mobile OSes.

Intel, meanwhile, essentially monopolizes the market for PC and server microprocessors. In 2008 it used the Atom low-power processor to create a brand-new netbook market. Netbooks, combining low prices with small size and offering limited functionality and performance, have made it possible for Intel to significantly boost shipment volume.

Two World Leaders Go Head-to-Head

Both companies are now taking aim at the terminal market somewhere between smartphones and netbooks. Qualcomm calls them "smartbooks, " while Intel prefers "mobile Internet device" or MID. Regardless of which name you use, they have displays between five and ten inches in size, and come in tablet, clamshell or sliding cases. They are equipped with 3G and Wireless LAN communication functionality, and designed to run on Linux, for example. In other words, they compete directly with the iPad.

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Panasonic to Launch AR Navigation Device for Tourists

The "Tabi Navi"

The function called "Streetscape Camera"

The "What's This Camera" function. By touching the question mark button, it is possible to display information on the tourist spots located in the direction that the camera is aimed at.

Panasonic Corp announced Sept 7, 2010, that it will release the "Tabi Navi," a new type of navigation device, Oct 8, 2010, in Japan.

The device is targeted at travelers who are 50 and older and enjoy walking around towns. It can also be used as a car navigation system. Panasonic plans to sell it at both home appliance retailers and auto supply stores at an expected price of ¥60,000 (approx US$717).

The Tabi Navi, which means "journey navigation," comes with data on 80,000 commercial facilities such as restaurants, hotels and shops in 47 prefectures in Japan. It offers information on (1) the buildings around the user's location, (2) the tourist spots that the user will visit and (3) the routes to the spots.

Moreover, the Tabi Navi is the first car navigation device that is equipped with a camera and can provide augmented reality (AR) services. It features a function to display the names of and distances to tourist spots and landmarks on an image taken by the camera ("Streetscape Camera" function) as well as a function to show the explanation about tourist spots photographed by the camera ("What's This Camera" function).

The first function determines the direction that the camera is aimed at by using a geomagnetic sensor and displays information on buildings and so forth located in the direction. The second function displays information on tourist spots located within several hundreds of meters and in the direction that the camera is aimed at. It does not use image analysis technologies, etc.

Furthermore, the Tabi Navi can be used as a 2-Mpixel digital camera. When a picture is taken by the camera, location information is recorded at the same time as metadata so that the user can later check the locations where pictures were taken.

The Tabi Navi cannot be connected to a network, and data is transferred via an SD card. Panasonic plans to sell additional data on tourist spots on an online store. And such data can be added to the Tabi Navi by using dedicated PC software to write the data on an SD card.

The Tabi Navi can be used to watch and record 1seg digital TV broadcasts.

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Next-gen Automatic Headlight System to Debut in Japan

The BeamAtic Premium blocks part of headlight so that it does not bother the drivers of oncoming vehicles.

Ichikoh Industries Ltd will start selling a headlight system that allows to keep using high beams by continuously controlling light and avoiding bothering the drivers of other vehicles in Japan.

The system, "BeamAtic Premium," was developed by Valeo SA of France. It controls the light in accordance with the states of oncoming cars and leading cars. Ichikoh Industries will start selling it and providing technical supports for it in September 2010.

The BeamAtic Premium detects and tracks oncoming and leading cars by analyzing images taken by in-vehicle cameras with image processing software. Movable dousers are attached to the lamp units of a vehicle, and they block part of the light so that it does not bother the drivers of oncoming vehicles.

Moreover, the headlight is automatically controlled when the user is following or passing other vehicles. When the vehicle is reaching the top or the bottom of a hill, the height of an optical axis is adjusted. And the system is equipped with the AFS (adaptive front-lighting system).

In general, when a car is coming from the opposite direction during nighttime hours, it is necessary to switch high beam to low. But, with the new system, high beams do not light other vehicles, and the drivers of other vehicles only see low beams. Therefore, it offers a comfortable and safe view by keeping using high beams.

The BeamAtic Premium was awarded with the International Technical Innovation Grand Prix at Equip Auto 2009, an international trade show on automotive technologies, which took place in September 2009 in Paris.

Ichikoh Industries will sell not only a model with an HID (high intensity discharge) light source but a model with an LED light source. It intends to propose the employment of the system for high-grade vehicles to Japanese automakers.

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Toshiba to Show 3D TV Viewable Without Glasses in October

Toshiba Corp will unveil a 3D LCD TV that can be viewed without special glasses in October 2010.

The company made the announcement at a press meeting that took place the day before IFA2010, a trade show on consumer devices, which runs from Sept 3, 2010, in Berlin.

Though Toshiba did not reveal the details of the TV's specifications, it said that the screen size will be small.

"We would like to pursue 3D video technologies," said Masaaki Osumi, president of the Visual Products Company, Toshiba. "It is still difficult to release a large 3D TV that can be viewed with the naked eye from the viewpoints of LCD panel and peripheral technologies."

The company is expected to announce the 3D TV at Ceatec, a trade show on consumer devices that took place from Oct 5, 2010, in Japan.

Toshiba employed an LCD panel manufactured by its subsidiary, Toshiba Mobile Display Co Ltd, for the new 3D TV.

Toshiba Mobile Display is currently developing a 3D technology called "integral imaging method," which does not require special glasses. In the method, lenticular lenses are used on the front of an LCD panel. And it leverages motion parallax in addition to parallax between the right and left eyes.

Considering that Toshiba Mobile Display developed a 21-inch LCD display by using the integral imaging method in April 2010, the screen size of the new 3D LCD TV will possibly be 21 inches or smaller.

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Sony Exhibits Prototype of 'Google TV'

The search function of the TV

"Google Map" displayed on the TV

The "Picasa" photo sharing service displayed on the TV

Sony Corp will exhibit a prototype of an LCD TV compatible with Google TV, a platform that Google Inc is developing for TVs, at IFA2010.

IFA2010 is the Europe's largest trade show on consumer devices that runs from Sept 3, 2010, in Berlin. Sony showed the LCD TV to the media prior to the trade show. The company plans to release the TV in the fall of 2010 in the US.

Google TV consists of Google's "Android" platform, the "Chrome" Web browser and Adobe Systems Inc's "Flash 10.1." It has an Internet search function called "Quick Search Box," with which TV programs and Websites can be seamlessly searched. Also, it is possible to display a translucent Web browser on the upper part of a screen showing a TV program as well as to juxtapose the browser and a TV program.

The prototyped LCD TV has a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080 (full HD) and a screen size of 40 inches. And it is installed with Android and other software. Though Sony said it actually operates, the company did not demonstrate it, just showing images of, for example, its user interface. The images include those of the search function, Google's "Google Map," the "Picasa" photo sharing service, the "YouTube" video sharing service, etc.

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"The Smart Grid is an Extension of Google TV"

Since Google Inc. of the US revealed the Google PowerMeter application in 2009, visualizing equipment power consumption and other data, the company has given priority to development for the Smart Grid next-generation commercial power network. Firms in the energy business are getting quite nervous about it, because it is hard to see exactly what Google's aim is. We spoke with Norio Murakami about Google's intentions for the Smart Grid business.

Norio Murakami, Chairman Emeritus at Google Japan Inc. (Photos: Ichiro Miyahara)

Q: Why is Google so interested in the Smart Grid?

A: We have always worked to increase the quantity of Internet-connected devices, because the more types of equipment there are, the more opportunity there is for someone to use our search services. That directly raises the value of advertising. It's quite simple.

A breakdown of connected equipment shows about a billion PCs, and about twice that many mobile phones and smartphones. We recently announced Google TV, mounting the Android platform for embedded equipment, and if you count TVs, there are about four billion of them.

The Smart Grid is an extension of this approach. We position the Smart Grid as the "Internet of Things," by which we mean interconnecting various things through the Internet. For example, that includes swapping information on energy consumption and other things between the air conditioner and the TV. The Smart Grid will mean a staggering number of connected devices. That's why we developed the Google PowerMeter, to use the Internet to collect information on device power.

Q: This "Internet of Things" concept seems quite similar to the networked home idea promoted by the appliance manufacturers.

A: Development of Smart Grid-compliant home appliances has begun in the US; they're called "smart appliances." Basically they are appliances with communication functions. I think all home appliances will eventually support the Smart Grid, and yes, that is exactly what the networked home concept means. It's more than just the home, though: we're talking about including electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and renewable energy systems like solar cells.

For example, solar cells generate a relatively small amount of electricity, so the EV's storage batteries might be used as power in the home. Or if the EV is being used elsewhere, maybe the thermostat will be adjusted to reduce power consumption. This sort of thing will become possible.

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MySpace users can now sync posts to Facebook

MySpace, which recently revamped itself to look more like Facebook, is now allowing users to sync their posts to Facebook, too.
  
That means people on Facebook can see their friends’ MySpace items without leaving Facebook. It’s a sign the site seeks to carve out a niche that is no longer about competing with Facebook but coexisting.
  
MySpace users will also be able to share music, videos, game applications, links and photos across both social networking sites.
  
The changes are part of an overhaul at MySpace, which has faced falling advertising revenue and stagnant user growth. MySpace users can already sync their Twitter accounts with the site, so that they can post updates on MySpace through Twitter and vice versa.
  
Research firm eMarketer estimates that advertisers worldwide will spend $347 million on MySpace this year and $297 million in 2011. Facebook, meanwhile, is expected to generate $1.29 billion in online ad revenue this year and $1.76 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer.
  
MySpace, which is owned by News Corp, is also in the midst of renegotiating a search partnership as its deal with Google Inc is nearing a close.


from japan today

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Walkman sales surpass iPod sales in Japan in August

Sales in Japan of Sony Corp’s Walkman portable digital music players topped those of Apple Inc’s iPod in August for the first time in eight years, according to a survey by consumer electronics market research firm BCN.
    
The Walkman had a market share of 47.8% in the reporting month against 44% for the iPod, which had retained top slot in the domestic portable digital music player market since seizing it from the Walkman in August 2002. Some consumers held off from buying portable music players ahead of the expected release of new iPod models, a BCN official said.


from japan today

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Sony to launch full online music distribution service by year-end

Sony Corp will launch a full-fledged online music distribution service based on cloud computing technology later this year, Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, said in Berlin. The service will initially be available via Sony’s network-enabled television sets, personal computers, Blu-ray disc players and PlayStation 3 game machines before being expanded to its other portable devices, according to the company.
    
With the move, Sony will challenge a similar service offered via the iTunes music site launched by Apple Inc in 2003. Since Sony’s new service will rely on cloud computing, which delivers data housed remotely in cyberspace, Nishida said, ‘‘That would obviate the need for file management tasks on customers’ computers so they can listen to the music they like anytime they want.’‘
    
To date, Sony’s online music services offered in countries such as Japan and the United States have not had much success because the technology required to provide the service differs from one country to another.


from japantoday

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Man in Nagano computes value of pi to 5 tril digits

A company employee in Nagano Prefecture calculated the value of pi to five trillion digits this month using a self-made personal computer, beating the record set by a French engineer who calculated it to about 2.7 trillion digits late last year.
    
To calculate the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, to an undetermined number of digits, Shigeru Kondo, a 55-year-old resident of Iida, assembled a computer with 32 terabytes of hard-drive capacity and used an application made by Alexander Yee, a 22-year-old student at a U.S. graduate school.
    
After Kondo repeated tests via e-mail, he began the computation on May 4, and the work lasted 90 days and about seven hours until it was completed on Aug 3, including verifications, following difficulties including a power outage. He plans to apply for the Guinness Book of Records.
    
The mountainous task affected the daily lives of Kondo’s family. His wife, Yukiko, 53, said they had to pay 20,000 yen a month for electricity. The work was also threatened when their 29-year-old daughter used a dryer and threw a circuit breaker. Kondo managed to rescue the operation using a 10-minute backup power supply.
    
As the temperature of the computer room soared to near 40 degrees Celsius, Kondo avoided a hardware meltdown by removing casings and exposing computer parts to cooling fans.
    
Kondo has been engaged in computing the value of pi since calculating the value to 1,000 digits as a fourth-year technology college student. While working as a systems engineer for a food company, he repeatedly assembled computers using commercially available circuit boards and memory.
    
‘‘This is for sheer self-satisfaction,’’ said Kondo, who spent 1.5 million yen on the computer used in the latest calculation.
  
But ‘‘I used only 60% of the computer’s total capabilities,’’ he said. ‘‘I want to try to compute the value to 10 trillion digits, possibly next spring.’’

from japantoday

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Toshiba to launch iPad rival tablet in Europe, other areas Oct-Dec

Toshiba Corp will start marketing the Folio 100 touch-display tablet with a wide range of online connectivity functions including music downloads and storage, and ebook reader, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa between October and December. Toshiba is also considering marketing the product in Japan and the United States, but the timing of its release in the two markets has yet to be decided, the consumer electronics manufacturer said.
    
Toshiba is keen on competing with Apple Inc. of the United States which released the iPad in April and enjoyed instant success, as a growing number of electronics companies are gearing up to enter the market of multifunctional tablet computers, analysts said.
    
The Folio 100, measuring 28 centimeters in length, 18 cm in width and 1.4 cm in thickness, runs on the Android operating system developed by Google Inc. of the United States which features a speedy boot.
    
The new 760-gram tablet can store music and pictures on an SD memory card. The suggested retail price in Europe will be 399 euros or roughly 43,000 yen, the company added.


from japantoday

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Facebook's new security feature: remote logouts

Facebook is rolling out a new security feature that lets users log out of their accounts remotely from another computer.
  
To do this, go to “account settings” on your Facebook page and click on “change” next to “account security.” There, you’ll see where else your Facebook account is logged in, including the type of device and the city it’s in or near. To log out of any of them, click “end activity.”
  
Facebook is making this available over the next couple of weeks. It will be accessible on computers, but not mobile devices.
  
The feature is similar to what Google Inc’s Gmail offers to its users, and Facebook says it’s designed to help users keep their logins secure.


from japantoday

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