Monday, January 31, 2011

First 3D Smartphone Is An Android, It Is LG Optimus 3D

LG Optimus 3D at MWC http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
LG has announced that it will bring  LG Optimus 3D, the world's first 3D smartphone to Mobile World Congress. The phone is more than a just a device to watch stuff in 3D. As well as letting users see in 3D without glasses, the LG Optimus 3D, equipped with dual lens camera allows users to record 3D content as well.
One of us will be looking at the phone, at the MWC.

LG TO UNVEIL WORLD'S FIRST FULL 3D SMARTPHONE AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LG TO UNVEIL WORLD'S FIRST FULL 3D SMARTPHONE AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2011

3D Recording-Viewing-Sharing of Life's Precious Moments Anytime, Anywhere

SEOUL, Feb. 1, 2011 – At this year's Mobile World Congress, LG will unveil the LG Optimus 3D, the world's first 3D smartphone offering consumers a full 3D experience right in the palm of their hands.

The LG Optimus 3D addresses the lack of 3D content issue -- one of the biggest problems facing the 3D market -- with a complete platform for a one-of-a-kind experience on a mobile device. LG's most advanced smartphone to date will feature a dual-lens camera for 3D recording, a glasses-free LCD panel for 3D viewing and diverse connectivity options such as HDMI and DLNA for 3D content sharing anytime, anywhere.

Further details and a live demo of the LG Optimus 3D will be offered at Booth #8B178 at MWC in Barcelona from February 14 to 17.

Egypt Last Internet Service Goes Dark In Egypt, Google Twitter Brings in "Speak2Tweet" service

#Speak2Tweet #Egyptians Can Leave ##Twitter http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I am like most others in the world, take breaks to look what is happening in Egypt. But it has not been easy to find news properly as every time you look, Egypt has lost connections to the world, (See the news post below, Just now, Egypt lost the last Internet Provider)
But at the same time many other avenues come up, just like the Twitter, Google and SayNow (Now owned by Google), alliance's solution.
With this solution which is already live, anyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.
Official Google Blog: Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard

AP News

SEATTLE (AP) -- The last of Egypt's main Internet service providers, the Noor Group, has gone dark.
The Noor Group had remained online even after Egypt's four main Internet providers - Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr - abruptly stopped shuttling Internet traffic into and out of the country Friday morning.
At about 11 p.m. local time Monday, the Noor Group became unreachable, said James Cowie, chief technology officer of Renesys, a security firm based in Manchester, N.H. Renesys monitors massive directories of "routes," or set paths that define how Web traffic moves from one place to another. The Noor Group's routes have disappeared, he said.
Cowie said engineers at the Noor Group and other service providers could quickly shut down the Internet by logging on to certain computers and changing a configuration file. The original Internet blackout on Friday took just 20 minutes to fully go into effect, he said.
Cell phone service was restored in Egypt starting Saturday but text messaging services have been disrupted as protests continue.

With Mobile Apps, Measure Engagement Not Just Downloads.

First Impressions Matter! 26% of Apps Downloaded in 2010 Were Used Just Once http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The market for phone and tablet apps is very competitive, with about 400,000 iPhone/iPad and 200,000 Android apps. The good news is that customers seem very willing to give new apps a try—it took only two weeks for 8th grader Robert Nay’s Bubble Ball to unseat Angry Birds. The bad news is that 26% of the time customers never give the app a second try. So make that first impression count and look beyond download statistics to understand real customer engagement.
Localytics studied the thousands of Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 apps using its real-time app analytics service. For all new customers of an app in 2010, Localytics looked for the first time each customer used the app and whether or not there was any follow-on usage through January 26, 2011. All one-time uses of apps were grouped into the quarter they occurred and calculated as a percentage of all new customers in the same quarter.
The resulting analysis shows that for customers using an app for the first time between January and March, about 22% of them never open the app again. In the second and third quarters, the rate of one-time usage is flat at 26%. One-time usage grows to over 28% in the fourth quarter, but some of those customers may still use the app again in early 2011. Additional details and charts are available on http://www.localytics.com/blog.
Not Necessarily Bad News
Flipped around, having 74% of new customers use your app at least once more is pretty encouraging. More good news is that US smartphone users grew from 42.7 million in November 2009 to 62 million in November 2010. But at the same time, the number of apps also increased dramatically.
Therefore, in order to build a profitable business in this hyper-competitive market, publishers need to understand who their loyal users are and how to continue growing a loyal user base.
Measure Engagement Not Just Downloads
Tracking downloads is a first step to gauging an app’s success, but download stats often provide an incomplete and inflated view. If those customers never open the app or abandon it after just a few uses, those high download numbers are really part of a high churn rate.
Localytics provides engagement reports to help publishers identify their returning users and understand the frequency and length of usage. Combined with usage reports and event tracking, app publishers learn to optimize their app and improve user retention. Knowing what dedicated customers look like also helps app publishers better target advertising and marketing campaigns—and measure success.
About Localytics
Localytics offers the most powerful, real-time app analytics platform and gives app publishers for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 the tools needed to build more successful and profitable apps. Localytics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, USA. For more information, visit www.localytics.com.

Rackspace Sposors Cloud Communications Summit and StartupCamp at ITEXPO East 2011,

Cloud Communications Summit and StartupCamp at ITEXPO, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TMC announced that Rackspace® Hosting (NYSE: RAX), the world’s leading specialist in the hosting and cloud computing industry, has signed on to sponsor both Cloud Communications Summit and StartupCamp at ITEXPO, taking place February 2-4, 2011 in the Miami Beach Convention Center. Formed in 1998, Rackspace serves more than 100,000 cloud customers around the globe.

The Cloud Communications Summit helps business professionals understand cloud-based communications trends; business models and large-scale deployment efforts. StartupCamp offers an evening of rich networking, and a forum for early-stage companies to pitch their products or services to an audience of potential investors, and industry influencers.

Rackspace’s experience in providing cloud computing services to early stage companies, and large, global enterprises provides a unique fit for both of these events,” said Jim Battenberg, senior manger, marketing. “We’re looking forward to sharing our expertise, and learning more about the needs of the participants at StartupCamp and the Cloud Communications Summit.”

Rackspace will host StartupCamp’s opening reception on Thursday evening, February 3, at 4:00pm, open to all ITEXPO attendees.

“We’re thrilled to work with Rackspace on multiple levels in Miami,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO and group editor-in-chief of TMC. “Their combination of technology, customer, and channel partner expertise will be well-received by the wide array of service providers, enterprise executives and entrepreneurs that attend the Cloud Communications Summit and StartupCamp events.”

Registration for StartupCamp, Cloud Communications Summit and ITEXPO are open. Media inquiries should be directed to Todd Keefe at For Immediate Release PR.

StartupCamp and Cloud Communications Summit are collocated with ITEXPO. Other events taking place at ITEXPO in Miami include: 4GWE Conference; Smart Grid Summit; M2M Evolution; SIP Tutorial 2.0: Bringing SIP to the Web; VIPeering; Business Video Expo; ChannelVision Expo (CVx) Digium|Asterisk World; and Super WiFi Summit.

StartupCamp is sponsored by Rackspace Hosting, OpenTok, Skype and Twilio. Cloud Communications Summit is sponsored Interactive Intelligence and Rackspace Hosting. Companies interested in sponsoring or exhibiting should contact the ITEXPO Sales Team at 203-852-6800 for more details.

Rackspace
ITEXPO

Top Considerations when Making an M2M Network Services Partnering Decision. : ITEXPO East 2011

ITEXPO East 2011 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Stein Soelberg, Director of Marketing KORE Telematics, announced that he will lead a presentation titled “Top Considerations when Making an M2M Network Services Partnering Decision,” at ITExpo East 2011’s M2M Evolution conference, being held February 2-4, 2011 in Miami Beach, Fla.  The presentation will focus on providing insight on how to take advantage of multiple networks to maximize geographic service delivery capabilities and centralize device management through one portal.

ITExpo East
M2M Evolution conference
Press Release;

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IT Expo East 2011/M2M Evolution—KORE Telematics, the world’s largest digital wireless services provider specializing in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, today announced that its Director of Marketing Stein Soelberg will lead a presentation titled “Top Considerations when Making an M2M Network Services Partnering Decision,” at IT Expo East’s M2M Evolution conference, being held February 2-4, 2011 in Miami Beach, Fla.

In Soelberg’s presentation, attendees will learn which factors should be considered when making an M2M network services decision. Whether developing a wireless solution for mHealth, utilities, mobile payments, security or any other vertical, certain basic principles can be followed to create an efficient and effective M2M strategy and ensure your network service partner selection criteria are met for the short and long term.

The presentation will provide insight on how attendees can take advantage of multiple networks to maximize geographic service delivery capabilities and centralize device management through one portal. Soelberg will also address considerations such as pricing plans specific to M2M applications, minimizing network usage, international roaming issues, device certification and long-term device upgradeability and reliability.

What:   Presentation titled: “Top Considerations when Making an M2M Network Services Partnering Decision”


Who:    Presented by Stein Soelberg, director of marketing, KORE Telematics


When:   Thursday, February 3, 2011 from 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.


Where:  IT Expo East 2011 / M2M Evolution Conference

        Miami Beach Convention Center

        Miami Beach, Fla.




About the Speaker

Stein E. Soelberg is the director of marketing of KORE Telematics. He leads a team responsible for KORE branding, advertising, customer engagement, loyalty, partnership and public relations initiatives designed to propel the Company into the 21st century. With more than 15 years of technology marketing experience in the business-to-business software, Internet services and telecommunications industries working for leading companies such Cbeyond, EarthLink, Yahoo and Netscape Communications, he brings with him a proven track record of launching successful MVNOs and building those brands into leaders in their respective market segments. With its strong track record and brand reputation already established, Soelberg’s mandate is to help maintain KORE as the leading brand in the M2M industry as M2M continues to expand and proliferate internationally. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College.

About KORE Telematics

KORE Telematics is the world’s largest fully digital wireless network provider specializing exclusively on the rapidly expanding machine-to-machine (M2M) communications market. Companies in fields as diverse as security, utilities, health care and fleet management, as well as government agencies, are implementing M2M solutions to achieve productivity gains, cost management, environmental improvement and to expand customer services. Through its extensive network of application and hardware partners, KORE enables complete solutions for vehicle tracking, homeland security, automated metering and dozens of other M2M applications. KORE’s long-term, direct agreements with Tier 1 wireless operator partners allow it to offer a range of technologies—including GSM, HSPA, CDMA and EV-DO—that ensures the greatest possible reliability and coverage. For more information, please visit www.koretelematics.com. 

Mobile Evoulution Matryoshka dolls,

Mobile Evoulution, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I always liked to open those Russian Matryoshka dolls, you never knew what was inside. Even though they are not from Russia, these phones go inside each other in the reverse order of Mobile evolution.
See the models in more detail and larger size at artist / designer 's site. Kyle Bean  is a Brighton based freelance designer specializing in hand crafted models, prop styling and art direction.
Via Truphone, Twitter

AT&T 28 Days, Black History Month Program Aims to Highlight Today's African American Innovators

AT&T 28 Days, Black History Month Program http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

DALLAS, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* aims to inspire, motivate and challenge consumers to rethink what they can achieve in their lives through its AT&T 28 Days Black History Month campaign this February. The AT&T 28 Days program returns for a third year with a focus on celebrating past history makers and a look at new innovators through a free exclusive speaker series. AT&T created 28 Days in 2009 to highlight February as more than a reflection of the past, but as an unimaginable footprint to what the future holds beyond Black History Month. Learn more about AT&T 28 Days at att.com/thebridge.
"This year, AT&T wants consumers to look at today's history makers and innovators, who are changing the world we live in and truly speak to the core of 'Rethink Possible'," said Jennifer Jones, vice president of Diverse Markets, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We are committed to pushing the limits of what's achievable everyday through innovation and investments in programs that educate and empower our diverse consumers."
Award winning hip-hop artist, actor and activist Common will serve as the exclusive host and moderator for the 2011 AT&T 28 Days speaker series, which will showcase five individuals who are making their own page in African American history in the fields of technology, media, fashion, politics, and business. Stops on the five-city AT&T 28 Days speaker series tour include: Atlanta on Monday, Feb. 7; Chicago on Thursday, Feb. 17; Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Feb. 22; Harlem on Feb. 24; and Oakland on Monday, Feb. 28. Visit att.com/thebridge to find out more about the full line up of history makers and featured speaker in each city.
At each speaking event, participants will be inspired to make history and innovations in their own lives and two lucky winners will be randomly selected to receive new AT&T smartphones.
"The talent AT&T selected for the speaker series are great examples of today's trendsetters who are making history everyday in their communities," said Jones. "Each speaker offers a unique perspective and will inspire anyone who attends these events."
By accessing att.com/thebridge, consumers can also learn how to secure free tickets to attend the speaker series in person or stream it live over the Internet, view videos from the speaking events and connect with the AT&T 28 Days online community. Consumers can also sign up to receive 28 Days mobile updates at www.28days.mobi or by texting "28days" to 65579.
The AT&T 28 Days campaign is just one of the ways AT&T supports education, business and technology within the African American community. AT&T's sponsorship of the 32nd annual UNCF An Evening of Stars® Tribute to Chaka Khan reflects a 25-year collaborative partnership with UNCF celebrating music industry legends and empowering people to pursue higher education.  Now consumers can share in the celebration with unique access to exclusive behind the scenes show footage at www.att.net/uncf, on AT&T Mobile Video, and on AT&T U-verse Video on Demand. UNCF An Evening of Stars® Tribute to Chaka Khan aired nationally on BET and WGN and on many local stations across the country in January. UNCF An Evening of Stars® kicked off the multitude of broadcasting programs AT&T is supporting this Black History Month that highlight past history makers and future innovators, such as the Dr. Maya Angelou, My Soul Looks Back exclusive interview series on National Public Radio and TV One's One Solution Vignettes.
For more information about AT&T 28 Days and Black History Month programs, visit att.com/thebridge.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Google's Android Topples Nokia From The Top Smartphone OS Position

Google's Android Topples Nokia From The Top Mobile OS Position http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Not content on having passed iPhone, in numbers, Google's Android has now surpassed the world leader, Nokia, pushing it off the perch. Nokia's smartphone initiatives like Nokia N8 failed to make it's mark in the US market.
Google Android based phones numbered 32.9 million in the Q4, 2010 and Nokia had 31 million shipped. Apple might be feeling it too, I hope Steve Jobs come back soon to keep up up his alleged words,

"We did not enter the search business. They (Google) entered the phone business, make no mistake; Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won't let them." 
because quarterly sales of Android passed up the iPhone in May of last year and according to a comScore report, total subscribers of Google Android in the U.S. have passed the iPhone. more so, on the third quarter of 2010, Apple passed RIM to place fourth in the global phone market but according to IDC data released last week, Apple slipped to fifth in the fourth quarter. What's more the Apple co founder, Steve Wozniak admitted that Android will dominate the mobile world.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Google's Android dethroned Nokia's Symbian as the most popular smartphone platform in the last quarter of 2010, ending a reign that began with the birth of the industry 10 years ago.
Research firm Canalys said on Monday phone makers sold a total of 32.9 million Android-equipped phones in the last quarter, compared with Symbian's total sales of 31 million. The landmark piles pressure on Nokia as it struggles to reassert itself at the top end of the mobile handsets market.
Following Apple's 2007 entrance into smartphones, Google rolled out its open-source Android operating system, which has become the standard for smaller phone makers.
Hit models from Samsung Electronics, HTC and LG Electronics helped Android in the quarter, while Symbian suffered from troubles of its owner and main user, Nokia.
"We have seen some strong products from a number of vendors," said Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd.
 Yahoo Via Appleinsider

Google Beefing Up Android App Development

#Google Beefing Up #Android #AndroidApp http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Google seem to be working on to promote and energize Android app development and balance off those app surplus of 250,000 apps that Apple enjoy, at the moment.(Android App Market has more than 100,000 apps and Apple App store has nearly 350,000 Apps)
WSJ has learned from reliable sources, that Google is planing to hire developers for mobile app development for phones and the multitude of tablets that are emerging. It is not surprising because the mobile app market seem to be in an upward swing with billions of dollars as markers. Gartner research envisions the total mobile app income to be 15.1 Billion, both from advertising in free apps and paid app downloads.
The new Android app development force will be deployed, spread all over the global Google offices and will concentrate on developing apps like Angry Birds (game) to social apps like the mobile app from foursquare, providing location based services. But I am sure there are more targets than the WSJ reporter or the repeatedly reported "the people familiar with the matter" could think of. Google already has some apps that relates to its various services, like Google voice that AT&T and Apple tried to keep away from Apple app store or healthcare apps to support the massive initiative by Google on the healthcare and patient management.
Either way, according to the WSJ source, some of these apps will be exclusively for Android platform to support and spur the momentum Android has at the moment.
"Between the geolocation capability of the phone and the power of the phone's browser platform, it is possible to deliver personalized information about where you are, what you could do there right now," wrote the outgoing CEO and incoming Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, on the Harvard Business Review website recently. Yes it is significant, with nearly 150 different mobile phone with Android OS and more joining everyday, Android is on par with Apple infamous apple devices, and set to overtake pretty soon, in both phone and tablet market.
wsj

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Samsung Posts A Very Successful 2010!

Samsung Galaxy S2 tablet Samsung Posts A Very Successful 2010! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Samsung seem to be doing stuff right and when It said to Korean Audience that it is ready to take Apple head on, they must have known that the sold more than 2 Million Samsung Galaxy S tablets in Q4 2010 (Apple sold 7.33 Million iPads :). Samsung increased its net sales over all its businesses by 7% over last year in Q4 2010, and drove them up 13%  for the entire year of 2010 over 2009. Profits were up 13% in Q4 over the previous year, and 65% for all of 2010 over 2009.
Now there is a new rumor that Samsung will make The Galaxy S tablet sweeter with what seem to be named Samsung Galaxy S2, a 10' tablet at the Mobile World Congress. That is taking Apple head on with it's iPad 2. In addition I am sure Samsung is looking in to getting the current 7" tablet into high gear with faster processor and Android 3.0, Honeycomb, made specially for Tablets. By getting in to the market earlier, Samsung might get some of the Apple iPad customers waiting for Apple iPad 2.

Following is the Samsung Press Release;

SEOUL, Korea – January 28, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced revenues of 41.87 trillion Korean won on a consolidated basis for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, a 7-percent increase year-on-year. For the quarter, the company posted consolidated net income of 3.42 trillion won, a 13-percent increase year-on-year. Consolidated operating profit for the quarter was 3.01 trillion won.
In its earnings guidance disclosed on January 7, Samsung estimated fourth-quarter consolidated revenues would reach approximately 41 trillion won with an operating profit of 3 trillion won.
The fourth quarter results brought Samsung’s full year 2010 revenue to an all-time high of 154.63 trillion won, up 13-percent from last year. Net income reached a record high of 16.15 trillion won, up 65 percent compared with the previous year, while operating profit was 17.30 trillion won, also a record.
Samsung’s performance in the fourth quarter continued to be driven by memory semiconductors and strong sales of its cutting-edge smartphones. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, profit margins decreased primarily due to weakening pricing for memory semiconductors and LCD panels, as well as price competition in the TV market.
“Despite the difficult business environment including reduced IT demand caused by the economic slowdown, we achieved record-high results both in terms of sales and operating profit in 2010,” said Robert Yi, Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Investor Relations Team. “However, considering overall business conditions, unlike 2010, we expect the traditional earnings pattern of a weak first half, with a strong second half to return in 2011.”
Samsung expected price competition to intensify in the consumer electronics, IT and mobile device markets in 2011, while major components prices are also forecast to decline. To offset pressures stemming from adverse market conditions, Samsung will focus on the cost competitiveness of its memory semiconductor portfolio, reducing marketing expenses and increasing shipments of high-end smartphones and tablet devices.
Samsung said the forecast continued appreciation of the Korean won during 2011 could have a negative impact on earnings, but the company’s diversified foreign exchange mix would limit the effect of movements in particular currencies.
Capex to Reach 23 Trillion Won in 2011
Capital expenditure on a consolidated basis reached 21.6 trillion won for the entire year of 2010, including 12.7 trillion won for the Semiconductor Business and 4.6 trillion won for the LCD Business.
In 2011, Capex is expected to reach 23 trillion won. As was announced in early January, 10.3 trillion won will be invested in the Semiconductor Business, including 5.8 trillion in memory and 4.2 in system LSI. A further 4.1 trillion won is allocated for the LCD Business, as well as 5.4 trillion won for subsidiary Samsung Mobile Display.
Premium Memory Makes a Difference
Samsung’s Semiconductor Business recorded a consolidated basis operating profit of 1.80 trillion won in the fourth quarter. Revenue reached 9.25 trillion won, a 16-percent increase year-on-year. For the full year 2010, the Semiconductor Business registered 10.11 trillion won in operating profit on revenue of 37.64 trillion won, a record-high.
Despite a weakening market trend, Samsung secured profitability by increasing the portion of high-margin products such as server and mobile DRAM, as well as by strengthening its market position with increased production of 40nm-class processes and below.
While the global DRAM market suffered from falling prices and weakening PC DRAM demand, NAND chips did well with help from surging demand for smartphones and tablet PCs. Samsung’s market differentiation strategy in the NAND sector was to expand production of 30nm-class processes and below.
The DRAM market is forecast to improve in the second half of the year driven by growth in PC replacement demand from businesses. Samsung will continue to focus on energy-efficient green memory solutions for servers and enhancing technology leadership to maintain the profit margin of the Semiconductor Business.
LCD Looks to Second Half for Rebound
The LCD Business recorded an operating profit of 0.10 trillion won on revenue of 7.20 trillion won in the fourth-quarter, down 1 percent from a year ago as increasing shipments could not offset price falls. For fiscal year 2010, Samsung’s LCD Business posted 1.99 trillion won in operating profit with 29.92 trillion won in revenue.
Overall unit sales for the period increased more than 10 percent quarter-on-quarter. While shipments for IT panels climbed supported by demand for tablet PCs, the fall in demand for TV panels was compounded by a buildup of inventory in the TV set market.
Average industry sales prices retreated across all segments in the fourth quarter. The average price for TV panels dropped 12 percent, with prices for monitor panels dipping 5 percent and notebook PC panels falling 3 percent.
Samsung forecasted LCD panel prices will remain low in the first quarter of 2011 due to supply outpacing demand. However, the company anticipated incremental demand increases in the second half led by the economic recovery and inventory restocking by set makers. Samsung aims to drive market growth with a new line-up of entry-level LED panels and explore the high-potential market for tablet PC panels.
Strong Smartphone Growth Powers Mobile Business
Samsung’s telecommunications businesses – Mobile Communications and Telecommunications Systems – registered a record quarterly operating profit of 1.44 trillion won for the period, up 38 percent year-on-year. Fourth quarter revenue reached 12.11 trillion won, compared with 10.17 trillion won for same period of 2009. By finishing the year strongly, Samsung achieved full year 2010 operating profit of 4.30 trillion won on sales of 41.20 trillion won for its telecommunications businesses.
Driven by strong year-end demand for the company’s flagship smartphones, Samsung’s mobile device sales reached 80.7 million units for the quarter, up 17 percent year-on-year. This brought total sales for the year to 280 million units, registering growth of 23 percent and outperforming the overall market.
Following its introduction in June, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S smartphone has achieved worldwide sales of 10 million units, while the Galaxy Tab – an Android-powered tablet device – attracted strong year-end demand. In emerging markets, Samsung’s diverse product mix of mass-market smartphones and touch-screen feature phones also registered solid sales growth.
While mobile device sales are expected to contract slightly in the first quarter of 2011 due to weak seasonal demand, Samsung forecast high single-digit sales growth for the year overall, driven by the fast-expanding smartphone and tablet segments. Samsung announced it will introduce the successor to its Galaxy S smartphone during the first half of 2011, featuring a dual-core processor and Super AMOLED Plus display to further enrich user experience. With its growing lineup, the company is targeting smartphone sales of 60 million units for the year, double that of 2010. In the tablet market, Samsung will complement its Galaxy Tab with a range of devices to optimally meet various user needs.
The Telecommunication Systems Business continues to strengthen its leadership in Mobile WiMAX and explore new business opportunities in Long-Term Evolution networks, cementing Samsung’s position as a total solution provider offering both infrastructure and devices.
Demand for LED TV to Get Stronger
Samsung’s Digital Media businesses, which encompass Visual Display, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging, posted quarterly revenues of 15.97 trillion won for the October to December period, up 3 percent year-on-year. The businesses registered a loss of 0.17 trillion won despite improved performance in TV and IT products. For the full year 2010, the Digital Media businesses’ combined revenue totaled 57.26 trillion, up 12 percent from 2009, with an operating profit of 0.49 trillion won.
Samsung shipped 12.72 million flat panel TVs in the fourth quarter, a 40 percent jump compared with the previous quarter and a 17 percent on-year increase. LED TVs sales grew strongly during the fourth quarter as consumers in developed markets continued to adopt this new technology. Market demand for LED TVs is forecast to rise further, with the portion of LED models in the overall LCD segment expected to reach 51 percent this year.
In 2011, market demand for flat panel TVs is forecast to increase 11 percent, helped by strong emerging market sales. To enhance profitability, Samsung aims to increase sales of premium products such as LED, 3D and Smart TVs. It will also market region-specific models along with low-cost models in emerging markets.
In order to allow more consumers to enjoy 3D TV, Samsung will expand its 3D TV line-up beyond the premium segment, while offering improved picture quality and 3D glasses technology. Samsung’s Smart TVs will get smarter this year by adding various new video and search features, and expanding its portfolio of TV apps from the current 400 to 1,000 by the end of 2011.
Sales revenue of the Digital Appliances Business climbed 16 percent year-on-year due to robust sales in developed markets and some emerging markets, such as Russia. Sales are expected to continue to expand in 2011 with the launch of differentiated products, while the business will expand and improve its overseas operations.

Did Verizon And MetroPCS Jumped The Gun With Net Neutrality Lawsuits?

Verizon, MetroPCS, Net Neutrality Lawsuit, FCC http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like  Verizon and MetroPCS lawsuits / appeals regarding Net Neutrality are "fatally premature and must be dismissed," according to response from FCC.
Verizon says FCC was wrong and it "goes well beyond any authority provided by Congress, and creates uncertainty for the communications industry, innovators, investors and consumers." and filed a suit on January 20th. MetroPCS followed the suit with their own, sighting the same.
FCC told the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday to dismiss the cases from Verizon and MetroPCS, based on the fact that its December net neutrality Order was not even published in the Federal Register, which makes the order official. These are governed by United States code, Section 47 § 405(a) (If you have time read it)
But all these legal mambo jumbo it is interesting to see these carriers are trying to take the case, (now if they succeed) before the same panel of judges, who threw out FCC's sanctions against Comcast for P2P throttling. Interesting.
All of sudden AT&T iPhones seem to be better! :)
Read more and comments at ARSTechnica

Mobile Banking Coming To Indian Handsets, Thanks To Nokia, Bharti Airtel, Vodaphone And Banks.

Image courtesy of watblog
Mobile Banking, India, Nokia, Bharti Airtell, Vodaphone  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
With mobile phones reaching over 650 million people in India, banks and mobile service providers are hard at work hoping to provide financial services on the mobile device. The country is still growing in financial and banking like the rest of the economy and banks reach much much less that what mobile service providers do.
Indian mobile banking was taken much further, recently by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone when both announced different ventures related to mobile banking.. Bharti Airtel Announced a partnership with the State Bank of India while Vodafone agreed to become a Business Correspondent for ICICI Bank.

Airtel and SBI will invest about Rs one billion to set up the joint venture which will engage Airtel's retailers as Customer Service Points (CSP) all over India in a phased manner.Once deployed existing and new Airtel mobile customers will be able to visit these CSPs and open new SBI bank accounts and utilize banking products and services available at these CSPs. In Addition,existing SBI customers will be able to reach their accounts via these CSPs.
The ICICI Bank and Vodafone Essar Ltd venture will offer a range of financial products similar to the above, such as savings accounts, pre-paid instruments and credit products through a mobile phone platform.Vodafone is hoping to replicate its success in Kenya and other countries where it has 20 million customers for financial services.

Nokia was among the first to start mobile payment services with a pilot projects in Pune, Chandigarh and Nasik in partnership with Yes Bank. Those pilots are now ready to go commercial.
“Mobile payments will be the next step for delivering financial services to hundreds of millions of “underbanked” people or those who are under-served currently, both urban and rural customers, especially in emerging economies. Our vision is to make mobile money part of our phones just like we have made camera an integral part of the handset, ... Technology is not an issue but getting the ecosystem in place is the important part. We have partnered with utility companies, telecom firms, gas companies to enable mobile payment,” says Gerhard Romen, Director, Mobile Financial Services, Nokia
But the new comers are not planing to hand over the crown yet,
“Since more than 90 per cent of the mobile subscriber base is pre-paid, consumers are used to paying upfront at a mobile retail shop. The comfort factor is very important, especially when we are dealing with money,” says Samaresh Parida, Director (Strategy), Vodafone Essar. Vodafone.
“India thus provides an ideal case for leveraging low-cost mobile services to provide financial inclusion to the un-banked population in the country. SBI is interested in inclusion and Airtel is a microcosm of India and increasingly rural, so both will leverage the expertise of the parent organisations to provide low-cost, secure, easy-to-use banking services,” says Sriram Jagannathan, CEO, mCommerce, Bharti Airtel. 
Perhaps, there is a lesson to learn for our service providers and banks are looking to provide mobile payments, with merchants like Starbucks taking their own initiatives to provide a way to pay for cup of coffee with mobile phones.

Hindubusinessline Via IP Carrier (Image from watblog)

Facebook VoIP, So Near So FAr

Facebook VoIP, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
There was deep integration of Facebook with Skype, and the there is on going Facebook Phone Facedroid, which started with this facebook phone.
Now there is this report saying that a user saw calling feature on facebook related to chat. According to the user;
“So I was just chatting on Facebook chat and I got the option to ‘call’ my friend. it swiftly disappeared.”
Either way, Facebook will have calling features, either through deep integrated Facebok Skype, Facebook Voice Mashups, facebook conferencing (Iotum) or Facebook Mobile VoIP on closely integrated HTC Facebook handsets.
Via the daily what

Verizon iPhone Pre Order Countdown Live Now.

Verizon iPhone Pre Order http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like existing Verizon customers are getting the first go at the new Verizon iPhone. The countdown to iPhone pre order site asks existing customers to come back on Feb.3, 2011 at  3 a.m. ET, to claim their rightful hype machine before any of us.
Verizon 

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Gihub Begin To List DCMA Takedown Notices Online.

Github, saying it was inspired by Google DCMA policy, has started listing DCMA takedown notices received by Github online.

"Inspired by Google's DMCA policy, this repo contains various DMCA takedown notices we've received here at GitHub.For more details on our own policy, please see this page."

Github provides free public repositories, collaborator management, issue tracking, wikis, downloads, code review, graphs and much more for developers.
The recently started service lists two takedown notices, starting the listing service with a SONY DCMA takedown. Sony has been going around suing security researchers working with SONY playstation. One thing we know, of all the Android phones we see, know and test, We will keep away from Sony Phones, we simply don't want to get sued for rooting an Android phone


Github DCMA Page Via Geemodo

Honeycomb In Your Android Phone?

Honeycomb In Your Android Phone http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
With Google giving us a preview of the Android 3.0, codenamed Honeycomb, the word on the street and from Google is that the latest Android OS, Honeycomb is specially built for tablets. Like those innovative people who got Honeycomb running on a Nook Color, the tablet of the developer folks!
But the ever inquisitive Android Community did not take it in the face value of what is in the press, they dug in to the pre-release version of the OS and discovered when the display size is dropped from tablet dimensions of 1200 X 768 or WXGA to 800 X 400 WVGA, there is a visible difference in the Android UI that Google has been showing us on tablets.
Via Engadget

Let us see what happens on February 2nd when Google opens up some news on the Honeycomb, when I will drop the daily and pickup the Honeycomb. If you are not invited or too far away, watch the event live online at youtube.com/android.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Nook Color Gets Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Sort of!

#NookColor Gets #Android 3.0 #Honeycomb,  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like a developer / hacker from the Android land has manged to get Android 3,0, Honeycomb running on a Nook Color Tablet / ebook reader.
It is encouraging our team to get our hands wet in the Honeycomb drips. Better forget about The Daily, wake up late and watch Android 3.0 Preview event.
XDA Devs via Engadget

White House Backs Reserving "D Block" For A New National Public Safety Network

"D Block" For A New National Public Safety Network http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The "D Block" portion of the 700Mhz spectrum that US Public Safety Agencies have been fighting for use in National Public Network looks to be getting a little support, this time from White House itself. The Obama administration said today that it is backing plans to reserve the D Block for a new national public safety network, estimated to be worth $3 billion at the auctions. The administration also plans to ask Congress to approve the spending needed to build the mesh network. FCC estimates building the network could cost as much as $15 billion.
Big wireless companies seem to favor the Public safety Network plan, rather than those air waves ending at smaller competitors hands, according to WSJ;

Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., which both hold a large amount of airwaves for new 4G wireless services, favor giving the airwaves to public-safety groups instead of auctioning them off to smaller wireless competitors, such as Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile subsidiary and Sprint Nextel Corp.
WSJ via Engadget

The Daily, Honeycomb On Feb 2nd, Purely Coincidental!

The Daily, Honeycomb On Feb 2nd, Purely Coincidental! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Journalists or bloggers who never get sent out to big events might get a chance on February 2nd. Apple together with  News Corp is holding an event for the iPad app, the Daily and have sent out invitations. But those same group of people, who deliver news to us, got another invitation for the same day, it was from Google, for Android for Tablet edition, HoneyComb unveiling.
I am sure it was purely coincidental that both fell on the same day, even if it is not, Honeycomb sounds tastier than a boring News Corp Daily with Rupert Murdoch all by himself. Hope he will remember to thank Google for letting the vent run live, on Youtube,
Via Techcrunch

Egyptian Internet Drops To A Mere Trickle!

Egypt Cut Off From Internet http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
First it was twitter that got blocked in Egypt but according to Arbornet Craig Labovitz, about 5:20PM on Thursday, lost almost all of it's Internet connectivity.
Looks like Egypt trying to learn from Iran, when it blocked Internet during Iranian Political Protests in 2009. But what ever it is, it a shame for Egyptian government or the country, one of the most connected countries in Africa (even though heavily regulated).
Egypt Internet Drops at Arbor Networks.

Facebook Denies Branded Phones From HTC, It Is Just Good Integration By HTC

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Facebook is denying that it will release a facebook branded phone at the MWC, Mobile World Congress. Saying there is no such thing in the works.A lot of people including us (Facedroids) took what was published by a London Newspaper City A.M and ran with it.
But Dan Rose, head of business development at Facebook told of a HTC device, that has Facebook deep rooted;

"The rumors around there being something more to this HTC device are overblown,this is really just another example of a manufacturer who has taken our public APIs (application programing interfaces) and integrated them into their device in an interesting way, "
Yes. We will believe when we don't see one
Reuters

Google's Contribution To The Broader Scientific Community

If you thought Google is all about search, ads and videos, you need to read this post on Google Research blog.
Some may argue that it is still revolves around the main Google business, search. Yes it does but the value what it has contributed to the society at large. There are many fronts where Google contributes to the betterment of world. (This blog invests all it's income in Micro Financing for people from all over the world and as you can see, we only have Google AdSense ads and as far as we are concerned that is another way Google works for betterment of the world)
But the post concentrates entirely on the scientific front from "Algorithms and Electronic commerce" to "Systems infrastructure" with our favorites, NLP (Natural Language Processing), Speech and Machine Learning in the middle. There are plenty of links to even deeper article on Google Research, Stanford University where Google was born.
Follow the link for immerse yourself in some knowledge!
Official Google Research Blog: More Google Contributions to the Broader Scientific Community

WebOS Surprises At February 9th Event! HP Is Targeting Apple At Another Event On March 14th!

WebOS Surprises tablet phone on Feb 9th and March 14th http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
HP big people seem to confirm that WebOS event on February 9th 2011 is multi purpose, tell us about new WebOS devices and to take some shine away from Apple that it currently enjoys.
If you noticed, HP was pretty quiet at CES 2011 but we expect to see some stuff of "Think big. Think small. Think beyond."WebOS event on February 9th.
HP's new CEO Leo Apotheker has revealed in an interview with BBC that devices announce at the WebOS event will be available soon after the event.
He also revealed that another event, planned for March 14th would bring "secret answer" to competitors and a "vision of what HP is capable of in the future."
The New HP CEO wants make things differently and make people say, "'this is as cool as HP', not 'as cool as Apple'"
Another HP executive, HP Personal Systems Group Executive VP Todd Bradley previously told CNBC, that we could expect to see more than a Palm Tablet at the WebOS event too;
“As we think about how that enables everything from smartphones to tablets to PCs to potentially other large screen devices, we see an enormous opportunity, both for ourselves and for our customers, to get the best web experience, the best content experience, that they can.”
Hopefully we will hear about them WebOS tablets Topaz and Opal

Source1 BBC
source2 PreCentral

Mobile Phone Market Vendor Share, Dynamic And Dramatic

Mobile Phone Market Vendor Share http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/


According to Asymco,companies like  ZTE, Huawei and others continue to take volume share from the traditional incumbents mobile handset makers. Within the mobile phone market, Smartphones continue to capture value share. Dedicated smartphone vendors HTC, RIM and Apple combined would make the third largest mobile phone vendor in the entire market.
Looking over this three and a half year period, and hard to decipher color used in the graph (large blue is Nokia starts at bottom of the graph and others end at the top :)  the mobile phone market is quite dramatic. The "OTHERS" make the top gainer.
Asymco

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Goes To Philippines!

BlackBerry Bold 9780 Goes To Philippines!http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Blackberry fan in Philippines will be able to get BlackBerry Bold 9780 in their hans now that RIM has released the product in that country. The newest addition to the BlackBerry Bold series, sports BlackBerry 6 OS and compatible with 3G networks worldwide. In Addition to 3G, WiFi is also availble for connectivity and GPS to find those locations and guide you there. GPS also allows geo-tagging of photos taken with 5 MP digital camera on the phone. 5 MP camera comes with a full complement of high-end features including continuous auto focus, scene modes, image stabilization., flash and video recording.Phone 512 MB flash memory is complimented with a SD card slot which can go up to 32 GB

Manila, the Philippines - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9780 smartphone – the newest addition to the BlackBerry Bold series of smartphones – in the Philippines.  Featuring a premium and iconic design with an incredibly easy-to-use keyboard and optical trackpad, the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is elegantly styled and packed with advanced communications and multimedia features. It is also the first BlackBerry Bold smartphone to come with the new BlackBerry® 6 operating system.
Gregory Wade, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, RIM, said: “The BlackBerry Bold 9780 is a powerful and feature-rich smartphone with an exceptional keyboard and a compact and stylish design. It comes with the popular new BlackBerry 6 operating system and delivers a truly outstanding mobile experience. We are confident that the BlackBerry Bold 9780 will be well received by customers in the Philippines.”
The BlackBerry Bold 9780 offers a compelling blend of features, performance and design. It supports 3G networks around the world, as well as Wi-Fi® connectivity and GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging. Its 5 MP camera comes with a full complement of high-end features including continuous auto focus, scene modes, image stabilisation, flash and video recording. The BlackBerry Bold 9780 also includes 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB of storage.
The new BlackBerry 6 operating system retains the familiar and trusted features that distinguish the BlackBerry brand while delivering a fresh, approachable and engaging experience that’s powerful and easy to use. It integrates a new and rich WebKit-based browser that renders HTML web pages quickly and beautifully for a great browsing experience. The browser offers fluid navigation using the handset's optical trackpad, includes tabs for accessing multiple sites simultaneously and provides a zoom feature that can intelligently auto-wrap text in a column while maintaining the placement of a page's key elements for easier viewing.
Additional features of BlackBerry 6 include expanded messaging capabilities with intuitive features to simplify the management of social networking and RSS feeds (Social Feeds), and integrated access to BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), Facebook®, Twitter™, MySpace™ and various instant messaging applications on the BlackBerry Bold 9780 smartphone. Its enhanced multimedia experience rivals the best in the industry and includes a dedicated YouTube app. It also features redesigned Music and Pictures applications and a new universal search feature that allows users to more effectively search for content on the smartphone as well as extend their search to the Internet or to discover applications on BlackBerry App World™.
The BlackBerry Bold 9780 smartphone is now available from carriers and authorised distributors in the Philippines. For more information, please visit www.blackberry.com/bold.

LinkedIn Files For IPO

LinkedIn Files For IPO http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
LinkedIn has filed a registration statement with SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission for proposed IPO of it's class A common stock. LinkedIn has not decided on the pricing nor the number of shares to be offered. The shares will come from LinkedIn as well as from some stockholders of LinkedIn.

Press Release;
 

iPhone 4 Glass, "Glassgate" Brings A Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple

Not So Strong iPhone 4 Glass Brings A Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Apples famed ""20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic," and is "ultradurable" and made of the same material as the "glass used in helicopters and high-speed trains."" Glass used in iPhone 4, that shatters from normal use of dropping from 3 feet has brought in a class action suit.
California resident Donald LeBuhn filed a class action lawsuit earlier this week in L.A. County against Apple, claiming the company knows about the design flaw and refuses to warn consumers that "normal" use leads essentially to a broken phone.
LeBuhn is asking the court for Apple to refund the purchase price of the phone to all those in the class action lawsuit, to reimburse customers for any repair fees they've paid, and to make restitution for "their overpayment in purchasing defective iPhone 4s."

Source

Unlimited Data plan On Verizon iPhone, $30 A Month, Just Long Enough To Catch Some People.

Unlimited Data plan On Verizon iPhone, $30 A Month http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The famous (Limited) unlimited data plans used by carriers is again used by Verizon to lure some customers with their iPhone, when it is released in February.
Verizon COO Lowell McAdam, has told WSJ; "I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” by not offering the unlimited data plan. Only to change his words later Tuesday to say that the unlimited data plan is temporary and they too will switch to tiered plan, just like AT&T.
I guess, the offer will stay until iPhone 5 (iPhone 4G) comes out to get some customers over from AT&T who are still on unlimited plans, that they initially signed into when they got the iPhones.
I will see if AT&T will allow me to carry unlimited data for $30 with the 4G iPhone and then I will decide whether to switch, perhaps to Sprint 4G or T-Mobile 4G because Verizon and AT&T are basically the same!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Asterisk 1.8.2.3 Released And Ready For Download

Asterisk 1.8.2.3 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Asterisk Dev Team has released  the Asterisk 1.8.2.3 and you can download this release
http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/

The Asterisk 1.8.2.3 takes care of following issues; :
  • Reimplemented fax session reservation to reverse the ABI breakage introduced in r297486.(Reported by Jeremy Kister on the asterisk-users mailing list. Patched by mnicholson)
The ChangeLog with more information on the Asterisk 1.8.2.3 could be found at.
http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/ChangeLog-1.8.2.3

There is also some other releases that were announced at the same time;
 

Resolve issue where no Music On Hold may be triggered when using res_timing_dahdi.(Closes issues #18262. Reported by francesco_r. Patched by cjacobson. Tested by francesco_r, rfrantik, one47)
Resolve a memory leak when the Asterisk Manager Interface is disabled. (Reported internally by kmorgan. Patched by russellb)
Reimplemented fax session reservation to reverse the ABI breakage introduced  in r297486.(Reported internally. Patched by mnicholson)  

Asterisk 1.6.2.17-rc2
 
Resolve issue where no Music On Hold may be triggered when using res_timing_dahdi (Closes issues #18262. Reported by francesco_r. Patched by cjacobson. Tested by francesco_r, rfrantik, one47)  

Asterisk 1.4.40-rc2

Resolve several issues with DTMF based attended transfers. (Closes issues #17999, #17096, #18395, #17273. Reported by iskatel, gelo, shihchaun, grecco. Patched by rmudgett). 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Smart Smartphone Developers!

iPhone and Android Developers, The difference http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

I could not help but laugh when I saw this ad! The Android Developer Book is for Professionals and the iPhone Developer book was for Dummies, no offense, please.

FaceDroids, FaceBook Phones Will Be At Mobile World Congress (MWC)

FaceDroids, FaceBook Phones Will Be  At Mobile World Congress (MWC) http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like HTC together with Facebook will showcase Two Android based phones as Facebook Phones, FaceDroids.
The phones will run on a tweaked version of Google’s Android operating system and will prominently display users’ Facebook messages and news feed on the home screen. Will they really stop sharing the user phone numbers.
As the FaceDroid rumor goes,  Joe Hewitt (who worked on the Firefox web browser) and Matthew Papakipos (a leading member of the Google Chrome browser team) are thought to be behind the Facebook Phone.
Source

PBX Deployment, Self Hosted, Cloud Based Or Hybrid?

#PBX Solution For You Company http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
We get asked, what is best PBX solution? many a times in our day to day lives. Usually the question is followed by, Should it be self hosted or cloud based meaning hosted PBX?
We always give answers, different ones based on who asks the question. But today I found an article that analyzes PBX deployment scenarios collectively, Self hosted or premises based (in the closet) Outsourced or hosted PBX (PBX In the cloud) or a hybrid meaning a combined solutions.
Digium Community Director Bryan Johns has written an article in preparation for planned panel discussion at ITExpo East in Miami next month on the same topic.
After reading the article, I have made mental and digital notes, to follow up on that panel discussion at ITExpo 2011.
Digium Blog, Bryan Jones.

GMail Can Send Desktop Notifications For New Emails And Chat Messages

GMail Send Desktop Notifications To Your Browser Now. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Well we all have got used to those pesky tabs now, your email tab is lost among those multiple browsers with multiple tabs.
Sometimes you know there are important email but you do not know if it has come, unless you really keep the email tab open. Usually I am busy with development tools, browsing the wen writing posts like this and I do miss my emails sometime, not getting them in right time.
Now that problem is history, because GMail, my most used email application next to Thunderbird can send notifications to my desktop now!
If you too like the same, just;
click on the Settings link in the top right corner of Gmail and scroll down to the “Desktop Notifications” section. If you just want to get notified about chat messages, or if you use Priority Inbox and only want to get notifications for important messages, you can customize your settings from there too.
You are all set, like I am.

Desktop notifications for emails and chat messages - Official Gmail Blog

Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin For Eclipse IDE, Honeycomb, Updates Galore.

drag-and-drop
#Android Development Tools ( #ADT ) Plugin For #Eclipse IDE http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
There are some goodies and instructions how to go about using them at Android Developers site. With the ADT plugin, one can easily setup Eclipse to manage all the Android Projects.
ADT plugin in revision 9.0 (January 2011) now and you need have SDK Tools R9 installed in order to run /use it.
This release brings many improvements to the Visual Layout Editor but;
  • Navigation improvements: In the Layout Editor, double-clicking Views jumps to the corresponding XML element. In the Outline view, double-clicking opens the Properties view.
  • The editor has Honeycomb style animation preview support.
  • Improved rendering support for various Views (such as TabHosts and SlidingDrawers) in Honeycomb (Issues 3162 and 13092).
  • Included layouts can be rendered and edited in the context of the layouts that include them. From a layout using an  tag, double-clicking on the element edits the referenced layout in the context of the current layout. Additionally, when editing a layout that is included by other layouts, you can quickly change between context layouts, by right clicking in the editor and choosing Show included in.... This feature is only available in Honeycomb.
seem to be my favorites as we are traveling in the direction of Honeycomb now. For a sneak peek at Android 3.0, Honeycomb, watch the video, below.

There are many bug fixes as well and according to the information, even Windows users could be smiling, "The SDK manager is more reliable on Windows" :)

There is good documentation on installing / updating the ADT Plugin on the Android Developer site. Follow the link below for a direct jump.
Eclipse ADT
There is blog post on the Android Developer bloger as well,  Android 3.0 Platform Review And Updated SDK Tools.

SIPNOC Keynote Address Will Be Given By Dr. Douglas Sicker, FCC Chief Technologist.

SIPNOC Keynote Address Will Be Given By Dr. Douglas Sicker, FCC http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Federal Communications Commission Chief Technologist Dr. Douglas C. Sicker will be the keynote speaker for the first annual SIP Network Operators Conference (SIPNOC), being held at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel in Herndon, VA, April 25 -27, 2011, SIP Forum announced in a press release.
Dr. Douglas C. Sicker who also hold a position as an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is responsible for advising the FCC on communications technology issues, through the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis.
“I'm delighted to participate in this inaugural meeting of SIPNOC, In recognizing the importance of interconnected VoIP service as a growing part of the U.S. voice service market, I look forward to gaining a richer perspective on the future of SIP-enabled communications among service providers.” said Dr. Sicker on the announcement.
SIP Network Operators Conference (SIPNOC), aim to advance the knowledge of anyone interested in the operational and technical aspects of service provider networks. SIP Service Providers will be able to hone their knowledge in testing, application development, SIP trunking, FoIP, call routing and peering, troubleshooting and monitoring, emergency services and more assuring reliable and successful deployment and operation of SIP-based services in carrier networks.
The SIPNOC Conference Topics will include many related subjects spread over the course of two days that includes a mix of special presentations and panel discussions -- an agenda designed to address the most important topics for today’s network operator.
Sessions will focus on topics such as:
  • Application development
  • Testing
  • SIP Trunking
  • FoIP
  • User-Agent Configuration
  • Emergency Services
  • Policy Servers
  • Security
  • Operational Issues
  • Call Routing and Peering
  • Troubleshooting and Monitoring
  • SIP Interconnection (SIP-to-SS7 signaling gateways)
  • HD-Voice/Video Deployment Challenges
To register for SIPNOC, please visit http://www.regonline.com/sipnoc_2011


Sip Forun Press Release;


NORTH ANDOVER, MA (January 25, 2011) - The SIP Forum announced today Federal Communications Commission Chief Technologist Dr. Douglas C. Sicker as the keynote speaker for the first annual SIP Network Operators Conference (SIPNOC), being held at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel in Herndon, VA, April 25 -27, 2011.
Aimed at an international audience focused on the operational and technical aspects of service provider networks, SIPNOC will focus on issues critical to the reliable and successful deployment and operation of SIP-based services in carrier networks. The agenda will feature special presentations, panel discussions and workshops covering key topics by network operators related to SIP-based services and infrastructure, including testing, application development, SIP trunking, FoIP, call routing and peering, troubleshooting and monitoring, emergency services and more. The event website is located at www.sipnoc.org.
“I'm delighted to participate in this inaugural meeting of SIPNOC,” said Dr. Sicker. “In recognizing the importance of interconnected VoIP service as a growing part of the U.S. voice service market, I look forward to gaining a richer perspective on the future of SIP-enabled communications among service providers.”
As Chief Technologist for the FCC, Dr. Sicker is responsible for advising the agency on communications technology issues, a position that resides in the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. Dr. Sicker is also an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder with a joint appointment in the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program. He previously served on the Omnibus Broadband Initiative working on research and development issues. His other leadership roles include director of global architecture at Level 3 Communications, Inc, and chief of the network technology division at FCC.
Dr. Sicker has chaired and served on the program committees of numerous technical conferences, including IEEE, DySPAN, ISART and TPRC. He has also had research funded through the NSF, DARPA, the Internet Society and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Dr. Sicker is a leading mind in both domestic and international communications, and we are thrilled to have him on board as the first keynote speaker of SIPNOC,” said Eric Burger, SIP Forum Chairman Emeritus and Chairman of the SIPNOC Program Committee.
Attendees at SIPNOC will include telecommunications providers, major backbone operators, interconnect and wholesale solution providers, ISPs, cable operators, wireless network operators as well as large enterprises deploying major SIP initiatives.
The SIP Forum has gained an international reputation for developing important, educational events surrounding SIP. The organization’s SIPit series of interoperability testing events regularly provides a test bed for SIP-based applications and equipment that has been heralded as critical for the development of new products and services in the industry. The SIP Forum also has a number of committees and task groups made up of well-known industry experts examining a myriad of SIP-related topics, including the use of SIP in smart grid installations, FoIP, video, and user-agent configuration.

For More Information, Submit Speaking Proposals, and to Register

For more information about SIPNOC, please visit www.sipnoc.org or send an email to sipnoc@sipforum.org.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Proposed papers and presentations are currently being accepted by the SIPNOC Program Committee. To view the official call for papers, which includes instructions on submitting material and specific SIPNOC policies, please visit www.sipnoc.org or download the document here: http://www.sipforum.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,469/Itemid,261/
A special early-bird registration rate of $595 – $200 off the regular rate of $795 -- is now in effect until February 11, 2011! To register for SIPNOC, please visit http://www.regonline.com/sipnoc_2010.
For information about corporate sponsorship opportunities at SIPNOC, please contact Marc Robins, SIP Forum President and Managing Director, at 718-548-7245 or marc.robins “at” sipforum.org.

About the SIP Forum

The SIP Forum is an IP communications industry association that engages in numerous activities that promote and advance SIP-based technology, such as the development of industry recommendations, the SIPit interoperability and testing events, special interoperability workshops, educational seminars, and general promotion of SIP in the industry. One of the Forum's notable technical activities is the development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation -- a standards-based recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IP peering and interoperability between IP PBXs and VoIP service provider networks. The SIPconnect Compliant Certification Program is an associated program through which eligible companies can gain SIPconnect validation and the right to license the use of the SIP Forum's 'SIPconnect Compliant' certification mark -- the official brand of the leading standard for SIP Trunking products and services. Other important Forum initiatives include work in Fax-over-IP interoperability, User Agent Configuration, and the opportunities for SIP in Smart Grid deployments. For more information, please visit: www.sipforum.org.
Media Contact
John Gates
Elevate Communications
(617) 861-3651
m: (617) 548-8972
john@elevatecom.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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