Intel Thunderbolt to be available April...As Antitrust Case Heads to State Court

Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

To speed up the standardization of Thunderbolt, Intel is cooperating with Apple and Apple is the sole vendor currently to have PC products featuring Thunderbolt technology. As demand for the technology has seen obvious growth, Intel is ready to release the technology for public use.

Due to Thunderbolt chip costs being more than US$20 and the solution running a conflict with USB 3.0 in terms of next-generation data transmission technology, the Thunderbolt did not receive strong attention from the IT industry when announced, but as Apple has largely adopted the technology into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand.

With the cost for adopting Thunderbolt technology expected to drop in the second half of 2012, the technology should be standardized gradually in the future, the sources noted.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard in April of 2012 to compete against Asustek and ASRock.

Intel Corp.'s last major antitrust fight, against New York state officials, appears headed to state court after rulings by a federal judge in Delaware.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark on Friday canceled a Feb. 14 trial in the high-profile case filed by New York's attorney general, who charged Intel with monopolistic tactics in the market for microprocessor chips.

The order followed a letter to the judge from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who proposed dropping the federal case in view of recent developments that reduced the amount of damages that New York could seek. Mr. Schneiderman said his office would instead pursue damages in New York state court to address "Intel's egregious and illegal conduct."

An Intel spokesman declined comment Saturday. But the company has insisted it acted lawfully, and earlier in December said it was "gratified" that the judge had granted motions by the company that narrowed the case.

Intel, which makes chips that act as calculating engines in most personal computers, has been dogged for much of the past decade by allegations that it used illegal tactics to prevent rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. from gaining a broader foothold in the market.

In August 2010, Intel agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it unlawfully stifled competition in the microprocessor market, a pact that required the company to modify some sales practices. That settlement involved no financial penalties, but Intel previously agreed to pay $1.25 billion to AMD to settle a private antitrust case. Intel also paid a $1.45 billion fine ordered by antitrust enforcers in Europe, a ruling it is appealing.

New York's case was filed in November 2009 by Andrew Cuomo, who was then the state's attorney general and is now its governor. The suit quoted liberally from emails sent by senior officials of Intel and customers, such as Dell Inc., to support allegations that Intel improperly paid billions of dollars in kickbacks to computer makers to help ensure their loyalty as customers.

The suit argued that consumers and public entities in the state wound up paying more than they should have for PCs because of Intel's actions. Intel, rejecting those arguments, asked the judge to throw out parts of the case.

Judge Stark on Dec. 7 agreed with Intel that the state was entitled to ask for financial penalties and injunctions, but not treble damages. He also ruled the case should only consider three years of computer purchases, not the four-year and six-year periods New York was seeking under different claims.

Mr. Schneiderman, noting the prospect of smaller damage awards following the judge's rulings, said the state nevertheless hopes to convince a jury that its claims against Intel have merit. "We intend to vigorously prosecute our state law claims on behalf of the people of the state of New York," a spokesman for the attorney general said Monday.

Airtel Money Set To Enhance Mobile Commerce In Ghana

Airtel Ghana has re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of Ghanaians with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments. There are more than five hundred (500) Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into an mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services. Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, services and loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank.

“Airtel money provides customers with a “mobile wallet” which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services”, he stated.

Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the company was once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. “Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa”, he added.

Signal Alliance, Microsoft deliver Dynamic NAV ERP solution in Nigeria

Current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year 2011, Signal Alliance, recently held a seminar titled “Microsoft Dynamics ERP – Executive Productivity and Insight”. The seminar showcased Microsoft’s business-critical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application. An ERP system is an integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. It becomes a core business application that enables a company to streamline its operations to become more efficient and effective.
Microsoft’s Dynamics NAV ERP system includes software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources.

The seminar highlighted these features during the two hour seminar which was held in conjunction with Microsoft Nigeria in Lagos.

Introducing the product, Suleiman Lukman, one of Signal Alliance’s Solution Developers and leading Dynamics expert, described the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 edition as the most powerful, cost-effective, robust and flexible mid-market business management solution available.

His words: “This is one innovation that will stand the test of time. If adopted, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV will drive revenues considerably and reduce cost of operations drastically. The solution is very flexible in its adoption, allowing for it to fit the organization seamlessly. The general Microsoft office interface is retained so users immediately find it easy to adapt reducing training time.”

Lending credence to the viability of the new product, Mr. Emeka Achebe-Okosieme, Executive Director - Business Applications Division, commented that the Microsoft Dynamics NAV is the competitive edge companies are looking for to adopt.

He said “One of the strong points of the NAV is that it is IFRS compliant. This is very important because the new requirement by all companies in Nigeria is that they must submit their financial report in the IFRS format. The NAV also protects a company’s investment in Microsoft solutions by integration with Microsoft Office. Signal Alliance’s vast experience and wealth of technical expertise will serve customers very well in adopting the NAV solution.”   

According to him one of the major successful advancement of the MS NAV is the high level security of information. He also highlighted the fact that is a role tailored client solution, which means it is designed in such a way that business owners and managers, are allowed to create their own pattern of work on this platform.

“Signal Alliance is ready to provide support services for the users of the MS NAV, as part of effort in ensuring that users harness the maximum potentials of an MS NAV driven business Organizations” he said.

Immediate response was visible as several participants’ indicted willingness to test the solution.

Signal Alliance is the leading IT systems integrator in Nigeria with key partnerships with global IT technology leaders such as Cisco, CA Technologies and Microsoft. The company provides end-to-end IT services from Network Infrastructure, Unified communications to Electronic Document Management, Collaboration & ERP and Software Advisory services.
Signal Alliance is the current Microsoft Country Partner of the Year. 

Microsoft changes Xbox brand and design chief

It’s no secret that Microsoft is designing the successor to the Xbox 360, as it needs to keep pace with Nintendo, which is introducing a new console next year. But now it will evidently take on that task without the help of one of the veteran marketing and design experts.

Don Coyner will no longer lead the design and experience group for Xbox, according to Jay Greene at Cnet, which cited two unnamed Microsoft sources for its report. A former Nintendo marketer, Coyner led a methodical process that led to the final industrial design and user experience for the game console that launched in 2005. and I wrote about him in my book, “The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.”

Coyner was reportedly replaced by Emma Williams, who helped create the recently redesigned Xbox Live interface. Microsoft declined to comment on the matter to Cnet. But Coyner apparently hasn’t left the company. Coyner’s LinkedIn profile says he managed a team of 140 hardware, software and user researchers in the Interactive Entertainment Division at Microsoft.

Coyner left Nintendo and joined Microsoft in 1995. He shifted over to Xbox as work began on that console in 1999. He started as a director of marketing for the group and then moved to supervise the design and user experience for the Xbox 360. In that process, he worked under Xbox platform chief J Allard, who has since left the company. Coyner’s job was to make the whole user experience with the console more consistent and unified.

Allard had said that Coyner had been “under-utilized” on the first Xbox and he gave him more responsibility for the second console. In mid-2003, Coyner brought in the industrial designer Jonathan Hayes to oversee the look and feel of the Xbox 360, synthesizing the designs proposed by various teams. Coyner supervised the process of collecting data on gamers and feeding it to the designers so they could improve the product the second time around. He wanted the product to be as well received as a new Apple device.

The first Xbox didn’t win any design awards and it was too big for many home entertainment racks.  He started out by heading a worldwide design bake-off, asking famous industrial designers around the world to submit concepts for the new console. Hayes and the team viewed the work of seven concepts for the Xbox 360 design, but they didn’t like any of them. They invited Astro Studios of San Francisco and Hers Experimental Laboratory to work on new concepts, and their ideas led to the final industrial design.

The unified design won accolades when the console debuted in 2005, as it was more appealing to the mass market and wasn’t as intimidating as the original black Xbox with its acid-green jewel in the middle. Though it came out a year before the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 has aged well and it will be the best-selling console in the U.S. this year.

Williams will now head the design and brand strategy of the Xbox group. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch its next console in 2013, according to Cnet and the Develop game news site.

MTN Mobile Money users in Uganda cry foul

For a telecommunications firm the size of MTN in Uganda, which since its inception 13 years ago has led the way in service innovation, the breakdown of the mobile money network in the country is an indictment on the firm’s history.

MTN cannot say it didn’t see the early warning signs. In mid July, the network was down for two days, disrupting businesses. But the gravity of the network breakdown then does not compare to current predicament, with the Mobile Money service almost down for the last two to three weeks. The agents are not amused. “I wanted to sue them (MTN) but the lawyers told me it was impossible because I did not have a copy of the contract I signed with MTN,” said Nicholas Atuhairwe, an agent based at Kikoni, a Makerere University township.

Atuhairwe says the manner in which MTN entered into an understanding with their mobile money agents makes the latter susceptible to many forms of disservices. “They did not even give us time to read the contracts; we were not even given copies. All they told us to do was to sign and then deposit Shs 1,000,000 as the initial credit.

"We were later compelled to sign an exclusive agreement stopping us from operating other telecom money services which could otherwise have saved us during this crisis,” Atuhairwe explained.

He further added that he has lost over Shs1.3 million since the service started experiencing faults. “I used to make over Shs 60,000 worth of profit in a day but since the problem started, I have not served more than six customers. What MTN is doing is criminal,” he said.

To understand how huge MTN’s mobile money service is, you have to go back to its early days when it was launched. More than Shs 5bn exchanged hands in over 180,000 transactions within the first three months of its launch in 2009.

MTN Mobile Money agents help customers carry out transactions in Kampala. Today, up to 400,000 active customers make more than 385,000 transactions a month, according to GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 annual report. More than 1,400 agents have signed up to MTN’s Mobile Money, according to the report.

Consultancy firms are expected to follow MTN mobile money’s breakdown with keen interest. GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked 2011 report, a respected publication, played down the threat of technology breakdown in MTN’s mobile services as one that could see customers fleeing. While the report agrees that a technology breakdown could lead to first-time customers abandoning the service for good, it notes that the biggest worry for the service is when agents run out of cash to meet transactions. That prediction now faces its biggest test.

Agents wonder why MTN has not come out to clearly tell them what the problem is. “It is normal for companies to experience shortcomings in their services but it is disrespectful to the customers if such companies do not communicate in time,” complained Gloria Owembabazi, a mobile money outlet owner in Makerere University.

“We are not talking about simple money to take a girlfriend out. Students keep their tuition and upkeep money worth millions of shillings on their phone accounts; it is psychologically torturing if they cannot keep daily track of that money,” she added.

However, MTN Uganda corporate affairs manager, Justina Ntabgoba-Kayemba told the media that her company sent out a statement last week informing customers about the ongoing system enhancement. “We sent those messages last week but unfortunately, some have not yet received them.”

In a copy of the statement that Ntabgoba-Kayemba sent, MTN wrote that the first phase of the upgrading process started in early November and is expected to end mid next month.

The company also warned that mobile money will not resume normal efficiency levels until the upgrading process is finished. “During this period, mobile money services, including new registrations, mobile money transactions, and airtime top-up via mobile money will be intermittent. Customers and agents attempting to transact on MTN mobile money will receive an SMS response advising them of the error or a confirmation of a successful transaction,” reads part of the statement.

However, the good news is the service is being upgraded to even offer more services than they are already serving which will include among others withdrawing western union money using the mobile money service. Of the new services that will be unveiled after the upgrade, Mobile Money customers accounts will be linked to their bank accounts so that in event of being in a place where you cannot access you bank account, you can still withdraw from one of the authorized agents using mobile money. The upgrade is expected to be completed by December 15, according to the notice from MTN. 

Ceragon Networks Appoints new CFO as shares continue to tumble

Ceragon Networks Ltd. , one of the premier wireless backhaul specialists, has announced the appointment of Aviram Steinhart as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing Tsipi Kagan, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests. He joined Ceragon on December 1, 2011, and Ms. Kagan will remain through the end of 2011 to assist with the transition.

Mr. Steinhart is said to be a technology industry veteran, bringing both financial management and executive leadership experience to his new position. He will join Ceragon from Lumenis Ltd., where he has been Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2007. Mr. Steinhart also previously served as Corporate Vice President, Finance at Alvarion Ltd, as well as in a variety of senior financial positions at Siemens/UGS PLM Solutions, Tecnomatix, and NetReality Communications.

"We are very pleased to welcome Aviram Steinhart to our leadership team, and we are excited to have someone with his extensive background. His industry experience and track record in financial management will be a real asset to the company as we execute on our long-term growth strategies," said Ira Palti, President and CEO of Ceragon. "We also offer our thanks to Tsipi Kagan for her important contribution during the past year, particularly with regard to handling the complexities of a significant acquisition, and we wish her continued success in her future endeavors."

"I'm delighted to join Ceragon at such an exciting time with the opportunity to contribute based on very relevant background and experience," said Steinhart. "Ceragon is extremely well-positioned to extend its leadership as the premier wireless backhaul specialist, and I look forward to working with the rest of the team to achieve its ambitious business goals."

Steinhart's appointment comes as the Israeli company is fighting hard to stem the tide of stock depreciation.

Shares of Ceragon Networks traded at a new 52-week low last tuesday of $7.88. This new low was reached on above average trading volume as 319,000 shares traded hands, while the average 30-day volume is approximately 193,000 shares.

The company, which develops, manufactures, and sells wireless networking systems that enable global communications service providers to immediately deploy high-capacity broadband infrastructures in metropolitan areas, has customers that include new and existing competitive local exchange carriers and Internet service providers.

Ceragon has potential upside of 47.1% based on a current price of $7.93 and analysts' consensus price target of $11.67. Ceragon Networks shares should first meet resistance at the 50-day moving average (MA) of $9.78 and find additional resistance at the 200-day MA of $11.11.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of Ceragon Networks have traded between the current low of $7.88 and a high of $14.34 and are now at $7.93. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone down 0.6% while the 50-day MA has declined 1%. Reason for this trend is yet to be made public.

Yahoo, Google, Facebook Asked to Censor web for India

The Indian government has asked Internet companies and social media sites like Facebook to remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory user content from India before it goes online, three industry executives say. 

Top officials from the Indian units of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook were expected to meet with Kapil Sibal, India's acting telecommunications minister, on Monday afternoon to discuss the matter, said two executives of Internet companies. The executives asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the issue. 

The executives said representatives from these companies were to tell Sibal at the meeting that his demand was impossible, given the volume of user-generated content coming from India. They said they could not be responsible for determining what was and was not defamatory or disparaging. 

"If there's a law and there's a court order, we can follow up on it," said an executive from one of the companies that planned to attend the meeting. But these companies cannot be in the business of deciding whether something is legal to post, he said. 

Sibal's office confirmed that he would meet with Internet service providers but did not provide more information about the content of the meeting. 

About six weeks ago, Sibal called legal representatives from the country's top Internet service providers and Facebook into his New Delhi office, said one of the executives who was briefed on the meeting. 

At the meeting, Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party's president, Sonia Gandhi. "This is unacceptable," he told attendees, the executive said, and he asked them to find a way to monitor what was posted on their sites. 

In the second meeting with the same executives, in late November, Sibal told them he expected them to use people to screen content, not technology, the executive said. 

The three executives said Sibal told these companies that he expected them to set up a screening system, with staff members looking for objectionable content and deleting it before it was posted. 

Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft did not respond immediately to calls for comment, and a Google spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the issue. Facebook said this year that it had more than 25 million users in India. Google has more than 100 million Internet users in India. 

Though India describes itself as the world's largest democracy, the country's leaders have recently sought to monitor and control electronic information. In April, the ministry issued rules demanding that Internet service providers delete information from websites that officials or private citizens deemed disparaging or harassing. Last year, the government battled with BlackBerry's manufacturer, Research in Motion, threatening to shut off the company's service in India if it did not allow government officials greater access to users' messages.

However, in an earlier meeting with Facebook, Sibal's motives became fairly obvious when he revealed that someone amongst India's huge population had put up a page which maligned the Congress Party's Sonia Gandhi as not fit for the job because she was married to murdered Rajiv Gandhi. Nor is it fair to say that Rajiv only got the job because his mum was murdered, nor is it right to say that his mum Indra got the job because she took the married name of an assassinated Indian saint. Apparently it is wrong to say that there is any nepotism in the Congress party.

According to the Economic Times, he said that it was "unacceptable" for anyone to say anything bad about Rajiv Gandhi's missus and it should be obvious that slagging off politicians on the internet should be against the law.

IBM redirects W/Africa focus from Nigeria...launches new centre in Ghana

International Business Machine (IBM) as part of its 100 years anniversary has announced the opening of a new procurement centre in Ghana to support IBM’s rapid business growth in the region and lay the foundation for additional industry growth initiatives throughout the continent.

The new Accra centre will serve clients and business partners in Ghana and 16 other African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Seychelles, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The procurement centre opening coincided with the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” road show.

In a presentation, the Head of Strategic Lead, Muhammed El Shanawany said storage efficiency expectations continue to rise as information keep doubling from 18-24 months, 20 -40 per cent growth per year with 70 percent of IT budget spent on management systems. IBM will staff the procurement centre with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce and to help stimulate economic growth market.

“IBM has made substantial investments in Ghana over the past few years in terms of skills development and we see opportunities for further development as business and government leaders capture the potential of information technology to transform their enterprises and support efforts to build a smarter planet,” said Joe Mensah, General Manager of IBM Ghana.

Procurement services to support the region will include activities such as purchase order creation, amendments and supplier invoice management, all designed to drive client value, productivity, and effective supplier management. IBM will staff the procurement center with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce, and to help stimulate economic growth in the region.

“This center opening is another example of IBM’s efforts to become the world’s premier globally integrated enterprise,” said Fran O’Sullivan, general manager, IBM Integrated Supply Chain. “The expansion of our procurement operations in Ghana will help extend IBM’s business value and service in an important growth market.”

The new procurement center opening is being announced at the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” Roadshow. The customer conference will bring nearly 200 IT managers and professionals together to review IBM systems and technology in an effort to drive efficiency and growth for Ghanaian businesses. IBM previously announced a collaborative partnership with the University of Ghana. Through this partnership, IBM provided educational programming, curricula and technology experts to the university.

It is however believed that the launch of the new procurement center in Ghana, though extending IBM’s commitment to supplier diversity and environmental responsibility in Africa, may be a subtle way of reducing the corporate presence of the global brand in West Africa's biggest economy, Nigeria. Quoting unnamed staff of IBM in Nigeria, sources claim that an official notice has been received to the effect that majority of the west African operations of IBM be re-directed to Ghana from Nigeria. It is believed that the move is not unconnected with the persistent infrastructural and security concerns in Nigeria at the moment.

Moody’s Acquires Indian firm...set for Nigeria entry

Foremost Credit Rating Agency, Moody’s has said that it had bought a majority stake in Copal Partners, a company that provides research and analysis for banks, hedge funds and private equity firms using analysts in India and other emerging markets.

Copal’s 1,250 analysts do equity research, due diligence on mergers and statistical analysis for dozens of big banks and funds, at a fraction of the cost of analysts in New York or London. The company’s revenue has increased at least 20 percent a year since 2006, and is projected to hit $50 million in 2011, Copal executives said on Monday.

Terms of the all-cash deal were not disclosed. Moody’s said it would not affect the company’s 2011 results.

Mark Almeida, the president of Moody’s Analytics, called the deal a “logical extension” for Moody’s Analytics, which has more than half of its 1,800 employees outside the United States. Moody’s Analytics is in the business of providing research and data and software, he said, while Copal provides people to augment the staff of banks and other companies.

Outsourcing companies in India have taken on more sophisticated tasks in recent years, as they try to increase revenues and as companies in the developed world cut costs. Indian companies and analysts have expanded into the legal industry, where they provide document review, the pharmaceutical industry, where they do research, and in financial services.

The last few years of instability in the financial services industry have brought Copal new businesses and clients that may not have considered outsourcing in the past, said Rishi Khosla, the chief executive of Copal. “Most banks today view this as part of the operating model, and for the larger banks it’s a question of how much of this they want to do,” not whether they want to do it, he said.

In a related development, Moody’s Corporation will make its introductory foray into the Nigerian marketplace in a breakfast session on Nigeria’s corporate rating followed by a session on Nigeria’s sovereign rating on December 1, 2011.  Moody's Corporation is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers leading-edge software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis and financial risk management.

The sessions will look at imperatives of the sovereign rating of the Nigerian economy in light of global economic crisis and its effect on sovereign ratings. The event will look deeply at how corporations can benefit from ratings and maintain strong credibility and relevance through rating institutions like Moody’s. The event, a collaboration of Moody’s, AME&T Group S.A and Futureview Financial Services Ltd. will feature the Hon. Minister of Finance & Economic Affairs Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Hon. Minister of Trade & Investment Dr. Olusegun Aganga,as special guests along with Michael Korwin, Senior Vice President of Moody’s as the Keynote Presenter and other Moody’s Analysts. The team will then proceed to Abuja on December 1 for a government only session that will discuss Nigeria’s sovereign rating.

Moody's currently rates the U.S. at a top-notch triple-A, though its outlook on the rating is negative. Moody’s affirmed the US’ triple-A rating after the US Congress reached a last-minute deal in early August to raise the debt ceiling, saying it would be a "positive rating factor " if the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction agrees on a path to trim the US deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. However, a rating downgrade wouldn't be triggered automatically if the group can't reach a consensus. "As $1.2 trillion in further deficit reduction has already been legislated through automatic spending caps if no agreement is reached.”

Nvidia CEO: Tablet makers struggling with sales

One of the biggest challenge for tablet makers is figuring out how best to sell the devices, the chief executive of chip maker Nvidia Corp., said.

Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking Friday in a media roundtable in New York, said one of the iPad's biggest advantages is Apple Inc.'s  ability to sell the device through its own stores rather than relying on retailers such as Best Buy Inc. That gives users the ability to try out the devices without the tablet maker sharing a portion of the sale with the retailer.

"Apple stores have an advantage over anything sold through Best Buy," he said. "Everything sold through Best Buy has to pay Best Buy a margin."

He added all other hurdles for non-iPad tablet adoption--including usability, craftsmanship and affordability--will soon be solved. "That's easy," Huang said. "What is less easy is how it's going to get sold."

While many companies are racing to introduce tablets, the iPad continues to control a large portion of the market. Device makers are grappling with the task of designing tablets consumers desire and building ecosystems to attract users while also providing outlets for consumers to try out the products. Small players like Ovim and Viewsonic are currently experiencing such challenges.

Sony Corp., Chief Executive Sir Howard Stringer made comments similar to those from Huang in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying trying out products is a key factor to getting customers to buy them. But it's difficult to rely on retailers such as Best Buy to provide that experience, he said.

"That's why we started our own stores," Stringer said. "We did it a long time ago and didn't do terribly well, but we're getting much better."

He added a big weakness for Sony to solve is marketing, figuring out how to spend the right amount of money to make sure consumers know about products. Tablets will be the most lusted-for gadget in a holiday season, according to the Consumer Electronics Association estimates. The group says the average consumer will spend $244 on electronics, nearly one-third of his or her overall gift spending, making it crucial for mass merchants to grab a piece of the action.

But chain stores are facing problems of their own. Electronics experts say consumers are more likely to buy the top-selling tablets--the iPad and Amazon.com's Kindle Fire--directly from their makers, who are selling their own digital entertainment such as e-books and movies in addition to the hardware itself.

Best Buy has said it hopes its new in-store "Tablet & e-Reader Central Zone" will beckon consumers, despite alternatives such as Apple stores for iPads. The company has said the feature will allow consumers to easily compare devices.

Meanwhile, Huang said Friday the rate of improvement of mobile processors will be "quite shocking to people." He said improving the performance and power efficiency five-fold every year is "very possible." 

"It's possible to deliver more performance and lower power at the same time," Huang said. "We need to keep this trend up." He added tablets using Nvidia's newest mobile processor, Tegra 3, will "easily" cost about $299 in a couple of quarters, getting closer to the mainstream price points desired by consumers.

NetApp to face US probe for Syria Spy link

U.S. lawmakers are calling for an investigation into NetApp Inc.’s role in an Internet- surveillance system that has been under construction in Syria throughout this year’s political crackdown.

Senators Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois, and Robert Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, will send a letter to the State and Commerce departments requesting an investigation into two U.S. companies whose technology has been used to “monitor activities of Syrian citizens,” according to a draft of the letter. One of the companies is NetApp, whose role in the Internet surveillance system was detailed in a Nov. 3 article by Bloomberg News.

According to Bloomberg, employees of Area SpA, a surveillance company based outside Milan engaged by the Syrian government, are installing the system under the direction of Syrian intelligence agents, who’ve pushed the Italians to finish, saying they urgently need to track people, a person familiar with the project says.

The project includes Sunnyvale, California-based NetApp Inc.  storage hardware and software for archiving e-mails; probes to scan Syria’s communications network from Paris-based Qosmos SA; and gear from Germany’s Utimaco Safeware AG (USA) that connects tapped telecom lines to Area’s monitoring-center computers.

Based on this revelation, Representative James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts and co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House, said he has instructed his staff to follow up with government agencies regarding NetApp to make sure U.S. sanctions against Syria are being enforced.

“I find it unconscionable that a U.S.-based company’s technology is being sent to Syria to help spy on peaceful citizens,” McGovern said. “We are concerned about U.S. and U.S.-connected entities providing the tools of repression to Syria,” Kirk said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

The Internet surveillance project for intercepting e-mail and Web sessions would be more intrusive than equipment for blocking websites. It includes NetApp’s hardware and software for archiving e-mails for easy retrieval.

Early project schematics state that NetApp’s technology would provide four petabytes of storage for archiving e-mails and other data. That is more than 15 times the amount of data stored in the online archive of the Library of Congress, or enough storage space for more than a billion digital copies of the epic Leo Tolstoy novel “War and Peace.”

In their letter, Senators Kirk and Casey ask that pending conclusion of an investigation, officials consider suspending all U.S. government work with NetApp, which received more than $111 million in U.S. contracts since 2001. The Sunnyvale, California-based company has a market value of about $15 billion and more than 10,000 employees.

The U.S. has banned most American exports to Syria other than food or medicine since 2004.

NetApp on its part, says it is committed to global trade compliance. “NetApp does not condone the location or use of its products in Syria,” said Jodi Baumann, NetApp’s senior director for corporate communications, in an e-mailed statement. “We are engaged in a vigorous effort to determine what the true facts are. We have also notified the U.S. government about the Bloomberg article and offered our full assistance.”

Eric King, human rights and technology adviser for Privacy International in London, said companies shouldn’t be allowed to recklessly disregard the potential for harm.

“The fact that there may be several degrees of separation between the original seller and the end user does not negate responsibility when products designed to facilitate blanket surveillance of a population are used for exactly that,” King said.

Amid public backlash against the project in recent days, Area Chief Executive Officer Andrea Formenti said Nov. 8 that his company is weighing options that may include exiting the Syria deal. Area has never had any relations with Syrian intelligence agencies, and its dealings comply with all export rules, the company said. Work on the Syria project has been suspended for more than two months, Formenti said, declining to say why. Technical problems “could be one of the reasons,” he said in an interview.

It is worthy to note also that the Nigerian government, in the wake of rising terrorist threats, had indicated interest in intercepting telecom and internet communication and they happen to be the biggest client to NetApp in Nigeria.

Intel Plans new CPUs for Tablet PC in 2012

Intel reportedly is developing a new family of processors designed specifically for tablets, a move that would be a departure from previous plans to have the upcoming Atom “Medfield” platform support both smartphones and tablets.

According to a report from news Website DigiTimes, the new tablet-focused lineup of chips will come out in 2012, and Intel executives expect it will enable the giant chip maker to compete more directly with ARM Holdings—whose chip designs dominate the mobile-device space, including smartphones and tablets—particularly in terms of thermal design power (TDP) and performance.

Quoting “industry sources,” DigiTimes reported that over the next two years, Intel will work to drive down the TDP levels of chips for both smartphones and tablets to less than 10 watts while speeding up the cadence of upgrades to new chips from every two years to every year.

According to Digitimes’ sources, Intel also is planning to launch three new chipsets—the 32-nanometer “Saltwell,” 22nm “Silvermont” and 14nm “Airmont”—over the next three years.

Intel is looking to make an aggressive move into the booming mobile-device space, and next year promises to be a key one for the chip maker. Intel is taking several avenues, not only with its Atom platform for smartphones and tablets, but also with its Core processors in both tablets and ultrabooks, very thin and light notebooks that executives say will offer traditional laptop capabilities and features found in tablets. Intel also has a partnership with Google in which the search engine giant will optimize its Android mobile operating system around Intel’s Atom platform.

Having tablet-focused chips would add to Intel’s arsenal as it tries to compete in the mobile space. The ultrabook strategy holds promise for Intel, which is the world’s top chip maker but has little if any presence in the mobile-device market. Executives introduced the idea in May at the Computex 2011 show, outlining a device that is no thicker than 0.8 inches and has tablet-like features, ranging from long battery life and instant-on capabilities to the use of solid-state drives. Eventually, other features, including touch capabilities, will be added.

Pricing has become the key issue, however. To compete with Apple’s popular MacBook Pro, the ultrabooks need to come in at less than $1,000, and probably significantly less for them to compete with the myriad tablets on the market, particularly Apple’s iPad. However, the first ultrabooks out this quarter—from the likes of Acer, Asus and Toshiba—include some priced as low as $899, but most are well over $1,000.

Intel is looking to help drive down the costs of components through a $300 million fund designed for companies making hardware and software for ultrabooks, as well as through reference designs for OEMs. The first ultrabooks are based on Intel’s 2nd Generation Core Sandy Bridge chips, though Intel executives say they expect significantly more OEM designs when Intel’s “Ivy Bridge” processors are released next year.

Intel is unlikely to hit its initial goal of having 40 percent of all notebooks sold by the end of 2012 being ultrabooks, but market research firm IHS iSuppli said in a report Nov. 7 that they could account for 43 percent by 2015.

“To compete with media tablets, notebook PCs must become sexier and more appealing to consumers,” Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at IHS iSuppli, said in a statement. “With media tablets having already reversed the expansion of the previously fast-growing netbook platform, PC makers now are keenly aware that the notebook must evolve to maintain market growth and relevance. Enter the ultrabook, which borrows some of the form-factor and user-interface advantages of the media tablet to enhance the allure of the venerable notebook.” 

Telco Partners Dimension Data to Launch 4G Services...as it delists from JSE

Alepo, a leading provider of control plane & business management solutions for next generation services, has announced a partnership with one of the industry's foremost system integrators, Dimension Data, to rollout 4G data services across Zimbabwe for internet service provider Utande.
Together, Alepo and Dimension Data will build upon Utande's existing network to create a convergent network environment, enabling the delivery of 4G services over WiMAX, Wi-Fi and high-speed Metro Ethernet. The project marks the first collaboration between the two veteran telecommunications vendors.
"We are very pleased to partner with Alepo to launch 4G services at Utande," said Calvin Menyennett, Chief Technology Officer at Dimension Data. "Alepo's proven core network solutions and industry experience are true assets to this project."
Alepo will implement its convergent charging & billing platform, Service Enabler, as well as its 16e AAA Server for real-time policy & subscriber management. Alepo's Subscriber Portal will enable customers to register for services and manage their accounts online, independently.
Alepo will also provide a carrier-grade Wi-Fi Hotspot Management solution, which will allow Utande to easily expand a Wi-Fi hotspot network through partners and resellers. Alepo's open and endlessly scalable solutions will enable Utande to readily support the growing needs of Zimbabwe's residential and business consumers.
"The collaborative effort by Alepo and Dimension Data to deploy 4G services will afford Utande the competitive edge to be positioned as Zimbabwe's premier internet service provider," stated Jonathan Garini, Alepo Vice President of Products.
Ironically, it has also been a year that has seen tech companies delisting from the South African stock Exchange. After a year in which the JSE saw the delisting of behemoth IT stock Dimension Data and minnow UCS, analysts say more could follow. Vox Telecom which is currently in the process of exiting the JSE, could be indicative of the challenging terrain that similar companies face on the exchange says Richard Hurst, senior analyst of emerging markets at Ovum.
According to Hurst, Vox’s move off AltX “signals that other entities might follow suit in the short term.  These entities are likely to be in a very similar position and find the private-equity route an easier option at their early stages of their growth”

Etisalat Gets set to fight Corruption Charges in India

UAE telecoms operator Etisalat has said Indian affiliate Etisalat DB would contest charges filed by Indian authorities relating to the allocation of its 2G licence in January 2008.

India may have lost up to $39 billion in revenue when the telecoms ministry gave out lucrative licences and radio spectrum in 2007/08 at below-market prices as many ineligible firms won licences.

Reliance Telecom, Etisalat DB and Unitech Wireless were charged in April. Indian authorities framed these charges on Saturday, Etisalat said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse, the latest step in the judicial process. Etisalat bought a 45 percent stake in Swan Telecom for about $900 million in September 2008, renaming it Etisalat DB the following year.

The 18-country operator said it had not found any basis for these charges and warned its affiliate would "defend the charges resolutely".

"The charges relate to events that occurred at least one year prior to Etisalat's investment in Swan," it said.

"Etisalat had no knowledge of any wrongdoing and in the licence application process and had no involvement in it." Etisalat DB had about 1.4 million subscribers as of September. It offers services in 15 areas of India including Mumbai, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. 

According to Etisalat, in so far as it has been able to investigate the position, it has not established any basis for the charges levied against EDB and it expects EDB to defend the charges resolutely.

“Etisalat will, of course, look to its remedies against third parties at the appropriate time in order to protect its investment and rights,” it added.

Way was paved on Saturday for the trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case with a special court framing charges against former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and 15 others for offences including criminal breach of trust that entails a maximum punishment of life term.

Besides Raja and Kanimozhi, corporate honchos, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s MD Gautam Doshi, Group President Surendra Pipara and Senior Vice President Hari Nair; Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra, and Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka are among the other high-profile accused who will face trial, commencing on 11 November.

Ubuntu Plans Move to Smartphones, Tablets, TVs

Opensource Linux advocates, Ubuntu will eventually run on mobile devices including smartphones, tablets, TVs, vehicle smart screens and kitchen appliances, promised Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth.

Ubuntu will power tablets, phones, TVs and smart screens by 2014, Ubuntu's founder and Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth wrote on his blog Oct. 31. The desktop interface in the latest version of Ubuntu released this month, Ubuntu 11.10, "was designed with this specific vision in mind," Shuttleworth said.

"By 14.04 LTS Ubuntu will power tablets, phones, TVs and smart screens from the car to the office kitchen, and it will connect those devices cleanly and seamlessly to the desktop, the server and the cloud," he wrote. Canonical expects this long-term support version of Ubuntu will be ready to hit the market in April of 2014.

Unity is intended to provide a single core interface framework that scales across all screens and supports all toolkits, according to Shuttleworth. The investments Canonical has made on interfaces would translate well to touch-screen scenarios, and "with a little love and attention, will work equally well in mouse, keyboard or stylus-driven environments," Shuttleworth wrote, adding that there will be no screen size restrictions for Ubuntu.

"We will see our work on the Ubuntu platform land in a variety of formats current and yet to be invented," he wrote.

Along with regular updates to the Ubuntu operating system twice a year, Canonical releases long-term-support versions of its server and desktop versions of the Ubuntu operating system, which are supported for five and three years, respectively. Canonical released version 11.10 earlier this month, with the Unity desktop as the default interface. The next release, Ubuntu 12.04, will be the first LTS version to have the new Unity desktop interface.

There is a lot of competition, including Apple's iOS, Google's Android OS, and even Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. Research in Motion will still be trying to compete and Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 will feature both a desktop interface and the company's mobile Metro UI. Even so, Shuttleworth sees possibilities because most users are no longer "exclusively loyal" to a single technology provider and are willing to run a "diverse" set of devices running various operating systems to get online.

"There is no winner in place yet. This opportunity remains wide open, but only to products that deliver excellent experiences for users, across a full range of device categories," Shuttleworth wrote.

Shuttleworth said the "storage, syncing and sharing capabilities" of Ubuntu One personal cloud service are "not just a convenience but a requirement" as users increasingly share content and use diverse devices, perhaps as a reference to Apple launching the iCloud service. Ubuntu One's support for other operating systems "show the ability of Ubuntu to play nice with others," he said.

Noting that Canonical has good relationships with Intel, AMD and ARM, which will make chipsets that will power future devices, and with PC and device manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, Acer and IBM, Ubuntu is well-poised for the market, he said. Canonical will have to "provide the heavy lifting" to get in the ballgame, but there will be opportunities for the broader community to get involved, according to Shuttleworth.

"We are determined to bring more free software to more people around the world and building that future hand in hand with device manufacturers is the best way to do it," he wrote.

International CES Named Largest Tradeshow with Highest Economic Impact

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® has announced that the 2010 International CES® was named both the largest tradeshow and the tradeshow with the highest economic impact by Trade Show Executive (TSE)Magazine.

CEA was awarded the highly coveted number one spot in TSE’s Gold 100 Rankings of 2010. CES has earned top honors as the largest annual tradeshow in each of the four years of the Gold 100 Award's existence.

"For the fourth year in a row, no show was able to unseat the International CES as the largest annual trade show in the U.S.," said Darlene Gudea, president of Trade Show Executive Media Group. "CES held a commanding lead, spanning 586,000 more net square feet of exhibit space than the next annual show on the list." Gudea noted that CES, with its significant exhibitor and attendee participation, enriched the

Las Vegas economy with more than $119 million of new dollars, easily earning the distinction of the show with the highest economic impact of 2010.       

The 2012 International CES will run January 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada and is expected to span more than 1.6 million net square feet of exhibit space, with more than 2,700 exhibitors from 140 countries. The 2012 show looks to bring in more than 140,000 attendees, with some 30,000 from outside of the U.S., to experience more than 20,000 product launches across cutting edge technology categories such as; 3D, mobile DTV, tablets, apps, connected TVs embedded internet, green technology and

more.

"We are thrilled to again top TSE’s Gold 100 Rankings as the leader in the tradeshow industry," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "The International CES prides itself on being the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow and generating business for the global CE industry."

Tradeshows underscore the importance of face to face interactions. CES attendees collectively save 700 million miles of business travel – by taking one trip to meet all their current and future customers. Each CES attendee conducts an average of 12 onsite meetings with key contacts such as buyers, investors, analysts and media, highlighting the effectiveness of attending the International CES.

More than 200 conference sessions and 500 speakers are planned for the 2012 CES, spanning industry topics from entertainment content and distracted driving to social media and the connected home.

Oracle to acquire data management company - Endeca

Oracle has announced that it will buy Endeca Technologies, a provider of unstructured data management, Web commerce, and business intelligence solutions. The value of the deal has not been disclosed and it is expected to be completed before the end of 2011. 

Based in Cambridge, Massachusets USA, Endeca provides products that enable companies to analyze unstructured data and retrieve business intelligence using its core technology, the MDEX engine.

Endeca has two products: Endeca InFront and Endeca Latitude. Infront is a customer experience management platform that helps businesses deliver targeted customer experiences online. Latitude is a technology platform that enables businesses to produce business intelligence reports from unstructured and structured information sources.

For those in the procurement, supply chain and manufacturing worlds who don't know Endeca, they should. The company represents what is believed to be a truly next generation toolset for managing not only general ledger, invoice and related spend data, but more important, combining these financials insights with material information, part specification data, warranty claims insight and many forms of third-party structured (and even unstructured) data.

Yet because they've been going in so many directions (e.g., fueling lots of consumer sites from a search/faceted/guided navigation/shopping perspective), the manufacturing vertical as well as the emphasis on selling into procurement and supply chain was only given limited focus at Endeca.

Oracle has always had its own data management product, called Secure Enterprise Search (SES), which is able to sort through unstructured data but has limited capabilities, say analysts.

Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of Oracle Development, referred to a "changing data environment" in which the combination of Oracle and Endeca would be extremely compelling. “Together, we will provide best-in-class technology to manage structured and unstructured data together; business intelligence tools to analyze structured and unstructured data together; and a broad suite of packaged applications which extends the value of unstructured data into ERP, supply chain, CRM, EPM, Web commerce, and specialized applications," Kurian said in a statement. It just makes sense as Oracle seeks to consolidate its hold in the ever volatile ERP space. 

By acquiring Endeca, Oracle appears to be acknowledging the need to pursue the unstructured data market, notes Nick Patience, research director of information management at 451 Group. "For years Oracle has championed the use of relational databases, but now they're finally acknowledging that not everyone is on a relational database and they need a company like Endeca which has a mix of enterprise search, analytics, and e-commerce management [for dealing with unstructured data]," he says.

Whit Andrews, a vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, says the acquisition makes sense. "Oracle is more agile in its business intelligence solutions, but it is also looking for ways to increase its e-commerce footprint, which makes this acquisition interesting," he says. "There's no reason to think that Endeca won't be a huge asset." 

The company adds that the combination of Oracle ATG Commerce and Endeca InFront will enrich cross-channel commerce and online customer experiences, while the integration of Oracle Business Intelligence and Endeca Latitude will provide a comprehensive business intelligence foundation and analytic applications.

The acquisition, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close before the end of the year. Each company will continue to operate separately until the deal closes.

RIM Preparing for a rash of Blackberry Failure Lawsuits

Troubled Canadian mobile phone outfit RIM is about to be sued for taking three days to sort out a fault which shut down its email services worldwide. Last week's problems began with a failure in a European data centre which spread across the world before it began to recover.

Law firms in the United States and Canada are exploring possible consumer lawsuits against Research In Motion and are trying to make up their mind if they have enough common claims against RIM to team up in a single lawsuit.

As might be expected, the lawyers are looking at breach-of-contract or consumer-fraud claims, Reuters reports.

The breach-of-contract argument is based on the fact that RIM failed in its obligations to provide a service and could include carriers for BlackBerry as additional defendants. If the lawyers go for a consumer-fraud claim it would be based on the fact that customers were misled about the reliability of RIM's networks.

While the outage did not rise to the level of seriousness comparable to a dangerous medication or tainted food, it inconvenienced and angered customers. Frustrated BlackBerry users, turning to blogs, message boards, Twitter and Facebook, complained about losing important emails and missing meetings withing the period. 

What might save RIM from the wrath of the courts is that it will be hard to prove damages beyond loss of service. US state laws make the chances of bringing a nationwide consumer-fraud class action remote.

A recent US Supreme Court consumer class-action ruling in April made it more difficult for consumers to sue if a contract they signed with a company demands that disputes be settled through arbitration. RIM has this clause in its contracts. 

"Here, you just have the loss of (BlackBerry) use, so tons of class-action firms are not running to the courthouse steps," said Jay Edelson, a partner with the law firm Edelson McGuire in Chicago, who represents plaintiffs. "But there are definitely consumers motivated to lend their names to the case to make sure these problems don't happen again in the future." 

Because consumers can hire lawyers on a contingency basis, they would not have to fund the litigation, an added incentive, he said. Winning a class action case for BlackBerry users, in turn, would raise the profile of a small or medium-sized law firm. 

RIM has not offered to compensate customers and is offering subscribers access to premium apps "as an expression of appreciation for their patience during the recent service disruptions." The apps will be available for four weeks and are worth more than $100 per customer, RIM claims, but it's not a thrilling list.

If it did pay back customers and service carriers for the days of service lost, the cost to the company has been estimated at $26 million. Given RIM's problems it needs this like a hole in the head. It would be even worse if consumers go to court, because there would be expensive legal costs on top of this. 

BlackBerry devices have experienced similar, but more short-lived outages each year since 2007. The system failures came as RIM struggles to hold on to market share for BlackBerry smart phones, as more customers opt for Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's Android. RIM did not respond to messages seeking comment on potential lawsuits.

VIA Technologies drags Apple to court

Just before it is to release its highly anticipated iPhone 5, Apple Inc. faces new litigation, this time from a Taiwanese firm.

VIA, the world’s largest independent motherboard manufacturer based in Taiwan, has suied Apple this week for copyright infringement. VIA are claiming that Apple have infringed the copyright on a series of patented microprocessors that are used in the iPod, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV.

VIA have issued a complaint with the US International Trade Commission and the American district court over the alleged infringement of the way the chips in the Apple products manipulate and transfer data.Wen Chi Chen, CEO, VIA Technologies, Inc. in a statement said “We are determined to protect our interests and the interests of our stockholders when our patents are infringed upon.” Apple has not released a statement concerning the lawsuit at this time.

The lawsuit is believed to be connected to an on-going series of legal battles between Apple and the smartphone company HTC. Cher Wang, VIA's chairwoman, is also the chairwoman of HTC. So far Apple has won lawsuits against HTC which state that HTC have infringed on two of Apple’s copyrighted patents. HTC are planning on appealing that ruling and have three other lawsuits filed against Apple at the moment.

Also, VIA claimed it has built up an extensive intellectual property portfolio including more than 5,000 patents after years of heavy investments in technology research and development.

Similarly Apple and mobile phone producer Samsung are having legal battles in Europe which have caused the ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany as well as bans on three different types of smartphone in Holland due to the successful claim by Apple that they used Apple’s intellectual property. These are just some the most recent of a series of mobile phone lawsuits, concerning the patents of the hardware and software of top of the range smartphones across the world. Lawsuits have been filed against and by Apple, HTC, Samsung and Nokia as well as others.

Sony in Bravia TV Recall...suspends Gaming Accounts over Hacking

Sony Corp., has recalled 1.6 million Bravia flat-panel TVs sold worldwide since 2007 because a faulty component may cause them to melt or catch fire. Sony recalled the liquid-crystal display (LCD) TVs after a September incident in which a customer noticed a small fire and smoke, said Yuki Shima, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for the world’s third-largest maker of televisions. Eleven incidents have been reported in Japan since 2008, according to a company statement, and no injuries have been reported.

A faulty component in the backlight systems may be the source of overheating that can melt the top of the TV set, Shima said. It’s the second recall involving Sony products in a month, with KDDI Corp., Japan’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, saying it would replace Sony-made batteries in as many as 2 million handsets because they may overheat and melt.

“Sony-related recalls are following one another, and that may ruin the company’s brand image,” said Keita Wakabayashi, an analyst at Mito Securities Co. with a “neutral plus” rating on the stock. “Considering Sony’s overall business size, the TV recalls won’t shake the company’s grounding.”

The same transformer is used in the five Bravia models in Japan being recalled, according to a Sony statement. The recalled sets, 40-inch models sold in regions including China, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, will be repaired if faulty parts are found. Sony will dispatch a service crew to inspect sets, Shima said. The company won’t offer refunds or replacement TVs, she said.

There haven’t been any reports of overheating incidents outside Japan, the statement said, but the recalls are carried out globally. Sony rose 3 percent to 1,562 yen in Tokyo trading, narrowing its loss this year to 47 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.1 percent. The recall was announced after Tokyo markets closed.

“It could impact the stock negatively if the recall causes a significant amount of expense,” Wakabayashi said. The repairs will have a negligible impact on Sony’s earnings, Shima said. The recall was voluntary, she said.

Sony shares declined to their lowest in 24 years earlier this month on speculation the yen’s strength and slumping demand for televisions will hurt earnings. The company, which forecast full-year operating profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in July, loses about 6 billion yen of annual operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, for every 1 yen decline against the euro.

This is the company’s first recall of flat-screen televisions, though not the first associated with the Bravia line. In April 2010, Sony offered to repair the stands attached to two models because the screws weren’t strong enough and the stands could collapse. Later that month, the company recalled 535,000 Vaio personal computers because of possible overheating caused by a temperature-control defect.

Separately, the world’s second-largest maker of video-game machines said yesterday it temporarily suspended about 93,000 user accounts of its online gaming and entertainment services after finding they were hacked.

“A massive number” of unauthorized attempts by intruders were detected between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10, Sony spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said. The efforts included usernames and passwords that matched 93,000 accounts, including at least 35,000 in the U.S. and 24,000 in Europe, he said. Personal information, including home addresses, in some accounts may have been compromised, he said.

India Post rejects Cisco’s IT upgradation equipment

India's postal department has rejected the bids of four companies - HCL Comnet, Wipro, Dimension Data and UTL - to build an IT network that connects 30,000 post offices across the country, citing the 'obsolete equipment' being provided by Cisco, the technology partner for these bidders. 

After the disqualifications, the department has shortlisted HP, IBM, TCS and Sify for its Rs 1,300-crore project aimed at modernisation of the IT infrastructure of postoffices, two officials with direct knowledge of the development has said. All these companies have opted for a combination of Juniper and HP to be their technological and hardware partners for the project. Cisco is the world's largest company in networking equipment, such as routers, and customer premise equipment. 

The contract will be awarded after the financial bids of these companies are examined . But the project could run into a hurdle as Cisco has approached the Communication & IT ministry against the rejection of bids of companies partnering with it. 

It is also learnt that Cisco has besieged the postal department not to open the financial bids of the shortlisted companies until its concerns are addressed. Cisco denied to comment on a detailed questionnaire sent by ET. "As you would expect, several Cisco Partners participated in the RFP process. 

Any questions relating to that should be directed to the Department of Post," a Cisco India spokesperson said. Department of Post officials who evaluated the bids said companies partnering with Cisco were rejected for three primary reasons. 

"As per Cisco's own public announcement in November 2010, a significant majority of the routers and switches it plans to supply its partners for this project, has reached their end-of-life. The manufacturing of these products would stop by 2012-end, the period when we will be awarding the contract. 

Besides, the software updates for these products will also end within two more years," a top official said. This official also added that awarding the project to any company using Cisco hardware would compromise a key requirement of the project being scalable in the future due to obsolete equipment. Cisco has not yet replied to the allegations. Another official in the postal department explained that all bidders partnering Cisco had submitted an undertaking from the IT hardware major that it would support these products for seven years.

Aviat Networks Sells off WiMAX Business To Canadian firm

In line with previous predictions, Aviat Networks, Inc., a leading expert in wireless transmission solutions, has announced that it has sold its WiMAX business to EION Networks, Inc., which is a privately owned Canadian Company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. The WiMAX business will be consolidated into a division of the company, EION Wireless, as a result of the sale. EION Wireless, a global provider of broadband wireless products, plans to extend its broadband wireless solutions portfolio with the purchase of this business.

Aviat Networks acquired the WiMAX business in 2009 to expand its technology portfolio and capabilities to address opportunities in the wireless broadband and mobility markets. In May 2011, as part of a company restructuring aimed at reducing costs, streamlining operations, and optimizing the Company’s business model, Aviat Networks announced its intentions to sell the WiMAX business for an undisclosed amount.

“The sale of the WiMAX business will enable us to better focus our resources and investments on our microwave transmission products, further positioning us for long-term success,” said Michael Pangia, president and CEO of Aviat Networks. “We will work with EION Wireless to ensure a smooth transition for both our customers and employees.” The sale of the WiMAX business to EION Wireless was effective as of September 2, 2011.

Eion Networks said that the purchase of the WiMax division of Aviat Networks includes its StarMAX fixed and mobile base stations, gateways and end-user devices. “This is a big strategic step for Eion, both from the product and customer point of view,” Kalain Kalaichelvan (pictured), chairman and CEO of privately-held Eion said in an interview. “Their portfolio of products really compliments what we are doing because they have 4G (fourth generation wireless) products.

“The second main reason is Aviat sells to Tier 1 and 2 service providers, and we sell to a lot of enterprises … so this can be the springboard for us into launching LTE.” Eion’s upgrade solution to LTE will be ready by next summer, he said. Over the next six to 12 months WiMax providers will want to convert and “we are already in their living room,” Kalaichelvan said.

Four years ago WiMax and LTE (Long Term Evolution) were fighting to be the next generation of wireless broadband technology, promising to offer at least wireline speeds. Fixed WiMax (also known as the IEEE’s 802.16 standard) got off the mark first and has been chosen by a number of carriers to serve small communities. At the time LTE standards were barely set. But WiMax's mobile version (802.16e) was shunned by major carriers in favour of LTE because major equipment makers like Ericsson LM offered a clear upgrade path from the GSM technology used by most leading cellular operators.

In the U.S., WiMax’s biggest supporters, Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel Corp., have signed they will eventually switch to LTE. That has left WiMax operators in a fix, looking for equipment makers who have to face the inevitable: eventually upgrading to LTE. WiMax equipment makers, meanwhile, have faced struggling sales as service providers wonder whether they should invest in the technology. But in some parts of the world – such as emerging countries with very little in the way of phone lines, WiMax makes sense. Which is why 80 per cent of Eion’s sales have gone to countries outside North America, Kalaichelvan said. In Canada it counts only a few oil and gas companies as customers.