Blackberry joins iPad competition race with Playbook

With Apple set to unveil iPad 2 any time now, competition in the tablet market has never been stronger with most major manufacturers setting 2011 as the year to launch rival slate computers.

Currently running the show with everybody’s must-have status gadget, Cupertino may now be staring at some credible competition. Not from the Samsung Galaxy Tab but rather the anticipated Blackberry Playbook which demoed at the recently heldMobile World Congress. Gadget enthusiasts have been exclaiming their excitement over the new Blackberry operating system which will run forthcoming Research In Motion phones and the Playbook itself.

Set to have a 1Ghz Dual Core processor: the Playbook should comfortably handle demanding applications alongside the two inbuilt full HD video cameras, HDMI output, WiFi (obviously), and its unique selling point – support of Flash, HTML5 and Adobe.

Blackberry phones were once the handset of the boardroom, and to an extent they are still proprietary executive favorites. But Apple’s versatile iPhone recently caught it up, offering more in the line of entertainment whilst handling business-related applications and programs satisfactorily. With that in mind, RIM has done exactly what they needed to with this tablet: they have simply made it pleasurable to use.

With Research In Motion on Monday announcing plans to launch high-speed LTE and HSPA+ versions of its first tablet, the BlackBerry Playbook, it brings the total number of upcoming PlayBook models to four: in January, RIM announced Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + WiMax versions. Networks haven't been announced yet, but with the news, all of America's biggest carriers could technically offer the tablet: Verizon and MetroPCS support LTE; T-Mobile and AT&T have HSPA+; Sprint has WiMax. The non-LTE carriers have also committed to future 4G LTE networks, the main global standard.

"We are now building on the BlackBerry PlayBook's many advantages with support for additional 4G networks that will allow enhanced business opportunities for carriers and developers and unparalleled mobile experiences for users," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion, in a statement.

The enterprise-oriented tablets will also support Bluetooth tethering, mobile hotspotting via smartphones, and BlackBerry Bridge, a software that allows use of Blackberry Messenger, calendar, and e-mail. No pricing details have been announced, yet.

Toshiba Develops New Energy-Saving Flip-Flop Circuit

Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has developed a new flip-flop circuit using 40nm CMOS process that will reduce power consumption in mobile equipment. Measured data verifies that the power dissipation of the new flip-flop is up to 77% less than that of a typical conventional flip-flop and that it achieves a 24% reduction in total power consumption when applied to a wireless LAN chip.

A flip-flop is a circuit that temporarily stores one bit of data during arithmetic processing by a digital system-on-a-chip (SoC) incorporated in mobile equipment and other digital equipment. As a typical SoC uses 100,000 to 10 million flip-flops they are an essential part of an SoC design.

A typical flip-flop incorporates a clock buffer to produce a clock inverted signal required for the circuit’s operation. When triggered by a signal from the clock, the clock buffer consumes power, even when the data is unchanged. In order to reduce this power dissipation, a power-saving design technique called clock gating is widely used to cut delivery of the clock signal to unused blocks. However, after applying the clock gating, the flip-flop active rate, a measure of data change rate per clock, is only 5-15%, indicating that there is still plenty of room for further power reduction.

In order to save power, Toshiba changed the structure of the typical flip-flop and eliminated the power-consuming clock buffer. This approach brings with it the problem of data collision between the data writing circuitry and the state holding circuitry in the flip-flop, which Toshiba overcame by adding adaptive coupling circuitry to the flip-flop. A combination of an nMOS transistor and a pMOS transistor, this circuitry adaptively weakens state-retention coupling and prevents collisions. Despite the addition of the adaptive coupling circuitry, overall simplification of the basic flip-flop configuration reduces the transistor count from 24 to 22, and the cell area is less than that of the conventional flip-flop.

This achievement will be announced on February 23 (local time) at the 2011 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) now being held in the United States. To translate the move into real terms, the company claims that a Wi-Fi chip equipped with the new flip-flop circuits - and with no other changes to the remainder of the chip - draws around 24 per cent less power than one which utilizes traditional clock buffered flip-flop circuitry.

Toshiba's new design doesn't just deliver impressive power savings, however: the company claims that each flip-flop configuration requires two fewer transistors than previous designs and takes up less than half the space - allowing SoC configurations to cram more technology into an ever decreasing die size.

Sony PlayStation launches Killzone 3 for PS3

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe welcomes the return of the critically acclaimed multi-million selling Killzone franchise as Killzone3 arrived on PlayStation3 (PS3). Bringing back the trademark ferocious action on an even more deadly scale, Killzone 3 sees the battle continue between the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) and the Helghast - one of the most unrelenting enemies ever to terrorise PlayStation. 

Fully PlayStationMove compatible, you’ll feel even closer to the action in a nerve-shatteringly immersive experience.  Look your enemy in the eye as you break his neck with the brutal new close-combat system, or seek refuge from the Helghast onslaught as you take time out to manually reload - all using the Move controller.  And with the arrival of the PlayStation Move sharp shooter across Europe, taking out the Helghast has never been felt realistic.  Housing the motion controller and navigation controller, the sharp shooter, developed by Guerrilla Games and Zipper Interactive, provides the most intuitive and immersive control experience yet. 

In the most cinematically advanced Killzone yet, Guerrilla studios has introduced a huge visual upgrade to the third instalment in the franchise.  New simulation and texturing technology make for a dramatic array of special effects - from waves crashing over your head to devastating vehicle explosions.  And with no loading screens in between gameplay to pull you out of the story, Killzone 3 feels more like a feature length film than a video game.  See the story unfold before you in a flurry of High Definition, 3D splendour, brought to life with a terrifying audio soundtrack from Hollywood’s most legendary bad boys.   Malcolm McDowell, famed for his dark performance as Alex in A Clockwork Orange, expertly portrays the voice of sadistic Helghast warlord Jorhan Stahl.  And London-born Ray Winstone, known for his mobster roles in blockbusters like The Departed, provides the voice of Admiral Orlock. 

If you’re struggling under the weight of the Helghast might, you may benefit from getting to know your enemy by taking home your very own authentic Helghast Helmet replica with the Killzone 3 Collector’s Edition.  It come complete with a SteelBook case and exclusive 100-page Killzone 3 art book, as well as a ‘Cloaking Helghast Marksman’ action figure, PlayStationNetwork voucher code to unlock every deadly weapon and ability, and the entire Killzone 3 soundtrack. 

Prepare to face your toughest challenge yet as the ferocious world of Killzone 3 arrives on PS3. But be careful – once you experience the harrowing world of Helghan in fully Move compatible eye-watering High Definition 3D detail, you’ll soon fear what’s around every corner.

Motorola, Samsung, LG others look to knock out iPad

With the Samsung Galaxy Tab posting modest consumer success but ultimately failing to blunt the iPad’s glittering appeal, it now falls to the Motorola Xoom to step into the ring as the tablet world’s next great white hope.

And today has seen the American handset manufacturer officially preparing its corner after it boldly announced that the much talked about Xoom will be coming out swinging when the bell rings on February 24. Emerging from January’s Consumer Electronics Show as winner of CNET’s coveted ‘Best in Show’ award, the Xoom will be the first mobile device powered by version 3.0 of Google’s Android operating system (a.k.a. Honeycomb).

Verizon Wireless will also be the first U.S. telecoms carrier to offer the tablet, pricing it at $599.99 USD alongside a two-year service contract, or $799.99 USD as a contract-free option.

In terms of core specifications, the Xoom will be looking to lure prospective buyers with its 10.1-inch HD display, 1GHz dual-processor, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, rear-facing 5.0 mega-pixel camera, front-facing 2.0 mega-pixel camera (for video chat), and 720p HD video capture.

According to Verizon, the Xoom will also support its high-speed 4G LTE network “at no additional charge” before the close of 2011’s second quarter.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) was held in Barcelona last week, and besides the usual fancy phones on display, an abundance of shiny new Android tablets were unveiled at the event as well. And now that the tablet-specific Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS is in the wild, we can finally get excited about these devices.

HTC Flyer, the diminutive yet distinctive tablet with a 7-inch device is a package that's about the same size as Samsung's Galaxy tab, the Taiwan-based manufacturer has packed in a 1.5 GHz processor (single-core), 32 GB of internal storage, and a 1024×600 pixel display.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, who has been the main iPad competitor on the market, decided that it would start this year bigger and better. Seemingly not satisfied with just seven inches, Samsung raised a few eyebrows at MWC by revealing a 10.1-inch version of its tablet, which matches the screen size of Apple's iPad. It will run Honeycomb on a 1GHz dual-core processor, with the option of either 16 or 32GB of internal storage, and boasts a 1280×800 display.

LG Optimus Pad was in prime position to steal the show in Barcelona with a viral Transformers robot-themed teaser-ad leading up to the launch. With an 8.9-inch display, LG's tablet may have hit that Goldilocks size that's just about right. It will also run Honeycomb on top of a dual-core processor, and comes with 32GB of storage and a 1280×768 display.

Acer developing Windows 7 phones…continues romance with Android

It seems like Acer is taking its smartphone business very seriously. After announcing the launch of Android based smartphones at the Mobile World Congress, now the world's second largest PC maker is reportedly developing Windows Phone 7 based smartphones, due in Autumn this year.

Back in December, Gianfranco Lanci, CEO, Acer had announced that the company is working on Windows Phone 7 smartphones. The phones are likely to hit the markets by September or October. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson of Acer to Pocket-lint.

The launch of Acer Windows Phone 7 smartphones will mostly happen with the big update of WP7 happening that is codenamed Mango.

With the recent collaboration of Nokia and Microsoft on the former's phones based on the latter's platform, Acer's WP7 phones are set to give tough competition to Nokia's phones, which will most likely see the daylight around year-end.

It seems that an inside source from Acer has specifically told the Pocket-lint that Acer will be launching handsets running on Microsoft’s mobile operating system. The fact is that even though Acer mentioned that they were currently working on Android devices only, they would also be working on Windows Phone 7 compatible devices.

Their MWC 2011 offerings did not see any kind of Windows Phone 7 love, apart from the Acer Iconia Tab W500 running on Windows 7 whereas all other devices running on different flavours of Android. What seems to be interesting is that the smartphone announcement might coincide with Microsoft’s Mango update for Windows Phone 7.

NAB Show, USGIF to Host Digital Transition Workshop for Government/Military

The NAB Show and United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) will present a one-day workshop on Wednesday, December 1, that will unite broadcasters with government and military professionals to discuss the challenges of the transition to digital television and how this relates to professionals in the government sector. Participants will have the opportunity to network and develop new business relationships while applying the lessons learned from the digital TV transition to the government and military's ongoing transition to digital technologies.

Titled "Mastering the Transition to Digital," the workshop will include presentations from Bob Seidel (CBS vice president of Engineering and Advanced Technology), Jim Kutzner (chief engineer, PBS) and Gary Nadler (general manager of Telecommunications & Affiliate Services, ABC TV Network), as well as panel discussions featuring government and broadcast professionals. Panelists will examine the demand for high-quality video standards in the government and military sectors, as well as the challenges of using digital technologies over traditional analog techniques. Additionally, multiple case studies will be presented by the NAB Show and USGIF that will examine lessons learned from the digital transition, managing video content in a modern broadcast facility and the digital workflow process.

"Mastering the Transition to Digital" will be held on December 1 from 8:00 - 5:00 at NAB headquarters in Washington, DC.

HTC wins 2011 global best device manufacturer award…showcase phones with FB button

Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp. was named Thursday as "Device Manufacturer of the Year" by GSM Association (GSMA), which is a top award in the global mobile communications industry.

HTC beat out two other finalists, Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., to take the top honor in the device manufacturer category at the 2011 Global Mobile Awards ceremony in Barcelona, Spain.

"HTC has built its market presence from nowhere, with fresh branding and marketing and a strong portfolio of devices across many platforms,” the GSMA judges said on the awards website. "In particular, it has proven an exceptionally popular and enduring phone manufacturer."

The judges also said that the HTC Desire smartphone "set the bar for Android phones across much of the world in 2010.”

This is the second straight year that HTC has picked up a major GSMA award. Last year, its Hero model was named "Best Mobile Phone."

HTC CEO Peter Chou said he appreciates the efforts by the company's employees to create intuitive and deeply personal smartphone experiences. The award this year is a measure of their passion and dedication, he said.

Apple's iPhone 4 won the "Best Mobile Device" award this year because of its "great screen, sharp design, fantastic materials, and phenomenal ecosystem for app developers,” according to the GSMA website.

The GSMA Awards are determined by a committee that comprises industry analysts and consultants, mobile operators, educators and other industry leaders. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators.

Officially unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, the HTC Salsa was introduced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It is a very similar handset to the HTC ChaCha, except the Salsa lacks a physical keyboard and has a much larger display.

The HTC Salsa's Facebook button works contextually and lights up whenever the user can share multimedia content or status updates through the social networking service. For example, after a photo is taken with the HTC Salsa's camera, you simply push the Facebook button to automatically upload the image. Users can also press the button once to automatically check in through the Facebook Places feature.

SAP Hopes to Boost StreamWork Sales With OpenSocial

SAP has added support for the Google-backed OpenSocial programming standards for social applications to its StreamWork collaboration software, the company announced recently. Presently, software that uses OpenSocial APIs (application programming interfaces) can be served up to StreamWork users through the application's "tools catalog," according to a statement.

Some OpenSocial-enabled applications are already available, including mind-mapping tools from CS Odessa and MindMeister; appointment scheduling service Doodle; Google Translate; and software development and collaboration tools from Atlassian, SAP said.

StreamWork, which was launched last year, has been dubbed a "virtual war room," in that it serves as a place where teams of users -- be it co-workers, customers, partners or a mix -- can brainstorm and solve problems.

By aggressively pursuing integration with third-party applications, SAP can broaden StreamWork's reach and relevance, in one observer's view.

"I think you can look at it this way. StreamWork is a canvas looking for a painting," said analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research. "OpenSocial gives it many portraits to display on the same canvas."

SAP is seeking partner applications based on feedback from StreamWork users, said Holly Simmons, senior director of on-demand marketing. It makes sense for SAP to extend StreamWork to the kinds of related software products customers are already using, she added.

Integrating them with StreamWork also cuts down on how much users must switch between applications, Simmons said.

The additional tools being made available by OpenSocial come at no extra charge to customers, as many of the vendors already have a "freemium" sales model, she said. However, paid versions will be available, she said. A basic edition of StreamWork is available at no charge. Professional Edition starts at US$9 per user per month and adds features like advanced administration. Enterprise Edition pricing starts at $192 per user per year in the U.S. and features advanced security, auditing and provisioning. For pricing in other countries customers should contact SAP, according to its website.

Like any vendor, SAP faces a challenge cracking a crowded market populated by scads of newer collaboration-related offerings as well as broadly adopted platforms like Microsoft SharePoint.

And high-profile attempts at next-generation tools have stumbled. Citing lack of adoption, in August Google stopped development on its much-ballyhooed Wave application, with which StreamWork had integrated.

Simmons declined to reveal how many paying, in-production customers StreamWork has gained so far. But sales are "going really well," she said. Right now, most customers are small and medium-sized businesses, she said.

NCR Looks Overseas for New Markets as FBN deploys its 1st biometric ATM in Nigeria

ATM manufacturer NCR is said to be getting 75% of its earnings from international sales, and the firm said it has put together a sales team to both sustain and grow that market. NCR’s emerging markets group will address sales in Brazil, India, China, the Middle East and Africa. China is slated to pass the United States as the world’s largest ATM market by 2015, the manufacturer observed. And in 2009, the Middle East and Africa region reported the highest per-person ATM withdrawal rates.

NCR recently promoted Stelios Fragkos to regional vice president from vice president for NCR Middle East/Africa. Fragkos will head the emerging markets group. NCR is equipped and ready to tackle the job, Fragkos said. “We have a strong brand, relationships, market leadership and insight in the most exciting markets in the world," he said. "We have invested for growth in the regions."

The growing middle classes require NCR to pay more attention to the three countries and one region, said Peter Leav, NCR senior vice president of Global Sales.

“We are driving further growth by focusing a consolidated high-performance team on the most dynamic economies, with growing middle classes that increasingly require self-service to manage their lives,” added Leav, who also heads NCR’s Emerging Markets Council.

And as a boost to its new focus, First Bank of Nigeria plc has deployed the first biometric ATM in Nigeria’s banking sector to serve customers who cannot read or write, as well as the elderly.

“The new technology is available to existing customers, who may wish to add biometric authentication as part of their transaction approval process on the bank’s ATMs in addition to PIN selection, while new cardholders, especially who cannot read nor write and the elderly, will be issued cards with only biometric authentication,” said Chuma Ezirin, group head of eBusiness for First Bank, which is based in Lagos, Africa’s fastest-growing city.

Ezirin said the biometric ATM, which was manufactured by NCR, will build customer confidence in the use of electronic channels by preventing fraud. According to a photograph on the bank’s website, a customer places his index finger on the ATM’s biometric device. The device identifies the individual as a bank customer. The ATM leverages the Customer Identification System platform being developed by the bank’s information technology team.

First Bank of Nigeria tested the ATM before deploying it in the bank’s main office. The financial institution plans to deploy additional biometric ATMs in other strategic branch locations.

Signal Alliance brings IT solutions closer to public sector…opens office in Abuja

Signal Alliance (SA), the leading service provider and integrator of information technology systems in the public and private sectors, has made further moves in its expansion process with the recent opening of its new Abuja office.

Making this known recently, the new General Manager for Abuja, Mr. Toju Ayutsede explained that the new business presence in Abuja is a long over-due move in the sense that SA business in Abuja had been ongoing for years but this is a formalization of operations there. This signifies SA’s continuous drive to introduce innovative technology across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

His words: “Our presence in Abuja is long-overdue and as a technology systems solution provider with a lot of public sector solution, we are convinced that this move will endear us to our existing and prospective client base in the Nation’s capital”.

Located at the high-brow Central Business District area of the Nation’s Capital City, the SA Abuja office is expected to further expand its advocacy for public sector automation using enterprise resource planning, electronic document management, data-centers and unified communications solutions.

On the value the company will bring with this move, Mr. Ayutsede explained that the current position of Signal Alliance as a market leader will be more than sufficient to satisfy the ICT needs of both private and public sector organizations in the FCT.

The core strength of Signal Alliance is delivering key ICT solutions that will help solve key organizational challenges. Competency lies around Network Infrastructure deployment, Business Solutions & Optimization using Enterprise Resource Planning, Electronic Document Management, Data Center and Unified Communication Solutions.

Mr. Toju Ayutsede, until recently, was the Programme Director for Signal Alliance. Prior to that, he served as the deputy Managing Director, Dutch Agricultural Development & Trading Company (Nig.) and has worked for various multinational companies such as Heineken International, in Amsterdam and IBM in various managerial capacities.

Signal Alliance strengthens presence in Abuja, opens new office

Signal Alliance (SA), the leading service provider and integrator of information technology systems in the public and private sectors, has made further moves in its expansion process with the recent opening of its new Abuja office.

Making this known recently, the new General Manager for Abuja, Mr. Toju Ayutsede explained that the new business presence in Abuja is a long over-due move in the sense that SA business in Abuja had been ongoing for years but this is a formalization of operations there. This signifies SA’s continuous drive to introduce innovative technology across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

His words: “Our presence in Abuja is long-overdue and as a technology systems solution provider with a lot of public sector solution, we are convinced that this move will endear us to our existing and prospective client base in the Nation’s capital”.

Located at the high-brow Central Business District area of the Nation’s Capital City, the SA Abuja office is expected to further expand its advocacy for public sector automation using enterprise resource planning, electronic document management, data-centers and unified communications solutions.

On the value the company will bring with this move, Mr. Ayutsede explained that the current position of Signal Alliance as a market leader will be more than sufficient to satisfy the ICT needs of both private and public sector organizations in the FCT.

The core strength of Signal Alliance is delivering key ICT solutions that will help solve key organizational challenges. Competency lies around Network Infrastructure deployment, Business Solutions & Optimization using Enterprise Resource Planning, Electronic Document Management, Data Center and Unified Communication Solutions.

Mr. Toju Ayutsede, until recently, was the Programme Director for Signal Alliance. Prior to that, he served as the deputy Managing Director, Dutch Agricultural Development & Trading Company (Nig.) and has worked for various multinational companies such as Heineken International, in Amsterdam and IBM in various managerial capacities.

Ceragon buys Norway's Nera Networks

Israeli-based wireless backhaul equipment and network developer Ceragon Networks Ltd. is buying Norwegian company Nera Networks for about $48.5 million. Nera is a manufacturer of microwave radio systems. The company is one of three business units of Eltek ASA, which is selling the company to Ceragon. Nera Networks has a global customer base, including several Tier One operators in Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Following today's closing of the transaction, both companies' assets and core competencies will be combined into a single integrated organization, product family and customer base.

Ceragon, led by CEO Ira Palti, said that the transaction accelerates its strategic plans, as the combination of the two companies achieves immediate scale and reach to enable Ceragon to successfully and fully capitalize on global opportunities. Nera's operations in Latin America and Africa complement Ceragon's position in Europe, Asia and North America.

The acquisition will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and approximately $35 million of bank debt. The transaction is expected to be accretive on a quarterly basis by the end of 2011. Ceragon is targeting a combined operating model for 2012 with gross margins similar to its current level, and operating profit of 10% based on a quarterly combined run rate revenue of about $150 million.

According to previous forecasts supplied by Ceragon, it should report growth of 35% for 2010, to revenue of $250 million. With the contribution of Nera, Ceragon expects quarterly revenue of $150 million, or $600 million for the year. At that level of revenue, Ceragon expects to maintain gross profitability at 35%, and to reach operating profitability of 10%, compared with a current 7.5% on a non-GAAP basis.

This will not be a simple task, given that Nera is a loss-making company. In the first three quarters of 2010, it had revenue of $177 million, and lost $14.5 million.

"Nera is a loss-making company with a low gross profit margin (about 22%), which is part of the reason that the price for it is low," Palti explains. However, according to him, Nera is an easy company to turn around.

"2011 will be a transition year, and towards the end of the year, the acquisition will contribute to profits," Palti says. At any event, he stresses, even before Nera contributes, Ceragon will remain a profitable company.

Ceragon currently employs about 700 people, 200 of them in Israel. They will be joined by Nera's 800 employees.

"There are synergies, and we will have to make decisions about overlapping activities, but that isn’t the name of the game here," Palti says. According to him, the overlap between the two companies is not great. "Therefore," he says, "we will be able to run forward. The acquisition will enable us to grow in market share, to boost our presence in many places in the world, and provide better solutions."

MasterCard, InterSwitch co-brand in Nigeria...Skye Bank takes first bite

MasterCard Worldwide and InterSwitch in Nigeria have started to offer a new co-branded debit card - the Mastercard Verve. Nigeria's electronic transaction switching and payment processing company InterSwitch, launched the Verve chip and PIN card in Nigeria back in 2009. This collaboration between the two parties aims to encourage debit card use in Nigeria whilst creating wider acceptance of the cards home and abroad by utilising the MasterCard brand.

The new debit card will grant users access to over 12,000 point of sale locations, 400 online merchants and at 10,000 ATMs throughout Nigeria. “The co-branded debit card agreement with InterSwitch aims to usher in a new era in convenient and secure payments for Nigerians and through this collaboration, cardholders  will have the ability to use a single  card for domestic and international transacting.” Said Daniel Monehin, MasterCard’s area head, East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands.

This new venture is said to be viewed positively by the Central Bank of Nigeria which plans to, as part of the country’s Financial System Strategy 2020, improve the country’s e-payment systems by reducing public reliance on cash. Already Skye Bank Plc has launched into the Nigerian financial market the first naira denominated Master-card Verve which can be used to make payments across multiple channels like the Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sales terminals, internet, telephones, among others.

The bank said in a statement that the naira denominated Master-card Verve is globally accepted as a means of payment at over 24 million merchant locations and over one million ATMs worldwide in more than 220 countries.

With the new partnership, Interswitch indigenous debit card known as Verve Card, will have all its features transferred to the MasterCard to form a single but multiple functions payment card known as MasterCard-Verve.

Speaking, the President of the Middle East and Africa for MasterCard, Michael Miebach said he was “happy with the partnership,” which he said, “would boost cashless transactions in the society and promote electronic payment system in Nigeria and Africa.”

Director of Payment Solutions for InterSwitch, Charles Ifedi said he was “delighted that MasterCard, which serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the global payments industry and enables global commerce by providing critical economic link between financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants and cardholders worldwide has partnered with InterSwitch to co-brand the Verve debit card in Nigeria.”

Dell ditches Adamo laptop

Dell, one of the world’s leading PC vendors, discontinued its Adamo laptop after it failed to keep up with Apple’s ultrathin Macbook Air. The laptop range, Adamo, a Latin word meaning "to fall in love with”, was launched at CES in 2009. At the launch of Adamo, Dell had said, “Style-minded people who place a premium on precision craftsmanship and design can now add Adamo to their list of must-have items for 2009.”

But, Adamo, which was launched as a challenger to the Macbook Air, could not attract customers due to it heavy price tag of $2,000. Poor sales forced the company to drop the price of the laptop from $2,000 to merely $799.

The ultraslim Adamo laptop was rolled out with some very striking features, including an aluminium case, a 13.4-inch, 16:9 HD display, a SIM card slot, a built-in 3G card, an ultra low voltage Intel processor and solid state drive.

Dell’s recently launched its new 7-inch Android tablet, called the Streak 7. The Dell Streak 7 features dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, a WVGA touchscreen and Gorilla glass. The company is also expected to launch a new laptop within the coming six months.

The Dell Adamo, introduced in 2009 was positioned as a Windows alternative to Apple's ultrathin laptop, will be discontinued once Dell sells its remaining inventory. The Adamo is already gone from Dell's website (except for refurbished models), but other retailers such as Amazon are still selling the laptop.

Meanwhile, Apple has refreshed its own MacBook Air line with a much thinner design thanks to specially designed solid state drives, tapering up to 0.68 inches thick. The new Airs are also cheaper, starting at $999 for an 11-inch model.

The door is open for a new wave of MacBook Air rivals with Toshiba's slim solid state drives -- reportedly the same kind that Apple uses -- and at least one PC vendor is already committed to battling the MacBook Air for ultrathin supremacy. At CES, Samsung showed off the 9 Series, a 13.3-inch laptop measuring 0.64 inches thick with a 128 GB solid state drive, 6.5 hours of battery life and Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPU platform. The 9 Series will be available in the spring for $1,599.

Faced with these developments, Dell can either overhaul its own Adamo line or back out of the ultrathin computing game altogether. According to CNet, Dell will introduce an entirely new ultrathin design within six months, but the products will simply be integrated into Dell's existing consumer laptop lines such as XPS and Inspiron. The meaning of "Adamo" was always a mystery anyway.

CoolIT Systems Announces Partnership with MAINGEAR

CoolIT Systems, leaders in advanced liquid cooling technology, announced today their partnership with MAINGEAR, award winning system builders of high performance personal computers. Both CoolIT and MAINGEAR products have earned numerous industry awards, including four 2010 CES Innovations Awards for CoolIT, and PC Magazine Editors’ Choice and Maximum PC Kick-Ass Editors’ Choice award for MAINGEAR. Their partnership will bring the best of electronic cooling technology available to the consumer PC market.

MAINGEAR now utilizes the CoolIT Systems ECO II CPU cooler in their flagship system, the SHIFT, as well as their desktop line of products. “We are very excited about our new partnership with CoolIT Systems one of the leading names in providing PC cooling solutions.” Said Wallace Santos, CEO and co-founder of MAINGEAR, “CoolIT has always been side by side with MAINGEAR in terms of offering innovative and game changing solutions to the PC enthusiast space.”

“The MAINGEAR team has put together industry changing solutions and we at CoolIT are very proud that they have put their faith in our technology” says Barry Fairhurst, VP Sales and Marketing at CoolIT.  “We are very excited with our partnership with MAINGEAR and look forward to supporting some of the most innovative products to hit the marketplace in a long time”.

CoolIT’s 2011 product line features two new CPU coolers with low-profile head units, and an advanced chassis control system for unmatched thermal management potential. The coolers have shown unparalleled success in performance gains and universality with all modern CPU sockets. The products are being offered to the system builder, OEM and industrial markets.

Bank claims N16B against Flexcube for Bungled Implementation

Allied Irish Bank (AIB) has begun court proceedings against Oracle Financial Services Software, claiming nearly EUR84 million (about N16 billion) over a bungled Flexcube implementation.

AIB signed for the Flexcube core banking package from Indian vendor i-flex solutions - now called Oracle Financial Services Software - in 2007 to overhaul and streamline its retail banking operations.

However, a case document filed at London's High Court this week, seen by Irish broadcaster RTE, states that the implementation was beset with technical and management problems. At the end of 2009, just 3,000 customer accounts out of a possible five million had been moved on to the new system.

AIB says that it spent €84 million on procuring and implementing Flexcube. The figure does not include any other losses during the three-year period, which have yet to be calculated.

An Oracle spokesperson confirmed to Information Age today that a suit was filed by AIB at the end of January. "All of the allegations being raised by AIB are being rigorously defended by the company, and the company will also be counter-claiming against AIB for breach of contract and outstanding fees." In March 2010 the roll out of Flexcube was abandoned with AIB forced to stick with its old system.

The bank claims it lost around EUR84 million through the project which it was induced to embark on by misrepresentation from the vendor. It is seeking the EUR84 million damages for misrepresentation and for breach of contract and negligence.

Faulty Chips Haunt Intel…Samsung, Others Refund for Recalled PCs

Intel acknowledged that there was a design error in its upcoming Sandy Bridge platform, particularly the chipset (Intel 6 Series) that connects the processor to the rest of the system. Over time, this flaw may degrade the performance and functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disks and optical drives. PCs, mostly desktops, started shipping to customers January 9.

The problem doesn't affect the processor itself, but the system as a whole, since the faulty chipset resides on the motherboard. This means that Intel will draw up a plan to compensate its partners, namely OEMs and retailers, and these partners in turn will determine how returns and replacements will be handled.

"It will be a case by case decided by the OEM/ODM, based on their configs," according to an Intel spokesperson. Samsung Electronics, South Korea's largest electronics maker, has already issued a statement to Bloomberg, saying "six models sold in the local market and one model in the U.S. can be returned for refunds or exchanges."

According to James Chung, a Samsung spokesperson, "about 2,000 to 3,000 units of those models probably have been sold since sales began last month"

Other companies are taking a more intimate approach. "Velocity Micro is working with Intel and our customers to identify the best course of action to satisfy each customer," said Randy Copeland, CEO of Velocity Micro. "We will be contacting customers individually to discuss the appropriate course of action by providing our complete analysis of the Cougar Point SATA errata, the impact on the customer's specific unit, and to provide a menu of choices for customers to decide which action they wish to take."

As for major online retailers, NewEgg has already removed Sandy Bridge-based motherboards and complete systems from its Web site. It even removed Sandy Bridge processors, even though they weren't affected by this design error. The company has yet to issue a statement about how it will address affected products that have already shipped. Its return policy, however, is listed on the site: "Refunds are subject to a 15 percent restocking fee."

PC juggernauts, HP and Dell, have begun taking pre-orders on Sandy Bridge desktops, with preliminary ship dates as early as February 15.

"Dell and Intel are in communication regarding the design issue in the recently released Intel 6 Series (Sandy Bridge) support chip, code-name Cougar Point," Dell said in a statement. "This affects four currently-available Dell products, the XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3, as well as several other planned products including XPS 17 with 3D. We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available."

HP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rumor has it that Intel will make an official announcement soon about how the recalls will be handled from its end. And all the motherboard, desktop, and laptop suppliers will follow up with their own announcements soon after.

Toshiba launches new range of laptops

These laptops have been designed for tech savvies using and feature one of the most advanced and latest PC technologies. The Personal Computer Division of Toshiba India Private Ltd, has launched its new range of laptops that offer new age technology at the World of Laptop Innovations Exhibition held from January 26, 2011 through January 30, 2011 in Mumbai.

The Exhibition takes various visitors including enthusiastic technoholics through a journey of advanced technology and innovations. These laptops have been designed for tech savvies using and feature one of the most advanced and latest PC technologies.

Qosmio X500, Netbook NB520, Satellite A660 and Protégé R700 are 4 new range of laptops that are being displayed at the technology experience zones created by Toshiba India at the Exhibition. Qosmio X500 offers excellent gaming and graphic experience along with stunning display while Netbook NB520 integrating Harman/kardon® speakers provides rich sound of music that allows users sound quality and technology. Protégé R 700 offers stylish and trendy designs. These laptops are designed for a wider range of users including gamers, music lovers, and fashionistas.

Qosmio X500 is one of the new range of laptops that offers a roomy 18.4" FHD LCD display along with Intel® Core™ i7 processor (quad core).

This gaming laptop is designed for enthusiastic game lovers and provides excellent graphic experience along with impressive 8GB memory support. The laptop is available in fashionable gaming design along with illuminated keyboard and multimedia feather-touch buttons.

Netbook NB520 is designed for music lovers and is World’s First Netbook with harman/kardon® speakers along with stylish and trendy designs. The laptop provides best sound with Dolby Advanced Audio and Sleep and Music feature that allows users to use laptop speakers with their digital devices (MP3 players / cell phones) even when their laptop is switched off. This netbook is available in 5 trendy colors.

Protégé R700, a trendy and chic laptop, weighs only 1.39 kgs and provides airflow cooling along with easy guard technology which is backed by 3 years warranty that Toshiba India offers. This product is the Indian version of the world’s lightest 13.3-inch full performance laptop with inbuilt ODD. The Protégé R700 is designed keeping in mind the highly mobile professional lifestyle of mid and senior level managers who are seeking a thin, light and yet high performance laptop for easy portability.

Toshiba India also unveiled a new set of innovative laptop called Satellite A660 3D that provides leading innovation supported by quality and technology along with distinct and credible positioning. The Toshiba Satellite A660 laptop provides complete entertainment, excitement and home theatre experience that converts 2D video into 3D for enhanced movie watching experience. “The Satellite A660 laptop comes with the Clear Super View HD 3D display (120Hz) and wireless active shutter glasses offering out 3D world experience with NVIDIA® 3D VISION™ technology.

Speaking on the launch of new range of laptops in India, Tengguo Wu, Director, Toshiba India, said, “All our products stand to showcase Toshiba India’s enormous technical prowess and our commitment to influence the lives of people through our business activities. We are proud to launch our latest and finest range of laptops in the Indian market that will take the Indian technology market to another level.”