More on make use of mobile operator's Big Data

Summary: hear from SAP mobile services John Sims in how the new SAP Consumer Insight 365 service promises to change the way advertisers target you.

Last week I posted about how a new service from SAP mobile that is focused on creating a new demographic insight for consumer marketing.

So I thought I'd share with you this video, as my colleague Carolyn Fitton spoke to John Sims, President of SAP mobile services, if the service.

Diarmuid Mallon is the leading, Global Marketing Solutions – Mobile & containing application SAP Mobile Services division and SAP mobile solutions. He has worked in the mobile industry since 1996. Follow him at UberMobile and @diarmuidmallon.

British Government waste "three days of the year" booting up old world computers

A senior government official said that U.K. officials waste three days a year simply start up their aging computers.

The Government's incoming CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Stephen Kelly has warned that the British Government is stuck in prehistoric times when it comes to technology, and the ' old world ' standards will result in waste of time and money for Whitehall.

London's evening standard reports that Kelly considers plans to drag the Whitehall in the 21st century is "foot", and although the budget cuts have been made, maybe they are in the wrong areas.

I came into the Office and I pressed my PC and it took me seven minutes to start up, commented Kelly.

"It is the Government of the old world, which is three days out of the year I waste my time starting up. I think that the average cost of a year is about £ 6,000. You can go and buy 10 iPads per year. We have not had the confidence to say, ' it is not good enough. " We pay top dollar, with the best credit in the United Kingdom by far, and we'll get the best service. "

Many entrepreneurs seem to take the Government for a ride--and nothing is done about the officials pay £ 57 for a simple PC power cable, while the same brand can be purchased on Amazon for £ 20 and wholesale for £ 8.

Ignorance or laziness, that kind of public expenditure and the maintenance of such legacy IT contracts when officials pester if austerity measures are simply not acceptable.

It sprung to mind a conversation I had with a government official last year. The official said that the Internet entrepreneur system was so complicated that the company often paid up to £ 15,000 less text, change the local Council websites. something that previously designer I know would take only a few minutes.

If the British Government think wasting taxpayers ' money in such a way is an acceptable practice, it is a surprise they are unwilling to shell out for modern computers or maybe some tablets.

India's HCL Infosystems unveils ME Connect 2G 2.0 phablet

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AppId is over the quota

HCL Infosystem's latest addition to its product line is the 7-inch HCL ME Connect 2G 2.0 smartphone-tablet, more commonly known as a phablet.

The phablet is powered by a 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor with 1GB DDR3 RAM and 4GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB, according to a press release.

HCL ME Connect 2G 2.0.

The HCL ME Connect 2G 2.0 runs on the Google Android Jellybean 4.1 OS and is also equipped with support for 11 local Indian languages and face recognition to lock and unlock the device. As the name suggests, the HCL ME Connect 2G 2.0 phablet only offers 2G voice-calling.

The cameras are outdated, as it sports simply a 0.3MP camera on the front and the rear camera is no better at just 2.0MP. Clearly, this device would be passed on by consumers who want a device to take decent pictures as the resolution is far below current industry standards.

However, other promising features include 3G connectivity through a USB datacard (WCDMA/EVDO), which is not included with the device. The phablet does include both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as it also comes with an integrated Wi-Fi router which can be used to create a wireless hotspot. This is an interesting feature not seen on many devices; that is, a built-in router to create a wireless hotspot. This could be appealing for those who want to create mini hotspots in small areas within a small group of users.

The HCL ME Connect 2G 2.0 is priced attractively at just 8,499 rupees (US$150.30). This is quite a steal for the price in contrast to other Indian phablets from either Karbonn or Micromax. If anything, the HCL brand itself carries weight within India, and if leveraged effectively with a slick advertising and marketing campaign, HCL Infosystems could make a decent in the Indian market.

The question is what their intent is, to make a dent in the market or just enough of a presence to be noticed?

After all, HCL is a US$6 billion multinational company (MNC) and HCL Infosystems a US$1.8 billion firm. To be frank, if they really want to be ahead of the game, they need to tweak their products and make them more competitive. Running the latest Google OS is great, but having outdated cameras and the lack of built-in 3G capabilities on a phablet will turn away many users, but for some, perhaps this is in fact something that can be overlooked.

India's HCL Infosystems introduces me to connect 2 g 2.0 phablet

HCL Infosystem latest addition to their product line is 7-inch HCL ME Connect 2 g 2.0 smartphone tablet, more commonly known as a phablet.

Phablet is powered by a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor with 1 GB of DDR3 RAM and 4 GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32 GB, according to a news release.

HCL me connect 2 g 2.0.

HCL me connect 2 g 2.0 runs on Google Android Jellybean 4.1 OS and is also equipped with the support of 11 local Indian language and face detection to lock and unlock the device. As the name suggests, in the HCL ME Connect 2 g 2.0 phablet offers only 2 g voice calls.

The cameras are out of date, because the sport is simply a 0.3 MP camera on the front and rear camera is not better at just 2.0 MP. Clearly, this unit would be transferred by consumers who want a device to take good pictures, as the resolution is much lower than current standards.

However, include other promising features 3 g connectivity via a USB datacard (WCDMA/EVDO), which is not included in the unit. Phablet includes both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as it also comes with an integrated Wi-Fi router that can be used to create a wireless hotspot. This is an interesting feature not seen on many devices; There is a built-in router to create a wireless hotspot. This can be appealing for those who want to create mini hotspots in small areas within a small group of users.

HCL me connect 2 g 2.0 is priced attractively at just 8,499 rupees (US $ 150.30). This is a steal for the price, unlike other Indian phablets from Karbonn or Micromax. If anything, HCL the trademark itself carries weight within India, and if leveraged effectively with a clever advertising and marketing campaign, HCL Infosystems could make a decent in the Indian market.

The question is what their intention is to make a dent in the market or just enough presence to be felt?

HCL is a 6 billion dollar multinational corporation (MNC) and HCL Infosystems 1.8 billion dollar company. To be honest, if they really want to be in front, they need to fine-tune their products and make them more competitive. Running the latest Google OS is fine, but to have antiquated cameras and the lack of built-in 3 g capacity on a phablet turn off a lot of users, but for some, maybe this is actually something that can be overlooked.

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Google locks in 10-year Swedish wind deal for Finnish datacentre

Summary: Google has struck its first purchase power agreement in Europe, helping kick off a 72MW capacity wind project in northern Sweden.
Google will buy the entire output of a new 24-turbine wind farm in northern Sweden to power its datacentre in Finland.
Google on Tuesday announced its first European power purchase agreement with Swedish wind farm company O2, under which the internet giant has guaranteed to buy the 72MW capacity farm's entire output for 10 years.
German insurance company Allianz is bankrolling the project and will take over its first Swedish wind farm when it is scheduled to become operational in 2015, retaining O2 to maintain the facility.
Google's Finnish datacentre in Hamina (not far from St Petersburg, Russia) will not actually consume output from wind farm, which is located 800km away in the northern Swedish town Maevaara, which straddles the Övertorneå and Pajala municipalities.
Similar to Google's US 20-year agreements with wind farms in Iowa and Oklahoma, the 72MW output that Google buys in Sweden over 10 years will be sold at local market prices into the regional grid via Nord Pool Spot — a power trading market for the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. Google gets a Certificate of Origin from the Swedish farm which it can then use in Finland to consume an equivalent amount of energy.
Google expects to make a small net loss in the short term since "generic energy" is cheap. However, it expects the contracts to make money as power prices rise. In the US, it uses renewable energy credits (RECs) for its datacentre where one credit equals one megawatt-hour and helps the facility become treated as carbon free.
How Google's power purchase agreements work. Image: Google
The agreements differ slightly to the one it signed for another Oklahoma facility in Mayes County last year, where it contracted directly with a utility for the supply of 48MW of wind energy from the Canadian Hills Wind project in west central Oklahoma.
Liam Tung is an Australian business technology journalist living a few too many Swedish miles north of Stockholm for his liking. He gained a bachelors degree in economics and arts (cultural studies) at Sydney's Macquarie University, but hacked (without Norse or malicious code for that matter) his way into a career as an enterprise tech, security and telecommunications journalist with ZDNet Australia. These days Liam is a full time freelance technology journalist who writes for several Australian publications, including the Sydney Morning Herald online. He's interested primarily in how information technology impacts the way business and people communicate, trade, and consume.

Toshiba launches three 10.1-inch Android tablets

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AppId is over the quota

Toshiba has added three 10.1-inch Android tablets to its Excite lineup, priced from US$299 to US$599.

The first is the Excite Pure.

According to CNET, the tablet comes equipped with industry standard 1280x800 resolution display and is powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The tablet has a 1.2 MP front camera but oddly enough, no rear camera. The tablet runs on the Google Android 4.2.2 OS and has 16GB of storage. The storage on the tablet can also be expanded through a microSD card slot, as the tablet also offers connectivity through Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB. The Toshiba Excite Pure is priced at 16,876 rupees (US$299).

Excite Pure (Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

The second tablet is the Excite Pro.

This is priced at 28,164 rupees (US$499). What makes this tablet different from Excite Pure is that it runs Nvidia's new Tegra 4 processor and the Google Android Jellybean OS. The resolution is also enhanced at 2560x1600 resolution display. The cameras are also are a far improvement from the Excite Pure, as the Excite Pro has a 1.3 MP front camera and 8 MP rear camera. It comes in a 32GB storage variant and sports dual Harman Kardon speakers. Just like the Excite Pure, the Excite Pro also has Micro-HDMI, Micro-USB, and microSD ports.

Excite Pro. (Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Finally, the third new tablet being introduced by Toshiba is the Excite Write.

Priced at 33,808 rupees (US$599). As the name would suggest, this tablet allows the user to write with a Wacom digitizer that comes with the tablet. The Excite Pro and Excite Write are fundamentally the same tablet, with nearly identical specs and designs. The Excite Write is in direct competition against the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. The Samsung Galaxy Note series has software that supports the S-Pen functionalities, while the Toshiba Excite Write does not. The tablet currently comes with only one app to make full use of the stylus, which is Toshiba's own TruNote note-taking app. Furthermore, the Toshiba Write does not have a slot to hold the stylus for the tablet as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 does.

Excite Write. (Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Personally, if I had to choose from the three, I would go with the Excite Pro simply because for the price the specifications are amazing. I've never been a real fan of writing on devices or using the stylus, and even though the price difference between the Excite Pro and Excite Write is simply for the additional writing capabilities, again, this is something I can live without right now.

What's also appealing to me, in addition to being sold on the Toshiba name, is the addition of Harman Kardon speakers. Anyone who knows their music will recognize Harman Kardon as being one of the best in the industry, and it's great to see their products being incorporated within mobile devices. 

IDC: Smartphones will eventually surpass feature phone shipments in 2013

The mobile industry is on the verge of a major turning point, according to a new report from the International Data Corporation.

See also: Canalys forecasts one billion Android smartphone sales in 2017 and rapid growth for Windows Phone

Market intelligence company reported on Tuesday that global smartphone shipments are expected to reach approximately 958.8 million units.

It is a 32.7 percent increase from 722.5 million units in 2012.

More important, IDC analyst predicted that this will be the year that smartphones surpass feature phones in total cell phone shipments all over the world.

Specifically, analysts expect that smartphones will account for 52.2 percent of all mobile phone shipments by the end of 2013.

Ramon Llamas, a research manager at IDC mobile devices team, stressed the importance of this shift in the report goes so far as to describe 2013 as a "watershed year for smartphones."

If you look at the number of vendors that support both feature phones and smartphones, many of them have not only successfully transferred their product portfolios to select smartphones, but smartphones have become their primary value proposition going forward. In some cases, smartphones accounted for over 50% of their quarterly shipment volume. Going forward, we expect that the gap between smartphones and feature phones to grow ever wider.

IDC's report on Tuesday is similar with another published by IHS iSuppli last november. The forecast use NAND Flash memory concerned in particular, signaling a major SHIFT that will directly affect the supply chain partners as soon as this year.

However, Nielsen issued an industry survey in January 2013, positing that smartphones still have "room to grow" in several top emerging markets at least.

As for six months ago found Nielsen to feature phones, which researchers defined as "devices without touch screen, QWERTY keyboard and operating system" is far more dominant in India and Russia, covering 80 per cent and 51 per cent of mobile users, respectively.

Chart via IDC

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