Bangladesh Technolgy News: November 2013

Saturday 30 November 2013

Consumers can buy glass bottle 200m and 250ml, PET 400ml, 500ml, 600ml Coca-Cola bottles with special FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour (FWCTT) labels on them and SMS the unique code under the cap/crown of the bottle to participate in the biggest marketing campaign of Coca-Cola in Bangladesh. Exclusive chance to win tickets to the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola to be held in Dhaka from 17-19 December, 2013. In tital 4500 winners will get 2 passes each; one pass admits one person only. The promotion is valid from November 1 to December 14, 2013. Winners will be notified on a weekly basis, on specified days in November and December 2013. Coca-Cola Bangladesh is launching a special ‘Under-the-Crown’ (UTC) campaign for the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour (FWCTT), scheduled to be in Dhaka from 17-19 December, 2013. In total 4500 consumers can win 2 exclusive passes to see the authentic, solid gold FIFA World Cup™ trophy in Dhaka on 18 December 2013. The consumer campaign is open to all resident of Bangladesh, above the age of 18 having a mobile phone. The offer is only valid on glass bottle 200ml and 250 ml and special FWCTT promotional packs of PET 400, PET 500, PET 600ml and consumers can type COKE (space) eight (08) digit unique code’ (Example: COKE 92346076), from their mobile phones to 9934. The Coca-Cola Company in partnership with FIFA and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is working together to bring the coveted FIFA World Cup™ Trophy to Bangladesh. This will be the first time that the authentic, solid gold FIFA World Cup™ trophy will be arriving in the country. “Coca-Cola is bringing the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy to Bangladesh for the first time and it will be a historic event for everyone in Bangladesh. We want consumers to connect with their passion for football and as Coca-Cola, we are very excited to have this spectacular opportunity to open happiness for the people of Bangladesh. The only way for consumers across Bangladesh to get tickets to see the Trophy is through our UTC Campaign, so we encourage consumers to participate in this campaign. We hope football fans enjoy the special prize of being at Bangabandhu National Stadium to see the real FIFA World Cup™ Trophy on December 18, 2013 – it is a rare experience and we are happy that we can be a small part of this special and joyous moment for them.” said Debasish Deb, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Bangladesh. Every participant can receive free FIFA Trophy Tour downloads like wallpapers, mobile phone ring tones, the official Coca-Cola anthem sung by David Correy for the FIFA Trophy Tour etc. Participants must retain the closure with the Unique Code, and produce them for verification in order to claim their ticket, if and when they are declared winners. Each crown can only be used once and all prizes are subject to validation and verification. “We are very happy that we have the chance to bring the official FIFA World Cup™ Trophy to the people of Bangladesh. More than 9,000 football fans will have the opportunity to witness the authentic Trophy LIVE and be a part of this historic event so we are very happy that we can be a part of the consumer’s passion for football and give them this once-in-a-life-time opportunity.” added Deb. The global FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour™ by Coca-Cola kicked off with an official launch ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 12 September 2013. The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour™ by Coca-Cola will be the most inclusive, participatory event ever, inviting fans around the world to get up close and personal with the same trophy that is presented by FIFA to the country winning the FIFA World Cup™. In 2010, when Coca-Cola and FIFA took the trophy to 94 cities in 84 countries, it provided more than 500,000 fans across five continents, an opportunity to be a part of the trophy tour celebrations. This year, the tour will also be visiting 50 new countries that have never had the opportunity to host the trophy before. The UTC activation is being supported by activation on online, print, radio and tv as well as through posters and outdoor avenues.

Motorola Moto G: a £135 smart phone to boost market

After a series of leaks more closely resembling a flood, the Google-owned Motorola has officially unveiled its latest budget smartphone, the Moto G.

The Moto G is currently on sale in the UK from £135 off-contract and comes with a base-line of 8GB of memory. There is a 16GB model available too with £159 price. The Moto G also comes with a 4.5-inch 1280x720 HD screen, a 5-megapixel camera on the back and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front. Although the phone runs the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS, Motorola have pledged a “guaranteed upgrade” for some time in the future. Inside, there’s also a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. As per Motorola announcement the Moto G packs an “all-day battery”, and also announced that it will have 1GB of RAM. The dimensions of the phone are 65.9 x 129.9 x 11.6mm, and it will weigh 143g. Furthermore, as was expected, the Moto G won’t be able to support 4G networks, reports The Independent.

Android grows smartphone market share

Google`s Android operating system grew its share of the smartphone market to 81.0 percent in the third quarter, equal to 211.6 million phones shipped, according to estimates from IDC.

Samsung accounted for just under half the Android shipments, reports telecompaper.com. Android increased its share from 74.9 percent a year earlier, while Apple’s iOS fell to 12.9 percent from 14.4 over the same period. Microsoft’s Windows showed the strongest growth, increasing its share from 2.0 percent in Q3 2012 to 3.6 percent this year. BlackBerry fell over the same period to 1.7 percent from 4.1. IDC attributed the growth in Android and Microsoft to the companies’ pricing strategies, offering a full range of devices for the low end of the mass market. The market researcher estimates the average selling price for a smartphone was down 12.5 percent in the third quarter to USD 317. This comes despite the growing number of large-screen phones, which sell for a notably higher average price of USD 443. IDC estimates that phablets of at least 5 inches already accounted for 21 percent of the smartphone market in Q3. Apple’s lack of a large screen device may result in a further erosion of its market share in Q4.

Samsung, Nokia extend patent license deal

Samsung has extended a patent license agreement between Nokia and Samsung for five years. The agreement would have expired at the end of 2013.

Under the terms of the extended agreement, Samsung will pay additional compensation to Nokia for the period commencing from 1 January 2014 onwards, and the amount of such compensation shall be finally settled in a binding arbitration which is expected to be concluded during 2015. Nokia will retain its patent portfolio following the proposed transaction to sell substantially all of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft and plans to further invest in innovation, and actively manage its patent portfolio and licensing activities.

A smartphone app designed to give early warning of earthquakes could be ready as early as next year, according to scientists at the World Science Forum in Rio de Janeiro. Researchers from the University of California showed off the project this week at a conference on how to use technology to ward off natural disasters, reports NDTV. The app is based on technology used in an early warning system prepared by a team under Professor Richard Allen, director of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. California has already embraced the concept of an early warning network, with Governor Jerry Brown signing a bill in September mandating the creation of a system. The smartphone app is capable of providing an alert between a few seconds and one minute before a tremor hits, depending on where an individual using it is in relation to the epicenter. To do this, the app captures initial energy from the tremor, the so-called P wave or primary wave, which rarely itself causes damage. The technology uses algorithms to detect rapidly when a quake is starting and determine its strength and location and when it is likely to reach its zenith and alert residents in potentially affected areas. The algorithms use data from regional networks monitoring seismic networks.

In the case of cell phones, those located at the actual epicenter of the quake will not receive the early warning. But the tremors detected by the system will be transmitted in a chain to other receivers so that those a few kilometers (miles) away will be able to react to cloud-based data and glean more information on what is happening where and what is likely to happen next. "All we need is a telephone at the epicenter of the quake which detects it and sends the information (saying) `I felt a jolt, I am in this place` to a server," explained Allen. "There are many phones simultaneously doing this to enable the server to determine the site and magnitude of the quake to send people further away a warning. These warnings include (information on) how much time to the start of the tremor and also its intensity." The warning gives people precious time to seek out a secure place of refuge and halt industrial activity or transport, thereby reducing risk to the public at large. The app uses various smartphone functions such as accelerometers and gyroscopes to determine movement, as well as GPS and Wi-Fi localization functions as well as a magnetometer to indicate direction. The software makes use of the fact that there are 16 million smartphones in California alone and about one billion globally that are ever more interconnected. The app will first be tested across a pool of several thousand users. Once it is fully rolled out it will be free via a coded access. The biennial World Science Forum, held over three days this week in Rio after moving for the first time outside Budapest since its 2003 launch, brings together scientists, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and researchers to debate issues of science policy. The main theme of this year`s event was "Science for Global Sustainable Development."

Sony files patent for `SmartWig`

Sony has filed a patent application for "SmartWig", as firms jostle for the lead in the wearable technology sector.

According to its filing, the SmartWig can help navigate roads, change slides during a presentation and collect information such as blood pressure. Sony said the wig will be able to process data and communicate wirelessly with another external device. Google and Samsung are among the firms that have launched products in wearable technology - seen as a key growth area. "Wearable gadgets are definitely going to be one of the big areas of growth over the next two years," Andrew Milroy, an analyst with consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, told the BBC. "And Sony - which is trying to regain some of the sheen it has lost in recent years - clearly understands that and wants to play a major role in the sector." `Very popular` The Japanese firm said the SmartWig can be worn on the head of a user "in addition to natural hair". The company said the wig could be made from horse hair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair or any kind of synthetic material. At the same time, the communication interface and sensors placed in the wig are at least partly covered by parts of the wig in order to be hidden from sight during use. It said that as a result, the device has the potential to become "very popular" as it could be used as a "technically intelligent item and fashion item at the same time". "The usage of a wig has several advantages that, compared to known wearable computing devices, include a significantly increased user comfort and an improved handling of the wearable computing device." Potential uses Sony listed various potential uses of the SmartWig in its filing, including helping blind people navigate roads. It said that a small video camera or a sensor on the wig can help provide the position and the location of the wearer. Google Glass Sony said the SmartWig will be compatible with other devices such as glasses and smartphones A remote user can then use the images provided and send vibration commands through the network and navigate the wig user manually to a desired destination. "Although navigation systems based on vibration motors have been widely introduced, a navigation system integrated into a wig... is so far not known," the firm said. A further potential improvement of the wig may use ultrasound waves to detect objects around a user. Sony said the gaming industry or "any type of virtual reality appliance" could also be an "interesting field" of use for the device, though it did not provide any details. It could also have uses in the healthcare sector, as a combination of sensors can help collect information such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure of the wearer. "The system can detect these kinds of data naturally and transmit them to the server computer," it said. The device can also be used during presentations where a wearer can "move to the next presentation slide or back to the preceding presentation slide by simply raising his/her eyebrows".

Vietnam to fine people for critical Facebook posts

Vietnam has intensified a crackdown on online dissent with a new decree that threatens fines of several thousand dollars for anybody criticising the government on Facebook.

The legislation, which will come into force in January, looks set to further narrow the space for online expression in a country already branded an ‘enemy of the Internet’ by Reporters Without Borders. ‘A fine of up to US$4,760 will be applied to anyone producing propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’, according to a copy of ‘decree 174’ posted on a government website, reports The Straits Times. Undermining national unity, ‘distorting historical facts’ and writing comments on Facebook that ‘hurt the nation’ have all also become administrative offences punishable by a sliding scale of fines.

Saturday 23 November 2013