SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 7, 2012 ­- UBM TechWeb announced the acquisition of 4G World from Yankee Group.

4G World is the largest event in the world covering the entire ecosystem of 4G technologies and business models that power the mobile Internet industry and economy. The massive growth in the 4G marketplace – predicted to grow to 2.5 billion subscribers in 2016 according to Pyramid Research – fuels the demand for a conference and expo to bring key stakeholders together to discuss, debate and evaluate the most important 4G topics, opportunities and solutions. 4G World is happening Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, 2012 at McCormick Place in Chicago. For more information, visit http://www.4gworld.com/.

“The 4G market and 4G World is right in our sweet spot,” said Lenny Heymann, UBM TechWeb Executive Vice President and Group General Manager.  “4G World serves a fast growing market that will immediately utilize our conference expertise and infrastructure, taps into our thriving Light Reading and InformationWeek online communities and databases of service provider and enterprise tech decision makers, and provides a powerful event platform for 4G marketers around the globe.”

Heading up the 4G World program will be Berge Ayvazian, the founding Conference Chair for 4G World and before that, WiMAX World. Ayvazian is currently Senior Analyst with UBM TechWeb’s Heavy Reading where he manages the research company’s 4G Consulting Business and has spent 30 spent years covering and advising the global communications market, including serving as former CEO of Yankee Group.

“With the rapid adoption of 4G mobile broadband technologies such as LTE, HSPA+, and WiMAX LTE, and an endless appetite for mobile broadband from both enterprise businesses and consumers, 4G holds significant potential to transform business and how people communicate, work and socialize,“ said  Ayvazian.  “I am excited to put the UBM TechWeb resources to work at 4G World, creating a brand and event that brings together the entire 4G ecosystem of carriers, their enterprise customers, application developers, key industry associations, and industry experts from other major research and media companies.”

4G World 2011 attracted over 8,500 registered attendees and featured over 250 sponsors and exhibitors, over 80 interactive sessions featuring 20 speakers and 30 mobile operator case studies, an Expo show floor, rich networking opportunities, and an awards ceremony.

Follow 4G World on Twitter @4GWorld become a fan of 4G World on Facebook or join 4G World on LinkedIn.

About UBM TechWeb

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its three core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and paid content – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands and media applications in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs and IT managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software Developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively engage in UBM TechWeb’s communities and information resources monthly. UBM TechWeb brands include: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and Enterprise Connect; award-winning online resources such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Network Computing; and market-leading magazines InformationWeek, Wall Street & Technology, and Advanced Trading. UBM TechWeb is a UBM plc company, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

About 4G World

4G World is the first and only conference and expo covering the entire ecosystem of next-generation 4G technologies that enable the mobile Internet revolution, including mobile network infrastructure, advanced devices, applications and content. 4G World offers operators an opportunity to research state-of-the-practice business models and advanced mobile technologies, and learn from other operators about what works—and what doesn’t—as they migrate their networks to 4G. For more information, visit www.4GWorld.com

Thousands of http://www.didx.net members are mobile operators, carriers, service providers, mobile voip companies, MVNOs, or application entrepreneurs. Many of them participate in 4G World conferences. DIDX and Techistan are also a media partner for 4G World.

Avvasi Inc., the award-winning leader in video traffic management and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile communication service providers (CSPs), has launched Q-VUE 2.1, its latest analytics solution for the real-time measurement of video quality and usage trends of OTT video traffic. Avvasi video analytics eclipse traditional deep packet inspection (DPI) based network analytics, offering highly detailed measurement capabilities that report subscriber usage demographics and video-based QoE. Avvasi’s proprietary and patent pending QoE indicators provide objective indicators that are highly correlated to the subjective quality experienced by the subscriber.

Q-VUE 2.1 is the only analytics solution to provide separate indicators that account for both network conditions of video delivery (such as the spinning hour glass), and the visual fidelity or presentation quality of the video content. Providing real-time subscriber analytics means these indicators can be integrated into service provider charging and policy systems, to enable powerful use cases for operations, marketing and services teams.

OTT video generates approximately 50% of mobile and fixed internet traffic1. This heavy bandwidth demand results in fluctuating video quality on smartphones and tablets, and dissatisfied subscribers.

As OTT video traffic continues to grow, experts agree that measuring OTT video quality is a requirement before any CSP can monetize these services and offset the cost of carrying this traffic on their networks.

CSPS using Avvasi Q-VUE 2.1 to collect the detailed usage and quality information strive to understand new usage trends and are able to plan video-based revenue-generating services.

“Avvasi’s Q-VUE 2.1 is designed ground-up for the challenges of OTT video, and is battle hardened.” said Mate Prgin, president and CEO of Avvasi. “Since its inaugural launch two years ago, Q-VUE is the culmination of tens of thousands of hours of monitoring enormous volumes of traffic, rigorous network testing and feedback from some of the most innovative CSPs, all of whom recognize that collecting in- depth analytics is crucial to their business”.

Service providers adopting Q-VUE 2.1 will benefit from a variety of unique capabilities, including:

• QoE measurement of adaptive streaming protocols such as HTTP Live Streaming (Apple streaming format), and Netflix.

• Ability to monitor both delivery quality of video as well as presentation quality independently.

• Improved scalability – capability to monitor multiple 10Gb/s links.

A number of leading network providers are already using Q-VUE 2.1, with WIND Mobile the latest CSP to Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2010–2015. February 1, 2011.

On the second Tuesday of May 2011, the planet’s biggest software business disclosed it had begun an agreement to buy the Luxembourg-based entity who created possibly the Internet’s hottest Web-based phone service ever. What price did Skype go for … to Microsoft? Eight point five billion!

Results of a survey of various people from different walks of life regarding the new decade’s most exciting online purchase:

Michael Bowen, who is in the human performance technologist industry based in Florida, says, “My knee-jerk response was unprintable. I guess it lets them play in the VoIP ‘game.’ $8.5B seems steep for an entry into the market; no worse than $50K for a Hawai’i Ironman entry on auction. Yahoo reader mentioned ‘kiss free web-based phone calls good-bye.’ Doubt that, but expect a mash into MS Office/IE.”

Sohaib Alvi, CEO of Sage Consultants based in Pakistan and UAE ponders, “I just wonder what they will do to justify this price and what strategy they could possibly have to make money out of this? Must be something of technical value or some synergy that will save them billions over the next few years. I mean, eBay bought it and then dumped it at some 2 billion dollars loss. Wonder what Gates & Co are up to here? Don’t know much about technology back-end but maybe they’ll offer Skype free with their OS.

At the moment some Skype services are chargeable. Remember OSes are becoming redundant as every app begins to get incorporated into the browser. Or maybe they launch a browser with Skype in it for the mobile users. I think Skype knows something too because they refused Google and Facebook who were also offering them around 5 billion, I read.

I think something has happened that has suddenly made the service that Skype offers the next big thing coming that most of us do not know about.”

Alok Saboo, popular VoIP blogger in California, shares, “Past is not always a good predictor of the future. The amount that MS paid for Skype is open to debate, but, we must realize, that the value that MS paid for Skype, depends on the potential synergies (which is difficult for outsiders to evaluate completely). In addition to the technology and reach that Skype brings, it also provides a great way to engage with the ‘hip’ crowd.”

Joshua Alfrejd, a gadget reviewer from Michigan for Techistan magazine and other online sites relates, “Microsoft has the power, the money, the experience and the respect. Skype is cool. It’s kind of like Level 3 and Amazon have the power, the money, the experience and the respect while DIDX and Pandora Radio are cool. I hope that Microsoft does thinks like MTV is … mixing voice, video, and 3D for music concerts and other kinds of events. Also maybe they can leave the free service as is but also make available a premium service that can be embedded into the current business suite that Microsoft offers. Great move by both parties, and both stand to reap advantages in popularity and new revenue.”

Ayesha Ambreen, Business Analyst at Clary Business Machines in Washington, D.C.,“Microsoft is already sufficient in communication technologies. They don’t need Skype. Microsoft Lync is far more capable in terms of communication. This is rather a defensive move by Microsoft. I think the acquisition is to prevent Skype’s merger with Facebook – birth of a compelling rival in unified communications. The core of Microsoft strategies is unification, and I doubt Skype will fit now or in future. Microsoft is either going to kill Skype or will put Lync’s cover on Skype features. $8.5 Billion spending is anticipated to standout and bring boost to Microsoft unified communication initiative, with no contention and competition in near future. Expand the scope of near … till Facebook or Google will produce a competent communication tool.

Whether incorporated on Browser or Mobile, OS is fundamental. Microsoft Azure is the cloud OS for browser-based communication and is already compatible with Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Communication suite.”

Bryan Capouch from UK counters, “I laughed out loud when I heard it was going to go down. Skype is the Afghanistan of dot-com companies; it will suck life out of Micro$oft just like it did eBay. Eight years now and they’re still not making money!”

Ayesha Ambreen adds, “lol! You are underestimating Microsoft then! Microsoft is known for its well informed and apt decision making. Despite continuous threats from Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and numerous other, Microsoft is the leader because of its strategies that are made for long run and not just impulsive as of eBay.”

Bryan Capouch, states, “Time will tell. Microsoft hasn’t ever innovated anything, starting with their ripping off various other DOSs which morphed into MSDOS. Windows = Mac, Explorer = Netscape, Bing = Google, the list is endless. They were really lucky, and all that’s keeping them going now is the flywheel effect. I’m willing to bet a nickel the world will come around to my point of view on the Skype purchase to anyone who cares to take me up on it!

I will say Skype is a perfect fit for Microsoft in that they are inimical to standards and openness.”

News about Skype: http://skype-news.tmcnet.com/Default.aspx

HOLMDEL, N.J., April, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), a leading provider of low-cost communications services connecting individuals through broadband devices worldwide, today introduced the World Premium Unlimited calling plan. This new offering builds on the value of the popular World plan by expanding the number of countries for unlimited(1) calling from 60 to 80, including unlimited calling to mobile phones in 42 countries.

“People who make international calls to mobiles are frustrated by the huge premiums they pay to their phone company,” said Mike Tempora, senior vice president of product management for Vonage. “World Premium provides these callers with the peace of mind to call any landline or mobile number in 42 countries including Brazil, Costa Rica, Japan, Australia, France, Spain and the UK for one flat price. Customers who use World Premium Unlimited to call as little as one hour a week to mobile phones in countries like Mexico and the UK will save over $400 a year versus the best pay per minute rates from major phone companies.”

The World Premium Unlimited plan is $54.99/month (plus taxes and fees). The service uses a high-speed Internet connection and an existing home phone. For more details on the World Premium Unlimited calling plan, please click here.

About Vonage

Vonage (NYSE: VG) is a leading provider of low-cost communications services connecting individuals through broadband devices worldwide. Our technology serves approximately 2.4 million subscribers. We provide feature-rich, affordable communication solutions that offer flexibility, portability and ease-of-use. Our Vonage World plan offers unlimited calling to more than 60 countries with popular features like call waiting, call forwarding and voicemail — for one low monthly rate. Vonage’s service is sold on the web and through regional and national retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and is available to customers in the U.S. (www.vonage.com), Canada (www.vonage.ca) and the United Kingdom (www.vonage.co.uk).

Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Vonage® is a registered trademark of Vonage Marketing Inc., a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp.

To follow Vonage on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/vonage_voice. To become a fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/vonage.

(1) Unlimited calling is subject to our Reasonable Use Policy and Terms of Service. All residential plans are based on normal residential, personal use by single-family household members. See Vonage.com for details.

vg-a
SOURCE Vonage
News Provided by Acquire Media

Real friends don’t keep secrets, says VonageUK. Techistan agrees and its many friends around the world are waiting for Vonage to offer phone numbers from every country. Share the wealth and advise your friends and acquaintances to apply for one or more of the Techistan International Awards at http://www.tinyurl.com/techistaninternationalawards.

Brian Divelbiss shares how aisle411, Inc. makes grocery shopping a blissful experience. Listen up, Publix, Carrefour, SuperValu, Safeway, Winn Dixie and Kroger.

The mobile application enables consumers to search, find and map everything they are looking for while shopping right down to the section of the aisle within a grocery store.

One of people’s pet peeves is searching for long periods of time for something when you’re in a hurry in a hardware, grocery or other type of store … and sometimes the “help” is not ready to help.

Aisle411 has created a user experience utilizing * geo-fencing where the consumer actually has the ability to be recognized the minute you park in the grocery store parking lot. Using GPS, Aisle411 knows the consumer is in the particular store. In fact, as opposed to having ten different apps for ten different stores, one app will take you inside of any of the ’stores on board’ experience.

A sophisticated voice recognition technology lets the shopper speak to the app and say what you are looking for. One can build shopping lists.

Even map one’s entire shopping list ahead of time for the most convenient path possible (in a world where time is more valuable than ever.) While following your map, stop anywhere to scan barcodes for reviews by other consumers, too. Check to see if there are any offers and virtual coupons one can use.

For example, it may even provide consumers with suggestions. Imagine buying vanilla ice cream and the app lets one know also where the chocolate syrup and cherries are.

Does Aisle411 have a special agreement with consumers and retailers?

It is free to the retailer and to the consumer to use. Retailers are invited to get together with Aisle411. In fact, Aisle411 has been bombarded with retailers asking, how do they participate?

Aisle411 uses publicly available data about the products in a stores and where they are, and then they crowd-source for the remainder of information needed. In fact, consumers are rewarded for informing Aisle411 where items are at.

Some of the retailers currently tapping into Aisle411 are ShopNSav which is a part of the European chain SuperValu. Also Schnucks which has 90 supermarkets in St. Louis and the Midwestern United States.

“We are working with 1500 stores already and are adding an average of 150 more week,” says Brian Divelbiss.

* What is geo fencing? A Geo-fence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. A geo-fence could be dynamically generated – as in a radius around a store or point location. Or a geo-fence can be a predefined set of boundaries, like school attendance zones or neighborhood boundaries.

When the location-aware device of a location-based service (LBS) user enters or exits a geo-fence, the device receives a generated notification. This notification might contain information about the location of the device. The geo-fence notice might be sent to a mobile telephone or an email account.

Visit related websites: http://aisle411.com/, http://www.showstoppers.com/, http://www.techistan.com online magazine, http://www.ctiawireless.com conferences and http://www.didx.net online wholesale telephony and wireless companies’ direct inward dialing phone number marketplace.

Watch the video to see how it was supposed to work.

The T-Mobile Bobsled voice over Internet service announced a little over a week ago which let Facebook users make calls on Facebook to each other. We clicked to try the service, but it doesn’t work today. Why? According to their Facebook page, T-Mobile has temporarily suspended the Bobsled service.

The message says:

We are voluntarily and temporarily suspending the Bobsled service as we work with our partners at Facebook to address their design questions, including working to ensure that the Bobsled experience is clearly differentiated and is not mistaken for a Facebook created property. We apologize to oru customers for this temporary disruption in service.

Did anyone try Bobsled when it was working? It appears that T-Mobile didn’t like how the service appeared to users. It didn’t show clearly that the service belongs to T-Mobile and that Facebook was not the one that created Bobsled service. Something like that … hope the two global conglomerates make up soon!

Time to test your knowledge of the states of India.

Guwahati, India: Reliance Communications, on April 22, 2011, announced the launch of its 3G services in 24 locations in the Northeast part of India, making them the first operator to do so.

The company today launched 3G services in Guwahati and Shillong (areas of India), which will be followed by 15 locations in Assam and nine in the Northeast next month.

The nine places in the Northeast where 3G services will be launched are Agartala, Kohima, Dimapur, Imphal, Aizawl, Itanagar, Naharlagun and Tura.

Reliance Communications on Wednesday said it has launched mobile banking services for its GSM subscribers in collaboration with the State Bank of India (SBI).

“Reliance consumers can use facilities like balance enquiry, mini statement, fund transfer, cheque book issuance, mobile recharge and bill payment at any time and place through the use of their cell phones,” the company said in a statement.

Get the complete press release on The Telegraph regarding the launch of 3G by Reliance Communications in new areas of India.

So for those who were hollering, “Ack! Skype and fring voice and video integration doesn’t work anymore! Wah. Wah. Wah … friend has a great announcement. Hurry over and try it.

London, United Kingdom, 27 April 2011. fring, the mobile communication service that pioneered mobile video over internet calls in 2009, today announces the world’s first mobile group video calls for iPhone & Android devices.

With fring’s Group Video calling, four fring friends can now share a simultaneous video call, for free, on their mobile phone (on Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G) using fring’s proprietary DVQ™ technology, that delivers the highest quality video for all four participants.

fring is the 1st company to bring mobile Group Video calling across platforms, for free, so that users can see all their friends at the same time, and on one screen. fring’s service unshackles users from their PCs, and frees them from heavy PC-based Group Video calling fees.

“fring leap-frogs sluggish, expensive PC Group Video Calling solutions by giving users the world’s 1st mobile Group Video service, free. There is no reason why users need to run home to their PC in order to have a ‘spontaneous’ video call with their friends and family. Users love seeing all their friends at the same time, on one screen, but want to be able to do it, when and where they want,” said Avi Shechter, Co-Founder & CEO of fring. “Just as fring was the 1st to liberate video calls from the PC back in 2009, we are the 1st to give users the ability to see all their friends on their phone at the same time, anywhere. This video call revolution lets fringsters be free to get together, wherever.”

In addition to free Group Video calling, fring enables users to make free 2 way video calls, voice calls and chat with friends on Android, iPhone/iPod touch & Nokia Smartphones.

fring group video is available from Apple’s App Store and the Android Market. A demo video is available here.

About fring™

fring (www.fring.com) is a mobile communication service that gives users rich, fun communication from their mobile phones. fring users make free Group Video calls, video calls, voice calls and chat.

Users can also make calls to any landline or mobile phone worldwide from 1c/minute using fringOut.

fring leverages the mobile phone’s internet connection to create these communication experiences. fring is available on all major Smartphones (including iPhone/ iPod touch, Android and Nokia), on any mobile operator, and any mobile internet connection (3G/4G, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE).

fring continues to grow exponentially with tens of millions of users in more than 200 countries, adding more than a million new Smartphone users every month.

fring® fringster™ fring™ logo and the DVQ™ are all trademarks of fringland Ltd.

For more information, please contact: press@fring.com , Tel: (+972) 549-439-836

The video that shows how fring USED to work with Skype, but now, totally cool, fring has done it themselves on iPhone and Android. You rock, fring! From Techistan community all over the world.

Vu TelePresence® shares an ideal way to say “NO” to impersonal voice conference calls and unnecessary expensive and exhaustive travel. For many reasons, it is a better way to do business. For example, it provides a luxurious experience of HD quality video among all parties on calls — and even, surprisingly on low bandwidth and a low budget.

A major part of their aim is to replace one of the most revolutionary inventions ever: the Telephone.

Vu TelePresence and their CEO Devita Saraf, wish to transform the way businesses connect with their clients by replacing everyday voice calls with face-to-face interactions in true high definition quality. The convenience of HD quality conferencing with eye contact, life-like images, and distortion free sound are just a few of the advantages.

The company has the ability to display presentations, documents, browsers, and any application. It also provides an excellent platform for events such ones recently planned with PGA* and also in large numbers of participants such as in a Web conference.

Techistan’s technology entrepreneur Suzanne Bowen grabbed the opportunity to interview Devita Saraf of Vu TelePresence who is herself a two-time founder and entrepreneur. A third female entrepreneur Christine Oneto of GirlsinTech recently wrote about Devita, “Her amazing journey from USC undergraduate to corporate leader is one I am lucky to begin following.”

Topics discussed and a summary follow, but if the reader (you) prefers to listen, feel free to click on the “Podcast” link just ahead. Listen and keep working on other things at your office, home, in your car, while waiting in line anywhere …

Part one of the audio podcast with Devita Saraf of Vu Telepresence:

Part two of the audio podcast with Devita Saraf of Vu Telepresence:

On verveonline.com, Ms. Saraf does show her well-deserved confidence when asked about being a young woman in a male-dominated field. She replied, “Since everyone is highly educated they treat me with respect…and of course, my visiting card commands deference.”

So true, Devita! She was born in India with a family who has a successful history in business. She studied in USA with an emphasis in marketing. Ms. Saraf just has a natural inclination for entrepreneurship and even began testing her ideas as a teen-ager.

Vu Telepresence, her newest company, is a part of the Zenith Group.

Vu Technologies, Ms. Saraf’s first company, is a luxury technology. It is a high-end television brand targeted to India — the youngest television brand in India, but much more premium than older brands. Thinking on a more global plan, she next, launched Vu Telepresence. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. in the USA. The co-founder is Devita Saraf’s brother Akash Saraf. Together, they have taken the brand to increasingly popularity in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, India, and Europe. Singapore is next.

An interesting fact is that Vu Telepresence was created with a codec that the company developed on its own. It allows compression of data, overcoming problems regarding bandwidth, jitter, and other issues. The service delivers in HD quality.

The Vu Telepresence customers are in the industries of medicine, law, enterprise and business, those with remote workers, education, and hospitality.

Using an HD quality video service such as Vu Telepresence makes users not want to go back to just audio conference calls. People can see each other’s facial expressions and body language to understand more about the conversation taking place, for example. Plus, the service includes document sharing, too.

Devita says, “Another thing that we have done that no one else has done in the telepresence industry is what we call the ‘Vu Telepoint.’ It is a physical point in a business center room, about 120 square feet. Go to VuTelepoint.com. Choose a location you are at. Then choose a location of where you want to view someone at. Choose the time for all to be online. Then, just walk in and use it … It’s a great tool for interviewing those I want to hire or for conducting a sales review or maybe to see samples of a particular product and to be able to talk about them while browsing.”

Vu Telepresence has 60 operational Vu Telepoints across the USA. The company expects this number to increase to 400 by the end of 2010. The service has partnered with India’s largest national telecommunications provider Bharti Airtel to build new Vu Telepoints.

Why do so many thousands such as Vu Telepresence and DIDX choose to participate in CommunicAsia, a conference based in Singapore and this year 2011 from June 21-24?

Devita Saraf reaffirms what many say … that Singapore is a hub for technology business. The Zenith Group has had an office in Singapore since the early 1980s. There are just so many opportunities to meet with current and potential high quality resellers, dealers, and even end-users. There is this assurance of congregrating with and among the top performers and innovators in technology.

Another of the many reasons is the fact that for example, companies like Vu Telepresence need to be able to give demonstrations of their products.

Last, Devita mentions that CommunicAsia does a great job bringing together the diverse markets throughout Asia.

Ms. Saraf says, “Asia is a diverse and populous continent. We felt that a product like ours … Vu Telepresence … with HD video conferencing that works well even on low quality bandwidth is perfect for the Asian market. It’s a market where you may have some companies with headquarters in Singapore with a good broadband connection, but he needs to communicate with his back offices in Malaysia, China and India where he may not have the same infrastructure and bandwidth. Then, what is he going to do? In many cases, they may not be able to pull up the phone lines from any certain location from where they are.”

She adds, “We have done in our specialty is to help both sides have the same video conferencing experience as you may have with, for example, Polycom, but on lower bandwidth. So, no matter where you are, what your challenges are in your local broadband, you will not have a loss in quality. I understand this. We have the best Internet in our offices, but where our factories are … there is nothing. This is one reason we are so successful. We don’t address large companies and their national and global footprints. We have also created something new for the small and middle-sized company businessmen who say that they have to work within the constraints of the infrastructure in the area that I am.”

Vu Telepresence has truly revolutionalized the way people do business. Conferences such as CommunicAsia give companies such as Devita’s to connect with Asians who may not participate in other important global events but also Americans, Australians, Europeans and Middle Easterners.

Back to video conferencing, how is video conferencing changing the way people do business and work to reach institutional and person goals?

Many hospitals are using video conferencing and telepresence to meet the needs of staff and patients. For example, it obviously works better than strictly voice telephony for deaf people.

In other cases, schools will share issues such as the fact that they do not have the best teachers where they are physically located. Telepresence can increase meaningful interactivity between students in those schools with excellent teachers at remote locations.

Telepresence has immense potential whether for government, education, healthcare, etc. But … Vu is the only company that has been able to democratize it. Their products are more affordable and have been created with these variable usages in mind.

Meet with inspiring individuals and organizations who Techistan has interviewed such as Devita Saraf of Vu Telepresence, Russell Perry of Emerson Networks, and Simon Yeung of Comba Telecom at CommunicAsia. Sign up to sponsor, exhibit and participate at http://www.communicasia.com.

Rich Tehrani of TMCNET interviews Akash Saraf, who is Devita Saraf’s cofounder of Vu Telepresence.

Petaling Jaya, 1 April 2011: NGT Solutions, one of Malaysia’s specialists in voice and data compression technology, today launched Peanut, the first mobile security application in the country that protects data communications at handset level by encrypting information stored on the phone and shared between users. The increasing dependence on mobile phones to store and send confidential information has necessitated a need to secure data against unauthorized access.

There seems to be a sudden demand and concern on mobile security by users especially in the areas of mobile banking, mobile health and mobile insurance. “Encryption is done prior to and during data delivery to eliminate security concerns raised by unprotected access to a phone’s interface that bounces data off international servers,” says Datuk J.L. Solomon, Executive Chairman of NGT Solutions.

Peanut’s ability to password-protect information and encrypt data on the phone’s handset provides privacy andsecurity useful to government, military, business, law enforcement, and general mobile users. It offers services unavailable on native phone applications including identity management, private contacts, message organisation, restricted messages, remote wipeout, backup, restore, auto-expiration, scheduled message delivery, activation and deactivation, anti-piracy, and traceability. Specific implements can also be customized to protect communication between individuals in private groups.

Peanut also ensures text messages are protected during transmission by providing a secure over-the-air (OTA) channel. This allows the exchange of private and encrypted messages between Peanut users who can only access the information by keying in the right password. The application locks for a limited time if the wrong password is entered three times. “Peanut was designed to ensure maximum data protection for users,” says Solomon. “Security threats are common and this application affords them protection without compromising the telcos’ service efficiency and quality.” According to the latest statistics, the mobile population in Malaysia currently exceeds 28 million users.

Peanut is written as a Java application but is customized to interact with various Smart phone operating systems including RIM (BlackBerry), Symbian (Nokia, LG, Sony), Android, and J2ME devices. Support for iPhone and Microsoft Windows will be launched soon. Peanut is 1MB in size and can be quickly downloaded via www.ngst.com.my/peanut.

NGT Solutions is currently in discussions with operators to offer this solution on a prepaid basis which will soon be available through a payment engine with multiple payment mechanisms.

By Asia Pacific Correspondent : Rani Wemel
LTT Global Brands | 14 Jalan SS3/33, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor DE, Malaysia
T: 03-7877 7023 | F: 03-78777806 |
rani@LTTCOM.com / rani@techistan.com

ABOUT NGT SOLUTIONS (M) SDN. BHD.

NGT Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd (NGTS) was established in 2001 and has evolved to become a leading provider of turnkey telecommunication solutions in the area of Data, Voice and Multimedia (DVM) solutions. NGTS’ innovative solutions to valued clients over the years have enabled the company to improve its profitability, flexibility, and quality in meeting their customers increasing demand. NGTS has have deployed more than 350 telecommunication switches since 1996 by a group of dedicated individuals in the areas of installation, testing, commissioning, link establishments, and training. The continued supply of quality, innovative and NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS to valued clients over the years has made NGTS a trusted brand among the major Telco players both locally and overseas. www.ngst.com.my

ABOUT LOMENT

Loment is an integrated communications, technology and marketing company located in Naperville, IL USA. Loment combines visual and graphic design, web design, database systems and mobile technologies into products and services that directly benefit the end user. Peanut, an enhanced text messaging application, is the first of the many applications offered by Loment focusing on Privacy & Security for SMS messages. Our goal is to enhance the end user experience without any changes to network infrastructure, support multiple Smartphone operating systems, models and technologies, including Tablet devices. For more information on
Loment, log on to www.loment.net.