A Milestone in Global Cinematic Experience

Kuala Lumpur – 20th January 2012 – Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd, a MSC-status Company, signed a landmark Joint-Venture Agreement with Harvis Technologies Pvt. Ltd – a leading Evergreen Indian Movies Rights holder from India today.

The joint-venture is a co-production to Digitally re-create an Original Black and White Tamil Feature- film into Colour, audio enhanced to multi-channel DTS and with the re-created movie converted to stereoscopic 3D.

T. Vimalanathan, Director (Technology & Solutions) of Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd, stated “We are proud to announce and be part of this co-production venture with Harvis Technologies Pvt. Ltd. of India. Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd will function as the technology-enabler and Harvis Technologies Pvt Ltd as the movie rights provider cum audio production partner. Together, we will team to achieve a  World’s First by converting the audio-enhanced, colorised version of the movie into stereoscopic 3D.”

It is noteworthy to mention that the Technology to be used in Colorizing Black & White movies is developed by Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd. This not only is a Malaysian First but also a First outside of the U.S. employing a technically superior Colorisation Technology.

M.L.S. Lakshmikanth, Director of Harvis Technologies Pvt Ltd stated “There is a pleasant surprise in store for viewers. An all-new 3D-animated song sequence of Kamal Hassan & Rajnikanth will be featured as an additional component to the existing movie. It will be created using performance- capture technology on the dynamic characteristics of both the lead actors- Kamal Hassan & Rajnikanth”.

MDeC Vice President, Kamil Othman said, “there are lots of promising areas where Malaysian creative companies can co-operate with Indian partners as Malaysian companies possess very strong technology know-how, world-class technologies and ready pool of very creative talents.”

This partnership will also enhance further collaborations between Malaysia and India on a higher level for the creative content industry for both countries. As a stepping stone, many more creative companies could follow in the steps of Perfect  Colour Sdn Bhd  to provide service for high-end digital restoration works as well as other creative technology know-how for the consumption of the global market. As a spin-off  business of content restoration, a Digital Library which could store millions and millions of hours of content will follow suit for Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd.

As a new IP of which has been converted into digital format, the content could be exploited onto various platforms ranging from mobile, IPTV, DVD’s, set top boxes, theatrical and etc. This end-to-end solution for digital content restoring and digitisation work is also the first step for Malaysia to take a leap into the “Digital Malaysia Age”.

The entire audio of the ORIGINAL movie’s soundtrack will be re-scored by a  renowned  Music Director from the Tamil Film Industry in Chennai, India. Additionally, audio special effects and extra musical instruments will be utilised to spice the movie’s soundtrack in order to appeal to the present-day audience. The newly-composed Audio soundtrack will be re-recorded in India.

Kumaran Thanimalai, Director (Strategic Planning) of Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd, stated “The project is to create a new IP out of an existing asset, aimed at creating a new business model that will give a new lease of life to analogue-based assets. With original movies being given  digital “revamps”, vintage movies can once again be commercially exploited worldwide through Theatrical, Satellite, free TV and home entertainment releases”.

Sajeera Nair, Director (Corporate Communications) of Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd, said “We have positioned ourselves to be a Service Provider to vintage movies copyright owners worldwide. With a multitude of vintage movies available in many languages worldwide, Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd is ideally poised to be a Global leader in this niche market”.

About Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd

Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd a MSC- status Company duly incorporated in Malaysia is the regional leader in the Digital Restoration, Colorisation and Stereoscopic 3D conversion of Movies. Having her core strength in developing cutting-edge Multimedia technologies, the Company has carved a niche for herself in delivering streamlined and efficient end to end services in pre-production, post-production and final deliverables functioning in the capacity as a Service Provider to end customers.

About Harvis Technologies Pvt Ltd

Harvis Technologies Pvt Ltd, a Company duly incorporated in India, is a leading Copyright holder of Evergreen Tamil movies from India. The Company also thrives on her total Audio production abilities of music direction, re-scoring, re-instrumentalization, re-recording and re-mastering.

Perfect Colour Sdn Bhd is deeply grateful to Honourable Dato Veerasingam and to Mr RamG & Dr. Arun  for having guided the Company through its various stages of development without whose invaluable guidance, we would never have reached thus far.

About MSC Malaysia (www.mscmalaysia.my)

MSC Malaysia is a national initiative spearheaded by the Malaysian Government to promote both the national ICT industry and provide a test-bed for the global ICT industry. MSC Malaysia provides a conducive, enabling environment designed to facilitate companies to harness the full potential of ICT and multimedia technologies. With its ideal business environment coupled with the availability of talent resources, the MSC Malaysia has attracted participation from major global ICT companies to develop and host their leading-edge technologies in the designated MSC Malaysia Cybercities. MSC Malaysia also provides the ideal growth environment for Malaysian ICT SMEs to transform themselves into world-class companies. Come explore the unlimited opportunities of the ICT world by locating in MSC Malaysia and be part of our global network of businesses and connected communities.

About Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is a unique high powered government-owned corporation, established to facilitate the development and promotion of MSC Malaysia, the premier Malaysian ICT initiative. MDeC is tasked to advise the Malaysian Government on ICT legislation and policies, develop MSC Malaysia as a key growth driver of the economy and set breakthrough standards for ICT and multimedia operations. MDeC also promotes MSC Malaysia locally and globally, as well as supports companies which are located within the MSC Malaysia designated areas. MDeC works closely with various parties and government agencies to ensure that MSC Malaysia offers a conducive enabling environment for companies to harness the full potential of ICT and multimedia technologies.

####

Inside Facebook has discovered a couple of new features for Facebook’s mobile site. One (in testing) is a recommendation tab for pages. With this feature, the user can write and read recommendations on Pages, similar to a feature launched on the desktop version not too long ago.

Facebook has over 800 million users, so they say. 300 million of them are using Facebook on mobile devices, and that number will only continue to grow, as long as Facebook remains the kind of social networks.

The other feature is the addition of filters on mobile page walls. When a user visits a page, they can switch between all posts and page posts (all meaning including those from users). This has been a feature of the regular desktop version fo the site for a long time, but it hasn’t been an option on mobile.

Avvasi Inc., the award-winning leader in video traffic management and analytics for fixed and mobile communication service providers (CSPs), is pleased to announce that WIND Mobile is the latest service provider to adopt its OTT video analytics services, and to deploy its new Q-VUE 2.1 analytics solution.

WIND Mobile has selected Avvasi to provide greater insight into video trends and traffic patterns on the WIND Mobile network. As is consistent with the entire mobile telecommunications industry, WIND Mobile is experiencing unprecedented increases in Over-The-Top (OTT) video traffic. In order to manage its OTT video traffic, the company is looking to identify new traffic patterns and to determine how best to manage subscriber Quality of Experience (QoE). Video QoE issues such as stalls, playback delays and image distortions all negatively impact Quality of Experience, and a user’s willingness to pay for OTT services or data plans.

WIND Mobile’s Ariel Topasso, senior manager, Core Network Data & PS said, “We are using Avvasi and its Q-VUE 2.1 product because it is the only analytics solution we have found to be able to provide a comprehensive measurement of OTT video Quality of Experience, which is crucial to understand how our wireless network delivers OTT video.”

Avvasi’s solution is the only one in the world that can provide video traffic demographics, in-depthanalysis of video traffic trends, and independent QoE scores that capture:

1. The impact of network performance on OTT video.

2. Video fidelity as viewed on specific mobile devices.

This network and QOE information is crucial to CSPs who wish to optimize their traffic management and investigate monetization opportunities.

“WIND Mobile approached us citing the same issue that many mobile network providers are experiencing – the desire to optimize their networks for video. They required detailed insight into OTT video traffic quality and chose Q-VUE as a best of breed solution for OTT video analytics” said Mate Prgin, president and CEO of Avvasi. “Many companies measure various network QoS (Quality of Service) indicators, which by no means reveals true subscriber Quality of Experience. We are the only company that can provide a real-time, scalable and accurate representation of a subscriber’s true video experience in a mobile or fixed network, for any mainstream OTT video protocol.”

Telepin Software, a leading provider of mobile money transaction platforms, today announced that Etisalat Afghanistan has commercially launched mHawala its new Mobile Money Services platform.

Telepin’s Cayman Transaction platform will be used by Etisalat Afghanistan for a full mobile financial services (MFS) offering that includes central bank cooperation.

Banking ecosystem participation, utility merchant involvement, and salary disbursement which enables complete mobile banking capabilities and future cross border money transfers.

Mobile density in Afghanistan is currently at 50 percent and is growing rapidly.

However, 95 percent of Afghan’s do not have access to banking infrastructure, said Dr. Ali Asgharzadeh, Chief Commercial Officer Enterprise.

This unique market cross-section creates a need for the investment we are making in Telepin’s Cayman platform.

We can now introduce a much needed innovative service to the market with mHawala.

We have chosen Telepin because the company is a key leader and innovator in the mobile money marketplace.

Telepin’s Cayman Transaction Platformplays a key operational role in the distribution and management of airtime and will be extended with subscriber wallets for MFS services.

Etisalat Afghanistan is the first mobile network operator in Afghanistan to offer this entire range of Mobile Financial Services.

Telepin MFS products provide mobile operators the ability to deliver robust financial services offering to their subscriber and merchant customers.

Telepin’s software plugs seamlessly into existing mobile infrastructure leveraging the investments already made in charging systems replenishment systems and value added service delivery platforms.

“We understand transactions better than any general value-added services infrastructure vendor and apply this knowledge to forward thinking operators such at Etisalat Afghanistan,” said Telepin CEO Vincent Kadar.

“Etisalat is responding to the needs of its customers and is delivering a best in class mobile money solution that will extend value to its mobile subscribers merchant networks and ecosystem partners.

We are pleased to deliver this innovative solution to the Afghan market with Etisalat.

Mr. Chen Yue said the Windows Phone handset will launch in China in the second half of 2012. No pricing was available.

Computer and electronics giant Lenovo is looking to broaden its stable of smartphones to include a Windows Phone handset next year.

The news was presented by Lenovo product manager Chen Yue at a press conference that announced new phones aimed at the Chinese market.

there were no announcements regarding international availability.

But this has to be seen as a win for Microsoft as they try to woo and retain OEM partners for its nascent mobile ecosystem.

China Lenovo may see stiff competition for their WP7 handset Nokia will launch the Lumia 800 well ahead of them.

Lenovo is also a producer of Android phones and tablets.

But isn’t a big player in any mobile ecosystem so far.

With a minimal investment in both ecosystems.

Lenovo may act as a bellwether company if any major shift happens in the smartphone market in 2012 since they could easily favor whichever OS they feel offers the best opportunity.

iPhone 4 and 4S case gives the device three unique lenses for taking photos.

As Apple’s smartphone continues to evolve as a photography tool.

The iPhone Lens Dial case comes with three different lenses telephoto, fisheye and wide angle.

All three lenses are made of “optical quality” glass, although the case is made out of aluminum.

The case is available for $250 and also comes with two different tripod mounts so the lenses can be used in either portrait or landscape mode.

Mobile apps like Instagram let iPhone users adjust the look of their photos after they take them through use of special filters and effects.

But Photojojo’s new case allows users to take photos with legitimate differences, rather than altering them digitally after the fact.

The accessory also improves long-distance shots by taking pictures with more scope.

The iPhone 4, and now the 4S with its 8-megapixel lens, have emerged as the best smartphone cameras on the market.

Some analysts believe the 4S is even worthy of being considered a valid replacement for stand-alone digital cameras.

As the iPhone receives more support from mobile apps and accessories from Photojojo, the device and its camera will likely become even more attractive to potential buyers and photo enthusiasts.

Accessories like the Lens Dial add even more credibility to the iPhone as a digital camera, giving more options to users who want to take the camera feature to the next level and take unique photos.

Professional photographer Annie Leibovitz said the iPhone is “the snapshot camera of today” and called it “accessible and easy.”

The iPhone is most prevalent camera on Flickr, and users are adding photos from the device to social networks like Facebook and Twitter at an incredibly high rate.

Yahoo hopes to reach readers with iPad magazine.

The magazine software unveiled is called Livestand.

Yahoo is joining the computer tablet bandwagon with a digital magazine designed for the iPad.

It can be customized to pull content fromYahoo’s website and other participating publishers to cater to each user’s interest.

Yahoo is counting on Livestand to keep its brand and services relevant as more people embrace Apple Inc.’s iPad and other mobile devices to consume digital content.

Yahoo also hopes the magazine brings in more advertising revenue as it tries to break out of a long running financial funk.

The slump has frustrated investors and thrown Yahoo’s fate into doubt.

Livestand is debuting nearly nine months after Yahoofirst previewed it.

At that time, Yahoo hoped to introduce Livestand by the end of June 2012.

India now has 100 million internet users, less than a tenth of the country’s population of 1.2 billion, but still the third largest user base behind China and the United States.

The number is expected to grow to 300 million in the next three years.

Internet giant Google expects India’s internet growth to be driven by mobile users, predicting that they will form the majority of new internet users in the country as low priced smartphones become available.

The next 200 million new users will largely be mobile first users and out of those, 100 million will be mobile only users, Rajan Anandan said, who heads Google’s operations in India.

That mobile Internet boom will be driven by increased usage of smartphones.

Now, only 10 million of India’s 870 million mobile customers use a smartphone, a figure Google, maker of theAndroid mobile operating system, hopes grows significantly.

We’d like to see India become a 100-150 million smartphone market, and to do that, we’ve got to have $100 smartphones, Anandan said.

Android smartphone prices have fallen sharply in the past one year with local Indian handset makers launching cheaper phones.

The cheapest Android phone costs 4,280 rupees ($87) at online retailer Flipkart, while LG Electronics and Samsung have Android models that cost less than 7,000 rupees ($142).

Smartphones accounted for a little over 5 per cent of Indian mobile handset sales for the three months ended June, according to latest data available from International Data Corporation, but the segment grew 68 percent from a year earlier.

Apple’s iPhone 3GS costs 20,900 rupees ($424) at top mobile phone carrier Bharti Airtel.

High speed third-generation mobile services, meanwhile, have been slow to take off in India since there were rolled out earlier this year, with an estimated 10 to 15 million users.

Anandan, who worked with Microsoft and Dell before taking over Google’s India operations, said pricing for 3G bandwidth should be lower in order for it to take off.

The country is home to an estimated 8 million small and medium businesses, of which about 400,000 have a website and 100,000 have active online presence, Google said in a presentation.

Earlier on Wednesday, Google launched an initiative to offer free websites to small and medium sized businesses in India, something it has done in 18 other countries.

Its aim is to bring half a million such businesses online in the next three years.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) yesterday  announced that the Uplinq™ 2012 mobile developers conference will be held June 27-28, 2012 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel.

Geared to provide software developers writing for multiple operating systems a cross platform view of how to exploit.

The complete hardware software system in today’s leading mobile devices and to foster the business connections essential to making money in mobile.

Uplinq 2012 will focus on the Android, s® Phone and Brew® platforms, as well as HTML5.

“Uplinq is the one annual mobile conference that gives attendees a direct view into the latest innovations from Qualcomm and its partners across multiple OSes and device categories.

So developers can plan their businesses and get early insight into the capabilities they will be able to incorporate into their future products,” said Rob Chandhok, senior vice president of software strategy for Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm Internet Services.

“Last year, more than half the content at Uplinq was delivered by third parties, a clear testament to the promise Uplinq makes to attendees.”

Registration for Uplinq 2012 is scheduled to open in early 2012 with special offers for early registration.

To review highlights of Uplinq 2011 and to sign up for timely news about the conference, go to www.uplinq.com.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies.

For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications.

Linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other.

EditFor more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm and Brew are registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.

Uplinq is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Qualcomm Contacts:Emily Kilpatrick, Corporate CommunicationsPhone:  1-858-845-5959 – Email: corpcomm@qualcomm.com

Warren Kneeshaw, Investor Relations Phone:  1-858-658-4813 – Email:  ir@qualcomm.com

SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated

NOKIA has launched its long-awaited first Windows 7 smartphones, hoping to claw back market share it has lost in the smartphone race to chief rivals, Apple, Samsung and Google.

With price tags of $560 and $360, the Lumia 800 and 710 are based on Microsoft’s operating system and come eight months after Nokia and the computing giant said they were hitching up.

Lumia 800, with Carl Zeiss optics and 16GB of internal memory, will be available in selected European countries in November, including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Britain.

It will be sold in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the year end.

Lumia 710, with a 1.4 GHz processor, navigational applications and Nokia Music a free, mobile music streaming app will first be available in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year.

The company’s share price jumped almost 3 per cent in an otherwise depressed market on the Helsinki Stock Exchange but settled, closing almost unchanged at ($6.68).

Nokia, which claims 1.3 billion daily users, has been the world’s biggest handset maker since 1998, selling 432 million devices last year – more than its three closest rivals combined.

Worse still, Nokia’s sales in the more lucrative smartphone market crashed 39 per cent in the third quarter as it continued to be squeezed in the low end by Asian manufacturers like ZTE and in the high end by the iPhone, Research in Motion’s Blackberry, Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Taiwan-based HTC Corp.

The iPhone has set the standard for smartphones among many design-conscious consumers and the Blackberry has been the favourite of the corporate set.

Google’s Android software has emerged as the choice for phone makers that want to challenge the iPhone.

Samsung and HTC – snapping at Nokia’s heels for third place in topend smartphones behind the iPhone and Samsung – are the biggest users of the Android platform.

Nokia is still operating Symbian software, older than Apple’s software and considered clumsy by many, although it has been upgraded.

Nokia also introduced the MeeGo platform in its flagship N9 model launched last month.