IFA 2012 in Berlin is just over a month away, and we know for sure that Samsung will be there. Over on their developer portal, registrations have opened up to a developer day the Korean manufacturer will be throwing at the event.
Scheduled to take place on Thursday August 30 from 14:00 - 18:00, interested developers are urged to sign up quickly as places are limited. Invitations to those selected will then be sent out on August 1.
No session details have been posted as yet, but developers are promised the chance to "meet the latest technology from Samsung platforms" and to "learn about Samsung's latest devices and services" complete with demonstrations. Make of that what you will, but rumor-mongers will surely try and link a vague statement such as this to the fervent rumors of a new Galaxy Note making an appearence in Germany. Whatever we see though, we'll be on the ground in Berlin next month to bring you it all.
Source: Samsung Developers
NBTC's telecom committee is on the process of selecting advisor for auction of the 3G-2.1GHz spectrum. - Nation - Thailand
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)'s telecom committee is on the process of selecting advisor to prepare its planned auction of the 3G-2.1GHz spectrum.
The committee tasked to hire the advisor gave the highest scores of 95.5 per cent to the technical proposal of Power Auction, which proposed fee of around Bt17.05 million, while Nera, which proposed around Bt9.11 million, came in the second at 93.2 per cent scores. Auction Technologies, which proposed around Bt21.06 million, scored 93 per cent. Later Power Auction offered to cut the fee to Bt15.34 million, versus the median price of Bt15 million.
The hiring committee had already submitted the result for consideration of the telecom committee, which instructed the NBTC office to review the result and make a final selection by its own before submitting the final result for its approval.
The NBTC office shortlisted four companies to bid to be the 3G plan consultant, including DotEcon, Nera, Power Auction, and Auction Technologies, and sent the invitation letters to them on June 12. All, except DotEcon, sent technical and financial proposals to the office. It considered their technical and financial proposals at the same time.
Nera was consultant of the NBTC predecessor, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), in developing licensing plan of the 3G spectrum in 2010. It quoted hiring fee of around Bt15 million. However, the planned auction was aborted by the Central Administrative Court's injunction as requested by CAT Telecom, following its challenge of the NTC licensing authority at the court.
The NBTC which set a tentative date to hold the 2.1GHz spectrum auction in October, will hold the first public hearing on the draft of the spectrum licensing terms and conditions this Friday (20). It will auction nine slots of the spectrum, each containing 5 MHz bandwidth. The floor price of each slot is Bt4.5 billion.
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Communicate With The Telecom Sector Via ETFs - Seekingalpha.com
Not so long ago, telephones were connected to wires. What a quaint idea. How would today's teenagers survive? Back then you could only talk on your phone — no text messaging. Even worse, phones didn't even have buttons to push! You dialed by turning a big knob with your finger.
Phone companies were regulated monopolies for decades — mostly the regional "Bell" companies owned by American Telephone & Telegraph. The ticker symbol was a simple "T" just as it is now. When your broker recommended "Telephone," you knew he meant AT&T.
Reliable dividends made T the classic "widows and orphans" stock.
This is not so anymore. Telecom today is a witches' brew of old-guard phone companies and speculative technology names. Yet you can still get involved with just one trade — if you pick the right ETF. Today we'll look at the choices and see which may be right for you.
Telecom: Forgotten Sector?
Sector-oriented investing was still fairly unusual as recently as the mid-1990s. Select Sector SPDRs were the first to let ETF investors Unbundle the Stock Market by industry. Even then, telecom stocks were recognized as a distinct sector. Yet the index methodology of the time forced SPDR to combine Technology and Telecom into one ETF: SPDR S&P Technology (XLK).
XLK has done well over the years. Unfortunately, by shoving Telecom to the back of the drawer, the early ETF pioneers also put it "out of mind" for millions of investors. Today you have more choices (including some from SPDR), but many ETF investors still overlook the telecom sector. The combined size of all telecom ETFs is less than $2 billion.
This is regrettable because, depending how they are constructed, Telecom ETFs can help two groups of investors:
- Income investors who love price stability and high yield and …
- Growth investors who want fast-growing businesses.
What does this mean? Not every telecom stock is equal. Here in the U.S., the phone market is more or less saturated. Everyone has a mobile phone. The only exceptions are young children and the very elderly. Landline usage is plunging.
The U.S. phone business has come full circle. AT&T and Verizon (VZ) don't have a legal monopoly like their predecessors, but they do have a practical monopoly. Their huge infrastructure investments (cell towers, etc) act as a barrier to competition. While new developments like smartphones and tablets have an impact, U.S. telecom is regaining its utility-like characteristics: Slow growth but consistent dividends. Ditto for phone companies throughout the developed world.
Yet some telecom stocks still have huge growth potential. In emerging markets like China and India, hundreds of millions of people still don't have their own communications device. The possibilities are even greater in frontier markets. Plenty of remote regions still lack phone service.
Telecom Income vs Telecom Growth
Where does this lead us? Here is my conclusion:
- Telecom ETFs covering the U.S. and other developed countries are more income-driven.
- Telecom ETFs that own companies from emerging and frontier markets are more volatile and have higher growth potential.
Of course, I'm generalizing here. Every rule has exceptions. As a practical matter, many telecom ETFs offer a mixture of growth and income. If you're looking to add some moderate-risk telecom exposure to your ETF portfolio, you can focus on a handful of U.S. domestic sector ETFs such as:
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications (IYZ)
- Vanguard Telecommunications (VOX)
- SPDR S&P Telecom (XTL)
- Focus Morningstar Communications Services (FCQ)
A second ETF group holds both U.S. and international telecom stocks. Your choices include …
- iShares S&P Global Telecommunications (IXP)
- First Trust NASDAQ CEA Smartphone Index Fund (FONE) — this ETF has only about a third of its assets in telecom stocks
The third group omits the U.S. and holds only non-U.S. telecom stocks. Some examples from this category are …
- SPDR S&P International Telecommunications (IST)
- EGShares Telecommunications GEMS (TGEM)
- iShares MSCI ACWI ex US Telecommunications Services (AXTE)
TGEM is particularly interesting because it specializes in emerging market telecom stocks. IST and AXTE have some as well, but they also include European and Japanese telecom stocks. Another caution: Some of these ETFs are small and potentially illiquid. Always use a limit order when buying or selling ETFs.
Is Telecom for you? Maybe so. Do your research and find out if any of these ETFs fit your goals.
Disclosure: Long VOX. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.
Sandip Das | Enabling sharing of networks is key - Livemint.com
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We are one of the largest foreign direct investments in the country at $8 billion (around Rs 44,480 crore), including $2 billion in 3G and BWA (broadband wireless access), including capex (capital expenditure), showing serious intent of the company to ...Hands-on: nearly instant photofinishing direct from your smartphone - Ars Technica
Walgreens and Fujifilm are targeting mobile phone users with new systems that allow users to order true photographic prints directly from an iOS or Android device. Both companies launched APIs this week that allow app developers to integrate print ordering directly from their photo-related apps. Fuji is configured to mail finished products to customers from a centralized lab, while Walgreens allows pickup from the nearest of its 7,900+ Walgreens stores.
Camera-equipped mobile phones have largely supplanted compact cameras for a wide variety of users, resulting in 10-20 percent annual declines in compact camera sales for the last couple of years. While smartphones allow users to easily share photos via social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr, getting photo-quality prints is usually the last thing on many users' minds.
That's a situation that Walgreens and Fujifilm hope to change. The APIs allow mobile developers to tap in to each company's photofinishing services, making it almost as easy as clicking a button to get prints from your latest "iPhoneography" masterpiece.
"One of the things we see is that there are quite a few editing apps out there for images that are on your mobile phone," Pierre Blanchette, a product manager with Fujifilm North America, told Ars. "Customers are spending a lot of time editing those images, so it's clear they are important to them. We think those images should be printed; we think there's something about that tangible aspect that viewing on a smartphone screen can't match."
Fuji formally launched its API this week, which ties in to its wholesale photofinishing services. It has two industrial-style labs located in Greenwood, South Carolina and Portland, Oregon, which for now handle all the mobile orders. Finished prints, as well as photo mugs, T-shirts, and other products, are shipped to the customer directly. Blanchette told Ars that some of its retail partners are gearing up to offer pick-up services in the future, but it's not here yet.
Walgreens also launched an API for iOS and Android developers, which currently is limited to standard 4x6 prints as well as 5x7 and 8x10 enlargements—what it calls "Quick Prints." Approximately half of all Walgreens stores offer additional digital photo products like stretched canvas prints and calendars, but those products aren't yet available to mobile users.
Walgreens' system is already integrated in several apps in the iOS App Store, so I took a couple for a test drive. Overall I was pleased with the results, but there are a few details that make the experience less than ideal.
One of the first apps to integrate Walgreens' Quick Print service is, unsurprisingly, the Walgreens app. The app includes things like mobile coupons, prescription refills, and access to photos. Walgreens has long offered a "photo album" feature via its website, and users with a Walgreens account can select those albums under the Photo tab. But users can also access their iOS camera roll and albums as well.
Simply select between one and five photos, and hit "Print." Those photos will be uploaded to Walgreens' servers. You can chose up to 100 photos total, but only five at a time. Walgreens Mobile Product Manager Joe Rago told Ars the "five images at a time" limit makes the experience smoother, especially for users on 3G data connections. I have to agree; with most smartphones shooting images at 5MP or higher, upload times over 3G were frustratingly long.
Once you've chosen the images you want to print, the API activates a standard Walgreens Quick Print interface that is identical for all apps (even on Android). Here you choose print size (4x6, 5x7, or 8x10) and quality, up to 20 each. Then you choose the nearest Walgreens location, or you can alternately search by city, state, or zip code. Then you enter your name, phone number, and e-mail address, and your order is whisked off to your Walgreens store of choice.
Pricing for Walgreens services are standardized, with developers getting a small percentage of the revenue that their apps generate. 4x6 prints are 29¢ each—a pretty common price—while 5x7 enlargements are $1.99 and 8x10 prints cost $3.99. You could probably make prints a little cheaper at home, but you won't achieve similar results unless you're using the best inks and papers. (Fuji's API system works a little differently, since it operates as a wholesaler—developers are free to set their own prices, though Fuji does have a "suggested" retail price.)
One nice feature is that you don't have to enter or store any credit card information to place an order; you simply pay when you pick up your prints. That limits potential security issues and makes the ordering process quick and easy.
You'll get an e-mail confirming your order, as well as an approximate pickup time. Orders are usually completed within an hour depending on how busy a particular store is. Rago said that times can run as much as a few hours on heavy days, particularly around holidays like Christmas. You'll also get an e-mail alert when your order is ready.
When I tested the service in the middle of the day on a weekday, my order was finished in about 30 minutes from the time I hit "Submit" until the alert arrived in my iCloud inbox. The nearest Walgreens is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment, making the service especially convenient. (The same is true throughout most of Chicago, though even my small Indiana hometown has multiple Walgreens locations to choose from.)
I ordered several 4x6 prints, as well as a handful of 5x7 and 8x10 enlargements for comparison. All of the prints came back sharp and colorful. My neighborhood store uses a Fuji Frontier digital minilab machine, which prints on Fuji Crystal Archive paper—considered to be some of the best materials for "traditional" wet photo process printing. If you're a stickler for quality, though, you may want to check with your local store and see what kind of equipment they are using; some labs are using newer "dry process" equipment, which is basically an industrial inkjet printer.
Overall, I was pleased with the prints. The ordering process leaves a bit to be desired, though. You can only choose one print size for all the images in an order, so if you want multiple print sizes of a single image, you have to create multiple orders. Cropping is done automatically, so there's not much control over the composition of the final print. This is a bit of a nitpick, but entering your contact info repeatedly can get a bit annoying; thankfully that info can be stored in an app and forwarded via the API.
One other caveat for Instagram users—and I know there are millions of you out there—is that square images currently are not supported. Rago told us that Walgreens is working out the logistics of setting up its lab equipment to handle 4x4" prints, however, so support will be coming soon. In the meantime, square images are just auto-cropped to fit.
I also tried one other app with Quick Prints support, called Pic Stitch. This app offers a variety of multi-image collage templates which you can fill with your images. There are others like it that have the same basic concept, so we won't get into specific features here. Suffice it to say that you can choose from 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 sizes with a variety of styles of collage. Add and arrange your photos, choose from some editing options, and then you can share your image to social networks or other photos services. Or you can choose to have your local Walgreens print the image.
I made a simple three-image collage at 4x6 size to test the integration. Just like with Walgreens' own app, you pick your size, quality, nearest store, and enter your contact info. Pic Stitch has a few helpful integration features, which warn you if you've chosen a template that doesn't fit the intended image print size. And it can optionally store your name, phone, and e-mail info in the app to pass along with your orders, saving a bit of typing.
Overall, this appears to be a smart move on Walgreens' and Fuji's part. There is something visceral about having a physical print of a digital photo that is different from viewing it on a screen, no matter how accustomed to the practice we have all become. And frankly, the prints are better than I can manage on my otherwise excellent Epson multifunction printer at home. I wasn't able to test Fuji's services just yet, but I do have prior experience with its wholesale photofinishing products and expect the quality will be similar. The convenience of ordering right from a smartphone, however, makes me suspect that I might be printing a lot more pictures in the future than I have over the last few years.
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