Category: Current and Future Trends

This year’s Internationaler Funkaustellung has been about strengthening the personal IT space especially with the “phablet” smartphones, newer tablet-laptop hybrid computers and the smartwatch. Similarly, there has been some concerted activity in the living-room space with the 4K ultra-high-definition TV technology amongst other things.

Personal IT

Over the last year, the Android platform has gained ground with some very impressive mobile devices that have come through from Samsung, Sony, HTC and others. This has been underscored through various platform-exclusive features like an open development environment, the use of NFC “touch-and-go” functionality, large high-resolution screens amongst other features and one observer at Samsung’s “Unpacked 2” press event which was part of this show described the up-and-coming Apple iPhone 5S as being “fool’s gold”.

Smartphones

The rise of the “phablet”

Nearly every manufacturer is offering a “phablet” – a smartphone with a 5”-6.5” screen that is pitched as a bridge between a tablet and a regular handheld smartphone. These handheld devices, typically the size of one of the pocketable scientific or financial calculators exploit the large screen as a user interface feature yet can be held in one hand.

Samsung, who had launched the first of these devices and defined this product category through the Galaxy Note family, has launched the Galaxy Note 3 which is the third-generation. This Android 4.3 smartphone has a 5.7” Super AMOLED screen, the ability to film video in 4K UHDTV resolution with a 13 megapixel rear camera, 2.5Gb RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity that even reaches to the 802.11ac wireless segments amongst more desireable features.

Sony had fielded their “phablet” which is the 6.4” XPeria Z Ultra. Alcatel have fielded the “One Touch Hero” which has a 6” Full-HD screen, 2Gb RAM, 8 or 16Gb storage, 13 Megapixel rear camera / 2 Megapixel front camera and Android 4.2. It is able to come with accessories like an E-ink cover or a wireless-charging cover. Not to be missed, HTC have launched the One Max 6” Full-HD phablet.

Sony raises the bar for smartphone photography

Sony has launched the XPeria Z1 which has its rear camera able to be as good as a standalone compact “point-and-shoot” digital camera.

Similarly, they have sold two “lens-cameras” which clip on to and pair with most smartphones. These are cameras that have a proper lens structure equivalent to that of a digital camera but send the photos to the smartphone using their own Wi-Fi network that is created with the host phone. They will work with handler apps for both the iOS and Android platforms so you can get the pictures you took with them off the lens camera to your phone’s storage and on to Facebook. The QX10 has a fixed-focal-length prime lens while the QX100 has a 10x optical-zoom lens.

For Android users, these lens-cameras implement the NFC “touch-and-go” setup to reduce the hassle involved with getting them going.

Other smartphone products

Lenovo had tendered their first smartphone which was known as the Vibe X which is a 5” Android model.

Tablets and Notebooks

Rather than 7” and 10” tablets being focused on mobile operating platforms like iOS or Android. we are seeing some of the tablets in this size range being available to work with the up-and-coming Windows 8.1 operating system. These are becoming effectively like a regular computer that is pitched to the consumer rather than a “toy” or an “enterprise workflow / kiosk” tablet. As for the Windows-based computers, most of these will be released with Windows 8.1 from the factory or may allow you to upgrade to the operating system in October if it cam with Windows 8.

Even the connvertible tablet-notebook computers and the detachable keyboard “hybrid” tablets have finally grown up and been considered a valuable part of a person’s or business’s computing “arsenal”.

Different forms of convertible or detachable-keyboard tablets showing up

The convertible tablet-notebook computer grows up.

This class of device also is encompassing an increased range of convertible laptop-tablet computers of the 11”-13” size as well as 20” adaptive-all-in-one desktop-tablet computers answering the Sony VAIO Tap 20. What we are seeing here is that there are two paths for a primarily-touch-based computing experience – a unit with an ARM-based RISC processor that runs the Android operating system or a unit with an Intel-Architecture processor that runs the Windows 8.1 operating system.

Sony has taken another path for a convertible tablet which is known as the VAIO Fit Series. These 13” and 15” computers work in a similar manner to the Lenovo Yoga convertibles where they can fold the keyboard outwards to become a tablet. This hasn’t been seen as a way to displace the Duo slider-convertible design as shown with the VAIO Duo 11.. As well, Sony have launched the VAIO Tap 11 which is a Windows 8.1 tablet that uses a magnetic detachable keyboard and is claimed to be the world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet coming in at 9.9mm thick. Like the Duo that I reviewed, this also implements the Full HD display which is said to be a benefit for photos and movies alike.

Lenovo have also pitched newer or refreshed computers in the Yoga and Flex lineup of convertible tablet-notebook computers. Infact Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad Yoga has given the convertible Ultrabook form-factor some “balls” by being something that can do most computing tasks very adeptly rather than being a second-rate performer. This is due to it being kitted out with some serious horsepower in the form of the Haswell graphics chipset and an i7 processor.

Acer have even provided the  the Aspire P3 Ultrabook which is an 11.6” detachable-keyboard tablet and has today’s expectations for performance and storage for this class of computer. They also have launched the Aspire R7 which is a 15” convertible in a similar vein to the Dell XPS 12 but uses a pedestal-type arm as the support for the screen and is one of the few 15” mainstream laptops to be in the form of a convertible touch-operated computer.

Samsung, not to be outdone had launched the Ativ Q which is a slider convertible tablet  with a variable angle. But this unit is a dual-boot design capable of being operated on Windows 8 or Android operating systems.

Regular tablet computers

Of course, Samsung have launched a regular 10” Android tablet in the form of the Galaxy Note 10.1 which is implementing the Android 4.3 operating system. Thomson have returned to the personal IT fold by releasing the TO7 and TO8 Android tablets which have four-core processors and IPS LCD screens and is amongst a number of personal computing equipment including a laptop computer.

The adaptive all-in-one takes hold

They also released the VAIO Tap 21 which is really a current-generation “refresh” of the previously-reviewed VAIO Tap 20. This machine has been answered by a few other “adaptive all-in-one” models including the Panasonic ToughPad UT-M85 which implements a 4K display.

HP have also taken another spin on the “adaptive all-in-one” design by releasing the Envy Recline series of all-in-one computers. These are like a regular all-in-one computer with the pedestal but can be laid flat to be like a tablet rather than the separate tablet with integrated kickstand.

Toshiba have also pitched their detachable-keyboard hybrid tablet answer to the HP X2 family with a Satellite 30t and a Satellite 30dt which will also be known as the Satellite Click. These will have a 13.1” display. There is also the Encore which is an 8” tablet kitted out with Windows 8.1. The Satellite (Pro) N810 family of subnotebooks will have touchscreen on some models but also will be kitted out with today’s laptop computing expectations.

The rise of the smartwatch

The digital watch of the 80s returns with a vengeance

During the time when “Footloose”, “Holiday”, “Flashdance…What A Feeling”, “The Reflex” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” were hot on the mix-tapes, or when the “A-Team” or “Knight Rider” were on the TV; the thing to be seen with on your wrist was a digital watch where the more functions it had, the better it was. Sometimes, you invoked curiosity and a bit more if you were seen “jabbing” side of that watch to “pull up” the various functions.

Now these digital watches have returned with a vengeance in the form of the smartwatch which Samsung, Sony and a few others were premiering. These watches use a touchscreen to switch between the functions which are presented in the form of apps that can be loaded to these watches. They work hand in glove with your smartphone or tablet by making use of a Bluetooth link, serving as an extension display and control surface for the mobile device.

Samsung’s watch is in the form of the Galaxy Gear which works with the Galaxy Note 3 phablet and Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet but there is expected to be a software update that will make it work with other Samsung Galaxy phones like the S3 and the S4. It uses a Super AMOLED touchscreen as its man control surface and has an integrated microphone, speaker and band-mounted camera. Its stainless-steel band doesn’t just come in the natural finish but in different colours.

For that matter, Qualcomm are selling the Toq smartwatch which has been described as a “spitting image” of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Sony had launched the second-generation of their smartwatch which is simply known as the “Smartwatch 2”. This doesn’t have the microphone, speaker or camera but can last for 4 days compared to 1 day with the Samsung before needing to be charged up. It also uses NFC-based “touch-and-go” setup and can work with most Android phones.

Digital cameras

The IFA also has been a chance for Sony to launch the DSC-RX100 II which is the successor to the ‘RX100, considered to be one of the top dogs when it came to small digital cameras.

For Sony, it also became the point to launch an API which allows Wi-Fi-based control of their Wi-Fi-capable digital cameras from computers, smartphones and tablets. This allowed for functionality such as remote shutter release / movie start-stop, remote viewfinder, exposure configuration and other photography aspects as well as the ability to download the images from your camera via the Wi-Fi network.

Sony has also mad 4K UHDTV digital videography affordable for the serious hobbyist or the small video studio who videos corporate, school or family events like weddings by offering a camcorder affordable to these kind of users’ pockets. This is in the form of the FDR-AX1 which has what is needed to get in to 4K recording. It uses XQD memory cards, a noninterchangeable 20x zoom lens and a 1/2.3″ sensor and records with the XAVC S codec which will be available down the line with most desktop-video software.

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC in the personal-technology space

NFC “touch-and-go” technology has become increasingly relevant as a data-transfer technology for personal health and wellbeing thanks to Plus Prevention. Here, they had released the TapCheck range of personal medical devices such as blood glucose meters, blood pressure monitors and a pedometer that can transfer their data to your NFC-capable Android smartphone which runs one of two companion apps. The data can be sent onwards via email or SMS to your health-care providers or family members. The goal that Plus Prevention had with these devices is that the technology is on a level playing field to be available to everybody.

As for the trend with small speakers for use with personal IT equipment, these either connect via Bluetooth as an A2DP Profile audio device or connect via the home network or, in some cases, a local Wi-Fi access point created by the speaker itself using Apple AirPlay or DLNA. Most, if not all, of the Bluetooth-enabled speakers will come with NFC “touch-and-go” paring and connection.

Another key trend is the emphasis on “app-cessories”. This is where a device that exhibits connectivity with a smartphone or tablet through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or even USB-wired exploits this connectivity through the use of a manufacturer-developed app. I will be covering this in the next article on Internationaler Funkaustellung 2013.

Article

Sat-IP: Sat-TV im ganzen Haus – AUDIO VIDEO FOTO BILD (Germany – German language)

From the horse’s mouth

Sat-IP

Website

Previous coverage on HomeNetworking01.info

Broadcast-LAN devices–how relevant are they to the home network

My Comments

SAT-IP will see this as a way to distribute satellite TV around the European home

Just lately, I had published an article on this site about the concept of broadcast-LAN devices like the Devolo dLAN SAT and the HDHomeRun devices. These use at least one integrated broadcast tuner to stream broadcast signals received via a regular antenna (aerial), cable-TV setup or satellite dish around a small network using the protocols associated with these networks. The content is picked up from the network using software installed on regular or mobile computers to be displayed using their screens and speakers.

Now, SES, BSkyB and Craftwork who are heavyweights in Europe’s satellite-TV industry have set up a branded standards group called SAT-IP. This group determines standards for setting up satellite-based broadcast-LAN devices and promotes the concept of satellite-based broadcast-LAN systems. This is very relevant with the European market where satellite TV is considered a preferred medium for delivering supplementary TV content such as free-to-air from other European countries or pay-TV content from one’s own country or one of many neighbouring countries.

Here, they had worked out a data standard which is effectively based on the UPnP AV standards and is to co-operate with that standard but allow for satellite-TV tuning. They even wrote in support for DVB-T/T2 terrestrial-TV setups primarily to cater for the MATV systems implemented in multiple-tenancy setups where the goal is to run a single coaxial cable to each unit and have the satellite TV and regular TV through the one cable. The reason I supported this idea is to allow for a broadcast-LAN setup working to SAT-IP standards to cater to most broadcast environments where content distributed via the satellites is different to content distributed via the regular TV infrastructure.

But the main benefit is that there is a step to a level playing field for satellite-based broadcast-LAN applications thus providing for competition and innovation in this application no matter the deployment type. It has opened up broadcast-LAN implementations like a Power-Over-Ethernet-powered LNB with integrated server which bolts on to the satellite dish and yields the broadcast streams to the home network from that dish; as well as a Grundig broadcast-LAN tuner with four front-ends and full DLNA capability.

The SAT-IP concept, along with the US goal for using broadcast-LAN to democratise the provision of cable TV is underscoring the reality of using the home network to distribute TV content around the home, whether this network uses Ethernet, Wi-Fi wireless or HomePlug AV powerline or a mix of the technologies. Here, this means no more chipping at delicate walls to run satellite cable around the home and you can view Sky on your iPad or Sony VAIO Duo 11.

Article

Extended battery life with 802.11ac | Wi-Fi Alliance

My Comments

HTC have announced the next “refresh” of their One Android smartphone is to be equipped for 802.11ac 5GHz Wi-Fi segments. Plus there is some talk of other manufacturers fielding similarly-equipped smartphones for the up-and-coming Mobile World Congress that is to occur in Barcelona, Spain.

But, as with 802.11n, these phones will implement a single-stream variant of the technology. The reason why this is to be is because the digital signal processing required for handling a multi-stream signal required for these “MIMO-capable” systems is very taxing on the device’s battery runtime as has been explained in the article.

There will still be a significant data throughput and bandwidth bonus offered by these devices and, of course, smartphones that are equipped for 802.11ac will work with 802.11n networks on either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz bands. This could really open up the 5GHz band for more of the handheld devices and legitimise its place in the creation of Wi-Fi segments.

A reality that is often missed with 5GHz is the fact that this band is like traditional FM radio on the 88-108MHz waveband compared to traditional AM radio on the 540-1600khz waveband. As I have observed even from childhood, it was feasible to pick up the AM stations over very long distances, even to the country areas while FM stations could be heard within the main urban areas. In some cases, a few AM stations with very low frequencies effectively covered the state of Victoria in Australia with a strong signal.

In this case, I would notice that access points operating on the 5GHz band used for 802.11n and 802.11ac will have shorter coverage areas compared to those on the 2.4GHz band for 802.11n. This will manifest in some situations where one router may cover a suburban block yet you may have to add a 5GHz range extender or access point with a wired backbone for the same coverage or the same router may have to use a stronger 5GHz antenna.

On the other hand, this band may allow for better handling of dense living areas like apartment blocks, but would require all Wi-Fi devices to support it in order to gain this benefit.

Who knows what this means for the evolution of the Wi-Fi wireless local area network especially as it is also considered as an offload companion to the 3G or 4G mobile broadband service?

Article

Samsung slashes price of curved OLED TV to $8,999 | TV and Home Theater – CNET Reviews

My Comments

Most of you who have a Samsung, LG, HTC or Sony smartphone will be looking at an OLED display as you use these phones. These are self-illuminating solid-state displays that are known to have a wide viewing angle and a very high contrast ratio. Some devices like the Denon CEOL music systems, the Revo Domino Internet radio and some of the high-end broadband routers use a monochrome variant as a display which reminds me of the fluorescent displays commonly used on home-theatre receivers.

But these displays were too costly to implement for a screen area that would typically represent anything from a “coat-pocket” 7” tablet upwards. This would mean that a television based on this technology would be ridiculously expensive to buy.

Now LG and Samsung have increased the manufacturing yield for OLED displays of this area and this has lead to a reduction in the price of these sets that are based on this technology. For example, a Samsung 55” curved OLED “main-lounge-area” TV which was sold at US$14,999 is now selling at US$8,999.

What I see of this is that Samsung, LG and others could also start selling tablets, Ultrabooks, televisions, monitors and similar large-screen devices implementing this kind of technology. Even for that matter, it could also lead to more devices being equipped with the smaller-display-area OLED displays thus making the OLED display become highly ubiquitous.

Article

Asoka PL9660-PoE PlugLink 200 Mbps Powerline Adapter w/ PoE Reviewed – SmallNetBuilder

From the horse’s mouth

Asoka USA

Product Page

My Comments

Introduction

I have often heard the line that the Power-Over-Ethernet technology, which supplies power to a network device connected via twisted-pair Ethernet cable using that same cable, and HomePlug powerline-networking technology are mutually exclusive technologies.

What is Power-Over-Ethernet and what is it used for?

The common 802.3af and 802.3at Power-Over-Ethernet technologies make use of the Category-5 “twisted-pair” Ethernet cabling that is used to transfer data to the network also as a power-supply cable. The main advantages are that you don’t have to have an AC outlet close to a network device and you can just run one cable to that device to allow it to function.

The typical implementation is either an Ethernet switch that has Power-Over-Ethernet ports providing power to a VoIP desk telephone, wireless access point or IP-based video-surveillance camera. This appeals to businesses as a way of providing centrally-managed power for these devices as well as allowing for simplified cost-effective installation and reliable operation.

What is HomePlug AV powerline network technology

The HomePlug AV network technology uses the building’s existing AC wiring as a data conduit. This provides a “no-new-wires” wired network setup for homes and other installations where it is not cost-effective to have Ethernet wiring in place and has shown a strong appeal for temporary wired-network setups.

Even if a building has Ethernet wiring in place, the HomePlug AV technology works as a way of extending this network in a temporary or semi-permanent manner. In some cases, the HomePlug technology can work as a cost-effective wired network link between a house and an outbuilding such as a detached garage if there is AC wiring in that building which isn’t separately metered.

Of course most of these network segments have network client devices connected via a short Category-5 Ethernet cable to a HomePlug-AV-Ethernet bridge adaptor typically referred to in the UK as a “homeplug” in the case of the common single-port wall-wart device.

Why am I impressed with the Asoka PL-9660POE “homeplug”

This adaptor is both a single-port HomePlug-AV-to-Ethernet network bridge along with a Power-Over-Ethernet power supply according to the 802.3af standard. Here, I could connect a Wi-Fi access point or VoIP desk telephone that can be powered using Power-Over-Ethernet to this device and it provides power to that access point while linking it to the HomePlug AV powerline-network backbone.

The advantages seen here is that I only use one AC outlet to link the network device to the HomePlug segment as well as providing power to it rather than having to have another AC outlet or double-adaptor being used for another wall-wart. You also benefit from only needing one cord between the device and this HomePlug adaptor which is easier to manage in to an aesthetically-pleasing setup. This is of importance when you are using an wireless access point to extend your wireless network and you would find that having that access point up high with a clear line of sight to the laptops, tablets and smartphones used in that area would yield optimum network performance and battery runtime for the mobile devices. It is compared to using a HomePlug wireless access point which will typically be installed at floor level and obscured by furniture and may not be able to perform adequately.

What about transportability when you are thinking of that VoIP desk telephone? Typically, a furniture and equipment arrangement may suit one’s current needs but these needs do change. This adaptor may allow you to reposition the phone to a newer location as you see fit even in a semi-permanent manner such as if you are moving the cash-wrap stand in your shop to a newer location to cater for a sale or you simply wanted to bring the VoIP conference phone out only when needed.

This device may also help with legitimising the Power-Over-Ethernet technology for the home network. Examples of this could include “two-piece” HomePlug access-point kits; small consumer-AV applications like tabletop Internet radios, network speakers or digital picture frames; or even all-in-one computers that can be powered through the Ethernet conneciton. To the same extent, computers like tablets, small notebooks and “adaptive all-in-one” computers of the same ilk as the Sony VAIO Tap 20 can benefit from using their Ethernet port as a power connection option to charge up their batteries or allowing the user to avoid compromising battery runtime,

Even an Internet-gateway router could be powered using this method as an alternative to the separate power brick that these devices come with. As well, using a Power-Over-Ethernet power splitter which provides 12 volts or 5 volts DC to a device that isn’t capable of Power-Over-Ethernet from an 802.3af Power-Over-Ethernet connection could yield benefits to the home network by eliminating the need to use a “wall-wart” or “power-brick” and a separate AC outlet to power network devices.

Points of improvement with this device

Here, the HomePlug standard that this device supports could be the HomePlug AV 500 / IEEE 1901 standard for better data throughput. This is more so as this standard becomes the norm for most HomePlug AV segments. As well, a variant that supports the 802.3at Power-Over-Ethernet Plus standard could be made available and pitched towards set-top-box applications. But these improvements may require further power-supply engineering to cater for higher power loads.

Similarly, the Asoka “homeplug” could be made available under an OEM-contract to other vendors to sell to customers so as to make the concept more ubiquitous. For example, having this fitted with the Continental-standard AC plug and sold in to France could work hand-in-glove with the “décodeurs” (TV set-top boxes) that are part of the many “n-box” triple-play Internet services offered in that country. Here, these would work as a convincing easy-to-implement alternative to a “homeplug / power-supply” box like the Freeplug that is used to link the “n-box” Internet gateway device and the “décodeur” set-top box. These boxes typically have three wires with one to the power outlet and two to the “n-box” or “décodeur” device.

Conclusion

I just hope that this device isn’t just a “flash in the pan” when it comes to HomePlug and Power-Over-Ethernet but a way to prove to the industry that these technologies complement each other.

Article

Sony and Panasonic Jointly Developing Beefy 300 GB Optical Discs

Blu-ray successor plan unveiled by Sony and Panasonic | BBC Technology

My Comments

Optical discs like the CD, DVD and Blu-Ray may be considered passé in the age of flash memory or cloud storage and the ubiquity of portable devices like iPads. But they still earn their keep in the consumer and business space as an affordable medium for exchanging or archiving data.

For example, they are still being used for distributing music, movies and games in a manner that appeals to consumers who want to maintain a collection of this content or buy it as a gift to give other people. As well, these discs may appeal as a cost-effective form for creating long-term archival copies of data or to distribute data to a large number of users in a form that can be handed over to the users. The disadvantage of slow access may not be of concern with data that one accesses on an occasional basis or is never changing.

Hence Sony and Panasonic have worked together on a 300Gb optical disc standard that they intend to be the successor to Blu-Ray.

For Sony, they want to see this format as a “pressable” optical disc format for distributing 4K UHDTV content especially to movie-collecting consumers. In some cases, this same format may make it easier for companies to sell larger collections of content in a compact cost-effective form, whether it be a series of movies or PDF renderings of a classic magazine’s back issues. Similarly, as sophisticated “core” games are optimised for the 4K UHDTV and are pitched at consoles, this next-generation optical disc could be used as a distribution media for these games. This would be more so with the “epic” titles like the Final Fantasy saga which has often been used as a “showcase” game for the PlayStation consoles.

The other main application will be long-term “archival” storage of data, where flash storage or regular magnetic hard disks won’t cut it for safe cost-effective storage. In this situation, the optical disks can effectively “free up” capacity on the hard disks or flash memory and, in a lot of cases, provide the “write once, read many” storage where the data cannot be altered once it is written. This latter option will effectively appeal to legal and regulatory requirements where the goal is to keep unaltered copies of key data.

What I see of the Sony and Panasonic effort is to keep the optical disc alive as a medium for long-term storage or cost-effective “collectable” distribution of content.

Article

5 Things To Know About That In-Room Hotel iPad || HotelChatter

From the horse’s mouth

Intelity (software developer of these apps)

Company Web page

My Comments

An increasing number of hotels are providing guests with an iPad or similar “mobile-platform” tablet in your room for you to use. These typically are running a custom-designed app that works as an information source for the guest and, in some cases, provides self-service access to a wide range of services like in-room dining, housekeeping requests and check-out.

These devices are the same hardware as the iPad that you have, and this customer-service software is most likely to be available at the iTunes App Store for your iOS device or Google Play for your Android device. In some cases, the software may also be finished as an HTML5 Web app for use on laptops running the latest Web browser or on mobile devices that don’t have a native version written for them.

By you running this kind of customer-facing software on your device, you have access to the same benefits as you would have on the device that is located at the property. This can benefit you if you end up being enamoured by the hotel you are staying at and can allow you to take it further. For example, you could use the “local knowledge” functionality when you are out and about or even to plan your visit to the same town again; or refer to “in-room dining” menus for suggesting menu options that you have liked.

These kind of customer-facing apps can benefit customers who want to take the experience with your product or service further. This is in a similar way to the concept of the “app-cessory” where there are mobile-platform apps that enhance the functionality of a device or provide an improved user interface for the device or the apps that extend sports events or TV shows by adding value to them.

What I would like to see of these apps is that developers write native apps for the common mobile platforms while writing Web apps for use with unsupported platforms.