Consumer Electronics Daily News

Syndiant Introduces Four Products for Pico Projectors

World’s First Wide SVGA 1024x600 Microdisplay and World’s Smallest WVGA (854x480) Microdisplay

Syndiant, enabling consumers to enjoy a large screen experience in handheld electronics, introduces four products that support WVGA, SVGA and Wide SVGA resolution in pico projectors, while maintaining the ability to meet cost, power and form-factor requirements.

Three of the new products are LCOS microdisplay panels featuring Syndiant's patented all-digital smart panel VueG8™ technology. The panels are ideal for the embedded or stand-alone pico projector market.

The three new LCOS display panels are:

• The SYL2030 offers the world’s smallest WVGA (854x480 pixels) microdisplay at only 6 mm tall with a pixel array diagonal of 0.21 inches and a 5.4 micron pixel pitch. The SYL2030 is intended for the high volume embedded pico projector market by enabling very thin (< 7 mm) optical modules that can fit into a large number of handsets and other handheld devices.
• The SYL2041 supports SVGA (800x600 pixels) and WVGA (854x480 pixels) resolutions.
• The SYL2061 is the world’s first microdisplay to provide Wide SVGA (1024x600 pixels) resolution for pico projectors. Both the SYL2041 and SYL2061 use a larger 9.4 micron pixel pitch to provide a larger active array size for higher brightness products using LED illumination.

“While high quality mobile content becomes increasingly available, the small size and low resolution of mobile devices displays limit the viewer’s experience,” said Mark Harward, CEO Syndiant. “We are enabling the pico projector market by providing the world’s smallest microdisplays with the highest resolution and the smallest form-factor.”

Syndiant’s fourth announced product, the SYA1012 ASIC controller, is an important advancement for pico projectors using Syndiant’s VueG8 LCOS display panels. It converts video signals into an efficient format used by the company’s LCOS display panels, which enables integration into a wide array of pico projection systems due to its high level of programmability and interface flexibility.

“We are seeing very high demand for our microdisplays,” continued Harward. “The previous generation pico projectors were limited by the microdisplay performance so they did not meet the threshold required by consumers. With our exceptional resolution, color saturation, and low cost, we are confident that Syndiant is providing the market with the right price/performance to allow the pico projector market to rapidly grow – at a rate much faster than analyst predictions.”

Engineering samples are immediately available with production quantities available in Q4 2009.

About Syndiant

Syndiant manufactures the world’s smallest and highest resolution light modulating chips used in ultra-portable projectors small enough to embed in a cell phone. Syndiant’s patented technologies provide a large screen experience in handheld electronics, such as smartphones, notebook computers, portable media players, video game consoles and cameras. The company is headquartered in Dallas, with a branch office in Taiwan. 

For additional information, visit Syndiant.

Dolby Multistream Decoder Now Available On NXP Digital TV Chipset

Flexible Decoding Solution for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Pulse Audio

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. announced today that NXP Semiconductors has become the first semiconductor company to successfully implement the new Dolby® Multistream Decoder—also known as the Dolby MS10 Multistream Decoder—with its TV543 iDTV single-chip system solution.

The Dolby Multistream Decoder is a licensable multiformat audio decoding technology that supports Dolby Digital Plus and HE AAC–based Dolby Pulse in a single package for next-generation HDTVs and set-top boxes for playback of content from traditional broadcast and operator sources, as well as the Internet, USB devices, game consoles, and PCs.

The NXP TV543 features an integrated MPEG-4/H.264 decoder to enable reception and decoding of MPEG-4/H.264 SD and HD content; IP/Internet content delivery to the home; and the new conditional access CI+ security standard—all on a single-chip DTV platform.

“The TV543 platform has set a benchmark for the best HD picture quality and we felt that the best way to complement this achievement was to incorporate an equally high-definition audio technology through the Dolby Multistream Decoder,” said Paul Sandberg, Senior Vice President, BU Home Global Marketing and Sales at NXP Semiconductors. “The implementation process was greatly aided by Dolby’s support and technical expertise in the area of audio decoding. NXP is committed to partnering with companies like Dolby to bring superb audio technology to our future solutions to ensure best-in-class audio experiences for consumers.”

“We’re excited that NXP Semiconductors recognizes the benefits that the Dolby Multistream Decoder will bring to its OEM customers. It offers an elegant audio decoding solution to ensure that audiences will have a consistent and high-quality audio experience,” said Tom Daily, Executive Director of Marketing at Dolby Laboratories.

Other key benefits of the Dolby Multistream Decoder include:

• Full compatibility with Dolby metadata and consumers’ existing DVD–based home theater systems with all transmission formats
• Full multichannel support (transcoder) for Dolby Pulse in addition to Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus decoding and conversion—one Dolby Digital output for all input formats
• Support for audio description services delivered “receiver-mix” style using two simultaneous instances of Dolby Pulse, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus decoders, respectively—all for the price of a single decoder instance
• Support for multiprogram Dolby Digital Plus streams (main and associated audio delivered in the same audio stream)
• Ability to decode AAC, HE AAC, and HE AAC v.2 bitstreams

Dolby Multistream Decoder implementation and system kits are available starting today. For more information, please visit www.dolby.com/ms10.

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) is the global leader in technologies that are essential elements in the best entertainment experiences. Founded in 1965 and best known for high-quality audio and surround sound, Dolby creates innovations that enrich entertainment at the movies, at home, or on the go. 

For more information, visit Dolby Laboratories.

Interop Technologies To Provide Core Messaging Solutions To Cox Communications

Interop Future-Proof SMSC, MMSC, WAP Gateway, and CSC Gateway Solutions To Support Cox’s Wireless Services

Interop Technologies, the premier provider of core wireless solutions for messaging, device management, and gateway connectivity, today announced that Cox Communications, the third-largest cable operator in the United States, has selected Interop to provide the operator with solutions including the SMSC (SMS Center) 4 Series, Multimedia Messaging Center (MMSC), WAP Gateway, and the hosted Common Short Code (CSC) Gateway.

“Interop is extremely pleased to support Cox as it continues to develop innovative, integrated services for its customers,” said John Dwyer, President and CEO of Interop Technologies. “We look forward to helping Cox tailor its sophisticated services and deliver a top-notch wireless experience.”

“SMS, MMS, short-code messaging, and access to the mobile Internet are essential to the Cox customer experience,” said Dane Dickie, Cox’s Executive Director of Wireless Product Development. “Our wireless solutions must be reliable and scalable to ensure we consistently deliver the leading-edge, converged services that are at the core of the Cox wireless experience.”

Interop solutions apply highly scalable architecture from the Internet world, an environment in which massive throughput and absolute availability are requirements, to the messaging and connectivity environment. All of the company’s solutions provide “five-nines” (99.999 percent) reliability and a simple migration path to next-generation, IP-based technologies. As operators make changes to network technologies, Interop accommodates them with state-of-the-art protocol gateways.

Interop is the only wireless provider to offer messaging and connectivity technology in four flexible deployments:

• Hosted — Shared technology in a highly cost-effective, service bureau environment
• Modified hosted — Deployed with no capital expense at the network site and managed by Interop
• Turnkey — Purchased outright for on-site deployment
• Managed services — Purchased outright but operated and managed by Interop

About Interop Technologies

Interop Technologies is the premier provider of core wireless solutions for messaging, device management, and connectivity gateways. The world leader in building reliable, scalable technology, Interop is the only company offering affordable, hosted and turnkey deployments ideal for today’s tough economic conditions. A proven partner to more than 55 telecom operators, Interop powers SMS, MMS, short code, mobile Internet access, and device management services delivered to millions of wireless customers every day. Interop is headquartered in Fort Myers, FL. The company also has facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, and Guatemala City.

For more information, visit Interop Technologies.

Global Chip Sales Increase 5.3 Percent Month-on-Month

Worldwide sales of semiconductors in July were $18.2 billion, an increase of 5.3 percent from June 2009 when sales were $17.2 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today. SIA noted that the year-on-year rate of decline has moderated as the year has progressed. The first six months of 2009 saw an average monthly year-on-year decline of approximately 25 percent, while July 2009 sales were 18.2 percent lower than July 2008. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.

“The fifth-consecutive month of sequential increases in semiconductor sales reflects improving demand in the consumer sector,” said SIA President George Scalise. “Sales of consumer products such as netbook PCs and cell phones are supporting the modest recovery in demand that is now under way. Purchases of Information Technology products by the enterprise sector continue to be tempered by caution and longer replacement cycles. There is also evidence of a return to seasonal industry patterns,” Scalise concluded.

Month-on-month sales increased in all geographic sectors in July.

About the SIA Global Sales Report

The SIA Global Sales Report (GSR) is a three-month moving average of sales activity. The GSR is tabulated by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization, an independent, non-profit organization established by the global semiconductor industry to compile industry statistics. The moving average is a mathematical smoothing technique that mitigates variations due to differences in companies’ financial calendars.

For more information on the report, visit SIA Global.

Seamless Technologies Delivers VMware vCenter Server To BMC Atrium CMDB Integration

Seamless Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of service management and automation solutions, today expanded its BMC Atrium CMDB integration suite with the introduction of the Seamless Technologies VMware vCenter Server (formerly VMware VirtualCenter) to BMC Atrium CMDB Connector, high-speed integration bridge that delivers real-time updates of virtual machines (VMs) asset information into BMC Atrium CMDB. From any Atrium CMDB-compliant application, such as Remedy Change, Asset, or Helpdesk, users can clearly view the configuration items (CIs,) attributes and relationships among different VMs, ESXs and storage systems.

“As the cloud computing model evolves, it is increasingly critical to dynamically view, manage and allocate resources, see real-time availability, inventory and manage workloads,” said Kevin Johnson, president and founder of Seamless Technologies. “Our new Seamless VMware vCenter Server to BMC Atrium CMDB Connector uniquely captures and delivers real-time information to keep the CMDB virtualized and physical relationships and operational attributes current, thus making the inventory data accurate and enabling the service management processes. Based on our market studies, this is an important integration required to support configuration accuracy in the cloud self-service computing asset, configuration, change and inventory processes in Atrium CMDB installations.”

The Seamless VMware-to-Atrium CMDB connector provides value immediately after installation, and ensures that any infrastructure events or changes made are automatically made in real-time within the CMDB. This reduces complexity of CMDB CI population, access, change, change detection, and audit, and minimizes MTTR (mean time to repair) during the incident and diagnostic phase. Additionally, CI details of VMware ESX Hosts and VMs along with relationships between VMs, ESX and Storage are captured within the CMDB including central processor, memory, manufacturer, OS version, etc. which provides important visibility into infrastructure attributes and relationships. This integration saves customers valuable time-to-value of VMware environments managed by a BMC Remedy based service desk.

About Seamless Technologies

Since 1995, Seamless Technologies, Inc. has been a forerunner in IT service management and automation solutions by integrating customer tools with Service Desks, CMDBs and other IT Operations support systems into a Seamless semi-custom service management solution. Seamless provides consulting, best-of-breed technology products and ITIL® best practices aligned to efficient operations and business objectives. Seamless Technologies offerings are proven in healthcare, telecommunications and financial services industries where availability and performance are critical. Seamless is a BMC BSM Certified Partner, a BMC Technology Alliance Partner and a VMware Technology Alliance Partner. 

For more information, visit Seemless Inc.

MEMSIC Collaborates With Game Developers

MEMSIC’s Collaboration With Game Developers Brings New Level Of Motion-Game Integration To Cell Phone Manufacturers

MEMSIC, Inc, a leading MEMS solution provider and supplier of motion sensors to the mobile phone industry, combining proprietary MEMS technology with advanced mixed signal processing and system solutions, today announced a new game and application solution for the mobile phone market. By collaborating with game developers, MEMSIC is now able to bring a new level of motion-game integration, along with motion-based user interfaces and screen savers, to allow cell phone design houses and manufacturers to offer more value to their end users.

Motion-based UIs in mobile phones for features such as image orientation, menu navigation, and shake-to-change have seen increasing popularity in a wide range of mobile phones over the past several years due to lower prices of motion sensors and the availability of more applications which take advantage of these UIs. In order to provide more value-added solutions to cell phone design houses and manufacturers who want to incorporate exciting applications which use these UIs in their mobile phones, MEMSIC began to cooperate with game developers to develop games with motion-based controls that create a more realistic gaming experience than joysticks or key input. With a library of about 50 popular motion games in the intelligence, shooting, racing and leisure game categories, MEMSIC and its partners can enable mobile phone designers and manufacturers to shorten the development times of new products that incorporate a library of motion-driven games, and bring them to market more quickly.

Due to memory limitations in mobile phone architectures, until now it has not been feasible to have a wide variety of games available on a single device. However, by using a virtual run-time environment (VRE) platform, memory limitations are removed, greatly increasing the number of games and applications available to the end user. MEMSIC will use the VRE platform to integrate its entire library of games and applications onto a single T-flash card, which means that mobile phone companies can offer their customers a much wider array of applications.

MEMSIC and its partners will continue to create and develop new motion game and application solutions based on MEMSIC’s sensors by deeply cooperating with game partners. The VRE platform will support game access website download, providing their customers with the ability to download new applications directly to their phones.

MEMSIC also provides vivid motion-based UIs and screen savers that utilize its motion sensors. These motion UIs can also be integrated into the phone via the VRE platform, creating an interesting and dynamic mobile phone desktop or screensaver that customers can customize with different themes. MEMSIC will provide customers in the mobile market with these customized themes through its dedicated application develop team.

For more information, visit MEMSIC.

Netbooks Are Becoming Hot Commodities Among Mexico Small & Medium Businesses

HP is the leading Netbook provider in Mexico, says AMI research

According to AMI-Partners’ latest Q-Pulse Quarterly Tracking Study, Mexico small (1-99 employees) and medium (100-999 employees) businesses (SMBs) plan to buy close to half a million netbooks in the next 3 months. Only 2% of Mexico SMBs invested in netbooks in the last 3 months. If intentions are fulfilled, this could comprise a tremendous market opportunity for netbooks providers.

“Netbooks are beginning to make inroads in the Mexico SMB market. Portability and low-cost are key appealing attributes,” says Sau Lam, a Senior Analyst with AMI-Partners. Typically, weighing about 2.5 pounds and priced between $300-$500, netbooks are emerging as an attractive value proposition. The lightweight and small-form factors amount to an ideal solution for SMBs willing to trade-off high performance for greater mobility. More than half of Mexico MBs and 15% of SBs currently have mobile workforces.

“The challenging economic climate could become a catalyst for broader market acceptance of netbooks as many SMBs seek to trim costs but still meet basic computing requirements,” continues Ms. Lam. In fact, AMI’s study shows that more than half of Mexico SMBs view price as the most important criteria in determining an IT purchase.

The Mexico SMB market is wide open for netbook providers. Currently, HP is the market leader but Dell, Acer and Asus are strong contenders vying for a share. The success of these vendors will undoubtedly rely on their value proposition, marketing efforts, and support from their broad ecosystem of IT resellers. Main drivers that will push netbooks to the next level of growth include: faster and more robust computational power, integrated cellular connectivity, stronger channel relationships, and collaboration with mobile service providers to integrate more wireless functionality tailored to SMB needs.

Related Study

2009 State of the Mexico SMB Market Q-Pulse Wave 2 - Understanding the SMB Landscape during an Economic Downturn summarizes the findings of the second wave of AMI’s Q-Pulse survey conducted among small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Mexico. The survey was completed during April/May 2009. These findings are compared to the first wave of Q-Pulse (QP1 2009) and prior AMI survey research (Q4 2008).

AMI’s quarterly SMB tracking study – Q Pulse – is conducted in eleven countries: U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, UK, Germany, China, India, Korea, and Australia. The study surveys business decision makers of small and medium businesses from four perspectives: 1) Mindset, economic impact and the actions that are being taken to manage their businesses; 2) IT purchase plans including spending, brands and planning; 3) Buying behaviors including routes to market and decision making, and 4) Insights for fine-tuning Go-to-Market plans including value propositions, messaging, marketing mix and more.

For more information, AMI-Partners.

Agilent Technologies Launches Latest In Industry-Leading In-Circuit Test Series

Medalist i3070 Series 5 Offers Excellent External Circuit Integration, Greater Power Capabilities, Faster Throughput

Agilent Technologies Inc. today introduced the Medalist i3070 Series 5 in-circuit test (ICT) platform, marking 20 years since the company launched its award-winning 3070 and i3070 ICT systems.

The Series 5 ICT system offers new analog measurement technology together with the industry’s fastest 12 MHz hybrid pin card, giving electronic manufacturers 20 to 30 percent throughput improvement over the current i3070 at the same list prices. This enables contract manufacturers to considerably reduce their cost of test while increasing coverage.

The Series 5 ICT system also offers a new infrastructure that allows manufacturers to incorporate external circuits easily for added test coverage while providing better control of those circuits. Instead of having multiple sets of external circuits in multiple fixtures, manufacturers can now put the external circuits in the testhead. This way, they need only one set per tester, which can save them significant test costs. Agilent has already identified partners to provide high-speed flash programming solutions, LED testing and boundary-scan solutions via these external circuits.

Current users of i3070 and 3070 PC systems can run most of their ICT programs seamlessly on the new Series 5 tester. Fixtures built since the introduction of the 3070 remain compatible, protecting the manufacturer’s investment.

“Cost of test is a critical challenge for our customers,” said Daniel Mak, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Measurement Systems Division. “The i3070 Series 5 enables reduction in cost of test without sacrificing any coverage. With a 20 to 30 percent ICT throughput improvement, customers can improve test efficiencies enabled by the new and improved source measurement engine in the Series 5 ICT system. And the addition of external circuits removes expensive test steps from their test processes.”

The Series 5 ICT system addresses a broad array of in-circuit and functional test needs, including IEEE1149.6 boundary-scan standard testing and limited-access test applications for highly complex and small-footprint boards in sophisticated consumer electronics, data communication, automotive, aerospace and defense and medical applications. The test system has been able to test low-voltage components reliably since the introduction of the 3070.

For more information, visit Agilent Technologies.

1337 GAME DESIGN: Battlefield Game Designer Working On New iPhone Game

A trailer for the game Dark Nebula was released today on Youtube, showing in-game footage of the title in action. The designer behind the game is game industry veteran Anders Hejdenberg, the lead designer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. This is yet another example of how the booming games market on the iPhone and iPod Touch is attracting talent from the console and PC games industry.

“The iPhone has always intrigued me as a gaming platform, both in terms of how you can interact with it as well as what it is capable of technically. So I felt quite compelled to try it out and see what we could do with it. It was a lot of fun to come up with a new game concept with a control mechanic that feels great on the device.” Anders says.

With just a year since the original launch of the App Store, many of the games are starting to reach the quality level and scope of similar titles on dedicated handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, but for just a fraction of the cost to the consumer.

“I was really impressed to see just how much the iPhone and iPod Touch are actually capable of. I think we’ve only seen the beginning here because as developers learn how to work with the platform they’ll be able to create some truly remarkable things compared to what we’ve seen so far.” Anders says.

Dark Nebula has yet to be submitted to Apple, but it is likely to appear on the App Store towards the end of September this year. The game will be available for both iPhone and iPod Touch.

For more information, visit 1337 GAME DESIGN.

Section 8 Offers Ground-Breaking Clan & Stats Portal

Redefining What Gamers Should Expect From Their Multiplayer Games

SouthPeak Interactive Corporation and developer TimeGate Studios are pleased to announce their clan and statistics portal for the upcoming Section 8™ sci-fi FPS. This extremely robust online center offers players unprecedented information and coordination for everything they do in the game. It also allows for full clan management and recruitment. Everything will be accessible at www.joinsection8.com/stats and be available next week when the game ships in North America.

Features:

• Create a Section 8 clan
  
• In game clan tags can be setup to automatically update from the portal
  
• Ability to turn on/off recruitment status and review the statistics of your incoming applicants
  
• Establish hierarchies within your clan (Recruit, Member, Officer, Leader, etc.) and manage rosters directly from the portal
  
• Toggle viewing clan member’s e-mail address for coordination outside of the game

Over 50+ unique Leaderboards not available in game, categorized by:

• Career Statistics (XP, Kills, Deaths, Destructions, Combat, Teamwork, etc.)
  
• “In a Life” Records (XP, Teamwork, Combat, Kills, Damage, Captures, Repairs, Defenses, Destruction)
  
• Gear “In a Life” Records (Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Knife, etc.)
  
• Badges (32x badges)
  
• Feats (16x feats)
  
• All Leaderboards can be changed to best “overall” or best “within my clan”
  
• Overall community page that tracks the top players / top clans, as well as tracks continuously updated community wide statistics (ex: most popular map, popular gear, popular loadout, etc.)
  
• A unique player profile page for each user that tracks over 100 unique in-game statistics to the individual that can be set to rank either best “overall” or best “within my clan”
  
• Mutually exclusive statistics for each platform (Xbox 360, PC)
  
• Supports players from all regions (EFIGS)

Section 8 will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft on September 1, and for Windows PC on September 4 in North America. Both the Xbox 360 and Windows PC versions will be available on September 11 in the UK and Asia Pacific, and September 18 in the rest of Europe.

For more visit Section 8 or SouthPeak.