Consumer Electronics Daily News

Charge and receive data with light: TCL Communication/ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Sunpartner Technologies announces the first fully integrated solar smartphone

TCL Communication (ALCATEL ONETOUCH and TCL) and Sunpartner Technologies today unveiled a smartphone that can recharge itself by light (Wysips® Crystal).

Seen for the first time at Mobile World Congress 2014, the smartphone demonstrates the real world effectiveness of this technology to enhance battery lifetime and deliver access to critical handset functions even when the battery is drained.

To date, Wysips Crystal has a maximum yield of 2.5 mW/cm² with 90% transparency. Potential applications include integration into feature phones or low-end smartphones for developing countries because Wysips Crystal technology can extend battery life by 20% when the device is exposed to natural light. It also yields usability benefits for developed markets by ensuring that critical applications – calls, texts, remote payment, health applications, e-boarding passes, etc. – are always available.

This smartphone is also available in the Wysips Connect version, which enhances Wysips Crystal by making it Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) compatible. This technology enables the device to simultaneously recharge the battery and transmit data by light waves (VLC- Visible Light Communication) without drawing on the battery.

Dan Dery, Chief Marketing Officer said, "This is a very exciting collaboration, using cutting edge photovoltaic technology to extend the battery life of smartphone devices and to ensure that users always have access to their most critical applications. As consumers become ever more reliant on smartphone technology for all aspects of their daily life, it is essential to investigate and utilize new technologies to deliver and enhance user experience."

Ludovic Deblois, President and Co-founder of Sunpartner Technologies said, "From the beginning we have been driven by the conviction that any surface can be made 'smart' through innovative solar technologies. Our Wysips technologies for solar recharging and / or LiFi transmission are mature. They meet the needs of increasingly networked users for always-charged devices, and are leading the trend in connected objects. Thanks to our partnership with TCL Communication, our promise of smart surfaces is now a reality."

This demonstration of the prototype marks the latest step in the companies' twelve R&D projects integrating Wysips Crystal technology. It is the result of collaboration to position the PV component in an optimal position in the smartphone, to integrate the electronic chip that connects the PV component to the battery, and to integrate the Wysips Connect feature, which is compatible with LiFi.

Visit ALCATEL ONETOUCH (Hall 6, stand 6C30) and Sunpartner Technologies (Hall 5, stand 5B61) at Mobile World Congress to test the prototype for yourself.

Is a Touchscreen A Toy?

Leading children's media research firm The Michael Cohen Group (MCG) presented the results of a diverse nationwide survey of parents at the Digital Kids Conference at Toy Fair 2014 in New York, NY. The study, conducted on February 13^th, polled 350 parents of children 12 and under and found touch-screen devices were played with more often than any other toy, including game consoles.

Despite this, only 10% of parents believed that touchscreens were "always" toys. The majority (58%) believed they were "sometimes" toys and 32% believed they were "never" toys.

Interestingly, the most popular type of touchscreen gaming reported by parents was educational (53% either "very often" or "often"), followed by music (50% either "very often" or "often"), and free play (49% either "very often" or "often").

As the number of families with touchscreens increase among families, so does ownership among children. The Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America study, conducted by Common Sense Media, found 7% of children under 8 own their own tablet.  Recent research by MCG suggests that more than 32% of children in families with at least one touch screen own their own device.

What does this mean for the future of the toy industry and its integration with touchscreen technology? How do parent's perceptions of touchscreens as educational influence their children's screen time, play patterns, and ownership?

For more information and video of Dr. Michael Cohen's full commentary and presentation at the Digital Kids Conference, click on the link: http://mcgrc.com/blog/digitalkidsconference, or visit http://www.mcgrc.com

Taomee Released Flower Fairy Animation Series on Major Cartoon Channels throughout China on Valentine's Day

Taomee Holdings Limited ("Taomee", NYSE: TAOM), a leading children's entertainment and media company in China, released the first season (52 episodes) of Flower Fairy animation series on February 14, 2014.

Launched four years ago, Flower Fairy is one of the most popular online virtual world franchises in China among elementary and middle school girls. Flower Fairy animation series includes adorable characters such as "Xia Anan," and a dream-like fairytale storyline, both of which appeal particularly to girls in this age category.

This is the third animation series based on popular online virtual worlds from Taomee. The previous two, Seer and Mole's World, have been televised on over 130 channels across China and Taiwan.

The new launch of Flower Fairy animation series is a continuation of Taomee's strategy to promote healthy, entertaining, and educational media to the children of Greater China. This is in-line with its successful strategy of promoting and developing its leading brands across both online and offline platforms. Books based on Flower Fairy animation series named "Flower Fairy Xia Anan" will be published soon.

Flower Fairy animation series debuted in Taomee Dream School, the Company's self-branded children's television show, and can be also viewed on major cartoon channels including Aniworld Satellite TV, ToonMax TV and Youman Cartoon TV throughout China, as well as the Company's online video website here.

Bubl Launches New Mobile App for Kids: Bubl Draw, Best New App in Kid's Category on the App Store

Russian developer Bubl launched today their new brand of unique educational apps for children. Their innovative debut app Bubl Draw is a tool that uses music to draw, designed to help develop the artistic perception of shape, color and sound.  Bubl is featured on the US App Store as Kids Category in Best New Apps, as well as Best New Apps inCanada and the United Kingdom.

"We make use of both digital art methods and gaming mechanics to develop children's perception of links between color, sound and shape," says Bubl creator and CEO Oleg Stavitsky. "We've channeled inspiration from our favorite creators into something children can easily understand and, more importantly, learn from."

About Bubl Draw: Bubl Draw composes music out of drawings, where every color has a corresponding musical instrument that changes key as the drawing changes shape. Complete lines and shapes turn into unique musical phrases that comprise a complete composition. Buble Draw thereby becomes an endless music box - an abstract visual and musical tool that creates connections between color, sound and form.

Bubl apps are inspired by the visual art of Wassily Kandinsky; the ambient and generative music of Brian Eno; the minimalist compositions of Philip Glass and Steve Reich; and the contemporary creative collaborations of Sesame Street.

"The modern world is full of digital distraction," says Stavitsky. "We choose not to fight the future, but rather to create products that help kids develop fundamental skills to use in their modern environment."

PCTV Systems Launches The 461e, A New High Definition USB-Based Digital Satellite Receiver For Windows And Linux

Hauppauge Digital Inc subsidiary, PCTV Systems Sarl has launched the PCTV DVB-S2 Stick (461e), a high definition digital satellite TV receiver, designed for both Windows and Linux based systems.

The 461e can receive free-to-view HD digital satellite broadcasts in Europe and the Middle East from Astra and Eutelsat, plus the Freesat service in the UK. The 461e comes in a small case, is USB connected and enables a Windows or Linux system to receive satellite TV programs and satellite data broadcasts. The 461e was designed to deliver excellent TV reception in the smallest size possible for high definition satellite broadcasts.

PCTV Systems Sarl is headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany and is the leading European manufacturer of high definition TV receivers for Windows and Linux systems. PCTV Systems has been a subsidiary of Hauppauge Digital since 2009.

Maik Richter, General Manager of PCTV Systems, remarked on the target markets for the PCTV 461e, "While the 461e will also work in North America and Asia, the rich free-to-view high definition satellite content broadcast by Astra, Eutelsat and Freesat makes Europe the key market. And though the 461e works great in allowing consumers to watch and record satellite TV on a Windows PC, we have many VARs and system integrators in Europe, North America and Asia who will be using the 461e in Linux based systems for digital signage, sports equipment, hospital patient entertainment systems and other TV watching and high speed data delivery applications."

For Windows users, the included TVCenter 6 application for Windows makes it easy to watch, pause and record live HD digital satellite TV on a PC or laptop. After plugging in the 461e to a USB port on a Windows PC and connecting a cable from a satellite dish, a user can watch live satellite TV or play back satellite TV recordings full-screen or in a freely scalable window. The TVCenter 6 application can be run on a Windows PC even if you are working with other software at the same time. TVCenter 6 also supports remote TV viewing with the included DistanTV application, which provides watching TV on mobile devices like tablets or smartphones. With the 461e, a user can watch satellite TV both on their Windows PC or streamed to an iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or other device inside or away from the home.

For OEM and system integrators, the PCTV 461e DVB-S2 Stick works with Linux systems as well. The drivers are part of Kernel 3.14 and are just committed to LinuxTV.org Media Tree http://git.linuxtv.org/media_tree.git

Streetline Unveils Next Generation Cloud-Based Parking Data and Analytics Platform, ParkSight™ 2.0

Streetline, Inc. announced today the release of ParkSight™ 2.0, the most advanced real-time and historical parking data and analytics platform. ParkSight 2.0 was released to Streetline's existing customers today and is now a standard product for all Streetline customers.

ParkSight 2.0 is a cloud-based, software-as-a-service application that allows customers to access both real-time and historical parking data on a 24x7x365 basis. Streetline detects the presence of a vehicle through the use of sensors and transmits the data in real-time via Streetline's patented mesh network back to our data center in the cloud. Information vital to parking administrators including occupancy, turnover, and length of stay data, is then made available to customers through ParkSight 2.0.

With 30% of city traffic caused by people searching for parking, there is a strong case for parking management tools. With nearly 20 standard reports as well as the ability to create customized reports, ParkSight 2.0 enables cities and universities to analyze motorist behavior and make data-driven decisions to better manage their parking real estate.

"We know we need to better manage our downtown parking spaces and use good data to make policy and operational decisions," said Matt Bronson, Assistant City Manager at the City of San Mateo. "With applications such as ParkSight 2.0, we can run reports and share them with other members of our team to help manage our parking inventory most efficiently."

"We are often approached about the sanctioning of accessible spaces on the OSU campus," said Gabriel Merrell, Senior Accessibility Associate and Deputy ADA Coordinator at Oregon State University. "With ParkSight 2.0, we are able to view the occupancy and turnover data quickly and easily, create reports, and provide utilization data to support the allocation of these spaces."

Some notable features of ParkSight 2.0 include:

• Sophisticated analytics
• Highly robust reporting capabilities including 19 standard reports and customized reporting
• Rich visualization
• Around-the-clock access and a truly self-service tool
• Clean and intuitive interface
• Cloud-based service with secure log-in and accessible via a web browser
• Ability to use the data to implement policy changes, track impact, and fine tune
• Export capabilities of data and reports for easy distribution and collaboration
• Ability to slice and dice the data: by block, hour, day of the week in a specified date period
• Data to support the implementation of new initiatives such as demand-based pricing models

The charts and reports included in ParkSight 2.0 have been defined in collaboration with Streetline's nearly 40 customers. By working with customers of different sizes and with different needs and goals, Streetline has identified and delivered on the key reporting features that will further aid cities and universities as they strive to use parking data to optimize resource use, enhance workforce efficiency, decrease congestion, increase patronage in commercial districts, and improve the motorist experience for residents, visitors, and students.

"The release of ParkSight 2.0 is a significant enhancement to our product suite," said Zia Yusuf, CEO of Streetline. "By offering a truly self-service cloud application for our customers, cities and universities can feel empowered to generate reports at whatever frequency they please and easily share across departments. By encouraging a culture of information sharing, we believe we can help our customers to make the decisions that will have the biggest impact across the board."

To learn more about ParkSight 2.0, visit: http://www.streetline.com/parking-analytics/

Dell Joins Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP)

Dell has joined The Alliance for Wireless Power A4WP today, becoming the first major PC original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to join a wireless power standards organization.  Dell joins an existing A4WP membership that has grown to over 80 companies including board members Broadcom, Gill Electronics, IDT, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung,  SEMCO, and WiTricity in addition to other industry leaders such as Fujitsu, Haier, HTC, LG, Panasonic, and SanDisk.

The A4WP is standardizing wireless power transfer using near-field magnetic resonance technology, called Rezence™, which will improve the user experience for charging their mobile devices by "cutting the last cord."   Rezence is uniquely capable of charging multiple devices simultaneously and without the need to dock the device. Power levels and charging speed will meet the expectations of today's "always on, always connected" user.

Coinciding with the addition of Dell's membership, the A4WP is introducing a secondary, higher-powered initiative focusing on wirelessly charging electronic products from 20 to 50 watts, like Ultrabooks, laptops, and mid-powered appliances. Dell's addition to the Alliance signifies the importance of defining a wireless power standard that spans these higher power levels thus expanding the range of electronics beyond smartphones.

"The development of magnetic resonance technology will improve the customer experience when it comes to wireless charging and bring the capability into more homes and businesses over the next few years," said Glen Robson, Dell VP and CTO. "We are excited to work with other industry leaders in the A4WP to deliver on the promise of easy, flexible wireless charging across an array of mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops."

"The A4WP continues to make progress on its mission to cut the power cord for all mobile devices," said Sanjay Vora, GM for Strategic Planning of Intel's PC Client Group.  "Extending the Rezence specification to include higher-power, more capable devices like Ultrabooks and 2 in 1's is a necessary evolution that will help to accelerate charging station installations and bring a truly enjoyable 'No Wires' user experience to more users.  We are excited to have Dell joining the Alliance and help expand the specification."

The A4WP's technical specification benefits both industry and consumers alike. Specifically, the A4WP specification leverages broadly adopted wireless technologies (e.g. Bluetooth Smart), which simplifies development and manufacturing.  For industrial designers, the A4WP specification utilizes a near-field magnetic resonance technology that provides increased flexibility for wireless charging solutions to be installed into all types of products and surfaces (cars, furniture, etc.). Finally, for consumers, the A4WP's Rezence™ brand indicates interoperability between devices and chargers and signifies the ability to support simultaneous charging of multiple devices with differing power requirements.  Users can simply "drop & go" their devices onto a charging surface without the hassle of accurate positioning or alignment.

A4WP is exhibiting its wireless charging standard at the 2014 Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, 24-27 February, 2014 at Hall 2, Stand 2J2.

For a video demonstration of Rezence-enabled spatial freedom, click here.

Badgeville Levels Up Gamification Design with Badgeville Visualize

Badgeville, The Behavior Platform and Global Gamification Leader, today announced the launch of Badgeville Visualize. The new collection of pre-configured gamification components and a toolkit for further customization is designed to help marketers and line-of-business managers build compelling engagement experiences across their digital ecosystem of web, mobile, and enterprise applications.

Gamification is rapidly growing as a key tool for marketers and line-of-business managers driving both customer loyalty and employee productivity. Gartner Research predicts that over 70 percent of Global 2000 firms will be using gamification this year. Badgeville's hundreds of global customers, from American Express and Oracle to Kendall Jackson and Samsung, are leading the way in the next generation of both customer and employee engagement.

"Badgeville is dedicated to making it easy for enterprise leaders to obtain the greatest results through their gamification programs by providing the right set of tools to launch faster, integrate easier, and iterate rapidly," said Ted Farrell, CTO, Badgeville. "Our global customers now have access to a library of pre-configured visualizations and this powerful toolkit to rapidly build rich and engaging gamification experiences in their applications."

Badgeville Visualize is comprised of a new Badgeville JavaScript SDK and a set of rich preconfigured visualizations for gamification design. With Visualize, web developers can leverage The Behavior Platform's features for their visualizations without having to write server-side code. Dozens of preconfigured visualizations are available to Badgeville customers today, including leaderboards, player missions, player profiles, player rewards, player mission progress, player mission tutorial, player cards, player header, and notifications.

In addition, the new Javascript SDK enables Badgeville customers to customize these preconfigured visualizations or even build new ones to meet the design needs of a website or application. They can be easily optimized for the mobile web, delivering a compelling experience to users wherever they go. The new JavaScript SDK allows page-side developers to build customized visualizations that map to the look and feel of any site or application.

Enjoy WiFi and Charge iPhone Synchronously with One Device

Staying connected no matter where you are is something that most of us take for granted these days, and MOCREO aims to enable you to stay in touch with anyone online from anywhere thanks to the newest 3G product - MOCREO^TM 5-in-1 Multi-Functional 3G Router. This product comes across not only as a 3G router, but also a 3G WiFi hotspot, a WiFi Repeater, a Wireless Network Attached Storage, and an External Power Bank, 5-in-1 device for your special needs, enabling you enjoy a more dynamic and comprehensive wireless networking experience.

The MOCREO 3G Router is designed for use with tablets, smart phones, and other portable electronic wireless devices. As a 3G router, it can be connected to a wired network and transforms the wired Internet access into wireless so that multiple devices can share the Internet. This enables you to enjoy wireless network while you are in the hotel, office, and places where only a wired network is available. As it is compatible with most 3G USB dongles, you can easily plug the dongle into its USB port, and you get access to wireless network when a temporary wireless network is needed.

MOCREO 5-in-1 Multi-Functional 3G Router can also copy and reinforce the existing wireless signal to extend the coverage of the signal as a 3G WiFi Repeater. This is an amazing function that can extend the WiFi working distance even you are outside your big house. In addition, the MOCREO is able to do multiple connections for media sharing and Internet access, which makes it more convenient to share pictures, videos and other files wirelessly from USB HDD, U-Disk, or USB Card reader to other devices, such as iPhone, iPad, PCs, etc.

MOCREO 5-in-1 Multi-Functional 3G Router is designed in a small size makes it ideal for use on the road and is powerful enough to satisfy almost any basic wireless application requirement. No matter if you are traveling over the world, working in a cafe, or just staying at home, you will no longer have to search for a WiFi spot, or left with devices that run out of charge.

Capable of performing a number of tasks, this versatile MOCREO 5-in-1 Multi-Functional 3G Router is definitely the great choice for all of you. Now it is available on DealeXtreme (aka. DX); for more information click here.

Opera Mediaworks announces major milestones, product innovation and international expansion at Mobile World Congress

Opera Mediaworks, the world's largest mobile advertising platform, is set to make waves on its trip to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress taking place February 24 to 27.

The company will be celebrating its one-year anniversary since the official launch of the Opera Mediaworks subsidiary and brand. A fully-owned subsidiary of Opera Software, Opera Mediaworks has reached multiple milestones in the last year including:

• Revenue Growth

Opera Mediaworks revenues increased 134% from Q1 to Q4 2013 with growth across-the-board in advertiser services -- from premium, performance and app-installs -- to creative services and publisher services that includes ad serving, ad mediation and rich media.

• The industry's leading mobile ad technology platform and monetization tools

Reflecting its strongly differentiated value proposition for brand advertisers, Opera Mediaworks ran a record number of campaigns in Q4 2013, attracting multiple category-leading brands and advertisers including BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Canon, Samsung, AMEX, Mastercard, Wells Fargo, 20th Century Fox, BBC, Sony, Universal, Amazon, Google, Netflix, king.com, among others.

Opera Mediaworks powers advertising for 20 of the top 25 global media companies worldwide, and directly manages advertising on more than 14,000+ premium mobile sites and applications, managing over 65 billion ad impressions a month. The platform also enabled over $500 million in publisher revenue in 2013.

• The world's most sought-after mobile advertising audience

Opera Mediaworks has now achieved a major milestone of reaching more than 500 million unique mobile consumers a month globally.

• The largest independent and cross-platform app store in the world

The Opera Mobile Store grew its user base by 172% in one year, reaching more than 100 million monthly visitors and offering more than 200,000 apps across most platforms, including Android, Java, BlackBerry, Symbian and iOS.

• Moving with the trends of smartphone and tablet growth

Opera Mediaworks' made a substantial expansion in Latin America, helped by the addition of the Hunt Mobile Ads team, a leading mobile ad network in Latin America.

• Product and service innovation

Opera Mediaworks will be introducing a slate of new products and services at Mobile World Congress building upon the strong track record of driving innovation in rich media and video, audio and voice ads and 3rd party platforms.

Through its quarterly State of Mobile Advertising reports, Opera Mediaworks provides deep insights into the war between iOS an Android, content consumption, advertising engagement and the global mobile audience.

Opera Mediaworks' presence in Barcelona

CEO Mahi de Silva will participate in a televised panel discussion run by GSMA as part of its Mobile World Live TV series onTuesday, February 25 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. These series are broadcast across the internet and on the jumbo screens scattered around the show area. Mahi will participate in one of these interviews, focusing on the success of local apps.

Scott Swanson, President, Global Advertiser Sales, Opera Mediaworks is moderating a panel discussion at the the Mobile Media Summit titled, '30,000 Feet and Climbing: What CMOs Want in Mobile.' Mobile is reshaping all aspects of the marketing and media mix and at this panel attendees will hear directly from the top minds in advertising on what their client CMOs want today and what they are looking at in the future for mobile. Panel participants will include representatives from Ogilvy, Mindshare Worldwide, Universal McCann and PHD Network.

Opera Mediaworks will be located at the Opera Software booth at MWC (Hall 5, Stand C21) and will showcase company offerings, provide demonstrations and the opportunity to interact with Opera representatives. Opera Mediaworks will also have a booth in the App Planet pavilion (Hall 8.1, Stand I16).

"Opera Mediaworks has experienced tremendous growth and expansion, building the engine that drives the mobile ad economy in 2013," says Mahi de Silva, CEO, Opera Mediaworks. "We now have the financial strength, global footprint and technology to enable and define the next generation of data-driven digital marketing. We look forward to showcasing the only end-to-end platform specializing in mobile that serves both the supply and demand side of the mobile advertising business with a global presence during this grand event."

To meet with an Opera Mediaworks representative during Mobile World Congress, please contact [email protected].