Friday, October 31, 2014

iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 accessories to debut at iLounge’s iProducts marketplace at 2015 CES

ARLINGTON, USA: The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced that a newly-curated and sold-out version of the successful iLounge Pavilion will debut as the iProducts Marketplace at the 2015 International CES.

Owned and produced by CEA, the 2015 CES, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, will run January 6-9, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Exhibitors are expected to debut many of the first new products and accessories for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, all of which were released in late 2014. New speakers, battery cases, styluses, and keyboards are just a few of the products to be featured.

“The curated iProducts marketplace will feature the latest and greatest i-related products and is sure to be a popular destination at the 2015 CES,” said Karen Chupka, senior VP International CES and corporate business strategy, CEA. “Our iProducts exhibit area will reveal the most innovative accessories and enhancements for some of today’s biggest products, from smartphones to tablets to wearables.”

Major exhibitors located within the iProducts Marketplace include Speck, Incipio, Griffin, Otterbox, Scosche, TYLT and Mophie. The iProducts Marketplace will take up 82,950 net square feet of exhibit space and be located at CES Tech East, in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center (LVCC). CES Tech East includes the LVCC, Westgate Las Vegas (Westgate) and Renaissance Las Vegas (Renaissance).

Wearable devices to drive the second wave of consumer biometric adoption

LONDON, UK: Goode Intelligence, the leading research and consultancy organisation for the mobile biometric industry, issued an update to its latest analyst report forecasting that by 2019 there will be 604 million users of wearable biometric technology globally.

According to Goode Intelligence, biometric authentication in Smart Mobile Devices (smartphones, phablets and tablets) has become a common feature. The first wave of integration into flagship mobile models from the current top three smart mobile device manufacturers, Apple, Samsung and Huawei, is being emulated by other device manufacturers for integration into more affordable models.

The trend is driven by a number of factors including the need to conveniently protect devices (replacing PINs for device unlock), mobile payment and mobile banking authentication and, will lead into it being integrated into enterprise multi-factor authentication (MFA) platforms.

The next wave of consumer-led biometric adoption will be led by the integration into wearable technology – smartwatches, bands, ear-pods, jewellery and glasses. The wearable device, thanks to its biometric capability, will become the prime personal authentication device allowing authentication and identity verification for both the physical and logical worlds.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Apical launches assertive display 4 for featuring dynamic content adaptation

LONDON, UK: Apical Ltd announced the launch of the latest version of its advanced display management core: Assertive Display 4 featuring Dynamic Content Adaptation.

Assertive Display enables mobile device manufacturers to deliver a high-quality viewing experience, even in bright sunshine, and enables dramatic reductions in display power consumption. It goes beyond traditional backlight control to render the display adaptive to its environment, just as the human eye adjusts to different conditions.

With the addition of Dynamic Content Adaptation, Apical is expanding Assertive Display’s capabilities by enabling the actual video content, in addition to ambient light, to add intelligent control to the display performance. The result: improved power consumption and display quality for TV and movie streaming on mobile devices.

“Assertive Display with Dynamic Content Adaptation is a milestone for the industry. It announces the first introduction of intelligence into the visual functionality of a smartphone and marks a trend and a range of intelligent developments that Apical will be delivering over the next few years,” said Michael Tusch, CEO of Apical.

“Not only have we enhanced our industry-leading Assertive Display product, but we now have a solution to a problem that has dogged the mobile industry: fully functional, low power dynamic backlight control.”

Assertive Display is the product of 12 years of R&D into human vision and represents a dramatic development in how content can be viewed on mobile devices. By modelling how the eye adapts to different ambient light and content changes, Assertive Display delivers a seamless viewing experience, whether the display is viewed in a dark room or in bright sunshine.

Through continuous and dynamic pixel adjustment to preserve contrast and colour, Assertive Display delivers TV-like quality with no washout of the screen, which plagued previous-generation technologies.

Assertive Display with Dynamic Content Adaptation now enables the content stream to deliver unparalleled dynamic backlight control, which offers significant power reductions over previous versions coupled with improved viewing quality. These product enhancements can offer up to 40 percent power savings over previous versions of Assertive Display when watching movies, especially in dark ambient lighting environments.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Apple iPad Air 2 largely holds line on features and costs

EL SEGUNDO, USA: With a design and feature set only incrementally different from the original iPad Air, the new iPad Air 2 carries a nearly identical hardware cost as its predecessor, according to the Teardown Analysis Service at IHS Inc.

The 16-gigabyte (GB) Wi-Fi-only version of the Apple iPad Air 2 sports a bill of materials (BOM) of $270, based on a preliminary estimate. When the $5 manufacturing cost is added, the cost rises to $275.

This compares to the $269 BOM for the 16GB version of the original Apple iPad Air, based on a finalized estimate from IHS in November 2013.

Although the profit margin appears to be the same for Apple at the low end of the iPad Air 2 line, the product produces lower gross margins for Apple at the high end with 64GB and 128GB worth of NAND flash. This is because the 64GB and 128GB models of iPad Air 2 are selling at the same price point as the original iPad Air 32GB and 64GB models. The additional cost of memory trims the estimated margins slightly.

“The Air 2 delivers a series of refinements compared to the original Air but features nothing earthshaking,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS.

“With largely identical display specifications and minor improvements in most other areas, Apple continues to offer evolutionary upgrades to the iPad lineup. It’s interesting to note that by offering the consumer a 128GB model for the same price as last year’s 64GB iPad Air, Apple actually has taken down our estimated margins a bit on both the 64GB and 128GB models. The increased memory configurations to 64GB and 128GB are some of the key upgrades here.”

Digitaltest announces FailSim

STUTENSEE, GERMANY: Digitaltest, renowned leader in In-Circuit Test (ICT), Flying Probe, bed of nail test systems, Functional Test and Production Software is announcing its latest innovative tool, FailSim.

During the past year Digitaltest has continued to push the boundaries of performance, coverage and ease of use to a new level across all their test platforms.

Digitaltest’s new developments include the AMU5 which, provides high performance 5th generation measurement capability for all our systems, New Flying Probe capabilities, enhanced CAD Translation and Quality Management Software.

The whole idea of performing ICT or Flying Probe Test is to quickly find manufacturing issues while assuring product quality. But how do you ensure the quality of the test program?

Digitaltest’s new tool, FailSim, takes the analysis of fault coverage to the next level. By simulating defects, FailSim can provide the real-world test coverage on a live board. Identifying program, debug or, fixture issues that could be reducing fault coverage.

Human error, BOM changes, incorrect data, version errors can all cause reduction in fault coverage. If just one component value has been measured with the wrong parameters, defects can be missed. Other test conditions such as noise produced from surrounding devices can also cause problems and the test quality can no longer be guaranteed.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Barcoding Inc. helps Canton Port Services set sail for data collection accuracies and efficiencies

BALTIMORE, USA: Barcoding Inc., a leader in enterprise-wide mobility solutions, has helped Canton Port Services, LLC, set sail for new accuracies and efficiencies by implementing a customized barcode scanning solution that eliminates manual processes in receiving, load out, and customs clearing operations.

Canton Port Services is a unique private terminal in the Baltimore Harbor that offers a full menu of services, including handling, storing, and rail loading and unloading.

Turning to Barcoding, Canton Port Services sought a solution that would eliminate time-consuming, error-prone manual data entry in the receiving and load-out processes while also preventing potentially costly mistakes in customs clearing.

To meet Canton Port Services’ needs, Barcoding implemented a barcode scanning system, consisting of mobile computers, printers, barcode labels, and a customized web-based application developed with its CaptureSoft Xpress platform. Barcoding then integrated the software with Canton Port Services’ partner’s booking system to update inventory in real time as vehicles are scanned.