ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Myriad Group AG, a global leader in mobile technology having shipped over 3.8 billion software applications on more than 2.2 billion phones, announced a $10 million customer contract renewal with a leading Taiwanese semiconductor company, which extends the partnership through to 2013.
Since 2007, Myriad Group has worked with customers to offer game-changing technologies for the Blu-ray industry. Under the renewed contract, Myriad Group will integrate its Jbed Advanced CDC technology into Blu-ray chip technology to offer one complete, high-performance solution. Myriad's ongoing collaboration with companies in this sector will continue to dramatically enhance Blu-ray chip performance, while accelerating shipments to fuel further expansion into the APAC region.
Leveraging its deep expertise in embedded software technology, Myriad's Jbed Advanced CDC solution, a powerful, fully compliant Java ME platform, enables Java programs and Java-based middleware to quickly and seamlessly improve user experience through faster start-up and response times.
"All metrics continue to indicate APAC as one of the fastest growing regions for consumer electronics, including Blu-ray," said Simon Wilkinson, CEO of Myriad Group. "We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationships in the region, and we are eager to carry on playing an integral part in supplying the cutting-edge solutions needed to fuel growth in the APAC marketplace as well as further afield."
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
New features and content launched in IEEE Xplore
PISCATAWAY, USA: IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, has released new content for the IEEE Xplore digital library, including IEEE Redline Standards. The first installment of IEEE Redline Standards is now available for select subscription packages.
IEEE Redline standards
Redline versions allow technical professionals to more quickly and efficiently implement updates to their procedures, products or organizations.
A redline version shows the actual revisions made to an approved standard or draft when a version changes. Content added to a standard shows up in blue text and content removed from a standard shows up in red.
Redline versions are beneficial because the client does not have to read through the entire revised standard (a document they may already be very familiar with), but only the parts that have been changed.
Also new in IEEE Xplore this month are more rights and permissions links, due to an expanded service agreement with Copyright Clearance Center Inc., a not-for-profit organization and leading provider of licensing solutions.
IEEE Redline standards
Redline versions allow technical professionals to more quickly and efficiently implement updates to their procedures, products or organizations.
A redline version shows the actual revisions made to an approved standard or draft when a version changes. Content added to a standard shows up in blue text and content removed from a standard shows up in red.
Redline versions are beneficial because the client does not have to read through the entire revised standard (a document they may already be very familiar with), but only the parts that have been changed.
Also new in IEEE Xplore this month are more rights and permissions links, due to an expanded service agreement with Copyright Clearance Center Inc., a not-for-profit organization and leading provider of licensing solutions.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
"Harry Potter" shatters records for midnight shows on Fandango
LOS ANGELES, USA: Tonight's the night, as millions of moviegoers will band together to bid a fond, final farewell to the beloved characters of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
Fandango has sold more midnight and early morning show tickets for "Part 2"' than it has for the late night openings of any other movie (including "The Dark Knight" and "New Moon").
More than 6,000 of tonight's midnight shows are sold out in advance on Fandango, and theater owners are scrambling to post additional showtimes (many at 3:00 a.m.). "Part 2" currently represents 93% of today's total ticket sales.
Fandango's "Harry Potter" experts will be available in New York and Los Angeles for live commentary outside the theaters, where film fans are likely to dress up for the magical occasion. According to a Fandango survey of more than 1,000 moviegoers, more than 8% of midnight show ticket-buyers will arrive at the theater in special "Potter" regalia.
"'Part 2''s midnight show ticket sales have been nothing short of extraordinary," says Fandango executive VP and GM, Rick Butler. "In the more than 19 years that I've been with the company, I've never seen so many late night showtimes for a single movie sold out in advance. Thankfully, theater owners are adding new showtimes throughout the night to meet the fan demand."
Fandango has sold more midnight and early morning show tickets for "Part 2"' than it has for the late night openings of any other movie (including "The Dark Knight" and "New Moon").
More than 6,000 of tonight's midnight shows are sold out in advance on Fandango, and theater owners are scrambling to post additional showtimes (many at 3:00 a.m.). "Part 2" currently represents 93% of today's total ticket sales.
Fandango's "Harry Potter" experts will be available in New York and Los Angeles for live commentary outside the theaters, where film fans are likely to dress up for the magical occasion. According to a Fandango survey of more than 1,000 moviegoers, more than 8% of midnight show ticket-buyers will arrive at the theater in special "Potter" regalia.
"'Part 2''s midnight show ticket sales have been nothing short of extraordinary," says Fandango executive VP and GM, Rick Butler. "In the more than 19 years that I've been with the company, I've never seen so many late night showtimes for a single movie sold out in advance. Thankfully, theater owners are adding new showtimes throughout the night to meet the fan demand."
Price trend after middle of Q3 is going to be determined by time and range of adjustment of production capacity utilization rate
TAIWAN: The global market has suffered from debt crisis in Europe, slow economic recovery in Northern America, earthquake in Japan, and inflation issues all over the world leading to apparent lack of consumer confidence.
Except for the outstanding market growth of Tablet PCs, market demands for LCD TV, LC monitor, and Notebook PC all appear to be weak. The pressures from quarterly and semi-annual reports by the end of June for most companies plus the lowly end demand in July have led to fairly conservative attitudes toward inventory control and stocking preparation procurement among downstream customers.
According to the forecast by research institution WitsView under TRENDFORCE, there is a QoQ growth of roughly 6~8 percent for the panel shipment in Q3 indicating conservative stocking attitudes among customers before hot season such that the increased inventory level of Q2 will be digested during the third quarter.
If the market over-supply cannot be balanced in Q3 by panel makers through reduction of production capacity utilization rate, the not-so-hot hot season in Q3 will kill the hope for panel price rebounding and any chance of turnaround from loss to profit.
By reviewing past experience of industrial development, we can see over-stockings caused by market misjudgment in the first half of both 2008 and 2010, causing stacking inventory issues to suppress the price trend in the second half of both years. The first half of 2011 has a different background of industrial development from those in 2008 and 2010. There has not been irrational stocking among customers due to earthquake in Japan.
However, inventory issues resurface due to debt crisis in Europe, regional instability and inflation issues, and panel oversupply has led to the lack of strong price support. The key factor for market turnaround in the second half of the year is going to be the time and range of production capacity adjustments among panel makers.
The time frame from July to September is going to be critical for observing the variation of production line utilization rate. Otherwise the inventory issue will only lead to a not-so-hot hot season (even with existing demand), and it is going to be extremely difficult for panel makers to see profit turnarounds.
Except for the outstanding market growth of Tablet PCs, market demands for LCD TV, LC monitor, and Notebook PC all appear to be weak. The pressures from quarterly and semi-annual reports by the end of June for most companies plus the lowly end demand in July have led to fairly conservative attitudes toward inventory control and stocking preparation procurement among downstream customers.
According to the forecast by research institution WitsView under TRENDFORCE, there is a QoQ growth of roughly 6~8 percent for the panel shipment in Q3 indicating conservative stocking attitudes among customers before hot season such that the increased inventory level of Q2 will be digested during the third quarter.
If the market over-supply cannot be balanced in Q3 by panel makers through reduction of production capacity utilization rate, the not-so-hot hot season in Q3 will kill the hope for panel price rebounding and any chance of turnaround from loss to profit.
By reviewing past experience of industrial development, we can see over-stockings caused by market misjudgment in the first half of both 2008 and 2010, causing stacking inventory issues to suppress the price trend in the second half of both years. The first half of 2011 has a different background of industrial development from those in 2008 and 2010. There has not been irrational stocking among customers due to earthquake in Japan.
However, inventory issues resurface due to debt crisis in Europe, regional instability and inflation issues, and panel oversupply has led to the lack of strong price support. The key factor for market turnaround in the second half of the year is going to be the time and range of production capacity adjustments among panel makers.
The time frame from July to September is going to be critical for observing the variation of production line utilization rate. Otherwise the inventory issue will only lead to a not-so-hot hot season (even with existing demand), and it is going to be extremely difficult for panel makers to see profit turnarounds.
Penetration of slim products such as tablet PCs into our livelihoods will power huge growth of demand for slim glass
TAIWAN: According to the observation on slim products by the research institution WitsView under TrendForce, along with the hot sales of Tablet PCs and mid-to-small size products, thinner and lighter product design has gradually become the mainstream driving to the demand for slim panels.
Due to the limitation of panel production equipment in the past, glass substrate makers have been reluctant to increase product complexity which could cause the loss of production capacity. Therefore, the thicknesses of glass substrates are fixed among production lines of all generations.
WitsView indicated that the mainstream thickness of traditional glass substrate in Gen5 panel production line is 0.5 mm. However, along with the rising demand for Tablet PCs and the transfer of certain mid-to-small size products to the Gen5 production line, the demand for 0.3 mm or even 0.2 mm slim glass has been surging.
Traditionally panel makers will reduce the thickness of 0.5 mm glass substrate and color filter to 0.3 mm or 0.2 mm with chemical etching method. However, in light of significantly increased demand, limited production capacity, and greatly increased overall cost of chemical etchings, panel makers are considering making related products directly on 0.3 mm glass substrates.
Considering the high cost of equipment modification for 0.3 mm and the low yield, the short-term plan for panel maker is to make 0.4 mm glass substrate the mainstream thickness for Gen5 production line and to lower overall production cost through reduction of time required for substrate thinning to 0.3 mm.
In terms of the supply side of glass substrate, WitsView thinks along with the diversified panel demands for associated glass substrates such as TFT substrate, LTPS substrate and cover glass, glass makers have modified their previous stubborn attitudes towards glass thickness specifications with the hope that through production of slim glass, the production volume can be increased without increasing capital expenditure for new glass furnaces.
By enhancing the production scale and capacity of slim glass, it is hopeful that the price of slim glass can get closer to existing product in order to stimulate the continuous growing demands from panel makers for slim glass.
WitsView points out that with the gradual maturation of existing panel products, the rising demand for slim product has become the recent highlight. Both the supply side and demand side of glass substrate have been developing along this direction based on the considerations of cost, production scale and price strategy. Therefore we can foresee that the conversion to slim glass becomes the major revolution for panel production process within one or two years.
WitsView has predicted that the proportion above Gen5 production line converted for the production of slim glass could reach roughly 25 percent this year. The number for Gen6 production could reach 30~35% due to the early introduction of 0.5 mm glass substrates back in 2010.
Along with the gradual conversion of Gen5 production line to the production of 0.4 mm glass substrate in the second half of the year, the overall annual conversion ratio could reach 20 percent with prospect of moving to 0.3 mm glass substrate in the future. The conversion ratio of Gen7 and Gen8 production line to the production of 0.5 mm glass substrate this year is predicted to be lower than 5 percent due to the low yield of large-sized substrate production.
2011-2012 slim glass substrate conversion schedule of panel makers
Source: WitsView, Taiwan
Due to the limitation of panel production equipment in the past, glass substrate makers have been reluctant to increase product complexity which could cause the loss of production capacity. Therefore, the thicknesses of glass substrates are fixed among production lines of all generations.
WitsView indicated that the mainstream thickness of traditional glass substrate in Gen5 panel production line is 0.5 mm. However, along with the rising demand for Tablet PCs and the transfer of certain mid-to-small size products to the Gen5 production line, the demand for 0.3 mm or even 0.2 mm slim glass has been surging.
Traditionally panel makers will reduce the thickness of 0.5 mm glass substrate and color filter to 0.3 mm or 0.2 mm with chemical etching method. However, in light of significantly increased demand, limited production capacity, and greatly increased overall cost of chemical etchings, panel makers are considering making related products directly on 0.3 mm glass substrates.
Considering the high cost of equipment modification for 0.3 mm and the low yield, the short-term plan for panel maker is to make 0.4 mm glass substrate the mainstream thickness for Gen5 production line and to lower overall production cost through reduction of time required for substrate thinning to 0.3 mm.
In terms of the supply side of glass substrate, WitsView thinks along with the diversified panel demands for associated glass substrates such as TFT substrate, LTPS substrate and cover glass, glass makers have modified their previous stubborn attitudes towards glass thickness specifications with the hope that through production of slim glass, the production volume can be increased without increasing capital expenditure for new glass furnaces.
By enhancing the production scale and capacity of slim glass, it is hopeful that the price of slim glass can get closer to existing product in order to stimulate the continuous growing demands from panel makers for slim glass.
WitsView points out that with the gradual maturation of existing panel products, the rising demand for slim product has become the recent highlight. Both the supply side and demand side of glass substrate have been developing along this direction based on the considerations of cost, production scale and price strategy. Therefore we can foresee that the conversion to slim glass becomes the major revolution for panel production process within one or two years.
WitsView has predicted that the proportion above Gen5 production line converted for the production of slim glass could reach roughly 25 percent this year. The number for Gen6 production could reach 30~35% due to the early introduction of 0.5 mm glass substrates back in 2010.
Along with the gradual conversion of Gen5 production line to the production of 0.4 mm glass substrate in the second half of the year, the overall annual conversion ratio could reach 20 percent with prospect of moving to 0.3 mm glass substrate in the future. The conversion ratio of Gen7 and Gen8 production line to the production of 0.5 mm glass substrate this year is predicted to be lower than 5 percent due to the low yield of large-sized substrate production.
2011-2012 slim glass substrate conversion schedule of panel makers
Source: WitsView, Taiwan
Zynga’s latest game title affirms Facebook dominance
EL SEGUNDO, USA: Zynga’s latest title released for Facebook, “Empires & Allies,” has accrued more than 40 million monthly active users (MAUs) during its first month on the market according to the IHS Screen Digest Video Game Market Intelligence Service at information and analysis provider IHS.
Currently the second most popular app on Facebook, “Empires & Allies” is outperformed by Zynga’s “CityVille,” which has 87 million MAUs, but has recently surpassed another Zynga title, “FarmVille,” which has 40 million MAUs.
“The strong performance of ‘Empires & Allies’ is hardly surprising, given that Zynga’s pre-existing network of titles was already hosting more than 250 million monthly users,” said Steve Bailey, analyst for games at IHS.
“With this in mind, luring one-third of the player base of ‘CityVille’ to sample ‘Empires & Allies’ would be sufficient to provide 30 million monthly active users. In terms of debut-month figures, anything less than approximately 40 million MAUs would be below expectations, given Zynga’s capacities for leveraging advertising and cross-Zynga network promotion on Facebook.”
IHS does not expect “Empires” to match the success of “CityVille,” which peaked at 100 million MAUs during its second month on the market. “CityVille” was a stalwart genre play, iterating one of the most successful emerging categories of games on Facebook in 2010. “Empires & Allies,” in contrast, is somewhat of a departure, blending slightly more aggressive strategy elements around a resource-management basis.
This can be seen as a bulwark against a growing number of games that are attempting to capture a slightly more hardcore base of players—much like Kabam’s “Dragons of Atlantis” or Digital Chocolate’s “Army Attack”—which are seeing increased engagement and retention from slimmer but more dedicated user bases. Still, Zynga is no slouch in this regard, especially in the case of “FarmVille” given its age, with the company having successfully managed to retain the interests of a large audience to an above-average extent.
To be sure, Zynga’s release schedule is slowing, and “Empires” is the first Zynga game in more than six months, a far cry from its behavior in late 2009, a period of golden growth that propelled the company to the forefront of Facebook gaming. The role of “Empires” isn’t just to gain traction in an upcoming genre and find a new audience but also to combat churn: four of Zynga’s Top 10 titles have seen significant loss of foothold in the past quarter, and will need to be replaced or refreshed within an increasingly competitive environment.
Even with “Empires” performing strongly at launch, Zynga is currently 30 million MAUs short of the 300 million record high achieved by its portfolio at the beginning of the year.
Zynga’s performance during the past quarter, alongside those of other major gaming operators on Facebook, will be the focus of the next edition of the IHS Screen Digest Social Network Gaming Market Monitor, due in July.
Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.
Currently the second most popular app on Facebook, “Empires & Allies” is outperformed by Zynga’s “CityVille,” which has 87 million MAUs, but has recently surpassed another Zynga title, “FarmVille,” which has 40 million MAUs.
“The strong performance of ‘Empires & Allies’ is hardly surprising, given that Zynga’s pre-existing network of titles was already hosting more than 250 million monthly users,” said Steve Bailey, analyst for games at IHS.
“With this in mind, luring one-third of the player base of ‘CityVille’ to sample ‘Empires & Allies’ would be sufficient to provide 30 million monthly active users. In terms of debut-month figures, anything less than approximately 40 million MAUs would be below expectations, given Zynga’s capacities for leveraging advertising and cross-Zynga network promotion on Facebook.”
IHS does not expect “Empires” to match the success of “CityVille,” which peaked at 100 million MAUs during its second month on the market. “CityVille” was a stalwart genre play, iterating one of the most successful emerging categories of games on Facebook in 2010. “Empires & Allies,” in contrast, is somewhat of a departure, blending slightly more aggressive strategy elements around a resource-management basis.
This can be seen as a bulwark against a growing number of games that are attempting to capture a slightly more hardcore base of players—much like Kabam’s “Dragons of Atlantis” or Digital Chocolate’s “Army Attack”—which are seeing increased engagement and retention from slimmer but more dedicated user bases. Still, Zynga is no slouch in this regard, especially in the case of “FarmVille” given its age, with the company having successfully managed to retain the interests of a large audience to an above-average extent.
To be sure, Zynga’s release schedule is slowing, and “Empires” is the first Zynga game in more than six months, a far cry from its behavior in late 2009, a period of golden growth that propelled the company to the forefront of Facebook gaming. The role of “Empires” isn’t just to gain traction in an upcoming genre and find a new audience but also to combat churn: four of Zynga’s Top 10 titles have seen significant loss of foothold in the past quarter, and will need to be replaced or refreshed within an increasingly competitive environment.
Even with “Empires” performing strongly at launch, Zynga is currently 30 million MAUs short of the 300 million record high achieved by its portfolio at the beginning of the year.
Zynga’s performance during the past quarter, alongside those of other major gaming operators on Facebook, will be the focus of the next edition of the IHS Screen Digest Social Network Gaming Market Monitor, due in July.
Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
