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Wednesday 4 March 2015

Smartphone handset: build it yourselves

Build-your-own Google handset reconstructs smartphone



Barcelona (AFP) - With a smartphone that slots together piece by piece like Lego, US Internet giant Google is trying to reinvent the mobile as most phone makers are honing sleeker handsets.

The company aims to challenge its rival Apple's thin iPhones with the Google Ara project, giving smartphone aficionados the option to build their phone themselves.

Analysts say tech boffins will love it but remain cautious about how popular it may be compared to polished conventional smartphones that sit snugly in the palm.

Google says the Ara phone is part of its bid to widen Internet access to users in developing countries and could create a new industry for assembly-ready handset parts.

Google's associate, US firm Yezz, presented a prototype of the build-your-own device this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world's biggest wireless telecom trade fair.

The phone consists of a base structure on which various square, magnetic modular parts can be attached: screen, battery, camera, speakers and more. Google plans to release it in three sizes.

Build-your-own Google handset reconstructs smartphone

Ara would allow users to replace individual components rather than throwing the whole thing away and buying a new handset. It says the base unit will last at least five or six years.

"That is good for the environment," said Annette Zimmermann, a telecom specialist at German consultancy Gartner.

- Emerging markets -

Ara "could reshape the mobile landscape," said Paul Eremenko, director of the Ara Project, in a presentation to experts in January.

He said it aimed to gain six billion potential clients -- the current billion people who currently use smartphones "and five billion future users", most of them in emerging markets.

Google says a mid-range Ara phone could cost between $50 and $100 to produce, but has not given details of the likely sales price, leaving questions marks over how sustainable such a product would be.

"Google is not looking to make money directly with Ara," said Jerome Colin, a telecom expert at French consultancy group Roland Berger.

"It is basically looking to spread smartphones in countries with low purchasing power, and to unify the telecom world around its Android system."

- 'Paradox of choice' -

Tech fans and bloggers queued up to see the prototype presented in Barcelona, but analysts were sceptical.

"The trend in mobile phones is to have small, thin, really integrated products. If you make a product modular it immediately means that you're going to have to make compromises on that," said Ben Wood, head researcher at consultancy CCS Insight.

"The other question mark I have is: beyond geeks, who really knows" about components? he added.

"If I said to you, which processor do you want in your smartphone, I think you could stop people in the street and they'd just look at you like you'd landed from Mars."

Eremenko acknowledged that consumers risked being overwhelmed by too many technical options when it comes to choosing components.

"We need to resolve the paradox of choice," he said in January.

Google plans a test launch of the device in Puerto Rico by the end of this year.

"We will have to see if the public takes to it," said Zimmerman.

Google dominates the world of Internet searches and its Android operating system can be used on 80 percent of the world's smartphones. It also holds a large market share in wireless tablet devices.

Its senior vice-president Sundar Pichai said in Barcelona on Monday that it was in talks with telecom companies about possibly using their networks to operate its own mobile phone services in the United States.

AFP

Tuesday 3 March 2015

China plans parade for war anniversary

 

Military parade to mark victory of War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

BEIJING - China will hold a military parade this year to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Monday evening.

Other events that will also mark the 70th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War include a rally, a reception and an evening gala in Beijing, which will be attended by President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders, the spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, without revealing exact dates of the parade and other events.

Related: Farce to fuss over China's military parade

Unmanned aircraft receives inspection during a military parade in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, October 1, 2009. [Xinhua]

"China will flex its military muscle again." Perhaps that's the main message many Western and Japanese media outlets will grab from the news that China may hold a grand military parade in September.

Such a fuss will only be a farce, even if the parade news is confirmed by the Chinese government. The unusual military parade, if it is held in September to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, it will only be part of the series of activities to commemorate the World Anti-Fascist War.

China has no intention to taunt Japan by showing off its military mighty, even when Japanese politicians' words and actions intensify tensions in the East Asia.

It's true that the parade will be special and rare as it will not be held on the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. In the past two decades, two military parades were held in 1999 and 2009 to celebrate the 50th and 60 anniversaries of founding of New China.

However, the parade will only be part of activities that remind the world of what happened in the Eastern battlefield in World War II. As a responsible power that played an extremely important role in the Asian battlefield to fight against Fascist Japan, China's sacrifice and contributions have long been underreported compared with its counterparts who fight against Germany and Italy in Europe.

There were about 30 million casualties in China in the eight-year long war (1937-1945). And in the most brutal Nanjing Massacre in 1937 alone, 300,000 innocent Chinese lost their lives. Chinese people, through resistance, depleted Japan's resources and limited its ability to launch attacks on other countries, which is key to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

China has every reason to use the international practice to highlight its pains and contributions in the World War II. On Jan 27, Poland held a ceremony marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz death camp. In May Russia will hold a similar ceremony.

Military parade to mark victory of War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

 The series of activities are not aimed at planting hatred among the peace-loving people against their past foes, but remind the whole world to be vigilant to any factors that may threaten world peace.

Japanese people, who were exploited by its national military machine, paid the biggest price for Japanese warmongers. For instance, when the allies dealt a final blow to force Japan to surrender, more than 150,000 Japanese people were immediately killed after the US dropped atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

As Japanese politicians continuously tried to whitewash Japan's war crimes in past years, the whole world should keep a close eye on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement on Aug 15, the day when Japan announced surrender in World War II 70 years ago.

Abe has hinted that his statement may deviate from former Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono's apology over "comfort woman" and the epoch-making statement made by former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama admiting Japan's war atrocities in World War II. If he does so, Abe will not only challenge the post-World War II international regime, but also cast a shadow on the whole of East Asia and harm the interests of Japanese people.

China is a peace-loving country that takes defensive defense strategy. The military parade, if it is held, will only display Chinese military's resolution to protect the nation and its people. Therefore China's activities to mark the victory of World Anti-Fascist War should be cherished by all peace-loving people across the world.

Source: China Daily, Asia News Nework

Related:

Only heartfelt apology can win Abe dignity

Analysts believe Abe resists the Murayama Statement and the Kono Statement in his heart, but he faces constraint from the opposition.

Victory Day of Anti-Japanese Aggression War


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Malaysia's richest four poorer by RM13b

Their net worth hit by challenging economic outlook and slump in oil prices

PETALING JAYA: The country’s top four tycoons in the latest Forbes Malaysia Rich List are “poorer” by a total of US$3.6bil (RM12.9bil) with last year’s challenging economic out­­look shrinking their wealth, ­albeit slightly.

Robert Kuok, 91, who controls a business empire which includes palm oil, shipping, media, hotels and real estate, topped the list for the 10th year in a row with an estimated net worth of US$11.3bil (RM40.5bil) as of February, down US$200mil (RM720mil) from 2013.

In second place was telecommunications tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan whose wealth is valued at US$9.7bil (RM35bil), a drop of US$1.6bil (RM5.7bil) from the previous year, with third spot taken by property mogul and Hong Leong Group chairman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan with a net worth of US$5.6bil (RM20bil), down US$800mil (RM2.8bil).

Genting Malaysia Bhd chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who runs casinos in the Bahamas, London, Singapore, Manila and New York besides the home-grown casino in Genting Highlands, claimed fourth place with a net worth of US$5.5bil (RM19.8bil), down US$1bil (RM3.6bil).

“The wealth of some on the list was affected as the local stock market lost steam and the oil price collapse sent the Malaysian ringgit down 10% against the dollar,” according to a statement issued by the business magazine after the release of its latest rankings.

The statement said Ananda’s net worth decreased partly due to a slump in the shares of Bumi Armada Bhd, his offshore oilfield services provider, while Lim’s wealth was affected as China’s economic moderation affected the region’s casino gaming and entertainment sector.

The statement said tycoons with significant investments and ties to the oil sector also suffered a decline in their net worth. SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd vice-chairman Tan Sri Mokhzani Ma­­­­ha­­thir was knocked out of the billionaire’s list this year as his estimated net worth fell by US$500mil (RM1.8bil) to US$700mil (RM2.5bil).

The main investors in Sapura­Ken­cana – brothers Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin and Datuk Shahriman – also saw their fortunes drop to US$860mil (RM3.1bil) from a reported US$1.4bil (RM5bil) the year before. It was not all bad news for some Malaysian tycoons as a weaker ringgit boosted exports.

Tan Sri Lau Cho Kun, who heads Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, made it to the billionaire ranks with a net worth of US$1.08bil (RM3.8bil) on the back of robust plantation and trading revenues.

Software tycoon Goh Peng Ooi, the founder and executive chairman of Silverlake Group, saw his net worth rise by US$450mil (RM1.6bil) to US$1.55bil (RM5.5bil).

- The Star Asia News Network

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