Apple releases new iPad in South Korea and 11 additional countries (USA)
Apple launched the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, in South Korea and 11 additional countries on Friday, April 20. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. The new iPad still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light.
In addition to South Korea, the new iPad also will be available beginning on Friday, April 20 in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Beginning on Friday, April 27, the new iPad will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.
The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.
The new iPad will be sold through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, iPad 2 is available at a more affordable price starting at just $399.
Mobile handsets to soon be operated by touchless hand gestures (South Korea)
In what could revolutionize the way customers use their mobile handsets, Korean handset manufacturer Pantech has reportedly announced that it plans to launch an Android handset which offers users a touchless gesture recognition technology which will in turn be provided by the Israeli firm ‘eyeSight’. As per reports, Pantech has said that the handset will enable users to perform tasks such as answer incoming calls, activate their MP3 players and play games by using simple hand gestures.
Sources claim that the LTE handset will come with a 4.5 inch screen and will be powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor. Further, the device is expected to include an 8 mega-pixel camera, 16 GB of internal memory with a 1GB RAM. Gideon Shmuel, CEO, eyesight has reportedly said that Pantech users will be able to enjoy a completely new user experience by controlling their device with their natural and intuitive hand gestures. Further, mobile phone giant, Samsung has also announced that it plans to launch new smartphone devices next year that will feature a flexible display screen.
Nokia, RIM lead mobile market, Apple lags behind (India)
While Apple iPhone’s have become quite the rage across the world, India, the world’s second largest mobile phone market, receives fewer handsets than most of the smaller markets, as per recent reports. Nokia and Research In Motion have been the most successful in India’s mobile market with 602 million subscribers.
Analysts suggest that one of the reasons for Apple’s lower market share in India is the inability of Indian wireless carriers to offer fast services that use the iPhone features to the fullest. As per reports, the 3G network in India isn’t at par with the services offered in regions like Western Europe and Northern America. Further, as Apple only sells its products through licensed resellers, accessibility to the product can also become an issue.
As per the World Bank estimates, about 900 million people live on less than $2 a day in India. With the cheapest iPhone 4 selling for $705 and the cheapest iPad 2 costing about $603, affordability is also a cause for concern for users in the nation. In contrast, Apple’s U.S. online store offers its users the iPhone 4 at $199 with an AT&T Inc. contract and the iPad at $499. Sources claim that while only 62,043 iPhones were shipped to India during the last quarter, lesser than those send to Norway, Belgium or Israel, the number of iPads shipped was as low as 21,150 accounting for only 0.2 percent of its global total.
As per sources, Nokia accounted for 46 percent of India’s smartphone shipments in the quarter ended June 30, followed by Samsung Electronics at 21 percent, RIM at 15 percent while Apple accounted for only 2.6 percent. Further, reports suggest that Nokia and Research In Motion Ltd. sell more devices in India, where smartphone shipments are forecast to grow almost 70 percent a year until 2015.
Analysts claim that RIM got the right product, the right timing and the right app. RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) instant-messaging service gained popularity because it was one of the first, and it functions well on 2G speeds as well. As per reports, Krishnadeep Baruah, Director of Marketing for Waterloo, Canada-based RIM in India said that RIM, which entered India in 2004, plans to extend its lead over Apple after expanding distribution to 80 cities from 15 starting last year.
As per industry estimates, smartphone shipments in India are expected to grow at an average of 68 percent a year, to 81.5 million units by 2015.
Cellcom signs agreement with Home Center Mobile (Israel)
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Home Center Mobile, a unit of DIY chain Home Center has signed a deal with leading Israeli cellular provider, Cellcom Israel Ltd. Under this agreement Home Center Mobile, a customer of Cellcom, will sell mobile phones and offer discounted tariff plans in an attempt to compete with other mobile carriers.
This deal is the latest in the list of agreements being signed between a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and a mobile carrier. Past agreements of a similar nature include Alon Cellular Ltd. who signed a deal with Partner Communications Ltd., while Rami Levi Ltd., Ituran Location and Control Ltd., and Free Telecom Ltd. have signed agreements with Pelephone Communications Ltd. However, of these only Ituran has begun operations and the sale of services.
Fifth mobile operator license finally granted (Israel)
Golan Telecom has finally been awarded the fifth new mobile operator license in Israel. The announcement came following Golan Telecom’s depositing the necessary bank guarantees to secure the license.
Incidentally, Golan Telecom had only emerged third in the recent license auction. The two higher bidders being 018 Xfone Communications and Select Communications which were eventually disqualified as they failed to deposit required bank guarantees within the stipulated timeframe.
$105 million worth of deposit has been submitted by Golan Telecom, which was a much lesser bid than the two disqualified companies.
Cellcom Israel announces a purported class action filed against the company
Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) (TASE: CEL) (hereinafter: the “Company”), announced today that a purported class action lawsuit against the Company and three other cellular operators was filed in the District Court of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, by an Israeli citizen, in connection with the allegation that the defendants mislead customers who buy accessories for carrying cellular handsets or do not disclose to them relevant data concerning radiation hazards associated with the usage of accessories for carrying cellular handsets, allegedly contrary to the cellular handsets manufacturers’ instructions and warnings and the Israeli Ministry of Health’ recommendations.
The total amount claimed from the Company, if the lawsuit is certified as a class action, is estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 1 billion (out of a total sum of approximately NIS 2.7 billion against all defendants), substantially all for non monetary damages.
In addition, the plaintiff notes his intention to seek interim remedies to prevent further sale of such accessories by the defendants or to require them to take necessary precautionary measures, including by complying with alleged disclosure duties and by ceasing alleged misleading, if the defendants would not do so voluntarily within 15 days, given, among others, the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s press release dated May 31, 2011, classifying radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer1, associated with wireless phone use.
At this preliminary stage, the Company is unable to assess the lawsuit’s chances of success.
About Cellcom Israel
Cellcom Israel Ltd., established in 1994, is the leading Israeli cellular provider; Cellcom Israel provides its approximately 3.395 million subscribers (as at March 31, 2011) with a broad range of value added services including cellular and landline telephony, roaming services for tourists in Israel and for its subscribers abroad and additional services in the areas of music, video, mobile office etc., based on Cellcom Israel’s technologically advanced infrastructure. The Company operates an HSPA 3.5 Generation network enabling advanced high speed broadband multimedia services, in addition to GSM/GPRS/EDGE and TDMA networks. Cellcom Israel offers Israel’s broadest and largest customer service infrastructure including telephone customer service centers, retail stores, and service and sale centers, distributed nationwide. Through its broad customer service network Cellcom Israel offers its customers technical support, account information, direct to the door parcel services, internet and fax services, dedicated centers for the hearing impaired, etc. As of 2006, Cellcom Israel, through its wholly owned subsidiary Cellcom Fixed Line Communications L.P., provides landline telephone communication services in Israel, in addition to data communication services. Cellcom Israel’s shares are traded both on the NewYork Stock Exchange (CEL) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (CEL). For additional information please visit the Company’s website http://www.cellcom.co.il
Silent Communication’s Visual Voicemail Mobile Client, Device and Network Agnostic Technology Deployed by MetroPCS
Silent Communication today announced that its visual voicemail (Silent VVMTM) mobile client has been deployed to power MetroPCS´ new Visual Voice Mail and Visual Voice Mail Plus services. Silent Communication’s serverless Device and Network Agnostic (DANA) deployment technology enables MetroPCS to roll out its full-featured Visual Voice Mail services to Android-powered devices in its portfolio.
The Silent VVMTM mobile client allows subscribers to manage voice mail with the same ease in which they manage SMS, MMS or email. Users can browse voice messages visually, listen to messages with one click, and respond to voice messages via call back, SMS, MMS or email. Users can also view text transcriptions of their voice messages, allowing customers to manage voice mail from end-to-end in environments where audio message playback is impractical.
MetroPCS offers its Silent VVM-powered Visual Voice Mail service on select devices; the Samsung Galaxy IndulgeTM, the LG Optimus MTM, the Huawei AscendTM and the Huawei Ascend TapouT Edition. The Silent VVM client is pre-integrated with MetroPCS’ voice mail network provider, Alcatel Lucent, and voice-to-text provider, Yap.
“Silent Communication’s unique ability to provide high-value mobile services like visual voice mail affords our customers numerous competitive advantages,” said Silent Communication CEO Max Bluvband.
“With Silent’s DANA technology, customers are able to speed time to market with visual voice mail and eliminate resource-intensive, OS-specific application development cycles. This uniform development and deployment model ensures that our customers´ subscribers with visual voice mail-supported plans can take advantage of this service immediately on any specified devices.”
About Silent Communication’s DANA Deployment Technology
DANA is Silent Communication’s serverless Device and Network Agnostic deployment technology for mobile clients. As mobile devices and operating systems continue to proliferate, mobile network operators are challenged to get to market quickly with differentiating, revenue-driving services that can be implemented across the full subscriber base.
Resource constraints force mobile operators to make hard choices about the devices they’ll support with a new service, and in the many months it takes to bring a new service to market, a new generation of devices will have emerged. This model practically ensures that service providers are late to market with services for the newest, most coveted devices in their portfolio, negatively impacting revenue and customer satisfaction.
Silent Communication’s serverless Device and Network Agnostic (DANA) deployment technology eliminates these challenges. Development cycles are reduced from months to weeks, and all devices are supported on ‘day one’ of the service launch. This capability ensures that mobile operators can drive revenue quickly with high-value services, and customers don’t have to wait to obtain the services that they demand. Silent Communication´s mobile clients can be seamlessly deployed to any mobile device, spanning Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Java, Brew and iOS operating systems. For more information about Silent Communication’s DANA deployment technology and advanced mobile client solutions, visit www.silentcom.com
About Silent Communication
The pioneering provider of Device and Network Agnostic (DANA) mobile client solutions, Silent Communication works with mobile network operators, device manufacturers and value added service (VAS) providers to rapidly expand deployment and revenue opportunities for mobile Value Added Services. Silent Communication applies its advanced, serverless DANA deployment technology to popular services to ensure that they operate on any device and on any network. Customers include tier one companies such as MetroPCS, Sony Ericsson, Orange (Partner Communications), Telecom Italy Mobile, MTS, Safaricom, BSNL, France Telecom, Reliance, and more. Silent Communication´s mobile messaging clients are compatible with leading voicemail network providers including Comverse, Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson, Acision, Unisys, Streamwide and more. Silent Communication is headquartered in Israel and backed by Sequoia Capital and Yair Goldfinger.
Red Bend Software Expands Leadership Team as Market Demand for Mobile Software Management Accelerates
Red Bend Software, the market leader in Mobile Software Management (MSM) with more than 1 billion Red Bend-Enabled™ devices, today announced the expansion of its management team with the appointments of Shykeh Gordon as executive vice president of global sales and Sigal Givati as executive vice president of human resources. The new executive team members will position Red Bend meet the growing worldwide demand for its products and solutions.
“Sigal’s extensive experience in building and retaining great teams while maintaining the unique culture and fun spirit of our company will be vital as we take Red Bend to the next level.”
Red Bend’s software is used for managing firmware, applications and mobile devices over the air. The company’s vRapid Mobile® firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating solution, vDirect Mobile® device management software, and VLX™ Mobile Virtualization hypervisor have been deployed in more than 1 billion mobile devices by dozens of customers, including 10 of the top mobile device manufacturers, as well as market-leading service providers and semiconductor vendors.
As Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Shykeh Gordon leads Red Bend’s worldwide sales organization. With more than 25 years of experience, Gordon has held several high-profile sales, operations and management positions. He joins Red Bend after five years as president of EMEA and APAC for NICE System’s Security Group and president of the company’s video surveillance solutions division, NiceVision. Gordon also spent six years with RADVision, most recently as its chief operating officer, where he took an active role in growing the company to 250 employees and $50 million in revenue.
“Shykeh’s industry experience, proven leadership and unique vision make him the right person for this crucial role, and I am confident he will help propel the company to the next level,” said Red Bend Software CEO Yoram Salinger. “Shykeh will help us build upon our trusted relationships with customers and partners and develop new ones as we drive the continued adoption of Mobile Software Management and Mobile Virtualization.”
Sigal Givati joined Red Bend in December 2007 as vice president of human resources. With her promotion to the new position of executive vice president of human resources, Givati is responsible for managing Red Bend’s employee relations worldwide, including organizational development, talent management, benefits and recruitment. With 15 years of experience, Givati played a vital role in managing Red Bend’s growth over the past three years to 140 employees, including the effective integration of VirtualLogix, which was acquired by Red Bend in September 2010. Prior to joining Red Bend, Givati was vice president of human resources at One1, a leading IT company in Israel.
“Red Bend is a multi-cultural company made up of amazingly talented, dedicated and service-oriented people. One of our keys to success is that we are a global company with local attention — operating from eight offices worldwide,” said Salinger. “Sigal’s extensive experience in building and retaining great teams while maintaining the unique culture and fun spirit of our company will be vital as we take Red Bend to the next level.”
About Red Bend Software
Red Bend® Software is the leader in mobile software management (MSM). The company’s award-winning software products enable device manufacturers and mobile operators to increase revenues, reduce costs and achieve faster time to market by remotely managing firmware, applications and mobile devices over the air. Red Bend’s software has been adopted in 1 billion mobile devices by 75 companies including 10 of the top handset manufacturers and leading mobile operators such as NTT DOCOMO and China Mobile. Unlike device management vendors with proprietary end-to-end systems and manufacturers’ internally developed solutions that are platform-specific, Red Bend is the only company offering independent client software that is interoperable with any standards-based server and that works with any platform on any type of mobile device. Red Bend entered the high-growth mobile virtualization market with its acquisition of VirtualLogix in September 2010. Founded in 1999, Red Bend is a privately held company with offices in China, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S.
Israeli Network to launch Push-to-Talk services
Mobile Tornado Group, a UK based Push to Talk (PTT) technology, has announced that it has signed a contract with a major Israeli mobile operator.
As per the terms of the deal, Mobile Tornado will be responsible for the supply of its patented IPRS Push-to-Talk technology platform and the provision of professional services to install and configure the system in the operator’s network. Delivery of the first phase, a 10,000 user system, has commenced with additional licences to be added as the market grows.
According to Jeremy Fenn, Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Tornado, he is delighted to secure this deal with one of the leading and most ambitious operators in the Israeli market. Israel is one of the few markets where PTT has been established with over 500,000 users across the current operators. They are engaged with an operator that has previously not offered PTT but now sees the proposition as a key offering to their enterprise customers. They are looking forward to helping them penetrate the market and to establishing a healthy market share.
Siano Raises $20mn in Growth Round Led by JVP (Israel)
Siano Mobile Silicon (www.siano-ms.com), the world’s leading supplier of digital mobile TV receiver chips, announced today that it has completed a $20 million expansion capital financing round. The round was led by leading Israeli venture capital fund, Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). The proceeds of the current round will be used for expanding the Company’s innovative product line as it extends its geographic presence in the emerging North American mobile ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) market.
With approximately 50% market share in China and Latin America for chipsets that allow the reception of digital TV on mobile, portable and hand-held devices, Siano is the de-facto leader of the digital mobile TV market in these regions.
JVP, an investor in Siano since its inception, is a leading Israeli venture capital fund, managing over $850 million in assets. JVP was recently voted best venture capital firm in Israel and one of the top three in Europe by Private Equity Magazine.
“The whole concept of TV viewing is evolving,” said Alon Ironi, CEO of Siano. “Today, TV consumers seek constant access to their favorite TV content – irrespective of the medium, their location or device. As more and more consumers use smartphones and tablets to watch their favorite content, our technology is going to become increasingly important.”
North American broadcasters are now preparing to deploy mobile ATSC, and, with market experts estimating an installed base of roughly 70 million tablets in the US within two years, the U.S. market serves as a natural extension to our strong position in other markets. Over the last few weeks, we have been finalizing our new line of innovative solutions to meet the unique needs of the U.S. market, and the new funds will be used to implement these plans,” added Ironi.
Gadi Tirosh, a General Partner at JVP, will be joining Siano’s Board of Directors as part of the round. “JVP has been an investor in Siano from its inception through its present rapid growth phase,” said Tirosh. “The current round is directly in line with our strategy of actively supporting our most promising companies, as we build them into prominent international entities. Over the last 4 years Siano has evolved into a major force in the digital mobile TV space, taking the lead in both China and Latin America, and we view the company’s expansion into the North American market as a major step in its ongoing growth and diversification strategy”.
