A Holiday Treat From Devant’s 7:30PM G2G

The holiday season is just around the corner, and with it comes an air of good cheer and lots of family time!

                                                                                                                               

Friends and families all find time to converge in one place to swap memories, share new stories, and of course, partake of the staple feast everyone looks forward to during holiday gatherings.

And you know what’s another favorite activity? TV time! It doesn’t seem to matter what everyone watches: The latest movie, a favorite series, a game show, a video of everyone’s unforgettable  getaway, or even playing a new video game -- no matter what the family is watching or doing, TV makes a great tool for bonding.

The Devant Habit

Have we really become slaves to technology? Well, it depends on how you see it. Although one can’t deny the addicting appeal of having and doing everything at a touch of a finger, there’s also the side of technology that offers us such amazing convenience.

Technology offers everything -- an avenue to shop without leaving the house, ways to share memories with loved ones leaving far away, easy communication, and the availability of information wherever you are.

It is this convenience that Devant, aims to tap and promote by delving deep into what matters most -- one’s family. Driven by the tagline “Changing lives in a big way,” Devant hopes to instill the importance of strengthening personal ties by simply enjoying a simple habit -- watching TV.

7:30PM TV G2G

Through the project 7:30 PM TV Get Together, Devant hopes to create moments where people can take a break from their busy schedules, and spend some quiet, quality time with the people they love the most -- and what better way to bond than watching your favorite shows together on Devant’s Big Screen TVs?

Through the 7:30 PM TV Get Together, every night becomes a TV bonding night when families and friends get to enjoy their favorite shows together. The experience, is of course enhanced via Devant’s Ultra HD Big Screen TVs complemented with surround sound to make bonding nights more memorable.

Devant  Curved Ultra HD TV

One of the most notable products in Devant’s exceptional line-up is the AVC400 Curved Ultra HD TV. It has a 3840x2160 resolution with 60Hz Vivid Motion and powered by a Quad-core CPU and a built-in ISDB-T receiver. Already a smart TV, this model has various connectivity options and is perfect for  streaming your favorite videos from YouTube and Netflix.

The Devant AVC400 Curved Ultra HD TV lets you embrace the beauty of every detail with its 65-inch and 55-inch screens and allows you to experience the perfect immersive experience with features such as the Anyview Cast – a screen mirroring function that allows you to seamlessly share your favorite music, photos or videos from your mobile phone or tablet to your TV without the need for cables.

Also to be considered are Devant’s Ultra HD TV models, as well as their Smart and LEDTech TV models that make viewing such a treat. With televisions like these, everyone is sure to look forward to bonding time with the family at 7:30PM!

The Devant Manifesto

7:30 PM TV G2G is part of Devant’s manifesto of promoting the responsible role of  a TV brand in bringing together families through a shared enjoyable activity such as TV time. The brand sees television as a unique catalyst that creates a  welcoming  environment where families and friends can simply take a step back from the solitary effects of technology and enjoy being with each other.

7:30PM TV Get Together aims to promote that every night at 7:30PM, everyone is urged to spend time with the people they care about by watching their favorite shows on TV. And at the center of it all, are the convenience and quality of experience every Devant Big Screen TV brings.

For more about Devant and its superb products, visit http://devanttv.com. 

Vivo is all set to unlock the future

Young global smartphone brand Vivo on Tuesday night teased tech enthusiasts nationwide when it posted a cryptic photo on its social media pages.

The photo showed a colorful thumbprint with a hashtag #UnlockingSoon.

“Unlock the future with a single touch,” the posts said, without giving any more details. 

Vivo’s current flagship smartphone in the Philippines is the V9, which was released in March. It boasts of a 24-megapixel AI selfie camera, a 16MP+5MP dual rear camera, and a 6.3-inch FullView™ Display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio.

Ever since its launch in the Philippines in 2016, Vivo has been breaking barriers by introducing state-of-the-art smartphone to the selfie-loving Filipino consumers. It was Vivo that introduced a 20-megapixel dual front camera in V5 Plus and a 24MP front camera in V7 and V7+.

Aside from developing the selfie camera, Vivo has also paid attention to the users’ need for a bigger screen. Earlier this year, Vivo released the concept smartphone APEX™ FullView™, which nearly has a 100% screen-to-body display. 

Vivo is also the first in the world to introduce a ready-to-produce smartphone with an In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology, which was showcased during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018.

Could any of these be Vivo’s next offering in the Philippines?

Predator sponsors CS:GO, one of world’s biggest gaming tourneys

Predator recently sponsored the CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) StarLadder i-League Invitational Gaming Tournament, one of the world’s biggest online gaming competitions that offer huge amounts of prizes.

“Everyone now believes that the Predator is tailor-made for serious gamers and even for gaming enthusiasts. But this is just a tip of the iceberg; we are still developing the Predator to further make it a strong gaming brand that has much to offer to discriminating gamers,” declares Steven J. Funcke, Predator Marketing Manager.

Held at the massive “Olimpiyskiy” (Olympic) stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, the offline finals marked the first time in the region that a major cybersport event such as CS:GO, touted as an important and prestigious gaming title, was held at a giant football stadium, thereby attracting huge global attention.

For two months in the run up before the finals, broadcasts of the tournament in Russian with mention of Predator was seen by over 1.9 million online viewers on Twitch.

And during the finals week, Predator was strategically placed in English-language streams, and when combined with Russian-language streams, unique views reached more than 2 million over the course of the 4-day finals competition, with over 2.7 million hours of gameplay watched and nearly 14,000 in-person visitors.

The Predator is available in the Philippines through the Predator Store at SM North EDSA, PC Express in Gilmore, Villman Computers Philippines at SM North EDSA and Octagon Computer Store at SM Megamall.

For more information about the Predator, go to the Predator Philippines Facebook page www.facebook.com/predatorphilippines.

Asia is the next frontier for AI development

Xuedong Huang, technical fellow in charge of Microsoft’s speech, natural language and machine translation efforts. (Photo by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

In a few short years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been thrust into the limelight – elevating itself from a far-fetched, science-fiction topic to one that is currently dominating many conversations between customers, partners and industry leaders across Asia. The convergence of big data, ubiquitous and powerful cloud computing, along with breakthroughs in software algorithms and machine learning, have made exciting new scenarios in AI deployment a possibility.

Today, AI is at the center of the digital transformation of organizations and even nations. By 2019, IDC predicts that 40% of digital transformation initiatives in the region will be supported by AI.

(Read here about how digital transformation will contribute more than US$1 trillion to Asia Pacific GDP by 2021, where AI is a primary catalyst for further growth)

With imagination and plenty of data, AI can create vast benefits at scale. In Japan for example, where Miko, an AI-power chatbot and the star of new mobile travel app Japan Trip Navigator, is helping tourists in Japan navigate its streets. Created by Microsoft in partnership with travel agency JTB Corp and navigation firm NAVITIME Co, Miko provides travelers in Japan with real-time information from official sources as well as insights from other users of the apps. Miko can also help with hotel and other bookings on the app.

What’s more, one of the more advanced and interesting capabilities of Miko is that it is imbued with image recognition functions using Microsoft’s Cognitive Services AI platform, enabling her to provide information to users through the photos that they have taken.

Asia will be key to AI development globally

There are three reasons why Asia is uniquely placed to play a leading role in the development of AI at scale.

1. AI needs data: AI is dependent on data to perform; the more data that is fed into an AI system, the better it gets. Not only does Asia have the world’s largest population, it continues to be a region that is more digitally-connected than other parts of the globe and hence can provide the massive amounts of data that AI systems need to grow.

2. AI needs talent: Whilst we anticipate the mass adoption of AI this year, there is still a long way to go for more powerful and sophisticated AI programs to be developed. To do that will require a large and strong pool of science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) talents that technology companies and research bodies can tap into to advance AI capabilities. And this talent is increasingly likely to originate from Asia. According to UBS, by 2025 the combined AI talent pool of China and India alone will exceed that of the US.

3. AI needs adoption: As stated, the more data that is fed into an AI system, the better it gets. One of the unique aspects of Asia is its large youth population, that have been born into a digital world. The UN estimates that 60% of the world’s youth population is in Asia Pacific. These “digital natives” are more receptive to digital technologies enhancing their lives. Not only that, but many Asian countries are, historically, late adopters of legacy technology, enabling them to leapfrog other nations dependent on old infrastructure and embrace new ways of living and working.

Microsoft’s AI investment in Asia

With the immense growth potential of AI in Asia, Microsoft has identified four key building blocks to ensure people and organizations are able to harness AI optimally.

1. Developing AI capabilities: The AI revolution will not happen without world-class STEM talents driving R&D, and creation of programs and applications. Collaboration among governments, industry bodies and organizations to develop AI capabilities in this region will need to be a focus. A good example of this is Microsoft’s investment of US$33 million in partnership with the Taiwanese Government to create a AI R&D Hub in Taiwan to help transform the island’s technology and industrial sector.

2. Developing partner ecosystem: Microsoft is focused on transforming IT partner ecosystem across Asia to enable them to bring AI capabilities to the markets. In fact, they are committing $500m over the next two years to offer joint sales engagements with startups, along with access to our technology, and new community spaces that promote collaboration across local and global ecosystems.

3. Creating the AI platform: Microsoft continues to strengthen its hyper-scale cloud platform – Microsoft Azure – and its ability to deliver AI programs at scale securely across the world. Today, Azure is available to customers in 140 countries worldwide via 50 Azure regions across the world, more than any other cloud provider, which includes 15 here in Asia. This offers customers and partners the platform needed to deliver

4. Re-skilling Asia’s workforce: Microsoft is committed to working with public and private organizations to help re-skill existing workforce to thrive in a new AI-driven digital world. For example, the recently launched National Skills Program in South Australia provides digital skills to automotive supply chain workers whose roles were displaced by the closure of the Holden manufacturing plant in Elizabeth in late 2017.

Industry experts believe this to be Asia’s century. And AI offers the region an unprecedented opportunity for growth, productivity and innovation, as well as the potential to solve some of the region’s most important societal challenges.

It will certainly be an interesting ride; so strap in – the revolution is about to begin!

Acer Chromebook 14 for Work: Business-Class Performance, Military-Grade Reliability

Acer debuts its new Chromebook 14 for Work, the industry’s first Chromebook with 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processors, with a durable design that meets the demanding needs of enterprise, government, small business and institutional users.

Powered by a 6th Generation Intel Core processor to provide exceptional performance and long battery life (up to 10 hours), the Acer Chromebook 14 is also the world’s first notebook with incredibly tough Vibrant Corning® Gorilla® Glass to provide corporate customers with the flexibility to design the top cover with highly durable and scratch-resistant photorealistic images.

The new Chromebook is compliant with Google’s Chrome for Work initiative, providing business-class security, manageability and durability to enterprise, government, institutional and small businesses customers. It is easy to deploy and manage over a wide range of employees and offices.
Also, IT administrators will find it easy to make updates, configure apps, utilize extensions and more. Plus, Chromebooks protect company employee and company data with the latest security protocols and auto-updates.

“Our commercial customers have an abundance of reasons to choose the new Acer Chromebook 14 for Work,” said Jerry Hou, general manager, Commercial & Detachable Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. “Its first-rate performance and robust design provides businesses with a powerful and flexible product that delivers topnotch reliability and reduced total cost of ownership. In addition, the Chromebook 14 for Work can be efficiently deployed and managed, while maintaining excellent security for its employees.”

According to data from Gartner, Acer Group is the world’s leading Chromebook brand with over 33 percent market share in 2015.

High Performance; Long Battery Life
The first Chromebook with 6th Generation Intel Core processors, it provides customers with a considerable performance improvement over previous generations and allows customers to multi-task with ease through multiple apps and documents to boost productivity. It also provides up to 12 hours of battery life (HD display models) and up to 10 hours of battery life (Full HD displays). Two keyboard options are available: standard and backlit models for improved efficiency in low-light areas.

Durable, Robust Design Meets Military Standard
The Acer Chromebook 14 for Work has enhanced durability features. The spill-resistant keyboard provides protection against spills of up to 11 fluid ounces (330ml), with a unique gutter system under the keyboard and touchpad that drains liquid through two drain holes to route water away from internal components and out the bottom of the chassis. It has been tested to withstand up to 132 pounds (60kg) of downward force as well as drops of up to 48 inches (122cm).

Large Display in a Compact Design, Features to Boost Collaboration, Productivity
The large 14-inch display was designed to fit into a chassis typically used for 13-inch displays. The extremely narrow bezel gives customers an immersive experience when enjoying the display while reducing the overall size of the device. The Acer Chromebook 14 for Work weighs only 3.2 pounds (1.45kg) and just 13.03W x 8.94D x 0.88H inches (330.9 x 227 x 22.4 mm) thin.

The display will be available with a Full HD (1920 x 1080) or HD (1366 x 768) resolution display. Both ensure clarity in text and graphics as well as wide viewing angles of up to 170 degrees. The Chromebook 14 for Work is easy on the eyes thanks to the display’s ComfyView low-reflection and anti-glare properties.

Group video conferences are effective with the Acer Chromebook 14 for Work’s 720p webcam with 1280 x 720 resolution as well as HD audio and video recording. The webcam provides High Dynamic Range imaging as well as a wide field of view, top-notch audio, dual stereo speakers and an integrated digital microphone.

Administrators Can Keep Acer Chromebooks Secure, Managed
Administrators will find setting up and managing Acer Chromebooks to be intuitive and efficient. The Acer Chromebook 14 for Work has a Trusted Platform Module solution integrated to protect files, documents, and photos securely in the cloud with 100GB of free storage[3] on Google Drive so the most current file version is always available even if the Chromebook is lost or stolen.
Keeps Employees Connected, Available in Several Configurations

The Chromebook 14 for Work has a USB 3.0 Type-C port that allows the fast transfer of data, audio and video up to 5Gbps. In addition, the port provides extra convenience for customers since it can charge the Chromebook 14 for Work or use the power from the Chromebook to charge other external devices. The Chromebook can be used to share HD video and audio onto an external display with its HDMI port.

Employees will stay connected and in touch using the device’s fast dual-band 802.11ac[4] Wi-Fi featuring 2x2 MIMO technology. The Chromebook also connects to peripherals via Bluetooth 4.2.
The Acer Chromebook 14 for Work will be available in several configurations, either with 32GB or 16GB eMMC storage and either 8GB, 4GB or 2GB of dual channel LPDDR3 SDRAM.

Optional USB Type-C Dock Extends Capabilities
To extend the capabilities of the Chromebook 14 for Work, customers can connect it with a single cable to the Acer USB-Type-C Dock to easily transform it into a powerful workstation and enable high-speed video, audio and data transfer and keeps the work area clutter-free with immediate connectivity to multiple displays and other devices simultaneously. It also has DisplayPort, HDMI, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports and three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, as well as audio input for microphone and audio output for speakers.

The new Chromebook 14 for Work was recently unveiled at the next@acer press event at 4 World Trade Center in New York, where the company announced a range of new devices and solutions for high-performance and style-conscious users, families, students and professionals. To learn more about availability and product specifications, contact the nearest Acer office or retailer via www.acer.com.ph.

Converge FAST for businesses launched

Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. has launched today its latest pure fiber Internet offering that targets the business sector, particularly those with multi-branch operations.

Converge FAST effectively combines the best benefits offered by DSL and Metro Ethernet connections, two of the most traditional business Internet connections today. This new offering by Converge ICT that runs on a pure fiber Internet network helps optimize businesses with its high bandwidth and performance, total security, with low latency, highly scalable, simple and flexible.

Best of all, Converge FAST is low cost, making it the most advanced yet competitively priced private network solution in the Philippines today.

It also comes with a burstable bandwidth from 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps and supports Point-to-Point and a Point-to-Multi-Point setup, perfect for businesses with a multi-branch network. With this setup,  branches can now generate real-time data and reports.

Service and support will not be an issue since Converge FAST offers 99.7% SLA. For faster service and response during down times, Converge ICT made sure that there is an in-house installation and repair team, ready to respond within an 8-hour Mean Time response rate, and 24/7 support provided through the Converge Service Desk.

According to Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jesus “Boboy” Romero, among the target markets for Converge FAST include banks, retail stores, distribution companies, food and beverage, information technology, government, transportation and logistics, plus energy and utilities.

“Our continuing promise is to make customer experience better when it comes to their Internet connectivity, which is a modern business’s lifeline. Now the Converge FAST, that promise still holds true, and we made it even more affordable yet totally resilient and with high value for their investment,” Romero explained.

Converge FAST is offered via FAST 2 Mbps at Php 2,500 per month, FAST 5 Mbps at Php 3,500, FAST 10 Mbps at Php 4,000 and FAST 20 Mbps at Php 6,000.

Converge ICT, Inc. started its business in 1992 and was already granted a congressional franchise. The many has many with top domestic peering partners such as PLDT and Globe and currently has the 3rd largest Internet backbone in the country to help further improve the Internet experience of Filipinos.

For more details about Converge ICT, Inc. and its Internet offerings, visit http://www.convergeict.com.

AMD Acquires Software Company HiAlgo

Laying the groundwork for future gaming innovation in Radeon Software, AMD has announced that they have acquired the software Company HiAlgo Inc., a developer of unique PC gaming technologies designed to help Radeon™ RX Series GPUs transform gaming experience, increase GPU efficiency and improve the overall consistency of gaming experiences. The acquisition lays the groundwork for future gaming innovation in Radeon Software that will benefit owners of Radeon™ RX Series GPUs.

“Software is an integral part of advancing the science of graphics, enabling us to best harness the silicon of the GPU to maximize performance and deliver outstanding experiences in games and applications,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD. “HiAlgo embodies our spirit of passion, persistence and play by delivering a number of creative approaches to software that improve gamers’ experiences, and helps future-proof[i] the GPU.”

Radeon Software enables the ultimate in performance, features and stability of Radeon™ graphics to ensure an exceptional user experience. Today, launching alongside the Radeon™ RX 480 graphics card are nine new features of Radeon Software Crimson Edition designed to give users more control over their computing experience, including multi-GPU, display, and power efficiency settings, and a redefined overclocking tool in Radeon WattMan.

For more information on Radeon Software, visit Radeon.com.