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!