February 23, 2012

Printer maker Epson Philippines Corporation recently concluded its photo competition, which focused on local sceneries, after selecting the top winner who will the Philippines in a regional contest to be held in Taipei, Taiwan.

Epson Philippines country manager Hideto Nakamura (right) congratulating first prize winner Randall Cipriano

Topping the Epson Color Imaging Contest 2011 was Randall Cipriano who submitted a photo entitled “Light Unseen” that taken from the Triboa Bay Mangrove Park in Subic Bay,

Cipriano took the shot with a 720 nanometer wavelength filter that cut off a lot of visible light but captured infrared light. The result was an ethereal take of an already remarkable Philippine scenic spot.

As the first…

Following expansions in 2010 and 2011, the global market for automotive infotainment systems is set to expand by another 3 percent in 2012, driven by rising car production and increasing electronic content in vehicles.

Photo credit: dailywireless.org

Automotive infotainment revenue in 2011 amounted to $32.5 billion, up 3.4 percent from 2010, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. This was on top of a 4.6 percent rise in 2010.

Revenue this year is projected to surge to $33.5 billion, and growth will be even stronger in the next four years, ranging from 4.7 to 6.4 percent. By 2016, the market will reach $41.2 billion, as shown in the figure below.

Automotive infotainment equipment represents…

New estimates from research firm Ovum indicate that consumers’ increasing use of IP-based social messaging services on their smartphones cost telecom operators $8.7 billiomn in lost SMS revenues in 2010, and $13.9 billions in 2011.

The analyst firm revealed that it expects the decline, representing nearly 6 percent of total messaging revenue in 2010 and 9 percent in 2011, to continue as the popularity of messaging apps continues to grow.

Ovum warned operators to rework their legacy services if they want to secure their future position in the messaging market.

“Social messaging has disrupted traditional services, and operators’ revenues in this area will come under increasing pressure,” said Neha Dharia, consumer analyst…

After two of the biggest online gaming companies in the country – e-Games and Level-Up – announced their mega-merger last week, a regional publisher of online games has officially launched its expansion in the country with a new casual game title called MapleSea.

Sherman Tan, chairman of Asiasoft Online, during the launch of MapleSea

Asiasoft Online, which is headquartered in Singapore and operates in most South Asian countries, said it has started its local operations to market MapleSea, a localized version of MapleStory, the 2D side-scrolling Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) .

Sherman Tan, chairman of Asiasoft Online, said during MapleSea’s launch at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel that while the…

Virtualization firm NComputing is ramping up efforts for its “thin client” model to allow the education sector to take advantage of a modernized learning environment at a cheaper cost.

The company currently has an installed base of over three million of virtual desktops units. It is involved in educational projects across multiple countries such as India, Pakistan, and most recently the Philippines.

As one of the schools included in a project spearheaded by the Department of Education, teachers and grade school students of Nueve De Febrero Elementary School in Mandaluyong City has now installed an e-classroom set-up that has changed the teaching and learning experience.

Using NComputing’s virtualization technology, the school reduced…