BlackBerry’s Bad Timing Buries Its Own Flicker Of Good News On BBM Android/iOS Downloads (10M In A Day)

Timing is everything. Too early and your product will shrivel; too late and it will be overlooked no matter how shiny. Just ask BlackBerry — a company with spectacularly bad timing in recent memory. A string of hesitations and bad decisions made the BlackBerry maker too late to the mobile party again and again.

Clinging stubbornly to old QWERTY keyboard habits left its hardware out of touch — literally — when it came to competing with Android and iOS, and allowed RIM to delay the necessary refocusing of its mobile platform for too long. That next-gen platform arrived eventually in BlackBerry 10, but the BlackBerry faithful had already mostly departed for pastures new, leaving the company with a load of unsold BB10 handsets and a $965 million hole in its books.

That story is so much water under the bridge now, as the company appears to be on the point of break-up, shopping itself around to potential buyers. But its bad sense of timing persists. Old habits die hard.

The latest case in point is a small example, but a telling one nonetheless. BlackBerry finally started rolling out its BBM messaging client to iOS and Android yesterday — weeks later than originally planned, after a botched earlier attempt. And years late from a market point of view. If BBM had launched on Android and iOS back in 2010, how many users might it have now? And how many might mobile messaging giants like WhatsApp not have?

Yesterday was also the day Apple selected for its October iPad launch event. This date has been circulating as near-certified rumour since early October and had been officially confirmed since October 15. Yet despite that highly unfortunate marketing clash — a David and Goliath one when you’re going up against the hyperdrive of the Cupertino marketing machine — BlackBerry went ahead with its rescheduled BBM launch anyway. Why, BlackBerry, why?

Turns out there is still appetite for BlackBerry’s veteran messaging client — or at least people curious enough to take a look. But that story didn’t get a decent airing yesterday. The iPad Air stole its oxygen.

Into this attention vacuum, BlackBerry tweeted yesterday that BBM for iOS and Android had had 5 million downloads eight hours after launch. This was followed up by another official announcement saying BBM downloads had exceeded 10 million within 24 hours of its release. And that it had become the No. 1 free app in more than 75 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Indonesia and “most of the Middle East.”

It’s just a shame that BlackBerry decided to bury this flicker of relatively good news under a tsunami of Apple-related PR. Once more unto the terrible timing breach.

Ten million downloads in a day isn’t bad. For BlackBerry it’s spectacular good news — the kind of news the company has been lacking for years. So squandering the impact of having something positive to say for once seems like a seriously wasted opportunity.

Of course 10 million downloads does not mean BBM is alive and kicking, even as the company that created it heads for the breakers yard. The key test will be how many of those downloads turn into sustained usage. For some context, mobile messaging giant WhatsApp has some 300 million monthly active users, for instance, while Chinese messaging app WeChat has circa 190 million MAUs.

Mobile messaging is now a very packed and fiercely competitive space, being attacked by giants like Facebook, as well as startups of all stripes. BBM’s 10 million downloads in a day is therefore a win, but a very small one. How many monthly active users would BBM have had on Android and iOS if it had launched three years ago?

It’s such timing-related questions that will haunt the company’s founders for years to come.

One more thing: BlackBerry is having to ration access to BBM — presumably so its servers don’t fall over again — meaning that people who have downloaded the app have to wait in a queue for an email notification before they can start using it.

Really, you can’t make this stuff up.

Source: techcrunch.com 

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Posted in: ICT

IBM creates liquid-based transistors that can process data like the human brain

For decades, the transistor has been the building block of electronic devices, from computers to smartphones. It has seen little change, but a team of researchers at IBM has given the transistor a major makeover, and it may enable the company to build computers that function more like the way the human brain works.

If it pans out, IBM could use the technology to build chips that are highly efficient and use much less electrical power. That could lead to a revolution in mobile devices, which today are bound by short battery lives and electrical inefficiency. The whole process is not unlike the charged electrical fluids sloshing around in our brains. If the brain can do it, an artificially crafted material might be able to do it too.

The new technology is based on materials called “correlated electron oxides,” which can be combined with an ionic liquid, or a mixture where half of the molecules carry a positive charge and half are negative. When you apply a tiny ionic voltage to the liquid, the charged particles move to opposite sides of the surface of the oxide material. The charge leaves the oxide and goes into the liquid, changing its conductive state from an insulator to a metal, or from something that does not conduct electricity to something that does.

And it maintains its electrical state until another charge is applied. That part of the research is new and is particularly encouraging. IBM believes it can create non-volatile memory, or chips that save data whether electricity is on or off. It can also make logic chips that would use less power than today’s silicon-based semiconductor chips, which are the brains of everything electronic.

Big Blue is disclosing the breakthrough in the journal Science today. Stuart Parkin, an IBM fellow and lead researcher on the project at IBM, said in an interview with VentureBeat that the small team of researchers had been working for a couple of years.

“We are using tiny currents of ions of atoms generated by these electrical signals to change the state of matter of this oxide material,” he said. “It is a means to build low-energy, highly efficient devices by turning on and off their conducting state. We turn this material into a metal and maintain it without any need to supply power.”

That latter part is remarkable, as silicon chips require constant voltages to function.

Chips that use electricity have been evolving for decades, with progress marked by Moore’s Law, named after Intel chairman emeritus Gordon Moore, who predicted in 1965 that the number of components on a chip would double every year or so. That prediction has been very accurate, but experts worry that progress will slow as semiconductor technology runs into fundamental limits. IBM is working on new solutions, including traditional semiconductor chips that process data like the human brain does.

Parkin said that by applying a charged ionic liquid electrolyte to a substance, the team has been able to create a stable insulating and conducting state of an oxide material. This discovery has opened a way for making oxide-based transistors and logic gates.

“This is an alternative to a slowdown in Moore’s Law,” Parkin said. “Our inspiration is the brain and how it operates. It is full of liquids and ionic currents. We could build more brain-like devices.”

The picture above shows a drawing of a nanofluidic circuit, which operates by passing the green ionic fluid through conduits fabricated on top of the orange planar oxide surface. When a voltage is applied to the liquid (the blue part), the yellow balls from the oxide surface in the liquid are metallized. When no voltage is applied, there is no ionic motion and the oxide surface is an insulator, which does not conduct electrons. Circuits can be dynamically formed on the surface of the oxide.

Source: Venture Beat, By: Dean Takahashi

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Posted in: ICT,smart city

Lessons from the Smart Cities Challenge

In 2011, IBM announced the Smarter Cities Challenge, worth $5 million in consulting services, to 100 cities with big problems and big goals. IBM sent teams of three to six to each city for three weeks to address issues ranging from healthcare to pollution and traffic to energy poverty. 

Both IBM and the selected cities learned several lessons from the engagements that all cities can employ. Key technology was developed and deployed during and immediately following the engagements that can be utilized in other locations in the future. 

Although the 2012 engagements have just completed, and the 2013 recipients have just been announced, the results of 2011 have shown promise, and demonstrated the value of the challenge. As other leaders look to drive their cities into the future, they can use the lessons, the technology, and the results of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge to guide their efforts. 

Lessons Learned

1. View the city as one comprehensive organization

Mayors from the recipient cities compare their position to that of a CEO, guiding all departments of an entire corporation. IBM also underlines the importance of involving public and private organizations, universities, small businesses, and citizens in both the collaboration and execution of Smarter Cities projects. 

2. Involve citizens from the onset

IBM made sure to involve citizens in the earliest stages of the planning process. Boulder, CO had begun Smart Grid deployments before IBM made the Smarter Cities announcement. Lack of consumer engagement created discord between consumer expectations and results. IBM ensured consumer involvement when working with Boulder, leading to more consumer education and a longer implementation timeframe. 

______________________________ Although the 2013 Smarter Cities projects have not started, and results from the 2012 are premature, the 2011 recipients have begun to experience the successes from their participation.  ___________________________

Geraldton, Australia was accepted as a Smarter Cities recipient in 2011. When the citizens were involved, it was determined that the mining town's residents desired sustainable growth. The area is lush with renewable resources, and a plan that incorporates wind, wave, solar, geothermal and biomass energy production was created to meet their needs. By involving citizens from the earliest stages, both cities were able to create strategic plans to meet the citizens' needs.

3. Utilize data analytics

As cities become smarter, the amount of data the city produces grows exponentially. Information is constantly being generated from traffic lights, sensors, meters, computers and more. Currently, the information is sent to different locations and organizations; however utilities have successfully utilized advanced analytics programs to add a level of intelligence and predictive value. 

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada utilized the data generated by traffic and other sensors to reduce the number of traffic accidents.  Edmonton utilized an incident management system, as well as traffic congestion and prediction tools to derive key insights and develop a plan of action. 

Pittsburgh, PA also analyzed the abundant amount of data it received from all areas of the city to automate processes ranging from parking to bus scheduling and traffic lights. 

Key technology deployments

In many of the Smarter Cities, technology was developed and deployed during and after the engagements. Geraldton, Australia worked with IBM to develop a virtual power plant that would control all distributed resources for the city. The virtual power plant incorporated small-scale generation facilities and energy storage technology to manage peak demand and reduce load. In addition, a smart energy hub was also deployed to utilize the city's natural proximity to renewable resources.

Milwaukee, WI also deployed key technology during its three-week engagement. Groundbreaking technology in aquaponics combined vegetable cultivation with fish raising.  The tanks grow fish under the vegetables and roots of the plants in a symbiotic system. The resulting pilot project has enabled the food produced to be served in local restaurants. 

IBM also deployed key technology in Chengdu, China as part of the Intelligent Chengdu Initiative. Chengdu is now utilizing cloud-computing resources in accord with its five-year plan. The five-year plan includes six core systems that are enabled by the cloud-based technology: energy, water, transportation, communications, business, and people. As part of the communication plan, the city has deployed a wireless network throughout the city to serve as a model city for the world.

Successes

Although the 2013 Smarter Cities projects have not started, and results from the 2012 are premature, the 2011 recipients have begun to experience the successes from their participation. 

One city that has benefited from participation is Antofagasta, Chile. Upon application, the project focused solely on the water system of the city. However, this focus was expanded to include the city's energy grid, as well as healthcare, transportation and education.  During the engagement, a sustainable water and energy plan was developed to guide future efforts. Since concluding the consulting engagement, construction has begun on to upgrade the city's commercial water infrastructure. The city has also installed irrigation equipment at parks and other public places, a direct result of IBM's recommendations.

St. Louis, MO also entered the challenge with big issues to address. Dubbed the most dangerous city in America, the city had the highest crime rate in the nation. The three-week engagement created a new public safety system that enhanced transparency and communication across different organizational lines. St. Louis also completed its transition to a self-governing police department from a department governed by a state board. Results of the unified system were immediate, with 2011 crime rates reaching a historic low.        

Finally, Dubuque, IA has also enjoyed results from its participation. Dubuque has experienced an 11 percent reduction in energy usage and a 6.6 percent decrease in water consumption. In addition, water leaks are being detected at a much higher rate.  Seventy-seven percent of residents reported increased understanding of water consumption and their water bill. 

These are just a few examples of successes the Smarter Cities Challenge has brought to participating cities. One important factor in the Smarter Cities Challenge is that once the technology is deployed and tested, it can be applied in other instances. Each city thus acts as a pilot project for the new technologies and an example of implementation for other cities to follow.

Source: FierceSmartGrid, By: Megan Dean

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Posted in: smart city

Why oil-rich countries are investing in solar

This week, the world’s largest concentrated solar plant went into operation. Shams 1 is a massive 100-megawatt power plant in Abu Dhabi with some impressive numbers. The $750 million project produces enough energy to power 20,000 homes and stretches across an area 

of desert, west of the United Arab Emirates capital, the size of 285 football fields.

“With the demand for energy rising exponentially, the region is undergoing a major transformation in how it generates electricity,” said Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, the state-owned company behind the power plant. “In fact, the Middle East is poised for major investments in renewable energy, and Shams 1 proves the economic and environmental advantage of deploying large-scale solar projects.”

The UAE isn’t the only oil-rich country making major investments in solar. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer of oil, is investing $100 billion in solar in order to produce one-third of its energy from the resource by 2032.

But why are countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia making massive investments in solar? 

Here’s Todd Woody’s take at Quartz:

For OPEC states, renewable energy is a long-term strategy to preserve their most precious resource. The more solar electricity sun-soaked, oil-rich nations like the United Arab Emirates can produce to power their domestic economies, the more petroleum they conserve to export.

If you were hoping it was a green initiative, sorry. It’s simple, really. Oil is more profitable when you can sell it to energy-poor countries desperate for oil and slow to develop renewables instead of using it on your own energy needs.

UAE President Shaikh Khalifa said as much: “The domestic production of renewable energy extends the life of our country’s valuable hydrocarbon resources and supports the growth of a promising new industry.”

Source: SmartPlanet, By Tyler Falk

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Posted in: smart city

Living Lab: Urban Planning Goes Digital in Spanish 'Smart City'

Cities around the world aim to become "smart cities," but in Santander,Spain, the goal has already become a reality. Thousands of sensors help alert residents to traffic jams, regulate the watering in city parks and dim the street lamps.

Cities all around the world have set the same goal for themselves. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Dubai, Helsinki, San Diego, Stockholm, Nanjing, Vienna, Yokohama -- they all share an aspiration to become "smart cities."

That sounds like an appealing aim, yet when urban planners try to explain more precisely how they plan to lead their cities into the digital future, their answers are less convincing, with each proposing a different plan. Despite the many symposiums that have been held on this subject, there is no consensus on how to pursue this ambition.

Essentially the only thing all parties can agree on is that "smart" cities will employ sensors, computers and smartphones, and they will implement new forms of city government, making administrative processes more transparent than ever before. The idea is that digital technology will help make urban living cleaner, more sustainable and more pleasant. And, of course, it should increase prosperity as well.

Amid this uncertainty, an old port city on Spain's Atlantic coast has surged to the forefront of those aspiring to be smart cities. Despite its cash-strapped finances, the city of Santander, birthplace of the major bank of the same name, is already quite smart.

Smart City Experiment

"This is the future," Mayor Iñigo de la Serna, 42, of the conservative Partido Popular, declares proudly. "This is the only way to change things," he said, adding that every major city would eventually have to do the same. "It's not an option, it's obligatory."

The ocean waters are rough here in the springtime. Grand hotels and a high-end casino line the beach, where surfers in neoprene wetsuits launch themselves into waves meters high. In Spain, Santander has had a reputation for glamour ever since King Alfonso XIII chose the city as his summer residence almost 100 years ago.

Lately, though, curious visitors have been dropping in for another reason. Some come on behalf of major corporations such as Google, Microsoft or IBM. Recently, a delegation came from Japan and another flew in from Wuxi, China, a city with a population of several million. All of these visitors see Santander as a living experimental laboratory, a town that -- with its population of about 180,000 -- is neither too large nor too small to function as a smart city experiment.

Luis Muñoz, 48, is an IT professor at the University of Cantabria. He received nearly ?9 million ($11.7 million) in research money, most of it from the EU, to develop a prototype smart city. Muñoz permanently installed 10,000 sensors around downtown Santander, throughout an area of 6 square kilometers (2.3 square miles). The sensors are hidden inside small gray boxes attached to street lamps, poles and building walls. Some are even buried beneath the asphalt of parking lots.

Sensors at Work

Day in and day out, these sensors measure more or less everything that can be measured: light, pressure, temperature, humidity, even the movements of cars and people.

Every couple of minutes, they transmit their data to Muñoz's laboratory at the university, the central location that collects data streams from throughout the city. Every single bus transmits its position, mileage and speed, as well as data from its environment, such as ozone or nitric oxide pollution levels. Taxis and police cars do the same. Even the people of Santander can choose to become human sensors themselves. All it takes is to download a special app for GPS-enabled cell phones.

A central computer compiles the data into one big picture that is constantly being updated. Santander is a digital city, and everything here gets recorded. The system knows exactly where the traffic jams are and where the air is bad. Noise and ozone maps show what parts of the city are exceeding EU limits. Things can get particularly interesting when a major street is blocked because of an accident. Muñoz can observe in real time how that event affects traffic in the rest of the city.

In the past, Mayor de la Serna sent out nightly patrols to check for street lamps that were out of order. Now, Muñoz's computer informs the city exactly where new light bulbs are needed. The lamps can even adjust their brightness as needed, dimming when there is no one on the street, and emitting less light during a full moon than on a rainy night.

In the Parque de las Llamas, too, sensors will soon help optimize the amount of watering done in the park, so that no water is wasted. And garbage collectors will eventually be able to avoid making unneeded trips, because sensors will inform them beforehand which garbage containers need emptying.

Accessing the Information

All of these things save some money, but they still don't make a city particularly smart. A truly smart city is one in which as many residents as possible can access this and other types of information effortlessly. Mayor de la Serna is particularly proud of his iPhone's new "Pulse of the City" app, which does just that, connecting Santanderinos to their city's data streams.

For example, someone waiting at a bus stop and wanting to know when the next bus will arrive needs only to start up the smartphone app and point the phone toward the bus stop. The phone immediately displays all bus lines that serve that stop, as well as their arrival times. Pointing the phone at the city's concert hall brings up the program of events over the next several days and weeks. A tourist holding a smartphone toward a downtown fountain learns when the fountain was built and by whom, while opening the app near a supermarket provides information on current special offers.

In the past, residents frustrated with potholes in Santander's streets called the city government or wrote a letter. Now it's enough just to open the "Pulse of the City" app and take a picture of the hole. One more click sends this digital damage report, complete with GPS data, straight to city hall.

From there, a computer forwards the information both to those who are responsible for the technical side of fixing the problem and to those who bear political responsibility for it -- a two-pronged approach that apparently increases the system's effectiveness. All of the data is made public, but the person who originally sent the complaint remains anonymous. City residents and local media can also use the app to follow how long it takes for the damage to be repaired. The city, of course, tries to act as quickly as possible.

Santanderinos have used the app to report more than 500 issues since "Pulse of the City" was launched about five months ago. "People's faith in this technology is growing," de la Serna says. In comparison, sending an email to a German city hall can seem like tossing a message in a bottle out to sea.

Making Data Public

Next, Mayor de la Serna wants to air the city's secrets. Many types of information that were previously confidential or difficult to access will now be made public, including statistical data on demographic changes and real estate prices. Then the mayor wants to create a digital equivalent of a village square. The app "Ideas for All" -- something like Facebook but specifically for city residents -- will connect the city with its inhabitants. "We want to create a new, cooperative relationship between the people and the city government," de la Serna explains.

The mayor hopes this flood of data will inspire programmers to create more apps to make Santander even smarter. So far, there has been no resistance to the project. None of Muñoz's sensors have fallen prey to vandals. Taxi drivers initially feared the city wanted to use these sensors to carry out constant surveillance of the city, but that concern, de la Serna says, has long since given way to pride at being part of such a futuristic project, especially during a difficult economic period.

That pioneering spirit is apparently already paying off. The Spanish multinational company Ferrovial -- owner of, among other assets, London's Heathrow Airport -- has decided to invest in Santander and will build a smart city research center there.

Source: abc News, By: By Marco Evers, SPIEGEL, Translated from the German by Ella Ornstein

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