Tag Archives: connectivity

Internet, Mobile

This Amazing Public WiFi Chart Shows a Massive Access Growth in Europe

Over the last five years, public WiFi has become far more accessible throughout Europe. From 16 million public hotspots in 2013, there are now more than 100 million across the continent, with countries such as Italy, Norway and Austria drastically improving their WiFi availability in that time. However, the Irish government has come under fire recently for substantial delays in the implementation of broadband availability to remote regions of the country.

While great strides have been made in public WiFi availability since 2013, the EU continues to work towards grandiose medium-terms to improve the service further. Within the next two years, it intends to have free WiFi in every municipality in Europe and a minimum download speed of 100MB per second in all households. By 2025, it hopes to introduce 5G broadband throughout the continent, although progress on this remains slow for the short-term.

In an increasingly digital age, the need for reliable public WiFi has never been greater, even though international roaming charges have largely been abolished. The infographic below, which was created by Paradyn, shows how substantially European public WiFi has grown and why this growth shows no sign of stalling.

CES

CES 2017: The Harman Announcements That Matter

The Consumers Electronics Show has returned back in town, and many of the larger companies have put the time and effort into Las Vegas, Nevada, as a launch pad for their major announcements.

Harman, a leading company that designs and engineers connected products for automakers, consumers and enterprise industries all around the world, has recently announced a whopping $8 billion acquisition by Samsung, although the deal is yet to be closed.

In addition to that, the company has also announced a massive growth among OEMs such as Lexus, Toyota, Hyundai, Lincoln, Kia, BMW, Subaru and more, with a positive demand from the consumer’s point of view, mostly for advanced in-car connectivity solutions.

For instance, Harman has recently announced a collaboration with Ford, to bring the B&O Play system to its cars, sometime in the Spring of 2017.

With the growing experience in innovation and technology, Harman will continue to expand car connectivity – Intelligent, personalized and professional experience, mainly in the sound management solution products.

The company is presenting a new level of innovation and In-Car Experience connectivity:

  1. Harman Summit Next – Is the new generation of a conceptual smart audio solution that offers Harman’s highest level of acoustic performance integrated with intelligent expandable features which are targeted for the luxury market and provides an immaculate way for people to engage and interact with their vehicles and their senses. The new solutions includes: Ambisonics Escape, Dynamic Sound Stage, In-Car Conferencing, In-Car Theater, and more.
  2. Harman Voyager Next – Harman’s award-winning industry’s leading audio solution in one advanced system. Connects your vehicle to your very own lifestyle via the industry’s first all-in-one audio and connected car Head Unit solution, which has been designed to meet the needs of today’s millennial’s ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle. Voyager Next provides OEMs the ability to offer cost effective and easy to implement premium audio solutions for their entry-level vehicle market. It also provides new levels of intelligent personalization and connectivity to the in-vehicle experience through advanced technologies, including the Voyager Next connect companion app, Harman proprietary micro speaker technology, Dual-core micro sub-woofers and a Voyager Next sub.

To highlight some of the company’s milestones from recent months, Harman has won some very notable automobile awards, as well as launching collaborations with myriad of vehicles and industry brands. It is also said to enhance in-car security with the acquisition of Israeli startup TowerSec for around $70 million or so.

Moreover, the company is unveiling at CES the future of mobility and car connectivity with the latest introduction of Rinspeed Oasis Autonomous car, that features the ultimate In-Car experience technologies (HARMAN LIVS). The Oasis, a result of a fruitful collaboration with industry engineering across the pond, is basically a concept car that offers a glimpse at the future of autonomous driving and how advanced, holistic vehicle intelligence will transform the driving experience.

“More than a technology supplier, HARMAN is an inspiration partner to the world’s automakers, and the Oasis is a testament to that vision – a vehicle that is contextual, personalized and highly connected” ~ Phil Eyler, president, HARMAN Connected Car.

“HARMAN believes autonomy should not equal monotony, and this vehicle offers an integrated cockpit and bleeding edge user interface that advances mobility and connectivity while providing an unparalleled user experience. This results in a driving experience that is more powerful, productive, personalized and protected than ever before.”

The Rinspeed Oasis autonomous vehicle user experience includes a series of modes and systems that elevate both the autonomous and manual driving experience including a Full Windshield Heads-Up Display, Autonomous Drive Readiness Check (handover to Manual), Augmented Reality Concierge, Predictive Collision Prevention, Intelligent E-Mirrors.

Bringing technologies from concept to reality, the company has also presented the new Intelligent cockpit (digital personal assistant, car-to home platform. Next gen Compute Platform), with distinct modes and highly connected iOT integration.

Furthermore, the company is said to invest a lot of its own resources in advanced connected in-car services, such as HCS Cloud, HCS OTA, HCS After Market and others.

In that regard, the company is also introducing the Harman Ignite, the first fully-integrated scalable and modular cloud platform for developing, managing and operating in-vehicle applications and services, combining Connectivity, Analytics, Device Management, Application Management, and OTA Updates.

Examples of automotive use cases for the Ignite platform includes Vehicle Connect, Cloud-Based Driver Profiles, Car-as-a-Service, Vehicle Health and Diagnostics features, Content Personalization, and Vehicle Analytics.

With that in mind, the company introduces some new hardware products such as Navdy: augmented reality display, JBL Legend CP100, automotive aftermarket Platform and a handful of interesting services and products which were the front and center at the major floor event.

Audio, Media Players, Operating Systems

Philips’ GoGear Connect PMP Goes Live In Europe With Android 2.1 Platform Already Preloaded Onboard

Android media player – that apparently looks like the latest greatest trend among audio-video gadgets across the pond, and the new joiner within that sphere is Philips and its most awesome GoGear Connect PMP. The slick silver device which you can find listed in online retailer store Argos, priced at €264.99 (about $340), boasts a 3.2-inch 480 x 320 display, running Android 2.1 platform and tucked with 16GB of flash storage, an integrated GPS navigation system, an FM tuner, a microSD, a 3.5mm headphone jack and battery pack delivering up to 25 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of continuous video work. It should already be available throughout the European continent while US release is yet to be determined.

Update: Philips just went official with its brand new 3.2-inch GoGear Connect PMP which apparently supports a very wide range of audio and video formats, including mp3, wma, .m4a (AAC), ogg, and flac audio; wmv, mp4, H264, and avi video; or JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF images. It is also said to have a built in camera inside, paired with microSD slot, android 2.1 for the OS and an integrated GPS platform to navigate your way on the go. Worldwide release (including the US) is scheduled for October of this year, with prices at €249 (about $315) for the 16GB flavor.

[Argos via Engadget]