According to the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, total smartphone shipments in the South East Asia (SEA) region is approximately 28 million units in the second quarter of 2016 reflecting an 18.1% increase quarter-on quarter (QoQ) and continued positive growth year-on-year (YoY) of 6.5%. Countries in the SEA region tracked by IDC’s local and regional analysts are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The report states that competitive price points and heavy marketing activities in a now crowded market are the key driving factors for the budget conscious SEA market.

In terms of market share, the overall smartphone market remains dominated by Samsung, followed by OPPO, True (an operator in Thailand), Asus and Lava.

• Samsung retained its top position by relying on its price and spec competitive Galaxy J series which was highly suited for the budget conscious SEA market. Meanwhile, the flagship Galaxy S7 series saw better YoY performance in terms of unit shipments compared to the Galaxy S6 series launched back in 2015.
• OPPO moved to second position for the first time. Despite Oppo’s continued marketing investments to build a solid brand equity for its F1 family, it was the Neo model that drove up its volume.
• Asus’ position is supported by its highly affordable Zenfone Go model. Meanwhile, the growth of its flagship, the Zenfone 2 Laser, slowed down in preparation for the new Zenfone 3 targeted for launch in the third quarter.
• Unit shipments for True and Lava were propelled by heavy operator activities to increase 3G subscribers nationwide in Thailand.

Meanwhile, 3G handsets still make up majority of the market share as they carry significantly lower price points as opposed to 4G ones, a pivotal factor particularly for SEA consumers. Furthermore, the slow uptake of 4G is largely attributed to the temporary rise of 3G devices in Thailand, where operators were in a rush to migrate subscribers from 2G to 3G, handing out large amounts of free or heavily discounted handsets.

Source: IDC

Singapore, November 2015 – Epson launched their latest WorkForce Pro Series Printers – WF-5111, WF-5621 and WF-6091. Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to launch the new WorkForce Pro series printers.

The launch was held as part of a business showcase of Epson’s business inkjet portfolio for both SOHO/SME and business users. Products include its market leading ink tank system printers which have sold over two million units in Southeast Asia.

WorkForce Pro Printers – Focus on cost-savings and speed

Specially targeted at home and small to medium businesses, the three new WorkForce Pro series printers – WF-5111, WF-5621 and WF-6091 will provide users with low-cost, high page yields for enhanced business productivity and work efficiency.

Key features of the new WorkForce Pro series printers include:

• Powered by Epson’s PrecisionCore Printhead technology: Initially used for industry level printing, Epson is increasingly introducing PrecisionCore technology for models catering to small business and office needs. It is a culmination of over 40 years of development that produces precision and durability in business printing. The printhead technology eliminates warm up time that is normally required in colour laser printers, therefore maximizing time efficiency. Nozzles using PrecisionCore can efficiently and precisely deliver the most appropriate amount of ink to achieve highquality, high-speed printing.
• High page yields and durability: According to Epson, the WF-6091 can print up to 10,000 and 7,000 black and colour pages respectively, while the WF-5111 and WF-5621 can print up to 45,000 pages monthly.
• Saving costs with automatic duplex function. The new WorkForce Pro range comes with double-sided printing to further cut costs and lessen the impact on the environment.

Product specifications of the new WorkForce Pro series printers are available in the Annex.

Printing Solutions for Businesses

In addition to the new WorkForce Pro series printers, business partners were also treated to a showcase of Epson’s complete portfolio of business inkjet printers. They include:

• M-series Ink Tank System Printers: Epson’s first monochrome integrated ink tank system printers – the M100 and M200 provide users ultra-low-cost office printing. The printers save costs, power and time with an ultra-high yield of 6,000 pages, making it the most economical office printer than any mono laser or inkjet printer.
• Epson’s revolutionary L-series range of ink tank printers: These include the L310, L365 as well as the L655, Epson’s top-of-the-line ink tank system printer which is the world’s first duplex ink tank system printer.
• Epson WorkForce Pro WF-R8591: The first printer model that features a Replaceable Ink Pack System (RIPS). Combining both PrecisionCore technology and DURABrite Ultra Pro inks, the Epson RIPS utilises high capacity ink packs that can hold a far higher volume of ink compared to traditional ink cartridges. The WF-R8591 has a super high-yield printing of up

  to 75,000 pages without replacing the ink. The Replaceable Ink Pack System technology offers cost savings to meet centralized printing needs and maintain a lower inventory for consumables.

The event is part of Epson Singapore’s efforts to engage their customers and promote the use of inkjet printing for the business segment. Said Mr Matthew Loh, Head of Sales, Epson Singapore,” The future of business printing lies in developing versatile solutions that can keep up with changing business needs. Small businesses especially want a one-stop solution that can deliver good and fast results cost-effectively – be it office documents, colour photos or creative visual products. Epson’s business printing solutions, such as the WorkForce Pro series, bring that ease of mind and flexibility to corporate customers, to expand their business at top speed without worrying if they need to add on multiple printers or compromise on quality.”

Annex: Epson WorkForce Pro series business inkjet printers key specifications

Ruckus Wireless, Inc. announced that it has acquired Cloudpath Networks, a privately held provider of secure Wi-Fi onboarding software, headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.

Cloudpath pioneered secure Wi-Fi onboarding in 2006 and has since become a leader in certificate-based Wi-Fi security with its automated, self-service software. Cloudpath’s software makes it easy for users to securely connect to wireless networks and for IT managers to manage ongoing Wi-Fi access in large environments, offering the following benefits:

• A one-time enrollment process for the users, verifying the user and the device and automatically configuring the device with the appropriate wireless network and certificate for desired policy
• Secure and automatic connection for returning users
• A Set-It-And-Forget-It Wi-Fi experience for IT managers, enabling them to deploy IT security and BYOD policies in a scalable and user-friendly manner
• Cost-effective and easy network management for IT managers through an Enrollment System which allows networks to simply and securely adopt certificate-based Wi-Fi

Ruckus will immediately include Cloudpath software with its Smart Wi-Fi portfolio for education, enterprise, retail and hospitality markets.

To read the full press releases, see below

[pdf-embedder url=”https://theneodimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Ruckus-Acquires-Cloudpath.pdf”]

Linksys®, announced the availability of the world’s first MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple Output) enabled Wireless AC router – the Linksys Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router (EA8500) in Singapore.

MU-MIMO sends Wi-Fi simultaneously to all the devices on the network, ensuring faster connectivity – as if each device has its own dedicated router. With MU-MIMO, the entire household can stream movies, play video games, listen to music, shop, check email and more – all at the same time and without the annoying ‘buffering bar’. Check out the MU-MIMO video below.

In a test conducted by Tolly Group, the Linksys EA8500 offered up to 2.5X the single-client throughput of non-MU-MIMO routers (dual-band and tri-band) tested in a multi-client (four devices, similar distance) setting. The singlet-client throughput increased to 4.6X that of non-MU-MIMO routers when tested in a multi-client, mixed distance setting.

Singaporeans own an average of 3.29 devices per person, which is one of the highest averages observed in APAC markets – according to a survey by GlobalWebIndex. With the increasing trend of multiple wireless device ownership in Singapore, users will find that a MU-MIMO enabled router is the future-proofing solution to ensure seamless high-speed connectivity for the entire family.

Read the full press here

New Linksys router available in stores and at a special price exclusively for Singtel Unlimited Fibre customers from 4 June 2015

Singapore – May 27, 2015 – Linksys®, the first to sell 100 million routers globally and a leader in networking solutions for the home and business, is expanding its WRT router line to include a 2×2 AC1200 Dual-Band Wireless-AC Gigabit Router, the WRT1200AC. This new router provides users in Singapore with the high-end features of the WRT1900AC router at AC1200 speeds and a lower price point.

As a special launch promotion, Singtel will offer the best-in-class Linksys WRT1200AC at a discount of $100 with its Unlimited 1Gbps Fibre Plan, promising unrestricted speeds for all kinds of bandwidth-intensive applications.

Video Source: Youtube user Speed X – Speed testing with WRT1200AC

“Customers in Singapore expect reliable quality and high speed broadband in their homes. After the launch of the WRT1900AC last year, we had many customers ask for a more affordable version but with the same high end features. The WRT1200AC is the result,” said Mike Chen, vice president product management, Linksys. “The bundled package with Singtel will help to bring this best-in-class, WRT-series AC1200 router from Linksys to more users, more quickly, and at an even lower price.”

Ideal for use with Singtel’s unlimited fibre plan, the Linksys WRT1200AC Dual-Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Router is based on the Avastar Wireless & ARMADA Processor product series from Marvell® and features wireless speeds up to 1.3 Gbps and a 1.3GHz dual-core CPU.  Two adjustable, removable antennas and high-powered Wi-Fi power amplifiers help ensure maximum range and performance in single- and multi-story buildings, while beamforming technology focuses and strengthens the Wi-Fi signal. Four Gigabit ports offer blazing-fast wired connections, a USB 3.0 port and a dual USB 2.0/eSATA port allows for sharing external storage across the network with data transfer speeds of up to 3 Gbps*. Users can also connect external storage or devices with the USB 3.0 port. The WRT1200AC is engineered to work with open-source firmware for complete customization.

“At Singtel, we are constantly looking for ways to offer the best products and services to customers,” said Goh Seow Eng, MD, Home, Consumer, Singtel. “We are pleased to partner with Linksys on this exclusive deal, which provides customers who are keen on the unlimited fibre plan a router with great features at an affordable price. We believe this will drive take-up for the popular plan, which offers unfettered high speeds and low latency.”

Open Source Capable

In collaboration with Marvell, Linksys is happy to announce the open-source Wi-Fi driver for the WRT1200AC and WRT1900AC has been released to OpenWrt. This driver has been incorporated into the latest open source firmware image snapshot, available here (Command line interface experience recommended):

WRT1200AC: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/linksys/wrt1200ac

WRT1900AC: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/linksys/wrt1900ac

Since the initial release back in December, Marvell has demonstrated continued support by releasing successive updates to the community. Support for the WRT1900AC and WRT1200AC have been rolled into the latest “Chaos Calmer” release from OpenWrt.

Smart Wi-Fi Enhancements

Smart Wi-Fi is a web- and app-based management tool that helps users simply set up their router, and manage and control their home network via a dashboard on a PC, tablet or smart phone while at home or away. Smart Wi-Fi also provides a host of features including guest access, parental controls, remote access of other family or friend networks as well as easy references to passwords or network controls. Linksys recently added these new features via a firmware upgrade to select Linksys routers and each will be available on the WRT1200AC:

• OpenVPN server support
• New Network Map features
• Wireless Widget
• Wi-Fi Scheduler
• Improved device identification

Pricing and Availability

The new Linksys WRT1200AC Router will be available in Singapore at a retail price of $ 329 from 4 June 2015 at Challenger stores island wide and at other leading consumer electronics retail stores by end June. The Singtel Unlimited 1Gbps Fibre Plan will offer the Linksys WRT1200AC discount from 4 June 2015.

Router Leadership

The WRT1200AC is added to the list of more than 60 Linksys routers introduced since it pioneered the router in 1999. Linksys recently announced it has sold more than 100 million routers and has become part of an elite group of consumer electronics manufacturers to have a device hit that milestone number.

Singapore 12 August 2014 – SingTel today unveiled a range of mobile plans that are fully integrated with a new premium high-speed WiFi network that it is rolling out at crowded locations and underground MRT stations.

The Combo plans are designed to meet consumers’ fast growing mobile data needs by offering high-speed WiFi usage in addition to 4G data bundles. As a launch promotion, customers will enjoy unlimited WiFi usage until 31 July 2015. Subsequently, all Combo plans will come with 2GB1 of WiFi data allowances.

Mr Johan Buse, SingTel’s Vice President of Consumer Marketing, said: “Customers tell us that they want faster speeds and more generous data allowances. Our new premium WiFi network complements our 4G network and boosts network capacity in crowded, congestion-prone locations. It enables us to provide customers with an optimal mobile data experience where they need it most.”

Combo plan customers will be able to switch automatically between the 3G, 4G and SingTel WiFi network without a manual password login. To ensure that customers always enjoy a high-speed and seamless experience, SingTel has permanently waived the 4G value-added service subscription charges.

The Combo plans provide customers with better value for money than existing plans. They offer up to 200 minutes more local talktime and up to 500 more SMS messages.

From 19 August 2014, the Combo plans will replace SingTel’s existing plans for customers who renew their contracts or subscribe to new lines.

SingTel premium WiFi network

Unlike free public WiFi networks, SingTel’s WiFi network is fully managed to ensure high quality performance. It can provide connectivity that is five times faster than typical free public WiFi services. (Average typical speeds of SingTel WiFi range from 4 to 10Mbps.)

At launch, coverage will be available at more than 100 hotspots at 11 locations, including popular shopping malls such as Raffles City, Plaza Singapura, Junction 8, Funan Digitalife Mall, Bugis+, The Atrium and Changi City Point. SingTel will progressively roll out the network to all CapitaMall shopping centres. (Please refer to Annexe 1 for the list of malls covered at launch.)

Hotspots will also be installed in Singapore’s busiest underground MRT stations and major bus interchanges.  Customers can enjoy coverage at Orchard, City Hall and Raffles Place stations from 22 August 2014. The service will be progressively rolled out to 16 MRT stations on the North-East Line, as well as eight other stations with high commuter traffic over the next nine months. (Please refer to Annexe 2 for the list of MRT stations.)

By March 2015, approximately 1,000 hotspots at more than 100 locations across the island will have been deployed. These numbers are expected to double by March 2016.

For the full list of SingTel WiFi hotspot locations, please visit www.singtel.com/stwifi.