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Coming of smart home systems, NEW STRAITS TIMES-MANAGEMENT TIMES

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

xfdws COMING-OF-SMART sked Emerging Markets Datafile

August 11, 2003

NEW STRAITS TIMES-MANAGEMENT TIMES

MALAYSIA

ENGLISH

Coming of smart home systems, NEW STRAITS TIMES-MANAGEMENT TIMES

Ferina Manecksha

ASIA WorldSources, Inc. 322 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE 2ND FLOOR, NE WASHINGTON, DC 20002 COPYRIGHT 2003 BY WORLDSOURCES, INC., A JOINT VENTURE OF FDCH e-Media, INC. AND WORLD TIMES, INC. NO PORTION OF THE MATERIALS CONTAINED HEREIN MAY BE USED IN ANY MEDIA WITHOUT ATTRIBUTION TO WORLDSOURCES, INC.

THE concept of smart living is essentially one where applications utilised through any particular device allow the user to receive information and be entertained anywhere in a smart, reliable and secure manner.

While both Netherlands-based Philips Consumer Electronics and United States-based Microsoft are developing similar concepts, the former refers to it as the connected home concept while the latter refers to it as smart living concept.

Sony's concept of smart living revolves around its vision of ubiquitous value network (UVN) which refers to an environment where personal computers (PCs) and consumer electronics devices are connected seamlessly to each other-and to the network, giving users easy access to rich content or service anywhere.

Amsterdam-based Philips Consumer Electronics' business manager for wireless digital multimedia receivers Paul Pessers says while ICT products are important information and productivity sources, consumer electronics (CE) and mobile devices are important for entertainment enjoyment.

''Both platforms are important and the consumer should be the one with the ultimate choice as to which device they want to use to create, share and enjoy the content,'' Pessers stresses.

''In the future, consumers are not going to be interested which device the content comes from. Instead, they will be driven by the experience to enjoy it wherever they are, regardless of the source of the original content.''

Meanwhile, Microsoft's vision means that software, devices and applications should function to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realise their full potential for a richer and more fulfilling day-to-day living experience.

Microsoft Malaysia's director for product marketing group Alex Fong says there is tremendous research and development (R&D) in making this interconnectivity and connectedness-from smart homes to smart personal object technology (SPOT).

Already there has been significant progress made in the industry to combine the richness of handwriting recognition into the process of information capture with the introduction of the Tablet PC and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for example.

''Researchers are also aggressively developing computers that can understand speech based on probabilities,'' Fong said. ``For instance, Yoda, a speech-to-text engine under development at Microsoft Research, can turn spoken words into coherent text e-mail messages by studying a person's habits.''

In addition, Microsoft has announced that efforts are being put into innovating its software platforms and applications (with improvements to accessibility capabilities) to cater to the physically challenged.

In the mean time, Sony has focused on integrating conventional audio-visual (AV) products with IT products to design a new breed of products they call network products.

Sony (M) Sdn Bhd's general manager of consumer marketing division Yasushi Asaoka says the company's new range of network products offer seamless connection with other AV/IT products via the use of Memory Stick-enabling stored data such as text, pictures and music to be shared with other users wirelessly.

''Such products promote mobility, convenience and time-saving. They have also changed the roles of conventional AV and IT products into entertainment tools. An example is the Clie handheld which is now equipped with camera function, music player, Bluetooth technology, gaming and is Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity)-enabled,'' Asaoka says.

''This means the Clie handheld is no longer just an organiser, but also a full-fledged entertainment tool.

''In addition, it uses Memory Stick that enables users to share stored data such as text, picture and music with other AV/IT products such as digital camera, digital music player and PC.''

Research firm International Data Corp (IDC) believes that technologies that are beyond the radar screen of normal market research such as smart dust, lily pads, nanomachines, quantum computing, plastic transistors, nanotubes, Web and grid computing and ratbots, offer the potential to change lives and could one day be as significant as the microprocessor or the mouse.

Perhaps, the next wave of how our lives will be changed further?

Copyright 2003 NEW STRAITS TIMES-MANAGEMENT TIMES all rights reserved as distributed by WorldSources, Inc.

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