Channel 0104 Consumer Electronics

SANYO Introduces Fashionable 8-Color Battery Pack and Dog-Shaped Battery Power Checker

2010-02-16T12:15:00.001-08:00

No.1 in Battery Industry for 1,000-time Rechargeability and 4.4-time longer usability

SANYO (Thailand) Co., Ltd., would like to introduce the latest “eneloop” rechargeable battery pack, which comes in 8 stylish colors : purple, pink, orange, yellow, light green, green, light blue, and blue. The batteries can be used immediately right out of the pack without charge needed. The “eneloop” helps camera to take more pictures than conventional battery for 4.4 times. It is eco-friendly with 1,000-time rechargeability. Electricity can be kept for 2 years without use.

Above all, SANYO has also launch a cute dog-shaped battery checker, “eneloopy”, which can be simply used. By setting a battery in the dog’s body and pressing the switch on the chest, the LED on the nose indicates the remaining battery level using 4 different colors: green, orange, red, and light off. It is suitable to be taken long with user in order to help camera in any unmissable moments.

The latest “eneloop” innovation by SANYO is now available. An “eneloop” rechargeable battery pack is priced 1,990 Baht. The “eneloopy”, bundled with 2 AA-sized batteries, is priced 990 Baht.

TANDBERG First to Demonstrate Immersive Three-Screen Telepresence Interoperability with Cisco TelePresence

2010-02-07T02:45:00.001-08:00

TANDBERG Total Telepresence solution delivers additional immersive third-party telepresence interoperability capabilities for expanded company-to-company collaboration.

TANDBERG (OSLO: TAA.OL) announced it has successfully demonstrated telepresence interoperability between TANDBERG Telepresence and the Cisco CTS 3000. This demonstration, the first of its kind, was enabled by integrating Cisco's new Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) into the award-winning TANDBERG Telepresence Server. With this integration, TANDBERG now adds Cisco TelePresence solutions to the list of third-party telepresence solutions it can seamlessly interoperate with while maintaining the three-screen, high-definition telepresence experience.

"As we build a global video community, it is imperative that organizations are not locked in by technology," said Fredrik Halvorsen, TANDBERG CEO. "Our Total Telepresence solution is interoperable with a broad range of third-party solutions, including those from Polycom and Microsoft. We are very happy to now deliver even greater value to our customers by bringing participants on TANDBERG Telepresence and Cisco TelePresence together with an immersive, three-screen experience. Today's demonstration reflects TANDBERG's continued commitment to open standards, providing scalable solutions and protecting our customers' video investments for the future."

According to Frost & Sullivan, although many companies initially think of telepresence as a substitute for the corporate jet, the technology holds even more value when it can seamlessly link to other video conferencing solutions - within and outside of an organization - to ensure all necessary participants can attend any meeting. TANDBERG customers have seen the exponential value of interoperability between third-party telepresence and video conferencing for company-to-company collaboration while maintaining the best experience possible. TANDBERG is consistently the first to deliver the most advanced interoperability solutions to the market, demonstrated by:

* TANDBERG first to demonstrate a multi-screen, high-definition telepresence call with Cisco TelePresence CTS 3000 (see video).

* TANDBERG first to deliver a telepresence solution that can interoperate with third-party telepresence systems while maintaining the immersive telepresence experience.

* TANDBERG first to enable high definition video between Microsoft Office Communicator and immersive multi-screen telepresence.

* TANDBERG first to deliver a complete portfolio of HD telepresence and video conferencing solutions that can interoperate with any other standards compliant systems both within an organization and company-to-company.

Interoperability with Cisco CTS 3000 and other Cisco systems will be available through a software upgrade to the TANDBERG Telepresence Server later this year. For more information about the TANDBERG Total Telepresence solution, visit http://www.tandberg.com or call or contact moreinfo@TANDBERG.com .
About TANDBERG

TANDBERG is the leading global provider of telepresence, high-definition video conferencing and mobile video products and services with dual headquarters in New York and Norway. TANDBERG designs, develops and markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The company provides sales, support and value-added services in more than 90 countries worldwide. TANDBERG is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TAA.OL. Please visit http://www.tandberg.com for more information.

TANDBERG is a trademark or registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names here in may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Philips launches High Definition Soundbar Blu-Ray home theatre systems Philips HTS8160B

2010-01-29T22:40:00.001-08:00

Philips Electronics (Thailand) Ltd., introduces the latest Soundbar home theatre systems with Blu-ray Philips HTS8160B, a truly immersive home cinema experience delivery top performance sound and picture quality

The new Philips HTS8160B incorporates a complete home theatre system into one single unit and includes the Philips Ambisound technology – delivery a full surround sound from just 2 speakers incorporated into the main unit. Users get multi-channel surround sound without all the wires and numerous speakers cluttering their space. An ideal piece of stunning furniture in the modern homes with its sleek and minimalist design.

In addition to HD Blu-ray playback in full HD 1080p and BD-Live* (Profile 2.0) for downloading interactive web content to enjoy online Blu-ray bonus content, the HTS8160 boasts DTS-HD and Dolby True HD for high fidelity 7.1 surround sound, proprietary DoubleBASS technology for deeper bass and connectivity with BD-Live (Profile 2.0). In addition, Deep Color Creates vivid images in over a billion colors that occur in reality and launching your viewing experience to new height.

Philips HTS8160B has an optional dock for convenient playback from your iPod to enjoy whatever music you like.

Philips HTS8160B is retailing at 42,990 baht at all Philips authorized dealers stores.

The FINE by Fine Home, in cooperation with one of the leading household electrical appliances

2010-01-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

Panasonic, has set forth a rigorous attempt in penetrating into Green Heart market.

Luxury Class Condominium Low Rise, The FINE by Fine Home, in cooperation with one of the leading household electrical appliances, Panasonic, has set forth a rigorous attempt in penetrating into Green Heart market.

The FINE by Fine Home, a well recognized leading condominium under the concept of green living, has entered into a contractual agreement with its business alliance, Panasonic, upon purchasing IH Cooktop (Induction Heating Cooktop), a highly efficient technology featuring energy saving approach and environmental friendly design exceptionally targeting at green heart customers. The Fine by Fine Home is ready to expand its customer base to incorporate a high end level.

BANGKOK-On January20, 2010, the FINE by Fine Home under Fine 22 Properties Co., Ltd., an associated company of the Fine Home Group, organized a formal signing ceremony at Divana Nurture Spa, Sukumvit 35 upon purchasing Panasonic IH Cooktop, a highly efficient product featuring energy-saving innovation. The sale contract was signed between Mr. Sukit Traiwanapong, Managing Director of Fine22 Properties Co., Ltd and Mr.Hirotaka Murakami, CEO of Panasonic Group in Thailand.

According to Mr. Sukit Traiwanapong, Managing Director of Fine22 Properties Co., Ltd, The FINE by Fine Home, Soi Aree 4, Paholyothin is a city condominium low rise in the style of green living. The project has received a fast and welcoming customer support with a reservation volume of 60% since its grand opening ceremony due to its integrated response to customer demands including the city-center location in connection with BTS station, wide ranging traveling alternatives, exquisite and energy-saving design, as well as a nature- oriented ambience. Moreover, The FINE’s interior decoration and equipment altogether are of qualified standard level which allows for comfortable living experience. The signing ceremony has definitely assured the customers of the company’s persistent and continuous effort for residential development, especially in the aspect of quality and environmental friendly motive. The condominium units are to be handed to buyers at the end of this year.

The FINE by Fine Home project emphasizes the style of green living under the concept of living simplicity. Interior decoration and equipment highlights energy saving and environmental friendly lifestyle. In this regard, Panasonic brand including electrical appliances, e.g. switches, plugs, Panasonic PBX systems and the latest IH cooktop has been selected based on its quality, energy saving and environmental friendly feature from an initial manufacturing stage. Beyond that, Panasonic takes into account customers’ convenience and user friendly basis in line with The FINE’s policy, Mr. Sukit added.

Mr.Hirotaka Murakami, CEO of Panasonic Group in Thailand said Panasonic deliberately aimed to create environmental friendly products under ‘eco ideas’. IH cooktop is one of the products with the highest efficiency in energy saving, internationally standardized function and popularity especially among Japanese users and those from other countries. The FINE by Fine Home is the first property development project having entered into a formal agreement upon using Panasonic products, which is considered an IH cooktop marketing opportunities directed to high end residents

Panasonic has formulated its IH Cooktop marketing strategies through a series of campaign targeted at property development projects. As a new player, IH Cooktop is expected to market directly on condominium and residence developers in accordance with the trend of modern home design which has increasingly emphasized safety, along with environmental friendly motive.

Panasonic IH Cooktop is distinguished with its unique quality for both built-in and free standing usage with automatic safety cut in case that the IH Cooktop is turned on with no cookware being placed on or even that the cookwares are empty. In addition, the users’ convenience is ensured through automatic congee cooking program and none of effects on room temperature as the radiation of heat is curbed within the cookwares’ surface. Compared with gas cooker, IH Cooktop can save 35% electricity fee as energy cost.

Apart from IH Cooktop, The FINE by Fine Home is considering to use Panasonic products including CCTV, Plug & Switch, Motion Sensor, Public Address Systems, PBX systems, Viera (Plasma TV, LCD TV), electric water heater, microwave, refrigerator and lighting in order to fulfill and serve variety of customers’ need.

NETGEAR Collaborates with Intel to Launch TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display, an Intuitive and Easy Way to View Entire Laptop Screen

2010-01-24T02:42:00.000-08:00

NETGEAR Collaborates with Intel to Launch TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display, an Intuitive and Easy Way to View Entire Laptop Screen on HDTV Wirelessly

Networking Leader Introduces Push2TV, Device that Transforms How Consumers View, Share and Enjoy Digital Content on the Big Screen TV

LAS VEGAS - January 11, 2010 - NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today announced the launch of NETGEAR Push2TV (PTV1000), a small device that enables consumers to display their entire laptop computer screens on their big screen HDTVs - wirelessly, effortlessly and intuitively.

Compatible with select laptops featuring Intel Wireless Display and powered by the all new 2010 Intel Core Processor Family, Push2TV (http://www.netgear.com/ptv) transforms the living room HDTV into a huge, remote monitor without the need for any unsightly cables stretching across the room. Slightly larger than a deck of cards, Push2TV enables consumers to wirelessly beam practically everything from their notebook computer to the big screen TV, including media stored on the laptop, content from the home network, and videos streamed from the most popular websites.

"Our customers are increasingly dependent on their laptops, and they tell us they're looking for easy ways to migrate the content of their computers to their TVs more freely," said Jason Bonfig, vice president of computing at Best Buy. "NETGEAR Push2TV is unique in how it seamlessly scales the viewing and browsing experience of the notebook PC to the TV along with an easy, intuitive way to connect and operate."

The industry has taken several approaches to connect the TV to the Internet: network-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players; Digital Media Adapters (DMAs) and set-top boxes that connect to the Internet via the home network; dedicated home theater PCs or notebooks connected to the TV via HDMI or other cables; and other PC-to-TV applications. However, these solutions have multiple limitations, such as the websites they can access and the video codecs and file formats that they can play.

"Consumers have been frustrated by the existing solutions so we focused on ease of use during the design and collaboration process with NETGEAR," said Erik Reid, director mobile marketing, Intel. "The result is that Intel Wireless Display, available on select laptops featuring Intel's all new 2010 Core family processors, and the NETGEAR Push2TV adapter have taken the hassle out of sharing content, so consumers can sit back, relax and enjoy the content on their large screen TVs."

The NETGEAR Push2TV adapter combined with Intel Wireless Display is a very simple extension of the browsing and viewing experience on the PC, significantly reducing the website restrictions that consumers currently experience with competing solutions. Consumers will be able to access the vast majority of the content on their computer or from the Internet and view it on their TV. Connecting a laptop to Push2TV is as simple as point and click. The easy and intuitive interface enables a protected connection and hides all the networking complexity found in currently available solutions. Thus, the consumer benefits from a fully integrated PC-to-TV solution without having to plug any external components or dongles into their new notebook computer, becoming a networking expert, or learning any new user interface.

The total solution consists of NETGEAR Push2TV connected to the TV and Intel Wireless Display preloaded on new-generation notebooks powered Processor Family. Intel Wireless DisplayÔby the 2010 Intel Core captures fully rendered display frames in real-time and sends the compressed video and audio directly to Push2TV via Intel My WiFi technology, the industry's first commercially available Wi-Fi Personal Area Network (PAN) or Wi-Fi Direct solution, creating a protected short-hop high-bandwidth wireless connection between the laptop and Push2TV. When compared to other solutions where the TV adapter connects to the home network or gateway, Push2TV reduces the wireless bandwidth overhead by up to 50 percent.

"We are delighted to partner with Intel to be the first to bring Intel Wireless Display to the living room, providing customers with what is truly the easiest way to extend the PC viewing experience to the TV - wirelessly, seamlessly and over a protected link," said Vivek Pathela, vice president and general manager of NETGEAR home and consumer products. "The combination of our Push2TV with a new-generation PC with Intel Wireless Display means consumers no longer have to crowd around their PCs to experience the infinite stream of Internet content with their friends and family."

With a sleek black minimalist design, a very intuitive setup and Wi-Fi technology, Push2TV quickly beams the laptop screen to the HDTV over a protected link. Therefore, customers are able to easily access almost any content they would normally be able to access on their PCs.* More specifically, with Push2TV and a new generation notebook powered by the 2010 Intel Core Processor Family connected to the Internet and/or home network, consumers can:

Sit back, relax and enjoy music, pictures and videos from their laptop, home network or the Internet in HD on their big screen TVs and home entertainment systems; Surf the web from the comfort of their couches, accessing many of today's online movies and TV shows and going anywhere a web browser will take them; Easily move from room to room or take Push2TV on vacation or business trips due to its small, lightweight form factor. Pricing and Availability

Backed by a one-year warranty and 24/7 technical support, the new NETGEAR Push2TV (PTV1000) will be available in the US later this month. Intel and NETGEAR are also working together to deliver this exciting new technology to additional geographies and distribution channels later in 2010. Product details on NETGEAR Push2TV can be found at http://www.netgear.com/ptv.

Philips launch new blu-ray disc player BDP7500 for truly cinematic experience

2010-01-17T03:58:00.001-08:00

Philips Electronics (Thailand) Ltd., introduces its new sleek sibling, the Philips Blu-ray Disc Player BDP7500, with a stunning design made from real aluminum for the best performance in high definition entertainment . It’s fast boot-up time is truly surpassing most blu-ray players in the market.

Philips BDP7500 offers superb performance and all the features you can expect in this class, topped off by support for all HD audio formats and most Internet video formats, 7.1 discrete analogue audio outputs and sophisticated touch controls in a stunning package.

It is equipped with high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. As for the video, it supports advanced DVD video upscaling to 1080p via HDMI for near-HD and DivX Ultra to enhance playback of DivX media file. Featured with subtitle shift for widescreen without any missing subtitles.

Included also with the BDP7500 is BD-Live 2.0 for downloading interactive web content. Added to that the unit’s touch-sensitive controls and the BD-Live* (Profile 2.0) for downloading interactive web content to enjoy online Blu-ray bonus content.

Philips BDP7500 is retailing at 13,990 baht in all authorized Philips dealers stores.

Philips re-defines picture performance with its latest LED TV 9000 series (models: 40PFL9704H, 46PFL9704H, 52PFL9704H).

2009-12-16T18:55:00.000-08:00

Philips Electronics (Thailand) Ltd., introduces its latest truly LED TV 9000 series, a full HD LCD display, with a 1920x1080p resolution featuring with direct-lit LED backlighting technology and offering pure performance in picture sharpness, motion and contrast and features the latest innovations in LCD technology – including the latest in internet TV.

Consumers enjoy breathtaking pictures and use up to 40% less energy with Philips award winning LED Pro. Over 1000 LED's are operated selectively in a grid as a backlight for the display. They generate brilliant light in bright image areas, and are dimmed completely in dark areas, saving energy. Combined with the powerful Perfect Pixel HD Engine, the result is a stunning picture with extreme contrast, sharpness and vibrant color. With LED Pro black is black and white is bright.

The Perfect Pixel HD engine deliver unrivalled sharpness and detail. It is also the world’s fastest LCD courtesy of 200Hz Clear LCD and an unbeatable 1 millisecond response time which banishes the motion blur problem common with LCD TVs. 200Hz Clear LCD creates extreme motion sharpness for clear and vibrant images even with fast on-screen motion. It results in a powerful dynamic contrast ratio up to 5,000,000:1.

Perfect Colors is the combination of new color sources, advanced color processing for both existing and new sources, and a Wide Color Gamut display. The powerful 17-bit Color Booster technology pumps out a mesmerizing 2,250 trillion colors, producing brilliant life-like images with natural skin and white tones.

Perfect Natural Motion results in smoother and quieter pictures with excellent sharpness surpassing even the motion performance in a cinema.

Philips immersive Ambilight Spectra 3 technology, which accurately identifies dominant on-screen colors and generates accurately-matched ambient lighting from three sides of the screen onto a rear wall.

As pure performance includes both sound quality as well as the picture quality, the 9700 series sports 2x15W high-efficiency speakers. This provides leading sound performance.

Another highlighted feature is Net TV, which enables simple and quick internet access to a wide range of sites from a start page on the TV screen.

It is also equipped with both Ethernet and WiFi connectivity, allowing them to stream data directly from a DLNA-compliant computer. Additional features include give HDMI 1.3 inputs, integrated subwoofers and tweeters, and full 1080p video output.

Auckland Museum Lights Up with Philips LED Technology for its 80th Birthday Largest Outdoor Installation of Solid State Lighting in New Zealand

2009-12-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Philips Lighting is proud to announce its role in the upgrade of one of New Zealand’s most stunning architectural and cultural landmarks, as Auckland Museum unveils a dramatic lighting transformation for the 80th birthday celebrations of its building. The striking installation designed by Light Emotion and specified by New Zealand’s Modus Architectural Lighting utilises Philips’ latest LED technology both inside and outside the Greco-Roman inspired building, as well as display lighting from Philips Selecon - the Museum’s luminaire manufacturer of choice - throughout the interior.

Sitting atop the Domain, the Auckland Museum has watched the growth of New Zealand’s largest city below, whilst maintaining its relevance as a place of great historical significance. Symbolising the cultural importance to New Zealand’s past, present and future, the Museum will now take centre-stage in the city’s night sky alight with bold and emotive colour, thanks to Philips’ state-of-the-art programmable and energy efficient LED lighting technology.

“We are illuminating the building, not only to honour its architectural magnificence, but to signify the importance of the Museum’s connection with the city. This iconic building should be seen from all vantage points throughout our city, and we are proud to illuminate it in an economically friendly and beautiful new way,” says Museum Director Dr Vanda Vitali. “We want to mark the building’s 80th year and honour the War Memorial aspect of the Museum in a truly innovative manner.”

The Museum’s exterior installation utilises Philips ColorGraze Powercore and ColorBlast Powercore fixtures to light the neoclassical structure’s façade and columns. Through the use of these small, yet powerful LED lights the Museum can change the exterior’s look and feel simply with the touch of a button, enabling the Museum to enhance its profile on the city skyline and create new colorful illumination experiences for visitors throughout each year.

“This installation marks the second major landmark that Philips has lit with LED technology in Auckland this year, following the upgrade to SkyCity’s SkyTower,” says Philips Electronics Australia and New Zealand CEO, Harry van Dyk. “As a company whose heritage in New Zealand spans more than 80 years, and more recently the acquisition of award-winning luminaire manufacturer Selecon, and our leadership in LED technology, Philips is immensely proud to play a role in transforming Auckland Museum, one of the country’s most important institutions.”

The two-part lighting upgrade also incorporates an interior upgrade, which includes creating a controllable, flexible environment in the Musuem’s foyer with Philips coloured LED technology, as well as the iW and eW Blast Powercore and eW Graze Powercore, energy efficient bright white LED solutions, enabling the space to be aesthetically changed for special events.

The current interior refurbishment also includes the installation of Philips Selecon’s award-winning Selecon Display Profile* high efficiency 35W metal halide model which combines exceptional light output and power savings with theatrical effect and functionality. Philips Selecon has supplied over 1000 luminaires since the 1990s, enhancing the visitor experience by adding colour, texture, shape and movement, while at the same time protecting and preserving the exhibits for future generations.

The installation was designed by Light Emotion and specified in part by Modus Architectural Lighting.

Sony reaffirms its leadership position with new range of innovative digital products

2009-12-07T13:23:00.002-08:00

Sony Thai Co., Ltd., the market leader in innovative electrical appliances to suit all consumers’ lifestyles, today announced its 2009 business direction and marketing strategies, while unveiling a range of products to drive its business growth in 2009, at the ‘SONY Annual Press and Dealer Conference 2009’ held at the Swissotel Le Concorde. The extended new product portfolio includes Bravia LCD TVs, Cybershot digital cameras, Alpha DSLR cameras among others, highlighting the company’s commitment to provide an inspiring, fulfilling consumer experience.

“Against the backdrop of persisting concerns from the worldwide financial crisis, Sony Asia Pacific has managed to show positive growth for three consecutive years, thanks to significant contribution of markets such as Thailand. This remarkable achievement is based on Sony’s leadership in High Definition innovation, allowing us to deliver digital lifestyle experiences based on real consumers demands as well as our commitment to building the Sony brand in Thailand. The partnership with Sony group of companies under Sony United spirit also serves as a key contributing factor to our success,” said Mr Narihiko Uemura, Managing Director, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific.

“Despite the fact that Thailand’s electrical appliance market has been affected by the global economic recession and political uncertainties, Sony Thai has succeeded in maintaining its business growth with increased market shares in a wide range of product categories, including Cybershot digital cameras. Furthermore, Sony has been able to retain its number one position in audio-visual (AV) products with 25% (by market value). It is expected that this year Sony Thai will grow more than 10%, thanks to increasing market trend and demand, particularly for LCD TVs, notebook PCs, digital cameras, and D-SLR cameras, etc.” According to Sony Thai’s Managing Director, Mr.Taisuke Nakanishi.

“Since August last year, Thai business sectors have suffered from stormy business climates, amidst the ongoing global financial crisis. Take it into account, the above conditions, this year we will place more emphasis on strategic areas of high-growth product categories, like Bravia LCD TVs, Alpha D-SLR cameras, Cyber-shot digital cameras, and VAIO notebook PCs to achieve double digit sales growth using new strategies and innovative communications channels to meet diverse and distinctive consumer demands, along with integrated CRM activities as part of the effort to maintain our long-term customer base, while enhancing the value-added marketing solution and operation excellence as well as Sony brand’s leadership in AV IT,” He said.

A greater focus for Sony’s business direction for 2009 will be on satisfying the demands of existing customers with innovative new products featuring distinctive technology developed to strengthen its position as a premium brand. The continuous Youth Marketing strategy aimed at capturing young consumers and enhancing an innovative brand image will also be employed through product groups, incorporating a series of out-of-the-box marketing campaigns to convey a unique lifestyle to consumers such as the Let’s Color Strategy under which Sony makes its color products available in all core product groups, ranging from Bravia, Cybershot cameras, Handycam, Walkman, and VAIO. Furthermore, integrated marketing communication activities, covering all media channels, broadcast, print, online, as well as consumer events and road show activities, will be organized in order to secure Sony’s new target, teenager customers effectively. Also a key to driving Sony’s success will be the collaboration with other Sony companies in both global and local levels, and strategic business partners such as True EPL (English Premier League), Adidas, and sponsorships of Thai movies such as Dear Galileo.

This year, Sony Thai will gear up to launch exciting activities to communicate with the young generation. The official partnership with the 2010 FIFA World Cup football competition in South Africa and an agreement with Kaká (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite), FIFA’s 2007 Best Player, for its latest Bravia LCD TV promotional campaign are important strategies for Sony to directly target key customer groups.

“The success and continued growth of Sony, both in terms of business and as a trusted brand, can be attributed to the excellent cooperation from dealerships nationwide, as well as the consistent support from our valued customers who appreciate our product quality. The achievement is reflected in in a number of consumer surveys conducted by various institutes and the highly-recognized awards given to Sony as a top-of-mind brand in consumer’s choice, including the prestigious Reader's Digest Trusted Brand award and consumer surveys by BrandAge and Marketeer magazines. Consequently, Sony will move forward to strengthen its dealerships’ capabilities while also differentiating the Sony brand from other rivals to deliver a new level of satisfaction to our consumers,” Mr Taisuke Nakanishi added.

Sony Thai will also gear up to form a partnership with other Sony companies which include Sony Ericsson, Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment, along with business partners like the leading global sports equipment and clothing maker Adidas, to unveil a series of marketing campaigns and to present consumers with brand-new experiences, while reaffirming Sony brand image as a sophisticated brand that perfectly blends into today's fast-paced lifestyles of consumers.

Sony’s extensive line-up of products come in unrivalled sleek designs and feature state-of-the-art technology, offering a wide range of choices for consumers’ trendy lifestyles. They include:

· An extraordinarily slim new 40-inch ZX1 Bravia HD LCD TV measuring a barely believable 9.9mm at its slimmest section, priced at 149,990 baht

· A Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1 featuring capability of up to 10 frames per second, achieved through a recently developed high-speed Exmor CMOS sensor and Sony G lens and priced at 19,990 baht

· The lightest ever Alpha DSLR-A230 digital camera with a sleek and durable pure titanium body as well as the Alpha A380 with an exclusive Sony feature, Quick AF Live View, for responsive auto focusing and variable-angle shooting while framing the subject on the LCD monitor

· Sony Handycam HDR-XR520 with the newly developed “Exmor R CMOS Sensor” to capture clear images even in low light condition, and the HDR-TG5 Handycam camcorders with 16GB internal memory are among the six other new models of brand new line-up for Sony Handycam range.

· Walkman® X1000 series Video MP4 Player with touch screen display and wifi connection support for the ultimate personal entertainment experience priced at 12,990 baht for the 16 GB model, and 15,990 baht for 32 GB model.

· A Walkman NWZ-W202 MP3 player boasting its wearable unique design for the dynamic lifestyle of today’s teenagers with an affordable retail price of 3,490 baht.

· Introducing a brand new offering of the much-talked about Sony VAIO P in gold, complimenting the colorful range of the mobile computing technology in red, black, white, and green.

SANYO Welcomes the Year 2010 As the First Brand in Thailand to Have Almost 40 Product Lines

2009-12-07T13:23:00.001-08:00

Showing Intelligent Application That Communicates through HD-Wireless and Blending, and Displays Panorama Picture

SANYO will be the first brand in Thailand to approach market in 2010 by expanding projector product line with almost 40 new models and displaying innovative technologies. SANYO projectors will be on sale in 2010 with as the largest product line in Thailand and in the world.

Mr. Tatsuhiko Tachibana General Manager of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., revealed at the press conference that “Nowadays, the quality of SANYO projector is recognized globally. It is another product line that is expected to provide overall income for SANYO. Having large factory to do research and development by our own technologies provides strong point for the product. This makes applications to be continually develops and fulfill more usage requirements.”

Last year, SANYO projector took 8% market share, which made it raked no.3. For 5,000 lumens and above models, SANYO took 29% market share, the highest amount in the world. The mentioned models took 36% market share in Thailand. Having imported and sold projectors in Thailand for 16 years, SANYO believes that Thai customers are still satisfied in good product performance warranty and post sales service.

Recently, SANYO (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is proud to present the latest innovative projector PDG-DHT100L. It is equipped with HD-wireless communication system and blending capability. Panorama picture displaying is enabled by operating at least 2 projectors. Its price starts at approximate 1,200,000 baht (includes VAT).

Ms.Ranee Sittikaew, Senior Multimedia Sales Manager of Sanyo (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said that the debut of 40 new projectors today (October 15) is purposed to affirm leadership in multimedia market as the only manufacturer that have the most product lines in Thailand and in the world. The overall market value in Thailand this year is expected to be around 50,000 units, which is a reduction compared to last year because of economic downturn.

In 2010, overall projector market is believed to expand for 10-15% if there is no factor, such as economic downturn or political situation, to have an impact on customer confidence.

“We plan to retain our top spot in projector market next year. At present, we have 12% market share with customer base covering all sectors, including government organizations, academies, private companies, large SI stores, national picture and sound system renting companies, and home users. Nowadays, projector has cutting-edge performance to be home entertainment appliance.” Ms.Ranee said.

SANYO focuses on 2 marketing strategies, which are strong sales management by providing expert to advice customer and product warranty. Customer can be sure that projector is 2-year warranted and cathode ray tube is warranted up to 1 year, or 1,000-hour usage. Sanyo provide longer warranty time compared to competitors, as well as fast spare reservation and service.

Midea, a leading electrical appliance conglomerate from China, announces its complete market penetration into Thailand today.

2009-12-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Midea, a leading electrical appliance conglomerate from China, announces its complete market penetration into Thailand today. In its latest campaign, the company will launch its “Fan” product group along with a sales promotion, where winners will get a free trip to Australia. “Midea”, a leading home electrical appliance conglomerate from China, announces its complete market penetration into Thailand today. In line with its announcement, the company will gear up its investment to develop its “Fan” market to enhance its position as the No.1 Fan Manufacturer in the World. Given its superior motor technology offering durability, beauty, design and energy saving, the company will launch 10 new models with a special campaign.

Mr. Shao Bin, Marketing Manager of Midea Trading (Thailand) Co., Ltd., the manufacturer and distributor of Midea branded home electrical appliance from China, discloses the company’s 2009 directions and strategies in Thailand today that after having successfully operated in Thailand for more than 5 years and officially announcing its presence in late 2008, despite a good response and higher brand recognition in the Thai home electrical appliance market, the company will unceasingly expand its marketing channels as well as untiringly improve its products to better answer to the needs of the Thai people.

Though it is expected that the home electrical appliance market in Thailand will experience lower purchasing power and post a total market value of approximately 35 billion Baht in 2008 & Q1 of 2009 due to economical as well as political stalemate; over the past year, Midea Group has held a promotion to stimulate the market and increasingly invested in its R&D activities in its “Fan” product group so that they achieve good quality products able to level with international standards and, most importantly, able to answer to the needs of its target groups.

As the Thai electrical fan market enjoys high market growth and is highly competitive at the same time, the company will introduce 10 new Midea electrical fans in this summer to differentiate itself from the market. All Midea fans are unique with its modern motor technology. As the World’s top fan manufacturer with an annual output of 30 million units today, the market could be confident that all Midea fans will outstandingly offer safety, durability, beauty, affordability and energy saving. In its latest sales promotion campaign, which is expected to generate a sale of 30,000 units, the company has offered a chance for those who purchase Midea fans to win a free trip to

Australia. This campaign starts today till June 15, 2009 and is available at Makro, Carrefour and other modern electrical appliance outlets nationwide. Currently the company has a total capacity of 300,000 of which will be marketed in Thailand, while 600,000 of which will be marketed abroad, e.g. Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Midea’s core products include induction cooker, rice cooker, microwave oven, water dispenser and fan. Out of the Midea Group’s sales of approximately US$10 billion, the 2008 sales in Thailand was at US$2 million, while the 2008 Asean sales (including Thailand) was at US$20 million. On a group level, it is expected that the Group will enjoy a growth of 20%, while the Thai sales will double to around US$5 million (Approx: 175 million Baht). This is due mainly to its aggressive production expansion strategy to cover 40 models in 13-15 product groups, e.g. microwave oven, gas stove, water heater and hobs, while maintaining its strength by setting its prices 5-10% lower than international brands.

Besides fans, Midea will continuously add new products to penetrate the Thai electrical appliance market. Core products in the local market will include rice cooker, microwave oven, water dispenser and, especially, induction cooker, which the company enjoys more than 50% market share today. On top of all these, the company also has a plan to launch new products, e.g. gas stove, water heater, etc. Currently the company has marketed more than 30 Midea models in 10 product groups and more will definitely be seen throughout the second half of this year.

Techwell Introduces Two Multi-Channel Video Decoder Solutions

2009-11-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

TW6864, TW6868 Respond to Increased Demand for More
Integrated ICs for the Software Compression PC DVR Cards Used
in Security Surveillance Applications

Techwell, Inc. (Nasdaq:TWLL), a leading designer of mixed signal video semiconductor solutions for the security surveillance, automotive, and consumer electronics markets, today announced two multi-channel video capture products, the TW6864 and the TW6868. These devices feature Techwell's premium quality 4-in-1 video decoder technology -- which has the best weak signal performance in the industry, four high-performance audio ADCs, and an integrated PCI Express interface. This high level of integration simplifies the PC DVR card hardware design and reduces production costs.

Demonstrated at the CPSE show in Shenzhen, China earlier this week, the TW6864 and TW6868 take advantage of the significantly faster speed and overall larger data bandwidth of the PCI Express interface -- a feature in high demand for security surveillance systems utilizing a software compression PC DVR card.

The TW6864 and TW6868 support both real time and non-real time video and can output multiple video resolutions including D1, half D1, and CIF, providing maximum application flexibility. Techwell's proprietary video locking technology enables a non-real time switching speed that is faster than competitive products, allowing for the highest possible frame rate per channel. In addition, both ICs contain a high-performance proprietary DMA controller that fully utilizes the PCIe x1 bandwidth, enabling video and audio data transfer at an optimal throughput rate.

The TW6864 can decode and transfer four channels of real time D1 video (up to 16 channels of non-real time video) and four channels of audio. In comparison, the TW6868 can be cascaded with an external Techwell 4-in-1 decoder such as the TW2865 to achieve eight channels of real time D1 video and 9 channels of audio. In non-real time mode, the TW6868 (when combined with TW2865) can support up to 24 channels of video.

"The PCIe bus is becoming the dominant interface on the PC motherboard. Fortunately, the TW6864 and TW6868 provide a versatile and scalable solution for the software compression PC DVR card market," said David Nam, Techwell's VP of sales and marketing. "Techwell has set the precedent for highly integrated front-end surveillance video semiconductor solutions since 2001 and these two new video decoder solutions demonstrate why we continue to be the market leader."
About Techwell, Inc.

Techwell is a semiconductor company that designs, markets and sells mixed signal integrated circuits for multiple video applications in the security surveillance, automotive and consumer electronics markets. Techwell designs both general purpose and application specific products that enable the conversion of analog video signals to digital form and perform advanced digital video processing to facilitate the display, storage and transport of video content. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Techwell currently has more than 200 employees in the U.S., Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan. More information is available at http://www.techwellinc.com

TURNING LG INTO A MARKETING-DRIVEN LEADER

2009-11-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

       Dermot JM Boden, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of LG Electronics, told Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn about his strategic mission to make LG the No-1 brand in the world. "My personal mission is to make LG the best marketing company in the world and to make LG the No-1 brand in terms of sales, brand health, image perception and awareness," said Boden, who joined South Korea's LG Electronics two years ago as head of marketing.
       He said the key elements were to focus on building the LG brand, as well as the customer service and market research functions.
       "I will enhance marketing programmes, some from my office and the others through our local subsidiaries. We have a clear desire and aspiration to be No 1 in terms of sales and brand. We want to promote emotional attachment so that consumers think of LG as part of their family," said Boden.
       He added that LG Electronics had created a human-face logo to nurture the brand identity as enhancing the emotional connection with consumers.
       "We want to build real connection and loyalty in consumers by bringing products that are the best of design and technology and that enrich their life," he said.
       "My strategy is common [to all parts of the organisation]. Everything we do is done to build the brand," said Boden.
       He said the products themselves had a very short selling cycle. Telephones, for instance, are on the market for only six months, and it is a couple of years for televisions, refrigerators and washing machines.
       These products make the brand and the brand will last forever, said Boden, adding that the brand needs to be consistent and continuous so that consumers feel the same message and value.
       "We build the brand through our products and services, through our marketing programmes, advertising, digital, in-store media, event and marketing partnerships. We want to build our brand and allow people to feel our brand as aspirational and worthy of premium pricing," he said.
       He added that LG targeted consumers who want the best they can afford and were willing to pay for it. "We do a lot of market research into consumer behaviour and usage of the products, which differ from market to market," said Boden.
       He gave the example of Bangkok and upcountry Thailand, where the sizes of houses are different - and this drives the need for refrigerators and washing machines of different sizes as well.
       In South Korea, the company developed the Kimji refrigerator by focusing on how to keep the appliances fresh and odourless. The refrigerator fit very well with local consumer behaviour. Having been in the market for about 10 years, the Kimji range has strong penetration with 80 per cent of households owning one of the refrigerators.
       "We are working very hard to get consumer insights. We rely on local insights and consumer knowledge, particularly in major markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, India and China in this region. We bring those local insights back to Korea to develop products that are good for specific markets," he said.
       Boden said Thailand, for example, was a "young" country. The company is building a relationship with young Thai consumers through its electronic products such as mobile phones and televisions. Customer service is very important in building the brand and communicating with Thai consumers.
       "There are many things we can learn from Thailand and then expand those best practices to other markets around the world," he said.
       Boden identifies with the "3C" marketing principles, which are consistency, continuity and creativity - particularly local creativity.
       He feels a great challenge in making LG Electronics a leading global marketing-driven company.
       He said LG was a large company with 82,000 people, and annual sales close to US$50 billion (Bt1.66 trillion).
       "We're a very young brand at only 15 years old. We have transformed ourselves from a manufacturing, research and development and trading company into a marketing-driven firm in just the last two to three years. That's a different business model for us.
       "So now, we're focusing our effort behind the brand and understanding consumers. LG is becoming a very global English-speaking company. All of these changes are challenges, but hopefully they will make us even stronger," said Boden.

Solar lanterns light the way

2009-11-12T21:59:00.002-08:00

       For more than 100 Indian villages cut off from the electricity grid, life no longer comes to an end after dark thanks to an innovative solar-powered lantern that offers hope to the nation's rural poor.
       While cooking, farming and studying after sunset were once a struggle using inefficient kerosene or paraffin lamps, the solar lantern now provides a cheap and practical source of light.
       The simple device, which is charged during the day from a communal rooftop solar panel,uses between five and seven watts of power and has a battery that lasts up to eight hours.
       It also boasts a socket for charging mobile phones and a hand crank for topping up the power.
       Villagers pay between 3 and 6 rupees (2 to 4 baht) a day to rent the lantern under the "Lighting a Billion Lives"(LaBL) scheme, which was launched last year to promote solar energy as the environmentally friendly answer to India's energy shortages.
       "I keep my shop open as late as 9pm. All my fish get sold by that time," a fish seller in Govindorampur district in West Bengal state who uses the lamp told researchers.
       He is one of those whose lives have been transformed by the first wave of 5,000 lanterns distributed across nine states in India.
       The LaBL scheme, run by The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) in New Delhi, plans to eventually put 200 million lamps into use.
       Organisers say each lamp should work for 10 years, saving between 500 and 600 litres of kerosene which would produce about 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
       Government figures show more than 10,000 impoverished Indian villages have no access to grid electricity, but the solar revolution could also change middle-class lives in urban India,where energy demands have soared.
       Power cuts are common even in the smarter suburbs of New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata as residents soak up fragile supplies with airconditioning units, freezers and washing machines.
       While per capita electricity use in India -704 kilowatt hours in 2007-2008- is far lower than the 8,000 kilowatt hours per capita in many industrialised countries, there is no sign of consumption slowing.
       "There is something like 30 percent overdemand. There's significant undergeneration as it is, even if you don't electrify any more," said Joel Slonetsky, a researcher with LaBL.
       One "green" solution to the outages is a solar-charged inverter for backup electricity during cuts.
       "People have started realising the scarcity of power," said Chandra Sekhar, CEO of Solar India Solutions, which sells the inverters in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh."They have become scared so they don't mind spending a little extra."
       Sekhar said most of his clients belong to the "domestic middle-income group" and they choose to shell out between $3,000 to $6,000 for the solar inverters that work as well as traditional ones.
       "Right now the technology is at a stage where we can say that it stands side by side with conventional electricity," said Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, president of the Solar Energy Society of India.
       Increased efficiency and new materials mean the price of solar-powered equipment has been coming down for years, although initial installation costs are steep, said Shrivastava.
       While the long-term benefits may be an incentive for some, he acknowledged that most people who have opted to use solar energy have done so out of necessity rather than a desire to be environmentally friendly.
       "There are certainly people thinking in that direction," said Shrivastava."But that group is not very large."
       Slonetsky said although the Indian solar industry is constantly evolving, the options for domestic solar power use are still somewhat limited.
       "It may just be a lag both in terms of consumer awareness and supply here." he said.
       It is certainly not for lack of sunshine India receives a high level of solar radiation,equivalent to more than 5,000 trillion kilowatts or up to 3,200 hours of sun a year, according to government statistics.
       The government hopes to harness this potential into 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020 as part of its National Solar Mission to promote renewable energy.
       The plan envisions railway signals and water pumps eventually running on solar technology,but for now, villagers are content with the portable lamps that have made daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning easier.
       "The lanterns have changed our position in society," said Ayesha Begum from Sahsoul village in the eastern state of Bihar.

SAMSUNG, LG KEEN TO PROMOTE SMART PHONES

2009-11-12T21:59:00.001-08:00

       LG Electronics' chief executive Nam Yong said that LG's main competition was not Nokia but smart-phone makers Apple and Research in Motion.
       His remarks last week show how eager the No 3 handset maker is to raise its profile in the smartphone market.
       LG suffered falling sales in North America, one of its key markets, in the third quarter because of the expansion of the smart-phone market led by Apple and Reserach in Motion.
       Despite their leading positions in the handset industry, LG and it Korean rival Samsung Electronics have a limited profile in the rapidly growing smart phone market.
       The two companies hold a combined share of less than 4 per cent in the global smart-phone market, even as their total share in the handset market tops 30 per cent, according to IDC and Shinhan Investment.
       Some analysts said their failure to expand into the smart-phone market would limt their growth. The smart-phone market is expected to grow and account for 20 per cent of the handset market next year, from 16 per cent this year, according to Gartner and Shinhan Investment.
       Korean handset makers are closely working with operators to boost their weak smart-phone sales and better compete with Nokia, Apple and Research in Motion. They have also launched smart phones powered by various operating systems including Windows Mobile and Android.
       "Apple has its own smart-phone business model, which is not welcomed by wireless opeators," said Jay Yoo of Korea Investment & Securities.
       "Samsung and LG have no choice but to cooperate with operators ... It is an inevitable choice, but not a bad one."
       LG says it will spend heavily to develop competitive smart phones.
       "We plan to release about 10 smart phones powered by Windows Mibile next year," an LG spokesperson said, adding that the company has not decided on how many smart phones it will roll out next year.
       He said LG had previously focused on the Windows Mobile operating system, but that it is now focusing on both Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating system.
       Samsung, the world's No 3 handset maket, also seeks to take on Apple and Research in Motion in the smart-phone market, in which the Korean company holds a 2.7-per-cent share.
       Samsung has introduced a series of new Omina smart phones in September, and plans to double the number of its models next year.

PANASONIC BEGINS TENDER OFFER TO BUY SANYO

2009-11-08T04:13:00.000-08:00

       Panasonic said yesterday it has begun a tender offer to take over smaller rival Sanyo Electric for an estimated 402 billion yen (Bt150 billion), moving loser to create one of the world's biggest electronics makers.
       Panasonic, the world's biggest plasma TV maker,is expected to purchase more than 50 per cent of Sanyo shares, hoping to take advantage of the smaller rival's green businesses in solar panels and rechargeable batteries.
       Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota said the tender offer is planned for Nove,ber 5 through December 7 at the price of yen 131 per share.
       Sanyo's three major shareholders, Goldman Sachas, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, have agreed to sell at least a combined 3.07 billion shares to Panasonic at the per-share price, which guarantees the Osaka-based company to take majority stake in Sanyo.
       The three shareholders tog4ther control about 70 per cent of Sanyo's total about 70 per cent of Sanyo's total outstanding shares.
       Panasonic has said earlier it hoped to purchase up to all of Sanyo's shares,but the company is largely expected to have to settle with the minimum controlling stake, as other shasre holders are unlikely to want to sell theirs, with half of the market level.
       Kadota said that Sanyo is expected to become Panasonic's subsidiary by mid-December, a year after the two companies announced the buy out deal.
       The tender offer had been delayed by several months as Panasonic had to wait for clearance from antimonopoly authorities in the US, China and the European Union to go ahead with the takeover.

PANASONIC UNVEILS PRODUCT STRATEGY

2009-11-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

       Electronics giant Panasonic has elaborated three key concepts that will guide its product development from now on.
       President Fumio Ohtsubo recently said his firm believed the three concepts - "Eco Living", "Connected Living" and "Living with Peace of Mind and Safety" - encapsulate the major consumer trends of the foreseeable future and that developing products in line with these trends would ensure steady growth and boost profitability in the long term.
       In particular, the "Eco" concept will be central to all of Panasonic's activities from now on, he said. As a result, developing ecofriendly electrical appliances is the firm's long-term priority.
       The focus on these three areas was motivated by the need to keep up with consumers' changing lifestyles and a desire to conduct Panasonic's business in a socially responsible way, Ohtsubo said.
       Between now and 2020, the percentage of households in Panasonic's major markets is expected to rise dramatically, the president said, with the epicentre of this growth being the BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
       Another important factor for Panasonic is the increasing proportion of older consumers in major markets, said Ohtsubo, citing a UN estimate that the proportion of Japanese people aged 65 and above would increase from 20 per cent in 2005 to 38 per cent in 2050. The proportion of Japan's population aged 15-64 will decline from 66 per cent to 51 per cent in the same period and that of people aged below 14 from 14 per cent to 11 per cent.
       The so-called greying of the population is also an issue in Germany, France, China and the US, Ohtsubo said.
       "We have to develop products from the customer's perspective. Consumers in each region have different needs and tastes. Our challenge is finding ways to make appliances they really want," he said.
       The "Eco Living" guidelines require that products save energy, create energy and store energy. At the CEATEC Japan 2009 exhibition held recently at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, near Tokyo, Panasonic displayed its Intelligent Home Energy Management System, which showcased the firm's latest technologies developed to save, create and store energy in the home.
       Panasonic now sells 96 appliances deemed to be "energy-saving products", but all of its products are developed with an eye to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Ohtsubo said, adding that Panasonic had set its own emissions-reduction targets in each product category.
       A total of 296 Panasonic products were certified as Superior Green Products in fiscal 2008, ended this past March 31. By the end of that fiscal year, the firm had reduced its CO2 emissions 65 per cent from the 1990 level.
       Ohtsubo said another technology Panasonic was developing was the Advanced Video Motion Detector (AVMD), the world's most advanced tracking technology for use in security and behaviour-analysis systems. Among its functions, AVMD automatically detects intruders or the abandonment of packages or other possibly suspicious items in a particular location. The technology is aimed at enabling immediate responses to and prevention of accidents and crimes.
       Panasonic is also developing life-assisting robots designed to assist the elderly, both in hospitals and households. The robots are expected to enter the market soon, Ohtsubo said.
       Along with developing products, Panasonic is gradually updating its brand image to make it more fashionable, in order to better compete with other brands.Takumi Kajisha, managing executive officer in charge of corporate communications, said that since changing its name from Matsushita Electric Industrial last year, Panasonic had allocated a large budget to advertising its products worldwide, setting aside ?175 billion (Bt65.5 billion) for that purpose.
       The figure represents less than 10 per cent of Panasonic's total global sales. The advertising budget is expected to decline next year, Kajisha said.
       "Panasonic has been in the appliance market for a long time. We need to build recognition among consumers worldwide that we're still developing and manufacturing [cutting-edge] appliances," he said.
       Hitoshi Otsuki, senior managing director, said this had been a tough year for Panasonic, as the strong yen had affected the company's competitiveness. Nevertheless, the firm expects revenue worldwide to increase at a double-digit rate next fiscal year (starting April 2010).
       "Currently, the yen is 25 to 30 per cent stronger than it was a year ago. This has reduced our competitiveness relative to other brands, such as those from South Korea, by 25 to 30 per cent, as well. However, Panasonic isn't overly worried about this problem. The yen's value changes cyclically ... We expect the yen to begin weakening in the near future," he said.

Thai Samsung invests B4bn

2009-11-04T05:23:00.000-08:00

       Thai Samsung Electronics Co, the leading consumer electronics manufacturer and distributor, plans to spend 4 billion baht to increase the production capacity of its audio-visual and home appliances in Thailand next year.
       The budget will be used to install new machines and moulds for its five main product lines: televisions, air conditioners, front-loading washing machines, two-door refrigerators and kitchen products. Thai Samsung did not disclose the additional production capacity but the new investment will create 500 to 1,000 new jobs at the company's factory in Si Racha district, Chon Buri.
       Arnut Changtrakul, deputy managing director of Thai Samsung Electronics,said the new investment is a response to improving demand in both export and domestic markets, where sales of all electrical appliances have clearly risen since August.
       "This is in line with the projection of GDP growth at 1.5% in the fourth quarter of this year and 3% to 4% in the first quarter of next year. Also, the US expects its GDP next year will rise by 3% to 3.5%next year," he said.
       Samsung expects its domestic sales next year will rise by 50% to US$1.5 billion while export sales will rise to $1.6 billion from $1.3 billion this year.
       The main products driving sales next year are expected to include LED TVs,computer notebooks, digital cameras,front-loading washing machines and airconditioners. For these products Samsung is currently ranked between No.2 and No.4 in the Thai market.
       "Overall sales for Samsung here will reach 80 billion baht in 2010, up from 500 million baht since its inception in 1988. Next we aim to become the market leader for all product categories we produce here step-by-step," said Mr Arnut.
       The company currently leads in 11 electrical product categories such as LED TVs, PDP TVs, side-by-side refrigerators and microwave ovens. It is expected to be No.1 in the Thai mobile phone market by the end of this year.

Fill me up, put me down

2009-11-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

Stuck in the middle of nowhere?No problem, just make sure you take Toshiba's new Dynario along. Fuelled by concentrated methanol, the Dynario can recharge your BlackBerry, iphone or ipod. The direct methanlo fuel cell battery delivers a charge methanol fuel cell battery delivers a charge via the USB jport and comes with a methanol cartridge for easy refuelling. It went on sale last Thursday through the company's Japanese direct-order websit. Shop 1048.jp.

LG makes Thailand LED TV base

2009-10-28T19:24:00.002-07:00

       The South Korean electronics giant LG has chosen Thailand as the first Asean production base for its latest range of televisions.
       The company will spend about 200 million baht next year on molds, a clean room and other facilities at its Rayong factory to produce the LED and LCD sets locally, said Heegol Lee, general marketing manager for home entertainment at LG Electronics (Thailand) Co.
       Exports will account for about 25% of total output. The Thai-made products will initially be shipped to Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
       Another 340 million baht will be spent locally next year on promoting LG televisions, with a focus on LCD sets.
       Overall demand for the brand's televisions in Thailand this year is estimated at about 3.2 million sets, or 32 billion baht, said Alongkorn Chujit, deputy managing director of LG Electronics (Thailand). LCD sets account for about one million sets, or 19 billion baht, followed by 65,000 plasma sets worth 23 billion baht, with other technologies accounting for the remaining 11 billion baht.
       Overall demand for televisions shrank by 4.3% over the first eight months of the year. But demand for plasma TVs grew by 40% in the period and the LCD segment surged by 80%, while demand for conventional and flat-screen sets slid.
       Sales of LG LCD sets increased by 80% over the period.
       LED units currently account for just 2% of sales, but this is forecast to rise to 20% next year.
       The company will spend 80 million baht promoting LED and LCD products,said managing director Hyun Woo Lee.
       The new LED TV should lift the company's market share of the LCD TV segment to 25% by the year-end, up from 21% last year. The company aims to sell 3,000 units over the next three months.
       The two new products in the LG Live Borderless TV range are priced at 32,990 and 109,990 baht.
       It expects overall sales this year will grow by 15% to 15 billion baht.

The saga drags on

2009-10-28T19:24:00.001-07:00

       The National Telecommunications Communications (NTC) finally confirmed that a lot of people have a lot of interest in thirdgeneration (3G) yuppiephone service,and not very many of them have kind thoughts about the regulators; about 1,000 people from the phone companies,financial advisers and phone suppliers showed up for what the NTC would be the one and only public hearing on its plans to auction and regulate 3G services;not so fast, said the private business leaders, such as Athueck Asvanont, who is chairman of vice at True Move ; he explained to the NTC that the constitution (Article 84-1) bans the government from competing with telecoms firms,and what are AIS (of Shingapore) and DTAC (of Norway) but foreign state companies?; then the lawyers took a crack at the commission, explaining that it is actually illegal for the NTC to get involved in 3G, because it is a matter for the National Broadcasting Commission, which doesn't exist yet - and any action by the NTC could be overturned by a court decision, sinking 3G even further behind high technology countries like Laos and Cambodia.
       For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
       The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
       Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
       The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
       Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
       The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
       Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
       Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."

Lights out for Edison bulbs

2009-10-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

       Russia plans to ban the production and sale of all types of incandescent light bulb from Jan 1,2014, in a move designed to reduce energy consumption.
       The ban will be the final stage in Russia's plan to phase out the standard,high-energy light bulbs and mirrors a move already under way in the European Union to switch toward less energyintensive lighting sources.
       Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina told a news conference yesterday that making and selling incandescent bulbs with a power rating of more than 100 watts, which account for about 14% of all bulbs used in Russia, would be banned from Jan 1,2011.
       From Jan 1,2013, incandescent bulbs with a power rating of more than 75 watts will follow suit.
       Traditional incandescent bulbs have changed little since they were first commercially produced by Thomas Edison in 1879. Efficiency improvements reached a limit about 50 years ago.
       European households are already switching to more efficient halogen, LED (light-emitting diode) and fluorescent CFL lamps. The European Union plans to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2012.
       Industry bodies have said thousands of jobs in the European Union could be lost, mostly in eastern Europe, as the new regulations favour China-based manufacturers of CFL bulbs.
       Other major light bulb manufacturers include General Electric Co, Philips,Toshiba Corp and Siemens unit Osram.
       Light bulbs are also major consumers of tungsten, a hard metal used in the filament.
       "As far as the second and third stages are concerned, the targets for 2013 and 2014, these will not be fixed rigidly in law," senior Kremlin economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich said at the same briefing."We need to see how the first stage works ... but I think this timetable is entirely realistic."

Experience full 3D in your home

2009-10-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

       A parade of new technology means that the 3D experience is no longer limited to the theatre, as customers will now be able to experience it at home.
       The development of advanced technologies in multi-core processor power allows new gadgets and computer products to go beyond 2D and experience a wider variety of uses, according to Prasit Worachatrawanit, AR Information and Publication Deputy Manager.
       Several new 3D products will be made available to the Thai market at the upcoming Commart Comtech Thailand 2009 event, which will run from November 5-8 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.
       The 3D technology is no longer limited to LCD TV displays as it has expanded to many areas such as the compact digital camera from Fujifilm that can be used to shoot 3D photos and movies that can be viewed without special glasses.
       Webcams can now also support the
       technology. For example, the Novo Minoru is the world's first 3D webcam.Its software has stereoscopic anaglyphic processing that allows users to be seen in three dimensions by viewers with 3D capability on their screens.
       Digital cameras are also evolving to display 3D pictures by integrating with projector technology. The Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj is the world's first camera with an integrated projector,which helps people share and view photos and videos using a one-touch projection system on the camera. The built-in projector easily projects images from approximately 5 inches up to 40 inches.
       Moreover, consumers can upgrade their PCs to a fully immersive stereoscopic 3D experience with NVIDIA 3D Vision. With a combination of hightech wireless glasses and advanced software,3D Vision automatically transforms hundreds of PC games into full stereoscopic 3D.
       Meanwhile senior marketing manager for Acer Thailand, Nitipat Praweenwongwuthia, said the company will introduce 3D notebooks Aspire5738DG in Thailand for the first time,featuring 15.6-inch screens and software that supports 3D movies, and converts standard 2D movies into 3D.

Electrolux enters the premium air-con market

2009-10-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

       Electrolux has launched air-conditioners in Southeast Asia for the first time, aiming at the top or top-three rank for the premium segment in several countries within three years.
       "We're not worried about a price war with other brands, because Electrolux is positioned in the premium segment. We believe consumers choosing our brand think about the product's innovations and quality more than they do the price," Suresh Balan, president for East Asia at Electrolux Major Appliances, said yesterday in Bangkok.
       Electrolux' prices are 7-10-per-cent higher than other brands in the same segment.
       The Swedish company will also double the Asia-Pacific's sales contribution to 16 per cent within the same time frame.
       The Electrolux brand is strong in many appliance segments, including front-loading washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cooking preparation in Thailand and other Southeast Asia countries, he said.
       In Thailand, Electrolux is the market leader in premium front-loading washing machines and vacuum cleaners. It is either the market leader or in the top three in other Southeast Asia countries.
       Electrolux is confident it will be as successful in the regional air-conditioning market.
       "Electrolux has shifted its focus more to the Asia-Pacific because it has the fastest growth among similar markets, such as the US and Europe, which have been hit from the global downturn despite their small sales contribution," he said.
       Electrolux has increased its marketing budget for Southeast Asia, including Thailand, this year to promote its electric appliances. It will also increase the marketing budget for air-conditioners, so that it can compete with brands from South Korea and Japan.
       "Despite the global recession, Electrolux has no plans to cut its marketing budget," he said.
       Its marketing strategy will stress to consumers that Electrolux air-conditioners are designed for real consumers' needs and lifestyles. It will not dwell on the product's innovations like other brands usually do.
       Electrolux air-conditioners combine an array of proven air-purification technologies. Other key features include Feel technology, which lets users use the remote control as a thermostat, so that cooling can follow them as they move throughout the room.
       Electrolux introduced the line in Indonesia and Malaysia in August and Vietnam and Thailand this month. Next will be the Philippines.
       Three sizes are offered - 9,000 British thermal units, 12,000 BTUs and 18,000 BTUs - with prices starting at Bt24,900, Bt28,900 and Bt34,900, respectively.
       Electrolux Thailand general manager Sutti Manokitjarunman said the company planned to launch a wide range of electric appliances next year. The company expects its revenue and net profit to grow at a double-digit rate next year.

Electronics sector to change strategy

2009-10-13T03:57:00.000-07:00

       The electric and electronics industry wil use the Bt4-billion budget proposed under the government's second stimulus package to enhance its competitiveness by upgrading from original-equipment to original-design manufacturing.
       The three-year model scheme starting next year will concentrate on developing four important areas, which are product design, the supply chain, design-skilled staff and infrastructure, Katiya Greigarn, president of the Thai Association of Electrical and Electronics Industries, said yesterday.
       To do original-design manufacturing,the industry needs to adopt advanced technology and improve the skills of its workforce to create high-value and differentiated products.
       The industry normally requires 10,000 new workers per year, assuming annual growth of 10 per cent.
       "We have to avoid the tough competition in common products because our wages are not cheap anymore. However, the government's support is needed to encourage manufacturers to do their own research and develoment as well as train skillled workers to support leading-edge technology," he said.
       The association will collaborate with the National Electronics and Comuter Technology Centre and universitie to help local manufacturers conduct R&D to serve three main functions-user-centre desig n, universal design and eco-design.
       Forming a cluster for the industry will help reduce maufacturers' logistics costs and facilitate their developing the necessary infrastructure together including modern laboratories.
       Without state support ffor the industry's development, it will be difficult to maintain exports like now because of the tough global competition, he said.
       "These steps require time. If we still do notheing, I can't see how we can survive in the futrue," he added.

Creative in the kitchen

2009-10-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

       Introduced to in the US in the early 1970, the first modern food processors were designed by Carl Sontheimer, the brilliant engineer who founded Cuisinart, a brand that is today recognised by culinary experts the world over.
       In 1989, Conair Group took over Sontheimer's business and expanded the product line to include hightech kitchen utensils such as coffee makers, toasters, kettles, food processors, water filtration units, ice cream/yoghurt makers, cutlery, electric knives, blenders and can openers.
       Cuisinart recently launched five new products and they're already proving popular with professional chefs and the brand's many fans.
       For the coffee lover, there's a Grind & Brew Thermal 10-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker that grinds the beans before rustling up a brew. It's a double-wall, insulated, brushed metal, thermal carafe that keep up to 10 cups of java juice hot for hours.
       Also new to the Thai market is the Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill, an elegant stainless steel unit that consistently grinds coffee beans to preserve delicate natural oils, maximising both flavour and aroma. It's easy to use too:simply select the desired grind consistency and cup quantity and the Burr Mill automatically stops when the right amount of coffee has been ground.
       Tea making is easy and fast with a Cordless Automatic Electric Kettle in stainless steel that boils two litres of water in minuteds. While the tea is brewing, make the toast in the Classic 2-Slice Toaster in brushed stainless polished chrome that lets you defrost and toast bagels and bread.
       Last but not least, the Smart Stick Hand Blender lets you blend, prep and whip a variety of ingredients and also features whisk and chopper attachments, perfect for that morning smoothie!

UK'S PRINCE PHILIP LOSES HIS CONTROL OVER MODERN TV SETS

2009-10-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

       Britain's Prince Philip said he was baffled by modern television remote controls and ended up lying on the floor by the set to operate it instead,in a video posted yesterday on the internet.
       The husband of Queen Elizabeth II bemoaned the design of televisions and praised people's tolerance for coping with them, in a clip on the official Royal Channel on the video-sharing website YouTube.
       "I think people are very tolerant, the way they go on tolerating these ghastly things," the 88-year-old said, before laying into television set design.
       "You used to put it on the floor, and then they put the controls on the bottom so you had to lie on the floor, and then if you wanted to record something the recorder was underneath.
       "So you ended up lying on the floor with a torch in your teeth, a magnifying glass and an instruction book.
       "Either that or you had to employ a grandson of age 10 to do it for you."
       His comments were made in an interview marking the 50th anniversary of a Design Council prize in his name.
       "To work out how to operate a television set you practically have to make love to the thing." he said, according to The Times newspaper.

Toshiba to continue investing in Thailand

2009-10-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

       Toshiba Corporation of Japan insists it will continue its investment in Thailand,which is a candidate for an LED lighting production base next year.
       "Thailand is the most important production base and marketing arm of Toshiba because it makes products for the whole world, while China only serves the domestic and Japanese markets,"chairman Atsutoshi Nishida said during a meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
       Toshiba increased its focus on Asean and expects its Thai operation will export more to Asean and the six countries that have free trade agreements with the 10-member economic bloc.
       Toshiba entered the Thai market through a joint venture with Thai partners 40 years ago. It has 16 subsidiaries in Thailand with total turnover of US$2.6 billion and 13,000 employees.
       The newest subsidiary, Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand) Co (TSDT), will open its hard disk drive (HDD) plant in Navanakorn Industrial Estate Zone 3 on Oct 14. TSDT has registered capital of about 1 billion baht.
       Apart from HDD, Toshiba is considering setting up a large new production facility for LED bulbs. Toshiba Thailand has had a lighting production facility for 35 years.
       Mr Nishida told Mr Abhisit that Toshiba had long focused on energy-saving businesses. Toshiba in Japan has already invested in nuclear, thermal and solar power, and electrical appliances that use less energy. It is also trying to curb carbon dioxide emissions.
       Mr Abhisit said Toshiba's business strategy was in line with Thai government policy, which values environmental issues and alternative energy investment.
       Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, chairwoman of Toshiba (Thailand) Co, the local distributor of Toshiba appliances, said the parent firm's policy meant it would reduce CO2 emissions from home appliance production units and also from product design and production procedures.
       Sales of Toshiba (Thailand) in the first half of fiscal year 2009 starting on April 1 grew by 11-12%, compared with an earlier projection of 8%. Marketing activities with dealers and consumers to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Thailand contributed to the rise.
       The company expects sales in the second half will grow by 20% because of new product developments and an improved economy.

Air-con deals aid SNC margin

2009-10-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

       SNC Former Plc, a SET-listed maker of steel and aluminium parts for airconditioners, expects its margins will improve next year after it concludes deals to supply four foreign air-conditioner producers.
       SNC chief executive Somchai Thaisanguanvorakul said the company was in talks with companies in Japan, Australia, the Middle East and the United States to supply air-conditioner parts designed and developed by SNC.
       "The first deal with a Japanese airconditioner producer is likely to be completed late next month or in early December and the others early next year.These bulk sales will boost our revenues and margins next year," he said.
       Initially, the Japanese company wanted to hire Chinese suppliers to produce parts for it but SNC sent it some sample products for consideration. Its executives were impressed by the high quality of Thai products, which are priced similarly to the Chinese parts.
       SNC forecast that it would achieve 20% revenue growth this year, from 4.04 billion baht last year. The company has invested 200 million baht in new machinery and equipment so far.
       Next year, SNC's profitability and net margin are expected to improve from 3% this year as the products to be sold to the four new customers are being developed locally from upstream to downstream production.
       Mr Somchai said the new deals would also lift the company's production capacity by 60% from one million units of air-conditioners per year.
       "Demand for air-conditioners has shrunk due to the global economic slowdown. However, new orders are improving after many people expect that the global economy will pick up next year," he said.
       In the first half, SNC posted a net profit of 71.69 million baht on revenues of 3.07 billion. In the second quarter alone, its net profit was 37.39 million and revenues totalled 1.5 billion baht,of which 1.04 billion came from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) contracts and the rest from sales of residential and automobile air-conditioner parts.
       SNC shares closed yesterday on the SET at 6.25 baht, up five satang, in trade worth 1.6 million baht.

TV in 3D coming to living room

2009-10-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

       You've seen movies in 3D.Now, how about your favourite TV series?
       Panasonic Corp last week unveiled a 50-inch high-definition 3D plasma television and glasses that make images appear like you can touch them.
       At a demonstration at Panasonic's head office in Osaka, Formula One race cars roared right by viewers and gymnasts barreled down a runway, hitting vaulting horse and flipping toward the audience.
       "We've introduced concrete plans to deliver the first 3D into people's homes.It won't disappoint," said Yoshiiku Miyata, Panasonic managing executive officer in charge of audio visual products.
       He declined to comment on an exact release date or price tag, stating that the company hopes the new TV sets will hit shelves sometime in 2010.
       The technology works by tricking the brain into seeing 3D as high-speed shutters in the glasses work in sync with the TV to deliver a double layered image at twice the speed of normal TV.
       "When the TV is showing the left image, the shutter closes the right eye so people can see only the left image,"explained Keisuke Suetsugi, manager in charge of high quality AV development.
       "And the next moment, when the TV is showing the right image, the shutter glass is covering the left."
       The company hopes the smaller, more living room friendly 50-inch model will become a popular choice for home theatres than a 103-inch big brother that debuted last October.
       The new model will go on display to the public at the CEATEC Japan tech show from today until Saturday.
       Panasonic announced in August it will team up with Twentieth Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment in the making of Oscar-winning director James Cameron's new 3D film Avatar ,set to open in theaters worldwide this December.
       Chief rival Sony Corp announced earlier this month it also plans to launch 3D TVs by 2010.

HIGH-SPEED EXCHANGE SYSTEM, SURGICAL DEVICE WIN AWARDS

2009-10-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

       Nine projects out of 543 entrants have been chosen for this year's National Innovation Awards, a contest aimed at promoting and encouraging local development of innovative technologies.

       The chairman of the awards' selection committee, former industry minister Kosit Panpiemras, said the contest could be used to reduce imports of computer-software products and promote local intellectual property in both local and international markets.
       Run by the National Innovation Agency (NIA), the awards are divided into two categories: one for economic contributions and the other for social contributions. Points are awarded in accordance with the use of the latest technologies and level of innovation, process management and possible benefits.
       The winner of the National Innovation Award for Economic Contribution was the Forth mini-Multi Service Access Network (mini-MSAN), developed by Forth Corp in Bangkok. The device is a high-speed telephone and Internet exchange system that uses high technology. It was designed for the multimedia services of TOT, including home telephone, public telephone, high-speed Internet and fibre-to-the-home super-Internet broadband.
       Sawat Erbchokchai, research-and-development and business-development director at Forth, said the mini-MSAN would do away with the need to import telephone exchanges worth Bt1.5 billion. The device will enable TOT to provide Internet-protocol TV and high-speed Internet access to customers around the country.
       Kosit said the first runner-up in the economic-contribution category was Laminated Paper Recovery, developed by the Flexo Research Group. The process is a global innovation in the production of alternative paper pulp from waste laminated paper. Biological and chemical technologies are applied when a particular enzyme, which can degrade laminated paper, is used to remove the paper from various materials, such as aluminium foil and plastic. Then the paper is decomposed to become pulp, which can be recycled to produce paper. The technology saves costs and is environmentally friendly, Kosit said.
       A second runner-up award went to C-Move Tracking System, developed by DX Innovation. The software-system innovation helps manage the transport of manufactured products. Shippers and logistics service providers can use C-Move to enhance the efficiency of product-transport systems, reducing the number of empty trips made by trucks and cutting transport costs.
       The NIA gave merit awards in the economic-contribution category to B-Move RFID Sensor Network for Vehicle Tracking and LeKiSe T5 Fluorescent Lamp Label No 5.
       The B-Move Sensor Network is a wireless sensor network for real-time vehicle tracking using embedded systems, communications engineering, computer engineering and logistics systems. It tracks and monitors vehicles in real-time using a radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor network. It has low operating costs and can be applied widely in the industrial sector.
       The LeKiSe T5 Fluorescent Lamp claims to have maximum efficiency. It can save 40 per cent of electricity and uses fluorescent-lamp-manufacturing technology, materials and process development technology, as well as a special coating consisting of phosphor and alumina that increases luminance.
       Kosit said the National Innovation Award for Social Contribution was won by the PSU Carpal Tunnel Retractor, which he described as a world-class innovation in surgical equipment designed to treat numbness in the wrist area through a small incision measuring 1.5-1.8 centimetres.
       The device makes a small tunnel in the space between nerves, tendons and muscles to improve lighting for an operation lasting only eight to 10 minutes.
       The developer of the PSU Carpal Tunnel Retractor, Sunton Wongsiri, who is a lecturer in the Orthopaedic Department at Prince of Songkla University's Songklanagarind Hospital, said the device could help patients suffering from numbness in the wrist area that could result in permanent amyotrophy, a wasting away of muscle tissue. About 5.6 per cent of women are at risk of this disease.
       He said the device enabled recovery within a week without recurrence for Bt1,500 to Bt2,000 per treatment. It not only treats disease quickly, but also reduces the need for imported medical equipment.
       Sunton said Prince of Songkla University was now proceeding with commercial exploitation of the innovation.
       The NIA did not make awards for first or second runners-up in the social-contribution category. However, it gave merit awards to two projects, one called CU-Detect and the other Microtube Gel Test for Blood Typing.
       CU-Detect is a medical liquid detector designed to test for type-A (H1N1) influenza virus that provides results within 30 minutes. The detector helps reduce the use of laboratory equipment and can be used in areas with limited equipment and personnel. This low-cost analysis set can also reduce imports of expensive liquid detectors that are slower to show results.
       The Microtube Gel Test for Blood Typing uses porous gel filtration to separate proteins to determine the gathering reaction in haemoglobin. Results are equivalent to those from conventional tube testing.

GE's five leadership traits

2009-10-02T18:56:00.001-07:00

       Multinational conglomerate GE believes leaders must possess five distinguishing qualities:
       External Focus: Instead of inward looking, they listen to what customers and society say.
       Clear Thinking: Leaders must be "crystal clear" in their thoughts.
       Imagination: Leaders must have imagination and be capable of innovation and "thinking outside the box".
       Inclusiveness and compassion: Leaders must be considerate to both their team and to customers who use their services. They don't think about people solely from their own viewpoint, but consider others' feelings as well.
       Expertise: Leaders must be very good at what they do.

ANTICIPATION OF CHANGE HELPS GE EVOLVE

2009-10-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

       General Electric, better known simply as GE, has an underlying strength in its ability to anticipate change and to continually evolve, both as an organisation and in the way it does business.
       So says Pornlert Lattanan, GE's president and national executive for Thailand and Laos, when speaking of the vast US-based conglomerate that Forbes this year described as the world's largest company.
       He said the director of the Sasin Graudate Institute of Business Administration, Toemsakdi Krishnamra, had recently aasked why GE had responded so well to the world's financial crisis.
       In reply, GE denied "responding" to the crisis. Rather, it had anticipated the crisis and prepared well beforehand.
       "We anticipated this, at my level, two years earlier and we had an action plan one year beforehand," Pornlert said.
       Having anticipated a shift in the world's economic power, GE began several years ago what it calls "reverse innovation". This involves the design of products for emerging markets and making them global, instead following conventional wisdom and creating products for developed economies land adapting them for emerging countriems (GE's chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, has written specifically about this. See "How GE us Disrupting Itself", Harvard Business Review, September 28.)
       Pornlet told The Nation in an exclusive interview that GE had redesigned its business mod,el to develop products "from scratch" for developing markets, and although these products might not be among the most sophosticated, they worked well for those markets.
       However, the products are now being sold in the US and other developed markets because users in those countries have been forced to reduce their costs.
       "They are now willing to pay 50 per cent for an 80-per-cent performance," Pornlert said. "You don't have to drive a top-class car every day.When you go out looking for a land site, would you drive your Lexus? Wouldn't you rather drive a pickup?"
       In his Harvard Business Review article,Immelt refers to a US@1,000 (Bt33,400) handheld electrocar-diogram device and a portable ultrasound machine, developed originally for India and China, as being among GE's "reverse innovation" products that are now being sold in the US.
       As well as product development, GS has found Asia to be a good place in which to study new applications that can be applied worldwide, Pornlert said.
       Pornlert said the "evolving GE" had given rise to a joke within the company: "If you don't like something, don't worry. It will be gone in six months. On the other hand, if you like something, it may also be gone in six months.
       In a big corporation, there is always a chance that something will have to be ahandoned, even if it is believed to be good, because it doesn't work well elsewhere, he said.
       "Internal reflection" is a mechanism that helps GE to maintain its evolution. The company has an executive development course for executives with high potential. It covers the conglomerate's worldwide operations. Four of the 30 executives chosen for this year's course, which had the theme "Leadership for the 21st century", elected to come to Southeast Asia, where they visited Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
       During a one-week visit to Thailand, the executives explored some leading Thai companies and universities, including Siam Cement and the Sasin institute. They also interviewed members of GE Thailand's staff.
       Pornlert said he could not disclose what the executives thought about leadership for the 21st century before they submitted their final reports to GE's chief executive. However, one point of reflection was that GE Thailand was staffed mainly by "Generation X" workers, and a future challenge would be dealing with youngenr generations so that they felt pride in working for GE and an obligation to the company.
       Pornlert believes the spirit of corporate social responsibility could help, and feels that CST should assume a broader concept, and should not be limited, for instance, to having the staff paint a school.
       "We'd like them to feel good about what they do.[They should feel that] what they're doing has produced some impact on society; has been meaningful."
       To motivate younger-generation workers, the company must not only be concerned for the young ones, but also for the older staff, who have to be trained to adjust their communications, their job assignments and their coaching methods, he said.
       Pornlert said GE had succeeded well in Thailand, where it had achieved 25-per-cent annual growth for the past six or seven years. Last year, the firm recorded flat growth, mainly because it movejd out the high-growth finance business to merge this operation with Bank of Ayudhya, in which it acquired a controlling stake.
       GE Thailand's business strategy is to look out for more non-finance enterprises, including energy infrastructure, technology infrastructure and consumer and industrial businesses.
       Pornlert said the government's three-year Thai Khemkaeng investment programme was expected to be a boon to GE's businesses because it highlighted many areas in which the company had know-how and expertise.
       Despite its worldwide coverage, GE would liek to be perceived in Thailand as a local player "that shares the same destiny as everybody in the country", Pornlert said.

Sony to introduce 3-D TV

2009-09-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

       The Japanese electronics company Sony Corp plans to introduce a liquid-crystal-display television capable of playing 3-D programming by the end of next year,The Wall Street Journal reported recently.
       Sony announced its plans for the new TV recent at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, an unnamed source familiar with the plans told the Journal.
       Movie studios and electronics producers see 3-D video for the home as a big money maker, and Sony's rivals, including South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc and Japan's Panasonic Corp, have said they plan to introduce 3-D products as well.
       At the moment, however,3-D films in theatres are just getting off the ground,so the initial choice of such movies on video would be limited.
       The 3-D plans come as Sony has lost money in its television division for five years in a row.

Greedy gadgetry

2009-09-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

       Electricity use from power-hungry devices is rising fast all over the world, report Jad Mouawad and Kate Galbraith in New York
       With two laptop-loving children and a Jack Russell terrier hemmed in by an electric fence, Peter Troast figured his household used a lot of power. Just how much power did not really hit him until the night the family turned off the overhead lights at their home in Maine and began hunting gadgets that glowed in the dark.
       "It was amazing to see all these lights blinking," Troast said.
       As goes the Troast household, so goes the planet.
       Electricity use from power-hungry gadgets is rising fast all over the world.The fancy new flat-panel televisions everyone has been buying in recent years have turned out to be bigger power hogs than some refrigerators.
       The proliferation of personal computers, iPods, cell phones, game consoles and all the rest amounts to the fastestgrowing source of power demand in the world. Americans now have about 25 consumer electronic products in every household, compared with just three in 1980.
       Worldwide, consumer electronics now represent 15 percent of household power demand, and that is expected to triple over the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency, making it more difficult to tackle the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.
       To satisfy the demand from gadgets will require building the equivalent of 560 coal-fired power plants, or 230 nuclear plants, according to the agency.
       Most energy experts see only one solution: mandatory efficiency rules specifying how much power devices may use.
       Appliances like refrigerators are covered by such rules in the United States. But efforts to cover consumer electronics like televisions and game consoles have been repeatedly derailed by manufacturers worried about the higher cost of meeting the standards.That has become a problem as the spread of such gadgets counters efficiency gains made in recent years in appliances.
       In 1990, refrigerator efficiency standards went into effect in the United States.Today, new refrigerators are fancier than ever, but their power consumption has been slashed by about 45 percent since the standards took effect. Likewise,thanks in part to standards, the average power consumption of a new washer is nearly 70 percent lower than a new unit in 1990.
       "Standards are one of the few ways to cheaply go after big chunks of energy savings," said Chris Calwell, a founder and senior researcher at Ecos, a consulting firm that specialises in energy efficiency.
       Part of the problem is that many modern gadgets cannot entirely be turned off; even when not in use, they draw electricity while they await a signal from a remote control or wait to record a television program.
       "We have entered this new era where essentially everything is on all the time,"said Alan Meier, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a leading expert on energy efficiency.
       People can, of course, reduce this waste - but to do so takes a singleminded person.
       Troast, of South Freeport, Maine, is just the kind of motivated homeowner willing to tackle such a project. His day job is selling energy efficiency equipment through an online business. He was not put off by the idea of hunting behind cabinets to locate every power supply and gadget, like those cable boxes, Web routers or computers that glowed in the dark.
       The Troasts cut their monthly energy use by around 16 percent, partly by plugging their computers and entertainment devices into smart power strips.The strips turn off when the electronics are not in use, cutting power consumption to zero.
       While Troast's experience demonstrates that consumers can limit the power wasted by inactive devices, another problem is not as easily solved:Many products now require large amounts of power to run.
       The biggest offender is the flat-screen television. As liquid crystal displays and plasma technologies replace the old cathode ray tubes, and as screen sizes increase, the new televisions need more power than older models do. And with all those gorgeous new televisions in their living rooms, Americans are spending more time than ever watching TV,averaging five hours a day.
       The result is a surge in electricity use by TVs, which can draw more power in a year than some refrigerators now on the market. Energy experts say that manufacturers have paid too little attention to the power consumption of televisions,in part because of the absence of federal regulation.
       Another power drain is the video game console, which is found in 40 percent of American households. Energy experts - and many frustrated parents - say that since saving games is difficult, children often keep the consoles switched on so they can pick up where they left off.
       Noah Horowitz, at the Natural Resources Defense Council, calculated that the nation's gaming consoles, like the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the Sony PlayStation 3, use about the same amount of electricity each year as San Diego, the ninth-largest city in country.
       Mandatory efficiency standards for electronic devices would force manufacturers to redesign their products, or spend money adding components that better control power use. Many manufacturers fight such mandates because they would increase costs, and they also claim the mandates would stifle innovation in a fast-changing industry.
       The government has never aggressively tackled the television issue because of opposition from the consumer electronics lobby in Washington, experts say. In 1987, before televisions had swelled into such power hogs, Congress gave the Energy Department - which generally carries out the standards the option of setting efficiency rules for TVs.
       But industry opposition derailed an effort in the 1990s to use that authority,according to Steve Nadel of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. A more recent attempt to require home electronics to use no more than 1 watt of power in standby mode met the same fate.
       The federal government has moved forward on only two standards for electronics, covering battery chargers and external power supplies.
       In the absence of federal action, a few states have moved on their own.The California Energy Commission just proposed new standards for televisions that would cut their power consumption in half by 2013. But that effort has set off a storm of protest from manufacturers and their trade group, the Consumer Electronics Association.(It is still expected to pass, in November.)
       A spokesman for the industry said that government regulations could not keep up with the pace of technological change.
       "Mandates ignore the fundamental nature of the industry that innovates due to consumer demand and technological developments, not regulations,"said Douglas Johnson, the senior director of technology policy at the association.
       Johnson said that California's limits on manufacturers, which he called arbitrary, might delay or even prohibit some features of new devices. Instead,he praised the government's voluntary Energy Star program, which he says encourages efficiency without sacrificing innovation.
       "Mandatory limits, such as we see in California, threaten to raise prices for consumers and reduce consumer choice," he said.
       Estimates vary regarding how much a mandatory efficiency program for gadgets would cost consumers. For some changes, like making sure devices draw minimal power in standby mode, experts say the cost may be only a few extra cents.
       At the other extreme, the most energyefficient of today's televisions can cost $100 more than the least energy-efficient.

ELECTRICAL-APPLIANCE SALES DOWN AS CONSUMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

2009-09-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

       Sales of electrical appliances are expected to decline this year, another victim of the eonomic downturn that has made Thai Consumers more cautious in their spending habits, according to a report by Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand).
       Gfk based its report on sample panel stores' over-the-counter sales.
       It estimates that the value of the consumer-electronics market, which includes audio-visual products such as televisions, DVD players and digital portable multimedia players, will be Bt37.7 billion this year, a 7.8-per-cent decrease from 2008.
       The visual product market is expected to decline by 5.57 per cent, with products such as flat-screen TVs seeing the biggest drop. Manufactures have turned their focus to more profitable products such as slim TVs, LCD TVs and plasma TVs.
       LCD TV sales in the second quarter increased by a significant 167 per cent to 200, 400 units from the first quarter, while those of plassma TVs rose by 30.38 per cent to 20,600 units.
       Despite the skyrocketing unit sales of those products, it is estimated that the total demand for colour televisions in 2009 will reach 3 million units, a decrease of 4.4 per cent from last year, with flat-screen TVs declining the furthest.
       DVD players have become a mass-market product, Gfk said in its report, with many manufacturers now offering products with different functions at various price levels.
       The product is entering the mature stage, the report said, as marketing of new disc-player technologies such as Blu-ray becomes more sidespread.
       It is estimated that total market demand for DVD players and Bluray disc palyers thsi year will be 3,190,000 and 7,000 units, respectively.
       Gfk believed that portable media players such as MP3 and MP4 players have reached market maturity, with many substitution products such as mobile phones ans smart phones appearing.
       The firm estimates the market for portable media players will reach about 316,000 units, worth Bt945 million, by the end of this year.
       The MP3-player market is slowly declining as the number of brands devreases, unit sales stabilise and prices fall, according to the report.
       The degital camera market this year is expected to drop by 10 per cent from last year in terms of units and 6 per cent in terms of value, mainly due to a decline in consumers' spending power.
       However, while the market for digital single-lens reflex cameras grew about 10 per cent in terms of units from 70,000 last year to 77,000 this year, the market value is forecast to fall by 6 percent.
       For the home-appliances segment, the largest among electrical appliances, Gfk estimates market value will reach Bt42 billion.
       The number of units sold in the first half of this year was slightly higher than last year but market value was flat.
       There are two home-appliace segments-major domestic home appliances (MDAs) and small domestic home appliances (SDAs).
       The first comprises refrigerators, washing machines, air -conditioners and microwave ovens, while the latter consists of rice cookers, irons, food-preparation devices, vacuum leaners, hair dryers, hair stylers, shavers and electronic fans.
       MDA market value is expected to exceed Bt33.2 billion.
       SDAs are expected to achieve a higher growth rate in unit terms than MDAs because of pricing and the economic situation. Price-cutting is still the main strategy for pushing sales in the MDA market.
       Broken down by type of product,1,195,000 refrigerators are expected to be sold this year (maintaining the 2008 level), with a value of Bt9.874 billion, or zero growth compared with last year.
       Refrigerators have a high penetration rate-roughly 84 per cent.
       Because of tight competition among South Korean, Japanese and Chinese brands, demand for washing machines this year is forecasted at 1,225,000 units worth Bt9.85 billion, for a decrease of 1 per cent in unit terms and flat growth in value.
       For air conditioners, the total market is expected to stay flat from last year at roughly 584,000 units worth about Bt12.47 billion.

Italian from A to Z

2009-09-27T19:44:00.001-07:00

       The very best in tableware from Rome and beyond arrives at the Emporium
       Stylish kitchen and glassware by a weath of well-known Italian brands go on show this week at the Emporium in "Eataly Private Sale 2009", with importer Italasia offering plenty of crative ideas for brightening up your dining table.
       Shoppers can check the latest designs from Alessi, Alfi, Janaer Glas, Smart Candle, Scott Zwiesel and Zwiesel 1872 along with the latest coffee makers from llly. For the gourmets, there's a chance to stock up on pastas, sauces and olive oil plus Barbera, Amarone and Prosecco wines and mineral water.
       Those who love funky tableware or who are searching for a neat gift won't be albe to resist the Lilliput salt-pepper set designed by Stefano Giovannoni for Alessi. For a special dinner, opt for Peter Zumthor's candlesticks and Scott Zwiesel's elegant wineglasses.
       Lovers will adore the heart-shaped Champagne Cooler by Martin Hauenstein while tea-dirnkers will find it hard to pass up Jenaer Glas' teapot complete with stainless steel strainer.
       Can't get going without a cup of extra-strong java juice? Then check out IIIly's collection of Espresso cups with saucers from Taiwanese designer Michael Lin for the ulitmate caffeine kick.
       AT A GLANCE
       The fair runs from tomorrow through October 4 at Fashion Hall of the Emporium Shopping Complex and is open from 10 to 10. Shoppers can enjoy discouts of between 40 to 50 per cent. Call (02)261 7990-9.

PLAYSTATION OUTSELLS WII

2009-09-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

       Sony's Playstation 3 video game console outsold Nintendo's Wii nearly five-fold in the three weeks to September 20, helped by the launch of a new cheaper, slim version, a survey said at the weekend.
       Sony sold 257,254 PS3s in the three-week period, while Nintenso sold 52,229 Wii consoles, the research by video game publisher Ascii Media Works showed.
       The new PS3 went on sale on September 1 in North America, Europe and Asia, except for Japan, where it debuted two days later.
       It is priced at 29,980 yen (Bt11,000) in Japan and at US$299 dollars in North America.
       Like its predecessors, it allows users to play games and movies on Blu-ray discs, but is slimmer and uses less power.
       Soon after Sony slashed the prices of its PS3, Microsoft cut the price of its Xbox 360 console, followed by Nintendo, which on Thursday reduced the price of its Wii for the first time since its 2006 launch.
       Nintendo has trounced Sony and Microsoft in recent years with the Wii, which aims to appeal to people who do not normally play video games. But the console's worldwide appeal has faded recently: Wii sales more than halved to 2.23 million units in April-June from 5.17 million a year earlier.

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES LOOK SET FOR BETTER TIMES

2009-09-27T19:41:00.001-07:00

       The Thai electrical-appliance market is believed to have passed through the worst of the economic crisis and, with the government's second-phase economic stimulus measures, is now forecast to pick up in the final quarter.
       This is a finding following research conducted by Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand), a market research firm specialising in retail audits for consumer durables.
       Country manager Chaiyarit Piyabootr yesterday said the positive signs of recovery in the industry in the fourth quarter included the world economic situation - many business figures believe the economic crisis has bottomed out - advance export orders and the bright outlook of the Thai stock market.
       Besides, unemployment has shown signs of easing as many companies resume recruiting.
       Moreover, the government's stimulus package will inject money into the system, create jobs and eventually increase consumer spending, said Chaiyarit.
       The only potential negative factor he is keeping an eye on is whether export markets have genuinely recovered. Seventy per cent of the Kingdom's gross domestic product comes from exports.
       Gfk has tracked five segments of electrical appliances - consumer electronics, home appliances, photographic, telecoms and information technology.
       The total sales value of these segments during January to July dropped by 7.7 per cent from the same period last year, while unit sales fell by 2.4 per cent.
       The photographic segment, comprising digital cameras and accessories, showed the highest drop in sales value and unit terms at 32.9 per cent and 23.2 per cent, respectively.
       Sales value and unit sales of consumer electronics declined by 3.8 per cent and 5 per cent from the same period last year, respectively.
       Despite dramatic unit-sales growth of 81.7 per cent in flat LCD TVs from the same period of 2008, other categories fell sharply. Flat-TV sales recorded the deepest plunge at 98.4 per cent.
       For the home-appliance segment, small products such as microwave ovens, food-preparation items, vacuum cleaners and hair dryers showed growth, in line with more people tending to live in condominiums.
       Air-conditioner unit sales and value during the first and second quarters increased from last year, but the numbers have dropped in the last few months due to an unclear picture after the government approved a tax cut.
       Despite many positive signs, Chaiyarit did not provide a forecast of whether the sales value and volume figures would swing into positive territory in the next quarter.
       However, he said one indicator of recovery was the increase in export value from appliance-manufacturing countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, as well as trading territories and countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. The electrical-appliance sector in these markets is improving, he added.
       But Manuele Kautzsch, regional account manager, Asia home appliance, Gfk Asia, forecast that the Thai electrical-appliance industry would pick up in the final quarter thanks to the global economic recovery.
       She also believes the sales value of all categories of the home-appliance segment in Thailand will swing into positive territory next year.
       Gfk Retail and Technology (Thailand) is the Asian subsidiary of Germany's Gfk Group, which has operations in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Sony sale

2009-09-23T21:51:00.001-07:00

Sony Thailand will hold a three-day "Warehouse Sale" during September 25-27 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
TVs, home theatre systems, CyberShot cameras, handy cams, digital frames,Vio notebooks, MP3 players and Sony Ericsson mobile phones are offered at up to 80% discounts.

ORGANISATIONS WANT NEW PI TECHNOLOGY

2009-09-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

       Sharp Thai's latest innovation - Plasmacluster Ion - seems to have opened a brand new door of opportunity as big building operators are putting in orders to help quell fears of another type-A (H1N1) influenza outbreak.

       Managing director Tatsuya Miyagi said yesterday that several large organisations wanted Sharp to install air conditioners or air purifiers with this technology in their premises. Airports of Thailand (AOT), the operator of six airports in Thailand including Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi, consulted the company a few months ago about installing an air-conditioning system equipped with Plasmacluster Ion in the terminals. Other organisations showing interest in the technology include hospitals, schools, hotels, the Government Pharmaceutical Office as well as a leading cement manufacturer.
       However, Sharp Thai is concerned about the effectiveness of the technology in large buildings, such as the Suvarnabhumi airport terminals. It is also considering the pricing of the product.
       "We're studying how to install Plasmacluster Ion products in those buildings and how to make the system most effective in buildings that have a large number of people passing through. We hope to serve all these corporations in the near future," Miyagi said.
       He noted that the local unit would need to consult with its parent firm, which has already installed air-purification systems in railcars in Japan. The technology has also been installed in the new fleet of E3-200 series trains for the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa service of the East Japan Railway.
       Miyagi added that Sharp Thai was also interested in installing the system in public transportation networks in the Kingdom.
       The technology has proved to be a success in the Thai market because it helped boost Sharp Thai's revenue in the health and environment segment in this year's first eight months by 35 per cent compared to the same period last year. The company's total revenue in that period increased only by 5 per cent, while the total electrical appliances market in Thailand from January to August dropped from the same period last year, Miyagi said.
       The technology has been deployed across product lines, particularly in the health and environment segment, which includes air purifiers, air conditioners and front-loading washing machines.
       The segment has contributed the most - 40 per cent - of Sharp's total sales. The sales proportion of this segment is expected to increase to 50 per cent next year. Within the health and environmental products segment, in the first eight months of this year air-conditioners showed the highest sales growth at 60 per cent from the same period last year. Sharp Thai faced a stock shortage for its air purifiers over the past few months.

ROBOT CAN SWITCH BED TO WHEELCHAIR

2009-09-19T20:36:00.002-07:00

       Japan's Panasonic Corp has developed a "Robotic Bed" that can transform into a wheelchair to make life easier for elderly and disabled people, it announced yesterday.
       The invention in designed to help people with limited mobility maintain an independent lifestyle, the firm said in a statement.
       "Now, the user can join the family meal by converting the bed into a wheelchair and moving to the dining table without the need of assistance from other people," it said.
       Panasoinc will exhibit the Robotic Bed at a home care and rehabilitation exhibition in Tokyo from September 29 to October 1, it said.
       "It is still a concept model and we will not be selling it soon," said Panasonic spokeswoman Yuka Arii. "We plan to bring it to markets in or after 2015. But we don't know the price yet."
       Japan has one of the owrld's oldest populations and faces a constant shortage of care workers.

TNT EXPANDS ITS FLEET, OFFERS MORE TRANSPORTATION CHOICE TO EXPORTERS

2009-09-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

       The inauguration of TNT's new dedicated aircraft yesterday will give Thai exporters more choice in cargo transportation.
       "We can offer our clients, especially those relying on exports of automotive, electronics and electronics parts, to have more choice through the combination of our road network in Asia and air network", said Alan Miu, managing director of TNT Express Worldwide (Thailand).
       As TNT yesterday kicked off a new dedicated B747-400ER freighter service between Hong Kong and Europe, it reflected its commitment to investing and growing in Asia.
       James McCormac, regional managing director of TNT Asia Pacific, said that it was well-placed to capitalise on strong trading links between the two regions with its integrated air and road delivery network in Asia and Europe.
       The new aircraft will not only serve customers in South China, but also in neighbouring countries like Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan. TNT will now be operating two dedicated freighter aircraft, providing freight and express delivery services between Europe and Asia.
       The B747-400ER, which provides non-stop flights, operates between Hong Kong and TNT's European air hub in Liege, Belgium. The existing one - B747-400ERF - will travel between Europe and Shanghai via Hong Kong. The two aircraft are capable of carrying up to 110 tonnes with the lowest tonne/mile cost offering. Currently, TNT has a fleet of about 40 aircraft.
       "The freighter from Hong Kong would ensure our customers, especially those in hi-tech communications, electronics and fashion industries, can become more competitive due to faster factory-to-market lead times and increasing inventory management efficiency," said McCormac.
       He added: "Our continuous investment in Asia clearly demonstrates TNT's long-term confidence in the region."
       TNT Asia Road Network recently expanded into Cambodia. The network now links 127 cities across six countries - from Singapore to China - and stretches across more than 7,500 kilometres.

Goldman unloads stake in Sanyo to Panasonic

2009-09-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

       The Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs said yesterday that it had agreed to sell a 15.7% stake in troubled Sanyo Electric to Panasonic Corp for about 126 billion yen ($1.4 billion).
       Goldman said its Oceans Holdings Co investment fund had signed an agreement to sell slightly more than half of its shares in Sanyo for 131 yen each as part of Panasonic's takeover of the struggling electronics maker.
       It will retain a stake of 13.3% which it "may sell in the near future," Goldman spokeswoman Hiroko Matsumoto said.
       Panasonic announced in December that it had struck a deal to acquire a 70.5% stake in Sanyo for up to 800 billion yen, buying shares from Goldman as well as Japan's Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui.
       Sanyo shares have risen sharply since then. They fell 3.2% to close at 246 yen ($2.7) yesterday.
       Panasonic had aimed to announce the launch of the tender offer by late February but it has been delayed due to regulatory issues.
       Sanyo, which started out making bicycle lamps after World War II, issued several billion dollars' worth of stock to the clutch of financial heavyweights in 2006 to shore up its capital base.
       The company reported a net loss of 18.4 billion yen for the April-June quarter due to a slump in the electronic component business.
       Recently Sanyo has tried to focus on environmental technologies - areas coveted by Panasonic, which is cutting 15,000 jobs and closing dozens of plants as it struggles to recover from its first annual loss for six years.

Daikin touts virus-fighting air purifier

2009-09-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

       Japan's Daikin Industries Ltd,the world's No.2 air conditioner maker,said yesterday its air purifier could stop the H1N1 flu virus from spreading.
       But a Japanese Health Ministry official said there were uncertainties about the machine, such as whether it could be effective in large public rooms.
       Daikin said a joint study with Vietnam's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology had shown that the virus,spreading around the world in a flu pandemic, was no longer contagious after being exposed to its air purifier for four hours.
       Shares in Daikin jumped 5% on news of the flu-fighting technology in a flat Tokyo market.
       "High-speed plasma electrons generated in the air purifier break down H1N1, other viruses and bacteria to nitrogen, oxygen and water," said Daikin,which developed the technology in 2004.
       Daikin this month launched its latest air purifier using the technology, a model which it said was 1.5 times more powerful than its previous versions.
       The new H1N1 strain of flu, declared a pandemic in June, could eventually infect one-third of the world's population,or two billion people, according to the World Health Organisation.
       The Health Ministry official said:"Such a machine may function appropriately under certain conditions like in a small room, but may not in places like large gymnasiums, where hundreds of people gather."
       The official asked not to be identified because he was not in a position to talk publicly.
       Rival Sharp Corp uses similar technology for its air purifiers but has yet to verify its effectiveness on the virus, according to a Sharp spokesman.

Siam Temp shifts focus to bigger air conditioners

2009-09-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

       Siam Temp, a major air-conditioner manufacturer, has shifted its focus to large systems for commercial buildings and factories as the household market is becoming saturated, according to executive director Aroon Eamsureya.
       He said the household air-conditioner market was now characterised by mature technology and surplus capacity in the world's largest exporting countries, Thailand and China.
       "We can see the signs of the market maturing," said Mr Aroon."All brands
       offer the same technology and design.Once there is nothing to make them different from each other, we have no gimmicks to push growth, they are becoming commodity products."
       Siam Temp is a sales agent for Hitachi of Japan and also makes its own brand,Airtemp.
       In response to changing trends, the company has changed its marketing approach, by focusing on research and development for other markets, large buildings and factories, as well as specialpurpose air-conditioners.
       "Air-conditioners for the large building market still have room to grow," he said.
       Household air-conditioners accommodate small spaces, ranging from 9,000-60,000 BTU (British thermal units).Every 1,000 BTU can cool 10-12 square metres of utilised space.
       Spaces of 500 sq m or more require commercial-scale units that have differing technological requirements.
       The company is also planning to build its Airtemp brand image as a specialist in large spaces and special purposes.
       Siam Temp holds a patent for special purpose air-conditioners for buildings such as clean-air systems for hospitals,air-vacuum system for integrated circuit (IC) factories, hygienic systems for restaurant kitchens, and other units for restaurants where strong food odours are a challenge.
       Mr Aroon said the new approach has come at a good time given growing concern about health and hygiene since the outbreak of H1N1 influenza.
       The company also has a new technology that can control the climate in small areas, such as high-temperature machinery working spaces, even when there is no wall or ceiling to separate that area from the whole space. Workers'comfort and health is therefore enhanced.
       The company expects its revenue from household air-conditioners will shrink to 30% from 70% of its total by 2011,while large units will become its major source of revenue at 70%.
       As a consequence of the new focus, it expects its sales volume to double to 1.2 billion BTU from 660 million estimated this year.
       The company also plans to expand from manufacturing and sales to become a total solution provider for commercial air-conditioner systems, with more aftersales service and consultancy.

Utterly lame plan

2009-09-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

       Your TOT admitted that its plan to build a third-generation (3G) yuppiephone network was so lame that not even the government wanted to look at it; board spokesman Ratian Srimongkol said his colleagues had optimistically submitted a plan to spend 29 billion baht on 3G, but the government wasn't even bothering to look at it; because it is vital to start 3G service by Dec 5, your TOT will now withdraw the current plan and re-submit an earlier plan, which calls for upgrading 533 base stations used by its teensy little cute mobile phone company Thai Mobile ,aka SuthepNet; it would allow people along the Airport Link route to use the 3G service, assuming that the Airport Link ever opens.
       Ranongruk Suwanchawee, high on the list for consideration as one of the best Ministers of Information and Communications Technology Minister of Thailand this entire year, also found time to defend the nation's security;rushing from her already frantic schedule of bringing the very highest technology to her country, she demanded that the court block all those horrid and wicked websites with copies of "that audio clip" of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva; the file is an obvious, immediate threat to Thai national security,she pointed out, even worse than the other 17,000-plus websites she has personally banned since March, and thus demanding her personal attention; in keeping with the modesty of them minister, almost the entire country managed to withhold its gratitude.
       True Corp said it was just kidding about selling 100,000 Apple iPhone 3G handsets this year; if early demand for the Wi-Fi-outfitted phone holds up, it now expects to sell at least 150,000;deputy chief commercial officer Papon Ratanachaikanont said early demand was "surprisingly positive" and "beyond our expectations" and,"We are now facing a supply shortage," even though Apple has agreed to direct some shipments from other countries to Thailand, and even though there is no 3G service on which to use the phones to their potential.Nokia Thailand said it was certain the sales of yuppiephone handsets would pick up soon, although the company was managing to weather the economic storm; general manager Shumit Kapoor estimated he would increase sales by maybe one percent this,after earlier predictions the market would shrink by five per cent.
       Sorayud Petchtrakul, adviser to Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng, explained that Thailand was as far behind in auto planning than in phones; the whole concept of eco-cars,which is still in the planning stages like 3G phones, is already outdated.
       Electronics makers in Southeast Asia got way out in front of their governments,predicting that the recession is basically over and just watch their dust as they quickly recover between now and New Year's Eve; Anusorn Muttaraid, director of Thailand's Delta Electronics , told the Reuters business agency that his new orders are steadily increasing, and "I think the weakness in electronic component demand has hit bottom in the second quarter;" Taiwan laptop makers are revising forecasts for PC shipments between now and the holidays, while orders for semiconductor materials from Japan outpaced sales for the fourth quarter in a row; the disconnect between the technology businessmen and the rest of the world was illustrated beautifully by the timidity of Adithep Vanabriksha of Aberdeen Asset Management in Bangkok, who said:"We have to monitor whether demand is growing through next year or it's just only because their clients want to replenish their inventories;" electronics makers have no such doubt.
       The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry sent a business delegation to Thailand; OCCI vice-chairman Makoto Kato said that Japanese investment threatens to flood out Thailand with high-tech companies and life-science labs - once the recession ends in both countries; the end of economic problems will encourage a whole new wave of Japanese investment, he said, in hightechnology and value-added industries.
       Mitsubishi Motors of Japan told the Industry Ministry that in support for a little investment help, it would love to product lithium-battery cars in Thailand,where "a little help" means investment privileges, help with supply lines and free import of motors and batteries from Japan; the planned car would travel 160 kilometres before being plugged into the mains for a recharge.Robert Bosch Thailand began selling a fully sealed auto battery, designed to last more than 18 months without maintenance including top-ups; general manager Yingyuad Whangprayoat said the battery uses "calcium production technology."
       Young US-born businessman Peter Austin Onruang opened up an office in the main Phloenchit Road area to market the Magicjack telephone gizmo, which provides a US telephone in any Thailand location for $20 a year, or less than 700 baht in real money; Mr Peter has produced a series of Thai-language adverts and infomercials as part of what he says is a tough job in getting full acceptance by major vendors in Thailand.

Havells Sylvania sheds light on bartering

2009-09-09T23:11:00.001-07:00

       Havells Sylvania(Thailand) has turned to barter exchange to buid consumer awareness of its Sylvania brand of lamps and lighting solutions.
       "This has become a key marketing strategy this year. This also creates our project references to contribute sales in the near future," general manager Poomthep Malakul said yesterday.
       Barter exchange as considered a marketing tool for expanding the customer base after Sylvania asked it subsidiaries in many countries, including Thailand, to cut their marketing budgets in line with the economic slowdown.
       The company then offered to install lighting solutions for its partners.
       Havells yesterday struck a deal with Mc Thai to replace 36-watt T8 lamps with T5 energy-saving lamps at 61 McDonald's restaurants in prime Bangkok and upcountry locations.
       "This will help McDonald's save 25-40 per cent on energy costs. The energy savings of McDonal's will be used to approach other firms to save energy like McDonalds," he said.
       Havells also distributes batteries and LED flashlights to McDonald's restaurants, which are a new channel to reach young generation consumers who follow a modern lifestyle and appreciate opportunities to try new things.
       The company also plans to sell batteries and LED flashlights at McDonald's in Vietnam, Malaysia and vietnam, its main overseas markets.

HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS TURNS ITS SPOTLIGHT ON ASEAN

2009-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

       Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) plans focus more on the Asean region, because it has the highest growth markets in the Asia-Pacific.
       Kevin Eggleston, senior vice president and general manager for the Asia-Pacific, said Asean countries were important markets for HDS. By the end of the first quarter of this year, Asean was the No-1 growth market in the Asia-Pacific, surpassing India, which was the highest growth market last year.
       Focusing on Asean is part of the company's strategy of consentrating on high-growth markets, which still include India and China. As well, its three main business strategies are expanding to vertical markets, focusing on its flagship solutions - storage virtualisation, dynamic provisioning, and tier storage and archiving-and concentrating more on partnerships and channels.
       "Asean was our No-2 market last year, following India. But at the end of the first quarter - the end of our fiscal year - Asean was No 1. The Asean market has had amazing growth for us," Eggleston said.
       He said HDS's unique solutions - storage virtualisation, dynamic provisioning and tier storage and archiving-were widely accepted by many more enterprise customers because the company had been marketing them for five years, and this had helped the company achieve growth that contrasted markedly with the storage market, which had declined.
       "This year, we expect double-digit growth even though the market is expected to decline. We will grow while the market shrinks because of our right technology and solutions. Our customers see the huge benefits of our virtualisation technologies," he said.
       Eggleston said storage virtualisation was really hard to achieve because it was very complicated. To develop the best solutions for its customers, Hitachi Data Systems had about 2,000 staff with doctoral qualifications working on research and development in storage virtualisation technologies. The company spends about US$2 billion (Bt 68.12 billion) on research and development each year.
       HDS also plans in the coming year to focus on vertical markets that have high demands for data, including government, financial services, healthcare, media and security.
       Eggleston said high-growth markets across the Asia-Pacific included telecommunications and media (and social networking), financial services, the government sector and manufacturing. When combined, these represented 60-80 per cent of the storage market in the Asia-Pacific.
       "Telecommunications and media are the No-1 growth market, because many countries in the region have implemented 3G networks, and that means huge demands for data. Social networking is also a very high growth area for storage, but the market is not yet huge."
       He said cloud computing would be the next revolution for the storage industry, and HDS aimed to be the leading infrastructure enabler for cloud computing. Its 13,000 platforms support cloud computing while its nearest competitor has only 500 platforms.
       "In every quarter, we gain 100 new customers in the Asia-Pacific region. We are No 1 in enerprise storage globally, and we want to maintain our leading position in the market," Eggleston said.
       Meanwhile, the country manager of Hitachi Data Systems (Thailand), Taveesak Saengthong, said his company had achieved growth of between 8 and 10 per cent last year, while the storage market in Thailand had shrunk by 6 per cent. The top five markets in Thailand include banking and financial services, telecommunications, government, media and content and healthcare.

LG aims to lead in microwave oven sales

2009-09-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

       LG Electronics (Thailand) Co, the marketer of LG home-appliance products,aims to become the market leader of microwave ovens in the Thai market next year.
       Hyun Woo Lee, the company's managing director, said LG currently ranked third in the 1-billion-baht microwave oven market in Thailand, with a market share of about 24% last year. It expects its market share to climb to 30% by the end of this year or early next year, positioning it as the segment leader.
       But Mr Lee said the penetration rate per household of microwave ovens in Thailand is under 10% at present, compared more than 50% in many countries.
       Market demand for microwave ovens is 430,000 units per year. The market is divided into three segments - microwave only, microwave and grill and a combination of microwave, grill and steam. Of the total, microwave-only ovens make up 89%.
       Mr Lee said that the company had sold 500-600 units of LG SolarDom, a premium microwave line, and expects the number to double next year.
       Yesterday, the company organised the LG Life Tastes Good Championship 2009,the second microwave-cooking contest.
       Sales of LG's home appliance business in the first eight months of this year grew 14% on par with its earlier projection. It is on course to achieve 6 billion baht in sales by the end of this year including those of air-conditioners.

KOREAN TV GIANTS TOUT DIFFERING TECHNOLOGIES

2009-09-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

       The world's top two makers of flatpanel televisions are stressing the energy-saving virtues of different display technologies in their race to dominate a huge global market.
       With liquid crystal display (LCD) modelds storming the world market, attention is focusing on developing a greener version that needs less power.
       South Korea's Samsung Electronics is talking up its LED (light emitting diode) - backlit model.
       Korean rival LG Electronics hails what it calls next-generation technology using AM OLEDs (activematrix organic light emitting diodes).
       LCD televisions captured 67.3 per cent of the world market in the second quarter to June, plasma display panels 6.9 per cent and conventional cathode ray tube models 25.7 per cent, acording to US-based market researcher displaySerchy.
       Samsung launched its new LED-backlit models in mid-March and says it solf 600,000 of then by June.
       Yoon Boo-keun, president of its television business, said the multinational aims to sell more than two million Led-backlit units this years.
       Yoon said LED televisions reduce energy consumption by up to 40 per cent over traditional LCD screens.
       "The Samsung Eletronics LED-backlit models in mid-March and says it sold 600,000 of them by June.
       Yoon Boo-keun, president of its television business, said the multinational aims to sell more than two million LED-backlit units this year.
       Yoon said LED televisions reduce energy consumption by up to 40 per cent over traditional LCD screens.
       "The Samsung Electronics LED-backlit model is just another type of LCD TV," an LG Electronics official said on condition of anonymity.
       "Theyy don't deserve to be called LED TVs. It's misleading."
       Britain's Advertising Standards Authority agreed, telling Samsung last month to change its advert for the new model.
       "We considered that the ad implied the TV displays were comprised totally of LEDs, similar to some outdoor displays, when that was n ot the case," it said.

SONY'S NEW ERA OF 3-D ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE

2009-09-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

       Sony set the stage for a new battle this wek with the unveiling of a 3-D-television, hoping to get a technology currently confined to a few cinermas into living rooms next year.
       The Bravia LCD TV, presented at the IFA consumer electionics fair, will not only enable people to watch programmes in three dimensions, it will be the "centrepiece of Sony's 3-D entertainment experience", Sony promises.
       Users will also be able to plug in their PlayStation games consoles, allowing them to play games in 3-D, as well as Blue-Ray disc players and computers, the Japanese firm says.
       To back up what it hopes whtat will soon become a major cash cow, Sony also makes the equipement needed to make movies and television programmes to play on the TV, which can also be used for regular, two-dimensional viewing.
       "It is the perfect moment for an announcement like this, even if its plans are ambitious," said RalfTanger, an expert on 3-D technology at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz research institute.
       3-D movies have been around for several decades, with the Lamiere broters' "L'arrivee dud train" filmed back in 1903, according to sensio, one of the many firms looking to get a piece of the future 3-D pie.
       In 1946, the Soviet Union made "Robinzon Cruzo", the world's first talkie in colour and
3-D, and in the 1950s there were more than 60 others ncluding Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" before studios put 3-D on the back burner.
       In the 1970s and early 1980s studios tried with offerings like "Jaws 3D" and "Friday the 13th, Part3," with cinemas issuing cardboard glasses, but it was not until the 1986 invention of the IMAX format that 3-D came into its own. The Cannes film festival kicked off this year with a gala opening ceremony that saw goofy spectacles foisted on tuxedo-clad celebrities for Disney-Pixar's 3-D cartoon comedy "UP".
       This year sees the eagerly awaited release in December of "Avatar" by James Cameron, the director of "Titanic". German director Wim Wenders is working on a film about choreographer Pina Bausch, who died earlier this year.
       It is in the cinema that 3-D has stayed, but Sony and its rival are hoping that it will soon break out and one day replace 2-D as a new standard.
       "Now the target is the living room," Tanger said.
       This is helped by the fact that some firms are considering launching channels that will show 3-D programmes.
       "At the moment the big handicapis that we are lacking in material," said Joern Ostermann, head of the Laboratory at Leipniz University in the northern German city of Hanover.

SONY'S KINDLE RIVAL OFFERS WIRELESS DOWNLOADS

2009-09-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

       Sony is planning to offer an e-book reader later this year with the ability to wirelessly download books, injecting more competition into a small but fast-growing market by adopting a key feature of rival Kindle, from Amazon.com.
       Sony's US$399 (Bt13,608) Reader Daily Edition will go on sale by December, the compaby's executives said this week. The device has a 7-inch touch screen and will be able to get books, daily newspapers and other reading material over AT&T's cellular network.
       Sony has sold e-book reading devices with "electronic ink" displays in the United States since 2006, but has seen most of the attention stolen by Amazon.com, which launched the Kindle, with similar e-ink technology, a year later. The latest version of the Kindle - which is not controlled by touching the screen - costs $299 and uses Sprint Nextel's wireless network for downloads.
       On Tuesday, Sony also began selling a Pocket Edition e-book reader with a 5-inch screen for $199, and a larger $299 touch-screen model. Neither has wireless capability, so both have to be connected to a computer to acquire books.
       Although Sony is following in Amazon's footsteps by adding wireless capability, its e-book strategy differs in crucial respects.
       The only copyright-protected books the Kindle can display are from Amazon's store, and the only devices the store supports are the Kindle, the iPhone and the iPod Touch.
       Sony, on the other hand, has committed to an open e-book standard, meaning its Readers can show copyright-protected books can be moved to and read on a variety of devices, including cell phones.
       Sony also announced this week that the Readers will be able to load e-books "loaned" from local libraries. A library card will provide access to free books that expire after 21 days.
       The library connection "would seem to be something Amazon would never embrace, so that could be a key differentiator", said Richard Doherty, director of research firm The Envisioneering Group.
       The alliance with AT&T will helps the Dallas-based carrier to further expand the use of its wireless network beyond cellphones. Like other carriers, AT&T is looking for new avenues of growth, now that almost every adult has a cellphone. In July, it announced that it woild provide the connection to another upcoming e-book reader from Plastic Logic, which will use the e-book store of Barnes & Noble.
       Reader owners will not be charged a subscription fee for wireless access, said Steve Haber, head of Sony's US reading division.
       Instead, the bookseller will likely have to pay AT&T for the wireless access, out of money it charges for the books, similar to the way Amazon pats Sprint. Sony's multi-store strategy makes that challenging. The Daily Edition will intially have wireless access only to Sony's e-book store, Haber said.
       Sony said the names of the newspapers that will be available on the device will be announced later. The Kindle already offers 46 newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Sony sells Mexican TV plant to Hon Hai

2009-09-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

       Sony Corp said yesterday it would sell a controlling stake in a key television manufacturing business in Mexico to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry as part of efforts to streamline its global operations.
       Sony, which is bracing for a second straight year in the red, would sell 90%of its shares in Sony Baja California to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co for an undisclosed sum, a company statement said.
       The Japanese giant will retain a 10%stake in the Tijuana-based business,which employs 3,300 people and will continue to produce Sony TVs for the Americas region under a strategic alliance with Hon Hai.
       Like other Japanese high-tech giants,Sony has been badly hurt by the global economic downturn, which has depressed demand for televisions and other electronic gadgets.
       The maker of Bravia televisions, PlayStation game consoles and Cyber-shot cameras announced in May its first annual loss in 14 years and is on course to stay in the red for a second year for the first time in half a century.
       Chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing about 10% of the manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit in the face of tough competition from rival products such as Apple's iPod and Nintendo's Wii.
       Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's largest contract manufacturer in the electronics sector, makes mobile phones, personal computers and consumer gadgets for companies such as Dell, Nokia and Sony.

Air-con firms seek rebate

2009-08-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

       Air-conditioner producers are asking the government to extend excise tax waivers to their inventories, as recently approved tax waivers would immediately make it tougher to sell their huge existing stocks.
       Most manufacturers currently have high stocks, as sales have been sluggish in the slowdown, said Phairat Uechooyos, chairman of the air-conditioning and refrigerator club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
       The industry estimates it has about 100,000 air-conditioner units in stock, for which it claims to have paid more than 500 million baht in excise tax.
       Producers would face an immediate loss if they discounted their stocks in line with the tax waivers, he said.
       "We are calling on the Excise Department to provide a tax refund for existing stocks to help ease the manufacturers' financial burden," he said.
       "The cancellation of excise tax is good to improve the industry's performance and increase employment and competitiveness in this sector, but the government and private sector should help each other to tackle this difficulty during the transition period."
       Cabinet ministers agreed this week to waive excise taxes for air-conditioners of up to 72,000 British thermal units (BTU) per hour. Duties will be cut from 15% to zero to help the domestic air-conditioner industry.
       The tax cut would take 2,300 baht off the retail price of air-conditioners with a range of 9,000 to 18,000 BTU and 2,100 baht for units with a range of 13,000 to 18,000 BTU.
       Thailand has about 178 air-conditioner producers. About 60 are local small and medium-sized enterprises and the rest are joint-venture firms, international brands and large-scale producers.
       The industry produced about 17 million air-conditioning units last year. Facing the major challenge of falling export orders, most producers now rely on domestic sales.
       The Excise Department generated 1.7 billion baht from excise taxes on air conditioners last year, representing 0.63% of total excise tax collection.
       Air-conditioner exports were worth 300 billion baht last year, up from 100 billion five years ago.

Thai air-con manufacturers feel the heat of China FTA

2009-08-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

       Local air-conditioner manufacturers foresee fiercer competition from Chinese imports under the Asean-China Free-Trade Agreement, which will put pressure on local products despite eliminating excise tax.
       "For a particular category, a Chinese air-conditioner retails for Bt8,000, against Bt20,000 for a Thai unit. This FTA will cause difficulties for domestic sales and exports to neighbouring countries," said Phairat Uechooyos, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries' Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Club.
       Phairat said other Asean members would experience similar pressure, a result of China's huge production capacity.
       China can produce 34 million air-conditioners a year, against 17 million for Thailand, Japan and South Korea combined.
       The Asean-China FTA eliminated tariffs on 3,906 products in 2006 and will do so for another 2,660 items, including air-conditioners, next January.
       To protect consumers and local companies, the government should impose standard requirements on Chinese products, Phairat said.
       He said local companies were already suffering from lower sales, due to the global economic downturn. Exports of air-conditioners and refrigerators are expected to decline 20 per cent to Bt300 billion this year. Domestic sales of the units have remained flat, because local consumers are awaiting cheaper prices following waiving of the 17-per-cent excise tax. The Finance Ministry expects local prices to drop up to 10 per cent.
       Phairat said despite abolishing the tax, it would be at least four months before retail prices could be cut, because 100,000 units on which Bt500 million in excise tax had already been paid must be sold first.
       Manufacturers have asked the Excise Department if retailers can receive tax rebates immediately after cutting the retail price on old inventory.
       "We're caught in a vacuum. Consumers want cheaper products and so delay buying. Eventually, retailers may need to cut prices to boost sales. We're awaiting the Excise Department's answer," he said.
       In a bid to increase sales, Thai air-conditioners will be showcased at Bangkok Refrigeration, Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning 2009, to be held at Muang Thong Thani's Impact Arena from October 7-11 and which is expected to draw more than 150,000 visitors. This year's products will highlight green qualities.
       Department of Export Promotion director-general Rachane Potjanasuntorn said the value of electrical and electronics exports this year would at best show flat growth of Bt1.7 trillion, thanks to an expected economic recovery later this year. The sector witnessed a 23-per-cent year-on-year drop in the first seven months.

CABINET APPROVES EXCISE WAIVER

2009-08-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

       Consumers should be able to buy air-conditioners for 10 to 15 per cent less than current prices following the Cabinet's decision to approve a tax waiver, Deputy Finance Minister Pruttichai Damrongrat said yesterday.
       Manufacturers said they were ready to bring their retail prices down immediately, but only by the full amount for newly produced equipment.
       The Cabinet approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to waive excise duty on air-conditioners with a capacity below 72,000 British thermal units. After the 15-per-cent tax is waived, the retail price should fall by between 10 and 15 per cent, said Pruttichai.
       He said this would relieve some of the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises and would help local businesses compete against some air-conditioning units brought into the country but evading the duty.
       Somyos Kiratichivanant, managing director of Bitwise (Thailand), manufacturer and distributor of the Tasaki brand, said most manufacturers had a large level of old stock as sales had been slow due to the economic slowdown.
       "However, consumers expect prices to be cut immediately. So, we may slash the prices of our old stock somewhat in order to have a psychological impact and be competitive," he said.
       He said an old-stock air-conditioner currently priced Bt10,000 could be reduced to Bt9,000 to Bt9,500, but not to Bt8,500. The manufacturer would therefore still bear some loss.
       "It will not however be possible for units that are old inventory to be reduced by as much as 15 per cent from their previous price tag," said Somyos.
       He added that the company had a lot of stock for some of its Tasaki range and it could take until the end of the year to release it.
       However, prices could be lowered for some models immediately.
       Meanwhile, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said the ministry had been unable to submit its draft property tax bill for Cabinet consideration this month.
       He said the Fiscal Policy Office needed more time to gather public opinion from all interested parties, adding that private firms in the provinces also wanted to submit their own proposals to the ministry, said Korn.
       He pledged to submit the draft law to the Cabinet soon. It would then take about two or three months for the government's legal advisory body, the Council of State, to review the draft.
       Korn said the government may not therefore be able to submit the bill to Parliament in the current session.
       He ruled out any change to the tentative tax rates already proposed.
       According to the draft, residential units will be subject to an annual tax of 0.1 per cent of the property's value, while owners of land used for agricultural purposes will have to pay 0.05 per cent of the land's value and land for commercial use will be subject to a 0.1-per-cent tax.
       Undeveloped land will be taxed at 0.5 per cent over the first three years, rising to a maximum of 2 per cent over the next six years.

Ill wind blows no good

2009-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

       Morakot was no Emerald; it was an ill wind that whipped up seas and cut or damaged six separated fibre-optic cables carrying Internet traffic to Thailand; the typhoon itself never hit Thailand, but while it killed an estimated 500 Taiwanese, Morakot caused deep-sea landslides that severed three cables and disrupted three others, including the SWM-3 (Southeast Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3) and both APCN (Asia Pacific Cable Network) that carry Internet and telephone traffic to and from Thailand; the Net slowed noticeably, but picked up after a couple of days when engineers managed to quickly repair the APCN2 cable between Singapore and Malaysia, while traffic was re-routed to other systems.
       The top three yuppiephone networks announced a convoluted "solution" to SMS spam, now estimated at nine million annoyances a day; starting next Monday, if you get an unwanted commercial message on your mobile phone, call your network's anti-spam centre, explained what happened, and they will try to block any other calls from the spammer - the AIS number to call is 1175, DTAC is 1678 and True Move is 1331, and the theory is that the 30-million-baht software they have installed and the highly trained staff they have hired will combine to block the spam across all three networks; Thana Thienachariya, chief commercial officer at DTAC, said blocking spam would cut revenue at all three yuppiephone firms, who have profited by selling SMS time in blocks to advertisers; in other words, he already knows where the calls are coming from.
       Bangkok telephone provider True Corp and their yuppiephone subsidiary True Move began advertising "revolutionary" international phone rates of "only" three baht a minute to most-called countries; the rate, cheap at half the price, is about half what the telecoms duopoly of your TOT and your Cattelecom charge, but about twice the cost of the most popular long-distance specialists like DeeDial and ZayHi; the True rates only will last until New Year's Eve.
       If corporate diversification is a sign that the recession is ending, then we got good news from Delta Electronics (Thailand); president Henry Shieh said the Taiwan-based electronics firm is about to acquire solar-power equipment makers in the US and Europe to get out of traditional electric sources and into larger technology areas; he bragged that, "Our cash on hand of over 8 billion baht also supports our investments," and while Thailand plants are running at only 65 percent capacity making fans and converters, profits in the second quarter were still a healthy 301 million baht.
       Also upbeat: CEO Watchai Vilailuck of Samart Corp, who said business was looking up, with revenues increasing by 17 percent year on year in the second quarter to 4.44 billion baht; although profit remained stagnant at just under 125 million, Mr Watchai said he sees clear economic skies ahead, and expects to introduce 20 new yuppiephone handsets before New Year's Eve to feed what he is certain is growing demand in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Cambodia, as well as Thailand.
       Not everyone was bragging and sunny; No 1 yuppiephone firm Advanced Info Service of Shingapore announced major changes at the very top of the firm's food chain to try to adjust to negative growth and increased competition; AIS tried to spin the changes as restructuring, but in fact the major changes were personnel; Singaporean Hui Weng Cheong was promoted from deputy president to the newly created position of chief operating officer, where he will take over marketing, customer management and handset distribution; president Wichian Mektrakarn was moved to CEO and the president's position was dissolved; AIS has recently realistically changed its revenue target from 4 percent growth to minus-3 percent, bizarrely blaming oil prices and the flu pandemic; chairman Somprasong Boonyachai said you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking the changes at the top were because of poor operating results, it's just all part of a careful, long-planned succession plan.
       The company formerly known as Shin Satellite insisted it will break out of its habit of losses and break even this year, thanks to higher bandwidth sales from its iPSTAR broadband satellite; it's not all rosy for Thaicom, however; Tanadit Charoenchan, executive president of vice, revealed that, "We expect iPSTAR's bandwidth usage to reach 15 percent this year, up from 10 percent currently."
       Then there is Grammy Entertainment, which reported no harm, no foul in its first-half results, a profit of 314.2 million baht on slightly increased revenue of 3.95 billion, boosted almost exclusively by TV programming, while music sales fell four per cent.
       Finally, consider the case of bank employee Nawanit Noichana,; he posted a message on the Sanook.com forums soliciting readers to have sex with a certain Ms Som, and providing her real phone number; it was all a prank or something worse, because Ms Som was certainly not that kind of woman; the Criminal Court judge found him guilty under the Computer Crime Act, but then sentenced him to just 12 hours of community service and a one-year suspended imprisonment.

Panasonic rides 'Avatar' 3-D craze

2009-08-22T17:32:00.001-07:00

       Panasonic Corp has signed onTitanic director James Cameron and his upcoming film in an advertising blitz for its TVs equipped with 3-D technology,both sides said yesterday.
       The deal between the major Japanese electronics maker and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp's Avatar - the first major Hollywood 3-D release that's not animation - comes as competition heats up in flat-panel TVs that show threedimensional images, or stereoscopic vision.
       To watch 3-D TVs, viewers must wear special glasses that block vision in one eye and then the other as the TVs switch rapidly between images for each eye to create an illusion of depth.
       Panasonic is planning to start selling 3-D TVs next year. Rivals, including Sony Corp, which has its own movie division,and Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea have shown prototypes and may offer similar products.
       The problem is the scarcity of content to view in 3-D. Sceptics say a number of Blu-ray discs of appealing 3-D movies must come out for 3-D TVs to catch on.
       Several animation films are already being shown in theatres in 3-D, but Avatar , set for release on Dec 18, will be the first major non-animation film debuting worldwide in both 2-D and 3-D.
       "I believe 3-D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future.3-D is not something you watch. It's a reality you feel you could step into," Cameron said on video.
       "Panasonic is hoping its collaboration with Cameron will give it an edge in brand image as a 3-D leader as well as in obtaining suggestions for technological improvements for home TVs," said general manager Masayuki Kozuka.
       "We want to get global interest rolling,"he told the Associated Press."For people to want to watch 3-D at home, the movie has to be a blockbuster."
       Panasonic plans to have several trailervans driving around in the US and Europe next month with large-screen 3-D TVs inside showing Avatar . In Japan, footage from "Avatar"-a science-fiction Pocahontas -like romance set in a futuristic jungle inhabited by creatures evoca-tive of Cameron's Aliens - will appear in ads for 3-D TVs.
       Details on the 3-D Blu-ray release of Avatar for TVs have not been set.

CHINA'S TCL TO UPGRADE TV TECHNOLOGY AT THAT FACTORY

2009-08-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

       Leading Chinese electrical-appliance manufacturer TCL plans to upgrade its television-set production line in Thailand in a bid to use Bangkok as an export base to Asean.
       Chief operating officer BoLianming said TCL would modernise the television technology in its Thai plant, in order to facilitate market access and boost sales within Asean. TCL now has a 20-per-cent market share in Southeast Asia.
       TCL wants to use Thailand as a base for television assembly and export, especially to Asean markets.
       "Despite the global economic crisis, Asean economies have turned in an outstanding performance. TCL will use the Thai plant to distribute products throughout Asean,"he said.
       TCL began manufacturing in thailand in 2004 with the acquisition of television manufacturer Thompson. A subsidiary, TCL Electronic (Thailand),was set up to oversee local manufacturing and distribution.
       Bo said the company's factory in China would remain its main manufacturing base.
       TCL Optoelectronics Technology in Huizhou, located in the southern province of Guangdong.produces liquid-crystal-display(LCD)sets.
       TCL plans to produce its own television panels soon. It now buys them from Sanyo and Sharp. Bo said gearing up for panel manufacturing would cost some US$3 billion (Bt102 billion).
       "We're considering building a TV-panel plant in China, while the one in Thailand is more suitable for asembly and distribution to Asean markets," he said.
       TCL also plans to produce 60-inch screens by year-end, expanding from its present largest size of 52 inches.
       Meanwhille, Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng said his ministry and the Board of Investment (BoI)had visited China to persuade TCL to upgrade its Thai production line in the near future, to produce a full range of LCD sets.
       He said the Boi was prepared to exempt TCL from corporated income tax for eight years.
       "TCL has expressed interest in this offer. We told them we wanted TCL to use Thailand as its main export base," Charnchai said.
       The BoI will also open an office in Guangzhou province to attract Chinese firms to Thailand, he added.

SONY LAUNCHES CASH-FOR-TVs SCHEME IN UK

2009-08-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

       Japan's Sony on Wednesday launched a scheme in Britain to encourage cash-strapped consumers to swap old televisions fore new onews in a plan that mirrors worldwide car trade-initiatives.
       Sony said in a statement that it would offer customers reductions of as much as 150 pound (Bt8,460) off the price of some of its new Bravia televisions in return for ageing models.
       "Sony UK is introducing a new television trade-in initiative this Friday [today] whereby consumers can trade in their old television at participating Sony stockists in exchange for money off a new Bravia," it said in a statement.
       "The new TV trade-in scheme from Sony makes it easier for consumers to dispose of old sets and receive money off a new Bravia."
       The loss-making company has been badly hurt by the global economic downturn which has slashed worldwid demand for televisions and other electronic gadgets.
       "The campaign itself offers customers the advantages of swapping old for new rather than simply throwing away, encouraging old televisions to responibly disposed of," added Sony UK spokesman Matt Coombe.
       The TV scrappage plan follows the success of the British government's new for old car scheme.
       Earlier this month, the government announced that British motorists had bought more than 150,000 new cars under its vehicle scrappage scheme, reaching the half-way mark in the plan to boost the troubled auto sector.
       the scheme, which gives car buyers a 2,000 pound discount when they trade in a vehicle over 10 years old, was launched in April and mirrors schemes abroad.
       Last month, Sony reported a net loss of 37.1 billion yen (Bt13.5 billion) for the fiscal first quarter through June, blaming the global economic downturn

TAX CUT ON LOCALLY MADE AIR-CONS GIVEN GREEN LIGHT AT PPP MEETING

2009-08-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

       The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) yesterday approved a tax waiver for locally manufactured air-conditioners with a capacity not exceeding 72,000 British thermal units, which will reduce prices by 10 per cent.
       Deputy Finance Minister Pruttichai Damrongrat said the move was aimed at promoting competition, although the government would lose around Bt1.7 billion per year from the tax cut.
       He said the lower prices should encourage people to opt to buy more locally made air-conditioners.
       This means the government will gain more value-added tax to help offset the revenue loss.
       Scrapping the tax has yet to be approved by the Cabinet.
       The PPP, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, also acknowledged proposals from the private sector to reduce or waive other taxes, ranging from individual and corporate income tax to property taxes.
       The premier asked the Finance Ministry to work with agencies to consider the proposals on tax cuts and their impact.
       Besides agreeing to the tax waiver for air-conditionerss, the meeting approved in principle proposals to help the construction industry, including measures to boost jobs and income distribution inthe sector.
       A proposal for a two-year construction industry development plan was also approved.
       A proposal for a two-year construction industry development plan was also approved.
       The Finance Ministry will work on short-term measures, while the National Economic and Social Development Board will work out a long-term plan with state agencies.

LG plans more after-sales service

2009-08-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

       LG Electronics (Thailand) aims to set up eight LG Mobile Brand shops in Bangkok within this year with a total budget of around Bt20 million to strengthen its brand image and after-sales service.
       Somsak Athisaitrakul, Product Group Head (Mobile Communication) senior manager, said four shops were recently opened in major shopping malls. The others will be gradually opened by the end of this year to cover major areas in Bangkok. The shops feature the expericence zone and the service zone. The experience zone is where all the latest LG Mobils-phone models are available for customers to directly experience the products, while the service zone offers after-sales servies.
       He added that the company's enhancement of after-sales service follows increase in sales of LG mobile phones.
       Currently the company has nine major after-sales service centres and over 200 authorised service dealers nationwide.
       Regarding the market competition, he said LG has mainly focused on competing with major international brands, not local brands.
       The company plans to roll out between 12 to 15 new mobile-phone models in Thailand in the second half, almost the same number as in the first half. Most of the upcoming models will be in the mid-price and high-price ranges and with touch-screen feature.
       Some local mobile-phone brands have gained high popularity among the Thai consumers, due to their rich features but affordabel prices.

Hana resumes investment after impressive Q2 results

2009-08-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

       Hana Microelectronics Plc, the country's biggest semiconductor packager, has started investing again and taking on staff to meet rising orders after posting better-than-expected financial results in the second quarter.
       About 350 million to 500 million baht will be spent on new production equipment later this year, mainly in the integrated circuit (IC) division. Hana is also looking to hire 600 new staff, said chief financial officer Terry Weir.
       "Hana will invest and hire labour to build the products according to customer demand. Therefore, as the recovery takes place and new products are ordered by our customers, we will have to increase investment to be able to meet that demand in the second half of the year," he said.
       The SET-listed electronic parts maker currently employs about 8,000 people and is running at about 80% of capacity.
       Customer inventory replenishment and partial economic recovery enabled Hana to perform better in the second quarter than in the first three months,and to beat its own expectations for the first half, said Mr Weir.
       In the second quarter, Hana's net profit of 504 million baht was down only 7.6% year-on-year and up 151%from 201 million baht in the first quarter.
       First-half net profit was 705.44 million baht (0.86 baht a share), down 29% from 993.55 million (1.20 baht a share) a year earlier.
       Second-quarter sales revenue dropped 18% year-on-year to 3.22 billion baht.But sales were up 22% from the first quarter, with IC sales up 46% while microelectronics rose 16%, Hana said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
       "The first half of 2009 was much better than was expected at the beginning of the year, thanks to customer inventory replenishment and partial economic recovery," said Mr Weir."The large extent of demand recovery can be seen in second-quarter results.[But] continuing strength of customer demand remains a challenge for the rest of the year."
       Analysts were upbeat about Hana's results.
       "Hana's stellar earnings of 504 million baht in the second quarter, an increase of 151% from the first quarter, beat our expectation by 36.3% and the consensus by 34.3%," KGI Securities (Thailand) said in a report."A higher-than-expected gross margin was the reason for the surprise."
       Sales also showed a significant recovery from rock bottom in the first quarter. The company's balance sheet was solid, being debt-free and with cashon-hand of about 3.7 billion baht, KGI said.
       Shares of Hana closed on Friday on the SET at 18.50 baht, up 40 satang, in trade worth 6.8 million baht.

Ex-Samsung boss escapes jail again

2009-08-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

       A Seoul court ruled yesterday that former Samsung chairman Lee Kunhee was guilty of breach of trust and handed him a suspended prison sentence in another legal blow to the tycoon.
       The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee to three years in prison and fined him 110 billion won ($89.2 million) but he won't go to jail if he stays out of trouble for five years. The case centred on charges that Lee caused damage to a Samsung Group company by issuing a type of bond at below market prices.
       The 67-year-old Lee, wearing a dark,pinstriped suit, listened quietly to the verdict and then left the courtroom. Samsung had no comment on the ruling and said there had been no decision on whether Lee would appeal.
       Lee, one of South Korea's richest people, led Samsung for 20 years following the death of his father, the conglomerate's founder. He has faced a series of legal troubles the past two years and was convicted in 2008 on tax evasion charges and given a suspended prison term.
       But the Supreme Court in May upheld lower court rulings that cleared him of alleged illegal financial dealings purportedly aimed at passing control of the business empire to his son.
       Lee is a South Korean corporate icon who has personified Samsung. He is widely credited with turning Samsung Electronics Co into a respected global brand. But he resigned as chairman of the company, the conglomerate's flagship corporation, upon indictment for tax evasion and other charges in April 2008.
       The Seoul High Court was hearing the breach of trust case for a second time after the Supreme Court in May ordered it to reconsider an earlier verdict.
       Presiding Judge Kim Chang-suk said that Lee caused damage of 22.7 billion won to the group company, Samsung SDS, over the issuance of bonds with warrants at about half of their market price.
       But he cited Lee's "considerable contribution to the development" of the company in handing down the suspended prison sentence.
       He also said that Lee had paid back more than the amount of the damage caused to Samsung SDS, which specialises in system integration and other IT services.
       Samsung Group comprises dozens of companies. Besides electronics, it has interests in shipbuilding, construction,insurance and leisure. Its companies account for a big slice of South Korea's exports.
       Civic groups have dogged the conglomerate for years, claiming its opaque ownership structure based on crossshareholdings by group companies led to abuses and was meant to ensure the Lee family maintains control.
       The verdict didn't bother investors.Shares in Samsung Electronics jumped 4.1% to 731,000. Samsung SDS is unlisted.
       Lee was also convicted in 1996, along with other conglomerate chiefs, over presidential bribery. That conviction also resulted in a suspended prison sentence.

TOSHIBA SET TO JOIN RIVAL BLU-RAY CAMP

2009-08-13T00:42:00.000-07:00

       Having lost the video format war, Toshiba said yesterday it will make Blu-ray disc products and plans to join the once-rival camp, the Blu-ray Disc Association.
       The Japanese electronics maker had backed another high-definition video format, the HD-DVD, but seceded defeat last year, saying it will give up making or developing HD-DVD products.
       There had been some speculation Toshiba may skip making Blu-ray products and instead try to develop an even more sophisticated video technology.
       But Toshiba said it is planning to introduce Blu-ray products such as players and personal computers. Details were to be announced later.
       "In light of recent growth in digital devices supporting the Blu-ray format, combined with market demand from consumers and retailers alike, Toshiba has decided to join the BDA," it said, referring to the Blu-ray association.
       The Blu-ray alliance, backed by Japanese rivals Sony, Panasonic and others, had been more successful in wooing Hollywood studios.
       Some kind of decision from Toshiba had been expected ahead of the key year-end shopping season.
       The move is reminiscent of Sony's strategy after its Betamax videotape standard lost to Panasonic's VHS in the 1980s. Sony ended up making VHS products.
       The Blu-ray market could be too lucrative for Toshiba to pass up. The Japanese electronics maker racked up its biggest loss ever, 344 billion yen (Bt120.7 billion) in its last fiscal year, which ended in March.
       Apart from home entertainment products, Toshiba is also a large market of PCs, in which Blu-ray drives are slowly supplanting DVD drives. Without Blu-ray drives, Toshiba laptops could have lost out to other manufacturers.

Speakerless sound system

2009-08-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

       While watching your favourite movie on a home theatre, how nice it would be if there were no big black speakers or tangles of wires to deal with. An innovative new gadget is helping to do away with the hassle of clunky speakers and messy wiring.
       Developed at a university in the UK and adopted by the US Navy for sonar application and then de-restricted for commercial use, a new "smart material"can turn any flat surface into a speaker,according to FeONIC (SEA) managing director Eugene Sta Maria.
       Using the highest power density magnetostrictive smart material that can provide wide bandwidth audio signals,FeONIC audio drives convert new and existing structures of commonly used resonant building materials into high quality loudspeakers using vibrations.
       The structural surface acts as a powerful distributed mode (non-directional)speaker suitable for both audio reproduction and public address (PA) systems,meeting the EN60849 standard for acoustic quality in public places. The converted panels do not emit from a single point source, but exhibit a flatter, even distribution of sound across the entire surface.
       The system works on almost every material including composite board,plaster, wood and glass as well as metal.The sound is immersive in specific areas ranging from 8 to 12 metres depending on power and material that reduces interference from outside factors.
       The device is suitable for exhibitions,stadiums, buses, subway stations, trains,home and pro audio systems, shop fronts,buildings, boardroom tables, gardens,spas, sauna rooms, yachts - in fact,any place that needs a sound system without speakers getting in the way. It also requires less installation compared to traditional speakers such as those used in PA systems in hospitals.
       It is also easy to maintain because there are no moving parts and it can be hidden in the wall which protects it from dust,making the lifespan three to five times longer than that of traditional speakers.
       In the past, this audio system was quite expensive and more widely used in Europe, but from the beginning of this year the UK headquarters decided to assemble its products in China which has driven the price down by 30 to 40 percent which make it more affordable in Asean countries.
       The company provides a range of consumer and industrial acoustic drives for mid-range installation and home theatre systems, providing a neat integrated yet speakerless environment without a reduction in sound quality.
       On the go speaker: First in the world
       Later this year, FeONIC will launch Soundbug 2, the world's first Bluetooth wireless technology speaker which can act as an "on the go speaker".
       The new device will produce very good quality sound compared to other speakers in its size and class. It has a sleek design and comes with a six-hour battery. It can be used to sound enable surfaces where one would use a laptop or any portable device which supports Bluetooth technology.
       The company is also in discussion with partners to package the SoundBug 2 with their existing products. Compatible products include laptops, netbooks and phones that have Bluetooth built in to establish an audio connection with the SoundBug 2. The price will be around 3,000 baht.
       Creating new advertising paradigms
       Stephen Riches, managing director of Synergise, one of FeONIC's customers and distributor in Thailand, added that the device can be utilised to make immersive advertising by combining digital media with elements of sound close to the users.
       In the past, outdoor advertising was difficult because someone could steal speakers located outside and external noises could interfere with the adverting message.
       "You can imagine that as you walk pass a big digital display or digital poster at the department store and there is a voice telling you of an interesting promotion which may attract customers to visit the store.
       From an indoor perspective, it can be used as 'last mile advertising'. For instance, as someone opens a refrigerator to buy a soft drink a voice for promotion may change the consumer's mind to buy something else."
       Singapore uses the system for advertising at bus stations, in the UK, the system has been installed in museums.