Archive for February 27, 2018

Malaysia Airports and OpenText Create Digital Transformation Framework

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

OpenText a leader in Enterprise Information Management (EIM), today announced that Malaysia Airports will be working with OpenText to develop intelligent automation, predictive analytics, and expanded digital services for passengers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), including its second terminal klia2. This project will be executed in phases, through a big data analytics and digital platform that will contribute to the Total Airport Experience (TAE) strategic pillar outlined in Malaysia Airports’ five-year business plan.

The development of this unified digital platform will enable Malaysia Airports to differentiate engagement with passengers and other customers, drive operational efficiency, enable passenger productivity and experience, and drive new and existing revenue streams. Data fed into the digital platform from various existing systems will be analyzed with machine learning and artificial intelligence, providing insights for better decision making to enhance passenger experience as well as business and operational excellence.

As a technology partner, OpenText will deliver digital and analytics capabilities through an integrated software suite, including content and big data management, service quality management, customer experience management and asset management.

“As we embarked on an analytics-led digital transformation, we were looking for a technology partner that offered a sustainable, integrated solution. Through the Unified Digital Platform (UDP), we are looking to deliver effective engagement and achieve all-round operational efficiency that we can extend to our passengers,” said Azli Mohamed, Chief Strategy Officer at Malaysia Airports.

The project will kick-start with a mobile application that will help passengers plan their journey. Through the application, passengers can receive real-time notifications on flight status, congestion levels, expected journey times and travel options, as well as airport services such as self-check-in and self-bag drop facilities. With later releases of the app, passengers will be able to access the ‘click and collect’ service which allows them to purchase products online and have them delivered to their boarding gate.

This digital transformation will also benefit Malaysia Airports’ commercial partners such as airlines and retailers, as well as other stakeholders at the airport such as the immigration department. Airlines will be able to verify passengers’ authenticity before they enter a secured area by digitally matching the airlines’ check-in data with passengers’ documents. Airlines will also be notified in real-time of passengers’ whereabouts after check-in, helping to improve the overall efficiency of airport and airline operations.

This project facilitates the collaborative relationship between Malaysia Airports and the Immigration Department of Malaysia, helping to ensure queue management efficiency and incident management through digital escalation processes, as well as allocating resources based on the predictive analytics of passenger flow and volume, thus aiding in seamless immigration and emigration clearance. New security scanning facilities and boarding gate readers will also be employed to ensure seamless end-to-end passenger experience.

OpenText and Malaysia Airports will also collaborate on a Digital Airport Centre of Excellence at Malaysia Airports’ premises. The Centre of Excellence will focus on driving change, with a core emphasis on identifying opportunities for transformation, assessing the impact of new initiatives and in identifying future initiatives through passenger feedback.

Leave a comment »

Capgemini’s World FinTech Report 2018 Highlights Symbiotic Collaboration As KeyTo Future Financial Services Success

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

The rise of FinTechs continues to revitalize the financial services customer journey; however, many startups have realized they will struggle to succeed alone. With complementary strengths, FinTechs are increasingly looking to symbiotic collaboration with the traditional financial services firms they once sought to overthrow, according to the World FinTech Report 2018 from Capgemini and LinkedIn, in collaboration with Efma. The report examines how FinTechs are transforming the financial services customer journey through better customer centricity and use of emerging technologies; the potential for symbiotic relationships between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions; and the impending role of BigTechs in financial services.

 FinTechs drive revitalization of the financial services customer journey

FinTechs, innovating with emerging technologies, are revitalizing the customer journey through financial services. Competition and rising customer expectations are driving demands for more convenience and personalization. FinTech firms are leveraging both customer data to drive personalized offerings, and providing fast, 24/7 online services that can be accessed from any device.

However, financial services customers have greater trust in the brands of traditional firms versus those of FinTechs, according to the World FinTech Report 2018. For future success, financial services firms must look to continue aligning with customer goals, maintaining trust, and delivering digital, agile, and efficient processes.

 Win-win collaboration opportunity

Unburdened by legacy systems and old-school culture, FinTechs have leveraged new technologies to rapidly respond to customer demands. In fact, the World FinTech Report 2018 reports found that more than 90 percent of FinTech firms said agility and providing an enhanced customer experience are key to competitive advantages, and more than 76 percent cited their ability to develop new products and improve existing products and services as critical to success. The challenge is to scale-up and create financially-viable business models. Although FinTechs have raised nearly US$110 billion since 2009, the report found that most are likely to fail if they do not build an effective partnership ecosystem.

At the same time, traditional financial institutions are adopting many FinTech customer service enhancements, while retaining strengths including risk management, infrastructure, regulatory expertise, customer trust, access to capital, and more. Both traditional and FinTech firms stand to gain from a symbiotic, collaborative relationship.

 Finding the right partner is essential to successful collaboration

This year’s report found that collaboration will be essential to foster long-term success for both FinTechs and traditional financial firms. A successful collaboration is contingent on finding the best partner and engagement model. To develop strong partnerships, firms will have to overcome barriers to collaboration.

According to the World FinTech Report 2018, more than 70 percent of FinTech executives said their top challenges to collaborating with traditional financial firms was their lack of agility, while traditional firms perceive negative impacts on customer trust, brand, and changing the internal culture as their top challenges.

Looking ahead: accelerating collaboration and preparing for the future

The future of financial services is in the hands of both the FinTech and traditional firms that can complement each other’s strengths to meet customer needs and redefine the journey. To help financial services firms accelerate collaboration and foster symbiotic relationships, Capgemini launched a ScaleUp Certification tool. This tool creates a model for collaboration and mutual verification that encourages partnership between traditional firms and FinTechs. While the great unknown is the disruption that will come from BigTechs—the large, multinational technology firms with a huge retail customer base, what is clear is that now is the time for FinTechs and traditional firms to find the right collaboration partner and redefine the path to success.

 

About the World FinTech Report 2018

Capgemini and LinkedIn, in collaboration with Efma, developed the World FinTech Report 2018 based on a global survey encompassing responses from traditional financial services firms and FinTech firms including

banking and lending, payments and transfers, investment management, and insurance. Questions sought to yield perspectives from both FinTech and traditional financial services firms—exploring various aspects of the customer journey, and key success factors for customer journey enhancement. The survey sheds light on the evolving relationship between incumbents and new-age players with a focus on the FinTech viewpoint, and an analysis that may help both entities achieve business success.

For more information, explore the report website at www.fintechworldreport.com.

Leave a comment »

FundRequest Raises $12.5M To Fund Open Source Development

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

FundRequest, a blockchain based platform for incentivizing open source development, has recently completedtheir crowd sale where they raised $12.5 million from investors and the public. The token sale also drew some big name investors such as 1kx, an angel fund who pursues companies committed to creating distributed ledger technology-based solutions; Connect Capital, a blockchain and digital asset investment fund; Tetras Capital, a New York City based hedge fund focusing on blockchain and crypto asset classes; and ZestAds, a digital advertising firm with offices in Southeast Asia 

According to FundRequest’s white paper, a majority of the funds raised (60 percent) will go towards developing the platform. Another 15 percent will be allocated to general operations, which includes items like running the supporting organization, rent, and equipment. The remaining 25 percent will be used for marketing, legal, and IT functions.

Investors can expect to see funding enabled in 2018, as well as several important platform integrations including GitHub, StackExchange, and JIRA. HR services like LinkedIn and recruitment agencies like Harvey Nash are in the pipeline for 2019, though of course these deals could come much sooner.

What is FundRequest and What Does it Do?

FundRequest is a blockchain startup dedicated to providing a decentralized marketplace for open source development. The platform directly connects developers to end users, prompting the creation of solutions that can be implemented easily and efficiently. It is an excellent platform for businesses that need help with their open source projects. 

FundRequest requires no prior technical expertise (e.g. coding, blockchain programming) to submit project requests. All a user must do is log in on the app and submit their request. After the request is pre-funded with a smart contract, it is sent to the FundRequest network where other developers can work on a solution together.

 The platform lets companies find diverse talent anywhere on the globe, thanks to the FundRequest decentralized marketplace. It provides access to the thriving gig economy, allowing individuals to collaborate to propose open source solutions. Every party that contributes to the request’s solution is given the opportunity to earn the pre-funded award. This creates a monetary incentive to provide the right solution in a timely manner.

Each request is secured by a smart contract that self-executes as soon as the stipulations of the contract are met. Company funds are only distributed once a viable solution has been proposed. The use of smart contracts guarantees that business don’t give unwarranted prize money to fraudulent developers. In addition, contributors are protected from underpayments or payment withdrawals by the funding company.

FundRequest’s overarching goal is to help individual developers interact directly with projects to foster innovation, collaboration, and blockchain powered solutions.

Learn more at www.fundrequest.io

Leave a comment »

ASUS Announces ZenFone 5 Lite

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

ASUS today announced ZenFone 5 Lite, a stylish 6-inch smartphone featuring the world’s first globally-announced true four-camera system with fully independent high-resolution and wide-angle cameras at both front and rear. ZenFone 5 Lite is the perfect choice for true photo lovers who want to stand out from the crowd.

ZenFone 5 Lite removes the limits on photographic creativity, with a high-resolution main camera — 20MP at the front, 16MP at the rear — and, uniquely, a secondary 120° wide-angle camera at both front and rear. Unlike rival systems, each camera works independently for perfect shots, every time.

The 6-inch Full HD+ IPS display has a Full View 18:9 aspect ratio and an ultraslim bezel, making the pocket-friendly ZenFone 5 Lite as compact as a standard-aspect-ratio 5.5-inch phone.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, ZenFone 5 Lite combines incredible performance and a 3300mAh battery with advanced security and convenience features — including NFC, rapid face unlock, fingerprint recognition and dual SIMs — for a mobile experience like no other.

 

Creativity without limits

Designed for true photo lovers, ZenFone 5 Lite features the world’s first globally-announced true four-camera system with four fully-functional and independent cameras. Each main high-resolution camera — 20MP Sony at the front and 16MP at the rear — is accompanied by a secondary wide-angle camera with a 120° field of view that’s 2X wider than a standard lens, giving users the best of all possible worlds.

Unlike other systems where the secondary camera only works in conjunction with the main camera for special effects, in ZenFone 5 Lite each of the four cameras can be used individually, removing the limits on creativity and giving users the freedom to tailor their shots to the occasion. With a choice of standard or ultrawide shots at both front and rear, ZenFone 5 Lite makes it easier to compose the perfect selfie, wefie, landscape, portrait or group shot.

ZenFone 5 Lite includes the ASUS BeautyLive live-beautification technology with live-streaming video support for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. Users can choose from a range of enhancements — such as removing skin blemishes or adjusting skin tones — in real time, and they can use the handy Mirroring mode to avoid annoying mirror-image videos with unreadable text. Beautification is enhanced with the softlight LED flash, giving perfect skin tones in photos or when streaming in low-light conditions.

 

Expanded view

ZenFone 5 Lite has a stunning 6-inch screen, but it’s as compact as most 5.5-inch smartphones. That’s because it uses our latest edge-to-edge Full View display, featuring an 18:9 aspect ratio and ultraslim bezel. This beautiful Full HD+ (2160×1080) display has superb color accuracy — essential for photo lovers — and the wide format delivers a bigger view of everything. With full support for new 18:9 features like YouTube’s ‘zoom-to-fill’, videos and movies have never looked better, and its extra-wide display is perfect for using dual side-by-side windows in landscape orientation, or stacking multiple windows in portrait orientation.

 

Advanced performance

ZenFone 5 Lite is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform with up to 4GB of RAM for dramatically faster CPU and GPU performance. And for blazingly fast network connectivity in any situation, ZenFone 5 Lite supports up to 400Mbps 4G LTE download speeds, up to 75Mbps uploads, and 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi.

The optimized power efficiency of the 14µm Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform’s FinFET Low Power Plus power-saving technology combined with a 3300mAh battery gives users up to 24 days of 4G standby time, 30 hours of 3G talk time, or 4 days of music playback usage.

ZenFone 5 Lite also incorporates NFC technology for convenient and secure mobile contactless payments with Google Pay. For flexible, fast and easy access, ZenFone 5 Lite includes rapid face-unlock technology that’s ideal for unlocking the phone when hands are cold, wet or messy. It quickly unlocks the phone and can also prevent unauthorized users viewing lock-screen notifications. There’s also a handy rear-mounted fingerprint sensor that instantly unlocks the phone in just 0.3 seconds.

For the ultimate on-the-go convenience, ZenFone 5 Lite has a triple-slot tray with two SIM slots — supporting speeds up to 400Mbps — plus a microSD slot for expanding storage up to 2TB.

 

Stylish and chic

ZenFone 5 Lite is crafted to perfection, with 2.5D-contoured glass panels at front and rear that simply ooze luxury. Its appearance is enhanced with an optical coating to give it a deep sheen and luscious color. The dual-coated frame has 0.02mm precision-milled from the matte top coat — using an advanced NCVM laser process — to reveal brilliant contrasting highlights that emphasize the sleek and slim design. ZenFone 5 Lite is available in three luscious color selections: Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Rouge Red.

Leave a comment »

ASUS Announces The All-New ZenFone 5Z

Posted in Commentary on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

ASUS today announced the all-new ZenFone 5Z, an exciting next-generation extreme-performance 6.2-inch dual-camera smartphone that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The revolutionary ZenFone 5Z delivers the ultimate smartphone performance at a groundbreaking price.

Equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with its smooth, responsive, power-efficient performance, ZenFone 5Z includes a full suite of AI-enhanced features powered by the Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE).

ZenFone 5Z has an intelligent dual-camera system that adapts and learns, delivering perfect photos every time. With its latest flagship Sony IMX363 sensor, 120° wide-angle secondary camera and AI-enhanced camera features — including Auto Scene Detection, real-time portrait effects, AI Photo Learning and real-time beautification — ZenFone 5Z encourages creativity and frees the user to concentrate on the subject rather than the camera.

Crafted to perfection with premium materials, ZenFone 5Z has a strikingly beautiful ultraslim-bezel, all-screen design, featuring a stunning 6.2-inch display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio in an all-metal, glass-covered body that’s as small and compact as most standard 5.5-inch phones.

 

Extreme performance

The extreme-performance ZenFone 5Z is powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with AIE, featuring a 3rd Generation AI platform that includes the Hexagon 685 Vector DSP, Adreno 630 Graphics, and Kryo 385 CPU. Combined with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM, ZenFone 5Z delivers the most accelerated AI experiences, as well as breathtaking performance combined with outstanding energy efficiency for long-lasting battery life. To ensure rock-solid reliability, ZenFone 5Z has four 0.06mm-slim carbon cooling pads that efficiently dissipate heat and maintain top performance at all times.

For maximum on-the-go stamina, ZenFone 5Z has a high-capacity 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast-charge technology. ZenFone 5Z also introduces AI Charging to maximize the battery lifespan and provide total protection. AI Charging dynamically adjusts the charging rate by monitoring the user’s charging habits, slowing down the battery’s ageing process.

For maximum flexibility and superb call quality, ZenFone 5Z supports dual 4G LTE SIMs with Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE (DSDV) capabilities. This allows both SIMs to be on active standby, and also supports enhanced HD voice calls over 4G LTE on both SIMs.

 

Intelligent cameras

The intelligent dual-camera system in ZenFone 5Z has an advanced hardware specification, featuring the flagship Sony IMX363 image sensor with large 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.8 wide-aperture six-element lens that captures up to 5X-brighter and clearer photos in low-light conditions, as well as enabling dramatic Night HDR shots. The 120° wide-angle secondary camera has a field of view that’s 2X wider than a standard smartphone camera, for capturing more expansive landscapes, more natural group shots, and easier photos in cramped spaces. ZenFone 5Z can record video in stunning 4K UHD resolution, with smooth and steady videos assured by three-axis electronic image stabilization (EIS).

To provide near-instant focusing in any situation, ZenFone 5Z has a dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) system that locks on the subject in just 0.03 seconds, and a four-axis optical image stabilization (OIS) system keeps the lens rock-steady for sharp, blur-free photos

For truly intelligent photography, the camera system incorporates advanced AI algorithms and advanced big-data analytics, so ZenFone 5Z is always evolving to constantly improve photos. The special AI-enhanced features in ZenFone 5Z adapt and learn the more they are used, delivering perfect photos every time and creating a truly personal experience for the user.

  • AI Scene Detection: AI Scene Detection takes the guesswork out of photography. ZenFone 5Z uses the power of AI to rapidly analyze the subject and match it to one of its 16 scene types, optimizing the camera settings for almost any kind of shot from sunsets to pet pics. The result is effortlessly perfect photos, anytime and anywhere. ZenFone 5Z uses advanced big-data analysis to constantly enhance the scene-detection AI algorithms, for ever-smarter photography.
  • Real-time Portrait: ZenFone 5Z lets users take professional-looking close-up shots of people or objects, without the hassle. Real-time Portrait with AI technology ensures that the main subject stays pin-sharp, while the background is given a sense of depth with a graduated bokeh effect — created using depth information intelligently analyzed from the subject — for a beautifully artistic photo. Real-time Portrait uses both cameras simultaneously to capture gorgeous portraits and close-ups that make the subject stand out with a real sense of depth, rivaling those taken with high-end DSLR cameras.
  • Pro mode: ZenFone 5Z includes the powerful Pro mode that gives users full control of all the camera settings, including white balance, exposure, focus, ISO, and an impressive range of shutter speeds from 1/10000 to 32 seconds. With its support for unprocessed RAW files, ZenFone 5Z is also the ideal choice for users who prefer to fine-tune their images using photo-editing software.

 

All-screen display

By using an ultraslim-bezel, all-screen display, the 6.2-inch ZenFone 5Z is as small as most standard 5.5-inch phones. It’s the ultimate ergonomic design that not only lets users see more, but is much less bulky and more comfortable to hold. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ all-screen display, with its 90% screen-to-body ratio and gorgeous 2.5D-curved glass, delivers a totally immersive visual experience. ZenFone 5Z’s all-screen display also supports the DCI-P3 color space, with a wide color gamut that enhances color saturation for amazingly vivid image reproduction. With ZenFone 5Z, photos, videos, movies and games look better than they’ve ever looked before.

For optimized visuals with natural-looking colors and good readability in any environment, ZenFone 5Z features intelligent display technology. This uses smart sensors to automatically adjust the display’s color temperature in real time according to the ambient lighting. It also features Smart Screen On, which prevents the screen from turning off when the user’s face is detected, avoiding the problem of the screen turning off when the user is reading content for extended periods without touching the screen.

 

Immersive Audio

ZenFone 5Z has two five-magnet stereo speakers that deliver deep, rich and expansive stereo sound. These are driven by dual smart amplifiers that ensure maximum volume while intelligently protecting them from damage. ZenFone 5Z supports Hi-Res Audio files encoded at up to 24-bit/192KHz sample rates — 4X better than CD quality. For an enhanced listening experience right out of the box, ZenFone 5Z is supplied with a set of premium Hi-Res Audio-capable earbuds. ZenFone 5Z also supports DTS Headphone:X™ for 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound over headphones, for a truly immersive experience when watching movies or playing games.

 

All-round intelligence

ZenFone 5Z can be unlocked in just 0.1 seconds using face unlock, or 0.3 seconds using the rear fingerprint sensor, and the integrated NFC capability allows ZenFone 5Z to be used securely with Google Pay .

AI Ringtone intelligently adjusts the ringer volume according to the ambient noise level, so users won’t miss calls even on a busy street or in a noisy restaurant, and calls received in the middle of the night won’t disturb sleepers.

ZeniMoji is a fun new ZenFone 5 feature — exclusive to ASUS — that lets users animate cute avatars using their own voice, facial expressions and head movements. Uniquely, ZeniMoji avatars can be used in video chats or live-streaming, as well as in text chats, to make them more entertaining.

 

Leave a comment »

ASUS Announces The All-New ZenFone 5

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

ASUS today announced the all-new ZenFone 5, an exciting next-generation 6.2-inch dual-camera smartphone that’s the first ever ZenFone to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI). ZenFone 5 revolutionizes mobile photography, giving users a simpler, smarter way to capture and share every magic moment.

ZenFone 5 is the first smartphone available worldwide to be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform with its smooth, responsive, power-efficient performance and AI capabilities. ZenFone 5 has an intelligent dual-camera system that adapts and learns, delivering perfect photos every time. With its flagship Sony IMX363 sensor, 120° wide-angle secondary camera and AI-enhanced camera features — including AI Scene Detection, real-time portrait effects, AI Photo Learning and real-time beautification — ZenFone 5 encourages creativity and frees the user to concentrate on the subject rather than the camera.

Crafted to perfection with premium materials, ZenFone 5 has a strikingly beautiful ultraslim-bezel, all-screen design, featuring a stunning 6.2-inch display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio in an glass-covered body that’s as small and compact as most standard 5.5-inch phones.

 

Intelligent cameras

The intelligent dual-camera system in ZenFone 5 uses the flagship Sony IMX363 image sensor, with large 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.8 wide-aperture six-element lens that captures up to 5X-brighter and clearer photos in low-light conditions, as well as enabling dramatic Night HDR shots. The 120° wide-angle secondary camera has a field of view that’s 2X wider than a standard smartphone camera, for capturing more expansive landscapes, more natural group shots, and easier photos in cramped spaces.

For truly intelligent photography, the camera system incorporates advanced AI algorithms and advanced big-data analytics, so ZenFone 5 is always evolving to constantly improve photos. The special AI-enhanced features in ZenFone 5 adapt and learn, delivering perfect photos every time and creating a truly personal experience for the user.

  • AI Scene Detection: AI Scene Detection takes the guesswork out of photography. ZenFone 5 uses the power of AI to rapidly analyze the subject and match it to one of its 16 scene types, optimizing the camera settings for almost any kind of shot from sunsets to pet pics. The result is effortlessly perfect photos, anytime and anywhere. ZenFone 5 uses advanced big-data analysis to constantly enhance the scene-detection AI algorithms, for ever-smarter photography.
  • AI Photo Learning: AI Photo Learning lets users teach ZenFone 5 how they like your photos to look. It then automatically adjusts the camera settings for future shots — so photos will always reflect the user’s unique style preferences.
  • Real-time Portrait: ZenFone 5 lets users take professional-looking close-up shots of people or objects, without the hassle. Real-time Portrait with AI technology ensures that the main subject stays pin-sharp, while the background is given a sense of depth with a graduated bokeh effect — created using depth information intelligently analyzed from the subject — for a beautifully artistic photo. Real-time Portrait uses both cameras simultaneously to capture gorgeous portraits and close-ups that make the subject stand out with a real sense of depth, rivaling those taken with high-end DSLR cameras.
  • Real-time Beautification: ZenFone 5 gives users their own personal beauty consultant in their pocket. AI Beautification intelligently reads 365 facial points and applies personalized beautification based on an analysis of over two million possible enhancements. It works in real time with any face — regardless of age, shape, skin tone or gender — and produces amazing natural-looking results. It works perfectly in live-streaming video, too.
  • Pro mode: ZenFone 5 includes the powerful Pro mode that gives users full control of all the camera settings, including white balance, exposure, focus, ISO, and an impressive range of shutter speeds from 1/10000 to 32 seconds. With its support for unprocessed RAW files, ZenFone 5 is also the ideal choice for users who prefer to fine-tune their images using photo-editing software.

 

Intelligent performance

At the heart of ZenFone 5 is the latest powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform, an advanced 14µm 64-bit octa-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) with up to 6GB RAM that delivers over 40%-higher CPU performance and 10%-higher graphics performance than the Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, while maintaining excellent battery life.

ZenFone 5 includes a full suite of AI-enhanced features powered by the AI capabilities of the Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform. For an instant blast of extra power, ZenFone 5 includes ASUS AI Boost to immediately optimize performance for games or demanding tasks. And for rock-solid reliability, ZenFone 5 has four 0.06mm-slim carbon cooling pads that efficiently dissipate heat and maintain top performance at all times.

To deliver maximum on-the-go stamina, ZenFone 5 has a high-capacity 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast-charge technology. ZenFone 5 also introduces AI Charging to maximize the battery lifespan and provide total protection. AI Charging  dynamically adjusts the charging rate by monitoring the user’s charging habits, slowing down the battery’s ageing process.

For maximum flexibility and superb call quality, ZenFone 5 supports dual 4G LTE SIMs with Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE (DSDV) capabilities. This allows both SIMs to be on active standby, and also supports enhanced HD voice calls over 4G LTE on both SIMs.

 

All-screen display

By using an ultraslim-bezel, all-screen display, the 6.2-inch ZenFone 5 is as small as most standard 5.5-inch phones. It’s the ultimate ergonomic design that not only lets users see more, but is much less bulky and more comfortable to hold. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ all-screen display, with its 90% screen-to-body ratio and gorgeous 2.5D-curved glass, delivers a totally immersive visual experience. ZenFone 5’s all-screen display also supports the DCI-P3 color space, with a wide color gamut that enhances color saturation for amazingly vivid image reproduction. With ZenFone 5, photos, videos, movies and games look better than they’ve ever looked before.

For optimized visuals with natural-looking colors and good readability in any environment, ZenFone 5 features intelligent display technology. This uses smart sensors to automatically adjust the display’s color temperature in real time according to the ambient lighting. It also features Smart Screen On, which prevents the screen from turning off when the user’s face is detected, avoiding the problem of the screen turning off when the user is reading content for extended periods without touching the screen.

 

Immersive Audio

ZenFone 5 has two five-magnet stereo speakers that deliver deep, rich and expansive stereo sound. These are driven by dual smart amplifiers that ensure maximum volume while intelligently protecting them from damage. ZenFone 5 supports Hi-Res Audio files encoded at up to 24-bit/192KHz sample rates — 4X better than CD quality. For an enhanced listening experience right out of the box, ZenFone 5 is supplied with a set of premium Hi-Res Audio-capable earbuds. ZenFone 5 also supports DTS Headphone:X™ for 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound over headphones, for a truly immersive experience when watching movies or playing games.

 

All-round intelligence

The power of AI enhances the entire ZenFone 5 user experience, with smart features that make ZenFone 5 a truly intelligent companion. The phone can be unlocked using the rapid face unlock, or in 0.3 seconds using the rear fingerprint sensor, and the integrated NFC capability allows ZenFone 5 to be used securely with Google Pay.

AI Ringtone intelligently adjusts the ringer volume according to the ambient noise level, so users won’t miss calls even on a busy street or in a noisy restaurant, and calls received in the middle of the night won’t disturb sleepers.

ZeniMoji is a fun new ZenFone 5 feature — exclusive to ASUS — that lets users animate cute avatars using their own voice, facial expressions and head movements. Uniquely, ZeniMoji avatars can be used in video chats or live-streaming, as well as in text chats, to make them more entertaining.

Price and availability are not available at this time, but stay tuned for those details soon.

Leave a comment »

Some iCloud Data Stored In Google’s Cloud….. What???

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2018 by itnerd

Apple and Google haven’t been the best of friends for some time now. Example, the late Steve Jobs threatened “thermonuclear war” on Android. So the fact that Apple apparently uses Google products as part of its cloud offering is a bit of a shock. Don’t believe me? Well, CNBC spotted this in the latest version of Apple’s  iOS Security document. For the record, Amazon services are also mentioned as being used by Apple in the same document.

Could this be a thawing of relations between the two companies? No. They’re more likely “frenimies“. Apple likely needed some extra resources for iCloud and Google was more than willing to get paid. Ditto for Amazon. So this is just like the relationship between Apple and Samsung. They aren’t friends, but that doesn’t stop Apple from buying displays for the iPhone X from Samsung. Thus, there’s nothing to see here. At least, not at present.

Leave a comment »