AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of telecom software solutions and IT (Information Technology) security products and services in China, has announced that it has signed a contract with Beijing Mobile, a subsidiary of China Mobile, to expand its Business Intelligence (BI) System.
     Under the terms of the contract, AsiaInfo will upgrade Beijing Mobile's existing BI system to comply with China Mobile's BI 2.0 specifications and expand the system capacity to accommodate future subscriber growth. The optimized system will feature strengthened performance, analytical capabilities and better support for marketing initiatives for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
     "We are excited to have the opportunity to upgrade China Mobile's BI system and contribute to the success of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing," commented Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's president and chief executive officer. Added Zhang, "As China's leading provider of telecom software solutions, our innovative technologies continue to pave the way for the marketing initiatives and service innovation efforts of China's largest telecom operators."
     AsiaInfo's OpenBI is a carrier-class operating analysis and decision support system platform. With embedded technology such as data warehousing, online analytical process and data mining, OpenBI enables carriers to make management decisions based on analysis of customer behavior, the competitive environment, business profitability and other key parameters. The system is able to proactively generate business operations reports, which then serve as a basis for top management decisions. AsiaInfo's OpenBI system has been successfully deployed at China Mobile's headquarters and in 15 of China Mobile's provincial subsidiaries and supports more than 150 million users with over 800 terabytes of data in China.
     AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of high-quality telecom software solutions and IT security products and services to some of China's largest enterprises as well as many small and medium size companies in China. An established leader in the Chinese telecommunications industry, AsiaInfo became a prominent supplier of IT security products and services in China with the acquisition of Lenovo's non-telecom related IT services business in 2004.
     AsiaInfo began operations in the United States in 1993. The company moved major operations to China in 1995 and played a significant role in the construction of the national backbone and provincial access networks for China's national telecom carriers, including China Mobile, China Netcom, China Telecom and China Unicom.

Legend Silicon advances Mobile TV in China

     Legend Silicon, a specialist company in semiconductor solutions for terrestrial digital TV (DTV), has announced a single-chip solution for the China Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting (DTTB) System Standard (GB20600-2006). The chip combines Legend's innovative digital TV demodulator technology, which is at the core of GB20600-2006, with silicon-tuner technology from Analog Devices (ADI).
     This highly integrated single chip is expected to speed development of mobile television devices such as portable media players (PMPs), in China. The chip will enable manufacturers to design mobile devices able to receive the same free-to-air TV programming that consumers view on digital TVs. The demand for consumer mobile and portable digital television devices in China is expected to grow dramatically in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
     The chip, LGS-8GA6, is specifically designed to meet the stringent low-power and space-constrained requirements of mobile devices. It integrates Legend's GB20600-2006 demodulator, a silicon tuner from ADI and a time de-interleaver memory into a small System-In-Package (SIP) 64 ball grid array (BGA).
     Subscribers to mobile services in China are expected to reach 520 million in 2007, up more than 60 million from the previous year, according to China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII), making China the world's largest mobile phone market. More than 15.5 million smart phones were sold in China in 2006, and the total shipments were expected to reach 20 million by the end of 2007, according to Jiang Lifeng, a senior analyst at CCID Consulting, a leading IT market researcher in China. This growth represents a tremendous opportunity for new mobile devices capable of supporting free-to-air mobile television applications.
     Legend Silicon co-invented and developed the underlying technology for the GB20600-2006 standard. The company has also worked closely with officials in China to establish the GB20600 standard, and the company was the first to develop a commercial GB20600 digital TV semiconductor solution.
     The mandatory GB20600 standard not only supports high-definition broadcast for fixed TV, but it is also designed to deliver standard-definition television to mobile devices.
     "We have a long history of working with Legend Silicon on digital television solutions for the consumer markets in China through our joint development facility in Shanghai, China," said Dave Robertson, product line director, High Speed Signal Processing, Analog Devices.
     Samples of the new chip are available now. For more information, please visit Legend Silicon's site on the web at www.legendsilicon.com.

Vimicro provides eyesight protection for web cam users

     Vimicro Corporation, a leading fabless semiconductor company that designs advanced mixed-signal multimedia products and solutions, has announced the launch of its latest web camera-functionality enhancements, Distance Detection and Illumination Detection to protect the eyes of PC users. These two innovative technologies, compatible with all Vimicro imaging chips, meet the creative PC design needs of Lenovo, the third-largest PC manufacturer in the world. Lenovo adopted these Vimicro technologies for its Jiayue desktop S series, currently on sale in China.
     Vimicro's Distance Detection technology enables an imaging chip to capture a snapshot of a human face and automatically analyze its distance from a PC screen using advanced Face Detection and Eye Identification algorithms, thereby ensuring the optimal distance to safeguard a user's eyesight. If a PC user is too close to the screen, he or she will be notified that his or her eyes are too close to the screen.
     Additionally, the illumination level of the environment estimated by the imaging chip can be analyzed by the Illumination Detection module. After the PC receives the analyzed result, the PC adjusts the brightness of the PC screen to be more suitable for the PC user.
     "Nowadays, PC cameras have become one of the most popular computer peripheral products. Vimicro aims to develop more intelligent functions and provide a rich experience to PC users through continuous technology innovation and collaboration with top PC manufacturers such as Lenovo," said Mike Yu, vice president of Vimicro.
     Chi Hai, Head of the Greater China Jiayue Desktop Sales Department at Lenovo commented, "Lenovo is committed to enhancing the user experience in an environment experiencing fierce competition and growing homogenization of products. Different from traditional PC-industry competitors that rely on PC configuration to succeed in the market, Lenovo aims to provide enhanced application functions through technological innovation, with advanced technological support from Vimicro."
     In related news, the Microsoft-Vimicro Multimedia Technology Center has announced the launch of a Windows Rally and VS-IPC1002 IP-Camera application convergence solution. The application convergence solution enables the VS-IPC1002 IP Camera to be automatically identified by PCs running Vista and function as a USB device. As a first generation IP Camera based on Windows Rally technology, the VS-IPC1002 was developed to meet the needs of China's fast-growing surveillance market.
     Vimicro International has a website at www.vimicro.com/english.

China digital camera sales to reach 8.37 million in 2007

     CCID Consulting, a leading market research firm and consultancy in China, has released a report on digital camera sales in China, which are expected to reach 8.3701 million units in 2007.
     China's digital camera market is experiencing a stage of fast growth and gradual maturation. Sales volume in the first three quarters of 2007 reached 5.9208 million units. The figure for fourth quarter 2007 is expected to hit 2.4493 million units. For the year as a whole, total sales volume will reach 8.3701 million units, up by 29.9% over 2006.
     Quarterly changes in sales volume have become smaller, while sales have become more evenly distributed between quarters. Meanwhile, products rated at over 7 megapixels have gradually become more significant in the market, while consumer digital cameras generated less profit. As well, the digital SLR (DSLR) field became a focus of attention for vendors. The need to improve channel policy and strengthen channel control also became a focus of digital camera vendors' channel strategy.
     The fast-growing DSLR camera market became a new industry growth point in 2007. The two major vendors of DSLRs, Canon and Nikon, continued to monopolize China's DSLR market. However, Sony, Olympus, Samsung, Panasonic, Sigma and Pentax also stepped up their efforts to develop the DSLR market. Overall, competition in China's digital SLR camera field intensified in 2007, and total sales volume for the year is expected to reach 310,000 units, up by 47.6%.
     As digital camera sales enter a thin profit era, all brands will have basically the same profit ratio, and channel competition will become more intense. Canon has built upon its strong brand reputation and adopted a flattened channel model, to get as close to consumers as possible. Like Canon, Sony is also pursuing a flattened channel mode.
     Kodak has three types of main marketing channel model: IT agent channel, department store channel and specialist imaging instrument stores.
     Going forward, Nikon will also adopt flattened channels, while Kodak will strengthen its channel sales model, which features over 9,000 developing and printing shops. Samsung, Huaqi and BenQ will penetrate chain home appliance and department stores.
     In 2008, China's digital camera market will continue to grow quickly. Sales volume is expected to top 10 million units, hitting a target of 10.25 million sets. China's digital camera market will also see further structural improvement. The family-consumer segment will continue to be a new growth point in the market, while throughout the following two years it will be very difficult for DSLR models to become a mainstream product.