technology THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

Maker of $33 smartphone hails ‘new era’ for India

NEW DELHI: The maker of a new $33 smartphone tially targeting the Indian market but expects to billed as India’s cheapest said yesterday it aims to expand sales to other countries in Asia, she said. sell half a million in the next three months in what it India’s smartphone market is growing rapidly. US called a “new era” for the market. Indian mobile market research firm IDC reported shipments leapt phone maker Intex has teamed up with California- by 186 percent to 17.59 million smartphones in the based Mozilla the non-profit organization behind first financial quarter to June from a year earlier. the Firefox open-source web browser-to create a IDC forecast that smartphone sales would continue cheaper alternative to Apple’s iPhone and to rocket in coming years, growing at an annual rate Samsung’s Galaxy. Intex spokeswoman Joyeeta of 40 percent for the next five years. But price is key Mitra said the handset, which went on sale this in India, which according to the World Bank is home week, was aimed at first-time smartphone buyers to one-third of the world’s poor. Three-quarters of and was the cheapest yet to hit the market. smartphone sales in India are below $200. “We’re moving into a new era in smartphones,” The Intex offering undercuts the Smart A50S, Mitra told AFP. “This is a user-friendly handset that made by Indian handset maker Karbonn which was can help people onto smartphones and onto the launched in June at 2,790 rupees ($46). Mozilla has Internet. “We have big expectations that this phone been teaming up in the low-cost smartphone mar- MUMBAI: Indian Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar (center) poses with models as they hold newly- will find a large market and we are expect 500,000 ket in the developing world with Alcatel, Huawei released Intex phones. — AFP sales in the first three months.” The company is ini- and LG, with a focus on Latin America. — AFP

Amazon could be ESPN of video games in Twitch deal NEW YORK: Amazon is hoping to become the McQuivey believes might have been a ESPN of video games. The e-commerce giant is better fit for Twitch. “Twitch will be a harder buying streaming platform Twitch Interactive asset for Amazon to use,” he said. “It doesn’t for $970 million in cash as it seeks to take part in have the kind of video streaming audience that video gaming’s growth as an online spectator Google’s YouTube does.” However, McQuivey sport. Twitch is a multi-channel online network added that Amazon is trying to own more of its built for a generation of people who not only own content rather than simply selling others’ enjoy playing video games, but find it entertain- and Twitch could help the company do that. ing to watch others who might impart tricks “(Twitch) captures people’s attention for hours a and tips for excelling at their favorite games. week and it also creates a product tie-in oppor- Amazon’s purchase is an acknowledgment tunity that Amazon can capitalize on in a way that gameplay video feeds are increasingly that Google could not,” he said. lucrative. Twitch had 55 million unique visitors In a letter addressed to Twitch’s users, Shear in July, up from 20 million in 2012. Most visited emphasized Amazon’s willingness to allow the the Twitch.tv website to watch other people gaming service operate independently as a key play live or recorded games -competitions inter- reason for the deal coming together. It’s not spersed with advertising. Digital video advertis- clear whether Twitch would have been given as ing in the US is expected to reach $5.96 billion much autonomy had it been purchased by this year, according to eMarketer, up 41.9 per- Google, given the leading role that YouTube cent from 2013. already plays in online video. “Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a Google declined to comment on Twitch’s global phenomenon and Twitch has built a plat- sale to Amazon. Seattle-based Amazon’s pur- form that brings together tens of millions of chase of Twitch is set to close in the second people who watch billions of minutes of games half of 2014. Twitch, based in San Francisco, each month,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a spun out of Justin.tv, a quirky service that statement. The deal is the latest example of revolved around a video feed tracking the dai- : Young employees of the Ustream start-up company work on their computers at their headquarters in Budapest. — AFP photos Amazon expanding into new commercial are- ly activities of co-founder Justin Kan. The focus nas. It introduced its own smartphone, the Fire, shifted to live video for gamers in 2011, a this month. Earlier this summer, it added same- move that has turned Twitch into rapidly grow- day delivery, a set-top video streaming device ing phenomenon. In July, users viewed more Hungary strives to be central to its list of services for members of Prime, its than 15 billion minutes of content produced $99 annual loyalty program. by more than 1 million broadcasters, ranging Amazon already has an in-house gaming from individual gamers, pro players, video Europe’s start-up capital by 2020 studio that makes games, and its Fire TV set top game publishers, developers and others. The box was designed to attract gamers. Twitch CEO company does not release revenue figures, but Emmett Shear said Amazon is a good fit in September 2013 it received a $20 million Budapest ideal base for IT start-ups? because “they believe in our community, they investment from investors including software share our values and long-term vision.” Google company Take-Two Interactive and venture BUDAPEST: From a sleek, modern office in the Meanwhile, at the European Union level, But for ’s Arvai, the wheels have been set in had been in talks to buy Twitch, but no deal capital firms Alsop Louie Partners and middle of Budapest’s old town, Ustream provides Hungary is one of the countries which has benefit- motion already. “A hundred years ago, Budapest materialized. Forrester Research analyst James Bessemer Venture Partners. — AP live video streaming to clients such as Samsung ed most from start-up funds, known as Jeremie looked like Paris, with a collection of Nobel prize and Sony. Nearby, Prezi has created a zooming (Joint European resources for micro to medium winners and cafes. Then World War Two happened presentation tool that even U2 singer Bono used enterprises), according to Imre Hild, from the accel- and the communist regime came along,” he said. last year for a talk on global poverty. These are just erator iCatapult. Some of the government’s proj- “We are starting to see a noticeable release of cre- two of about 200 start-ups which have sprung up ects are still waiting for state funding, and for Hild, ative energy again... There’s just as much ambition in Hungary in recent years, with the government many of Hungary’s start-ups will need to improve and creativity here” as in other start-up hubs, he pushing for the nation to become central Europe’s their work ethic to be successful. said. — AFP start-up capital by 2020. Availability of capital, well- trained engineers and low salaries: professionals here insist Budapest is an ideal base for IT start-ups. “With all the available talent, we thought we would do better here instead of being just another start-up in Silicon Valley,” said Gyula Feher, 36, founder and chief technical officer of Ustream. The company, set up in 2007 with two US partners, is now worth an estimated $150 million (113 million euros), according to a recent study published by The Economist, and has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seoul and . LogMeIn, which allows companies to access and control their computers remotely from anywhere in the world, is Hungary’s biggest start-up with an estimated value of $1.2 billion and has clients such as HSBC, IBM, SAP and Rolls-Royce. With Prezi and Ustream, it makes up the top trio of Hungarian WASHINGTON: In this file photo taken in Washington, DC, the Internet site of start-ups, but many more are hoping to make it Amazon.com is seen on a computer. — AFP big. And although Budapest is not yet in the same league as start-up hubs such as London, Berlin or , the potential-along with government BUDAPEST: Hungarian Gyula Feher, co-founder of the Ustream start-up company, poses for a photo. and private capital-is there, professionals insist. Hackerspaces used to “There’s a lot of money that is only waiting to be invested, and few credible start-ups. In San turn ideas into reality Francisco, it’s the other way around,” said David Social media users shy Ottlik of Synetiq, a start-up specializing in neuro- MESA: Inside a nondescript garage-like work- McDermott, who works in information technol- marketing-measuring emotions and brain activity shop nestled between restaurants, a flower ogy, has more modest plans for his keyboard. to predict consumers’ reactions. The high level of away from opinions shop and jewelry stores along Main Street, “Anybody that I’ve shown this thing immedi- science education in Hungarian schools also means ideas are taking shape. At HeatSync Labs, the ately wants to play with it and touch it and there is a wealth of talent that can be used, says WASHINGTON: People on Facebook and Twitter said they would be willing to post online about tables are littered with computer chips, pens, make the colors dance and things like that,” Prezi chief executive and co-founder Peter Arvai. say they are less likely to share their opinions on it. What’s more, the typical Facebook user - pads and tools while the room is abuzz with McDermott said. “That’s the fun thing for me: And the lower wages make a difference, extend- hot-button issues, even when they are offline, someone who logs onto the site a few times per the chatter of would-be inventors hoping to getting people’s reaction out of it.” ing the amount of time it takes for a new company according to a surprising new survey by the Pew day - was actually half as likely to discuss the change the world - or just make cool things. While many projects in hackerspaces are to exhaust its starting capital-a potentially crucial Research Center. The study, done in conjunction Snowden case at a public meeting as a non- They are part of a growing global movement of done as hobbies or just for the challenge, some factor. “Hungary trains between 8,000 and 10,000 with Rutgers University in New Jersey, chal- Facebook user. Someone who goes on Twitter a so-called hackerspaces. “It’s all about sharing have been turned into multimillion-dollar young engineers every year. And they work from lenges the view of social media as a vehicle for few times per day was one-quarter as likely to what we know with one another,” said Mitch products. The MakerBot, for example, was cre- 250,000 forints (795 euros, $1,050) per month, four debate by suggesting that sites like Facebook share opinions in the workplace compared with Altman, 57, founder of a similar setup in San ated by a tinkerer at NYC Resistor and is now times less than in Berlin,” noted Csongor Bias of and Twitter might actually encourage self-cen- those who never use Twitter. Francisco called Noisebridge. “It’s centered one of the most well-known 3D printers on the Design Terminal, a “start-up incubator” which is sorship. Researchers said they detect what they Only when a person felt that their Facebook around community and education and a place market. And while hackerspaces have been financed by the government and helps new com- call the “spiral of silence” phenomenon: Unless network agreed with their opinion were they where people do what they love doing and quick to spread, each has sprouted locally with panies set up their businesses. people know their audience agrees, they are twice as likely to join a site discussion on the hopefully make a living from it.” The idea began its own unique flavor. likely to shy away from discussing anything con- issue, the survey found. Another finding was to take shape in the US after Altman and other Ambition, creativity troversial. that social media didn’t make it easier for peo- Americans attended a 2007 computing confer- Ominous security threat All this helps to explain why already successful “People do not tend to be using social media ple to share opinions they wouldn’t otherwise ence in Germany where panelists spoke of their HeatSync, for instance, gives members 24/7 Hungarian start-ups have stayed at home, for this type of important political discussion. share. Of the 14 percent of Americans unwilling own hackerspaces. Altman returned home, met access to the facility for paying dues that help although much of their business is done abroad. And if anything, it may actually be removing to discuss the Snowden case with others in per- with fellow tinkerers, rented a space for cover the costs for rent and tools. For non-pay- LogMeIn has its headquarters in Boston, conversation from the public sphere,” said Keith son, fewer than one-half of 1 percent were will- Noisebridge the next year. “I didn’t want it to ing members of the public, HeatSync opens its Massachusetts but its development centers are still Hampton, a communications professor at ing to discuss it on social media. end,” he said. doors for three hours every weekday, from 7 in Hungary, while Prezi says it never targeted the Rutgers University who helped conduct the Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research p.m. to 10 p.m., during which they can work on domestic market, immediately developing its prod- study. The survey was conducted shortly after Center Internet Project, said it’s possible that Making colors dance projects and share ideas. “Anybody can get uct in English. “As long as we can fulfill our needs, former NSA analyst Edward Snowden acknowl- social mediaactually sensitize people to differ- At the same time, similar workshops were their foot in the door,” said HeatSync co- we prefer to stay here,” noted Ustream’s Feher. The edged leaking classified intelligence that ent opinions. “Because they use social media, opening up across the country - NYC Resistor in founder Jacob Rosenthal, 33. “It’s their job to government has caught on and announced a series exposed widespread government surveillance they may know more about the depth of dis- New York City, Hack DC in Washington, DC, and make it work for them but (we) give you a time of projects to make the country a start-up hub by of Americans’ phone and email records. agreement over the issue in their wide circle of The Hacktory in Philadelphia - while dozens to meet the people and to get access to some 2020: on top of Design Terminal, it is planning four Hampton said the Snowden case provided contacts,” he said. “This might make them hesi- more have popped up since. More than 1,600 of the tools and to show people your project so-called start-up accelerators, which provide researchers with a concrete example of a major tant to speak up either online or offline for are now operating around the world, according and get people excited about what you do.” broader financing and mentoring. national issue that divided Americans and domi- fear of starting an argument, offending or to hackerspaces.org, a website dedicated to the Jeremy Leung, 30, an IT security consultant and A national innovation office was set up in 2012 nated news coverage. even losing a friend.” While many people effort. At HeatSync, which opened in 2009, another co-founder of HeatSync, said those within the economy ministry, and well-known might say keeping political debate off Larry Campbell, 49, is working on a nuclear involved in the movement also are working to entrepreneurs and experts have been nominated Share opinions in workplace Facebook is a matter of tact, Hampton said fusion chamber, while Ryan McDermott, 27, tin- dispel the myth that hackers are, well, hackers to key government posts. Help from Design Of the 1,801 adults surveyed, 86 percent said there is a concern that a person’s fear of kers with an electric keyboard programmed to who are an ominous security threat to credit Terminal has already enabled Synetiq to present its they would be willing to discuss their views offending someone on social media stifles make the colors dance on an LED strip in card data and computer systems worldwide. In product at New York’s Northside innovation festival about government surveillance if it came up at debate. “A society where people aren’t able to preparation for Nevada’s annual Burning Man reality, those involved in the movement say it in June. Hungary’s top start-ups have also begun a various in-person scenarios, such as at a public share their opinions openly and gain from alternative arts festival. Campbell, a network has a much more productive mission: to fellowship program, Bridge Budapest, to give tal- meeting, at work or at a restaurant with friends. understanding alternative perspectives is a engineer, hopes his device will “change the uni- improve existing technology and in some cases ented young people practical experience in one of But just 42 percent of Facebook or Twitter users polarized society,” he said.— AP verse” by turning hydrogen atoms into helium. create new ideas. —AP their firms for a month.