The last twelve months have been packed full of
exciting innovations, with the Asia Pacific region proving once again why it’s
a technology hot spot. 2013 saw the tablet market explode with smaller form
factor devices, capturing the minds of consumers, while the connected world has
given birth to a new focus for governments and industry with Big Data. Forward-thinking
governments are already capitalizing on the amazing benefits associated with
the trend.
This year,Intel launched a range of exciting products focusing on
innovation and delivering next generation processors that became the backbone
for a new era of thinner, faster, and more portable devices. Intel also worked
closely with industry experts and government heads to help connect people
across the Asia Pacific region, and provide cost-effective solutions to address
key issues such as education and training.
1. Changing the PC landscape
One of the anticipated announcements of the year was the
release of Intel’s 4th Generation Core Processor,enabling a range of
2 in 1 convertible devices that can act as both a tablet and a PC. Intel Labs conducted
research that found PCs are nearly twice as fast as they were 4 years ago at
1.8x the speed.
Where
you really notice the difference is multimedia – converting videos now happens
at a pace that’s 23x faster.
Convertible
devices may also provide a smoother and more intuitive process for people with
touch screens, voice assistance, and high resolutions displays, with some even
boasting facial recognition.
There’s
also been an increase in the number of NFC compatible devices that enable users
to pay by waving a compatible credit card across the NFC sensor that sits below
the keyboard on select devices.
It
wasn’t just tablets and desktops that surprised and delighted in 2013, the launch of Intel’s Silvermont
microarchitecture in May introduced an innovative 22nm Tri-Gate
System-on-a-Chip (SoC) process, promising to deliver significant increases in
performance and energy efficiency. Silvermont delivers 3x more peak
performance or the same performance at 5x lower power over current-generation
Intel® Atom™ processor core.
Another massive release for the device market was
the Intel Atom Processor Z3000 series which has been designed for tablets and
smart phones. Known as Bay Trail, the chip has been designed to increase
battery life on high usage devices and allows manufacturers to provide thinner,
lighter, and more powerful devices at a range of different price points.
Bay Trail is available in three
types, Bay Trail-T (Intel’s Atom Processor Z3000 series) is for tablets while
Bay Trail-M and Bay Trail-D are for entry level devices in the laptop and
desktop space. The family of SoCs allows one hardware configuration for both
the Windows8 and Android platform to drive a wider choice of devices for both consumers and business users.
We observed that prices have dropped in a number
of tablet markets this year.We’ve seen ASUS and Dell bring out devices that
capitalize on the impressive battery life and standby power available with Bay
Trail. The Asus Transformer Book T100 comes with a 10.1 inch display and an 11
hour battery life.Other new products are expected to be released by AAVA*,
Acer*, Lenovo* and Toshiba*.
In the
Philippines, Intel scored a landmark design winin the tablet space with a local
stakeholder like RedDot, who has enabled us to come into agreements with brands
they distribute, such as Polaroid, and scale other MNC brands. Earlier this
year, Intel Philippines secured the first IA tablet design win for Polaroid in
the world.
2. Big Data
Industry analyst firm
International Data Corp (IDC) projects the global big data technology and
services market to grow at more than 31 per cent each year. Revenues are
forecast at US$23.8 billion by 2016.
2013 saw Intel launch
the Big Data Innovation Center in Singapore with Dell and Revolution Analytics.
It provides a platform for companies to test-run big data initiatives and
proof-of-concepts for deployment. The center offers comprehensive training
programs, proof-of-concept capabilities, and solution development support for
big data and predictive analytics, specifically tailored to the Asia Pacific
region.
Intel also
announced its first venture into Big Data software with the Intel Distribution
for Apache Hadoop software. Intel believes the conceptual technology can help
governments prepare for smart cities and assist telecommunications companies to
improve their network and revenue streams.
China’s
Zhejiang Province has deployed an Intelligent Transportation System for traffic
management, and can now track commercial vehicles for security surveillance.
More than 3,000 cameras are being deployed across the city with GPS terminals –
and the Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop softwareallows the government to
store, monitor, search, and analyze 2.5 petabytes of data in real time every
month.
Changing the way we view data center-based graphics
– the new Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 v3 product family is a huge leap
forward in the design of processors. Built on the 22-nanometer manufacturing
process and featuring ‘Haswell’ architecture, the new Intel® processor
microarchitecture transforms server capabilities and creates new possibilities
for the data center.
From 2012 to 2020 the amount of stored data will
double every two years, reaching 40ZB. Fast,
on-demand access to this amount of data for tasks such as big data analytics
require more intelligent compute and storage intensive solutions, as well as a
dramatic decrease in the cost-per-stored terabyte.
Keeping up with the huge increase in data is
vital and the new Intel® Xeon®
processor E5-2600 and E5-1600 v2 processors, based on Intel’s leading
22-nanometer process technology, have been designed to offer more security to
private clouds. Also designed to help bring down costs for enterprises, the
processors are designed to power cost efficient scale-out, distributed, and
software defined storage.
For more details on these new Intel Xeon
processors, visit www.intel.com/xeon. For
more details on world records and other claims, visit www.intel.com/performance.
3.
Enabling tomorrow’s innovators
Intel believes that education is
a fundamental right for everyone, and that educating and providing girls and
women with the opportunities to succeed will break the cycle of generational
poverty. As a founding strategic partner of 10x10, Intel is extremely proud of
our collaboration on the creation of an important documentary film called “Girl
Rising” and accompanying global social action campaign. Girl Rising, 10x10’s
full-length feature film, reveals the extraordinary stories of girls who are
tackling the reality of socio-economic roadblocks and sometimes impossible odds
on the road to education.
The innovative approach of 10x10,
Intel, and local partners like Asian Development Bank, Plan International,
ZONTA Mandaluyong San Juan, and Children International to create a movement to
get girls educated reflects a unique partnership that goes far beyond writing a
check. Through “Girl Rising”, Intel works on a shared objective with partners
on-the-ground to increase awareness on the impact and importance of education
for girls and women. As a testament to the campaign’s commitment to reaching
grassroots communities nationwide, kick-off public screenings were held for
youth leaders, women, and girls in Batasan Hills, and female students at the
Jose Rizal University and nearby schools.
The
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is one of the world’s largest
high school science research competitions that encourages millions of students
to use their imagination to come up with innovative solutions across a range of
areas. Young scientists and next-generation entrepreneurs are encouraged to
tackle topics ranging from environmental disasters to cancer treatments.
This year, more than 1,500
students from around the globe were given the opportunity to travel to Phoenix,
Arizona to present their ideas.
IonutBudisteanu, 19, of Romania was awarded first
place for using artificial intelligence to create a viable model for a
low-cost, self-driving car.
Ionut said his research addresses a major global
issue. In 2004, car accidents caused 2.5 million deaths worldwide, and 87 percent of
crashes resulted from driver error. With 3-D radar and
mounted cameras, Ionut created a feasible design for an autonomously controlled
car that could detect traffic lanes and curbs, along with the real-time
position of the car – and this solution may only cost $4,000.
The
Philippines’ own JudelTabsing from Davao del Norte received the fourth place
award in plant sciences: agriculture and agronomy category for developing an
environmentally-friendly, effective and inexpensive treatment to a banana
disease. Six other students represented the country with brilliant research
projects on sericulture – an agro-based industry that processes silk yarn, a
computer anti-virus, alternative energy from used batteries, and treatment for
coagulation disorders.
Accelerating
ICT in Education and Digital Literacy scale
Intel has a strong focus on
education and believes in working closely with government and educators to
enable people to develop employable skills all over the world. Every year, Intel invests more than
$100 million globally to support such efforts. In the Philippines, Intel works with government and various
private sector groups to improve education by adopting a holistic approach in
effecting changes which include strategic planning, professional development, providing
consultancy in the development of curriculum standards and content development,
evaluation and monitoring.
Intel recently
partnered with leading education
technology solutions provider FELTA Multi-Media Inc. to enable an education
transformation initiative in local public schools through Intel Education
Solutions. Earlier this year, Intel helped transform local classrooms in Davao
City into interactive learning environments by training teachers and donating
25 Intel Education Tablets and solar power equipment to the Marilog Central
Elementary School, providing open content mapped to the K12 curriculum. Intel
engaged more schools in tablet-assisted education with the recent acquisition
of 750 tablets by the Department of Education in Makati.
Intel
collaborated with Polaroid and Blended Learning Services, Inc. to launch a
reading enrichment program dubbed Knowledge on Tap to students of the Lupang
Pangako Elementary School in Payatas, Quezon City. Intel-powered Polaroid
Elixir 10” tablets were installed in the school’s library as part of the
Department of Education’s Library Hub Project.
Intel also
collaborated with the Technical Vocational Schools and Associations of the
Philippines Inc. (TEVSAPhil) to implement the Intel Easy Steps digital literacy
course materials in the programs offered byTEVSAPhil member schools and
institutions. Intel Easy Steps teaches adult learners basic computer skills
like word processing, spreadsheets, multimedia, internet, and email, and trains
them how to use these skills for entrepreneurship and employment. The
partnership aims to accelerate digital literacy training within tech-voc
schools, thereby, enabling a digital tech-voc workforce which can be an edge of
the Philippines over its neighbors.
With the
continued support of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), the Intel Easy Steps program has seen great success in the Philippines
and continues to grow in numbers. To date, Intel Easy Steps has reached a total
of 54,034 grassroots learners and 1,182 trainers.
Boosting economic development
through investment
Intel Capital has been investing in APAC since
1998, totaling over US$2 billion to date in the region. Intel Capital’s areas
of focus are mobile computing, consumer Internet, cloud computing, Ultrabook,
software and services, smartphones and semiconductor design and manufacturing.
In 2013 year-to-day, Intel Capital announced six new investments in Asia
Pacific and saw two portfolio company exits through IPO including: Aspeed
Technology (Taiwan) and Montage Technology (China).
In 2013 Intel continued to reinforce its
investment in partners across the globe. During the last year, the Gold and
Platinum membership of the Intel Technology Partner (ITP) program experienced a 50 per cent increase in the Asia Pacific. The program
now has a total of 9,399 Gold and Platinum partners across Asia Pacific and
31,700 globally. The
ITP program is designed to help train, support, and position channel partners
for sustained growth by both supporting their current business models
andhelping them identify and capture new opportunities in the market.
Communities are built on the people within them,
and Intel’s employees are the conduit by which the company interacts and
immerses itself within its communities. The Intel employee volunteer program – ‘Intel
Involved’ – is designed to empower, support and recognize employees who
volunteer in their communities. Through this approach we ensure that our
involvement with communities provides long-term solutions rather than reactive
and ad-hoc support.
Response to Typhoon Yolanda Relief and Rehabilitation Efforts
Recognizing
the widespread damage caused by the recent typhoon that swept across Central
Philippines, Intel Foundation offered an employee matching grant to Intel
Corporation’s 100,000 global workforce.
The matching grant is intended to be used for rehabilitation efforts for
communities and schools affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Simultaneously, Intel Philippines’ employee
volunteer hours can be matched and given to partner organizations.
In response
to the InfoComm Technology Association of the Philippines’ device donation
campaign called ‘Donate a Device, Reboot a Life’, Intel donated 42 tablets to
be used in ICT Connectivity Centers established by the ICT office. Intel is
also running an ongoing prepaid load sharing initiative through Intel
Experience Zones in local malls.
**Press release from Intel Philippines
**Press release from Intel Philippines
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