Some interesting ICT Stats.

Towards the end of double-digit mobile growth.
   Mobile cellular growth is slowing worldwide. In developed countries, the mobile market is
reaching saturation levels with on average 116 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants at the end of
2010 and a marginal growth of 1.6% from 2009-2010.
   At the same time, the developing world is increasing its share of mobile subscriptions from 53%
of total mobile subscriptions at the end of 2005 to 73% at the end of 2010.
   In the developing world, mobile cellular penetration rates will reach 68% at the end
of 2010 - mainly driven by the Asia and Pacifi c region. India and China alone are expected to add
over 300 million mobile subscriptions in 2010.
   In the African region, penetration rates will reach an estimated 41% at the end of 2010 (compared
to 76% globally) leaving a signifi cant potential for growth.

SMS triples in three years.
   The total number of SMS sent globally tripled between 2007 and 2010, from an estimated 1.8
trillion to a staggering 6.1 trillion. In other words, close to 200 000 text messages are sent every
second.
   Assuming an average cost of USD 0.07 per SMS, in 2010 SMS traffi c is generating an estimated
USD 812 000 every minute (or around USD 14 000 every second).
   In 2009, SMS revenue accounted for 12% of China’s largest mobile operator’s total revenue.The Philippines and the United States combined accounted for 35% of all SMS sent in 2009.

Two billion people on the Internet but too few in Africa.
The number of Internet users has doubled between 2005 and 2010. In 2010, the number of Internet users will surpass the two billion mark, of which 1.2 billion will be
in developing countries.
   A number of countries, including Estonia, Finland and Spain have declared access to the Internet
as a legal right for citizens.
   With more than 420 million Internet users, China is the largest Internet market in the world.While 71% of the population in developed countries are online, only 21% of the population in developing countries are online. By the end of 2010, Internet user penetration in Africa will reach 9.6%, far behind both the world average (30%) and the developing country average (21%).

Connecting homes.
While in developing countries 72.4% of households have a TV, only 22.5% have a computer and
only 15.8% have Internet access (compared to 98%, 71% and 65.6% respectively in developed
countries).
   At the end of 2010, half a billion households worldwide (or 29.5%) will have access to the Internet. In some countries, including the Republic of Korea, Netherlands and Sweden, more than 80% of
households have Internet access, almost all of them through a broadband connection.
   The number of people having access to the Internet at home has increased from 1.4 billion in
2009 to almost 1.6 billion in 2010.

The continuing broadband divide.
   There has been strong growth in fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions, in both developed and developing countries: at the end of 2010, fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions will reach an estimated 555 million globally (or 8% penetration), up from 471 million (or 6.9% penetration) a year earlier.
   Despite these promising trends, penetration levels in developing countries remain low: 4.4 subscriptions per 100 people compared to 24.6 in developed countries.
   The developing world’s share of fixed (wired) broadband subscriptions is growing steadily:
by the end of 2010, the developing world will account for an estimated 45% of global
subscriptions (up from 42% five years earlier). Africa still lags behind when it comes to fixed (wired) broadband.
   Although subscriptions are increasing, a penetration rate of less than 1% illustrates the challenges that persist in increasing access to high-speed, high-capacity Internet access in the region.

Broadband speed and affordability.
   With the rapidly increasing high-bandwidth content and applications on the Internet, there is a
growing demand for higher-speed connections. For example, at the minimum broadband speed
of 256 kbps, downloading a high-quality movie takes almost 1½ days - compared to 5 minutes at
a connection speed of 100 Mbps.
   Fixed (wired) broadband prices dropped by 42% between 2008 and 2009 but there are huge
differences among countries when it comes to the affordability of broadband: in 2009,
an entry-level fixed (wired) broadband connection cost on average 190 PPP$ per month in
developing countries, compared to only 28 PPP$ per month in developed countries. This has
significant implications for the uptake of ICT services, which is much higher for lower-cost mobile
cellular compared to higher-priced fixed broadband.

For all you gaming folks out there...

ATI has released information about its latest graphics processing unit...the Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 6850. Both devices will be out before the end of the year. So for those of you out there that want to max Crysis or Metro 2033 keep an eye on these two cards.

Click the link to read a preview of the devices. Click me

Why you should take the Subway

Convergence...what a lovely word. One of the most important aspect of IT devices is that they allow us to do more with a single device. Our smart phones function as telephones,computers, and in Japan even allow consumers to buy goods and services. It might be possible in the near future that we will only need a single device for all of our daily needs.

So why should you take the subway? Well have a look at the video posted below. Seeing is believing. Is there anything that the Iphone cant do?

So how fast is Japan's internet?

Japan the heart of all things technological is a mecca for internet aficionados. In Japan customers enjoy an average internet speed of 60mbs...thats right you heard it right 60mbs. That is 15 times faster than the highest speed customers in Malaysia can get. Check the graph below for internet speeds of other countries.

RIM's Playbook

RIM the creator of the Blackberry is following in the footsteps of Apple the creator of the famous Ipad by also releasing a thin and portable tablet computing unit. The device dubbed 'The Playbook' features a 7 inch 1024X600 capacitive touch screen, a new OS by the recently acquired QNX, a dual 1Ghz processor and a gigabyte worth of RAM.

 Take a look at the wonderful features of the Playbook:

• 7-inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
• Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4" (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
• Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

It's obvious that the Playbook is in a class of its own when it comes to features. Can the Playbook dethrone the Ipad?Well only time will tell but what is certain is Apple now has a real competitor in the tablet market.