A few days after Samsung Electronics’ smartphone chief Koh Dong-jin vowed to provide the world’s first 5G phones in March 2019, South Korea’s second-place phone maker LG Electronics on Wednesday announced its partnership with US mobile carrier Sprint to offer the first 5G smartphone in the American market.

Sprint, one of the four biggest mobile carriers in the US, said the company and LG will work together to deliver the first mobile 5G smartphone in the country in the first half of 2019.

“Sprint customers will be among the first in the world to experience the incredible speed, reliability and mobility of 5G on this innovative handset built for the country’s first mobile 5G network when it launches in first half of next year,” the US mobile carrier said. “Device specifications and exact timing will be announced later.”

LG has two flagship premium smartphone models — the G and V series — that respectively used to be launched in the first and second half of each year.

But the company changed the launch timings of the two models this year — releasing an upgraded version of last year’s V30 model in March and G7 edition in May — as part of restructuring of the smartphone business’s product portfolio under new chief Hwang Jeong-hwan.

“It is hard to predict which model would be the 5G phone as the restructuring of the product portfolio is underway,” said an LG official.

Meanwhile, Samsung has made it official that its first 5G smartphone will be a whole new model that is scheduled for launch in March next year.

“5G commercialization being discussed these days is for some limited customers in limited areas,” Koh said. “While Galaxy S10 phones will be provided for mass-volume customers with 4G chipsets, we will introduce a new model for 5G.”

Samsung is currently collaborating with SK Telecom to announce the country’s first 5G service delivered from the core network equipment to 5G chipsets embedded in new phones.

Samsung’s semiconductors division said it has developed the Exynos Modem 5100, the industry’s first 5G modem that is fully compatible with the most up-to-date standard specification for 5G New Radio, and successfully conducted an over-the-air 5G-NR data call test under a wireless environment utilizing a 5G base station and 5G end-user equipment prototype embedded with the Exynos Modem 5100.

“As the test simulated real-world cellular network conditions, this will ensure faster development and commercialization of 5G mobile devices that adopt this new modem,” the company said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) today is at the centre of the digital transformation of organisations, and tech giants told the Blognone Tomorrow tech event in Bangkok last week that they fully support their partners and customers benefiting from investing in AI.

Organisations this year are investing heavily in AI and IoT, the conference heard. By 2019, predicted International Data Corporation (IDC), 40 per cent of digital transformation initiatives will be supported by AI and cognitive capabilities that provide timely, critical insights for new operating and monetisation models in this region.

Tanapong Ittisakulchai, enterprise a partner group lead for Microsoft Thailand told participants that by 2021, product and services derived from digital transformation will also account for 40 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“AI are influencing every industry including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, financial services, education, and even government,” said Tanapong. “Microsoft believes that human ingenuity is amplified by intelligent technology.”

For example, a Danish construction company responsible for detecting damage chose AI to detect three main types of damage – algae, cracks and rust. AI’s role in this case was to address certain issues, such as speed, time intensiveness, expense and difficulty in tracking over time.

Microsoft Azure AI services help build AI models and streamline artificial intelligence programming that runs AI workloads anywhere at scale.

According to an article, “Asia is the Next Frontier for AI Development”, recently posted to the Microsoft Asia News Centre, AI is already delivering tangible economic benefits for many organisations across Asia Pacific. Written by Ralph Haupter, the president of Microsoft Asia, the article draws on examples, including leading global container shipping company OOCL use of AI in their business, which is said to be saving them $10 million (Bt332 million) annually, while Apollo Hospitals in India are using AI to help predict heart disease among patients.

Microsoft’s AI investment in Asia includes the recent investment of $33 million in partnership with the Taiwanese government to create an AI research and development hub in the island nation to help transform its technology and industrial sector.

Recently the company announced that it is committing $500m over the next two years to offer joint sales engagements with start-ups, along with access to Microsoft’s technology, and new community spaces that promote collaboration across local and global ecosystems.

Take the example of Miko, an AI-power chatbot and star of the new mobile travel app Japan Trip Navigator. Created by Microsoft in partnership with travel agency JTB Corp and navigation firm Navitime Co, Miko provides travellers in Japan with real-time information from official sources, as well as insights from other users of the apps. Miko can also help with hotel and other bookings.

In Thailand examples, Microsoft Thailand has worked with Thai Airways to develop Nong Fah, an AI chatbot, as well as working with the Revenue Department to develop Nong Aree, an AI chatbot.

“To develop AI, a data scientist is a must for corporates, but the affordability is not equal for every organisation to have in-house data scientists,” said Tanapong. Microsoft’s AI platform can help businesses to effectively benefit from AI, he said.

Bruce Lai, the leader of brand management for IBM Power Systems in IBM Asia Pacific, said his company’s power architecture had been adopted by tech giants, including Google, which deployed their Power9-based systems in production. Paypal accelerated deep learning research for fraud prevention by leveraging extra large data sets for higher accuracy. Uber has collaborated with Oak Ridge National Labs to test deep-learning at extreme scale. Tencent scales their deployment of Power architecture for data intensive applications, and is realising 30 per cent increased efficiencies at 30 per cent lower cost.

“We have reimagined infrastructure for the journey to AI. We have designed IBM Power Systems with support from industry leaders in acceleration, advanced analytics and deep learning. Our servers and solutions are built to crush today’s most advanced data applications and the next generation of AI workloads.

According to Facebook, meanwhile, AI is foundational to what the social-media giant does. AI has the potential to enhance the efficiency of SMEs and to help businesses scale up their advertising campaigns. Tools like dynamic creative or dynamic ads, for example, feature AI technology.

Methit Mukdasiri, client partner, Facebook Thailand, told the Blognone Tomorrow conference that AI could help address common business challenges. Facebook uses it to help partners in three main areas – to reach an audience efficiently, deliver a relevant message and to drive sales effectively.

Facebook provides business with 11 campaign objectives from awareness to conversations, each with different optimisation. For example, brand awareness objectives utilise machine learning to find people most likely to recall an ad.

Michael Jittivanich, head of marketing for Google Thailand, said that AI is the science of making thing smart, while machine learning (ML) helps machines learn to be “smarter”. Google has empowered many products and services with AI and ML, including Google Photos, Google Lens, Google Assistant and even Gmail.

Google provides Tensor Flow, an open-source machine learning framework for everyone. Also, with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Google’s custom-developed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are used to accelerate machine learning workloads.

“For example, Kewpie Corporation benefits from Tensor Flow to use AI and machine learning to ensure the safety and purity of ingredients faster and more reliably than ever,” said Michael.

AI disruption

AI has contributed to the disruption of business models.  For example, SCB Abacus, a dedicated data analytics subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), is set up to build B2B2C solutions by using AI and big-data technology to help corporates personalise services at the individual level, with an emphasis on millennials.

Natth Bejraburnin, a senior data scientist at SCB Abacus, said that AI and big data development at the company is to serve SCB Financial Group and B2C corporate clients. It focuses on three main areas – a credit scoring platform (ClickCash), robo-advising platform (m.me/puekhom and KEB Hom), and personalisation engines (My Deals).

“Let me share lessons learned,” Nath told the conference. “Do not start with AI, but start from customers. AI and ML models require data. Build a complex system incrementally, not every feature launched is successful, and if it is going to fail, fail fast. And do not underestimate the need for software engineers and developers for your team.”

Thadpong Pongthawornakmol, principal visionary architect, KLabs, KBTG, told Blognone Tomorrow that KBTG has been developing AI-based services since 2016, including K-Plus Beacon, which is mobile banking for the visually impaired. In 2017, it developed Machine Lending, fully-automated frictionless lending. This year, it developed Machine Commerce, a lifestyle platform with intelligent matching.

“The lending process is cumbersome,” says Thadpong, “how can we create a lending experience that is easier, faster, more accessible?”

“With digital automation and ML, we managed to create a better lending experience. Future works include improving the prediction model as well as extending the process to include other loan products,” said Thadpong.

GET, a new player coming to the ride-sharing market in Thailand is also said to be using AI and big data to make its service powerful.

Pinya Nittayakasetwat, GET company co-founder and CEO told the tech conference that Thais on average spend 800 hours on the street per person per year, The GET team is inspired to turn the pain of everyday commuters into a business opportunity that they say will improve life for millions of people.

The company debuted in Thailand because the market is around 96.4 per cent untapped market, with lots of room for growth in the ride-sharing industry, said Pinya. The 3.6 per cent penetration by ride-hailing apps is low, he said.

The company will provide app-based on-demand services, by first focusing on developing ride hailing before expanding into a broader range of services in the future.

It aims to become an indispensable part of life in Thailand, making life easier for Thai consumers, while also providing partner drivers and local entrepreneurs with access to additional income sources, said Pinya.

Blognone Tomorrow

Blognone Tomorrow is a tech conference hosted by Blognone, the leading tech news site in Thailand, under the theme of “What’s next in the tech world”.

“Blognone Tomorrow is our first tech conference in the series,” said Isriya Paireepairit, co-founder of Blognone.

“We learned that business leaders in Thailand are aware of digital transformation and planning for changes. The obstacle is they don’t know the ‘how’ or the process of the change. We brought them the top experts from tech companies to tell their stories and experiences.”

The Japanese car company showed its vision for the future of automotive and its modern applications for everyday life at the Blognone Tomorrow conference recently held in Bangkok.

It showcased technological advancements under the umbrellas of “intelligent power”, “intelligent driving” and “intelligent integration” to a largely millennial audience. These are part of “Nissan Intelligent Mobility”, the company’s vision to transform the way we drive and live.

According to Vincent Wijnen, senior vice president for Nissan Asia and Oceania, the automaker understands that millennials expect to be connected whether they are driving or riding as passengers in cars.

“By 2020, 40 per cent of new car buyers will be millennials. These digital natives want Internet connectivity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cars are more than vehicles to help us move them from A to B; they are an extension of our lifestyles. Nissan is committed to providing consumers an enjoyable, safe and sustainable driving experience through our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision. This starts with electrification,” said Wijnen.

According to a Nissan-commissioned study by consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, more than 40 per cent of Thai consumers are open to buying an electric vehicle as their next car. The latest iteration of the Nissan Leaf, the world’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV), is due to launch in Thailand this year. The company says it is leading the EV movement towards more sustainable mobility and environment.

Wijnen said the company’s “e-Power” technology would give people the EV driving experience but without the need to plug in their car for a recharge. Charging is done through the built-in gasoline engine.

Wijnen said that future consumers might prefer spending their time in a car socialising with

friends or looking out the window rather than worrying about gridlock traffic.

“At Nissan, we believe in

giving people options. And we

are giving the option to more and more people to be driven. ProPilot, which is now available in Japan and the USA, is a technology that helps us get to fully autonomous driving. The Nissan technology enables vehicles to operate autonomously during single-lane driving on the highway. It supports safer driving and eases the driver’s workload in heavy traffic or on long commutes,” Wijnen said.

Giving a glimpse into the further future, Wijnen also demonstrated Nissan’s “Brain to Vehicle” technology, a world’s first AI-powered system that allows the human brain to interact with the vehicle. The technology is currently being developed to enhance autonomous driving, and was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Participants also debated about trends in blockchain development for future digital business expansion in the region and around the world.

The Global Blockchain Application Conference Laos Summit was held on July 29 by the BST Elephant Chain in Laos, aiming to bring digital technology management investors together to discuss the development and growth of blockchain technology.

During the conference, experts from companies in Laos and China, notably LAEX, WOGC and the BST Group, gave presentations about the integrated digital information system and technology, with the Lao government represented by Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr Bounsavad Boupha.

The blockchain system is the technology integration programme of the future, which helps to generate income and benefit via digital currency and contribute to economic expansion through participatory investment, the meeting’s Chair, Mr Xiang Run, said during the opening of the summit.

The event also helped entrepreneurs boost their understanding and have more choice in using digital systems for their business operations in line with international trends, he said.

Laos can benefit greatly from using blockchain technology in business communications and making financial repayments faster, said Mr Xiang Run.

Blockchain technology has already begun to deploy applications around the world.

Different developed countries have realised that there is huge potential for the application of block chain technology in public service and social mechanism optimisation through the blockchain development path.

At the event, organisers presented prizes to outstanding employees as well as certificates and other awards and mobilised funding for the relief effort in Attapeu province.

The car-sized Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to blast off on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday.

The 65-minute launch window opens at 3:33 am (0733 GMT), and the weather forecast is 70 percent favorable for takeoff, NASA said.

The probe’s main goal is to unveil the secrets of the corona, the unusual atmosphere around Sun.

Not only is the corona about 300 times hotter than the Sun’s surface, it also hurls powerful plasma and energetic particles that can unleash geomagnetic space storms and disrupt Earth’s power grid.

“The Parker Solar Probe will help us do a much better job of predicting when a disturbance in the solar wind could hit Earth,” said Justin Kasper, one of the project scientists and a professor at the University of Michigan.

‘Full of mysteries’

The probe is protected by an ultra-powerful heat shield that is just 4.5 inches thick (11.43 centimeters).

This handout picture released by NASA on August 8, 2018, shows the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket payload fairing is seen with the NASA and Parker Solar Probe emblems, at Launch Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on August 8, 2018. // AFP PHOTO

The shield should enable the spacecraft to survive its close shave with the center of our solar system, coming within 3.83 million miles (6.16 million kilometers) of the Sun’s surface.

The heat shield is built to withstand radiation equivalent up to about 500 times the Sun’s radiation here on Earth.

Even in a region where temperatures can reach more than a million degrees Fahrenheit, the sunlight is expected to heat the shield to just around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius).

Scorching, yes? But if all works as planned, the inside of the spacecraft should stay a cooler 85 F (29 C).

The goal for the Parker Solar Probe is to make 24 passes through the corona during its seven-year mission.

“The sun is full of mysteries,” said Nicky Fox, project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab.

“We are ready. We have the perfect payload. We know the questions we want to answer.”

91-year-old namesake

The tools on board will measure the expanding corona and continually flowing atmosphere known as the solar wind, which solar physicist Eugene Parker first described back in 1958.

Parker, now 91, recalled that at first, some people did not believe in his theory.

But then, the launch of NASA’s Mariner 2 spacecraft in 1962 — becoming the first robotic spacecraft to make a successful planetary encounter — proved them wrong.

“It was just a matter of sitting out the deniers for four years until the Venus Mariner 2 spacecraft showed that, by golly, there was a solar wind,” Parker said earlier this week.

He added that he is “impressed” by the Parker Solar Probe, calling it “a very complex machine.”

Scientists have wanted to build a spacecraft like this for more than 60 years, but only in recent years did the heat shield technology advance enough to be capable of protecting sensitive instruments, according to Fox.

Tools on board will measure high energy particles associated with flares and coronal mass ejections, as well as the changing magnetic field around the Sun.

“We will also be listening for plasma waves that we know flow around when particles move,” Fox added.

“And last but not least, we have a white light imager that is taking images of the atmosphere right in front of the Sun.”

When it nears the Sun, the probe will travel rapidly enough to go from New York to Tokyo in one minute — some 430,000 miles (700,000 kilometers) per hour, making it the fastest human-made object.

Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission last year fined the firm Tw$23.4 billion ($763 million) saying the world’s biggest handset chip supplier had violated fair trade rules for at least seven years.

The authorities found that Qualcomm had refused to offer licences to rival manufacturers that are essential for making chipsets and had imposed unfair contracts on smartphone makers.

But under a deal struck between the two sides, the commission said the US firm will not have to pay more than the Tw$2.73 billion of the original fine already stumped up.

The company also agreed to renegotiate disputes with Taiwanese mobile licencees “in good faith” and will not withhold supply of chips, according to the commission’s statement.

Qualcomm confirmed the “mutually agreed settlement” in a statement Friday and said it had pledged a five-year plan to invest in mobile technology in Taiwan and to establish an operations centre there.

The commission said it hoped the settlement would “have a positive impact on the development of Taiwan’s semiconductor, mobile communications and 5G technology sectors”.

Analysts said the deal was a “win-win” at a time when Taiwan wants to attract more foreign investment.

“It makes both parties look good,” said Gordon Sun of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER).

Qualcomm still faces huge fines linked to similar probes in South Korea, the European Union and the United States, while it is also involved in a long-running licensing dispute with tech titan Apple.

According to the China Internet Network Information Centre, China had a staggering 753 million mobile internet users at the end of 2017.

Industry analysts said that the popularity of apps also reflects the accelerated proliferation of mobile devices in China, transforming the country into an app-driven society.

According to a recent survey by China Youth Daily, more than 40 per cent of people surveyed discussed the World Cup in Russia on social networking apps with their friends.

Among those surveyed, 66.8 per cent watched live broadcasts on mobile apps or TVs and 61 per cent made predictions about games online.

“The increasing use of apps to watch the games was a distinctive feature of the 2018 World Cup compared with the previous one,” said Zhang Baoyi, director of the sociology institute at Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences.

Mobile internet users accounted for more than 97.5 per cent of the total number of internet users last year, up from 95.1 per cent the previous year.

“Growth of China’s app economy is accelerating, putting it within striking distance of economies like Japan and the United States, said Bertrand Schmitt, CEO and co-founder of App Annie, a mobile analytics institute.

According to the institute, the country’s app economy has outpaced the majority of markets globally, be it the overall time spent using apps, the number of apps used or the amount of money spent on them.

It noted that in the fourth quarter of 2017 alone, Chinese app users spent roughly 225 billion hours using apps, which is 4.5 times longer than in India, the next largest market, which clocked close to 50 billion hours in 2017.

“The market scale is expanding continuously. People tend to spend more for app services,” he added.

The report showed that Chinese consumer spending through Google Play, the iOS App Store, and third-party Android stores jumped 270 per cent to roughly $33 million over the past two years.

Cheetah Global Lab, a mobile internet research institute based in Beijing, released a list of the top 10 app categories in 2017 based on growth of the weekly active penetration rate (the number of users who logged on at least once a week).

Racing ahead are bike-sharing, online food delivery, short video and mobile payment apps.

Use of short video apps, for example, is rocketing in China. Beijing-based consultancy Analysys found that Chinese users spend 49 minutes every day watching either professionally produced videos or amusing home-made videos via short video app Douyin alone.

“It is apparent that there is a strong social aspect to short video apps. They present a new medium for online expression and interaction,” said Ma Shicong, an entertainment analyst at Analysys.

While global smartphone users have an average of 80 apps on their phone, Chinese users have more than 100 apps stored on their handsets.

QuestMobile, a Beijing-based market research firm, found that youngsters are the main group trying new apps.

Among these users, people born in the 1990s and 2000s use an average of 21.9 apps and 20.5 apps respectively, while others only have 17 apps.

In terms of future trends, Quan Jing, executive director of Cheetah Global Lab, said that competition in the ride-hailing sector will intensify, as epitomized by Meituan, the country’s largest on-demand service platform, which has announced plans to launch a ride-hailing app.

“Key words in this increased competition will be ‘sharing’ and ‘new energy’,” Quan added.

App Annie predicted that China will remain the world’s largest mobile app market and the market share for music, social networking and other types of apps will grow in the coming years.

Boosting the power and the price, Samsung hopes to win back customers in the competitive market. The consistent leader in the global smartphone market, the company nonetheless suffered a 22 percent drop in mobile technology sales in the second quarter.

The company blamed the drop in part to disappointing demand for the Galaxy S9, but it also has been pressured by growth in Chinese competitor Huawei.

At a glitzy the launch event in Brooklyn, Samsung unveiled a suite of high tech products, including a smart speaker and watch, and then showed off the new Galaxy Note 9, which will be available for purchase on August 24.

The phone contains a series of improvements but was described by analysts as having no radical new innovations. The latest model boosts memory capacity, and allows customers to play video games such as the popular Fortnite.

Customers will have the option of 128 or 512 gigabytes of memory, and also can insert a micro card to boost capacity beyond a terabyte, a record for a smartphone.

Samsung also enhanced the gadget’s batteries so it can now be used for an entire day without needing to be recharged — a common headache for cell phone users.

Other improvements include tweaks to the device’s “S Pen” feature, which can be used as a remote control for taking pictures or selfies using Bluetooth technology.

And the new model has enough capacity for video games. Samsung has set up a promotion with the popular Fortnite game that lets users download a special mobile version.

According to some trade media sources, the Galaxy Note 9 version with 512 gigabytes will be the most expensive smartphone geared towards the general public.

– Pricey, not radically new –

The price for that model will be $1,250 in the United States, while the 128 gigabyte version will go for $1,000. Apple’s iPhone X in a 256 gigabyte version sells for about $1,150.

Global smartphone sales fell 1.8 percent in the second quarter to 342 million amid market saturation and rising prices, according to tech-industry trackers International Data Corporation.

Avi Greengart, analyst at GlobalData, described the upgrades in the latest Samsung as “iterative,” adding “there is nothing radically new here.”

“It’s a really expensive phone and for people who are looking for a premium Android phone, they may well find it quite appealing,” he said. “But it isn’t likely to get people to consider the Note for the very first time.”

By contrast, Apple’s more dramatic overhaul of the iPhone X design and user interface showed there is a “large group of people who are willing to spend whatever it takes” to upgrade, Greengart said.

Samsung also introduced the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Home speaker device, a first for the South Korean company in a market that already contains Amazon’s Echo and Alphabet’s Google Home program.

The company also announced a partnership with streaming music service Spotify to allow “streamless listening” across all Samsung devices, including phones, tablets and smart TVs, as well as the Galaxy Home.

The smart speaker may have a better shot outside the United States, said Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“In the US, Alexa is very entrenched and so is Google Assistant, so it might be a challenge, but not so much in other parts of the world,” Moorhead said.

“Sharing instructions on how to manufacture firearms using 3D printers or CNC milling machines is not allowed under our Community Standards,” a Facebook spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

“In line with our policies, we are removing this content from Facebook.”

The social network added it was working out the range of website links or gun-printing content that will be removed.

Banning blueprints or instructions for 3D-printed guns is in line with the social network’s rules on regulated goods such as firearms, which can only be legally sold or exchanged by licensed dealers.

A US gun rights advocate last week was gearing up for a legal fight to be able to publish online blueprints for 3D-printed firearms, as the White House signaled support for a federal judge’s decision to block the venture.

Cody Wilson’s Texas-based company Defense Distributed had briefly made the blueprints available online, but Seattle-based US District Judge Robert Lasnik granted an injunction to take the material down.

The administration of US President Donald Trump last month gave permission for Wilson to publish the blueprints, but the White House subsequently said the president was unaware of the decision and was glad it was being reviewed.

Eight US states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing the blueprints could allow anyone — from a teen to a “lone wolf” gunman — to make untraceable, undetectable plastic weapons.

Wilson complied with the judge’s order, but put out a call for financial support for the legal battle ahead, including a scheduled August 10 court hearing.

He told CBS News ahead of the injunction that he believes “access to firearms is a fundamental human dignity. It’s a fundamental human right.”