Tag Archive for Internet of Things

SingTel’s accelerator challenge for apps

SingTel Accelerator challengeSingapore-based telecom service provider SingTel has launched an accelerator competition to “incubate the next killer app for consumers, focusing on consumer lifestyle and the Internet of Things.”

Besides cash prizes, winners will also get an opportunity to take part in a 3-month incubation program. Out of the winner, 1 will also be chosen to represent Singapore in another competition — the SingTel Group-Samsung Regional Mobile App Challenge. That is a regional mobile application development challenge jointly organised by the SingTel Group & Samsung. The challenge aims to identify innovative start-ups in Asia, & help them accelerate their development as well as gain access to the Group’s 500 million mobile customers.

There are 2 phases to this competition.  In Phase 1, startups will compete in their own markets, hosted by the local operators. One winner from each country will then be selected to participate in the Phase 2 competition which will be held in Singapore later this year.

This initiative is part of a larger group level collaboration between the SingTel Group and Samsung to increase smartphone penetration and the proliferation of mobile apps in the markets where members of the SingTel Group operate.

In Phase 2, participating start-ups will come to Singapore for a one-week mentorship programme, where participants learn to monetise and enable direct carrier billing for their apps through a series of business and technical workshops. They will then return to their respective countries to develop their apps.

The challenge will culminate to a demo day to be held in Singapore in November. On that day, participants will present their apps to a panel of judges that comprises senior operator and industry executives & a winner will be selected.

Entries have to be submitted by September 21.

Image Credit: SingTel

Advertising Message

Smart ‘Little Printer’ spews out slips of paper with messages, notifications & images

This device is ‘Web World meet Real World’ technology. Called the Little Printer, it’s a Web-connected, tiny printer that keeps you updated & connected about everything important that you want to know about. Yes, it actually prints out little slips of black & white paper.

As the name suggests, this dinky little printer connects wirelessly to a “Bridge” that is, in turn, hooked up to your broadband router. You control & configure the printer through an application that can be used from your desktops, smartphones & Tablets alike.

So what exactly does the Little Printer print? For starters, you can set it up to spew out newsfeeds & updates from over 160 free publications. It’s like the ticker tape of yore, only tinier & with pictures. Tear off a tab & read it while on your way to work, instead of peering down that smartphone of yours.

You may even use Little Printer as a social sharing tool to receive photos & messages. It’s also a fun way to communicate with other family members at home while you’re out, i.e. remotely-located. Eg: You are in London, shoot a pic at the London Bridge on your smartphone & send it across to the Little Printer in your New York home where someone will press a button & print out the image. Fun, right? The sharing & remote features allow the entire family to use it separately for their own subscriptions & for sending remote messages.

littleprinter

The compact ticker-like black & white messages which the printer spits out & the Cloud-based platform behind it makes it a wee bit different from your typical WiFi printer.

Little Printer connects the Internet with the real world in your home, & as such is a part of the Internet of Things that includes smart connected homes.

The aforementioned Bridge connects the Little Printer to the BERG Cloud. BERG is the London, UK-based firm that developed the Little Printer.

The connected technologies & platform they created to wirelessly connect & feed content to the printer worked out so well that they are now offering the BERG Cloud as a cloud-based platform that can support prototyping & development of new web-connected products.

Using BERG Cloud’s plug-&-play capabilities, innovators can skip the whole platform & software development part & jump right to the hardware aspects of product development.

Little Printer was launched by the London, UK-based product development company BERG in 2012. BERG was founded by Matt Webb & Jack Schulze. Webb is the company’s CEO while Schulze is Head of Product.

Development of the Little Printer was self-funded, but BERG has since raised $1.3 million in seed funding from investors including Index Ventures, Initial Capital & Connect Ventures. Thanks to this initial seed round of investments, BERG decided in late 2013 to get Little Printer into the world.

Here’s a short video to let you know how it works:

Editor’s Note: What grabbed our attention is a cute thing these guys have done. You can type a piece of code wherever you are & it will print on the Little Printer in the BERG office, which you can see ‘Live’.

Image Credit: Little Printer/BERG
Video Credit: YouTube/BERG

Advertising Message