20
magazinei
innovations
GSMnetwork inabackpack
TheVodafone Foundation InstantNetworkMini is an11kilogram
mobilenetwork inabackpack that canbedeployed in10minutes,
enablingaidworkers to carryout life-savingwork indisaster situations.
Small enough to be taken as hand luggage on commercial flights, the
GSM base transceiver station can provide up tofive concurrent callswithin
a radius of 100metres and allows textmessages to be sent to thousands of
people following a disaster.
The ‘network in a backpack’ is a smaller, simpler versionof the original
Vodafone Foundation InstantNetwork,whichhad to be carried in four
suitcases,weighed100kg andhad a larger operating radius of 5km.
TheVodafone Foundation InstantNetworkwas deployed in the
Philippineswithin24hours ofTyphoonHaiyanhitting inNovember 2013
where itwas used to send1.4million textmessages andmake 443,288 calls
in just 29 days.
TheVodafone Foundation InstantNetworkMini includes aGSM base
transceiver stationwhich connects to a host network over a satellite
connection.
Homephone in
disguise
Witha colour touchscreendisplay
andwebbrowser,BT’s latest landline
phone looks andactsmore likea
smartphone.
TheHome SmartPhone S links to a
user’s homeWi-fi, giving instant access to
the internet for email and browsing and
to theOpera apps store.
Other features include a front-facing
camera for photos and videocalls; 2GBof
internal storage for contact details and
music; an integrated answeringmachine;
and aNuisanceCall Blocking feature,
which enables users to block calls from
international numbers,withheldnumbers
andunknown callers.Anoptional DoNot
Disturbmode switches off the ringer and
bars outgoing calls to selectednumbers,
such as premium rate lines, and incoming
calls fromup to10 telephone numbers.
The BTHome SmartPhone S costs
£169.99 and is available fromArgos
stores and
NComputing, a leader in client virtualisation
solutions,has launchedanewunifiedworkspace
solution that enables ITdepartments todeliver
applications andfiles securely toavarietyof
devices, including iPads andAndroid tablets.
NComputing oneSpace, currently in beta,
enhances productivity by allowing users to access
the applications andfiles they need through a
unifiedworkspace from their device of choice,
while giving IT complete control over the
workspace environment.
In a recentNComputing-sponsored survey,
more than four out of five (83%) IT professionals
in small andmid-sizedorganisations (SMBs)
said thatmaking business applications and data
available onmobile deviceswouldhave a high
ormedium impact on their business.Yet 86%
acknowledged that providing access toWindows
applications onmobile devices had its difficulties.
One of the greatest is extendingWindows apps
tonon-Windows devices, as this typically requires
significant changes and/or additions to the back-
end infrastructure.
NComputing oneSpace overcomes this
difficulty by delivering full-featuredWindows
applications – including customones – to iPads
andAndroid tablets,without having to re-write
themormake costly changes to an existing
infrastructure.
It enables IT departments tooffer users unified
access to all their files – including existing cloud
andon-premise file shares –while applying their
own security policies and control. Users can
securely search, view, edit, copy,move and share
files from their iPads orAndroid tablets using
familiar touch-gestures.
NComputing oneSpace leveragesNComputing’s
vSpace client virtualisation platform to provide
the secure access that small andmid-sized
organizations need to compete in today’sworldof
hybrid apps, files and endpoint devices.
ExistingNComputing vSpace customers can
leverage their on-premise vSpace server tounify
the delivery ofWindows, Linux,Web and SaaS
files and applications tomobile devices, by simply
adding the oneSpace cloud-based service.New
customers have the optionof an all-cloudor
hybrid deploymentmodel.
NComputingdelivers unifiedworkspace
acrossmultipledevices
The streetlampof the future
Could this be the street light of the future?Developed by
Ericsson and Philips, the connected lamppost combines LED
lightingwithmobile telecoms equipment from Ericsson. In this
way, it addresses two key challenges facing cities today: the need
to reduce the amount of power consumed by public lighting and
the requirement for improvedmobile broadband performance in
crowdedurban areas. Ericsson points out that local authorities
couldoffset some of the costs of rolling out LED lighting by
renting space inside street lighting tomobile network operators.
Zero clientmonitor stand
Anew zero clientmonitor stand fromMMDmakes it easier and
cheaper for ownersof Philipsmonitors tomake the switch toa
virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
Compatiblewith Philips S, P andB line
monitorsmeasuring 19-29 inches, the Philips
cloudmonitor base connects directly to
anorganisation’sVDI and includesmultiple
connections for amouse, keyboard,microphone,
audio, second screen etc..
To access centralised IT applications, data
storage and security, all the user has to do ismount
an existing Philipsmonitor on the height adjustable
base,which also tilts, swivels and rotates.
The cloudmonitor stand comes in two
versions: the SB4B1927VB for a
VMware infrastructure (£369); and the
SB4B1927CB for Citrix (£269).
