More bits 'n bytes from CommunicAsia

NTT DoCoMo augments your golfing reality
If you love golf, then an app being featured at the NTT DoCoMo booth will be just down your green. Using augmented reality, the app can scan a golf course and tell users which are the areas they’d best avoid if they plan on getting that hole in one – or at least staying on par.

Teched up golfers need only point their phone cameras down the green and a plethora of geo-tags will pop up showing sand bunkers or water obstacles, using the phone’s GPS.
Unfortunately for all those budding Tigers living out of Japan’s neck of the woods, the app is not yet available internationally, but it does promisingly run on an Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, so clubs crossed, it may just tip up eventually.
E-readers do Word as well as words
E-readers were a dime a dozen at this year’s Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan, but a few are also making an appearance at this year’s CommunicAsia. One model which pops out of the page a bit is the $300 offering from Datang Telecom, which doesn’t just deliver books, but also offers PDF, .txt and Microsoft Word support.
Other than that, the rest of the specs are fairly standard, 3G enabled with a SIM and with a 4GB micro SD card included. The e-reader is multilingual, able to spew out stories in English, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. Also, unlike most e-books in the US, this model is being made available through telcos like China Mobile.
Home networking for dummies
Unless you’re relatively tech savvy, hooking up your computers to form a network isn’t exactly self-evident or easy to do. Some people aren’t even aware it’s a possibility.
But now, even the most tech troubled can double up their PC power with a nifty little gadget from Singaporean firm A*STAR called the iTwin.

The iTwin is essentially two dongles joined together, which can be pulled apart, plugged into two separate machines and, hey presto, you have a network and can begin sharing information to your heart’s content. Best of all, the machines don’t even need to be in the same room.
The iTwin uses 256-bit AES encryption technology to secure itself and users have the option of also adding a password to up the security level somewhat. For those really paranoid androids out there, iTwin even offers registered users a URL that will immediately kill a misplaced iTwin.
The technology is still patent pending, but you have to take your hats off to A*STAR for such a simple yet effective idea. It’s not terribly expensive either at just $100 and due to hit US shelves in September. Tough luck if you’re a MAC user though, as the iTwin, deceptively considering its name, only works on Windows XP, Vista and 7. OS X support is due out soon though.
One compiler to rule them all
If you’re a developer, you are likely more than familiar with the frustrations of having to develop the same app for multiple platforms. Indeed, some developers don’t have time and simply stick to developing for one or two OSs.
That could all change, however, with a new open source compiler by the name of Mosync, which handily compiles C and C++ codes for any mobile platform with just a click, bringing the same app to multiple devices. Doubtless to say this is great news for developers trying to get the maximum exposure for their handy work.
While the compiler is free to those developing free or non-commercial apps, those who want to sell their applications will have to take out a Mosync membership. The Basic Pro membership costs $242, while the Gold Pro subscription – which adds in direct access to Mosync developers for extensive support and feature requests – is a rather heftier $3,652.
Yet another VoIP service to turn your iPad into a big phone
Though the thought of talking into your 10 inch iPad may sound a little ridiculous, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to do it, and Singapore based Spice i2i reckons it has what it takes to make big iPhone fetishes come true with its S-unno VoIP service showcased at CommunicAsia.
S-unno is a cross-platform service allowing users to run an IP soft phone on devices ranging from the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and even PCs running Microsoft Windows 7, Vista and XP. And of course the overhyped iPad.
What isn’t overhyped, however, is the amount of cash one could potentially save using S-unno, with Spice i2i predicting its users will see savings of up to 50%, especially on international calls.
Much like Skype, S-unno calls can be made over either Wi-Fi or mobile networks and calls between users are free. There are also group call capabilities as well as SMS and IM built in, with plans for a money transfer system to also get built in soon.
For those who want an actual phone number people can dial from a real phone (like Skype-In) the firm sells a personalized L3 PSTN number at a base subscription fee of S$4.00 a month. And if you can afford an overpriced iPad, you can certainly afford another $4.
Roam around, say Singapore and Malaysia to citizens
Roaming is nearly always so expensive that most of us try to avoid doing it at all. Some even go to great lengths, renting or buying cheap local phones and SIM cards in the country they’re visiting, simply so as not to have to pay through the nose for a simple phone call or text message.
Finally, however, two somewhat more mobile enlightened countries are trying to cut ridiculous roaming rates to more reasonable prices, with Singapore and Malaysia working together to slash the price of roaming calls between the two countries by up to 30% and SMS prices by 50%.
Of course, this involves a fair amount of negotiation with local operators, who can’t be too pleased to lose the hefty chunks of change roaming brings in.
According to the firm’s website, currently a SingTel roaming customer calling from Malaysia pays S$0.70 a minute for an incoming call and S$0.50 for an outgoing local call. Text messages cost S$0.61 to send, while data downloads cost S$22 per MB. While that’s still a whole lot cheaper than most US and European roaming charges, it’s still considered steep, and the government’s plans are good news to most citizens.
Now if only other world governments would follow suit.