The earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 in Japan triggered a subsequent tsunami as well as a nuclear power plant catastrophe. Typhoon Morakot, which struck Taiwan in 2009, passed through northern Taiwan but brought torrential rains to central and southern Taiwan. The major damage as well as loss of life caused by these compounded natural disasters clearly demonstrates the importance of the integration of disaster-prevention information at the national level. At the Smart City Forum organized by Digitimes, the National Science & Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) announced its latest progress, which includes integrating government resources through its internally-developed Disaster Response and Decision Support System (EOCDSS) as well as the Standardized Information Format for Disaster Alerts; quick communication of disaster-related information will be conducted via NCDR's "Public Disaster Alert Information Platform," and development of related hardware and software industries will be carried out in cooperation with the private sector.Current scenarios for the application of smart disaster prevention include natural disaster alerts, disaster response and relief, human safety and protection, community protection and safety, industrial area disaster prevention, as well as key facility protection, etc. Functions of the solutions must include remote environment monitoring, real-time transmission of information, disaster prevention alerts, damage analysis and evaluation, decision support, disaster relief as well as positioning and monitoring, scheduling and dispatching of personnel and resources, as well as integration of geographic information with cloud applications. While most people believe that disaster prevention can be performed by other institutions, the NCDR tends to focus on the alert and response processes for natural disasters. Based on developmental trends, smart disaster prevention services can be divided into data services and smart services.According to Wen-Ray Su, Associated Research Fellow, NCDR (National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction) during relief efforts for the Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake as well as during Typhoon Morakot, Taiwan was still in the data services phase, which means it focused on the establishment of infrastructural facilities as well as observation stations/networks, and transmitted data via dial-up network connections or manual transmissions. With the availability of broadband networks, disaster data can now be transmitted via the information services systems in real-time and converted into useful early-warning data. Currently, the situations in various locations can be viewed on a single map, and discussions regarding how to carry out disaster response operations can be conducted. Furthermore, with the widespread development and availability of wireless communications technologies, such as WiFi and 3G, the range of smart services has expanded, allowing people to use apps such as Twitter on their mobile phones to transmit messages. In the future, we may even be able to form an Internet of Things (IoT) connecting hardware and software and conduct Big Data analyses, thereby quickly grasping the on-site situation at disaster sites in order to respond and conduct rescue operations.Take earthquakes for example: although current technology does not allow us to predict earthquakes, if we are able to take advantage of real-time information through the smart disaster prevention network at the time an earthquake occurs as well as transmit this information to users and conduct automatic disaster prevention control (such as turning off the power and natural gas in our homes), we would be able to effectively reduce the number of casualties as well as damage to industries. Especially since Taiwan possesses mature network infrastructures and well-developed ICT industries, if we could develop various integrated disaster prevention control systems, we would be able to create "1+1>2" effects in terms of disaster prevention and response.From 2003 to 2007, Japan carried out its national emergency earthquake notification system program, and in 2007, the Japanese prime minister announced that emergency earthquake notifications to the general public had been fully implemented by government agencies and in various civilian applications. In the 2008 Iwate earthquake as well as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the notification system worked successfully, allowing Japanese citizens to obtain alert information through television, the Internet, mobile phone messages, and disaster-prevention radio broadcasts. Taiwan's emergency alert systems begin with schools. In addition to being able to issue alerts regarding regional earthquakes as well as provide on-site monitoring information within 20 seconds of an earthquake, it can also trigger school-wide alarms via wired or wireless transmissions, allowing schools with or without on-site observation stations to be able to immediately notify its students as well as faculty of the occurrence of an earthquake.Three problems that urgently need to be solved in terms of smart disaster prevention and response integrationHowever, Wen-Ray Su also admitted that the smart disaster prevention and response effort currently faces three major problems:1. From a legal perspective, since sources of data are becoming more diverse, the usage of collected data is subject to more rules and restrictions. People are very wary of how their information is handled and used, and any unauthorized use or publication of information is strictly prohibited. This is why we need a set of common data processing standards and regulations.2. From a technical perspective, Taiwan's electronics industry is good at providing single products and solutions, such as front-end sensor components or intermediate-level networking technologies, but it lacks the ability to produce integrated applications, which makes it difficult to demonstrate the value of certain products. Furthermore, disaster prevention network systems are mostly independently designed and lack interoperability and integration. Looking forward, cross-industry integration capabilities will need to be strengthened.3. In terms of applications, products must be able to operate under extreme conditions and in harsh environments, which is why backup solutions are required in order to ensure that messages can indeed be sent when needed. In addition, through the integrated platform, we will be able to provide information with additional value so that various types of safety and disaster prevention applications can be developed.Wen-Ray Su went on to stress the importance of Big Data, especially the ability to collect large amounts of information, absorb it, digest it, filter it, and then convey simplified information that can provide real value. Currently, government institutions already have the ability to collect information in a timely fashion and issue alerts during natural disasters. The next step will be to integrate that information through a unified platform, allowing the general public to quickly understand the situation.This is why the NCDR developed the CEOC support system in 2010, which can perform integration of disaster response information. Information that can be used in disaster response efforts is collected from various sources, consolidated, organized, and then presented in a manner that the central disaster response center can use to rapidly execute a response. Currently, monitored information from more than 20 central government agencies as well as nearly 120 items of Big Data are used in the system. The integrated typhoon local application module has been under development since 2011 in order to expand services to local areas, as well as to assist city and county governments and volunteer teams in disaster prevention operations. Furthermore, the NCDR's Public Disaster Alert Information Platform was established last year to allow information from various departments to be quickly consolidated and announced. Local government agencies, NGOs, and private corporations can develop apps to take advantage of these services.Unifying open information formats and working together to create industry valueIn addition, this year we will standardize disaster alert information formats to facilitate transmission through the public disaster alert platform, providing M2M services, establishing cooperative relationships between government and private sectors, building an information feedback mechanism, and working with corporations to create industry value. According to Wen-Ray Su, foreign standards such as the CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) were referenced in the writing of these standards, and their goal is to provide a simple and universal format, allowing information obtained from traditional sensor devices and alert technologies to be converted to international network alert formats, which will be beneficial to the exchange of emergency disaster alerts and public warnings in various networks, and help reduce the cost and complexity related to operations required for various media organizations to establish proprietary systems for receiving disaster alert messages.Furthermore, the system should be able to effectively collect and immediately forward disaster information as well as alerts to various areas and regions. It should also be able to issue national disaster alerts. The system should also automatically convert messages to be publicly announced and transmitted on various transmission media, such as television or radio. In 2004, the CAP1.0 version was accepted into the OASIS standard, and the latest version was announced in 2008. Then, the CAP-EAS was established for developing related disaster-prevention hardware industries and applications. Since last year, Taiwan's public and private sectors have been working together to develop the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol v1.2 standard and produce a Taiwan profile. It uses simple XML and portable structures, and supports various message formats to convert traditional alert messages into unified common formats.Wen-Ray Su, Associated Research Fellow, National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR)

The themes of the International Smart City Forum in 2014 included 4G, Internet of Things (IoT), and the aerotropolis. According to Ruey-Beei Wu, President, Institute for Information Industry (III), a total of 135MHz of bandwidth for 4G operations was auctioned in Taiwan in 2013, raising NT$110 billion. The government will invest more than NT$10 billion in projects that accelerate the availability of 4G applications, and 4G is indeed a key future trend.For the development of IoT, Wu said Morris Chang, chairman TSMC, also agrees that IoT is the next big thing and will generate demand for advanced packaging, smart sensor devices, and low-power-consumption components.As for the aerotropolis project, the government will make an investment of over NT$100 billion to establish the Free Economic Pilot Zone, which consists of six major seaports and one airport. The project will push Taiwan to the next stage in the development of smart cities.Smart city development must be planned through a top-down approach, with thorough arrangements in place to address different needs. For example, people's daily needs are the most important requirements for smart city development. Therefore, each city must be developed differently to achieve different goals such as the development of smart transport for traffic jam problems and flood control solutions for areas prone to flooding.To achieve further progress in the development of smart cities, economic growth must be transformed into support for people's needs. Wu also emphasized the importance of universal value such as environmental protection, health, education, and human rights.With an increasing number of people moving to cities, urbanization has intensified. Therefore, the development of smart cities must be able to address demand from a huge population. Wu thinks ICT technologies such as cloud computing, big data, wireless broadband, social networks, and information security will play a key role in solving the abovementioned problems.In recent years, foreign countries have seen the development of smart city-related ICT technologies which have bred many business opportunities. In June 2013, Google acquired Waze for nearly US$1 billion to help its integration of social networks and e-map. Through the information from social networks, drivers can access more real-time information such as road safety, traffic routes, and suggested gas stations. These efforts have brought about the era of smart transportation.In early 2014, Google acquired smart home appliance company Nest for US$3.2 billion. Nest's main products include temperature control systems and smoke detectors widely used in American homes. Purchasing the company with IoT technologies at such a high price not only serves as a solid indication that Google is eying the smart home market but also indicates business opportunities brought about by mobile phone apps, wireless applications, social networks, and cloud computing for smart cities.Taiwan has achieved significant results in smart city development, said Wu. New Taipei City and Hsinchu City have been selected as the candidates of seven global leading smart cities by International Smart City Forum. Taipei City, Taoyuan City, and Taichung City have all won the award before, indicating the strong potential of Taiwan's urban infrastructure.With the support of the government's Free Economic Pilot Zone initiative, Taiwan's ICT industry will enjoy great advantages in the sensor market, stated Wu. The government-led platform will provide vendors with an outstanding environment to test and promote a variety of applications.The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport handles 30 million travelers a year. Smart technologies can thus be integrated with various applications such as transport, sight-seeing, shopping, and logistics, allowing foreign visitors to access information in need or providing more secure consumption services for them as soon as they get off the plane. These advanced business applications are all worth to be developed.When shopping in a duty-free store in the airport, consumers can claim for a VAT refund using their mobile phone apps. They can also have the products delivered to designated locations using smart logistics services. As soon as they return home, the products will have arrived at their destinations.The Institute for Information Industry has spent a lot of efforts establishing a demonstration zone in areas near Taoyuan Aerotropolis. According to Wu, Taiwan's high-quality, affordable medical treatment, friendly services, good public safety, and adequate privacy protection has made it the best place to develop smart healthcare in the Asia Pacific region. The combination of advanced virtual medical care and the cooperation with overseas research institutions in talent training will enable Taiwan to expand to the education market.Cloud IDC also posts great opportunities for Taiwan's future development. With the integration of the abovementioned technologies and platforms, the smart aerotropolis project will serve as a tangible example of smart cities. Wu hopes smart city development will encourage people to pursue a happy life characterized by high living quality, morality, and good taste, while achieving the goals of environmental protection, sustained development, and public welfare.Ruey-Beei Wu, President, Institute for Information Industry (III)

The Hsinchu-based Food Industry Research and Development Institute on April 28, 2014 released its lab test report on Fortrend Liquid Diamond's anti-germ capability, showing the product's performance is incredibly high.The test involved a process of planting Escherichia coli BCRC germ per 10,300 CFU/cm2 onto a specimen of Fortrend Liquid Diamond-coated glass and there was a control group of bare glass. They were both put under general household fluorescent lamp light. After 24 hours, the test found only 80.6 germs per cm2 on average remaining on the Fortrend Liquid Diamond-coasted glass. But the bare glass in the control group had a density of germs as high as 7,310 per cm2 on average. The Fortrend Liquid Diamond has an anti-germ performance as high as 98.9%.The comparion of the two pieces of glass shows that Fortrend Liquid Diamond has incredible anti-germ performance that could be used on various household items and appliances. Applied to tableware, bowls, pans, cups and other cooking and eating utensils, it can restrain germ growth, and even germs that have not been gotten rid of during washing cannot grow on Liquid Diamond. It can also be applied to the interior of refrigerators, bathroom racks, or even moist environments to prevent germ growth. Fortrend Liquid Diamond-coated glass is also ideal for architectural purposes: for both building facades and the interior. Apart from the anti-germ function, it can also reduce UV/electronic waves, elimate odors, make cleaning easy, and even enable self- cleaning, etc. It is a product of multi-function.Food Industry Research and Development Institute's lab report on Fortrend Liquid Diamond's anti-germ performance

Although the IoT (Internet of Things) can serve as the foundation for the various services in a smart city, the surge in the number facilities, devices, and sensors that connect to the IoT means that additional requirements for the processing, integration, and exchange of messages are emerging. Cisco has proposed the IoE (Internet of Everything) as well as the concept of "fog computing" in the hope of providing smart cities with an even smarter information exchange platform through efficient integration.Mature IoT (Internet of Things) technologies are the key reason why smart cities are able to operate intelligently, allowing cities to accurately obtain sensor data transmitted by facilities and equipment in order to engage in further analysis, management, and decision making, and thereby providing a variety of smart services. However, with the rapid increase in the number of sensors, equipment, and facilities that connect to the smart city infrastructure, the issue of how to process the massive amounts of data sent back through the IoT network in a highly efficient manner is becoming crucial for the further development of smart cities.Development of smart cities relies on sound IoT foundationsBased on the IoT concept, Cisco has proposed the IoE (Internet of Everything). The IoE is in fact an extension of the IoT, where smart cities of the future see not only equipment, facilities, and services, but also users themselves all connecting to the network to exchange data. The level of operational performance experienced when users, systems, or services connect to the exchange platform to access or share information, directly affects the quality of services provided by smart cities. To this end, the networking application performance requirements found in IoE application environments must be addressed at the basic networking level.In light of the challenges faced with IoE environments, Cisco proposes fog computing as a solution. Fog computing is a paradigm that extends cloud computing and services to the edge of the network - fog can be thought of as being even closer to people, places, and things than clouds. Fog computing can also serve as the layer of computing and processing situated between M2M (Machine to Machine) networks and the cloud. Fog computing's technical goal is to solve the issue of the massive amounts of data produced by M2M networks, as well as to satisfy the data sharing and reuse requirements of different smart service entities or platforms.Using fog computing to increase the value of data on M2M networksAccording to Tony Hsieh, Systems Engineer, Cisco Systems Taiwan Ltd., by first clearly describing the role of networks, we can provide an even clearer definition for fog computing. Users connect to individual networks to engage in the collection, analysis, processing, and transmission of information. They use a variety of devices to connect to the Internet to obtain information and data. In addition, many corporations have independent networks for internal use. These closed networks may provide services including enterprise applications and databases, etc. Cities also have networks for public services, such as gas, electricity, and water. There are also factory networks.In the past, these different networks were usually mutually independent, each having their own specific communications protocols. However, with the development of smart cities, we need to integrate these mutually independent network entities in order to realize the true value of the diverse range of smart applications available.Tony Hsieh pointed out that in IoE environments, we wish to connect these independent networks one by one, connecting individual (user) networks, public facility networks, as well as corporate networks into a consolidated platform, facilitating the sharing of the massive amounts of information produced by users, data, process flows, as well as various devices/facilities, and allowing smart cities to deploy even more value-added smart applications.By integrating and adding additional value to this open information, valuable applications can be provided.Establishing a foundation for the development of smart applications by building a smart city data exchange platformThe IoT includes networked applications from various devices and equipment, and engages in the integration of sensors, equipment, as well as back-end communication gateways. Under the concept of IoE, the amount and complexity of the data produced is even larger and even more complex. As an example, an individual person produces data, and when that person communicates with another person, more data is produced. When that person uses wearable devices, data is produced when they interact with the wearable device or when sensors generate information. When people start using more and more wearable devices, and large numbers of users begin to communicate with each other, all of the resulting information is transmitted to the network for computation, processing and analysis.If all data generated by all objects were to be simply sent through the gateway, the computing, processing, and analysis loads of the IoE would be transferred to the platform, resulting in a processing bottleneck on the smart city platform.Under the concept of fog computing, processing procedures are executed at the gateway, allowing pre-processing of the M2M data and generating meaningful, consolidated, semantic information instead of just raw data. This reduces the information processing loads of the smart city data exchange platform. As for the data itself, it would be worthwhile to make the data entering the smart city information exchange platform even more complete, allowing entities from different application networks to more easily exchange, as well as obtain, meaningful information. It would also be worthwhile to integrate even more value-added services.Smart cities will create new business opportunitiesAs an example of how the efficient integration of user information could lead to new opportunities for service providers we can think of a typical LBS (Location Based Service) application. A mobile phone app could integrate user coordinates and combine that information with other value-added services, such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems), indoor navigation, and even socially guided shopping. During this process, information generated for the user includes positioning coordinates obtained from the mobile phone's cellular base station, and Wi-Fi or Bluetooth positioning information obtained for indoor navigation, digital clues about the user's shopping preferences left when engaging in social networks or when browsing the Web, as well as discount and shopping information provided by the stores they are shopping in. By linking all of this information together, we are able to provide the user with the most optimal shopping discount information by quickly conducting smart analytics on all relative information. If, however, all of the exchanged information were raw data that had not yet been processed, there would be no way to provide a tight and seamless smart shopping-guide experience to the user.If we effectively integrate the Internet of Everything, we can create an even more diverse range of business models and opportunities, as well as allow our work and our lives to become even more efficient through smart services, thereby producing unlimited possibilities in terms of value-added business opportunities. According to Tony Hsieh, Cisco wants to help different customers form smart groups, providing a data sharing and exchange platform under a Smart Everything architecture, which would allow different groups and entities to engage in mutual contact and communication on the platform, eliminating the past requirement of having to create an API (Application Programming Interface) or having to use a gateway to process data exchange needs from different network platforms.Cisco has already created a variety of IoE network applications, including transportation and shipping applications, healthcare applications, manufacturing applications, as well as smart device applications. Cisco has found that in order to realize smart services in smart cities, the barriers between different groups in different industries must be taken down, allowing information to be exchanged freely through a common platform and significantly reducing the difficulty of developing smart value-added services.Current technologies, including mobile computing, cloud services, high-speed 4G connections, Big Data, and IoT, can be taken advantage of to implement these strategies. Network technologies can be used to link different sectors, while IT technologies can be used to promote industrial restructuring. Furthermore, in terms of corporate expectations, new business models, growth and innovation, new experiences, as well as globalized services will attract even more industries to participate in building smart services.Tony Hsieh, Systems Engineer, Cisco Systems Taiwan Ltd.

The development of smart cities is one of the focuses for Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). This is because the success of the development lies closely in the development of machine-to-machine (M2M) interfaces and even Internet of Things (IoT) that requires comprehensive integration of the IP network. Hence GSMA has been cooperating with telecommunications firms around the world and through numerous interactions GSMA hopes to share Vision 2020, the developmental trend study of the future telecommunication market.As technologies continue to improve, smart city development has been incorporating structures of the new generation M2M and IoT. According to Jake Jia, Head of Strategic Engagement at GSMA Asia Pacific, in Vision 2020, the trend study conducted by GSMA with global telecommunication carriers and firms within the telecommunication service ecosystem, GSMA discovered providers of wireless telecommunication technologies, telecommunication carriers, and firms within the ecosystem will play a key role in the future development of smart cities. In addition, with government engagement and promotion, it is foreseeable that the omnipresence of the Internet and all things connected to IoT can be achieved in smart cities.Close relationships between smart city development and mobile communication industryJia stated that global smart city development trend has always been one of the focuses of GSMA. Beginning with demographic data analysis, Jia noted that in year 2020 more than half of the global population will move into urban areas and this large-scale migration will contribute to more challenges and problems. First of all, the environmental challenge. This challenge requires the government to play a key role, as the government needs to figure out how to effectively use energy, improve city environments while maintaining stable medical, education, and public services. Furthermore, with rising populations, it would be harder to manage and maintain the services. Hence, the question is how IoT and Internet technology can be applied under the concept of smart cities to improve government efficiency, and citizens' participation and satisfaction. This will become a major issue for the government to tackle when planning smart city developments.Jia believes mobile communication technology and all industrial communication technology will play a key role in smart city operations, especially when the goal for developing smart cities is to improve the quality of life for citizens. In planning and re-evaluating developments for smart services, the planning committee should keep this goal in mind and not just make smart infrastructure for the sake of it being smart. For example, Jia noted, increasing the smartness of energy supply and demand, introducing digital transportation fare systems, and transforming traditional government services into ones based on electronic or digital operations, can be adopted so citizens get to experience the value of living in a smart city.GSMA Vision 2020 study believes 4G network will facilitate smart city applicationsIn the GSMA Vision 2020 study, connectivity, the sensor, digital commerce, identity, and big data have been listed as some of the aspects in driving smart city developments. First of all, connectivity is important in the development of smart cities because it allows personal devices to be connected to the Internet at all times through M2M or IoT. As wireless communication continues to growth rapidly, such as the new generation 4G network or even 5G, high speeds and minimal delays will allow smart city developments to grow faster and show the advantages of increased smartness in services.The success of smart city development depends on sensor-related applications and technologies, said Jia, because these products allow equipment and devices to collect data and provide vital information for various smart services. Digital commerce services such as digital payment are designed to increase the convenience for users and help strengthen the concept of smart city in daily life.Sensor network with big data technology to improve smart city policy-makingJia mentioned the identity aspect as each citizen has many ID documents that are required on many occasions, such as applying for proof of residence or other services. For smart city developments, this type of IDs can be digitalized and such services can be completed via the Internet. Overcoming the challenge of transforming personal identification documents to virtual personal identification mechanisms will be a milestone for smart city developments that aim to increase the convenience for citizens.The big data concept has created much buzz, which is also an important technology in constructing smart city and related services. Following the rapid development of cloud technology, which highlights the importance of the big data application especially when this application can compile, process, analyze and share large amounts of data collected through various equipment. This allows the smart city and related services to derive more efficient and accurate policies based on the data.Communication technology affects smart city developmentsIn the Vision 2020 study, mobile network and application technology will bring dramatic changes to smart cities. Developments such as low power-consumption Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi, and 4G/5G wireless communication technologies not only serve the purpose of exchanging information and increasing the coverage of the Internet; with mobile telecommunication network, they can rapidly bring smart services to end-user devices. In addition, the telecommunication network can connect different devices to effectively link users, mobile devices, and smart service infrastructures to achieve the goal of connecting any device at any time anywhere to the smart city services.In particular, the development of smartphones and smart mobile devices is expected to bring revolutionary changes to the development of smart cities. GSMA discovered that smartphones are now the best portal for citizens to connect to smart city services. Through smartphones, smart city services can be effectively incorporated into the daily life. In addition, under the M2M and IoT environment, all smart devices can be connected and services can be obtained through smartphones, which further strengthen the coverage and development of smart devices and smart cities.Global data usage to increase by 11-fold in 2020The role of telecommunication carriers in smart city developments was also studied. Jia stated that telecommunication carriers play a key role in the mobile communication industry. In recent years, data usage has been growing fast as previous usage was less than 10% and now demand is strong. GSMA observed that in 2020, data usage can grow by 11-fold and developing countries such as China and Brazil will lead the market.As for the sources of mobile service revenues, Jia pointed out that telecommunication operators continue to account for the major part. Although telecommunication service providers are expected to account for 50% of the mobile service revenues in 2020, the growth will slow down showing approximately 3% of growth. In contrast, within the same ecosystem, content and service providers are expected to experience faster revenue growth from products such as apps, digital content and value-added services. The revenues generated by content and service providers will become comparable to that of telecommunication service providers. The competition and cooperation within the telecommunication industry will become more heated and complex.Jia pointed out the four key aspects that telecommunication carriers and the mobile communication industry will be involved in smart city developments: personal data, IoT, digital commerce/payments, and Network 2020. For personal data, the industry should increase the security and sharing mechanisms to allow users to easily share information without safety concerns. For IoT, the industry is facing the challenge of providing a more stable and smooth network environment while meeting the demand of IoT applications. Network 2020 is not a new concept, but according to Jia, the current wireless communication network, like the 4G network which Taiwan recently completed issuing licenses, needs to figure out ways to transform from traditional telecommunication networks to all IP-based application network in order to provide innovative products and create higher values for mobile communication.Jake Jia, Head of Strategic Engagement at GSMA Asia Pacific

Indium Corporation's Indium10.1 Solder Paste is a Pb-free halogen-containing solder paste with the lowest levels of voiding for QFNs, BGAs, and pads with large ground planes.The oxidation-inhibiting properties of Indium10.1 promote industry-leading head-in-pillow and graping resistance, with complete coalescence, even after long reflow profiles. The exceptional soldering ability of Indium10.1 makes it the best solution for components with less-than-ideal solderability and challenging RF shield metallizations.Indium10.1 enables the lowest cost of ownership to PCB assembly manufacturers through an all-around balanced performance in both high print and soldering yields. It boasts a versatile, well-balanced set of properties with best-in-class printing and soldering performance. Indium10.1 provides industry-leading print definition and transfer efficiency, low voiding performance, and head-in-pillow and graping resistance.Indium10.1 Solder Paste is part of Indium Corporation's family of high performance, lead-free solder pastes. The series was designed to provide multi-faceted performance characteristics, bringing the right balance of solder paste attributes tailored specifically to each specific manufacturing process. Each paste in the series was developed to optimize print performance and mitigate common defects faced by manufacturers of personal electronics, such as QFN voiding, head-in-pillow, and graping.For more information about Indium10.1 or the Pb-free Solder Paste series, visit www.indium.com/solder-paste-and-powders/leading-pb-free-solder-pastes/ or email askus@indium.com.Indium Corporation is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, solar, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil®. Founded in 1934, Indium has global technical support and factories located in China, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA.Indium10.1 Solder Paste

NXP Semiconductors (NXP Semiconductors N.V.), the global leader in integrated mobile solutions, showcased an expanded portfolio of cutting edge technology for total mobile solutions that reflect the company's long-term commitment and dedication to enable security and connectivity for a smarter world.Mobile devices are dramatically changing the way people interact with both the physical and cyber world, while also bringing endless opportunities in terms of convenience, comfort and efficiency for end users. A growing number of top-of-the-line smartphones come built with an increasing number of security, sensor and audio chips, as phone makers look for innovative and intuitive user interface technologies to differentiate their product offerings from the competition.NXP is a developer of contactless NFC, or near field communication chips, which are now widely used in mobile phones as well as banking and transportation cards. NXP's NFC solution has already been adopted by major mobile phone brands in Greater China. Among these design wins, the PN650 chip has been selected by OPPO, the leading smartphone supplier in China, for its latest smartphone Find 7 to initiate a wide range of mobile applications, including payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes and other customized services.NXP is also the world's largest supplier of secure technology that successfully enables billions of transactions in peoples' daily lives, ensuring interoperability and security in a connected ecosystem.In China, NXP Semiconductors' strategic partner Wuhan Tianyu Information Industry Co., Ltd (Tianyu) has been appointed as the supplier for the home-banking reader project by the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). NXP has a long-term close cooperation with Tianyu providing high quality Integrated Circuit (IC) chips for applications in banking card readers. Under the ICBC agreement with Tianyu, NXP will co-design and provide an advanced intelligent identification solution for the ICBC project. This is a breakthrough design that is driven in part by the increased demand for a more secure online shopping experience by Chinese consumers, and is expected to change our payment means in the future.The NXP home-banking reader provides a more convenient and efficient mobile payment solution which can verify security authentication data with any professional reader or other devices such as cell phones, computers or set top-boxes which are enabled to read the financial IC card embedded with NXP chips. As such the security verification can be done without the need for an additional U-key dongle. The home-banking reader device is connected via a USB port or similar interconnectivity port and can support extensive-use dual-interface cards to safeguard online financial activities.As smartphone makers continue to seek innovations to enhance user experience, NXP expects new market opportunities in its smart sensor platform solution. Coming complete with smart audio, the sensor hub is both a sensor fusion software and an environmental sensor. The platform can be used with a smartphone to read ambient temperature around phone users in real time and display it on the screen. Key to this system is a software algorithm that can calculate internal temperature of a smart phone and then reference it to an external temperature sensor to automatically extrapolate to get real ambient temperature.Furthermore, NXP's new audio system transforms the listening experience, enabling louder, richer sound quality from virtually any mobile device. The improvement allows consumers, handset makers and operators to immediately hear the difference. NXP's TFA9895, second-generation speaker booster solution further improves the sound quality of handsets and tablets via a new multi-band compression feature that enhances the way music and voice sound, even at louder speaker volumes."Being fully aware of the increasing growth of mobile devices, NXP has been collaborating with partners globally to modernize the way people connect and interact with the world," said Steve Owen, Executive Vice President, NXP Semiconductors. "Security and connectivity has been part of NXP's core value for a long time. The collaborations represent our determination to lead and develop the ecosystem in the market. We're excited to work together with like-minded partners and are committed to continue these success stories with even more exciting applications and innovations ahead of us."

NXP Semiconductors N.V. and DATANG TELECOM TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD recently announced that they have been awarded a business license for their joint venture (JV) by the Chinese Government. This marks the establishment of China's first true automotive semiconductor business.Headquartered in Nantong, China, near Shanghai, Datang NXP Semiconductors Co., Ltd. has begun operations. The company will focus on the research, development and sale of advanced application specific automotive ICs in High Performance Mixed Signal technology. NXP - already the number 1 automotive semiconductors supplier for China – has a 49% share in the JV with Datang Telecom owning the other 51%.The staff at Datang NXP Semiconductors Co., Ltd., comprised of local engineers and experts, will have a particular focus on developing semiconductor solutions supporting the growing demand for new automotive energy technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles in China. The Chinese government has placed emphasis on its commitment to developing energy saving and new energy vehicles that will support its growing economy.Datang NXP Semiconductors expects a ten-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 70% in the number of electric vehicles (EV), from less than 20,000 to over 3 million units in the next 10 years. The Chinese government is extending its program to subsidize the purchase of EVs, from 25 to more than 80 cities, and plans to invest heavily in building more charging infrastructure to support EVs, installing over 200,000 charging stations throughout the country."This is a very exciting time for NXP in China. With this JV we are in an ideal position to take advantage of the opportunities this diverse market presents. We are confident that the Chinese governments' investment program will be instrumental in driving the private customers' appetite for electric vehicles," said Drue Freeman, senior vice president, global automotive sales & marketing, NXP Semiconductors. "Alongside Datang Telecom we are making a long-term investment in China, and pioneering market-leading automotive solutions. Through these solutions we will be able to drive the industry forward in China and go on to make a positive impact on other markets across the world.""Bringing together the expertise of the market leader in China, NXP, and the local knowledge of Datang Telecom puts us in an ideal position to lead the Chinese automotive semiconductor market," said Paul Zhang chief executive officer and general manager of Datang NXP Semiconductors Co. Ltd. "What's important for us is that we are able to address the needs of the Chinese market as a local Chinese company, whether it's supporting electrification of modern vehicles or enabling power management; we will continue to innovate and offer solutions that will enable Chinese customers to meet the requirements of this incredibly fast growing automotive market. We have already begun this process, shipping products supporting light leveller systems, which NXP contributed to the JV."

Acer held a global launch event themed A Touch More Connected in New York on April 29, unveiling four new notebooks, two tablets, two AIO (all-in-one) PCs and a notebook/tablet 2-in-1 for launch in late May or June. Acer: New products Code name Type of product Recommended retail price Aspire E 11 11.6-inch Windows 8.1 notebook US$270, CNY2,599 (US$419) in the China market Aspire V 11 (touch) 11.6-inch Windows 8.1 touch-screen notebook US$370 Aspire E 14 14-inch Windows 8.1 touch-screen notebook US$299, CNY3,999 in the China market Aspire E 15 15.6-inch Windows 8.1 touch-screen notebook Iconia Tab 7 7-inch Android 4.4 tablet with 3G EUR149 (US$207) Iconia One 7 7-inch Android 4.2 tablet featuring gaming/entertainment performance US$130 Aspire U5-620 23-inch Windows 8.1 touch-screen AIO PC US$999 Aspire Z3-615 23-inch Windows 8.1 AIO PC US$600, CNY4,499 in the China market Aspire Switch 10 10.1-inch Windows 8.1 notebook/tablet 2-in-1(with keyboard dock) US$380 Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, April 2014Acer 23-inch Aspire U5-620Photo: CompanyAcer Aspire Switch 10Photo: Company

Swedish WTS (Wonder Technology Solutions) has launched Trax, the world's smallest and smartest personal tracking device for children and pets. Based on a u-blox GNSS receiver module with integrated antenna and cellular module, the tiny tracker can be located anywhere, anytime via a free Android or iPhone mobile phone app.In addition to real time tracking, Trax provides flexible geofence alerts, and can even monitor how fast your teenager is driving. It also works indoors thanks to a proprietary dead reckoning algorithm that delivers a position even when satellites are out of sight. Accurate down to 1.5 meters, the robust, water resistant device also provides an "augmented reality" mode that helps users locate their trackers using a Smartphone's built-in camera view.To achieve the smallest possible size, Trax takes advantage of u-blox' CAM-M8Q GNSS receiver module which has a built-in antenna. CAM-M8Q (Chip Antenna Module) provides both small size (9.6 x 14.0 x 1.95 mm) and multi-GNSS capability. It is based on a u-blox M8 chip and includes an integrated chip antenna plus SAW filter, LNA, TCXO, RTC crystal and passives. The surface-mount module is also extremely low in height making very thin customer designs possible."Trax is the world's smallest and most versatile personal tracking device available, packed with features designed to provide peace of mind to parents and pet owners almost anywhere in the world," said Fredrik Danelius, Managing Director at WTS, "By combining the leading GNSS and cellular technologies from u blox, we have designed a tiny, reliable, low-cost device that protects our most valuable family members: children and pets."Trax comes with an integrated SIM-card and two years of free data and roaming in 33 countries. It is charged via USB and typically lasts between two and four days on a full battery. For wireless connectivity, device integrates a u blox "SARA-G3" GSM/GPRS module which is footprint compatible with the SARA-U2 UMTS/HSPA module for easy 2G to 3G upgrade."Trax is an elegant and sophisticated example of our embedded GNSS and cellular modules combined to protect people's loved ones", said Pasi Alajoki, Area Sales Manager at u-blox, "It is an extremely important application of our mobile communications and global positioning technology where performance, size and power consumption play a critical role. We are proud WTS chose u-blox for Trax."For more information about u-blox cellular and positioning modules, visit http://www.u-blox.com/CAM-M8Q GNSS antenna module: just add power for drop-in global positioning