Mr. Teo Chee Hean (3rd from left), President of Singapore National Olympic Council, Deputy PM & Minister for Defence of Singapore, gamely poses with the Samsung Omnia Lite with Mr. Gregory Lee (fourth from left), President and CEO of Samsung Asia & senior executives from the Singapore Youth Olympic Council and Samsung South-east Asia.

CORP TALK: The world’s first Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore from 14-26 August 2010. Over 5,000 athletes, aged between 14-18 years old, and officials from 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will be competing in 26 sports and take part in a Culture and Education Program (CEP).

As part of its commitment as the Worldwide Partner for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Samsung Electronics will provide over 5,000 sets of Samsung Omnia Lite (B7300) mobile phones to athletes and key team officials.

These smart phones come preloaded with the “Digital Concierge for Singapore 2010″ app that will allow users to access Singapore 2010-related content and services anytime, anywhere.

The app lets them obtain personalized schedules on competition events and map content. They can also find out the latest sport results and get updates on the CEP activities. It’ll also come with fun, interactive mobile services for one-stop mobile social networking functionality.

CORP TALK: Singapore’s telecom and cable TV provider StarHub has has launched an enhanced mobile TV app across major phone platforms like BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Android, with support from phone brands like Acer, HTC, LG, Motorola, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Plans are also underway to have this app on Apple iPhone and Nokia Symbian platforms before the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The StarHub TV on Mobile service was launched about a year ago, and it now boasts 24 premium cable TV channels anytime, anywhere. The app itself was developed by award-winning mobile developer SPB. (more…)

CORP TALK: It has been in talks for months but it’s finally here. The two remaining telecom companies in Singapore - M1 & StarHub - will be joining SingTel when they launch the Apple iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS this Wednesday, 9 December 2009.

SingTel was the exclusive distributor of the iPhone 3G when it was first launched last year. It then brought in the iPhone 3GS on July 10 this year.

The Singapore team at HardwareZone.com has compiled a chart comparing the plans of all three telcos in the run-up to their impending launches.

Hit the link to check out the chart (prices are in Singapore dollars). (more…)

Google Street View comes to Singapore.

CORP TALK: Google has announced the launch of Street View in Singapore, where users can view and navigate in 360 degrees street-level imagery of the city, including its neighborhoods.

Taken by Street View cars along all public roads earlier this year, the imagery includes major locations like Orchard Road, Marina Bay and Clarke Quay, Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam and heartland areas like Tampines, Jurong and Woodlands.

The best part about this is that Street View can be accessed on the mobile phone, giving users a virtual photo-based street guide when they need to find a specific building or location.

Street View for Google Maps was launched in May 2007 and is now available in more than 100 metropolitan areas worldwide. Singapore is the first in Southeast Asia and the fourth in APAC, after Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The technology in Street View blurs faces and license plates, and users can easily flag images for removal if they’re deemed inappropriate.

CORP TALK: Research in Motion (RIM) has just released BlackBerry App World, the official app store for BlackBerry smartphone users, in Singapore and Indonesia, after first launching it in April.

Of course, App World works across most BlackBerry smartphones. They have to operate on a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA network and include a trackball, touch-sensitive trackpad, or touchscreen running BlackBerry OS 4.2 or higher.

Users can access App World here or mobile.blackberry.com via their handsets.

Indonesia specific apps at launch include Taxi Indonesia Dialer, Makan and Caripromo while Singapore specific apps include iCab SG (easy taxi-request service).

Foyage (travel guide assistant), Spionard (remote surveillance alarm) and Pintas (Internet search optimizer) are also available for users in both Indonesia and Singapore. Most of these apps are free, while some are free for a limited period of time.

Here’s a promo video on the App World service:

Paolo Manzano, Managing Editor, HWM Philippines

Paolo (HWM Philippines): Indonesia must have quite a community of BlackBerry users for them to launch alongside Singapore.

However, I do hope that they can improve on the selection and number of applications made available to end users, though I am aware that those named are but a sample of what is currently available.

However, I am also aware of the support that both Microsoft and Apple enjoy in terms of development and sheer number of available apps.

Perhaps some sort of developer program or developer incentive on a country or region level would prove to be the boost that developers need to start generating even more useful applications and content for BlackBerry users.

(more…)