LiveMap Helmet (updated 5/21/2015)

I am not sure this is using Microvision, but it does look promising. (the text below from their website talks about using PicoP in various resolutions. They aren't referring to a resolution that specifically singles out Microvision or Microvision/Sony)

They also talk of using a lense, which doesn't speak to Microvision -- although the installation is unusual and such an unusual installation may require a lense.

If it is not Microvision's PicoP -- it is a potential market for it.

To be unveiled in MAY 2015 

"The final version will be unveiled in the US in May, and go on sale in August, costing 2,000 dollars each."

Recent Summary Article (Added 5/21/15)

LiveMap Helmet YouTube Channel

LiveMap Website







The video below, they mention "laser pico engine" twice between 4:25-4:50 (it's all interesting.)




From Livemap.info/news

2014 Year’ result in R&D, news about finance injection.

---

December 19, 2014 

Do you want heard news about our product?

Did we tell you that we decided to switch to the more comfortable flip-up scheme & said about it in TechCrunch Hardware battlefield CES 2014? Yes, we did.

All 2014 year we are busy building the pre-production prototype of the new optics – tiny and effective. It’s a quite new approach based on aspherical elements. Specs and drawings cannot be disclosed yet until the patent application is approved. Otherwise we will not be able to obtain the patent in the USA and Europe according to the law.

We make serial version in aspheric optics to minimize volume & weight (1st variant in the video reel & our public plans based on the spherical optics, and it’s answer why 1st variant integral helmet have unusual size). A single aspheric lens can often replace a much more complex multi-lens system. The resulting device is smaller and lighter, and sometimes cheaper than the multi-lens design.

You can read about this in 2 links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspheric_lens
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/opinion/html/aspherical.htm

Aspheric optics it’s very hard work in calculation & a lot of work to start mass production. I understand is hard to understanding & i have short example to show it – Many objectives Nikon/Tamron/Canon/Zeiss have only 1-2 aspheric lenses in objectives and other 4-7 spherical, but in our serial product all lenses will be aspheric with with ultra precision characteristics .

The other hard task in this work, to control cost serial optics, in 2014 year we made 5 absolutely different new designs (a few hundreds implementations in Zemax) optic system & downgrade costs for serial optics from a few thousands $ to a few hundred $ at this moment, aspheric optics is not cheaper (ask google, about price for objectives with aspheric lenses) & make aspheric design with good/normal costs for mass-market is a little crazy hard task.

We prepared our serial product at 720p picop engine (in the 1st prototype, you can see it in the video-reel, we already use 848×480 picop eniges). It’s will be “Retina” projection system. New optic system have higher resolution (2.2X more pixels than previous prototype) & have 3 times brighter than previous well-known 1st prototype & at the same time have only 30% volume from 1st optic prototype.

In order to provide this specifications, we have broken the theoretical limits in Aspheric optics & downgrade costs to produce aspheric optics with ultra precision characteristics.

The work was carried out by two science institutes in Russia together with optical glass melt company from Japan and worldwide market leader in aspheric optics (company from USA). Total number of engineers and opticians who worked on this work was more than 20 people from different countries.

Received results of our work are disruptive innovation in the aspheric optics industry, thats is the answer why Russian Ministry of Science support us and give us grant in December, the amount of 300 000 USD for R&D and for building revolutionary aspheric prototype.

PS We will present pre-serial prototype in the Spring 2015.
We will start sales final helmets in the Summer 2015 in the 1st market USA.

Connected Vehicles @ CES

Check out the full article at Bloomberg. Microvision will be at CES in private suites.

Microvision will be providing an excellent solution to automakers for delivering information to drivers. 

At Bloomberg

...cars are among the main attractions at the International CES that opens Jan. 6 featuring vehicles with touchscreen dashboards and others controlled by smartwatches. Fields is making a triumphant return as Ford’s chief executive officer, where he’ll deliver a speech about the dawn of the connected-car era. Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche will be there, too, discussing the latest concept of a self-driving Mercedes-Benz. They join a record 10 automakers showing their wares on an exhibit space the size of three football fields. 

“CES has become a major launch point for a lot of the big automakers,” said Mark Boyadjis, technology analyst for researcher IHS in Minnetonka, Minnesota. “CES is a way for them to get on a global stage for technology.” 

Photographer: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg

Mark Fields, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Co.

Industry Trend 

Ford is not alone. This year, Volkswagen AG makes its debut at the show that also includes Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp., Audi, BMW and FCA US LLC, formerly known as Chrysler Group LLC. 

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW, in its second year at CES, has a sprawling exhibit that includes a fleet of more than 100 cars and covers 57,475 square feet (5,300 square meters) of space just outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. Visteon Corp. (VC), a supplier of technology to car cockpits, doubled the size of its display, a gleaming silver and orange structure that houses three demonstrator vehicles and four private offices. 

The amount of exhibit space at CES dedicated to car technologies has almost doubled over the last five years to 165,000 square feet, according to Tara Dunion, a spokeswoman for the show. 

“When you look at who’s coming, with Mark Fields and Dieter Zetsche and all of us, it has become an auto show,” Tim Leuliette, Visteon’s CEO, said in an interview. “It’s reflective of the vehicle becoming a mobile device. Welcome to the new world.” 

Competing on Computing 

Drivers are demanding their cars keep them constantly connected like a smartphone on wheels. In-vehicle technology is the top selling point for 39 percent of car buyers, more than twice the 14 percent who care most about horsepower and handling, according to a survey last year from the Accenture consulting firm. The number of cars connected to the Internet worldwide will grow more than fourfold to 152 million by 2020 from 36 million today, according to IHS. 

Traditional Tech 

Even traditional technology exhibitors are getting on the automotive bandwagon. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), a Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker for video games and personal computers, has converted three-quarters of its stand this year to automotive, including displaying a new roadster and an electric supercar. 

“Two years ago, our booth would have been filled with PCs and people playing video games,” said Danny Shapiro, senior director of Nvidia’s automotive business unit, which supplies processors to Audi, BMW and Tesla Motors Inc. “This year we made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the booth on automotive and de-prioritize some of the other things.” 

It’s a shift driven by dollars. The Consumer Electronics Association forecasts factory-installed vehicle technologies will increase 3 percent in 2015 to $11.3 billion. Nearly one-third of U.S. households now own a vehicle equipped with an electronic infotainment system, according to CEA. 

Many of those systems get their start in Vegas. CES, despite its setting on the Vegas Strip, has less glitz and more substance than typical auto shows, said Visteon’s Leuliette, who is booked solid with prospect meetings next week. 

“The Detroit auto show is a social event,” Leuliette said. “We’re making decisions in Vegas.” 

Closed-Door Meetings 

Typical of high rollers in Vegas, the big deals go down in private hotel suites far from the convention floor. In those closed-door meetings, technology suppliers show off their most futuristic wares to automakers intent on keeping the deals secret until the high-tech feature is ready for the road. 

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Dearborn, Michigan, at knaughton3@bloomberg.net

News from UPS. Very interesting Video

At Yahoo
A test for UPS: One day, 34 million packages
UPS Reducing Training Time

"That automated system—known as its “Next Generation Sort Aisle”—is now operating at three hubs around the country. The new technology scans packages and quickly flashes instructions to workers so they can process 15% more packages a day, or as many as 47,000 parcels an hour, as measured at one of the hubs."

"Chris Aluka Berry for The Wall Street Journal Sorters at the UPS hub in Atlanta, where new technology scans packages and quickly flashes instructions to workers so they can process as many as 15% more packages a day."

CES is soon!! What happened 10 months before?

I'm just going to leave this here and say I think that it's going to be an interesting CES.

February 20, 2014

Sony Develops Pico Projector Module with High-Definition Resolution and Focus-free Image Projection

Tokyo, Japan – February 20, 2014 – Sony Corporation today announced the development of a pico projector module equipped with Sony's independently-developed image processing system, that uses laser beam scanning (LBS)^*1 to realize crisp, beautiful high-definition resolution and "focus-free" projection, regardless of the distance or angle from the projection surface. By combining this module with Wi-Fi components and a battery, it can realize a compact, pocket-sized projector which can be used to project images from products such as smartphones or tablets, focus-free and in even higher resolution, on any flat or curved surface such as a wall or desk.

*1 A semiconductor laser is used as the light source. The laser beam is then reflected and controlled using a
MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) mirror to scan and project the image.
*2 Resolution 1920 x 720; aspect ratio 16:9. 

• 
  
  Pico projector module
• 
  
  Image of "Focus-free" projection

Currently, modules mounted on battery-driven pico projectors use a panel system, which generally have VGA (640 x 480) or WVGA (800 x 480) resolution. In addition, most of these pico projectors have usage limitations depending on the distance of the projector from the projection surface, such as requiring focus adjustments, or projection from a front-on angle.

This newly developed module is composed primarily of a semiconductor laser, MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) mirror^*3, their respective drivers, and a video processor to control the video signal processing and image output. It adopts a LBS system that incorporates a semiconductor laser as the source of light, whereby the laser beam is reflected and controlled by a MEMS mirror to scan and project the image. By developing a video processor that ensures the semiconductor laser and MEMS mirror can be controlled with the utmost precision, Sony has achieved high-resolution HD image quality that surpasses VGA and WVGA, which are the current mainstream resolution for battery-driven pico projectors. Furthermore, the advanced light-harvesting capability and directness of the laser beam ensure that the projected image remains in focus, regardless of the distance or angle from the projection surface. This module can project clear images to a screen size of approximately 40 inches from a projection distance of one meter, and approximately 120 inches from a distance of three meters. Furthermore, optical technology developed by Sony has been used to achieve a reduction in laser speckle noise (noise from specks in the image), which had previously been a challenge for LBS systems. This module also delivers beautiful, crisp projection with a wide color gamut and higher contrast compared to conventional panel systems. In addition, it is equipped with an independently-developed distortion correction circuit which corrects screen shapes such as rectangles that can be distorted into trapeziums^*4 when projected from certain angles to their original shape.

Sony will continue the development of this module to achieve even more compact size and intense brightness, and aims to bring it to market for use in pico projectors and other devices with projector functionality.

*3 Incorporates the PicoP technology developed by MicroVision, Inc.
*4 This module alone cannot automatically detect angled projection and make corrections.
     The resolution of the projected image may not reach 1920 x 720 when the angle is corrected.

• 
  
  Main configuration of the pico projector module

Main Features

1) Achieves high-resolution HD^*2

2) The independently-developed image processing system featuring LBS realizes crisp and beautiful image projection

• "Focus-free" regardless of the distance or angle from the projection surface, enabling easy projection onto flat or curved surfaces, such as walls or desks
• Wide color gamut, high contrast
• No residual image lag even for videos with rapid movements

3) Equipped with distortion correction circuit technology which corrects distorted screen shapes such as trapeziums when projected from an angle, to the original rectangular shape^*4

4) Compact dimensions (52.5mm length x 63.0mm width x 7.2mm height)

* Any company names and/or product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective corporations.
   Note that the ™ and ® symbols have been omitted from this document.

Maybe....

We do not know that this is a Microvision enabled device, but it is a laser display and very well could be. If so, it appears getting it into US retailers is already handled.

There is an interesting parallel between this picture and the recently released Sony Video.

Celluon

From Celluon Twitter feed
Two pico projectors in our lineup: #PicoAir and #PicoPro. PicoAir will be wireless only and PicoPro will be both wireless and HDMI capable. 2:42 PM - 18 Dec 2014

Know how there were MP3 players before #apple made them mainstream? @Celluon WILL do the same for Pico Projectors! @intlCES @engadget @CNET 9:39 PM - 17 Dec 2014

@celluon We saw AirPico in September... When will we see AirPico again?

We decided to go with #PicoAir instead of AirPico. First look will be at #CES2015 and will be in most major US retailers.

Welcome to the new world

XPERIA BLOG

Welcome to the new world.

The blog (at the link above) includes a rundown to possible meaning of the scenes from the video.

Is there anything here pointing to PicoP? Maybe.

Netflix will NOT go offline

Article at Source (Examiner.com) 

I scraped this due to excessive pop-ups that made my computer do weird things. This apparently means that other players will have the upper hand in the PicoP ecosystem for offline viewing.  Amazon and Sony? (New mobile protocols?  Like Ericsson 40gbps?)

Netflix WILL work with devices that are connected to WIFI or mobile networks, but will not allow DOWNLOADS.

Also this: Netflix with ShowWX

Netflix will do short clips. - to increase mobile viewing

Thanks Alessandro!

Netflix says 'never' to offline viewing

December 17, 2014 2:20 PM MST 

 

Netflix has laid down the law, much like a parent who’s just tired of hearing about cake for breakfast. It’s never going to happen. But for Netflix, what won’t ever happen is offline viewing. 

According to TechRadar on Wednesday, the company will never follow services like BBC iPlayer in making their content downloadable for viewing when not connected to the web. Director of Corporate Communications and Technology Cliff Edwards told TechRadar that offline downloads are viewed as a “short-term fix for a bigger problem.” He sees that problem being access to Wi-Fi and the quality of Wi-Fi overall.

While it sounds like he’s being harsh to use the word ‘never,’ it doesn’t come from a place of pure stubbornness, but out of hope for the industry. He believes that by the time five years have passed, the standards for Wi-Fi and video viewing will have advanced enough to make offline viewing obsolete. So Netflix is keeping future you in mind, and not the current you, who just wants to keep binging on “Sons Of Anarchy” while traveling for the holidays. 

To ARSTechnica, a Netflix representative even went as far as to say that, “there are plenty of other options if people want offline playback.” So, it doesn’t seem like Netflix is hurting by not providing this service. Those other options include Amazon Prime Instant Video and YouTube, among others.

We’re certainly hoping for a Wi-Fi-filled world, but considering there are still parts of the country without access to reliable cell service or internet at all, we won’t hold them to that exact timeline.

SONY trademarks "Mental Supplement"

I don't know what this is, but I've seen this same report (reported in the same words) on several web venues.

At times developers and console manufacturers trademarks some rather strange stuff, and that’s the case of Sony Computer Entertainment, that recently filed to trademark “Mental Supplement” at the Japanese Patent and Trademark Office. 

A hint could be provided by the class, which is 9 (that indicates something related to games), and specifies “electrical connectors, wires, electrical cables and electrical adapter, universal serial bus cables.” 

This seems to indicate that we’re looking at something hardware-related, but with trademarks you can never tell. 

Scraped & Tweaked text from a website. The same language was used on several sites, I don't know who exactly to credit with it.

Air Browser App

Given the right application, this will be possible with PicoP and a phone -- except you'll be able to carry it with you wherever you go.

http://www.airbrowser-app.com

Would you like to surf the web, watch streaming videos, read newspapers and do everything else you normally do on your Mac browser, in full screen on your TV? Pinch to zoom, swipe, bookmark pages — all using your iOS device as a remote control?

AirBrowser let’s you do all these things. You can get the full desktop browsing experience on your television, with all the sites you visit optimally scaled to fit your TV’s screen size. Read on and watch the AirBrowser video for more info on this easy-to-use app.

AirBrowser is a specialized app that lets you browse the Internet in desktop mode on Apple TV. It’s very different from Apple’s standard screen mirroring. With this new solution, your mobile device acts as trackpad and keyboard while web content is automatically shown in desktop mode, rather than the usual stripped-down mobile format, on your connected TV. It’s like you control a real mouse pointer on your giant TV screen.

Microvision's Moat

Eventually I will compile several things I'm looking at into a single cohesive post.

Microvision has a lot of patents.

They also have manufacturing processes -- and it's NOT easy to put tiny little things together.

A comparable process would be putting miniature accelerometers together.

Here's an article I found about that. Comes with a cool video.

IBtimes - How does an Accelerometer work

I'm looking for an assembly line of such an item.

Cicret Bracelet

The CICRET bracelet is part of a crowd-funding effort. 

I am profoundly skeptical that it could work as it is shown. To get this kind of image on a fore-arm, the projector would have to be shining straight down on it -- not from up on the wrist as shown. If everyone had a uniform and perfectly flat forearm, I suspect it could be done.

But the campaign has been popular. Many of my friends have shared this with me, and with each other.

How popular will Microvision be, when their product is released soon?

Google Search: Microvision gets 505,000 hits
Google Search: PicoP gets 330,000 hits

Microvision has been following those non-disclosure agreements!

Cicret gets 28,000,000 hits.

That's the power of hype. When devices with PicoP inside start making the rounds and looking a lot better than this fantasy. Things will go nicely for us.

WHY Apple TV on Hold

Very interesting comments and insights in here. 

Like many other articles about the topic, there is apparently no awareness of  the potential for a complete change of form factor.

At Mac Observer

Why Apple’s Next Generation TV Project is on Hold

John Martellaro 
@jmartellaro

Dec 12th, 2014 1:20 PM EST | Particle Debris

Sometimes a graph tells a story very nicely but it leaves it to our speculation as to the underlying cause and the implications for the future. Here's the chart: "There's A Reason It Seems Like Everyone Is Always Staring At Their Smartphones."

Credit:  Business Insider

To make my headline case, I need to backtrack and explore this graph with some context.

Off the cuff, this kind of share graph can be deceptive. People don't buy a new TV every year, but they're crazy about smartphones. A family may have one HDTV but a half dozen phones for home and work. TV ads can be annoying, and it requires a DVR to expunge them, sometimes without complete success—by their design. On the other hand, smartphone and tablet displays are smaller, but the kind of content consumed may be more pleasing in principle. So is it mobility that's key or the perhaps temporary inability to push bandwidth hogging ads over cellular? Customer toleration for a waste of their mobile dollars is low.

Given that, we can still move on and look at relative trends. The Print part of the graph is perfectly understandable and is a reflection of how a low-tech, under-funded industry can get into trouble quickly in this high tech era. The Radio part is also easy to understand because people can listen to their own music, a virtual radio station, with subscriptions on a smartphone. Finally, the Online graph is understandable in light of people moving away from complex desktops and towards tablets—which are more mobile but not always used in a mobile environment. For example, as second screens.

The takeaway from this graph is that there are seemingly unstoppable trends, and while we pay quite a bit of attention to the obvious trends in radio and print, the unstoppable trend on the TV industry side is often dismissed—along with cord-cutters.

Broadcast TV's Dirty Secret

The one thing I keep coming back to when I look at this chart is that no one really enjoys watching commercials when viewing conventional TV. There are now much better ways to communicate to customers. That's the most fundamental fact of our time, and yet the implications are always brushed under the rug in order to preserve the industry's cash flow.

The movement to mobile versions of movies and TV shows as well as Netflix and Amazon Primemeans that conventional Network TV shows will become more and more devalued. As a result, the networks will continue to haggle with carriers over carriage fees (and things like Dish's Ad Hopper). The whole thing is just going to break and break badly at some point because the video experience on mobile devices, especially phablets, is so much better. We don't need a DVR for our iPhone.  That sounds trite, but it's actually fundamental.

Given enough time, I believe the majority of TV viewers will generally abandon ad based network TV shows, and it's not because people love watching video on a 5-inch display. For additonal insight, see "TV IS OVER: Mobile Is Demoting TV To The Status Of Newspapers In Viewers And Ad Money." Like the iPod. iTunes and music, when an industry starts to come apart at the seams, Appleloves to jump in and create a disruption. Despite the content holders' extensive contracts, deals, protections, multiple delivery modes and efforts to cover all the bases, the danger from Apple is always lurking.

Perhaps the delay in Apple's next generation TV project is because Apple is waiting for key signs that the Networks are helpless to stop what's happening to them. When it's too late for a comeback, Apple can be poised to bring to bear a new technology that the networks never had the savvy or technical expertise to develop themselves. Then, Apple could slam the door of opportunity shut for good. 

Why go toe to toe when the opponent is already in self-destruct mode? Sometimes, as Sun Tzu said, lying in wait for the right moment can lead to victory.

Next page: the tech news debris for the week of December 8.

This content was scraped, to insure it will be retained, and because so much deserved highlights. please visit its page of origin.

IBM & Apple deliver first wave of MobileFirst Apps

From Apple
In a PicoP equipped world these applications could be additionally interesting.
Microvision has a significant connection to IBM through board member Jeanette Horan.

Apple and IBM Deliver First Wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS Apps

Big Data Analytics and Security Capabilities Arrive
on iPhone & iPad

CUPERTINO, California and ARMONK, New York—December 10, 2014—Apple® and IBM today deliver the first wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions in a new class of made-for-business apps and supporting cloud services that bring IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone® and iPad® users in the enterprise. IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available to enterprise customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines, thanks to an unprecedented collaboration between Apple and IBM. IBM clients today announcing support for IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions include: Citi, Air Canada, Sprint and Banorte.

“What we’re delivering aims directly at the new quest of business—smart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “Our collaboration combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.”

“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organizations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”

In targeting key opportunities and priorities within industries, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps take enterprise mobility a level deeper, helping employees access their company’s full capabilities wherever they interact with clients—faster, easier and more securely than ever before.

Built exclusively for iPhone and iPad, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps are delivered in a secure environment, embedded with analytics and linked to core enterprise processes. The apps can be customized for any organization and easily deployed, managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices, with security across the data, app and device. This first suite of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions is now available across multiple industries, with additional apps being continuously designed and developed:

• Plan Flight (Travel and Transportation) addresses the major expense of all airlines—fuel—permitting pilots to view flight schedules, flight plans, and crew manifests ahead of time, report issues in-flight to ground crews, and make more informed decisions about discretionary fuel.
• Passenger+ (Travel and Transportation) empowers flight crews to offer an unmatched level of personalized services to passengers in-flight—including special offers, re-booking, and baggage information.
• Advise & Grow (Banking and Financial Markets) puts bankers on premise with their small business clients, with secure authorization to access client profiles and competitive analyses, gather analytics-driven insights to make personalized recommendations, and complete secure transactions.
• Trusted Advice (Banking and Financial Markets) allows advisors to access and manage client portfolios, gain insight from powerful predictive analytics—in the client’s kitchen or at the local coffee shop, rather than the advisor’s office—with full ability to test recommendations with sophisticated modeling tools all the way to complete, secure transactions.
• Retention (Insurance) empowers agents with access to customers’ profiles and history, including an analytics-driven retention risk score as well as smart alerts, reminders, and recommendations on next best steps and facilitation of key transactions like collection of e-signatures and premiums.
• Case Advice (Government) addresses the issue of workload and support among caseworkers who are making critical decisions, one family or situation at a time, on the go. The solution adjusts case priorities based on real-time analytics-driven insights, and assesses risk based on predictive analysis.
• Incident Aware (Government) converts an iPhone into a vital crime prevention asset, presenting law enforcement officers with real-time access to maps and video-feeds of incident locations; information about victim status, escalation risk, and crime history; and improved ability to call for back-up and supporting services.
• Sales Assist (Retail) enables associates to connect with customer profiles, make suggestions based on previous purchases and current selections, check inventory, locate items in-store, and ship out-of-store items.
• Pick & Pack (Retail) combines proximity-based technology with back-end inventory systems for transformed order fulfillment.
• Expert Tech (Telecommunications) taps into native iOS capabilities including FaceTime® for easy access to expertise and location services for route optimization to deliver superior on-site service, more effective issue resolution and productivity as well as improved customer satisfaction.

“Mobile innovations are driving profound impact on how Citi delivers superior client experiences, particularly those that extend our enterprise expertise all the way to the point of customer contact,” said Heather Cox, Chief Client Experience, Digital and Marketing Officer for Global Consumer Banking at Citi. “There’s terrific energy in our collaboration with IBM and Apple around the goal of equipping our professionals with mobile capability that will create new competitive advantage and enable us to re-imagine how we share our knowledge to improve the quality of life for our clients.”

To supplement the IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps, the partnership between Apple and IBM offers business customers additional levels of capability integrated for enterprise mobility, including:

• Mobile Platform and Enterprise Integration—Leveraging IBM’s global industry consulting expertise, client experience design and enterprise systems integration from analytics, workflow and cloud storage, to fleet-scale device management, security and integration. Enhanced mobile management includes a private app catalog, data and transaction security services, and productivity suite for all IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions. In addition to on-premise software solutions, all these services will be available on Bluemix—IBM’s development platform on the IBM Cloud Marketplace.
• Supply, activate and manage—Streamlined end-to-end procurement, deployment and lifecycle management—at scale; along with cloud solutions for enterprise security, device management, and data and process integration. IBM Global Financing leasing options and services to allow organizations to keep pace with latest device releases.
• AppleCare for the Enterprise—Providing IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance for their devices from Apple’s award-winning customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM.

For more information regarding the new Apple and IBM solutions, please visit www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/mobilefirst-for-ios.html or www.apple.com/business/mobile-enterprise-apps/.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

About IBM MobileFirst
IBM’s 6,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, which have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. Through IBM's partnership with Apple, the two organizations are transforming enterprise mobility with a new class of industry specific business apps. For more information on IBM MobileFirst, visit the press kit or www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. Follow @IBMMobile on Twitter, and see IBM MobileFirst on YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook.