The year 2016 is likely to herald a new age in how we interact with technology.
With that in mind, Financial Tribune focuses on six technologies that are expected to make their mark in the domestic market. These occupied center-stage at last week’s International Exhibition of Electronics, Computer and E-Commerce otherwise known as Elecomp.
During the course of the four-day event, over 1,000 people visited the expo and more than 100 local and 10 foreign media outlets covered the event. However, as interesting as the current set of tech is, a number of new products and services will radically change how we interact.
Here are some of the latest services and technologies presented by technology firms at Elecomp 2015.
1. Lithium Battery
One Iranian tech company, FARPAM, revealed its latest generation of lithium batteries. These are smaller in size and weigh less compared to previous prototypes and the battery life is said to have increased up to four times.
According to an exhibition press release, the batteries are reportedly more environmentally-friendly, can be remotely monitored and will be safer to use.
Mehdi Nazemian, the company’s CEO, noted that the product can be used in a range of industries from mobile and telecommunications to military.
“In general, an industry relying on backup power is our targeted customer,” he said. FARPAM was established six years ago and now has 150 employees. The company specializes in power and data centers.
2. Public WiFi
The infrastructures needed for delivering high-speed WiFi services in public spaces have been prepared and the coverage will begin in the coming months, said Reza Khalili, networking deputy of the Telecommunications Company of Tehran, ICTNA reported.
Mohammad Ali Yousefi, the CEO of another prominent Internet service provider, AsiaTech, also said the company was overhauling its infrastructures and will be delivering public WiFi services with speeds of up to 155 megabytes by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2016). The company will be delivering the services at 100 areas in major cities, including hotels, airports, shopping malls and train stations.
3. MCI
Iran’s first mobile operator, Hamrah-e-Avval or MCI, also presented its latest services at Elecomp.
Avval Market
The company revealed its own version of application store for Android-based devices dubbed Avval Market. The market stores nearly 70,000 mobile applications, 2,500 of which are Iranian-made.
According to Mohammad Reza Ghazi, the store’s head of customer services, the app store will be launched in a month and holders of MCI SIM cards will be able to use it. The service features in-app payments and the expense will be added to phone bills.
Film Net
Gaining a share in the multimedia market is Film Net, a service made for video sales on demand.
Mohammad Reza Akbari, Film Net’s content specialist, said the service has attracted one and a half million users, 700,000 of whom are actively using the platform.
Aside from an application, Film Net also has a desktop service; however, more users seem to be using it on their mobile devices. Currently 4,000 movies, television series and animations are available for viewing. MCI SIM card holders will be charged an extra amount on their phone bills for using the service. However, those who receive mobile services from other Iranian operators may also use Film Net.
Hamrahang
It seems as though the entertainment business is the next lucrative revenue maker, as telecoms company MCI also revealed a new audio and music service last week.
Available for download on Android-based devices, Hamrahang is an application that helps users purchase music and audio books.
According to Amin Dezfoulian, the app’s head of maintenance and support, during the five months that the app has been launched, “it has won a 20% share of the audio entertainment market”. Currently 11,000 music tracks are available for purchase on Hamrahang.
Ghalam Aval and Iris
The operator has also ventured into the realm of education by releasing an application focused on students’ school courses. The application includes educational material in the form of documents and videos and has a feature that enables students to take mock-tests.
The content has been provided by Kanoon Farhangi Amoozesh (also known as Ghalamchi), which is a private organization in Iran’s educational sector offering a wide range of educational products and services such as biweekly exams and educational books.
4. Lenovo
PC on a Stick
Lenovo’s Ideacentre Stick 300, otherwise known as the world’s smallest Windows-based computer, saw its way to Iran and was introduced at Elecomp by an Iranian computer sales and after-sales services firm named Aawaat.
Weighing only 65 grams, the pocket-sized “PC on a stick” turns any screen with an HDMI port into a functioning Windows 10 computer, enabling media consumption, web browsing, video calls and more. Established in 2010, Aawaat is the official representative of ASUS and Lenovo in Iran. Expect mobile computing to shift radically.
Yoga Tab 3
Aawaat also presented the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro. An Android tablet, it features a host of multimedia capabilities, including good sound setup and a built-in projector.
The solid, premium-build device favors feel and heft over lightweight portability. At 667 grams, the tablet is designed to be propped up on its built-in kickstand rather than held for long periods. The device has a 10.1-inch QHD (2560×1600) IPS display as well as a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
In addition to WiFi and Bluetooth 4, connectivity features include optional 4G, a standard Micro USB charging port and a micro SD card slot that will let you add a further 128 GB of space to its inbuilt 16 GB of eMMC storage.
5. Xiaomi
A local firm named MiHamrah presented a range of Xiaomi products at the expo.
Xiaomi is a private-owned Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is the world’s fourth largest smartphone maker. It designs, develops and sells smartphones, mobile apps, wearables, smart home devices and other related consumer electronics.
A range of Xiaomi earphones, headphones smart-bands, USB lights and blue-tooth headsets and mini-routers were all on display and some were being sold with special expo discounts, technology website Zoomit reported.
The company also had Xiaomi health products on display, including devices for measuring blood sugar levels and heart beats as well as a smart-scale.
What struck as odd, however, was that smartphones—the product Xiaomi is most famous for—were not on display.
MiHamrah’s representatives noted that the smartphones “are also on their way and will officially enter Iran in the near future”.
6. The Connected Vehicle
As written earlier in the week, MTN-Irancell has pushed forward with its plans to connect our vehicles to the Internet.
The telecoms giant showcased their first “4G-Enabled Car”; what this will likely mean is that people by the end of 2106 will think it normal to replace their old radio head unit with a more connected replacement.
