Facebook might have acquired Instagram, but that’s not stopping the site from releasing a social photo-sharing app of its own.

Camera is Facebook’s newest mobile app for iOS, and it puts the many photos our friends post every day into one place. Like Instagram, photos are arranged in chronological order, and you can add your own photos directly from the app.

Facebook’s Camera is the third feature of the social networking site to be split from the main app itself. Messenger broke out the chat functions of Facebook last August, and Pages (released earlier this week) allows fan page owners to administer those pages from their mobile devices.

Given the complexity of the app, it appears Facebook has been hard at work for a while to create a photo-sharing app to compete with Instagram. In Camera lets photos fill the screen, allows commenting and sharing and, of course, there are some fun filters and editing tools to turn your photos into true works of art.

What separates Camera from the original Facebook mobile app for photos (and from Instagram, as well) is the capability to upload multiple photos versus the current one-at-a-time method.

Don’t expect Camera to feel like Instagram though: Since it pulls from photos posted from the main site, a majority of photos will come through unfiltered and not retouched. Facebook also has decided to place the like and comment buttons for photos on top of the images, which looks somewhat jarring and is something that Instagram would have never done.

The biggest questions are what this means for Instagram itself. Will people’s obsession with Facebook attract them to the social network’s own photo-sharing app, leaving Instagram out to dry? Or will this app be seen as a cheap rip-off by the Instagram faithful and become a giant flop?

Either way it’s a win-win situation for Facebook: The giant social network owns both apps.

Camera is now available on Apple’s App Store. Facebook says while it is considering versions for Android and other platforms, there are no concrete plans at this time.

PHOTO – (From left)  Mohd Suhail Amar Suresh, managing director of MyClear; Ganesh Kumar Bangah, group chief executive officer of MOL Global; and Eng Sheng Guan, chief executive officer of MOLPay.

Malaysian national bank Bank Negar’s e-payments subsidiary, MyClear, has appointed Malaysian online payment provider MOLPay to manage and promote its e-commerce business and partners.

Under the partnership with Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corporation (MyClear), MOLPay will act as the official online merchant acquirer for MyClear’s Financial Process Exchange (FPX) and Direct Debit services.

“The agreement between MyClear and MOLPay is one of MyClear’s efforts to elevate the migration of e-payment in the country,” said MyClear managing director, Mohd Suhail Amar Suresh. “A high take-up of the FPX and Direct Debit services will contribute to building a payment eco-system that is highly efficient in terms of convenience, swiftness, security and cost. A payment system that enables proficient movements of funds is imperative to the financial development and growth of the country’s economy.”

“In addition, the expediency that the FPX and Direct Debit services offer is not confined to consumers only as it extends to the merchants as well,” said Suhail.

“With FPX, merchants can easily extend their online businesses especially to non-credit card holders,” he said. “As all payments are conducted in real time, the merchants are credited online to ensure availability of immediate cash flow to further increase business opportunities.”

“With Direct Debit, merchants can leverage on reduced administrative cost and time to collect recurrent payments from their customers. Merchants will additionally benefit from a more predictable cash flow,” said Suhail. “FPX and Direct Debit services bring about the simplicity and versatility of cheques in an e-commerce world.”

FPX is a service that allows online consumers to make purchases via online stores using their banking accounts. FPX will give the consumers another avenue to make the most of their online shopping experiences, whereas Direct Debit service allows consumers to make recurring payments for insurance premiums, bill payments, and other related charges automatically and on schedule.

Another milestone for MOLPay

“This partnership marks another milestone in the growth of MOL’s payment business,” said MOL Global group chief executive officer, Ganesh Kumar Bangah. “MOL has historically been market leaders in the mobile reload and online game payments as well as social payments business. Our acquisition of NBePay last year was to expand our payments business into the fast growing e-commerce market. MOLPay presently provides global credit card processing. With this partnership, we will be able to provide online banking processing for our merchants at competitive rates. In the next few months, we will also enable MOLPay’s 2,500 merchants with payments through MOL’s network of cash payment channels.”

Bangah said The integrated central transaction processing channels would enable MOLPay and its merchants to get connected to all the financial institutions in the country and permit efficient e-commerce transactions. “MOLPay will establish and maintain all online data processing facility capabilities including merchant approvals and maintenance to support real time payment transaction processing. As a third party acquirer, MOLPay will also implement a risk management system that are capable of detecting, managing and reporting the incidences of fraudulence transactions and unwarranted chargebacks that merchants deal on a daily basis.”

MOLPay which was formerly known as NBePay was founded in 2005 and was acquired by the MOL Global group in August 2011. MOLPay presently has more than 2,500 online merchants and is compliant with global security standards including Payment Card Industry: Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), HackerSafe and with the Malaysian Payment Systems Act 2003.

PHOTO -(from left) Dato’ Hafsah Hashim, CEO, SME Corp; and Serene Sia, MD, SAP Malaysia.

Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises can realise benefits such as enhanced productivity, performance and reduced costs by using enterprise solutions, according to business solutions provider SAP Malaysia.

During the recent SAP SME Summit 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, government agency SME Corp chief executive officer Dato’ Hafsah Hashim encouraged Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to use these solutions to help them expand into global markets.

“To successfully compete in the global economy it is critical that Malaysian businesses adopt ICT solutions to improve operational performance, raise productivity and reduce costs,” said Hafsah, adding that SMEs make up more than 98 percent of businesses in Malaysia and in 2011 SMEs contributed about 31 percent to GDP [gross domestic product], 56 percent to the workforce and account for 19 percent of Malaysia’s total national exports.

“SAP’s strategy to serve the SME market is to approach the market in the way that best addresses our customers’ needs and buying preferences,” said SAP Malaysia managing director, Serene Sia. “By working with partners and an extended ecosystem, SAP is introducing alternative business software deployment, packaging and licensing options such as software-as-a-service, cloud computing and pre-built applications. These innovations give SMEs limited in-house IT resources, to get an advanced ICT system up and running more quickly, with minimal cost, fuss and risk.”

More than 80 percent of SAP’s 176,000 global customers are SMEs, 90 percent of which are in the lower middle and small enterprise markets.

Barriers to adoption

Sia said the barriers among SMEs to the adoption of business software solutions are cost and complexity. “Costs include software and services, as well as people and time. The SME faces additional hurdles, such as tighter budgets, less sophistication and organisational knowledge, technology hurdles and fewer people, meaning less time to spend on planning and analysis. The typical SME needs outside help defining critical success factors and the relevant metrics.”

“Among SAP’s goals is to bring mobility to the masses and one of the key objectives for SAP’s mobility strategy was to enable any size company to mobilise,” she said. “To effectively serve SMEs, this means delivering ready-to-use applications that address specific business needs.”

PHOTO – Maxis employees explaining the features of Maxis ebooks to members of the media during the launch event at Menara Maxis.

Malaysia’s first integrated ebook service, which allows customers to use different devices to browse, purchase and read local and international digital books across devices, is the first in Malaysia, according to Malaysian telco Maxis.
Speaking in mid-April, Maxis vice president and head of product, device, innovation & roaming, T. Kugan, said Malaysians could use a free Maxis application to browse more than 300,000 international and local ebooks from more than 40 categories.

“Maxis ebooks features a user-friendly interface and runs on a cloud-based digital bookstore, where customers can download books for free onto their iPads or Android tablets, anytime and anywhere they want,” said Kugan. “For the future, Maxis is working closely with the relevant authorities and bodies to extend the current available ebook selection by offering digital versions of school books for children.”

“Maxis has recognised the shift towards digital content and with the launch of Maxis ebooks, we are looking at providing Malaysian readers with the hassle-free experience of browsing, purchasing and reading their favourite local and international books on their tablets or PCs,” he said. “This will also provide local publishers, authors and educational institutions with a formidable platform that makes it possible for them to reach a larger audience.”

Kugan said that Maxis ebooks was available on devices using Apple and Android operating systems, such as iPads and Samsung Galaxy tabs, where users can sync their ebooks with up to six of their devices. “The service also allows consumers to build their personal library of favourite titles and includes features like a dictionary, tagging and a notes function. The titles available include books that range from bestsellers and novels to lifestyle and self-help categories.”

“Prices for the digital books downloaded through Maxis ebooks range from RM8 (US$2.60) to RM99 (US$32.28) each in local languages including English, BM (Bahasa Malaysia) and Chinese, as well as other international languages. There are also 45 free titles which are available to customers. Purchases will be reflected in customers’ Maxis bills or deducted from their Hotlink accounts.”

As an added incentive, customers can download a free ebook from a selection of titles without incurring data charges until 31 May for those who download the books over Maxis’ 3G network. For more information on Maxis ebooks, please visit www.ebuuk.com.my or download the free application from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

PHOT0 – (from left) Kwon Jae Hoon, managing director, Samsung Malaysia Electronics; and Jimmy Tan, marketing director, Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

Korean electronic devices giant Samsung has launched its 2012 range, which includes SMART TVs and devices, that feature the removal of barriers that exist between devices and content, said the company.

Speaking in late April 2012, Samsung Malaysia Electronics managing director Kwon Jae Hoon said its home entertainment product portfolio offered consumers three ‘life-enriching, highly interactive solutions in the form of SMART Interaction, SMART Content and SMART Evolution.’

“The lifestyles and demands of the new age consumer today are rapidly changing and the technological landscape is fast advancing,” said Kwon. “Consumers are looking for innovative products that enrich and accommodate their lifestyles, be it for entertainment, personal or corporate needs, and this creates exciting growth opportunities for new markets.”

“Samsung envisions the TV as the central screen of the home, bringing family members together in this individualised era,” he said. “Unlike other devices, the TV has the largest screen and the power to deliver families truly unique and touching experiences. With Samsung SMART TV, television will be the centre of the family, sharing people’s memories and events. As a family member, TV will understand you and your family. This is the future of SMART TV.”

Samsung’s flagship products include LED ES8000, ES7500, ES6800 and Plasma E8000 series TVs, which received CES 2012 Innovations Design and Engineering Awards.

Redefining home entertainment

Kwon said that Samsung’s SMART TV technology was set to forever redefine home entertainment. “SMART Interaction is an intuitive platform offering Motion Control, Voice Control, and Face Recognition commands for the TV, eliminating the need for a remote control.”

“With SMART Content, families will enjoy enhanced content and connection abilities from device to device and Web storage to device that is easy and convenient,” he said. “SMART Content turns the TV into a lifeline, in and outside the home through new and enriching experiences. The SMART Evolution feature allows consumers to easily enjoy the benefits of the latest TV technology year after year without purchasing a brand new unit. Consumers will enjoy new experiences from year 2013, as the future TV kit allows their TV to be re-born each year with the newest technology.”