MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 21, 2022 — Nintex, the global standard for process intelligence and automation, today announced Ricoh New Zealand as its newest reseller partner to support growing customer demand for intelligent digital business solutions that can transform operations, reduce costs, save time, and improve customer and employee experiences.
"We are excited to welcome Ricoh New Zealand to our global partner network," said Amy Degnan, Manager Partner Group ANZ, Nintex. "Ricoh New Zealand forms a key element of our local channel strategy that will help organizations accelerate their digital business initiatives with the power of the Nintex Process Platform."
The appointment follows Ricoh New Zealand’s evolving transition to a trusted digital services partner organisation, focused on offering digital workflow and automation solutions to businesses and government agencies undergoing rapid transformation, supporting end-to-end process automation, and freeing up time to create meaningful work for employees.
"As New Zealand businesses look to digitally accelerate, it is more critical than ever that they find ways to quickly automate labour intensive processes especially in a competitive job market and with a shortage of skilled workers," said Roly Smoldon, General Manager Digital Services, Ricoh New Zealand. "Nintex is a growth-oriented partner, which is in line with the direction of our business, and we’re thrilled to take their technology to market."
With the complete capabilities of the Nintex Process Platform including Nintex Promapp®, Nintex Workflow, Nintex Forms, Nintex RPA, Nintex Mobile and App Studio, Nintex Drawloop® for Salesforce, Nintex AssureSign®, and Nintex Analytics, turning manual business processes into fully digital experiences has never been easier.
Solutions built with Nintex complement Ricoh New Zealand’s existing portfolio of products, supporting enterprises as they undergo rapid transformation by digitising manual forms, adopting continuous process improvement and achieving greater compliance across their organisations.
"We understand that to digitise repeatable processes such as compliance, financial workflows, incident management, manufacturing automation, employee leave applications and overtime approvals will be compelling for businesses with hybrid workforces who require secure access to documents and digital workflows from anywhere on the device of their choice," adds Smoldon.
The Ricoh New Zealand appointment follows a successful reseller partnership between Nintex and Ricoh in other countries, including in Australia where Ricoh Australia has been successful as a digital services partner in delivering value and business acceleration across a range of markets from aged care and education, to financial services and manufacturing.
Nintex will support Ricoh New Zealand with sales training, certification programs and marketing resources to deliver sales readiness, channel enablement, and technical excellence to ensure mutual business success.
About Nintex Nintex is the global standard for process intelligence and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organisations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Process Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).
Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
SHENZHEN, China, Feb. 20, 2022 — With the birth of the BestRobtic brand, the era of hitting the wall is over!
Bestrobtic: Automation & Efficient Pool Cleaner Robotic
The world’s 1st "SONAR Tech" pool cleaning robot has changed the game with its new sensing system that provides users with automatic, efficient, and worry-free cleaning – which launched on Kickstarter on Tuesday, February 15, 20227:00 AM (PST)
The current leading technology most pool cleaners use is "Gyroscopic Navigation", but this technology comes with quite a few disadvantages. The inability to navigate intelligently often causes the robotic to hit the walls of the pool and low cleaning coverage – which can make the pool visually unappealing and reduce the desire to use the swimming pool for people.
Whether it’s a sweeping robot, weeding robot, window cleaning robot, or pool cleaning robot, all cleaning robots are designed to reduce the amount of labor and time necessary for that cleaning task. Automated, efficient, and worry-free cleaning is the main purpose of these types of electronic cleaning devices.
– 100% Fully Automatic & Hassle-Free Cleaning
The above-mentioned military-level sonar technology which is currently mainly used for marine resource exploration, fish detection, and underground exploration. The BestRobtic is the only pool cleaning robot using this technology today.
Due to each bottom of the pool having more or fewer potholes, a new altitude sensor (IMU chip) was specially designed by the BestRobtic R&D team to automatically sense the texture of the pool bottom more quickly and accurately with more precise automatic steering. – Compared with earlier pool cleaning devices, the use of sonar technology and the addition of an altitude sensor are technological breakthroughs that incorporate intelligent navigation and help it achieve a thorough clean. These additions bring the cleaning coverage rate up to 99.99% and guarantee the durability of the pool walls.
In addition to improving navigation. With automatic obstacle sensing, automatic obstacle avoidance, automatic turning, automatic cleaning along the wall, and automatic escape (BestRobtic exclusive patent), these 5 perfectly integrated automatic functions will keep every swimming pool sparkling clean.
Many swimming pool cleaning robots often get stuck on steps, corners, drainage pipes, and other obstacles inside the pool – In order to fundamentally solve this trouble, the BestRobtic R&D team spent 3 months developing an automatic escape algorithm from the data of thousands of tests, lowering the risk of the BestRobtic getting stuck by 99.99%.
Main benefits of Seauto‘s BestRobtic Pool Cleaner
– A True Smart Navigation Cleaning
The BestRobtic introduces a one-of-a-kind "Sonar Technology" the world to of wireless pool cleaning robots. This technology creates a number of benefits, ranging from a longer life cycle and exceptional cleaning to extreme cost-effectiveness and no longer fear about the light-refracting in water – A true smart navigation cleaning.
– Sonar Technology Let cleaning be Hassle-Free
BestRobtic is 100% automation clean, also comes with other practical features, such as anti-collision technology that traditional pool robots lack. Say goodbye to the 15-year-long reign (since 2007) of gyro navigation.
The SEAUTO Team also focuses on the research and development of special robots for underwater cleaning, and is the first to refine sonar technology (that of military submarines) and add it to pool cleaning robotics. Thanks to the brand-new Sonar Tech automatic sensing system makes the pool cleaning robot no longer the "fool hitting the wall" brought by traditional gyroscope navigation, and fundamentally solves the problem of damaging the pool walls and floor.
– Affordable, Everyone can afford it
Cleaning services often have an annual fee of $2,000–$4,000 (a labor cost of $200/hour) or more, with a weekly or biweekly cleaning cycle.
Cleaning with the BestRobtic will reduce the amount of labor costs and effort, and saves pool owners thousands of dollars per year.
– Greatly Upgraded Cleaning Ability
180W BLDC dual motors [2 x 90W] -> Provides flexible movement and bidirectional rotation, bringing cleaning coverage up to 99.99%
150W Powerful Drainage Motor -> Creates effective water absorption for a better cleaning effect.
Picks up debris as small as 0.12mm -> While other products can only detect items 0.18mm or larger, the BestRobtic easily picks up leaves, gravel, fine powder, sand, pollen, and algae of all sizes
4000ml Filter Container -> Large enough to debris of any size while reducing the frequency of cleaning
The cleaning time is as high as 100min or more, covering a pool area of more than 861 sqft (80㎡)
The TPE brushes ensure the durability of any pool bottom, which 100% no cause damage to the bottom of the pool, leaving scratches and more.
The BestRobtic up to 6000GPH powerful section has been tested to pick up rocks as large as 34* 18 *15 mm and weight 6.9g, and can even pick up hard objects like metal bottle caps easily!
– User Friendly Features:
BestRobtic can clean swimming pools of various shapes, and can also be used in a variety of other locations including hot springs.
According to research, the temperature of hot springs ranges from 40°-45°C (104°-113°F), many cleaning devices only work in temperatures of 10°-35°C (50°- 95°F). However, BestRobtic can clean effectively and thoroughly in temperatures 10-50°C (50°-122°F).
– Easy to Use:
Despite the many features this powerful device has, it only weighs 14.10lbs(6.4KG) – Meaning BestRobtic is easier to carry and clean.
– 100% Environmentally Conscious Materials:
The BestRobtic has been certified by UN38.3, FCC, IC, C-Tick RCM, CE-EMC, CE-LVD, UKCA-EMC, UKCA-LVD, complies with market regulations and safety and environmental standards, and complies with international (US, England, Canada, Australia, China, EU) quality management standards.
In GB/T 4208-2017 enclosure protection level (IP code), the BestRobtic has achieved the highest dustproof and waterproof rating of IP68 – 100% dustproof and 100% waterproof.
The BestRobtic adopts ABS+ PC material based on rich experience in water decontamination patents. The ABS is a strong thermoplastic polymer structural material. It’s often used for building materials. This material’s hardness, wear resistance, oil resistance, chemical resistance (heat resistance, acid and alkali resistance) allow it to be unaffected by water, inorganic salts, alkalis, and other acids. The PC material, known as transparent alloy, has high mechanical strength, excellent heat resistance, impact resistance, is flame retardant and has no additives. This includes UL94 V-0 flame-retardant properties.
The BestRobtic operates at a volume of less than 40dB. Among the 5 types of urban environmental noise standards, the BestRobtic achieves the quietest standard of 0 (the standard in areas at night such as recuperation areas and high-end villas).
– Price & Crowdfunding details
The BestRobtic is making its worldwide debut on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it will be available at just $359 for the first 500 backers and $419 for normal price. After Kickstarter, BestRobtic’s price on Amazon will be over $499.
The campaign will last for approximately one month, offering many benefits, discounts and special promotions to brand early supporters. After Kickstarter, backers will be the first in the world to receive their BestRobtic, and later in the year it will become available via the regular BestRobtic distribution channels at a slightly higher price.
BestRobtic team promises to begin shipping within 20 working days after the crowdfunding campaign ends, which means backers can receive their products as early as April 2022 (the exact time depends on different countries).
12-month warranty and offer a 30-day free return policy for product replacement if there are any issues with product quality. And have set up local after-sales service centers in the US + AU + EU.
– About BestRobtic
Shenzhen Seauto Technology Co., Ltd. is a technology company focusing on the R&D, manufacturing and marketing of smart water products and outdoor products. The BestRobtic brand is headquartered in China and has a marketing center in Los Angeles, USA.
The team has a background in the fields of shipbuilding, underwater navigation, and cleaning robot dynamics, and after continuous research, testing, and upgrading, have successfully created this new product.
TAIPEI, Feb. 19, 2022 — New Kinpo Group has successfully completed thorough testing of its 5G NR Radio Unit (RU) product in the O-RAN Global PlugFest 2021, taking an essential step to enter the global 5G NR market. The leading wireless communication technology company has committed to developing 5G NR base stations in recent years. Its newly launched 5G NR Sub-6 GHz indoor RU product is not only compliant with 3GPP R15 and Option 7.2 specifications, but supports n78 band.
(Left to Right) Jerry Li, broadband product line manager, Jesica Pan, chief marketing officer and Alex Lei, senior CA R&D director of New Kinpo Group introduce the company’s latest 5G NR Sub-6 GHz indoor RU product.
O-RAN Global PlugFest, organized by the O-RAN ALLIANCE, is a testing and integration event with the aim to verify the conformance, end-to-end performance, infrastructure security, as well as multi-vendor interoperability of O-RAN-based network equipment, which gives operators more flexibility in 5G network deployment and opens up business opportunities for white-box O-RAN solutions.
"Our successful demonstration in the O-RAN PlugFest event is a great affirmation and encouragement to our technical team. We’re able to pass all tests with the team’s rich experiences and design expertise in RAN and wireless networking products accumulated in the past," commented Jesica Pan, Chief Marketing Officer of New Kinpo Group. In addition to the first Sub-6 GHz indoor RU, New Kinpo Group also plans to roll out mmWave and outdoor type RU in the future, addressing the needs of both private and public networks, as well as various kinds of 5G NR use cases.
According to Jerry Li, Broadband Product Line Manager of New Kinpo Group, the O-RAN architecture provides more product options to the market, and reduces equipment procurement and operating expenses. New Kinpo Group has selected the SoC and digital front-end (DFE) processors developed by NXP Semiconductors and Metanoia Communications, and successfully developed an optimized O-RAN compliant RU product by tapping into the advantages of ASIC-based solutions. Such product can significantly reduce system power consumption while performing 5G NR high efficacy, and provide power- and waste heat-saving benefits which can in turn help operators or system integrators decrease installation and operating expenses.
As Pan further concluded, New Kinpo Group will continue to participate in the O-RAN PlugFest events in the future as it helps promote 5G NR RU products to the global market.
BEIJING, Feb. 18, 2022 — A report from China.org.cn on Beijing 2022:
Here are some touching and positive stories on Beijing 2022.
American athlete Tessa Maud shared on her social platform a heartfelt moment at the opening ceremony when a volunteer greeted her with a loud "welcome to China", a gesture that literally moved her to tears.
The Canadian delegation’s operations staff wrote a letter to the Chinese staff working in their building, thanking them for their efficiency and warmth.
A Chinese netizen sent American-Samoan athlete Nathan Crumpton a cartoon image of him showing up shirtless at the opening ceremony. Later people found out that he had stuck the cartoon image to his skeleton.
Sportsmanship has been well displayed in these games. China’s curling team lost a match to the U.S., but Chinese players presented Bing Dwen Dwen badges to their American counterparts. Later, the American pair also sent gifts in return.
When Gu Ailing won gold at the Big Air event, she hugged the other two medalists and comforted French athlete Tess Ledeux as she wept. Then at the press conference, Gu Ailing said it was Tess who inspired her to go all-in on her last jump.
At this Olympics, many athletes were pushing their limits and competing against themselves, which won admiration and respect from audiences. Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu challenged himself to finish a quadruple Axel; Canadian snowboard athlete Max Parrot returned after recovering from cancer and chemo and managed to clinch a gold medal. German speed skater Claudia Pechstein is still on the ice rink at the ripe age of 49 despite her stellar Olympic CV. For them, the Olympics is about striving for their passion and sparing no efforts to continue their dreams. Just like what Mr. Coubertin said, "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part."
Sports are not about politics but all about challenging human limits, and inspiring and including more people in these events. Let sports be just sports, and celebrate faster, higher, stronger, together at these Games. Enjoy!
BALTIMORE, Feb. 18, 2022 — With the COVID-19 pandemic still a concern as 2022 begins, arm yourself with knowledge about the connection between tobacco use and COVID-19 with a free online course from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Arm yourself with knowledge about the connection between tobacco use and COVID-19 with a free online course from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Updated with new information in late 2021, COVID-19 and Tobacco Use covers topics such as the impact of smoking on COVID-19, the effects of nicotine at a molecular level, and the behavior of the tobacco industry during the pandemic.
Current evidence shows the negative impacts of smoking on COVID-19 outcomes, providing one more compelling reason and an added sense of urgency for people to quit using tobacco products. As infections continue to disrupt daily living, any step taken to curb the negative outcomes of COVID-19 should be explored and implemented. This course can help amplify that effort.
The COVID-19 and Tobacco Use course joins a distinguished suite of existing free online courses, which have been completed by more than 6,700 participants from more than 100 countries around the world.
Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Expertsis a comprehensive primer on the tobacco epidemic featuring 27 subject matter experts from 14 countries. Participants in the course will get a unique global perspective on the burden of tobacco on death and disease and evidence-based solutions to reduce it.
Learning from the Experts: A Course for Healthcare Providers is an online course developed with input from globally acclaimed tobacco control advocates in healthcare careers. Designed for busy healthcare providers, this course provides up-to-date information about the role healthcare professionals can play in tobacco control, and how to help their patients quit tobacco. Recent updates to the course include how cessation medication works; how to help a patient quit smokeless tobacco and other non-cigarette tobacco products; and addressing practical issues clinicians face when helping their patients quit tobacco.
All three courses are free to any user around the world and feature a responsive design that allows users to take the course at their own pace on any device. Users who complete a course receive a certificate of completion from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control.
BEIJING, Feb. 18, 2022 — A news report by China.org.cn on China’s intangible cultural heritage:
"Half an inch tall, these monkeys bring folk customs of the capital city alive." This poem describes the hairy monkey, a traditional handicraft in old Beijing. The hairy monkey simulates human movements and life scenes, reflecting the life of the city, and has derived a variety of widely loved art works.
 
Before the eve of the 2022 Spring Festivalr, in order to have a closer understanding of intangible cultural heritage and feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture, Mengli and Ma Zhuoran who are international students from Russia visited the Studio of Zhang Fengxia, the fourth generation inheritor of Beijing style hairy monkey. They learned how to make a hairy monkey from Zhang Fengxia and gained a better knowledge of the hairy monkey culture.
The hairy monkey originated in the Qing Dynasty, which is more than 100 years ago. According to legend, there was a traditional Chinese herbal medicine shop called "South Qing Ren Tang" located at Luomashi Avenue on the outside of Xuanwumen in Beijing. One day, the clerk of the medicine shop was told off by the shop owner for no reason at all and felt very depressed. At night, when he was studying the herbs, he found by chance that the shape of Flos Magnoliae resembles the shop owner’s big belly. He then found a cicada slough and used its nose as the head, its front legs as the lower limbs, and its back legs as the upper limbs, which formed a monkeyish figurine. And that marked the birth of the first hairy monkey. Soon, the handicraft spread in Beijing and became a favorite toy for children.
It seems to be simple to make a hairy monkey, but actually it takes a lot of time and effort. To create in a small scale is a great test for the energy and endurance of the craftsman. "I thought the art was very simple, but I had a lot of difficulties in doing it," Mr. Ma said. Under the patient guidance of Zhang Fengxia, the international students completed their own hairy monkeys step by step, from the selection of materials to the arrangement of scenery. "I think it’s a beautiful art that conveys a lot of emotions. I wish more people knew about this art." After the experience, Mengli expressed his love and admiration for the monkey making.
Today’s hairy monkey creation are no longer confined to the old Beijing market culture, it continues to innovate with the development of the times. In the showcase of Zhang fengxia’s works, you can see a hairy monkey artwork themed by the canal in her hometown, Tongzhou which is also a new work created for the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Behind these exquisite works is Zhang Fengxia’s original aspiration and adherence to this skill.
The experience of making the hairy monkey not only makes international students feel the unique charm of China’s intangible culture heritage, but also makes the hairy monkey culture known and loved by more people.
FOSHAN, China, Feb. 18, 2022 — On February 16, 2022, Midea Group Co., Ltd. ("Midea", stock code: 000333.SZ)completed USD 450 million 5-year unsecured green bonds, issued at T+98 base points, setting a record of the lowest issuance margin for international U.S. dollar bonds with the same rating with similar levels of maturity across the industry.
The launch of Midea’s green bonds has drawn widespread attention from investors across the market. International high-level green investors joined Midea’s roadshow launch event, enthused by Midea’s technology-driven, multi-industry, global operations and credit quality growth. Midea had received multiple intentional orders by the end of the roadshow’s first day. After the public filing was announced on the morning of February 16, orders peaked at USD 2.4 billion, eight times the original offering size. Due to the overwhelming response from investors, Midea eventually expanded the offering and priced it at T+98 basis points.
This is the first green bond issuance in the domestic industry in China. The issue price has achieved the lowest issue margin compared to private enterprises with similar ratings and maturity. It attracted a diverse set of investors from central banks, asset management companies, banks, and private banks from as wide as Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It has also been warmly received by sustainable development investors with Green and ESG investors accounting for about 20% of the bonds issued.
According to Midea’s announcement, the funds raised will be used to fund various green projects, including Midea’s green design and green manufacturing, such as producing environmentally friendly and energy-efficient products, its’ low-carbon strategy, upgrading energy-saving of manufacturing equipment, green upgrading of energy infrastructure, and increasing renewable energy procurement.
Midea has actively implemented national "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" strategic goals and pursued green development. It aims to enable green and low-carbon transformation of products through technological innovations and to realize energy conservation and emission reduction of manufacturing processes by upgrading equipment and lean production. The green bond is the first green financing tool that Midea adopted to support its green strategy, demonstrating Midea’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and green development.
Midea’s green strategy was officially unveiled in October 2021. Based on the mission of "Building a Greener Global Supply Chain, providing Green Products and Services, and jointly building a Green Planet", the green strategy requires Midea to reach its target of peaking carbon emission by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, which will be achieved through six pillars of "green design, green procurement, green manufacturing, green logistics, green recycling, and green service". Midea intends to make significant contributions to the world’s "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" goals.
-Strengthened sustainability promotion system to accelerate ESG and SDG initiatives throughout corporate activities-
TOKYO, Feb. 18, 2022 — Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today published the English edition of Toshiba Group Sustainability Report 2021, an annual review of policies and initiatives to advance ESG and promote achievement of the SDGs.
Toshiba Group Sustainability Report 2021
Toshiba Group Sustainability Report 2021 is compiled and edited by Toshiba’s Sustainability Management Division, established in April 2021 as an independent division reporting directly to the President and CEO. This new organization integrates the former sustainability promotion department, and is responsible for bringing forward-looking sustainability perspectives into management, and for promoting and advancing ESG and SDGs initiatives in all corporate activities.
In addition to reporting on Toshiba Group’s ESG initiatives in FY2020, Toshiba Group Sustainability Report 2021 covers the work of the new division to date, the reinforcement of the sustainability management structure, the formulation of Toshiba Group Sustainability Policy, the re-identification of materiality, and the revision of Environmental Future Vision 2050. These measures are briefly explained below.
1. Strengthening the sustainability management structure
Toshiba has ensured that sustainability perspectives are brought into management by setting up the Sustainability Strategy Committee. It is chaired by the President and CEO, and its members are executives responsible for sustainability, the Presidents of key group companies, and managers responsible for promoting sustainability.
Three committees operate under the umbrella of the Sustainability Strategy Committee: The Sustainability Promotion Committee and the Corporate Environmental Management Committee (established in 1991) consider specific measures to advance plans and decisions made by the Sustainability Strategy Committee, including formulating action plans and monitoring their progress. The Non-financial Information Disclosure Committee approves disclosure of ESG information for inclusion in the annual Integrated Report and Sustainability Report.
2. Formulation of Toshiba Group Sustainability Policy
As a measure to raise corporate value over the medium to long term, the board amended the Board of Directors Rules to include responsibility for determining Toshiba Group Sustainability Policy. In October 2021, the board formulated the current policy.
Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, "Committed to People, Committed to the Future," reflects Toshiba’s unwavering determination to contribute to society’s development through business activities. Guided by this commitment, and as a member of a society facing issues that include energy shortages, resource depletion, and climate change, Toshiba does not simply pursue short-term profits, but considers the long-term impact of its corporate activities on society, and promotes initiatives that contribute to solving social issues.
Toshiba Group Sustainability Policy will further advance this approach and strengthen activities that contribute to social sustainability. The policy is positioned alongside Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, management policy and Standards of Conduct for Toshiba Group as a core policy, and efforts to promote widespread awareness and compliance of the policy in the front lines of business are now underway, in Japan and overseas.
3. Re-identification of Materiality
Toshiba Group have tackled the material issues identified in 2013 by regularly confirming their status. However, response to climate change is now required on a global scale, and social issues are changing according to various perspectives as seen in the SDGs adopted by the United Nations. Toshiba Group also reviewed its businesses. Accordingly, we re-identified new material issues in FY2021.
Before re-identifying material issues, Toshiba Group extracted and organized issues with reference to the SDGs, the Global Risks Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and guidelines including the SASB (*1) Standards. They were then prioritized in respect of the Group’s core businesses, and narrowed down to those requiring further consideration.
<2021 Re-identification of Materiality>
Vision for 2030
Materiality
For the irreplaceable global environment in which we live
Promote corporate activities with full consideration for the global environment throughout our value chain, from design, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and sales, through to disposal.
Respond to climate change
Respond to the circular economy
Consider ecosystems
For respect of human rights, to nurture people and technology, and to give back to society
Encourage every Group employee to feel pride and fulfillment in their work, and to harness creativity and technology in collaborating with business partners to realize rich value.
Secure, retain and train human resources
Ensure employee health and safety
Promote respect for human rights
Promote sustainable procurement
Strengthen R&D to stimulate innovation
For further strengthening thorough governance
Practice transparent corporate governance and optimal internal controls; and execute management with integrity, trusted by stakeholders.
Strengthen governance
Strengthen cyber resilience
4. Revision of Environmental Future Vision 2050
Toshiba has revised Response to Climate Change in Environmental Future Vision 2050(*2), its long-term vision of environmental management from a global perspective including climate change and the circular economy, so as to further accelerate efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the value chain.
Specific measures will include investments in energy-saving equipment in the Group’s business activities, the introduction of renewable energy equipment and expanded procurement of energy from renewable sources, and a focus of creating products and services that contribute to lower emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Among other measures, Toshiba will continue collaborations with suppliers that target lower GHG emissions derived from purchased products and services, and also promote businesses in climate change adaptation measures that aim to stabilize energy supply and strengthen resilience.
Guided by Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, while striving to strengthen ESG activities and information disclosure, Toshiba Group will continue to contribute to solving social issues such as the SDGs through technology advances and business activities.
– Overview of Toshiba Group Sustainability Report 2021
Date of publication (English Edition): February 18, 2022
Notes: *1: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. A non-profit organization that develops sustainability accounting standards. Founded by Jean Rogers in 2011. *2: "Response to Climate Change" vision, formulated in November 2020: "Contribution through the entire value chain to achieve net zero GHG emissions in society (50% reduction across the Group’s value chain by FY2030)" "Response to Climate Change" vision, revised in November 2021: "Achieving carbon neutrality throughout the entire value chain (70% reduction of GHG emissions by FY2030)"
Yesterday, news broke about Spotify making two more acquisitions. To be fair, it was more like Spotify announcing that they are making two more acquisitions for themselves. No, it is not really because they have excess cash in hand. It is more because the two acquisitions might just seal Spotify’s position as the king platform for podcasts.
The two companies that Spotify is acquiring are Podsights, and Chartable. Both acquisitions would see the technologies they offer integrate with Spotify’s or enhance their current platform. But you as a consumer might not immediately see the effects of the acquisition. At least, you might not immediately see it directly anyway.
Podsights, according to Spotify, is a leading podcast advertising measurement service provider. It is supposed to ensure that advertisers get more accurate advertising data on podcasts. In short, it is a sort of Google AdSense for podcasts.
Then there is Chartable, a podcast analytics tool provider. The tool allows podcasters to see data regarding their podcast audiences. This would help publishers understand their audiences better and produce more accurate information regarding their podcast. They can even make more informed decisions regarding their podcasts in that case. This would be like the Google Analytics for podcasts.
In a sense, these tools are not really made for end-users in mind. The two new technologies that Spotify will be acquiring exists to allow Spotify’s podcaster’s easy access to tools that could help them make their podcast better, and to even grow their podcasts in different ways. It could help advertisers understand how their ads work on podcasts as well, allowing them to make better decisions on the way they design their ads, or where to place them.
While the technologies attached with the companies Spotify aims to acquire are tailored for podcast, the audio streaming company sees application beyond podcasts. They aim to bring the technology to their full suite of services. This includes their music streaming and eventually videos as well. What they are saying is that they are going to introduce more targeted ads in their music streaming platform soon.
All this not only points to better podcast experience, but also better monetisation opportunities for podcasters. It also means that advertisers get more accurate data and would eventually be willing to spend more on ads within podcasts, music, and videos on Spotify itself. Of course, all this also means more money for Spotify. But beyond that, it ensures that Spotify’s podcasters stay with Spotify and grow with the platform. It will also attract more podcasters to be on the platform, which is always a win situation for Spotify.
The acquisition announcement currently is still merely that, an announcement. There are no mentions on how much the leading music streaming firm is spending on these two acquisitions. They also mentioned that Podsights will be operating as an entity independent from the team in Spotify. Their technologies will still be integrated in the platform’s podcast tools, we are guessing. The reason for the independence is most likely since Podsights have their own list of clienteles currently. For more information on the new acquisitions, you can head over to their blog.
Flexible displays have a complicated history. It has also come a long way since its conception many years ago. Samsung was the first smartphone manufacturer in the world to finally realise the foldable smartphone dream with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold back in 2018. If you have read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, you would know that we are quite fond of it.
They have released the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. Admittedly, we are a little late on its review. But it is still one of Samsung’s most powerful flagships to date, and you can get one with an S Pen. Effectively, it is a spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note series that is confirmed to be long gone.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is cheaper than before at MYR 6,699. There are a few reasons for that, but it is a good thing overall. Is it now worth its asking price though? Should you consider moving to a foldable device now that Samsung has forgone its Galaxy Note series? Is it even a good device? We find out.
Design
Unlike a lot of the other flagships that seems to get larger with new iterations, the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s dimensions did not change from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. They are identical in , width and even thickness. If you put them together side by side, ignoring the camera module, you would have a hard time telling the two devices apart.
The materials used are the exact same materials as before in all the same places. Even the hinge mechanism is the same one used in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. There is a small difference between the hinge in the third iteration though. It is now sealed and insulated to ensure that it can comply to IPX8 water resistance. Water resistance, in some ways, is a large improvement over the older Galaxy Z Fold2 in today’s modern standards. That, and they say that the aluminium ‘backbone’ (as they call it) is now 10% stronger than before. We did not get to test that though.
There are also some differences at the back of the device. The camera module looks a lot more modest than before. It now features three separate glass elements instead of a single glass box. It somehow makes the entire back of the device looks much cleaner, although the three cameras are the same three cameras you find on the old Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. That is about it in terms of the difference in appearance though.
Hardware
Oddly, it is not powered by Samsung’s own Exynos powerhouse. In fact you cannot find a Samsung foldable with Exynos chip in it. Instead, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System on a Chip (SoC).
FRONT Internal: 4-Megapixel (f/1.8, under-display ) 4K video recording (30fps)
FRONT External: 10-Megapixel (f/2.2, 26mm wide angle) 4K video recording (30fps)
Sensors
Accelerometer Proximity Side Mounted Fingerprint Ambient Light Gyroscope Face Unlock Compass
User Interface – One UI Full Flex
Of course, a Samsung device is never complete without Samsung’s very recognizable User Interface on top of Android. At the time of testing, we only had One UI on top of Android 11. Still, One UI is a league of its own in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. You do not want to be using a custom launcher with the Samsung foldable flagship.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s One UI does not feel like a blown up One UI for odd displays. It feels better than the older interface. Oddly, not that much has changed since the last round.
You still can have two different home screens for both your front display and inside display. This time round, you can both displays to display the same home screen too, if you really want, without messing about too much. Notifications are not blown up to occupy the entire space like before. It actually feels nicer and cleaner somehow. On top of that, you get more unique app experiences now on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
Settings Menu
Instead of the old settings menu that is clearly made for smartphones, the interface opens to a more tablet like experience with the main display. Of course, you get the regular smartphone interface type of settings menu on the outer display. Once you open the device, the interface immediately changes though, which is a real nice touch.
Spotify
The Spotify experience on the main display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 opens to a more tablet like experience too. To be fair, it should not be to hard for app developers to include smartphone-to-tablet-to-smartphone switching modes. Most apps have their own dedicated tablet interfaces these days and it would make sense for them to include the interface for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
YouTube
Of course, this was the first app with a proper interface that is more suited to the larger display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. It was first seen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, but it is a little smoother now on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. At the same time, you can tilt the display to use half the screen to watch your videos and view the comments of description on the other. We think that it is a feature useful when you do livestreams, especially when you need to watch the comments box.
Gmail
You guessed it, when the Z Fold3 is open, Gmail opens to a more tablet like experience too with the email inbox list on the left and the contents on the right. We think that this is a much more intuitive experience for the larger tablet like display on the Galaxy Z Fold3.
Plenty to Work On
One UI is not perfect though. While Instagram now fills up the entire display, you might find that the app does not work as intended when you switch from the front display to the main display. You cannot interact with stories unless you close the app and open it again with the main display. Shopee and Lazada also do not resize between displays . While they are just irksome at best, it does detract from the whole foldable experience.
The Fold, Now with S Pen
This is an addition we appreciate though coming from the Samsung Galaxy Note line-up. One thing we were left wanting with the previous Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 was also the S Pen capabilities. The only issue is that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s S Pen is a different one to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra’s.
Working with the S Pen is nice though. We missed the Galaxy Note series dearly and the Galaxy Z Fold3 sort of compensates the Galaxy Note’s discontinuation. We were worried that the S Pen would not be able to keep up at the dip of the display, where there are no digitizers, but it works perfectly, even when we drew a line down the crease. The whole S Pen experience is more natural than ever. It really is like writing in a notebook this time.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 packs a very potent Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System on a Chip (SoC). Even compared to the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold3 is still one powerful device. But its performance does not just come from the powerful SoC, it is the entire package that makes the Galaxy Z Fold3 what it is.
Benchmark
Call Quality and Connectivity
Like the older Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, the Galaxy Z Fold3 packs only one earpiece and that is on its secondary (outer) display. That also means that you can only use it with the device folded. When it is unfolded, you can only make calls with the loudspeaker, which is not an entirely bad idea sometimes.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 in loudspeaker mode somehow feels a little louder than before. We are pretty sure it is the same hardware as the Galaxy Z Fold2 in terms of its audio. The increased volume also means that you can use it in a small discussion room with just a few people on the table as a teleconferencing device.
Of course, thanks to One UI, you can use your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 as a video conferencing tool without the need to buy a stand or prop your device up against something else. You can set the device to open in any angle (nothing beyond 180o, though) and its front-facing camera can be angled to you for a better video calling experience.
If the device on the other end of the line also supposed VoLTE and is calling with full signal strength, your calls are crystal clear and crisp. Of course, these days you are making calls when you are on the move (we strongly discourage using the device without hands-free when you are driving). In that case, you might come across areas with poor signals. If you have a single bar on the network though, you should be able to have conversations over the phone, albeit with some distortions.
Gaming
Like the older Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, we tested the device with PUBG Mobile, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang. We also tested it with Pokémon Unite, a MOBA title. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 performed very well in these games. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, in 2021 at least, is the most powerful smartphone processor you can find on any Android device. It only makes sense that you can play these games at its highest requirements with no issues at all.
The only issue you might be facing is heat management on the device. There is only so much surface area on the back of the foldable device to dissipate heat too, so you are going to feel it a little bit in your fingers. It is not scalding hot though; you should be able to still handle it with little discomfort.
Multitasking and Productivity
The large display allows us to experience two apps at once without having to crimp on the window sizes. You can have three windows open at once, plus five floating windows in the back. In theory, you can have all eight apps open at the same time.
In practice though, the best way to use the device is by having three windows. We would like to be able to use up to four apps at the same time, there is enough screen real estate to work with. Sure, you can have a floating window open, but it is just not the same.
Still, three is better than two. At that as well, The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 never felt too sluggish to work with even when there are eight apps running at the same time (three windows, five floating windows). You can easily change from one app to the other effortlessly too, which is a huge plus point in multitasking.
Samsung’s latest One UI also inherits its not-so-intuitive multi-window mechanics. The easiest way to open all the apps is to first open the three apps separately, and to go into recent apps to fiddle with the little “multi-window” option on the apps you want to run. Once in this mode, you can just toggle the apps around to increase its size or rearrange the entire thing.
Like its predecessors, the new One UI also comes with a quick launch menu which allows you to dock up to two apps at once to be able to launch both the apps in multi-window mode immediately. We highly recommend using that feature in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 to optimise your experience.
Battery Life
In our typical use case, we work with apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail, and even the phone app plenty. We would also scroll feeds on Instagram, Facebook, and even Twitter from time to time with it. Of course, our camera is also used to take various photos and videos we could use for our review. We do play games on the device occasionally.
In our typical use case, we never had too much of a problem with its battery life for an entire day. In our test period, we took the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 away from the charger at about 9am. The device would hit about 15% of battery at about 10 p.m. on average.
While the battery is smaller than before, it charges just about the same with the older device. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 charges to full in about two hours via USB Type-C cable. It also comes with wireless charging like its predecessor. Charging it wirelessly allows it to charge at 15W speeds. I will take longer than two hours to charge the device from empty to full in that case.
Displays & Audio
While the displays on the new and older device looks the same, they are slightly different. The outer display is a slightly smaller display before at 6.2-inch from the 6.23-inch of the Z Fold2. Nothing much has changed on the inside though, except for a difference in brightness and a revolutionary under-display camera.
Secondary Display
It is now a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display compared to the older Super AMOLED. It crams a little more resolution that before too at 832 by 2,268 pixels. You hardly notice the added pixels in such a crammed display. You will notice the difference in panel quality though.
The colours from a Dynamic AMOLED 2X tend to look more natural, less saturated than Super AMOLED. At 25:9 aspect ratio, the narrow display is not really made for immersive media consumption. The better colour contrasts of the display does make it a little more enjoyable when you are watching Netflix or even YouTube on the smaller display.
Main Display
Of course, you want to use the larger display for the best viewing experience. It is also the same great flexible display you find on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, except it has gotten a little bit more brightness and the S Pen capability.
While the near square display works very well for productivity, it is a little crippled in consuming media. When you watch Netflix, you get two very large black bars on the top and bottom of the display. It does not take anything away from its experience though.
The display shines in gaming though. Mobile games tend to take advantage of different display form factors and optimizes itself to match the display size and form factor. Most of the games we tested fills the display. The result is an immersive gaming experience with plenty of details on display. The control buttons do not interfere with the peripheral visions on the display, which is a bonus in games like PUBG Mobile and even other MOBA games.
The same flex and bending marks from before can still be seen and is as noticeable as before. The crease is quite unavoidable in today’s folding devices. It is a little distracting especially when you view the display from an angle, but you might grow used to it after a while.
Under Display Cam – Not Just a Hole
If you look closely, the top part of the right side of the display looks a little odd. There are pixels that sit there, but you can see through it to find the small front-facing camera. While the pixel count in that small, rounded area is not as dense as the other parts of the display, it does help with your viewing experience. Netflix can now take full advantage of the display’s height and other media looks less janky.
Cameras
The under-display is not a brilliant camera. Photos taken with this 4-megapixel camera feels a little dated. Colours are a little off and details are not great. It is the camera that most will use for video conferences though, where high-resolution is not necessary.
There is another 10-Megapixel front-facing camera. This one is the same one as you can find from the device before. While it is not the most detailed photo you get from this camera, it is not a bad image you get. Colours and saturation seem to be more on-point.
The rear cameras are also the exact same ones you can find on the Galaxy Z Fold3. While you get the same triple 12-Megapixel camera set up, the processing chip is a lot more advanced than before. The results from the 12-Megapixel shooters are quite impressive.
They are not what you would call ‘DSLR’ quality, but they are more than acceptable for social media use. The colours look natural and vivid while details look great for 12-Megapixel photos. At the same time, you can still record videos at 4K.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 – The Z Fold2, just Better Everywhere
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is not meant to be a huge leap from the older Samsung Galazy Z Fold2. It is meant to be just a touch better than the 2nd generation foldable; more refined, if you must. But that does not mean that Samsung was complacent with the Galaxy Z Fold3.
The flagship foldable is now an IPX certified device, which means it can handle the weather. That also meant that the Galaxy Z Fold3 has some added durability built into the stuff. While the mechanism was a concern in the old device, the new one is made to be a little sturdier and just works better. The added durability on that also means that the S Pen feature can now be integrated and it works better than we thought it would.
They updated the secondary display, which may not be too noticeable to most people. But we do appreciate that small upgrade to bring the secondary display to the level of the main display. You get the same colours and same saturation levels. In some ways, it just makes the experience switching from the secondary to main display just a little more seamless.
The main display has not changed all that much, but the addition of a thin layer of LED on top of the internal camera does make it feel a touch more immersive than before. It makes the display looks complete too, even if you can still tell that there is a hole underneath the display. Yes, that means the camera underneath have to be a little worse than before, but that is an okay trade-off in this case.
The camera modules have not changed, but thanks to the new processor and better imaging algorithm, the camera experience is just a touch better. Below that is slightly smaller battery, but the difference between battery life from the old device is virtually non-existent. System wise, apps just work a little better and some apps have ‘tablet’ modes on the device now, which just makes more sense.
At MYR 6,699, it is way cheaper than the older device. Samsung is going all-in with the foldable device market, and it shows with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. The lower pricing just means that they want you to be on board too.
The third generation foldable from Samsung is marginally better in almost every way. But they are marginal improvements in the areas that matter. All of them total up to a better Galaxy Z Fold experience.
So, to answer the questions we set out to answer. Yes, it is now sort of worth MYR 6,699. Yes, you can consider this as your replacement to the Samsung Galaxy Note series, if you do not mind the step-down in camera technology. Yes, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is a good device. If you are coming from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 though, you might want to hold it off for a while and wait for the next iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold before considering an upgrade.
