Temenos, a provider of integrated core banking systems, and software solutions provider Microsoft have announced an alliance for delivering core banking solutions with TEMENOS T24 and Microsoft SQL Server to increase operational efficiencies of large-scale banks worldwide.

Earlier, the two companies worked with North Shore Credit Union (NSCU), a financial institution in Canada, to deliver a new core banking solution with a data management platform based on TEMENOS T24 and Microsoft SQL Server.

Microsoft believes the new agreement will see both parties collaborate more closely and commit technical, marketing and sales resources to bringing a flexible core banking solution to market, which optimises the use of the Microsoft platform with T24.

NTT Docomo has launched a new service for movie creation, ‘Keitaide Dougawo Tsukurou’, which allows its users to compose and edit their own media content with the ability to create themes, tell stories and share with their friends by Ubitus Cloud Computing platform.

Ubitus media effects solution is an on-the-fly media cloud processing and delivery platform that automatically produces orchestrated videos using captured photos, video clips and music.

With Ubitus platform, current users can access the service portal, upload the photos or video from his and her handset, decide on a theme (for instance, Christmas, Birthday and so on), add video effects and subtitles of these pieces, and send a message to share with friends. This service presently supports effects such as comic effect, transition effect, and purikura effects.

Inrix, a provider of traffic services, has announced an agreement with Intrinsyc Software International, a provider of software solutions for mobile and embedded devices to provide real-time traffic flow and incident information for the company’s upcoming iPhone Destinator 9 GPS Navigation app.

Through crowdsourced real-time traffic network and its data fusion engine, Inrix helps Destinator 9 GPS Navigation iPhone customers choose the best route based on real-time traffic information available.

Inrix informed that it uniquely blends billions of real-time data points from more than 1.3 million GPS-enabled commercial and consumer devices with information from a variety of other public and private sources to help drivers stop wasting time and money stuck in traffic.

Falconstor Software, a player in disk-based data protection, and Avnet Technology Solutions (Avnet), an IT distributor, have entered into an agreement for the distribution of Falconstor software products by Avnet UK.

Avnet will be distributing the full range of Falconstor solutions, including Falconstor Continuous Data Protector (CDP), Falconstor Network Storage Server (NSS), Falconstor Virtual Tape Library (VTL) with deduplication and Falconstor File-interface Deduplication System (FDS).

The products, which are already being distributed by Avnet in the Benelux, will be taken to market immediately by Avnet in the UK with other European countries following suit as and when appropriate.

Ericsson has informed that it is enabling Sweden’s cable television operator, Com Hem, to deliver advanced entertainment services to its consumers via an interactive TV platform.

The on-demand TV platform supports a range of advanced services, such as video-on-demand, catch-up and start-over TV programmes and music on-demand, and also includes a flexible interactive portal for Com Hem’s new Landlord-Tenant service. The rollout of the new services has started.

As prime integrator, Ericsson is designing, integrating and delivering the TV platform, which includes hardware and software solutions from Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson group. The platform includes the OpenStream Digital Services Platform, Xport Producer and EQ8096, as well as products from a number of third-party vendors.

Microsoft has announced that Windows phones will be widely available at retail stores worldwide on 6 October 2009.

The company said the new phones will be the first to feature Windows Mobile 6.5, the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile phone software, and will seek to deliver new customer experiences through an improved user interface and browsing capabilities and access to services, including Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft My Phone.

The company also informed that a variety of approved and certified applications will be available for direct download to Windows phones from Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

Windows Mobile 6.5 provides access to third-party applications such as Facebook, Netflix and Zagat. With the new version, users can change the look and feel of their phones with designer themes or a personal background and customise their home screen with widgets so the information they need is always easy to find, the company added.

EMC, a player in information infrastructure solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Kazeon Systems, an eDiscovery software provider for corporations, legal service providers, government entities and law firms.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, subject to customary closing conditions.

EMC believes the acquisition with help the company to offer end-to-end, in-house eDiscovery and litigation readiness solutions as part of the EMC SourceOne family for integrated but modular eDiscovery, archiving and compliance.

Kazeon allows organisations to identify, preserve, collect, process, analyse and review information in accordance with the  EDRM (Electronic Discovery Reference Model) framework. Core to Kazeon is its ability to handle Electronically Stored Information (ESI) that resides anywhere in the enterprise environment — including content on laptops, desktops, content management repositories (including, EMC Documentum), Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange, Lotus Domino, e-mail archives and file shares.

EMC also believes the acquisition will strengthen the company’s SourceOne portfolio. EMC SourceOne is an integrated family of products and solutions for eDiscovery, archiving and compliance.

Research In Motion (RIM) recently announced that BlackBerry App World is now available to BlackBerry smartphone users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, with more Latin American country launches to follow.

The new on-device application is available for BlackBerry smartphones that include a trackball, touch-sensitive trackpad or touch-screen running BlackBerry device software version 4.2 or higher. Users require an active BlackBerry data service plan to access the store. Data charges may apply for customers who have limited data plans.

The store brings together a mix of free personal and business applications.

Users in the Latin American countries can download the application to their BlackBerry smartphone by visiting the BlackBerry website from their handsets.

Online real estate broker Redfin has announced the availability of the Redfin App on the App Store. The application lets iPhone and iPod touch users view homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and upload photos and notes from a home tour to Redfin’s real-estate search site.

Users can locate nearby listings or open houses using location-based services or search any neighbourhood by name or postal code, filtering the search by property type, square footage or the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

The Redfin App displays listings using Google Maps, and includes photos and features of the listing, all in a native format that is claimed to be designed to load fast and support gestured-based navigation using Apple’s Multi-Touch user interface.

Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, has announced that Beaterator will be coming to iPhone and iPod touch this fall.

Developed by Rockstar Leeds, Beaterator is a portable music-making application that allows people of all musical backgrounds and ability to create beats and songs. The game is being developed by Rockstar Leeds, which developed Grand Theft Auto titles on portable consoles. The game is co-produced by music producer Timbaland.

Previously announced for the PlayStation Portable system, Beaterator features loops and sounds made by both Timbaland and Rockstar.