Posts Tagged ‘featured’
The sky’s no limit for NewSat
Robert Gottliebsen, Management Insights
Our Management Insights interview with the chief operating officer of NewSat, Michael Hewins, is an inspiration to all those who believe small companies can succeed in the current environment if they have the right technology.
Incredible as it may seem, the low-cap Australian-listed NewSat provides the satellite communications for the US land forces in Afghanistan.
The Australian army believes that it is better to use satellites linked to China for its Afghanistan military satellite communications.
NewSat operates satellite teleports out of Adelaide and Perth and its services have been so successful in coordinating the US Afghanistan land forces that the US military wants NewSat to go the next step and extend its satellite operation from simply operating satellite communication to owning a satellite or satellites.
Remember this is a company whose shares are at 0.7 cents and has a tiny capitalisation, although it is profitable. But with the right technology, and the US military behind you, anything is possible.
And that’s why American satellite expert Michael Hewins has come to Australia to join NewSat chief executive Adrian Ballintine – to give NewSat the management clout to take the next step.
Satellite spots are not easy to obtain and NewSat has bought seven of them.
Hewins explains how a tiny company can fund a $US300 million to $US400 million satellite from Australia.
First, you need to sign up groups who will use the satellite so you have a guaranteed source of cash flow. NewSat has contracts with major satellite users who have so far agreed to spend $US239 million on NewSat’s proposed Jabiru-1, Ka-band, next generation satellite.
NewSat says Jabiru-1 will provide superior coverage over South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa plus Australia. It will be Australia’s first independently-owned commercial satellite. NewSat still needs more contracts but the demand is building so a second satellite is now in the pipeline.
Phone Systems
The advent of the Internet has unarguably made global contact much easier and convenient. However, phone systems are still an integral part of business life, commanding the world of communications with their speed and efficiency. As technology has advanced, there are now a variety of phone systems to suit different needs and budgets, including VOIP phone systems, NEC phone systems, Mitel phone systems and Aastra telephone systems. While this is good news for the business, it does make the process of procurement that much more difficult – especially if you’re not familiar with the different types available and exactly what they do.
Part of our service at Quotation Junction is to ensure that potential buyers are as clued-up as possible about the products they are interested in. To this end we provide a buyer’s guide, which details almost every aspect of the functions, management and market-prices of these products. In the case of phone systems, the buyer’s guide can explain the differences between VOIP systems, NEC phone systems, Mitel phone systems and Aastra telephone systems, enabling you to make an informed decision as to which is the best for your business.
CNET Review: Jabra BT530 with USB Adapter
The BT530 is a smart looking unit with good features and decent performance. If you don’t intend to make use of the multi-point connectivity we suggest looking at cheaper alternatives.
Editor’s rating: 7.3
User rating: 7
Design
Jabra earns top marks for the simplistic design of the BT530. Its matte black plastic finish and stainless steel trim are subdued and very attractive. The earpiece’s three buttons and single switch are integrated into the design well so that the entire unit remains sleek without protrusions.
Many Bluetooth headsets come bundled with a variety of different sized ear gels, but none come with the number of gels we found in the box with the BT530. Alongside a replacement plastic earhook, we found no less than seven alternative gels in a variety of sizes. Taking these gels off is very difficult, the rubber cups grip to the speaker very tightly, and this is probably a good thing.
The BT530 headset charges via a micro USB connection at the base of the unit. This means the BT530 will be able to share chargers with other devices using the same input, including some recent release Nokia handsets. We were surprised to discover the BT530 retail package doesn’t include a power adapter for charging, only a USB cable to charge using your PC’s power. This is disappointing considering the BT530′s top-shelf price point.








