TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Institute for Information Industry (III), One of the world's leading information technology institutes, and Newport Digital Technologies (NDT) (OTCBB:IFDG) this week announced a collaboration to develop and deliver eLearning total solutions along with the release of a fully functional and affordable low-cost notebook for worldwide education and retail markets.
The low-cost notebook incorporates an advanced and customized user-friendly Linux OS and software, a 7" screen (with 800x480 resolution) and features VIA C7M CPU (1 GHz), VX800 S3 graphics core, 512MB DDR2 memory, webcam, WLAN/WiFi controller, 2 USB ports, SD/MMC/MS card slot and a 4 Cell Li-Ion battery. The Newport Netbook will be exclusively distributed by NDT with a suggested retail price of $299, currently 300,000 units are being projected for release in time for "Back to School" promotions in the U.S. and an additional 500,000 by Christmas. "We are currently in talks with Quanta to integrate and release in October 2008 an advanced version of the notebook which will have a reversible 10.2" touch screen which converts to a tablet," said Elsie Kao, project manager for III. "III will integrate our latest Navigation software with our 3D Engine which is ideal for mobile business users."
For educational markets, III is collaborating with NDT on an eLearning project covering over 120,000 students and connecting 1,000 classrooms upon full deployment. The e-Learning network will start with several pilot projects next quarter in the South Pacific and expand across several countries in the region. III and NDT will build a WiMAX infrastructure on which to place its eLearning platform, and will provide tens of thousands of students with durable notebooks for accessing the Net. The first phase had been funded by Government at US$3,000,000 and is expected to reach US$18,000,000 upon full deployment.
III has developed DLMS (Distributed Learning Management System) which passes SCORM 1.2 Level 3 and 2004 Conformance Test Suites. III has also developed and deployed a Learning Content Authoring Tool -- an integrated content editing software which is deployed on III's ADOC project (www.apecdoc.org) for APEC, an eight-country project for up to 30,000 students.
Said Ms. Elsie Kao from III's International Group, "Taiwan has been a major and substantial donor and benefactor in the South Pacific and it's from this experience as well as regional resources that we see an opportunity to expand our wireless technologies in the region. How we differ from the OLPC program is that we feel a wireless infrastructure must first be in place to accommodate the notebook -- the program will be a failure without a reliable energy source, fully functional low-cost notebook, and a stable, speedy Internet connection." III is a world-leading digital technology organization with the experience to deploy a total solution in collaboration with NDT.
About III
III is one of the world's leading information technology institutes and was established in 1979 -- jointly sponsored by the Taiwan government and prominent enterprises for the purpose of strengthening the development of the information industry in Taiwan.
Since its inception, III has been a source of vision, innovation, technological excellence and a major contributor to Taiwan's development into a significant player in the global ICT arena. III has helped promote full utilization of ICT technologies thereby advancing the establishment of a modern information society in Taiwan.
Now with its more than 1,800 professional and dedicated engineers -- of which more than 60% possess Ph.D. or Master's degrees in Computer Engineering and other associated fields -- III plays a crucial and pivotal role in Taiwan's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry and is the largest system integration organization in Taiwan.
About Newport Digital Technologies: NDT is a publicly traded company trading on NASDAQ, formed in January of 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary of IFPG. Managed by prominent IT Industry executives and Digital Wireless technology consultants for the purpose of supporting III's International Expansion. NDT will focus on the distribution of III's low-cost notebook in the America's and South Pacific which is expected to generate up to US$75 Million in revenues in 2008/09, as well as III's WiMAX base stations in the South Pacific with over 200 deployments planned during the same period. III will continue to provide NDT with technical support, along with marketing and sales resources for this expansion.
NDT is a publicly traded company which is traded under Nasdaq ticker symbol: (OTCBB:IFDG) www.Newportdt.com