Enterprises using Equinix’s data centres in Singapore and Tokyo can now connect directly to Amazon’s public cloud service.

Through Amazon Web Services (AWS) Direct Connect, Equinix customers in the Asia-Pacific region can establish private network connections with Amazon’s cloud infrastructure, paying only for the network ports used and data transferred out of AWS. Data transfer into AWS is free.

Equinix, a global data centre operator, said the connectivity option will help companies cut network costs into and out of AWS, by lowering bandwidth commitments to ISPs …

As technology users welcome 2012 everywhere, it’s clear the year that had just passed was filled with no little controversy and memorable incidents.

From Steve Jobs’ death to the delay of the much-awaited iPhone 5, from the rise of Android devices to Nokia’s return with its Windows Phone devices, and finally, with the potent mix of mobile devices and social media that  helped ignite protests in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, but also encouraged the thuggery of the London riots, 2011 was a big year in technology.

The next 12 months look to be just as interesting, as existing technologies mature and grow, while other new trends emerge. Here are five things to look out for in 2012: …

SingTel is upping download speeds on the go on December 22, with a new mobile broadband service that promises up to 75Mbps with the new LTE or long term evolution technology.

The new service will be available at Singapore’s central financial district at launch, along with other high traffic areas like Orchard, City Hall, Marina Bay and Novena. By end 2012, SingTel expects to provide coverage for 80 per cent of users, and 95 per cent by end 2013.

Rival telco M1 had launched a limited LTE service earlier this year, but it offered this only to business customers. SingTel’s service is open to consumers as well. …

Google started the building of a new data centre in Singapore on Thursday, a US$120 million facility which represents the Internet giant’s expansion of operations in the region.

“More users are coming online in Asia than anywhere else in the world,” said Julian Persaud, head of Google Southeast Asia at a launch event. Projected to go online in 2013, the new data centre promises to serve this growing demand by delivering fast and reliable access to Google services.

In addition, the data centre will boost the local job market in a small way, as Google is hiring a small team of full-time staff as well as a number of contractors in a variety of roles, including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, and catering and security staff. …

Every once in a while, a technology emerges that makes you wonder why you haven’t thought about it before. The Singapore-made Orastream app is one such example.

It enables music players to stream the songs at as high a quality as possible, depending on the network that is delivering the songs. This means you always enjoy the highest quality music, without worrying about the dreaded break in transmission – a boon to future music services on the go. …

If you’ve always wanted to visit Nepal but never got on the plane for some reason, here’s a way to visit one of the most beautiful places on earth – virtually in 3D.

A Singapore company has come up with an online tour, called 3rd Planet, that takes a user on a visit to places like Nepal’s Patan Durbar Square. Here, you can get a virtual fly-through or walk-through in a high-resolution 3D world complete with temples and other places of interest like in a game. …

If you subscribe to StarHub’s fibre broadband service and are stuck with the Huawei HG256s gateway that seems to be plagued by poor wireless coverage, a range extender might help.

Cisco’s Linksys RE1000 is a S$109 range extender that takes an existing wireless signal and repeats it throughout the home. It also serves as a wireless bridge to connect a wired printer, Internet enabled TV or game console to the wireless network through its integrated Ethernet port. …

Heading down to SITEX this weekend? Here are some deals we spotted to whet your appetite!

Huawei Sonic (S$248, no contract)
The Huawei Sonic is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone with an unbelievably low price. And yet, the phone doesn’t feel that cheap, and it actually quite sturdy. Specs-wise, the phone does feel like it came out of the era of the first iPhone: a low-res screen, 600MHz processor and 256MB of RAM all add up to a phone which pales in comparison to the powerhouses out there today. But if you can look past all that and won’t use it to play intensive games, the Sonic is a decent low-end Android phone.

M1 Fibre Broadband (S$39/month)
M1’s fibre broadband promotion just keeps going! Introduced at COMEX earlier this year, the 100Mbps can be yours for just S$39 per month. M1 says “it’s a steal”, and we couldn’t agree more. The only catch: if you’re too invested in other telco packages – such as StarHub’s cable TV – it will be difficult to decide whether you should switch.
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Malaysian cellphone maker CSL is targeting business travelers with the Spice Mi350 dual-SIM smartphone that lets you pop in two SIM cards into a single device. That means you could, say, receive calls on your personal and business phone numbers without lugging two phones around. Folks with a dedicated mobile broadband service could also use the Android device as a broadband modem through Wi-Fi tethering. …

Lovers of e-books in Singapore are getting their own local e-book fix, after SingTel said on Tuesday that it was offering Singapore’s first e-book service. This service, named skoob, will allow Singaporeans to peruse and purchase e-books for their smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

Offering more than 39,000 local and international bestsellers at launch, it is the first e-book service to accept payment in Singapore dollars. E-books also tend to be cheaper than hard copy of books – SingTel highlights how a hard copy of John Grisham’s The Confession costs S$9 for an e-book rather than the S$17 offered at bookstores. …