Opinionated comments on mobile phone industry news
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All entries are written by Anders Borg, CEO and Consultant of Abiro, that has a long experience in strategic planning, developing embedded and Java software, usability aspects, and the mobile phone industry in general. You can also read the latest Mobile News entries on your phone via wap.abiro.com, and we provide many News Feeds from popular news services. For advertising and contribution queries, please use the feedback form. News feed (local) FeedBurner Feed
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
First trojan hitting Java phones
Considering you have to approve sending of SMS, it's easy to avoid the premium SMS charges this fake browser application (called redbrowser) generates.
I sense this is inspired by and leveraging on the Opera Browser, that 100k's of users trust.
This is the flip side of the Java coin: As users get more accustomed to downloading (often free) software to their phone and relying on the applications to behave gentleman-like, many users might accept warnings about SMS charges etc before checking if the application is really legit.
Trojan targets basic Java phones | Channel Register
I sense this is inspired by and leveraging on the Opera Browser, that 100k's of users trust.
This is the flip side of the Java coin: As users get more accustomed to downloading (often free) software to their phone and relying on the applications to behave gentleman-like, many users might accept warnings about SMS charges etc before checking if the application is really legit.
Trojan targets basic Java phones | Channel Register
Engadget goes hands-on with 3 new Sony Ericsson phones
Lucky bastards...
Tested are W950i, M600 and W300i. The first two are Symbian OS phones. The first and last are multimedia phones, while the M600 is a business phone.
Notice the completely flat keypad on the W950i. They all have out-of-the-ordinary keypads actually, like I mentioned about M600 earlier.
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W950 - Engadget Mobile
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson M600 - Engadget Mobile
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W300i - Engadget Mobile
Tested are W950i, M600 and W300i. The first two are Symbian OS phones. The first and last are multimedia phones, while the M600 is a business phone.
Notice the completely flat keypad on the W950i. They all have out-of-the-ordinary keypads actually, like I mentioned about M600 earlier.
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W950 - Engadget Mobile
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson M600 - Engadget Mobile
Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W300i - Engadget Mobile
Sony Ericsson will ship phones with blogging software
The picture at pocket-lint is clearly faked (the Blogger picture is pasted on top of the phone picture). My guess is that this will be a Java application. It can't be just access via the browser, as you can't take pictures with the camera that way.
Abiro just released a simple freeware application for blogging to Google Blogger, called Mobile Blogger (clever name, right?). Yet only for text, but camera access and publishing to Typepad is in the works. At that time it will not be freeware though.
Pocket-lint.co.uk Sony Ericsson and Google bundle Blogger.com software on new phones news story
Sony Ericsson to use Google search and Blogger - Yahoo! News
Abiro just released a simple freeware application for blogging to Google Blogger, called Mobile Blogger (clever name, right?). Yet only for text, but camera access and publishing to Typepad is in the works. At that time it will not be freeware though.
Pocket-lint.co.uk Sony Ericsson and Google bundle Blogger.com software on new phones news story
Sony Ericsson to use Google search and Blogger - Yahoo! News
Monday, February 27, 2006
The future is Mobile/WLAN phones
UMA, a standard for roaming between mobile and local networks, promises to make this work seamlessly and vendor independently.
Quote: "The advantage of UMA for an operator is that they can get to maintain control of their customers," said Steve Shaw, marketing director for U.S.-based Kineto Wireless
Beacon Journal | 02/27/2006 | Indoor-outdoor mobile phones way of future
Quote: "The advantage of UMA for an operator is that they can get to maintain control of their customers," said Steve Shaw, marketing director for U.S.-based Kineto Wireless
Beacon Journal | 02/27/2006 | Indoor-outdoor mobile phones way of future
Sony offers photo sharing
Mentioned here is a Java application that runs on the phone and that hooks up to the camera and uploads photos to Sony's sharing service. Photos can then be accessed from phones and PCs.
Sony Brings New Photo Sharing Application to the Wireless Industry: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Sony Brings New Photo Sharing Application to the Wireless Industry: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Microsoft playsforsure in Motorola phones
Playsforsure is a bundling of Microsoft media formats and DRM, aimed to increase interoperability between services and multimedia devices. Some DAPs and PMPs already support this, but Motorola will now support playsforsure also in their phones.
Slashphone.com - Motorola and Microsoft Plan to Bring More Choice To Mobile Music Fans - mobile phone reviews, news, community
Slashphone.com - Motorola and Microsoft Plan to Bring More Choice To Mobile Music Fans - mobile phone reviews, news, community
The mobile client/server paradigm
This MobHappy article analyzes the use of mobile phone applications as frontends to services. I fully agree that's the trend for 2006 and onwards. In most cases the client application will be free, and just an enabler for the service. The client application is there to create an optimal user experience, and optimise the data exchanged with the service.
What I don't agree with is that you need a smartphone for achieving this. Java ME is more than plenty.
Quote: Provide someone an application, and they’ll pay you once. Provide someone a service, and they’ll keep on paying.
Abiro is currently working on an application framework for J2ME that will make developing such client applications a no-brainer, emulating some of the functionality that normally a web browser takes care of under the covers.
3GSM - What All Those New Smartphones Mean, And It’s A Lot at MobHappy
What I don't agree with is that you need a smartphone for achieving this. Java ME is more than plenty.
Quote: Provide someone an application, and they’ll pay you once. Provide someone a service, and they’ll keep on paying.
Abiro is currently working on an application framework for J2ME that will make developing such client applications a no-brainer, emulating some of the functionality that normally a web browser takes care of under the covers.
3GSM - What All Those New Smartphones Mean, And It’s A Lot at MobHappy
Friday, February 24, 2006
RIM faces verdict soon
Engadget summarizes the key information related to the RIM/NTP case. I'm still guessing RIM will not have to shut down its US network, simply because the patents discussed are more or less invalidated already, but we'll see.
Judgment Day arrives for RIM - Engadget
Judgment Day arrives for RIM - Engadget
PictSync, standard for sharing photos
Key providers of mobile phones and cameras partner to define guidelines for photo exchange. I doubt there's need for much new formats etc. It's rather a matter of deciding what formats to use. This is in any case a good thing for the consumer.
PictSync To Ease Sharing Photos Between Phones, Cameras, Media Players (MobileBurn)
PictSync To Ease Sharing Photos Between Phones, Cameras, Media Players (MobileBurn)
Phone + SIM card + some glue
3 claims that many of their low-end phones are exported (100,000s of phones!), and to limit that they will start glueing in pre-paid SIM cards.
Quote: On the other hand, if the handset develops a fault, what happens to the user's contact list or personal information?
An on-line backup service would fix that. As CDMA phones have no SIM card at all, such services have become used in such countries, and will probably also be adopted in GSM countries down the road.
3 UK To Secure Their Sim Cards (MobileBurn)
Quote: On the other hand, if the handset develops a fault, what happens to the user's contact list or personal information?
An on-line backup service would fix that. As CDMA phones have no SIM card at all, such services have become used in such countries, and will probably also be adopted in GSM countries down the road.
3 UK To Secure Their Sim Cards (MobileBurn)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Trying out Mobile Blogger
Testing my new Java application for mobile blogging. A bit easier to use than the WAP version.
Microsoft provides Skype competitor
According to this article Office Communicator will only be delivered with Office 2007. That sounds like an attempt to make more companies buy that version of Office, but a bad choice for spreading the Communicator, as especially corporate IT is reluctant to VoIP within companies, and consumers will not buy Office 2007 Professional Plus.
MSN Messenger already supports VoIP via SIP, so I'm wondering how this is different. Surely they will also support a PSTN gateway like Skype as well.
Microsoft Office Communicator: Skype Killer?
MSN Messenger already supports VoIP via SIP, so I'm wondering how this is different. Surely they will also support a PSTN gateway like Skype as well.
Microsoft Office Communicator: Skype Killer?
Windows Mobile ideal for corporate mobile services?
Windows Mobile is no doubt very powerful, and it's no arguing that if you have .NET-based services in your company it's a benefit also to have a .NET platform in your phone. There are a few arguments against though:
* There are too few Windows Mobile phones. I doubt companies will replace all the users' phones.
* Existing Web services are not .NET-based. Rather they are based on HTML forms and/or GET/POST client/server interaction. Windows Mobile has no real advantage here.
The article says there are most developers for Windows Mobile (10000), but arguable Mobile Java has as many, especially if you count J2SE and J2EE developers as potential J2ME ditto.
It also says J2ME lacks access to the file system of the phone. J2ME supports that, but yet not in that many phones, still probably in many more phones than have Windows Mobile.
It's a bit of a apples/oranges discussion, as Windows Mobile is mainly used in PDA-like phones, and if that's what you need then Windows Mobile provides much more functionality than ever J2ME can. To access all mobile users in the company you can't rely on Windows Mobile only though.
Microsoft's improved Windows Mobile 5.0 will boost applications choice for users
* There are too few Windows Mobile phones. I doubt companies will replace all the users' phones.
* Existing Web services are not .NET-based. Rather they are based on HTML forms and/or GET/POST client/server interaction. Windows Mobile has no real advantage here.
The article says there are most developers for Windows Mobile (10000), but arguable Mobile Java has as many, especially if you count J2SE and J2EE developers as potential J2ME ditto.
It also says J2ME lacks access to the file system of the phone. J2ME supports that, but yet not in that many phones, still probably in many more phones than have Windows Mobile.
It's a bit of a apples/oranges discussion, as Windows Mobile is mainly used in PDA-like phones, and if that's what you need then Windows Mobile provides much more functionality than ever J2ME can. To access all mobile users in the company you can't rely on Windows Mobile only though.
Microsoft's improved Windows Mobile 5.0 will boost applications choice for users
Location-based services will bloom during 2006?
At least this writer believes so. I remember talks about location as a key service enabler 6-7 years ago, and not much has happened. Of course, car navigation has succeeded, but mobile phone location for information and commercial services hasn't taken off yet, by any means.
An interesting comment is that mobile phone applications with access to location functionality makes the use of it simpler, but it's of course still mainly a question of attractive services.
The Outlook for Location-based Services – 2006 and Beyond - Articles
An interesting comment is that mobile phone applications with access to location functionality makes the use of it simpler, but it's of course still mainly a question of attractive services.
The Outlook for Location-based Services – 2006 and Beyond - Articles
Stik&Stor offers 8 GB for mobile phones
I expected a large module, but it's actually tiny. The price tag won't be so tiny though: $199 for 8GB! Also comes in smaller models. It's for phones supporting MicroSD or T-Flash.
Stik&Stor gives cell phones loads of memory
Stik&Stor gives cell phones loads of memory
Mobile-enabled Amazon
Moonlight Mobile has developed a client application in Java/J2ME providing access to the Amazon site from any mobile phone with Java.
textually.org: Mobile users get Amazon shopping browser
moonlight mobile
textually.org: Mobile users get Amazon shopping browser
moonlight mobile
Mobileburn tests Sony Ericsson M600
As reported before the M600 and W950i use the same base hardware and software, yet while W950i is focused on consumers with needs for music and camera, M600 is for corporate use, with support for several corporate email systems, including Microsoft Exchange/ActiveSync.
To enter text you press on the sides of the keys. Each key has up to 3 symbols (left, center, right). It also sports a 3-way scroll wheel (up, down, select). Sony has had phones with this feature for a long time. It also has 80 MB of memory that can be extended.
Several photos are included in the article.
Sony Ericsson M600 Gallery (MobileBurn)
To enter text you press on the sides of the keys. Each key has up to 3 symbols (left, center, right). It also sports a 3-way scroll wheel (up, down, select). Sony has had phones with this feature for a long time. It also has 80 MB of memory that can be extended.
Several photos are included in the article.
Sony Ericsson M600 Gallery (MobileBurn)
Compare US operators
If you are considering switching to another operator, this article might come in handy.
A quick summary of monthly plan costs:
* T-Mobile : $50.97
* Cingular Wireless: $54.97
* Verizon Wireless: $54.99
* Sprint Nextel: $63.99
The comments might actually be even more interesting than the article.
Apples-to-Apples Comparison of the "Big Four" U.S. Wireless Providers' Calling Plans - The Wireless Report
A quick summary of monthly plan costs:
* T-Mobile : $50.97
* Cingular Wireless: $54.97
* Verizon Wireless: $54.99
* Sprint Nextel: $63.99
The comments might actually be even more interesting than the article.
Apples-to-Apples Comparison of the "Big Four" U.S. Wireless Providers' Calling Plans - The Wireless Report
Sore thumbs due to too much SMSing
Maybe it's time manufacturers let usability experts take a look at phone keypads to make them easier to use, and possibly adding full keypads to mainstream phones.
British SMS Boom Leads To Digit Damage: Survey - Yahoo! News
British SMS Boom Leads To Digit Damage: Survey - Yahoo! News
Monday, February 20, 2006
BT invests in a global VoIP platform
Quote: The VoIP platform is expected to support voice telephony, e-mail and video conferencing.
Whether via IMS or any similar "umbrella" technology it doesn't say, but it's likely IMS.
Digital Media Europe: News - BT to invest in global VoIP
Whether via IMS or any similar "umbrella" technology it doesn't say, but it's likely IMS.
Digital Media Europe: News - BT to invest in global VoIP
Mobile marketing, here it comes...
Quote: Airwide Solutions found that by 2008 89% of brands will use text and multimedia messaging to reach their audience.
Quote: According to the survey, brands expect mobile marketing to become far more effective than traditional direct mail.
Probably also equally more annoying.
Netimperative - Major brands shifting marketing budgets to mobile- research
Quote: According to the survey, brands expect mobile marketing to become far more effective than traditional direct mail.
Probably also equally more annoying.
Netimperative - Major brands shifting marketing budgets to mobile- research
Firefox for Windows Mobile
Minimo, that is based on the Mozilla/Firefox browser engine, supports browsing normal Web sites on Windows Mobile phones.
Minimo
Minimo
Friday, February 17, 2006
Even more about the ACCESS/PalmSource Linux-based platform
Now we are getting into some nice details:
* MAX: The new GUI for advanced phone applications. Will be used by the applications provided by ACCESS.
* Palm OS emulation: For legacy applications and existing Palm OS developers.
* GTK+ and GStreamer: Often used by Linux applications, and known by many Linux developers.
* J2ME: For downloaded (and some embedded) applications.
ACCESS NetFront will be included with an ALP license.
Quote: PalmSource has been working together with ACCESS on ALP for the past three months.
That's a very short time-span, so the system must have been ready before that.
A note about J2ME: The mobile gaming industry knows J2ME (and BREW) best. Hence it's very important that ALP supports it. Note also that ACCESS offered a J2ME/MIDP KVM before the acquisition of PalmSource, so it's even more logical it's included.
ACCESS is a completely different beast now compared to when they were a mobile browser, KVM and TCP/IP stack provider.
PalmInfocenter.com: More Details on the ACCESS Linux Platform
* MAX: The new GUI for advanced phone applications. Will be used by the applications provided by ACCESS.
* Palm OS emulation: For legacy applications and existing Palm OS developers.
* GTK+ and GStreamer: Often used by Linux applications, and known by many Linux developers.
* J2ME: For downloaded (and some embedded) applications.
ACCESS NetFront will be included with an ALP license.
Quote: PalmSource has been working together with ACCESS on ALP for the past three months.
That's a very short time-span, so the system must have been ready before that.
A note about J2ME: The mobile gaming industry knows J2ME (and BREW) best. Hence it's very important that ALP supports it. Note also that ACCESS offered a J2ME/MIDP KVM before the acquisition of PalmSource, so it's even more logical it's included.
ACCESS is a completely different beast now compared to when they were a mobile browser, KVM and TCP/IP stack provider.
PalmInfocenter.com: More Details on the ACCESS Linux Platform
Asia leads mobile gaming
I can see a number of reasons for that, knowing that Korea and Japan are very big on mobile content and gaming. China should be too by now.
* Faster networks mean faster downloads. GPRS still dominates in Europe, which is considerably slower than cdma2000 and 3G. This would though not be an argument for USA, unless most consumers don't have or don't "stretch" cdma2000 phones.
* Operator-endorsement and good business models for third-party content providers. At least European operators have yet to deploy a sensible business model, where the operator only takes a small percentage of the revenue.
* Long-range commuting on public transports is arguably more common in Asian countries, so gaming is a way to spend the time.
Digital Media Europe: News - Asia consumers lead North America, Europe in mobile gaming
* Faster networks mean faster downloads. GPRS still dominates in Europe, which is considerably slower than cdma2000 and 3G. This would though not be an argument for USA, unless most consumers don't have or don't "stretch" cdma2000 phones.
* Operator-endorsement and good business models for third-party content providers. At least European operators have yet to deploy a sensible business model, where the operator only takes a small percentage of the revenue.
* Long-range commuting on public transports is arguably more common in Asian countries, so gaming is a way to spend the time.
Digital Media Europe: News - Asia consumers lead North America, Europe in mobile gaming
The SIM card as multimedia storage
Axalto introduces "SIM on the Go" that simply puts all OMA DRM 2.0 protected data on the SIM card. If the user switches phone for whatever reason the data is not lost and can easily be moved elsewhere. Instead the data is tied to the account, so the operator's services can easily tell what data the user owns.
The SIM card needs to house a lot of memory if used for music and other multimedia, but 512 MB SIM cards might be enough for most people.
A possible drawback is that the cost for replacing a lost SIM card will be much higher than it is today.
Digital Media Europe: News - Axalto launches 'SIM on the Go' solution
The SIM card needs to house a lot of memory if used for music and other multimedia, but 512 MB SIM cards might be enough for most people.
A possible drawback is that the cost for replacing a lost SIM card will be much higher than it is today.
Digital Media Europe: News - Axalto launches 'SIM on the Go' solution
Mobile e-mail alternatives
Beyond RIM the following are mentioned:
* Microsoft
* Vista
* LogicaCMG
* Synchronica
* Seven Network
* Funambol
* Nokia/Intellisync
It should be noted that many of the above have had such solutions for a long time, but it hasn't been hyped much before.
It should also be noted that e.g. Microsoft only offers this for a limited set of phones (running WM 5.0). Visto on the other hand supports almost any phone.
Common for all is that they primarily support MS Exchange (incorrectly mentioned as MS Outlook in the text) and Lotus Notes.
Choices Abound for Mobile E-Mail - Yahoo! News
* Microsoft
* Vista
* LogicaCMG
* Synchronica
* Seven Network
* Funambol
* Nokia/Intellisync
It should be noted that many of the above have had such solutions for a long time, but it hasn't been hyped much before.
It should also be noted that e.g. Microsoft only offers this for a limited set of phones (running WM 5.0). Visto on the other hand supports almost any phone.
Common for all is that they primarily support MS Exchange (incorrectly mentioned as MS Outlook in the text) and Lotus Notes.
Choices Abound for Mobile E-Mail - Yahoo! News
Personal IM by GSM Association
At GSM World you can download a whitepaper about Personal IM. It's not very detailed, but explains the basics of the announced Personal IM concept.
There are a few very interesting things mentioned:
* It's focused on the mobile realm, not necessarily offering compatibility with existing Internet-based IM services. That in my mind leaves an open field for third party, which is good of course.
* It's not tied to any specific protocol or system. Seemingly Wireless Village and IMS will both work in this scenario. That though forces operators to transcode between networks.
Quote: The majority of services that exist today are examples of off-net Instant Messaging. What is being recommended here is that customers are offered the alternative of an on-net Instant Messaging service.
Note: Off-net as in Internet, and On-net as in operator-controlled network. Do you agree with the GSMA point-of-view?
Quote: Why is Personal IM a priority for operators versus new 3G multimedia services such as mobile TV or video calls?
My "operator internal" answer to this would be: Well, we invest a lot in services nobody cares about and that don't provide any revenue, while IM is low hanging fruit that doesn't require new terminals or protocols, and is sure to generate a lot of revenue.
GSM World - the website of the GSM Association
There are a few very interesting things mentioned:
* It's focused on the mobile realm, not necessarily offering compatibility with existing Internet-based IM services. That in my mind leaves an open field for third party, which is good of course.
* It's not tied to any specific protocol or system. Seemingly Wireless Village and IMS will both work in this scenario. That though forces operators to transcode between networks.
Quote: The majority of services that exist today are examples of off-net Instant Messaging. What is being recommended here is that customers are offered the alternative of an on-net Instant Messaging service.
Note: Off-net as in Internet, and On-net as in operator-controlled network. Do you agree with the GSMA point-of-view?
Quote: Why is Personal IM a priority for operators versus new 3G multimedia services such as mobile TV or video calls?
My "operator internal" answer to this would be: Well, we invest a lot in services nobody cares about and that don't provide any revenue, while IM is low hanging fruit that doesn't require new terminals or protocols, and is sure to generate a lot of revenue.
GSM World - the website of the GSM Association
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Sony Ericsson W950i, music phone with Symbian OS
This phone is built on the same base design as M600 (almost identical, yet lacking some of the extra keys for alphanumerics). It's got 4 GB Flash memory for music and other media, so it sounds like it won't be the cheapest phone around, but probably the jazziest.
Overview - - Mobile phone - Sony Ericsson W950i -
Overview - - Mobile phone - Sony Ericsson W950i -
Trend: GPS in all phones?
At least SiRF (that not surprisingly makes GPS chipsets) thinks that will be the case by 2011. Apart from tracking of phones, it's of course also useful for map and location services.
Most cellphones to have GPS chips by 2011: SiRF - Yahoo! News
Most cellphones to have GPS chips by 2011: SiRF - Yahoo! News
Orange introduces SIM cards with 512 MB Flash
It would no doubt revive older phones with little memory, provided they can access it. Music/media phones already have this and more, so the question is what audience and phones they are addressing.
Orange plans SIMs with 8,000 times more capacity - Yahoo! News
Orange plans SIMs with 8,000 times more capacity - Yahoo! News
VoIP is knocking on the operators' doors. Who will open?
It seems most try to ignore it for now, but 3 is making a conscious move by introducing Skype in its network that might affect all the others as well.
3GSM blog: The VoIP challenge - Yahoo! News
3GSM blog: The VoIP challenge - Yahoo! News
The Western world starting to realize China is the key market
It's interesting to see how China is already a much more important mobile phone and service market than USA and Europe.
Quote: He (Wang Jianzhou, chairman China Mobile) said the total revenue of mobile music in China last year surpassed the entire revenue of the traditional music industry.
According to the article, China will also affect global phone prices, as they will be considerably lower in China.
China Mobile Sparks 3GSM Talk - 2/14/2006 10:43:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6307557
Quote: He (Wang Jianzhou, chairman China Mobile) said the total revenue of mobile music in China last year surpassed the entire revenue of the traditional music industry.
According to the article, China will also affect global phone prices, as they will be considerably lower in China.
China Mobile Sparks 3GSM Talk - 2/14/2006 10:43:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6307557
Tegic T9 not just about predictive text input anymore
Called XT9 Mobile Interface it incorporates features like handwriting, next letter predicition, regional error correction, etc.
If you remember, Zi Corp acquired the Swedish company Decuma to get hold of handwriting technology, so they are once again competing head to head. Zi has though much less market share than Tegic.
XT9, Tegic's T9 Followup On Samsung Mobiles: 3GSM - Digital-Lifestyles.info
If you remember, Zi Corp acquired the Swedish company Decuma to get hold of handwriting technology, so they are once again competing head to head. Zi has though much less market share than Tegic.
XT9, Tegic's T9 Followup On Samsung Mobiles: 3GSM - Digital-Lifestyles.info
More about the new ACCESS/PalmSource application platform
Called Access Linux Platform (ALP) it combines a Linux-based core with an application platform based on a new GUI called MAX and Palm OS APIs for backwards compatbility.
Quote: Linux isn't known for ease of use, but MAX comes with "a lot of user experience guidelines and libraries so developers can create easy-to-use software," Chu said. "We don't want a mobile Linux to be too geeky."
PalmSource Unveils New Linux-Based Palm OS - Yahoo! News
Quote: Linux isn't known for ease of use, but MAX comes with "a lot of user experience guidelines and libraries so developers can create easy-to-use software," Chu said. "We don't want a mobile Linux to be too geeky."
PalmSource Unveils New Linux-Based Palm OS - Yahoo! News
Nokia and Sanyo starts venture
The Japanese mobile phone industry is in deep trouble, so the collaboration is a bit odd for Nokia. If Nokia wants to cover the fast growing markets China and India it would sound more logical to cooporate with companies outside of Japan. Japanese phones are simply too expensive.
Quote: Sanyo is the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries and supplies lithium-ion batteries to Nokia and other major mobile phone makers.
Maybe that's the real reason.
Sanyo and Nokia to form cellphone venture - Yahoo! News
Quote: Sanyo is the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries and supplies lithium-ion batteries to Nokia and other major mobile phone makers.
Maybe that's the real reason.
Sanyo and Nokia to form cellphone venture - Yahoo! News
Virgin Mobile first with broad deployment of Mobile TV
Virgin Mobile is not known to push the boundaries on a technical level, rather focusing on the bulk business of voice and SMS, but maybe they see a chance to stick out from the crowd by leading with Mobile TV. They will use the BT Movio system.
Quote: "By taking the leap into broadcast TV for mobile, Virgin Mobile will be able to offer customers a real live TV experience," said Emma Lloyd, managing director of BT Movio.
Virgin Mobile to offer live digital TV on phones - Yahoo! News
Quote: "By taking the leap into broadcast TV for mobile, Virgin Mobile will be able to offer customers a real live TV experience," said Emma Lloyd, managing director of BT Movio.
Virgin Mobile to offer live digital TV on phones - Yahoo! News
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
ACCESS/PalmSource makes a Symbian competitor
I figure this has a greater chance of competing with Symbian OS than Windows Mobile can. Reason: Microsoft doesn't focus on the mobile phone market, but ACCESS does, and this Linux-based platform is surely much more efficient than Windows Mobile, so it can be used also in mainstream phones. Just guessing, but I've been right about Microsoft before.
ACCESS and PalmSource Announce the ACCESS Linux Platform
ACCESS and PalmSource Announce the ACCESS Linux Platform
Monday, February 13, 2006
Nokia introduces GSM/WLAN phone
This is a first from Nokia, and it looks like it can be part of a broader trend. Unlicensed Mobile Technology (UMA) will enable roaming between GSM and WLAN (Wi-Fi).
Nokia unveils first convergence mobile - Yahoo! News
Nokia unveils first convergence mobile - Yahoo! News
Operators finally go for mobile IM
They've concluded this could be a new revenue stream for them, while consumers have wanted mobile IM for years. Once again I find that consumer needs are not a priority of operators. Oddly, IM has never been a real threat to overall operator revenue, yet there's been a lot of concerns about lost revenue on SMS, but IM will most likely compensate for that, with icing.
Only pricier handsets such as smartphones with software from Symbian and Microsoft can be upgraded to support instant messaging now, and operators said the success of the new service would depend on it being available to the most basic models.
That's complete nonsense. All you need is a phone with Java.
Wireless firms eye instant messaging - Yahoo! News
Only pricier handsets such as smartphones with software from Symbian and Microsoft can be upgraded to support instant messaging now, and operators said the success of the new service would depend on it being available to the most basic models.
That's complete nonsense. All you need is a phone with Java.
Wireless firms eye instant messaging - Yahoo! News
Engadget introduces Engadget Mobile
This is intended to be a dedicated news blog for mobile technology.
I was surprised so many had commented on the welcome note, until I saw you can win a phone if you do.
Engadget Mobile
I was surprised so many had commented on the welcome note, until I saw you can win a phone if you do.
Engadget Mobile
Companies partner for a new mobile gaming platform
The alliance consists of several industry heavy-weights, so this can have a significant impact.
Considering Microsoft and Nokia participate but not Sun, it's very unlikely it will be Java-based.
I'm still wondering why Sun didn't decide to own the MIDP KVM market, so that all phones would have similar functionality.
The architecture will support the development, testing and deployment of games on several operating systems, including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Linux, and Symbian, as well as on terminal platforms from mobile operators, such as SK Telecom's WIPI GIGA.
Tech Giants Tackle Mobile Phone Gaming - Yahoo! News
Considering Microsoft and Nokia participate but not Sun, it's very unlikely it will be Java-based.
I'm still wondering why Sun didn't decide to own the MIDP KVM market, so that all phones would have similar functionality.
The architecture will support the development, testing and deployment of games on several operating systems, including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Linux, and Symbian, as well as on terminal platforms from mobile operators, such as SK Telecom's WIPI GIGA.
Tech Giants Tackle Mobile Phone Gaming - Yahoo! News
MagnaChip offers camera with better low-light conditions
Camera phones are still far away from the picture quality of dedicated digital cameras, and I've found that the lenses are crappy and the low-light conditions are really bad with a lot of noise (small lens means little light entering the camera).
MagnaChip claims to have solved the low-light issues in their latest 1.3 Mp CMOS camera. Read the comments for reasons why there will continue to be a quality gap.
Auto-Focus, low-light functions coming to cameraphones - Engadget
MagnaChip claims to have solved the low-light issues in their latest 1.3 Mp CMOS camera. Read the comments for reasons why there will continue to be a quality gap.
Auto-Focus, low-light functions coming to cameraphones - Engadget
Movamail offers mobile e-mail
Supposedly they've had 0.5M downloads of the e-mail software of the same name, and it's the #1 download on GetJAR (a popular download portal for Java/J2ME applications).
"MovaMail is one of the few applications on our portal to have proven maximum cross device compatibility" Quote by Serge Korotkoff, GetJar project manager.
I get the impression that it's based on a gateway service talking to the actual mail servers, and that way optimising the communication with the phone.
The trial software can be used for 60 days. After that it's $30 a year.
Many (most?) phones have integrated e-mail clients nowadays, but usability and network traffic wise this might be better. I'll have to test it.
i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Movamail’s Mobile Consumer Email Application Surpasses Half Million Downloads
Movamail - Home
"MovaMail is one of the few applications on our portal to have proven maximum cross device compatibility" Quote by Serge Korotkoff, GetJar project manager.
I get the impression that it's based on a gateway service talking to the actual mail servers, and that way optimising the communication with the phone.
The trial software can be used for 60 days. After that it's $30 a year.
Many (most?) phones have integrated e-mail clients nowadays, but usability and network traffic wise this might be better. I'll have to test it.
i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Movamail’s Mobile Consumer Email Application Surpasses Half Million Downloads
Movamail - Home
Friday, February 10, 2006
Speculations about 3GSM World Congress
3GSM World Congress takes off next week, for the first time in Barcelona Spain, as it grew too large for Cannes France.
It's without a doubt the world's most important congress and exhibit for GSM and WCDMA mobile technology, and new concepts will be pushed there, including of course Mobile TV.
Last year I stood for one week in Obigo's booth in my role as product manager, but I won't be there this year.
They used to brag about how fast their networks are, but this year's visitors to the world's top wireless trade fest, 3GSM, will have more serious matters to discuss, such as how Madonna music clips can save their skin.
This is actually good, as switching to completely new technology has to be motivated by applications, not just hype.
Mobile TV will kickstart mass-market demand for smartphones and feature phones, said Nigel Clifford, the CEO of mobile phone software maker Symbian.
Without a doubt Symbian OS has a high stake in that market.
The article also speculates about larger displays for better supporting multimedia as well as web browsing. Also the phone as a wallet is considered. It would be neat to replace all credit and ID cards with the phone.
network vendors now want mobile operators to believe that 3G is not really what they want. They want something faster (...like HSDPA).
Good luck guys. Operators are surely willing to invest heavily once again in technology no one uses.
Mobile trade show 3GSM tunes into TV, web services - Yahoo! News
It's without a doubt the world's most important congress and exhibit for GSM and WCDMA mobile technology, and new concepts will be pushed there, including of course Mobile TV.
Last year I stood for one week in Obigo's booth in my role as product manager, but I won't be there this year.
They used to brag about how fast their networks are, but this year's visitors to the world's top wireless trade fest, 3GSM, will have more serious matters to discuss, such as how Madonna music clips can save their skin.
This is actually good, as switching to completely new technology has to be motivated by applications, not just hype.
Mobile TV will kickstart mass-market demand for smartphones and feature phones, said Nigel Clifford, the CEO of mobile phone software maker Symbian.
Without a doubt Symbian OS has a high stake in that market.
The article also speculates about larger displays for better supporting multimedia as well as web browsing. Also the phone as a wallet is considered. It would be neat to replace all credit and ID cards with the phone.
network vendors now want mobile operators to believe that 3G is not really what they want. They want something faster (...like HSDPA).
Good luck guys. Operators are surely willing to invest heavily once again in technology no one uses.
Mobile trade show 3GSM tunes into TV, web services - Yahoo! News
Linksys WIP300 WIFI SIP Phone available for pre-order
Most Skype phones so far have looked weird to say the least, but the WIP300 can easily be mistaken for a normal mobile or cordless phone. Be not mistaken: It's a pure Wi-Fi/SIP phone. It also has email support via SMTP/POP3 (no IMAP4?).Linksys WIP300 802.11b / g WIFI SIP Phone
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Yahoo/China, when revenue is a higher priority than democracy
(maybe I should start a general rant blog as well...)
Yahoo helped the Chinese government capture activist Liu Xiaobo for writing subversive messages on the Internet.
The charges highlight growing concerns over U.S. Internet businesses such as Yahoo, Google, and Cisco operating in China and other repressive regimes, and, in doing so, in many cases complying with local laws requiring discloser of customer information and censorship of Internet content.
As long as it increases Yahoo's revenue, why complain, or...?
Yahoo Implicated in 2nd Chinese Arrest - World News News - Designtechnica
Yahoo helped the Chinese government capture activist Liu Xiaobo for writing subversive messages on the Internet.
The charges highlight growing concerns over U.S. Internet businesses such as Yahoo, Google, and Cisco operating in China and other repressive regimes, and, in doing so, in many cases complying with local laws requiring discloser of customer information and censorship of Internet content.
As long as it increases Yahoo's revenue, why complain, or...?
Yahoo Implicated in 2nd Chinese Arrest - World News News - Designtechnica
RIM circumvents NTP patents
RIM in turn has filed a patent for the workaround that is now being implemented in the service and the Blackberries.
RIM is doing this even though all of NTP's related patents have been invalidated by now. The RIM/NTP case is continuing though, so RIM tries to hinder any outage in the communication (and the revenue), even though the case in itself must be a major cost for them.
Existing users will be able to download a patch to their Blackberry to support the new non-NTP method.
RIM Reveals BlackBerry Work-Around - Yahoo! News
RIM Issues BlackBerry 'Workaround' Details - Yahoo! News
RIM Details BlackBerry Patent Workaround - Mobile News - Designtechnica
New software to avert shutdown: BlackBerry - Yahoo! News
BlackBerry Maker Develops 'Workaround' - Yahoo! News
RIM is doing this even though all of NTP's related patents have been invalidated by now. The RIM/NTP case is continuing though, so RIM tries to hinder any outage in the communication (and the revenue), even though the case in itself must be a major cost for them.
Existing users will be able to download a patch to their Blackberry to support the new non-NTP method.
RIM Reveals BlackBerry Work-Around - Yahoo! News
RIM Issues BlackBerry 'Workaround' Details - Yahoo! News
RIM Details BlackBerry Patent Workaround - Mobile News - Designtechnica
New software to avert shutdown: BlackBerry - Yahoo! News
BlackBerry Maker Develops 'Workaround' - Yahoo! News
T-Mobile USA doubles SMS fee to 10 cents
This sounds like a bad decision, if there ever was one.
Received SMSs also cost this much, so e.g. spam will be very expensive for consumers. Doesn't the spammer pay anything?
T-Mobile Increases SMS Messaging Costs (MobileBurn)
Received SMSs also cost this much, so e.g. spam will be very expensive for consumers. Doesn't the spammer pay anything?
T-Mobile Increases SMS Messaging Costs (MobileBurn)
Korean students are SMS-happy
According to Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion 1/3 of Korean students send more that 100 SMSs a day.
She (KADO official Kim Hye-su) presented two reasons for the phenomenon: budget-sensitive students love message services, which are cheaper than voice calls, and the handset is convenient to use in class by stealth.
49.8 percent said they had experienced troubles due to high monthly rates
The Korea Times : 1 in 3 Students Send Over 100 Text Messages a Day: "he presented two reasons for the phenomenon: budget-sensitive students love message services, which are cheaper th"
She (KADO official Kim Hye-su) presented two reasons for the phenomenon: budget-sensitive students love message services, which are cheaper than voice calls, and the handset is convenient to use in class by stealth.
49.8 percent said they had experienced troubles due to high monthly rates
The Korea Times : 1 in 3 Students Send Over 100 Text Messages a Day: "he presented two reasons for the phenomenon: budget-sensitive students love message services, which are cheaper th"
2006, the year of broad J2ME adoption
Some might argue that 2005 was, considering the explosion of J2ME-based games, but I believe 2006 will be the year when the industry realizes J2ME is also the preferred choice for productivity and communication applications.
The uses are vast:
* The client-side of branded services, like maps, encyclopedias, traffic info, email, chat, VoIP, etc
* The client-side of corporate services like time/travel/expense reporting, corporate info, corporate email etc
* Stand-alone applications like calculators, book readers, topic-specific database applications, etc
The sky's the limit, really.
J2ME - Pros and Cons provides more arguments for why J2ME will continue to dominate and grow. The drawbacks are less and less relevant in practice, as the industry has already made the choice.
All in all, it's more relevant to talk application platforms and applications than bearers, while the opposite is a fact in media. Without relevant applications there's no need for the faster communication.
The uses are vast:
* The client-side of branded services, like maps, encyclopedias, traffic info, email, chat, VoIP, etc
* The client-side of corporate services like time/travel/expense reporting, corporate info, corporate email etc
* Stand-alone applications like calculators, book readers, topic-specific database applications, etc
The sky's the limit, really.
J2ME - Pros and Cons provides more arguments for why J2ME will continue to dominate and grow. The drawbacks are less and less relevant in practice, as the industry has already made the choice.
All in all, it's more relevant to talk application platforms and applications than bearers, while the opposite is a fact in media. Without relevant applications there's no need for the faster communication.
bluffmail offers free voice-to-email service
I guess they could have given the service a better name...
You call a tool-free number, and your voice message is converted into an e-mail with an attached WAV file. The question is: Why WAV? Better would be MP3 or similar compressed format.
My impression is they are trying to "do a Skype", as the basic service is intended to always be free. It's very likely (read: obvious) there will be complementing services that are not.
Bluff Mail
You call a tool-free number, and your voice message is converted into an e-mail with an attached WAV file. The question is: Why WAV? Better would be MP3 or similar compressed format.
My impression is they are trying to "do a Skype", as the basic service is intended to always be free. It's very likely (read: obvious) there will be complementing services that are not.
Bluff Mail
A lower-priced Symbian OS unveiled
Down to $2.50 per device, even at smaller volumes, which is OK even for featurephones. This is not for a new version of Symbian OS though. We are still talking v9, that was intentionally geared towards featurephones.
Symbian Ltd: Symbian announces new pricing models to accelerate mass market adoption of Symbian OS
Symbian Ltd: Symbian announces new pricing models to accelerate mass market adoption of Symbian OS
UK leads 3G adoption
7.7% of consumers subscribe to 3G in UK. Japan is for some reason not mentioned.
M:Metrics mentions a number of interesting characteristics of current 3G users:
* Considerably higher use of video, including downloading/viewing and sending
* Attracts especially early adopters
* More use of data services
* More likely to download ringtones and games
Digital Media Europe: News - UK tops Germany, US in 3G use
M:Metrics mentions a number of interesting characteristics of current 3G users:
* Considerably higher use of video, including downloading/viewing and sending
* Attracts especially early adopters
* More use of data services
* More likely to download ringtones and games
Digital Media Europe: News - UK tops Germany, US in 3G use
VoIP, J2ME-style
Mint Telecom will offer Voice-over-IP from any Java-capable phone by introducing a J2ME-based application that turns the phone into a VoIP phone. Communication is done via the mobile network, so the question is of course what the actual cost will be, when air-time fee is included. Flat-rate?
PC World | US Telco wants to mobilize VoIP globally
PC World | US Telco wants to mobilize VoIP globally
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Realeyes3D introduces document capture
With a decently high-resolution camera phone (1Mp or higher) it's possible to take pictures that are legible enough for reading. Realeye3D's software then cleans up the captured pictures/pages and routes them via the mobile network to e-mail or fax.
Phone manufacturers, operators and content providers are potential customers. Considering this it must be a Java application.
Realeyes3D
Phone manufacturers, operators and content providers are potential customers. Considering this it must be a Java application.
Realeyes3D
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
TTPCom offers ultra low cost phone platform
It should supposedly result in phones with a retail price of just $20. Impressive, considering the BOM price must be considerably lower than $20.
Ajar ULC, that the platform is called, consists of protocol and system software and a range of applications, like browser, messaging client etc.
TTPCom : TTPCom announces Blueprint for $20 handset
Ajar ULC, that the platform is called, consists of protocol and system software and a range of applications, like browser, messaging client etc.
TTPCom : TTPCom announces Blueprint for $20 handset
Mobile browsers for corporate use
Interestingly it mentions that due to the lack of quality of mobile browsers e.g. CRM system providers instead chose a client/server approach (which in practice means custom software in the phone). Actually I don't think that will change, as a major problem is that there are too many variants of browser capabilities in current phones, anything from WAP 1.2 to more or less full HTML and Javascript support, and even then provides a worse interaction than the simplest J2ME application. Due to that it's better to stick with Java and retain full control and a high level of security.
Sadly, people seems to consider Windows Mobile 5.0 to be the answer for corporate use, but still there are hardly any phones with Windows Mobile, and I doubt companies will replace all existing phones with more expensive Windows Mobile ditto.
Mobile Browsers Still Closed for Business - Yahoo! News
Sadly, people seems to consider Windows Mobile 5.0 to be the answer for corporate use, but still there are hardly any phones with Windows Mobile, and I doubt companies will replace all existing phones with more expensive Windows Mobile ditto.
Mobile Browsers Still Closed for Business - Yahoo! News
BT halts account info via SMS
Supposedly because it's possible to check on others accounts as well.
Why doesn't the service check the MSISDN (read: phone number) which is available both via SMS and WAP? Add a password to that (as someone else might borrow your phone) and it's watertight.
BT suspends SMS trial amid data protection fears | The Register
Why doesn't the service check the MSISDN (read: phone number) which is available both via SMS and WAP? Add a password to that (as someone else might borrow your phone) and it's watertight.
BT suspends SMS trial amid data protection fears | The Register
Monday, February 06, 2006
Nokia 9300i, not much improvements since 9300
The main difference between 9300i and the previous 9300 is addition of Wi-Fi, corporate email clients and the Opera browser. Apart from that the reviewer was not very impressed. The keypad is a bit too small (yet better than most found in smartphones) and the navigation wheel is outright bad. Also, it doesn't have a camera. Still...
Yes, power users can moan about a lot on the 9300i, but this phone isn’t for power users. This is a phone that gives a huge amount of power and flexibility to the mass market.
It might not look it, but in the marketplace, the 9300i should be a winner by a country mile.
All About Symbian Review: Nokia 9300i
Yes, power users can moan about a lot on the 9300i, but this phone isn’t for power users. This is a phone that gives a huge amount of power and flexibility to the mass market.
It might not look it, but in the marketplace, the 9300i should be a winner by a country mile.
All About Symbian Review: Nokia 9300i