Category: Technology

Latest Mobile Technology

MSN Video Service offers Video Downloads to Mobile Devices

Microsoft has launched a video download service primarily targeted for use on mobile devices. The MSN Video Downloads service offers daily television programming, entertainment clips, music videos, and other digital video content.

Microsoft has launched a video download service primarily targeted for use on mobile devices. The MSN Video Downloads service offers daily television programming, entertainment clips, music videos, and other digital video content for viewing on Smartphones, Pocket PCs, and Portable Media Centers.
ms mobile video
The service first appeared at CES this past January in Las Vegas, users were able to downloaded mobile formatted content to their PCs and then transfer it to their Windows Mobile software powered device.

The service is only available to US customers for a fee of $19.95 for one year. You must be using Windows XP, Internet Explorer 5.0+, and Windows Media Player 10 to get access to all MSN Video content available, including The Food Network, DIY Network, Home & Garden TV, Fox Sports, and MTV Networks to name a few.

SOURCE:mobilemag.com

Skype Coming To Mobile Phones

At the Voice On the Net (VON) conference in Toronto, Skype Technologies co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennstrom reported that a mobile version of Skype will be available this year…

At the Voice On the Net (VON) conference in Toronto, Skype Technologies co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennstrom reported that a mobile version of Skype will be available this year.

Skype is a free global telephony application that allows for VoIP communications, it currently runs on Mac OSX, Windows and Pocket PC, Skype plans to release a version for Embedded Linux, Symbian or Windows Mobile devices later this year.
Skype
�We will encourage hardware manufacturers to deploy Skype on their devices.?? said Zennstrom. SkypeMobile for mobile devices (our unofficial name for the new Skype) will be targeted to hardware manufacturers for integration into new dual-mode (GPRS + WiFi) mobile devices once made available to carriers. Our guess is that whichever manufacturer will adopt Skype first is the platform SkypeMobile will be released for.

Regulatory issues may slow Skypes deployment down, large telecommunication companies have huge pull when it comes to communication regulations. They earn billions of dollars each year from long distance calls, they also pay the government millions more in taxes each year. According to Zennstrom these companies will be the last ones to continue charging for long distance communications on a per call basis while other companies have started offering flat-rate services.

It may be hard convincing a manufacturer to allow Skype to be put on their device and be available right out of the box, the carriers will bitch and complain that it will cut their airtime revenues. Besides, what will stop them from removing the software once its in their hands? We know sneaky stuff like this has happened before.

3G Adoption and Faster Handset Replacement in Asia-Pacific Are Inevitable

Asia-Pacific will remain the largest and fastest growing regional handset market during the next 5 years and should be prioritized.

Asia-Pacific will remain the largest and fastest growing regional handset market during the next 5 years and should be prioritized. 3G devices will dominate through natural replacement and supply-side product lifecycles.

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Blocking stolen phones in South Africa

South Africa’s three mobile phone operators have agreed to co-operate on sharing databases of stolen phones and baring them from use on all three networks. This agreement will make it easier for the companies – Cell C, MTN and Vodacom – to blacklist and disable stolen, lost and destroyed cell phones and for the police to trace and arrest those who steal cell phones or use them to further their criminal activities.

South Africa’s three mobile phone operators have agreed to co-operate on sharing databases of stolen phones and baring them from use on all three networks. This agreement will make it easier for the companies – Cell C, MTN and Vodacom – to blacklist and disable stolen, lost and destroyed cell phones and for the police to trace and arrest those who steal cell phones or use them to further their criminal activities.

Until now stolen phones have been “grey” listed by MTN and Vodacom, which means that the sim cards were blocked but not the cell phone instruments. Criminals could simply change sim cards and continue using the phones. On the other hand Cell C has been blacklisting stolen or lost cellphones since its inception.
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Nokia Tests TV on 7710

Nokia has started mobile TV pilots, testing the technology, mobile TV services and consumer experiences with around 500 users in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

7710MTV and the Finnish broadcasting company YLE are among the partners in the project.
The first mobile TV service experiences in Finland happened via a friendly user test carried out in late 2004. The test showed that people liked to watch mobile TV in cars and other means of transport and in public places such as cafes. Watching mobile TV at home and in the workplace was also found to be common. The most usual time was in the mornings and afternoons and early evening.

The test users were found to be interested in news, weather, sports, current issues, entertainment and drama and comedy series. Mobile TV was also considered as a complement to the traditional television. What appealed most to test users was the fact that you can watch mobile TV anywhere you like. According to Nokia, the results showed that most of the test users were prepared to continue using mobile TV services.

The test users were able to view real-time TV and radio programs on a Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts. The Nokia smartphone also enables direct links to the Internet for access to background information on TV programs or sports results. Test users have access to MTV and YLE programs as well as international channels such as CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Eurosport, ViVa Plus and Fashion TV. The pilot continues until 20 June 2005.

The mobile TV test uses IP Datacasting (IPDC), which conforms with the DVB-H standard. At the end of 2004, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) adopted DVB-H as the standard for European mobile television services, enabling the simultaneous transmission of several television, radio and video channels to mobile devices.

Sony Ericsson showcases new automotive grade, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS radio device at Commercial Vehicle Telematics Conference

APRIL 7, 2005, The Commercial Vehicle Telematics Conference, Birmingham UK � Sony Ericsson, a leading provider of wireless machine to machine technology, will showcase the GA64 at the Commercial Vehicle Telematics Conference. The GA64 is a stand out product that meets the very specific regulatory and rugged industrial requirements for automotive, fleet and industrial devices. The device is part of a line-up of Quad-Band, GSM/GPRS radio devices based on the GX64 Family Core, announced last month at CeBIT, Hannover Germany. Three distinct advantages of the GA64 are meeting a parts per million quality metric, assured long term product availability for five years, and adherence to lead-free regulatory requirements

APRIL 7, 2005, The Commercial Vehicle Telematics Conference, Birmingham UK � Sony Ericsson, a leading provider of wireless machine to machine technology, will showcase the GA64 at the Commercial Vehicle Telematics Conference. The GA64 is a stand out product that meets the very specific regulatory and rugged industrial requirements for automotive, fleet and industrial devices. The device is part of a line-up of Quad-Band, GSM/GPRS radio devices based on the GX64 Family Core, announced last month at CeBIT, Hannover Germany. Three distinct advantages of the GA64 are meeting a parts per million quality metric, assured long term product availability for five years, and adherence to lead-free regulatory requirements

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First Cell Phone Was a Brick

“The brick” weighed 2 pounds, offered just a half-hour of talk time for every recharging and sold for $3,995. Clunky and overpriced? Not in 1984.

brick

April 13, 2005 2:35PM

This brick took over a decade to get to market. Rudy Krolopp, lead designer of the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, was assigned the project by Martin Cooper, who ran Motorola’s research and development effort in wireless and was ultimately dubbed the father of the cell phone by then-CEO Robert Galvin.
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Here Comes E-Mail for Mobile Phones, Finally

According to industry observers, the turning point for wireless e-mail will happen when carriers let go of the revenue they currently get from data transfer long enough to allow e-mail to establish itself as a ubiquitous activity everybody uses.

According to industry observers, the turning point for wireless e-mail will happen when carriers let go of the revenue they currently get from data transfer long enough to allow e-mail to establish itself as a ubiquitous activity everybody uses.

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Google Goes Local With Mobile Search

With Google SMS, users can send a search query as a text message to the U.S. five-digit code 46645 — which translates to “GOOGL” on most phones — and now receive driving directions in a text reply.

google local mobile search

Search engine giant Google Latest News about Google is taking its mobile device offering in a new direction with the launch of local services that deliver maps, directions and business listings to advancedmobile phones Latest News about mobile phones and other wireless Latest News about wireless handhelds.

The company has added a link to its site that enables those with XHTML-enabled mobile devices to enter a search term and a location to receive map results from Google Local.

The local services are initially available in the U.S. and Canada.

Price Game

With Google SMS Latest News about SMS, users can send a search query as a text message to the U.S. five-digit code 46645 — which translates to “GOOGL” on most phones — and now receive driving directions in a text reply.

Callers already can initiate text-message queries and receive results, including phone-book listings, dictionary definitions and product prices that arrive as text lines on the device.

Location is critical for the evolution of search, especially on mobile devices. Yahoo Latest News about Yahoo offers a mobile-search service, based on text messaging, that enables users of the Yahoo Local search engine Latest News about search engine to send query results from a PC Latest News about PC directly to a cell phone Latest News about cell phones.

Through Yahoo Local, consumers now can receive a business name, phone number, address and cross-street on an SMS-enabled handheld. The new Send to Phone capability is an outgrowth of Yahoo’s Mobile Internet site launched late last year.

More Mobile Services

The convenience of mobile devices makes them a target for search companies like Google and Yahoo, said IDC analyst Alex Slawsby.

“There has been a lot of talk about the omnipresence of these devices, and Google is seizing the opportunity to take its brand recognition and technology to a broader audience,” he said.

The number of mobile devices with XHTML capabilities remains small, Slawsby noted, but localized information offerings have the potential to draw a large audience.

The addition of maps and directions by Google is compelling for mobile users, and helps the company improve its image, said Yankee Group analyst Su Li Walker.

“They understand the importance of providing on-the-go access to their services, and they are tying up all of those services in a single package for mobile devices,” she said.

Search providers are now moving away from SMS-based text messaging and toward the HTML platform as a way to deliver Web-based services to increasingly smarter mobile devices, said Walker.

SOURCE:Newsfactor