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>September 30, 2005

Cingular Offers The Nokia 9300

Cingular Wireless and Nokia today introduced to the U.S. marketplace the EDGE-powered Nokia 9300 business device with BlackBerry Connect(TM). Cingular is the first U.S. carrier to launch the popular BlackBerry wireless services on a third-party handset via the BlackBerry Connect licensing program from Research In Motion (RIM). The Nokia 9300 will be available in the U.S. through Cingular Wireless beginning in November.

Corporate customers can now choose the Nokia 9300 business device as an option to use with the behind-the-firewall BlackBerry Enterprise Server(TM), and individual and small business customers can use the Nokia 9300 with BlackBerry Connect to access popular Internet Service Provider (ISP) e-mail accounts through BlackBerry Internet Service(TM).

In addition to offering the BlackBerry Connect e-mail solution, the Nokia 9300 device also is compatible with several third-party applications to provide individuals and businesses of all sizes with a comprehensive wireless solution operating on EDGE, the largest and fastest national wireless data network in America. EDGE is available in 13,000 cities and towns, and along more than 40,000 miles of major highways in the U.S.

The Cingular-enabled Nokia 9300 business device with BlackBerry Connect is designed for the mobile professional seeking a high-quality combination of PDA, phone and mobile email in a sleek, compact device. From a traditional handset on the outside, opening to a full keyboard on the inside for fast, efficient text and data input, the Nokia 9300 device offers a compelling voice and data experience. Further, it boasts a wide, brilliant, 65,536 color screen for a best-in-class HTML desktop-like web browsing experience.

The tri-band (850/1800/1900), Symbian OS-based Nokia 9300 device delivers the high-quality voice experience that customers have come to expect from the Nokia brand, with key calling features such as five-way conference call capability, an easy-to-use speaker phone and Bluetooth connectivity for use with an optional Bluetooth headset.

E-mail Access

BlackBerry Connect will enable the popular, push-based BlackBerry services initially on the Nokia 9300 for those users who want to access their e-mail and prefer the look, feel and features of the Nokia phone.

In conjunction with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, corporate users of Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino can have synchronized access to their corporate e-mail as well as calendar functions, remote address book lookup and attachment viewing capabilities in a secure environment. E-mail administrators also can take advantage of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server security features such as remote deletion of messaging data should a device be lost or stolen. Through BlackBerry Internet Service, individuals and small business customers can use the Nokia 9300 with BlackBerry Connect to receive e-mail automatically from up to 10 ISP e-mail accounts, including popular services such as AOL, Yahoo! and Comcast. Set-up for the individual solution is done easily via a Web-based set-up and configuration process that is started by clicking on an icon that is sent over-the-air to the Nokia 9300 desktop when the user activates BlackBerry Connect. Customers can choose to use the corporate solution or the individual solution, or both at the same time.

Cingular also will offer a second "push" e-mail service on the Nokia 9300, Cingular Xpress Mail, that is targeted to individuals and small businesses that want to access work and personal e-mail. Available in Cingular retail stores and based on the popular e-mail platform from SEVEN, users have access to e-mail, calendar and contacts, and have the ability to view attachments. Cingular Xpress Mail supports Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes corporate e-mail, as well as popular POP3/IMAP personal e-mail accounts.

The Nokia 9300 from Cingular also will support Nokia Business Center announced earlier this month. The Nokia Business Center is a new software solution enabling collaborative business applications for the mobile world, starting with push e-mail. Available through accredited resellers, the Nokia Business Center brings mobile e-mail to the corporate masses, changing the economics of mobile email adoption so that employees at all levels can reap the rewards of virtually anytime, anywhere access to their corporate email on their mobile phones. Nokia Business Center complements Nokia's existing portfolio of today's popular email solutions available for its business- optimized mobile devices.

Application Ecosystem

Above and beyond e-mail, Cingular and Nokia, through Cingular's developer program and Forum Nokia, the industry's largest mobile developer organization, are building a business solutions ecosystem to support the Nokia 9300 device. At its inception, there will be several third-party applications certified by Cingular for use on the device to present business customers with a compelling and complete wireless voice and data solution right out of the box. Applications to be available at launch include those in the areas of sales force automation, field service and security.

Pricing and Availability

The Nokia 9300 business device will be available in the U.S. through its direct B2B sales beginning in November. Cingular will offer the Nokia 9300 for as low as $299.99 with a two-year contract and after $50 mail-in rebate. Customers can choose from either a $44.99 BlackBerry unlimited data plan or a $34.99 4Mb BlackBerry data plan when they also choose a qualifying voice plan. The $44.99 and $34.99 plans both include data service for BlackBerry Connect, Web browsing and other applications. In addition, corporate customers, as needed, can purchase BlackBerry Enterprise Server for a complete enterprise messaging solution directly from Cingular and select resellers.

Posted by Lohrasp at 02:06 AM | Comments (1)

>September 27, 2005

Nokia 3250 music phone with a twist

The Nokia 3250, Nokia's newest music phone, grabbed the spotlight of Nokia Trends, an electronic music festival that took place in Berlin, Germany this weekend. This unique design twists to transform a traditional phone keypad into dedicated music keys.

The Nokia 3250 stores up to 1 Gigabyte (750 songs) of high quality music and offers 10 hours of music play. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the Nokia 3250's two-megapixel camera and smartphone capabilities. The tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 model is expected to start shipping in the first quarter 2006 with an estimated retail price of 350 EUR before subsidies or taxes.

"The XpressMusic feature brand, also introduced today, makes it easier for consumers to identify those Nokia devices which are specifically designed to listen to music," says Kai Olstamo, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. Each mobile device with Nokia XpressMusic shares key features that ensure the best mobile music experience, including dedicated music key(s), music pause/resume on incoming calls, support for 3.5 mm connectors and extended battery life for easy and convenient music listening.

By twisting the Nokia 3250 keypad 180 degrees, consumers can toggle between the music controls and the traditional phone keypad. The music player of the Nokia 3250 supports a wide array of digital music formats such as MP3, WMA, M4A and AAC, making it easy to load and transfer music. Additionally, songs can be downloaded over-the-air while on the go and favorite songs can be set as ringtones. The Nokia 3250 supports microSD memory cards of up to 1 Gigabyte with storage capacity for up to 750 songs. An FM radio with Visual Radio client complements the Nokia 3250's complete music package.

Drag and drop to manage your music

Using the Nokia Audio Manager software, users can convert their favorite CDs into digital music files, and "drag and drop" their personal music collections and favorite playlists directly from their computer. Headphones can be connected to the Nokia 3250 via the 3.5mm connector of the Nokia Stereo Headset-HS-20, making the list of available enhancements even longer. For the best audio experience, Nokia is working to ensure that the Nokia 3250 is compatible with a number of accessories from industry leading brands such as Bose, Harman Kardon, JBL and Sennheiser Electronic.

The Nokia 3250 comes with a two-megapixel camera, which is activated in the landscape mode by twisting the Nokia 3250's phone's keypad 90 degrees. With a few simple strokes, images can be instantly shared with others via MMS, or printed on a compatible printer via Bluetooth wireless technology.

The Nokia 3250 is based on the Series 60 platform and Symbian OS, offering a broad set of features and messaging functionalities and enabling third-party application developers to create their own music applications. Those applications can be downloaded and installed on the Nokia 3250. Bridging smartphone capabilities with music on the go, the Nokia 3250 has a talktime of up to 3 hours..

Posted by Lohrasp at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)

Palm Microsoft Team on Treo

Palm, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the smartphone market segment with a new device for mobile professionals and businesses. Palm has licensed the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system for an expanded line of Treo smartphones, the first of which will be available on Verizon Wireless' 3G wireless broadband network.

The news was revealed in a press conference with Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc.; Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp.; and Denny Strigl, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless.

The collaboration gives customers more choices and marks a dedicated effort to deliver one of the world's most innovative smartphone solutions on the software platform favored by many businesses.. Verizon Wireless expects the new Treo smartphone to be available to its customers in early 2006.

The Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile is a CDMA-based phone targeted for the U.S. market and takes advantage of Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service on its EV-DO network with download speeds averaging 400-700 kilobits per second.

The new Treo smartphone is powered by an Intel processor and joins Palm's award-winning family of Treo smartphones, which includes the Treo 600 and Treo 650, both offered today to Verizon Wireless customers.

During the press conference, the companies demonstrated the Palm Treo. The audience saw a sampling of Palm's award-winning hardware design integrated thoughtfully with a rich Palm software suite, including the ability to contact someone quickly from the Today Screen and choose between home, office or mobile numbers, or select email or SMS.

Full product details will be disclosed when the product is available for purchase in early calendar 2006. No plans were revealed for additional mobile operators. Palm indicated that a Treo smartphone using Windows Mobile based on other wireless technologies was not anticipated to be released earlier than the second half of 2006.

Posted by Lohrasp at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)

>September 24, 2005

Battery Life Concerns Mobile Users

Topping the wish list of key mobile device features in 14 of the 15 countries surveyed is "two days of battery life during active use," indicating that insufficient battery life is a concern to consumers.

Worries about draining the battery are one of the main reasons why consumers do not use games, music and TV applications on their mobile more frequently, according to the survey conducted by TNS.

Respondents in China were the exception, saying 20 gigabytes of memory is the key feature to have in the future.

Across all countries, almost half of respondents said a high-resolution camera and video camera (48 per cent) and 20 gigabytes of memory (47 per cent), would be important features to incorporate.

In Brazil, a much higher emphasis was placed on video conferencing with 53 percent of people identifying this as a key feature, compared to an average of just 25 percent across all countries surveyed.

Analysts say the market is preparing itself for a period of intense competition to create the new must-have device and build market share.

The report shows that use of MMS is now fairly common, with 46 percent of mobile phone users interviewed saying they send pictures and photos via MMS, and 23 per cent saying they send video or audio clips through MMS.

Camera use among mobile phones owners is also prevalent, with 59 per cent of people who own camera phones using them at least once a week.

Camera phones were used most frequently in France, Korea and the UK with almost a quarter using this function daily.

Hanis Harun, Global Account Director, TNS Technology, said: "The study shows that there is an appetite among consumers for powerful new applications, particularly those around entertainment media and imaging.

"However, the research also indicates that consumers now fully realize that such applications require enhanced battery life and increased memory and they are demanding these improvements as a priority.

"As mobile operators and handset manufacturers develop more converged communication, information and entertainment devices with a host of innovative features and applications, they need to also ensure the fundamentals are in place.

"This means products with long battery life and large memories, and services which are cost effective and easy to use."

Posted by Lohrasp at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)

>September 22, 2005

Nec To Launch World's Thinnest Mobile Phone

NEC Corporation today announced that it has launched the world's thinnest fold-Type mobile phone with mega-pixel camera on the Hong Kong market. Following this, the ultra-thin model will also be introduced in Italy, Russia, Australia and China, among others.

"NEC's ultra-thin fold-Type Mobile Phone"

NEC's proprietary, cutting-edge technology has realized the creation of a modern, smart, compact and attractively packaged clam-shell type mobile phone. It boasts slim measurements of 47.9mm (width) X 101.5mm (height) X 11.9mm (depth; when folded) and a weight of 96g. Supporting mobile-internet and GSM/GPRS, it is equipped with a 1.9 inch (176~220 dot) 65,000 color display in addition to a digital camera (1.3 mega pixels). The sub-screen with an organic light emitting display is convenient for scrolling text messages. The phone is also loaded with a wide variety of features including PictBridge, MP3, Java and Bluetooth. Up to 64-polyphonic ring tones and two minutes of movie shooting can be enjoyed by the user.

This highly innovative model was enabled through a combination of NEC's unbeatable technological competence in the areas of R&D and mobile. Ultra-slim mounting technology continues to be an important and constant R&D theme for NEC.

"This ultra-slim, clam-shell type mobile phone is a symbol of NEC's leading position in the area of mobile technology," said Susumu Otani, Associate Senior Vice President and head of Mobile Terminals Operations Unit at NEC Corporation. "We will continue to strive to offer the latest, most innovative and most attractive mobile terminal solutions on the market. Boasting compact shape and the latest technologies, our phones allow our customers to choose the right phone for their individual needs in all of our target markets across the globe."

In March 2004, NEC introduced the world's smallest, slimmest, card-shaped, camera-equipped mobile phone to the Chinese market. After its launch, NEC's mobile competence continued to draw attention worldwide due to the launch of its handwriting-enabled phone, as well as its TV tuner-embedded and whole touch panel display card-shaped models, flagging it as a pioneer in not only ultra-compact design, but also user interface and mobile internet technologies.

Courtsey: - www.nec.com

Posted by Lohrasp at 09:35 PM | Comments (2)

>September 21, 2005

Why BlackBerry?

The BlackBerry 7100 and 7300 (approximately $300)

Like death and taxes, converting from your regular cell phone to a BlackBerry may just be inevitable. And for good reason. For business, no other cell phone even comes close to the BlackBerry’s capabilities and ease-of-use.

There are two major drawbacks, in addition to the carpal tunnel risk: 1) you’re never “out of pocket” and 2) it’s addicting as all get out.

Here’s why your current phone may end up in the office’s “circular file” in the next year:
  • Seamless desktop e-mail integration with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino
  • Always-on wireless connectivity and Web browser
  • Full QWERTY keyboard
  • Excellent organizer
  • Short Message Service (SMS)
  • Plus, access to a host of third-party applications to meet your business’ specific needs.

A caveat: the additional functionality does make these phones a bit more fragile. So if you are known for being rough on your phone, you may need to wait to see if a more bullet-proof version becomes available.

Your carrier choice may influence model availability and costs. Check the BlackBerry Site to find the unit best for you and your employees

Posted by Lohrasp at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)

EMS Enhanced Messaging Service

Enhanced Messaging Service also known as EMS is an extension of the Short Message Service (SMS). An EMS enabled mobile phone can send and receive messages that have special text formatting (such as bold or italic), animations, pictures, icons, sound effects and special ring tones. As EMS is completely an open standard that can be supported by any manufacturer in the interest of interoperability between consumers. The EMS standard was defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The same standardization body which is responsible for the success of GSM and standardization of SMS (Short Messaging Service) originated.

EMS is considered as an intermediate technology between SMS and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), with more capabilities than the former (i.e. SMS), but

less than the latter technology (i.e. MMS). EMS doesn't require upgrades to network infrastructures, as it is based on SMS and can use the Same SMS Centers (SMSCs) the same way that the SMS does. EMS utilizes a familiar user interface and compatibility with existing phones; this provides the users with better ways of expressing their feelings, moods and personality in the Message.

EMS uses a familiar user interface and compatibility with the existing phones; this provides the users with new ways to express their feelings, moods, and personality in SMS messages. EMS users are capable of integrating text, melodies, Polyphonic Ringtones, pictures, sounds, and animations to enhance the expressive power of messages that are limited by the display constraints of mobile devices. EMS messages that are sent to mobile phones that do not support EMS will be displayed as SMS transmissions. EMS is cross-industry collaboration. EMS is an open standard hence the operators and content suppliers alike will be able to introduce appealing new value-added services such as screen savers, images, polyphonic-ringtones and ring melodies that can be easily downloaded from the Internet.

EMS adds new powerful functionality to the well-known Short Message Service (SMS) standards and is expected to be a catalyst that will further enhance the texting phenomenon happening around the globe. As new EMS capabilities are added to mobile phones, it is expected that messages between users will increase as users have the ability to add life to SMS text messaging in the form of pictures, animations, sound and formatted text.

EMS provides an important evolutionary step between Short Messaging Service (SMS) and full Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). Experts on messaging in general and the Short Message Service (SMS) in particular and believe that EMS and MMS will become the essential next generation messaging technologies. EMS works on all Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks (widely used in Europe, Singapore, India and increasingly available elsewhere). EMS is being actively promoted by a lot of mobile phone manufacturers across the world.

Posted by Lohrasp at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)

CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access)

Code-Division Multiple Access most popularly known as CDMA is a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Like GSM, CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user; instead each and every channel uses the full available spectrum. Conversations are individually encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence.

As CDMA works on a spread-spectrum technology it can provide better capacity for voice and data communication than other mobile technologies, this allows more subscribers to connect at any given time. CDMA is the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.

CDMA technology was first used during the World War II by the British and their Allies, so the Germans could not attempt to jam the transmissions. The British and their Allies decided to transmit the information over several frequencies, instead of using only one frequency. This made it absolutely difficult for the Germans to pick up the complete signal.

Qualcomm was the only one to create these communication chips for the CDMA Technology. Qualcomm was privy to the classified information. However once the information became public, Qualcomm claimed patents on the technology and became the first to commercialize it.

In CDMA each user is allocated the entire spectrum all the time, however as the name suggests it uses codes to identify the connections. CDMA uses a unique spreading code to spread the baseband data before transmission. Now the signal is transmitted in a channel, this is below the noise level. The receiver that this end uses a correlator to de-spread the wanted signal, which is then passed through a narrow band-pass filter. Here the unwanted signals will not be de-spread and will not pass through the filter. CDMA Codes take the form of a carefully designed sequence of one’s and zero’s which are produced at a much higher rate than the baseband data. In CDMA the rate of spreading code is referred to as chip rate and not bit rate.

CDMA codes are not required to provide call security, but create a uniqueness to enable call identification. Codes should not correlate to other codes or time shifted version of itself. WCDMA uses Direct Sequence spreading, where spreading process is done by directly combining the baseband information to high chip rate binary code.

One of the main advantages of CDMA systems is the capability of using signals that arrive in the receivers with different time delays. This phenomenon is called multi-path. As FDMA and TDMA, are narrow band systems, they cannot discriminate between the multi-path arrivals, and resort to equalization to mitigate the negative effects of multi-path. Due to its wide bandwidth and rake receivers, CDMA uses the multi-path signals and combines them to make an even stronger signal at the receivers. CDMA subscriber units use rake receivers. This is essentially a set of several receivers. One of the receivers constantly searches for different multi-paths and feeds the information to the other three receivers. Each receiver then de-modulates the signal corresponding to a strong multi-path. The results are then combined together to make the signal stronger.

Posted by Lohrasp at 01:16 AM | Comments (0)

>September 17, 2005

Infrared

Infrared is a method of wireless communication between two devices for the transmission of data, infrared is also known as IR. As wireless communication has always offered an alternative solution to the fixed / wired networks. The main benefit of infrared is mobility and compact terminals. Infrared communication is for short range communications on embedded devices of all types. The infrared feature is widely available in PDAs, cell phones / mobile phones, and desktop computers and its peripherals. The wireless communication utilizes radio waves, however this alone is not sufficient for the future, and as radio wireless communications have quite a few disadvantages.

SMS, Ringtones, etc. can be sent from one mobile phone to another mobile phone or infrared device at a faster rate then sending a SMS or EMS. Mobile phones having infrared and GPRS enabled can be used as a modem to access the internet using an infrared port device on the computer.

Infrared communication system can provide unregulated bandwidth, for enhanced mobility. Infrared also increases the possibility of adhoc communication i.e. there is no need for a base station between the two terminals to communicate to each other within an enclosed room and without interference from any where. For transmitting a high-definition video signal over a cabled network, powerful processing is required to minimize the usage of bandwidth, hence the complex terminals are required which will decode encoded data which is received. On the other hand if this high-definition video signal is transmitted over an infrared connection which can provide unlimited bandwidth the data does not need to be compressed and thus the onboard processing is not necessary.

Since the beginning of infrared communications, a variety of channel models and systems have been presented, however the infrared has not been as widely accepted as radio, as there is still no need for such small cells and the cost involved for development and layout of such a system appears to be very high. Infrared communications might not have found a prominent place in the mobile communications however IR has found other areas of use, especially at home. Infrared communications are very successful in the field of direct communication between two points where the cost of the cabling between two points is significantly larger than that of a wireless direct link. Infrared communications have been around since the 70's when Gfeller et al presented a milestone paper on infrared channel modeling, and the ways in which it can be used to network a room.

Posted by Lohrasp at 11:58 PM | Comments (2)