Mobiles

Samsung announced today P960, a DVB-H slider phone that supports both of European mobile TV standards, Digital Video Broadcast - Convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Service (DVB-CBMS) and Open Mobile Alliance Mobile Broadcast Service Enabler Suite (OMA-BCAST). The device features all the up-to-date technologies within a slim 16.7mm thin metal body, softly brushed with hairline pattern.

P960 offers an optimized television-on-the-go experience with a large 2.6″ QVGA TFT screen with vivid 262K color image-enhancing DNIe. TV watching experience is enriched by numerous innovative DVB-H features such as Electronic Service Guide (ESG) that provides an on-screen TV guide and Picture in Picture (PIP) that allows users to view two channels at once, and Time-Shifting feature that shifts TV program schedule when a show is interrupted by incoming calls.

A 3 megapixel camera with power LED, a music player with Music Library feature and codec support, a FM radio with RDS for around the clock news and music, are all included in P960 to provide the users convenience and enhancement in both audio and visual entertainment life. 

DVB-CBMS is DVB Forum initiated DVB-H standard based on DVB-T standard, currently available in Italy through H3G, TI and Voda. It will soon become available in France, Belgium, Poland and Russia. OMA-BCAST is OMA initiated DVB-H standard known as the next generation DVB-H solution. It will first become available in Netherland and will continue to be adopted in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. More Samsung P960 photos at next page.

via [gizmodo]

Miniaturization technology provider Tessera said today that its OptiML Zoom can achieve 3X optical zoom capabilities without moving parts.

Replacing traditional mechanical zoom capabilities, the OptiML Zoom integrates high-quality optical zoom functionality at a lower cost with higher reliability, also reducing the overall size of the camera module.

"Tessera is driving the convergence of digital still camera and cell phone capabilities, integrating its full range of consumer optics expertise - from image enhancement technologies to wafer-level optics expertise - to enable the next generation of smaller, smarter mobile devices," said Michael Bereziuk, chief operating officer, Tessera. "We believe the OptiML Zoom solution, which is the industry's first non-mechanical optical zoom solution, meets the growing demand for better functionality in camera phones, providing an optimal combination of price, performance, size and ease of integration."

Mechanical zoom solutions require moving parts, making them too expensive and too large for handset manufacturers to integrate into today's smaller, thinner cell phones - they also have the potential for mechanical failures. Digital zoom solutions are inexpensive but provide poor image quality.

The OptiML Zoom incorporates a lens design that increases the resolution in the center of the image without narrowing the field of view. The result is true optical magnification without loss of detail.

"Tessera's OptiML Zoom technology addresses many of the issues that have plagued camera phones since day one," said Tony Henning, senior analyst at Future Image, Inc. "We're optimistic about the adoption of Tessera's non-mechanical zoom capabilities by handset OEMs and module manufacturers, and the subsequent widespread availability of higher quality camera phones in the near future."

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Dozens of Electrical Charging Stations Installed in Terminals at LaGuardia and Orlando International Airports
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Digital entertainment provider CinemaNow said today that U.S. consumers would be able to use cell phones to view movie trailers and order full-length movies to watch on their home television or computer.

"As Internet-enabled phones rise in popularity, companies need to keep pace with innovation, offering solutions which leverage that feature," said David Cook, president and COO of CinemaNow. "This partnership with uVuMobile has helped CinemaNow pioneer another first-to-market digital distribution method that we expect will make a tremendous difference in the industry by giving customers access to movies anytime, anywhere."

The service downloads movies to web-connected consumer electronics such as home computers. Having a movie ready to watch by the time a user gets home could also help save time as full movies can take an hour or more to download over the Internet.

The technology for the new CinemaNow service is from uVuMobile, which specializes in mobile video. uVuMobile allows users to publish content to mobile users on any carrier network and to multiple types of compatible devices.

"CinemaNow has always been at the leading edge of entertainment distribution, and we are confident our partnership will offer consumers a valuable new way to interact with their digital entertainment," said Scott Hughes, chief technology officer of uVuMobile. "uVuMobile excels in the portable video experience with our integrated mobile solutions. Combining our solutions with premium rental video content from CinemaNow creates an optimal 'on-the-go' service for consumers who are demanding a more flexible way to acquire and manage their digital entertainment. This is another strong example of how uVuMobile is helping set the pace for continued innovation and mobile device optimization."

CinemaNow already competes with services such as Apple's iTunes, charging $14.99 for online movie purchases and $1.99 for rentals.

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AT&T today announced a new Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) for iPhone, designed to give iPhone customers with disabilities the choice of unlimited text messaging, Web browsing for $40 a month.

“Our Text Accessibility Plan allows customers who are deaf or have hearing or speech disabilities to literally tap out their communications on the go,” said Carlton Hill, vice president of Product Management, Voice Products and Affiliate Marketing for AT&T’s wireless unit. “Now with TAP for iPhone, users can tap, flick and pinch the innovative Multi-Touch touch screen for a completely new world of functionality.”

This new plan is available to new and current iPhone users with qualifying disabilities through AT&T’s National Center for Customers with Disabilities (NCCD). To qualify for the iPhone TAP, customers must complete an application for eligibility. The form is available for download at http://www.wireless.att.com/about/disability-resources/text-accessibility-plan-for-iphone.jsp.

During the iPhone activation process, customers sign up for a standard iPhone voice and data plan. After the iPhone is activated, customers can e-mail, fax or mail the eligibility form back to the NCCD to change their rate plan to the TAP for iPhone. Current iPhone customers who qualify may also submit the NCCD application to request the TAP for iPhone.

Rich media-sharing application CellSpin launches a new feature that lets anyone share audio, video, pictures or text from their mobile phone to their favorite social networking sites, meaning that users should not to wait to get on their computers just to post on their Facebook and MySpace pages. It supports Symbian, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry operating systems. And it’s free.

CellSpin is also supporting eBay auctions as well as post to Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr, Live Journal and Live Spaces.

Bobby Singh, CEO of CellSpin, said, it’s the easiest mobile application to use for sharing all four media types. He expects to expand updating via mobile phones to other social network Web sites later this year.

The CellSpin software is now available on 300+ mobile phone models worldwide.

Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Jose, CA, and dedicated to making the Mobile 2.0 experience.

To add the CellSpin mobile blogging web application to your MySpace profile, click here and to add it your Facebook profile, visit here. It’s worthy to try.

Source

Your cellphone one day will not only be used for making a call, sending text messages or enjoying mobile entertainment, but also could be a tool for your medical imaging. Your doctor will transmit your medical information from his server into your mobile phone’s screen.

Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, developed an innovative concept to allow cell phone could be used to make medical imaging accessible to billions of people around the world.

“Medical imaging is something we take for granted in industrialized countries,” said Boris Rubinsky, UC Berkeley professor, but can be an expensive thing for poorer countries. “Our new system would make imaging technology inexpensive and accessible for these underserved populations.”

Rubinsky and his team came up with the novel idea to create a new system by establishing a
large center where all resources for operation and maintenance can be fully stored. This central location would be used to service multiple remote sites and collect the raw data from the patients. That’s where the cell phone comes in.

The phone would transmit the raw data to the central server to create an image and then relay it back to the cell phone. The patient can viewed it on cell phone’s screen.

It’s almost possible, Rubinsky said, and the screen size of a cell phone should not be a major impediment since “people are able to watch full movies on their iPods.” It’s make sense, really.

Source

Cicero Networks recently announced the release of its converged rich communication client for Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile devices, helping its users to make voice, video calls and chat to their on-line buddies, at the same time, from their mobile phone.

Has ability to roam across multiple networks such as Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, LTE, WiMAX, CiceroPhone 2.0 provides operators with a simple to use, rich media client designed to enhance wireless services using existing IP-based and next generation IMS networks.

According to Ross Brennan, CEO of Cicero Networks, by addding presence, IM/messaging and video, Cicero delivers the world’s first converged rich communication solution for Operators.

CiceroPhone 2.0 will be released for general availability to operators in May 2008 and will release the enhanced video client in Q3 2008.

Source

While next version of luxury phone from Sagem and Porsche is no news yet, their Porsche Design P’9521will be available in white edition. The phone was announced in 2007 and available since September last year.

The Porsche Design P9521 is definitely not small, with a size at 140 grams and 91 x 48 x 18.4 mm. It has a twistable screen, which can be used as a view finder for the 3 megapixel camera. A finger print scanner has been integrated below the screen. It should be the first phone that let you use the finger print scanner as a button to take photo. The finger print scanner will detect your finger when you press on it, hence activate the action to take the snapshot.

The white edition will be available in Taiwan from May at about 2000 USD.

Source [eprice]

Today Samsung announced its newest TV phone, the DVB-H capable SGH-P960 for Europe's mobile TV networks. The P960, the first slider DVB-H cellphone, supports advanced TV functions like time-shifting and picture-in-picture display.
Read the full story here.