Mobiles

Orange created a freestanding wind powered mobile phone charging station so that you can keep the phone battery topped up. At over 7 meters in height, the free standing recharge Pod is a self sufficient unit that supports a wind generator and solar panels and can charge up to 100 mobile phones per hour.

Working with renewable energy experts Gotwind, the recharge Pod is an evolution of the Orange portable wind charger, tested at 2007’s Glastonbury Festival. The recharge Pod will act as a trial in using renewable energy sources on a larger scale, with a view to ultimately powering elements of the Chill n’ Charge tent at future Glastonbury Festivals.

The recharge Pod will be stationed within the Pennard Hill camping grounds at Glastonbury and will be a free service allowing all festival goers to charge their mobile phones throughout the weekend. Glastonbury Festival 2008 takes place at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, from 27-29 June.

The WiMAX Forum announced the first ten Mobile WiMAX products received the WiMAX Forum Certified Seal of Approval for the 2.5 GHz profile (titled MP05) at the WiMAX Forum Global Congress in Amsterdam. The WiMAX Forum also revealed its roadmap for 3.5 and 2.3 GHz equipment certification during the show, with plans for equipment in the 3.5 GHz band to achieve certification by the end of 2008.

Following months of rigorous testing to ensure that each product met the strict WiMAX Forum interoperability and conformance standards, the announcement included four base stations and six mobile station modules (also known as terminals) operating in the 2.5 GHz frequency band from eight WiMAX Forum member companies, including Airspan Networks, Alvarion Ltd., Beceem Communications Inc., Intel Corporation, Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd., Sequans Communications and ZyXEL. All of the newly certified 2.5 GHz mobile station modules passed the mandatory MIMO testing protocols.

These 2.5 GHz products were certified at the WiMAX Forum’s lead certification testing laboratory, which is operated by AT4 wireless in Malaga, Spain. Products achieving Mobile WiMAX certification were tested for functionality that supports mobility through rigorous testing including interoperability amongst vendor equipment and MIMO capabilities.

The WiMAX Forum estimates that more than 100 Mobile WiMAX products will be certified by the end of 2008, and by 2011 more than 1,000 products will undergo Mobile WiMAX certification. The WiMAX Forum plans to stay ahead of the demand for certification with a robust global lab infrastructure, including six WiMAX Forum partner labs that are now open and ready to accept products for certification testing in China, Korea, Spain, U.S., along with two labs in Taiwan, ADT and TTC/CS. The WiMAX Forum plans to open two more certification labs by the end of 2008 in India and Japan and an additional lab in Brazil in 2009 in order to support the anticipated growing demands in those regions.

The WiMAX Forum Subscriber and User Forecast Study projects that by 2012 there will be more than 133 million WiMAX users globally and approximately 70 percent of forecasted WiMAX users will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services.

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of notebook PCs with HSPA/LTE mobile broadband connectivity in Europe will grow from 8.4 million in 2007 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.1 percent to 49 million in 2013.

The development will be driven by consumer demand for ubiquitous Internet access. Rather than replacing fixed networks for Internet access, mobile broadband will first and foremost be a complementary access technology, providing a secondary Internet connection when outside of the home. As embedded HSPA/LTE chipsets gradually become a standard feature in notebook PCs designed for the European market over the coming three to five years, end-users will simply need to insert a SIM-card into their computer to get online at virtually any location. Berg Insight believes mobile operators will face a formidable challenge in managing the explosion in network utilisation.

Mobile data traffic, primarily generated by USB-sticks and PC-cards, already exceeds mobile voice traffic in terms of volumes on advanced markets. In Sweden for example, some half a million mobile broadband terminals are estimated to have generated twice as much network load as all 10 million handsets in the country combined. Consumers already account for 80 percent of the data volume in spite of only making up roughly 40 percent of the mobile broadband subscriber base.

 ”Every mobile broadband service provider has a dilemma”, said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst, Berg Insight. “On the one hand they have a highly attractive proposition - a novel mobile service with high ARPU. On the other hand, the very popularity of the service stretches the mobile network infrastructure to its utmost limit - threatening to degrade the level of service for all subscribers.” The main response by operators has been to impose some restrictions on data traffic. Furthermore, the actual data speed is normally much lower than advertised due to lack of network capacity.

Ryberg concludes that significant network investments are urgently needed if operators want to keep up with demand. “In a few years, Internet users will expect to be able to view full-HD streaming IPTV via their Internet connection. Then it will not do to offer 14.4 Mbps which is actually 1 Mbps or unlimited data traffic which is in reality limited to a few gigabyte per month,” he concluded.

Palringo has released its software client for BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion. Palringo’s Rich Messaging Service is available for the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry 8800 series smartphones.

BlackBerry smartphone users can now easily chat using voice and picture messages as well as traditional text. Further, they can do so with other users of many of the popular PC-based IM services such as AOL’s AIM, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk through one, easy-to-use Palringo interface. Equally important, they can do so whether sitting at a computer, tapping with a smartphone or Pocket PC stylus, or using a BlackBerry.

Palringo presents a user’s contacts from all services into one combined, presence-aware list, eliminating the need to continually switch between multiple IM tools. In addition, Palringo’s dynamic “vocal instant messaging” combines walkie-talkie style voice chat, the real-time text functionality of IM and the ability to share pictures, all within the context of one “threaded” discussion.

Palringo lets the user set up an unlimited number of groups and send a voice, text, or picture message to all group members at once, a feature with obvious value for corporate as well as social use. (Think fellow employees, alumni, team players and their parents.) Neither does it limit recipients to simply those on the same wireless network. Palringo does not charge at all, unlike other wireless-carrier-supplied text messaging services that charge for each recipient and in some cases per message. While a mobile data plan or Wi-Fi access is required to use Palringo, the service’s instant messages take up very small amounts of data, minimizing costs.

Palringo’s Rich Messaging Service for BlackBerry smartphones is available now for free download at www.palringo.com. The service is also compatible with Windows Mobile, Symbian and Java-based clients, including devices from Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, HTC and Sony Ericsson.

This skinny little mobile has some fat features. Not only a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio, and 8 hours of talktime but this fatty comes with a set of stereo headphones and 512MB M2 memory card for all your favorite music. With the keys covered this phone becomes a sleek MP3 player that can easily slip into those skinny jeans.

Since the biggest selling point, other than the tunes, is the size. So here are the specs for you to decide:
Size
104.0 x 43.0 x 11.0 mm
4.1 x 1.7 x 0.4 inches

Weight
75.0 g
2.6 oz

Now, while I like the size and features, I'm wondering how many of us out there have squashed a mobile or two when carrying them in our pants pockets. And I'm not too sure I would like talking on such a small phone but will have to go try one out. See full article.

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T-Mobile users have reason to celebrate, as they are recipients of the forthcoming Sidekick LX- Tony Hawk Edition. This new handset puts a personal design on the traditional Sidekick LX by crafting the scheme to look like the top of a skateboard while the bottom cover has a rough texture-like grip-tape and eight simulated screws.

The shell will also bear the Tony's Hawk graphic. Aside from the physical, the LX customizations include a video of Tony performing tricks and a Hawk-inspired screen background. The Tony Hawk Sidekick LX is the first Sidekick to offer video record, play and share. It offers enhancements such as a more personalized web browsing experience, stereo Bluetooth support, easier downloads and more options for theme and background personalization.

The Tony Hawk Sidekick is scheduled for a July, 2008 release, price not yet announced. See full article.

Related Entries:

PeerMe VoIP over EVDO: The Biggest Story in the Mobile Business - 26 July 2006

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Samsung M800 Instinct Ready To Launch - 19 June 2008

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Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

T-Mobile users have reason to celebrate, as they are recipients of the forthcoming Sidekick LX- Tony Hawk Edition. This new handset puts a personal design on the traditional Sidekick LX by crafting the scheme to look like the top of a skateboard while the bottom cover has a rough texture-like grip-tape and eight simulated screws.

The shell will also bear the Tony's Hawk graphic. Aside from the physical, the LX customizations include a video of Tony performing tricks and a Hawk-inspired screen background. The Tony Hawk Sidekick LX is the first Sidekick to offer video record, play and share. It offers enhancements such as a more personalized web browsing experience, stereo Bluetooth support, easier downloads and more options for theme and background personalization.

The Tony Hawk Sidekick is scheduled for a July, 2008 release, price not yet announced. See full article.

Related Entries:

PeerMe VoIP over EVDO: The Biggest Story in the Mobile Business - 26 July 2006

Cellity Communicator is launched with email function. - 13 June 2008

Nokia's New E66 - 18 June 2008

Samsung M800 Instinct Ready To Launch - 19 June 2008

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Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

It's June 20th. It's a Friday which is great. It's sunny in Seattle which is even better. But you know what's even better than that? As of today, you can buy the Instinct from Sprint.

It will cost you just $129.99 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate.

You can purchase Instinct through Sprint retail stores, on the Web, (www.sprint.com) or by calling them at 1-800-SPRINT1. Or, if you're out and about, wander into your local Best Buy. They are Sprint's exclusive retail partner for Instinct from June 20 - August 28.

DivX announced certification of the Samsung Omnia (model: SGH-i900). DivX and Samsung recently entered into a multi-year agreement to include DivX encode and decode capabilities into Samsung’s future mobile phones.

The Samsung Omnia is the first Windows Mobile-based DivX Certified phone on the market and the fourth Samsung mobile to achieve DivX Certification. It features 8GB/16GB of internal memory with a micro SD slot, allowing users to keep a media library on the device, and easily enjoy their video on a large 3.2-inch touch screen. It also features a TV-Out feature to play back content from the phone directly on the television screen. This powerful experience and a portable library gives users the choice of how and where to watch their video.

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high-quality DivX media experience, including reliable video creation and playback, interoperability with other DivX Certified devices and the visual quality users expect from DivX.

Customers of Sprint can soon get mobile access to their corporate email accounts on select non-PDA Sprint phones such as the new Instinct by Samsung. Easy access to Microsoft Exchange Server and IBM Lotus Notes accounts will be available through Sprint Mobile Email Work, as an extension of Sprint Mobile Email’s existing access to personal email accounts from Web-based providers such as AOL, Gmail, Windows Live and Yahoo! Mail. Sprint Mobile Email Work will allow users of the Instinct and other non-PDA phones to access both their corporate and personal email in one easy-to-use application.

Sprint worked with SEVEN to create Sprint Mobile Email Work, which allows customers to access Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, 2003 or 2007 accounts, or IBM Lotus Domino accounts. Sprint Mobile Email Work is preloaded on the Instinct, so customers simply select Email on the main Menu to get to Sprint Mobile Email, then click the Work tab and enter their server information, user name and password. Emails are then pushed to the user’s phone as they arrive in their desktop mailbox. Users can read, delete, respond to and compose new emails. All changes made via the Sprint phone are automatically synchronized with the user’s desktop mailbox.

Sprint Mobile Email Work is included at no additional charge in Everything plans starting at $69.99, Talk/Message/Data Share plans starting at $129.99 for two lines, and the $30 Sprint Pro Pack data plan. With all other plans, Sprint Mobile Email Work is available for $9.99 per month, in addition to voice and data charges (taxes and surcharges excluded).

In addition to the Instinct by Samsung, Sprint Mobile Email Work will be available in the coming weeks on 11 other popular Sprint phones, including the Rumor and Fusic by LG; the RAZR, RAZR2 and KRZR by Motorola; the A900, A900M and M500 by Samsung; and the Katana, Katana II and 8400 by Sanyo. Sprint plans to extend the service to additional phones in the future.

Sprint Mobile Email Work will be provided as a software update in the coming weeks to customers with Sprint Mobile Email on compatible phones. To download Sprint Mobile Email, customers should go to the mobile Web on their phone and select Downloads, then type “email” in the search box. Once Sprint Mobile Email is downloaded, compatible phones will allow the customer to install Sprint Mobile Email Work through a software update when available.