- Week summary
- Carriers news
- Wireless data related middleware vendors news
- Terminal development for mobile data
- Vendors of software for client wireless devices news
- Mobile application related news
- Application outsourcing and hosting news
- News about financing for wireless data businesses
- News about trade shows and conferences
| * - Star sign marks especially important (from the editor's point of view) news items and is also a link to the next important news item. |
Week summary |
- A lot of mobile related Java/J2ME announcements
- Helio Ocean double slider now shipping
- Cognos offers mobile business intelligence
|
|
This section lists news about innovative and competitive usage of wireless data by network carriers.
| Boingo Blankets Metropolitan Tokyo Original news source |
| Boingo Wireless Inc., wholesale network aggregator and operator of neutral-host Wi-Fi networks, announced a roaming agreement with Tokyo-based media services giant livedoor Co. Ltd., that adds the company’s Tokyo metropolitan Wi-Fi network to the Boingo Roaming System. |
| NTT DoCoMo and Hutch Essar Not to Proceed With i-mode Contract Original news source |
| DoCoMo and Hutch had been striving to launch i-mode service in India within 2007. Due to the changes in business environment, both companies concluded that it would be difficult to launch i-mode service at this time and agreed not to proceed. |
| VimpelCom and NeuStar Bring Mobile IM to Russia Original news source |
| NeuStar announced that Russian mobile operator, VimpelCom, has selected NeuStar's Next Generation Messaging solution for its mobile instant messaging (IM) service. Under VimpelCom's popular Beeline brand, NeuStar's IMSC (IM Service Centre) and IM Clients will provide real-time, presence-enabled instant messaging to VimpelCom's 48 million subscribers in Russia. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists breaking news from companies which provide middleware used by carriers and software developers to offer access to diversified corporate data.
| * Ericsson to contribute to open source application server and provide IMS support for developer communities Original news source |
| Ericsson announced a collaboration agreement with Sun to develop an open source Java technology-based multimedia application server as well as a supporting program for the developer community.
With this collaboration, Ericsson will contribute parts of its server development to the open source project GlassFish. The supporting program includes a variety of tools and expertise to support developer communities, as well as a possibility for developers to test their applications on a live IMS-based network. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists breaking news from companies which manufacture actual end user wireless devices (phones, pagers, PDAs etc.), as well as other information relevant to such companies.
| Samsung Unveils the Q1 Ultra Original news source |
| Complete with an integrated split-QWERTY keypad, mouse, and user-defined function keys, the Q1 Ultra UMPC is designed to enhance productivity, ease-of-use and portability in a range of personal and professional scenarios. With an increased battery life of 4.5 hours coupled with faster speeds, flexibility and mobile functionality, the Q1 Ultra product provides a compelling solution packed into a 1.5 pound package. The Q1 Ultra UMPC features the new Intel Ultra Mobile Processor running at a clock speed of 600 or 800 MHz, along with 1 GB of high speed DDR2 system memory. The Q1 Ultra supports a minimum of 4.5 hours of continuous run time via the integrated Lithium Ion prismatic batteries. Use of the higher-density polymer batteries enables greater battery capacity in a smaller space, thereby leading towards a smaller overall form-factor. The Q1 Ultra continues to push the connectivity boundaries, by including integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and the factory optional 3.5G HSDPA cellular modem. Microsoft Windows VistaTHome Premium and Windows XP Tablet Edition operating systems are supported, enabling full PC compatibility with all applications. |
| Sony Ericsson adds light and colour to its global range Original news source |
| Sony Ericsson announces two new phones that are borne out of their designers love for the materials and colours found in the natural world. The 3G T650 fuses illumination effects with a stainless steel finish and scratch-proof mineral glass, whilst the 2.5G S500, a slim slider phone, reveals desktop and menu themes that change over time. |
| Sony Ericsson P1: the 5th generation P-series smart phone Original news source |
| Building on the feature set of earlier models, the Sony Ericsson P1 supports a wide range of push email solutions and Web browsing applications, plus connectivity via hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (WiFi™). Add to this its compact size and multimedia capabilities and the P1 is the complete mobile office. It is based on the Symbian operating system (v9.1) and UIQ 3.0, an open platform that offers broad potential for multimedia applications from operators/carriers, content owners and third party developers. |
| * Helio Ocean Now Available Original news source |
| Dual-slider combining a traditional numeric keypad and a separate full QWERTY keyboard in a single device, Ocean delivers the definitive 3G mobile experience in an uncompromising form factor, exclusively on Helio's nationwide service. Ocean merges Instant Messages, text messages, picture messages and emails from the major portals and ISPs in one location. Running over a nationwide high-speed 3G network, Ocean also offers full over-the-air music downloads, video-on-demand, a high-resolution camera, an HTML browser, GPS-enabled Google Maps for mobile, Buddy Beacon, full Web search from the device home screen, integration of IM presence into the address book, GPS tagging of photos and videos, MySpace on Helio and more U.S. industry firsts, all in a single, beautifully designed package. Ocean sports a 2.4-inch, 260K color high-resolution QVGA display viewable in both portrait or landscape modes, external stereo speakers, Bluetooth for wireless voice and stereo Bluetooth for untethered music and videos, a 2.0 megapixel camera with digital zoom and flash for photos and over two hours of continuous video recording, 200MB internal memory expandable via microSD™ to 2GB, and USB Mass Storage Mode for drag-and-drop sideloading of content from a computer. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists breaking news from companies which provide client software that runs in end user wireless devices (phones, pagers, PDAs etc.).
| * Sun Unveils Mobile Software Original news source |
| Sun Microsystems previewed a mobile phone prototype with a rich, graphical interface, made possible by new software from Sun. JavaFX Mobile, a mobile phone software system available to carriers, content owners and consumer electronics manufacturers, could help to reduce the costs of creating rich, mobile Internet devices. Sun today also previewed JavaFX Script, a new scripting language targeting creative professionals, radically simplifying the process of creating and distributing interactive content that spans all Java enabled platforms, from handsets to set tops, laptops to dashboards. Both technologies are part of Sun's new JavaFX family of Java technology-based products. JavaFX leverages the security and ubiquity of the Java platform and will support all content and applications currently available across the billions of Java devices in use today. Sun will deliver additional JavaFX products for the manufacturers of set top boxes, navigation devices and automobile dashboards. |
| * Community Participation Drives Evolution of Java Micro Edition Platform Original news source |
| Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the immediate availability of the Milestone Release (MR2) of the phoneME Feature project in the open source Mobile & Embedded Community. MR2 also contains a high performance implementation of Java bindings for the OpenGL ES API, which provides access to high-end 3D graphic functionality on the device. These capabilities facilitate the creation of graphically rich and compelling entertainment, business, and social networking mobile applications. In addition, Sun announced updates on the evolution of the Mobile & Embedded Community, including new projects around Web 2.0/Ajax, Scalable Vector Graphics(SVG), Blu-ray Disc and digital TV and developer best practices. |
| * Forum Nokia introduces Series 40 platform 5th Edition Original news source |
| The new Series 40 5th Edition is a full hardware, software and Application Programming Interface architecture, incorporating Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME) technology with support for the latest version of the mobile information device profile (MIDP 2.1), and providing an enhanced UI that enables developers to build richer multimedia applications and services for mass market Nokia mobile devices.
The latest evolution of the highest-volume mobile-development platform available, Series 40 5th Edition implements the advanced JSR-248 Mobile Service Architecture specification, completed in 2006 and designed by an industry task force led by Nokia and Vodafone to reduce fragmentation and provide a consistent set of Java technologies for high-volume mobile handsets. JSR-248 is also a key component of the S60 platform and Nokia's commitment to JSR-248 implementation in both platforms ensures a high level of application portability between Series 40 and S60 devices. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists news that describe innovative and competitive implementation of wireless data applications.
| Metropolitan Life and Clickatell introduce insurance by mobile phone in South Africa
Original news source |
| South African insurance company Metropolitan Life has introduced a new service called Cover2go that makes innovative use of mobile phone technology from Clickatell to offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa. The service costs around R10 (approx €1), which is deducted from the phone’s airtime and provides instant life insurance for six days, paying out R60,000 (approx €6,300) in the case of accidental death. Cover2go has already been offered to the public at taxi ranks in Gauteng, South Africa, in a pilot campaign. The customer purchases the policy by sending their name and identity number to a premium-rate number. The system, powered by Clickatell, replies with a confirmation and policy number, requests the name of a beneficiary, and reminds the policyholder to inform an associate about the life insurance. One policy is permitted per person and a renewal notification is sent on expiry. |
| * Cognos Showcases Mobile Solution to
Blackberry Customers Worldwide Original news source |
| Cognos 8 Go! Mobile is purpose-built for the BlackBerry wireless platform from Research In Motion. It has a rich mobile-client that allows executives or front-line mobile workers to use their BlackBerry smartphones to read and securely interact with the most relevant operational and strategic company performance information, even while offline, for real-time decision-making. Cognos 8 Go! Mobile fully leverages the proven capabilities of the Cognos 8 BI platform, including common security and a single report authoring environment, to deliver timely, personalized and secure information automatically over the air. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists news about outsourcing/hosting of mobile corporate/enterprise applications by e.g. software developers, network carriers, and consulting companies. News about mobile access to portals are also included here.
| Raketu Adds Global SMS Text Messaging to VoIP Service Offering Original news source |
| Raketu introduced its new Global Short Message Service (SMS) Text Service. Through Raketu, consumers can now send SMS text messages to the mobile phones of their friends, family, and co-workers anywhere in the world. Raketu offers a flat rate for each text message sent to a given country regardless of the location of where the message originates. Raketu currently offers the lowest published rates of any SMS text message provider in any country globally. |
| MOBIVOX Enables Skype and Free International Phone Calls From ANY Cell Phone Original news source |
| MOBIVOX announced the Beta launch of its hosted service, making it the first ever communication provider to bring Skype to any mobile device. The service also offers free international fixed and mobile calls between MOBIVOX users. Best of all, MOBIVOX works with every mobile phone and requires no download on the mobile or on the PC. MOBIVOX is underpinned by a global infrastructure and extensive proprietary technology. |
Back to Contents |
This section lists news about new financing opportunities for and in the wireless data industry.
| Quattro Wireless Unveiled; Company Will Establish Network of Mobile-Specific Websites for Premier Publishers and Advertisers Original news source |
| Quattro snared $6 million in its first round of funding, led by Highland Capital Partners. |
| mig33 Closes $10 Million Series A Original news source |
mig33, the global mobile
Internet community, announced that parent company, Project Goth, has
closed a Series A funding round of $10 million co-led by Accel Partners and
Redpoint Ventures, with substantial contribution from Technology Venture
Partners, to expand its mobile phone based global communications service.
mig33 is opening the most popular Internet services up to all mobile phone
users with a rapidly emerging user base, already serving more than 200
countries since launching in beta in December 2005. |
| Apptix Acquires WebMessenger Original news source |
| Apptix, provider of unified on-demand business communications solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced the acquisition of , a technology company with a suite of Mobile Instant Messaging (IM) products that work across more devices, platforms, and public & private IM networks than any other provider. WebMessenger provides Apptix with market-ready mobile messaging & collaboration products and extensive engineering expertise in critical emerging Mobile IM and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) markets. |
| Comeks Raises Funds Original news source |
| Comeks, a Finland-based developer of tools for creating user-generated mobile content, announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum in its first round of funding, from Accel Partners.
The company's software can be downloaded by users to their phones, and then used to create panel-style comics using photos, text and cartoonish images. The resulting "comeks" may then be shared using e-mail, SMS or MMS services. |
| Intercasting Corp. Secures $12 Million Original news source |
| Intercasting Corporation, a mobile media company, announced that it has raised $12 million in Series B financing that was led by Venrock and also supported by existing backers Avalon Ventures and Masthead Venture Partners.
Intercasting Corp. will use the funding to go towards its strategy of expanding carrier-based distribution and partners for both its mobile social networking application, Rabble, and its Social Networking Service Gateway (SNS-G) ANTHEM Platform, which enables wireless carriers to mobilize web-based social networking and community sites.
|
| Intel Capital Announces Six New Global Investments Original news source |
| The deals, all led by Intel Capital, include: China-based 51.com (social networking) and Phoenix Microelectronics (microelectronics); Aternity (application management software) and Ceedo (portable computing environment), both based in Israel; and from the United States, Jajah (Internet telephony solutions) and Tutor.com (education network). |
| THQ Announces Acquisition of Mobile Game Developer Universomo Original news source |
| THQ Inc. announced that it has acquired mobile game development studio Universomo Ltd. Based in Finland, Universomo has been offering a mobile game development solution for leading global game publishers since 2002. The company’s proprietary game development environment and automated porting solution supports all major mobile platforms, enabling rapid and cost efficient development and porting on a worldwide basis. |
| Zenops Acquires In-Fusio And Filao Original news source |
| ZENOPS, mobile games publisher on i-mode in Europe announces the acquisition of IN-FUSIO, FILAO and MOBILE SCOPE.
These acquisitions give ZENOPS access to catalogues of top games titles such as Ages of Empire II, Neopets, Asterix, Tour de France, Line Rider and Brain Trainer as well as first-class service applications for carriers and handset manufacturers through MOBILE SCOPE.
|
Back to Contents |
This publication is licensed for simultaneous use in any form (including printed form) only by direct recipients. Reproduction in part or whole by any means is prohibited without copyright owner's prior written consent. Forwarding of sample copies to colleagues is allowed provided that no changes are made to the original html file and that the editor is informed about a fact of forwarding.
Only freely available English language information sources have been used to prepare this publication and links to original information sources are always included. The reader is free to use such links according to policies of respective copyright holders. Some of the links are time sensitive and may not be available after a certain period of time has passed. Access to some of the links may require free registration to the news source.
A recommended introductory reading that may be helpful in understanding the scope of this publication is the Wireless Data Forum's Wireless Data Primer.
A glossary of wireless industry terms and acronyms can be found at the Wireless Week site.
Disclaimer: The information presented is personal opinion of Leonid Iakovlev (the editor) and does not necessarily represent the opinion of any company with which he may be affiliated or of any referred third party. All information in this report is NOT guaranteed to be accurate. The information and links were however verified at the time this text was created. Editor does not take responsibility for any actions you may take based on the information you find here. Editor accepts no liability to any party for loss or damage caused by errors or omissions or by statements of any kind in this publication, whether such errors result from accident, negligence, or any other cause. Editor assumes no liability for incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of information in this publication. Editor provides no warranties regarding the information contained in this publication, whether expressed, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Editor also does not assume any liability for links from this publication to publications from other companies, organizations, or individuals. Editor does not imply endorsement of any specific company, organization, or individual through offering links to this content. All information provided within this publication is subject to change at any time and is provided for informational purposes only by the editor. All products and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
wblog) wrote,
