NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blogs
01/31/2006 Balloons to
Improve Cell Coverage |
Why put up costly cell phone towers in thinly populated
areas, when a few balloons would do? In North Dakota,
former Gov. Ed Schafer is backing a plan to loft wireless
network repeaters on balloons high above the state
to fill gaps in cellular coverage.
"I know it sounds crazy," said Schafer, who now heads
Extend America Inc., a wireless telecommunications
company. "But it works in the lab."
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01/30/2006 Sprint Nextel
Sues |
Sprint Nextel Corp. on Friday said it sued the parent
company of four data brokers it said used fraudulent
means to obtain and sell wireless customer call records.
Sprint said the company, 1st Source Information Specialists
Inc., had its employees pose as customers seeking
information about their own accounts, to get access
to cell phone logs and phone numbers.
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01/27/2006 RIM Says BlackBerry
Work-Around Is Ready If Needed |
While the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Research
In Motion Ltd.'s request to hear its case, the BlackBerry
maker says it has a technology work-around ready to
go in the event a U.S. District Court imposes an injunction.
RIM says it would pre-load a software work-around
on new BlackBerry devices that avoids any alleged
patent infringements before they're shipped to customers.
"Work-arounds are a legitimate strategy respected
by the courts, so RIM would be fully entitled to alter
its software with a non-infringing work-around and
continue shipping," said Mark Guibert, RIM's VP of
corporate marketing, in a prepared statement.
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01/27/2006 Cellular Pornography |
Dial P for porn? It may never be quite that easy.
But cell-phone pornography is a fast-growing business
that analysts expect will generate about $2 billion
in global revenue by 2009.
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01/26/2006 Beachfront
Spectrum |
The U.S. government announced last month it was
vacating a swath of spectrum, which it would put it
on the auction block, perhaps this coming June.
The government estimates auctioning the spectrum
will more than recoup the $936 million it will cost
to relocate the wireless services of more 2200 systems
spread across 12 federal agencies. While the U.S.
Commerce Department won’t speculate how much the
auction will generate, the last major spectrum auction
raised more than $2 billion.
But is the 1710-1755 MHz portion of spectrum that
the government will make available, which it described
as "beach-front" property, really that desirable for
cellular operators? And what will all this mean for
cellular users in terms of wireless services and prices?
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01/25/2006 Looking for
Ringtones? |
Try these ringtone resources:
Ringtones Central - New and popular tones
and collaborations to make your phones ring distinct.
Ringtones Central is your premier source for locating
ringtones for specific brands and carriers, finding
cellular acessories, cellular software and a myriad
of other items that will make your cell phone unique
and customized to meet your personal needs and tastes.
Ringtone Software - Explains how ringtones
work, explains RTTL and general information about
ringtones.
Free Ringtones Online - Browse the directory
of FREE ringtones, cellular accessories, cellular
phones, cellular software and cellular graphics.
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01/25/2006 FTC Says Cell
Phone E-Mail Is Hoax |
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tried to calm
jittery cell phone users by issuing an advisory last
week telling them that they don't need to register
their mobile number with the agency's Do-Not-Call
Registry.
A heavily circulated e-mail that claims cell phone
numbers will be for sale to telemarketers has gained
so much traction that the FTC felt it necessary to
debunk the hoax. "Contrary to the e-mail, cell phone
numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and
you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on
your cell phone," the FTC said in the advisory published
on its Web site.
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01/25/2006 T-Mobile Seeks
to Halt Access to Cell Records |
T-Mobile, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier, said on
Monday it asked a Washington state court to prevent
companies from allegedly using fraudulent means to
obtain and sell T-Mobile customer call records.
German-owned T-Mobile said it asked the court for
an injunction against Data Find Solutions, 1st Source
Information Specialists and related firms and individuals.
T-Mobile said the companies ran or owned Web sites
such as www.locatecell.com and www.celltolls.com that
offered such services.
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01/25/2006 Cingular Wireless
Posts 4Q Profit of $204M |
Cingular Wireless LLC's position as the nation's
largest cell phone company is threatened by the growth
of rival Verizon Wireless, despite strong subscriber
and revenue gains that led Cingular to report Tuesday
it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.
The Atlanta-based company said it earned $204 million
in the three months ending Dec. 31, compared to a
loss of $495 million in the same period a year ago.
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01/23/2006 Cell Phones
Pose No Risk Of Brain Cancer |
A four-year study of brain cancer patients in the
U.K. found there is no increased risk of the illness
traceable to the use of mobile phones.
The study of 966 brain cancer patients was conducted
by London's Institute of Cancer Research and three
major British universities. The results were released
Friday in a report in the British Medical Journal.
"There was no relationship for risk of glioma (brain
cancer) and time since first use of a mobile phone,
lifetime years of use and cumulative number of calls
and hours of use," the report stated.
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01/20/2006 Devious Tactic
Snags Phone Data |
Online information brokers pried thousands of private
cell-phone records from Verizon Wireless by posing
as speech-impaired customers and company employees,
court documents show.
The charges, which appear in a civil suit filed by
Verizon in Florida late last year, shed a rare light
on the shadowy world of online phone-record vendors
-- a cottage industry among private investigators
that has operated below the radar for years but is
now in the spotlight amid a flurry of private suits
and calls for laws restricting phone-record sales.
Complete Article
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01/20/2006 Cingular to
sell phone with Microsoft software |
Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. cellphone service
provider, said on Wednesday it would begin selling
a mobile phone running the latest Microsoft Corp.
software for mobile phones.
The Cingular-branded 2125 Smartphone, made by High
Tech Computer Corp. will go on sale for $199 on Wednesday.
It will be the U.S. first phone based on Microsoft
Windows Mobile 5.0 software that has a typical cellphone
dial pad instead of a tiny computer-style keyboard.
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01/18/2006 SMS Forum Support |
Reminder - there is a well developed forum on the NotePage site,
that includes detailed answers to support questions.
Be sure to search the forum if you have any questions
related to the NotePage product line.
|
01/18/2006 Convergence,
Not Consolidation, In Cellular Future |
By the end of the year, we'll start seeing services
that merge cellular voice and voice-over-IP, according
to predictions released today by Pyramid Research.
In addition, the research firm said that, contrary
to predictions by other researchers and industry ovservers,
there won't be much more consolidation in 2006 in
the U.S. cellular market.
Converged cellular and VoIP services will start appearing
that will enable users to seamlessly switch between
cellular and Wi-Fi networks, according to Pyramid.
One driving force will be that phone vendors will
start including the technology for such convergence
in their phones. That technology will primarily be
in the form of UMA, which converges GSM-based cellular
networks with Wi-Fi networks.
|
01/17/2006 Night Time
Calls Corrupting Youth |
Bangladesh has told phone companies to stop free
late-night mobile phone calls, arguing that they corrupt
its youth -- making them speak vulgarly, hitting studies
and promoting chit-chat between boyfriends and girlfriends.
In the mainly Muslim and deeply conservative country,
where dating is discouraged, parents complained to
the telecoms regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory
Commission (BTRC), that the free night calls were
changing their children's behavior.
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01/17/2006 CBS Developing
Soap Opera For Cell Phones |
CBS is developing a soap opera specifically for broadcast
to cell phones, the entertainment industry site Variety.com
reported Wednesday.
The publication said that the network plans to run
between five and seven original episodes of the unnamed
soap opera a week. Each episode will be between three
and five minutes long, according to the publication.
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01/17/2006 Your Old Cell
Phone Could Lead To Charitable Causes |
The next time you decide to upgrade your cell phone,
think twice before throwing the old one into a storage
closet or the trashcan. You can donate it to a charity.
Cell phone recycling programs are popping up everywhere,
with good intentions in mind. Best Buy this week launched
a mail-in recycling program at its stores that lets
people donate used or unwanted cell phones. The retailer
is giving free pre-paid envelopes to customers who
buy cell phones or related equipment, so they can
mail-in their old cell phone when they get home.
More on Recycling Cell Phones
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01/16/2006 US Federal
Agencies Probing Sale of Cell Data |
A U.S. Congressman said on Friday that federal agencies
were looking into whether telephone companies were
sufficiently protecting consumers' records amid concerns
that Internet sites were selling cellphone call information.
Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts,
said the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) told him the agency was investigating whether
phone companies were adequately protecting consumer
records. He said in a statement "the FCC and the Federal
Trade Commission were coordinating efforts to combat
this rising fraud."
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01/16/2006 IBM, Toshiba,
Sony to renew Cell partnership |
IBM, Sony and Toshiba will renew a five-year partnership
that produced the Cell microprocessor, the heart of
Sony's PlayStation 3 game console.
Terms of the renewal weren't disclosed. The companies
said Wednesday they plan to develop new chip technology
for a variety of consumer electronics uses such as
televisions, audio equipment and video games.
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01/13/2006 Nokia Settles
Patent Dispute With Kyocera |
Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it has resolved a dispute
with Kyocera Corp., allowing the Japanese company
to use some of the world's largest mobile-phone maker's
patents.
According to an agreement between the two companies,
Kyocera will pay royalties on "Nokia's essential patents,
and some additional patents," Nokia said.
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01/11/2006 ABC to Distribute
BBC News video reports to online, cellphone subscribers |
The British Broadcasting Corp. will make about 40
video news clips available daily in the United States
and Canada for Internet and cellphone subscribers
through a deal with ABC News.
BBC News producers will choose segments on top world
and U.K. news, along with topical items such as entertainment,
business and technology news. ABC did not say when
it will begin offering the clips.
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01/11/2006 Vonage Blending
Wireless and Cellular |
Vonage Holdings Corp. is working to make a connection
between wireless and cellular phone services. It's
working with partners to develop a line of phones
and network platform that would allow consumers to
switch automatically between Wi-Fi and cellular communication
modes, a company executive told TechWeb.
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01/09/2006 Yahoo Content
Services |
Yahoo Inc. is expanding its presence beyond the PC,
moving onto Web-enabled cell phones and other mobile
devices so users can access their customized content
while untethered.
Yahoo Go Mobile, a new service set to be launched
Friday at the International Consumer Electronics Show,
is the latest example of the growing trend of get-your-information-anytime-anywhere.
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01/09/2006 SouthPark and
Chappell Show going Mobile |
"South Park" and "Chappelle's Show" are ready to
make their cell-phone debuts.
Comedy Central has signed a deal with Amp'd Mobile
to make both programs available beginning later this
month. Content including ringtones, ringbacks, voicemail,
wallpapers, video and games will be accessible through
major carriers. Among the programming included in
the deal is a sneak-peek clip of "Chappelle's Show"
footage that will be rolled out as part of its final
season
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01/09/2006 Motorola to
Add Google Button to Phones |
Motorola Inc. will soon begin selling Web-enabled
cell phones that feature easy access to Google's search
engine by clicking on a button on the phone's keypad,
the world's second-largest maker of cell phones said.
The company said in a statement late Thursday it will
integrate a Google icon onto certain Internet-optimized
handsets that will be distributed starting in the
first quarter this year.
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01/06/2006 Cell Phones
Tied to Family Tension |
The round-the-clock availability that cell phones
and pagers have brought to people's lives may be taking
a toll on family life, a new study suggests.
The study, which followed more than 1,300 adults over
2 years, found that those who consistently used a
mobile phone or pager throughout the study period
were more likely to report negative "spillover" between
work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction
with their family life.
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01/05/2006 For 2006, Mobility's
On The Move |
What a difference a year makes. Last year, the IT
department of information storage provider EMC supported
only about 200 BlackBerrys in a company of 23,000
employees. Today, EMC supports roughly 5,000 of the
popular handheld wireless devices—a number that
continues to grow daily.
Mobility Moving
|
01/04/2006 Motorola Unveils
New Music Radio Service |
Motorola Inc., after nearly a year of vague pronouncements,
unveiled Tuesday an ambitious music radio service
for cell phones that also plays over car and home
stereos.
Motorola iRadio, featuring 435 channels, would be
sold by wireless service providers to their subscribers
for between $7 and $10 per month — a few dollars
cheaper than the satellite radio networks that would
be among the phone-based service's immediate rivals.
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01/03/2006 China Cracks
Down on Cell Phone Spam |
China will begin requiring prepaid cell phone subscribers
to register their devices using their real names in
2006, the country's Minister of Information Industry
said Tuesday.
The goal, Wang Xudong told the official Xinhau news
agency, is to cut down on surging cell phone spam
and fraud, most of it delivered via text messaging.
Complete Article
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01/03/2006 Boyfriend Charged
In Cell Phone Assault |
Crazy things....
The Missouri woman who was taken to St. Mary’s
Medical Center in Blue Springs with a cell phone lodged
in her throat may not have voluntarily swallowed the
device.
“Subsequent investigation found that she didn’t
swallow the cell phone voluntarily,” Police Sgt.
Allen Kintz told the Associated Press. “Our initial
press release was that she had swallowed a cell phone.”
Complete Article
|
01/02/2006 Cell Phone
Popularity in Russia |
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Friday
he does not have his own mobile phone in a meeting
with Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman but
120 million others Russians now do.
"Mobile phone ownership among the population has reached
84 percent... We are at a good European level,"
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01/02/2006 Communist rebels
destroy another mobile phone tower in Philippines |
Communist guerrillas have burned a Globe Telecom
cellular phone tower on the Philippine island of Mindoro,
the 23rd attack on the company's facilities in the
past six months, the military has announced.
About 20 members of the communist New People's Army
(NPA) attacked the Globe Telecom site in Magsaysay
town late Friday, burning it down. There were no casualties.
The 8,000-strong NPA, which is the guerrilla arm of
the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines, has
repeatedly attacked Globe Telecom cellular towers
in recent months, blasting them or burning them down.
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