NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blogs
06/30/2005 U.S. Adults
Abandoning Landlines For Mobile Phones |
Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. adults have tossed their traditional
telephone service, opting instead to use their cellular
phones exclusively, a research firm said Tuesday.
The trend is expected to continue as 5 percent of
adults surveyed in April by Harris Interactive Technology
Research said they were "seriously considering" going
exclusively wireless within a year. Another 47 percent
said they are "somewhat considering" the switch.
"This is a wake up call to traditional landline providers,"
Joe Porus, chief architect for Harris Interactive's
research practice, said. "There are a lot of new threats
out there."
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06/29/2005 Quake on Phones |
The developer of the long-lived and popular computer
game Quake has announced that a version of it will
be available for mobile-phone handsets later this
summer.
Id Software and software publisher Pulse Interactive
have ported the game to the mobile platform. It will
be released for handsets that have 3D capabilities.
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06/29/2005 RIM To Offer
Smart Card Security |
Research In Motion said Tuesday that it will offer
a Bluetooth-enabled smart card reader to control access
to BlackBerry devices that store secure data.
The company said the reader, which will be available
as a beta in July, is aimed at government users. It
supports the U.S. Department of Defense's Common Access
Card standard as well as S/MIME encryption.
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06/28/2005 Blackberry
Network Goes Down -- Again |
But the service provider, Research In Motion, is
releasing only sketchy details of the second major
service outage in a week.
Research In Motion Ltd. is offering few details about
two major outages in a week with its popular BlackBerry
service, which delivers e-mail to wireless devices
that many users affectionately call CrackBerries.
RIM, which makes the pioneering mobile devices and
provides the e-mail service over cellular networks,
attributed a June 17 outage lasting nearly four hours
to a software upgrade "that did not operate consistent
with prior testing."
Complete Article
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06/27/2005 Will Cell Phone
Video Be A Wireless Babysitter? |
Streaming video delivered to cell phones could become
an "electronic babysitter," helping parents keep their
kids content while they travel, a report released
Thursday by IDC predicts. And, the study concludes,
it is an excellent example of how new wireless services
evolve.
The study notes that Verizon Wireless included video
clips from Sesame Street in its V CAST video service
that it launched earlier this year. Scott Ellison,
an IDC program director, noted in a statement that
Verizon has reported higher-than-expected use of that
particular bit of programming.
"I have offered my own V CAST phone and service to
parents of young children at airports and on airplanes,"
Ellison said in a statement. "(It resulted in) a near
100 percent success rate at tears and tantrum avoidance."
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06/27/2005 Cingular Considering
iTunes Phones |
Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile service,
is considering selling a Motorola Inc. cell phone
that can play music using Apple Computer Inc.'s (Nasdaq:AAPL
- news) iTunes music service, sources familiar with
the matter said on Friday.
"Motorola and Apple have been talking to Cingular
about it using the iTunes phone," according to one
of the sources, who asked not to be named.
RBC Capital analyst Mark Sue said in a recent research
note that Apple and Cingular were working out final
details on revenue sharing.
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06/23/2005 Coming Soon:
Free Long-Distance Cell-Phone Calls Via Skype |
A Norwegian company has developed bridging technology
that links cell phones with Skype Technologies' VoIP
service in a configuration that enables users to make
worldwide calls at local rates.
The solution, developed by Oslo's IPdrum, is scheduled
for early deployment in August, the firm said. IPdrum
added that its IPdrum Mobile Cable solution has not
been endorsed by Skype.
Complete Article
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06/23/2005 Ten Top Tips
For Mobile Security |
We explore ten on-the-road scenarios to test your
security savvy.
would I leave my data unprotected?
Unfortunately, many people do just that every time
they use their mobile devices. The rapidly growing
base of mobile users is drawing the attention of hackers,
who use a variety of schemes to get at your data and
personal information.
We all need to wise up and take measures to safeguard
our mobile data. Let's take a look at how to be secure
in some common situations that you'll likely encounter
when you're on the road.
Top 10 Tips for Mobile Security
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06/22/2005 Blackberry
Network Down for Hours |
The BlackBerry e-mail service suffered a nationwide
outage Friday morning, but the nearly four-hour disruption
only appeared to affect devices connected to certain
types of cellular networks.
Research in Motion Ltd., which makes the popular mobile
devices and provides a service connecting them to
corporate networks, did not respond to phone calls
seeking comment.
Complete Article
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06/21/2005 Mobile Phones
Shut Down New Zealands Stock Exchange |
New Zealand Outage Shut Down Stock Exchange
-A major outage in Telecom Corp.'s cable network Monday
disrupted data services, electronic cash transactions,
mobile phone, and Internet services as well as shutting
down the nation's stock exchange for hours, the telecommunications
provider said.
Widespread disruption to business and private services
was caused by two cable breaks on its North Island
network.
They were repaired by mid-afternoon Monday--at least
five hours after they occurred.
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06/20/2005 Cell Phones
Taxed, Used To Plug Parking Meters |
One local government has instituted a tax on cell
phones while another enables citizens to use their
cell phones to pay for parking meters, according to
two news reports posted this week.
The city council in Alexandria, Virginia this week
approved a tax on cell phones, according to the Washington
Post. And Coral Gables, Florida has launched a system
by which residents can use their cell phones to plug
parking meters from afar, according to the Associated
Press.
The Alexandria tax will be $3 per month on bills of
more than $30 or 10 percent on monthly bills that
are less than $30, the Washington Post reported.
Complete Article
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06/20/2005 Cell Phones
Becoming Cellular Wallets? |
Already a device of multiple disguises, from camera
to music player and mini-TV, the cell phone's next
trick may be the disappearing wallet. After all, since
more than a quarter of the people on the planet already
carry around cell phones, and hundreds of millions
are joining them every year, why should they bring
along credit and debit cards when a mobile device
can make payments just as well?
At the simplest level, all that's needed is to embed
phones with a short-range radio chip to beam credit
card information to a terminal at a store register.
It's not unlike the wireless system used to pay tolls
on many highways or the SpeedPass keychain wand used
to buy gas at Exxon Mobile Corp. pumps.
Complete Article
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06/16/2005 Ericsson, Napster
Team for Music to Mobile Phones |
Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson has teamed
up with online music company Napster for a service
that will let consumers download music to mobile phones,
the two companies said on Wednesday.
They will license the Napster-branded music service
to mobile phone carriers, much as Ericsson currently
sells services such as text messaging and voice mail.
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06/15/2005 Yahoo! Buys
Internet Phone Provider |
Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it had acquired DialPad Communications
Inc., a 6-year-old company whose software lets people
to place calls over the Internet for a fraction of
the cost of regular telephone service.
The companies would not release financial details
of the deal, which closed Monday.
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06/15/2005 Sirius to Supply
Music to Sprint Phones |
Sirius Satellite Radio on Tuesday said it reached
a deal to supply music channels to telecommunications
company Sprint Corp. in a mobile phone service to
be introduced later this year.
The agreement is aimed at getting more listeners for
Sirius' subscription radio service and is part of
plans at Sprint, the third biggest U.S. mobile provider,
to extend entertainment services it has recently begun
to deliver to mobile phones.
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06/14/2005 Ericsson Unveils
In-Flight Cell Equipment |
Wireless infrastructure vendor Ericsson Monday unveiled
equipment that it says will enable in-flight use of
cell phones.
The equipment supports only GSM technology, which
is used almost universally in Europe and by Cingular
and T-Mobile in the U.S. However, it doesn't support
CDMA technology used by U.S. wireless operators such
as Verizon Wireless and Sprint.
"GSM is the largest mobile communications standard
in the world and is used in every country," Ulf Ewaldsson,
Ericsson's vice president for GSM product management,
said in a statement. "This is why Ericsson now is
making mobile telephony available on board aircrafts
and ships."
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06/14/2005 Network Error
Takes Out Cell Phone Coverage |
Hundreds of thousands of Norwegians were without
cell phone coverage Monday after the country's second
largest operator was hit by a network breakdown.
At least 20 percent of Netcom's 1.2 million customers
were not able to place calls or send text messages.
The network broke down Sunday evening, was fixed over
night, but broke down again Monday. Netcom said it
was not clear when the network would be back up.
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06/14/2005 Sony Ericsson
unveils new phones |
Mobile phone group Sony Ericsson, a venture of Sony
Corp (SNE.N). and Ericsson, on Monday introduced five
new phones that it hopes will boost its presence in
the low and mid-segment market.
The group, the world's fifth largest mobile phone
maker, unveiled the W600, a version of its Walkman
brand music phone aimed at North American consumers;
the S600, aimed at the youth market; and a clamshell-shaped
phone, the Z520.
It also presented the J210, for those who want mainly
simple functions like making calls and writing messages;
and a new third-generation (3G) high-speed data phone,
the K608i.
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06/13/2005 Nokia, Intel
to Cooperate on Connections |
Nokia Corp., the world's leading mobile phone maker,
announced Friday that it will join forces with the
world's largest chip maker, Intel Corp., to provide
handset users faster voice and data services, including
high-speed broadband connections to the Internet.
The companies said the cooperation, using WiMAX technology
for mobile clients, building network infrastructures
and market development, will bring customers new services.
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06/10/2005 New services
link mobile users to online magazines |
Two companies are combining online-only glossy magazines
with mobile short message texting services to link
mobile handset users to Internet publications even
when they are not online. The companies -- Norwegian
publisher Fast Forward Media Group and Belgian technology
company Allisblue -- presented their new ways of connecting
consumers to publications on Thursday at a conference
of European publishers.
Many of the publishers are struggling to find ways
to earn money on the Internet, which is luring away
readers of their print publications.
With the new combination, consumers on the go will
be able to send keywords to a short telephone number
from their handsets, after which they will be sent
emails with links to magazines they have requested,
the two companies said.
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06/10/2005 Is Hands-free
Actually Safer? |
The use of electronic devices such as cell phones,
including hands-free, precipitated many crashes and
near misses, according to a report Thursday.
Using a cell phone behind the wheel is a key cause
of traffic accidents and hands-free devices provide
little safety benefit, the Detroit News reported,
citing federal officials.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration researchers
said devices like head sets or voice-activated dialing
led to longer dialing times than for hand-held phones.
The delays offset the potential benefit of keeping
both hands on the wheel, the report said.
Complete Article
|
06/08/2005 Nokia sued
for patent infringement in Finland |
Finnish mobile telephone giant Nokia is being sued
for infringing on a patent for technology allowing
cellular phone users to answer their phones without
touching them, a company backing the patent holder
said.
"Nokia is infringing on a patented invention that
makes it possible to answer the phone without touching
it... controlling it by touching a button in the hands-free
device or through voice control," said Antti Kosunen,
chief executive of Anadeus, a company that advocates
patent-holder rights.
Complete Article
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06/08/2005 Siemens Can't
Give It Away |
Ring! Ring! The news that telecom industry analysts
have been waiting to hear arrived today in the form
of Siemens' (NYSE: SI - News) announcement that it
will abandon the cell phone game and sell off its
operations in Brazil, Germany, and China for a veritable
downloadable song.
According to news reports, Siemens is recording a
350 million-euro loss on the deal, in which it will
hand over its cell phone unit to Taiwan's BenQ and
buy for itself a 2.5% interest in the unit's new owner.
As for the financial terms of the transaction, those
aren't entirely clear, but from what is known, they're
not at all favorable to Siemens.
|
06/07/2005 Will Your Next
Phone Be An iPod? |
Everybody agrees that MP3 technology is going to
stay around for a while due to its success and growth.
The question is, in what form factor? Will it remain
an independent device, generating millions of dollars
for Apple and other OEMs? Or will cellular phones
swallow the MP3 functionality in the same way they
swallowed the "just for fun"-use digital camera, leaving
little room for standalone MP3 players? Other than
the business consequences for the MP3 manufacturers,
what are the technical hurdles?
Complete Article
|
06/06/2005 Consider Subscribing
to NotePage News |
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|
06/03/2005 MTV to Launch
Videos by Mobile Phone only in Japan |
MTV said it will begin launching short music and
animation videos via mobile phones in Japan, saying
the tech-savvy country would be a test on whether
telecoms can be a new market for the music channel.
The service, to be called Flux, will begin June 30
by subscriptions on handsets using KDDI, Japan's second-biggest
mobile operator.
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06/03/2005 Intel Cellphone
Chip finds a Customer |
More than two years after introducing its first chip
for cellular phone communications, Intel Corp. finally
has a customer.
The world's largest chip maker said on Thursday that
mmO2 Plc. (OOM.L) will begin selling a music phone
that uses Intel's Manitoba chip, which was originally
released in February 2003.
|
06/02/2005 BT answers prayers
of distracted UK congregation |
British telecoms operator BT Group Plc (BT.L) has
wired up a church in Wales to allow the congregation
to hook onto local high-speed Internet connections
when they want a break from the sermon. Britain's
largest fixed-line telecoms operator said on Tuesday
it had installed a Wi-Fi wireless network access point,
known as a hotspot, in Reverend Keith Kimber's St
John's Rectory church in the city of Cardiff.
"The church has to move with the times and I wanted
to make St John's a sanctuary for everyone, including
business people with laptops and mobiles," Kimber
said in a statement issued by BT.
Complete Article
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06/02/2005 Vonage Subscribers
to Hit 1 Million |
Vonage Holdings Corp. will easily cross the 1 million
subscriber mark before year-end, the head of the fast-growing
Internet phone company said on Tuesday.
|
06/02/2005 Nokia launches
2 new low-end models |
The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia launched
on Thursday two new low-end handsets, the 1110 and
1600 models, aimed at first-time users in growth markets
like Africa.
|
06/01/2005 Survey Says
- Men Talk More Than Women On Cell Phones |
Men talk more on mobile phones by a wide margin,
according to a survey released Tuesday by Cingular
Wireless.
According to the wireless operator, men talk on cell
phones 35 percent more than women. That is more than
double the margin reported in the same survey conducted
last year, according to the company. This is the fifth
consecutive survey in which men were the biggest wireless
talkers, Cingular said.
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