NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blogs
03/31/2005 TeliaSonera
launches medical monitoring by mobile network |
Swedish-Finnish telecoms operator TeliaSonera presented
a medical monitoring system using Sweden's mobile
phone network so hospitals can keep track of out-patients'
health developments.
"It's a wireless system. Information on the patient's
health is sent to the hospital via the mobile phone
network," TeliaSonera spokeswoman Maria Strohle told
AFP.
Patients who require regular check-ups but not necessarily
in-hospital care can thus be equipped with sensors
that transmit details of their medical condition to
a small box the size of a mobile phone. The information
is then transmitted to the hospital, she said.
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03/31/2005 Microsoft Launches
Mobile Video Downloads |
Microsoft has launched a video download service that
offers daily television programming, entertainment
clips, and other digital content for viewing on Windows
Mobile-based devices, it says.
The MSN Video Downloads service draws on content from
Microsoft partners such as CinemaNow, MSNBC.com, and
TiVo, allowing subscribers to watch video on their
smart phones, Pocket PCs, and Portable Media Centers.
|
03/30/2005 Cingular/AT&T
Log Most Complaints, Report Says |
Cingular and AT&T Wireless were the subject of
the largest number of consumer complaints lodged against
wireless carriers last year with the Federal Communications
Commission, according to information obtained by Consumers
Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.
The two wireless carriers merged late in 2004 to create
the largest carrier in the U.S. However, the Consumers
Union said in a statement that AT&T Wireless would
have had the worst complaint record even if it hadn't
merged with Cingular not only for 2004.
Complete Article
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03/29/2005 Rapper's New
Single Features Ringtone Innovation |
The new CD single "Baby" from rapper Fabolous allows
UK consumers to choose which part of the song they
want to use as a mobile phone ringtone, a feature
that Warner Music said on Thursday was a first for
the industry.
Until now, the 30-second ringtone clips packaged with
singles have been pre-determined by record companies.
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03/28/2005 Family Plans
Reflect Slowing Cell Growth |
As discount "family plans" become the top growth
area for U.S. cell phone service providers, investors
should keep a sharp eye on customer cancellation rates
in coming years, according to industry watchers.
Since 2003 U.S. providers have stepped up efforts
to take on more customers through family plans, which
let people add additional phones to their cell phone
accounts for fees that are often four times lower
than popular individual plans.
Complete Article
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03/25/2005 Korea's SK
Telecom, Earthlink Form U.S. Venture |
U.S. Internet services provider EarthLink Inc. and
South Korea's largest mobile communications company,
SK Telecom, on Thursday said they had completed a
joint venture deal in which the companies will enter
the U.S. wireless market.
They said the new entity, called SK-EarthLink, will
resell mobile phone services and wireless handsets.
It will be funded with $440 million of partner investments
over the next three years.
|
03/24/2005 Suits Alleges
Cell Phones a Health Hazard |
The science remains unclear on whether the radiation
emitted by cell phones poses a health hazard, but
a number of lawsuits alleging the risk have been given
new life.
Despite wireless industry efforts, those cases may
now be heard by state courts after the 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals (news - web sites) revived last week
five class-action suits, returning them for trial
in the states where they originated.
|
03/24/2005 T-Mobile Confirms
HP Pocket PC Phone Problems |
T-Mobile USA confirmed Wednesday that it has stopped
selling a PDA/phone device from Hewlett-Packard because
of unspecified problems.
"T-Mobile USA has suspended sales of the HP iPAQ h6315
Pocket PC," the company said in a statement. "We are
currently working with HP to implement a software
upgrade that will deliver an improved customer experience."
|
03/24/2005 Ericsson Says
Mobile Phone Vendor Infringed Patents |
Wireless equipment maker Ericsson said Wednesday
it is suing Britain-based mobile phone company Sendo
for allegedly infringing its patents covering GSM
and GPRS technologies.
The Swedish company said it is seeking an injunction
against the continued sale and marketing of Sendo's
mobile phone products and unspecified monetary damages.
|
03/22/2005 Money Wins
Over Environment In Mobile-Phone Disposal |
Getting a better deal drives most people to buy a
new cellular phone in the U.S., with only a minority
of consumers considering the enormous impact throwing
away the old phone has on the environment, a study
released Friday showed.
In a poll of 20,000 consumers in 20 of the world's
top economies, nearly 8 out of 10 said cost savings
and more favorable contract terms was the most important
reason for upgrading their mobile phones, according
to Global Market Insite Inc., which does market research
for businesses. The same ratio applied to U.S. consumers.
Less than 1 out of 10 U.S. consumers, however, considered
the environmental impact of tossing away the old phone,
Seattle-based GMI said. In the United Kingdom, the
percentage was 12 percent. In Asia, the numbers were
better, with 20 and 26 percent of consumers in India
and China, respectively, saying environmental reasons
could prohibit them from upgrading.
Complete Article or read our recent article
about Recycling Cell Phones
|
03/21/2005 Pew Study Shows
SMS Messaging Gaining Ground In U.S. |
A quarter of American adults who have cell phones
have used the devices' text-messaging features within
the past month, a new study finds.
Usage correlates with age: 63 percent of cell phone
users ages 18-27 have used text messaging compared
with 31 percent for ages 28-39 and 7 percent for those
over 60.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project also found
that 28 percent of people who text message have received
unsolicited commercial messages that way.
Text messaging allows cell phone users to receive
and send short messages to other cell phone users
or e-mail recipients. Services also are available
to receive news alerts and other information through
text messaging.
Also known as SMS, for Short Message Service, "texting"
is highly popular in Europe and Asia but only starting
to catch on in the United States.
The Pew study was based on a random telephone survey
of 1,460 cell phone users Jan. 13-Feb. 9. It has a
margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points.
|
03/21/2005 Mobility: What
Do Businesses Want? |
Market growth and market confusion typically go hand-in-hand,
and the business-to-business (B2B) wireless voice
and data market here in the United States is no exception.
Currently, the use of mobile devices (cell phones,
notebooks and others) is significant within businesses
of all sizes. More than 70 percent of companies use
cell phones, more than half use notebooks/ultralites,
and more than 40 percent use PDAs/pocket PCs. Sixty
percent of large organizations (1,000-plus employees)
use BlackBerrys or similar devices, while 38 percent
of midsize companies (100 to 999 employees) and 13
percent of small businesses (fewer than 100 employees)
use these tools. More than one-third of large companies
use smart phones, followed by 18 percent of midsize
organizations and 17 percent of small companies.
Complete Article
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03/18/2005 Servers Alive!
and NotePager Pro Combine to Form a Powerful Solution |
We are pleased to announce a partnership with Woodstone,
makers of Servers Alive!
Servers Alive monitors and easily informs users of
system problems. By using NotePager Pro in combination
with Servers Alive, alerts can be sent to pagers and
cellular phones, adding another level of notification
to network management.
Additional Details on Servers Alive!
|
03/17/2005 Cingular Passes
50 Million Subscriber Milestone |
Cingular Wireless, which became the largest U.S.
wireless operator after merging with AT&T Wireless
last fall, claimed Tuesday that it has passed the
50 million subscriber milestone.
"Attaining 50 million customers is a key indicator
that our merger with AT&T Wireless is working
and working robustly," Cingular president and CEO
Stan Sigman said in a statement. " Before the merger,
Verizon Wireless was the largest U.S. carrier. When
the merger was closed last October, Cingular had about
47 million subscribers, meaning it has added three
million since the merger.
|
03/16/2005 Wireless Carriers
Post Rapid Growth In Ring-Tone, Game Revenues |
Revenues from ring tones and mobile games are expected
to grow rapidly over the next five years, but messaging
is expected to remain the strongest source of non-voice
revenues for mobile phone operators, a market research
firm said Tuesday.
Ring-tone revenues are expected to increase to $734
million in 2009 from $217 million in 2004, which was
more than double the $91 million collected by wireless
carriers in 2003, JupiterResearch, a subsidiary of
Jupitermedia Corp., said.
|
03/15/2005 Poll of cellphone
users finds majority get annoyed at public use |
A majority of cellphone users acknowledge they get
irritated at other people for using cellphones in
a public place.
The University of Michigan poll found that six in
10 users say that using a cellphone in public can
be "a major irritation."
About four in 10 said there should a law that prohibits
people from talking on cellphones in public places
like museums, movie theatres and restaurants. Eight
in 10 said cellphones are a major safety hazard if
used while driving. But cellphone users also like
the convenience that cellphones can bring.
|
03/15/2005 Communists
Turn to Text Messaging to Revive Party |
You may think SMS on cell phones is impossible to
use but in Europe, it's become an important political
communications tool.
After decades of hammers and sickles, red flags and
wordy slogans, Russia's Communists are looking to
a propaganda device Lenin and Stalin never dreamed
of: cellphone text messaging.
The Communist Party is struggling to regain influence
and broaden its aging support base, and its leaders
on Saturday called for a fresh propaganda push to
attract younger Russians and gain attention despite
being largely shut out by the Kremlin-dominated news
media.
At a party plenary meeting outside Moscow that focused
on propaganda - a word that in Russia evokes images
of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution - first deputy chairman
Ivan Melnikov said the Communists should turn to methods
such as graffiti and cell phone messaging.
Members of the party's youth wing "could use telephones
to send political jokes or rhymes, or attract attention
to events - anything that motivates a person to send
the message along to someone else," Melnikov said
in comments broadcast on NTV television.
Advertisement Drink Less Water "Perfect"
|
03/14/2005 The Bat! and
NotePager Pro Work Together |
We are pleased to announce a partnership with RITLabs
The Bat!
Using The Bat! in conjunction with NotePager Pro allows
users to have important emails directed to pagers
and cell phones, ensuring that they are able to respond
quickly and efficiently even when working remotely.
Additional Details - https://www.notepage.net/ritlabs/the-bat.htm
|
03/11/2005 New Even Higher-Tech
Cell Phones Unveiled |
The mobile phone is a phone no more. The new models
unveiled at the CeBIT technology show Wednesday let
users do far more than just call a friend to catch
up.
How about sending them a brief film clip of you standing
by a fountain in Rome? Or perhaps a photo of the Eiffel
Tower with an image quality so fine it could be blown
up and placed in a 10x14-inch frame.
Between a new Samsung handset that sports a seven-megapixel
camera - better resolution than most nonprofessional
digital cameras - and a wide range of mobiles that
download and stream music like an MP3 player, cell
"phones" are now a lot more than just a keypad and
three hours of talk time.
The slew of new features on phones is an astounding
leap from just two years ago, when an integrated camera
that took fuzzy images was an attention-getter. And
since 2002, music and mobiles has meant much more
than just ringtones.
All these new bells and whistles have become a big
selling point, not just for the makers, but for the
carriers who want to increase their revenue.
"This is the first time that (next-generation) phones
are getting close to being sexy and attractive," said
Leif-Olof Wallin, who follows mobile phone development
and marketing for the Meta Group from Sweden.
|
03/10/2005 Revenues from
Mobile Games Set to Mushroom by 78% in 2005 |
The onset of mass multiplayer gaming, a widening
gaming demographic, greater playability, and increased
adoption of mobile services in emerging markets point
to a fast expanding market for mobile games, according
to a new report from Juniper Research.
“With console games, customers are obliged to make
the commitment to purchase a fairly expensive piece
of hardware. The beauty of mobile is that it provides
a potential global audience of several hundred million
2.5G users who already have that hardware in the form
of their handset,” said report author, Dr Windsor
Holden.
Dr Holden added that developers and publishers were
now recognising the need to expand the demographic
beyond the core gamer.
|
03/09/2005 Nokia Starts
Pilot Test For Cell Phone TV Viewing |
TV on mobile phone handsets is being tested by 500
subscribers in Finland, Nokia announced Tuesday.
Real-time television programming from several popular
outlets is transmitted to Nokia 7710 smartphones fitted
with special accessory appliances in the Helsinki
capital region, Nokia reported.
"The Nokia smartphone also enables direct links to
the Internet for access to background information
on TV programs or sports results," the firm stated.
"the project tests mobile TV services and consumer
experiences, as well as the underlying technology."
Subscribers are also able to receive popular radio
programs in the test, which is scheduled to continue
until June 20.
|
03/09/2005 How Safe Is
Private Cell Phone Data? |
The recent hacking of Paris Hilton's address book-stored
on the TV celebrity's Sidekick II smart phone and
backed up by T-Mobile's server-has raised questions
in the engineering community about whether personal
data is adequately protected in the current generation
of cellular products.
In Hilton's case, industry observers think the attack
penetrated T-Mobile's server rather than the client
phone from Danger Inc. Nonetheless, to stave off such
attacks, chip vendors, subscriber identity module
(SIM) card manufacturers and mobile-handset companies
are already strategizing new security features in
the next wave of phone and network designs.
While there are operator-specific implementations
for protecting private data stored in a handset and
in a network, a personal identification number (PIN)
is one of the most common ways to safeguard personal
information on the phone today. "If an intruder gains
access to a user's telephone physically [that is,
if it is stolen], the only defense against data theft
is typically PIN-based security of the handset itself,"
said Mike Yonker, director of technology strategy
at Texas Instruments Inc.
A step beyond the PIN, questions about mobile security
abound. Where should critical information be stored-in
SIM cards or handset memory? What sort of hardware/software
blocks should be added to a handset for security?
Does a secure protocol exist in the communication
path from an individual SIM card to an operator's
database? How should data stored by the mobile operators
be protected?
Complete Article
|
03/08/2005 Yahoo Launching
Mobile Games Studio |
Yahoo Inc. says it has acquired technology to take
its popular Web-based parlor and card games from personal
computers to mobile devices.
In a deal announced Friday, Yahoo said it will integrate
technology from New Jersey-based Stadeon, Inc. to
permit multiplayer games across multiple platforms.
Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed.
Complete Article
|
03/08/2005 Nokia drops
plans to develop fuel cells |
Nokia has dropped plans to develop mobile phones
with fuel cells for at least the next few years, a
spokesman for the Finnish company said Thursday.
The world's largest cell-phone maker, which only eight
months ago signaled its commitment to fuel cells,
said the technology isn't yet mature.
However, Nokia's Matti Naskali left the door open
for future use of the technology. "Fuel-cell technology
is promising and Nokia continues to follow it closely,"
he said.
In a cell phone, a fuel cell would remove the need
for a rechargeable battery, instead allowing a user
to recharge it the same way a cigarette lighter is
refilled when it runs out of butane.
Complete Article
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03/07/2005 Vendors Converge
Cellular-WLAN In Wireless Switch |
Wireless switch vendor Airespace said Monday that
it and Kineto Wireless have converged GSM access into
a wireless switch for enterprises.
The convergence uses a technology called Unlicensed
Mobile Access (UMA), which enables seamless transfers
between GSM-based cellular voice and data systems
and wireless LANs. The convergence of WLANs and GSM
networks, and the ability to roam between the two,
will make voice-over-WLAN more powerful, the companies
said in a statement.
Complete Article
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