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Archive Category: Phones

SmartVideo shows cell phone streaming video

LAS VEGAS -- At the National Association of Broadcasters show this week, SmartVideo Technologies will be demonstrating its high quality streaming video to narrowband Internet and cell phones. SmartVideo says it wireless technology provides a unique outlet for owners and distributors of video content to make their content available to any audience, anytime, anywhere.

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European mobile users resist 3G prospects

LONDON -- The results of a survey of mobile phone users in six European countries are coming as a shock to the industry, which has been investing heavily in new technologies and is just a few months away from the widespread launch of 3G across Europe. The message is clear that most users are saying "don't forget voice" and "I don't really need anything more than what I have now"

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Siemens announces mobile phone with video

HANOVER, Germany -- Just about the time you have finally justified the expense for a mobile picture phone as yet another electronic toy (no, make that "tool") along comes Siemens Mobile with a portable phone that has a built-in video camera.

At the large trade show CeBIT 2004 this week, Siemens Information and Communication Mobile (Siemens mobile) is launching the high performance S65 business class mobile phone. This triband S65 is the first Siemens handset with a 1.3 MegaPix integrated video camera, and offers a suite of business software, a 65k high-resolution color display and 32MB of memory.

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Unused satellite phone minutes now carry forward

TORONTO -- Month-to-month rollover minutes for ordinary mobile phone service might not be all that important to many business travellers. But, for those who travel internationally and use the more expensive Iridium satellite phones, the option to carry forward unused minutes to the next month could be an attractive cost control feature.

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Single SIM card offers Greater China roaming

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- International travelers may now have one less complaint about incompatible mobile phone networks. Roamware, Inc., a global provider of voice and data roaming systems, has announced that it is providing its new SIMM service to Hong Kong CSL, enabling subscribers across the Greater China region to use multiple local mobile numbers in multiple destinations with one SIM card.

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Tech-savvy Americans switching to wireless

WASHINGTON -- A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that as people surround themselves with the latest technological gadgets and services, the landline telephone plays a less prominent role in their communication routines and the television recedes in importance as an information appliance.

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AT&T and Microsoft to deliver wireless services

REDMOND, Wash. -- AT&T Wireless and Microsoft's MSN have formed an alliance that will offer consumers subscriptions to MSN Mobile services delivered through AT&T Wireless’ mMode-capable phones nationwide by the end of the year. The deal will give AT&T Wireless customers mobile access to MSN network content, their MSN Hotmail e-mail accounts, MSN Messenger and other offerings as a premium paid service.

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New York Times offered for mobile devices

NEW YORK -- NYTimes.com is partnering with Vindigo Studios, a developer and publisher of consumer information and entertainment applications for mobile devices, to launch NYTimes.com Mobile News with Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless service provider in the USA.

The new subscription service, priced at $3.75 monthly access, is available to Verizon Wireless customers with select Get It Now-capable phones. These customers can now download The New York Times's award-winning news coverage in an easy-to-read format, to read on their phones via a fast and flexible interface.

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Motorola, Nextel announce location services

Motorola and Nextel Communications have announced several location-based services, ranging from voice-enabled driving directions to asset tracking solutions, that can now turn Motorola's GPS (global positioning satellite) enabled iDEN mobile phones into sophisticated workforce management and navigational devices for Nextel customers.

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Opera browser on Portuguese mobile phones

LISBON -- Optimus, Portuguese mobile operator, and Opera Software have agreed to include Opera's Web browser on Optimus Zone, the new multimedia Optimus’ offer, supported on Nokia 3650 and Nokia 7650 and other smartphones. Optimus is the first mobile operator to choose Opera as the default browser for its smartphones. 

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Integrated wireless offered to business travelers

TORONTO -- Roadpost, a global provider of voice and data communications for the business traveler, has launched an integrated WiFi, Ethernet and dial-up service. The new service was described as the first of its kind in North America to combine all three Internet connection options under one North America unlimited dial-up plan of US$19.95 per month for 150 hours.

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Blogging software for mobile phones launched

By Ken Smith | Editor, SmartTravelNews.com

CANNES, France -- Text messaging and taking and sending small-file photos with a mobile phone are not yet popular in the United States, but much of the rest of the world is wildly enthusiastic. If the exhibits and talk in the aisles at the 3GSM World Congress this week are an indication of the next big thing, then we may soon see many new applications in handheld mobile communications. The mobile phone is not just for voice any longer.

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Europeans slow to adopt next generation phones

AMSTERDAM -- Europe's mobile industry is looking to a wide variety of GPRS and 3G services to drive the new revenues that it desperately needs to fund infrastructure investment. To drive the early uptake of new handsets and mobile applications, a new Technographics Report by Forrester Research advises operators and manufacturers to focus only on two specific consumer segments in the next 12 months.

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Microsoft and AT&T form wireless alliance

SEATTLE -- Microsoft and AT&T Wireless have formed a strategic alliance intended to dramatically simplify the way companies provide integrated wireless data services to their employees. The marketing theme of the two companies is that this new, comprehensive alliance was created to keep North American companies, and the mobile professionals who work for them, connected to valuable corporate information while on the go.

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Mobile phone withdraws cash from Danish ATM

By Ken Smith | Editor, SmartTravelNews.com

AALBORG, Denmark -- Now here's a pilot project that should catch the attention of everybody in the travel and hospitality industries. If a mobile phone can be used to withdraw cash from a bank's automated teller machine with all the security and encryption that that entails, how much of a leap can it be before wireless handheld devices are used for airline boarding passes, keyless hotel entry, and many other applications?

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Germany's E-Plus launches i-mode mobile

By Ken Smith | Editor, SmartTravelNews.com

E-Plus, the German subsidiary of the Dutch company KPN Mobile, this week launches wireless Internet services using NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service. E-Plus is the first European operator using i-mode and expectations are high that German consumers will adopt the new technology as quickly as did the Japanese.

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Motorola offers cell phone power hand crank

LAS VEGAS -- How many times has this happened to you? You haven’t had a chance to charge your phone, but you grab it and try to make a call anyway, anxiously await the connection and the phone battery dies. Thanks to FreeCharge, a portable self-sufficient power source for wireless phones jointly developed by Motorola and Freeplay Energy Group, you will now be able to continue your conversations or mobile Internet session for an extended time even if your battery is low or if your battery dies and you are not near a power outlet.

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Nokia, Lycos Europe work on multimedia messaging

GÜTERSLOH, Germany -- Nokia and Lycos Europe will work together to develop multimedia messaging services (MMS), the two companies announced this week. Lycos Europe recently launched its Mobile Channel, merging its communities with the power of mobile technology. The Lycos new channel is currently built around its mainstay SMS service, which the company claims is the leading SMS Web-to-phone and phone-to-Web service in Europe. 

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Study finds increasing demand for world phones

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- As international travel growth continues the importance of always being in contact carries over from daily life into all travel situations. The demand for world phones will increase significantly over the next five years, according to Cahners In-Stat Group. The research firm forecasts that the total number of world phone subscribers will be approximately 91 million in the year 2005.

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Handspring introduces combo mobile phone, PDA

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Handspring today introduced the Treo family of compact communicators, combining a GSM mobile phone, wireless email, messaging and web browsing, and a Palm OS organizer in a small, lightweight handheld device. Treo will be available in two versions: the Treo 180, featuring a built-in keyboard for text input, and the Treo 180g for those who prefer Graffiti text input. Handspring said both will be available in early 2002 for an estimated street price of $399 with GSM service activation.

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Mobile users like key pads, not speech recognition

NEW YORK  -- United Airlines has been working with speech recognition for two years. Travelocity launched new voice technology this month. And, also this month Datacomm Research described voice recognition as an "essential ingredient" to mobile data's growth.

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Making your mobile phone go global

By Christopher Elliott | The Travel Technologist

It is without a doubt one of the most laughable but little-noticed ironies of the information age: our cellular phones don't like to travel. Think about it. Those ultra-light wireless devices that are meant to be taken everywhere are practically useless outside of North America. It's not that they aren't portable, per se, but that they're rarely compatible with another cellular network. You might as well leave the handsets at home. 

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Coca-Cola, DoCoMo test wireless vending machines

By Ken Smith | Editor, SmartTravelNews.com

If it is technologically possible to conduct a commercial transaction between a mobile phone and a soft drink vending machine, when will it be possible to similarly buy an airline ticket or book a hotel room? If the advance publicity is to be believed, the answer is "not long, maybe even tomorrow."

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Motorola markets full-size mobile phone keyboard

Motorola and Think Outside have announced the first portable keyboard for wireless phones. The Motorola iBoard keyboard was designed by Think Outside in cooperation with Motorola for use with the Motorola i85s and i50sx Internet-ready wireless handsets and future models. The keyboard leverages and extends the mobile computing power of these handsets, giving users the option of a full-size keyboard for such tasks as composing e-mail messages and entering date book appointments. 

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Growing number of US workers using wireless

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- U.S. businesses are allowing a growing number of employees to use a variety of wireless services, according to a set of recent reports from high-tech market research firm, Cahners In-Stat Group. In-Stat's research determined that roughly 47% of the U.S. workforce will have access to wireless voice, pagers and/or mobile computing devices, like Palm Pilots, by the end of 2001. 

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