GSM-R: Railways own mobile network

RailTel Corp, the 100 percent subsidiary of the Indian Railways, has decided to rope in private cellular operators to build a special mobile network — GSM-R — dedicated for railway officials.

GSM-R services will be available to a 2 lakh-strong CUG (Closed user Group) of senior railway staffers and will be available across its 63,000-km maze of tracks nationally. The GSM-R services will be available on a monthly rental basis and RailTel has decided to source GSM-R compatible handsets from leading cellular operators.

RailTel also plans to offer cellular coverage along its tracks to enable travelling passengers avail of mobile phone services seamlessly while on board.

It will also offer location-based addressing allowing loco drivers to dial a single number to contact the nearest station master depending on location of the train. GSM-R will enable one-way broadcast communication and allow calls to be established within small groups.

Source: isource updates

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'YouTube' for Mobile Phones

Moblr, the world’s first free mobile video sharing service, launches in the UK today. The service enables users to upload video clips that have been filmed using a mobile phone to http://www.moblr.com where they can be shared with friends, family and the Moblr community. Moblr means that users are no longer tied to their PCs to watch video - videos can be accessed and shared anywhere, anytime and for free from a mobile phone.

With video cameras as standard on most mobile phones, more and more people are capturing ‘You’ve Been Framed’ type clips on their phones. However, most find it too expensive to send them to their friends via MMS. With Moblr, users can simply upload the clip to the Moblr site from their 3G phone and Moblr will forward a SMS message to alert their friends and family that the clip is available to view.

Moblr automatically converts files into a format that is compatible with most mobile phones and PCs. This means that videos can be passed from one mobile phone to another and from a PC to a mobile phone without any problems.

Source: 3g.co.uk

The Google phone

Google is on the move. The internet giant has held talks with Orange, the mobile phone operator, about a multi-billion-dollar partnership to create a 'Google phone' which makes it easy to search the web wherever you are.

The collaboration between two of the most powerful brands in technology is seen as a potential catalyst for making internet use of mobile phones as natural as on desktop computers and laptops.

Source: Guardian unlimited

Opera Mini pre-installed in Nokia 6300

Opera Mini Web browser is shipping in most markets with selected Nokia 6300s, says Opera Software.

Opera Mini is a Java-based Web browser that enables full Internet access on the majority of mobile phones in the market. By using a server to pre-process and compress Web sites before sending them to the handset, Opera Mini offers a remarkably fast browsing experience as it reduces the size of data transferred.

Opera Mini launched in January 2006 and has since gained more than eight million users. It is available as a free download at www.operamini.com.

Source: mobilemonday