The future is mobile, Is it?

Mobile phone is becoming an intelligent all-purpose gadget day by day. It can be used, as remote control for TV/DVD/VCR player, for banking, as mPaper for reading news, for booking tickets be it air, rail or a mundane movie ticket.

Do you think users are ready to share confidential information like credit card numbers, bank account numbers through operator network, or they are seeing it as a potential medium for making life easier?

Would love to know your thoughts on it.

mPaper

Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, two leading publications of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd., will now be available as an mPaper, enabling mobile phone users to access the newspapers.

The technology was deployed by Pressmart, an ePaper technology expert along with IMImobile to establish end-to-end mobile VAS enabler.

“mPaper will become an exciting new category of technology that will give people a newspaper reading experience from their favourite WAP enabled handsets,” said IMImobile, CEO, A.R. Vishwanath.

Source: iSource updates

Sony Ericsson to set up manufacturing unit in India

Sony Ericsson will have low-cost, color screen, and music playing mobile handsets made in India through manufacturing agreements with Flextronics and Foxconn. The announcement came today at an event in Chennai from the President of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Miles Flint.

Initial focus would be on manufacturing basic color phones, and mid-level music-enabled phones for local distribution. The phones would also offer customized features for the Indian market, such as local content and customized keypads.

Source: Techtree

Star 'Plus' Mobile Infotainment

Star Mobile Entertainment has announced the launch of 'PLUS', a new and convenient 24-hour solution for consumers to catch up on TV, search for information, shop and bank on-the-go, and access entertainment and information, all on their mobile phones.

PLUS is a mobile service that can be downloaded on a mobile phone to give users a one-stop entertainment, information, and services on a mobile while on the move. It has an easy entertainment point-and-click navigation that enables consumers to send an SMS, dial-out to the entertainment service, watch delayed-live TV clips, and download a range of rich content on mobile devices.

To make use of this service, one needs a mobile phone that is GPRS- or WAP-enabled. Currently, the application is compatible with over 120 handsets, and new ones are constantly being added onto the list.

PLUS provides daily mobisodes of popular content from Star Plus, Star Gold, and Star One. It also brings to the mobile phones the latest happenings in the world of movies, music, and sport. PLUS offers a range of information services in partnership with brands, including banking and related services from HDFC Bank; travel and ticketing by MakeMyTrip.com and TravelGuru.com; Yellow Pages information from Infomedia Group; music content from Universal Music; design tips from Better Interiors; information about cars from Overdrive; gadget news from T3; audiophiles can get advice from AVMAX; advice from Better Photography; and computing information from Chip.

Besides, the consumer will be able to preview ringtones, wallpapers, and games before downloading, and also be a part of the 'PLUS Community'. PLUS will be commercially available for usage before the end of next month.

Source: Techtree

Reliance, Lenovo and Intel...

Reliance, Lenovo and Intel have come together to provide mobile data connectivity to customers. As part of the initiative, Intel-powered Lenovo notebooks connected with Reliance's Netconnect data card -- which offers wireless Internet access on the move, will be present in 200 Reliance World and Reliance Communication out lets in 100 cities.

Source: iSource updates

Microsoft Sandbox for telecom world

Microsoft's new programme - Sandbox will offer developer tools to telecom companies to produce web-based applications for mobile phones.

The programme - 'Connected Services Sandbox' - would combine application programming interfaces (API) from different sources with telecom services. It would enable companies to develop and test web services combined with traditional telecom offerings such as voice, video and data services.

Source: iSource updates

MVNOs soon in India

Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) may soon become a reality in India. TRAI is set to recommend that virtual networks be allowed in India, giving a new lease of life to the plans of global players such as Richard Branson-owned Virgin Telecom, Telekom Malaysia and others who want to enter the Indian market through virtual networks. Even RCom is keen to take the MVNO route for its GSM foray in some telecom circles.

MVNOs do not own either infrastructure (switches, base stations etc) nor spectrum. They are marketing and branding outfits buy airtime in bulk, say a million minutes, from other operators. This comes with the right to use infrastructure and spectrum.

Source: iSource Updates

Motion sensors- The next big thing in mobile phones

Dean bubley's take on motion sensor in iPhone
http://disruptivewireless.blogspot.com/2007/01/motion-sensors-next-big-thing-in-mobile.html

Top 10 Global Wireless Predictions for 2007

• Mobilized Social Networking
• Mobile TV
• Cheaper Multi-Function Devices
• Location-Based Services- GPS
• AOL, Yahoo! and Google Multimedia Platforms Challenge IMS
• China and India Tilt Equipment Market
• Mobile Advertising
• Wireless Providers Move into Home Entertainment
• Wireless Security
• Enterprise Mobility

http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Jan2007/4183.htm

Yes you read it right! Its 4G

China has launched the world's first fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication system in Shanghai. The 4G system provides speedy wireless transmission of data and images; with a speed of up to 100 MBPS, which is many times faster than the technology that is presently being used.

The research on B3G/4G (beyond 3G) was initiated in 2001 in China under the aegis of 'Future Technology for Universal Radio Environment'. The project involves about 10 leading domestic institutions, and has successfully obtained over 200 patents till now. China expects to conduct 4G technology field tests and begin trials for commercial use somewhere between 2006 and 2010.

Source: Techtree

MotoRAZR MAXX V6 Ferrari

Ferrari's partnership with Motorola has lead to a MotoRAZR MAXX V6 with the Ferrari branding all over it. It's called the V6 Ferrari but doesn't mean that it has 6 Valve engine running it.



















Phone Specifications:

• 2 MP camera
• MicroSD expansion slot
• Bluetooth 2.0
• USB 2.0 connectivity
• Supports standard GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA.

The phone has a black finish instead of the traditional Rosso Corsa (Ferrari Red) paint. The phone has the Ferrari branding all over with the logo on the outside and a full fledged Ferrari theme sporting the Ferrari F430. Every time you startup the phone there is a F430 engine roar.

Source: Techtree

More than 40 billion SMS in 2006

The Mobile Data Association has announced that with the number of SMS messages sent topping 4 billion in December, the UK has seen more than 41.8 billion SMS messages sent during the year.

Person-to-person SMS sent across the UK GSM network operators throughout the last month of the year show a growth of 38% on the December 2005 figure of 3.1 billion, and represent an average of 138 million messages per day. On Christmas Day this leapt to 205 million texts, an average of 8 million per hour, with the figure for New Year's Day 2007 even higher reaching a record breaking 214 million, the highest daily total ever recorded by the MDA.

Source: 160characters

UK users shows increase in wireless Internet access

The number of UK mobile phone users accessing the internet on their handsets continued to grow during the last quarter of 2006. According to figures announced by the Mobile Data Association (MDA), an overall total of 45.6 million unique users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile internet in the UK throughout October, November and December last year, an average of 15 million each month.

Source: Cellular News

Technology Vs Simplicity

Technology marches on with new and advanced products hitting the high-street daily. However, even with today's reliance on computers and mobile phones, over half of people feel that modern technology has now become too complicated and could turn their back on technology.

Mobile phones are now ubiquitous, yet many remain baffled by their features. The majority, almost two thirds (61%), use only four features on their mobile phone - calls, text messages, alarm clock and camera while two fifths don't even know if their mobile phone has a camera function.

The research also shows that women lag behind men in their use of technology with only two thirds of women regularly using a computer compared with men. Mobile phones, however, are equally popular with both sexes.

Source: Cellular News

Mumbai dabbawallahs are again in limelight, but not for dabbas...

Airtel has partnered with the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Trust, the dabbawallahs association, to sell its pre-paid cards, new connections and bundled handsets. White-clad dabbawallahs touch nearly 2 lakh households and 70 local stations as they carry home cooked food for office-goers and school kids across Mumbai. Bharti is looking at using their reach to expand its user base. With hectic work schedules, users who don’t have the time to step out of office can easily buy a recharge voucher or a new connection from a dabbawallah, who visits them on all weekdays.

The dabbawallahs will provide the registration form to prospective customers and collect the filled forms. This partnership will provide more visibility to brand Airtel in Mumbai & will also increase the earnings of dabbawallahs, which is around Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,000 per month.

Source: iSource updates

Telecom blackout in 2010

Flares from Sun can cause a telecommunication blackout forcing mobile phones and navigational systems to go off in year 2010. As 2010 approaches, more and more scientists around the world will be tuning their telescopes towards the Sun to try and detect sudden eruption of highly destructive solar flares, which have the ability to cause a 'telecommunication blackout' across the globe.

Solar flares and coronoal mass ejections (CME) from the Sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a black out of cellular phone services and navigational systems such as the GPS (Global Positioning System)

Source: iSource updates