Month: February 2004

Alcatel Offers New Mobile Game and Music Video Services

Alcatel have announced two partnerships in a programme to provide mobile media and entertaiment to its customers.

First off: stealing a march on Nokia’s ailing N-Gage multiplayer efforts, “Xploded” is a game developed by wireless games firm BeTomorrow, and supports up to forty players in the same game.

Alcatel have also partnered with Universal Mobile to offer a new range of multimedia services using Universal content. Proposed offerings include video mailboxes and other video delivery services.

We’re certainly looking forward to forty-way Jerry Springer death-matches.

BeTomorrow

Two New 3G Handsets from Motorola

The A1000 and E1000 from Motorola are two new, feature-rich phones aimed at covering two separate, but often intersecting, markets: business users and gamers.

The A1000 is intended to meet mobile business needs, is based on the Symbian 7.0 OS. Along with the usual camera/gprs/streaming/email/browser package we’ve come to expect, it allows users to view files of a number of formats whilst on the move, including Microsoft Office and PDFs.

The standard PIM applications are all here: calendar, contacts and notes, and the phone will synchronise with your desktop/laptop though USB and Bluetooth.

As the phone supports the J2ME platform, further applications and treats can be downloaded and installed.

The other phone, the E1000 is an attempt to get into the rapidly growing mobile gaming and entertainment market. The phone features a camera and MP3 player and promises a very striking 260,000 colour display, with 240×320 resolution.

The E1000 will offer location-based services through A-GPS, which could provide interesting and innovative entertainment applications in the very near future.

Infosync World

Vodafone’s Connect Card Wins at Cannes

Vodafone’s Mobile Connect Card, launched in April 2003 has won the Best Mobile Application or Service: Corporate Market at the 2004 GSM Association Awards in Cannes.

The card is essentially a rebadged Option Globetrotter with a Vodafone data service and software suite. The package is designed to provide simple and secure access to company networks and the internet, and is plug and play thanks to the Vodafone dashboard and software.

Vodafone’s new version of the card, the Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS datacard will be available in many areas of Europe in the next month.

ZDNet’s review of the card

Ofcom Chair: UK with True Broadband by 2010

Fifty days in to Ofcom’s existence, its Chair David Currie delivered a speech to the Communications Management Association conference. He recapped on what Ofcom had been doing, then outlined where he felt it was going, focusing mainly on broadband.

We feel the most exciting part of the speech was, in his words, True Broadband.

Anyone with a real understanding of why broadband is such a vital part of the future will be hugely encouraged by his words. In summary, what is currently being sold as broadband to the UK consumer and many other around the world, a 512k connection, is not broadband. It is the equivalent of a 1200/75-baud modem.

We heartily agree with Currie view that ‘DSL at 512k is a convenience product’. He argues that it is not practical or possible for the UK to lurch from a 512k connection to something much faster – the current copper-wire based system we have simply would not support it.

Instead a target of 10Mbps should be set for 2010 and that it should be provided competitively. We read this as; the long lasting monopoly that BT has, and does enjoy will be removed. His comparison with the multi-supplier mobile market bears this out. In our view BT consistently hoodwinked Oftel. At first glance it looks like they will not have the same joy with Ofcom.

This was further underlined by his praise of the Parliamentary Trade and Industry Select Committee point that

‘[we must] make certain that the regulatory framework ensures that commercial decisions by private companies are aligned with the wider economic and social needs of the country.’

He and his colleagues clearly recognise and understand what is required for a proper broadband service. With connections being symmetric rather than the slow transmit, asymmetric we have now, he identified the need for the network to enable distributed system, not just central services delivering to the ends of the network. We also find it encouraging that he reiterated the pursuit of wireless connections.

Currie states his aim is ‘Liquid bandwidth; all you can eat; always on. No contention.’

Very encouraging.

Full text
David Currie, Ofcom chairman, Communications Management Association Annual Conference, 16 February 2004

The Connected Consumer: Opportunities & Challenges Facing Broadband Providers

In just a few years, the opportunities and challenges faced by broadband providers have grown remarkably. In this half-day workshop, Parks Associates’ analysts will provide insight and understanding about the “connected consumer” and the broadband-enabled services which leverage in-home & mobile connectivity. Research provided includes Parks’ latest consumer data. San Diego Convention Center, USA http://www.parksassociates.com/2003_design/events/workshops/2004/bb_wireless.htm

Nokia and Samsung Work Together on Push to Talk

Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) is felt by the mobile phone business to become an exciting advance for consumers and business user alike.  PoC give a walkie-talkie style connection between two phones.

Nokia have been working on the technology for a while and have developed an open standards approach, which they have put forward to the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) for use by the industry. They currently have it on trial with 30 operators around the world.

To underline how useful it is, Nokia must be pleased to announce today that Samsung will be releasing products in 2004/5 that will use the standard.

Nokia Announce Updated 9500 Communicator

After having blazed a trail with their originally Communicator almost ten years ago, Nokia have worked for the last year to develop and have now releases a new compact, lighter version called the 9500.

Working closely with IBM to target it at corporate users, they feel it will be particular useful to sales and support staff. This is being perceived as Nokia determination to be a big player in this market which Microsoft is applying a lot of attention to, as are Symbians co-developer Psion. Andy Brown, analyst at research group IDC says “The world’s number one in e-business services hooks up with the number one in mobile devices. This tells me Nokia is serious about developing products for enterprises, which I wasn’t sure about before.”

Thought to retail for around 800 euros (£538, US$1,000), it now support WiFi as well as cellular communications.