BT has today announced its plans to set up wide-area Wi-Fi networks in 12 cities, giving perambulating folks access to high-speed Internet and telecoms services.
The first phase will see BT installing Wi-Fi hotspots covering large areas in Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool and London’s Westminster area, with services scheduled to be running in all 12 metropolitan areas by February next year.
“We have been thrilled with the overwhelming response of local authorities and businesses wanting to be part of this wireless revolution,” enthused BT’s chief of converged services, Steve Andrews.
“This first phase of 12 cities is just the start. We are already negotiating with many other cities,” he continued.
Lovely, lovely Cardiff was the city chosen for the first roll out of the Wireless City scheme, with BT Openzone hotspots being installed in many locations in the city centre.
Meanwhile, the bustling heart of Westminster has already seen a dedicated high-bandwidth wireless network being installed, now in the process of being extended.
Sadly, the Wi-Fi service won’t be free to Joe Public, but BT says it intends to develop a range of information and public services for the local authorities and split costs and revenues for such services.
BT is also looking to use the service to promote a Wi-Fi version of its BT Fusion mobile phone services which will be launched later this year.
The Fusion phone currently uses Bluetooth but the updated version will allow consumers to switch from a mobile network to a cheaper Internet network when the phone comes within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Nordic mobile goliaths Nokia have unveiled an upgrade for their Nokia 770 Internet Tablet which gives the chunky device VoIP and instant messaging capabilities through Google Talk.
Sales weren’t too hot though, but Nokia reckon that by bolting on VoIP phone capabilities they can turbo charge unit-shifting, with Virtanen insisting that internet telephony is “the key for us to reach higher sales volumes.”
The updated OS also boasts enhanced text typing with full-screen finger keyboard, improved memory performance and a ‘refreshed’ look (did they throw a bucket of water at it, or something?).
Homechoice have just done a Video on Demand (VoD) deal with CNN to carry their content. It’s the first VoD deal that CNN International have done, meaning the first outside the US.
CNN, like many other content creators are starting to ramp up their alternative channels for output, thinking beyond the POTV (Plain Old TeleVision). Last week they announced a deal with Telewest to deliver an interactive text-based version of the CNN news service.
The much-anticipated launch of the low-end new Intel-powered MacBook’s has just happened – or IntelMac for the rest of us as it might become known (or not).
The screen sounds like a significant improvement. Apple refer to it as a ‘glossy widescreen display’ and it’s 79% brighter than the previous, with “incredibly crisp images with richer colours, deeper blacks and significantly greater contrast.” We’d imagine that it’s like those great Sony laptop screens and will become a big seducer.
Palm have announced the successor to their hugely successful Palm OS-powered Treo 650 smartphone, the Treo 700p.
Bundled with the phone is DataViz’ Documents To Go for reading and editing Microsoft Office files, a PDF viewer and an email client that works with Exchange Server 2003 via ActiveSync, plus POP and IMAP accounts.
So much so that we’re even prepared to forgive the omission of Wi-Fi in the latest Treo (Palm in the US insist that EV-DO should be enough.)
As you’re no doubt aware, Guy Kewney is a contributor to Digital-Lifestyles. His old-school journalism is well-informed and his experience with technology is extensive. He’d been a journalist hero of ours since we were knee high to a 
You must 
According to one paper this morning, the BBC has deleted the entire damning video. Untrue, I suspect; but even if true, the clip has circulated widely enough that it would be futile. And now that the Mail has done the deed and published the complete clip, you can actually download it.
Straight out of the school of Advanced Homage to iPods comes this new music phone from South Korean phone maker Pantech.
Rounding off the phone’s feature set is stereo audio-enabled Bluetooth and a speakerphone in the 10.2 x 4.7 x 1.8cm package which weighs in at 94.1g.
It comes as no surprise to the more cynical amongst us, but MySpace is set to offer downloadable digital content for sale from its sister company, Fox.
To entice users to fork out for the full service, Burger King will be offering free downloads of each of the first episodes from series one and five of ’24’
The Burger King/Fox/MySpace love-in reflects the growing power of MySpace as a new distribution platform and advertising magnet, leading Bambi Francisco of MarketWatch to wonder what might happen if MySpace developed a 
Skype’s new Language Line Personal Interpreter service claims to make it easy to “talk instantly to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world, regardless of language.”
“Our consumers can now use the Skype technology to easily communicate in the languages their customers and friends prefer to speak,” he added.
Unfortunately this book tries to be all things to all users – and Linux distros – which makes it extremely hard to follow. However, if there’s a specific thing being looked for, the information is probably there. It’s just a matter of finding it.