Wireless

Wireless connections

‘Lost’ clips to debut over mobile on 3 – News Release
3 is to bring the smash TV hit Lost to the small screen. Following a deal between the UK’s largest video mobile network, Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG), divisions of The Walt Disney Company Ltd, a mobile audience of over 3.2 million will be able to watch show recaps and previews of the action from Channel 4’s top-rated series. This is The Walt Disney Company’s first mobile video content agreement in Europe.
Lost is a gripping series which follows the survivors of a plane crash, stranded together on a remote, hostile island. As the group of strangers work together to create order in their makeshift community, and to stay alive, there appear to be darker forces at work around them. The show makes its debut over mobile this week.
3’s service includes 2-3 minute recaps of every episode, available for the length of the series, so fans can catch up on the plot at any stage, plus behind the scenes interview and previews of the next episode. Each clip will cost 50p.
Lost is the latest prime time series to be made available on 3, following Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity and the X factor.
Already, millions of viewers hooked on Lost are debating conspiracy theories, scrutinising the characters and speculating on the plot’s twists and turns.
Graeme Oxby. 3’s Marketing Director, said: It’s compulsive, addictive television that gets people talking – it’s exactly the sort of TV our customers will watch.
“Every one of our 3.2million customers has a TV in their pocket. This new service means our customers will never be behind the plot and can keep on top of the action, wherever they are.”
Tom Toumazis, executive vice president & managing director, BVITV EMEA said: “Lost is BVITV’s fastest-ever selling, most successful TV series, having been licensed by us to 183 territories worldwide on TV – now being licensed for the first time on to mobile.
“We are sure that its ever-growing UK fanbase will ensure its success on mobile – the addictive, action-packed nature of the show lends itself particularly well to this format, as fans need to watch carefully to unravel the many mysteries within the show.”
“Mobile is rapidly emerging as a new entertainment platform and already has tremendous reach,” said Attila Gazdag, vice president and managing director of Walt Disney Internet Group, Europe. “Our strong brands have translated extremely well to this new platform and we’re pleased to be offering video, especially of such a great show, to broaden our mobile offerings.”
3 UK
16 September, 2005
Reuters launches 3G Video News Service On Vodafone
News agency Reuters has teamed up with Vodafone Live to offer a 3G streaming news video service for Vodafone customers in the UK.
The subscription service will be Reuters’ first direct-to-consumer mobile video news service and will be available to Joe Public for £3 ($5.45, €4.50) a month.
For their hard earned cash, mobile subscribers will be treated to regular updates from key financial markets around the world, as well as clips from the big news stories of the day.
The service, accessible by selecting “Business News” from the “News & Weather” menu on the handset, will become Vodafone’s first business and financial video to be made available over their network.
Suitably equipped 3G subscribers can choose from more than 20 different videos a day including market reports from London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Frankfurt.
Those lucky people can also watch riveting interviews with CEOs and industry leaders, and view stories on people and companies making headlines.
Vodafone subscribers will also get technology, world, sports and entertainment news and be able to set up SMS breaking news alerts.
Alisa Bowen, head of Reuters.co.uk, said: “The growth in downloads of video from our Websites, where over one million clips are viewed each month, made it clear just how popular video news has become.
It was an obvious next step to make this available on mobile devices, combining it with the existing financial data and text services to offer a truly multimedia experience.”
The 3G service is one a series of new mobile video services that Reuters will be rolling out as part of its meisterplan to make more of its news and information directly available to consumers.
Vodafone
Reuters
15 September, 2005
Bang and Olufsen Join Samsung To Make Posh Phone
Hoity toity makers of expensive electronics for the well-heeled, Bang & Olufsen, have invited Samsung to the table in a joint project to design a new mobile phone.
In a triumph of style over substance, the phones will only offer “basic communications” features and “little in the way of high-tech extras” according to Bang & Olufsen’s Chief Executive Torben Ballegaard Sorensen, speaking to Reuters.
The posh blower of “typical B&O design” will be targeted at the high end of the market (i.e. rich types over 25 years old) in terms of price and quality.
Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen are well known for their eye-wateringly expensive TVs and hi-fis, all of which bear the company’s well-regarded attention to detail and luxurious finish.
According to Sorensen, there will be just one phone at first with more models to follow.
While most mobile phone makers are ramping up the feature list and bolting on whiz-bang extras like video calling and music downloads, Sorensen feels that the moneyed mob will enjoy the simplicity of their wallet-draining upmarket phone
“This will be super simple. We believe that many people feel overwhelmed by the options phones contain. We will attempt to produce something that…will suit our core clients. They don’t use phones as a game station. We are emphasizing what the phone is meant for, which is talking,” Sorensen added.
“We have positive expectations about this, but I know it is a niche product. The phone won’t appeal to all, but if only two percent of the market likes it, that’s good enough,” he added while tucking into a bowl of best Russian caviar.
If this is a move upmarket for Samsung (which it undoubtedly is) we think it’s a far better move than Nokia’s invention of Vertu, which sells ridiculously overpriced handsets (think $15k) that ironically looks like B&O TV remote controls from the 1970s.
The handsets are expected to be seen at expensive parties and around the yachts of St Tropez from the fourth quarter this year.
Samsung
Vertu
Bang & Olufsen
14 September, 2005
3 UK Announces Mobile Internet Packages
Mobile network 3 has announced two new content packages aimed at getting more customers logging on to its mobile Internet services.
From mid-September, subscribers to 3’s network will be able to sign up to ‘Mobile Web’ and ‘Wireless Web’ content options.
The new Mobile service works out at £2.50 ($4.50, €3.70) a month and lets punters download up to 5MB of content from the Mobile Web.3
Although the deal lets users break out from 3’s previous “walled garden” of accessible sites, the service will still not permit unrestricted access to the Web.
Instead, 3 is limiting the available sites to ones that they feel have been “optimised for viewing on compatible video mobiles” – this means that sites like BBC, eBay and Amazon will be viewable, but perhaps not ‘Bumper Big Boobies Online’.
The network asserts that this limitation is to ensure that customers “can be sure that both front pages and sub-pages are viewable, that the speed of download is high and that all the site’s key activities are available”.
Gareth Jones, 3 COO claimed that “only a fraction of the internet works well on mobile” but insisted that the mobile operator is “committed to extending the choice of high-quality video mobile services”.
Jonesy boy expects the number of sites available through 3’s Mobile Web to grow quickly, with customers invited to nominate sites they’d like to access from their mobiles (so maybe they will get ‘Bumper Big Boobies Online’ after all).
Elsewhere, 3 will continue to serve up content and services through its ‘Today on 3’ entertainment channel and via its partner sites like lastminute.com and FHM.
The second new service, ‘Wireless Web’ will provide full Internet access for customers connecting to the Internet via a laptop and using their 3 handset as a modem.
Punters will be charged a flat rate of £45 per month ($82, €67), with a download limit of 512MB of data.
3 UK
13 September, 2005
Mobile TV Looks To Rake In The Revenue Stream
A report by Unstrung Insider claims that Mobile TV is set to become a breakthrough mass-market mobile data service, boosted by pioneering services offered by major global operators such as Orange, Vodafone, and SK Telecom.
The report, entitled Mobile TV: Switching on the Revenue Stream, highlights the growing success of mobile TV over 3G and satellite broadcast networks, with some operators already soaring past the million sessions per month mark.
With commercial services streamed over 3G networks showing signs of success in their own right, the report suggests that the real power of mobile TV will be to act as an “extension” to regular TV services, persuading even the most techno-phobic mobile phone users of the benefits of 3G subscriptions.
Report author and Unstrung Insider Chief Analyst Gabriel Brown was enthusiastic: “There’s a lot of mileage in unicast mobile TV as a lure to attract high- value 3G subscriptions”.
“The power is its simplicity: Everyone already knows how to watch TV,” he added.
Steven Day, corporate affairs director at Virgin Mobile in the U.K agrees, saying that people who wouldn’t consider using, a streaming media application, for example, will warm to the new technology.
Basing his opinion on feedback from the company’s current 1,000-user mobile TV broadcast trial in London, Day praised the ease of use of Mobile TV services, “It’s dead easy. Everyone knows what it is, and what it does”.
Although the simplicity and familiarity of the service will please punters, the report says that mobile TV will need a “sophisticated sales approach” from operators who face a market driven by very low-cost or “free” services, adding that the mass market will only likely pay up to US$10 (~£5,€8~)a month for mobile TV.
The technology
The report comments on the industry expectation that “one-to-many” mass-market mobile TV services may be more efficiently delivered over dedicated mobile broadcast networks using technologies such as DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld), DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast), and MediaFLO.
Despite DVB-H growing into the leading contender for dedicated mobile broadcast networks (especially in Europe) pesky issues surrounding spectrum allocation in urban areas looks set to slow down the commercialisation of services.
A potential joker in the pack could be Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology, which has the potential to challenge DVB-H as the automatic mobile broadcast technology choice. Although the technology isn’t as mature as DVB-H, delays to mobile broadcast spectrum allocation can only work to Qualcomm’s advantage.
Unstrung
12 September, 2005
Nikon Coolpix P1 and Coolpix P2 Cameras Offer Wi-Fi: IFA
Although on the surface Nikon’s brand new Coolpix P1 and the Coolpix P2 cameras look like standard fare from the photo giant, they’ve got a trick up their sleeve – they both offer Wireless LAN support (IEEE802.11b/g).
In a first for compact digital cameras, Nikon’s new cameras sport a built-in 802.11b/g WiFi module which enables images to be transmitted to a Wi-Fi enabled computer or printer without the need for pesky wires and cables.
This wireless connection lets users transfer images off the camera’s storage card or transmit them ‘live’ as they’re snapped directly to Nikon’s PictureProject software.
Unfortunately, the P1 and P2 will only transmit pictures to the PictureProject application and isn’t able to directly upload images to the Internet or to FTP servers which we would have found far more useful – and much more fun.
As for the Coolpix P1 and P2 cameras, there’s nothing much to get too excited about, with the two identical cameras offering 8.0 and 5.1 Megapixels respectively with a 3.5x optical zoom (36-126mm equivalent, f2.7 – 5.2).
There’s the usual shedload of scene modes on offer (16 in total) for snapping in a wide range of common situations, with some advanced scene modes for the adventurous, and an aperture-priority auto mode with 10-step manual control over aperture settings in 1/3EV increments.
Both cameras support video and sound recording up to 30fps, with seven movie modes to choose from – including a natty time-lapse mode. We like them.
Framing and viewing images is taken care of with a sizeable 110,000 pixels 2.5″ TFT LCD screen and there’s a SD slot and USB 2.0 connectivity onboard.
Both cameras will be available at the end of the month, with the P1 priced at £294 (~$532~€429) and the P2 being knocked out for £225 (~$408~ €329).
Nikon
9 September, 2005
iPod Nano; Mot ROKR; iTunes 5 – Apple kills the competition (again)
iTunes 5.0
The iTunes software for PC and Mac has now reached v5, it’s available for immediate download from Apple’s site (and via software update for Mac users).
It features a “refined” interface with a new “search bar” making it easier for users to find what they’re looking for, playlists can be organised into folders, Smart Shuffle allows users change the randomness of their shuffled songs.
Windows users also get the added benefit of being able to sync contacts and calendars from Outlook (Mac users have had this ability through iLife for a long time).
iTunes software unsuprisingly integrates seemlessly with the iTunes music store which (in the UK) accounts for at least 80% of all downloaded music. There’s now over 1.7 million songs available, 15,000 podcasts and 10,000 audio books.
Motorola ROKR
The Motorola ROKR (pronouced rocker) is a quad band GSM phone with iTunes built-in. It can hold 100 songs and connects to a PC (or Mac) via a USB connection. Apart from the iTunes software (which can bedirectly accessed from a button on the front of the phone) it’s a normal Motorola phone. You either like them, or you don’t. It’s still encumbered with Motorola’s quirky menu system.
If you’re listening to iTunes and the phone rings etc, it will pause the song playing and you can return to it when you’ve finished the call.
The phone does have some good features with passable stereo speakers and pretty good playback through headphones. Battery life is meant to be good too, though exact figures were not quoted.
It’s available in the US now exclusively through Cingular.
iPod nano
The nano is the new iPod killer. It’s tiny, but holds up to 4GB (1000 songs, though there’s a 500 song/2GB version available too). It’s got a colour screen and a click-wheel. It comes with a USB 2.0 cable, earbud phones and a CD with iTunes, etc.
The colour screen gives it away, it’s an iPod Photo shrunk to miniscule dimensions, bigger than a Shuffle, but smaller than a mini – and thin (it hides behind a number 2 pencil). It features a standard 30pin dockconnector port, so can be used with most (if not all) mini or standard accessories. Apple have put in a couple extra bits of software like world clocks (you set your normal country, but can select as many otherclocks relating to a country as you wish, each clock shows whether it’s day or night), there’s also a screen lock – to stop others messing with your nano. It can also hold 25,000 photos (when synced through iTunes).
Apple have also released some specific nano accessories like tubes (sleeves in various colour, 5 in a pack), lanyard headphones, armbands and a dock. These should be available within 30 days.
Apple may have been losing to the competition in the lower end of the market especially in the solid state arena, however the nano changes all that (it’s got 4GB of solid-state memory in it, not a hard disc like the iPod Mini) and it’s going to knock the competion for six, it’s got all the “Designed in California” (of course by a Brit, but they keep quite about that) sex appeal and the packaging is superb. It’s smaller than almost everything out there. You’re going to want one for Xmas … actually, on reflection, you’re going to want one of these straight away.
Pricing for the nano is $249 for the 4GB (+ local taxes) or in the UK, £179 inc VAT, in Europe Eu 239. The 2GB model is $199, or GBP 139 inc VAT in the UK and is available now.
The best thing about it though, you can get it in white or black.
Apple iPod Nano
Motorola ROKR
Apple iTunes 5
8 September, 2005
Toshiba LED Pocket Projector For 3G Phones:IFA
Promptly filed under “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” at first peek, Toshiba are debuting a portable LED pocket projector at the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show 2005 in Berlin.
Toshiba’s new bijou baby has an unusual twist -the projector can be used to connect to 3G multimedia handsets, making it ideal for execs who want to travel light (and for those who want to share their text messages with the world).
Smaller than a gnat’s undercarriage, the teensy weensy LED projector weighs a mere 565 grams, and serves up SVGA (800 x 600) resolution using a 0.55-inch digital mirror device (DMD) chip, boasting a contrast ratio of 1500:1.
The cool-running LED technology means that there’s no need to fit the thing with both a lamp and a colour wheel – and with a lot less heat generated, there’s no need for a noisy, dust generating fan.
Inside there’s a panel fitted with different coloured LEDs which serve both as the light source and the means to determine the colour of the projected images.
With portability in mind, the unit is fitted with a 250-gram battery which can run for two hours and recharge fully in three hours, according to the company’s figures.
The projector is scheduled to be available by the end of the year, with a recommended retail price of approximately 999 euros (£675, $1,250). Not likely to be a big seller at that price is it?
Toshiba
7 September, 2005
Siemens SL75 Gigaset WiFi VOIP Home Phone Announced: IFA
Siemens have announced their new Gigaset SL75 WLAN Voice-over-IP (VoIP) cordless telephone for the home.
The Gigaset SL75 WLAN is one of a new generation of cordless VoIP phones that lets users wander free from the limited range of base stations, with the phone being able to access any open Wi-Fi points.
Ideally suited for workers ambling around corporate Wi-Fi networks and cuddling sofa lovers (see photo), the SL75 will hook up to any public WLAN access point (gateways/hotspots) and store profiles of hotspots for fast retrieval when shuffling between networks.
Users will be able to make VoIP calls from any of these access points without the need to have a PC rattling away in the background.
Siemens haven’t held back on the feature set, with the Gigaset SL75 WLAN handset offering an instant messaging service and the ability to receive and send emails, complete with photo attachments.
Blurring the distinction between a mobile phone further, there’s an integrated digital camera onboard and the usual 16 polyphonic ring tones, with personalised caller tunes.
The handset can store 200 names, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses, with the information niftily synchronised with the desktop via WLAN.
Decked out in (ahem) “the season’s high fashion colour night grey”, the Gigaset SL75 WLAN sports a colour display (128×128 pixels, 4k/65k colors) and comes with a small docking station.
Now you might be wondering, “if it’s a home phone, why haven’t they made the thing more useful by bunging in a DECT phone too – like their earlier Siemens M34 Wireless DECT Handset?
The answer is simple. This is the future and, as Siemens explains, this puppy is going to “dispense forever” with the traditional concept of a “home phone.”
So now you know.
The Gigaset SL75 WLAN will be available in Europe from November 2005 for approximately EUR 299 (~$370, ~£205).
Siemens
7 September, 2005
Airline Wi-Fi Struggling For Business Customers
Only 25% of US business travellers are using Wi-Fi hotspots in airports and on planes, despite the growing availability of high-speed, wireless connections.
A report by Gartner reveals that only a quarter of US business travellers want to log on when they’re flying off, and in the UK the percentage is even smaller, with only 17 percent of travelling Brit execs willing to whip out their Wi-Fi wotsits.
The low level of adoption is rather surprising considering the growing number of hotspots and Wi-Fi enabled devices springing up over last two years.
The study suggests that users have been shunning Wi-Fi in airports and in-flight because some are baffled by the process of using the technology.
“While Wi-Fi has come a long way, our survey shows that many business travellers remain uncertain as to why they should use Wi-Fi, what equipment they need, how they can connect and what they will be charged,” said Gartner analyst Delia MacMillan.
“If Wi-Fi providers really want to attract new customers they must convince both end users and organizations of its benefits.”
Although some airlines like Lufthansa and SAS in Europe are installing wireless Internet access in their planes, the majority of travellers (78 percent in the US, 75 in the U.K.) said they would rather stay out of contact while in the air.
Those surveyed also said that they were more interested in increased onboard personal space, bigger baggage allowances and better entertainment than blasting out emails mid-flight.
It wasn’t all bad news though, with the respondents who actually used Wi-Fi expressing satisfaction with the speed of connection, ease of use and overall value.
The report revealed that wandering Wi-Fi folks were less chuffed with the price of the services and the limited availability of hot spots in useful locations.
“Many organisations will not reimburse their personnel for Wi-Fi access charges, as these fees are often not covered by their telecom contracts,” commented MacMillan.
“If airlines can commit to lower prices then the provision of Wi-Fi access could prove a key attraction to business travellers.”
Gartner’s report predicts that broadband-speed 3G cellphone networks could put pressure on Wi-Fi providers to cut prices.
Gartner
7 September, 2005