Digital-Lifestyles – Page 261 – Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

i320 Smartphone From Samsung – More Details
Samsung have released a few more details about their new i320 Smartphone, which was unveiled at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.
The mean’n’lean, wafer thin, none-more-black smartphone weighs in at a sprightly 95g, with a 2.2″ 262K colour TFT screen offering QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) resolution – a healthy improvement on the Treo 700w’s paltry 240×240 screen.
The pocket-friendly i320 runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, and offers the new Direct Push Email functionality via the Messaging & Security Feature Pack when used with Microsoft Exchange Server SP2.
For a fully featured smartphone, the dimensions aren’t too bulky- 111mm x 59mm x 11.5mm only – so you won’t feel too much of a berk walking around with it stuck to your ear.
Impressively, there’s a thumping great 120MB of onboard memory with a microSD slot for expansion and a QWERTY keyboard for bashing out short messages.
When it comes to multimedia, the Samsung sports a 1.3 megapixel camera and supports MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / WMV video formats and MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA / WAV / OGG audio formats, with dual stereo speakers onboard.
Connectivity comes in the shape of Bluetooth with the tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM phone capable of GPRS/EDGE but no Wi-Fi as far as we can see – a major omission in our book. Bad Samsung.
Samsung i320 is scheduled to arrive in your greasy palms sometime during Q2 of 2006.
Samsung i320 specifications:
Band : GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
Data : EDGE/GPRS
Size : 111mm x 59mm x 11.5mm
Weight : 95g (3.35oz)
Display : 2.2″ 320 x 240 262K Color TFT
OS : Windows Mobile 5 for Smartphone
Camera : 1.3 Megapixel Camera
Video : Video capture/playback
Messaging : SMS/MMS
Email : Yes (POP/IMAP/SMTP)
Bluetooth : Yes
Infrared : No
Java : Yes
Polyphonics : Yes
Memory : 120MB User Memory, External Memory (microSD)
Features : QWERTY Keyboard, Video Recording & Messaging (MPEG4/H.263), Video Playing (MPEG4/H.263/H.264/WMV), MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA / WAV / OGG, Dual Speaker / Speakerphone, Bluetooth Technology / USB / Voice Recognition, Document Viewer
Samsung
16 February, 2006
Fujifilm FinePix F30 Offers Amazing ISO 3200
With PMA 2006 (Photo Marketing Association International) looming ever closer on the horizon, there’s been a flurry of new camera announcements, and of real interest is Fujifilm’s successor the award-winning FinePix F10/F11 digital compacts, the new 6.3 megapixel Fujifilm FinePix F30.
Fuji are billing the F30 as the world’s first digital compact camera to feature an incredible IS3200 sensitivity at full resolution – that’s eight times as effective in low light as a conventional compact with IS400.
The camera comes with a 3x (36-108mm equiv) F2.8-8 zoom and uses a sixth generation Super CCD and Fujifilm’s groundbreaking Real PhotoProcessor II.
Although we would have liked to have seen an optical stabilisation system built in, the high sensitivity rating should prove effective for freezing action and producing atmospheric shots in dark lighting.
As with the F11, the camera boasts a sizeable 2.5-inch LCD screen, coated with Fujifilm’s proprietary CV film for reducing glare and reflection.
The overall layout of the F30 remains the same as the F11, although the design has been tweaked slightly with a new mode selection switch and some smoothed body lines.
We like the addition of a dedicated exposure compensation button on the back of the camera as we found some functions on the F11 to be annoyingly buried deep in menus.
Shutter lag and start up time remains nippy (0.01 and 1.4 second respectively) and there’s a new ‘intelligent flash’ system onboard which takes uses the camera’s high sensitivity to combine natural foreground illumination with balanced exposure in the background.
This, claims Fuji, will avoid, “both the messy background blur of ‘slow-sync’ flash, and the stark contrast of conventional flash.”
Sticking with their annoyingly obscure xD-Picture Cards, the FinePix F30 boasts an exceptional 500-shot battery life and should be available from UK retailers in May 2006.
Pricing to be announced nearer to the date of retail launch.
Sensor 1/1.7 ” Type CCD, 6.3 million effective pixels
Image sizes 2848 x 2136, 3024 x 2016 (3:2), 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480
Movie clips 640 x 480 @30fps, 320 x 240 @30fps with Monoaural sound
File formats JPEG (Exif 2.2)
Movie AVI (Motion JPEG)
Lens 36-108mm equiv, F2.8-8, 3x optical zoom
Focus AF with Macro
AF area modes Center, Multi
Macro 5cm (wide)
Metering 25- zone TTL
ISO sensitivity Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Shuttter speed 1/2000-15secs
Aperture F2.8-8
Modes Auto, Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Burst/Continuous
Scene modes Natural light, Natural light with flash, Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Underwater, Museum, Party, Flower close-up, Text
White balance Auto, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm white), Fluorescent light (Cool white), Incandescent light
Self timer 2 or 10secs
Continuous shooting 2.2fps max 3 images
Image parameters Standard, Chrome (vivid), B&W
Flash Auto, Intelligent flash mode, Red eye reduction, Forced flash, Supressed flash, Slow synch, Red eye reduction & Slow synch
Viewfinder No
LCD monitor 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixels
Connectivity USB 2.0 high speed, Video out
Print compliance PictBridge
Storage 10MB internal memory, xD-Picture Card
Power NP-95 Li-ion battery
AC adapter AC-5VC included
Weight (no batt) 155 g (5.5 oz)
Dimensions 92.7 x 56.7 x 27.8 mm (3.6 x 2.2 x 1.1 in)
Fujifilm
15 February, 2006
K610i 3G Phone Announced By Sony Ericsson: 3GSM
Sony Ericsson has slipped out is slimmest-ever 3G handset at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona, Spain.
The Sony Ericsson K610i is a lightweight and affordable 3G phone measuring a pocket-unruffling 102 x 45.2 x 16.9mm – roughly the size and weight of a typical 2G stick phone.
The lightweight handset (92g) sports a built in 2 Megapixel camera which should be good enough to produce reasonable quality 5″ x 7″ prints (and even the odd 10″ x 8″ print at a squeeze).
Reminiscent of the hugely popular T610 phone, the front of the phone is dominated by a 1.9 inch, 262K (176 x 220 pixels) colour display and a large keypad, with a tiny camera, midget-sized mirror and speaker on the rear.
Naturally, there’s an integrated music player lurking inside the rounded lines of the K610, with supported formats including MP3, AAC and e-AAC+.
Connectivity comes in the shape of Bluetooth, Infrared and USB 2.0 with external storage comes in the shape of Sony’s new Memory Stick Micro M2, which can be expanded to 1GB.
The excellent NetFront Web browser comes pre-installed on the phone, and there’s also an RSS reader integrated into its messaging section.
Sony Ericsson are promising an impressive battery life: 7 hours GSM, up to 2.5 hours WCDMA and up to 400 hours GSM and up to 350 hours WCDMA in standby mode.
The Dual Mode UMTS handset will be available in ‘Evening Red’ and ‘Urban Silver’ colours, and should start shipping during Q2 2006.
Sony Ericsson also announced a new, entry level handset at the show, the J100. This dual band handset offers a 65K colour screen, polyphonic ringtones and 8 hour talk time.
Sony Ericsson K610i Specs:
Imaging & Messaging:
2.0 Megapixel camera
2 x digital zoom
Horizontal camera user interface
Video call (integrated VGA camera)
Video record and play
Video streaming
PictureDJ
SMS and MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
262,144 color 1.9″>176 x 220 pixels
Entertainment:
Disc2Phone ripping software
WAP 2.0 XHTML/HTML
Java MIDP 2.0
Media player (supports MP3, AAC and E-AAC+)
Music download
Polyphonic ringtones, 72 voices
MusicDJ
2D and 3D gaming
Connectivity:
USB cable
USB 2.0 mass storage, full speed
Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™)support (up to 1 GB ) Bluetooth
Dual mode UMTS and GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Business:
Standard Push e-mail (M-IMAP)
Sony K610 has Speakerphone
Modem
PC synchronization
File manager
Talk time:
Up to 7 hours GSM, up to 2.5 hours WCDMA
Standby time: Up to 400 hours GSM and up to 350 hours WCDMA
Size:
102 x 45.2 x 16.9mm
Weight: 92 grams
15 February, 2006
ShoZu, Mobile Photo Sharing App Wins Award: 3GSM
We’ve found it amazing that no application has come along and claimed theposition as the de-facto mobile phone photo-handling application. Perhapsbecause it’s such a mouthful.
Mobile phones with cameras are, after all, one of the main devices that areused by the wo/man in the street to capture most of their photos.
One of the applications that fits into said category is ShoZu, and weimagine that they are feeling rather pleased with themselves today afterwinning an award at 3GSM.
Prompted by the enthusiastic press release (below), we thought it was abouttime we tried it out – after all, we’d been seeing their name on Flickr forages, so it only seemed right.
We hope our experience is unique otherwise there’ll be a lot of peopleusing other services that _aren’t_ ShuZo.
The first few sign up screens were OK, until we were asked for our mobilephone number, so we could be mailed the app. Clicking the button to receivethis has, for the last half hour, just left us hanging.
Initial impressions – not good, but we’re hoping it’s going to get better.
We assume the 3GSM judges got over this.
Cognima collects top award at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona for its ShoZu mobile media application
Wednesday 15 February 2006: Cognima, the company behind ShoZu, the free-to-download mobile phone application which allows users to share full quality images and video content with their chosen online community, was officially named as a world leader within the global mobile application market by the 3GSM Association at last night’s worldwide award ceremony in Barcelona. The ShoZu content sharing service, which was only recently launched at the end of last year, offers users the smartest and most affordable way to share rich media content using mobile cameraphones.
Accepting the award on behalf of Cognima, Mark Bole CEO said, “We have been delighted with the genuine support we have been getting from our customers, web partners and handset manufacturers in mobilizing a thriving and workable rich media content ecosystem.”
ShoZu’s ongoing commitment to fueling the mobile value chain by offering innovative and simple high quality media content services has captured the mood of the industry as it heads into the realm of consumer focused rich media content sharing. The fundamental concept behind ShoZu’s rapid growth in market visibility revolves around making the user-experience as enjoyable and simple as possible and in doing so makes mobile image sharing both straight forward and immediate.
ShoZu has been one of the defining presences at this year’s international congress, highlighting the sustainable growth within the maturing international mobile content sharing industry.
Bole added: “It is exciting that ShoZu has managed to capture the attention of the global community who are looking to work within this space. We are fully committed to finding new ways of allowing our growing user base to interact and participate with their online communities.”
Earlier on in the day, Mark Bole received a personal visit from HRH Prince Andrew who was keen to hear about ShoZu’s work in the area of delivering and offering application solutions to a wider mass user market.
Over the coming weeks, ShoZu will be announcing major enhancements to the service, including the development of rich media content from the web to mobile devices. These will include videocasting, podcasting, music and other third party media formats.
15 February, 2006
Lumix DMC-TZ1, DMC-FX01 Panasonic Cameras Claim ‘World’s Smallest’ Honours
Panasonic have released two additions to their popular Lumix digital camera range which the company are claiming are the world’s smallest in their categories.
The Lumix DMC-TZ1 is being touted as the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital compact, while the equally diminutive Lumix DMC-FX01 claims the honours as the smallest digital compact with a 28mm wide-angle lens.
Lumix DMC-TZ1
Billed as “the ultimate travelling companion”, the DMC-TZ1 uses a cunning optical system using folded optics, a retractable lens system and a prism to offer the immense 10x zoom range (35-350mm equiv, F2.8-5.0).
The 5 megapixel camera comes with Panasonic’s well regarded optical image stabilisation system (you’ll definitely need that at the far end of its monster zoom) and sports the newly developed Venus Engine III, offering quick response times and an improved battery life (250 shots).
The Lumix looks to be faster than grit off a shovel with its new Linear AF system claiming an industry-leading high speed AF performance, with the makers boasting a super-nippy shutter release time of 0.006sec minimum, a shutter interval of approximately 0.5 seconds and up to three frames per second in full resolution.
After the dire high ISO performance of the Lumix flagship model, the LX1, we were happy to see the new Venus Engine III claiming to “dramatically reduce noise levels at increased ISO settings”, with ISO selectable from ISO80 to ISO800 (with a High Sensitivity Mode from ISO 800-1600).
Like the LX1, the TZ1 can record widescreen movies at 848 x 480 (and 640 x 480) at 30 fps with sound and comes with zillions of scene modes but no manual mode.
There’s also 13.4 MB of internal memory onboard, a SD/MMC card slot and a 2.5-inch, 207k pixel TFT LCD.
The camera is expected to be in the shops in March for $349.95 (~£207, ~€294).
Lumix DMC-FX01
The successor to the DMC-FX9, the new 6-megapixel Lumix DMC-FX01 is another petite chappie, boasting an impressively wide 28mm Leica DC zoom lens.
The FX01 incorporates the Venus Engine Plus LSI, offering 320 pictures on a single charge, a 1.6 second start up time (20% less than the DMC-FX9) and a 0.005 second shutter lag.
The new High Sensitivity mode allows low light shooting up to ISO 1600, with the built in Optical Image Stabiliser keeping the shakes at bay.
The f/2.8, Leica zoom lens gives users a handy wideangle range of 28-102mm equiv., and the camera come with the usual smorgasbord of scene modes for every conceivable occasion.
The camera is also expected to be out in March for $349.95.
Fujifilm
15 February, 2006
Opera Web Browser Now On Nintnedo DS
Opera, Opera, everywhere
Opera have had a concerted effort to place their Web browser on _everything_, most recently, with AJAX support on digitalTV.
Nintendo have made an interesting move here. The DS has always been focused on providing gaming, so to take the jump to making it a Web-access device is significant.
Those interested in running it will need to buy a Opera on a DS card and they’ll be away – browsing over Wifi on the dual screens.
GIVING GAMERS TWO WINDOWS TO THE WEB: THE OPERA BROWSER FOR NINTENDO DS
February 15, 2006: Opera Software today announced that it will deliver the World Wide Web to Nintendo DS users in Japan. In Opera’s agreement with Nintendo, Nintendo DS users will now be able to surf the full Internet from their systems using the Opera browser. The Opera browser for Nintendo DS will be sold as a DS card. Users simply insert the card into the Wi-Fi enabled Nintendo DS, connect to a network, and begin browsing on two screens.
Earlier this year, Nintendo reported that 13 million Nintendo DS systems were sold to consumers around the world within just 13 months of its debut in November 2004. Nintendo DS combines unique dual screens, touch screen, voice recognition and wireless and Wi-Fi communications capabilities. According to an independent market research company in Japan, Nintendo DS has become the fastest selling video games machine to top the 6 million sales mark in Japan in just over 14 months since its Japanese debut, breaking the old record held by Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance.
“The incredibly popular Nintendo DS is already Wi-Fi enabled to support real?time gaming, so adding Web browsing capabilities was a natural evolution for this device,” says Scott Hedrick, Executive Vice President, Opera Software. “Gaming devices are growing more advanced and a great Web experience is becoming a product differentiator for gaming manufacturers. Opera is excited to work with Nintendo to deliver a unique dual screen, full Internet experience on Nintendo DS.”
With an on?screen keypad and stylus, users can easily navigate the Web from their Nintendo DS with PDA?like functionality. Based on the same core as the Opera desktop browser, Opera delivers superior speed and rendering of Web pages on the Nintendo DS.
“Within just five seconds of turning on the system, the Nintendo DS is already fully operational. This makes it the ideal device to enable people to swiftly obtain the latest information from the internet, wherever they are,” says Masaru Shimomura, Deputy General Manager of Nintendo’s R & D Department. “Opera exceeded our expectations with its user friendly interface, quick access to all your favorite sites, ease of use and, most importantly, in making the best use of the Nintendo DS system’s unique double screens and touch screen features. Opera is an important partner for Nintendo in our efforts to further expand the users of the Nintendo DS.”>Nintendo Co., Ltd. held a presentation today in Tokyo, Japan, to announce updates for the Nintendo DS. Information on the availability of the Opera browser DS card has not yet been announced.
15 February, 2006
Google To Power Vodafone Mobile Search – Imagination Lacking: 3GSM
The news is coming out of 3GSM thick and fast, so we’re going to be reporting in a slightly different way. When we see a press release that we think it’s of interest to you, Dear Reader, we’ll put it up in full, with a brief comment at the top. Normal service will be resumed post 3GSM – unless you tell us you like this format.
We’re increasingly disappointed about the view of a couple of technologies by the wider market. The primary recipients of over-glowing acceptance in our view are Apple with their iPod and Google with search. OK, they’re good products, but really …. have some imagination. There are other products/services around that are equally good, and we’re sure that it’s only a matter of time before the alternatives exceed what is currently seen as the benchmark.
To fit in with this trend, Vodafone (who for goodness sake should have more confidence and technical expertise) have signed with Google, to have them power search on the Vodafone network.
Vodafone and Google team to create innovative mobile search experience for mobile phone users
Vodafone today announced that it is collaborating with Google todevelop innovative mobile search services for its customers.
Vodafone will integrate Google’s search capability into its consumerservice, Vodafone live!, providing customers with the most relevantinformation, wherever they are and whatever time of day it is.
Google’s search results will be delivered through Vodafone’s high speeddata networks. Combining Vodafone’s mobile expertise with Google’ssearch capability will ensure that customers can quickly and easilyfind what’s relevant to them. The new service will offer simultaneoussearch both on Vodafone live! and the wider Web.
Vodafone’s integration of Google search will take the mobile internetto a new level. Vodafone live! was the first mobile service to makedata services easily accessible to mobile customers. Whether checkingthe weather, looking for a restaurant or getting the most up-to-datenews, consumers want search services that meet their everyday needs.
Alan Harper, Group Strategy Director, Vodafone, said: “Innovative mobile search will become increasingly important as fastand easy access to information and services are increasingly demandedby customers on the move. Together, Vodafone and Google will focus oncreating the best mobile search service in the market, helping to bringthe mobile internet to life. Our customers will be able to findrelevant information and services faster, making the Vodafone live!customer experience even better. Our intention is to develop ourrelationship with Google to ensure Vodafone customers continue to havethe very best in mobile services.”
Nikesh Arora, Vice President, European Operations, Google Inc., said: “As people become more mobile, it’s increasingly important that we canprovide them with access to information when on-the-go. Googleunderstands that mobile phone users are looking for more than a desktopreplacement – they want directly relevant content, quickly. Vodafonehas long been a pioneer in providing mobile data services to itscustomers and we believe that by working together we will ensure a userfriendly experience for mobile users.”
14 February, 2006
Sony Cybershot DSC-W50, DSC-W30 To Battle Ixus
Ahead of the big PMA (Photo Marketing Association International) show at the end of the month in Florida, Sony has announced two new 6-megapixel cameras in their ‘W’ range.
The ultra-compact Cyber-shot DSC-W30 and DSC-W50 models feature optical viewfinders, Sony’s Clear RAW imaging technology (claimed to produce low noise images up to ISO 1000), a 3x zoom and 2.0-inch and 2.5-inch screens, respectively.
Looking somewhat reminiscent of the Canon Ixus / Elph range, the miniaturised, re-engineered W-series offers a compact, highly pocketable design (89x59x23mm) with a price that’s easy on the pocket too, with the DSC-W30 retailing for $230 (~£132, ~e193) and the DSC-W50 for $250 (~£143, ~e209).
Both cameras follow the trend of offering high light-sensitivity settings (in this case, up to ISO 1000), letting snappers capture fast-moving subjects and take more natural-looking low light shots without flash.
At higher ISO ratings noise can become a real issue, but Sony are claiming that their Clear RAW imaging technology keeps the multi-colour snow-storm effect to a minimum.
Boasting 400 shots on a single charge, the DSC-W30’s batteries should provide enough juice to keep compulsive photographers going all day, while Sony’s Real Imaging Processor circuit claims to deliver quick start-up and fast shot-to-shot times.
Both cameras come with 32MB of internal memory, with Sony sticking with their propriety Memory Stick Duo storage, offering capacities up to 2GB.
To help fumbling newbies and the easily baffled, Sony has added a new function guide which displays a short onscreen text explanation whenever a shooting mode is selected. This can be turned off once the user becomes familiar with the icons on the mode dial.
The Cyber-shot DSC-W30 should be available later this month, with the DSC-W50 following in March.
SC-W30/DSC-W50 specs:
Sensor 1/2.5 ” Type CCD, 6.0 million effective pixels
Image sizes 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 2112 (3:2), 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080 (HDTV), 1632 x 1224, 640 x 480
Movie clips 640 x 480 @ 30 / 16fps, 320 x 240 @ 16 / 8fps, 160 x 112 @ 8fps
File formats Still: JPEG
Movie: MPEG VX
Lens 38-114mm, F2.8-5.2, 3x optical zoom, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar
Focus 5 area Multi-point AF, Single, Monitoring
Metering Multi-pattern, Center-weighted, Spot
ISO sensitivity Auto, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Shuttter speed 1/2000 – 1sec
Aperture F2.8-7.1 (wide) F5.2-13 (tele)
Modes Auto, Shutter priority, Aperture priority
Scene modes Twilight, Twilight Portrait,Landscape,Beach,Snow,Soft Snap
Connectivity USB
Weight (no batt) DSC-W30: 123 g (4.5 oz)
DSC-W50: 127 g (4.7 oz)
Dimensions DSC-W30: 89 x 59 x 23 mm
DSC-W50: 89 x 57 x 23 mm
Sony
14 February, 2006
Mayday! Mayday! UK Digital TV Boxes In Trouble Again
For the second time in a fortnight, coastguards have been scrambled after a digital TV box sent out a signal on a wavelength used by ships in distress.
Mrs Donaldson, a 67 year old pensioner in Plymouth, Devon, came back from an evening at the cinema to find investigators waiting outside her door, “holding a massive antenna.”
After picking up the ‘distress’ signal from Mrs Donaldson’s Freeview box, two lifeboats and a police launch spent a fruitless three hours searching 20 miles of coastline looking for what they believed to be a mystery vessel in trouble.
Two weeks previously, a faulty TV digital box in Portsmouth resulted in a coastguard helicopter from RAF Kinloss being scrambled for a two hour search of the harbour area before the signal was traced to a household inland.
RAF spokesman Michael Mulford confirmed that the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Kinloss had detected the beacon – transmitting on the major emergency frequency – from one of five orbiting satellites.
Once the RAF had established that the source wasn’t coming from a nearby vessel or missing plane, they contacted Ofcom who were able to track the signal down to a household.
At the time, an Ofcom spokesman was reported as saying that the signal was a “real one-off”, adding that “digital boxes only receive signals.” When we spoke to Ofcom today, they claimed to have said it was ‘probably’ a one-off.
Beacons not boxes
The frequency used by the digital Freeview set-top box (officially called the Civil Distress Frequency) exactly matched the one reserved for emergency distress beacons.
These beacons are carried by ships, yachts and aircraft, and when they come into contact with water, automatically broadcast a signal that identifies the vessel and its location.
Will the digi-TV rollout be scuppered?
With Digital TV boxes being responsible for two major incidents in just two weeks, some serious issues are being raised for the proposed roll out of digital TV in the UK.
Ofcom officials told us that they think that only two boxes failing out of the ten million Freeview boxes already sold isn’t much of a problem.
But with the cost of the two wasted rescue operations exceeding what has been reported as £20,000, lifeboat crews have warned that such rogue signals could cost lives in the future.
An Ofcom spokesman explained that the faulty boxes are now being examined for malfunctioning components, adding: “Apparently any device capable of receiving a signal can also send a signal if it malfunctions. To the best of our knowledge these are the only two out of millions of Freeview users in the UK to have experienced this problem.”
Confusingly they said that they hoped to have the results of the tests in a ‘couple of weeks,’ but might not make the findings public. They refused to be drawn on who made the Distressing digi-box, or indeed if both boxes were made by the same company. They also wouldn’t reveal the price range of the offending box.
Meanwhile, it looks like they’ll be no shiny digital future for Mrs Donaldson who has said that she won’t be getting a replacement box as she would “hate to cause more bother”. Bless.
14 February, 2006
Vodafone Embrace SIP Internally. Nokia To Supply: 3GSM
The news is coming out of 3GSM thick and fast, so we’re going to be reporting in a slightly different way. When we see a press release that we thinks of interest to you, Dear Reader, we’ll put it up in full, with a brief comment at the top. Normal service will be resumed post 3GSM.
This _is_ an interesting one. Nokia and Vodafone have knocked heads a few times about Nokia and their domination of the handsets market – and Vodafone’s keenness for their relationship with the subscriber not to be lost.
Here Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) will go Worldwide for Vodafone. The real buzz is that Vodafone will be SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) enabling their core network.
This is the switch to IP for Vodafone and, we judge, an acceptance that they need to fit in to the significantly cheaper IP world, rather than just sticking to their expensive, proprietary cellular networks.
Vodafone awards global contract to Nokia for IMS
Espoo, Finland – Nokia has been selected by Vodafone Group as a preferred supplier, with a contract to begin deploying the Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution to Vodafone affiliates worldwide. The first deployments are expected during 2006.
Under the agreement, Nokia becomes a preferred supplier of Vodafone’s IMS network architecture and the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) technology that will enable Vodafone to pilot next generation services and start interoperability testing. Nokia is also deploying its OMA-compliant Presence and List Management solutions. IMS is an essential element of the Nokia Unified Core Network solution and a key enabler of multi-access methods.
“Vodafone is excited by the enormous possibilities that are emerging with IP Multimedia,” says Detlef Schultz, Head of Global Supply Chain Management at Vodafone. “IMS is going to play a strategic role in our future service delivery. We intend to pilot the next generation of services using this technology and will start interoperability testing with other operators as soon as possible. We have the utmost confidence in Nokia’s ability to deploy IMS on a world-wide scale.”
“We are extremely pleased to be cooperating with Vodafone in pioneering the benefits of IMS for consumers,” said Giuseppe Donagemma, Vice President, Networks, Nokia. “Vodafone clearly recognizes how important IMS is in providing next generation multimedia services that are rich in possibilities and independent of access.”
Nokia provides to the telecommunications market a complete, end-to-end solution for IMS-based multimedia, including the Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem solution and application servers for services such as Presence, which are connected to the IMS via the open IMS Service Control (ISC) interface. Nokia is the leading vendor of IMS/SIP enabled terminals, with several models of video sharing and SIP enabled terminals already on the market.
With its IMS solution and wide range of IP multimedia capable devices, Nokia has taken the lead in making IP Multimedia commercial. Nokia has over 70 IMS references, including 48 commercial references for the fully IMS compatible Push to talk over Cellular (PoC) solution and 14 references for IMS Core with mobile and fixed operators globally. Commercial launches include over 20 PoC and several Video Sharing services.
14 February, 2006