maps

Alltel helps employers track workers

Sue Marek — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:40:12 -0400

Catering to its enterprise business, Alltel introduced a new tool designed to help small businesses monitor their mobile workforce in real time. The solution, called the Workforce Locator, was designed by Autodesk and will be available in BREW devices that have LBS such as the Samsung R430, Samsung U520, LG AX260 and the LG AX300.

Workforce Locator lets businesses view Web-based maps that track their workers and provides streamlined routing and fleet management so they can save on fuel costs. Employers can use the service to direct workers to a job site and then communicate with them via text message.

The software is available for $15 per month and a one-time charge per line of $19.99.

For more:
- see this press release

Related article:
Navigation apps drive LBS success

Google's wireless chief Sacca steps down

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Google's head of special initiatives Chris Sacca announced his intent to leave the company to become an angel investor in start-ups. Sacca led the (as yet unfruitful) charge for free WiFi in San Francisco and also the successful push for free WiFi in Mountain View, Calif. Sacca also led Google's push to include special rules requiring open access on a slice of the spectrum in the upcoming 700 MHz auction. According to a report in VentureBeat, Sacca has close ties to messaging company Twitter and Y Combinator. Google has not named a successor to Sacca.

For more on Sacca:
- read this write-up from VentureBeat

Related Article:
Sacca: Carriers are blocking our maps Article

Taking a tour of Google's Android platform

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

FierceWireless downloaded Google's recently released Android SDK for Windows and unzipped it within a few minutes. Inside the files there is a phone emulator that you can play with to see Android's capabilities firsthand and to test out your own applications. Check out this slideshow that explores some of the features we found interesting while using the emulator, including graphics demos, the WebKit browser, the maps functions and contacts menu.

For more on the Android walk-through:
- check out this slideshow here

On the Hot Seat with MetroPCS President Thomas Keys Page 2

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:29:59 -0400

FierceWireless: A recent LA Times article about the MetroPCS launch focuses on the gaps in MetroPCS's coverage. How are you educating new users about these gaps when they sign up for the service?

Keys: Thanks for bringing that up--honesty of coverage. We have to discern what's not covered, which is actually more important than what is covered. We deliver maps once a week to our distribution partners, who were lining up in droves to join us. We tell the consumer that if they live, work and play in the areas that are covered.We absolutely ask them to join. If they do not, then we ask them to hold off on their purchase. If by chance, they've made a bad purchase decision because they were too aggressive in their choice, we offer a money-back guarantee called "Metro Promise" that in the first 30 days of purchase or 60 minutes of use, you can bring the phone back to get a full refund. We absolutely believe in honesty and coverage for consumers, it's the thing we pride ourselves on. In every one of our launches there have been gaps. It is a phased build with phased launches, there is no other way to cover a city.

FierceWireless: So, the Northeast Corridor is the next area for deployments from MetroPCS?

Keys: Well, actually in Q2 of 2008 we will be launching in Las Vegas.

FierceWireless: Any update on the proposed deal with Leap Wireless?

Keys: You know there is nothing there right now. What's out is out and at this point we don't have any other comment on that deal right now.

FierceWireless: Next year you have plans for a lot more expansion in the Northeast-what percentage would that expand your footprint next year?

Keys: We believe we will cover 30 million to 33 million POPs with the deployment [in the Northeast Corridor, which includes New York City, Boston and Philadelphia].

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Can Nokia make a direct-to-consumer play work?

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Can Nokia make a direct-to-consumer play work?
So Nokia is again attempting to reach the consumer directly with mobile content. The world's largest mobile-phone maker last week introduced Ovi, a new brand developed to expand the company's focus beyond mobile devices and platforms to embrace a range of web services.

Ovi--"door" in Nokia's native Finnish--is a portal that will serve as a gateway to Nokia services as well as a storefront for full-track music downloads, online communities, games and maps from the revamped N-Gage platform.

The question is: Can Nokia make a direct-to-consumer play work this time? Club Nokia was the handset maker's last direct-to-consumer mobile content initiative that shut down about three years ago. Club Nokia ended up morphing from an initiative that enabled users to get exclusive content for their handsets to more of a perks website that let users sign up for membership rewards such as discounts on phones and software.

Operators' buying power and their deep dislike for any service that competes with their own initiatives have largely kept Nokia and many vendors from offering their own content services in the past. What does Nokia believe has changed? I suspect Nokia feels embolden by the shift in power Apple's iPhone is creating for handsets. Apple reportedly gets a 10-percent cut of the revenues from AT&T, and Nokia has to believe it has similar brand power given its top position in the market. According to a report from PMN, Nokia sold 100.8 million phones during the second quarter, and that figure is more than what Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson sold combined. ABI Research saysÃ‚Â Nokia leads the global smartphone market, enjoying a market share of more than 56 percent in 2006.

As margins in the device business are continually squeezed, Nokia has a vested interest in finding revenues from alternate sources. That's why it has been chomping at the bit for open access in the mobile world so it can go directly to the consumer without the interference from operators. It recently heralded the FCC's decision for open access rules in the 700 MHz band, and also sees some significant opportunities in working with Sprint's WiMAX initiative.

But open access is still nascent, which means Nokia in the meantime must do some heavy placating to the operators that still wield significant power over the vendor. That likely means giving operators a larger cut of the revenues or doing some heavy lifting on the back end until the vendor is free from their stranglehold.-Lynnette

Nokia bows Ovi, N-Gage and more

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

At a London press conference Wednesday, Nokia introduced Ovi, a new Internet services brand developed to expand the company's focus beyond mobile devices and platforms to embrace a range of web services. Ovi--"door" in Nokia's native Finnish--promises to enable consumer access to social networks, communities and content as well as provide a gateway to Nokia services. In conjunction with Ovi, Nokia officially announced the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage gaming platform--its Nokia Maps navigation service also falls under the Ovi aegis, with more web-based services scheduled to roll out in coming months.

"The industry is converging towards Internet driven experiences and Ovi represents Nokia's vision in combining the Internet and mobility," said Nokia president and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo at the Nokia Go Play event. "Nokia is the number one mobile device company in the world. Looking into the future, we will deliver great devices, combined with compelling experiences and services, to make it easy for people to unlock the potential of the Internet."

Nokia also introduced four new mobile devices developed specifically for entertainment, music and games, with dedicated music or gaming keys, expanded memory, large screens and extended battery life. The Nokia N81 and N81 8GB multimedia computer is configured to find, buy, manage and play music and games purchased via the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage. The N95 8GB multimedia computer offers up to 20 hours of video or as many as 6000 songs; the 5310 XpressMusic boasts up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. The 5610 XpressMusic promises up to 22 hours of music playback and capacity for 3,000 songs on an optional 4GB microSD card. Nokia and audio manufacturers including Altec Lansing, JBL and Philips will also offer a range of music accessories matching the XpressMusic handsets in design and functionality.

For more on the Nokia announcements:
- read this release

Related articles:
Orange threatens to sour Nokia's music service
Nokia to launch music download service
Nokia planning to re-N-Gage?
Nokia trials new N-Gage with Elisa